ANTHRAX, HUMAN, 2001 - USA (02): FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION CASE CLOSED

****************************************************************************A ProMED-mail postProMED-mail is a program of theInternational Society for Infectious Diseases ******[1]Date: 19 Feb 2010Source: NPR (National Public Radio) [edited] FBI To Close Investigation Of 2001 Anthrax Attacks--------------------------------------------------The FBI is formally closing its investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks, NPR has learned from sources familiar with the case. Officials are expected to announce Friday afternoon [19 Feb 2010] that former Army scientist Bruce Ivins was responsible for mailing anthrax to politicians and journalists in 2001, and that he worked alone. A total of 5 people died, and 17 were sickened by the attacks. The Department of Justice will be unsealing documents related to the case Friday, victims have been notified. [Byline: Dina Temple-Raston] --Communicated by:ProMED-mail ******[2]Date: 19 Feb 2010Source: CNN.com [edited] FBI concludes investigation into 2001 anthrax mailings------------------------------------------------------The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that it has concluded its investigation into the 2001 anthrax mailings, saying Friday [19 Feb 2010] that a biodefense researcher carried out the attacks alone. The anthrax letters killed 5 people and sickened 17 shortly after the 11 Sep 2001 terrorist attacks. The letters, filled with bacterial spores, were sent to Senate Democratic leaders and news organizations. "By 2007, investigators conclusively determined that a single spore-batch created and maintained by Dr. Bruce E. Ivins at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) was the parent material for the letter spores," said a report released Friday by the FBI. Evidence developed from that investigation established that Dr. Ivins, alone, mailed the anthrax letters." There was no immediate response from Ivins' lawyer. Ivins, 62, committed suicide in July 2008 as federal agents were closing in on him, police said. In September and October 2001, at least 5 envelopes were mailed to Sen. Patrick Leahy, then-Sen. Tom Daschle and news organizations in New York and Boca Raton, Florida. Each envelope contained a photocopy of a handwritten note. The 5 who died included a supermarket tabloid photo editor in Florida [at one of the targeted news organizations], 2 Washington postal workers, a New York hospital worker and a 94-year-old woman in Connecticut [all of whom handled contami,ated mail]. The investigation into the anthrax mailings, code-named "Amerithrax," was one of the largest and most complex in the history of law enforcement, according to the FBI. He [Ivins] had spent more than 30 years as a civilian microbiologist at the Army's biological research laboratory at Fort Detrick, Maryland, where he was trying to develop a better vaccine against anthrax. At the time of his death, Ivins was under a temporary restraining order sought by a social worker who had counseled him in private and group sessions. He also had been hospitalized in the weeks leading up to his death for psychiatric examination after he threatened to kill co-workers, investigators "and other individuals who had wronged him," according to documents released in the case. Federal prosecutors named Ivins the culprit in the anthrax attacks after his death. Court records released by authorities showed that Ivins was "the custodian of a large flask of highly purified anthrax spores that possess certain genetic mutations identical to the anthrax used in the attacks." The government had taken steps in the weeks leading up to Ivins' death to restrict his access to his lab. But critics point out that then-Attorney General John Ashcroft publicly declared another Fort Detrick scientist, Steven Hatfill, a "person of interest" in the anthrax attacks. Hatfill was never charged but sued over the matter, settling with the government for USD 5.8 million. His case has fueled skepticism about the allegations against Ivins. In November 2008 the U.S. Supreme Court threw out Hatfill's libel lawsuit against The New York Times over reports linking him to the anthrax probe. A federal appeals court had concluded Hatfill was a "public figure" and failed to prove the reports were "malicious." In the report released on Friday [19 February 2010], the FBI said Hatfill had been eliminated as a suspect. The report outlines the government's evidence against Ivins, saying that the researcher was alone late at night in the lab where the anthrax strain RMR-1029 was stored in the days leading up to the mailings. The lab also contained the equipment capable of drying the anthrax, a function that was forbidden, the report said. "Dr. Ivins was never in the habit of working excessive late night hours in the lab, either prior to or after the mailings," it said. Ivins was under "intense personal and professional pressure" in the months leading up to the anthrax attacks, the report said, citing the researchers' e-mails and statements to friends. The anthrax vaccine program to which he had devoted his entire career of more than 20 years was failing. The anthrax vaccines were receiving criticism in several scientific circles, because of both potency problems and allegations that the anthrax vaccine contributed to Gulf War Syndrome," it said. "Short of some major breakthrough or intervention, he feared that the vaccine research program was going to be discontinued. Following the anthrax attacks, however, his program was suddenly rejuvenated." The report also said that Ivins' e-mails and statements show a "man driven by obsessions." "In the month before his suicide," it said, "his homicidal tendencies became more pronounced, as he posted violent messages on the Internet regarding a reality TV star and made death threats during a group therapy session." It also says that Ivins made several statements and actions that showed "evidence of a guilty conscience." They included sending an e-mail to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that suggested "nonsensical explanations for why the 1st victim might have contracted inhalation anthrax," and repeatedly made efforts to shift the blame for the mailings to friends and colleagues. "At one point, he sent an e-mail to himself documenting 12 reasons why 2 of his former colleagues, who were also his 2 best friends, likely committed the anthrax attacks," the report said. --Communicated by:ProMED-mail [The new Amerithrax Documents are available online at: for DOJ Investigation Summary and photos.and for many FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) FBI documents from Amerithrax investigation.I suspect we have not heard the last of this. - Mod.MHJ] [see also:Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA 20100125.02812009----Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (03): NAS review 20090507.1707Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (02): evidence 20090227.0817Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA: review 20090104.00332008----Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (12): comment 20080928.3074Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (11): review 20080924.3019Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (10): evidence 20080828.2696Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (09): evidence 20080819.2591Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (08): evidence, drugs 20080818.2566Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (07): letters, evidence 20080812.2492Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (06): letters, evidence 20080811.2488Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (05): letters, evidence 20080807.2428Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (04): letters, evidence 20080806.2412Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (03): 20080805.2406Anthrax, human, 2001 - USA (02): letters, evidence 20080805.2392Anthrax, human - USA 2001: letters, new suspect 20080803.2371And more ...]..........................dk/mhj/ejp/jw*##########################################################*************************************************************ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports thatare posted, but the accuracy and completeness of theinformation, and of any statements or opinions basedthereon, are not guaranteed. 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