Amerithrax case

Amerithrax case

Background

Soon after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01, letters laced with anthrax began appearing in the U.S. mail. Five Americans were killed, 17 were sickened, and the nation was terrorized in what became the worst biological attacks in U.S. history. (Marilyn W. Thompson, 2003)

The ensuing investigation by the FBI and its partners—code-named “Amerithrax”—has been one of the largest and most complex in the history of law enforcement. (Bob Coen & Eric Nadler, 2009)

In August 2008, Department of Justice and FBI officials announced a breakthrough in the case and released documents and information showing that charges were about to be brought against Dr. Bruce Ivins, who took his own life before those charges could be filed. (Leonard A. Cole, 2003)

A public release of evidence regarding a suspect who has not been charged is uncommon, but was undertaken in this case because of the extraordinary public interest in the investigation and, because of Ivins' death, the government would be unable to take the case to trial and present its evidence.

During the course of the investigation, the Amerithrax Task Force, comprised of 17 special agents and 10 U.S. postal inspectors, conducted more than 9,100 interviews, executed more than 70 searches, and followed leads across six continents. In addition, new scientific methods were developed that ultimately led to the break in the case— methods that could have a far-reaching impact on future investigations. (Kenneth J. Dillon, 2008)

The anthrax attacks came in two waves. The first set of anthrax letters had a Trenton, New Jersey postmark dated September 18, 2001. Five letters are believed to have been mailed at this time to: ABC News, CBS News, NBC News and the New York Post, all located in New York City and to the National Enquirer at American Media, Inc. (AMI) in Boca Raton, Florida. Robert Stevens, the first person who died from the mailings, worked at a tabloid called Sun, also published by AMI. Only the New York Post and NBC News letters were actually found; the existence of the other three letters is inferred because individuals at ABC, CBS and AMI became infected with anthrax. Scientists examining the anthrax from the New York Post letter said it appeared as a coarse brown granular material looking like Purina Dog Chow. (Leonard A. Cole, 2003)

Two more anthrax letters, bearing the same Trenton postmark, were dated October 9, three weeks after the first mailing. The letters were addressed to two Democratic Senators, Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont. At the time, Daschle was the Senate Majority leader and Leahy was head of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Daschle letter was opened by an aide on October 15, and the government mail service was shut down. The unopened Leahy letter was discovered in an impounded mail bag on November 16. The Leahy letter had been misdirected to the State Department mail annex in Sterling, Virginia, due to a misread ZIP code; a postal worker there, David Hose, contracted inhalational ...