Man sickened in ricin case is arrested, charged

Tholen declined to comment when reached by telephone Wednesday. His lawyer Greg Skordas denied Tholen knew Bergendorff had ricin.

"Tom always maintained that he was unaware of Bergendorff ever producing or possessing or manufacturing ricin while they were together," Skordas said.

Roger Bergendorff's brother, Erich Bergendorff, said he spoke with him Tuesday by telephone.

"He just said he wasn't going to face charges, but I don't think that was based on fact," said Erich Bergendorff, who lives in Escondido, Calif. "It's my impression that he didn't understand the hazard he posed."

Erich Bergendorff said he did not know whether his brother had spoken to an attorney.

Four weeks in hospital
Bergendorff, who lived with his dog and two cats, summoned an ambulance to his Las Vegas motel room Feb. 14, complaining of respiratory distress. He spent almost four weeks unconscious at a Las Vegas hospital. Family members said he also was treated for kidney failure.

Tholen was collecting Bergendorff's belongings from the motel room Feb. 28 when he gave a motel manager a plastic bag containing several vials of what turned out to be ricin powder.

The complaint refers to the substance as "crude" and 2.9 percent "active ricin."

"That's not pure," said Andrew Ternay Jr., founder of the Rocky Mountain Center for Homeland Defense at the University of Denver and author of "The Language of Nightmares," a glossary of terms for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons.

"But it is deadly no matter," Ternay said. "It's just that it would take more to kill someone."

Police and homeland security officials have said they found no ricin contamination in any place Bergendorff stayed.

U.S. Attorney Gregory Brower said the charges of possession of unregistered firearms and possession of firearms not identified by serial number stemmed from the seizure by Las Vegas police of two .25-caliber pistols, a .22-caliber Ruger rifle and a .22-caliber Browning pistol with a silencer.

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