ITTSBURGH, Aug. 7 (AP) - F.B.I. agents searched a car on Saturday belonging to the bioterrorism expert whose homes were raided earlier this week by federal agents investigating the 2001 anthrax attacks.Posted on 08/07/2004 11:48:24 PM PDT by conservative in nyc
ITTSBURGH, Aug. 7 (AP) - F.B.I. agents searched a car on Saturday belonging to the bioterrorism expert whose homes were raided earlier this week by federal agents investigating the 2001 anthrax attacks.
Agents examined the car on Saturday at the Connellsville Airport, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, said Frank Sero, a lineman at the airport.
Mr. Sero said the bioterrorism expert, Dr. Kenneth M. Berry, who lives in Wellsville, N.Y., had left the car at the airport and would use it when he was in the area. A spokeswoman for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-McKeesport said Mr. Berry worked at a Pittsburgh-area hospital but would not elaborate.
Special Agent Jeff Killeen at the F.B.I. office in Pittsburgh said agents had searched a vehicle at the airport in connection with the anthrax mailings, but he did not say who owned the vehicle. The search did not pose a threat to health or public safety, Mr. Killeen said.
On Thursday, agents searched Mr. Berry's home in Wellsville, 65 miles southeast of Buffalo, and his former apartment, as well as his parents' summer home on the Jersey Shore.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesman said the searches were part of an investigation of the unsolved 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people.
Mr. Berry told police officials he had nothing to do with anthrax, the police chief in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Daniel DePolo, said in a news conference on Friday.
The F.B.I. said the public was not in immediate danger but would not say what agents had been seeking.
The searches came nearly three years after five people were killed and 17 fell ill when anthrax-laced envelopes were mailed to government offices and the news media. The investigation has baffled the government and turned up few leads.
While agents were searching his home, Mr. Berry was arrested in Point Pleasant Beach on domestic charges unrelated to the anthrax investigation. Authorities said he had been fighting with four family members at a motel, and the family members required medical treatment. He was released on $10,000 bail.
Efforts to reach Mr. Berry were unsuccessful.
In 1997, he founded an organization to train medical professionals to respond to chemical and biological attacks and sought a patent for a system to identify chemical and biological strikes. He filed a provisional patent for a system in October 2000 and the actual application on Sept. 28, 2001, 10 days after the first anthrax letters were postmarked.
Interesting is right. I hope they catch the bastard who did this, whether this particular person is responsible or not.
The pathetic and scary FBI track record in this case is Nazi-like in violation of civil rights of suspects, Three Stooges in competence and results.
Please do not cast unwarranted aspersions on the competence of The Three Stooges
U.S. Wants Hatfill's Lawsuit Over Anthrax Probe Dismissed
NewsMax.com Wires
Monday, March 29, 2004
FBI Says Hatfill's Lawsuit on Anthrax Investigation Threatens Security
NewsMax.com Wires
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003
Dr. Hatfill Sues the Feds
Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003
FBI's Mueller Silent on Hatfill, Says Iraq Is Part of War on Terror
Wes Vernon, NewsMax.com
Friday, June 20, 2003
Report: FBI Revives Anthrax Investigation
NewsMax Wires
Sunday, May 11, 2003
UPI Exclusive: FBI is tracking Hatfill
Newsmax Wires
Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2002
Feds Issue Non-apology for Wrecking Dr. Hatfill's Life
Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002
ABC News Repeats Shaggy Dog Story
Notra Trulock
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002
Ashcroft May Target Hatfill With RFK Tactics
Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002
Ashcroft May Target Hatfill With RFK Tactics
Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002
Nyuck, nyuck!
Goodness, I just thought I had been keeping up with this strange and wonderful tale, you really have. Careful, there, the Berry search puts us on notice that anyone with enough knowledge to be of any use should a really skillful use of anthrax comes along will at least be denied the clearance to help, if not on extended "vacation" at federal expense. Close as I can tell, they seem to assume that only an American with contacts could have obtained the strain and aerosolized it that finely. If they really think that either Hatfill or Berry could have pulled this off single-handedly in a basement, why is it beyond belief that a terrorist country with some bright young, US trained people and a billion dollar budget could not have?
To paraphrase the immortal words of Raymond Donovan: Where does Hatfill go to get his reputation back?
The diabolical person who committed this heinous act is the one to blame, not the FBI. I think it's important to find the perp, Anyone found innocent is a victim of this fiend as well.
There appears to be a motive for Berry. If his patent is approved, he can make a fortune "defending" against anthrax attack.
Interestingly, they look where "they" want to, but now where there is substantive information. Frustrating.
I vote for disbanding the entire organization, tearing down the building and starting over. They are a useless bunch of 'ol boys who "protect" their information in order to get credit, while failing to follow every lead, if it's going t make someone else look good.
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