Kirkland man charged after authorities find ricin

By Sara Jean Green
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

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Robert M. Alberg was charged in federal court on Friday with knowingly possessing a biological agent or toxin and was booked into the federal detention center in SeaTac pending indictment, U.S. Attorney's spokesman Lawrence Lincoln said yesterday. Alberg's next court appearance is set for Thursday, when a judge could order him to undergo a mental-health evaluation, Lincoln said.

The federal complaint doesn't indicate that Alberg had a set plan to release the ricin, and an FBI spokeswoman said no one was at risk. Lincoln declined to speculate whether Alberg has terrorist ties.

Ricin is a biological agent that is considered a deadly toxin, according to the complaint filed against Alberg in U.S. District Court. Ricin is typically fatal when ingested, has no known antidote and is virtually impossible to trace as a cause of death, court papers say.

What is ricin? Ricin, derived from castor beans, is considered one of the most toxic natural substances, able to kill cells and shut down bodily organs. It's most potent when injected: 500 micrograms can be fatal. Inhalation is also deadly. There is no antidote. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Congressional Research Service

Court documents don't specify how much ricin was found in Alberg's apartment, only that investigators found clear jars containing what appeared to be processed castor-seed pulp; labels on the jars read "caution ricin poison." They also found 5 pounds of castor seeds, chemicals used during different stages of ricin production, and equipment commonly used in the "underground" manufacturing of the poison, the papers say.

In a written statement, Alberg's father, Tom Alberg, said his son has "waged a life-long struggle" with various "medical and psychological conditions."

"Over the past year his condition has changed, increasing his isolation," says the statement, released through a public-relations firm hired by the family. "The Alberg family is cooperating fully with authorities and is grateful for the opportunity for Robert to surrender himself voluntarily at their request."

Tom Alberg is the managing director of Madrona Venture Group, a Pacific Northwest venture-capital firm. An early investor in Amazon.com, Alberg continues to sit on the board of the Seattle online retailer. A former lawyer with the Perkins Coie firm, Alberg served as executive vice president of McCaw Cellular.

Robert Alberg has a Web site in which he describes himself as a singer.

Investigators learned from Alberg's family that he had been sending them disturbing e-mails since July; investigators also were told Alberg had apparently ordered various chemicals through the mail and had them sent to his home, court papers say.

In his e-mails, Alberg discussed growing bacteria and sent his sister a 14-step recipe for making ricin, which FBI scientific experts later concluded was an accurate formula, the complaint says.

Court papers include excerpts from the e-mails. In one dated July 27, Alberg wrote: "It's now exciting working with poisons perhaps I'll find a way to end all life on Earth through some interesting items." An e-mail sent a month later said, in part, "I hope I die on Federal Death Row some day that would be so nice."

Around 7:30 a.m. Friday, federal agents arrested Alberg and searched his apartment, inside a detached garage on Eighth Avenue in Kirkland. They cordoned off the garage and house, eventually calling in officials with the Environmental Protection Agency, neighbors said. An FBI spokeswoman would not release information about the case when contacted Friday, saying only there was no immediate danger and that neighbors were not evacuated. Officials confirmed the case yesterday.

A biological expert was called in and confirmed "that the materials found in the apartment have been processed into a substance that is considered a form of ricin that is capable of causing death or disease to a human," the complaint says.

FBI officials in Seattle apparently began investigating Alberg after receiving a tip in November from their counterparts in New York that Alberg tried to buy 5 pounds of castor seeds through the mail from a New York seed company. Company employees "considered this order to be very unusual" and contacted the FBI because there are limited uses for the seeds, the complaint says.

Seed-company employees told FBI officials Alberg had previously bought 5 ounces of the seeds. On Dec. 5, the Locke, N.Y.-based company "did, in fact, deliver 4.7 pounds of castor seeds to Alberg's residence," the complaint says.

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy at the University of Minnesota, said although ricin isn't as deadly as other biochemical agents, it's still dangerous — especially in the wrong hands.

"The bottom line is that ricin is not a weapon that would kill hundreds of people. But it could kill a number of people," he said. Osterholm said several notable cases involving ricin have occurred in the United States in recent years.

In October 2003, ricin was detected on an envelope at a postal facility in Greenville, S.C. A month later, the Secret Service intercepted a letter bound for the White House that bore traces of ricin; contents of the letter were similar to the letter in Greenville.

In June 2002, a Spokane-area man was arrested for possession of ricin. Kenneth Olsen, a software engineer, said he was merely curious about the toxin; federal authorities said Olsen kept ricin in his desk at work, and that his intentions were more sinister. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison last fall.

Just two months ago, ricin was found in mail at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.

Seattle Times staff reporter Nguyen Huy Vu contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654

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