Concerns about a strange Las Vegas story still surface.

Concerns about a strange Las Vegas story still surface. One of the police officers who went to a motel room at the Extended Stay America where ricin was found has tested positive for trace detectible levels of the substance "ricinine" in his urine, a substance that, like ricin, is derived from castor beans. Ricinine is not dangerous, an official from the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory in Las Vegas said, and the officer shows no signs or symptoms of ricin poisoning. Authorities were also trying to determine if the officer was exposed to castor oil, cosmetics, particleboard, paints, or other manufactured products derived from castor beans.

About to be evicted from the motel, tenant Roger Von Bergendorff, 57, was hospitalized on Feb. 21 after his ricin exposure. ["Man comatose after exposure to ricin poison, MLO, April 2008, page 10]. During a conversation with his brother, Bergendorff said he made the toxin for self-protection and may have been poisoned by it. The brother asked the motel manager to turn Bergendorff's dog and two cats over to the local Humane Society, at which point a motel employee then found guns in the room, along with William Powell's infamous "cook-book" on how to assemble homemade bombs, marked at the section concerning the use of ricin. Bergendorff's cousin came to collect the victim's possessions, found a plastic bag with vials of ricin powder, and handed it over to the motel manager. Police and the FBI denied any terrorism link.

About 5% of the U.S. population is believed to have similar trace detectible levels of ricinine in their systems. Ricin--6,000 times more potent than cyanide--has no antidote, and it prevents the body from synthesizing proteins, shutting down vital organs. The only legal use for ricin is cancer research. Bergendorff was indicted on ricin possession on April 22 and was scheduled to appear in federal court on May 2. The charges carry a possible 30-year prison sentence and a $750,000 fine.