MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN PARTY ILLNESSES.

Byline: Associated Press

The operator of a laboratory that distributed an herbal drink pleaded guilty Monday to the federal charge of misbranding, nearly a year after a mislabeled concoction sickened more than 100 revelers.

Daniel Bricker could face a maximum of three years in prison and $250,000 in fines for labeling a product containing a solvent as the kava-kava plant extract ``fX,'' federal officials said.

More than 100 people attending a New Year's Eve Rave Party at the Los Angeles Grand Olympic Auditorium on Dec. 31 became dizzy, nauseous, suffered severe shortness of breath or respiratory arrests. Many were rushed to the hospital.

Bricker intended to market ``fX'' for $20 per vial, but decided to distribute it free of charge as a promotion, said U.S. Attorney Alan Bersin.

Unable to obtain kava-kava extract to manufacture a batch of ``fX,'' for the party, Bricker purchased a 55-gallon drum of an industrial solvent from a chemical company in Texas and had it shipped to the business address of his accomplice, Michael Moffett, authorities said.

Bersin said Moffett poured the chemical into smaller containers and labeled them ``fractionalized and solubilized kava-kava lactones.'' Bricker Labs then used the material in smaller containers to fill 12 millimeter vials that were labeled ``fX.''

There was nothing on the label to indicate the liquid contained the industrial solvent, called 1,4 Butanediol, which targets the central nervous system.

Moffett pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to misbranding after cooperating with the government. He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.

Bricker, who is from Valley Center, is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 2.