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Powder Found in Arizona Man’s Apartment Not Ricin
An Arizona man is still facing life and prison and a $25,000 fine even though the substance found in his apartment was not ricin, the Arizona Republic reported today (see GSN, May 16). The Arizona Public Health Department originally thought a white substance found in Casey Cutler’s apartment was the biological agent, but subsequent tests showed the powder to be harmless. Authorities attributed the false positive to mistakes made by a Health Department laboratory during testing. Federal Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Deborah McCarley said the agency will continue to work with the Health Department despite this mistake. “We do trust them. We have used them in several cases in the past whenever our lab was busy and there were cases where we needed quick answers,” said McCarley. “You have public concern, but what if this (other) test had come out that it was ricin? Sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry.” After the tests proved the substance was not ricin, federal prosecutors amended the charges against Cutler to reflect his intention to produce the biological agent. Cutler’s attorney John Sands said his client has a “litany of mental health issues” and that Cutler was attempting to produce ricin to protect himself (Jack Gillum, Arizona Republic, June 8).
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