NIH Employee Pleads Guilty to Anthrax Charges

A former U.S. National Institutes of Health employee pleaded guilty yesterday to threatening the Broward County, Fla., Property Appraiser’s Office with anthrax, the Miami Herald reported (see GSN, Aug. 25).

Michelle Ledgister conveyed “false information to another regarding their exposure to the biological agent anthrax,” a violation of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Act of 2004.   She faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 for the violation, according to the Herald.

Her sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 16. 

The FBI says Ledgister, upset over a property tax dispute, left a message at the property appraiser’s office saying, “It’s Michelle Ledgister … NIH is located where infectious agents are, and you guys now have anthrax spores once again, so do be careful. Toodles” (Miami Herald, Sept. 30).

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