U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

151 Westpark Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29210

October 14, 2004

REWARD INCREASED IN RICIN MAILINGS

Reward Poster (pdf)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of Inspector General is offering an increase in the reward money, now up to $120,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for introducing threatening letters containing ricin into Postal facilities in Greenville, SC, and Chattanooga, TN on October 15, 2003 and October 17, 2003 respectively. Threatening communications inside the envelopes made reference to hours of service regulations in the trucking industry. The author of the threatening letters was seeking repeal of federal regulations which were enacted on January 4, 2004 and mandated more rest and orienting drivers toward a 24 hour work/rest cycle. The regulations will remain in effect until September 30, 2005.

In the first letter, which was typewritten, the author(s)'s claimed that he or she was a fleet owner of a tanker company and demanded that the present laws regarding truck driver hours of service regulations remain unchanged. A type-written message on the exterior of the envelope indicated "caution RICIN POISON Enclosed in sealed container Do not open without proper protection". Inside the envelope was a small, metal vial which contained ricin, a white, granular, potentially deadly poison. The author(s) of this letter claimed to have the ability to make large quantities of ricin and to use this poison if the new hours of service regulations were not repealed by January 4, 2004. The letter was signed "Fallen Angel".

A second letter, addressed to the White House and processed through a postal facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee on October 17, 2003, contained similar threatening language and was directed at the United States Department of Transportation. This second letter threatened to turn "D.C. into a ghost town" if these new "hours of service" regulations went into effect and was signed "Fallen Angel". The author(s) of this letter claimed that the powder on the letter was ricin. The substance contained in the letter was identified as ricin.

Law enforcement authorities are still seeking to develop additional information in this investigation, which has been ongoing for the past year.

Attached to this release is a copy of the updated reward flyer.

Anyone with information concerning the identity of the individual(s) responsible for authoring these threatening letters is requested to contact the FBI toll free at 1-866-839-6241.