On Friday, May 2, 2008, unemployed graphic designer and mystery man Roger Von Bergendorff, 57, pleaded not guilty to possession of a biological toxin, in this case, ricin. He also pleaded not guilty to weapons charges. Poisoned by the deadly substance that is derived from castor beans, Von Bergendorff has been in federal custody in Las Vegas, Nevada since his April 16 arrest following his prolonged recovery from the presumably accidental ricin exposure that occurred in his extended stay suite, only blocks from the Las Vegas Strip, on February 14, 2008. A June 17, 2008 trial date has been scheduled. If convicted of all of the alleged charges, Von Bergendorff could face 30 years behind bars and a $750,000 fine.
When the story broke this past Valentine's Day, Von Bergendorff had placed an emergency call for assistance from his suite, complaining that he was having trouble breathing. He was immediately transported to a local hospital where he remained unconscious for the next two months, purportedly because of a coma and sedation. Because his symptoms were consistent with ricin exposure, and despite his attorney's denials that ricin had caused Von Bergendorff's problems, the police searched his suite two weeks later, on February 28, and found approximately 4 grams of "crude" powdered ricin, along with guns, illegal silencers and anarchy literature that contained information on ricin.
Although police officials claimed that Von Bergendorff's case did not have any ties to terrorism despite the items found inside his suite (could it be that authorities feared what a case of suspected terrorism could do to the Las Vegas tourist industry?), it was noted that amounts of ricin small enough to fit on the head of a pin, about 500 micrograms, can be lethal to an adult. Federal prosecutor Gregory Damm told the Associated Press that the amount found in Von Bergendorff's Extended Stay America suite, located on Valley View Boulevard and Flamingo Road just west of The Strip, was enough to kill more than 500 people.
"I want to assure everybody that the Las Vegas Valley is safe," Las Vegas police Captain Joseph Lombardo said back in March. "We don't currently have any terrorist threat…or possibility of contamination" due to the ricin.
Lombardo, despite his assurances that Las Vegas was safe, said that the anarchist text found inside Von Bergendorff's room had been bookmarked at a section on ricin.
"I don't want to make any conclusions with the anarchist-type textbook," Lombardo added. "It doesn't make you a terrorist because you have this type of textbook. It doesn't make you a terrorist if you possess firearms."
Von Bergendorff admitted that he had kept ricin for protection against personal enemies, but also claimed that he never would have used it against anyone—it was unclear who his perceived enemies were at the time that he made the claim. It was also being speculated that Von Bergendorff may have been a victim of the ricin exposure, but no explanations were offered to clarify just how he may have been victimized. It was also speculated that perhaps he had made the ricin just to see if he could. The police could not say whether Von Bergendorff had even made the ricin himself, or whether he had obtained it somewhere—despite the castor beans that had been found inside his room.
There are clearly more questions than answers revolving around this bizarre case and this mysterious man who was down on his luck when he blew into Vegas with his two cats and one dog earlier this year, and they hopefully will be answered at his trial next month. ID will keep you updated as new information surfaces about this case.
The two cats and the dog, incidentally, were turned over to a local branch of the Humane Society. The two cats were in reasonably good health, but the dog's health was poor due to lack of food and water and had to be destroyed.
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