SALT LAKE CITY — Authorities believe a man sickened by the deadly toxin ricin was a “lone wolf” who manufactured the substance intending to do some kind of harm, an FBI agent said Thursday.
Investigators believe Roger Bergendorff manufactured the ricin in the Salt Lake City area, but they haven’t been able to turn up any evidence of the location, agent Juan Becerra said.
“This could be somebody mad about taxes or the fact that the transit bus didn’t come — whatever the situation may be,” said Becerra, an FBI spokesman in Salt Lake City. “All of a sudden you’ve got a potential full-blown public-safety hazard.”
Bergendorff is a target of the investigation but hasn’t been charged, said Tim Fuhrman, another FBI agent. It could not be immediately determined if Bergendorff had a lawyer.
On Wednesday, Bergen dorff’s cousin was indicted by a federal grand jury for failing to report that the substance was being illegally produced. Thomas Tholen, 54, was charged with misprision of felony — having knowledge of a crime but failing to report it.
Bergendorff was hospitalized in Las Vegas on Feb. 14. He spent almost four weeks in a coma and has been treated for kidney failure
