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A Riverton man whose cousin became ill in Nevada and slipped into a temporary coma after possibly being exposed to ricin, a deadly toxin, was indicted Wednesday on a charge that he lied to investigating authorities.
An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City alleges that 54-year-old Thomas Tholen knew a biological agent had been produced in violation of the law, but failed to report the crime and made an "untruthful statement" to conceal it.
Brett Tolman, U.S. attorney for Utah, said Tholen's actions could have had disastrous consequences.
"Any substance such as this, whether in the hands of a lone wolf or a group, could be lethal," he said.
Once ingested, inhaled or exposed to the skin, ricin binds to cells and prevents them from developing the proteins needed to survive, according to public health officials. As little as 500 micrograms of ricin, about the size of the head of a pin, is enough to kill a person.
Tholen will be issued a summons to appear in federal court in Salt Lake City, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The charge against him, called misprision of felony, carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The FBI and local authorities searched Tholen's home on the 3000 West block of 13400 South and three West Jordan storage units on March 2 for any signs of ricin. They have declined to say what they recovered.
The search was conducted after Tholen's cousin, Roger Von Bergendorff, 57, entered a Las Vegas hospital in February and slipped into a coma.
Police found vials of ricin, firearms and an anarchist-type textbook tabbed to a section on ricin and castor seeds in Bergendorff's Las Vegas motel room on Feb. 22. The man had lived at Tholen's Riverton home for nearly a year in 2005 and 2006.
The investigation is continuing in Nevada, where Bergendorff is recovering, Tolman said.
"If it's appropriate, they'll bring charges there," he said.
The only legal use for ricin is cancer research, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What's next?
Thomas Tholen, of Riverton, the cousin of a man possibly exposed to the deadly toxin ricin in Nevada in February, will be issued a summons to appear in federal court. Tholen is accused of lying to investigators. The charge against him, called misprision of felony, carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.