Posted Monday, February 2, 2004 - 8:25 pm
By John Boyanoski
STAFF WRITER
About 270,000 Upstate residents have been sent a one-page flyer in the mail asking for help finding the person who left a letter with a vial of the deadly poison ricin at a Greenville postal center in October.
It's the latest attempt by authorities to get information on the person who threatened to "start dumping" if federal officials did not repeal new trucking regulations aimed at requiring more rest for truckers.
Despite an early flurry of leads, the person who signed the letter "Fallen Angel" has eluded capture.
Most of the flyers were sent to houses in the 296 and 293 zip codes, postal officials said. An additional 70,000 will be sent to northern Georgia and Spartanburg areas in a few weeks.
FBI officials cannot say whether "Fallen Angel" is from South Carolina, but believe the person has some familiarity with the area because the postal facility chosen is not one used by the public.
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of the person who left the substance in an envelope at a mail center on Pelham Road that serves Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
Inside the envelope was a small metal vial containing ricin, a substance derived from castor beans that is more deadly than nerve gas and a potential tool for terrorists, according to the FBI. Written on the envelope was "caution RICIN POISON" and a warning that read, "Do not open without proper protection."
The Oct. 15 discovery of ricin triggered a terrorism investigation, the temporary closing of the postal center and testing of the facility by state and federal health officials.
It also prompted calls for improving the nation's response to bioterrorism threats, though investigators quickly labeled the ricin incident extortion.