Vegas cop in ricin case tests positive for castor bean derivative

By Associated Press

Thursday, March 20, 2008 | 5:41 p.m.

LAS VEGAS (AP) _ A police officer who went to a motel room where ricin was later found tested positive for trace amounts of a substance that is also derived from castor beans, the raw material for the poison, authorities said Thursday.

``We did have one sample that had trace detectible levels of ricinine,'' said Pat Armour, manager of the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory, the local coordinator of sampling in the ricin case.

Officials familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that the male officer, whose name and age were not made public, has shown no signs of illness or symptoms of ricin poisoning.

About 5 percent of the U.S. population is believed to have similar trace detectible levels of ricinine in their system, Armour said. She said it was possible the officer's urine test results stemmed from exposure to castor oil, cosmetics, particle board, paints or other manufactured products derived from castor beans.

Las Vegas police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

An FBI spokesman said the officer was the only person involved in the case to have tested positive for ricinine. Armor said ricinine does not derive directly from ricin.

Officials have said they found no actual ricin contamination in the motel room or elsewhere, and have said they could not conclusively say the man who lived in the room, Roger Bergendorff, was poisoned.

``Beyond the possibility of Mr. Bergendorff, we not aware of anyone else who has become ill as a result of ricin exposure from this matter,'' said Special Agent Joseph Dickey, a spokesman for the FBI office in Las Vegas.