Lawyers say it was business deal, not terrorism, behind anthrax case

Michael Fleeman

Friday, Feb. 20, 1998 | 2:39 a.m.

LAS VEGAS - One of two men arrested in the frightening anthrax case wasn't planning a terrorist attack but was instead involved in a bizarre deal to buy a $2 million germ-killing machine from the FBI's own informant, lawyers for the man said Friday.

William Leavitt Jr., who was arrested here along with Larry Wayne Harris of Ohio, was described by his lawyers as a well-meaning, if gullible, scientist who was double-crossed by informant Ronald Rockwell.

"He was trying to scam 'em," said Leavitt's criminal lawyer, Lamond Mills. "When he couldn't scam 'em, he went the other way. He became a good guy for the FBI."

Rockwell was trying to get Leavitt to buy a machine called the AZ-58 Ray Tube Frequency Instrument Prototype, hyped by Rockwell in glossy brochures as an amazing device that could flush the body clean of bacteria and viruses, said Leavitt's business lawyer, Kirby Wells.

"It looked like a bunch of bells and whistles," said Wells, who saw a picture of the machine. "What made my client believe there was substance to that thing, I don't know. I wish I did."

A promotion for the device on the Internet has a bold headline: "ANTHRAX," and goes on to say the AZ-58 "can treat large numbers of people at the same time."

"Has the greatest health discovery in history in history been suppressed?" the ad asks.

Rockwell has been unavailable for comment. There is no phone listing for him in the Las Vegas area and his attorney has not returned calls.

Leavitt was close to buying the machine in a $2 million deal, but wanted to test it before making a $100,000 down-payment, Wells said. Leavitt arranged to fly Harris to Las Vegas about a week ago to help test the machine, according to Wells.

Leavitt believed that Harris was transporting anthrax vaccine, which is legal and safe, according to Mills. But the informant told the FBI that Leavitt described it as military-grade anthrax, which is potent enough to kill thousands of people.

The FBI was awaiting tests to determine exactly what the material was. The FBI said in an affidavit that early tests showed the material to be "anthrax or anthrax precursor."

"If the tests come back non-toxin, there is no case," said Mills. "If it comes back military grade, then whoa, time out, that's not our fault. We separate from (Harris) completely."

It was during Leavitt's efforts to check out Rockwell's machine that Rockwell went to the FBI, Leavitt's lawyers contended.

Leavitt and Harris were arrested Wednesday night after the FBI, with Rockwell's help, tailed the men to a medical office in suburban Henderson, Nev. Authorities removed a Styrofoam cooler and petri dishes from the office, and sealed the men's beige Mercedes in plastic before transporting it to an Air Force base.

Leavitt and Harris were charged with conspiracy and possession of a biological agent for use as a weapon. If convicted, they face a wide range of a possible sentence, from one year to life in prison.

Leavitt's attorneys identified Rockwell as the informant. The FBI has not identified him, but has not disputed it is Rockwell.

The FBI said in the affidavit described the informant as a cancer research scientist who was convicted of felony extortion in 1981 and 1982. But the FBI has vouched for the credibility of the informant, saying he came forward without getting a deal and was a "citizen performing his civic duty."

It was unclear how Leavitt, a Mormon bishop with strong political ties - Mills is a former US Attorney for Nevada - got hooked up with Harris, an alleged white supremacist who has been plugging his self-published book about germ warfare.

Harris met Rockwell last summer at a Denver science conference, the FBI has said. Leavitt's attorneys said they believed it was Rockwell who got the men together.

In Leavitt's hometown of Logandale, Nev., friends said they couldn't believe he would be behind a terrorist plot. He was described as a good friend who was active in the church and the community who was genuinely eager to help cure people.

"At no time was there any hint" of any political extremism, said Dorothy Waldron, who used to live across the street from Leavitt.

John Z. Robison, who can see Leavitt's white frame laboratory building from the back window of his Moapa Valley Progress newspaper office in Logandale, said Leavitt's passion was biological healing.

"He's always trying to figure out different angles, different ways to help in the medical field," said Robison.