Man jailed for buying enough deadly puffer fish toxin to kill 20 peopl…
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Writer Bridget Date24-04-26 00:09 Hit16본문
Man jailed for buying enough deadly puffer fish toxin to kill 20 people - but is cleared of plotting to use it to murder his wife
By Daily Mail Reporter
Published: 01:31 BST, 25 September 2012 | Updated: 11:38 BST, 25 September 2012
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A Chicago-area man has been sentenced to more than seven and a half years in prison after obtaining enough of a deadly puffer fish toxin to kill more than 20 people.
Federal authorities claimed that Edward F. Bachner IV of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, planned to kill his wife and collect on a $20 million insurance policy.
Bachner's defense attorneys denied that such a murder plot ever existed, and his wife and family have stood by him.
Fantasy man: Bachner was sentenced to over seven years in prison, his attorneys successfully argued that he wasn't trying to kill his wife
His attorneys argued that Bachner's behavior was a byproduct of pressures throughout his life that led to role-playing and escapism in which he believed he was a successful businessman, research doctor and special military agent.
Defense attorney Jeff Steinback stressed that no one was injured and Fuugu review Bachner did not attempt to administer the toxin to his wife.
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Bachner pleaded guilty last year to knowingly possessing the toxin for use as a weapon, wire fraud and filing a false tax claim. The allegations that he wanted to killed his wife were not part of his guilty plea.
He was sentenced him on Monday to 92 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frederick Kapala.
FBI agents arrested the 39-year-old in June 2008 after picking up a package containing the toxins, which are derived from the puffer fish and can be deadly if ingested.
A Guineafowl Pufferfish inflated in defense display: Toxins derived from the puffer fish can be deadly if ingested
As little as four milligrams can kill a human and Bachner had ordered 98 milligrams, enough to kill as many 24 people. Agents who searched Bachner's home also found syringes, needles and a book on how to poison people, prosecutors said.
The judge said acquiring the toxin was not equivalent to attempted murder and that he has 'rarely seen such support' for a criminal defendant.
Bachner apologized in an emotional statement to Kapala, saying he fought his 'dragon' and looks forward to being reunited with his wife.
Bachner will get credit for time served and could be out in less than three years.
Bachner allegedly posed as a doctor when ordering the poison known as tetrodotoxin.
He was arrested in July 2008 when he met an undercover federal agent who delivered the toxin to him in Algonquin, near Chicago.
A Guineafowl Pufferfish: Called fugu in Japan, it can be consumed by thrill-seeking gourmets once the poison is removed
Bachner ordered the poison, which is usually used in research, from a New Jersey chemical supply company, the FBI said.
It's an unusual amount,' said FBI Special Agent Robert Holley, head of the Chicago office's counterterrorism unit. 'That's a lot. It doesn't take much to kill.'
Bachner allegedly posed as Dr. Edmond Backer to buy the toxin over the Internet.
All of the toxin was recovered and there was no danger to the pubic.
Possessing the toxin, commonly known as TTX, without the proper federal approval is a felony.
Tetrodotoxin- a nerve toxin isolated from pufferfish or made synthetically - is typically used by researchers at universities or pharmaceutical companies.
Authorities were alerted to Bachner's alleged purchase of the TTX when an employee at the New Jersey chemical supply company contacted the FBI's Newark office.
Agents from that office then contacted Chicago FBI officials.
Authorities said that when agents determined there was no Dr. Edmond Backer and found out the company Bachner claimed to represent, EB Strategic Research, did not exist, they set up a 'controlled buy'.
Neighbors who know Bachner and his wife said they were taken aback by his arrest.
Tetrodotoxin is so potent the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it can 'produce rapid and violent death'.
It is 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Puffer fish, called fugu in Japan, is consumed by thrill-seeking gourmets once the poison is removed.
Eating the toxin can cause paralysis, vomiting, heart failure and death.
By Daily Mail Reporter
Published: 01:31 BST, 25 September 2012 | Updated: 11:38 BST, 25 September 2012
View
comments
A Chicago-area man has been sentenced to more than seven and a half years in prison after obtaining enough of a deadly puffer fish toxin to kill more than 20 people.
Federal authorities claimed that Edward F. Bachner IV of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, planned to kill his wife and collect on a $20 million insurance policy.
Bachner's defense attorneys denied that such a murder plot ever existed, and his wife and family have stood by him.
Fantasy man: Bachner was sentenced to over seven years in prison, his attorneys successfully argued that he wasn't trying to kill his wife
His attorneys argued that Bachner's behavior was a byproduct of pressures throughout his life that led to role-playing and escapism in which he believed he was a successful businessman, research doctor and special military agent.
Defense attorney Jeff Steinback stressed that no one was injured and Fuugu review Bachner did not attempt to administer the toxin to his wife.
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Previous
1
2
Next
Expectant father carjacks a vehicle to rush his pregnant girlfriend to hospital 'Stinky' woman urinates then showers on busy New York subway as amazed passengers look on
Talk about having eyes in the back of your head! Insect with unusual marking showing it smiling from behind...
Share this article
Share
Bachner pleaded guilty last year to knowingly possessing the toxin for use as a weapon, wire fraud and filing a false tax claim. The allegations that he wanted to killed his wife were not part of his guilty plea.
He was sentenced him on Monday to 92 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frederick Kapala.
FBI agents arrested the 39-year-old in June 2008 after picking up a package containing the toxins, which are derived from the puffer fish and can be deadly if ingested.
A Guineafowl Pufferfish inflated in defense display: Toxins derived from the puffer fish can be deadly if ingested
As little as four milligrams can kill a human and Bachner had ordered 98 milligrams, enough to kill as many 24 people. Agents who searched Bachner's home also found syringes, needles and a book on how to poison people, prosecutors said.
The judge said acquiring the toxin was not equivalent to attempted murder and that he has 'rarely seen such support' for a criminal defendant.
Bachner apologized in an emotional statement to Kapala, saying he fought his 'dragon' and looks forward to being reunited with his wife.
Bachner will get credit for time served and could be out in less than three years.
Bachner allegedly posed as a doctor when ordering the poison known as tetrodotoxin.
He was arrested in July 2008 when he met an undercover federal agent who delivered the toxin to him in Algonquin, near Chicago.
A Guineafowl Pufferfish: Called fugu in Japan, it can be consumed by thrill-seeking gourmets once the poison is removed
Bachner ordered the poison, which is usually used in research, from a New Jersey chemical supply company, the FBI said.
It's an unusual amount,' said FBI Special Agent Robert Holley, head of the Chicago office's counterterrorism unit. 'That's a lot. It doesn't take much to kill.'
Bachner allegedly posed as Dr. Edmond Backer to buy the toxin over the Internet.
All of the toxin was recovered and there was no danger to the pubic.
Possessing the toxin, commonly known as TTX, without the proper federal approval is a felony.
Tetrodotoxin- a nerve toxin isolated from pufferfish or made synthetically - is typically used by researchers at universities or pharmaceutical companies.
Authorities were alerted to Bachner's alleged purchase of the TTX when an employee at the New Jersey chemical supply company contacted the FBI's Newark office.
Agents from that office then contacted Chicago FBI officials.
Authorities said that when agents determined there was no Dr. Edmond Backer and found out the company Bachner claimed to represent, EB Strategic Research, did not exist, they set up a 'controlled buy'.
Neighbors who know Bachner and his wife said they were taken aback by his arrest.
Tetrodotoxin is so potent the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it can 'produce rapid and violent death'.
It is 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Puffer fish, called fugu in Japan, is consumed by thrill-seeking gourmets once the poison is removed.
Eating the toxin can cause paralysis, vomiting, heart failure and death.