Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Feds Drop Charges Against Elvis Impersonator Falsely Accused Of Sending Ricin-Laced Letters To President and Senator

They did it to highly-respected bioweapons expert Steven Hatfill, why couldn't they do it to an Elvis impersonator named Paul Kevin Curtis in Corinth, Mississippi? After the FBI and federal prosecutors last week charged Curtis with mailing ricin-laced letters to President Obama, Mississippi's Sen. Roger Wicker and a local judge, red-faced federal officials dropped all charges against him and released him from jail. Curtis' attorney had maintained from the time of his arrest shortly after the Boston Marathon bombings that he had been framed. The government now agrees. CNN reports on the dropped charges against Curtis:
Charges against the Mississippi man accused of sending ricin-tainted letters to President Barack Obama and other officials were dropped Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Felicia Adams said, citing "new information" that has been uncovered.
Authorities now are investigating whether someone may have tried to falsely implicate Paul Kevin Curtis, according to a law enforcement source, speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity.
Curtis said he wants to "get back to being normal" after being falsely accused.
"This past week has been a nightmare for myself and my family," he said. "My mother has suffered as well as my children."
Curtis, an Elvis impersonator from Corinth, Mississippi, was arrested April 17 and charged with sending a threat to the president last week after letters containing the poison triggered security scares around Washington..  
Curtis' attorney, Christi McCoy, said her client has been framed by someone who used several phrases Curtis likes to use on social media.
Federal officials are now investigating a Tupelo, Mississippi man who was recently charged with child molestation. Tha man says he's innocent and knows nothing about the ingredients for making ricin.

In 2001, the FBI falsely accused Hatfill of sending anthrax-laced letters through the U.S. mail to Senate offices and several news media services. Hatfill later sued and won a settlement of $5.8 million from the federal government for ruining his reputation. The FBI later blamed the anthrax mailings on another government scientist after he committed suicide.

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