TO: 	Membership of the American Society for Microbiology

FROM:	Van Harp, Assistant Director, Washington Field Office
        Federal Bureau of Investigation

On September 18, 2001, two copies of an identical letter were mailed in 
separate envelopes from Trenton, NJ, one to "Editor, New York Post" and 
the other to "Tom Brokaw, NBC TV."  Each letter contained a significant 
quantity of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.

On October 9, 2001, two additional copies of a slightly different 
letter were mailed from Trenton, NJ, the first to "Senator (Tom) 
Daschle" and the second to "Senator (Patrick) Leahy." Each of these 
letters again contained Bacillus anthracis but of a better quality than 
the letters mailed to New York.

As a result of these mailings and the resulting bacterial infections, 
there are five innocent persons who are dead, including a ninety-four 
year old Connecticut Woman. Additional cases of cutaneous anthrax have 
infected numerous individuals including a seven month old baby in New 
York City.

I would like to appeal to the talented men and women of the American 
Society for Microbiology to assist the FBI in identifying the person 
who mailed these letters. It is very likely that one or more of you 
know this individual. A review of the information-to-date in this 
matter leads investigators to believe that a single person is most 
likely responsible for these mailings. This person is experienced 
working in a laboratory. Based on his or her selection of the Ames 
strain of Bacillus anthracis one would expect that this individual has 
or had legitimate access to select biological agents at some time. This 
person has the technical knowledge and/or expertise to produce a highly 
refined and deadly product. This person has exhibited a clear, rational 
thought process and appears to be very organized in the production and 
mailing of these letters. The perpetrator might be described as 
"stand-offish" and likely prefers to work in isolation as opposed to a 
group/team setting. It is possible this person used off-hours in a 
laboratory or may have even established an improvised or concealed 
facility comprised of sufficient equipment to produce the anthrax.

It is important to ensure that all relevant information, no matter how 
insignificant it may seem, is brought to the attention of the 
investigators in this case. If you believe that you have information 
that might assist in the identification of this individual, please 
contact the FBI via telephone at 1-800-CRIME TV (1-800-274-6388) or via 
email at the following website: Amerithrax@FBI.gov

There is also a $2.5 million reward for information leading to the 
arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible in this case.