The FBI contacted relatives of people killed by the 2001 anthrax mailings, as well as surviving victims, about an imminent meeting on the status of the bureau's investigation.But some victims are skeptical whether the briefing will announce a closure in the case, the release of evidence or anything groundbreaking in the agency's seven-year probe.
"This time they want everyone down there," said David Hose, a Winchester, Va., resident who was hospitalized for 11 days after coming in contact with anthrax while working at a diplomatic mail facility near Dulles Airport.
"Do I think there is going to be an answer? No," said Hose, who said he was contacted Monday by the FBI.
He said the message he received did not indicate a time or place for the meeting.
A break in the case late last week implicated Fort Detrick scientist Bruce E. Ivins in the poisonings that killed five people and injured 17 others. Ivins died last Tuesday of an apparent suicide caused by an overdose of acetaminophen.
Ivins was a leading anthrax researcher at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. It was reported that investigators were close to charging Ivins for the anthrax mailings.
The Associated Press reported through an anonymous source that investigators linked Ivins to the anthrax attacks by using advanced DNA fingerprinting techniques. With that evidence, the anthrax was traced to the Fort Detrick lab where Ivins oversaw the same strain of the bacteria, the source said.
An anonymous source told The New York Times that Ivins purchased prestamped envelopes at a post office in Frederick where he had a post office box under an assumed name.
Freda Sauter, spokeswoman for the Baltimore region of the United States Postal Service, said postal officials cannot comment on the Ivins case because it is an ongoing investigation.
The Department of Justice and FBI would not return calls Monday seeking comment about the case and whether victims and their families were contacted for an upcoming meeting.
Attorney Richard D. Schuler said the FBI did contact Maureen Stevens, the wife of deceased victim Robert Stevens, inviting her to a meeting.
"They have contacted the families and they are trying to arrange a meeting now," Schuler said. "I don't think the government should hold back on any of the evidence they have."
Schuler said the details of the meeting are unclear but it will likely take place in Washington.
Robert Stevens, a photo editor at the Sun, a tabloid paper, owned by American Media Inc. based in Boca Raton, Fla., died after inhaling anthrax from a tainted letter he received in September 2001.
Leroy Richmond, a postal worker who was infected with anthrax while working in Washington, told the News-Post that he has not been contacted by the FBI in recent days.
"The last time I heard from them, they said they were scaling back the investigation," he said about a meeting three years ago.
Richmond, a resident of Stafford, Va., still suffers from fatigue and short-term memory loss caused by the anthrax he came in contact with at the Brentwood postal facility. He said he had to retire early from a job he loved.
New information, Richmond said, has been scarce.
"I'm hoping and praying that this will put closure to the case," he said.
-- News-Post reporters Justin Palk and Meg Bernhardt contributed to this story
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