This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Thomas Tholen believed a cousin staying in his Riverton basement was making the deadly ricin toxin and kicked him out after fearing for his family's safety, according to court documents made public Tuesday.
An FBI affidavit says Tholen told agents he didn't initially report Roger Von Bergendorff because he feared getting into trouble for other items stored in his basement and a storage shed. Those included guns, a detonator cord and blasting caps.
Tholen also mentioned a possible motive for the ricin production his cousin is now charged with: "Tholen stated that Bergendorff had regularly expressed anger at people he had perceived had wronged him," according to the affidavit, filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
The document was part of a request for a search warrant for Tholen's house and West Jordan storage units rented by Bergendorff. The cousin lived with Tholen from January 2005 through April 2006 before moving to a house across the street for about six months and then to Las Vegas.
Tholen, 54, a freelance artist, is charged in Utah with knowing a biological agent had been illegally produced and making an untruthful statement to conceal the offense. He entered a not-guilty plea to the charges Tuesday and was allowed to remain free pending resolution of the case.
The FBI affidavit says Bergendorff gave Tholen a will signed in January 2007. The one-page will requested that "Tom, or whoever is closest to my storage unit; should go immediately and remove all of the valuables . . . otherwise the IRS or other entity might get them."
Search warrant documents unsealed Tuesday say the items seized from Tholen's house include blasting caps, filtered masks, two military flares, two smoke grenades, a grinder from the kitchen and a bag of marbles.
Items taken from Bergendorff's storage units are listed as bag of beans, a strainer, lab glassware, a can labeled thinner, a can labeled denatured alcohol, a jar labeled Dichloromethane, an "acetone can" containing liquid, dirty cups and mortar.
The affidavit says storage company records indicate the last time Bergendorff accessed his storage lockers was two months before the March 1 search warrant request was made.
John Huber, an assistant U.S. attorney, said Tuesday that Tholen's offense was knowing that a crime had been committed and then falsely telling federal agents he knew nothing about his cousin's production of ricin.
Tholen declined to comment, but defense attorney Greg Skordas insisted his client was cooperative with investigators.
"He was honest and truthful throughout," Skordas said.
Investigators learned about the ricin after Bergendorff was taken to a Las Vegas hospital on Feb. 14 in critical condition. His brother, Eric, contacted management at the hotel Bergendorff was staying in on Feb. 22 to tell them there was a dog and two cats in the room that probably needed attention, according to the affidavit.
Eric Bergendorff also told managers his brother "had made suicidal comments and was depressed following the recent passing of another brother," the affidavit says. The hotel called animal control officials who found a dog and two cats in his room. The dog appeared to be suffering kidney failure and was euthanized; the cats had no symptoms.
Then, on Feb. 26, hotel personnel called police after discovering several guns and two silencers in Bergendorff's room, says the affidavit.
A few days later, Tholen and his wife visited Bergendorff's Las Vegas motel room to collect his cousin's belongings. They made the trip at the request of the bishop for their congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was paying for the room, according to the affidavit.
Tholen called police on Feb. 28 after finding beans and vials of a powder that later tested positive for ricin.
Once ingested, inhaled or exposed to the skin, ricin binds to cells and prevents them from developing the proteins needed to survive, according to public health officials.
As little as 500 micrograms of ricin, about the size of the head of a pin, is enough to kill a person.
If convicted, Tholen could face three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled for a July 7 trial before Judge Tena Campbell.
Roger Von Bergendorff, 57, is charged in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas with possession of a biological toxin, possession of unregistered firearms and possession of firearms not identified by serial number.
Authorities say vials of ricin and a copy of the The Anarchist Cookbook - with a marked page containing instructions on how to make ricin - were found in Bergendorff's Las Vegas hotel room.