Anthrax investigation leads FBI to Rutgers

Rutgers University photocopiers were examined by FBI agents Friday for possible links to the four letters laced with anthrax that were mailed through a Trenton-area post office last year.

The tainted letters were addressed to prominent politicians and journalists and were mailed just a few weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The agents tested photocopiers in the Waksman Institute of Microbiology, a research associate of Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. The agents tested each machine for about 10 minutes, during which they made copies and put them in large envelopes, according to the Associated Press.

Experts said the subtle signatures that photocopying machines leave on copies and the distinct makeup of their inks can narrow the search for the photocopied letters, the AP reported.

The Waksman Institute, which focuses on molecular genetics, is based on Rutgers-Busch campus and boasts 16 resident faculty members. Anthrax-related research is not conducted at the institute.

Neither the researcher who reported the information to the media nor Rutgers' science spokesman would comment on the investigation.

Protein biochemist Richard Enright told the AP about the FBI's investigation but declined to comment yesterday, citing university policy.

Science spokesman Joseph Blumberg explained that it is the university's policy not to comment on investigations conducted on campus by outside organizations. However, the AP reported that agents examined photocopiers in other Rutgers buildings as well.

A spokeswoman at the FBI headquarters in New Jersey said the agency will not release any information about the ongoing investigation in the near future because such data might hinder the search for the anthrax source.

Despite several anthrax-related scares on campus and in the Princeton area, Public Safety Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser said no officials have approached the University since the Rutgers investigation.

University spokeswoman Marilyn Marks would not comment on any FBI proceedings that might take place on campus.

Two letters that passed through the Trenton-area post office were postmarked Sept. 18 and sent to the New York Post and NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw. Two others were postmarked Oct. 9 and addressed to Sens. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.