US drops case against Elvis impersonator

[Don]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22273355


US authorities have dropped the charges against a Mississippi man accused of sending letters poisoned with ricin to President Barack Obama and a senator.

Paul Curtis was freed on Tuesday after prosecutors revealed the investigation had uncovered "new information".

The letters addressed to the president and a Mississippi senator tested positive for the presence of the lethal toxin this month.

Meanwhile, investigators in the case are searching the home of another man.

Mr Curtis was arrested last week at his home in the town of Corinth, Mississippi and charged with sending letters to Mr Obama, Republican Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker and a judge from Lee County.

But on Monday authorities searched Mr Curtis' home and found neither ricin nor ingredients for the poison, an FBI agent testified in court. A search of his computer yielded no evidence he had researched how to make the toxin, the agent said.

In a news conference outside the courthouse on Tuesday, Mr Curtis thanked his family, friends, Jesus, Mr Wicker and Mr Obama.

"I love my country and would never do anything to pose a threat to [Mr Obama] or any other US official," said Mr Curtis, a musician and Elvis impersonator who also said he was a certified reflexologist.

"I would like to get back to normal, which for me means being the best father that I could be for my children and entertaining through my music."

Mr Curtis's lawyer Christi McCoy, whom Mr Curtis described as a blond, blue-eyed angel sent by God, told reporters she believed the FBI agents who had arrested and charged her client had "acted in good faith".

According to an FBI affidavit released on Thursday, the letters read: "Maybe I have your attention now even if that means someone must die. To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance."

The letters were signed: "I am KC and I approve this message."

As the case against Mr Curtis appeared to collapse on Monday and Tuesday, another man in nearby Tupelo, Mississippi, told the Associated Press authorities were searching his home in connection with the ricin letters.

Everett Dutschke said he was innocent, and the Associated Press reported agents from numerous law enforcement agencies had established a mobile crime lab near his home.

Ricin, extracted from castor beans, is 1,000 times more toxic than cyanide.

It can be fatal when inhaled, swallowed or injected, although it is possible to recover from exposure.

[The Sushi Hunter]

He'll probably write a song about it. You can bet authorities are going to be keeping a real close eye on this clown for some time to come. If he's not the one, they are getting him out there hoping that whoever "framed" the turd will contact him so they can catch that person. This Elvis clown is quite a piece of work. Read yesterday he's also bipolar. I couldn't stop laughing reading where the guy thinks the government "rigged" Elvis impersonator contests in which he lost, among other claims.