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U.S. Department of
Justice 2111 W Roosevelt Rd. |
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Chicago FBI Press Office Phone: (312) 829-1199 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 30, 2008 |
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Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was joined today by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois in announcing the arrest of EDWARD F. BACHNER, age 35, of 5704 McKenzie Drive of Lake in the Hills, Illinois. BACHNER was arrested earlier today, without incident, by members of the Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) in Algonquin, Illinois as he was attempting to take delivery of a suspected shipment of Tetrodotoxin, which is commonly known as TTX. BACHNER was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Rockford with Illegal Possession of a Toxin, which is a felony offense. According to the complaint, BACHNER, using the alias of Edmond Backer, attempted to purchase 98 milligrams of TTX through a New Jersey chemical company with an internet purchase order. BACHNER claimed that he was a doctor doing research for an Illinois company “EB Strategic Research”. An alert employee of the chemical supplier, whose suspicions were raised due to the large quantity of TTX ordered, notified the FBI in New Jersey, who in turn contacted the Chicago office. Subsequent investigation determined that “EB Strategic Research” was a fictitious company and there was no Doctor Edmond Backer licensed to practice medicine in the State of Illinois. BACHER was arrested after taking possession of a small quantity of TTX from a JTTF member, who was acting in an undercover capacity, while staging a controlled delivery. All of the TTX was recovered and there was no danger to the public. BACHNER appeared before Magistrate Judge P. Michael Mahoney in U.S. District Court in Rockford, earlier today, at which time he was formally charged. BACHNER was ordered held without bond, pending his next scheduled court appearance. If convicted of the charge filed against him, BACHNER faces a possible sentence of up to 10 years incarceration. The Chicago FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is comprised of FBI Special Agents, Officers from the Chicago Police Department and representatives from approximately 20 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. EDITOR’S NOTE: A copy of the criminal complaint filed in this case is available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199. |
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