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Team Coverage The FBI is revealing little information following the discovery of the deadly toxin called ricin in a Las Vegas hotel. Roger Von Bergendorff is the man at the center of the investigation that led authorities and hazardous materials crews to Riverton, Utah, over the weekend.
Today the Riverton neighborhood, where Von Bergendorff once lived, looks like it's back to normal--all the HAZMAT crews, fire trucks and barricades are gone. But the questions and concern from those who lived with and knew Von Bergendorff still remain.
"It makes me very nervous and very scared, you know. I mean, you think you're being a Good Samaritan, and then you find out, you know, something like this," former landlord, Carol Walster, said.
John and Carol Walster met Von Bergendorff two years ago through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They say he was down on his luck financially and needed temporary housing. Their backyard camping trailer became his home. "Very nice guy, very polite. I liked Roger. He was always very respectful," John said.
The Walsters let Von Bergendorff live in their trailer for about three months. "I would have never thought him capable of hurting anyone," Carol said.
Now the 57-year-old is comatose in a Las Vegas hospital. Doctors suspect, but cannot confirm, he's suffering from exposure to ricin.
The deadly toxin--along with notes on how to make it, weapons, and anarchist literature--were all found in his hotel room. "I was very surprised. No books of anarchy. Basically, his belongings were the clothes that we saw," John said.
The FBI says Von Bergendorff lived with his cousin Tom Tholen for about a year before moving into the Walsters' trailer. They describe him as a loner, manipulative, almost obsessive about his pets. But they never though he would become the focus of a federal investigation.
John recalls that Von Bergendorff was sometimes "mentally off," going from highs and lows emotionally. "He would be very nice and then when I'd say, ‘Roger, you need to move,' he would talk about previous landlords that he encountered and had to ‘rough them up' and things like that, and I immediately said, ‘Roger, I'm not one of those landlords. You will leave.' And it came down to that point," John explained. "Roger is very manipulative. I knew that before he came here. I knew that he was somewhat intimidating, I knew that before he came here, but I like Roger."
The FBI says it's unlikely the ricin they found in Las Vegas is connected to any type of terrorist activity. FBI Special Agent Tim Fuhrman said, "We don't have any indications of any connection to any terrorist act or activity, but I will say that's something we continue to look at."
The agency is not saying whether any ricin was found as a result of their Utah search warrants. It also says Tom Tholen is not a suspect and he is cooperating with the investigation and it insists that the public is not at risk.
