Federal authorities believe the Spokane man accused of sending a ricin-laced letter to a federal judge may have also sent similar poisoned letters to the president, the CIA and Fairchild Air Force Base.
The FBI says the new letters were addressed in red ink and postmarked May 13 in Spokane. That matches the earlier letters Matthew Ryan Buquet is accused of mailing to a federal judge in Spokane and the downtown post office.
Agents intercepted the two additional envelopes, addressed to the President Obama and the base, last Wednesday. They believe a fifth letter, to the CIA, also exists, but they haven’t found it yet. The FBI says it was sent to an address that doesn't receive mail.
These letters are separate from the ones sent to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and President Obama from Shreveport, La., and separate also from another ricin case out of Mississippi.
The 38-year-old Buquet was charged with one count of mailing threatening communication on May 22.
The FBI says an analysis confirmed that each of the letters contained active ricin, a toxin found naturally in castor beans.
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