RAT_357

[John Young <jya@pipeline.com>]

   The NYPaper of 12-23 and 12-24-95 report on the arrest
   Wednesday and "suicide" yesterday of Thomas Lewis Lavy, who
   was jailed under anti-terrorism statutes for trying to
   import from Canada to Alaska 130 grams of the deadly poison
   ricin -- enough to "kill thousands of people," officials
   said. Some 40 F.B.I. agents and Army chemical warfare
   specialists mounted the assault in deadly "survivalist,
   fundamentalist" Arkansas, right deadly Ollie North's 
   recreational-poison/gun swap fly-in.

      Lavy's attorney, Sam Heuer, took sharp issue with the
      government's accusations. "It is such a tragic case,"
      Mr. Heuer said. "An overzealous U.S. Attorney in Alaska
      and a hot dog F.B.I. agent tried to paint Tom as
      something he was not. Tom was a very gentle, very kindly
      person. We have the right to have rat poison or coyote
      poison, just like we have the right to have a .357
      Magnum."


   RAT_357  (12k)