Probe Continues In Anthrax Scare Pair Under Scrutiny Despite Dismissal Of Original Charges

The FBI says it is continuing to investigate the activities of two men who touched off an anthrax scare here two weeks ago.

FBI spokesman Aurelio Flores said the case remains under investigation because “there is the possibility that other federal laws were broken.”

William Leavitt Jr., 47, of Logandale, Nev., and Larry Wayne Harris, 46, of Lancaster, Ohio, were originally charged with possession of a biological agent for use as a weapon after they were arrested Feb. 18.

Those charges were dismissed Feb. 23 when it was determined the men had harmless anthrax vaccine, rather than deadly military-grade anthrax, as first thought.

Leavitt was freed from custody, but Harris was returned to Ohio, where he faces charges of parole violation.

FBI agents searched the homes of the two men in Nevada and Ohio, carting off boxes of materials.

A federal grand jury took testimony from at least two people last week in connection with the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney L.J. O’Neale, the prosecutor assigned to the case, declined to discuss the proceedings.

“I can’t even say there is an investigation,” he said Wednesday.

In his request to dismiss the case, O’Neale said the investigation would continue to determine “what, if any, charges should most appropriately be brought against the defendants.”

Flores said O’Neale “is being very thorough, and it is our responsibility to be very thorough, as well.”

Harris remains in custody in Ohio, after being transferred from Las Vegas earlier this week. He is tentatively scheduled to appear today before a federal magistrate in Columbus for a preliminary hearing.

Harris was placed on 18 months probation in April for fraudulently obtaining bubonic plague toxins in 1995 in Ohio. Authorities claim he has since violated conditions of his probation.