Man pleads guilty to ricin possession

(CNN) -- A Nevada man who reportedly poisoned himself with ricin in his Las Vegas motel room pleaded guilty Monday to possession of a biological toxin, prosecutors said.

Roger Bergendorff, 57, who was hospitalized for two months with suspected ricin poisoning, also pleaded guilty to possession of unregistered firearms.

Ricin is a toxic byproduct of processing castor beans for oil and is capable of killing body cells.

"Used improperly, ricin can be a very dangerous and deadly weapon," said U.S. Attorney Greg Brower in Nevada. "Fortunately, in this case, the ricin is not believed to have caused any harm to the public."

Bergendorff, who was living at the Extended Stay America Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, knowingly possessed ricin in February for an "unjustified purpose," according to court documents.

At the time, Bergendorff also possessed a .22 caliber pistol with an unregistered silencer attached, as well as a second unregistered silencer. Neither of the silencers were registered to Bergendorff, authorities said.

Bergendorff was hospitalized on February 14 complaining of breathing difficulties. Two weeks later, his cousin, Thomas Tholen, 54, of Riverton, Utah, discovered the toxin when he went to recover Bergendorff's belongings from his hotel room.

Authorities also said a search of the room found guns, the book "Anarchist's Cookbook," a collection of instructions on poisons and other dangerous recipes and castor beans, syringes and beakers.

Bergendorff previously lived in Tholen's home. After the discovery of the ricin, the FBI searched the home as well as storage units Bergendorff used in Utah. Authorities said FBI agents searching the storage units found castor beans, chemicals used in the production of ricin, a respirator, filters, laboratory glassware, syringes and a notebook on ricin production.

Tholen has pleaded not guilty to charges he knew his cousin was producing ricin and failed to report it to federal authorities.

Bergendorff is scheduled to be sentenced November 3. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each count.

Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 37 months in prison.

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