Bioterror art case ongoing

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has questioned two University of Pittsburgh genetics researchers in connection with a grand jury probe into possible violations of a US anti-bioterrorism law by a Buffalo art professor. Meanwhile, two more subpoenas have been issued in the case, one to a former student of the professor and the other to the publisher of five books the professor wrote with colleagues.Steven Kurtz, an associate professor at the Buffalo campus of the State University of New York, is being investigated because police noticed Petri dishes and a mobile DNA extraction laboratory in his home that he used in his most recent project, according to his lawyer and some supporters, after he called 911 early May 11 to report that his 45-year-old wife had died overnight.Although eight of Kurtz's present and former art colleagues were subpoenaed to testify on June 15, only one did, the others invoking their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. The assistant district attorney in charge of the case, William Hochul, Jr., has continued to refuse to reveal any details about the investigation, citing Department of Justice policy.The two genetics researchers questioned are Robert Ferrell, chair of the Human Genetics Department at Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health, and Nancy Petro, a member of his lab staff. Ferrell told The Scientist that he advised Kurtz on scientific questions about his exhibits, starting when Kurtz was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. "Yes, I talked to him on numerous occasions about what he was trying to do, the educational part of it," Ferrell said. Kurtz sought his advice, Ferrell said, about how to put together something harmless "that would make a point" in public museum displays. "There was no conspiracy here or anything," Ferrell said. "As far as I know, he didn't do anything illegal." Ferrell said that he was not subpoenaed and did not testify June 15. His attorney, Efrem Grail, said Ferrell did not break the law or university policy and that he was cooperating with law enforcement.Ferrell refused to talk in more detail, so it remains unclear whether he or Petro provided any of the biological materials Kurtz used. "You know, it's just a situation that, if it was not so strange, then I would be willing to talk about it," he said. "This is just too bizarre for words." Petro refused to say whether she had testified June 15 or been subpoenaed, e-mailing The Scientist yesterday (June 24): "I prefer not to discuss this matter." Although Ferrell said that Pitt's Office of General Counsel was "representing her or advising her," General Counsel Alan Garfinkel refused to verify that statement. A Pitt spokesman confirmed that an FBI investigation was underway and that the university had provided documents to the agency.Beatriz da Costa, one of the subpoenaed colleagues, a professor at the University of California at Irvine, and Kurtz's collaborator on some of his biotechnology projects, said yesterday that Ferrell is the only scientist she and Kurtz ever worked with. "She didn't work with us," da Costa said of Petro. "I have never heard her name."Kurtz's former student, Julie Perini, has been subpoenaed to testify in front of the grand jury June 29. She is an adjunct instructor in the Buffalo art department working toward a master's degree in media studies. Yesterday she e-mailed The Scientist: "At this time, I do not wish to answer any questions." However, a Buffalo attorney who has assisted her, John Molloy, said June 22 that Hochul told him Perini "is neither a subject or a target," but only a witness.The other June 29 subpoena went to the nonprofit organization Autonomedia, which published the five books Kurtz and colleagues wrote. Cofounder Jim Fleming said June 23 that the subpoena asks for all correspondence and business records between Kurtz and his small press, but not the books, and no one was ordered to testify.

Bioterror art case ongoing

FBI questions genetics researchers and more colleagues of Buffalo art professor

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