Former Massachusetts biotech firm director searched for deadly poisons online, bought 800 castor beans to extract the lethal toxin ricin, feds say
In 2015, a Massachusetts biomedical technology researcher bought a couple woodland plants and several hundred beans online, claiming in the years that followed the latter were purely for decoration.
However, federal authorities believe the Allentown, Pennsylvania man’s purchase six years ago was for a far more nefarious purpose: poison extraction.