Ricin an unlikely weapon of mass destruction

Roger Von Bergendorff, remained in a coma in a Las Vegas-area hospital March 5, nearly two weeks after he apparently inhaled ricin powder, a biological toxin that later was found among his belongings. The FBI is investigating the case to determine how the potentially deadly substance came into Von Bergendorff's possession—and, more important, what he planned to do with it.

Due to its ease of manufacture and its potency, ricin often is cited as an ideal terrorist weapon. Ricin has been used in assassinations, but to deploy a true biological weapon of mass destruction takes the resources of a state.