Jordan Gonzalez admits to trying to manufacture ricin, preparing for ‘violent confrontation’

A New York City pharmacist who was arrested last fall for trying to manufacture MDA, admitted in a New Jersey federal courtroom Thursday that he was trying to make  weapons-grade ricin.

Jordan Gonzalez, 34, appeared in federal court to face charges of attempting to develop deadly toxins and to possessing equipment for producing illegal narcotics. “Jordan Gonzalez admitted that he worked to manufacture and deploy deadly toxins, stockpiled weapons and body armor, and acquired manuals training him for violent confrontation,” said U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman.

Photo/Nodar Kherkheulidze via wikimedia commons

“We all have seen the devastation possible when these behaviors go unchecked,” Fishman said. “With today’s guilty plea, Jordan Gonzalez will face justice and will not be a threat to society.”

According documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From September 18, 2011 through March 19, 2013, Gonzalez purchased thousands of seeds containing ricin and abrin and materials to extract and administer those toxins to others, including filtering equipment, respirators, glass vials, a spraying device, and projectile weapons including a crossbow pistol. Gonzalez also purchased materials for making RDX, an explosive compound used in military and commercial demolition applications. Gonzalez made the purchases through an online third-party vendor marketplace, and all the items were delivered to him at his Jersey City apartment.

Gonzalez learned how to extract toxins from the seeds and about deployment methods from manuals he acquired. He also kept manuals teaching how to make improvised explosive devices and synthesize explosive compounds, including RDX.

On November 8, 2013, while living in New York, Gonzalez purchased one kilogram of sodium azide, a toxic, gas-forming compound that can explode at high temperatures and is lethal if ingested or absorbed through the skin. Law enforcement officers intercepted the delivery during the investigation.

On November 14, 2013, Gonzalez was arrested in Jersey City, and search warrants were executed at three locations he used: apartments in Manhattan and Jersey City and a storage unit in Jersey City. Collectively, material collected through the searches included thousands of seeds containing ricin and abrin; explosive precursor chemicals; manuals related to toxins, explosives, and improvised explosive devices; approximately one thousand rounds of ammunition, handguns, components for high-end rifles, and high-capacity magazines; a bulletproof vest; and books and documents related to the collapse of social order and techniques for surviving in a lawless environment. Gonzalez has been in custody since his arrest.

Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury.  Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans.

It can be in the form of a powder (as in the this case), a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid.

As little as 500 micrograms — an amount the size of the head of a pin — can kill an adult. There is no specific test for exposure and no antidote once exposed.

Ricin works by getting inside the cells of a person’s body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually this is harmful to the whole body, and death may occur.

The toxin charge to which Gonzalez pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of any term of years or life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The narcotics charge carries a maximum potential penalty of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is currently scheduled for September 17, 2014.