Gaps in system kept anthrax scientist at high-security lab

By Matt Apuzzo, Associated Press August 8, 2008 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Army scientist Bruce Ivins didn't keep his problems to himself. Therapists knew he had a history of paranoia, obsession and delusional thinking. Doctors put him on powerful medications. One colleague complained he was a "manic basket case." Another recalled him openly weeping at his desk inside one of the military's top biological warfare facilities. The Justice Department, too, had its suspicions. Investigators discovered years ago that he worked late nights just before the 2001 anthrax attacks. And by 2005, government scientists had genetically matched anthrax in his lab to the toxin that killed five people. Yet Ivins stayed on the job at the military lab at Fort Detrick, Md. He also managed to buy guns and pass a background check. As the FBI closed in on... [read full story]