Ohio man accused of producing ricin at home convicted of having the toxin, lying to FBI
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A northeast Ohio man accused of producing ricin to harm his stepfather and emergency responders has been convicted.
Federal prosecutors in Cleveland say a jury convicted 58-year-old Jeff Boyd Levenderis of having ricin, having it for use as a weapon and lying to FBI agents when he denied making the deadly toxin.
Prosecutors say Levenderis produced ricin at his Akron home and kept it in a freezer until FBI agents recovered it in January 2011.
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They say evidence showed Levenderis planned to use ricin against his stepfather. They say he also planned an elaborate suicide in which he would set a house fire and use ricin against emergency responders.
Levenderis will be sentenced later. A call to his attorney wasn't immediately returned Thursday.