Pitt prof fined, put on probation for sending bacteria to artist friend

The Pitt professor who admitted to unlawfully mailing potentially harmful bacteria to a friend… The Pitt professor who admitted to unlawfully mailing potentially harmful bacteria to a friend was recently sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation and forced to pay a $500 fine.

Professor Robert Ferrell sent the bacteria as a favor to his friend and not out of malice.

He is still employed by the University, according to Pitt spokesman John Fedele. Ferrell is a tenured professor of human genetics at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health.

Ferrell was originally charged with four counts of fraud-based felonies, but these charges were dismissed in return for Ferrell’s plea. Ferrell pleaded guilty on the account of sending an amount of serratia marcescens bacteria, which, according to the case’s superseding information, “may kill or injure another and injure the mails and other property.” Pitt professor Roger Hendrix said that the S. marcescens is about “as harmless as they come,” but he wouldn’t recommend eating large amounts of it.

Ferrell admitted that he failed to comply with regulations for domestically mailing a Category B infection substance.

There are specific guidelines for sending this kind of substance. The specimen must be triple wrapped to prevent leakage and the primary container of the substance must also be contained by a watertight secondary container.

In addition, the package must be labeled with the international biohazard sign and the name and phone number of a person who is knowledgeable of the package’s contents.

Ferrell’s friend, University of Buffalo professor Steven Kurtz, wanted the bacteria to use in an art project for the Critical Art Ensemble.

The judge recognized that Ferrell did not have malicious intent when he sent the bacteria to Kurtz. The misdemeanor charge of “mailing an injurious article” carries a maximum possible sentence, which includes a one-year prison sentence, a fine of $100,000 or both.

Ferrell’s defense attorney, Efrem Grail, said that in criminal law, judges enact harsher punishments based on intent to harm, a factor which was not present in this case.

“We were very appreciative of the judge for taking into account the facts and circumstances,” Grail said. “Lawyers never say, ‘It was lenient.'”

Grail said that Ferrell suffered strokes over the course of the trial.

“The strokes impaired, to some extent, his mental capacity. I was concerned if he had the ability to participate in his own defense. We’re satisfied with his punishment,” he said.

Chancellor Mark Nordenberg wrote on behalf of Ferrell asking the judge to “give great weight to Prof. Ferrell’s otherwise exemplary life.”

Ferrell’s daughter and colleagues also wrote letters of support.

In the factual basis for the plea agreement it says that Kurtz started asking Ferrell for specific biological organisms in 2003 and 2004. At that time, Ferrell headed the Department of Human Genetics Laboratory at Pitt. Kurtz asked for e. coli and s. marcescens.

In January 2004, Ferrell mailed s. marcescens that he received from the American Type Culture Collection to Kurtz’s Buffalo home. In March 2004, Ferrell received bacillus atrophaeus bacteria and forwarded it Kurtz.

As a part of its Marching Plague exhibit, the Critical Art Ensemble recreated government American and British military experiments.

In an e-mail Kurtz said that the projects were commissioned by the Arts Catalyst, a large arts and science initiative in the U.K., and supported by the London Arts Council.

In 1951, the United States military burst balloons filled with s. marcescens over San Francisco Bay to observe how prevailing winds could carry biological weapons. After the military carried out Operation Sea-spray, there was a serious increase of urinary tract infections and pneumonia.

The CAE recreated this event at the American Consulate in Leipzig, Germany on Feb. 24, 2007.

Since Ferrell accepted the plea agreement, the government will not indict Ferrell for procuring or distributing s.marcescens or the b. atrophaeus to Kurtz. As the recipient of the bacteria, Kurtz received no charges.

In June 2004, Ferrell was charged with cases of mail fraud and wire fraud; both are among the most common white-collar crimes.

Fedele explained that even if Pitt did discipline Ferrell, it is not the University’s policy to disclose any details about his penalty.