Elvis Impersonator Accused Of Mailing Ricin-Tainted Letters Released
TUPELO, Miss. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- An Elvis impersonator accused of mailing ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and other elected officials was a free man Tuesday night.
The U.S. Department of Justice dropped charges against Paul Kevin Curtis Tuesday. Curtis' release came as the FBI searched the home of another Mississippi man who Curtis claimed had a grudge against him.
Curtis, 45, was arrested on Wednesday of last week at his home in Corinth, Miss., near the Tennessee border for allegedly mailing the poison-laced letters.
The letters went to Obama, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and a Mississippi state judge.
According to authorities at the time, Curtis believed he had uncovered a conspiracy to sell human body parts on the black market and claimed "various parties within the government'' were trying to ruin his reputation.
Following his release, Curtis said at a news conference that the past week had been "a nightmare for me and my family," CBS News reported.
Meanwhile, J. Everett Dutschke, who ran unsuccessfully for the Mississippi State House of Representatives in 2007, had his home searched Tuesday in connection with the case, according to published reports. Dutschke is also the subject of an investigation for child molestation, published reports said.
Dutschke said he knows Curtis, but they had a falling out, according to published reports.
Earlier Tuesday, there were reports of another suspicious mailing at a government facility in Washington, D.C. Intelligence officials said no package or letters were located.
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