Federal judge dismisses mail and wire fraud charges against Kurtz
UB professor was accused of illegally obtaining biological materials
By Michael Beebe and Dan Herbeck NEWS STAFF REPORTERS
Updated: 04/21/08 12:24 PM
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- Agents from the FBI Hazardous Materials Response Unit collect biological evidence from a house on College Street and Maryland in Allentown belonging to UB professor Steve Kurtz in May 2004. A federal judge dismissed an indictment against Kurtz today.
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A federal judge today dismissed criminal indictments against Steven Kurtz, the University at Buffalo professor accused of mail and wire fraud when he obtained biological materials he intended to use in his artwork.
U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara ruled that the indictment government prosecutors brought against Kurtz "is insufficient on its face."
Arcara's ruling ends a four-year battle that began May 11, 2004 when Kurtz's wife, Hope Kurtz, died of heart failure in the couple's home on College Street in Buffalo's Allentown neighborhood.
Emergency responders, including the Buffalo Police, contacted the FBI after finding bacteria cultures and other unusual items in the house.
FBI agents from a terrorism task force showed up in white biohazard suits, searching the house for eight hours as stunned neighbors tried to figure out what was going on.
A federal grand jury indicted Kurtz on felony mail fraud and wire fraud charges in June 2004. He was accused of illegally obtaining bacteria cultures for use in an art exhibit protesting United States government food policies.
Over the past four years, the U.S. Justice Department's prosecution of Kurtz has touched off protests by many artists and college professors in Buffalo and elsewhere.
Kurtz's supporters have called the case a Bush administration attack on artistic freedom, claiming that Kurtz was targeted because his offbeat art exhibits raise critical questions about government policies. The Justice Department has denied the allegations.
Dr. Robert E. Ferrell, a genetics researcher with the University of Pittsburgh, was charged with illegally obtaining the cultures under the pretense that he planned to use the material in his own scientific research.
Ferrell pleaded guilty last October to a misdemeanor charge of "mailing an injurious article" to Kurtz.
In court papers protesting the search, attorney Paul J. Cambria accused the FBI of illegally questioning Kurtz, illegally searching his home and trying to portray him as "a bioterrorist."
Paul M. Moskal, Buffalo FBI spokesman, said agents only followed the evidence after being called into the case by Buffalo Police. He said agents never intended to target Kurtz.
Kurtz said the bacteria he obtained for his art exhibit was harmless, but prosecutors maintained that the material could be harmful if it was mishandled. He complained that agents also confiscated about 20 books he was using for research on germ warfare, and also a manuscript for a book he was writing for the topic.
mbeebe@buffnews.com; dherbeck@buffnews.com
