ANTHRAX - AMI employee speaks out

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AMI Employee Speaks Out About Anthrax Case Anthrax May Have Been Mailed To Company

Posted: 12:50 p.m. EDT October 12, 2001

Updated: 6:23 p.m. EDT October 12, 2001

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- The editorial director of American Media says his company knows how the man killed by anthrax was exposed to the disease. He is also making scathing comments about the Palm Beach County Health department.

Steve Coz, Editorial Director at American Media in Boca Raton, says that the company knows how the anthrax bacterium got into their building, and he says there is a connection to the terrorists.

Coz says that Bob Stevens, the employee who died of anthrax, was infected after exposure to anthrax spores delivered to AMI in a letter. He said the letter came into the mailroom, and was opened by someone else who handed it to Stevens.

Because of vision problems, Stevens (pictured, left) then held the letter close to his face to look at it, according to Coz, giving the 63-year old a massive dose of anthrax spores.

The FBI has asked American Media not to go into detail about the letter, and they currently deny any connection between the letter and the terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Coz says he believes there is a connection, particularly to Mohamed Atta, the hijacker believed to be the leader of the terrorists who resided in South Florida. "We know Mohamed Atta was within three miles of the [American Media] building, we know he was within a mile of Bob Stevens house. We know that the FBI is now going to local pharmacies to see if he did in fact get Cipro. We know that he showed up at a pharmacy with red hands. There are people in this area who have very direct recollection of seeing him. He worked out in a gym where some of our employees were." The FBI continues to say they have not made a direct connection between the terrorists and the anthrax cases.

A congressional source says that more anthrax spores have been found in the mailroom of American Media, but the FBI is not confirming that or any of the statements made by Steve Coz.

Steve Coz also blasted the Palm Beach County Health Department for not informing American Media about Bob Stevens illness earlier. He said, "We found out that Bob Stevens had anthrax on the Internet at 3:00 on Thursday -- we turned on the TV sets and it was all over television. We called the Palm Beach County Health Deparment from 3:00 to 7:30 leaving messages -- we must have left 20 messages. At 7:30 somebody finally picked up the phone."

Second Man Exposed To Anthrax Improving, Has Message For Co-Workers

Ernest Blanco, the second person at American Media to have a confirmed exposure to pulmonary anthrax, continues to improve, though his family says they have been getting a mixed message about his condition.

State health officials say that Blanco does not have the full-blown case of the anthrax that killed his co-worker.

His family says they are confused and they have been told two stories. State health officials say that Blanco (pictured left, file photo) is sick with pneumonia, but doctors have told his family that he has anthrax in his blood and lungs.

Blanco no longer has a fever or is being fed intravenously. He has been moved out of intensive care and weaned off a respirator. His stepdaughter Maria Orth says that he was near death at one point. She said, "One of his doctors disagrees that he ever had anthrax … yet, another doctor assured me he did have it in his blood stream and in his lungs. It's very confusing."

Blanco was tested for anthrax because health officials said he happened to be in a hospital for what co-workers said was an unrelated heart problem.

His wife, Elda said she was rattled when she heard that her spouse had been exposed to anthrax. "I'm not one who cries much, but I feel it inside." She tested negative for anthrax but was given the antibiotic Cipro to take as a precaution.

Meanwhile her husband continues to improve. In a prepared statement he said, "To all my friends at American Media, thanks for all your prayers. Every day, little by little, I'm feeling much better. I hope to be back at work soon."

-- Anonymous, October 12, 2001


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