Anthrax attacks in the U.S. 'suspect' awarded $2.8 million

A former U.S. Army scientist has won his case against the United States Justice Department for being unfairly implicated in anthrax attacks in 2001.

Dr. Steven Hatfill accused the Justice Department of violating his privacy rights by talking to the media and will now be paid $2.8 million to settle his lawsuit.

The bioterrorism expert formerly worked at the Army Medical Institute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick in Maryland and in 2002, federal law enforcement officials declared Hatfill to be a "person of interest" in connection with the investigation.

Dr. Hatfill has consistently denied any involvement in the mailings of the anthrax-laced letters that killed five people and made another 17 seriously ill just weeks after the September 11 hijacked plane attacks, he nevertheless lost his job but was never charged.

Dr. Hatfill then sued various Justice Department officials, including Attorney General John Ashcroft and was awarded a one-off payment of $2.825 million and a $150,000 annuity.

A lawyer for Hatfill says the U.S. Government failed to catch the anthrax mailers but also tried to conceal that failure by leaking gossip, speculation and misinformation to a handful of credulous reporters.

In October 2001 the anthrax-laced letters arrived at the offices of U.S. Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont and at television network news offices in New York.

As a result two postal workers in Washington, an employee at American Media Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida, a 94-year-old woman in Oxford, Connecticut, and a New York hospital supply room worker died of exposure to anthrax.

Hatfill claims other government officials leaked inaccurate and inflammatory information about him and he lost his job at Louisiana State University and had his apartment searched on three occasions.

Other scientists who also worked at government laboratories, such as Fort Detrick in Maryland, say they also came under unfair suspicion.

Despite FBI agents conducting more than 9,000 interviews, to this day the anthrax attacks remain unsolved and no arrests have been made.