Man Pleads Guilty of Ordering Plague by Mail

COLUMBUS, Ohio (April 22, 1997 5:43 p.m. EDT) -- A man accused of illegally obtaining bubonic plague germs by mail pleaded guilty to wire fraud Tuesday and was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and serve 18 months of probation.

Larry Wayne Harris, 46, was arrested in May 1995 after a Rockville, Md., laboratory sent three vials of the freeze-dried, inactive bacteria to his home about 25 miles southeast of Columbus.

Harris claimed he operated a laboratory that had approval to handle the material, but no such lab existed, prosecutors said. They were also concerned he wasn't equipped to handle the bacteria -- at one point, investigators said, he carried the vials in the glove compartment of his car.

Harris said on Tuesday he was relieved the case was over, but maintained he did nothing wrong. He said he wanted the bacteria for research for his book, "Bacteriological Warfare: A Major Threat to North America."

"I am a scientist. I am absolutely of no harm to anyone. I never, never intended to hurt anyone," he said.

Under a plea agreement, two counts of wire fraud and one count mail fraud were dropped. He faced six months in jail as part of the agreement.

The bubonic plague killed one-fourth of the European population in the 1300s. Now, it can be treated with antibiotics.