Re: Sigma Chemical Co.

Perry Malouf (pmalouf@access.digex.net)
Sat, 3 Feb 1996 23:11:23 -0500 (EST)

> > Dear Friends,
> > I need to order some tissue culture chemicals
> > from Sigma but they tell me that they can't send
> > chemicals to individulals. What do I tell them? All
> > advice appreciated.
>
> Fire up your DTP package and print an official looking letterhead -
> "Kirkwood Botanical Research Co." or something like that, and pretend
> that you're not an individual. I know it worked for a friend, though
> it wasn't TC chemicals or Sigma. Who knows - you might even be able
> to wangle a 30 day account :)

Whoa, be careful here. Yeah, people probably do this sort of thing
all the time--but if you're caught you could be charged with mail
fraud.

There was recently a high profile case of a fellow somewhere
in the U.S. who was able to get bubonic plague bacteria
through a similar method. He used his employer's letterhead
to order the stuff from a company in Rockville, MD (my neck of
the woods) and have it sent to his home. He was caught when he
phoned the company to find out why the order was taking so long--
the company representative suspected something after speaking
with the guy for a few minutes about technical matters.

Anyway, it turns out that there is no law in the U.S. against
an individual possessing such dangerous substances. Before the
nerve gas incident in Japan, there was no law there against
individuals possessing dangerous substances either.

So, the authorities had no other recourse than to charge the
fellow (who obtained the bubonic plague bacteria) with
with mail fraud--that's all

Sort of gets you thinking, doesn't it? :-)

Perry Malouf