Cyanide stored in Chicago subway raises concerns; 'Dr. Chaos': Konopka remains in custody charged with having a chemical weapon

CHICAGO (AP) - Authorities tried Tuesday to determine how a manwho called himself "Dr. Chaos" obtained cyanide and stored it in acloset of the city's mass transit system, locking it to protect thepotentially lethal stash.

Joseph Konopka, 25, remained in federal custody, charged withpossession of a chemical weapon. Investigators in Wisconsin, where heis charged with going on a five-county rampage of vandalism, saidKonopka, was an anarchist who had the "propensity to commit massdestruction."

Experts said that an individual intent on trouble is hard to spotahead of time.

"You get some lone nut out there, whether they are passing cyanidearound or botulism or any type of strain of harmful bacteria, as longas they are not contacting anybody, that is going to be hard tofind," said Dick Skilling, a former FBI agent who is now a consultantfor a Chicago area security company.

"Am I concerned as a private citizen? Very definitely," saidViolet Smith, former president of the Chicago Chapter of the AmericanAssociation of Industrial Security. "My first questions would bewhere did he get the stuff and how available is it?"

An FBI spokesman said agents are trying to determine preciselywhere Konopka did get the cyanide, which experts said could have beenput to lethal use. FBI agents would not say where they were looking.

Wade Freeman, a chemistry professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, said that mixing cyanide with any acid would create a cloudof highly toxic gas. He said the pound and a half of powdered cyanideallegedly stashed in the subway by Konopka would make "a very bigpuff" but that the subway's ventilation system probably woulddissipate the gas quickly.

"The subway would probably be safe because it's so ventilated, butreleased in a confined space with a lot of people, it could bedisastrous," Freeman said.

Freeman said cyanide is "a fairly common article of commerce" andcould be ordered from dozens of chemical supply houses around thecountry.

Konopka was arrested Saturday night in a steam tunnel in thebasement of the UIC Education Building by campus police on a stakeoutfollowing a series of burglaries. A 15-year-old boy also was pickedup.

The 15-year-old told police and agents of a stash of chemicals ina subway passage, prompting authorities to shut down the ChicagoTransit Authority's Blue Line for three hours while they conducted asearch, which they said at the time was for the possessions of ahomeless man.

Found in what was supposed to be a locked passageway was acollection of potentially deadly chemicals that included potassiumchlorate - a substance used in fireworks that can also emit toxicgas.

FBI agents and CTA officials were also attempting to learn whereKonopka got keys to open the doors to the passageway.

Security Expert John Burke of Schaumburg-based SearchInternational said that both the chemical and locksmithing industrieshave tightened security since Sept. 11. But he said it was possiblethat an expert con artist could trick a locksmith into makingunauthorized duplicate keys.

Lock picks are more readily available, he said, although it takesspecialized skills to use them. Police Superintendent Terry Hillardsaid on Monday night that Konopka is "a burglar by trade - he's goingto have that equipment and skill and expertise to get into thoselocations."

In Sturgeon Bay, Wis., Sgt. Teri Vogel of the Door Countysheriff's police said Konopka "definitely has the propensity tocommit mass destruction." He said Konopka has been charged withvandalism in four counties and convicted of disorderly conduct in afifth.

In one community, Algoma, Wis., he was responsible for a powerbrownout after sabotaging a power substation, Vogel said. He saidpolice from many Wisconsin counties formed a task force just toinvestigate Konopka.

Konopka had been living in the Chicago subways for months sincejumping bail in Wisconsin, officials said. His grandmother, MarianKonopka, 76, said that he left the community of De Pere where he grewup because he was "scared to death" he would be imprisoned for 10years.

"I don't know what kind of dark clouds have been going through hismind," she said.

Door County District Attorney Tim Funnell said that Konopka hadgone on a rampage of vandalism because "he's an anarchist."

"He's sort of disillusioned with society in general, disillusionedwith the way society works, disillusioned with the way governmentworks," Funnell said. "This is the way he chose to protest."

Copyright 2000 by Telegraph Herald, All rights Reserved.

Cyanide stored in Chicago subway raises concerns; 'Dr. Chaos': Konopka remains in custody charged with having a chemical weapon

CHICAGO (AP) - Authorities tried Tuesday to determine how a manwho called himself "Dr. Chaos" obtained cyanide and stored it in acloset of the city's mass transit system, locking it to protect thepotentially lethal stash.

Joseph Konopka, 25, remained in federal custody, charged withpossession of a chemical weapon. Investigators in Wisconsin, where heis charged with going on a five-county rampage of vandalism, saidKonopka, was an anarchist who had the "propensity to commit massdestruction."

Experts said that an individual intent on trouble is hard to spotahead of time.

"You get some lone nut out there, whether they are passing cyanidearound or botulism or any type of strain of harmful bacteria, as longas they are not contacting anybody, that is going to be hard tofind," said Dick Skilling, a former FBI agent who is now a consultantfor a Chicago area security company.

"Am I concerned as a private citizen? Very definitely," saidViolet Smith, former president of the Chicago Chapter of the AmericanAssociation of Industrial Security. "My first questions would bewhere did he get the stuff and how available is it?"

An FBI spokesman said agents are trying to determine preciselywhere Konopka did get the cyanide, which experts said could have beenput to lethal use. FBI agents would not say where they were looking.

Wade Freeman, a chemistry professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, said that mixing cyanide with any acid would create a cloudof highly toxic gas. He said the pound and a half of powdered cyanideallegedly stashed in the subway by Konopka would make "a very bigpuff" but that the subway's ventilation system probably woulddissipate the gas quickly.

"The subway would probably be safe because it's so ventilated, butreleased in a confined space with a lot of people, it could bedisastrous," Freeman said.

Freeman said cyanide is "a fairly common article of commerce" andcould be ordered from dozens of chemical supply houses around thecountry.

Konopka was arrested Saturday night in a steam tunnel in thebasement of the UIC Education Building by campus police on a stakeoutfollowing a series of burglaries. A 15-year-old boy also was pickedup.

The 15-year-old told police and agents of a stash of chemicals ina subway passage, prompting authorities to shut down the ChicagoTransit Authority's Blue Line for three hours while they conducted asearch, which they said at the time was for the possessions of ahomeless man.

Found in what was supposed to be a locked passageway was acollection of potentially deadly chemicals that included potassiumchlorate - a substance used in fireworks that can also emit toxicgas.

FBI agents and CTA officials were also attempting to learn whereKonopka got keys to open the doors to the passageway.

Security Expert John Burke of Schaumburg-based SearchInternational said that both the chemical and locksmithing industrieshave tightened security since Sept. 11. But he said it was possiblethat an expert con artist could trick a locksmith into makingunauthorized duplicate keys.

Lock picks are more readily available, he said, although it takesspecialized skills to use them. Police Superintendent Terry Hillardsaid on Monday night that Konopka is "a burglar by trade - he's goingto have that equipment and skill and expertise to get into thoselocations."

In Sturgeon Bay, Wis., Sgt. Teri Vogel of the Door Countysheriff's police said Konopka "definitely has the propensity tocommit mass destruction." He said Konopka has been charged withvandalism in four counties and convicted of disorderly conduct in afifth.

In one community, Algoma, Wis., he was responsible for a powerbrownout after sabotaging a power substation, Vogel said. He saidpolice from many Wisconsin counties formed a task force just toinvestigate Konopka.

Konopka had been living in the Chicago subways for months sincejumping bail in Wisconsin, officials said. His grandmother, MarianKonopka, 76, said that he left the community of De Pere where he grewup because he was "scared to death" he would be imprisoned for 10years.

"I don't know what kind of dark clouds have been going through hismind," she said.

Door County District Attorney Tim Funnell said that Konopka hadgone on a rampage of vandalism because "he's an anarchist."

"He's sort of disillusioned with society in general, disillusionedwith the way society works, disillusioned with the way governmentworks," Funnell said. "This is the way he chose to protest."

Copyright 2000 by Telegraph Herald, All rights Reserved.