LITH Man Pleads Guilty in Puffer Fish Toxin Case

A Lake in the Hills man accused of trying to use a toxin found in puffer fish to kill his wife has pleaded guilty to charges filed in federal court. 

In the plea agreement entered Tuesday afternoon, Bachner also admits he filed a false income tax return in 2005, the Northwest Herald reports.

, when he arrived at the Algonquin UPS store to pick up a package of tetrodotoxin, or TTX, which is a deadly poison found naturally in puffer fish and which has no known antidote.

TTX is a neurotoxin that can cause respiratory paralysis within six to 24 hours of ingestion, according to the indictment.

Bachner allegedly ordered the TTX under the assumed alias, “Dr. Edmund Backer.” Bachner listed his purpose for the toxin as “marine antitoxin research,” according to the 16-count grand jury indictment delivered in November 2008.

Charges Against Bachner

Starting in 2006, Bachner placed four separate orders for the toxin to Biotium Inc., based in California. Biotium is a chemical and pharmaceutical product distributor serving neuroscience researchers.

According to the indictment, the TTX orders were delivered to Bachner's UPS mailbox address. Biotium shipped a total of 64 milligrams of TTX to Bachner’s address through March 17, 2008.

Around June 17, 2008, Ascent Scientific LLC, a New Jersey scientific chemical research supplier, received an electronic purchase order for 98 milligrams of TTX from "Dr. Backer," the indictment said.

Federal law requires scientific researchers to report orders of 100 milligrams or more of TTX to the Centers for Disease Control.

Bachner's arrest drew national media attention when FBI agents searched his Lake in the Hills home.

As part of the overall scheme, authorities allege Bachner planned to use the toxin to kill his wife and collect on more than $20 million in life insurance policies that he had fraudulently obtained.

The other charges against Bachner included wire fraud and filing a false claim with the Internal Revenue Service. Bachner used money from filing false income tax withholding claims to pay almost $40,000 for the life insurance policies, according to the indictment.