Poisoned Defector Fights For Life

Alexander Litvinenko, the man who was poisoned in Britain a few weeks ago is struggling to survive. His doctors are not sure what exactly was given to the man. Litvinenko, a former colonel in the Russian Federal Security Service, which succeeded the KGB was looking into the murder of a Russian journalist when the poisoning occurred. One toxicologist believes the poison used may have been radioactive thallium. That was a hallmark of the KGB back in the day.

LONDON, Nov. 21 — Mario Scaramella, the Italian who had lunch in London with a former Russian spy on the day the man was poisoned, said Tuesday that he showed the Russian e-mails during the meal that warned their lives might be in danger.

At a news conference in Rome, Scaramella said that at a sushi restaurant Nov. 1, he showed Alexander Litvinenko messages "regarding their security" and referring to a "well-organized plot."

"I said, 'Alex, I received an alarm in the last few days from a source that you introduced to me,' " said Scaramella, a security expert. By his account, both of them discounted the threats, and Litvinenko said: " 'It's unbelievable. Don't worry about that.' "

In a separate interview later, Scaramella said the e-mails mentioned "dangerous people" behind the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin whose unsolved murder last month in Moscow has caused an international outcry. He said the e-mails indicated that those responsible for her death were members of the Russian mafia from St. Petersburg.

Scaramella stressed that this was not his opinion but what was written in the e-mails, which are in the possession of Scotland Yard.

An Italian senator, Paolo Guzzanti, who appeared at the news conference, said Scaramella had not administered the poison. Guzzanti headed a parliamentary committee investigating Cold War espionage; Scaramella has acted as a consultant to the panel.

The Russian government denies any involvement, saying they haven't done that sort of thing since 1959. With the way Putin is running Russia, however, it is difficult to decipher where the government ends and the cronies take over. The rumors of Russian mafia involvement or even a full scale alliance with Putin's government have been swirling for quite some time.

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1. bRight & Early » First Cup 11.22.06 — Wednesday, 22 November , 2006 @ 8:03 am