Dec 19 2006
More People Showing Up Contaminated
Three more people have shown up contaminated with Polonium-210. They are hotel workers with two coming from the Millenium Hotel (Oct 30th – Nov 1st) and one from the Sheraton Park Lane (Oct 25-27th):
Three new people have tested positive for low levels of the radioactive element that killed Alexander Litvinenko, it was disclosed today.
Tests on two members of staff at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair and on one at the Sheraton Hotel in Park Lane have shown exposure to polonium 210, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has said. The agency said that the levels were not significant enough to result in illness.
It is important to keep track of the levels of contamination and scope of the contamination because it is an indicator of how much Polonium-210 was deposited at each site. Right now the Millenium Hotel is the hotest site, with the Sheraton or Litvinenko’s house possibly coming in second Also vying for a place in the second tier is the first hotel at Knightsbridge. The fact no one has shown contamination besides Scaramella would indicate the Sushi Restaurant is below these sites in terms of dosage and spread, and it represents a third tier site (along with the Aersanl stadium, planes, cars, sites in Germany, etc).
What is not clear is where Berezvosky’s office and the two security firms show up. If they are tier two sites then that means substantial amounts were walked into these locations – though the security firms I believe are back open for business (making them tier three sites). Tier one is the site of the poisoning and remains the Millenium hotel. We do get a clue that these last two cases where not associated with the Pine Bar (all seven of those people tested positive) and must therefore be associated with the rooms themselves:
A spokesman said that all open public areas at both hotels had been assessed and were judged to present “no significant public health risk”.
My guess is we are seeing the contamination from the rooms Lugovoi and Kovtun stayed in. I still think there was an earlier meeting with Litvinenko and Kovtun and Lugovoi where they went to the security firms and possibly one place else. I still believe the actually poisoning ofg Litvinenko happened in one of the hotel rooms before the trio took off on their rounds.
And I suspect all three visited Berezovsky’s office – which seems to show a lot of contamination. We know the couch was hot, as was the copy machine. And the story to date from Berezovsky’s people is this was Litvinenko dropping by after the meeting with Scaramella. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the two songbirds in Moscow Lugovoi and Kovtun) have corrected the trail of events and when the meetings at Berezovsky’s took place. Lugovoi mentioned paying Litvinenko for his efforts. But Litvinenko should have been paid by Berezovsky – unless Lugovoi was the coordinator of everything dealing with the Polonium 210. Then Berezosvky would pay Lugovoi, who would in turn pay Litvinenko – as he said was the case. So one last meeting with Berezovsky to confirm “mission accomplished” seems to be in order for November 1st.
If I am right, expect to see some more of Alex Goldfarb as he attempts to spin the Berezovsky office contamination now as resulting from Lugovoi and/or Kovtun dropping in. This new found revelation will attempt to make adjustements to the alibi that Litvinenko dropped by Berezovsky’s office (which also may have happened). What we need to remember in these timelines is there is no requirement that a location only be visited once or contaminated once. With Scotland Yard leaving Moscow now is the time for Goldfarb to speak up to provide an alibi/diversion for the office contamination.
Major Update: We may have a fourth hotel contaminated in this case. A while back I pointed to news that a Swedish couple had been asked to submit for testing because of feared contamination from a fourth, unidentified hotel. Now Fox News is reporting a fourth person has been found contaminated, and that person is a Swede – but there is no mention of what hotel is the center of interest. I would not be surprised if this is an earlier drop by Lugovoi, predating the Oct 16th date as the first round of smuggling.
Lizarde,
There is an “Alex Goldfarb” who’s a biologist, alos one who is an electrician and is in Israel’s Knesset. Just my opinion, but I think they are all different people sharing the same first names and surnames.
Lizarde, good find on the search story — got a link?
Mariposa,
Small point back at you. What I expect is Goldfarb addressing a preciously unacknowledged visit by Lugovoi and/or Kovtun in November 1 in a manner that points the finger at them. I believe Lugovoi and/or Kovtun went to Berezovsky’s office that day. I am quite confident Goldfarb will open his mouth again!
search link re Berezovsky and riviera:
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/05/12/berezsearch.shtml
quoting agence france
Marioposa – I guess I am wrong about Goldfarb and biology but I was sure I read that in a press account somewhere though now I can’t find it and we all know the press makes mistakes
AJStrata,
“I am quite confident Goldfarb will open his mouth again!”
Me too, but not necessarily in the manner you mention.
Lugovoi was already reported as having gone to Berezovky’s office, and was alleged to have left polonium traces on a sofa he sat on while he drank white wine.
As for Alex Goldfarb, quite frankly, Berezovsky has enough money to hire somebody more deft at being a spokesperson in this — and he should — because Goldfarb isn’t doing him any favors. He needs to go back to heading the International Foundation for Civil Liberties (their website, btw, just as a sidenote: http://209.235.228.197/english/index.shtml is particularly opaque — nowhere do I find a list of directors) because he’s not very good at this.
Lizarde,
No, you may be right, I just can’t seem to sort out the background on Goldfarb.
Mariposa,
Actually, the only one who has been confirmed to have been at Berezovsky’s office is Litvinenko – after his meeting with Scaramella. Supposedly Lugovoi and Litvinenko met Berezovsky during the Oct 16th period. What I am predicting is an until-now-unknown meeting will come to light from Nov 1st., and Goldfarb will break the news to control the message. He has to.
Folks,
Why is it hard to believe there was a hotel where Litvinenko stayed? Yes, I know he lived outside London, but I would bet on one of those earlier Lugovoi trips Litvinenko stayed in town. Now if there were traces of Polonium-210 in a Litvinenko room from the earlier periods I would feel completely vindicated in my smuggling ring theory.
And this is why I think Goldfarb may have to come center stage soon.
Lizarde,
Thanks — that raid on Berezovsky’s Riviera property last year is interesting, but not surprising since Russia keeps seeking extradition and they claim Berezovsky is hiding assets he stole from Russia — and the reporter states, too, that Goldfarb is Berezovsky’s lawyer. So, maybe he is, hard to say since the press puts so many details askew.
AJStrata,
It’s not hard to believe at all, but ditto my “askew” comment from above in regard to this Swedes and hotel story, too. The story itself is hardly clear, and because it’s not widely reported, we don’t have several versions to compare in tracking down answers.
No, it’s not hard to believe. But the fact that they’re saying “the bar where Lit stayed” it seems like they’re talking about Milennium, because there was contamination at the bar. They get things wrong easily.
AJStrata,
“Actually, the only one who has been confirmed to have been at Berezovsky’s office is Litvinenko”
Not sure what you mean by “confirmed,” since so little actually is in this case, but it was reported that Lugovoi was at Berezovsky’s office — the question is when that meeting ocurred. This is the best I have to go on about Lugovoi’s visit to Berezovsky’s office:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2484295_4,00.html
A further mystery arises because of conflicting evidence about Berezovsky’s Mayfair office, which is near the Sheraton. One source last week claimed that Lugovoi had visited the office during his trip to London between October 25 and 28. But another well-informed source said that Lugovoi had visited it on October 31 or November 1.
The timing is important, because whenever Lugovoi did visit the office he appears to have been strongly radioactive — traces have been found there.
He and Berezovsky greeted each other with a hug and Lugovoi sat on a sofa while they drank white wine. The source said: “When investigators later tested for radioactivity, the maximum activity was on the cream-coloured sofa where Lugovoi was sitting while he drank wine.â€
[Then, further on, Litvinenko’s visit on November 1st:]
After the meal, the Russian hurried to Berezovsky’s nearby office where he appeared, according to a well-informed source, in an “agitated†state.
He showed the documents to Berezovsky, who skimmed through them and passed them to a colleague. Litvinenko then photocopied them. Tests later found traces of radiation on the photocopying machine.
***
I’m only sure of several things about all of this, and some are: Investigators know more than we do. They aren’t telling all of it to the press. When they do, the press sometimes gets the details botched because this is a pretty complicated story.