Jean Malecki
Appearances
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
I want your family to be safe. And I want you to know that I care. Because she wasn't getting that. And as I turned down her street, you know, I thought I was going into a war zone. Literally on every home, there was a member of the press. you know, sitting in a beach chair with their cameras and with their notepads and pens.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
And I drove into her parking area and went in with my staff and I just gave her a hug and we sat down and we talked and I just looked around. It looked like a cell. Every opening was covered by thick blankets. You couldn't see any light.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
It's the sun, the National Enquirer, Mira, all the rag sheets in the supermarket. They say nasty things about everybody, no matter who you are. You know, its reputation is not that good. So it certainly made a lot of sense.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
An envelope had been delivered to the AMI building, and it was addressed to J-Lo, Jennifer Lopez, J-Lo. The envelope was eventually opened, and in the envelope was a Star of David and white powder. And the person who had this envelope brought the envelope to another person and Mr. Stevens to look at because they were amazed by it.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
Mr. Stevens was nearsighted, and he brought the envelope close to him, as per somebody who gave an interview, and he had sneezed into it, fell all over his computer, and that's most likely where he inhaled the anthrax spores.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
That whole building was full of spores all over, all over. It was in almost every room, every floor, just full of anthrax, just full of it.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
I used the public health laws of the state of Florida to shut down and quarantine that building.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
We spent the rest of that night, all night long, contacting every employee. And we were up and running that very next morning to start screening hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and then thousands of people for the disease. And that all happened within a 36-hour period of time.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
How did you find out about it? Did he go into the hospital?
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
All we knew was that we had a man who couldn't speak to us, who was dying in a hospital. That's all we knew.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
I had physicians who called to notify hospitals, emergency rooms, private doctors, et cetera, to get as much information as possible about people who could potentially touch the system.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 2: Martha’s Not Crazy
An emergency room doctor contacted one of the physicians that was working with me in the emergency operating room center.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 1: Isolated Incident
In Palm Beach County, we use crop dusters all the time. They go up and down all the time, spraying our vegetables and our fruits.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 1: Isolated Incident
My focus was to go to the home, to speak to everybody there, to take samples, to investigate the entire outside of the home, inside the home, to look at potential sources for anthrax.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 1: Isolated Incident
The home itself was three bedrooms, probably two baths, nice little kitchen and living room.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 1: Isolated Incident
In the backyard, they had lots of plants and lots of trees. We looked for any type of white powder substances that could have been in the trees or on the ground. I remember distinctly bending down and taking samples off of various bushes that were in the backyard.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 1: Isolated Incident
I was giving an actual seminar on bioterrorism at the time the phone call came in. And so we were in the middle of that when my secretary rushed over to hand me a note from Dr. Bush. So I left the seminar and went to my office, and I got the call from Larry. And he said, oh, Gene, I need to talk to you. He said, make sure your door's closed.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 1: Isolated Incident
I was told by the state of Florida, the public health laboratory, and the CDC, you don't have enough information. And I said, wait a minute. I have a potential anthrax event occurring in my backyard here. I am the chief health officer here, and you're telling me not to act on this? And that's exactly what they were telling me. And I said, well, too bad. You're getting specimens in the mail.
Aftermath: Hunt for the Anthrax Killer
Episode 1: Isolated Incident
You will have them within 12 hours.