Albany

Martin Kimber says his older brother, a chemist, introduced him to mercury when he was a kid.

"He showed me this interesting metal," Kimber said at his sentencing Thursday in U.S. District Court. "I played with it. I did a science project with it."

Years later, Kimber was handling mercury again, but with far more sinister intentions. On four separate occasions in 2011 and 2012, the former pharmacist used the potentially deadly element in a twisted plot to terrorize Albany Medical Center Hospital after being irate over his medical bill.

His intent, prosecutors said, was to shut down the hospital and cause mass panic.

For sprinkling mercury around the hospital, the 61-year-old man will spend 14 years in prison and must pay roughly $200,000 in fines and restitution.

The sentence was handed down by Judge Lawrence Kahn after Kimber spoke briefly in court, acknowledging his actions were "despicable" and refuting prosecutors' accusations that he is an unhinged Nazi sympathizer and racist.

"I wish I could go back and not affect all the people's lives," Kimber said. "The exotic behavior I displayed ... I was intoxicated and it was done out of frustration."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Benedict argued Kimber would have struck again if given the chance, saying Nazi memorabilia, a cache of weapons and sadistic child pornography found at Kimber's home and his history of racism "show Kimber is not a man of peace as he declares."

"There is no treatment for a hateful man willing to attack people he never met," Benedict said.

Kimber told the judge his actions were fueled by years of drug abuse, alcoholism, delusions and frustration with his medical bill. He said he was puzzled by accusations that he is a racist, telling the court he regularly went fishing with a black man and that "I've had black girlfriends."

Kimber's attorney, James Long, said white supremacist memorabilia found at Kimber's home — which included a swastika on his wall and a copy of "The Turner Diaries" — was for educational and a collector's purposes.

"Being interested and curious because of education does not make someone a racist," Long said.

Kimber began the attacks after a dispute over his bill from Albany Med for treatment. He traveled more than 100 miles from his home in the Ulster County hamlet of Ruby to Albany four times to strategically place mercury in the hospital's emergency room, elevators, bathroom, main hallway and cafeteria. Kimber dropped mercury into a salad bowl and then into a toaster and under heat lamps. Prosecutors argued that Kimber had placed the mercury in heated areas to maximize its lethality.

No one was found to have suffered any severe medical conditions because of ingesting any mercury Kimber deposited at the hospital.

With the help of hospital security cameras and E-ZPass travel records, Kimber was arrested in March 2012. He pleaded guilty in November to possessing chemical weapons and tampering with consumer products with extreme indifference to risks of bodily harm or death to others.

Prosecutors had asked that Kimber be sentenced to 19 years in prison.

At the end of his statement in court, Kimber was speechless while trying to defend his actions.

"I ... I don't understand," Kimber said quietly before pausing for nearly 30 seconds. "I guess that's all I have to say."

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