Robert Stevens (photo editor)
Robert L. Stevens (June 20, 1938 - October 5, 2001)[1] was a photo editor for a Florida-based tabloid believed to have received deadly anthrax spores as a result of the 2001 anthrax attacks. Stevens, originally from Great Britain, was employed by American Media Inc. publisher of several tabloid papers including the National Enquirer, Globe, and the Sun—the paper where he worked. He died of pulmonary anthrax after inhaling anthrax spores from a letter that is believed to have arrived at the American Media offices in Boca Raton, Florida. He was 63 years old.
His wife, Maureen Stevens, sued the government for lax security. She claimed DNA testing would prove the particular strain used in this attack comes from the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick. In 2011 the U.S. government agreed to pay Stevens' widow and family $2.5 million to settle the lawsuit.[2]