Chinese man gets 16 years in prison in deadly ricin plot

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City student from China who prosecutors say plunged into the dark side of the Internet was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for trying to acquire ricin so he could sell "simple and easy death pills."

Cheng Le, 22, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court after his conviction by a Manhattan jury in August on charges he tried to acquire ricin as a weapon, postal fraud and identity theft.

Judge Alison Nathan said the "horrible, serious and quite terrifying offense" required a severe sentence, but she added that no one was harmed by the plot because Le's communications were intercepted online by investigators who found him in an area of the Internet where criminal marketplaces thrive.