kept giving television and radio interviews with shows such as "The Tom Snyder Show," and even this show "The Morton Downey Jr Show". Assassination attempt In August 1981, Korczak was shot with a ricin-laced pellet while shopping in Giant Food store in Vienna, Virginia. At the time he thought that a bee had stung him but three hours later he started becoming deathly ill. Hospital records indicate that his white blood cell count was four times the normal amount yet no infection could be detected. Korczak's symptoms tormented him severely for several months. Shortly after being shot, Korczak felt as though he were passing a kidney stone and urinated through a coffee filter, finding a small blood-clotted object. After closer inspection, it was revealed to be a cross-drilled platinum-iridium pellet, smaller than the head of a pin, containing the poison ricin. The pellet was professionally photographed and sent to Scotland Yard. It was then that Korczak understood that the assassination attempt on him was very similar to the infamous "umbrella shooting" murder of Georgi Markov, by a small air-powered "gun" built into an umbrella. Legal battles In 1996, Korczak filed a lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency for violating the terms of his contract, back pay with interest and for the pension he was promised once his work for the Agency was through. The case was thrown out by the Federal Court of Claims when Government lawyers cited the "Totten Doctrine" which basically meant that the CIA was choosing not to be sued because State Secrets could end up in public domain if any such secret documents ended up being used as evidence in the court case. The case was reported on by many foreign and domestic news outlets in print, television and radio media. References External links Boris Korczak's personal website People of the Central Intelligence Agency Polish resistance members 1939 births Living people