The Elvis impersonator accused of sending ricin-tainted letters to President Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker was once hired by the Mississippi lawmaker to work a party — and actually wowed the crowd.
“He entertained at a party that my wife and I helped give for a young couple that was getting married, and he was quite entertaining,” Wicker said yesterday from his DC office as Paul Kevin Curtis was hauled into federal court in Mississippi.
“My impression is that since that time, he’s had mental issues and perhaps is not as stable as he was back then.”
Curtis, 45, yesterday sported a Johnny Cash T-shirt and shackles as he was charged with using the mail to threaten the lives of Obama, Wicker and a local county judge.
Curtis nodded and said, “Yes, ma’am” when the federal judge asked if he understood the charges, which could land him in prison for up to 15 years.
He did not enter a plea and is slated back in court today.
Curtis “maintains 100 percent that he did not do this,” said his lawyer, Christi McCoy.
“I know Kevin, I know his family. This is a huge shock,” McCoy said.
The FBI yesterday confirmed that the letters had tested positive for ricin, a deadly poison.