Just before he was scheduled to be sentenced, Thomas Tholen stood in front of a courtroom packed with family and friends.

"No matter how it goes today, I want to thank all of you," he said.

Tholen was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Wednesday to 24 months probation for lying to federal authorities investigating how the deadly toxin ricin came to be in his cousin's Las Vegas motel room.

"We're talking about one of the most deadly substances on the planet — ricin," said assistant U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber. "To put off the FBI for the better part of a week when we're trying to track down that substance, that's the crime here. What Mr. Tholen did to help himself out is he came clean at the end of the day. He turned over the ricin and he helped the investigators in their case against the one who made the ricin."

Tholen pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony. When his cousin, Roger Bergendorff, was hospitalized in Las Vegas with symptoms similar to ricin exposure, Tholen cleaned out the room and found the vials. It prompted a massive hazardous materials response and a search of Tholen's Riverton home.

"He took Roger in," Rebecca Hyde, Tholen's attorney, said outside of court. "I'm sure he didn't anticipate that act of generosity was going to wind him up here."

Tholen refused to comment as he left the courthouse. Asked if he regretted lying to the FBI, Hyde said: "Of course."

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell noted that more than 20 people had written letters to her, vouching for Tholen. Hyde called the artist and former East High School teacher "a man of good character."

Imposing the sentence, Campbell ordered Tholen to pay a $500 fine.

"You are a convicted felon now, you cannot possess a firearm," she told him.

He has also forfeited his right to vote.

Bergendorff pleaded guilty in a Nevada federal court to possessing a biological toxin and weapons charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com