GREENBELT, Md. (AP) – A Hyattsville man was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in federal prison for possessing the biological weapon ricin and improvised handguns.

Myron Tereshchuk, 43, pleaded guilty in May after authorities searched his house last year and found large amounts of castor beans and other materials that could be used to manufacture the biological agent.

He was sentenced to 41 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Roger Titus.

Tereshchuk is already in prison in Virginia after pleading guilty last year to extortion. He attempted to force a competitor, a Connecticut trademark company, to pay him $17 million.

Prosecutors say Tereshchuk harassed the East Haven, Conn. company MicroPatent for more than a year, sending hundreds of e-mails with sexually explicit or confidential material to MicroPatent clients. In February 2004, he sent messages to the company demanding $17 million.

AP-ES-09-13-05 1818EDT