Countersuit filed in Elvis photo flap

BOCA RATON, Fla., June 25 (UPI) -- A Florida firm hired to decontaminate the former headquarters of the National Enquirer after an anthrax incident is suing a developer who bought the building.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel said John Y. Mason, whose company Sabre was hired to decontaminate the tabloid's former Boca Raton headquarters in 2003, has filed a countersuit against developer David Rustine's Broken Sound LLC, which bought the sealed and quarantined $10 million building for $40,000.

Rustine initially sued Mason because it said a famous 1977 photo showing late rock 'n' roll icon Elvis Presley in his casket had gone missing from the building.

Rustine valued the photo at $1 million and said it rightfully belongs to him because it was among the contents of the building he purchased. He also claimed Mason held the photo hostage when the two parties had a falling out. Rustine wants the photo returned or cash to reimburse him for what he believes it is worth.

The Sun-Sentinel reported Mason's countersuit said the rights to the original photo don't belong to Rustine, but instead belong to the Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc., as do countless other photos and documents left in the contaminated building.