A second Look At The 1982 Tylenol Poisonings

The Chicago office of the FBI along with state and local authorities are taking a second look at the 1982 Tylenol poising case. 2007 was the 25th anniversary of cyanide laced Tylenol capsules turning up on store shelves and resulting in 7 deaths.

Authorities are conducting a full review of all evidence that was collected related to the case. This second look into this "cold Case” began last year and is in part due to advances in forensic technology and new information that came in during 2007. Authorities are saying that all of the new information either has been or will be investigated thoroughly.

No one was charged with the deaths however James W. Lewis was charged with extortion and spent 12 years in prison after he sent a note to Johnson and Johnson demanding $1 million dollars to stop the poisonings. At the time of his arrest he gave a detailed account of how he could pull off the crime but denied any involvement. After completing his sentence for extortion Lewis moved to the Boston area in 1995. Although he was never charged with the poisonings he has remained a suspect.

FBI agents from Chicago and Boston searched a condominium on Gore Street in Cambridge that is owned by Lewis along with several other locations in Cambridge including one storage unit. Agents left the condominium with a computer and several boxes. The FBI has said that the searches are part of an ongoing investigation but would not confirm that they are related to the Tylenol case.

After his conviction on the extortion charge Lewis offered to help authorities solve the case. He sent what is described as "volumes" of diagrams and documents explaining his theories of how the poisonings could have been carried out to Jeremy Margolis, the federal prosecutor who had handled his case.

In 2004 Lewis was arrested in Massachusetts and charged with kidnapping, rape and other charges, the case was dismissed by the court one day before the trial began after the alleged victim refused to testify.