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Authors: Scott Bartz
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capsules that had been handled at the warehouse where the tamperings occurred.
The boundary between Johnson & Johnson and the government’s Tylenol task force was non-existent. According to Larry Foster, “Jim Burke spent much of the early days in Washington conferring with Arthur Hull Hayes, the FDA commissioner, and his staff, and with FBI Director William Webster and his staff.”
When Mike Wallace, of 60 Minutes , asked William Webster about J&J’s role in the Tylenol murders investigation, Webster said, “The attitude of top management has been first the interest of the public, then assisting law enforcement, and then their own corporate concerns for the product.”
The FBI had a surprisingly strong presence in the Tylenol murders investigation. Tampering with medicine was only a misdemeanor in 1982, and the murders were not a federal crime; they fell under the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois. Nevertheless, 50 of the 140 investigators on the Tylenol task force were FBI agents.
The Illinois Department of Law Enforcement (IDLE), at the direction of Illinois Attorney General, Tyrone Fahner, was in charge of the Tylenol murders investigation. The Illinois officials who dictated the investigative strategy were all current or former employees of the United States Department of Justice. All had been, currently were, or would become the director of IDLE. They were all Governor “Big” Jim Thompson’s boys.
Thompson had been the U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois from 1970 to 1974. He was the governor of Illinois from 1979 to 1991, and the chairman of the Chicago law firm, Winston & Strawn, from 1991 to 2006. Indeed, Thompson’s experience in handling the Tylenol murders investigation may have been one of the criteria that led to his appointment as a member of the 9/11 Commission.
Governor Thompson had appointed Tyrone Fahner as his attorney general in 1980. Fahner had been an assistant U.S. attorney in the early 1970s under then U.S. Attorney, Jim Thompson. Thompson appointed Fahner as the director of IDLE in 1977, a position he held until 1979.
Thompson appointed Dan Webb as the director of IDLE in 1979. Webb had also been an assistant U.S. attorney under Thompson in the early 1970s. Webb served as the chief of the Special Prosecutions Division at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1970 to 1976. He was the U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois from 1980 to 1985, and he led the Justice Department’s investigation of the Tylenol murders. Webb took over as chairman of Winston & Strawn in 2006 when Jim Thompson retired from that position.
From 1981 to 1984, Jeremy Margolis was an assistant U.S. attorney reporting directly to Dan Webb. In 1984, Governor Thompson appointed Margolis to the newly created position of Illinois inspector general. Thompson then appointed Margolis as the director of IDLE in 1987, a position he held until 1991.
Thomson appointed James Zagel as the director of IDLE in 1980, a position he held until 1987 when he became a judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Under the direction of Tyrone Fahner, Zagel led the primary investigative force involved in the Tylenol murders investigation.
Fahner, Webb, and Margolis, the outspoken leaders of the Tylenol murders investigation, had absolute, unconditional loyalty to Big Jim. They were also extremely sympathetic to Johnson & Johnson, a corporation that operated more than a dozen plants in the Chicago area and brought thousands of jobs and hundreds-of-millions of dollars into the Illinois economy. The loyalties of Illinois officials became apparent on the second day of the Tylenol murders investigation, when, instead of inspecting the Tylenol capsules in the Chicago marketplace, authorities turned them over to Johnson & Johnson.
IDLE Commander Edward Cisowsk said on Friday, October 1 st , that a warehouse in Lemont, 26 miles southwest of Chicago, had been cleared to store
The boundary between Johnson & Johnson and the government’s Tylenol task force was non-existent. According to Larry Foster, “Jim Burke spent much of the early days in Washington conferring with Arthur Hull Hayes, the FDA commissioner, and his staff, and with FBI Director William Webster and his staff.”
When Mike Wallace, of 60 Minutes , asked William Webster about J&J’s role in the Tylenol murders investigation, Webster said, “The attitude of top management has been first the interest of the public, then assisting law enforcement, and then their own corporate concerns for the product.”
The FBI had a surprisingly strong presence in the Tylenol murders investigation. Tampering with medicine was only a misdemeanor in 1982, and the murders were not a federal crime; they fell under the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois. Nevertheless, 50 of the 140 investigators on the Tylenol task force were FBI agents.
The Illinois Department of Law Enforcement (IDLE), at the direction of Illinois Attorney General, Tyrone Fahner, was in charge of the Tylenol murders investigation. The Illinois officials who dictated the investigative strategy were all current or former employees of the United States Department of Justice. All had been, currently were, or would become the director of IDLE. They were all Governor “Big” Jim Thompson’s boys.
Thompson had been the U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois from 1970 to 1974. He was the governor of Illinois from 1979 to 1991, and the chairman of the Chicago law firm, Winston & Strawn, from 1991 to 2006. Indeed, Thompson’s experience in handling the Tylenol murders investigation may have been one of the criteria that led to his appointment as a member of the 9/11 Commission.
Governor Thompson had appointed Tyrone Fahner as his attorney general in 1980. Fahner had been an assistant U.S. attorney in the early 1970s under then U.S. Attorney, Jim Thompson. Thompson appointed Fahner as the director of IDLE in 1977, a position he held until 1979.
Thompson appointed Dan Webb as the director of IDLE in 1979. Webb had also been an assistant U.S. attorney under Thompson in the early 1970s. Webb served as the chief of the Special Prosecutions Division at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1970 to 1976. He was the U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois from 1980 to 1985, and he led the Justice Department’s investigation of the Tylenol murders. Webb took over as chairman of Winston & Strawn in 2006 when Jim Thompson retired from that position.
From 1981 to 1984, Jeremy Margolis was an assistant U.S. attorney reporting directly to Dan Webb. In 1984, Governor Thompson appointed Margolis to the newly created position of Illinois inspector general. Thompson then appointed Margolis as the director of IDLE in 1987, a position he held until 1991.
Thomson appointed James Zagel as the director of IDLE in 1980, a position he held until 1987 when he became a judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Under the direction of Tyrone Fahner, Zagel led the primary investigative force involved in the Tylenol murders investigation.
Fahner, Webb, and Margolis, the outspoken leaders of the Tylenol murders investigation, had absolute, unconditional loyalty to Big Jim. They were also extremely sympathetic to Johnson & Johnson, a corporation that operated more than a dozen plants in the Chicago area and brought thousands of jobs and hundreds-of-millions of dollars into the Illinois economy. The loyalties of Illinois officials became apparent on the second day of the Tylenol murders investigation, when, instead of inspecting the Tylenol capsules in the Chicago marketplace, authorities turned them over to Johnson & Johnson.
IDLE Commander Edward Cisowsk said on Friday, October 1 st , that a warehouse in Lemont, 26 miles southwest of Chicago, had been cleared to store
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