#tampering

Olivia Empson at The Guardian:

The US Department of Justice dropped charges on Saturday against Michael Kirk Moore, the Utah doctor accused of destroying more than $28,000 worth of government-provided Covid-19 vaccines and administering saline to children instead of the shot. Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, announced the news in a statement on the social media platform X, saying the charges had been dismissed under her direction. “Dr Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so,” Bondi said. “He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing.”

According to a 2023 press release from the US attorney’s office in Utah, Moore distributed at least 1,937 fraudulent vaccination record cards in exchange for either direct payment or required donations to a specific charity. The minors he gave saline shots to were under the impression, at the request of their parents, that they were receiving a Covid-19 shot. Moore ran the operations from a plastic surgery center in Midvale, Utah, and was charged, along with three other co-defendants, with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene thanked Bondi in a statement on X and called Moore a “hero who refused to inject his patients with a government-mandated unsafe vaccine”. The Utah senator Mike Lee also weighed in, saying on X that he was glad Moore could remain a free man and that countless Americans endured lies and lockdowns during the pandemic. Moore was indicted by the justice department in 2023. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included conspiracy to convert, sell, convey and dispose of government property, and the conversion, sale, conveyance and disposal of government property.

If you ever wonder why medications in the US have those weird 'tamper proof' seals. This is why.

From "This Day in History"

On September 29, 1982, three Chicago area residents become ill and die after ingesting Extra-Strength Tylenol later found to be poisoned with cyanide. They are the first of seven victims to lose their lives after taking the over-the-counter pain reliever, which had been tampered with. The case would create a national panic over the safety of nonprescription medications and lead to new standards for pill packaging.

"Someone has been tampering with it," he said.

‘He wanted to see inside’

December 08, 2021

On September 29, 1982, a 12 year old named Mary Kellerman, from Elk Grove Village, Illinois, died after taking a capsule of extra-strength Tylenol. Adam Janus, 27, from Arlington Heights, Illinois, died in the hospital later that day after he had taken Tylenol. Adam’s brother Stanley, who was 25, and his sister in law, Theresa, who was 19, of Lisle, Illinois both died after taking Tylenol from the same bottle that day. 

Within a few days more reports of death from people were happening in Illinois, and all of the victims had one thing in common: they had taken a capsule of Tylenol shortly before their deaths. 

Mary McFarland who was 31 of Elmhurst, Illinois, Paula Prince who was 35, of Chicago, and Mary Reiner, who was 27 of Winfield all died after taking Tylenol was well. 

Tests were soon carried out on the Tylenol that the victims had ingested and it didn’t take long to discover that cyanide had been put in the capsules. Warnings of this were issued out in the media and patrols using loudspeakers, begging those in the Chicago metropolitan area to stop using Tylenol products. 

The Tylenol products with cyanide were found to be manufactured at two different locations, one in Pennsylvania and another in Texas, suggesting that the capsules had been tampered with after they had been placed on the shelves for purchase. Police theorized that someone had taken bottles off the shelves of local stores in the Chicago area, placed potassium cyanide in some of the capsules, and then placed the packages back on the shelves. 

There were 5 contaminated bottles that led to the victim’s deaths and a few others were later found in the Chicago area. Johnson & Johnson distributed warnings to hospitals and distributors and halted the production of Tylenol. There was a nationwide recall of Tylenol products were issued on October 5, 1982, and an estimated 31 million bottles were in circulation with a retail value of over $100 million US. 

The company advertised in the media for individuals not to consume any of their products that contained acetaminophen, after it was determined that only these capsules had been tampered with. Johnson & Johnson offered to exchange all Tylenol capsules already purchased by the public for solid tablets. 

During the investigation, a man named James William Lewis was accused of sending a letter to Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million to stop the cyanide murders. He was arrested, tried and convicted of extortion and sentenced to 10 years in prison. During his trial, attorneys claimed that Lewis only intended to focus the attention of authorities on his wife’s former employer. 

Court documents released in 2009 showed that the Department of Justice investigators concluded that Lewis was responsible, though they did not have enough evidence to charge him. In January 2010, both Lewis and his wife submitted DNA samples and fingerprints to authorities. Lewis continues to deny all responsibility. 

A man named Roger Arnold was investigated for having a role in the Tylenol murders but had been cleared. He had a nervous breakdown due to media attention, which he blamed on Marty Sinclair, a bar owner. In 1983, Arnold had shot and killed a man named John Stanisha, a man who he mistook for Marty Sinclair. Arnold was convicted in January 1984, and served 15 of a 30 year sentence for second degree murder. He died in June 2008. 

Laurie Dann, who had poisoned and shot a number of people in a May 1988 rampage around Winnetka, Illinois, was briefly considered a suspect but there was no direct connection ever found to connect. 

In 1983, at the FBI’s request, a Chicago Tribune columnist named Bob Greene, published the address and grave location of the first victim, Mary Kellerman. A story was written and proposed by FBI criminal analyst, John Douglas, who theorized that the perpetrator might visit the house or gravesite if he was made aware of where they were located. Both sites were kept under surveillance for several months but the killer never showed up. 

There was a surveillance photo of victim Paula Prince buying the cyanide Tylenol at a Walgreens at 1601 North Wells St was released by the police, as they believe a bearded man seen just feet being Paula in the photo may be the killer.  In January 2009, Illinois authorities renewed the investigation and federal agents searched Lewis’ home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They seized a number of items in the search. 

On May 19, 2011, the FBI requested DNA samples from Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, in connection with the Chicago Tylenol murders. Kaczynski denied having any possession of potassium cyanide. The first 4 Unabomber crimes happened in Chicago and its suburbs from 1978 to 1980, and Kaczynski’s parents had lived in a home in Lombard, Illinois in 1982, where he would occasionally stay. 

In 1986, three deaths occurred from tampered gelatin capsules. A woman in Yonkers, New York died after ingesting extra-strength Tylenol capsules that were laced with cyanide. In Washington, excedrin capsules had been tampered with, which resulted in the deaths of Susan Snow and Bruce Nickell from cyanide poisoning. Bruce’s wife, Stella Nickell, was eventually arrested and convicted for her connection to both of the murders. 

Also in 1986, Procter & Gamble’s Encaprin was recalled after a spiking hoax in Chicago and Detroit resulted in a sales drop and withdrawal of the pain reliever from the market. 

In 1986, University of Texas student, Kenneth Faries, was found dead in his apartment from cyanide poisoning. Anacin capsules that had been tampered with were found to be the source of the cyanide that was found in his body. Kenneth’s death was ruled a homicide on May 30, 1986. On June 19, 1986, the medical examiner ruled his death likely a suicide. The FDA determined that Kenneth had obtained the poison from a lab where he worked. 

Johnson & Johnson received positive coverage for how they handled the crisis. Not only did they recall the products, they also ensured established relations with the police department, the FBI and the Food and Drug Administration. This way they could help to search for the person who tampered with the capsules and to prevent further tampering. During the time this happened, the company’s market share collapsed from 35% to 8%, but it rebounded in less than a year. 

Johnson & Johnson reintroduced their capsules in a new, triple-sealed package, with price promotions and within a few years Tylenol regained the highest market share for the over-the-counter analgesic in the US. 

The 1982 Chicago Tylenol Murders inspired industries to develop tamper-resistent packaging, such as induction seals. Product tampering also became a federal crime. These new laws resulted in Stella Nickell to be sentenced to 90 years in prison. 

The pharmaceutical industry also began to move away from capsules, as they were easy to contaminate. This led to the replacement of the capsule with the solid caplet, a tablet in the shape of a capsule as a drug delivery form with the addition of tamper-evident safety seals to bottles. 

Because the Tylenol murders happened in late September 1982, people began to fear that they would unknowingly purchase poisoned Halloween candy. Some communities tried to discourage trick-or-treating, and grocery stores reported that candy sales were down more than 20%.