Poison in 2 Tylenol Bottles Linked to the Same Source

Potassium cyanide found in two bottles of Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules apparently came from the same source, authorities said Friday, and the manufacturer offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the poisoner.

“This is an act of terrorism, pure and simple,” said James E. Burke, chairman of Johnson & Johnson.

Scientists determined that a second bottle of Tylenol contained the same poison that had killed a 23-year-old woman last weekend--an indication, authorities said, that the same hands were involved in both tamperings.

The first bottle was produced in May in Fort Washington, Pa., Burke said, while the second was made in July at a plant in Puerto Rico. It was not known whether the two lots might have been stored together somewhere in the distribution chain.

Consumers Warned

Although the manufacturer and the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers nationwide not to use Tylenol capsules for now and at least nine states banned sales of the capsules, no poisoned Tylenol had been found outside Westchester County in the northern suburbs of New York City.

Burke said the company will give a refund, or a new bottle of Tylenol tablets or capsules, to any consumer who wishes to exchange Tylenol capsules.

He said those with information should call the FBI at 1-(800) 334-2344, and anyone with Tylenol from the two lot numbers involved in the New York cases should call 1-(800) 526-2433.

Police said they had no suspects and discounted a letter that claimed responsibility for the poisoning, demanded $2 million and threatened to poison other products. The man who admitted writing the note was charged only with an unrelated credit card fraud.

Letter Not Related

“I think it’s just one of those trying to extort money and trying to get publicity,” said Bronxville Police Chief Carl Steinmuller, who believed the letter was not related to the death of Diane Elsroth of Peekskill.

Meanwhile, at least nine states joined New York in banning the sale of Tylenol capsules, and several others asked retailers to suspend sales voluntarily.

Elsroth died after taking two capsules Saturday from a bottle of Extra-Strength Tylenol purchased at an A&P; supermarket in Bronxville. Authorities say they believe those capsules contained potassium cyanide; three other poisoned capsules were found in the bottle.

On Thursday, officials of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said they had found five more poisoned capsules in another bottle taken from a Woolworth’s store about two blocks from the A&P.;

2nd Bottle Analyzed

Dr. Frank Young, FDA commissioner, said the department’s Cincinnati laboratory had analyzed the contents of the second bottle and believed that the poison in both bottles came from the same source.

Chemists had obtained a “fingerprint,” or detailed identification of the compound in the second bottle, he said, and, “after analyzing this, the fingerprint of the second potassium cyanide is identical to the potassium cyanide that was found in the other bottle.”

He could not say how the poison was introduced into the box. The seals and wrapping appeared to be unbroken.

A third bottle, taken from an A&P; in Shrub Oak, 27 miles north of Bronxville, also contained a contaminant. William Grigg, a spokesman for the FDA, said: “It is such a small trace, they’re having a hard time finding out what it is.”

Recall Opposed

Johnson & Johnson and the FDA had called on all consumers nationwide to stop using the capsules for now, although Burke said he opposed a nationwide recall.

A recall would “remind that terrorist out there that he has won,” said Burke, who also blasted local broadcasters for what he thought was sensational reporting.

“The local broadcast media have turned this thing into a circus,” Burke said, objecting to words and phrases such as “horrors” and “terrified discovery.”

Forty-five health inspectors fanned out across New York City, concentrating on small “mom and pop” stores, to make sure the capsules were not for sale, said Health Department spokesman Marvin Bogner.

Chicago Poisonings

The FDA’s Young said the cyanide found in Bronxville did not match the cyanide found in Tylenol in 1982, when seven people died in the Chicago area. He said 70,000 capsules had been tested, and the investigation was widening.

“We’re starting at the original location and surrounding areas, and then we’ll go broader from that, and most importantly, today we’ll be checking it with other types of potassium cyanide that we have in our banks,” he said.

Testing “will continue non-stop over the weekend,” Grigg said Friday afternoon.

The two 24-capsule bottles containing the poison came from separate batch numbers--ADF-916, expiring in May, 1987, and manufactured in Fort Washington, Pa., and AHA-090, expiring in April, 1987, and manufactured in Puerto Rico.

Poison a Mystery

How poison could be introduced into both packages was a mystery. Johnson & Johnson spokesman James Gutman said it was not known whether the two bottles were ever stored in the same place before being shipped to retailers.

Young said someone may have added the cyanide after the bottles left the factory and then replaced the seals.

However, Carl Vergari, the Westchester County district attorney, said the discovery of the second bottle increased “the focus of the investigation on the possibility of tampering at the plant.”

He said investigators were trying to determine if the Woolworth Tylenol may have been made in Pennsylvania though it had a Puerto Rican lot number.

As for the extortion letter, Vergari said, “We have no reason to believe it is connected with our homicide investigation.”

Copy of Letter

A copy of the letter was found during the arrests of Dewitt Gilmore, 21, of Mount Vernon, and two other people on credit card fraud charges Thursday. Gilmore admitted during his arraignment that he wrote the letter.

Chief Steinmuller said he had received the letter on Thursday. Although he has not ruled any connection between the tampering and the letter, he said he did not believe there was a connection.

The letter writer said “he was the No. 2 Tylenol killer and that if the money isn’t paid within 72 hours, then there would be a further adulteration of orange juice, not naming the orange juice. He did not mention that he would adulterate the Tylenol tablets,” Steinmuller said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Annmarie Levins said the letter would be cited as a reason not to release Gilmore or his girlfriend, Daffodil Graham, on bail.