US & World

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (CBS) ― The FBI searched the Cambridge home of a man linked to the deadly 1982 Tylenol tampering incident in Chicago which killed seven. The poisonings triggered a nationwide scare and prompted dramatic changes in the way food and medical products are packaged.

FBI officials searched the home of James W. Lewis in Cambridge as part of an ongoing investigation into the Tylenol murders. There were 15 agents inside Lewis' first-floor apartment Wednesday night who removed bags and several boxes of evidence.

FBI agents from Chicago released a statement at 6 p.m. Wednesday, saying a complete review of all evidence in the 1982 Tylenol murders is currently under way. The FBI says the review was prompted by recent advances in forensic technology and the recent 25th anniversary, which sparked a flood of tips related to the crime.

The statement concluded, "All of these tips have been or will be thoroughly investigated in an effort to solve this crime and bring some measure of closure to the families of the victims. To date, this review has not resulted in the filing of any criminal charges."

While Lewis was not inside the apartment during the raid, CBS station WBZ-TV in Boston learned his wife has been present all afternoon and evening.

The investigation involves the Illinois State Police and several local police departments, an FBI spokesperson said.

Witnesses say FBI agents spent several hours removing boxes from an apartment where Lewis and his wife, Leann, lived shortly after James' release from prison in 1995. Lewis served more than 12 years for sending an extortion note to Johnson & Johnson during the Tylenol scare. In the note, Lewis demanded $1 million to "stop the killing."

On Wednesday, two FBI agents sat parked across the street from the apartment building at a shopping center. At least two other vehicles with Illinois license plates were at the scene.

WBZ-TV has also learned that the FBI is searching other locations related to the investigation but have refused to say where.

It's unknown if Lewis is in police custody.

Lewis was arrested in December 1982 at a New York City library after a nationwide manhunt. At the time, he gave investigators a detailed account of how the killer might have operated and described how someone could buy medicine, use a special method to add cyanide to the capsules and return them to store shelves.

Lewis later admitted sending the letter and demanding the money, but said he never intended to collect it. He said he wanted to embarrass his wife's former employer by having the money sent to the employer's bank account.

In a 1992 interview with The Associated Press, Lewis explained that the account he gave authorities was simply his way of explaining the killer's actions.

"I was doing like I would have done for a corporate client, making a list of possible scenarios," said Lewis, who maintained his innocence.

Lewis called the killer "a heinous, cold-blooded killer, a cruel monster." He also served two years of a 10-year sentence for tax fraud.

Lewis moved to the Boston area after getting out of prison in 1995 and is listed as a partner in a Web design and programming company called Cyberlewis. On its Web site, which lists the location searched Wednesday as the company's address, there is a tab labeled "Tylenol" with a written message and audio link in which a voice refers to himself as "Tylenol Man."

"Somehow, after a quarter of a century, I surmise only a select few with critical minds will believe anything I have to say," the message says. "Many people look for hidden agendas, for secret double entendre, and ignore the literal meanings I convey. Many enjoy twisting and contorting what I say into something ominous and dreadful which I do not intend.

"That my friends is the curse of being labeled the Tylenol Man. Be that as it may, I can NOT change human proclivities. I shant try. Listen as you like."

Lewis has continued to deny any responsiblity for the Tylenol tampering.

In a recent interview with Cambridge Community TV host Roger Nicholson, Lewis stressed that he was in New York at the time and that there was no way he could have been involved in the deaths in Chicago.

"He was paranoid. I didn't study psychology, but I read enough to know what kind of personality is a paranoid personality," Nicholson said. "He's definitely paranoid."

No one has ever been convicted in the poisoning cases.

Seven people died in the Chicago area in 1982 after someone put cyanide into Tylenol capsules. The deaths in 1982 took place over three days. J&J had its sales force remove 264,000 Tylenol bottles from Chicago-area stores, and consumers were urged to exchange any Tylenol they had for a safe bottle. The company then recalled 22 million bottles of Tylenol capsules.

The poisoning led to the introduction of tamperproof packaging that is now standard.

The deadly tamperings sparked hundreds of copycats throughout the years.

The case has surfaced periodically over the years, primarily in stories marking the anniversary of the killings.

In 2007, 25 years after the deaths, survivors of the victims said they remained haunted by what happened and frustrated that nobody was convicted.

"I will never get past this because this guy is out there, living his life, however miserable it might be," said Michelle Rosen, who was 8 when her mother, Mary Reiner, collapsed in front of her after taking Tylenol for post-labor pains.

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