Jeremy Margolis, Asst. US Attorney in the northern district of Illinois, assisted in the prosecution of James Lewis for extortion. Although Lewis was charged with extortion, the job of Margolis, along with US Attorney Dan Webb and IL Attorney General Tyrone Fahner, was to convict Lewis - in the court of public opinion - for the Tylenol murders.
Documents from James Lewis' Parole hearing appeal show that what a jury could not do, was done by players within the corrupt power structure of the Illinois Political and Judicial Systems.
James Lewis 1991 Parole Hearing Appeal:
1. Can evidence that was known by investigative agencies but not by the United States Parole Commission ("the Commission") at the time of a prisoner's initial parole determination be considered "new information" sufficient for the Commission to reopen the prisoner's case under 28 C.F.R. § 2.28(f)?
2. Once a prisoner's case is reopened, can the Commission consider information in a sentencing transcript where
A. the transcript, though previously unseen by the Commission, was not the basis for reopening;B. the information pertains to a crime for which the prisoner was not charged but which was related to the crime for which he was convicted; and
C. the district judge declined to consider the information at sentencing?
3. Was the district judge's statement during sentencing that there was not a "shred of evidence" that the Petitioner-Appellant (Lewis) committed the Tylenol murders merely a reiteration of his assurance that he was not going to consider any evidence of that crime since Lewis was not so charged, rather than a finding on the merits of such an allegation pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(3)(D)(i)?
4. Did the Commission act within its discretion in determining that Lewis committed murder by lacing Tylenol capsules with cyanide?
We answer all of these questions in the affirmative.
There is no question that Lewis could not - and did not - carry out the Tylenol murders. It seems implausible that the players involved in the prosecution really believed James Lewis was the Tylenol Killer.
Even the judge who sentenced Lewis said:
There was not a "shred of evidence" that the Petitioner-Appellant (Lewis) committed the Tylenol murders.
Nevertheless, once James Thompson, Jeremy Margolis, Dan Webb, Tyrone Fahner, and George Ryan put Lewis behind bars, they used their political clout to corruptly convict him of the Tylenol murders. There was no trial, Lewis was not allowed to defend himself, there was no interjection of logic or physical evidence. The approved theory of the Tylenol murders required a patsy. And at the direction of J&J CEO James Burke and his corporate yes men, the corrupt Chicago power brokers fulfilled the mandate of the approved theory.
James Lewis offered to assist the Tylenol task force in any way he could. Jeremy Margolis accepted his offer. The picture in front of Margolis was drawn by Lewis. It depicts a method that Lewis hypothesized might have been used by the killer to fill Tylenol capsules with cyanide. Margolis touts this sketch as his greatest piece of evidence for making Lewis his prime suspect.
Had Margolis or any of the Tylenol task force members actually taken the time to learn how Tylenol was packaged and distributed, they'd have realized that this sketch did not depict some unique system that only James Lewis had ever come up with for filling capsules. This drawing depicts the basic mechanism used in dozens of different types of capsule repackaging machines used at thousands of pharmacies and repackagers throughout the country in 1982.
Basic Capsule Filling Machine
James Lewis Convicted of Extortion in the Tylenol Case
October 28, 1983
James Lewis, described by prosecutors as a "vicious, mean person" who had no regard for the victims of the Tylenol-cyanide killings, was found guilty of extortion for demanding $1 million from Johnson & Johnson. A federal jury of eight men and four women found Lewis guilty after deliberating for three hours on the eighth day of the trial before U.S. District Chief Judge Frank J. McGarr.
The conviction followed five days of testimony before U.S. District Judge Frank McGarr in which he contended Lewis was a misguided "wretch," while prosecutors tried to show he was "diabolical" and a "methodical" con man.
In closing arguments Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Margolis called Lewis a "diabolical" schemer who preyed on fear and grief and "turned the world on its ear" by writing the letter.
"All that matters in this case is when he wrote the letter, he recognized he intended Johnson & Johnson would part with $1 million," said Margolis.
The defense admitted Lewis wrote the letter to Johnson & Johnson Co. demanding $1 million to "stop the killings," but contended he did it to embarrass his wife's former boss by leaving clues the boss had written the letter.
Lewis showed no emotion and stared down at the defense table before and after the verdict. He later shook hands with defense attorney Michael Monico, who said he would appeal the verdict.
Monico said the government failed to prove Lewis intended to receive the money, saying he only wanted to embarrass his wife's former employer because he failed to meet his last payroll. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Margolis disagreed.
"The grief and horror of October and September of 1982 is what he trafficked upon to commit his crime," Margolis said.
Eighteen Months After the Tylenol Murders, Mystery Lingers
After an intense marketing and public relations campaign, Tylenol had recaptured 28 percent of the market. ''Tylenol is still outselling the next four leading brands,'' says James Murray, assistant director of public relations for Johnson & Johnson. ''Our share is essentially where it was in spring 1982.''
But the mystery lingers, and the scope of the investigation reflects the unusual character of the crime, said Jeremy Margolis, a top state investigator who holds the newly created title of Illinois Inspector General. ''We lacked a crime scene and we lacked a motive, the two inroads to move into the solution,'' he said. ''All that was left was the cyanide.''
About 20,000 names, including some from anonymous tips, were logged into the computer, and 400 people were scrutinized extensively. Two of them, Roger Arnold and James W. Lewis, were eventually convicted in cases related to the Tylenol inquiry.
Ken Eto "Flips" for the Feds
Ken Eto turned on the mob after he survived being shot in the head in a Northwest Side parking lot in 1983 and went on to testify against mob boss Ernest Rocco Infelice in 1991. Eto, known as "Tokyo Joe," survived three gunshots in the head in February 1983 in an attempted assassination that came after he was convicted of a gambling charge and the mob feared he would become a turncoat.
Former FBI agent Jack O'Rourke said that Eto was a gambling expert who for decades ran games and books for the mob's North Side crew. Eto learned gambling in the service while riding a troop train to Alaska during World War II. After returning to Chicago, he took up with the mob and handled not only their games and books, but also paid bribes to police, O'Rourke said.
In 1983, the mob turned on Eto and ordered him killed.
Inside a car parked along Harlem Avenue on the North Side, two men fired three shots into Eto's skull. The men, whom Eto later identified to federal agents as mob soldiers John Gattuso and Jasper Campise, then left him for dead, O'Rourke said. But Eto didn't die, and after awaking from unconsciousness, dragged himself to a nearby pharmacy, where he called 911, O'Rourke said.
FBI agents and then-Assistant U.S. Atty. Jeremy Margolis rushed to the hospital where Eto was taken, O'Rourke said. During his recovery, Eto agreed to "flip" for the feds, O'Rourke said. "He really had nowhere else to go," O'Rourke said
Eto not only fingered Gattuso, a Cook County sheriff's officer, and Campise, as the gunmen, but he also provided intelligence about mob activity to the FBI. O'Rourke said he learned that soon after the shooting, the mob planned to murder Gattuso and Campise. O'Rourke said he and then-U.S. Atty. Dan Webb tried to persuade the men to cooperate with the government, but they refused.
On July 14, 1983, their bodies were found in the trunk of car in Naperville. Eto, meanwhile, was placed in the witness-protection program, O'Rourke said.
In 1989, Eto testified against a state legislator implicated in the Operation Greylord investigation. Eto was 72 when he testified in 1991, telling the court he had spent 40 years in the Chicago Outfit.
"I've never seen a witness like him," Shapiro said. "Completely unflappable."
Governor George Ryan Denies Wrongdoing from him and Pal Jeremy Margolis
September 23, 2000
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. George Ryan on Friday denied any wrong-doing as questions have arisen about the level of influence a key associate had in Ryan's naming members to the Illinois Gaming Board.
"There's nothing there," Ryan told reporters.
The central figure in the latest controversy to hit the Ryan administration is Jeremy Margolis, former Illinois State Police director and a close friend of Ryan. Margolis, a lawyer and lobbyist, also represents the 71 suburban communities that would share upward of $100 million in profits generated by a proposed casino in Rosemont. The Illinois Gaming Board ultimately decides whether Rosemont will get that casino.
Published reports suggested Margolis used his influence with Ryan to stack the board in his favor, going so far as to recruit board members for Ryan's approval. Ryan said the reports are overblown and that Margolis only "introduced" prospective board members to him.
"I don't think there's a conflict at all," Ryan said.
However, Anita Bedell, executive director of the anti-gambling Illinois Church Action on Alcohol Problems, said it appears there is a "huge conflict of interest all around." She said Margolis' presence suggests there is "undo pressure" being put on the gaming board to approve the Rosemont casino. A vote on the proposed Emerald Casino license could come next month.
Ryan doesn't dispute that it was Margolis who introduced him to Gregory C. Jones and Sergio Acosta. Jones is now the board's chairman and Acosta is executive director. But be claimed it never went beyond an introduction.
"I didn't know these people, he did. He brought them in and introduced them to me. I looked at their qualification, their backgrounds and thought they were perfect for the job," Ryan said. "They weren't hired because of Jeremy Margolis."
Margolis did not return a message seeking comment Friday. Jones declined to comment when contacted. Gene O'Shea, spokesman for the Illinois Gaming Board, read this statement:
"The Illinois Gaming Board, its administrator and staff will continue to conduct all matters and investigations pending before the board independently, thoroughly and without regard to outside influence, just as intended by Governor George Ryan."
In responding to questions about Margolis, Ryan gave several contradictory statements Friday. At one point he said Margolis has no official link to the governor's office. He then confirmed Margolis coordinated the Ryan administration's response to the federal investigation into a driver's ticenses-for-bribes scheme dating back to Ryan's days as secretary of state.
As for Margolis' connections to Acosta and Jones, Ryan said no conflict of interest exists because Margolis does not have an issue directly before the gaming board. Emerald Casino wants to build thecasino in Rosemony. That is the sole issue the board is ruling on. The role of Rosemont itself and the other suburban communities is separate, Ryan said.
Margolis was hired to represent the West Central Municipal Conference, which includes Rosemont,after Lake County developers filedsuit claiming the law that allows a casino to be built in Rosemont is unconstitutional. In addition to the normal 31 conference members, another 37 communities from throughout suburban Cook Countyare involved with the revenue sharing plan.