Terry Mee

TERRY MEE - Lt., Wheaton Police Department

TERRY MEE AND THE 8TH BOTTLE OF TYLENOL

Lt. Terry Mee was unable to get his story straight with regard to the controversial "8th bottle" of cyanide laced Tylenol.

Here's what local authorities said about the "eighth" bottle of cyanide laced Tylenol:

Tyrone Fahner identified the "eighth bottle" of Tylenol as having lot No. MC2873, which had not been linked to the murders. He said it was purchased at the Frank's Finer Foods outlet in Wheaton. Fahner's comments were in a statement released by telephone by a task force spokesman to the City News Bureau of Chicago. The bottle was turned in by the wife of a DuPage County judge.

A law enforcement source in Washington, who declined to be identified by name or department, said the bottle was returned some time ago, perhaps weeks ago ... (but) it was just processed today (Monday)." The source said police mailed the package for testing to a Maple Plains, MN lab operated by McNeil Consumer Products. The bottle was sent with "a notation that it might be contaminated*," and tests confirmed presence of cyanide, the source said. McNeil turned over the bottle to the FBI.

The Wheaton Police didn't have their "facts" straight...

OCTOBER 26, 1982 — Authorities Tuesday searched for a woman who turned in an eighth bottle of cyanide-tainted Extra-Strength Tylenol and falsely identified herself as a judge's wife.

Wheaton Police Lt. Terry Mee said the woman brought in a bottle of Extra-Strength Tylenol Oct. 13, two weeks after the seven Tylenol murders. He said the woman identified herself as the wife of an associate DuPage County Circuit judge. However, when FBI agents and members of the Tylenol task force interviewed the judge's wife, they learned she was not the person who returned the bottle to Wheaton police, Mee said. "We don't know why she used that name, and now we are obviously concerned with determining who that person is."

Authorities said Monday night that the eighth bottle had come from a Frank's store in Wheaton, but Lieutenant Mee said today that the woman ''definitely said she bought it in Winfield,'' perhaps ''one to two weeks earlier''

Tyrone Fahner, who previously stated that the eighth bottle was purchased at the Wheaton store, now says the task force was not sure where the bottle was bought — that it could have been purchased at a Frank's either in Winfield or nearby Wheaton.

OCTOBER 28, 1982 — After a one-day manhunt for the mysterious woman who'd falsely claimed she was the wife of a DuPage County Judge, Wheaton Police Chief Carl Dobbs said they'd made a mistake.

Dobbs said Wednesday (Oct. 27) that a "clerical error" had identified the woman as the wife of the wrong judge, and that the woman, Linda Morgan, was the wife of DuPage County Circuit Judge Lewis V. Morgan Jr.

Just as the Wheaton Police cleared up one rather odd mystery, they created another...

Chief Carl Dobbs said Linda Morgan called Wednesday afternoon to say she was the woman who returned the bottle to the Wheaton police station October 14. According to Dobbs, Ms. Morgan said she bought the bottle at Frank's Finer Foods in Wheaton, on Sept. 29*, when the first of the seven Chicago-area cyanide deaths was reported.

* But wait a minute. Just two days earlier, Lt Terry Mee went out of his way to correct reports that the eighth Tylenol bottle was purchased at Frank's Finer Foods in Wheaton. Lt. Mee insisted on October 26 that the woman ''definitely said she bought it in Winfield,'' perhaps ''one to two weeks earlier."

But in fact, Linda Morgan had actually purchased the Tylenol at Frank's Finer Foods in Wheaton.

Not only did Lt. Terry Mee forget which judge's wife turned the bottle in, he forgot from which store the "eighth bottle" of contaminated Tylenol was supposed to have been purchased.

Thanks to the re-appearance of Linda Morgan, officials had to go back to their original story that the eighth bottle of contaminated Tylenol was purchased in Wheaton; not Winfield. Since authorities weren't able to link any cyanide laced Tylenol to Frank's Finer Foods in Winfield, they failed to bury the incriminating truth about the "undisclosed location."

So if the cyanide laced Tylenol that killed Mary Reiner didn't come from Frank's Finer Foods, where did it come from? The answer to that question was hidden by officials who failed to disclose an important link between Frank's Finer Foods and the "undisclosed pharmacy outlet"; both received their Tylenol from the same distributor.

The "eighth" Tylenol bottle cover-up falls apart completely...

OCTOBER 29, 1982 -- Tyrone Fahner said the eighth bottle did not come from the same lot as any of the seven previous tainted bottles. He said the mixture inside the capsules isn't like previous tainted pills.

"The mix of cyanide and Tylenol is different," Attorney General Fahner said. "There were seven (poisoned) capsules in the bottle. All I can tell you for certain is the mix is substantially different."

It's rather peculiar that the eighth bottle of contaminated Tylenol, which led to so much confusion and contradictory statements, was discovered by Johnson & Johnson, the company that should have been a primary suspect in the tamperings.

The capsules in the "eighth bottle" of Tylenol had not been contaminated by the Tylenol killer prior to the murders, but were contaminated sometime after the murders by some person(s) who wanted to cover up evidence that didn't fit the approved theory.

Why was J&J allowed to burn over one hundred million un-inspected Tylenol capsules that they recalled after the 1982 Tylenol murders? Why was Jonson & Johnson allowed to take control of critical physical evidence during a criminal investigation in which they should have been a prime suspect?

No Charges After 34 High School Students Strip Searched in Prison Simulation

October 19, 1988

No laws were broken during a controversial prison simulation in which Wheaton North High School students were strip searched, Wheaton police said Monday.

Thirty-four students of an American Government class at Wheaton North took part in the fake lockup, conducted by the Institute for Prison Ministries at the Billy Graham Center over the Columbus Day weekend. Some parents, upon hearing what took place, reacted with anger, charging that the. experience — in which students were strip searched and had water poured on them — was unduly rough!

However, Wheaton Deputy Chief Terry Mee said a week-long invesigation was closed Monday and would yield no charges.

"We've investigated, and we've found no basis for criminal action," Mee said. "Nothing in conjunction with that simulation was criminal in nature. There's no violation of statute there."

The police investigation was initiated by the request of a parent, who Mee would not name. Mee said police investigated for crimes including battery, obsenity, assault and criminal sexual abuse. The DuPage County state's attorney's office concurred with the police department's conclusion, Mee said. Mee said police found no evidence that students were videotaped during the strip searched.

Wheaton North principal Harold Burshtan and teacher Dave Oliphant held a meeting Friday night, in which they attempted to allay parents fears by describing -what had taken place during the 27 hours the students were locked up. Many parents went away angry, however.

Three parents brought their anger to a Dist. 200 board of education meeting Monday night, "Who were the decision makers in excluding and deceiving parents?": asked Kay McKeen. "I want to know if child pornography was involved. I want to know who I can trust anymore in this school district?" Another parent, Connie Northrop, said her son had been chained to a pole, blindfolded, stripped to the waist and had ice dripped down his back.

She also said all students had to urinate into the same pan, and that urine had spilled on one student. "This is not anything I would sign my consent for," Northrop said. "I believed it was done through the district, through a teacher you had trust in."

Superintendent Richard R. Short said, 'It's my intention to have a full review." He also stated his support for teachers who sought to be innovative in teaching. "I would hope our faculty would not bo dissuaded from searching for ways to achieve learning objecttives,' he said.

School Board President C. James Carr conceded that communication with parents before the lockup was inadequate and that there may have been actions considered inappropriate." He said, however, he would not make a judgment at the meeting, but would wait for a report from the administration.

Deputy Chief Terry Mee Demoted

September 29, 1989

Wheaton soon may allow its second-ranking police position, deputy chief, to be filled from outside the department, under a proposed rule change being forwarded to the city council.

The city's board of fire and police commissioners this week recommended approval of the new rule. The change looms as important because the deputy chief slot will be vacant in several weeks, when the department demotes current deputy chief Terry Mee to commander of the detective division. City Manager Donald Rose says the position will remain unfilled until officials review whether the post is needed.

Mee was demoted after widespread complaints within the department that he was too authoritative and uncommunicative with other officers, Rose said last week. The demotion came at the conclusion of a seven-week look at claims of morale problems on the force.

If the position is filled, officers from within the department would be considered first, said Police Chief Carl Dobbs. Existing city policy calls for choosing a deputy chief from the ranks of officers.

The chief said he favored the rule change in 1981, but was overruled by the city manager.

"We felt it was needed right from the beginning," said Dobbs, referring to 1981, the year the deputy chief position was created.

At first, the department rotated commanders in the deputy chief position until Mee was named permanently in 1988.

Dobbs said it makes sense to allow outside applicants in case there aren't many in the department seeking the opening.

Terry Mee Promoted to East Dundee Police Chief

NOVEMBER 7, 2006

Less than one week after longtime East Dundee Police Chief Ignacio "Joe" Pena turned in his badge, the village has chosen his replacement. Monday night, the East Dundee* village board confirmed Terry Mee, administrative division commander of the Wheaton Police Department, as the village's next police chief.

*East Dundee is sister-city to West Dundee, home of former Carpentersville Village Attorney Richard Husted for 40 years.

The announcement capped a nearly four-month search that first narrowed down the more than 20 applicants to a pool of six finalists, then selected the one to succeed Pena. The news of Pena's impending retirement had sparked debate over whether the village should select an internal candidate or consider all applicants equally.

Those who favored Internal promotion specifically named Lt. Mike Blahnik, who has served alongside Pena for more than 20 years, as their ideal choice for the position. Village officials said Blahnik, who will serve as the interim police chief until Mee assumes his post Dec. 4, was among the six finalists.

Trustee Mike Ruffulo brought the internal-external debate out in the open Monday night when he said the village had created the lieutenant position for the express purpose of grooming Blahnik to replace Pena as police chief. "I can't embrace your coming to die village with a 'yes' vote," Ruffulo said to Mee, while pledging he would work with him. The rest of the board voted to confirm Mee. Blahnik, who was at the meeting, congratulated Mee after his confirmation.

Mee, who has served in patrol, administrative and investigative divisions during his 30 years with the Wheaton Police'Departmeht, said he is excited to start his new job.

"I'm very proud to serve the village of East Dundee," Mee said.

Mee acknowledged the size of the shoes he has to fill and said he would meet with Pena in die coming weeks to "pick his brain." Like Pena, Mee has volunteered with the Law Enforcement Torch Run, a fundraiser for the Special Olympics, and said he hopes to continue his involvement in community service in East Dundee. Mee said though the types of crime and demographics in the village have changed, the police department's focus must remain on building ties with the community. "If we have any focal point, it's going to be community policing," he said.

The Village of East Dundee Police Department

Terry Mee Police Cheif
Phone: 847-426-2822
Email: tmee@eastdundee.net

Patrol Officers:
Lieutenant Mike Blahnik
Sergeant Mike Governale
Detective Michael Seyller
Officer Larry Seyller
Officer John Theis
Officer Louis Kloepper
Officer L. Dale White
Officer Alan Kasiba
Officer Jeff Clark
Officer Arturo Gracia
Officer Daniel Duda
Officer Charles Chalcraft
Officer Joe Dunat
Officer Michael Carbone
Officer Walter Specht
Officer John Haase

AMERICAN FRAUD and The Tylenol Murders