FBI issues warrant in Tylenol extortion cases
CHICAGO (AP) - Federal
authorities issued an arrest
warrant Wednesday and were
looking in Texas for a man ac
cused of trying to extort $1 mil
lion following seven cyanide
killings, Illinois Attorney Gener
al Tyrone Fahner said
But Fahner also said the ar
rest of another man, a self-de
scribed "closet chemist” who
worked for the Jewel grocery
store chain, was "another one
of those (incidents) that are un
related" to the deaths of the
seven people, who took cyan
ide-laden capsules of Extra
Strength Tylenol
Robert Richardson, de
scribed as being in his mid 30s,
allegedly wrote a letter to
McNeil Consumer Products Co .
manufacturer of Extra-Strength
Tylenol, threatening to use the
best-selling pain reliever for
more poisoning unless he was
paid the money
The letter instructed the firm
to deposit the money in an ac
count at a Chicago bank The
account, which officials said
had been closed, was traced to
a suburban resident questioned
by the FBI last week Fahner
said the man, who owned a
travel agency that has since
been closed, "has never been a
suspect" in the extortion or the
killings
Fahner said Richardson s
wife, Nancy, who was not
named in the warrant, formerly
worked for the travel agency
The couple is believed to be in
the vicinity of Amarillo, Texas,
and is being sought by the FBI,
Fahner said He said the extor
tion letter was traced to Ri
chardson through handwriting
analysis.
The Jewel employee, Roger
Arnold, 48, was arrested late
Monday night after police
received a tip that Arnold was
“known to have cyanide in his
house,” said police detective
James C. Gildea.
Arnold has been‘charged with
five counts of failure to register
guns and one count of ag
gravated assault.
SAHALIE
Natural Foods
Fresh Mushrooms
$1.29 a pound
• Fresh Produce • Vitamins
• Bulk Foods • Fine Wines
• Coffee Beans
13th & Patterson 484-6460
Weekdays 9-9. Sat 8t Sun 10-9
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Couple claims condom in Coke;
lawyer litigates, asks damages
SEATTLE (AP) - A Seattle
man and woman who claim they
found a condom in a bottle of
Coca Cola have sued the bottler
and the store where they bought
the soft drink
Christine Van Vblsem and her
husband. Charles Ramsell,
jmnnrr-i
asked the King County Superior
Court to award unspecified
damages and other relief for
their suffering. The suit was filed
Oct 1
Volsem said she drank some
of the beverage before noticing
the male contraceptive during
...... .1,1
* * ■»- -
* <*~
4
The Buffalo Is Stampeding In Springfield!
GRAND OPENING NOW IN THE SPRINGFIELD MALL
EVERY JEAN IN THE STORE
3.99
19.99
ALL STORES THROUGH SUNDAY
SPRINGFIELD: Sprinqfield Mall 746-9505
EUGENE: 77 West 11th 342 8495
ALBANY: 122 East 1st 926-7355
MEDFORD: 36 S. Central 772-6200
SALEM: Salem Plaza 371 9500
CORVALLIS: 312 S.W. 3rd 758 1170
lunch on July 10, 1981
The condom was inflated,
knotted and "not fresh from the
box." the couple's lawyer, Jill A
Salmi, said Tuesday
Kete Okazaki, manager of the
First Hill Food Center Thriftway,
said he was unfamiliar with the
case and had no comment
Joe Wilkinson, spokeswoman
for Coca Cola USA in Atlanta,
said the company would not
comment on any case in litiga
tion.
However, he said there is a
round plastic "filler ring" used
in the bottling process that re
sembles the object found
"It is possible a filler ring
could be mistaken," he said
There are 3.5 million Coke
soft drinks served a day all over
the world, he said
"Every bottle used for our soft
drink products is examined vi
sually or by an electronic device
after rinsing and cleaning and
prior to filling to assure that
foreign objects are not present
in the bottle." Wilkinson said
SF’s gun ban
banned in court
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - San
Francisco's handgun ban was
declared unconstitutional Wed
nesday by a state Court of Ap
peal. which said it was up to the
Legislature to make laws about
handgun possession or owner
ship
While the three-judge panel
said they were "sensitive to the
political and social overtones of
a case such as this, we are here
concerned only with the narrow
legal question of whether the
state Constitution and state sta
tutes permit San Francisco to
enact such an ordinance We
conclude that they do not "
The judges told San Francis
co officials not to enforce the
handgun ordinance and to alert
residents that it won t be en
forced
COPY TIME
Self serve
copies
3C
MONDAY -
SATURDAY
9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
iriwde Sugar Pine Ridge Sports
Phone 343-7131
Thursday, October 14,1982