The Unsolved Case of Dr. Cornelius P. Rhoads: An Indictment

A medical researcher working for the Rockefeller Foundation in 1931 actually got away with multiple murders despite having bragged about them in a hand-written letter that he misplaced. Attorney and revolutionary leader Pedro Albizu-Campos received the letter from a follower and made it public. The killer, Dr. Cornelius P. Rhoads, was never prosecuted and became a prominent cancer researcher and consultant to the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. Albizu-Campos, a Harvard graduate,was subsequently jailed in 1950 for his revolutionary activities. He became very ill in prison and claimed that he was being tortured with atomic radiation. Only his followers believed him, although he was also a chemical engineer. The American Association for Cancer Research has removed Dr. Rhoads's name from an award it has been giving since 1979 to young physicians who excel in cancer research. Rhoads died in 1959. Albizu in 1965. The author asserts that Rhoads was the intellectual author of Albizu's torture and death.