Tobacco Documents Online

~ ~ .. HARVARD MEDICAL St,HOOL DtVI41ON'OPBElPIRATORY DISEASE! GARY L. NUBER„M.D:, CHIEF BETH ISRAEL HOSPITAL Mailing flddrerr: . BETN ISRAEL HOSPITAL !3O BROOKLiNE AVENUE BOSTON, . MA89ACNUS'ETT! 02215 (617) 735-2791 February 21, 1978 William W. Shinn, Esq. Shook, Hardy & Bacon Mercantile Bank Tower 1101 Walnut Kansas City, Missouri 64106 Dear Bill, Relative to our various discussions, I enclose copies of the requests for payment for renovations at Charlesgate West, which require both the industry and my approval prior to payment. We undertook these renovations, per our prior correspondence and discussions, relative to our research on pigeon smoking and atherogenesis with the understanding that the renovated Charlesgate West facility would be available to us for the research program proposed, as well as our tobacco industry efforts. It was in that context that I approved the initial request (by the Beth Israel Hospital, but not as yet by Harvard) for partial payment (enclosed, Exhibit A). Walsh Brothers, Inc. has been a simply superb group of people with whom to work and I hope the Hospital will pay them as soon as possible. As you know, since that time, however, the situation'has become much more complex. The Hospital reglected to obtain permission from the owners, via the sublease and Pitney-Bowes, prior to the contractor initiating and' ~ completing the renovations. This has raised questions of a breach of terms of the lease, as well as potential litigation. We have also been requested to return the building to its original status, relative to these renovations (correspondence enclosed, Exhibit B). If that were to occur, of course, we could not undertake the research we are agreed to in our National Cancer Institute funding, nor the proposed research we are planning to undertake in this area with tobacco industry funding. In that context, I will not approve further payments of these renovations costs (enclosed, Exhibit C) until this matter is fully resolved. _' This is a complicated matter. Please advise me on how to proceed within the context of the Harvard-tobacco industry agreements. Sincerely, GLH:mtc Gary L. Huber, Chief Respiratory Diseases Unit Enclosures

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