ALEPH Foundation

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Professor Gerald L Esterson was a Professor of Chemical Engineering who set up and ran the ALEPH Foundation with his friend Ervin Y Rodin, a Professor of Applied Mathematics. They were both at Washington University when tobacco lobbyist Theodor D Sterling was professor of computing and statistics. They helped Sterling set up a scam Indoor Air Quality conference in Israel along with the School of Engineering at Tel Aviv University by providing him with a way to launder the Tobacco Institute funds through their foundation.

Documents & Timeline

1972 Feb 29 Theodor Sterling is writing to Bill Shinn at Shook Hardy & Bacon, seeking $5,000 to support a panel at a Pollution: Engineering conference being held in Tel Aviv. He has asked for the payment to be laundered through the ALEPH Foundation. [2]

[The AELPH Foundation was run by Ervin Y Rodin and Gerald L Esterson (Exec Director).(Both Washington University professors ... as was Theodor Sterling at this time) They say the ALEPH is a "non-profit foundation fostering international cooperation and dialog among professionals and scientific groups." They were willing to act as an 'intermediary' for Theodor Sterling running a tobacco funded conference in Israel.[3]

1972 Mar 1 Bill Shinn of Shook Hardy & Bacon is writing to the Committee of Counsel members, who handle the allocation of Special Account #4 money to their scientific hirelings.

The work which Dr. Theodor Sterling has been doing in connection with air pollution became unusually valuable following the President' s transmission on January 31 of an air pollution message to Congress, which you have received, that attempted to implicate cigarette smoking in 95% of lung cancer and 90% of chronic obstructive lung disease.

Dr. Sterling has consulted with us in connection with this message and has also, at Jack Mills request, attended meetings in Washington.

(John ('Jack') Mills was Senior VP for Federal Relations at the TI and a Republican apparatchik)

We would like for him to have every opportunity to continue his work in this area and he has recently submitted a request to us to help fund a panel on "Effects of Pollutants on Human Health." This panel will meet in connection with an International Meeting of the Society of Engineering Science in Tel Aviv, Israel, during June. A copy of the program, is enclosed.

Dr Sterling is requesting a grant to the ALEPH Foundation, which will administer the funds. Copies of both the letter from Dr Sterling requesting support and the ALEPH Foundation's letter to Dr Sterling are also enclosed. We recommend a grant of $5,000 as a special project (non-CTR) and would appreciate your letting us know your views by March 10.

I have just received, and also enclose a copy of Dr Sterling's latest published article "The Incidence of Lung Cancer in the US Since 1955 in Relation to the Etiology of the Disease." [4]


1972 June 12 - 17 Pamphlet for the conference "Pollution Engineering and Scientific Solutions" held at a hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel. The pamphlet shows that Ervin Y Rodin was a Professor of Applied Mathematics at Washington University. (Sterling was there at this time also). His associate as Executice Director of the ALEPH Foundation, Gerald L Esterson was a Proessor in Chemical Engineering at Washington U, and served as "Chairman of the US Program Committee" for the conference.

They managed to get the EPA, NOAA and Washington University all listed as US co-sponsors of the conference, along with the School of Engineering, Tel Aviv University. And Sterling is listed as "Convenor" of the section on "Effects of Pollutants on Human Health" [5]


1972 Aug 31 The audit of the Secret Special Project #4 account show that the $5,000 was paid to ALEPH. Also another $11,385 directly to Theodor Sterling for his considerable contributions to the financial health of the tobacco industry. [6]