Unabomber Ted Kaczynski probed by FBI in 1982 Tylenol poisonings

(CBS/AP) CHICAGO - The FBI says it's investigating whether Unabomber Ted Kaczynski was involved in the 1982 Chicago-area Tylenol poisonings case that killed seven people.

Kaczynski wrote in court papers filed in federal court in California last week that prison officials passed along an FBI request for DNA samples.

Kaczynski is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in 1998 to setting 16 explosions that killed three people.

Chicago FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates confirmed Thursday that the agency has asked for Kaczynski's DNA. She says he's refused to voluntarily give a sample but declined to say whether the agency could compel him to provide one.

The Tylenol case involved the use of potassium cyanide and led to a mass recall by manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. Kaczynski says he has never possessed potassium cyanide.