Great Phenol Plot

[3] Although the United States remained officially neutral until April 1917, it was increasingly throwing its support to the Allies through trade, especially after the May 1915 sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania (whose death toll included 128 American passengers) by a German U-boat.

[4] Schweitzer, with money funneled from Germany through Albert, set up a contract for a front company called the Chemical Exchange Association to buy all of Edison's excess phenol.

[6] The briefcase contained details about the phenol plot and other covert activities to indirectly aid the German war effort.

Although it was not incriminating enough to bring charges against Albert or the other conspirators (since the United States was still officially neutral and trade with Germany was legal), the documents were soon leaked to the New York World, an anti-German newspaper.

By September, he had signed a deal (backdated to June to hide Albert's involvement) with Richard Kny, a relative of the Heyden plant's manager.

By the time the plan was discontinued, it had succeeded in diverting enough phenol, according to Albert, to make about 4.5 million pounds (2,000 tonnes) of explosives.