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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1995)
Murder trail opens for two former Rajneeshees PORTLAND (AD A guru hooked on RolU Knyii's and evpmsiv >• w all hes and sometimes high on nitrous aside mis power cra/eo. para noid personal secretary handing out bizarre orders and com acting enemies lists from her opulent bedroom crowded with favor seekers Thousands of red-garhed followers building their vision of utopia in the high Oregon desert. The strange days of Rajneeshpuratn were revisited Wednesdav in opening arguments in the trial of two of the com mtine’s former leaders on t harm's ttiev conspired to kill the 1‘ S. attorney for Oregon "It's a i lassie i ase of human frailty and corruption, the arrogance of power and the manipulation ol the dev • >!ed ; ■. .. cutor T ! Reardon 111 said However, attorneys for the defendants say the government’s (ase is based entire ly on the dubious testimony of five e\ fol lowers of the guru wh.se stories have ( hanged through the years. The five are testifying as part of deals they < til with the government "The evident e will show that these an* people who lie to get what they want,'' attorney Leslie Weathi-rhrad said Defendants Sally Anne ( roft and Susan Hagan were known as Ma f’retti Simla and Ma Anand So in their days at the north < entral Oregon commune in the early 1980s Croft was in charge of the commune's money Hagan headed the heavy equipment department Reardon depu ted Croft as the No t person at the commune, hut her attorney disputed that, saying there was no hierar chy beyond the guru. Hhagyvan Shree Rapjeesh. and his sharp-tongued person Ma (.roft was asked hy Ka|Oeesh to succeed She* i i ■ set retary 'vs hen ■-::!■ I hr commune, hot she turned him down after he told her he didn’t tare about his fol lowers and was only concerned with his Rolls Kovt t’s and watches, Weatherhead said. In 1*181. Rajneesh moved his followers from India to the former Hig Muddy Rani h in a remote set turn of VVast o County The defendants wore motor play ers in the development of a lay ish i om rmtne that included an airport, shopping malls hotel and a largo meditation hall Four thousand followers worked sev en-day weeks in a tightly controlled, authoritarian onv ironnumt Witnesses will testify that Croft and Hagan were present at meetings where plans were made to kill then-U S attor ney Charles Turner, Reardon said Turn er was heading an investigation into alle gations that Rajneeshees were condor ting sham marriages to circumvent U S immigration taws The prosecution contends Croft and Hagan attended "a series of killing enn ferem es" In Sheelas lied room where the l onsptrai y to kill Turner was developed Croft is alleged to have supplied the mon ey to purchase five guns that i mild not lie trai ed to the commune Hagan was a fer vent follower who gave a pep talk in sup port of the plot, the prosecution alleges Followers of the guru went to Cortland to find out Turner s work habits and took photographs of his home, Reardon said Two women were sent to Texas and New Mexico it) Inis (hi* guns The weapons wen’ retrieved from a drained lake last year and will bo presented as evidence, Reardon said Hut the defense attorneys said there is no evidence that the two women attend ed the meetings, and those w ho say nth etw ise have changed their stories over the years Four of the five named in opening arguments have rent bed plea bargain deals with the government t he fifth was granted immunity from all prosecution Wootherheud w ants the results of a lie deter tor examination that ( roft took to lie admitted as evidence Hagan's attorney Colleen St tssors said her t bent has offered to take a lie detector test, too The women fought extradition from tngland. where Croft worked as an at i militant and Hagan was an nromather apist Several family members and sup portsi s. mt (tiding I lagan a 19 yeat did daughter, were m the courtroom Wrdties day it w it the same t ourt house where Raineesb pleaded guilty to imuugrntinn tr.iml before leas ing the t minify in l'ttl'i He died in India in 19‘M) Packwood declines public hearing WASHINGTON (AP) Sttn Bob Pack wood notified the Ethic s Committee on Wednesday that he will not request a hearing on < barges including sexual mis conduct and attempting to obstruct the probe by altering his diaries However, the committee could order a hearing anyway — and has done so in every case that has reached the final investigative stage The Oregon Republican’s case has reached that point, and he had until Wednesday to request a hearing if the ethics panel's three Republicans and three Democrats decide to order hearings, they also would determine whether — as in the past — the proceedings would he public. The alternative would be to reach conclusions without a hearing, basing a com mittee report on evidence gath ered and on private interviews with witnesses Packwood's lawyers sent the (ommittee a brief letter stating, this is Id notify you th.it Se>y Pgt kwood does not request ,i hearing." “ l he senator, who i hairs the Senate Ptnin e ( ommittee. could have used the proceeding to make statements in his defense and his lawyers could have cross examined witnesses It was not immediately clear what the Ethics Committee would decide. Sen Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., a committee member, has called for public hearings. Ranking committee Democrat Richard Bryan, of Nevada, strongly hinted that fie favored hearings by pointing to the panel's past history Pack wood met with the panel privately for three days last week to defend himself and answer questions. His chief of staff. Elaine Franklin, said. "For two and one half years. Sen Pai kwood has said tie wants an opportunity to present his side to tin* Fthics Committee For three days last week he hud that opportunity "Non he looks forward to One. a resolution to these mat ters; two, leading the Senate on the spending n<striiiiits tns essary to balance the budget ’ The Finance Committee is preparing to revamp Medicare and Medicaid and to write tax cut legislation 111 the sexual mis< undue t idle gallons, Packwood was accused of making unwanted advances to women from 1969 through 1990. including grabbing and kissing them against their will Several of the women said they wanted to toll their stories at a public hearing lie is also accused of altering his personal diaries when he learned they might be subpoe naed. and soliciting job offers for his soon-to-be ex wife from indi viduals with legislative interests Blind couple’s concessions sight for visitors’ sore eyes K( X .1 t. Kl v I K. On- (AT) - People who buy a latte or .1 snow conn at Valley of the Rogue Slate Park have a hard tune (relieving Koy and Met kv Picket l are hoth legally blind "They didn't at I like blind people." said lerrv Agnew. who stop[»«I on Ins way home to Visalia. (jdif "1 had not a clue." said Rob Massey of Tigard "She |us! took my money and made change." With so many visitors say ing they want a < hant e to buy snacks and drinks. Oregon state parks this year are m.ik ing their first foray into the world of concession stands, said |im Mutton, who manages the park neighboring a rest stop on Interstate 5 between Medford and (’.runts Pass I ndrr Oregon law. Inn tbs od gM'pnwini i- fot offer mg t on* evsiuus til state owned facilities The Picketts pay 15 psn I'll! of thru « iMW ret eipls to the stale i bough people hit • little notion tin’ I’ii ketis iiri> dis abled, tlii’v both suffer from sever** limitations to their sight "I can't tell a man from a woman until they open their mouth." Hoy Pit kett said They hove learned their way around the 24-foot trailer that is their concession stand Koy Pickett uses a magnifier to identify i urrency and knows a soft drink is full when the bubbles burst over the rim "1 make espresso as fast as somebody with sight.' Koy Pit kett Mild SPRINGFIELD 1 SCIENTIFIC ] SUPPUES ItKUilM IfAffcM, OxtM tnn '(503) 726-9176' 1-800-344-2047 Tennis & Racquetball Restring Specials Inventory Clearance Sale! Gifts ft o„. 4 & more! 895 E. 13th Ave. Open : M-F 7:45-6 • Sat 10-5 • Sun 12-5
