Portland observer., January 08, 1976, Image 1

Nr« Frano«« 3ehoen-N«w«p»per Moo«
U n iv e rs ity o f Oregon L ib ra ry
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Flash
PORTLAND
Rockefeller
purjury
investigated
OBSERVER
Voi. 6 No. 8
Portland. Oregon
Thursday, January 8, 1976
10c por copy
Evidence that Vice President Nelson
Rockefeller committed perjury in his
1974 Congressional confirmation hearings
has surfaced in numerous east coast
newspapers.
According to the Long
New York Legislature is currently
Police guns slay club manager
LeRoy D. Clark, longtime manager of
Van's Olympic Club, was killed Wednes
day morning by police bullets after an
all-night standoff.
According to Sergeant Tom Potter, the
police derided to enter the building in an
effort to rapture Clark at about 7:00 a.m.
They feared that prolonging the seige
would endanger neighbors as morning
came. More than thirty police officers,
including Chief Bruce Baker, surrounded
the building at 3530 N. Vancouver during
the night.
According to police reports, the
incident began before midnight Tuesday,
when Clark, who reportedly had recently
had a religious conversion, began talking
about angels coming to get him. He lined
up approximately twelve customers and
selected those who would go with him.
The patrons werg then allowed to leave.
Clark's wife. Colleen, was reported to
have remained with him. at gunpoint.
The police seige began about 11:00 p.m.
At 12:30 a.m., three members of the
Special Surveillance Team (8ST) en
tered the club, armed with shotguns and
automatic weapons.
Sergeant Charles
Hill, the units' commander, was hit by
shotgun and pistol shots.
Officers Michael Guinn and Donald
Petry returned the fire and were able to
take Mrs. Clark out through a back
window. She was found to be uninjured.
Police threw dozens of cannisters of
tear gas into the building, but they
apparently had no effect on Clark.
Sergeant Potter reported that tear gas
does not affect individuals who are
intoxicated or "insane."
Police decided to wait until dawn to
make another attempt to bring Clark out
of the club. In the meantime officers who
knew Clark attempted to talk him out.
Before dawn, they decided to enter the
building and attempt to turn on the
lights. Members of the Special Emer
gency Reaction Team (SERT) were
successful in entering the building, but
did not fire on Clark. A t this point he
fired on the officers outside and they
returned fire.
D r. William Brady, state medical
examiner, reported that Clark died of
hemorrhaging from multiple gunshot
wounds from shotguns and automatic
rifles - most of them below the waist.
Police on the scenes knew Clark well,
and detective E arl Johnson reported that
he had been in the club a half hour before
the break came, had noticed Clark's
strange behavior, and had advised
inquiring into the Rockefeller files - a
story which broke into the press when
New York Governor Carey attempted to
fire the Rockefeller-appointed state spe­
cial anti-corruption prosecutor Maurice
Nadjari from office on December 23rd.
The Newsday story notes that Rocke­
feller told the Senate that all wiretaps
and bugs “are done with appropriate
authorizations by judges.”
Newsday
reports that Rockefeller's office had
suppressed a state auditors' "investiga
tion into faked State Police vouchers
which were used for the purchase of
illegal bugging and equipment....”
Newsday said that illegal bugs were
installed on the phones of many political
opponents of Governor Rockefeller, in­
cluding the Republican Assembly leader
Perry Duryea, attorney William Kunst
ler, and labor leaders.
The Newsday
article points out that several special
units were set up to conduct extensive
surveillance of ‘organized crime' and
"citizens suspected of subversive activi­
ties or beliefs.”
W iretaps in “non­
criminal" investigations is strictly illegal,
Newsday notes. Various Congressional
committees, including Long Island’s
Representative Otis Pike - in his Select
Intelligence Committee - w ill be looking
into the perjury charges.
customers to leave.
W hy hadn't he
reported Clark's bizaree behavior so
steps could have been taken to prevent a
tragedy that could have included inno­
cent bystanders?
Officers were heard to speak fondly of
Clark as they ordered tear gas and
gunfire into the building where Clark hid.
"Is Black life so cheap," a bystander
remarked as the obviously mentally
deranged man was barraged with gun­
fire. W hy didn't the police play a waiting
game as has recently been successfully
done in other cities -• waiting for Clark to
evidentally succumb to sleep or hunger?
Portland's first major police action
since the controversial new shotgun law
will be carefully analyzed by the Black
community.
Clark, had been an employee of Van's
Olympic Room tor the past twelve years.
A native of Wichita. Kansas, he was
married several times and had two
daughters.
Sergeant Charles Hill, a 23 year
veteran of the police force, was a
long tim e aquantance of Clark. A veteran
of eighteen years on the Vice Squad; he
was one of the organizers of SERT. He
was taken to Emanuel Hospital with
wounds in the hand, left arm and armpit.
Why U.S. must stay out of Angola civil war
by Representative Charles C. Digg*. Jr.
I Editor's Note: As chairman of the
House Subcommittee on Africa. Repre­
sentative Diggs lor manv yrars has been
this country's leading expert and spokes
man for the Independent nations of
Africa. In this article srrfrfa« especially
1«. the Black Press. M r. Diggs explains
his opposition, and that of the Congres
••tonal Black Caucus, to U .8. Intervention
in the Angolan civil war. which remains a
hotly debated issue before the U.S.
Congress. I
I am strongly opposed to further U.S.
intervention, direct or indirect, in the
Angolan civil war for the following
reasons:
1. In aligning itself on the same side as
South Africa, the U.S. risks even greater
harm to its relations with independent,
majority ruled Africa.
2. I t places the U.S., along with other
external interveners, in opposition to the
policy of the Organization of African
Unity (O AU) that there should be no
foreign intervention in Angola.
3. It is based on the same, false
cold war assumptions which led us into an
escalating Vietnam involvement, that the
Soviet Union, in supporting one of the
movements. Popular Movement for the
Liberation of Angola (M P L A I. presents a
“challenge” which the U.S. must counter.
4. The covert nature of the U.S.
Involvement has made it very difficult for
the American public and for most
members of Congress to be informed as
to the extent of U.S. intervention.
The most disturbing element is the
escalating intervention cf South Africa in
Angola, and the United Slates' alignment
on.the same side as this W hite, minority
regime.
fly assisting the same two
movements, National Front for the
Liberation of Angola (F N L A ) and Na-
tional Union for the Total Independence
of Angola (U N IT A ), as South Africa, the
U.S., which is seen as generally suppor
tive of South Africa, becomes militarily
involved in defense of South African
interests and. indeed, quite possibly, of
South Africa itself.
South Africa, in its last ditch efforts to
maintain its own survival, is determined
to prevent what it surely perceives as a
"hostile" movement I M P L A I from gain
ing power in Angola, and to eliminate the
opposition forces in neighboring Namibia
by capturing (SW APO) the liberation
movement in Namibia, illegally occupied
by South African guerillas in Angola.
These activities, carried out under the
pretext of protecting South African
holdings in the Kuacana hydroelectric
project in southern Angola, serve to
illustrate the serious threat to inter
national peace which South Africa poses.
The U.S. posture on the same side as
South Africa canpot help but further
harm U.S. relations with the indepen
dent, majority ruled African states, in
which 73 percent of all direct American
The Administration has also failed to
learn the important lessons of the
Vietnam experience.
A nationalist
movement that has fought for indepen
dence fo, years and that has been aided in
that struggle by the Soviet Union, in thia
rase, M P L A , rarely accepts Soviet
domination when victory is achieved.
Despite a long history of support for
liberation movements in Africa, there are
no Soviet satellites on the continent.
Therefore, it is specious to argue that the
U.S. intervened in Angola to meet a
"Soviet challenge." Moreover, in view of
reports that larger Soviet shipments to
M P L A may have begun only after a U.S.
decision significantly to increase its
involvement last summer, serious ques­
tions must be raised about the basic
rationale of U.S. policy that the U.S.
intervened only in response to the Soviet
Cleveland Gilcrease, executive director
of the Portland Metropolitan Steering
Committee, was attacked viciously by a
Portland daily, both in news and feature
articles and editorially, accused of
misappropriation of federal funds and
personal corruption. A series of federal
audits followed, all finding some evidence
of looseness in accouting procedures, but
failing to find any misuse of funds. PMSC
has been awarded several million dollars
!
in new program money since the
allocations were made.
Latest audit
reports from Coopers Ly brand indicate
the accounting problems have been resolve«.
The conspiracy, as it has been sailed in the Black enmumufry to
Portland's
last remaining Black male program director - one who handles $4 million annually -
has not come to fruition.
On March 13th, 1974, seventeen year old Rickie Johnson was shot to death by
Portland Police Officer Kenneth Sanford. Portland's first state inquest into a police
shooting followed, with the predicted finding of "justified." The inquest left many
unanswered questions regarding the police procedures, the wound in the back of the
head, the position of the body and Johnson's gun in relation to the officer's story. This
was the fourth death of a Black man at the hands of the police in a period of four
months.
City Commissioner Charles Jordan
faced many problems during the year, the
most publicized being that of C E T A and
the aging program. In a conflict between
the Northwest Pilot Project and Temple
House, he retained Temple House as
the founded agency. The C E T A I area I
programs got into trouble as results did
not meet expectations.
Problems de­
veloped with the sub-contractors, espe­
cially PICK}, and the Commissioners
named a Blue Ribbon Panel to study the
C E T A programs and make recommenda­
tions. Jordan's choice of PO IC over the
PMSC Concentrated Employment Program had ta r ta r bewegte i r i t i i r —
Newly elected Chairman of the Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners
Don Clark Named D r. Lee Brown as Sheriff of Multnomah County. D r. Brown had
been director of the Portland State U niversity Law Enforcement Program and
established the L E F program at Howard University. Brown, widely known and
respected in law enforcement circles, is one of two Black sheriffs for urban
communities. His most notable action has been with the opening of community based
offices with officers assigned to area rather than speciality.
Most of the Black teachers assigned to schools in the Albina area - schools that are
majority Black - were moved to schools outside the Black community in response to a
directive from H E W . The Portland Public Schools were found to be not in compliance
with 1971 staff desegregation regulations.
The Oregon M inority Educators
Organization protested the move, based on the fact that the assignments were made
arbitrarilly and without input from the minority teachers, whereas white teachers
moved to replace them were either new hires or volunteers. The Black teachers also
protested the removal of the few Black male teachers from the area schools.
The Portland School district was also notified by H E W that it would be contacted
regarding segregation of pupils....Currently white pre-school and kindergarten
students recruited into the E arly Childhood Education Centers, who are temporary
and not permanent students of the Albina schools, skew the record«, giving the
appearance of desegregation where it does not exiet.
The Administration has apparently
failed to give ample consideration to the
likely domestic implications of its in
volvement in an African w ar on the side
of South Africa. The American public, in
particular, the Black community, will not
sit idly by as the Administration
attempts m ilitarily ¿o involve this coun­
try in support of the interests of the
W hite, minority regime in South Africa.
(Please turn to p. 7 col. 4)
DR. AGOSTINHO NETO
Church links morality decline to NSC
S E N A TO R F R A N K CH URC H
1975 in Review
A poll of Observer readers has identified the following as the outstanding news
stories of 1975:
For the first time in the history of the State of Oregon, Blacks serve on the
Governor's staff. Governor Bob Straub appointed Ms. Gladys McCoy as the state
Omsbudsman, to insure that citizens receive proper services from state agencies. He
appointed Harold Williams as state affirm ative action officer.
investment in Africa south of the Sahara
and three fourths of its trade now occurs.
I t is further alarming that the U.S. has
repeatedly attacked the intervention of
the Soviet Union as a threat to peace, but
has been silent on South Africa - the only
intervening power reported to be ac­
tually occupying portions of Angolan
territory!!
“Secretary of State Kissinger's covert
operations in Angola have jumped from
$300,000 to $50 million in a single year -
and it would have gotten worse had not
he (Kissinger) been forced to ask
Congress for additional monies, thereby
revealing the illegal activity." So began
Senator Frank Church (D Idaho) at kis
Portland press conference - a press
meeting more intense than is' normally
the case.
"How could the State
Department make such a grave mistake
in aligning itself w ith the forces that are
backed by the Union of South Africa -- a
relationship which seriously endangers
our other relations in Africa. Kissinger
et al failed the course in Vietnam - and
now again in Angola -- the Congress must
take very certain steps to prevent any
further involvement in Angola."
Questioned on the Christina Science
Monitor and other papers reporting of
mercenaries being hired - via C IA
monies - for Angola for the South Africa
- C IA aligned U N IT A and F N L A groups,
Church said that he was totally opposed
to mercenar ies being sent to Angola, and
that his committee (Senate Select In te lli­
gence Committee) would investigate as
far as his committee could "any evidence
that comes to us.”
Reporters on several occasions asked
about the Senate Committee’s responsi
bility in the death of C IA station chief in
Athens Richard Welch. Church said such
People • Republic of Angola |P R A | woe a series of major victories
oe the northern front in the past three days, sieziag eight to twelve towns is northern
Angola, including the C IA funded F N L A headquarters in Carmona. Carmona and
|,®sty
«»“ theast of Carmona! are reportedly the only major F N L A
airetrips. Thia cuts off the F N L A from further outside support from the C IA , France
* <•“ * U-S.-mppUed equipment wer«
and several U .8. transport planes were captured.
There are consistent rumors that the racist South Africa - who’s
__
intervention h a. the singuUr .npp«wt of S ^ e t a r y of State Henry Kissinger wilTpull
out of Angola. Senator Dick Clark ID -Iow a I has announced that U a
—
Africa will hold hearing. J n . u a , 19th u,to the Kissinger role in AngoU
Key Africa states - like Somalia. Nigeria, and Ghana - are organizing dip
to draw the wavering African states into backing the F R A , at the O A U
beginning January 8th. Guinea's President Sekou Toure has declared that Guinea will
quit the O A U permanently U the O A U does wholeheartedly not back the PRA .
attacks on his committee were a political
attack and totally without foundation -
Welch's name had not been mentioned by
his committee.
Insiders into the workings of the
'intelligence community' note that Welch
was not just a station chief, but oversaw
from Athens C IA operations in Yugosla­
via. Bulgaria, Cyprus and the Middle
East, “conducted by a staff establishment
of more than 3,000." The Greek daily
Apogemattini described the assassination
of Welch as a C IA operation, pointing to
C IA agent Boris Pash as the probable
overseeing agent.
Subsequent to the
Welch assassination the New York Times
quoted agent E. Howard Hunt as saying
that since the 50s the C IA has maintained
an in-house assassination capability un­
der Colonel Boris Pash. Simultaneous
with the Greek and New York Times
revelations, the Chicago Sun Times
linked this same Boris Pash to the
McCarthy period witch hunt against
physicist J .. R o b e rt O pp en h eim er.
Though their significance is not clear, it is
evident that some sort of gang land type
warfare is going on inside the 'intelli­
gence community', insiders say.
Asked to comment on whether his
committee will investigate the links
between the Heathrow A iip u rt (London)
bombings and terrorism, and the ter
rorism December 29th at LaGuardia
(Please turn to p. 9 col. 4)
A heated issue throughout the latter
months of 1975 was the request of Police
Chief Bruce Baker for shotguns to be
mounted in all squad cars. The issue was
widely discussed, with the predominance
of opinion in Black and poorer areas being
against shotguns and in most other areas
being for shotguns.
M ayor Neil Goldschmidt finally an­
nounced his decision on January 2nd, that
cars would be equipped to carry shotguns
and officers be trained in their use, but
that the assignment of shotguns would be
left to individual request and supervisory
approval.
Ellis Casson ran intc trouble when his
election to a third term as President of
the N A A C P , Portland Branch, was
contested by a group of members who
filed a petition with the national office
charging election irregularities in the
election of officers and board member».
Many of the members also questioned the
effectiveness of the N A A C P during the
past few years.
The national office
upheld the election and Casson was
sworn in, immediately resigning. The
resignation was not accepted by the
Executive Board so Casson remains in office.
The Model Cities Agency came to a close under the guidance of director A l Jamison
and Citizens' Committee chairman James Loving.
The five year pilot project
established many programs and brought changes to others. Regarded by many to be
the most important aspect of the project was the establishment of a viable planning
board and the growth of individual and group citizens' participation. Many individuals
trained by the project and its federal programs have been enabled to move into secure
and meaningful employment.
Like other temporary federal agencies, many poured into the community for a
short time, then programs struggled to survive. Although undoubtedly programmed
for failure, those who chose to participate in Model Cities - either as planners and
decision makers or as recipients of services - see the projects successes.
The Metropolitan Human Resource Commissioner came under fire from the City
Council - namely Commissioners McCready and Schwab, and to a lesser degree,
Commissioner Ivancie. McCready "bad-mouthed” the Commission (to quote Mayor
Goldschmidt) but praised the staff. Schwab astigated the Commission for its
attention to "gay rights” and to the shotgun question - both requests which came from
the community. The Commission was funded for six months, ending December 31st,
and came before the Council for hearings in December to consider its future.
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