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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 1979)
lärg F rances Schoen-?enepaper U n iv e rs ity o f Oregon L ib rary l u Kene, Oregon 97403 Jury finds Cleveland Gilcrease guilty of mail fraud Cleveland Oilcrease, former exe exe- cutive director o f PMSC, was found guilty o f twelve counts o f mail fraud in connection with the 1975 election o f the N ational Association fo r Community Development. Oilcrease was accused by the go vernment o f causing “ hundreds or perhaps thousands'* o f ballots to be illegally marked, but 20 were pre sented as representative. Each o f those persons, for whom marked ballots had been received, said they had not voted. U.S. Attorneys Kristine Rogers and Peter Robinson attempted to prove that after Gilcrease decided to run for President o f NACD, he de vised a scheme to add to the local memberships and to vote these mem bershios to to assure assure his his election election n » n n i. u. v berships people in cluding Ms. Kerans, Lommie Price testified that she pre Beverly Holderby, and others gather pared applications fo r NACD, as ed in the conference room and directed by Gilcrease, and sent them marked ballots. Because o f a CPA to the NACD national office using error, however, the ballots had to be “ controlled addresses" — PACT, sent out again and the process was PMSC and the Albina Action Cen repeated. Jim Unthank said he saw ter. When the ballots were returned, people marking ballots and that G il she marked ballots and mailed them crease might have gone through the to the CPA conducting the election. room and might have said “ Keep up Nancy Dum ford said she saw Ms. the good w ork,” and “ may the best Price marking ballots. man w in.” Ms. Price and Pamela Mosely Katherine Bea, from the NACD of Kerans testified that in 1975 they fice in Washington, said Gilcrease subm itted applications to the told her to write a receipt for mem national office and George Snead berships not yet received, but when said he was directed by Gilcrease to she refused he gave her the check. send a check to cover the cost. When She testified that Gilcrease had the ballots were returned to the asked her to backdate memberships. “ controlled address,” a number o f A t first she thought Pearl Campbell . . ... . - might have told her but after talking to Ms. Campbell she decided it must have been Gilcrease. Beverly Holderby and Gilcrease testified that Ms. Price and Ms. D u m fo rd had been term inated, which they both denied. Gilcrease testified that Ms. Bea had been ter minated. Pamela Mosely testified that in 1975 the ballots were first sent out incorrectly and that when it had to be done over, a set o f labels that had been furnished to Gilcrease, as NACD president, was sent to Seattle to be used. She said about 2,000 ballots were marked over a period o f two weeks. A ll o f the government’s witnesses were given immunity from prosecu tion and forgiveness fo r any in correct inform ation provided the FBI or the U.S. Attorneys. The pro secution witnesses had several inter views with the FBI and the prosecu tors, but the major witnesses were not taken before the Grand Jury for sworn evidence and did not make themselves available to the defense attorneys. A1 Lucas, a former PMSC Board member, testified that he had been threatened with prosecution i f he testified for Gilcrease. He said that the day before the trial when he learn ed that the record o f his telephone calls had been subpoenaed he went to the U.S. Attorneys and asked i f he was being prosecuted. He testified that he was told that his Grand Jury testimony was in conflict with others and i f he testified he would be prose cuted. Lucas testified that he was a mem ber o f Gilcrease’s election commit tee, and that Gilcrease told him and others that he wanted them to educate people about N AC D . get their memberships, insure they had the o p p o rtu n ity to vote, and hopefully get them to vote for him. In 1974 he helped deliver ballots to people so they could vote. He said he picked up about 200 ballots from PACT, destroyed about 30 dupli cates, and gave about 60 to someone at PMSC. In 1975 he took ballots to PMSC to have them checked against the (Please turn to Page 2 Column 4) PORTLAND OBSERVER Volume 9 No. 18 Thursday, May 10,1979109 USPS 969 880 AG settles suit, changes civil rights process A ttO m c V General Cicnpral Jim lim Redden arari Attorney and Assistant Attorney General Victor Levy have agreed with Legal Aid to changes in the processing o f C ivil Rights cases. The case o f Bryant v. Stevenson, et al, was filed by several individuals represented by Multnomah County Legal Aid Service against Biil Steven son, past Commission o f the Oregon Bureau o f Labor, as well as against the Attorney General and Levy. The Complaint challenges the rep resentation a ffo rd e d c iv il rights claimants by both the Bureau o f Labor and the Departm ent o f Justice. The complainants charged that department procedures prevented tim ely investigation, concilliation and hearing o f civil rights complaints and resulted in the complainants being left w ithout legal recourse. Cases were taking five or more years V 4* to be completed, with the result that many o f the witnesses were no longer available. Subsequent to the filing o f the suit then Labor Com m issioner B ill Stevenson and Attorney General Jim Redden requested and received ad ditional funds for their departments in order to work on the large back log o f cases. The plaintiffs are satisfied that new procedures within the Depart ment o f Justice fo r handling civil rights claims are adequate to facili tate expeditious and professional representation by the Department o f Justice for civil rights claimants. These procedures include: 1. A short effort at conciliation w ill be attempted. However, nor mally formal charges o f discrimina tion w ill be drafted and a hearing re quested within 30 days i f conciliation efforts are not fruitful. 2. The Department o f Justice will resist requests for delays o f hearings unless there is justification such as required by courts. 3. Contemporaneous with the fil ing o f charges, staff attorneys will confer with the claimant and/or the claimant’s personal attorney and in form the claimant o f the Department o f Justice’ s evaluation o f the case and recommend settlement value. A s ta ff attorney w ill also ask the claimant and/or his/her attorney for an opinion as to settlement value. This settlement conference w ill be confirmed in a short letter to the claimant and/or the claimant’s per sonal attorney as well as to the Bureau o f Labor. 4. Following the receipt o f any settlement offer by the Department o f Justice, the offer w ill be commu nicated to the v claim ------------- i m m ant a n i a a u n u d z /o u i r his/her personal attorney along with the Department o f Justice’s recom mendation. In order to avoid any misunderstandings, these settlement communications w ill also be con firmed in a short letter. Pursuant to a stipulation between the Department o f Justice and M ult nomah County Legal A id Service, United States District Court Judge Robert Belloni has signed an Order dismissing Attorney General James A. Redden and Assistant Attorney General Victor Levy as Defendants in Bryant v. Stevenson, et al. While the case has been dismissed as to the Justice Department, the case is continuing against the Bureau o f Labor and negotions with the new Labor Commissioner, Mary Wendy Roberts, have not brought a satisfac I tory U I J I resolution o f that case. Wachenhut guard found 'not guilty' a il-w h ite ju iurv fo u n d Gregory C .m rn rv An all-white ry found Burbach, white, not guilty in the shooting o f Lewis Mangum, Black. Burbach, a Wachenhut guard em ployed at the 15th Avenue Tradewell Store, shot and killed Mangum. Testimony presented to the ju ry indicated that Mangum had been in the store earlier in the evening, had been drinking, and taunted Burbach. A regular customer o f the store Mangum had been followed around the store by Burbach on previous Clara Bartholomew and Marie Smith celbrated April birthdays. Mrs. Smith is 81 but Mrs. Bartholomew isn't telling her age. Flinn killed by police bullets Albert L. Flinn, 38, was killed by police bullets at his home, 3966 N.E. 8th Avenue. The shooting followed a domestic fig h t in which F linn allegedly struck a woman, Wanda Johnson, who was living with him. Police were called to the scene about 1:00 a.m. when neighbors heard Mrs. Johnson screaming for help. Four police officers surround ed the house, their weapons drawn. Baird and Norman went to the door. Flinn opened the door, armed with a .22 caliber revolver, pointed at Baird. Both Baird and Norm an opened fire and Flinn was hit by four bullets. Police spokesmen reported that no verbal exchange took place between Flinn and the officers. The case has been referred to the District Attorney fo r investigation and possible referral to a grand jury. Later the same night. Perry Mcln- tu rff, 21. was shot by police when he attempted to avoid arrest. After run ning for two blocks, M cln tu rff trip- ped and fell. Told by Officer Richard Huggins to freeze. M c ln tu rff moved his hand and was shot in the arm. Hubbard said he thought M clnturff was reaching fo r a gun but no weapon was found. Students win talent contest Three high school students were first place winners in the ACT-SO com petition sponsored by the NAACP. Winning in Applied Arts was Anthony Nunley o f Washing- ton/M onroe High School The win ning entry was architectural plans for an addition to the school. Visual Arts winner was Carl Ed wards o f Roosevelt High School with a clay sculpture o f the head o f King Tutenkamen. Beverly Hughes won in the Per forming Arts division. Miss Hughes is a Senior in Jefferson High School's performing arts program. Y outh, older citizens, home- owners, neighborhood associations, neighborhood businesses, city government: what action can they take to cut down the crime rate on their streets? That will be the question explored by North and Northeast Portlanders in a two-day workshop, “ Crime and Liveability in the Albina Commu nity,” May 11th and 12th at The Sal vation Army Moore Street Commu nity Center, N. M oore Street at Killings worth. Friday sessions begin with registra tion at 9:30 a.m. and w ill conclude no later than 5:30 p.m. Saturday ses sions begin at 1:00 p.m. and con clude no later than 5:30 p.m. Discussion leaders and modera- . Mangum began‘ b&dgerlng Bur bach, and Burbach replied several times that i f Mangum tried to “ go through” him or the manager, he would have to shoot him. He drew his pistol and held it to his side, point ing at the floor and told the other employees to get away. Petron asked Mangum i f he had a knife, and Mangum replied that he did not, opening his coat to demon strate. A t that Petron UIUU1-U decided the ........ ~ point, ............ “ problem was getting out o f hand and went to call the police. He described Burbach as pale, shaking, afraid. A f ter walking a few steps he was sur prised to hear the gun go off. Burbach to ld the police that Mangum had taken two steps toward him, he took a step back, raised the gun and shot at a distance o f five feet. Burbach, who did not te s tify during the trial, told the police that he was afraid Mangum would get (Please turn to rage Page 6 Column 5) tricase tors: Charles Jordan, Lucious Hicks, Freddye Petett, Dick Bogle, Anchor man and reporter, K A T U -T V ; Richard H. Dehaan, vice president and director o f security, Fred Meyer, Inc.; Thomas Kennedy, program manager, Union Avenue Improve ment Program, Portland Develop ment Commission. Ethel Lee, staff assistant to M ult nomah C ounty, Com m issioner Gladys McCoy; Ron Wyden, Coor dinator, Oregon Legal Service for the Elderly; Marilyn Culp, Coordi nator, Multnomah County Victims’ Assistance Program; Norm Monroe, Director, Northeast Youth Service Center; Gerald Blake, Associate Pro fessor o f Urban Studies, Portland State University. C aptain W illia m Richardson, Portland Police Bureau, North Pre cinct; Ludie M artin, Inner North east Area Coordinator, Neighbor hoods Against Crim e; Robert Phillips, Chairman, Greater North east Police Precinct Council; Judge A . B row n, Judge, M ultnom ah C ounty D istrict C o u rt; Crim e Prevention U nit, Portland Police Bureau; Conrad Roub, Citizen Liai son O fficer; Lynn Landau, Rape Prevention Program Coordinator. Terry M. McGill, Youth Programs C oordinator; Joan Henick, Com m ercial Program C o ordinato r; Diane Julian, Volunteer Services Coordinator. The Prince Hall Masons crime pre vention volunteers w ill engrave bicycles or other property with the owners’ Oregon D rivers license number at no charge, from 10:30 a.m . to noon on Saturday. The Department o f M otor Vehicles will be on hand to issue non-drivers iden tification cards at the regular cost to those who don’ t have a valid drivers license. Transportation w ill be provided to the workshop on Friday and Satur day fo r A lb in a residents who would otherwise be unable to partici pate. Interested persons should phone 282-2572 for additional infor mation. A spaghetti lunch w ill be available on Friday only for one dollar, free to senior citizens. A ll activities except the lunch and ---... ........ v ID tai V free 1 I to the public. non-drivers are African merchant shows rare art objects by Kathryn H. Bogle Abdu Razak Dia is in town! . . . Who? Abdu Razak Dia. He is an art mer chant from Dakar in Senegal, Africa — by way o f New York City. He brought with him an enchant ing collection o f wood carvings and pieces o f bronze pressed in the man ner o f some ancient and forgotten master o f molten metals in a long ago village o f Black men. These shapings still have the capacity to ex press the richness o f the A frican spirit, bridging time, and a material form which emerged from the hands o f some unknown artist out o f his own being. delivered by attorney Philip Burton from Seattle. Burton has received several NAACP awards for his active role in Equal Employment Oppor tunity labor litigations. Speakers will include Shelly H ill, retired executive director o f the Urban League; Ruth Spencer, president, United Minority Educators; attorney Kenneth Dixon; John H e flin , professor in PSU’ s School o f Education; and Virgus Streets, professor in PSU’s School of Urban Affairs. The workshop is free and open to the public. *»■_______ «____ Northeast crime liveability workshop topic NAACP honors Brown decision May 17th marks the 25th anniver sary o f the United States Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board o f Education which outlawed segre gation. To commemorate this occa sion, the Portland Branch o f the NAACP and the Portland State Uni versity Educational Center are con ducting a workshop entitled, "Twenty- Five Years After Brown v. Board: An Oregon Assessment and Future Direction.” The workshop w ill be May 17th at 6:00 p.m. in the King School Cafetorium, 4815 N.E. 7th Avenue. The keynote address w ill be . i . . . visits v . , had i shopping and asked a clerk to intervene. During the first clash that evening he had challenged Bur bach to come out and fight, and had told a box-boy, Tony Coleman, that he would take Burbach’ s belt o ff him and beat his behind with it. Bill Petron, acting store manager, met Mangum at the door when he re turned shortly before closing time. Petron told Mangum to leave but Mangum insisted that he had the right to purchase beer and cigarettes. ~ ~ ABDU RAZAK DIA These momentoes have traveled far {nd they speak mutely to you and to me o f ancestral community life in the Upper Volta, in Ghana when it was called the Gold Coast, how it was in Mali, in Zaire, on the plains o f the grasslands and in the jungles and deserts o f Africa. These are vigorous and strong items that Abdu Razak Dia has brought. You can almost hear the drums beat as he spreads his wares before you. Some o f the items come from Senegal, Abdus birthplace, he tells you, proudly. Born there, but educated in France and fluent in several languages is he. Razak Dia has brought masks of wood from the Ivory Coast made by Baoule tribesmen; there is a smooth, life-size mask o f bronze, from Zaire, with its own raffia hair-net attached. There are foot-high wood figures, smooth and slender — rhythm pounders — used by the rhythm sec tion for an evening’s ritual dance. Some o f the art pieces from the Cameroons are reminiscent o f some o f the carvings in the Cameroon Col- (Please turn to Page6 Column I) i NAM BIA (Photo: Frank DeSantis) I
