More Sour Milk

Investigations by Special Watergate Prosecutor Leon Jaworski's office led to convictions or guilty pleas for 27 aides and agents of former President Richard Nixon. Last week they were joined by a former top aide to a high-ranking Democrat. A federal court in Manhattan convicted Minneapolis Lawyer Jack L. Chestnut, 42, who managed Hubert Humphrey's comeback campaign for the Senate in 1970, of accepting $12,000 in illegal campaign contributions from Associated Milk Producers, Inc.

The AMPI is the largest U.S. dairy cooperative and one of the nation's most munificent backers of politicians. According to evidence presented to Watergate investigators, AMPI and two other dairy cooperatives contributed between $537,000 and $737,000 to President Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign in hopes of gaming higher federal milk-price supports.

In the case of Chestnut, Government witnesses testified that he had used the $12,000 to pay for two months of advertising work for Humphrey's Senate campaign. Bob A. Lilly, former assistant to the AMPI general manager, told the court that on Chestnut's instructions he had sent Chestnut two checks for $6,000 each.

Appearing as a prosecution witness, Humphrey admitted that he had sought the support of the milk cooperative, but said that he had "no personal knowledge" of the financial arrangements, which had been left to "the campaign committee and Mr. Chestnut." After the verdict was handed down, Chestnut reiterated his testimony that he could not recall making arrangements for the contribution. He also claimed that he had thought that all AMPI contributions to the campaign had come from the cooperative's legitimate political arm and not from its corporate funds. Chestnut plans to appeal. If the verdict is upheld, he could be sentenced to two years in jail and fined $10,000.

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