Verdicts Against Two Politicians

It was not the best of times for a pair of politicians last week, but at least the bad news was bipartisan. A onetime Republican Vice President was ordered to pay back bribes, while a longtime Democratic Senator was found guilty of taking one, among other counts. Their stories:

Agnew: Pay Up

Yes, Spiro Agnew, as Governor of Maryland, did take kickbacks from contractors--and some of the money was paid to him in his Vice President's office at the White House. Now he must repay the state $248,735, representing kickbacks of $147,500 plus $101,235 interest computed at 6% a year. So ruled Bruce Williams, a Maryland state judge, after a one-week civil trial that in effect replaced the criminal trial Agnew escaped when he resigned as Vice President in October 1973.

At that time, Agnew pleaded no contest to a charge of income tax evasion and paid a $10,000 fine; federal prosecutors in return dropped all other potential criminal charges against him. Ever since, Agnew has loudly maintained his innocence. But in 1976, three Maryland taxpayers filed an unusual suit, contending that the alleged kickbacks properly belonged to the state. The state joined the taxpayers as a party to the proceedings and eventually took over the case.

When the suit came to trial in Annapolis, Agnew did not appear. His attorney, T. Rogers Harrison, asserted that if the former Vice President were compelled to take the stand, he would plead his Fifth Amendment privilege against selfincrimination. In Agnew's absence, Judge Williams took testimony from contractors who said they had paid the kickbacks. Another witness was George White, a former Agnew attorney. White said that eight months before his resignation, Agnew had admitted to him that he received kickbacks from contractors doing construction work for the state.

Agnew will appeal the verdict. Even if he loses, he will not suffer too much financially. Should he have to repay the $248,735 to Maryland, Agnew, who now lives in Palm Springs, Calif., presumably could claim the full amount as a federal tax deduction against the high income he is said to earn putting together international investment deals. On that, as on all other matters involving the case, Agnew had no comment. As he might have put it in the alliterative rhetoric of his vice-presidential years, he sustained a stonewalling stance of sullen silence.

Williams: Guilty

It was, perhaps, the last of the Abscam cases, and it involved the biggest name of all: New Jersey Democrat Harrison A. Williams Jr., a 22-year veteran of the Senate and former chairman of its Labor and Human Resources Committee. After three days of deliberation, a federal jury last week convicted Williams and a coconspirator, New Jersey Lawyer Alexander Feinberg. The Senator was found guilty of bribery, conspiracy, conflict of interest and receiving a criminal gratuity. Williams, 61, was the seventh member of Congress to be convicted in the scandal.

"He lies and he lies and he lies," said Federal Prosecutor Thomas P. Puccio, summing up his case against Williams as a man who had used "his influence to fill his pockets." As in other Abscam cases, videotapes made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation played a key role. During the monthlong trial, Williams was shown on film in conversations with one "Sheik Yassir Habib," who was actually FBI Agent Richard Farhart.

The prosecution charged that Williams promised to arrange Government contracts for the sheik; in exchange, the Senator was to get a $100 million loan for a Virginia titanium mine in which he was given a secret 18% interest. Certificates in the mine stock were made out to Feinberg, the Senator's accused bagman. The prosecution also argued that Williams stood to make $12.6 million from resale of the stock.

Williams denied that he had accepted any such payoff and insisted that he thought the stocks he admitted accepting were "worthless." As for the videotapes that showed him boasting to the phony sheik of his influence with Government officials, the Senator said that the words had been put in his mouth by "superb undercover agents." Williams' lawyers also argued that much of the Government's case depended on the testimony of convicted Swindler Melvin Weinberg, who made the first overtures to Williams and Feinberg.

The jury was unswayed, and found Williams guilty of crimes for which he could be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison. "In my heart, I know I did no wrong," he told reporters outside the courtroom.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.