2 ITT AIDES CHARGED IN CHILE PROBE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP09T00207R001000030001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 16, 2011
• Sequence Number: 1
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17 :CIA-RDP09T00207R001000030001-1
?~' ~T T Aicles
'~iQCrged in
Chide Probe
WASHINGTON POST
- -~ i ~---
??no contest" to a misdemeanor
charge, in part because of fears that
national secrets might be disclosed at
a trial.
That concern was raised again by
defense attorneys for Gerrity and Ber
rellez and by CIA director Stansfield
according to Justice Depart-
'Turner
,
Wasbin?ton Post 8taf1 Writer
ment sources.
The Justice Department filed six- gut Attorney General Griffin B.
count felony charges yesterday against Bell decided to approve the proaecu-
two International Telephone and Tele- tions.
graph Corp. officials accusing them of Bell said in a phone interview yea-
lying to the Senate nearly five years terday that he didn't want to tom-
ago about the company's efforts to ment on the specific cases. But he re-
called that he had said after the
influence an election in Chile. Helms plea bargain that "you cannot
Edward J. Gerrity Jr., 54, an ITT decide never to prosecute these cases
senior vice president, and Robert Ber- that might involve national security.
rellez, 58, who was an ITT public To do so gives people a license. That
relations man in Latin America in just can't be the law."
1970, were each charged with three Benjamin R. Civiletti, acting deputq
counts of perjury, one count of ob- attorney general, told reporters the
strutting a Senate investigation and Gerrity and Berrellez cases were dif? ,
one count of making a false state- ferent from the Helms case.
ment to a separate government in- He noted, for example, that Helena
quiry. had "in his defense his oath and his
In addition, Gerrity was charged interpretation of his oath [not to di-
with inducing another ITT official, vulge CIA secrets]. In this cireum-
Ilarold V. Hendrix, to lie to the Sen- stance [involving Gerrity and
at.e. And Berrellez was accused ~of Berrellez], you have private individu-
conspiring with Hendrix and others als and private corporations."
to block the Senate investigation of Asked why Geneen was not prosecu-
charges that ITT worked S~?it'~ the ted, Civiletti said only, "The inference
CIA to fund opponents of socialist could be drawn that the government
candidate Salvador Allende in 1970. brought those cases in which it had
The conspiracy charge against Berrel- sound cases."
lez alleges that he and Hendrix con-
cealed documents from a Senate sub?
committee and plotted to give false tes?
timony.
On one occasion, Berrellez met a CIA
official to tell him he and Hendrix
would deny knowing any CIA offic-
ials in Latin America, tl}e informa-
tion alleges. Another time, Hendrix
-wh6 pleaded guilty to a misde-
meanor in 1976 and is now cooper-
ating With the government-passed
on ITT documents to a CIA official,
it is charged.
Gerrity and Berrellez testified before
the Senate subcommittee on multina-
tional corporations almost five years
ago. Though they said that ITT had-not
worked to block Allende's election it
Reminded that Geneen was the sen-
ior officer responsible for all opera-
tions at ITT, Civiletti added: "The law
doesn't depend on senior or junior. It
depends on provable facts. Either you
have them or you don't "
Gerrity and Berrellez could not be
reached for comment. Walter J. Bon-
ner, aWashington attorney who rep-
resents Gerrity, said he would have
no comment until he consulted with
his client. - =i,
An ITT spokesman in New York
said that the company "continues to
have confidence in IVIr. Gerrity's and
Mr. Berrellez's integrity. They both
continue to serve as valued executives
of ITT. We are fully confident they
will be found innocent." ~
The charges against 'Gerrity and
Berrellez were filed in U.S. District
Court in Washington through what is
called an information. The federal
grand jury hearing evidence in the
case expired last month without re-
turning -indictments. ? - ? -
But the defendants waived their
right to have a grand jury vote on the
felony charges, .clearing the way for
prosecutors G. Allen Carver Jr. and
Robert G. Andary to file the charges
themselves, Civiletti said. ~.,
The five-year statute of limitations
on the offenses alleged in the infor-
mations against the two ITT officials
was about to expire.' +- =i.
The investigation was carried to the
very end of the time allowed because
the prosecutors had to examine many
classified CIA documents, Justice De-
partment officials have said. Carver
and An!dary attempted to fashion
cases that could 'not be damaged by
defense discovery motions for secret
documents, the officials said.
The conspiracy charge against Ber-
rellez shows that he and Hendrix were
in frequent contact with CIA officials,
usually , a Jonathan G. Hanke, for
about a year before their testimony.
On Apri19, 1972, the information aI-
leges, Berrellez told an unidentified
CIA official that he and Hendrix had
agreed to deny knowing CIA officials
in Latin America.
In January 19?3, a few months be-
fore the Senate hearings, Hendrix
gave Hanke a page from a phone pad
of another ITT official, according to
the charges.
Jack Blum, a Washington attorney-
who was a subcommittee associate coun-
sel at the time, said yesterday that that
was about the time the Senate had sub?
poenaed ITT documents relating to com-
pany activities in Chile.
Justice Department officials said yes-
terday that despite the constant com-
munication between the CIA and ITT
officials mentioned, in the conspiracy ;
count, there was never any consideration
of naming the CIA an unindicted co-
conspirator, as Hendrix was.
Besides the alleged perjury before the
Senate subcommittee, Gerrity and Ber-
rellez also were charged with making
false statements during June 1974 arbi-
tration over an ITT claim for reimburse-
ment from the Overseas Private Invest-
ment Corp. ITT was trying to collect on
insurance for expropriated property in
Chile. - , . ~ , E
was later revealed -that both ITT and : Sen. Joe Biden (D-De1J, a member
the CIA had funded Allende's election . of the Senate Intelligence Committee,
opponents. ~ - said yesterday that the new charges
Harold S. Geneen, the ITT board are "a signal that the Justice Depart-
chairman who also was under investi- ment is no longer willing to throw up
gation, apparently will not be prose- its hands and forgo prosecution in
cuted. The Justice Department said "no sensitive national security cases."
other actions arising from this investi- Biden had criticized the handling of
cation are being contemplated." the Helms case.
The multi-count felony charges
against Gerrity and Berrellez are far
more serious than those filed against
former CIA director Richard Helms
last fall. Helms was allowed to plead
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17 :CIA-RDP09T00207R001000030001-1