REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT RE: REWALD MEDIA COVERAGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00494R001100700067-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 26, 2010
• Sequence Number: 67
• Publication Date: April 29, 1984
• Content Type: MISC

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REPORTER'S TRANSCRIPT
Re: REWALD MEDIA COVERAGE
Reported by:
RON ETTER, CSR No. 121
Notary Public, State of Hawaii
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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Larry Price One-Hour Special Aired 4/29/84 on
KITV, Channel 4:
Tape 065 - 072.
LARRY PRICE: The question is, with such an
attractive return advertised, how did the consultants go
about picking and choosing the four hundred or so investors
with Bishop-Baldwin? I asked Ron Rewald to explain.
RON REWALD: We really weren't selecting anyone,
you know. We had a number of people who we were directed
to handle finances for, and past that we were taking care
of people that were close to us, people who had been clients
or friends or relatives, and this is why so many of our
family members are involved in this thing, for all of our
employees.
LARRY PRICE: Who was directing you to take money
from different clients?
RON REWALD: Well, I--I'm not going to get into
Tape 085.
RON REWALD: First of all, I was personally devas-
tated by what I considered an unwarranted attack on me
personally, last Friday by the media. I found it difficult
to cope with, as far as my concern for my family was--my
wife and children, I didn't know how it would affect them.
Because of my concern for their well-being and not wanting
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
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to expose them to further personal unwarranted attacks on
me, I asked them to leave the islands. And this will help
me, because as soon as the doctors let me out of here, I
look forward to letting everybody know exactly what Bishop-
Baldwin did.
I hear all of these reports about our investment
scam. Investments represent practically an incidental part
of what we do, it's just an accommodation to our clients,
and anybody who would have taken the time and effort to look
into the company would have known that. We're an inter-
national consulting firm, we do tremendous work. We have
tremendous people of the highest possible caliber, which
no one has taken the time to look into.
LARRY PRICE:- Are youteliing-me you don't-
specialize in investments?
RON REWALD: We don't specialize in investments,
it's an incidental part of the work that we do. In fact,
it's an area that was being phased out, and if anybody would
have taken the time to look into it, they would have been
aware of that.
LARRY PRICE: Are you going to contest the charges
against your company and your friends and your associates?
RON REWALD: We absolutely are and I'm very con-
fident that we can satisfy everybody's concerns in that
area.
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
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LARRY PRICE: How do you feel now, physically
and mentally?
RON REWALD: I'm weak, I'm mad as hell. I did
something stupid, but I think far more has been done to my
friends, my clients our company. And, I'm anxious to get
out of here so I can get to work.
Tape 312.
LARRY PRICE: This is a recording of Ron Rewald
talking with former CIA station chief of Hawaii, Jack
Reardin about an arms deal in India.
RON REWALD: There was no indication made of
what they are going to use this equipment for; however, they
wanted to give it to us and they did specifically tell us
that they were-con-tacte-d directly by the CIA and had turned
down assistance there.
Okay, so my thinking is that maybe it's this
very close conceived--they indicated he's with the state
department in New Deli and that he might be the CIA contact
on that.
I don't know if this is the private sector or the
military or what, although I was told on these military
aircraft, that they had tried to get this once before and it
didn't work out or something like that.
Let me tell you what I have heard on that. One
of the first comments we made--you know, we pictured India
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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as an ultra poor company--country rather. One of the first
comments that I made when I heard the type of things that
they wanted to buy was, "Where are you going to get the
money for something like that," you know. They said, "For
this, we have the money."
MR. REARDIN: India had the money?
RON REWALD: He didn't say India, he said, "We
have the money."
Again, just because they're not (unintelligible.)
We don't know that this is for the India Government or
whether this is some kind of sector thing or what it is. I
have no idea at all.
MR. REARDIN: So, the L-10100 is a jet aircraft?
RON REWALD: Yes.
MR. REARDIN: For training?
RON REWALD: Right.
Jack, has the agency contacted you on my tax
problem?
Tape 342.
LARRY PRICE: What motivated you to write this
study, for whom did you write this study?
RON REWALD: I have no comment to make on that at
LARRY PRICE: You can't comment on why you--
RON REWALD: I can't discuss it--
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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LARRY PRICE: You can't tell me what inspired
you to--
RON REWALD: No.
LARRY PRICE: Is this a CIA--
RON REWALD: I have no comment. Are we going
to start this again now?
BBC SPECIAL: 090- 095
QUESTIONER: Why do you find it difficult to talk
about your involvement with the CIA?
RON REWALD: Well, first of all, I'm under a
Court Order that prohibits my discussing that area at all.
Even if I wasn't, there would be nothing that would get me
to talk about agents or covert operations. And I have
previous commitments that would prohibit me from discussing
that area anyway.
Tape 124 - Rewald's talk with his lawyer in
prison.
RON REWALD: This is such a key thing and such a
big deal, because he was the number one--number three per-
son on the agency's list of most influential people around
the world, they wanted to establish contact with him, and
I had developed that over a period of many years. My first
contact with Enriki was back in '79, and it developed to
the point in the last couple of years where we were doing
very, very big things. And, our whole purpose in developing
I RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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(unintelligible), was he was very, very close to President
Marcos. And, we were getting very, very high level intel-
ligence on Marcos' frame of mind, his moods, his intentions.
Tape 133 to 136, Re Argentina Trip.
RON REWALD: The reason I was in Chile before
going into Argentina is that I was getting briefed in the
British Embassy before going into Argentina. .
My job in going there was not to get secretive
information on the war itself, the concern that they sent
me in with was, what affect it was going to have on the
economy and the banking community, and it was just by
chance that some of our agents in other parts of the world
happened to come across arms transactions into Argentina
out of the Far East.
Tape 142 to 145.
RON REWALD: I'm a little concerned about your
use of my obtaining the blueprints for the HSST project in
Japan, in that I don't want to end up in bigger trouble
than I am now. Obviously, I did acquire this for the
agency and it wasn't for personal gain, it wasn't for our
company or anything else. It was for the agency, and I
don't want to end up going to jail for stealing, you know,
secret plans from another country, high technology plans.
CBS NEWS: Dan Rather.
Tape 007.
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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QUESTIONER: Is Ronald Rewald a swindler?
RON REWALD: Of course not.
Tape 024 - 025.
RON REWALD: There was a certain pattern that was
necessary for the work I did, both as Chairman of the Board
of Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong, and for
other obligations that I had.
Tape 029.
QUESTIONER: Were you abandoned_by people who
promised you that they would take care of all of this?
RON REWALD: It appears so.
Tape 057 - 053.
RON REWALD: It's just obvious that you wouldn't
involve all of your relatives and friends in an --operation__
that was a poncie scheme when you could have taken any
amount of money from strangers who would gladly put it in.
QUESTIONER: And if the investors had been paid
RON REWALD: They would have just kept quiet.
LARRY PRICE'S TEN PART SERIES.
Tape 016 - 020.
RON REWALD: We really weren't selecting anyone,
you know. We had a number of people who we were directed to
handle finances for, and past that we were taking care of
people that were close to us, people who have been clients
I RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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or friends and relatives, and this is why so many of our
family members are involved in this thing, for all of our
employees.
LARRY PRICE: Who was directing you to take money
from different clients?
RON REWALD: Well, I'm not going to get into that
Tape 024 - 025.
042 - 043
RON REWALD: When you have fourteen foreign
offices and domestic offices all over the mainland, you are
constantly getting inquiries and investigations and they
were handled as they came up. It was no big deal.
Tape 055 - 056.
RON REWALD: First o all,- I was personally
devastated by what I considered an unwarranted attack on
me personally, last Friday by the media.
I found it difficult to cope with. As far as my
concern for my family was--my wife and children, I didn't
know how it would affect them.
Tape 130 - 132.
QUESTIONER: It's a matter of public record. It
says here quite clearly that Rewald was a covert agent of
the CIA?
RON REWALD: First of all, this was prepared for
the courts, to be given to the judge, not for the reporters
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
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or the press. It is not an area that I can discuss, nor
would I discuss it.
QUESTIONER: If I were to ask you if you were a
covert agent--
RON REWALD: I have no comment to make on that
at all.
Tape 152 - 155.
QUESTIONER: What motivated you to write this
study, for whom did you write this study?
RON REWALD: I have no comment to make on that
QUESTIONER: You can't comment on why you--
RON REWALD: I can't discuss it.
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-QUESTIONER: You can't tell -me what inspired you
RON REWALD: No.
QUESTIONER: Is this a CIA--
RON REWALD: I have no comment. Are we going to
start this again now?
Tape 191- 195.
LARRY PRICE: How do you feel now, physically and
mentally?
RON REWALD: I'm weak, I'm mad as hell.
Tape 192.
RON REWALD: I care an awful lot about what
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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happens to these people, that's why I'm here. Everything
that I'm doing right now is for their benefit, as much as
my family's.
This lawsuit you showed me earlier against the
CIA, that was filed on behalf of the employees and the
clients, in addition to my wife and family and myself.
QUESTIONER: Where is the money?
RON REWALD: I can't discuss that either.
QUESTIONER: Would it be safe to assume that the
money is somewhere?
RON REWALD: I think it would be safe to assume
that a good portion of the money is somewhere.
HOUSE SALE - Channel 2 News - 3/13/84.
Tape 010 - 011
RON REWALD: You know, it's obviously a depressing
thing, but it's just a building, you know, it's not a home.
Tape 014 - 015
RON REWALD: My only concern is that the proceeds
be sufficient enough to end up with something for the
creditors when this is all done.
LARRY PRICE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - 8/5/83.
Tape 033 - 0
LARRY PRICE: I asked him why he tried to take
his own life.
RON REWALD: First of all, I was personally
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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devastated by what I considered an unwarranted attack on
me personally, last Friday by the media. I found it diffi-
cult to cope with, as far as my concern for my family--my
wife and children. I didn't know how it would affect them.
Because of my concern for their well-being and not wanting
to expose them to further personal unwarranted attacks on
me, I asked them to leave the islands. And, this will help
me, because as soon as the doctors let me out of here, I
look forward to letting everybody know exactly what Bishop-
Baldwin did.
I hear all these reports about our investment
scam. Investments represent practically an incidental part
of what we do. It's just an accommodation to our clients,
and anybody who would have taken the time and-effort to
look into the company would have known that. We are an
international consulting firm, we do tremendous work. We
have tremendous people of the highest possible caliber, which
no one has taken the time to look into.
LARRY PRICE: You're telling me you don't special-
ize in investments?
RON REWALD: We don't specialize in investments,
it's an incidental part of the work that we do. In fact,
it's an area that was being phased out, and if anybody
would have taken the time to look into it, they would have
been aware of that.
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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LARRY PRICE: What is your plan right now?
RON REWALD: My plan right now is to put together
a group of Bishop-Baldwin people, we have to go out there,
we have to put whatever is left of the company together
again. We have to make sure that our clients' interests
are looked after. I don't have any idea what has happened
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to the company. The assets, we have to make sure that
everything is safe and secure for their interests.
And, then, we are going to put together an effort
to legally answer every possible allegation and question
that has come up.
LARRY PRICE: Are you going to contest the charges
against your company and your friends and your associates?
RON REWALD: We absolutely are, and I'm very -
confident we can satisfy everybody's concerns in that area.
LARRY PRICE: How do you feel now, physically
and mentally?
RON REWALD: I'm weak, I'm mad as hell. I did
something stupid, but I think far more has been done to
my friends, my clients, our company, and I'm anxious to
get out of here so I can get to work.
ABC INVESTIGATION - ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.
Tape 015 - 017.
QUESTIONER: Did the Central Intelligence Agency
try to have Ronald Rewald killed to keep him from talking?
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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RON REWALD: At first I didn't believe it. I
thought it was total nonsense. And, it took a lot of
convincing, a lot of evidence and a lot of the facts to be
checked out before I recognized that it was in fact what
was going on.
Tape 027 - 035.
(No quotes by Rewald.
Tape 0030 - 32.
RON REWALD: Listen, - I want to thank _ you_f or
help in finding a job, I appreciate that.
QUESTIONER: You're working now?
RON REWALD: I hope to start on Monday.
QUESTIONER: Do you know how to drive those cars?
RON REWALD: I'll learn. - - - - - -
Tape 002.
QUESTIONER: Say, I've got to tell you something,
that is out here we have been getting reports on and off
for the last two or three days that you had been killed in
Wisconsin and that you were dead and gone.
Did you hear anything about that?
RON REWALD: I had heard from some wire service
while I was in Wisconsin.
QUESTIONER: Yes.
RON REWALD: However, the story was that I was
killed in Hawaii, and in either event, it wasn't true.
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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QUESTIONER: So, what are you going to do now
that you're back in Hawaii?
RON REWALD: I think it's time that I start
fighting back, don't you?
QUESTIONER: Yes. Well, it seems like you have
some ammunition now?
RON REWALD: I sure do.
QUESTIONER: Are you aware that while you were
gone, Thomas Hayes, the bankruptcy judge, soldcopies of
your firm's financial status to all of the news media?
RON REWALD: Well, that doesn't surprise me.
QUESTIONER: All 900 pages.
RON REWALD: Yeah. Well, I'll be dealing with
him very, very shortl-- - - - -
QUESTIONER: I see. Do you have anything that
you can tell us about pending litigations? The word on
the street is that you have a lot of other lawsuits that
might be coming out here shortly?
RON REWALD: Well, I do. That should be coming
from my attorneys, but I think it will all become public
knowledge in just a matter of a couple of weeks.
QUESTIONER: Well, you get down there and drive
away, okay?
RON REWALD: God bless you.
QUESTIONER: Thank you.
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
HONOLULU. HAWAII
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C E R T I F I C A T E
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I, RON ETTER, hereby certify that the foregoing
is a full, true and accurate transcript of the Rewald
Media Coverage, as taken down by me in machine shorthand
and thereafter transcribed into typewriting under my super-
vision.
%k-
RON ETTER, CSR No. 121
RALPH ROSENBERG
COURT REPORTERS. INC.
ununwu_ MAwAll
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REPORTER'S DISCLOSURE
Pursuant to Rule 14 of the Rules Governing Court Reporting in
Hawaii, I hereby make the following disclosure:
1. I or my agency was hired by
for this deposition.
2. The complete financial arrangement between myself (or my
agency) and the person or organization named in paragraph 1 are:
ORAL DEPOSITIONS
Appearance fee per half day $
Reporting fee (If no transcript)
Original + one copy of transcript per page
One copy of transcript per page
Two copies of exhibits (one for
court) per page
Copy of exhibits per page
Extra charge for medical/technical per page
Expedited copy charge per page
Daily copy charge per page
Signature fee per page
Storage fee for original
Notice i Subpoena Preparation
Service NO CHARGE
WRITTEN INTERROGATORY DEPOSITIONS
Appearance fee $
Reporting fee-(If no transcript) -
Original + one copy of transcript per page
One copy_of transcript per page
Pickup fee -
Signature fee
Storage fee for. original
Two copies records (one for court) per page
Sold copies records per page
Notice & Subpoena Preparation
Service
OTHER
3. The fees and charges specified in paragraph 2 (are/are not)
the usual and customary charges made by me or
my agency for like services to other persons. If not,
specify why not:
4. If a financial or services discount for this or any future
deposition will or might in any way be given to the person
named in paragraph 1, after this deposition is completed,
state what that discount will or may be. (If none, so state.)
I certify that the foregoing to be a complete, true and correct
disclosu ~(to the best of mV 1en~1^AaA And information.
Date M~d 7 1985 Signed C.S.R. ?#179
STAT
STAT
STAT
STAT
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