BELL TO DISCLOSE DECISION IN ITT PROBE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100130009-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2007
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: March 20, 1978
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

1/ ,,..-_._.~,, Approved For Release 2007/06/14 :CIA-RDP99-004988000100130009-1 STAT
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_ ~ _: - ` Ey Charles R:`Balicock`?"~'
wa;h'.nzcou Poat 9cat4 7Vriter -'`-.'.. '~:
- ~_-attorney General Griffin B. Bell is
to announce today whether the Jus-
tice Department will prosecute three
officials of the International:. Tele-:
phone & Telegraph Cote. on charges
of lying to the Senate nearly five
Sears ago about working with the
Central Intelligence Agency in Chile:..';
- The decision 'on whether to fi e-~
criminal charges is complicated, how--
e~?er-as it was. last fall in the case.''.
against former CL?~ director Richard I
li. Helms-by intelligence community:
claims that national security secrets.
tni~ht be disclosed if a trial were
held.
CIA Director Stansfield Turner met
with Bell last Thursday to express his
concerns about the possible prosecu-
tions. sources said.
Helms was ~allowed..fo plead"tio`
contest" last October to misdemeanor
charges of failing to testify fully to
the Senate about .CIA ;,peratioris in
Chile. ~ - _
Bell said then that protecting top?se- I
cret information from- possible disclo-
sure at a perjury trial was a-factor in-
tye decision to- accept alesser -plea
from Helms. .:.-.. .=. '?.?.= ?_:'
The five-year statute of limitations
for prosecuting. Edward ~ S: Gerrity;
ITT senior vice president, .and Robert
Berrellez, an ITT Latin American offi-;
ciai in the early 1970x, runs out today:.
Tae time alter which prosecution. of
iTT Chair. man .Harold S. Geneen
v;ould be barred is less than .,two
weeks away. ,... ? ' - ~ -
"I know lionday's the last day on
t:vo of them;' Bell said in a telephone
interview Saturday evening. "I?_ll have
something to say about all three one
way or the other Monday .:_,. The
question 'is indictment or no 'indict
The term of the grand jvry~?hearing
'evidence in the case expired Iast
month without indictments being re-
turned.. But Bell -said, ;"That-doesn't.
make any difference. tiVe can have
a~r.eement to proceed by information,-
a counterpartao an indictment:' _y?_,
THE W~'1S1iINGTO` POST
20 Alarch 1978
~. 1?rosecutors: can fife charges by.
what is called an "information" with-
out going to a grand jury.
It-was learned that in this case the
potential defendants have .waived
their rights to have a grand jury con=
sider and vote on whether to issue an
indictment alleging a felony. Thus, it
-is.possible that Bell is considering a~
perjury charge through an informa- I
'.tion, rather .than a lesser accusation ~
of a misdemeanor, in at least one ofI
the cases. '.:
_ The testimony in question was de-~
.livered .almost five ~~ears ago to the
Senate subcommittee on molting-I
tional corporations, which was investi-
gating. ITT's alleged .collaboration'
with the CIA to prevent the 1970 glee- ~
tion of socialist Salvador Allende in'
Chile. Geneen, Gerrity and Berrellez
testified under oath at the hearings.!
Possible perjury charges were re' r- i
red from the Senate to the Justice i;e-
pattment in late 197 after revelatioia
that both the CI:1 and ITT had
funded Allende's election opponents.
Allende won the election but was
killed in a September 1973 coup.
The perjury investigations have i
dragged- on because Justice Depart-J
went prosecutors tried to prepare
cases against Helms and the ITT offi-+
clals that would withstand defense
motions for access to secret CIA docu-
znents, Justice Department officials ~
said. ~ .~' _
` . In November T97B, Harold V. Hen- f
drla, former ITT public relations diz i
rector ? in Latin America, pleaded I
guilty to the misdemeanor charge of ~
withholding information from the
Senate subcommittee during his tesii-
sriony.
Court papers filed at the time of his,
plea show that he had told the CIA he ~
ivottId be giving false testimony.to the ~
Senate. The papers also shotiv he has'
been cooperating with prosecutors ins
It could not be learned 'precisely
what criminal charnel might have ~
been recommended in the remaining
casea, or whether there has been plea
5TA'_tiSFIELD TiiI~YEitir - '
bargaining, as there was in the FIelm3 )
case. _ f
Attorneys for the FT'I' officials f
could not be reached for comment. ~~
Bell declined to comment on what
his decision would be e?tcept to say
the dispositions `'might not all be the ~_
same:' . - ~_ -
Others familiar with deliberations
in the investigation, however, said the
'potential case against Gerrity ap?
-pears stronger than that against Gen-
gen. - '
' In his :M1tarch 2, I3?3, #estimony,
Gerrity told the subcoinatittee that a ~.
proposed Sl mi1L'on ITT. offer to the ~
CIA in 1979 was to promote agricut-i
-tore and housing- in Chile, not to
.block ?,llende's election. ti[embers of ~
:the subcommittee were openly skepti-
cal of that explanation ai: the time.
? .Geneen testified on April 2, :9'73,
that he had twice offered funds to the
U.S. government to be used against f
:Allende that he said the CIA declined. ~'
' :. It was disclosed is 19?3 that ~ ITT f `~
had Given at least?$3aU,0t10 to sttpportl
Allerde's opponents..
In his testimony, Geneen said,. "Nor' -
did ITT contribute money to any per-
son or to any agency o? any govern-i
=ment to block the-- election of ~.1-~{
Ile also testified that "ITT did_'aoty
take any steps to block the election of
:Salvador Allende as president ~ot
Approved For Release 2007/06/14 :CIA-RDP99-004988000100130009-1 --- -