http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19990803_xex_trial_train_.shtml TUESDAY AUGUST 03 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Trial of 'train deaths' film producer underway Journalist faces $16 million libel suit for naming officers in documentary ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By Sarah Foster © 1999 WorldNetDaily.com For documentary producer Pat Matrisciana, exposing political corruption and lawlessness on the part of government officials is a responsibility, part of the job description of a video-journalist, not something to shy away from -- not even if the president of the United States might be involved. So when offered the opportunity to make a film dealing with the still-unsolved, 1987 double-homicide of teenage boys Kevin Ives and Don Henry, whose mutilated bodies were found on railroad tracks near their home west of Little Rock, Ark., and the subsequent cover-up by state and local officials, Matrisciana agreed wholeheartedly. He was familiar with the case having detailed it briefly in his earlier film, "The Clinton Chronicles," which he began in the early '90s. The result was "Obstruction of Justice: the Mena Connection," a hard-hitting documentary, released in April 1996, which pulled few punches and named names as it showed the alleged connection between the murders and cover-up by corrupt law enforcement officers, drug traffickers and President Bill Clinton. The film catapulted the "Train Deaths" case into national prominence. "I'm a cause-oriented guy who looked at what had happened and decided to become involved," Matrisciana, president of Jeremiah Films, the California-based company which produced the film, told WorldNetDaily. But the 60-year-old film producer is being asked to pay dearly for his dedication in exposing the seamy-side of government. Yesterday he took the stand in a Little Rock courtroom to defend himself in a multi-million dollar lawsuit. Jay Campbell and Kirk Lane, two deputy sheriffs mentioned in "Obstruction of Justice," are suing Matrisciana for $16 million alleging he intentionally defamed their reputations by naming them as suspects in the case. Specifically, the script says, "Eyewitnesses have implicated Jay Campbell and Kirk Lane in the murders and subsequent cover-up." They are also named in another section. "This is a frivolous lawsuit with no legal merit and no basis in fact," said Little Rock attorney John Wesley Hall, who represents the defendants. "We don't have to prove that they killed the boys. They have to prove that they didn't." The two teenagers were killed the night of Aug. 22-23, 1987, their bodies found on the Union Pacific railroad tracks having been run over by a northbound Union Pacific train near Little Rock. The area was reputed to be a drop point in the drug smuggling operation centered at Mena, though Mena is over 100 miles west. Then-Governor Bill Clinton's state medical examiner, Fahmy Malek, ruled the deaths accidental, claiming that the boys had fallen asleep on the tracks in a marijuana-induced stupor. But a second autopsy, performed by an out-of-state pathologist upon the demand of Kevin's mother, Linda, concluded that the boys had been murdered and their bodies placed on the tracks. The autopsy also showed that Kevin's head had been crushed prior to his body being laid on the tracks and that Don Henry had been stabbed repeatedly. In 1988 a county grand jury headed by Dan Harmon ruled the deaths a homicide. No one was ever brought to justice. Not then, not now. Nor has anyone been brought to justice for the half-dozen or so violent deaths of potential witnesses to the crimes -- some of them ruled "accidental" -- as were Kevin's and Don's. For years Linda Ives -- who has become a full-time crusader for justice -- tried to rally public support and to urge an investigation into allegations that were being made by various people implicating Lane and Campbell as central figures in the murders. According to Ives, witnesses saw two men answering descriptions of Lane and Campbell beating the boys in the parking lot of a market, then forcing them into an unmarked patrol car. Ives believes Kevin and Don had witnessed a drug drop that night in the countryside outside the town of Alexander, were seen, then kidnapped at the parking lot where they had run to -- and taken up on the mountain for the killing. Their bodies were laid on the tracks where they were certain to be run over by the train, thus making the deaths appear accidental. "I've known about them (Lane and Campbell) since 1988," Linda Ives told WorldNetDaily, adding that the information came from "a number of different sources." "For years I've begged investigative agencies -- whoever was doing an investigation at the time -- to look at these guys," Ives recalled. "I begged the State Police, to look at them, the U.S. Attorney to look at them, the FBI to look at them -- and in Lane and Campbell's own words, they have never been interviewed or interrogated by anybody in spite of the fact that they had numerous sources and witnesses who implicated them." Asked where she first heard the allegations, Ives recalled it was Dan Harmon who first told her Lane and Campbell were suspects. Harmon -- a friend of Bill Clinton -- is currently serving time in federal prison on charges of drug trafficking. He is expected to be called as a witness for the plaintiffs. M. Darren O'Quinn, an attorney with the Little Rock law firm of Dover & Dixon, is representing Campbell and Land in the lawsuit. According to O'Quinn, "Obstruction of Justice" made inaccurate claims that Matrisciana had eyewitnesses who implicated Campbell and Lane in the murders. "When we went to discovery," said O'Quinn, "we found out they didn't have any eyewitnesses. They had double hearsay, but they didn't have any witnesses who made those statements. We're saying it was reckless to say so in the video." Not so, said Jean Duffey, a former county prosecuting attorney and the former head of a 1990 drug task force investigating official corruption in Saline County, Ark., where the murders took place. "The statement would be libelous if it weren't true, but the fact is -- it's true," said Duffey, who worked with Ives and Matrisciana on the video. "Suspects from the early police investigation have named them. They have been implicated in the murders. Not only that, I think we can prove they are the murderers." Proving the allegations would be much simpler if potential eyewitnesses were not fearful of coming forward to testify. Matrisciana would be the first to admit the risk. "We made a film dealing with drug dealers, law enforcement and politicians. That's a dangerous mix," he said. "There had been several murders, and 'Obstruction of Justice' goes through the names of people that were right there." Matrisciana recalled that his cameraman, John Hillyer, who worked with him on the "Clinton Chronicles" and "Obstruction of Justice" died under very strange circumstances in 1996, and was "fearful" for his safety. "John thought his life was in danger -- and we had experienced a lot of harassment when we were doing the films," recalled Matrisciana. "We were followed; we were harassed. So he was very concerned. He called me from Atlanta (where he was living) and told me he had heard there was a drug that could be given to someone, and it would look like he died of a heart attack. "I started laughing and said, 'John, you're so healthy, it would never come off like a heart attack.' He said he knew, but figured that's what they'd do. "A couple of months later he phoned and said he had some vital information. We figured our phones were tapped and that we couldn't discuss it over the phone, but planned to make arrangements to meet. Three days later, John died of a heart attack in the dentist's office. About a year ago his widow sent us some videos he had made of himself, saying he was afraid he was going to be killed," Matrisciana said. "I don't know if he was murdered," Matrisciana admitted, "But it was strange." Strange, too, was the plane crash, June 14, which took the life of Matrisciana's friend David Drye, a Concord, N.C., builder and well-known businessman, his wife Ann, his vice president of construction and the pilot. The plane -- a two-engine prop -- crashed as it was taking off from Concord Regional Airport. According to the Charlotte Observer, the pilot -- Kelly Ward -- told air traffic controllers that his right engine was losing power just before the accident. "He was a dear friend of mine," said Matrisciana, "but the strange thing is that I was scheduled to fly with him to Washington and had to cancel out two hours before I was supposed to meet him in North Carolina. He made other plans and went on the plane. The plane crash was very suspicious -- and it's under investigation." "I can't help but wonder if that crash weren't really for me," said Matrisciana. "There have been so many accidents and unexplained deaths." Regarding the libel suit, Matrisciana said he plans to defend his rights as a journalist under the First Amendment. "I haven't defamed anyone," he said, "I simply presented the facts and stated the evidence. There was no malice, no reckless disregard for the truth. In fact, if it weren't for my video the truth might never be told and justice might never be done in this case." Since the lawsuit involves crucial First Amendment issues, WorldNetDaily editor Joseph Farah will be giving testimony as an expert witness for the defense. A jury of seven women and five men was impaneled Monday and opening arguments presented at 1:00 p.m. The case is expected to last all week. ================== http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19980810_xex_arkansas_tra.shtml MONDAY AUGUST 10 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arkansas 'Train Deaths' figure threatened E-mail warnings from Thailand Internet service ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By Frank York © 1998 WorldNetDaily.com Jean Duffey, former head of an Arkansas drug task force, is no stranger to receiving threats against her. But the early morning call from her brother, Mark Keesee, two weeks ago, stunned her. Mark is the webmaster for the "Train Deaths" Web site operated by Duffey and Linda Ives, the mother of one of the boys killed in the Mena, Ark. drug-related incident in 1987. Mark called to tell Jean that he had just received three e-mail death threats from a location inside Thailand. The first threat read simply: "only fear of death." The second, coming just a few minutes later read: "Do you have a death wish?" and "Change the world! I wish you good luck." The third was more direct: "Yo homes my community is angry with you mister 9mm is going to blast your ass." "Mark and I have both received various threats before, but there is something very chilling in the phrasing of this message," said Duffey. "Worse still, the sender is apparently not concerned that the e-mail can be traced; perhaps even counting on it, which sounds to me like a drug/mob-type warning." Mark notified his Internet provider of the death threat and the service contacted him within two days with the results of a tracer. The provider could only find out the name of the Internet service in Thailand. The corporate name is Taksin Cybernet Corporation Limited in Hat Yai, Songkhla Province in southern Thailand. He was told that Southwestern Bell has no way of finding out the names of those using the Internet service in Thailand. "I convinced Mark to report the threat to the authorities but had a sinking feeling when I realized who he would have to contact. We are going to have to rely on the FBI to investigate the threat and to provide Mark protection," says Duffey. Unfortunately, Duffey and others attempting to expose drug trafficking in Arkansas have met with stonewalling from the director of the Arkansas FBI, I.C. Smith. Duffey and Linda Ives met with Smith on May 29, 1998, to discuss new evidence in the train deaths case and related matters. When they realized he was unwilling to help them, they posted their concerns on their "Train Deaths" Web site. On July 23, Smith announced his retirement from the FBI, so Duffey is uncertain who will be taking over his position as FBI director in Arkansas. In related Arkansas drug news, on July 29, Roger Walls, former head of the 7th Judicial District Drug Task Force, was sentenced to 28 months in jail for conspiring to extort money from a Texas drug user. Walls is an accomplice with Dan Harmon, the former prosecuting attorney who was also involved in drug running and racketeering in Arkansas. Harmon was sentenced to eight years in prison in May for his crimes. Harmon and Walls were involved in the attempt to frame Jean Duffey. It was Harmon who managed to shut down Duffey's investigation of drug trafficking among Arkansas officials. In the recently posted CBN story, Duffey describes Harmon: "The corruption is on a lot of different levels. And it's extensive. It's from local all the way up to federal. When my task force officers were linking public officials to drug trafficking, Dan Harmon was a name that came up consistently. No matter who else or what direction we went, Dan Harmon always seemed to be in the middle of it." Harmon has also been implicated in the train death murders by his former girlfriend, Sharlene Wilson who is currently facing 31 years in an Arkansas prison. Wilson says she was with Harmon near the tracks the night Kevin Ives and Don Henry were murdered. (See CBN's story, "The Boys on the Tracks: Part II" for more details.) For continuing updates on the "Train Deaths," access Duffey's Web site. ================== Tuesday, August 3, 1999 Jurors see full video at filmmaker's trial LINDA SATTER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE An unsolved mystery from 1987 that spawned years of investigations and conspiracy theories was thrust upon a federal court jury on Monday as the producer of a film about the subject was accused of defamation. Patrick Matrisciana of California is on trial for allegations aired in his 1996 documentary Obstruction of Justice: The Mena Connection, which focuses on the Aug. 23, 1987, deaths of two boys whose bodies were found beside railroad tracks in Saline County. The hour-long video, shown to jurors in its entirety, contains allegations that the deaths of Kevin Ives, 17, and Don Henry, 16, were murders that various public officials tried to cover up, from local law enforcement officers to state and federal prosecutors to the governor's office -- then occupied by Bill Clinton. Among the officials named in the video are Jay Campbell and Kirk Lane, both now lieutenants for the Pulaski County sheriff's office. They filed suit in April 1997, saying their reputations were destroyed when the film asserted that they were "implicated" in the murders and ensuing cover-up by unnamed "eyewitnesses." The men's attorney, Darren O'Quinn, told jurors that he will ask them to return "a substantial verdict" against Matrisciana that will send a message that "we are not going to let people get by with making statements that damage people forever." Matrisciana is being sued personally and under the names he uses to do business: Citizens for an Honest Government Inc., Integrity Films and Jeremiah Films Inc. O'Quinn contended in his opening statement that the film, which was produced in a "very professional, very believable" manner, "purports to be a documentary but is nothing but a tabloid-type production" designed to make money during Clinton's presidential re-election bid. Although the trial isn't about the boys' deaths, O'Quinn told jurors that "there have been seven independent local, state and federal investigations on these deaths from the FBI to the U.S. attorney to the Arkansas State Police, and no one has conclusively said that it was a murder." The video has sold 300,000 copies at a price ranging from $4 to $19.95 each, he said. He said he felt he had to tell their story because he didn't think the "mainstream media" had done an adequate job of revealing the truth in covering the story. As proof that some of the public corruption allegations in the film are correct, Matrisciana cited the convictions of former Saline County Prosecutor Dan Harmon on federal racketeering, conspiracy and drug charges. Matrisciana's attorney, John Wesley Hall Jr., told jurors that the plaintiffs must show that the film was produced with a reckless disregard for the truth. To support Matrisciana's belief that he was reporting the truth, Hall reminded jurors about the outcry that arose after former State Medical Examiner Dr. Fahmy Malak made an initial determination that the boys were killed while sleeping on the tracks in a marijuana-induced stupor. That outcry led to a reopening of the case, through which a Georgia pathologist examined the exhumed bodies and found both boys were killed before being placed on the tracks -- Henry by being stabbed in the back and Ives by being hit in the face with a rifle butt. The film surmises that the boys were killed because while walking along the tracks, they saw a plane fly low and drop a load of drugs that someone was there to retrieve. The trial is scheduled to last all week before U.S. District Judge Warren Urbom of Lincoln, Neb. This article was published on Tuesday, August 3, 1999 Copyright © 1999, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
