-Caveat Lector- an excerpt from: Loud and Clear Lake Headly and William Hoffman©1990 Henry Holt and Company 115 W. 18th St. New York, NY 10011 ISBN 0-8050-1138-2 272 pps — out-of-print/one edition --[15]-- 15 The Second Press Conference Devereux's diligent digging discovered another potentially important witness whose testimony, I thought, should frost the cake at the upcoming press conference: Keith Nation, a forty-seven-year-old gambler and gadfly. A tile roofer by trade, he looked more like a retired jockey. Nation said that for years he had supported himself by gambling at the Funk/Emprise dog tracks, and during that time he had come to know the tracks' operations and employees inside out. >From Keith Nation I obtained a sworn, signed, and notarized affidavit—a statement made under oath which could result in a perjury indictment if found to be untrue. Although lacking in specifics (no matter how hard I tried, Nation refused to be pinned down "at this time" on his source), he swore to the following: In January of 1976, I became aware of a phony divestiture scheme involving the Funk family. This scheme entailed some manner of clandestine track trading arrangement in conjunction with a subsequent State of Arizona divestiture requirement. I also learned from a reliable source that thirty to forty-five days prior to the June 1976 bombing of Don Bolles, Bradley Funk and Albert Funk reportedly expressed great concern about Bolles's apparent awareness of this scheme. >From this same source I also learned that in a private conversation, Bradley and Albert Funk said in effect that something had to be done about Bolles, that he was going to get them this time. Except for the desk clerk at the Clarendon whom Bolles spoke to briefly when Adamson failed to show for his appointment, and a phone call the reporter received from Adamson (who cancelled the meeting), it seems likely Nation was the last person Bolles talked to before the bombing. They had seen each other about 11a.m. at the legislature, where Nation was following the track divestiture hearings. "Tell me about your conversation that day at the State House," I said to Nation. "You've got to understand, Bolles and I knew the score. We talked about how the Funks would go through a lot of legal mumbo jumbo and divest on paper, only with no actual change. Bolles was angry, but he'd resigned himself. 'What can be done about it?' he asked. 'Emprise runs the state.' " "Did you tell this to the police?" "Yes, I talked with Phoenix intelligence squad detectives several times." "Did you tell them about the Funks?" "The same things I told you." "What did they do?" "Well, the attorney general took over the investigation, and no one from that office ever contacted me." The Phoenix Press Club also served as the site for the second news conference, held at 2 P.m. on May 2, 1979. Some thirty media people were present, representing local newspapers, radio stations, and the three network TV affiliates, plus reporters from San Diego, Los Angeles, New York, and the Navajo reservation. Dunlap Committee members and most of Max's immediate family also came. This time I'd had Dunlap and Robison authorize the press conference to avoid possible complaints from their lawyers, who still wanted to stick strictly with the appeals process and not make waves with a lot of publicity over an "unpopular cause." Most important among the media gathering, I felt, was Molly Ivins of The New York Times, a paper that carried worldwide clout. Molly had come down a few days earlier, making good on my invitation in March (at the suggestion of Bill Helmer), and I learned she was no stranger to the Bolles case or Arizona: she had researched and written a story about uranium pollution on the Navajo reservation. "Can you get me in to see Dunlap and Robison?" she had asked on the phone. "Yes." After Molly arrived in Phoenix, I drove her to the Arizona State Prison. Robison told The New York Times reporter about phone calls he had received from Adamson, shortly after the bombing. Even after helping commit the murder for which he would later frame Robison, Adamson couldn't resist boasting about his exploits. Inside the cramped quarters, with voices reverberating off the prison glass, Molly's tape recorder picked up a garbled interview, so I gave her the backup tape I had made. The next day she went out and bought the same Sony model I used. First Playboy, in the person of Bill Helmer, had entered the prison gates. In response to the Committee's contact and my follow-up efforts, "60 Minutes" would do a feature on corruption in Arizona, casting an unwelcome light on the state. And now The New York Times. I noticed the guards had been a little more polite when an out-of-state journalist was at my side, and I hoped maybe the supreme court justices considering the appeal might get some ideas also. When we returned to Phoenix, Molly, a quiet, resolute woman who carefully read without comment all the material I showed her, dug in her heels and interviewed Neal Roberts. Mr. Immunity-for-a-theory demanded that she keep everything he said off-the-record except for one statement: "I never passed any money to anyone." Although I tried, I couldn't find out what Roberts had said about those three stolen cars, the "loud and clear" remark, or his relationship with Barry Goldwater; Molly took his off-the-record stipulation seriously. In fact, "reading" Molly was impossible for me. I knew how important it was for her to judge objectively the evidence we'd uncovered, but all I could determine from our talks was her thorough, businesslike approach to reporting. "Good afternoon, members of the press," I said, standing behind a podium on a slightly raised dais. "I have invited you here to see and learn about new information uncovered in the Bolles investigation. The two key people we want to talk about are Keith Nation and Michael JoDon. You'll learn from Keith Nation's sworn affidavit that Don Bolles, right up until the time the bomb exploded underneath him, maintained a keen interest in the Funk/Emprise dog-racing empire. Mr. Nation was one of the last people to speak with Bolles, and their conversation centered on the Funks and Emprise. "I also want to bring to your attention the sworn affidavits of Michael JoDon, a police informant with a long record of truth telling, not just to Arizona police authorities, but to police in Kansas, the FBI, and the DEA. Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies have attested to JoDon's reliability and veracity. I'd appreciate in particular your noting how JoDon swears that three times before the bombing he overheard talk about a plot to kill Don Bolles. JoDon apprised Scottsdale Police Sergeant Robert Powers of the situation. Powers did nothing. After Bolles was assassinated, JoDon made additional attempts to convey his knowledge of the murder plan to lawenforcement agencies. Still no action. Then the Scottsdale police framed him in a bogus twenty-dollar hashish deal. Now Michael JoDon seeks immunity in exchange for his testimony in this most important matter. So far he has not received immunity, though I'm sure most of you know that for some in this case immunity has not been difficult to obtain. Regardless, JoDon's sworn statements are here for you to take with you and study. All the information we've accumulated has already been turned over to the attorney general's office but, sad to say, I've detected little enthusiasm from that august law enforcement agency." In my next remarks I brought the audience up-to-date on the highlights of the investigation since the first press conference in December 1978: Terri Lee's research on Emprise; Jim Robison's starvation program-now in its seventy-sixth day-which had recently been joined by Max Dunlap and several other inmates; Antje Roberts and her admission that Neal and Goldwater were close friends; Kay Kroot, also tying Roberts to Goldwater on that TV talk show; and the taking of an extended vacation by the immunized Gall Owens, Adamson's former girlfriend. Then I opened the floor for questions. "Aren't you being paid by the Dunlap Committee?" asked Pat Sabo of the Phoenix Gazette. Here we go again, I thought, my heart sinking. "Yes," I said. "I'm receiving compensation from the committee." I didn't add that I was losing a lot of money on the arrangement. "What matters, it seems to me, is the importance of the information I'm gathering." Next an Arizona Republic reporter stepped up: "Isn't it true you yourself are the object of an investigation for working as a private investigator without a valid Arizona license?" "That's right. Resources which could better be spent solving the Bolles homicide are being wasted investigating me. The fact is, I'm doing work on the Bolles case for two national magazines, one of them Playboy." "How can you claim objectivity if your paramount interest is getting a good story?" "I'm giving what you call a 'good story' to you. My concern is to prevent the execution of two innocent men. The evidence I'm asking you to study indicates we have an ongoing miscarriage of justice, one that needs desperately to be remedied." "What," asked the Republic reporter, "does the attorney general's office plan to do with your 'information'?" "The attorney general says he will try to determine the validity of JoDon's statements; but judging from past performances, I doubt we'll see much action." "Have you given this material to the Phoenix police department?" "Yes. To Detective Michael Butler." "What is the attitude of the Phoenix police?" "Not as enthusiastic as I'd like them to be. As I've pointed out, JoDon has been an extremely reliable informant for several years. However, at this point, I believe the critical issue is what you, members of the media, not the Arizona law enforcement agencies, consider important." "I've just looked at JoDon's affidavits," said a Phoenix radio newsman, "and he doesn't seem to say anything really new." What was this guy reading? Nothing new? "What JoDon reveals is not only new but significant. Almost a month before the bombing, JoDon told Sergeant Powers that Bolles was going to be killed. Powers took no action that might have prevented this murder; on the contrary, he later withheld what he knew from defense counsel during the trial of Robison and Dunlap. What JoDon swears to shouldn't be viewed as an end, but as a starting point for more investigation. I urge the authorities to do this." "Evidently you presented these affidavits to the police and failed to impress them. Why is that? And why should we be impressed?" "Not just evidently. All this information has been presented to the attorney general and to the police. And their enthusiasm, or lack thereof, smacks of the continuing tunnel vision that led to the conviction of two innocent men." "Doesn't a statement like that indicate you're playing God?" Deja vu. A mixture of anger and frustration sickened me, but I needed to control myself. "I'm not playing anything. I'm giving you critical evidence which was withheld from the press and the defense." "Back to the question of your being a private investigator. That's what you are, let's face it, and you're breaking Arizona law." "Why are you people dwelling on what amounts to a technicality? Why aren't you concerned about your fallen brother, Don Bolles? Instead you want me to confess to a crime, and I've committed no crime. I'm working for Playboy magazine, and nothing is stopping you from checking with them. I've been sought out for many years by literally scores of newspapers to provide them information. I've recently signed a book contract to write my autobiography." If I thought this would satisfy them, I was wrong. "Autobiography? Or your version of the Bolles killing?" "I signed the book contract long before I was contacted to investigate this case." "Mr. Headley, why would the Dunlap Committee, ostensibly interested in freeing Max Dunlap, hire a writer? They hired a detective, didn't they?" "Because of a hostile press, abundantly evident here today, the committee realized that any material I uncovered would be useless if it couldn't be gotten to the media. It was felt I could accomplish this." "Since you may be indicted, don't you think we should take that fact into consideration when judging your so-called new information?" "If someone came in here and yelled, 'Fire!', would you question his qualifications? I'm only asking you to look at the evidence I have. Evaluate it. If you think it's garbage, write it up that way; but study it first." "What will you do if the attorney general indicts you?" Clearly they were more interested in gunning me down than focusing on the plight of Robison and Dunlap. They didn't care a whit about injustice or the condemned men. I faced a stone wall, and I was nearing the breaking point when Devereux stood up. "What's all this got to do with anything?" he asked in a loud voice directed at his peers. The TV cameras swung around to catch his image. "We should concentrate on what Mr. Headley says, not his potential problems." This flew right over the heads of most in attendance. "Aren't you attaching too much credibility to statements provided by JoDon, who is, after all, a fugitive?" "No. JoDon is their informant, not mine. For years they took him at his word. Why is this the exception? And remember, JoDon is a fugitive because of what he knows, not because of a minor drug charge." "About your possible indictment for practicing without a license ... Geesus. No questions at all about the Neal Roberts/Barry Goldwater relationship, or the grim fact that Jim Robison was starving himself to death. The bigger story, in most minds, was my possible indictment. This second press conference, more hostile than the first, finally wound down. Interspersing my remarks with pleas for them to read what I'd provided, I hammered away at the new findings, especially JoDon's sworn statements. But the more I gave them, the more angry they became. They didn't like the messenger or the message. These purportedly inquiring minds didn't want to know or study the new evidence; instead they chose to remain dogged to the finish in hot pursuit of the saga of my license and the credibility of JoDon. At last it ended, and night seemed to descend on my mind, so dark were my thoughts. I invited Devereux, Terri Lee, members of the committee, Molly Ivins, and the Dunlap family to the Westward Ho for sandwiches, soft drinks, and a postmortem. I was wrung out, and getting from my car to the hotel lobby exhausted me further: Phoenix in May is hotter than hell, or even Las Vegas. Some of the guests were upbeat-at least the press had taken the affidavits-but all I wanted to do was find a quiet corner and lick my wounds. I collapsed in an easy chair and sipped an icy soda, away from the rest. Molly Ivins came over and sat on the floor next to me. "Lake," she said, "you must be worn out. I couldn't believe that press conference. I covered Watergate for the Times and was at almost every news conference Nixon called. The hostility there wasn't nearly as bad as this. What's the difference whether you have a private investigator's license? They acted like their minds were made up and they didn't want to be confused by facts. I've been a journalist for a long time, but the way those reporters acted today makes me ashamed of my profession." I looked at Molly, and tears shone in her eyes. Molly Ivins wrote several major articles about the Bolles case, the first dealing with the May 2 press conference. REPORTER'S MURDER GETS NEW ATTENTION Defense Committee Trying to Gain 2d Trial for Convicted Man- Affidavits Are Disclosed By MOLLY IVINS Special to The New York Times PHOENIX, ARIZ., May 3 — Pressure to reopen the Don Bolles murder case is building here. A defense committee of more than 300 people, convinced there has been an injustice, has raised enough commotion to disturb even some of those who were responsible for convictions in the reporter's death. The defense committee is acting in behalf of Max Dunlap, one of two men sentenced to die for the murder. Mr. Dunlap is a builder and earth mover with no previous criminal record. He was president of his high school class and has hundreds of friends who are trying to win a new trial for him. Their belief in his innocence is so strong, in fact, that some of them have mortgaged their homes to help finance the effort to free him. They have raised over $30,000, taken out newspaper advertisements asking for a new trial and hired a private detective to look for new evidence. In the latest development in the case an affidavit was made public yesterday in which a police informer says he told the Scottsdale police of the plan to murder Mr. Bolles three or four weeks before it happened. Record of Calls Is Unlikely The police were unable to confirm that fact. Yesterday, Walter Nimitz, chief of police in Scottsdale, said departmental procedures make it extremely unlikely that there was any record of such a call. The officer to whom the informer says he placed his calls is now employed by another law enforcement agency and could not be reached for comment because he was on vacation. However, a police source says the officer states that he was called after Mr. Bolles was murdered, not before. It was the defense committee detective, Lake Headley, who tracked down Michael JoDon in New Orleans. Mr. JoDon, once an informer for several law enforcement agencies, had been indicted on charges of selling $20 worth of marijuana to an undercover police agent and fled the state. He has been trying to bargain for immunity in exchange for his testimony on the Bolles case. Roger Golston, the acting County Attorney for Maricopa County, said yesterday that the authorities are negotiating with the idea of dropping the charges against Mr. JoDon, provided he meets certain conditions. One condition is that he surrender, another is that his story check out. Echo of Earlier Allegations But members of the Dunlap Defense Committee, suspicious of those in official positions, decided to go ahead and present Mr. JoDon's testimony yesterday at the press conference here. Mr. JoDon's affidavits echoed charges made at the murder trial that a lawyer named Neal Roberts, since disbarred, arranged the murder of Don Bolles, a reporter for The Arizona Republic. The affidavits quote two sources as saying Mr. Roberts acted at the behest of a man indirectly tied to the Emprise Corporation of Buffalo, N.Y., which had been investigated by Mr. Bolles. The man named by Mr. JoDon as Mr. Roberts's contact vigorously denied the allegations. Mr. Roberts's name first arose in the case because he chartered a plane to fly John Harvey Adamson, the man who confessed Mr. Bolles's killing, out of Phoenix the day of the bombing. In exchange for a pledge of immunity on charges of accessory after the fact, a transcript of the meeting shows Mr. Roberts gave the police what he called "pure speculation" about the case. Mr. Roberts's speculations, backed by the word of his friend Mr. Adamson, became the basis of the prosecution's case. The Prosecution's Argument The prosecutors said that '\,Ir. Adamson had killed Mr. Bolles with the assistance of a plumber friend, Jim Robison, and that Mr. Dunlap had paid him. Mr. Dunlap, they said, was acting at the behest of Kemper Marley, a wealthy rancher and liquor dealer who was said to be angry about some articles written by Mr. Bolles that cost Mr. Marley a position on the State Racing Commission. Mr. Dunlap and Mr. Robison were sentenced to death, and Mr. Adamson, who confessed and cooperated with the prosecutors, got 20 years, which he is serving in an Illinois prison. Mr. Marley was never charged. Prosecutors, who are not willing to talk on the record, say they nonetheless remain convinced that the Marley theory is correct. They also say they are troubled by the information involving Neal Roberts. Mr. Robison is in Arizona State Prison and has been refusing to eat since mid-February, contending that he will starve himself because he was framed and he despairs of ever being released. He elaborated in a recent interview on the argument that his lawyer put forward at his trial. Mr. Robison now says he got two or three phone calls from Mr. Adamson in the days immediately after the bombing, while Mr. Bolles lay dying in a Phoenix hospital. Mr. Adamson told him, he says, that $10,000 was coming from the coast, $6,000 for Mr. Adamson and $4,000 for Mr. Roberts. Mr. Adamson wanted Mr. Robison to pick up and deliver his share, but Mr. Robison refused, he says, adding, "So they got Max Dunlap to do it." Mr. Robison also says he believes Mr. Dunlap, too, is entirely innocent. Mr. Dunlap's story is that a mysterious stranger appeared at his house one morning with an envelope full of money and told him Mr. Roberts wanted the money delivered to an office downtown. Mr. Dunlap said he did deliver the money as a favor for his old friend, with whom he had gone to high school. Mr. Roberts, asked about Mr. Robison's and Mr. Dunlap's comments, granted a long interview but insisted that all but one sentence be off the record. On the record he said: "I never passed any money to anyone." Mr. Adamson was not available for comment. The Molly Ivins article, the first stemming from our investigation other than Don Devereux's pieces in the Progress, put Arizona authorities on notice that they couldn't confine scandals to their cozy corner of the country, that the whole nation might start watching. Molly Ivins did keep watching. It was just the kind of pressure—not pleas for justice to the attorney general's office, police, and the Phoenix media-that represented Max's and Jim's best hope. pps.161-171 --[cont]-- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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