STATE DEPT. PAYS $16,900 A YEAR FOR NOTHING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000600040035-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 15, 1998
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: June 5, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

t ,l
Sanitized - Approve F, -,Release -?c4t-
TE ,r,:x i ;. t!.; ,:~ ;.'.:. ~ 'J ?
JUN 5 1964
By RICHARD It. BOYCE
Scr .-KomarriwNrtU3>Yrtpr `'`
WASHINGTON, June 5-
Otto F., Otepka. a $16,900-a.
year government' employee,
goes to the State Depart-
ment, and every afternoon
the goes home. During the'
eight hours in between,
Otepka does nothing but
read the Congressional Re&?',
ord.
Otepka is chief of the State
Department security evalua-
tion division. But he is not
permitted to do the work for
which he is paid..
He gets no Important rle-,
partmetrt. mail. In an entire
year lie has-had only two de-
partment phone calls. Fel-
low workers snub him. He's
not invited to office lunch-
eons, ci' department social
affairs.
A Lonely Life
It's a lonely life for Otepka,
49 and ruggedly handsome.
IIe believes -his office Is'
hugged. Ile rlocsn't trust his
desk telephpne. He won't let
his private. briefcase out of
his sight, even takes it to the
washroom with him.
He reads the Congressional
'Record becapse.:his superiors
told him to-after they filed
charges against him that can'
cost him his job, Reading the
record is. supposed to keep
Otepka busy until a hearing
Is held on his ouster. He has
been doing "mostly nothing"
-for a year, now---a hearing,
dale still hasn't been set, '?,
tllep{ia has been' in gov-
ernment service 24 year's,
moving up , all I lip lime -
until last year. His l eon hit .g
started atier? he lestil'ierl in
November 1961, and illarell
1062 before the Senate in-
ternal security subcommil-
tee. As a longtime security
export, Otepka t?ld the Sen-
}jl,n's that some new State
Department appointees were
being given rush-job security I
clearances. ' , I
Casti?o's rise to power and
his links with conimtnism.
Otepka had something evils.
kcal to say about'lhat, too, in
connection with high stale
officials and State Depart-
ment security practices.
Early in 1963 Otepka was
called back to the cornmillee,.
Some of his ear}ter test imony
differed from ,'stnivnients
made by other department
officials. Tdi11N'Ulie, he. was
rigl,: r 'opka gave r?ommil-
tee r.+isel ray Sourwine
three confidential rlnenmpnts.
Order Cited
This was all right, (it.epka
said, because Sourwinc had
security `iearance. Rcsides,
Otepka insists, the documents
civil service to furnish mine,
malion tr. .my, member of
Congress shall not, be de-
~ n led."
Otcpka also scans on a
11138 joint Congressional res-
olution saying "any person
in government service should
put loyalty to country above
loyalty . . to any govern-'
'
till-nt department.
Never heless the State De-
,tinilment said Otepka's acts':
were insubordination, and on
.Tulle 27, 19t:3, charged him
.with t?onfluct unbecoming an
nfitcet'. t
Phone Tapped
Otepka violated a 1948'ot?rler cite charge, Otepiia's phone
,by President Truman forbid- way' tapped. Later John F.
ding unauthorized disclosure Reilly, deputy assistant sea
of executive department.. rotary of state for security,
;'files: Otepka concedes. this,i and, Elmer D. Hill, chief of
I ' ? 1 q rlivi?
vice
t
h
Otto F. Otepka
'lnolnts In a 191,18 law's
Which says "the right. of any
they 'k n e y" nothing of the ?)
w i r e t a p. David Belisle,
Rcllly's,special assistant, told'.
the committee he knew noth-
ing of it, then recanted and i
said he knew of it but didn't
..
ccin(a sci
e
t
Sion, were fired because they
1 lied to the committee, saying
didn't, endanger national se.
curity, . '
But the department said.
do it. He was transferred to
other work outside the se-
Continued
Sanitized - Approved For Release.: CIA-RDP75-00149R000600040035-7