JURY SELECTED IN RETRIAL OF LETELIER MURDER CASE

Document Type: 
Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90-00552R000403680034-5
Release Decision: 
RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
K
Document Page Count: 
1
Document Creation Date: 
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date: 
July 22, 2010
Sequence Number: 
34
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
May 12, 1981
Content Type: 
OPEN SOURCE
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PDF icon CIA-RDP90-00552R000403680034-5.pdf92.71 KB
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000403680034-5 ARTICLE APPEARED THE WASHINGTON POST 1981 12 M .ON PAGE 14V ay By Laura A. Kiernan,. 'is" believed A o have been made-. in wa3hln;wn poet Stan writer :- Chile A jury -of: -five.- men, -"and seven ; 'The -two =defendants, Guillermo : women was selected yesterday in U.S.. Novae Sampol and--Alvin- Ross Dial District;-Court' in_ the retrial of; two .are accused of conspiring.with_six_oth anti-Castro Cubans charged with the -" era to carry , out .the murder of. Lete=.,- 1976 car-bombing 'assassination of - Ler, who was killed iri' a; midmornirg former- Chilean ambassador' Orlando explosion at Sheridan -Circle onn Sept. - LeteLer and `artassociate, Ronm Kar- 21, 1976:' Townley, an ^American-born - pen Mofntt DINA' agent, -testified--at- the original, Opening~ents in :,the cast: :friar" that he recruited "the Cubans-to= help- him carry out thet plot at-1116! were delaye ~yesterday;.while prose direction of his DINA superiors cation: and -defense= lawyers argued The Chilean courts have refusedto; ever. the>use `at-the retrial of tran- extradite the secret police, officiaP and scripts of`a taped telephone conver two indicted- in the Utelier~ ration'between the government's key case. Two other indicted. Cubans'arer witness, 1blichael ':Vernon `: Townley, "fug and a third is awaitin and a friend izr.Santiago,Chile, -which g a ,etriaL tic was disclosed during the last week of Defense lawyers Pai l' Goldberger" the original 1979 trial ' and-Lawrence Dubin contend that the-, When . tl~e U.S.? Court of Appeals transcripts of' the . conversations ' are reversed-the conviction:. of A he- two "crud". tor, their efforts to" -show_ Cubans- last -September, it also ruled Townley - is biased against the court.T that presiding Judge':Barrington--'D. They also argue that the conversation. Parker erred when 14 refused to allow undercuts his truthfulness as a witness' clefense lawyers to cross-examine ..::. because his comments show aeon-;; Townley 2about the-; conversatiori. Ac- tempt for the- judicial system - cording;-to-defense-transcripts of the Federal ,prosecutors, however, 'have ' telephone-call, Townley made dispar- challenged the authenticity of the. tape, aging remarks-'about Parker and the because of the 'mystery, surroundings jury, and said -he-would,have friends its origin, and contend that the-prej threaten,,.: Parker ~ so -;that he would udicial- impact of . Townley's state withdrawcfrom.the, ments on the jurywould outweigh-any: Y - Townley took the `wit- '_value they might have in.. challenging ness-stand,- outside, the. presence of the his-credibility jury, and testified that portions 'of the Parker said yesterday that he would; conversation are omitted in the tran- not allow defense lawyers to question script& The:-tape.of-the conversation Townley on any statements he made, was made-available"to defense lawyers about: the court :'or':the jury,, which- m n e fla matory" as "i by air- attorneyfor the head of the Parker said wer Chilean secret police, known, as'DINA well as irrelevant to the case 4, s The hearing on the transcripts, is d h f h a ow - t e tape an The-origin-o made are unknown, although the tape expected to resume today. ; Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/22 : CIA-RDP90-00552R000403680034-5