AGCA SAYS HE TRIED TO BLACKMAIL U.S.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505100056-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 23, 2010
• Sequence Number: 56
• Publication Date: June 21, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/23: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505100056-1
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ARTICLE AP EAR
ON PAG
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
21 June 1985
Agea says he tried
to blackmail U.S.
By Uli Schmetzer
Special to The Tribune
ROME-Mehmet All Agca, the
Turk who shot Pope John Paul II,
admitted in court Thursday he
tried to blackmail the United
States government with a compro-
mising letter to the U.S. military
attache in Rome.
The letter, written in terms that
indicated Agca knew the attache,
was dispatched from jail on Aug.
5, 1983, only a few days after the
young Turk had told Italian magis-
trate Ilario Martella he would dis-
close everything about the so-
called Bulgarian connection, the
alleged conspiracy against the life
of the Pope.
Agca apparently felt the letter
could serve him as a lever to force
the U.S. administration to support
his request for favored treatment.
In return he would divulge the
alleged KGB and Bulgarian plot to
kill the Pope.
But Agca's scheme failed when
the U.S. Embassy in Rome imme-
diately handed the letter over to
Italian authoritie
"I was playing a double game,"
Agca admitted during cross-exam-
ination. "You can consider the let-
ter simple blackmail to force them
[the Americans] into some kind of
support ... to throw them off the
track."
Despite repeated questions, Agca
remained vague on what kind of
support he expected from the U.S.
administration.
"All I can say is that I thought
there could be a political solution,
I thought it was possible to have
me extradited to the Vatican, I
just wanted an expression from
them that they would help," he
said.
During the 45-minute interroga-
tion on the letter, Sandiapichi
barked at Agca, "You were trying
to involve the Americans ... You
were trying to involve the Ameri-
can Secret Service, weren't you?"
Ill at ease for once, rubbing his
palms together continually, A_qca
insisted he had only tried to find
what he called a political solution
and support for his request that he
should be extradited' groin Italy to
the Vatican state.
"No normal person could think
of such an. extradition," the judge
snapped.
"But is legally possible," Agca
said.
The "American connection"
Thursday illustrated once more
Agca's readiness to cheat, lie and
involve people or governments if it
serves his obscure ends.
But the Turk [who has often
claimed to be the reincarnated
Jesus Christ, an expert terrorist
and "a master of psychology"]
could almost be pitied as he be-
came the butt of the judge's sar-
casm.
"You wanted to involve a third
country, didn't you?" Sandiapichi
shouted.
"I wrote the letter to obtain
suport from the media ... ," Agca
said.
"Did someone suggest this letter
to you?"
Agca : "No. I have nothing to do
with the American Embassy or the
American government but before I
talked about the Bulgarian connec-
tion it was already known that I
had been in Bulgaria for months.
The press knew these things."
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/08/23: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505100056-1