DEFENSE RESTS IN TRIAL OF ACCUSED SWINDLER CLAIMING CIA TIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000605490014-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 16, 2010
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: October 11, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/09/16: CIA-RDP90-00552R000605490014-4
ASSOCIATED PRESS
11 October 1985
DEFENSE RESTS IN TRIAL OF ACCUSED SWINDLER CLAIMING CIA TIES
HONOLULU, HI
The defense has rested its case in the federal fraud and perjury trial of a
man accused of stealing millions of dollars of investors' funds who claims he
was set up by the CIA.
Attorneys for Ronald R. Rewald rested their case Thursday without calling two
planned final witnesses to testify about purported CIA arms deals. They said
the judge probably would not have allowed them to present evidence about the
deals.
The prosecution was expected to call a number of rebuttal witness before the
case went to the jury.
Rewald's Honolulu investment counseling firm, Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald,
Dillingham & Wong, collapsed in 1983 after about 400 investors had placed about
$22 million in the company over a five-year period. Little of the money has been.
recovered and authorities allege Rewald spent most of it.
Rewald says he was acting under CIA orders, and claims the CIA planned to
financially support the firm. He said the spy agency left him in the lurch when
the company came under federal and state regulatory scrutiny.
The CIA says it used the company as commercial cover for agents, but
declines any ties to its financial activities.
Earlier in the week, defense attorneys said they would not call Rewald to the
stand after U.S. District Judge Harold Fong ruled he could not discuss a sealed
affidavit in which he detailed his alleged ties to the spy agency. Fong has
ruled such information is irrelevant to the criminal trial unless it can be
proved that the CIA actually managed investors' money.
Defense attorneys said Thursday they would not call their final two witnesses
to testify about purported arms deals, contending Fong probably would refuse to
allow admission of documents and other evidence on grounds they also were
irrelevant to the criminal charges.
Fong said that unless there was evidence a deal was completed, there was no
reason to believe money for the arms came from Bishop Baldwin or that the
company received a commission for the deal.
"The court saw none in the documents before it," Fong said.
The defense had planned to call former CIA agent Ralph McGehee and Leonard
Mednick, a certified public accountant. McGehee was to testify as an expert
witness about CIA practices.
Mednick was expected to testify that the company was showing progress toward
completing a CIA arms deal, and that it could have received a $10 million
commission for the transaction.
Approved For Release 2010/09/16: CIA-RDP90-00552R000605490014-4