NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP92B00478R000800030025-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 16, 2014
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: February 9, 1982
• Content Type: MEMO

25X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/16: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800030025-4
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/16: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800030025-4
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/16: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800030025-4
-
iington post
9 !EB 1982 WASFEEICTON POST
A Congressman
And an Oilman
!r.o The to Toe
I.
. It isn't often that a congressional
leader- and a corporate tycoon, wind
up snarling at each other in public.:
The usual procedure is for their..
aides to get together on the sly .and -
work things out to mutual satisfac-
tion. . ?
But when you have two guys like
Mobil Oil's chief executive, William
Tavoulareas, and House Energy and
Commerce Committee . Chairman
John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), all bets-
? are off. ? _ -
These two antagonists have been
locked in mortal combat since 1979..
Dingell started the feud by accusing
the Mobil Oil president of helping..
his son, Peter .Tavoulareas, create
and operate the Atlas Maritime CO.
' without telling Mobil stockholders
(about it.;
' The elder Tavoulareas, a hard-
driving, ruddy-faced, diminutive
Man with a griddle-hot temper,
traced news leaks of his son's alleged
misbehavior. to Dingell. In a fury,
Tavoulareas marched into the con-
gressman's office and demanded a
. written apology ? written, that is,
at Mobil headquarters.
-.Dingell is an unreconstructed cur-
mudgeon, with a quarter of a cen-
tury of congressional brawling be-
hind him. He is not about to be in-
timidated, therefore, by an oil exec-
utive. -
For two years the two tigers have
been clawing at each other, with nei-
ther gaining any visible advantage.
Last Nov. 20 Tavoulareak wrote Din-
gell, "After nearly two years involv-
ing meetings and letters between us,'
I have reluctantly come to the fol-
lowing conclusion: that you in your
capacity as a member of the House
of Representatives have deliberately
misled a citizen who was rightfully
trying to defend his reputation
The Tavoulareas letter then made
accusations against one of Dingell's
aides, Peter Stockton, allegations
that subsequently were fed to The
New York Times. As a sort of per-
oration, Tavoularem chastised Din-
gell by saying, "Finally, you said that
you would admit' being wrong if I
were cleared by the SEC. This has
now occurred, as you know, but
have had no word from you." -
Far from eliciting an apology from
Dingell, the SEC staff's findings are
likely to continue the the-to-toe bat-
tle between the congressman and the
oilman. _
? Footnote: A Mobil spokesinan
said, "Mobil believes the SEC inves-
tigation exhaustively examined and
? completely refuted Dingell's past
allegations."
Moscow Gold: The repression
Poland ris proving costly to the sp,i
viet Union. It. has been selling:gol
on the world market to keep the Pol--
ish economy afloat, according.to-4*:
telligence sources. The AfghanIslati?
aggressiodand domestic production:
failures have Added to the pinch.:
"Moscow gold"--La buzzword in.
the 1930s to explain the subversion
of political leaders and parties by the:
communisti--is today a -caref011y,
watched Yardstick of the .SoViet,,
economy's strength or weakness. Fot.
this reason, the Russians keep their;
transaction S as secret as possible'.-
But the CIA is able to glean sorrie
nuggets on Soviet gold sales. Witness
these excerpts from the agency's tbp- -
secret documents: ? ? ? ;
? "Soviet gold sales: ..weremade
on the Swiss- Market.- and earned
Moscow some $400 million.". :,;
? "A `huge' stock of Soviet gold is..
reportedly now at the Zurich airpott,,:i
awaiting sale on the Zurich market.",,'?`
The commissars are as canny as,
any Capitalists when they Marl*:
their precious metal, trying to sell
when prices high and hold on When
prices are low. But the needs of their,c;
political adventuring can upset this
prudent policy, the CIA reports:?-. :
, "Moscow increased the .volume of;.,
sales during periods of rising prices,.
and cut back when prices fell," a top-.
secret document states. "In the long./
run, however, Moscow probably ,will
have to sell gold when price's are'at
or below current levels."
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/01/16: CIA-RDP92B00478R000800030025-4