TWO ITT OFFICIALS CHARGED WITH PERJURY ABOUT CHILE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100130006-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2007
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: March 21, 1978
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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A =Z. Approved For Release 2007/06/14: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100130006-4
.ON PAGEci iii&rcun 1yiu
W ith erjun, bou'vChil'
i wo 1i T 'Icials. -C-haruled
OfJ 1. 8..
Wash:npton Bur;au of The Sun
of the International Telephone and Tele-
graph Corporation yesterday. but also in-
dicated that it would not prosecute Harold
S. Geneen. ITT's chairman. -
Both Mr Geneen and the two men
charged -Edward-- J Gerrity, Jr.,. 54. a
senior vice president of ITT, and Robert
Berrellez. 58. a regional public affairs of-
ficial-have. been under investigation in
connection with .testimony they gave to
Congress in 1973, about ITT actions in
Chile. ,..
Acting on the last day before the five-
-year statute of limitations ran out against
Mr Gerrity and Mr : Berrellez, federal
prosecutors filed criminal informations
against the two men in U.S District Court
here The informations charge the two
men with six felony counts each.
A department press release then an-
nounced. "No other actions arising from
this investigation are contemplated."
'Since Mr Geneen was known to be under
scrutiny in the same investigation, the
statement appeared to rule out any action
against him. The statute of limitations
runs out for Mr Geneen April 1..
Last fall, in an earlier action arising
out of the same investigation, the Justice
Department permitted Richard M Helms,
former director of the Central. Intellig-
ence Agency, to plead no contest to a mis-.
telligence subcommittee on secrecy, said
yesterday's action proved "the Justice De-
partment is no longer willing to throw up
its hands and forego prosecution in sensi-
tive national security cases."
During their consideration of the
Helms case, Justice Department officials
repeatedly expressed concern that bring-
ing the former CIA director to public trial
could jeopardize national security. In
seeking to defend himself, they reasoned,
Mr. Helms might ask to make use of high-
ly confidential information about high-lev-
el government deliberations and covert
operations.
Last week, Adm. Stansfield Turner, the
present CIA director, met with Griffin B.
Bell, the Attorney General, apparently to
discuss the CIA's concerns with prosecu-
tion of any of the ITT officials. But the
meeting failed to deter Mr. Bell from pro-
ceeding against Mr. Gerrity and Mr. Ber-
Both Mr. Helms and the ITT officials
were called before the Senate Foreign Re-
lations Committee's subcommittee on
multinational corporations in 1973 to re-
spond to allegations that the CIA and ITT
had worked to prevent the election of Sal-
vador Allende Gossens as president of
Chile in 1970.
Mr. Allende. a Marxist, was elected in
1970. but three years later was over-
Dended sentence in connection with his thrown and killed during a successful coup
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j. t;niie to l;ongreS5ln 17/_3.. .1 . a tic
Thus, the result ofthe Justice Depart- charge that Mr. Gerrity and Mr.. Berrellez
ment's investigation is that the ITT chair- provided Congress with false or mislead-
; man and the farmer CIA director will not ing? information about money which ITT
be prosecuted on felony charges, but.that spent in Chile at the time of the 1970 elec-
two to>:er,ranung ITT officials will [ions ? ' ? - "
Mr Gerrity, of Larchmont, N.Y. was Both`ftieh are also charged with mak_.
charged with three counts of perjury, one ing false statements in June, 1974, before
count of subornation of perjury, one count a panel of arbitrators of the American Ar-
of making false statements and one count bitration Association, which was examin-
of obstructing government proceedings If ing a dispute between an ITT subsidiary
convicted on all six counts, he would face and the Overseas Private Investment Cer-
up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to poration. ITT subsequently was paid back
$23,000. _:,,,- ...:?: by OPIC for financial losses on its invest-
Mr Berrellez, of Chatsworth, Calif., menu in Chile.
J
IT-i's manager of public relations and civ- Both Mr. Berrellez and Mr. Gerrity 1
il affairs for the corporation's southwest must enter pleas in response to the infor-
Approved For Release 2007/06/14: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100130006-4
will be found innocent.". ""- ?
... t---- 1.D D:
perjury, one count of conspiracy, one
count of obstructing government proceed-
ings and one count of making a false state-
ment. If convicted on all the counts, he
could face up to 30 years in prison and
fines of up to $26.000.,-.
In New York city, an ITT spokesman
said last night the two-indicted officials
"both continue to serve as valued execu-
tives of ITT We. are fully confident they
Washington-The Justice Department : den, Jr. Q. Del.), who heads a Senate in-
STAT