European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 15, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday september 15, 1985 columns comments Mary Mcgrory Case of Jackie Presser and the Fri smells very fishy is it a crime 10 commit a crime that has been commissioned by the Fri that s just one of the questions that arc proliferating in the Case of Jackie Presser. Teamsters president Reagan Loy Alist and it i alleged y spy for the Fri. Presser the Only big Lime labor Leader to support Reagan denies he Moon lighted for the a men but his Uncle Allen Fried Man fingered him in open court and a Federal judge believed him. In 1980, Presser was under investigation by the labor department for suspected ghosting that is paying people for no work. Labor sleuths found out that indeed ghosts were walking the teamsters payroll. What they did t know was that Presser was engaged in the indictable practice under or Ders from the Fri. After a 32-month investigation the jus lice department decided not to indict Presser even though a government strike Force in Cleveland strongly recommended it. Two men were indicted for their part in Presser s government sponsored criminal activity. Friedman was let out of jail recently and granted a new trial by . District court judge Sam h. Bell. John Nardi or. Is now clamouring for exoneration. He was awaiting his sentence the length of which was to be determined by the measure of cooperation he gave in testifying against Presser. The two made the quite reasonable claim that major evidence had been with held from their lawyers during the discovery period. If Presser were an Fri informant and engineered the crime they might successfully plead entrapment. Why was Presser working for the feds he was an effective modern labor Leader who used High technology and state of the Art Public relations to change the image of his Union As corrupt and mob Ridden. Me certainly did t need the Money. His teamsters salary is $225.000 and he had a spectacularly successful sideline in a la Ater nightclub in Cleve land us Well As other real estate invest ments. Was the Case a simple matter of the right hand of government not knowing what the left hand was doing but in strike Force actions All agencies Are involved and share information at regular meetings. Why did the Fri stand by and let the cases against Friedman and Nardi go for Ward when they knew that the verdicts would be overturned if pc scr s part time William Buckley right up there ought to be some Wayton Coulp prosecute th0se civil rights leapers service to the Fri certainly exculpatory usually a Model of bureaucratic Correct circumstances was Ever revealed Why did t the Fri Tell the Justice department that Presser was their i Ness even Tell the Fri the Bureau s director William h. Webster reportedly did t know anything icon Why did t the Fri which is about in. Why was a Federal grand jury Cpl in the dark about pc scr s other life As an informant when the fact was Central to any consideration of possible criminal action to allow the Case to proceed without that critical information could constitute a fraud again a grand jury. Presser int talking. Neither is attorney general Edwin Mccase. Hia Story is that he removed himself from the Case because of his desire to free the mat Ter from any taint of political influence he was in the White House while Presser was being wooed and extremely proud of Presser s endorsement of Rea Gan. Since he took office six months ago a desc has been exceptionally vocal on All manner of subjects from supreme court decisions he found bizarre to his Awn self proclaimed Eminence As a Champion of civil rights. He is mum on the question of Jackie Presser. So arc his deputies. Nobody s tried to cover this up a Csc says. Two Senate committees Are investigating. The Fri has begun a belated inquiry into its own conduct and the Justice department has called in its office of professional responsibility to try to find out what in the world was going on. It is a Federal judge who is. Once again offering the Best Hope of solving a smelly mystery. Bell in ordering a new trial for Presser s Uncle said i think it s time we All dispel the Shadow of Rumor and innuendo and Shine the Light of truth on the happenings before the last  maybe we will even hear Why the Fri sent a shark after some minnows. Usually Little fish arc used to bring in the big ones. They started at the top with Presser and then made sure he committed the crime they suspected him of. Whatever the outcome Presser is in the eyes of one be Low Union Leader a loser. Says William Winpisinger president of the International association of machinists hell have to go to work in a Bullet proof limousine. I Don t know any one who respects a Stool Pigeon either in or out of the Trade Union  the Reagan administration which talks big about moving against crime will have to do something fairly soon unless it wishes people to reach the obvious conclusion about the affair which is that Jackie Presser walked because someone in the Reagan White House was watching Over him. C Universal pre Syndicate legalizing drugs in t the same As endorsing them the  continues heavy since i wrote that circumstances argue the legalization of drugs combined with massive Public education. Rep. Charles Range of new York entered my last column into the congressional record introducing it with a few paragraphs about the extent to which he opposes drugs and then passed along the package with a covering letter urging me to re think my conclusion in the mat Ter. He writes my select committee on narcotics abuse and control has held Many hearings on the subject of drug abuse and ways to control it. 1 assure you our findings clearly show that legalization is not the solution you seek but neither in his letter nor in his speech on the floor does congressman Range Tell us what his committee has accomplished. Not All my correspondents Are in Congress. One sits in sing sing and he writes with that declarative vigor that cuts through much obfuscation. I quote him exactly you Are 100 percent Correct and the people who wrote to you saying that you Are wrong about legalizing drugs have no Conception of what is going on in this country because of drugs. "85 percent of the new York prison population is Black or hispanic. J "75 percent of the entire population in new York prisons and probably the whole country arc in because of drugs or drug related crimes. The local Junkie must steal every Day of the week in order to keep up his or her habit. They must steal $ 1,000 a Day or More in order to get $ 100 or $ 150. Every Junkie helps Young people to Start using junk or pills or Mary Jane or something to gel them started and the business escalates with new customer every Day. Marijuana is no different than alcohol. Excessive use will drive you crazy or kill you. Cocaine is not an addictive Rich Man s toy. All pills arc dangerous. Heroin is a killer and addictive. The Price and profit of dope is so High that honest people go into the business who would never commit a crime. They Lake the place of those who get caught. They say it lakes $100,000 to build one cell they say it takes $40.000 to House one inmate for one year. If you legalize All the drugs the prisons would be almost empty crime would be reduced by 75 percent Mari Juana would be sold and taxed by the government it would produce millions of dollars to be used constructively. Ta5 you know a11 this Supply and demand would kill the drug  one need t accept All the asset rations of the Anonymous prisoner. But the ring of truth is there. The Large it psychological obstacle remains the Public notion that to legalize drugs is to pronounce Benediction on them. This int an entirely benighted idea. About � generation ago. Inland Revenue collectors in Lonyce decided the time had come to lax inc whores and to slim acts were made out of their income and tax Bills were sent out. These included forms and under prof Sion the disconsolate girls would put Down such things As hostess or companion or  one few wrote Down carefully  a few weeks utter her Check was returned. His majesty s government we not going to participate in the wages of sin. Something of that attitude carries Over into the no non or a tax on drugs. But the Paradox is As Choih penetrated As inc proposition that because we permit the publication of Hustler Magazine we approve of i ? Vilc journal which by w. Unble Shingle tax. We Are overdue for hard thought on this pained and divisive subject. 1c Una Vert pre Syndicate p