European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday september 11,1989 doomsday critic accuses Agency says Fema burglarized his offices Washington a a Federal contractor who reported problems in the so called doomsday project a lop secret program designed to keep the government running after a nuclear War declares in a scaled lawsuit that the Federal emergency manage ment Agency burglarized his offices. The alleged break ins occurred after the contractor retired army major Fred we Styrman rejected a de Mand by Fema to turn Over All his corporate records to a business competitor according to the suit hied in Federal court. We Styrman was kicked out of the secret program less than two months after he refused to surrender the documents which he still has. An army counter intelligence officer for 20 years we Styrman started telling superiors about Security and management problems in the continuity of govern ment program in 1986, according to government sources speaking on condition of anonymity. Cog is the nation s contingency plan for reconstituting the government in the event of a nuclear attack. While almost All details arc secret it is known to involve Mobile communications networks Supply depots and a system of underground bunkers. The program was dubbed the doomsday project in a recent . News & world report article. The Magazine reported that the Pentagon the Justice department and the House armed services committee All arc conducting investigations into Security and performance problems in the program. Fema and the Justice department both refuse to discuss the cog program or Westerman s lawsuit. I addition the government obtained a gag order to pre vent the contractor from discussing his Case. We Styrman and his lawyer Frank Mroz both declined to comment when asked about the suit. Under a contract with the army corps of engineers Wisterman s Small company provided Security and other services to Fema for portions of the cog pro Gram in five states. He reported that alarm and Security systems at highly classified locations were faulty and that his employees were exposed to dangerous chemicals that had leaked from containers at several facilities according to the sources. Was Lorman also reported that water had seeped onto High voltage electrical lines in one area and that engine parts were falling off emergency vehicles parked at several facilities the sources said. In one instance we Sherman reported that the government removed an alarm system and installed a new one that provided less Security than the one it re discusses ruling Larry Mcafee a quadriplegic addresses a new conference saturday in Alabaster Abu to discuss a judge s decision permitting him to shut off his Respirator. The 33-year-old former Engineer and outdoors Man was paralysed from the neck downy a 1985 motorcycle Accident he Sid that what happens liter he tarns off the Respirator will be better thin life without body. Placed the sources said. Wisterman frequently was pressured by his superiors not to make any complaints the sources added. On nov. 20, 1987, representatives of Fema the army corps 9f engineers and a Maryland company Brogan associates inc., came to Wisterman s offices according to copies of the lawsuit obtained by the associated press from sources other than parties in the Case. Fema employee Robert Lorenz and corps of Engi neers officer Gerald Boggs demanded that we Styrman Westerman reported that alarm and Security systems at highly classified locations were faulty and that his employees were exposed to dangerous chemicals that had leaked from containers at several facilities. Turn Over All his corporate documents communications records invoices and Check books to Brogan president Arthur Hutchins the suit says. Boggs told we Styrman then and in subsequent weeks that if he refused to turn Over the documents he would not be awarded a new five year contract according to the lawsuit. Lorenz a specialist in Fema s operations Security division threatened to put Wisterman s company out of business according to the lawsuit. The meeting ended with we Styrman in Possession of his corporate records. Fema Brogan s company and the corps of engineers then did unlawfully. Break into corporate head quarters of Wisterman s company systems evaluation inc., we Styrman alleges in the suit. Westerman according to several sources says that the first of at least four burglaries occurred within 48 hours of his nov. 20 meeting and that the others occurred Over the next three months. Four weeks after the meeting Boggs told Wisterman that negotiations for the new five year contract were being terminated due to All the things that. Had taken place the suit says. Last month . District court judge Norma Johnson placed a gag order on Westerman that prohibited him from discussing his Case with anyone even members of Congress. Westerman subsequently withdrew his suit and re filed it in Federal court in Alexandria a. Government searches of premises ordinarily require a search warrant signed by judges and Law enforcement agencies such As the Fri ordinarily Are the agencies that execute them. Under a National Security directive the attorney general can approve a surreptitious entry for intelligence purposes targeting a foreign Power or an agent of a foreign Power. We Styrman suspects Fema placed him under surveil Lance and tapped his telephones according to another suit he filed against the Federal Agency. That suit invoked the Freedom of information act in demanding that Fema turn Over any records gathered As the result of surveillance. Telephone taps. Orang other electronic listening device . District court judge Albert Bryan missed that Case sept. I at a hearing where  lawyers refused to confirm or deny that the Agency had any such records pertaining to we Styrman. In dismissing it Bryan relied on a secret declaration the government filed with the judge that westerm Anand his attorney were not permitted to Sec. After being pushed out of the program in january 1988, Wisterman went to the Fri the inspector Gener Al s office at Fema and the Justice department to detail irregularities in cog according to an affidavit he filed with the . Court of claims. The affidavit does not elaborate on the irregularities. In june the . Attorney s office informed we Star Man that he had become the target of a criminal investigation in connection with his work for cog. The criminal inquiry has Frozen Wisterman s Case in claims court where he is seeking to recover $500,000. Even though he is no longer doing work for the govern ment he is locked into paying Long term leases for office space and equipment that he would have used in his work for cog. The Fema Public affairs office refused to comment on the suit. The Public affairs office at the army corps of engineers referred questions to the army judge advocate general s office which said the Justice depart ment would handle any inquiries. Justice department lawyer Alan Ferber who is defending the government in the lawsuit referred questions to spokeswoman my Brown who declined to comment the Brogan president Hutchins has not returned Tele phone Calls for the past month and a lawyer represent ing the company did not respond to Calls the past week. Key West officials fear aids May overwhelm their county key West Fla. A aids is so prevalent on this resort Island that chamber of Commerce officials worry the disease May turn away the tourists the econ omy relies on and change it into a place to die. Monroe county which includes key West has an aids rate even higher than new York City and san Francisco. Most county residents live on the Florida keys the Chain of islands anchored by key West. The deadly disease has spurred compassion among Many residents of key West a City with a highly Visi ble Gay population. Although no reliable statistics exist some social workers say Many aids patients from other cities Are aware of this and arc coming to key West for treatment and to die. That compassion could overwhelm the local health care system and stifle tourism key West s primary Industry officials say. If this is a great place to die then it s not a great place to have your Winter vacation said Jaye har Kow a social worker who moved to key West a year ago to counsel aids patients. And that worries greater key West chamber of Commerce officials. The Impact on this Community could be tremendous if we have aids patients come into key West for their last Days said John Parks jr., the chamber s president we Don t want to advertise that this is a place for aids patients to  if the negative gets out that there Are a Large num Ber of aids cases in the key West area then people have the fear of coming to key West he said. This can be an explosive situation to the Community. Monroe county had 121 cases of aids per 100,000 people in 1988, according to the Federal centers for disease control in Atlanta. San Francisco had a rate of 102 cases per 100,000 from August 1988 to july 1989, new York City had 63, and the greater Miami area had 45. Since the county first started keeping records of aids cases in 1982 217 people in the keys have been diagnosed with the disease said Dave Nolan who handles statistics for the Monroe Public health unit. That number docs not include those who were diagnosed elsewhere and then moved to key West. Of the 217 diagnosed 132 have died. Aids has put the county s Only Public Hospital Florida keys memorial in a financial bind. By the end of september the Hospital s administrator Donald Mayer expects the Hospital to be stuck with at least $1 million in aids patients unpaid Bills. That s a third of the Hospital s unpaid Bills Mayer said. Aids is a big chunk of our financial problems Mayer said. But we will continue to provide the  businessman Bill Conkle has several friends fighting the disease. There Are so few people Here that you re bound to know a few of the people who have been affected he said