European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes monday january 22,1990 racing for Charity White House chief of staff John Sununu concentrates on the course it the Attilis ski area in Bartlelt . The former new Hampshire governor was among several celebrities taking part in the Benefit race saturday. Finances forcing catholics to close Chicago facilities Chicago a thousands of roman catholics in the nation s second largest archdiocese Learned sunday that their churches and schools would be closed to help solve critical financial  Joseph a Chardin. In a letter read at weekend services said the measure was prompted by the new circumstances in which we find ourselves deficit spending that has forced the archdiocese to borrow from commercial Banks for the first time in its 110-year history. I m heartbroken Marion Dudi Masaid. Her Parish Church St. John Nopo Muccue in the City s South Side Bridge port neighbourhood was on the list of the those to be  s Rotten said her Friend. Pat Jur guns. But what arc you going to do i there s a Money shortage and you have to go somewhere else you  two said they had been members of the Parish for 40  and mergers have appeared Likely for some time but archdiocese officials have declined to detail them say ing they wanted congregations to hear the news from their pastors  was scheduled later in the Day to detail the plan which Aims to Cut about $ 13 million in archdiocese spending. The plan also Calls for raising revenues by $36 million Over the next 17 month through increased fees and donations at local parishes Jack Benware the Arch diocese chief financial officer said last week. In Detroit last year Cardinal Edmund a Oka ordered 30 City parishes to either close or merge. He cited a shortage of priests declining membership and the increasing costs of maintaining Church  wave of protests followed and Sev eral parishes jointly filed a lawsuit to Block the closings. Neither the courts Northe Vatican interfered with the decision to consolidate the Detroit  Chicago archdiocese has 417 parishes in Cook and Lake counties where 2.35 million of the 5.7 million Popula Tion is  has the largest number of parishes and Catholic institutions in the nation and is second in population to los an Geles officials said. It runs the largest Catholic school system in the country. The archdiocese has experienced Sev eral years of deficit spending much of it to prop up individual parishes. It Bor rowed $9.5 million in the fiscal year that ended last june and several million More since a spokesman  measures to Stem the red Ink archdiocese debt could balloon to $142 million in 1993, he  say migration to the suburbs and shifts in neighbourhood demographics in the City have left some churches with too few people to sustain  the same time costs have been Ris ing. The declining number of priests and nuns who gel room and Board but lower salaries has forced the Church to hire Lay employees at higher costs. Agencies criticized on use of contractors Washington a the Energy department improperly used private contractors to write congressional testimony for Energy Secretary James d. Wat Kins and to review Security clearances the general accounting office said sunday. The Gao an  of the Congress that acts As the government s auditor also ruled that the environmental Protection Agency improperly used a contractor to run a Telephone not line to answer questions from the Public about the Agency s superfund program of clean ing up the worst hazardous waste Sites. The contracts in these three cases should be modified or terminated the Gao said to ensure that these inherently governmental functions arc not per formed by  the Gao s decision is confirmation that some thing has gone very wrong when government officials Are no More than mouthpieces or rubber Stamps for testimony rules and decisions prepared by private contractors said sen. David Pryor d-ark., who had asked the Gao to review the contracts. Pryor is chairman of the Federal services subcommittee of the governmental affairs committee and a longtime critic of Federal agencies Reliance on contractors. Epa spokeswoman Robin Woods said the Agency planned to retain the contract. We have made a decision to use our limited re sources in areas which must be addressed by civil serv ants such As in the development of regulations and policies while contracting out for technical information services Woods said at the Energy department spokeswoman Catherine Kaliniak said the department would not comment until it had reviewed the Gao report. The Energy department has come under increasing criticism by Congress for its heavy Reliance on contractors. The department has about 16,000 Federal workers and More than 100,000 contract employees. Watkns has complained publicly that his Agency does not have enough Money to hire Federal workers to perform the scientific and other technical work that currently is done by contractors. Pryor s subcommittee disclosed last november that employees of the contractor systematic management services and those of one of its subcontractors bpm corp., had written the testimony that Walkins gave before the House armed services committee on april 3, 1989, on the nuclear weapons Complex. The Gao said that in addition to writing Watkins testimony systematic management services also pre pared answers to congressional inquiries resulting from Walkins confirmation hearing last february and prepared briefing books and other materials for wat Kins for congressional hearings. Although the Gao decision made no mention of it Pryor s subcommittee has charged also that contractors prepared testimony for other senior Energy department officials including Leo Duffy Watkins chief adviser on waste management. The Gao said the department has admitted that this use of contractors violated the department s own rules. More broadly the auditors said the preparation of congressional testimony is government work that should be done Only by Federal employees. The Gao also said the Energy department was wrong to hire Maxima corp. Of Bethesda md., to hear evidence in Security clearance cases. Hearing officers provided by Maxima do not Grant clearances but they make recommendations to department managers on granting denying or revoking clearances the Gao said. Maxima employees also serve As examiners who hear appeals of Security clearance decisions. This contract also Calls for Maxima to do psychiatric evaluations of Security clearance applicants according to department records made available to the associated press. It also audits computerized files of personnel Security information on 240,000 individuals and corrects inaccuracies in the files. The department asserted to the Gao that the Maxi a contract was proper because the hearing officers and examiners do not make final decisions on Security clearances. The auditors ruled however that these Are quasi judicial services which Are inherently govern mental functions that should not be procured by con  colombian extradited to . For drug trial Washington Dpi a Colombi an indicted in Massachusetts on drug trafficking charges was extradited Sun Day for trial in the United states the . Marshals service said. Joseph Amsili Cohen 38, was turned Over by colombian authorities to a team from the marshals service s special operations group in Bogota said the serv ice s director k. Michael Moore. Amsili Cohen a native of Morocco and a naturalized colombian citizen was indicted in Boston in 1988 on charges of participating in a cocaine trafficking ring. Colombian police arrested him nov. 19. Amsili Cohen flew with . Agents from Bogota to Hartford conn., arriving at 7 40 . He was being held in police custody pending arraignment in Federal court in Boston. The indictment which was returned against 14 people charged Amsili Cohen with conspiracy to distribute cocaine in Massachusetts Florida Ohio Belgium and Colombia. Six defendants charged in the Sam indictment have been tried in Massachi  from the trials showed that in March and april 1988, defendant Shmuyl David travelled to Bogota to arrange with Amsili Cohen for the regular shipments of cocaine from Colombia for David  Ter National drug distribution Organiza Tion the marshals service  had told his associates he planned to import and distribute hundreds of pounds of co Caine. He was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison