yers fails to block broadcast of Abscam tapes
WASHINGTON (UPI) The Supreme Court
yesterday rebuffed ousted Rep. Michael Myers'
.attempt to stop television broadcast of his
Abscam videotapes, and all three networks pro
mptly aired the tapes one showing Myers tak
ing a money-filled envelope from an undercover
agent.
. :`Money talks in this business, . . ," Myers said
during a meeting with an undercover FBI agent,
according to one of the tapes.
The court rejected arguments by Myers, D-
Pa., who was expelled from Congress after his
Aug. 30 conviction for accepting a' $50,000 bribe,
and his three co-defendants that airing the tapes
would hurt their appeals.
Federal authorities in New York City im
mediately turned over five videotapes and one
audio tape to the three networks. All three net
works showed excerpts on their nightly news
broadcasts, letting millions of Americans in on
what the jury saw during Myers' bribery
McCarthy says candidate choice difficult
By LYNDA ROBINSON
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Former Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, an in
dependent presidential candidate in 1968 and 1976, said
last night the 1980 presidential candidates present
voters with a difficult choice.
l c
• • The choices are not easy." McCarthy said.
"Reagan doesn't read books; Carter says he's a speed
reader which may be worse, and Anderson reads the
dictionary,"
In a more serious manner, McCarthy said he was
concerned by the increasing personalization of the of
fice of the presidency and traced this trend through
*residential administrations beginning with that of
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
"The Office of the presidency has become increasing
ly personalized," he said during a panel discussion
held on 'The Modern Presidency: Past Experiences
'and Future Prospects.'
"Presidents have been quite indifferent to what their
pearly standsfor and what their party recommends;"
he said..
The two other members of the panel agreed with Mc-
Carthy that the image of the' presidency has become
• po , . .
more imftant than presidential policies.
Panel member Robert K. Murray, a University phs
- of American history, said the presidential image
has become so inflated that it has taken on aspects of a
ft,
personality cult.
Iran threatens to mine oil-rich Strait of Hormuz
* BASRA, Iraq (UPI) Iran thi•eatened
yesterday to mine the Strait of Hormuz,
the strategic artery for 60 percent of the
West's oil, if Persian Gulf Arab states
help lraq in the war, Tehran Radio
reported.
: Iraq rained artillery fire on Abadan,
kite of the Middle East's biggest oil
refinery, and poured more men and
tanks into a ground attack that has
driven to within :3 to 5 miles of the Ira
nian city.
But Tehran Radio said Iranian
• e. "
1 202 PATTER
conspiracy trial.
The sound quality on the tapes was uneven,
and the networks "bleeped" out several
obscenities from meetings between Myers, his
co-defendants and FBI operatives offering
bribes in return for help on special legislation to
get a bogus Arab sheik into the country.
On one tape, FBI agent Anthony Amoroso was
shown stuffing $50,000 into an envelope just
before meeting with FBI informant Melvin
'Weinberg, Myers and co-defendant Angelo J. Er
richetti, mayor of Camden, N.J., in August 1979.
During that meeting, the tape shows Myers tak
ing the envelope.
Amorozo asked Myers for help on the legisla
tion, noting his friends "have tons of money," ac
cording to the tape.
"You're going about it in the right way,"
Myers told him. "I'm going to tell you something
real simple and short. Money talks in this
business...the same way it does in
•
daily . ()lie • 'aril
Murray said the emphasis on the personality of the
president has led to a widespread belief that "if only
the right person is placed in the White House all will be
well with the nation."
Murray said this myth ignores the fact that "links
between presidential personality and presidential per
formance are tenuous at best."
Harvard professor of American history Frank
Freidel, the third member of the panel, said the pro
blem of a larger-than-life presidency stems from cam
paign rhetoric.
"The problem has been that the rhetoric has done
much to shape the expectations of the nation," Freidel
said. "The electorate has come to expect more."
Despite increased expectations and demands,
Freidel said the myth of an imperial presidency is not
realistic because of structural checks and balances.
"The chief executive cannot achieve instant
miracles on demand," he said. "Even a president of
heroic dimensions will be constrained. The checks are
so effective that we are not likely to suffer from a
dictator."
Murray said the presideht is constrained by Con
gress, the .courts, bureaucracies, public opinion, the
media and uncontrollable international events.
"Under such circumstances no president can be om
niscient, omnipotent and infallible," he said.
McCarthy blamed the media for the unrealistic im-
defenders repulsed the Iraqi attempt to
penetrate Abadan.
An official in Abadan told the official
Paris news agency that the morale of
residents of the beleaguered city, always
excellent, was now better than ever.
At the United Nations, the Security
Council announced it would hold a
special session on the 23-day old war to
day, with delegates from both Iran and
scheduled to debate the issue for the first
time.
In Washington, Pentagon officials said
.;1 rik4
4 -
'
4 COKES
they were skeptical of Iran's ability to
block the Strait of Hormuz by mining.
According to information in Washington,
it is unclear that Iran possesses suffi
cient quantitites of naval mines
necessary to mine the strait.
If Iran were to mine the strait, mine
sweeping helicopters based aboard the
two U.S. carriers in the Arabian Sea
would be available to sweep the mines.
"I think we could sweep as fast as they
laid them," said one official.
The threat to mine the gulf was con-
Lion power
Lion forward Peter Jancevski, left, and defender Dan Canter, below, each
scored goals as Penn State defeated East Stroudsburg 4-0 last night at
Jeffrey Field. More photos and stories on Page 7.
Washington."
NBC also aired an audio tape of a conversation
between Weinberg and Sen. Harrison Williams,
D-N.J., that defense attorneys at Myers' trial
said demonstrated how the FBI coached tape
subjects. Williams has not been indicted in the
.Abscam probe.
And it showed a videotape of a subsequent
meeting of Myers and FBI agents in which
Myers complained he hadn't gotten enough
money and wanted more.
The networks devoted up to five minutes each
of the 30-minute broadcasts to show the
precedent-setting material. CBS and ABC plann
ed to show more of the tapes in late-night
programs.
Local TV stations devoted even more time to
the tapes, showing portions of each of the six
segments released by the court.
Although the issue was raised only in the
Myers trial, the tape release decision was ex
age of the presidency because it concentrates on the
personality rather than the issues.
"The media presents things totally unrelated to the
capacity of a man to be president," he said.
The media was also criticized for its role in creating
difficulties for third party candidates to run a viable
campaign by giving them very little exposure.
"Television is inclined to limit the presentation of
even two candidates it doesn't know how to deal with
three," McCarthy said.
However, television is not solely at fault for limiting
the opportunities for third party candidates, McCarthy
said.
He pointed to state election laws that perpetuate the
two party system and the conditioning of the American
people to passively accept the two party system as ad
ditional problems.
Freidel agreed with McCarthy's criticism of
primaries.
"The miracle is that every once in a while we get a
strong, capable president," he said.
Murray summed up his thoughts on the state of the
presidency by offering three general observations to
the capacity crowd at, the Forum.
"It is remarkable that flie. r preidenCi funetioxis
well as it does it is remarkable that the public is not
more disillusioned with the presidency than it present
ly is and it is remarkable that any talented, sane in
dividual would want the job," he said.
tained in a brief Arabic-language broad
cast by Tehran. Radio, monitored by the
BBC in London, and quoted the evening
Ettelast newspaper as its source.
In related developments on the war:
• Iraq said the only reason it went to
war against Iran was to frustrate a plan
by Tehran to strike at Baghdad first. The
state-owned Iraqi newspaper, Al-
Thawra, said Iraq attacked Iran on Sept.
22 only to "foil the Iranian plans for
striking Iraq with all its forces."
• Iran revealed an uprising by Kur-
Photos by Janis
pected to result in the future public availability
of tapes used in the other five Abscam trials.
On the tapes, Myers and Errichetti are heard
discussing their influence over scores of politi
cians, members of the Mafia, members of the
Philadelphia City Council, dock workers' unions,
port officials and coal mining interests.
One videotape records an Aug. 22, 1979, payoff
meeting between Myers, a former
longshoreman; FBI agent Anthony Amoroso,
posing as the sheik's bagman; Errichetti, a New
Jersey state senator and mayor of Camden,
N.J.; and Mel Weinberg, the convicted con man
who helped devise an FBI sting operation that
resulted in the indictment of six congressmen.
On the tape of the August meeting, Myers
assured Amoroso: "Tony, You're going let me
just say this to you you're going about it the
right way."
"OK," the agent answered.
"I'm gonna tell you something real simple and
"Presidents have been quite indifferent to what their party stands for and what
their party recommends."
dish tribesmen, the first reported inter
nal troubles since the war began. Iran's
news agency said Kurds killed 20 Ira
nians and injured 50 others in attacks
near the Turkish border. Iran said it had
"foiled this conspiracy" incited by Iraq.
• Palestinian sources in Beirut,
Lebanon, reported that although the
Palestine Liberation Organization was
keeping publicly neutral in the war, it
was covertly backing Tehran with
material and morel support.
• Iraq's foreign minister, in a
Local businesses
for restraint against
paraphernalia ruling
By LORRAINE ORLANDI
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Two State College businesses have fil
ed a request for a temporary restraining
order against the municipality's recent
ly passed drug paraphernalia ordinance.
Lazy J Ltd., 232 E. College Ave., and
Quickdraw ACcessories Inc., 137 N. Pat
terson St., filed a petition challenging
the paraphernalia ordinance, or bong
law, adopted by the council last week.
Joseph Devecka, attorney to the plain
tiffs, said yesterday that the petition was
filed with the U.S. District Court in
Scranton and was referred to Judge
Richard Conaboy.
Conaboy was reportedly expected to
make a decision yesterday, although he
failed to do so.
The restraining order would tem
porarily prevent the municipality from
taking any action to prosecute the plain
tiffs or confiscate property of the plain
tiffs for allegedly violating the
ordinance.
Council President Mary Ann Haas said
yesterday that the council learned of the
court action Monday night. The council
met in executive session after Monday
night's meeting to discuss the action.
The bong law went into effect Monday
after being advertised in the Centre Dai
ly Times. It is based on a model act
drafted by the U.S. Justice Dept. The
bong law ordinance incorporates the opi
nion of a judge in Parma, Ohio, where a
similar ordinance was upheld.
Drug paraphernalia laws are being
challenged around the country. But
council member Joseph Wakeley said at
the Oct. 6 meeting at which the State Col
lege ordinance was passed, that a
short," Myers said
business
In return for the money, Myers agreed to help
the supposed sheik with immigration matters, a
violation of federal law.
At meeting's end, Amoroso gave Myers a
manila envelope containing $50,000 and told him:
"Spend it well."
"It's a pleasure," Myers said.
On another tape, Myers tells undercover
agents he can influence five other Philadelphia
area congressmen, some Ohio congressman and
members of the Ways and Means, Appropria
tions, Budget and Judiciary committees of the
House.
Also among the released tapes is a 100-minute
videotape of a Jan. 24, 1980 meeting between
Myers and undercover FBI agents in
Philadelphia, where Myers complained that his
cohorts had split up the $50,000 in such a way that
he netted only $15,000.
15°
Wednesday Oct. 15, 1980
Vol. 81, N 0.58 18 pages University Park, Pa. 16802
Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University
newspaper interview in Kuwait, warned
the superpowers against any involve
ment in the Persian Gulf war. While he
did not mention the United States by
name, Arab analysts said his statement
was clearly designed to warn
Washington off any kind of assistance to
Iran's U.S.-supplied army.
• Tehran Radio said North Korea had
declared its full support to Iran and urg
ed the closing of the South Korean Em
bassy in Tehran.
similar ordinance had been passed in
Hummelstown and had closed a head
shop there.
Conviction under the bong law in State
College requires proof that an item was
sold with the intent for use with illegal
drugs.
According to yesterday's Centre Daily
Times, the filing before the District
Court said the plaintiffs, David Talmas,
president of Lazy J, and James Bauer.
president of Quickdraw, cannot comply
with the ordinance because it is vague
and indefinite and does not adequately
define what items are prohibited.
The filing also contains a statement by
Talmas.
"I have reason to believe that the Lazy
J Ltd. may be targeted for enforcement
of this ordinance," the statement says.
"I am aware that the Lazy J Ltd. was
specifically referred to in a memoran
dum by State College Borough coun
cilman Joseph Wakeley Jr. as a head
shop where, drug paraphernalia was
sold."
If a temporary restraining order is
granted, a hearing will be held within 10
days to determine whether the injunc
tion should continue. If so, the case can
then go to court.
Mid week blues
Considerable cloudiness and chilly today
with light rain likely at times and a high
of 54. Mostly cloudy and cool tonight with
a low of 39. A mixture of clouds and sun
tomorrow with a milder afternoon high
of 60. Partly sunny, breezy and milder on
Friday with a high of 67. Showers are
possible late in the day on Friday.
"Money talks in this
file