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War on organized crime is falteringBy JACK ANDERSON and LES WHITTENWASHINGTON — A confidential study by the General Accounting Office (GAO) charges Lersely that •'the war on organized crime is faltering.*’ The rackets continue to flourish across America, according to the study, despite federal attempts to crock down on the mob.The study lays most of the blame on the federal strike forces, which spearhead the national effort to disrupt organized crime. The strike forces, states the study, “are not getting the job done.”At the same time, the strike forces have come under intensive fire inside the Justice Department Critics have accused them of subverting the judicial processes and abusing their powers. In their zeal, some task forces have hounded and harassed suspects who couldn’t be convicted.Assistant A tty. Gen. Richard Thornburgh, the conscientious chief of the Justice Departments criminal division, has had misgivings about the strike forces. He recently shut down the strike forces in St. Louis and New Orleans. He also put the New Jersey strike force under U.S.Attorney Jonathan Goldstein’s jurisdiction.Finally, Thornburgh removed the respected William Lynch as head of the organized crime section, which oversees the strike forces. Lynch was compelled to trade places with Kurt Muellenberg, who had been running the narcotics section.These developments have sent shock waves reverberating through the organized crime section. Inside sources have told us that morale on ihe strike forces is at an all-time lew. There is concern that mure strike forces may be disbanded,Muellenberg has paid quiet calls on several strike forces to allay the apprehension. He told us he would never have taken the job if he had thought Thornburgh was trying to kill I he strike forces.Yet the malaise remains. We interviewed several strike force investigators. Most complained about a lack of communication between Washington and the field. Others suspected the motives of those who are trying to curb the strike forces.Some strike force prosecutors are thinking about leaving the Justice Department to go into private practice. Others have simplym to get a warrantway; in Georgia, the authority of OSHA to enter private premises, without a warrant, was upheld.This judicial conflict ultimately will have to be resolved at the Supreme Court level, but the reasoning in New Mexico was so rntfflnt that defenders of personalbetter way, The Fourth Amendment dates from Magna Carta; It is among the most glorious provisions of the Constitution; it protects even the lowliest citizen from the hobnailed intrusions of the omnipotent state.The Department of Laboradopted a “wait and see” attitude.At the last meeting between Thornburgh and the strike force chiefs, we have learned, Thornburgh was not responsive to their complaints. The confidential GAO study also claims the fight against organized crime lacks organization and direction.In a lengthy discussion with our associate Marc Smolonsky, Thornburgh conceded that organized crime is proliferating and that federal opposition should be better organized. But he challenged the GAO's auditing methods us a reliable measure of the Justice Department’s effectiveness in combating Ibe mob.He also blamed the American people for the growth of organized crime. It will “continue to flourish,” he warned, “until the American citizenry chores to withdraw its patronage from these muUlmilllon-dotlar sources of income, influence and power.As evidence that the Justice Department is not soft on organized crime, he pointed out that six of the most powerful Mafia bosses from Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York City and St. Louis are now behind federal bars.Thornburgh agreed, nevertheless, that the strike forces aren’t focusing on the important organized crime cases as they should.Even where prosecutions ultimately result In convictions, he said, “the cost is often high in terms of the attitude of judges and members of the bar.He had received complaints from judges and U.S. attorneys alike, he said, about inept performances by strike force attorneys.The strike forces have come to be characterized by young, inexperienced and untrained attorneys,” he said. They pursue “too many routine cases, often against organized crime underlings, relatives and associates.One strike force chief grumped £ meanwhile, that the situation “couldn't get worse.WATCH ON WASTE; The Defense Department could save hundreds of thousands of dollars simply by consolidating ils data processing systems in the For East. This is the conclusion of the General Accounting Office, which has just submitted its unpublished findings to the pentagon. vConsolidating the computer facilities in Hawaii alone, slates the report, would save an estimated $110,600.The Navy operates two separate data systems Tor security reasons. One handles classified data from Top Secret on down; the other handles data more sensitive than Top Secret. Apparently, all 11 would*, take to combine the two would be Uf * issue a few more security clearances.SEX DISCRIMINATION; Officials tried to suppress a scientific study of sex discrimination at the Federal Aviation Administration, We have obtained a copy of the study, which Is based upon a statistical analysis. Using computers, an investigator compared.*, the pay and promotion of men and women with similar backgrounds. The conclusion was the whopping discrimination is still going on.The report never got out of the FAA's personnel office. An official, denying it was suppressed, explained that it couldn't be released “until my supervisory people had a chance to see it. It may have been a matter of miscommunication. •sxx
Newspaper Details
Freeport Brazosport Facts
Freeport, Texas, US
Mon, Nov 22, 1976
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Madison H.
NA, 25 May 2023
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