The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 1

The Indianapolis Star Sec. "HTipre (he Spin! of the Lord is, there is Liberty" II Cor. 3:17 VOLUME 75, No. 336 iz -h SUNDAY. MAY 7, 1878 khlTlOC 30- KELLEY TO ASK PROBE BY GRAND JURY ler Case Called Political9 tt'KATIIKK TODAY Showers High, 62; Low, 50 Yesterday High, 65; Low, 47 Merc By DONALD K.

THRASHER Prosecutor James F. Kelley charged Saturday that the murder case against 21-year-old Daniel F. Cantwell had been turned into a "political football." As a result, he said, he will ask the Marion County Grand Jury to investigate the "basis and origin of allegations" that a special prosecutor was needed for the case. with other police officials and Jones likely will be asked to testify. Jones' letter originally was presented to Gallagher.

The chief, in turn, wrote Jones saying that he, too, believed a special prosecutor was needed because of the "relationship" between the senior Cantwell and Kelley. Cantwell, former minority leader of the council, and Kelley are prominent Democrats and young Cantwell's attorney, Owen M. Mullin, is a former county Democratic chairman. On the other side. New, a Republican, was the chief trial deputy for former Prosecutor Noble Pearcy.

Gallagher said Saturday that he had not informed Kelley he had received the letter. NEW WAS NOT available for comment and Tinder refused to discuss the matter, citing the lawyer-client relationship. Defense attorney Mullin said Friday he would ask police and the prosecutor's office to review the case and resubmit it to the grand jury. Kelley said Friday that he had written to Gallagher, asking him to review the case personally. Cantwell is charged with murder in the death of Miss Jones, a 26-year-old cafeteria employee of the Indianapolis Public School system, last Nov.

1. She was slain in an efficiency apartment she had just rented at 1702 East Bradbury Avenue. The apartment is owned by the defendant's mother, Rose Cantwell. Cantwell's parents are divorced. FROM THE TIME of Cantwell's ar-rest, his parents have maintained that he was innocent.

His father has hired pri- See MURDER Page 21 Kelley issued a statement after it was revealed Friday that the father of the woman young Cantwell is charged with killing had asked for a special prosecutor in a letter written by his attorney, Leroy K. New. The slain woman, Ruth E. Jones, was found beaten and strangled last November. JONES' LETTER ALSO contained charges that Cantwell's father, City-County Councilman Paul F.

Cantwell, had harassed and intimidated grand jury witnesses, and that deputy prosecutors handling the case had "indicated little or no interest in its outcome." It also came out in the Friday court hearing that Republican City-County Councilman John G. Tinder, himself a former prosecutor, had recommended New to the victim's father, Arthur T. Jones. Kelley statement read: "With regard to the case of the State of Indiana v. Daniel Cantwell, there has been an obvious attempt by some to make the criminal justice system into a political football.

This is not only destructive to the rights of the defendant, but it makes a mockery of American justice. "I will, therefore, request that the grand jury make a full and complete investigation of the basis of the allegations contained in Mr. Jones' letter and the origin of those allegations. The grand jury will also be asked to look into the involvement of certain individuals in this case and the motivation behind such involvement. "IF WE ARE to remain a free people, we cannot tolerate political tampering with the criminal justice system." Kelley said the grand jury probably would be called May 18 to look into the case.

New, Tinder and Police Chief Eugene Gallagher, all Republicans, along SUPPORT DOLLAR I JmiiJiimkMMJ i Twin ERNST CARRIES WEAPON AS ROMERIL (ARM EXTENDED) CHATS WITH GIBSON AND McVEY WATCHES AFTER SURRENDER Suspense Ended At 10:16 A.M. Saturday As Gunman Ends Ail-Night Negotiations And Agrees To Give Up NO THOUGHTS OF JOHN WAYNE HEROICS Star Staffer Gets His Way: Under Guns Of Story The Hard Hos tage-Holder Saudis, Iran Stand Against Midyear Hike In OPEC Oil Prices invite Ernst, who had stood unarmed and unprotected with me for nearly an hour, waiting for an audience with a troubled man Surrounded by discarded beer and soda cans, Gibson sat in a swivel chair in the corner. He was dressed in a light-blue Indiana University T-shirt and blue jeans and held a semiautomatic rifle in his lap and an automatic pistol in his right hand as he directed his hostages. Schnepf and Romeril to search us. "YOU MUST BE Drake," Gibson said, motioning to me.

He brandished his handgun and declared with a mischievous smile. "This is the one I want. Everyone else leaves." My heart hesitated a trifle at this remark, but it started up again as my three fellow hostages laughed it off and See STAFFER Page 12 Art Drake, 24, working rewrite at The Indianapolis Star early Saturday, answered the city desk telephone to find himself talking with a man who announced he was holding three men at gunpoint and had a story he wanted to tell the newspaper. Drake agreed to meet with the man, later identified as Robert C. Gibson.

Here is his first-person account of what happened. kill. He will surrender soon, I believed. Schnepf and Romeril had just convinced Gibson to give up two hostages, Mark Beyhl. 22, and James Dober, 17.

I WALKED warily to the clubhouse Schnepf held the door open and assured Gibson I was approaching unarmed with no thoughts of playing John Wayne. Schnepf got permission from Gibson to BASE Some producers notably, Kuwait. Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have argued that oil prices no longer should be posted in dollars and thry propose switching to a different unit of account. PRESSURE ALSO has been building within OPEC in recent months for a compensatory midyear increase in prices in order to offset losses due to the slippage in the dollar's value. However, a surplus of oil on world markets has weakened international demand and limited the ability of the producers to impose higher prices.

The surplus is due largely to new sources of supply from Alaska, the North Sea and Mexico. In any case, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who together account for more than half of OPEC's total production, have come out not only in favor of extending the current price freeze until the end of 1978 but also in support of the dollar. Gunman's Surrender Ends 12-Hour Siege Warplane Sale Called 'Knuckle Under9 Move By ART DRAKE I had plenty of time to ponder the prospects of confronting Robert C. Gibson in the stronghold where he had been holding hostages. At 1215 a m.

Gibson had threatened to kill three hostages unless I came alone to listen to his story in his fortress in the Nottingham Village Apartment Complex in the 9300 block of East 21st Street. Sheriff's Maj. Joe Ernst and I had been standing in front of the clubhouse for nearly an hour, waiting to meet the gunman. Gibson had wanted to see me alone at 1 am. Saturday.

He finally saw me at 3:30 a m. in the company of two lawmen with a backup of perhaps dozens more. CHARLES SCHNEPF stood in the doorway asking me if I wanted to go into the clubhouse to meet the man who was holding him and Col. Billy Romeril at gunpoint. "Do you really want to come in?" Schnepf asked.

He had been under Gibson's control since 11 m. Friday and had developed a rapport with the man who had threatened to kill him. "Yeah," I replied. After all. Gibson, 33.

had threatened to kill his hostages if I didn't go to the Nottingham Village Apartments clubhouse to hear what he had to say. After three telephone conversations with Gibson, I had become convinced that he presented no real danger, except that he was playing with toys that could The IV'cw Face Of The Caribbean Two years ago, veteran reporter Peter Arnett found Caribbean nations seething with anti-U S. feelings and turning toward socialism. How these feelings have changed and why are told in a special series by Arnett Starting Monday In The Indianapolis Star 'EXECUTION' demands for the release of 13 jailed terrorists had been rejected. Army helicopters and coast guard speed boats scoured the inlets and countryside around the coastal town of Ter-racina, where an anonymous telephone tip said Moro could be found.

AT LEAST 25 persons, most members of ultra-leftwing student groups, were detained for questioning but there were no new arrests. On Rome's outskirts, police found an abandoned cabin, long used by tramps and prostitutes, which may have sheltered the Red Brigades immediately after they kidnapped Moro and killed his five bodyguards March 16 Taif, Saudi Arabia (UPI) Influential Saudi Arabia Saturday threw its weight against a midyear increase in oil prices or abandoning the dollar as a pricing unit as OPEC ministers began a two-day strategy session at this summer resort town. The Saudis joined Iran in that position. Venezuelan Oil Minister Valentin Hernandez Acosta, the current OPEC chairman, officially opened the conference of the lJ-member cartel and the ministers then immediately went into closed session. OPEC Secretary-General Ali Jaida of Qatar told reporters the conference would center on future oil policy.

HE SAID A balance should be struck between oil supply and demand "in such a way that there would be neither a surplus to affect petroleum prices nor an energy crisis that might hamper world economic growth." The Iraqi News Agency reported from Taif that Iraqi Oil Minister Tayeh Abdel Kartm called for revision of OPEC's oil-pricing system and replacing the dollar at Saturday's session. In an interview published Saturday in the right-wing Beirut daily Al Bayraq. Saudi Crown Prince Fahd said he expected the value of the dollar to rise next month and that his country was opposed to an increase in the price of oil. THE DECLINE OF the dollar on world money markets in recent months has eroded the purchasing power of oil producers because oil prices are posted in dollars. The losses to OPEC members this year have been variously estimated at between $12 billion and $16 billion.

Kuwait claims it is losing a million dollars day due to the drop of the dollar. Affirmed Wins Affirmed won the 104th running of the Kentucky Derby Saturday. Alydar was second and Believe It third. Details on Page 1, Section 2. The Weather Joe Crow Says: vr? The difference between ki CL 1 Louisville and Indianapolis 3mV m'rry M'y is the clBtter of hooves and H- the roar of engines.

IndlanapoM Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms today; high. 62. Showers and thunderstorms tonight and Monday. Low tonight, Sfl, high Monday. 62 DRAKE WRITES OF ORDEAL Had Urge To Disarm Gunman THE ADMINISTRATION wants to sell SO F-Ss to Egypt, and 75 F16s and IS F-ISs to Israel.

By far the most controversial portion of the package, however, is the proposal to sell 60 F-ISs to Saudi Arabia. Some senators fear the Arab's new jet fighters could be used against Israel. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has a deadline Wednesday to produce a resolution of disapproval for a vote by the full Senate. Congress has 30 days from April 28 to take action. Senate Democratic leader Robert Byrd said Saturday that he was confident See SALE Page 21 NO WORD YET ON Washington (UPI) A coalition of Democrats, led by two outspoken supporters of Israel, said Saturday that President Carter's plan to sell warplanes to moderate Arabs is just a move to secure "Saudi Arabian good will entirely on Saudi terms." The Coalition for a Democratic Majority, headed by Sens.

Henry M. Jackson (D-Wash.) and Daniel Moynihan said the White House plan is a retreat forced by threats to the U.S. economy. It is part of a "pattern of international accommodation and retreat which is weakening our nation's standing in the world," they said. A siege that began Friday night with a call from an intoxicated gunman to The Indianapolis Star city room ended 12 hours later with the release of two Marion County sheriff's deputies who had exchanged themselves for four civilian hostages held earlier.

At 10:16 a.m. Saturday. Col. Billy Romeril and Maj. Joe Ernst, accompanied by FBI agent Robert S.

McVey, escorted Robert Coy Gibson, 33, 9300 East 21st Street, into an unmarked police car and took him to Marion County Jail. Gibson was charged with six counts of armed confinement and one count of attempted murder. THE FOUR climbed into the car and pulled out of the driveway of the Nottingham Village Apartment complex, 9300 East 21st Street, as swarms of reporters, photographers and spectators poured past barriers set up through the night to get a closer look at the scene. The clubhouse remained off limits, however. Gibson began to talk about surrendering at about daybreak.

He needed time to think, he said, and wanted the surrender to be on his own terms an unmarked police car and no handcuffs. He refused In Genoa, police raided a small apartment and found a mini-arsenal. Alcssan-dro Bonora, who leased the flat, was captured but investigators would not comment on reports the apartment was a Red Brigades' nest. In their statement Friday, the Brigades said: "We are concluding the battle begun March 16 by executing the sentence passed on Aldo Moro." The communique, left in phone booths and garbage cans in four cities, was deliberately ambiguous about the timing of Moro's "execution" and political leaders said they believed the message was just another attempt to increase tension in the nation. ON APRIL IS, the gang announced This story was prepared by Indianapolis Star reporters Art Drake, James G.

Newland Jr. and Gordon Witkin. to set a time, though, and almost fell asleep several times. "We're playing a waiting game," said Sgt. Robert Hendrickson at 9 a m.

"It's not an easy game to play but it's one in which people usually come out alive." AT 9:20, AS Gibson appeared ready to give up, Romeril's "Get everybody back" could be heard over walkie-talkies Romeril and McVey argued briefly over tactics. Romeril claiming he had the situation under control while McVey insisted he be covered by surrounding sharpshooters. When Ernst brought Gibson's glasses See SIEGE Page 10 More Pictures On Pages 10 And 12 Of Section 1 that their people's court had "sentenced Moro to death" for his "crimes against the proletariat." They gave the government until April 22 to free their comrades but then allowed the deadline to elapse without any action. The Red Brigades announcement prompted banner headlines in all Italian newspapers and most termed the weekend "the blackest days in the history of the Italian republic." The respected Milan daily, Corrlere delta Sera, appealed to the gang to "stop yourselves, do not commit this coldblooded murder" and warned that "if you have really gone ahead, losing all reason-and humanity, the republic will take a hard revenge Italian Police Set Up Dragnet In Moro Search Today's Prayer Thank You, Lord, for Your wonderful gift of hands, to reach out and up, and to touch, and enabling us to perform our daily toils and tasks. Amen.

TODAY'S CIIIJCKLK A very likable fellow is one who comes right out and says he agrees with you. Star Telephone Number Circulation 633-9211 Main Office 633-1240 Want Ads 633-1212 Scores After 4 30 633 1200 News Summary On Page 2 Rome (UPI) Anti-terrorist squads threw a vast dragnet over central Italy Saturday, breaking into hundreds of abandoned homes, throwing up new roadblocks and detaining at least 25 persons in a desperate hunt for kidnapped ex-premier Aldo Moro. Moro's family refused to confirm reports they had received handwritten letter from the five-time premier bidding them an emotional farewell. Police and army troops broke down the doors of hundreds of hornet and set up dozens of new roadblocks around Rome in an eleventh hour search for Moro and his Red Brigades kidnappers. The kidnappers had announced Friday they were "executing" him because their Indiana Cloudy with showers and thunderstorms today; highs, 60-65 Showers and thunderstorms tonight and Monday Uw tonight, 48-52: highs Monday..