Tucson Daily Citizen from Tucson, Arizona • Page 1

VOL. 99 --NO. 81 TUCSON, ARIZONA, FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 1969 Senate GOP Majority Falls Apart 40 PAGES--TEN CENTS By ROGER TIMBERLAKE PHOENIX (UPI) The state Senate's Republican leadership flew apart late Friday and Majority Leader Dave Kret bluntly announced his resignation as floor leader in a bitter; dispute over a university appropriation. The explosive action was virtually unprecedented. It was triggered by the motion of Sen.

Kenneth CardelIa''(R, Pima) to adjourn the Senate until Monday morning. Kret and Senate President Bill Fair Warmer Reading Due When "rabbit bush" Pollen you Can Easter be Far behind? Br'er Bunny Fail-, slightly windy weather and warmer temperatures are forecast for tomorrow by the Weather Bureau. The high tomorrow should be between 82 and 87 it was 79 degrees yesterday and the low tonight will be in the 43 to 48 range. This morning it was 46 degrees. Southeasterly winds tomorrow morning are expected'to reach in to 15 miles per hour.

The latest pollen count here, taken Wednesday, was mulberry 100, pine 21, olive 4 and 2 each' for asli and rabbit bush. (The count is taken in the vicinity of Broadway and Tucson Blvd. and may vary in other areas). The-2 Tucson readings were 76 degrees and 17 per cent humidity. Full Weather Report, Page 15 Nixon Picks Two Envoys KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.

(AP; President Nixon announced today he will nominate veteran diplomats to be ambassadors to Hungary and Turkey. Alfred Puhan, 56, a government employe since 1942, will go to Budapest, succeeding Martin J. Hillenbrand who has become assistant Secretary of state for European affairs. Robert W. Komer, a close adviser to former President Lyndon B.

Johnson on Vietnam policy, has resigned as ambassador to Turkey and will be replaced by William J. Handley, 50, a foreign service officer since 1944, Porter (R, Maricopa) had been prepared to put the state's million general appropriation bill through debate, but they were forestalled by Cardella's motion to call it quits for the weekend. The motion carried on a roll call vote, 16 to 14. The 13 Democrats voted with Cardella' and his two Tucson Republican colleagues, Douglas Holsclaw and Jacquin. Before the voting was completed, Kret gave icy warning that he would consider the motion a vote of no confidence if it prevailed.

After it carried, Kret announced he no longer considered himself floor leader and no longer considered the 17-member Republican bloc to be the majority of the Senate. "I don't know who the new floor leader will be," he said. "Maybe Senator Cardella." The majority leader traditionally moves for adjournment at the end of the day's floor business. The Senate Republicans had been convulsed for several days on how much money to give the three universities for their operating expenses next year. The three Tucson Republicans fought hard for a larger appropriation than that approved by the House and by a majority of the Republicans.

The leaders retreated from their earlier decision not bring, the appropriations bill to the'floor without 16 of the 17 Republicans pledged to support it. Instead, they brought it out with 12 votes from their side, apparently gambling that the Democrats would not break open the budget. The Democrats probably would not have done so if it had been put to a vote immediately. It was learned that they wanted the adjournment so they could discuss the situation further with the Tucson Republicans. The Democrats were not willing to move to adjourn themselves, but it seemed probable that they would not have offered any substantial aid to the Tucson Republicans if one of them had not moved to adjourn.

Senate Democrats held a quick caucus after the flpor debacle and decided to return today to go over the budget carefully. Apparently they were considering making some changes of their own in return for supporting the three Republicans on the university increase. It was indicated there was not Continued Page EDITORIAL Is Tucson Ready To Believe It? No longer can there be any doubt that racketeers are preying on Tucsonians. The FBI has known it for years. So have the Tucson Police Department and the county attorney's office.

Despite repeated warnings, Tucsonians generally have remained apathetic about the presence of Mafia overlords and their hired hoodlums. Tucsonians have been too little concerned over the fact that the underworld is muscling its way into legitimate businesses and is making financial and political inroads in this city. Not even when an East Side bowling alley operator was shaken down by Mafia thug Charles "Batts" Battaglia did Tucson demand an intensification of efforts to eradicate organized crime. Now the underworld has claimed another victim, popular and respected business and civic leader, Newton Pfeffer. Mr.

Pfeffer, a jeweler, apparently made the mistake of turning over on approval more than a million dollars worth of jewelry to a customer. Involved in the case was John Battag- Jia. His brother, Charles, is currently serving time in a federal prison for extortion. According to one source Mr. Pfeffer went to the FBI.

Apparently the customer had refused to pay for the jewels or return them. Mr. Pfeffer's dilemma was compounded by the fact that he had received the jewels on consignment from suppliers. Facing financial disaster, Mr. Pfeffer jumped to his death from a balcony II stories above his fashionable downtown store.

Mr. Pfeffer's suicide and the developments which led to it shocked his many business and social associates. Many of them undoubtedly realize for the first time that the specter of organized crime really does hang over fcheir city. Terror and extortion are not new to Tucson. But those who have been victimized seldom make headlines so dramatically as did Mr.

Pfeffer. The tragic death of Newton Pfeffer as well as his statements to the FBI make it clear that big time racketeers are brazenly preying on Tucsonians. At long last, the message should be clear to everyone: Don't deal with hoodlums. MAY SPUR U.S. CUTS Canada To Trim Troops For NATO WASHINGTON (AP) Canada's decision to cut back its NATO forces in Europe likely will trigger- demands in Congress for drastic reductions of U.S.

troops committed to the alliance, according to officials here. A movement in the Senate last year to sharply cut the man U.S. force committed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Europe was stopped only when the Soviet Union and its allies invaded Czechoslovakia last August. The Soviet intervention resulted in fears that the East- West military situation in Europe might become unbalanced by a cutback of U.S. forces.

These apprehensions have largely subsided and presum- Main Result Of Federal Reserve Actions Will Be Fewer Loans By LAWSON ALLEN Citizen Business Writer The Federal Reserve Board's latest double-barreled blast at inflation will cost would-be borrowers more for their loans, if indeed the money is available, members.of'the Tucson banking community said today. In an unprecedented combined order yesterday, the board pushed the discount rale 'from 5V 2 per cent lo 6 per cenl, its highest, level in 40 years and, effective April 17, ordered its member batiks to keep more deposits In reserve. The discount rate is the interest charged by the Federal Ee- serve on short-term loans to its 6,000 member banks. This in turn affects the interest banks charge their customers. Affected locally by the two orders will be the Valley National, First National and Southern Arisona banks.

Great Western, Ari- zona and Union banks are governed by state banking regulations and are not directly affected. "So far as the man on the street is concerned," said Ashley Purse, president of Great Western Bank, today, "the reserve requirement will probably affect him more than the discount rate hike. Loans are going to be harder to come by, even if the borrower is willing to pay higher interest charges." An addidional million will be idled by the order. Banks will have to cut down their loans by an even greater amount because they are normally able to lend several times the amount of their cash reserves. What effect the boost in the reserve requirements will have in Tucson is problematical, according to Thomas C.

Weir, district vice president of the First National Bank of Arizona. "I don't think raising Ihe discount rale have any great impact on interest rates here because very few banks borrow from the he said. "However," he continued, "the new reserve requirements mean there will be less money available for lending. Jf a bank- is fully loaned up, its ability to make additional loans would be impaired and some customers would have to be turned 1 Will the Federal Reserve's latest action cool inflation? Bankers here are cautiously optimistic. Said GDbert Bradley, Valley National Bank senior vice president and manager of its southern division: "It is hard to tell at this point whether the Fed's new requirements will dampen inflation.

Certainly it shauld have some how much is impossible to say. It is clear, however, that the Federal Reserve do all it can in that direction." ably would be revived only by some fresh Soviet thrust. The Canadian move focuses fresh attention on the troop level issue and makes renewed congressional pressure for U.S. reduction almost inevitable, some well-informed officials feel. The action by Canada, which has only about 10,000 tropps in Europe is seen here as a reflection of a feeling fairly widespread through the alliance that NATO has outlived its original purpose.

The alliance was formed 20 years ago today as a defense against any threat to Western Europe by the Soviet Union. The feeling now is that the Soviet threat has largely diminished and the alliance is in need of a fundamental review and revision. Senate critics consider lhat too many U.S. troops are deployed in Europe. One of the chief advocates of reduction last year was Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield.

He and others circulated a resolution to reduce greatly the troop level and obtained 52 signatures. Inside 1 1 5 oday Citizen Dr. Alvarez Bridge Comics Crossword Puzzle Deaths Editorials 26, Movie Times Public Records 5 22 21 12 32 27 20 19 Sports 28-31. TV-Radio Dials Weather Woman's View 8 19 15 -11 In Gem Dealings PFEFFER'S LOSS $3 MILLION By DAVE GREEN and JON KAMMAN Citizen Staff Writers Jeweler Newton S. Pfeffer's speculative gem dealings with a reputed California racketeer made him responsible for at least $3 million in debts at the time of his suicide Saturday, it was confirmed today.

Retail value of the jewelry he apparently lost in a calamitous business venture was nearly million, sources reported. Facing imminent financial ruin, Pfeffer leaped 11 stories to his death from atop the Pioneer International Hotel. His total indebtedness, reported yesterday as just above a million dollars, was revealed today by persons close to the highly secret investigations being conducted by the FBI, the Pima County Attorney's office and representatives of jewelry supply houses. Confidential sources say Pfeffer accepted the precious stones and jewelry on consignment from a number of suppliers about Christmas time: "A lot of pieces" of jewelry were involved, ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to $100,000 apiece, according to reliable information. In New York City, Joseph Baumgold of Baumgbld Brothers a diamond supply firm, said his company provided a portion of Pfeffer's consignment jewels.

He said investigators from Baumgold's Los Angeles office are among those probing the case, but declined to comment on their findings or the value of his firm's shipment to Pfeffer. Pfeffer subsequently released the items on consignment for sale in California, then was unable to collect payment or recover the jewels. His transaction reportedly involved John L. "The Bat" Battaglia, of Los Angeles, who has been fingered by a California judiciary committee report as a "muscleman, con-man and bookie high in the inner circle of California rackets." Battaglia is the brother of Tucsonian Charles "Batts" Battaglia, a Mafia lieutenant now serving time in Leavenworth federal prison on an extortion conviction here. Official comment by investigators in the Pfeffer probe is practically zero.

Today, the Pfeffer store on the ground floor of the Pionner was sealed by the hotel through a landlord's lien. Richard S. Darling, vice president of the Pioneer Hotel said Laos Urges Arms SAIGON (UPI) The Royal Laotian government has secretly requested U.S. weapons shipments on an urgent basis to bolster its armed forces engaged in the heaviest fighting with Communist troops in five years, informed U.S. sources said today.

The urgent request was made by Premier Prince Souvanna the. sources said. The United States has indicated its willingness to send the weapons but has not yet done so, they reported. man Royal Laotian Army now is using vintage'M-l rifles received from the United States in the early 1960s. al months" of back rent were outstanding.

Jewelry on display was being seized for the back rent and is being stored at the Southern Arizona Bank. The FBI was known to have certain tape recordings which relate to the Pfeffer case. How many, or what they contain, was not determined. Pfeffer had contacted the FBI not long before his death. He reportedly had made numerous trips to the coast in an effort to collect payment or recover the diamonds.

The Pfeffer firm is a corporation. Pfeffer was listed as its president, and his wife; Shirlee, its secretary-treasurer. Its future was in doubt today, and arrangements had not been made for probating Pfeffer's estate. No inquest will be held in death because the ex-officio coroner, Justice of the Peace Joe Jacobson, witnessed part of Pfeffer's plunge from across the street. Jacobson, who signed the.

death certificate, called it a "clear-cut case of suicide" and noted that a shoulder-high rooftop wall on the hotel would have prevented an accidental fall. Changing Locks At Pfeffer's Vice Presidents Michael McKinney (left) and Richard Darling of Pioneer International Hotel 1 ma TfiPP WatCh yt AAA ot Key work on the lock at the N. Pfeffer jewelry shop in the hotel. The hotel took over the shop today under a landlord's hen for non payment of rent. (Citizen Photo by Art Grasberger 'IN FOR A CONSIDERABLE SHOCK' Pollution Control Head Warns Potential Violators Of Laiv By GIL MATTHEWS Citizen Staff Writer Owners of most smog-producing processes in Pima County who have not obtained operating permits by July will be in for a considerable "shock," an official warned today.

Referring to recent passage of the state's new air-pollution control law, County Air Pollution Control District Chief William Griffith asserted: "For all intentional purposes July 1 will be the kickoff date for full-scale county pollution control enforcement. We are not trying to scare anybody but as of that date we will have the tools we need to get the job done on a 'right now' basis." Griffith noted, however, Lhat motor vehicles and copper smellers will continue to be exempt from smog rules pending further study at the stale and national levels. He hopes the county can come up with some workable regulations for copper smelters within "three or four months" after it receives national data on smelter controls. That information is expected here in June or July. Gov.

Jack Williams Tuesday signed the state's new air pollution bill into law. The law, effective July 1, allows the state to act on pollution control where counties fail to do so and provides misdemeanor penalties for all violators. Griffith said that until July 1, misdemeanor penalties can be imposed only upon" persons engaged in open burning. "Action against other violators must be accomplished through a long, drawn-out injunctive process as thing? now stand," he said. Griffith added that in July he hopes to hire two additional field inspectors keep tabs on contaminant-producers in the county.

"I have requested money to pay two new inspectors in our fiscal 1969-70 budget proposal. Soviets Deny Ships Going To Red China MOSCOW (UPI) The Soviet navy's commander in chief said today his ships -were in the North Atlantic on a training cruise, not bound for a demon- against the Chinese mainland. Admiral of the Fleet Sergei Gorshkov said ''all claims about some kind of. a military demonstration by our navy on the shores of China are groundless political speculation, a propagandistic canard of the bour- gebise Right now we have only one specter." Griffith estimated that there are roughly 3,000 contaminant- producing operations in Pima County that will need permits to continue operation after the end of June. So far, he noted, owners of only 600 of them have applied for permits.

He said violators of pollution standards run the risk of a fine of not less than said there is no maximum fine de scribed under the new law. "Although there is no specific limit as to how much a fine" could be, ihe courts will handle each case of pollution-control violation on its own individual merits and will take into count the magnitude of the violation," Griffith said. "We are not concerned with trying to rack everybody, but we are concerned with making people aware when they are creating air-pollution problems for others around them. We will prosecute those persons who we feel are flagrant violators and those who ignore our warnings about their operation." Griffith stressed that although his office presently lacks the.en- forcement capability it will have in July, owners of any new con; taminant-producing operations by law must apply for'permits before the operation is initiated. He said'permits may'be requested via mail or by visiting Ills office.

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