Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 5

Chicago Tribune. Sunday, July 25, 1976 Section 1 Time to quit playing 'prosecutor game' ilf: III! yip-S i VKaSsO CONGRESS AND THE White House ought to stop playing political games v.ilh one another in an election year and give their post-Watergate hangovers a chance to wear off. Then perhaps the nation's lawmakers will be clear-headed enough to weigh rationally whether the country really needs to create a statutory special prosecutor's office to ride herd on the misdeeds of Washington big shots. Congress started this game of political hardball with a Senate bill calling for the appointment of temporary spoekil prosecutors on a case-by-case basis the style of Watergate's Leon Jaworski. Nobody said so publicly, but it was obvious some mischievous lads on Capitol Hill had spawned a document designed to revive bitter memories of Republican indiscretions during an election critical for the GOP.

NATURALLY. THE WHITE House had to react. It couldn't bluntly disavow the proposed legislation as a piece of political duplicity, especially with the Democrats threatening to make Watergate and President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon campaign issues. So Ford instead offered his own version of the bill providing for the creation of a permanent special prosecutor to handle criminal allegations against all high ranking officials from the President on down to members of Congress and the judiciary. That had the effect of tossing the ball back to Congress.

It could hardly consider exempting its own members from the scrutiny of a special prosecutor at a time when congressional stock is at an all time low. Thus, there the matter lies. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE presumably have been convinced by this performance that both Congress and the administration are against official sin and need only to work out methods of attacking it between themselves. But privately the two branches of government are sitting back waiting to see what the other will do about the proposed reform legislation while both seek ways to weasel out of an uncomfortable The Amityville N. house where Ronald DeFeo haunted, they moved out after 28 days.

Now. demonic possession had caused him to murder pur; DeFeo' wh0 had Peaded not 9uiltV by reason of his Parents, two brothers, and two sisters Ironi-chased by Lee and Kathleen Lutz. Claiming it insanity, may seek a new trial on the ground that cally, the DeFeos had named it "High Hopes 'Demons9 could Murder house haunted or hoaxed? seance, he continued. With the five seance participants including Kokoris holding hands palm down on the table, Kokoris said he heard Mrs. Warren begin saying' something like "a very old and evil force here" and that he was "not particularly impressed" with her performance because it sounded like "Twilight Zone." He said he felt his hands getting cold "sort of numb-like" and imperceptibly sliding from the table.

His teeth started chattering and his heart pounding and he had to break off from the seance, which was his first. "My common sense told me to attribute it to nothing but the power of suggestion," he said, but added that when he and two friends who had watched him for psychological effects discussed the incident later, the question was raised: What is really known about how the power of suggestion is generated? KOKORIS SAID that eventually only one member of the party, Jerry Solfvin, an experienced investigator from the Durham organization, went to sleep in situation created by election year hysterics. The fact is, the United States needs another bureaucratic arm of government about as badly as an epidemic of swine flu. If anybody thinks one man with a couple of clerks is going to handle a special prosecutor's office at minimal cost, then lunacy has more deeply permeated the national conscience then we thought. Jesse's PUSHing goals in Washington Bob Wiedrich FOR CERTAIN, the special prosecutor whoever he may be will soon assemble a cast of hundreds of lawyers and investigators to justify his existence.

Congress will be too scared of its public image to refuse his demands for money. And in no time, the American public will be footing a monumental annual bill to operate a mini-Justice Department and finance a band of ferrets following congressmen and other public officials into motels and washrooms across the land. That, however, is only incidental to this column's main objection to the legislation. What really rankles us is the suggestion that because one President went seriously wrong in 200 years of American history, we have to immediately create yjper pea -ock perch atop the governmental heap to assure the public sin will prosper no more. Baloney! THERE IS NO need to undermine the office of the attorney general of the United States.

He is already empowered to appoint special prosecutors and the system works well. We just had that dramatically demonstrated by the appointment of Leon Jaworski to pursue an investigation that successfully toppled a President for misdeeds who had been reelected by the greatest popular majority in the country's history. If the attorney general cannot be trusted to appoint a qualified lawyer as a special prosecutor, then he should nut be the attorney general. And the people who elected the President who appointed him will have a chance to turn them both out of office at the next election. That, too, is a part of the system that has served this nation well for 200 years.

So why mess with the mechanism by creating yet another expensive office to bleed already reeling taxpayers even drier under the guise of convincing the public that everybody in Washington is totally against moral, ethical, and dollar corruption. Too much reform can be a dangerous ly expensive mmg. News analysis contest between potential heirs as it was a struggle to get the black community in general to recognize Jesse as No. 1 said his friend. "The only person who really had the ability to challenge Jesse was Andy Young, and Andy never had the stomach for he said.

Young, a former aide to Dr. King, is now a congressman from Atlanta. Jackson's new-found security was evident during the press conference which opened PUSH'S convention last week. Bishop H. H.

Brookins, PUSH'S chairman Jackson is president of PUSH repeatedly took the microphone from Jackson to expand on answers Jackson had already given. FOR DOING THIS. Brookins didn't even draw a scowl from Jackson, who has never before cared to share the spotlight. But to assume Brookins has any real power within PUSH would be a mistake. PUSH and Jesse Jackson are one and the same.

The whole PUSH program is Jackson's. The program includes a new housing approach for HUD, endorsement of a national health insurance program and the Humphrey-Hawkins full employment bill and U.S. support of majority rule in Africa. All these goals are national in scope, and their success or failure will be determined in Washington, the reason Jackson is here. BUT IF JACKSON is to succeed in Washington, he must have the broad based support of the city's black community, where he has encountered problems.

The battle for leadership of the city's black community already is being fiercely fought by Mayor Walter Washington, Congressional Delegate Walter Fauntroy, and various black members of the city council. Jackson is viewed as an outsider, and opposition to him has been plainly visible. City Councilwoman Willie J. Hardy wrote to Jackson inviting him to take "your out-of-town money, your nonlocal workers, your foreign methods, and your Chicago self" and leave town. BARBARA LETT Simmons, a school board member, objected to Jackson's giving talks in the city's high schools.

Significantly, neither Mayor Washington nor Fauntroy participated in the PUSH convention-neither offered to make even a welcoming address. When asked about this, Jackson hinted that anyone concerned about this was simply trying to cause friction. "Both of them were invited to the reception, and I preached at Rev. Faun-troy's church two weeks ago," Jackson said, ending the conversation by walking away. Fabulous July Clearance reopen case to bolster the insanity argument with a demonic possession theory.

The lawyer said he researched the history of the property on which the house was built in 1928 with the idea of showing, in effect, that the property itself was possessed. HE SAID HE found that the land once was a "forbidden" Indian burial ground and that the first deed in 1658 had transferred it from the Wyandance and Mas-sapequa Indians to three men, one of whom had the same name as one of the original cultists listed in the Massachusetts colonial witchcraft stories. He said many later families experienced "tragedies." Weber said he had learned that Mrs. Louise DeFeo, the slain mother, had told a friend: "This family is going to end in a terrible tragedy and no one is going to realize that it was really a miracle." Weber said he would move for a new trial on grounds that include the withholding of evidence from the defense. The state had countered Weber's insanity defense by alleging that DeFeo's motive was to rob the family strongbox.

Weber said the prosecution had displayed the empty strongbox "wiped clean of fingerprints" at the trial to show that DeFeo wasn't insane. HOWEVER. WEBER said, the defense learned too late that the DeFeos had obtained a bank safe vault before the crime and presumably transferred their cash to it. The prosecutor in the trial, Gerard Sullivan, deputy chief assistant district attorney of Suffolk County, scoffed at Weber's promise of moving for a new trial several months ago. "We would respond and oppose such a motion on the grounds that Mr.

Weber is commercializing and prostituting these events which resulted in the deaths of the DeFeo family," said Sullivan, adding that "his grandiose accounts are good copy but verv poor law." Sullivan said there has yet to be shown any item of hard evidence of "supernatural forces" motivating DeFeo. He said "irresistible impulse" is not a defense in New York and added that "Satanic possession" would not come under the category of "mental disease or defect." THE POSSESSION story is "a great ripoff," said Sgt. Pat Cammarato of the Amityville police, who lives a block from the house and whose daughter had visited it. "I knew two families who lived there before the DeFeos and they had great experiences," said the sergeant. Cammarato said "it is just an ordinary charming house" and "the sightseers are killing us." Lutz, a Methodist, was quoted in published accounts as saying he had a Catholic priest friend from the Rockville Centre L.I.

diocesan offices come to say prayers and was told by the priest finally to get out of the house. One source gave the name of a priest who supposedly tried to help the Lutzes. When the priest was called, his secretary said he didn't wish to comment and referred the caller to the diocesan chancellor's office. THE REV. EDWARD Sweeny, diocesan chancellor, said there had been "no official request for any sort of investigation" and "no official investigation took place" although any priest could have "looked into it." An attempt by clairvoyants produced no manifestation, at least of the physical kind, according to two participants.

George Kokoris, Long Islander who said he was a field investigator for the Psychical Research Foundation associated with Duke University in Durham, N.C., said a seance meeting the night of March 6 in the living room, staged with the idea of having a TV crew photograph it, turned into "a very haphazard affair" because "friends of friends" crowded in. He said in an interview it was like a "sideshow" with "self-styled psychics seeing spirits here and there." LORRAINE WARREN, a 'medium." said she felt a "force" and started the Visit one of our stores for this spectacular sale! Take advantage of the many values, bargains and reductions on our famous brands. Shop smart! Shop NOW! Sale lasts until July 31 or while quantities last. NOT ALL SIZES IN EVERY COLOR AND STYLE. the house.

Several others remaining stayed aw ake around a candle. Asked about his night, Solfvin said simply, "Nothing occurred," but he added that he had participated informally and "not for an investigation per se." Solfvin said the nature of the case with people claiming subtle effects seeming to result from living there some time "makes it very difficult to investigate" and the foundation plans no further action. AMONG PRONOUNCED skeptics about the house is Dr. Stephen J. Kaplan, director of the Parapsychology Institute of America, who visited it for an hour with a friend.

Phyllis Ammirati, a self-proclaimed high priestess witch. He said the house is "only possessed with creative reporters" and there is the "possibility of a hoax." However, both Dr. Kaplan and Witch Ammirati are puzzlini? about one thing about 85 per cent of the houses with reported psychic phenomena on Long Island are near tha South or Atlantic shore line. DRESS SS1IRTS At this low price, you'll want several! New short sleeve, styles in cool, easy-care fabrics. REGULAR 8 $499 8POBTCOATS Versatile mixers for your own slacks.

Polyesters, wool end wool blends in solids and plaids. REGULAR '80 TO '90 SLACECS Perfect for outdoor summer fun! Belt loops and flared bottoms in a variety of colors. REGULAR '16 TO '20 Ford City, Randhurst and North 1 8 Main Street and Country Fair $4g90 $(g)99 By Joseph Egelhof Chicago Tribune Press Service AMITYVILLE, N.Y.-The house is a three-story Dutch Colonial in a pleasant Long Island neighborhood. It seems substantial rather than eerie, except for an unusual black-and-white paint job, and it is boarded up. Kids come on foot and on bikes to linger in fascination.

Teen-agers hold beer parties near the house at night. Talcs proliferate. One 13-year-old the other day said some people in white robes had gotten out of a car and, bowing down, said, "Holy spirit, come out." The kids talk about whether they would sleep in that house. Strangers put their hands cn the walls to feel for "vibrations." NEIGHBORS ARE indignant about news stories, off and on for six months, suggesting that the house may be possessed by evil spirits. Two women living nearby scoffed at the suggestion of devilish phenomena.

One grimaced in disgust. "Please don't use my name," said the other, "in case that kook Ronnie DeFeo gets out." It was about 3 a.m. on Nov. 13, 1974, when Ronald DeFeo 22, son of an auto dealer, wandered about the house killing his parents, two brothers, and two sisters with a .35 caliber rifle. He pleaded insanity but was sentenced to six consecutive terms of 25 years to life.

LAST YEAR LEE and Kathleen Lutz bought the property, which also has a boathouse in the for knowing of the DeFeo tragedy. They moved in Dec. 18 with their three children, the dog Harry, and expensive They moved out Jan. 14 after only 28 Ronald DeFeo Jr. days, claiming they had been harassed by a malignant presence.

The Lutzes, apparently fearing publicity, dropped out of reach of reporters. But Ronnie DeFeo's lawyer, William E. Weber, conducted long interviews with the Lutzes. The Lutzes' story appears to have been not of the usual "poltergeist" type in which things mysteriously fly around. It boils down to mostly psychological, rather than physical phenomena therefore not subject to visual confirmation.

THE FAMILY, according to Weber, had strange sensations, strange mood changes infecting people with sudden animosity; mysterious noises, abrupt temperature shifts, and they discovered windows and doors open or closed when they shouldn't have been. Toward the end of their stay, they said, they were in total terror. The subjective nature of the account has led to bitter Controversy which could go before a judge. Atty. Weber, whose insanity defense was rejected when DeFeo was convicted, said he intended to move for a new trial for the young killer soon.

In the new trial, he indicated, he might be able H'l I I 4 Jf it i vis By Arthur Siddon Chicago Tribune Press Service WASHINGTON Rev. Jesse Jackson has finally decided that Washington is where decisions are made and that is where Jackson and his Operation PUSH want to be. "We're going to be spending even more time here," Jackson said last week during PUSH'S fifth annual convention. "The Washington chapter is growing, and I feel this is the place to be. This is where things are made to happen." Jackson's decision to look eastward is not as sudden as it seems.

Actually, he discovered Washington about a year ago when the doors of power often closed to him in the past swung open and people with clout began to listen to him. SINCE THEN he has made almost weekly pilgrimages from Chicago to ingratiate himself not only with the Washington bureaucracy but also with Washington's large black community. Jackson's success can be attributed somewhat to President Ford's commitment to an open administration after Richard Nixon's resignation. But then, Jesse Jackson has changed too. The menacing scowl Is still there.

He is no less arrogant. The fierce ambition has not been dulled. But his rhetoric has cooled, and whites are no longer terrified they suddenly understand him, and even agree at times. "NOBODY WILL SAVE us, from ns, for us, but us," says Jackson, telling black audiences what whites have always wanted to believe. "We must wrestle with our three major enemies: Underdeveloped minds, undisciplined appetites, and unethical conduct," he says, to the approval of blacks as well as whites.

Ten years ago, during Jackson's black power phasa, such comments would have destroyed him. Today, he deplores the lack of discipline in schools, the unwillingness of young blacks to work and hold jobs and blacks' failure to acknowledge their own weaknesses. TWO FACTORS have contributed to Jackson's change, according to one associate who has known him for almost 15 years. First, Jackson is saying the things he senses the black community is now ready to hear things he believes must be said if blacks are to persevere and win any help from the white power structure. Second, Jackson believes he can afford to say these things because he is convinced he is now the undisputed heir to Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. as the nation's leading spokesman for civil The fierce struggle which began in 1968 when Dr. King was shot and led to Jackson's break with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the formation of PUSH is now over. "ACTUALLY, IT wasn't so much a SUITS Current styles' of nationally advertised brands! Choose from great shades in solids and patterns. Vested styles.

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