The Commercial Appeal from Memphis, Tennessee • 25

THE COMMERCIALV'APPEAL Memphis Tenn Saturday Morning Dec 20 1975 Impeachment Talk Smolders i request for die ruling from the generaL general to determine whether Gene Blanton is eligible to do business with the state "If he is not eligible to do business with the state then the agencies should not do business with him on an emergency basis or any other The heads of several state departments including highways and conservation recently told die committee they planned to continue to do business with Darnell said die committee specifically asked the attorney to rule on whether "a legal conflict of interest Darnell said die committee has as yet uncovered no "criminal nit is convinced the law permitting emergency purchases which bypass competitive bidding procedures should be tightened dr eliminated Gene is listed as aa News Analysis die governor and has an office in the state capital- although the governor and his brother say Gene Blanton receives no "We were confronted with the of doing business with BAB and other companies where the brother was involved" committee Chairman Riley Darnell (R-Clarksville) said "Because of the implication that something illegal was involved it was felt that it was necessary to receive an opinion from die attorney Stax Creditors File Staff Photo by lowranc Buser By JOSEPH WEILER and A ALBRITTON A resolution seeking an Impwriiinut Investigation into Gov Ray Blanton's administration is being quietly circulated in Republican legislative circles In Nashville die Fiscal Review Committee continued to look into various purchasing irregularities in the Blanton administration yesterday The committee pin to ask Atty Gen Ray Ashley if it is legal for the state to do business with the brother Gene The newly-drawn resolution which as of last night still had no signatures is viewed by several GOP legislators as being premature Rep Brad Martin (R- Memphis) said he believes it would take more good against Blanton to make it possible for the resolution to gain support He said he was not ready to sign 'ityet Reps Ed Williams (R-Memphis) and David Copeland (R-Chattanooga) said they were familiar with the resolution and efforts to gain support for it However nei- ther has signed it The consensus among Republican law-' makers contacted last night was that the resolution would require at least one or two Democratic signatures before it could be expected to have much success in the House Several of diem said they believe that-an indictment by die federal grand jury probing Blanton's past campaign practices could easily be the catalyst Others suggested that any strong case against die governor could quickly tip the scales "If a vote were taken tomorrow I think it would -be successful but I think this (resolution) is to be taken lightly If he (Blanton) violates his trustwith die people of this state in one manner or another that would be an impeachable Copeland said Several legfcStors who asked not to be identified said they believed die resolution is a preliminary impeachment effort more preparation than actual attack on die governor The resolution Is not aimed at impeachment but calls for investigation to determine whether certain activities of Gov Ray Blanton constitute grounds for impeachment" It calls for a five-member House com- mittee three Democrats and two -Republicans to be named to look into many of the ireas which have made recent headlines including purchase irregularities at Ft Pillow State Farm and die construction of tennis courts at Kciwick Landing State Park by a firm owned by Blanton's family Other areas it suggests should be studied-include leasing practices die interference of patronage committees in the mental health field political hirings and firings and die statement he -will not enforce capi-talpunishment -Hie resolution calls for the committee to report by April 1 The Fiscal Review Committee continued jts hearings in Nashville touching on several areas mentioned in the resolution The latest session wound up an investigation into' emergency purchases without bids by various agencies in die state government Construction Co owned by the governor's father and brother at Adams-ville Tenn soty some $114000 in high- Former Wrestler RJ McCammon And His Dry Wall Company Truck Ex-Wrestler Still Shakes 6Em Up Faces Faces RJ Stax owner and board chairman A1 Bell could not be reached for comment Bell is awaiting trial on federal charges he con- 1 spired with a former UP officer to obtain more than $18 million in fraudulent bank bands His indictment was followed last month by a public sale of most profitable subsidiary East Memphis Music Corp which holds title to all musical copyrights of Stax-produced songs UP which held the mortgage on the company conducted the sale and bought die firm for $3 million UP Senior Vice President William A Dick said the bank played no direct role in the involuntary petition against Stax But were obviously aware of the financial difficulties of Stax And we hope the petition will result in an orderly plan (through the bankruptcy court) that will allow the company to continue Judge Refuses Legal Barrier To Extradition From Tht CMmHrda Appl Tupate Min Butmu OXFORD Miss A federal judge Friday refused to block die extradition of Glenn Nash being held in die DeSoto-County Jail to Tennessee where he is wanted to stand trial for the 1966 murder of Hillman Robbins a Memphis liquor store owner UB Diet Court Judge Orma Smith said Gov Bill Waller acted within his discretion on Nov 13 when he signed an -'order permitting removal to Shelby County Smith's decision does not however mean that Nash will be extradited attorneys whe contend their client should not be extradited because he is mentally incompetent to stand trial said they will appeal the ruling to the UA Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans At hearing attorneys Russell Thompson and Allan Chambers argued that right to due process had been violated saying that at the extradition hearing the governor refused to consider the question of their client's mental condition Nash's lawyers said they were unable to fight die extradition because Nash a former Memphis lawyer aim has spent the seven years Mississippi State Whitfield where he was treat-schizophrenia is unable to assist them Edwin Snyder assistant state attorney generaL however- argued that Nash has no rights in the matter Nash and Margo Freshwater were indicted in Shelby County for the Robbins murder and by the DeSoto County Grand Jury in the slaying of Surratt a Millington cab driver whose body was found in the Mississippi River Nadi was also indicted in Oakland Fla in connection with the death of the manager of drive-in grocery in 1966 "Neither of us had an object It was just he did because he often found it neces-brute strength and blood and McCa- sary to leave towns on back roads with mmon says wife kept trying to pull escorts to ward off angry spectators Although she booed him on occasion his wife Ruby quieted some unruly spectators herself One time she "slapped a woman down" with her purse after the woman spit and threw Another time from her manual she removed her high heel and him out of the ring but I pulled him back so she reach him6 The first two falls were split and after 45 minutes of the derisive third fall McCammon says three successive body slams never met a man I couldn't body finally won him the match "Hie fans too happy about he i ner purse aixer uic woman hrew whisky at McCammon ne perhaps borrowing a page code of conduct Three creditors of Stax Records Inc pointed to protect master recordings by Stax artists The petition by Mayer Myers Piper Co here Star Photo Services Inc of Nashville and Newark Electronics Corp of Chicago said Stax owes diem a total of S254004 Their attorney James Irion of Memphis said the petition was necessary because Stax pretty well fallen apart and no tight control" of its remaining assets The petition in federal bankruptcy court said die only assets left to die fragmented recording firm are master recordings of songs by one-time Stax artists Sources estimated the value of die i ter recordings from about $100000 apiece to "millions of dollars in alL Irion compared the masters from which album copies are made to "Mona lisas because they are the originals "If I had 10 good master recordings I could go to Brazil or Mexico and retire on the he said In an accompanying affidavit' Atlanta business consultant Roger Shellebarg-er said loose operation of Stax has led to the disappearance of 'several masters Shellebarger hired by Union Planters National Bank said the remaining masters stored in a vault at Stax studios on East McLemore are irreplaceable and must be protected in die interests of creditors Federal Bankruptcy Judge William Lef fler appointed Berton Leman as a receiver for the firm and Leman was dispatched early yesterday to take over the firm Telephones at Stax headquarters later were being answered by a man who identified himself as a security guard no one here" he said Time were no estimates of total outstanding debt but Irion said die three creditors who filed the petition were because there is no dispute over -their claims He said Mayer Myers die firm is owed $35909 the photo $191093 and the electronics firm $27002 dentiaf upon request Address all letters to Action Please in care of The Commercial Appeal 495 Union Memphis 38101 In emergencies only cell the Action JPIeise direct telephone line 526-3311 Monday through Friday By LAWRENCE BUSER Staff Wrltar OLIVE BRANCH Miss There was a dark time in past when -he would lie awake at night thinking of new things he could do to irritate people He found that choke chains did very nicely clothespins for eye gouging also got the job done and brass knuckles always seemed to gain him widespread disapproval The townspeople hated him he loved it and everyone usually went home happy "In most matches I could get per emit of the people in the building on their' feet boring me throwing things at me and cursing says the 245-pound former wrestler an unsuccessful candidate for DeSoto County sheriff this fall who plans to run again and again until elected "I always liked to wrestle some popular guy and then do him real dirty I had very few fans but I wasn't in the ring to please -folks I did sane pretty lowdown tilings to some of them Sometimes even my wife booed me" But 'all carefully calculated by McCammon The fans come out to 'see a show of friendship and be about to give it to them "You don't want to cripple' a man for life but just bust him up a bit and make him McCammon says "Then that makes me look tougher and it'd make the crowd hate me that much more The more you irritate them the more they come out" 12-year wrestling career started in 1957 to supplement his income as a dry wall contractor He was initially influenced by -a wrestler named Sputnik Monroe as he grappled in stadiums gyms and auditoriums in small towns of the Mid-South But the dirty tricks were all hisown do most anything to win a match Fd keep a chain handy pull hair anything just short of getting myself disqualified McCammon recalls very seldom entered the ring without sin object to use on a guy although molt matches I didn't need it to win I just had it to rile the fans The main thing was keeping it hidden from the referee" So McCammon hid clothespins in his hair occasionally kept a snjpll chain in his mouth and estimates he won 90 per cent of his more than 1000 matches Among the victims were Corsica Joe Spider Galento and The Fields Brothers but McCammon says his finest hour was a 1962 in Adamsville Tenn with a local strongboy 'by the name of Buforil Pusser accs McCammon: Campaigner bopped a fan over the head with it But McCammon 43 says those days ended when he became a Christian after a preacher asked him are you ready to do business with the Lord?" McCammon quit smoking his "20 cigars a and life has been peaceful for him ever since he says His amMtion now is to become "the best sheriff DeSoto County ever had" though he will have to wait another four years to try This fall he campaigned with a style that would give public relations experts nightmares I spoke I could see the votes going down die drain but I didn't care" McCammon finished sixth in a field of seven in the August primary McCammon was the only candidate at the political rallies who attacked opponents and claimed the county was riddled with vice and corruption "It seemed like he picked out one (o nent) for each rally and he i any of them before it was over says one county official guarantee he got more attention than anybody that spoke at any of those If successful the next time he smiles' McCammon describes Pusser as having been "strong dirty and mean" When asked to describe himself well it takes one to know one For example McCammon once threw an opponent over the top rope and into the seats in Henry Tenn breaking the wrist always hate to wrestle a guy who complains because he gets roughed up a little No matter how rough it got I never Not even in Indianola Miss'when there were 8 wrestlers and 10 spectators in an unscheduled match fan hit me with a foldirig chair on the side of the head split my eye open and blood splattered out to the third row where my' wife and daughter were he says with a deep laugh "And I just kept on wrestling The Mississippi State Troopers finally broke it Another time in Dyersburg Tenn McCammon got a taste of his own medicine as he went flying over the top rope onto a concrete floor and broke his elbow He won the match his last for three or four months way asphalt to the state since February 'and received the to complete paving of teimty courts at Pickwick Landing State Put prompting the Hospital Check Is Delayed By Unpaid Backlog Three creditors with a total claim of at least $500 are required in order to file an involuntary bankruptcy action I started an insurance policy with Pub- -He Service life Insurance Co in Fort I SrSSSSeS ness with First Continental Life A Acd- I dent Insurance Co in Houston Wanw And then in Arkansas one night he invoked tiie anger of several wrestlers mid two city policemen who McCammon says beat him to the floor until he get problem in a way that will make Buforil UP- Pusser look like Little Red Riding Hood" "That just made me want to get even For once however he'll have to seek It's hard to imagine but perhaps crowd approval to arrange the match throws his hat in the ring drugs will be the first line of attack Memphis Club Owner Given Five-Year Term my policy had been purchased by them About the same time I became rick and in the hospital 11 days I sent cnmpmy a statement on my MIL 1 1 since written four letters but have not hearda thing Smith Mrs Andrene Bevill claims manager for First Continental says your claim has been paid and sent us a copy of the check as proof Mrs Bevill says there is a large backlog 'of unpaid claims from the transaction with Public Life She says everything possible is being done to process them and apologizes for the problems Could you please help me find someone can repair a ShWey Temple doll I have It needs to be restored and needs to have the hospital in 1 hair replaced Is Bryan Byrd Your doll will soon be back on the good with all her curls Mrs Lula Scott Iwho has come to the aid of sick dolls a number of times is setting up an appoint- ment with you mid in no time at all Shir--ley should be shipshape Lut August I bought an air conditioner from James Ttfum of 156 dower He 'told me that it would run well hut would or it would Mow the (need to be TACOMA Wash (AP) A federal judge Friday sentenced Arthur Baldwin a Memphis nightclub owner to five years in prison for income tax evasion and described him as a liar cheat and procurer of women US Dist Judge William Goodwin also denied bail for Baldwin 39 saying tiie dapper dresser is a to the who should not be at large while his conviction is appealed Baldwin fori merly operated a nightclub in Seattle (Three Playgiri nightclubs owned by Baldwin in Memphis were raided Thursday night by Metro narcotics officers looking for 34 suspects who had been indicted by tiie Shelby County Grand Jury on various drug charges He said Baldwin lied to banks on financial statements tried to organize a false appearance of profits for a Bellingham tavern cheated an insurance company on damaged pool tables juggled tavern figures reviewed by the state liquor control board and kept a second set of books to show government men books which concealed nightclub profits The judge said that the nightclub when run by Baldwin Colacurcio and the late James Ward was a haven for hoodlums where one man was murdered and bank robberies were planned Singer General Top Liberty Celebration (Officers said 24 of the suspects of whom were employes of the three clubs where topless dancers are tiie featured entertainment had been arrested yesterday) During Baldwin's sentencing UA attorneys announced to Goodwin that tiie clubs in Memphis had been raided A jury Tuesday found Baldwin guilty of two counts of evading income tax in 1968 and 1969 The government charged that Baldwin declared leu than $5000 a year in taxable income when it actually towed $70000 during tiie two-year period Goodwin in reviewing Baldwin's past said he had "cheated in his a group of 13 young singers called Singer Charley Pride aqd Air Force Maj Gen Humus Stafford commander by of the recent Apollo-Soyuz ipace mission will headline "Liberty at 3 pm in the Mid-South Coliseum The 90-minute free program win observe "a time of thanksgiving to celebrate the spiritual significance of our Bicentennial" said Rev Donald Mowery of Youth Service of Memphis sponsor of the event Tickets to the program which will also include a combined area church choir and Impatient Former Sdldier A In Veterans Office William A Riley (right) 22 was led away from the State Office Building yesterday after a window-breaking rampage in die Veterans AfTairs Office Michael Patrick manager of the veterans office reported Riley came to the office the day before was explained Ms benefits demanded money and aid now' Patrick sent him to City HalL Riley of 1114 Tully came back yesterday He was told the office did not have immediate aid Said Patrick: He then threw a can through one of the office windows then picked up a chair and threw it through a second window 0 Patrick came out of Ms office to ask what was going on He just looked at me picked up a chair and threw it out the third Window' Then police were called and Riley recently discharged by the Marines was escorted to jaiL He was charged with malicious mischief fuses in our church where it was to go i When we got it into the church it Mew a fuse I am told hy another repairman flat it actually needs a $200 compressor Mr Tatum agreed to refund some of my I money but he dona it money aw at HS I We mailed four letters to Tatum without getting a response We finally contacted him by telephone and were told the check was mailed to you several months ago He says it has cleared the bank Since you say you have never received it you may wish to contact him to -find out who -endorsed it or you may wish to talk with an attorney -i Action Please invites questions end complaints of ell kinds The name address- sod telephone number of each correspondent must be known to The Commercial Appeal but will be kept confi- dealings a nightclub operator real estate speculator pool hall operator and close associate of convicted Seattle racketeer Frank Colacurcio Goodwin said Baldwin used a questionable $8000 note to buy a farm and showed false payments on the note to make it ao-ceftpble to the final recipient are available at area -churches Goldsmith's ticket offices at Oak Court and downtown at the Ralrigh Springs Mall information center and at the Coliseum' today The event hu been designated a National Bicentennial Event by the American RevdlXion Bicentennial Administration.