University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, November 18, 1987
9
Nation/World
Two guilty in slaying of radio host
The Associated Press
DENVER — A federal jury yesterday convicted two neo-Nazis and acquitted two others of civil rights violations in the 1984 machine-gun slaying of Jewish radio talk show host Alan Berg.
The jury deliberated more than 10 hours over two days before returning the verdict in the case against four men accused of white-supremacist group The Order.
The jury found that David Lane and Bruce Pierce killed Berg, an outspoken and sometimes abrasive radio personality, because he was Jewish and employed as a talk show host. There was no applicable murder statute under federal law.
Richard Scutari and Jean Craig were acquitted.
Lane and Pierce could receive up to life in prison, with eligibility for parole after 10 years. All four defendants already are serving prison terms for racketeering, having been convicted in December 1985 in Seattle.
"I'm 50 percent happy," Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry Kowalski said of the verdict, which came after more than a decade of testimony from nearly 100 witnesses.
The cas was based on circumstantial evidence, provided mainly by former members of the Order who commanded in exchange for reduced sentences.
Berg, 50, was gunned down the night of June 18, 1984 in the driveway of his Denver townhouse, hit by 13 bullets from a silencer-equipped. 45-caliber machine pistol.
The talk show host had ridiculed white-supremacists on the air, provoking angry calls from listeners. According to testimony, his killers stalked him for several days.
"They killed him because of his job, and they did it because he was a Jew." Thomas O'Rourke, an assistant U.S. attorney, had said in closing arguments.
Moments after the verdict, Lane held up a legal pad on which was scrawled, "Remember Whidbey Island," a reference to a shootout with federal agents that resulted in the death of Robert Mathews, the founder of The Order.
Prosecutors alleged that Mathews organized the assassination and was at the scene with Lane, Scutari and Pierce.
Jurors were escorted from the courthouse by federal marshals after being advised by U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch not to talk to report-
Attorneys for Pierce and Lane said they probably would appeal the ruling.
O'Rourke said The Order "had a
negative view of the world, that Jews were imposters, and were not only their enemies but God's enemies." He said the defendants were proud of the slaying and "couldn't resist talking about what they had done."
Defense lawyers contended that while the four may have held unpopular, even repulsive views, they did not have the evidence to prove it.
Pierce, 33, formerly of Metaline Falls, Wash., and Troy, Mont., was alleged to have committed the killing and arrested in 1985 in Rossville, Ga.
Lane, 48, who had spoken with Berg on his radio call-in program, was accused of driving the getaway car after the killing. He was arrested in 1983 near Winson-Salem, N.C., and charged with counterfeiting.
Platt College agrees to terms of civil lawsuit
OVERLAND PARK — An adult vocational school in Overland Park has agreed to partially refund tuition to 41 students and pay $9,000 in penalties to settle complaints that the school allegedly violated Kansas consumer laws.
Platt College agreed to the consent judgment Monday in Johnson County District Court, settling a civil complaint filed by Kansas Attorney General Bob Stephan and Johnson County District Attorney Dennis Moore. Several students and former students at Platt had complained to authorities about practices there.
The school, which has operated about 10 years, has about 100 students, school president Frank Ollin said. The school has programs in travel and tourism, fashion, floral design, business, word processing, data processing, drafting and accounting.
The Associated Press
The lawsuit alleged that Platt College engaged in deceptive business practices, such as assertions that credits earned at Platt could be transferred to another college or university. Such transfers were granted on a case-by-case basis.
Platt also said its sales personnel were counselors or advisers, when they actually were salesmen.
Students were told Platt's placement department found desired positions for 97 percent of graduates, but the majority of graduates were not successfully placed through the assistance of Platt's placement department.
Chairman defends insurance contract
The suit also said Platt promised to provide students with specific training to enable them to obtain better jobs, but the school did not provide adequate teaching or material to instruct students.
The lawsuit also alleged that Platt falsely represented salary expectations to students.
Prospective students also were told they must qualify through testing for enrollment, but Platt accepted students regardless of their qualifications.
Platt does not admit that any of the allegations are true, but it has agreed to pay $5,000 to the state of Kansas, $2,000 to the attorney general's investigative fund and $2,000 to the district attorney's investigative fund.
Also, the school will offer partial tuition refunds to 41 students who made written complaints to authorities before Oct. 22. Drafting students will receive a 50 percent tuition refund. Other students will be paid 15 percent of their tuition or be allowed to attend Platt in the program of their choice at no further cost.
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — The chairman of the committee that negotiated a contract with Blue Cross and Blue Shield for health insurance for state employees defended it yesterday in the wake of strong criticism from state employees and lawmakers.
Secretary of Administration H. Edward Flentje, who heads the state Health Care Commission, described the contract as a "reasonable result" and said the insurance company's original proposal would have been much more expensive.
He also said the insurance company had agreed in principle to add a 90-day cancellation provision to the contract — something, Gov. Mike Hayden said only hours earlier that the commission should insist upon.
"Given where we started, we thought it was a reasonable result." Flentje told the Legislature's Special Committee on Ways and Means.
The new plan covers about 37,000 state employees and 6,000 retired employees. The commission that negotiated it includes Flentz Jei, Insurance Commissioner Fletcher Bell and Robert Harder, former secretary of social and rehabilitation services.
The health plan has prompted protests from state employees because of an increase in monthly premiums. For the first time, employees will have to pay a monthly charge to participate, based on their incomes. The policy also requires employees who smoke to pay a additional $10 a month, with the money going to start "wellness" programs.
Lawmakers jumped into the controversy over the health plan in the past few weeks, with Democratic leaders criticizing it first and Republican leaders responding by asking for an audit of the contract.
The Legislative Post Audit Committee on Monday ordered the Legislature's Division of Post Audit to draft a report on the contract and the process used to negotiate it.
The Special Committee on Ways and Means was ordered last week to review the contract by the Legislative Coordinating Council, and the panel plans to have hearings during the first week of December. In addition, the post audit committee will study the report at its Dec 7 meeting.
Flentje referred to the controversy surrounding the health plan, telling lawmakers he wouldn't mind if they allowed him to resign his position as chairman of the commission. Under Kansas law, the secretary of administration is the chairman of the commission.
"Legislative inquiries now under way may lead to ways in which we can improve the health-benefits program for state employees and retirees. Hayden said in a state commissionation meeting that his commission to be able to implement those improvements at the earliest possible date."
Flentje and Blue Cross and Blue Shield officials have said the company paid $9 million more in benefits than it collected in premiums last year. He said the company originally proposed a plan similar to the current plan with an increase in cost of 39 percent for individuals and 46 percent for families.
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