Reagan man’s job in doubt after bribe claim

Press, 30 June 1982, Page 9

Reagan man’s job in doubt after bribe claim

NZPA-Reuter New York

The United States Labour Secretary (Mr Raymond Donovan) may have to resign despite a special prosecutor's finding that there was insufficient evidence to indict him on charges of links to organised crime, according to the head of the Senate Labour Committee.

The panel’s chairman, Or' rin Hatch, a Republican, said that despite the report, "It would be difficult for anybody to hang on to a Cabinetlevel position when nearly one-half of the Senate has asked him to step aside." . But Mr Donovan, a selfmade millionaire building contractor and fund-raiser Jor ■ President ‘ Ronald Reagan, vowed to stay on the job. A White House spokesman said that Mr Reagan had phoned Mr Donovan to congratulate him, saying that the;President was extremely pleased with the report. The 1625-page report by a special prosecutor. , Leon Silverman, said there was insufficient evidence that Mr Donovan had ties to organised crime figures.

Other White House officials said that the report was being carefully studied to see if Mr Donovan had acted improperly. “It is simply a matter of caution. We are not seeking to put distance. between us and the Secretary," an official said.

Mr Silverman said he had found "insufficient credible evidence” that Mr Donovan

was present- at a lunch in which a SUS2OOO (SNZ27OO) bribe was alleged to have been passed by an official of Mr Donovan’s Schiavone Construction Company to a union official.

A trade union official, Mario Montuori. had alleged that Mr Donovan was’vpresqnt at the luncheon in ‘1977 When the alleged 11 bribe was passed. The report also found insufficient evidence that Mr Donovan had given a bribe to a newspaper union official.

At a news conference in New York Mr Silverman refused repeatedly to say whether his report had given Mr Donovan a clean bill of health.

"I found insufficient credible evidence of wrongdoing. If you want to call that a clean bill of health, that’s your business a . . I don’t use words like that.” Mr Silverman also said he had asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into the murder this month of Frank Furino, a union official whose body was found-after he had testified to a special grand jury on the Donovan case.