ABSTRACT: The text of the accusation filed yesterday against a number of Italian and U.S. citizens for the crime of corruption, in relation to the scandal of the bribes paid for the sales to Italy of the "Hercules" C-130 transport aircraft.

(RADICAL NEWS No. 45, 15 February 1976)

(Rome, 15 February - R.N. - Following is the unabridged text of the accusation forwarded yesterday to the Procurator of the Republic at the Court of Rome by Loris Fortuna, as President of the May 13 League-Socialist movement for civil rights and liberties, and by Marco Pannella and Roberto Guiducci from the same League).

"ACCUSATION"

Against unknown Italian citizens and against the following foreign citizens and their accomplices, which are yet to be identified:

1) Former U.S. Ambassador in Italy, Mr. Graham Martin;

2) Former attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Italy, Mr. Wells Stabler;

3) Former assistant Defence attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Italy, Mr. James D. Clavio;

4) Former head of the CIA, Mr. William Colby, and his collaborators in Italy;

5) Former presidents of the Lockheed Company, Mr. Ernest Hauser and Mr. Cross, as well as the Vice President, Mr. Carl Kotchian, the executive vice president, Mr. Maurice Egan, and the director of sales to Europe, Mr. Fred Meuder, and their U.S. collaborators;

as guilty of the crime provided and punished by "art. 246, commas I and II of the Penal Code (Corruption of an Italian citizen on the part of a foreign citizen), with 3 to 10 years of imprisonment and with a fine of L. 100.000-800.000.

The same penalty applies to the foreign citizen who gives or promises money or utility.

The first four foreign citizens are also liable to be convicted "ex art. 270 of the Penal Code" (Subversive Associations - 5 to 12 years of imprisonment) and "ex art. 283 of the Penal Code (Attempt on the Constitution of the State - no less than 12 years of imprisonment).

The facts which amounts to crimes we refer to have been widely publicized by the Italian and international press and broadcasting services.

The Procurator's Office of Rome therefore cannot be aware of such facts.

Articles and editorials have been published in the past days on by Stampa-Sera, Stampa (Turin), Corriere della Sera (Milan), La Repubblica (Rome), Il Messaggero (Rome), Il Tempo (Rome), and by the magazines "Tempo", "Espresso", "Panorama" and others.

The crimes consist in:

a) payments amounting to approximately $800.000, which the former U.S. Ambassador to Italy, Mr. Graham Martin, paid to the former head of the SID, General Vito Miceli;

2) payments amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars on the part of the CIA to 21 Italian politicians and 40 Italian journalists;

c) payments amounting to over $1.470.000.000 made to high officials of the Ministry of Defence, and others, on different occasions, on the part of the Lockheed multinational company to favour the purchase of military aircraft.

As it is obvious that the acts committed by the unknowing (to a certain extent) Italian citizens are contrary to the national independence and interests, it is equally obvious that:

1) the Italian citizens are to be identified and prosecuted as corrupt.

2) the foreign citizens are to be convicted as corruptors and, as far as the first four are concerned, as instigators and accessories in extremely serious crimes.

Given the tremendous impact on the Italian and international public opinion, given the serious effects which such scandalous behaviours have on the stability of the Italian democratic institutions, there are no doubts that the Procurators' Office of the Republic should mobilize with determination and immediacy, without indulgence or perplexities which could be justified given the enormity of the case.

For this purpose, we ask the urgent issue of warrants of arrest against the guilty persons, at the same time requesting the extradition to Italy of the foreign criminals from the U.S. or wherever they comfortably reside, where they accuse people without, to date, being accused themselves.

The issue of arrest warrants is fully legitimated:

a) by the full public confession of the criminal operations on the part of most of the foreign citizens.

b) by the records written by U.S. public organs.

The extradition of the foreign criminals is legitimated, and in any case immediately applicable (with the customary procedure).

The above applies in any case to the first four defendants and also to the others, if we consider the exemplary statements made in Washington by the President of the U.S., Mr. Gerald Ford. The latter (see news divulged by the daily newspaper La Repubblica on Wednesday 11/2/76) condemned "in the strongest terms" the corruption of foreign ministers and officials on the part of U.S. companies, and announced that the "State Department will not protect the authors of such crimes from penal proceedings opened against them by the judiciary of the countries concerned".

Now, as citizens and as exponents of the May 13 League, we confide in the rapid action of the Italian judiciary to open those penal procedures against the foreign citizens which the President of the U.S. himself seems to expect confidently.