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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1981)
State THE BATTALION Page 7 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1981 Denies protecting his lover Mercenary testifies on coup United Press International NEW ORLEANS — The gov- jmment’s star witness against two mericans accused of bankrolling bizarre plot to overthrow a laribbean island government de- lies testifying to protect his lomosexual lover. Defense lawyers claimed Tues- lay that Michael Perdue, a self- styled soldier of fortune, was Itrong-armed into making a case igainst the two businessmen. Attorney G. Brockett Irwin laid chief prosecutor Lindsay Lar- ion threatened to drag Perdue’s over, identified as Ron Cox of Houston, into the case unless Per- lue testified effectively. “You and Mr. Cox lived ogether as man and wife for 11 fears," Irwin told Perdue. “It is his relationship and this passion hat impels you to try to protect limfrom prosecution. ” Perdue admitted his rclation- ihipwith Cox after blurting out, “I ibject to that question" but de- lied he was lying to protect myone. Lawyers for L.E. Matthews, an Jectrical contractor from Flor- :nce, Miss., and James C. White, businessman from lakeland. La., worked to destroy Perdue’s credibility and produced docu ments to show he took money from White as part of an antiques deal rather than a coup. Perdue, who sold antiques with Cox in Houston, said he could not remember signing the delivery orders or the receipts for pay ment. U.S. District Judge Jack M. Gordon dismissed jurors until to day after the documents were in troduced and ordered Perdue to submit to a handwriting analysis. He also ordered Perdue to notify prosecutors if he wanted to change his testimony. Defense attorneys hammered at inconsistencies in Perdue’s de scriptions of the plot against Dominica. They also tried to show prosecutors threatened Perdue with extradition to Dominica if he did not cooperate. Perdue said he was pushed into traveling to Dominica next week to testify against deposed Prime Minister Patrick John. He said he would face conspiracy charges there if he did not go voluntarily. “They said five years but I know it would be death,’’ Perdue said. “I know that once I got down there in their custody, they would kill me.” White and Matthews are ac cused of putting up more than $57,000 for the coup attempt against Prime Minister Mary Eugenia Charles. Perdue and nine other mercenaries were arrested April 27 as they prepared to embark on the two-week, 2,000 mile voyage to Dominica. Perdue also described a meet ing with Memphis attorney J.W. Kirkpatrick, who was found dead in his car on a rural Arkansas road after the plot was uncovered. The death was ruled a suicide. Perdue who turned govern ment witness after pleading guil ty, said he and Kirkpatrick de cided at that meeting to assault Dominica instead of the Carib bean island of Grenada. “We originally started talking about Grenada but we changed to Dominica because the situation was so primed,” Perdue said. He said Kirkpatrick contributed $10,000 to the attempt. Perdue testified he had talked members of a black religious cult out of staging a bloodbath during the planned coup. He said mem bers of the marijuana-smoking Rastafarian sect wanted to use his revolution as an excuse to murder Charles. Judge orders pay to master United Press International HOUSTON — The federal Midge who ordered sweeping re- Aims of state prisons has ordered he Texas Department of Correc- ions to pay the special master an dditional $36,000 for expenses mcurred. Vincent M. Nathan, 43, and his taffhad already been paid almost 200,000, officials said Tuesday, be latest payment is due by Oct. ■4, according to U.S. District ludge William Wayne Justice’s |rder. Texas Attorney General Mark [Vhite said the special master’s Iperation “is costing more than it Should be." He said he will appeal i,to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concerning the special master position, which was cre ated by Justice in April to oversee the sweeping reforms. In his most recent expense re port filed with the U.S. District Clerk’s office, Nathan listed payroll expenses of $20,670 for employees during a six-week period ending in mid-August. Nathan said he spent 104 hours, at $95 an hour, on the prison case. Nathan has hired Michigan con sultant Seth Hirshom to assess the possibility of using computerized data retrieval and analysis systems to measure the extent to which the TDC was following orders to re form the prison system with 30,000 inmates. WINTER PARK JANUARY 9-16 SIGN UP NOW! CALL 845 -1515 OR COME BYRM.216MSC * PRICE INCLUDES: bus lift passes lodging meals T OCT. 8-9 Rm 201 _ msc ^IV * «Va V* ynsc I &PJM *3 msc box office r sex, leerintajli^ WHY JUST SIT ON FRIDAY NIGHT. American Heart Association rs. 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