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By Jim Earle
“Did you say ‘short on the sides’or ‘short on the top’?’
Messina Hof growing with industry
Clergy may balk
at ruling to report
child aouse cases
Associated Press
AUSTIN — An attorney general’s
opinion saying state law requires
even clergymen to report cases of
child abuse could cause serious
problems for the clergy in Texas,
church officials say.
“I would go to jail before I would
ever admit anything that was
brought to me in confession,” said
Monsignor Tames Jamail, pastor of
St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church
in southwest Houston. “I don’t know
a priest that wouldn’t do the same
thing,” he said.
leased
priest or minister is legally
report cases of child abuse, even if
he learned of it from an abuser who
admitted it in confidence.
The 1975 law “requires a minister
of an established church to report
evidence of child abuse when confi
dentially disclosed to him by a pa
rishioner,” the opinion said.
Mattox also said state law doesn’t
give the clergy exemption from be
ing required to testify in court pro
ceedings involving child abuse.
An attorney general’s opinion cus
tomarily carries the weight of law
and remains in effect unless over
turned in court or by the Legis
lature.
Several religious leaders said the
opinion conflicts with church law
and practices.
Tammy Edgerly-Dowd, a canon
lawyer with the Diocese of Austin,
saia a Catholic priest cannot violate
the promise not to repeat what is
confessed, “unfortunately even at
the expense of the children.”
The canon law of the Catholic
church, she said, explicitly states that
it “is a crime for a confessor in any
way to betray a penitent by word or
any other manner, for any reason.”
If the confidence is broken by the
priest, she said, the penalty is auto
matic excommunication. Sne said it
can be reversed only by the Vatican.
Mattox said he agrees, personally,
that “you should have the right to
talk to your spiritual adviser without
the spiritual adviser being forced to
divulge that conversation.
But he said, “As attorney general
issue opinions
ly agree with.
>y me Legislature, and
the Legislature has spoken on this
matter.
Tom Brandon, a Fort Worth law
yer with the Christian Legal Society,
said clerymen likely won’t follow
Mattox’s opinion.
Texas’ wines building a reputation
By AMY NETTERVILLE
Reporter
J.R., oil wells, Blue Bell ice cream,
and “Urban Cowboy” are only a few
of the things that have made Texas
famous.
And Paul Bonarrigo, owner of
Messina Hof winery and vineyard in
Bryan says the state’s wine industry
soon may be another claim to fame
for Texas.
Bonarrigo says the wine industry
in Texas has a great future because
of the acres oT new grapes it pro
duces.
“We probably had less than 1,000
acres of grapes in the state less than
five years ago.” he says. “Now, we
have arouncf6,000 acres, which is in
credible.
“The last two or three yearspeo-
E le would say, ‘Did you hear Texas
as wine?’,” Bonarrigo says. “Now
we’ve reached the age wnere you
hear, ‘Did you know Texas makes
some pretty good wine?’ — now
that’s progress?’
Bonarrigo says Texas’ recent pop
ularity has definitely helped the
Texas wine industry.
“There’s no shortage of Texas
pride,” he says. “Three or four years
ago, if the product was Texas, it sold
just on that merit. Now the industry
is becoming sophisticated enough
that it has to be Texas and good.
Texas and bad doesn’t sell anymo
re.”
Bonarrigo says the Texas wine in
dustry in Texas has improved since
the mid-70s.
“There were vineyards planted a
few hundred years ago in the state,
but not much really happened,” Bo
narrigo says. “Right now there are
20 vineyards in the state, Messina
Hof is the 13th.”
In 1977 the industry comprised
only one or two wineries and a
branch of experimental vineyards.
live through the agricultural exten
sion service and they assisted me in
choosing original grape stock.”
Messina Hof now produces 11 dif
ferent kinds of wine and distributes
them statewide.
“To market Messina Hof, I have
to travel all around the state, giving
wine seminars and promoting the
wine in restaurants,” Bonarrigo says.
“As I go to different sections of the
state, Ifind reaction from Texans to
the Texas wine industry is very in
teresting.
“When people find out where our
vineyard and winery is located, they
“Messina Hof was one of the ex-
erimental vineyards planted in
ope that grapes would do well he
re, Bonarrigo says. “A&M was ac-
E
having
our proximity to the"University, but
we never did produce it.”
Bonarrigo says the competition
between A&M and the University of
Texas is even true in the new Texas
wine industry.
“Messina Hof is in the heart of
Aggieland and there’s another vine
yard, St. Geneave, that has its cor
porate office in Austin,” Bonarrigo
says. “There’s already been a few
stories by wine writers in the state
comparing Messina Hof, the Aggie
wine, to St. Geneave, the UT wine.
Bonarrigo says five years ago
Texas was one of the lowest per ca
pita wine-consuming states in the
country.
“People were really very unen
lightened about wine,”^ he says. “But
at the same time, there were more
high-quality wines in Texas than any
other place in the world. If you went
to France and wanted some really
outstanding French wine, they
would tell you the place to go was
Houston or Dallas.”
Bonarrigo says Texas still has fine
wines coming into the state — the
difference now, compared to five
years ago ? is the percentage of Tex
ans drinking wine.
Bonarrigo says Texans are be
coming more cognizant of wine, but
they still have a long way to go.
collectio
up in Tex
AUSTIN ~~ Fueled by retail
sales growth and a broadening of
the tax base lawmakers approved
last summer, Texas sales tax col-
iections are up this year.
The state comptroller’s office
■ rted Tuesday that Austin’s
tax receipts have increased
by 25 percent so far this year,
more than any other major city in
. Austin received $5.4 million as
as l-cent share of the sales taxes
collected in the dty. The city’s
'ayments so far this year total
K2 million, up from $24.2 mil-
a year ago.
tax increases of 5 percent for
Houston, which has $104.8 m£
for any city.
Texas cities receive 1 percent
of all taxable retail sales as their
Yugoslavian tried for swindling
affluent Austin man out of $46,000
Associated Press
AUSTIN — A wealthy Austin
man “obsessed” with finding < his son
who disappeared in the South China
Sea testified Tuesday against a Yu
goslavian accused of posing as a So
viet KGB agent to defraud me man.
Bratislav Lilic is charged with
swindling Douglas Pierce out of
|46,000. Pierce testified he has spent
$400,000 in his so-far futile search
for his son, John.
Pierce identified Lilic in federal
court as a man he knew as Alexan
der Ivanov, who identified himself
as a KGB agent who claimed he
could secure the younger Pierce’s re
lease from Vietnam.
Defense lawyer Joe Turner said
during i a break that Lilic was an “in
termediary” connected with the So
viet embassy, and he might have
been able to deliver the younger
Pierce if the FBI had not intervened.
Douglas Pierce gestured toward
the defendant and identified him as
“wearing a suit I assume he’s bought
with my money.”
John Pierce was aboard the Glo-
mar Java Sea, an oil drilling ship that
sank 200 miles from the Vietnamese
coast on Oct. 25, 1983. There were
81 crew members. Thirty-five bodies
were found. Pierce’s was not among
them.
The elder Pierce, a former Ma
rine and now a wealthy business
man, quickly began a full-time
search for his son. He believes his
son, a derrick hand on board, sur
vived in a life boat and drifted to
Vietnam.
Pierce said he was contacted by
Lilic shordy after appearing on a
network television show and dis
cussing the $100,000 reward he is
offering. He said he also advertised
the reward in Vietnamese newspa
pers and magazines.
In June 1984, two months after
Pierce sought help from the Soviet
embassy in Washington, a caller said
he was a KGB agent working out of
Washington.
Lilic said Soviet officials were con
vinced the Glomar Java Sea was a
spy ship, but they did not believe the
younger Pierce was aware of that,
Pierce testified.
For $16,000 in cash or gold and a
promise to keep the deal secret, the
caller said Pierce would be returned,
the missing man’s father said.
The money changed hands in a
dimly lit park in Chicago on Tune 19,
1984, he added.
He recalled telling Lilic, “I hope
to heavens you are for real. If not,
I’ll put a contract out on you and fill
it myself.”
Lilic later instructed Pierce and
daughter Dale, a Fort Worth nurse,
to go to Miami, where the son would
be Treed. The Pierces alerted Austin
physicians who were prepared to
treat the son. They afso rented a
medically-equipped private jet to
speed the son back to Texas.
But the missing man was not re
turned.
After Lilic took a total of $46,000
from the elder Pierce, he was ar
rested in San Antonio on Jan. 11.
Two FBI agents had accompanied
Pierce to a planned meeting with
Lilic.
Lilic has pleaded innocent to
three counts of fraud and one count
of mail fraud. He faces a maximum
of 35 years in prison if convicted of
all counts.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack
O’Donnell told jurors that Pierce was
“reluctant” to work with the FBI.
“This man was taking advantage
of Mr. Pierce by dragging Mr. Pierce
all around the United States, taking
his money,” said O’Donnell.
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