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Texas A&M
The Battalion
Vol. 88 No. 132 USPS 045360 16 pages College Station, Texas
PM
WEATHER
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FORECAST for FRIDAY:
Mostly cloudy and cool with a 40
percent chance of rain.
yz/4*
HIGH:70 LOW:55
Thursday, April 13,1989
Student indicted in loan application conspiracy
By Alan Sembera
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A federal grand jury indicted a Texas
A&M student and another man last week
on charges of conspiring with A&M stu
dents last year to make false statements on
federal student loan applications.
An FBI spokesman said A&M student
Keith Anthony Hite, 23, of College Station,
U hf*ing charged victi five otlier
students to make fraudulent statements on
their loan applications so they would be eli
gible for $3,000 to $4,000 loans.
When reached by phone Wednesday
night, Hite said he had been told not to
comment on the case.
The indictment charges that the students
claimed an “independent” status on their
loan applications while they actually were
receiving financial support from their par
ents.
The FBI spokesman said Hite was work
ing for Joseph Anthony Garcia, who con
ducted business during 1987-88 as a finan
cial services firm called First Venture
Group, which was at 7607 Eastmark Drive
in College Station.
Garcia’s firm claimed to assist A&M stu
dents in obtaining federal student loans,
the FBI spokesman said.
Four of the students, including Hite, en
dorsed their loan checks over to Garcia in
return for $500 cash, the spokesman said.
Garcia signed a promissory note assuming
responsibility for the loans at maturity, the
spokesman said.
He said the indictment also charges that
Hite received $500 for each student he re
cruited.
Garcia was arrested in Austin last week
after an investigation by the FBI and the
Education Department. Hite has been sum
moned to appear in court.
T he five other A&M students were
placed under a supervised probational pro
gram. If they complete the probation
terms, they will not be charged with a
crime, the FBI spokesman said.
One of the students, who requested ano
nymity, said he is being required to pay
back his loan as part of his probation terms.
He said his probation will last until he pays
off the loan, which could take years.
He said he was assured by Hite and Gar
cia that nothing would go wrong, and ex
pected to make an easy $500.
The indictment also charges Garcia with
forging signatures on loan applications.
Voodoo-cult members say
Cuban directed slayings
MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) —
Members of a voodoo cult of alleged
drug smugglers along the Mexican
border said Wednesday they ritually
sacrificed people at the command of
a Cuban “godfather” who told them
the slayings would bring them de
monic protection from enemies.
The Cuban man is being sought
on both sides of the border.
“We killed them for protection,”
Elio Hernandez Rivera, 22, of Mat-
amoros said. He told reporters at a
news conference he shot one victim
and decapitated another.
Mexican police found 12 bodies
Tuesday at a ranch 20 miles west of
Matamoros and said suspects told
them of 14 killings. No more bodies
had been found by Wednesday night
and digging had not resumed, said
Juan Benitez Ayala, head of the
Mexican Federal Judicial Police in
Matamoros.
Asked if he regretted the slayings,
Hernandez Rivera said, “Yes, but it’s
too late.”
“Very clearly they believed the
human sacrifices and the animal sac
rifices put a magical shield around
them that protected them from evil
or harm, even up to bullets,” Texas
Attorney General Jim Mattox said.
The victims included a University
of Texas student, a Matamoros po
liceman, a Mexican federal police
volunteer and a 16-year-old boy, of
ficials said.
Mexican police believe two of the
victims were executed as revenge for
a soured drug deal, and Hernandez
Rivera also said some were killed out
of vengeance rather than as sacri
fices.
At least one victim was kidnapped
in Brownsville, within the last
month, and as many as three of the
dead may be American, officials
said.
But Mattox said officials do not
think the cult poses any more dan
ger to area travelers.
Mexican officials said five men
were arrested in the case, and four
of them were brought to the news
conference Wednesday. More are
being sought.
The four said they killed on the
command of Adolfo de Jesus Con-
stanzo, identified by police as a Cu
ban in his late 40s. Police said he may
have fled into the United States with
a female cult member.
Constanzo killed student Mark
Kilroy, said one of the arrested men,
Serafin Hernandez Garcia, 22, a
U.S. citizen from Brownsville.
Constanzo apparently introduced
a sort of voodoo or black magic to
the area, said Oran Neck, U.S. Cus
toms chief agent in Brownsville.
The ritual “has overtones of a reli
gious cult that has been exported out
of Cuba and Haiti as ‘Santeria,’”
Neck said.
Killings prompt local groups
to address Satanism in B—CS
PART 1 OF A 2 PART SERIES
By Richard Tijerina
STAFF WRITER
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a
Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."—John Milton, En
glish author.
Satanism is a subject that many parents in the Bryan-
College Station area don’t take seriously, but it’s a prob
lem that must be dealt with, local church and police au
thorities say.
Satanism is associated closely with the occult, but they
are not the same. Satanism is a recognized religion in
the United States and is protected under the First
Amendment of the Constitution.
Followers of Satanism and the occult often are in
volved in violent ceremonies which include murder, an
imal sacrifices and torture.
Though stories concerning cult activities occur fre
quently, they are always shocking.
The discovery of a University of Texas student
found dead in Mexico Tuesday was the latest. Authori
ties said Mark Kilroy, 21, was among 12 male bodies
found in a shallow grave. The victims were killed by
devil-worshipping drug smugglers involved in a satanic
ceremony that included torture, authorities said.
Parents around the country have formed community
action groups to take steps toward alerting parents
about the occult. One such group in San Antonio, Exo
dus, serves as a safe haven for people involved in the oc
cult and looking for a way out.
Yvonne Peterson, director and founder of Exodus,
says every case she’s worked with has involved an inner
struggle for power or a desire for revenge.
“They have turned against Ghristianity to take re
venge and power,” Peterson says. “For example, in a
sexual abuse case, they (the abuser) remove your power
from you. These children who have been sexually
abused want to regain that power with a vengeance. Ev
ery person I’ve ever interviewed, when I’ve asked them
why they’re doing it, they say, ‘the power to control.’
“That’s without exception — ‘the power.’ ”
It is this “power” that drives Satanists to turn their
backs on God and begin worshipping Satan, Peterson
says.
“Basically, they believe the opposite of what we
(Christians) believe,” she says. “If a Christian believes
that Christ came to save us through shedding his blood,
Satanists believe Christ’s power was useless. Instead,
they will drink the blood of an animal because they
think the shedding of blood will give them power.”
Local authorities, including church, school and po
lice officials, say they have had to face the problem of
Satanism and the occult, but on a relatively limited ba
sis.
Father Marvin Kitten from St. Mary’s Church in Col
lege Station says he was approached by some students
two years ago about the occult. He says they were being
asked to become involved in Satanism, and he strongly
urged them to resist the temptation to do so.
“They found it enticing on one hand, but on the
other hand something told them not to do it,” Kitten
says. “I ran into one of them in a restaurant recently.
He came up to me with a big smile on his face and said,
‘We followed your advice. We didn’t get involved and
we’re so happy.’ ”
See Occult/Page 11
Kurt Blackman Jr., a junior engineering tech- workout in the DeWare Field House weight
nology major, does some squats during his room Wednesday afternoon.
Middle East situation requires
U.S. intervention, panelists say
By Fiona Soltes
STAFF WRITER
The distinguished panelists of
Wednesday night’s MSC Wiley Lec
ture Series’ “Middle East: Peace or
Powder Keg” each gave differing
opinions about the possibilities for
peace in the Middle East, but all
agreed that patience, compromise
and intervention by the United
States are requirements for a lasting
solution.
The former CIA director, former
national security adviser and assis
tant U.N. secretary-general each
gave separate opening comments,
then formed a panel to discuss ques
tions submittecl by the audience be
fore the event.
Admiral Stansfield Turner, for
mer CIA director, compared the is
sue of peace in the Middle East to
“trick or treat.”
“I’m just impish enough to say,
‘I’ll take the trick,’ which leaves them
dumbfounded,” Turner said.
“That’s not dissimilar to the situation
we find ourselves in concerning the
Middle East, when someone speaks
up and says, ‘I want peace,’ and ev
eryone looks around dumbfounded,
wondering what we’re going to do
next.”
1 Turner said examples of this dis
comfort with a sudden suggestion of
peace have been seen in Afghani
stan, Iran and Israel.
“In the Middle East, when the Pal
estine Liberation Organization said
they wanted peace, neither we nor
the Israelis knew what to do,”
Turner said. “The issue here is peo
ple power. The ‘intifadeh’ (Palestin
ian uprising in the occupied territo
ries) showed that the people in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip are
beginning to lose their patience.”
He said the ‘intifadeh’ presents a
new opportunity for the United
States to promote the long-term se
curity of Israel if the country can re
define its requirements for security.
Robert McFarlane, former na
tional security adviser, agreed with
Turner about the importance of
U.S. intervention in the Middle East.
But he said peace could only come
about through talks involving both
sides.
“This cannot be solved by the
United States,” he said. “It must in
volve direct communication between
the Palestinians and the Israelis.” He
said intervention by Jordan, resolu
tions by the United Nations and a
transition period in which trust can
be built up also are necessary.
“We need to build up a new initia
tive in a different climate with tem
pers lowered on the West Bank, and
a plan within reach to lay the base
for compromises on both sides,” he
said.
Dr. James Jonah, assistant U.N.
secretary-general, said he felt these
compromises could be reached with
help from the United Nations.
See Wiley/Page 11
Student will visit Washington
to lobby for diabetes funding
By Juliette Rizzo
STAFF WRITER
A Texas A&M student will rep
resent the Univerity and the state at
the National Youth Leadership Con
gress in Washington, D.C. this week
end to lobby for diabetes legislation
and research funding.
Shannon Brow, president of Ag
gies for Diabetes Awareness, was se
lected by the American Diabetes As
sociation to attend the conference.
Brow will leave for D.C. Friday. Dur
ing her four-day visit, she will pre
sent proposed legislation to con
gressmen, lobby for funding and
give an educational speech in hopes
of being chosen as the next national
spokesman for the ADA.
Brow will work with representa
tives from other states to achieve the
common goal of increasing national
and local funding to find a cure for
the disease.
She will give two other speeches
about the disease to a general assem
bly of delegates from other states.
“It is important to increase aware
ness of diabetes in today’s world,”
Brow said. “One in every 20 people
will get the disease in their lifetime if
a cure is not found.”
Diabetes is a disease that, in some
cases, inhibits the pancreas from
producing insulin, the body’s means
of processing glucose, which is the
energy source needed for the body’s
organs to function properly. A di
abetic takes insulin shots to maintain
the body’s needed insulin level. Di
abetics must modify their sugar in
take because sugar raises the body’s
need for insulin.
Brow is being sponsored by Nu-
trasweet, whose primary target mar
ket is diabetics who use the product
as a sugar substitute.
In October 1988, Brow was
elected the first president of Aggies
for Diabetes Awareness. The organi
zation was founded in Fall 1988 by
Cynthia Mumm as a support group
for faculty, students and staff af
flicted by or interested in the dis
ease. Brow said that Mumm, a nine-
year diabetic, knew that others on
A&M’s campus were afflicted with
the disease. She believed that
through her experiences with the
disease, she could offer advice and
support to others, Brow said. A first
meeting of the group revealed more
than a slight interest in the organiza
tion.
The group, advised by Dr. Wil
liam Ward, associate dean of student
affairs in the College of Medicine
and the chairman of the American
Diabetes Association of Texas, has
grown from 20 members to 45 mem
bers.
The organization has educational
meetings, activities for diabetics and
plans to sponsor retreat programs
for diabetics and their families.
The main goal of the organization
is to educate the public about the dis
ease. A&M is the only university in
the state with an organization of this
sort.
Brow said she hopes that her lob
bying for legislation and funding
will enable her to help not only di
abetics at a national level but also
those suffering locally.
Brow said 60 million people suf
fer from the disease. Diabetes is the
No. 1 cause of kidney disease and
blindness.
Diabetes research is being per
formed on campus by the Depart
ment of Physiology and Dr. John
Bockeris of the chemistry depart
ment. Bockeris is designing a wrist
watch with a sensor that can deter
mine the body’s blood sugar level,
making frequent blood tests unnec
essary.
Brow said that according to the
1989 fiscal budget, only a little more
than $7 billion has been appropri
ated for National Institute of Health
disease studies including diabetes.
Approximately $8 billion is needed
to fund programs and new research
grants, she said. One-fourth of all
medical research has been cut due to
the lack of funding, she said. Six
thousand grants usually are awarded
each year for research on diabetes,
but only 4,500 were awarded this
year because of the lack of funds.
The 18-year-old freshman biology
major will ask Congress to appropri
ate funds to support the Ad-hoc
See Diabetes/Page 12
Motorist fires
shotgun blast
at students
A “stranded motorist” turned
out to be an armed robber when
two Texas A&M students stopped
to give a helping hand early
Wednesday morning about 10
miles southeast of College Sta
tion, University police said.
Bob Wiatt, director of security
and University Police, said the
students stopped about 1 a.m.
near Millican to help a stranded
driver, but when they got out of
their car, the driver pulled out a
shotgun and demanded their
money.
The students started running
away, Wiatt said, and the armed
man fired at them. The students
got away, Wiatt said, but not be
fore being hit. The students were
treated at the A.P. Beutel Health
Center for superficial birdshot
wounds.
The Brazos County Sheriffs
Office is investigating the inci
dent;