Newspapers / The AC Phoenix News … / Jan. 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 10
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Page 10, AC Phoenij, Jan 1994 coni, from page 9 Guilty until... agreed to accept the governments offer. He had campaigned for the Mayor during his 1983 re-election and had access to the Mayor without causing suspicion. He wore a wire when he visited Arrington. After several attempts to bribe Mayor Arrington failed, Moussallem became fearful that the government might renege on his immunity deal. He began taping his conversations with government officials. He told his story to a reporter in Washington, named the agents involved and detailed the lengths the FBI went to in trying to bring down Arrington. Shortly there after Moussallem was indicted. In December of 1989, during the week leading up to his trip to Washington, Moussallem told friends he feared for his life. He gave his tapes to one of them in case, he said, anything happened to him. Two days before his scheduled train departure Moussalem was killed when the blast from a high-powered shot gun blew off most of his face. A bail bondsman Moussalem was visiting claims he was showing Moussalem a shotgun when it went off. The jondsman, a convicted felon who had bragged about working with the FBI, said it was an accident. Ex-South Carolina Representative Luther Taylor (who is black) was lured into helping the FBI set up other South Carolina legislators. Former South Carolina state representative and lobbyist Ron Cobbs (who is white) was caught with cocaine. He told the FBI that he could help them get some corrupt South Carolina Legislators if they would let him go. He set up Luther Taylor and representative Bob Kohn. The three of them would be the nucleus that the FBI would use to entrap many other South Carolina Legislators in "Operation Lost Trust." Bob Khon was used in Kentucky corruption cases code named BOPTROT(Horse Racing). Khon, after being released from prison in December 1992, bragged about helping to convict South Carolina and Kentucky State legislators. His son committed suicide in December of 1993 and left a note saying he couldn't live with what his father had done to other politicians and their families. Luther Taylor was lured by the FBI to a hotel in Columbia, South Carolina. He was entertained by men he thought to be businessmen lobbying for para mutual betting in South Carolina. When it was revealed to him that he was under investigation and that he was talking to the FBI, he got drunk on a fifth of his favorite liquor the FBI provided. Luther Taylor told all that he knew and agreed to help the FBI in the sting to catch other legislators. He still received an 8 year prison sentence. Winston-Salem Council Member Alderman Patrick T. Hairston was approached by undercover FBI agents masquerading as businessmen in 1988 after Bill Smith, a white paving contractor went to the FBI in 1987 claiming he had been extorted by Hairston for not hiring me, a black lobbyist and political consultant. The government wired Smith and for eight months he recorded hours of conversation between himself, me and Aldermen Larry Womble and Hairston, trying to get evidence that I was extorting payoffs for the Aldermen. The hours of tapes failed to demonstrate criminality, and rather than conclude they were "barking up the wrong tree", the government called in four undercover FBI agents to conduct an elaborate sting called "Operation Mushroom Cloud." The was told that George Miller had problems flying out of Atlanta because of bad weather. 1 was asked to stay the night and meet with George Miller at 6:30 a m. the next morning. The time of the meeting was a critical part of the psychological abuse and fear the FBI wanted to instill a consensus in me that they knew everything about me. During the meetings Hairston and 1 had with the undereover agents, they became aware that Hairston and I routinely, as NAACP officials, had weekly breakfast meetings at 6:30 am. The next morning a male and female undercover agent picked me up at 6:15 a.m., at the hotel and told me they came to take me to meet with George Miller at a temporaiy office they had rented in Charlotte. We arrived at the building about 6:25 am. After one of the agents unlocked the combination of numbers on the side door's security lock, 1 was allowed to enter first. As 1 started to walk down this long hallway, I was approached by two men who identified themselves as FBI agents and said that someone wanted to talk OVER 100 DIFFEREIVT FRESH FOODS! undercover agents made more hours of tapes which were innocuous. The tapes actually proved the opposite of the government's theory. Although the government elaimed the Aldermen "demanded" money for votes, no evidence showed they requested or received anything in exchange for a promise of support. In August of 1989 undercover FBI agent George Murray, having used the alias George Miller, lured me to Charlotte, North Carolina to sign a contraet to lobby for a "bogus FBI front" that he represented. After months of delays, partial payments, and reeeiving a small portion of an initial publie relations budget, I was to receive a retainer and go to work. When I arrived at the hotel where our meeting was to be held, I with me. The female undercover agent said "Oh my God" as she and the other male accompanying us placed their hands up, faced the wall, and the second FBI agent began to seareh them in my view. I was told that the man who wanted to see me was busy. I was instructed to go into a partially open door to wait. As I entered this approximately 12'X12' room with no windows and only one door, I was shoeked at what I saw. There were numerous signs all "typed or type set in giant print." The print was so large that a legally blind man could easily read it! 1 was told to sit and wait. To the left were four files cabinets each with three drawers and a sign sitting on the top that read POLITICAL CORRUPTION. On the twelve drawers were the following: Rodney J. Sumler, Patrick T. Hairston, Larry Womble, Vivian Burke, Earl Jones, LER, Inc., The Back To Life Center, Associate Consultants, Atramento Casa, Inc., AC Cultural & Educational Commission, Inc., PATH, Inc., and NAACP. On the wall above these file cabinets were very large pictures of the front of my house, the front of my office, me walking from my house towards my office which is two houses up on the same side of Patterson Ave., an aerial view of the upstairs office in my home (which is enclosed on two sides with glass), Alderman Patrick Hairston meeting with George Miller, and me with Alderman Larry Womble receiving a check from an oriental undercover FBI agent. Next to the pictures on the wall were two signs -MERCEDES AND JAGUAR (my wife owns a 1979 Jaguar and I owned a 1977 Mercedes). Towards the back of the room was a table with three reel to reel tape recordings running, on the top of the table was a sign - WIRE TAPS. Sitting at this table were three FBI employees, one black woman and two white men. Each of them had on ear phones as if they were listening to conversations. On top of each tape recorder was a telephone number in giant print - The telephone numbers at my home, office and Alderman Patrick Hairston's home. The time is now 6:30 a m. The FBI employees in that room ignored me and spoke not one word to each other as I was allowed to observe them and the room for approximately 45 minutes. During this time I was almost overcome with fear. I felt sinking sensation inside my stomach as I thought about my wife and daughters. This room and scene was never mentioned, but it caused me great anxiety. The fear of being under constant electronic surveillance caused me to be cautious and look suspicious as I did normal business! About 7:15 am., an FBI employee came for me and took me to an office. I was asked by a man inside if I knew who he was. I was escorted to another office where 1 met with two FBI agents and one IRS agent. One of the FBI agents kept notes of our conversation. 1 remembered him coming to my office to inform me that the FBI was investigating council member H.R. Crawford. I was told by FBI agent Derdack that I was not under arrest and I didn't have to talk to them. But they had two teams of FBI coDt. to page 19
The AC Phoenix News (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 1994, edition 1
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