August 2, 1972

Queens Dist Atty T J Mackell discloses on Aug 1 that 9 members of his staff, including his son-in-law Asst Dist Atty J D Robertson, are among those under Fed investigation to determine whether they evaded income taxes on alleged get-rich scheme, news conf; disclosure comes 3 hrs after US Atty R A Morse releases statement saying Fed grand jury is investigating 'alleged criminal violations by members of Mackell's office'; Mackell says that tax investigation was initiated when Fed officials learned of repts that the 9 gave money to former Consol Edison employe J Ferdinando, who allegedly promised 1% to 3% interest each wk on their investments; Ferdinando faces state charges of swindling 3 complainants of about $50,000; Mackell says he has not been subpoenaed to testify before Fed grand jury; says Ferdinando told those who invested their funds with him that he worked for people in 'Empire State Bldg who purchased diamonds and furs'; says F De Paola, treas in his 1st campaign for Dist Atty, provided Ferdinando with introductions to his office; says Robertson told him about his investment with Ferdinando and that he had advised him to stay away from deal; says Morse's announcement was 'unfair' and that 'hatchet job' was prompted by an unnamed newspaper; calls proofs of Village Voice story discussing Ferdinando's operation and Fed investigation inaccurate and takes particular exception to assertions allegedly made by Ferdinando's lawyer G J Perrin in papers filed with Appellate Div, 2d Judicial Dept, asking that case against alleged swindler be removed from Queens because of persons connected with Dist Atty; independent investigation shows that such papers were filed by Perrin but that they subsequently were sealed by Appellate Div; Village Voice article says Perrin alleges that reprs of Queens Dist Atty's office gave some $500,000 to Ferdinando and received total of $17,000 interest; Perrin alleged in papers that 'evidence reveals that Mackell gave sum of money in cash to be delivered to defendant for which he was to receive and did receive wkly interest of up to 4% a wk in cash'; Mackell says allegations concerning his personal involvement and amount reptdly invested by his staff are untrue; concedes that no one checked on Ferdinando's operations before investing money; US Atty Morse said that among those who have been or will be subpoenaed to testify before Fed grand jury are members of Mackell's office, NYC Police Dept, and NYS judiciary; recent indictment of Queens Asst Dist Atty N D Archer for allegedly sharing $15,000 bribe to quash criminal case before Queens grand jury noted; additional allegations of misconduct in Queens Dist Atty's office in recent yrs detailed; Mackell went to WABC-TV studios to appear on 'Eyewitness News' program and strongly defend integrity of his staff; Mackell illus

Aug 2: Nixon press sec Ziegler discloses that Dr Kissinger conferred privately on Aug 1 for 2d time in less than 2 wks with Le Duc Tho and Xuan Thuy in Paris; Kissinger returns to US to brief Nixon; no further details given on talks; White House officials who have been lobbying to defeat Sen Brooke's end-the-war amendment have been hinting that Kissinger was about to engage in further secret talks; US officials note that both sides have recently seemed to harden their positions; Hanoi, at least in public, has clung to its basic 7-point proposal; some White House aides say privately that, at a minimum, Nixon ought to obtain a cease-fire by Nov election; Nixon sees chances for a peaceful settlement as better than ever and implores his critics to give him 3 mos unobstructed by competing proposals; diplomats see Hanoi in no hurry to change its terms appreciably until it has a clearer picture of the outcome of the Nov election; Hanoi's preference for Sen McGovern noted

Philippine Pres Marcos on Aug 1 holds emergency cabinet session as monsoon rains inundate Manila and 14 Luzon provs in worst natural disaster in Philippine history; 356 people are believed dead and property damage is estimated at $180-million; all major roads are flooded out, cutting off commerce; Red Cross estimates 1.2-million people have been made refugees by floods; joint Philippine-US airborne relief effort slowed by poor visibility; Philippine News Service repts panic in some areas cut off from food and drinkable water

NYC Taxi Comr Lazar discloses on Aug 1 that 68 persons were killed and 13,559 injured last yr in NYC traffic accidents involving taxis; says 43 of persons killed were pedestrians, 13 taxicab drivers and 12 passengers; makes new bid for support of inspection center comm plans to open in LI City, where every taxicab with medallion would be inspected 3 times a yr; says comm plans to institute driver training courses and careful screening to keep drivers with bad driving records out of indus; says many taxis are being operated in poor condition, averaging 100,000 mi and 25,000 passengers between each annual inspection; taxi indus has opposed proposal for inspection center because inspection procedure would be too costly; Met Taxicab Trade Bd chmn J Acierno and Taxi Comm official A Mautner comment

HEW Dept Sec Richardson and Dr R O Egeberg, Pres Nixon's special consultant on health affairs, disclose on Aug 1 that 3 experimental cancer drugs developed in USSR will be given effectiveness trials on Amer patients starting Jan '73; receipt of drugs and trials stem from med exch agreement signed in USSR in June by US and Soviet officials; Richardson cautions about prospective benefits of drugs, notes they are new and not widely tested; Natl Cancer Inst chemotherapy dir Dr C G Zubrod names and details uses of drugs fluorodopan, diiodobenzotepa and asaley; says major hurdle to be cleared is necessary paperwork each Govt must conduct in accepting experimental drugs from another country; says it may be 6 mos before repts are translated, evaluated and approved by FDA and cancer inst; US is sending USSR experimental drugs hexamethylmelamine, CCNU and DTIE; cancer viruses isolated in US have already been shipped to USSR as part of reciprocal agreement; Amer Cancer Soc hails drug exch