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J. By The Associated Press Edited by Michelle Gamer Thursday, March 7,1996 Page 2 Dole loses two GOP opponents AUSTIN, Texas — Bob Dole watched two GOP rivals fall by the wayside Wednesday but two more made it clear they weren’t ready to fall in line with the Kansas senator’s self proclaimed “mission to unify the Re publican Party.” The withdrawal of Lamar Alexander and Dick Lugar from the race prompted House Speaker Newt Gingrich to pronounce that “Dole is nominated.” But Pat Buchanan said he was in the race to stay, even if Dole’s nomi nation now “appears inevitable.” And publisher Steve Forbes vowed to press on as well, picking up the endorse ment of former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp. Dole, rolling off an eight-state sweep of primaries, obtained the en dorsement of one George Bush and got some kind words from another. Texas Gov. George W. Bush, son of the former president, put his sup port behind the Senate majority leader at a news conference on the lawn of the state capitol. “Senator, you arc made of steel and America needs your strength,” Bush told Dole. Bush earlier had endorsed Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, who dropped out of the race last month. From Austin, Dole flew to Hous ton for an audience with the former president — who defeated him in the 1988 GOP primary. Bush said he wasn’t endorsing his onetime rival, but he said it with a wink. “I’m going to speak enthusiasti cally for him,” Bush said. The former president even made a point of letting Dole sit in a chair he brought with him when he left the White House. Dole said it felt “all right. I could get used to it.” Of Buchanan’s indication that he would take his battle all the way to the GOP convention in San Diego in Au gust, Dole said: “He didn’t indicate he would sup port me but 1 hope he will.” Dole also shrugged off Kemp’s decision to help Forbes, noting that Forbes and the former New York con gressman were good friends. “It won’t change my campaign, it might change Jack’s,” Dole said with out elaboration. Looking ahead to Thursday’s primary in New York, Dole predicted victory and said, “there are three of us in the race. I hope they do poorly.” With 123 delegates at stake, Texas is the biggest prize in next week’s mostly southern “Super Tuesday” races, followed by Florida — where “Senator, you are made of steel and America needs your strength. ” GEORGE W. BUSH Texas governor Dole was headed later Wednesday. Jeb Bush, another Bush son and Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate in 1994, also endorsed Dole on Wednesday. Of the Texas governor’s endorse ment, Dole said, “This endorsement means a great deal to me. ... It’s the icing on the cake.” Asked whether he would partici pate in a planned debate in Texas on Friday with the field now so win nowed, Dole said, “That decision is pending.” However, a trip back to Texas for the event was not on Dole’s schedule. Dole held a 2-to-l lead over his closest rival in a Texas poll released Wednesday. Among likely Republican primary voters, Dole was supported by 45 percent, Buchanan by 20 percent, Alexander 10 percent and Forbes 9 percent. The survey was conducted by the Office of Survey Research of the University of Texas for Harte-Hanks Communications Inc. Dole was asked about exit polls suggesting many of those who voted on Tuesday would have preferred a different candidate. He said that voters often want more choices than they are given. But, he declared, “I think the field is pretty set:’ Dole and the former president crossed swords in 1988 when Bush won in New Hampshire, partly with ads calling Dole “Senator Straddle” and suggesting he favored tax in creases. Dole bore some animosity toward Bush for a while, but later closed ranks and worked hard in defending Bush administration policies in the Senate. At the news conference at the state capitol, Dole said he hoped Buchanan would wind up supporting him. Asked about Buchanan’s talk of going to the convention anyway, Dole cracked, “If you don’t have any delegates when you get to San Diego why make the trip?” Still buoyed by Tuesday’s victories, Dole said, “My mission and our mis sion is to unify the Republican Party and close ranks.” He said it was time to confront “the real target — Bill Clinton.” Gang disciples found guilty in conspiracy CHICAGO — Eight mem bers and associates of a gang that used a corporate approach and strict street discipline to build a multimillion-dollar drug busi ness were convicted of drug con spiracy on Wednesday. The case was the first test of the federal government’s six year “Operation Headache,” which used wiretaps, informers, and even a tiny recording device tucked into a prison visitor’s badge to infiltrate the Gangster Disciples, Chicago’s largest street gang with a murderous history dating to the 1970s. We view this as a great first step,” U.S. Attorney Jim Bums said after the verdict was read. “But I can assure you that the battle has just begun” Police say the grip of the Gangster Disciples extends over much of the city’s South Side and suburbs and beyond, with thousands of members working strictly defined territories in the sale of crack and other drugs. Among those convicted was Sonia Irwin, a former officer with the Chicago Police gang crimes investigation unit. Her lawyer said she was snared un justly when she followed her heart and became involved with a top gang leader. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Safer said a small seafood joint Irwin owned, June’s Shrimp on the Nine, “became Gang Central.” Secret record ings showed that drugs and gang affairs were the restaurant’s main business. All eight defendants were convicted of drug conspiracy, which carries a possible life sen tence. Four high-ranking “gover nors” of the gang, Keith McCain, Sherman Moore, Russell Ellis and Eric Wilson, also were convicted of conduct ing a criminal enterprise, which carries a mandatory life sen tence. Detense attorney Bailey sent to lail TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — F. Lee Bailey, who has spent his career try ing to keep famous clients out of jail, was hauled away in handcuffs and leg 'irons Wednesday and began serving a six-month jail sentence for failing to produce $25 million in stock from a drug dealer he once represented. U.S. District Judge Maurice Paul had given the 62-year-old defense at torney until 5 p.m. to come up with the $2.3 million he needed to get the stock released by a Swiss bank, or be jailed for contempt of court. At 4:34 p.m., a grim-faced Bailey bolted from a car in front of the fed eral courthouse and strode through a throng of reporters, spreading his arms and bowling over several on his way into the U.S. Marshal’s Office. He re fused to answer shouted questions. Bailey was searched, fingerprinted and photographed. About an hour af ter his arrival, he was led out the back door of the courthouse in handcuffs and shackles, his tie removed, and driven to the federal jail in Tallahas see. Bailey’s lawyer, Roger E. Zuckerman, declined to comment shortly before Bailey was taken to the prison. Bai ley was housed in an individual cell for a screening period all inmates go through to determine if they pose a threat to — or are in danger from — other inmates, prison spokesman Tony Kelly said. After that period, which can last several days, he will be moved to one of the facility’s regular two-man cells, Kelly said. Bailey contends the assets from a former client were for his fee and ex penses. Prosecutors claim that most of the money belongs to the government because the drug dealer forfeited his assets as part of a plea bargain. The judge had demanded that Bailey turn over the stock while the question of ownership is decided. Bailey, whose clients have included O.J. Simpson, Patty Hearst, the Bos ton Strangler and Dr. Sam Sheppard, had pleaded with a federal appeals court in Atlanta for more time, insist ing he had a made a good-faith effort to come up with the money. But on Tuesday, the court turned him down. Appeals Judge Ed Games said Bailey had been “clutching, claw ing and scraping” to keep the assets. The dispute involves 400,000 shares of stock in Biochem Pharma, a Canadian company. The stock once belonged to Claude Duboc, a drug dealer Bailey represented. It is being held by Credit Suisse, which won’t release it unless Bailey comes up with $2.3 million to pay off a lien he took out on the stock. Duboc pleaded guilty to drug charges in 1994 and awaits sentenc ing. He fired Bailey last month. It wasn’t the first time in F. Lee Bailey’s long and illustrious career as a criminal defense lawyer that he has angered a judge, but it was the first time he went to jail after a courtroom showdown. The former Marine fighter pilot was conflict-oriented throughout his 36-year career long before he moved from Boston to West Palm Beach in South Florida in the mid-1980s. In one of 17 books he wrote, “The Defense Never Rests,” he says: “If I ran a school for criminal lawyers, I would teach them all to fly. The ones who survive would understand the meaning of alone.” Bailey was named America’s most admired lawyer in a 1993 public-opin ion poll by the National Law Journal. Attorney E.E. “Bo” Edwards of Nashville, co-chairman of the national group’s forfeiture abuse task force, said it was rare for agreements on as sets to not be put in writing by both the prosecution and the defense. “That is unusual and it certainly lies at the bottom of the trouble,” Edwards said. Palestinians join Israeli crackdown on Hamas to save peace process JERUSALEM —* With Israel in control of the West Bank, Palestinian police joined Wednesday in the crack down on Muslim militants whose deadly bombings are tearing apart the Israel-PLO peace. PLO chairman Yasser Arafat’s forces on Wednesday raided the Gaza Strip’s Islamic University—a hotbed of support for the militant Hamas group. The night before, troops joined Israel in an arrest sweep in the West Bank for the first time. Palestinian police sources said more than 400 had been arrested in Gaza and the West Bank in the last 10 days, including four activists on Israel’s wanted lists. Tuesday night’s joint sweep netted relatives of a sui cide bomber behind one of four ex plosions since Feb. 25 that killed 57 people and the bombers. Arafat also approved a life sentence with hard labor Wednesday for the man accused of recruiting three of the four bombers. Mohammed Abu Wardeh was not in court Tuesday night when he was convicted and sentenced by a Palestinian tribunal. In an interview broadcast on Israel TV Wednesday night, Abu Wardeh said the goal of the Hamas bombing campaign was to help Israel’s opposi tion Likud Party — which has op posed the peace process — win May 29 elections. “They (the Hamas) decided to es calate and do more military operations because of the Israeli elections,” Abu Wardeh said. “They believe the mili tary operations will help Likud (and) if the right succeeds in the election there will be no more peace process.” After the bombings, Israel clamped a curfew on refugee camps and hinted it may deport Hamas activists—a tac tic not used in more than three years. The Israeli army’s return to areas that had been formally taken over by Palestinian police brought a flurry of activity from PLO officials seeking to join Israel’s war on Hamas. “We are in a state of war with ter rorism and terrorists,” said Attorney General Khaled Kidra. Such statements are part of Arafat’s campaign to calm Israelis who are se riously questioning whether the Mid cast peace process was a mistake. Arafat has conducted arrest sweeps after previous Hamas attacks. In most cases, suspects were quickly released — much to Israel’s displeasure. 3 servicemen convicted of rape in Japan NAHA, Okinawa — Three U.S. servicemen were convicted Thursday in the rape of a 12 year-old Okinawan girl and sen tenced to 6 1/2 to 7 years in prison in a case that became a symbol of America’s controver sial bases on this southern island. The verdict, handed down by a panel of three judges at the Naha District Court, followed six months of protests against the U.S. presence. Support for American troops on Okinawa is at one of its lowest points since World War II. None of the three u.S. GIs— Navy Seaman Marcus Gill, of Woodvillc, Texas; Marine Pfc. Rodrico Harp, of Griffin, Geor gia; and Marine Pfc. Kendrick Ledet, of Waycross, Georgia — showed any emotion when the sentences were read. Gill and Harp were sentenced to seven years and Ledet re ceived 6 1/2 years. The sen tences, tough by Japanese stan dards, will be served in Yokosuka prison, just south of Tokyo. All three had confessed to some role in the crime. On the trial’s opening day. Gill said that he raped the girl, while Ledet and Harp said they helped ab duct her, but only because Gill bullied them into joining him. The court, however, ruled that blood stains from the victim that were found on Harp’s underwear proved he also raped her, and he was given the same sentence as Gill. In a statement, thejudges said the crime was carried out “sys tematically,” violated the victim’s human dignity and caused her extreme physical and psychological harm. Prosecutors said the three forced the girl into their rented car on the night of Sept. 4 as she left a stationery shop after buy ing a school notebook. They al legedly beat and bound her as Gill drove to a deserted road amid fields of sugar cane. The girl was raped there, and abandoned. Still bleeding, she wandered to the nearest house and tearfully called home. Gill, Ledet and Harp were arrested by military police two days later. Netwraskan Managing Editor Assoc. News Editors Opinion Page Editor Wire Editor Copy Desk Editor Sports Editor Arts & Entertainment Editor Photo Director Night News Editors Editor J. Christopher Hain 472-1766 Doug Kouma Matt Waite Sarah Scalet Doug Peters Michelle Gamer Tim Pearson Mitch Sherman Jeff Randall Staci McKee Rebecca Ottmans Melanie Branded Anne Hjersman Beth Narans Art Director Aaron Steckelberg http://www.unl.edu/DallyNeb/ FAX NUMBER 472-1761 The Daily Nebraskan(USPS 144-080) is Rublished by the UNL Publications Board, lebraska Union 34,1400 R St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0448, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during summer sessions. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The public also has access to the Publications Board. For information, contact Tim Hedegaard, 436 9253,9a.m.-11 p.m. Subscription price is $50 for one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Daily Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St.,Lincoln. NE 68588-0448. Second-class postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1996 DAILY NEBRASKAN