Senator PERCY. Mr. Adkinson, did you say in your statement that you, personally, and the staff are convinced of the credibility of this witness? Mr. ADKINSON. Yes: we are personally convinced of it. In a situation like this, staff is always anxious to have the opinions of others who have worked with these witnesses over a longer period of time and in this particular case we have the benefit of such confirmation. Senator PERCY. Has this subcommittee obligated itself or has the staff made any kind of an offer of assistance to Mr. Bowdach? Are we committed in any way to do anything because of his appearance? Mr. ADKINSON. In that regard, Senator, Mr. Bowdach who can address himself in great detail Thursday of next week to his situations and encounters as a protected witness had certain matters of personal concern to many that had been matters of discussion between him and local authorities and Federal authorities over the year he has been a protected witness. We agreed to call these matters to the attention of the Justice Department in the form of transmitting a letter from him to them. Their review of the situation has occasioned certain commitments from them such as putting him in the witness protection program as a full member, protect members of his family as a necessary adjunct of his appearance here today, those kinds of matters. He has no commitment from this subcommittee other than we will make his cooperation known to any person. Senator PERCY. Does that include the Justice Department? Senator NUNN. At this point I think it ought to be noted for the record, we will get testimony on this from the agents involved this afternoon, but at the time the subcommittee had the executive session with Mr. Bowdach, he had already received certain immunity from the Justice Department. This subcommittee has made no offer of immunity to the witness. That offer and acceptance had already been made before our testimony in executive session by the Justice Department. Mr. ADKINSON. That is correct. Senator NUNN. Our next witness will be Gary Bowdach. Before he appears, there is a matter the members must act on. Mr. Bowdach has made a request that no cameras be directed at his face. Furthermore, he has requested that no pictures of any kind be taken of his profile. The rules of procedure of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations provide that: A witness may request, on grounds of distraction, harassment or physical discomfort, that during his testimony, television, motion picture, and other cameras and lights shall not be directed at him, such requests to be ruled on by the subcommittee members present at the hearing. I will state as acting chairman of the subcommittee that I think Mr. Bowdach's request under the circumstances is a reasonable one. He is concerned about his safety. He is concerned about harassment. He is concerned about his future. He is now in the Department of Justice witness protection program. It is our understanding that he will require continued protection for an indefinite period. The wide dissemination of his picture would increase the risk he faces as a cooperating witness and would make it more difficult for the Government to protect him. My own view as to the witness's requests is that it should be approved. I would like for the subcommittee to formally vote on that as the rules require. After we take that vote, I would like to discuss with Senator Percy and Senator Chiles how we should implement that order, assuming the vote is in the affirmative. We can have the discussion now and then I would ask for a vote. Senator PERCY. Mr. Chairman, as I understand it, those in the Justice Department responsible for Bowdach's personal safety concur with this procedure and support that request. Senator NUNN. That is exactly correct. Senator CHILES. I understand this was one of the conditions of his testimony as well, that he be afforded this protection. Senator NUNN. He has the right to make a request and we have the right to decide on that. But this was the condition that he set forth earlier in the discussion. Senator PERCY. I have no objection. Senator NUNN. I would ask if there is any objection to this. The vote is unanimous that he be accorded his privileges under the rule. At this stage we will take a 2-minute break to discuss the options we have in implementing the rule. It is not an easy set of circumstances because as you all know, in the audience, you have gone through certain security precautions outside. One option would be to have everyone leave the room while the witness is seated so his face would not be exposed to the cameras. If we did that, we would have to have all the security precautions taken again. So that option is not very attractive. Another option is to have everyone in the room turn their back when he comes in. I don't personally find that option very attractive. Another option is to get the cameras all to point in another direction and I think that that certainly is the most reasonable option, but I want to discuss that with the subcommittee members and we will announce a decision in a minute. I certainly ask for the indulgence and the cooperation particularly of the members of the news media who have the cameras and anyone else in the audience who has a camera. [Discussion off the record.] Senator NUNN. We are going to ask all cameras to be pointed in the direction the Marshal Service will indicate. Mr. Terry Merrifield has asked that all cameras be turned. He is coming out now and will ask each of you to cooperate with him and we ask that this be done. As soon as the Marshal Service tells us it has been done, including all cameras in the room, I will ask the police officer present to make certain that no one takes any pictures as the witness is approaching. We will not have any cameras taking any pictures of any kind until he is seated. Mr. Merrifield, if you will tell me when you feel that the orders have been complied with, we will then bring the witness out. At this point, the witness will be brought in. Mr. Bowdach, before you are seated, let me give you the oath, please. Do you swear the testimony you will give before this subcommittee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Mr. BOWDACH. I do, sir. TESTIMONY OF GARY BOWDACH Senator NUNN. Have a seat. At this point, we will resume normal procedures with the cam eras. I want to thank the members of the news media for your cooperation. I might just say that this rule will be in effect throughout the course of these hearings. Mr. Bowdach, would you please state your name for the record? Mr. BOWDACH. Gary Bowdach. Senator NUNN. I want to advise you of your rights and obligations as a witness before this subcommittee. First, you have the right to consult with an attorney prior to answering any question or questions. Do you understand that right? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. Senator NUNN. Do you have an attorney present with you today? Mr. BOWDACH. No, sir. Senator NUNN. If you don't have an attorney, is that because of your own voluntary will? In other words, you understand you have the right to an attorney? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. Senator NUNN. Do you waive your right to have an attorney present? Mr. BOWDACH. At this time, yes. Senator NUNN. In addition to your rights as a witness, you also have an obligation while testifying before this subcommittee to testify truthfully. You have sworn to testify truthfully. You understand that? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes. Senator NUNN. If you do testify, you are obligated to provide truthful responses so as not to subject yourself to the laws and penalties regarding perjury. You understand that fully? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. Senator NUNN. Do you understand all of your rights and obligations as a witness before the subcommittee, Mr. Bowdach? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. Senator NUNN. Would you give us your date of birth for the record? Mr. BOWDACH. December 17, 1942. Senator NUNN. Mr. Bowdach, I will say at the outset, we are not going to be asking you anything about your family, and I would hope all Senators will understand that this is your request. Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. Senator NUNN. Mr. Bowdach, when did you begin cooperating with law enforcement? Mr. BOWDACH. Fall of 1977. Senator PERCY. Mr. Chairman, could I ask if people in the hearing room, and they have a right to hear Mr. Bowdach, if you cannot hear, would you please raise your hand? We will ask Mr. Bowdach to speak more clearly into the microphone. We will assume that everyone can hear if we do not see any hands. Senator NUNN. Mr. Bowdach, without going into great detail at this time, we will cover it at a later point, tell us briefly why you decided to begin cooperating with law enforcement? Mr. BOWDACH. Multiple reasons, sir. One being that my life was threatened, in danger to my life, the second being that the people I have been associated with all these past years, I finally come to realize that they use you and discard you when they are done with you. Senator NUNN. Are you currently supplying information to Federal law enforcement agencies? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. Senator NUNN. Without going into detail, what is the general nature of the information you are now supplying? Mr. BOWDACH. Nature involving arson, loan-sharking, murders. Senator NUNN. Mr. Bowdach, have various law enforcement agencies written letters on your behalf addressed to your cooperation and your credibility? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. Senator NUNN. Do you have those letters or does the staff have a copy of the letters? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes. Mr. ADKINSON. Yes, Senator. We do have these letters. Senator NUNN. I would like to read very briefly a general description of the letters into the record. They are as follows: a letter of December 21, 1977, from William L. Harper, U.S. attorney in Atlanta, to Robert Cooper, U.S. Parole Board; a letter of December 13, 1977 from Gary Betz, deputy chief, Miami Strike Force, to James Fagan, assistant U.S. attorney, Atlanta; a letter of November 15, 1977 from John E. VanDiver, Drug Enforcement Administration, to Mr. Harper, U.S. attorney, Atlanta; a letter of December 7, 1977, from Edward J. O'Donnell, attorney at law, to James Fagan, Atlanta; a letter of November 10, 1977 from Richard Gerstein, State attorney, Miami, Fla., to Mr. Fagan, assistant U.S. attorney, Atlanta; a letter of November 14, 1977 from Julius Mattson, special agent in charge, FBI, to Mr. Harper, Atlanta; a letter of December 12, 1977 from Richard Gerstein, to Mr. Harper, U.S. attorney, Atlanta; a letter of March 6, 1978, from William Harper, U.S. attorney, Atlanta, to Daniel Pearson, attorney at law, Miami; a letter of March 23, 1978, from Mr. Harper, to the Honorable Clyde Atkins, chief judge, U.S. district court, Miami; one of April 20, 1978 from Janet Reno, State attorney, Miami, to Daniel Pearson, attorney at law, Miami, Fla.; a letter of April 28, 1977, from Mr. Edward McGee, assistant State attorney, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Daniel Pearson; one of May 12, 1978, from J. V. Eskenazi, U.S. attorney, Miami, Fla., to the U.S. Parole Commission; a letter of May 24, 1978 from Gary L. Betz, deputy chief, Miami Strike Force, to Mr. Bowdach; and finally, one of July 26, 1978, from William Harper, to the Honorable Clyde Atkins, chief judge, U.S. Southern District Court of Florida. 33-478 O- 78 - 2 I would ask unanimous consent these be made part of the record, as a sealed exhibit. Also, without objection, exhibit No. 1 will be a sealed exhibit because of certain information that was omitted from that. [The documents referred to were marked "Exhibit No. 2" for reference and are retained in the confidential files of the subcommittee.] Senator NUNN. Mr. Bowdach, as we did in executive session, we will break down the questioning into four or five different areas. We will talk today about some of your background. We will talk today about the loan-sharking operation that you were involved in in South Florida. We will talk about violence in that loan-sharking operation that you personally were aware of. Tomorrow, we will go into certain arson activities, and on Thursday, we will talk about narcotics activities, and then next week, we will talk about various involvements you had while you were in the Atlanta Penitentiary. We will try to make a logical progression so that we can present this in a form that is understandable. Before we begin our questioning, Mr. Bowdach, would you please relate to us your understanding with the Federal authorities as to whether or not you will be prosecuted on any criminal matter with respect to information you have supplied or will supply. Mr. BOWDACH. I was advised by the strike force in Miami on behalf of the Justice Department that any information that I turned over to any law enforcement authority would not be used against me. Senator NUNN. Mr. Bowdach, for the moment, we would like to ask you a little bit about your past record, again without getting into all the details. Were you convicted of manslaughter in the second degree in New York in 1961? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. I was. Senator NUNN. Were you convicted of unlawful possession of silencers in January 1971? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. I was. Senator NUNN. In May 1971, were you convicted of extortionate extensions of credit? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir, I was. Senator NUNN. What was the sentence given you for that offense? Mr. BOWDACH. Fifteen years, sir. Senator NUNN. Were you convicted of a three-count indictment for possession of firearms in 1976? Mr. BOWDACH. Yes, sir. Senator NUNN. What was the sentence you got at that time? Mr. BOWDACH. Five years, sir. Senator NUNN. Could you summarize at this point the status of the sentences that you are serving now? Mr. BOWDACH. I have a 15-year sentence and a 5-year sentence which are running concurrent, almost 7 years served, approximately 20 months to finish the total sentence. Senator NUNN. What is your total sentence? |