Head of Disaster Relief Agency, Targeted in Inquiries, Resigns

Louis O. Giuffrida, whose tenure as director of the government’s disaster relief agency has been marked by congressional investigations, is resigning effective Sept. 1, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Robert Mahaffey, spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said President Reagan accepted the resignation with regret.

Giuffrida, a longtime associate of Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III, has been investigated by two House subcommittees. One of them, a Science and Technology panel, today is scheduled to approve a report that is expected to be highly critical of Giuffrida and other current and former officials of the disaster relief agency. The subcommittee has investigated allegations of fraud, waste and abuse in the agency.

Purchase Investigated

A House Government Operations subcommittee has probed the agency’s purchase of a course on treatment of radiation injuries, despite warnings from federal health experts that the advice could kill the victims.

In another instance, the agency drew widespread publicity for paying for a study that concluded factory workers could best try to save themselves in a nuclear attack by jumping into a large pool of water.

Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (D-Tenn.), who formerly headed the Science and Technology panel that investigated the agency, said: “Mr. Giuffrida’s tenure as head of this important agency has been riddled with controversy, from allegations of misuse of government personnel and property to revelations of waste, fraud and abuse.

“This resignation marks the end of a disastrous era for FEMA and brings hope for more competent stewardship.”

Mahaffey, asked in an interview whether the resignation was connected to the investigations, responded: “Absolutely not, a categorical no.”