A Firm’s Dissolution, a Burglary and a Death : Seemingly Unrelated Events Slow Probe

A series of seemingly unrelated events is hampering investigators’ efforts to unravel the link between Iranian arms sales and diversion of the funds to the Nicaraguan rebels.

The events, varying from the dissolution of a Panamanian company allegedly used as a channel for the secret transfer, to the burglary of the office of a lawyer for a suspected financial kingpin in the deal, not only complicate the investigation but also virtually assure that conspiracy theorists will have a field day with the case--no matter how it turns out.

FBI officials refused to comment on the series of events. But a veteran Senate aide observed: “Those prone to believe in conspiracies will love this stuff.” And, he cautioned: “It’s way too early to say these things aren’t tied together. We’ll see.”

Stumbling Block

The whereabouts of records of a Panamanian company poses one of the most perplexing stumbling blocks for investigators.

The company, Lake Resources, is suspected of being a “shell” corporation formed to hide monetary transactions. One of its accounts at Credit Suisse Bank’s Geneva branch, believed to have been used to channel at least $10 million to the Nicaraguan contras from U.S. arms sales to Tehran, allegedly was controlled by Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, the key figure in the sales.

Although the account has been frozen by Swiss authorities at the request of the Justice Department, Lake Resources’ records apparently are beyond investigators’ reach: The company, incorporated in Panama, was dissolved Nov. 10--less than a week after the Administration began to confirm elements of the arms-and-hostages story.

Corporations chartered in Panama, where the emphasis on secrecy is a powerful lure for those who want their activities to go unnoticed, frequently do not go to the trouble of formal dissolution. But doing away with the company has made it far more difficult for investigators to retrieve details of the operation.

Cospiracy Theory

Besides the enigma of the records, the death last Saturday of Steven Paul Carr, a self-described soldier of fortune who was cooperating in a federal investigation of contra gun-running, is another event likely to fuel the conspiracy theorists.

Carr, 27, died in Panorama City, Calif., of an apparent overdose of drugs and alcohol in the driveway outside a town house where he was staying. Police said there was no evidence of foul play.

Carr had told the FBI that he helped deliver contra-bound weapons from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to El Salvador’s Ilopango miliary airport in March, 1985, and that they were shipped two weeks later to a rebel base camp in northern Costa Rica.

A Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff member said Carr was “the only guy who came forward and said he was on the plane in the March, 1985, shipment.”

Told of Death Threats

Carr’s landlord and friend, Jackie Scott, said he told her of death threats he received related to the contra investigation and that he checked constantly to make sure his doors were locked, kept his lights on and rarely went outside.

Finally, a reported burglary last weekend at the offices of a lawyer representing Albert A. Hakim of Los Gatos, a suspected financial operator in the arms deal, also may add to investigators’ problems. The only item reported missing in the burglary was a file on Hakim said to be related to shipments to Iran.

However, Santa Clara County sheriff’s officials raised questions Wednesday about the account of the burglary given to them by lawyer Horace Dunbar of Cupertino, Calif., saying they had found inconsistencies in his statements.

For one, Dunbar first told deputies some computer diskettes were missing, but he eventually found them. Later, he reported that Hakim’s file was missing. He said the file had been “active since 1983,” then on Monday said the material in the file was old and did not relate to the current Iranian arms sales furor.

Attorney Henry S. Ruth Jr., who as Watergate special prosecutor led the investigation into many of that scandal’s mysteries, said the latest series of unexplained events had added to the already considerable intrigue in the Iran-contras affair. Potential political break-ins, he observed, “interest me--and now you have a dead body.”

Times staff writer Lonn Johnston in San Francisco contributed to this story.