FBI Denies Break-Ins Against Churches

A top FBI official testified Friday that the bureau was “not involved in any capacity” in break-ins against churches and organizations opposed to U.S. policy in Central America.

The denial before a House panel by Oliver B. Revell, executive assistant director, contradicted testimony by another witness who described himself as a former FBI informant who infiltrated the Dallas chapter of an organization opposing U.S. policy in El Salvador.

Frank Varelli told the House judiciary civil rights subcommittee that his handlers in the FBI Dallas office told him of several break-ins at offices of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador.

‘A Categorical Denial’

Revell was told by Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.): “I just have a feeling we’re not getting to the bottom” of allegations of FBI involvement.

“The FBI is not involved in any capacity, in any manner . . . in any of these activities. That’s a flat, categorical denial,” Revell said.

He added, however, that the FBI is investigating Varelli’s allegations that agents in the Dallas office were involved in misconduct.

Another government witness, Deputy Assistant Atty. Gen. James P. Turner, said there has been “no evidence developed” to support allegations that government agents committed illegal burglaries.

Local Police Responded

“Local police had responded in each instance and their reports make clear that many of the reported burglaries have involved no more than thefts for monetary gain,” Turner testified.

But Turner told panel Chairman Don Edwards (D-San Jose) that at the congressman’s request the FBI is investigating a burglary last November at the International Center for Development Policy in Washington and multiple break-ins at offices located in the Old Cambridge Baptist Church in Cambridge, Mass.

A spokeswoman for the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York said there were nearly 60 burglaries against 48 political groups or churches.

Burglary victims on Thursday described the break-ins as political because valuable office equipment and cash often were passed over while files on Central America were ransacked or stolen. Some witnesses blamed the government for the burglaries while others said the break-ins remained a mystery.

Victims of ‘McCarthyism’

Witnesses from the groups said they were victims of “McCarthyism” because, they believe, the government was investigating them for their political beliefs.

“Just after we began the investigation of the contra -White House scandal, the Internal Revenue Service began an audit . . . with heavy political overtones,” said Lindsay Mattison, director of the International Center for Development Policy.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) objected to that accusation. He said federal law prohibits a tax-exempt charity from spending more than 25% of its income on lobbying and suggested that may have been the reason for the audit.