Singlaub, Three Donors to Contra Cause to Testify

The House and Senate committees investigating the Iran- contra scandal are scheduled to hear continued testimony today from retired Army Maj. Gen. John K. Singlaub and from three private contributors to the Nicaraguan rebel cause: Ellen Garwood, William O’Boyle and Joseph Coors.

Singlaub, a former chief of staff of U.S. forces in South Korea, was the contras’ most visible private fund-raiser in the United States from 1984 until 1986, when Congress banned U.S. government military aid to the rebels. He testified Wednesday that he worked closely with then-White House aide Oliver L. North and CIA Director William J. Casey in arranging arms shipments to the rebels.

Singlaub also testified that Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams approved an attempt he made to solicit aid for the contras from Taiwan and South Korea in 1986, but then asked Singlaub not to seek the funds.

Texas Oil Heiress

Garwood, O’Boyle and Coors were three of the largest private U.S. contributors to the contra cause. Garwood, a Texas oil heiress, donated more than $2.6 million to the contra cause, according to documents and interviews. She was the largest single contributor to the National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty, a tax-exempt charity run by fund-raiser Carl R. (Spitz) Channell.

Channell has pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the government by using tax-exempt donations for the non-tax-exempt purpose of buying weapons. O’Boyle was another major Channell contributor and gave at least $130,000 to the reported weapons fund.

Coors, the Colorado beer magnate, has long been active in conservative causes and was also a contra donor. According to the deposition of Albert A. Hakim, the financial manager of the secret network run by retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord, Coors contributed $65,000 in 1985 to Lake Resources Inc. The company was used by Secord and North to handle weapons purchases for the contras, funds from the Reagan Administration’s secret arms sales to Iran, and other private covert operations.