Nofziger and His Partner Indicted in Lobby Probe

A federal grand jury Thursday indicted Lyn Nofziger, President Reagan’s former political director, and a partner in Nofziger’s Washington-based public relations firm on charges of illegal lobbying activities, sources close to the case said.

The charges, made in sealed indictments that are expected to be made public today, will say that Nofziger violated conflict of interest laws that prohibit top government officials from lobbying their former colleagues for 12 months after they leave office, the sources said.

It could not immediately be determined what charges were lodged against partner Mark A. Bragg, who began working with Nofziger after the high-level aide left the White House in January, 1982.

McKay Obtained Indictments

Independent counsel James C. McKay, who obtained the indictments, has been probing the lobbying activities of Nofziger and his associates since his appointment by a special three-judge panel last February.

The investigation has focused principally on contacts made by Nofziger and Bragg to White House officials on behalf of a New York-based defense contractor, Wedtech Corp., seeking contracts from the Pentagon. The company, now bankrupt and ensnarled in a number of criminal investigations, obtained a $31-million engine contract from the Army in May, 1982.

McKay was also directed by the appellate panel to determine whether Nofziger broke the law in lobbying Administration officials in December, 1982, for a Los Angeles agricultural firm trying to keep an overseas rice contract. He later broadened his inquiry to include Nofziger’s activities on behalf of another defense contractor, Fairchild Industries Inc. of Chantilly, Va., which sought his help in persuading the Air Force to buy more Fairchild-produced A-10 attack planes.

Details of the grand jury action could not be obtained Thursday.

Nofziger’s Washington attorney, Paul L. Perito, said his client will issue a statement on the case today.

Unveiling of the indictment against Nofziger will make him the second former top Reagan aide to be accused of criminal violations stemming from his post-government service. The perjury trial of Reagan’s former deputy chief of staff, Michael K. Deaver, accused of lying under oath about contacting Administration officials on behalf of clients after he left office, was postponed Thursday until October because of difficulties in impaneling a jury.

At least two other former White House officials, former National Security Adviser John M. Poindexter and Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, fired National Security Council staff member, are targets of a criminal investigation being conducted by another independent counsel, Lawrence E. Walsh, of the Iran- contra affair.

Former Aide to Reagan

Nofziger, a former aide to Reagan as California’s governor, served as the President’s special assistant for political affairs from January, 1981, to Jan. 22, 1982, when he resigned to help found Nofziger-Bragg Communications Inc.

In appointing McKay, the appellate court said the Justice Department had evidence that, four months after leaving the White House staff, Nofziger wrote a letter to James E. Jenkins, deputy White House counselor, to ask his help in obtaining the Army engine contract for Wedtech, which had hired Nofziger-Bragg to do consulting work.

Before Wedtech received the contract, Bragg attended a White House meeting called by Jenkins that included Wedtech executives, Army officials and officials of the Small Business Administration, which has the power to award no-bid contracts to minority-owned firms like Wedtech.

Received Wedtech Stock

Investigative sources have said Nofziger and Bragg each received 22,500 shares of Wedtech stock, which they later sold for about $350,000 apiece. Nofziger has told associates he thought the stock was worthless at the time he received it, and tossed the certificates carelessly into a desk drawer.

The appellate court also cited evidence indicating that in late 1982 Nofziger sent a letter to William P. Clark, then the President’s national security adviser, seeking help in preserving a South Korean rice contract for Comet Rice, a subsidiary of Early California Industries of Los Angeles.

Nofziger subsequently sent two follow-up memoranda to Clark, the court statement said. Clark has confirmed receiving the request but has said he took no action. Comet Rice retained the contract, which was being reviewed by the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Other Possible Targets

Although the indictments are said to name only Nofziger and Bragg, McKay’s investigation includes other possible targets.

Last May, McKay broadened his inquiry to examine ties between Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III and Wedtech after Meese acknowledged that, when he was White House counselor in 1982, he had sought “a fair hearing” for Wedtech in its efforts to obtain the Army engine contract.

Meese has said he acted “entirely properly and lawfully,” wanted only to ensure that a then-reputable firm owned by a Puerto Rican immigrant received consideration, and received nothing in return for asking his aides to review the Wedtech case.

The Meese portion of McKay’s inquiry involves complex financial records and is not expected to be completed before fall, according to sources familiar with the matter.