LaRouche Saw People as ‘Slime,’ Prosecutor Says

Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. saw himself as the only man smart enough to save the Western world, and his supporters committed fraud after buckling under intense pressure to finance his 1984 presidential bid, a federal prosecutor argued Thursday.

Assistant U.S. Atty. John Markham told jurors at the start of a trial that LaRouche’s followers accepted most of what he told them, including his statements that other people were “slime” who “don’t deserve their money.”

Matthew Feinberg, who argued for the defense, said if any fraud was committed it was by overzealous supporters acting individually. Another lawyer said the actions the government claims were part of a cover-up of the fraud were done at the direction of the CIA.

LaRouche, 65, is charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice for allegedly ordering some supporters to destroy records and others to leave the country when the government began investigating reports of credit-card and loan fraud.

Five-Year Term Possible

Markham said LaRouche, who faces up to five years in prison if convicted, told his supporters “that only he has the intelligence to save the Western world.”

Five of his political organizations and six aides also are on trial on charges of conspiracy to obstruct the federal investigation. Four of the organizations are charged with credit-card fraud and three are charged with mail fraud in obtaining loans they allegedly had no intention of repaying.

The indictment said LaRouche’s fund-raisers had bilked credit-card holders of more than $1 million and that another $1 million or more in fraudulent loans was obtained from private individuals.

Several deputy U.S. marshals were stationed in the courtroom, along with several of LaRouche’s bodyguards. Spectators had to pass through two metal detectors.

LaRouche, a candidate for the 1988 presidential nomination who believes he is the potential target of assassins, arrived at the courthouse in an armored sedan.

Election Fraud Alleged

In California, LaRouche’s followers have been under investigation since June, 1986, on unrelated accusations of election fraud in the collection of petitions to place an AIDS initiative on the ballot. The measure, Proposition 64, was conceived as part of LaRouche’s 1988 presidential campaign and financed by the groups indicted in Boston.

After Proposition 64 was defeated in November, 1986, the state attorney general’s office transferred the election fraud investigation to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner’s office, where critics said it has languished for nine months.