Millionaire Broker Arrested as Suspect in Fatal Bombing

A millionaire real estate broker with longstanding ties to the Jewish Defense League has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the 1980 bombing death of a Manhattan Beach secretary in what authorities allege was a murder-for-profit scheme over a soured real estate deal.

The arrest of William Ross, 51, Thursday night was the second made by authorities in the bombing of the now-defunct Prowest Computer Corp., in which a 35-year-old woman, Patricia Wilkerson, was killed when she plugged in an explosive device.

The bombing attack was arranged by Ross and was motivated by his anger about a bitter 1977 dispute over the purchase of a house in Manhattan Beach, postal authorities said.

A woman with dual U.S.-Israeli citizenship, Rochelle Ida Manning, 48, has already been arrested in the case, but her Los Angeles-born husband, who was also indicted in the murder, Robert Steven Manning, 36, remains a fugitive in Israel.

Both are also considered suspects in the 1985 bombing of the Santa Ana offices of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee in which activist Alex Odeh was killed.

Federal prosecutors have said they will attempt to have Manning extradited from Israel, a country that has not surrendered one of its citizens for a criminal trial here since 1967.

At a hearing for Ross on Friday in Los Angeles, Assistant U.S. Atty. Nancy Wieben Stock argued against a bail release. The prosecutor said Ross had traveled to Israel, which could provide a safe haven, and as recently as last year met with Robert Manning there. Stock also told the judge that several potential witnesses had been intimidated and threatened by unknown persons.

U.S. Magistrate Venetta Tassopoulos found Ross to be a flight risk and a potential threat to witnesseses in the case, and ordered him held without bail.

“The fact that Israel is an option to this defendant with respect to flight cannot be ignored by this court,” Tassopoulos said.

Ross was arrested without incident at his Hollywood-area home on suspicion of arranging the bombing attack and aiding and abetting it.

Stock said the investigation has not yet been concluded. She said, “It’s apparent that other people may have participated.”

At the hearing in federal court in Los Angeles, Stock said Ross “told a government witness that if Rochelle Manning hadn’t been so stupid as to fly back to the United States from Israel, (that) this never would have happened and he (Ross) would be in the clear,” Stock said.

Contending that his client is innocent of the bombing charges, Los Angeles attorney Mitchell W. Egers said Ross was not involved in any intimidation of witnesses.

Lawyers for Rochelle Manning said they had been advised to expect additional charges, but claimed to have no idea how Ross fits into their case.

“It is a mystery to us,” said Michael Adelson, Rochelle’s attorney.

“As far as I know, I can discern no connection between Rochelle and this case whatsoever. I can see no connection . . . between Ross and my client,” Adelson said.

Federal authorities said they considered Ross a prime suspect shortly after the July 17, 1980, bombing because:

He and his brother, Arthur, were known to be close friends with the Mannings after the four joined the JDL in Los Angeles at about the same time in 1971. William Ross supported the JDL over the years with money from his Hawthorne-based real estate business.

The Ross brothers got into a dispute over a Manhattan Beach house with Brenda Crouthamel, to whom the 1980 mail bomb was addressed. At the time of the explosion, she had married and changed her name to Adams. The couple owned Prowest Computer.

The bombing occurred on the same day that the brothers were informed that they would have to give depositions in the lawsuit that stemmed from the dispute.

Ross, apparently irate over the disputed deal, reportedly called Robert Manning twice several weeks before the bombing occurred. Stock said the telephone conversations were to further the murder plot.

Politics Not Factor

Federal authorities said politics played no part in the bombing, although six current and former JDL members were subpoenaed by the federal grand jury. Ross’ brother, Arthur, appeared before the panel but has not been charged in the case.

The bombing “was not committed at the request or with the knowledge or consent of the Jewish Defense League,” Stock said.

Stock said the “very bitter dispute” occurred over a Manhattan Beach bungalow that Adams had purchased at “well below market” price from Ross.

According to court records, Adams claimed that she had made a $6,100 down payment on the house and had signed the contract, but the property was never conveyed to her by Ross.

Adams sued on Feb. 16, 1977, alleging that the Ross brothers had breached the sales contract and asked a judge to order the transfer of the property.

In a response, lawyers for the brothers admitted that they had refused to transfer the property. They claimed in defense that as part of the deal, Adams promised to hire them as agents to sell her home in Manhattan Beach, but then reneged. They asked a judge to order the deal canceled.

After several delays, a trial was set for Aug. 18, 1980. In preparation, Adams’ lawyer served notice on July 17--the same day of the bomb blast--that he planned to schedule sworn statements from the Ross brothers.

Doubled in Value

The disputed bungalow, in the 2500 block of Valley View Drive, doubled in value during the three years the suit was pending before the bombing, according to the prosecutor.

Authorities declined to say whether Ross paid Manning for the bomb.

The Wilkerson case, the only fatal mail bombing in Los Angeles history, according to United States postal inspectors, remained unsolved for almost eight years. But Ross was a prime suspect from the beginning.

Within 24 hours after the bomb exploded, killing Adams’ secretary--a bomb that authorities believe was intended for Adams, Ross was named as a possible suspect.

When Adams initially was asked whether she had any idea who might be responsible, “she immediately and unhesitatingly identified Bill Ross as the No. 1 suspect, and the person who in her mind would have been responsible,” Stock said.

Investigators broke the case in January when they matched Robert Manning’s fingerprints to those taken from the wrapper of the bomb. In April, prints lifted from the letter accompanying the bomb were positively identified as those of Rochelle Manning’s.

Sources indicated that the unspecified information obtained late last year focused attention on a possible connection between the bombing and persons associated with the Jewish Defense League. A check of prints of known members and associates yielded the Manning match, sources said.

In 1980, investigators discovered that within weeks of the bombing--and shortly after Ross had been interrogated--he transferred virtually all of his real estate, said to be 12 properties, into his wife’s name, in an apparent attempt to keep his holdings liquid, Stock said.

Concern About Witnesses

At the hearing, Stock stressed her concern about witnesses in the case, and said there had been systematic intimidation. She told the judge that Ross “has made repeated unannounced, uninvited visits to a witness’ home.” The next day, the wife of the unidentified witness received a half dozen intimidating phone calls, Stock said.

In addition, Ross allegedly attempted to coax a witness who did appear before a federal grand jury, urging him to falsely deny any knowledge of a link between the broker and the Mannings, Stock said.

Adams has been in seclusion since the Mannings were charged in June. She has not responded to requests for interviews. Friends and associates said the Manning arrest has rekindled feelings of guilt over Wilkerson’s death and fear for her own safety.

One lawyer familiar with her case said he still finds it difficult to believe the property disagreement could be at the heart of the criminal case.

“It’s inconceivable to me that someone would do something like that over that amount of money,” the attorney said.

A daughter of the woman killed in the blast, Pamela Wilkerson, was in court on Friday but declined comment when approached by a reporter.

In an earlier interview, however, she expressed amazement at the charges against Robert Manning, known as a JDL enforcer and militant anti-Arab activist who was convicted once of setting a bomb at the home of an Arab spokesman in Los Angeles. Like other friends and associates of Wilkerson, she said her mother was apolitical.

Ross, whose worth three years ago was put at $1.5 million, was known by JDL officials as a regular financial contributor and supporter of JDL activities.

“He would come to demonstrations and support us,” JDL leader Irv Rubin said.