Ex-Marine Will Head Team Prosecuting North

A three-man trial team, headed by a former Marine platoon leader in Vietnam, was named Friday to prosecute ex-Marine Lt. Col. Oliver L. North on conspiracy and other charges related to secretly funding Nicaraguan rebels with money from the sale of arms to Iran.

Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, who gave up plans to try the first major case himself after separate trials were ordered for North and three other defendants, said that the team “commits three of our most experienced criminal lawyers” to North’s prosecution.

Elbow Was Shot Off

The chief lawyer will be John W. Keker, 44, whose left elbow was shot off in combat and who, like North, was awarded the Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam. Keker was founding partner of a San Francisco law firm, where he has specialized in criminal defense and commercial litigation.

He is a graduate of Yale Law School and was a law clerk to the late Chief Justice Earl Warren. Keker headed the team in Walsh’s office that investigated CIA involvement in the Iran-Contra case.

Serving with Keker will be Michael R. Bromwich, 34, and David M. Zornow, 33. Before joining Walsh’s office in 1987, Bromwich headed the narcotics unit in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and practiced with a law firm here. Zornow was an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan, where he investigated and prosecuted several major corruption cases.

Walsh’s decision to forgo prosecuting the most closely watched case to emerge from his office is said to reflect partly his need to remain free for policy decisions on continuing investigations that a Walsh spokesman said cannot be delegated.

The independent counsel “will continue to supervise the ongoing investigation and press for completion at the earliest possible date,” his office said in a statement.

The appointment of the trial team is the latest in a series of signs that North’s case may go to trial as early as late January, although it could be delayed further because of complications over the introduction of classified materials.

Last Major Hurdles

Next week, an interagency committee is expected to report its conclusions on whether material deemed necessary by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell may be used. Their findings and Walsh’s ability to persuade them to release evidence constitute the last major hurdles to the trial’s proceeding.

Walsh’s decision not to head the North prosecution team leaves him free to appeal any adverse rulings by the interagency committee to Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh and, ultimately, the White House.