Silberman May Have Confessed Key Details

Moments after his arrest April 7 in an alleged money-laundering scheme, Richard T. Silberman told federal agents that he gave a reputed mobster $6,500 for introducing him to a man Silberman believed was connected to Colombian drug dealers, according to testimony Monday in federal court.

The testimony by an FBI agent, which came during a probation revocation hearing for the alleged mobster, Chris Petti, suggests that Silberman, a powerful San Diego businessman and political fund-raiser, acknowledged key details about his reported involvement and that of Petti and two others in the money-laundering case.

Assistant U. S. Atty. Charles F. Gorder Jr., interviewed after the court hearing, was asked if the testimony indicated that Silberman “confessed” to any of the charges against him and the others after he was arrested.

A Reasonable Inference

“That’s your inference, not mine,” Gorder said. But he added, “That’s an inference a reasonable person would make.”

Oscar Goodman, a Las Vegas attorney who is representing Petti and is known for his outspoken criticism of federal prosecutors, was unusually closemouthed after the Monday court session. He refused to comment on whether Silberman may have confessed to some of the allegations in the indictment against him and the other three defendants.

“I’m not going to say anything about it,” Goodman said, leaving the courtroom and heading straight for the elevators. “And this is big-mouth Goodman saying that.”

In other court action Monday, James J. Brosnahan, a prominent San Francisco attorney, was presented as Silberman’s attorney in the money-laundering case.

Brosnahan, 55, who was an assistant U. S. attorney in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, most recently surfaced in the public eye in 1986 when he joined several others in testifying against the Senate confirmation of William H. Rehnquist for chief justice of the United States.

Silberman and Petti are charged with conspiring to launder $300,000 that they allegedly believed came from Colombian drug traffickers. The money actually came from an undercover FBI agent posing as a middleman.

Also charged in the complex case are Darryl Nakatsuka of Los Angeles, described as a “bag man” in the money-laundering operation, and Jack N. Myers of Malibu, who has been associated with Silberman since both raised campaign funds for former California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.

All four defendants have pleaded not guilty, and all but Petti are free on bail.

The hearing Monday centered on whether Petti, who remains in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, has violated the terms of his probation on an earlier bookmaking conviction by not reporting to authorities that he received the $6,500 from Silberman during the alleged money-laundering scheme.

But Goodman said any money Petti may have received from Silberman was later given to Robert Benjamin, a longtime associate of Petti’s who turned government informant to help the FBI in its 2 1/2-year investigation of Petti. That investigation later ensnared Silberman and the other defendants.

The judge in the probation revocation hearing continued the matter until Friday, when Benjamin has been ordered to testify about the alleged transfer of money from Silberman to Petti.

Charles B. Walker, a special FBI agent who supervised the Petti-Silberman case, described from the witness stand how agents arrested Silberman on April 7 at the Hyatt Islandia Hotel while he was purportedly negotiating to launder $1.1 million in funds the undercover agent had told him were illegal drug proceeds.

‘Made a Statement’

Walker said Silberman was taken inside Room 719 of the hotel, told why he was being arrested, and advised of his Miranda rights. He said Silberman also at that time “made a statement.”

“Mr. Silberman told me that he paid Chris Petti approximately $6,500 for having introduced him to the special (undercover) agent, whom he knew as Peter Carmassi,” Walker testified.

“He told me the $6,500 was given to Chris Petti during a meeting at the Denny’s restaurant. And he told me he did not give money to Mr. Benjamin because he told me Mr. Benjamin would be paid by Mr. Carmassi.”

On April 3, federal agents had observed a meeting at the downtown Denny’s between Petti and Silberman.

“Mr. Petti and Mr. Silberman were observed at the counter at the Denny’s that day,” Walker testified in describing the FBI surveillance of that meeting.

“Mr. Silberman was observed giving a package to Mr. Petti, who put it in his pocket. It was a small envelope.”

The government contends that that is part of the money paid by Silberman to Petti as a fee for Petti introducing him to the undercover agent. The government alleges that Silberman never knew the true identity of the undercover agent and assumed all along that the man was a middleman trying to hide money for his Colombia drug-dealing connections.

Identity Is Revealed

For the first time Monday, the undercover agent revealed his true name when he also took the stand and described his role in the government’s case.

Peter J. Ahern, an agent from the Newark, N.J., area, said he assumed the name Peter Carmassi and presented himself as a man looking for some way to launder money for Colombian drug traffickers.

Ahern said he first met Petti in 1988 when he was introduced to him by Benjamin at an Escondido restaurant. And he said he later met Silberman after being introduced to him by Petti and Benjamin.

“It was the beginning of many financial deals we were going to do for money he was going to launder for me,” Ahern said of Silberman.

‘In a Gold Mine’

He said Silberman suggested that he could launder cash “in a gold mine he said he owned,” which has since been identified as Yuba Natural Resources, north of Sacramento.

Ahern said he held meetings this year with Silberman in which they discussed Petti and Benjamin being paid about $12,500 as a fee for introducing them and setting in motion the first $100,000 that was to be laundered.

Arrangements for Paying

“He said this was supposed to be for Mr. Petti and Mr. Benjamin,” Ahern said. “I told Mr. Silberman I would pay Mr. Benjamin because he was working for me, and he should pay Mr. Petti and only Mr. Petti, because I was paying Mr. Benjamin.”

Ahern also said he later asked Petti if Silberman had paid him.

“Mr. Petti acknowledged he had received money from Mr. Silberman,” the agent said. “He said he’d been taken care of.”

Under cross-examination by Goodman, the agents said Benjamin received $800 from Petti that Benjamin said Petti had obtained from Silberman. They said Benjamin turned that money over to the FBI so it could be inspected for fingerprints.

Goodman contended that Petti did not personally benefit from any money from Silberman. He said Petti actually turned money from Silberman over to Benjamin, and that therefore Petti did not violate his probation because he had no real income to report.

He also sharply criticized Benjamin’s character, noting that Benjamin has in the past been arrested for perjury and eight other criminal felonies. And he suggested that Benjamin may not have been willing to turn over all the money to the FBI that he received from Petti.

The agents, however, vouched for Benjamin’s character.

“I dealt with him, and I trusted him, and that’s all that mattered to me,” Ahern said.

Goodman also criticized the prosecution for not presenting Benjamin on the witness stand Monday, as the judge had wanted.

Wants Benjamin in Court

Gorder, the prosecutor, said he would prepare to have Benjamin in the courtroom on Friday, when the hearing continues.

In other testimony Monday, Marianne Jones, a probation officer, testified that Petti has consistently maintained that he is unemployed, has no income and is supported by his longtime associate and roommate, Victor Garcia.

She also said that Petti has not paid $2,500 in fines in the prior bookmaking conviction. And she said he has associated with eight persons involved in bookmaking, gambling and other illegal activities, which are further violations of his probation.