Philippine Revolution Hero Acquitted in Explosives Case

A Greek-American businessman who has been called a hero of the Philippine revolution was acquitted Wednesday of federal charges that he conspired to ship explosives to destabilize the regime of Ferdinand E. Marcos regime in 1981.

Despite U.S. District Judge Robert Schnacke’s warning against outbursts, many of Steven E. Psinakis’ supporters gasped and cried as the jury’s verdict was announced.

The 57-year-old businessman hugged his lawyer, James A. Brosnahan, and said afterward that he planned to return to a “normal life” in Manila with his wife and family.

“Truth and justice prevails,” Psinakis declared.

He called the acquittal an “indictment” of “misguided elements” in the Reagan and Bush administrations that attempted to “maintain a ruthless and corrupt dictatorship.” Psinakis said the verdict was not merely “a vindication of me but of all those like me who fought for freedom and democracy.”

Jurors took less than six hours after a two-week trial to acquit Psinakis of conspiring to transport detonation cord from St. Louis to San Francisco, and a second count of shipping the material without proper permits.

Psinakis greeted several jurors as they left the courthouse. Jurors said the prosecution simply failed to provide enough convincing evidence, despite recordings of wiretapped conversations in which Psinakis appeared to be speaking in code about explosives.

Juror Terry Colombo said the recordings of conversations between Psinakis and Arturo Taca, a St. Louis doctor, suggested that he “knew something was going on, but wasn’t that involved.” Colombo noted that Psinakis merely was “agreeing” with Taca, and not issuing directions. Taca was not called to testify.

Outspoken Opposition

Brosnahan argued throughout the trial that Marcos’ agents operating in San Francisco where Psinakis lived at the time set up Psinakis as retribution for his outspoken opposition to the regime.

“That’s my feeling,” Colombo said of the possibility that Psinakis was framed.

Juror Bruce Harding said the verdict was not based on sympathy for the defendant, or on testimony from Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Raul Manglapus and other Philippine officials who called Psinakis a hero of the revolution that toppled Marcos.

“It was purely reasonable doubt. Several things were unanswered,” Harding said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Charles B. Burch left court without comment after the verdict. He has said the case was not politically motivated.

“The issue is not whether some people in the Philippines think he is a hero or not. The issue is whether the government has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Burch said in his closing argument.

Wealth Appropriated

Psinakis’ involvement in Philippines affairs stemmed from his marriage to Presentacion Lopez, a member of one of the wealthiest families of the pre-Marcos era.

Marcos tried to crush the family in the 1970s by appropriating its wealth and imprisoning Mrs. Psinakis’ brother, Eugenio Lopez Jr. Psinakis helped Lopez in a prison escape in 1977.

From his base in San Francisco, Psinakis lobbied U.S. leaders on behalf of the Movement for a Free Philippines, the group that produced many current leaders in the government. He also wrote about the Marcos dictatorship and investigated property held in this country by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos and their cronies.

After Marcos’ fall in 1986, Psinakis returned to Manila and went to work as an executive for a conglomerate that had been controlled by the Lopez family before Marcos declared martial law in 1972.

He was charged in a sealed indictment in December, 1986, and arrested as he arrived at San Francisco International Airport on a business trip in July, 1987.

The indictment was based on wiretaps, including one or more initiated by U.S. intelligence agencies, and 1981 searches of Psinakis’ home and garbage in which agents found remnants of detonation cord. If convicted of the two charges, Psinakis would have faced 15 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.