Grand Jury Gets Bloch Case in Bid for Evidence

The FBI’s extraordinary semi-public espionage investigation of Felix S. Bloch has gone before a grand jury, sources familiar with the case said Friday, but that does not mean the government is any closer to seeking an indictment of the U.S. diplomat.

Sources said a federal grand jury in Washington is being used to obtain documents and to question colleagues and others who had contact with Bloch, who was placed on leave in June after he allegedly was observed in Paris handing a briefcase to a known Soviet agent.

At the same time, it was learned that investigators are studying the finances and activities of Bloch’s wife, Lucille, to determine whether she was involved in, or had any knowledge of, his purported contacts with the Soviet agent.

Bloch’s wife has headed the American-Austrian Foundation here, a group that works to improve the image of Austria, where her husband was born and is alleged to have spied for the Soviet Union while serving in the No. 2 position in the U.S. Embassy there.

Meanwhile, an increasingly gregarious Bloch led a 20-car caravan of FBI agents and journalists on a wild shopping trip, buying a book written by a career diplomat and filling a prescription for his wife before returning home.

While Bloch has been the subject of constant FBI surveillance for weeks, no charges have been filed against him, prompting the Justice Department to use the sitting grand jury’s subpoena powers to gather information.

And in his strongest comments to date on the high-profile investigation, David Runkel, chief spokesman for Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh, said the extensive publicity surrounding the case has hampered efforts to assess the extent of the alleged spy scandal.

“There is no doubt that premature disclosure of the ongoing investigation did compromise the investigation,” he said.

Runkel declined to comment on whether there has been any discussion with Bloch’s lawyers of a grant of immunity in return for details of his alleged contacts with Soviet agents.

For his part, Bloch has been increasingly willing to discuss virtually any subject--save the investigation--with the media mob that dogs his every public move.

Ended His Studied Silence

His recent chattiness is in marked contrast to his studied silence in the early days of the media siege, which began two weeks ago at his apartment in a well-to-do Washington neighborhood.

On Friday, after emerging from his apartment 40 minutes later than he had promised, Bloch surprised reporters by offering two television crews a ride. With cameras pointed at the back of his head, Bloch drove to a mall in Bethesda, Md., followed by a line of speeding cars carrying dozens of FBI agents and TV crews.

Leaving his silvery-blue Mercedes-Benz, Bloch said, “Sorry I couldn’t take all of you with me.”

Bloch went to a pharmacy, a bookstore and a supermarket. At the bookstore he bought “Sketches from a Life” by George Kennan, a noted retired diplomat, and then gave the book to a reporter to carry for him.

Shoppers and clerks did double-takes as they watched the four TV crews and other press representatives record the slim, balding man’s every move.

“It’s for advertising,” one guessed.

“No, no,” said a second shopper. “It’s Felix Bloch.”

“Oh, poor Mr. Bloch,” replied the first.

One cameraman backed into an elderly woman who was looking over luncheon meats, sending her tumbling onto the floor. Two store clerks had to help the woman to her feet. The woman cursed the press as she wiped blood from a cut on her finger. The cameraman left the store without apologizing. The other crews followed when the manager ordered the media out of the store over a loudspeaker.

Times staff writer Ronald J. Ostrow contributed to this story.