Suspected Nazi Sought by W. Germany Denied Bail

A La Habra man sought by the West German government on charges of murdering World War II concentration camp prisoners while transporting them to a camp in Austria was denied bail Monday by a federal magistrate.

Defense attorney Ronald G. Parker contended during a bail hearing that one-time Nazi prison guard Bruno Karl Blach, 69, should remain free because the shootings he is accused of took place in Austria rather than West Germany. The attorney also maintained that Blach could not be prosecuted because he was born in Czechoslovakia and was not a German citizen.

In denying bail, U.S. Magistrate Venetta S. Tassopoulos ruled that such issues can be debated at an extradition hearing expected to take place next month.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Peter Morris had requested that the retired grocery clerk be held without bail because of the gravity of the charges.

Blach did not speak at the brief hearing but filed a sworn affidavit in which he said, “I have no intent nor motivation to flee this country or this area. In fact, I would have no country or other area to flee to, in that I am stateless.”

During the hearing, however, Morris disclosed that Blach recently applied for a West German passport that, if granted, would have allowed him to travel almost anywhere in the world until 1992.