Dymally Resigns From Two Organizations Linked to Conflict-of-Interest Charges : Ethics: The Compton congressman says he is ‘tired of taking a beating in the press’ for his ties to the groups. He faces two opponents in the primary.

Rep. Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton) has stepped down as an officer of two organizations--Coalition for a Free Africa and a scholarship fund bearing his name--after they were linked to conflict-of-interest charges in newspaper accounts of his conduct, the congressman said Sunday.

He also said that he has asked aides on his congressional staff who sponsor two political action committees to close them down as well.

Dymally, who faces two opponents in Tuesday’s primary election, said in a telephone interview that he was acting not for political reasons, but because he was “tired of taking a beating in the press” for his ties to the organizations.

Coalition for a Free Africa was founded in 1986 by Richard G. Griffey, head of Solar Records in Hollywood, who got Dymally’s help in nailing down a $12-million contract for the sale and shipment of Angolan crude oil. CFA later paid out-of-pocket expenses for Dymally, who was a member of CFA’s board of advisers, on trips to Nigeria and Brazil, as well as round-trip air fare between Washington and New York.

Denying any wrongdoing, Dymally said that he was only trying to help a black firm get a chance to do business with an African country.

While he allowed his name to be listed as one of the CFA’s board of advisers, he added: “I never attended a meeting. I don’t know the officers.”

The Compton Democrat also resigned as chairman of the Dymally Scholarship Fund, which is financed by the Mendez Foundation, a private educational organization, and pays for study trips to Puerto Rico for high school students from the congressman’s district. A diamond merchant, Maurice Tempelsman, contributed $34,200 to the Mendez Foundation and earmarked the funds for the Dymally scholarships after the congressman backed away from his support of U.S. trade sanctions against South African diamonds.

Dymally, who denied that he was influenced by the contribution, has said that he switched his position on South African diamonds at the request of the nation of Botswana, a major diamond producer. Officials of Botswana expressed concern that broad sanctions might affect the country’s ability to export its gems because diamonds from various nations are mingled by suppliers and cannot be told apart, Dymally said.

Tempelsman also lobbied against the sanctions. A Dymally aide suggested that the diamond merchant make the contribution to the Mendez group for scholarships.

Although he later accepted a $2,000 speaking fee from the Mendez Foundation, Dymally said that he gave an equal sum to the scholarship fund.

“I wanted to prove that the scholarship fund could exist without me,” Dymally said. His daughter, Lyn Dymally Lee, succeeded the congressman as chairman of the fund last March.

Dymally has two opponents in the Democratic primary--Lawrence A. Grigsby of Inglewood, an attorney and educator, and Carl E. Robinson Sr., a retired postal worker.

“The resignations were not connected” with the primary election, Dymally insisted. “I just didn’t think it was worth the beating I was taking in the press to continue. . . . There’s a media hysteria about ethics. . . . No good deed goes unpunished.”

Dymally said that he got favorable reaction in the black community for his efforts to help black business firms get contracts with African governments, in contrast to the criticism he received from the Washington Post and other white-owned newspapers that wrote about his dealings with Griffey and CFA.

But some other members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been upset with Dymally’s strong advocacy for Mobutu Sese Seko, the strongman-president of Zaire who has been accused of committing human rights violations and enriching himself while his country remains poverty-stricken.

Dymally has reported that the government of Zaire paid for his airline tickets in Europe and Africa, as well as a three-day stop on the French Riviera to visit with the vacationing Mobutu.

The congressman has intervened strongly with the government of Uganda on behalf of another friend and political supporter, Mamadi Diane, to try to get a contract for handling U.S. food shipments to that African nation. Diane is head of the Zaire-American Research Institute and has accompanied Dymally to Zaire.