Hearings on Corcoran Probe

Re “Officials Stymied Corcoran Probe, Investigators Testify,” Aug. 4: The conduct of former Director of Corrections James Gomez regarding the investigation of murder and mayhem at Corcoran State Prison is beyond excuse. A plebeian citizen would be charged with murder as an accessory.

If he was not an accessory to the Corcoran murders, he did have an oath of office to uphold, which precludes interfering with murder investigations. Additionally, it is illegal for any citizen to impede such investigations. If Gomez is guilty of any of the above crimes or other related ones not mentioned, he would have been removed from office. Therefore any money he now receives from the state, be it pension, salary or other compensation, is the result of criminal activity.

We can spend $40 million to determine whether our president is the first male since the dawn of mankind to lie about his sex life, yet do nothing about the high-level officials who condone and cover the atrocities committed by the people they are paid to lead and supervise. This is unacceptable. Our American Revolution was fought over lesser issues.

ROBERT W. MURRAY

Westminster

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Sean Walsh, the governor’s press secretary, complains that the investigators of the Corcoran brutality are being unfairly stressed by the Legislature’s hearings.

It appears that the stress on Jim Connor, one of the supervisors of the investigation, arises from being given two conflicting instructions: investigate and don’t investigate. If Connor had not gone public to The Times with his dilemma, he would surely have been scapegoated by higher-ups in the governor’s office. He was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t--no wonder he’s feeling sick.

The solution is for Gov. Pete Wilson’s partisans to fess up; they sold out to the fat-cat guard’s union.

MARTHA S. RILEY

Los Angeles