Newspaper Page Text
Michael Jackson Natalie Cole’s Federal Jud " Rites held for
youngest to make ex-husband to AlceeHastii . , nan
Ebony’s top 100 speak Sunday is Kappa speaker ■ rs
Page 2 Page 5 Page 1I Page 1
Augusta
VOLUME 13 NUMBER 53
Mclntyre facing 60 years
Blacks stunned by verdict
by Mallory K. Millender
As the hours passed and the jury
deliberated the evidence in the
federal extortion trial of Mayor
Edward M. Mclntyre, he sat out
side on the steps of the Federal
Court house talking freely with
supporters. He laughed easily, and
answered their questions. Only his
weary, red eyes betrayed his
coolness.
He refused to discuss the trial,
but he talked confidently of being
able to generate money to pay his
legal fees which he said are now
well in excess of SIOO,OOO. The rest
of his conversation was vintage Ed
Mclntyre: building Augusta into a
utopia. FBI agent R. T. Smith
came up the stairs. Mclntyre poin
ted out that it was Smith who arrested
him on Dec. 21. Mclntyre nodded,
but his eyes flashed fire.
After a while, it began to rain,
and he escaped inside the lobby of
the courthouse where many more
supporters and reporters waited.
There he struck up a conversation
with John H. Ruffin Jr., one of
the defense attorneys.
By the time their conversation
broke up the rain had stopped and
many people returned to the cour
thouse steps, to while the time
away. Just as boredom was star
ting to set in, people started
scurrying toward the door. The
jury had reached a verdict.
Augustans react to verdict
The guilty verdict on federal ex
tortion and conspiracy charges
returned against Augusta Mayor
Edward Mclntyre left Augustans
with mixed reactions.
The Augusta News-Review has
conducted a poll of area residents,
Black and white, as well as in
terested non-residents who either
attended the trial or were familiar
with the proceedings.
The reactions are as follows:
“Fifty-two percent Black in the
city and only three Negroes on that
jury. They can lynch you and me
and do anything they want. I feel
Party asked to oppose 2nd primaries
by Theresa Minor
State Rep. Tyrone Brooks,
head of the Jesse Jackson cam
paign in Georgia, has issued a
challenge to the Georgia
Democratic Party to go on record
opposing what is being termed
“second primaries” or run-off
elections.
During an Atlanta news con
ference, Brooks blasted the prac
tice as “a sinister scheme per
petuated by so-called democrats to
bar meaningful political par
ticipation of Black Georgia
citizens.”
Brooks said that second
primaries have been extremely ef
fective in nullifying Black gover
nment representation in the state;
citing that though Blacks in the
state account for 33-percent of the
voting age population, there has
never been a Black candidate elec
ted statewide.
“We do not accept the premise
that the second primary was
Wyt-. .1
i,j ' '
ji 1 W
I 1
■Kag|HBHK
AWAITING THE VERDICT, Mayor Edward M. Mclntyre poses with Ella Singleton
(left) and Amanda O’ Bryant.
Inside the court room Mclntyre
sat behind his team of defense at
torneys, on the right side of the court
room. On the left side were his
mother, the Rev. Essie Mae Mcln-
as bad as anybody after having
stuck with it so long and prayed
about it.”—David C. Brown,
Flagler Road.
“It means that the jury believed
Joe Jones instead of the mayor.
It’s just disgusting. I have followed
the testimony. It didn’t seem they
had proven beyond a shadow of a
doubt that Ed was guilty.”—State
Rep. Billy McKinney, Atlanta.
“The only thing that made me
feel he was guilty was when he
testified he took the $9,000. If he’s
going to appeal his case, I think he
created to keep the democratic par
ty strong,” said Brooks. “We will
not be intimidated by those who
say that Jesse Jackson and his
campaign would seek to destroy
the democratic party in the South.
Nor would we seek to appease and
accomodate the closet republicans
in our state.”
Brooks said that the Georgia
Jesse Jackson Campaign Commit
tee is prepared to work within the
framework of the state party if
Georgia democrats would refute
run-off elections. But he cautioned
that if this does not take place
during the yet to be scheduled
meetings with the state party
chairman, former White House
director of the Office of
Management and Budget Bert
Lance, that legal steps to rectify
the controversy will be taken.
“We’re also confident that if we
choose this course that second
primaries will be struck down
based on our position that this
tyre, his wife, Juanita, and his
daughter, Wanda.
Before calling the jury into the
courtroom, Judge Dudley Bowen
warned the spectators that there
could stay in office. He hasn’t
really done anything to hurt
Augusta. But he has done a lot to
help the city.”—Toni Comber,
South Richmond County.
“My gut feeling is that he is
guilty. But I don’t think they
proved that in court. I think in the
mind of the jury what was more
important in weighing the decision
than the evidence was his
color.” —Marvin Jones, Myrtle
Drive.
“I really didn’t think he was
guilty of any of the three counts
with the evidence they
device is racially discriminatory.”
Brooks charged.
Though Brooks would not
comment on how he believes the
apparent ultimatum will be
received by Lance and other party
officials, he was optimistic about
the outcome.
“We believe that we can convin
ce the party to abolish second
primaries as a resolution. We
believe the Georgia General
Assembly would vote that
resolution into law,” he said.
The state lawmaker indicated
that sights were being set on the
national party heads as well. “We
have to challenge Mr. Charles
Manatt who is the national
democratic chairperson,” Brooks
said.
He concluded the news con
ference by saying that the move to
abolish run-off elections in the
state could be expedited if “Black
citizens start calling on their state
legislators.”
May 5,1984
were to be no outbursts or reaction
of any kind, irrespective of how
the jury ruled. Then he summoned
see Verdict page 3
had.” —Thomas Hankerson,
Augusta, Ga.
“If Ed had not been of the race
he is, this would not have
developed the way it did. There are
those who feel threatened by men of
color who have very progressive
ideas. This will serve to solidify
well-thinking Blacks and well
thinking whites. And though whe
have had a major set back, we shall
overcome —not someday, but
soon.” —Rev. Nathaniel Irvin,
North Augusta, S.C.
“1 really don’t think he should
resign. I believe in him and I trust
in him and I always will. If the
Black people would stick together
we could pull him through
this.”—Helen Germany, Sunset
Villa.
“I think he’s guilty. As far as I
see it, he’s the leader of the com
munity and people looked up to
him. But he does something like
this, and I think it’s as bad as any
other crime. I think he should step
down and let somebody else take
over that we can depend on and
not have to worry about in the
future.” —Laura Boyer, Evans,
Ga.
“I do believe he received a fair
trial and I do think he’s guilty. But
with what new information that
can turn up in his appeal, it makes
you believe that maybe there is
something that could prove his in
nocence. So I don’t know if I
would want him to resign. But I
think that he should take a leave of
absence until any doubt is cleared
up.”—Debbie Suma, Martinez,
Ga.
Less than 75 percent Advertising
Unacceptable verdict
Editorial
We do not impugn the
motives of any of the
jurors in Mayor Edward
Mclntyre’s extortion
trial; however, the guilty
verdict on all three counts
against him amounts to a
political lynching.
We do not accept the
verdict. We know that
juries have been wrong
before. Ask Lenell Geter.
And if it were possible, ask
the people who were mur
dered by the KKK in North
Carolina. Their murderers
went free. Yes, juries are
sometimes wrong, no mat
ter how well-intentioned
they are. There is no
justice when murderers go
free and outstanding
public servants go to jail.
Mclntyre murdered no
one. He was set up by a
man—posing as his
friend —bent on vengeance
after his Riverfront
Development Plan was
rejected in favor of one
submitted by the
American Cities Cor
poration. Mclntyre now
faces 60 years in prison,
plus a $30,000 fine, with
still another trial looming
Federal judge to speak
Federal Judge Alcee Lamar
Hastings will be the speaker Sun
day at the 32nd anniversary of the
Augusta Alumni Chapter of the
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. The
program will be held in the Gilbert-
Lambuth Chapel of Paine College
at 3:30 p.m.
A graduate of Fisk University,
Judge Hastings attended the
Howard University School of Law
and received the juris doctorate
from Florida A & M University’s
College of Law. He practiced law
in Ft. Lauderdale from 1964 to
1967.
In 1977, he was appointed Cir
cuit Court judge of Broward
County by Gov. Ruben Askew. In
1979, President Jimmy Carter ap
pointed him U.S. District Judge
Yewiston Myers dies
Funeral services were held Wed
nesday at Trinity C.M.E. Church
for Yewiston Myers Sr. He died
April 28 at the age of 80.
He retired from the Richmond
County School system after 39
years, 34 of them as principal.
He served on the City Council of
Augusta and was a member of the
Civil Service Commission at the
time of his death.
A member of the Alpha Phi
Alpha Fraternity, he graduated
from Paine College, and earned
the master’s degree from Wayne
State University.
He joined Trinity C.M.E. Chur
ch in 1923 after moving to Augusta
from Saluda, S.C.
At Trinity, he served as a
steward and as a trustee. He was a
member of the senior choir, a Sun
day School Teacher and formerly
before him on additional
charges.
If Mclntyre is guilty of
extortion, then there must
have been a victim of the
extortion. He is accused of
attempting to extort
money from former
Mayor Lewis A. Newman,
businessman L.D. Waters,
and FBI agent Thirwell.
Newman testified that
Mclntyre never asked him
for money. Waters said he
never asked him for
money. Mclntyre did say
that he wanted to retire in
a condominium on the
Savannah River. Wouldn’t
any of us? But that is not
extortion.
Throughout the secretly
recorded tapes of the con
versations between Mcln
tyre and Waters, there is
never a request of
anything from Waters on
Mclntyre’s part, there is
just a lot of friendly con
versation about the
mayor’s willingness to
assist a local developer in
getting a bid to develop
land on the river.
As for agent Thirwell, it
was he who offered Mcln-
see Unacceptable page 4
Judge Alcee Hastings
for the Southern District of
Florida.
The public is invited.
A <
Yewiston N. Myers Sr.
the church treasurer.
He also served as treasurer of
the Paine College National Alumni
Association for more than 20
years.
30C