Semper
Fidelis
On January 14, 1991, Colonel James E.
Sabow, 51, was named Acting Chief of Staff of Marine Corps Air Operations for
the Western United States. Eight days later he was found at his home at El Toro
Air Station, killed by a shotgun blast to the head.
Like Admiral Boorda, he left behind a
wife and two children.
And, as in the case of Admiral Boorda,
the Marine Corps and the NCIS claimed that Colonel Sabow took his life because
he was despondent over an investigation of a minor infraction: whether he took
some stereo equipment and household items to his son while making a routine
flight onboard a military
plane.[*]
Yet Sabow suspected that there was more
than just the alleged misuse of aircraft. He and his friends in the Corps found
it rather absurd that Marine Headquarters would consider the matter of such
importance that they would jeopardize the operations of this strategic base
during “Operation Desert Shield.” At least some of the allegations
levied against Sabow (and his neighbor, Colonel Joseph Underwood, Chief of Staff
at El Toro at the time) were of a type that were considered trivial and
“common practice” among the military flying community. In fact,
retired Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Major General J.K. Davis said
that any pilot who had ever flown in the military would be “canned”
had they been held to the same standards as the allegations against Colonel
Sabow.[*]
General David Shuter gave a glowing
eulogy of Colonel Sabow, in which he described him as a man “without
compromise,” one of the few who could give himself fully to the Corps and
country and simultaneously to his family. He also described Sabow by all those
in the Corps who knew him as the “straightest of straight
arrows.”[1]
Sabow’s family asserts that
“Jimmy” Sabow - a dedicated, discipline Marine and family
man - would not kill himself. “He was a fighter, and I don’t see
how he could just change like that,” said his 17-year-old daughter,
Deirdre.
Sabow’s attorney, Captain Paul
McBride, wrote that “Colonel Sabow was in a state of high anxiety; however
he never displayed hysteria or irrational
behavior.”[*]
Sabow’s brother, David, a South
Dakota neurosurgeon, didn’t buy the suicide story. If the Colonel killed
himself, his brother wanted to know, why did X-rays show a swollen area on his
head, a possible sign that he had been
struck?[2*] As Dr.
David Rubinstein, a radiologist from Denver’s University Hospital writes:
“The depressed skull fracture...
is not likely to have resulted from the shotgun blast. What caused the depressed
fracture is open to speculation. It is unlikely to have occurred if the patient
fell backwards and struck the
ground.”[3]
Since the shotgun blast severed Colonel
Sabow’s brain stem - which Dr. Sabow and other forensic pathologists
say would have ended breathing instantly - why was there a large amount of
blood in his
lungs?[4]
And if Sabow put the shotgun in his
mouth and pulled the trigger, why, as in the case of Vince Foster, was there no
blood on the gun? As Martin L. Fackler, a world renowned wound ballistics
expert, writes:
“The position of the shotgun
(under his body) and the lack of gross blood on the front of the white garments
that Col. Sabow was wearing at the time of his death make suicide appear, to me,
unlikely....”[5]
Since none of Sabow’s fingerprints
were found on the gun or the shell casings, his wife and brother became highly
suspicious.[6*]
As Fackler adds:
“One of the reasons given,
however, for the lack of fingerprints - that the barrel gets so hot that any
fingerprints on it would be burned off - is simply absurd. This is within my
area of expertise: I have handled many shotguns immediately after they have been
fired - the barrels are not even hot to the
touch.”[7*]
According to standard police procedure,
all shootings are supposed to be treated as “suspicious” until
proven otherwise. Yet before the autopsy report was even complete, the Provost
Marshal and the NCIS ruled that Colonel Sabow had committed suicide. This ruling
was made within minutes, even before forensic evidence or ballistic reports were
available![*]
Contrary to policy, the Orange County
Coroner was summoned to participate in the investigation and to conduct the
autopsy.[8*] By
law, either a Navy pathologist or his representative must be present, and the
autopsy results would have to have been reviewed by the Armed Forces Institute
of Pathology (AFIP). Yet neither the AFIP nor the regional military
forensic pathologist were invited to participate in the examination nor review
the autopsy
report.[*]
“All of these laws were
broken,” says Dr. Sabow. “Not one of these procedures were
followed.... The NCIS and the Marine Corps refused to give me certain
information that obviously I should have been privy to: the autopsy report, the
NCIS’s preliminary findings, fingerprint evidence, ballistic evidence,
etc., etc.... I was stonewalled and told I could not have the autopsy report.
That generated even more
suspicion....”[9]
Sabow subsequently sought the help of
his government - a government he believed existed to “serve and
protect” the rights of its citizens.
“I tried to obtain the help of the
military, the Marines, the NCIS, the FBI, Justice Department, my Senators,
Congressmen, you name it,” says Sabow, “and I was totally shut
down....”[10*]
Within 12 hours of granting an interview
with the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Sabow was called by General Tom Adams,
the commander of El Torro.
“Adams had been informed by NCIS
agent Cheryl Baldwin through her supervisor, Mike Barrett, that I intended to go
to the LA Times because I was not satisfied with the conduct of the
investigation.”
As a condition of the meeting, Sabow
asked that Colonel William Lucas, the Staff Judge Advocate, General David Shuter
and General J.K. Davis, retired Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps be
present. Adams agreed.
Yet when Sabow got to the meeting, Lucas
was nowhere to be found.
“I was disturbed by his absence,
for I believed that he had the most critical information that I needed at this
point in my search,” says Sabow. “He was privy to the events leading
up to the dismissal of Colonel Sabow, and surely he would have access to the
autopsy report and other essential documents that I was being
denied.”
Instead, Lucas was replaced with Colonel
Wayne Rich.
“At that time, I had no knowledge
of Rich’s importance in relation to his presence at this meeting,”
says Sabow. “Later I learned that he was the Assistant Attorney General of
the U.S. ‘in charge of training.’ In fact, he never did any
training, but rather was brought into the Attorney General’s office in the
late 80’s for ‘damage control’ in such matters as
‘Iran-Contra’ and the ‘Inslaw affair.’
“It was obvious at that meeting
that these people were lying - from beginning to end. They said at the
meeting again, that the autopsy material wasn’t available, fingerprint
material wasn’t available, etc., etc.....
“Then I realized they were trying
to intimidate me. They were accusing my brother of horrible activities.
They thought they would deter me from going ahead with the interview, for if I
did then they would tell what a horrible person Colonel Sabow was - what he
crook he was, and a felon.”
Dr. Sabow and the Colonel’s
grieving widow, Sally, said they were threatened and yelled at during the
meeting.
“The abuse we sustained during
that meeting was horrible,” says Sabow. “At one point, Adams leaned
in front of me, pointed at Mrs. Sabow, then screamed at her to stop any contact
with his ex-wife. Adams then warned Sally to stop spreading a rumor that he had
some involvement in Jimmy’s death. In fact, at that point, Sally had not
given this even the slightest consideration!”
It was only then that Sabow realized he
being played for a pawn in a complex web of conspiracy and intrigue.
“It became obvious to me that
these two had conspired to concoct a scenario of lies that would paint the dead
Colonel with a brush of disgrace,” says Sabow. “They hoped this
would shame the Colonel’s widow and me into silence. I didn’t buy
their act.”
After Sabow threatened to go public,
Adams drafted a letter to the South Dakota medical authorities, “making
the strongest complaint that could be mustered against Dr. Sabow,” and
threatened to send it unless Sabow “ceased all questioning of the
investigation,” according to civil suit
documents.[11*]
The
Murder
Slightly over two months after Dr.
Sabow’s traumatic meeting at El Toro, he received a mysterious package
containing some very disturbing documents.
“I received a package from what I
call a ‘deep-throat’ source,” says Sabow, “and that
package had hand-written notes from an individual who subsequently proved to be
Colonel Wayne Rich, who really chaired the meeting.”
The notes were written during a
conversation with Colonel George Lang III, Deputy Staff Judge Advocate in
Washington, stating their intention to convince Dr. Sabow that his
brother’s death was a suicide. The call was made on March 8, l99l, the day
before Sabow was to meet with General Adams.
“It’s things like
this,” says Sabow, “in his own handwriting now: ‘Dr. Sabow is
planning on giving an interview with the LA Times. We are about to
try to convince Sabow’s brother that his brother was a crook & so big
a crook....’ Towards the end it says: ‘script
meeting.’”[12*]
The mystery package also contained
requests to the legal department at El Toro to inquire about methods of having
Dr. Sabow’s medical license suspended - a directive from none other
than General Tom
Adams.[13] (See
Appendix)
Also included was a copy of responses of
“witnesses” interviewed by the Inspector General (IG), attempting to
depict misconduct by Colonel Sabow. Only the responses were transcribed.
“Not one of the questions that
were supposedly asked in these interviews was included,” claims Sabow.
Sabow also learned that at least one Marine officer interviewed, Major Bob
Friend, when asked to sign the transcript, refused, claiming the statements did
not accurately reflect his responses.
Shortly thereafter, Dr. Sabow received a
phone call from an ex-NCIS agent who offered his help. Fearing that he might be
a plant, Sabow had him checked out. Yet the ex-investigator would prove to be a
highly valuable source of information. He had learned from a lawyer in
the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) office that dates on documents written
following Colonel Sabow’s death were altered to show that they were
written before his death - an attempt to bolster the fraudulent
allegations against him. The falsification was ordered by senior officers, but
was carried out by those in the JAG office, all of whom were
attorneys.[*]
Yet Dr. Sabow would soon come to learn
that documents and witness statements weren’t the only thing that was
altered. Another of Sabow’s sources - an NCIS agent at the time of the
shooting - had watched a series of bizarre events unfolding at the scene of
the crime. Hidden in a trash cubical behind Colonel Sabow’s backyard, the
agent witnessed everything that would take place at the scene subsequent to the
shooting.
Several minutes after the fatal shot was
fired, the Provost Marshall, Major Goodrow and his deputy, Captain Fouquer
arrived on the scene. Their radio dispatch was intercepted by Sergeant Randy
Robinson, an M.P. patrolling in the vicinity, who arrived a minute later.
At the same time, the NCIS was notified,
and soon after their entire office showed up, followed by the base emergency
medical technicians.
That, according to Sabow, is where the
situation started getting weird.
“Before they even have the crime
scene secured,” says Sabow, “three men in civilian clothes show up
in the backyard. And they walk up and ask who is in charge of the crime scene.
And an NCIS agent by the name of Cheryl Baldwin, who was assigned as the case
officer, said ‘I am.’ At this point nobody knows who they are,
nobody except Baldwin. And a big argument ensues, and they do something or show
her something that convinces her to get the hell out - clear everybody out
of the entire crime scene. They were not only forced out of the backyard, they
were forced across the
street![*]
“And then after everybody was
cleared out, then these three men go back through the house, and proceed to
sanitize the entire backyard.”
According to the hidden NCIS agent, one
of the men walked directly to the common area separating the Sabow and Underwood
homes, stooped down in the relatively lush grass, and picked up a
club - most likely the club that had caused the bruise on Colonel
Sabow’s
head.[*] While the
others rearranged the remainder of the crime scene, this man headed directly for
a gate that few knew existed, hidden in the back of Colonel Underwood’s
yard, and disappeared. Once the crime scene had been sanitized, everyone was
allowed back in.
“One of the NCIS agents who
witnessed this, from the short distance in the backyard,” said Sabow,
“knew that something very, very strange - totally unorthodox, was
taking place. Later he wrote the series of events in his official report, and
was ordered to destroy it.”
Sabow would never learn the identity of
the three mystery men. But he would later learn of the presence of a CIT
(Counter-Intelligence Terrorism) team at El Torro that day. The team was
stationed at Camp Pendelton, flown by a regular Marine courier helicopter and
dropped off at a remote area of the El Torro airfield, directly behind the Sabow
house, approximately 300-350 yards away. Rather than land at the tower, the
chopper landed at a point on the field that was closest to the back of the Sabow
and Underwood homes.
“Four civilian-dressed people were
dropped off from the helicopter,” says Sabow. “The helicopter then
immediately took off, went right across the airfield, and landed where it
usually does, at the tower. The pilot got out and told the people in the tower
that he was having some trouble and he was checking himself out and that’s
why he had landed across the field. But he said he wasn’t sure and he may
do the same thing again, and he did.”
The team was dropped off at 8:05
am.
“And at five or ten after 9:00, he
landed there again, and picked up the men. We were told he picked them up from
the records. However, we feel the records are false and he only picked up only
one man,” accounting for the three that remained behind at the scene of
the crime.
Colonel Sabow was killed between 8:00
and 9:00 am.
“The window is very narrow,”
says Sabow. “It’s between 8:32 and 8:58 am. And everybody agrees to
that.
As for as the CIT team,
“They’re nothing but professional assassins, trained by and work for
the military,” says Sabow. “They can use any uniform they want. From
what I understand from the experts, they have a team like in two or three places
in the country. There’s only a few of these teams. These are tough, tough
sociopaths. And let’s say they are going to do something domestically, say
on a military base, then they don the appropriate
apparel.”
Dr. Sabow believes plan was to kill
Colonel Sabow and his wife.
“The team was in charge of killing
the Colonel and Sally,” said Sabow. “It was supposed to be a
murder/suicide.”
Killing both would make it appear that
the Colonel first murdered his wife and then took his own life. This would help
explain the lack of a suicide note, for it was common knowledge that the Sabows
were very close, and if Sabow would take his own life, he would surely have said
“good-bye” to Sally. Murder, followed by suicide, solved this
problem. But equally important, if Sabow had confided in Sally concerning the
clandestine operations that led to his murder, her death would ensure the
continuing secrecy. Hence, there were two shells in the chamber of the double
barreled shotgun, not just one!
In a chronology meticulously pieced
together through years of dogged, painstaking investigation, Dr. Sabow believes
the events that unfolded on the morning of his brother’s death transpired
as follows:
“At 8:30 and I mean exactly
at 8:30, Colonel Sabow received a phone call, which Sally witnessed. He said
‘This is Colonel Sabow’ and there was a hesitation, and he said
‘this is Colonel Sabow’... three times, and there was no
response.”[*]
Dr. Sabow is convinced the mystery
caller telephoned to determine whether his brother was at home. Yet he believes
either that call or another caused him to go into the backyard. Sabow thereupon
met Underwood who had just passed through the gate. They started to walk back to
Sabow’s house when Underwood asked Sabow where Sally was. Sabow explained
that Sally had just run to Mass but would be returning immediately thereafter.
Underwood realized that a weekday Mass would indeed last only from 20 to 30
minutes and that she would probably return between 9:00 and 9:l0
a.m.
The walk continued along the 50 foot
distance from the fence to the door. Suddenly, Underwood dropped a step behind
and hit Sabow in the back of the head, “cold-cocking” him. The blow
fractured the base of Sabow’s skull (although it’s possible that
while Underwood was diverting Sabow’s attention one of the accomplices
delivered the fatal
blow).[*]
With Sabow rendered unconscious, one or
perhaps two accomplices rushed through the gate from Underwood’s backyard
to join him, carrying the loaded shotgun which had previously been removed from
the Sabow house (probably by Underwood the previous weekend). Sabow lay on the
ground, already near death, drowning in his own blood. The gun was then shoved
into the dying Colonel’s mouth and
fired.[*]
The assailants then ran into the house
to apprehend Sally, for Underwood still wasn’t sure she was not home since
her car was in the driveway when he called. The killers then waited, peering out
a bedroom window, expecting Sally at any moment. Yet their plan to kill her was
thwarted by the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Gary Albin, who was returning some
flight manuals to Sabow. Getting no answer, Albin decided to wait on the porch
and try again.
By this time, it was nearly 9:l0 and
Underwood knew Sally would return from church at any moment. If she did, in all
likelihood, she would invite Albin into the house. This would result in Albin
discovering the body with Sally, and it would then be necessary to kill Albin
too. But that would ruin the murder-suicide plan which was already in place.
Instead the killers ran out the back of
the house and put the shotgun under Colonel Sabow. The accomplices then exited
through a partially hidden gate in the rear of Underwood’s backyard which
led to the airfield, allowing for a quick getaway by
helicopter.
In the meantime Underwood ran through
his kitchen door, picked up a coffee mug and proceeded to walk casually out his
front door to be seen by Albin, hoping to establish an
alibi.[14]
Stepping from his porch, coffee cup in
hand, he was noticed by Albin, who asked where Colonel Sabow was. Underwood
casually replied that Sabow was not at home, and was with Sally at the base
exchange.
“Not only should Underwood not
have known the whereabouts of Jimmy,” says Dr. Sabow, “he initially
told Albin that Sabow wasn’t at home, and then only an hour later told the
NCIS that he was on his way to visit him! Furthermore, Underwood never visited
Sabow by the front entrance but always through the gate in the back
yard!”
After Sally discovered her
husband’s body, she ran to Underwood’s house in hysterics and
screamed “Jimmy is
dead!”[*]
Feigning shock, Underwood ran to the backyard, opened the gate, and without
taking another step, came out, picked up the phone, called General Adams and
said, “Jimmy Sabow shot himself in the
mouth.”[15]
Interestingly, Mrs. Sabow only said that
her husband was dead, not that he had shot himself in the mouth, or that he lay
in the back yard.
“Yet, Underwood, without even
asking, ran directly to the backyard and then confirmed the death from a
distance of over 40 feet!” exclaims Sabow.... Now if you were
standing right on top of my brother, you could not tell he was shot in the
mouth, you could not. I have the photographs. How did Underwood know the exact
nature of the wound? He was 30 yards away.... The photos prove that he
couldn’t have determined that from that
distance.”[16]
Underwood also claimed that he
didn’t hear the shot, stating that he was watching TV with his wife.
However Underwood’s wife had a brain tumor and was hypersensitive to
sound, so the TV volume was always kept quite
low.[*]
Furthermore, there were ill-fitting horizontal Plexiglas louvered panels in the
Underwood’s TV room which provide virtually no acoustical insulation. A
shotgun blast is quite loud.
“These facts were totally
disregarded,” says Sabow, “not out of sheer ignorance, but because
of a frightful and glaringly transparent government participation in a cover-up
in the murder of Colonel Sabow!”
Nevertheless, the OIG would attempt to
explain away this discrepancy, claiming that local air traffic muffled the
noise. Yet records from air traffic control document that there were no
departures between 8:30 and 9:00 that morning.
“Since it has been documented and
conceded that the death occurred during that time frame,” explains Sabow,
“the explanation for the next door neighbor not hearing the blast is
absurd.”[17]
Approximately one month after his
brother’s death, Dr. Sabow confronted Underwood.
“He suspected that I wasn’t
satisfied with the suicide theory and was being too inquisitive about the
details,” says Sabow. “When I inquired about Underwood’s
activities while Albin was on the Sabow front porch, he became defensive and
blurted out that he was not even in my brother’s house when Albin was
knocking. I had never even remotely implied that he
was!”[*]
Approximately one week after
Sabow’s death, NCIS Special Agent Craycraft visited Sally. According to
Sally, the agent told her, “I could swear it was Joe [Underwood]. I just
can’t pin it on him.”
Also mentioned in the OIG (Office of
Inspector General) report is a conversation Sally had with a woman (who’s
name is redacted), who told her during a dinner at their home, “I’ll
deny I ever said this, but I want you to know that your husband was
murdered.”
As the report states: “When asked
if XXX had told her who was responsible for the murder, she stated, “She
implied that it was Joe (Col.
Underwood.)”[18]
The
Motive
Ultimately, Dr. Sabow believes his
brother was killed to cover up the government’s drug-smuggling activities.
His suspicions about Colonel Underwood would prove portentous.
“We developed information that
implicates Underwood in an operation that involved the misappropriation of C-130
Hercules aircraft to small proprietary airlines,” says Sabow. “These
in turn were contracted to the CIA and other agencies for unauthorized
activities such as the transportation of weapons to Central and South America,
as well as bringing cocaine into the U.S. on their return
trips.”[*]
According to the OIG
report:
“Mr. [Gene] Wheaton alleged that
MCAS El Toro was being used in support of a legal covert activity that had been
undertaken by a U.S. intelligence agency under the cover of a U.S. Department of
Agriculture program named “Screw Worm,” allegedly a program to
eradicate the screw worm in Mexico. Mr. Wheaton also alleged that the covert
operation was actually legitimately providing weapons, ammunition and other
material to the Government of Peru in their struggle against guerrilla forces
know as the “Shining Path.” Mr. Wheaton further alleged that a
number of individuals involved in this covert operation were concurrently
conducting an illegal covert operation whereby they were smuggling additional
weapons, ammunition and material to Peru. The individuals were allegedly selling
the weapons, ammunition and material to the Shining Path as well as to the
Government of Peru, for money and narcotics. The money and narcotics were then
allegedly smuggled back into the United States and air dropped at remote
locations on military installations in the western part of the United States....
Mr. Wheaton further alleged that this operation continued until approximately
the time of Col. Sabow’s
death.”[19]
Interestingly, General Tom Adams, El
Torro’s base Commander, was the base Commander at Yuma, Arizona Marine
Corps Air Station in the mid ‘80’s at the time when several duffel
bags full of cocaine were dropped “by mistake” next to the runway.
Sabow was Commander of the Third Marine Air Group stationed at Yuma during that
time. This base was the very first secret National Programs Office
(organizationally part of the NSA), set up in 1983 by Oliver North. According to
CIA researcher Brian Downing Quig, “NPOs are top security guarded by the
CIA.”[20*]
The OIG report
continues:
“Mr. Wheaton alleged that his
investigation had developed witnesses who stated that during the period of time
from 1989 to about the time of Col. Sabow’s death, C-130 aircraft landed
at MCAS El Toro in the middle of the night, unannounced and unknown to anyone on
the installation other than Col. Underwood. Mr. Wheaton told us that, according
to his witnesses, the aircraft were unmarked or marked with logos of civilian
companies, and were flown by nonmilitary type crews, i.e., long hair and
bluejeans. The C-130s would go to a remote part of the airfield, described as
“Spook Corner,” where unidentified material and equipment was loaded
or unloaded as part of the illegal covert operation or for some sort of
servicing of the aircraft. The aircraft would then depart El Torro. Mr. Wheaton
stated that he had MP witnesses who had provided testimony to this effect. Mr.
Wheaton identified one such witness as Mr. Robinson, but he refused to identify
any other member of the military who possessed knowledge of these alleged covert
operations. Mr. Wheaton alleged that Mr. Robinson had informed him that Col.
Underwood had directed the Provost Marshal, Capt. Betsy Harries, to keep all
military policemen away from the unidentified aircraft while they were on the
airfield.
“In our interview of Mr. Robinson,
he stated that on one occasion he had gone to Col. Underwood’s office to
brief him on an investigation and that Capt. Harries had accompanied him. During
the conversation the topic of aircraft landing late at night came up and Col.
Underwood told them “Keep your ass off the airstrip at night. Leave those
airplanes alone. Don’t go near them. Don’t worry about
them....”[21*]
(See Appendix)
A similar illegal operation,
“Operation Black Eagle” was the basis for what came to be known as
the Iran-Contra affair. (The exposure of the sale of TOW missiles to Iran, a
relatively minor event by comparison, was intended to divert the attention away
from the government sanctioned
drug-running.)[22]
Al Martin, a self-described former Naval
officer, claims to have set up phony corporations for former Major General
Richard Secord (a close associate of Ted Shackley and Tom Clines), through which
wealthy right-wing donors could “invest,” money funneled to the
Contras. They would then write off the investment on a two-for-one basis.
Martin told the author via numerous
interviews that he worked closely with Oliver North, Felix Rodriguez, Secord,
and Jeb Bush (son of then-Vice President George Bush).
According to some in the foreign press,
Jeb Bush and his Colombian-born wife are reportedly big in laundering dope
proceeds
overseas.[23]
The operation reportedly involved
sophisticated electronics developed by NSA contractor E-Systems of Greenville,
Texas. E-Systems, owned by Raytheon, allegedly developed sophisticated systems
to create electronic “holes” which would allow planes to cross the
border without tripping aircraft warning systems. (See Chapter XX)
E-Systems, a major intelligence contractor which allegedly has
“wet-teams” (assassination teams), was directed by former NSA
Director and CIA Deputy Director Bobby Ray
Inman.[*]
Other facilities were reportedly located
at Mena, Arkansas, Fire Lakes, Nevada, Joppa, Missouri, and Iron Mountain,
Texas, some guarded by Wackenhut.
As researcher J. Orlin Grabbe writes:
“The monetary logistics of this
operation were overseen in part by Vince Foster of the Rose Law Firm, using the
financial software resources of Systematics, Jackson Stephen’s Little Rock
software company. Vince Foster’s “NSA connection” involved an
extensive knowledge of the NPO’s management of the flow of men and
materials, money and drugs.”
As one pilot told Grabbe: “It was
good money. They would pay $100,000 a flight. They would send out maybe eight
planes at a time, and if only two of them got shot down, the operation would
still be profitable. So there was some risk
involved.”[24]
On February l9, l995, CBS “60
Minutes” did a story on the illegal C-l30 acquisitions and some of the
activities in which these planes were engaged, including the transportation of
drugs. The producer of the show, David Fitzpatrick, attempted to interview the
manager of Aero Union, a proprietary airline in Chico, CA which had received a
C-l30 and a P3-A from the Air Museum at El Toro. Fitzpatrick was denied the
interview and was then informed that the “Justice” Department had
ordered Aero Union to say nothing.
“There were 37 C-130s,” says
Sabow. “Then there were about eight P-3 Oriens and several helicopters.
And all of these planes went through the Department of Agriculture, Forestry
Division, into the hands of Hemet Aviation. Hemet has I think seven of them. And
then a couple of them ended up in Grayville, Wyoming, There’s one up at
Aero Union. I have the tail numbers of every one of them and know exactly where
they all are - every one of them.
“El Torro was the seat of
operations for the hiring and disposition of these contract airlines to
transport weapons and materiel,” adds Sabow. “That was at the time
when these little proprietary airlines were being placed and provisioned to
carry out activities previously undertaken by Air America. And our
investigations show that General J.K. Davis was one of the main architects of
this.”
While Sabow claims he has no definite
proof, he makes some interesting observations.
“First of all, the C-130 aircraft
swindle was hatched in the early ‘80s when General Davis was the Assistant
Commandant of the Marine Corps (1983 to 1986). And that was at the height of the
activity in Iran-Contra. And being part of Marine Air, he had to at least be
aware of these plans if not an active participant. I have no proof but I have
been told that during that period, he was a member of the Joint Special
Operations subgroup which was tasked to develop and coordinate clandestine
military activities which would have included the C-130
plan....”
At the time of his death, Colonel Sabow
was Chief of Operations for Marine Corps Air, Western United States.
“I’m talking about entire
Marine Air,” says Sabow. “Being in the position he was in, he had to
be involved in covert activities... had to be. However, my brother was aware and
probably participating in what he considered ‘on the table,’
approved covert activities.”
Dr. Sabow claims his brother had
meetings with Oliver North on at least on three occasions in the late 80s, after
Iran-Contra broke. North was in charge of the Joint Special Operations subgroup
supplying weapons to the Contras.
“My brother knew about the U.S.
[illegally] supplying military materiel to the Latin Americans,” says
Sabow. “However he knew only about the north-to-south runs (weapons), but
he found about the south-to-north runs (drugs), several days before he
died.
“One of the brains behind this, in
the field, was Colonel Underwood,” says Sabow. “Underwood was a
significant operative of this whole business. Underwood was actually more
powerful than General Adams - much more powerful! We’ve traced him and
his activities from 1980 all the way up to this. He came on board in covert
activities in ‘81-‘82, and he became a friend of [former Panamanian
President Manuel] Noriega, and was working, even back then with Noriega and
others in South America, on a special assignment in the Marine
Corps.[25]
“They used these people - the
Ollie Norths and the Underwoods - kind of in the field, as tactical
operatives. But as far as architects, as far as the brains in the operation it
was people at the level of [George] Bush, [Ted] Shackley, Rob Owens, J.K.
Davis....”
Underwood, however, had been formerly
investigated by the NCIS for smuggling contraband into this country.
“What type of contraband?”
says Sabow. “That’s what we don’t know. After a 13 month
investigation it was dropped. I looked at Underwood and said, ‘Tell me,
why was it dropped?’ and he wouldn’t answer.”
In October of 1991, General Hollis
Davison, the Inspector General for the Marine Corps, arrived at El Toro for the
express purpose of closing down the illegal operation in a way that would give
the least possible publicity to the Corps.
“They wanted Underwood out of
there,” says Sabow. “And they wanted him out of there quietly,
because Underwood knew so damn much he could ruin the reputation of the Corps.
He was forced to resign, and he just resigned with a full
pension.”[*]
General Davison also felt that it would
be wise to have Colonel Sabow’s resignation because of his potential
knowledge of the operation. Yet Underwood and his operatives became fearful that
Sabow would not go quietly. As the situation worsened, Sabow made a decision to
fight the allegations and informed Underwood as well as General Davis. Dr. Sabow
said his brother was a protégé of Davis’ going back almost
20 years.
“They were very close,
professionally,” says Sabow. “J.K. Davis was the last person my
brother talked to the night before he died, for 63 minutes.... My brother told
him that if they persisted in bringing charges against him for improper use of a
military plane, my brother would demand a court-martial and tell it all. He
wanted J.K. to ‘call the bastards off.’ He was literally telling J.K
‘What in the hell do they think they are doing?! I’ve never done
anything. What in the hell do you think they are
doing?’”[*]
Colonel Sabow made it quite clear that
he did not intend to leave the Corps under any but the most honorable
circumstances, even if it required him to expose what he was learning about the
illegal activity taking place at El Toro. To dissuade Sabow, Davis and Underwood
warned him that he would be implicated in those very same activities (a common
silencing tactic).[26]
Colonel William Callahan (USMC, retired)
a fellow pilot and long-time friend of Sabow’s, also believes the Colonel
was murdered. According to the OIG report:
“Mr. Callahan alleged that during
a visit to Col. Sabow’s house, Col. Underwood told Col. Sabow what had
transpired over the previous years, citing several reasons that he believed put
himself at risk. Col. Underwood then told Col. Sabow that the USMC considered
Col. Sabow to be just as guilty as himself. “It was at this time that Jim
(Col. Sabow) knew he would not accept early retirement and his only choice was
to clear his name and take his case to court martial.” According to Mr.
Callahan, “it was this decision that started the chain of events which
lead [sic] to Jim’s
death.”[27]
(See Appendix)
On the evening of January 21, the day
before Sabow was killed, Underwood visited him and pointed a finger in his face
while screaming, red-faced, “You will never take this to a
court-marshal!”[28]
Less than 12 hours after the tense
discussion with Davis and the heated warning by Underwood, Colonel Sabow was
dead. Dr. Sabow believes the conversation with Davis was the catalyst for the
Colonel’s death.
“I believe with all my heart that
J.K. Davis was the one who ordered the death of my brother,” says
Sabow.
Another link may come through
Major-General Rich Herndon. Although probably not involved in the murder, Hernon
was head of the 3rd Marine Air Group in Yuma, Arizona in late 1970s-early
‘80s. Sabow was his Executive Officer.
In 1987 Herndon was Assistant Commandant
of the Marine Corps under General Al Gray. One of Gray’s immediate
subordinates was Colonel George Griggs. As Grigg’s wife, Kay Pollard
Griggs, told the author, “Army General Carl Stiner, Marine General Jim
Joy, General Charles Wilhelm, head of Marine Southern Command - part of
Joint Special Operations Command, and my husband who worked under him at the
State Department - they’re all Al Gray’s boys. They do the
assassinations. Say if they’ve got someone who’s talking too much.
Gray will say, ‘We’ve got a
problem....’[*]
According to Griggs, Gray is heavily
involved in drug-smuggling. Herndon was stationed in Panama - a key drug
transshipment point - and had a key position with Special Operations (CIA),
training death squads in Central America.
“They train assassins,” says
Griggs. “It’s called the Phoenix Program, but it involves
mind-control.... It’s an old boy network, it’s an institution, and
it’s run through the State
Department....[*]
As Griggs says, “Herndon is one of
Al Gray’s boys.”
Curiously, Herndon sent a condolence
letter to Sabow’s widow, but according to Dr. Sabow it was a rather cold
letter. Dr. Sabow feels it was strange because the two were very close. Yet,
mirroring the bizarre behavior of Colonel Underwood, Herndon didn’t show
up at the funeral (Underwood, Sabow’s “friend” and next door
neighbor, didn’t show up at the bereavement.)
Interestingly, at approximately 9:00 am
on the morning of the 22nd, a message from Headquarters, El Toro, was
transmitted to Marine Headquarters, Washington, DC, informing them that Colonel
Sabow had committed suicide. The message was transmitted using the standard
AUTODIN operating system and SARALITE software, which dates and times the
message automatically. For worldwide standardization purposes, ZULU (zero
longitude or Greenwich Mean Time) time is used. Yet when the message was
corrected to Pacific Standard Time by subtracting eight hours from the ZULU
time, it indicates that the message was begun at 11:45 pm on the 21st, over
eight-and-a-half hours before Colonel Sabow was killed!
Other
Victims
On January 12, 1991, Inspector General
Hollis Davison’s team visited El
Toro.[*] The first
place they went was to Building 53 - the records department. They ordered
Sergeant Felix Segovia to access the command staff computers. Segovia assigned
this task to Sergeant Tom Wade, his networking specialist. When Wade accessed
the MWR computers, he discovered that they were completely “purged.”
There was absolutely nothing in their memory, not even a program!
“General Adams also suspected
trouble when the IG requested certain documents on Underwood,” says Sabow.
“When the IG kept requesting more and more, Adams knew that there was
trouble brewing and he realized that he likewise was vulnerable. That’s
why Adams ordered Segovia to rid all documents from the MWR computer which
contained the trail of the covert activities.... After Davison found the
computer at MWR purged, he went ballistic.”
The MWR (Morale, Welfare and
Recreation) Department was in charge of all civilian contracts, including
the appropriation of civilian aircraft, the maintenance and fueling records, the
overseeing of the “air museum” (As previously mentioned, the El Toro
Air Museum supplied a C-130 and a P3-A to Aero Union in Chico, CA) and all
activities on the base which required civilian
participation.[29*]
As Dr. Sabow’s investigation
turned from the murder of his brother into the criminal activities at El Toro,
people who could expose the cover-up began dying.
Arriving home from church services on
Christmas Day, l994, Sergeant Tom Wade was dragged from his car as his four-year
old daughter watched, then shot in the head, execution style. The girl spent the
night whimpering in the car.
Even though the killing occurred
off-base in a civilian apartment complex, the Marines cordoned off Wade’s
apartment, not allowing the local police to investigate. The County Sheriff
informed Gene Wheaton (who was working for Dr. Sabow) that the Marines sealed
Wade’s apartment before local law enforcement agencies could conduct their
investigation, on the grounds of “national security.” Wade’s
death remains a
mystery.[*]
On February 24, l995, five days after
“60 Minutes” did a story on the illegal C-l30 acquisitions, Colonel
Jerry Agenbroad was found hanging in the Bachelor Officers Quarters at El Toro.
He was in charge of MWR at the time of his death and at one time headed
the air museum.
A source of Dr. Sabow’s whom he
calls “Kevin,” retired from the Marines in the summer of l994. On
July l7, l993, he was with his wife at the home of some friends having dinner
when “Eye To Eye” with Connie Chung appeared on TV. It was the
show’s premier and included the segment on the death of Colonel Sabow,
including information about C-l30s ferrying drugs onto military bases. The group
watching the program couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Kevin assured
them that what they saw was factual as he, himself, had been taken to Mexico
with several other Marines and were ordered to load vast quantities of cocaine
onto planes. They were told that the drugs would be used for “sting
operations” (a common cover-story given to military personnel) and as
evidence. They were forbidden to discuss the matter.
“That information was passed on to
me by the couple who were with Kevin viewing the program,” says Sabow.
“I tried unsuccessfully to interview him before he left the Corps. I was
finally able to track him down, but again he resisted my efforts to meet with
him. He was literally worried for his life.”
In the spring of l994, Dr. Sabow passed
some of this information to Larry Swails, a special investigator for the DoD,
giving only the first name of his Marine source. But Sabow did tell Swails the
name of the small rural town where he
lived.[*]
“I had that telephone conversation
with Swails on May l8, l994,” says Sabow. “I then contacted my
sources to find out where Kevin worked and if we could obtain his unlisted phone
number.”
Five days later, on May 23,
Sabow’s source informed him that he had obtained the information, but that
Kevin was dead. He was found hanging from a rafter in his parent’s barn,
in a manner similar to Colonel Agenbroad, on Sunday morning, May 22.
No investigation was ever
conducted.[30]
Another of Dr. Sabow’s sources was
an active duty Marine sergeant at Camp Pendelton. In the Spring of ‘98, he
was on his way to hand over the flight manifest of the mysterious helicopter
which reportedly delivered Colonel Sabow’s assassins, to Dr. Sabow. On his
way to Sabow’s house, he was run off the road and killed. Another person
in the car was
injured.[31]
In late l99l, Jack Chisom, a co-owner of
T&G Aviation, which supplied two C-l30s and two DC-7s for the clandestine
operations, was found dead in an irrigation ditch in the Arizona desert. His
death was attributed to a hit-and-run driver.
“There was no reason for this
60-plus year-old man to be out in the desert in the middle of the night,”
says Sabow. “He knew too much.”
Chuck Hendricks and Bob Weldon, crew
members on a C-l30, were killed in Angola when their plane crashed. The plane
was registered to St. Lucia Airline which was formed by Oliver North and Ted
Shackley. The cargo included small arms and other weapons. Hendricks was from
Mena,
Arkansas.[32]
The
Silenced
Sergeant Felix Segovia, who was in
charge of the records center at El Torro, discovered that wholesale theft of
computers and support equipment had occurred. He was told that it was none of
his business and to forget what he had seen. He refused to drop the matter and
continued to gather evidence, including the names of those responsible. In early
1994 he filed a complaint to the Fraud and Abuse officer at El
Toro.
Sergeant Segovia was
court-martialed - accused of falsifying his personnel records. Segovia had
taken a computer course in his first year in the service and had misplaced his
course completion papers. After 20 years of service in the Marine Corps, Segovia
was charged with lying about taking the course. Segovia had been a close friend
of Tom Wade’s.
Sergeant Randy Robinson was the MP who
was one of the first to arrive at the scene of Colonel Sabow’s death, and
had stated: “This isn’t a suicide, it’s a murder.”
Robinson also witnessed the crime scene tampering. (He had seen a chair placed
over Colonel Sabow’s buttocks when it was actually two or three feet away
and not in contact with him at all. He also found ammunition neatly stowed in a
cabinet, then saw it photographed on the garage floor as if that was where it
was discovered.)
In April of l99l, only two months after
Sabow’s murder, Robinson was arrested by the Provost Marshall and charged
with raping the mother of a battered child who was under investigation.
“The entire matter was bizarre,
according to Captain Anthony Verducci from the JAG office,” says Sabow.
“The alleged victim never filed a complaint before Robinson’s arrest
and never testified in court against him.”
The charges were filed by a Sergeant
Onge who Sabow claims “had a dubious reputation” and since
has left the Corps. Robinson, an investigator with 16 years of experience who
has investigated over 50 shootings, was found guilty of the lesser charge of
“adultery” and served a six month sentence in the Camp Pendelton
brig.
Colonel Archibald Scott (U.S. Army,
ret.) was in Colonel Underwood’s house on the afternoon of January 2l,
just 18 hours before Colonel Sabow was killed. The two had just finished a game
of golf, and retired to Underwood’s house for a drink, when Jimmy Sabow
arrived. As the OIG report states:
“During the conversation in Col.
Underwood’s house, Col. Sabow had informed Col. Underwood that he was
going to demand a court martial. Col. Underwood replied that Col. Sabow would be
making a mistake.... Mr. Scott said he and Col. Sabow left after about an hour,
and during the walk from Col. Underwood’s house, Col. Sabow told Mr. Scott
that he was concerned about something that was “frightening and
irritating,” but would not say what it
was....”[33]
(See Appendix)
According the version provided by David
Sabow, Scott heard Sabow state, “Quitters never win, and winners never
quit.” He also allegedly told Gene Wheaton: “Jimmy never killed
himself, and I think Underwood did it.”
A highly decorated officer, Scott was
charged with “impersonating an officer” less then two months after
Sabow’s death. Colonel Lucas, the Staff Judge Advocate who participated in
the cover-up, ordered his department to file the charges. Rather than being
forced out of the Army, Scott chose to finish his 20 years of service at the
reduced rank of sergeant, denying him the privileges afforded by his rank. His
case was tried in federal court where he lost, but the decision was reversed on
appeal in l994.
Both the Provost Marshall, Major Goodrow
and his deputy, Captain Forquer, the first ones at the crime scene, were
“short-termed” - given new assignments far away.
“This is a most unusual
occurrence,” says Sabow, “especially when it involved the two Marine
police officers who were the first at the crime scene.”
Captain Leslie Williams, who had worked
for and admired Colonel Sabow, was extremely critical of the accusations against
him, and made her feelings known. In spite of high ratings given her
performance, she was “passed over” for promotion and forced to
resign.
Another who had cast a suspicious eye on
the circumstances of Colonel Sabow’s death was Pete Barbee. A courageous
ex-Marine, Barbee knew that his idol did not commit suicide, and devoted much of
his time to apprehending the killers. Believing the murder to be related to drug
trafficking, his search proceeded in that direction. In the process, he was
attacked by a known vicious drug dealer, Rudy Garza, and in self-defense killed
him. He was charged with 2nd degree manslaughter for using “excessive
force,” and received a one-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Pete Barbee and the Drug
Connection
by Gary Null (edited for
length)
During this time, Colonel Sabow became
aware of drugs on the base. He and his staff decided to use undercover methods
to find out how the drugs were getting there. Somebody recommended [Marine
Captain Pete] Barbee, who, as a Mustang, had rapport with the troops. In the
latter part of 1987, Colonel Sabow contacted Barbee and discussed his concern
about drug trafficking within the El Toro and Tustin bases....
After much research, Barbee discovered
chemicals used to make methamphetamine were being sold.... Barbee learned that
the chemicals red phosphorus and P2, a bluish liquid used for cleaning ships and
aircraft for quality control, were being removed from the military stockpile and
transferred through DRMO, the Defense Regional Management Office, and several
NIS agents....
In 1993, Barbee moved to Fontana, close
to Waters’ Country store, the center of massive and open drug dealing.
Twelve to twenty drug dealers worked there seven days-a-week, and he could not
understand why they were dealing so openly, and why nothing was being done to
stop them. There were no drug busts made, and no police monitoring them. Yet
everything from heroin to cocaine, speed, and pot were being sold and bringing
in easily $50,000 to $70,000 a week.
Barbee became too visible. On the night
of November 10, 1993, he was kidnapped, drugged, and left for dead in Ventura
County. Several underlings who worked for drug lords Carlos Segura, Rudy Garza,
and Augustine were responsible. They were major dealers and providers at
Waters’ Country Store.
Barbee was discovered by the police, and
after a short stay in the emergency room was taken to jail on drug charges.
After getting out of jail, he obtained a gun, and continued his search. He
slowly gathered more knowledge on why and how these dealers were allowed to
operate with such impunity. He discovered a great deal of
corruption....
Barbee worked with the [Ventura]
Sheriff’s Office for approximately three months, during which time he
denied the drug dealers access, moved things around so that they weren’t
familiar with their territory, and gave the Sheriff’s Department
information about types of drugs and drug deals being made.
At the end of three months, a big raid
took place, and the drug dealers were gone. Once they found out that Barbee had
a lot of information, and that he was passing it along, Garza and Augustine saw
to it that Barbee was badly beaten. This happened more than once. Guns were
pulled on him, his head was cracked, and his nose was crushed.
After recovering, Barbee continued
working.... On August 29, 1994, Garza attacked Barbee with a knife at his place
of business... Barbee shot him four times in the head.
Several witnesses saw what Garza had
done. Others heard Garza’s threats to kill Barbee. Unfortunately, the
Sheriff chose to ignore witnesses. They also ignored reports by emergency
medical technicians who found Garza lying on the pavement, knife in hand. Barbee
was arrested that night for first-degree murder, which shocked several police
officers who had been working with him.
Barbee subsequently identified the
District Attorney in the Fontana Court as someone he frequently saw with Garza
at Waters’ Country Store. He told the Sheriff’s investigator, and
co-defender investigator this information. They informed Barbee that they were
doing an investigation into the prosecuting DA. They said that the situation
would be worked out and that it would not be a problem - this was strictly a
case of self-defense....
While in jail, Barbee was threatened and
beaten. He was told he would be killed in jail. At one point, Barbee was moved
from his cell block to another one, right next to Rudy Garza’s cousin,
Eddie. Like his cousin, Eddie Garza was involved in a great deal of violence and
drug trafficking....
Dr. Sabow informed Jim Willworth, an
investigative reporter for Time magazine, about Barbee, and he
subsequently interviewed him in depth several times. Willworth later told Dr.
Sabow, “I’ve done this business for 28 years. This man is
legitimate.” After Jim Willworth’s interview, the prosecution
changed the charge against Barbee from first-degree murder to
manslaughter....
Barbee... actually gave the information
to the Sheriff’s Department, and they were supposed to have turned it over
to other authorities, including the DEA. But nothing has been passed along. Also
of interest is the fact that Barbee was interviewed by the FBI months ago, and
has heard nothing from them since that time.
Some say that Barbee was arrested
because of his insight into Colonel Sabow’s death and his knowledge of
covert government operations. Not surprisingly, Barbee fears for his life.
“There is a lot of corruption here in Fontana,” he says. “I am
going up against a DA who has prostituted his position, and a judge who has
prostituted his. The judge has eliminated evidence, and has lied about it. I am
scared. I fear for my life, and my wife fears for hers. She has had to move. I
need help, and I just pray that I can get
it.”[34]
Epilogue
Colonel Underwood was forced to retire,
with a full pension.
“You know what he’s doing
now?” says Sabow, he’s working for Ted Shackley! We know this
because we’ve had a tail on him for a long time. He’s highly
guarded, and he travels to Europe an awful lot, mostly to Germany.
“He’s presently working for
a subsidiary of Continental Shelf Corporation, run by Shackley, in Jupiter,
Florida. Continental Shelf is the “maritime” arm of the CIA.
It’s headed by Shackley and that whole group from the CIA - old,
ex-CIA people.[*]
“This man (Underwood), who was
broke when he left the Marine Corps, is fairly well-to-do now. He’s had
several houses, several Volvos... he went from literally nothing financially to
something fairly solid.
Interestingly, Underwood had been
stationed in Panama at the time he was accused of smuggling somewhere between
$300,000 and $400,000 worth of contraband into this country. The NCIS conducted
a 10-month investigation of Underwood and then suddenly dropped it for unknown
reasons.
General Adams was sent to Quantico and
ultimately allowed to retire with less than a slap on the wrist. This
infuriated General Davison, who confronted General Cook, the commander of
Quantico.
“It got nasty and Cook had to get
his Provost Marshall and MPs,” says Sabow. “Davison was physically
escorted off the base. I feel that Davison knew even back then that Adams was in
on the death. He became unglued when he learned that Adams was literally
‘getting away with
murder.’”[35]
Dr. Sabow continues to seek justice for
the murder of his brother through a civil lawsuit. He believes he is not alone
in wanting justice to be served. “There’s a certain group in the
Marine Corps that wants me to pull this off,” concludes Sabow, “very
high people.”
As Sabow adds, “This whole outfit,
the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, still worries that I am going
to pull this whole thing off - the investigation of the murder of my
brother. If I do that, then the finger gets pointed right back at the Department
of Agriculture. And it will also be pointed right back at the Justice Department
that was supposed to follow through with Fuchs and Regan (the two Agriculture
Department patsies who took the fall for the C-130 scam) and others in the
stealing of the
C-130s.”[*]
In spite of his brother’s murder,
and his own relentless investigation, Sabow feels that he is in no immediate
danger.
“Now it’s too late for them
to do it to me.... In fact - and they know I have it - I have the video
of the entire investigation. They are scared
shitless.”[*]
Postscript
Judge Alice Marie Stotler, a Reagan/Bush
appointee who Dr. Sabow called a “heartless” woman and a
“pawn,” would not allow critical evidence and witnesses to be
entered at the Sabows’ civil trial. Yet Stotler summarily dismissed the
case in the middle of the trial, as soon as General Adams was called to the
witness stand! Although Sabow testified that his brother was murdered, Stotler
ruled that he had not proved that the defendants acted
outrageously.
Senator Tom Daschle is currently working
with Sabow. His plan is to request a special Senate inquiry and a meeting with
Janet Reno and Louis Free in the hopes of obtaining a federal grand jury
investigation.[36]
[*]
Another military pilot and CIA operative, Gunther Russbacher, would be charged
with a similar offense in an effort to silence him. Russbacher was involved in
many CIA covert operations, including “October Surprise” (See
Chapter XX)
[*] In
fact, no investigation of Colonel Sabow would ever be
conducted.
[1]. Eric
Lichtblau, “Marine’s Vindication is his Family’s
Crusade,” Los Angeles Times, 12/11/91.
[*] As
McBride writes: “I offer this observation within the context of having
represented one high-ranking officer, a lieutenant colonel, who did display an
extreme reaction to being accused of misconduct. This lieutenant colonel would
shout and weep uncontrollably, bang his head on the wall, and scream, ‘I
can’t take this much longer. Can’t they see that they’re
killing me!’ I am not a psychologist. I can only offer that I considered
the lieutenant colonel a serious threat to kill himself (he didn’t). I did
not consider Colonel Sabow in that category.... No comments were made... which
indicated to me that his frame of mind was desperate.” (Letter from Cpt.
Paul T. McBride to NCIS, 1/28/91, copy in author’s
possession.)
[2].
Autopsy of James Emery Sabow, Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, Dr. Aruna
Singhania, Case No: 91-00474-SU, 1/23/91, copy in author’s
possession.
[*] The
NCIS case officer, Cheryl Baldwin, also observed the swelling and testified to
this in an interview with the Judge Advocate General. Mrs. Sabow also described
this same swelling when she was interviewed by the NCIS. Furthermore, the crime
scene and coroner’s photographs clearly show an orange-size bulge on the
occiput lobe. Yet Dr. Sabow was told by NCIS forensic specialist Burt Nakasone
and Mike Barrett, that there was no sign whatsoever, of external
trauma.
[3].
Letter from Dr. David Rubinstein to Dr. David Sabow, 3/21/96, copy in
author’s possession
[4].
Letter from Dr. Martin L. Fackler to Dr. David Sabow, 6/16/94, copy in
author’s possession; Rubinstein, Op. Cit., Letter from Dr. Kent B.
Remley to Dr. David Sabow, 4/2/96. Dr. Jack Feldman, widely recognized as the
world’s leading authority on the brain control of respiration, states in
greater detail, “Colonel Sabow must have received a severe blow to the
head, rendering him unconscious but still breathing for several minutes, and
then he was shot.”
[6].
Matthew Brelis and Mary Kurkjian, Boston Globe, 6/10/97. X-rays of
Sabow’s skull showed “an external blunt force trauma that caved in
his skull and there are no pellets anywhere in the area,” said Dr.
Sabow.
[*]
“Because of litigation, we are not in a position to comment,” said
Cole Hanner, spokesman for the NCIS. Asked about the lack of fingerprints on the
gun or shell casings, an NCIS official familiar with the case said: “I
can’t explain that.” (Boston Globe, 6/10/97)
[*]
Colonel Lucas ordered Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Verducci to write a JAGMAN
report - a non-criminal investigation, concurrent with the NCIS report. As
Verducci writes in a letter to Dr. Sabow: “He (Lucas) made it clear that I
was not to investigate the matters that the IG had investigated. He told me that
the family had endured enough pain and that they should be spared any additional
allegations and investigations. Colonel Lucas reminded me that NCIS was
conducting the criminal investigation, and told me I should be able to satisfy
the requirements of the JAGMAN without bothering the family or waiting for a
complete NCIS investigation.” Verducci added that he thought “that
Colonel Sabow did not die of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” (letter of
Lt. Col. Anthony J. Verducci, USMC, 3/25/99, copy in author’s
possession.)
[8].
James Beissner was the Orange County Coroner. Dr. Arvna Singhania conducted the
autopsy.
[*] The
Orange County Coroner’s Office is under the supervision of the County
Sheriff, which prohibited the Deputy Coroner Jim Beisner from reopening the
investigation. “Just this past spring, I was told by the Assistant DA in
charge of violent crimes for Orange County that my evidence proved that Colonel
Sabow’s was ‘highly suspicious,’” said Dr. Sabow.
“His detective pointed to the grand jury chambers in my presence and told
me that I would be spending a great deal of time in that room.” But
several days later, Assistant DA Mike Jacobs told Sabow that Sheriff
Gates said, “Under no circumstances, whatsoever, will there be any further
investigation of the death of Colonel Sabow.”
[*]
According to Dr. Sabow, a Navy Pathologist was available at Balboa Naval
hospital in San Diego, only one hour away by car or a few minutes by helicopter.
Not that it would have made a difference. The AFIP played its own role in
covering up the murder of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown.
[9].
“The Orange County Coroner’s office supposedly has an arrangement
with El Toro,” says Sabow. “However, this does not allow them to
perform an autopsy on an active duty serviceman who died on government
property.”
[10].
Dr. John David Sabow, interview with author. All quotes, interview with
author.
[*] FBI
Agents Bill Grode and Fred Collins of the north central FBI district in
Minneapolis sent a report on the case to Washington. Sabow subsequently learned
that from Washington it had been referred to the Los Angeles FBI bureau but that
“it was too hot to handle” and sent back to Washington.... Dr. Sabow
wrote a letter to the director of the FBI after not hearing anything for several
months. The letter was detailed, and filled with hard evidence. A week or two
later, Dr. Sabow received a letter from the Congressional liaison and public
affairs officer for the FBI, a man by the name of Collingwood, stating, in
essence, that the FBI had already conducted investigations into the matter in
1993, and had found absolutely no evidence of foul play. They were sorry that
his brother was dead, but it was over. The FBI didn’t want any part of it.
(Gary Null, “The Strange Death of Colonel Sabow,” Pacifica Radio
Network, no date provided.)
[11].
Sara Sabow, et. al. v. United States of America, case no. 94-56634, D.C. No.
CV-93-00991-AHS.
[*]
Unable by law to sue for wrongful death, the Sabows tried to sue the U.S.
Government for emotional distress resulting from mis-handling of the
investigation and the family’s subsequent treatment. The case was
dismissed. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found the
investigation had “alarming instances of poor judgment and a general
disregard for sound investigative procedures.” Although the court ruled
that officials did not violate any regulations regarding death investigations,
the court did say the meeting with General Adams and the attempt to investigate
Dr. Sabow resulted in “intentional infliction of emotional distress”
and ruled that part of the suit could proceed.
[12].
Dr. David Sabow, interview with author; Notes from Colonel Wayne Rich, copy in
author’s possession.
[*]
According to Dr. Sabow, Colonel Rich admitted, under oath, in the presence of
the U.S. Attorney, to writing the notes.
[13].
Memo from General Ben W. T. Adams to Lt. Poague, 5/17/91, copy in author’s
possession.
[*]
Colonel Verducci, a JAG officer at the time of the murder, has said on record
that Colonel Sabow was murdered. He was assigned by Colonel Lucas to do the
first JAGMAN (Judge Advocate General Manual) investigation in the death.
Verducci stated that after he was assigned to conduct the re-investigation by
the Commanding General, Drax Williams, Colonel Walker in the JAG office gave him
a yellow-pad that was compiled by Colonel Lange containing a list of items which
were to be the official findings of the re-investigation. Verducci refused to be
a part of this scheme. Consequently, he was relieved of the responsibility of
conducting the investigation. As Verducci states, “This was nothing more
than me reviewing the death certificate stating the name, age and address of
Colonel Sabow, much like you would quote in a newspaper obituary.” He was
told not to wait for any of the criminal material from NCIS.
[*] Dr.
Sabow never did find out from Baldwin the identity of the three men. Said Sabow:
“Baldwin won’t talk. She is scared out of her
mind.”
[*]
They also put a chair underneath Colonel Sabow to say that he was sitting in the
chair when he supposedly shot himself. Yet Robinson has testified that chair was
nowhere near there. Robinson also stated that he had witnessed the ammunition
neatly packaged and stored in a cabinet in the garage, yet it was subsequently
photographed on the floor, loosely, to make it appear that the ammunition was
found in the middle of the floor for all to see.
[*]
“Mysteriously, the one who placed this final call to Colonel Sabow has
never acknowledged making that call,” said Sabow. “That call was
made just minutes before Colonel Sabow died and consequently identification of
the caller was of the utmost importance. All other calls made to Sabow earlier
that morning have been identified.”
[*]
This is a hypothetical version of events according to Dr. Sabow. In addition,
the blow was so violent that it caused a massive depressed occipital bone
fracture that penetrated into the back of Sabow’s brain. This evidence is
seen on the x-rays taken at the Orange County Coroner’s office but which
have been denied by all involved in the cover-up. The NCIS case officer, Cheryl
Baldwin, also observed this swelling at the back of the head and testified to
this in an interview with JAG officer Colonel Pearcy. Yet, the official reports
of the NCIS, the JAGMAN investigation, and the autopsy, state that there was no
sign of external trauma.
[*]
Underwood was the only one except for family who knew where the guns were kept.
Underwood told Dr. Sabow that he helped his brother carry them from the garage
where they previously were stored to Colonel Sabow’s son’s bedroom
for safe-keeping. Underwood helped Sabow carry several guns from the garage to
the bedroom after suggesting that the guns could easily be stolen from the
garage. Shortly before the funeral, Underwood told both of Colonel Sabow’s
brothers about helping Sabow put the guns in the bedroom. In spite of this
conversation, when he was interviewed at the crime scene by an NCIS agent,
Underwood stated that he had no knowledge that Sabow even owned a
shotgun!
[14].
Underwood never went to Sabow’s house other than through the gate in the
backyard. This would have been especially true when Underwood stated that he was
carrying a cup of coffee to have with Sabow, for Underwood’s kitchen is in
the back of his house, only a short distance from the backyard
gate.
[*]
After Sally burst into the Underwood house announcing Sabow’s death, Jean,
Underwood’s wife, screamed, “Joe, this has gone too
far!”
[15].
Underwood stated this under oath.
[16]. A
sworn statement of General Adams states that Underwood announced to him that
Sabow killed himself by “shooting himself in the mouth.” However,
Underwood testified to the NCIS that he never got closer to the body than
approximately 30 to 40 feet before he returned to his house to call General
Adams.
[*]
Underwood told Dr. Sabow that his wife was having epileptic seizures throughout
the morning of Colonel Sabow’s death. Yet, he told the NCIS that he was
watching television with her when sally burst into his house.
[17].
The official tower records show that there were no plane take-offs from 8:32
a.m. until 9:03 a.m. Several landings occurred but all on the north runway
several miles distant. Therefore, plane noise could not have muffled the shotgun
blast.
[*]
Immediately following the funeral, Underwood disappeared and did not attend the
gathering of the family and close friends, a rather odd occurrence for a
“close friend” and next door neighbor.
[18].
“Review of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Investigation into the
Death of Colonel James Emery Sabow, United States Marine Corps,” Office of
the Inspector General, Department of Defense, 6/5/96, p. 23, copy in
author’s possession. According to the OIG report, Craycraft denied making
this statement.
[*]
According to Dr. Sabow’s sources, C-130 simulators were being used at El
Torro to train civilian pilots.
[20].
Brian Downing Quig, e-mail to author.
[*]
Former DEA agent Celerino Castillo, along with Dave Harmon, gave the following
account in their 1994 book, Powder Burns: Cocaine, Contras and the Drug War:
“... every pilot had his own preferred technique for getting his
illegal payload to U.S. soil. Some liked the John Wayne approach, flashing their
CIA credentials at Florida airfields and unloading the drugs in plain view.
Those who wanted to maintain a lower profile shipped the kilos out in innocuous
cargoes like towels, seafood, frozen vegetables or auto parts. Many landed at
military bases around the United States, knowing no one would inspect a Contra
plane....” As former Contra pilot Michael Tolliver states, in March 1986
he flew 28,000 pounds of weapons to Honduras and returned to Florida with 25,360
pounds of marihuana, which were flown directly to Homestead Air Force Base,
where they were unloaded and he was paid $75,000 cash.
[*]
According to the OIG report, Harries would later deny this, and control tower
personal, and emergency fire and rescue personnel would deny any knowledge of
the landings.
[22].
Israeli agents are the ones who broke the story of the Iran-Contra scandal in
the Lebanese newspaper Al-Shiraa, as a retaliation against Bush for
betraying Israel to Iraq. It is also the Israelis who witnessed arms deals,
including the transfer of INSLAW’s PROMIS software, in a Chilean
meeting.
[23].
“FBI Muzzling Witnesses to Aid Clinton and Bush Family - The Big Purge
in Chicago,” Sherman Skolnick’s Report,
1999.
[*]
Interestingly, when this author and his attorney, Mike Johnson, began
investigating allegations of drug smuggling, fraud and murder by E-Systems,
Johnston’s office was broken into - twice. The perpetrators left him a
tape recording with his voice dubbed into a conversation with two unidentified
men. Johnston feels the message was: “Hey, we’ve got you on a wire
statute violation, and if you don’t back off, we’ll take you
down.” Two weeks later, as I was about to drive to Dallas to meet with an
E-Systems whistle blower - Winfred Richardson, a former employee - all
four of my tires were slashed. Richardson told me that two other persons
connected with the case had their tires slashed in a similar way. E-Systems,
possibly in conjunction with the NSA, has also been intercepting and rerouting
my e-mail.
[24].
J. Orlin Grabbe, “Allegations Regarding Vince Foster, the NSA, and Banking
Transactions Spying, Part XXX,” posted on Internet, no date provided; Al
Martin, interviews with author.
[25].
Underwood was a Lt. Colonel at the time.
[*]
Underwood’s office was subsequently broken into by the Inspector
General’s staff in an attempt to secure documents outlining the extent of
the unauthorized clandestine criminal activity.
[*]
According to Sabow, Davis admitted that the conversation took place.
[26].
Underwood informed Sabow of some of these activities on Sunday, January 13,
1991.
[28].
Statement of Sally Sabow.
[*]
According to Griggs, Steiner, Linda Tripp’s boss, was the head of the JFK
assassin school (a nickname). Joy was with the Delta Force, and according to
Griggs, trained the operatives that went into Waco and were involved in
abducting Panamanian President Manuel Noriega.
[*]
Grigg’s may be confusing the Phoenix Program with the assassinations run
by the military and CIA in Vietnam, that was responsible for almost 40,000
murders of non-combatants. Most likely, the Phoenix Program she describes is an
off-shoot of that program.
[*]
“We learned only relatively recently that [Davison] wore two hats,”
says Sabow. “One hat was in the role of the IG for the Corps. The other
was in ‘intelligence.’ Davison suspected that Colonel Sabow was
murdered and returned to El Toro in February, a few weeks after the
assassination. We don’t know the results of that visit. After I gave
information to the LA Times regarding Adams which hit the front pages,
Davison returned a third time. This was in May.
[29].
Ace Hayes, “Colonel Sabow Murder and Cover-Up,” Portland Free
Press, July-October, 1996; David Sabow, interview with author. According to
Lt. Col. Craig Roberts, retired Army officer, former Marine and noted
investigative journalist: “The Navy and Marines have a section on each
base that deals with the morale, welfare and recreation of the personnel and
families. It used to be called “Special Services,” where you could
check out sports equipment or play games, pool, etc. It has expanded and now
personnel are assigned to maintain a facility, organize events, meetings, and
handle all recreational or civilian related activities. The Morale Officer is a
regular officer with other duties that has this as an additional duty
assignment.”
[*]
Colonel Ron Fix was in charge of this department and, among other duties, was in
charge of letting all civilian contracts, including those for proprietary
airlines. He also was capable of making the arrangements for acquisitions and
dispersal of planes through the base air museum.
[*]
Wheaton claims he was approached by CIA Deputy Director of Operations Carl
Jenkins to help set up dummy airlines which would later be used for drug and
weapons smuggling. Rep. Bill McCollum (FL), a long-time friend of CIA DCI
William Casey, was also implicated in this operation.
[*] On
October 22, 1994, Swails and his assistant, Nancy Sundervan, came to
Sabow’s home. The investigators immediately started questioning Sabow
about his knowledge of covert activities and his sources of documentation. Their
questions were direct: Who are your sources? Who supplied you with information
from headquarters? Sabow insisted on going over the evidence point by point, and
the two so-called investigators continued to resist. They were not open to any
evidence that did not support their point of view. The two were particularly
disturbed by statements and autopsy photos regarding a large lump on the back of
Colonel Sabow’s head, and by the idea that it was not likely that a person
would hit himself over the head before shooting himself. According to David,
whenever such an inconsistency arose, the two would ignore it, change the topic,
or offer to show it to the FBI. At one point during the interview the
investigators actually said that they were not going to consider any evidence
that was not pointing toward suicide. After Swails and Sundervan left, Judge
[Marshall] Young (who sat in on the meeting) told David that “I have never
seen anything in my life like this, and I’ve been on the bench for over 30
years. I have never seen a capital crime proved so conclusively. You have proved
murder in spades.” He went on to say, “But I want you to know,
you’re dealing with evil people. And you make one grave mistake. You have
faith in the judicial system. I don’t.” Three or four days after the
meeting, Gene Wheaton called Larry Swails to find out how the Rapid City
investigation went. Gene had known Larry years before when he was a criminal
investigator for the army. Swails answered that the meeting was “an
absolute waste of time. All Dr. Sabow wanted to talk about was the investigation
of his brother’s murder. He didn’t want to say anything about covert
activities.” (Gary Null, “The Strange Death of Colonel Sabow,”
Pacifica Radio Network, no date provided.)
[30].
Ace Hayes, “Colonel Sabow Murder and Cover-Up,” Portland Free
Press, July-October, 1996; David Sabow, interview with
author.
[31].
Dr. David Sabow, interview with author.
[32].
Weldon is the nephew of Congressman Curt Weldon of
Pennsylvania.
[34].
Gary Null, “The Strange Death of Colonel Sabow,” Pacifica Radio
Network, no date provided.
[*]
Shackley is the retired CIA Miami Station Chief and a past Deputy director of
Operations for the CIA.
[35].
Davison’s statement according to a witness at the scene.
[*] In
U.S. v. Roy Regan, Tucson (1998) former CIA pilot and special independent
counsel Gary Eitel testified that CIA was flying drugs into Mena, AR as far back
as 1972.
[*] The
NCIS video of the crime scene investigation. “The video obviously did not
capture the THREE but it showed the NCIS Forensic ‘expert’
contaminating the hands of Colonel Sabow,” says Sabow. “After
extracting the spent shell from the shotgun He grabbed Colonel Sabow's hand
without changing his gloves, then he swabbed the hand for
residue.”
[36].
Gary Null, “The Strange Death of Colonel Sabow,” Pacifica Radio
Network, no date provided.