Good Morning, Metro South Central Mass.,
it's your colorful
for this Wednesday, December 21, 1983.
The weather: freezing cold, snow, ice!
Shop Downtown Old Sludgebury Free parking and de-icing

MAYOR INDICTED 300 TIMES
  BUT SAYS IT'S ALL POLITICAL
He claims the city worker payments were "gifts"

President Reagan's special envoy, Donald Rumsfeld, greets Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein with a hearty handshake.

"Pleased by meeting:"
Don Rumsfeld carries greetings from Reagan to Saddam Hussein

By Henry Cabot Lodge
Diplomatic Correspondent

BAHGDAD, Iraq, Dec. 20 – Donald Rumsfeld, President Reagan's special Middle East envoy, held a cordial and productive meeting with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein today, with both men holding out the hope of improved relations.

Rumsfeld and Hussein agreed that a stable Middle East was vital and explored ways in which the United States could assist Iraq in its unprovoked war of agression against Iran and in turn U.S. oil companies could profit from building a new pipeline for Iraqi oil.

Among the many topics Rumsfeld did not raise with the bloodthirsty tyrant were Hussein's use of chemical weapons against Iran and his own people, his blatant disregard for human rights and his support of anti-Israeli terrorists.

A senior government official traveling with the special envoy sought to justify the meeting: "Jiminy crickets, you have to deal with the dictator you have, not the one you'd like to have."

Asked if he was concerned about Hussein's repeated violations of international law, including his aggression against Iran, his use of chemical weapons and his repeated human rights violations, the senior official responded: "Do I give a hoot about international law? Heavens to Betsy, I sure don't."

"Besides, twenty years from now no one will remember or care."

By Hacky Carp
City Hall Bureau Chief

Old Sludgebury Mayor James T. Burke dismissed his indictment today on 300 federal extortion charges as "baseless accusations by his political enemies."

According to the indictment issued by a federal grand jury in Boston yesterday, the mayor had extorted kickbacks from 300 city officials and employees.

"I look forward to disproving these frivolous and politically-motivated charges. The U.S. Attorney has shown himself to be nothing more than a tool of my political adversaries," the mayor asserted.

Sources close to the U.S. Attorney's Office told The Spy that the government's key evidence against Mayor Burke is a videotape taken at his annual Christmas party in which the Mayor is seen collecting envelopes from 300 city workers.

"These were voluntary Christmas gifts from city employees. Any other implication is a pathetic lie," replied the Mayor's defense lawyer (and nephew) Francis X. Burke, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda Ferbissiner disputed the Mayor's charge that the indictment was politically motivated. "We never heard of Mayor Burke until we were mailed a copy of the videotape. The tape shows the mayor demanding these payments as a quid pro quo for continued employment. We see no other explanation for comments that he made such as 'Fork it over or you'll be sorry,'" Ferbissiner said.

Mayor Burke is no stranger to public controversy. In his seventh term in office, he has been criticized for placing every member of his family on the public payroll in "no-show" jobs such as shellfish inspector and head of the city aquarium, which burned down in 1922.

He is also known for his bevy of attractive assistants who accompany the mayor on his frequent "fact-finding" expeditions to Las Vegas and the French Riviera.

CORRUPT MAYOR – to page 12

ADV'T. CATHOLIC YOUTH MEETING TONITE at Our Reamer of Christians, Old Sludgebury. Topic: Exploring Our Changing Bodies. Boys only. Rev. Paul Shanley, Inserter [Surely, instructor? – Ad. Manager]