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special! investigator Enforcement Division. Mr. Sh said ears he wnat nearly informer. would become known, three years 40 work and of Department | as san informer. He sa a promi : formation that would we in vestigator for the division, arrests and convictions for vio-| /#R7eed to try to get him $10,- ‘jlations of narcotics lews. He said that he worked with the sheriff's department over a riod of time and, because of is success, was then put in touch with the State Narcotics, Bureau, with whose agents he subsequentiy worked. _ The sheriff's office confirmed that Mr. Shears had done work tion had proved reliable. Mr. Shears said that in late the state agency, he came in Suggests Burning Slide Mr. Shears related that this an mae imerhoed As the relationship between the two developed, the contact! man offered Mr. Shears a way to earn money, the informer said. He asked Mr. Shears if he would burn an amusement slide to permit the owner to collect insurance. Mr. Shears said that he declined the job but that the slide was later destroyed by In the early spring, he said, the contact man ered him -$5,000 ¢o burn some records in Delano. He said that he questioned the contact man “Spout the deal and learned that; records belonged to Mr. Chavez and that it was his jotfices that were to be burned. In addition, the plan was to steal Certain records from the union's files and then make e “hit” on Mr. Chavez—that is, sasassinate him. st ;. “And I thought, whoa, God, and. T know [name withheld). and I knew his people and his Organization, and | knew he. was capable of it,” Mr. Shears said, ‘was told, Demand for Mone , _ Frigsy with the yo Fey with was at about that point | Mr} Shears said, that he | had} Cesar The canceled check for $500, dated Oct 4, 1971], was issued through William J. Virzard, a in the : Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ered his services to the Kern County Sheriffs for it and said that his informa- 1970, while he was working for é and Firearms Enforcement! ision end decided to contact! : it with the information about ,, He iid that “i jhat Frida the assassination plot. ith EB tact eC, h ee be that time he had not had any iiwas ‘old to wait outeide. He dealings with the division, he ' ig that he sew a man, whori Mr. Shears said thta eh made D€ Hentified as the son of a . ‘aren ‘farmer in the valley, arrive ‘contact with the division, told: eau 4 PM. with a brown what he knew and then, real-, tained the $30,000. izing that his identity as an Mr. Shears sald that alittle, demanded enough money to re- llocate outside the state. He later the contact man car me Out} [said that Mr, Vizzard and Rich- » manner te here” her? aAdat jard Cook, another. special in- pe elon to et ated don't have that decision.” When asked who was mak- - Man With Paper Bag others. He szid that the slide opera- tor then became suspicious and called the payoff man, when they visited the contact man. \The two decided that there was an informer in their midst and that Mr. Shears was the sus- pect, be sald. Mr, Shears said that he was successful in covering himseli but that Mr, Vizzard and an other agent, Bill Bertolani, be. came wottied and decided i move to pet the contact mar 000 and that a contract was Sei off the streets. fing that decision, Mr. Shears , or eet ae Sh id that [Said that he did not know. He said that they got an Snears Gal He said that on another oc-| other agent, Mr. Robinsor the area chief of the enforce- ; ; : tami are . casion, involving the to purchase 1,000 amphetamin ment division, Melvin Warner,! of the arraserent shige ne {pills from the contact man an: was brought in from San rner| seme payoff man delivered the'l then arrest him. ciscé, He said that Mr. Warner : The Kern County Sheriff's ; slide, whom he described as all Test. made in August. © charges of sale and possessio of dangerous drugs. The she: iff's office said that $6,700 we taken from the contact man home as evidence and thi 4 from $20,000 to $22,000 wi left there because it was needed as evidence. The ca is still pending and the su pect is free on bail. Mr. Shears said that ha fr tor thst but that the Idea was: Joan shark, was the man to’ dropped when expressed gppo-' whom the files to be stolen’ sition. Instead, he said, he. from Mr. Chavez's office were, agreed to try to get an agent, to be delivered. in touch with the contact man Questioned by Police who had broached the assassii | . 4 nation idea. He said that the): Mr. Shears said that earlier: agent was Lester Robinson and. ithe agents supplied him with a. that he was successful in get- small radio device that enabled. ting him in touch with the con- them to eavesdrop on his con-: tact man. versations with ane contact , Selected iman when y discussed the receive m1 ow that he was on the level. man detailed Giagrams of i The alleged assassination plet avez's office and w hit its fina) snag when the ‘ that the killing would be done’. amusement slide operator was!) He sal dthat the agents fo by a 36-year-old “hit” man ‘picked up and questioned by! told him that ne Ob. that | who was wanted for murder by} the Fresno police about the! to get the ses ener he § Kern and Ventura Counties.| burning of the slide. been promis _ dw However, the contact man told’: wr. Shears said that informa-! that Mr. izzar base d e him the hit man would himself, tion that he had given the Kern) 1 him, at u goin, be shot after the murder, Mr.|.county Sheriff's Department, be paid only ¢ Shears said. ‘ Officials of the farm Ur The plot was then held up had been passed to the Free ——apieed with Mr. Shears in he said, because the persons Code ne eatot they dropped Keving that all that may | ordering the killing insisted | Ce BCE OPE 1 MEY OrOPPes i lbeen acomplished was to d that certain files be stolen be- 7 ; : an apssassination atten fore the assassination took ey sai place. months there have been af: Mr. Shears said this aroused ber of arson attempts agi the interest of the Federal in- various union offices, vestigatots, who speculated others have been riddled that the Chavez files might bullet holes, and that at tain “tax information on two attempts were tl these farmers.” steal records in the wu Another delay occurred, he offices. LL said, when the prospective hit ty man was picked up on the mur- der charges aiready pending against him. This: man is stili iin jail and his case has not come to trial. ! soents -m oy ithe Faderal agents Comsice: the plot investigation clo: because two men had been rested—on unrelated charge Bassination “The ith