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RALPH SODA News Service FASHINGTON — A highly regarded, nationally cir- culated legal magazine has accused former chief ‘Abscam prosecutor Thomas Puccio of revealing secret grand jury proceedings related to the FBI operation. ‘The charge is contained in-an article in the current issue of The American Lawyer, a prestigious monthly Ae Se eee TegarTateriy wil e Tegal Traternity Gita circulation of more than 25.000 subscribers, most of them lawyers and Tedees. “The article, written lisher of the magazine, accuses Puccio of prosecutorial by Steven Brill, editor and pub- Abseam prosecutor accus hands of an able, eager prosecutor, enough to be a vigla tion of rule 6E of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procee- dure — which constitutes criminal contempt of court,” Brill writes. “Thomas Puccio has successfully been stung, though only in print.” . ‘In explanation, Brill told Gannett News Service (GNS) that, if he had approached Puccio as an adversary. instead of as an agreeable luncheon companion with mutual professional interests, he might not have gotten Puccio to be so indiscreet as to reveal the grand jury ings. “That Puccio was lulled into reveating them by Brill’s _abuses_n_ cancion either Tederal_undercover - “Bhings as well He notes specifically the cocaine arrest of ‘aulomotive entrepreneur John DeLorean and the Shar ges of theft of electronic trade secretsby employees Japan's Hitachi Ltd. ‘The celebrated Abscam investigation into political + corruption produced the conviction on bribery and con- |: spiracy charges of 19 persons, including seven members "of Congress. __, While he was interviewing Puccio in connection with “ Abscam, Brill charges, the former prosecutor confided tohim details of the secret grand jury proceedings that Ited in the bulk of the Abscam indictments. It’s not a major transgression, but arguably, in the friendly approach shows clearly how easily someone ‘can be tricked into doing somethin, a erate narily do, Brill said. y Sind just auch Tickery might have been used by the government in developing its case in Abscam aed other sting operations, Brill suggests in his article. Pe saerad GNS be had only “skimmed the article”. and would reserve comment until be inquired further into the matter. He said the suggestion that be may have divulged secret grand jury testimony in violation of the law was “ridiculous.” . But Brill stuck by his story. “The story is true,” he told GNS. “He discussed grand jury proceedings.” ° Asaperample, Brill wrote that be asked Puccio if for- mer fu Harrison A. Williams Jr., D-NJ, a convicted ‘Abscafri defendant. had been called to testify before the grandjyry that indicted him on bribery and conspiracy charg: io told me he (Williams) did not testify.” Brill “Pr said. “I apo asked him how the members of the grand jury to'the showing of the video tapes (of public offi- ing bribes from FBI undercover agents) and told me, “Oh, they loved them.” “Thiags like that are secret,” said Brill, “and shouldn't id he made a point of reporting Puccio's discus- sion ofgonfidential grand jury proceedings because it der tes how the enthusiasm of some prosecutors for he{dline-grabbing investigations could blind therm to conduff on their part that might compromise the integ- rity ofthe criminal justice system. ‘Sucronduct, he said, has been evident in the recent underipyer scams orchestrated by the FBI and the Deparftient of Justice and “might be unsettling to those ‘who bfieve that presecutors should care as much about justicand the integrity of the system as they do about filling celts.” Rect disclosures concerning the conduct of the Abscalt- investigation, he wrote, “provide clear, con d of abusi \ COURIER-POST, Friday, January 14, 1983 SA CAPITAL NEWS ng office vincing proof that Abscam was as much a scandal for the: ‘ tors as for the defendants.” : re 1s now strong evidence,” Brill says, “that the | tors in charge of Abscam — Philip Heymann (lormer chief of the criminal division at Justice), Irvin Nathan (assistant U.S. attorney general in the criminal division) and Thomas Puccio ~ ruined the life of atleast. one innocent defendant (former New Jersey Casino Con- trot Commission vice enaitian Kenneth MacDonald). unfairly convicted several other utterly urisympathetic but not appropriately prosecutable public officials (such as Sen. Williams), and then stained the reputations of those professional prosecutors who had the guts to say. in internal memos of dissent, that the simple integrity of the system was more important than a sexy indictment: or conviction.” Brill told GNS that, since publication of his article, he has received “numerous letters” {rom readers critica of the conduct of the FBI and federal prosecutors in the ‘Abscam, DeLorean and Hitachi sting operations. He said he has received one call complaining about bis article from Puccio, and_a “friendly” letter from FBI, Director Willi he. wrote his article, i ‘opinion inone of the Abscam cases finding that there was ‘no entrapment. Brill said he had read the opinion cited ‘by Webster, “