NOTE: The following is transcribed for on-line redistribution of information, FOR INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!!! No one's makin' any money off it, so don't get your underwear in a bunch! -th'Transcriber from SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN 1 JUNE 1994, PG. 13 ADL Spy Scandal-- GERARD PLEADS NO CONTEST D.A. Smith Says Other Agencies Didn't Cooperate The criminal investigation into political spying by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (ADL) that made national headlines last year came quietly to a close May 27, when former San Francisco Police officer Tom Gerard pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of illegally accessing computer information. San Francisco district attorney Arlo Smith told the Bay Guardian that "the best thing to do was to take a plea [bargain]," after a judge dismissed five felony counts against Gerard in April because the FBI would not release the evidence Gerard said he needed for his defense. The FBI passed its investigation of spying activities of Gerard and ADL agent Roy Bullock to San Francisco officials in 1992. Smith said that even if Appeals Court had reversed the April 29 dismissal, he believed Gerard would have sought the FBI evidence in federal court and the FBI would have again refused. "We would have ended up totally empty-handed." A somber and visibly nervous Gerard initially declared himself "guilty" when visiting Municipal Court judge Jonathan Lehan asked him for his plea. Then, after a quick word with his attorney, Gerard changed his plea to no contest. When Lehan asked him if the allegations were true, Gerard replied, "It's true." Gerard was fined $2,500 and sentenced to three years probation and a 45-day jail term, which he can serve in the sheriff's alternative work program. "The no-contest plea reminds us of the deal with the ADL," says Riva Enteen, spokesperson for the Coalition against Surveillance (CAS), referring to the out-of-court settlement Smith struck with ADL and Roy Bullock last November. The coalition was formed in 1993, after San Francisco officials raided ADL's California offices and found intelligence files on over 500 political organizations and 10,000 individuals. Some CAS member organizations are among the plaintiffs in three lawsuits pending against the ADL, Gerard, and a number of local jurisdictions, including San Francisco. Smith noted that the ADL settlement included an injunction barring the organization from soliciting confidential law enforcement records. "I think the result here in the long run will serve to protect individuals," he said, adding that both the city and the state now have better computer-security procedures. Smith defended his office's investigation. "We've taken every step possible... But it's clear we have not had the cooperation of other agencies." Enteen, who said she wondered why the FBI "sabotaged the prosecution," told the Bay Guardian that Gerard's plea, on the heels of the Police Commission's recent passage of weakened guidlines on police surveillance of political organizations, means "we cannot rest easy that protected First Amendment rights will not be threatened." *by Jane Hunter TRANSCRIBER'S POSTSCRIPT: There will be a community meeting on the situation with the SFPD/ADL domestic political spy case on TUESDAY, 7 JUNE at the Women's Building, 3543 18th St. (b. Valencia and Guerrero) in San Francisco. For more info, call the National Lawyers' Guild at (415)285-1055. See you there!