
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 24, 1995                   TAG: 9505240110
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: OKLAHOMA CITY                                LENGTH: Medium

PAL ACCUSES BOMB SUSPECTS

A close friend of Oklahoma City bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh has told authorities he was aware that suspect Terry Nichols would mix the chemicals that would be used in the April 19 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, sources familiar with the case said Tuesday.

Michael Fortier of Kingman, Ariz., implicated Nichols in recent interviews with the FBI and federal prosecutors in which he also described McVeigh's plan to carry out the bombing, the worst terrorist act in U.S. history. Nichols is the second person charged in the case. He and McVeigh are in custody at the El Reno Correctional Institution near Oklahoma City.

Fortier, who may appear before a federal grand jury today, has been under intense pressure by FBI agents since the bombing and has begun cooperating in an attempt to get immunity. He has claimed that he had direct knowledge of the bombing's planning and execution, but that he played no role in the attack.

Fortier, who served with McVeigh and Nichols in the Army and helped McVeigh relocate to the Kingman area, told authorities that McVeigh approached him seeking help with the bombing and that he declined to get involved, according to the sources.

McVeigh, however, continued to talk about a planned attack and told him more specifics, including a description of the role Terry Nichols would play, according to the account Fortier has given authorities.

Fortier's comments are seen by law enforcement as a breakthrough in the case, which has suffered several setbacks as investigators scramble to assemble evidence tying others to the crime.

Fortier's account portrays McVeigh, 27, as the instigator of the attack, the sources said.

``McVeigh is the guy in the catbird's seat,'' said a law enforcement official involved in the investigation.

by CNB