Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 9, 1990 TAG: 9005090630
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
Channell died Monday in a Washington hospital while being treated for injuries suffered when he was hit March 15 by a car, according to authorities. Associates said he suffered from cancer and pneumonia.
The conservative fund-raiser who also operated a public relations firm became the first person to be convicted in the Iran-Contra affair, when he pleaded guilty in April 1987 to a charge of conspiring to defraud the government.
Channell's agreement to cooperate with the investigation of independent counsel Lawrence Walsh was the first break for Iran-Contra prosecutors.
Channell admitted that he illegally used his tax-exempt National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty to raise millions of dollars in private donations to buy weapons for the Contras.
He implicated Oliver North in the fund-raising effort and testified at the former White House aide's trial last year.
North was convicted of unrelated Iran-Contra crimes but was acquitted of charges arising from his involvement in the fund-raising effort.
by CNB