Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 17, 1993 TAG: 9309170109
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
The White House has labored mightily for several months to keep the lid on the president's health-care reform package. But now, in a print shop just two blocks away, copies of the once-confidential document are selling for $25.97.
"That includes tax," said Peter Liakos, who runs Frank's Express Printing and Copy Center. "And I can do this cheaper and faster than the government. I'm just a printer, but I got a neat little cottage industry going here, I guess."
It seems that last Friday, a breathless lobbyist came into Liakos' National Press Building shop and asked for six copies of a bulky, dull-looking document.
After settling on a price, Liakos started smelling real money as soon as he read the first page, which carried the ominous message: "Working group draft. Privileged and confidential."
Soon, the keys to the health-reform kingdom were for sale.
"I made six copies, and I kept one for myself," Liakos said. "I copied that, and I've been selling them ever since."
He's unloaded about 200 so far, mostly to lobbyists and reporters. "Everyone's breathless for this, whether they're lobbyists or newspaper people," Liakos said.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***