Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
RICHMOND - The federal government has sued a former FBI special agent for allegedly violating his employment agreement by writing two books.
In the suit, the government says that Robert K. Ressler had a top secret security clearance and access ``to nonpublic law enforcement information in FBI files.''
By writing the books - ``Whoever Fights Monsters'' and ``Justice Is Served'' - Ressler may have caused ``irreparable injury'' to the United States, according to the suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The government expressed concern about Ressler's ``repeated unauthorized disclosures of information'' from confidential FBI files.
The suit seeks an injunction to block further disclosures and for the author to relinquish to the U.S. all book royalties and other profits.
Ressler, who lives near Fredericksburg, could not be reached for comment.
From 1974 to 1990, he was assigned to the Behavioral Sciences Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, where he conducted numerous confidential interviews with incarcerated serial murderers for the Criminal Personality Research Project, the suit says.
``These interviews were frequently conducted under written assurances to the interviewee that the information gained would not be used for commercial or private gain,'' it says.
- Associated Press
DEA wants cars kept from building
ARLINGTON - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has told Arlington County it must close public parking near its Pentagon City headquarters to ensure safety there following the Oklahoma bombing.
The agency wants the county to remove at least 26 parking meters from three streets surrounding the agency's twin towers, called Lincoln Place. The glass-covered high-rises are also home to the U.S. Marshals Service.
``These agencies are both high-profile targets for criminal and/or terrorist retaliatory acts,'' DEA Administrator Thomas Constantine wrote in a May 15 letter to Albert Eisenberg, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors. ``The recent bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the ensuing loss of life emphasizes the need for at least a minimal zone of control ... within which stringent access controls can be maintained.''
Currently, vehicles can park as close as 50 feet. Eliminating the spaces would move cars and small trucks back to at least 150 feet.
- Associated Press
Blast damages student apartments
RICHMOND - A propane explosion heavily damaged two apartments and slightly damaged 17 others Wednesday in an unoccupied student housing complex at the University of Richmond, officials said.
A firefighter suffered a minor eye injury and an employee of the University of Richmond suffered ear injuries from the loudness of the blast.
The University Forest Apartments have been vacant since graduation May 15.
The explosion occurred in a laundry room near the apartments. The propane from an underground tank apparently leaked into the laundry room, which was destroyed, said Lt. L.G. Jewell of the Henrico County fire department.
Jewell said investigators are trying to determine what ignited the gas. He said the explosion was accidental.
- Associated Press
Priest who reported stigmata reassigned
LAKE RIDGE - The priest who reported bleeding wounds resembling those Christ suffered during crucifixion and whose parishioners believed he made statues weep will move to a rural Virginia church next month.
The Rev. James Bruse's wounds, called stigmata, and reports of the weeping statues brought thousands of pilgrims to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church three years ago. Tour buses pulled up to the small church in a northern Virginia subdivision after news reports of Bruse's claims, which were supported by the church's senior priest.
In a routine promotion and reassignment, Bruse will begin work July 1 as senior pastor at a Roman Catholic church in Kilmarnock, on the Northern Neck.
Parishioners reported a statue of the Virgin Mary cried during church services when Bruse was near, and several witnesses said they saw smaller religious statues weep in his presence.
- Associated Press
Police all wrong about candidate Long
ORANGE - Orange County authorities have arrested a man who identified himself as a state Senate candidate when he was charged with possession of marijuana and two traffic violations.
Despite the embarrassment and confusion for Republican candidate James S. Long of Lake Ridge, Sheriff Bill Spence said he thinks the suspect claimed to be Long simply to avoid prosecution.
``I don't think that the man would risk being arrested for political persuasion,'' Spence said. ``I don't think there was anything malicious to it.''
A deputy stopped Thomas W. Irvin, 37, of Fredericksburg, on May 7 for an alleged traffic violation, Spence said. After being charged with drug possession and the traffic violations, Irvin signed Long's name, address and Social Security number to bond documents, Spence said. Irvin did not have any identification with him.
When the man deputies believed was Long failed to show up for a court hearing, a deputy called Long to tell him he was issuing a warrant for his arrest. Long protested his innocence, and deputies realized he was not involved when they traced Irvin's license plate number.
Irvin then called the sheriff's office - still using Long's name - to report he had missed his court date and asked what arrangements should be made. Deputies convinced him to come to the sheriff's office, where they arrested him Saturday.
- Associated Press
by CNB