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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 9, 1995                   TAG: 9508090093
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: OKLAHOMA CITY                                LENGTH: Medium

FORTIER MAKES DEAL IN OKLA. BOMBING

Michael Fortier, the Army buddy of the prime suspect in the April bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, reached a tentative deal Tuesday to cooperate with federal prosecutors to avoid being charged as a principal participant in the worst terrorist assault in U.S. history, law-enforcement sources said.

Under the proposed agreement, Fortier, 26, would plead guilty to charges related to illegal firearm trafficking, knowledge of the bombing and lying to federal agents. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the proposed penalties constitute less than a life-in-prison sentence and would remove Fortier from the threat of the death penalty, sources said.

Barring a snag in the talks, Fortier could testify this week as the government meets a Friday deadline to seek indictments against Timothy McVeigh, the prime suspect, and Terry Lynn Nichols, who also has been charged in the bombing that left 168 people dead and more than 500 injured. His testimony is considered crucial by some federal prosecutors because Fortier apparently is the only potential witness who has direct knowledge of the plot.

Through his attorney, Fortier already has said he and McVeigh had cased the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and that McVeigh confided that he planned to blow up the facility.

Fortier's wife, Lori, meanwhile, testified Tuesday before a federal grand jury under the cloak of immunity approved by a federal district judge Monday.

Mack Martin, Lori Fortier's attorney, confirmed her appearance before the grand jury, saying she had testified for about two hours. ``Her testimony had nothing to do with Mr. Fortier,'' Martin said. ``Her testimony had to do with other people involved in the bombing.''

Martin declined to offer more specifics. He did note, when asked, that Michael Fortier and his attorney Michael McGuire were at Tinker Air Force base, the site of the grand-jury deliberations.

The testimony by Lori Fortier, who also had been under federal investigation, represents another example of a time-tested strategy of law-enforcement officials - placing pressure on family members and friends of suspects.

Last week, Jennifer McVeigh, Timothy McVeigh's sister, testified before the grand jury. She also was under investigation for some time and then was granted immunity. She previously had given FBI agents two lengthy statements, including one in which she told investigators that McVeigh had said he participated in a bank robbery in which he nearly killed himself by having an accident in a car carrying explosives.

by CNB