THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 25, 1996 TAG: 9609250436
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ANNAPOLIS, MD. LENGTH: 63 lines
When a young midshipman was accused of telling classmates she had been involved in a killing in Texas, Naval Academy officials responded quickly, helping police arrest two suspects.
But even the apparently successful handling of that case is giving Adm. Charles Larson trouble.
Larson has had to contend with a series of crimes - from car theft to sexual misconduct and now a slaying - since being brought in two years ago as academy superintendent to rebuild morale and polish the tarnished image of the 151-year-old Naval Academy.
Larson was chided by top Navy brass for not following a regulation - of which he said he was unaware - that required him to notify Naval criminal investigators of the killing. He called local Texas police instead.
And the superintendent drew more attention to himself with a strongly worded letter to The (Baltimore) Sun - which he acknowledges should have been put in a drawer for reflection before being sent - criticizing the newspaper's recent coverage of the academy as biased and inaccurate.
The academy and the Pentagon played down the controversy and said Monday that officials, from Secretary of the Navy John Dalton on down, retain full confidence in Larson, who refused requests for an interview.
``It's not a big deal,'' said Capt. Tom Jurkowsky, an academy spokesman. ``It's over and done with.''
Larson, a four-star admiral and one of the Navy's most respected officers, was brought to Annapolis to restore public confidence in an institution that had been rocked by a cheating scandal and accusations of sexual harassment.
But over the past year, the academy has been hit by a string of crimes with midshipmen involving car theft, drug use, child abuse and sexual misconduct.
Then, over the summer, academy freshman Diane Zamora allegedly told classmates she was involved in the slaying of a high school girl in Texas.
When the classmates told academy officials, they began their own investigation, calling police near Zamora's Fort Worth, Texas, home until they found a matching case.
Zamora, 18, and her boyfriend, 18-year-old David Graham, a former Air Force Academy cadet, were charged earlier this month with killing 16-year-old Adrianne Jones in December.
The academy handled the case on its own despite a Navy regulation requiring notification of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
When Larson learned he was supposed to notify the investigative service, he called to make amends and also called Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jay L. Johnson, said Jurkowsky, the academy spokesman.
The Sun, citing Navy sources, reported that Larson was ``forced to apologize for knowingly violating military regulations.''
Larson then wrote his letter to The Sun, denying that he was forced to apologize and criticizing the newspaper's coverage of the academy. He sent a copy by e-mail to the faculty, staff and brigade of midshipmen.
Three days later, Larson sent a second letter through the academy e-mail saying he ``meant what I said'' in the letter to The Sun, but noting that he was upset when he wrote it.
William K. Marimow, managing editor of The Sun, defended the handling of the story about the Texas killing and its aftermath. ``We believe that the stories were accurate, thorough and fair.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Adm. Larson by CNB