◆ SpookStack

official action against any of those mentioned by the in-, former, the names of alleged pks participants are eld. Despite the arrests, leaders of the farm i worted. Mr. Cohen said, “maybe all We got was a reprieve. We still have people out there who put a substantial sum of money. They could be looking for an- other hit man.” Kennedy Pressed Fee Mr. Cohen said that he had spent much time investigating the story related by Mr. Shears and had concluded that there were elements of truth in it. He said that Mr. Shears’ tapes and documents proved that-he did work with the Federal agents and that the Government did authorize the payment of $10,- 000 to him for his role as an informer in the case. Tt was also learned that Sen- ator Edward M. Kennedy, De-' mocrat of Massachusetts, had instrumental in getting the $10,000 fee approved for pay-' ment to Mr. Shears. The infor- mer szid thaat the money was to have been paid not only for his services as an informer and later as a witness but also to enable him to relocate his femi- ly outside California. He has a wife and two children. Mr. Shear said that he never, received the $10,000. However, he did show a copy of a can- celed check issued by the Trea- sury of the United States in the amount of $500. He also had a copy of wouch-: er showing that the payment’ had been made to him for “in- formation and evidence neces- gary to identify [name with-, t hi =~ ver.” The canceled check for $500, dated Oct. 4, 1971, was issued through William J. Vizzard, a Department as an informer. He said that he hed promised in- formation that would lead to! tesdtoF parsotics laws. "| Ne ani sha t he worked? with the sheriff's department over a period of time and, because of i iS success, was then put in touch with the State Narcotics, Bureau, with whose agents he subsequently worked. The sheriff's office confirmed that Mr. Shears had done work for it and said that his informa- tion had proved reliable. Mr. Shears said that in late 1970, while he was working for the state agency, he came in touch with a 26-year-old man who eventually broached to him the idea of assessinating Mr. Chavez. ; Saggests Burning Slide Mr. Shears related that this person was invoived in nar- cotics and that he planned to set this person up for an arrest that would have eamed him $500 from the state. | As the reiati ip between the two developed, contact; man offered Mr. Shears a way; to earn money, the informer: said. He asked Mr. Shears if he fire, ; In the early spring. he sald, the contact man offered him questioned the contact man about the deal and learned that the records belonged to Mr, Chavez and that it was his offices that were to be burned. In addition, che plan was to steal certain records from the union's files and then make a “hit™ on Mr. Chavez—that is, assassinate him. “And I thought, whoa, God, “and I know [name withheld]: and J knew his people and his| organization, and | knew he} as capable of it,* Mr. Shears; said. Demand for Money It was at about that point, Mr. Shears said, that he had heard about the Alcobol, Tobac- co and Firearms Enforcement Division and decided to contact it with the information about the assassination plot. Until that time he had not had any dealing, with the dixisions he —— ow Mit Shears said fpiz-eb mace contact with the division, told what he knew and then, real- izing that his identity as an informer would become known, demanded enough money to re-' locate outside the state. He said that Mr. Vizzard and Rich- ard Cook, another epecial in- vestigator for the division, agreed to try to get him $10,- 000 and that # contract was idrawn up. . Next, Mr. Shears said that the area chief of the enforce- ment division, Melvin Warner, was brought in from San Fran- cisco. He said that M><arher Wanted inn to take a le-detec- ¢ test but that, the idea was pped when oppo- sition, Instead, he said, he agreed to try to get an agent in touch with the contact nan who had broached the asedssi- pation idea. He said that the agent was Lester Robinson and that he was successful in pet- ting him im touch with the con- tact man. ‘Hit’ Man Selected Meanwhile, Mr. Sears said,' he received from the contact) ‘man detailed diagrams of Mr. | Chavez's office and was told: that the killing would be done}. by a 36-year-old “hit” man! who was wanted for murder by Kern and Ventura Counties. However, the contact man told him the hit man would himself be shot after the murder, Mr. Shears said. The plot was then held up, he said, because the persons ordering the killing Dsist ed that certain files be stolen be- fore the assassination took place. , x Mr. Shears said this aroused the interest of the Federal “in- vestigators, who speculated that the Chavez files might contain “tax information oo these farmers.” : -~*, * = - 1 a ere, Feo f es gee. wa A a fh Laer eo he ae . . 7 + aT 25 _ yo” an * ow er sat yee ms SF