Temple Meeting with Richard McCoy, July 21, 1978

P-1-C-9

McCoy
7/21/78
Paula [Adams], Hue [Fortson], Maria [Katsaris]

–He had someone who is working there as a temporary vice-counsel, Arland Holmes sit in. I think he has people sit in now on our meetings as a witness, becuase last time I went in he had Dan Weber sit in.

–Depending on whether or not the GuySuco [Guyana Sugar Company] plane is repaired, he will be coming on Aug. 1 with the person who is going to replace him, Douglas Ellis [Ellice]. Will probably be able to take 1-3 people withhim if we went.

–There are no social security situations that he needs to look in to, but does want to see Marshall Farris and one other person who’s name he couldn’t remember. He says it is no big deal, just routine enquiries that have been made (or so he says).

–He said that the National Enquirer is going to do an asticle on us, that it is already written and will probably be out in the next 2 or 3 issues. They had already [text crossed out] talked to [Steve] Katsaris and written a story. (why can’t we send them my lie detector test, and say I heard they talked to him, and put them on somekind of notice if they print anything. Of course that would only take care of Katsaris, and they still have everything else to write about. But at least it would be something.) He said that he did not say anything to them, and that not only did he not want to, but could not because of the privacy act. He said the guy probably wants to kick himself because he had been in his office and had not mentioned anything about PT. McCoy said he would not have anyway because of the privacy act. The writer and the photographer had come into see if McCoy could help get [text crossed out] their stay extended since they had already gone through the normal channels and had been refused. They had been given only 24 hours. He told them there was nothing he could do and [text crossed out] besides that, the writer, Gordon Lindsey [Lindsay], was British. (The photographer is American [Cyril Maitland]). McCoy told them to go to the British High Command. We asked him if he could do anything about the situation with the plane of course he said no. He said the plane is from Trinidad, and the responsibility would be on the pilot, not the people who hired him. Also, he said that the International Civil Aeronautics Code is very lax and rarely enforced here. [text crossed out] Planes in this part of the world often fly through each other airspace without filing a flight plan and that/it is is not as uptight a situation as say planes flying between east and western Europe. He said the story would probably be a smear, but that it didn’t make anydiffernce since it was just a rag.

–McCoy said that if he were asked to comment about Jonestown, he could tell people things like there is electricty, there is a communal kitchen. He said he could say that he is free to move around and that it does not appear that people are being held against theri will. He said that he could not comment about situations like mine, because it is not something tangible that you can prove, just a psychological opinion. Also he said he would have to say that a person is not being held against their will if that is what they told him. It would make no difference if he beleived it or not, he would still have to say it.

–He would not put his comment on the bottom of either the Hunter or the Layton articles. We kept handing them to him and he kept saying he didn’t have anything to say. (we will talk to him with the new instructions) He said it was untrue that Debbie [text crossed out] came in secretly, but that Dan Weber did give her a ride to the airport.

–Says that JJ and PT are often the subject of conversation at cocktail parties and around town. He said Guyanese talk a lot. There are people who like what we are doing and then there are those who ask him things like is it true that JJ is wanted for murder in the US?, and if the rumors about the Pegasus are true, etc.

maria