tried to recruit him in their effortsrnto “ehminate” Occhipinti. Joe “was arnthreat to their illegal businesses, whichrnincluded loan sharking, gambling, drugrndistribution, and the employment of illegalrnaliens,” he stated. According to Kaye,rnthis affidavit is “replete with explosivernrevelations including naming the actualrnintermediary who delivered cash politicalrncontributions from the [Dominicanrndrug] cartel to Mayor David Dinkinsrn[and showing that] the Mayor was ‘headrncheerieader’ of the cabal that demandedrnthe prosecution of Occhipinti on civilrnrights charges.”rnMost interesting is the sworn testimonyrnof another witness, who was too afraidrnto come forward while Mayor Dinkinsrnwas still in office. His revelations are sornshocking, says Kaye, that Occhipinti’srndefense team took him to a privaterndetective agency for a three-hour polygraphrntest, which he passed “with flyingrncolors.”rnApparently this witness had spokenrnabout Occhipinti with John Kennedy,rnJr., who was one of the prosecutors assignedrnto handle many of the drug bustsrnthat derived from the information gatheredrnby Occhipinti and his INS taskrnforce. According to this source, on thernnight of June 12, 1991, while conversingrnover drinks, Kennedy grew despondentrnand lamented the fact that he wouldrnbe testifying the next day against anrninnocent man, meaning Occhipinti.rn”Occhipinti was an innocent victim,”rnKennedy reportedly said. “He’d been setrnup by the government, drug dealers, andrnMayor Dinkins, who the drug dealersrnhad in their pocket. The case stinks tornhigh heaven, it’s all about race, politicsrnand power.”rnUpon hearing this, the affiant claimsrnto have chided “John-John,” calling himrn”a profile in courage.” Kennedy “did notrnsay or do anything in response—he justrnsat there, his head hung down in shame.rnThen, after a long, awful silence, he said,rn’You just don’t understand the pressurernI’m under.'” According to Kaye, if Occhipintirnreceives a new trial and “John-rnJohn” refuses to testify voluntarily,rnKennedy will be subpoenaed.rnThe witnesses who have hesitated torncome forward and to testify on Occhipinti’srnbehalf have had legitimate reasonsrnto fear reprisals. Just ask formerrnU.S. Congressman Guy Molinari, StatenrnIsland Borough President and the personrnprimarily responsible for convincingrnPresident Bush to commute Occhipinti’srnsentence. When Janet Reno’s JusticernDepartment pressured Molinari to droprnJoe’s cause, and he refused, the FBI triedrnto frame him. The New York Post reportedrnon the plot against Molinari in a storyrnlast April 26, and a former law clerkrnnamed Alma Camarena has confirmedrnthe scheme. The FBI reportedly came tornher office in Queens and pressured herrnto “set up Mr. Molinari by wearing a wirernagainst him. I said ‘yes’ only because Irnwas afraid.” According to Kaye, thisrnwoman is not an “uninformed” witness:rnher father was once secretary of state ofrnPuerto Rico.rnWaco and Ruby Ridge have had theirrnday in court, and it’s time for congressionalrnhearings on this latest abuse ofrnfederal power. Congressman James Traficantrn(Democrat-Ohio), a former sheriffrnsympathetic to law enforcement officers,rnhas entered hundreds of pages of evidencerndocumenting Occhipinti’s innocencerninto the Congressional Record, andrnhe has rallied some 40 fellow congressmenrnto support Joe’s cause, but thus farrntheir efforts have been to no avail. “Forrnthe past two years,” said TraHcant in arnletter to Representative Jack Brooksrn(Democrat-Texas) in 1993, “we havernbeen frustrated and stonewalled by thernDemocrat-controlled Judiciary Committeernand the Clinton Justice Department.rnYou have an opportunity to take arnstrong stand on the side of a brave andrncourageous law enforcement officer whornfell victim to the insidious drug lordsrnwho continue to undermine Americanrnsociety.” Keeping up the pressure, Traficantrnwrote last year to House JudiciaryrnCommittee Chairman Henry Hyde (Republican-rnIllinois): “Since Mr. Occhipinti’srnconviction, an array of evidence hasrnbeen uncovered which indicates that hernmay have been the victim of a conspiracyrnby Dominican drug dealers, andrnkey facts in his case were withheld orrnmishandled by the U.S. Justice Department.”rnCongressman Traficant deservesrnpraise for leading this crusade on CapitolrnHill, but in one respect he obscures thernreal issue at hand. Yes, Occhipinti wasrnthe victim of “insidious drug lords” andrnof “mishandled” evidence, but the rotrnhighlighted by this case runs deeper thanrnthis. Mark Twain said it best, that Americarnhas “legislatures that bring higherrnprices than any in the world.” Drugrnlords, in other words, don’t operate in arnvacuum, without political protection,rnand according to Kaye and Occhipinti,rnthe public would be “shocked” by thernnumber of U.S. congressmen acceptingrncontributions from drug cartels.rnReaders interested in fighting the truernkingpins obstructing the War on Drugsrnmay contact the Joe Occhipinti LegalrnDefense Fund at P.O. Box 318, Manalapan,rnNew Jersey, 07726. A copy ofrnthe four-and-a-half hour video calledrn”Strange Justice: The Joe OcchipintirnStory” can be obtained for a donation ofrn$23.95.rn—Theodore PappasrnT H E CIVIL WAR and Hollywoodrnhave been a pair ever since Ken Burns—rnbecause of potential profits, of course.rnBut most of these recent pictures, withrntheir emphasis on marketing rather thanrnscript or acting, have had more in commonrnwith Nintendo than any real war.rnFor the pittance of $500,000, independentrnfilmmaker Robby Henson hasrndone the war justice. Pharaoh’s Army is arnbeautiful film and one of the best warrnmovies made in years. Written and directedrnby Henson, based on a tale told byrna Kentucky mountaineer, and set andrnfilmed in Kentucky, the film concentratesrnon one small, half-legendary story,rnand yet encapsulates a war that was allrnthe more bitter because it was foughtrnamong countrymen.rnA young mountain woman namedrnSara Anders (played by Patricia Clarkson),rnwhose husband is off fighting forrnthe Confederacy, has been left behindrnon the family farm with her children. Asrnthe film opens, she is burying her daughter.rnSoon after the funeral, she is visitedrnby five Yankee soldiers quartered nearbyrnat Cumberland Cap, who have her namernas a Confederate sympathizer and whornconsequently have come to take all herrnfood. But when one of the young soldiersrnhas an accident on the farm, theyrnare forced to stay put until he is strongrnenough to move. That’s when the storyrnbegins.rnThe movie’s subtitle is “A Very PrivaternCivil War,” and there are in fact no battlernscenes. Here the real fight is betweenrnSara and the Union captain, and the filmrnfollows the development and inevitablernruin of their friendship: it’s the greatrnconflict writ small.rnEffectively widowed, with one preciousrnchild left to her and a hardscrabblernfarm that must somehow feed themrnboth, Sara is a taut, silent woman withoutrnmuch besides her boy, her cause, andrn6/CHRONICLESrnrnrn