[Ppnews] Omaha Two story: (Part 26) - Mondo we Langa testified in his own defense in Omaha Two trial

[Political Prisoner News]

<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/mondo-we-langa-testified-his-own-defense-1971-omaha-two-trial>http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/mondo-we-langa-testified-his-own-defense-1971-omaha-two-trial


Mondo we Langa testified in his own defense in 1971 Omaha Two trial

    * By <http://www.examiner.com/user-richardsonreports>Michael 
Richardson, COINTELPRO Examiner
    * April 13th, 2011 4:04 pm ET
Omaha Two story:  April 13, 1971

<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/prison-interview-with-mondo-we-langa-on-cointelpro-and-omaha-two-case>Mondo 
we Langa, then David Rice, began his testimony mid-morning in the 
capital murder trial that had him facing execution in Nebraska's 
electric chair for the 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/cointelpro-plan-hatched-omaha-to-withhold-evidence-of-policeman-s-killer>August 
17, 1970 murder of an Omaha police officer, 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/omaha-patrolman-larry-minard-killed-ambush-bombing-after-911-call>Larry 
Minard, Sr.

Mondo's co-defendant, 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/prison-interview-with-ed-poindexter-on-cointelpro-and-the-omaha-police>Edward 
Poindexter, in the third week of testimony in the Douglas County 
courtroom, earlier denied any role in Minard's ambush killing.  Both 
men were leaders of the National Committee to Combat Fascism, Omaha's 
Black Panther affiliate chapter, and targets of the clandestine 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/j-edgar-hoover-directs-cointelpro-plot-against-omaha-chapter-of-black-panthers>COINTELPRO 
operation.

COINTELPRO was a massive, secret, illegal counter-intelligence 
operation directed at domestic political activists by the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation under director 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/fbi-s-director-hoover-let-killer-of-omaha-policeman-get-away-with-murder-40-years-ago>J. 
Edgar Hoover.

Mondo appeared calm and gestured freely when responding to questions 
by defense attorney David Herzog and County Attorney Donald Knowles.

Prosecutor Knowles asked during cross-examination about the recovery 
by police of dynamite and blasting caps during an August 22, 1971 
search of Mondo's home.

"Not in my house," Mondo replied.

Knowles asked Mondo, the Deputy Minister of information for the 
National Committee to Combat Fascism about articles appearing in the 
group's newsletter Freedom By Any Means.

Mondo testified he wrote many of the articles and said occasionally 
he would sign his name to someone else's article, providing the 
article "wasn't too inflammatory."  Mondo testified that at times 
other writers would have reasons for wanting to withhold their names.

Mondo testified that a set of pliers which prosecutors tried to link 
to a wire found at the scene of the bombing which claimed Minard's 
life were his pliers.
Advertisement

The pliers were found in a kitchen cabinet during the police search 
of Mondo's house.  Mondo said the pliers were purchased "a few days 
or a couple of weeks" before the bombing, he said he bought them to 
use on stereo and record equipment.

Mondo, as Poindexter before him, denied all of 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/witnesses-put-duane-peak-at-scene-of-1970-bombing-omaha-two-case>Duane 
Peak's allegations that he helped plan and construct the bomb used in 
the killing.  Mondo said he had no role in any part of the crime and 
no advance knowledge of what Peak was planning.

Omaha attorney Thomas Carey, Duane Peak's lawyer and one of six 
witnesses called by Herzog, testified that he sought an agreement 
from the prosecution.

Carey admitted seeking to allow Peak, the prosecution's chief 
witness, to plead guilty to a lesser offense than first-degree murder 
in exchange for Peak's testimony against Mondo and Poindexter.

Carey admitted that he gave a deposition on February 16, 1971, in 
which he confirmed that he had approached the prosecution seeking a 
reduced charge for Peak.

Several times Thomas Carey declined to answer Herzog's questions on 
the attorney-client grounds that a lawyer's relationship with a 
client is a confidential matter.

Judge Donald Hamilton did not order Carey to reveal what was said 
between Carey and Peak.  But twice he directed the attorney to answer 
questions on whether a deal had been offered or sought.

David Herzog, Mondo's lawyer, rested the defense at 2:55 p.m. on Tuesday.

The jury had now heard the primary case of the prosecution and 
defense but was not told one word about the COINTELPRO targeting of 
the defendants or J. Edgar Hoover's secret order to withhold a FBI 
lab report on the identity of Larry Minard's killer.

Nor did the jury have the opportunity to hear the deep, gritty voice 
of the killer on the 911 call that lured Minard to his death with a 
bogus report of a woman screaming at a vacant 
house. 
<http://www.examiner.com/cointelpro-in-national/j-edgar-hoover-gave-order-to-let-policeman-s-killer-get-away-with-murder>Hoover's 
order to FBI Laboratory director Ivan Conrad kept the recording away 
from defense attorneys.

To view all of the Omaha Two story articles click 
<http://www.examiner.com/omaha-two-story-in-national>HERE

Permission granted to reprint

Michael Richardson
COINTELPRO Examiner
Examiner.com



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