The Wall Street Journal
May 9, 1997

Letters to the Editor

Mena, Drugs and the
Train Deaths Case

Micah Morrison's April 15 article, "Big News From
Arkansas," reported ex-prosecutor Dan Harmon was
indicted for running his office as a criminal enterprise.
Just as newsworthy is the absence of any reference in
the indictments to what I believe, based on my
investigation, to be Mr. Harmon's involvement in the
murders of Kevin Ives and Don Henry, the nationally
known train deaths case.


Under the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt
Organizations law, Mr. Harmon could be charged with
crimes committed up to 10 years ago, but his indictment
only goes back to August 1991. Just two months before
that, in June 1991, then-U.S. Attorney Chuck Banks
cleared Mr. Harmon of drug-corruption allegations
strikingly similar to the ones he now faces. The obvious
question arises: Is current U.S. Attorney Paula Casey
protecting Mr. Banks? It's hard to ignore that the August
1991 starting date of Mr. Harmon's indictment shields
Mr. Banks from the appearance of impropriety and
excludes evidence related to the train deaths.


In 1990, as head of a drug task force in the area, I
gathered a significant amount of evidence against Mr.
Harmon, as well as evidence connecting drugs and
public officials to the train deaths. I was stunned when
Mr. Banks cleared Mr. Harmon and all other public
officials in 1991. I believe that, in this regard, the years
of covering up the train deaths case continues.


Mr. Morrison has eloquently unraveled the complex
story surrounding the train deaths, but in one case he left
the wrong impression. He wrote, "Ms. Duffey left the
state when Mr. Harmon filed charges against her, later
found to be baseless." I'm not so easily intimidated.


In 1990, my task force uncovered too much. I was
brutalized by an Arkansas media that supported Mr.
Harmon, who was running for and won our district's
prosecutor position. Mr. Harmon immediately
subpoenaed the evidence I had against him and other
public officials. But to protect witnesses, I refused to
comply. Circuit Judge John Cole then issued a felony
warrant for my arrest, and my family was warned from
two law enforcement agencies that I was going to be
killed. Discredited, defeated, and threatened, my
husband and I moved our family to Texas.


I didn't understand the power of the political machine
back then, but after being persuaded by the FBI to
assist in an investigation they opened in 1994, I learned
of connections to the CIA, Mena, and drug-smuggling. I
finally understood; to solve the train deaths case would
be to expose the crimes of Mena, and no government
agent who has come close to doing either has survived
professionally.


The Arkansas media have mostly realized their
misjudgment of me, with the exception of the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette. The most important paper in the
state either ignores or ridicules the facts surrounding the
profoundly disturbing train deaths case. I pray Micah
Morrison and The Wall Street Journal will continue to
expose the deep-rooted corruption in Arkansas. People
deserve to have sources of information that will not back
away from the truth.


Jean K. Duffey
Pasadena, Texas


Copyright © 1997 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduced with permission

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