THE Summer Daily Vol. LXXXI 11, No. 69-S Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, August 24, 1973 Ten Cents Twelve Pages FBI sources dispu te .Nixon break-incharge Call Ellsberg burglary unjustified Better than school Getting as close to the action as she can, Kim May watches an airplane land at the Ann Arbor Airport. Kim was one of a group of kids from the Corntree Child Care Center who spent yesterday morning on a field trip to the airport. WASHINGTON (U) - President Nixon's contention that burglary has long been a common government practice was challenged yesterday by FBI and Justice Department sources who called the Ellsberg break-in unusual in intent and method. Burglaries committed by the FBI under the Johnson, Kennedy and Eisenhower administrations w e r e undertaken for the purpose of steal- ing code books and other cryptogra- phic information from inside the embassies of foreign nations, the sources said. THE PRESIDENT pointed to burglaries committed under other administrations Wednesday to defend the 1971 attempt by White House agents to steal the confi- dential psychiatric records of Daniel Ells- berg, who was accused of giving away the Pentagon's top-secret history of the Indochina war. Nixon said break-ins by government agents were widespread, well known and authorized during the preceding two Dem- ocratic administrations. He said he did not authorize the Ells- berg break-in and deplored it. But he claimed a recent Supreme Court ruling indicates that he has the inherent power to authorize such an illegal act, and added: "I SHOULD ALSO point to you that in the three Kennedy years and the three Johnson years through 1966, when bur- glarizing of this type did take place, when it was authorized on a very large scale, there was no talk of impeachment. And it was quite well known." FBI sources, however, said the codes sought in embassy break-ins were of ob- vious national security value, whereas the Ellsberg psychiatric records were of dip- lomatic importance. "According to the FBI standards there is no way the Ellsberg job could be called a national security operation," one former bureau official said. FURTHER, OFFICIALS denied the em- bassy break-ins were widespread and dated the practice back roughly 15 or 20 years, which would place its origin in the Eisenhower or even the Truman adminis- tration. Former Atty. Gen. Nicholas Katzen- bach, who served under President John- See FBI, Page 10 Bye-bye Today's paper marks the end of the Summer Daily season. With its publica- tion, our staff members depart for vari- ous vacation spots on the globe to regain their sanity in time for the fall campaign. We should be back on your breakfast tables on Friday, September 7. collects By GORDON ATCHESON Trony Associates, a local rental man- agement company, has apparently been violating state law since April 1 by charging tenants excessive damage de- posits. Following up several complaints, a Daily investigation revealed that tenants in Trony operated apartments have been required to pay their last month's rent and a damage deposit equivalent to one month's rent in advance. THE PRACTICE violates a state statute enacted April 1 which allows landlords to charge no more than one and a half month's rent as a security deposit, in- cluding any pre-paid rent with the excep- tion of the first month's rent. Anthony Hoffman, a partner in Trony, denied his company has been collecting the last month's rent in advance, since the new law went into effect. "No sir, it's totally incorrect that we receive the last month rent in advance," Hoffman claimed. "That has been against the law since April." ts allege Ilegal PRIOR TO APRIL, Trony did require pre-payment of a damage deposit and the last month's rent, Hoffman said. Several persons renting from ~Trony, however, said they had to pay the money in advance. One woman who signed a renewal lease this month commented, "Of course they collected the last month's rent in ad- vance." She also prepaid a damage de- posit equivalent to one month's rent. "No question about it," another ten- ant said, "I had to pay last month's rent in advance plus a damage deposit of the same amount." He had also just signed a renewal lease but Trony made no ef- fort to return any portion of the money they had received when the renter signed his original lease. UNDER THE NEW law Trony would be required to return at least a half month's rent unless the money were being withheld to cover damages. The tenants said the company has not charged them for any damages. Trony eposits .A third tenant reported he had been asked for a sum equal to three months rent in advance. The money collected was the first month's rent, a damage deposit, and rent for an unspecified month. But Trony said the unspecified rent would be used to cover the money due in the last rental period, the tenant com- mented. "SURE THEY CHARGE that much," a tenant added. "But I didn't know it was illegal." Trony manages about 30 buildings in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area, according to Hoffman. They are all older homes com- prising 140 rental units. Trony charges $170 per month for a single bedroom apartment. Hoffman said all the units but one had been rented and only about a third of the people had signed leases prior to April. FROM THESE FIGURES Trony m a y have collected up to $8,500 in illegal dam- age deposits. See TRONY, Page 10