The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 17, 2002 - 5A
Longo an
NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) - Christian Longo,
making his first appearance in an Oregon court
on charges of killing his wife and three chil-
dren, told a judge yesterday that he can't afford
to hire an attorney.
Judge Robert Huckleberry questioned the
former Ypsilanti man via closed-circuit televi-
sion. Longo is being held in the Lincoln Coun-
ty Jail, which is next to the county court.
"As you know, serious charges have been
filed against you in Lincoln County," the judge
told Longo, who was wearing a blue prison
shirt and pants.
aigned, says he cannot afford an
Asked whether he was in a position to hire
an attorney, Longo replied, "No, I am not."
When Huckleberry asked Longo if he would
like a court-appointed attorney, Longo said
"yes."
The 27-year-old Longo, called by police an
expert con man with a history of petty crimes
and debt, showed no emotion during the brief
proceeding.
By the time Longo reached the Oregon coast
last fall with his wife and three children, he
had left a trail of bad checks, fraud and theft
charges stretching clear back to Michigan. But
all those troubles never seemed to bother him.
Though his job brewing lattes at the local
Starbucks couldn't begin to pay the rent on his
luxury waterfront condo or the big sport utility
vehicles he liked to drive, he came off as a
nice-looking guy who was charming, a good
dresser, sweet with his wife and kids and pos-
sessed of plenty of money.
By the time Longo left town around Christmas,
it was clear that things were not as they seemed:
Longo was at best a con man with a taste for the
good things in life, at worst a murderer.
Over the weekend, Longo was captured in
Mexico and brought back to the United States
to face charges he murdered his wife and chil-
dren and dumped their bodies in Oregon's
coastal waters. Investigators have not said how
they were killed or why.
Sheri Johansen, who used to trade jokes with
Longo when he worked at the espresso stand,
said she is not ready to believe any of the bad
stuff until she hears him confess.
"He just seemed so happy-go-lucky," Johansen
said. "He seemed like he had a lot of money.
And oh, God, cute kids. Adorable kids."
The bodies of Zachary Michael, 5, and Sadie
attorney
Ann, 3, were found days before Christmas in an
Oregon backwater. Then, two days after the holi-
day, police divers found the body of his wife,
Mary Jane, and youngest daughter, 2-year-old
Madison, stuffed under a dock behind his condo.
By the time authorities identified the young-
sters and began searching for Longo, he was
gone, like so many other times in his life.
The Longos were married in 1993 and lived
in Ypsilanti.
They took regular vacations to nice places,
particularly Mexico, said Mary Jane's sister,
Penny Dupuie of South Boardman, Mich.
Bush faces major r
test with Enron
Powell: Dialogue
can diffuse India-
Pakitntensions
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON - The Enron
Corp.'s collapse is forcing President
Bush to balance his skepticism of gov-
ernment regulation against his desire to
show his independence, from the failed
energy giant.
From the federal rules governing
private pensions to securities law,
accounting standards and even cam-
paign finance reform, proposals are
proliferating on Capitol Hill for laws
and regulations to cope with the ques-
tionable practices highlighted by the
company's crash.
These multiplying Enron-related
reform ideas present a pointed political
dilemma for Bush.
He arrived in Washington general-
ly committed to rolling back federal
regulation of business. And he has
staffed many key regulatory agen-
cies - including the Securities and
Exchange Commission - with
alumni of the industries they over-
see.
But now, many analysts say, the
White House may face irresistible
pressure to distance itself from
Enron by proposing new policy ini-
tiatives that respond to the compa-
ny's alleged abuses. This pressure
"is going to nudge (the administra-
tion) even further away from its
basic (anti-regulatory) ideological
instincts," said Donald Kettl, a polit-
ical scientist at the University of
Wisconsin.
In the firestorm over Enron, Bush
may face a political imperative similar
to one that confronted President Clin-
ton when his 1996 campaign fund-rais-
ing practices came under intense
criticism. Clinton tried to transmute an
ethical controversy into a policy debate
by arguing that the real problem was a
flawed system - not his own actions
- and proposing campaign finance
reform.
AP PHOTO
Heather Carson waits for her husband to bring her car around outside Enron
Corp. headquarters with some of the plants she bought yesterday from the
embattled company, which is longer paying for the plants' upkeep.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -
Secretary of State Colin Powell, on a
South Asia peace mission, met last
night with Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf and said dialogue with
India is the only way to resolve the
month-long standoff over Kashmir.
Powell said he will carry new ideas
to India today when he meets with
Indian officials.
Appearing with Powell at a news
conference, Pakistani Foreign Minister
Abdul Sattar did not indicate a willing-
ness to take new steps to ease tensions,
suggesting that the next move is India's.
But, he said Pakistan will "respond
immediately" to any positive gesture
on India's part.
Powell once again praised the steps
Musharraf has taken to ease tensions,
and he invited the Pakistani leader to
visit Washington for the first time since
he took office more than two years ago.
Earlier, Powell said in an interview
with Pakistani television that any
effort to achieve peace in Kashmir
must take into account the wishes of
people in the disputed region.
He said his goal on his two-day peace
mission is to "bridge whatever outstand-
ing differences there are that will keep us
from de-escalating as soon as possible."
Yesterday, India said it was open to
dialogue with Pakistan and said that
Musharraf's speech Saturday con-
demning terrorism was "path-break-
ing." India initially gave the speech a
lukewarm response.
"I have not heard earlier any other
Pakistani leader denouncing theocracy
in the manner in which Gen. Mushar-
raf did," India's Home Minister Lal. K.
Advani said after returning to New
Delhi from a trip to Washington.
En route to Islamabad, Powell said
Musharraf's speech "certainly showed
that this rush toward conflict, : think,
has been slowed quite a bit."
In his talks here, Powell said he
wants "to see what we have to do now
to bring this to a complete halt and
then start going in reverse."
Powell said the key issue now is not
a troop pullback but progress on diplo-
matic and political fronts.
Once that is achieved, "then the
armies can pull back in due course."
Yesterday, Musharraf coupled his
hopes for a peaceful end to the stand-
off with a statement that he still backs
Kashmir's struggle against "Indian
occupation."
Powell said he was pleased by the
large numbers of arrests of Pakistani
militants by Pakistani authorities in
recent days.
There were more than 70 arrests
Tuesday, bringing the four-day total to
more than 1,600. Almost 500 offices
have been closed, authorities said.
Powell has been in almost constant
telephone contact with the two sides
since the crisis erupted on December
13 when a terrorist attack on India's
Parliament killed nine Indians and the
five attackers.
Powell said the good relations the
United States has with the two coun-
tries has been helpful in preventing the
conflict from getting out of control.
Politicians look to unload Enron gifts
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON - Until a few weeks ago,
Enron Corp. ranked among the biggest contributors
to lawmakers and campaign committees of both
parties. But now that the Houston-based firm is
considered politically radioactive, congressional
members and party officials are devising ways to
give away hundreds of thousands of dollars in
Enron donations to distance themselves from the
company's woes.
The Republican Party's three major campaign
committees are dumping the biggest chunk of
Enron donations - at least $280,000 altogether.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee,
meanwhile, says it will give $100,000 in Enron
"soft money" donations to charities helping former
Enron employees.
Numerous House and Senate members also say
they'll divest themselves of Enron contributions.
Many are trying to determine the most credible of
the charitable groups providing support to dis-
placed Enron employees. The retirement funds of
many workers evaporated as Enron's stock prices
plummeted. '
Among the quickest to sever themselves of
financial links to Enron are those facing tough
campaigns this year. They include Sens. Jean
Carnahan (D-Mo.), Max Baucus (D-Mont.),
Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.), and Tim Johnson (D-
S.D.). They're returning, or giving to charity,
amounts ranging from $1,000 to $3,200. Sen.
Gordon Smith, (R-Ore.) said he'll give away the
$8,100 in Enron donations he received since
1997.
The top House Democrat, Rep. Dick Gephardt of
Missouri, recently said the $1,000 that Enron
donated to his Democratic Leadership Fund will go
to the St. Louis Children's Hospital.
"We just felt like we wanted to give it to charity
because there are so many problems surrounding
Enron now," a Gephardt spokesman told reporters.