Arthur L. Liman, 64, who became a national celebrity as chief counsel to the special Senate committee that investigated the Iran-contra arms scandal 10 years ago, died of cancer yesterday at his home in New York.
The committee was investigating the diversion to contra forces in Nicaragua of profits from the sale of arms to Iran and the roles in that operation played by North, Poindexter and other national security officials in the Reagan administration.
From May through August of 1987, in a stately marble-columned Senate setting, Mr. Liman held center stage at the hearings, grilling a parade of witnesses whom he would later describe as "characters . . . right out of a James Bond novel." They included arms dealers, spies, military officers, money raisers, business owners and diplomats.
Mr. Liman's verbal skirmishes with North's lawyer, the combative Brendan V. Sullivan, made great theater, and the hearings were followed by indictments and convictions. In turn, much of that was followed by pardons or reversals, in some cases because of immunity granted as a condition for testimony before the Senate committee.
Committee members acknowledged months after the hearings ended that they had failed to get the full story on Iran-contra. "We blew it," a top member of the committee's legal staff told The Washington Post.
Lawrence E. Walsh, the independent counsel who would direct criminal prosecutions arising from the Iran-contra case, strongly criticized Mr. Liman for his handling of the hearings and granting of immunity.
"Confidently, almost arrogantly, {Mr. Liman} predicted that by carefully insulating ourselves, we would be able to prosecute individuals who had received congressional immunity," Walsh wrote in his book, "Firewall." Walsh was skeptical of that claim at the time, he said, and the subsequent reversals of convictions justified his skepticism.
Former Maine senators George J. Mitchell (D) and William S. Cohen (R) said in their book, "Men of Zeal," that the committee and its legal staff were outmaneuvered by North and Sullivan on a variety of procedural points.
Ironically, North became one of the prime beneficiaries of the Iran-contra hearings. He emerged as a folk hero to the political right, a radio talk show host and a force in Virginia politics, where he was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.
In his Senate testimony, North disclosed to Mr. Liman that high-ranking U.S. national security officials had planned to use earnings from commercial operations -- such as selling weapons to Iran -- to create a "stand-alone, self-financing" secret agency capable of conducting worldwide covert operations without reporting them to anyone. North also admitted shredding important secret documents.
North was convicted of obstructing Congress, mutilating government documents and accepting an illegal gratuity, but the convictions later were vacated and the charges dropped.
Convictions against Poindexter on counts of obstruction of Congress and making false statements also were reversed. Two of the case's other major figures, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard V. Secord and national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane were pardoned after pleading guilty to charges arising from the Iran-contra case.
A veteran corporate lawyer and litigator, Mr. Liman signed on as chief counsel to the Senate committee after a 30-year practice in New York at the highest levels of corporate and financial law. During his career, he had represented real estate tycoon John Zaccaro, the husband of Rep. Geraldine Ferraro (D-N.Y.), the 1984 Democratic candidate for vice president; corporate raider Carl Icahn; fugitive corporate embezzler Robert Vesco; junk bond merchant Michael Milken; and CBS founder and chief William S. Paley.
He played a key role for Pennzoil Co. in its battle with Texaco Inc. over the acquisition of Getty Oil Co., which resulted in a $12 billion verdict for Pennzoil. Among his corporate clients were Time Warner Inc., Continental Grain, H.J. Heinz Co., Weyerhaeuser Co. and Christie's auction house.
He was legal counsel to the New York citizens commission that investigated the 1971 Attica prison riot and the storming of the prison by state police that claimed 39 lives. As part of an effort to win over the trust of inmates, Mr. Liman had Christmas Eve dinner with them in the prison cafeteria.
In 1975, he was special counsel to the New York State Bar Association's grievance committee that negotiated the terms under which Richard M. Nixon resigned from the bar. In 1979, New York City hired him to press a damage claim against Pullman Inc. and Rockwell International Corp. for 754 defective subway cars. He won an award of $72 million.
A native of New York City, Mr. Liman grew up on Long Island. He graduated from Harvard and was first in his class at Yale Law School.
After eight months in Washington and completion of a 690-page report on the Iran-contra hearings and investigations, Mr. Liman returned to New York and his law practice.
Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Ellen Fogelson Liman of New York; and three children, Lewis, Douglas and Emily. ROBERT A. HURWITCH Ambassador
Robert A. Hurwitch, 76, a career diplomat who was ambassador to the Dominican Republic in the mid-1970s, died of lung cancer July 16 at his home in Minot, Mass. He lived in the Washington area off and on from the early 1960s to the 1970s.
As a special assistant for Cuban affairs in 1961, he helped negotiate freedom for Miami-based Cubans who were taken prisoner during the Bay of Pigs invasion. That won him the State Department's Distinguished Service Award.
During nearly 30 years in the Foreign Service, he was posted to Peru, Germany, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia and Laos. He was deputy assistant secretary of state for the Caribbean and Central America from 1969 to 1973. He retired in 1978.
He was a native of Worcester, Mass., and a graduate of the University of Chicago. He served in the Army in Europe during World War II and was awarded a Bronze Star. His other honors included a State Department Superior Service Award.
His marriage to Sara Lee Hurwitch ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 19 years, Beatriz Gil-Borges Hurwitch of Minot; four daughters from his first marriage, Jan Hurwitch of Costa Rica, Paula Toomey of Coral Springs, Fla., Carol Hurwitch of Rockville and Sally Hurwitch-Helikson of Mountville, Pa.; two stepchildren, Beatriz Cubillan-Borrell of Spain and Jose Alberto Cubillan of Laurel; two sisters; and three granddaughters. DANIEL H. TOTTEN Wootton High Graduate
Daniel H. Totten, 18, a graduate of Wootton High School in Rockville, died July 5 at Washington Hospital Center of injuries suffered in a fall. Witnesses told D.C. police he fell from a retaining wall along the Southeast-Southwest Freeway after the July 4 fireworks display.
A native of Atlanta, Mr. Totten grew up in Williamsburg and Palos Verdes, Calif. He moved with his family to North Potomac in 1993.
He was a member of the Wootton JETTS Physics team and a National Merit Scholar semifinalist, and he had planned to attend Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall.
Mr. Totten was a member of St. Raphael's Catholic Community in Rockville, and he did volunteer work under the auspices of Raphael House and the National Lutheran Home in Rockville and St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Washington.
Survivors include his parents, Dwight and Kathleen Totten, and a sister, Mary Elizabeth, all of whom are in the process of moving from North Potomac to New Hampshire; and three grandparents. SAMUEL BRUCE BROWN Scientist
Samuel Bruce Brown, 92, a scientist who retired 20 years ago from the National Bureau of Standards, died July 12 at Carriage Hill Nursing Center in Silver Spring. He had Parkinson's disease.
Mr. Brown, a resident of Washington, was born in Martinsburg, W.Va. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa.
He moved to the Washington area 60 years ago. He worked for 40 years at the Bureau of Standards.
Mr. Brown was a deacon and an usher board member at Plymouth Congregational Church in Washington and a member of the Pigskin Club and the Brookland Civic Association. He did volunteer work with the YMCA and the D.C. Elections Board.
Mr. Brown also was a painter who worked in oils, water colors and pastels. His works had been exhibited at art shows and galleries in the Washington area.
His wife, Theressa Brown, died six years ago.
Survivors include three sisters in New York. MARGUERITE B. MICKEY' IANNI Library Employee
Marguerite B. "Mickey" Ianni, 71, a retired employee of the Fairfax County public library system, died of cancer July 14 at her home in Arcola, Va.
Mrs. Ianni was born in Philadelphia. She graduated from Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y. She moved to the Washington area in 1961 and lived in Fairfax Station before moving to Arcola in 1969.
Mrs. Ianni went to work for the Fairfax library system in 1972 and was the assistant circulation manager at the Reston Regional Library when she retired in 1993.
Her marriage to Dr. Francis Ianni ended in divorce.
Survivors include three children, Juan B. Ianni of Herndon, Anthony M. Ianni of Reston and Andrea D. Ianni of Renick, W.Va..; a brother, William F. Ball of Tampa; and four granddaughters. FERNE SHAW JOHNSON Volunteer
Ferne Shaw Johnson, 94, a volunteer at Annandale Methodist and St. James United Methodist churches, died of a heart ailment July 13 at the Hermitage of Northern Virginia retirement facility.
Mrs. Johnson was a native of Randolph, Wis., who attended the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater and graduated from the University of Southern California. She taught typing in a Waukesha, Wis., high school in the 1920s and to military workers in the Los Angeles area during World War II. She moved to Northern Virginia in 1944.
Her husband, Claud H. Johnson, died in 1993.
There are no immediate survivors. TAIK M. LEE Head Start Program Specialist
Taik M. Lee, 57, a senior program specialist with the American Indian programs of the Head Start Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services, died of cardiorespiratory arrest July 9 at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. He had cancer.
During 25 years with the federal government, Mr. Lee's work included the designing of administrative management systems for awarding grants and contracts, for which he received superior performance awards.
He was a native of Seoul who came to the United States in 1960, speaking little English, to study at Mississippi State University. He worked at Sears, Roebuck and Co. as a salesman and district manager and later graduated from Pepperdine University. He received a master's degree in social work administration and policy from the University of Michigan and a second master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.
Mr. Lee, who lived in Herndon, was an adjunct professor at the social work school of Catholic University and taught public administration courses at Southeastern University. He was a field instructor in social work for the University of Michigan. He wrote a book about Korean families that is to be published in Seoul.
He was co-chairman of a regional recruiting committee for the University of Michigan and received the university's distinguished service award. He served on the planning committee of the International Congress of Schools of Social Work.
Survivors include his wife, Jane Sumie Nagata, and three sons, Jonathan Lee, Russell Lee and Mark Lee, all of Herndon; his parents, Jai Young and Kei Kyung Lee, and sister, Jung In Lee, all of Seoul; and a brother, Youn Moo Lee of Clifton. BLANCA MATILDE GONZALEZ HART Geriatric Aide
Blanca Matilde Gonzalez Hart, 71, a geriatric aide at Thomas More Nursing Home in Hyattsville, died of congestive heart failure July 10 at Washington Adventist Hospital.
Mrs. Hart, who lived in Lewisdale, was born in Santiago, Chile. She came to Washington to work for the family of the Chilean ambassador in 1950. She remained at the embassy as a member of the personal staff to the ambassador's family until 1969, when she joined the staff of Carroll Manor Nursing Home, which later became Thomas More Nursing Home.
Survivors include her husband, Thornton Lincoln Hart of Lewisdale; four children, Felipe M. Hart of Lewisdale, Victor Hart and Roberto Hart of Connecticut, and Laura Hart of New York; a sister; and two grandchildren. MARGUERITE B. O'BRIEN Legal Secretary
Marguerite B. O'Brien, 88, who was a legal and personal secretary at what is now the law firm of Arnold & Porter for 32 years until her retirement in 1977, died of congestive heart failure July 11 at Vencor Hospital.
Ms. O'Brien, who lived in Arlington, was a native of Beaufort, S.C. She came to the Washington area in the early 1930s and worked for several years as a legal secretary at the U.S. Department of Justice before joining the law firm.
She was a member of St. Ann's Catholic Church in Arlington, Third Order of Franciscans and Legion of Mary. She also was a volunteer with the Alexandria Chapter of the Mental Health Association.
Survivors include a brother, Edward O'Brien of Alexandria; and two sisters, Helen O'Brien of Alexandria and Ora Lee Jones of Plano, Tex. LOUISE BOYD POWELL Sunday School Teacher
Louise Boyd Powell, 95, who had taught Sunday school at Wesley Methodist Church in Alexandria, died July 11 at her home in Alexandria. She had Parkinson's disease.
Mrs. Powell was born in Pennsylvania and graduated from Pennsylvania State University. She was a Pennsylvania schoolteacher for 20 years.
She moved to the Washington area 22 years ago.
Her husband, Amos Powell, died in 1950.
Survivors include a son, Robert L. Powell of Freeport, Ill.; and six grandchildren. PATRICIA ANN KASTNER Army Wife
Patricia Ann Kastner, 65, an Army brigadier general's wife who accompanied her husband to Army posts when he was on active duty, died of cancer July 1 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Mrs. Kastner, who lived in Annandale, was born in Janesville, Wis. She settled in the Washington area 30 years ago.
Her husband, Gen. Joseph Kastner, died in 1980.
Survivors include five children, Patrick Kastner of Fort Eustis, Va., Kathleen Payne of Sterling, Thomas Kastner of Fort Meade, Edward Kastner of San Antonio and Theresa Upshaw of Severn; a brother; and six grandchildren. DONALD R. MEHRLING Engineering Assistant
Donald R. Mehrling, 55, an engineering assistant who retired this year after more than 30 years with Bell Atlantic and its predecessor company, died of emphysema July 10 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He lived in Springfield.
Mr. Mehrling was born in Glen Cove, N.Y., and raised in Northern Virginia. He was a graduate of Washington-Lee High School. He served in the Army in Korea.
He joined the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. as a storekeeper and was later an installer-repairman and cable splicer.
His marriage to Kathleen Anne Bailey ended in divorce.
Survivors include a brother, Robert W. Mehrling of Fairfax. DAVID JOEL KAFFENBERGER Personnel Specialist
David Joel Kaffenberger, 42, who was a personnel specialist with the U.S. State Department since the late 1970s, died of cancer July 14 at the Hospice of Northern Virginia. He lived in Arlington. Mr. Kaffenberger, an Arlington native, was a graduate of Washington-Lee High School. He attended the University of Virginia and graduated from American University. Survivors include his mother, Esther Kaffenberger of Arlington, and a brother, William Kaffenberger Jr., of Stafford, Va. CAPTION: ARTHUR L. LIMAN
