The Speaker's Family

Friday, Oct. 31, 1969

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> On one occasion in 1964, Voloshen was angered by the reluctance of Teamster racketeers to release money to be used for kickbacks on three loans from the union's pension fund. He dispatched an aide of a former New England Senator to demand the payment at the Union's Washington headquarters. The money—$25,000—was paid.

For his part, Voloshen pleads that he is not guilty of any impropriety. In an interview with Smith, he said: "People hired me because of my ability to present their cases [to Government officials], and my perseverance. I have done nothing wrong. In 35 years in Washington, I never gave anyone a $2 bill." Voloshen conceded that "people" in Washington intervened with Government officials to provide him access. "That's done every day," he said. "Of course, I received money for doing that. That's how I make my living."

Asked about the extent of his influence, Voloshen held up his hand with the tips of his thumb and forefinger pressed together to form a zero. He is too modest. In 1961, for instance, Voloshen fastened himself onto a federal payroll as a "labor consultant" to Adam Clayton Powell, who was chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. Robert Kennedy, then Attorney General, took the unusual step of exerting pressure which cost Voloshen his job. The incident was kept quiet, but it would be curious if McCormack, the most powerful man in the House, could have remained unaware of his friend's reputation. Yet the Speaker continued to lunch with Voloshen frequently.

Cash Payment. Though there is no evidence that McCormack accepted any money in Voloshen's deals, the Speaker is alleged to have at least helped out once. Life Magazine this week reports that Russell G. Oswald, chairman of the New York State board of parole, received a telephone call on behalf of Edward M. Gilbert, a convicted corporate swindler who had paid Voloshen $75,000 for assistance. It is well known in Washington that both Voloshen and Sweig were able to imitate McCormack's voice, a fact of which McCormack was vaguely aware. On one occasion, McCormack recalled, he had a call from a general who referred to an earlier call from the Speaker. "He thought he had spoken to me," said McCormack. He had not. McCormack cautioned Sweig to identify himself correctly on the telephone. In the Gilbert case, LIFE charges, it was the Speaker himself who made the call to recommend an early parole for the embezzler. McCormack denied making any such call, or even knowing who Gilbert was.

LIFE also asserts that McCormack knew as far back as midsummer that two federal grand juries were investigating Voloshen's affairs. As a result, says LIFE, McCormack held a series of urgent conferences with Sweig and Voloshen. Yet Sweig was not suspended until two weeks ago. Both Sweig and Voloshen had supplies of the Speaker's official stationery—blank except for McCormack's letterhead and his purported signature. So open was Voloshen's use of the Speaker's suite that in 1965 Voloshen accepted a $5,000 payment in cash to help fix a tax-fraud case while sitting in the Speaker's chair.