ANTI-OLYMPICS BID AIMS TO TIP SCALES

Local attorney Douglas Caddy, a man with experience in high-profile
controversies, is asking the rest of the world to pressure Texas into
reforming our criminal-justice system.

He has begun to circulate a "Worldwide Petition" for signers to oppose the
selection of Houston or Dallas as host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The two
cities are among eight in the United States under consideration by the U.S.
Olympic Committee.

The city selected by the USOC in 2002 then will be considered along with
nine others from over the world by the International Olympic Committee,
which will make a final selection in 2005.

The petition, a project of Caddy's Texas Reform Coalition, contends that
"Texas will correct its present system of injustice only if it comes to
realize it will pay a heavy price to continue its old ways. Its choice is
to reform or forfeit the chance to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, becoming
stigmatized in the eyes of the world for its human rights abuses as was the
totalitarian Soviet Union in 1980 when the U.S. led 50 countries in
boycotting the Olympics there."

Some strong stuff Mentioning our state's criminal-justice system and Soviet
human rights abuses in the same breath is strong stuff. And more follows,
with the next 10 pages of the petition providing 27 points of "evidence"
for the USOC to consider.

No. 1 points out: "Texas has the free world's largest prison system with
the greatest number of persons incarcerated of any state in the union --
150,000 in 110 prisons scattered throughout the state ... 739 persons for
every 100,000 residents in contrast to 530 persons for every 100,000 in the
rest of the U.S."

No. 2 states: "Texas leads the nation in the number of persons on parole or
probation, with 1 million out of 4.5 million nationwide."

No. 3: "Texas embraces the death penalty, having executed more persons than
any other state in the last 20 years with 226 executions since 1982. The
state has 454 persons on death row awaiting execution."

No. 4: "Texas has a flawed criminal-justice system which has led to the
execution of many persons who never received a fair trial ... ."

There isn't room here for the remaining 23, but you get the idea.

Caddy said he has mailed copies of his petition to newspapers in other
cities that are competing for the 2012 Olympics, and he expects soon to
have a Web site ready so that anyone in the world can print out copies of
the petition, circulate it, then mail it to the Olympic Committee.

He said the idea for this petition was born of frustration about a year
ago, when he determined that something needed to be done to convince people
that "Texas is now part of the global community."

About Caddy's experience in high-profile controversies: A graduate of
Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and New York University
Law School, he served as defense lawyer to Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy
after the Watergate break-in.

Caddy and Hunt shared office space in the Washington-based Mullen Co., a
public relations firm and offshoot of General Foods that later was
identified as a CIA front. Caddy said he never worked for the CIA. Said he
was working as a lobbyist for General Foods, which transferred him to Mullen.

'Koreagate' Roommate

One of his roommates in college was Tongsun Park, who later became a
central figure in the "Koreagate" scandal. Park was granted immunity in
1978 for his testimony that he paid Congress members for political favors.

After moving back to Texas, where he had spent much of his childhood, Caddy
became involved with Galveston's Moody Foundation. In 1985 he reported the
possible mishandling of millions of bucks in foundation grants.

As a result, the late Shearn Moody Jr. was convicted of mail and wire fraud
charges. Those convictions were overturned, but then he was convicted of
bankruptcy fraud and served some time. Moody also is known as the
originator of Galveston's Moody Gardens.

Caddy said if his Olympics petition doesn't persuade Texas to reform its
criminal-justice system, he plans to try to persuade professional football
players not to participate in a Super Bowl here until reforms are made.