CIA contractor charged with assault in death of Afghan detainee

Friday, June 18th 2004, 6:06 am

By: News On 6

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ A year ago, Abdul Wali went to a U.S. base in Afghanistan _ on his own accord _ and surrendered to authorities. They suspected him of participating in rocket attacks against the base and wanted to talk to him.

Three days later, according to a grand jury indictment handed down here, Wali died in a cell after being beaten by a CIA contractor who used his hands, feet and a large flashlight.

The contractor, 38-year-old David A. Passaro, was charged Thursday with two counts each of assault and assault with a dangerous weapon _ the flashlight. He was not charged with murder because no autopsy was performed to establish a cause of death, justice officials said.

It was the first time civilian charges have been brought in the investigation of prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Attorney General John Ashcroft, in Washington, D.C., said the indictment sends a message that ``the United States will not tolerate criminal acts of brutality'' against detainees. Wali's case initially was referred to the Justice Department by the CIA in November.

Passaro, of Lillington, was arrested at Fort Bragg. He was on leave from a civilian Army medical job at Fort Bragg while doing the contract work for the CIA, according to a statement by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

``We were stunned today when he was picked up,'' said Passaro's attorney, Gerald Beaver. ``We've been in consultation with the government since March and it was my understanding that he would be allowed to surrender if there were any indictments.''

If convicted, Passaro faces up to 40 years in prison and a $1 million fine. He was ordered held without bond after an initial appearance before a federal magistrate in Raleigh and will have a detention hearing Tuesday.

A former Green Beret medic and Army ranger, Passaro's contract with the CIA began in December 2002. He arrived at the Afghan base in mid-May 2003, only a few weeks before the alleged abuse occurred, U.S. officials said. Wali died June 21, 2003.

In the rural community north of Fort Bragg, some neighbors described Passaro as congenial, while others said he was hot-tempered.

``Any time we ever spoke, he seemed to be a really, really nice guy,'' said Diana Chrostowski. ``I would have never thought that of him. To me, war is a dirty job. If he did do this, we just don't know what caused him to do this.''

Other neighbors recalled heated run-ins. Theresa Smith, who lives across the dirt road from Passaro, said they had a falling out after her children and a neighbor's child rode a golf cart up and down the road and allegedly damaged Passaro's property.

``He kept to himself, I kept to myself,'' Smith said. ``If I needed help, I wouldn't have went over there, just because of his temperament.''

Passaro's next-door neighbor, Rebecca Rodriguez, said she had problems because her dogs kept digging under a fence and getting into Passaro's yard, frightening his horse.

After one incident with the dogs, Rodriguez said, someone fired a bullet through the window of her car. She suspected Passaro and complained to the sheriff's department. He responded by complaining her dogs had spooked his horse and caused the animal to injure itself.

Rodriguez said she settled the case in small claims court by paying a $400 veterinarian bill for the horse. But she said she was ``so intimidated about him,'' she wouldn't go in her backyard if he was out in his.

The Harnett County Sheriff's records department was closed late Thursday, as was civil court.

In interviews with North Carolina TV stations, ex-wife Kerry Passaro said her former spouse ``had his violent moments.''

``He was in the Hartford (Conn.) Police Department and he got fired for beating a neighbor up off-duty,'' Kerry Passaro said. ``He was violent toward me throughout the marriage.''

A spokeswoman for the Hartford Police Department, Nancy Mulroy, said Passaro graduated in 1990 from the city's police academy. Mulroy said Passaro was relieved of duty after he was arrested by state police before completing his probationary period.

Passaro was arrested in October 1990 on felony assault charges, but was convicted in July 1991 of breach of peace, state police said. He paid a $100 fine.

North Carolina records show David and Kerry Passaro were divorced in February 2001, and that Passaro remarried in March 2002.

Wali's is among three detainee deaths being investigated by the Justice Department and CIA's inspector general in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Justice Department declined to bring charges in a fourth death.