Tough, Honest and Fired

Richard Sprague is a prosecutor's prosecutor. During the 17 years he worked in the Philadelphia district attorney's office, he supervised or prosecuted more than 10,000 cases, won 69 out of 70 first-degree murder trials and obtained the death penalty 19 of the 22 times he requested it. Sprague could never be confused with a bleeding heart; "I've never lost any sleep," he has said, "over men I helped send to the chair."

He came to national fame when Pennsylvania named him special prosecutor to investigate the murders of Insurgent Mine Workers Leader Joseph Yablonski and members of his family. Sprague cracked the case by doggedly pressuring defendant after defendant until he had convicted everyone in the conspiracy, all the way up to U.M.W. President Tony Boyle. It was an extraordinary achievement that prosecutors will discuss for years to come. But now Sprague is out of a job. He has been suddenly and angrily fired.

Dent in Power. Though a Democrat, Sprague had served as first assistant to Republican D.A. Arlen Specter from 1966 to 1974. He so admired his boss that he turned down an offer from Democratic leaders to run for D.A. in his own right. The Democrats then nominated F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, a successful criminal lawyer who trounced Specter in the election. Fitzpatrick wasted no time reorganizing the office. "After all, I campaigned against the operations of this office," he points out. One big change: assistant D.A.s were told they could come directly to the boss with problems. Previously they had to go through Sprague.

That was an unquestioned dent in Sprague's power, but the flash point between him and Fitzpatrick came over questions about the new D.A.'s ethics. First, local papers reported that after his election and before taking office, Fitzpatrick had held a victory cocktail party. Many of the lawyers who might well have future clients in trouble with the D.A. paid $50 a head to attend the fund raiser. "These parties are given all the time," says Fitzpatrick, who does not deny that the money collected went to him. The state supreme court's disciplinary board is investigating.

Sprague held his tongue. But he finally decided to let loose after a local newspaper revealed that Fitzpatrick personally went into court to recommend probation for one Joseph F. Nardello, who had been convicted of receiving stolen goods. Sprague had wanted to recommend 21/2 to 5 years, but Fitzpatrick preferred the probation in exchange for Nardello's agreement not to attack the conviction. Newspapers then suggested another possible Fitzpatrick motive: they charged that the D.A. had once represented Nardello when in private practice.

After denials and clarifications, it developed that Fitzpatrick had actually represented a co-defendant of Nardello's in an extortion trial. When an appeal bearing the names of both defendants went to the Supreme Court, it was Fitzpatrick who argued the case. But he insists, "I have never represented Mr. Nardello." Besides, he told reporters, he was only following "staff recommendations" in backing the probation deal. But Sprague was certain that all involved staffers had opposed the move. (Fitzpatrick insists, however, that one staffer supported him.)

No Cover-Up. Then Fitzpatrick switched his story again. He had granted probation, he said, because of a plea-bargaining arrangement made by the previous administration. That did it, Sprague says. "I knew he was lying. My choice was either to be honest and tell the truth or keep my mouth shut." It was really no contest. "I decided that instead of participating in my own mini-Watergate, I'd tell the truth, not cover up and not sit tight with my nice job." The next reporter who happened to call got quite a story. Sprague made it clear that he considered Fitzpatrick a liar. For good measure, he called his superior "the worst district attorney I've seen in 17 years." With that, Fitzpatrick demanded Sprague's resignation. When Sprague refused, Fitzpatrick fired him. Since the dismissal on Dec. 5, Sprague, 49, has had a variety of job feelers, including private-practice salary offers of $100,000. As assistant D.A., he made $40,000. But Sprague likes prosecuting too much. He is currently looking for the right opening. If the inquiries now pending about the cocktail-party fund raiser or the Nardello case bring down Fitzpatrick, Sprague figures, the opening that would be left would be just about perfect.

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