Coke Case

Now: California parties

For three weeks, the FBI has been investigating allegations that White House Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan snorted cocaine at New York City's Studio 54 in 1978. The charges were made by Disco Owners Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, who are under indictment for income tax evasion. Last week one of their associates sent investigators off in a new direction, across the country to California. This time the allegation is that Jordan attended two parties in Beverly Hills in October 1977 at which cocaine was used.

Jordan was indeed in Beverly Hills that month, along with Carter Advisers Patrick Caddell and Timothy Kraft and Jordan's friend, John Golden. The occasion was a Democratic fund-raising dinner on Oct. 22 at the swank Century Plaza Hotel. The black-tie affair, which was billed as a "Salute to the President," raised $700,000 for the Democratic Party. Guests included Governor Jerry Brown and other West Coast Democrats.

According to witnesses questioned by the FBI, cocaine was available at parties the night before and the evening after the fund raiser. TIME has learned that among the witnesses is Lana Rawls, ex-wife of Soul Singer Lou Rawls. She told the FBI that on Oct. 21, Jordan, Caddell, Kraft, Golden and several others dined at Sergio's Restaurant, a Beverly Hills supper club that has since closed. After dinner, according to Lana Rawls, they returned to the Century Plaza, where cocaine was made available to them. Her attorneys have told the Government that, if granted immunity from prosecution, she will testify that she saw Jordan sniffing coke at the hotel.

She told agents that after the fund raiser. Industrialist Leopold Wyler received guests at his home, where cocaine was used by what she described as "the White House people." Wyler, founder of TRE Corp., a Beverly Hills aerospace firm, was Carter's finance chairman in the 1976 California primary campaign, but has since joined a dump-Carter movement. Wyler said he had suspected that coke was used at his party, but insists that he "was very displeased with what seemed to be going on." He said he did not see Jordan or any of the other Carter associates using the drug. The use of cocaine at such parties--and at discos--is not uncommon.

Jordan flatly denied using cocaine at the California parties, as he had denied using the drug at Studio 54. Presidential Press Secretary Jody Powell protested the "smears" Complained Powell: "Any time someone makes a charge against Hamilton, the FBI's got to investigate it; then it gets headlines and Hamilton's career is ruined."

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