| Show Yol 234 No 109 Salt Lake City Utah— Satarday Morning—August I 1987 Hofmann’s Hidden Life as Killer And Forger Is a Secret No More Editor' Not: Thl tory wo compiled and wr tttn by Tribune taff wr Iter M Ik Carter ond Jim Wood from material pro vlded by ttoff writer Dan Bate Mike Correll Anne Polmer Paul Roily ond Chrletopher Smart By The Tribune Staff Mark W Hofmann “is just like you I" one of the men who helped put him in prison said Friday Except at night said Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney David C Biggs After dark Hofmann would lock himself in his basement and forge history And make bombs or The pipe bombs that killed Steven F Christensen and Kathleen Sheets on Oct 15 1985 were made at night according to transcripts of Hofmann's interviews released Friday because “that was when he did his best work his forgeries" The two-volu- 541-pa- tran- script contains a sometimes tedious but often chilling look at the man who may be the most cunning forger and accomplished liar of modern times No one Is certain Hofmann i3 telling the truth in these transcripts According to Hofmann greed drove him to the brink of financial ruin and into a bind where murder and suicide seemed the only way out It didn't matter who he killed he told prosecutors last January just so long as It diverted attention from his forgeries and frauds As the noose tightened and threatened with jail excommunication and disgrace Hofmann began toying with the idea of making bombs — a fascination entertained since childhood It wasn’t until Oct 14 in his basement with pipe solder and gunpowder that he decided who was to die Steve Christensen was an “honorable man” who knew too much Kathy Sheets 50 mother and wife was a diversion After leaving bis deadly presents Hofmann got cold feet He called the Sheets residence but nobody was home Gary was off to work and Kathleen at the bank He called Christensen who would have had to move the bomb — which detonated at the slightest touch — to get to his phone Mr Biggs said Friday that Hofmann relating these details was probably trying to express remorse Hofmann’s tinkering with explo Complete Wrap-U- p Of the Itizarre Case V straight-face- A-- 8 A Widow’s A-- 4 Feelings: Life Behind Bars: LDS Image Unhurt? The Art of Forgery: His falling away from Mormonism School Friends: d lies to church leaders Hofmann said he enjoyed a perverse glee watching them react to his latest Taking the Losses: find came to believe that his view of Mormon histo-Se- e his forgeries A-Column 1' And he A-- 4 Hofmann Forgeries: Vital Excerpts: sives began as a child So did his career as a forger At 12 years old Hofmann made his first bomb At 15 he had counterfeited a valuable coin The year before he had lost his faith in the LDS Church is what allowed him to tell Some Misgivings: A-- 5 A-- 8 B-- l A-- 8 B-- 2 A-- 3 The Chronology: A-- 6 Cost of Justice: A-- 4 3 Plea Bargain Still Leaves Some Nagging Questions By Mike Carter Tribune Staff Writer Six months after Mark W Hofmann pleaded guilty to murdering two people questions remain about the propriety of that plea bargain and whether Hofmann has lived up to that agreement Attorneys participating in a noon news conference Friday were hoping to answer queries about the release of d Hofmann transcript the but instead spent more than an hour again justifying their decision not to try the confessed killer and forger The news conference was punctuated by an increasingly angry Salt Lake County Sheriff Pete Hayward who forced prosecutors to acknowledge that they were “not satisfied" with Hofmann's refusal to allow detectives to interview him about the homicides “Are you satisfied?’’ asked a red- long-awaite- faced sheriff “Well we’re not!” “Why did you accept a plea agreement before he bad complied with all terms of it?” Sheriff Hayward asked “ Are we going to cop out to murder? Are we looking at forgeries before homicide? Why didn’t we get a full disclosure on the homicides? "When are my people going to get a chance to interrogate him? Not interview him but to interrogate him” the sheriff asked “Boy I wish you could” replied Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Robert L Stott the chief of the prosecution team David C Biggs said there was an agreement that Hofmann would talk about the murders to police It was a gentleman’s agreement he noted “But I don’t know if d we’re all gentlemen” — a e reference to hard feelings A-- 5 Column 3 barely-disguise- Mark W Hofmann Still Keeping Secrets? be-Se- Worthless Forgeries? No They're Hofmann Originals '' By Mike Carter Tribune Staff Writer Mark Hofmann's forgeries may be worth something after all ’ Documents collectors and handwriting say they are witnessing a curious — and ironic --r twist to the Hofmann saga terribly ' Hofmann’s fraudulent documents which he - once sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars are now marketable as the work of the man they believe is destined to become the most - famous of American forgers ex-per- ts - “White Some experts believe the Salamander” letter Hofmann’s most notorious work and the document that fooled the world’s bandwriting experts could be worth as much as 510000 as a forgery — the price it commanded when sold as an “authentic” historical document to Steven F Christensen the year before his murder Others — primarily those handwriting and documents specialists who have feasted on crow since they were fooled by Hofmann’s “finds” — believe his forgeries will be collect one-quart- er able but will not demand a high price In the same breath though they all say they would like a “Hofmann original” for their collections Those in possession of the Hofmann documents — primarily the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints — aren’t likely to sell For the church the documents now bear the same significance they did before it was revealed they were frauds — as documentation of another albeit unsavory chapter in church history They will however ironic it may seem find their way back into the church’s vaults “Even the fraudulent documents are now historical documents just of the ’80s” said church spokesman Don LeFevre Those documents that will be marketable — and there are several — may therefore demand a higher price the experts say Owners of some of those documents though are skeptical of their worth Regardless of how much they may be worth now they say the price will never equal the monetary or emotional toll of mann's crimes Hof- "His forgeries will be treasured in times to come” said Charles Hamilton 73 perhaps the most notable among the experts “That’s nice” is the sarcastic response of Provo attorney Brent Ashworth who has the dubious honor of owning the largest private collection of Hofmann forgeries Over the years Mr Ashworth paid cash or traded au-SA-- 4 Column 3 ee Tornadoes Cut Swath Through Edmonton Killing at Least 30 Injuring Hundreds Alberta (UPI) EDMONTON - - series of tornadoes killed at least A 30 people and injured hundreds on a swath of devastation through Edmonton Friday flattening home: and businesses and trapping survivors in the rubble authorities said Mayor Laurence Decore declared a state of emergency and said 30 people were killed including 24 in a trailer park wrecked by the twisters and three in a train that derailed during the storm The tornadoes damaged at least 100 homes and an industrial area and hundreds of people were trapped in the wreckage police said The violent twisters and accompanying rain closed many roads and disimpeding rupted communications rescue efforts The tornadoes accome hail and torrential panied by rains hit during rush hour blowing 69-c- ar fist-siz- several cars from highways and overturning dozens of house trailers One witness said smashed cars some with people inside were stacked on top of each other in some areas “just like in a wrecking yard” The storm ravaged the east Edmonton suburbs of Fort Saskatchewan Millwoods Clareview and Sherwood Park all within 15 miles of the city There were no immediate reports of damage in downtown Edmonton although weather officials warned more tornadoes could hit Friday evening and urged residents to stay indoors Sirens from emergency crews wailed throughout the city as Edmonton officials put a city disaster plan into effect An Environment Canada weather forecaster said at least six tornadoes Skin Cancer on Nose Removed ‘Prognosis Is Good’ for Reagan with sutures rather than with - Presid closed a skin small” patcl from had a WASHINGTON sur-- i microscopic gery at Bethesda Naval Hospital on Friday and the House re- ported that the procedure went “very well" All of the cancerous cells were removed the White House said Presidential dents were trapped in their overturned mobile homes and cars and in damaged buildings One tornado wiped out a 20- - to area In southeast Edmonton Witnesses said scores of homes and buildings including large warehouses were flattened Several areas were without power and uprooted trees and downed power lines blocked many streets In the northeast suburb of Clareview at least 30 houses were flattened by a tornado and scores more were damaged many having their roofs blown off Inside The Tribune Tribune Telephone Numbers on A-- 2 spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the president planned to return to the White House later in the evening “He's In excellent spirits" he said Fitzwater said physicians determined that the wound caused by the excision was small enough to be graft plastic surgery After slicing away two thin layers cf tissue physicians found that they had removed all of the cancerous cells Fitzwater said The determination was made on the basis of a microscopic examination performed immediately It was Reagan's third bout of skin cancer on his nose in two years “The prognosis is good" said Dr Perry Robins president of the New York-base- d Skin Cancer Foundation after being told about the White House report Skin cancer also known as basal cell carinoma carcinoma is the most common form of cancer and the most readily cured Fitzwater reported about 6:30 pm that the procedure performed with a local anesthesia had been completed —Associated Mammoth tornado Friday afternoon rips wide swath through east Edmonton Al- - WASHINGTON (AP) Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger the last public witness in the long hearings testified Friday that he strongly opposed selling arms to Iran even after President Reagan ra had decided to proceed But he said he complied with Reagan’s wishes and made weapons available for the sales after National Security Adviser John Poindexter told him “there is no more room for argument” “I have regret that I wasn’t more persuasive" with the president Weinberger said in the 40th and day of public hearings He will return Mom y Just as Senate committee Chairwas man Daniel Inouye in for recess the hearings declaring the day two women in the back of the room began shouting “Contras kill families" and were hustled out by next-to-la- Today’s Forecast Salt Lake City and vicinity — Sunny skies with warm temperatures Lows 50s Details B-- 2 Highs mid-90- s i I Press Laser noto berta A series of twisters flattened large areas of city and left survivors trapped NSC Left Me Out Weinberger: Iran-Cont- (AP) Reagan “very skin cancer removed from his nosi White touched down during the hourlong storm sweeping down on the city from the Rocky Mountain foothills to the west at about 4 pm About 70 people were reported injured in a suburban trailer park demolished by a tornado Many resi- st The defense secretary like other senior Reagan administration officials said he was kept in the dark on major details for many months hampering his efforts to stop the sales The effort to deceive him he said even included an order issued to an unnamed agency in the Defense Department to withhold sensitive information from him and Secretary of State George Shultz Asked who gave the order Weinberger said he assumed it originated in the National Security Council “I made it very clear to the defense agency involved that they took their instructions from us and they certainly under no circumstances ever were to accept an instruction that we were Chuckle Today’s no who say money's object People usually mean it's no object they can get a hold of not to be on the distribution list for any of this important intelligence material" he said without elaborating The congressional committees also heard from former White House Chief of Staff Donald T Regan who testified that the president last December “shot down right away" any thought of a pardon for Poindexter and NSC staffer Lt Col Oliver North telling aides that neither man had i been accused of a crime The president was asked about pardons again on Friday during a picture-taking session in the Oval Office "I haven’t heard a single word that indicated in any of the testimony that laws were broken " the president said At the White House presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Reagan does not plan to hold a news conference until sometime in the fail |
