Evening star., 1950-05-14
LITER Wires Parole Board Room,
Smuggles Secrets Out of Prison
Had Trunsmitter Set
For Broadcast
When Cuuqht
BY the Assoeioied Press

DES MONIES, May 13.-The
case of prisoner who used an
electric grapevine" to listen in on
secret parole board sessions ana
smuggled wire recordings outside
the walls set Iowa officialdom buz-
zing today.
Gov. William S. Beardsley, who
said he was intrigued but not
amused by the prisoners feat, or
dered an immediate investigation.
The Governor said he was par
ticularly interested in the question
Of how 47-year-old Pete Hellyer,
a life-termer, was able to smuggle
out the spools of wire recordings.
The story was disclosed last
night in a copyrighted broadcast
by Jim Bormann, news director of
radio station WHIT at Cedar Rap
ids.
Mr.. Bormann interspersed his
broadcast with excerpts Of re-
corded ipterviews between parole
board member and prisoners
seeking clemency. He said he got
the recordings from an inter-
mediary for Hellyer in a Chicago
airport rendezvous.
Built Own Recorder.
Mr.. Bormann related the story
as follows:
Hellyer entered the Iowa mems
reformatory at Anamosa 19 years
ago to serve a life sentence for a
sex crime. Later. he was placed
in charge of the prison radio shop
which pipes standard broadcasts
through the institution. In this
shop he built a wire recorder and
a powerful radio transmitter.
Months ago. with the conniy-
ance of other prisoners, Hellyer's
microphone was planted in the
warden's conference Office. His
electric eavesdropping on parole
board interviews was recorded on
wire smuggled into him.
When he was not busy record
ing, Hellyer was working on his
radio transmitter and making
hand-tooled leather bags which
he was permitted to mail to friends
and purchasers. In some of these
bags, Bormann said, the prisoner
ingeniously concealed the wire re-
cordingS.
Reformatory officials, mean
while, apparently considered He'll
yer model prisoner.
Caught With Transmitter.
On the very day Hellyer planned
to go on the air with his trans
mitter. he was caught, Mr.. Boz
mann said. He said he had UNI
official word that Hellyer was put
into solitary confinement but that
his reports indicate "his full privi-
leges were restored when he cody
told authorities about the record
ingS."
Mr.. Bormann described the
quality Of Hellyer's recordings as
mot very good"
"A microphone sensitive enough
to detect even the breathing of
the parole board members neces-
sarily picks up outside sounds
such as the ringing Of bells, the
Slamming of doors" Mr. Rormann
explained.
Mr.. Bormann said he did not
know why Hellyer was willing to
take such desperate gamble. ,"
He said he was told Heliyer had
let other prisoners know "he was
determined to tell the outside
world" about reformatory condi-
tions regardless of the conse-
quences."
Warden Not Available.
Robert c. Lappen, member of
the Board of Control which super
vises the institution, said he did
not think it unusual that Hellyer
was able to build the recorder or
transmitter in the prison radio
shop.
What is interesting" Mr.. Lap
pen said, lis how he was able to
secrete the microphone in the room
-. and particularly how Hellyer
ever smuggled some of the re-
cordings out Of the reformatory."
Warden Foss Davis was en- route
home from a convention in Colo
RADIO and was not available for
comment.
Mr.. Bormann said that Hellyer
made it known that one of the
stories he wanted to broadcast
was that Of a low-prisoner
Clark Cummings of Chicago.
Convicted of Bank Robbery.
Cummings has contended he was
given a life sentence for bank
robbery when he expected to get
a Tight sentence" Cummings
was convicted of robbing bank
at Denmark. Iowa, of 500 in April.
1916. Under Iowa law, a life
sentence for bank robbery is man
datory.
His present attorney, Robert
Czizek of Dubuque, says Cummings
has fought unSuccessfullv for four