(from pages 4425 - 4427)

Senator ERVIN. Senator Talmadge.

Senator TALMADGE. Mr. Benz, do you have any regrets about your activities in that campaign?

Mr. BENZ. Yes, sir; sure.

Senator TALMADGE. You are not proud of what you did then?

Mr. BENZ. No, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. You are contrite?

Mr. BENZ. Correct.

Senator TALMADGE. Do you have regrets that one of your subordinates, Mr. Hearing, serves 1 year in jail at the present time and you are walking the streets free?

Mr. BENZ. Yes, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. It makes you feel that you are quite lucky to be free at the present time, does it not?

Mr. BENZ. Correct.

Senator TALMADGE. When did you start feeling regretful about your activity in that campaign?

Mr. BENZ. From the beginning.

Senator TALMADGE. When?

Mr. BENZ. From the beginning when Mr. Segretti approached me at the Causeway Inn.

Senator TALMADGE. Did you feel regretful enough at that time to inform the FBI about your activities?

Mr. BENZ. No, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. Did you feel regretful enough to inform any other law enforcement officer?

Mr. BENZ. No, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. Were you ever instructed not to speak to any of the law enforcement officers?

Mr. BENZ. Just the opposite, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. Who informed you to speak to the officers?

Mr. BENZ. Mr. Segretti.

Senator TALMADGE. Did you go to the law enforcement officers at that time and speak the opposite?

Mr. BENZ. No, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. Why did you remain silent?

Mr. BENZ. I remained silent until they questioned me and I have cooperated with them, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. I believe you had two subordinates. One was named Mr. Duke and the other one was named Mr. Hearing; is that right?

Mr. BENZ. His nickname was Duke; I do not believe that was his last name.

Senator TALMADGE. One was named Duke and the other Hearing?

Mr. BENZ. Correct.

Senator TALMADGE. Did Mr. Hearing tell you that this man Duke was a former SS officer for Adolf Hitler's storm troopers?

Mr. BENZ. Correct.

Senator TALMADGE. Did you believe that?

Mr. BENZ. No, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. Did Duke ever tell you that?

Mr. BENZ. I do not recall if he ever did or not.

Senator TALMADGE. Did you feel that being trained by Adolf Hitler and his storm troopers particularly qualified him for the duties that you assigned to him? [Laughter.]

Mr. BENZ. I do not know of any training school that would train him for this work.

Senator TALMADGE. I could not hear you.

Mr. BENZ. I said I do not know of any training school that would train a person for this type of work.

Senator TALMADGE. Were not the activities quite similar? Did not Hitler's Nazi storm troopers perform similar activities to what you were engaged in, in Florida?

Mr. BENZ. I would not know that, Senator.

Mr. TALMADGE. You have read some history of that period, have you not?

Mr. BENZ. Correct.

Senator TALMADGE. You have read "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", I take it?

Mr. BENZ. Correct.

Senator TALMADGE. Are not the activities of the Nazi storm troopers somewhat similar?

Mr. BENZ. I do not recall if he ever did or not.

Senator TALMADGE. I thought they were. I read about a good many falsified documents during that era and libels and slander about the opposition. It was one of the ways, as I recall, that Adolf Hitler achieved power.
    Do you think Duke carried on his activities in an exemplary fashion in that manner, do you?

Mr. BENZ. Yes, sir.

Senator TALMADGE. No further questions, Mr. Chairman.

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