JURY WILL HEAR HAZELWOOD'S ALCOHOL HISTORY

By DON HUNTER
Daily News reporter

ANCHORAGE- Unlike the jury that acquitted Captain Joseph Hazelwood of being drunk on the night the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground, the jury that sits in judgment of Exxon Corp. and its shipping company will hear about Hazelwood's history of drunkendriving arrests and treatment for alcohol abuse, according to the plans of government prosecutors.

Charles A. De Monaco, the lead prosecutor in the federal criminal proceedings against Exxon, outlined his case in letters to the company's attorneys last month. The letters were made public about a week ago when they were filed with other documents in the case.

From the letters, and from Exxon's demands for even more details about the prosecution's plans, it appears that Hazelwood's drinking problems and Exxon's alleged indifference to them will be central to the government's attempt to prove the company was criminally negligent in the tanker disaster.

In an April 18 letter, De Monaco says Exxon Shipping officials knew of Hazelwood's alcohol abuse at least as early as 1985. Company managers were informed several times in 1988 and as late as February 1989 that Hazelwood continued to have troubles with alcohol, and yet did not relieve him of command.

The Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef on March 24, 1989.

Justice Department prosecutors also will argue that the Exxon companies were negligent in allowing seaman Robert Kagan to man the helm. The government says Kagan was "mentally and physically incapable" of the task.

In demanding more specific information from prosecutors, Exxon attorneys Patrick Lynch and John Clough argue that the government's case against the parent company has a big hole in it it doesn't allege wrongdoing by any Exxon employees or officials, only those of Exxon Shipping.

They want the court to order the government to disclose exactly which Exxon Corp. employees or officials it claims were aware of Hazelwood's drinking and Kagan's ineptness.

According to De Monaco's letter, the government's claim of negligence on the part of the companies will be based on evidence that:

* Exxon and Exxon Shipping allowed "employees suffering from alcoholabuse problems to hold safetysensitive positions."

* The medical and legal departments of Exxon Corp. and the managers of Exxon Shipping failed "to evaluate Joseph Hazelwood's fitness for duty upon completion of his treatment for alcohol abuse in 1985, and to properly monitor and evaluate him from that time until March 24, 1989."

* Company managers "received notice on several occasions in 1988 and February 1989" that Hazelwood's drinking problems continued, yet failed to relieve him of his command.

The Exxon Valdez caused the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Nearly 11 million gallons of North Slope crude spilled into Prince William Sound, smearing more than 1,000 miles of shoreline and killing thousands of birds and sea mammals.

At the time of the grounding, Hazelwood had left the bridge in the middle of a maneuver being executed to dodge floating ice. Hazelwood trusted Third Mate Gregory Cousins, who lacked a certificate required to pilot vessels in the area, to complete the maneuver safely. At the helm was Kagan, a crew member who had had previous difficulties making course corrections in Prince William Sound.

A state court jury in March acquitted Hazelwood of operating the tanker under the influence of alcohol, reckless endangerment and a felony criminal mischief charge. He was convicted of negligent discharge of oil, the least serious of the four charges against him.

Although witnesses testified that Hazelwood had been drinking vodka in Valdez the afternoon before the spill, his crew and other witnesses testified he did not appear drunk as the tanker departed through Prince William Sound. The state's case was hamstrung by the absence of a timely bloodalcohol test; more than 10 hours elapsed after the grounding before samples of Hazelwood's blood and urine were taken. State prosecutors also were unable to present evidence of Hazelwood's prior convictions for drunken driving.

That restriction, intended to avoid prejudicing a jury against Hazelwood, apparently will not impede the federal government's case against Exxon and Exxon Shipping Co.

Exxon and Exxon Shipping are charged with violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the U.S. Clean Water Act and Refuse Act, all misdemeanors, and with two felonies under federal maritime law.

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