Activists work for releaseTheir Web site calls him the "last American Prisoner of War.""The Friends of Howard Mechanic" have joined forces to garner support to free the anti-war protester turned Scottsdale activist from prison. Mechanic went into hiding rather than going to prison after exhausting appeals on a 1970 conviction for throwing a cherry bomb during an anti-war demonstration on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently serving a five-year sentence at the federal detention center in Florence, Ariz. For 28 years he had lived as "Gary Robert Tredway," an assumed name, until his candidacy for a seat on the Scottsdale City Council led to the discovery of his real identity. Now the friends' group is seeking a commutation of his sentence and a presidential pardon. Ray Gold, Mechanic's former father-in-law, has taken a leadership role in publicizing Mechanic's plight. "The punishment does not fit the crime," says Gold from his Scottsdale home. Gold says he is motivated by his love of his grandson, Ari Gold, a 19-year-old college student, born when Mechanic was married to Gold's daughter, Ingrid Gold. "My grandson is suffering from this," he says. "So I am involved." He describes his former son-in-law as a gentle soul who "did not commit a crime (but) was caught up in the times." Gold has embarked on an extensive letter-writing campaign to elected officials and newspapers. Ari worked on a Web site - www.howardmechanic.org - and is spending part of his summer vacation updating it. Mechanic's girlfriend, Janet Grossman, is helping the defense effort; some $15,000 has been raised to date. Ann Polunsky, a Valley activist, says her commitment has grown as she has learned more about the case. "We have an obligation to stand up for any human rights issue that needs attention," says Polunsky, who for many years was a leader in the Soviet Jewry movement. Polunsky's op-ed piece castigating the Jewish community for failing to support Mechanic, appeared in Jewish News May 12. Polunsky says the group will approach area congregations to help spread the word about Mechanic. "If someone Jewish is involved, we have a greater obligation to stand up," she says. One of those who read Polunsky's Jewish News piece and responded was Scottsdale attorney Louis Hoffman. Hoffman, who had worked closely with Mechanic on the landmark clean elections act passed by the Arizona State Legislature in 1998, says he called the defense committee and offered to help. He recalls Mechanic, known to him as Tredway, as "coolheaded, very thoughtful," he says, noting that Mechanic had the ability to think through the ramifications of the bill's provisions. "He was a respected member of the committee because of his pragmatic approach." Hoffman, who describes Mechanic as a private person, says that the activist's real identity fits with his persona as a Scottsdale civic leader. "It doesn't surprise me at all that he would have been an anti-war protester," says Hoffman, who plans on writing a letter on his behalf to President Clinton. "I would have imagined him picketing in college. It's very consistent." |
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