FRED LARUE, RUMOURED 'DEEP THROAT' OF NIXON ERA, DEAD AT 75

[merh]

FRED LARUE, RUMOURED 'DEEP THROAT' OF NIXON ERA, DEAD AT 75

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) - Fred LaRue, a Watergate scandal figure and high-ranking official in the administration of the late president Richard Nixon who once was rumoured to be Deep Throat, has died of natural causes.

He was 75. His body was discovered Tuesday by a maid who entered his hotel room in Biloxi, Coroner Gary Hargrove said. The coroner said he believes LaRue died Saturday.

LaRue was known as the "bagman" who delivered payoffs to keep participants in the Watergate break-in quiet and served 4 1/2 months in federal prison for conspiracy to obstruct justice.

LaRue served as special assistant to John Mitchell, the former U.S. attorney general who later headed Nixon's re-election committee.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2004/07/27/559304-ap.html