A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

hout intervention by Attorney General Janet Reno or high-ranking Justice Departm

ent aides . Holder sent an outline of the proposed charges to the Justice Depart

ment late last month . ( Begin optional trim ) An indictment of Rostenkowski lik

ely would include allegations that he : Illegally converted stamps to cash for h

is personal use through the House post office between 1985 and 1991 . Former Hou

se Postmaster Robert V. Rota , who pleaded guilty to charges last July and would

 be a key trial witness for the prosecution , has alleged he improperly transfer

red $ 21,000 to Rostenkowski . Misused official funds to buy expensive gifts for

 friends from the House office-supply service . In an admission of wrongdoing , 

Rostenkowski has already reimbursed Congress about $ 82,000 for office supplies 

purchased by his office over a period of six years . Converted government-leased

 autos to his personal ownership . Improperly used government funds to pay a num

ber of so-called `` ghost employees '' who performed no official work . ( End op

tional trim ) Removal of Rostenkowski from the Ways and Means chairmanship , whi

ch he has held since 1981 , would harm efforts to approve Clinton 's health care

 reform plan . The massive proposal is running into difficulty in other House co

mmittees , and Rostenkowski 's legendary power was expected to boost its prospec

ts in the Ways and Means panel . The Illinois Democrat could , however , still e

xert a measure of influence on the legislation by remaining on the committee . S

uch an arrangement might seem odd , but there is precedent : Wilbur Mills yielde

d the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee in the mid-1970s after public

ity about his antics with a stripper , but he stayed on the panel as a member . 

In contesting an indictment in court , Rostenkowski would be playing a high-stak

es game that automatically could result in a lengthy prison term if he were conv

icted , regardless of the sympathies of a sentencing judge . ( Optional add end 

) For example , in a fraud conviction involving a loss of more than $ 200,000 , 

federal sentencing guidelines call for a term of 15 months to 21 months for a de

fendant with no prior criminal history , as would be the case with Rostenkowski 

. If the loss is judged to be smaller for example , between $ 70,000 and $ 120,0

00 the sentence would range from 10 months to 16 months . However , in a fraud c

onviction involving abuse of a position of public or private trust , as would ap

ply to a member of Congress , the guidelines call for automatically increasing t

he period of incarceration by five months .

 PRETORIA , South Africa Dirk Coetzee is a killer . As he all too readily admits

 , the retired security police captain spent two decades in the utterly ruthless

 defense of apartheid , leaving a trail of dead or broken bodies , booby-trapped

 homes and cars of anti-apartheid activists , and poisoned dogs . `` We grew up 

brainwashed as the defenders of the last Christian outpost in Africa , '' Coetze

e said . `` When we knelt down at night to pray to our God , we already knew wha

t his answer would be : Put the enemy in our hands . '' At the height of his car

eer in the security branch of the South Africa police , said Coetzee , now 49 , 

he planned and helped carry out dozens of murders of opponents of the white gove

rnment . He was regarded as among the best the apartheid system produced to safe

guard South Africa for white Afrikaners like him . But eight years ago he fell o

ut with his superiors and , as a diabetic , was retired for health reasons . Thr

ee years later , in 1989 , the nightmare of every covert operator occurred : Coe

tzee 's black right-hand man , on death row for killing a white man , spilled th

e beans about police murder . Faced with exposure and , Coetzee said , his possi

ble `` termination '' by security police , he fled the country and began giving 

one of the first credible detailed accounts of official assassinations . He went

 to Nelson Mandela 's African National Congress for protection , using his infor

mation as leverage . `` It takes a thief to catch a thief , '' said Coetzee , wh

o has since returned to South Africa . Initially , few believed Coetzee 's stori

es , writing him off as a turncoat ( which he was ) out to save his own skin ( w

hich he denies ) . But most of the stories have been independently corroborated 

, including an official investigation by a state commission that specifically na

med the highest-ranking police generals as instigators of `` a horrible network 

of criminal activity . '' Several of the generals have been forced out , with th

eir main protector , Commissioner Johan van der Merwe , as the last holdout . Go

vernment sources say van der Merwe will be retired in the next few months , once

 the new parliament passes a police reform bill . In an interview , Coetzee deta

iled the internal workings of the security police , which constitutes about 6 pe

rcent of the total force but has produced the last three commissioners and most 

of the other top police generals . He said the security branch always operated a

bove the law and in defiance of civilian authority . When Frederik W. de Klerk ,

 still president in March , ordered the retirement of the police generals mentio

ned in connection with `` hit squad '' activities , the commissioner defied him 

without consequence . Coetzee says he is ready to accept punishment for his crim

es and has refused to ask for amnesty . But before that , he says , he would lik

e to help clean out the police . `` After all we did , when you come to your sen

ses , there is no way you can keep quiet , '' he said . `` I am asking for no in

demnity whatever . I am guilty . ''

 WASHINGTON The probe started with the House Post Office but , now , two years a

fter federal prosecutors began investigating Ways and Means Committee Chairman D

an Rostenkowski , D-Ill. , the allegations of official misconduct have moved far

 beyond stamps . In fact , the initial allegations that Rostenkowski traded post

age vouchers for cash at the House Post Office now rate as a comparatively weak 

portion of the government 's case , so much so that his defense lawyers have plo

tted to use them to undermine the rest of the case , sources close to Rostenkows

ki say . Lawyers see the former House postmaster who told prosecutors Rostenkows

ki participated in the allegedly illegal exchanges as a less than ideal witness 

. Rostenkowski faces a Tuesday deadline for accepting a plea bargain and almost 

certain jail time or fighting to salvage what is left of his public reputation b

y challenging a litany of charges in court . Either choice would knock the power

ful 66-year-old Chicagoan from his influential chairmanship and prominent role i

n shaping President Clinton 's health care legislation and major trade , welfare

 and campaign finance bills . U.S. . Attorney Eric H . Holder Jr. has outlined f

or the Justice Department what has been described as a `` kitchen sink '' of all

eged abuses of Rostenkowski 's official accounts for postage , leased automobile

s , office space , supplies and personnel . Rostenkowski , completing his 36th y

ear in Congress , entered plea negotiations in an effort to reduce or eliminate 

any prison sentence while avoiding a lengthy legal battle and possibly retaining

 his Ways and Means chairmanship , sources familiar with the discussions said . 

Such negotiations are considered normal and cannot be used against Rostenkowski 

should the case go to trial . However , the talks are acknowledgment on both sid

es that there might be weaknesses in their positions . Prosecutors , although ge

nerally confident of their case if a federal grand jury approves an indictment ,

 are said to harbor some concerns Rostenkowski might prove likable to jurors and

 also benefit from their assumptions that most officeholders commit similar acts

 . Still , Rostenkowski 's defense attorneys are said to be worried about the lo

ng list of charges in the government 's case . Yesterday , sources described bot

h sides as at loggerheads . Under normal procedures , Rostenkowski would have to

 relinquish his chairmanship if indicted on any felony punishable by at least tw

o years in prison . If he pleads guilty and is given jail time , efforts to remo

ve him from the chairmanship would likely come immediately . Faced with the ugly

 options , Rostenkowski is leaning toward fighting , knowing he will have to cas

t doubt on each of the allegations in the laundry list . He also must overcome t

he public distaste with politicians and their perks . According to sources knowl

edgeable about the case , the allegations of `` ghost employees , '' unrelated t

o the House Post office , appear the most difficult to counter . Because of past

 controversies over members ' employees , the House has well-developed rules gov

erning staff aides . They must show up for work in a member 's Washington or dis

trict office , and each pay period the member must sign a form certifying his em

ployees performed official duties . In Rostenkowski 's case , the FBI interviewe

d at least a half-dozen individuals listed as employees of his Chicago district 

office in recent years but who were said not to have been seen in the office . O

ne probe centered on a woman who allegedly stayed on the payroll for years after

 she supposedly quit to rear her children . The Chicago Sun-Times in December id

entified the woman as the wife of a Chicago alderman and protege of Rostenkowski

 . The paper also named an elderly woman in her 70s , who it alleged appeared on

 Rostenkowski 's payroll four times in the late 1980s . She denied doing any wor

k for him except babysitting his children . His youngest is in her 30s . Despite

 the legislative demands of his Ways and Means chairmanship , Rostenkowski paid 

close attention to his payroll account , according to a former employee of the H

ouse Finance Office , H. Bruce Avner . He was assigned to handle the account , i

n which Rostenkowski made frequent changes in pay levels and employees to maximi

ze his salary allotment . Holder was faced with the allegations about `` ghost e

mployees '' after he was sworn in as U.S. attorney last October and decided to p

resent evidence to a new grand jury rather than seek indictments from one whose 

term was expiring . The inquiry was also expanded to cover Rostenkowski 's purch

ases of personal and gift items through his expense account at the House Station

ery Store . Acting on advice of his lawyers , Rostenkowski last January repaid t

he government $ 82,000 charged to his official stationery account over six years

 , including what he acknowledged were `` purchases by myself or others of items

 for personal use '' as well as `` gifts to those who had counseled , assisted o

r supported my activities in public service '' and `` items . . . donated to cha

rities in my district to use as items at fund-raising auctions . '' In letters t

o House Administration Chairman Charlie Rose , D-N.C. , Rostenkowski said the re

imbursements covered `` various bowls , mugs , plates , china , clocks , paperwe

ights and decorative items . . . bearing the congressional seal , '' chairs embo

ssed with a picture of the Capitol given to supporters , `` tote bags , cuff lin

ks . . . key chains , books '' and `` clocks , magnifying glasses , picture fram

es , cameras , albums and some luggage . '' House leaders ordered gift items rem

oved from the stationery store in 1992 , but before that time members were allow

ed to charge them to their accounts and later pay for the purchases , plus a 10 

percent surcharge . The store in the basement of the Longworth House Office Buil

ding , which does not serve the public , stocks paper goods and other supplies u

sed in members ' offices . Rostenkowski said he repaid `` all sums arguably due 

'' and blamed `` the ambiguity and flexibility surrounding many of the House rul

es , which have changed over time . '' His lawyer , Robert S. Bennett , has argu

ed the stationery store purchases should be `` a matter internal to the House . 

'' Under the law , Rostenkowski 's reimbursements have no bearing on his potenti

al culpability , but the repayments could influence jurors . His official leases

 of three automobiles from a Chicago-area dealership and subsequent acquisition 

of them as a private owner have also come under prosecutors ' scrutiny . Under H

ouse rules , the government pays for lawmakers to lease cars used for official t

ravel in their districts . They may also acquire those vehicles after the lease 

expires . But they are prohibited from getting special deals to buy cars at disc

ount prices as condition of the official leases , which are reviewed and preappr

oved by staff of the House Administration Committee . Part of the question about

 Rostenkowski is whether the cars were used for private purposes rather than off

icial use while they were leased with government funds . The committee 's invest

igation in early 1992 of House Post Office irregularities has played a role in s

hifting the focus from allegations that Rostenkowski and other lawmakers traded 

postage vouchers and stamps for thousands of dollars at the House Post Office . 

Robert V. Rota , the former longtime postmaster at the contract station , initia

lly denied to committee investigators that such exchanges occurred . Last July ,

 Rota pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges for participating in such exchanges

 with two lawmakers court documents described as `` Congressman A '' and `` Cong

ressman B . '' House records of Rostenkowski 's postage purchases matched him wi

th `` Congressman A , '' whom the documents said received $ 21,300 from Rota in 

allegedly illegal exchanges between 1985 and 1991 . The contradiction between Ro

ta 's initial denial and subsequent court admission gives defense lawyers a chan

ce to challenge his truthfulness before jurors , lawyers close to the case say .

 He is also known to be a diffident individual who appears nervous in the public

 spotlight , as was evident when he made his pleading before Judge Norma H. John

son. Both factors could make him an unsatisfactory witness . Johnson has a reput

ation for tough sentencing although federal guidelines leave judges relatively l

ittle discretion . Her reputation is thought to be one reason Rostenkowski consi

dered a plea agreement . Another worry , one Ways and Means friend said , was be

ing a white politician facing what would almost certainly be a predominantly bla

ck jury in the District .

 WASHINGTON With an unbridled fury , conservative foes of President Clinton are 

spinning sometimes bizarre conspiracy theories about him into a character-rippin

g tornado of videotapes , newsletters , radio chatter and tips to investigative 

reporters . `` It 's intense , '' says Larry Sabato , a University of Virginia p

rofessor of political science . `` There is no president in modern times , since

 Nixon , who has stirred such basic passions . '' Beyond partisan politics , Sab

ato and other observers attribute the depth of antipathy toward Clinton to mistr

ust of the president and his baby-boom generation , compounded by fear of the ch

ange he advocates and his political skills in promoting it . Illustrating the op

en contempt being displayed for Clinton : The Rev. Jerry Falwell is selling TV v

iewers of his `` Old Time Gospel Hour '' a $ 40 videotape purporting to blame Cl

inton for several mysterious deaths in Arkansas . Conservative activist and radi

o personality Floyd Brown , already a thorn in Clinton 's side in the Whitewater

 land-development investigation , soon may turn his attention to trying to subst

antiate a hot new rumor involving supposed Clinton connections with a drug-smugg

ling ring . Radio and TV talk show commentator Rush Limbaugh instantly broadcast

 and embellished a newsletter report that White House deputy counsel Vince Foste

r didn't kill himself in a Virginia park last summer but died in a secret hideaw

ay used by Hillary Clinton and other Arkansans in Washington ; and his body was 

carried to the spot where it was found . Reflecting the glee with which some con

servatives welcomed the sexual-harassment lawsuit against Clinton by former Arka

nsas state employee Paula Jones , Washington Times Editor Wesley Pruden joked in

 a May 20 column that Jones says she is able to identify a `` distinctive mark n

ear the president 's clinton . '' Sabato says that U.S. politics has `` degenera

ted into low-level warfare . '' Attacks on Clinton are motivated not only by ide

ology but by `` a personal kind of contempt '' stemming from religiously based m

oral outrage and a widespread feeling that , because Clinton received only a 43 

percent plurality victory in a three-man presidential race , he has no real righ

t to be president , Sabato says . Some leading Clinton-bashers warn that careles

s heapings of vitriol could provoke a backlash of sympathy for the president . M

any commentators attributed Clinton 's 1992 win partly to counterproductive GOP 

personal attacks on him and his wife , Hillary Rodham Clinton , that began at th

e Republican National Convention in Houston . Cliff Jackson , the Arkansas attor

ney and former Oxford University classmate who made Clinton 's Vietnam War draft

 record a 1992 campaign issue , complains that the Falwell tape is unsubstantiat

ed and `` engages in the same deceit I object to in Bill Clinton . '' Jackson , 

also a key figure in publicizing womanizing allegations against Clinton by Arkan

sas state troopers and Jones , says : `` There are people out there who think th

ey 're helping , but they 're hurting . The truth itself is sufficient here . ''

 Equally dubious about the Falwell tape is Reed Irvine , of the conservative gro

up Accuracy in Media , a Washington-based watchdog group that bought newspaper a

ds to prod The Washington Post into publishing Jones ' allegations . Irvine says

 the tape `` sounds pretty wild . '' ( Begin optional trim ) On the tape , Gary 

Parks , son of a slain onetime Little Rock security chief for Clinton 's preside

ntial campaign , says , `` I feel that Bill Clinton had my father killed '' to s

eize secret files on Clinton love affairs . No proof is offered . The tape is na

rrated by Larry Nichols , a fired former Arkansas state official who has admitte

d he had no evidence for a 1990 lawsuit he filed alleging Clinton misused state 

funds to romance five women ; the suit was dismissed . ( End optional trim ) Ask

ed about the allegations , Falwell spokesman Mark DeMoss says , `` Yeah , I imag

ine some of them willn't add up , possibly , but all of them can't be coming out

 of thin air . '' As exemplified by Pruden 's off-color gibe , Jones ' lawsuit h

as many anti-Clintonites so agog that conservative syndicated columnist Cal Thom

as recently decried an atmosphere of `` self-stimulation over details of Clinton

 's alleged behavior in a Little Rock hotel room . '' Thomas warned that conserv

atives are `` enjoying themselves too much '' and should battle Clinton 's polic

ies instead of `` too avidly prolonging their association with this kind of inde

cent political exposure . '' To the extent that mainstream Republicans join in `

` wallowing and reveling in the mud '' of the Jones suit , Thomas says , `` it j

ust reinforces the idea that Republicans are out of ideas . '' ( Optional Add En

d ) But few high-ranking Republicans have concentrated on the rumors and innuend

oes regarding Clinton 's personal conduct . Republican National Chairman Haley B

arbour says the party is keeping its distance from Jones . House Minority Whip N

ewt Gingrich , R-Ga. , told Cox Newspapers recently that a `` sick culture '' is

 `` destroying the institution of the presidency as an important symbol binding 

us together . '' On ABC 's `` Nightline '' last month , Limbaugh indicated that 

portraying Clinton as a habitual liar is a means of crippling the president 's l

egislative proposals . `` This is not about getting rid of the president , '' Li

mbaugh said . `` This is about people who would like to stop health care in a le

gitimate democratic sense , trying to compete for the minds and hearts of the Am

erican people on the basis that maybe what the president 's saying isn't true . 

''

 ROME Silvio Berlusconi dimmed the lights and drew the blinds in his elegant off

ice at the Palazzo Chigi . Even at sunset , his day seemed far from over . There

 were cables to read , legislative plans to approve and other tasks of governing

 that he says keep him working until as late as 2 a.m. . Three weeks after becom

ing Italy 's prime minister and only three months after he entered politics one 

of Europe 's biggest media tycoons is struggling to adapt to his new role of run

ning the world 's fifth-largest industrial democracy . `` Churchill said politic

s is fine , except you have to shake too many hands and deal with too many stupi

dities , '' Berlusconi said as he eased into an armchair for his first interview

 since taking office . `` I 'm used to shaking hands , because of my involvement

 with soccer and show business , but not to listening to the enormous number of 

stupidities that I hear in politics . '' `` I have 11 houses spread all over , i

ncluding an extraordinary park , '' he said . `` Now I am forced to lead a life 

that , frankly , does not please me . However , I consider myself to be fighting

 a war on behalf of my country . '' When President Clinton opens his European to

ur next Thursday by paying a call on Italy 's reluctant crusader , he will find 

that Berlusconi 's astounding political rise is still generating shock waves acr

oss the continent . The 57-year-old businessman was swept into power on a tide o

f voter disgust with the corruption-ridden caste that ruled Italy for four decad

es , stirring fears of further populist revolts against mainstream governments e

lsewhere in Europe . He has appointed five cabinet ministers from a party with n

eo-fascist roots , arousing fears in France and Germany that their entry into go