The Foreign Service Journal, October 2007

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 55 heart attack in California in 1983. His wife had divorced him following his trial. His obituary in State magazine made no mention of his manslaughter conviction. The State Department’s attitude toward the case was ambiguous. It offered full cooperation to Erdos’ defense team, as well as to the prose- cution. Nonetheless, Erdos was grant- ed a full-disability retirement even before the trial, an act implicitly accepting and supporting the insanity defense rejected by the jury. Though his guilt was clear, Erdos’ motive still is not. It is hard to accept that a veteran FSO could be driven insane by a violent political atmos- phere even at an isolated post like Santa Isabel. Erdos had visited Equa- torial Guinea before he accepted the assignment and talked with me, Amb. Hoffacker and his predecessor. All of us gave him unvarnished accounts of the harsh conditions there. Obviously, important aspects of this case seem destined to remain unre- solved. Absent evidence of any coup plotting involving either officer, one cannot assert that local politics played a part. Since the jury did not accept the defense case for temporary insani- ty sparked by the unsettled domestic political situation, this justification is weak. It is, however, impossible to establish conclusively that Erdos and Leahy were homosexual lovers, des- pite strong physical and anecdotal evi- dence supporting “a lovers’ quarrel” thesis. Readers are invited to draw their own conclusions. Though his guilt was clear, Erdos’ motive still is not. 4800 Wisconsin Ave. N.W. 202-537-3000 www.MartensVolvo.com Call for program details and additional specials. Contact Dana Martens at 202-885-5312 or email DMartens@MartensCars.com for more information. The New 2008 C-30 Now Available at Diplomatic Pricing! STARTING AT $ 19,995