U.S. Capitol Police -- Letter No. 17

February 17, 1999
3801 Connecticut Avenue, NW
#136
Washington, DC 20008-4530

Stephan J. Horan, S.A.
United States Capitol Police
Threat Assessment Section
Room 605
119 D Street, NE
Washington, DC 20510-7218

Dear Mr. Horan:

I had a boyhood friend, in Philadelphia, named Mark Needleman.

Mark Needleman's older brother Alan Needleman, Ph.D. (born 1944) is a professor of engineering at Brown University. I formed the (paranoid) belief that an Akin Gump manager contacted Alan Needleman in the spring of 1991. My belief was based on the fact that during a telephone conversation with my sister I had mentioned Alan Needleman. The following day a coworker of mine at Akin Gump, Sherry Ann Patrick, was going around saying in an angry and contemptuous tone, "Mark my words. Just mark my words." Obviously, my belief was based on an "idea of reference."

You may reach Dr. Alan Needleman at his office at the Engineering Department at Brown University, which is located in Providence, Rhode Island.

Coincidentally, Akin Gump's managing partner Laurence J. Hoffman (as well as Mr. Hoffman's son, Matthew) is a graduate of Brown.

My situation remains the same. I continue to see my psychotherapist, Lisa Osborne, weekly at the P Street Clinic. I have once per month sessions with attending physician Albert H. Taub, M.D., which were instituted in August 1998 in response to the law enforcement concerns of the U.S. Capitol Police and the U.S. Secret Service. There does not appear to be any change in my condition that would alter my eligibility for disability benefits paid by the U.S. Social Security Administration.

Incidentally, I want to mention that on the afternoon of August 7, 1998 the U.S. Secret Service agent who escorted me home from your office advised me that the U.S. Secret Service would be willing to assist my voluntary commitment to a treatment facility in the event that, at some future time, I felt that was necessary. I certainly will not hesitate to take advantage of such assistance.

Sincerely,

Gary Freedman