Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Wade no stranger to Sun

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002 | 8:23 a.m.

For journalists who happen to become involved, the same is true.

A case being tried in local courts has one Morris Wade accused of trying to find a hit man to kill his wife because she wouldn't hire a hit man for him.

Sound confusing? Well, it's nothing compared to the bewildering actions of that same Morris Wade 30 years ago.

On July 25, 1972, William Coulthard, a prominent attorney and former head of the local FBI office, was killed when a bomb planted in his car exploded. The case remains unsolved to this day.

A key player in the mystery was Morris Wade, who claimed to have knowledge of the killing. He allegedly stated he was the "lookout man" for the murder and drove the actual bomber to and from the scene.

For reasons known only to himself, Wade became paranoid and feared for his life. He turned to Sun investigative reporter Paul Price and "spilled his guts."

I became involved in December 1972 when I received a phone call at home from someone calling from Reno identifying himself as Morris Wade.

I quickly grabbed a pen and took his lengthy rambling remarks in shorthand.

Wade told me he was on the run, was getting out of Reno and would call the next day between 5:30 and 6 p.m.

After reporting the call to Sun Publisher Hank Greenspun and Price, the plot (as they say in the theater) thickened.

Wade would call, telling us where he was, and then disappear.

Greenspun, Price and a regular posse of officers from various agencies traveled literally thousands of miles on a trail that led from Las Vegas to Dallas to California and Florida.

When Greenspun was finally able to contact Wade, Greenspun persuaded him to check into a Miami hotel and await the publisher's arrival.

Wade agreed and finally returned to Nevada to face a Clark County grand jury.

Part of the agreement was a promise from the district attorney of immunity from criminal prosecution. Certain conditions were attached.

Throughout the entire debacle, Wade made so many conflicting statements that he lost credibility and was never legally blamed for any part in the Coulthard murder.

It was a crime odyssey that at times was loaded with drama, intrigue and tension, but often degenerated into frustration and dead ends.

Was Morris Wade really involved? Was he the "lookout man" for the real perpetrators?

Perhaps we will never know, but 30 years later Morris Wade is still inferring he had an active role in the Coulthard case.

His current attorney, John Lukens, has described his client as a "cantankerous" elderly man who is slightly mentally ill.

That description (minus the word elderly) would fit perfectly the Morris (Bill) Wade who led us all on a wild goose chase across the United States.