Vinson's guarded responses to the committee's questioning undoubtedly reflected Attorney General Ramsey Clark's rigid policy that no credence whatsoever be given any information obtained by eavesdropping. Even so, knowledgeable federal investigators were shocked by his seeming determination to prevent the Gallagher-Zicarelli matter from being aired. The following exchange took place between Vinson and committee chairman Dante Fascell.

FASCELL: I am trying to get some order of the magnitude with respect to corruption by organized crime or otherwise of public officials, local government, state government and federal government. As I understand your testimony so far, you have no knowledge of any infiltration by organized crime into federal government or its agencies, but there is some at the state level, and considerably more at the local level. . . . Is that a fair restatement?

VINSON: Yes, I think so. You see, I don't believe that a large gambling operation, for instance, can exist without some knowledge at the local level. ... by and large, we are dealing with consensual crimesgambling, narcotics, shylocking. And the public is not concerned particularly about gambling, illegal gambling, bookies, numbers operations. And I think that apathy is reflected in police operations locally.

FASCELL: I asked you about direct infiltration. How about corruptive influence of organized crime in the federal government? Is there any that you know of?