Jailed Woman Had Captives’ Photos : U.S. Sees Courier’s Moves as ‘Hostage Season’ Scam

WASHINGTON — In what is now openly being referred to in Washington as “the hostage season,” Reagan Administration officials believe that yet another scam has been uncovered involving the nine Americans held in Beirut.

Investigators in the United States, Italy and Lebanon are scrambling to unravel the tale that began Thursday with the arrest in Milan of a Lebanese woman, Aline Ibrahim Rizkallah, 36. She was discovered carrying photos of three hostages and a letter allegedly written by one of them.

Initial evidence indicated several discrepancies: The letter, allegedly written by hostage Alann Steen, a journalism professor, was full of clumsy grammatical errors. Although the State Department forwarded copies of Steen’s handwriting to check the signature, U.S. officials believe that the body of the letter was not written by Steen.

The three pictures--of Steen, Associated Press correspondent Terry A. Anderson and an unidentified third man, originally thought to be Thomas Sutherland--appear to be copies of photos printed some time ago in Lebanese newspapers, State Department sources said.

According to a spokesman for a leading Christian militia in Beirut, Rizkallah is a member of the Armed Revolutionary Factions, a leftist Christian militia that has no known contacts with the Shia extremists of Hezbollah who are believed to hold the nine Americans, as well as seven other hostages.

After her arrival from Beirut, Rizkallah was to make contact with Aldo Anghessa, an Italian-Swiss businessman. Reagan Administration sources said Anghessa had approached the United States last year in an attempt to sell information on the hostages. He was rebuffed after authorities checked into his background.

“We know the group that shipped them (documents and pictures), and we identified the man who delivered the material to the Lebanese woman,” Achille Serra, head of Milan’s anti-terrorist police, told the Associated Press.

‘Final Destination’ Undisclosed

“Anghessa acted as a go-between between the two groups,” he added. “One party was a Lebanese organization. We have identified the final destination. We cannot tell you about the latter.”

Pressed about the final destination by AP, Serra said: “You know an American organization is interested in getting this material. You have the experience to understand which one.”

Later Monday, Serra said he had not suggested that the U.S. government was to receive the pictures and documents and insisted he had been speculating earlier and was not giving an official conclusion.

The incident has contributed to an increasingly common profile of attempted scams related to the hostages over the last six months, counterterrorism specialists say.

‘Signs Point to Fraud’

“All the signs point to fraud,” one said.

The Reagan Administration fears that a number of developments, including the Milan incident, are creating a sense of false momentum over the hostages.

In Beirut on Monday, four members of the British Parliament met with Lebanese officials to discuss the fate of three British hostages. However, the bipartisan effort has been “disowned” by the Foreign Office in London.

“We advised the delegation that their mission was inappropriate, and we have distanced ourselves from whatever happens,” said a British envoy, in an indication that the United States is not the only country having trouble controlling unofficial intermediaries on the hostage issue.

Secret Talks in Tehran

In Tehran, representatives of Hezbollah, or Party of God, have been holding secret talks since last week with Iranian officials about ways to resolve the hostage issue, Reuters news agency reported.

U.S. officials pointed out, however, that the Lebanese militia meets regularly with its Iranian allies to confer on various subjects. Others said they did not foresee any imminent hostage releases based on these events.

Indeed, the apparent Milan scam may have further complicated efforts to free the captives. The Islamic Jihad group denied any connection with Rizkallah in a communique issued Monday along with a picture of Anderson.

It also issued a warning to Italian officials: “We hold Italian authorities fully responsible for collaborating in a malicious conspiracy aimed at besmirching our image in the eyes of public opinion. This will not go unpunished.”