The firm's presence in Washington is pervasive, ranging from debt negotiations for Peru and Somalia with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to lobbying in behalf of GTECH, a Rhode Island firm, for the placement of lottery terminals with handicapped vendors on federal property; from winning extension of the SH-2F helicopter production line for Kaman Aerospace to seeking approval for Allied-Signal to import, process and export uranium from South Africa; from winning foreign trade zone status for a Chrysler-Mitsubishi plant to representing Puerto Rico, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic during the [Ronald Reagan] administration's development of the Caribbean Basin Initiative.

President [George Bush] has himself taken two visible steps of key importance to Black Manafort Stone & Kelly clients. On Jan. 6, before he was inaugurated, Bush sent a letter to Savimbi pledging continued U.S. military and diplomatic support of UNITA, which now gets an estimated $50 million in covert U.S. aid, according to government sources. Last month, Bush fulfilled a campaign promise and extended import restrictions on foreign steel, an extension sought by, among others, client Bethlehem Steel-although the 2 1/2-year extension was not as long as the four to five years sought by the industry.

In the lobbying marketplace, "Jim {[James Healey]} was considered one of the hottest people coming off the Hill," [Paul J. Manafort] said. According to other firms that wanted to hire Healey, Black Manafort Stone & Kelly was willing to pay a high price for him-more than $400,000 a year to start.