Three to testify against mayor over race killing

Three men who could help to convict an American mayor over his alleged role in a 1969 race murder agreed yesterday to testify for the prosecution.

Charlie Robertson, the Mayor of York, Pennsylvania, is one of nine men who have been arrested over the death of Lillie Belle Allen during a race riot. Mr Robertson, at the time a serving police officer, is said to have passed around ammunition, instructing members of a white gang to "kill as many niggers as you can".

Yesterday, as a pre-trial hearing opened in York, three men also charged over the killing said they would be pleading guilty to conspiracy to murder as part of a plea bargain. One, Rick Knouse, told a grand jury of Mr Robertson's alleged instructions to kill blacks.

Mr Robertson, who admits to being a racist at the time of the killing but denies any involvement, said he was confident of the eventual outcome. But he has dropped out of the November election to defend his post and last night said he planned to endorse a successor.

The 1969 riots, which also claimed the life of a white police officer, started after a white gang member shot and injured a black resident. More than 60 people were injured and 100 arrested.