GREENVILLE, Tex., Dec. 6 – Flamboyant, ostentatious, bombastic and garrulous are just a few adjectives to accurately describe Donald Laisure, the self-proclaimed millionaire who last September married Susan Atkins, convicted murderer and Manson cult follower.

For the past 10 years, Laisure, 52, says he has been working within legal means to gain the release of the woman who calls him “Honey Bear.” However, he alleges California officials fail to see it that way and have recently issued a sealed indictment for his arrest.

He claims the six-count indictment names him as the mastermind in a conspiracy that involves 20 former Los Angeles policemen, Green Berets, and former FBI agents in an escape attempt. He expects to be arrested within the next 15 to 20 days.

Laisure denies trying to organize a prison break for his wife, but says, “if I decided to crash her out it would be a snap. A totally simple operation. There’s only two doors between her and the outside.

“It would be very simple, with no bloodshed.”

In his effort to free his wife from behind bars, Laisare claims to have spent more than $26 million on legal maneuvers which have all failed to date.

Laisure says he is now pursuing two completely different avenues in order to gain her release: one, a presidential pardon sparked by an alleged petition signed by Washington notables and two, several forms of cash “remuneration.”

“If money can do it she’ll be out,” Leisure said, while claiming that financial remuneration was not a form of bribery. “I tell you how it’s done, sometimes people open up their car doors or the doors of their homes and find a million dollars. It happens all the time. No questions asked.

“They know who sent it and they know why you sent it and that way there are no receipts.

“I drop a hell of a lot of money to circumvent what I can’t do with litigation.

“Even if she was guilty she should have been out by now. She was just an accomplice and never killed anyone. She was charged with seven counts of murder, but they (L.A.district attorney’s office) never put a weapon in her hand.”

Laisure, who has been married 36 times, claims to be a self-made millionaire, but pleads the “Fifth Amendment” when asked how he made the money. He says he made some of it in oil and gambling (“I never gamble for less than $50,000 and then only behind closed doors.”) and insinuates that the rest of it comes from organised crime connections.

His marriage license lists his business address as Chicago Enterprises Inc., of Greenville.

Laisure, who has been arrested 51 times with no conviction, admitted that in 1967 he “fell” for a national credit card scheme in Collin County, to which he pleaded guilty and was eventually pardoned by former Gov. Preston Smith.

Despite his somewhat extravagant lifestyle he says the present Mrs. Laisure is not a threat to society despite the fact that she physically attacked him on three different occasions within a 15-hour period several months before the Tate killings in 1969.

“Yeah, she stabbed me pretty bad one time in the arm. There was blood all over the car. But, I knew she had a bad temper.

“The next morning she shot me through the hand with a .32-30 while she was taking LSD, heroin, peyote and drinking Wild Turkey.

“She would never drink the cheap stuff, only the best. She would have $20 in her pocket and would spend $15 on a quart of Wild Turkey.”

The third act of aggression was when she slapped Laisure about the face 37 times when he teased her about having a date with another woman.

“I’m not a masochist, I don’t like pain, but I just wanted to see when she would stop.”

She stopped when his eye started bleeding and he grabbed and shook her by the blouse.

Shortly afterwards, Laisure said Miss Atkins attempted to kill Charles Manson, but was unsuccessful on two occasions.

“She told me recently that, ‘Don, you should have knocked me on the head and taken me out of there (the Manson family cult),'” Laisure said. “But if I had gone in where they were living with a gun, then I would not have been any different then they were when they killed all of those people.

“I left when she started hanging around the family.”

Laisure says now his wife won’t even talk about Manson and has read very little about the incident.

Despite all of the complications his life seems to bring about, Laisure says there is one other possible setback in the making.

“I’m about to become involved in a Hollywood scandal with a major Hollywood actress,” the cowboy hatted, cigar puffing, man said.

He claims to have been involved with the woman, who major publications document as being romantically involved with comedian Steve Martin, for over 10 years and it’s because of her alleged love for Laisure that she is planning to throw her entire career away and “leak the news (of the affair) to the media.”

When asked if he would do anything in his life over again, Laisure laughed and said, “Yeah, I’d probably marry her.” (the actress, not Miss Atkins)

Despite all of the media coverage, Laisure continues to remain an enigma to those who deal with him. The amount of his alleged fortune, involvement with organized crime, romantic Hollywood endeavors are all unverified except for documents Laisure carries with him.

Whether he is, in fact, seeking publicity or is sincerely attempting to gain the release of his wife, Laisure still says his main concern is his “love for Susan” and continues to wage war in an attempt to get her released from prison. “It’s a love story. It’s as simple as that.”

By ROBERT ARNOLD and BARBARA SCHNEIDER