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23
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Arif Durrani.md
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@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
---
updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Arms Dealers & Brokers"
tags:
- Person
@ -17,13 +18,19 @@ Durrani had close connections to the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International
He outlined BCCI's and [[Asaf Ali]]'s weapons deals across the globe, from [[Bulgaria]] to [[Nigeria]].[^10] Durrani also stated that BCCI steered some of his business to [[First American Bank]] in [[New York City]], considering BCCI and First American Bank interchangeable for financial transactions.[^11]
Until his arrest, Durrani was the managing director of Merex, a California arms firm that supplied the Israelis.[^12]
Beaty and Gwynne describe Durrani, until his arrest, as the managing director of Merex, a California arms firm that supplied the Israelis.[^12]
[[Christopher Byron]] reported in December 1991 that Durrani formed a Los Angeles company called Merex Corporation in 1984, and suggested that Durrani chose the name to trade on the reputation of a much larger company of the same name, Merex, Inc., of Alexandria, Virginia and Konigswinter, Germany.[^13] Byron also reported that a court-appointed investigator working on Durrani's case had found 1984 documents and telex traffic of [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]] suggesting negotiations for South Korean explosives, cannon shells and F-4 parts. According to the investigator, one of the F-4 parts, a QK410B oscillator, is a component of certain Hawk surface-to-air missile systems. Durrani claims that the only Hawk systems then in operation anywhere that used that part were those installed in Iran, and that his later efforts to ship an identical part to Iran led to his arrest.[^13]
### Sentence and Appeal
In May 1987 Chief Judge [[T.F. Gilroy Daly]] of the federal court in [[Connecticut]] sentenced Durrani to ten years in prison and a fine of 2 million dollars for illegally exporting HAWK missile parts to Iran in 1986, with a concurrent ten years and 1 million dollars for selling arms without registering with the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]. The judge told him his testimony was riddled with "greed, lies, money, perjury, avarice and conniving" and that "your behavior was bordering on treason."[^13] In December 1987 the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|Second Circuit]] rejected his defense that he had acted on the orders of Oliver North and [[John Poindexter]], the first use of what became known as the "Oliver North defense," and upheld the conviction (United States v. Durrani, 835 F.2d 410). A petition he filed in 2003, his fourth post-conviction attack on the sentence, was denied (Durrani v. United States, 294 F. Supp. 2d 204, D. Conn.).[^14][^15]
In May 1987 Chief Judge [[T.F. Gilroy Daly]] of the federal court in [[Connecticut]] sentenced Durrani to ten years in prison and a fine of 2 million dollars for illegally exporting HAWK missile parts to Iran in 1986, with a concurrent ten years and 1 million dollars for selling arms without registering with the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]. The judge told him his testimony was riddled with "greed, lies, money, perjury, avarice and conniving" and that "your behavior was bordering on treason."[^14] In December 1987 the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|Second Circuit]] rejected his defense that he had acted on the orders of Oliver North and [[John Poindexter]], the first use of what became known as the "Oliver North defense," and upheld the conviction (United States v. Durrani, 835 F.2d 410). A petition he filed in 2003, his fourth post-conviction attack on the sentence, was denied (Durrani v. United States, 294 F. Supp. 2d 204, D. Conn.).[^15][^16]
From prison he told *[[Time (magazine)|Time]]* in 1991 that "Asaf is B.C.C.I.'s man in the weapons business," referring to Asaf Ali.[^16]
He moved for a reduction of sentence under Rule 35 in July 1988, and the motion was denied on May 23, 1989. He filed a pro se petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255 on March 4, 1990, and on August 6, 1991 filed an amended petition with counsel, alleging that the government had withheld exculpatory material and that agents knew private individuals, including [[Manuel Pires]], were procuring weapons for Iran. On October 2, 1991, after in camera review, the district court ordered some documents produced by the Office of Independent Counsel to be disclosed to Durrani. On May 21, 1992 Durrani moved to dismiss the section 2255 petition voluntarily, saying he wanted to resolve his immigration proceedings first, and the court dismissed it without prejudice.[^16]
On September 9, 1991 the United States Attorney's Office in Bridgeport objected to each of seven requests for production in Durrani's second request for documents. The objection characterizes the claims as a fishing expedition and states that the government had searched for any connection between Pires and the government up to August 1, 1987 without result.[^17] It also reports that defense counsel had taken the depositions of [[Barbara Studley]] and [[John Singlaub]] in Washington in August 1991, and states that neither witness had any knowledge of Durrani's claims and that both had met Pires only within the last two years. The same page states that a deposition of former CIA official [[George Cave]] would offer no greater prospect of usefulness than the Studley-Singlaub examinations, citing Cave's relationship with the CIA and exposure to classified information.[^17]
From prison he told *[[Time (magazine)|Time]]* in 1991 that "Asaf is B.C.C.I.'s man in the weapons business," referring to Asaf Ali.[^18]
### Footnotes
@ -39,7 +46,9 @@ From prison he told *[[Time (magazine)|Time]]* in 1991 that "Asaf is B.C.C.I.'s
[^10]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 306.
[^11]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 306.
[^12]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 305.
[^13]: "Arms dealer sentenced to 10 years," United Press International, May 13, 1987. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/13/Arms-dealer-sentenced-to-10-years/6753547876800/
[^14]: "Court rejects arms merchant's use of 'Oliver North defense,'" United Press International, December 4, 1987. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/12/04/Court-rejects-arms-merchants-use-of-Oliver-North-defense/3615565592400
[^15]: Durrani v. United States, 294 F. Supp. 2d 204 (D. Conn. 2003).
[^16]: "Scandals: Not Just a Bank," *Time,* September 2, 1991. https://time.com/archive/6718475/scandals-not-just-a-bank/
[^13]: Christopher Byron, "Did Convict Arif Durrani Help Set the Stage for Iran/Contra?," *New York*, December 16, 1991, pp. 38-44, GeoMiliTech passages on pp. 42-44. https://books.google.com/books?id=6ugCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42
[^14]: "Arms dealer sentenced to 10 years," United Press International, May 13, 1987. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/13/Arms-dealer-sentenced-to-10-years/6753547876800/
[^15]: "Court rejects arms merchant's use of 'Oliver North defense,'" United Press International, December 4, 1987. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/12/04/Court-rejects-arms-merchants-use-of-Oliver-North-defense/3615565592400
[^16]: *Durrani v. United States*, 294 F. Supp. 2d 204 (D. Conn. 2003), Background. https://www.ctd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/112503.SRU_.Durrani.pdf
[^17]: Government's Objection to Arif Durrani's Second Request for Production of Documents, *United States v. Arif Durrani*, D. Conn., B-90-090 (TFGD) and B-86-59 (TFGD), September 9, 1991, pp. 1-11. CIA CREST document 0001474388. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/0001474388
[^18]: "Scandals: Not Just a Bank," *Time,* September 2, 1991. https://time.com/archive/6718475/scandals-not-just-a-bank/

195
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Daniel O. Graham.md Normal file
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---
title: Daniel O. Graham
aliases:
- Daniel O. Graham
- Daniel Orrin Graham
- Dan Graham
- Danny Graham
- Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham
- Lieutenant General Daniel O. Graham
- Lt. Gen. Daniel Graham
- General Graham
- Gen. Graham
created: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Intelligence & Government"
tags:
- Person
- DefenseIntelligenceAgency
- CentralIntelligenceAgency
- TeamB
- HighFrontier
- StrategicDefenseInitiative
- PsiResearch
- Stargate
- IranContra
- GeoMiliTech
- SpaceTransportation
summary: "Lieutenant general who directed the Defense Intelligence Agency from September 1974 to January 1976, founded High Frontier in 1981 to promote space-based missile defense, and was deposed in the Iran-Contra inquiry in 1987."
born: 1925-04-13
died: 1995-12-31
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
role: "staff officer, Office of National Estimates; later deputy to the Director of Central Intelligence for the Intelligence Community Staff"
start: 1963
end: 1974
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[Defense Intelligence Agency]]"
role: "director"
start: 1974-09
end: 1976-01-01
fn: 7
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Team B]]"
role: "member"
start: 1976
end: 1976
fn: 10
- type: employed_by
with: "[[University of Miami]]"
role: "adjunct professor of military strategy"
start: 1976
fn: 3
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Ronald Reagan]]"
role: "military adviser to the 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns"
start: 1976
end: 1980
fn: 3
- type: head_of
with: "[[Coalition for Peace through Strength]]"
role: "co-chairman"
start: 1978
fn: 3
- type: founded
with: "[[High Frontier]]"
start: 1981
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[High Frontier]]"
role: "director"
start: 1981
fn: 2
- type: member_of
with: "[[National Strategy Committee]]"
role: "member"
start: 1980
end: 1980
fn: 18
- type: member_of
with: "[[National Intelligence Study Center]]"
role: "advisory board"
start: 1983
fn: 19
- type: head_of
with: "[[Space Transportation Association]]"
role: "leader, as described in a 1995 letter"
fn: 26
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Iran-Contra Affair]]"
role: "deponent before the Senate Select Committee, May 26, 1987"
start: 1987
end: 1987
fn: 2
---
Daniel Orrin Graham (1925 to December 31, 1995) was an Army officer and intelligence official who served on the staff of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], directed the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] from September 1974 to January 1, 1976, and afterward led the campaign for space-based missile defense through [[High Frontier]], which he founded in 1981. The [[New York Times]] called him "probably the most persistent advocate" of the approach.[^1] He was deposed by the [[Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition]] on May 26, 1987 about his acquaintance with [[Barbara Studley]] and her firm [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]][^2]
### Birth, schooling and early service
The New York Times obituary of January 3, 1996 gives his birth as April 13, 1925, near [[Medford, Oregon]], and says he was the son of farmers who worked in sawmills and orchards as a teenager.[^1] The finding aid for his papers at the University of Miami gives his birthplace as [[Portland, Oregon]].[^3] In his deposition he listed public schools in Oregon, then [[United States Military Academy|West Point]], which he entered in 1943 and left with a commission in 1946.[^2]
After West Point he served in Germany until 1951, was assigned to the [[11th Airborne Division]], was sent to Monterey to learn Russian, and served in [[United States Army Special Forces|Special Forces]]. He commanded an infantry company in [[South Korea|Korea]] from 1954 to 1956, then returned to the [[101st Airborne Division]] and attended the [[United States Army Command and General Staff College|Command and General Staff College]] at [[Fort Leavenworth]]. In 1958 he became assistant chief of staff for intelligence at the [[Pentagon]].[^2]
### Central Intelligence Agency, 1963 to 1974
In 1963 Graham joined the [[Office of National Estimates]] of the CIA as a staff officer covering Soviet military affairs. He returned to the Army in 1966 to command the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion in the Pacific. In 1967 he attended the [[United States Army War College|Army War College]] and then served as chief of current intelligence and estimates at the [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam]] from August 1967 to August 1968. He went back to the Office of National Estimates until 1971.[^2]
In 1971 he became a brigadier general and was assigned to the DIA as director of collections, which he described as running the attache corps and coordinating collection among the services, and then as the agency's first director of estimates.[^2] In 1972 he returned to the CIA as a major general on the new [[Intelligence Community Staff]]. In early 1973 he became deputy to Director of Central Intelligence [[William E. Colby]] for intelligence community affairs.[^2] On January 21, 1974 he sent [[James R. Schlesinger]] at the Pentagon a copy of a preliminary post-mortem report on the Middle East crisis of the previous autumn, describing it as "rather candid."[^4] He received the Distinguished Intelligence Medal at a CIA ceremony on August 29, 1974 for his service as deputy to the Director for the Intelligence Community.[^5]
### Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
Graham became director of the DIA in September 1974. A biographical note in his 1976 monograph "U.S. Intelligence at the Crossroads" states that he declared his intention to retire on November 3, 1975, when the dismissal of Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Director of Central Intelligence William E. Colby was announced, and that he retired on January 1, 1976.[^6] In his deposition he said he was reassigned to the DIA as director in 1974 and retired from the position in January 1976 as a lieutenant general.[^2] The same note gives his earlier DIA posts as Assistant Director for Collection from January to November 1970 and Deputy Director for Estimates until May 1973, when he joined the Intelligence Community Staff; the deposition places the first DIA assignment in 1971 and the Intelligence Community Staff in 1972.[^6] In his deposition he said the DIA "coordinates all military intelligence activities," that it ran the attache corps, and that it had no covert logistics branch while he was director. He reported to the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[^7]
On June 23, 1975 he submitted a written statement to the House Appropriations Military Construction Subcommittee asking for $86.1 million in the fiscal 1976 budget for a new DIA building.[^8]
### Team B
A CIA memorandum of August 18, 1976, addressed to the Director of Security, lists "General Daniel O. Graham" among the senior people who might serve on the outside group reviewing Soviet strategic objectives, known as [[Team B]]. Graham is shown with the affiliation "[[Center for Advanced International Studies]]," in a list that also includes Van Cleave, Thomas W. Wolfe and Paul Wolfowitz.[^9] The team's report, dated December 1, 1976, names [[Richard Pipes]] as team leader, [[William Van Cleave]] as associate, and "Lt. Gen. Daniel Graham, USA, (Ret.)" with Thomas Wolfe of the [[RAND Corporation]] and General [[John Vogt]] as members. The advisory panel listed [[Paul Nitze]], [[Foy Kohler]], [[Seymour Weiss]], [[Jasper Welch]] and [[Paul Wolfowitz]].[^10] The report says its members were "deliberately selected from among experienced political and military analysts of Soviet affairs known to take a more somber view of the Soviet strategic threat than that accepted as the intelligence community's consensus."[^10]
### Psychic research during his directorship
The Defense Intelligence Agency issued "Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research" in September 1975, while Graham was director. The report, DST-1810S-387-75, was prepared by [[Louis F. Maire III]] and Major [[J. D. LaMothe]] of the [[United States Army Medical Intelligence and Information Agency|Army Medical Intelligence and Information Agency]], Office of the Surgeon General, under DIA task PT-1810-12-75, with an information cut-off of April 15, 1975. Its contents include telepathy, psychotronic generator research, psychokinesis and remote viewing.[^11]
In January 1984 [[Time]] reported that the Pentagon denied any interest in parapsychology, and quoted retired Lieutenant General Daniel O. Graham, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, who had been interviewed by the New York Times. Time wrote that Graham "indicated that the military had unquestionably been involved in psychic research," and that he considered the $6 million annual figure in [[Ronald McRae]]'s forthcoming book Mind Wars to be an exaggeration. He said: "I wouldn't be surprised if the intelligence community were following this. They would be remiss if they didn't."[^12] Graham's papers at the University of Miami contain a file titled "SRI - Sov. Exchange," which the finding aid lists without description.[^3]
### High Frontier and the Strategic Defense Initiative
Graham retired from the Army in 1976. According to his deposition, he then took a post as adjunct professor of military strategy at the University of Miami, in a think tank called the Institute for Advanced Strategic Studies.[^2] Journalist George Lardner Jr. reported that Graham had been on the staff of the [[American Security Council]], headed by [[John Fisher]], and Graham told him that Fisher "really didn't think much of this idea" of space defense.[^13] The University of Miami finding aid says Graham became co-chairman of the [[Coalition for Peace through Strength]] in 1978.[^3]
Graham founded High Frontier in September 1981 and served as its director.[^2] He told the [[Washington Post]] in 1985 that he had raised about $500,000 in private funds, "mostly from individuals," and that the checks for the study, which the Post described as 175 pages long and issued under the imprimatur of the [[Heritage Foundation]], were made out to Heritage although Heritage had little to do with the project. He said: "We went public in March 1982 and by March 1983 we had the president of the United States going our way."[^13] The Post reported that Graham had been "claiming much of the credit for the Star Wars initiative since President Reagan announced it in a speech in 1983." The paper quoted other SDI supporters and critics who said he overstated his importance.[^13] At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the SDI program on June 6, 1985, Representative [[William L. Dickinson]] referred to "Danny Graham and the High Frontier people" and asked whether High Frontier had been right all along; John Gardner, director of the Systems Division of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, answered that at an earlier time "when General Graham was associated with the DIA" Graham "saw some evidence of these Soviet direct energy weapons programs."[^14]
On January 8, 1982 Casey wrote to Graham thanking him for the "prospectus on the High Frontier project," called it "very well done and deserving of close attention," and said he found "something of a disconnect" in the budget paragraphs, which moved from a $35 billion figure to a higher $50 billion figure.[^15] The CIA reading room lists a letter from Graham to [[William J. Casey]] about High Frontier dated December 9, 1982. On December 20 Casey replied that he had "enjoyed your talk at the [[National Strategy Information Center]] breakfast" and offered to arrange for Graham to exchange ideas with CIA officers knowledgeable about space and missile technology.[^16]
### Advisory roles and awards
In May 1980 the New York Times listed Graham with Richard Pipes, William Van Cleave and Seymour Weiss among the handful of former Team B members at the core of Ronald Reagan's foreign policy and defense working groups.[^17] A partial membership list of the [[National Strategy Committee]], sent with a letter from Graham to [[Walter Pforzheimer]] on September 23, 1980, names Graham as a member.[^18] In 1983 he was named to the advisory board of the [[National Intelligence Study Center]] in Washington. That board included Casey and Paul Nitze, and Ray Cline sat on the board of directors.[^19] In early 1984 the [[International Strategic Studies Association]] named five recipients of its Award for Outstanding Contributions to Strategic Progress, among them Graham and Senator [[John Tower]]. The association's invitation to Casey was declined for him by the CIA Public Affairs office on February 9, 1984.[^20]
### Challenger and the sabotage question
In May 1986, while the presidential commission investigating the loss of the space shuttle Challenger was sitting, Graham called for an inquiry into sabotage. He told the [[Washington Times]]: "The case for foul play is undeniably strong." The commission's spokesman declined to say whether sabotage was being investigated. Graham, then head of High Frontier, said by telephone that he doubted it was being investigated "because I know what kind of reaction one gets when you bring up such a possibility." In the same interview he said he was not making a case for sabotage, that "you ought to look awfully close at it," and that the Titan, Nike-Orion and Delta failures, with the shuttle, made four space launch systems failing in a row.[^21]
On July 23, 1986 Graham wrote to Casey enclosing a paper titled "Is the KGB Sabotaging SDI?" He wrote that "My experts calculate the odds against this being coincidence" were 250 million to one, listed among his further suspicions the absence of normal Soviet surveillance of the Challenger flight, the 1983 disappearance of an Air Force officer expert in destruct systems, and French suspicions of sabotage of Ariane, and wrote that "none of this adds up to proof of Soviet sabotage." He urged Casey and [[Edwin Meese]] to "leave no stone unturned" in getting answers. Casey's note of July 28, 1986 asked the Deputy Director for Science and Technology to draft a reply. Casey replied on August 16, 1986, acknowledging Graham's letters of July 23 and 29, 1986, and the [[Space Shuttle Challenger|Challenger]] and Delta failures Graham had cited: "I am very concerned about the possibility of Soviet sabotage; however, based on the information developed in investigations of all aspects of the accidents, we do not believe the U.S. space launch failures you cited were due to Soviet action." He wrote that the specific technical failures had been identified and traced to "errors or procedural problems," that investigations had found no evidence of Soviet involvement, and that the similarity in detonation times "was a true coincidence." He also addressed a separate claim about an Air Force officer who disappeared in 1983, saying the officer "was never involved with rockets, satellites, launch control, missile destruction systems, or any similar duties."[^22] On December 8, 1986 Graham wrote to [[Robert Gates|Robert M. Gates]], then deputy director of the CIA, praising his assessment of Soviet strategic defense efforts, and copied Casey.[^23]
### Iran-Contra deposition
Graham was deposed on May 26, 1987 by [[Charles Kerr]], associate counsel to the Senate Select Committee, at the committee's offices in the [[Hart Senate Office Building]].[^2] He said he had known Studley since about 1977, when she was a Miami radio broadcaster who invited him onto her talk show, and that he met her again when she came to Washington. Counsel dated her move to about June 1984. Graham said he did not know. Asked about GeoMiliTech, he said "all I know is that she runs it and it's an international trading firm in high-tech items." He said he had no function with the company and had received no remuneration from it.[^2]
He said that in early 1985 he recommended [[Werner Glatt]] to Studley as an honest arms broker, after Studley and [[John Singlaub]] had been looking for a broker to supply arms to the [[Contras]]. He had earlier placed the conversation in early 1986. He described Glatt as "a combination of a sheep farmer and arms trader," and said he arranged a lunch, at what he recalled as the [[Carlton Hotel|Carlton]] hotel, where he introduced Glatt and Studley, stayed about ten minutes, and received no feedback about the deal. He said that Singlaub was not present, that he had never introduced Glatt to Singlaub, and that Glatt had donated to High Frontier in 1984.[^2]
Graham said that after the delivery Studley told him of "some folks that were not part of the deal showing up when the ship arrived." Counsel asked, "This would be [[Mario Dellamico]]?" and Graham answered "Okay." He said he did not know their names. He then arranged a meeting at Langley with Casey, himself and Studley so that she could tell Casey directly. Counsel put the date at about December 20, 1985, and Graham said it was "Toward the end of '85." He said: "I introduced Mrs. Studley to Bill." He said the meeting lasted "about 30 minutes, 20, 30 minutes," that Studley left documents with Casey, and that Casey "did not admit to any connection with any of the people that she named" and "just nodded like a wise old owl."[^2]
Counsel showed Graham Exhibit 1, a memorandum from Studley to Lt. Col. [[Oliver North]] dated October 30, 1985. It describes a call from an agent called "W" and says that Mario Dellamico, working with [[Ron Martin]], had asked the company to help sell Martin's arms to the Contras. The memorandum ends: "General John K. Singlaub has been advised of this information." Graham said he had not reviewed the memorandum but knew the events in general from Studley, who had told him enough to say "you need to inform Casey, not me."[^24] Graham said Studley had her own concern that the affair would hurt Glatt's business and, through him, hers.[^2]
Counsel also showed Graham Exhibit 2, a quotation dated July 28, 1986 on GeoMiliTech letterhead, over Singlaub's signature as "Consultant," offering arms to Casey. Graham said he had never seen it, and he said he knew of no relationship between Glatt and North.[^25] Graham said he met Studley and Glatt together in [[Frankfurt]], Germany, on or about May 1, 1987. He said the two were more concerned about publicity than about the law, and that he had discussed the matter with Studley three times after the story became public.[^2]
### Later years and space transportation
In a letter dated May 10, 1995, printed in the [[Congressional Record]] in February 1996, House Speaker [[Newt Gingrich]] thanked Graham for leading High Frontier and its "sister organization, the Space Transportation Association," and wrote that the X-33 reusable launch program "would not be happening today without the contributions of you and your colleagues."[^26]
Graham's papers at the University of Miami cover 1967 to 1991. They include files on the [[Westmoreland v. CBS]] suit, Arlington County politics, drafts of the High Frontier study, a file on Soviet-American relations, materials on the Strategic Defense Initiative and the CIA, and press clippings.[^3]
### Death
Graham died at his home in [[Arlington, Virginia]], on Sunday, December 31, 1995, aged 70. The New York Times reported that he died of colon cancer.[^1] He was survived by his second wife, Adele Piro Graham, whom he married in 1994. His first wife, Ruth Maxwell Graham, had died in 1989.[^1] He was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] with full military honors.[^3]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham" obituary, New York Times, January 3, 1996, reprinted in Congressional Record, vol. 142, Extensions of Remarks, pp. E143-E144 (February 1, 1996), "Tribute to General D.O. Graham," remarks of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher. https://irp.fas.org/congress/1996_cr/h960201a.htm
[^2]: Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, May 26, 1987, Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition, in Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Depositions), pp. 972-1040, Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234. The career chronology is at pp. 974-979. The Studley, Glatt, Dellamico and Casey meeting passages rest on this deposition. Sole source for the witness's own account of those passages.
[^3]: University of Miami Special Collections, "Daniel O. Graham papers," ASM0492, finding aid, biographical sketch and series list. https://atom.library.miami.edu/index.php/asm0492 and https://atom.library.miami.edu/downloads/asm0492.pdf
[^4]: Letter, Daniel O. Graham to James R. Schlesinger, January 21, 1974, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP80M01082A000800060030-9. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp80m01082a000800060030-9
[^5]: "Honor and Merit Awards Ceremony [Distinguished Intelligence Medal to Daniel O. Graham]," August 29, 1974, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP80R01731R002000060020-6. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp80r01731r002000060020-6
[^6]: Daniel O. Graham, "U.S. Intelligence at the Crossroads," United States Strategic Institute, USSI Report 76-1 (1976), author biographical note, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP91M00696R000900060007-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp91m00696r000900060007-5
[^7]: Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, May 26, 1987, Appendix B, vol. 12, pp. 976-978.
[^8]: Statement of Lieutenant General Daniel O. Graham, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, before the Military Construction Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations, June 1975 (archive date June 23, 1975), CIA reading room, CIA-RDP80B01495R000300020008-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp80b01495r000300020008-2
[^9]: Memorandum, "Status Report on the Experiment in Competitive Analysis and Request for Your Assistance," August 18, 1976, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP91M00696R000600180054-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp91m00696r000600180054-3
[^10]: Team B report, published December 1, 1976, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP91M00696R001000110006-8 (56 pages, released November 7, 2006), team and advisory panel roster (p. iv) and introduction. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/node/975749
[^11]: Louis F. Maire III and J. D. LaMothe, "Soviet and Czechoslovakian Parapsychology Research," Defense Intelligence Agency, DST-1810S-387-75, September 1975, DIA task PT-1810-12-75, CIA-RDP96-00792R000600350001-3, cover and table of contents.
[^12]: "An E.S.P. Gap: Exploring psychic weapons," Time, January 23, 1984, p. 17, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP96-00791R000200230025-5. Quotations are as reported by Time from Graham's interview with the New York Times. Sole source for the quotations.
[^13]: George Lardner Jr., "GEN. GRAHAM'S STAR WARS: The one-man lobby to fill space with weaponry," Washington Post, November 17, 1985, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP90-00965R000403710030-7. Statements attributed to Graham are his own, as reported by the Post.
[^14]: Strategic Defense Initiative [SDI] Program, hearing before the Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, 99th Congress, 1st session, H.A.S.C. No. 99-30, June 6, 1985, pp. 21 and 41 (exchange of Rep. Dickinson and John Gardner). Internet Archive item micro_IA41152646_0474. Gardner's statement is his description of Graham's earlier DIA exposure; sole source for it.
[^15]: Letter, William J. Casey to Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham, January 8, 1982, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP83M00914R001900220074-1. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp83m00914r001900220074-1
[^16]: CIA reading room record CIA-RDP83M00914R002400010001-8, catalogued as a letter from Daniel O. Graham to William J. Casey regarding High Frontier, December 9, 1982 (the released pages show Casey's December 20, 1982 reply and one denied page); reply, William J. Casey to Graham, December 20, 1982, CIA-RDP88B00443R001203980021-9.
[^17]: Hedrick Smith, "Reagan Advisers Hold Somber View of Soviet Intentions," New York Times, May 25, 1980, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP90-00552R000505080020-3.
[^18]: National Strategy Committee, partial membership listing enclosed with a letter from Daniel O. Graham to Walter Pforzheimer, September 23, 1980, CIA-RDP02T06251R000900300002-4.
[^19]: National Intelligence Study Center, invitation to the Russell J. Bowen collection exhibit, Georgetown University, November 3, 1983, with advisory board and board of directors lists, CIA-RDP90-00806R000100430001-2.
[^20]: International Strategic Studies Association, letter to William J. Casey naming the 1984 award recipients, January 1984, and Central Intelligence Agency Public Affairs Office, letter to Kaswell Perazich & Watson, February 9, 1984, CIA-RDP86M00886R002100010008-3.
[^21]: Walter Andrews and Warren Strobel, "Shuttle explosion probers warned to suspect sabotage," Washington Times, May 22, 1986, CIA reading room, CIA-RDP90-00965R000100190002-2.
[^22]: Letter, Daniel O. Graham to William J. Casey, July 23, 1986, enclosing "Is the KGB Sabotaging SDI?", with the July 28, 1986 cover memorandum "Possible Soviet Sabotage of Our Space Program," CIA-RDP88B00443R001904460005-6. Reply, William J. Casey to Graham, August 16, 1986, CIA-RDP88B00443R002004470017-0 (also filed as CIA-RDP90B01390R000300340046-0). The reply acknowledges Graham's letters of July 23 and 29, 1986.
[^23]: Letter, Daniel O. Graham to Robert M. Gates, December 8, 1986, CIA-RDP88G01116R000700840002-1, copy to William J. Casey.
[^24]: Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, May 26, 1987, Graham Exhibit 1, memorandum from Barbara F. Studley to Lt. Col. Oliver North, October 30, 1985, Appendix B, vol. 12, pp. 1029-1030 of the OCR text. The OCR of the closing sentence reads "informacion"; the wording here follows the Barcella and Singlaub pages.
[^25]: Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, May 26, 1987, Graham Exhibit 2, quotation dated July 28, 1986 on GeoMiliTech letterhead, enclosed with a "Dear Bill" letter to Casey, Appendix B, vol. 12, pp. 1034-1037 of the OCR text.
[^26]: Letter, Newt Gingrich to Daniel O. Graham, May 10, 1995, printed in Congressional Record, "Tribute to General D.O. Graham," February 1, 1996. https://irp.fas.org/congress/1996_cr/h960201a.htm

103
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr..md
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@ -55,21 +55,21 @@ relations:
with: "[[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]]"
role: "defense coordinator, Tampa money-laundering case"
start: 1988
fn: 7
fn: 8
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Laxalt, Washington, Perito & Dubuc]]"
start: 1988
fn: 7
fn: 8
- type: member_of
with: "[[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.]]"
role: "active consultant named in 1988; associate listed in the 1990 resume packet"
start: 1988
end: 1990
fn: 5
fn: 6
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Katten Muchin Zavis & Dombroff]]"
start: 1991
fn: 4
fn: 5
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Paul Hastings]]"
role: "partner, Washington office, white-collar and government contract matters"
@ -79,13 +79,13 @@ relations:
role: "chief counsel"
start: 1992
end: 1993
fn: 12
fn: 13
- type: reported_to
with: "[[Lee Hamilton]]"
role: "chief counsel to the task force chairman"
start: 1992
end: 1993
fn: 12
fn: 13
---
E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr. (May 23, 1945 to November 4, 2010) was a [[Washington, D.C.]] lawyer and former federal prosecutor. He built the government's case against [[Edwin Wilson]], helped coordinate the defense of the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]] (BCCI) after its 1988 indictment in [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]], and served as chief counsel of the [[House October Surprise Task Force]], the bipartisan panel co-chaired by Rep. [[Lee Hamilton]] (D-Indiana) and Rep. [[Henry Hyde]] (R-Illinois) that investigated the [[October Surprise]] allegations that the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] campaign had negotiated with [[Iran]] to delay the 1980 hostage release.[^1]
@ -105,72 +105,72 @@ Barcella also worked on the inquiries into the 1983 bombings of the American emb
### Private practice (1986 to 1991)
He left federal service in 1986 and went into private practice in Washington, initially at a firm where the lawyer for [[Barbara Studley]] also worked.[^3] His private work covered internal investigations for corporations and the defense of clients charged with securities fraud, antitrust violations, tax evasion and money laundering.[^1]
He left federal service in 1986 and went into private practice in Washington, initially at a firm where the lawyer for [[Barbara Studley]] also worked.[^3] His private work covered internal investigations for corporations and the defense of clients charged with securities fraud, antitrust violations, tax evasion and money laundering.[^1] A letter of April 28, 1987 to the House Iran-Contra committee's assistant counsel [[Kenneth Ballen]], on the letterhead of [[Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey|Finley, Kumble]] in Washington and captioned "Re: Barbara F. Studley/GMT," refers to a telephone conference between Ballen and [[Paul L. Perito]], and its signature block ends with the name Koszorus above the enclosure notation.[^4] The Courant reported that Barcella went into private practice in June 1986 "initially at the same firm where Koszorus, Studley's lawyer, worked," without naming the firm, and that Barcella said he did not know Koszorus before joining it.[^3]
His client [[Lyn Nofziger]], a political adviser to President Reagan, was represented by Barcella from 1987 and was convicted of illegal lobbying in 1988. A federal appeals court overturned that conviction the following year.[^1][^3] From 1988 Barcella represented [[Melvyn Paisley]], a former Pentagon official who was later convicted in the wide-ranging "Ill Wind" contracting investigation.[^3] Around 1990 he represented [[Jose Blandon]], a former senior intelligence officer in Panama and political foe of [[Manuel Noriega]].[^3]
[[Laxalt, Washington, Perito & Dubuc]] had been formed in December 1987 by Paul Laxalt and Robert B. Washington Jr.[^4] A business column in the *Chicago Tribune* of July 23, 1991 reported that the Chicago-based [[Katten Muchin Zavis & Dombroff]] (then Katten Muchin & Zavis) had added Barcella, "a former assistant U.S. attorney in Washington and partner at Washington, Perito & Dubuc," to its Washington office.[^4]
[[Laxalt, Washington, Perito & Dubuc]] had been formed in December 1987 by Paul Laxalt and Robert B. Washington Jr.[^5] A business column in the *Chicago Tribune* of July 23, 1991 reported that the Chicago-based [[Katten Muchin Zavis & Dombroff]] (then Katten Muchin & Zavis) had added Barcella, "a former assistant U.S. attorney in Washington and partner at Washington, Perito & Dubuc," to its Washington office.[^5]
### Counter Terrorism Consultants (1988 to 1990)
In August 1988 [[Carter Cornick]], a retired FBI terrorism official, and [[Eugene Propper]], a former prosecutor in the Letelier case, announced [[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.]], which offered governments, airlines and event sponsors counterterrorism strategies and the management of kidnappings and hijackings. Barcella, then with Laxalt, Washington, Perito & Dubuc, was to be called on for legal consultation on matters such as extradition procedures. The announcement named Robert Scherrer and Barcella as active consultants, and said that the four men had worked together on the Letelier case and on the investigation of Wilson, in which Barcella had obtained information that Wilson was shipping explosives to Libya.[^5]
In August 1988 [[Carter Cornick]], a retired FBI terrorism official, and [[Eugene Propper]], a former prosecutor in the Letelier case, announced [[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.]], which offered governments, airlines and event sponsors counterterrorism strategies and the management of kidnappings and hijackings. Barcella, then with Laxalt, Washington, Perito & Dubuc, was to be called on for legal consultation on matters such as extradition procedures. The announcement named Robert Scherrer and Barcella as active consultants, and said that the four men had worked together on the Letelier case and on the investigation of Wilson, in which Barcella had obtained information that Wilson was shipping explosives to Libya.[^6]
A resume packet circulated by the firm, by then named CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P., with a fax header of 1990, lists Barcella among its associates. The others listed were Cornick, Propper, [[Robert Scherrer]], an unnamed former senior CIA counterterrorism officer, [[Francis J. McNeil|Frank McNeil]], [[James B. Motley]] of [[Wackenhut Corporation|Wackenhut]] Advanced Technologies Corporation, and [[Mayer Nudell]], a former foreign service officer.[^6]
A resume packet circulated by the firm, by then named CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P., with a fax header of 1990, lists Barcella among its associates. The others listed were Cornick, Propper, [[Robert Scherrer]], an unnamed former senior CIA counterterrorism officer, [[Francis J. McNeil|Frank McNeil]], [[James B. Motley]] of [[Wackenhut Corporation|Wackenhut]] Advanced Technologies Corporation, and [[Mayer Nudell]], a former foreign service officer.[^7]
### BCCI (1988 to 1990)
Barcella was brought onto the BCCI case shortly after the October 1988 indictment of the bank in Tampa. [[Lawrence Wechsler]], with whom he had worked at the Department of Justice, recruited him "to coordinate the bank's defense." The Senate subcommittee chaired by [[John Kerry]] listed him, with [[Raymond Banoun]] and Wechsler, among the former federal prosecutors in BCCI's Washington "cadre of professional help," which also included [[Clark Clifford]]. The report stated that "the full extent of Barcella's activities on behalf of BCCI remains unknown" and recorded the following.[^7]
Barcella was brought onto the BCCI case shortly after the October 1988 indictment of the bank in Tampa. [[Lawrence Wechsler]], with whom he had worked at the Department of Justice, recruited him "to coordinate the bank's defense." The Senate subcommittee chaired by [[John Kerry]] listed him, with [[Raymond Banoun]] and Wechsler, among the former federal prosecutors in BCCI's Washington "cadre of professional help," which also included [[Clark Clifford]]. The report stated that "the full extent of Barcella's activities on behalf of BCCI remains unknown" and recorded the following.[^8]
In 1988 Barcella tried to persuade his firm's lead partner, former senator [[Paul Laxalt]], to meet BCCI's chief executive, [[Swaleh Naqvi]], in [[London]] and to lobby for the bank on Capitol Hill. The subcommittee "has been unable to determine what, if any, services Senator Laxalt performed on behalf of BCCI."[^7] In 1989 and 1990 he joined [[John Vardaman]] of [[Williams & Connolly]] and [[Robert Altman]] in warning the journalist [[Larry Gurwin]], who was writing about BCCI and [[First American Bank|First American]] for *[[Regardie's]]* magazine, that it would be improper to link the two institutions. Barcella called Gurwin's allegations "absurd."[^7] In early 1990, after members of Congress criticized the bank's plea bargain as too lenient, he met Senator [[Dennis DeConcini]], one of the critics, "in an effort to persuade him that BCCI was not the corrupt institution that he and others had claimed."[^7]
In 1988 Barcella tried to persuade his firm's lead partner, former senator [[Paul Laxalt]], to meet BCCI's chief executive, [[Swaleh Naqvi]], in [[London]] and to lobby for the bank on Capitol Hill. The subcommittee "has been unable to determine what, if any, services Senator Laxalt performed on behalf of BCCI."[^8] In 1989 and 1990 he joined [[John Vardaman]] of [[Williams & Connolly]] and [[Robert Altman]] in warning the journalist [[Larry Gurwin]], who was writing about BCCI and [[First American Bank|First American]] for *[[Regardie's]]* magazine, that it would be improper to link the two institutions. Barcella called Gurwin's allegations "absurd."[^8] In early 1990, after members of Congress criticized the bank's plea bargain as too lenient, he met Senator [[Dennis DeConcini]], one of the critics, "in an effort to persuade him that BCCI was not the corrupt institution that he and others had claimed."[^8]
One 1992 newspaper account gave a different start date, saying that in 1990 Barcella "was hired to represent" the bank.[^3]
In mid-December 1989 Barcella and Wechsler represented BCCI in meetings with the Tampa prosecutors at which the bank offered to plead guilty to money laundering in return for an end to its exposure for offenses then known to the government. The agreement was reached in January 1990.[^8] After the United States Attorney in Tampa, [[Robert Genzman]], told Florida regulators on January 31, 1990, that his office took no position on BCCI's state license, the Senate report recorded that "BCCI's lawyers, principally former federal prosecutors Lawrence Wechsler, Lawrence Barcella, and Raymond Banoun, dissatisfied with this result, decided to talk to others in the Justice Department to bring about a different result."[^8] Two weeks later [[Charles Saphos]] of the Criminal Division agreed to write to the state regulators. His letter of February 13, 1990, asked that BCCI be permitted to operate, and the Florida comptroller, [[Gerald Lewis]], answered it the next day.[^8] Genzman's first assistant, [[Greg Kehoe]], testified that "[they] tried to go behind my back."[^8] The Senate report described Kehoe as "the Justice Department official with whom BCCI lawyers, including Barcella, negotiated the bank's plea agreement in Tampa."[^7]
In mid-December 1989 Barcella and Wechsler represented BCCI in meetings with the Tampa prosecutors at which the bank offered to plead guilty to money laundering in return for an end to its exposure for offenses then known to the government. The agreement was reached in January 1990.[^9] After the United States Attorney in Tampa, [[Robert Genzman]], told Florida regulators on January 31, 1990, that his office took no position on BCCI's state license, the Senate report recorded that "BCCI's lawyers, principally former federal prosecutors Lawrence Wechsler, Lawrence Barcella, and Raymond Banoun, dissatisfied with this result, decided to talk to others in the Justice Department to bring about a different result."[^9] Two weeks later [[Charles Saphos]] of the Criminal Division agreed to write to the state regulators. His letter of February 13, 1990, asked that BCCI be permitted to operate, and the Florida comptroller, [[Gerald Lewis]], answered it the next day.[^9] Genzman's first assistant, [[Greg Kehoe]], testified that "[they] tried to go behind my back."[^9] The Senate report described Kehoe as "the Justice Department official with whom BCCI lawyers, including Barcella, negotiated the bank's plea agreement in Tampa."[^8]
### Antigua (1989)
In April 1989 a network of Israeli arms traffickers operating out of [[Miami]] shipped 500 Israeli-made machine guns through the Caribbean island of [[Antigua and Barbuda|Antigua]] for members of the [[Medellin Cartel|Medellin cartel]]. One of the weapons was later used in the assassination of the Colombian presidential candidate [[Luis Carlos Galan]]. The principals included [[Yair Klein]], [[Pinchas Shahar]] and [[Maurice Sarfati]]. A subsequent investigation for the government of Antigua, conducted by Barcella, left many questions unanswered.[^9] The shipment grew out of a "melon farm" that Sarfati set up on Antigua in 1983, financed by a $2 million loan from the [[Overseas Private Investment Corporation]]. BCCI's Miami office wrote to the lender on June 14, 1983, that Sarfati was "one of our valued customers."[^9]
In April 1989 a network of Israeli arms traffickers operating out of [[Miami]] shipped 500 Israeli-made machine guns through the Caribbean island of [[Antigua and Barbuda|Antigua]] for members of the [[Medellin Cartel|Medellin cartel]]. One of the weapons was later used in the assassination of the Colombian presidential candidate [[Luis Carlos Galan]]. The principals included [[Yair Klein]], [[Pinchas Shahar]] and [[Maurice Sarfati]]. A subsequent investigation for the government of Antigua, conducted by Barcella, left many questions unanswered.[^10] The shipment grew out of a "melon farm" that Sarfati set up on Antigua in 1983, financed by a $2 million loan from the [[Overseas Private Investment Corporation]]. BCCI's Miami office wrote to the lender on June 14, 1983, that Sarfati was "one of our valued customers."[^10]
### Hiring by the House (1992)
House Resolution 258, adopted on February 5, 1992, created a task force of thirteen members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, appointed by the Speaker, to investigate allegations that the 1980 Reagan campaign had communicated with Iranians to delay the release of the hostages. The House agreed to the resolution by a recorded vote of 247 to 158.[^10]
House Resolution 258, adopted on February 5, 1992, created a task force of thirteen members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, appointed by the Speaker, to investigate allegations that the 1980 Reagan campaign had communicated with Iranians to delay the release of the hostages. The House agreed to the resolution by a recorded vote of 247 to 158.[^11]
The task force adopted its rules on March 11, 1992. House Resolution 258 authorized the chairman, in consultation with the ranking Republican member, to employ attorneys, investigators and consultants and allowed the task force to require its staff to enter nondisclosure agreements. Rule 9 of the rules ("Staff, Detailees, and Consultants") addressed the hiring of staff and the security procedures for classified material.[^11] The final report states that Barcella "was hired as Chief Counsel," and that his services were retained because of his experience as a federal prosecutor and as a white-collar criminal defense counsel. The staff biography in the report describes him as "presently a partner in the Washington office of Katten, Muchin, Zavis and Dombroff," states that he served in the United States Attorney's Office in Washington from 1970 to 1986, and states that since then he "has represented a variety of national and international clients in complex criminal matters and internal investigations."[^12]
The task force adopted its rules on March 11, 1992. House Resolution 258 authorized the chairman, in consultation with the ranking Republican member, to employ attorneys, investigators and consultants and allowed the task force to require its staff to enter nondisclosure agreements. Rule 9 of the rules ("Staff, Detailees, and Consultants") addressed the hiring of staff and the security procedures for classified material.[^12] The final report states that Barcella "was hired as Chief Counsel," and that his services were retained because of his experience as a federal prosecutor and as a white-collar criminal defense counsel. The staff biography in the report describes him as "presently a partner in the Washington office of Katten, Muchin, Zavis and Dombroff," states that he served in the United States Attorney's Office in Washington from 1970 to 1986, and states that since then he "has represented a variety of national and international clients in complex criminal matters and internal investigations."[^13]
Hamilton, as chairman, selected Barcella, and a May 29, 1992 press account dated the hiring to March 1992. Hamilton said in that account, "I was looking for someone that had a large amount of international experience, had done a lot of investigative-type law practice, who had worked as a prosecutor and, of course, whose reputation was very good." The same account stated that in the summer of 1985, while an assistant United States attorney, Barcella had given a legal opinion clearing a private $5 million shipment of Soviet-bloc rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers to the Nicaraguan contras. The shipment was arranged by [[John Singlaub]] and Barbara Studley, who had created [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]]. In telephone interviews that month, Barcella "refused to explain" how the opinion came about.[^3] Studley, in a deposition quoted in the same account, answered the question of who in the Justice Department approved the shipment with "Larry Barcella signed it"; her lawyer, Frank Koszorus Jr., said he was "not at all certain that she was ever issued a written opinion."[^3]
Asked about the opinion in May 1992, Barcella said, "It was a simple situation where somebody in the government came to me," and said he did not identify the official who sought it. Asked about his past contacts with intelligence agencies, he said, "I don't see where that causes a problem," and "I'm going to do as thorough and independent and professional an investigation as I can." [[Joseph diGenova]], the United States Attorney in Washington in those years, first said, "Assistant U.S. attorneys do not issue legal opinions on arms shipments," and "Larry would never have done that." A week later diGenova said, "Larry was sought out by a lot of people in intelligence and by a lot of people in the marshals service and the FBI who knew that he was creative." diGenova said that Barcella, through his anti-terrorism work, knew [[Oliver North]]; Barcella said he had met North once and that North was not the official who sought the opinion.[^3] Hamilton said he had learned of the opinion after the newspaper's inquiries, and when asked whether he would look into it, said, "I will investigate all aspects of criticisms of staff, including Larry or anybody else."[^3]
Studley's October 30, 1985 memorandum to North, an exhibit to the deposition of [[Daniel O. Graham]], refers to a shipment that left on June 20, 1985, and ends: "General John K. Singlaub has been advised of this information."[^13] The congressional report states that a purchase Singlaub arranged for [[Adolfo Calero]] through a European dealer arrived in Central America on July 8, 1985.[^14] Graham testified on May 26, 1987 that he had arranged a meeting between Studley and [[William J. Casey]] at Langley toward the end of 1985; Singlaub testified in 1987 that he had set up that meeting.[^3][^13]
Studley's October 30, 1985 memorandum to North, an exhibit to the deposition of [[Daniel O. Graham]], refers to a shipment that left on June 20, 1985, and ends: "General John K. Singlaub has been advised of this information."[^14] The congressional report states that a purchase Singlaub arranged for [[Adolfo Calero]] through a European dealer arrived in Central America on July 8, 1985.[^15] Graham testified on May 26, 1987 that he had arranged a meeting between Studley and [[William J. Casey]] at Langley toward the end of 1985; Singlaub testified in 1987 that he had set up that meeting.[^3][^14]
### House October Surprise Task Force (1992 to 1993)
The task force's chairman was Hamilton and its ranking Republican was Hyde. The Democrats were [[Stephen Solarz]], [[Sam Gejdenson]], [[Mervyn Dymally]], [[Robert Torricelli]], [[Howard Berman]], [[Edward Feighan]] and [[Ted Weiss]]. The Republicans were [[Jim Leach]], [[Olympia Snowe]], [[Doug Bereuter]] and [[Porter Goss]].[^12] Barcella and [[Richard J. Leon]], the chief minority counsel, selected the legal staff.[^12]
The task force's chairman was Hamilton and its ranking Republican was Hyde. The Democrats were [[Stephen Solarz]], [[Sam Gejdenson]], [[Mervyn Dymally]], [[Robert Torricelli]], [[Howard Berman]], [[Edward Feighan]] and [[Ted Weiss]]. The Republicans were [[Jim Leach]], [[Olympia Snowe]], [[Doug Bereuter]] and [[Porter Goss]].[^13] Barcella and [[Richard J. Leon]], the chief minority counsel, selected the legal staff.[^13]
The majority staff included [[Michael F. Zeldin]] as deputy chief counsel, the former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer [[Sotiris Planzos]], and two lawyers from the Katten office, [[Nancy Luque]] and [[Anne Pings]]. The minority staff included Greg Kehoe, deputy chief minority counsel, who had been first assistant United States attorney for the Middle District of Florida and joined the task force on June 18, 1992.[^12] The Senate report, published in December 1992, stated that Barcella "has been hired by the House Foreign Affairs Committee" and that Kehoe was "on leave from the Justice Department to assist Barcella in his investigation."[^7]
The majority staff included [[Michael F. Zeldin]] as deputy chief counsel, the former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer [[Sotiris Planzos]], and two lawyers from the Katten office, [[Nancy Luque]] and [[Anne Pings]]. The minority staff included Greg Kehoe, deputy chief minority counsel, who had been first assistant United States attorney for the Middle District of Florida and joined the task force on June 18, 1992.[^13] The Senate report, published in December 1992, stated that Barcella "has been hired by the House Foreign Affairs Committee" and that Kehoe was "on leave from the Justice Department to assist Barcella in his investigation."[^8]
On October 2, 1992, the House considered House Resolution 585, which authorized the task force to file its final report with the Clerk after adjournment sine die and before noon on January 3, 1993, and limited its expenses to the amounts in House Resolution 512. Representative [[Anthony C. Beilenson]] (D-California), introducing the resolution, said its purpose was to make clear that the investigation "may continue after we adjourn, but no later than the end of this year," and that the budget would be no higher than $1.35 million. In the same debate a member speaking for the resolution said that Hamilton and Hyde had told the Rules Committee that the work would be finished "by probably the middle of November."[^15] The task force approved its report on December 10, 1992. The transmittal letter to Speaker [[Thomas S. Foley]] is dated January 3, 1993, and cites House Resolutions 258 and 585.[^12]
On October 2, 1992, the House considered House Resolution 585, which authorized the task force to file its final report with the Clerk after adjournment sine die and before noon on January 3, 1993, and limited its expenses to the amounts in House Resolution 512. Representative [[Anthony C. Beilenson]] (D-California), introducing the resolution, said its purpose was to make clear that the investigation "may continue after we adjourn, but no later than the end of this year," and that the budget would be no higher than $1.35 million. In the same debate a member speaking for the resolution said that Hamilton and Hyde had told the Rules Committee that the work would be finished "by probably the middle of November."[^16] The task force approved its report on December 10, 1992. The transmittal letter to Speaker [[Thomas S. Foley]] is dated January 3, 1993, and cites House Resolutions 258 and 585.[^13]
The report concludes that the allegations were either "wholly insufficient or no credible evidence exists to substantiate" them.[^12] Its transmittal letter says the report "was approved unanimously by the Task Force on December 10, 1992." Dymally later told [[Robert Parry]] that he knew of no such vote on that date or any other. Hamilton told Parry that he would not have claimed a unanimous vote if there had not been one. A House Foreign Affairs Committee spokesman, [[David Barnes]], wrote to Parry that "From the records we have there is no evidence of a recorded vote."[^16] The printed report states that Dymally "has declined to sign the report."[^12]
The report concludes that the allegations were either "wholly insufficient or no credible evidence exists to substantiate" them.[^13] Its transmittal letter says the report "was approved unanimously by the Task Force on December 10, 1992." Dymally later told [[Robert Parry]] that he knew of no such vote on that date or any other. Hamilton told Parry that he would not have claimed a unanimous vote if there had not been one. A House Foreign Affairs Committee spokesman, [[David Barnes]], wrote to Parry that "From the records we have there is no evidence of a recorded vote."[^17] The printed report states that Dymally "has declined to sign the report."[^13]
The report states that the task force "interviewed and/or deposed more than 230 people."[^12] The report describes the October Surprise Group as "a group of individuals who provided foreign policy and defense advice to the campaign," and lists ten members: [[Richard V. Allen]], [[Fred C. Ikle]], [[Charles M. Kupperman]], [[John R. Lehman, Jr.]], [[Thomas H. Moore]], [[Robert G. Neumann]], [[Eugene V. Rostow]], [[Laurence Silberman]], [[William R. Van Cleave]] and [[Seymour Weiss]].[^12] Parry wrote that Barcella and [[Michael Ledeen]] were personal friends, that Barcella had sold Ledeen a house and that the two shared a housekeeper, citing Peter Maas's book *Manhunt* for a 1982 night visit by Ledeen to Barcella, during the Wilson investigation, about two associates who had come under suspicion in the Wilson case, [[Ted Shackley]] and [[Erich von Marbod]].[^17] Parry wrote that the secret draft report named six informal members of the group, among them Ledeen, and that "the final report deleted the names of six informal members" of the group. The six were Ledeen, [[Richard G. Stilwell|Richard Stilwell]], [[William Middendorf]], [[Richard Perle]], General [[Louis Walt]] and Admiral [[James Holloway]].[^17]
The report states that the task force "interviewed and/or deposed more than 230 people."[^13] The report describes the October Surprise Group as "a group of individuals who provided foreign policy and defense advice to the campaign," and lists ten members: [[Richard V. Allen]], [[Fred C. Ikle]], [[Charles M. Kupperman]], [[John R. Lehman, Jr.]], [[Thomas H. Moore]], [[Robert G. Neumann]], [[Eugene V. Rostow]], [[Laurence Silberman]], [[William R. Van Cleave]] and [[Seymour Weiss]].[^13] Parry wrote that Barcella and [[Michael Ledeen]] were personal friends, that Barcella had sold Ledeen a house and that the two shared a housekeeper, citing Peter Maas's book *Manhunt* for a 1982 night visit by Ledeen to Barcella, during the Wilson investigation, about two associates who had come under suspicion in the Wilson case, [[Ted Shackley]] and [[Erich von Marbod]].[^18] Parry wrote that the secret draft report named six informal members of the group, among them Ledeen, and that "the final report deleted the names of six informal members" of the group. The six were Ledeen, [[Richard G. Stilwell|Richard Stilwell]], [[William Middendorf]], [[Richard Perle]], General [[Louis Walt]] and Admiral [[James Holloway]].[^18]
Parry reported that Barcella told him, years after the report, that so much incriminating evidence arrived in the final month of the inquiry that he asked Hamilton to extend the investigation three months, and that Hamilton declined.[^18] Barcella said Hamilton "declined to go through the necessary reauthorization of the task force and instead ordered him to proceed with the final report."[^19] In Meldon's 2008 article, with a Parry addendum, Barcella is quoted as saying that Hamilton cited the complexity of getting the task force reauthorized in a new Congress.[^20] Hamilton told Parry in 2010, as Parry reported in 2013, that he might have explained the problem of the authorization running out at the end of the session: "All I could have done is go before the next Congress and request reauthorization."[^21] Hamilton told Parry in 2010 that he had no recollection of such a proposal, and in 2011 that he had no recollection of Barcella's request.[^18][^19] Hamilton's January 24, 1993 New York Times op-ed, titled "Case Closed," stated that the task force's staff "conducted over 230 formal interviews and depositions." A 2008 article by [[Jerry Meldon]], with an addendum by Parry, quoted the op-ed as saying that the report "should put the controversy to rest once and for all." The addendum says that Barcella recommended the extension to Hamilton.[^20]
Parry reported that Barcella told him, years after the report, that so much incriminating evidence arrived in the final month of the inquiry that he asked Hamilton to extend the investigation three months, and that Hamilton declined.[^19] Barcella said Hamilton "declined to go through the necessary reauthorization of the task force and instead ordered him to proceed with the final report."[^20] In Meldon's 2008 article, with a Parry addendum, Barcella is quoted as saying that Hamilton cited the complexity of getting the task force reauthorized in a new Congress.[^21] Hamilton told Parry in 2010, as Parry reported in 2013, that he might have explained the problem of the authorization running out at the end of the session: "All I could have done is go before the next Congress and request reauthorization."[^22] Hamilton told Parry in 2010 that he had no recollection of such a proposal, and in 2011 that he had no recollection of Barcella's request.[^19][^20] Hamilton's January 24, 1993 New York Times op-ed, titled "Case Closed," stated that the task force's staff "conducted over 230 formal interviews and depositions." A 2008 article by [[Jerry Meldon]], with an addendum by Parry, quoted the op-ed as saying that the report "should put the controversy to rest once and for all." The addendum says that Barcella recommended the extension to Hamilton.[^21]
The Russian report was requested by Hamilton on October 21, 1992, and reached the task force on January 11, 1993.[^22] Parry identified it as provided by [[Sergey V. Stepashin]], chairman of the Supreme Soviet's Committee on Defense and Security Issues. As Parry described it, the report said that the 1980 hostage negotiations amounted to a competition between the Carter administration and the Reagan campaign.[^19] Hamilton presided over a press conference on January 13, 1993, dismissing the allegations.[^20] Parry wrote that Hamilton told him, "I don't recall seeing it." Barcella first said he did not recall whether he showed Hamilton the report, then wrote, "I do specifically recall discussing it with Lee."[^22] Barcella told Parry that the task force did not want to be bothered with trying to get the report declassified.[^20]
In a memo dated December 8, 1992, which Parry quotes, Barcella instructed his deputies "to put some language in, as a trap door" in case later disclosures disproved parts of it or complaints arose about selective omission of evidence. The memo language quoted by Parry states that "This report does not and could not reflect every single lead that was investigated."[^17][^23]
The Russian report was requested by Hamilton on October 21, 1992, and reached the task force on January 11, 1993.[^23] Parry identified it as provided by [[Sergey V. Stepashin]], chairman of the Supreme Soviet's Committee on Defense and Security Issues. As Parry described it, the report said that the 1980 hostage negotiations amounted to a competition between the Carter administration and the Reagan campaign.[^20] Hamilton presided over a press conference on January 13, 1993, dismissing the allegations.[^21] Parry wrote that Hamilton told him, "I don't recall seeing it." Barcella first said he did not recall whether he showed Hamilton the report, then wrote, "I do specifically recall discussing it with Lee."[^23] Barcella told Parry that the task force did not want to be bothered with trying to get the report declassified.[^21]
In a memo dated December 8, 1992, which Parry quotes, Barcella instructed his deputies "to put some language in, as a trap door" in case later disclosures disproved parts of it or complaints arose about selective omission of evidence. The memo language quoted by Parry states that "This report does not and could not reflect every single lead that was investigated."[^18][^24]
Parry wrote in 1996 that Barcella and Hamilton pressed Dymally to withdraw a dissent. According to sources who saw it, the dissent argued that "just because phones ring and planes fly doesn't mean that someone is there to answer the phone or is on the plane."[^24] In the same article Parry wrote that Barcella and his law firm had earned more than $2 million from BCCI, that the Laxalt and BCCI links were left out of the public report, and that the conflict "was handled simply by purging any reference to BCCI and Barcella's associates from the final report."[^24] In 2005 Parry wrote that Barcella told him he did not believe his work for BCCI created a conflict of interest, and that the Senate report said Barcella worked directly with Laxalt on the BCCI account.[^17] Parry also wrote that Henry Hyde denounced the allegations as a "myth" in a House special order on February 3, 1993.[^24]
Parry wrote in 1996 that Barcella and Hamilton pressed Dymally to withdraw a dissent. According to sources who saw it, the dissent argued that "just because phones ring and planes fly doesn't mean that someone is there to answer the phone or is on the plane."[^25] In the same article Parry wrote that Barcella and his law firm had earned more than $2 million from BCCI, that the Laxalt and BCCI links were left out of the public report, and that the conflict "was handled simply by purging any reference to BCCI and Barcella's associates from the final report."[^25] In 2005 Parry wrote that Barcella told him he did not believe his work for BCCI created a conflict of interest, and that the Senate report said Barcella worked directly with Laxalt on the BCCI account.[^18] Parry also wrote that Henry Hyde denounced the allegations as a "myth" in a House special order on February 3, 1993.[^25]
### Later career (1993 to 2010)
The alumni magazine of Dartmouth published a cover profile in March 1993 that listed Barcella as a partner of Katten, Muchin, Zavis & Dombroff. The profile described his private clients as including BCCI and Reagan's former press secretary, who was charged with ethics violations.[^25] Parry reported that the Clinton administration considered Barcella "at the top of the list" for under-secretary of the Treasury for law enforcement, and that others in the administration opposed the appointment.[^26]
The alumni magazine of Dartmouth published a cover profile in March 1993 that listed Barcella as a partner of Katten, Muchin, Zavis & Dombroff. The profile described his private clients as including BCCI and Reagan's former press secretary, who was charged with ethics violations.[^26] Parry reported that the Clinton administration considered Barcella "at the top of the list" for under-secretary of the Treasury for law enforcement, and that others in the administration opposed the appointment.[^27]
At his death he was a partner in the Washington office of [[Paul Hastings]], Janofsky and Walker, where he specialized in cases involving bribery, political corruption, fraud and government contract violations.[^2]
### Dispute with Parry
In an e-mail to Parry in 2010, Barcella wrote: "You're no longer merely cherry-picking facts and misrepresenting events, but flat out lying." He wrote that he would not go "line by line" through Parry's work.[^22]
In an e-mail to Parry in 2010, Barcella wrote: "You're no longer merely cherry-picking facts and misrepresenting events, but flat out lying." He wrote that he would not go "line by line" through Parry's work.[^23]
### Death
@ -181,26 +181,27 @@ Barcella died of bladder cancer on November 4, 2010, at a hospital near his home
[^1]: Hevesi, Dennis. "E. Lawrence Barcella, Prosecutor of Terrorism Cases, Dies at 65." *The New York Times*, November 17, 2010 (corrected November 23, 2010). https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/us/18barcella.html (archived: http://web.archive.org/web/20240709144843/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/us/18barcella.html)
[^2]: Shapiro, T. Rees. "E. Lawrence Barcella Jr., lawyer." *The Washington Post*, November 9, 2010. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110905919.html (archived: https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/09/AR2010110905919.html)
[^3]: Bixby, Lyn. "Head of Iran Hostage Probe Linked to Arms Deal." *Hartford Courant*, May 29, 1992; reprinted as "A Surprise in 'October Surprise' Investigation: Congress' Lead Investigator Linked to Contra-Arms Deal," *The Seattle Times*, May 29, 1992. https://www.courant.com/1992/05/29/head-of-iran-hostage-probe-linked-to-arms-deal/ and https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19920529/1494391/a-surprise-in-october-surprise-investigation----congress-lead-investigator-linked-to-contra-arms-deal
[^4]: "Kinder, gentler profession urged," business column, *Chicago Tribune*, July 23, 1991. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/07/23/kinder-gentler-profession-urged/ Firm formation: Karlyn Barker and Kathleen Day, "Robert Washington, Laxalt Team Up to Replace Failed Law Firm," *The Washington Post*, December 23, 1987. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/12/23/robert-washington-laxalt-team-up-to-replace-failed-law-firm/71c2b588-772c-47c4-acdb-68bc9bdfe123/
[^5]: "A group of top former FBI agents and federal prosecutors," *United Press International*, August 2, 1988. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/08/02/A-group-of-top-former-FBI-agents-and-federal/9684730900658/
[^6]: CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P., "Proudly Presents the Resumes of its Associates," fax copy (header 1990), pp. 141 P01 to P12, in the Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^7]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 17, "BCCI's Lawyers and Lobbyists." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/17law.htm
[^8]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 8, "BCCI and Law Enforcement: The Justice Department and the U.S. Customs Service." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/08just.htm
[^9]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 4, "BCCI's Criminality." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm
[^10]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Journal of the House*, February 5, 1992, pp. T 9.18 to T 9.19 (H. Res. 258 agreed to, 247 yeas, 158 nays). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/HJOURNAL-1992/pdf/HJOURNAL-1992-02-05-para9-18.pdf
[^11]: Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980, *Rules of the Task Force*, adopted March 11, 1992 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992), Rule 9. https://archive.org/details/RulesOfTheOctoberSurpriseTaskForce
[^12]: U.S. House of Representatives, October Surprise Task Force, *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*, H. Rept. 102-1102, 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, transmittal letter dated January 3, 1993 (Part I, sections "Task Force Organization and Structure" and "Staff"; Task Force Members; the October Surprise Group discussion in the chapter on Reagan campaign activities). https://archive.org/details/6199732-Joint-Report-of-the-October-Surprise-Task-Force
[^13]: Graham Exhibit 1 and deposition of Daniel O. Graham, May 26, 1987, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234).
[^14]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 2, p. 51 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=75).
[^15]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Congressional Record*, October 2, 1992 (H. Res. 585, "Providing for completion of activities of Task Force to investigate certain allegations concerning holding of Americans as hostages in Iran in 1980"; text of the resolution and floor statements of Representative Beilenson and another member speaking for it). https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_cr/h921002-october.htm
[^16]: Parry, Robert. "Dymally and the Unanimous Vote," *Consortium News*, June 17, 2010 (article on the task force report's cover letter). https://consortiumnews.com/2010/061710.html Sole source for the Dymally, Barnes and Hamilton statements as reported by Parry.
[^17]: Parry, Robert. "A Lawyer & National Security Cover-ups," *Consortium News*, May 4, 2005. https://consortiumnews.com/2005/050405.html Sole source for the trap door memo, the Ledeen and October Surprise Group claims, and the Laxalt account, as reported by Parry.
[^18]: Parry, Robert. "Inside the October Surprise Cover-up," *Consortium News*, July 12, 2011. https://consortiumnews.com/2011/07/12/inside-the-october-surprise-cover-up/ Sole source for the extension request and the Hamilton response as reported by Parry.
[^19]: Parry, Robert. "The October Surprise Mysteries," *Consortium News*, October 22, 2012. https://consortiumnews.com/2012/10/22/the-october-surprise-mysteries/ Sole source for the Barcella and Hamilton statements, the Stepashin identification and the January 11, 1993 transmittal as reported by Parry.
[^20]: Meldon, Jerry. "Dr. Hamilton and Mr. Hyde," *Consortium News*, March 27, 2008, with addendum from Robert Parry. https://consortiumnews.com/2008/032608c.html Sole source for the quoted phrase "should put the controversy to rest once and for all" attributed to the op-ed and for the addendum account of the extension and the declassification remark. Hamilton, Lee H., "DIALOGUE: Last Word on the October Surprise?; Case Closed," *The New York Times*, January 24, 1993, Section 4, p. 17. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/opinion/dialogue-last-word-on-the-october-surprise-case-closed.html
[^21]: Parry, Robert. "Second Thoughts on October Surprise," *Consortium News*, June 8, 2013. https://consortiumnews.com/2013/06/08/second-thoughts-on-october-surprise/ Sole source for the Hamilton statement as reported by Parry.
[^22]: Parry, Robert. "The Russian Report," *Consortium News*, August 5, 2010. https://consortiumnews.com/2010/080510.html Sole source for the Hamilton and Barcella statements about the Russian report and the e-mail quoted. Request date and transmittal per the Parry translation page, https://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/russianreport1980.html
[^23]: Parry, Robert. "October Surprise X-Files: The Ladies' Room Secrets," *Consortium News*, 1996. https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile2.html Sole source for the memo quotation as reported by Parry.
[^24]: Parry, Robert. "October Surprise X-Files (Part 8): Lies Spun into History," *Consortium News*, 1996. https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile8.html Sole source for the Dymally dissent, the BCCI and Laxalt omissions, and the Hyde special order as reported by Parry.
[^25]: "Lawrence Barcella '67," cover story, *Dartmouth Alumni Magazine*, March 1993. https://archive.dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/article/1993/3/1/lawrence-barcella-67
[^26]: Parry, Robert. "Clinton & a BCCI Lawyer," *Consortium News* (undated archive article, 1993). https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/story3.html Sole source for the Treasury consideration as reported by Parry.
[^4]: Letter from Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey to Kenneth Ballen, April 28, 1987, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234); signature block as indexed in the 1988 published volume of the report, p. 1040 ("Koszorus, Enclosure cc: Charles M. Kerr, Esq.").
[^5]: "Kinder, gentler profession urged," business column, *Chicago Tribune*, July 23, 1991. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/07/23/kinder-gentler-profession-urged/ Firm formation: Karlyn Barker and Kathleen Day, "Robert Washington, Laxalt Team Up to Replace Failed Law Firm," *The Washington Post*, December 23, 1987. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1987/12/23/robert-washington-laxalt-team-up-to-replace-failed-law-firm/71c2b588-772c-47c4-acdb-68bc9bdfe123/
[^6]: "A group of top former FBI agents and federal prosecutors," *United Press International*, August 2, 1988. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/08/02/A-group-of-top-former-FBI-agents-and-federal/9684730900658/
[^7]: CounterTerrorism Consultants, L.P., "Proudly Presents the Resumes of its Associates," fax copy (header 1990), pp. 141 P01 to P12, in the Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^8]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 17, "BCCI's Lawyers and Lobbyists." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/17law.htm
[^9]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 8, "BCCI and Law Enforcement: The Justice Department and the U.S. Customs Service." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/08just.htm
[^10]: Kerry and Brown, *The BCCI Affair,* ch. 4, "BCCI's Criminality." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/04crime.htm
[^11]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Journal of the House*, February 5, 1992, pp. T 9.18 to T 9.19 (H. Res. 258 agreed to, 247 yeas, 158 nays). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/HJOURNAL-1992/pdf/HJOURNAL-1992-02-05-para9-18.pdf
[^12]: Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980, *Rules of the Task Force*, adopted March 11, 1992 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992), Rule 9. https://archive.org/details/RulesOfTheOctoberSurpriseTaskForce
[^13]: U.S. House of Representatives, October Surprise Task Force, *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*, H. Rept. 102-1102, 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, transmittal letter dated January 3, 1993 (Part I, sections "Task Force Organization and Structure" and "Staff"; Task Force Members; the October Surprise Group discussion in the chapter on Reagan campaign activities). https://archive.org/details/6199732-Joint-Report-of-the-October-Surprise-Task-Force
[^14]: Graham Exhibit 1 and deposition of Daniel O. Graham, May 26, 1987, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234).
[^15]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 2, p. 51 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=75).
[^16]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Congressional Record*, October 2, 1992 (H. Res. 585, "Providing for completion of activities of Task Force to investigate certain allegations concerning holding of Americans as hostages in Iran in 1980"; text of the resolution and floor statements of Representative Beilenson and another member speaking for it). https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_cr/h921002-october.htm
[^17]: Parry, Robert. "Dymally and the Unanimous Vote," *Consortium News*, June 17, 2010 (article on the task force report's cover letter). https://consortiumnews.com/2010/061710.html Sole source for the Dymally, Barnes and Hamilton statements as reported by Parry.
[^18]: Parry, Robert. "A Lawyer & National Security Cover-ups," *Consortium News*, May 4, 2005. https://consortiumnews.com/2005/050405.html Sole source for the trap door memo, the Ledeen and October Surprise Group claims, and the Laxalt account, as reported by Parry.
[^19]: Parry, Robert. "Inside the October Surprise Cover-up," *Consortium News*, July 12, 2011. https://consortiumnews.com/2011/07/12/inside-the-october-surprise-cover-up/ Sole source for the extension request and the Hamilton response as reported by Parry.
[^20]: Parry, Robert. "The October Surprise Mysteries," *Consortium News*, October 22, 2012. https://consortiumnews.com/2012/10/22/the-october-surprise-mysteries/ Sole source for the Barcella and Hamilton statements, the Stepashin identification and the January 11, 1993 transmittal as reported by Parry.
[^21]: Meldon, Jerry. "Dr. Hamilton and Mr. Hyde," *Consortium News*, March 27, 2008, with addendum from Robert Parry. https://consortiumnews.com/2008/032608c.html Sole source for the quoted phrase "should put the controversy to rest once and for all" attributed to the op-ed and for the addendum account of the extension and the declassification remark. Hamilton, Lee H., "DIALOGUE: Last Word on the October Surprise?; Case Closed," *The New York Times*, January 24, 1993, Section 4, p. 17. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/opinion/dialogue-last-word-on-the-october-surprise-case-closed.html
[^22]: Parry, Robert. "Second Thoughts on October Surprise," *Consortium News*, June 8, 2013. https://consortiumnews.com/2013/06/08/second-thoughts-on-october-surprise/ Sole source for the Hamilton statement as reported by Parry.
[^23]: Parry, Robert. "The Russian Report," *Consortium News*, August 5, 2010. https://consortiumnews.com/2010/080510.html Sole source for the Hamilton and Barcella statements about the Russian report and the e-mail quoted. Request date and transmittal per the Parry translation page, https://www.consortiumnews.com/2005/russianreport1980.html
[^24]: Parry, Robert. "October Surprise X-Files: The Ladies' Room Secrets," *Consortium News*, 1996. https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile2.html Sole source for the memo quotation as reported by Parry.
[^25]: Parry, Robert. "October Surprise X-Files (Part 8): Lies Spun into History," *Consortium News*, 1996. https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/xfile8.html Sole source for the Dymally dissent, the BCCI and Laxalt omissions, and the Hyde special order as reported by Parry.
[^26]: "Lawrence Barcella '67," cover story, *Dartmouth Alumni Magazine*, March 1993. https://archive.dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/article/1993/3/1/lawrence-barcella-67
[^27]: Parry, Robert. "Clinton & a BCCI Lawyer," *Consortium News* (undated archive article, 1993). https://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/story3.html Sole source for the Treasury consideration as reported by Parry.

19
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Henry B. Gonzalez.md
View file

@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ born: 1916-05-03
died: 2000-11-28
location: "San Antonio, Texas"
created: 2026-09-21
updated: 2026-09-23
updated: 2026-10-08
---
Henry B. Gonzalez (May 3, 1916 to November 28, 2000) represented [[San Antonio]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1961 to 1999 and was chairman of the [[House Banking Committee|Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs]] from 1989 to 1995. In 1977 he was briefly chairman of the [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]]. From 1990 to 1993 he investigated the loans of the [[Atlanta]] branch of [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]] to [[Iraq]], and published much of what his committee obtained by reading it on the House floor.[^1][^2]
@ -46,15 +46,23 @@ On September 25 he described a brass factory worth 40 million dollars sold to Ir
In the White House he was dismissed as a "flake." He told the House: "We are obstructed blatantly, premeditatedly and coldly, and in defiance of the plain constitutional prerogative of the Congress to know." When he learned that lawyers from the National Security Council staff and other agencies were meeting under [[C. Nicholas Rostow|Nicholas Rostow]] to coordinate what Congress would be given, he named them "the Rostow gang." "It used to be that cover-ups were sort of ad hoc events, a mad scramble to provide damage control for the moment. The Rostow gang advances the notion that cover-up mechanisms have become an integral cog in the machinery of this administration." His chief investigator, [[Dennis Kane]], recalled Rostow telling him "it would be a cold day in hell before Congress got NSD 26 or any of those documents."[^6]
### The January 1993 update
On January 21, 1993, Gonzalez used a special order to report on the Banking Committee's inquiry into the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. He told the House that BNL had sued on December 15, 1992 in the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington to recover over 340 million dollars in defaulted Iraqi loans guaranteed under the Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation program.[^7]
He described a defunct British firm, [[Allivane]], which the Venice indictment identified as one of several firms secretly supplying Iran with armaments, and which also had contracts to supply Iraq with a million artillery fuses. Two former Allivane directors had been convicted in Britain in early 1992 of illegal arms shipments related to the Iraqi fuse deals. Allivane had been set up and run by an American, [[Terry Byrne]], whom Gonzalez said was never indicted for the Iraqi deals and was reportedly back in the United States. Byrne had worked for Rexon Corp. and then for [[International Signal and Control]], and Gonzalez said: "ISC was founded by James Guerin, who is serving time in jail after being convicted of, among other things, illegally shipping military technology to Iraq."[^7]
Gonzalez said Rexon, a New Jersey firm, was under criminal investigation for shipments of artillery fuse parts and technology to Iraq for a project run by [[Gerald Bull]] and his Space Research Corp., and was also under investigation involving [[Carlos Cardoen]]'s activities in Iraq. He said the committee had tried to contact Byrne and Rexon, that Rexon refused to talk and Byrne remained elusive, and that the committee wanted to know whether BNL Atlanta loans figured in the fuse deals.[^7]
### The Ethics Resolution
His statement of July 7, 1992, drew on a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] document titled "Iraq-[[Italy]], Repercussions of the BNL-Atlanta Scandal." Director [[Robert Gates]] wrote to him that it "included information from a TOP SECRET compartmented and particularly sensitive document" of September 4, 1989, and that "because of the sources and methods underlying that information, I will ask for a damage assessment to determine the impact of the disclosure." Admiral [[William Studeman]] wrote that the statements of July 21 and 27 were drawn from similar material. Attorney General [[William Barr]] told the committee that the executive branch would stop supplying classified documents without guarantees. On August 4 the minority leader, [[Bob Michel]], introduced a resolution calling for an ethics investigation, arguing that the proper course was a vote in secret session. "I believe that Mr. Gonzalez' conduct does not reflect creditably on the House," he said. He was not censured, and he continued the statements into 1993.[^7]
His statement of July 7, 1992, drew on a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] document titled "Iraq-[[Italy]], Repercussions of the BNL-Atlanta Scandal." Director [[Robert Gates]] wrote to him that it "included information from a TOP SECRET compartmented and particularly sensitive document" of September 4, 1989, and that "because of the sources and methods underlying that information, I will ask for a damage assessment to determine the impact of the disclosure." Admiral [[William Studeman]] wrote that the statements of July 21 and 27 were drawn from similar material. Attorney General [[William Barr]] told the committee that the executive branch would stop supplying classified documents without guarantees. On August 4 the minority leader, [[Bob Michel]], introduced a resolution calling for an ethics investigation, arguing that the proper course was a vote in secret session. "I believe that Mr. Gonzalez' conduct does not reflect creditably on the House," he said. He was not censured, and he continued the statements into 1993.[^8]
The Kennedy Library gave him its Profile in Courage Award on September 11, 1994, for investigating, "regardless of the attempts to strip him of his committee chairmanship, the involvement of high-level officials in the Reagan and Bush Administrations in the sale of U.S. arms to Iraq." Of the war of 1991 he had said: "Not only did our own service men and women face military material that had been exported from the U.S., the U.S. military itself relied on these Iraqi front companies for some of the military goods they used." He lost the chairmanship to [[Jim Leach|James Leach]] in 1995 and did not run in 1998. His son Charles succeeded him.[^1][^2]
### BCCI
On September 11, 1991, Gonzalez opened the banking committee's hearings on the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]], with [[Clark Clifford]] and [[Robert Altman]] as the first witnesses. He described BCCI as "tantamount to a racketeering bank" and the hearings as an inquiry into how it "gained a foothold in the United States and how regulators and bank officials failed to detect or understand or report the invasion." Recalling his inquiry into Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, which "became Bagdad's banker in the United States before our regulatory companies at the [[Federal Reserve Board|Federal Reserve]] could locate Iraq on the map," he said that "in the case of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, the Federal Reserve would have us believe that BCCI was a stealth banking operation, undetected on the regulators' radar screens," and asked: "What other foreign entities or criminal elements are secretly in control of U.S. banks at this very moment? That is a question I have been raising for 2 years."[^8]
On September 11, 1991, Gonzalez opened the banking committee's hearings on the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]], with [[Clark Clifford]] and [[Robert Altman]] as the first witnesses. He described BCCI as "tantamount to a racketeering bank" and the hearings as an inquiry into how it "gained a foothold in the United States and how regulators and bank officials failed to detect or understand or report the invasion." Recalling his inquiry into Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, which "became Bagdad's banker in the United States before our regulatory companies at the [[Federal Reserve Board|Federal Reserve]] could locate Iraq on the map," he said that "in the case of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, the Federal Reserve would have us believe that BCCI was a stealth banking operation, undetected on the regulators' radar screens," and asked: "What other foreign entities or criminal elements are secretly in control of U.S. banks at this very moment? That is a question I have been raising for 2 years."[^9]
### Footnotes
@ -64,5 +72,6 @@ On September 11, 1991, Gonzalez opened the banking committee's hearings on the [
[^4]: Gonzalez, Henry B. "United States Policy to Arm Iraq," *Congressional Record,* House, July 21, 1992.
[^5]: Gonzalez, Henry B. "Brass Factory in Iraq," *Congressional Record,* House, September 25, 1992, p. H9502.
[^6]: Friedman, Alan. *Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq*. Bantam, 1993, pp. 206, 216, 221.
[^7]: "Resolution Calling for an Ethics Probe of Chairman Gonzalez," *Congressional Record,* House, August 4, 1992, p. H7366. https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_cr/h920804-gonzales.htm
[^8]: House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs. *Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) Investigation, Part 1.* 102nd Cong., 1st Sess., September 11, 1991, Serial No. 102-69, pp. 1-2. https://archive.org/details/BCCIHearingsBeforeTheCommitteeOnBankingFinanceAndUrbanAffairs
[^7]: Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez, "Update on BNL Investigation," *Congressional Record*, House of Representatives, January 21, 1993, pp. H132 to H140. The statement about Guerin is Gonzalez's own characterization; the Third Circuit and the SEC release describe the Guerin charges as fraud and exports to South Africa, with Iraq named in the SEC release. https://irp.fas.org/congress/1993_cr/h930121-bnl.htm
[^8]: "Resolution Calling for an Ethics Probe of Chairman Gonzalez," *Congressional Record,* House, August 4, 1992, p. H7366. https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_cr/h920804-gonzales.htm
[^9]: House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs. *Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) Investigation, Part 1.* 102nd Cong., 1st Sess., September 11, 1991, Serial No. 102-69, pp. 1-2. https://archive.org/details/BCCIHearingsBeforeTheCommitteeOnBankingFinanceAndUrbanAffairs

152
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/James Guerin.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
---
aliases:
- James Guerin
- James H. Guerin
- Jim Guerin
- James Harold Guerin
category: "Arms Dealers & Brokers"
tags:
- Person
- ArmsDealers
- Fraud
- Ferranti
- SouthAfrica
- Iraq
- Armscor
- Cardoen
- InmanProxyBoard
summary: "Founder of International Signal and Control, who merged the Lancaster defense firm into Ferranti in 1987, was indicted with twenty others in 1991 and pleaded guilty to fraud and export violations."
location: "Lancaster, Pennsylvania"
created: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-08
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[International Signal and Control]]"
start: 1971
end: 1989
role: "founder, president and chief executive of the Lancaster company"
fn: 4
- type: director_of
with: "[[Ferranti]]"
start: 1987
end: 1989
role: "deputy chairman after the 1987 merger"
fn: 4
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Lockheed Aircraft Company]]"
end: 1969
role: "missile program engineer in Sunnyvale, California"
fn: 2
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Hamilton Watch]]"
start: 1969
end: 1971
role: "general manager of the systems (military electronics) division"
fn: 2
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Department of Justice]]"
reverse: true
start: 1991-10
role: "indicted with twenty others in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Crim. No. 91-601; pleaded guilty December 1991; sentenced to 15 years in 1992"
fn: 1
- type: represented
with: "[[Joseph A. Tate]]"
reverse: true
start: 1989
role: "defense counsel whose statements on Guerin's behalf were issued in September 1989"
fn: 4
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Carlos Cardoen]]"
start: 1984
role: "agreement to divide the world cluster bomb market, as described by investigator Thomas L. Flannery and reported by Timmerman (sole source)"
fn: 22
---
[[James Guerin]] (died February 10, 2022, aged 91) founded [[International Signal and Control]] (ISC), a defense electronics company in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], in his basement in 1971. The company reported about 600 million dollars in annual revenue by 1987, when it merged into the British defense firm [[Ferranti]]. He was indicted in [[Philadelphia]] in 1991 for fraud and for illegal exports to [[South Africa]], and in 1992 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[^1][^2][^3]
### Lancaster and the basement company
Guerin worked for [[Lockheed Aircraft Company|Lockheed]] as a missile program engineer in [[Sunnyvale, California]], and came to Lancaster in 1969 as general manager of the newly established systems (military electronics) division of [[Hamilton Watch]]. The division lost money, he tried and failed to buy it from Hamilton, and in 1971 he left to found his own company in his basement.[^2] The company opened its first assembly line in a converted chicken coop.[^4] It made space-vehicle rocket engines, electronic artillery fuzes, cluster bombs, electronic battlefield sensors and build-to-print circuit boards, and by the mid-1980s occupied a corporate campus off Donnerville Road in West Hempfield Township.[^2] It employed 1,800 people in Lancaster County and 5,500 worldwide.[^2] Guerin donated 4 million dollars toward a local sports center.[^4]
[[United Chem-Con]], another Lancaster arms maker in which Guerin held a 20 percent interest, was the subject of a federal fraud case in 1988. Its president, [[James B. Christian]], pleaded guilty to defrauding the Pentagon of 12 million dollars and, at his sentencing in June 1989 to six years in prison, claimed Guerin had masterminded the scheme. Guerin denied the claim and said federal prosecutors had told him he was not a subject of their Chem-Con investigation.[^2][^4]
### The proxy board and Washington names
A special proxy board of [[Bobby Ray Inman]], a former deputy director of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and director of the [[National Security Agency]], retired Army general [[John Guthrie]] and former assistant secretary of the Navy [[Barry Shillito]] was set up so that ISC could handle classified American defense work although it was listed in London. The consulting firm of former secretary of state [[Alexander M. Haig, Jr.|Alexander Haig]], [[Worldwide Associates]], did consulting work for ISC between 1985 and 1987, according to a filing Haig made when running for president in 1988.[^4] The same article reported that Inman and Haig had lent their names to Guerin's business activities over the years.[^4]
### The Ferranti merger and Guerin's departure
Guerin took the company public in London rather than on the New York Stock Exchange, and British investors did not warm to the stock. After it fell in 1987 he merged the company with Ferranti, becoming deputy chairman while [[Derek Alun-Jones]] remained chairman.[^4] The merger was announced in September 1987.[^5] In September 1989 the [[Ministry of Defence]] wrote to the Prime Minister's office that Ferranti's chairman had given an account of the merger that was "sufficiently unconvincing" for the ministry to order secret enquiries after its permanent secretary and the chief of defence procurement had sought an explanation. The enquiries showed that ISC and Guerin "had close contacts with the South African government," and that ISC had been involved in "a certain amount of two-way trade in missile equipment and technology." The ministry told the [[Department of Trade and Industry]] in May 1988 and told Alun-Jones of its concerns in July 1988. The letter states that ISC Technologies' divestment by Ferranti and Guerin's resignation were, in the ministry's belief, partly a result of that warning, and that Guerin had been unable to raise the funds to finance the acquisition. It also records an alleged connection between ISC and a British company in the European network supplying technology for the Condor missile programme.[^5]
Guerin resigned in May 1989 after seeking unsuccessfully to buy back the company. Over the following months his 32 million shares of Ferranti were sold for about 40 million dollars. His lawyer's statement claimed the sale was not made by Guerin and that [[Citicorp]] had made "the sole and unilateral decision to sell those shares, which were pledged as collateral for a loan."[^4] In September 1989 Ferranti told shareholders that its board had come to "suspect significant irregularities" in overseas contracts of ISC Technologies, and appointed [[Coopers & Lybrand]] to investigate.[^6]
Guerin left Lancaster in August 1989 for [[Naples, Florida]], announcing the move in a six-page letter to the Lancaster New Era titled "Farewell Lancaster," which dealt mostly with Christian and with the newspaper's publisher.[^2] His lawyer, [[Joseph A. Tate]], issued statements in September 1989 acknowledging a federal grand jury investigation in Philadelphia, reportedly of illegal arms and weapons technology sales to [[Iran]], [[Iraq]] and South Africa. The statements denied sales to Iran or Iraq during their war, denied the sale of cluster bombs to either, said "ISC has never manufactured or sold any chemicals or gases of any types," said Guerin "has cooperated with the grand jury investigation by providing documents and information requested," and said he "will fight vigorously against any charges leveled against him."[^4]
### The phantom contracts and the Parent plea
Ferranti alleged in September 1989 that Guerin had misled or defrauded it of 250 million dollars by making it appear that ISC held secret contracts with foreign governments. Ferranti pointed to a purported 200 million dollar missile contract with [[Pakistan]]. Pakistani officials were reported to say it never existed, and Guerin's longtime associate [[Clyde Ivy]] said it did. A former Pakistani official said ISC had held a contract with the Pakistani Air Force for cluster bombs or cluster-bomb technology in 1985 and 1986 that was completed.[^4] The Ministry of Defence letter of September 12, 1989 describes the contract as supposed to be with Pakistan for "missile know-how," with dealings through intermediaries and the work supposed to have been done in South Africa.[^5]
[[Parent Industries]], a company of which Guerin was then sole shareholder, was reported in September 1990 to have pleaded guilty to the fraudulent diversion of more than 700 million dollars from International Signal & Control Inc. It set up holding companies and bank accounts abroad, awarded the company non-existent Third World contracts, and had it pay money to subcontractors that was routed back as staged payments on the contracts. It agreed to pay 4.4 million dollars. The report said Guerin had allegedly used 67 million dollars of Ferranti shares as collateral to raise money to buy back the part of ISC holding the fictitious contracts.[^7]
Prosecutors said the fraud rested on 42 front companies in [[Panama]], 53 bank accounts in [[Switzerland]] and at least 10 in the United States, with warehouses rented and filled with crates of phony inventory for outside auditors. They said Guerin diverted 18.1 million dollars for his own use and gave 2.1 million of it to local charities.[^2]
### The 1991 indictment, plea and sentence
On October 31, 1991, the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] and the United States Attorney for the [[United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania|Eastern District of Pennsylvania]] announced the indictment of Guerin and twenty others in "an international financial fraud, securities fraud and money laundering scheme involving a billion dollars in phony contracts," together with "smuggling of weapons and restricted commodities to South Africa and Iraq." The cases were docketed as United States v. James H. Guerin, Crim. No. 91-601, and United States v. [[ARMSCOR|Armaments Corporation of South Africa]] Ltd., et al., Crim. No. 91-602. The release credits the [[Serious Fraud Office]], the [[Metropolitan Police]], Belgium's national police and the [[Italian Intelligence Service]] with cooperation.[^1]
Guerin pleaded guilty before a federal judge in Philadelphia in December 1991, and a December 9, 1991 report said he admitted "inflating the value of the company by booking over $1,000m in fictitious weapons contracts with Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and other countries," while denying that he diverted 18 million dollars for his own use.[^8] The plea covered eight counts: money laundering, conspiracy, mail fraud, securities fraud, two export violations and two tax evasion counts.[^2]
At a two-day sentencing hearing in June 1992, a federal prosecutor said he had never seen so much criminal activity over such a long period in his career. Guerin blamed his downfall on his drive to succeed and on "misguided patriotism," and said selling weapons to South Africa would counter a communist threat. Judge [[Louis Bechtle]] told him: "It's difficult for the court to believe, Mr. Guerin, you could have felt you were doing the right thing," and sentenced him to 15 years.[^3] A report of June 23, 1992 recorded the 15-year sentence.[^9] A Knight-Ridder report of November 10, 1992 said he had "earlier this year" begun serving it.[^10]
### The South African shipments and the claims of Washington approval
The indicted South African firms were ARMSCOR, its subsidiary [[Kentron]] and [[Fuchs Electronics]]. The [[Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control]] reports that they were charged with cooperating with ISC to smuggle munitions, restricted commodities and technology to South Africa from 1978 to 1989, and that Armscor and Kentron acknowledged in their plea agreement that they had obtained shipments from ISC by routing them through front companies.[^11] The State Department's 1997 debarment notice records that Fuchs pleaded guilty on February 27, 1997.[^12]
[[Thomas P. Jasin]], president of the subsidiary ISC Technologies from March 1986 to March 1987, was the first of the ISC defendants tried, in November and December 1992, on the Striker missile part of the conspiracy, a project to sell South African antitank missiles, partly made with American parts and technology, to China, for which ISC was to take a 35 percent commission on a sale valued at 300 to 500 million dollars.[^13] Jasin testified that Guerin told him ISC had "Washington approval" for the Striker dealings.[^14] His lawyer told the jury that Haig, officials of the CIA and the Army knew of the plans to import the missile components and none objected, and Assistant U.S. Attorney [[Robert E. Goldman]] answered: "Haig was never told they were bringing in missile parts from South Africa."[^10] Jasin also testified that he had met CIA agents and gained the impression that ISC acted covertly but legally, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.[^15] A defense witness, James Shinehouse, testified of conversations in which Guerin "would state that the CIA is knowledgeable about ISC's activities and that it backs certain activities that ISC had."[^16] A James Shinehouse is also identified by the Lancaster newspaper as having led Ferranti's internal investigation of ISC; the records found do not state whether the two are the same person.[^17]
Guerin, who did not testify, had written a letter to the court before the trial that Jasin faxed to his lawyer on October 2, 1992. It stated: "I implied to Tom, as I did to several others, that we had Washington's 'blessings' on this activity. I interfaced a lot with Washington contacts and fed them a lot of information. But I did not have their approval for such shipments in writing. Jasin did not know this."[^16] The government told the jury in closing that almost every piece of incriminating evidence was blamed on Guerin's telling Jasin it was okayed by Washington. In 2001 it argued that Guerin had a long history of lying, and conceded that it had accepted at trial that Guerin told Jasin ISC had Washington approval, contending that Jasin could not reasonably rely on it.[^16]
Ivy, whom the Third Circuit identifies as Robert Clyde Ivy, an ISC president and chairman of ISC Technologies from 1980 to 1989, invoked the Fifth Amendment when Jasin subpoenaed him, later pleaded guilty and served six months in 1997. In a December 7, 1999 affidavit he stated: "I informed Jasin of Guerin's statements to me that ISC's exports of defense components to South Africa had Washington's approval."[^18]
Jasin was sentenced on July 16, 1998 to 24 months, a departure below the guideline range of 57 to 60 months, on the court's finding that he had a good faith belief his conduct was lawful.[^14] The Third Circuit affirmed in an unreported opinion of August 12, 1999, the Supreme Court denied certiorari on January 24, 2000, and the Third Circuit affirmed denial of a new trial based on Ivy's affidavit on February 5, 2002.[^18] On August 8, 2002 Judge [[Jan E. DuBois]] vacated the conviction and the 1998 judgment, holding that trial counsel had been ineffective in failing to interview and call witnesses, including Guerin, and stated that Guerin's testimony would have supported Jasin's reliance.[^16] According to the National Registry of Exonerations, prosecutors then dismissed the charges.[^15]
### Inman's letter
In an April 27, 1992 letter to Chief Judge Louis Bechtle of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Inman called Guerin a patriot and said he had worked in the mid-1970s with U.S. intelligence agencies. Inman had acknowledged working secretly with Guerin. In December 1993 the ties were expected to be raised at Inman's confirmation hearing as secretary of defense, and Inman told reporters he would not comment before the hearing.[^19] Inman withdrew his nomination on January 18, 1994, saying in a letter that he could not take the attacks on his reputation that had accompanied the nomination process.[^20]
[[Open Secrets]], which published South African military intelligence documents in 2017, stated that "James Guerin himself used to be a CIA agent," listing it as circumstantial evidence that the CIA knew of the ISC shipments; the article cites no document for the claim.[^21] [[Kenneth R. Timmerman]] wrote that Guerin "knew how to ship American weaponry and technology anywhere in the world, claiming he had received quiet approval from the CIA."[^22]
### Iraq and Cardoen
Allegations that Guerin improperly sold missile technology to Iraq were reported in 1989, and Tate denied them.[^4] Timmerman wrote that [[Carlos Cardoen]] bought fuzes for his cluster bombs, despite the United Nations arms embargo on Chile, from a Pentagon contractor in Lancaster called International Signals Corporation, managed by Guerin, which had developed the Rockeye cluster bomb fuze on a second-source contract for the U.S. Navy. He wrote that Guerin's biggest customers were Cardoen and the South African Armaments Corporation, and that the two men "were old friends" by 1984. Timmerman quoted Thomas L. Flannery, who investigated Guerin for the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, as saying the two made a sweeping agreement "to split the world cluster bomb market in two," Cardoen taking Latin America and "special" countries such as Iraq, and Guerin the rest of the Gulf, Pakistan and South Africa.[^22] Timmerman also wrote that Cardoen was seized by U.S. customs officers in Miami on August 2, 1983 and indicted for attempting to smuggle night-vision goggles to Chile, and settled in a plea bargain costing his company 100,000 dollars in fines.[^22]
In January 1993 Representative [[Henry B. Gonzalez]] told the House that [[Terry Byrne]], who had set up and run the British firm [[Allivane]], had previously worked for ISC, and that "ISC was founded by James Guerin, who is serving time in jail after being convicted of, among other things, illegally shipping military technology to Iraq."[^23] A 2022 retrospective states that federal officials said ISC did not necessarily know its South African components would reach Iraq and that there was no evidence ISC sold directly to Iraq.[^3]
### Release and death
Guerin's sentence was trimmed from 15 years to 13 for good conduct. He was scheduled for release from the federal prison in [[Coleman, Florida]], on January 25, 2005, to serve the last six months in home confinement at his son's home in [[Mountville, Pennsylvania]], with an electronic monitoring bracelet. His wife, Helen, had died in Florida in June 2004. Goldman said: "He served his time. I wish him and his family well."[^2] Guerin died on February 10, 2022. He had remarried, and his obituary stated that "his greatest joy was in Christ and his beloved family."[^3]
### Footnotes
[^1]: SEC Digest, November 7, 1991, "James Guerin and Twenty Others Indicted" (Litigation Release LR-13077, announced October 31, 1991, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Crim. Nos. 91-601 and 91-602), https://www.sec.gov/news/digest/1991/dig110791.pdf.
[^2]: Tim Mekeel, "Guerin 'home' to complete sentence," *LNP* (LancasterOnline), January 3, 2005, https://lancasteronline.com/news/guerin-home-to-complete-sentence/article_ab95d10d-7b72-511a-8c23-a388df496dfb.html.
[^3]: Dan Nephin, "James Guerin, who died Feb. 10, masterminded Lancaster County's largest fraud at $1B-plus," *LNP* (LancasterOnline), February 20, 2022, https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/james-guerin-who-died-feb-10-masterminded-lancaster-countys-largest-fraud-at-1b-plus/article_28d01f02-9102-11ec-a536-0f7e5967191d.html. The article gives the June 1992 two-day sentencing hearing, the quotations of Judge Bechtle and Guerin, the federal officials' statement on Iraq, and the date of death. It describes the 1987 merger as a 1.5 billion dollar deal, where the 2005 article in note 2 gives 670 million dollars.
[^4]: Glenn Frankel, "British Firm Claims It Was Duped by Pa. Arms Maker," *Washington Post*, September 29, 1989, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1989/09/29/british-firm-claims-it-was-duped-by-pa-arms-maker/5b675f69-e5e0-4c25-9aee-ced8b8e07efa/. The article places Guerin at 59 and describes the Haig filing as "a filing Haig made when running for president last year."
[^5]: Ministry of Defence letter of 12 September 1989 (B. R. Hawtin, Private Secretary) to Charles Powell, 10 Downing Street, and Powell's reply of 13 September 1989, in Prime Minister's papers on Ferranti (file PO-CH-NL 0500 PART A), Margaret Thatcher Foundation archive, https://archive.margaretthatcher.org/HMTPO/PO-CH-NL%200500%20PART%20A.pdf. The letter is marked "secret" and "commercial in confidence/market sensitive."
[^6]: "Ferranti calls in Coopers & Lybrand to investigate ISC contracts," *Computer Business Review* (Tech Monitor), September 17, 1989, https://www.techmonitor.ai/?p=208120.
[^7]: "Guerin's company pleads guilty to $700m International Signal fraud," *Computer Business Review* (Tech Monitor), published September 25, 1990, https://www.techmonitor.ai/?p=222346. Sole source for the Parent Industries plea and the 4.4 million dollar settlement; the report does not state the date of the plea.
[^8]: "James Guerin has finally admitted fraud and tax evasion," *Computer Business Review* (Tech Monitor), published December 9, 1991, https://techmonitor.ai/?p=184145.
[^9]: "Ferranti gets losses under control but it will be a long, hard climb out of the pit," *Computer Business Review* (Tech Monitor), published June 23, 1992, https://www.techmonitor.ai/?p=184616.
[^10]: "Weapons-smuggling plot tied to Pa. executive on trial for trade violations," Knight-Ridder News Service, *Baltimore Sun*, November 10, 1992, https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/11/10/weapons-smuggling-plot-tied-to-pa-executive-on-trial-for-trade-violations/. The defense account is that of Jasin's attorney, Gaar Steiner; the quoted reply is Goldman's.
[^11]: "South African Firms Settle Arms Smuggling Case," Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, https://www.wisconsinproject.org/south-african-firms-settle-arms-smuggling-case/ (undated).
[^12]: Department of State, Office of Defense Trade Controls, Public Notice 2522, "Statutory Debarment Under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations," *Federal Register* 62, no. 56 (March 24, 1997), p. 13933, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1997-03-24/html/97-7273.htm.
[^13]: *United States v. Jasin*, 280 F.3d 355 (3d Cir. 2002) (Greenberg, J.), https://static.case.law/f3d/280/cases/0355-01.json. The opinion gives the 67-count indictment against 19 codefendants, Jasin's positions from July 1984, and the verdict of December 10, 1992 after a five-week trial. It dates the indictment October 30, 1991; the district court's 2002 opinion in note 16 dates it October 31, 1991.
[^14]: *United States v. Jasin*, 25 F. Supp. 2d 551 (E.D. Pa. 1998) (DuBois, J.), No. Crim. 91-602-08, decided August 12, 1998, https://static.case.law/f-supp-2d/25/cases/0551-01.json, citing N.T. November 24, 1992, at 70 for the "Washington approval" testimony. Sole source for the sentencing findings of July 16, 1998.
[^15]: Maurice Possley, "Thomas Jasin," National Registry of Exonerations, posted January 10, 2013, https://exonerationregistry.org/cases/11260. Sole source for Jasin's testimony about meeting CIA agents and for the dismissal of the charges after the 2002 ruling.
[^16]: *United States v. Jasin*, 215 F. Supp. 2d 552 (E.D. Pa. 2002) (DuBois, J.), memorandum and order of August 8, 2002, https://static.case.law/f-supp-2d/215/cases/0552-01.json. The opinion quotes Guerin's letter (Def.'s Ex. 14 at 52), the government's closing (T. Dec. 3, 1992, at 95), the government's 2001 reply, and Shinehouse's testimony (T. Nov. 30, 1992, at 149), and notes that Guerin was named in a separate indictment and pleaded guilty.
[^17]: Dan Nephin, *LNP*, February 20, 2022 (see note 3), which states that Shinehouse "led the internal investigation and directed subsequent litigation to help Ferranti recover what money it could."
[^18]: *United States v. Jasin*, 280 F.3d 355 (3d Cir. 2002), https://static.case.law/f3d/280/cases/0355-01.json; the opinion cites the August 12, 1999 affirmance, 191 F.3d 446 (table), and the denial of certiorari, 528 U.S. 1139 (2000).
[^19]: "Ties to convict could be questioned," *Tampa Bay Times*, December 17, 1993, https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/12/17/ties-to-convict-could-be-questioned/. Sole source for the April 27, 1992 letter; the article does not say which of the two men the letter's "he had worked in the mid-1970s with U.S. intelligence agencies" describes.
[^20]: "Inman withdraws from nomination," *Christian Science Monitor*, January 19, 1994, https://csmonitor.com/1994/0119/19242.html.
[^21]: Open Secrets, "Declassified: Apartheid Profits," *Daily Maverick*, October 9, 2017, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-10-09-declassified-apartheid-profits-american-guns/. Sole source for the claim that Guerin was a CIA agent; the article dates Guerin's sentencing October 31, 1991, which is the date of the indictment announcement in note 1.
[^22]: Kenneth R. Timmerman, *The Death Lobby: How the West Armed Iraq* (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991), pp. 168 to 169. Sole source for the Rockeye fuze, the CIA-approval statement, the agreement and the August 2, 1983 Cardoen arrest; the market-division quotation is Timmerman's quotation of Thomas L. Flannery.
[^23]: Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez, "Update on BNL Investigation," *Congressional Record*, House of Representatives, January 21, 1993, p. H132, https://irp.fas.org/congress/1993_cr/h930121-bnl.htm. Sole source for the statement about Byrne and ISC.

11
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Michael Aquino.md
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@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ born: 1946-10-16
died: 2019-09-01
location: San Francisco, California
created: 2026-06-03
updated: 2026-09-22
updated: 2026-10-08
---
Michael A. Aquino was a Lieutenant Colonel in the [[U.S. Army]] Reserve, serving in Military Intelligence and psychological operations. He was attached to the 7th Psychological Operations Group at the [[Presidio of San Francisco|Presidio]] and held Top Secret security clearance. Born October 16, 1946, he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in political science from the [[University of California Santa Barbara]] before launching concurrent careers in military intelligence and the occult.[^1][^2]
@ -26,12 +26,17 @@ Aquino founded the [[Temple of Set]] in 1975 after leaving the [[Church of Satan
In November 1986, allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced at the Presidio Army base Child Development Center in [[San Francisco]]. Investigations expanded over the following months, and in August 1987, a young girl identified Aquino as one of her abusers. At least 58 of approximately 100 children who attended the daycare showed physical or psychological signs of abuse. Aquino was investigated by Army and civilian authorities but was never charged. The case became one of the most prominent of the 1980s satanic ritual abuse controversies, and Aquino aggressively denied all allegations through legal channels and public statements.[^1][^2]
### Security Clearance Remark
In an undated transcript of an interview with [[Ted Gunderson]], a speaker initialed "M.R." (the transcript's cover line begins with the name "Michael") says that the reaction to Aquino that he got from "Dr. Malkin" was "Well, his clearance isn't all that high." The speaker adds that nearly everyone in Aquino's group was psy-ops or intelligence related.[^3] The passage does not state Aquino's rank or the clearance level discussed. Records found do not establish whether "Dr. Malkin" is [[Myron S. Malkin]].
### Project Monarch Allegations
A.B.H. Alexander, writing in *PROBE* around 1996, alleged that Aquino took part in [[Project Monarch]] conditioning of subjects at [[NASA]] bases as a handler for programming operations. [[Cathy O'Brien]] identified Aquino as one of her handlers during her alleged Monarch programming. The allegations placed Aquino at the intersection of military psychological warfare expertise and the claimed Monarch programming operations. [[Marion David Pettie|Pettie]]'s network also intersected with Aquino's circle through Christopher Bird, a former CIA officer who served in [[Japan]] as an Army psych warfare specialist and who was associated with Pettie.[^3]
A.B.H. Alexander, writing in *PROBE* around 1996, alleged that Aquino took part in [[Project Monarch]] conditioning of subjects at [[NASA]] bases as a handler for programming operations. [[Cathy O'Brien]] identified Aquino as one of her handlers during her alleged Monarch programming. The allegations placed Aquino at the intersection of military psychological warfare expertise and the claimed Monarch programming operations. [[Marion David Pettie|Pettie]]'s network also intersected with Aquino's circle through Christopher Bird, a former CIA officer who served in [[Japan]] as an Army psych warfare specialist and who was associated with Pettie.[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1987.
[^2]: Aquino vitae and published works at rachane.org.
[^3]: A.B.H. Alexander, "Sex, Drugs, the CIA, MIND CONTROL and Your Children," PROBE, c. 1996; Kenn Thomas and Len Bracken, "The Finders' Keeper," Steamshovel Press #16, 1998.
[^3]: Ted Gunderson and Michael Riconosciuto interview notes, file "Folder 7 Acc5516" (archive.org casolaro-notebooks item, file "Folder 7 Acc5516.pdf", text layer). Undated passage. Sole source for the passages so cited. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
[^4]: A.B.H. Alexander, "Sex, Drugs, the CIA, MIND CONTROL and Your Children," PROBE, c. 1996; Kenn Thomas and Len Bracken, "The Finders' Keeper," Steamshovel Press #16, 1998.

8
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Robert Gates.md
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@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
---
updated: 2026-10-08
aliases:
- Robert Gates
- Bob Gates
@ -26,6 +27,12 @@ On November 28, 1995, Gates appeared on *Nightline* with [[Ted Koppel]] to discu
On ABC's *Nightline* of November 28, 1995, the night the [[1995 AIR evaluation of Star Gate|AIR evaluation]] of the remote-viewing program was released, Gates said that after the mid-1970s "CIA basically monitored the activities of other government agencies and what was going on in the academic community and then in mid 1980s, then-deputy director [[John McMahon]] formalized that. So, CIA really during that period had a very limited role"; that "I don't know of a single instance where it is documented that this kind of activity contributed in any significant way to a policy decision or even to informing policy makers about important information"; that "most intelligence professionals have been pretty skeptical of this. We got into it, I think, mainly because we heard the Soviets were involved and also because the Congress, individual members of the Congress and some staff pushed us into it"; and that "this is a pretty low priority for the intelligence community, and it's better done on the outside."[^3]
### Senate inquiry into Cardoen Industries, 1991
In its October 24, 1991 report on Gates's nomination, the [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] recorded that [[Richard Babayan|Richard H. Babayan]] alleged in news reporting and other forums that Gates had assisted an individual named M. K. Moss in a covert CIA operation to supply arms to Iraq, had sought to transfer cluster bomb technology to [[Carlos Cardoen]], and had been aware that a Lancaster, Pennsylvania company was supplying arms to Iraq through South Africa.[^4] The report records a July 16, 1991 letter from Cardoen to the United States ambassador in Chile denying that he had met Gates and denying that he had worked with Gates and the CIA to deliver weapons to Iraq. Gates's calendar and travel records were reviewed for the dates of the alleged meetings, and the committee wrote that "No credible evidence has been presented to the Committee to support these allegations." At his confirmation hearing Gates denied Babayan's allegations.[^4]
The committee also reported that, while investigating relationships between Gates and Cardoen, it received information about a relationship between [[Industrias Cardoen|Cardoen Industries]] and a former part-time senior CIA employee, [[James D. Theberge]]. The report states that "There is no evidence that the nominee, Mr. Gates, participated in either his recruitment or selection" to the Senior Review Panel. In written answers printed in the report, Gates said that he had moved the panel's organization from the Directorate of Intelligence to the Director's area when he became deputy director for intelligence in January 1982, that decisions on panel members were made by the Director, and that "I do not recall meeting Ambassador Theberge prior to his joining the SRP." He wrote that he was "unaware of his [Theberge's] relationships, his connection to the SWISSCO Management Group, or any connection to the Carlos Cardoen Group."[^4]
### Publications
* *From the Shadows* (1997)
@ -34,3 +41,4 @@ On ABC's *Nightline* of November 28, 1995, the night the [[1995 AIR evaluation o
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^3]: "Psychic Spies: Cold War Whimsy or Secret Weapon?," ABC News *Nightline,* November 28, 1995, Radio TV Reports transcript for the CIA Public Affairs Staff, CIA-RDP99-01448R000402140001-7, read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room.
[^4]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Intelligence, *Nomination of Robert M. Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence*, S. Exec. Rept. 102-19, 102d Cong., 1st sess., October 24, 1991, section 5, PDF pages 186 to 188. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-filesations-10219.pdf

145
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Ward Boston.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
---
title: Ward Boston
aliases:
- Ward Boston
- Ward Boston Jr.
- Ward Boston, Jr.
- Captain Ward Boston
- Captain Ward Boston Jr.
category: "Military"
tags:
- Person
- Military
- Navy
- USSLiberty
- SixDayWar
- Israel
- CourtOfInquiry
- CoverUp
- LyndonJohnson
- McNamara
summary: "Navy lawyer who was senior counsel to the 1967 Court of Inquiry into the USS Liberty attack and later stated that Admiral Kidd told him Johnson and McNamara ordered a mistaken-identity finding."
born: 1923-06-21
died: 2008-06-12
location: "Coronado, California"
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[U.S. Navy]]"
start: 1950
end: 1975
role: "Judge Advocate General's Corps; retired as a captain with thirty-four and a half years of service"
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[USS Liberty Incident]]"
start: 1967-06-10
end: 1967-06-18
role: "senior legal counsel to the Navy Court of Inquiry"
fn: 5
- type: reported_to
with: "[[Isaac C. Kidd Jr.]]"
start: 1967-06-10
end: 1967-06-18
role: "counsel to the court of which Kidd was president"
fn: 5
- type: reported_to
with: "[[John S. McCain Jr.]]"
start: 1967-06-10
end: 1967-06-18
role: "designated counsel to the court convened by McCain"
fn: 5
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
role: "special agent, San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to a family obituary"
fn: 2
created: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-08
---
Ward Boston Jr. (1923 to 2008) was a United States Navy captain and Judge Advocate General's Corps lawyer who served as senior legal counsel to the 1967 Court of Inquiry into the Israeli attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]]. In an affidavit released in October 2003 and a longer declaration dated January 8, 2004, he stated that [[Isaac C. Kidd Jr.|Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd Jr.]], the court's president, had told him that [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and [[Robert S. McNamara]] ordered the court to conclude that the attack was a case of mistaken identity.[^1]
### Early career
Boston was born in [[Moberly, Missouri]], on June 21, 1923, the only son of Ward and Margaret Boston. The family obituary states that before the war he held a scholarship to study oboe at the [[Curtis Institute of Music]], and that at nineteen he entered flight training as an aviation cadet and earned his wings at [[Pensacola, Florida]].[^2] It records that he flew the F6F Hellcat as a fighter pilot in the Pacific fleet, with combat duty aboard the [[USS Yorktown]], and flew Hellcats and Corsairs from two escort carriers and two CVL carriers, including USS Midway, in the Atlantic Fleet, and that his flight crew called him "Blackie."[^2] His 2007 op-ed describes him as a naval aviator in World War II on the Yorktown.[^3]
After the war Boston attended the law school of the [[College of William and Mary]], which his 2007 op-ed names.[^3] The obituary states that he passed the Virginia bar while still in law school, practiced in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] with the firm of Richardson & Boston, continued to fly as a reservist stationed at [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], where he met and married Emma Penello, and then accepted an appointment as a special agent of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], serving in San Francisco and Los Angeles after graduating from the FBI Academy.[^2] It states that shortly after the Korean War began he returned to active duty in the regular Navy as a Judge Advocate, and that he was a graduate of the [[Armed Forces Staff College]], the [[Naval War College]], and did graduate law studies at [[George Washington University]].[^2] [[A. Jay Cristol]], the author of the book that prompted Boston's public statements, wrote in 2007 that Boston returned to the Navy "as a legal specialist in the days prior to creation of the Judge Advocate Generals Corp."[^4] The obituary records that Boston retired as the senior captain in the Navy after thirty-four and a half years of service and that he and his wife settled in [[Coronado, California]], in 1975.[^2]
### The Court of Inquiry, June 1967
[[John S. McCain Jr.]], Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, appointed the court by order of June 10, 1967, naming Rear Admiral Kidd as president, Captains [[Bernard J. Lauff]] and [[Bert M. Atkinson Jr.]] as members, Boston as counsel, and Lieutenant Commander [[Allen Feingersch]] as assistant counsel.[^5] The record opens in [[London]] at 2314 on June 10 with the appointing order read into the record, and the President administered the oath to counsel; the appointed reporter was Yeoman Chief [[Joeray Spencer]].[^5] The court heard its first witness, Captain Leonard Raish of McCain's staff, and adjourned at 0250 on June 11. The president, counsel and reporter boarded the ship at sea off [[Souda Bay]], [[Crete]], and the court met aboard at 0630 on June 12; the record shows the full court in session at [[Malta]] from 0755 on June 13, adjourning aboard the ship on June 15. It reconvened in London on June 16 and closed at 1645 that day.[^5] The posted description of the record, which dates the meeting of the full court with the ship at Valletta to June 14, gives nineteen witnesses, transcribed testimony of 158 pages, and forty-nine exhibits, and states that the court presented fifty-two findings with the record to McCain.[^6] The complete record is posted as a 728-page scan.[^5]
Finding 1 of the court states: "Available evidence combines to indicate the attack on LIBERTY on 8 June was in fact a case of mistaken identity." Finding 6 states: "There are no available indications that the attack was intended against a U. S. Ship."[^5] McCain's first endorsement of June 18, 1967 describes "an unprovoked attack by Israeli air and naval forces in international waters off the coast of the United Arab Republic" and states that the convening authority's comments "lead to an overall conclusion that the attack was in fact a mistake."[^5] The [[Associated Press]] summarized the outcome as a finding that there was "insufficient information to make a judgment about why Israel attacked the ship."[^7]
Boston stated that he and Kidd were given one week to gather evidence, although each of them estimated that a proper inquiry would take at least six months.[^1][^3] The scan contains the testimony of Lieutenant (junior grade) [[Lloyd C. Painter]], the officer of the deck, at transcript pages 55 to 59 (scan pages 160 to 164). Painter testified that the ship's life rafts "had been strafed and most of them were burned," that the crew "knocked most of them over the side," and that the three torpedo boats "were laying off, waiting for us to sink."[^5] In the declaration Boston states that Painter's testimony on the deliberate machine-gunning of the life rafts by the Israeli torpedo boat crews, which he recalled being given at the court and included in the original transcript, "is now missing and has been excised."[^1] Painter told the [[Chicago Tribune]] in 2007 that he testified that an Israeli torpedo boat "methodically machine-gunned one of our life rafts" and charged that this testimony was purposely omitted; the Tribune described him as having spent thirty-two years as a [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] agent after leaving the Navy.[^8] Transcript page 153 in the scan is a page bearing the typed legend "PAGE 153 BLANK" (scan page 258).[^5]
### Public statements, 2002 to 2003
[[Ronald Fraser]] reported that Boston had told the [[Navy Times]] the previous year: "I feel the Israelis knew what they were doing. They knew they were shooting at a U.S. Navy ship. That's the bottom line. I don't care how they tried to get out of it."[^9] [[Arab News]] reported that on June 26, 2002, Boston told a reporter for the [[Marine Corps Times]], [[Bryant Jordan]], that the attack was deliberate.[^10] Fraser also reported that Boston said Kidd told him after delivering the report to Washington that top officials were not interested in hearing the truth.[^9]
Boston said he came forward after reading Cristol's book [[The Liberty Incident]], published in 2002. Arab News reported in July 2003 that Cristol's book tour had included a December 2002 presentation at the [[Naval Historical Center]].[^10] In a July 2003 interview with Arab News, Boston said: "There is no question in my mind that those people tried to kill every one on board." He also said: "I made lots of corrections which are no longer in the report. There are even pages missing."[^10]
On October 22, 2003, a signed affidavit by Boston was released at a Capitol Hill news conference.[^4][^7] The Associated Press quoted it as stating that Johnson and McNamara told those heading the Navy's inquiry to "conclude that the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity' despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary." [[Thomas H. Moorer]], chairman of the [[Independent Commission of Inquiry]] into the attack, spoke at the same event. Moorer, who attended from a wheelchair, asked: "Why in the world would our government put Israel's interest ahead of our own?"[^7][^11]
### The affidavit and the January 2004 declaration
The text printed in the Congressional Record on October 11, 2004, headed "Affidavit of Captain Ward Boston, USN, JAG (Ret.)," carries no date. It contains the statements on the one-week deadline, the evidence of a deliberate attack, the flag, the lifeboats, Cristol's book, and the Johnson and McNamara order, and it describes Boston's service as "Judge Advocates General Department," where the declaration reads "Judge Advocate General Corps." Representative [[John Conyers]] introduced the findings and the affidavit in remarks dated October 7, 2004.[^11]
The declaration is a four-page signed document with twenty-six numbered paragraphs, dated "January 8, 2004" at Coronado, California.[^1] It contains paragraphs that the Record text omits: Kidd's repeated characterization of the Israeli forces (paragraph 7), McCain's refusal to allow travel to Israel (11), the more than sixty witness declarations never received into evidence (12), the order to rewrite the findings and "put the lid" on the attack (17 and 18), the transcript (19 and 20), Kidd's later conversations (21), and Cristol's 1990 telephone call and later letter (22 to 25).[^1] Paragraph 16 states: "I know from personal conversations I had with Admiral Kidd that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity' despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary." Paragraph 17 states that Kidd told him, "after returning from Washington, D.C. that he had been ordered to sit down with two civilians from either the White House or the Defense Department, and rewrite portions of the court's findings." Paragraph 18 states that Kidd said he had been ordered to "put the lid" on everything concerning the attack and that no one was to speak of it again.[^1] Paragraphs 19 and 20 state that the transcript released to the public "is not the same one that I certified and sent off to Washington," that it was necessary to hand correct and initial a substantial number of pages and the released version bears none of them, that "the original did not have any deliberately blank pages, as the released version does," and that Painter's testimony "is now missing and has been excised."[^1]
The Kidd conversations are sole-sourced to Boston, who attributes them to a man who died in 1999.[^1][^9] Boston gave other accounts of how Kidd conveyed the order. Arab News in 2003 reported that Kidd returned to Washington and telephoned Boston: "We have to be quiet," and quoted Boston as saying that Johnson "had ordered us to put the lid on it."[^10] In the Chicago Tribune in 2007 Boston said Kidd flew to Washington with the record while he returned to [[Naples]], and that two weeks later Kidd telephoned him from his office in Naples and said: "Ward, they aren't interested in the facts. It's a political issue and we have to put a lid on it. We've been ordered to shut up."[^8] The family obituary describes him as the "Senior Judge Advocate" for the [[U.S. Sixth Fleet|Sixth Fleet]] in Naples, Italy.[^2] Paragraphs 22 to 25 of the declaration describe a 1990 telephone call from Cristol, after which Kidd said that "Cristol must be an Israeli agent," and a later letter from Cristol containing notes of the conversation that Boston calls "grossly incorrect."[^1]
Accounts differ on when Boston signed. Arab News on January 11, 2004 described "a signed affidavit last October."[^12] The [[Financial Times]] reported on January 13, 2004 that Boston had signed an affidavit "last week."[^13] The Associated Press obituary states that "In 2002" Boston made the statement according to a signed affidavit.[^14] One transcription of the declaration prints the date as January 9, 2004. The signed page reads January 8.[^1]
### The June 2007 op-ed
On June 8, 2007, the fortieth anniversary of the attack, the [[San Diego Union-Tribune]] published a Boston op-ed titled "Time for the truth about the Liberty." It repeats the Kidd account and the claim that the released transcript was altered. It ends with the call: "Let former intelligence officers testify that they received real-time Hebrew translations of Israeli commanders instructing their pilots to sink 'the American ship.'"[^3]
Cristol answered in the [[History News Network]] on June 12, 2007. He argued that the Kidd account is hearsay about a dead man and that the record contains no testimony showing that the Israelis intended to destroy the ship.[^4] He also named a man, [[Ron Gotcher]], whom he said helped Boston with the affidavit and declaration and "very likely wrote or assisted in the preparation" of the op-ed. Cristol says that Gotcher's claim to have worked for the [[National Security Agency]] is refuted by an NSA letter posted on the Liberty Incident website.[^4] Cristol also states that McNamara told the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] in July 1967 that he had read the record of investigation and supported its conclusion that the attack was not intentional.[^4]
### Signals intelligence
In July 2003 the NSA released transcripts of the Liberty intercepts in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by Cristol filed April 26, 2001. In a letter dated July 2, 2003, the agency enclosed three recordings of Israeli communications in Hebrew, three transcripts, two summary reports, and a compiled report dated June 22, 1967. The letter states that "No communications of the attacking aircraft or torpedo boats were available" and that an EC-121 aircraft had collected conversations between two Israeli helicopter pilots and the control tower at [[Hazor Airfield]].[^15]
In January 2004 the NSA historian, [[David Hatch]], said that the new material "doesn't settle much." His reading of the conversations between an Israeli air controller and two helicopter pilots "suggested strongly" that the Israelis did not know at first that they were attacking a U.S. vessel, though the pilots mentioned an American flag flying.[^13]
On June 8, 2007, the NSA announced that it had finished its review of all material relating to the attack and had posted additional documents, including oral histories, messages, and follow-up reports. The agency wrote: "It is not NSA's intention to prove or disprove any one set of conclusions, many of which can be drawn from a thorough review of this material."[^16]
In a June 2003 Proceedings article, [[David C. Walsh]] reported that [[Oliver Kirby]], the NSA deputy director for operations/production, said in an interview of February 14, 2003 that within weeks of the attack he read transcripts of the Israeli pilots' conversations, and that they made it "absolutely certain" the Israelis knew the ship was American.[^17] On October 2, 2007, the Chicago Tribune reported that the NSA's position was that it never intercepted the communications of the attacking Israeli pilots, and quoted Kirby as saying he had read such transcripts: "They said, 'We've got him in the zero,' whatever that meant, I guess the sights or something. And then one of them said, 'Can you see the flag?' They said 'Yes, it's U.S, it's U.S.' They said it several times, so there wasn't any doubt in anybody's mind that they knew it." Kirby told the Tribune: "I'm willing to swear on a stack of Bibles that we knew they knew."[^8] The Tribune also quoted a [[James Gotcher]], an attorney in California who served with the [[Air Force Security Service]]'s 6924th Security Squadron at Son Tra, Vietnam, as recalling transcripts in which controllers urged the aircraft to "complete the job." Records found do not establish whether he is the Ron Gotcher named by Cristol.[^4][^8]
### Israeli position
The Israeli Embassy spokesman, [[Mark Regev]], responded to the October 2003 news conference: "I can say unequivocally that the Liberty tragedy was a terrible accident, that the Israeli pilots involved believed they were attacking an enemy ship." He added: "This was in the middle of a war. This is something that we are not proud of."[^7] Israel has long maintained that the attack was a case of mistaken identity.[^7]
### State Department conference, January 2004
The Office of the Historian of the [[U.S. Department of State]] announced a two-day conference on the 1967 war, to coincide with the publication of the Foreign Relations of the United States volume on the Arab-Israeli crisis and war of 1967. The announcement, carried by [[Democracy Now]] on January 7, 2004, described the conference as a forum to discuss the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty.[^18] Arab News reported before the event that Cristol would be a featured speaker and that [[David Satterfield]], deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, would give the keynote address.[^12] The Office's press release, dated January 12, 2004, describes the volume as including "newly declassified documentation on the USS Liberty incident regarding Israeli involvement."[^19] The Financial Times reported that the conference opened in the State Department basement "with heated debate" over the newly released NSA intercepts.[^13]
### Death and papers
Boston died on June 12, 2008, of pneumonia in a hospital in the San Diego area, aged 84.[^14] The family obituary gives the place of death as Coronado Hospital and states that he was interred at [[Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery]] on June 24, 2008, survived by his wife, Emma, three children and six grandchildren.[^2] The History News Network gives the date of death as June 11, 2008, citing his wife.[^20]
Boston's papers at the [[Hoover Institution]], acquired in 2012, consist of three manuscript boxes and a card file covering 1956 to 2008, including correspondence, writings, notes, and a photocopy of the court of inquiry proceedings.[^21] The Hoover also holds a photocopy of the court of inquiry record in one manuscript box.[^22]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Ward Boston Jr., Declaration Concerning the Court of Inquiry into the Attack on USS Liberty, dated "January 8, 2004 at Coronado, California," four pages, signed. Scanned copy at https://archive.org/download/boston-declaration/BostonDeclaration.pdf (signature page read directly). Text transcription at https://stationhypo.com/?p=69026, which prints the date as January 9. Sole source for the conversations with Kidd and for the account of the transcript alterations.
[^2]: "Obituary: Captain Ward Boston Jr. Dies June 12," Connection Newspapers, June 17, 2008. https://connectionnewspapers.com/news/2008/jun/17/obituary-captain-ward-boston-jr-dies-june-12. Family-supplied; sole source for the early career details, the retirement, and the burial.
[^3]: Ward Boston Jr., "Time for the truth about the Liberty," San Diego Union-Tribune, June 8, 2007, two-page PDF copy at https://archive.org/details/time-for-the-truth-about-the-liberty. The page identifies the author as a naval aviator in World War II on the Yorktown, an FBI agent before his Navy assignment, and a graduate of the College of William and Mary School of Law.
[^4]: A. Jay Cristol, "Why You Shouldn't Pay Attention to the Claims that Israel Attacked the USS Liberty Deliberately," History News Network, June 12, 2007. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/why-you-shouldnt-pay-attention-to-the-claims-that-. Cristol is the author of The Liberty Incident and an advocate of the accident finding. His claims about Gotcher, McNamara, and the release of the affidavit on October 22, 2003 are his.
[^5]: United States Navy, Record of Proceedings, Court of Inquiry into the armed attack on USS Liberty (AGTR-5), 1967, 728-page scan, posted at https://libertyincident.com/docs/CourtOfInquiry.pdf. Scan pages cited: 34 to 38 (McCain's first endorsement, June 18, 1967), 106 and 107 (opening, appointing order, oath), 117 (adjournment of June 11, boarding at sea, Malta June 13), 243 and 244 (adjournment of June 15, London June 16), 160 to 164 (Painter testimony, transcript pages 55 to 59), 258 (transcript page 153), 265 (closing of the court at 1645 on June 16), 266 and 267 (findings of fact 1 and 6).
[^6]: "US Navy Court of Inquiry," The Liberty Incident (website of A. Jay Cristol), https://libertyincident.com/USNcourt.html. Descriptive text accompanying the posted record; the witness, page, exhibit, and finding counts, the date Kidd boarded the ship, and the Malta meeting come from this description.
[^7]: Associated Press, "Ex-Navy Official: 1967 Israeli Attack on U.S. Ship Was Deliberate," Fox News, October 23, 2003 (12:21 a.m. EDT). https://www.foxnews.com/story/ex-navy-official-1967-israeli-attack-on-u-s-ship-was-deliberate.amp. Includes the affidavit quotation, the Moorer quotation, the Regev statement, and the outcome summary of the 1967 court.
[^8]: "New revelations in attack on American spy ship," Chicago Tribune, October 2, 2007. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/10/02/new-revelations-in-attack-on-american-spy-ship/. Reprinted at https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/43350. The Boston, Painter, Kirby, and Gotcher statements are as the Tribune reported them.
[^9]: Ronald Fraser, "Captain Boston's Secret," U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 129, no. 7 (July 2003). https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2003/july/captain-bostons-secret. The Navy Times quotation and Boston's account of Kidd are Fraser's, quoting Boston. Fraser gives Kidd's death year as 1999.
[^10]: "Navy Captain, Other Officials Call for Probe of Israel's Attack on USS Liberty," Arab News, July 16, 2003. https://www.arabnews.com/node/234373. The Marine Corps Times date and reporter name are from the Arab News report. Fraser's article attributes the 2002 remark to the Navy Times; the two accounts name different papers.
[^11]: Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, vol. 150, no. 130 (October 11, 2004), pp. E1886-E1889, "In Recognition of Admiral Thomas H. Moorer" (remarks of Rep. John Conyers, Jr., dated October 7, 2004), with the Findings of the Independent Commission of Inquiry and the affidavit of Captain Ward Boston. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2004-10-11/html/CREC-2004-10-11-pt1-PgE1886-3.htm. The same remarks state that Moorer made his final Capitol Hill appearance as chairman on October 22, 2003, and that he died on February 5, 2004.
[^12]: "State Dept to Spotlight Attack on USS Liberty," Arab News, January 11, 2004. https://www.arabnews.com/node/242842. Announces the conference, Cristol as a featured speaker, and Satterfield's keynote. The announcement predates the event and does not confirm who spoke.
[^13]: Guy Dinmore, "Tempers Flare Over Inquiry on Israeli Attack on U.S. Spy-Ship," Financial Times, January 13, 2004, reprinted by the History News Network. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/3027. Dinmore reports the conference, Hatch's remarks, and Boston's affidavit "last week."
[^14]: Associated Press, obituary of Ward Boston, reprinted by the Philadelphia Inquirer, June 20, 2008. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20080620_Ward_Boston___Naval_investigator__84.html. This text dates the statement to 2002 ("In 2002, Capt. Boston said...") and does not give a day for the affidavit.
[^15]: National Security Agency, letter from Louis F. Giles, Director of Policy, to A. Jay Cristol, FOIA Case 40039A, July 2, 2003. https://irp.fas.org/nsa/liberty.html. The enclosed transcripts and reports are posted on the same page.
[^16]: National Security Agency, "U.S.S. Liberty," release page (archived copy, Wayback Machine 2007 capture, http://web.archive.org/web/2007/http://www.nsa.gov/liberty). The page records that the review of all material was finalized on June 8, 2007, and lists the release contents; it states that the collection was previously posted on July 2, 2003.
[^17]: David C. Walsh, "Former NSA Officials Agree," U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 129, no. 6 (June 2003). https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2003/june/former-nsa-officials-agree. Interview with Oliver Kirby dated February 14, 2003. The quoted phrase comes from the article's public text.
[^18]: "State Dept. To Hold Conference On USS Liberty Attack," Democracy Now!, headline of January 7, 2004. https://democracynow.org/2004/1/7/headlines/state_dept_to_hold_conference_on_uss_liberty_attack
[^19]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, press release announcing Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Arab-Israeli Crisis and War, 1967, January 12, 2004. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/pressrelease
[^20]: "Key Figure in USS Liberty Inquiry Dies," History News Network, June 2008. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/51532. Gives June 11 as the date of death, citing Emma Boston.
[^21]: Hoover Institution Library & Archives, "Boston (Ward) papers, 1956-2008," finding aid, Online Archive of California. https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt7779s1db
[^22]: Hoover Institution Library & Archives, "United States. Navy. Liberty (Ship) Court of Inquiry records, 1967," finding aid, Online Archive of California. https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt4p30341f

52
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/William J. Casey.md
View file

@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ aliases:
- "William Casey"
category: "Intelligence & Government"
created: 2024-04-25
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-08
tags:
- KeyFigure
- Person
@ -22,38 +22,62 @@ born: 1913-03-13
died: 1987-05-06
location: "Elmhurst, Queens, New York"
---
William Joseph Casey was born March 13, 1913, in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. He attended [[St. John's University]] and Fordham Law School, becoming a corporate and tax attorney. During World War II he served in the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS) under [[William J. Donovan|William "Wild Bill" Donovan]], rising to head the OSS's Secret Intelligence operations in Europe and coordinating the infiltration of agents into Nazi-controlled territory. After the war he became a wealthy lawyer and author of tax shelter guides. President [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] appointed him Chairman of the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] in 1971, a post he held through 1973. He managed [[Ronald Reagan]]'s 1980 presidential campaign. Reagan appointed him [[Director of Central Intelligence]] in January 1981, and he served as DCI until resigning due to illness in January 1987. He died May 6, 1987, at a hospital in Glen Cove, New York, having suffered a seizure in December 1986 and subsequently undergone brain surgery. He was subpoenaed to testify before the Senate [[Iran-Contra Affair|Iran-Contra]] investigating committee but died before he could appear.[^5]
William Joseph Casey was born March 13, 1913, in Elmhurst, Queens, New York. He attended [[St. John's University]] and Fordham Law School, becoming a corporate and tax attorney. During World War II he served in the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS) under [[William J. Donovan|William "Wild Bill" Donovan]], rising to head the OSS's Secret Intelligence operations in Europe and coordinating the infiltration of agents into Nazi-controlled territory. After the war he became a wealthy lawyer and author of tax shelter guides. President [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] appointed him Chairman of the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] in 1971, a post he held through 1973. He managed [[Ronald Reagan]]'s 1980 presidential campaign. Reagan appointed him [[Director of Central Intelligence]] in January 1981, and he served as DCI until resigning due to illness in January 1987. He died May 6, 1987, at a hospital in Glen Cove, New York, having suffered a seizure in December 1986 and subsequently undergone brain surgery. He was subpoenaed to testify before the Senate [[Iran-Contra Affair|Iran-Contra]] investigating committee but died before he could appear.[^1]
### October Surprise
The central allegation against Casey is that he served as the principal American negotiator in secret meetings with Iranian representatives in [[Spain]] and [[France]] in 1980, during which the Reagan campaign agreed to delay the release of 52 American hostages held in [[Iran]] until after the November 4 election in exchange for promises of arms and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The allegation is the subject of the [[October Surprise]] affair.[^1]
The central allegation against Casey is that he served as the principal American negotiator in secret meetings with Iranian representatives in [[Spain]] and [[France]] in 1980, during which the Reagan campaign agreed to delay the release of 52 American hostages held in [[Iran]] until after the November 4 election in exchange for promises of arms and the release of frozen Iranian assets. The allegation is the subject of the [[October Surprise]] affair.[^2]
Multiple sources identified two probable meeting locations: Madrid in July 1980 and Paris in October 1980. A U.S. Embassy cable indicating Casey was in Madrid "for purposes unknown" in summer 1980 was withheld from the House October Surprise Task Force by [[George H.W. Bush|Bush]] administration officials and only surfaced through journalist [[Robert Parry]]'s reporting in 2011. Casey's personal calendar for October 20, 1980, showed an 8 a.m. Metropolitan Club appointment in Washington, which the House Task Force cited in its January 1993 report finding "no credible evidence" of a deal. Former French intelligence chief [[Alexandre de Marenches]], through his biographer's sworn testimony, indicated he had arranged meetings between Casey and Iranians in Paris in October 1980.[^1][^2]
Multiple sources identified two probable meeting locations: Madrid in July 1980 and Paris in October 1980. A U.S. Embassy cable indicating Casey was in Madrid "for purposes unknown" in summer 1980 was withheld from the House October Surprise Task Force by [[George H.W. Bush|Bush]] administration officials and only surfaced through journalist [[Robert Parry]]'s reporting in 2011. Casey's personal calendar for October 20, 1980, showed an 8 a.m. Metropolitan Club appointment in Washington, which the House Task Force cited in its January 1993 report finding "no credible evidence" of a deal. Former French intelligence chief [[Alexandre de Marenches]], through his biographer's sworn testimony, indicated he had arranged meetings between Casey and Iranians in Paris in October 1980.[^2][^3]
A separate [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] investigation found that Casey had engaged in "potentially dangerous" unauthorized efforts to collect intelligence on the Carter administration's hostage-release negotiations, confirming Reagan-campaign intelligence operations against Carter's Iran policy without concluding a deal had been struck.[^2]
A separate [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] investigation found that Casey had engaged in "potentially dangerous" unauthorized efforts to collect intelligence on the Carter administration's hostage-release negotiations, confirming Reagan-campaign intelligence operations against Carter's Iran policy without concluding a deal had been struck.[^3]
Casey died before he could be formally questioned under oath. He was subpoenaed to testify at the Iran-Contra hearings, which were examining a separate but related set of covert arms deals with Iran from 1985-1986.[^5]
Casey died before he could be formally questioned under oath. He was subpoenaed to testify at the Iran-Contra hearings, which were examining a separate but related set of covert arms deals with Iran from 1985-1986.[^1]
### KH-11 and Israeli Intelligence
Casey was an enthusiastic supporter of the [[KH-11]] imagery-sharing program with [[Israel]] from the moment he took office, ordering that Israeli liaison officers be provided with a private office near [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] headquarters to ensure all essential intelligence was turned over. After the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak bombing]], Casey authorized a review that found [[Israel]] had significantly expanded the agreement, requesting and receiving extensive KH-11 coverage of western [[Russia]].[^4]
Casey was an enthusiastic supporter of the [[KH-11]] imagery-sharing program with [[Israel]] from the moment he took office, ordering that Israeli liaison officers be provided with a private office near [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] headquarters to ensure all essential intelligence was turned over. After the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak bombing]], Casey authorized a review that found Israel had significantly expanded the agreement, requesting and receiving extensive KH-11 coverage of western [[Russia]].[^4]
### Launching the Contra War
Reagan approved the intelligence finding for covert operations in [[Nicaragua]] in December 1981, and sent Casey to present it to Congress. Halting Sandinista arms shipments to [[El Salvador]] was the official reason Casey gave, but the operation's scope extended far beyond border policing. According to one account, Casey himself leaked news of the Contra project to *Newsweek* to ensure it could not be abandoned, reasoning that stopping it would look like another [[Bay of Pigs]].[^3]
Reagan approved the intelligence finding for covert operations in [[Nicaragua]] in December 1981, and sent Casey to present it to Congress. Halting Sandinista arms shipments to [[El Salvador]] was the official reason Casey gave, but the operation's scope extended far beyond border policing. According to one account, Casey himself leaked news of the Contra project to *Newsweek* to ensure it could not be abandoned, reasoning that stopping it would look like another [[Bay of Pigs]].[^5]
### The Secret 1982 Agreement
In early 1982, Casey and Attorney General [[William French Smith]] signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding that exempted CIA assets from drug crimes reporting. Crimes committed by people "acting for" an intelligence agency no longer needed to be reported to the [[Department of Justice]], and drug offenses were specifically removed from the list of crimes the CIA was required to report. For thirteen years, the CIA and Justice had what Inspector General Hitz called "a gentleman's agreement to look the other way." Robert Parry argued the timing proved premeditation: "That could only have been done for one purpose. They were anticipating what eventually happened. They knew drugs were going to be sold."[^3]
In early 1982, Casey and Attorney General [[William French Smith]] signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding that exempted CIA assets from drug crimes reporting. Crimes committed by people "acting for" an intelligence agency no longer needed to be reported to the [[Department of Justice]], and drug offenses were specifically removed from the list of crimes the CIA was required to report. For thirteen years, the CIA and Justice had what Inspector General Hitz called "a gentleman's agreement to look the other way." Robert Parry argued the timing proved premeditation: "That could only have been done for one purpose. They were anticipating what eventually happened. They knew drugs were going to be sold."[^5]
### Protecting Drug Traffickers
Casey decided not to raise allegations of [[Manuel Noriega|Noriega's]] cocaine trafficking with him "on the ground that Noriega was providing valuable support for our policies in [[Central America]]." [[Oliver North]] wrote that Casey did not want the Contras' "unofficial funds" coming into U.S. banks because Treasury agents on the lookout for drug money would grow suspicious. A former CIA station chief testified that the unspoken policy was that "we were going to play with these guys. That was made clear by Casey and [[Dewey Clarridge|Clarridge]]."[^3]
Casey decided not to raise allegations of [[Manuel Noriega|Noriega's]] cocaine trafficking with him "on the ground that Noriega was providing valuable support for our policies in [[Central America]]." [[Oliver North]] wrote that Casey did not want the Contras' "unofficial funds" coming into U.S. banks because Treasury agents on the lookout for drug money would grow suspicious. A former CIA station chief testified that the unspoken policy was that "we were going to play with these guys. That was made clear by Casey and [[Dewey Clarridge|Clarridge]]."[^5]
### High Frontier correspondence
[[Daniel O. Graham]], the retired lieutenant general who directed the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] from September 1974 to January 1, 1976, wrote to Casey about [[High Frontier]], the space defense group he had founded in 1981. On January 8, 1982 Casey wrote to Graham that the High Frontier prospectus was "very well done and deserving of close attention" and that he found "something of a disconnect" in its budget paragraphs, from a $35 billion figure to a higher $50 billion figure.[^6] Casey wrote to Graham on December 20, 1982 that he had enjoyed Graham's talk at the [[National Strategy Information Center]] breakfast and offered to arrange for Graham to exchange ideas with CIA officers knowledgeable about space and missile technology.[^7]
On July 23, 1986 Graham wrote to Casey enclosing a paper titled "Is the KGB Sabotaging SDI?", written after the loss of the shuttle Challenger, and urged Casey and [[Edwin Meese]] to "leave no stone unturned" in getting answers. A cover memorandum dated July 28, 1986, titled "Possible Soviet Sabotage of Our Space Program," carries Casey's instruction: "Please take the lead in drafting a response from me to General Graham."[^8] Casey replied on August 16, 1986, acknowledging Graham's letters of July 23 and 29, 1986, and rejected Graham's sabotage theory. He wrote that "we do not believe the U.S. space launch failures you cited were due to Soviet action," that the failures had been traced to "errors or procedural problems," and that "none of the investigations found any evidence of Soviet involvement."[^9] On December 8, 1986 Graham wrote to [[Robert Gates|Robert M. Gates]], then deputy director of the CIA, praising his assessment of Soviet strategic defense efforts, with a copy to Casey.[^10]
### National Intelligence Study Center
Casey is listed on the advisory board of the [[National Intelligence Study Center]] in Washington, alongside Graham and [[Paul Nitze]]. The board of directors of the center included [[Ray Cline]]. The center's invitation to an exhibit of intelligence books, dated November 3, 1983, carries these lists.[^11]
### Recruitment of James D. Theberge to the Senior Review Panel
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, in its October 24, 1991 report on the nomination of Gates, named Casey as one of three CIA officials involved in the recruitment and selection of [[James D. Theberge]] for the Senior Review Panel, with Deputy Director [[John McMahon]] and Executive Director [[James Taylor]].[^12] The report states that "the Committee's documentary evidence makes clear that Director Casey was the CIA official most instrumental in recruiting Mr. Theberge."[^12] The report records that Theberge disclosed his consulting work for a Cardoen subsidiary in the personal history statement he submitted to the CIA in December 1985, and that he was hired on a three-days-per-week basis.[^12] CIA visitor records held in the reading room list Theberge as meeting the director at headquarters in November 1984 and, as "Ambassador Theberge," calling on the director on September 23, 1985.[^13] A routing sheet of August 12, 1985 confirms a courtesy call on the director at 1100 hours on August 14, 1985, twelve days after Theberge left his post in Chile, stating that he "has completed his tour in Chile and has no particular items to discuss."[^14] In a memorandum of August 19, 1985 titled "Soviet Game Plan," Casey told the Vice Chairman of the [[National Intelligence Council]]: "You will get in touch with Theberge, talk about the project generally, see what he has to contribute and perhaps have him do some work on the Latin America phase of it."[^15]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Sick, Gary. *October Surprise: America's Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan*. Times Books, 1991.
[^2]: U.S. House of Representatives, October Surprise Task Force. *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*. 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, January 1993.
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998.
[^1]: Persico, Joseph E. *Casey: From the OSS to the CIA*. Viking, 1990.
[^2]: Sick, Gary. *October Surprise: America's Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan*. Times Books, 1991.
[^3]: U.S. House of Representatives, October Surprise Task Force. *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980*. 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, January 1993.
[^4]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.
[^5]: Persico, Joseph E. *Casey: From the OSS to the CIA*. Viking, 1990.
[^5]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998.
[^6]: Letter, William J. Casey to Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham, January 8, 1982, CIA-RDP83M00914R001900220074-1. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp83m00914r001900220074-1
[^7]: Letter, William J. Casey to Graham, December 20, 1982, CIA-RDP88B00443R001203980021-9, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp88b00443r001203980021-9; the reading room also catalogues Graham's letter to Casey of December 9, 1982 under CIA-RDP83M00914R002400010001-8.
[^8]: Letter, Daniel O. Graham to William J. Casey, July 23, 1986, enclosing "Is the KGB Sabotaging SDI?", with the cover memorandum "Possible Soviet Sabotage of Our Space Program," July 28, 1986, CIA-RDP88B00443R001904460005-6.
[^9]: Letter, William J. Casey to Lt. Gen. Daniel O. Graham, August 16, 1986, CIA-RDP88B00443R002004470017-0.
[^10]: Letter, Daniel O. Graham to Robert M. Gates, December 8, 1986, CIA-RDP88G01116R000700840002-1, copy to William J. Casey.
[^11]: National Intelligence Study Center, invitation to the Russell J. Bowen collection exhibit, Georgetown University, November 3, 1983, CIA-RDP90-00806R000100430001-2.
[^12]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Intelligence, *Nomination of Robert M. Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence*, S. Exec. Rept. 102-19, 102d Cong., 1st sess., October 24, 1991, section 5, PDF pages 186 to 188. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-filesations-10219.pdf
[^13]: Central Intelligence Agency, "American Ambassadors" visitor log, November 1984 (1045), CREST document CIA-RDP93-00415R000100040012-4, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp93-00415r000100040012-4; visitor record, September 23, 1985 (1645), CREST document CIA-RDP93-00415R000200230005-0, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp93-00415r000200230005-0.
[^14]: Central Intelligence Agency, "DCI 14 August 1985 Meeting with Mr. James D. Theberge, Former U.S. Ambassador to Chile," August 12, 1985, CREST document CIA-RDP87M00539R000801050023-0. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp87m00539r000801050023-0
[^15]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Soviet Game Plan," memorandum from the Director of Central Intelligence to the Vice Chairman, National Intelligence Council, August 19, 1985, signed William J. Casey, CREST document CIA-RDP97M00248R000500220030-9. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp97m00248r000500220030-9

32
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Alexander M. Haig, Jr..md
View file

@ -90,12 +90,12 @@ relations:
with: "[[MGM Mirage]]"
start: 1990
role: "director"
fn: 27
fn: 29
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[MGM Mirage]]"
start: 1990-05
role: "consultant; fees of $50,000 in 2000"
fn: 27
fn: 29
- type: funded
with: "[[MGM Mirage PAC]]"
start: 2000-12-19
@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ relations:
- type: director_of
with: "[[Interneuron Pharmaceuticals]]"
role: "director"
fn: 27
fn: 29
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[SDC International]]"
start: 1999-05
@ -127,8 +127,14 @@ relations:
end: 2008-05-07
role: "contributions of $750 to $5,000 listing worldwide associates as employer"
fn: 14
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[International Signal and Control]]"
start: 1985
end: 1987
role: "consulting work through Worldwide Associates, according to Haig's 1988 candidate filing"
fn: 27
created: 2026-10-01
updated: 2026-10-01
updated: 2026-10-08
---
Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. was born on December 2, 1924, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, and died at about 1:30 a.m. on February 20, 2010, at [[Johns Hopkins Hospital]] in [[Baltimore]], at the age of 85; a hospital spokesman attributed his death to complications of an infection.[^1] He was military adviser and then deputy to [[Henry A. Kissinger]] at the [[National Security Council]], [[White House]] chief of staff to [[Richard Nixon]], Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, president of [[United Technologies Corporation]], and Secretary of State under President [[Ronald Reagan]].[^1][^2] Nixon promoted him in 1972 from two-star to four-star rank, passing over 240 officers with greater seniority.[^1]
@ -187,15 +193,21 @@ Reagan accepted Haig's resignation by letter on June 25, 1982. Haig's letter of
### Worldwide Associates and the CIA, 1984 and 1985
[[Worldwide Associates]], a Washington international advisory firm, had Haig as chairman and president from 1984.[^2] Deputy Director of Central Intelligence [[John N. McMahon]] wrote to Haig ("Al") on January 5, 1984, at 1155 15th Street, N.W., Suite 800, that a doctoral candidate and former military officer whose resume Haig had passed to the Agency, whose name is redacted, would join the CIA as a career trainee on April 16, adding: "We're always on the lookout for good people and appreciate your keeping us in mind."[^23] The same address is given for Haig in the 2002 proxy statement of SDC International.[^13]
[[Worldwide Associates]], a Washington international advisory firm, had Haig as chairman and president from 1984.[^2] Deputy Director of Central Intelligence [[John McMahon|John N. McMahon]] wrote to Haig ("Al") on January 5, 1984, at 1155 15th Street, N.W., Suite 800, that a doctoral candidate and former military officer whose resume Haig had passed to the Agency, whose name is redacted, would join the CIA as a career trainee on April 16, adding: "We're always on the lookout for good people and appreciate your keeping us in mind."[^23] The same address is given for Haig in the 2002 proxy statement of SDC International.[^13]
The appointment log of Director of Central Intelligence Casey for 1985, as released, lists under Haig a reception and screening of "That's Dancing" hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Haig at the [[Motion Picture Association]], 1600 I Street, N.W., on January 22; a breakfast with Haig at the Madison Hotel on April 10; a reception and screening of "A View to a Kill" at the same address hosted by General and Mrs. Haig on May 31; a breakfast with General Haig at CIA headquarters on November 13; and a cocktail buffet hosted by General and Mrs. Haig on December 20.[^24]
No registrant named Worldwide Associates, and none named Haig, appears in the [[Foreign Agents Registration Act]] registrant lists, active or terminated, retrieved from the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s FARA e-file interface on October 1, 2026; the only near matches are the law firm Haight, Gardner, Poor & Havens and related Haight registrants.[^25] The Senate and House lobbying disclosure database, which begins in 1999, returns no registrant named Worldwide Associates and no lobbyist named Haig.[^26]
### International Signal and Control, 1985 to 1987
Worldwide Associates did consulting work for [[International Signal and Control]] between 1985 and 1987, according to a filing Haig made when he ran for president in 1988.[^27] Haig and Bobby Ray Inman were among the well-known Washingtonians who had lent their names to the business of [[James Guerin]].[^27]
At the 1992 trial of [[Thomas P. Jasin]], Jasin's attorney, Gaar Steiner, told the court that Haig, a consultant for ISC, and officials of the Central Intelligence Agency and the Army were aware of plans to import South African Striker missile components into the United States and that no one objected. The Assistant U.S. Attorney, [[Robert E. Goldman]], replied: "Haig was never told they were bringing in missile parts from South Africa."[^28]
### Corporate boards
The proxy statement of [[MGM Mirage]] filed March 27, 2001, lists Haig as a director since 1990 and a consultant to the company since May 1990, holder of options on 10,000 shares, and recipient in 2000 of $50,000 in consulting fees; it describes him as chairman of Worldwide Associates, host of the weekly television program "World Business Review," and a director of [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] Inc., CompuServe Interactive Services and [[Interneuron Pharmaceuticals]]. [[Tracinda]], of which [[Kirk Kerkorian]] was sole director and stockholder, owned 91,221,432 MGM Mirage shares.[^27]
The proxy statement of [[MGM Mirage]] filed March 27, 2001, lists Haig as a director since 1990 and a consultant to the company since May 1990, holder of options on 10,000 shares, and recipient in 2000 of $50,000 in consulting fees; it describes him as chairman of Worldwide Associates, host of the weekly television program "World Business Review," and a director of [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] Inc., CompuServe Interactive Services and [[Interneuron Pharmaceuticals]]. [[Tracinda]], of which [[Kirk Kerkorian]] was sole director and stockholder, owned 91,221,432 MGM Mirage shares.[^29]
[[SDC International]] named Haig a director in January 2002; he had been its strategic advisor since May 1999. Its proxy statement filed December 6, 2002, discloses that SDC paid him $85,000 in September 2001 for past services, issued him fully vested options on 300,000 shares at $0.40 when the agreement was renewed on September 9, 2001, and agreed to pay him "between one and two percent of the total gross contract amount of any contract entered into by SDC or any of its subsidiaries which was obtained through the efforts of General Haig." SDC's principal operating entity was its Czech subsidiary [[Tatra]]; [[Terex Corporation]], which had received shares as a strategic advisor, held 12 percent. Haig held 505,000 shares, 2.47 percent, and was one of the two persons named to vote stockholders' proxies.[^13]
@ -203,7 +215,7 @@ The proxy statement of [[MGM Mirage]] filed March 27, 2001, lists Haig as a dire
### Political contributions and the 1988 campaign
Haig for President (FEC committee C00214189), with treasurer Dominic J. Saraceno of Virginia, reported receipts of $2,633,083 for the 1988 cycle, including $140,442 in federal matching funds, and remained registered through 2000.[^28] Rumsfeld gave it $1,000 on January 27, 1988.[^14] The Associated Press obituary records that Haig ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988.[^1]
Haig for President (FEC committee C00214189), with treasurer Dominic J. Saraceno of Virginia, reported receipts of $2,633,083 for the 1988 cycle, including $140,442 in federal matching funds, and remained registered through 2000.[^30] Rumsfeld gave it $1,000 on January 27, 1988.[^14] The Associated Press obituary records that Haig ran unsuccessfully for president in 1988.[^1]
[[Federal Election Commission]] records list contributions by entries in the name of Haig giving Worldwide Associates as employer, among them $750 to the [[Republican National Committee]] on January 11, 1994, $1,000 to Pete Wilson for President on May 1, 1995, $5,000 to the RNC on July 19, 1996, November 10, 1998, and February 1, 2000, and $2,300 to John McCain 2008 on April 10, 2007. A $1,000 contribution to McCain 2000 dated June 15, 1999, comes from "Haig, Alexander M. Mr. Jr." of [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]] with no employer listed. The records list contributions to the MGM Mirage political action committee of $500 on December 19, 2000, $1,000 on January 31, 2002, and $1,000 on May 4, 2004.[^14]
@ -235,5 +247,7 @@ Haig for President (FEC committee C00214189), with treasurer Dominic J. Saraceno
[^24]: Director of Central Intelligence, appointment and contact log for 1985, entries under "HAIG, Alexander," CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP93-00415R000200210008-9, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp93-00415r000200210008-9
[^25]: U.S. Department of Justice, FARA e-file API, Registrants (Active, 537 rows) and Registrants (Terminated, 6,552 rows), retrieved October 1, 2026, https://efile.fara.gov/api/v1/Registrants/json/Active and https://efile.fara.gov/api/v1/Registrants/json/Terminated (name search; short-form registrants and foreign principals not searched).
[^26]: Lobbying Disclosure Act filings database, API queries for registrant name "Worldwide Associates" and lobbyist name "Haig," run October 1, 2026, https://lda.gov/api/v1/filings/
[^27]: MGM Mirage, Definitive Proxy Statement (DEF 14A), filed March 27, 2001, accession 0000912057-01-008537, nominee table, notes on options, and "Certain Transactions," https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789570/000091205701008537/a2041387zdef14a.htm
[^28]: Federal Election Commission, committee C00214189, Haig for President, committee record and financial totals by cycle, https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/committee/C00214189/totals/
[^27]: Glenn Frankel, "British Firm Claims It Was Duped by Pa. Arms Maker," *Washington Post*, September 29, 1989. The article describes the filing as one "Haig made when running for president last year." https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1989/09/29/british-firm-claims-it-was-duped-by-pa-arms-maker/5b675f69-e5e0-4c25-9aee-ced8b8e07efa/
[^28]: "Weapons-smuggling plot tied to Pa. executive on trial for trade violations," Knight-Ridder News Service, *Baltimore Sun*, November 10, 1992. The article describes Haig as "a consultant for ISC" in reporting the attorney's statement; the quoted reply is Goldman's. https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/11/10/weapons-smuggling-plot-tied-to-pa-executive-on-trial-for-trade-violations/
[^29]: MGM Mirage, Definitive Proxy Statement (DEF 14A), filed March 27, 2001, accession 0000912057-01-008537, nominee table, notes on options, and "Certain Transactions," https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789570/000091205701008537/a2041387zdef14a.htm
[^30]: Federal Election Commission, committee C00214189, Haig for President, committee record and financial totals by cycle, https://api.open.fec.gov/v1/committee/C00214189/totals/

83
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Isaac C. Kidd Jr..md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
---
title: Isaac C. Kidd Jr.
aliases:
- Isaac C. Kidd Jr.
- Isaac C. Kidd, Jr.
- Isaac C. Kidd
- Isaac Campbell Kidd Jr.
- Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd Jr.
- Admiral Isaac C. Kidd
- Admiral Kidd
category: "Military"
tags:
- Person
- Military
- Navy
- USSLiberty
- CourtOfInquiry
- SixDayWar
- NATO
summary: "Navy admiral who presided over the 1967 Court of Inquiry into the USS Liberty attack and retired in 1978 as commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic."
died: 1999-06-27
location: "Alexandria, Virginia"
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[U.S. Navy]]"
start: 1941
end: 1978
role: "career naval officer; retired as commander in chief, U.S. Atlantic Fleet"
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[NATO]]"
start: 1975
end: 1978
role: "Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic"
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[USS Liberty Incident]]"
start: 1967-06-10
end: 1967-06-18
role: "president of the Navy Court of Inquiry"
fn: 4
- type: reported_to
with: "[[John S. McCain Jr.]]"
start: 1967-06-10
end: 1967-06-18
role: "court convened by McCain as Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe"
fn: 4
created: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-08
---
Isaac Campbell Kidd Jr. (died 1999) was a United States Navy admiral who, as a rear admiral in June 1967, presided over the Navy Court of Inquiry into the Israeli attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]], and who retired in 1978 as commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and as the [[NATO]] Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.[^1] His counsel to the court, [[Ward Boston]], stated in 2003 and 2004 that Kidd told him that [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] and [[Robert S. McNamara]] ordered the court to find that the attack was a case of mistaken identity.[^2]
### Career
The [[Washington Post]] obituary of July 2, 1999 records a Navy career of forty years, with combat operations in the Pacific, Atlantic and Mediterranean during World War II and service in the office of the Chief of Naval Operations during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], the loss of the submarine Thresher, the [[Gulf of Tonkin Incident]] and the Dominican Republic crisis.[^1] The same obituary gives his retirement in 1978 as commander in chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, and gives his death on June 27, 1999, at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, at age 79, after five years of illness with cancer.[^1] In June 1967 he was assigned as Assistant Chief of Staff, Logistics, for the Commander in Chief of Allied Forces Southern Europe.[^3]
### The Court of Inquiry, June 1967
[[John S. McCain Jr.]], Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, named Kidd president of the court by a letter of June 10, 1967, which directed the court to "inquire into all the pertinent facts and circumstances leading to and connected with the armed attack; damage resulting therefrom; and deaths of and injuries to naval personnel."[^4] The record of proceedings opens at 2314 on June 10, 1967, in London, with Captains [[Bernard J. Lauff]] and [[Bert M. Atkinson Jr.]] as members and Captain Ward Boston Jr. as counsel.[^4] Kidd, Boston and the court reporter boarded the ship at sea off [[Souda Bay]], [[Crete]], and the court met aboard at 0630 on June 12; the court sat at [[Malta]] from June 13 to 15 and closed in London at 1645 on June 16. [[Ronald Fraser]] reports that Kidd delivered the report to McCain on June 18, 1967, and that McCain added review comments stating that "the attack was a mistake."[^5]
[[A. Jay Cristol]] wrote that the report was carried to Washington by Kidd "in a brief case chained to this wrist."[^6] The [[Chicago Tribune]] reported in 2007 that McCain chose Kidd to preside and gave the court one week, and that Rear Admiral [[Merlin Staring]], then a captain and staff legal officer in London and later the Navy's Judge Advocate General, said the report was taken from him when he began to question aspects of it. Staring described the inquiry to the Tribune as "a hasty, superficial, incomplete and totally inadequate inquiry."[^7]
### Statements attributed to Kidd
Boston's declaration of January 8, 2004 states that Kidd told him, after returning from Washington, that he had been ordered to sit down with two civilians from either the White House or the Defense Department and rewrite portions of the court's findings, and that he had been ordered to "put the lid" on everything to do with the attack.[^2] The declaration states that Kidd was "adamant" in later private conversations that the attack was deliberate and planned, and that Kidd telephoned Boston after Cristol's 1990 call and said that "Cristol must be an Israeli agent."[^2]
Boston gave other accounts of the same period. [[Arab News]] reported in July 2003 that Kidd returned to Washington and then telephoned Boston, saying "We have to be quiet" and "We can't talk to the media," and quoted Boston as saying that Johnson "had ordered us to put the lid on it."[^8] Fraser wrote in July 2003 that Boston said Kidd told him top officials were not interested in hearing the truth.[^5] In an interview with the Chicago Tribune published October 2, 2007, Boston said that Kidd flew to Washington with the record while Boston returned to Naples, and that two weeks later Kidd telephoned him from his office in Naples and said: "Ward, they aren't interested in the facts. It's a political issue and we have to put a lid on it. We've been ordered to shut up."[^7]
Arab News reported that Boston quoted Kidd as saying, "Those guys knew what they were doing when they killed innocent sunbathing kids. They tried to sink that ship."[^8] The same article quoted [[James Ennes]], a Liberty survivor, as saying that Kidd never characterized the attack as an accident and told him many times: "You are on the right track, Jim. Just keep on probing."[^8]
Cristol states that Kidd, in interviews in the early 1990s, said the attack was not intentional, and wrote in 2007 that Boston's account is hearsay about a dead man.[^6][^8] McNamara told the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] in July 1967, as quoted by Cristol, that the conclusion of "the investigatory body headed by an Admiral of the Navy" was that the attack was not intentional.[^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Adm. Isaac Kidd Dies," The Washington Post, July 2, 1999. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1999/07/02/adm-isaac-kidd-dies/48636275-1034-4d5d-9350-ff83865bb644/
[^2]: Ward Boston Jr., Declaration Concerning the Court of Inquiry into the Attack on USS Liberty, dated January 8, 2004, Coronado, California, paragraphs 17, 18, 21, 23. https://archive.org/download/boston-declaration/BostonDeclaration.pdf. Sole source for Kidd's private statements, as Boston reports them. A shorter affidavit text printed in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, October 11, 2004, pp. E1886-E1889, carries the McNamara and Johnson sentence (paragraph 16 of the declaration) without the Kidd conversations in paragraphs 17 to 25. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2004-10-11/html/CREC-2004-10-11-pt1-PgE1886-3.htm
[^3]: "US Navy Court of Inquiry," The Liberty Incident (website of A. Jay Cristol), https://libertyincident.com/USNcourt.html. Descriptive text accompanying the posted record; the assignment of Kidd and the date he boarded the ship come from this description.
[^4]: United States Navy, Record of Proceedings, Court of Inquiry into the armed attack on USS Liberty (AGTR-5), 1967, scan pages 106 and 107 (opening, convening letter of June 10, 1967, oath), 117 (adjournment of June 11, boarding at sea, court aboard June 12, Malta June 13), 243 and 244 (adjournment June 15, London June 16), 265 (closing at 1645 on June 16), https://libertyincident.com/docs/CourtOfInquiry.pdf, and quoted in Ward Boston Jr., Declaration, paragraph 5 (https://archive.org/download/boston-declaration/BostonDeclaration.pdf).
[^5]: Ronald Fraser, "Captain Boston's Secret," U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, vol. 129, no. 7 (July 2003). https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2003/july/captain-bostons-secret. Fraser also gives Kidd's death year as 1999.
[^6]: A. Jay Cristol, "Why You Shouldn't Pay Attention to the Claims that Israel Attacked the USS Liberty Deliberately," History News Network, June 12, 2007. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/why-you-shouldnt-pay-attention-to-the-claims-that-. Cristol is the author of The Liberty Incident and an advocate of the accident finding; the report-transport phrase, the early 1990s interviews and the McNamara quotation are his.
[^7]: "New revelations in attack on American spy ship," Chicago Tribune, October 2, 2007. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/10/02/new-revelations-in-attack-on-american-spy-ship/
[^8]: "Navy Captain, Other Officials Call for Probe of Israel's Attack on USS Liberty," Arab News, July 16, 2003. https://www.arabnews.com/node/234373. The Kidd quotations are Boston's and Ennes's as reported by Arab News.

16
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Lyndon B. Johnson.md
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@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
---
updated: 2026-10-08
aliases:
- Lyndon Johnson
category: "Political Figure"
@ -28,11 +29,15 @@ On June 5, 1967, Johnson told congressional leaders that he had been expecting I
Notes of the [[National Security Council]] Special Committee meeting of June 9 record [[Clark Clifford]] saying that the attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]] should be handled "as if Arabs or USSR had done it" and calling it "Inconceivable that it was accident"; the note-taker's marginal notation next to the remarks reads: "President subscribed 100%."[^4] On June 12 Johnson requested a special study on the strafing and torpedoing of the ship, covering pilot conversations and "everything we can get" from the [[NSA|National Security Agency]]; Rostow sent a preliminary CIA report on June 13 as the "CIA's first cut at the problem," noting "They do not find evidence of U.S. identification before the attack."[^5] On June 26 Rostow sent Johnson the proposed public release of the Navy Court of Inquiry summary, noting that the Israelis had asked for 24 hours of lead time and that Deputy Secretary of Defense [[Cyrus Vance]] was inclined to give 12; the 12-hour option is the one checked.[^6]
### The USS Liberty allegation
An affidavit by [[Ward Boston]], senior legal counsel to the Navy's 1967 Court of Inquiry into the attack on the USS Liberty, released in October 2003, states that Admiral [[Isaac C. Kidd Jr.]] told him "that President Lyndon Johnson and Secretary of Defense [[Robert S. McNamara]] ordered him to conclude that the attack was a case of 'mistaken identity' despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary."[^7] Kidd died in 1999.[^8] The Associated Press reported that the Johnson administration "did not formally challenge" Israel's explanation that the attack was a case of mistaken identity.[^9] The Chicago Tribune reported in 2007 that internal White House documents from the [[Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library]] show that the Israelis' explanation of how the mistake had occurred "was not believed," and quoted a retired chief petty officer, J. Q. Hart, as recalling that McNamara told Rear Admiral Lawrence Geis that "President [Lyndon] Johnson is not going to go to war or embarrass an American ally over a few sailors."[^10] [[A. Jay Cristol]], the author of The Liberty Incident, rejects Boston's account as hearsay about a dead man.[^11]
### Bobby Baker
Lyndon B. Johnson served as the 36th President of the United States. His rise to power emanated directly from his friends in Texas oil, including the [[Clint Murchison, Sr.|Murchison family]].[^7]
Lyndon B. Johnson served as the 36th President of the United States. His rise to power emanated directly from his friends in Texas oil, including the [[Clint Murchison, Sr.|Murchison family]].[^12]
As Senate Majority Leader, Johnson made [[Bobby Baker]] his secretary of the Senate Democrats in 1955, referring to Baker as "my strong right arm, the last man I see at night, the first I see in the morning." A major scandal brewed around Baker in the autumn of 1963, involving numerous questionable deals that were tightly interwoven with the Murchison family and organized crime figures.[^7]
As Senate Majority Leader, Johnson made [[Bobby Baker]] his secretary of the Senate Democrats in 1955, referring to Baker as "my strong right arm, the last man I see at night, the first I see in the morning." A major scandal brewed around Baker in the autumn of 1963, involving numerous questionable deals that were tightly interwoven with the Murchison family and organized crime figures.[^12]
### Footnotes
@ -42,4 +47,9 @@ As Senate Majority Leader, Johnson made [[Bobby Baker]] his secretary of the Sen
[^4]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 236, Notes of a Meeting of the Special Committee of the National Security Council, June 9, 1967 (Saunders's handwritten notes). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d236
[^5]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 284, Intelligence Memorandum, "The Israeli Attack on the USS Liberty," June 13, 1967, with source note on Helms's notes of the June 12 meeting and Rostow's covering memorandum of June 13. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d284
[^6]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 324, Memorandum from Rostow to President Johnson, June 26, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d324
[^7]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^7]: Ward Boston Jr., affidavit as printed in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, October 11, 2004, pp. E1886-E1889, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2004-10-11/html/CREC-2004-10-11-pt1-PgE1886-3.htm; the same sentence is paragraph 16 of Boston's declaration dated January 8, 2004, https://archive.org/download/boston-declaration/BostonDeclaration.pdf. Sole source for the Kidd conversation.
[^8]: Ronald Fraser, "Captain Boston's Secret," *U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings*, July 2003 (Kidd's death year). https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2003/july/captain-bostons-secret
[^9]: Associated Press, Fox News, October 23, 2003. https://www.foxnews.com/story/ex-navy-official-1967-israeli-attack-on-u-s-ship-was-deliberate.amp
[^10]: "New revelations in attack on American spy ship," *Chicago Tribune*, October 2, 2007. The Tribune's text reads "the Israelis' explanation of how the mistake had occurred was not believed"; the Hart quotation is Hart's recollection as the Tribune reported it. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/10/02/new-revelations-in-attack-on-american-spy-ship/
[^11]: A. Jay Cristol, History News Network, June 12, 2007. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/why-you-shouldnt-pay-attention-to-the-claims-that-
[^12]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.

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10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Myron S. Malkin.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
---
aliases:
- Myron S. Malkin
- Myron Samuel Malkin
- Myron (Mike) Malkin
- Mike Malkin
- Dr. Myron S. Malkin
- M. S. Malkin
- Dr. M. S. Malkin
category: "Scientists & Researchers"
tags:
- Person
- MyronSMalkin
- SpaceShuttle
- NASA
- NuclearSafeguards
- NUSAC
- Wackenhut
- DepartmentOfDefense
location: "Bethesda, Maryland"
summary: "Physicist who directed the NASA Space Shuttle program at headquarters from 1973 to 1980 after posts at Yale, General Electric, NUS Corporation and the Defense Department."
created: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-08
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Yale University]]"
start: 1952
end: 1961
role: "member of the physics department faculty"
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[General Electric]]"
start: 1961
end: 1969
role: "missile nose cone and re-entry vehicle work; general manager for the proposed Manned Orbiting Laboratory"
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[NUS Corporation]]"
start: 1969
end: 1972
role: "president"
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Department of Defense]]"
start: 1972
end: 1973
role: "first Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Technical Evaluation (obituary); deputy to the Assistant Secretary of Defense (I) (1972 letter)"
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[NASA]]"
start: 1973
end: 1980
role: "Headquarters Shuttle Program Director"
fn: 6
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Fairchild Industries]]"
role: "vice president for research and development, after leaving NASA (no dates given)"
fn: 1
- type: founded
with: "[[Malkin Associates]]"
role: "consulting firm, Malkin Associates Inc., after leaving Fairchild Industries"
fn: 1
- type: director_of
with: "[[Wackenhut Advanced Technologies Corporation]]"
start: 1979
end: 1980
role: "board member of NUSAC, Incorporated"
fn: 9
- type: spouse_of
with: "[[Jocelyn Schoen Malkin]]"
role: "psychiatrist; survived him in 1994"
fn: 1
---
Myron S. Malkin (1924 to 1994) was an American physicist and administrator who directed the [[Space Shuttle program]] at [[NASA]] headquarters from 1973 to 1980, after posts at [[Yale University]], [[General Electric]], [[NUS Corporation]] and the [[Department of Defense]].[^1]
### Education and military service
Born in [[Youngstown, Ohio]], Malkin enlisted in the [[United States Marine Corps]] during World War II and landed with the [[5th Marine Division]] at [[Iwo Jima]]. He began attending Yale College while in the service, graduated with honors in physics in 1948 as a member of [[Phi Beta Kappa]], and then received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in nuclear physics from Yale.[^1]
### Yale, General Electric and NUS Corporation
Malkin was a member of the physics faculty at Yale from 1952 to 1961. In 1961 he joined the General Electric Company, where until 1969 he worked on missile nose cones and re-entry vehicles for strategic ballistic missiles and served as general manager for the [[U.S. Air Force]] proposed [[Manned Orbiting Laboratory]], a space station program that was canceled before it began.[^1] From 1969 to 1972 he was president of NUS Corporation, a [[Rockville, Maryland]] company engaged in nuclear power plant engineering.[^1]
### Defense Department, 1972 to 1973
The obituary states that in 1972 Malkin was named the first Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Technical Evaluation, a job he held until he went to NASA.[^1] A letter of July 26, 1972, from [[Albert C. Hall]] to [[Richard Helms]], Director of Central Intelligence, states that Hall had appointed "my Deputy, Dr. M. S. Malkin, to represent ASD (I)" on an ad hoc panel to study [[SIGINT_COMINT|SIGINT]] issues before the September [[EXCOM]] meeting, with [[Dale Hamilton]] as alternate.[^2]
The Final Report of the COINS Review Group, dated February 1, 1973, lists "OASD(I), Chairman Dr. Myron S. Malkin Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Technical Evaluation)" as head of the group's working group; the April 18, 1973 report of the COINS and IRAC working group carries the same listing.[^3] A [[Central Intelligence Agency]] memorandum of February 6, 1973 on a meeting with the COINS project manager refers to "the conclusions of the Malkin group as approved at its 26 January meeting."[^4] An undated National Security Council Intelligence Committee listing of task groups for working group case studies names "Dr. Myron Malkin, OASD(I)" as chairman of the cruise missile study.[^5]
### NASA Space Shuttle program, 1973 to 1980
The NASA history office lists "Myron (Mike) Malkin" as "the Headquarters Shuttle Program Director from 1973 to 1980."[^6] The obituary states that from 1973 to 1980 he led the effort to bring together the components that became the Space Shuttle, and that he pushed to have the orbiter, external fuel tank and twin solid-fueled booster rockets built on time and integrated as a system.[^1] The obituary quotes Jerry Grey of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics: "He really put the pieces together." It describes Malkin as "an efficient and sometimes cantankerous manager."[^1] A schedule of a nine-week CIA Senior Seminar, forwarded on August 4, 1978 to Loch Johnson after an Office of Training briefing, lists a session on "The Space Shuttle Program" with "Dr. Myron S. Malkin Space Shuttle Program Director, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)."[^7] Under the author name "Malkin, M. S.," the NASA Technical Reports Server holds papers he wrote on the program: "Space Shuttle - The new baseline" (1974 reprint), "The Space Shuttle - Key considerations" (1975), "Space Shuttle 1976 into mainstream development - Program commitments on schedule to insure careful progress" (1976), "Space Shuttle - Now and later" (1979), "The Space Shuttle" (1979 reprint) and "Planning Space Shuttle's maiden voyage" (1979, with R. F. Freitag). Their author affiliations read NASA Office of Manned Space Flight, NASA Office of Space Flight and NASA Headquarters.[^8]
### Later career
The obituary states that Malkin left NASA before the first shuttle flight in April 1981, and that he was in the control room as an agency consultant during that flight.[^1] It then names two later posts: vice president for research and development at [[Fairchild Industries]], and the consulting firm [[Malkin Associates]], Inc.[^1]
### NUSAC board, 1979 to 1980
The Winter 1979 to 1980 issue of the [[Institute of Nuclear Materials Management]] Journal reports the election of [[Brian J. L. Berry]] to the board of [[NUSAC, Incorporated]] of McLean, Virginia, a nuclear safeguards consultancy. The item names [[George R. Wackenhut]] as chairman and states that "Besides Dr. Lumb, the other members are Dr. Myron S. Malkin, Director of NASA's Space Shuttle Program, and [[Robert E. Miller]], Executive Vice President of [[Resources Science Corporation]]." The item also names [[Ralph F. Lumb]] as president.[^9] The same journal's Spring 1979 issue carries a Coral Gables, Florida dispatch of December 28 stating that [[Wackenhut Corporation]] had purchased the assets of NUSAC, Inc. for an undisclosed sum, and that Lumb would remain president.[^10]
NUSAC was established in 1968 as the Nuclear Surveillance and Auditing Corporation, 7777 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia, and was renamed NUSAC, Inc. by stockholder vote.[^11] A funeral-home obituary states that Lumb became president of NUSAC in 1971.[^12] The Journal lists NUS Corporation separately from NUSAC in contributor affiliations in the same volumes (for example David G. Ward, "Consulting Engineer, NUS Corporation," in 1979), and the records found do not state a corporate relationship between the two companies.[^9]
### Name in the Cabazon Arms letter
A letter over the name of [[Arthur Welmas]], president of [[Cabazon Arms]], on letterhead at 83-180 Requa Avenue, [[Indio, California]], is headed "CABAZON INDIAN SECURITY /WSI JOINT VENTURE" and is addressed to Timothy La France of [[La France Specialties]], San Diego, as "PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL." It is dated "May 1" with no year printed. It describes a planned armaments manufacturing facility on the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] and states that "Several governments, which meet the U.S. State Department approval have stated their needs for this equipment." Names listed beneath Welmas's signature are [[Peter Zokosky]], "Bob Frye," "Dr. Myron Malkin," "Colonel Glade Flake," John James, Bruce James, [[John Paul Nichols]] and [[Wayne Reeder]].[^13] The letter that precedes it in the same folder refers to a business plan projection made in April 1982 and a staff visit "in early February with Dr. Frye and associates."[^13]
A Myron S. Malkin sat on the board of a Wackenhut-owned company in 1979 and 1980, and the Cabazon letter is headed as a "WSI" joint venture and sits in a folder labelled "Wackenhut-Correspondence." Malkin had held Defense Department intelligence-oversight posts in 1972 and 1973 and had worked on strategic missile re-entry vehicles from 1961. The Casolaro papers also hold interview notes in which a speaker refers to a "Dr. Malkin" in the context of a Department of Defense clearance (below). Records found do not establish that the Dr. Myron Malkin named on the letter is Myron S. Malkin, and no opened record places Malkin at Cabazon, with Michael Riconosciuto, or with Wackenhut after 1980.
### Clearance remark in the Gunderson interview notes
In a transcript in the Casolaro papers, an interviewer initialed "T.G." (initials matching [[Ted Gunderson]]) questions a speaker initialed "M.R." The speaker refers to gatherings in 1965 and 1966, to [[Timothy Leary]], refers to a man named Holbert and to events of July 1981, and speaks of "Paul's death" and a meeting with Fresno homicide investigators. On the subject of the Church of Set and [[Michael Aquino]], the speaker says: "Uh, now the reaction to Aquino that I got from Dr. Malkin was, "Well, his clearance isn't all that high."" Asked "Clearance where?", the speaker answers that it was Aquino's top secret clearance, adds that he does not know the nomenclature of the higher clearances, and states that Malkin said, in Defense Department terms, that Aquino was low. He states that almost everyone in Aquino's group is psy-ops or intelligence related.[^14]
The file's cover line begins with the name "Michael," and its first notes are headed "NOTES OF PHONE CONV. 12/29/87"; the date of the interview passage itself is not stated. Records found do not establish whether the speaker is [[Michael Riconosciuto]], or whether this "Dr. Malkin" is Myron S. Malkin.
### Death
Malkin died on the Monday before October 26, 1994, of heart failure, according to his family, at a hospital in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], where he lived. He was 70. He was survived by his wife, [[Jocelyn Schoen Malkin]], a psychiatrist, a son, Peter K. of White Plains, a daughter, [[Martha Malkin Zornow]], a brother and two sisters.[^1]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Warren E. Leary, "Myron S. Malkin Is Dead at 70; Designed Space Shuttle Program," New York Times, October 26, 1994, Section B, page 13. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/26/obituaries/myron-s-malkin-is-dead-at-70-designed-space-shuttle-program.html
[^2]: Letter, Albert C. Hall, Assistant Secretary of Defense, to Honorable Richard Helms, Director of Central Intelligence Agency, July 26, 1972 (DD/S&T# 2 6 JUL 1972). CIA CREST, CIA-RDP75B00514R000200220004-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp75b00514r000200220004-7
[^3]: "Final Report of the COINS Review Group," February 1, 1973, CIA-RDP79M00096A000300010003-7 (https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp79m00096a000300010003-7); "COINS, IRAC Working Group Report," April 18, 1973, CIA-RDP82M00531R000400010019-4 (https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp82m00531r000400010019-4). CIA CREST.
[^4]: Memorandum, February 6, 1973, "Meeting with COINS Project Manager, 2 Feb 73," CIA-RDP82M00531R000400010024-8. CIA CREST. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp82m00531r000400010024-8
[^5]: "Task Group Membership NSCIC Working Group Case Studies," undated, CIA-RDP84B00506R000100080018-8. CIA CREST. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp84b00506r000100080018-8
[^6]: NASA, biographies page for the STS-1 flight of April 12-14, 1981. https://www.nasa.gov/history/sts1/pages/bios.html
[^7]: Memorandum, Office of Training, "Transmittal of Material for Mr. Loch Johnson," OTR 78-8495, August 4, 1978, attaching Senior Seminar schedules (the session date is not stated in the text layer), CIA-RDP81M00980R001000050045-7. CIA CREST. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp81m00980r001000050045-7
[^8]: NASA Technical Reports Server citations by "Malkin, M. S.": 74A17050 (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19740034300), 75A13711 (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19750029639), 76A16712 (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19760033746), 79A36545 (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19790052532), 79A21250 (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19790037237) and 79A44248 (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19790060235).
[^9]: Nuclear Materials Management (Journal of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management), vol. 8, no. 4 (Winter 1979-1980), item on the election of Brian J. L. Berry to the NUSAC board. https://resources.inmm.org/system/files/jnmm/vol_08/V-8_4.pdf
[^10]: Nuclear Materials Management (Journal of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management), vol. 8, no. 1 (Spring 1979), "Wackenhut Corporation Purchases NUSAC, Inc." https://resources.inmm.org/system/files/jnmm/vol_08/V-8_1.pdf
[^11]: Nuclear Materials Management (Journal of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management), vol. 1, no. 1 (April 1972), advertisement of the Nuclear Surveillance and Auditing Corporation, 7777 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church (https://resources.inmm.org/system/files/jnmm/vol_01/V-1_1.pdf); vol. 4, no. 1 (Spring 1975), item on the change of name to NUSAC, Inc. (https://resources.inmm.org/system/files/jnmm/vol_04/V-4_1.pdf).
[^12]: Obituary of Ralph Francis Lumb (1921 to 2023), A. J. Cunningham Funeral Homes. https://ajcunninghamfh.com/tribute/details/2916
[^13]: Arthur Welmas, letter on Cabazon Arms letterhead, 83-180 Requa Avenue, Indio, California, to La France Specialties, San Diego, dated "May 1" (year not printed), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
[^14]: Ted Gunderson and Michael Riconosciuto interview notes, file "Folder 7 Acc5516" (archive.org casolaro-notebooks item, file "Folder 7 Acc5516.pdf", text layer). The passage is undated in the text layer. Sole source for the passages so cited. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks

12
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Robert S. McNamara.md
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@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
---
updated: 2026-10-08
aliases:
- Robert McNamara
category: "Intelligence & Government"
@ -12,8 +13,15 @@ died: 2009-07-06
location: "San Francisco, California, USA"
---
Robert S. McNamara served as the Secretary of Defense under President [[John F. Kennedy]] and later under President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. He was involved in discussions regarding [[Israel]]'s nuclear program and the sale of advanced U.S. fighter aircraft to [[Israel]]. [[Abraham Feinberg]] directly intervened with McNamara, insisting that the [[United States]] should not interfere with [[Israel]]'s nuclear activities. McNamara cryptically acknowledged the basic problem of [[Israel]]'s existence as a question mark in history, which he understood as a reason for [[Israel]]'s desire for a nuclear bomb.[^1]
Robert S. McNamara served as the Secretary of Defense under President [[John F. Kennedy]] and later under President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. He was involved in discussions regarding [[Israel]]'s nuclear program and the sale of advanced U.S. fighter aircraft to Israel. [[Abraham Feinberg]] directly intervened with McNamara, insisting that the [[United States]] should not interfere with Israel's nuclear activities. McNamara cryptically acknowledged the basic problem of Israel's existence as a question mark in history, which he understood as a reason for Israel's desire for a nuclear bomb.[^1]
### The USS Liberty attack
In an affidavit released in October 2003, [[Ward Boston]] states that the president of the Navy's 1967 Court of Inquiry into the attack on the [[USS Liberty Incident|USS Liberty]], Admiral [[Isaac C. Kidd Jr.]], told him that McNamara and President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the court to conclude that the attack was a case of mistaken identity.[^2] [[A. Jay Cristol]] quotes McNamara's July 1967 statement to the [[Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] that "it was the conclusion of the investigatory body headed by an Admiral of the Navy [Isaac C. Kidd, Jr.] in whom we have great confidence that the attack was not intentional. I read the record of investigation and I support that conclusion."[^3] The Chicago Tribune reported in 2007 that J. Q. Hart, a chief petty officer at a Navy relay station in Morocco, recalled hearing McNamara order Rear Admiral Lawrence Geis to recall the carrier aircraft sent toward the Liberty, and quoted Hart as recalling McNamara's words: "President [Lyndon] Johnson is not going to go to war or embarrass an American ally over a few sailors." McNamara, then 91, told the Tribune he had "absolutely no recollection of what I did that day."[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 8.
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 8.
[^2]: Ward Boston Jr., affidavit as printed in the Congressional Record, Extensions of Remarks, October 11, 2004, pp. E1886-E1889, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2004-10-11/html/CREC-2004-10-11-pt1-PgE1886-3.htm; the same sentence is paragraph 16 of the declaration dated January 8, 2004, https://archive.org/download/boston-declaration/BostonDeclaration.pdf. Sole source for the Kidd conversation.
[^3]: A. Jay Cristol, History News Network, June 12, 2007. Cristol quotes the testimony with ellipses and cites it as released by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1967. https://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/why-you-shouldnt-pay-attention-to-the-claims-that-
[^4]: "New revelations in attack on American spy ship," *Chicago Tribune*, October 2, 2007. Hart's and McNamara's statements are as the Tribune reported them. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/10/02/new-revelations-in-attack-on-american-spy-ship/

14
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Anastasio Somoza.md
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@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ aliases:
- Anastasio Somoza Debayle
- Tachito
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Political Figure"
tags:
- KeyFigure
@ -27,9 +27,15 @@ Anastasio Somoza Debayle was the dictator of [[Nicaragua]] whose family ruled th
For the forty-six years the Somoza family ruled Nicaragua, they did nearly everything the [[United States|U.S.]] government asked.[^1] Somoza personally participated in the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s overthrow of a liberal Guatemalan government in 1954. He provided the secret base for the [[Bay of Pigs|Bay of Pigs]] operation against [[Cuba]] in 1961. He sent troops into the [[Dominican Republic]] in 1965 to help the U.S. quell a leftist uprising, and sent Nicaraguans to fight in [[Vietnam]].
### Ambassador Theberge and the human rights dispute, 1976 to 1977
The United States ambassador in Managua from 1975 to June 1977 was [[James D. Theberge]]. In an August 12, 1976 telegram titled "Ambassador Discusses Human Rights Situation with President Somoza" he reported a lunch alone with Somoza on August 10, at Somoza's request. Theberge wrote that Somoza did not "seem to fully grasp the importance of creating the friendly American public opinion so essential to our good relations," and, in a further passage, that Somoza "is not being completely frank with us."[^2] In a September 20, 1976 telegram he reported that Assistant Secretary [[Harry Shlaudeman]] met Somoza on September 18 and that Somoza expressed concern about reports that [[State Department]] officers in Washington and at the embassy were hostile to him.[^3]
On January 25, 1977 Theberge reported to [[Cyrus Vance]] that he had explained the concern of President [[Jimmy Carter]] for human rights to Somoza. In the telegram's summary Somoza "doubted that governments would bend to public criticism or when strong self-interest was at stake," and reaffirmed friendship for the United States and the new administration.[^4] On March 3, 1977 Theberge reported a March 2 meeting at which he raised new charges by American Capuchin priests of [[Nicaraguan National Guard|National Guard]] massacres of 86 campesinos. Somoza categorically denied the accusations and claimed that false information was being given to the Capuchins as part of an FSLN and Communist effort to discredit the government, and he admitted that innocent bystanders, including women and children, sometimes had been killed in crossfire between the National Guard and FSLN guerrillas, especially in early 1976.[^5]
### Fall from Power
In July 1979, as Sandinista forces closed in on [[Managua]], Somoza met with U.S. ambassador [[Lawrence Pezzullo]] in his mountainside bunker and recorded the conversation.[^1] Somoza reminded Pezzullo of his family's decades of service to American interests and argued that the [[Nicaraguan National Guard]], which the U.S. had created in the 1930s and trained at [[Fort Gulick]], [[Fort Benning]], and [[Fort Leavenworth|Leavenworth]], should not be abandoned. Of approximately nine hundred National Guard officers, "eight hundred or so belong to your schools," Somoza told Pezzullo.
In July 1979, as Sandinista forces closed in on [[Managua]], Somoza met with U.S. ambassador [[Lawrence Pezzullo]] in his mountainside bunker and recorded the conversation.[^1] Somoza reminded Pezzullo of his family's decades of service to American interests and argued that the Nicaraguan National Guard, which the U.S. had created in the 1930s and trained at [[Fort Gulick]], [[Fort Benning]], and [[Fort Leavenworth|Leavenworth]], should not be abandoned. Of approximately nine hundred National Guard officers, "eight hundred or so belong to your schools," Somoza told Pezzullo.
Pezzullo assured Somoza the U.S. was "willing to do what we can to preserve the Guard" but insisted Somoza and his top generals needed to step down to give the Guardia "a clean break."[^1]
@ -44,3 +50,7 @@ The dispersed National Guard officers became the founding cadre of the [[Contras
### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 1: "A Pretty secret kind of thing"
[^2]: Telegram 3798, Embassy in Nicaragua to Department of State, Managua, August 12, 1976, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976*, vol. E-11, part 1, doc. 266. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve11p1/d266
[^3]: Telegram 4395, Embassy in Nicaragua to Department of State, Managua, September 20, 1976, *FRUS 1969-1976*, vol. E-11, part 1, doc. 268. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve11p1/d268
[^4]: Telegram 377, Theberge to Secretary Vance, Managua, January 25, 1977, *FRUS 1977-1980*, vol. XV, doc. 59. The quoted phrase is from the telegram's summary. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v15/d59
[^5]: Telegram 1032, Embassy in Nicaragua to Department of State, Managua, March 3, 1977, *FRUS 1977-1980*, vol. XV, doc. 60. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v15/d60

12
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Ariel Sharon.md
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@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
---
updated: 2026-10-08
aliases:
- Ariel Sharon
- General Ariel Sharon
@ -16,13 +17,18 @@ location: "Kfar Malal, British Mandate Palestine"
---
Ariel Sharon was an Israeli General. In the summer of 1970, he was photographed at a function speaking with [[Uri Geller]] (Jacobsen, Chapter Six). This occurred during a period when Geller's popularity was rising in [[Israel]], and he was also seen having lunch with [[Moshe Dayan]] at the White Elephant Restaurant in Zahala (Jacobsen, Chapter Six).[^1]
In August 1981, [[Ariel Sharon]] was named defense minister by the newly reelected [[Menachem Begin]] government. In September of the same year, he was in [[Washington, D.C.]] with Begin to lobby the [[White House]] in support of a far-reaching Israeli plan for [[United States]]-Israeli strategic cooperation against the [[Soviet Union]]. Sharon pushed for a downlink for [[KH-11]] satellite imagery to be located in [[Tel Aviv]], insisting it be "dedicated" so that only [[Israel]] could read the encoded signals. This suggestion was deemed preposterous by [[Richard V. Allen]], then National Security Advisor, who privately told Sharon so.[^2]
In August 1981, [[Ariel Sharon]] was named defense minister by the newly reelected [[Menachem Begin]] government. In September of the same year, he was in [[Washington, D.C.]] with Begin to lobby the [[White House]] in support of a far-reaching Israeli plan for [[United States]]-Israeli strategic cooperation against the [[Soviet Union]]. Sharon pushed for a downlink for [[KH-11]] satellite imagery to be located in [[Tel Aviv]], insisting it be "dedicated" so that only Israel could read the encoded signals. This suggestion was deemed preposterous by [[Richard V. Allen]], then National Security Advisor, who privately told Sharon so.[^2]
The bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak bombing]] in June 1981, which [[Ariel Sharon]] had supported, led him to conclude that the [[United States]] was not a reliable strategic ally. Following this, he turned to a clandestine Israeli intelligence agency under his defense ministry, which then intercepted intelligence on the [[Middle East]] and [[Soviet Union]] from sensitive American agencies. This included intelligence that [[Israel]] had been told it would no longer receive. An American Jew working in the U.S. intelligence community had volunteered his services to this agency years prior and would soon be tasked with spying on his country for [[Israel]].[^2]
The bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak bombing]] in June 1981, which Ariel Sharon had supported, led him to conclude that the United States was not a reliable strategic ally. Following this, he turned to a clandestine Israeli intelligence agency under his defense ministry, which then intercepted intelligence on the [[Middle East]] and Soviet Union from sensitive American agencies. This included intelligence that Israel had been told it would no longer receive. An American Jew working in the U.S. intelligence community had volunteered his services to this agency years prior and would soon be tasked with spying on his country for Israel.[^2]
### GeoMiliTech and the contras
In December 1991 [[Christopher Byron]] reported that an unnamed former top official of [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]] said that the company, and [[Barbara Studley]] personally, had attempted to export arms to Iran, and that the effort was aided by Sharon, then Israel's defense minister.[^3] Byron presented this as the claim of that former official. The same article reports that Studley denied in her August 1991 deposition that she had shipped weapons to Iran, and that Studley's lawyer, Frank Koszorus, denied that either Studley or the company had any involvement with Iran.[^3]
---
### Footnotes
[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.
[^3]: Christopher Byron, "Did Convict Arif Durrani Help Set the Stage for Iran/Contra?," *New York*, December 16, 1991, p. 42. Sole source for the passage on Sharon's alleged aid; the source is an unnamed former GeoMiliTech official quoted by Byron. https://books.google.com/books?id=6ugCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42

42
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Augusto Pinochet.md
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@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ relations:
with: "[[Riggs Bank]]"
start: 1985
role: "customer whose accounts the 2004 Senate subcommittee report found the bank helped conceal from regulators and courts"
fn: 20
fn: 25
- type: subject_of
with: "[[House of Lords]]"
start: 1998-10-16
@ -134,29 +134,33 @@ In April 2016 the then German Foreign Minister, [[Frank-Walter Steinmeier]], sta
### Carlos Cardoen and Iraq
[[Carlos Cardoen]], a Chilean arms manufacturer who returned to Santiago after the 1973 coup to work for the government-owned [[Chilean Mining Corporation]], is described by [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] as selling cluster bombs to [[Iraq]] by 1985 with the help of individuals connected to the CIA, and as having been charged in Miami in April 1992 by the US Customs Service.[^16] A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned a twenty-one count indictment against Cardoen and [[Industrias Cardoen]] on May 26, 1993.[^23] [[Alan Friedman]] reports that Cardoen's plant at [[Iquique]] produced about a thousand cluster bombs a month, with a first shipment worth 21 million dollars reaching Iraq early in 1984 during the [[Iran-Iraq War]]; a former CIA contractor described Cardoen to Friedman as "an all-purpose asset, designed to be one of those offshore stockpilers of military equipment who could be used by the CIA to ship arms to the Afghan rebels, to the boys in Angola, or anywhere the U.S. needed some help." The White House said in July 1991 that there "never were any sales, overt or covert, to Iraq or Iran through a third country." The British journalist [[Jonathan Moyle]], who was inquiring into Cardoen's helicopter project, was found dead in a Santiago hotel on March 31, 1990.[^17]
[[Carlos Cardoen]], a Chilean arms manufacturer who returned to Santiago after the 1973 coup to work for the government-owned [[Chilean Mining Corporation]], is described by [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] as selling cluster bombs to [[Iraq]] by 1985 with the help of individuals connected to the CIA, and as having been charged in Miami in April 1992 by the US Customs Service.[^16] A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned a twenty-one count indictment against Cardoen and [[Industrias Cardoen]] on May 26, 1993.[^17] [[Alan Friedman]] reports that Cardoen's plant at [[Iquique]] produced about a thousand cluster bombs a month, with a first shipment worth 21 million dollars reaching Iraq early in 1984 during the [[Iran-Iraq War]]; a former CIA contractor described Cardoen to Friedman as "an all-purpose asset, designed to be one of those offshore stockpilers of military equipment who could be used by the CIA to ship arms to the Afghan rebels, to the boys in Angola, or anywhere the U.S. needed some help." The White House said in July 1991 that there "never were any sales, overt or covert, to Iraq or Iran through a third country." The British journalist [[Jonathan Moyle]], who was inquiring into Cardoen's helicopter project, was found dead in a Santiago hotel on March 31, 1990.[^18]
### Reagan administration reassessment, 1984 to 1985
The United States ambassador in Santiago from March 1982 to August 2, 1985 was [[James D. Theberge]], a political appointee who had succeeded [[George Landau|George W. Landau]].[^19] A Central Intelligence Agency talking-points memorandum prepared for a January 28, 1985 meeting with Theberge, dated January 23, 1985, describes the visit as "primarily a personal visit." It lists as a point Theberge might raise the continuation in office of Pinochet, with a ninety-day state of siege that the memorandum records as "declared 6 November 1984" to assist the military government in combating a wave of terrorist incidents.[^20] The New York Times of December 16, 1984 also gives the state of siege as imposed on November 6; the same article reports that Theberge was present at a meeting of Representative [[Bill Richardson]] and two other members of the House Hispanic Caucus with Pinochet, which Richardson called "brutally frank and heated."[^21] An Associated Press dispatch from January 1985 by George Gedda, citing unnamed officials, reports that "Pinochet believes the CIA is out to overthrow him," in the words of one senior official, and that the Reagan administration planned to replace Theberge with [[Harry Barnes]], then ambassador in India, as the first step in a reassessment of its policy. The same dispatch dates the imposition of the state of siege to "Nov. 4."[^22]
### London arrest and the House of Lords
Pinochet landed at Heathrow on September 22, 1998, and underwent back surgery in [[London]]. On October 16, 1998 a Spanish warrant was issued by judge [[Baltasar Garzon]] and a London magistrate issued a provisional warrant the same day. The Lords judgment states that Pinochet was arrested in a London hospital on October 17, 1998; Home Secretary [[Jack Straw]] told the House of Commons that he was arrested "that evening" after the Bow Street warrant was issued on October 16.[^1][^18] On October 28, 1998 the Divisional Court quashed both provisional warrants, on the ground for the second that Pinochet was entitled to state immunity as former head of state.[^1]
Pinochet landed at Heathrow on September 22, 1998, and underwent back surgery in [[London]]. On October 16, 1998 a Spanish warrant was issued by judge [[Baltasar Garzon]] and a London magistrate issued a provisional warrant the same day. The Lords judgment states that Pinochet was arrested in a London hospital on October 17, 1998; Home Secretary [[Jack Straw]] told the House of Commons that he was arrested "that evening" after the Bow Street warrant was issued on October 16.[^1][^23] On October 28, 1998 the Divisional Court quashed both provisional warrants, on the ground for the second that Pinochet was entitled to state immunity as former head of state.[^1]
The House of Lords first ruled on November 25, 1998, by majority that Pinochet was not immune for crimes under international law. That judgment was set aside on January 15, 1999, because the committee that heard it was not properly constituted, and the appeal was reheard from January 18, 1999.[^1] In the judgment of March 24, 1999, [[Lord Browne-Wilkinson]] wrote: "I do not consider that torture committed outside the United Kingdom before 29 September 1988 was a crime under U.K. law." He would allow the appeal "so as to permit the extradition proceedings to proceed on the allegation that torture in pursuance of a conspiracy to commit torture, including the single act of torture which is alleged in charge 30, was being committed by Senator Pinochet after 8 December 1988 when he lost his immunity."[^1] Straw described the key majority finding of the second Lords hearing as being that torture was an international crime over which parties to the torture convention had universal jurisdiction and that a former head of state did not have immunity from such crimes.[^18]
The House of Lords first ruled on November 25, 1998, by majority that Pinochet was not immune for crimes under international law. That judgment was set aside on January 15, 1999, because the committee that heard it was not properly constituted, and the appeal was reheard from January 18, 1999.[^1] In the judgment of March 24, 1999, [[Lord Browne-Wilkinson]] wrote: "I do not consider that torture committed outside the United Kingdom before 29 September 1988 was a crime under U.K. law." He would allow the appeal "so as to permit the extradition proceedings to proceed on the allegation that torture in pursuance of a conspiracy to commit torture, including the single act of torture which is alleged in charge 30, was being committed by Senator Pinochet after 8 December 1988 when he lost his immunity."[^1] Straw described the key majority finding of the second Lords hearing as being that torture was an international crime over which parties to the torture convention had universal jurisdiction and that a former head of state did not have immunity from such crimes.[^23]
Straw issued a second authority to proceed on April 14, 1999; on October 8, 1999 a Bow Street magistrate committed Pinochet to await the Home Secretary's decision. On October 14, 1999 the Chilean embassy made representations supported by medical reports, and Straw commissioned an examination by Professor Sir John Grimley Evans, Professor Andrew Lees and Dr. Michael Denham, joined by the neuropsychologist Dr. Maria Wyke. Straw informed the interested parties on January 11, 2000 that he was minded to conclude that no purpose would be served by continuing the Spanish extradition request, and on January 25, 2000 Belgium and [[Amnesty International]] applied for judicial review of the refusal to disclose the medical report.[^18]
Straw issued a second authority to proceed on April 14, 1999; on October 8, 1999 a Bow Street magistrate committed Pinochet to await the Home Secretary's decision. On October 14, 1999 the Chilean embassy made representations supported by medical reports, and Straw commissioned an examination by Professor Sir John Grimley Evans, Professor Andrew Lees and Dr. Michael Denham, joined by the neuropsychologist Dr. Maria Wyke. Straw informed the interested parties on January 11, 2000 that he was minded to conclude that no purpose would be served by continuing the Spanish extradition request, and on January 25, 2000 Belgium and [[Amnesty International]] applied for judicial review of the refusal to disclose the medical report.[^23]
On March 2, 2000, Straw told the Commons that he had discharged Pinochet from the Spanish request "on the grounds that he was unfit to stand trial and that no significant improvement in his condition could be expected," and that he would not issue an authority to proceed on the Belgian, French and Swiss requests because none disclosed an extradition crime. He stated: "All the decisions which I have taken have been mine alone, and have not been decisions of Her Majesty's Government." A plane provided by the Chilean government carrying Pinochet left RAF Waddington at about 1.10 pm that day.[^18] The Solicitor-General stated in a written answer of the same date, on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions, that there was no realistic prospect of convicting Pinochet in England and Wales and that no court there would allow a trial of Pinochet to take place.[^18] A 35-page Home Office statement handed out in London set out reasons for the conclusion that Pinochet was not mentally or physically fit to stand trial in Britain or anywhere else.[^19] He returned to Chile, where he faced numerous criminal and civil charges until his death.
On March 2, 2000, Straw told the Commons that he had discharged Pinochet from the Spanish request "on the grounds that he was unfit to stand trial and that no significant improvement in his condition could be expected," and that he would not issue an authority to proceed on the Belgian, French and Swiss requests because none disclosed an extradition crime. He stated: "All the decisions which I have taken have been mine alone, and have not been decisions of Her Majesty's Government." A plane provided by the Chilean government carrying Pinochet left RAF Waddington at about 1.10 pm that day.[^23] The Solicitor-General stated in a written answer of the same date, on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions, that there was no realistic prospect of convicting Pinochet in England and Wales and that no court there would allow a trial of Pinochet to take place.[^23] A 35-page Home Office statement handed out in London set out reasons for the conclusion that Pinochet was not mentally or physically fit to stand trial in Britain or anywhere else.[^24] He returned to Chile, where he faced numerous criminal and civil charges until his death.
### Riggs Bank accounts
The minority staff of the Senate [[Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]] released its report on [[Riggs Bank]] with a hearing on July 15, 2004. The report's title is "Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption: Enforcement and Effectiveness of the Patriot Act, Case Study Involving Riggs Bank." Its first finding states that Riggs "assisted Augusto Pinochet, former president of Chile, to evade legal proceedings related to his Riggs bank accounts and resisted OCC oversight of these accounts."[^20]
The minority staff of the Senate [[Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]] released its report on [[Riggs Bank]] with a hearing on July 15, 2004. The report's title is "Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption: Enforcement and Effectiveness of the Patriot Act, Case Study Involving Riggs Bank." Its first finding states that Riggs "assisted Augusto Pinochet, former president of Chile, to evade legal proceedings related to his Riggs bank accounts and resisted OCC oversight of these accounts."[^25]
The report finds that Pinochet was a Riggs customer for at least eight years, with total deposits that varied from about $4 million to $8 million. In July 1996 a Spanish indictment charged him with crimes against humanity. In 1996 and again in 1998, Riggs helped him set up two Bahamian shell companies, Ashburton Company Ltd. and Althorp Investment Co., Ltd., listed as nominal owners of accounts and certificates of deposit benefiting him and his family.[^20] The report also states that the bank delivered over $1.9 million in cashier's checks to Pinochet in Chile.[^20]
The report finds that Pinochet was a Riggs customer for at least eight years, with total deposits that varied from about $4 million to $8 million. In July 1996 a Spanish indictment charged him with crimes against humanity. In 1996 and again in 1998, Riggs helped him set up two Bahamian shell companies, Ashburton Company Ltd. and Althorp Investment Co., Ltd., listed as nominal owners of accounts and certificates of deposit benefiting him and his family.[^25] The report also states that the bank delivered over $1.9 million in cashier's checks to Pinochet in Chile.[^25]
### Carlos Prats and Enrique Arancibia Clavel
On September 30, 1974, a car bomb in Buenos Aires killed the exiled Chilean general [[Carlos Prats]] and his wife, [[Sofía Cuthbert]].[^21] Kornbluh's 2024 compilation states that Pinochet met Contreras in June 1974 and ordered him to eliminate Prats. The task first went to the DINA station chief in Argentina, [[Enrique Arancibia Clavel]], and then to DINA deputy director [[Pedro Espinoza]], who gave it to Townley, who constructed, placed and detonated the bomb.[^21]
On September 30, 1974, a car bomb in Buenos Aires killed the exiled Chilean general [[Carlos Prats]] and his wife, [[Sofía Cuthbert]].[^26] Kornbluh's 2024 compilation states that Pinochet met Contreras in June 1974 and ordered him to eliminate Prats. The task first went to the DINA station chief in Argentina, [[Enrique Arancibia Clavel]], and then to DINA deputy director [[Pedro Espinoza]], who gave it to Townley, who constructed, placed and detonated the bomb.[^26]
On August 24, 2004, the [[Supreme Court of Argentina]] upheld the life sentence that a federal tribunal had imposed on Arancibia Clavel for association and necessary participation in the double aggravated homicide of Prats and Cuthbert. The court held that the crimes could not be time-barred, because crimes against humanity are imprescriptible.[^22]
On August 24, 2004, the [[Supreme Court of Argentina]] upheld the life sentence that a federal tribunal had imposed on Arancibia Clavel for association and necessary participation in the double aggravated homicide of Prats and Cuthbert. The court held that the crimes could not be time-barred, because crimes against humanity are imprescriptible.[^27]
[^1]: *Regina v. Evans and Another and the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and Others, Ex Parte Pinochet (No. 3)* [1999] UKHL 17 (24 March 1999), speech of Lord Browne-Wilkinson, paras. 7-12 (facts, warrants of October 16, 17, 18 and 22, 1998, Divisional Court of October 28, 1998, Lords judgments of November 25, 1998, set aside January 15, 1999, rehearing January 18, 1999) and conclusion. https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1999/17.html
[^2]: National Security Archive, "Pinochet: A Declassified Documentary Obit," Electronic Briefing Book No. 212, Peter Kornbluh and Yvette White, posted December 12, 2006, with descriptions of documents including the September 13, 1973 State Department cable, the November 1973 "Chilean Executions" memorandum, the October 27, 1973 CIA report, the October 6, 1976 CIA cable, and the June 23, 1978 CIA report. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB212/index.htm
@ -174,10 +178,14 @@ On August 24, 2004, the [[Supreme Court of Argentina]] upheld the life sentence
[^14]: Deutscher Bundestag, Drucksache 11/1409 (1987), minor interpellation of the Green Party group on Colonia Dignidad (German; paraphrased). https://dserver.bundestag.de/btd/11/014/1101409.pdf
[^15]: Auswärtiges Amt, "'Colonia Dignidad': Bilanzbericht der Gemeinsamen Kommission," September 21, 2021 (German; paraphrased), including the account of Steinmeier's April 2016 statement. https://auswaertiges-amt.de/de/aussenpolitik/laender/chile-node/bilanzbericht-colonia-dignidad/2483426
[^16]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^17]: Friedman, Alan. *Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq*. Bantam, 1993, pp. 46-54, 64. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^18]: UK House of Commons, *Hansard*, "Senator Pinochet," HC Deb 02 March 2000 vol 345 cc571-88 (statement of the Home Secretary, Jack Straw), and written answer of the Solicitor-General, HC Deb 02 March 2000 vol 345 cc336-7W. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/2000/mar/02/senator-pinochet and https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written_answers/2000/mar/02/senator-pinochet
[^19]: CNN, transcript of March 2, 2000 (report on Home Secretary Jack Straw's decision and the 35-page statement). https://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0003/02/nd.03.html
[^20]: United States Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, minority staff, "Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption: Enforcement and Effectiveness of the Patriot Act, Case Study Involving Riggs Bank" (report released with the July 15, 2004 hearing), Finding 1 (p. 7) and Section B (p. 18). https://archive.org/details/SenateSubcommitteeReportOnMoneyLaunderingAndRiggsBank
[^21]: National Security Archive, "The Pinochet Regime at 50: The Assassination of General Carlos Prats and Sofía Cuthbert," Electronic Briefing Book, Peter Kornbluh, October 1, 2024, narrative and CIA and DINA documents. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/chile/2024-10-01/pinochet-regime-50-assassination-general-carlos-prats-and-sofia
[^22]: Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nacion (Argentina), *Arancibia Clavel, Enrique Lautaro s/ homicidio calificado y asociacion ilicita y otros*, recurso de hecho, Buenos Aires, August 24, 2004. https://www.cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/ut/fallo_arancibia_clavel_2004_01.pdf
[^23]: *United States v. Cardoen*, 898 F. Supp. 1563 (S.D. Fla. 1995), No. 93-241-CR, https://static.case.law/f-supp/898/cases/1563-01.json.
[^17]: *United States v. Cardoen*, 898 F. Supp. 1563 (S.D. Fla. 1995), No. 93-241-CR, https://static.case.law/f-supp/898/cases/1563-01.json.
[^18]: Friedman, Alan. *Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq*. Bantam, 1993, pp. 46-54, 64. Sole source for the passages so cited.
[^19]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, "James Daniel Theberge (1930-1988)," https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/theberge-james-daniel; "Nomination of James Daniel Theberge To Be United States Ambassador to Chile," Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, November 6, 1981, https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/11681a
[^20]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Talking points for 28 January 1985 meeting with James D. Theberge, United States Ambassador to Chile," January 23, 1985, CREST document CIA-RDP87M00539R000801050046-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp87m00539r000801050046-5
[^21]: Lydia Chavez, "Congressman Reports Tough Talk From Pinochet," *The New York Times*, December 16, 1984, section 1, page 20. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/16/world/congressman-reports-tough-talk-from-pinochet.html
[^22]: George Gedda, Associated Press, "Pinochet fears CIA coup, officials say," January 1985, CREST document CIA-RDP90-00965R000302230009-6. Attributed to unnamed officials; sole source for the replacement plan as reported. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00965r000302230009-6
[^23]: UK House of Commons, *Hansard*, "Senator Pinochet," HC Deb 02 March 2000 vol 345 cc571-88 (statement of the Home Secretary, Jack Straw), and written answer of the Solicitor-General, HC Deb 02 March 2000 vol 345 cc336-7W. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/2000/mar/02/senator-pinochet and https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written_answers/2000/mar/02/senator-pinochet
[^24]: CNN, transcript of March 2, 2000 (report on Home Secretary Jack Straw's decision and the 35-page statement). https://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0003/02/nd.03.html
[^25]: United States Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, minority staff, "Money Laundering and Foreign Corruption: Enforcement and Effectiveness of the Patriot Act, Case Study Involving Riggs Bank" (report released with the July 15, 2004 hearing), Finding 1 (p. 7) and Section B (p. 18). https://archive.org/details/SenateSubcommitteeReportOnMoneyLaunderingAndRiggsBank
[^26]: National Security Archive, "The Pinochet Regime at 50: The Assassination of General Carlos Prats and Sofía Cuthbert," Electronic Briefing Book, Peter Kornbluh, October 1, 2024, narrative and CIA and DINA documents. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/chile/2024-10-01/pinochet-regime-50-assassination-general-carlos-prats-and-sofia
[^27]: Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nacion (Argentina), *Arancibia Clavel, Enrique Lautaro s/ homicidio calificado y asociacion ilicita y otros*, recurso de hecho, Buenos Aires, August 24, 2004. https://www.cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/ut/fallo_arancibia_clavel_2004_01.pdf

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---
title: Barbara Studley
aliases:
- Barbara Studley
- Barbara F. Studley
- B. F. Studley
- Mrs. Studley
- Ms. Studley
created: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Arms Dealers & Brokers"
tags:
- Person
- IranContra
- Contras
- GeoMiliTech
- JohnSinglaub
- ArifDurrani
- ArmsTrade
- RadioHost
summary: "Former Miami radio talk-show host who founded and ran GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp., a Washington arms broker that handled a 1985 Soviet-bloc shipment for the Nicaraguan contras with John Singlaub."
location: "Washington, D.C."
relations:
- type: founded
with: "[[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]]"
start: 1983
fn: 1
- type: head_of
with: "[[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]]"
role: "president"
fn: 9
- type: represented
with: "[[Frank Koszorus Jr.]]"
reverse: true
start: 1991
fn: 1
- type: represented
with: "[[Paul L. Perito]]"
reverse: true
start: 1987
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Iran-Contra Affair]]"
start: 1985
end: 1987
fn: 1
---
Barbara F. Studley was a former conservative radio talk-show host in [[Miami]] who moved to [[Washington, D.C.]] and ran [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]], an arms-brokering company. The company handled a Soviet-bloc arms shipment to the [[Contras]] in 1985 that she arranged with [[John Singlaub]], and it appears in the records of the [[Iran-Contra Affair]].[^1]
### Radio career in Miami and Washington
[[Daniel O. Graham]], a retired Army lieutenant general and head of the [[High Frontier]] campaign, testified in a 1987 Senate deposition that he first met Studley around 1977, when she was a broadcaster in Miami and invited him to be a guest on her radio talk show. He said he appeared on her program two or three times to talk about military affairs, that he had never lived in Miami, and that she later came to Washington, where she hosted a short radio run and he appeared again on her show.[^2] Committee counsel dated her move to Washington to about June 1984.[^2]
[[Ken Silverstein]] and [[Daniel Burton-Rose]] describe Studley as a right-wing radio show host in Miami who forged close ties with conservative military and political figures and set up a Washington arms company.[^3] The [[Miami Herald]] reported in June 1987 that the company was run by a former Miami radio talk-show host, Studley, and [[United Press International]] carried the report.[^4] The United States Attorney's office in Miami described her in 1995 as an acquaintance of [[Louis Petrillo]] from her days as a conservative radio talk-show host in Miami in the 1970s.[^5] Christopher Byron wrote in [[New York Magazine]] in December 1991 that she was a onetime Florida beauty queen and radio talk-show hostess.[^6] The company's "board of advisers" in the mid-1980s, Byron wrote, included Singlaub and retired Lt. Gen. Dan Graham, whom he described as onetime deputy director of the CIA and former director of the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]].[^6]
### Formation of GeoMiliTech
The Delaware Division of Corporations lists GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp. under file number 2015058, with a formation date of August 15, 1983, and a registered agent in Wilmington.[^7] Byron cites court records for a July 1983 incorporation.[^6] [[Mark Phythian]] gives August 15, 1983 as the date an ostensibly private company was formed in Delaware to sell or exchange weapons.[^8]
The [[Hartford Courant]] reported in May 1992 that Studley created the company "to break into the arms business."[^1] Graham was asked whether he had taken part in forming her firm and answered no. He said all he knew of it was that she ran it and that it was "an international trading firm in high-tech items," and that he had no function with the company.[^2] The 1987 *Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Contras* chronology from the [[National Security Archive]] lists her as president of the company.[^9] A 1986 letter to [[William J. Casey]] on the company's letterhead gives its office as 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 300.[^10]
Byron's advisers list places Graham on the company's board of advisers. Graham testified that he was never listed as an adviser or director of the company and had no function with it.[^2][^6] Byron names retired Lt. Gen. [[Robert Schweitzer]] as the executive vice president, and describes him as having served for a time as senior military official in the White House during the early Reagan years. Asked in her August 1991 deposition why she had hired Schweitzer, Studley answered that he seemed "literally to know everybody" in the military, in the Pentagon, in the White House, in the [[National Security Council]] and in the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], according to Byron.[^6] Byron also describes a consultant, [[John E. Carbaugh Jr.]], a member of the transition team after the 1980 election and a former staff aide to [[Jesse Helms]], whom a company brochure described as having direct contact with the political and military structure of foreign governments.[^6]
### South Korea and the 1984 company documents
Byron reported a July 29, 1984 memorandum from Carbaugh to Studley about a cannon-shell export order from [[South Korea]]. In Byron's account, a South Korean official involved seemed to suspect the shipment was destined for [[Iran]], and the memorandum suggested that the company's representative in [[Israel]] could approach the South Koreans directly, since they would be "more than willing to cooperate" if the client were not Iranian.[^6] Byron also cites a court-appointed investigator working on Durrani's case who had found what appeared to be internal 1984 company documents and telex traffic showing negotiations with South Korean military officials in July 1984 for 6,000 tons of explosives and 300,000 M107/155mm cannon shells and projectiles, and a further telex about F-4 Phantom jet parts, one of which, a QK410B oscillator assembly, the investigator said is a component of certain [[Raytheon]]-made [[Hawk]] surface-to-air missile systems. Durrani claimed that by the summer of 1984 the company was shipping large amounts of weapons to Iran and that the only Hawk systems then operating that used the part were those installed in Iran.[^6]
### The 1985 shipment and the Barcella opinion
In 1985 Studley and Singlaub arranged a private shipment of Soviet-bloc rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers to the contras, which the Courant put at $5 million and which ran from [[Poland]] to [[Honduras]], with the money moved through Swiss banks, according to Singlaub's 1987 testimony.[^1] Graham recommended the arms broker [[Werner Glatt]], whom he described as a sheep farmer and arms trader with farms in Virginia and Scotland, to Studley as an honest broker. Counsel put the arms transaction in May 1985 with delivery in July, and Graham agreed it was early in 1985.[^2]
The Courant reported that the legal opinion clearing the shipment was given by [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.]], then an assistant United States attorney in Washington. Barcella said that "somebody in the government came to me," that he checked with the Office of Munitions Control at the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] and the Justice Department's office of internal security, that he "orally passed that back to the person that had made the request of me," that he did not know Studley at the time, and that he did not remember signing anything. The United States attorney, [[Joseph diGenova]], said he never authorized any such opinion.[^1] In her 1991 deposition, as the Courant quotes it, Studley answered "Larry Barcella signed it" when asked who in the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] approved the shipment.[^1] She also said the shipment was "approved in writing by the justice department before we shipped it" and called it "Absolutely legitimate."[^1] Her lawyer, [[Frank Koszorus Jr.]], said he was "not at all certain that she was ever issued a written opinion."[^1] The Courant reported that Barcella left the United States attorney's office in June 1986 and went into private practice in Washington "initially at the same firm where Koszorus, Studley's lawyer, worked," and that he said he did not know Koszorus before joining it. The April 28, 1987 letter to the House committee on Studley's matter, on the letterhead of [[Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey|Finley, Kumble]], closes with Koszorus's name above the enclosure notation.[^1][^11]
On October 30, 1985, Studley sent a memorandum to Lt. Col. [[Oliver North]] reporting a telephone call from a source identified only as "W." The memorandum stated that a man named [[Mario Dellamico]], described as working for an arms dealer named [[Ron Martin]], had asked for the company's help in selling Martin's arms to the Contras and had been refused, since it would be against "their law." It closed with the sentence "General John K. Singlaub has been advised of this information."[^12]
### The conduit memorandum and the meeting with Casey
A memorandum from Studley found in North's safe proposed a "conduit" for "a continuous flow of Soviet weapons and technology" to support freedom fighters in [[Nicaragua]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Angola]], [[Cambodia]] and [[Ethiopia]].[^1] The congressional report calls the proposal the "Singlaub-Studley plan," records that the plan was not implemented, and states that in the fall of 1985 Singlaub arranged for North and Casey to meet with Studley to present another plan to aid the contras.[^13] Courant reports that Singlaub testified in 1987 that Studley had shown him the memorandum, that he thought it was for the most part a good plan, and that he set up a December 1985 meeting with Casey at which she presented it.[^1]
Graham gave a different account. He testified that after the ship arrived Studley told him that people not party to the deal had appeared, and that he told her to inform Casey and arranged a meeting at Langley toward the end of 1985 among himself, Studley and Casey, at which Studley left documents including the bill of lading. Committee counsel suggested December 20, 1985 as the date. Graham said he never introduced Glatt to Singlaub.[^2]
### The Miami bank transfers, 1986 and 1987
The Miami Herald reported in June 1987 that the president of [[Bayshore Bank of Florida]], Petrillo, had resigned, that the bank was being sold, and that he had transferred a total of $2 million of bank funds on behalf of GeoMiliTech during 1986. The debts were unsecured, were supposed to be repaid within weeks, and remained outstanding, and the sum was nearly all of the bank's net worth that year. The newspaper reported that Petrillo left just as federal authorities, including Iran-Contra independent counsel [[Lawrence Walsh]], began investigating the transactions, and that the company acknowledged helping arrange arms supplies for the rebels. A bank director, Dr. Matthew Bradley, said the board was told of the questionable transfers about three weeks earlier. Studley told the Herald that the case involved private banking matters and refused to discuss the details. Petrillo said he had no knowledge of any arms deals, that he had left the bank solely because it was changing hands, and "There is no money missing."[^4]
Bayshore Bank of Florida, with total assets of $40.4 million, was closed on August 7, 1987 by Florida State Comptroller [[Gerald Lewis]], and the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]] was named receiver; the FDIC transferred its insured deposits to [[Eagle National Bank of Miami]], which paid a $625,000 premium and bought $10.8 million of its assets.[^14] Petrillo pleaded guilty in September 1994 to misapplication of funds and bank fraud and was sentenced in March 1995 to one year in prison, five years' probation and $2 million in restitution. American Banker reported that he had issued letters of credit totaling more than $2 million in 1986 and 1987 to GeoMiliTech without his bank's knowledge, that he asserted in court that his actions were taken in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency, and that the United States attorney's office in Miami said the claims were "discounted in court."[^5]
[[Frank Bovenkerk]] and [[Michael Levi]] write that the $2 million covered two bad checks written by Studley, that Petrillo gave her a $1.5 million cashier's check from the bank, and that she tried but failed to sell about 20 percent of the company's stock to raise the $2 million.[^15] The Wall Street Journal Index for 1987 lists state regulators closing Bayshore Bank of Florida, with an overdue GeoMiliTech loan among the bank's problems.[^16] In December 1991 Byron wrote that, according to published reports, federal prosecutors in Miami had recently opened an investigation into Studley's involvement in the bank matter.[^6]
### The torpedo broker and Israeli-origin arms, 1985 to 1987
The congressional report states that during the summer of 1985 Singlaub worked without success through GeoMiliTech Consultants, "owned by Barbara Studley," on diverting part of a $75 million proposed sale of torpedoes to a buyer the report calls "Country 3," in connection with his early-1985 solicitation of that country's officials. The report's majority says the Singlaub-Studley plan was not implemented, and the minority views respond that the first diverted funds, from Israeli arms sales to Iran, arrived before the plan was tabled in December 1985.[^17][^18]
[[Benjamin Weiser]] reported in the [[Washington Post]] in March 1987 that, of the two governments Singlaub approached in late 1984, he had a specific weapons deal in mind in the case of [[Taiwan]]: a Washington-based consulting company, for which Singlaub said he served as an unpaid adviser, was trying to broker the sale of 40 American-built MK 37 torpedoes from Israel to Taiwan, at a price Israel set at $72 million to $75 million. Weiser wrote that Singlaub envisioned Taiwan paying about $10 million above Israel's price, with the surplus going to the contras after the broker's commission, and that Singlaub said neither the Israeli government nor the broker was told of the diversion idea. Sources familiar with the deal told the Post that Israel had authorized the broker and had notified the United States government, and Israeli sources said the United States government would not allow the sale.[^19]
The Post article does not name the consulting company. The torpedo sale in the report ($75 million, summer 1985, brokered through GeoMiliTech, with Singlaub working the diversion) and the sale in the Post (40 MK 37 torpedoes, $72 million to $75 million, a broker on which Singlaub served as unpaid adviser) concern the same subject and price range, and GeoMiliTech listed Singlaub as an adviser in 1987. The report does not name Taiwan as Country 3 and the Post does not name the company, so the two accounts are joined here only by that match.[^4][^17][^19]
### The Durrani depositions and later reporting
[[Arif Durrani]], a Pakistani arms dealer convicted in 1987 of exporting Hawk missile parts to Iran without a license, petitioned the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut in 1990 to vacate his conviction and amended the petition in August 1991. He said he had acted for [[Manuel Pires]], whom he said was working for North. In its September 9, 1991 objection to Durrani's requests for documents, the United States Attorney's Office in Bridgeport said defense counsel had taken the depositions of Studley and Singlaub in Washington in August 1991, and stated: "Neither witness had any knowledge of Arif Durrani or his claims; neither has any known involvement in or knowledge of the 'Iran' portion of the Iran-Contra affair." The filing adds that both had met Pires only within the last two years, and that defense counsel's proposed deposition of former CIA official [[George Cave]] offered, in the government's words, no greater prospect of usefulness than the Studley-Singlaub examinations.[^20]
Byron reported that Studley denied in the August 1991 deposition that she knew Durrani and denied that she had shipped weapons to Iran, and that she declined several requests for interviews for his article. Byron also reports that Holly B. Fitzsimmons, the assistant United States attorney in the Durrani case, said she herself had seen nothing to indicate Studley was not telling the truth.[^6] Koszorus denied that either Studley or the company had any involvement with Iran, and declined to identify the company's place of business, a spokesman, or the nature of its work.[^6] The Courant placed the deposition in the fall of 1991.[^1] The filing's certification names the defense counsel as William B. Bloss of New Haven; the Courant names him as William M. Bloss.[^1][^20]
In the Graham deposition, counsel asked whether Graham had met "her attorney, Mr. Perito," and Graham answered that the one he knew was Perito.[^2] A letter of April 28, 1987, on the letterhead of Finley, Kumble in Washington, to the House committee's assistant counsel [[Kenneth Ballen]], captioned "Re: Barbara F. Studley/GMT," refers to a telephone conference between Ballen and [[Paul L. Perito]] and encloses a memorandum from Studley's file regarding North.[^11]
Byron wrote in December 1991 that GeoMiliTech was still doing business but was not listed in the Washington, D.C. telephone directory.[^6] The Courant reported in May 1992 that Studley was not called to testify before Congress and that attempts to reach her through Koszorus had been unsuccessful.[^1] American Banker's March 1995 account of the Petrillo sentencing describes her as the head of GeoMiliTech.[^5]
### The Ora Group account and Ben-Menashe
The former Israeli intelligence officer [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] writes that a 1985 contra arms deal brokered through GeoMiliTech was itemized at $3,242,000 paid to the [[Ora Group]], against $5 million that the company's own books showed received from the American side, a gap of about $1.76 million that Ben-Menashe says was never explained to him.[^21] Byron reported that a former top official of the company, whom he did not name, said that Studley and the company had tried to export arms to Iran and that the effort was aided by [[Ariel Sharon]], then Israel's defense minister.[^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Lyn Bixby, "Head of Iran Hostage Probe Linked to Arms Deal," *Hartford Courant*, May 29, 1992. https://www.courant.com/1992/05/29/head-of-iran-hostage-probe-linked-to-arms-deal/
[^2]: Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, May 26, 1987, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12, Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234. https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152840_0234
[^3]: Ken Silverstein and Daniel Burton-Rose, *Private Warriors* (2000), p. 88.
[^4]: "Newspaper says banker involved in loans for Contra arms," United Press International, June 10, 1987, reporting the Miami Herald. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/06/10/Newspaper-says-banker-involved-in-loans-for-Contra-arms/9700550296000/
[^5]: "Former Miami Banker Gets Prison Term for Diverting Funds to Contras," *American Banker*, March 31, 1995. https://www.americanbanker.com/news/former-miami-banker-gets-prison-term-for-diverting-funds-to-contras
[^6]: Christopher Byron, "Did Convict Arif Durrani Help Set the Stage for Iran/Contra?," *New York*, December 16, 1991 (table of contents heading "Arms and the Man"), pp. 39, 42, 44. https://books.google.com/books?id=6ugCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42
[^7]: State of Delaware, Division of Corporations, Entity Details, GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp., File Number 2015058, formation date 8/15/1983. https://icis.corp.delaware.gov/Ecorp/EntitySearch/NameSearch.aspx
[^8]: Mark Phythian, ed., *Under the Counter and Over the Border: Aspects of the Contemporary Trade in Illicit Arms* (Springer, 2013), p. 65.
[^9]: *Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Contras* (National Security Archive, 1987), p. 444.
[^10]: Graham Exhibit 2, letter from John K. Singlaub to William J. Casey on GeoMiliTech letterhead, 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 300, Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234). Committee counsel dates the letter to August 1986.
[^11]: Letter from Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey, Washington, to Kenneth Ballen, Assistant Counsel, House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran, April 28, 1987, Re: Barbara F. Studley/GMT, Memorandum re Oliver North, Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234). The signature block, as indexed in the 1988 published volume of the report (p. 1040), reads "Koszorus, Enclosure cc: Charles M. Kerr, Esq."
[^12]: Memorandum from B. F. Studley to Lt. Col. Oliver North, October 30, 1985 (Graham Exhibit 1), Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234).
[^13]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 15, "The Diversion," p. 269 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ssd?id=txu.059173017837367;seq=293).
[^14]: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, "FDIC Transfers Insured Deposits of Bayshore Bank of Florida, Miami, Florida," news release PR-139-87, August 7, 1987. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/press-releases-federal-deposit-insurance-corporation-7031/fdic-transfers-insured-deposits-bayshore-bank-florida-miami-florida-641646
[^15]: Frank Bovenkerk and Michael Levi, eds., *The Organized Crime Community: Essays in Honor of Alan A. Block* (Springer, 2007), p. 22.
[^16]: *The Wall Street Journal Index*, vol. 1, 1987, p. 370, entries for GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp. and Bayshore Bank of Florida.
[^17]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 3, p. 64 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ssd?id=txu.059173017837367;seq=88).
[^18]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, minority views, p. 550 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ssd?id=txu.059173017837367;seq=574).
[^19]: Benjamin Weiser, "Singlaub Suggested an Earlier Fund Diversion," *Washington Post*, March 20, 1987. CIA CREST document CIA-RDP90-00965R000707040014-2, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000707040014-2
[^20]: Government's Objection to Arif Durrani's Second Request for Production of Documents, *United States v. Arif Durrani*, D. Conn., B-90-090 (TFGD) and B-86-59 (TFGD), September 9, 1991, pp. 7, 12. CIA CREST document 0001474388. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/0001474388
[^21]: Ari Ben-Menashe, *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network* (Sheridan Square, 1992). Index entry "GMT" at p. 155. Sole source for the itemization of $3,242,000 and the $5 million figure.

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@ -61,16 +61,16 @@ relations:
with: "[[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]]"
role: "consultant"
start: 1986
fn: 20
fn: 21
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Barbara Studley]]"
start: 1985
fn: 18
fn: 19
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Iran-Contra Affair]]"
start: 1985
end: 1987
fn: 15
fn: 16
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Christic Institute]]"
role: "defendant in the La Penca civil suit"
@ -113,37 +113,43 @@ On December 4, 1984, North wrote [[Robert McFarlane]] in a memorandum titled "As
North's February 6, 1985 memorandum to McFarlane stated that "as a consequence of GEN Singlaub's recent trip, both the Taiwanese and the South Koreans have indicated [to CIA field personnel] that they want to help in a 'big way,'" and that George had withheld dissemination of the offers and contacted North privately.[^10] A second memorandum of the same date from North to McFarlane, on a cable to Honduran President [[Roberto Suazo Cordova]], states that the FDN needed approximately $2 million in near-term financing for rifles, ammunition and boots for new volunteers, notes that Singlaub would see North the next day, and recommends that McFarlane authorize North to proceed as indicated with Singlaub.[^11] The Independent Counsel's report states that North arranged for Singlaub to meet South Korean officials in the United States.[^12] In an October 7, 1985 written response to questions from Representative [[Lee Hamilton]], McFarlane wrote that there was no official or unofficial relationship between the NSC staff and fund raising for the Nicaraguan opposition, "This includes the alleged relationship with General Singlaub"; the Independent Counsel's report lists the response among McFarlane's withholdings of information from Congress.[^9]
In March 1987 Singlaub told the Washington Post that in late 1984 he had asked two foreign governments for $10 million each, had offered three options (a direct contribution, money for him to buy weapons, or a diversion through an overcharged arms deal), and had discussed the diversion idea with North in early 1985. Informed sources named the two governments as Taiwan and South Korea, and officials of both denied contributing or knowing of any solicitation. Singlaub described a planned Taiwanese purchase of 40 MK 37 torpedoes from [[Israel]] through a Washington consulting company for which he was an unpaid adviser, with Taiwan to pay about $10 million above Israel's price of $72 million to $75 million, and said he left each government an index card with the number of the contras' Panamanian bank account.[^13] An investigator told the Post that Taiwan's contribution came as surplus light arms, with the CIA station chief in Taiwan acting as a facilitator.[^13]
In March 1987 Singlaub told the Washington Post that in late 1984 he had asked two foreign governments for $10 million each, had offered three options (a direct contribution, money for him to buy weapons, or a diversion through an overcharged arms deal), and had discussed the diversion idea with North in early 1985. Informed sources named the two governments as Taiwan and South Korea, and officials of both denied contributing or knowing of any solicitation. Singlaub described a planned Taiwanese purchase of 40 MK 37 torpedoes from [[Israel]] through a Washington consulting company for which he was an unpaid adviser, with Taiwan to pay about $10 million above Israel's price of $72 million to $75 million, and said he left each government an index card with the number of the contras' Panamanian bank account.[^13] An investigator told the Post that Taiwan's contribution came as surplus light arms, with the CIA station chief in Taiwan acting as a facilitator.[^13] The congressional report states that in early 1985, in connection with his solicitation of "Country 3," Singlaub suggested to that country's officials and to North that a portion of his proposed arms sales to it be diverted to the contras, and that during the summer of 1985 he worked without success through GeoMiliTech Consultants, "owned by Barbara Studley," on diverting part of a $75 million proposed sale of torpedoes to Country 3.[^14] The Post's account of the 40 MK 37 torpedoes does not name the consulting company, and the report does not name Taiwan as Country 3; the two accounts concern the same subject and price range.[^13]
In May 1986 Singlaub travelled to the Far East again, to countries that the congressional report designates only by number, after telling [[Elliott Abrams]] that he wanted to know how the United States would send a "signal"; Singlaub testified that Abrams said he would send it, Abrams testified that he never agreed to, and Richard Melton, who was present at their conversations, supported Abrams. Before Singlaub met his contact in one country, Abrams told him to stop.[^14]
In May 1986 Singlaub travelled to the Far East again, to countries that the congressional report designates only by number, after telling [[Elliott Abrams]] that he wanted to know how the United States would send a "signal"; Singlaub testified that Abrams said he would send it, Abrams testified that he never agreed to, and Richard Melton, who was present at their conversations, supported Abrams. Before Singlaub met his contact in one country, Abrams told him to stop.[^15]
### The 1985 weapons purchase for the FDN
In March 1985 Singlaub met the FDN military commander, [[Enrique Bermudez]], at FDN base camps, drew up a weapons list (AK-47 rifles, RPG-7 launchers, light machine guns and SA-7 missiles), and took it to North, who made "some additions and subtractions"; later that month Singlaub introduced [[Adolfo Calero]] to a European arms dealer whose AK-47 price Calero described as about half of what the FDN had been paying, a difference the congressional report partly attributes to Singlaub taking no commission.[^15] In early May Calero and Singlaub met [[Richard Secord]] in North's office about SA-7 missiles, and Secord was chosen for them because he would supply training; in mid-May Calero ordered other weapons through Singlaub's dealer. North's notes of May 17, 1985 list a "Singlaub deal" and 10,000 AK-47s and record an unsuccessful effort to dissuade Calero; North attributed to Casey a warning against a five-to-six-million-dollar transaction with a broker suspected of reverse technology transfer to the Eastern Bloc, and the dealer denied this to the committees. The arms arrived in Central America on July 8, 1985, and were the last order Calero placed with any dealer other than Secord.[^15]
In March 1985 Singlaub met the FDN military commander, [[Enrique Bermudez]], at FDN base camps, drew up a weapons list (AK-47 rifles, RPG-7 launchers, light machine guns and SA-7 missiles), and took it to North, who made "some additions and subtractions"; later that month Singlaub introduced [[Adolfo Calero]] to a European arms dealer whose AK-47 price Calero described as about half of what the FDN had been paying, a difference the congressional report partly attributes to Singlaub taking no commission.[^16] In early May Calero and Singlaub met [[Richard Secord]] in North's office about SA-7 missiles, and Secord was chosen for them because he would supply training; in mid-May Calero ordered other weapons through Singlaub's dealer. North's notes of May 17, 1985 list a "Singlaub deal" and 10,000 AK-47s and record an unsuccessful effort to dissuade Calero; North attributed to Casey a warning against a five-to-six-million-dollar transaction with a broker suspected of reverse technology transfer to the Eastern Bloc, and the dealer denied this to the committees. The arms arrived in Central America on July 8, 1985, and were the last order Calero placed with any dealer other than Secord.[^16]
Calero testified in deposition that his three main sources were Ron Martin, Secord and Singlaub, that he felt best with Singlaub and had "blind trust" in him, and that Singlaub told him North had said to stay away because of his high profile. Committee counsel put the first payments for shipments arranged by Singlaub at $2 million on April 26, 1985 and $3.3 million in May.[^16] The Washington Post reported in 1987 that Singlaub helped the contras buy $5.3 million of East Bloc weapons shipped through [[Honduras]].[^13] A letter from the Washington lawyer [[Thomas Green]] to the committees compared the Singlaub and Secord shipments, giving Singlaub's as 348 tons with about $300,000 charged for shipping.[^17] Singlaub testified in 1987 that the delivery went from [[Poland]] to Honduras, that Swiss banks handled the transfers, and that North had cleared the items and given him rules after checking with "someone in the Justice Department," who was not identified.[^18]
Calero testified in deposition that his three main sources were Ron Martin, Secord and Singlaub, that he felt best with Singlaub and had "blind trust" in him, and that Singlaub told him North had said to stay away because of his high profile. Committee counsel put the first payments for shipments arranged by Singlaub at $2 million on April 26, 1985 and $3.3 million in May.[^17] The Washington Post reported in 1987 that Singlaub helped the contras buy $5.3 million of East Bloc weapons shipped through [[Honduras]].[^13] A letter from the Washington lawyer [[Thomas Green]] to the committees compared the Singlaub and Secord shipments, giving Singlaub's as 348 tons with about $300,000 charged for shipping.[^18] Singlaub testified in 1987 that the delivery went from [[Poland]] to Honduras, that Swiss banks handled the transfers, and that North had cleared the items and given him rules after checking with "someone in the Justice Department," who was not identified.[^19]
### Eden Pastora, 1986
In March 1986 Singlaub travelled to [[Costa Rica]], met [[Eden Pastora]] and negotiated an agreement with him, purportedly on behalf of the United States. The Independent Counsel's report states that word of the agreement briefly gave Pastora the advantage in the competition among the Newly Aligned Commanders; Fiers cabled that Singlaub's actions did not reflect a new posture toward Pastora, and a UNO/FARN commander and two other commanders threatened to march back to the Costa Rican border if the arms they had been promised did not arrive.[^19] A Miami Herald clipping in Singlaub's FBI file reports him announcing in Costa Rica that he had come to persuade Pastora to visit Washington and saying that United States officials wanted Pastora to play a role like that of Charles de Gaulle in the French resistance.[^6] Calero testified that people in Washington were upset about Singlaub's involvement in the Pastora matter, so the FDN sent nothing to Pastora, and that Singlaub had also gone to a meeting with a group of former national guardsmen.[^16]
In March 1986 Singlaub travelled to [[Costa Rica]], met [[Eden Pastora]] and negotiated an agreement with him, purportedly on behalf of the United States. The Independent Counsel's report states that word of the agreement briefly gave Pastora the advantage in the competition among the Newly Aligned Commanders; Fiers cabled that Singlaub's actions did not reflect a new posture toward Pastora, and a UNO/FARN commander and two other commanders threatened to march back to the Costa Rican border if the arms they had been promised did not arrive.[^20] A Miami Herald clipping in Singlaub's FBI file reports him announcing in Costa Rica that he had come to persuade Pastora to visit Washington and saying that United States officials wanted Pastora to play a role like that of Charles de Gaulle in the French resistance.[^6] Calero testified that people in Washington were upset about Singlaub's involvement in the Pastora matter, so the FDN sent nothing to Pastora, and that Singlaub had also gone to a meeting with a group of former national guardsmen.[^17]
### GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.
Singlaub signed correspondence as "Consultant" of [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]], the Washington company of [[Barbara Studley]], at 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Among the exhibits to the deposition of [[Daniel O. Graham]] is a letter on the company's letterhead addressed "Dear Bill" to Casey at the CIA and signed by Singlaub as "Major General, U.S. Army (RET)" and "Consultant," which committee counsel dated to August 1986. It encloses a list of hardware quoted July 28, 1986, including 10,000 AKMS rifles at 185 each, 60 12.7mm machine guns and 20 twin-mount 14.5mm machine guns, and the list is marked "NO EUC REQUIRED." The letter states that the list was developed in conjunction with a member of the NSC, that funds from Congress would not be available until after September, and that a bank in Switzerland would accept a letter of credit from Casey's bank and lend for six to twelve months.[^20] Committee counsel stated in the Graham deposition that [[Robert Schweitzer]], a lieutenant general, was hired by the company in late August or early September 1986, was interviewed by Singlaub, and met North with Singlaub on or about December 2, 1986.[^20]
Singlaub signed correspondence as "Consultant" of [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]], the Washington company of [[Barbara Studley]], at 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Among the exhibits to the deposition of [[Daniel O. Graham]] is a letter on the company's letterhead addressed "Dear Bill" to Casey at the CIA and signed by Singlaub as "Major General, U.S. Army (RET)" and "Consultant," which committee counsel dated to August 1986. It encloses a list of hardware quoted July 28, 1986, including 10,000 AKMS rifles at 185 each, 60 12.7mm machine guns and 20 twin-mount 14.5mm machine guns, and the list is marked "NO EUC REQUIRED." The letter states that the list was developed in conjunction with a member of the NSC, that funds from Congress would not be available until after September, and that a bank in Switzerland would accept a letter of credit from Casey's bank and lend for six to twelve months.[^21] Committee counsel stated in the Graham deposition that [[Robert Schweitzer]], a lieutenant general, was hired by the company in late August or early September 1986, was interviewed by Singlaub, and met North with Singlaub on or about December 2, 1986.[^21]
A memorandum prepared by Studley, found in North's safe, proposed a "conduit" through which Soviet weapons and technology would be supplied to "Freedom Fighters" without "the consent or awareness of the Department of State or Congress." The congressional report calls it the Singlaub-Studley plan, states that Singlaub presented it to North and Casey in 1985 and that North acknowledged receiving it and dismissed its significance, and quotes [[George Shultz]] saying at the hearings that it was "a piece of junk."[^21] Singlaub told the 1987 hearings that Studley showed him the memorandum and that he thought it a good plan; Senator [[Paul Sarbanes]] called it a "plan to get around the constitutional system," and Singlaub testified that he set up a December 1985 meeting between Casey and Studley.[^18] Graham testified that he arranged a meeting at Langley between Studley and Casey toward the end of 1985, with only the three of them present.[^20]
A memorandum prepared by Studley, found in North's safe, proposed a "conduit" through which Soviet weapons and technology would be supplied to "Freedom Fighters" without "the consent or awareness of the Department of State or Congress." The congressional report calls it the Singlaub-Studley plan, states that Singlaub presented it to North and Casey in 1985 and that North acknowledged receiving it and dismissed its significance, and quotes [[George Shultz]] saying at the hearings that it was "a piece of junk."[^22] Singlaub told the 1987 hearings that Studley showed him the memorandum and that he thought it a good plan; Senator [[Paul Sarbanes]] called it a "plan to get around the constitutional system," and Singlaub testified that he set up a December 1985 meeting between Casey and Studley.[^19] Graham testified that he arranged a meeting at Langley between Studley and Casey toward the end of 1985, with only the three of them present.[^21]
A memorandum from Studley to North dated October 30, 1985 reports the questioning of an arms agent identified as "W" about a shipment that left on June 20, 1985, and a visit by a man named Mario Dellamico, described as working for the arms dealer Ron Martin, who offered Martin's arms for the contras and handed over a copy of Studley's packing list; it ends: "General John K. Singlaub has been advised of this information."[^20]
A memorandum from Studley to North dated October 30, 1985 reports the questioning of an arms agent identified as "W" about a shipment that left on June 20, 1985, and a visit by a man named Mario Dellamico, described as working for the arms dealer Ron Martin, who offered Martin's arms for the contras and handed over a copy of Studley's packing list; it ends: "General John K. Singlaub has been advised of this information."[^21]
The [[Miami Herald]] reported in June 1987 that GeoMiliTech listed Singlaub as an adviser.[^23] Byron wrote that the company's "board of advisers" in the mid-1980s included Singlaub and retired Lt. Gen. Dan Graham; Graham testified in 1987 that he was never an adviser or director of the company.[^21][^24]
### Hearings and the Christic Institute suit
Singlaub was one of about 30 defendants in the civil suit brought by two journalists injured in the May 30, 1984 La Penca bombing at a press conference held by Pastora in Costa Rica.[^5] An FBI report of an interview in Miami on May 23, 1989, with the interviewee's name withheld, summarizes the amended complaint as accusing Singlaub and others of conspiring to supply money for explosives and arms through businesses including the Orca Supply Company and CSF Investments Ltd., of a December 1984 plan to kill Pastora, and of smuggling cocaine into the United States between September 1983 and the date of the complaint. The report also states that Judge James L. King ordered summary judgment for the defendants on June 23, 1988, finding the plaintiffs' allegations "based upon unsubstantiated rumor and speculation from unidentified sources with no first hand knowledge," and that Singlaub had told Congress he arranged for weapons from an Eastern bloc country to reach the contras through an intermediary, an act the report calls not a violation of the [[Boland Amendment]].[^6] The Washington Post obituary states that the suit, brought by the [[Christic Institute]], was resolved in Singlaub's favor in 1992 and that Singlaub was never the subject of a criminal investigation.[^1] An FBI agent, an assistant United States attorney and a Customs agent interviewed Singlaub on June 12, 1987 at the Miami Airport Marriott; the content is withheld in the released file.[^6]
[[Robert Gates]] told the Senate intelligence committee on October 8, 1986 that CIA officials had tried to avoid learning about private funding: "Somebody will say something about Singlaub or something like, we will say I don't want to hear anything about it." The Independent Counsel wrote that, to the extent Gates spoke for others in the CIA, this was wrong, and recorded Gates's grand jury testimony that he had heard rumors that North had put contra leaders in touch with Secord and Singlaub.[^22]
[[Robert Gates]] told the Senate intelligence committee on October 8, 1986 that CIA officials had tried to avoid learning about private funding: "Somebody will say something about Singlaub or something like, we will say I don't want to hear anything about it." The Independent Counsel wrote that, to the extent Gates spoke for others in the CIA, this was wrong, and recorded Gates's grand jury testimony that he had heard rumors that North had put contra leaders in touch with Secord and Singlaub.[^25]
### Durrani-case deposition, 1991
In August 1991 defense counsel for [[Arif Durrani]] took the depositions of Studley and Singlaub in Washington. The United States Attorney's Office in Bridgeport wrote on September 9, 1991 that neither witness had any knowledge of Durrani or his claims or any known involvement in or knowledge of the "Iran" portion of the Iran-Contra affair, and that both had met [[Manuel Pires]] only within the last two years.[^26] [[Christopher Byron]] wrote in December 1991 that Studley denied in her deposition that she knew Durrani.[^24]
### The Philippines, 1987
Singlaub opened an office in the [[Philippines]] to search for a treasure of gold bullion, telling the [[Los Angeles Times]] he intended to use the gold to finance anti-communist insurgencies in Southeast Asia; he abandoned the effort after local newspaper reports described it as a cover for mercenary training.[^1] On September 17, 1987 the FBI's Honolulu office sent a teletype to headquarters captioned "Neutrality Matter, Philippines," from a source whose reliability had not been established, and asked headquarters to contact the Independent Counsel or the Front Door Task Force and to obtain background on the National Defense Council Foundation and the United States Council for World Freedom; the released file withholds the source and the body of the report.[^6] Graham testified in 1987 that his last conversation with Singlaub, in February, concerned "his problems with his activities in the Philippines."[^20]
Singlaub opened an office in the [[Philippines]] to search for a treasure of gold bullion, telling the [[Los Angeles Times]] he intended to use the gold to finance anti-communist insurgencies in Southeast Asia; he abandoned the effort after local newspaper reports described it as a cover for mercenary training.[^1] On September 17, 1987 the FBI's Honolulu office sent a teletype to headquarters captioned "Neutrality Matter, Philippines," from a source whose reliability had not been established, and asked headquarters to contact the Independent Counsel or the Front Door Task Force and to obtain background on the National Defense Council Foundation and the United States Council for World Freedom; the released file withholds the source and the body of the report.[^6] Graham testified in 1987 that his last conversation with Singlaub, in February, concerned "his problems with his activities in the Philippines."[^21]
### Later years
@ -151,7 +157,7 @@ Singlaub's memoir, Hazardous Duty, written with Malcolm McConnell, appeared in 1
### Claims from Ari Ben-Menashe
[[Ari Ben-Menashe]] describes a 1985 contra deal brokered through GeoMiliTech and itemized at $3,242,000 paid to the [[Ora Group]], against $5 million that he says GeoMiliTech's books showed received from the American side.[^23] The Hartford Courant reported in 1992 a private $5 million shipment of Soviet-bloc arms arranged by Singlaub and Studley in the summer of 1985, and did not mention Ora.[^18]
[[Ari Ben-Menashe]] describes a 1985 contra deal brokered through GeoMiliTech and itemized at $3,242,000 paid to the [[Ora Group]], against $5 million that he says GeoMiliTech's books showed received from the American side.[^27] The Hartford Courant reported in 1992 a private $5 million shipment of Soviet-bloc arms arranged by Singlaub and Studley in the summer of 1985, and did not mention Ora.[^19]
### Footnotes
@ -168,13 +174,17 @@ Singlaub's memoir, Hazardous Duty, written with Malcolm McConnell, appeared in 1
[^11]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair (H. Rept. 100-433, S. Rept. 100-216), Appendix A, vol. 2, Source Documents: memorandum from North to McFarlane, February 6, 1985, "Cable to President Suazo of Honduras," pp. 1056-1058 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0229; the scan is partly illegible).
[^12]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, Part I, "The Underlying Facts." https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/part_i.htm
[^13]: Benjamin Weiser, "Singlaub Suggested an Earlier Fund Diversion," Washington Post, March 20, 1987 (date as printed on the clipping); CIA CREST CIA-RDP90-00965R000707040014-2, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00965r000707040014-2
[^14]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 3, pp. 69-70 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=93).
[^15]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair (H. Rept. 100-433, S. Rept. 100-216), ch. 2, pp. 50-51 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=74).
[^16]: Deposition of Adolfo Calero, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 3 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0235), including transcript pp. 84-85, 94-95, 165-166 and 178-179.
[^17]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix A, vol. 2, Source Documents: letter from Thomas C. Green to committee counsel on the prices and shipments of the Singlaub and Secord purchases (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0229; the scan is partly illegible).
[^18]: Hartford Courant, "Head of Iran Hostage Probe Linked to Arms Deal," May 29, 1992. https://www.courant.com/1992/05/29/head-of-iran-hostage-probe-linked-to-arms-deal/
[^19]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 19 (U.S. v. Alan D. Fiers, Jr.), citing DIRECTOR 772442 (March 11, 1986) and DIRECTOR 799822 (March 28, 1986). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_19.htm
[^20]: Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, with Graham Exhibits 1 to 4, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234).
[^21]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 15, "The Diversion," p. 269 and note (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=293).
[^22]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 16 (Robert M. Gates): Gates, SSCI testimony, October 8, 1986, p. 9; Gates, grand jury, May 1, 1991. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_16.htm
[^23]: Ari Ben-Menashe, Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network (Sheridan Square, 1992). Sole source for the itemization; the figures are as reported on the Ora Group page of this vault.
[^14]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 3, p. 64. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ssd?id=txu.059173017837367;seq=88
[^15]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 3, pp. 69-70 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=93).
[^16]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair (H. Rept. 100-433, S. Rept. 100-216), ch. 2, pp. 50-51 (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=74).
[^17]: Deposition of Adolfo Calero, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 3 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0235), including transcript pp. 84-85, 94-95, 165-166 and 178-179.
[^18]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix A, vol. 2, Source Documents: letter from Thomas C. Green to committee counsel on the prices and shipments of the Singlaub and Secord purchases (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0229; the scan is partly illegible).
[^19]: Hartford Courant, "Head of Iran Hostage Probe Linked to Arms Deal," May 29, 1992. https://www.courant.com/1992/05/29/head-of-iran-hostage-probe-linked-to-arms-deal/
[^20]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 19 (U.S. v. Alan D. Fiers, Jr.), citing DIRECTOR 772442 (March 11, 1986) and DIRECTOR 799822 (March 28, 1986). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_19.htm
[^21]: Deposition of Daniel O. Graham, with Graham Exhibits 1 to 4, Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, Appendix B, vol. 12 (Internet Archive item micro_IA41152840_0234).
[^22]: Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, ch. 15, "The Diversion," p. 269 and note (HathiTrust full view, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=txu.059173017837367&seq=293).
[^23]: "Newspaper says banker involved in loans for Contra arms," United Press International, June 10, 1987, reporting the Miami Herald. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/06/10/Newspaper-says-banker-involved-in-loans-for-Contra-arms/9700550296000/
[^24]: Christopher Byron, "Did Convict Arif Durrani Help Set the Stage for Iran/Contra?," *New York*, December 16, 1991, p. 42. https://books.google.com/books?id=6ugCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42
[^25]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, ch. 16 (Robert M. Gates): Gates, SSCI testimony, October 8, 1986, p. 9; Gates, grand jury, May 1, 1991. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_16.htm
[^26]: Government's Objection to Arif Durrani's Second Request for Production of Documents, *United States v. Durrani*, D. Conn., B-90-090 (TFGD) and B-86-59 (TFGD), September 9, 1991, p. 7. CIA CREST document 0001474388. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/0001474388
[^27]: Ari Ben-Menashe, Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network (Sheridan Square, 1992). Sole source for the itemization; the figures are as reported on the Ora Group page of this vault.

6
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Michael Riconosciuto.md
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@ -45,6 +45,10 @@ Riconosciuto claimed to have been in direct communication with [[Michael Hand]],
Beyond PROMIS, Riconosciuto was involved in advanced technological projects, including theoretical work on railguns for the U.S. Army, and research into "energy transfer phenomena" with [[William Frash]] and [[Patrick Moriarty]] (his father's business partner), aiming to develop technology that would "supercede all existing world patents in the field."[^1]
### Remarks on Clearances and the Aquino Question
In an undated transcript of an interview with [[Ted Gunderson]] (the interviewer is initialed "T.G."), the speaker, initialed "M.R.," discusses members of the Church of Set and of [[Michael Aquino]]'s circle. He says that the reaction to Aquino he received from "Dr. Malkin" was "Well, his clearance isn't all that high."[^7] In the same passage the speaker says that nearly everyone in Aquino's group was psy-ops or intelligence related.[^7] The transcript's cover line begins with the name "Michael," and the first notes in the file are headed "NOTES OF PHONE CONV. 12/29/87." The initials are the only identifier in the body of the transcript. Records found do not establish whether "Dr. Malkin" is [[Myron S. Malkin]], the former NASA Space Shuttle director and former Defense Department official, whose name appears in an undated (year not printed) Cabazon Arms letter.[^8]
### Legal Troubles and Witness Protection Attempts
Following his arrest, Riconosciuto attempted multiple times to trade information with federal authorities, including the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives|BATF]], in exchange for entry into a [[Witness Protection Program]]. He offered to expose high-level corruption, drug trafficking, and money laundering operations, including those involving Robert Booth Nichols, [[Michael Abbell]], and the Cali Drug Cartel. However, these attempts were largely unsuccessful, with authorities often expressing skepticism or facing internal resistance to his claims.[^1]
@ -61,3 +65,5 @@ Danny Casolaro began interviewing Riconosciuto prior to his arrest in March 1991
[^4]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993.
[^5]: John Connolly, "Inside the Shadow CIA," *Spy,* September 1992, pp. 46-54. Sole source for the Las Vegas account in this form; the bracketed description of Ammarell is the magazine's. https://www.prop1.org/legal/prisons/92wack.htm
[^6]: Unsigned, undated letter, Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence," beginning "The cooperation I have received from the Wackenhut Corporation." The spelling "Amarell" is as printed in the letter. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.
[^7]: Ted Gunderson and Michael Riconosciuto interview notes, file "Folder 7 Acc5516" (archive.org casolaro-notebooks item, file "Folder 7 Acc5516.pdf", text layer). Undated passage. Sole source for the passages so cited. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
[^8]: Letter over the name of Arthur Welmas, Cabazon Arms letterhead, Indio, California, dated "May 1" (year not printed), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks

7
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Ted Shackley.md
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@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ aliases:
- Theodore Shackley
- The Blond Ghost
created: 2026-05-14
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-08
category: "Intelligence & Government"
tags:
- Person
@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ Shackley’s network intersected with the Iran-Contra Affair through multiple ch
Shackley was also connected through Michael Hand to the Nugan Hand Bank (Sydney, founded 1973, collapsed 1980), an Australian merchant bank that multiple sources identified as a CIA financial conduit. The bank’s board and senior advisers included former CIA Director William Colby (in a legal advisory role) and a number of Shackley-connected U.S. military and intelligence veterans. Its collapse after co-founder Frank Nugan’s death in January 1980 and Hand’s subsequent disappearance generated significant Australian investigative journalism about CIA connections to the bank.[^2]
[[David Corn]] writes that [[Barbara Studley]], a former Miami talk-show host, and [[John Singlaub]], who had worked with Shackley in Laos, had created [[GeoMiliTech Consultants Corp.]], a weapons firm, and that Studley came to Shackley for advice on the arms market in Latin America.[^3]
### Publications
Shackley authored *The Third Option: An American View of Counterinsurgency Operations* (Reader’s Digest Press, 1981), which argued for covert operations as an intermediate tool between diplomacy and conventional military force - the analytical framework that had characterized his career. He died December 9, 2002.[^1]
@ -72,4 +74,5 @@ Shackley authored *The Third Option: An American View of Counterinsurgency Opera
### Footnotes
[^1]: Corn, David, and Jeff Goldberg. "The Old Boy Network." *Mother Jones*, October 1994 (on Shackley’s post-CIA network). Shackley, Theodore G. *The Third Option: An American View of Counterinsurgency Operations*. Reader’s Digest Press, 1981. Weiner, Tim. *Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA*. Doubleday, 2007, pp. 316-320, 361-368.
[^2]: Trento, Joseph. *Prelude to Terror: The Rogue CIA and the Legacy of America’s Private Intelligence Network*. Carroll & Graf, 2005, pp. 55-85. Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: Trento, Joseph. *Prelude to Terror: The Rogue CIA and the Legacy of America’s Private Intelligence Network*. Carroll & Graf, 2005, pp. 55-85. Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. TrineDay, 2010.
[^3]: David Corn, *Blond Ghost: Ted Shackley and the CIA's Crusades* (Simon & Schuster, 1994).

2
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Arthur Welmas.md
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@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ updated: 2026-10-08
The 1993 report of Judge [[Nicholas J. Bua]] for the Department of Justice describes Welmas as Tribal Chairman in 1981 and states that he signed the April 1981 joint venture agreement with Wackenhut for the Cabazon Security Corporation, with [[Robert Frye]] signing for Wackenhut, and that the non-Indian tribal administrator [[Dr. John Philip Nichols]] managed the tribe's business affairs.[^2]
Welmas signed letters as "President." On March 24, 1982, a letter on the stationery of the Cabazon Gas and Oil Corporation over his name, addressed to a Michael McClure of Hercules Research Corp., Hercules, California, with copies to [[Marshall Riconosciuto]] and [[Michael Riconosciuto]], states that Nichols "is very impressed with your competence."[^3] A letter over his name dated May 1 (year not printed) on Cabazon Arms letterhead, Indio, to La France Specialties of San Diego, says that a facility on a fifteen-acre site set aside by the reservation was planned, that the venture planned to begin manufacturing "a new assault weapon, which would have unique characteristics, including an adjustable cycle rate of fire and a laser sighting system," and that all sales would be sought only through sources acceptable to the State Department.[^4] The names that follow his signature on that letter are Peter Zokosky, Bob Frye, Dr. Myron Malkin, Colonel Glade Flake, John James, Bruce James, John Paul Nichols and Wayne Reeder. A Dr. Myron S. Malkin, director of the NASA Space Shuttle program, sat on the board of NUSAC, Inc., the nuclear safeguards consultancy bought by the Wackenhut Corporation in 1978. Whether he is the Dr. Myron Malkin named in the letter is not established.[^4][^5]
Welmas signed letters as "President." On March 24, 1982, a letter on the stationery of the Cabazon Gas and Oil Corporation over his name, addressed to a Michael McClure of Hercules Research Corp., Hercules, California, with copies to [[Marshall Riconosciuto]] and [[Michael Riconosciuto]], states that Nichols "is very impressed with your competence."[^3] A letter over his name dated May 1 (year not printed) on Cabazon Arms letterhead, Indio, to La France Specialties of San Diego, says that a facility on a fifteen-acre site set aside by the reservation was planned, that the venture planned to begin manufacturing "a new assault weapon, which would have unique characteristics, including an adjustable cycle rate of fire and a laser sighting system," and that all sales would be sought only through sources acceptable to the State Department.[^4] The names that follow his signature on that letter are Peter Zokosky, Bob Frye, Dr. [[Myron S. Malkin|Myron Malkin]], Colonel Glade Flake, John James, Bruce James, John Paul Nichols and Wayne Reeder. A Dr. Myron S. Malkin, director of the NASA Space Shuttle program, sat on the board of NUSAC, Inc., the nuclear safeguards consultancy bought by the Wackenhut Corporation in 1978. Whether he is the Dr. Myron Malkin named in the letter is not established.[^4][^5]
[[Robert Chasen]], Executive Vice President of Wackenhut Corporation, felt an affinity with Welmas due to his wife being part Cherokee. Chasen sympathized with the Cabazons' situation and expressed a desire to protect them, suggesting he may have done so by shutting down the Wackenhut Corporation's biological virus and vaccine development proposal to the Army on the Cabazon reservation.[^1]

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---
aliases:
- James D. Theberge
- James Daniel Theberge
- James Theberge
- James E. Theberge
- Ambassador Theberge
category: "Intelligence & Government"
tags:
- Person
- Diplomat
- Ambassador
- Nicaragua
- Chile
- SeniorReviewPanel
- Swissco
- Cardoen
- CIA
- Georgetown
- Pinochet
- Somoza
created: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-08
summary: "American diplomat, ambassador to Nicaragua from 1975 to 1977 and to Chile from 1982 to 1985, who sat on the CIA Senior Review Panel from 1986 until his death in January 1988."
relations:
- type: appointed
with: "[[Gerald R. Ford]]"
reverse: true
start: 1975-05
end: 1977-06
role: "Ambassador to Nicaragua, nomination announced May 30, 1975"
fn: 3
- type: employed_by
with: "[[State Department]]"
start: 1975-07
end: 1977-06
role: "Ambassador to Nicaragua"
fn: 1
- type: appointed
with: "[[Ronald Reagan]]"
reverse: true
start: 1981-11
end: 1985-08
role: "Ambassador to Chile, nomination announced November 6, 1981"
fn: 2
- type: employed_by
with: "[[State Department]]"
start: 1982-03
end: 1985-08
role: "Ambassador to Chile"
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Department of Defense]]"
start: 1981
end: 1982-03
role: "Special adviser on inter-American affairs"
fn: 2
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Center for Strategic and International Studies]]"
start: 1970
end: 1975
role: "Director of Latin American studies, Georgetown University"
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[Institute for Conflict and Policy Studies]]"
start: 1977
end: 1979
role: "President"
fn: 2
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Planning Research Corporation]]"
start: 1979
end: 1981
role: "Senior development adviser, New York"
fn: 2
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
start: 1986-01
end: 1988-01
role: "Part-time (three days per week) member of the Senior Review Panel"
fn: 28
- type: member_of
with: "[[Senior Review Panel]]"
start: 1986-01
end: 1988-01
role: "Member"
fn: 28
- type: appointed
with: "[[William J. Casey]]"
reverse: true
start: 1985-12
role: "Recruited to the Senior Review Panel; Senate Select Committee on Intelligence finding that Casey was most instrumental"
fn: 28
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[Swissco Management Group]]"
start: 1985-12
role: "Consultant; disclosed in his December 1985 personal history statement and held during much of his Senior Review Panel service"
fn: 28
- type: member_of
with: "[[United States International Narcotics Control Commission]]"
start: 1986-08
role: "Appointed member, announced August 13, 1986"
fn: 29
---
James Daniel Theberge (December 28, 1930 to January 20, 1988) was an American diplomat and academic who was ambassador to [[Nicaragua]] from 1975 to 1977 and to [[Chile]] from 1982 to 1985. From 1970 to 1975 he directed Latin American studies at the [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]] at [[Georgetown University]], and from January 1986 until his death he was a member of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]'s [[Senior Review Panel]].[^1]
### Early career and Georgetown
Theberge's birthplace is given three ways in the record. The 1981 White House announcement gives December 28, 1930, in Oceanside, New York, the 1975 announcement gives New York, New York, and the Georgetown finding aid gives Oceanside, Long Island, "circa 1931."[^2][^3][^4] The [[New York Times]] obituary gives Oceanside, Long Island.[^5] He received a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1952.[^2] He served as a first lieutenant in the [[United States Marine Corps]] from 1952 to 1954.[^2] He was an economic adviser in Buenos Aires from 1961 to 1964, head of a lending coordination staff in 1965 and 1966, and an adviser and senior economist at the [[Inter-American Development Bank]] from 1966 to 1969.[^2] The 1975 announcement describes the 1961 to 1964 and 1965 to 1966 posts as international relations officer and program economist with the [[Agency for International Development]] in Washington and Buenos Aires, and states that he was married to the former Griselda Fages.[^3] The 1981 announcement states that he had three children.[^2] The 1975 White House announcement of his nomination to Nicaragua adds an instructorship in economics at [[Oxford University]] from 1969 to 1970 and study at [[Heidelberg University]] in 1957 and 1958, and gives his degrees as an honorary bachelor's degree from Oxford in 1956, a master's degree from Oxford in 1960, and a master's in public administration from [[Harvard University]] in 1965.[^3]
From 1970 to 1975 he was director of Latin American studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University.[^2] The Hoover chronology, the Georgetown finding aid and the New York Times obituary describe the post as director of the Latin American and Hispanic Studies Center at Georgetown University.[^4][^5][^6] The Hoover chronology lists two books from that period, *Stability in the Caribbean* (1973) and *Russia in the Caribbean* (1975), and a 1963 work on capitalism in the twentieth century.[^6] *The Soviet Presence in Latin America* (New York: Crane, Russak, 1974, 107 pages) was published for the [[National Strategy Information Center]], whose president, [[Frank R. Barnett]], wrote in the June 1974 preface that Theberge had been a Littauer Fellow at Harvard in 1964 and 1965, a special adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury in 1966 and a Federal German Republic fellow at Heidelberg in 1957 and 1958, and that he was a contributing editor to *Soviet Seapower in the Caribbean: Political and Strategic Implications* and a contributing author to *The Stability of the Caribbean*.[^7] In January 1972 a CIA assessment of Cuban and Soviet diplomacy toward Chile cited him as one of the experts from the Georgetown center on the subject.[^8]
### Ambassador to Nicaragua
On May 30, 1975 President [[Gerald R. Ford|Gerald Ford]] announced that he would nominate Theberge to succeed [[Turner B. Shelton]] in [[Managua]], with Shelton resigning from the Foreign Service.[^3] The [[State Department]] gives an appointment date of July 11, 1975, presentation of credentials on August 11, 1975, and departure from post on June 8, 1977.[^1]
An undated memorandum from [[Brent Scowcroft]] to Vice President [[Nelson Rockefeller]], prepared for a call on [[Anastasio Somoza]] on April 20, 1976, identifies the ambassador as "James D. Theberge, who, as you know, was responsible for the Latin American section in the [[Critical Choices Study]]."[^9]
In an August 12, 1976 telegram titled "Ambassador Discusses Human Rights Situation with President Somoza," Theberge reported a lunch alone with Somoza on August 10 at Somoza's request. He wrote that Somoza did not "seem to fully grasp the importance of creating the friendly American public opinion so essential to our good relations," and, in a further passage, that Somoza "is not being completely frank with us."[^10] A September 20, 1976 telegram from the embassy reports a September 18 meeting in Managua between Assistant Secretary [[Harry Shlaudeman]] and Somoza. Somoza expressed concern about reports that State Department officers in Washington and at the embassy were hostile to him.[^11]
On January 25, 1977, the day after Theberge met Somoza, he sent [[Cyrus Vance]] an account of explaining to Somoza the concern of President [[Jimmy Carter]] for human rights. In the telegram's summary, Somoza "doubted that governments would bend to public criticism or when strong self-interest was at stake," and he reaffirmed friendship for the United States and the new administration.[^12] On March 3, 1977 Theberge reported a meeting of March 2 at which he voiced his concern over new charges by American Capuchin priests of alleged [[Nicaraguan National Guard]] massacres of 86 campesinos in two incidents northeast of [[Matagalpa]]. Somoza categorically denied the accusations and claimed that false information was being given to the Capuchins as part of an [[Sandinistas|FSLN]] and Communist effort to discredit the government, and he admitted that innocent bystanders, including women and children, sometimes had been killed in crossfire between the National Guard and FSLN guerrillas, especially in early 1976. The same telegram notes that the government planned a reply to a New York Times article of March 2 on the Catholic Church's allegations.[^13]
### Between posts, 1977 to 1981
After leaving Managua, Theberge was president of the [[Institute for Conflict and Policy Studies]] in Washington from 1977 to 1979, and senior development adviser of [[Planning Research Corporation]] in New York from 1979 to 1981.[^3] Since 1981 he was a special adviser on inter-American affairs in the [[United States Department of Defense]].[^2]
On April 15, 1981 Theberge wrote to [[Edwin Meese]], then counselor to the President, to express concern over a campaign to erode support for the administration's policy toward El Salvador. He wrote that he had served as ambassador to Nicaragua in the mid-1970s, that he had served on "Governor Reagan's Foreign Policy Advisory Council," and that he had "campaigned actively for the Reagan-Bush ticket last Fall."[^14]
### Ambassador to Chile
On November 6, 1981 President [[Ronald Reagan]] announced the nomination of Theberge to succeed [[George Landau|George W. Landau]] as ambassador to Chile.[^2] The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations reported the nomination on February 9, 1982, with printed Executive Report 97-46.[^4] The State Department gives an appointment date of March 2, 1982, presentation of credentials on March 8, 1982, and departure from post on August 2, 1985.[^1]
Before his arrival, the Intelligence Community Staff weekly report for November 30 to December 4, 1981 records a focus seminar on reporting from Chile, with ambassador-designate Theberge present.[^15] The "Meetings with Americans" files of [[Donald Gregg|Donald P. Gregg]] in the vice president's national security office list him on January 26, 1982 as ambassador-designate to Chile, on January 12, 1983 as ambassador, and on October 4, 1983 under the spelling "James E. Theberge".[^16] A 1983 edition of [[Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts]] lists the embassy in [[Santiago]] under Theberge as ambassador, with [[Wade H. Matthews]] as deputy chief of mission and [[Michael L. Durkee]] as political officer.[^17]
The [[Hoover Institution]] holds the James Daniel Theberge papers (collection 88016, 1964 to 1987). Its digital collection lists fifteen items, among them a letter to N. Shaw Smith dated December 28, 1982, a memorandum from Tom Enders on the post's classification dated December 3, 1982, a letter to John F. Lehman dated February 24, 1983, a telegram titled "administration of justice: country assessment: Chile" dated January 30, 1985, a letter to Admiral [[James D. Watkins]] dated February 12, 1985, four telegrams dated February 22, 1985 on meetings held by Assistant Secretary [[Langhorne Motley]] with leaders of the Vicariate of Solidarity, independent conservatives, the Multigremial and Archbishop Fresno, a memorandum on Chilean requests for bilateral debt rescheduling dated April 5, 1985, and a cable on the Inter-American Foundation dated August 2, 1985, the day he left post. The items are digitized declassified government records which the Hoover Institution states may be viewed only on site in its reading room.[^18]
In December 1984 Theberge was present when Representative [[Bill Richardson]] and two other members of the House Hispanic Caucus met [[Augusto Pinochet]] for over an hour on a Thursday, the meeting being reported in the New York Times of December 16. Richardson described the meeting as "brutally frank and heated"; Theberge said in a telephone interview that the meeting, conducted in Spanish, was one of the most substantive exchanges between American officials and Pinochet in several years.[^19]
The Reagan Library's Counsel to the President appointee files include a folder "James Theberge, Ambassador-Chile" (CFOA 0948) beside one for Barnes.[^20] A Central Intelligence Agency talking-points memorandum dated January 23, 1985 was prepared for a January 28, 1985 meeting at 1100 hours between the Director of Central Intelligence and Theberge. It states, "We understand this is primarily a personal visit," and lists as a point Theberge might raise the continuation in office of Pinochet, with a ninety-day state of siege "declared 6 November 1984" to assist the military government in combating a wave of terrorist incidents.[^21] The New York Times of December 16, 1984 likewise gives the state of siege as imposed on November 6.[^19] An [[Associated Press]] dispatch of January 1985 by George Gedda gives it as "Nov. 4."[^22] The same dispatch, citing unnamed officials, reports that President Reagan planned to replace Theberge, "a political appointee," with [[Harry Barnes]], then ambassador to India and a career diplomat.[^22] In January 1986 the New York Times reported that Barnes, who arrived in November 1985, had been holding frequent meetings with political and human rights officials, and that embassy officials denied any substantial change in policy when he replaced Theberge, "a political appointee."[^23]
A visitor record for November 1984 lists an appointment at 10:45 with the director at headquarters, with Chile and [[Dewey Clarridge]] noted as present.[^24]
Theberge left Santiago on August 2, 1985. A CIA routing sheet of August 12, 1985 confirms an appointment for him with the director at 1100 hours on August 14, 1985 as "a courtesy call," stating that he "will be unaccompanied" and "has completed his tour in Chile and has no particular items to discuss."[^25] A memorandum of August 19, 1985 from the director of central intelligence, [[William J. Casey]], to the Vice Chairman of the [[National Intelligence Council]], titled "Soviet Game Plan," states: "You will get in touch with Theberge, talk about the project generally, see what he has to contribute and perhaps have him do some work on the Latin America phase of it."[^26] A visitor record for September 23, 1985 at CIA headquarters logs "Ambassador Theberge" calling on the director of central intelligence.[^27] In December 1985 he submitted his personal history statement to the CIA.[^28]
### Senior Review Panel
The [[Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]], in its October 24, 1991 report on the nomination of [[Robert Gates]] as director of central intelligence, reported on information it had obtained that from January 1986 to January 1988 the CIA employed Theberge as a member of its Senior Review Panel. The committee described the panel as consisting of "experienced, highly regarded former intelligence, military and foreign affairs specialists."[^28] The report states that the officials involved in his recruitment and selection included William J. Casey, Deputy Director [[John McMahon]] and Executive Director [[James Taylor]], and that "There is no evidence that the nominee, Mr. Gates, participated in either his recruitment or selection."[^28]
The report says that Theberge had been consulting for [[Swissco Management Group]], and that in his personal history statement, submitted to the CIA in December 1985, Theberge "freely disclosed his consulting work for SWISSCO, and the fact that SWISSCO's parent company was Cardoen Industries." It says he was hired "on a three-days-per-week basis" notwithstanding those disclosures.[^28] The report also states that "Director Casey was the CIA official most instrumental in recruiting Mr. Theberge."[^28] The committee found "no evidence that the CIA identified or acted upon Mr. Theberge's potential conflict of interest," and wrote that it was "continuing to develop information about this matter."[^28] Gates answered written questions from the committee by stating that he was "unaware of his [Theberge's] relationships, his connection to the SWISSCO Management Group, or any connection to the Carlos Cardoen Group."[^28]
On August 13, 1986 President Reagan announced the appointment of three members of the [[United States International Narcotics Control Commission]], among them Theberge, whom the announcement describes as "currently an international management consultant in Washington, DC."[^29]
Theberge's name appears on the signature blocks of Senior Review Panel memoranda to the director and deputy director of central intelligence from the second half of 1987. The panel's comments of September 1, 1987 (NIC-03024-87) on the concept paper and terms of reference for NIE 11-15-88, Soviet maritime strategy, carry the names of [[William Leonhart]], B. McPherson, Theberge and [[Richard L. Walker]]. Comments of September 8, 1987 (NIC-03595-87) on an interagency intelligence memorandum on dollar costing of foreign defense activities carry the names of Leonhart and Theberge. Comments of September 24, 1987 on Philippine prospects carry Leonhart, McPherson, Theberge and Walker. Comments of October 22, 1987 (NIC-04228-87) on the concept paper for NIE 14.2-87, North Korea: prospects for the succession, carry Leonhart, McPherson, [[Courtland D. Perkins]] and Theberge; the National Intelligence Officer for East Asia, Carl W. Ford Jr., forwarded the paper to the director on October 27, 1987 and wrote that the panel "did not have any substantive disagreements" with it. Comments of December 1, 1987 (NIC-04234-87) on draft NIE 97-87, Peru under Garcia, carry Leonhart, McPherson and Theberge.[^30] A weekly report of the CIA with a reading-room date of March 3, 1986 records that "SA/NIO/CT met with former US Ambassador to Chile James D. Theberge to discuss terrorism in that country and elsewhere in Latin America."[^31]
### Swissco Management Group
The Senate report describes Theberge, during much of the period he served on the Senior Review Panel, as "employed as a consultant to SWISSCO Management Group, a subsidiary of [[Industrias Cardoen|Cardoen Industries]] of Chile, a widely recognized international arms manufacturing and trading company."[^28] The report states that "Between 1984 and 1988, Cardoen Industries was of significant intelligence interest to CIA, which believed Cardoen was the primary supplier of cluster bombs to the Iraqi government."[^28] The report also states that "The Committee found no evidence that Mr. Theberge wittingly or unwittingly provided intelligence information to Carlos Cardoen or any other unauthorized person."[^28]
On May 26, 1993 a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned a twenty-one count indictment against eight defendants, among them [[Carlos Cardoen]], Industrias Cardoen and Swissco Management Group, Inc., on charges arising from exports of zirconium and fuze components to Chile.[^32]
A Florida Division of Corporations record for document number H19133 shows a Florida profit corporation filed August 31, 1984 as Swissco Investing, Inc.; a name change amendment of October 3, 1984 to Swissco Management Group, Inc.; and a name change amendment of October 5, 1990 to Westfield Holdings, Inc., followed by administrative dissolution for failure to file an annual report on October 11, 1991. The record gives a [[Miami Lakes]] principal address (changed July 1, 1985), a Brickell Avenue registered agent, the attorney Abbey Kaplan (address changed August 18, 1986), annual reports for 1988, 1989 and 1990, and two officers, [[Augusto Giangrandi]] as president and [[Jorge Ondarza]] as vice-secretary.[^33] Giangrandi is also listed in the Florida registry as an officer, with Anthony Mijares Jr., of Swissco Leasing, Inc. and Swissco Yachting, Inc., at the same Miami Lakes address.[^34] The registry records found do not name Cardoen or Theberge, and do not establish whether the corporation under document number H19133 is the Swissco Management Group of the Senate report and the 1993 indictment, which was returned after the 1990 name change.
### Death
The New York Times obituary of January 24, 1988 states that he "died of a heart attack Wednesday on a visit to Jamaica," that he was 57 and that he had lived in Washington; its headline gives his age as 56.[^5] The Hoover finding aid gives January 20, 1988 as the date of his death, at [[Montego Bay]], [[Jamaica]], and cites [[Contemporary Authors]] as its source.[^6] The Georgetown finding aid states: "He died of a heart attack on a visit to Jamaica in January, 1988. He was 57 years old."[^4] The Senate report states that he "served on the Senior Review Panel until his death in January 1988."[^28] The Hoover Institution acquired his papers in 1988.[^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, "James Daniel Theberge (1930-1988)," Department History, People, https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/theberge-james-daniel. Appointment, credential and termination dates for Nicaragua and Chile.
[^2]: "Nomination of James Daniel Theberge To Be United States Ambassador to Chile," Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, November 6, 1981, https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/11681a. Born December 28, 1930 in Oceanside, N.Y.; Marine Corps, Buenos Aires, Inter-American Development Bank, CSIS, Ambassador to Nicaragua 1975-77, Institute for Conflict and Policy Studies 1977-79, Planning Research Corp. 1979-81, special adviser at the Department of Defense since 1981.
[^3]: "Nomination of James D. Theberge To Be Ambassador to Nicaragua," White House press release, May 30, 1975, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, https://fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0248/whpr19750530-004.pdf. Gives birth in New York, New York, and the Oxford and Harvard degrees and Heidelberg study. Sole source for the Oxford instructorship and Heidelberg years, which the 1981 announcement does not repeat.
[^4]: Georgetown University Library, "James Theberge Papers," Archival Resources, finding aid for collection 10585, https://findingaids.library.georgetown.edu/repositories/15/resources/10585. Born "in Oceanside, Long Island, New York circa 1931"; died "of a heart attack on a visit to Jamaica in January, 1988. He was 57 years old."
[^5]: "James D. Theberge; Former Ambassador, 56," *The New York Times*, January 24, 1988, section 1, page 34, https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/24/obituaries/james-d-theberge-former-ambassador-56.html.
[^6]: Hoover Institution Library and Archives, "James Daniel Theberge papers, 1963-1988," Online Archive of California, collection 88016, biographical chronology, https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf2k400284. Chronology cites Contemporary Authors Online (Gale, 2000) and records the death at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on January 20, 1988.
[^7]: James D. Theberge, *The Soviet Presence in Latin America* (New York: Crane, Russak, for the National Strategy Information Center, 1974), preface by Frank R. Barnett, June 1974, pp. vii-viii, https://archive.org/details/sovietpresencein0000theb_k0j9.
[^8]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Caribbean and Latin American propaganda perspectives," January 1972, CREST document CIA-RDP79-01194A000200220001-0, reading room copy at https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp79-01194a000200220001-0. Names Theberge as an expert of the Georgetown University Center for Strategic and International Studies on Cuban and Soviet interest in Chile.
[^9]: Memorandum from the President's Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft) to Vice President Rockefeller, undated, "Call on Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza, Tuesday, April 20, 1976," *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1976*, vol. E-11, part 1, doc. 263, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve11p1/d263.
[^10]: Telegram 3798, Embassy in Nicaragua to Department of State, Managua, August 12, 1976, *FRUS 1969-1976*, vol. E-11, part 1, doc. 266, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve11p1/d266. Summary by Theberge.
[^11]: Telegram 4395, Embassy in Nicaragua to Department of State, Managua, September 20, 1976, *FRUS 1969-1976*, vol. E-11, part 1, doc. 268, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve11p1/d268.
[^12]: Telegram 377, Theberge to Secretary Vance, Managua, January 25, 1977, *FRUS 1977-1980*, vol. XV, doc. 59, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v15/d59.
[^13]: Telegram 1032, Embassy in Nicaragua to Department of State, Managua, March 3, 1977, *FRUS 1977-1980*, vol. XV, doc. 60, https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1977-80v15/d60. The footnote to the same document records a February 18, 1977 meeting between Somoza and Theberge on the bishops' pastoral letter (telegram 836).
[^14]: Letter from James D. Theberge to Edwin Meese III, April 15, 1981, CREST document CIA-RDP88B00443R001003880107-7, reading room, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp88b00443r001003880107-7. Quotations as they appear in the released copy.
[^15]: Intelligence Community Staff, weekly report, November 30 to December 4, 1981, CREST document CIA-RDP83M00914R002800140120-8, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp83m00914r002800140120-8.
[^16]: U.S. Vice Presidential records, Donald P. Gregg Meetings with Americans files, container list entries 63002 (January 26, 1982), 19773-068 (January 12, 1983) and 19773-108 (October 4, 1983), National Archives identifiers 509331175, 509327433 and 509327518; Bush Presidential Library, FOIA 2004-0732-F, https://www.bush41library.gov/digital-research-room/finding-aid/records-chile-bush-vice-presidential-records.
[^17]: *Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts*, Washington, 1976 edition, Managua entry, https://archive.org/details/keyofficersoffo1976wash_0; 1983 edition, Santiago entry, https://archive.org/details/keyofficersoffo1983wash_1. Managua 1976 lists "AMB: James D. Theberge." Santiago 1983 lists "AMB: James D. Theberge," with DCM Wade H. Matthews and POL Michael L. Durkee.
[^18]: Hoover Institution, "James Daniel Theberge papers," digital collections search for "Theberge," https://digitalcollections.hoover.org/search/Theberge. Fifteen items, records 88016.1 to 88016.14 as listed. Item pages state that the items were digitized and declassified by the US government and may be viewed only on site (Hoover ID 88016.6, https://digitalcollections.hoover.org/objects/66156).
[^19]: Lydia Chavez, "Congressman Reports Tough Talk From Pinochet," *The New York Times*, December 16, 1984, section 1, page 20, https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/16/world/congressman-reports-tough-talk-from-pinochet.html. States that the state of siege was "imposed on Nov. 6" and that the meeting with Pinochet was held "on Thursday."
[^20]: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Textual Collections topic guide, Chile, entries "Counsel to the President, Office of the: Appointee Files, CFOA 0886 Harry George Barnes, Jr., Ambassador-Republic of Chile" and "CFOA 0948 James Theberge, Ambassador-Chile," https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/archives/textual/topics/chile.pdf.
[^21]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Talking points for 28 January 1985 meeting with James D. Theberge, United States Ambassador to Chile," memorandum dated January 23, 1985, CREST document CIA-RDP87M00539R000801050046-5, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp87m00539r000801050046-5.
[^22]: George Gedda, Associated Press, "Pinochet fears CIA coup, officials say," January 1985 (reading-room metadata date January 9, 1985), CREST document CIA-RDP90-00965R000302230009-6, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00965r000302230009-6. Attributed to unnamed officials. The state of siege date is given as "Nov. 4" in this dispatch and as "6 November 1984" in the talking points at footnote 17.
[^23]: Lydia Chavez, "New Ambassador Gives Impetus to U.S. Push for Change in Chile," *The New York Times*, January 27, 1986, section A, page 6, https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/27/world/new-ambassador-gives-impetus-to-us-push-for-change-in-chile.html.
[^24]: Central Intelligence Agency, "American Ambassadors" visitor log, November 1984 (1045), CREST document CIA-RDP93-00415R000100040012-4, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp93-00415r000100040012-4.
[^25]: Central Intelligence Agency, "DCI 14 August 1985 Meeting with Mr. James D. Theberge, Former U.S. Ambassador to Chile," routing and record sheet, August 12, 1985, CREST document CIA-RDP87M00539R000801050023-0, https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp87m00539r000801050023-0.
[^26]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Soviet Game Plan," memorandum from the Director of Central Intelligence to the Vice Chairman, National Intelligence Council, August 19, 1985, signed William J. Casey, CREST document CIA-RDP97M00248R000500220030-9, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp97m00248r000500220030-9. The same file contains a second memorandum of the same date from the director to other officials on analyses titled "Soviet Gameplan and Implications" and "Talking Points on the Soviet Game Plan for SDI and the Summit."
[^27]: Central Intelligence Agency, visitor record for "Theberge, James," September 23, 1985, 1645 hours, CREST document CIA-RDP93-00415R000200230005-0, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp93-00415r000200230005-0.
[^28]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Intelligence, *Nomination of Robert M. Gates to be Director of Central Intelligence*, S. Exec. Rept. 102-19, 102d Cong., 1st sess., October 24, 1991, section 5, "Allegations Relating to CIA's Relationship with Carlos Cardoen," PDF pages 186 to 188, https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/sites-default-filesations-10219.pdf. Gates's written answers and the committee's findings are in the same section. The court in the 1995 Cardoen opinion cites this report as "102-09."
[^29]: "Appointment of Three Members of the United States International Narcotics Control Commission," Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, August 13, 1986, https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/081386g.
[^30]: CREST Senior Review Panel memoranda, Senior Review Panel to the Director and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence: CIA-RDP93T00837R000400110005-3 (NIC-03024-87, September 1, 1987, on NIE 11-15-88, signers Leonhart, B. McPherson, James D. Theberge and Richard L. Walker); CIA-RDP93T01222R000100010013-9 (NIC-03595-87, September 8, 1987, signers William Leonhart and James D. Theberge); CIA-RDP92T00306R000300090020-0 (Philippine prospects, routing slip stamped September 24, 1987, signers Leonhart, McPherson, Theberge and Walker); CIA-RDP93T00451R000300080006-5 and, as an attachment to Carl W. Ford Jr.'s memorandum of October 27, 1987, CIA-RDP93T00451R000300050001-3 (NIC-04228-87, October 22, 1987, on NIE 14.2-87, signers William Leonhart, B. McPherson, Courtland D. Perkins and James D. Theberge; the Ford memorandum states that the panel "did not have any substantive disagreements with the Concept Paper and Terms of Reference"); CIA-RDP93T00451R000400110014-1 (NIC-04234-87, December 1, 1987, on draft NIE 97-87 Peru, signers Leonhart, B. McPherson and Theberge). Reading room copies at https://archive.org/details/ with the same identifiers prefixed by cia-readingroom-document-. Signer names are read from the released copies; McPherson appears only as an initial and surname.
[^31]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Weekly Report Highlights," reading-room date March 3, 1986, CREST document CIA-RDP88G01116R001302450005-2, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp88g01116r001302450005-2. The report text refers to a meeting of February 27 and a bill with a signing deadline of March 4, 1986.
[^32]: *United States v. Cardoen*, 898 F. Supp. 1563 (S.D. Fla. 1995), No. 93-241-CR, decided August 29, 1995, https://static.case.law/f-supp/898/cases/1563-01.json. Indictment of May 26, 1993 and list of defendants.
[^33]: Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, Detail by Entity Name for document number H19133 (Westfield Holdings, Inc.), with the Events and Name History page, reached from the entity name search "Swissco Management Group," https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ByName. Retrieved October 8, 2026. Name history: name change amendment October 5, 1990, old name Swissco Management Group, Inc.; name change amendment October 3, 1984, old name Swissco Investing, Inc. FEI/EIN 59-2453121; effective date August 29, 1984.
[^34]: Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, officer search "Giangrandi Augusto" (entities Westfield Holdings, Inc. H19133, Swissco Leasing, Inc. M24568, Swissco Yachting, Inc. M35237) and the detail records of the two Swissco entities, https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ByOfficerOrRegisteredAgent. Retrieved October 8, 2026. Principal address 15485 Eagle Nest Lane, Suite 210, Miami Lakes; annual reports filed 1988.