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27
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Allen Dulles.md
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@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ relations:
start: 1949
role: "vice-chairman"
fn: 2
- type: member_of
with: "[[Warren Commission]]"
start: 1963-11-29
end: 1964-09-24
fn: 11
---
Allen Welsh Dulles (April 7, 1893 - January 29, 1969) served as [[Director of Central Intelligence]] from February 26, 1953, to November 29, 1961 - the longest tenure of any DCI, the first civilian DCI, and the only brother of a sitting Secretary of State to hold the position. Dulles built the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] into the instrument of Cold War covert action that executed [[Operation AJAX]] in [[Iran]] (1953), [[Operation PBSUCCESS]] in [[Guatemala]] (1954), and the [[Bay of Pigs]] invasion of [[Cuba]] (1961). The Bay of Pigs disaster cost him his position - President [[John F. Kennedy]] forced his resignation, along with [[Richard Bissell]] and [[Charles P. Cabell|C.P. Cabell]] - and his subsequent appointment by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] to the [[Warren Commission]] investigating Kennedy's assassination placed him in the remarkable position of overseeing the investigation of the event that had ended both his patron's life and his own career.[^1]
@ -77,17 +82,19 @@ The Bay of Pigs invasion of April 17-19, 1961 was the catastrophic failure that
Kennedy publicly accepted responsibility but was privately furious. He reportedly told aide [[Ted Sorensen]] that he wanted to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds" - a remark almost certainly apocryphal in its precise wording but consistent with his documented anger. The Taylor Commission's findings and the classified Kirkpatrick IG report both pointed to fundamental CIA failures in planning, execution, and judgment.
Dulles submitted his resignation in September 1961; it was formally accepted November 29, 1961. He was replaced by [[John McCone]]. Bissell and Cabell were also forced out. CIA veterans viewed their dismissal as Kennedy scapegoating the agency for a failure the [[White House]] had co-created by canceling the air strikes.[^1]
Dulles submitted his resignation in September 1961; it was formally accepted November 29, 1961. He was replaced by [[John McCone]]. The CIA's own history states that a "humiliated President Kennedy did not wait for either report before cleaning house at CIA" and that he accepted resignations from Dulles and from Deputy Director for Plans Richard Bissell, who stayed at their posts until their successors were selected a few months later.[^10] Bissell and Cabell were also forced out. CIA veterans viewed their dismissal as Kennedy scapegoating the agency for a failure the [[White House]] had co-created by canceling the air strikes.[^1]
### The Warren Commission
On November 29, 1963 - exactly two years after Dulles's forced resignation - President Lyndon Johnson appointed the Warren Commission to investigate Kennedy's assassination. Among the seven commissioners Johnson named was Allen Dulles despite Kennedy’s firing of Dulles.
On November 29, 1963 - exactly two years after Dulles's forced resignation - President Lyndon Johnson appointed the Warren Commission to investigate Kennedy's assassination. Among the seven commissioners Johnson named was Allen Dulles despite Kennedy’s firing of Dulles.[^11]
The investigation was examining whether CIA-connected parties (specifically the anti-Castro exile networks and organized crime figures that Dulles had directly overseen) had any role in the assassination. He was now in a position to shape what evidence the Commission sought, what witnesses it called, and what conclusions it reached regarding the CIA programs he had run.
Dulles was reportedly among the most active commissioners in shaping the investigation's scope. He briefed commissioners on CIA history and procedures. He did not disclose the [[ZR/RIFLE]] assassination plotting program - which [[Richard Helms]] as DDP was simultaneously concealing from the Commission at the agency level. The CIA's failure to disclose the assassination plots to the Warren Commission, documented by the Church Committee in 1975, was the institutional decision; Dulles's personal role in that decision - as both a commissioner and the former DCI who had authorized the programs - was the structural conflict of interest the Commission's composition created.
Dulles was reportedly among the most active commissioners in shaping the investigation's scope. He briefed commissioners on CIA history and procedures. Book V of the Church Committee's final report states that, with the exception of Dulles, it is unlikely anyone on the Warren Commission knew of the CIA's assassination efforts, and that Dulles knew of the plots with underworld figures that had taken place during his tenure as Director of Central Intelligence.[^12] The Church Committee's 1975 interim report states that Dulles "did not inform the other members about the plots that had occurred during his term as DCI,"[^13] and also states that "it is not entirely certain that Dulles was ever made aware of the true nature of the underworld operation."[^14] The [[ZR/RIFLE]] assassination plotting program was, in the same period, not disclosed to the Commission at the agency level by [[Richard Helms]] as Deputy Director for Plans. Helms testified that Dulles "was sitting right there" in the Commission's deliberations and "knew about this," and that he did not know what Dulles had said to the Commission about the plots.[^15] The CIA's failure to disclose the assassination plots to the Warren Commission was documented by the Church Committee in 1975; Dulles's role as both a commissioner and the former DCI who had authorized the programs is the structural conflict of interest the Commission's composition created.
The [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] (1979) found that the Warren Commission had not been fully informed of CIA activities relevant to the investigation. The precise mechanism by which this occurred - institutional CIA decision, active concealment by Dulles, or some combination - was not definitively established.[^7]
Angleton testified that Dulles consulted him before agreeing to President Johnson's request that he serve, that the two were in frequent contact, and that they informally discussed the progress of the investigation and what further work the CIA could do.[^16] At the January 22, 1964 executive session, the Commission took up a report that [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] had been a paid FBI informant. Dulles asked whether the purpose of such a hire could have been to penetrate the [[Fair Play for Cuba Committee]]. He said that practically any American could obtain a passport good for anywhere, and that the Passport Bureau had no record of Oswald's defection. Near the end of the meeting, Dulles said: "I think this record ought to be destroyed."[^17] FBI Director [[J. Edgar Hoover]]'s files held an index card on Dulles that cross-referenced a November 29, 1963 memorandum.[^18]
The [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] (1979) found that the Warren Commission's failure to investigate adequately the possibility of a conspiracy was "attributable in part to the failure of the Commission to receive all the relevant information that was in the possession of other agencies and departments of the Government," and that the CIA "was deficient in its collection and sharing of information both prior to and subsequent to the assassination."[^19] The report does not name Dulles in those findings. It states that the committee did not ignore the possibility that certain CIA officials who knew that close scrutiny of United States-Cuban relations could have exposed the CIA-Mafia plots might have tried to keep the CIA's or the Warren Commission's inquiry from the question of Cuban complicity, and that it determined that only Deputy Director Helms was in a position to have both the knowledge and the power to accomplish such a cover-up and was satisfied, on the basis of its investigation, that it was "highly unlikely he in fact did so."[^20] It found that the details of the AMLASH plot and the CIA-Mafia plots should have been provided to the Warren Commission.[^21]
### Death and Legacy
@ -104,3 +111,15 @@ Dulles spent his post-CIA years writing, lecturing, and defending the covert act
[^7]: Kornbluh, Peter, ed. *Bay of Pigs Declassified: The Secret CIA Report on the Invasion of Cuba.* New Press, 1998. Church Committee. "Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders." Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975. Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991. Chapter 4.
[^8]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapter 4; "Project MKULTRA, the CIA's Program of Research in Behavioral Modification," Joint Senate Hearing, August 3, 1977.
[^9]: Gerard Colby and Charlotte Dennett, *Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon*. HarperCollins, 1995, Ch. 18; John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapter 9.
[^10]: Warner, Michael, "The CIA's Internal Probe of the Bay of Pigs Affair: Lessons Unlearned," *Studies in Intelligence*, Winter 1998-1999. https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Internal-Probe-Bay-Pigs.pdf
[^11]: Executive Order 11130, "Appointing a Commission To Report Upon the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy," November 29, 1963. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-11130-appointing-commission-report-upon-the-assassination-president-john-f
[^12]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies*, Book V, Final Report, April 23, 1976, pp. 67-68. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^13]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975, p. 269, note 1. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^14]: *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders*, p. 267. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^15]: Book V, p. 70 (Helms testimony of July 18, 1975). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^16]: Book V, p. 69 (note 134, Angleton testimony of February 6, 1976, pp. 31-34). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^17]: Warren Commission, executive session transcript, January 22, 1964, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. https://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcexec/pdf/WcEx0122.pdf
[^18]: U.S. Assassination Records Review Board, memorandum by Ronald G. Haron, "Assassination Records Among the Files of J. Edgar Hoover (FBI-36)," January 8, 1998. https://documents3.theblackvault.com/documents/jfkfiles/NARA-Oct2017/ARRB/RHARON/HARON/FBIMEM.002.pdf
[^19]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), summary Findings I.D.4 and I.D.5(b) (p. 4). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^20]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, p. 128. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^21]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 112-116. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit

12
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Dale Graff.md
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@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ updated: 2026-09-22
Graff's interest in [[Psi|psi]] phenomena stemmed from a personal experience in 1968, where he had a profound [[Out-of-Body Experience|out-of-body experience]] while caught in a rip current. This led him to research anomalous mental phenomena, and he later sought to integrate psychic abilities into military applications.[^1]
He authored the 1977 report "[[Paraphysics R&D - Warsaw Pact]]," which highlighted Soviet research in electromagnetic fields, quantum physics, and [[Psychokinesis]]. This report, along with his advocacy, contributed to the DoD's decision to officially fund a psychic research program.[^1]
Annie Jacobsen wrote that he authored the report "[[Paraphysics R&D - Warsaw Pact]]" (DST-1810S-202-78, published March 30, 1978), which highlighted Soviet research in electromagnetic fields, quantum physics, and [[Psychokinesis]]. This report, along with his advocacy, contributed to the DoD's decision to officially fund a psychic research program.[^1]
Graff was instrumental in the establishment and management of the Grill Flame program. He collaborated with [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] of [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] and oversaw the remote viewing unit at [[Fort Meade]]. He was involved in numerous operational taskings, including the successful remote viewing of a new Chinese nuclear device and the location of a lost Soviet bomber in Zaire.[^1]
@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ A cable from the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
### 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]: Defense Intelligence Agency, minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee, November 28, 1978 (enclosed in Progress Report #1), July 12, 1979 (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130008-9), November 27, 1979 (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130015-1), and January 10, 1980 (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000100009-1). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^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]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 27 November 1979," S-1168/DT-1, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130015-1, and "Minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 10 January 1980," S-1008/DT-1, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000100009-1, both signed Jack Vorona, chairman. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^5]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Minutes of the Meeting of the DoD Committee on Remote Viewing Activities," August 24, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140009-7; Vorona to the Army assistant chief of staff for intelligence, S-1862/DT-1, September 6, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410015-9; Commander, Naval Intelligence Command, to DIA, September 14, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410025-8; DIA to the 902d Military Intelligence Group, September 22, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140015-0; James L. Brown, Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, USAF, to Vorona, September 29, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410026-7; Army ACSI (DAMI-ISH) to Vorona, October 4, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410024-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^6]: Foreign Technology Division (XRQ) to CIA/OTS, "Request for OTS Report," cable of April 13, 1976, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200020005-5 and R000200020001-9; "Sensory Technology Assessment," November 14, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500120001-5; DoD Grill Flame Committee minutes of May 3, July 12 and September 25, 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130022-3, R002000130020-5, R002000130009-8; "Paraphysics R&D - Warsaw Pact," May 15, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160008-6; minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee, November 28, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140013-2; "QRT Tasking," December 4, 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001800220001-9. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^2]: Defense Intelligence Agency, minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee, November 28, 1978 (enclosed in Progress Report #1), July 12, 1979 (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130008-9), November 27, 1979 (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130015-1), and January 10, 1980 (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000100009-1).
[^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.
[^4]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 27 November 1979," S-1168/DT-1, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130015-1, and "Minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 10 January 1980," S-1008/DT-1, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000100009-1, both signed Jack Vorona, chairman.
[^5]: Defense Intelligence Agency, "Minutes of the Meeting of the DoD Committee on Remote Viewing Activities," August 24, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140009-7; Vorona to the Army assistant chief of staff for intelligence, S-1862/DT-1, September 6, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410015-9; Commander, Naval Intelligence Command, to DIA, September 14, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410025-8; DIA to the 902d Military Intelligence Group, September 22, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140015-0; James L. Brown, Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, USAF, to Vorona, September 29, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410026-7; Army ACSI (DAMI-ISH) to Vorona, October 4, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200410024-9.
[^6]: Foreign Technology Division (XRQ) to CIA/OTS, "Request for OTS Report," cable of April 13, 1976, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200020005-5 and R000200020001-9; "Sensory Technology Assessment," November 14, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500120001-5; DoD Grill Flame Committee minutes of May 3, July 12 and September 25, 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130022-3, R002000130020-5, R002000130009-8; "Paraphysics R&D - Warsaw Pact," May 15, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160008-6; minutes of the DoD Grill Flame Committee, November 28, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000140013-2; "QRT Tasking," December 4, 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001800220001-9.

3
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Danilo Blandon.md
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@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ Webb wrote that in October 1995 Assistant U.S. Attorney [[David Hall]] warned hi
Webb listed Blandón's network as Chepita, Lister, Corrales, Guerra and the Colombian supplier [[Aparicio Moreno]], whom Webb described as having reported ties to the FDN and the CIA and whom Blandón said Meneses introduced to him in 1985; the Inspector General records Blandón's statement that he and his associates thought a one-ton air delivery of Moreno's cocaine routed through Oklahoma "might be connected to the CIA because someone had placed a small FDN sticker somewhere on the airplane," which he called "just a rumor."[^29][^3] Webb added that Blandón had a partnership with Jairo Meneses in the 764 kilograms seized in Nicaragua in 1991 and owned hotels and casinos there with the Meneses family; the Inspector General's report mentions neither the hotels nor the 425-kilogram figure.[^29][^24]
Webb wrote that Blandón's electronics, procured by Lister, included walkie-talkies, pagers, police scanners, voice scramblers and anti-eavesdropping equipment; that during a 1987 raid on Ross associates Los Angeles County Sheriff's sergeant [[Robert Sobel]] complained that the dealers had "better equipment than we have"; that Blandón proposed to Ross that Ross set up a cocaine buy as an ambush, offering "you keep the dope"; and that Ross also bought police-raid warnings from him.[^9] Webb wrote that Meneses's later aide [[Enrique Miranda]] said Meneses's drug planes flew out of [[Ilopango Airbase]] in El Salvador, the hub [[Oliver North]] used for his Contra air force, where, according to Iran-Contra prosecutor [[Lawrence Walsh]], North's operatives worked "practically unfettered"; the Inspector General found Miranda's account second-hand and uncorroborated.[^26][^30]
Webb wrote that Blandón's electronics, procured by Lister, included walkie-talkies, pagers, police scanners, voice scramblers and anti-eavesdropping equipment; that during a 1987 raid on Ross associates Los Angeles County Sheriff's sergeant [[Robert Sobel]] complained that the dealers had "better equipment than we have"; that Blandón proposed to Ross that Ross set up a cocaine buy as an ambush, offering "you keep the dope"; and that Ross also bought police-raid warnings from him.[^9] Webb wrote that Meneses's later aide [[Enrique Miranda]] said Meneses's drug planes flew out of [[Ilopango Airbase]] in El Salvador, the hub [[Oliver North]] used for his Contra air force, where, according to Iran-Contra prosecutor [[Lawrence Walsh]], North's operatives worked "practically unfettered"; the Inspector General found Miranda's account second-hand and uncorroborated.[^26][^30][^31]
### Footnotes
@ -187,3 +187,4 @@ Webb wrote that Blandón's electronics, procured by Lister, included walkie-talk
[^28]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 25: "Things are moving all around us."
[^29]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters.
[^30]: U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy* (December 1997), Chapter VII (Enrique Miranda-Jaime), https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/archive/special/9712/ch07.htm
[^31]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Part V, The Flow of Funds: The Prosecution of the Private Operatives, Overview. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/part_v.htm

26
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Danny Casolaro.md
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@ -59,15 +59,17 @@ The family disputed the suicide ruling, citing Casolaro's known fear of blood an
Casolaro had packed his notes, handwritten outlines, a 12-page Riconosciuto memo detailing PROMIS allegations, newspaper clippings, and names of former CIA officers and arms dealers into a black leather tote bag and a dark brown briefcase when he left for Martinsburg. The briefcase, which his associates said contained documents central to his investigation, was not recovered.[^1]
In 2024, Martinsburg police released records under a Freedom of Information Act request by researchers Zachary Treitz and Christian Hansen. These records indicated that another person had visited Casolaro's room on the night of August 9, and that an eyewitness had provided police with a written statement and sketch of this visitor - a description matching [[Joseph Cuellar]], a man who had made contact with Casolaro weeks earlier at a local bar. Cuellar had described himself to Casolaro as a Special Forces operative and had offered to arrange a meeting between Casolaro and [[Peter Videnieks]], the DOJ contracting official central to the PROMIS case, through Videnieks' wife Barbara, who served as executive assistant to Senator [[Robert Byrd]].[^1]
In 2024, Martinsburg police released records under a Freedom of Information Act request by researchers Zachary Treitz and Christian Hansen. These records indicated that another person had visited Casolaro's room on the night of August 9, and that an eyewitness had provided police with a written statement and sketch of this visitor - a description matching [[Joseph Cuellar]], a man who had made contact with Casolaro weeks earlier at a local bar. Cuellar talked of his exploits in the Army special forces, and Casolaro asked him repeatedly to arrange a meeting with [[Peter Videnieks]], the DOJ contracting official central to the PROMIS case, to question him about Riconosciuto's March 1991 affidavit. The Justice Department's 1994 review of the Bua report recorded that Videnieks' wife works for Senator [[Robert Byrd]], and that Cuellar said a former fiancée had worked with her in the Senator's Capitol Hill office. Cuellar called Videnieks, who refused.[^1][^5]
The 1994 Justice Department review of the Bua report addressed the allegation that Videnieks was involved in the death. The review found "no evidence whatsoever" of his involvement and recorded that Videnieks said he had been at a summer cottage in New York state from August 5 to August 11, 1991. His personnel records reflect leave in that period, and a credit card receipt shows a purchase at a bookstore in Oneonta, New York, on August 9. The review found no evidence linking Cuellar to the death, and recorded that Cuellar was in Washington, D.C., on August 10, 1991.[^6]
### Congressional and Official Findings
The [[House Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]]'s September 1992 report noted that Casolaro had "encountered dangerous individuals associated with organized crime and the world of covert intelligence operations" and recommended further investigation into the circumstances of his death. The committee found no evidence that DOJ had sought to influence the local West Virginia investigation.[^2]
The Bua Report, completed in March 1993, stated that "the physical evidence in Casolaro's hotel room strongly supports the conclusion of the local authorities that the death was a suicide," found no DOJ influence on the local investigation, and stated that "there was ample reason to believe Casolaro had a motive to commit suicide," noting that he had been unemployed for months, was dependent on family for support, faced a balloon mortgage, and had been told by a prospective publisher shortly before his death that it would not advance him money on his proposed book about the "Octopus."[^5]
The Bua Report, completed in March 1993, stated that "the physical evidence in Casolaro's hotel room strongly supports the conclusion of the local authorities that the death was a suicide," found no DOJ influence on the local investigation, and stated that "there was ample reason to believe Casolaro had a motive to commit suicide," noting that he had been unemployed for months, was dependent on family for support, faced a balloon mortgage, and had been told by a prospective publisher shortly before his death that it would not advance him money on his proposed book about the "Octopus."[^7]
The Bua report listed the tests it relied on: handwriting analysis confirming that Casolaro wrote the note found in the room; fingerprint analysis finding his prints and none other except a single print on an ash tray; hair and fiber analysis; an analysis of the bloodstains by Dr. Lee of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory consistent with suicide; and an autopsy finding hemorrhage from the wrist wounds as the cause of death and no evidence that he was unconscious or debilitated when cut. It addressed criticisms that the room was not sealed, that notification of next of kin was delayed while the body was embalmed, and that Martinsburg authorities discounted suspicions about his "sources," stating that "no credible evidence suggested that any of Casolaro's 'sources' played any role in his death." The report also records that Michael Riconosciuto, in a lawsuit against Bua, alleged that one of the FBI agents assigned to the investigation had murdered Casolaro; the district court dismissed the suit as patently frivolous (*Riconosciuto v. Bua*, No. 92 C 6217, N.D. Ill.).[^6]
The Bua report listed the tests it relied on: handwriting analysis confirming that Casolaro wrote the note found in the room; fingerprint analysis finding his prints and none other except a single print on an ash tray; hair and fiber analysis; an analysis of the bloodstains by Dr. Lee of the Connecticut State Police Forensic Science Laboratory consistent with suicide; and an autopsy finding hemorrhage from the wrist wounds as the cause of death and no evidence that he was unconscious or debilitated when cut. It addressed criticisms that the room was not sealed, that notification of next of kin was delayed while the body was embalmed, and that Martinsburg authorities discounted suspicions about his "sources," stating that "no credible evidence suggested that any of Casolaro's 'sources' played any role in his death." The report also records that Michael Riconosciuto, in a lawsuit against Bua, alleged that one of the FBI agents assigned to the investigation had murdered Casolaro; the district court dismissed the suit as patently frivolous (*Riconosciuto v. Bua*, No. 92 C 6217, N.D. Ill.).[^8]
FBI task force members assigned to examine Casolaro's death privately "questioned the conclusion of suicide" and recommended further investigation; expressing doubt about the ruling reportedly "risked one's career" within the Bureau as of December 1992. FBI documents related to Casolaro remain partially withheld from public release under national security exemptions, while the Bureau simultaneously claims the files are missing - a contradiction noted by MuckRock journalists who filed FOIA requests.[^1]
@ -79,9 +81,9 @@ Casolaro's investigation intersected with the drug-trafficking networks document
### The research files
Casolaro's research files, photographed by [[Christian Hansen]] at the Missouri State Historical Society and published on the Internet Archive, include a folder labelled "Promotional Material" of corporate and weapons literature, hand-numbered "BD|AI|PM-01" onward. Its items are a brochure for the Inter-Probe modular energy transfer catalyzer (PM-01), a printed page numbered 207 on fuel air munitions (PM-02), a [[Brunswick Corporation]] defense division cover sheet and drawing for the Rifleman's Assault Weapon for urban warfare dated October 1976 (PM-03), a sales sheet of the defense division of the Chilean firm [[Industrias Cardoen]] (PM-04) and a fax of the resumes of the associates of [[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.]], whose fax counters run 141 P01 to 141 P12 (PM-05) and whose page headers carry the date June 20, 1990 and times from 16:53 to 17:01.[^7] In the order of the photographs the folder runs PM-04, PM-02, PM-03, PM-05, PM-01.[^7] The packet names [[Carter Cornick]], [[Eugene Propper]], [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.|E. Lawrence Barcella]], [[Francis J. McNeil]], [[James B. Motley]] (a vice president of [[Wackenhut Advanced Technologies Corporation]]), [[Mayer Nudell]] and a former CIA counterterrorism chief whose entry carries no name.[^7] The files also contain a folder of 1980s newspaper and magazine material on [[Frank Terpil]] and [[Edwin Wilson]], folders of Wackenhut annual reports, correspondence, profiles and newsletters, and, in a folder of Department of Defense publications, a magazine article by David Corn on Barcella and the Pan Am 103 bombing.[^8]
Casolaro's research files, photographed by [[Christian Hansen]] at the Missouri State Historical Society and published on the Internet Archive, include a folder labelled "Promotional Material" of corporate and weapons literature, hand-numbered "BD|AI|PM-01" onward. Its items are a brochure for the Inter-Probe modular energy transfer catalyzer (PM-01), a printed page numbered 207 on fuel air munitions (PM-02), a [[Brunswick Corporation]] defense division cover sheet and drawing for the Rifleman's Assault Weapon for urban warfare dated October 1976 (PM-03), a sales sheet of the defense division of the Chilean firm [[Industrias Cardoen]] (PM-04) and a fax of the resumes of the associates of [[Counter Terrorism Consultants, Inc.]], whose fax counters run 141 P01 to 141 P12 (PM-05) and whose page headers carry the date June 20, 1990 and times from 16:53 to 17:01.[^9] In the order of the photographs the folder runs PM-04, PM-02, PM-03, PM-05, PM-01.[^9] The packet names [[Carter Cornick]], [[Eugene Propper]], [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.|E. Lawrence Barcella]], [[Francis J. McNeil]], [[James B. Motley]] (a vice president of [[Wackenhut Advanced Technologies Corporation]]), [[Mayer Nudell]] and a former CIA counterterrorism chief whose entry carries no name.[^9] The files also contain a folder of 1980s newspaper and magazine material on [[Frank Terpil]] and [[Edwin Wilson]], folders of Wackenhut annual reports, correspondence, profiles and newsletters, and, in a folder of Department of Defense publications, a magazine article by David Corn on Barcella and the Pan Am 103 bombing.[^10]
The INSLAW folder of the research files includes a *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* report of February 19, 1991 that names Industrias Cardoen and its owner [[Carlos Cardoen]]. It states that [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], in an affidavit filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, said that Cardoen told him in January 1989 that Cardoen had brokered a deal between Earl Brian and an Iraqi military intelligence representative for the use of PROMIS, and that the sale was consummated in Santiago, Chile.[^9] Brian called the allegations "nonsense," according to the report.[^9] The report of Special Counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] dates the affidavit February 17, 1991.[^10]
The INSLAW folder of the research files includes a *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* report of February 19, 1991 that names Industrias Cardoen and its owner [[Carlos Cardoen]]. It states that [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], in an affidavit filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, said that Cardoen told him in January 1989 that Cardoen had brokered a deal between Earl Brian and an Iraqi military intelligence representative for the use of PROMIS, and that the sale was consummated in Santiago, Chile.[^11] Brian called the allegations "nonsense," according to the report.[^11] The report of Special Counsel [[Nicholas J. Bua]] dates the affidavit February 17, 1991.[^12]
### Bibliography
@ -93,9 +95,11 @@ The INSLAW folder of the research files includes a *St. Louis Post-Dispatch* rep
[^2]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* House Report 102-857, 102nd Congress, 2nd Session, September 10, 1992.
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 6: "They were doing their patriotic duty."
[^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Report of the United States Department of Justice on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report on the Allegations of INSLAW, Inc.*, September 27, 1994, p. 9 (Summary item 4) and pp. 107-168 (Section V), at pp. 137 (August 7, 1991 call, August 17, 1991 letter, later interview), 146 (September 1990 agent meeting; "part-time author"), 148 to 149 (December 1990 New York meetings) and 154 (his account of Casolaro's state of mind). https://archive.org/details/InslawPROMISBuaReport.
[^5]: 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, pp. 246-250 ("B. The Death of Joseph Daniel Casolaro").
[^6]: 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, pp. 246-250 and p. 69. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^7]: Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," Internet Archive items casolaro-notebooks (PromotionalMaterial.pdf) and PromotionalMaterial, https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.
[^8]: Danny Casolaro papers, folders "CIA Frank Terpil Renegades," "Wackenhut - Newsletters" and "DOD PUBLICATIONS," https://archive.org/details/ddosecrets_casolaro_files (the Corn item is headed "SPECIAL EDITION - TERRORISM / Did It Blow Up Flight 103?").
[^9]: *St. Louis Post-Dispatch*, February 19, 1991, "Stolen Software Scattered: Affidavits Allege Sales To Iraqis And Israelis," clipping in the INSLAW folder, https://archive.org/download/casolaro-notebooks/InslawIi_djvu.txt.
[^10]: Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General regarding the allegations of INSLAW, Inc. (March 1993), pp. 73-74.
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, pp. 161-162. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, pp. 159-160, 162. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^7]: 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, pp. 246-250 ("B. The Death of Joseph Daniel Casolaro").
[^8]: 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, pp. 246-250 and p. 69. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^9]: Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Promotional Material," Internet Archive items casolaro-notebooks (PromotionalMaterial.pdf) and PromotionalMaterial, https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.
[^10]: Danny Casolaro papers, folders "CIA Frank Terpil Renegades," "Wackenhut - Newsletters" and "DOD PUBLICATIONS," https://archive.org/details/ddosecrets_casolaro_files (the Corn item is headed "SPECIAL EDITION - TERRORISM / Did It Blow Up Flight 103?").
[^11]: *St. Louis Post-Dispatch*, February 19, 1991, "Stolen Software Scattered: Affidavits Allege Sales To Iraqis And Israelis," clipping in the INSLAW folder, https://archive.org/download/casolaro-notebooks/InslawIi_djvu.txt.
[^12]: Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General regarding the allegations of INSLAW, Inc. (March 1993), pp. 73-74.

14
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Desmond FitzGerald.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-10-09
title: Desmond FitzGerald
aliases:
- Des FitzGerald
@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ tags:
- ColdWar
- 1960s
category: "Intelligence & Government"
summary: "Desmond FitzGerald was the CIA's Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division from 1963 who personally managed the AM/LASH operation targeting Fidel Castro, meeting with Cuban official Rolando Cubela on the day of President Kennedy's assassination to provide him a poison pen, and died of a heart attack while playing tennis on July 23, 1967."
summary: "CIA Western Hemisphere Division chief from 1963 who handled the AM/LASH contact Rolando Cubela, met him in Paris on the day of the Kennedy assassination, and died of a heart attack on July 23, 1967."
born: 1910-04-16
died: 1967-07-23
location: "Washington, D.C."
@ -24,17 +24,17 @@ Desmond FitzGerald (April 16, 1910 - July 23, 1967) was a senior [[Central Intel
FitzGerald came from a Boston Brahmin background, educated at Harvard College and [[Harvard Law School]]. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and joined the CIA in 1950. His early career included work in Asia, including involvement in the [[Philippines]] operations under [[Edward Lansdale]]. He rose rapidly through the clandestine service, becoming Chief of the Far East Division before his assignment as Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division in 1963.
His assignment to the Western Hemisphere Division came after [[William Harvey]]'s removal to [[Rome]] following the Cuban Missile Crisis. FitzGerald inherited responsibility for the CIA's anti-Castro operations at a moment when [[Operation Mongoose]] had been formally suspended but covert pressure on Cuba continued under different organizational structures.[^1]
FitzGerald replaced [[William Harvey]] as chief of [[Task Force W]] in January 1963, according to the Inspector General's report of 1967 as quoted by the Senate interim report. The Senate report states that it is unclear whether Harvey or FitzGerald conceived the plan to present Castro with a contaminated diving suit.[^2] Harvey's move to the [[Rome]] station followed; a CIA appointment memorandum of June 1963 made him chief of station effective on or about June 30, 1963.[^3] FitzGerald inherited responsibility for the CIA's anti-Castro operations at a moment when [[Operation Mongoose]] had been formally suspended but covert pressure on Cuba continued under different organizational structures.[^1]
### AM/LASH and Rolando Cubela
The AM/LASH operation involved [[Rolando Cubela]], a senior figure in the Cuban revolutionary government who served as a military officer and had access to Castro's inner circle. Cubela had made contact with CIA officers indicating his willingness to work against Castro. Whether Cubela was a genuine defector, a double agent working for [[Cuban intelligence|Cuban G2]], or something more complex was never resolved.
The AM/LASH operation involved Rolando Cubela, a senior figure in the Cuban revolutionary government who served as a military officer and had access to Castro's inner circle. Cubela had made contact with CIA officers indicating his willingness to work against Castro. Whether Cubela was a genuine defector, a double agent working for [[Cuban intelligence|Cuban G2]], or something more complex was never resolved.
FitzGerald personally met with Cubela in Paris on September 7, 1963, taking the unusual step of identifying himself (falsely) as a personal representative of [[Robert Kennedy]] - thereby invoking the attorney general's name without authorization as a means of establishing the seriousness of American intent. This impersonation was later considered a serious breach of operational security and proper authority.
On November 22, 1963 - the day Kennedy was assassinated in [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] - FitzGerald was in Paris meeting again with Cubela, providing him with a concealed hypodermic needle disguised as a ballpoint pen, developed by the CIA's [[Technical Services Division]], loaded with a toxin intended for administration to Castro. The irony of the simultaneous events - an American officer providing Castro assassination equipment at the exact moment Kennedy was being shot - was noted by the [[Church Committee]] and by subsequent investigators as emblematic of the confusions and entanglements of Cold War covert operations.
The AM/LASH operation ultimately produced no result against Castro. Cuban intelligence service sources later claimed the operation had been penetrated from early on, and that Cubela had been operating as a double agent. Cubela was arrested by Cuban authorities in 1966 and sentenced to twenty-five years; he was released in 1979.[^2]
The AM/LASH operation ultimately produced no result against Castro. Cuban intelligence service sources later claimed the operation had been penetrated from early on, and that Cubela had been operating as a double agent. Cubela was arrested by Cuban authorities in 1966 and sentenced to twenty-five years; he was released in 1979.[^4]
### Post-Operational Career and Death
@ -45,4 +45,6 @@ He died suddenly on July 23, 1967, of a massive heart attack while playing tenni
### Footnotes
[^1]: Thomas, Evan. *The Very Best Men: Four Who Dared: The Early Years of the CIA.* Simon & Schuster, 1995. Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders.* Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Dark Side of Camelot.* Little, Brown, 1997. Escalante, Fabián. *The Cuba Project: CIA Covert Operations 1959-1962.* Ocean Press, 2004.
[^2]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465, November 20, 1975, pp. 86-87 (citing the Inspector General's report, p. 75). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^3]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum "Appointment of Mr. William K. Harvey Chief of Station, Rome, Italy," June 12, 1963. Reading room document 01228805, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-01228805
[^4]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Dark Side of Camelot.* Little, Brown, 1997. Escalante, Fabián. *The Cuba Project: CIA Covert Operations 1959-1962.* Ocean Press, 2004.

12
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/George H.W. Bush.md
View file

@ -18,6 +18,12 @@ summary: "Vice President under Reagan and 41st U.S. President who dealt with Isr
born: 1924-06-12
died: 2018-11-30
location: "Milton, Massachusetts"
relations:
- type: reported_to
with: "[[Gerald R. Ford]]"
role: "Director of Central Intelligence"
start: 1976-01-30
fn: 5
---
George H.W. Bush served as the Vice President under President [[Ronald Reagan]] and later as the 41st President of the United States. He was present at a meeting of Reagan's high command following the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at [[Osirak bombing]] in June 1981, where he agreed that some sanctions against [[Israel]] were essential.[^1]
@ -31,11 +37,13 @@ The [[Medellin Cartel|Medellín Cartel]] reportedly made a deal with Vice Presid
At the same time Reagan and Bush were publicly whipping the American public into a frenzy over street-corner crack dealers, [[Oliver North]] and other top administration officials were livid that Contra-connected drug trafficker General [[Jose Bueso Rosa]] had even been charged with a crime. North's computer messages about Bueso Rosa illustrated how skewed the Reagan administration's sense of justice had become regarding its "War on Drugs." [[Scott Weekly]], a figure connected to the CIA and the Hasenfus shootdown, claimed on tape that he reported to people who reported to Bush.[^3]
As director of central intelligence in 1976 Bush was briefed on the CIA's remote-viewing research at [[Stanford Research Institute]] after the agency learned that Soviet visitors were "questioning Puthoff and Targ at SRI," and left office before reacting. As vice president, in 1983 (the chronology's date reads as March 31 or August 3), he "was briefed for thirty minutes concerning [[Center Lane|CENTER LANE]] related activities by Dr. [[Jack Vorona]], DIA," the Army's remote-viewing unit, with "Adm. Murphy, C/S," and "Mr. Gregg" present; INSCOM's chronology records that "the briefing was well received and the Vice President was interested and impressed."[^4]
On November 3, 1975 President [[Gerald R. Ford]] announced at a news conference that he intended to nominate Ambassador Bush, then the United States representative to the People's Republic of China, as Director of Central Intelligence, succeeding [[William Colby]].[^4] Bush was sworn in as Director of Central Intelligence on January 30, 1976.[^5] As director of central intelligence in 1976 Bush was briefed on the CIA's remote-viewing research at [[Stanford Research Institute]] after the agency learned that Soviet visitors were "questioning Puthoff and Targ at SRI," and left office before reacting. As vice president, in 1983 (the chronology's date reads as March 31 or August 3), he "was briefed for thirty minutes concerning [[Center Lane|CENTER LANE]] related activities by Dr. [[Jack Vorona]], DIA," the Army's remote-viewing unit, with "Adm. Murphy, C/S," and "Mr. Gregg" present; INSCOM's chronology records that "the briefing was well received and the Vice President was interested and impressed."[^6]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 13: "The wrong kind of friends"
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 20: "It is a sensitive matter"
[^4]: Kress, Kenneth A. "Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions," *Studies in Intelligence,* vol. 21, no. 4, winter 1977, declassified, document NSA-RDP96X00790R000100010031-3; reprinted with the author's postscript of January 1999 in *Journal of Scientific Exploration,* vol. 13, no. 1, 1999. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^4]: The President's News Conference, November 3, 1975, including the statement announcing personnel changes. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-60
[^5]: Remarks at the Swearing In of George Bush as Director of Central Intelligence, January 30, 1976. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-swearing-george-bush-director-central-intelligence
[^6]: Kress, Kenneth A. "Parapsychology in Intelligence: A Personal Review and Conclusions," *Studies in Intelligence,* vol. 21, no. 4, winter 1977, declassified, document NSA-RDP96X00790R000100010031-3; reprinted with the author's postscript of January 1999 in *Journal of Scientific Exploration,* vol. 13, no. 1, 1999. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8.

190
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Gerald R. Ford.md
View file

@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
---
aliases:
- Gerald Ford
- Gerald R. Ford
- President Ford
category: "Political Figure"
tags:
- Person
@ -8,17 +10,195 @@ tags:
- Israel
- Diplomat
- Military
summary: "In late 1976, at the end of his tenure as President, Henry A."
- WarrenCommission
- FBI
- UFO
- NixonPardon
- RockefellerCommission
- ChurchCommittee
- PikeCommittee
- HalloweenMassacre
- IntelligenceReform
- FreedomOfInformationAct
summary: "Thirty-eighth President of the United States, a member of the Warren Commission and House Minority Leader who called for a 1966 congressional inquiry into UFO sightings, who later pardoned Richard Nixon."
born: 1913-07-14
died: 2006-12-26
location: "Omaha, Nebraska"
updated: 2026-10-09
relations:
- type: member_of
with: "[[Warren Commission]]"
start: 1963-12
end: 1964-09-18
fn: 2
- type: informant_for
with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
start: 1963-12-12
fn: 10
- type: appointed
with: "[[Nelson Rockefeller]]"
role: "Chairman, Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States"
start: 1975-01-05
fn: 21
- type: appointed
with: "[[James D. Theberge]]"
role: "Ambassador to Nicaragua (nominee)"
start: 1975-05-30
fn: 27
- type: appointed
with: "[[Donald Rumsfeld]]"
role: "Secretary of Defense (nominee)"
start: 1975-11-03
fn: 33
- type: appointed
with: "[[Brent Scowcroft]]"
role: "Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs"
start: 1975-11-03
fn: 33
- type: appointed
with: "[[Dick Cheney]]"
role: "Assistant to the President (White House staff coordinator)"
start: 1975-11-03
fn: 33
- type: appointed
with: "[[Elliot Richardson]]"
role: "Secretary of Commerce (nominee)"
start: 1975-11-03
fn: 33
- type: appointed
with: "[[George H.W. Bush]]"
role: "Director of Central Intelligence"
start: 1976-01-30
fn: 34
---
Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the [[United States]], serving from 1974 to 1977. His administration, along with that of [[Richard Nixon|Richard Nixon]], maintained a warm relationship with [[Israel]], a stark contrast to the later approach of the [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]] administration. Ford's precedent was to tightly restrict access to high-quality [[KH-11]] imagery, even to close allies like [[Great Britain]].[^1]
Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the [[United States]], serving from 1974 to 1977. He succeeded [[Richard Nixon]], whose resignation took effect on August 9, 1974.[^1] Before he became President he was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from [[Michigan]], and he was one of the seven members of the [[Warren Commission]] investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.[^2]
In late 1976, at the end of his tenure as President, [[Henry A. Kissinger]] casually mentioned to [[Hermann F. Eilts]], the American ambassador to [[Egypt]], a concern that the Israelis might go nuclear if they didn't receive military equipment quickly. This occurred during a final meeting where Kissinger brought up the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]] again.[^2]
### Warren Commission
Ford served on the commission from its first meeting in December 1963 through its final meeting on September 18, 1964. His desk diaries for 1963 and 1964 were reviewed in 1997 by T. Jeremy Gunn of the [[Assassination Records Review Board]]. Gunn wrote that most diary entries relating to the commission were brief, usually recording an executive session or the subject of a witness's testimony. A March 1964 entry concerned a commission meeting about staff counsel [[Norman Redlich]]. Ford gave some consideration to resigning after that meeting, and [[Allen Dulles]] telephoned him the next day and urged him not to resign. Gunn also wrote that a January 1964 entry appeared to record a viewing of the assassination film at the Treasury Department, and that Ford said he believed it referred to the Zapruder film. Gunn added his own speculation that Ford may have been shown a [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] copy before the original was shown to the commission.[^2]
Ford recalled to Gunn that the principal subject of the final meeting was Senator [[Richard Russell]]'s concern that the report include language saying that "the Commission had found no evidence of a conspiracy, foreign or domestic." Ford said he had since become aware of no evidence that points to a conspiracy. Gunn also asked Ford about a January 1975 Ford Library document recording statements by [[Henry A. Kissinger]] about information he had recently received from [[Richard Helms]] on Castro assassination attempts of the early 1960s. Ford did not recall the conversation and suggested speaking to Kissinger.[^2]
At the executive session of January 22, 1964, called after Texas Attorney General [[Waggoner Carr]] reported that Oswald had been an undercover FBI agent, Ford said that postal authorities might have watched activity at a particular post office box, and said that Oswald had been "playing ball" with the Communist parties and with the Trotskyites.[^3] When Special Agent [[John W. Fain]] testified on May 6, 1964, Ford and Dulles questioned him in detail about discrepancies in Oswald's statements; the Church Committee's Book V records that Fain did not mention Oswald's refusal to take a polygraph test at that testimony.[^4] At the September 18, 1964 session, a motion by Ford to print in the hearings a letter from Representative [[John R. Pillion]] of Buffalo failed for want of a second.[^5]
In 1964 Ford changed the commission staff's description of where the bullet entered [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]]'s body. The staff text placed the wound in the uppermost back. Ford's handwritten change placed the entry "at the back of his neck." The [[Associated Press]] reported that the change strengthened the commission's conclusion that a single bullet passed through Kennedy and wounded [[John Connally|Texas Governor John Connally]]. Ford's handwritten notes were among about 40,000 pages of records kept by commission chief counsel [[J. Lee Rankin]], and the Assassination Records Review Board made them public on July 2, 1997.[^6]
In a telephone interview from Beaver Creek, Colorado, Ford said, "My changes had nothing to do with a conspiracy theory," and "My changes were only an attempt to be more precise." Robert D. Morningstar, a computer systems specialist in New York City who had written an internet book on the assassination, called the change "the most significant lie in the whole Warren Commission report." Morningstar argued that the change suggested a bullet had struck Kennedy in the neck, "raising the wound two or three inches."[^6]
The published report states in its summary of the shooting that "A bullet had entered the base of the back of his neck slightly to the right of the spine." Its chapter on the shots describes "another bullet wound" observed at the autopsy "near the base of the back of President Kennedy's neck slightly to the right of his spine."[^7][^8]
### FBI liaison
A 1963 FBI memorandum, released long before 2008, recorded that Ford, then a congressman, volunteered to keep the bureau informed about the commission's private deliberations, on condition that the arrangement remain confidential. The bureau agreed.[^9] That memorandum is [[Cartha DeLoach]]'s account to [[John P. Mohr]] of the bureau, dated December 12, 1963, of his first conversation with Ford, which took place in the congressman's office on the morning of December 12, one week after the commission's first meeting and three days after the FBI delivered its report on the assassination to the commission.[^10][^11] The [[Washington Post]] reported on its release in January 1978 together with more than 58,000 other pages of the bureau's assassination files.[^10]
[[Max Holland]] quoted the memorandum: "Ford told me he was somewhat disturbed about the manner in which Chief Justice Warren was carrying on his chairmanship of the presidential commission." DeLoach continued: "Ford indicated he would keep me thoroughly advised as to the activities of the commission. He stated this would have to be on a confidential basis[;] however, he thought it should be done. He also asked if he could call me from time to time and straighten out questions in his mind concerning our investigation. I told him by all means he should do this. He reiterated that our relationship would of course, remain confidential."[^11] The Washington Post reported that the memorandum recorded Ford's criticism of [[Earl Warren]], including Warren's proposal of his protege [[Warren Olney]] as chief counsel, which Ford described as an attempt to establish a "one-man commission," and that Ford relayed similar complaints by Representative [[Hale Boggs]] and by Dulles. The newspaper reported that J. Lee Rankin was named chief counsel instead, as a compromise.[^10]
A second memorandum, dated December 17, 1963, summarized what Ford told DeLoach in the congressman's office about the commission meeting of the day before. It was first reported in 2008, when the FBI released about 500 pages of its file on Ford in response to Freedom of Information Act requests that the Associated Press and others had filed on the day of his death in December 2006. DeLoach wrote: "Two members of the commission brought up the fact that they still were not convinced that the president had been shot from the sixth floor window of the Texas Book Depository." He added: "These members failed to understand the trajectory of the slugs that killed the president. He stated he felt this point would be discussed further but, of course, would represent no problem." Ford also reported internal disputes over hiring staff and Warren's timetable for the final report. In return, DeLoach gave Ford confidential updates on the position of [[J. Edgar Hoover]] on panel disputes and discussed where leaks were coming from. With Hoover's approval, DeLoach also lent Ford a locked bureau briefcase so that he could take the FBI's confidential report on the assassination on a ski trip. DeLoach wrote that Ford had no way to take the report "in complete safety," and the memorandum bears a handwritten "OK" over Hoover's initial.[^9]
Holland wrote that the bureau's files record only two later contacts between DeLoach and Ford in memorandum form, on July 10 and August 24, 1964, both concerning the leaking of Lee Harvey Oswald's diary to the news media; that on April 16, 1964 Ford and his wife attended a party at DeLoach's home at which Hoover was present, followed by a letter from Hoover to Ford dated April 17, 1964; and that after the January 1965 election of Ford as House minority leader the bureau placed him on its "Special Correspondents' List."[^11] The Associated Press reported an internal FBI memorandum of 1965 stating that "though we did experience some difficulty with all the members of the Warren Commission, Ford was of considerable help to the Bureau."[^9]
Ford told Gunn in 1997 that DeLoach's claim that valuable information about the commission's discussions had been obtained was not true. He suggested that DeLoach had exaggerated what he obtained in order to curry favor with Hoover. Gunn wrote that he found no entries in the desk diaries recording meetings between Ford and Hoover or DeLoach. Ford recalled that DeLoach came by his office on occasion during the commission's work and asked general questions, such as whether the FBI was cooperating, and that the only meetings with Hoover he might have had were when Hoover dropped into his office while the bureau's budget was before Congress.[^2]
### The 1966 House UFO inquiry
On March 25, 1966, while House Minority Leader, Ford said that a national inquiry into unidentified flying objects would be worthwhile because the American people were becoming alarmed by the UFO stories.[^12] On March 28 he sent a letter to Representatives [[George P. Miller]], chairman of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, and [[L. Mendel Rivers]], chairman of the [[House Committee on Armed Services]]. The letter concerned sightings reported in Michigan that month. Ford wrote that [[J. Allen Hynek]], the astrophysicist the Air Force had sent to Michigan, "dismissed all of them as the product of college-student pranks or swamp gas or an impression created by the rising crescent moon and the planet Venus." He wrote that he did not agree "that all of these reports can be or should be so easily explained away." He proposed that "either the Science and Astronautics Committee or the Armed Services Committee of the House schedule hearings on the subject of UFO's and invite testimony from both the executive branch of the government and some of the persons who claim to have seen UFO's." The letter enclosed a column by Roscoe Drummond and six articles by Bulkley Griffin of the Griffin-Larrabee News Bureau, and it quoted telegrams from persons who said they had seen UFOs. The news release issued with the letter described the "swamp gas" explanation given by Hynek as "flippant."[^13]
On April 3 Ford issued a statement noting that the Armed Services Committee had scheduled a closed-door hearing with the Air Force for Tuesday. He said that Representative Joseph E. Karth had headed a three-man subcommittee that held two days of closed hearings on Air Force witnesses for the Science and Astronautics Committee in 1961, and that no record of them was made. Ford said that Miller had shied away from a UFO probe, saying his committee did not have jurisdiction over the Air Force. Ford wrote that he had never said that he believed any of the reported sightings indicated "visits to earth from another planet," and that some of the objects "may well be products of experimentation by our own military."[^14]
The Armed Services hearing took place on April 5, 1966. Secretary of the Air Force [[Harold Brown]] and [[John P. McConnell|General McConnell]] appeared, and Hynek and Major Hector Quintanilla, the Project Blue Book officer, attended. Rivers opened the UFO portion of the session by saying, "Mr. Ford has come out, he has a pretty good size stature in the Congress," and later asked that Ford's letter and Brown's response be put into the record.[^15] The printed transcript reproduces the letter addressed to Rivers alone and signed "Gerald R. Ford, Member of Congress," with the Drummond column as an enclosure.[^16]
On April 21 Ford announced that the Air Force had arranged for a study of unexplained sightings by high-caliber scientists at a university with no close ties to the Air Force. The study was to be placed under contract after July 1, and Ford reported that the Air Force assured him the report would be made public.[^17]
### Nixon pardon
On September 8, 1974, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, which granted "a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974." The proclamation was issued under the pardon power in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. It recites the House Committee on the Judiciary's impeachment inquiry, which it describes as extending over more than eight months.[^1]
On October 17, 1974 Ford appeared before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice of the House Committee on the Judiciary on two resolutions of inquiry about the pardon. He stated: "In that entire period no references or discussions on a possible pardon for then President Nixon occurred until August 1 and 2, 1974." Asked whether [[Alexander M. Haig, Jr.|Alexander Haig]] had discussed a pardon with Nixon or his representatives during the week of August 4 or afterward, he answered that it was "not to my knowledge."[^18]
### Freedom of Information Act veto
On October 17, 1974, the day he testified on the pardon, Ford vetoed H.R. 12471, the bill amending the [[Freedom of Information Act]]. His message to the House stated: "I remain concerned that our military or intelligence secrets and diplomatic relations could be adversely affected by this bill." He objected that courts should not be forced to make the initial classification decision, and proposed that the courts uphold a classification where there was a reasonable basis to support it. He also objected to the burden on FBI and other law enforcement files and to the ten-day and twenty-day deadlines.[^19] The [[National Security Archive]] reported that concerns about leaks, shared by Rumsfeld and Cheney, and legal arguments that the bill was unconstitutional, marshaled by government lawyer [[Antonin Scalia]] among others, persuaded Ford to veto it. The House overrode the veto 371 to 31 on November 20, 1974, and the Senate 65 to 27 on November 21.[^20]
### Rockefeller Commission
On January 4, 1975 Ford issued Executive Order 11828 establishing the Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States and announced that it would "ascertain and evaluate any facts relating to activities conducted within the United States by the Central Intelligence Agency that give rise to questions as to whether the Agency has exceeded its statutory authority."[^21] The order directed the commission to ascertain and evaluate facts bearing on compliance with 50 U.S.C. 403, to determine whether existing safeguards were adequate, and to make recommendations to the President and the Director of Central Intelligence. It required the commission to furnish the Attorney General any evidence it found that might relate to offenses under federal statutes, and to present its final report within three months of the order.[^22] On January 5 the White House announced the chairman and members: Vice President [[Nelson Rockefeller]], chairman, with John T. Connor, [[C. Douglas Dillon]], Erwin N. Griswold, [[Ronald Reagan]], Lyman L. Lemnitzer, Edgar F. Shannon and Joseph Lane Kirkland.[^21] The commission is known as the [[Rockefeller Commission 1975]]. Its executive director was [[David W. Belin]], who had been a lawyer for the Warren Commission.[^23]
The commission's report states that the President had requested a report on many of the charges from the Director of Central Intelligence and received it in late December 1974. The transmittal letter to Ford is dated June 6, 1975.[^23]
According to the National Security Archive, which published the White House and commission files on February 29, 2016, the commission's assassination inquiry was narrowed by the White House. The archive reported that Ford's January 1975 remark to newspaper editors had revealed CIA involvement in assassination plots, and that the commission voted, over its chairman's objection, to include CIA plots against foreign leaders. It reported that Belin was the main author of the portion on CIA plotting against [[Fidel Castro]], including [[ZR RIFLE|ZR/RIFLE]]. It reported that Cheney, then deputy assistant to the president, and White House Counsel [[Philip Buchen]] intervened to induce Belin to cancel a press conference on the assassination findings, citing concerns raised by Kissinger. This account rests on the archive's posting of the documents and its reading of them.[^24]
The archive reported that the commission's final report, received by Ford on June 6, 1975, omitted an 86-page section on CIA plots against foreign leaders dated June 5, 1975, and that Cheney made numerous edits to the report. It reported that the edits replaced the commission's finding of "unlawful" activities with language about actions exceeding statutory authority, with a single exception for the CIA drug experiments, which the edit described as "illegal."[^24]
### The May 1975 submarine story
On May 25, 1975 the [[New York Times]] published a story by [[Seymour Hersh]] about American submarine intercept missions in Soviet waters. At a White House meeting on May 27, Ford, [[James R. Schlesinger]], [[William Colby]], Rumsfeld, [[Robert Ingersoll]] and [[Brent Scowcroft]] discussed the story. Ford said, "I was shocked when I read in the newspaper about our submarines operating off Soviet waters," and "Somehow someone must be made an example of." Schlesinger called the disclosure "a flagrant violation of the law" and suggested a search warrant for material Hersh was said to hold. Colby told the meeting that the Supreme Court's refusal to review the [[Victor Marchetti|Marchetti]] case was good news. Ford said that a communication to Justice ought to ask for action and for recommendations under the law ("prosecution of Hersh and the New York Times"). The memorandum records, in brackets, that "The President decided to go the FBI route," and Ford directed that Justice look into "the alternatives of getting at Hersh and the New York Times."[^25]
A memorandum dated May 31, 1975 in the Cheney files records that Attorney General [[Edward Levi]] had instructed the criminal division and the FBI to prepare a proposal for an investigation. It states that "we should not have an FBI investigation if there is no intention to prosecute." The memorandum also states that the May 25 story was "based on papers filed with the court in the Marchetti case." The memoranda concern the May 25 story. They do not concern the March 19, 1975 articles on the [[Glomar Explorer]].[^25][^26]
### Nomination of James D. Theberge
On May 30, 1975 the White House announced Ford's intention to nominate [[James D. Theberge]], director of Latin American Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at [[Georgetown University]], as Ambassador to [[Nicaragua]], succeeding Turner B. Shelton, who was resigning from the Foreign Service.[^27]
### Church and Pike committees
On October 31, 1975 Ford wrote to Senator [[Frank Church]], chairman of the [[Church Committee]], asking that the committee's final report on assassination plots be kept secret on national security grounds, and wrote that publication would "result in grievous harm to the national interest and may endanger individuals." Church replied on November 4 that "in my view the national interest is better served by letting the American people know the true and complete story." The committee voted to reject Ford's request.[^28]
On January 29, 1976 Ford wrote to Representative [[Otis Pike]], chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, on the committee's proposed report. The letter states that representatives of the executive branch with responsibilities in the intelligence area had reviewed the proposed report and that, as Ford understood, they had communicated their views to Pike and the members. Ford wrote that he understood "there are still some issues regarding inclusion in the report of certain classified information which have not been resolved by your Committee and the various agencies of the Executive Branch concerned." He continued: "Pursuant to the agreement regarding public release of classified information, I await your submission of these unresolved issues to me so that I might determine whether or not the disclosure of the information involved would be detrimental to the national security."[^29]
### Israel and nuclear questions
Hersh wrote that the Nixon and Ford administrations maintained a warm relationship with [[Israel]], in contrast to the later approach of the [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]] administration, and that Ford's precedent was to restrict access to high-quality [[KH-11]] imagery, even to close allies such as [[Great Britain]].[^30]
Hersh also wrote that in late 1976, at the end of Ford's tenure, Kissinger casually mentioned to [[Hermann F. Eilts]], the American ambassador to [[Egypt]], a concern that the Israelis might go nuclear if they did not receive military equipment quickly. He wrote that this occurred in a final meeting in which Kissinger brought up the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]] again.[^31]
### Executive Order 11905
On February 18, 1976 Ford signed [[Executive Order 11905]], "United States Foreign Intelligence Activities." Section 5(g) of the order states: "No employee of the United States Government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination." Section 5 took effect on March 1, 1976.[^32]
The order set the CIA's duties as "related to the foreign intelligence functions" listed in the order, and directed the Director of Central Intelligence to delegate the day-to-day operation of the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] to the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. It established a Committee on Foreign Intelligence chaired by the Director of Central Intelligence, an Operations Advisory Group to consider each special activity in support of national foreign policy objectives, and a three-member Intelligence Oversight Board of persons from outside the government.[^32]
### Halloween Massacre and the appointment of Bush
On November 3, 1975 Ford announced personnel changes at a news conference. He said he intended to nominate Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense and thanked Schlesinger for his service as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Director of the CIA and Secretary of Defense. He said that Scowcroft would become Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs when Kissinger gave up that post to concentrate on being Secretary of State, and that Cheney was to replace Rumsfeld as Assistant to the President. [[Elliot Richardson]], Ambassador to Great Britain, was to be nominated Secretary of Commerce. Ford also said it was his intention to nominate "Ambassador Bush" as Director of Central Intelligence. He said that in recent months the CIA "has been the focus of some controversy," and that Colby had "done an outstanding job."[^33]
Asked why Schlesinger and Colby did not fit on the new team, Ford answered: "I think any President has to have the opportunity to put together his own team." Asked about reports that Schlesinger had been in conflict with his attitude on detente and with Kissinger's, he said: "There were no basic differences." The same day Rockefeller delivered to Ford a letter, released by the Office of the Vice President, stating: "I do not wish my name to enter into your consideration for the upcoming Republican Vice Presidential nominee." Ford said at the news conference: "The decision by Vice President Rockefeller was a decision on his own." The joint statement released by the Vice President's press office read: "The letter speaks for itself. The initiative was the Vice President's." The November 1975 changes are known as the Halloween Massacre.[^33]
[[George H.W. Bush|George H. W. Bush]], who had been the United States representative to the People's Republic of China, was sworn in as Director of Central Intelligence on January 30, 1976.[^34]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 1.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.
[^1]: Proclamation 4311, "Granting Pardon to Richard Nixon," September 8, 1974. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-4311-granting-pardon-richard-nixon
[^2]: Gunn, T. Jeremy. Memorandum to file, "Gerald R. Ford 'Desk Diaries' and Interview," June 2, 1997, describing a May 28, 1997 review of Ford's 1963 and 1964 desk diaries and an interview at Rancho Mirage, California. Assassination Records Review Board files, File no. 4.05. https://documents3.theblackvault.com/documents/jfkfiles/NARA-Oct2017/ARRB/JGUNN/WP-DOCS/INTERVIE/FORD.02.PDF
[^3]: Warren Commission, executive session transcript, January 22, 1964. https://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcexec/pdf/WcEx0122.pdf
[^4]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies*, Book V, Final Report, April 23, 1976, p. 88 and note 8. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^5]: Warren Commission, executive session minutes, September 18, 1964. https://aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcexec/pdf/WcEx0918.pdf
[^6]: Feinsilber, Mike. "Warren Commission Report Altered," Associated Press, July 1997, as copied in an Assassination Records Review Board email of July 3, 1997. https://documents3.theblackvault.com/documents/jfkfiles/NARA-Oct2017/ARRB-Emails/ARRBmails03283.pdf
[^7]: Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, 1964, Chapter 1, "Summary and Conclusions," p. 3. National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/chapter-1
[^8]: Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, 1964, Chapter 3, "The Shots from the Texas School Book Depository," section "The President's Neck Wounds," pp. 87-88. National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report/chapter-3
[^9]: Associated Press. "Ford was the FBI's spy on the Warren Commission," August 10, 2008, quoting the FBI memorandum of December 17, 1963 from Cartha DeLoach and describing the 2008 release from Ford's FBI file. Reproduced by the Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/2008/8/10/20268447/ford-was-the-fbi-s-spy-on-the-warren-commission
[^10]: Lardner, George, Jr. "Documents Show Ford Promised FBI Data, Secretly, About Warren Probe," Washington Post, January 20, 1978 (reproduced as CIA-RDP91-00901R000500110025-7, CIA Reading Room), quoting the DeLoach memorandum of the December 12, 1963 conversation. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP91-00901R000500110025-7.pdf
[^11]: Holland, Max. "The Ford Files," Washington Decoded, August 11, 2008, citing "Memo, DeLoach to Mohr, 12 December 1963, courtesy of the Mary Ferrell Foundation," memoranda of July 10 and August 24, 1964, and Hoover's letter to Ford of April 17, 1964. https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/53424
[^12]: Ford, Gerald R. News release, March 25, 1966. Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers, Press Secretary and Speech File, Box D9, folder "Ford Press Releases - UFO, 1966," Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0054/4525586.pdf
[^13]: Ford, Gerald R. Letter to Representatives George P. Miller and L. Mendel Rivers, with news release, March 28, 1966. Same file as note 9.
[^14]: Ford, Gerald R. Statement, April 3, 1966. Same file as note 9.
[^15]: U.S. House Committee on Armed Services. Unidentified Flying Objects: Hearing, No. 85, 89th Congress, 2d session, April 5, 1966. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1966. The opening exchange between Chairman Rivers and Secretary Brown. https://archive.org/details/ufo_1966_1 The printed cover gives April 6, 1966 as the date.
[^16]: U.S. House Committee on Armed Services. Unidentified Flying Objects: Hearing, April 5, 1966, second part, Rivers's request that "Mr. Ford's letter, and the response by Secretary Brown" go into the record and the letter of March 28, 1966 as printed. https://archive.org/details/UfoHearing19662
[^17]: Ford, Gerald R. Statement, April 21, 1966. Same file as note 9.
[^18]: Ford, Gerald R. Statement before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, House Committee on the Judiciary, October 17, 1974. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Philip Buchen Files, Box 34, "Nixon Pardon Hungate Subcommittee, Ford Testimony, 1974/10/17." https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0019/4520699.pdf
[^19]: Ford, Gerald R. Message to the House of Representatives returning H.R. 12471 without approval, October 17, 1974. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, as posted in National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 142. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB142/101774%20Veto%20Message.pdf
[^20]: National Security Archive, "Veto Battle 30 Years Ago Set Freedom of Information Norms," Electronic Briefing Book No. 142, edited by Dan Lopez, Thomas Blanton, Meredith Fuchs and Barbara Elias, November 23, 2004. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB142/
[^21]: Statement Announcing Establishment of a Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States, January 4, 1975, with the White House announcement of the commission's members, January 5, 1975. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-announcing-establishment-commission-cia-activities-within-the-united-states
[^22]: Executive Order 11828, "Establishing a Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States," January 4, 1975, Sections 2, 3 and 6. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-11828-establishing-commission-cia-activities-within-the-united-states
[^23]: Report to the President by the Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States, June 1975, transmittal letter dated June 6, 1975 and Preface, section B. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Richard B. Cheney Files, Box 7, folder "Intelligence - Rockefeller Commission Report - Final (1)." https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/LIBRARY/document/0005/1561495.pdf
[^24]: National Security Archive, Electronic Briefing Book No. 543, "Gerald Ford White House Altered Rockefeller Commission Report in 1975; Removed Section on CIA Assassination Plots," edited by John Prados and Arturo Jimenez-Bacardi, February 29, 2016. Documents cited in the posting include Document 15 (Cheney's marginal edits), Document 19 (the 86-page section, June 5, 1975) and a photograph of Ford receiving the report on June 6, 1975. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2016-02-29/gerald-ford-white-house-altered-rockefeller-commission-report
[^25]: Memorandum of conversation, May 27, 1975, Ford, Schlesinger, Colby, Rumsfeld, Ingersoll and Scowcroft. National Security Adviser, Memoranda of Conversations, Box 12, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0314/1553088.pdf
[^26]: Memorandum, May 31, 1975, Richard B. Cheney Files, Box 6, folder "Intelligence - New York Times Articles by Seymour Hersh (2)," Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0005/7288231.pdf
[^27]: "Nomination of James D. Theberge To Be Ambassador to Nicaragua," White House press release, May 30, 1975. Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, White House Press Releases, Box 11. https://fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0248/whpr19750530-004.pdf
[^28]: National Security Archive, Electronic Briefing Book No. 543, Documents 21 and 22: letter from President Gerald R. Ford to Senator Frank Church, October 31, 1975, and Church's reply of November 4, 1975. Gerald R. Ford Library, Ronald Nessen Papers, Box 299, and Ford Papers, Box 31. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2016-02-29/gerald-ford-white-house-altered-rockefeller-commission-report
[^29]: Ford, Gerald R. Letter to Representative Otis G. Pike, Chairman, Select Committee on Intelligence, House of Representatives, January 29, 1976. Gerald R. Ford Library, James E. Connor Files, Intelligence Series, Box 56, folder "House Select Com. - General." National Security Archive, "White House, Letter from President Gerald Ford to Representative Otis Pike, Re Classified Information in Pike Report." https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/3763100/Document-41-White-House-Letter-from-President.pdf
[^30]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 1.
[^31]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.
[^32]: Executive Order 11905, "United States Foreign Intelligence Activities," February 18, 1976. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-11905-united-states-foreign-intelligence-activities
[^33]: The President's News Conference, November 3, 1975, including the statement announcing personnel changes in the administration and the text of Vice President Rockefeller's letter of the same date. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-60
[^34]: Remarks at the Swearing In of George Bush as Director of Central Intelligence, January 30, 1976. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-swearing-george-bush-director-central-intelligence

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@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ In 1963 he shoved Representative [[Ed Foreman]], who had called him a "pinko," a
### The Assassinations Committee
Gonzalez became chairman of the [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] in 1977 and entered a public dispute with its chief counsel, [[Richard A. Sprague]], over Sprague's independence of the committee. The other members sided with Sprague, and Gonzalez resigned on March 2, 1977, within a month of taking the chair.[^1]
Gonzalez became chairman of the [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] in January 1977, after [[Thomas N. Downing]] retired.[^3] He entered a public dispute with the chief counsel, [[Richard A. Sprague]], and the separate views appended to the report describe the two men as spending January through March 1977 "struggling over budgets and funding measures."[^3] *Newsweek* wrote in April 1977 that Gonzalez resigned following "a nasty clash" with Sprague "in which most other panel members backed Sprague," citing its report of February 21, 1977.[^4] The *New York Times* reported on March 3, 1977, that Gonzalez "submitted his resignation yesterday," March 2, after accusing other committee members of trying to usurp his power, and that Speaker [[Tip O'Neill]] would not accept it until he had spoken with Gonzalez.[^5] The *Washington Post* reported on March 29, 1977, that Gonzalez "quit the chairmanship and the committee on March 8," the date on which [[Louis Stokes]] was appointed chairman, and quoted his speech from the House floor: "I think I have been treated shabbily."[^6] A *Chicago Tribune* report of April 3, 1977, quoted the same speech, in which Gonzalez said he had received no support from committee members or the Democratic leadership in his attempts to rein in Sprague's "extravagant and arrogant behavior," and said that "within hours of Gonzalez' attack from the House floor, Sprague quit."[^7] Sprague resigned on March 30, 1977, the day the House voted 230 to 181 to continue the committee.[^8]
### The Banking Committee
@ -38,40 +38,46 @@ He became chairman of the banking committee in January 1989, having warned of th
### Banca Nazionale del Lavoro
The FBI raided the Atlanta branch of the Italian state bank in August 1989 and found that it had lent Iraq several billion dollars off its books, much of it guaranteed by the [[Commodity Credit Corporation]] of the [[Department of Agriculture]]. When Gonzalez proposed hearings, the [[John F. Kennedy Presidential Library|Kennedy Library]] later recorded, "he was asked by high-ranking government officials to desist on the grounds of national security." [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Richard Thornburgh]] wrote to him on September 26, 1990, that a hearing scheduled for October 9 and staff interviews of witnesses raised "the prospect that culpable parties will elude prosecution," and added: "As you should be aware, this is a sensitive case with national security concerns." On December 18 the [[State Department]] informed the [[Department of Justice]] that "with respect to the national security aspects of the investigation, we have determined that the State Department does not have any concerns it wishes to raise at this juncture." The committee issued subpoenas. Beginning in February 1992 he delivered about twenty hour-long special order speeches on the House floor, among them "Efforts to Thwart Investigation of the [[BNL Scandal]]," "[[Kissinger Associates]], [[Brent Scowcroft|Scowcroft]], [[Lawrence Eagleburger|Eagleburger]], Stoga, Iraq, and BNL," "The Rostow Gang," "Scowcroft Improperly Intervened in CCC Program and Many More Lies to Congress," and "The BNL Case: Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil," and entered the documents in the [[Congressional Record]].[^2][^3]
The FBI raided the Atlanta branch of the Italian state bank in August 1989 and found that it had lent Iraq several billion dollars off its books, much of it guaranteed by the [[Commodity Credit Corporation]] of the [[Department of Agriculture]]. When Gonzalez proposed hearings, the [[John F. Kennedy Presidential Library|Kennedy Library]] later recorded, "he was asked by high-ranking government officials to desist on the grounds of national security." [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Richard Thornburgh]] wrote to him on September 26, 1990, that a hearing scheduled for October 9 and staff interviews of witnesses raised "the prospect that culpable parties will elude prosecution," and added: "As you should be aware, this is a sensitive case with national security concerns." On December 18 the [[State Department]] informed the [[Department of Justice]] that "with respect to the national security aspects of the investigation, we have determined that the State Department does not have any concerns it wishes to raise at this juncture." The committee issued subpoenas. Beginning in February 1992 he delivered about twenty hour-long special order speeches on the House floor, among them "Efforts to Thwart Investigation of the [[BNL Scandal]]," "[[Kissinger Associates]], [[Brent Scowcroft|Scowcroft]], [[Lawrence Eagleburger|Eagleburger]], Stoga, Iraq, and BNL," "The Rostow Gang," "Scowcroft Improperly Intervened in CCC Program and Many More Lies to Congress," and "The BNL Case: Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil," and entered the documents in the [[Congressional Record]].[^2][^9]
On May 18, 1992, he said: "When the BNL offices were raided in Atlanta in August 1989, investigators uncovered massive fraud, placing the entire [[Commodity Credit Corporation Iraq Program|CCC Program for Iraq]] in jeopardy. So the [[White House]] and NSC, armed with National Security Directive 26, sprang into action in order to save the CCC Program for Iraq." He named Scowcroft, the president's counsel [[C. Boyden Gray]], Gray's deputy [[John Schmitz]], [[Richard Haass]] of the [[National Security Council]] staff, and [[Clayton Yeutter]] as parties to the discussions, and said that by April 1990 "it was apparent the BNL indictment was being delayed." On July 21 he quoted a July 1990 intelligence report, "Iraq's Growing Arsenal," which identified Iraq's State Establishment for Oil Refining and Gas Processing as "a dedicated front for procuring chemical weapons related components," against the text of [[National Security Directive 26]], which placed "particular emphasis on expanding [[United States]]-Iraq oil industry related trade."[^3][^4]
On May 18, 1992, he said: "When the BNL offices were raided in Atlanta in August 1989, investigators uncovered massive fraud, placing the entire [[Commodity Credit Corporation Iraq Program|CCC Program for Iraq]] in jeopardy. So the [[White House]] and NSC, armed with National Security Directive 26, sprang into action in order to save the CCC Program for Iraq." He named Scowcroft, the president's counsel [[C. Boyden Gray]], Gray's deputy [[John Schmitz]], [[Richard Haass]] of the [[National Security Council]] staff, and [[Clayton Yeutter]] as parties to the discussions, and said that by April 1990 "it was apparent the BNL indictment was being delayed." On July 21 he quoted a July 1990 intelligence report, "Iraq's Growing Arsenal," which identified Iraq's State Establishment for Oil Refining and Gas Processing as "a dedicated front for procuring chemical weapons related components," against the text of [[National Security Directive 26]], which placed "particular emphasis on expanding [[United States]]-Iraq oil industry related trade."[^9][^10]
On September 25 he described a brass factory worth 40 million dollars sold to Iraq by [[SerVaas Inc.]] of [[Indianapolis]] under a contract negotiated with [[Safa al-Habobi]] and financed by the Atlanta branch. Its owner had told the committee in April 1991 that the brass was "solely for commercial uses." Gonzalez produced a memorandum of July 31, 1988, showing that the Iraqi purchaser meant it for cartridge cases and artillery fuses, and quoted the owner's remark to the [[Indianapolis Star]] in August 1992: "Probably the only thing they are doing is melting the brass down." President [[George H.W. Bush]]'s report to Congress of September 1991 had stated that "United States suppliers did not contribute directly to Iraq's conventional or nonconventional weapons capability."[^5]
On September 25 he described a brass factory worth 40 million dollars sold to Iraq by [[SerVaas Inc.]] of [[Indianapolis]] under a contract negotiated with [[Safa al-Habobi]] and financed by the Atlanta branch. Its owner had told the committee in April 1991 that the brass was "solely for commercial uses." Gonzalez produced a memorandum of July 31, 1988, showing that the Iraqi purchaser meant it for cartridge cases and artillery fuses, and quoted the owner's remark to the [[Indianapolis Star]] in August 1992: "Probably the only thing they are doing is melting the brass down." President [[George H.W. Bush]]'s report to Congress of September 1991 had stated that "United States suppliers did not contribute directly to Iraq's conventional or nonconventional weapons capability."[^11]
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]
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."[^12]
### 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]
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.[^13]
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]
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."[^13]
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]
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.[^13]
### 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.[^8]
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.[^14]
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."[^9]
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."[^15]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Kohout, Martin Donell. "González, Henry Barbosa," *Handbook of Texas,* Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/gonzalez-henry-barbosa
[^2]: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, "Henry González," Profile in Courage Award, 1994.
[^3]: Gonzalez, Henry B. "Continuing Saga of Attempts to Thwart BNL Investigation," *Congressional Record,* House, May 18, 1992; index of statements, 102nd Congress, second session, February 24 to September 28, 1992.
[^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]: 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
[^3]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), separate views of Hons. Samuel L. Devine and Robert W. Edgar, pp. 493-494; "History of the Committee," pp. 9-10 (Stokes named chairman March 8, 1977). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^4]: *Newsweek,* April 11, 1977, press clipping in CIA Reading Room document 00543522. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00543522
[^5]: Burnham, David, *New York Times,* March 3, 1977, press clipping in CIA Reading Room document 00026481. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00026481
[^6]: Lardner, George, Jr., *Washington Post,* March 29, 1977, press clipping in CIA Reading Room document 00026481. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00026481
[^7]: *Chicago Tribune,* April 3, 1977, press clipping in CIA Reading Room document 00543522. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00543522
[^8]: Madden, Richard L., *New York Times,* March 30, 1977, press clipping in CIA Reading Room document 00026481. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00026481
[^9]: Gonzalez, Henry B. "Continuing Saga of Attempts to Thwart BNL Investigation," *Congressional Record,* House, May 18, 1992; index of statements, 102nd Congress, second session, February 24 to September 28, 1992.
[^10]: Gonzalez, Henry B. "United States Policy to Arm Iraq," *Congressional Record,* House, July 21, 1992.
[^11]: Gonzalez, Henry B. "Brass Factory in Iraq," *Congressional Record,* House, September 25, 1992, p. H9502.
[^12]: Friedman, Alan. *Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq*. Bantam, 1993, pp. 206, 216, 221.
[^13]: 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
[^14]: "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
[^15]: 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

15
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Joseph Cuellar.md
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@ -3,15 +3,20 @@ category: "Other"
tags:
- PROMIS
- Person
summary: "Casolaro confided to friends that he was unnerved by this supposedly chance meeting."
summary: "Joseph Cuellar, an Army Reserve major, met Danny Casolaro at a bar in Arlington, Virginia, in May 1991 and called Peter Videnieks at Casolaro's request."
updated: 2026-10-09
---
[[Joseph Cuellar]] was a man who approached [[Danny Casolaro]] in a pub during the week prior to Casolaro's death. Cuellar claimed to be a Special Forces operative and offered to arrange a rendezvous between [[Peter Videnieks]] and Casolaro. Cuellar's connection to Videnieks allegedly came through Videnieks' wife, Barbara, who was the executive assistant to Senator [[Robert Byrd]].[^1]
[[Joseph Cuellar]], an Army Reserve major, met [[Danny Casolaro]] by chance at a bar in Arlington, Virginia, in May 1991. Cuellar talked of his exploits in the Army special forces, and according to Cuellar, Casolaro became fascinated. In a later conversation Casolaro asked about people in his "Octopus" story, and Cuellar told him he knew [[Peter Videnieks]], because a former fiancée had worked with Videnieks' wife in the Capitol Hill office of [[Robert Byrd]]. Cuellar and Videnieks both told the reviewers that their relationship was social.[^1]
Casolaro confided to friends that he was unnerved by this supposedly chance meeting. He met with Cuellar at other times that week, but it is unknown whether he ever spoke with Videnieks. Sources later suggested that Cuellar was a [[U.S. Army|U.S. Army]] Major in an [[Army Intelligence Agency|Army intelligence]] unit who went to work for a company that was a [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] cutout. One [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent reported that Cuellar spoke Arabic fluently and had spent time in [[Iraq]].[^1]
Casolaro asked Cuellar repeatedly to arrange a meeting with Videnieks, so that he could interview him about Riconosciuto's March 1991 affidavit. Cuellar called Videnieks, who refused.[^2] The review found that Cuellar was in Washington, D.C., on August 10, 1991, working on his separation from Operation Desert Storm and his reassignment to a Southern Command post, and that several witnesses verified this.[^2]
[[Bill Hamilton]], president of [[INSLAW]], stated that he had received an affidavit from [[Bill Turner]] on "highly classified computer printouts on off-shore accounts that he claimed Casolaro intended to use the night he died in a planned meeting with [[Peter Videnieks]] and [[Joseph Cuellar]] and others."[^1]
The writer Cheri Seymour wrote that Cuellar approached Casolaro in a pub during the week before his death, claimed to be a Special Forces operative and offered to arrange a rendezvous with Videnieks, and that Casolaro confided to friends that he was unnerved by the encounter.[^3] Sources later suggested that Cuellar was a [[U.S. Army|U.S. Army]] Major in an [[Army Intelligence Agency|Army intelligence]] unit who went to work for a company that was a [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] cutout. One [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent reported that Cuellar spoke Arabic fluently and had spent time in [[Iraq]].[^3]
[[Bill Hamilton]], president of [[INSLAW]], stated that he had received an affidavit from [[Bill Turner]] on "highly classified computer printouts on off-shore accounts that he claimed Casolaro intended to use the night he died in a planned meeting with Peter Videnieks and Joseph Cuellar and others."[^3]
---
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, p. 161. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^2]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, p. 162. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^3]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.

8
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Robert Byrd.md
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@ -3,16 +3,16 @@ category: "Political Figure"
tags:
- Person
- CIA
summary: "Powerful West Virginia Democratic Senator in whose office Barbara Videnieks, wife of the PROMIS contracting officer Peter Videnieks, worked."
summary: "Powerful West Virginia Democratic Senator in whose Capitol Hill office the wife of PROMIS contracting officer Peter Videnieks worked."
born: 1917-11-20
died: 2010-06-28
location: "North Wilkesboro, North Carolina"
created: 2025-08-05
updated: 2026-09-22
updated: 2026-10-09
---
[[Robert Byrd]] was a powerful West Virginia Democratic Senator. Barbara Videnieks, wife of [[Peter Videnieks]], the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] contracting officer on the [[PROMIS]] contract, worked in his office.[^1][^2] The suggestion by [[Michael Riconosciuto]] and others that Peter Videnieks was involved in the death of [[Danny Casolaro]] in [[West Virginia]], the Justice Department's review of 1994 stated, appeared "to rest on the fact that Mr. Videnieks' wife works for Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia"; it found "no evidence whatsoever of Mr. Videnieks' involvement." [[Joseph Cuellar]], an Army Reserve major, told the reviewers that his former fiancée had worked with Barbara Videnieks "in the Capitol Hill office of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd."[^2] Byrd played a major role in the effort to have the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] move some of its administrative offices to Charlestown, 20 miles from Martinsburg, on the Virginia border.[^1]
[[Robert Byrd]] was a powerful West Virginia Democratic Senator. The wife of [[Peter Videnieks]], the [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]] contracting officer on the [[PROMIS]] contract, worked in his office.[^1][^2] The suggestion by [[Michael Riconosciuto]] and others that Peter Videnieks was involved in the death of [[Danny Casolaro]] in [[West Virginia]], the Justice Department's review of 1994 stated, appeared "to rest on the fact that Mr. Videnieks' wife works for Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia"; it found "no evidence whatsoever of Mr. Videnieks' involvement." [[Joseph Cuellar]], an Army Reserve major, told the reviewers that his former fiancée had worked with Videnieks' wife "in the Capitol Hill office of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd."[^2] Byrd played a major role in the effort to have the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] move some of its administrative offices to Charlestown, 20 miles from Martinsburg, on the Virginia border.[^1]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report,* September 27, 1994, section on the death of Danny Casolaro. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^2]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report on the Review of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua's Report,* September 27, 1994, pp. 159-161 (section on the death of Danny Casolaro). https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993

26
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Sam Giancana.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-06-13
updated: 2026-10-09
title: Sam Giancana
aliases:
- Salvatore Giancana
@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ tags:
- 1960s
- 1970s
category: "Organized Crime"
summary: "Sam Giancana was the boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957 who was recruited by the CIA through Robert Maheu and Johnny Roselli in 1960 to plan the assassination of Fidel Castro under ZR/RIFLE, and who was shot seven times in his Oak Park, Illinois home on June 19, 1975, days before he was scheduled to testify before the Church Committee."
summary: "Chicago Outfit boss from 1957, recruited by the CIA through Robert Maheu and Johnny Roselli in 1960 for ZR/RIFLE plots against Castro, shot in Oak Park, Illinois on June 19, 1975."
born: 1908-05-19
died: 1975-06-19
location: "Chicago, Illinois"
@ -31,15 +31,17 @@ Salvatore "Sam" Giancana (May 19, 1908 - June 19, 1975) was the boss of the [[La
Giancana rose through the Chicago criminal organization under Al Capone's successors, beginning as an enforcer and driver for mob figures during Prohibition and rising through the ranks over the following decades. Taking effective operational control from boss [[Tony Accardo]] in the mid-1950s, he became the Outfit's official boss around 1957, at which point it controlled substantial gambling, loan-sharking, labor racketeering, and criminal operations across Chicago and the Midwest, with significant interests in [[Las Vegas]] casinos and [[Cuba]] before the revolution. The organization sustained its political influence through the ward machinery of the Cook County Democratic Party. Giancana held the leadership until about 1966, when intensifying federal pressure drove him into self-imposed exile in [[Mexico]]; he returned to the United States in 1974.
His personal style differed from the older generation of organized crime leadership. Giancana cultivated connections to the entertainment world (a long relationship with singer Phyllis McGuire and a place in the celebrity circles around [[Frank Sinatra]]) and presented a more public-facing image than his predecessors. His flamboyant disregard for surveillance was unusual for an Outfit boss: he sued the FBI in federal court over its intensive physical surveillance and won a temporary order restricting agents from following him onto golf courses, a rare instance of a mob leader confronting law enforcement directly rather than keeping a low profile.[^1]
His personal style differed from the older generation of organized crime leadership. Giancana cultivated connections to the entertainment world (a long relationship with singer [[Phyllis McGuire]] and a place in the celebrity circles around [[Frank Sinatra]]) and presented a more public-facing image than his predecessors. His flamboyant disregard for surveillance was unusual for an Outfit boss: he sued the FBI in federal court over its intensive physical surveillance and won a temporary order restricting agents from following him onto golf courses, a rare instance of a mob leader confronting law enforcement directly rather than keeping a low profile.[^1]
### CIA Anti-Castro Operations
In September 1960, CIA officer [[Robert Maheu]], a former FBI agent used as an agency cutout for sensitive operations, approached Roselli about the CIA's desire to assassinate Castro. Roselli introduced Maheu to Giancana and Trafficante as the organized crime figures with Cuban casino experience and existing connections in the Cuban underworld who could provide operational support. The agency's rationale was practical: the Mafia retained personnel and contacts in Cuba from its pre-revolutionary casino operations, and routing the work through Maheu created deniable distance from the CIA.
In September 1960, [[Robert Maheu]], a former FBI agent and private investigator used by the CIA as a cutout for sensitive operations, approached Roselli about the CIA's desire to assassinate Castro. Roselli introduced Maheu to Giancana and Trafficante as the organized crime figures with Cuban casino experience and existing connections in the Cuban underworld who could provide operational support. The agency's rationale was practical: the Mafia retained personnel and contacts in Cuba from its pre-revolutionary casino operations, and routing the work through Maheu created deniable distance from the CIA.
Giancana agreed to participate. The CIA's Technical Services Division developed poison pills containing botulinum toxin, intended for Castro's food and passed through Roselli to Cuban contacts; multiple attempts were made through the early 1960s without result. When [[William Harvey]] replaced Maheu as the CIA's primary handler for the operation in 1961, Giancana's role became secondary to Roselli's, but his participation in the anti-Castro infrastructure was documented. The plots were authorized at the highest levels of the agency, with Director [[Allen Dulles]] informed and the effort continuing under [[Richard Helms]].[^1]
Giancana agreed to participate. The CIA's Technical Services Division developed poison pills containing botulinum toxin, intended for Castro's food and passed through Roselli to Cuban contacts; multiple attempts were made through the early 1960s without result. After the CIA reactivated the Roselli contact in April 1962, [[William Harvey]], acting on what he testified were explicit orders from [[Richard Helms]], told Roselli to stop dealing with Giancana, whom Harvey had decided was "surplus."[^2] Giancana's role became secondary to Roselli's, but his participation in the anti-Castro infrastructure was documented. The plots were authorized at the highest levels of the agency, with Director [[Allen Dulles]] informed and the effort continuing under Helms.[^1]
The CIA-Giancana relationship created significant friction with the FBI. In 1962, when the FBI was running intensive surveillance of Giancana as a priority of Robert Kennedy's organized crime crackdown, the CIA asked the bureau to pull back because Giancana was an operational asset; the FBI resisted. The episode documented that the CIA was protecting organized crime figures the FBI was simultaneously trying to prosecute. The contradiction reached into the Kennedy administration itself: President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s father, Joseph Kennedy, had longstanding ties to the Chicago Outfit, and organized-crime-connected voter mobilization in Illinois had aided the 1960 campaign even as Robert Kennedy's Justice Department made Giancana a chief target. It sharpened further when Maheu arranged an illegal wiretap for Giancana, bugging the Las Vegas hotel room of comedian Dan Rowan, then involved with Phyllis McGuire; the bug's discovery by local authorities produced a scandal the CIA concealed from the FBI to protect the Castro operation.[^1]
In late October 1960 Maheu arranged for the Florida investigator [[Edward DuBois]] to place an electronic listening device in a Las Vegas room. DuBois's employee, [[Arthur James Balletti]], installed a telephone tap instead. On October 31, 1960, a maid found the equipment, and the local sheriff arrested Balletti, who telephoned Maheu in Miami.[^3] The Church Committee found conflicting evidence on whether the CIA had been consulted before the installation. The CIA Office of Security's operational support chief testified that Maheu had told him a girlfriend of Giancana's was having an affair with the target, and that Giancana had threatened to fly to Las Vegas himself unless the room was bugged.[^4] The memorandum of May 14, 1962 by [[Sheffield Edwards]], the CIA's Director of Security, records that Maheu stated Giancana "thought that Phyllis McGuire might know of the proposed operation and might pass on the information to one Dan Rowan," described as another friend of McGuire's.[^5] The Justice Department decided not to prosecute the tap after a CIA briefing of the attorney general.[^4]
The CIA-Giancana relationship created significant friction with the FBI. In 1962, when the FBI was running intensive surveillance of Giancana as a priority of Robert Kennedy's organized crime crackdown, the CIA asked the bureau to pull back because Giancana was an operational asset; the FBI resisted. The episode documented that the CIA was protecting organized crime figures the FBI was simultaneously trying to prosecute. The contradiction reached into the Kennedy administration itself: President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s father, Joseph Kennedy, had longstanding ties to the Chicago Outfit, and organized-crime-connected voter mobilization in Illinois had aided the 1960 campaign even as Robert Kennedy's Justice Department made Giancana a chief target. It sharpened further when Maheu arranged an illegal wiretap for Giancana, bugging the Las Vegas hotel room of comedian [[Dan Rowan]], then involved with Phyllis McGuire; the bug's discovery by local authorities produced a scandal the CIA concealed from the FBI to protect the Castro operation.[^1]
### Church Committee and Death
@ -53,9 +55,17 @@ The timing, days before his scheduled testimony, was widely noted. Whether the m
Giancana's murder removed a primary witness to the CIA-organized crime anti-Castro collaboration at the moment that collaboration came under Senate scrutiny. The Church Committee found that the existence of the CIA-mob plots had been deliberately concealed from the [[Warren Commission]], so neither Giancana's nor Roselli's testimony before that body was ever sought, and their deaths foreclosed full testimony before the Church Committee as well.
The [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] concluded that Giancana and Roselli "may have been involved" in a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy, citing their Mafia backgrounds and CIA connections, but it reached no definitive conclusion and noted that both men were murdered before they could testify fully.[^2]
The [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] did not find that Giancana or John Roselli "may have been involved" in a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. The report states that both men "had been murdered," and that the committee was "ultimately frustrated in its attempt to determine details of those activities that might have led to the assassination."[^6] It found "little credibility" in the explanation that Roselli supplied, the so-called "turnaround" theory of the assassination, and it said there is "reason to speculate that the Mafia continued to appear to participate in the plots just to keep the CIA interested."[^6] The report's phrase "individual members may have been involved" is a general statement about the national syndicate and about anti-Castro Cuban groups, not a finding about Giancana or Roselli.[^7]
The committee found that the CIA-Mafia-Cuban plots had "all the elements necessary for a successful assassination conspiracy," which it described as people, motive and means, and that the CIA-Mafia plots, like the AMLASH plot, should have been aggressively explored in the 1963-64 investigation.[^6] The report also quotes FBI electronic surveillance of a conversation of December 3, 1963, in which Giancana's lieutenant Charles English told him that "the FBI will be like it was 5 years ago" and that the FBI was "gonna start running down Fair Play for Cuba."[^8]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders.* Senate Report 94-465, November 20, 1975. Roemer, William F. *Man Against the Mob.* Donald I. Fine, 1989.
[^2]: House Select Committee on Assassinations. *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives.* Government Printing Office, 1979. Blakey, G. Robert, and Richard N. Billings. *Fatal Hour: The Assassination of President Kennedy by Organized Crime.* Berkley, 1992. Giancana, Sam, and Chuck Giancana. *Double Cross: The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America.* Warner Books, 1992.
[^2]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465, November 20, 1975, p. 84 (citing Harvey testimony of June 25, 1975, p. 65; "untrustworthy" and "surplus"). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^3]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465, p. 77 and nn. 3-4 (October 31, 1960 arrest; Balletti's call to Maheu). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^4]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465, p. 78 and nn. 1-3 (CIA payment for the tap; support chief and Maheu testimony; Joseph Shimon testimony that Giancana paid Maheu $5,000) and p. 79 (Herbert J. Miller memorandum of April 24, 1962; decision not to prosecute). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^5]: U.S. Department of State, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963*, vol. X, *Cuba, January 1961-September 1962*, doc. 337, memorandum for the record by Sheffield Edwards, May 14, 1962, pp. 808-809. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10/d337
[^6]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), pp. 114-116 (CIA-Mafia plots; Roselli and Giancana "had been murdered"; turnaround theory; "little credibility"). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^7]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, summary Findings I.C.3 and I.C.4 (p. 3) and the organized crime section (p. 129). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^8]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, p. 169 (Giancana and English, December 3, 1963). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit

15
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Tom Clines.md
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@ -16,6 +16,14 @@ tags:
- 1980s
summary: "CIA officer under Ted Shackley at JMWAVE, in Laos, and in the Western Hemisphere Division, later of the Safari Club and Iran-Contra Enterprise network, convicted in 1990 of underreporting Iran-Contra income."
location: "United States"
relations:
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Lawrence Walsh]]"
reverse: true
start: 1990-02-22
end: 1992-02-27
role: "Independent Counsel; indicted February 22, 1990, convicted September 18, 1990, affirmed February 27, 1992"
fn: 6
---
Thomas G. Clines was a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] career officer whose career tracked closely with that of his patron [[Ted Shackley]]. Clines served under Shackley at JMWAVE, the CIA's Miami anti-Castro station, in Laos, and in the Western Hemisphere Division, and left CIA in 1979 in the period of Shackley's forced departure by Director Stansfield Turner. He subsequently became a central figure in the private covert operations network that ran from the [[Safari Club]] era through the [[Iran-Contra Affair]].[^1]
@ -40,7 +48,7 @@ A [[Domestic Contact Service]] cable of June 22, 1976, records a request from th
Clines became an operational participant in the Enterprise, the private covert network directed by Secord and [[Albert Hakim]] that executed the Iran arms sales and Contra funding operations. His primary role was in the logistics and transportation aspects of the Enterprise's weapons movements - specifically managing air freight and cargo operations for weapons shipments.[^1]
Clines was indicted in February 1990 after the guilty pleas and cooperation of Richard Secord and Albert Hakim, and on September 18, 1990 a jury in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, before Judge Norman P. Ramsey, convicted him of four income-tax-related felonies; on December 13, 1990 Ramsey sentenced him to 16 months in prison and a 40,000 dollar fine. The Fourth Circuit affirmed and the Supreme Court denied certiorari.[^6] Secord and Willard Zucker were the central prosecution witnesses; Secord testified under a cooperation agreement.[^6] The prosecution established that Clines had received income from Enterprise operations that he failed to report on his tax returns.[^7]
Clines was indicted in February 1990 after the guilty pleas and cooperation of Richard Secord and Albert Hakim, and on September 18, 1990 a jury in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, before Judge Norman P. Ramsey, convicted him of four income-tax-related felonies; on December 13, 1990 Ramsey sentenced him to 16 months in prison and a 40,000 dollar fine. The indictment of February 22, 1990 charged four felony counts of underreporting his income to the Internal Revenue Service for 1985 and 1986 and of falsely stating on his 1985 and 1986 returns that he had no foreign financial accounts.[^6] The Fourth Circuit upheld the convictions on February 27, 1992, the Supreme Court denied certiorari, and Clines served his prison sentence.[^6][^7] Secord and Willard Zucker were the central prosecution witnesses; Secord testified under a cooperation agreement.[^7] The prosecution established that Clines had received income from Enterprise operations that he failed to report on his tax returns.[^8]
### Shackley Network
@ -53,5 +61,6 @@ Clines's career illustrates the structural feature of the Shackley network: offi
[^3]: Edward T. Pound and Walter S. Mossberg, "Weapons Windfall," Wall Street Journal, Oct. 1, 1982, pp. 1, 18, CIA Reading Room CIA-RDP09S00048R000100020015-5, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp09s00048r000100020015-5.
[^4]: Testimony of Richard V. Secord, Iran-Contra Investigation: Joint Hearings, 100th Cong., 1st sess., Hearings 100-1, p. 303, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41152829_0342.
[^5]: Central Intelligence Agency, Domestic Collection Division, case file 65805, "Wackenhut Corp.," JFK Assassination Records Collection, record 104-10291-10017, released 2023. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2023/104-10291-10017.pdf, pp. 19-22.
[^6]: Lawrence E. Walsh, Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, pt. V, ch. 11, "United States v. Thomas G. Clines," pp. 181-184, https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_11.htm.
[^7]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Iran-Contra: The Final Report*. Random House, 1994. Walsh, Lawrence E. *Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up*. W.W. Norton, 1997.
[^6]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Summary of Prosecutions. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
[^7]: Lawrence E. Walsh, Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, vol. I, pt. V, ch. 11, "United States v. Thomas G. Clines," pp. 181-184, https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_11.htm.
[^8]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Iran-Contra: The Final Report*. Random House, 1994. Walsh, Lawrence E. *Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up*. W.W. Norton, 1997.

20
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Uri Geller.md
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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-10-08
updated: 2026-10-09
title: Uri Geller
aliases:
- Uri Geller
@ -19,6 +19,13 @@ tags:
summary: "Israeli performer tested at Stanford Research Institute in 1972 and 1973 with Technical Services Division money, whom a CIA reviewer thought no more than a skillful magician."
born: 1946-12-20
location: "Tel Aviv, British Mandate Palestine"
relations:
- type: funded
with: "[[Edgar Mitchell]]"
reverse: true
start: 1972
role: "original funding source for the SRI tests"
fn: 10
---
Uri Geller is a famous Israeli-British illusionist, mentalist, and spoon bender. He was born on the winter solstice of 1946, in Tel Aviv, to Hungarian emigré parents. According to the Geller legend, at the age of four, he was visited by a strange luminous apparition, after which he began to manifest paranormal talents. Unlike [[Ingo Swann]] and [[Pat Price]], he did not have out-of-body experiences or premonitions; instead, he claimed to be able to read minds, visualize hidden objects and drawings clairvoyantly, and bend small pieces of metal.[^1]
@ -27,7 +34,7 @@ When Geller was ten, his parents separated, and he moved with his mother to Cypr
Allegedly, Geller worked with Israeli military intelligence chief [[Aharon Yariv]], [[Mossad]], and [[Shin Bet]], performing tasks such as clairvoyantly viewing intelligence targets in the [[Middle East]], predicting troop deployments, and telepathically influencing Arab figures. However, he later chose to pursue a high-profile career as a stage performer rather than a psychic warrior.[^1]
In 1972, Geller was brought to America by [[Andrija Puharich]], funded by a grant from the [[Institute of Noetic Science]], run by former astronaut [[Edgar Mitchell]]. Geller visited [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI) in 1972 and 1973, where [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] tested his abilities. He performed feats such as blindfolded driving, bending or breaking spoons and rings, remotely reducing the weight of objects on electronic scales, describing sketches in briefcases, and scrambling electronic equipment. While some tests showed genuine psi abilities, his hyperkinetic and chaotic style often led Puthoff and Targ to suspect sleight of hand. The CIA was interested in determining if Geller was genuine and his potential as an intelligence asset, or if he was part of a disinformation project.[^1]
In 1972, Geller was brought to America by [[Andrija Puharich]]. [[Jim Schnabel]] wrote that the trip was funded by a grant from the [[Institute of Noetic Science]], run by former astronaut [[Edgar Mitchell]]. Geller visited [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI) in 1972 and 1973, where [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Russell Targ]] tested his abilities. He performed feats such as blindfolded driving, bending or breaking spoons and rings, remotely reducing the weight of objects on electronic scales, describing sketches in briefcases, and scrambling electronic equipment. While some tests showed genuine psi abilities, his hyperkinetic and chaotic style often led Puthoff and Targ to suspect sleight of hand. The CIA was interested in determining if Geller was genuine and his potential as an intelligence asset, or if he was part of a disinformation project.[^1]
Despite the skepticism and his tricksterish demeanor, Geller produced remarkable results in some controlled tests, such as accurately reproducing a drawing of a bunch of grapes. However, his psychokinetic displays never occurred under fully controlled conditions, leading to suspicions of magician's tricks. Puthoff and Targ even brought in stage magician [[Milbourne Christopher]] to observe Geller. Geller's presence at SRI attracted significant attention and controversy, eventually leading Puthoff and Targ to conclude he was "not worth the trouble."[^1]
@ -39,6 +46,8 @@ In the winter of 1975, Geller was tested by a group of nuclear physicists and en
On January 23, 1973, Russell Targ and Hal Puthoff showed a CIA audience a film of their experiments with "Uri Geller, an Israeli magician with claimed capabilities in ESP." The Office of Research and Development's memorandum of the next day recorded that "the SRI work with Geller has been supported by Edgar Mitchell's foundation, by something with a name like Mind Science Institute of Los Angeles, and by TSD," the [[Technical Services Division]]. The film showed Geller reproducing sealed drawings, calling dice, finding metal or water in one of twelve containers, "and bending spoons by touching them with apparently much less force than would be required normally." The writer added: "On the basis of meetings I have attended at ARPA, whose Drs. Austin Kibler and George Lawrence have been to SRI to observe Geller, Puthoff and Targ in action, there is serious doubt that Geller's accomplishment transcends the range of activities a skillful magician can perform and much concern that Puthoff's and Targ's own experimental bias in favor of successful outcomes is undermining their objectivity in designing properly controlled experimental procedures. Geller's connections with Dr. A. Puharich, with whom many unsavory reports have been linked, also is disturbing." He recommended asking TSD about "their plans for future research at SRI, both with Geller and with other subjects such as Ingo Swann," and noted that one manager in the science and technology directorate had said he was "humbled" by the film. A further file, "Experiments - Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," is in the same collection.[^3]
Targ and Puthoff's Nature paper of October 18, 1974 thanks Judith Skutch and Edgar D. Mitchell of the Institute of Noetic Sciences for support.[^9] New Scientist reported on October 17, 1974 that Mitchell was Geller's original funding source and a co-experimenter on Geller at Stanford Research Institute, who had fallen out with Geller the year before, that funding came mainly from Skutch and Mitchell, and that Mitchell "two years ago set up his Institute of Noetic Sciences in Palo Alto."[^10] The Internal Revenue Service tax exemption of the California Institute of Noetic Sciences was issued in June 1973.[^11]
### The ARPA team, 1972 to 1973
[[Ray Hyman]] wrote that he visited SRI on December 8, 1972 with [[George Lawrence]] of [[DARPA|ARPA]], and that Geller sent everyone out of the room except Lawrence and Hyman.[^4] [[Roger A. Beaumont]] wrote that in 1972 the agency sent a team headed by Lawrence, including Hyman and [[Robert Van de Castle]], and that the team's report was totally negative.[^5] According to Schnabel, the agency's corporate stance was not to pursue Geller further, while Van de Castle was impressed by Geller's abilities.[^1] Time reported in 1974 that Hyman, accompanied by Lawrence, caught Geller in some outright deceptions, and quoted Hyman as calling the SRI tests conducted with "incredible sloppiness."[^6] [[David Suter]], in an undated Washington Post article, wrote that DARPA consultants concluded that SRI's work with Geller was conducted with "incredible sloppiness," and quoted Van de Castle, "a member of the DARPA team that investigated Geller," on two CIA men who visited him: "One thing they wanted to know was if Geller could jam computers."[^7]
@ -51,9 +60,12 @@ Targ's log of the sessions of August 4 to 11, 1973, in an "electrically shielded
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* 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]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Research and Development, memorandum ORD-413-73, "Briefing by Stanford Research Institute," January 24, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070029-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. "Experiments - Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2.
[^3]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Research and Development, memorandum ORD-413-73, "Briefing by Stanford Research Institute," January 24, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070029-2. "Experiments - Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2.
[^4]: Ray Hyman, "Psychics and Scientists: 'Mind-Reach' and Remote Viewing," *The Humanist*, May/June 1977, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080037-4. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000200080037-4.pdf Jim Schnabel, *Remote Viewers* (Dell, 1997), p. 138, dates the visit of the agency's three-man team to early 1973.
[^5]: Roger A. Beaumont, "On the Strategic Potential of ESP," clipping reproduced in the 1983 Center Lane staff study, CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3.pdf
[^6]: "Boom Times on the Psychic Frontier," *Time*, March 4, 1974, CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030002-8. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00787R000100030002-8.pdf
[^7]: David Suter, article for *The Washington Post*, undated clipping reproduced in CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001700360003-3.pdf
[^8]: Targ, Russell. "Experiments: Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," memorandum of August 13, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^8]: Targ, Russell. "Experiments: Uri Geller at SRI, August 4-11, 1973," memorandum of August 13, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000700110003-2.
[^9]: R. Targ and H. Puthoff, "Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding," *Nature*, vol. 251, October 18, 1974, pp. 602-607, acknowledgments. CIA Reading Room copy, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090024-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000200090024-7
[^10]: Joseph Hanlon, report on Uri Geller and the Targ and Puthoff paper, *New Scientist*, vol. 64, no. 919, October 17, 1974, reprinted in CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090024-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000200090024-7
[^11]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, "California Institute of Noetic Sciences" (EIN 23-7236986), tax exemption issued June 1973. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237236986

45
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/William Yandell Elliott.md Normal file
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@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
---
title: William Yandell Elliott
aliases:
- William Yandell Elliott
- William Y. Elliott
- W. Y. Elliott
- William Elliott
category: "Intelligence & Government"
created: 2026-10-09
updated: 2026-10-09
tags:
- Person
- NationalSecurityCouncil
- Harvard
summary: "Harvard professor of government who was Assistant Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization and its representative on the National Security Council Planning Board from 1953."
relations:
- type: member_of
with: "[[National Security Council]]"
role: "Office of Defense Mobilization representative on the NSC Planning Board"
start: 1953
end: 1954
fn: 1
---
William Yandell Elliott was a professor of government at [[Harvard University]]. The Foreign Relations of the United States list of persons gives his posts as Assistant Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, 1952 to 1953, and Office of Defense Mobilization representative on the Planning Board of the [[National Security Council]], 1953 to 1954.[^1]
### National Security Council Planning Board
The minutes of the 146th meeting of the Council on May 27, 1953 list "W. Y. Elliott, ODM Planning Board Member," and the minutes of the 155th meeting on July 16, 1953 list "William Y. Elliott, Office of Defense Mobilization."[^2][^3] The Hoover Institution's biographical note for his papers lists him as a member of the National Security Council planning board from 1953 to 1957.[^4] The Harvard Crimson reported in July 1959, when he left for Moscow with Vice President [[Richard Nixon]] as Director of the Harvard Summer School, that since 1953 he had been a member of the National Security Council planning board and had served as assistant director of the Office of Defense Mobilization from 1951 to 1953.[^5] The Foreign Relations list of persons (1952) and the Crimson (1951) differ by a year on the start of the Office of Defense Mobilization post.
The Eisenhower Library's finding aid for the Council's administrative subseries lists a folder of 1949 to 1953 containing "suggestions by William Elliott re reorganization of the NSC."[^6]
### Charles Marsh and Marion Pettie
Kenn Thomas and Len Bracken wrote in 1998 in *Steamshovel Press* that [[Charles Marsh]] facilitated [[Marion Pettie]]'s tie to Elliott, whom they described as a Harvard professor on the National Security Council planning board and a [[Radio Liberty]] trustee.[^7]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, vol. II, part 1, list of persons, entry "Elliott, William Y." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v02p1
[^2]: FRUS 1952-1954, vol. II, part 2, doc. 90, minutes of the 146th meeting of the National Security Council, May 27, 1953. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v02p2/d90
[^3]: FRUS 1952-1954, vol. II, part 1, doc. 79, minutes of the 155th meeting of the National Security Council, July 16, 1953. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v02p1/d79
[^4]: Hoover Institution Library and Archives, William Yandell Elliott papers, biographical note: "member, planning board, National Security Council, 1953-1957." https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf1199n4gh/
[^5]: "Elliott Flies to Moscow With Nixon's Mission," *The Harvard Crimson,* July 23, 1959. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1959/7/23/elliott-flies-to-moscow-with-nixons/
[^6]: Eisenhower Presidential Library, Office of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, NSC Series, Administrative Subseries finding aid, folder "National Security Council - organization and Functions (1) [1949-1953]." https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/finding-aids/pdf/who-osansa/nsc-series-administrative-subseries.pdf
[^7]: Kenn Thomas and Len Bracken, "The Finders' Keeper," *Steamshovel Press* #16, 1998.

16
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Arthur Koestler.md
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@ -8,12 +8,26 @@ summary: "Arthur Koestler was a Hungarian-born British novelist, journalist, and
born: 1905-09-05
died: 1983-03-01
location: "Budapest, Hungary"
relations:
- type: funded
with: "[[University of Edinburgh]]"
start: 1985
role: "bequest endowing the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology"
fn: 2
---
Arthur Koestler was a Hungarian-born British novelist, journalist, and critic. He was known for his writings on science, parapsychology, and political philosophy. His 1972 book, *The Roots of Coincidence*, explored the concept of synchronicity and other parapsychological phenomena.[^1]
Koestler's work, particularly *The Roots of Coincidence*, played a role in influencing key figures in the U.S. government's psychic research programs. Major General [[Edmund Thompson]], the Army's assistant chief of staff for intelligence, developed a considerable enthusiasm for psychic spying after reading Koestler's pro-paranormal book. This personal interest contributed to Thompson's approval and support for the [[Stargate Project|Gondola Wish]] program.[^1]
### Koestler Chair of Parapsychology
Koestler's bequest endowed a chair in parapsychology at the [[University of Edinburgh]]. The Koestler Parapsychology Unit, in the university's psychology department, gives 1985 as its year of establishment, and [[Robert L. Morris]] was appointed the first holder of the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology in 1985.[^2][^3] A paper reproduced in the 1994 DIA peer review plan gives Morris as holding the chair in the Department of Psychology at Edinburgh.[^4] [[James E. Alcock]] described the chair in 1987 as "endowed by a bequest from the late Arthur Koestler, a long-time supporter of parapsychology."[^5]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Koestler Parapsychology Unit, University of Edinburgh, home page ("Established in 1985"). https://koestlerunit.wordpress.com/
[^3]: "Robert Morris," Psi Encyclopedia, Society for Psychical Research ("In 1985, Morris was appointed the first holder of the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology"). https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/robert-morris/
[^4]: Defense Intelligence Agency, *Project STAR GATE Research and Peer Review Plan,* June 1994, CIA-RDP96-00789R002700010001-1. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00789r002700010001-1
[^5]: Alcock, James E. "Parapsychology: Science of the Anomalous or Search for the Soul?" *Behavioral and Brain Sciences* (1987), CIA-RDP96-00789R002200120001-4. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00789r002200120001-4

91
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Baron Cain Martin.md
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@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ tags:
- MaterialSupport
- TerrorismCharge
created: 2026-05-21
updated: 2026-05-22
summary: "Baron Cain Martin, alias 'Convict,' is the first person in the United States charged under a federal terrorism statute as an alleged 764 Network member, with DOJ using 18 U.S.C. § 2339A anchored to an 18 U.S.C. § 956(a) conspiracy to kill or maim a victim located overseas."
updated: 2026-10-09
summary: "Baron Cain Martin, alias 'Convict,' is the first person in the United States charged under a federal terrorism statute as an alleged 764 Network member, under 18 U.S.C. § 2339A and a § 956(a) conspiracy."
born: 2004
location: "Tucson, Arizona"
---
@ -23,13 +23,13 @@ location: "Tucson, Arizona"
According to prosecutors, Martin joined 764 in approximately 2019, when he was around 14 or 15 years old, and over the following years rose to a position of leadership and administration within the network's chatrooms. By the time of his arrest he was operating as an administrator of 764 spaces and had authored a detailed grooming guide that he posted online, advising other 764 members on how to identify, groom, and extort vulnerable juveniles. The guide specifically recommended targeting victims who were already struggling with mental health issues, on the ground that psychological vulnerability made targets easier to coerce.[^1]
Martin operated across [[Discord]], [[Telegram]], and other platforms under the "Convict" alias and additional handles. Named co-conspirators in the indictment include [[Leonidas Varagiannis]], [[Prasan Nepal]], and [[Tony Christopher Long]], all separately prosecuted in federal cases arising from the same investigative period.
Martin operated across [[Discord]], [[Telegram]], and other platforms under the "Convict" alias and additional handles. The superseding indictment, filed October 29, 2025 in a version redacted for public disclosure, refers to Martin's co-conspirators as "conspirators," "coconspirators," "Conspirator 1" and "others, known and unknown."[^2] [[Leonidas Varagiannis]], [[Prasan Nepal]] and [[Tony Christopher Long]] were each separately prosecuted in federal cases arising from the same period.
### Case Record
The case is docketed as [[United States v. Martin (4-25-cr-00190)|United States v. Martin]], 4:25-cr-00190-TUC-AMM(BGM), before [[Angela M. Martinez|U.S. District Judge Angela M. Martinez]], with [[Bruce G. Macdonald]] serving as the assigned magistrate.[^2] The original arrest charges were filed under magistrate case 4:24-mj-11950 following Martin's arrest on December 11, 2024. A superseding grand jury indictment on 29 counts was returned and unsealed on October 31, 2025; Martin was arraigned on the superseding indictment on November 21, 2025 and entered a not-guilty plea on all counts.
The case is docketed as [[United States v. Martin (4-25-cr-00190)|United States v. Martin]], 4:25-cr-00190-TUC-AMM(BGM), before [[Angela M. Martinez|U.S. District Judge Angela M. Martinez]], with [[Bruce G. Macdonald]] serving as the assigned magistrate.[^3] The original arrest charges were filed under magistrate case 4:24-mj-11950 following Martin's arrest on December 11, 2024. A superseding grand jury indictment on 29 counts was returned and unsealed on October 31, 2025; Martin was arraigned on the superseding indictment on November 21, 2025 and entered a not-guilty plea on all counts.
The case was designated complex by the court. An original trial date of March 24, 2026 was vacated; a status conference before Magistrate Macdonald was scheduled for May 19, 2026. The current jury trial date is June 30, 2026, with a plea deadline of June 19, 2026.[^3]
The case was designated complex by the court. An original trial date of March 24, 2026 was vacated; a status conference before Magistrate Macdonald was scheduled for May 19, 2026. The current jury trial date is June 30, 2026, with a plea deadline of June 19, 2026.[^4]
The prosecution is led by [[Justin Sher]], Trial Attorney in the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] National Security Division's [[Counterterrorism Section]], and [[James Donnelly]], who serves as DOJ's designated domestic terrorism coordinator for [[Nihilistic Violent Extremism]] cases. The indictment was filed by [[Timothy Courchaine]], U.S. Attorney for the [[District of Arizona]], who was appointed to that position by [[Attorney General]] [[Pamela Bondi]] on February 28, 2025.[^1]
@ -57,41 +57,41 @@ The superseding indictment alleges that Martin victimized at least nine individu
The designation of the material support to terrorism count against Martin represents the first time in the United States that a 764 network member has been charged with a federal terrorism offense. The case was cited by [[Pamela Bondi|Attorney General Pamela Bondi]] and [[Kash Patel|FBI Director Kash Patel]] at the time of its announcement as evidence of the government's willingness to apply terrorism statutes to what had previously been charged primarily as child exploitation crimes.[^1]
DOJ Trial Attorney [[Justin Sher]] (National Security Division) and DOJ career officials subsequently offered public assessments of 764 as a terrorism threat equal in seriousness to foreign-directed networks. The Martin case is the legal vehicle through which the DOJ is testing the proposition that 764's violence is terrorism rather than merely criminal exploitation.[^4]
DOJ Trial Attorney [[Justin Sher]] (National Security Division) and DOJ career officials subsequently offered public assessments of 764 as a terrorism threat equal in seriousness to foreign-directed networks. The Martin case is the legal vehicle through which the DOJ is testing the proposition that 764's violence is terrorism rather than merely criminal exploitation.[^5]
### The Terrorism Charge: Statutory Theory
The terrorism count in the indictment is a conspiracy charge under [[18 U.S.C. § 2339A]]: conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. This is not a charge under 18 U.S.C. § 2339B (providing material support to a designated [[Foreign Terrorist Organization]]). The distinction is legally critical: 764 is not a State Department-designated FTO, so 2339B was unavailable.
Section 2339A instead requires only that the defendant knowingly provide material support, defined broadly to include property, services, expert advice or assistance, personnel (including oneself), and training, knowing or intending that the support will be used in preparation for, or to carry out, a listed predicate offense. The predicate offense named in the Martin indictment is a violation of [[18 U.S.C. § 956|18 U.S.C. § 956(a)]]: conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons in a foreign country, requiring an overt act within U.S. jurisdiction.[^5]
Section 2339A instead requires only that the defendant knowingly provide material support, defined broadly to include property, services, expert advice or assistance, personnel (including oneself), and training, knowing or intending that the support will be used in preparation for, or to carry out, a listed predicate offense. The predicate offense named in the Martin indictment is a violation of [[18 U.S.C. § 956|18 U.S.C. § 956(a)]]: conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons in a foreign country, requiring an overt act within U.S. jurisdiction.[^6]
The statutory mechanics: DOJ charged Martin with conspiring to provide material support (under 2339A) in furtherance of a conspiracy to kill or maim an overseas victim (under 956(a)). The two conspiracy layers do not create an impermissible "conspiracy to conspire" problem because 2339A contains its own conspiracy provision, meaning no separate overt act is required once the agreement is formed.[^6]
The statutory mechanics: DOJ charged Martin with conspiring to provide material support (under 2339A) in furtherance of a conspiracy to kill or maim an overseas victim (under 956(a)). The two conspiracy layers do not create an impermissible "conspiracy to conspire" problem because 2339A contains its own conspiracy provision, meaning no separate overt act is required once the agreement is formed.[^7]
The penalty for the 2339A conspiracy count is up to 15 years per count. The 956(a) conspiracy to kill, if it results in death, carries life imprisonment; conspiracy to maim carries up to 35 years.
### Specific Facts Underlying the Terrorism Count
The terrorism count rests on a September 2022 conspiracy in which Martin and unnamed co-conspirators directed a victim identified only as "Victim 7," located outside the United States, to self-harm, self-maim, and die by suicide. The government's theory is that coercing an overseas victim to commit violence against themselves constitutes a conspiracy to kill or maim a person in a foreign country under 956(a), and that Martin's actions in furtherance of that conspiracy, specifically his authorship and circulation of the "[[Grooming/Manipulation Egirls Guide]]" and his operational direction of 764 members, constituted "expert advice or assistance" and "services" and "personnel" within the meaning of 2339A.[^5]
The terrorism count rests on a September 2022 conspiracy in which Martin and unnamed co-conspirators directed a victim identified only as "Victim 7," located outside the United States, to self-harm, self-maim, and die by suicide. The government's theory is that coercing an overseas victim to commit violence against themselves constitutes a conspiracy to kill or maim a person in a foreign country under 956(a), and that Martin's actions in furtherance of that conspiracy, specifically his authorship and circulation of the "[[Grooming/Manipulation Egirls Guide]]" and his operational direction of 764 members, constituted "expert advice or assistance" and "services" and "personnel" within the meaning of 2339A.[^6]
According to analysis published by researchers at the [[GWU Program on Extremism]], the government will likely rely on overlapping evidence to prove both the 956(a) conspiracy and the 2339A conspiracy, since the same conduct (coercing Victim 7) forms the core of both counts.[^6]
According to analysis published by researchers at the [[GWU Program on Extremism]], the government will likely rely on overlapping evidence to prove both the 956(a) conspiracy and the 2339A conspiracy, since the same conduct (coercing Victim 7) forms the core of both counts.[^7]
U.S. Attorney Courchaine described the ideological component at a press conference: the conduct was not motivated by financial gain but by "the glory and for the ideology of bringing down just generally the system," and that ideological motive, 764's stated accelerationist goal of destabilizing U.S. society and the world order, is what supports the terrorism framing under the statute. He stated: "It's terrorism because it was an ideology that specifically motivated violent actions."[^7]
U.S. Attorney Courchaine described the ideological component at a press conference: the conduct was not motivated by financial gain but by "the glory and for the ideology of bringing down just generally the system," and that ideological motive, 764's stated accelerationist goal of destabilizing U.S. society and the world order, is what supports the terrorism framing under the statute. He stated: "It's terrorism because it was an ideology that specifically motivated violent actions."[^8]
### The Grooming Guide as Material Support
The indictment identifies Martin as the author and distributor of the "Grooming/Manipulation Egirls Guide," which provided detailed instructions to 764 members on how to identify, target, and coerce vulnerable minors into producing CSAM and self-harm content. The government classifies the guide's authorship and distribution as both a "service" to 764 members and "expert advice or assistance" within the statutory definition of material support under 2339A. This theory, that a written manual of criminal tradecraft constitutes "expert advice or assistance" under the terrorism material support statute, is a significant extension of how 2339A has traditionally been applied and could face First Amendment challenge if Martin moves to dismiss.[^6]
The indictment identifies Martin as the author and distributor of the "Grooming/Manipulation Egirls Guide," which provided detailed instructions to 764 members on how to identify, target, and coerce vulnerable minors into producing CSAM and self-harm content. The government classifies the guide's authorship and distribution as both a "service" to 764 members and "expert advice or assistance" within the statutory definition of material support under 2339A. This theory, that a written manual of criminal tradecraft constitutes "expert advice or assistance" under the terrorism material support statute, is a significant extension of how 2339A has traditionally been applied and could face First Amendment challenge if Martin moves to dismiss.[^7]
### Why Martin and Not Earlier 764 Defendants
The 2339A/956 theory was not applied in earlier 764 prosecutions for a structural reason. The 956(a) predicate requires a conspiracy to kill or maim a person located in a foreign country. Earlier cases, including the founding prosecution of [[Bradley Chance Cadenhead]] (Texas state court, CSAM charges only), and the federal prosecutions of [[Leonidas Varagiannis]] and [[Prasan Nepal]] (D.D.C., case 1:25-cr-00304, child exploitation enterprise and related charges but no terrorism count), either did not involve an identified overseas victim of directed lethal violence, or prosecutors chose not to deploy the terrorism theory at that stage.[^8]
The 2339A/956 theory was not applied in earlier 764 prosecutions for a structural reason. The 956(a) predicate requires a conspiracy to kill or maim a person located in a foreign country. Earlier cases, including the founding prosecution of [[Bradley Chance Cadenhead]] (Texas state court, CSAM charges only), and the federal prosecutions of [[Leonidas Varagiannis]] and [[Prasan Nepal]] (D.D.C., case 1:25-cr-00304, child exploitation enterprise and related charges but no terrorism count), either did not involve an identified overseas victim of directed lethal violence, or prosecutors chose not to deploy the terrorism theory at that stage.[^9]
The Martin indictment is the first case where DOJ identified a specific overseas victim who was directed to commit lethal self-harm, providing the 956(a) predicate anchor that makes 2339A available without any FTO designation. The Baumgartner/Jonas analysis frames this as DOJ using 2339A as "connective tissue linking online radicalization to real-world harm" and as a signal that the government now views NVE networks as terrorist enterprises rather than merely criminal exploitation schemes.[^6]
The Martin indictment is the first case where DOJ identified a specific overseas victim who was directed to commit lethal self-harm, providing the 956(a) predicate anchor that makes 2339A available without any FTO designation. The Baumgartner/Jonas analysis frames this as DOJ using 2339A as "connective tissue linking online radicalization to real-world harm" and as a signal that the government now views NVE networks as terrorist enterprises rather than merely criminal exploitation schemes.[^7]
An additional factor is the explicit accelerationist ideology element. The Chavez prosecution ([[San Antonio]], RICO guilty plea December 2025) and the Varagiannis/Nepal prosecution both used NVE framing in press releases but charged under RICO and child exploitation statutes. Martin's case is distinguished by the combination of: (1) a specifically identified overseas victim, (2) documented ideological goal statements from Martin himself about societal destabilization, and (3) the existence of the grooming guide as a distributable "expert advice" artifact.
An additional factor is the explicit accelerationist ideology element. The Chavez prosecution ([[San Antonio]], RICO guilty plea December 2025) and the Varagiannis/Nepal prosecution both used NVE framing in press releases while the Varagiannis and Nepal indictment charges a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g), not RICO.[^10] Martin's case is distinguished by the combination of: (1) a specifically identified overseas victim, (2) documented ideological goal statements from Martin himself about societal destabilization, and (3) the existence of the grooming guide as a distributable "expert advice" artifact.
### Murder-for-Hire Allegation
The indictment also contains a discrete episode from 2022 in which, after becoming involved in a dispute with a 13-year-old girl, Martin allegedly offered to pay $3,000 to have the girl's grandmother killed. He allegedly provided the grandmother's home address and shared both the girl's and her grandmother's phone numbers in a separate Discord chat alongside a solicitation for someone to carry out the attack. This episode is cited in the conspiracy to kill, kidnap or maim persons in a foreign country count and by U.S. Attorney Courchaine as additional support for the terrorism framing, a murder-for-hire offer directed at a family member of a coercion victim, undertaken as network discipline.[^7]
The indictment also contains a discrete episode from 2022 in which, after becoming involved in a dispute with a 13-year-old girl, Martin allegedly offered to pay $3,000 to have the girl's grandmother killed. He allegedly provided the grandmother's home address and shared both the girl's and her grandmother's phone numbers in a separate Discord chat alongside a solicitation for someone to carry out the attack. This episode is cited in the conspiracy to kill, kidnap or maim persons in a foreign country count and by U.S. Attorney Courchaine as additional support for the terrorism framing, a murder-for-hire offer directed at a family member of a coercion victim, undertaken as network discipline.[^8]
### Potential Sentence
@ -99,17 +99,17 @@ If convicted, Martin faces a maximum penalty of life in prison on each count of
### FBI Classification and Congressional Oversight
The FBI's internal classification of 764 as a "Tier One" investigative matter, the highest threat category, preceded the Martin terrorism charge and provided the institutional framework within which DOJ National Security Division attorneys were able to bring a terrorism count. FBI Director [[Kash Patel]] testified to Congress in September 2025 that 764 represents "the new form of what I refer to as modern-day terrorism in America."[^9]
The FBI's internal classification of 764 as a "Tier One" investigative matter, the highest threat category, preceded the Martin terrorism charge and provided the institutional framework within which DOJ National Security Division attorneys were able to bring a terrorism count. FBI Director [[Kash Patel]] testified to Congress in September 2025 that 764 represents "the new form of what I refer to as modern-day terrorism in America."[^11]
On February 17, 2026, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman [[James Comer]] and Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement Chairman [[Clay Higgins]] sent a formal letter to Patel requesting a classified staff briefing on the FBI's 764 investigations and apprehensions, noting that the Bureau had more than 250 open 764 investigations.[^10]
On February 17, 2026, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman [[James Comer]] and Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement Chairman [[Clay Higgins]] sent a formal letter to Patel requesting a classified staff briefing on the FBI's 764 investigations and apprehensions, noting that the Bureau had more than 250 open 764 investigations.[^12]
[[Steve Grocki]], Chief of DOJ's [[Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section]], acknowledged the charging challenge in a December 2025 public panel hosted by the GWU Program on Extremism: "Coercing a minor to engage in self-harm or to harm another is not necessarily criminalized in an easy way." The Martin 2339A theory represents DOJ's resolution of that charging gap, sidestepping the absence of a specific federal statute criminalizing directed self-harm by instead treating the coercive campaign as a terrorism conspiracy.[^4]
[[Steve Grocki]], Chief of DOJ's [[Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section]], acknowledged the charging challenge in a December 2025 public panel hosted by the GWU Program on Extremism: "Coercing a minor to engage in self-harm or to harm another is not necessarily criminalized in an easy way." The Martin 2339A theory represents DOJ's resolution of that charging gap, sidestepping the absence of a specific federal statute criminalizing directed self-harm by instead treating the coercive campaign as a terrorism conspiracy.[^5]
At the same panel, Sher described 764's stated objective as "to cause the downfall of society, cause the downfall of the U.S. government," and Donnelly called the threat "as serious a threat as you can imagine."[^4]
At the same panel, Sher described 764's stated objective as "to cause the downfall of society, cause the downfall of the U.S. government," and Donnelly called the threat "as serious a threat as you can imagine."[^5]
### Pre-Trial Record
As of May 2026, no defense motions challenging the terrorism count have been reported in public sources or accessible docket summaries. The case was designated complex, which typically signals that both parties anticipate substantial pre-trial litigation. Any motion to dismiss or constitutional challenge to the terrorism charge would likely target either (a) the First Amendment implications of treating the grooming guide as "expert advice or assistance" under 2339A, or (b) whether directing a victim to harm herself satisfies the "kill, kidnap, or maim" element of 956(a) when the perpetrator is directing self-inflicted harm rather than acting directly. The PACER docket (4:25-cr-00190) should be checked closer to the June 30, 2026 trial date for any newly filed motions.[^3]
As of May 2026, no defense motions challenging the terrorism count have been reported in public sources or accessible docket summaries. The case was designated complex, which typically signals that both parties anticipate substantial pre-trial litigation. Any motion to dismiss or constitutional challenge to the terrorism charge would likely target either (a) the First Amendment implications of treating the grooming guide as "expert advice or assistance" under 2339A, or (b) whether directing a victim to harm herself satisfies the "kill, kidnap, or maim" element of 956(a) when the perpetrator is directing self-inflicted harm rather than acting directly. The PACER docket (4:25-cr-00190) should be checked closer to the June 30, 2026 trial date for any newly filed motions.[^4]
Martin has been held in federal pretrial detention since his initial arrest on December 11, 2024.
@ -117,44 +117,33 @@ Martin has been held in federal pretrial detention since his initial arrest on D
The Martin prosecution is occurring alongside a wave of international cases against 764 and Com network members in which the question of terrorism prosecution is being actively contested in multiple jurisdictions.
In the [[Netherlands]], the founder of [[No Lives Matter]], identified only as Justin B., 25, of [[Eindhoven]], faces charges under Article 140a of the Dutch Criminal Code, membership in a terrorist organization, as well as CSAM, animal crushing, and distribution of violent content charges. The Dutch [[Openbaar Ministerie]] (OM) formally classified No Lives Matter as a terrorist organization, making this the first known terrorism prosecution of a Com network member in the EU. Justin B. was held in the high-security terrorist wing of [[Vught Prison]] and appeared in the high-security courtroom in [[Rotterdam]] in October 2025 at his first public hearing.[^11]
In the [[Netherlands]], the founder of [[No Lives Matter]], identified only as Justin B., 25, of [[Eindhoven]], faces charges under Article 140a of the Dutch Criminal Code, membership in a terrorist organization, as well as CSAM, animal crushing, and distribution of violent content charges. The Dutch [[Openbaar Ministerie]] (OM) formally classified No Lives Matter as a terrorist organization, making this the first known terrorism prosecution of a Com network member in the EU. Justin B. was held in the high-security terrorist wing of [[Vught Prison]] and appeared in the high-security courtroom in [[Rotterdam]] in October 2025 at his first public hearing.[^13]
In [[Germany]], [[Shahriar J.]], a 21-year-old dual German-Iranian national known by the alias "White Tiger," faces 204 criminal charges in [[Hamburg]] state court, including one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder as an indirect perpetrator. Shahriar J. was arrested on June 17, 2025 following an FBI tip on child pornography; police found 85,000 files and more than 600 videos. Prosecutors allege he drove a 13-year-old American boy to suicide in January 2022 via livestream by using a Finnish minor as an intermediary. Trial began in Hamburg on January 9, 2026 with 82 days of hearings scheduled through December 17. Germany is prosecuting under murder and CSAM statutes, not terrorism statutes, making the Hamburg case a direct contrast to the U.S. 2339A approach.[^12]
In [[Germany]], [[Shahriar J.]], a 21-year-old dual German-Iranian national known by the alias "White Tiger," faces 204 criminal charges in [[Hamburg]] state court, including one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder as an indirect perpetrator. Shahriar J. was arrested on June 17, 2025 following an FBI tip on child pornography; police found 85,000 files and more than 600 videos. Prosecutors allege he drove a 13-year-old American boy to suicide in January 2022 via livestream by using a Finnish minor as an intermediary. Trial began in Hamburg on January 9, 2026 with 82 days of hearings scheduled through December 17. Germany is prosecuting under murder and CSAM statutes, not terrorism statutes, making the Hamburg case a direct contrast to the U.S. 2339A approach.[^14]
In [[Canada]], the government listed 764 as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code on December 10, 2025, becoming the first country to formally designate the network. The listing criminalizes participation in and support for 764, and freezes all Canadian-held 764 property. Canada had already conducted multiple terrorism prosecutions of Com/764-adjacent individuals: the [[RCMP]] arrested an Edmonton-area 15-year-old in May 2025 and again in October 2025 for terrorism offenses linked to the Com/764 network, charging the youth with participation in a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity, willful promotion of hatred, uttering threats, and CSAM possession.[^13]
In [[Canada]], the government listed 764 as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code on December 10, 2025, becoming the first country to formally designate the network. The listing criminalizes participation in and support for 764, and freezes all Canadian-held 764 property. Canada had already conducted multiple terrorism prosecutions of Com/764-adjacent individuals: the [[RCMP]] arrested an Edmonton-area 15-year-old in May 2025 and again in October 2025 for terrorism offenses linked to the Com/764 network, charging the youth with participation in a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity, willful promotion of hatred, uttering threats, and CSAM possession.[^15]
### Analytical Significance
The 2339A/956 theory, as deployed in the Martin case, resolves what had been the central obstacle to terrorism prosecution of domestic online networks that are not designated FTOs: it requires only an overseas victim, a knowing conspiracy to cause lethal or serious physical harm to that victim, and defendant conduct classifiable as material support. No State Department designation, no ideological alignment with a recognized foreign movement, and no connection to a foreign government or organization is required. The theory travels wherever 764 goes, which is transnational by design.
[[Tanya Mehra]] and [[Menso Hartgers]] of the [[International Centre for Counter-Terrorism]] (ICCT), in their October 2025 policy brief "Fury and Void: Legal Pathways to Counter 764," noted the challenge of applying traditional terrorism legal frameworks to 764 given the network's stated nihilism rather than a coherent political ideology, arguing that nihilism as such may not satisfy some national terrorism threshold definitions. The U.S. government's approach sidesteps this problem entirely: by anchoring the 2339A charge to 956(a)'s foreign-country violence predicate, DOJ avoids having to prove ideological terrorism intent under any federal domestic terrorism definition. The act of conspiring to cause lethal harm to an overseas victim is sufficient, regardless of ideology.[^14]
[[Tanya Mehra]] and [[Menso Hartgers]] of the [[International Centre for Counter-Terrorism]] (ICCT), in their October 2025 policy brief "Fury and Void: Legal Pathways to Counter 764," noted the challenge of applying traditional terrorism legal frameworks to 764 given the network's stated nihilism rather than a coherent political ideology, arguing that nihilism as such may not satisfy some national terrorism threshold definitions. The U.S. government's approach sidesteps this problem entirely: by anchoring the 2339A charge to 956(a)'s foreign-country violence predicate, DOJ avoids having to prove ideological terrorism intent under any federal domestic terrorism definition. The act of conspiring to cause lethal harm to an overseas victim is sufficient, regardless of ideology.[^16]
### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, OPA. "Arizona Leader of Violent Extremist Network '764' Charged with Running a Child Exploitation Enterprise, Supporting Terrorists, Producing and Distributing Child Pornography, and Other Crimes." Press Release, October 31, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/arizona-leader-violent-extremist-network-764-charged-running-child-exploitation-enterprise; CyberScoop. "Alleged 764 leader arrested in Arizona, faces life in prison." https://cyberscoop.com/baron-cain-martin-764-leader-arrested-charged/
[^2]: CourtListener, United States v. Martin, 4:25-cr-00190-TUC-AMM(BGM), D. Ariz. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69535068/united-states-v-martin/
[^3]: PacerMonitor, USA v. Martin, 4:25-cr-00190, Arizona District Court. https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/56789960/USA_v_Martin
[^4]: ABC News. "In rare public comments, career DOJ officials offer chilling warnings about online network 764." 2026. https://abcnews.com/US/rare-public-comments-career-doj-officials-offer-chilling/story?id=128526657; GWU Program on Extremism. "Holding 764 Accountable." Panel, December 18, 2025. https://extremism.gwu.edu/holding-764-accountable
[^5]: 18 U.S.C. § 2339A (material support to terrorists); 18 U.S.C. § 956(a) (conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons in a foreign country). Cornell LII: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2339A; https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/956
[^6]: Baumgartner, Luke, and Barry Jonas. "How the DOJ is Prosecuting Nihilistic Violent Extremism as Domestic Terrorism." *Just Security,* December 9, 2025. https://www.justsecurity.org/126226/prosecuting-nihilistic-violent-extremism-domestic-terrorism/
[^7]: AZFamily. "Tucson case first in nation to pursue federal terrorism charges against member of 764." April 3, 2026. https://www.azfamily.com/2026/04/03/tucson-case-first-nation-pursue-federal-terrorism-charges-against-member-764/
[^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-DC. "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise." April 30, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise
[^9]: Patel, Kash. Opening Statement, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Federal Bureau of Investigation Oversight Hearing, September 16, 2025. https://www.fbi.gov/news/speeches-and-testimony/director-patel-opening-statement-to-the-senate-committee-on-the-judiciary-091625
[^10]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Letter to FBI Director Kash Patel re: 764 Network, February 17, 2026. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Letter-to-FBI-764-Group-.pdf
[^11]: NL Times. "Eindhoven suspect says he left sadistic online 'Com' shortly before his arrest." October 28, 2025. https://nltimes.nl/2025/10/28/eindhoven-suspect-says-left-sadistic-online-com-shortly-arrest
[^12]: Euronews. "German court begins trial of 'White Tiger' online predator." January 9, 2026. https://www.euronews.com/2026/01/09/german-court-begins-trial-of-white-tiger-online-predator; CBS News. "Man dubbed 'White Tiger' charged with murder over U.S. teen's livestreamed suicide." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-charged-murder-germany-us-teen-suicide-764-network/
[^13]: Government of Canada. "Government of Canada lists four new terrorist entities." December 10, 2025. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2025/12/government-of-canada-lists-four-new-terrorist-entities0.html; RCMP. "Alberta youth arrested for terrorism and child pornography offences." October 2, 2025. https://rcmp.ca/en/news/2025/10/alberta-youth-arrested-terrorism-and-child-pornography-offences
[^14]: Mehra, Tanya, and Menso Hartgers. "Fury and Void: Legal Pathways to Counter 764." International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), October 2025. https://icct.nl/publication/fury-and-void-legal-pathways-counter-764
[^2]: Superseding Indictment (Redacted for Public Disclosure), United States v. Martin, No. 4:25-cr-00190 (D. Ariz.), Doc. 53, filed October 29, 2025. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.azd.1421217/gov.uscourts.azd.1421217.53.0_1.pdf
[^3]: CourtListener, United States v. Martin, 4:25-cr-00190-TUC-AMM(BGM), D. Ariz. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69535068/united-states-v-martin/
[^4]: PacerMonitor, USA v. Martin, 4:25-cr-00190, Arizona District Court. https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/56789960/USA_v_Martin
[^5]: ABC News. "In rare public comments, career DOJ officials offer chilling warnings about online network 764." 2026. https://abcnews.com/US/rare-public-comments-career-doj-officials-offer-chilling/story?id=128526657; GWU Program on Extremism. "Holding 764 Accountable." Panel, December 18, 2025. https://extremism.gwu.edu/holding-764-accountable
[^6]: 18 U.S.C. § 2339A (material support to terrorists); 18 U.S.C. § 956(a) (conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim, or injure persons in a foreign country). Cornell LII: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2339A; https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/956
[^7]: Baumgartner, Luke, and Barry Jonas. "How the DOJ is Prosecuting Nihilistic Violent Extremism as Domestic Terrorism." *Just Security,* December 9, 2025. https://www.justsecurity.org/126226/prosecuting-nihilistic-violent-extremism-domestic-terrorism/
[^8]: AZFamily. "Tucson case first in nation to pursue federal terrorism charges against member of 764." April 3, 2026. https://www.azfamily.com/2026/04/03/tucson-case-first-nation-pursue-federal-terrorism-charges-against-member-764/
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-DC. "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise." April 30, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise
[^10]: Indictment, United States v. Prasan Nepal and Leonidas Varagiannis, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), Doc. 19, filed September 26, 2025, Count One. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^11]: Patel, Kash. Opening Statement, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Federal Bureau of Investigation Oversight Hearing, September 16, 2025. https://www.fbi.gov/news/speeches-and-testimony/director-patel-opening-statement-to-the-senate-committee-on-the-judiciary-091625
[^12]: U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Letter to FBI Director Kash Patel re: 764 Network, February 17, 2026. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Letter-to-FBI-764-Group-.pdf
[^13]: NL Times. "Eindhoven suspect says he left sadistic online 'Com' shortly before his arrest." October 28, 2025. https://nltimes.nl/2025/10/28/eindhoven-suspect-says-left-sadistic-online-com-shortly-arrest
[^14]: Euronews. "German court begins trial of 'White Tiger' online predator." January 9, 2026. https://www.euronews.com/2026/01/09/german-court-begins-trial-of-white-tiger-online-predator; CBS News. "Man dubbed 'White Tiger' charged with murder over U.S. teen's livestreamed suicide." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-charged-murder-germany-us-teen-suicide-764-network/
[^15]: Government of Canada. "Government of Canada lists four new terrorist entities." December 10, 2025. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2025/12/government-of-canada-lists-four-new-terrorist-entities0.html; RCMP. "Alberta youth arrested for terrorism and child pornography offences." October 2, 2025. https://rcmp.ca/en/news/2025/10/alberta-youth-arrested-terrorism-and-child-pornography-offences
[^16]: Mehra, Tanya, and Menso Hartgers. "Fury and Void: Legal Pathways to Counter 764." International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), October 2025. https://icct.nl/publication/fury-and-void-legal-pathways-counter-764

16
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Carlos Marcello.md
View file

@ -14,13 +14,13 @@ tags:
- CIA
- 1960s
category: "Organized Crime"
summary: "Carlos Marcello was the boss of the New Orleans crime family who was identified by the HSCA as having both the motive and means to arrange President Kennedy's assassination - he had threatened Kennedy according to FBI informants, was deported to Guatemala by Robert Kennedy in 1961, returned illegally, and was eventually convicted on racketeering charges in the FBI's BRILAB sting in 1981."
summary: "New Orleans crime family boss whom the HSCA found had the motive, means and opportunity to arrange President Kennedy's assassination; deported by Robert Kennedy in 1961, convicted in the 1981 BRILAB sting."
born: 1910-02-06
died: 1993-03-02
location: "New Orleans, Louisiana"
---
Carlos Marcello (born Calogero Minacori, February 6, 1910, Tunis, Tunisia - died March 2, 1993, New Orleans, Louisiana) was the boss of the [[La Cosa Nostra|New Orleans crime family]] from the late 1940s until his 1981 conviction, exercising informal control over organized crime in Louisiana and portions of Texas. He was identified by the [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] as having both the motive and the means to organize the assassination of President [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and was the subject of multiple FBI informant reports documenting specific threats against the president.[^1]
Carlos Marcello (born Calogero Minacori, February 6, 1910, Tunis, Tunisia - died March 2, 1993, New Orleans, Louisiana) was the boss of the [[La Cosa Nostra|New Orleans crime family]] from the late 1940s until his 1981 conviction, exercising informal control over organized crime in Louisiana and portions of Texas. He was identified by the [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] as having the motive, means and opportunity to have President [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] assassinated and was the subject of multiple FBI informant reports documenting specific threats against the president.[^1]
### Criminal Career
@ -34,18 +34,20 @@ In 1961, Attorney General [[Robert Kennedy]]'s aggressive pursuit of organized c
FBI informant Edward Becker reported to the FBI in September 1962 that Marcello had made an explicit threat against President Kennedy at a meeting at Churchill Farms, his estate outside New Orleans. According to Becker, Marcello invoked a Sicilian proverb - "Take the stone out of your shoe" - to describe his intention to deal with Robert Kennedy through the president, and stated that any hit man used for the assassination would be a "nut" without apparent organized crime connections.
The Becker report was not transmitted by the FBI to the Warren Commission. The HSCA later found the Becker meeting credible based on corroborating evidence and Becker's documented reliability as an informant.[^1]
The Becker report was not transmitted by the FBI to the Warren Commission. The House Select Committee on Assassinations examined the published account that Marcello threatened the President at a meeting at Churchill Farms in September 1962. It identified the informant who claimed to have been present, learned that the FBI knew of his allegations for a year and a half before they were published in 1969 and possessed information indicating he may have met Marcello in the fall of 1962, and found that no substantive investigation was ever conducted. Director J. Edgar Hoover and other senior FBI officials knew that agents were acting to "discredit" the informant without a significant investigation of his allegations. The committee also found that the informant had a questionable reputation for honesty.[^2]
### HSCA Investigation
The House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded in 1979 that Marcello had "the motive, means, and opportunity" to organize Kennedy's assassination. The committee found:
The House Select Committee on Assassinations reported in January 1979 that Marcello had the "motive, means and opportunity to have President John F. Kennedy assassinated," and that it was "unable to establish direct evidence."[^3] The committee found:
- Marcello had a documented, intense personal motive arising from the Kennedy administration's deportation and continuing prosecution
- Marcello had the organizational resources to arrange an assassination using individuals without apparent organized crime connections
- [[Jack Ruby]]'s connections to Marcello's New Orleans organization were documented
- [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] had connections to New Orleans - his uncle and surrogate father Dutz Murret was a Marcello associate and bookie
The committee could not prove that Marcello organized the assassination but found that the circumstantial evidence was "not inconsistent" with his involvement and that the FBI's failure to pursue organized crime leads had left the question unresolved.[^2]
The committee named Marcello and Santos Trafficante, Jr. as the family bosses most likely to have been involved.[^4] Among the associations it found linking Oswald to Marcello's organization were Oswald's uncle Charles "Dutz" Murret, a minor underworld gambling figure who was an associate of organized crime figures affiliated with the Marcello organization; acquaintances of Oswald's mother, one of whom reportedly served at one time as a personal aide or driver to Marcello; and the person who arranged Oswald's bail in August 1963, an associate of two of Marcello's deputies, one of them [[Nofio Pecora]], who received a telephone call from Ruby on October 30, 1963.[^3] It described the existence of credible associations linking Oswald and Ruby to Marcello's organization as the critical evidentiary element, and stated that the FBI never maintained electronic surveillance of Marcello despite two attempts.[^3]
The report concludes that "it may be said that it is unlikely that Marcello was in fact, involved in the assassination of the President," and adds that his motive and links to Oswald and Ruby, coupled with the failure of the 1963-64 investigation, "precluded a judgment by the committee that Marcello and his associates were not involved."[^3] The report also says that Marcello's organized crime career "has been based to a large extent on a policy of prudence; he is not reckless."[^3]
### BRILAB Conviction
@ -56,4 +58,6 @@ In 1985, while incarcerated, FBI informant Joseph Hauser reported that Marcello
### Footnotes
[^1]: House Select Committee on Assassinations. *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives.* Government Printing Office, 1979. Davis, John H. *Mafia Kingfish: Carlos Marcello and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy.* McGraw-Hill, 1989.
[^2]: Blakey, G. Robert, and Richard N. Billings. *Fatal Hour: The Assassination of President Kennedy by Organized Crime.* Berkley, 1992. Ragano, Frank, and Selwyn Raab. *Mob Lawyer.* Scribner, 1994.
[^2]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 171-172 (Churchill Farms account, the FBI's handling, and the informant). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^3]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), pp. 169-172 (Marcello; "unable to establish direct evidence" at p. 169; "unlikely" and "precluded a judgment" at p. 172). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^4]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, p. 169 (Marcello and Trafficante as the most likely family bosses). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit

4
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Charles Marsh.md
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@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ No record of formal OSS or CIA employment for Marsh has been identified in acces
### Connection to Marion Pettie
An unsigned three-page investigative memo of unknown provenance, circulated among researchers studying [[The Finders]] in the mid-1990s, claims that Marsh introduced [[Marion Pettie]] to CIA-adjacent networks at the [[National Press Club]] after World War II and arranged funding for Virginia farmland purchases on Pettie's behalf, as part of a larger arrangement in which Colonel [[Leonard N. Weigner]] directed Pettie to embed within counterculture movements as an intelligence asset. The memo further claims Marsh arranged counterintelligence training for Pettie, citing Marsh's established Washington intelligence connections; a 1998 Steamshovel Press account adds that Marsh facilitated Pettie's tie to [[William Yandell Elliott]], a [[Harvard University|Harvard]] professor on the [[National Security Council]] planning board and a [[Radio Liberty]] trustee.[^3][^4]
An unsigned three-page investigative memo of unknown provenance, circulated among researchers studying [[The Finders]] in the mid-1990s, claims that Marsh introduced [[Marion Pettie]] to CIA-adjacent networks at the [[National Press Club]] after World War II and arranged funding for Virginia farmland purchases on Pettie's behalf, as part of a larger arrangement in which Colonel [[Leonard N. Weigner]] directed Pettie to embed within counterculture movements as an intelligence asset. The memo further claims Marsh arranged counterintelligence training for Pettie, citing Marsh's established Washington intelligence connections; a 1998 Steamshovel Press account adds that Marsh facilitated Pettie's tie to [[William Yandell Elliott]], a [[Harvard University|Harvard]] professor on the [[National Security Council]] planning board and a [[Radio Liberty]] trustee.[^3][^4] The Foreign Relations of the United States list of persons identifies William Y. Elliott as Assistant Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, 1952 to 1953, and ODM representative on the NSC Planning Board, 1953 to 1954.[^5] The Harvard Crimson reported in 1959 that the Director of the Harvard Summer School had served on the National Security Council planning board since 1953.[^6]
### Footnotes
@ -38,3 +38,5 @@ An unsigned three-page investigative memo of unknown provenance, circulated amon
[^2]: Conant, Jennet. *The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington*. Simon and Schuster, 2008.
[^3]: Minnick, Wendell L. "The Finders: The CIA and the Cult of Marion David Pettie." Unclassified, No. 35, Winter 1995. Unsigned "Investigative Leads" memo, no author or date, mid-1990s circulation.
[^4]: Kenn Thomas and Len Bracken, "The Finders' Keeper," Steamshovel Press #16, 1998 (conspiracy-press source; claim uncorroborated by primary documents).
[^5]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954, vol. II, part 1, list of persons, entry "Elliott, William Y." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v02p1
[^6]: "Elliott Flies to Moscow With Nixon's Mission," *The Harvard Crimson,* July 23, 1959. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1959/7/23/elliott-flies-to-moscow-with-nixons/

11
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Dan Moldea.md
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@ -4,13 +4,18 @@ tags:
- Person
- Journalist
- Author
summary: "In *Dark Victory*, Moldea famously labeled MCA as 'The Octopus' due to its extensive and often illicit connections."
summary: "Author of Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob (1986), which used 'The Octopus' for MCA, a nickname he traced to a 1946 federal judge's statement."
born: 1950-02-27
---
[[Dan Moldea]] is an American author known for his investigative work into organized crime and political corruption. He is the author of the 1986 book, *Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob*.[^1]
In *Dark Victory*, Moldea famously labeled [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] as "[[The Octopus]]" due to its extensive and often illicit connections. Investigative journalist [[Danny Casolaro]] likely derived his own term "[[The Octopus]]" for the complex network he was investigating from Moldea's earlier work. However, the text notes that even Moldea, at the time of his book's publication in 1986, could not have known the full extent of this "creature's" reach, specifically its tentacles within the [[National Security Council|NSC]].[1]
In *Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob* (Viking, 1986), Moldea used "[[The Octopus]]" for [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]], a nickname he traced to Judge [[Paul J. McCormick]]'s statement in the 1946 Finley antitrust case against the company.[^2] Investigative journalist [[Danny Casolaro]] likely derived his own term "The Octopus" for the complex network he was investigating from Moldea's earlier work. However, the text notes that even Moldea, at the time of his book's publication in 1986, could not have known the full extent of this "creature's" reach, specifically its tentacles within the [[National Security Council|NSC]].[^1]
In June 1988 Moldea published "MCA Music & the Mafia" in *Regardie's*, reporting that [[Sal Pisello|Salvatore Pisello]] had attended a March 1984 record-industry convention in Hollywood, Florida, as a representative of MCA Records. He wrote that in December 1987 the strike force's chief, [[David Margolis]], and his deputy, [[Michael DeFeo]], told [[Marvin Rudnick]] he could pursue a tax case against Pisello but could not call several MCA executives as witnesses.[^3]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: Moldea, Dan E. *Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob*. New York: Viking, 1986. https://archive.org/details/dark-victory-ronald-reagan-mca-and-the-mob
[^3]: Moldea, Dan E. "MCA Music & the Mafia: Did the Justice Department cut Reagan's Hollywood pals a break?" *Regardie's*, June 1988. https://www.moldea.com/MCAMusic.html

159
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Edgar Mitchell.md
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@ -1,28 +1,167 @@
---
category: "Military"
category: "Scientists & Researchers"
tags:
- Astronaut
- Person
- Psi
- SRI
- Stargate
summary: "Edgar Mitchell was an American astronaut, best known as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 14, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon."
- Apollo14
- IONS
aliases:
- Edgar Mitchell
- Edgar D. Mitchell
- Edgar Dean Mitchell
- Ed Mitchell
- Edgar D. Mitchell Jr.
summary: "Edgar Mitchell was a Navy captain and Apollo 14 lunar module pilot who ran a telepathy test during the flight and later founded the Institute of Noetic Sciences."
born: 1930-09-17
died: 2016-02-04
location: "Hereford, Texas"
created: 2026-10-09
updated: 2026-10-09
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[NASA]]"
start: 1966
end: 1972
role: "astronaut, NASA Group 5"
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Apollo 14]]"
start: 1971-01-31
end: 1971-02-09
role: "lunar module pilot"
fn: 1
- type: founded
with: "[[Institute of Noetic Science]]"
start: 1973
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[EDMA Corporation]]"
start: 1971
role: "chief operating officer"
fn: 14
- type: funded
with: "[[Uri Geller]]"
start: 1972
role: "original funding source for SRI tests of Geller"
fn: 16
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Stanford Research Institute]]"
start: 1972
end: 1973
role: "co-experimenter on Geller tests"
fn: 16
- type: member_of
with: "[[National Institute for Discovery Science]]"
start: 2000
role: "Science Advisory Board"
fn: 25
---
Edgar Mitchell was an American astronaut, best known as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 14, making him the sixth person to walk on the Moon. Following his NASA career, Mitchell became a prominent advocate for psychic research and consciousness studies, founding the [[Institute of Noetic Sciences]] (IONS).[^1]
Mitchell was a strong believer in psi phenomena and was involved in the early stages of the U.S. government's psychic research programs. He was present during some of [[Uri Geller]]'s tests at [[Stanford Research Institute]] (SRI), even driving Geller while blindfolded in a demonstration of Geller's alleged abilities.[^1]
Edgar Dean Mitchell (1930 to 2016) was a [[United States Navy]] captain and [[NASA]] astronaut. He flew as lunar module pilot on [[Apollo 14]], which launched on January 31, 1971 and ended on February 9, 1971, and he became the sixth man to walk on the Moon.[^1] After leaving government service he founded the [[Institute of Noetic Science|Institute of Noetic Sciences]] (IONS) and worked as a public advocate for psychic research.
He also funded [[Andrija Puharich]]'s efforts to bring Geller to the United States through a grant from his Institute of Noetic Sciences. Mitchell also suggested that [[Ingo Swann]] look for [[Patty Hearst]] using remote viewing, though Swann was ultimately unsuccessful.[^1]
### Navy and NASA service
### Advocacy for UAP Disclosure
Mitchell was born in [[Hereford, Texas]] on September 17, 1930. He received a bachelor's degree in industrial management from [[Carnegie Mellon University]] in 1952, a bachelor's degree in aeronautics from the [[Naval Postgraduate School]] in 1961, and a doctorate of science in aeronautics and astronautics from the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] in 1964. He was commissioned an ensign in the Navy in May 1953.[^1] He flew A3 aircraft with Heavy Attack Squadron Two from 1957 to 1958 and was a research project pilot with Air Development Squadron Five until 1959. From 1964 to 1965 he was chief of the project management division of the Navy field office for the [[Manned Orbiting Laboratory]]. He attended the [[U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School]] in 1965 and 1966, and in April 1966 he was selected for astronaut training as a member of NASA Group 5.[^1] He served on the astronaut support crew for [[Apollo 9]], was backup lunar module pilot for [[Apollo 10]], and was later designated backup lunar module pilot for Apollo 16.[^1] His NASA biography gives [[Artesia, New Mexico]] as his hometown.[^1] [[Luis Elizondo]] places Mitchell's childhood in the Roswell area of [[New Mexico]] and traces his interest in the [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena|UAP]] topic to those years.[^2]
Dr. Mitchell's interest in the [[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena|UAP]] topic stemmed from his childhood growing up in the Roswell, [[New Mexico]], area. He claimed that his family was among those who were threatened by the FBI after the [[Roswell Incident]] in 1947, and that this experience convinced him that the government was covering up the truth about UAP. As an astronaut, he became a prominent and credible voice in the UAP disclosure movement, using his platform to call for greater transparency from the government.[^2]
On the Moon, Mitchell and [[Alan Shepard]] landed in the [[Fra Mauro]] highlands, and the crew's lunar surface EVA lasted 9 hours and 17 minutes. Mitchell logged 216 hours and 42 minutes in space on the flight. He retired from NASA and the Navy in 1972.[^1] In a 1997 interview for the NASA Johnson Space Center oral history project he said he had decided in 1957, when Sputnik was launched, to orient his career toward spaceflight.[^3]
Dr. Mitchell was a close friend and confidant of [[Hal Puthoff]] and [[Eric Davis]]. They gave him a copy of the [[Wilson-Davis Memo]], a document that detailed a conversation with Vice Admiral Thomas R. Wilson about a secret UAP reverse-engineering program. After Dr. Mitchell's death, the memo was discovered in his files and was leaked to the public. The leak of this document has been a significant event in the UAP disclosure movement, providing a detailed account of the alleged "Legacy Program."[^2]
### Apollo 14 telepathy test
Mitchell conducted an unofficial telepathy test during the flight. A proposal for a direct brain action research program, prepared by [[Andrija Puharich]] and submitted by Mitchell, describes the test as one in which Mitchell concentrated on five standard ESP symbols in space while four earth-based persons tried to guess the order in which the symbols appeared. The proposal says the outcome was statistically significant and names Mitchell to the program's research committee.[^4]
Mitchell's report, "An ESP Test from Apollo 14," appeared in the [[Journal of Parapsychology]] in 1971, volume 35, number 2, pages 89 to 107.[^5]
In an interview published in [[Cabinet Magazine|Cabinet magazine]] in winter 2001 to 2002, Mitchell said that about three weeks before the mission he met research physicists he named as Drs. Boyle and Maxie, who "gathered and coordinated everything," and that the Earth-side group consisted of the two physicists, "a reputable psychic that they knew, and Olof Jonsson, who was a well-known public psychic in Chicago." He described four transmission sessions during rest periods programmed into the flight. Using four tables of 25 random numbers drawn from the digits 1 to 5, each number assigned a [[Zener Cards|Zener]] symbol, he thought of the symbol for each number for 15 seconds, each transmission taking about six minutes, before sleeping. He said the liftoff was forty minutes late and the Earth-side group could not be coordinated to an exact time. He said NASA management largely ignored the work, though [[Wernher von Braun]] was supportive and later spoke at an Institute fundraising dinner.[^6]
In the 1997 oral history Mitchell said that six experiments were planned, "three out and three coming back," that he had time for four, and that "the a priori results were that chance could have produced our results one out of 3,000 experiments," with a post hoc analysis giving "one out of 13,000 experiments." He described the results as showing psi-missing, and said that matching his four sessions to the six Earth-side sessions in sequence, not by clock time, produced the strong result. He said that the press misread the data before it was analyzed and that the write-up in the Journal of Parapsychology "set the record very straight." Of Shepard's reaction after the flight he said that Shepard, laughing, asked "Ed, what's this all about?"[^3]
An article in the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]'s STARGATE files describes a pre-flight test that Mitchell arranged two weeks before launch with a Chicago drafting engineer named Olof Johnson, using 25 colored ESP cards. Mitchell looked at each card for 15 seconds at [[Cape Kennedy]] while Johnson in Chicago guessed which of five symbols it was. The article gives ten sessions and 250 guesses, reports that Johnson got about half, or 125, of the 250 correct against an expected 50, calculates a deviation of 75 and "odds of ten million to one against chance," and states of the six lunar sessions of 25 guesses each, 150 guesses in all, that "it is not reported how many Johnson got correct."[^7] A 1972 study prepared for the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] by Captain John D. LaMothe of the Army Medical Intelligence Office describes 150 separate attempts by Mitchell to project his thoughts from inside the capsule to an individual on Earth, and refers readers to the Journal of Parapsychology for the results. The same study closes its parapsychology section with Mitchell's remarks on [[The David Frost Show]] of March 16, 1971: "Extrasensory perception is not a matter of belief."[^8]
[[Olaf Johnson|Olof Jonsson]], the Earth-side receiver Mitchell named, was a Swedish-born American citizen. He died in Las Vegas on May 11, 1998 at the age of 79, after living there for 18 years, and the [[Las Vegas Sun]] described him as a former psychic adviser to [[Ferdinand Marcos]] who had taken part in the Apollo 14 experiment.[^9] The [[Chicago Tribune]] reported that he worked for nearly two decades as an engineer with the Chicago architectural firm of Schmidt, Garden and Erikson, remained in Chicago until 1980, and "named the cards in the correct order about half the time" in the Apollo 14 experiment.[^10] [[Annie Jacobsen]] names Olaf Johnson as the receiver on Earth and writes that Mitchell was inspired to run his telepathy experiments by the work of [[Sir Hubert Wilkins]], whose book *Thoughts Through Space* describes his own experiments in mind-to-mind telepathy.[^11]
A STARGATE-file document, CIA-RDP96-00792R000400290002-1, is a translated Chinese-language article attributed to [[Qian Xuesen]]. The passage on the Apollo 14 flight states that spatial remote viewing experiments were also conducted on the flight, that "Astronaut Mitchell conducted this experiment," and that he "has worked closely with Stanford."[^12]
### Institute of Noetic Sciences and EDMA
In 1971 Mitchell launched EDMA (Edgar D. Mitchell and Associates) Corporation to research psychic phenomena and to market related inventions and products. A 1971 issue of [[READ Magazine]] carried a feature on the company and its plans to study [[Uri Geller]].[^13] A survey of parapsychology organizations in [[New Psychic Frontiers]] describes EDMA as a business enterprise organized by Mitchell and states that Mitchell had stepped down as its chief operating officer to take up responsibilities in the Institute of Noetic Sciences.[^14]
NASA's biography states that Mitchell founded the Institute in 1973, one year after retiring from government service, as a foundation to sponsor research into the nature of consciousness.[^1] The Internal Revenue Service tax exemption of the California Institute of Noetic Sciences was issued in June 1973.[^15] A New Scientist report of October 1974 states that Mitchell "two years ago set up his Institute of Noetic Sciences in Palo Alto" and names [[John White]] as his assistant at the Institute there.[^16] In 1997 Mitchell said that he had started the Institute after the flight to understand what the experience of the trip home meant, and that the Institute was looking at biofeedback, psychic phenomena and Uri Geller.[^3] On August 11, 1994 C. B. Scott Jones wrote to [[John Gibbons|John H. Gibbons]] that Mitchell, the Institute's founder, would be glad to meet Gibbons on the subject the two of them had been discussing, and [[Claiborne Pell]] sat on the Institute's board at the time.[^17]
In 1974 Putnam published [[Psychic Exploration]], a 708-page volume titled *Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science*, edited by John White and credited to Mitchell and others.[^18] Mitchell's NASA biography lists the book as his own, together with *The Way of the Explorer* (Putnam, 1996).[^1] *Time* reported in March 1974 that [[William Targ]], an executive at Putnam, had contracted to publish the book and said at the signing that "the real race now between the Russians and us is in the area of sciences like ESP."[^19]
### Government contacts
In 1976, according to an Air War College research report by Dolan M. McKelvy citing Ronald McRae's *Mind Wars* (1984), CIA director [[George H. W. Bush|George Bush]] enthusiastically gave Mitchell "permission to organize high-level seminars at the CIA to discuss possible intelligence applications" of parapsychology. The report says that interest waned in 1977 when [[Stansfield Turner]] replaced Bush.[^20]
### Uri Geller, SRI and the funding trail
A January 24, 1973 memorandum of the CIA Office of Research and Development, numbered ORD-413-73, records that [[Russell Targ]] and [[Hal Puthoff]] of [[Stanford Research Institute]] had shown a film of their recent experiments with Geller on January 23, and states: "The SRI work with Geller has been supported by Edgar Mitchell's foundation, by something with a name like Mind Science Institute of Los Angeles, and by TSD."[^21] The Nature paper by Targ and Puthoff published on October 18, 1974 thanks Judith Skutch and Mitchell, identified as of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, for support.[^22]
New Scientist reported in October 1974 that Mitchell was Geller's original funding source and a co-experimenter on Geller at SRI, who had fallen out with Geller the year before. The report says that Geller visited SRI over an 18-month period beginning in November 1972, that Mitchell and [[Wilbur Franklin]] assisted in the first series of tests, and that funding came mainly from Skutch and Mitchell.[^16]
[[Jim Schnabel]] wrote that Mitchell was present during some of Geller's tests at SRI and drove Geller while blindfolded in a demonstration of Geller's alleged abilities. Schnabel also wrote that the Institute provided a grant that funded Puharich's efforts to bring Geller to America in 1972, and that Mitchell suggested [[Ingo Swann]] look for [[Patty Hearst]] using remote viewing, an effort Swann did not succeed in.[^23] The Internal Revenue Service exemption of the Institute is dated June 1973, the ORD memorandum of January 1973 speaks of "Edgar Mitchell's foundation," and the New Scientist report of 1974 dates the founding to about 1972.[^15][^21][^16]
An unsigned CIA fact sheet on James Randi's *The Magic of Uri Geller* quotes Randi's text in which Mitchell says "I was there virtually all the time. I am a co-investigator on all that work." The fact sheet answers that "Captain Mitchell was not at SRI for any of the experimentation reported in Nature, but rather only during early efforts to find whether it was possible to introduce strict protocols as was finally done successfully."[^24] In 1997 Mitchell said of Geller: "He's a pretty powerful guy, very real."[^3]
The National Institute for Discovery Science website, as captured on December 6, 2000, listed Mitchell on its Science Advisory Board, chaired by [[Warren Burggren]].[^25]
### UFO statements
In July 2008 [[NBC News]] reported Mitchell's remarks to Kerrang Radio host Nick Margerrison: "I happen to be privileged enough to be in on the fact that we have been visited on this planet, and the UFO phenomenon is real, although it's been covered up by governments for quite a long time." The same report says that in follow-up interviews Mitchell stated that his views rested on unofficial talks with witnesses to the 1947 [[Roswell Incident]] and other sightings and on the experience of a Navy admiral who tried to follow up on the witnesses' claims, and that on the July 4, 2008 broadcast of [[Larry King Live]] he said "we would be gone by now" if the visitors had been hostile.[^26]
Elizondo writes in his 2024 book that Mitchell claimed his family was among those threatened by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] after the Roswell Incident of 1947.[^2]
### The Wilson meetings
Two sets of records concern [[Thomas R. Wilson|Vice Admiral Thomas R. Wilson]], then the Joint Staff's Vice Director for Intelligence (J2) and later Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Mitchell's name appears in both.
The first is a Pentagon briefing in 1997. [[Steven Greer]] said in a lecture at Portland, Oregon on September 12, 2001 that "This admiral, Tom Wilson, who was the J2 position, the head of intelligence Joint Staff and I, met along with one of the Apollo astronauts and a couple of these military witnesses."[^27] In his 2006 book *Hidden Truth: Forbidden Knowledge* Greer wrote that it "was a stand-up briefing" and that the meeting ended when "Ed Mitchell had to get up to New York for a TV interview."[^28] [[Jacques Vallee]]'s journal entry of 3 October 2003 gives the meeting with Greer, Ed Mitchell and Commander Miller as 4 April 1997 and says that Miller met Wilson at a Pentagon briefing organized by Greer. The same entry says Wilson was unimpressed by Greer and found Miller flaky, and that Wilson, reportedly influenced by a second officer, agreed to look into the existence of a secret project involving UFO hardware.[^29] The Loose Threads report, by Daniel Elizondo and The Hermetic Penetrator, gives the date as April 10, 1997, citing the researcher Giuliano Marinkovic, and lists the attendees as Mitchell, Commander Willard Miller, Greer, Stephen Lovekin and Shari Adamiak. It writes that Wilson confirmed taking a meeting about UFOs with Mitchell and others in 1997.[^28] Wilson told [[Billy Cox]] in 2020: "I don't remember the details, but they [Mitchell was accompanied by UFO researcher Steven Greer] said there would be evidence in black programs, and would I be interested in chasing it down. I told them I had far too many things to do."[^27] In August 2008 Cox reported that Wilson answered "Never" when asked whether he had ever been barred from retrieving classified material.[^27]
Mitchell gave his own account on Larry King Live in 2008, as transcribed in the Loose Threads report: he went to the Pentagon with another naval officer, "we told our story," and the Vice Admiral said "Well, I don't know about that, but I'm going to find out," then called some weeks later and said he had found the source of the black budget funding for the project, and that he was then told he did not have a need to know.[^28]
The second is a set of notes by [[Eric Davis]] of a meeting with Wilson, which The Black Vault dates to 2002 and the Loose Threads report to October 2002. In the notes Wilson describes his attempt in 1997 to enter a contractor program.[^27][^28] The Anomaly Archives essay on the memo states that Wilson met Davis in 2002 and shared details of his efforts in 1997.[^30] Vallee's journal entry of 2 October 2003 states that the details are written down in a transcript of an interview Wilson gave to an Air Force officer, identifies him as Davis, and says they met in April 1997 in the parking lot of [[EG&G]] in Las Vegas.[^29] Wilson told Cox in 2020: "It's all fiction. I wouldn't know Eric Davis if he walked in right now," and "I haven't been to Las Vegas since 1979, 80."[^27] Asked on The Basement Office about the notes, Davis said: "They were leaked out of Ed Mitchell's estate. There's nothing I can say about them."[^28]
Elizondo describes Mitchell as a close friend and confidant of Puthoff and Davis, writes that they gave him a copy of the [[Wilson-Davis Memo]], and writes that the memo was found in Mitchell's files after his death and leaked.[^2] Vallee's journal entry of 3 October 2003 lists who might know the truth and states: "Ed Mitchell has no details."[^29]
### Death
Mitchell died on February 4, 2016, at a hospice in West Palm Beach, Florida, after a short illness, according to his daughter Kimberly Mitchell as quoted by the [[Associated Press]] in an obituary of February 5, 2016.[^31] NASA Administrator [[Charles Bolden]] issued a statement on February 5, 2016 that described Mitchell as "one of only 12 men to walk on the moon."[^32] Mitchell had lived in Palm Beach County, Florida, since 1975.[^1]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers*. Dell, 1997.
[^2]: Elizondo, Luis. *Imminent*. William Morrow, 2024.
[^1]: NASA, "Edgar Dean Mitchell (Captain, USN, Ret.), NASA Astronaut (Former)," Biographical Data, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, September 2007. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/mitchell_edgar.pdf
[^2]: Luis Elizondo, *Imminent* (William Morrow, 2024).
[^3]: Edgar D. Mitchell, oral history interview by Sheree Scarborough, assisted by Paul Rollins, Houston, September 3, 1997, NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project, pp. 12-1, 12-32 to 12-34, 12-35, 12-40 to 12-42. https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/nasa/EDM_9-3-97.pdf
[^4]: Andrija Puharich, editor, direct brain action research proposal, submitted by Captain Edgar D. Mitchell, USN, undated, research committee list. CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP96-00787R000100190001-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000100190001-2
[^5]: Edgar D. Mitchell, "An ESP Test from Apollo 14," *Journal of Parapsychology*, vol. 35, no. 2 (1971), pp. 89-107. Volume index: https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-parapsychology_1971_35_index. Issue record: https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-parapsychology_1971-06_35_2
[^6]: Fia Backstrom, "Private Lunar ESP: An Interview with Edgar Mitchell," *Cabinet*, issue 5 (Winter 2001-2002). https://cabinetmagazine.org/issues/5/backstrom_mitchell.php
[^7]: Article, CIA Reading Room STARGATE files, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400040001-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000400040001-5
[^8]: John D. LaMothe, "Controlled Offensive Behavior: USSR," ST-CS-01-169-72, Defense Intelligence Agency task T72-01-14, prepared by the Medical Intelligence Office, Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, July 1972, parapsychology section, quoting E. D. Mitchell, Jr., The David Frost Show, March 16, 1971. CIA-RDP96-00788R001300010001-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00788r001300010001-7
[^9]: "Prominent Swedish-born psychic Jonsson dies at 79," *Las Vegas Sun*, May 21, 1998. https://lasvegassun.com/news/1998/may/21/prominent-swedish-born-psychic-jonsson-dies-at-79/
[^10]: "Olof Jonsson, Engineer, Psychic," *Chicago Tribune*, May 24, 1998. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/05/24/olof-jonsson-engineer-psychic/
[^11]: Annie Jacobsen, *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis* (Little, Brown, 2017).
[^12]: Qian Xuesen, "Some Knowledge of the Study of Somatic Science," translated article in the *Chinese Journal of Somatic Science*, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP96-00792R000400290002-1. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00792r000400290002-1
[^13]: "Another World," READ Magazine, 1971, feature on EDMA Corporation. CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400100022-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000400100022-5
[^14]: "Research, Investigation and Teaching: A Survey of the International Scene," *New Psychic Frontiers*, p. 208. CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230018-6. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00788r001200230018-6
[^15]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, "California Institute of Noetic Sciences" (EIN 23-7236986), tax exemption issued June 1973. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/237236986
[^16]: Joseph Hanlon, report on Uri Geller and the Targ and Puthoff paper, *New Scientist*, vol. 64, no. 919, October 17, 1974, reprinted in CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090024-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000200090024-7
[^17]: C. B. Scott Jones to John H. Gibbons, August 11, 1994, pp. 1-2. https://www.paradigmresearchgroup.org/Rockefeller%20Documents/RID-8-11-94.htm
[^18]: Edgar D. Mitchell et al., *Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science*, ed. John White (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1974), 708 pp., ISBN 0399113428, LCCN 73093737. Internet Archive record: https://archive.org/details/psychicexplorati0000unse
[^19]: "Boom Times on the Psychic Frontier," *Time*, March 4, 1974, CIA Reading Room, CIA-RDP96-00787R000700030001-3. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp96-00787r000700030001
[^20]: Dolan M. McKelvy, *Psychic Warfare: Exploring the Mind Frontier*, Air War College research report, Air University, CIA-RDP96-00789R001001420001-3, citing Ronald M. McRae, *Mind Wars* (1984), p. 103. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00789r001001420001-3
[^21]: CIA Office of Research and Development memorandum ORD-413-73, January 24, 1973, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400070029-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000400070029-2
[^22]: R. Targ and H. Puthoff, "Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding," *Nature*, vol. 251, October 18, 1974, pp. 602-607, acknowledgments. CIA Reading Room copy, CIA-RDP96-00787R000200090024-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000200090024-7
[^23]: Jim Schnabel, *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies* (Dell, 1997).
[^24]: Unsigned CIA fact sheet on James Randi, *The Magic of Uri Geller* (1975), quoting Randi, p. 55, CIA-RDP96-00787R000500240021-0. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000500240021-0
[^25]: National Institute for Discovery Science, "Personnel," capture of December 6, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20001206032200/http://www.nidsci.org/personnel.html
[^26]: Alan Boyle, "Moonwalker reopens UFO files," NBC News, July 28, 2008. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/cosmic-log/moonwalker-reopens-ufo-files-flna6c10405026
[^27]: John Greenewald, "The Admiral Wilson Leak: An Analysis," The Black Vault, quoting Steven Greer's Portland lecture transcript (September 12, 2001) and Billy Cox's reports of August 2008 and June 2020. https://www.theblackvault.com/casefiles/the-admiral-wilson-leak-an-analysis/
[^28]: Daniel Elizondo and The Hermetic Penetrator, *Loose Threads*, pp. 6-10, 23 (quoting Greer, *Hidden Truth: Forbidden Knowledge*, 2006, Mitchell on Larry King Live, 2008, and Davis on The Basement Office). https://anomalyarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/PDF-Loose-Threads.pdf
[^29]: Jacques Vallee, *Forbidden Science*, vol. 5, journal entries of 2 and 3 October 2003, pp. 202-205. https://anomalyarchives.org/wp-content/uploads/vallee-fs-journals-vol5-pgs-200-205.pdf
[^30]: Anomaly Archives, "The Wilson Memo." https://anomalyarchives.org/collections/file/wilson-memo
[^31]: Curt Anderson, "Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, 6th man on moon, dies in Florida," Associated Press, February 5, 2016. https://phys.org/news/2016-02-astronaut-edgar-mitchell-6th-moon.html
[^32]: NASA, "NASA Administrator Remembers Apollo-Era Astronaut Edgar Mitchell," release 16-014, February 5, 2016. https://www.nasa.gov/?p=51976

57
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Howard Hughes.md
View file

@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ relations:
with: "[[Robert R. Mullen Company]]"
reverse: true
role: "Washington public relations under Robert Bennett"
fn: 25
fn: 26
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[Intertel]]"
reverse: true
@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ relations:
with: "[[Project Azorian]]"
role: "Hughes Tool Company named as owner of the Hughes Glomar Explorer"
start: 1971-04
fn: 30
fn: 31
- type: relative_of
with: "[[Annette Gano Lummis]]"
role: "nephew"
@ -143,43 +143,49 @@ The May 1971 CIA memorandum recorded that Hughes Tool had engaged Intertel "to c
[[Jim Hougan]] wrote that Maheu sent a task force of private detectives to the Bahamas to bug Hughes's suite and to enable him to leave, and that Intertel agents discovered the eavesdropping and had the intruders deported.[^23] In late 1971 a publisher announced an "autobiography" of Hughes based on interviews by [[Clifford Irving]]. On January 7, 1972 Hughes spoke by telephone from Paradise Island to reporters assembled in Los Angeles; asked why Maheu had been fired, he said: "Because he's a no-good, dishonest son-of-a-bitch, and he stole me blind." Maheu sued Hughes Tool for defamation in *[[Maheu v. Hughes Tool Co.]]*. Hughes "had totally withdrawn from direct contact with the outside world. He would not appear in any court; he would not give depositions." The jury awarded Maheu more than 2.8 million dollars in compensatory damages and Summa about 48,000 dollars on its counterclaims; on one of them, Maheu had held about 74,000 dollars sent to him to pay the rent on a hangar leased from the [[Tucson Airport Authority]] and was about nine months behind. The Ninth Circuit reversed in part and remanded for a new trial.[^3] Hougan wrote that Peloquin, called by Maheu's lawyer, acknowledged that Intertel agents had filed more than five hundred written reports on Maheu and found no evidence of theft. He also wrote that Hughes moved to [[Managua]] in February 1972, where the American ambassador, [[Turner Shelton]], formerly consul general in the Bahamas, acted as liaison between [[Anastasio Somoza]] and Hughes.[^23] In February 1977 Intertel still controlled the security for much of the Hughes empire.[^24]
### Maheu v. Hughes Tool Co.
Summa Corporation, the successor to Hughes Tool Company, admitted that the January 7, 1972 statement about Maheu was Hughes's, assumed responsibility for it, and relied on the defense of truth.[^25] The trial court entered judgment for Maheu of about 2.8 million dollars and for Summa of about 470,000 dollars with accrued interest.[^25]
Judge Duniway, writing for the Ninth Circuit in an opinion decided December 27, 1977 and modified January 12, 1978, held that the damages were "based on inadmissible speculative evidence" and called Maheu's projection of lost earning capacity "sheer fantasy, nothing more." The court reversed the liability verdict and the damages and remanded: "We reverse in part and remand for a new trial." The opinion states that "Much of the crucial testimony in the case is Maheu's recital of telephone conversations with Hughes to which no one else was a party."[^25]
### White House Memoranda, 1971
White House memoranda of January and February 1971 on Hughes were printed as exhibits to the testimony of [[Lawrence Higby]], an aide to [[H. R. Haldeman]]. On January 15, 1971 [[Charles Colson]] wrote that [[Robert Bennett]], son of Senator [[Wallace Bennett]], had left the Department of Transportation to take over the [[Robert R. Mullen Company]], that one of his new clients was Howard Hughes, and that "[[Larry O'Brien]] has been the principal Hughes man in Washington." He added: "The important thing from our standpoint is to enhance Bennett's position with Hughes because Bennett gives us real access to a source of power that can be valuable."[^25]
White House memoranda of January and February 1971 on Hughes were printed as exhibits to the testimony of [[Lawrence Higby]], an aide to [[H. R. Haldeman]]. On January 15, 1971 [[Charles Colson]] wrote that [[Robert Bennett]], son of Senator [[Wallace Bennett]], had left the Department of Transportation to take over the [[Robert R. Mullen Company]], that one of his new clients was Howard Hughes, and that "[[Larry O'Brien]] has been the principal Hughes man in Washington." He added: "The important thing from our standpoint is to enhance Bennett's position with Hughes because Bennett gives us real access to a source of power that can be valuable."[^26]
[[Jack Caulfield]] wrote to [[John Dean]] on January 22 and 25 that O'Brien and "Mayhew" were longtime associates from [[Boston]]; that "serious negotiations" had taken place in 1969 for O'Brien's firm to represent the Hughes interests in Washington, with "knowledgeable sources" putting the fee at 100,000 dollars; that Maheu's "tentacles touch many extremely sensitive areas of government"; that "Mayhew apparently forwarded Hughes' political contributions, personally, to both parties over the last ten years," dealing with a Nixon fund-raiser, Vic Johnson; that the former congressman [[Patrick Hillings|Pat Hillings]], close to [[Murray Chotiner]], had been retained by Maheu for years; that Danner was close to Smathers and professed friendship with Rebozo; that the law firm of [[Clark Clifford]] had for years represented the Hughes legal interests in Washington; and that Maheu had been a close associate of the former FBI agent [[John Frank]], "generally believed to have engineered the assassination of [[Jesús de Galíndez|Jesus de Galindez]]" in 1956 on behalf of [[Rafael Trujillo]]. He proposed "an in depth analysis of all (CIA, F.B.I., IRS) information available for White House perusal."[^25]
[[Jack Caulfield]] wrote to [[John Dean]] on January 22 and 25 that O'Brien and "Mayhew" were longtime associates from [[Boston]]; that "serious negotiations" had taken place in 1969 for O'Brien's firm to represent the Hughes interests in Washington, with "knowledgeable sources" putting the fee at 100,000 dollars; that Maheu's "tentacles touch many extremely sensitive areas of government"; that "Mayhew apparently forwarded Hughes' political contributions, personally, to both parties over the last ten years," dealing with a Nixon fund-raiser, Vic Johnson; that the former congressman [[Patrick Hillings|Pat Hillings]], close to [[Murray Chotiner]], had been retained by Maheu for years; that Danner was close to Smathers and professed friendship with Rebozo; that the law firm of [[Clark Clifford]] had for years represented the Hughes legal interests in Washington; and that Maheu had been a close associate of the former FBI agent [[John Frank]], "generally believed to have engineered the assassination of [[Jesús de Galíndez|Jesus de Galindez]]" in 1956 on behalf of [[Rafael Trujillo]]. He proposed "an in depth analysis of all (CIA, F.B.I., IRS) information available for White House perusal."[^26]
Dean reported to Haldeman on January 26 that Rebozo said his information on the O'Brien retainer had come from Maheu "at a time when Maheu was professing considerable friendliness towards the Administration," and that Rebozo "also requested that if any action be taken with regard to Hughes that he be notified because of his familiarity with the delicacy of the relationships as a result of his own dealings with the Hughes people." Bennett told Dean there was "no doubt" that O'Brien had been retained by Hughes and that the contract was still in existence, and that he was going to the West Coast to discuss his Hughes relationship with Gay. Haldeman replied on January 28 that Colson should "come up with a way to leak the appropriate information," that "Frankly, I can't see any way to handle this without involving Hughes," and that "we should keep Bob Bennett and Bebe out of it at all costs."[^25]
Dean reported to Haldeman on January 26 that Rebozo said his information on the O'Brien retainer had come from Maheu "at a time when Maheu was professing considerable friendliness towards the Administration," and that Rebozo "also requested that if any action be taken with regard to Hughes that he be notified because of his familiarity with the delicacy of the relationships as a result of his own dealings with the Hughes people." Bennett told Dean there was "no doubt" that O'Brien had been retained by Hughes and that the contract was still in existence, and that he was going to the West Coast to discuss his Hughes relationship with Gay. Haldeman replied on January 28 that Colson should "come up with a way to leak the appropriate information," that "Frankly, I can't see any way to handle this without involving Hughes," and that "we should keep Bob Bennett and Bebe out of it at all costs."[^26]
On February 1 Caulfield wrote that the retainer could be documented only indirectly, payment having been made "via the Mahew-Claude De Sautels route"; that "Don Nixon visited the [[Dominican Republic]] with a group of wheeler dealers in September 1969," who, he wrote, "assertedly were connected with" Maheu's forces in Nevada; and that "Mahew's covert activities from his Washington association with CIA in the early sixties to his Nevada involvment on behalf of Hughes are only generally known here, at this time." On February 3 he drew Dean's attention to a *[[60 Minutes]]* broadcast with an interview of Maheu and "an indication of Intertel's activity in Nevada." An unsigned memorandum in the same exhibits alleged that Maheu had established "close and ominous relationships" with Mafia figures, that huge profits were being skimmed from the casinos, and that Maheu's representatives might have paid hotel and bar bills for the presidential advance party for an October 31 visit to Las Vegas.[^25] Asked in December 1973 whether Intertel had investigated the O'Brien-Maheu relationship, Davis answered that he knew of Intertel's work only under his own direction for litigation, and added: "insofar as I am concerned, there doesn't remain any question in my mind about payments made to and received by Mr. O'Brien."[^18]
On February 1 Caulfield wrote that the retainer could be documented only indirectly, payment having been made "via the Mahew-Claude De Sautels route"; that "Don Nixon visited the [[Dominican Republic]] with a group of wheeler dealers in September 1969," who, he wrote, "assertedly were connected with" Maheu's forces in Nevada; and that "Mahew's covert activities from his Washington association with CIA in the early sixties to his Nevada involvment on behalf of Hughes are only generally known here, at this time." On February 3 he drew Dean's attention to a *[[60 Minutes]]* broadcast with an interview of Maheu and "an indication of Intertel's activity in Nevada." An unsigned memorandum in the same exhibits alleged that Maheu had established "close and ominous relationships" with Mafia figures, that huge profits were being skimmed from the casinos, and that Maheu's representatives might have paid hotel and bar bills for the presidential advance party for an October 31 visit to Las Vegas.[^26] Asked in December 1973 whether Intertel had investigated the O'Brien-Maheu relationship, Davis answered that he knew of Intertel's work only under his own direction for litigation, and added: "insofar as I am concerned, there doesn't remain any question in my mind about payments made to and received by Mr. O'Brien."[^18]
### The Senate Investigation
[[William E. Griffin]], a lawyer whom Rebozo consulted in April or May 1973, testified that Rebozo told him he held 100,000 dollars in cash in a safe-deposit box at Key Biscayne, in the identical bills he had received, and that a government agency, he thought the IRS, or the Maheu case had prompted inquiry; that Rebozo then had difficulty getting Danner to take the money back, once reaching him on a golf course; and that the money was returned to Danner against a receipt.[^26] *Time* reported in October 1973, citing committee sources, that Rebozo said the second installment was paid on July 3, 1970 at Nixon's house at [[San Clemente, California|San Clemente]], the date on which Rebozo and [[Robert Abplanalp]] were closing the purchase from Nixon of 2.9 acres of the San Clemente property for, according to the same sources, 100,000 dollars; Rebozo denied that any Hughes money was used. Maheu had mentioned the contribution in a deposition in his 17 million dollar suit against Hughes in the spring of 1973.[^19]
[[William E. Griffin]], a lawyer whom Rebozo consulted in April or May 1973, testified that Rebozo told him he held 100,000 dollars in cash in a safe-deposit box at Key Biscayne, in the identical bills he had received, and that a government agency, he thought the IRS, or the Maheu case had prompted inquiry; that Rebozo then had difficulty getting Danner to take the money back, once reaching him on a golf course; and that the money was returned to Danner against a receipt.[^27] *Time* reported in October 1973, citing committee sources, that Rebozo said the second installment was paid on July 3, 1970 at Nixon's house at [[San Clemente, California|San Clemente]], the date on which Rebozo and [[Robert Abplanalp]] were closing the purchase from Nixon of 2.9 acres of the San Clemente property for, according to the same sources, 100,000 dollars; Rebozo denied that any Hughes money was used. Maheu had mentioned the contribution in a deposition in his 17 million dollar suit against Hughes in the spring of 1973.[^19]
Rebozo returned 100,100 dollars in 1,001 Federal Reserve notes. The committee traced their serial numbers through the [[Federal Reserve Board|Federal Reserve]] and found that, for every combination of delivery dates but one, the notes included bills not released for circulation until after a delivery date; on the combination that Danner and Rebozo described, 35 of the bills identified as the second delivery were not available until after August 20, 1970, the latest released on October 1, 1970.[^15] [[Herbert Kalmbach]] testified that on April 30, 1973 Rebozo told him he had spent some of the Hughes money on F. Donald Nixon, [[Edward Nixon]], [[Rose Mary Woods]] and others. Hughes also contributed some 150,000 dollars directly to the 1972 Nixon campaign.[^14][^17]
The committee requested Hughes's appearance by letter, which was never answered; a subpoena was approved but could not be served because Hughes remained outside the country throughout the investigation. Rebozo refused to produce records of the Key Biscayne Bank and, when Chairman [[Sam Ervin]] sought his response in June 1974, left the country and became unavailable for service of a subpoena.[^9] By the spring of 1974 Danner had been examined twice by the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]], once by a federal grand jury and twice by the IRS, and Winte had been interviewed twice by the FBI.[^16]
The committee's questions extended to Resorts International. Kalmbach testified that Rebozo suggested he see [[James Crosby]], the head of Resorts, and that Crosby's pledge to the 1970 senatorial campaign program fell from 25,000 dollars to 5,000 dollars. Griffin testified that around 1969 or 1970 he had one conversation in Washington with Crosby and [[Jack Davis]] of Resorts, whom he had first met at the 1969 inauguration, about options Resorts held on [[Pan American World Airways]] stock, that he thought Peloquin and Abplanalp were also present, and that he advised them to see the senators sponsoring restrictive legislation. Asked whether the IRS had cases involving Resorts International, the commissioner, [[Johnnie Walters]], answered: "Not to my knowledge ... I do not even know whether there were cases."[^27] The May 1971 CIA memorandum recorded that in January 1969 Resorts had moved to take control of Pan Am by buying a 9.7 percent interest, and that the Civil Aeronautics Board had intervened.[^7]
The committee's questions extended to Resorts International. Kalmbach testified that Rebozo suggested he see [[James Crosby]], the head of Resorts, and that Crosby's pledge to the 1970 senatorial campaign program fell from 25,000 dollars to 5,000 dollars. Griffin testified that around 1969 or 1970 he had one conversation in Washington with Crosby and [[Jack Davis]] of Resorts, whom he had first met at the 1969 inauguration, about options Resorts held on [[Pan American World Airways]] stock, that he thought Peloquin and Abplanalp were also present, and that he advised them to see the senators sponsoring restrictive legislation. Asked whether the IRS had cases involving Resorts International, the commissioner, [[Johnnie Walters]], answered: "Not to my knowledge ... I do not even know whether there were cases."[^28] The May 1971 CIA memorandum recorded that in January 1969 Resorts had moved to take control of Pan Am by buying a 9.7 percent interest, and that the Civil Aeronautics Board had intervened.[^7]
In *[[The Village Voice]]* of January 31, 1974, [[Lucian K. Truscott IV]] wrote that a person close to the committee staff told him the staff had been instructed, "apparently by Ervin and Baker," to "stay away from" any possible quid pro quo for the donation, the Paradise Island casino, Rebozo's bank, "F. Donald Nixon's involvement" and "the whole area of the President's finances," and that Smathers and Danner were in Washington.[^28]
In *[[The Village Voice]]* of January 31, 1974, [[Lucian K. Truscott IV]] wrote that a person close to the committee staff told him the staff had been instructed, "apparently by Ervin and Baker," to "stay away from" any possible quid pro quo for the donation, the Paradise Island casino, Rebozo's bank, "F. Donald Nixon's involvement" and "the whole area of the President's finances," and that Smathers and Danner were in Washington.[^29]
The Senate Select Committee's final report records that [[Jeb Stuart Magruder]] testified that John Mitchell suggested as additional targets for the 1972 plan the [[Democratic National Committee]] chairman, Larry O'Brien, and the Las Vegas publisher Greenspun, whom Magruder described as allegedly holding explosive material damaging to [[Edmund Muskie|Senator Muskie]] in his office safe.[^29] The report also states that Robert Bennett suggested that Greenspun's safe contained information of interest to both Hughes and the Committee for the Re-election of the President.[^29] Greenspun had sold KLAS-TV to Hughes in 1968.[^10]
The Senate Select Committee's final report records that [[Jeb Stuart Magruder]] testified that John Mitchell suggested as additional targets for the 1972 plan the [[Democratic National Committee]] chairman, Larry O'Brien, and the Las Vegas publisher Greenspun, whom Magruder described as allegedly holding explosive material damaging to [[Edmund Muskie|Senator Muskie]] in his office safe.[^30] The report also states that Robert Bennett suggested that Greenspun's safe contained information of interest to both Hughes and the Committee for the Re-election of the President.[^30] Greenspun had sold KLAS-TV to Hughes in 1968.[^10]
### Project Azorian
In April 1971 the chairman of [[Global Marine]], Robert F. Bauer, announced that the company would build a 600-foot mining ship for the Hughes Tool Company. The Hughes Glomar Explorer was launched on November 4, 1972, with speeches by Bauer and by Paul Reeve, general manager of the Ocean Mining Division of Hughes Tool. The government later acknowledged in court CIA sponsorship of the [[Project Azorian]] recovery of the Soviet submarine [[K-129]] "for intelligence collection purposes," and the participation of Hughes Tool, Summa and Global Marine.[^30]
In April 1971 the chairman of [[Global Marine]], Robert F. Bauer, announced that the company would build a 600-foot mining ship for the Hughes Tool Company. The Hughes Glomar Explorer was launched on November 4, 1972, with speeches by Bauer and by Paul Reeve, general manager of the Ocean Mining Division of Hughes Tool. The government later acknowledged in court CIA sponsorship of the [[Project Azorian]] recovery of the Soviet submarine [[K-129]] "for intelligence collection purposes," and the participation of Hughes Tool, Summa and Global Marine.[^31]
The CIA's history of the project attributes the leak behind the press accounts of 1975 to "an improbable series of events following a break-in and robbery in June 1974 at Summa Corporation headquarters in Los Angeles," and records the belief that the stolen documents might include "a memorandum from a senior Hughes official to Howard Hughes describing a proposed CIA attempt to recover a sunken Soviet submarine and requesting Hughes' approval for Hughes Company participation." Several persons in the investigation were briefed, and the source of the leak was never identified.[^30] On February 7, 1975 CIA Director [[William Colby]] told President [[Gerald Ford]] that the *[[Los Angeles Times]]* had asked whether the agency had raised a piece of a Soviet submarine: "We have called Frank Murphy to try to kill it."[^31]
The CIA's history of the project attributes the leak behind the press accounts of 1975 to "an improbable series of events following a break-in and robbery in June 1974 at Summa Corporation headquarters in Los Angeles," and records the belief that the stolen documents might include "a memorandum from a senior Hughes official to Howard Hughes describing a proposed CIA attempt to recover a sunken Soviet submarine and requesting Hughes' approval for Hughes Company participation." Several persons in the investigation were briefed, and the source of the leak was never identified.[^31] On February 7, 1975 CIA Director [[William Colby]] told President [[Gerald Ford]] that the *[[Los Angeles Times]]* had asked whether the agency had raised a piece of a Soviet submarine: "We have called Frank Murphy to try to kill it."[^32]
### Death and Estate
On April 14, 1976 Hughes's aunt and closest living relative, Annette Gano Lummis, and her son [[William R. Lummis]] were granted temporary letters of administration in Probate Court No. 2 of [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]].[^1][^32] The Howard Hughes Medical Institute claimed on February 24, 1977 that Hughes had executed a will leaving it his entire estate; a jury found on a trial begun December 6, 1977 that Hughes was domiciled in Texas. The probate court granted summary judgment that the alleged will was not valid; on January 23, 1980 the Court of Civil Appeals at Houston reversed that judgment as an impermissible advisory opinion and refused to disqualify Lummis's lawyers, [[Andrews Kurth|Andrews, Kurth, Campbell and Jones]], who had served as the institute's counsel for more than twenty years and had helped obtain its tax exemption.[^32] In each state that sought death taxes, the estate's personal representative contended that Hughes died domiciled in Nevada, "the only State in the Union without death taxes." [[California]] and [[Texas]] each claimed him; the bulk of the estate consisted of shares in a single holding company, and California alleged that its judgment would be uncollectible to the extent of about 21 million dollars. On June 22, 1978 the Supreme Court denied California leave to file a bill of complaint against Texas in *[[California v. Texas]]*, 437 U.S. 601.[^33]
On April 14, 1976 Hughes's aunt and closest living relative, Annette Gano Lummis, and her son [[William R. Lummis]] were granted temporary letters of administration in Probate Court No. 2 of [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]].[^1][^33] The Howard Hughes Medical Institute claimed on February 24, 1977 that Hughes had executed a will leaving it his entire estate; a jury found on a trial begun December 6, 1977 that Hughes was domiciled in Texas. The probate court granted summary judgment that the alleged will was not valid; on January 23, 1980 the Court of Civil Appeals at Houston reversed that judgment as an impermissible advisory opinion and refused to disqualify Lummis's lawyers, [[Andrews Kurth|Andrews, Kurth, Campbell and Jones]], who had served as the institute's counsel for more than twenty years and had helped obtain its tax exemption.[^33] In each state that sought death taxes, the estate's personal representative contended that Hughes died domiciled in Nevada, "the only State in the Union without death taxes." [[California]] and [[Texas]] each claimed him; the bulk of the estate consisted of shares in a single holding company, and California alleged that its judgment would be uncollectible to the extent of about 21 million dollars. On June 22, 1978 the Supreme Court denied California leave to file a bill of complaint against Texas in *[[California v. Texas]]*, 437 U.S. 601.[^34]
Hughes died without naming a successor trustee of the medical institute, and the Delaware complaint alleged that the institute had since been controlled by Gay and Davis as majority members of its executive committee, which on July 10, 1978 purported to amend the charter to abolish the office of trustee. The attorney general of Delaware and William Lummis, as Delaware ancillary administrator, sued in the [[Delaware Court of Chancery]] to have a trustee appointed.[^4][^5] A claim by the actress [[Terry Moore]] that she had married Hughes at sea in 1949 was dismissed on judicial estoppel; the opinion affirming the dismissal was written by Justice [[Paul Pressler]].[^1]
The station that Hughes bought in 1968 passed through his estate after his death in 1976. Broadcasting reported in February 1978 that KLAS-TV was sold by Summa Corporation to [[Landmark Communications]] for a price said to be in excess of $8 million, and a March 1978 FCC filing gave the price as $9,587,500 and stated that the estate had been divesting broadcast interests since Hughes's death and that KLAS-TV was its only broadcast station.[^34][^35] The FCC approved the estate's sale on May 15, 1978.[^11]
The station that Hughes bought in 1968 passed through his estate after his death in 1976. Broadcasting reported in February 1978 that KLAS-TV was sold by Summa Corporation to [[Landmark Communications]] for a price said to be in excess of $8 million, and a March 1978 FCC filing gave the price as $9,587,500 and stated that the estate had been divesting broadcast interests since Hughes's death and that KLAS-TV was its only broadcast station.[^35][^36] The FCC approved the estate's sale on May 15, 1978.[^11]
### Footnotes
@ -207,14 +213,15 @@ The station that Hughes bought in 1968 passed through his estate after his death
[^22]: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Book 21* (GPO, 1974), "Operation Sandwedge," Tab 31, pp. 9899-9902. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob21/pdf/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob21.pdf
[^23]: Jim Hougan, *Spooks: The Haunting of America: The Private Use of Secret Agents* (William Morrow, 1978), pp. 262-263, 384-385. https://archive.org/details/hougan-jim-spooks
[^24]: Tom Zito, "Peloquin of Intertel: Intelligence, Security, 'Targets of Opportunity,'" *The Washington Post*, February 20, 1977, pp. L1, L12 (page images in the Weisberg Subject Index Files, Hood College). http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/I%20Disk/Intertel%20on%20Assassination%20Samples%20of/Item%2001.pdf
[^25]: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Book 23: The Hughes-Rebozo Investigation and Related Matters* (GPO, 1974), Higby Exhibits 5-A to 5-I, pp. 11123-11135: Colson memorandum of January 15, 1971; Caulfield to Dean, January 22, January 25, February 1 and February 3, 1971; Dean to Haldeman, January 26, 1971; Haldeman to Dean, January 28, 1971; Dean to Caulfield, February 5, 1971; unsigned memorandum, Exhibit 5-I. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob23/pdf/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob23.pdf
[^26]: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Book 22: The Hughes-Rebozo Investigation and Related Matters* (GPO, 1974), testimony of William E. Griffin, pp. 10429-10431, 10446-10448. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob22/pdf/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob22.pdf
[^27]: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Book 21* (GPO, 1974), testimony of Herbert W. Kalmbach, p. 10183; *Book 23*, testimony of William E. Griffin, pp. 10792-10793; *Book 24*, testimony of Johnnie M. Walters, p. 11623. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob21/pdf/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob21.pdf
[^28]: Lucian K. Truscott IV, "Watergate, the Bahamas & Howard Hughes," *The Village Voice*, January 31, 1974. https://villagevoice.com/1974/01/31/watergate-the-bahamas-howard-hughes
[^29]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, Final Report, S. Rept. 93-981 (June 1974), testimony of Jeb Stuart Magruder on the Liddy intelligence plan with footnotes 61 to 63 for the February 1972 meeting, and the section on Robert Bennett's suggestion regarding Greenspun's safe. https://archive.org/details/FinalReportOfTheSenateSelectCommitteeOnPresidentialCampaignActivities
[^30]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Project AZORIAN: The Story of the Hughes Glomar Explorer," released January 2010, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 305, document 1. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb305/doc01.pdf
[^31]: Memorandum of conversation, President Ford, Henry Kissinger, James Schlesinger, William Colby, David Jones and Donald Rumsfeld, Oval Office, February 7, 1975, Gerald R. Ford Library, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 305, document 2. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb305/doc02.pdf
[^32]: *Howard Hughes Medical Institute v. Lummis*, 596 S.W.2d 171 (Tex. Civ. App., Houston [14th Dist.] 1980), No. A2176, decided January 23, 1980 (Brown, C.J.). https://static.case.law/sw2d/596/cases/0171-01.json
[^33]: *California v. Texas*, 437 U.S. 601 (1978) (per curiam, June 22, 1978), with concurring and dissenting opinions. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/437/601
[^34]: "KLAS-TV Las Vegas: Sold by Summa Corp. to Landmark Communications Inc. for price said to be in excess of $8 million," Broadcasting, February 13, 1978. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1978/1978-02-13-BC.pdf
[^35]: "KLAS-TV Las Vegas (ch. 8) Seeks assignment of license from Summa Corp. to KLAS Inc. for $9,587,500," Broadcasting, March 27, 1978. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1978/1978-03-27-BC.pdf
[^25]: *Maheu v. Hughes Tool Co.*, 569 F.2d 459 (9th Cir. 1977), decided December 27, 1977, modified January 12, 1978, Nos. 75-1306 and 75-2353 (Duniway, J.). https://static.case.law/f2d/569/cases/0459-01.json
[^26]: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Book 23: The Hughes-Rebozo Investigation and Related Matters* (GPO, 1974), Higby Exhibits 5-A to 5-I, pp. 11123-11135: Colson memorandum of January 15, 1971; Caulfield to Dean, January 22, January 25, February 1 and February 3, 1971; Dean to Haldeman, January 26, 1971; Haldeman to Dean, January 28, 1971; Dean to Caulfield, February 5, 1971; unsigned memorandum, Exhibit 5-I. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob23/pdf/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob23.pdf
[^27]: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Book 22: The Hughes-Rebozo Investigation and Related Matters* (GPO, 1974), testimony of William E. Griffin, pp. 10429-10431, 10446-10448. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob22/pdf/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob22.pdf
[^28]: Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Book 21* (GPO, 1974), testimony of Herbert W. Kalmbach, p. 10183; *Book 23*, testimony of William E. Griffin, pp. 10792-10793; *Book 24*, testimony of Johnnie M. Walters, p. 11623. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob21/pdf/CHRG-93shrg31889Ob21.pdf
[^29]: Lucian K. Truscott IV, "Watergate, the Bahamas & Howard Hughes," *The Village Voice*, January 31, 1974. https://villagevoice.com/1974/01/31/watergate-the-bahamas-howard-hughes
[^30]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, Final Report, S. Rept. 93-981 (June 1974), testimony of Jeb Stuart Magruder on the Liddy intelligence plan with footnotes 61 to 63 for the February 1972 meeting, and the section on Robert Bennett's suggestion regarding Greenspun's safe. https://archive.org/details/FinalReportOfTheSenateSelectCommitteeOnPresidentialCampaignActivities
[^31]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Project AZORIAN: The Story of the Hughes Glomar Explorer," released January 2010, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 305, document 1. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb305/doc01.pdf
[^32]: Memorandum of conversation, President Ford, Henry Kissinger, James Schlesinger, William Colby, David Jones and Donald Rumsfeld, Oval Office, February 7, 1975, Gerald R. Ford Library, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 305, document 2. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb305/doc02.pdf
[^33]: *Howard Hughes Medical Institute v. Lummis*, 596 S.W.2d 171 (Tex. Civ. App., Houston [14th Dist.] 1980), No. A2176, decided January 23, 1980 (Brown, C.J.). https://static.case.law/sw2d/596/cases/0171-01.json
[^34]: *California v. Texas*, 437 U.S. 601 (1978) (per curiam, June 22, 1978), with concurring and dissenting opinions. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/437/601
[^35]: "KLAS-TV Las Vegas: Sold by Summa Corp. to Landmark Communications Inc. for price said to be in excess of $8 million," Broadcasting, February 13, 1978. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1978/1978-02-13-BC.pdf
[^36]: "KLAS-TV Las Vegas (ch. 8) Seeks assignment of license from Summa Corp. to KLAS Inc. for $9,587,500," Broadcasting, March 27, 1978. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1978/1978-03-27-BC.pdf

28
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/J. Allen Hynek.md
View file

@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ relations:
role: "consultant, nature of work unknown"
start: 1970-04
end: 1974
fn: 21
fn: 23
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Ohio State University]]"
role: "instructor to professor of astronomy"
@ -128,11 +128,11 @@ Hynek investigated reports from [[Dexter, Michigan|Dexter]] and [[Hillsdale, Mic
On 28 March 1966 Representative [[Gerald Ford]], [[House Minority Leader]], wrote to the chairmen of the [[House Committee on Armed Services]] and the [[House Committee on Science and Astronautics]] that Hynek "dismissed all of them as the product of college student pranks or swamp gas or an impression created by the rising crescent moon and the planet Venus," and the accompanying news release described Hynek's explanation as "flippant." Ford enclosed a column by [[Roscoe Drummond]] and articles by [[Bulkley Griffin]] of the [[Griffin-Larrabee News Bureau]].[^15]
At the Armed Services Committee hearing of 5 April 1966, chaired by [[L. Mendel Rivers]], Hynek testified with Secretary of the Air Force [[Harold Brown]]. His opening statement said that "the body of data accumulated since 1948 through the Air Force investigations deserves close scrutiny by a civilian panel of physical and social scientists." Asked by Representative [[William H. Bates]] of [[Massachusetts]] the question put to Brown, whether anyone of scientific knowledge had concluded that the phenomena came from extraterrestrial sources, he answered that he knew "of no competent scientist who would say that these objects come from outer space," and to Representative [[L. N. Nedzi]] of Michigan he said "the possibility should be kept open as a possible hypothesis."[^5]
At the Armed Services Committee hearing of 5 April 1966, chaired by [[L. Mendel Rivers]], Hynek testified with Secretary of the Air Force [[Harold Brown]]. His opening statement said that "the body of data accumulated since 1948 through the Air Force investigations deserves close scrutiny by a civilian panel of physical and social scientists." Asked by Representative [[William H. Bates]] of [[Massachusetts]] the question put to Brown, whether anyone of scientific knowledge had concluded that the phenomena came from extraterrestrial sources, he answered that he knew "of no competent scientist who would say that these objects come from outer space," and to Representative [[L. N. Nedzi]] of Michigan he said "the possibility should be kept open as a possible hypothesis."[^5] Chairman Rivers opened the UFO portion of the session by saying, "Mr. Ford has come out, he has a pretty good size stature in the Congress," and later asked that Ford's letter and Secretary Brown's response be put into the record. The printed transcript reproduces the March 28 letter, addressed there to Rivers alone, in full. The news release that accompanied the letter described the "swamp gas" explanation given by Hynek as "flippant."[^16][^17]
### The Condon Committee
Hynek briefed the University of Colorado's [[Condon Committee]] in its preliminary study; Hynek, [[Jacques Vallee]] and [[William Powers]] of the Dearborn Observatory are thanked in its acknowledgments for consultation "voluntarily supplied."[^16] The report records that "Prof. Hynek strongly believes that the teams should have four or more members" and recommends "giving each report what he calls the 'FBI treatment,'" meaning thorough interviewing and "an active quest in the neighborhood where the sighting occurred to try to discover additional witnesses."[^17] [[Philip J. Klass]], quoting a book by the Condon staff member [[David Saunders]], wrote that Hynek attended a secret meeting in [[Denver]] on 12 December 1967 with Saunders, [[Norman Levine]], [[Mary Lou Armstrong]] and [[James E. McDonald]], where, in Saunders's account, "Hynek wanted to create a visible group of qualified individuals who took the UFO problem seriously, so that in the event of a Congressional hearing, there would exist an organization to which the Congress could turn," and left early with a cold before McDonald raised the Low memorandum.[^18] Hynek's own log records attending a Denver meeting "unofficially, and at my own expense" on 13 December.[^12]
Hynek briefed the University of Colorado's [[Condon Committee]] in its preliminary study; Hynek, [[Jacques Vallee]] and [[William Powers]] of the Dearborn Observatory are thanked in its acknowledgments for consultation "voluntarily supplied."[^18] The report records that "Prof. Hynek strongly believes that the teams should have four or more members" and recommends "giving each report what he calls the 'FBI treatment,'" meaning thorough interviewing and "an active quest in the neighborhood where the sighting occurred to try to discover additional witnesses."[^19] [[Philip J. Klass]], quoting a book by the Condon staff member [[David Saunders]], wrote that Hynek attended a secret meeting in [[Denver]] on 12 December 1967 with Saunders, [[Norman Levine]], [[Mary Lou Armstrong]] and [[James E. McDonald]], where, in Saunders's account, "Hynek wanted to create a visible group of qualified individuals who took the UFO problem seriously, so that in the event of a Congressional hearing, there would exist an organization to which the Congress could turn," and left early with a cold before McDonald raised the Low memorandum.[^20] Hynek's own log records attending a Denver meeting "unofficially, and at my own expense" on 13 December.[^12]
Zeidman wrote that within a few months of the start of the Colorado project Hynek told her he knew it had been decided that the findings would be negative, and that for years he "had understood that he was being kept out of the inner circle, that even with his high security clearances it was judged that he had no need to know what was really going on."[^9]
@ -142,11 +142,11 @@ Representative [[Donald Rumsfeld]] introduced Hynek to the House Committee on Sc
### End of the consultancy and the Center for UFO Studies
An Air Force memorandum of 20 October 1969, with the signature block of Brigadier General [[C. H. Bolender]], states that Hynek "served as a scientific consultant until 1 July 1969" and recommends "not renewing the consultant contract."[^19] On 3 March 1969 Hynek, signing as director of the Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center, had written to Colonel [[George R. Weinbrenner]], commander of the [[Foreign Technology Division]] at Wright-Patterson, enclosing a "Preliminary Proposal for Subject Investigation," dated 14 March 1969, for a pilot study of reports of cars losing ignition and lights near luminous objects. The proposal cites "the potential military* and scientific value of this electrical damping phenomenon," with an asterisked note quoting an [[Associated Press]] report of 9 November 1957 that "a device capable of disrupting the operation of motor vehicles" was something the armed forces would like developed, while the chief engineer of the [[National Inventors Council]] said he knew of no research aimed at producing one. It states that Hynek had compiled "well over one hundred such reports," that a second phase "will and must" be entered into as a major effort "calling for the deployment of the best scientific facilities of the Air Force and its contractors," and that if the phenomenon is real "it is obviously in the national interest to gain an understanding of the phenomenon and its practical application before other nations, in which this phenomenon is also reported to occur, gain an advantage." It asks for "full and complete personal access by the Principal Investigator to Blue Book data of all degrees of classification," includes a consulting fee for the principal investigator, and states that the project should be "entirely apart from Project Blue Book."[^20]
An Air Force memorandum of 20 October 1969, with the signature block of Brigadier General [[C. H. Bolender]], states that Hynek "served as a scientific consultant until 1 July 1969" and recommends "not renewing the consultant contract."[^21] On 3 March 1969 Hynek, signing as director of the Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center, had written to Colonel [[George R. Weinbrenner]], commander of the [[Foreign Technology Division]] at Wright-Patterson, enclosing a "Preliminary Proposal for Subject Investigation," dated 14 March 1969, for a pilot study of reports of cars losing ignition and lights near luminous objects. The proposal cites "the potential military* and scientific value of this electrical damping phenomenon," with an asterisked note quoting an [[Associated Press]] report of 9 November 1957 that "a device capable of disrupting the operation of motor vehicles" was something the armed forces would like developed, while the chief engineer of the [[National Inventors Council]] said he knew of no research aimed at producing one. It states that Hynek had compiled "well over one hundred such reports," that a second phase "will and must" be entered into as a major effort "calling for the deployment of the best scientific facilities of the Air Force and its contractors," and that if the phenomenon is real "it is obviously in the national interest to gain an understanding of the phenomenon and its practical application before other nations, in which this phenomenon is also reported to occur, gain an advantage." It asks for "full and complete personal access by the Principal Investigator to Blue Book data of all degrees of classification," includes a consulting fee for the principal investigator, and states that the project should be "entirely apart from Project Blue Book."[^22]
Zeidman wrote in 1991 that the researcher Brian Parks had obtained, through the [[Freedom of Information Act]], Hynek's record of employment as a Foreign Technology Division consultant from 1970 to 1974, "an executive appointment, beginning in April 1970, less than six months after Blue Book's official closure," working "only a few days each year," and that it was not known whether the work related to UFOs.[^21] She wrote that in October 1973 she drove Hynek from a small building at Wright-Patterson to Columbus, that he introduced her to a man in dress uniform who "may have been a major," that he "would not tell me anything about what he was doing at Wright-Patterson," and that on 26 December 1976 in his Evanston home he said: "It's very definitely connected with intelligence somewhere."[^21]
Zeidman wrote in 1991 that the researcher Brian Parks had obtained, through the [[Freedom of Information Act]], Hynek's record of employment as a Foreign Technology Division consultant from 1970 to 1974, "an executive appointment, beginning in April 1970, less than six months after Blue Book's official closure," working "only a few days each year," and that it was not known whether the work related to UFOs.[^23] She wrote that in October 1973 she drove Hynek from a small building at Wright-Patterson to Columbus, that he introduced her to a man in dress uniform who "may have been a major," that he "would not tell me anything about what he was doing at Wright-Patterson," and that on 26 December 1976 in his Evanston home he said: "It's very definitely connected with intelligence somewhere."[^23]
His book [[The UFO Experience|The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry]] appeared in 1972, and in 1973 he started the Center for UFO Studies, serving as scientific director until his death in 1986 and naming [[Mark Rodeghier]] as his successor.[^2] Project 1947 states that the Center received most of the National Investigations Committee's files, that Hynek held a copy of the Blue Book microfilm, and that some reports he forwarded under his contract do not appear in the Blue Book files.[^4] Hynek appeared in a cameo in the 1977 film [[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]], on which he was a consultant, and questionnaires of the Center were available in theater lobbies.[^4][^22]
His book [[The UFO Experience|The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry]] appeared in 1972, and in 1973 he started the Center for UFO Studies, serving as scientific director until his death in 1986 and naming [[Mark Rodeghier]] as his successor.[^2] Project 1947 states that the Center received most of the National Investigations Committee's files, that Hynek held a copy of the Blue Book microfilm, and that some reports he forwarded under his contract do not appear in the Blue Book files.[^4] Hynek appeared in a cameo in the 1977 film [[Close Encounters of the Third Kind]], on which he was a consultant, and questionnaires of the Center were available in theater lobbies.[^4][^24]
### Footnotes
@ -165,10 +165,12 @@ His book [[The UFO Experience|The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry]] appeare
[^13]: "Comments by Air Force Consultant, J. A. Hynek on Keyhoe's Article, January 1966 Issue of True Magazine," http://www.project1947.com/hynek/jah_dek_66true.htm.
[^14]: Condon, Section V, chapter 2, pp. 898-899, quoting the Air Force press release on the Dexter and Hillsdale investigation.
[^15]: Gerald R. Ford to Representatives George P. Miller and L. Mendel Rivers, 28 March 1966, with news release, Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers, Press Secretary and Speech File, Box D9, folder "Ford Press Releases - UFO, 1966," Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0054/4525586.pdf.
[^16]: Condon, Section II, p. 21, and Appendix W, "Acknowledgments," http://files.ncas.org/condon/text/sec-ii.htm and http://files.ncas.org/condon/text/appndx-w.htm.
[^17]: Condon, Section II, "Summary of the Study," p. 24, http://files.ncas.org/condon/text/sec-ii.htm.
[^18]: Philip J. Klass, "The Condon UFO Study: A Trick or a Conspiracy?" The Skeptical Inquirer 10 (Summer 1986), quoting David R. Saunders and R. Roger Harkins, UFOs? Yes! Where the Condon Committee Went Wrong (Signet, 1968), https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1986/07/22165324/p42.pdf.
[^19]: Air Force action memorandum, 20 October 1969, paragraphs 1 and 5, http://www.nicap.org/Bolender_Memo.htm.
[^20]: J. Allen Hynek to Colonel George R. Weinbrenner, 3 March 1969, and "Preliminary Proposal for Subject Investigation," 14 March 1969, as hosted at http://www.project1947.com/hynek/jah_af_prop69.htm.
[^21]: Zeidman, "I Remember Blue Book," final sections.
[^22]: Siemons, "Time Capsule: A look at J. Allen Hynek," The Daily Northwestern, 7 March 2023.
[^16]: U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, *Unidentified Flying Objects: Hearing,* No. 85, 89th Cong., 2d sess., April 5, 1966 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1966). https://archive.org/details/ufo_1966_1
[^17]: Ford, Gerald R., letter and news release of March 28, 1966, Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers, Press Secretary and Speech File, Box D9, folder "Ford Press Releases - UFO, 1966," Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0054/4525586.pdf
[^18]: Condon, Section II, p. 21, and Appendix W, "Acknowledgments," http://files.ncas.org/condon/text/sec-ii.htm and http://files.ncas.org/condon/text/appndx-w.htm.
[^19]: Condon, Section II, "Summary of the Study," p. 24, http://files.ncas.org/condon/text/sec-ii.htm.
[^20]: Philip J. Klass, "The Condon UFO Study: A Trick or a Conspiracy?" The Skeptical Inquirer 10 (Summer 1986), quoting David R. Saunders and R. Roger Harkins, UFOs? Yes! Where the Condon Committee Went Wrong (Signet, 1968), https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/1986/07/22165324/p42.pdf.
[^21]: Air Force action memorandum, 20 October 1969, paragraphs 1 and 5, http://www.nicap.org/Bolender_Memo.htm.
[^22]: J. Allen Hynek to Colonel George R. Weinbrenner, 3 March 1969, and "Preliminary Proposal for Subject Investigation," 14 March 1969, as hosted at http://www.project1947.com/hynek/jah_af_prop69.htm.
[^23]: Zeidman, "I Remember Blue Book," final sections.
[^24]: Siemons, "Time Capsule: A look at J. Allen Hynek," The Daily Northwestern, 7 March 2023.

19
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Martin Luther King Jr.md
View file

@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ died: 1968-04-04
location: "Atlanta, Georgia / Memphis, Tennessee"
---
[[Martin Luther King Jr.]] (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader who led the organized nonviolent campaign to dismantle legal racial segregation and secure political and economic rights for Black Americans. He is most identified with the [[Montgomery Bus Boycott]] of 1955-1956, the [[Birmingham Campaign]] of 1963, and the [[March on Washington]] of August 28, 1963, at which he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. His assassination at the [[Lorraine Motel]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] on April 4, 1968 remains disputed: convicted assassin [[James Earl Ray]] recanted his guilty plea within days, and the [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] concluded that a probable conspiracy existed.[^1]
[[Martin Luther King Jr.]] (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader who led the organized nonviolent campaign to dismantle legal racial segregation and secure political and economic rights for Black Americans. He is most identified with the [[Montgomery Bus Boycott]] of 1955-1956, the [[Birmingham Campaign]] of 1963, and the [[March on Washington]] of August 28, 1963, at which he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. His assassination at the [[Lorraine Motel]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] on April 4, 1968 remains disputed: convicted assassin [[James Earl Ray]] recanted his guilty plea within days, and the [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] found a likelihood of conspiracy in the assassination of Dr. King.[^1]
### Civil Rights Leadership
@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ The Birmingham Campaign of spring 1963 was the turning point of the civil rights
The March on Washington on August 28, 1963 drew approximately 250,000 people to the National Mall. King's address, improvising past his prepared remarks into the "I Have a Dream" sequence, became one of the defining speeches in American political history.
The [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], signed by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]], represented the legislative achievement of the movement's core demands - though King continued organizing for economic justice, fair housing, and against [[Vietnam War|Vietnam War]] escalation in the remaining years of his life.[^1]
The [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], signed by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]], represented the legislative achievement of the movement's core demands - though King continued organizing for economic justice, fair housing, and against [[Vietnam War|Vietnam War]] escalation in the remaining years of his life.[^2]
### FBI Surveillance and COINTELPRO
@ -48,25 +48,28 @@ Under [[COINTELPRO]] - the FBI's Counterintelligence Program - the bureau pursue
- Providing derogatory intelligence to foreign governments when King traveled abroad
- Attempting to replace King's leadership with more accommodating figures
King received the anonymous suicide letter and recognized its origin. He continued organizing. The [[Church Committee]] in 1975 found the FBI's targeting of King to be among the most extreme examples of COINTELPRO abuse and concluded that no criminal justification existed for the surveillance program's scale or its political targeting.[^1]
King received the anonymous suicide letter and recognized its origin. He continued organizing. The [[Church Committee]] in 1975 found the FBI's targeting of King to be among the most extreme examples of COINTELPRO abuse and concluded that no criminal justification existed for the surveillance program's scale or its political targeting.[^2]
### Vietnam and the Poor People's Campaign
King's public opposition to the Vietnam War, which he articulated comprehensively in his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech at [[Riverside Church]] on April 4, 1967 - exactly one year before his assassination - deepened the conflict with the [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] administration and with mainstream civil rights organizations that feared alienating the president. King framed Vietnam as inseparable from the struggle for economic justice at home, arguing that the war consumed resources needed for the antipoverty programs of the Great Society while disproportionately drafting Black men to fight.
In 1968, King was organizing the Poor People's Campaign - a planned encampment of impoverished Americans in [[Washington, D.C.]] demanding economic legislation - when he traveled to Memphis to support a strike by Black sanitation workers against the city government. He had spoken in Memphis on March 18 and returned on April 3. His April 3 speech at the Mason Temple, in which he said "I've been to the mountaintop," was delivered under threat of assassination; King was aware of specific threats against his life.[^1]
In 1968, King was organizing the Poor People's Campaign - a planned encampment of impoverished Americans in [[Washington, D.C.]] demanding economic legislation - when he traveled to Memphis to support a strike by Black sanitation workers against the city government. He had spoken in Memphis on March 18 and returned on April 3. His April 3 speech at the Mason Temple, in which he said "I've been to the mountaintop," was delivered under threat of assassination; King was aware of specific threats against his life.[^2]
### Assassination
On April 4, 1968, at 6:01 PM, King was shot while standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel. A single rifle shot struck him in the jaw and severed his spinal cord. He was declared dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 PM.
James Earl Ray, a career criminal who had escaped from the [[Missouri State Penitentiary]] in June 1967, was arrested on June 8, 1968, at [[Heathrow Airport]] in London. A .30-06 Remington rifle, traced to Ray through purchase records, was found near a rooming house window above and across from the motel with a sight line to the balcony. Ray pleaded guilty on March 10, 1969, and was sentenced to ninety-nine years. He recanted the plea three days later and spent the rest of his life claiming he was a patsy in a conspiracy organized by a man named "Raul."[^2]
James Earl Ray, a career criminal who had escaped from the [[Missouri State Penitentiary]] in June 1967, was arrested on June 8, 1968, at [[Heathrow Airport]] in London. A .30-06 Remington rifle, traced to Ray through purchase records, was found near a rooming house window above and across from the motel with a sight line to the balcony. Ray pleaded guilty on March 10, 1969, and was sentenced to ninety-nine years. He recanted the plea three days later and spent the rest of his life claiming he was a patsy in a conspiracy organized by a man named "Raul."[^3]
The [[HSCA]] (1979) concluded that Ray had fired the shot but that he "was not acting alone" and that his brothers John and Jerry Ray "may have assisted" in the planning. The committee found no evidence of FBI, state government, or foreign government involvement in a conspiracy, though it noted the FBI's COINTELPRO campaign documented a context of official hostility.
The HSCA (1979) found that James Earl Ray fired the shot and "acted with full knowledge of what he was doing in the murder of Dr. King," and that his "Raoul" account was "not worthy of belief."[^1] It concluded that "there was a likelihood of conspiracy in the assassination of Dr. King."[^4] The committee found "substantial evidence to establish the existence of a St. Louis-based conspiracy to finance the assassination of Dr. King," and found it "highly likely that John and James robbed the Bank of Alton in Alton, Ill., on July 13, 1967," with [[Jerry Ray]] assisting in distributing the proceeds.[^4] It found that "no Federal, State or local government agency was involved" in King's death, and that "no private organizations or individuals, other than those discussed under section B" were involved.[^1] It found that the Department of Justice and the FBI "performed with varying degrees of competency and legality."[^1] It described the FBI's COINTELPRO campaign against King as, in the words of the 1975 Justice Department task force, "ultra vires" and "very probably" felonious, and the FBI's electronic surveillance of King from 1963 to 1966 as conducted "in a particularly abusive fashion."[^5]
In 1999, the King family brought a civil wrongful death suit against Memphis cafe owner Lloyd Jowers, who had claimed in a 1993 television interview to have been paid to arrange the assassination. The Memphis jury found for the King family, concluding that a conspiracy involving Jowers and "others, including government agencies" was responsible for King's death. The verdict - in a civil proceeding without criminal defendants - was disputed by the Department of Justice, which conducted its own review and found insufficient evidence of a conspiracy beyond Ray.
### Footnotes
[^1]: Garrow, David. *Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.* William Morrow, 1986. Branch, Taylor. *Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963.* Simon & Schuster, 1988. Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans.* Book II, Senate Report No. 94-755, 1976.
[^2]: Sides, Hampton. *Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin.* Doubleday, 2010. House Select Committee on Assassinations. *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives.* Government Printing Office, 1979.
[^1]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), summary Findings II.A to II.E (p. 5). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^2]: Garrow, David. *Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.* William Morrow, 1986. Branch, Taylor. *Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963.* Simon & Schuster, 1988. Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans.* Book II, Senate Report No. 94-755, 1976.
[^3]: Sides, Hampton. *Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin.* Doubleday, 2010. House Select Committee on Assassinations. *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives.* Government Printing Office, 1979.
[^4]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, "Conclusion," pp. 371-373; Alton robbery, pp. 342-344. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^5]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, p. 405 (Task Force) and p. 436 (electronic surveillance, October 24, 1963 to June 21, 1966). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit

23
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Olaf Johnson.md
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@ -1,16 +1,35 @@
---
aliases:
- Olaf Johnson
- Olof Jonsson
- Olof Taga Jonsson
category: "Psychics & Remote Viewers"
tags:
- Psi
- Person
- RemoteViewer
summary: "Swedish-born psychic who served as the receiver in Edgar Mitchell's mind-to-mind telepathy experiment during the Apollo 14 mission."
location: "Sweden"
location: "Chicago, Illinois"
created: 2026-10-09
updated: 2026-10-09
relations:
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Apollo 14]]"
start: 1971-01-31
end: 1971-02-09
role: "Earth-side receiver in the Mitchell telepathy test"
fn: 4
---
[[Olaf Johnson]] was a Swedish-born psychic who participated in [[Edgar Mitchell]]'s secret [[Mind-to-Mind Telepathy|mind-to-mind telepathy]] experiment during the Apollo 14 mission. Johnson served as the receiver on Earth, attempting to perceive the Zener cards that Mitchell was concentrating on from space.[^1]
Olof Jonsson (also spelled Olaf Johnson; full name Olof Taga Jonsson) was a Swedish-born American citizen and psychic who was [[Edgar Mitchell]]'s Earth-side receiver in the [[Mind-to-Mind Telepathy|mind-to-mind telepathy]] test during the Apollo 14 mission, attempting to perceive the Zener cards that Mitchell was concentrating on from space.[^1] He died in [[Las Vegas]] on May 11, 1998 at the age of 79, a Las Vegas resident of 18 years, and the [[Las Vegas Sun]] described him as a former psychic adviser to [[Ferdinand Marcos]].[^2] The [[Chicago Tribune]] reported that he worked for nearly two decades as an engineer with the Chicago architectural firm of Schmidt, Garden and Erikson and remained in Chicago until 1980, that in the Apollo 14 experiment he "named the cards in the correct order about half the time," and that as a young man in Sweden he gave police a detailed vision of a series of murders.[^3]
An article in the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] STARGATE files describes a pre-flight test that Mitchell arranged two weeks before launch with a Chicago drafting engineer named Olof Johnson: ten sessions of 25 cards, 250 guesses, about half or 125 reported correct. The article states that results for the six lunar sessions (150 guesses) were not yet reported.[^4] Mitchell told [[Cabinet Magazine|Cabinet magazine]] that the Earth-side group included "Olof Jonsson, who was a well-known public psychic in Chicago," and that Jonsson "told the press before we ever had a chance to look at the data."[^5]
---
[^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]: "Prominent Swedish-born psychic Jonsson dies at 79," *Las Vegas Sun*, May 21, 1998. https://lasvegassun.com/news/1998/may/21/prominent-swedish-born-psychic-jonsson-dies-at-79/
[^3]: "Olof Jonsson, Engineer, Psychic," *Chicago Tribune*, May 24, 1998. https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/05/24/olof-jonsson-engineer-psychic/
[^4]: Article, CIA Reading Room STARGATE files, CIA-RDP96-00787R000400040001-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp96-00787r000400040001-5
[^5]: Fia Backstrom, "Private Lunar ESP: An Interview with Edgar Mitchell," *Cabinet*, issue 5 (Winter 2001-2002). https://cabinetmagazine.org/issues/5/backstrom_mitchell.php

50
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Richard Helms.md
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@ -37,23 +37,29 @@ President [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]] appointed Helms as DCI in 1966, t
### The Warren Commission and ZR/RIFLE
When the Warren Commission was established in November 1963 to investigate Kennedy's assassination, Helms as DDP was the CIA officer most directly responsible for the ZR/RIFLE program - the CIA's ongoing assassination plots against Castro using organized crime intermediaries [[Johnny Roselli]], [[Sam Giancana]], and [[Santos Trafficante, Jr.|Santo Trafficante Jr.]] He did not disclose the existence of these plots to Commission investigators, despite their obvious relevance to the question of whether Castro-linked parties had a motive to kill Kennedy. The [[Church Committee]] found in 1975 that the CIA had withheld the assassination plots from the Warren Commission, and that this withholding had prevented the Commission from fully investigating a potential motive for retaliation.[^2]
When the Warren Commission was established in November 1963 to investigate Kennedy's assassination, Helms as DDP was the CIA officer most directly responsible for the ZR/RIFLE program - the CIA's ongoing assassination plots against Castro using organized crime intermediaries [[Johnny Roselli]], [[Sam Giancana]], and [[Santos Trafficante, Jr.|Santo Trafficante Jr.]] Helms did not disclose the existence of these plots to the Commission. The [[Church Committee]]'s final report states that neither the CIA nor the FBI told the Commission about the CIA attempts to assassinate Castro, and that none of the testimony or documents the Commission received mentioned them.[^2] [[David Belin]], the Commission's counsel, wrote in 1975 that "[a]t no time did the CIA disclose to the Warren Commission any facts which pertained to alleged assassination plans to kill Fidel Castro."[^3]
The Church Committee's 1975 interim report states that Helms "failed to inform the Warren Commission of the plots because the precise question was not asked."[^4] Helms testified to the committee in July 1975. Asked by Senator Morgan whether he was charged with furnishing the Commission information from the CIA that he thought was relevant, he answered: "No sir. I was instructed to reply to inquiries from the Warren Commission for information from the Agency. I was not asked to initiate any particular thing." To Morgan's statement "if you weren't asked for it, you didn't give it," he answered: "That's right, sir." He said he did not recall being instructed, or deciding on his own, to cover the precise details of the Agency's operations with the Commission, and that his recollection at the time was that it was public knowledge the United States was trying to get rid of Castro.[^5] He said that [[Allen Dulles]] "was sitting right there" in the Commission's deliberations and "knew about this," and that he did not know what Dulles had said to the Commission about the plots.[^5] Book V records that Helms was the only CIA official who was both in contact with the Commission and knowledgeable of the AMLASH operation, although he would not characterize that operation as an assassination plot.[^5][^6]
The Church Committee's final report of 1976 states that why senior FBI and CIA officials permitted the Commission to reach its conclusion without all relevant information "is still unclear," and that "the possibility exists that senior officials in both agencies made conscious decisions not to disclose potentially important information."[^7] The House Select Committee on Assassinations reported that Helms indicated he did not inform the Commission of the anti-Castro plots because he was never asked to testify before it about operations, and stated in a note that it considered this an unacceptable explanation, since the Commission was unaware of the plots and could not make a specific request about them. The same committee stated that only Helms would have been in a position to have both the knowledge and the power to cover up the plots, and that it was satisfied, on the basis of its investigation, that it was highly unlikely he did.[^8][^9]
The CIA Inspector General's report of May 23, 1967 on plots to assassinate Castro, which according to its covering memorandum had been read only by Helms, the Inspector General and two of its authors, records that according to [[Desmond FitzGerald]], he discussed the planned October 29, 1963 meeting with the Cuban official code-named AMLASH with Helms, who decided it was not necessary to seek [[Robert Kennedy]]'s approval for FitzGerald to speak in his name.[^10] It states that "it is likely that at the very moment President Kennedy was shot a CIA officer was meeting with a Cuban agent in Paris and giving him an assassination device for use against Castro," and that "The AMLASH project was probably about as widely known within the Clandestine Services as any other project of a similar nature."[^11]
### Operation CHAOS Authorization and Records Destruction
In August 1967, Helms received President Johnson's instruction to determine whether foreign powers were directing the American antiwar movement. He tasked [[James Jesus Angleton|James Angleton]]'s Counterintelligence Staff with establishing the Special Operations Group that became MHCHAOS. He subsequently expanded the program under President Nixon's administration, approving Project MERRIMAC (domestic infiltration of antiwar organizations) and [[Project RESISTANCE]] (coordination with campus administrators and local police to compile dossiers on student organizations).
In December 1972, knowing that Watergate-related congressional investigations were expanding, Helms ordered the operational records of MHCHAOS destroyed. A partial cache of budget and administrative documents survived only because it had been misfiled in a different location. The records of MKULTRA, the CIA's two-decade human experimentation program using LSD and other substances on unwitting subjects, were destroyed in January 1973. Technical Services Division personnel destroyed them on the verbal orders of [[Sidney Gottlieb]]. Gottlieb testified that he was carrying out a verbal order from Helms in doing so, and Helms confirmed that the order was his.[^3] The Church Committee found that these records destructions had permanently deprived investigators of a complete documentary record of both programs.[^1]
In December 1972, knowing that Watergate-related congressional investigations were expanding, Helms ordered the operational records of MHCHAOS destroyed. A partial cache of budget and administrative documents survived only because it had been misfiled in a different location. The records of MKULTRA, the CIA's two-decade human experimentation program using LSD and other substances on unwitting subjects, were destroyed in January 1973. Technical Services Division personnel destroyed them on the verbal orders of [[Sidney Gottlieb]]. Gottlieb testified that he was carrying out a verbal order from Helms in doing so, and Helms confirmed that the order was his.[^12] The Church Committee found that these records destructions had permanently deprived investigators of a complete documentary record of both programs.[^1]
### Proposing and Protecting MKULTRA
Helms was the program's originator as much as its protector. On April 3, 1953 he formally proposed to Director [[Allen Dulles]] a program under Sidney Gottlieb for the "covert use of biological and chemical materials," arguing that "the development of a comprehensive capability in this field gives us a thorough knowledge of the enemy's theoretical potential" against "a foe who might not be as restrained ... as we are"; Dulles approved it as MKULTRA ten days later. Helms nurtured Gottlieb as his personal specialist and, bypassing the layers of command between them, dealt with him directly, embodying the conviction he later voiced in Senate testimony, that a clandestine operator "can't count on the honesty of your agent ... unless you own him body and soul." When the program needed a new charter in 1964 he agreed to rename it [[MKSEARCH]] on the condition that its substance remain the same.[^4]
Helms was the program's originator as much as its protector. On April 3, 1953 he formally proposed to Director Allen Dulles a program under Sidney Gottlieb for the "covert use of biological and chemical materials," arguing that "the development of a comprehensive capability in this field gives us a thorough knowledge of the enemy's theoretical potential" against "a foe who might not be as restrained ... as we are"; Dulles approved it as MKULTRA ten days later. Helms nurtured Gottlieb as his personal specialist and, bypassing the layers of command between them, dealt with him directly, embodying the conviction he later voiced in Senate testimony, that a clandestine operator "can't count on the honesty of your agent ... unless you own him body and soul." When the program needed a new charter in 1964 he agreed to rename it [[MKSEARCH]] on the condition that its substance remain the same.[^13]
### MKULTRA Continuation and Psychic Research
Helms had approved continuation of MKULTRA through his DDP years and as DCI. He was aware of the program's scope, including the experiments conducted on unconsenting patients at Canadian psychiatric facilities under the direction of Dr. [[D. Ewen Cameron]] at McGill University's [[Allan Memorial Institute]] (Subproject 68), and the experiments using unwitting American subjects in safe houses operated through the Sexual Freedom Project in [[San Francisco]] and [[New York]].
Separately, Helms authorized and expanded the CIA's psychic research program based in part on assessments of Soviet parapsychology research. He approved testing of [[Uri Geller]] at [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] and the broader program that evolved into [[Project Stargate]]. His authorization reflected a characteristically pragmatic judgment: if the Soviets were investing in the capability, the CIA needed to assess whether it was real.[^2]
Separately, Helms authorized and expanded the CIA's psychic research program based in part on assessments of Soviet parapsychology research. He approved testing of [[Uri Geller]] at [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] and the broader program that evolved into [[Project Stargate]]. His authorization reflected a characteristically pragmatic judgment: if the Soviets were investing in the capability, the CIA needed to assess whether it was real.[^14]
### Chile: Covert Action and Congressional Perjury
@ -65,19 +71,19 @@ In February 1973, when Helms testified before the [[Senate Foreign Relations Com
### The Israeli estimate and the June 1967 warning
On May 25, 1967, Helms had the [[Office of National Estimates]] appraise an Israeli intelligence estimate within five hours. The appraisal stated: "We do not believe that the Israeli appreciation . . . was a serious estimate of the sort they would submit to their own high officials. We think it is probably a gambit intended to influence the US to do one or more of the following: (a) provide military supplies, (b) make more public commitments to Israel, (c) approve Israeli military initiatives, and (d) put more pressure on Nasser." [[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, describes the Israeli paper as a [[Mossad]] estimate and writes that the Israelis may have been exploiting their special relationship with James Jesus Angleton.[^5][^6]
On May 25, 1967, Helms had the [[Office of National Estimates]] appraise an Israeli intelligence estimate within five hours. The appraisal stated: "We do not believe that the Israeli appreciation . . . was a serious estimate of the sort they would submit to their own high officials. We think it is probably a gambit intended to influence the US to do one or more of the following: (a) provide military supplies, (b) make more public commitments to Israel, (c) approve Israeli military initiatives, and (d) put more pressure on Nasser." [[David S. Robarge]], the CIA's chief historian, describes the Israeli paper as a [[Mossad]] estimate and writes that the Israelis may have been exploiting their special relationship with James Jesus Angleton.[^15][^16]
On June 1, 1967, Helms's deputy, Vice Admiral [[Rufus Taylor]], wrote the memorandum of the conversation between Major General [[Meir Amit]] and Secretary of Defense [[Robert S. McNamara]], captioned "Personal and Eyes Only for the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence."[^7] Robarge writes that Helms met a senior Israeli official on June 1 who hinted that Israel could no longer avoid a decision, that the official left the United States on June 2, and that that morning Helms wrote an "Eyes Only" letter to President Johnson forewarning that Israel probably would start a war within a few days.[^8] Helms was awakened at 3:00 a.m. on June 5 by a call from the CIA Operations Center. He recalled that "in the midst of one meeting" during the war Johnson asked how accurate his intelligence on the progress of the war was, and that he answered: "It's accurate just as long as the Israelis are winning."[^6]
On June 1, 1967, Helms's deputy, Vice Admiral [[Rufus Taylor]], wrote the memorandum of the conversation between Major General [[Meir Amit]] and Secretary of Defense [[Robert S. McNamara]], captioned "Personal and Eyes Only for the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence."[^17] Robarge writes that Helms met a senior Israeli official on June 1 who hinted that Israel could no longer avoid a decision, that the official left the United States on June 2, and that that morning Helms wrote an "Eyes Only" letter to President Johnson forewarning that Israel probably would start a war within a few days.[^18] Helms was awakened at 3:00 a.m. on June 5 by a call from the CIA Operations Center. He recalled that "in the midst of one meeting" during the war Johnson asked how accurate his intelligence on the progress of the war was, and that he answered: "It's accurate just as long as the Israelis are winning."[^16]
### NUMEC letter, April 1968
On April 2, 1968, Helms wrote to Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]] asking that the FBI "initiate a discreet intelligence investigation of an all source nature of Dr. Shapiro in order to establish the nature and extent of his relationship with the Government of Israel," and asked that the letter be returned to him once the Attorney General had acted, because the subject matter was "so sensitive for obvious reasons." A twelve-line passage before the request remains redacted.[^9] The subject was [[Zalman Mordecai Shapiro]] of the [[Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation]].
On April 2, 1968, Helms wrote to Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]] asking that the FBI "initiate a discreet intelligence investigation of an all source nature of Dr. Shapiro in order to establish the nature and extent of his relationship with the Government of Israel," and asked that the letter be returned to him once the Attorney General had acted, because the subject matter was "so sensitive for obvious reasons." A twelve-line passage before the request remains redacted.[^19] The subject was [[Zalman Mordecai Shapiro]] of the [[Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation]].
### Israel: The "Open Pipeline" Assessment
Helms developed a personal conviction, disclosed to his deputies, that Israel was providing American satellite intelligence to the [[Soviet Union]] as part of an undisclosed intelligence exchange - characterizing Israel as "an open pipeline for pumping intelligence to Moscow." He never officially reported this assessment or commissioned a formal investigation, and he took no documented action on it. His reluctance reflected both the sensitivity of accusing an ally and the particular weight of any assessment that ran against the interests managed by Angleton's [[KK MOUNTAIN]] Israeli liaison program.
When President Johnson sought an intelligence assessment of whether Israel had manufactured nuclear weapons, Helms provided the estimate (four warheads) and then obeyed Johnson's instruction that the finding be buried rather than formally reported. Johnson did not want intelligence conclusions that would require him to act on them politically. Helms's willingness to suppress an accurate intelligence product at presidential direction exemplified the institutional failure the Church Committee later documented.[^10]
When President Johnson sought an intelligence assessment of whether Israel had manufactured nuclear weapons, Helms provided the estimate (four warheads) and then obeyed Johnson's instruction that the finding be buried rather than formally reported. Johnson did not want intelligence conclusions that would require him to act on them politically. Helms's willingness to suppress an accurate intelligence product at presidential direction exemplified the institutional failure the Church Committee later documented.[^20]
### Iran, Retirement, and Memoirs
@ -88,12 +94,22 @@ He published his memoirs, *A Look Over My Shoulder: A Life in the Central Intell
### Footnotes
[^1]: Powers, Thomas. *The Man Who Kept the Secrets: Richard Helms and the CIA.* Knopf, 1979 (the essential biography, based on extensive interviews). Church Committee (Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). Final Report, S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976.
[^2]: Church Committee. "Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders." Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975 (documents ZR/RIFLE and the failure to disclose to Warren Commission). Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown, 2017.
[^3]: Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Final Report*, Book I, S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976, p. 389 (MKULTRA records destroyed January 1973 on Gottlieb's verbal orders; Gottlieb testifying that he carried out Helms's verbal order; Helms confirming).
[^4]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapters 1, 4, 12.
[^5]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 61, Memorandum from Rostow to President Johnson, May 25, 1967, with attached CIA appraisal. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d61
[^6]: Robarge, David S. "Getting it Right: CIA Analysis of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War." *Studies in Intelligence* 49, no. 1 (March 2005). https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/CIA-Analysis-1967-War.pdf
[^7]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 124, Memorandum for the Record by Vice Admiral Rufus Taylor, June 1, 1967 (prepared June 2). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d124
[^8]: Robarge, David S. "Getting it Right: CIA Analysis of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War." *Studies in Intelligence* 49, no. 1 (March 2005). https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/CIA-Analysis-1967-War.pdf For the June 1 to 2 meeting Robarge relies on published accounts, among them Michael B. Oren's, which rest on Amit's interviews and writings.
[^9]: National Security Archive, "The NUMEC Affair: Did Highly Enriched Uranium from the U.S. Aid Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program?" (November 2, 2016), Document 8, Letter from Richard Helms to Ramsey Clark, April 2, 1968 (ISCAP Appeal No. 2013-062). https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2016-11-02/numec-affair-did-highly-enriched-uranium-us-aid-israels-nuclear-weapons-program
[^10]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991. Chapters 11, 14, 16.
[^2]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies*, Book V, Final Report, April 23, 1976, p. 5. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^3]: Book V, p. 73 (Belin memorandum to the Rockefeller Commission, May 20, 1975, p. 1). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^4]: U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975, p. 269 and note 1. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^5]: Book V, pp. 70-72 (Helms testimony of July 17 and 18, 1975; testimony of 7/17/75, pp. 118-119, and 7/18/75, pp. 36-37). https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^6]: Book V, p. 69. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^7]: Book V, p. 7. https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/94755_V.pdf
[^8]: U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations*, 1979, Part I-D, p. 253 and note 8. https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1d.html
[^9]: Same report, Part I-C, p. 128. https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1c.html
[^10]: Central Intelligence Agency, Inspector General (J. S. Earman), "Report on Plots to Assassinate Fidel Castro," May 23, 1967, covering memorandum and pp. 88-89 (JFK record 104-10213-10101). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/104-10213-10101.pdf
[^11]: Same report, p. 94. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/104-10213-10101.pdf
[^12]: Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Final Report*, Book I, S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976, p. 389 (MKULTRA records destroyed January 1973 on Gottlieb's verbal orders; Gottlieb testifying that he carried out Helms's verbal order; Helms confirming).
[^13]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate*. Times Books, 1979, Chapters 1, 4, 12.
[^14]: Church Committee. "Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders." Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975 (documents ZR/RIFLE). Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown, 2017.
[^15]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 61, Memorandum from Rostow to President Johnson, May 25, 1967, with attached CIA appraisal. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d61
[^16]: Robarge, David S. "Getting it Right: CIA Analysis of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War." *Studies in Intelligence* 49, no. 1 (March 2005). https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/CIA-Analysis-1967-War.pdf
[^17]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, vol. XIX, Document 124, Memorandum for the Record by Vice Admiral Rufus Taylor, June 1, 1967 (prepared June 2). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v19/d124
[^18]: Robarge, David S. "Getting it Right: CIA Analysis of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War." *Studies in Intelligence* 49, no. 1 (March 2005). https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/CIA-Analysis-1967-War.pdf For the June 1 to 2 meeting Robarge relies on published accounts, among them Michael B. Oren's, which rest on Amit's interviews and writings.
[^19]: National Security Archive, "The NUMEC Affair: Did Highly Enriched Uranium from the U.S. Aid Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program?" (November 2, 2016), Document 8, Letter from Richard Helms to Ramsey Clark, April 2, 1968 (ISCAP Appeal No. 2013-062). https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/nuclear-vault/2016-11-02/numec-affair-did-highly-enriched-uranium-us-aid-israels-nuclear-weapons-program
[^20]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991. Chapters 11, 14, 16.

214
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Robert Maheu.md
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@ -1,71 +1,235 @@
---
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-09
title: Robert Maheu
aliases:
- Robert Maheu
- Robert A. Maheu
- Robert Aime Maheu
- Bob Maheu
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- FBI
- HowardHughes
- HughesToolCompany
- SummaCorporation
- AntiCastro
- OrganizedCrime
- ColdWar
- ChurchCommittee
- Wiretapping
- Watergate
- HughesRebozo
- Onassis
- Sukarno
- 1950s
- 1960s
- 1970s
category: "Intelligence & Government"
summary: "Robert Maheu was a former FBI agent who became the CIA's primary cutout for sensitive operations requiring criminal networks, recruited Sam Giancana, Johnny Roselli, and Santo Trafficante Jr. into the CIA's anti-Castro assassination program in 1960, and simultaneously served as Howard Hughes's most trusted executive managing his Nevada operations from 1966 to 1970."
summary: "Former FBI agent who served as the CIA's cutout from 1954, approached Johnny Roselli for the 1960 Castro plots, and ran Howard Hughes's Nevada operations until his discharge in December 1970."
born: 1917-10-30
died: 2008-08-04
location: "Waterville, Maine / Las Vegas, Nevada"
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
start: 1940-12-09
end: 1947-07-24
role: "special agent; resident agent at Waterville, Maine at resignation"
fn: 7
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
start: 1954-03
role: "cutout recruited by the Office of Security on a $500 monthly retainer"
fn: 8
- type: represented
with: "[[Stavros Niarchos]]"
start: 1954
role: "investigator and agent against the Onassis Saudi Arabian tanker agreement"
fn: 16
- type: reported_to
with: "[[Sheffield Edwards]]"
start: 1960-08
end: 1961-05
role: "approached Johnny Roselli at the request of the Office of Security for the Castro operation"
fn: 27
- type: participant_in
with: "[[ZR RIFLE]]"
start: 1960-08
end: 1961-05
role: "first-stage intermediary to Roselli, Giancana and Trafficante in the gambling-syndicate plot against Castro"
fn: 30
- type: represented
with: "[[Howard Hughes]]"
start: 1955
end: 1970-12-05
role: "alter ego and personal representative; managed the Nevada hotels, casinos and real estate from November 1966"
fn: 38
- type: contractor_to
with: "[[Hughes Tool Company]]"
start: 1966-11
end: 1970-12-05
role: "management services through Robert A. Maheu Associates"
fn: 3
- type: director_of
with: "[[First Intercontinental Development Corporation]]"
start: 1983-01-11
role: "vice president and director, as listed by Cheri Seymour and in a 2016 FOIA request"
fn: 52
- type: investigated
with: "[[Church Committee]]"
reverse: true
start: 1975-07-29
end: 1975-09-23
role: "testified July 29-30 and September 23, 1975, under a grant of limited immunity"
fn: 50
---
Robert Aime Maheu (October 30, 1917 - August 4, 2008) was a former [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent who became the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]'s principal cutout for operations requiring criminal network access and plausible deniability, most critically his 1960 recruitment of [[Sam Giancana]], [[Johnny Roselli]], and [[Santos Trafficante, Jr.|Santo Trafficante Jr.]] into the CIA's covert program to assassinate [[Fidel Castro]]. He simultaneously built one of the most unusual private intelligence and investigative operations of the Cold War era, serving as the personal operative of [[Howard Hughes]] and eventually running Hughes's Nevada casino and real estate empire as his alter ego from 1966 until Hughes's organization dismissed him in 1970.[^1]
Robert Aime Maheu (born October 30, 1917, in [[Waterville]], [[Maine]]; died August 4, 2008, in [[Las Vegas]]) was a [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] special agent from 1940 to 1947 who, from 1954, ran a private investigation firm that the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] Office of Security used as a cutout for operations that could not be traced to the agency.[^1] In September 1960 he approached [[Johnny Roselli]] on the agency's behalf, and Roselli brought in [[Sam Giancana]] and [[Santos Trafficante, Jr.|Santo Trafficante Jr.]] for the CIA's plots against [[Fidel Castro]].[^2] From November 1966 to December 1970 he managed the hotels, casinos and real estate that [[Howard Hughes]] acquired in [[Nevada]], and the company that discharged him, [[Hughes Tool Company]], was the defendant in his libel action.[^3]
### FBI and Early Career
### FBI service
Maheu was born in Waterville, [[Maine]], educated at Holy Cross College, and joined the FBI during [[World War II]]. He served as a special agent for several years before leaving the Bureau. He subsequently established a private investigation and consulting firm in [[Washington, D.C.]], Robert A. Maheu Associates, which he operated beginning in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Maheu was born in Waterville, graduated from the Waterville high school in 1936, and studied at [[Holy Cross College]] from 1936 to 1940, receiving a B.S. in economics. In September 1940 he entered [[Georgetown Law School]]. His Bureau applicant file records endorsements from [[Richard C. Durham]], assistant secretary of the [[Democratic National Committee]], and from F. Harold Dubord of Waterville.[^4] He entered on duty as a special agent trainee on December 9, 1940, a year before the United States entered [[World War II]].[^5]
His FBI background gave him established relationships with Bureau personnel and with the private intelligence and security network that former federal agents maintained in the postwar period. These connections made him valuable to entities - government agencies and private clients - that needed sensitive investigative and operational services conducted at arm's length from official structures.[^1]
A loyalty form that Maheu later filed lists "April, 1942 to 1944, under cover assignment out of New York Office, FBI."[^6] He resigned as a special agent, effective at the close of business on July 24, 1947, while stationed as Resident Agent at Waterville. The Bureau's efficiency report notes a discussion of a change of his headquarters shortly before the resignation.[^7] The loyalty form gave November 1947 as the separation date; the Bureau's personnel file gave July 1947. In 1949 the Bureau recommended him for employment with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, and in November 1951 he corresponded with the Bureau about future recommendations.[^6]
### CIA Cutout Operations
The [[CIA Office of Security]] memorandum on Maheu records that after leaving the Bureau he formed a business, "Dairy Dream Products," that went bankrupt in 1952; that he then joined the Small Business Administration in [[Washington, D.C.]] as Special Assistant to the Administrator with the duty of Director of Security; and that he was forced to resign in February 1954 "because of political reasons," which the memorandum describes as backing the wrong political party in the election. He then set up Robert A. Maheu Associates.[^8] In January 1952 the Civil Service Commission had asked the Bureau to expedite his loyalty form for the post of Security and Compliance Officer at the Small Defense Plants Administration.[^6]
The CIA used Maheu as a cutout for operations that required either criminal networks or plausible deniability that a CIA officer could not provide. Maheu's private firm status meant that CIA-directed operations could be conducted without a documented CIA connection; his organized crime and underworld contacts, developed through investigative work, gave him access to networks the CIA needed but could not approach directly.
### Recruitment by the Office of Security
Before the Castro assassination operation, Maheu had conducted several sensitive operations for the CIA including bugging operations against foreign officials and investigations into individuals of intelligence interest. He had also conducted operations for other intelligence-connected clients, including the [[National Security Agency]]. His dual status - private investigator with documented government relationships - made him operationally flexible in ways that career intelligence officers were not.[^1]
The Office of Security recruited Maheu in March 1954 through [[Robert H. Cunningham]], then chief of its Special Security Division, who knew him from their common FBI service and saw in him "a covert asset" for extremely sensitive cases. With the approval of the Director of Security, Maheu was offered $500 a month on the condition that he move into his own office and be on call. He rented desk space in a suite occupied by [[Carmine Bellino]], a former FBI agent and accountant.[^8] The [[Church Committee]] wrote that Maheu was "an ex-FBI agent who had entered into a career as a private investigator in 1954," that a former FBI associate of his in the Office of Security had arranged for the agency to use him in several sensitive covert operations, and that the purpose was that "he didn't want to have an Agency person or a government person get caught."[^1]
### CIA-Mafia Anti-Castro Operation
The Church Committee recorded the $500 retainer as ending after his detective agency became more lucrative, and recorded that the Office of Security's operational support chief had been Maheu's case officer since the agency first used him and that the two were close personal friends by 1960.[^9] Covert security clearances were granted to Maheu on August 16, 1954 for use in the Near East and on August 30, 1954 for use in the United States.[^10] The CIA [[Inspector General]]'s 1967 report, signed by [[John S. Earman]], records the same $500 monthly retainer and Maheu's later move of his personal headquarters to [[Los Angeles]].[^11] His clients in this period also included the [[National Security Agency]].
In August 1960, [[Sheffield Edwards]], the CIA's Director of Security, and his deputy [[James O'Connell]] briefed Maheu on the CIA's desire to recruit organized crime figures for an operation to assassinate Castro. Edwards and O'Connell's rationale for approaching Maheu was explicit: they needed someone with organized crime connections who could make an approach that would not be traceable to the CIA.
### The Onassis contract, 1954
Maheu approached [[Johnny Roselli]], whom he had known through [[Las Vegas]] gambling circles, in September 1960. Roselli agreed to participate and arranged a meeting with [[Sam Giancana]] and [[Santos Trafficante, Jr.|Santo Trafficante Jr.]] Maheu handled the initial negotiations, communicating the CIA's operational requirements and providing the poison pills developed by the CIA's [[Technical Services Division]] for introduction into Castro's food or drink.
In January 1954 [[Aristotle Onassis]] concluded an agreement with the Saudi Arabian government under which oil shipped by the concession companies would be carried in tankers of the "Saudi Arabian Maritime Company," a company controlling Onassis-owned tankers. The American ambassador reported on February 6, 1954 that [[Aramco]] and Pacific Western Oil had received letters quoting Article 4 of the agreement on January 31.[^12] On March 16, 1954 Robert L. L. McCormick, representing the Greek shipowner [[Stavros Niarchos]], met State Department officers, proposed that the Department suggest to National City Bank and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company that they cancel their financing arrangements with Onassis, and asked that the Department of Justice be informed.[^13]
Maheu's role was that of a first-stage intermediary. Once the CIA-organized crime relationship was established, [[William Harvey]] replaced him as the agency's primary handler, working directly with Roselli rather than through Maheu. Maheu retained awareness of the program and some ongoing relationship with its participants but was no longer the operational manager after 1961.
The Office of Security memorandum records that in July 1954 Maheu was engaged by "British shipping interests" to check on Onassis's activities in the United States, including technical coverage of Onassis's New York office, and that the principal was later learned to be Niarchos. Maheu conditioned his acceptance on doing nothing inimical to the United States and on passing any information of interest to the appropriate agency. His staff prepared a paper on the dangers of the Onassis arrangement to American trade; through contacts in the Foreign Operations Administration [[Harold Stassen]] read it at the [[National Security Council]] on June 22, 1954; Maheu briefed [[Scott McLeod]], Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs, who offered State communications and pouch facilities subject to [[John Foster Dulles]]'s approval; and Maheu briefed [[J. Edgar Hoover]] and Vice President [[Richard M. Nixon]]. The agency's Near East Division furnished him a communications channel, a pouch system and operational guidance from August 1954.[^14]
The Church Committee's 1975 investigation disclosed and documented Maheu's role in detail. He testified before the committee, confirming the CIA approach, the organized crime recruitment, and the poison pill operations. His testimony provided important corroboration of the program's structure and his role in initiating it.[^1]
On September 24, 1954 Paul Gerrity of Maheu Associates called on McLeod and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State [[John Jernegan]] with a file containing a statement attributed to Cotopadis on the negotiation of the Onassis agreement. Gerrity said that Niarchos had purchased the statement and photostats, that a second copy was held by the CIA in Washington and a third by Maheu, then in [[Beirut]], and that the papers should reach King Saud through [[Karl Twitchell]], who was in Jidda. Jernegan said the CIA should remain the channel.[^15]
### Howard Hughes
A memorandum for the Director of the FBI dated October 14, 1954, records a telephone call from "former Special Agent" Maheu. He described Niarchos's effort to have Saudi officials abrogate the agreements with Onassis, who had been charged in a sealed indictment on October 13, 1953, said that Niarchos had bought documents from [[Spiros Catapoudis]] and the former agent [[Leo Turrou]] for $280,000 in cash, $50,000 of it Turrou's share, and that he had gone to [[Athens]] for his client, collected the documents and delivered them to Saudi officials. The memorandum states: "Maheu stated the United States Government is also interested in seeing that these agreements are abrogated."[^16]
By the early 1960s, Maheu had become [[Howard Hughes]]'s personal agent for sensitive operations. Hughes, who had been increasingly reclusive since the late 1950s and would become almost completely withdrawn from direct contact with the outside world by the mid-1960s, required a trusted intermediary for negotiations, investigations, and relationships that he would not conduct himself.
The Church Committee recorded Maheu's testimony that, after consulting the agency, he arranged for a listening device to be placed in the room of the contract holder and that he publicized the contract's terms in a [[Rome]] newspaper he said he had purchased with CIA funds.[^17] [[Jim Hougan]] wrote in a [[Playboy]] article, summarized by the [[Washington Post]] in 1978, that the Niarchos operation had the knowledge and approval of the CIA and of Nixon. Maheu confirmed the basic elements to the Post. He said he "wouldn't take the assignment [from Niarchos] until I cleared it with the outfit," meaning the CIA, that he was then on a $500-a-month retainer from the agency, that the operation included an "unproductive" wiretap on Onassis's New York office, and that the agency helped his operatives in Rome. He called Hougan's allegation of an international conspiracy "a crock."[^18] Maheu's son Peter said in 2008 that his father had played a major role in scuttling the deal. [[Peter Evans]] wrote in *Nemesis* (1986) that after a meeting with Maheu, Vice President Nixon said: "And just remember, if it turns out we have to kill the bastard don't do it on American soil."[^19]
Maheu conducted investigations for Hughes, handled sensitive political negotiations, managed relationships with government officials, and eventually became the primary executive running Hughes's Nevada operations. When Hughes moved to Las Vegas in November 1966 and began his extraordinary acquisition of Nevada casinos and real estate, Maheu was the person who negotiated the purchases, managed the properties, and interacted with Nevada state government, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and other officials. He served, effectively, as Hughes's alter ego - the public face of a man who had become entirely invisible.
### Sukarno, the Happy Days film and other cutout assignments
The Hughes-Maheu relationship gave Maheu extraordinary operational range. Hughes's resources financed investigations and operations that Maheu conducted on Hughes's behalf, some of which had intelligence dimensions. Hughes himself had CIA-adjacent relationships extending back decades, and Maheu's work for Hughes brought him into contact with political figures, foreign officials, and business networks that overlapped with the intelligence world he had inhabited since his FBI career.
In November 1957 a cable from Ciudad Trujillo alleged that Maheu had violated the Mann Act by procuring and transporting prostitutes for President [[Sukarno]] of [[Indonesia]] during Sukarno's 1956 state visit. Maheu told the Office of Security the allegations were without foundation, and Dominican officials retracted the charges; [[Edward Bennett Williams]] acted as his lawyer.[^20] A Bureau memorandum of April 10, 1964 records that Maheu had advised the Bureau on October 25, 1957 that the Dominican Republic was trying to blackmail the United States into dropping charges against John Joseph Frank by alleging that Maheu had furnished girls to Sukarno, and that Maheu and Frank had earlier been business associates.[^21] Hougan quoted [[Joseph Shimon]], a friend of Maheu's, that the agency "would call him up when Sukarno or Hussein was coming to town, and ask him to get some girls."[^22]
Maheu was terminated by Hughes's organization in December 1970, in a corporate restructuring that Hughes (or, critics argued, Hughes's increasingly isolated handlers) directed. The termination was acrimonious; Maheu sued Hughes and Hughes's organization over his dismissal and severance and obtained a substantial settlement. He claimed never to have spoken with Hughes directly during the years he ran the Nevada empire, conducting all communication through intermediaries.[^2]
The Office of Security memorandum records that in fall 1956 Sukarno was reported to have had an affair with a Soviet woman in the [[Kremlin]] during a visit to [[Moscow]], that the Soviets were reported to have filmed it and sent a copy to the Indonesian Communist Party, and that in June 1957 [[Alfred Ulmer]] and [[Samuel Halpern]] of the CIA's Far East Division asked the Director of Security for a film simulating the affair, with clips to be inserted in a leaflet distributed through Southeast Asia suggesting that Sukarno was compromised by the Soviets. In July 1957 Maheu was given the assignment. He used a male employee of his organization (since deceased) and the man's fiancee, applied their make-up himself after an intensive make-up course, hired a studio where he was instructed in the use of lights and camera, and was alone with the two participants when the film was taken. The project, known as "Happy Days," was never completed and the film was not distributed.[^23]
### Later Career and Memoir
The Church Committee wrote that at the CIA's request Maheu had arranged the production in [[Hollywood]] of a film purporting to depict "a foreign leader" with a woman in the Soviet Union, that the agency planned to circulate it as a Soviet production, and that the film was never used; Maheu testified that he located an actor resembling the leader.[^17] Hougan wrote that the film showed a communist leader "said to have been Yugoslavia's Marshal Tito" with a woman made to resemble a KGB agent, and that it was never released.[^24]
After his departure from Hughes's employ, Maheu remained in Las Vegas and continued private investigations and consulting. He cooperated with various historical investigations into the CIA-organized crime period and gave testimony before congressional committees.
In 1958 the Far East Division enlisted Maheu in a second operation directed at Sukarno, which the memorandum calls HARPSTAR, to locate a female candidate for the purpose; Maheu and [[James O'Connell]] met an intermediary in New York in September 1958, and the memorandum records that the candidate met Sukarno but that the purpose of the mission was not fulfilled. In April 1959, during the state visit of King [[Hussein of Jordan]], the Office of Security asked Maheu on April 3 to arrange a party for the king in Los Angeles, which he did through an intermediary, and the office afterward rented a house on Long Island for the king's use in New York.[^25]
He published his memoirs, *Next to Hughes*, with journalist Richard Hack in 1992. The memoir provided his account of the Hughes years and his version of the CIA-organized crime anti-Castro operation, defending his conduct while acknowledging the program's extraordinary nature. He maintained until his death that the CIA-organized crime plots were legitimate operations conducted in response to genuine national security threats.
### The 1960 Castro plots
He died in Las Vegas on August 4, 2008, at age 90 - outliving Giancana (murdered 1975), Roselli (murdered 1976), Harvey (died 1976), and [[William Harvey|Harvey]]'s CIA colleague [[Desmond FitzGerald]] (died 1967). He was among the last surviving witnesses to the original CIA-organized crime anti-Castro collaboration.[^1]
In August 1960 [[Richard Bissell]] asked [[Sheffield Edwards]], then director of the Office of Security, whether the office had assets for a sensitive mission requiring gangster-type action against Castro. Edwards assigned the mission to the chief of the Operational Support Division, and the two decided to rely on Maheu "to recruit someone 'tough enough' to handle the job."[^1] The Office of Security's own account states that Maheu was briefed generally, was told that Roselli, whom he had met on several occasions in Las Vegas, was a high-ranking member of the "Syndicate," and was to present himself to Roselli as having been engaged by a client who represented international business firms suffering losses in Cuba.[^26]
The operational support chief testified that Maheu was at first reluctant because the operation might interfere with his relationship with his new client Howard Hughes, and that he agreed because he felt he owed the agency a commitment. The Inspector General's report states that Edwards and Maheu agreed that Maheu would approach Roselli "as the representative of businessmen with interests in Cuba who saw the elimination of Castro as the first essential step to the recovery of their investments," and that he "was authorized to tell Rosselli that his 'clients' were willing to pay $150,000 for Castro's removal." Rosselli said the cover story was developed after he had been contacted. The Church Committee noted that the evidence varies on the amount offered. Rosselli testified that he and Maheu met at the [[Brown Derby]] in [[Beverly Hills]] in early September 1960 and that Maheu told him that "high government officials" needed his cooperation; Maheu recalled saying that he had been asked by his government to solicit his cooperation. The Inspector General placed a meeting of Maheu, Rosselli and the support chief at the [[Plaza Hotel]] in New York on September 14, 1960. The support chief and Maheu each said that the other had raised Roselli's name, and Maheu had known Roselli since the late 1950s.[^27]
Maheu told the committee that Hughes telephoned him in Miami shortly before the November 1960 election and asked him to return to the West Coast, and that, not wanting to lose Hughes as a client, he "definitely told him that the project was on behalf of the United States Government." Maheu also testified that he was told the plan was one phase of a larger project to invade Cuba.[^28]
During the week of September 24, 1960 the support chief, Maheu and Roselli met in Miami. Roselli used the cover name "John Rawlston," and Maheu handled the details of setting up the operation and kept the support chief informed. Roselli introduced Maheu to "Sam Gold" and "Joe," who were later identified, from a Parade supplement that Maheu told the support chief to examine, as Giancana and Trafficante. Maheu recalled meeting Giancana after November 1960; other evidence, including FBI records of Maheu and Roselli's registration at the Kennilworth Hotel from October 11 to 30, indicates an earlier date. The Inspector General's report places Maheu and O'Connell at separate hotels in Miami during these weeks.[^11][^29] The Office of Security memorandum records that Maheu telephoned the office immediately on learning the two men's identities.[^26]
Edwards's memorandum of May 14, 1962, prepared after a complete oral briefing for Attorney General [[Robert Kennedy]], describes Maheu as "a private investigator of the firm of Maheu and King" and states that knowledge of the project was kept to a total of six persons. It records that Maheu and Rosselli proceeded to Miami toward the end of September 1960, that Maheu was introduced to Giancana, who arranged a meeting with a courier going back and forth to [[Havana]], that Maheu was paid part of his expense money during the periods in Miami, and that after the failure of the invasion of Cuba word was sent through Maheu to Rosselli to call off the operation.[^30]
The [[Technical Services Division]] prepared poison pills. Rosselli testified that at the Fountainebleau Hotel in Miami Maheu "opened his briefcase and dumped a whole lot of money on his lap" and produced the capsules. Maheu denied that this occurred and did not recall being present when the pills were passed, but recalled that the support chief showed him the pills in an envelope and told him they would be given to a Cuban; he described them as "five or six gelatin capsules filled with a liquid." Shimon testified that on a weekend in March 1961 Maheu said he had a "contract" to assassinate Castro and a "liquid" from the CIA, and later telephoned him to say "Castro's ill"; Giancana, according to Shimon, said that "Maheu's conning the hell out of the CIA." Maheu testified that the pills were delivered but that "the go signal" never came and that he had no involvement after the Bay of Pigs.[^31]
[[William Harvey]], whom Richard Bissell asked in November 1961 to take over the gambling-syndicate operation from Edwards, was introduced to Roselli in Miami in April 1962 and told him not to deal with Maheu or Giancana, whom Harvey testified he had decided were "untrustworthy" and "surplus."[^32]
### The 1960 Las Vegas wiretap
In late October 1960 Maheu arranged through the Florida investigator [[Edward DuBois]] for an electronic listening device to be placed in a room in Las Vegas. DuBois's employee, [[Arthur James Balletti]], installed a telephone tap instead. On October 31, 1960 a maid discovered the equipment, the sheriff arrested Balletti, and Balletti called Maheu in Miami, "tying Maheu into this thing up to his ear" in the words of the support chief, who called the episode a "Keystone Comedy act." Rosselli paid Balletti's bail.[^33]
The Church Committee found conflicting evidence on whether the agency was consulted. The support chief testified that Edwards had cleared a "bug" before the tap was installed, and that the CIA indirectly paid for it out of Maheu's retainer. Edwards's memorandum states that "neither the Agency nor the undersigned knew of the proposed technical installation," and the Inspector General accepted that the agency was "first unwitting and then a reluctant accessory after the fact." The support chief testified that Maheu told him a girlfriend of Giancana's was having an affair with the target and that Giancana threatened to fly to Las Vegas unless the room was bugged; Maheu substantially confirmed this. Shimon testified that Giancana told him he paid Maheu $5,000 for the tap, that the CIA had not known in advance, and that Maheu later used his CIA connection to avoid prosecution; Maheu testified that he did not recall being paid.[^34]
Edwards's memorandum records that Maheu reported Giancana had asked him to put a listening device in the room of Phyllis McGuire, reported to be Giancana's mistress, that Maheu passed the matter to Edward Du Boise, and that Maheu said Giancana "thought that Phyllis McGuire might know of the proposed operation and might pass on the information to one Dan Rowan, another friend of McGuire's." The Church Committee's version omits the names.[^30] A Hoover memorandum to the DCI of October 18, 1960 relayed, from "a source whose reliability has not been tested," that Giancana had said that Castro would be killed in November by a girl who would drop a "pill" in his food or drink. Rosselli testified that Maheu gave him two explanations for the tap: that Giancana suspected his girlfriend of an affair, and that Maheu wished to learn whether she was spreading word of the plot; Maheu gave the second explanation to the FBI.[^35]
On April 18, 1961 Maheu told the FBI that the tap involved the CIA and suggested that Edwards be contacted. A memorandum of April 24, 1962 from [[Herbert J. Miller]], Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, advised that the "national interest" would preclude prosecution, and after a CIA briefing of the attorney general the decision was made not to prosecute. The Office of Security memorandum states that the Department of Justice announced its intention to prosecute Maheu and that prosecution was dropped at the agency's request.[^35][^36]
Maheu later drew on this connection to avoid testifying before the Senate subcommittee chaired by [[Edward Long]] in 1966. The Inspector General recorded that Maheu "applied pressure on the Agency in a variety of ways, suggesting that publicity might expose his past sensitive work for the CIA"; the agency's general counsel [[Lawrence Houston]] met Maheu and his attorney [[Edward P. Morgan]] and informed Long that Maheu had been involved in CIA operations, and the committee did not call Maheu.[^35] The Office of Security memorandum states that Long was told the agency had used Maheu on a number of occasions but had never asked him to wiretap.[^37]
### Howard Hughes and the Nevada operations
The Ninth Circuit, describing the relationship from Maheu's testimony, wrote that Hughes first retained Maheu in 1954 or 1955, that Hughes "several times expressed his intention that Maheu would become his 'alter ego,'" that from 1961 through 1965 Maheu functioned as Hughes's personal representative at all levels of government, and that "Maheu had never had a face-to-face conversation with his employer. All communication was by telephone or written memoranda."[^38] The [[Los Angeles Times]] reported that Maheu caught glimpses of Hughes twice but never met him face to face.[^39] A CIA memorandum for the record of May 20, 1971 by a former agency employee states that Maheu did subcontract investigative work for Hughes during the early 1950s hearings involving Senator [[Owen Brewster]]; that "some time in the early 1960's Maheu closed his D. C. office, picked up Hughes as a sole client and moved to Los Angeles"; and that in 1962 to 1964 the author was working out "a nonofficial cover arrangement" with the Aircraft Division of the Hughes Tool Company in Culver City, in which [[Rhea Hopper]] was "the principle cleared witting official," and Maheu "was cut in as a pickup for insurance."[^40]
Hughes moved to Las Vegas in November 1966. Maheu contracted through his own company to provide management services for the hotels, casinos and other holdings that Hughes acquired, and he stated that he was to report on these matters directly to Hughes rather than to the executives of Hughes Tool Company. He testified that he was consulted on which political leaders should receive contributions and that Hughes knew of and approved all of them; by 1969 the cash contributions came from the [[Silver Slipper]] casino, which Hughes owned as a sole proprietorship. A Hughes memorandum to Maheu in the committee's files reads in part: "Bob, as soon as this predicament is settled, I want you to go see Nixon as my special confidential emissary."[^3] The [[Las Vegas Sun]] listed the purchases Maheu made for Hughes as the [[Desert Inn]], the [[Sands Hotel|Sands]], the Castaways, the Frontier, the Silver Slipper and the Landmark.[^19]
The [[Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities|Senate Watergate committee]] recorded that Maheu's telephone messages show a call on November 22, 1968 from Stephen Craig of President-elect Nixon's office concerning a campaign deficit, and that Maheu recalled being instructed by Hughes to arrange, through Governor [[Paul Laxalt]], the promised $50,000 cash contribution. [[Nadine Henley]] recalled that in early December 1968 Maheu requested $50,000 in cash from her for a contribution to Nixon, and on December 5, 1968 Maheu received $50,000 in $100 bills from the cage at the Sands. Maheu recalled flying to [[Palm Springs]] with Laxalt, waiting in a car at the home where Nixon was staying while Laxalt went in, and being told that Nixon's schedule prohibited a meeting; Laxalt recalled that Maheu contacted him about a campaign pledge made through [[Robert Finch]] and that he planned no Maheu-Nixon meeting.[^41] The committee found that "the evidence reflects that Maheu did receive $100,000 on December 5 and 6, 1968 (from the Sands and from Henley), the disposition of which has never been conclusively determined," and that Maheu, [[Richard Danner]], [[Peter Maheu]] and [[Charles G. Rebozo]] gave accounts of the two later $50,000 deliveries to Rebozo that did not agree.[^42] Rebozo testified that after Hughes left Nevada in November 1970 "and fired Maheu," he became apprehensive about the contribution; he returned $100,100 after the [[Internal Revenue Service]] contacted him in 1973.[^43]
### Discharge and the libel action
Hughes left the Desert Inn on Thanksgiving Eve, November 25, 1970, and flew to the [[Bahamas]]. The Las Vegas Sun reported that Hughes Tool Company executives then arrived in Las Vegas and announced the firing of Maheu, that Maheu claimed a lifetime verbal contract, that a Nevada judge ruled the tool company's proxy valid and its right to fire him, and that Maheu then filed a $50 million damage suit.[^44] Hougan titled his account of the departure the "Thanksgiving Coup."[^45] The Ninth Circuit gives December 5, 1970 as the date on which Hughes discharged Maheu, "thus ending a 14-year relationship"; the Washington Post's obituary stated that Hughes "had two other aides fire him in December 1970."[^46][^47] A CIA memorandum of May 1971 states that Maheu's contract with Hughes Tool was reported at $525,000 a year and that Maheu's suit sought $50 million for cancellation of his "lifetime contract"; it also records the account of an Intertel staff member that Maheu had instigated a recent [[Jack Anderson]] column on his Cuban role through his son Peter.[^40] In January 1971, in light of the suit between executives of the Hughes company and Maheu, the Director of Security recommended terminating all existing clearances with Maheu and Associates, and the DCI concurred.[^37]
On January 7, 1972 Hughes held a telephone news conference from [[Paradise Island]] to dispute the [[Clifford Irving]] manuscript. Asked whether Maheu had been fired on his orders and why, Hughes answered: "Because he's a no-good, dishonest son-of-a-bitch, and he stole me blind."[^46] Maheu sued for defamation; the Sun reported a libel claim of $17.3 million, and Hougan a claim of $50,000,000.[^44] Summa Corporation, successor to Hughes Tool, admitted that the statement was Hughes's and relied on the defense of truth, arguing that Maheu had taken money from a [[Tucson]] airport hangar lease, from the Silver Slipper and from Hughes's personal account.[^48]
In the bifurcated trial in the [[United States District Court for the Central District of California]] the jury found for Maheu on liability and awarded compensatory damages of over $2.8 million; Summa received about $48,000 on its counterclaims, and the court entered judgment for Summa of about $470,000 with accrued interest. The Ninth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Duniway decided December 27, 1977 and modified January 12, 1978, held that the damages award was "based on inadmissible speculative evidence," called the projection of Maheu's lost earning capacity "sheer fantasy, nothing more," and found that the trial court's "one-sided characterization of Maheu came close to directing a verdict in his favor, thus denying Summa a fair trial." It reversed the liability verdict and damages and remanded: "We reverse in part and remand for a new trial." The court wrote of the case: "Much of the crucial testimony in the case is Maheu's recital of telephone conversations with Hughes to which no one else was a party, and of which no contemporaneous record was made."[^48] Judge Choy, concurring and dissenting, would have directed judgment for Summa, writing that Maheu "had taken over $74,000" intended for the Tucson lease payments.[^49] The Washington Post's obituary stated that Maheu "initially won a $2.8 million settlement from Hughes, but the decision was overturned."[^47]
### Church Committee testimony
The Church Committee took Maheu's testimony on July 29 and 30 and September 23, 1975. He invoked the Fifth Amendment when first subpoenaed and then testified under a grant of limited immunity.[^50] A dispatch of July 30, 1975 reported that he declared publicly that he had taken part in a CIA plot to poison Castro but that "the plan was always subject to a 'go signal.'"[^51] The Las Vegas Sun reported that he defended the scheme as an act of patriotism, saying the United States "was involved in a just war."[^19] The committee's report cites his testimony on the Saudi contract, the Hollywood film, the approach to Rosselli, Hughes's call, the wiretap, the pills and the end of his involvement after the Bay of Pigs.[^17]
### Later life
After the discharge Maheu remained in Las Vegas and established a new company, Robert A. Maheu and Associates.[^19] The Los Angeles Times reported that he became a real estate investor.[^39] [[Cheri Seymour]] wrote that he was vice president and a director of the [[First Intercontinental Development Corporation|FIDCO]], on a board roster dated January 11, 1983 that surfaced in a 2016 FOIA release.[^52] He published his memoir *Next to Hughes* with [[Richard Hack]] in 1992, in which, as the Times quoted it, he wrote of the Castro plots: "If anything went wrong, I was the fall guy, caught between protecting the government and protecting the mob, two armed camps that could crush me like a bug."[^39][^53]
He died in Las Vegas on August 4, 2008, at age 90, of congestive heart failure according to his son Peter; the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times gave Desert Springs Hospital as the place of death and the Las Vegas Sun gave Kindred Hospital.[^19][^47] Giancana had been murdered in June 1975,[^29] Roselli in 1976, Harvey had died in June 1976 and [[Desmond FitzGerald]] in 1967.
### Footnotes
[^1]: Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders.* Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975 (primary documentation of Maheu's CIA cutout role). Rappleye, Charles, and Ed Becker. *All American Mafioso: The Johnny Roselli Story.* Doubleday, 1991. Maheu, Robert, and Richard Hack. *Next to Hughes.* HarperCollins, 1992 (Maheu's memoir).
[^2]: Drosnin, Michael. *Citizen Hughes.* Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985 (based on Hughes's own memoranda, which Maheu's opponents obtained during litigation).
[^1]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), p. 74 (Maheu as "an ex-FBI agent who had entered into a career as a private investigator in 1954"; the former FBI associate in the Office of Security who arranged the agency's use of Maheu; "he didn't want to have an Agency person or a government person get caught"; operational support chief testimony, May 30, 1975, pp. 8, 158). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^2]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), pp. 75-77 (Maheu's approach to John Rosselli and Rosselli's introduction of Sam Giancana and Santos Trafficante). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^3]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Final Report*, S. Rept. 93-981 (June 1974), ch. 8, "The Hughes-Rebozo Investigation and Related Matters", sec. I, p. 934 and n. 7 (Hughes's move to Las Vegas in November 1966; Maheu's contract through his own company; reporting directly to Hughes rather than to Hughes Tool Company executives; Hughes's approval of political contributions; Silver Slipper cash as the source of the cash contributions). https://archive.org/details/WatergateErvinCommitteeReport
[^4]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, file on Robert A. Maheu, FOI/PA no. 1342370-0, applicant investigation, 1940 (born Waterville, Maine, October 30, 1917; high school graduation 1936; Holy Cross B.S. in economics; entered Georgetown Law School in September 1940; endorsements by Richard C. Durham and F. Harold Dubord). https://archive.org/details/RobertMaheu
[^5]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, file on Robert A. Maheu, FOI/PA no. 1342370-0, personnel memorandum, "Entered on Duty - December 9, 1940," special agent trainee. https://archive.org/details/RobertMaheu
[^6]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, file on Robert A. Maheu, FOI/PA no. 1342370-0, part 4, memorandum of January 3, 1952 (Civil Service Commission request to expedite a loyalty form for the position of Security and Compliance Officer, Small Defense Plants Administration; personnel file: special agent from December 1940 until July 1947, voluntary resignation; loyalty form: "April, 1942 to 1944, under cover assignment out of New York Office, FBI" and separation in November 1947; Bureau recommendation of Maheu to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1949; correspondence of November 1951). https://archive.org/details/RobertMaheu
[^7]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, file on Robert A. Maheu, FOI/PA no. 1342370-0, part 4, Boston field office, "Special Efficiency Report," July 24, 1947 (resignation effective at the close of business July 24, 1947; stationed as Resident Agent at Waterville, Maine; a discussion of a change of headquarters shortly before the resignation) and transmittal of June 25, 1947. https://archive.org/details/RobertMaheu
[^8]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), p. 1 (FBI service from 1940 to 1947; "Dairy Dream Products" bankrupt in 1952; Small Business Administration; forced to resign in February 1954; Robert A. Maheu Associates; recruited by the Office of Security in March 1954 through Robert H. Cunningham; $500 per month; desk space in a suite occupied by Carmine S. Bellino). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^9]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), p. 75 (monthly CIA retainer of $500, terminated after his detective agency became more lucrative; the operational support chief as Maheu's case officer since the agency first used him; close personal friends by 1960; Maheu testimony, July 30, 1975, p. 6). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^10]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), p. 2 (covert security clearances of August 16, 1954 for use in the Near East and August 30, 1954 for use in the United States). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^11]: CIA Inspector General John S. Earman, "Report on Plots to Assassinate Fidel Castro," May 23, 1967 (Maheu's $500 monthly retainer; his move of personal headquarters to Los Angeles; Maheu and O'Connell at separate hotels in Miami; the Long committee), National Security Archive copy, https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/document/33578 ; original record 104-10213-10101, https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/104-10213-10101.pdf
[^12]: U.S. Department of State, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954*, vol. IX, *The Near and Middle East*, part 1, doc. 329, telegram from the Ambassador in Saudi Arabia (Wadsworth), February 6, 1954, pp. 786-787 (letters of January 31 quoting Article 4 of the agreement between the Saudi government and the Onassis company; the "Saudi Arabian Maritime Company"; Aramco's objection; the king's account of the royalty, training and flag provisions). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v09p1/d329
[^13]: U.S. Department of State, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954*, vol. IX, *The Near and Middle East*, part 1, doc. 335, memorandum of conversation by Dorsey, March 16, 1954, pp. 795-796 (Robert L. L. McCormick for Stavros Niarchos; proposal that the Department approach National City Bank and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; request that the Department of Justice be informed). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v09p1/d335
[^14]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), pp. 1-2 (July 1954 engagement by "British shipping interests"; technical coverage of Onassis's New York office; Niarchos as the principal; Maheu's condition that he do nothing inimical to the United States; paper read by Harold Stassen at the National Security Council on June 22, 1954; briefings of Scott McLeod, J. Edgar Hoover and Vice President Nixon; McLeod's offer of State communications and pouch facilities subject to John Foster Dulles's approval; Near East Division channel and guidance from August 1954; the agency identified in the Niarchos litigation). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^15]: U.S. Department of State, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952-1954*, vol. IX, *The Near and Middle East*, part 1, doc. 367, memorandum of conversation by Jernegan, September 24, 1954, pp. 856-858 (Paul Gerrity of Maheu Associates; statement attributed to Cotopadis purchased by Niarchos; second copy with the CIA, third with Maheu in Beirut; proposed delivery to King Saud through Karl Twitchell; Jernegan's view that the CIA should remain the channel). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v09p1/d367
[^16]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, file on Robert A. Maheu, FOI/PA no. 1342370-0, part 4, memorandum for the Director (F. C. Holloman), October 14, 1954 (Niarchos as Maheu's client; Onassis's sealed indictment of October 13, 1953; Leo Turrou and Spiros Catapoudis; documents bought for $280,000 in cash, $50,000 of it Turrou's share; Maheu's trip to Athens; "Maheu stated the United States Government is also interested in seeing that these agreements are abrogated"). https://archive.org/details/RobertMaheu
[^17]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), p. 74 n. 4 (1954-1955 Saudi Arabian shipping contract; listening device placed in the room of the contract holder; Rome newspaper purchased with CIA funds; Maheu testimony, July 30, 1975, pp. 14-25; the film produced in Hollywood, operational support chief testimony, May 30, 1975, pp. 159, 162-163, and Maheu testimony, July 30, 1975, pp. 39-42). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^18]: Charles R. Babcock, "Maheu Admits '54 Anti-Onassis Drive; CIA Reportedly Approved Anti-Onassis Campaign," *Washington Post* (1978), reporting Jim Hougan's article in the September issue of *Playboy*; CIA reading room copy, CIA-RDP81M00980R000600060037-0. https://archive.org/details/CIA-RDP81M00980R000600060037-0
[^19]: Ed Koch, "His was the influence that backed Hughes' cash," *Las Vegas Sun*, August 6, 2008 (Peter Maheu on the Onassis contract; Peter Evans, *Nemesis*, 1986, as quoted; Maheu's testimony of 1975; *Next to Hughes*; the Desert Inn, Sands, Castaways, Frontier, Silver Slipper and Landmark purchases). https://lasvegassun.com/news/2008/aug/06/his-was-influence-backed-hughes-cash/
[^20]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), p. 2 (cable from Ciudad Trujillo, November 1957, alleging a Mann Act violation in procuring prostitutes for President Sukarno during his 1956 state visit; Maheu's denial; retraction by Dominican officials; Edward Bennett Williams as Maheu's lawyer). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^21]: Federal Bureau of Investigation, file on Robert A. Maheu, FOI/PA no. 1342370-0, part 5, memorandum, D. J. Brennan, Jr., to W. C. Sullivan, "Achmed Sukarno, President of Indonesia, White Slave Traffic Act," April 10, 1964 (Maheu's advice to the Bureau of October 25, 1957; John Joseph Frank; State Department inquiry; Ambassador Wilson C. Flake; "Maheu was in Bureau from 1940 to 1947 and resigned voluntarily"). https://archive.org/details/RobertMaheu
[^22]: Jim Hougan, *Spooks: The Haunting of America: The Private Use of Secret Agents* (William Morrow, 1978), p. 278 (Joseph Shimon on agency requests when Sukarno or King Hussein visited) and p. 315 (a 1956 assignment of Maheu's associate Frank to obtain women for Sukarno's visit). https://archive.org/details/jim-hougan-spooks-the-haunting-of-america-the-private-use-of-secret-agents-1978-
[^23]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), pp. 2-3 (information of 1957 on Sukarno's visit to Moscow in the fall of 1956; June 1957 request by Al Ulmer and Samuel Halpern of the Far East Division; July 1957 assignment; the male employee and his fiancee; make-up course; studio; "Happy Days" never completed, film not distributed). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^24]: Jim Hougan, *Spooks: The Haunting of America: The Private Use of Secret Agents* (William Morrow, 1978), p. 279 (the film said to have shown "Yugoslavia's Marshal Tito"; "never released"). https://archive.org/details/jim-hougan-spooks-the-haunting-of-america-the-private-use-of-secret-agents-1978-
[^25]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), pp. 3-4 (1958 Far East Division project directed at Sukarno; Maheu's meetings with James O'Connell in New York in September 1958; request of June 1959 and covert security approval of October 7, 1959) and Attachment A, pp. 6-7 (April 1959 party for King Hussein in Los Angeles; a Long Island house rented in April 1959). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^26]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), Attachment B, pp. 8-9 (Bissell's approach to Edwards in August 1960; Maheu briefed and asked to find an entree among gangster elements; Roselli's introduction of "Sam Gold"; Maheu's call to the Office of Security on learning the identities from the Parade supplement; six pills; Orta; Varona; $10,000). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^27]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), pp. 75-76 and nn. (Maheu's reluctance because of his new client Hughes; the Inspector General's cover story, I.G. Report p. 16; $150,000, I.G. Report p. 16; Rosselli testimony, June 24, 1975, pp. 8-10, 16-17; Brown Derby meeting; "high government officials"; Maheu testimony, July 29, 1975, pp. 6-10, 58-60; the Plaza Hotel meeting placed on September 14, 1960 by the Inspector General). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^28]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), p. 75 nn. 1-2 (Maheu's testimony of July 29, 1975, pp. 7, 13, 22-23, 47: the plan as one phase of a larger project to invade Cuba; Hughes's telephone call shortly before the November 1960 election; "definitely told him that the project was on behalf of the United States Government"). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^29]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), pp. 76-77 and nn. (Miami meetings in the week of September 24, 1960; Rosselli's cover name "John Rawlston"; Maheu's handling of the details; Rosselli's introduction of Maheu to "Sam Gold" and "Joe"; the Parade supplement; the Kennilworth Hotel registrations of October 11-30, 1960; Maheu's recollection of meeting Giancana after November 1960; Giancana murdered June 20, 1975, p. 77 n. 2). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^30]: U.S. Department of State, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963*, vol. X, *Cuba, January 1961-September 1962*, doc. 337, memorandum for the record by Sheffield Edwards, May 14, 1962, pp. 808-809 ("a private investigator of the firm of Maheu and King"; knowledge kept to a total of six persons; Rosselli; Giancana and the "courier"; $150,000; the listening device in the room of Phyllis McGuire; Edward Du Boise; Balletti; Dan Rowan; Maheu under FBI surveillance; $10,000 for expenses; word sent through Maheu to call off the operation). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10/d337
[^31]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), pp. 81-82 and nn. (Rosselli's account of Maheu opening a briefcase at the Fountainebleau Hotel, Rosselli testimony, June 24, 1975, p. 21; Maheu's denial and his recollection of being shown the pills in an envelope, Maheu testimony, July 29, 1975, pp. 40-41; Joseph Shimon testimony, September 20, 1975, pp. 6-12, on the March 12, 1961 fight weekend; Rosselli testimony, September 22, 1975, p. 5; Maheu testimony, September 23, 1975, pp. 14-15, 35-36, 42-45, 50: "five or six gelatin capsules filled with a liquid," the "go signal," no involvement after the Bay of Pigs). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^32]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), pp. 83-84 (Harvey's notes of November 16, 1961; early April 1962 introduction to Rosselli in Miami; "not to deal with Maheu or Giancana," "untrustworthy" and "surplus," Harvey testimony, June 25, 1975, p. 65; operational support chief testimony, May 30, 1975, p. 50). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^33]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), p. 77 and nn. 3-4 (DuBois; Balletti's arrest on October 31, 1960; "Keystone Comedy act"; "tying Maheu into this thing up to his ear"; Balletti's bail paid by Rosselli; operational support chief testimony, May 30, 1975, pp. 36-37, 67-68). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^34]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), p. 78 and nn. 1-3 (conflicting evidence on whether the agency was consulted; Maheu testimony, July 29, 1975, pp. 25-30, 37; Edwards's memorandum of May 14, 1962; the Inspector General's finding of an agency "first unwitting and then a reluctant accessory after the fact," I.G. Report p. 67; DuBois's $1,000 retainer; Hoover memorandum of May 10, 1962; Joseph Shimon testimony, September 20, 1975, pp. 21-23; Maheu testimony, September 23, 1975, p. 7). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^35]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465 (November 20, 1975), p. 79 and nn. 1-3 (Hoover memorandum to the DCI, attention DDP, October 18, 1960; Rosselli's two explanations of the tap, Rosselli testimony, June 24, 1975, pp. 47-48; FBI record of April 18, 1961; Edwards's advice to Maheu; Herbert J. Miller memorandum of April 24, 1962, "national interest"; Long committee, I.G. Report pp. 73-74; Lawrence Houston testimony, June 2, 1975, pp. 58-60). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^36]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), Attachment B, p. 10 (technician arrested and taken to the sheriff's office; Department of Justice intention to prosecute Maheu; briefing of Attorney General Robert Kennedy; prosecution dropped at the agency's request). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^37]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, memorandum, "Subject: Robert A. Maheu," undated, with Attachments A to C, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10141 (released March 18, 2025), pp. 4-5 (1966 inquiry of the Senate Administrative Practices Subcommittee under Edward V. Long; Long told that the agency had used Maheu on a number of occasions but had never asked him to wiretap; January 1971 recommendation of the Director of Security, concurred in by the DCI, that all existing clearances with Maheu and Associates be terminated in light of the suit between Hughes Company executives and Maheu). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10141.pdf
[^38]: *Maheu v. Hughes Tool Co.*, 569 F.2d 459 (9th Cir. Dec. 27, 1977), as modified Jan. 12, 1978, Nos. 75-1306 and 75-2353 (Duniway, J.; Choy, J., concurring and dissenting; Wallace, J.), part I.B (Maheu first retained by Hughes in 1954 or 1955; "alter ego"; personal representative at all levels of government from 1961 through 1965; "Maheu had never had a face-to-face conversation with his employer. All communication was by telephone or written memoranda"; the Tucson hangar lease, the Silver Slipper incident). https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/569/569.F2d.459.75-2353.75-1306.html ; https://static.case.law/f2d/569/cases/0459-01.json
[^39]: "Robert Maheu, Hughes confidant," *Los Angeles Times*, August 6, 2008 (as reprinted in the *Press Democrat*) (Hughes's public face from 1955 to 1970; opened an investigations firm in 1954; "caught glimpses of his enigmatic boss twice"; "I was the fall guy"; died Monday at Desert Springs Hospital, congestive heart failure, per his son Peter; later a real estate investor). https://develop.pressdemocrat.com/2008/08/06/robert-maheu-hughes-confidant
[^40]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum for the record, "Robert D. Peloquin, President, International Intelligence, Inc. (INTERTEL)," May 20, 1971, signed John G. Southard, pp. 1-6, NARA JFK Assassination Records record 104-10122-10288 (released March 18, 2025) (Maheu's contract with Hughes Tool at $525,000 per year; suit for $50 million over a "lifetime contract"; early 1950s subcontract work in the Hughes-Brewster hearings; the early 1960s move to Los Angeles with Hughes as sole client; the nonofficial cover arrangement with the Hughes Aircraft Division, 1962-1964; Rhea Hopper; Edward P. Morgan; Jack Anderson and Peter Maheu). https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10122-10288.pdf
[^41]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Final Report*, S. Rept. 93-981 (June 1974), ch. 8, "The Hughes-Rebozo Investigation and Related Matters", sec. III, pp. 939-941 (Stephen Craig's call of November 22, 1968; Maheu's recollection of Hughes's instruction and of Paul Laxalt; Laxalt's contrary recollection; Henley's recollection of the request; $50,000 in $100 bills from the Sands cage on December 5, 1968; the Palm Springs trip of December 6, 1968). https://archive.org/details/WatergateErvinCommitteeReport
[^42]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Final Report*, S. Rept. 93-981 (June 1974), ch. 8, "The Hughes-Rebozo Investigation and Related Matters", sec. V, p. 960 ("the evidence reflects that Maheu did receive $100,000 on December 5 and 6, 1968 (from the Sands and from Henley), the disposition of which has never been conclusively determined"). https://archive.org/details/WatergateErvinCommitteeReport
[^43]: U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, *Final Report*, S. Rept. 93-981 (June 1974), ch. 8, "The Hughes-Rebozo Investigation and Related Matters", sec. VIII, p. 1006 (Rebozo: "after Hughes left Nevada in November 1970, and fired Maheu"; return of the money in 1973). https://archive.org/details/WatergateErvinCommitteeReport
[^44]: Tom Kinsey, "Hughes Vs. Maheu: Big Buying Spree Led To Battles," *Las Vegas Sun*, April 6, 1976 (Hughes's "abrupt and mysterious departure from Nevada on Thanksgiving Eve 1970"; arrival of Hughes Tool executives and announcement of Maheu's firing; Maheu's claim of a lifetime verbal contract; the proxy; the Nevada ruling for the tool company; Maheu's $50 million damage suit; the $17.3 million libel suit). https://lasvegassun.com/news/1976/apr/06/hughes-vs-maheu/
[^45]: Jim Hougan, *Spooks: The Haunting of America: The Private Use of Secret Agents* (William Morrow, 1978), pp. 262-263 and 272 (the 1970 "Thanksgiving Coup"; Hughes's departure on Thanksgiving Eve; Maheu's "recapture" efforts; the January 1972 press conference; Maheu's $50,000,000 suit). https://archive.org/details/jim-hougan-spooks-the-haunting-of-america-the-private-use-of-secret-agents-1978-
[^46]: *Maheu v. Hughes Tool Co.*, 569 F.2d 459 (9th Cir. Dec. 27, 1977), as modified Jan. 12, 1978, Nos. 75-1306 and 75-2353 (Duniway, J.; Choy, J., concurring and dissenting; Wallace, J.), parts I.B and II.A ("On December 5, 1970, Howard Hughes discharged Robert A. Maheu, thus ending a 14-year relationship"; Maheu's suit in Nevada state court to retain his position; Clifford Irving book; the January 7, 1972 telephonic news conference; Summa's admission that the statement was Hughes's; defense of truth). https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/569/569.F2d.459.75-2353.75-1306.html ; https://static.case.law/f2d/569/cases/0459-01.json
[^47]: Matt Schudel, "Ex-CIA spy Robert Maheu was aide to Howard Hughes," *Washington Post*, August 2008 (as published in the *Bulletin*, Bend, Oregon, August 6, 2008, https://bendbulletin.com/?p=305462) (died August 4 at Desert Springs Hospital, Las Vegas; "never met the eccentric mogul face to face"; Hughes "had two other aides fire him in December 1970"; the Rebozo payment; "initially won a $2.8 million settlement from Hughes, but the decision was overturned"), and as reprinted by Kennedys and King, August 6, 2008, https://www.kennedysandking.com/obituaries/435
[^48]: *Maheu v. Hughes Tool Co.*, 569 F.2d 459 (9th Cir. Dec. 27, 1977), as modified Jan. 12, 1978, Nos. 75-1306 and 75-2353 (Duniway, J.; Choy, J., concurring and dissenting; Wallace, J.), part II.A and part III (bifurcated trial; verdict on liability for Maheu; compensatory damages of over $2.8 million; Summa's $48,000 on its counterclaims; judgment for Summa of about $470,000 with accrued interest; "based on inadmissible speculative evidence"; "sheer fantasy, nothing more"; the trial court's "one-sided characterization of Maheu"; "We reverse in part and remand for a new trial"; the judgments filed December 23, 1974; reversal of the denial of punitive damages). https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/569/569.F2d.459.75-2353.75-1306.html ; https://static.case.law/f2d/569/cases/0459-01.json
[^49]: *Maheu v. Hughes Tool Co.*, 569 F.2d 459 (9th Cir. Dec. 27, 1977), as modified Jan. 12, 1978, Nos. 75-1306 and 75-2353 (Duniway, J.; Choy, J., concurring and dissenting; Wallace, J.), Choy, J., concurring and dissenting ("Maheu had taken over $74,000" of the Tucson lease money; would direct judgment notwithstanding the verdict for Summa). https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/569/569.F2d.459.75-2353.75-1306.html ; https://static.case.law/f2d/569/cases/0459-01.json
[^50]: Associated Press, July 1975 (Maheu "invoked the 5th Amendment when first subpoenaed" and testifies "under a grant of limited immunity"; two hours before the committee on July 29), CIA reading room copy, CIA-RDP88-01315R000300510069-1. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp88-01315r000300510069-1
[^51]: Joseph Volz, dispatch of July 30, 1975, CIA reading room copy, CIA-RDP88-01315R000300510064-6 ("the plan was always subject to a 'go signal'"). https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp88-01315r000300510064-6
[^52]: Cheri Seymour, *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal* (TrineDay, 2010), on the board of the First Intercontinental Development Corporation; board listing of January 11, 1983 in a 2016 FOIA request to the FBI by Emma Best.
[^53]: Robert Maheu and Richard Hack, *Next to Hughes: Behind the Power and Tragic Downfall of Howard Hughes by His Closest Advisor* (HarperCollins, 1992). Charles Rappleye and Ed Becker, *All American Mafioso: The Johnny Roselli Story* (Doubleday, 1991).

22
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Robert McFarlane.md
View file

@ -47,14 +47,14 @@ relations:
start: 1984
end: 1986-11
role: "organized third-country Contra funding, an early advocate of the Iran arms sales, and led the May 1986 mission to Tehran"
fn: 6
fn: 7
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Lawrence Walsh]]"
reverse: true
start: 1988-03-11
end: 1992-12-24
role: "pleaded guilty March 11, 1988 to four misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress; sentenced March 3, 1989; pardoned December 24, 1992"
fn: 8
fn: 9
---
Robert C. "Bud" McFarlane was a [[United States Naval Academy|Naval Academy]] graduate and Marine Corps officer who served as President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s national security adviser from October 1983 to December 1985. Before that he had been deputy to his predecessor [[William Clark]], counselor to Secretary of State [[Alexander Haig]], a staff member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Senate Armed Services Committee]], and military aide to [[Henry Kissinger]] when Kissinger was national security adviser to [[Richard Nixon]]. He commanded the first U.S. Marine battery to land in the Republic of [[Vietnam]], completed two tours, received a Bronze Star, and resigned from the [[United States Marine Corps]] as a lieutenant colonel.[^1] [[Lawrence Walsh]]'s Final Report records that under Reagan the [[National Security Council]] staff "at times became operational, taking on primary responsibility for the execution of the [[Iran]] and contra covert operations," and that McFarlane "did not shrink from the operational tasks that were of high personal interest to the President," delegating some of them to his deputy director of political-military affairs, [[Oliver North]].[^1]
@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ On September 5, 1985 McFarlane wrote Hamilton that "at no time did I or any memb
### The Iran initiative, 1985 to 1986
McFarlane and Casey were, in Walsh's words, "the chief advocates of weapons sales to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages." In spring 1985 McFarlane sent the NSC consultant [[Michael Ledeen]] to Israel; Ledeen testified they had "an understanding that neither of us would keep anything in writing." Ledeen met Prime Minister [[Shimon Peres]] on May 3, 1985. On June 17, 1985 McFarlane circulated a draft National Security Decision Directive recommending the sale of military equipment to Iran; Shultz and Secretary of Defense [[Caspar Weinberger]] opposed it and Casey endorsed it. The Final Report's overall conclusions state that the Iran operations were carried out with the knowledge of Reagan, Bush, Shultz, Weinberger, Casey, McFarlane and Poindexter, of whom only Weinberger and Shultz dissented.[^6][^1][^5]
McFarlane and Casey were, in Walsh's words, "the chief advocates of weapons sales to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages." Walsh wrote that McFarlane "apparently played no role in approving or implementing the Iran/contra diversion."[^6] In spring 1985 McFarlane sent the NSC consultant [[Michael Ledeen]] to Israel; Ledeen testified they had "an understanding that neither of us would keep anything in writing." Ledeen met Prime Minister [[Shimon Peres]] on May 3, 1985. On June 17, 1985 McFarlane circulated a draft National Security Decision Directive recommending the sale of military equipment to Iran; Shultz and Secretary of Defense [[Caspar Weinberger]] opposed it and Casey endorsed it. The Final Report's overall conclusions state that the Iran operations were carried out with the knowledge of Reagan, Bush, Shultz, Weinberger, Casey, McFarlane and Poindexter, of whom only Weinberger and Shultz dissented.[^1][^5][^7]
On July 3, 1985 [[David Kimche]], director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, met McFarlane in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]]. McFarlane's recollection was that there was no request for arms and no linkage to the hostages, though Kimche mentioned that arms might be raised later, and that Reagan then approved a political dialogue. On August 2, 1985 Kimche asked, "What if Israel were to deliver the TOWs, not the United States, would that be different?" McFarlane testified that Reagan "decided that he would approve Israel's delivery of ... TOW missiles, and that if Israel came to us to purchase replacements they could do that." Israel shipped 96 TOW missiles on August 20, 1985 and 408 on September 14, 1985, the day the Reverend Benjamin Weir was released.[^1][^5] Walsh found that McFarlane "stood alone" in insisting that Reagan had approved the earliest sales and the replenishment, and that "it was only after contemporary notes recording the events in question were discovered late in Independent Counsel's investigation" (notes of [[Charles Hill]], Weinberger and Chief of Staff [[Donald Regan]] obtained in 1990, 1991 and 1992) that much of what he said could be verified.[^1] Weinberger's notes of a December 7, 1985 White House meeting record his objection that the U.S. embargo made such a sale illegal even through Israel.[^1]
@ -84,19 +84,21 @@ McFarlane resigned on December 4, 1985; Reagan told reporters he would be "calli
### Exposure, plea and pardon
After the Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa published the story on November 3, 1986, McFarlane publicly called the reports "fanciful" on November 6. On November 8, 1986 he sent North a PROFs message with the subject "Audit trail": "I hope to daylights that someone has been purging the [intelligence] files on this episode."[^1] In February 1987 he was taken to a hospital after an overdose of Valium the day before he was due to testify to the [[Tower Commission]]; Walsh records that he attempted suicide in February 1987 and that the Independent Counsel weighed it when deciding on a plea.[^1][^7]
After the Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa published the story on November 3, 1986, McFarlane publicly called the reports "fanciful" on November 6. On November 8, 1986 he sent North a PROFs message with the subject "Audit trail": "I hope to daylights that someone has been purging the [intelligence] files on this episode."[^1] In February 1987 he was taken to a hospital after an overdose of Valium the day before he was due to testify to the [[Tower Commission]]; Walsh records that he attempted suicide in February 1987 and that the Independent Counsel weighed it when deciding on a plea.[^1][^8]
On March 11, 1988 McFarlane pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors of unlawfully withholding information from Congress: his September 5, 1985 reply to Hamilton, his September 12, 1985 reply to Barnes, his October 7, 1985 response to Hamilton's questions, and his December 8, 1986 testimony to the [[House Committee on Foreign Affairs|House Foreign Affairs Committee]] that third-country financing was "beyond my ken." He agreed to cooperate, was named an unindicted co-conspirator in Count One of the March 1988 indictment of Poindexter, North, [[Richard Secord]] and [[Albert Hakim]], and on March 3, 1989 was sentenced to two years' probation, 200 hours of community service and a $20,000 fine. The Independent Counsel gave up felony charges of conspiracy, false statements and obstruction in the plea, and wrote that the prosecution of North and Poindexter "would be seriously hampered by the jury's realization that McFarlane, their superior, had been permitted to plead guilty to crimes less severe than those for which his subordinates were on trial."[^1][^8] After he testified in 1991 that his trial testimony had been "colored" by North's immunized testimony, the Independent Counsel consented to the dismissal of the remaining charges against North.[^9] President George H.W. Bush pardoned McFarlane on December 24, 1992, with Caspar Weinberger, [[Elliott Abrams]], [[Duane Clarridge]], [[Clair George]] and [[Alan Fiers]].[^8]
On March 11, 1988 McFarlane pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors of unlawfully withholding information from Congress: his September 5, 1985 reply to Hamilton, his September 12, 1985 reply to Barnes, his October 7, 1985 response to Hamilton's questions, and his December 8, 1986 testimony to the [[House Committee on Foreign Affairs|House Foreign Affairs Committee]] that third-country financing was "beyond my ken." He agreed to cooperate, was named an unindicted co-conspirator in Count One of the March 1988 indictment of Poindexter, North, [[Richard Secord]] and [[Albert Hakim]], and on March 3, 1989 was sentenced to two years' probation, 200 hours of community service and a $20,000 fine. The Independent Counsel gave up felony charges of conspiracy, false statements and obstruction in the plea, and wrote that the prosecution of North and Poindexter "would be seriously hampered by the jury's realization that McFarlane, their superior, had been permitted to plead guilty to crimes less severe than those for which his subordinates were on trial."[^1][^9] After he testified in 1991 that his trial testimony had been "colored" by North's immunized testimony, the Independent Counsel consented to the dismissal of the remaining charges against North.[^10] President George H.W. Bush pardoned McFarlane on December 24, 1992, with Caspar Weinberger, [[Elliott Abrams]], [[Duane Clarridge]], [[Clair George]] and [[Alan Fiers]].[^9]
McFarlane died on May 12, 2022, at a hospital in Lansing, Michigan, aged 84; his son Scott McFarlane said the cause was an exacerbation of a lung condition.[^7]
McFarlane died on May 12, 2022, at a hospital in Lansing, Michigan, aged 84; his son Scott McFarlane said the cause was an exacerbation of a lung condition.[^8]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters*, vol. I (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Division for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels, August 4, 1993), ch. 1, "United States v. Robert C. McFarlane" (citing McFarlane, North trial testimony, March 10 to 16, 1989; Select Committees testimony, May 11 to 13, 1987; SSCI testimony, December 7, 1986; NSPG minutes, June 25, 1984; Hill, Weinberger and Regan notes). https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_01.htm
[^2]: Brinkley, Joel, and Stephen Engelberg, eds. *Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair, with the Minority Views*, abridged edition (New York: Times Books/Random House, 1988), "Iran-Contra Chronology," entry for February 21, 1984. https://archive.org/details/reportofcongres00unit
[^3]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Part I, "The Funding Cut-Off," quoting the Boland Amendment of October 1984. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/part_i.htm
[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998, ch. 10, "Teach a man a craft and he's liable to practice it."
[^5]: Brinkley and Engelberg, eds., *Report of the Congressional Committees*, "Iran-Contra Chronology," entries for February 1985, May 3, June 17, July to September 1985, December 4 to 8, 1985. https://archive.org/details/reportofcongres00unit
[^6]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Executive Summary, "Overall Conclusions." https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
[^7]: "Robert 'Bud' McFarlane, Reagan national security adviser, dies at 84." Associated Press, May 13, 2022. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/13/nation/robert-bud-mcfarlane-reagan-national-security-adviser-dies-84
[^8]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, "Summary of Prosecutions" and ch. 1, section "The Guilty Plea." https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
[^9]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 2, "United States v. Oliver L. North," section on the dismissal of September 16, 1991. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm
[^6]: Walsh, *Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters,* vol. I, part II. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/part_ii.htm
[^7]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Executive Summary, "Overall Conclusions." https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
[^8]: "Robert 'Bud' McFarlane, Reagan national security adviser, dies at 84." Associated Press, May 13, 2022. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/13/nation/robert-bud-mcfarlane-reagan-national-security-adviser-dies-84
[^9]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, "Summary of Prosecutions" and ch. 1, section "The Guilty Plea." https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
[^10]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 2, "United States v. Oliver L. North," section on the dismissal of September 16, 1991. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm

220
10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/William Harvey.md
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@ -1,63 +1,237 @@
---
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-09-21
updated: 2026-10-09
title: William Harvey
aliases:
- Bill Harvey
- William Harvey
- William King Harvey
- William K. Harvey
- Harvey
tags:
- Person
- CIA
- ColdWar
- BerlinBase
- BerlinTunnel
- Assassination
- ZRRIFLE
- AntiCastro
- OperationMongoose
- ChurchCommittee
category: "Intelligence & Government"
summary: "CIA chief of Berlin base who built the Berlin tunnel, then ran Staff D and ZR/RIFLE, took over Johnny Roselli and the Castro plots in 1962, and was sent to Rome by Robert Kennedy."
summary: "CIA Berlin base chief who helped build the Berlin tunnel, then ran ZR/RIFLE, Task Force W and the Roselli contact in the Castro plots before taking the Rome station in 1963."
born: 1915-09-13
died: 1976-06-09
location: "Washington, D.C. / Berlin / Rome"
location: "Danville, Indiana / Washington, D.C. / Berlin / Rome / Indianapolis"
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
start: 1940
end: 1947
fn: 3
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
start: 1947
end: 1967
role: "officer; retired in 1967"
fn: 4
- type: head_of
with: "[[Berlin Operating Base]]"
role: "chief, CIA Berlin Operating Base"
start: 1952
end: 1958
fn: 7
- type: head_of
with: "[[Task Force W]]"
role: "chief of the CIA component of Operation Mongoose"
start: 1962
end: 1963
fn: 18
- type: head_of
with: "[[CIA Rome Station]]"
role: "chief of station"
start: 1963
fn: 35
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Operation Gold]]"
role: "Berlin base chief running the tunnel with MI6"
start: 1953
end: 1956
fn: 7
- type: participant_in
with: "[[ZR RIFLE]]"
role: "supervised the executive action capability"
start: 1961
fn: 15
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Operation Mongoose]]"
role: "CIA project officer and representative"
start: 1962
fn: 22
- type: reported_to
with: "[[Richard Bissell]]"
start: 1961
end: 1962
fn: 15
- type: reported_to
with: "[[Richard Helms]]"
start: 1962
fn: 24
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Bobbs-Merrill]]"
role: "law editor"
end: 1976
fn: 3
- type: investigated
with: "[[Church Committee]]"
reverse: true
start: 1975
fn: 15
---
William King Harvey (September 13, 1915 - June 9, 1976) was one of the most operationally significant officers of the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]'s early decades, responsible for the Berlin Tunnel (Operation Gold), the CIA's assassination planning infrastructure (ZR/RIFLE), and the joint CIA-mafia anti-Castro operations of the early 1960s. He was characterized by contemporaries as a physically imposing, chronically intemperate operator who represented a particular strain of early CIA culture - aggressive, technically skilled, contemptuous of political oversight, and ultimately self-destructive.[^1]
William King Harvey (born September 13, 1915; died June 9, 1976) was a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] officer who ran the agency's [[Berlin]] base during the construction and operation of the [[Operation Gold|Berlin tunnel]], supervised the executive action planning program known as [[ZR RIFLE|ZR/RIFLE]], and then commanded the CIA's part of the anti-[[Fidel Castro|Castro]] campaign under [[Operation Mongoose]]. [[Evan Thomas]] described him as a physically imposing, chronically intemperate operator who represented an aggressive, technically skilled strain of early CIA culture.[^1]
### FBI and Early CIA Career
### FBI Service and Early CIA Career
Harvey began his intelligence career at the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] but was fired by [[J. Edgar Hoover]] in 1947 following a drunk driving incident. He joined the nascent CIA, where his counterintelligence skills were quickly recognized. His most significant early achievement was developing the theory - subsequently confirmed - that British intelligence officer [[Kim Philby]] was a Soviet agent. Harvey presented his analysis to CIA counterintelligence leadership in 1950-1951, before the full extent of Philby's penetration was known, making him effectively the first American intelligence officer to identify Philby correctly.[^1]
Harvey's father was the most prominent attorney in [[Danville, Indiana]], and his grandfather had founded the local newspaper. While a student at [[Indiana University]] law school, Harvey ran for prosecuting attorney of [[Hendricks County, Indiana|Hendricks County]] in 1936 as a Democrat in a staunchly Republican county and lost by 880 votes.[^2]
This reputation for penetrating Soviet deception shaped the rest of Harvey's career. It gave him standing within the CIA's counterintelligence culture and a degree of protection from bureaucratic oversight.
Harvey worked for the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] from 1940 to 1947.[^3] On October 23, 1947 the CIA wrote to the FBI's personnel officer that the personnel folder it had requested on Harvey on September 30 had arrived without a transcript of his leave record, and asked for the transcript.[^4] Thomas wrote that [[J. Edgar Hoover]] fired Harvey in 1947 after a drunk driving incident.[^1] [[David C. Martin]] wrote in The Washington Post in 1976 that the incident followed a party, that Harvey had pulled over to the side of the road and gone to sleep, that he arrived at work late, that he was ordered transferred from his supervisor's post to that of a field agent, and that he resigned instead.[^5] In his 1980 account in [[Playboy]], Martin placed the incident in the summer of 1947: Harvey's car stalled in a rainstorm, he slept in it until about ten the next morning, and an FBI summary prepared for Hoover recorded Harvey's statement that he "had about two cans of beer." Hoover approved a memorandum recommending that Special Agent Supervisor William K. Harvey of the Security Division be transferred to Indianapolis on general assignment, and Harvey resigned "with deepest regret."[^2] Martin wrote that [[Elizabeth Bentley]], the courier who reeled off the names of more than 100 people linked to the Soviet underground, would "consume the next two years of his life."[^2]
Harvey was in the [[Office of Special Operations]] by March 1949, when a personnel order of March 31, 1949 appointed him to that office's promotion board.[^6] Thomas wrote that Harvey's analysis, presented to the agency's counterintelligence leadership in 1950 and 1951, identified [[Kim Philby]] as an agent of the [[Soviet Union]] before the extent of Philby's penetration was known, which made Harvey effectively the first American officer to identify Philby correctly.[^1] Martin wrote in Playboy that after [[Guy Burgess]] and [[Donald Maclean]] disappeared in May 1951 the director of central intelligence, [[Walter Bedell Smith]], directed every officer who had known Burgess to write down what he knew, and that Smith forwarded Harvey's memo to [[MI6]] in London with a cover letter stating that Philby was no longer welcome as the British liaison officer in Washington.[^2]
### Berlin Base and Operation Gold
Harvey was appointed chief of the CIA's [[Berlin]] Base in 1952. Berlin was the central arena of Cold War intelligence operations - both the primary point of Western intelligence collection on the Soviet Bloc and the most active venue for Soviet and East German intelligence operations against NATO. Harvey transformed the Berlin Base into one of the CIA's most operationally active stations.
Harvey was chief of the [[Berlin Operating Base]] from 1952 to 1958.[^7] The project, codenamed PBJOINTLY and known as Operation Gold, rested on Soviet landline targets identified through technical collection. MI6 offered to share a tap from tunnels it had dug in [[Vienna]], and exploratory talks took place in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] in mid-1951. The Director of Central Intelligence, [[Allen Dulles]], approved the terms of reference for formal negotiations with the British in December 1953.[^7]
His signature achievement in Berlin was [[Operation Gold]] - the construction of a 1,476-foot tunnel from the American sector into the Soviet zone, connecting to and tapping the Soviet Army's main telephone cables in East Berlin. Planning for the tunnel began in 1953 in collaboration with British [[MI6]]; construction was completed in 1955; the tap ran for eleven months before Soviet forces "discovered" it on April 22, 1956.
The tunnel was 1,476 feet long, running from a warehouse in the American sector into the Soviet zone of [[East Germany]]. Martin wrote that Harvey placed a sign at the point where the tunnel crossed from West into East Berlin, reading "You Are Entering the American Sector," and that Allen Dulles later called the tunnel "one of the most valuable and daring projects ever undertaken."[^5] It was completed on February 28, 1955, and by March 28, 1955 the tap chamber was built and its three target cables exposed.[^7] The discovery came on April 21, 1956, after eleven months and eleven days of operation, and Soviet work crews found the top of the tap chamber at about 0200 hours on April 22.[^7]
The Soviet discovery was stage-managed. [[George Blake]], an MI6 officer who attended the joint Anglo-American planning conference in 1951-1952 at which the tunnel was discussed, was simultaneously a [[KGB]] agent; he had informed Moscow of the plan before construction began. The KGB allowed the tunnel to operate for eleven months rather than immediately disclosing it, calculating that a premature exposure would reveal Blake as a source. The tunnel produced enormous intelligence before its exposure - but had been compromised from the moment it was conceived. Harvey was not informed of Blake's identity until Blake's 1961 arrest in London; the revelation that the Soviet penetration had burned his signature operation permanently embittered him toward British intelligence.[^1]
The CIA's 1967 history gives as the conclusion of a memorandum of August 15, 1956 that the loss of the source "was purely the result of unfortunate circumstances beyond our control," a combination of a cable in very poor physical condition and a long period of unusually heavy rainfall.[^8] The same history states that in April 1956 MI6 discovered that George Blake, a case officer in British service, had been recruited by the Soviets while a prisoner in [[North Korea]] in 1952.[^7] The same history says that Blake had told his Soviet contact about the planned tunnel in the latter part of 1953.[^7] Blake was arrested in [[London]] in 1961.[^1] Thomas wrote that Harvey did not learn Blake's identity until that arrest, and that the penetration embittered him toward British intelligence.[^1] Murphy, Kondrashev and Bailey wrote that the [[KGB]] let the tunnel run for eleven months to protect Blake, and that the Soviet discovery was staged.[^9] Many theories have been advanced for the Soviet decision to let the tunnel operate for nearly a year.[^7]
### ZR/RIFLE and Assassination Planning
A memorandum of June 14, 1956 from the Chief, Eastern European Division, transmitted a commendation of Harvey dated June 1, 1956 for his leadership in an operation whose details were withheld from his personnel folder for security reasons, and quoted its statement that "Harvey's display of these attributes was outstanding."[^10] The CIA's history of the tunnel lists Harvey among those awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal for contributions to the project.[^8] Thomas wrote that the CIA did not publicly acknowledge Harvey's role in Operation Gold until considerably later.[^1]
After leaving Berlin in 1959, Harvey was assigned to head Staff D, the CIA's communications intelligence section, and was subsequently assigned to develop what became [[ZR RIFLE|ZR/RIFLE]] - the CIA's covert executive action (assassination) planning unit. ZR/RIFLE was intended to develop a capability to assassinate foreign leaders. Harvey developed contacts with organized crime figures, specifically [[Johnny Roselli]] and [[Sam Giancana]], as potential assets for operations against [[Fidel Castro]] of Cuba.[^1]
In December 1953, while Harvey was at the Berlin base, a CIA memorandum on LSD reported that Germany held none, "although Mr. William Harvey recently expressed interest in the subject."[^11]
The CIA-mafia anti-Castro plots that Harvey managed represented one of the most controversial programs in CIA history. Harvey met with Roselli beginning in early 1961, providing operational guidance and resources for assassination attempts against Castro. The collaboration produced no results against Castro but drew Harvey into relationships with organized crime figures that complicated his career and remained classified for years.
Harvey was appointed branch chief in the FI Staff on October 12, 1959.[^12] The Inspector General's 1967 report describes him as "Chief of FI/D" when he was briefed in February 1961, by authority of [[Richard Bissell]], on the gambling-syndicate operation.[^13] Thomas placed Harvey at the head of Staff D, the agency's communications intelligence section.[^1] Martin wrote that by 1961 Harvey was head of Staff D, "a small agency component responsible for communications intercepts," and that KUTUBE/D was the agency's cryptonym for Staff D.[^2] A dispatch of June 8, 1961 from "Chief, KUTUBE/D" to the Chief of Station in [[Rome]], captioned ZRRIFLE, concerns the tracing in U.S. and Italian files of potential agents for "this KUTUBE/D purpose."[^14]
Harvey's role in ZR/RIFLE became significant to later investigators of the Kennedy assassination. Harvey had operational control of the anti-Castro assassination network in late 1963, and his documented hostility to Robert Kennedy (who was overseeing anti-Castro operations as part of Operation Mongoose) created an evidentiary trail that conspiracy theorists later explored extensively. Harvey was stationed in Rome from late 1963 onward - after being exiled there by Robert Kennedy - and was not in the United States during the assassination.[^1]
### ZR/RIFLE and the Executive Action Capability
### Operation Mongoose and Conflict with Robert Kennedy
In early 1961 Richard Bissell assigned Harvey to establish a general capability within the CIA for disabling foreign leaders, with assassination as a last resort. The capability was called [[Executive Action]] and was later covered by the cryptonym ZR/RIFLE.[^15] Harvey testified that he was "almost certain" he met [[Joseph Scheider]] and a CIA recruiting officer on January 25 and 26, 1961 to discuss the capability.[^15]
[[Operation Mongoose]] was the post-Bay of Pigs [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] administration program to undermine or overthrow Castro, coordinated by Attorney General [[Robert Kennedy]] and run operationally by Brigadier General [[Edward Lansdale]]. Harvey's ZR/RIFLE assets were incorporated into Mongoose planning.
His cryptic handwritten notes of those meetings, preserved at the CIA, contain phrases that suggest a discussion of assassination: "last resort beyond last resort and a confession of weakness," "the magic button," and "never mention word assassination." Harvey confirmed this interpretation.[^15] Harvey testified that the capability was intended to include assassination. Bissell described ZR/RIFLE as "internal and purely preparatory."[^15]
Harvey's relationship with Robert Kennedy was openly hostile. Harvey believed Kennedy's micromanagement of Mongoose operations was both incompetent and dangerous - that Kennedy's involvement increased the risk of exposing operational details and assets. Kennedy regarded Harvey as insubordinate and unreliable. Harvey unilaterally sent teams into Cuba during the October 1962 missile crisis without authorization, in direct defiance of the administration's policy of non-escalation during the crisis. Kennedy demanded his removal.
A single agent, given the cryptonym QJ/WIN, was placed under Harvey's supervision. Harvey testified that during the whole project "no agent was recruited for the purpose of assassination."[^15] The Inspector General's 1967 report, as quoted by the [[Church Committee|Senate committee]], found "no indication in the file that the Executive Action capability of ZR/RIFLE-QJ/WIN was ever used," and said that "after Harvey took over the Castro operation, he ran it as one aspect of ZR/RIFLE."[^15]
Harvey was transferred to Rome station in December 1963, effectively ending his operational career. He continued in CIA service until 1966 but never recovered significant operational responsibilities.[^2]
Harvey testified that Bissell had told him that "the White House" had twice urged the creation of such a capability. The Inspector General's report quoted Harvey's notes, which are no longer in existence, as recording Bissell saying, "The White House has twice urged me to create such a capability."[^13][^15] The same report states that Harvey fixed the date of his briefing as February 1961 only after reviewing the events before and after it, and that he later said it might have been as early as late January or as late as March 1961.[^13] Bissell said in June 1975 that he had "no reason to believe that Harvey's quote is wrong," but his account changed across his appearances. In July 1975 he said there had been no White House urging for the project, though tacit approval by [[McGeorge Bundy]] was probably given after it was established.[^15]
### Post-CIA Career and Legacy
A memorandum for the record of May 23, 1967 by the Inspector General states that the Director of Central Intelligence returned his copy of the report on May 22, 1967 with instructions to retain it in personal, eyes-only safekeeping, to destroy the one burn copy, and to "Destroy all notes and other source materials originated by those participating in the writing of the report," and records that the burn copy, all notes and all derived source materials were destroyed on May 23, 1967. The memorandum lists memoranda concerning Harvey among the items filed with the report.[^13] The [[Assassination Records Review Board]] later reported that [[Richard Helms]] had directed the notes and source material for the report to be destroyed, that the CIA searched its Directorate of Operations records for the "operational diaries" a researcher asked about and located no records belonging to Harvey, and that the Board's own inquiries found no diaries.[^16]
Harvey retired from the CIA in 1966, his career effectively destroyed by alcoholism and the Mongoose conflicts. He practiced law briefly in Indianapolis before his health deteriorated. He died on June 9, 1976, before much of the classified record about his operations was disclosed.
Harvey was the immediate superior of [[Michael Mulroney]] when Mulroney was asked in 1960 to go to the [[Congo]]. In his affidavit of September 14, 1975 Harvey said he recalled that QJ/WIN might have been sent to an African country other than the Congo, and that he was "almost certain that this was not connected in any way to an assassination mission."[^17]
The [[Church Committee]] (1975-1976) began declassifying material about ZR/RIFLE and the CIA-mafia plots, but Harvey was too ill to testify fully. His role in Operation Gold was not publicly acknowledged by the CIA until considerably later. Evan Thomas's 1995 account *The Very Best Men* reconstructed Harvey's career from declassified documents and former colleagues' recollections.[^1]
### Task Force W and Operation Mongoose
Early in 1962 Harvey was appointed chief of [[Task Force W]], the CIA component of the campaign against the government of [[Cuba]].[^18] Thomas wrote that Harvey's ZR/RIFLE assets were incorporated into Mongoose planning.[^1] A memorandum he sent to [[John McCone]] on April 10, 1962 appraised the effectiveness of the Mongoose operational plan.[^19] He attended meetings of the [[Special Group (Augmented)]] for the CIA. At the May 3, 1962 meeting he reported that three agent teams had been infiltrated and that 72 actual or potential reporting sources were in place.[^18]
In a memorandum of July 24, 1962 written as the CIA operations officer for Mongoose to supply comments for [[Edward Lansdale]]'s report on the end of Phase I, Harvey stated that "As of 23 July, 477 CIA staff personnel are devoting full time to this effort."[^20] On August 6, 1962 he sent Lansdale a memorandum describing a CIA campaign to popularize "Gusano Libre" as the symbol of Cuban resistance, to be announced during the next "Voice of Free Cuba" submarine operation planned for mid-August.[^21] A plan he wrote on August 7, 1962 identifies him as the "CIA Representative for Operation Mongoose." Its mission was "Exert all possible diplomatic, economic, psychological, and other pressures to overthrow the Castro-Communist regime without overt U.S. military commitment."[^22]
On October 8, 1962, Harvey, as CIA project officer for Mongoose, asked Edward Lansdale to put before the Special Group a request for policy approval to sabotage Cuban-owned vessels "wherever and whenever secure access to them can be attained," normally in non-Bloc ports, as "targets of opportunity."[^23]
Martin wrote that Lansdale told the Senate committee that [[John F. Kennedy]] had remarked to him that he was the American James Bond, that Lansdale suggested the real 007 was Harvey, and that Harvey and Lansdale then waited outside the Oval Office; Harvey testified that the conversation with the President was brief and contained no mention of assassination.[^5] At the August 10, 1962 meeting of the Special Group, Harvey recalled that [[Robert McNamara]] had raised the question of assassination, and that "the consensus of the Group was to sweep that particular proposal or suggestion or question or consideration off the record and under the rug as rapidly as possible."[^24]
On August 13, 1962 Lansdale directed Harvey to include an option for the "liquidation of leaders" in a proposed Phase II plan for Mongoose.[^24] Harvey's memorandum of August 14 to Richard Helms attached Lansdale's memorandum with the words excised, and stated that the Special Group (Augmented) "is not expecting any written comments or study on this point."[^24] McCone said that McNamara agreed Lansdale's memorandum should be withdrawn.[^24] Harvey's August 14 memorandum to Helms recorded: "It was the obvious consensus at that meeting, in answer to a comment by Mr. Ed Murrow, that this is not a subject which has been made a matter of official record." McCone's April 14, 1967 memorandum to Helms states that McCone took immediate exception to a suggestion to liquidate top people in the Castro regime, including Castro.[^25] [[Walter Elder]], McCone's executive assistant, testified that he had personally told Helms of McCone's opposition to assassination after the August 10 meeting.[^26]
### Roselli and the Poison Pills
On November 16, 1961, Bissell asked Harvey to take over the gambling-syndicate operation from [[Sheffield Edwards]], and they discussed the "application of ZR/RIFLE program to Cuba."[^27] Bissell testified that the operation was not reactivated until after he left the agency in February 1962.[^27]
In early April 1962 Harvey, who testified that he was acting on "explicit orders" from Helms, asked Edwards to put him in touch with [[Johnny Roselli]]. A 1976 CIA memorandum dates Harvey's taking over as case officer to May 1962.[^28] Harvey told Roselli to stop dealing with [[Robert Maheu]] and [[Sam Giancana]], whom Harvey had decided were "untrustworthy" and "surplus."[^27]
Four poison pills were given to the support chief on April 18, 1962. Harvey arrived in [[Miami]] on April 21 and gave them to Roselli, who was already in touch with the same Cuban who had been involved in the pill passage before the [[Bay of Pigs invasion|Bay of Pigs]].[^27] Harvey procured explosives, detonators, rifles, handguns, radios and boat radar costing about $5,000. Harvey and the chief of the JM/WAVE station rented a truck under an assumed name and delivered the equipment to a parking lot, where the keys were given to Roselli.[^27]
Harvey met Roselli in Miami on September 7 and 11, 1962. Harvey testified that by then he had grave doubts that the operation would take place. In early January 1963 he paid Roselli $2,700 to defray the Cuban's expenses. The second three-man team never left for Cuba, the reason given being that "conditions" in Cuba were not right.[^27] Harvey ended the operation in mid-February 1963 at a meeting with Roselli in [[Los Angeles]].[^27]
In early 1963 Harvey told his underworld contacts that the CIA was no longer interested in assassinating Castro. The FBI learned of this in June 1963.[^29]
Harvey's operations involving Roselli began in early 1962 and ended in February 1963. Harvey, and to a lesser extent [[James O'Connell]], remained in contact with Roselli from 1964 to about 1970.[^28]
In June 1963, before Harvey went on another assignment, he and Roselli had a farewell dinner. The FBI observed the meeting, and [[Sam Papich]], the FBI liaison with the CIA, told Harvey that Hoover would be informed. Harvey told Helms of the incident, and Helms agreed that McCone need not be briefed unless a call from Hoover was expected.[^30]
The [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]], which described Harvey in June 1963 as "chief of the CIA's Cuban Task Force," found it "unable to accept" the conclusion that the CIA-Mafia plots were irrelevant because they ended in February 1963, and reported that CIA files show Roselli continued to maintain direct contact with Harvey at least until 1967.[^31]
In 1967 Roselli was arrested for fraudulent gambling at the [[Friars Club]] in [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]]. He asked Harvey, who had left the agency, to represent him. Harvey contacted the agency and suggested that it prevent the prosecution, according to a December 11, 1967 memorandum by [[Howard Osborn]].[^32]
### The Clash with Robert Kennedy and the Missile Crisis
Harvey and [[Robert Kennedy]] were openly at odds over Mongoose. Thomas wrote that Harvey regarded Kennedy's micromanagement of the operations as incompetent and dangerous, and that Kennedy regarded Harvey as insubordinate and unreliable.[^1] Harvey testified that during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] he gave an order sending agent teams into Cuba to support any conventional U.S. military operation that might occur. He said that Robert Kennedy "took a great deal of exception" to the order, and that McCone then ordered the agent operations stopped.[^33] Walter Elder, McCone's assistant at the time, described the episode as Harvey having "earned another black mark as not being fully under control," and said that Harvey had attempted to get guidance from top officials during the crisis.[^33]
Martin wrote that Kennedy tied off a series of questions to Harvey with "and I've got 10 minutes to hear the answer," and that when Harvey exceeded his time limit Kennedy walked out and Harvey kept talking.[^5] Martin quoted McCone: "When you take a plant supervisor and make him president of the company, it doesn't always work out," and wrote that Dulles is said to have remarked, "That fellow Harvey is a conspiratorial cop."[^5] Thomas wrote that Robert Kennedy demanded Harvey's removal.[^1]
### Rome and the End of Task Force W
[[Desmond FitzGerald]] replaced Harvey as chief of Task Force W in January 1963.[^34] It is unclear whether Harvey or FitzGerald conceived the plan to present Fidel Castro with a contaminated diving suit.[^34]
Harvey was appointed chief of station at Rome, effective on or about June 30, 1963, to replace [[Francis I. G. Coleman]], who was scheduled to attend the [[National War College]].[^35] He took up the Rome post before the November 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. Thomas wrote that Robert Kennedy had exiled Harvey to Rome.[^1] Martin wrote in The Washington Post that some attributed the appointment to a wish to keep Harvey out of the country and others to the Rome station's need of a shakeup, that Harvey was hospitalized, that Desmond FitzGerald cabled a report to Helms, that Helms ordered Harvey relieved, that an aide sent to carry out the order sat seven hours across from Harvey, who held a loaded revolver in his lap, and that Harvey was then placed in a unit studying countermeasures against electronic surveillance.[^5]
### Testimony Before the Senate
Harvey testified before the Church Committee in executive session on June 25, 1975 and again on July 11, 1975. He signed an affidavit dated September 14, 1975.[^27] He told the committee that he had acted on explicit orders from Helms, and that he believed the 1962 assassination activity carried over from the period when Allen Dulles was Director, a belief he based on what Bissell had told him.[^18]
Harvey said he had not informed the Special Group, or anyone outside the agency, that he had given the poison pills to Roselli. He said he did not brief McCone on the pills because he did not believe it was necessary.[^18]
### Retirement, Death and Aftermath
In April 1967 Harvey was to be transferred from the [[European Division]] to the Office of Personnel, where he would be carried in casual status until his final retirement, and his sick leave required a physician's monthly certification.[^36] By October 30, 1967 he had not yet set a retirement date, and retirement was expected on November 30.[^37] He retired from the agency in 1967.[^28]
In November 1967, while leaving the agency to practice law, Harvey asked Sam Papich for reputable private investigators. Papich suggested [[Wackenhut Corporation]] or the [[Fidelifax]] Company, as Howard Osborn recorded in a memorandum of November 8, 1967.[^38]
Roselli died in August 1976. On August 11, 1976 [[George H. W. Bush|George Bush]], then Director of Central Intelligence, wrote that calls to Senators had suggested that the CIA was involved in the murder, and that he had asked [[Edward Levi]] to bring the FBI into the case.[^39]
According to the 1976 obituary, Harvey moved to [[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]] in 1969 after leaving the agency, and was law editor for [[Bobbs-Merrill]] at the time of his death.[^3]
Harvey died of a heart attack at an Indianapolis hospital on June 9, 1976, at the age of 60. He was buried at South Cemetery in Danville, Indiana, and was survived by his wife, Clara Grace, a daughter and a son.[^3] A CIA memorandum of August 9, 1976 gives the same date, "9 June 1976."[^28] Martin wrote that surgeons had worked four hours to implant an artificial valve and that Harvey died, holding his wife's hand, at ten minutes past two in the afternoon of June 9.[^2] A June 1976 press report named Harvey among ten agents whose identities the Senate committee had disclosed, and said that [[William Colby]] had argued that disclosure endangered agents.[^3] A CIA routing memorandum of June 16, 1976 records that the agency's information on his death came from the press reports.[^40] Martin wrote that Harvey's wife told him reporters were trying to link his death to Roselli's murder, that there had been two attempted break-ins, and that people were "after his papers," to which she said she had "burned everything."[^5]
In June 1977 Martin, an [[Associated Press]] correspondent, asked a retired agency employee for cooperation with a book about Harvey. The employee was irritated and believed that a retired CIA officer had given Martin his name.[^41]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Thomas, Evan. *The Very Best Men: Four Who Dared: The Early Years of the CIA.* Simon & Schuster, 1995. Murphy, David E., Sergei A. Kondrashev, and George Bailey. *Battleground Berlin: CIA vs KGB in the Cold War.* Yale University Press, 1997.
[^2]: Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders.* Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975. Available at archives.gov.
[^1]: Thomas, Evan. *The Very Best Men: Four Who Dared: The Early Years of the CIA.* Simon & Schuster, 1995.
[^2]: Martin, David C. "The American James Bond: A True Story," Playboy, April 1980, beginning p. 132 (an excerpt from Martin's *Wilderness of Mirrors*, Harper & Row, 1980). CIA reading room copies, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00552r000303090019-8 and https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp90-00552r000303190040-3; full article in the Weisberg Subject Index Files, Hood College JFK collection, "CIA Harvey William King," Item 04, http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/C%20Disk/CIA%20Harvey%20William%20King/Item%2004.pdf (the Danville background, the 1936 prosecutor race, the Bentley questioning, the 1947 FBI incident and transfer memorandum, the 1951 Philby memo and cover letter, Staff D and KUTUBE/D, the death and funeral).
[^3]: "W. Harvey, C.I.A. Aide, Dead; Linked to Anti-Castro Plotting," June 1976 press report, CIA reading room copy, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp79-00498a000600020001-2 (FBI service 1940 to 1947; the move to Indianapolis in 1969; the law editorship at Bobbs-Merrill; the death, burial and survivors; the ten names disclosed by the Senate committee; the Colby argument).
[^4]: Central Intelligence Agency, letter to H. L. Edwards, Personnel Officer, Federal Bureau of Investigation, October 23, 1947, on the personnel folder requested September 30 and the missing transcript of leave record. Reading room document 0001229028, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0001229028
[^5]: Martin, David C. "The CIA's 'Loaded Gun': The Life and Hard Times of 'America's James Bond,' William King Harvey," The Washington Post, Outlook section, October 10, 1976, pp. C1-C2. Copy in the Weisberg Subject Index Files, Hood College JFK collection, "CIA Harvey William King," Item 02, http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/C%20Disk/CIA%20Harvey%20William%20King/Item%2002.pdf (the 1947 FBI incident, the tunnel sign, the Dulles and McCone remarks, the Kennedy meeting, the Rome relief, the death and Harvey's wife).
[^6]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Special Operations Personnel Order No. 26/1, March 31, 1949, appointing Harvey to the OSO Promotion Board. Reading room document 0001228540, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0001228540
[^7]: Central Intelligence Agency, Clandestine Services Historical Paper No. 150, "The Berlin Tunnel Operation 1952-1956," prepared August 25, 1967, published June 24, 1968. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp07x00001r000100010001-9 (preface for the 1952 to 1958 Berlin tenure; pp. 2-6 for the 1951 and 1953 planning; pp. 18-19 for construction, the 1,476-foot length and the March 1955 tap chamber; pp. 22-24 for the termination, the discovery dates and the Blake passage).
[^8]: Central Intelligence Agency, Clandestine Services Historical Paper No. 150, "The Berlin Tunnel Operation 1952-1956," pp. 22-23 (the August 15, 1956 memorandum and its conclusion) and p. 29 (the awards for contributions to Project PBJOINTLY). https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp07x00001r000100010001-9
[^9]: Murphy, David E., Sergei A. Kondrashev, and George Bailey. *Battleground Berlin: CIA vs KGB in the Cold War.* Yale University Press, 1997.
[^10]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum "Commendation for Mr. William K. Harvey," June 14, 1956. Reading room document 0001228677, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0001228677 (the June 1, 1956 commendation and the quoted extract)
[^11]: Chief, Inspection and Review, Memorandum for Inspector General, "Use of LSD," December 1, 1953, 2 pp., Center for National Security Studies FOIA, National Security Archive. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/1953-12-01a%20CNSS-ocr.pdf
[^12]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum "Appointment of Mr. William K. Harvey as Branch Chief, FI Staff," October 12, 1959. Reading room document 0001228748, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0001228748
[^13]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of the Inspector General, "Report on Plots to Assassinate Fidel Castro," May 23, 1967, sanitized release of 1997: memorandum for the record of May 23, 1967 (first page); "Gambling Syndicate - Phase 2," p. 37 (Harvey as Chief of FI/D; briefing in February 1961; the "twice urged" notes; the date range). JFK Assassination Records Collection, National Archives, record 104-10213-10101, https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/104-10213-10101.pdf
[^14]: Central Intelligence Agency, dispatch OIRW 18590, Chief, KUTUBE/D, to Chief of Station, Rome, "ZRRIFLE/Subject of OIRA 27542," June 8, 1961. JFK Assassination Records Collection, National Archives, record 104-10185-10046, https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/104-10185-10046.pdf
[^15]: Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities), *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465, November 20, 1975, pp. 182-185 (the ZR/RIFLE definition; QJ/WIN; the Inspector General's findings; the January 25 and 26, 1961 notes; the White House question; Bissell's testimony of June 9 and July 17, 1975), citing Harvey testimony of June 25, 1975, pp. 35-37, and July 11, 1975, p. 59. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^16]: Assassination Records Review Board. *Final Report of the Assassination Records Review Board,* September 1998, section "William Harvey" (p. 96 in the contents). https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/review-board/report/arrb-final-report.txt
[^17]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, pp. 41, 44-45 (Harvey as Mulroney's immediate superior; the Congo memoranda; Harvey affidavit of September 14, 1975). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^18]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, pp. 153-155 (the Task Force W appointment in early 1962; the Special Group meetings; the May 3, 1962 report of three teams and 72 sources; Harvey testimony of July 11, 1975, pp. 15-18, and June 25, 1975, p. 85). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^19]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963*, vol. X, doc. 323, Memorandum From the Chief of Task Force W (Harvey) to Director of Central Intelligence McCone, April 10, 1962. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10/d323
[^20]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963*, vol. X, doc. 359, Memorandum From the Central Intelligence Agency Operations Officer for Operation Mongoose (Harvey) to the Chief of Operations, Operation Mongoose (Lansdale), July 24, 1962, "Operation Mongoose, End of Phase I." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10/d359
[^21]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963*, vol. X, doc. 365, Memorandum From the Central Intelligence Agency Operations Officer for Operation Mongoose (Harvey) to the Chief of Operations, Operation Mongoose (Lansdale), August 6, 1962, "Gusano Libre, Symbol of Cuban Resistance." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10/d365
[^22]: National Security Archive, document 14, William K. Harvey, "Covert Activities," CIA memorandum, August 7, 1962. https://archive.org/details/6434690-National-Security-Archive-Doc-14-CIA-William
[^23]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963*, vol. XI, doc. 10, Memorandum From the Central Intelligence Agency Project Officer for Operation Mongoose (Harvey) to the Chief of Operations, Operation Mongoose (Lansdale), October 8, 1962, "Sabotage of Cuban-Owned Ship." https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v11/d10
[^24]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, pp. 161-167 (the August 10, 1962 meeting; Lansdale memorandum of August 13; Harvey memorandum to Helms of August 14; McCone's account of McNamara; Elder's recollection of the meeting), and pp. 165-166 for Harvey's recollection of the meeting, citing Harvey testimony of July 11, 1975, p. 30. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^25]: *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963*, vol. X, doc. 371, Editorial Note on the August 10, 1962 meeting of the Special Group (Augmented), quoting Harvey's memorandum of August 14, 1962 and McCone's memorandum of April 14, 1967. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10/d371
[^26]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, p. 107 (Walter Elder, McCone's Executive Assistant, on telling Helms of McCone's opposition after the August 10 meeting). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^27]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, pp. 83-85 (the 1961 assignment and the November 16, 1961 notes; the April 1962 reactivation and "explicit orders"; the poison pills of April 18 and 21, 1962; the $5,000 equipment and the rented truck; the September 1962 meetings; the $2,700 payment; the second team; the February 1963 termination), citing Harvey testimony of June 25 and July 11, 1975, and the affidavit of September 14, 1975. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^28]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum "Johnny Roselli," August 9, 1976. Reading room document 00508811, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00508811 (Harvey's operations from early 1962 to February 1963; Harvey as case officer from May 1962; Harvey and O'Connell in contact from 1964 to about 1970; Harvey retired in 1967).
[^29]: Church Committee, *The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies*, Final Report Book V, S. Rept. 94-755, April 23, 1976, pp. 69, 72. https://archive.org/details/ChurchCommittee
[^30]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, p. 105, citing Inspector General's report p. 54 (the June 1963 farewell dinner; FBI observation; Papich's notice to Harvey; Harvey's report to Helms). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^31]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations*, H. Rept. 95-1828, 1979, p. 117 (the committee's finding that the plots were not shown to be irrelevant; CIA files on contact with Harvey until 1967). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^32]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, pp. 86-87 (Osborn memorandum for the record, December 11, 1967). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^33]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, p. 149 n. 1, citing Harvey testimony of July 11, 1975, pp. 80-81, and Walter Elder testimony of August 13, 1975, pp. 34-35. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^34]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots*, S. Rept. 94-465, pp. 86-87 (FitzGerald replacing Harvey in January 1963; the diving-suit plan), citing Inspector General's report p. 75. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^35]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum "Appointment of Mr. William K. Harvey Chief of Station, Rome, Italy," June 12, 1963. Reading room document 01228805, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-01228805
[^36]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum for the record "William K. Harvey," April 5, 1967. Reading room document 0001228917, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0001228917
[^37]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum for the record "William K. Harvey," October 30, 1967. Reading room document 0001228965, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0001228965
[^38]: Osborn, Howard J. Memorandum for the record, November 8, 1967, JFK record 104-10133-10076. National Archives, JFK Assassination Records Collection.
[^39]: Bush, George, memorandum "The Death of Roselli," August 11, 1976. Reading room document 00508811, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00508811
[^40]: Central Intelligence Agency, routing and record memorandum, June 16, 1976, filed with the reading room copy of the June 1976 press report, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-cia-rdp79-00498a000600020001-2
[^41]: Central Intelligence Agency, routing and record sheet, "Mr. David Martin, Associated Press Correspondent's Interest in Writing a Book About Mr. William King Harvey," June 27, 1977. Reading room document 0001229025, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-0001229025

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@ -11,14 +11,16 @@ Dagoberto Nuñez was a Cuban [[Bay of Pigs|Bay of Pigs]] veteran and [[Central I
### CIA and NSC Connections
Nuñez obtained a contract with H&M Corp. to cover an intelligence-gathering operation aimed at Nicaraguan president [[Daniel Ortega]]. According to a 1986 memo from CIA operative [[Robert Owen|Rob Owen]] to North, Nuñez was preparing to sign an agreement for shrimping rights off the Pacific Coast of [[Nicaragua]]. "Nuñez is doing this so he can help us. He will cooperate and do anything we ask," Owen told North. When questioned about his activities, Nuñez revealed that since 1985 he had engaged in a clandestine relationship with the [[National Security Council]], but refused to elaborate on his involvement in narcotics trafficking because of the specific tasks he had performed at the NSC's direction. CIA headquarters ordered an immediate halt to his questioning.[^2]
Nuñez obtained a contract with H&M Corp. to cover an intelligence-gathering operation aimed at Nicaraguan president [[Daniel Ortega]]. According to a 1986 memo from CIA operative [[Robert Owen|Rob Owen]] to North, Nuñez was preparing to sign an agreement for shrimping rights off the Pacific Coast of [[Nicaragua]]. "Nuñez is doing this so he can help us. He will cooperate and do anything we ask," Owen told North.[^2] Webb's text names Dagoberto Nunez, a Bay of Pigs veteran, as a Costa Rica based associate of North and the CIA who obtained a contract with H&M Corp. for an intelligence-gathering operation against Daniel Ortega, and who with [[Felipe Vidal]] was part of the Costa Rican maritime operations.[^3] The CIA Inspector General's report describes a clandestine relationship with the [[National Security Council]] in the section on [[Moises Nunez]], a Cuban who owned [[Frigorificos de Puntarenas]]; the report uses only the name Moises.[^4] Both men are described as Cuban Bay of Pigs veterans who appear in Rob Owen's memoranda to North on shrimp boats and shrimping ventures in Costa Rica. Whether Dagoberto Nunez and Moises Nunez are one person is not stated in the Inspector General's report, the Senate report or Webb's text.
### Drug Trafficking Connections
[[John Hull]], a CIA-connected rancher in Costa Rica, hid at the apartment of Nuñez after legal troubles. Nuñez was one of several Cuban Bay of Pigs veterans the CIA deployed to [[Central America]] for Contra operations, bringing with them established connections to the drug trade. His case illustrated how the CIA protected operatives involved in narcotics trafficking by suppressing investigations.[^3]
[[John Hull]], a CIA-connected rancher in Costa Rica, hid at the apartment of Nuñez after legal troubles. Nuñez was one of several Cuban Bay of Pigs veterans the CIA deployed to [[Central America]] for Contra operations, bringing with them established connections to the drug trade. His case illustrated how the CIA protected operatives involved in narcotics trafficking by suppressing investigations.[^5]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 15.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 15, Ch. 14.
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 27.
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998, passages on H&M Corp., Owen's memoranda to North, and the Costa Rican maritime operations with Felipe Vidal.
[^4]: CIA Office of Inspector General, Report of Investigation (unclassified January 29, 1998), paras. 480 to 496, section headed "Moises Nunez," https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-06974497 ; U.S. Senate, S. Prt. 100-165 (December 1988), text at note 140, https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras
[^5]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 27.

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@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ tags:
- Dallas
- 1960s
category: "Criminals & Offenders"
summary: "Jack Ruby (born Jacob Rubenstein) was a Dallas strip club owner with organized crime connections who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of Dallas Police headquarters on November 24, 1963 in front of live television cameras, was convicted of murder but died of cancer in January 1967 before retrial, and whose pre-assassination contacts with mob figures remained a focus of the HSCA's conspiracy investigation."
summary: "Dallas nightclub owner with organized crime associations who shot Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, was convicted of murder and died in January 1967 before retrial."
born: 1911-03-25
died: 1967-01-03
location: "Dallas, Texas"
@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ Jack Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein, March 25, 1911, Chicago, Illinois - died
Ruby was raised in Chicago and had worked as a runner and small-time organizer in labor and minor criminal circles there before relocating to Dallas in 1947. He became the operator of a strip club, the Carousel Club, and later a second venue, the Vegas Club.
His organized crime associations were documented by both the [[Warren Commission]] and the [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]]. The HSCA found that Ruby had "significant" associations with organized crime figures in Chicago and Dallas throughout his career. He had known Paul Rowland Jones, a Chicago organized crime figure, and had been involved in Dallas gambling operations. The HSCA identified associations with [[Carlos Marcello]]'s New Orleans organization and with the Tampa organized crime network of [[Santos Trafficante, Jr.]], both of whom the committee found had motives related to the Kennedy administration's aggressive pursuit of organized crime through [[Robert Kennedy]]'s Justice Department.[^1]
His organized crime associations were documented by both the [[Warren Commission]] and the [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]]. The HSCA reported that Ruby was not a "member" of organized crime, but that the evidence showed "a significant number of associations and direct and indirect contacts with underworld figures."[^2] It established associations between Ruby and several individuals affiliated with the underworld activities of [[Carlos Marcello]], among them Joseph Civello, the Marcello associate who allegedly headed organized crime activities in Dallas, and its computer analysis of Ruby's telephone records showed that [[Nofio Pecora]], a Marcello lieutenant, received a call from Ruby on October 30, 1963.[^3] He had known Paul Rowland Jones, a Chicago organized crime figure, and had been involved in Dallas gambling operations. The HSCA identified associations with Marcello's New Orleans organization and with the Tampa organized crime network of [[Santos Trafficante, Jr.]], both of whom the committee found had the motive, means and opportunity to have President Kennedy assassinated.[^4] [[Robert Kennedy]]'s Justice Department pursued organized crime aggressively in the same period.[^1]
### Cuba Gunrunning
@ -47,9 +47,12 @@ Ruby's conviction was reversed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in October
The Warren Commission concluded that Ruby had acted alone and spontaneously, finding no evidence of a conspiracy involving Ruby. The Commission's staff failed to pursue organized crime leads and did not have access to information about the CIA-Mafia anti-Castro plots that would have provided context for Ruby's organized crime associations.
The HSCA, with access to fuller CIA and FBI records, reached a more equivocal conclusion: while it could not conclusively prove Ruby acted as part of a conspiracy, it found his organized crime associations, pre-assassination contact patterns, and the circumstances of the shooting "not inconsistent" with a conspiracy hypothesis. The committee specifically noted that the elimination of Oswald before trial eliminated the one person who could have provided direct testimony about his actions and associates.[^2]
The HSCA, with fuller CIA and FBI records, concluded that Ruby's shooting of Oswald "was not a spontaneous act, in that it involved at least some premeditation," and that it was "less likely that Ruby entered the police basement without assistance."[^5] It found that Ruby probably did not come down the Main Street ramp, as the Warren Commission had concluded, and that his most likely route was an alleyway next to the Dallas Municipal Building and a stairway to the basement garage. It was troubled by the apparently unlocked doors along the stairway route, the removal of security guards from the garage area shortly before the shooting, and a Saturday night telephone call from Ruby to [[Ralph Paul]] in which Paul responded to something Ruby said by asking him if he was crazy.[^5]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Warren Commission. *Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy.* Government Printing Office, 1964. House Select Committee on Assassinations. *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives.* Government Printing Office, 1979.
[^2]: Kantor, Seth. *Who Was Jack Ruby?* Everest House, 1978. Blakey, G. Robert, and Richard N. Billings. *Fatal Hour.* Berkley, 1992.
[^2]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), p. 149. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^3]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 170-172 (Ruby's associations with the Marcello organization; Pecora). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^4]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 168-175 (Marcello and Trafficante). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^5]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 156-158 (Ruby's route into the police basement; premeditation; assistance). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit

22
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Jack Rugh.md
View file

@ -7,13 +7,29 @@ tags:
- DoJ
- INSLAW
summary: "Jack Rugh was a figure in the PROMIS Software Scandal, primarily involved in the administration of the Inslaw contract with the DOJ."
relations:
- type: reported_to
with: "[[C. Madison Brewer]]"
role: "Assistant Director, Executive Office for United States Attorneys"
start: 1982
fn: 5
updated: 2026-10-09
---
Jack Rugh was a figure in the [[PROMIS Software Scandal]], primarily involved in the administration of the [[INSLAW|Inslaw]] contract with the [[Department of Justice|DOJ]]. He served as [[C. Madison Brewer]]'s deputy and as the contracting officer's Technical Representative, working closely with [[Peter Videnieks]].
Rugh played a role in the DOJ's response to Inslaw's proposed methodology for identifying proprietary enhancements in the [[PROMIS]] software. He considered Inslaw's methodology inadequate, particularly objecting to the part that would count privately funded hours first, believing the issue was whether actual hours were billed to a private client. He also thought [[INSLAW]] did not keep sufficient records to prove private funding. Rugh, along with Videnieks, chose neither to accept Inslaw's methodology nor to propose revisions or an acceptable alternative, and did not inform Inslaw why its methodology was unacceptable. The Special Counsel's investigation concluded that Rugh's actions were driven by a desire to protect the government's interests and not by an intent to cheat Inslaw, attributing his conduct to the atmosphere of distrust surrounding the contract's administration.[^1]
Rugh played a role in the DOJ's response to Inslaw's proposed methodology for identifying proprietary enhancements in the [[PROMIS]] software. He considered Inslaw's methodology inadequate, particularly objecting to the part that would count privately funded hours first, believing the issue was whether actual hours were billed to a private client. He also thought INSLAW did not keep sufficient records to prove private funding. Rugh, along with Videnieks, chose neither to accept Inslaw's methodology nor to propose revisions or an acceptable alternative, and did not inform Inslaw why its methodology was unacceptable. The Special Counsel's investigation concluded that Rugh's actions were driven by a desire to protect the government's interests and not by an intent to cheat Inslaw, attributing his conduct to the atmosphere of distrust surrounding the contract's administration.[^1]
Rugh was also involved in the allegations surrounding the attempted conversion of Inslaw's bankruptcy to a liquidation. In February 1985, shortly after Inslaw filed for bankruptcy, Rugh had a telephone conversation with Peter Videnieks, during which Videnieks made a note that read: "2/20/85 JR called re/•our computer.' Brick talked to Stanton . •no way• 11 will be '7.' Need home for computer." Rugh testified that he did not remember the conversation but that the note accurately reflected his pessimistic view of Inslaw's prospects, believing it would end up in liquidation. He might have told [[Gregory McKain]], an Inslaw employee, that the DOJ had talked to the "Trustees" who said Inslaw would not survive Chapter 11 and would likely be in Chapter 7 within 30 to 60 days. However, Rugh claimed this was his personal opinion and not based on any statement from the Trustee's Office. The Special Counsel's investigation found that the interpretation of Videnieks' notes by Rugh and Videnieks was reasonable and consistent with other evidence, suggesting Rugh was expressing his own opinion rather than relaying a confirmed plan for conversion. The investigation found insufficient evidence to support a finding that the DOJ planned or attempted to convert Inslaw's bankruptcy case or engaged in any cover-up.[^1]
By memorandum dated May 12, 1983, Rugh turned PROMIS over to Brewer for submission to the Government of Israel, enclosing "the PROMIS materials that you asked me to produce for Dr. Ben Orr of the Government of Israel," consisting of the LEAA DEC PDP 11/70 version of PROMIS on magnetic tape, its printed specifications and two printed volumes of documentation.[^2] In a memorandum of August 12, 1983, Rugh wrote that when Don Manson called on August 10 to ask for the Prime enhanced version of PROMIS for the Virgin Islands, he told Manson "that even though I expected the dispute to be resolved in favor of the Government, we could not supply a copy of the software at this time."[^3]
The bankruptcy court found that in February 1985, after Brewer had talked to [[Thomas Stanton]], Rugh telephoned Peter Videnieks, told him there was "no way" the INSLAW bankruptcy would continue as a Chapter 11 case, and said that the government computer on INSLAW's premises in Lanham, Maryland, would need a new site. The court found that on or about February 21, 1985, Rugh telephoned [[Gregory McKain]] and discussed his working for DOJ under a six-month sole-source contract if INSLAW went out of business.[^4] The hearing officer in the 1997 congressional reference case described Rugh as Brewer's Assistant Director and as the supervisor of the contract's technical representative.[^5]
Rugh was also involved in the allegations surrounding the attempted conversion of Inslaw's bankruptcy to a liquidation. In February 1985, shortly after Inslaw filed for bankruptcy, Rugh had a telephone conversation with Peter Videnieks, during which Videnieks made a note that read: "2/20/85 JR called re/'our computer.' Brick talked to Stanton . 'no way' 11 will be '7.' Need home for computer." Rugh testified that he did not remember the conversation but that the note accurately reflected his pessimistic view of Inslaw's prospects, believing it would end up in liquidation. He might have told Gregory McKain, an Inslaw employee, that the DOJ had talked to the "Trustees" who said Inslaw would not survive Chapter 11 and would likely be in Chapter 7 within 30 to 60 days. However, Rugh claimed this was his personal opinion and not based on any statement from the Trustee's Office. The Special Counsel's investigation found that the interpretation of Videnieks' notes by Rugh and Videnieks was reasonable and consistent with other evidence, suggesting Rugh was expressing his own opinion rather than relaying a confirmed plan for conversion. The investigation found insufficient evidence to support a finding that the DOJ planned or attempted to convert Inslaw's bankruptcy case or engaged in any cover-up.[^1]
### Footnotes
[^1]: 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.
[^1]: 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.
[^2]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 48 n. 114. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^3]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 49 n. 116. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^4]: *In re INSLAW, Inc.*, 83 B.R. 89 (Bankr. D.D.C. 1988), Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Adv. Proc. No. 86-0069, Findings 351 and 352. https://archive.org/details/Inslaw-FindingsOfFact
[^5]: *INSLAW, Inc. v. United States*, Cong. Ref. No. 95-338X, Report of the Hearing Officer (Miller), July 31, 1997, 39 Fed. Cl. 307. https://static.case.law/fed-cl/39/cases/0307-01.json

13
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/James Earl Ray.md
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@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ tags:
- Assassination
- 1960s
category: "Criminals & Offenders"
summary: "James Earl Ray was the career criminal who pled guilty to the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, recanted three days later claiming he was a patsy for a conspiracy organized by a mysterious figure called 'Raul,' and died in prison in 1998 with the conspiracy question still legally unresolved."
summary: "Career criminal who pled guilty to the April 4, 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., recanted three days later citing a man called 'Raul,' and died in prison in 1998."
born: 1928-03-10
died: 1998-04-23
location: "Memphis, Tennessee / Nashville, Tennessee (imprisoned)"
@ -41,12 +41,7 @@ Ray's account changed over the years but centered on a conspiracy organized by a
### HSCA Findings
The [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] investigated the King assassination in 1976-1979. The committee concluded:
- Ray had fired the shot that killed King
- Ray "was not a member of an organized conspiracy to assassinate Dr. King"
- But Ray's brothers John and Jerry Ray "may have assisted" in the planning of the escape from Missouri and possibly other aspects of the plot
- There was insufficient evidence to conclude that any government agency was involved in a conspiracy
The [[HSCA|House Select Committee on Assassinations]] investigated the King assassination in 1976-1979. It found that Ray fired the shot that killed King, that he "acted with full knowledge of what he was doing in the murder of Dr. King," and that his alibi and his "Raoul" account were "not worthy of belief."[^3] Its summary finding is that "there is a likelihood that James Earl Ray assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King as a result of a conspiracy."[^4] It concluded that "no private organizations or individuals, other than those discussed under section B," were involved, and that "no Federal, State or local government agency was involved."[^4] The Conclusion states that the committee found "substantial evidence to establish the existence of a St. Louis-based conspiracy to finance the assassination of Dr. King," that [[John Sutherland]] and [[John Kauffmann]] made a serious effort in late 1966 or early 1967 to solicit [[Russell Byers]], and that no direct link to Ray or his brothers and no payoff was found, though word of the offer likely reached Ray through the campaign activity of the [[American Independent Party]].[^5] On the brothers, it found it "highly likely that John and James robbed the Bank of Alton in Alton, Ill., on July 13, 1967," that [[Jerry Ray]] knew of the robbery and assisted in distributing the proceeds, and that [[John Ray]] had foreknowledge of the escape from the Missouri State Penitentiary; it judged the involvement of one or both brothers to be possible on three negative factors, and found strong circumstantial evidence of the involvement of a brother in a consulting capacity at the purchase of the murder weapon.[^5][^6]
The committee found that Ray's post-escape resources - his travel across multiple countries, his training in bartending and dancing in preparation for an undefined future, his Canadian documents - remained inadequately explained by his own account.[^1]
@ -58,3 +53,7 @@ In 1999, the King family filed a civil wrongful death action in Memphis against
[^1]: Sides, Hampton. *Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin.* Doubleday, 2010. House Select Committee on Assassinations. *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives.* Government Printing Office, 1979.
[^2]: Frank, Gerold. *An American Death: The True Story of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Greatest Manhunt of Our Time.* Doubleday, 1972. Melanson, Philip H. *The Martin Luther King Assassination: New Revelations on the Conspiracy and Cover-Up.* S.P.I. Books, 1994.
[^3]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), summary Finding II.A (p. 5); "Conclusion," p. 371. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^4]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, summary Findings II.B and II.C-II.D (p. 5). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^5]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, "Conclusion," pp. 371-373; Byers, Sutherland and Kauffmann, pp. 359-364. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^6]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 341-344 (John Ray and the escape; the Alton robbery). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit

2
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Jim Schnabel.md
View file

@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ Forever Young: Science and the Search for Immortality was published by [[Bloomsb
The list of interview sources in Remote Viewers includes [[Frederick Atwater|Fred "Skip" Atwater]], Hal Puthoff, [[Ingo Swann]], [[Joe McMoneagle]], [[Uri Geller]], [[Keith Harary]] and [[Michael Persinger]], among others. The list states that a number of sources who spoke on background are not named in it, and that not all those listed spoke on the record all the time.[^6]
The acknowledgments single out Atwater, Puthoff, [[Mel Riley]] and Edith Riley, and [[Edmund Thompson]] as "heroically cooperative" sources to whom the author owed "a special debt."[^6]
The acknowledgments single out Atwater, Puthoff, [[Mel Riley]], and [[Edmund Thompson]] as "heroically cooperative" sources to whom the author owed "a special debt."[^6]
The book uses pseudonyms for a number of the people it names. Its notes state that certain names in the text are pseudonyms, and a "Pseudonyms" page near the end of the book identifies them.[^7]

29
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Johnny Roselli.md
View file

@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
created: 2026-05-15
updated: 2026-09-21
updated: 2026-10-09
title: Johnny Roselli
aliases:
- Filippo Sacco
@ -31,11 +31,17 @@ Roselli was meticulous about maintaining a legitimate surface appearance. He soc
### CIA-Mafia Anti-Castro Plots
In September 1960, CIA officer [[Robert Maheu]] - a former [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent who served as a CIA cutout for sensitive operations - approached Roselli through a Las Vegas intermediary and proposed that organized crime figures help the CIA assassinate Castro. The rationale offered was that organized crime figures with pre-revolutionary Cuban casino interests had their own reasons to want Castro removed and had existing contacts with Cuban exile networks.
In September 1960, [[Robert Maheu]], a former [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agent and private investigator whom the CIA used as a cutout for sensitive operations, approached Roselli, whom he had known since the late 1950s, and proposed that organized crime figures help the CIA assassinate Castro. The rationale offered was that organized crime figures with pre-revolutionary Cuban casino interests had their own reasons to want Castro removed and had existing contacts with Cuban exile networks.
Roselli agreed to participate and introduced Maheu to [[Sam Giancana]], the Chicago Outfit boss, and [[Santos Trafficante, Jr.|Santo Trafficante Jr.]], the Tampa mob boss who had operated Cuba casinos before Castro nationalized them. The CIA provided operational direction, including poison pills developed by its Technical Services Division intended for Castro's food or drink. Multiple plots were attempted through 1960-1963 without result.[^1]
When [[William Harvey]] replaced Maheu as the CIA's primary handler for the mob plots in 1961, Roselli worked directly with Harvey as the plots continued under [[Operation Mongoose]] auspices. Harvey and Roselli maintained a personal relationship unusual in CIA-organized crime interactions; they met regularly in Washington, Las Vegas, and Miami and communicated through intermediaries. Harvey's termination from operational command of anti-Castro activities in late 1962 reduced CIA-Roselli contact, but Roselli maintained relationships with exile Cubans and anti-Castro networks independently.[^1]
On November 16, 1961, [[Richard Bissell]] asked [[William Harvey]] to take over the gambling-syndicate operation from [[Sheffield Edwards]]. The contact was reactivated in early April 1962, when Harvey, acting on what he testified were explicit orders from [[Richard Helms]], asked Edwards to put him in touch with Roselli.[^2] A 1976 CIA memorandum dates Harvey's taking over as case officer to May 1962.[^3] Roselli worked directly with Harvey from that point, as the plots continued under [[Operation Mongoose]] auspices.[^2] Harvey and Roselli maintained a personal relationship unusual in CIA-organized crime interactions; they met regularly in Washington, Las Vegas, and Miami and communicated through intermediaries. In April 1962 Harvey told Roselli to stop dealing with Maheu and Giancana, whom Harvey had decided were "untrustworthy" and "surplus."[^2]
Harvey met Roselli in Miami on September 7 and 11, 1962. Harvey testified that by then he had grave doubts that the operation would take place. In early January 1963 he paid Roselli $2,700 to defray the Cuban's expenses, and the second three-man team never left for Cuba, the reason given being that "conditions" in Cuba were not right. The operation was terminated in mid-February 1963 at a meeting with Roselli in Los Angeles.[^2] The 1976 CIA memorandum gives the same February 1963 end date.[^3] In early 1963 Harvey told his underworld contacts that the CIA was no longer interested in assassinating Castro; the FBI learned of this in June 1963.[^4] Harvey's operations involving Roselli began in early 1962 and ended in February 1963. Harvey, and to a lesser extent [[James O'Connell]], remained in contact with Roselli from 1964 to about 1970.[^3] Roselli maintained relationships with exile Cubans and anti-Castro networks independently.[^1]
In June 1963, before Harvey went on another assignment, he and Roselli had a farewell dinner. The FBI observed the meeting, and [[Sam Papich]], the FBI liaison with the CIA, told Harvey that [[J. Edgar Hoover]] would be informed. Harvey told Helms of the incident, and Helms agreed that [[John McCone]] need not be briefed unless a call from Hoover was expected.[^5] The [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]] found it "unable to accept" the conclusion that the CIA-Mafia plots were irrelevant because they ended in February 1963, and reported that CIA files show Roselli continued to maintain direct contact with Harvey at least until 1967.[^6]
In 1967 Roselli was arrested for fraudulent gambling at the [[Friars Club]] in [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]]. He asked Harvey, who had left the agency, to represent him. Harvey contacted the agency and suggested that it prevent the prosecution, according to a December 11, 1967 memorandum by [[Howard Osborn]].[^7]
### Church Committee Testimony
@ -43,20 +49,27 @@ When the Church Committee investigated CIA assassination plots in 1975, Roselli
During his second appearance, Roselli elaborated on a theory he had been advancing since 1967 through journalist Jack Anderson - that the CIA-organized crime anti-Castro network had been "turned around" by Cuban or pro-Castro operatives and used to kill President [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] in November 1963. This theory was not corroborated by physical evidence but attracted attention because of Roselli's direct participation in the anti-Castro infrastructure.
Shortly after his April 1976 Church Committee appearance, Roselli disappeared. His body was found on August 9, 1976, stuffed inside a 55-gallon oil drum in Dumfoundling Bay, off Miami. He had been strangled; his legs had been sawn off to fit the drum. The murder was never solved. Federal investigators suspected organized crime figures who feared his continued Senate cooperation, but no charges were brought.[^1]
Shortly after his April 1976 Church Committee appearance, Roselli disappeared. His body was found on August 9, 1976, stuffed inside a 55-gallon oil drum in Dumfoundling Bay, off Miami. He had been strangled; his legs had been sawn off to fit the drum. The murder was never solved. Federal investigators suspected organized crime figures who feared his continued Senate cooperation, but no charges were brought.[^1] On August 11, 1976 [[George H. W. Bush|George Bush]], then Director of Central Intelligence, wrote that calls to Senators had suggested that the CIA was involved in the murder, and that he had asked Attorney General [[Edward Levi]] to bring the FBI into the case.[^8]
### Legacy
The CIA-Roselli relationship was among the most extensively documented findings of the Church Committee and became a paradigm case for critics of CIA operations outside normal legal constraints. The involvement of organized crime figures as CIA assets - men the FBI was simultaneously investigating for criminal activity - illustrated the operational conflicts created by using criminal networks for covert operations, and established that the CIA had kept this relationship secret from the Warren Commission.
Roselli's murder, coming immediately after his Senate testimony, reinforced the narrative that witnesses to the deepest level of CIA-organized crime cooperation did not survive to tell the full story.[^2]
Roselli's murder, coming immediately after his Senate testimony, reinforced the narrative that witnesses to the deepest level of CIA-organized crime cooperation did not survive to tell the full story.[^9]
### Maheu
Johnny Rosselli was an organized-crime leader who was contacted by Robert Maheu in 1960 as part of CIA operations to assassinate Fidel Castro. Rosselli, along with Sam Giancana and Santos Trafficante, Jr., was enlisted to assist in these efforts, which involved Cuban exiles.[^3]
Johnny Rosselli was an organized-crime leader who was contacted by Robert Maheu in 1960 as part of CIA operations to assassinate Fidel Castro. Rosselli, along with Sam Giancana and Santos Trafficante, Jr., was enlisted to assist in these efforts, which involved Cuban exiles.[^10]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders.* Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975. Rappleye, Charles, and Ed Becker. *All American Mafioso: The Johnny Roselli Story.* Doubleday, 1991.
[^2]: Thomas, Evan. *The Very Best Men: Four Who Dared: The Early Years of the CIA.* Simon & Schuster, 1995.
[^3]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders: An Interim Report*, S. Rept. 94-465, November 20, 1975, pp. 83-85. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^3]: Central Intelligence Agency, memorandum "Johnny Roselli," August 9, 1976. Reading room document 00508811, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00508811
[^4]: Church Committee, *The Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy: Performance of the Intelligence Agencies*, Final Report Book V, S. Rept. 94-755, April 23, 1976, pp. 69, 72. https://archive.org/details/ChurchCommittee
[^5]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders*, S. Rept. 94-465, p. 105, citing Inspector General's report p. 54. https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^6]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations*, H. Rept. 95-1828, 1979, p. 117. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^7]: Church Committee, *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders*, S. Rept. 94-465, pp. 86-87 (Osborn memorandum for the record, December 11, 1967). https://archive.org/details/allegedassassina00unit
[^8]: Bush, George, memorandum "The Death of Roselli," August 11, 1976. Reading room document 00508811, https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-00508811
[^9]: Thomas, Evan. *The Very Best Men: Four Who Dared: The Early Years of the CIA.* Simon & Schuster, 1995.
[^10]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.

25
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Jules Stein.md
View file

@ -7,10 +7,33 @@ summary: "Founder of MCA and longtime political supporter of Ronald Reagan who h
born: 1896-04-26
died: 1981-04-29
location: "South Bend, Indiana"
relations:
- type: founded
with: "[[Music Corporation of America]]"
start: 1924
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[Music Corporation of America]]"
role: "chairman of the board from 1946, per Moldea"
start: 1946
fn: 2
---
[[Jules Stein]] was the founder of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]. He was a long-time political supporter of [[Ronald Reagan]]. Stein, along with [[Lew Wasserman]], negotiated the sale of Reagan's [[California]] properties at hugely inflated prices, which helped make Reagan a millionaire.[^1]
### Music Corporation of America
Julius Caesar Stein started MCA in [[Chicago]] in 1924, after practicing medicine as an ophthalmologist. Moldea wrote that Stein gave up his position with a Chicago doctor to found the agency with a college friend, William R. Goodheart, after serving as an assistant to the eye surgeon Harry Gradle, working from a two-room office downtown and booking dance bands.[^2]
Stein was one of the original defendants in *Finley v. Music Corporation of America*, a 1946 antitrust case that Moldea wrote produced a jury verdict of $55,500 in treble damages for a San Diego ballroom operator; Judge Paul J. McCormick's June 24, 1946 memorandum (66 F. Supp. 569) held the damages insufficiently certain and assessed costs and fees of $9,092.85. Moldea wrote that McCormick had earlier dismissed the charges against Stein.[^2][^3]
Moldea wrote that Stein was succeeded as president in 1946 by Lew Wasserman, and that Stein then became chairman of the board.[^2]
Moldea wrote that Stein and Taft Schreiber were among the guiding forces shaping Reagan's political philosophy, in the period after the government's action against MCA.[^2][^4]
---
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: Moldea, Dan E. *Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob*. New York: Viking, 1986. https://archive.org/details/dark-victory-ronald-reagan-mca-and-the-mob
[^3]: *Finley v. Music Corporation of America*, 66 F. Supp. 569 (S.D. Cal. June 24, 1946). https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1556053/finley-v-music-corporation-of-america/ ; https://static.case.law/f-supp/66/cases/0569-01.json
[^4]: Moldea, Dan E. "MCA Music & the Mafia," *Regardie's*, June 1988. https://www.moldea.com/MCAMusic.html

25
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Justin Sher.md
View file

@ -7,10 +7,19 @@ tags:
- NVE
- TerrorismProsecutor
- FederalCase
summary: "Justin Sher is a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section and the lead federal prosecutor on 764 Network terrorism cases, including the first-ever terrorism charge against a 764 member in United States v. Martin."
summary: "Justin Sher is a Trial Attorney in the Justice Department's National Security Division Counterterrorism Section and lead federal prosecutor on 764 Network terrorism cases, including United States v. Martin."
created: 2026-05-22
updated: 2026-05-22
updated: 2026-10-09
location: "Washington, D.C."
relations:
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Leonidas Varagiannis]]"
start: 2025-04-30
fn: 2
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Prasan Nepal]]"
start: 2025-04-30
fn: 4
---
Justin Sher is a Trial Attorney assigned to the [[U.S. Department of Justice]] National Security Division's [[Counterterrorism Section]], where he has served as the lead government attorney on the [[764 Network]] prosecution portfolio, including the prosecution of [[Baron Cain Martin]] in [[United States v. Martin (4-25-cr-00190)|United States v. Martin]], 4:25-cr-00190-TUC-AMM(BGM), D. Ariz., the first federal case in which a 764 member was charged under a terrorism statute.
@ -21,18 +30,18 @@ Sher's involvement spans multiple 764 and [[Nihilistic Violent Extremism]] (NVE)
In the Martin indictment, Sher advanced the theory that [[18 U.S.C. § 2339A]] (conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists) is available against 764 operators without any [[Foreign Terrorist Organization]] designation from the State Department, by anchoring the charge to an [[18 U.S.C. § 956|18 U.S.C. § 956(a)]] conspiracy to kill or maim a victim located outside the United States.[^1]
Sher was also the attorney of record on the [[United States v. Nepal]] and [[United States v. Varagiannis]] prosecutions (D.D.C., case 1:25-cr-00304), which charged [[764 Inferno]] leaders [[Prasan Nepal]] and [[Leonidas Varagiannis]] with participating in a child exploitation enterprise and related offenses but did not include terrorism counts.[^2]
Sher is also one of the trial attorneys, with Donnelly, named by the Justice Department as prosecuting the case of [[764 Inferno]] leaders [[Prasan Nepal]] and [[Leonidas Varagiannis]] (D.D.C., case 1:25-cr-00304).[^2] The indictment charges a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g) and includes no terrorism count.[^3] The Justice Department's October 2026 release names Sher and Donnelly as the Trial Attorneys of the Counterterrorism Section prosecuting Nepal, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys [[Karen Shinskie]] and [[Janani Iyengar]] for the District of Columbia.[^4]
### Public Statements
At a panel hosted by the [[GWU Program on Extremism]] on December 18, 2025, titled "Holding 764 Accountable," Sher described 764's stated objective as "to cause the downfall of society, cause the downfall of the U.S. government," and characterized the network's ideology as a desire for "a Darwinian society, one that is survival of the fittest." He stated that the conduct documented in 764 cases was so extreme that "I don't think Stephen King is dark enough to come up with some of the stuff that these kids are coming up with."[^3]
At a panel hosted by the [[GWU Program on Extremism]] on December 18, 2025, titled "Holding 764 Accountable," Sher described 764's stated objective as "to cause the downfall of society, cause the downfall of the U.S. government," and characterized the network's ideology as a desire for "a Darwinian society, one that is survival of the fittest." He stated that the conduct documented in 764 cases was so extreme that "I don't think Stephen King is dark enough to come up with some of the stuff that these kids are coming up with."[^5]
In a subsequent appearance cited by [[ABC News]], Sher and Donnelly together offered what were described as "rare public comments" for career DOJ prosecutors, characterizing 764 as a threat equal in seriousness to any the department had faced, and noting that network members are increasingly directing victims toward mass-casualty attacks including school shootings.[^3]
In a subsequent appearance cited by [[ABC News]], Sher and Donnelly together offered what were described as "rare public comments" for career DOJ prosecutors, characterizing 764 as a threat equal in seriousness to any the department had faced, and noting that network members are increasingly directing victims toward mass-casualty attacks including school shootings.[^5]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Baumgartner, Luke, and Barry Jonas. "How the DOJ is Prosecuting Nihilistic Violent Extremism as Domestic Terrorism." *Just Security,* December 9, 2025. https://www.justsecurity.org/126226/prosecuting-nihilistic-violent-extremism-domestic-terrorism/
[^2]: U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-DC. "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise." April 30, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise
[^3]: ABC News. "In rare public comments, career DOJ officials offer chilling warnings about online network 764." 2026. https://abcnews.com/US/rare-public-comments-career-doj-officials-offer-chilling/story?id=128526657; GWU Program on Extremism. "Holding 764 Accountable." December 18, 2025. https://extremism.gwu.edu/holding-764-accountable
[^3]: Indictment, United States v. Prasan Nepal and Leonidas Varagiannis, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), Doc. 19, filed September 26, 2025, Count One. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^4]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. "Leader of Global Violent Extremist Network '764' Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Sexually Exploit Minors." Press Release 26-1164, October 9, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-global-violent-extremist-network-764-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-sexually-exploit-minors
[^5]: ABC News. "In rare public comments, career DOJ officials offer chilling warnings about online network 764." 2026. https://abcnews.com/US/rare-public-comments-career-doj-officials-offer-chilling/story?id=128526657; GWU Program on Extremism. "Holding 764 Accountable." December 18, 2025. https://extremism.gwu.edu/holding-764-accountable

238
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Mel Riley.md
View file

@ -1,46 +1,250 @@
---
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-09-21
updated: 2026-10-09
title: Mel Riley
aliases:
- Mel Riley
- Melvin C. Riley
- Melvin Riley
- Mel C. Riley
tags:
- Person
- RemoteViewer
- Military
- Stargate
- PSI
- Psi
- GrillFlame
- SunStreak
- ImageryAnalyst
- 1970s
- 1980s
- 1990s
category: "Psychics & Remote Viewers"
summary: "Army sergeant and imagery analyst, one of the six original Fort Meade viewers selected in February 1979, who returned to the unit under DIA and retired in 1990."
born: 1946-01-01
died: 2020-04-25
summary: "Army photo-interpreter and one of the original Fort Meade remote viewers, who signed Grill Flame agreements in February 1979, returned to the unit in 1986 and retired from the Army in July 1990."
location: "Racine, Wisconsin"
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[United States Army]]"
start: 1969-07-07
end: 1990-07
role: "draftee, photo-interpreter, later first sergeant; retired at twenty years' service"
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Operations Security Group]]"
start: 1976
end: 1977
role: "photo analyst on opsec security tasks"
fn: 6
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Systems Exploitation Detachment]]"
start: 1977
end: 1978
role: "photo-interpreter in the opsec teams attached to the Systems Exploitation Team"
fn: 7
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Gondola Wish]]"
start: 1978-02
end: 1978-12
role: "candidate in the Fort Meade remote viewing team that Schnabel calls Gondola Wish"
fn: 9
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Stargate Project]]"
start: 1978-02
end: 1990-07
role: "original remote viewer"
fn: 9
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Grill Flame]]"
start: 1979-02-08
end: 1981-06
role: "volunteer remote viewer; one of three full-time viewers"
fn: 19
- type: reported_to
with: "[[Murray Watt]]"
start: 1979-02-08
role: "Grill Flame project officer who witnessed his agreement and consent statement"
fn: 21
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Rapid Deployment Force]]"
start: 1984-07
end: 1986-06
role: "first sergeant of a reconnaissance battalion company, Savannah, Georgia"
fn: 39
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Sun Streak]]"
start: 1986-07
end: 1990-07
role: "monitor, analyst and remote viewer at DT-S"
fn: 41
- type: reported_to
with: "[[Frederick Atwater]]"
start: 1986-07
end: 1990-07
role: "operations officer of DT-S"
fn: 41
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Psi-Tech]]"
start: 1990
role: "moonlighting remote viewer expected to supply raw data"
fn: 49
---
Mel Riley was a U.S. Army staff sergeant and one of the original six remote viewers in the [[Stargate Project]]. He was recruited into the program, then codenamed Gondola Wish, in 1977 by [[Frederick Atwater|Skip Atwater]] and [[Murray Watt|Scotty Watt]].[^1]
Mel Riley (Melvin C. Riley) was a U.S. [[United States Army|Army]] photo-interpreter and one of the original remote viewers of the [[Fort Meade]] unit that operated under the names [[Gondola Wish]], [[Grill Flame]], [[Center Lane]] and [[Sun Streak]] and is recorded in the [[Stargate Project]], and he retired from the Army in July 1990 after twenty years' service.[^1]
Riley was five feet eight, slim and fit, with wavy blond hair and an Irish, vaguely leprechaunish face. He had tattoos of an eagle, a rabbit, and a large winged dragon across his chest. His eyes were often described as wide and intense, as if he were staring inward. He was a morning person, enjoying the quiet calm of the predawn hours.[^1]
### Early life
He grew up in Racine, Wisconsin, and had a shy, solitary streak, with a special love for the outdoors. As a teenager, he camped in the snow, hunted deer, and canoed. He also had a "mild spaciness, a proneness to the zone." One summer day in preadolescence, in an empty field where he often found Native American artifacts, he experienced a vivid vision of an Indian village, complete with tepees, dogs, and people, with one tall Indian appearing to wave at him. This experience, among others, hinted at his latent psychic abilities.[^1]
Riley grew up in [[Racine, Wisconsin|Racine]], Wisconsin. He was shy and solitary, with a special love of the outdoors, and as a teenager he camped in the snow, hunted deer and canoed.[^2] [[Jim Schnabel]] described him as five feet eight, slim and fit, with wavy blond hair and an Irish, vaguely leprechaunish face, with an eagle tattooed on one arm, a rabbit on the other and a large winged dragon across his chest. His eyes opened widely and intensely, and he was a morning person who liked the dark calm of the predawn hours.[^3]
He was drafted into the Army on July 7, 1969, and was trained as a photo-interpreter.[^1]
Schnabel wrote that Riley had "a certain mild spaciness, a proneness to the zone." In preadolescence, in an empty field near the lake where he often found arrowheads and other Native American artifacts, Riley smelled woodsmoke and saw an Indian village with tepees, dogs, men and women, smoking meat and running children. One tall and dignified man in the village looked at him and seemed to wave.[^4]
At boot camp in Kentucky, Riley was recruited into Army intelligence and trained as a photo-interpreter at Fort Holabird, Maryland. He was then sent to Germany, serving with the 7405th Operations Squadron at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Wiesbaden. His unit conducted covert reconnaissance missions through East Germany, using disguised planes equipped with special cameras and electronic-intercept gear. Riley served as an aerial observer, guiding intelligence equipment, and as a photo analyst. He gained a reputation for his "sixth sense," accurately identifying hidden details in reconnaissance images, such as a new Soviet artillery piece concealed under a canvas canopy, which was later confirmed by satellite photographs. He earned several medals for his work.[^1]
### Army service, 1969 to 1977
In 1976, Riley was posted to Fort Meade, Maryland, assigned to the Operations Security Group (Opsec). His unit's task was to spy on U.S. military facilities to identify and correct security vulnerabilities. He analyzed photographic intelligence from satellites, aircraft, and close-range cameras. He learned about the Army's interest in psychic phenomena from a friend in the [[Systems Exploitation Detachment]] (SED) and was eager to get involved, especially after hearing about the possibility of the U.S. employing its own psychic spies.[^1]
Riley was working in Racine as a machine repairman, like his father, when he learned that he had been drafted. The date was July 7, 1969, and he was twenty-three. At boot camp in Kentucky an Army intelligence recruiter offered a three-year enlistment with training as a photo-interpreter. He trained at [[Fort Holabird]] in Maryland and was posted to the 7405th Operations Squadron, a joint Army and Air Force unit at [[Rhein-Main Air Base]] in [[Wiesbaden]], West Germany.[^4] A 1995 newspaper article by Schnabel gives his civilian work in 1969 as apprentice machine repairman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and describes him as an Army intelligence soldier who "eventually wound up at Fort Meade as an imagery interpreter, a specialist in the analysis of overhead reconnaissance photographs."[^5]
As a remote viewer, Riley was known for his artistic skill in rendering his psychic impressions. He participated in many of the early, successful remote viewing sessions. In late summer 1979, he remote-viewed a new Chinese nuclear device at Lop Nor, describing an "hourglass on its side" shape, which was later confirmed to be a critical design element. He also contributed to the tracking of a Soviet T-72 tank purchased by the U.S., accurately perceiving its movement on a rail car and later on a ship. One of his most notable successes was in an opsec tasking where he remote-viewed a "strange batlike flying-wing shape" with a "bulbous cockpit" and fiber-optic control mechanisms, which was later identified as the then-secret B-2 Stealth bomber. He was also known for his ability to enter a deep, trancelike state during remote viewing sessions.[^1]
The Wiesbaden unit flew covert reconnaissance missions along the air corridors through [[East Germany]] in aircraft disguised as cargo planes. Riley served as an aerial observer on some missions and as a photo analyst at his light table in Wiesbaden. Schnabel wrote that he found a new Soviet artillery piece on a flatcar in an East German rail yard, hidden under a canvas canopy, sketched it from a feeling about what it was, and that satellite photographs later confirmed the sketch. He earned a number of medals and served two three-year tours at Wiesbaden.[^6]
During the Iran hostage crisis (1979-1981), Riley and other remote viewers were tasked hundreds of times to provide information on the hostages. Despite the gratification of contributing to a key intelligence effort, Riley found the relentless and monotonous taskings led to mental burnout, as remote viewers needed variety to maintain clarity. He experienced aftereffects of remote viewing, describing them as similar to a "natural high" or the adrenaline rush after a parachute jump, with heightened sensory perception. However, he also noted that intense, daily remote viewing could lead to mental fatigue, emotional fragility, and a "vacant stare."[^1]
In 1976 Riley was posted to Fort Meade in the [[Operations Security Group]], a red team whose task was to spy on U.S. military facilities in order to find and correct security lapses. He analyzed photographic intelligence on the installations from satellites, aircraft and hand-held cameras. One target was the Army's experimental XM-1 tank, then in gunnery trials at [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]] at the head of [[Chesapeake Bay]]; his team took a [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]] boat fitted with long-range cameras into the bay to observe the trials.[^6]
Riley, along with [[Joe McMoneagle]] and [[Ken Bell]], became one of the three full-time remote viewers when the unit was officially designated the Special Action Branch and the program was codenamed Grill Flame. He left the unit in 1981 for a posting in Germany, with the understanding that he could return to the program in the future, as the unit was on "relatively firm ground" with an increasing budget and new recruits.[^1]
### Selection, 1977 to 1979
His Grill Flame security agreement and volunteer security agreement are dated February 8, 1979, the day of Joe McMoneagle's.[^2]
Down the hall from Riley's office in building 4554 was the Systems Exploitation Team, set up by Brigadier General [[Edmund Thompson]] of the [[Army Intelligence Agency]]. In early 1977 a fellow sergeant there, who kept books on extrasensory perception, psychokinesis and out-of-body experiences on his shelf, told Riley that the Soviets and some Eastern European countries were using psychics to spy on U.S. intelligence targets. Riley asked whether the Army would ever undertake such a project and said that if it did he wanted to be involved.[^7] The 1995 article states that in 1977 Riley "heard about plans for a remote-viewing unit, and got himself selected as one of its founder members."[^5]
[[Frederick Atwater|Skip Atwater]] arrived at Fort Meade in the summer of 1977 and was assigned to one of the opsec teams, which became part of the [[Systems Exploitation Detachment]]. Schnabel wrote that Atwater proposed a small remote viewing team to the head of the detachment, that the proposal was approved by General Thompson, then the Army's assistant chief of staff for intelligence, and that the project was initially given the code name Gondola Wish, with Major [[Murray Watt]] as its commanding officer.[^8]
Atwater and Watt generated a list of a few hundred candidates, including photo-interpreters from the [[National Photographic Interpretation Center]], and interviewed them, telling them that the questions were a general survey on psi that the [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]] commander had ordered. Riley recognized that he was being considered for Gondola Wish. After a first round the officers cut the list to about twenty, and at a second interview Riley was told that the Army was considering a team to be trained as psychic spies for opsec missions. He said he was interested. In early 1978 he was ordered to a secure room across from Colonel [[Robert Keenan]]'s office in building 4554, where ten or eleven candidates, Atwater and Watt gathered for a short briefing: the unit was experimental, its members would serve part-time and remain attached to their old units, and there was interest at high levels.[^9] The group included several photo-interpreters, among them [[Hartleigh Trent]], who had been Riley's instructor at Fort Holabird eight years earlier, as well as [[Ken Bell]], [[Fernand Gauvin]] and [[Joe McMoneagle]].[^9]
Riley's first session was an outbound exercise in a makeshift room in building 4554, with Atwater as monitor and holding a portable cassette recorder and Watt as the target at a guest house for visiting officers. Riley saw a manhole cover, a sidewalk and a few other vaguely defined items, and Schnabel reports that the session was not accurate. Before further sessions could be held, word came down that remote viewing was a form of "human use experimentation" requiring informed consent and review by the Army's human use board, and Riley and the others filled out the consent paperwork. A restart was authorized after a few months.[^10] An INSCOM psychologist, Dr. Dick Hartsell, interviewed and tested the viewers early in 1978 and did not see them again.[^11] The six most promising members of the team (Riley, McMoneagle, Bell, Gauvin, Trent and a sixth viewer) were then sent to [[Stanford Research Institute]] in [[Menlo Park, California|Menlo Park]] for about two weeks as subjects in outbound remote viewing experiments. Schnabel wrote that they were told they were going to learn SRI's methods but that Atwater and Watt wanted SRI to evaluate them, and that SRI sent all six back with the comment that they seemed good enough to use in operations.[^10]
In a later session in which Watt was again the target, Riley reported tasting chocolate and seeing a glass jar of coins and then a road and a group of cars. Watt drove Riley and Atwater to a [[Volkswagen]] dealership a few miles from Fort Meade and said that he had arrived late, having stopped at a [[7-Eleven]] where he bought a chocolate bar next to a jar of coins for the [[March of Dimes]].[^12] When General Thompson decided to try a session himself, Watt brought Riley, by then regarded as a good monitor as well as a viewer, to the Pentagon, where Riley guided Thompson as he tried to describe the location of Major Stone, an outbound experimenter who had gone to the Alexandria train station.[^13]
The INSCOM chronology of the program lists "GONDOLA WISH established" under September 1977 with the comment "Designed as an OPSEC support mission to mimic HOIS remote viewers to determine US vulnerability." It lists "Selection of remote viewers and interviewers" under December 1978 to January 1979 with the comment "Of the 251 personnel considered for GRILL FLAME, 117 were interviewed and six individuals were actually selected for training," "Beginning of orientation training at SRI-International" under April 1979 with the comment "Six INSCOM personnel begin training at SRI-International in Remote Viewing," and the "First operational Remote Viewing session" under September 4, 1979.[^14] The 902d Military Intelligence Group's assessment of August 25, 1978 describes Gondola Wish as a plan to train military intelligence personnel at the [[Monroe Institute]],[^15] and a memorandum of May 18, 1978 records interviews by the institute on May 17 of "selected trainee volunteers for project Gondola Wish."[^16] A 902d memorandum of September 25, 1978 states that "the 902d's concept, unclassified title GONDOLA WISH, is cancelled."[^17]
### Grill Flame, 1979 to 1981
Schnabel wrote that late in 1978, citing "preliminary results and high level interest" from General Thompson and others at the Pentagon and [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], the Fort Meade unit began to move away from its opsec function, that Thompson gave it three slots for full-time remote viewers, Riley, Bell and McMoneagle, and that the unit became known as the Special Action Branch. In Schnabel's account the code name Gondola Wish disappeared at that point and Grill Flame, a Pentagon code name covering both the Fort Meade unit and the work at SRI, took its place.[^18]
Riley signed a Grill Flame volunteer security agreement dated February 8, 1979. In it he swore never to divulge Grill Flame information and acknowledged that his possession of psychic abilities was classified and could not be divulged. He signed as an E-6 of the 902d Military Intelligence Group with the position "Senior Image Interpreter," and the Grill Flame project officer at HQ INSCOM witnessed the form.[^19] A second Grill Flame security agreement dated February 8, 1979 has a continuation page witnessed by Atwater of the 902d, on which Riley's position is given as imagery interpreter.[^20] A volunteer consent statement in his name, in which he consents to "training designed to enhance inherent psychic abilities" and to participate in INSCOM intelligence projects using his psychic abilities, is witnessed by Watt.[^21]
On April 20, 1979 Riley signed a statement that he had received the explanation in "Information About Remote Viewing for Participants." The sheet states that the maximum frequency at which a viewer may be asked to perform is two sessions per day and no more than three sessions per week, and that "There is no evidence of any adverse physical, psychological and/or social effects on the remote viewer from participation in this activity."[^22]
An undated draft INSCOM protocol for Applied Remote Map Sensing is signed "Melvin C. Riley, SFC," as "Grill Flame Training NCO." The draft defines remote map sensing as a process by which a person identifies the location of a remote object or person by focusing attention on the target while concentrating on a map, possibly using a pendulum as a focusing aid, and states that no drugs, hypnosis or stimuli would be used.[^23]
In late summer 1979 Riley remote-viewed a new Chinese nuclear device at [[Lop Nor]]. Schnabel wrote that on the first morning of the tasking Riley spent an hour on the couch and sketched a shape that looked like a basketball with two large funnels sticking out of opposite ends, "an hourglass on its side," and that McMoneagle later drew a detailed diagram with the same hourglass-shaped object at its center. [[U.S. Air Force|Air Force]] officials who received Atwater's summary told him he lacked the clearance to be told what the object was, a Critical Nuclear Weapons Design Information clearance. Schnabel wrote that the device turned out to be a design element the Chinese had not been thought capable of incorporating into their bombs. In an afternoon session on the same day Riley sensed a broad desert, concentric rings and a tower, an airplane and a bomb being dropped, and then nothing; McMoneagle's later session described an explosion that had not gone nuclear.[^24]
Schnabel wrote of an opsec tasking in which an Air Force security team gave Atwater a blurry photograph. Riley described "a strange batlike flying-wing shape" with a bulbous cockpit and control mechanisms that looked like strings with light inside them. Atwater passed the sketches to the Air Force team, which asked for the photograph back and for the targeting to stop. Years later Atwater saw the [[B-2 Stealth bomber|B-2]] rolled out on television, and Schnabel wrote that the Air Force had used fiber-optic control lines in the bomber to reduce its radar signature.[^25]
Schnabel also wrote that Riley was run against a Soviet T-72 tank that U.S. intelligence had bought through an international arms merchant from an Eastern European general. Riley sensed a heavy, dark vehicle on a rail car and sketched it; Atwater gave the session data to Watt, who telephoned the Defense Department officials who had brought the tasking. Atwater recalled the general as Polish and Riley as Romanian.[^26]
Schnabel wrote that Bell was first run against a [[KGB]] illegal under interrogation, in a session that Atwater monitored and that the CIA officer Schnabel calls [[Norm Everheart]] heard from the control room, and that Bell learned of a pocket calculator among the man's possessions. Riley was later run against the same target and also came up with a pocket calculator. Everheart took the information to CIA headquarters and gave it to the counterintelligence officer Schnabel calls [[Jim Morris]], who contacted the South African counterintelligence officials running the interrogation. Asked about the calculator, they first said they had found no such thing, and a few days later admitted that one of their group had found a calculator among the man's possessions and taken it home.[^27] In 1995 Riley described the tasking himself: his unit was asked to remote-view a KGB colonel caught spying and under interrogation by [[South Africa|South African]] counterintelligence officers, a "hard nut to crack" whose method of passing information out of the country could not be determined, and Riley said he "saw" the man playing with "a pocket calculator-type thing." Riley said that the calculator turned out to be a covert communications device and that when the South Africans presented the data to their captive he "broke down and co-operated."[^28]
Riley described the aftereffects of an intense session as a high. Schnabel quoted him in a chapter epigraph: "It's like a high, only it's a natural high." Schnabel wrote that after a long session Riley once walked across the parking lot at building 2560 and threw his car keys into a trash dumpster while the other viewers watched, and that Riley compared the state to his first parachute jump in the Army, when so much adrenaline was in his system that he almost did not feel his feet touch the ground.[^29]
Schnabel wrote that the viewers were tasked "literally hundreds of times" in late 1979 and early 1980 on the American hostages in [[Iran Hostage Crisis|Iran]], and that for Riley and the others it was gratifying to be part of the effort but that the relentless taskings on similar targets led to burnout. Schnabel described the barrier as one at which a viewer's data turned to garbage and the viewer became emotionally fragile and acquired "a certain vacant stare." In April 1980 Riley ran Hartleigh Trent in a session in which Trent described American soldiers rappelling from helicopters in a desert, and a few days later Watt told the six full- and part-time members of the unit to pack, and they were sequestered in a motel in [[Laurel, Maryland|Laurel]], Maryland, for the rescue attempt. Riley monitored Trent there; on the morning of April 25 the unit watched President [[Jimmy Carter]] announce the failure at [[Operation Eagle Claw|Desert One]].[^30]
A memorandum for the record dated April 17, 1980 and signed by the training officer records that at 1515 hours on April 16, 1980 the undersigned made contact "as directed by LTC Watt" with a person whose name is redacted, who requested information relating to remote viewing sessions conducted against the Iran hostage situation and asked specifically about fortifications and the "boat incident." Arrangements were made to have SFC Riley contact him at 1630 hours that afternoon with the information requested, and SFC Riley's notes concerning the conversations were attached as an enclosure. A second paragraph records that at 0900 hours on April 17, 1980 the same person called SFC Riley once again to confirm some information discussed the previous afternoon.[^31]
Two versions of a memorandum dated June 1, 1981 and titled "Location of UH-1H," addressed to Major O'Keefe and signed "Melvin C. Riley, Project Analyst," record the debriefing of an "undeveloped source" about a missing UH-1H helicopter. The first, based on debriefings of March 27 and May 30, 1981, describes an unidentified town with an old Spanish mission, a loaf-shaped mountain, a possible Indian village, a landmark called "Piedra Blanca" and a possible microwave tower to the northwest of the crash site.[^32] The second gives azimuths and distances from reference points at about 4 degrees south and 79 degrees west and places the crash site within three kilometers of "Piedra Blanca." Each states that the information is "unconfirmed and unevaluated."[^33] Schnabel described a tasking to find a U.S. helicopter that had gone down in a remote corner of Peru, after a Pentagon satellite picked up what seemed to be its locator beacon, with Bell as the viewer in his account and Riley named in his notes as a source.[^34]
### Germany, Savannah and the closing of the Army unit
Schnabel wrote that Grill Flame's managers kept a nucleus of the original members at the unit in 1981 and that when orders came sending Riley to a posting near Wiesbaden, his old station, Atwater and officials higher in the program could have changed them, but Riley did not want them changed. He saw that the unit was on "relatively firm ground" with an increasing budget and a new generation of recruits coming, and promised himself he would return when the tour ended.[^35]
In Germany Riley returned to his old reconnaissance unit and kept up informal remote viewing. Schnabel wrote that in 1984 he applied for transfer back to the unit and was accepted, and that in the summer of 1984, shortly before he was to leave Germany, [[Brian Buzby]] telephoned from Fort Meade to say that the unit he was returning to was about to become extinct.[^36] An INSCOM approval sheet prepared by Buzby as action officer records the origin of the action as the decision of the commanding general of INSCOM and subsequent approval by the Army assistant chief of staff for intelligence and the Secretary of the Army to discontinue the INSCOM Center Lane Project and transfer its operational and research efforts, and records a meeting between Buzby and Major General [[Garrison Rapmund|Rapmund]] on August 1, 1984.[^37] A Center Lane-series access roster lists "RILEY Melvin C." with the rank SFC.[^38]
Riley was instead assigned to the Pentagon's [[Rapid Deployment Force]] in [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]], Georgia, where he was first sergeant of a company of about forty soldiers in a battalion that flew reconnaissance missions over Central America, mostly from [[Honduras]], using a Mohawk aircraft with a side-looking radar pod.[^39]
### Sun Streak, 1986 to 1990
Schnabel wrote that when it became clear that the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] would keep the unit alive, Atwater arranged Riley's transfer; the Army's Personnel Command, which wanted to keep him in the Rapid Deployment Force, was overridden by the office of [[Jack Vorona]] at the DIA, and in the summer of 1986, after a five-year absence, Riley arrived back at Fort Meade.[^39] A DIA memorandum of September 19, 1985 set the objectives of the Sun Streak Prototype Operational Group for January 1986 to January 1988: approximately 80 percent of its operational effort for a remote viewing intelligence utility assessment and 20 percent for response to current intelligence collection requirements, with tasking the exclusive responsibility of the office of the Assistant Deputy Director for Scientific and Technical Intelligence, DIA.[^40]
By then the unit was part of the Scientific and Technical Intelligence Directorate at DIA as DT-S, with the DIA code name Sun Streak replacing the Army's Center Lane. Riley was hired back only as a monitor and analyst, working under Atwater with [[Ed Dames]] and Fern Gauvin as assistant operations officers, alongside [[Paul H. Smith]]; the only faces he recognized from before were Atwater's and Gauvin's.[^41] Schnabel wrote that Riley and the others who arrived after [[Ingo Swann]]'s training program ended learned [[Coordinate Remote Viewing]] from those Swann had trained and used it alongside the deeper altered-state methods, and that early in 1987 Riley, Smith and other CRV viewers described lasers at a satellite-tracking and communications facility at [[Dushanbe]] in the [[Soviet Union]] and, eight to nine months in the future, large igloos or domes that began to be constructed six months later.[^42] Schnabel wrote that Riley and Smith also supplied data on Iranian weapons emplacements, especially Chinese-made Silkworm anti-ship missiles along the [[Persian Gulf]] in the later stages of the [[Iran-Iraq War]], and that DT-S worked on the [[Lebanon]] hostage crisis and on counternarcotics taskings.[^43]
Schnabel wrote that Dames arranged "advanced training" targets chosen for their effect on the viewer and that on one of them Riley, in a deep trance, described a stadium whose roar turned out to be the Colosseum in Rome around 100 A.D., after which Dames pulled him out and Riley was in a "zombie mood."[^44] When someone brought the unit a photograph from the National Photographic Interpretation Center of an object that the Pentagon considered an "enigma," Riley, monitored by Dames and given only random-number coordinates, sketched a disk-shaped craft with a rounded bottom and was then shown an overhead reconnaissance photograph of an object flying or hovering at low altitude near a large lake.[^45]
In late 1987 Dames ran Riley, Smith, [[Lyn Buchanan]] and another viewer against a "possible event" target supplied by the branch chief, and Schnabel wrote that their descriptions converged on an aerial vehicle with a large payload, red and white colors, an obese pilot, sled-like runners, and, in Riley's sketch, eight objects out in front of it. Dames concluded that a terrorist nuclear attack was planned and set out to find a secure telephone; the branch chief and the others, waiting for him, told him that the target was Santa Claus and his sleigh. Schnabel wrote that the prank was Riley's, in retaliation for the bilocations he had endured on advanced training targets.[^46]
In 1988 a Defense Department [[Inspector General]] team arrived at the DT-S offices. Schnabel wrote that Riley and the other viewers were ordered by their bosses to make themselves scarce whenever IG personnel were around and that one of the unit's senior members used the document shredder for months before the team arrived and after it left, and that the IG report concluded that DT-S was not ready to become an operational intelligence-gathering unit and recommended that it be shut down.[^47] The 1995 article states that Dames and Riley both claimed that some of those responsible for the unit responded "very much in the spirit of [[Oliver North]]." "A lot of things," Riley said, "were being shredded and disposed of which probably would not have been appropriate had the IG team come across them."[^48]
Dames left DT-S in the late summer of 1988, and Riley and the others gave him a party and a plaque citing his "untiring, selfless, dedication to the study of, and understanding of, alternate universes and parallel dimensions."[^47]
### Retirement, 1990
Vorona announced his retirement at the end of 1989 and SRI's Pentagon contract was not renewed. Riley, who by Schnabel's account had been in "retirement mode" for some time, decided he had had enough. His twenty years were up, and he put in his papers and left the Army in July 1990, shortly before the [[Gulf War]]. He moved to a small town in Wisconsin among woods and lakes.[^1]
Schnabel wrote that after Dames and [[David Morehouse]] formed [[Psi-Tech]] to use moonlighting remote viewers as a psychic investigation team for private clients, Morehouse, Smith, Riley, Buchanan and others were to provide the raw data and Dames to analyze it.[^49]
### Wisconsin
Schnabel wrote that Riley kept in touch with the Fort Meade unit from Wisconsin as it declined and was not much disturbed by it, since it had long been clear what was going to happen, and that Riley worked at a museum in a town near his home as assistant curator, maintaining exhibits of Native American and pioneer life, organizing new exhibits and guiding tourists and schoolchildren. He lived in a house whose backyard bordered a branch of the [[Wolf River (Wisconsin)|Wolf River]].[^50] The 1995 article states that Riley "helps run a local museum," canoes, fishes and hunts deer, and is "an expert on local Indian lore."[^51]
Schnabel wrote that Riley had always been fascinated by Indian lore and read more deeply on it after retiring, practiced Native American dances and handicrafts, and was treated by some local tribes almost as one of their own. He made or was given ornate costumes and headdresses, built a large tepee in his backyard and was invited to festivals and ritual dances from which white men were normally excluded; a local medicine society of Indian healers gave him an otter-skin medicine bag. Schnabel wrote that when something difficult needed doing, such as a change in the weather or the healing of a sick relative, Riley would sequester himself and focus his "Indian medicine" on the situation.[^50] The 1995 article states that Riley has "not a drop of Native American blood in him" and belongs to a "medicine society," described there as a kind of club for properly initiated Native American seers and healers.[^51]
A Find a Grave memorial records a 1SGT Melvin C. Riley, born April 10, 1946 and died April 25, 2020, buried at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery at King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin, with the inscriptions 1SG US Army, SSG US Army and PVT1 US Army Vietnam. Schnabel states that the remote viewer was twenty-three on July 7, 1969, thirty-three and a staff sergeant in September 1979, and first sergeant of a Rapid Deployment Force company from 1984 to 1986. Records found do not establish whether the man buried at King is the remote viewer.[^52]
### Statements to Schnabel, 1995
In August 1995 [[The Independent on Sunday]] published Schnabel's article on the Fort Meade unit, and the [[Foreign Broadcast Information Service]] transmitted it on the wire in five takes the same day. Riley is the named source for the KGB colonel episode above, and said of the unit's end that "The word is that they're going to kill it."[^48]
The article states that Ed Dames and Riley considered that Angela Dellafiora had achieved an undue influence on the unit when she began giving personal channeling sessions to Vorona and other officials. "Their eyes would be shining when they came out of those sessions," Riley recalled. "They were told all the nice things they wanted to hear, which reinforced Angela's position within the unit." Of Dames, Riley said: "Everybody sort of looked at Ed as a loose cannon."[^53] Riley told Schnabel: "There are no lasting side-effects to remote-viewing," "other than the fact that it may change your whole life..."[^51]
Riley also told Schnabel that other viewers had heard laughter in the "Deep-Mind" sessions associated with Dames: "It reminded me of a bunch of little gremlins in the background."[^54]
Ed May, director of the [[Cognitive Sciences Laboratory]] in Palo Alto, wrote on September 21, 1995 that he had obtained a videotape of an hour-long program that had aired a few weeks earlier in England on British [[Channel 4]], which presented Schnabel's piece in video form and featured Riley and Dames with interviews of Thompson, Admiral Turner, [[Hal Puthoff]], Lyn Buchanan and [[John Alexander]]. In May's opinion "the show is sensational and makes no attempt to separate fact from fiction," and by implication it "attempts (and perhaps accomplishes) to raise the credibility of Dames, Riley, and Alexander by association with generals, admirals and the Intelligence community."[^55]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997. Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis.* Little, Brown and Company, 2017.
[^2]: Grill Flame volunteer security agreements, consent statements, and counseling statements for Joseph W. McMoneagle (February 8, 1979; October 26, 1979; February 19, 1980), Melvin C. Riley (February 8, 1979), and Robert C. Cowart (June 3 and October 2, 1981), and "Requirement for Access to DIA Sun Streak Project (Brian Buzby)," May 10, 1985, CIA-RDP96-00789R0021001500xx series. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
[^1]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 22, "A Haunted House.". Schnabel's notes give Riley as the source for his departure.
[^2]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.". Schnabel's notes give Riley as the source for the passages on his youth.
[^3]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 1, "The Zone.". Schnabel's notes give Riley as the source for the opening passage.
[^4]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.".
[^5]: Schnabel, Jim. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Psi." *The Independent on Sunday* (London), August 27, 1995, The Sunday Review, pp. 10-13, as transcribed in the FBIS wire "UK: U.S. Use of 'Psychic Spies' Reported," August 27, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5, PDF p. 7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5.pdf
[^6]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.".
[^7]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.".
[^8]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.". Schnabel's notes credit Riley for the name Gondola Wish and state that Atwater "vaguely remembers it."
[^9]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.". Schnabel's notes state that the account of the screening and selection process comes from the recollections of Atwater, Riley and McMoneagle.
[^10]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.".
[^11]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 5, "Bouncing Off the Walls.".
[^12]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.".
[^13]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.".
[^14]: US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," p. 1, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8.pdf
[^15]: 902d Military Intelligence Group, GONDOLA WISH assessment report, August 25, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160001-3. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160001-3.pdf
[^16]: 902d Military Intelligence Group, memorandum for Chief, OPSEC Support Division, "GONDOLA WISH (U)," May 18, 1978, signed Frederick H. Atwater, 2LT, MI, CI Studies Section, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160007-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160007-7.pdf
[^17]: 902d Military Intelligence Group memorandum, "GRILL FLAME," September 25, 1978, signed Robert E. Keenan, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200240011-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001200240011-2.pdf
[^18]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.". Schnabel's notes cite an INSCOM memorandum of 1981 for the Army memo quoted and give Atwater, Riley and the INSCOM papers as sources for the code name Grill Flame.
[^19]: Grill Flame Volunteer Security Agreement, Melvin C. Riley, dated 8 FEB 79, witnessed by the Grill Flame project officer, HQ INSCOM, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100150051-7. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002100150051-7.pdf
[^20]: Grill Flame Security Agreement, Melvin C. Riley, dated 8 February 79, with continuation page dated 8 Feb 79 witnessed by Frederick Atwater, 902d MI Gp, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100150052-6, pp. 1-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002100150052-6.pdf
[^21]: Grill Flame Volunteer Consent Statement, Melvin C. Riley, witnessed by Murray B. Watt, undated, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100150050-8. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002100150050-8.pdf
[^22]: "Information About Remote Viewing for Participants," signed by Melvin C. Riley and a witness on 20 Apr 79, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100150052-6, pp. 3-4. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002100150052-6.pdf
[^23]: INSCOM, "Proposed Grill Flame Protocol" and "Applied Remote Map Sensing Protocol," undated, signature block on p. 4, CIA-RDP96-00788R001100200001-8. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001100200001-8.pdf
[^24]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 2, "The Dream Team.". Chapter 1, "The Zone," opens on the morning of the tasking in September 1979. Schnabel's notes give Riley, Atwater, McMoneagle, Graff (1995) and two researchers formerly associated with the program as sources for the Chinese nuclear device.
[^25]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 3, "Psi-INT.". Schnabel's notes give Atwater as the source for the approach by the Air Force team and add that Riley remembers also drawing an angular, sparrowlike plane, which he later recognized as the F-117.
[^26]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 4, "Joe of Arc.". Schnabel's notes give Atwater and Riley as the sources. The seller's nationality is given differently by Atwater and Riley.
[^27]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 3, "Psi-INT.". Schnabel's notes give a former CIA official, Riley, Atwater and Graff (1995) as sources for the KGB illegal.
[^28]: Schnabel, Jim. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Psi." *The Independent on Sunday* (London), August 27, 1995, The Sunday Review, pp. 10-13, as transcribed in the FBIS wire "UK: U.S. Use of 'Psychic Spies' Reported," August 27, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5, PDF p. 6. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5.pdf
[^29]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 5, "Bouncing Off the Walls.". Schnabel's notes give Riley as the source for the dumpster anecdote and for the aftereffects.
[^30]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 5, "Bouncing Off the Walls.". Schnabel's notes give Riley and Atwater as sources.
[^31]: Memorandum for the record, 17 April 80, subject "Conversations With" (name redacted), signed by the Training Officer, IAFM-OPS-HU-SA, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000270008-4. The second paragraph reads "At 0900 hours, 17 Apr 1980." https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R002000270008-4.pdf
[^32]: "Location of UH-1H," memorandum for Major O'Keefe, June 1, 1981, signed Melvin C. Riley, Project Analyst, with debriefing dates of March 27 and May 30, 1981, CIA-RDP96-00788R000600300002-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R000600300002-2.pdf
[^33]: "Location of UH-1H," second version of the memorandum of June 1, 1981, signed Melvin C. Riley, Project Analyst, CIA-RDP96-00788R000600300018-5. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R000600300018-5.pdf
[^34]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 3, "Psi-INT.". Schnabel's notes give Riley as the source for the helicopter in Peru.
[^35]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 5, "Bouncing Off the Walls.".
[^36]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 20, "Flameout.".
[^37]: Command Group approval/release sheet, "Transfer of the CENTER LANE Project," INSCOM (LTC Buzby, action officer), 1984, CIA-RDP96-00788R001500090026-0. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001500090026-0.pdf
[^38]: Alphabetical access roster (names, rank, organization), CIA-RDP96-00788R001200330005-9, PDF p. 6, entry "RILEY Melvin C. SFC." The roster belongs to the same document series as the CENTER LANE Access Rosters dated April 10, April 20 and June 28, 1984. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R001200330005-9.pdf
[^39]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 21, "The Witches.". Schnabel's notes give Riley as the source for the Rapid Deployment Force period and Atwater and Riley for the transfer.
[^40]: Defense Intelligence Agency memorandum, "SUN STREAK Ops/Tng Objectives, JAN 86 - JAN 88 (U)," September 19, 1985, CIA-RDP96-00789R002100300004-2. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002100300004-2.pdf
[^41]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 21, "The Witches.".
[^42]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 21, "The Witches.". Schnabel's notes give Atwater, Dames, Riley and another source for the ERV, CRV and random-number passages and Graff (1995), Dames and two other program sources for the high-technology weapons sites.
[^43]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 21, "The Witches.". Schnabel's notes give Dames and Riley as sources for the Silkworm missile and Lebanon taskings.
[^44]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 22, "A Haunted House.".
[^45]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 22, "A Haunted House.". Schnabel's notes give Riley, Dames and another program source for the session.
[^46]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 22, "A Haunted House.". Schnabel's notes give Riley, Buchanan and another program source for the prank.
[^47]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, chapter 22, "A Haunted House.". Schnabel's notes give Dames, Riley, Buchanan and another program source for the shredding and Riley and Dames for the plaque.
[^48]: Schnabel, Jim. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Psi." *The Independent on Sunday* (London), August 27, 1995, The Sunday Review, pp. 10-13, as transcribed in the FBIS wire "UK: U.S. Use of 'Psychic Spies' Reported," August 27, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5, PDF pp. 12-13. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5.pdf
[^49]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, Epilogue.
[^50]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, Epilogue. Schnabel's notes give Riley as the source for the Epilogue passages on him.
[^51]: Schnabel, Jim. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Psi." *The Independent on Sunday* (London), August 27, 1995, The Sunday Review, pp. 10-13, as transcribed in the FBIS wire "UK: U.S. Use of 'Psychic Spies' Reported," August 27, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5, PDF pp. 7-8. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5.pdf
[^52]: Find a Grave, memorial 217006791, "1SGT Melvin C. Riley (1946-2020)," birth April 10, 1946, death April 25, 2020, burial Central Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin; inscription "1SG US ARMY / SSG US ARMY / PVT1 US ARMY VIETNAM." https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/217006791/melvin-c-riley
[^53]: Schnabel, Jim. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Psi." *The Independent on Sunday* (London), August 27, 1995, The Sunday Review, pp. 10-13, as transcribed in the FBIS wire "UK: U.S. Use of 'Psychic Spies' Reported," August 27, 1995, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5, PDF p. 10. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030073-5.pdf
[^54]: Schnabel, Jim. *Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America's Psychic Spies.* Dell, 1997, Epilogue.
[^55]: May, Edwin C., memorandum "Publicity and things," The Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, Palo Alto, September 21, 1995, p. 2, CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030077-1. https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00791R000100030077-1.pdf

14
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Michael Riconosciuto.md
View file

@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ The 1993 report of Judge [[Nicholas J. Bua]] for the Department of Justice descr
In March 1991, Riconosciuto provided an affidavit to [[Bill Hamilton]] and [[Nancy Hamilton]], owners of [[INSLAW]], detailing his role in modifying PROMIS and alleging that Peter Videnieks attempted to dissuade him from cooperating with a [[United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] investigation into the software's theft. Eight days after signing this affidavit, Riconosciuto was arrested for allegedly operating a methamphetamine lab in Tacoma, Washington. He claimed this arrest was a deliberate attempt to discredit his testimony. The Special Counsel's investigation, however, found no connection between Riconosciuto's prosecution and his allegations in the Inslaw matter, concluding that the drug case began as a local investigation and the evidence against him was overwhelming.[^1][^7]
The House Judiciary Committee report recorded that in his March 21, 1991 affidavit Riconosciuto stated that in February 1991 Peter Videnieks told him in a telephone conversation that it would be beneficial for him to refuse a committee request for an interview. On April 4, 1991 Riconosciuto gave the committee investigators a sworn statement connecting his work on PROMIS to Earl Brian and Videnieks, and said that he had two copies of the tape of the February 1991 conversation at the time of his arrest and that the tapes were in the possession of the DEA agents who arrested him.[^10] The report stated that he said that during a luncheon attended by Brian, Videnieks, James Hughes and himself, the enhanced PROMIS software was loaded into his car.[^11] The committee wrote that the timing of the March 29, 1991 arrest, coupled with Riconosciuto's allegation that tapes of a telephone conversation with Videnieks had been confiscated by DEA agents, "raises serious questions concerning whether the Department's prosecution of Mr. Riconosciuto was related to his cooperation with the committee," and that the Department refused the committee access to its investigative files on him.[^12]
In his January 1992 trial testimony in Tacoma, Riconosciuto said he received a message from someone named Peter telling him to be at a restaurant wearing a yellow shirt, that a man he recognized as "Norm" and others there placed a call and handed him the phone, and that one of them said "It's no wonder, this is Videnieks." He testified that Videnieks told him he "was making some people nervous" and that there might be problems for him in connection with a savings and loan matter. Asked on direct examination how many times he had met Videnieks he answered "At least a dozen occasions," and that the first place was "In Indio, California."[^13]
### Connections and Allegations
Riconosciuto's network of connections and the scope of his alleged activities are extensive. He was closely associated with [[Robert Booth Nichols]], a key figure in [[Danny Casolaro]]'s "[[The Octopus]]" investigation. They were partners in Meridian Arms, a subsidiary of Meridian International Logistics (MIL), and Riconosciuto was a technical advisor for [[First Intercontinental Development Corporation|FIDCO]], where Nichols was on the Board of Directors. Riconosciuto claimed Nichols was involved in large-scale illegal drug operations and money laundering, and that Nichols attempted to pressure him into illegal activities.[^1]
@ -47,7 +51,7 @@ Beyond PROMIS, Riconosciuto was involved in advanced technological projects, inc
### 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."[^10] In the same passage the speaker says that nearly everyone in Aquino's group was psy-ops or intelligence related.[^10] 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.[^11]
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."[^14] In the same passage the speaker says that nearly everyone in Aquino's group was psy-ops or intelligence related.[^14] 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.[^15]
### Legal Troubles and Witness Protection Attempts
@ -68,5 +72,9 @@ Danny Casolaro began interviewing Riconosciuto prior to his arrest in March 1991
[^7]: 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.
[^8]: John Connolly, "Inside the Shadow CIA," *Spy,* September 1992, pp. 46-54. The bracketed description of Ammarell is the magazine's. https://www.prop1.org/legal/prisons/92wack.htm
[^9]: 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.
[^10]: 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. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
[^11]: Letter over the name of Arthur Welmas, headed "CABAZON INDIAN SECURITY /WSI JOINT VENTURE," Indio, California, dated "May 1" (year not printed), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
[^10]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 51. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^11]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 52 n. 131. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^12]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, pp. 100-101. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^13]: 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, pp. 48, 53 (summarizing the trial testimony). https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^14]: 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. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
[^15]: Letter over the name of Arthur Welmas, headed "CABAZON INDIAN SECURITY /WSI JOINT VENTURE," Indio, California, dated "May 1" (year not printed), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks

22
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Moises Nunez.md
View file

@ -10,6 +10,18 @@ tags:
- Contra_War
summary: Moises Nunez was a Cuban CIA agent who managed Frigorificos de Puntarenas while simultaneously dealing drugs and running covert maritime operations against the Sandinistas.
location: "Cuba"
relations:
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Iran-Contra Affair]]"
role: "Recorded by the CIA Inspector General as describing a clandestine relationship with the NSC from 1985"
start: 1985
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Iran-Contra Affair]]"
role: "Named in the Senate subcommittee report as participating in Contra military assistance operations in 1984 and 1985"
start: 1984
end: 1985
fn: 3
---
Moises Núñez was a [[Cuba|Cuban]] [[Central Intelligence Agency]] agent and [[Bay of Pigs]] veteran who managed [[Frigorificos de Puntarenas]] in Costa Rica, the drug-front shrimp company hired by the U.S. State Department to distribute "humanitarian" aid to the Contras. CIA operative [[John Hull]] confirmed Núñez was working with the agency as an intelligence source, and a 1988 UPI story identified him as an Agency officer based on accounts from two senior Costa Rican government officials, a U.S. intelligence source, and American law enforcement authorities.[^1]
@ -19,10 +31,18 @@ In addition to distributing State Department money, Núñez permitted Frigorific
### Drug Trafficking and Cover-Up
In March 1987, the CIA interrogated Núñez about allegations of drug dealing through Frigorificos. A DEA seizure had already confirmed that Núñez's partners shipped a 414-pound cocaine load to Miami in January 1986 amid crates of yucca. Núñez "revealed that since 1985, he had engaged in a clandestine relationship with the National Security Council" and refused to elaborate because of "the specific tasks he had performed at the direction of the NSC." CIA headquarters immediately halted the questioning. [[Alan Fiers]] confirmed the shutdown was "because of the NSC connection."[^1]
In March 1987, the CIA interrogated Núñez about allegations of drug dealing through Frigorificos. A DEA seizure had already confirmed that Núñez's partners shipped a 414-pound cocaine load to Miami in January 1986 amid crates of yucca. Webb's text adds that Núñez refused to elaborate because of "the specific tasks he had performed at the direction of the NSC."[^1]
The CIA Inspector General's report, in its section headed "Moises Nunez," records that on March 25, 1987 the CIA questioned him about narcotics trafficking allegations and that he "revealed that since 1985, he had engaged in a clandestine relationship with the National Security Council (NSC)." He refused to identify the NSC officials involved. A headquarters cable of April 1987 first said a decision had been made to debrief him; the next day a cable stated "Headquarters has decided against . . . debriefing Nunez."[^2] The CIA officer Louis Dupart told the Inspector General the Agency position was to turn the matter over to others because "it had nothing to do with the Agency, but with the National Security Council." [[Alan Fiers]] wrote to the Inspector General that "because of the NSC connection" a decision was made not to pursue the matter but "to turn it over to Judge Walsh."[^2] CIA officials briefed Senators Rudman and Cohen on April 10, 1987, and the senators asked that Senate committee staff interview Nunez. The report states that an interview in San Jose in September 1987 indicated that Nunez denied any relationship with the NSC or with anyone doing work for it.[^2]
The Senate subcommittee report, chaired by [[John Kerry]], names a Moises Nunez who with Frank Chanes participated in Contra military assistance operations in 1984 and 1985, and says he was employed by Frigorificos de Puntarenas, which the report describes as a drug money laundering front, and by Glenn Robinette on behalf of the Second-North Enterprise. It reports that former CIA Costa Rica chief of station Thomas Castillo told the Iran-Contra committees that Nunez was involved in "a very sensitive operation" for the Enterprise.[^3]
Webb's text also names a Bay of Pigs veteran, [[Dagoberto Nunez]], who appears in Rob Owen's memoranda to North on shrimping ventures in Costa Rica. Whether Dagoberto Nunez and Moises Nunez are one person is not stated in the Inspector General's report, the Senate report or Webb's text.
For years afterward, the CIA shielded Núñez from criminal investigations, telling U.S. Customs and the [[DEA]] it had no information about his trafficking activities. The CIA's Directorate of Operations lied even to the Agency's own lawyers, denying knowledge of Núñez's shrimp company despite ample information in its files. A 1989 [[Costa Rica|Costa Rican]] prosecutor's report noted that Núñez carried credentials from the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Safety's Department of Narcotics, provided funds and vehicles for antidrug operations, and went out on raids - though he blew a four-month investigation of a Colombian drug ring by making a "premature" arrest.[^1]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 12: "This guy talks to God"
[^2]: CIA Office of Inspector General, Report of Investigation (unclassified January 29, 1998), paras. 490 to 495. https://archive.org/details/cia-readingroom-document-06974497
[^3]: U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics and International Operations, Drugs, Law Enforcement and Foreign Policy, S. Prt. 100-165 (December 1988), text at notes 140 and 141. https://archive.org/details/Kerry-Report-Drugs-Contras

145
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Prasan Nepal.md
View file

@ -6,23 +6,154 @@ tags:
- ChildExploitation
- NVE
- FederalCase
- GuiltyPlea
- NorthCarolina
- USA
aliases:
- Prasan Nepal
- Trippy
- Leather Jacket
- Rebirth
- KingKrampus
- Indras Jester
created: 2026-05-21
updated: 2026-05-21
summary: "Prasan Nepal (alias 'Trippy') co-led the 764 Inferno child exploitation enterprise with Leonidas Varagiannis, arrested in High Point, North Carolina in April 2025 and charged in D.C. with CSAM production and related offenses."
updated: 2026-10-09
summary: "Prasan Nepal (alias 'Trippy') pleaded guilty October 8, 2026 in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child, after charges that he co-led 764 Inferno with Leonidas Varagiannis."
born: 2005
location: "High Point, North Carolina"
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[764 Network]]"
role: "leader (alleged)"
start: 2021-08
end: 2025-04
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[764 Inferno]]"
role: "co-leader and administrator of the channel (alleged)"
start: 2024-01
end: 2025-03
fn: 9
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Leonidas Varagiannis]]"
role: "co-leader of 764 Inferno and co-defendant (alleged)"
start: 2024-01
end: 2025-03
fn: 9
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Bradley Chance Cadenhead]]"
role: "discussed founding 764 together in July 2021 (affidavit's 'Individual 1'; CBC News names Cadenhead as 764's founder and Nepal as his successor)"
start: 2021-07
end: 2021-08
fn: 13
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[U.S. Department of Justice]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-04-15
fn: 5
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Justin Sher]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-04-30
fn: 1
- type: investigated
with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-04-15
fn: 2
- type: represented
with: "[[Paulette Pagan]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-05-01
end: 2026-03-30
fn: 12
- type: represented
with: "[[David Benowitz]]"
reverse: true
start: 2026-03-30
fn: 12
---
[[Prasan Nepal]], known online as "Trippy," (born approximately 2005, [[High Point, North Carolina]]) co-led [[764 Inferno]] alongside [[Leonidas Varagiannis]] ("War"), directing the subgroup's child exploitation enterprise against minor victims across multiple jurisdictions. Nepal was arrested in High Point on April 22, 2025, eight days before the [[U.S. Department of Justice|DOJ]] announced charges against both defendants on April 30, 2025 in the [[District of Columbia]]. The charges include production and distribution of [[CSAM]], coercion and enticement of minors, extortion, and conspiracy to operate a child exploitation enterprise. He faces a potential life sentence in federal prison. He was also named as a co-conspirator in the October 2025 federal indictment against [[Baron Cain Martin]] in the District of Arizona.[^1]
[[Prasan Nepal]], known online as "Trippy," (born approximately 2005, [[High Point, North Carolina]]) pleaded guilty on October 8, 2026 in the [[U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia]] to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child, according to a [[U.S. Department of Justice|Justice Department]] release.[^1] He was charged by sealed complaint in April 2025 and indicted in September 2025 as a leader of [[764 Inferno]], the inner cell of the [[764 Network]]. The charging documents allege that he co-led the cell with [[Leonidas Varagiannis]] ("War") and directed its exploitation of minors. The allegations below are attributed to those documents.
### 764 Inferno Operations
### Arrest and complaint
Nepal and Varagiannis co-led 764 Inferno's operations using [[The Com]] ecosystem's coercive methods: grooming vulnerable young people through encrypted applications, coercing victims into producing explicit and degrading material through psychological manipulation and threats, ordering self-harm documentation ("cut signs" and "blood signs" - photographs of victims cutting symbols into their own skin), and building "Lorebooks" - curated collections of victim abuse content that functioned as internal currency and status markers within the [[764 Network]]. DOJ documents confirmed at least 8 minor victims, some as young as 13, across multiple jurisdictions.
On April 15, 2025, Magistrate Judge [[Zia M. Faruqui]] signed a sealed criminal complaint charging Nepal and Varagiannis with engaging in a child exploitation enterprise under [[18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g)]].[^2][^3] The affidavit was sworn by [[Andrew Rust]], a Special Agent of the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] Washington Field Office assigned to counterterrorism and [[Nihilistic Violent Extremism]] investigations.[^2] Nepal was arrested in High Point, North Carolina, on April 22, 2025, eight days before the announcement.[^3][^4]
As a U.S. resident arrested in [[North Carolina]], Nepal faces direct federal prosecution in the District of Columbia with no extradition complications, in contrast to Varagiannis, who was contesting extradition from Greece before the Greek Court of Appeals as of mid-2025.[^1]
The complaint was unsealed on April 30, 2025, on an order of Magistrate Judge [[Moxila A. Upadhyaya]], when the Justice Department announced charges against both men. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney [[Edward R. Martin Jr.]], Attorney General [[Pamela Bondi]], and FBI officials in Washington and New York.[^3][^5] Varagiannis was arrested in [[Greece]] the previous day.[^5]
The docket records Rule 5(c)(3) documents received from the [[Middle District of North Carolina]], under case 1:25-mj-00151, on May 12, 2025, and a protective order governing discovery entered the same day by Magistrate Judge [[G. Michael Harvey]].[^3] Paulette Pagan appeared as defense counsel on May 1, 2025.[^3] On May 21, 2025, Nepal had his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge [[Matthew J. Sharbaugh]] in Washington; the government's oral motion for a speedy trial was granted, time was excluded through July 21, 2025, and the minute entry records that he was committed.[^6] A [[WGHP]] report published April 30, 2025 said he was held in the [[Guilford County]] jail on a federal hold and that court filings showed he had a public defender.[^4] At the July 21, 2025 status hearing, the minute entry records that Nepal "had a detention hearing in the arresting jurisdiction and waived the right to challenge that finding with the District Judge."[^7]
### Charges and indictment
The complaint charged one count, under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g). Its affidavit describes conduct from January 2024 through March 2025 and lists as predicate offenses attempted sexual exploitation of a child under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a), coercion and enticement of a minor and conspiracy to commit it under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), and conspiracy to distribute or receive child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2).[^2] At the 2025 announcement, the Justice Department said the defendants faced a maximum penalty of life in prison.[^5]
A grand jury returned a one-count indictment against Nepal and Varagiannis on September 26, 2025, docketed as No. 1:25-cr-00304 and assigned to Judge [[Reggie B. Walton]].[^8] Count One charges a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g) and carries a forfeiture allegation.[^9] The indictment alleges that the enterprise ran from a date before 2021 through about April 29, 2025.[^9] It lists the monikers of 22 alleged co-conspirators and designates nine minor victims by number.[^9] Nepal pleaded not guilty to Count One at his arraignment before Judge Walton on October 3, 2025, and remained committed.[^10] The case was continued for status conferences on repeated defense motions and excluded-time orders through 2025 and 2026, with Nepal's written waivers of speedy trial rights docketed on December 10, 2025 and March 6, 2026.[^11]
The Justice Department names [[Justin Sher]] and [[James Donnelly]], trial attorneys in the [[National Security Division]]'s Counterterrorism Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys [[Karen Shinskie]] and [[Janani Iyengar]] for the District of Columbia, as prosecutors in the October 2026 release.[^1] On March 30, 2026, Judge Walton granted the substitution of David Benowitz for Pagan as counsel, and Benowitz appeared May 18, 2026.[^12]
### Monikers and role in 764 Inferno
The affidavit places Nepal in 764 from its inception in late 2020 or early 2021. It states that after the August 25, 2021 arrest of an individual it calls "Individual 1," Nepal emerged as a leader and remained in that position.[^2] [[CBC]] News reported that Nepal had been involved in 764 since its inception in 2020 and emerged as its leader in August 2021 after the founder, [[Bradley Chance Cadenhead]], was arrested by the FBI, and that Cadenhead is serving an 80-year sentence.[^13] The affidavit cites July 2021 iMessages between Individual 1 and Nepal in which the two discuss founding 764 together.[^2] The 2026 release says Nepal joined 764 in or around early 2021 and worked with others, including Individual 1, to establish the group.[^1]
The affidavit says Nepal used the monikers "Leather Jacket," "Rebirth" and "KingKrampus," and was best known in 764 Inferno as "Trippy." The 2026 release adds "Indras Jester."[^1][^2]
Nepal and Varagiannis ran 764 Inferno's operations within [[The Com]] ecosystem. 764 Inferno is described as a channel on an encrypted messaging application, access to which was reserved for an inner core of members invited by the leaders. The affidavit states that Nepal and Varagiannis controlled recruitment and performed the roles of owner or administrator.[^2] The indictment states that Nepal and Varagiannis, with a co-conspirator known as "Fail," controlled recruitment to 764, decided which admitted members entered 764 Inferno or were excluded, decided who was promoted, required members to keep producing and posting content to remain, and regularly monitored the channel's activity.[^9] It alleges that prospective members were required to produce and share content, some of it depicting minors in sexual conduct or self-harm.[^2][^9]
### Allegations in the charging documents
The affidavit alleges the following conduct by Nepal:
- In July 2019, messages allegedly sent on [[Snapchat]] offering to send child sexual abuse material ([[CSAM]]).[^2]
- On May 27, 2024, step-by-step instructions for grooming and extorting a potential victim, which the affidavit quotes.[^2]
- On June 25, 2024, telling a co-conspirator that prospective recruits would not be taken in "unless they do some crazy shit."[^2]
- On July 22, 2024, asking a co-conspirator whether he was going to "beat some ass" and instructing him to use a weapon.[^2]
- On September 30, 2024, stating "we're not anti-extortion" and that he preferred extortion to continue.[^2]
The indictment repeats the June 25, 2024 exchange, in which Nepal asked a co-conspirator who he wanted recruited and then declined to recruit the named candidates on that standard.[^14] It alleges that on September 30, 2024, Nepal wrote in 764 Inferno a statement defending extortion of girls as a form of discipline, and that on October 4, 2024 he answered a member's post by telling him that an image and the girl's school could be used to blackmail her by threatening to show the image to her family and friends.[^14] It further alleges that Nepal was active in 764 Inferno on June 14, 2024 (posting five minutes before and seventeen minutes after a co-conspirator posted a link to a compilation of material depicting a minor), on June 18, 2024 (when he also discussed with "Fail" removing members from the channel for arguing), and on August 29, 2024, when co-conspirators posted similar compilations.[^15] The indictment defines "Lorebooks" as compilations edited from material obtained from victims by blackmail and coercion, shared on social media platforms and stored in online "vaults" kept by designated members in case other members were arrested, and states that Lorebooks containing child pornography served as currency within 764.[^16]
The affidavit also alleges that Nepal and Varagiannis, with two co-conspirators, wrote a guide for prospective members on grooming and extortion, and that Varagiannis posted it in a public 764 channel on September 13, 2024.[^2] The guide told recruits to target vulnerable people, such as those with depression or mental illness, whom it called "e-girls."[^2][^9] The Justice Department says the defendants used the material they obtained to create [[Lorebook|Lorebooks]], which served as digital currency within the network, and that they instructed other members in grooming tactics and set content production expectations for new recruits.[^5] The release says the group's content included "cut signs" and "blood signs," through which young girls would cut symbols into their bodies, and that victims were coerced into producing degrading and explicit content through manipulation and threats.[^5]
### Plea and sentencing
On October 6, 2026, the government filed a one-count information against Nepal alone, dated October 5, 2026 and signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen L. Shinskie. It charges that from a date before January 1, 2021 through about April 29, 2025, Nepal conspired with Varagiannis and others to employ, use, persuade, induce, entice and coerce a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e), with a forfeiture allegation.[^17] The docket for October 8, 2026 records a plea agreement, a statement of offense, a waiver of indictment and a waiver of jury trial, and a minute entry for arraignment and plea agreement hearing with the case referred for a presentence report.[^18]
The release says Nepal pleaded guilty before Judge Walton on October 8, 2026 to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child, that he faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison, and that sentencing is set for March 5, 2027.[^1][^19] FBI Director [[Kash Patel]] called the plea "the latest victory in the FBI's work with partners to dismantle the violent 764 network."[^1] Assistant Attorney General [[John A. Eisenberg]] said that Nepal "treated the suffering of the group's victims as currency to be traded among his co-conspirators."[^1] [[CyberScoop]] reported that the indictment accused the two defendants of exploiting at least eight minor victims, some as young as 13, across multiple jurisdictions.[^20]
### Varagiannis and the Greek proceedings
Greek police arrested Varagiannis in [[Thessaloniki]] on April 29, 2025, on a U.S. request, and an appellate prosecutor there took his first appearance on April 30; [[Euronews]] reported in May 2025 that he denied the charges and opposed extradition to the United States.[^21][^22][^23] On July 9, 2025, the [[Associated Press]] reported from Thessaloniki that a court had rejected the extradition request because he had applied for, and was eligible to receive, Greek citizenship.[^24] On October 17, 2025, [[To Vima]] reported the Greek arrest of an unnamed 21-year-old Greek-American man in Thessaloniki on felony charges of participating in a U.S.-based criminal organization that trafficked child pornography, and described him as the person arrested the previous April on the U.S. request whose extradition an appellate council had rejected because of dual citizenship.[^25] The October 2026 release states that Varagiannis is held at [[Grevena Prison]] in northern Greece and is expected to be tried there within six months on charges related to child pornography and participation in a criminal organization.[^1] As a U.S. resident arrested in North Carolina, Nepal faced direct federal prosecution in the District of Columbia without extradition proceedings, in contrast to Varagiannis.[^5]
### Related federal case
The superseding indictment against [[Baron Cain Martin]] in the [[District of Arizona]] (No. 4:25-cr-00190), filed October 29, 2025 in a version redacted for public disclosure, refers to his co-conspirators as "conspirators," "coconspirators," "Conspirator 1" and "others, known and unknown." The unredacted version was filed under seal.[^26] The Justice Department's October 31, 2025 release describes Martin as having conspired "with others."[^27]
### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-DC. "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise." April 30, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise; Carolina Journal. "High Point man charged with operating international child exploitation network." April 2025. https://www.carolinajournal.com/high-point-man-charged-with-operating-international-child-exploitation-network/
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. "Leader of Global Violent Extremist Network '764' Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Sexually Exploit Minors." Press Release 26-1164, October 9, 2026 (reporting a plea "yesterday"). https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-global-violent-extremist-network-764-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-sexually-exploit-minors
[^2]: United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-mj-00061-ZMF (D.D.C.), Criminal Complaint and Affidavit in Support of Arrest Warrant of FBI Special Agent Andrew Rust, sworn April 15, 2025 (affidavit paragraphs 1 through 29; footnote 3 for the iMessages). https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/media/1398431/dl
[^3]: CourtListener RECAP docket for United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), entries carried over from No. 1:25-mj-00061-ZMF: sealed complaint and sealing order (April 15, 2025), arrest warrant returned executed (April 22, 2025), motion to unseal (April 29, 2025) and order (April 30, 2025), notice of appearance of Paulette Pagan (May 1, 2025), Rule 5(c)(3) documents from No. 1:25-mj-00151 (M.D.N.C.) and protective order (May 12, 2025). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^4]: WGHP, "High Point man arrested as part of international child exploitation ring '764,' DOJ says," April 30, 2025, syndicated on Yahoo News. https://www.yahoo.com/news/high-point-man-arrested-part-174645212.html ; Carolina Journal, "High Point man charged with operating international child exploitation network," May 1, 2025. https://www.carolinajournal.com/high-point-man-charged-with-operating-international-child-exploitation-network/
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-DC. "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise." April 30, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise
[^6]: United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), docket, minute entry for the proceeding of May 21, 2025 before Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh (return on arrest warrant and initial appearance; speedy trial excluded May 21 to July 21, 2025; committed). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^7]: United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), docket, minute entry for the status hearing of July 21, 2025 before Magistrate Judge Sharbaugh (detention hearing held in the arresting jurisdiction; challenge waived; speedy trial excluded July 21 to September 16, 2025). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^8]: United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), docket entry 19 (indictment as to Nepal and Varagiannis, count 1, forfeiture allegation; dated September 26, 2025, entered September 29, 2025) and entry 21 (general order of Judge Walton, September 30, 2025). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^9]: Indictment, United States v. Nepal and Varagiannis, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), Doc. 19, filed September 26, 2025, paragraphs 9 to 17, 32 to 52 and Count One. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^10]: United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), docket, minute entry for the arraignment of October 3, 2025 before Judge Walton (plea of not guilty to Count 1; committed) and order of October 3, 2025 (entry 22). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^11]: United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), docket entries 22, 25, 27 to 31, 35, 37 to 40 and 42 (orders continuing status conferences and excluding time, November 2025 through September 2026; notices of waiver of speedy trial rights, entries 28 and 30). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^12]: United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), docket entries 32 (motion to substitute attorney, March 26, 2026), 33 (order of March 30, 2026 terminating the appearance of Paulette M. Pagan and substituting David Benowitz) and 34 (notice of appearance of David Barry Benowitz, May 18, 2026). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^13]: CBC News (The Fifth Estate), "Alleged leaders of child exploitation cult known as 764 arrested, charged," May 1, 2025. https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7524177
[^14]: Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 19 and 25. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^15]: Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 34, 42 and 44. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^16]: Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 29 and 30. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^17]: Information, United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), Doc. 43, dated October 5, 2026, docketed October 6, 2026. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285419/gov.uscourts.dcd.285419.43.0_1.pdf
[^18]: United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), docket entries 45 (plea agreement), 46 (statement of offense), 47 (waiver of indictment) and 48 (waiver of trial by jury), and the minute entry of October 8, 2026 (arraignment and plea agreement hearing; plea entered; referred for presentence report). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^19]: 7News (CBS12), "Leader of violent extremist network '764' pleads guilty in DC child exploitation case," October 8, 2026 (plea entered Thursday before Judge Walton). https://cbs12.com/news/nation-world/leader-764-violent-extremist-network-guilty-dc-child-exploitation-federal-minors-prosecutors-north-carolina-prasan-nepal-high-point-trippy-prison-cruelty-violence-children-minors-game-domination-control-varagiannis-war-washington-district-of-columbia
[^20]: CyberScoop, "Leader of 764 pleads guilty, faces up to 30 years in prison," October 8, 2026. https://cyberscoop.com/764-leader-prasan-nepal-guilty/
[^21]: Protothema, "Συνελήφθη στη Θεσσαλονίκη μέλος της οργάνωσης «764» για υποθέσεις παιδικής πορνογραφίας" (report of the Greek police statement), April 30, 2025. https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/1632347/sunelifthi-sti-thessaloniki-melos-tis-organosis-764-gia-upotheseis-paidikis-pornografias-ton-anazitouse-i-interpol/
[^22]: Associated Press, "US citizen wanted in 'nihilistic' child sexual exploitation case arrested in Greece," April 30, 2025. https://www.aol.com/news/us-citizen-wanted-nihilistic-child-153301955.html
[^23]: Euronews, "US citizen faces extradition from Greece for alleged role in online child exploitation ring," May 1, 2025. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/01/us-citizen-faces-extradition-from-greece-for-alleged-role-in-online-child-exploitation-rin
[^24]: Associated Press, "Greek court rejects extradition request for US national accused of running child exploitation site," July 9, 2025. https://mynorthwest.com/world/greek-court-rejects-extradition-request-for-us-national-accused-of-running-child-exploitation-site/4108364
[^25]: To Vima, "2 Suspects Arrested in Thessaloniki in Int'l Child Porn Investigation," October 17, 2025. https://www.tovima.com/society/2-suspects-arrested-in-thessaloniki-in-intl-child-porn-investigation/
[^26]: Superseding Indictment (Redacted for Public Disclosure), United States v. Martin, No. 4:25-cr-00190 (D. Ariz.), Doc. 53, filed October 29, 2025; sealed unredacted version, Doc. 54. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.azd.1421217/gov.uscourts.azd.1421217.53.0_1.pdf
[^27]: U.S. Department of Justice, OPA. "Arizona Leader of Violent Extremist Network '764' Charged with Running a Child Exploitation Enterprise, Supporting Terrorists, Producing and Distributing Child Pornography, and Other Crimes." October 31, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/arizona-leader-violent-extremist-network-764-charged-running-child-exploitation-enterprise

2
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Robert Owen.md
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@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ In 1985, Owen reported to North that a DC-6 owned by Mario Calero (brother of [[
### Nunez and H&M Corp
A 1986 memo from Owen to North described [[Moises Nunez|Dagoberto Núñez]]'s plan to sign an agreement with Heroes and Martyrs Trading Corporation (H&M Corp.), the official import-export agency of the Sandinista government, for shrimping rights off the Pacific Coast of [[Nicaragua]]. Núñez was a Costa Rican-based drug trafficker working for North and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. "Nunez is doing this so he can help us. He will cooperate and do anything we ask," Owen told North. "He believes this will provide an opportunity to use his boats for cover operations, or to implicate the Ortegas and Borge in taking money on the side for their own pocket. He is right on both counts."[^2]
A 1986 memo from Owen to North described [[Dagoberto Nunez|Dagoberto Núñez]]'s plan to sign an agreement with Heroes and Martyrs Trading Corporation (H&M Corp.), the official import-export agency of the Sandinista government, for shrimping rights off the Pacific Coast of [[Nicaragua]]. Núñez was a Costa Rican-based drug trafficker working for North and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. "Nunez is doing this so he can help us. He will cooperate and do anything we ask," Owen told North. "He believes this will provide an opportunity to use his boats for cover operations, or to implicate the Ortegas and Borge in taking money on the side for their own pocket. He is right on both counts."[^2]
### The Kelso Affair

24
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Rockefeller family.md
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@ -30,7 +30,12 @@ relations:
- type: owned
with: "[[Chase Manhattan Bank]]"
role: "family control of Chase National from the 1920s"
fn: 4
fn: 5
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Operations Coordinating Board]]"
role: "Nelson Rockefeller, chairman of the Planning Coordination Group, a grouping of OCB members"
start: 1955-03-10
fn: 8
created: 2026-09-22
updated: 2026-09-22
---
@ -39,21 +44,22 @@ The Rockefeller family's fortune came from [[Standard Oil]]. In 1870 [[John D. R
### The Five Brothers
[[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller had five sons, John D. III, [[Nelson Rockefeller]], [[Laurance Rockefeller]], Winthrop and [[David Rockefeller]], who in 1940 set up the [[Rockefeller Brothers Fund]] to coordinate their giving.[^3][^5] The family had controlled the Chase National Bank since the 1920s; merged with the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955 as [[Chase Manhattan Bank]], it was run by David, president from 1961 and chairman from 1969 to 1981.[^4]
[[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller had five sons, John D. III, [[Nelson Rockefeller]], [[Laurance Rockefeller]], Winthrop and [[David Rockefeller]], who in 1940 set up the [[Rockefeller Brothers Fund]] to coordinate their giving.[^3][^4] The family had controlled the Chase National Bank since the 1920s; merged with the Bank of the Manhattan Company in 1955 as [[Chase Manhattan Bank]], it was run by David, president from 1961 and chairman from 1969 to 1981.[^5]
Nelson, a director of Standard Oil of New Jersey's Venezuelan subsidiary, Creole Petroleum, in the 1930s, was named on August 16, 1940, to head the office that became the [[CIAA|Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs]], which subsidized 1,200 Latin American newspaper publishers dependent on its newsprint shipments.[^5][^6] After the war he set up two private development companies, the [[IBEC|International Basic Economy Corporation]] and the [[AIA|American International Association]].[^5] In 1955, as special assistant to President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], he chaired the Planning Coordination Group, set up within the framework of [[National Security Council|NSC]] 5412, which governed covert operations; its members were the under secretary of state, the deputy secretary of defense and the director of central intelligence.[^7] The Brothers Fund's Special Studies Project of 1956 to 1961, which Nelson convened, had [[Henry A. Kissinger|Henry Kissinger]] as its director, and Nelson kept him on afterward as his foreign policy consultant; Laurance sat on Kissinger's panel.[^3][^8] As vice president, Nelson chaired the [[Rockefeller Commission 1975|commission]] that [[Gerald Ford]] set up on January 4, 1975, to investigate the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]'s domestic activities.[^9]
Nelson, a director of Standard Oil of New Jersey's Venezuelan subsidiary, Creole Petroleum, in the 1930s, was named on August 16, 1940, to head the office that became the [[CIAA|Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs]], which subsidized 1,200 Latin American newspaper publishers dependent on its newsprint shipments.[^4][^6] After the war he set up two private development companies, the [[IBEC|International Basic Economy Corporation]] and the [[AIA|American International Association]].[^4] In 1955, as special assistant to President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], he chaired the Planning Coordination Group, set up in March 1955 within the [[Operations Coordinating Board]] to cover overt and covert action; its members were the under secretary of state, the deputy secretary of defense and the director of central intelligence.[^7] The Bureau of the Budget had proposed it as "a special grouping of OCB members chaired by Mr. Rockefeller," and Rockefeller was designated its chairman on March 10, 1955. The group was a grouping of OCB members, distinct from the Special Group of [[National Security Council|NSC]] 5412.[^8] The Brothers Fund's Special Studies Project of 1956 to 1961, which Nelson convened, had [[Henry A. Kissinger|Henry Kissinger]] as its director, and Nelson kept him on afterward as his foreign policy consultant; Laurance sat on Kissinger's panel.[^3][^9] As vice president, Nelson chaired the [[Rockefeller Commission 1975|commission]] that [[Gerald Ford]] set up on January 4, 1975, to investigate the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]'s domestic activities.[^10]
The Foundation paid for the founding in 1943 of the [[Allan Memorial Institute]] in Montreal, where [[D. Ewen Cameron]] later conducted the depatterning experiments funded under [[Project MKUltra|MKULTRA]].[^10] David founded the Council of the Americas in 1963 and in 1973, with [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]], the [[Trilateral Commission]].[^5]
The Foundation paid for the founding in 1943 of the [[Allan Memorial Institute]] in Montreal, where [[D. Ewen Cameron]] later conducted the depatterning experiments funded under [[Project MKUltra|MKULTRA]].[^11] David founded the Council of the Americas in 1963 and in 1973, with [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]], the [[Trilateral Commission]].[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: ExxonMobil, "Our History," corporate history timeline, entries for 1870, 1882 and the 1911 dissolution. https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/company/who-we-are/our-history
[^2]: Colby, Gerard, and Charlotte Dennett. *Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon.* HarperCollins, 1995, chs. 2-3.
[^3]: Colby and Dennett, ch. 25, as cited on the Rockefeller Brothers Fund page.
[^4]: Colby and Dennett, ch. 13, as cited on the Chase Manhattan Bank page.
[^5]: Colby and Dennett, chs. 1, 5, 8, 13, as cited on the Nelson Rockefeller and David Rockefeller pages.
[^4]: Colby and Dennett, chs. 1, 5, 8, 13, as cited on the Nelson Rockefeller and David Rockefeller pages.
[^5]: Colby and Dennett, ch. 13, as cited on the Chase Manhattan Bank page.
[^6]: Council of National Defense order establishing the Office for Coordination of Commercial and Cultural Relations Between the American Republics, August 16, 1940; Executive Order 8840, July 30, 1941.
[^7]: Hughes, Rowland, memorandum to the President, March 3, 1955, *Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950-1955, The Intelligence Community,* doc. 210.
[^8]: Colby and Dennett, Introduction (2017) and ch. 23, as cited on the Henry A. Kissinger page.
[^9]: Executive Order 11828, January 4, 1975.
[^10]: Marks, John. *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control.* Times Books, 1979, ch. 8.
[^8]: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950-1955, Intelligence Community, doc. 210, Bureau of the Budget memorandum to President Eisenhower, with the annotation on the March 10, 1955 designation. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1950-55Intel/d210
[^9]: Colby and Dennett, Introduction (2017) and ch. 23, as cited on the Henry A. Kissinger page.
[^10]: Executive Order 11828, January 4, 1975.
[^11]: Marks, John. *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate: The CIA and Mind Control.* Times Books, 1979, ch. 8.

91
10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Ronald Reagan.md
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@ -34,100 +34,123 @@ relations:
- type: appointed
with: "[[William J. Casey]]"
role: "campaign manager in 1980, then Director of Central Intelligence"
fn: 3
fn: 6
- type: appointed
with: "[[Edwin Meese]]"
role: "Counselor to the President, later Attorney General; supervised the White House task force chaired by Earl Brian"
fn: 11
fn: 14
- type: appointed
with: "[[William French Smith]]"
role: "Attorney General who signed the February 11, 1982 memorandum of understanding with the CIA"
fn: 6
fn: 9
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Iran-Contra Affair]]"
start: 1985
end: 1986-11
role: "approved the 1985 Israeli arms shipments to Iran, signed the December 5, 1985 retroactive finding and the January 17, 1986 finding, and directed that Congress not be notified"
fn: 8
fn: 11
- type: investigated
with: "[[Lawrence Walsh]]"
reverse: true
role: "Independent Counsel concluded his conduct fell well short of prosecutable criminality; sworn interrogatory answers and July 1992 deposition"
fn: 8
fn: 11
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Music Corporation of America]]"
role: "television and Las Vegas work after his film career declined, per Moldea"
fn: 2
- type: subject_of
with: "[[October Surprise]]"
start: 1980-07
end: 1981-01-20
role: "named beneficiary of the alleged 1980 contacts between his campaign and Iranian representatives; the House Task Force found no credible evidence"
fn: 3
fn: 6
---
Ronald Reagan, born in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911 and died on June 5, 2004, served as the 40th President of the [[United States]] from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989.[^1] Before that he was Governor of [[California]]. The inquiries that touched his campaign, his National Security Council and his Justice Department are summarized below in the order in which they arose.
### Music Corporation of America
Reagan was president of the [[Screen Actors Guild]] for five consecutive one-year terms. Moldea wrote that in 1952, during his fifth term, Reagan engineered a "blanket waiver" exempting [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] from Guild rules that barred a talent agency from also engaging in film production. Reagan's second wife, [[Nancy Reagan|Nancy Davis]], sat on the SAG board at the time. MCA was the only firm granted that status, which gave it the ground floor in television production.[^2]
A Justice Department document quoted by Moldea stated that "Wasserman and Schreiber could sell SAG anything" because of their relationship with Reagan; the document named [[Lew Wasserman]] and [[Taft Schreiber]].[^2]
In 1959 Reagan was re-elected SAG president to lead a strike against the studios, while producing episodes for General Electric Theater. Moldea wrote that MCA and a few smaller studios made an early separate peace with the Guild, and that the 1960 settlement with the major studios was reached with help from [[Sidney Korshak]], according to the president of the IATSE. Reagan resigned midterm soon after the strike.[^2]
Moldea wrote that after his film career declined, MCA gave Reagan jobs in Las Vegas and on television, and that several government sources believed the preferential treatment was a payoff for services rendered while he led the Guild.[^2]
On February 5, 1962 Reagan testified before the federal grand jury in Los Angeles, questioned by the Antitrust Division attorney John Fricano, in the Justice Department's antitrust probe of MCA, whose focus included Reagan's possible role in a suspected conspiracy between MCA and the actors' union. Asked about the 1952 blanket waiver, he answered that "I personally never saw any particular harm in it," and said he did not recall participating in the July 1952 negotiations or the June 1954 extension. Shown Grand Jury Exhibit 41, a June 7, 1954 letter from the Guild's counsel Laurence Beilenson to Lew Wasserman, he answered, "I don't recall it, no." He testified that MCA had represented him since about 1939 or 1940, that Taft Schreiber of Revue approached him about *General Electric Theater*, and that in spring 1959 Wasserman set terms giving him a 25 percent ownership interest in the films. Moldea wrote that Reagan "displayed a remarkable loss of memory while on the witness stand." On February 13, 1962 the Antitrust Division subpoenaed the IRS for the returns of Ronald and Nancy Reagan for 1952 through 1955. Moldea reprinted the transcript in full; a Washington Post article of March 15, 1987 stated the grand jury never charged Reagan.[^3]
Moldea wrote that Reagan later acknowledged the government's action against MCA affected his political beliefs, and that MCA's [[Jules Stein]] and Schreiber were among the guiding forces in shaping his political philosophy. Moldea reported that, according to law-enforcement authorities, several of Reagan's campaign financiers were close friends and associates of Korshak.[^2]
On December 13, 1966, a little over a month after his election as governor, Reagan sold 236 of 290 Malibu Canyon acres to Twentieth Century-Fox for $1,930,000 ($8,178 an acre), in an arrangement Moldea wrote was handled by Stein and Schreiber with legal work by [[William French Smith]]; Moldea wrote that Fox's appraisers had put the land at about $4,000 an acre.[^4]
### Sacramento, October 1970
On a Sunday afternoon in October 1970 [[Pat Boone]], [[Shirley Boone]], [[Harold Bredesen|Harald Bredesen]] and [[George Otis]] visited Governor Reagan and Nancy Reagan at the leased Tudor house in Sacramento, driven from the airport by the governor's legal affairs secretary Herbert E. Ellingwood after a Christian rally. Otis led a prayer; in the account written by the CBN executive Bob Slosser from the participants' recollections, Otis's words changed to a first-person address to Reagan as "My son" and ended: "If you walk uprightly before Me, you will reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." Slosser wrote that Reagan then looked at Otis and said "Well!", and that Otis later said his own hand had shaken during the prayer and that Ellingwood told him Reagan's other hand had shaken similarly; Ellingwood recalled feeling a "bolt of electricity." Otis told Slosser the prophecy was "conditional" and "hinged on Reagan's actions." During the same visit Reagan discussed the fulfilled prophecies concerning the founding of [[Israel]] with Bredesen, who pressed the case for a coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit.[^2]
On a Sunday afternoon in October 1970 [[Pat Boone]], [[Shirley Boone]], [[Harold Bredesen|Harald Bredesen]] and [[George Otis]] visited Governor Reagan and Nancy Reagan at the leased Tudor house in Sacramento, driven from the airport by the governor's legal affairs secretary Herbert E. Ellingwood after a Christian rally. Otis led a prayer; in the account written by the CBN executive Bob Slosser from the participants' recollections, Otis's words changed to a first-person address to Reagan as "My son" and ended: "If you walk uprightly before Me, you will reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue." Slosser wrote that Reagan then looked at Otis and said "Well!", and that Otis later said his own hand had shaken during the prayer and that Ellingwood told him Reagan's other hand had shaken similarly; Ellingwood recalled feeling a "bolt of electricity." Otis told Slosser the prophecy was "conditional" and "hinged on Reagan's actions." During the same visit Reagan discussed the fulfilled prophecies concerning the founding of [[Israel]] with Bredesen, who pressed the case for a coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit.[^5]
### The 1980 campaign and the October Surprise allegations
[[William J. Casey]] managed Reagan's 1980 campaign. [[Gary Sick]], [[Barbara Honegger]], the Hashemi brothers, [[Ari Ben-Menashe]] and others alleged that Casey and other campaign figures met Iranian representatives in Madrid and Paris in 1980 to delay the release of the American hostages until after the election, in return for arms and the release of frozen assets; the hostages were released on January 20, 1981, the day of Reagan's inauguration. Those claims are set out on the [[October Surprise]] page.
The House Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980, chaired by [[Lee Hamilton]] with [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.]] as chief counsel, reported on January 3, 1993. It stated that it had interviewed or deposed more than 230 people in the United States and ten other countries, reviewed tens of thousands of documents from the State Department, Defense Department, CIA, National Security Council and other agencies, and had the FBI's electronic surveillance of Cyrus Hashemi (more than 21,000 recorded conversations on 548 tapes, September 1980 to February 1981). Its findings included that there was "no credible evidence supporting any attempt or proposal to attempt, by the Reagan Presidential Campaign" to delay the hostages' release, and no credible evidence of a link between arms transfers to Iran and the hostages' release. The same report records that the campaign established formal and informal working groups on the hostage issue, spoke to executive branch counterparts to learn what they could, and kept "visual monitoring of certain military locations" for signs of a rescue mission, hostage staging or arms shipments; it found no credible evidence these activities were illegal, while the majority wrote that "legitimate questions can be raised" about the campaign's failure to notify the government of certain "over the transom" information and about passing information to selected media outlets.[^3]
The House Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980, chaired by [[Lee Hamilton]] with [[E. Lawrence Barcella, Jr.]] as chief counsel, reported on January 3, 1993. It stated that it had interviewed or deposed more than 230 people in the United States and ten other countries, reviewed tens of thousands of documents from the State Department, Defense Department, CIA, National Security Council and other agencies, and had the FBI's electronic surveillance of Cyrus Hashemi (more than 21,000 recorded conversations on 548 tapes, September 1980 to February 1981). Its findings included that there was "no credible evidence supporting any attempt or proposal to attempt, by the Reagan Presidential Campaign" to delay the hostages' release, and no credible evidence of a link between arms transfers to Iran and the hostages' release. The same report records that the campaign established formal and informal working groups on the hostage issue, spoke to executive branch counterparts to learn what they could, and kept "visual monitoring of certain military locations" for signs of a rescue mission, hostage staging or arms shipments; it found no credible evidence these activities were illegal, while the majority wrote that "legitimate questions can be raised" about the campaign's failure to notify the government of certain "over the transom" information and about passing information to selected media outlets.[^6]
### Osirak, June 1981
The journalist [[Seymour Hersh]] wrote that when national security adviser [[Richard V. Allen]] informed Reagan of the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi reactor at Osirak in June 1981, Reagan privately remarked, "Well. Boys will be boys," and that, despite State Department condemnation and proposals from [[Caspar Weinberger]] and others to cancel F-16 sales to [[Israel]], Reagan had no intention of doing so; the suspension of F-16 deliveries was lifted two months later.[^4] See [[Osirak bombing]].
The journalist [[Seymour Hersh]] wrote that when national security adviser [[Richard V. Allen]] informed Reagan of the Israeli bombing of the Iraqi reactor at Osirak in June 1981, Reagan privately remarked, "Well. Boys will be boys," and that, despite State Department condemnation and proposals from [[Caspar Weinberger]] and others to cancel F-16 sales to Israel, Reagan had no intention of doing so; the suspension of F-16 deliveries was lifted two months later.[^7] See [[Osirak bombing]].
### Executive Order 12333 and the 1982 reporting agreement
Reagan signed Executive Order 12333 on December 4, 1981. Section 1.7 covers collection of information on "international narcotics activities" and directs senior intelligence community officials to participate in developing procedures approved by the Attorney General governing criminal narcotics intelligence activities abroad.[^5]
Reagan signed Executive Order 12333 on December 4, 1981. Section 1.7 covers collection of information on "international narcotics activities" and directs senior intelligence community officials to participate in developing procedures approved by the Attorney General governing criminal narcotics intelligence activities abroad.[^8]
In 1982, under 28 U.S.C. 535 and the executive order, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Department of Justice]] entered into a memorandum of understanding titled "Reporting and Use of Information Concerning Federal Crimes," signed on February 11, 1982. The Justice Department's Inspector General wrote that it defined "employee" as staff or contract employees, which left open whether the CIA had to pass on information about "assets" or paid informants, and that its list of crimes reportable even when a non-employee was involved omitted narcotics trafficking. Attorney General [[William French Smith]] wrote to Casey the same day that "no formal requirement regarding the reporting of narcotics violations has been included in these procedures"; Casey replied on March 2, 1982 thanking Smith for the letter without comment on its reporting point. A 1995 memorandum added reporting of drug-law violations by non-employees.[^6]
In 1982, under 28 U.S.C. 535 and the executive order, the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Department of Justice]] entered into a memorandum of understanding titled "Reporting and Use of Information Concerning Federal Crimes," signed on February 11, 1982. The Justice Department's Inspector General wrote that it defined "employee" as staff or contract employees, which left open whether the CIA had to pass on information about "assets" or paid informants, and that its list of crimes reportable even when a non-employee was involved omitted narcotics trafficking. Attorney General William French Smith wrote to Casey the same day that "no formal requirement regarding the reporting of narcotics violations has been included in these procedures"; Casey replied on March 2, 1982 thanking Smith for the letter without comment on its reporting point. A 1995 memorandum added reporting of drug-law violations by non-employees.[^9]
The writer [[Gary Webb]] wrote that the executive order gave the CIA veto power over Justice Department crime-reporting proposals, that Reagan signed it the same week he authorized CIA operations in [[Nicaragua]], and that the secret 1982 agreement between Casey and Smith exempted CIA assets from drug-crime reporting; he also wrote that anti-crack legislation passed during Reagan's presidency filled prisons with young black dealers while the cocaine importers who supplied them walked free.[^7]
The writer [[Gary Webb]] wrote that the executive order gave the CIA veto power over Justice Department crime-reporting proposals, that Reagan signed it the same week he authorized CIA operations in [[Nicaragua]], and that the secret 1982 agreement between Casey and Smith exempted CIA assets from drug-crime reporting; he also wrote that anti-crack legislation passed during Reagan's presidency filled prisons with young black dealers while the cocaine importers who supplied them walked free.[^10]
### The Contras, 1984 to 1986
The Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, [[Lawrence Walsh]], wrote that Reagan "created the conditions which made possible the crimes committed by others by his secret deviations from announced national policy as to Iran and hostages and by his open determination to keep the contras together 'body and soul' despite a statutory ban on contra aid," and that it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Reagan knew of the criminal underlying facts or made criminal misrepresentations about them.[^8]
The Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, [[Lawrence Walsh]], wrote that Reagan "created the conditions which made possible the crimes committed by others by his secret deviations from announced national policy as to Iran and hostages and by his open determination to keep the contras together 'body and soul' despite a statutory ban on contra aid," and that it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Reagan knew of the criminal underlying facts or made criminal misrepresentations about them.[^11]
At a National Security Planning Group meeting on June 25, 1984, [[William J. Casey]] reported that the CIA had $250,000 left from its fiscal 1984 Contra appropriation; Vice President [[George H.W. Bush]] said the problem would arise only if the United States promised third parties something in return for help to the Contras; and [[Robert McFarlane]] proposed that "none of this discussion will be made public." The minutes record Reagan: "If such a story gets out, we'll all be hanging by our thumbs in front of the White House until we find out who did it." In May or June 1984 McFarlane told Reagan that the Saudi ambassador, Prince [[Bandar bin Sultan]], would deliver $1 million a month to a Contra bank account, and according to McFarlane Reagan answered "Good news" or "That's fine"; in February 1985 King [[Fahd]] told Reagan in Washington that the Saudis would double it to $2 million a month, and McFarlane testified that Reagan directed the information not be shared. The Final Report puts Saudi grants at $32 million and Taiwanese grants at $2 million, with about $1.7 million of private contributions routed through the National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty to accounts controlled by [[Oliver North]].[^8]
At a National Security Planning Group meeting on June 25, 1984, William J. Casey reported that the CIA had $250,000 left from its fiscal 1984 Contra appropriation; Vice President [[George H.W. Bush]] said the problem would arise only if the United States promised third parties something in return for help to the Contras; and [[Robert McFarlane]] proposed that "none of this discussion will be made public." The minutes record Reagan: "If such a story gets out, we'll all be hanging by our thumbs in front of the White House until we find out who did it." In May or June 1984 McFarlane told Reagan that the Saudi ambassador, Prince [[Bandar bin Sultan]], would deliver $1 million a month to a Contra bank account, and according to McFarlane Reagan answered "Good news" or "That's fine"; in February 1985 King [[Fahd]] told Reagan in Washington that the Saudis would double it to $2 million a month, and McFarlane testified that Reagan directed the information not be shared. The Final Report puts Saudi grants at $32 million and Taiwanese grants at $2 million, with about $1.7 million of private contributions routed through the National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty to accounts controlled by [[Oliver North]].[^11]
Reagan was a frequent fundraising speaker for Contra causes beginning in April 1985, and met and corresponded with donors to the National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty, which his sworn answer compared to its public-information work on the Strategic Defense Initiative. On April 25, 1985 he telephoned Honduran President Roberto Suazo Córdova to ask him to release a Contra weapons shipment seized by the Honduran army; a May 1985 briefing memo for the Suazo meeting advised reminding him that "in return for our help" the United States expected cooperation on the Contras, and in his deposition Reagan agreed that was the expectation. At the May 16, 1986 meeting [[Alan Fiers]] recalled Reagan saying, "Can't some of Ollie's people help out?", after which Chief of Staff [[Donald Regan]] changed the subject; the official minutes record a question about private groups that pay for advertisements. Walsh also wrote that North was regularly briefed through McFarlane and [[John Poindexter]], that the President's diary is "replete with references to the contra-aid struggle with Congress," and that the OIC was permitted to read only excerpts deemed relevant by White House counsel and to take notes but not copies.[^8]
Reagan was a frequent fundraising speaker for Contra causes beginning in April 1985, and met and corresponded with donors to the National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty, which his sworn answer compared to its public-information work on the Strategic Defense Initiative. On April 25, 1985 he telephoned Honduran President Roberto Suazo Córdova to ask him to release a Contra weapons shipment seized by the Honduran army; a May 1985 briefing memo for the Suazo meeting advised reminding him that "in return for our help" the United States expected cooperation on the Contras, and in his deposition Reagan agreed that was the expectation. At the May 16, 1986 meeting [[Alan Fiers]] recalled Reagan saying, "Can't some of Ollie's people help out?", after which Chief of Staff [[Donald Regan]] changed the subject; the official minutes record a question about private groups that pay for advertisements. Walsh also wrote that North was regularly briefed through McFarlane and [[John Poindexter]], that the President's diary is "replete with references to the contra-aid struggle with Congress," and that the OIC was permitted to read only excerpts deemed relevant by White House counsel and to take notes but not copies.[^11]
North entered into evidence at his trial seven "Heads of State" documents showing, in the Independent Counsel's words, greater presidential knowledge of contra-assistance efforts than previously public; one, of October 30, 1985, indicated that McFarlane sought Reagan's approval of reconnaissance overflights of Nicaragua and that the President was informed of the illegal air-drop of recoilless rifles.[^9]
North entered into evidence at his trial seven "Heads of State" documents showing, in the Independent Counsel's words, greater presidential knowledge of contra-assistance efforts than previously public; one, of October 30, 1985, indicated that McFarlane sought Reagan's approval of reconnaissance overflights of Nicaragua and that the President was informed of the illegal air-drop of recoilless rifles.[^12]
### The Iran arms sales
According to Walsh, Reagan was informed of and approved in advance an Israeli shipment of 504 TOW missiles to Iran in August and September 1985 and a November 1985 shipment of HAWK missiles, directing that Congress not be notified; he knew the sales conflicted with his announced policies, and Weinberger and Secretary of State [[George P. Shultz]] opposed them. On December 5, 1985, ten days after the HAWK shipment, Reagan signed a finding retroactively authorizing CIA assistance; he has said he does not recall signing it, and Poindexter testified he destroyed it on or about November 21, 1986. The January 17, 1986 finding listed three purposes: a more moderate Iranian government, intelligence, and the release of the hostages held in Beirut. In 1986 the United States itself sent 1,000 TOW missiles in February and spare parts for HAWKs in May and August through the CIA and the Enterprise; the Enterprise collected about $16 million more from Iran than it paid the CIA, and about $4 million of it went to Contra support controlled by North.[^8]
According to Walsh, Reagan was informed of and approved in advance an Israeli shipment of 504 TOW missiles to Iran in August and September 1985 and a November 1985 shipment of HAWK missiles, directing that Congress not be notified; he knew the sales conflicted with his announced policies, and Weinberger and Secretary of State [[George P. Shultz]] opposed them. On December 5, 1985, ten days after the HAWK shipment, Reagan signed a finding retroactively authorizing CIA assistance; he has said he does not recall signing it, and Poindexter testified he destroyed it on or about November 21, 1986. The January 17, 1986 finding listed three purposes: a more moderate Iranian government, intelligence, and the release of the hostages held in Beirut. In 1986 the United States itself sent 1,000 TOW missiles in February and spare parts for HAWKs in May and August through the CIA and the Enterprise; the Enterprise collected about $16 million more from Iran than it paid the CIA, and about $4 million of it went to Contra support controlled by North.[^11]
In November 1986, after the disclosure, Poindexter and Casey advised "no comment" while Regan and the White House staff argued for fuller disclosure; the November 10 and 12 briefings, according to Walsh, left out the 1985 sales. Meese told a November 24 meeting that the President "did not know" of the November 1985 HAWK shipment, although Shultz had told him two days earlier that Reagan recalled contemporaneous knowledge. On November 25 Reagan announced Poindexter's resignation and North's dismissal and left the podium to Meese, then telephoned North for two minutes and, in his sworn answer, said he "may have referred to LtCol North as a national hero." Meese and Regan testified Reagan was "shocked" on learning of the diversion on November 24; Poindexter testified he never told him. Walsh wrote that it was "doubtful that President Reagan would tolerate the successive Iranian affronts during 1986 unless he knew that the arms sales continued to supply funds to the contras," but that "only Poindexter could supply direct evidence" and North's destruction of records "eliminated any possible documentary proof."[^8]
In November 1986, after the disclosure, Poindexter and Casey advised "no comment" while Regan and the White House staff argued for fuller disclosure; the November 10 and 12 briefings, according to Walsh, left out the 1985 sales. Meese told a November 24 meeting that the President "did not know" of the November 1985 HAWK shipment, although Shultz had told him two days earlier that Reagan recalled contemporaneous knowledge. On November 25 Reagan announced Poindexter's resignation and North's dismissal and left the podium to Meese, then telephoned North for two minutes and, in his sworn answer, said he "may have referred to LtCol North as a national hero." Meese and Regan testified Reagan was "shocked" on learning of the diversion on November 24; Poindexter testified he never told him. Walsh wrote that it was "doubtful that President Reagan would tolerate the successive Iranian affronts during 1986 unless he knew that the arms sales continued to supply funds to the contras," but that "only Poindexter could supply direct evidence" and North's destruction of records "eliminated any possible documentary proof."[^11]
Walsh found no prosecutable evidence that Reagan authorized or knew of the illegal features of North's operation. He recorded that North testified on July 7, 1987 that he believed the President had authorized the diversion and that Poindexter believed Reagan would have approved it had he been asked.[^8] On December 24, 1992 President Bush pardoned Weinberger, McFarlane, [[Elliott Abrams]], [[Duane Clarridge]], [[Clair George]] and Fiers.[^10]
Walsh found no prosecutable evidence that Reagan authorized or knew of the illegal features of North's operation. He recorded that North testified on July 7, 1987 that he believed the President had authorized the diversion and that Poindexter believed Reagan would have approved it had he been asked.[^11] On December 24, 1992 President Bush pardoned Weinberger, McFarlane, [[Elliott Abrams]], [[Duane Clarridge]], [[Clair George]] and Fiers.[^13]
### INSLAW and the Reagan Justice Department
The House Judiciary Committee's 1992 report on [[INSLAW]] records that [[Earl Brian]], whom the Hamiltons alleged received the stolen PROMIS software, was Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency in Governor Reagan's administration, chaired the White House Health Care Cost Reduction Task Force during the first two years of the Reagan presidency, reporting to Meese, and was nominated by Reagan to the National Science Board; the nomination was approved by Reagan and later withdrawn, and the committee wrote that an FBI background report and the independent counsel report by Jacob Stein contradicted Brian's account of why. The Stein inquiry of April 1984 examined a $15,000 loan by Edwin W. Thomas to Mrs. Meese to buy stock in Biotech Capital Corporation, which Brian controlled, and Meese's offer of a White House counselor post to Thomas before the loan. Meese and Brian swore that their contacts after the governorship were sporadic and social.[^11]
The House Judiciary Committee's 1992 report on [[INSLAW]] records that [[Earl Brian]], whom the Hamiltons alleged received the stolen PROMIS software, was Secretary of the Health and Welfare Agency in Governor Reagan's administration, chaired the White House Health Care Cost Reduction Task Force during the first two years of the Reagan presidency, reporting to Meese, and was nominated by Reagan to the National Science Board; the nomination was approved by Reagan and later withdrawn, and the committee wrote that an FBI background report and the independent counsel report by Jacob Stein contradicted Brian's account of why. The Stein inquiry of April 1984 examined a $15,000 loan by Edwin W. Thomas to Mrs. Meese to buy stock in Biotech Capital Corporation, which Brian controlled, and Meese's offer of a White House counselor post to Thomas before the loan. Meese and Brian swore that their contacts after the governorship were sporadic and social.[^14]
[[Bill Hamilton]] and [[Nancy Hamilton]] alleged that Meese and Deputy Attorney General [[Lowell Jensen]] manufactured a contract dispute to drive INSLAW into bankruptcy and give Enhanced PROMIS to Brian's Hadron, Inc.; [[Elliot Richardson]], counsel to INSLAW, alleged a possible criminal conspiracy including Meese, Jensen and Brian. On September 28, 1987 Bankruptcy Judge [[George Francis Bason, Jr.]] ruled orally that the Department "took, converted, and stole" Enhanced PROMIS "by trickery, fraud, and deceit," and on February 2, 1988 awarded INSLAW $6.8 million in damages and $1.2 million in fees; on November 22, 1989 District Judge William Bryant upheld the liability and damages findings. The committee wrote that its investigation "largely supports the findings of two Federal courts" that the Department took the software and that officials at the highest levels were involved, while stating it could not reach a definitive conclusion on motive. The Justice Department's position was that the matter was a contract dispute.[^11]
[[Bill Hamilton]] and [[Nancy Hamilton]] alleged that Meese and Deputy Attorney General [[Lowell Jensen]] manufactured a contract dispute to drive INSLAW into bankruptcy and give Enhanced PROMIS to Brian's Hadron, Inc.; [[Elliot Richardson]], counsel to INSLAW, alleged a possible criminal conspiracy including Meese, Jensen and Brian. On September 28, 1987 Bankruptcy Judge [[George Francis Bason, Jr.]] ruled orally that the Department "took, converted, and stole" Enhanced PROMIS "by trickery, fraud, and deceit," and on February 2, 1988 awarded INSLAW $6.8 million in damages and $1.2 million in fees; on November 22, 1989 District Judge William Bryant upheld the liability and damages findings. The committee wrote that its investigation "largely supports the findings of two Federal courts" that the Department took the software and that officials at the highest levels were involved, while stating it could not reach a definitive conclusion on motive. The Justice Department's position was that the matter was a contract dispute.[^14]
### The 1987 United Nations address
On September 21, 1987, Reagan told the United Nations General Assembly: "I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?"[^12]
On September 21, 1987, Reagan told the United Nations General Assembly: "I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien to the universal aspirations of our peoples than war and the threat of war?"[^15]
### Astrology
The May 1988 disclosures that the Reagans consulted the San Francisco astrologer [[Joan Quigley]] are recorded on the pages for Quigley, [[Donald Regan|Donald T. Regan]] and [[Marlin Fitzwater]].
The May 1988 disclosures that the Reagans consulted the San Francisco astrologer [[Joan Quigley]] are recorded on the pages for Quigley, Donald T. Regan and [[Marlin Fitzwater]].
### Footnotes
[^1]: Miller Center, University of Virginia, "Ronald Reagan: Life Before the Presidency" and facts page (birth February 6, 1911, Tampico, Illinois; inaugurated January 20, 1981; term ended January 20, 1989; died June 5, 2004). https://millercenter.org/president/reagan
[^2]: Slosser, Bob. "A Prophecy," from *Reagan Inside Out* (Word Books, 1984), reproduced by the Christian Broadcasting Network. https://cbn.com/article/relationships/prophecy
[^3]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980* ("October Surprise Task Force"), H. Rept. 102-1102, January 3, 1993, Executive Summary, sections A.1 to A.4. https://archive.org/details/14148-h.rp.-1102
[^4]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991.
[^5]: Executive Order 12333, "United States Intelligence Activities," December 4, 1981, section 1.7, 46 Fed. Reg. 59941. https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12333.html
[^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions*, December 1997, ch. XI, "DEA's Response to Information About Contra Drug Trafficking," discussion of the 1982 memorandum of understanding and Smith's letter of February 11, 1982. https://oig.justice.gov/special/9712/ch11p1.htm
[^7]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998, chapter 9 ("He would have had me by the tail"), the epilogue and chapter 27.
[^8]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters*, Volume I, August 4, 1993, ch. 27, "President Reagan," including notes 6, 7, 10, 15, 45 and 50 to 53, 64 and 103 to 119. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_27.htm
[^9]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 2, "United States v. Oliver L. North," section on the "Heads of State" documents and note 55. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm
[^10]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Executive Summary. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
[^11]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report*, H. Rept. 102-857, September 10, 1992, sections on INSLAW allegations, Dr. Brian and Mr. Meese, the Bankruptcy Court ruling and Judge Bryant's decision. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^12]: Reagan, Ronald. "Address to the 42d Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York," September 21, 1987, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/address-42d-session-united-nations-general-assembly-new-york-new-york
[^2]: Moldea, Dan E. *Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob*. New York: Viking, 1986. https://archive.org/details/dark-victory-ronald-reagan-mca-and-the-mob
[^3]: Moldea, *Dark Victory*, ch. 23 (transcript, pp. 167-201); Moldea, "Ronald Reagan's 1962 grand jury testimony," including the *Washington Post* article of March 15, 1987. https://www.moldea.com/ReaganGJ.html
[^4]: Moldea, *Dark Victory*, chs. 24 and 28. https://archive.org/details/dark-victory-ronald-reagan-mca-and-the-mob
[^5]: Slosser, Bob. "A Prophecy," from *Reagan Inside Out* (Word Books, 1984), reproduced by the Christian Broadcasting Network. https://cbn.com/article/relationships/prophecy
[^6]: U.S. House of Representatives, *Joint Report of the Task Force to Investigate Certain Allegations Concerning the Holding of American Hostages by Iran in 1980* ("October Surprise Task Force"), H. Rept. 102-1102, January 3, 1993, Executive Summary, sections A.1 to A.4. https://archive.org/details/14148-h.rp.-1102
[^7]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy.* Random House, 1991.
[^8]: Executive Order 12333, "United States Intelligence Activities," December 4, 1981, section 1.7, 46 Fed. Reg. 59941. https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12333.html
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, *The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions*, December 1997, ch. XI, "DEA's Response to Information About Contra Drug Trafficking," discussion of the 1982 memorandum of understanding and Smith's letter of February 11, 1982. https://oig.justice.gov/special/9712/ch11p1.htm
[^10]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998, chapter 9 ("He would have had me by the tail"), the epilogue and chapter 27.
[^11]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters*, Volume I, August 4, 1993, ch. 27, "President Reagan," including notes 6, 7, 10, 15, 45 and 50 to 53, 64 and 103 to 119. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_27.htm
[^12]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, ch. 2, "United States v. Oliver L. North," section on the "Heads of State" documents and note 55. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_02.htm
[^13]: Walsh, *Final Report*, vol. I, Executive Summary. https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
[^14]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report*, H. Rept. 102-857, September 10, 1992, sections on INSLAW allegations, Dr. Brian and Mr. Meese, the Bankruptcy Court ruling and Judge Bryant's decision. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^15]: Reagan, Ronald. "Address to the 42d Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York," September 21, 1987, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/address-42d-session-united-nations-general-assembly-new-york-new-york

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10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/William Sullivan.md
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@ -48,9 +48,13 @@ After leaving the FBI, Sullivan began cooperating with congressional and journal
On November 9, 1977, Sullivan was shot near his home in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire. The shooting was ruled a hunting accident: a companion identified Sullivan as a deer in low light and fired, killing him. Sullivan was 65 years old.
Sullivan's death occurred during a period of active congressional investigation of intelligence abuses. He had been cooperating with the [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]] (HSCA), which was then investigating the Kennedy assassination and the question of whether the FBI had withheld relevant information from the [[Warren Commission]]. He was scheduled to provide additional testimony to investigators in the period immediately following his death.
Sullivan's death occurred during a period of active congressional investigation of intelligence abuses. Accounts of his death describe him as cooperating with the [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]] (HSCA), which was then investigating the Kennedy assassination and the question of whether the FBI had withheld relevant information from the [[Warren Commission]], and as scheduled to testify before it when he was shot.[^5] The [[HSCA]] stated in a note to its King report that it was unable to take testimony from Sullivan, who was killed in a hunting accident in 1977.[^6] The note adds that Sullivan had testified before the Senate select committee that the project of the anonymous package sent to King, whose final paragraph implied that suicide would be a suitable course of action for him and of which an apparently authentic copy was found in Sullivan's files, had Hoover's prior knowledge and was authorized by the Director, and that Sullivan said he personally opposed the idea; the committee noted that at the time of that testimony Sullivan had broken with the Director, and that his testimony must be viewed accordingly.[^6] The committee stated that if the package was delivered to Assistant to the Director Belmont before mailing, it considered it highly likely that Hoover had before-the-fact knowledge of the action.[^6]
The timing of Sullivan's death - the day before planned congressional testimony, during the most active phase of congressional intelligence investigations - has been noted by researchers as part of a broader pattern. The [[HSCA]] chief counsel Robert Blakey noted Sullivan as one of several witnesses whose deaths reduced the committee's access to relevant FBI institutional knowledge. The hunting accident ruling was not challenged through any formal legal proceeding.[^1]
Almost immediately after Sullivan's death the HSCA issued a subpoena for any assassination-related documents among roughly 100 boxes of his papers at his home in Sugar Hill; the family's counsel resisted, and a subpoena was served on counsel on March 9, 1978. The committee's interest followed from a 1975 interview of Sullivan by the staff of the House Government Information and Individual Rights Subcommittee, a 139-page transcript of which was in the HSCA collection.[^7]
The HSCA examined the March 20, 1968, FBI headquarters memorandum from G. C. Moore, chief of the Racial Intelligence Section, to Sullivan, assistant director in charge of the Domestic Intelligence Division, which recommended releasing a news item stating that King had gone to a white-owned Holiday Inn rather than the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. The memorandum was initialed by Hoover, Sullivan and Moore and bore the notation "handled 4/3/68," whose meaning the committee was unable to determine. The committee was satisfied from [[Ralph Abernathy]]'s testimony that the memorandum did not cause King to stay at the Lorraine, and stated that the FBI's intent in drafting it "remained an open issue."[^8] It found no evidence that COINTELPRO initiatives of the Memphis field office were tied to the assassination.[^9]
The timing of Sullivan's death - the day before planned congressional testimony, during the most active phase of congressional intelligence investigations - has been noted by researchers as part of a broader pattern; *New Hampshire Magazine* described him as one of several witnesses who died shortly before the hearings began.[^5] The hunting accident ruling was not challenged through any formal legal proceeding.[^1]
### Footnotes
@ -58,3 +62,8 @@ The timing of Sullivan's death - the day before planned congressional testimony,
[^2]: Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, *Final Report*, Book III, S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976, King case study, pp. 158 to 161 (Sullivan, November 1, 1975, pp. 104 to 106 and 112; Young, February 19, 1976).
[^3]: William C. Sullivan, *The Bureau: My Thirty Years in Hoover's FBI* (Norton, 1979).
[^4]: Garrow, David. *The FBI and Martin Luther King, Jr.* Norton, 1981. O'Reilly, Kenneth. *"Racial Matters": The FBI's Secret File on Black America, 1960-1972.* Free Press, 1989.
[^5]: "Examining NH's Own JFK Assassination Mystery," *New Hampshire Magazine,* November 16, 2017 ("He was scheduled to testify before a Congressional committee re-examining the assassination of President Kennedy"). https://www.nhmagazine.com/examining-nhs-own-jfk-assassination-mystery/
[^6]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), p. 436 and note. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^7]: Assassination Records Review Board, memorandum of Joe Freeman to Anne Buttimer, "William Sullivan Papers," August 21, 1995. https://documents3.theblackvault.com/documents/jfkfiles/NARA-Oct2017/ARRB/JFREEMAN/WP-DOCS/082195.WPD.pdf
[^8]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 410-411 (the March 20, 1968 memorandum). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^9]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, p. 409 (Memphis field office). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit

296
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Lawrence Walsh.md
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@ -3,63 +3,301 @@ title: Lawrence Walsh
aliases:
- Lawrence Walsh
- Lawrence E. Walsh
- Lawrence Edward Walsh
- Walsh, Lawrence E.
- Judge Walsh
created: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-05-17
updated: 2026-10-09
category: "Law Enforcement & Legal"
tags:
- Person
- IranContra
- Law
- IndependentCounsel
- BushPardons
- ParisPeaceTalks
- Law
- 1980s
- 1990s
summary: "Lawrence E. Walsh (1912-2014) served as Iran-Contra Independent Counsel from December 1986 to August 1993, producing 14 criminal cases, 11 convictions, and a final report documenting Reagan administration Iran arms sales and Contra funding, before President Bush pardoned six defendants three weeks before Walsh's release of key findings."
summary: "Lawrence E. Walsh (1912-2014) was Iran-Contra Independent Counsel from December 1986, charging fourteen persons, obtaining eleven convictions, and releasing a final report in January 1994 after Bush pardoned six defendants on December 24, 1992."
born: 1912-01-08
died: 2014-03-19
location: "Fort Sill, Oklahoma"
location: "Oklahoma City, Oklahoma"
relations:
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Oliver North]]"
start: 1988-03-16
end: 1991-09-16
role: "Independent Counsel; convictions vacated 1990, indictment dismissed 1991"
fn: 11
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[John Poindexter]]"
start: 1988-03-16
end: 1993
role: "Independent Counsel; convictions reversed 1991, indictment dismissed 1993"
fn: 11
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Richard Secord]]"
start: 1988-03-16
end: 1990-01-24
role: "Independent Counsel; guilty plea 1989, sentenced 1990"
fn: 15
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Albert Hakim]]"
start: 1989-11-21
end: 1990-02-01
role: "Independent Counsel; guilty plea 1989, sentenced 1990"
fn: 16
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Tom Clines]]"
start: 1990-02-22
end: 1992-02-27
role: "Independent Counsel; convicted on tax counts 1990, affirmed 1992"
fn: 17
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Joseph Fernandez]]"
start: 1988-06-20
end: 1989-11-24
role: "Independent Counsel; dismissed after classified information was withheld"
fn: 18
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Clair George]]"
start: 1991-09-06
end: 1992-12-24
role: "Independent Counsel; convicted December 1992, pardoned before sentencing"
fn: 19
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Dewey Clarridge]]"
start: 1991-11-26
end: 1992-12-24
role: "Independent Counsel; indicted 1991, pardoned before trial"
fn: 21
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Alan Fiers]]"
start: 1991-07-09
end: 1992-12-24
role: "Independent Counsel; guilty plea 1991, pardoned 1992"
fn: 22
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Caspar Weinberger]]"
start: 1992-06-16
end: 1992-12-24
role: "Independent Counsel; indicted 1992, pardoned before trial"
fn: 11
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Elliott Abrams]]"
start: 1991-10-07
end: 1992-12-24
role: "Independent Counsel; guilty plea 1991, pardoned 1992"
fn: 11
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Robert McFarlane]]"
start: 1988-03-11
end: 1992-12-24
role: "Independent Counsel; guilty plea 1988, pardoned 1992"
fn: 11
- type: investigated
with: "[[George H.W. Bush]]"
start: 1986-12-19
end: 1992-12-24
role: "Independent Counsel inquiry into knowledge of Iran arms sales; no charge brought, interview ended after the pardons"
fn: 26
- type: investigated
with: "[[Ronald Reagan]]"
start: 1986-12-19
role: "Independent Counsel inquiry; no credible evidence of a criminal statute violated by Reagan"
fn: 27
- type: head_of
with: "[[Office of Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters]]"
start: 1986-12-19
role: "Independent Counsel"
fn: 9
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Davis Polk & Wardwell]]"
start: 1961
end: 1982
role: "senior partner"
fn: 2
- type: head_of
with: "[[American Bar Association]]"
start: 1975
end: 1976
role: "president"
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Paris Peace Talks]]"
start: 1969
end: 1969-11-20
role: "deputy head of the U.S. delegation, rank of ambassador"
fn: 7
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Thomas E. Dewey]]"
start: 1943
end: 1951
role: "assistant counsel, then counsel, to Governor Dewey of New York"
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor]]"
start: 1953
end: 1954
role: "general counsel and executive director"
fn: 1
- type: appointed
with: "[[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]"
reverse: true
start: 1954-04-06
end: 1957-12-29
role: "U.S. district judge, Southern District of New York"
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[United States Department of Justice]]"
start: 1957
end: 1960
role: "Deputy Attorney General"
fn: 2
- type: director_of
with: "[[Richardson-Merrell]]"
role: "director"
fn: 5
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Iran-Contra Affair]]"
start: 1986-12-19
end: 1994-01-18
role: "Independent Counsel; Final Report released January 18, 1994"
fn: 3
---
Lawrence Edward Walsh was born January 8, 1912, in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He died March 19, 2014, in [[Oklahoma City]]. He served as a federal prosecutor and judge in New York, as Deputy Attorney General under Eisenhower, as a deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations under Eisenhower and briefly under Kennedy, and as a senior partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York before his appointment as Iran-Contra Independent Counsel in December 1986. His investigation was the most extensive Independent Counsel inquiry in American history to that date.[^1]
Lawrence Edward Walsh (January 8, 1912 to March 19, 2014) was a New York prosecutor, federal judge and Wall Street lawyer who served as [[Iran-Contra Affair]] Independent Counsel from December 1986. His final report was issued in 1993 and 1994 and released complete on January 18, 1994.[^1][^2][^3] He was born in [[Port Maitland, Nova Scotia]], grew up in [[Queens]], and died at his home in [[Oklahoma City]], where he had lived since leaving New York practice.[^4]
### Appointment and Mandate
### Early Career
Walsh was appointed Independent Counsel for Iran-Contra on December 19, 1986, by a three-judge Special Division panel under the Ethics in Government Act, following the revelation of the arms-for-hostages scheme and Contra funding diversion in October-November 1986. His mandate covered potential crimes arising from the sale of weapons to Iran, the diversion of proceeds to the Nicaraguan Contras, and related obstruction of congressional investigations.[^1]
Walsh worked as a merchant seaman during summers to pay for his undergraduate and law degrees at [[Columbia University]], receiving an A.B. in 1932 and an LL.B. in 1935.[^1][^2] From 1936 to 1938 he was special assistant attorney general on the Drukman investigation. From 1938 to 1941 he was deputy assistant district attorney in New York County, where he worked under District Attorney [[Thomas E. Dewey]].[^1][^2]
Walsh was a Republican who had been considered for federal judicial appointment under Nixon. His selection for what became an adversarial investigation of a Republican administration created persistent accusations of partisanship from administration defenders, which Walsh consistently denied.[^1]
Walsh followed Dewey to the governor's office as assistant counsel from 1943 to 1949 and as counsel from 1950 to 1951. He then served as counsel to the New York State Public Service Commission from 1951 to 1953 and as general counsel and executive director of the [[Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor]] from 1953 to 1954.[^1]
### Indictments and Convictions
Walsh was a lifelong Republican and an early supporter of [[Ronald Reagan]]. Judge George E. MacKinnon, one of the three judges of the Special Division who chose Walsh as Independent Counsel, said to National Public Radio in 1995: "The reason Republicans are against him is because he convicted Republicans."[^5]
The Walsh investigation produced 14 criminal cases:
### Judicial Service and Justice Department
- [[Oliver North]] (NSC staff): indicted on 12 counts; convicted on 3 in May 1989 (making false statements, obstructing Congress, destroying documents). Conviction reversed in 1990 by the D.C. Circuit on immunized testimony grounds; charges dismissed in 1991.
- [[John Poindexter]] (National Security Adviser): convicted on 5 counts in April 1990. Conviction reversed in 1991 on immunized testimony grounds.
- [[Richard Secord]]: pleaded guilty November 1989 to one count of making false statements.
- [[Albert Hakim]]: pleaded guilty November 1989 to one misdemeanor count.
- [[Tom Clines]]: convicted September 1993 of four tax offenses.
- Elliott Abrams (Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs): pleaded guilty October 1991 to two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress. Pardoned December 1992.
- Robert McFarlane (National Security Adviser): pleaded guilty February 1988 to four misdemeanor counts. Pardoned December 1992.
- Duane "Dewey" Clarridge (CIA European Division chief): indicted November 1991 for perjury and false statements; pardoned before trial.
- Clair George (CIA Deputy Director for Operations): convicted December 1992 of two counts of perjury; pardoned before sentencing.
- Alan Fiers (CIA Central American Task Force chief): pleaded guilty July 1991 to two misdemeanor counts; pardoned December 1992.
- [[Caspar Weinberger]] (Secretary of Defense): indicted June 1992 for perjury and obstruction; pardoned December 24, 1992.[^1]
President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] nominated Walsh on April 6, 1954, to a new seat on the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]]. The Senate confirmed him on April 27, and his commission was issued the following day. He resigned on December 29, 1957.[^1]
The North and Poindexter convictions being overturned on immunized testimony grounds - because testimony they had given to Congress under grants of immunity may have influenced witnesses who testified against them at trial - was the most significant legal obstacle Walsh faced. It effectively prevented full judicial resolution of the central criminal events.[^1]
From 1957 to 1960 he was Deputy Attorney General in the [[United States Department of Justice]]. The American Law Institute's memorial profile states that he was charged with overseeing the continued desegregation of public schools and that he was a principal draftsman of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which provided for the appointment of referees to help African Americans register to vote.[^2]
### Private Practice and Paris
Walsh joined [[Davis Polk & Wardwell]] in New York as a senior partner in 1961.[^2] The Federal Judicial Center directory lists his New York private practice as ending in 1981, while the American Law Institute memorial gives 1982 as the year he retired from the firm.[^1][^2]
In 1969 Nixon appointed Walsh to the U.S. delegation to the [[Paris Peace Talks]] on Vietnam. He served as deputy head of the delegation, with the rank of ambassador.[^2][^6] The Federal Judicial Center directory lists the post as "Ambassador, U.S. delegation, Paris Peace Talks, 1969."[^1] On November 21, 1969, President [[Richard Nixon]] wrote to Walsh that "It is with special regret that I accept your resignation as Deputy Head of our Delegation to the Paris Meetings on Vietnam." The resignation letter is dated November 20, 1969.[^7]
Walsh was president of the [[American Bar Association]] in 1975 and 1976 and of the [[New York State Bar Association]] in 1966 and 1967.[^2] From 1968 to 1972 he chaired the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, which during that period found President Nixon's Supreme Court nominees [[Clement Haynsworth]] and [[G. Harrold Carswell]] to be qualified. The Senate rejected both nominees, and Walsh later expressed regret over the ABA endorsement of Carswell.[^6] The New York Times obituary of Walsh reported that he was criticized for endorsing the two nominees, in 1969 and 1970. Nina Totenberg wrote that Walsh concluded from the Carswell experience that the ABA had wrongly given its approval, and that he persuaded Nixon, for a short time, to let the ABA vet potential nominees before their names were announced.[^5][^8]
As deputy attorney general under [[William P. Rogers]], Walsh oversaw the selection of federal judges, including the recommendation of Potter Stewart for the Supreme Court, and the desegregation of the Little Rock public schools. After the 1960 election he returned to Davis Polk, where he represented General Mills, AT&T and ITT, and he served as a director of [[Richardson-Merrell]], the manufacturer of the morning-sickness drug Bendectin; plaintiffs' lawyers criticized his tactics in the Bendectin litigation.[^5]
After retiring from New York practice, Walsh moved to Oklahoma City, where he was of counsel to [[Crowe & Dunlevy]].[^2][^6]
### Appointment
On December 19, 1986, the Special Division of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] appointed Walsh Independent Counsel under the Independent Counsel statute. [[Edwin Meese III]] had requested the appointment on December 4, 1986, nine days after the White House disclosed the contra diversion on November 25. The Justice Department gave Walsh a parallel appointment on March 5, 1987.[^9][^10] The Special Division charged him with five areas: the sale of arms, materiel or funds to Iran and its intermediaries since about 1984; the financing of those sales; the diversion of proceeds to any person, organization, foreign government or insurgent faction, including in [[Nicaragua]]; and the provision or coordination of support for insurgents in armed conflict with the Nicaraguan government since 1984.[^9]
The executive summary of the Final Report records that the Justice Department under Reagan took the position after November 1986 that the 1985 shipments of U.S. weapons to Iran did not violate the law, and it states that this position "does not correspond with the contemporaneous advice given the President."[^9]
### Prosecutions
The Final Report's summary of prosecutions counts fourteen persons charged, eleven convicted, two convictions overturned on appeal, two persons pardoned before trial, and one case dismissed when the Bush administration declined to declassify information needed for trial.[^11] The fourteen included two private fundraisers, [[Carl R. Channell]] and [[Richard R. Miller]], who pleaded guilty in 1987 to conspiracy to defraud the United States through the illegal use of a tax-exempt foundation to raise money for the contras.[^11][^12]
[[Oliver North]] was indicted on March 16, 1988, on sixteen felony counts and tried on twelve. On May 4, 1989, the jury convicted him on three counts: accepting an illegal gratuity, aiding and abetting the obstruction of a congressional inquiry, and destruction of documents. Judge [[Gerhard Gesell]] sentenced him on July 5, 1989, to a three-year suspended prison term, two years of probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours of community service.[^11] On July 20, 1990, the D.C. Circuit vacated North's convictions on all three counts and remanded them for a Kastigar hearing to determine whether the Independent Counsel had made use of his immunized congressional testimony. The panel also reversed the conviction on Count 9.[^13] Gesell dismissed the case on September 16, 1991, on the motion of the Independent Counsel.[^11]
[[John Poindexter]] was indicted on March 16, 1988, on seven felony counts. After a trial on five, a jury found him guilty on April 7, 1990, on all of them: conspiracy (obstruction of inquiries and proceedings, false statements, and falsification, destruction and removal of documents), two counts of obstructing Congress and two counts of false statements. Judge [[Harold H. Greene]] sentenced him on June 11, 1990, to six months in prison on each count, to be served concurrently.[^11] On November 15, 1991, the D.C. Circuit reversed the convictions on all counts because Poindexter's immunized testimony may have influenced the trial testimony of witnesses.[^11][^14] The Supreme Court declined review on December 7, 1992, and the indictment was dismissed in 1993 on the motion of the Independent Counsel.[^11]
[[Richard Secord]] was indicted on March 16, 1988, on six felony counts. A second indictment of May 11, 1989, charged nine counts of impeding and obstructing the Select Iran/Contra Committees. He pleaded guilty on November 8, 1989, to one felony count of false statements to Congress, admitting that he had falsely denied that North personally benefited from the [[The Enterprise (Iran-Contra)|Enterprise]]. Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr., sentenced him on January 24, 1990, to two years' probation.[^11][^15]
[[Albert Hakim]] pleaded guilty on November 21, 1989, to a misdemeanor of supplementing North's salary. [[Lake Resources Inc.]], in which Hakim was the principal shareholder, pleaded guilty to a corporate felony of theft of government property in diverting arms sale proceeds to the contras and other activities. Judge Gesell sentenced Hakim on February 1, 1990, to two years' probation and a $5,000 fine, and the company was ordered dissolved.[^11][^16]
[[Tom Clines]] was indicted on February 22, 1990, on four felony counts of underreporting his income to the Internal Revenue Service for 1985 and 1986 and of falsely stating on his returns that he had no foreign financial accounts. He was found guilty of all charges on September 18, 1990. Judge Norman P. Ramsey sentenced him on December 13, 1990, to sixteen months in prison and $40,000 in fines, and the Fourth Circuit upheld the convictions on February 27, 1992.[^11][^17]
[[Joseph Fernandez]], a CIA officer whose work in [[Costa Rica]] was central to the charges, was indicted in the District of Columbia on June 20, 1988. That case was dismissed there for venue reasons on the Independent Counsel's motion. A four-count indictment followed in the Eastern District of Virginia on April 24, 1989. Judge Claude M. Hilton dismissed it on November 24, 1989, after Attorney General [[Richard Thornburgh]] blocked the disclosure of classified information the court had found relevant to the defense. The Fourth Circuit upheld Hilton's rulings on September 6, 1990, and on October 12, 1990, the Attorney General filed a final declaration that he would not disclose the information.[^11][^18]
[[Clair George]], the CIA deputy director for operations, was indicted on September 6, 1991, on ten counts. His first trial ended in a mistrial on August 26, 1992. He was convicted on December 9, 1992, of two felony counts of false statements and perjury before Congress, and was pardoned on December 24, 1992, before sentencing.[^11][^19]
[[Dewey Clarridge]], chief of the CIA European Division, was indicted on November 26, 1991, on seven counts of perjury and false statements about the secret shipment of U.S. HAWK missiles to Iran. Judge Harold H. Greene had set a trial date of March 15, 1993. He was pardoned on December 24, 1992.[^11][^20][^21]
[[Alan Fiers]], chief of the CIA Central American Task Force, pleaded guilty on July 9, 1991, to two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress. He was sentenced on January 31, 1992, to one year's probation and 100 hours of community service, and was pardoned on December 24, 1992.[^11][^22]
[[Elliott Abrams]], assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, pleaded guilty on October 7, 1991, to two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress about government efforts to support the contras during the aid prohibition, including his solicitation of $10 million to aid the contras from the Sultan of Brunei.[^23] He was sentenced on November 15, 1991, to two years' probation and 100 hours of community service, and was pardoned on December 24, 1992.[^11]
[[Robert McFarlane]] pleaded guilty on March 11, 1988, to four misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress. He was sentenced on March 3, 1989, to two years' probation, $20,000 in fines and 200 hours of community service, and was pardoned on December 24, 1992.[^11]
[[Caspar Weinberger]] was indicted on June 16, 1992, on five counts of obstruction, perjury and false statements in connection with the congressional and Independent Counsel investigations. The obstruction count was dismissed on September 29, 1992. A second indictment of October 30 charged one false statement count, and it was dismissed on December 11, leaving four counts. Judge Thomas F. Hogan had set a trial date of January 5, 1993.[^11]
The executive summary states that Weinberger's handwritten notes, which he had deliberately withheld from Congress and from the Independent Counsel until they were discovered in late 1991, showed that his early testimony, that he had only vague and generalized information about the Iran arms sales in 1985, was false. The notes also showed that Gen. [[Colin Powell]], Weinberger's senior military aide, and [[Richard Armitage]], assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, had detailed knowledge of the 1985 shipments from Israeli stocks. The Independent Counsel declined to prosecute Armitage because the office's limited resources were focused on the Weinberger case and the evidence, while substantial, did not reach the threshold of proof beyond a reasonable doubt; the report states that there was little evidence that Powell's early testimony was willfully false.[^9]
In describing the Enterprise, the report's overview of the private operatives states that the principals, with North's backing, assembled a private air force of small planes, pilots and crews to supply the contras, built a secret airstrip in Costa Rica, and "worked practically unfettered on a Salvadoran military airbase."[^24] The report states that in July 1986 the Enterprise paid Defex (Portugal) $2.6 million and $500,000 to another dealer, [[Monzer Al-Kassar]], for contra weapons, and that Al Kassar was not available to testify at trial.[^25]
### Bush and Reagan
The executive summary concludes that the Independent Counsel did not develop evidence proving that Vice President [[George H.W. Bush]] violated a criminal statute. It also states that, "Contrary to his public pronouncements, however, he was fully aware of the Iran arms sales." The White House informed the Independent Counsel on December 11, 1992, that Bush had kept diaries relevant to Iran-Contra that had never been produced to investigators, despite requests made in 1987 and again in early 1992.[^10] Bush refused to be interviewed for a final time, and the summary states that his pardon of Weinberger "pre-empted a trial in which defense counsel indicated that they intended to call Bush as a witness."[^9]
The chapter on Bush records the report's view that the Weinberger pardon was the first time a president had pardoned someone in whose trial he might have been called as a witness, because the president knew the underlying facts.[^26]
On Ronald Reagan, the report found no credible evidence that he violated any criminal statute. It concluded that he "created the conditions which made possible the crimes committed by others by his secret deviations from announced national policy as to Iran and hostages."[^27] The chapter on [[William Casey]], the CIA director, states that "There is evidence that Casey played a role as a Cabinet-level advocate" both in setting up the covert network to resupply the contras during the Boland funding cut-off and in promoting the secret arms sales to Iran in 1985 and 1986.[^28]
The report's account of the Iran arms sales also covers the Israeli role. It states that [[Michael Ledeen]] denied profiting from the sales and that the Independent Counsel found no evidence that he did. It further states that "Israel never gave OIC access to financial accounts or records," in the context of the [[Al Schwimmer]] arrangements.[^29]
### Bush Pardons
On December 24, 1992, six weeks after losing re-election and three weeks before Walsh was to release key findings relating to the knowledge of senior Reagan administration officials, President George H.W. Bush issued pardons to Caspar Weinberger (whose trial had been scheduled for January 1993), Elliott Abrams, Robert McFarlane, Clair George, Alan Fiers, and Duane Clarridge. Walsh issued a statement calling the pardons "a misuse of presidential pardon power" and stated that Bush had sought to "undermine a criminal investigation of which he himself was a subject."[^2]
On December 24, 1992, seven weeks after losing the November 1992 presidential election, President George H.W. Bush issued Proclamation 6518, granting executive clemency to Weinberger, Abrams, McFarlane, George, Fiers and Clarridge for offenses charged or prosecuted by Walsh's office.[^30] The proclamation called the prosecutions "the criminalization of policy differences." It said that the common denominator of the men's motivation was patriotism, that they did not profit, and that each has a record of long and distinguished service to the country.[^30]
Walsh had been investigating Bush's role in the Iran-Contra affair, including notes Bush claimed not to exist that were subsequently produced showing his knowledge of the arms-for-hostages scheme. The pardons prevented Walsh from completing that aspect of his investigation. Walsh later wrote that the pardons constituted a cover-up rather than executive clemency.[^2]
Walsh responded the same day. A statement quoted by Brown University's Iran-Contra archive said that the pardon of Weinberger and the other defendants "undermines the principle that no man is above the law," and that "Weinberger, who faced four felony charges, deserved to be tried by a jury of citizens." It concluded: "The Iran-contra cover-up, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed with the pardon of Caspar Weinberger."[^31] United Press International reported that Walsh delivered that sentence at a hastily called news conference. At the same news conference Walsh said he had learned thirteen days earlier that Bush had not turned over requested notes from his years as vice president, and that "The production of these notes is still ongoing and will lead to appropriate action." He said that Weinberger's early and deliberate decision to conceal and withhold extensive contemporaneous notes had radically altered the official investigations and possibly forestalled timely impeachment proceedings against Reagan and other officials, and that he would soon make a "full report" to Congress and the public "describing the details and extent of this cover-up." Asked whether the pardons sent a message that those in government are above the law, he said, "That depends on the president you work for." Asked whether he might pursue Bush, he said, "I don't want to speculate on that." President-elect [[Bill Clinton]] said that day, "I am concerned by any action which sends a signal that if you work for the government you are above the law."[^32] On the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour that evening, Walsh accused Weinberger of lying and said that he had deliberately hidden his notes, according to a 1994 essay in [[The New York Review of Books]].[^33] The Independent Counsel issued a Fourth Interim Report to Congress on the Weinberger case and the pardons on February 8, 1993.[^10]
The pardon of Weinberger came twelve days before his trial was due to begin.[^26] The Final Report describes the criminal investigation of Bush as regrettably incomplete. It states that after the pardons Bush refused to be interviewed unless the interview was limited to his non-production of the diary and personal notes.[^26]
### Final Report
Walsh's Final Report was released in three volumes in August 1993 and in its complete form in January 1994. It concluded that Reagan's senior advisers had undertaken the Iran arms sales and Contra diversion with the knowledge of and in service to administration policy, and that the subsequent cover-up - including the destruction of documents and false testimony - was directed at the highest levels of government. The report documented what Walsh called "the criminalization of policy differences" - the use of secret operations and lying to Congress as substitutes for lawful policymaking when the administration could not obtain congressional approval for its objectives.[^1]
The Final Report was issued in three volumes. Volume I, Investigations and Prosecutions, is dated August 4, 1993 and runs 572 pages. Volume II, Indictments, Plea Agreements, Interim Reports to the Congress and Administrative Matters, is dated the same day and runs 785 pages. Volume III, Comments and Materials Submitted by Individuals and Their Attorneys Responding to Volume I of the Final Report, is dated December 3, 1993 and runs 1,150 pages.[^34] The letter of transmittal that accompanies Volume I lists Volume III as Classified Materials, and states that materials not contained in the three volumes were deposited with the National Archives, with some held under seal in federal district and appellate courts.[^35]
### Publications
The complete report was released on Tuesday, January 18, 1994, and The New York Times reported on it on January 19. The Christian Science Monitor described three volumes totaling 2,507 pages, priced at $60, and an investigation that cost $37.6 million.[^3][^33] The Times obituary of Walsh put the cost at about $37 million and the length of the investigation at more than six years.[^5]
Walsh published a memoir, *Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up* (W.W. Norton, 1997), documenting the investigation's obstacles including executive branch obstruction, the immunized testimony problem, and the Bush pardons. The book remains one of the primary insider accounts of the Iran-Contra independent counsel investigation.[^1]
The executive summary's overall conclusion was that "high-ranking Administration officials violated laws and executive orders in the Iran/contra matter," and that the sales of arms to Iran "contravened United States Government policy and may have violated the Arms Export Control Act."[^9]
### Firewall and Later Life
Walsh's memoir, *Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-up*, was published by [[W. W. Norton]] in New York in 1997.[^1] In it he concluded that Reagan must have known of the basic details of the operation and that the president's advisers had tried to shield him by concealing records and personal notes. He wrote: "What set Iran-contra apart from previous political scandals was that a cover-up engineered in the White House of one president and completed by his successor prevented the rule of law being applied to perpetrators of criminal activity of constitutional dimension."[^5] He also wrote an autobiography, *The Gift of Insecurity: A Lawyer's Life*.[^2][^6]
Walsh died on March 19, 2014, at his home in Oklahoma City following a brief illness, at the age of 102.[^2][^4][^5]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Walsh, Lawrence E. *Iran-Contra: The Final Report*. Random House, 1994. Walsh, Lawrence E. *Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-Up*. W.W. Norton, 1997.
[^2]: Walsh, Lawrence E. Statement on Presidential Pardons, December 24, 1992. Independent Counsel press release archived at Department of Justice.
[^1]: Federal Judicial Center, "Walsh, Lawrence Edward," Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, including the bibliography entry for Walsh, Lawrence E., Firewall: The Iran-Contra Conspiracy and Cover-up (New York: Norton, 1997). https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/walsh-lawrence-edward
[^2]: American Law Institute, "In Memoriam: Lawrence E. Walsh." https://www.ali.org/news/articles/memoriam-lawrence-e-walsh
[^3]: "Iran-Contra's Final Page," Christian Science Monitor, January 20, 1994. https://csmonitor.com/1994/0120/20182.html
[^4]: Martha Neil, "Iran-Contra prosecutor and former ABA president Lawrence Walsh is dead at 102," ABA Journal, March 20, 2014. https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_federal_judge_and_aba_president_lawrence_walsh_is_dead_at_102
[^5]: Neil A. Lewis, "Lawrence E. Walsh, Iran-Contra Prosecutor, Dies at 102," The New York Times, March 21, 2014, as reprinted by Boston.com. https://www.boston.com/news/national-news/2014/03/21/lawrence-e-walsh-iran-contra-prosecutor-dies-at-102
[^6]: "Lawrence E. Walsh, 1912-2014," ABA Journal, June 2014. https://abajournal.com/magazine/article/lawrence_e._walsh_past_aba_president_and_independent_counsel_on_iran-contra
[^7]: Richard Nixon, Letter to Lawrence E. Walsh Accepting His Resignation as Deputy Head of the U.S. Delegation to the Paris Meetings on Vietnam, November 21, 1969. The American Presidency Project. https://presidency.ucsb.edu/node/240151
[^8]: Nina Totenberg, foreword to Lawrence E. Walsh, The Gift of Insecurity, excerpted by National Public Radio, March 20, 2014. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/03/20/291998891/lawrence-walsh-his-judgment-came-not-from-confidence-but-insecurity
[^9]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Executive Summary, including the Special Division appointment of December 19, 1986, the Overall Conclusions and the footnote on the Justice Department position. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
[^10]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Chronology of Key Public Events (entries for November 25, December 4 and December 19, 1986, March 5, 1987, October 30, December 11 and December 24, 1992, and February 8, 1993). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chron.htm
[^11]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Summary of Prosecutions. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
[^12]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 13, Private Fundraisers (United States v. Carl R. Channell and United States v. Richard R. Miller). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_13.htm
[^13]: United States v. North, 910 F.2d 843 (D.C. Cir. July 20, 1990). https://static.case.law/f2d/910/cases/0843-01.json
[^14]: United States v. Poindexter, 951 F.2d 369 (D.C. Cir. November 15, 1991). https://static.case.law/f2d/951/cases/0369-01.json
[^15]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 9, United States v. Richard V. Secord. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_09.htm
[^16]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 10, United States v. Albert Hakim. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_10.htm
[^17]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 11, United States v. Thomas G. Clines. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_11.htm
[^18]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 20, United States v. Joseph F. Fernandez. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_20.htm
[^19]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 17, United States v. Clair E. George. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_17.htm
[^20]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Summary of Prosecutions, "Pre-trial Pardons" (Clarridge and Weinberger entries). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/summpros.htm
[^21]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 18, United States v. Duane R. Clarridge. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_18.htm
[^22]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 19, United States v. Alan D. Fiers, Jr. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_19.htm
[^23]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Executive Summary, section on Elliott Abrams and the Sultan of Brunei solicitation. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/execsum.htm
[^24]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Part V, The Flow of Funds: The Prosecution of the Private Operatives, Overview. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/part_v.htm
[^25]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 8, The Enterprise and Its Finances, text and note 51. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_08.htm
[^26]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 28, George Bush. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_28.htm
[^27]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 27, Ronald Reagan. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_27.htm
[^28]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 15, William J. Casey. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_15.htm
[^29]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Vol. I, Chapter 1, the Iran arms sales (Ledeen and Schwimmer passage). https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/chap_01.htm
[^30]: George Bush, Proclamation 6518, Grant of Executive Clemency, December 24, 1992. The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-6518-grant-executive-clemency
[^31]: Brown University, "Understanding the Iran Contra Affair," "The Pardons," quoting Walsh's response to the December 24, 1992 pardons. https://webhelper.brown.edu/cheit/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/thepardons.php
[^32]: Thomas Ferraro, "Bush pardons Weinberger, draws fire," United Press International, December 24, 1992. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/12/24/Bush-pardons-Weinberger-draws-fire/8973725173200/
[^33]: "Walsh's Last Stand," The New York Review of Books, March 3, 1994. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1994/03/03/walshs-last-stand/
[^34]: Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Division No. 86-6 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), Volumes I-III, title-page volume descriptions and dates "August 4, 1993" (vols. I-II) and "December 3, 1993" (vol. III), ISBN 0160430097, with page counts. https://www.abebooks.com/9780160430091/Final-Report-Independent-Counsel-IranContra-0160430097/plp
[^35]: Office of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters, Final Report, Letter of Transmittal to Volume I. https://irp.fas.org/offdocs/walsh/letter.htm

149
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Leonidas Varagiannis.md
View file

@ -6,34 +6,153 @@ tags:
- ChildExploitation
- NVE
- FederalCase
- USA
- Greece
created: 2026-05-21
updated: 2026-05-21
summary: "Leonidas Varagiannis (alias 'War') is a U.S. citizen who co-led 764 Inferno with Prasan Nepal, arrested in Thessaloniki, Greece in April 2025 and charged in D.C. with running a child exploitation enterprise, contesting extradition as of mid-2026."
- USA
aliases:
- "Leonidas Varagiannis"
- "Varagiannis"
- "War"
- "War764"
- "mercyisweak"
summary: "Leonidas Varagiannis (alias 'War') is a U.S. citizen accused in federal court in Washington of co-leading the 764 Inferno child exploitation enterprise, arrested in Thessaloniki, Greece, in April 2025."
born: 2004
location: "Thessaloniki, Greece"
relations:
- type: participant_in
with: "[[764 Inferno]]"
role: "co-leader and administrator, as alleged"
start: 2023-12
fn: 22
- type: participant_in
with: "[[764 Network]]"
role: "member and leader, as alleged"
start: 2023-12
fn: 22
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Prasan Nepal]]"
role: "co-leader of 764 Inferno and co-defendant"
start: 2023-12
fn: 30
- type: investigated
with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-04-15
fn: 2
- type: investigated
with: "[[Hellenic National Police]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-04-29
fn: 1
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-09-26
fn: 11
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Justin Sher]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-04-30
fn: 1
- type: represented
with: "[[Xanthippi Moysidou]]"
reverse: true
start: 2025-04-30
fn: 5
created: 2026-05-21
updated: 2026-10-09
---
[[Leonidas Varagiannis]], known online as "War," (born approximately 2004) is a U.S. citizen who was residing in [[Thessaloniki, Greece]] at the time of his April 29, 2025 arrest. He co-led [[764 Inferno]], a core operational subgroup of the [[764 Network]], alongside [[Prasan Nepal]] ("Trippy") of High Point, [[North Carolina]]. The [[U.S. Department of Justice|DOJ]] announced charges against both on April 30, 2025, filed in the [[District of Columbia]]. Varagiannis was arrested on an international warrant in Greece; his defense team contested extradition before the Greek Court of Appeals, with the appellate ruling still pending in mid-2025. He faces charges including production and distribution of [[CSAM]], coercion and enticement of minors, extortion, and conspiracy to operate a child exploitation enterprise, with a potential sentence of life in federal prison. He was also named as a co-conspirator in the October 2025 federal indictment against [[Baron Cain Martin]] in the District of Arizona.[^1]
[[Leonidas Varagiannis]], known online as "War" (born approximately 2004), is a United States citizen who was residing in [[Thessaloniki, Greece]] when Greek police arrested him there on April 29, 2025.[^1] The [[U.S. Department of Justice|DOJ]] announced the next day that he and [[Prasan Nepal]] ("Trippy") had been charged in the [[District of Columbia]] with operating a child exploitation enterprise through [[764 Inferno]], a core subgroup of the [[764 Network]].[^1] Nepal was arrested in North Carolina on April 22, 2025, eight days earlier.[^1] The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] Washington and New York field offices led the investigation, with help from the FBI Charlotte field office, the FBI legal attache office in Athens and the [[Hellenic National Police]].[^1] The allegations below come from the charging documents and from reporting that attributes them to those documents or to Greek authorities.
### 764 Inferno Operations
### Complaint and arrest
Varagiannis and Nepal ran 764 Inferno's operations targeting vulnerable children and teenagers across multiple jurisdictions. The enterprise used the broader [[The Com|Com]] ecosystem's operational methods at scale:
A criminal complaint was sworn on April 15, 2025, by FBI Special Agent [[Andrew Rust]] before Magistrate Judge [[Zia M. Faruqui]].[^2] It charges Varagiannis and Prasan Nepal with a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g). The court sealed the case on the day the complaint was filed and unsealed it on April 30, 2025, the day after the arrest in Greece.[^3]
Grooming through encrypted applications established trust and access with vulnerable targets. Victims were then coerced into producing degrading and explicit content through psychological manipulation and threats. The network specifically ordered "cut signs" and "blood signs" - victims were directed to cut symbols into their own bodies, photograph the results, and send the images as proof of submission and continued compliance.
Greek police took Varagiannis into custody on Tuesday, April 29, in Thessaloniki, on an international arrest warrant and extradition request from the United States. The Greek police statement refers to an international search notice issued through [[Interpol]] at U.S. request. It said the offenses were alleged to have been committed between December 2023 and April 2025, that they are also punishable under Greek law, and that the United States sought his extradition to be tried for violating its child exploitation laws.[^4] On April 30 he appeared before an appellate prosecutor in Thessaloniki. He denied the allegations and formally opposed extradition, according to Greek judicial authorities and his lawyer, [[Xanthippi Moysidou]].[^5][^6] Moysidou told the [[Associated Press]] that because he resided in Greece throughout the period of the alleged offenses, "Greek law and courts have jurisdiction over the case, and his extradition is explicitly prohibited." AP reported that he would remain in custody until a court of appeals ruled on the request.[^5]
The most distinctive operational feature was the "Lorebook" economy: curated collections of victim abuse material that functioned as currency and status markers within the network. Lorebooks were traded among members to recruit additional participants, maintain hierarchical position, and access other Lorebook collections. This created an internal incentive structure that drove ongoing coercion.
### Extradition proceedings
The DOJ documented at least 8 minor victims, some as young as 13, across multiple jurisdictions.[^2]
On July 9, 2025, AP reported from Thessaloniki that a court had rejected the U.S. extradition request. Court officials said the claim was rejected because he had applied for, and was eligible to receive, Greek citizenship. Moysidou told AP that the panel upheld the claim "that the extradition of a Greek national is forbidden, acknowledging his Greek citizenship by virtue of being the child of a Greek parent." AP reported that he was due to be released from custody that week.[^7]
### Arrest and Extradition Proceedings
On October 17, 2025, [[To Vima]] reported that Greek authorities had arrested an unnamed 21-year-old Greek-American man in Thessaloniki on Greek felony charges of participating in a US-based criminal organization that trafficked child pornography. It says he had been arrested the previous April on the U.S. request, that an appellate council had rejected his extradition because of his dual citizenship, and that the [[U.S. Department of State|State Department]] has reportedly asked for his extradition. It says an 18-year-old was arrested in the same case as an accomplice. According to the report, the 21-year-old denied the charges and said he had gone to the younger man's residence and only accessed an application on that man's computer.[^8]
Varagiannis was arrested by Greek authorities on April 29, 2025, the day before the DOJ announced charges. His defense attorney, [[Xanthippi Moysidou]], argued before Greek courts that because the alleged offenses occurred while Varagiannis was residing in Greece, Greek courts hold jurisdiction and extradition is "explicitly prohibited" under Greek law. He remained in Greek custody pending a ruling from the Greek Court of Appeals on the extradition challenge. No resolution of the appellate proceedings was publicly reported as of mid-2026.
The Justice Department's October 9, 2026 release states that Varagiannis "is currently being held at Grevena Prison in northern Greece and is expected to have a trial in the next six months on charges related to child pornography and participation in a criminal organization."[^9] [[Euronews]] reported in May 2025 that he denied the charges and opposed extradition to the United States.[^6]
Nepal, having been arrested in North Carolina on April 22, 2025, faced direct U.S. federal prosecution with no extradition issues.[^1]
A [[GreekReporter]] article dated January 12, 2026 described a 21-year-old Greek American detained in Thessaloniki on a U.S. request, with the extradition request under review by Greek courts.[^10]
### Indictment
A grand jury in the District of Columbia was sworn on June 6, 2025. On September 26, 2025, it returned a one-count indictment against Varagiannis and Nepal in case number 1:25-cr-00304, assigned to Judge [[Reggie B. Walton]].[^11][^12] Count One charges a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g). It alleges that the two defendants engaged in the enterprise from a date before 2021 through about April 29, 2025, and lists as predicate offenses the distribution of child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) for conduct in June, August and September 2024, and the sexual exploitation of a child under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) for conduct in March 2024.[^11] Two predicate paragraphs name Varagiannis alone. One covers distribution conduct between August 31 and September 4, 2024, in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. The other covers the March 2024 conduct, which the indictment places in the District of Massachusetts.[^11] The forfeiture allegation seeks property under 18 U.S.C. § 2253 and 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).[^11] The predicate offenses listed in the complaint affidavit are broader. They include attempted sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement of a minor under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), and conspiracy to distribute or receive child pornography.[^13]
The Justice Department names Assistant U.S. Attorneys [[Alexandra Hughes]], [[Karen Shinskie]] and [[Jack Korba]], and trial attorneys [[Justin Sher]] and [[James Donnelly]] of the [[National Security Division]]'s Counterterrorism Section, as prosecutors.[^1] Korba withdrew his appearance on June 11, 2025.[^12] The Justice Department release of April 2025 states that the maximum penalty is life in prison.[^1]
The docket lists Varagiannis as defendant 2 on the general order of September 30, 2025, and every later entry concerns Nepal alone: his arraignment on October 3, 2025, excluded-time orders through September 2026, a substitution of defense counsel in March 2026, and, on October 6, 2026, a one-count information against Nepal naming Varagiannis as a conspirator under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e).[^14][^15] On October 8, 2026, Nepal pleaded guilty under a plea agreement; the Justice Department release gives a range of 15 to 30 years and a sentencing date of March 5, 2027.[^9][^14]
### Overt acts alleged in the indictment
The indictment alleges that Varagiannis joined 764 in or around December 2023, that he used the monikers "mercyisweak" and "mercyisweak2" along with a third, and that throughout his participation he resided in Greece.[^16] It alleges that he and Nepal, with a co-conspirator known as "Fail," controlled recruitment, decided who entered 764 Inferno and who was promoted, and required members to continue producing content.[^16] On June 5, 2024, when a prospective member sought readmission, it alleges Varagiannis praised the candidate's content, including a video of a purported suicide, and that "Fail" later told another member to "speak with war" about joining.[^17] It alleges that on September 13, 2024 Varagiannis shared in a public 764 channel the guide on grooming and extortion.[^17]
For the dates on which co-conspirators posted material in the channel, the indictment alleges that Varagiannis commented in the group on August 31, 2024 on content posted by a co-conspirator, posted on August 29 and 30, 2024, was active between 7:41 a.m. and 7:56 a.m. Pacific time on June 14, 2024, posted from 2:44 a.m. to 6:52 p.m. Pacific time on June 18, 2024, and was listed on a roster of the channel's members on August 31, 2024, three hours before a further compilation was posted.[^18] It also pleads direct messages exchanged on March 29 and 30, 2024 with a minor, which are the basis of the sexual exploitation predicate in Count One.[^18] The indictment designates nine minor victims by number and defines the group's "Lorebooks" as compilations edited from material taken from victims by blackmail and coercion and shared on social media platforms.[^18][^19]
### Identification
The affidavit gives several grounds for attributing the accounts to Varagiannis. A sensitive source reported that "War" was a member of the 764 Inferno channel and used a Platform A user identifier, X0446. A commercial subscription service recorded the username "War764" on that platform from January 30 through May 15, 2024.[^20] Platform B disclosures showed that three accounts using the display name "War764" attempted between November 1, 2023 and March 17, 2024 to coerce at least three minors into self-harm. One of the three accounts was in direct contact with a minor described in the affidavit, and all three were accessed from IP addresses resolving to [[Cosmote]] in Thessaloniki.[^20] A [[Google]] account registered under the name "War" was associated with a [[YouTube]] channel for "@mercyisweak."[^20] The affidavit states that accounts are often terminated for violations of platform rules and that users create variations of one name, so the same individual is likely behind them.[^20]
Greek law enforcement seized several electronic devices from Varagiannis on April 5, 2024, and the results were shared with the FBI under a mutual legal assistance treaty. An Android device among them contained an image of a passport issued in the name Leonidas Varagiannis. The same passport image appeared in the records of a Google account registered under the name "War."[^21]
### Alleged role in 764 Inferno
The affidavit says that Varagiannis joined 764 in or around December 2023, used the monikers "mercyisweak" and "mercyisweak2," and was known within 764 Inferno as "War." It states that he resided in Greece throughout his participation in the enterprise and that he is a United States citizen.[^22] Access to 764 Inferno was reserved for an inner core invited by the leaders, a group that included Varagiannis, Nepal and a member known as "Fail." The affidavit states that the defendants controlled membership, posted instructions on how to exploit minors, and commented on the material members posted.[^23]
The affidavit describes [[Lorebook|Lorebooks]], compilations of material taken from victims, as shared in 764 channels and used as currency. According to the affidavit, members earned invitations to Inferno and kept their position in the group by producing and sharing such content.[^24] The Justice Department release describes "cut signs" and "blood signs," content in which victims cut symbols into their bodies, and says that at least eight minor victims across multiple jurisdictions were exploited, with some content traced to children as young as 13.[^1]
On August 28, 2024, Varagiannis posted what the affidavit calls purported rules for 764 Inferno, one of which read "no pedophilia." The affidavit states that the defendants nonetheless never removed links to Lorebooks containing child sexual abuse material and did not remove members who posted it.[^25] On September 13, 2024, he shared in a public 764 channel a guide that instructed recruits on creating content for the group. The affidavit states that the guide gave instructions on grooming, described targets as vulnerable, including people with depression or mental illness, and included a section on extortion.[^25]
On August 26, 2024, when another member proposed "bringing back extortion," Varagiannis answered "go for it" and wrote that "only the best will get into inferno so everyone aware."[^26] In June 2024 the affidavit describes him complimenting a prospective member's content, which included a video of a purported suicide.[^26] The affidavit also describes direct messages he sent to a minor on an encrypted application in March 2024, in which he directed the minor's conduct during a video call.[^27]
Images recovered from the Android device include graffiti reading "NLM" and a swastika on a white truck, and graffiti on a white SUV reading "Trippy," "War" and "T3n_mm." The affidavit states that a user named "WAR 764," marked as an admin, posted the truck image in 764 Inferno on March 4, 2024, after a message from "Trippy" asking that graffiti be posted so the group could see it.[^28]
### Relationship to Prasan Nepal
The indictment describes Varagiannis and Nepal as leaders of the 764 network who conspired to create and direct 764 and a group on an encrypted application called 764 Inferno, composed of core 764 members and leaders.[^29] It states that Inferno members distributed links to child sexual abuse material and self-harm material, which the members then used to extort the minors shown in it.[^29]
The affidavit describes Nepal as having joined 764 around late 2020 or early 2021 and as having emerged as a leader after the arrest in August 2021 of a founder, identified as "Individual 1." It says that Nepal and Varagiannis, along with the member "Fail," controlled recruitment by deciding who could join, and that prospective members had to produce and share content to be recruited.[^30] The affidavit records both men as active in Inferno on the dates of several of the distribution events it describes.[^30]
### Baron Cain Martin
The superseding indictment against [[Baron Cain Martin]] in the [[District of Arizona]] (No. 4:25-cr-00190), filed October 29, 2025 in a version redacted for public disclosure, refers to his co-conspirators as "conspirators," "coconspirators," "Conspirator 1" and "others, known and unknown." The unredacted version was filed under seal.[^31] The Justice Department's October 31, 2025 release describes Martin as having conspired "with others."[^32]
### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-DC. "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise." April 30, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise; Euronews. "US citizen faces extradition from Greece for alleged role in online child exploitation ring." May 2025. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/01/us-citizen-faces-extradition-from-greece-for-alleged-role-in-online-child-exploitation-rin
[^2]: ADL. "764." https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/764
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise," April 30, 2025, https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise
[^2]: Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint and Arrest Warrant, Special Agent Andrew Rust (FBI), sworn April 15, 2025, United States v. Prasan Nepal and Leonidas Varagiannis, No. 1:25-mj-00061-ZMF (D.D.C.), Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 1 to 5, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^3]: Docket, United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-mj-00061 (D.D.C.): motion to seal and order of April 15, 2025 (Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui); motion to unseal of April 29, 2025 and order of April 30, 2025 (Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya), https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^4]: Protothema, "Συνελήφθη στη Θεσσαλονίκη μέλος της οργάνωσης «764» για υποθέσεις παιδικής πορνογραφίας" (report of the Greek police statement), April 30, 2025, https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/1632347/sunelifthi-sti-thessaloniki-melos-tis-organosis-764-gia-upotheseis-paidikis-pornografias-ton-anazitouse-i-interpol/
[^5]: Associated Press, "US citizen wanted in 'nihilistic' child sexual exploitation case arrested in Greece," April 30, 2025, https://www.aol.com/news/us-citizen-wanted-nihilistic-child-153301955.html (the same text appears at https://www.yahoo.com/news/greece-arrests-american-citizen-wanted-150153840.html).
[^6]: Euronews, "US citizen faces extradition from Greece for alleged role in online child exploitation ring," May 1, 2025, reporting Associated Press material, https://euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/01/us-citizen-faces-extradition-from-greece-for-alleged-role-in-online-child-exploitation-rin
[^7]: Associated Press, "Greek court rejects extradition request for US national accused of running child exploitation site," July 9, 2025, Thessaloniki dateline, https://mynorthwest.com/world/greek-court-rejects-extradition-request-for-us-national-accused-of-running-child-exploitation-site/4108364 .
[^8]: To Vima, "2 Suspects Arrested in Thessaloniki in Int'l Child Porn Investigation," October 17, 2025, https://www.tovima.com/society/2-suspects-arrested-in-thessaloniki-in-intl-child-porn-investigation/ .
[^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Leader of Global Violent Extremist Network '764' Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Sexually Exploit Minors," Press Release 26-1164, October 9, 2026, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-global-violent-extremist-network-764-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-sexually-exploit-minors
[^10]: GreekReporter, "Greek-American Detained in Thessaloniki for US Extradition Over Child Exploitation," by John Koutroumpis, January 12, 2026, https://greekreporter.com/2026/01/12/greek-american-arrested-thessaloniki-child-exploitation/ .
[^11]: Indictment, United States v. Prasan Nepal and Leonidas Varagiannis, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), Doc. 19, filed September 26, 2025, Count One paragraphs 53 to 59 and forfeiture allegation, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^12]: Docket, No. 1:25-cr-00304 (D.D.C.): Doc. 16, notice of withdrawal of counsel by Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Korba, June 11, 2025, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.16.0.pdf ; general order assigning the case to Judge Reggie B. Walton, entry 21, September 30, 2025; indictment cover page reciting a grand jury sworn June 6, 2025, https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^13]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 18 and 29, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^14]: Docket, United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), entries 19 to 48, September 26, 2025 to October 8, 2026, https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/
[^15]: Information, United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), Doc. 43, dated October 5, 2026, docketed October 6, 2026, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285419/gov.uscourts.dcd.285419.43.0_1.pdf
[^16]: Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 10, 11, 13 and 17, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^17]: Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 18, 20 and 22, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^18]: Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 26, 29, 30, 35 to 39, 42, 45 and 49, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^19]: Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 29 and 30 (definition of Lorebooks and means and methods), https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^20]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 58 to 63 and 70 to 71, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^21]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 64 and 65, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^22]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 9 to 12, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^23]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 6, 11 and 20, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^24]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 7(c) to 7(e), https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^25]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 17 and 27 to 29, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^26]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 21 and 25, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^27]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 32 to 35, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf .
[^28]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 66 to 68, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^29]: Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 1 to 9, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf
[^30]: Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 6, 9, 19 to 20 and 38 to 40, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf
[^31]: Superseding Indictment (Redacted for Public Disclosure), United States v. Martin, No. 4:25-cr-00190 (D. Ariz.), Doc. 53, filed October 29, 2025; sealed unredacted version, Doc. 54, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.azd.1421217/gov.uscourts.azd.1421217.53.0_1.pdf
[^32]: U.S. Department of Justice, OPA, "Arizona Leader of Violent Extremist Network '764' Charged with Running a Child Exploitation Enterprise, Supporting Terrorists, Producing and Distributing Child Pornography, and Other Crimes," October 31, 2025, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/arizona-leader-violent-extremist-network-764-charged-running-child-exploitation-enterprise

29
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Lew Wasserman.md
View file

@ -7,16 +7,37 @@ summary: "Wasserman was a major contributor to and sat on the board of the Reaga
born: 1913-03-22
died: 2002-06-03
location: "Cleveland, Ohio"
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[Music Corporation of America]]"
role: "president from 1946, later chairman; per Moldea"
start: 1946
fn: 2
---
[[Lew Wasserman]] was the Chairman of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] Corporation. He was a powerful figure in Hollywood and a long-time political supporter of [[Ronald Reagan]]. Wasserman represented Reagan during the actor's early days in Hollywood, and along with [[Jules Stein]], [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]'s founder, negotiated the sale of Reagan's [[California]] properties at hugely inflated prices, which helped make Reagan a millionaire.[^1]
[[Lew Wasserman]] was the Chairman of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] Corporation. He was a powerful figure in Hollywood and a long-time political supporter of [[Ronald Reagan]]. Wasserman represented Reagan during the actor's early days in Hollywood, and along with [[Jules Stein]], MCA's founder, negotiated the sale of Reagan's [[California]] properties at hugely inflated prices, which helped make Reagan a millionaire.[^1]
Wasserman was a major contributor to and sat on the board of the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] presidential library, along with [[Edwin Meese]] and others. He was involved in raising $80 million to build it.[^1]
Wasserman was a major contributor to and sat on the board of the Reagan presidential library, along with [[Edwin Meese]] and others. He was involved in raising $80 million to build it.[^1]
Wasserman was connected to organized crime. He was on the [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] Board of Directors during the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] investigation into alleged mob ties to [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]. [[Edward Sciandra]] reportedly wanted to go to Wasserman and [[Sidney Sheinberg]] (President of [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]) and tell them who they were up against.[^1]
Wasserman was connected to organized crime. He was on the MCA Board of Directors during the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] investigation into alleged mob ties to MCA. [[Edward Sciandra]] reportedly wanted to go to Wasserman and [[Sidney Sheinberg]] (President of MCA) and tell them who they were up against.[^1]
[[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Nancy Reagan]] were known to celebrate New Year's Eve with Wasserman and his wife, Edie. [[Howard Baker]] returned to [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]'s board of directors in March 1989, just in time to help Wasserman celebrate his seventy-sixth birthday.[^1]
Ronald Reagan and [[Nancy Reagan]] were known to celebrate New Year's Eve with Wasserman and his wife, Edie. [[Howard Baker]] returned to MCA's board of directors in March 1989, just in time to help Wasserman celebrate his seventy-sixth birthday.[^1]
### Blanket waiver and the 1962 action
Moldea wrote that Wasserman was groomed as Jules Stein's heir and was named president of MCA in 1946, when Stein became chairman of the board.[^2]
A Justice Department document quoted by Moldea stated that "Wasserman and Schreiber could sell SAG anything" because of their relationship with Reagan, then president of the [[Screen Actors Guild]]. The 1952 blanket waiver allowed MCA to operate in television production through its talent agency and a new production company, Revue Productions, headed by [[Taft Schreiber]].[^2]
Moldea wrote that the government began a concentrated probe of MCA's business affairs after the election of John F. Kennedy and the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy as attorney general. He wrote that the government went to court after MCA bought Universal Pictures and Decca Records, and that a consent decree followed, under which MCA dissolved its talent agency.[^2]
Moldea wrote that [[Sidney Korshak]], the Beverly Hills attorney whom federal investigators described as a principal link between legitimate business and organized crime, was a close friend of Wasserman and Stein. He quoted Wasserman in the New York Times series of June 27 to 30, 1976 (Seymour Hersh with Jeff Gerth) calling Korshak a "very good personal friend" and saying of the underworld allegations, "I don't believe them."[^2] On July 15, 1962 Wasserman filed an affidavit denying that MCA had violated any law.[^2]
Wasserman's employment agreement with MCA Inc. is dated December 6, 1988 and was amended November 26, 1990.[^3] An Associated Press report of December 30, 1990 stated that, in the Matsushita purchase, Wasserman alone was to receive a new preferred Matsushita stock that saved him $100 million in capital gains and estate taxes, and that Judge Manuel Real declined to block the sale.[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: Moldea, Dan E. *Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob*. New York: Viking, 1986, chs. 25 and 32. https://archive.org/details/dark-victory-ronald-reagan-mca-and-the-mob
[^3]: Seagram Co. Ltd., Form 10-K405, filed September 27, 1996, exhibits 10(bb) and 10(cc). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/88188/0000950123-96-005242.txt
[^4]: Associated Press, "Japanese firm closes purchase of MCA," December 30, 1990. https://www.deseret.com/1990/12/30/18898485/japanese-firm-closes-purchase-of-mca-br/

154
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Peter Videnieks.md
View file

@ -1,37 +1,159 @@
---
aliases:
- Videnieks
category: "Intelligence & Government"
created: 2024-04-25
updated: 2026-05-01
tags:
- Person
- PROMIS
- DoJ
- INSLAW
summary: "Peter Videnieks was the DOJ contracting officer who administered the INSLAW-PROMIS implementation contract, negotiated Modification 12 in April 1983, and became a central figure in allegations that the government deliberately defrauded INSLAW of its proprietary software."
- Hadron
- Cabazon
- USCustoms
- HouseJudiciary
summary: "Peter Videnieks was the Justice Department contracting officer on the INSLAW PROMIS implementation contract, whose handling of the contract and later denials of the allegations against him became central to the software theft claims."
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[U.S. Customs]]"
start: 1978
end: 1981
role: supervising contracting officer
fn: 2
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Internal Revenue Service]]"
fn: 3
- type: employed_by
with: "[[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]]"
fn: 3
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Department of Justice]]"
role: contracting officer, Justice Management Division
fn: 6
- type: participant_in
with: "[[PROMIS Software Scandal]]"
fn: 5
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Justice Management Division]]"
role: contracting officer
fn: 6
- type: investigated
with: "[[United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary]]"
reverse: true
start: 1990
fn: 26
- type: investigated
with: "[[Nicholas J. Bua]]"
reverse: true
role: Special Counsel on the INSLAW allegations
fn: 31
- type: represented
with: "[[Charles Ruff]]"
reverse: true
start: 1991
fn: 26
created: 2024-04-25
updated: 2026-10-09
---
[[Peter Videnieks]] was a contract specialist whose employment history encompassed the [[Internal Revenue Service]], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]], and [[U.S. Customs]], before and after a period detailed to the [[Department of Justice|DOJ's]] [[Executive Office for United States Attorneys]] in the early 1980s. At EOUSA, he served as the contracting officer responsible for administering the [[PROMIS]] software implementation contract with [[INSLAW]]. He became a central figure in the [[PROMIS Software Scandal]].[^1]
[[Peter Videnieks]] was a contracting officer in the [[Justice Management Division]] of the [[Department of Justice]] who administered the 1982 implementation contract between the [[Executive Office for United States Attorneys]] and [[INSLAW]] for the [[PROMIS]] case management software. His handling of that contract, his statements about [[Earl Brian]] and [[Hadron]], and his alleged contacts with [[Michael Riconosciuto]] made him a central figure in the [[PROMIS Software Scandal]]. The writer [[Cheri Seymour]] wrote that he was never charged with any wrongdoing.[^1] Before he entered the Justice Department he worked as a supervising contracting officer in the [[U.S. Customs]] Service.[^2]
### Role in PROMIS Software Scandal
### Career before the INSLAW contract
Videnieks administered the [[INSLAW]] contract with the government, which involved conducting competitive procurement, negotiating and awarding contracts, and administering them to ensure proper performance. His employment history included work with the [[Internal Revenue Service]], [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]], and [[U.S. Customs|Customs]], before and after his tenure at the [[Department of Justice|Department of Justice]].[^1]
In a 1987 deposition in the INSLAW adversary proceeding, Videnieks described employment with the [[Internal Revenue Service]], then at the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]] Goddard Space Flight Center, and then with the Customs Service in the field of procurement.[^3] The [[Nicholas J. Bua|Bua]] report recorded his account that during 1978 to 1981 he worked primarily as a supervising contracting officer at Customs.[^2] A former Customs employee in engineering services, [[John Schoolmeister]], described him in the late 1970s as a "by-the-book" contracting officer who later moved to the Justice Department as a contracting officer.[^4] Seymour wrote that [[Robert Chasen]], who had worked in the same Customs department for at least three years, claimed not to know him.[^1]
[[Michael Riconosciuto]] claimed that [[Earl Brian]] made a copy of the [[PROMIS]] software available to him through [[Wackenhut Corporation]] after acquiring it from Videnieks, who was then a [[Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] contracting official with responsibility for the [[PROMIS]] software. Riconosciuto performed modifications to [[PROMIS]] in Indio, California; Silver Spring, Maryland; and Miami, Florida, with the purpose of supporting a plan for its worldwide implementation in law enforcement and intelligence agencies.[^1]
### The 1982 implementation contract
In February 1991, Videnieks, still employed by the [[Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]], allegedly attempted to persuade [[Michael Riconosciuto]] not to cooperate with an independent investigation of the government's piracy of [[INSLAW]]'s proprietary [[PROMIS]] software, being conducted by the [[United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]]. Videnieks reportedly offered rewards for non-cooperation and threatened specific punishments, including future inclusion of Riconosciuto and his father in a criminal prosecution related to a savings and loan institution, and prosecution for perjury if he testified.[^1]
The implementation contract was signed on March 12, 1982. [[C. Madison Brewer]] was hired to oversee installation for the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, and [[Jack Rugh]] was Brewer's deputy.[^5] The hearing officer in the later congressional reference case wrote that Videnieks was the full-time contracting officer for the larger PROMIS project, not only for the implementation contract, and that he was employed by the Justice Management Division rather than the Executive Office.[^6] The hearing officer also quoted Videnieks' personal notes, which asked: "Why do you need a signature if you got the goods?"[^6]
During [[Michael Riconosciuto]]'s trial in Tacoma, Washington, Videnieks testified about his contact with the [[PROMIS]] software but denied ever hearing of the [[Wackenhut Corporation]]-[[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] joint venture or meeting [[Earl Brian]]. He was evasive when questioned about his involvement with Hadron Company, which was owned by [[Earl Brian]] at the time of the court proceedings. Videnieks also refused to discuss "Modification No. 12" of the [[PROMIS]] software until the original [[INSLAW]] contract was produced, and acknowledged that a bankruptcy court had ruled that the [[Department of Justice|DOJ]] had "stolen" [[PROMIS]] from [[INSLAW]] through his handling of Modification No. 12, though he noted this record was later erased.[^1]
In November 1982 [[Robert Whitely]], the Justice Department's auditor on the contract, told Videnieks that he believed INSLAW was insolvent, and INSLAW's comptroller told Videnieks that the company had missed at least one payroll. On November 19, 1982, DOJ sent INSLAW a formal request for a copy of the software being used to perform the contract.[^7] On January 26, 1983, Videnieks wrote to INSLAW that DOJ would withhold further withdrawals from the special bank account and withdraw the balance, because INSLAW had assigned receivables to the [[Bank of Bethesda]] in violation of the advance payments clause.[^7][^8] Modification 12, effective April 11, 1983, limited DOJ's distribution of the enhanced version of PROMIS to the Executive Office and the 94 United States Attorneys' offices covered by the contract, pending resolution of INSLAW's proprietary rights claim.[^8]
### Connections to Danny Casolaro's Investigation
In June 1983 Videnieks rejected INSLAW's proposed methodology for identifying privately funded enhancements. He and Rugh decided to reject the submission without proposing an acceptable alternative.[^9] The Bua report found no evidence that the two acted in bad faith in that decision.[^10] The hearing officer found that Modification 12 contemplated that INSLAW prove its enhancements in a manner consistent with Videnieks' March 18, 1983 letter, that INSLAW failed to do so within a reasonable time, and that DOJ did not impede, frustrate, or refuse to respond in bad faith to INSLAW's efforts.[^6] The hearing officer described Videnieks as "a creature of the contract" and found his testimony on that point credible, and described him as "taciturn and obdurate" on the witness stand. The hearing officer also found that Brewer had asked Videnieks to move his office into Brewer's area, and that "Mr. Brewer did not infect his staff or Mr. Videnieks."[^6]
[[Danny Casolaro]] was intent on interviewing Videnieks. A week before Casolaro's death, a man named [[Joseph Cuellar]] approached Casolaro, claiming to be a Special Forces operative, and offered to arrange a meeting between Videnieks and Casolaro. Cuellar's connection to Videnieks allegedly came through Videnieks' wife, Barbara, who was the executive assistant to Senator [[Robert Byrd]].[^1]
### Bankruptcy findings
Despite the allegations and his central role in the [[PROMIS Software Scandal]], Videnieks was never charged with any wrongdoing. [[Scott Lawrence]]’s investigation into corruption within [[U.S. Customs|U.S. Customs]], which involved Videnieks, was abruptly shut down when Lawrence and his supervisor requested to impanel grand juries to depose [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] officials.[^1]
Bankruptcy Judge [[George Francis Bason, Jr.|George Bason]] ruled orally on liability in the INSLAW adversary proceeding on September 28, 1987, and issued his written order on January 25, 1988, with findings of fact and conclusions of law.[^11] Bason found that the July 18, 1983 letter suspending payments to INSLAW listed [[Lowell Jensen]], the Associate Attorney General designate, as the first copy, and that Videnieks testified he had never met Jensen and could not account for the copy.[^12] Bason found that DOJ converted INSLAW's enhanced PROMIS "by trickery, fraud and deceit."[^13]
### Bua Report Findings
Bason's conclusions on the conduct of the department included the finding that the acts of DOJ "were done in bad faith, vexatiously, in wanton disregard of the law and the facts, and for oppressive reasons to drive INSLAW out of business and to convert, by trickery, fraud and deceit, INSLAW's PROMIS software."[^14] The [[United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary]] report quoted Bason's finding on Videnieks, which described him as "substantially unreliable" and stated that "Videnieks was under Brewer's domination and was thoroughly affected by Brewer's bias."[^15] The Bua report wrote that Bason had found DOJ "never intended to meet its commitment" under Modification 12 and stated that "We do not believe the evidence supports that finding."[^10]
The [[Nicholas J. Bua|Special Counsel’s]] investigation found the allegations against Videnieks unsupported by credible evidence. Videnieks and [[Earl Brian]] both categorically denied ever meeting one another or meeting [[Michael Riconosciuto]], and denied having visited Indio, California. The Bua Report found both men to be credible witnesses. Regarding the claim that Videnieks delivered PROMIS to Brian for distribution through the Wackenhut-Cabazon venture, investigators found no physical corroboration: witnesses including Cabazon Tribal Chairman Art Welmas and Indio Police Chief Sam Cross stated they had never observed large computers or computing facilities at the reservation during the period Riconosciuto claimed the software modifications were performed.[^2]
Bason also found that in February 1985, after Brewer had talked to [[Thomas Stanton]], Rugh telephoned Videnieks and said there was "no way" the INSLAW bankruptcy would continue as a Chapter 11 case.[^16] Videnieks' handwritten note of the call, dated 2/20/85, is quoted in the Bua report, which also recorded that Rugh and Videnieks each said the note reflected Rugh's belief that INSLAW would end in chapter 7 liquidation, and that the report found their reading of the note reasonable and consistent with the other evidence.[^17]
On March 14, 1986, shortly after INSLAW declared bankruptcy, INSLAW's counsel [[Leigh Ratiner]] wrote to Videnieks as the contracting officer that any continued use of the enhanced PROMIS software without INSLAW's consent contravened its property rights as a debtor and violated the automatic stay.[^18] The [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|D.C. Circuit]] reversed the stay-violation judgment on May 7, 1991, writing that the automatic stay "does not reach the Department's use of property in its possession under a claim of right at the time of the bankruptcy filing, even if that use may ultimately prove to violate the bankrupt's rights," and that the bankruptcy court had no jurisdiction to hear the claims asserted under section 362(a). Rehearing was denied on July 12, 1991.[^19]
### Customs and the Hadron allegation
The House Judiciary Committee received two sworn statements from Schoolmeister, which said that Videnieks, as a Customs contracting officer, handled several contracts with Hadron and would necessarily have met [[Dominic Laiti]], Hadron's chief executive, because Laiti conducted business that way. Videnieks stated under oath to the committee that he did not know Laiti or Earl Brian and had no conversations with either of them.[^20]
The Bua report found that Schoolmeister had no first-hand knowledge of any meeting between Videnieks and Laiti. Videnieks was not the contracting officer on either of two Hadron subsidiary contracts with Customs during the period Schoolmeister described, and Videnieks told investigators that he did not recall any Hadron contract. The report found one connection that it called extraordinarily tenuous: a 1978 and 1979 Customs contract administered by Videnieks with [[Universal Systems]], which Hadron bought in December 1980.[^21] The report concluded that the Hadron connection, "by itself and in conjunction with the other evidence reflected in this report, falls far short of anything that could fairly be called evidence of a conspiracy."[^22]
A former employee of Brian's [[Financial News Network]] gave a sworn statement to the Customs Service Internal Affairs Division in February 1993 that Videnieks and Riconosciuto had made calls to the network in the first quarter of 1987 asking for Brian's chief financial officer or Brian. The Justice Department's 1994 review of the Bua report recorded that the witness had sued Brian and the network after her own discharge, and wrote that it was unclear whether the Special Counsel had investigated her allegations.[^23]
### Riconosciuto's affidavit and the Cabazon allegation
In a March 21, 1991 affidavit filed in the INSLAW adversary proceeding, Michael Riconosciuto said that Videnieks was a frequent visitor to the [[Cabazon Indian Reservation]] and a "close associate" of Brian. He stated that Brian made a copy of PROMIS available to him through [[Wackenhut Corporation]] after acquiring it from Videnieks, and that he modified the software in Indio, California, Silver Spring, Maryland, and Miami, Florida, to support a plan for worldwide implementation in law enforcement and intelligence agencies.[^24] Riconosciuto stated that in a February 1991 telephone call Videnieks told him not to cooperate with the House Judiciary Committee and that, if he did, he would be punished, including by indictment for savings and loan fraud and for perjury.[^24]
According to the House report, Riconosciuto stated in the same affidavit that Videnieks had told him in the February 1991 call that it would be beneficial to refuse a committee request for an interview, and he gave the committee a sworn statement on April 4, 1991 connecting his PROMIS work to Brian and Videnieks.[^25] The committee was unable to schedule a second deposition with Videnieks. On March 25, 1991, his attorney, [[Charles Ruff]], said Videnieks would not agree to one. At the request of the Justice Department, Videnieks testified at Riconosciuto's trial.[^26]
At the Tacoma trial in January 1992, Riconosciuto testified that he first learned of PROMIS on the Cabazon reservation, where he said he received three versions of the software from [[Dr. John Philip Nichols|John Philip Nichols]] when "Peter Videnieks showed up on the reservation."[^27] Asked whether he had met Videnieks, he answered that he had met him at least a dozen times, and that the first place was "In Indio, California." The House report recorded that he had earlier told the committee that the first meeting was at [[Picatinny Arsenal]].[^28]
The House report stated that Riconosciuto alleged that he had two copies of a tape of his conversation with Videnieks at the time of his March 29, 1991 arrest, that the DEA agents who arrested him held the tapes, and that the tape showed Videnieks threatening him. The report said the timing of the arrest, together with the tape allegation, "raises serious questions concerning whether the Department's prosecution of Mr. Riconosciuto was related to his cooperation with the committee." The Department refused the committee access to its investigative files.[^29]
### The Bua report on Videnieks and Brian
The Bua report stated that Videnieks and Brian were each interviewed and that each "categorically and under oath denied all the allegations made by Riconosciuto about them." Both stated that they had never met Riconosciuto or each other and had never been to Indio, either to the reservation or to the Cabazon offices in the city.[^30] The report wrote that "we found both men to be credible witnesses, both in their demeanor and in the substance of their statements."[^31]
The report examined the Lake Cahuilla weapons demonstration of September 10, 1981, which Riconosciuto placed in Indio. A Riverside County investigator's report titled "Nicaraguans and Earl Brian at Lake Cahuilla" named Brian among those present, and the Bua report states that the investigator prepared it in 1991 from Riconosciuto's account. [[Arthur Welmas|Art Welmas]], the Cabazon tribal chairman during the joint venture, and his wife said they never saw or met Brian at the reservation. [[Sam Cross]], Indio's police chief during those years, said he had been in the mobile trailer behind the Cabazon casino, that there was never any computer equipment in it, and that he never heard the name Earl Brian.[^32] The report also cited Brian's 1981 personal calendar and expense records, which placed him in New York on September 10, 1981.[^33]
The report's conclusion on Riconosciuto was that he was "a totally unreliable witness" in connection with the PROMIS allegations, and that his account was "a tale of total fiction woven against the background of accurate historical facts."[^34]
### Casolaro, Cuellar and the Byrd connection
The Justice Department's review of the Bua report, dated September 27, 1994, addressed the claim that Videnieks was involved in the death of [[Danny Casolaro]] in [[West Virginia]]. The review wrote that the allegation appeared to rest on the fact that Videnieks' wife works for [[Robert Byrd]], the Senator from West Virginia, and that Videnieks was a friend of [[Joseph Cuellar]], and it found "no evidence whatsoever" of his involvement.[^35]
Joseph Cuellar, an Army Reserve major, met Casolaro by chance at a bar in Arlington, Virginia, in May 1991. Cuellar talked of his exploits in the Army special forces. He told investigators that he knew Videnieks because a former fiancée had worked with Videnieks' wife in Byrd's Capitol Hill office, and Cuellar and Videnieks each said their relationship was social.[^36] Casolaro asked Cuellar repeatedly to arrange a meeting with Videnieks so that he could ask about Riconosciuto's March 1991 affidavit. Cuellar called Videnieks, who refused.[^37]
The review recorded that Videnieks denied any involvement in Casolaro's death and said he had been at a summer cottage in New York state from August 5 to August 11, 1991. His personnel records showed leave in that period, a credit card receipt showed a purchase at a bookstore in Oneonta, New York, on August 9, and his telephone records showed a call from the cottage to his brother on August 9 at 8:35 p.m. The review found no reason to question his account that he was in New York on August 10, 1991, and was unaware of evidence linking him to the death.[^35] The review also recorded that a Kentucky salvage dealer told Martinsburg police that Videnieks and Brian had played a high-stakes poker game at a Sheraton in Martinsburg around the time of Casolaro's death. The police could not corroborate the account, and the review found the witness lacked credibility.[^35]
### Trial testimony and later accounts
At the Tacoma trial, [[Thomas Olmstead]] questioned Videnieks about the Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture, about Brian, and about Hadron. The writer Cheri Seymour wrote that Videnieks denied ever hearing of the joint venture or meeting Brian, was evasive about his familiarity with Hadron, and refused to discuss Modification 12 until the original contract was produced. Seymour also wrote that Videnieks acknowledged a bankruptcy court had ruled that DOJ had "stolen" PROMIS through his handling of Modification 12, and that the record of that ruling was later erased.[^1]
Seymour wrote that Videnieks offered rewards for non-cooperation with the House committee and that the punishments he threatened included the prosecution of Riconosciuto's father. Seymour also wrote that the investigation of corruption in Customs by [[Scott Lawrence]], a Customs internal affairs investigator, which involved Videnieks, was shut down after Lawrence and his supervisor asked to impanel grand juries to depose [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] officials. Videnieks was never charged.[^1]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: 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.
[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro's Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010.
[^2]: 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, p. 103. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^3]: Deposition of Peter Videnieks, In re INSLAW, Inc., Adversary Proceeding No. 86-0069 (Bankr. D.D.C.), 1987. https://archive.org/details/InslawVidenieksDepositions1987
[^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, p. 102. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^5]: 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, pp. 20, 33 n.18. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993 The opinion in *In re INSLAW, Inc.*, 932 F.2d 1467 (D.C. Cir. 1991), para. 3, dates the contract (No. JVUSA-82-C-0074) March 16, 1982. https://openjurist.org/932/f2d/1467/in-re-inslaw-inc
[^6]: *INSLAW, Inc. v. United States*, Cong. Ref. No. 95-338X, Report of the Hearing Officer (Miller), July 31, 1997, 39 Fed. Cl. 307. https://static.case.law/fed-cl/39/cases/0307-01.json
[^7]: 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, pp. 25-26. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^8]: *INSLAW, Inc. v. United States*, Cong. Ref. No. 95-338X, Report of the Hearing Officer (Miller), July 31, 1997, 39 Fed. Cl. 307, quoting the January 26, 1983 letter and the terms and effect of Modification 12. https://static.case.law/fed-cl/39/cases/0307-01.json
[^9]: 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, pp. 33-34. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^10]: 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, pp. 137-139. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^11]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, pp. 34-35. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^12]: *In re INSLAW, Inc.*, 83 B.R. 89 (Bankr. D.D.C. 1988), Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Adv. Proc. No. 86-0069, Finding 313. https://archive.org/details/Inslaw-FindingsOfFact
[^13]: *In re INSLAW, Inc.*, 83 B.R. 89 (Bankr. D.D.C. 1988), Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Adv. Proc. No. 86-0069, Finding 362. https://archive.org/details/Inslaw-FindingsOfFact
[^14]: *In re INSLAW, Inc.*, 83 B.R. 89 (Bankr. D.D.C. 1988), Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Adv. Proc. No. 86-0069, Finding 399 (83 B.R. at 158, as cited in H. Rept. 102-857, p. 4). https://archive.org/details/Inslaw-FindingsOfFact
[^15]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 90, quoting the bankruptcy court findings. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^16]: *In re INSLAW, Inc.*, 83 B.R. 89 (Bankr. D.D.C. 1988), Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, Adv. Proc. No. 86-0069, Finding 351. https://archive.org/details/Inslaw-FindingsOfFact
[^17]: 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, pp. 211-212. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^18]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 35 n. 85, quoting the letter of Leigh S. Ratiner to Peter Videnieks, March 14, 1986. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^19]: *In re INSLAW, Inc.*, 932 F.2d 1467 (D.C. Cir. 1991) (Williams, J.), decided May 7, 1991, rehearing denied July 12, 1991, paras. 1 and 33. https://openjurist.org/932/f2d/1467/in-re-inslaw-inc
[^20]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 68, citing the sworn statement of Peter Videnieks, November 5, 1990, p. 104. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^21]: 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, pp. 102-103. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^22]: 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, p. 104. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^23]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, pp. 54-55, quoting the Customs Internal Affairs statement of February 7, 1993. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^24]: 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, pp. 44-46, summarizing the affidavit of Michael Riconosciuto dated March 21, 1991. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^25]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 51. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^26]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 48 n. 113. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^27]: 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, p. 47, summarizing Riconosciuto's trial testimony in Tacoma, Washington, January 1992. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^28]: 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, p. 53. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^29]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, pp. 51, 100-101. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
[^30]: 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, p. 53. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^31]: 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, p. 54. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^32]: 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, pp. 59-66. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^33]: 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, p. 66. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^34]: 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, p. 72. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^35]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, pp. 159-160. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^36]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, p. 161. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
[^37]: U.S. Department of Justice. Review of the *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua*, September 27, 1994, p. 162. https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993

21
10 - PEOPLE/(T-Z)/Santos Trafficante, Jr..md
View file

@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ tags:
- 1970s
- 1980s
category: "Organized Crime"
summary: "Santo Trafficante Jr. was the Tampa organized crime boss who held pre-revolutionary Cuba casino interests, was recruited by the CIA in 1960 for anti-Castro assassination plots alongside Sam Giancana and Johnny Roselli, and whose attorney Frank Ragano claimed he made a deathbed confession of involvement in John Kennedy's assassination."
summary: "Tampa organized crime boss with pre-revolutionary Cuba casino interests, recruited by the CIA in 1960 for anti-Castro plots; his attorney Frank Ragano claimed a deathbed confession about Kennedy's assassination."
born: 1914-11-15
died: 1987-03-17
location: "Tampa, Florida"
@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ By the late 1950s Trafficante was one of five to seven organized crime bosses wi
When Castro's forces took Havana in January 1959 and the new government moved against the casino industry and its organized crime operators, Trafficante was among those detained. Cuban authorities held him at the Trescornia immigration detention center outside Havana from approximately June through August 1959. He was among the last of the American organized crime figures to be expelled from Cuba.
One anomalous detail of Trafficante's imprisonment: Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who would kill [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] four years later, visited Cuba in 1959 and made at least one visit to the Trescornia detention facility. The nature of Ruby's relationship with Trafficante - whether Ruby was attempting to negotiate Trafficante's release, conducting independent business, or operating for other purposes - was examined by the HSCA without resolution. The committee noted the contact as potentially significant but could not establish what it meant.[^2]
One anomalous detail of Trafficante's imprisonment: [[Jack Ruby]], the Dallas nightclub owner who would kill [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] four years later, visited Cuba in 1959 and made at least one visit to the Trescornia detention facility. Trafficante was held at Trescornia from June 6 to August 18, 1959, and Ruby's first trip to Cuba began on August 8, 1959. [[Lewis McWillie]] testified that he visited another detainee at Trescornia in that period and recalled possibly seeing Trafficante there, and that Ruby could have gone with him; Trafficante testified that he did not remember Ruby visiting him. The report says the importance of a Ruby-Trafficante meeting there "should not be overemphasized," that the most such a contact would show was a brief meeting, and that no one had suggested the assassination was planned at Trescornia in 1959.[^2] It also states that the committee "developed corroborating evidence that Ruby may have met with Trafficante at Trescornia prison in Cuba," and that "there was considerable evidence that it did take place."[^3]
### CIA-Mafia Anti-Castro Plots
@ -54,21 +54,21 @@ His primary CIA contact, Roselli, was murdered in August 1976 shortly after his
### HSCA Investigation and the Aleman Allegation
The House Select Committee on Assassinations, investigating President Kennedy's assassination between 1976 and 1979, examined Trafficante's role. The HSCA's Final Report (1979) found that organized crime had both the motive and the capability to assassinate Kennedy and that the evidence was "consistent with" organized crime involvement, though the committee stopped short of a definitive finding.
The House Select Committee on Assassinations, investigating President Kennedy's assassination between 1976 and 1979, examined Trafficante's role. The report's general conclusion on the organized crime figures is that knowledge or availability through association "falls considerably short of the sort of evidence that would be necessary to establish criminal responsibility for a conspiracy."[^4] On Trafficante specifically it concluded that it was "unlikely that Trafficante plotted to kill the President, although it could not rule out the possibility of such participation."[^3]
One piece of evidence the HSCA examined was the testimony of Jose Aleman, a Cuban exile and FBI informant who had known Trafficante through exile community circles. Aleman testified that in 1962, Trafficante had told him - in the context of discussing Jimmy Hoffa's frustration with the Kennedy administration's organized crime prosecutions - that Kennedy was "going to be hit." Aleman told the HSCA he had interpreted this as Trafficante's prediction based on inside knowledge.
[[Jose Aleman]], a Cuban exile, told the *Washington Post* in 1976 that Trafficante had said in a 1962 conversation, which also touched on [[Jimmy Hoffa]]'s prosecution, that President Kennedy "was going to be hit." In a March 1977 interview with the committee Aleman said Trafficante made clear he was not guessing, that a crime was being planned, and that Hoffa would be principally involved. In September 1978 he reaffirmed this and then, after saying he feared reprisal, testified that the remark might have meant "a lot of Republican votes" in 1964. The committee found it difficult to understand how Aleman could have misunderstood or why he would fabricate the account, but doubted its validity.[^3]
Trafficante testified before the HSCA and denied Aleman's account. He denied any foreknowledge of the Kennedy assassination and denied any role in organizing it.[^2]
Trafficante denied Aleman's account in public session on September 28, 1978. He denied any foreknowledge of the Kennedy assassination and denied any role in organizing it.[^5]
### The Ragano Claim
Frank Ragano was Trafficante's personal attorney for approximately three decades, beginning in the early 1960s and including the period of the CIA-mob plots and the Kennedy assassination. Ragano also represented [[Jimmy Hoffa]] and had maintained close relationships with organized crime leadership throughout his career.
Frank Ragano was Trafficante's personal attorney for approximately three decades, beginning in the early 1960s and including the period of the CIA-mob plots and the Kennedy assassination. Ragano also represented Jimmy Hoffa and had maintained close relationships with organized crime leadership throughout his career.
In 1994, Ragano published a memoir, *Mob Lawyer*, co-written with journalist Selwyn Raab, in which he claimed that Trafficante had confessed to him in January 1987 - two months before Trafficante's death from kidney failure - that he and Roselli had arranged Kennedy's assassination in retaliation for the Kennedy administration's prosecution of organized crime and its perceived betrayal of the anti-Castro cause after the Bay of Pigs.
According to Ragano's account, Trafficante said, in Italian: "Carlos [Marcello] fucked up. We should not have killed Giovanni [Kennedy]. We should have killed Bobby." Trafficante died on March 17, 1987, before any independent verification of Ragano's account was possible.
Ragano's credibility as a witness was disputed. He had his own motivations for a dramatic memoir, he had been suspended from the Florida bar for misconduct, and his account shifted in emphasis between earlier interviews and the published memoir. The HSCA, which had access to Ragano before Trafficante's death, did not obtain any similar admission. Historians have treated the account as suggestive but unverifiable.[^3]
Ragano's credibility as a witness was disputed. He had his own motivations for a dramatic memoir, he had been suspended from the Florida bar for misconduct, and his account shifted in emphasis between earlier interviews and the published memoir. The HSCA, which had access to Ragano before Trafficante's death, did not obtain any similar admission. Historians have treated the account as suggestive but unverifiable.[^6]
### Death and Significance
@ -79,5 +79,8 @@ The CIA-Trafficante-Giancana-Roselli axis remains one of the most thoroughly doc
### Footnotes
[^1]: Church Committee (U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities). *Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders.* Senate Report No. 94-465, 1975. Rappleye, Charles, and Ed Becker. *All American Mafioso: The Johnny Roselli Story.* Doubleday, 1991.
[^2]: House Select Committee on Assassinations. *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives.* U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979. Scheim, David E. *Contract on America: The Mafia Murders of John and Robert Kennedy.* Shapolsky Publishers, 1988.
[^3]: Ragano, Frank, and Selwyn Raab. *Mob Lawyer.* Scribner, 1994. Scott, Peter Dale. *Deep Politics and the Death of JFK.* University of California Press, 1993.
[^2]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 152-153 (Trescornia; McWillie; Trafficante's testimony). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^3]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, pp. 172-175 (Trafficante; the Aleman account, the March 1977 interview, the September 1978 testimony, Trafficante's denial; "unlikely" conclusion at p. 175; Trescornia corroboration at p. 173). https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^4]: House Select Committee on Assassinations, *Report,* H. Rept. 95-1828, 95th Cong., 2d sess. (1979), organized crime summary and analysis, pp. 179-181. https://archive.org/details/reportofselectco1979unit
[^5]: House Select Committee on Assassinations. *Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives.* U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979. Scheim, David E. *Contract on America: The Mafia Murders of John and Robert Kennedy.* Shapolsky Publishers, 1988.
[^6]: Ragano, Frank, and Selwyn Raab. *Mob Lawyer.* Scribner, 1994. Scott, Peter Dale. *Deep Politics and the Death of JFK.* University of California Press, 1993.