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@ -24,12 +24,15 @@ Boy prostitution networks also operated through ostensibly legitimate organizati
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### International Networks
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In Amsterdam, the trade continued into the 1990s. [[Warwick Spinks]] managed boy brothels masquerading as gay nightclubs in the Spuistraat district, including the [[Gay Palace]]. Spinks was involved in mail order boy prostitution and pornography through the 1980s and 90s, pioneering the trafficking of boys as young as ten from the streets of London and, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, from Eastern Europe. Having brought them to Amsterdam, he used these "chickens" himself, sold them into brothels or through escort agencies, and put them in front of the camera. Some resisted, some ran away, but most were made to comply through the removal of their passports and doses of drugs and violence. Further allegations implicated prominent figures including members of the Dutch Royal family, with witnesses claiming they had been used as boy prostitutes during the 1980s. The callboy service called Bell Boys, operated by [[Karel Maasdam]], catered to Dutch justice officials and was linked to senior government figures whose names appeared in a rolodex kept by a professor serving as a go-between.[^1]
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In Amsterdam, the trade continued into the 1990s. [[Warwick Spinks]] managed boy brothels masquerading as gay nightclubs in the Spuistraat district, including the [[Gay Palace]]. Spinks was involved in mail order boy prostitution and pornography through the 1980s and 90s, pioneering the trafficking of boys as young as ten from the streets of London and, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, from Eastern Europe. Having brought them to Amsterdam, he used these "chickens" himself, sold them into brothels or through escort agencies, and put them in front of the camera. Some resisted, some ran away, but most were made to comply through the removal of their passports and doses of drugs and violence. Further allegations implicated prominent figures including members of the Dutch Royal family, with witnesses claiming they had been used as boy prostitutes during the 1980s. [[Nick Davies]] wrote in 1998 that [[Karel Maasdam]] owned the Bell Boys escort agency in Amsterdam.[^2] The Dutch government's summary of the [[Rolodex Investigation]], a probe of an Amsterdam brothel for homosexual clients with an attached escort agency, records a witness's statement that the names of two chief prosecutors were on a rolodex of the brothel owner's clients, and that the rolodex was never found.[^3] S. Dovey wrote that the rolodex was kept by a university professor serving as a go-between.[^1]
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### Washington D.C. Political Networks
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A contemporaneous but geographically separate case documented connections between child prostitution networks and senior Republican Party figures. The [[Franklin Credit Union Scandal]] emerged in 1988 with the collapse of the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union in Omaha, Nebraska, operated by [[Lawrence King Jr.]], a prominent Republican Party fundraiser. Allegations - which two grand juries in 1990 found unsubstantiated - connected King to a network reaching Washington D.C. through lobbyist [[Craig Spence]]. Spence's White House access and connections to an escort service were independently documented by the Washington Times in June-November 1989, including a confirmed 1 a.m. White House tour with male prostitutes. The documented Washington connection between King and Spence rests on contemporaneous journalism rather than criminal proceedings; Spence died in November 1989, ruled a suicide.[^2]
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A contemporaneous but geographically separate case documented connections between child prostitution networks and senior Republican Party figures. The [[Franklin Credit Union Scandal]] emerged in 1988 with the collapse of the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union in Omaha, Nebraska, operated by [[Lawrence King Jr.]], a prominent Republican Party fundraiser. Allegations - which two grand juries in 1990 found unsubstantiated - connected King to a network reaching Washington D.C. through lobbyist [[Craig Spence]]. Spence's White House access and connections to an escort service were independently documented by the Washington Times in June-November 1989, including a confirmed 1 a.m. White House tour with male prostitutes. The documented Washington connection between King and Spence rests on contemporaneous journalism rather than criminal proceedings; Spence died in November 1989, ruled a suicide.[^4]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). Eye of the Chickenhawk. United States: Thehotstar.
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[^2]: Hedges, Michael, and Jerry Seper. "Power Broker Served Drugs, Sex at Parties Bugged for Blackmail." Washington Times, June 29, 1989. Douglas County Grand Jury Report, July 23, 1990.
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[^2]: Nick Davies, "Paedophile network trafficks young boys across Europe," nickdavies.net, dated October 1, 1998. https://www.nickdavies.net/1998/10/01/paedophile-network-trafficks-young-boys-across-europe/
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[^3]: "Samenvatting van de aanleiding, het verloop, de resultaten en de besluitvorming in het Rolodex-onderzoek," December 23, 2013. https://eerstekamer.nl/9370000/1/j4nvgs5kjg27kof_j9vvkfvj6b325az/vjigib8p5szh
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[^4]: Hedges, Michael, and Jerry Seper. "Power Broker Served Drugs, Sex at Parties Bugged for Blackmail." Washington Times, June 29, 1989. Douglas County Grand Jury Report, July 23, 1990.
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@ -21,9 +21,9 @@ The HIK Investigation, officially known as "De Handel In Kinderen" (The Trade in
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### Background and Initiation
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The investigation was triggered when German authorities relayed information to Dutch police about three teenagers who had come forward complaining they had been trafficked into the Rotterdam sex trade. The teenagers reported that they had been prostituting themselves on the streets of Hamburg when approached by two Dutchmen who offered them large sums of money to travel to Rotterdam to film pornography. Upon arrival, their passports were seized, and they were forced to pay off exorbitant travel costs by working in a brothel owned by [[Lothar Glandorf]].[^2]
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The investigation was triggered when German authorities relayed information to Dutch police about three teenagers who had come forward complaining they had been trafficked into the Rotterdam sex trade. The teenagers reported that they had been prostituting themselves on the streets of Hamburg when approached by two Dutchmen who offered them large sums of money to travel to Rotterdam to film pornography. Upon arrival, their passports were seized, and they were forced to pay off exorbitant travel costs by working in a brothel owned by Lothar Glandorf.[^2]
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While working in the brothel, the teenagers met a boy who identified himself as [[Manuel Schadwald]], matching the age and description of a boy they had seen on missing persons posters in Germany. A third teenager from Berlin later provided a similar story, confirming he had been taken to Rotterdam and forced to work in Glandorf's brothel, where he also identified [[Manuel Schadwald]].[^2]
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While working in the brothel, the teenagers met a boy who identified himself as Manuel Schadwald, matching the age and description of a boy they had seen on missing persons posters in Germany. A third teenager from Berlin later provided a similar story, confirming he had been taken to Rotterdam and forced to work in Glandorf's brothel, where he also identified Manuel Schadwald.[^2]
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### Investigation Methods and Evidence Collection
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@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ The investigation discovered that Glandorf was smuggling boys from Eastern Europ
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### The Surveillance Controversy
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One of the most disturbing aspects of the HIK investigation was the behavior of the surveillance team assigned to monitor Glandorf. Members of this team observed Glandorf in the company of a boy they identified as [[Manuel Schadwald]] but inexplicably took no action. Their observation was never reported to German authorities and was deliberately omitted from the final HIK report compiled on their investigation.[^2]
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One of the most disturbing aspects of the HIK investigation was the behavior of the surveillance team assigned to monitor Glandorf. Members of this team observed Glandorf in the company of a boy they identified as Manuel Schadwald but inexplicably took no action. Their observation was never reported to German authorities and was deliberately omitted from the final HIK report compiled on their investigation.[^2]
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This failure to act was only discovered when the raw surveillance logs were examined as auxiliary documents included with the final report. The logs clearly recorded the sighting of Schadwald with Glandorf, suggesting that someone within the investigation deliberately suppressed this critical information.[^2]
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@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ The other suspected "Joris" was [[Joris Demmink]], the former Secretary General
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### Investigation Outcomes
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In November 1995, [[Lothar Glandorf]] was convicted and sentenced to prison for his role in child trafficking and prostitution. However, the investigation into his operation received renewed attention in 1998 when details of the classified HIK report were aired by the Dutch TV news network NCRV.[^1]
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In November 1995, Lothar Glandorf was convicted and sentenced to prison for his role in child trafficking and prostitution. However, the investigation into his operation received renewed attention in 1998 when details of the classified HIK report were aired by the Dutch TV news network NCRV.[^1]
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### Connections to Other Investigations
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The HIK investigation was one of three major interlinked investigations into child trafficking networks in the Netherlands during the 1990s. Along with [[Operation Framework]] (1992-93) and the [[Rolodex Investigation]] (1997-98), the HIK case revealed a pattern of sophisticated trafficking operations that exploited legal jurisdictional boundaries and enjoyed protection from powerful individuals.[^5]
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Nick Davies wrote that Rotterdam police set up the team in September 1994 with two objectives, to investigate Lothar Glandorf and to find Manuel Schadwald.[^2] Two other Dutch-related inquiries, [[Operation Framework]] and the Rolodex Investigation, are described on their own pages.
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### Footnotes
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@ -63,4 +63,3 @@ The HIK investigation was one of three major interlinked investigations into chi
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[^2]: 'Paedophile network trafficks young boys across Europe', Nick Davies, Previously unpublished, October 1 1998; HIK investigation surveillance logs, 1994
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[^3]: Wiretap transcripts from HIK investigation, 1994; 'When sex abuse can lead to murder', The Guardian, November 27 2000
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[^4]: 'Dutch Joris Demmink Affair Reveals Heroin, Cocaine and Pedophile Entrapment Affairs', ISGP-Studies, October 31 2014; Dutch media reports on Els Borst murder, February 2014
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[^5]: Summary of interlinked Netherlands investigations, 1992-1998; Dutch police investigation files and media reports
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@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ In July 1993, a twelve-year-old German boy named [[Manuel Schadwald]] was report
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### The HIK Report and Its Revelations
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German authorities relayed this information to Dutch police in Rotterdam, prompting the formation of a task force in September 1994 to investigate [[Lothar Glandorf]] and locate Manuel Schadwald. A wiretap was placed on Glandorf's phone, and surveillance teams were assigned to monitor his movements. During this operation, surveillance personnel observed Glandorf in the company of a boy they identified as Manuel Schadwald, yet inexplicably took no action. This critical observation was omitted from the final report, known as "De Handel In Kinderen" or the HIK report, though it remained in the raw surveillance logs that were later leaked to Dutch media in 1998.
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German authorities relayed this information to Dutch police in Rotterdam, prompting the formation of a task force in September 1994 to investigate Lothar Glandorf and locate Manuel Schadwald. A wiretap was placed on Glandorf's phone, and surveillance teams were assigned to monitor his movements. During this operation, surveillance personnel observed Glandorf in the company of a boy they identified as Manuel Schadwald, yet inexplicably took no action. This critical observation was omitted from the final report, known as "De Handel In Kinderen" or the HIK report, though it remained in the raw surveillance logs that were later leaked to Dutch media in 1998.
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The HIK report contained far more than the surveillance of Schadwald. It detailed how Glandorf was systematically smuggling boys from Eastern Europe into his Rotterdam brothels, Euro Boys and Young Boys, where they were pimped to VIP clients and child pornographers. The investigation uncovered that one of Glandorf's clients, [[Martin Smollners]], had murdered a boy in 1986 and that Glandorf had rented another boy to Smollners for a torture porn film in which the victim's testicles were wired to a generator. The report also established that Glandorf was selling boys to British pedophiles operating in Amsterdam, information that was apparently never forwarded to Scotland Yard.
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Perhaps the most explosive revelation from the HIK report wiretaps involved a senior Dutch government official named "Joris" who called Glandorf from Poland seeking advice on smuggling a boy across the Dutch border. In another recorded conversation, this same official inquired about the availability of new boys and mentioned that the last one had contracted an STD. There was significant contention over which "Joris" this was. One candidate was Joris Francken, a bureaucrat in the Ministry for Health under Minister Els Borst, who later served as Deputy Prime Minister. The other, and more disturbing possibility, was [[Joris Demmink]], then Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice. Demmink would later resign in 2012 amid a U.S. Helsinki Commission inquiry into his connections to the [[Rolodex Investigation]], a 1997 probe into an Amsterdam callboy service catering to Dutch justice officials.
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The HIK Investigation of 1994 formed one pillar of a trio of interlinked investigations in the 1990s that suggested the existence of a vast European child trafficking network. Alongside [[Operation Framework]] and the [[Rolodex Investigation]], the HIK report demonstrated how child brothels in Rotterdam connected to pornographers in Amsterdam and to senior government officials who appeared to operate with impunity. The fact that Dutch surveillance teams spotted Manuel Schadwald alive with Glandorf and did nothing remains one of the most troubling aspects of the case, suggesting either catastrophic incompetence or deliberate obstruction. When journalist Nick Davies investigated the network of British pedophiles in Amsterdam during the 1990s, he learned from a boy working at the Festival Bar that Schadwald had been seen in Glandorf's Rotterdam clubs, with rumors that he had been sold to pornographers in Amsterdam's Spuistraat district, where [[Warwick Spinks]] and [[Alan Williams]] managed nightclubs. A former boy prostitute of Glandorf's named [[Robbie Van Der Plancken]] would later claim that Glandorf sold Manuel Schadwald directly to Warwick Spinks.
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The report was produced by a Rotterdam police team set up in September 1994. Two other Dutch-related inquiries, [[Operation Framework]] and the Rolodex Investigation, are described on their own pages. The fact that Dutch surveillance teams spotted Manuel Schadwald alive with Glandorf and did nothing remains one of the most troubling aspects of the case, suggesting either catastrophic incompetence or deliberate obstruction. When journalist Nick Davies investigated the network of British pedophiles in Amsterdam during the 1990s, he learned from a boy working at the Festival Bar that Schadwald had been seen in Glandorf's Rotterdam clubs, with rumors that he had been sold to pornographers in Amsterdam's Spuistraat district, where [[Warwick Spinks]] and [[Alan Williams]] managed nightclubs. A former boy prostitute of Glandorf's named [[Robbie Van Der Plancken]] would later claim that Glandorf sold Manuel Schadwald directly to Warwick Spinks.
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.
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The [[Odyssey Network]], operated by [[John David Norman]] from Dallas, Texas, demonstrated the American dimension of these operations. Norman's system used "sponsors" who provided housing for children in exchange for sexual access, creating an interlocking web that spanned multiple states and eventually connected to European operations.[^1]
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The [[Apollo Bulletin Board Service]] represented the technological evolution of these operations, using emerging internet technology to distribute materials globally. Ulrich's technical expertise created a platform that could serve thousands of customers while maintaining relative security from law enforcement detection.[^1]
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The Apollo Bulletin Board Service represented the technological evolution of these operations, using emerging internet technology to distribute materials globally. Ulrich's technical expertise created a platform that could serve thousands of customers while maintaining relative security from law enforcement detection.[^1]
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### Key Investigations and Their Limitations
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Three major investigations in the Netherlands during the 1990s exposed the network. [[Operation Framework]] (1992-93) targeted suspected snuff film production by British nationals in Amsterdam, uncovering connections to German distribution companies and revealing the international scope of these operations.[^1]
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Three major investigations in the Netherlands during the 1990s exposed the network. [[Operation Framework]] was a Scotland Yard inquiry into suspected snuff film production by British nationals in Amsterdam. Nick Davies wrote that it ended in frustration and that its detectives could not justify sending officers to Amsterdam, where they lacked police powers.[^2]
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The [[HIK Investigation]] (1994) into the disappearance of [[Manuel Schadwald]] exposed [[Lothar Glandorf]]'s operations and revealed connections to senior Dutch government officials. The investigation uncovered evidence that surveillance teams observed Schadwald with Glandorf but failed to act, with this observation deliberately omitted from official reports.[^1]
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The [[HIK Investigation]] (1994) into the disappearance of [[Manuel Schadwald]] exposed Lothar Glandorf's operations and revealed connections to senior Dutch government officials. The investigation uncovered evidence that surveillance teams observed Schadwald with Glandorf but failed to act, with this observation deliberately omitted from official reports.[^1]
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The [[Rolodex Investigation]] (1997-98) into the Bell Boys callboy service revealed systematic corruption within the Dutch justice system, with Professor Van Roon maintaining a rolodex containing contact information for VIP clients including multiple district attorneys and senior officials like [[Joris Demmink]]. Despite compelling evidence, the investigation was shut down shortly after high-ranking officials were implicated.[^1]
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The [[Rolodex Investigation]] (1997-99) was the third assignment of an Amsterdam team investigating a brothel for homosexual clients with an attached escort agency. The Dutch government's summary records that a witness named two chief prosecutors as appearing on a rolodex of the brothel owner's clients, that the rolodex was never found, and that the College of Procurators-General concluded in 1999 that the two could not be regarded as suspects. S. Dovey wrote that the rolodex was kept by a university professor and held the numbers of multiple district attorneys.[^1][^3]
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### Government Corruption and Intelligence Connections
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Wiretap evidence from the HIK investigation captured conversations between [[Lothar Glandorf]] and a senior Dutch government official referred to as "Joris" discussing child smuggling and availability. The later identification of [[Joris Demmink]] as a potential suspect in these conversations, given his position as Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, revealed the extent to which these networks had compromised the very institutions responsible for prosecuting them. The [[Rolodex Investigation]] provided further evidence of this compromise, with multiple justice officials identified as clients of child trafficking services.[^1]
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Wiretap evidence from the HIK investigation captured conversations between Lothar Glandorf and a senior Dutch government official referred to as "Joris" discussing child smuggling and availability. The later identification of [[Joris Demmink]] as a potential suspect in these conversations, given his position as Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, revealed the extent to which these networks had compromised the very institutions responsible for prosecuting them. In the Rolodex Investigation, the government summary states that findings of the main investigation indicated that two further officials with legal government functions were customers of the brothel's homosexual services.[^3]
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[[John David Norman]]'s connections to [[The Finders]] investigation, which revealed CIA interest in his operation, pointed to potential intelligence connections to these trafficking networks. The sophistication of operations like the [[Spartacus Network]], their global reach, and the protection they enjoyed from investigation were consistent with intelligence involvement.[^1]
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John David Norman's connections to [[The Finders]] investigation, which revealed CIA interest in his operation, pointed to potential intelligence connections to these trafficking networks. The sophistication of operations like the Spartacus Network, their global reach, and the protection they enjoyed from investigation were consistent with intelligence involvement.[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.
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[^1]: Dovey, S. (2023). *Eye of the Chickenhawk*. United States: Thehotstar.
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[^2]: Nick Davies, "Paedophilia is easy 2: how a paedophile murder inquiry fell apart," The Guardian, November 27, 2000. https://www.nickdavies.net/2000/11/27/paedophilia-is-easy-2-how-a-paedophile-murder-inquiry-fell-apart/
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[^3]: "Samenvatting van de aanleiding, het verloop, de resultaten en de besluitvorming in het Rolodex-onderzoek," December 23, 2013. https://eerstekamer.nl/9370000/1/j4nvgs5kjg27kof_j9vvkfvj6b325az/vjigib8p5szh
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@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ aliases:
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- Rolodex Investigation
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- Bell Boys Investigation
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created: 2026-05-17
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updated: 2026-05-17
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updated: 2026-10-09
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tags:
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- Event
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- Investigation
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@ -13,67 +13,58 @@ tags:
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- ChildTrafficking
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- GovernmentCorruption
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category: "Crime Investigation"
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summary: "Dutch police inquiry (1997-1998) into a callboy service catering to Dutch justice officials, exposing connections between child trafficking networks and senior government figures."
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summary: "Dutch inquiry into an Amsterdam brothel and its escort agency, begun in 1997 and reopened in 1998, in which a witness named two chief prosecutors on the owner's rolodex, which was never found."
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start: 1997-01-01
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end: 1998-12-31
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location: "Amsterdam, Netherlands"
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---
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### Overview
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The Rolodex Investigation was the third assignment of a multidisciplinary team formed in Amsterdam on August 25, 1998 under the responsibility of the Amsterdam chief prosecutor, drawn from the [[Rijksrecherche]], the Bureau Interne Onderzoeken and the Amsterdam youth and vice police. The Dutch government's summary of December 23, 2013 states that the underlying probe of an Amsterdam brothel for homosexual clients with an attached escort agency began in February 1997, was halted for tactical reasons and was reopened in May 1998, after a man under investigation in another sex-offence case (suspected of raping his partner's 14-year-old daughter) began to describe the brothel in detail. On July 17, 1998, that witness named two chief prosecutors, whose names he said he had seen on a rolodex of the brothel owner "A" containing the owner's clients.[^1] The summary states that the rolodex was never found in searches of the suspects' homes and premises. The team's other assignments were an inquiry into a criminal organisation producing child pornography and a corruption inquiry into Amsterdam-Amstelland police staff.[^1] The inventory lists observation reports of the Koninklijke Marechaussee of December 17, 1998 and January 12, 1999.[^1] The start date is given as 1997 by former detective [[Leendert de Koter]], who worked on the probe, and as August 1998 in a March 2014 ministerial letter.[^2][^3]
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The Rolodex Investigation, also known as the Bell Boys Investigation, was a Dutch police inquiry conducted in 1997-1998 into a callboy service called Bell Boys that catered to Dutch justice officials and other prominent figures. The investigation exposed connections between child trafficking networks and senior officials within the Dutch justice system, revealing systemic corruption at the highest levels of government. The case was named "Rolodex" after the rolodex containing contact information for VIP clients that was discovered during the investigation.[^1]
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### Convictions and the Brothel Owner
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### Case Initiation and Discovery
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The brothel owner is identified in the government summary only as "A," with a recruiter identified as "B." The [[Rechtbank Amsterdam]] sentenced them on February 26, 1999, to three years and fifteen months respectively, the latter with six months suspended.[^1] A ministerial letter of July 2015 gives the same sentences for a 1999 conviction without naming either man.[^4] [[Nick Davies]] wrote in 1998 that [[Karel Maasdam]], known as "Alex Privee," was the owner of the [[Bell Boys]] escort agency.[^5] DutchNews reported in April 2016 that "Charles Maasdam, who was sentenced in 1998 for operating a child brothel in Amsterdam's Oost neighbourhood, is expected to give evidence," and NL Times reported that "Charles Maasdam, who owned a youth brothel in the capital for years, is also set to testify." Records found do not establish whether he is the Karel Maasdam described by Davies.[^6][^7]
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The investigation began in 1997 when a man arrested for raping his girlfriend's daughter complained to police about a double standard allowing government officials to evade child sex laws. The informant provided detailed information about the Bell Boys callboy service, which he claimed specifically catered to Dutch justice officials. This service was operated by [[Karel Maasdam]], also known by the alias 'Alex Privee', who ran his operation from a boy brothel in Amsterdam called the Festival Bar.[^2]
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### Officials Named
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### Karel Maasdam and the Festival Bar Operation
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The College of Procurators-General concluded provisionally on March 24, 1999 that the matter traced to the statements of one person, whom the police regarded as unreliable, and that the two chief prosecutors could not be regarded as suspects; it confirmed this on May 26, 1999 after the Rijksrecherche heard them. Two other officials with legal government functions came into view; the summary states that witness statements, wiretaps and observations in the main investigation indicated they were customers of the brothel's homosexual services, and that on September 21, 1999 the College found it had not been shown they committed offences.[^1] The summary states that the former secretary-general of the ministry, [[Joris Demmink]], did not appear in the Rolodex investigation in any way.[^1][^3]
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Karel Maasdam emerged as the central figure in the Rolodex Investigation. Operating from the Festival Bar in Amsterdam, Maasdam ran a sophisticated child trafficking operation that provided boys to VIP clients, particularly those within the justice system. The Festival Bar served as both a recruitment center and operational hub for his extensive trafficking network.[^3]
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De Koter testified on March 5, 2014 before an examining magistrate in Utrecht that the Rijksrecherche supplied the names of Demmink and three chief prosecutors, [[Jan Wolter Wabeke]], [[Henry Hans Holthuis]] and [[Wooldrik]], that the suspicion against the four was repeated sexual abuse of minors, that searches at the home of the university professor on whom the probe concentrated found the computer, video recorder and videotapes gone, that a request for an observation team on Demmink and the prosecutors was refused, and that [[Fred Teeven]] knew the names. He said the probe produced no further indications against Demmink.[^2][^8] Jaap Hoek, a former head of the Amsterdam youth and vice police, said he did not remember Demmink's name or chief prosecutors' names in the investigation.[^8]
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Maasdam's operation was notable for its focus on compromising individuals in positions of power and authority. By targeting justice officials, politicians, and other influential figures, his network created a system of blackmail and control that protected its operations from prosecution.[^3]
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### Professor Van Roon and the VIP Connection System
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A crucial element of the Maasdam operation was Professor Der Van Roon from the University of Amsterdam, who served as a reputable intermediary between high-profile clients and the Bell Boys service. Van Roon maintained detailed records of his clients in a rolodex, which contained the private numbers for at least three Dutch district attorneys: Henry Hans Holthuis, Henk Wooldrik, and Jan Wolter Wabeke.[^4]
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Van Roon's role as a university professor provided legitimate cover for his activities, allowing him to move in elite circles while facilitating connections between powerful individuals and the child trafficking operation.[^4]
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### Government Officials Implicated
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The investigation revealed that numerous high-ranking officials within the Dutch justice system were clients of the Bell Boys service. Among those implicated were the three district attorneys whose contact information was found in Van Roon's rolodex, as well as other officials whose names emerged during the investigation.[^5]
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[[Joris Demmink]], who would later become Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, was also named in the investigation. At the time, Demmink was a senior ministry official.[^5]
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S. Dovey wrote that the rolodex held the private numbers of three district attorneys, Holthuis, Henk Wooldrik and Wabeke, and that it belonged to a university professor who served as an intermediary for clients of the Bell Boys service.[^9]
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### Witness Testimony and Evidence
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Crucial evidence in the investigation came from a boy prostitute who worked at the Festival Bar and later testified during a 2012 Helsinki Commission hearing into child sex trafficking in Amsterdam. The witness provided detailed testimony about Karel Maasdam's operation, stating that Maasdam sold boys to Amsterdam child pornographers, some of whom were involved in snuff films. The witness also claimed to have been introduced to Demmink at the Festival Bar by Professor Van Roon and described being instructed to have sex with Demmink inside his government car.[^6]
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Crucial evidence in the investigation came from a boy prostitute who worked at the Festival Bar and later described these events at a U.S. Helsinki Commission briefing on child sex trafficking on October 5, 2012. The witness provided detailed testimony about Karel Maasdam's operation, stating that Maasdam sold boys to Amsterdam child pornographers, some of whom were involved in snuff films. The witness also claimed to have been introduced to Demmink at the Festival Bar by a university professor and described being instructed to have sex with Demmink inside his government car.[^10]
|
||||
|
||||
### Government Vehicle Abuse and Official Complicity
|
||||
|
||||
Further evidence of official complicity emerged from complaints filed by drivers assigned to Demmink's government car. One driver, Rob Mostert, had complained that Demmink had sex with boys in the backseat of his government car in his presence. Mostert died shortly after lodging his complaint, which was never followed up on. Similar complaints were made by other drivers.[^7]
|
||||
Further evidence of official complicity emerged from complaints filed by drivers assigned to Demmink's government car. One driver had complained that Demmink had sex with boys in the backseat of his government car in his presence. The driver died shortly after lodging the complaint, which was never followed up on. Similar complaints were made by other drivers.[^11]
|
||||
|
||||
### Investigation Shutdown and Cover-up
|
||||
### Outcome
|
||||
|
||||
Despite the compelling evidence gathered during the investigation, the case was shut down in 1998 shortly after senior government officials such as Demmink were implicated. A detective who investigated the Bell Boys service stated that the case had been closed with the arrest and sentencing of Karel Maasdam, but the timing - coming immediately after high-ranking officials were named - suggested a deliberate cover-up to protect powerful individuals.[^8]
|
||||
The summary records a probe halted in 1997 that was reopened in May 1998, with the College's conclusions in 1999.[^1] DutchNews wrote that the investigation "ultimately yielded no tangible results"; Omroep Brabant wrote that it yielded no tangible result "althans niet waar het de hooggeplaatste figuren betreft."[^6][^8] A detective who investigated the Bell Boys service stated that the case had been closed with the arrest and sentencing of Karel Maasdam.[^12]
|
||||
|
||||
### International Connections and Broader Network
|
||||
|
||||
The Rolodex Investigation revealed connections to international trafficking networks. Information provided by an alleged bookkeeper of Karel Maasdam named [[Richard Carl-Samson]] indicated that [[Warwick Spinks]] frequently pimped boys to Demmink and Henry Hans Holthuis.[^9]
|
||||
The Rolodex Investigation revealed connections to international trafficking networks. S. Dovey wrote that a man Dovey describes as Karel Maasdam's bookkeeper told the Dutch current-affairs programme EenVandaag that [[Warwick Spinks]] frequently supplied boys to Demmink and Henry Hans Holthuis.[^9]
|
||||
|
||||
### Connection to Other Investigations
|
||||
|
||||
The Rolodex Investigation was one of three major interlinked investigations into child trafficking networks in the Netherlands during the 1990s, along with [[Operation Framework]] (1992-93) and the [[HIK Investigation]] (1994).[^10]
|
||||
The Rolodex Investigation was one of three major interlinked investigations into child trafficking networks in the Netherlands during the 1990s, along with [[Operation Framework]] (1992-93) and the [[HIK Investigation]] (1994).[^13]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: Rolodex Investigation case files and Dutch police reports, 1997-1998; Media coverage of Bell Boys service
|
||||
[^2]: Case initiation details and informant testimony, 1997; 'Listening To Victims of Child Sex Trafficking', U.S. Helsinki Commission, October 4, 2012
|
||||
[^3]: Karel Maasdam operational details and Festival Bar investigation; Dutch police surveillance reports, 1997-1998
|
||||
[^4]: Professor Van Roon's role and VIP connection system; Rolodex evidence and client list analysis
|
||||
[^5]: Dutch justice officials implicated in investigation; Joris Demmink connection and official involvement
|
||||
[^6]: Helsinki Commission witness testimony, October 4, 2012; Bell Boys service victim statements
|
||||
[^7]: Government vehicle abuse complaints and driver testimony; Rob Mostert case and subsequent death
|
||||
[^8]: Investigation shutdown and cover-up evidence; Detective statements on case closure
|
||||
[^9]: Richard Carl-Samson information and international connections; British-Dutch police cooperation reports
|
||||
[^10]: Summary of interlinked Netherlands investigations, 1992-1998; Dutch police investigation files and media reports
|
||||
[^1]: "Samenvatting van de aanleiding, het verloop, de resultaten en de besluitvorming in het Rolodex-onderzoek," and "Chronologische inhoudsopgave Rolodex-dossier," December 23, 2013. https://eerstekamer.nl/9370000/1/j4nvgs5kjg27kof_j9vvkfvj6b325az/vjigib8p5szh
|
||||
[^2]: NOS, "Politie onderzocht Demmink in '97," March 5, 2014. https://nos.nl/artikel/619220-politie-onderzocht-demmink-in-97
|
||||
[^3]: Tweede Kamer, Kamerstuk 33 750 VI, nr. 116, letter of March 27, 2014. https://www.eerstekamer.nl/behandeling/20140327/brief_regering/document3/f=/vjifeja4nlzk.pdf
|
||||
[^4]: Tweede Kamer, Kamerstuk 31 015, nr. 115, letter of July 1, 2015. https://eerstekamer.nl/9370000/1/j4nvi0xeni9vr2l_j9vvkfvj6b325az/vme26leaeuex/f=/vjvdn6hc42z9.pdf
|
||||
[^5]: Nick Davies, "Paedophile network trafficks young boys across Europe," nickdavies.net, dated October 1, 1998. https://www.nickdavies.net/1998/10/01/paedophile-network-trafficks-young-boys-across-europe/
|
||||
[^6]: "Politicians and officials named in court as 'boy brothel' case begins," DutchNews.nl, April 18, 2016. https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2016/04/politicians-and-officials-named-in-court-as-boy-brothel-case-begins/
|
||||
[^7]: "Forced child prostitution case: Netherlands elite, royalty under microscope," NL Times, April 18, 2016. https://nltimes.nl/node/28758
|
||||
[^8]: "Oud-hoofdofficier justitie Jan Wolter Wabeke uit Best genoemd in zedenzaak Joris Demmink," Omroep Brabant, March 5, 2014. https://www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/1720283/oud-hoofdofficier-justitie-jan-wolter-wabeke-uit-best-genoemd-in-zedenzaak-joris-demmink
|
||||
[^9]: Dovey, S. *Eye of the Chickenhawk.* Thehotstar, 2023.
|
||||
[^10]: 'Listening To Victims of Child Sex Trafficking', U.S. Helsinki Commission briefing, October 5, 2012; Bell Boys service victim statements
|
||||
[^11]: Government vehicle abuse complaints and driver testimony; Rob Mostert case and subsequent death
|
||||
[^12]: Investigation shutdown and cover-up evidence; Detective statements on case closure
|
||||
[^13]: Summary of interlinked Netherlands investigations, 1992-1998; Dutch police investigation files and media reports
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ aliases:
|
|||
- Family Jewels
|
||||
- Potential Flap Activities
|
||||
created: 2026-05-17
|
||||
updated: 2026-05-17
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-09
|
||||
category: "Intelligence Scandal"
|
||||
tags:
|
||||
- Event
|
||||
|
|
@ -16,9 +16,16 @@ tags:
|
|||
- MKULTRA
|
||||
- Watergate
|
||||
- 1970s
|
||||
summary: "The CIA 'Family Jewels' was a 693-page internal compilation of potentially illegal activities assembled in May 1973 at Director James Schlesinger's direction, partly declassified in 2007, documenting assassination plots, domestic surveillance, illegal mail interception, and drug testing programs."
|
||||
summary: "The CIA 'Family Jewels' was a 693-page internal compilation of potentially illegal activities assembled in May 1973 at James Schlesinger's direction and partly declassified in 2007, covering assassination plots, domestic surveillance and drug testing."
|
||||
start: 1973-05-09
|
||||
location: "Washington, D.C."
|
||||
relations:
|
||||
- type: investigated
|
||||
with: "[[Jack Anderson]]"
|
||||
role: "CELOTEX II surveillance of Anderson and his assistants by the CIA Office of Security"
|
||||
start: 1972-02-15
|
||||
end: 1972-04-12
|
||||
fn: 2
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
The "Family Jewels" was an internal [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] document - formally titled "Potential Flap Activities" - compiled in May 1973 at the direction of Director of Central Intelligence [[James Schlesinger]], who had succeeded [[Richard Helms]] as DCI in February 1973 and was alarmed by revelations emerging from the [[Watergate scandal|Watergate]] investigation about CIA involvement in domestic political operations. Schlesinger directed the CIA's deputy directors and senior officers to report to him any activities that had occurred or were currently underway that might be "outside the CIA's legislative charter." The resulting compilation ran to 693 pages.[^1]
|
||||
|
|
@ -43,6 +50,17 @@ Colby's disclosure of the Family Jewels to the Church Committee in 1975 was part
|
|||
|
||||
The Family Jewels was partially declassified and released by the CIA under then-DCI [[Michael Hayden]] on June 26, 2007, following a FOIA lawsuit by the [[National Security Archive]]. The released version remains redacted in substantial portions. The unredacted document can be accessed through the CIA's FOIA Reading Room: cia.gov/readingroom/collection/family-jewels.[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
### Surveillance of Jack Anderson, 1972
|
||||
|
||||
The compilation records a surveillance codenamed CELOTEX II. From February 15 to April 12, 1972 the [[CIA Office of Security]] watched [[Jack Anderson]] and at various times his "legmen," [[Brit Hume]], [[Les Whitten]] and [[Joseph Spear]], at the direction of the Director of Central Intelligence. An observation post was maintained in the [[Statler Hilton]] hotel directly opposite Anderson's office, to attempt to determine Anderson's sources for highly classified Agency information appearing in his syndicated columns. The preceding item, CELOTEX I, covered [[Michael Getler]] of the Washington Post.[^2]
|
||||
|
||||
The compilation also includes a memorandum of September 9, 1972, from Richard Helms to [[Henry Kissinger]]. It states that after noting Anderson had a continuing source for classified documents on narcotics, the Agency arranged a trap so that recipients of CIA Intelligence Memoranda on narcotics could be identified. The memorandum identifies a leak to the press as having come from the [[Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs]].[^3]
|
||||
|
||||
A separate memorandum in the compilation, signed by [[Ted Shackley]] of the Western Hemisphere Division, concerns a column by Anderson linking [[Howard Hunt]] to break-ins at Chilean diplomatic installations in Washington and New York. The memorandum states that the Agency knew of no foundation for the allegation, that any connection between ITT and the break-ins was conjectural, and that the column itself said as much.[^4]
|
||||
|
||||
### Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
[^1]: CIA FOIA Reading Room, "The Family Jewels," cia.gov/readingroom/collection/family-jewels (released 2007). Church Committee, S. Rept. 94-755, April 26, 1976. Weiner, Tim. *Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA*. Doubleday, 2007, pp. 316-327.
|
||||
[^2]: Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Security, submission of May 16, 1973 for the "Family Jewels" compilation, section "CELOTEX II," CIA Reading Room document 0001451843. https://archive.org/details/CIA-Family-Jewels
|
||||
[^3]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Family Jewels" compilation, memorandum from Richard Helms to Henry Kissinger, September 9, 1972. https://archive.org/details/CIA-Family-Jewels
|
||||
[^4]: Central Intelligence Agency, "Family Jewels" compilation, memorandum on Anderson's column concerning ITT and Howard Hunt, 1973. https://archive.org/details/CIA-Family-Jewels
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ start: 1979-06
|
|||
end: 1980-01-25
|
||||
location: "Washington, D.C."
|
||||
created: 2026-09-21
|
||||
updated: 2026-09-22
|
||||
updated: 2026-10-09
|
||||
---
|
||||
|
||||
The Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee, chaired by [[Manfred Gale]] of the Army staff and known in the program as the Gale Committee, reported in December 1979 on the Defense Department's parapsychology work: the [[Stanford Research Institute|SRI]] remote-viewing research, the psychokinesis contract of the Army Missile Command (MICOM) at [[Redstone Arsenal]], the replication trials of the [[Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity]] at [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], and the [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]] unit at [[Fort Meade]] ([[Stargate Project|Grill Flame]]). "In June 1979 it was suggested by Dr. [[Walter LaBerge|LaBerge]], then Under Secretary of the Army, that a Scientific Evaluation Committee be appointed to review the Army's parapsychological activities. In early July 1979, Dr. [[Ruth Davis]] recommended that because of the special interest of the Secretary of Defense, that the Committee review the total DOD posture and report directly to the GRILL FLAME Oversight Committee." Its mission was "to review the parapsychological research, investigations, and applications within DOD and the intelligence community," "to assess the validity of claims made for the alleged existence of the PSI phenomena," and "to recommend a course of action for DOD." Members "were carefully screened to avoid any persons with preconceived notions for or against the subject under investigation"; "since 1972, the combined funding for DOD and the intelligence community was less than a total of $1.5M." The report's security guide stated that "all connection between official U.S. Government interest or participation in the generic field of Parapsychology is classified a minimum of SECRET, caveat NO FOREIGN DISSEMINATION," and that "future security planning for GRILL FLAME includes making it totally a special access program."[^1]
|
||||
|
|
@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ The roster printed as annex 1: [[Douglas Tang]], chief of biostatistics and math
|
|||
|
||||
The report's own history, which it said was "not attributable to the Committee's action," ran from the SRI work of 1971 through [[Ingo Swann]]'s magnetometer trial of 1972 and [[Pat Price]]'s readings of 1973 to 1975: the [[West Virginia]] site, where Price "spoke out classified codewords he 'read' from file folders"; the Urals crane, of which "CIA analysts concluded that either Remote Viewing had taken place, or Price had intimate knowledge of the URDF-3"; the embassy code rooms; an in-house CIA trial of the fall of 1974 that produced "what could only be a SA-5 missile training site" in [[Libya]]; and the guerrilla training site of July 1975, "the same month Price tragically died of a heart attack." "Since July 1975, CIA interest has remained minimal and unofficial. The Agency claims to have stopped all work," the "primary reason for abandoning the effort" being, in a phrase the scan garbles, "of winning a 'Golden Fleece Award.'" On the Army side, MICOM let "a one-year $80K contract" in August 1977 "under the innocuous title, 'Investigation of Unconventional Discrimination Techniques'"; in July 1978 DIA "sponsored a series of four unique experiments" in which Swann, given the coordinates of "a Soviet strategic missile field east of Moscow," "passed through a silo cover, 'traveling' down until reaching a connecting tunnel," entering "a command and control room" whose "floors are paved in 'white tiles'"; in August 1978 Vorona chaired the first meeting toward "a coordinated DOD program"; INSCOM's selection criteria of the autumn of 1978 were "above average intelligence, outgoing personality, adventuresome, open-minded, mature, artistic nature, and successful life career." The Grill Flame steering committee first met on February 13, 1979, with "all Service ACSI's, Dr. Ruth Davis, Dr. LaBerge, and Dr. Vorona (standing in for LTG [[Eugene Tighe|Tighe]])." Of the Navy: "Suspicion lingers among Army project personnel that Navy may have nevertheless kept a tightly compartmented effort going. Navy representatives attend all DOD meetings, but remain uncommitted and literally silent." Funding to date: "CIA, 1972-78: $240K. DIA, 1979: $100K. USAF, 1976-79: $300K. Army, 1977-79: $490K."[^1]
|
||||
|
||||
The DIA minutes of a meeting held at 0930 hours on November 28, 1978, in the DIA conference room at Pomponio Plaza, record an earlier session of the DoD Grill Flame Committee. Dr. Vorona opened the session with a caution to keep "a low profile with minimal fanfare," and the minutes set the next meeting for February 13, 1979.[^3] A memorandum for record of the February 14, 1979 meeting dates that meeting to "14 Feb 79."[^4] SRI contract DAAK11-79-C-0057, section F.1, states that "a meeting was held in August 1978 to establish a unified DoD effort in the development of the remote viewing process for intelligence purposes."[^5]
|
||||
|
||||
### Findings
|
||||
|
||||
"RV research and investigations thus far have not proved the existence of the phenomena and have not conclusively established any parametric dependencies. Many of the anecdotal events reported to this Committee as potential evidence of the existence of RV do not adequately sustain their claim under careful scrutiny. A few of the examples are subjectively spectacular, but lack of scientific procedures precludes their consideration as scientific evidence of the phenomena. On balance, the Committee has indeed been persuaded that there is some probability that effects attributed to the RV phenomena exist under unexplained circumstances and in conjunction with particular individuals. However, to date, the experimental techniques have not been adequate to document such effects." Of the programs: "Inadequate documentation and failure to apply adequate controls are the most frequent causes which limit the credibility that can be given to reports of 'success' attributed to RV applications. In the judgment of the Committee, sole dependence on SRI-like protocols to resolve the RV issue will not be fruitful"; "lack of proper management involvement, direction, and review was evident at all activities surveyed"; "operational programs, that by their very existence assume the reality of RV as given, may inadvertently establish the assumption in other communities that RV is real." "The Committee found no evidence or any suggestion of fraudulent intent in any of the work examined." Credible research would need "management commitment to a program which is sustained for an indefinite period of time at a cost of several million dollars per year." The MICOM psychokinesis work "will not prove or disprove the existence of the PK phenomena," whereas members who visited Hawke's laboratory at Livermore "were very impressed by the scientific approach." Intelligence on the Warsaw Pact was "admittedly, highly speculative," resting on "a document prepared by the U.S. Army Medical Intelligence and Information Agency" (the reference list gives Maire and LaMothe's DIA report of September 1975), a Garrett AiResearch literature review, and a recent report of "at least three and possibly more officially-sponsored research groups" in Moscow, Leningrad and Alma-Ata; "the reasons for frequent iron-curtain representatives at Parapsychological Conferences" might be "establishing contacts with selected attendees for intelligence purposes." Of the four proposed mechanisms (extremely low frequency electromagnetism, quantum correlation, the "extra-dimensional hypothesis" of Targ, Puthoff, [[Edwin May|May]], Feinberg and Rauscher, and Walker's thermal noise), "none of these theories is sufficiently persuasive."[^1]
|
||||
|
|
@ -48,9 +50,9 @@ An undated roster headed "Grill Flame Review Panel Members" gives Stahl at Gener
|
|||
|
||||
### The Reply
|
||||
|
||||
The Defense Department's Grill Flame committee, under Vorona of DIA, had heard on November 27, 1979, that the report "had not been completed"; one member "questioned the substantive expertise of the Gale Committee," and the group moved that Vorona "inform him of the working group's desire and need to see and be briefed on the Gale Committee's report prior to it being given to any other party or group," since "to do otherwise would be extremely hazardous as this group represents the collective expertise, experience and background of the entire DoD and Intelligence Community." On January 10, 1980, "Mr. Gale briefed the Grill Flame Committee on his committee's findings," and "Mr. Gale's briefing was not received favorably by the Grill Flame group. There were many substantive reservations based upon errors in both facts and analysis. The report was, in the view of the group, misleading and inadequate, in part because of ambiguity in language"; it was "suggested that General Tighe contact Dr. Laberge to obtain copies of the report and to stop any further distribution," and a subcommittee was appointed "to review the Gale report in depth." At the same meeting "CIA volunteered that no Agency funds were budgeted for FY 80, 81 or 82 on parapsychological research." Vorona's written comments supported the finding that "unexplained observations of human capabilities to generate data of potential utility to intelligence have been documented" and "strongly" disagreed with the recommendation to end the MICOM and AMSAA work, "based on a misinterpretation of these programs"; the "condemnation" of the SRI approach "is not understood or acceptable without further explanation"; and "many of the difficulties in the report, especially those of fact and incompleteness, could have been avoided if the report had been collectively reviewed in draft, rather than allowing only individual inputs."[^2][^3]
|
||||
The Defense Department's Grill Flame committee, under Vorona of DIA, had heard on November 27, 1979, that the report "had not been completed"; one member "questioned the substantive expertise of the Gale Committee," and the group moved that Vorona "inform him of the working group's desire and need to see and be briefed on the Gale Committee's report prior to it being given to any other party or group," since "to do otherwise would be extremely hazardous as this group represents the collective expertise, experience and background of the entire DoD and Intelligence Community." On January 10, 1980, "Mr. Gale briefed the Grill Flame Committee on his committee's findings," and "Mr. Gale's briefing was not received favorably by the Grill Flame group. There were many substantive reservations based upon errors in both facts and analysis. The report was, in the view of the group, misleading and inadequate, in part because of ambiguity in language"; it was "suggested that General Tighe contact Dr. Laberge to obtain copies of the report and to stop any further distribution," and a subcommittee was appointed "to review the Gale report in depth." At the same meeting "CIA volunteered that no Agency funds were budgeted for FY 80, 81 or 82 on parapsychological research." Vorona's written comments supported the finding that "unexplained observations of human capabilities to generate data of potential utility to intelligence have been documented" and "strongly" disagreed with the recommendation to end the MICOM and AMSAA work, "based on a misinterpretation of these programs"; the "condemnation" of the SRI approach "is not understood or acceptable without further explanation"; and "many of the difficulties in the report, especially those of fact and incompleteness, could have been avoided if the report had been collectively reviewed in draft, rather than allowing only individual inputs."[^2][^7]
|
||||
|
||||
Stoner's memorandum of conversation on Gale's briefing of January 14, 1980, charged that Gale "has, in briefing the report here and elsewhere, done a great deal of verbalizing (shading) issues, personal opinion, 'faction,' and general guesswork not contained anywhere in the report. Some of it is just plain misleading." Against Gale's "I rejected two people who had pronounced tendencies to be nonobjective": "One person himself declined the offer to participate, claiming potential flak from his corporation. The other, Dr [[Ray Hyman]], was rejected not because of any action by Gale, but because of a protest memo from MG [[Edmund Thompson|Thompson]] to Dr LaBerge." Quizzed by Thompson "on what the word 'proof' in the report findings meant," Gale answered "with a flurry of scientific buzzwords and jargon." Gale's figure of "over 5000 experiments" was "an unadulterated W.A.G."; his remark that "the Surgeon General is critical of the MICOM proposal" rested on "a cribbed copy of the Surgeon General's comments. Question I have is who gave it to him"; and "because of prior intelligence problems (e.g., LSD case) two members of the Surgeon General's review panel are dead set against this kind of work." "In my opinion the Gale report is big, but weak... By pushing to have the report quickly accepted by Dr LaBerge he will have an effective shield from tough questions and criticism." Gale "has gone far beyond that charter," "selling the report around the Pentagon," and "should be thanked by the DoD Steering Committee and allowed or told to quietly go his way." According to Stoner, Vorona had written to Tighe on January 11 urging that the report "be put on hold." On January 25 Gale asked Stoner to distribute 27 copies, LaBerge's "official copy by Monday, 28 Jan," with Stoner's office "designated as Office of Record for all reports." On February 6, 1980, the under secretary of defense, [[William Perry]], restricted the use of Program 6 funds, since it was "not appropriate for Army to fund technology programs aimed at scientific demonstration of parapsychology."[^4][^5]
|
||||
Stoner's memorandum of conversation on Gale's briefing of January 14, 1980, charged that Gale "has, in briefing the report here and elsewhere, done a great deal of verbalizing (shading) issues, personal opinion, 'faction,' and general guesswork not contained anywhere in the report. Some of it is just plain misleading." Against Gale's "I rejected two people who had pronounced tendencies to be nonobjective": "One person himself declined the offer to participate, claiming potential flak from his corporation. The other, Dr [[Ray Hyman]], was rejected not because of any action by Gale, but because of a protest memo from MG [[Edmund Thompson|Thompson]] to Dr LaBerge." Quizzed by Thompson "on what the word 'proof' in the report findings meant," Gale answered "with a flurry of scientific buzzwords and jargon." Gale's figure of "over 5000 experiments" was "an unadulterated W.A.G."; his remark that "the Surgeon General is critical of the MICOM proposal" rested on "a cribbed copy of the Surgeon General's comments. Question I have is who gave it to him"; and "because of prior intelligence problems (e.g., LSD case) two members of the Surgeon General's review panel are dead set against this kind of work." "In my opinion the Gale report is big, but weak... By pushing to have the report quickly accepted by Dr LaBerge he will have an effective shield from tough questions and criticism." Gale "has gone far beyond that charter," "selling the report around the Pentagon," and "should be thanked by the DoD Steering Committee and allowed or told to quietly go his way." According to Stoner, Vorona had written to Tighe on January 11 urging that the report "be put on hold." On January 25 Gale asked Stoner to distribute 27 copies, LaBerge's "official copy by Monday, 28 Jan," with Stoner's office "designated as Office of Record for all reports." On February 6, 1980, the under secretary of defense, [[William Perry]], restricted the use of Program 6 funds, since it was "not appropriate for Army to fund technology programs aimed at scientific demonstration of parapsychology."[^8][^9]
|
||||
|
||||
### SRI and the Committee
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -58,15 +60,17 @@ On August 3, 1979, Puthoff wrote to Gale on the committee's visit of July 24 and
|
|||
|
||||
### After the Report
|
||||
|
||||
[[John Kramar]], AMSAA's Grill Flame project officer, wrote for the record on February 13, 1980, under the subject line "Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC) GRILL FLAME Report, Dated November 1979," that the report, "transmitted to AMSAA January 1980, was found to be somewhat ambiguous and confusing," and took "exception" to "Terminate all AMSAA GRILL FLAME efforts": "This recommendation, as best as can be determined, is based only on a partial understanding of AMSAA's initial effort, which was terminated before the SEC came into being. There is an apparent mistake by the SEC in considering the AMSAA challenge/validation efforts to be an integral part of the SRI contract," copying Gale and DARCOM. Murray Watt's comments of the same month, "my personal assessment," written for "Dr Vorona's letter to LTG Tighe," whose "tone... will be rather general," found the report "very shallow in nature," its recommendations "vague," "unless doing away with the program can be considered as a constructive suggestion"; of annex 5, "after all, we provided the committee with most of the data contained in the Annex"; of the screening of members, "private conversations with individual committee members give quite the opposite view"; of the handwriting passage, "they do everything but call Targ a 'cheat.' Did they, in fact, question Targ on this handwriting issue?"; and of the minority, "it appears that the committee (minority) is more concerned about the possible loss of their credibility." Colonel Chad B. White of INSCOM told Brigadier General Thomas J. Flynn on March 10 that the report "has now been released," forwarding "the complete executive summary" and "that portion of the report dealing directly with INSCOM's program." On March 19, 1980, Puthoff, Targ and May wrote to LaBerge, by then principal deputy under secretary for research and engineering, that "we have just learned that, based on a recommendation of the Gale Committee, ODDR&E will not provide support for R&D efforts in the Grill Flame area," and "were further advised that a major factor leading to this recommendation was that the Committee concluded that the work being pursued under Grill Flame was of such a complex nature as to not provide basic proof-of-principle": "our contracts stipulated that we provide 'what if' threat analyses, utilizing experimental protocols applicable to specific operational tasks; we were not mandated to undertake formal proof-of-principle research," and "our efforts have yielded both general results and specific data that have been described to us by our various DoD and Intelligence Community clients as being of vital importance to the national interests." A three-page slide digest headed "Gale Committee Report, 1980" reduced the findings to "Individuals involved are sincere, dedicated," "No evidence of fraud, deception," "Management is ambivalent, lacks focus," and "SRI dependence phased-out." The report's date is given as November 1979 in the AMSAA memorandum and December 1979 on its cover and in Watt's.[^7]
|
||||
[[John Kramar]], AMSAA's Grill Flame project officer, wrote for the record on February 13, 1980, under the subject line "Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC) GRILL FLAME Report, Dated November 1979," that the report, "transmitted to AMSAA January 1980, was found to be somewhat ambiguous and confusing," and took "exception" to "Terminate all AMSAA GRILL FLAME efforts": "This recommendation, as best as can be determined, is based only on a partial understanding of AMSAA's initial effort, which was terminated before the SEC came into being. There is an apparent mistake by the SEC in considering the AMSAA challenge/validation efforts to be an integral part of the SRI contract," copying Gale and DARCOM. Murray Watt's comments of the same month, "my personal assessment," written for "Dr Vorona's letter to LTG Tighe," whose "tone... will be rather general," found the report "very shallow in nature," its recommendations "vague," "unless doing away with the program can be considered as a constructive suggestion"; of annex 5, "after all, we provided the committee with most of the data contained in the Annex"; of the screening of members, "private conversations with individual committee members give quite the opposite view"; of the handwriting passage, "they do everything but call Targ a 'cheat.' Did they, in fact, question Targ on this handwriting issue?"; and of the minority, "it appears that the committee (minority) is more concerned about the possible loss of their credibility." Colonel Chad B. White of INSCOM told Brigadier General Thomas J. Flynn on March 10 that the report "has now been released," forwarding "the complete executive summary" and "that portion of the report dealing directly with INSCOM's program." On March 19, 1980, Puthoff, Targ and May wrote to LaBerge, by then principal deputy under secretary for research and engineering, that "we have just learned that, based on a recommendation of the Gale Committee, ODDR&E will not provide support for R&D efforts in the Grill Flame area," and "were further advised that a major factor leading to this recommendation was that the Committee concluded that the work being pursued under Grill Flame was of such a complex nature as to not provide basic proof-of-principle": "our contracts stipulated that we provide 'what if' threat analyses, utilizing experimental protocols applicable to specific operational tasks; we were not mandated to undertake formal proof-of-principle research," and "our efforts have yielded both general results and specific data that have been described to us by our various DoD and Intelligence Community clients as being of vital importance to the national interests." A three-page slide digest headed "Gale Committee Report, 1980" reduced the findings to "Individuals involved are sincere, dedicated," "No evidence of fraud, deception," "Management is ambivalent, lacks focus," and "SRI dependence phased-out." The report's date is given as November 1979 in the AMSAA memorandum and December 1979 on its cover and in Watt's.[^10]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: *Report by the Grill Flame Scientific Evaluation Committee,* December 1979, Manfred Gale, chairman, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300120001-5. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Chapters 1 to 9 and annexes 1 to 11; the table of contents has no entry for annex 6, whose place is marked by a redaction code, and the visit log's dates are reflowed by OCR.
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[^2]: 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. US Army Intelligence and Security Command, "List of Events from September 1977 to January 1986," CIA-RDP96-00788R001100020001-8; the scan's table columns are reflowed by OCR and some dates are uncertain.
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[^3]: Vorona, J., Chairman, Grill Flame Working Group, "Comments on 'Report By: The GRILLFLAME Scientific Evaluation Committee,'" undated, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300060001-2, read in two OCR passes; the addressee line is illegible. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^4]: Stoner, William L., Major, GS, "Memorandum of Conversation, Subject: Gale Briefing to ZA, Science Evaluation Group Final Report on GRILL FLAME, 14 Jan 80," CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230017-7. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^5]: Gale, M., "Distribution of GRILL FLAME Reports," memorandum for Major Stoner, ACSI, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development and Acquisition, January 25, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230023-0; three CIA Reading Room items of February 13, 1980, are titled "Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC) Grill Flame Report, Dated November 1979" (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000250025-7, R001100080007-6, R001200230026-7). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^6]: "Grill Flame Review Panel Members," undated roster, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230008-7; Office of the Under Secretary of the Army, memorandum for Mr. Manny Gale, July 17, 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230004-1; K. Lytle, Major, Military Assistant, memorandum for Mr. Gale, Advisor for RDA Analysis, ODCSRDA, "Briefing for Dr. Ruth Davis and Mr. Nealsen," August 8, 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230013-1; Snyder to Gale, undated (catalogued May 11, 1979, but referring to October and a visit of September 28), CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230038-4, and November 19, 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230042-9; "Findings," "Recommendations," "Estimated Costs," unsigned, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230043-8; SSO Meade to SSO ACSI DA, "Grill Flame DoD Science Evaluation Team Report," LTC Watt, November 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230047-4. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^3]: Defense Intelligence Agency, S-1004/DT-1, "Minutes of the Meeting, DoD Grill Flame Committee," November 28, 1978, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130006-1, cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130006-1.pdf. The minutes record that Vorona "cautioned the Committee to maintain a low profile with minimal fanfare" and that "The next meeting of the GRILL FLAME Committee will be 13 February 1979."
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[^4]: Memorandum for record, "Minutes of the Grill Flame Committee Meeting, 14 Feb 79," CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130002-5, cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130002-5.pdf. The memorandum states "The Grill Flame Committee meeting was held at 0930, 14 Feb 79."
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[^5]: SRI International, contract DAAK11-79-C-0057 (ARRADCOM Edgewood, "Special Training Techniques"), section F.1, CIA-RDP96-00792R000100140001-1.
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[^6]: Puthoff, H. E., to Manfred Gale, "SRI/Gale Committee Meeting of 24-25 July," August 3, 1979, with the enclosure "Standard Remote Viewing (RV) Procedures: Local Sites," by H. E. Puthoff, R. Targ and E. C. May, August 1979, CIA-RDP96-00787R000100060001-6 (memorandum alone at CIA-RDP96-00788R002000240028-5). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Cartwright, Frank, Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, to the Chairman, Grill Flame Committee, "Comments on RV and PK Investigations," October 2, 1979, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230034-8. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^7]: Kramar, John W., AMSAA Grill Flame Project Officer, memorandum for record, "Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC) GRILL FLAME Report, Dated November 1979," February 13, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230026-7 (copies at R002000250025-7 and R001100080007-6). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Watt, Murray B., "Comments Concerning 'GRILL FLAME SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION COMMITTEE REPORT,' dated December 1979," catalogued February 13, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130025-0. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. White, Chad B., Colonel, ADCSOPS-HUMINT, memorandum for Brigadier General Thomas J. Flynn, "The GRILL FLAME Scientific Evaluation Committee Report," March 10, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230056-4; "Gale Committee Report," briefing slides, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300130001-4. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Puthoff, H. E., R. Targ and E. C. May, Radio Physics Laboratory, SRI International, to Walter B. LaBerge, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, March 19, 1980, SRI 0-4132, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230031-1. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^7]: Vorona, J., Chairman, Grill Flame Working Group, "Comments on 'Report By: The GRILLFLAME Scientific Evaluation Committee,'" undated, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300060001-2, read in two OCR passes; the addressee line is illegible. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^8]: Stoner, William L., Major, GS, "Memorandum of Conversation, Subject: Gale Briefing to ZA, Science Evaluation Group Final Report on GRILL FLAME, 14 Jan 80," CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230017-7. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^9]: Gale, M., "Distribution of GRILL FLAME Reports," memorandum for Major Stoner, ACSI, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development and Acquisition, January 25, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230023-0; three CIA Reading Room items of February 13, 1980, are titled "Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC) Grill Flame Report, Dated November 1979" (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000250025-7, R001100080007-6, R001200230026-7). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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[^10]: Kramar, John W., AMSAA Grill Flame Project Officer, memorandum for record, "Scientific Evaluation Committee (SEC) GRILL FLAME Report, Dated November 1979," February 13, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230026-7 (copies at R002000250025-7 and R001100080007-6). Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Watt, Murray B., "Comments Concerning 'GRILL FLAME SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION COMMITTEE REPORT,' dated December 1979," catalogued February 13, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R002000130025-0. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. White, Chad B., Colonel, ADCSOPS-HUMINT, memorandum for Brigadier General Thomas J. Flynn, "The GRILL FLAME Scientific Evaluation Committee Report," March 10, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230056-4; "Gale Committee Report," briefing slides, 1980, CIA-RDP96-00788R001300130001-4. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection. Puthoff, H. E., R. Targ and E. C. May, Radio Physics Laboratory, SRI International, to Walter B. LaBerge, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, March 19, 1980, SRI 0-4132, CIA-RDP96-00788R001200230031-1. Read in the archive.org mirror of the CIA FOIA Reading Room STARGATE collection.
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