Jean Szentgyorgyi

Mrs. Szentgyorgyi, Thank you for your participation here. It is rare and a pleasure to get to speak to family members of persons we often speak about and who, to us, are just names, details and photos - not a real person. Sorry about his death in 2001. Many of the men who went on the Life reported missions in Cuba or against Castro, etc. were CIA [or other intelligence] related or 'cleared'. Further, it is becoming clearer that many of these missions paid for by Luce (and others) and featured in Life, were designed to both undermine Castro and the Kennedys.

I can accept your claim that your husband was not working for the CIA. Certainly the CIA [and others] were, however, keeping a very close watch on and over the activities and the participants; and perhaps were satisfied by the fact that St. George had been a successful Military Intelligence asset during WW2 - and left it at that. I would think he must have been aware that many he was photographing and writing about in that 'Cuba Period' were in some way CIA connected, sponsored or approved - even if he was not. May I ask if he ever commented on this, or spoke of what he thought of Luce - and if he was aware that Luce was sponsoring some of these missions or that the Kennedys were apparently not aware nor wanting of (some of) them to occur?

Did he ever speak to this, either at the time or in later years? Thank you kindly, and please do not take any offense at my remarks or questions. We are only trying to get closer to the truth of the history involved.

I would also be most interested if you'd care to expand on your last remark - that he loathed the CIA and all of its works.

I'm leaving town to visit family tomorrow morning; and there simply isn't time just now to answer your questions today. I'll be home again next week and give your comments the attention it deserves. In the meantime, let me refer you to two articles by my husband:

How Does It Feel To Be Bugged, Watched, Followed, Hounded and Pestered by he C.I.A.?, Esquire Magazine, June 1975.

Girl Spy Against Castro, LOOK Magazine, December 29, 1964

The LOOK story was about the anti-Castro CIA's activities, so, of course, knew what he was reporting about. He believed at the time that he was doing a favorable piece about how the CIA functioned. As it turned out, they were absolutely furious about the story; and from that time on they went on a relentless campaign to destroy him as a journalist. We thought of suing publishers who reported that he worked for the CIA, and were told by a lawyer that: "It is not slander to say that a person works for the United States government!"

I do appreciate your system for giving me the opportunity to address some of the inaccuracies about my husband's life and work. The ubiquitous reports that he worked for the CIA are very distressing to our family, as they were to him in his lifetime. A CIA mole posing as a journalist is not a journalist!!! His passion for his vocation--and loathing for the CIA and all its works--remained with him up to the very last days of his life.

I am the wife of Andrew St. George. I am willing to answer questions on my husband.