The Midnight Canoeist

[Tim Carroll]

deleted for space

Edited November 5, 2004 by Tim Carroll

[John Simkin]

This is the first I've heard of two Richard Spragues associated with the HSCA.

Here are the biographies of the two Richard Spragues:

Richard A. Sprague

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKsprague.htm

Richard E. Sprague

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKspragueE.htm

[Tim Carroll]

deleted for space

Edited November 5, 2004 by Tim Carroll

[John Simkin]

Some Agents at ASIS believe Colby's troubles and his ultimate demise began with the dramas of the Nugan/Hand bank collapse here in Australia. When Frank Nugan was whacked, it began a series of murders where Agency assets running guns into the Middle East and some Sandline guys playing both sides were terminated. It's not a huge stretch that Colby was the last name on a very big hit list.

For a bit of background -

US military and CIA oversaw Far East drug smuggling for 20 years

From "American Society of Criminology" report by William J. Chambliss

In 1969 Michael Hand, a former Green Beret and one of the CIA agents stationed at Long Cheng when Air America was shipping opium, moved to Australia, ostensibly as a private citizen. On arriving in Australia, Hand entered into a business partnership with an Australian national, Frank Nugan. In 1976 they established the Nugan Hand Bank in Sydney (Commonwealth of New South Wales, 1982a, 1982b). The Nugan Hand Bank began as a storefront operation with minimal capital investment, but almost immediately it boasted deposits of over $25 million. The rapid growth of the bank resulted from large deposits of secret funds made by narcotics and arms smugglers and large deposits from the CIA (Nihill, 1982).

In addition to the records from the bank that suggest the CIA was using the bank as a conduit for its funds, the bank’s connection to the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies is evidenced by the people who formed the directors and principal officers of the bank, including the following:

Admiral Earl F. Yates, president of the Nugan Hand Bank was, during the Vietnam War, chief of staff for strategic planning of U.S. forces in Asia and the Pacific.

General Edwin F. Black, president of Nugan Hand’s Hawaii branch, was commander of U.S. troops in Thailand during the Vietnam War and, after the war, assistant army chief of staff for the Pacific.

General Erle Cocke, Jr., head of the Nugan Hand Washington, D.C. office.

George Farris worked in the Nugan Hand Hong Kong and Washington, D.C. offices. Farris was a military intelligence specialist who worked in a special forces training base in the Pacific.

Bernie Houghton, Nugan Hand’s representative in Saudi Arabia. Houghton was also a U.S. naval intelligence undercover agent.

Thomas Clines, director of training in the CIA’s clandestine service, was a London operative for Nugan Hand who helped in the takeover of a London-based bank and was stationed at Long Cheng with Michael Hand and Theodore S. Shackley during the Vietnam War.

Dale Holmgreen, former flight service manager in Vietnam for Civil Air Transport, which became Air America. He was on the board of directors of Nugan Hand and ran the bank’s Taiwan office.

Walter McDonald, an economist and former deputy director of CIA for economic research, was a specialist in petroleum. He became a consultant to Nugan Hand and served as head of its Anapolis, Maryland branch.

General Leroy Manor, who ran the Nugan Hand Philippine office, was a Vietnam veteran who helped coordinate the aborted attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages, chief of staff for the U.S. Pacific command, and the U.S. government’s liaison officer to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

On the board of directors of the parent company formed by Michael Hand that preceded the Nugan Hand Bank were Grant Walters, Robert Peterson, David M. Houton, and Spencer Smith, all of whom listed their address as c/o Air America, Army Post Office, San Francisco, California.

Also working through the Nugan Hand Bank was Edwin F. Wilson, a CIA agent involved in smuggling arms to the Middle East and later sentenced to prison by a U.S. court for smuggling illegal arms to Libya. Edwin Wilson’s associate in Mideast arms shipments was Theodore Shackley, head of the Miami, Florida, CIA station. In 1973, when William Colby was made director of Central Intelligence, Shackley replaced him as head of covert operations for the Far East; on his retirement from the CIA William Colby became Nugan Hand’s lawyer.

In the late 1970s the bank experienced financial difficulties, which led to the death of Frank Nugan. He was found dead of a shotgun blast in his Mercedes Benz on a remote road outside Sydney. The official explanation was suicide, but some investigators speculated that he might have been murdered. In any event, Nugan’s death created a major banking scandal and culminated in a government investigation. The investigation revealed that millions of dollars were unaccounted for in the bank’s records and that the bank was serving as a money-laundering operation for narcotics smugglers and as a conduit through which the CIA was financing gun smuggling and other illegal operations throughout the world. These operations included illegally smuggling arms to South Africa and the Middle East. There was also evidence that the CIA used the Nugan Hand Bank to pay for political campaigns that slandered politicians, including Australia’s Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (Kwitny, 1987).

Michael Hand tried desperately to cover up the operations of the bank. Hundreds of documents were destroyed before investigators could get into the bank. Despite Hand’s efforts, the scandal mushroomed and eventually Hand was forced to flee Australia. He managed this, while under indictment for a rash of felonies, with the aid of a CIA official who flew to Australia with a false passport and accompanied him out of the country. Hand’s father, who lives in New York, denies knowing anything about his son’s whereabouts.

Thus, the evidence uncovered by the government investigation in Australia linked high-level CIA officials to a bank in Sydney that was responsible for financing and laundering money for a significant part of the narcotics trafficking originating in Southeast Asia (Commonwealth of New South Wales, 1982b; 1983). It also linked the CIA to arms smuggling and illegal involvement in the democratic processes of a friendly nation. Other investigations reveal that the events in Australia were but part of a worldwide involvement in narcotics and arms smuggling by the CIA and French intelligence (Hougan, 1978; Kruger, 1980; Owen, 1983).

As James Richards has pointed out, Colby’s death might be linked to the Nugan Hand Bank Scandal. However, this scandal is also linked to Ted Shackley’s Secret Team and therefore, possibly, the assassination of JFK.

Let me explain. In 1971, Edwin Wilson left the CIA to run shipping companies for a secret Navy intelligence organization called Task Force 157. This included World Marine Incorporated in Washington. Wilson also ran this company for his own benefit. In 1973 he earned a $500,000 fee by delivering a spy ship to Iran under the cover of World Marine.

In 1973 Frank Nugan, an Australian lawyer, and Michael Hand, a former CIA contract operative, established the Nugan Hand Bank. Another key figure in this venture was Bernie Houghton, who was closely connected to Ted Shackley and Thomas Clines.

Nugan ran operations in Sydney whereas Hand established a branch in Hong Kong. This enabled Australian depositors to have access to a money-laundering facility for illegal transfers of Australian money to Hong Kong. According to Alfred W. McCoy, the "Hand-Houghton partnership led the bank's international division into new fields - drug finance, arms trading, and support work for CIA covert operations." Hand told friends "it was his ambition that Nugan Hand became banker for the CIA."

In 1974 the Nugan-Hand Bank got involved in helping the CIA to take part in covert arms deals with contacts within Angola. It was at this time that Edwin Wilson became involved with the bank. Two CIA agents based in Indonesia, James Hawes and Robert Moore, called on Wilson at his World Marine offices to discuss "an African arms deal". Later, Bernie Houghton arrived from Sydney to place an order for 10 million rounds of ammunition and 3,000 weapons including machine guns. The following year Houghton asked Wilson to arrange for World Marine to purchase a high-technology spy ship. This ship was then sold to Iran.

By 1976 the Nugan-Hand Bank appeared to have become a CIA-fronted company. This is reflected in the type of people recruited to hold senior positions in the bank. This included Admiral Earl Yates, retired chief strategist of the U.S. Pacific Command, as president. Other appointments included William Colby, retired director of the CIA, General Leroy J. Manor, the former chief of staff of the U.S. Pacific Command, General Edwin F. Black, former commander of U.S. forces in Thailand, Walter McDonald, retired CIA deputy director for economic research and Dale Holmgren, former chairman of the CIA's Civil Air Transport.

The investigative journalist, Jonathan Kwitny, became convinced that the Nugan-Hand Bank had replaced the Castle Bank & Trust of Nassau, as the CIA's covert banker. Former CIA agent, Kevin Mulcahy later told the National Times newspaper "about the Agency's use of Nugan Hand for shifting money for various covert operations around the globe."

Castle Bank had itself been closed down as a result of an IRS investigation. This came to an end as a result of pressure being applied on the IRS. According to the Wall Street Journal, “pressure from the Central Intelligence Agency… caused the Justice Department to drop what could have been the biggest tax evasion case of all time.”

In February 1976, Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, the new head of the Office of Naval Intelligence, discovered that Edwin Wilson was involved in some dubious undercover business deals. A few months later Wilson was asked to leave the ONI. Wilson continued to run the CIA-fronted companies he had established. The largest of these was Consultants International and over the next few years amassed a fortune of over $20 million. This enabled him to buy a 2,338-acre farm in Northern Virginia, where he often entertained his close friends, Ted Shackley and Thomas Clines.

Much of his money was made in the arms trade. His most important customer was Moammar Gaddafi, the dictator of Libya. Wilson claimed that it was Ted Shackley of the CIA who first suggested he should go to Libya. Wilson got contracts to sell Libya army uniforms, ammunition, explosive timers and 20 tons of C-4 plastic explosives.

In 1976 Wilson recruited Raphael Quintero to kill a Libyan dissident in Egypt. Quintero selected two brothers, Rafael and Raoul Villaverde, to carry out the killing. However, the killing was later called off.

One of the men Wilson employed was former CIA officer Kevin Mulcahy. He became concerned about Wilson's illegal activities and reported them to the CIA. However, Ted Shackley, Deputy Director of Operations, was initially able to block any internal investigation of Wilson. However, in April, 1977, The Washington Post, published an article on Wilson's activities stating that he may be getting support from "current CIA employees". Admiral Stansfield Turner, Jimmy Carter’s new director of the CIA, ordered an investigation and discovered that both Shackley and Clines had close relationships with Wilson. Turner demoted both men.

In 1978 Clines left the CIA. He now joined with Raphael Quintero and Ricardo Chavez (another former CIA operative) to establish API Distributors. According to David Corn (Blond Ghost) Edwin Wilson provided Clines with "half a million dollars to get his business empire going". In 1979 Clines established International Research and Trade Limited in Bermuda. Later that year he joined forces with Hussein Salem in providing U.S. military hardware to Egypt.

After leaving the CIA in September, 1979, Ted Shackley formed his own company, Research Associates International, which specialized in providing intelligence to business. He was also given consulting work with API Distributors, the company established by Clines, Quintero, and Chavez.

According to Alfred W. McCoy (The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade): "Throughout 1979 the Wilson network and the Nugan Hand Bank began to build a close commercial alliance in the netherworld of national security subcontracting". Shackley and Clines were also drawn into a relationship with the Nugan Hand Bank. Michael Hand wrote to Shackley on 27th November, 1979, suggesting a business meeting. Hand's latter also referred to Bernie Houghton, who had worked for Shackley in Vietnam.

Michael Hand probably wanted to talk about Edwin Wilson. In 1979 a Washington grand jury began gathering incriminating evidence about his illegal arms sales. To avoid arrest he moved to London. In the winter of 1979, Wilson had a meeting with Bernie Houghton and Thomas Clines in Switzerland in an attempt to help him out of his difficulties. This included a non-delivery of 5,000 M16 automatic rifles to Libya. The three men discussed ways of using the Nugan Hand Bank to float a $22 million loan to finance the delivery. Hand was obviously concerned that if Wilson was arrested he might begin talking about his dealings with the Nugan Hand Bank.

Michael Hand also had talks with William Colby, the former director of the CIA. It is not known what was discussed at this meeting but Colby submitted a bill to Nugan Hand Bank for $45,684 for his legal advice.

On 27th January, 1980 Frank Nugan was found dead in his car. Bernie Houghton was in Switzerland at the time and he immediately rang his branch office in Saudi Arabia and ordered the staff to leave the country. Houghton also visited Edwin Wilson's office in Switzerland and left a briefcase with bank documents for safekeeping. Soon afterwards, a witness saw Thomas Clines going through the briefcase at Wilson's office and remove papers that referred to him and General Richard Secord.

Two days after Nugan died, Michael Hand held a meeting of Nugan Hand Bank directors. He warned them that unless they did as they were told they could "finish up with concrete shoes" and would be "liable to find their wives being delivered to them in pieces".

According to one witness, Thomas G. Clines helped Bernie Houghton escape from Australia. Michael Hand also left the country accompanied by James O. Spencer, a man who served with Ted Shackley in Laos. The two men travelled to America via Fiji and Vancouver. Hand then disappeared and has never been seen again.

The Australian authorities were forced to investigate the bank. They discovered that Ricardo Chavez, the former CIA operative who was co-owner of API Distributors with Thomas Clines and Raphael Quintero, was attempting to take control of the bank. The Corporate Affairs Commission of New South Wales came to the conclusion that Chavez was working on behalf of Clines, Quintero and Wilson.

[Jim Hackett II]

Not only has this thread provided new stuff to read and consider, but also tied some loose ends re:Laos/CIA/Shackley etc. for me. Thanks.

It pays sometimes to be silent and open to learn more.

Again Thanks to all members for this thread.

Jim

Oh and Happiest of Holidays and Best of the New Year

[Guest Tom Scully]

I’ve always wondered how, if Sullivan was assassinated, the conspirators could arrange for an apparently innocent teenager to shoot him accidentally while out hunting. I’ve come across an interesting description of how it was done in chapter 16 of Richard E. Sprague’s online book The Taking of America. (This Sprague was a consultant to the HSCA, not the Richard A. Sprague who briefly headed it.) Since Sprague cites no sources for this account of Sullivan’s death, it can’t be accepted as truth and Sprague should at least explain to the reader where it came from. But that said, it does provide a scenario as to how it might have been done. (The PCG referred to is what Sprague calls the Power Control Group).

“William Sullivan was eliminated by a clever, but simple technique. The PCG agents who killed him knew about his hunting haunts in New England. They also knew about a teenage son of a state policeman living near Sullivan's country place who liked to hunt in the same area. Two of them intercepted Sullivan early one morning as he set out for a walk in the woods. They shot him with a deer rifle and took his body to a spot in the woods where they knew the boy would be. They carried a decoy inflated to the shape resembling a deer and probably acted like one. The boy shot at him and thought he hit a deer. The agents dropped Sullivan's body at that spot and left. They accidentally left the pair of gloves one of them was wearing. The boy went over to the spot in the early morning semi-darkness, found Sullivan's body, and thought he had killed him by mistake. He still thinks so. There was no investigation and no questions asked.

“Why was Sullivan killed? As mentioned before, William Sullivan was J. Edgar Hoovers' right hand man in charge of Division Five, the FBI's clandestine domestic operation that included an assassination squad. Every likelihood exists that Hoover ordered Sullivan's division to kill King and that Sullivan used Frenchy/Raoul and Jack Youngblood to do the job. Sullivan was also due to meet with the Select Committee within a day or two after the day he was shot. Whether he would have talked or not probably makes little difference. The PCG couldn't take the chance.”

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/ToA/ToAchp16.html

I have come across references before to Division Five of the FBI that included an assassination squad. Does anyone know if this is a myth, or is there any credible source or sources that there has ever been a Division Five for bumping people off?

Ron

So, how do you co-author a book with an author who later has this resume and name recognition, and have the background described in the pages

linked below, and yet drum up almost no interest or comment, during the years this forum has been online?

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituari...n_green_berets/

Robin Moore, 82, author of 'French Connection,' 'Green Berets'

February 24, 2008

...When President Lyndon B. Johnson stayed at the Sheraton Jamaica, Mr. Moore replaced the Bible in his room with his book about Fidel Castro, "The Devil to Pay," according to his wife....

http://books.google.com/books?um=1&q=m...nG=Search+Books

The devil to pay‎ - Page 31

Jack Youngblood, Robin Moore - Biography & Autobiography - 1961 - 320 pages

"Jack, what do you do here in Mexico City?" Ann asked for the fourth time. ..

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=wit...1&scoring=a

From A Travel-Log

- Chicago Tribune - ProQuest Archiver - Apr 16, 1961

... with Jack Young. blood of the new book, "The Devil to Pay," the story of an American adventurer-in Cuba, and he s right In the middle of another novel. ...

Related web pages

TV Close-Up

- Hartford Courant - ProQuest Archiver - Jan 28, 1963

They bought the rights to "The Devil To Pay," a book based on the true adventures of Jack Young-i blood, an American hero of the. Cuban revolution. ..

Dick Russell in the Village Voice: (After you read the linked page in Dick's 1976 article, it may become cleared why Andrew St. George's wife never came back here to post.)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HusQA...+rich&hl=en

Assassination .

Village Voice - Google News Archive - Jan 19, 1976

When Castro took power, Youngblood stayed on in his entourage. ... How ever, the name surfaced with a Dallas lady named Nancy Perrin Rich, who said that in

Chapter 16, 1979: The House Select Committee (1), 1984 Here We ...

William Sullivan's Division Five, at the behest of J. Edgar Hoover, carried out the King assassination using Raoul and Jack Youngblood plus others. ...

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/ToA/ToAchp16.html

http://www.hackcanada.com/blackcrawl/patri...and_x_assas.txt