[totorostoztg] © DATE VENTO CIA. ackoround Use Only’ Bo Not Reproduce’. ” o 10 1. 14, Om G10 “ie [] SECRET ([] CONFIDENTIAL [[] INTERNAL = 7 UNCLASSIFIED
14-00000 Clpy OCC -76 -1072 3ls/7 3 MAR 1976 7 RETURN TO CIA (Sackground Use Only ANDO Nek Reproduce MEMORANDUM FOR: Associate General Counsel, OGC Loon VIA : Deputy Director for Operations—y7')"/ SUBJECT : Mitchell Livingston WER BELL III REFERENCE : Your memorandum of 24 February 1976, Subject as above 1. Per reference request, we are forwarding information in our files concerning contacts that have taken place between this Agency and WER BELL. 2. The following is a summary of all DDO contact directly with WER BELL which took place in 1959: a. A 6 July 1959° Memorandum to C/WH Division signed by| \stated that General Cabell called o report that WER BELL had called him. 97WER BELL discussed with General Cabell a trip WER BELL had taken to the Dominican Republic and offered to come to Washington at his own expense to discuss the trip. No commitments were made to WER BELL by General Cabell. b. A-,7 Jul 4 59 Memorandum of Conversation Signed by stated th WER BELL was met in Washington, D.C., By ho discussed with WER BELL information” oncerning the Dominican Republic, Fidel Castro, Fulgencio Batista and General Pedraza. emorandum of. Conversation : stated that on 8 July 1959 alTed WER BELY to set up an appointment. During’the meeting, WER BELL was told that the United States would not support any revolutionary activities by General Pedraza. He was also told that the U.S. will observe its international obligations concerning Cuba and Pedraza, and that o5 “CLwmper ov ev @4d70A.. LD spe aud ery sural
14-00000 “pd RETURN TO CIA the U.S. would not overlook any violations by Sackground Use Only Pedraza or his followers of. the neutrality Laws .\30 Net Reproduce said that the Agency had some interest in the pdssibility of his (WER BELL's) working for us as an intelligence gatherer under terms to be negotiated after.we obtained a security clearance on himw3 pointed out that the Agency was not attempting to limit his actions in connection with the Dominican Republic, nor , was it assuming any responsibility for those 5 matters he carried out in his own behalf. dictated a Secrecy Agreement to him and ha im sign it. d. AY July°t959 Memorandum for the Record signed by| reported that Subject called him on 9 July I959 from New York.. WER BELL gave} further information on Loos, fnu, thé>representative of a Colonel Frei, fnu, of the Swiss. army who had 1,000 men available for duty as soldiers. as ) e. A 20 July 1959 Memorandum for the Record signed b reported that WER BELL called rom Miami on 20 July to ask about the Agéncy picking up the tab for his forthcoming trip to the Dominican Republic. They discussed his clearance which had not come through. . £. A 3 August 1959 Memorandum for the Record signed by Martha R. Tharpe reported that 5 on 24 July 1959WER-BELL called for Mr.| Since was on leave, Tharpé took the call. WER ave Tharpe further infor- mation concerning Pedraza and Batista. Tharpe called WER BELL back that evening to tell him that if he obtained further information to report it to Mr. Justin Gleichauf, 00 Contacts Representative in Miami, until Nei retuned ) to Washington. g. A 50Au ust 1959 Memorandum for the Record signed by| |stated that WER BELL phoned him on 5 August I959 to ask if there was any news on his clearance. WER BELL said he wanted to go to the Dominican Republic soon, and would like CIA to pick up his expenses. He was told there was no
14-00000 4] news. and WER BELL discussed.the Dominican Republic and Cuba. On 3 August |phoned WER BELL and told him that his clearance had not Backer TO Cis been granted and that he should not predicate his Mo Rot he se Only activities on the expectation of the clearance at ON Reproduce any given time. WER BELL said that the Pedraza group was air lifting and dropping material into Cuba. > h. A 9 September 1959 Memorandum for the Record signed b _|reported that WER BELL called on 9 September 1959 to j information on Cuba. He was told by that his clearance had not yet been processed. i. According to a 23 September_1959 0 Memorandum for the Record signed by4 } WER BELL called bon 9 Septemb ao ask if his clearance had come through since che wanted the Agency ’to finance his trip to the Dominican Republic. .He was told it had not. WER BELL rord| "~ Jabout some people who had been discussing é counterfeiting of U. S. dollars and Cuban pesos for use in connection withouban revolutionary activities. He was told by | to contact fhe FBI.,»On 13 September W had phoned | ba home to say that the FBI had referred him to the Secret Service on the counterfeiting aspect, and that no one seemed particularly interested in the’ gun running. The Secret Service asked him’to go to Miami at his own expense to obtain further_information on the matter and WER BELL asked| advice o} said that he could notinfluence. him one way or’the other since he was not in a position to direct his activities, but felt he might_be tter off to take no action. He was told that Shroud be in touch with him as soon as he had®any further information concerning our possible use of him. j. Al3 Octobe1959 Memorandum for the Record signed by states that WER BELL phoned him on eptember 1959 to report on Cuba. On 2 October 195993 talked with WER BELL by phone and terminated the relationship. 3. The following undated memorandums are also contained in WER BELL's file:
14-00000 c" 03 a. A Memorandum for the Record signed b 3% reports that WER BELL called 3 August’ 1959 to discuss Cuban activities in Miami RETURN TO CIA his memorandum also records that WER BELL phoned Background Use Only again on 26 August 1959 at which time activi tiG9 Not Reproduce in € Dominican Republic and Cuban activities in Miami were discussed. WER BELL also asked about the status of his clearance, and was told it had not yet: come through. Qo b. A letter signed "W" addressed of gave "W's" location and some information concerning Batista and Castro. (This letter is probably in the 1959 time frame.) c. A Memorandum of Conversation si ne@-by reports that WER BELL caltea[ Jang gave his~location. The status of WER B Ss clearance was discussed and told him it... had not yet come through.°? WER gavel __ jos some information concerning Batista. (This memorandum probably is in the 1959 time frame.) d. An unsigned report, apparently from WER BELL, gave a summary of his contacts and activities during a trip to the Dominican Republic. (This report is probably in the 1959 time frame.) 4. A 17 December_1963 dispatch from Station Santo Domingo reported that Station |recent ly met WER BELL. in Santo Domingo.,, No further detaiY¥s of the meeting were reported. 605 5. According to the CS file on WER BELL, three former Agency employees were contacted in 1974 by WER BELL and other representatives of a group called "Friends of Abaco (FOA), a group allegedly advocating the secession of the island of Abaco from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The three former employees contacted are: a. John Patrick Muldoon, retired from CIA on 20 March 1972. _ rom b. lL retired from CIA of | He was rehired on a contract in February 1971. His contract was terminated in September 1973. eed aca
14-00000 G/pu ¢ BETURN TO cia c. Waiter Joseph Mackem, separated from CIA on 31 October 1973. ———- NDO Not Reproduce 6. Mr. Muldoon contacted Agency employee P | jon 22 May 1974. Mr. Muldoon told Mr. McTighe tha e’ was nominal Vice President of a Washington-based firm called "Security Consultants International."" He presented Mr. McTighe with a report containing the essential data he possessed concerning WER BELL and other members of FOA whom he had met on 17 and 20 May 1974 in Washington, D.C. According to Mr. Muldoon, WER BELL had hopes of establishing gaming casinos, hotel and other tourist facilities in Abaco catering to the U. S. tourist crowd. As a consequence of some run-in with Prime Minister Pindling of the Bahamas, however, WER BELL is apparently persona non grata in the Bahamas; hence his ambitions appeared to be contingent on Abacan independence. Mr. Muidoon reported that at least on two occasions WER BELL made a concerted effort to involve persons formerly affiliated with the Agency in the activities of the FOA in support of its independence. On several occasions, WER BELL introduced Mr. Muldoon and Mr*% as active Agency officials, implying that either the Agency or the United States Government supported the ai the FOA. WER BELL also proposed to Messrs. Muldoon and| in separate conversations that they conduct a study, involving a’visit to Abaco, to determine the feasibility of Abaco's independence in political and economic terms. The study was to include interviews with citizens of Abaco prior to an alleged "plebiscite" on independence to take place in Abaco on 28 June 1974.53 In default of the collaboration of either Muldoon oD WER BELL hired Mr. Walter Joseph Mackem, a former Agency riend of both Muldoon and According to WER BELL's file, Mackem later in 1974 contacted the Agency in an attempt to get an official policy on the activities of the FOA. Mackem was informed that the case comes under FBI jurisdiction, that this Agency has no official involvement, and that all information we had on the matter had been made available to the FBI. He was advised at that time to report his contacts and any information he had to the FBI. a . 7. On 24 March 1975, Mr. | | assigned to SE/PCH, reported that during the week of 9 March 1975, he talked with Mr. Wesley Dyckman. Mr. Dyckman is a former Agency employee employed by the Drug Enforcement Agency. According ‘to Dyckman, former Agency employee Walter Mackem was employed in the Washington area‘as a private investigator. He is also involved with a paramilitary activity funded by some unnamed British source, The activity, which Dyckman referred to as (Background Use Only
14-00000 03 Yp 7 AETURNTO CIA @agkground Use Only Do Not Reproduce "the new land project" sought to establish a tax shelter on one of the out-islands of the Caribbean by forcefully taking over the island and establishing a government there. Mackem is supposedly involved in the paramilitary training of forces who would participate in this adventure. According to Dyckman, the paramilitary training supposedly was to take place in Georgia, where WER BELL is based. 8. On 31 August 1974, me [Inet with Mr. K. Michael Absher, who at that time was AC ; and told him that WER BELL was leaving for Athens on 31 Augus o sell arms to the Greek Government. WER BELL wanted] to be his advisor in this venture and to go to Athens. told WER BELL that — check with CIA before’ giving Him an answer. WER BELL asked to see if the Agency was in favor of such an.arms deal or not. Mr. Absher strongly advised against ae re) setting involved in this deain3[____|toid Mr. Absher at he understood and agreed not to get involved. | | said that WER BELL would probably call him from Athens an e would give WER BELL a final negative reply. 9. On 22 July 1974, the FBI reported that WER BELL may be in possession of a one-line note from former CIA Director « William Colby stemming from a chance meeting with the Director at an OSS alumni dinner, reading something like "Good to. see you again." This note was apparently used by WER BELL to suggest that he and Mr. Colby were good friends. This infor- mation was passed on to Mr. Colby on 9 August 1974. 10. According to reporting from several Stations, WER BELL and Arthur L. Smith (a cohort of WER BELL's) were in several Central American countries during August and early September 1962. Their principal activity appeared to be contacting officials of the governments of Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador for the purpose of obtaining recognition of a de facto Cuban Government in exile called the "United Organization: for the Liberation of Cuba." In discussions with Nicaraguan Government representatives, WER BELL claimed the proposed Cuban Government in exile had the support of 90 separate Cuban exile organizations and 186,000 Cuban exiles. WER BELL offered a representative of the Nicaraguan Government $100,000 to obtain that government's recognition of the Cuban Government in exile. The group claimed to have its headquarters at 1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C. While in Guatemala, Smith claimed that the group had a man in the . Department of State in Washington, D.C., whom they pay $6,000 per year "to keep them advised."
14-00000 *iPY ¢ RETURN TO CIA -7- Background Use Only » (Bo Not Reproduce 11. In December 1965 WER BELL contacted a Miami DCD asset and told him that he and six Cuban exiles in the U. S. had organized a group, including approximately 20 Cubans inside Cuba, to perform a commando operation in Cuba during early January 1966., Their primary mission was the assassination of Fidel Castro, with the secondary mission of blowing up the generators that supply electricity to Havana, Cuba. WER BELL, at the time, stated that he was trying to get a "green light" from CIA to proceed with the mission, and inferred that the mission would be called off if such approval was not obtained. 12. On 7 February 1966 the Miami office of the FBI reported that WER BELL had been in contact with various news agencies concerning an alleged plan to assassinate Fidel Castro, and reportedly also had discussed the plan with Mr. Richard Phillips, Public Affairs Officer, Department of State, Washington, D.C. WER BELL claimed to have a group of some 500 men infiltrated into Cuba and said that they were ready for action to overthrow the regime immediately following the assassination of Castro. According to the FBI, WER BELL gave the impression that he is acquainted with many high government officials, both in the U. S. and other countries, and implied that his assassination plan had been approved by CIA. 13. According to a memorandum in WER BELL's file, on 7 February 1968, one Bruce Arman Baker telephoned an employee of this Agency and said he had been in contact with WER BELL. Mr. Baker said that WER BELL was in the weapons manufacturing business and delivered them by air throughout the world. Mr. Baker said that he understood that WER BELL does this for CIA. Mr. Baker said that he understood from WER BELL that he would have to get a CIA security clearance to fly for WER BELL. Baker said that he was afraid that his past smuggling record might keep him from getting a CIA clearance. B35 14. WER BELL came to the attention of the in early 1969 when he went to Thailand representing himsé as Vice President of Sionics, Atlanta, Georgia. He described himself as a counterinsurgency expert, had a variety of weapons to display, claimed to be a retired colonel, and introduced himself at a local nightclub as Chief of CIA in Thailand. WER BELL attempted to sell arms to_ the Thais and also to a variety of U. S. military elements’? passed the gist of his reputation to key personalities in e U. S. mission and the Thai Government stressing that he was not sponsored in any way by the U. S. Government.
14-00000 7 RETURN TO CIA -8- Background Use Only 's Do Not Reproduce 15. WER BELL was also the subject of two memorandum signed by Lawrence R. Houston. Mr. Houston, answering a request from Joseph J. Liebling, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, on 23 February 1971, denied WER BELL's alleged affiliation with the CIA. On 28 October 1971, Mr. Houston wrote Mr. David H. Henretta, Jr., of the Industrial Security Clearance Review Division, to return notarized Interrogatories previously sent by Mr. Henretta. 16. We have no information on Colonel Bayard except news articles reporting his death which were forwarded by the FBI. 17. Per your request, we have sent instructions to the LA/Miami Station that there should be no contact with WER BELL. Néstor By Sanchez Acting Chief Latin America Division E2 IMPDET CL BY 012913