Evening star., 1941-02-12
Police Check
Gun Purchase
By KrivitskY
Charlottesville Clerks
Tell of Making Sale
To Ex-Soviet Agent
BACKGROUND


Walter G. Kriritsky came
into the American spotlight as
author OF series Of magazine
articles on ms dctiUities as mem
Der OF SOriet RuSSid's secret po-
lice. and later. in 1899, testified
before the Dies Committee on
mOuenents Of Russian undercoU-
er men IN America He said he
UGS chief OF SOUiet intelligence
for Western Europe. one time
charged trith organizing Red
Arn,y' in Germany.
How Walter @. Krivitskv pur-
chased heavy automatic and DUN
dunn" ammunition at a Charlottes-
vile hardware store was told t1
neWSpapermen today as homicide
detectives went to Virginia 10 Chec
on events preceding the shooting q
the former Soviet secret agent in
hotel room here early Monday.
Clerks in the Charlottesville stq
said a small nervous man they d
convinced was KrivltSky came
Thursday with a woman they n
Oenized as Mrs Marguerite Dob
80. a native of Greece and the Y
of Eitel Wolf DObert, former q
man Army officer and refugee fri
the NaZiS
Kriyitsky, it was explained. was
guest at the cabin of the DOber
near Barboursville. about IS mild
nor,h of Charlottesville The RuS|
sian. who was found shot to DEATH
with a .38 caliber automatic beside \
him in his fifth-f1oOr bedroom at
the Bellevue Hotel Monday morning,
bought a secondhand automatic,
the clerks said
Gave Name as POret.
In buying the gun, Krlvltsky gave
his name as walter POret. the one
he signed on the hotel register when
he checked in here Sunday night.
Asked for his address. ne laughingly
replied. "Barbersville.' with the eX-
planation he expected soon to be-
come a resident of the vicinity.
On Saturday. the clerks said.
Krivitsky returned with Mr.. and
Mrs. Dobert and bought box Of
$50 cartridges fitted with hollow
nose bullets. The DOberts said they
used some of the ammunition at
target practice that afternoon.
Dobert said his guest sat up until
3 O'Clock Sunday morning writing
some important" letters, He wrote
/ on Dobert's stationery, which had
Charlottesville. Va" heading. the
same as that found on three suicide
notes in the Russians room here.
The Doberts. it was said, are con-
vinced KrivitSky killed himself. de-
spite the contention Of other friends
and of his New York attorney, Louis
| Waldman. that he was either asSas-
/ Sinated or driven to assassination by
I Soviet secret agents.
Mr.. Dobert, now a writer and lee
turer. believes KrivitSky penned the
notes found in his hotel room while
a guest at his cottage and Mrs.
/ Dobert said his last words 10 her
were a request to look after my
wife and child
Suggested Trading in Car.
! Mrs. Dobert later told reporters
she did most of the talking when
+ the automatic was purchased at the
Charlottesville Hardware Co because
her English was better. Krivitsky,
she said. expressed fear that the
cartridges first purchased would not
/ fit the gun and persuaded her to
return to buy a second supply.
! The former secret agent. she said.
kept repeating he needed an effec-
tive gun for his own protection,
without saying who or what he
/ feared
On the drive to Washington. Mrs.
Dobert said. Krivitsky expressed
enthusiasm about the prospect Of
bringing his family 10 live in the
Virginia hills. He had found a site
for a cabin near that of the Doberts.
Krivitsky told her. she said, he
had a better car than theirs, and
suggested they trade their machine
in for a pickup truck as he soon
could bring down his own machine,
which would serve both families.
En- route to Washington they slid
in the ditch once and had a fat
/ tire. Mrs. Dobert said. which de-
! layed their arrival
/ Once Mrs. Dobert stopped to post
| some letters. she said and asked if
Krivitsky would like to mail the ones
he had written the previous night.
He replied. she said, that he would
mail the letters when he reached
Washington
/ Mrs. Dobert said after she left
See KRIVITSKY, Page A-5D