2 March 2000
Source:
http://www.usia.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/latest&f=00030209.wlt&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
US Department of State
International Information Programs
Washington File
_________________________________
02 March 2000
(Electronic versions of files on spies, politicians, authors) (2140)
Suspected spies, gangsters, politicians, authors, and a group of
student activists from the 1960s are among the latest subjects added
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) Electronic Reading Room, according to a February 25 FBI news
release.
These documents had been available in paper format for several years
and now can be accessed electronically, the release said.
Among the latest subjects for which investigative information is now
available electronically:
-- American POWs/MIAs in Southeast Asia
-- Nathan Silvermaster, leader of a post-World War II Soviet espionage
ring.
-- Ernst Franz Sedwick (Putzi) Hanfstangl aka Ernest Sedgwick, an
author and intimate friend of Adolph Hitler who served as Hitler's
Nazi Press Chief.
-- Carlo Tresca, Italian political refugee and author who organized
labor strikes across the United States through the International
Workers of the World (IWW) beginning in 1912.
-- Al Capone, the notorious gangster who conducted his illegal
enterprises in Chicago during the 1920's.
-- The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which was
created in 1960 as a nonviolent civil rights movement primarily
devoted to voter-registration campaigns in the South.
-- Thomas Mann, German author, Nobel Prize winner in literature, and
naturalized American citizen.
-- Abbie Hoffman, 1960s and 70s activist, anarchist, and co-founder of
the Youth International Party (YIP a.k.a. Yippies) and one of the
"Chicago Seven."
-- Dr. Wilhelm Reich, a German immigrant who described himself as the
Associate Professor of Medical Psychology, Director of the Orgone
Institute.
The index to the paper format documents in the FOIA Reading Room is
now available at the FBI's web site and, as additional documents are
converted to an electronic format, they will be added to the
Electronic Reading Room. Viewers may select records at
http://www.fbi.gov.
Following is the text of the FBI press release:
(begin text)
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Washington D.C.
February 25, 2000
The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced today that it has added
several new subject matters to the Historical Interest, Famous
Persons, Espionage, and Gangster Era categories of its Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) Electronic Reading Room. The subjects listed
below have been available in paper format for several years and now
can be accessed electronically:
HISTORICAL INTEREST
-- American POWs/MIAs in Southeast Asia -- 4,888 pages
In 1970-1973 the FBI investigated the Committee of Liaison with
Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam (COLIFAM), a U.S.
antiwar group acting as "liaison" between POWs and their families. The
group was alleged to be a vehicle of North Vietnamese propaganda whose
activities were believed to be detrimental to the health and welfare
of the prisoners held in North Vietnam. No information was developed
warranting prosecution of COLIFAM for solicitation under the Foreign
Agents Registration Act. In 1982, the FBI compiled information
concerning American prisoners of war or American citizens in Viet Nam.
In 1992, the FBI provided assistance to the Senate Select Committee on
POW/MIA Affairs by furnishing information and/or performing
investigations on behalf of the Committee on all facets of POW issues.
-- Moorish Science Temple of America -- 3,117 pages
The Moorish Science Temple of America was organized in 1913 in Newark,
New Jersey. The Temple was investigated in 1953 for violation of the
Selective Service Act of 1948 and sedition. Some members of the
organization claimed to be conscientious objectors but professed they
were not pacifists. In September of 1953, the Department of Justice
concluded that prosecution for violation of the Selective Service Act
was not warranted as the group's conscientious objectors did not evade
service other than by a right granted under provisions in the Act. No
sedition statutes were violated because subjects' actions were not
directed toward members of the armed forces of the U.S. A 1940
investigation was conducted to determine if the Moorish Science Temple
of America was committing subversive activities by adhering to and
spreading Japanese propaganda. The investigation failed to
substantiate that members were pro-Japanese in their attitude.
-- Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee -- 2,887 pages
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was created in 1960 as a
nonviolent civil rights movement primarily devoted to direct-action,
voter-registration campaigns in the South. Investigation was opened in
1964 to establish the extent of communist infiltration in the SNCC.
Several leaders and members of SNCC had been identified as communists
in public hearings of the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
SNCC was determined to be extensively communist dominated. In 1966,
Stokely Carmichael emerged as SNCC national chairman. In 1968, SNCC
merged with the Black Panther Party and, in 1969, the name was changed
to Student National Coordinating Committee. Not long thereafter the
organization ceased to exist.
-- Ernst Franz Sedwick (Putzi) Hanfstangl aka Ernest Sedgwick -- 122
pages
Ernst Franz Sedwick Hanfstangl, was an author and intimate friend of
Adolph Hitler who served as Hitler's Nazi Press Chief. Hanfstangl fled
Germany for England in 1937 and was interned by the British as a
German alien enemy and sent to Canada for confinement. In 1938, the
FBI noted that Hanfstangl possibly had been connected with the Black
Tom and Kingsland explosions. In 1942 he was paroled to the President
of the U.S. and placed under the care of Presidential Assistant J.
Franklin Carter. Hanfstangl was to make his knowledge of Nazi Germany
available to the Office of Strategic Services and other branches of
the Government. The FBI never interviewed Hanfstangl or knew of his
exact whereabouts in the U.S.
-- Carlo Tresca -- 1,358 pages
Carlo Tresca, Italian political refugee, agitator, author, and editor,
organized labor strikes across the U.S. through the International
Workers of the World beginning in 1912. Tresca published an Italian
American newspaper "Il Martillo" (The Hammer) in which he criticized
both communists and fascists. In 1922, an investigation of Tresca was
initiated to determine the status of his U.S. citizenship, as well as
his publication of an alleged obscene article in his newspaper. A
security investigation was initiated in 1941 for violation of the
Neutrality and Registration Acts. Tresca was murdered upon leaving his
office on January 11, 1943. The murder remains unsolved by the New
York Police Department.
FAMOUS PERSONS
-- Hugo Black -- 156 pages
Hugo Black was a U.S. Senator from 1927 to 1937 and was appointed
Associate Supreme Court Justice in 1937 by President Roosevelt. He
resigned from the Supreme Court in 1971 shortly before his death. In
1949 information was developed alleging Black's membership in the Ku
Klux Klan of Clay County, Alabama. Records contain several threats
against the life of Black, cordial correspondence with the FBI and
numerous newspaper articles critical of Black's liberal
actions/decisions as Senator and later as Supreme Court Justice.
-- Abbie (Abbott) Hoffman -- 4,101 pages
Abbie Hoffman, 1960s and 70s activist, anarchist, was co-founder of
the Youth International Party (YIP a.k.a. Yippies) and one of the
"Chicago Seven". He was the subject of a security investigation in
1968 in view of his anarchist actions, as well as an anti-riot law
investigation as a result of his leadership in disturbances at the
1968 Democratic National Convention (DEMCON) in Chicago. The cases
were closed in 1973 upon the final judgment of the "Chicago Seven"
trial. The trial case was dismissed at the request of the Government
in January, 1973, after the U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit,
Chicago, Illinois, reversed the convictions and remanded the case back
to the U.S. District Court, Chicago, for a new trial if the Government
so desired . The "Chicago Seven" was the term used for the seven
leaders tried for violations of anti-riot laws stemming from the
DEMCON demonstrations.
-- Thomas Mann -- 95 pages
Thomas Mann, German author, Nobel prize winner in literature and
naturalized American citizen, was investigated from 1927 through 1955.
The security investigation gathered information showing Mann's
affiliation with communist causes and associates. Mann wrote magazine
articles for an anti-Nazi magazine which was published by German
communists.
-- Nelson Rockefeller -- 1,592 pages
Nelson Rockefeller, Medal of Freedom winner, 1977; Vice-President to
President Gerald Ford, 1974 - 1977; and Governor of New York State
1959 -1973, was investigated in 1950 and 1969 for suitability to fill
presidential appointments and again in 1974 to perform the duties of
Vice-President. The FBI investigated numerous threats against the life
of Rockefeller as Governor, Presidential Candidate, and
Vice-President. Records also include personal correspondence between
Rockefeller and the FBI demonstrating his affable relationship with
the FBI, newspaper articles chronicling various aspects of
Rockefeller's life, and documents in which his name was merely
mentioned.
-- Dr. Wilhelm Reich -- 789 pages
This German immigrant described himself as the Associate Professor of
Medical Psychology, Director of the Orgone Institute, President and
research physician of the Wilhelm Reich Foundation and discoverer of
the biological or life energy. A 1940 security investigation was begun
to determine the extent of Reich's communist commitments. A board of
Alien Enemy Hearing judged that Dr. Reich was not a threat to the
security of the U.S. In 1947, a security investigation concluded that
neither the Orgone Project nor any of its staff were engaged in
subversive activities or were in violation of any statute within the
jurisdiction of the FBI. The Orgone Institute, founded by Dr. Reich,
claimed that "orgone energy" would prevent and cure a variety of
serious diseases, including cancer. In 1954 the U.S. Attorney General
filed a complaint seeking permanent injunction to prevent interstate
shipment of devices and literature put out by Dr. Reich's group. That
same year Dr. Reich was arrested for contempt of court for violation
of the Attorney General's injunction. Dr. Reich died in a Federal
Prison in 1957 while serving a 2 year sentence for contempt of court.
-- Muriel Rukeyser -- 118 pages
Muriel Rukeyser, author, poet and editorial free lance writer, came to
the attention of the FBI when a background investigation for
suitability was initiated in 1943 in conjunction with her government
employment as copywriter with the Office for Emergency Management. The
investigation terminated when she resigned from the position a few
months later. A security investigation into Rukeyser's communist
activities started as the suitability investigation ended.
Investigation determined that Rukeyser sponsored or was a member of
numerous organizations which were cited by the Attorney General or
House Committee on Un-American Activities as communist front
organizations. Louis F. Budenz testified in 1951 that Rukeyser was a
concealed Communist Party member.
ESPIONAGE
-- Nathan Silvermaster Group -- 1,951 pages
Nathan Silvermaster was a leader of a Soviet espionage ring. This
espionage investigation from 1945 to 1959 uncovered Soviet placed
agents working within the U.S. Government. The case - titled Gregory,
using the middle name of Silvermaster - exposed 27 individuals in the
Silvermaster ring who gathered information from at least six Federal
agencies to turn over to the Soviets. No indictments for espionage
were returned against any subjects in the Gregory case by any Grand
Jury; however, a Grand Jury did return an indictment against Alger
Hiss for perjury.
GANGSTER ERA
-- Al (Alphonse) Capone -- 2,397 pages
Al Capone was a notorious gangster who conducted his illegal
enterprises in Chicago, Illinois during the 1920s. Many of the
activities ascribed to the "Capone Gang" were not violations of
Federal law within the FBI's investigative jurisdiction. In 1929, the
FBI was ordered by the Attorney General to investigate the legitimacy
of an affidavit that petitioned for a postponement of Capone's
appearance in response to a Federal Grand Jury subpoena. The
investigation established that facts within the affidavit were indeed
false. Capone was tried and convicted of contempt of court on February
25, 1931. When Capone was convicted for income tax evasion, the Judge
ruled that the sentence for contempt of court should be served
concurrently with the tax evasion sentence. Capone served his prison
sentence from 1931 to 1939. Capone was in poor health following his
release from prison and died in 1947 at home in Florida.
-------------
These documents have been converted to an electronic format from paper
copies housed in the FOIA Reading Room located at FBI Headquarters.
Portions have been blacked out to protect personal privacy,
confidential sources, national security, etc., in accordance with the
exemption provisions of the FOIA. The index to the paper format
documents in the FOIA Reading Room is now available at the FBI's
website and, as additional documents are converted to an electronic
format, they will be added to the Electronic Reading Room.
Viewers may select records from the categories of historical interest,
famous persons, espionage, violent crime, gangster era, or unusual
phenomena at http://www.fbi.gov.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State)