Buzz
Established in 1947, the CIA was initially created to handle foreign intelligence operations. However, it quickly deviated from its original mission, engaging in coups, targeted killings, and other clandestine activities worldwide. Despite the revelations brought to light by the Church Committee in the 1970s, numerous mysteries surrounding the agency’s shadowy actions remain unresolved.
10. The Unsolved Mystery of Nick Deak’s Death
Even as a modest financier, Nicholas Deak led an extraordinary life. A Transylvanian nobleman in exile, he enlisted in the US military during World War II and later joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA. In this role, he orchestrated assaults on Romanian oil fields and trained Burmese guerrillas, eventually accepting the Japanese commander’s samurai sword at the war’s conclusion.
In 1947, Deak launched a floral business in Hawaii, which rapidly evolved into a financial empire. Deak and Co. became the world’s leading trader in precious metals and foreign exchange. (The precious metals division is now Goldline, while the foreign exchange operations were absorbed into Thomas Cook.) A dedicated libertarian, Deak frequently shared stages with figures like Ron Paul and Alan Greenspan. As head of the OSS veterans’ association, he maintained close ties with James Jesus Angleton and future CIA director Bill Casey.
In truth, Deak never truly left the world of espionage. His company’s rapid expansion was bankrolled by the CIA, which required a discreet method to move funds globally. A foreign exchange firm proved ideal, and Deak delivered, channeling untraceable currency to covert operations worldwide. In 1953, he smuggled $1 million into Iran to support the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, later repeating similar missions in Guatemala and the Congo. He reportedly even alerted the CIA to China’s planned 1962 invasion of India after noticing large orders of Indian currency through his Hong Kong office.
A notable instance of Deak’s operations occurred during the Lockheed bribery scandal, where the defense giant bribed Japanese politicians to secure contracts for their aircraft. Lockheed enlisted Deak to smuggle millions to Yakuza leader Yoshio Kodama, who distributed the funds in Japan. Deak arranged for the money to be transported in orange crates by a defrocked priest. When the scandal erupted, the Japanese prime minister was arrested, and a disgruntled porn star crashed a plane into Kodama’s home in a dramatic act of revenge. Deak, however, emerged unscathed.
Deak’s invincible reputation crumbled in the 1980s when the Justice Department accused him of laundering millions for Colombian cartels, prompting the CIA to sever ties. A rush on his banking operations depleted his reserves, angering clients ranging from cartels to Macau triads, who blamed him for their losses. Shortly after declaring bankruptcy, Deak was fatally shot in his Wall Street office by Lois Lang, a homeless woman.
Officially, Lang was described as acting alone, driven by a delusional belief that Deak owed her money. However, many have questioned this explanation. Canadian economist R.T. Naylor sarcastically remarked that Deak was “killed by one of those lone nuts who play the same role in US politics as heart attacks do in Italian prisons.” More compellingly, Arkadi Kuhlmann, Deak’s successor as CEO of Deak and Co., revealed that his investigators uncovered evidence of Lang meeting with two Argentine mobsters in Miami before purchasing a gun and a bus ticket to New York. When Kuhlmann visited Macau after Deak’s death, he found the offices abandoned and littered with documents. In a desk drawer, he discovered a photograph of Deak bleeding to death on his office floor, apparently taken by Lang, which had never been made public.
9. What Was James Angleton’s Interest in Mary Meyer’s Diary?
In October 1964, two men fixing a flat tire near the C&O Canal in Washington, DC, heard cries for help followed by two gunshots. Police arrived to find Mary Pinchot Meyer’s body on a towpath, shot twice at close range. Meyer, an artist and ex-wife of CIA official Cord Meyer, had been involved in Operation Mockingbird, a project aimed at manipulating American media to support the CIA. A well-known figure in Washington’s social circles, she had also maintained a long-term affair with John F. Kennedy before his assassination.
Police apprehended Ray Crump, an African-American man discovered nearby, drenched and with a bleeding hand. Crump behaved suspiciously and provided inconsistent accounts of his activities. He later claimed to have been fishing, though his fishing rod remained at home. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, a jury acquitted him. The enigmatic murder has since become a popular subject among conspiracy enthusiasts.
Meanwhile, Mary Meyer’s brother-in-law, future Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, received an unusual call from her friend, sculptor Anne Truitt. Truitt revealed that Meyer had instructed her to destroy her diary if she died unexpectedly. Since Truitt was in Tokyo, she asked Bradlee to retrieve it. Upon arriving at Meyer’s locked home, Bradlee encountered James Jesus Angleton, the CIA’s renowned counterintelligence chief, rummaging through the living room for the diary, which was missing. Bradlee then headed to Meyer’s studio, only to find Angleton already there, attempting to pick the lock. After an awkward exchange, Angleton departed, and Bradlee located the diary, which detailed Meyer’s affair with JFK. Bradlee agreed to give the diary to Angleton on the condition it be destroyed. However, Angleton kept it, and Bradlee’s wife discovered it in his possession over a decade later. At her insistence, the diary was finally burned.
8. Was the CIA Connected to Klaus Barbie?
Known as “the Butcher of Lyon,” Klaus Barbie was one of the Gestapo’s most infamous figures and a staunch Nazi. After World War II, however, US military intelligence recruited him as an operative, shielded him from French authorities, and eventually facilitated his escape to South America. This isn’t speculation—the US government officially acknowledged this in 1983 following a Justice Department investigation.
The true enigma lies in what followed. In South America, Barbie became a prominent figure in right-wing networks, a drug trafficker, and a central figure in the violent “Cocaine Coup” that temporarily toppled Bolivia’s government in 1980. He was extradited to France in 1983. The question remains: did US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, maintain ties with Barbie during his Bolivian years?
They certainly contemplated it. The Justice Department’s 1983 report referenced CIA documents discussing the possibility of hiring Barbie to assist in tracking down Che Guevara, who was leading a communist uprising in Bolivia at the time. Officially, the CIA opted against it, fearing French efforts to extradite Barbie for trial. However, there are hints that the agency may have unofficially sought his assistance. Kevin MacDonald’s 2007 documentary My Enemy’s Enemy delved into this theory, with a close associate of Barbie claiming he had met with a senior American officer organizing counter-guerrilla operations in Bolivia.
The evidence remains ambiguous, though it’s noteworthy that the CIA strongly supported Bolivian president Rene Barrientos, who had connections to Barbie. The only confirmed link between Barbie and Western intelligence after 1951 occurred in 1966, when he was briefly hired by West Germany’s BND.
7. Did Yuri Nosenko Truly Defect?
In 1962, Yuri Nosenko, a KGB officer, reached out to CIA operatives in Geneva, revealing that a prostitute had taken $200 from him. Facing strict financial oversight from the KGB, he urgently needed to recover the funds and proposed trading a KGB manual for the money. The CIA agreed, encouraging Nosenko to maintain contact and offering $25,000 for information on Russian spies. Nosenko complied, but shortly after the Kennedy assassination, he alerted his CIA handlers of KGB suspicions and requested asylum, leading to his relocation to Washington in 1964.
However, doubts about Nosenko's credibility quickly surfaced among CIA agents. He had demanded immediate extraction from Switzerland, citing a recall order from Moscow. Yet, U.S. surveillance confirmed no such order was issued. Additionally, in 1962, Nosenko cited his family as a reason not to defect, but by 1964, he made no mention of them. His claims about his rank also shifted from colonel to captain.
Lee Harvey Oswald, prior to assassinating Kennedy, had spent a little over two years in the Soviet Union after defecting. Nosenko claimed to have managed Oswald's KGB file, stating that Oswald was deemed unstable and was never recruited by the KGB. This account raised eyebrows within the CIA, as Oswald's Soviet stint had fueled theories of his being a Soviet agent. The timing of Nosenko's defection, just weeks after the assassination, seemed too coincidental, as he sought to assure the U.S. that the Soviets were uninvolved in Kennedy's death.
James Jesus Angleton, the infamous CIA counterintelligence head, soon took an interest in Nosenko’s case. Angleton had been deeply influenced by a prior KGB defector, Anatoly Golitsyn, who alleged that Soviet moles had penetrated the highest echelons of Western intelligence. Golitsyn also warned that the KGB would deploy fake defectors to undermine his credibility. When Nosenko’s account conflicted with Golitsyn’s, Angleton became suspicious. Under his directive, Nosenko was jailed for three years and endured rigorous interrogations. Angleton also initiated a sweeping internal investigation within the CIA to uncover the alleged moles.
The untenable situation led to Angleton’s removal from the CIA in 1975. Consumed by paranoia, some of his supporters began alleging that CIA director William Colby was the mole. Meanwhile, Golitsyn propagated increasingly outlandish theories, such as the Soviet Union’s collapse being a communist ruse. Nosenko, who consistently passed polygraph tests, was eventually freed and exonerated. While Golitsyn’s claims are now discredited, doubts about Nosenko’s authenticity linger, with some, including the CIA agent who facilitated his defection, arguing that his story remains inconsistent.
6. Was John Watkins a Target of The Agency?
In 1964, John Watkins, Canada’s former ambassador to the Soviet Union, died in a Montreal hotel room during an interrogation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Rumors had circulated for years that the Soviets had captured compromising photos of a high-ranking Canadian diplomat in a homosexual act in Moscow. When Yuri Nosenko defected, he identified Watkins as the diplomat. The CIA informed the RCMP, who detained Watkins for questioning. After his death, the RCMP concealed the truth, claiming Watkins had a heart attack during a meal.
In 1981, British journalist Chapman Pincher revealed the truth, and Canadian novelist Ian Adams uncovered documents showing the RCMP had hidden the details of the death from the coroner. This cover-up sparked significant outrage across Canada.
However, the situation wasn’t as dire as often portrayed. While the death of a senior diplomat during questioning seems alarming, Watkins had a pre-existing heart condition and could have died at any moment. He willingly participated in the investigation, which was conducted amicably, and the RCMP believed he had not succumbed to Soviet coercion. Watkins and the RCMP officers bonded over Canadian football and shared meals at the hotel. The inquiry even paused for 10 days, allowing Watkins to visit relatives. Determined to prove his innocence, he disregarded medical advice to seek immediate hospitalization.
Concerns have been raised about the CIA’s involvement in the incident. Watkins was close to Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson, whom a CIA report described as “troubling from a US perspective.” Some speculate the CIA pressured the RCMP to interrogate Watkins to undermine Pearson. Ian Adams, who helped expose the scandal, claimed James Jesus Angleton believed Watkins was a Soviet mole and sought a confession to orchestrate “a de facto coup” against Pearson’s government. While the CIA informed the RCMP of Nosenko’s allegations, the extent of their influence remains uncertain.
5. Did The US Betray Nelson Mandela?
In 1962, Nelson Mandela, a leading figure in the anti-apartheid African National Congress (ANC), was arrested by South African police. He spent nearly 30 years in prison, becoming a global symbol of peace and resistance. This poses a potential embarrassment for the CIA, as rumors suggest they informed South African authorities of Mandela’s location, leading to his capture while he was disguised as a chauffeur.
During that period, the US government tacitly backed the apartheid regime to counter communism in the region. The ANC’s ties to the South African Communist Party further complicated matters. In 1990, reports surfaced that Paul Eckel, the CIA’s Pretoria station chief, boasted to a friend about the agency’s role in Mandela’s arrest, stating they “handed Mandela over to the South African Security Branch. We provided all the details—his attire, the exact time, and his location. They captured him. It was one of our finest achievements.” Gerard Ludi, a retired South African intelligence officer, alleged that Millard Shirley, a CIA operative with extensive experience in Africa, facilitated the tip, believing it was in America’s interest to remove Mandela. Shirley later worked to undermine the anti-apartheid movement in the late 1980s, though his official ties to the CIA at that time remain unclear.
Despite the persistent rumors, no concrete evidence has emerged to confirm the CIA’s involvement in Mandela’s arrest. Mandela himself chose to move past the issue, stating, “let’s forget about that, whether it is true or not.” The truth may soon come to light, as activist Ryan Shapiro is suing the CIA under the Freedom of Information Act, demanding they disclose their files on Mandela.
4. The Chesapeake Bay Deaths
John A. Paisley, a CIA agent since 1953, held several high-ranking roles within the agency during the 1970s. Notably, he served as the CIA liaison to the White House Special Investigations Unit, initially formed to probe the Pentagon Papers leak and later becoming deeply involved in the Watergate scandal. As a liberal aligned with Director William Colby, Paisley faced suspicion from hardliners convinced that Soviet moles had infiltrated the CIA. The accusations lacked solid evidence, with CIA officer David Sullivan remarking, “I never trusted him. Something felt off. He appeared like a worn-out, bearded man who seemed out of place. I am convinced he was the mole.”
In September 1978, Paisley’s boat was discovered anchored in Chesapeake Bay. His body was recovered nearby, weighed down by two diving belts, with a gunshot wound above his left ear. The death was officially deemed a suicide, though doubts arose, particularly since Paisley was right-handed. No blood was found on the boat, and the gun was never located. Strangely, Paisley’s estranged wife questioned whether the body was truly his, fueling wild theories that the real Paisley, allegedly a Soviet spy, had escaped via a Russian submarine.
The case faded into obscurity until 18 years later, when Paisley’s former mentor, CIA director William Colby, also disappeared while boating alone on Chesapeake Bay. His body was found days later near the shore, with the cause of death attributed to drowning and hypothermia. As an experienced sailor, Colby’s death reignited conspiracy theories about Paisley and rumors of Soviet submarines extracting moles. Colby himself dismissed these speculations, telling a journalist in 1978, “The latest rumor is that I’m the mole, working for the Russians. [ . . . ] I’ve faced many false accusations. I just brush them off.”
3. What’s Hidden in the Missing Family Jewel?
In 1973, CIA director James Schlessinger tasked deputy director William Colby with documenting any agency activities since 1959 that breached laws or the CIA’s charter. Colby assembled a collection of roughly 700 pages, dubbed “the Family Jewels.” These documents detailed operations like Yuri Nosenko’s prolonged imprisonment, domestic spying by CIA operatives, and the agency’s notorious plots to assassinate Castro and other foreign leaders. While many of these secrets were gradually leaked or revealed by investigations like the Church Committee, the complete dossier wasn’t declassified until 2007, offering a revealing look into the CIA’s most controversial actions.
However, not everything was disclosed. Even in 2007, a significant portion of the Family Jewels remained redacted. A memo from Howard Osborn, the CIA’s security director, outlined his department’s involvement in the Jewels. The second entry detailed the CIA’s collaboration with the Mafia to eliminate Fidel Castro. Yet, the first item on the list was entirely censored, as was a later section elaborating on the redacted operation. The nature of this missing Jewel remains a mystery, but it’s speculated to be significant. As Thomas Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, told The Nation: “The top-secret Jewel from the CIA’s Office of Security is likely something major—especially since the second item on the list is the Roselli-Castro assassination plot.”
2. Was the CIA Involved in Toppling the Australian Government?
In 1975, Australia faced a political crisis as opposition Liberal senators blocked the budget proposed by Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam (pictured above with Richard Nixon), effectively paralyzing the government. In an unprecedented move, Governor-General John Kerr, the Queen’s representative in Australia, dismissed Whitlam and appointed a Liberal leader, who secured victory in the subsequent election. Traditionally, the governor-general avoids political interference, making Kerr’s decision to remove an elected leader highly controversial. The backlash was so severe that Kerr eventually had to flee the country.
Since Whitlam’s removal, speculation has persisted about the CIA’s role in his government’s collapse. Whitlam had withdrawn Australian troops from Vietnam and criticized the US bombing campaigns in the region. After discovering that Australian intelligence had aided in destabilizing Chile’s left-wing government under Salvador Allende, Whitlam prohibited his staff from being “vetted or harassed” by the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization (ASIO). In 1974, he ordered ASIO to sever all connections with the CIA, a directive that ASIO quietly disregarded.
In 1974, Whitlam expressed opposition to foreign military bases in Australia, particularly the extensive CIA facility at Pine Gap. CIA operative Victor Marchetti noted that the “proposal to shut down Pine Gap sparked outrage in the White House.” CIA communications labeled Whitlam a “security risk.” One of Whitlam’s ministers alleged that MI6 was eavesdropping on Australian cabinet meetings, and his deputy prime minister resigned amid a scandal potentially orchestrated by US intelligence.
John Kerr, meanwhile, was affiliated with the Australian Association for Cultural Freedom, later exposed by a congressional inquiry as a CIA front organization. Christopher Boyce, a CIA contractor who later spied for the Soviets, claimed he turned against the CIA after discovering cables suggesting the agency was undermining the Australian government. Boyce stated that the cables referred to Kerr as “our man Kerr.”
While it’s improbable that the CIA single-handedly caused Whitlam’s downfall, significant doubts persist about whether the agency actively worked against the elected leader of a US ally. Regardless, the Whitlam affair and the Nugan Hand scandal severely tarnished the CIA’s image in Australia, prompting the agency to publicly declare: “The CIA has not conducted operations against the Australian government, has no connection to Nugan Hand, and does not participate in drug trafficking.”
1. Where Is Mike Hand?
Mike Hand, a Green Beret, earned a Purple Heart and served extensively in Vietnam, including involvement with the CIA’s Phoenix program, which conducted targeted killings. (The CIA insists these were not “assassinations.”) He also trained Meo mercenaries, who were heavily involved in opium cultivation.
After the war, Hand relocated to Australia and partnered with businessman Frank Nugan to establish the Nugan Hand Bank. Starting with just $1,000 in seed capital, the bank rapidly expanded, handling over $1 billion annually. It was notable for its ties to US military and intelligence figures, including retired admiral Earl Yates as president and former CIA director William Colby as legal counsel. However, Nugan Hand was essentially a criminal operation, laundering profits from the Asian heroin trade.
The bank engaged in various illicit activities, such as arms sales to African rebels and Iran, and laundering stolen funds for Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos. However, its primary focus was drug trafficking. Remarkably, the bank avoided scrutiny from US authorities, despite its blatant operations. Its Thailand branch even shared a building with the local DEA office in Chiang Mai, yet the DEA never investigated it.
The bank’s connections to military personnel and the lack of US interest have fueled speculation that Nugan Hand was a CIA front. While the agency denies this, an Australian official told writer Jonathan Kwitny: “You’re left wondering why these patriots, after years of service, would suddenly turn to crime against their own country.”
The bank’s downfall began when Frank Nugan was found dead in his car, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police discovered a list of Australian politicians with large sums of money beside their names. Admiral Yates flew to Australia, overseeing a team that was seen “ransacking” Nugan’s properties. Hand ordered employees to destroy incriminating documents, threatening severe consequences for non-compliance. The bank collapsed, leaving many depositors penniless, while its American officers refused to return to Australia to testify.
As for Michael Hand, he was last spotted in 1980 boarding a plane to Fiji, disguised with a fake beard and carrying a forged passport. In 1991, an Australian newspaper claimed he was residing in Washington, but the Australian government chose not to pursue the matter. He has remained missing ever since.
