THE PEGASUS FILE Vietnam Special Forces Air Combat Controller; 25 year CIA deep cover agent; US Army pilot flying classified missions during the US invasion of Grenada; Iran-Contra pilot flying cocaine shipments labelled as medical supplies; and member of the ultra-secret, international G7 run Pegasus "Hit Team" - this is the extraordinary story of Gene "Chip" Tatum.
By David Guyatt
Part 1
From sensitive and highly secret - and hitherto largely unknown - Special Forces covert operations in Cambodia, to wandering CIA asset, through to "black ops" activities in Grenada and Oliver North's Iran-Contra "Enterprise," and on to membership in an international "hit team," Gene "Chip" Tatum has seen it all, done it all and is now telling it all.
Tatum knows where the skeletons are buried. Above all he is aware that his testimony implicates serving and former US Presidents, plus a whole list of high government officials, and others, in a welter of nefarious activities - including assassination, blackmail, coercion, gun-running, money-laundering and Cocaine trafficking.
Tatum, a lanky Floridian, turned whistle-blower following his arrest on a treason charge in 1995. The charge was both astonishing and patently ludicrous and resulted in a flurry of press interest with an article appearing in the Tampa Tribune on 4 May 1996. Incredibly, the charge was later dropped to be replaced by a fraud charge - a drastic step-down. Found guilty he was sentenced to serve a 15 month sentence. In March 1996, an additional charge - "conspiring to embezzle" was brought against him. Found guilty he is now incarcerated in Jessup Federal Correctional Facility, Florida, where he is serving a 27 month concurrent sentence.
Many questions continue to hang over the conduct of the trial. His defence lawyer refused to call any of the 80 witnesses nominated by Tatum for the defence. Later he freely confessed to having come under pressure from the Defence Department. Tatum says the first charge was a set-up to discredit him following his "resignation" from Operation Pegasus. The second he views with greater scepticism and concern.
His resignation from Pegasus followed his refusal to "neutralise" a leading US political figure in the 1992 US presidential elections. Tatum declares he will not "participate in assassinations of any sort, character assassinations or anything, of American citizens." He goes on to explain that back in 1994, in a telephone conference call from Oliver North, Felix Rodriguez and the late William Colby of the CIA, he was warned to turn over incriminating documents and tapes he had accumulated for his "retirement." He wryly observes that had he done so, he would probably have been quickly "terminated" in an "extreme" way - a speciality of the Pegasus team of which he was once a member. Countering this demand, he volunteered to plead guilty on a fabricated felony count and serve a twelve month sentence - so that his credibility was damaged in the event he ever decided to speak out. His incarceration for the second charge - and especially the 6 months sentencing of his wife, Nancy - has led him to speak out about his life which spans almost thirty years as a "black" operative. It is an extraordinary story.
OPERATION RED ROCK
Tatum's has written of his early career in the military, and his involvement in a highly sensitive and classified operation in an unpublished manuscript entitled "Operation Red Rock." Joining the Air Force in February 1970, he went through Army jump school; escape and evasion; jungle training; sea survival school; diving school and was assigned along with six others as "Combat Controllers" - the USAF equivalent of Special Forces - receiving his distinctive Special Forces burgundy coloured beret. From there he was assigned to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, and then on to Fort Bragg, North Carolina - home of the Green Berets - for training in C4 plastic explosives, mines, nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, plus indoctrination in electronic and psychological operations.
Posted to South East Asia as Airman First Class (A1C) in December 1970, he was assigned as a radio operator on a Forward Air Control (FAC) aircraft attached to Task Force Alpha at Nakhon Phanom, Thailand. In short order he was recruited (an involuntary "volunteer") to Team Red Rock. The team was composed of eight US Army Green Berets, three US Navy SEALS and two "cowboys" - a euphemism for CIA paramilitary specialists. With Tatum attached, Team Red Rock totalled 14 in all, and was about to be tasked with an operation that came directly from the White House.
In January 1971 the team received a final briefing from General Alexander Haig - who had flown in specially - along with Central Intelligence Agency, Saigon Chief William Colby; posing as "Mr. Peepers." Haig and Colby outlined the plan, stressing it's importance and extreme classification. President Nixon, desperate to quell domestic riots over an increasingly unpopular war, sought to withdraw all US personnel from Southeast Asia. Withdrawal would - and in the end ultimately did - cause a military vacuum quickly leading to the defeat of South Vietnamese forces.
During those years, Nixon was also running a "secret war" in Cambodia and Laos. In Laos, dwindling number of Meo tribesmen together with covert US personnel employed by the CIA proprietary company, Air America, were battling against superior North Vietnamese ground forces. A much similar pattern was occurring in Cambodia, amid grave fears that the "Domino Theory" would result if either of these two nations were to fall to the communist North Vietnamese. Nixon hoped that the vacuum caused by the withdrawal of US covert forces could be filled by native Cambodian forces. Lon Nol, the Cambodian leader, continued to stubbornly resist Nixon's diplomatic overtures to take up the slack - anxious to hedge his bets and realistic about his chances of survival as Kymer Rouge and Vietnamese forces prepared to swarm-in unhindered by US air power.
A plan had been drawn up at the highest levels of Nixon's administration. Team Red Rock were to secretly enter Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, and attack the airport, military and civil installations - wrecking as much havoc as possible. The plan called for the team to parachute into the outskirts of Phnom Penh carrying with them captured NVA "Sappers." Taken in unarmed and alive, the Sappers would be "sacrificed" and their bodies left to be discovered by Cambodian forces. A furious, Lon Nol would assume North Vietnam was to blame. Such an act would, it was hoped, stiffen Lon Nol's backbone. With nowhere else to turn, the US puppet would urgently seek US hardware to strengthen his forces and continue the battle.
The team were not told that they too were to be sacrificed by their President to ensure that word of the operation never reached the light of day. A detachment of Montagnard tribesmen (Yards) in the pay of the CIA were assigned to liquidate each member of the team and dispose of their bodies. The attack went successfully, but the teams suspicion of the "Yards" foiled the betrayal. Using their knowledge of "escape and evasion" tactics the team decided to trek to the Vietnamese border and back to safety with US forces.
Casualties thinned out their numbers until only eight of them remained. Soon these, too, were captured by NVA regulars and underwent hideous torture at the hands of Chinese and Russian interrogators. Ultimately, only Tatum and one other team member survived the ordeal. Convalescing, Tatum was debriefed by CIA station chief, William Colby, and told he would, in future, be kept close to the "Agency". Recruited into the CIA, the yawning door of future "black" operations creaked open. Life would never be the same again for Chip Tatum.
CIA DEEP COVER AGENT
For the next ten years or so, Tatum's covert activities were varied. For awhile he worked out of Homestead Air Force Base where he was NCIOC of the tower receiver sight and MARS station. This was the base which then President Nixon used for his frequent visits to the Key Biscayne, Florida, White House. Much of this period remains obscured behind a thick blanket of classification.
From there he was stationed in Northern Italy, tasked with visiting the border towns of Yugoslavia and Italy. Colby felt that as a young Air Force man, Tatum might be "approached" in these towns for "information." The idea was to make contact with foreign agents and covertly gather information about them and their operations. Later he was tasked with infiltrating Yugoslavia, searching for missing US POW's from Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia - as well as being assigned to gather intelligence on potential successors to the then Yugoslavian President, Tito.
By 1976, he was operating out of Lamar, Colorado, in a communications facility, called OLAB. His contact there was Don Holmes, president of Valley - a Saving & Loan bank. Tatum acted as his courier shuttling between Lamar and Springfield, Colorado with transaction files. From there he was transferred to McDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida. Shortly before his McDill posting, he received a call from Colby telling him he was resigning his position as Director, Central Intelligence and recommending Tatum should de-activate his clandestine CIA activities. Colby continued, saying that remaining active without Colby there to protect him, may place him in personal "jeopardy," as he had powerful enemies in Washington. This warning referred to Nixon, Kissinger and Haig and Tatum's role and survival from Operation Red Rock. Tatum took good notice of the warning and became de-active. Later, in 1978, he requested and was granted entry into a USAF reserve programme. Leaving active military service he moved to Gunnison, Colorado, and took up a position with Bo Calloway, owner of the Crested Bute Ski area. The appointment was arranged by Colby.
During 1980 he received a visit from two men who informed him he was being reactivated, but into the US Army instead of the Air Force. He was sent to the US Army Flight School for rotary wing training at Fort Rucker. From there he was assigned to the 160th Aviation Battalion/Special Forces at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Shortly afterwards, the 160th combined with others to form Task Force 160.
It was in this unit that Tatum played a "spooky" role in the US invasion of Grenada. A photograph of him standing in front of his Hughes MD-500 Defender gunship on the beach-head in Grenada, appeared in the Lousiville Courier Journal, along with a feature story. Tatum will only say of this episode that he "wasn't there" in the same sense that he "wasn't in Cambodia." At that time he was attached to the US Army's 160th air wing at Ft. Campbell. Not only was the Hughes helicopter then not in the Army's inventory, but the 160th didn't officially exist. Jim Malone of the Louisville Courier, finds this extraordinary. He has documents showing the wing was stationed at Ft. Campbell, even though officials in the Pentagon continue to deny it - as they deny the wings' role in Grenada. Malone, in a telephone conversation with this writer, advised that the 160[SUP]th[/SUP] is now stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina - home of the famous Special Forces, the "Green Berets." Their mission is to fly "Delta Teams" on covert assignments, Malone added.
THE CONTRA COKE TRAIN
During 1983, Colby established contact again advising him he would shortly be contacted by "a man called North." This, as Tatum was to later discover was none other than Lt. Col. Oliver North - the central architect of America's Nicaraguan Contra campaign. Besides fighting a covert war, North was also the link-man in much, much dirtier work.
The "Contragate" years teem with well documented accounts of illicit wholesale gun running and dope smuggling. The expose series published in Autumn 1996 by the San Jose Mercury Post, entitled the "Dark Alliance," openly finger-points at the CIA and the Reagan administration for turning a blind-eye to massive Cocaine smuggling. Moreover, the series of articles claim that the explosion of "crack Cocaine" in Los Angeles resulted entirely from the Contra leaders-cum-dope peddlers who made vast personal fortunes from their activities. Today, the official argument remains that the Contra's were "freelancing" without the knowledge or consent of their CIA "handlers" or North's so called "Enterprise." Despite these assertions, mountains of hard evidence point in a different direction including an entry from North's own diary which shows his knowledge of Cocaine shipments.
In stark contrast to these denials, Tatum says North's "Enterprise" not only set-up the Cocaine factories, "ran" the Colombian cartels but were also responsible for master-minding the massive shipments of narcotics into the US. Significantly, he is not alone in making these accusations. A number of those involved in Col. North's operations have subsequently come forward and spilled the beans. Almost all of these "whistle-blowers" have been hounded and jailed. Some have died, whilst others have fled. The whole Contra thing, Tatum states, was also being used by an extremely covert group called Pegasus.
During February 1985, Tatum was piloting "Dustoff" (Medevac) flights for the US Army's 3/498th Medical Company, stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Two flight crews, including Tatum's, were transferred to Palmerola Air Base, Honduras. Each flight consisted of a Pilot, co-pilot, medic and crew chief. Once familiarised they assumed the Medevac mission for Joint Task Force Bravo. In 1984, he had previously infiltrated the 3/498th on the instructions of Lt. Col. Oliver North - who had established contact under the code-name "Jake" (North had "control" of the 160[SUP]th[/SUP] air wing and was also deeply involved with the tactical planning of "black ops" missions in the Grenada invasion).
On 15 February 1995, during a flight to La Cieba, Honduras, he was instructed to contact his local "handler" - Major Felix Rodriguez - later to prove a major figure in the Iran-Contra investigation. Rodriguez informed Tatum that in addition to his Army "Medevac" duties he was to support covert "Pegasus" missions. These, he was told, would take priority over his other duties. He was also given his "chain of command;" three individuals - any of whom could authorise Pegasus missions.
In addition to Oliver North and Felix Rodriguez, Tatum would, henceforward, take orders from Amiram Nir, a former Mossad agent and Advisor to Vice President Bush. Aviation support for Pegasus missions operated out of Ilapongo airbase, Honduras (home of the CIA proprietary airline Corporate Air Services) plus numerous Contra camps located in the jungles and mountains along the Honduras/Nicaragua border. A common feature of all future Pegasus missions was the transport "of large white coolers in and out of the Contra camps."
On 26 February 1985, Tatum and his crew were instructed to fly two individuals to one of the larger Contra camps on the Honduran border. His flight log lists the names of the two individuals as Bill Cooper and Buzz Sawyer - both of whom worked for Corporate Air Services. Following a meeting between the CIA agents and Contra leaders, Tatum was given a sealed cooler marked "Vaccine" weighing approximately 200 lbs and instructed to deliver it to a USAF C 130 transport plane at La Mesa airport, Honduras. Two crew members off-loading the cooler accidentally dropped it breaking the seal. Inside was over 100 bags of Cocaine. Tatum resealed the cooler and later watched as it was transferred aboard the C-130 outward bound for Panama.
On his return to Palmerola Air Base, Tatum phoned Col. North advising him of his discovery. North replied that it was "a trophy of war" and that the "Sandinistas are manufacturing Cocaine and selling it to fund the military." North closed the conversation by saying that "the Cocaine was bound for the world courts as evidence" against the Sandinistas.
The whole incident struck him as odd and strongly reminded him of earlier missions dating back to 1983-4 when he was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a Special Operations Pilot. Regularly he would tranship white coolers marked as "medical supplies" to Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. On two occasions he carried similar coolers to Mena airport, Arkansas. Deliveries of medical coolers to Mena were picked up by Dr. Dan Lassater - a close confidant of then Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton. Now almost two years later he decided to document his discovery to safeguard his "retirement." Thereafter, all Pegasus flights were documented on the reverse of his flight logs.
This was a difficult time for Tatum, since he had three balls to juggle at the same time. On the one hand he was flying classified active duty missions for the US Army, on the other he was flying CIA missions arranged through Mil Group A (CIA) - located at the embassy in Tegucigalpa - and thirdly he was flying Pegasus missions under the control of William Colby, Oliver North and George Bush following his recruitment into Pegasus by Colby in 1986,
Tatum completed numerous missions during his rotation to Honduras. Picking up and trans-shipping coolers containing Cocaine was a regular event. Extraordinarily, this included infiltrating Nicaraguan airspace (Tatum says it was not difficult to infiltrate
any country and that Foreign Powers would kill to know how it is done) and landing at Bluefields Airbase with deliveries for placement aboard USAF C-123's and C-130's. This was followed by a brief stint to Columbia, where he had been assigned to assist the Drug Enforcement Agencies "war on drugs," only to discover the DEA were heavily engaged in narcotics trafficking.
THE BOSS HOG LIST
One of the most flamboyant individuals involved in the Cocaine trail from Columbia through Honduras, Panama and on in to the United States, was Barry Seal. Seal flew an assortment of aircraft, off-loading shipments of weapons in South America, and picking up deliveries of Cocaine for his return flight to the US on behalf of Col. North's "Enterprise." His primary base of operations was Mena airport, Arkansas. Seal, a CIA "asset" was later arrested and became a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) informer. Prior to his killing in 1986 - allegedly by a Medellin Cartel assassination squad in revenge for informing on them - Seal openly boasted he had information that implicated high government officials - including then Vice President Bush - in the Enterprise' narcotics trafficking business.
Tatum would soon get to meet Barry Seal and become close friends. Later, after Seal's death Tatum recalled being present during a meeting between Oliver North, Felix Rodriguez, Amiram Nir and General Alverez from Honduras, when North stated that Vice President Bush was going to have his son, Jeb, arrange "something out of Columbia." This conversation focused on Barry Seal's increasingly notorious activities. Tatum later made the connection that he was present when Seal's fate had been decided. The discussion also made it clear that VP Bush, Governor Clinton and his three respective "handlers" were knee-deep in the Cocaine venture and making a fist load of money.
Unknown to all those present, Seal had earlier provided Tatum with a list of names of those high government officials deeply involved with or responsible for controlling the narcotics business. Seal called them the "Boss Hogs." This has remained a tightly held secret by Tatum until recent weeks. The list cites the surnames and is re-produced below as I received it, complete with mis-spellings where they have occurred. I have appended their full names and titles in brackets where appropriate/available.
UNITED STATES
Casey - (Director of Central Intellignece William Casey)
Clair-George (Clair Elroy George - Head of CIA's Central American Task Force)
Bush - (Vice President George Bush)
Kissinger - (Dr. Henry Kissinger, Chmn Kissinger Associates, former US Secretary
of State, former National Security Adviser)
Haig - (General Alexander Haig, former Secretary of State)
Greg - (Donald Gregg, former National Security Adviser to VP Bush,
ambassador to Korea and alleged joint "controller" of Panama's Manuel
Noriega, along with William Casey).
Clairage (Duane "Dewey" Clarradge, CIA)
Fernandez (Joseph Fernandez - CIA Costa Rican Station Chief)
North (Lt. Col. Oliver North - National Security Council Aide)
Singlaub (John Singlaub, CIA covert operator)
Colby (William Colby, Director of Central Intelligence 1973-76)
Secord (Richard V. Secord, regarded as a "brilliant" CIA black operative)
Weld (William Weld, head of Criminal division, US Justice Department -
instrumental in "blocking" Senate investigations into narcotics
according to testimony of former Senate special investigator, Jack
Blum)
Rodriguez (Felix Rodriguez, CIA officer with close connection to VP Bush)
Peroot (General Peroot, Defence Intelligence Agency)
Most, if not all, of these names are readily familiar to Contragate investigators and journalists covering this story. Allegations regarding the involvement of former President George Bush in the Cocaine business are by no means new - they abound in plentiful supply. The fact that Bush pardoned a number of his closest advisors - who faced criminal prosecution and possible jail - late on Christmas eve 1992, just weeks before Bill Clinton's inaugeration, left a sour taste in the mouths of many. If prosecuted they clearly would've fingered the President himself.
PEGASUS - DIRTY MONEY LAUNDERING
But Tatum's story takes us even further along the dark road of power, greed, and corruption. During l986, he had left Honduras and set up a money laundering business in Watertown, New York State - close to the home base of the Army's 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. The location was chosen with care. With access to Fort Drum's telephone lines for secure communications, he was assigned a Cherokee 140 helicopter used to ship personnel and supplies - under radar cover - across the Canadian border. His tenure with these companies lasted from 1986 through to 1990. This was a pure Pegasus operation.
It was at Watertown, that Tatum was provided with a civilian cover in the form of three construction companies: American National Home Builders; American Constructors and American Homes. Funding was provided by Henry Hyde, Republican politician for Illinois - well known as the CIA's "black" money-man. Hyde provided a $250,000 line of credit with Key bank, Watertown. Although Tatum was listed as the President in all three companies, all were in reality under the control of Ben Whittaker, a lawyer from Rochester, New York. Whittaker, Tatum says, is closely associated with Tony Wilson of the Wilson family who owned Xerox Corporation. They are extremely wealthy and "friends of the Rothschilds and Rockerfellers." In addition, he was also closely associated with South Eastern US Investment Group (SEUS) - an investment bank in Savannah, Gorgia, from 1985 through to 1989. Another proprietary he was associated with was Irving Place Development, a service organisation of Irving Bank and Trust Company. Cocaine proceeds were laundered through these companies by an ingenious use of construction loans.
In response to a question asking why was the "drug related money" placed in "Arkansas Colorado and Ohio," Tatum simply explains that he doesn't know why, adding that "It was being done before I got there. I assume banking laws and whether or not Bush had people in his pocket in these areas." He does explain that the primary figure involved in the laundry exercise in Arkansas, was "Jack Stevens." Jackson Stevens, owner of Worthen Bank & Trust Company is closely aligned with President Bill Clinton. Tatum states that "…Clinton received the cash and divided it up between Stevens and [Dan] Lasater to clean it up. Stevens company [Worthen bank] was used as the guarantor providing 'warehouse' lines of credit."
Developing this theme in more detail, Tatum explains that the "Enterprise" were receiving drugs in exchange for the guns they supplied to the Contra's. The raw product in the form of coca leaves was supplied by the Colombians and pressed into large cube-shaped bales and then shipped to Nicaragua and Honduras. All the "product" was pre-sold and the delivery into the US "guaranteed."
This eventually resulted in the sale proceeds being pre-paid to Panama, under Noriega's control. Some of this money was washed through banks and other companies operating in Panama and elsewhere. The rest was sent to Arkansas, Ohio and Colorado. Thereafter, the dirty money was filtered via construction loans with permanent "takeouts" "arranged by banks and mortgage lenders." These, in turn, were later sold to Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's - negotiable US Federal securities that are traded globally on a daily basis. Each laundry "cycle" lasted from six months to a year. The result was dirty money transformed into good, clean US currency.
This system wasn't arbitrary or accidental. One initial "test-bed" was a small residential mortgage lender named Carl I Brown (CIB), in Kansas. Others were larger and still others became national. All were ultimately destined to be purchased by a bank (proprietary) from Japan within a specific time-frame: 1996 - as part of ongoing Pegasus plans. Eric Brown, the son of the founder of CIB was heavily involved in these activities. Three additional companies were involved to Tatum's knowledge: US Homes, Pulte Homes and Richmond Homes. All became very successful, providing "The American Dream - as VP Bush put it in a meeting in 1987."
PEGASUS - ASSASSINATION & NEUTRALIZATION
Tatum has gone into considerable additional detail regarding the role of Pegasus as he knew it. He believes Pegasus was established during the Eisenhower years as a secret group inside the CIA to spy on that agency on behalf of the President. At some point - believed to be after the assassination of President Kennedy - Pegasus went AWOL from direct US government control and came under the direction of an international Board of Directors which Tatum alleges now include George Bush and Henry Kissinger.
The directors of Pegasus meet once a year in secret conclave following G7 meetings. The group have "representation" from a number of intelligence agencies throughout the world. These included the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents, plus agents from British, Israeli, Turkish and Danish Intelligence, plus "others who performed various functions for Pegasus." The mission of Pegasus, Tatum explains, is " to 'align' world leaders and financiers to our (US) policies and standards."
One of Tatum's Pegasus duties included flying "Archer Teams" (a four man hit team) in his helicopter to their insertion point. He states that Enrique Bermudez was assassinated in 1991 by a Pegasus teams, adding he "was shot in the back of the head while walking down the street… from about 150 yards." Bermudez, known as "Commander Zero" was the senior Contra leader. Tatum received two broken ribs when he came under small arms fire during the assassination. Following the Nicaraguan war, Bermudez sought a prominent position in the new government. Spurned by President Chamarro, "Commander Zero" tried to pressure Bush to intercede on his behalf, threatening to expose Bush's role in the Cocaine trafficking enterprise. Bush ordered his disposal.
Another Pegasus assassination was that of General Augusto (Dr. Gus) Alverez, the "co-operating" Army Chief of Staff, Honduras. Alverez was assassinated in 1989, following his demand for a bigger split of the Cocaine profits. Tatum also describes his involvement in the assassination of Amiram Nir - the former Israeli Mossad agent who went under the assumed name, Pat Weber. Nir was scheduled to testify to the Senate subcommittee and it was feared he would reveal the truth. He perished following the shooting down of his aircraft with missiles from Tatum's helicopter.
Other "neutralisations" verge on the bizarre. An individual who must remain nameless for a variety of reasons - but whose name is known to this writer - underwent an experience that is both horrific and chilling. Readers are warned that what follows is not at all pleasant. For sake of ease we shall call this individual "Mr X" or simply "X."
Mr. X was a leader of one of the largest CIA-backed Contra groups. He recently testified before the US Senate Intelligence Committee. Formerly, Mr X was a senior executive in a South American subsidiary of leading US soft drinks corporation. During his Senate testimony, he denied any knowledge of CIA involvement in the narcotics trade, adding that condoning such activity would have been foreign to his way of life. Not so, says Tatum. Mr X had been recruited into the CIA by then Director, William Casey, with the assistance of Oliver North.
In 1990, when Nicaraguan leader, Daniel Ortega, announced there would be "free elections," X was ecstatic. He began jostling for position and asked President Bush ensure he be given a prominent position in the new government - in return for his years of toil at the behest of the CIA and the "Enterprise." The pressure came in a form that Bush could not ignore. Failure to help his friend would result in X's intimate knowledge of Bush's involvement in the dope trade being made public. His threat left Bush with a sour taste. A Pegasus team was assigned to "neutralise" him in early 1990.
X, Tatum states "fancied himself a lover of women. Tall, large-breasted blondes were his favourite. It was determined that, if effectively neutralised, [X] could be an asset. Therefore, it was decided that intimidation would be used to control [X]." They choose to use the drug "Scopolamine" which also went by the nickname "Burundanga" or the "Voodoo drug."
The drug is extracted from the pods of a flowering shrub that grows in remote regions of South America. In it's processed, powdered form, "Scopolomine" is "void of smell, void of taste." When properly administered "it causes absolute obedience," without this being "observable by others." Importantly, the target will not recall any of the events that occurred during the period they were under the spell of the drug. In outlining these details, Tatum adds that it is important to administer the drug in the correct dosage and that he has known targets to die from too high a dose. Others have "remained under the influence of Burundanga for up to three weeks." Precise dosage can be achieved by liquid ingestion; the powder being readily soluble. Ingestion via cigarettes is also an optimum method of ingestion. It is fast acting and takes no more than 20 minutes to work.
X was invited to spend a relaxing week-end at a luxury hotel as a guest of his friend George Bush. The evening started with cocktails and was followed by a fine meal. "Nothing but the best were the orders." Following the meal, he was ushered into the suite of a blonde "bomb-shell," supplied by the CIA. A dose of Burundanga had been ingested during pre-dinner cocktails.
His host for the week-end was a trusted18 year veteran field intelligence officer. X was gallant with the blonde as they both moved into the bedroom where video cameras were already set-up in one corner. In short order, the blonde had X standing naked in front of her, slipping his manhood in her mouth. All the while the video cameras whirred. Slowly stripping off, the blonde then instructed X to reciprocate the favour. Naked, the blonde boasted a large erect penis, saying "now take it in your mouth," He obliged, his love-making recorded 24 frames a second on celluloid. The male prostitute was hired, Tatum says, from a bar in New York and killed the same evening.
Two weeks later, X - wholly unaware of the events of that evening - was visited in Nicaragua. He was presented with a copy of the video footage along with instructions. Tatum says that X can never allow that video to be seen… "Not only does it reveal his homosexuality, but it also reveals his bestiality and satanic worship rituals." As frame after frame flicked by, X wept, forced to watch himself kill and gut his homosexual lover, and then eat the still warm heart. Neutralised, Mr X became a leading member of the Nicaraguan government a few short weeks later.
PLANNING FOR RETIREMENT
Since 1985, when he first became aware of the Enterprise drug smuggling, Tatum began collecting documents, audio and video tapes for his "retirement." He was acutely aware that most deep cover agents do not survive long in what is a very dirty game at a high-stakes poker table.
When in 1992, President Bush instructed him to "neutralise" Presidential runner Ross Perot, Tatum refused. He turned over a copy of an incriminating tape to President Bush, explaining that it would not be released, providing he, his family and Perot were kept safe. He also told the President that copies of the tape had been placed in six different locations world-wide, and that "if I didn't contact these capsule-holders by a certain time each year, they are to be sent to the addresses on the packaging." He closed the conversation by stating that when he originally "placed the packages, I gave explicit instructions that if I asked for them to be sent back to me, they were to send them to the addresses on the packages." This, Tatum reasoned, would avoid intimidation or torture.
ENDS
In part two we further examine Tatum's extraordinary account of his deep-cover life in Pegasus: included will be George Bush's "scope and mission" paper for the New World Order, which reveals details of the private corporation that is to be the nucleus of the "international master plan for world growth and stability." We also cruise through Tatum's narrative of the "Super Bills" story - how the CIA provided the Shah of Iran with plates and equipment to print "perfect" counterfeit $100 bills and how Pegasus used these in the Iran-Contra scandal.
Also covered is the hidden story why Colombian Cocaine cartel member Pablo Escobar was shot and killed; why Panama's Manuel Noriega warranted a full scale US invasion and imprisonment; and what lay behind the mysterious 1996 death of former Director of Central Intelligence, William Colby. Not least we will examine the shocking role of star prosecution witness Gabriel Taboada, who was "briefed" by the US Justice department to ensure Noriega received a long-term jail sentence. Additional revelations centre on the involvement of President Clinton and close Clinton confidant, William Barr, in the Mena, Arkansas Cocaine industry. Accompanying Part Two will be the full list of names, from 11 countries, of the BOSS HOGS.
These, plus other accounts of Tatum's thirty year life as a CIA deep cover agent and membership of the ultra secret international hit-squad Pegasus.
Part 2
During his twenty two years as a deep cover CIA and DIA operative, Gene "Chip" Tatum saw or participated in a remarkable series of covert operations. Foremost in his mind are the years 1986-92, when he operated for a group he called Pegasus. This group operated on behalf of the US and other governments undertaking tasks that ranged from narcotic smuggling to assassinations.
The name Pegasus was, in fact, a "cover" designation used by Tatum to protect himself against possible prosecution. Earlier this year Tatum revealed the true structure of the group and explained why he felt the need to conceal it. Timing was all important. In a message to this writer, Tatum stated "It has now been well past the five year statute of limitations which could have come back and haunted me. That date was January 22, 1997. On January 21, 1992 I walked out of the Jupiter island meeting to which I referred earlier."
Few individuals, even now, are aware of the significance of Jupiter island. Located on the Atlantic coast of Florida, just a few miles north of Palm Beach, the island measures a mere half a mile wide and nine miles long. According to authors Webster Griffin Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin island residents read like a Who's Who of the Anglo American establishment. Many have close connections to the intelligence apparatus and not a few are - or have been - members of the notorious Skull and Bones Society, a secretive and influential Masonic lodge formed at Yale law school.
[i] Interestingly, many of the early residents, including Averall Harriman and Prescot Bush - George Bush's father - were strong supporters of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party prior to WW11. Even in recent years, George Bush continued to have unfinished work with Nazi's domiciled in South America, Tatum says. Especially while the world's eye's were turned towards Saddam Hussein and Iraq during Desert Storm. That, however, is another story.
Jupiter island boasts hyper-security. All vehicles are tracked by sensors placed in the roads and every house-keeper, gardener or other non-resident is required by ordinance to be finger-printed and registered. Residents themselves, are carefully screened prior to being permitted to purchase real estate (many purchase by invitation it is thought) and one of their primary duties as good residents is to perform active "surveillance" to ensure the island remains secure
[ii] It was here that Tatum met with and discussed sensitive projects with then Vice President and later President Bush, at the residence of his mother, Rose Bush.
The organisational structure of the so-called "Pegasus" group provided by Tatum demands recounting in detail. The significance of the various Presidential orders which led to the formation and operation of the covert activities in which Tatum and others participated, constitute a secret government within a government. This is the power that hides behind the open face of democratic government that some have called the "Octopus." Activities include high level narcotics trafficking, illegal transfers of ultra high-tech weaponry, money laundering on a massive scale and an odd "hit" or "alignment" to keep wobbly-kneed individuals on the straight and narrow.
It was in 1981, Tatum states that "President Reagan signed National Security Decision Directive Number 3 (NSDD-3), which authorised the vice president to chair the Special Situation Group (SSG). The Special Situation Group was a division under the national Security Council (NSC). One entity formed to support the SSG was the Terrorist Incident Working Group (TIWG). TIWG was formed in April 1982, by authority of President Reagan in NSDD-30. This group consisted of representatives of the following: Director of Central Intelligence, Department of Defence, FBI, NSC staff and others as required.
[iii]
Tatum continues, "The purpose of TIWG is to provide SSG with direct operational support. TIWG then recommended to the President that a Terrorism Task Froce be formed and chaired by the head of SSG (the vice president). Reagan approved NSDD-138 in April 1984, which extended TIWG's arm and ability to form sub-groups. As a result of NSDD-138 was the formation of the Operation Sub-Group. The subgroup was a select NSC-DOD-CIA-FBI-Foreign Intelligence Agency which operated so as to by-pass the regular operations of intelligence/military/law enforcement agencies. OSG was formed in February 1986."
Having revealed the framework of the authorising Presidential Directives necessary for the conduct of these covert operations, Tatum then details the nitty-gritty of the OSG. "I was an operative for OSG from April, 1986 through January, 1992. When I was operating under the authority of the OSG I would report directly to the OSG, not to the CIA or DIA. This secret government' apparatus, built by Bush from 1981 to 1986, was able to draw upon assets from the CIA, the DOD Special Operations Units, and the private sector. Using the private sector clause, Don Gregg, VP Bush's National Security Advisor, included a representative from British Intelligence and Israeli Intelligence. To date I have called this group Pegasus in an attempt not to divulge it's true identity until I was on safe ground. Although most of the missions performed by OSG-2 are classified, the existence of the organisation is now declassified."
Until Tatum forwarded these details, the existence of more than one Operations Sub-Group (OSG) were unknown. In fact, Tatum has now revealed the existence of three OSGs. OSG-1 was headed by Ted Shackley and was "our anti-narcotics group."
[iv] OSG-2 was the anti-terrorism group and OSG-3 was "our alignment' group." Tatum was originally posted to OSG-2 which was commanded by Col. Oliver North. The third group, OSG-3 was commanded by Richard Secord. Following the exposure of Oliver North's role in Contragate in 1987 he resigned as head of OSG-2, and his spot was taken over by Secord. Tatum moved up to command OSG-3 at the same time.
All three OSG's answered to those individuals who sat on the TIWG. General Colin Powell, represented the Department of Defence, William Casey the CIA, Donald Gregg for the National Security Council. "FBI guys rotated in and out…" Tatum says. "It was like they couldn't get anyone," he concludes. Representing British Intelligence was Sir Colin Figure. Formerly head of MI6, Sir Colin transferred in 1986 to become "Security Co-ordinator" one of the top slots at the Cabinet office, under the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher. He retired in 1989. Amiram Nir represented Israeli interests until his assassination by an "Archer" team led by Tatum - at the request of high level Israeli individuals - in 1988. Any of these six could "call a mission." In addition, George Bush could do likewise. Of significance too, was the occasional representation on the TIWG of Lord Chalfont. The British lord was an adviser on "Mid-East affairs" between 1986 and 1990.
From the moment Tatum was recruited to the OSG, he was posted to up state New York where he established a number of cover businesses. One of these was Cedar Shores Estates, Inc.
[v] This was his base of operations throughout the next six years.
[vi] It may be no more than sheer co-incidence that the name of the company is similar to Cedar Holdings, a British company that had a relationship to former British Conservative Party Treasurer, Lord Alister McAlpine. In an unpublished book by Peter Jones, the author looked in some detail at the business activities of this Conservative party "Grey Eminence" and leading Freemason.
[vii] Of no little interest was the author's detailed connections of numerous companies that he believed were involved in all manner of dark activities. Interestingly, these include a company called Leisure Circle that has a sinuous connection to Sir John Cuckney, one of the central figures of the Scott Inquiry investigation into arms sales to Iraq. Whilst these connections are admittedly tenuous, to say the least, it should be noted that Tatum's up-state New York operation was also involved in shipping the most sophisticated weapons across the border to Canada. Not least are the known connections between Oliver North's related gun-running operations that saw dirty money being laundered through the British Channel Islands and the London based BCCI bank. Money laundering was one of the principal activities of Col. Oliver North.
SUPER BILLS
One operation in which Tatum has knowledge, regards the so called "Superbills," or "Supernotes" sting. Years earlier, in the late sixties or early seventies, the CIA had secretly provided to the Shah of Iran a perfect set of printing plates that could reproduce US$100 bills without blemish. Also provided was an intaglio printing press. This special printing press ensures that the etched plate meets paper with tremendous force, creating the distinctive embossed feel of a genuine banknote. In addition, the Shah was also given the ink and banknote quality paper enabling him to produce perfect counterfeit US Dollar banknotes. The Shah later fled Iran and left the plates and press behind in his confusion. The whole caboodle sat in the mint at Tehran, according to some experts.
[viii]
According to Tatum, a deal was arranged in the early mid-eighties between VP George Bush, Panama's Manuel Noriega and the Iranian leadership. A sum of US$8 billion deposited in the Banco Nacional de Panama on behalf of Colombian Cocaine king, Pablo Escobar was "lent" to George Bush. Of this, US$4 billion was shipped by plane to Iran where it was exchanged at a ratio of one good bill for two counterfeit bills. On the return trip, the aircraft, an 707 cargo container carried two shrink-wrapped pallets containing US$4 billion each. The 707 arrived at Howard/Albrook Air Force base in Panama where the pallets were off-loaded under armed guard of the Panamanian military. The counterfeit notes were re-deposited back into Escobar's account at the Panama central bank. Under no circumstances could the counterfeit bills be permitted to leave the bank vault - for fear of devaluing the US currency with forged notes - and active steps would later be taken to ensure this.
The other half of Escobar's "good" money was placed into the hands of Nana DeBusia, the grandson of Guyana's first democratic leader. DeBusia was chosen by the CIA's William Casey to launder the massive sum into numerous bank accounts under the joint signature of VP George Bush and Director Casey. The next leg of the operation was to retrieve the $4 billion exchanged with the Iranians for the Superbills. This was facilitated by the supply of military equipment - arms, ammunition and replacement parts for weapon systems. This part of the deal was arranged by Col Oliver North on behalf of the CIA's William Casey.
The result of these complex manoeuvres were twofold. On the one hand the CIA acquired $4 billion - via the arms sales - for use in future black operations without the need to rely on Congressional oversight or authority. If later caught, Tatum says "… the CIA can report the source of funds as being from an arms transaction with Iran." Part of these funds were then used to support the Contra's, whilst the rest disappeared down the ultra-black hole of the Company's covert finances. Meanwhile, Nana DeBusia had begun laundering the remaining $4 billion through various banks, including the Vatican bank.
[ix] For his trouble, DeBusia was entitled to take a commission amounting to $200 million. The remaining $3.8 billion was then secreted in private numbered accounts around the globe controlled by George Bush and William Casey.
The operation was complete apart from some necessary mopping-up which was to occur over the following years. 1) In 1989, Pablo Escobar was targeted by an intensive US-Colombian "War on Drugs" campaign. He flees into hiding, in fear of his life. Eventually, in 1993, he is tracked down and killed in a police shoot-out. A British TV documentary reveals that the Cocaine King was gunned down while attempting to escape and was probably unarmed. The campaign waged against Escobar ensures he cannot withdraw the $8 billion in superbills. Following his death, the quantity and quality of Cocaine shipments from Colombia immediately increases many fold - giving the lie to the "war on drugs." 2) Also during 1989, Panama's General Noriega was captured in a US invasion of Panama. Noriega was later convicted and placed in federal prison under constant US guard to ensure his silence.
[x] 3) penultimately, Nana DeBusia was indicted on 32 counts including bank fraud and thereby effectively silenced.
[xi] 4) Earlier, in 1987, DCI William Casey died of a brain tumour - just days before he would have been required to attend the Senate hearings into the Contragate affair. According to Tatum only one figure emerges unscathed - George Bush, who alone retained control of $3.8 billion in laundered funds. Obviously, the CIA still retained control over the balance of their $4 billion share of the "sting" operation.
It is of considerable significance that this operation has been corroborated by another source who's credibility is not in question.
[xii] This individual was present in Tehran during many of these events, and was later posted to another sensitive location in this connection. Moreover, it has additionally been revealed that Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) were heavily involved in the Superbill sting. That BNL were an intrinsic part of Oliver North's so called "Enterprise" - in reality the OSG's of the Terrorist Incident Working Group - is beyond doubt.
[xiii]
The question remains, however, is what did George Bush intend to do with his "black" $3.8 billion? What was the ultimate purpose of the operation? Perhaps some of the money is to be used to grease palms and otherwise finance Bush's bid for the presidency following the completion of President Reagan's second term? Maybe it was used to finance other lucrative projects. Perhaps it was to be used to inject financial muscle into another, grander scheme that Tatum has recently spoken of. This involves George Bush's "scope and mission" paper for a New World Order.
A copy of the Scoping paper supplied to Tatum by George Bush outlines the formation of a Corporation whose purpose is to "… provide a central network of information, analysts and strategists on an international basis in pursuit or world order and economic stability." The "scope" of the corporation involves four features: 1) Centralization of informational services; 2) Analysis of data by region specific analysts; 3) Provide recommendations based upon analysts reports by international experts, and 4) Provide international master plan for world growth and economic stability. The Corporation will be privately owned with a Board of Directors "consisting of twelve members, elected annually by the shareholders." In addition there will be five departments: "Data Resources; Political Management; Economic Management; Military Management; Environmental Management."
[xiv]
MORE BOSS HOGS
But it is the realm of narcotics trafficking, that Tatum is most vociferous. Part one of this article recounted the names of high level US individuals given to Tatum by Barry Adler Seal. This Seal called the "Boss Hogs List" which extended to senior individuals in 11 different countries who Seal claimed controlled the global narcotics network. The complete list is recounted verbatim below (including spelling mistakes) and in the manner in which it was written by Tatum on the reverse of a flight log:
[xv]
NICARAGUA
Colaro
Borge
Bermudez
COMMANDERS
Fernando
Franklin
Martin
Chamoro
Pastora
Nora (a woman)
Lacayo
PANAMA
Noriega & his brother
Harrari
ISRAEL
Rabin
Kimchi
Nir
(P Ben or Guatamalian arms dealer for Israel)
Harrari
COLUMBIA
Ochoa
Leder
Navarro
Richardo
Duran
Sarmiento
SAUDI
Fahd
Prince B [Tatum believes this to be Prince Bandar]
IRAN
Gorba
EL SALVADOR
Duarte
Balestaros
Maty
HONDURAS
Suazo
Cordoba
Alverez
MEXICO
Salinas brothers
Albrego
COUNTRY UNKNOWN
Santa Cruz
Echeverri
Bolinik
UNITED STATES
Casey Clair George
Bush Singlab
Kissinger Colby
Haig Secord
Gregg Weld
Clairage Rodriguez
Fernandez Peroot
North
STATES
Arkansas: Clinton Young
Louisiana Edwards (Barry's buddy) Marcellas Family
Kentucky Gov in pocket
FULL CIRCLE
In a very real sense, Chip Tatum's story has now gone full circle. In March 1996, Tatum wrote to former Director of Central Intelligence, William Colby. Readers will recall that it was Colby who originally recruited Tatum into the CIA in 1971, and set him on his career as a covert intelligence operator. Since that time, Tatum had developed a fondness for the super-spook and Colby, in turn, played the role of mentor.
In his letter, Tatum asked Colby to write a forward for his book "Operation Red Rock" which he had completed just two months earlier. But there was another purpose in writing to the former DCI. Four years earlier, when Tatum resigned his OSG command, he had volunteered to plead guilty on a felony charge in order to discredit himself. This was part of Tatum's strategy of survival, as he was aware that one didn't resign this particular team and remain alive long. The fact that he had collected a body of evidence - including video and audio tapes and other related documentation - as life insurance, gave muscle to his negotiation. At that time he had not planned to reveal any of the details that he has now provided. In the event his offer was taken up and he served a prison sentence of just over one year. That is where matters should have ended.
However, having served his sentence - thus complying with his part of the agreement - both Tatum and his wife, Nancy were subsequently arrested and charged with another misdemeanour. Tatum got angry. His letter states "I have always kept my word with you. I told you that I would discredit myself. I don't need your help to accomplish this. But to charge Nancy with a crime, and expect me to allow this, is beyond my comprehension." He angrily continues "I know that North and Rodriguez are the fuel for this, but haven't you warned them that I wouldn't sit still for this?" He then adds "I do not blame you for this, I am disappointed that you have allowed the Pond Scum' to control you!"
There then follows a warning. "The second book that I have already started, will contain my movements from 1980 through today. I will not only write about the missions but about the N.W.O. [New World Order] timetable and planned events including a chronology." Ominously he adds "And I will name names. You must detach yourself from these people!" Tatum then continues by outlining how he will enter evidence for his forthcoming trial and if disallowed for reasons of classification, then "a Special Prosecutor will be required to investigate the information, and the video tape tells no lies." The letter adds "I also had stills and an audio clip of a meeting added to the video. Out of respect for you I have kept your name out to this point, but if you don't separate yourself from these terrorists, I will have no choice but to reveal your involvement also. Either way - the group will be exposed - by the media or by the investigating committee. Either way they're out of gas!" Tatum closes the letter by saying "Mr. Colby - you've done too much for your country to be disgraced in the manner that these men will be."
Less than two months later, the former DCI was reported missing. By Monday, 6 May 1996, Colby's body was found and later he reported to have died following a "canoeing" accident on the Wicomico river, Maryland. Tatum and many others - including this writer - doubt this. Throughout his life, Colby had an all-abiding fear of water. It would have been entirely out of character for him to voluntarily step into a boat, let alone a canoe.
Despite this, Colby's death officially remains an accident. This can have come as no special surprise to Tatum who, recently stated to this writer "I knew the OSG were bullet-proof when one of our targets, a 25 year old, was reported to have died of a heart attack. His name was Al-Jarrah." That, however, is another story.
AFTERNOTE
At 3 p m on Friday 4 April 1997 - shortly after publication of part one of this article - Chip was roused from a mid-afternoon snooze and told to report to the Warden of his prison. He was informed that he was being released - less than mid-way through his 27 month sentence - with immediate effect, following an appellate court decision that found his conviction by Judge Adams to be illegal. The Tatum's are now freely enjoying the sunshine and Cajun cooking of Florida together, as Chip turns his attention to beginning a new career - his first real job hunting in 26 years. "Spy stuff" will not form part of his job search efforts. Meanwhile, he has written and published a Chronicle that details many of his allegations.
[xvi]
ENDS
Footnotes
[i] George Bush - The Unauthorised Biography - by Webster Griffin Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin
[ii] Ibid
[iii] additional standing members were the Department of State, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). NSDD-30 was classified "Secret." Now partly de-classified the redacted sections nominated NSC staffer Col. Oliver North responsibility for "antiterrorist operations." This included so called "active measures" to "deter or pre-empt terrorist attack" and established the administrative framework for "CIA projects aimed at killing leaders of radical Islamic organizations." As such it was an illegal Presidential directive. My thanks to Steve Aftergood at the Federation of American Scientists, Washington for providing research extracts of these and other NSDDs drawn from ChristopherSimpson's book "National Security Directives of the Reagan and Bush Administrations" (Westview Press, San Francisco).
[iv] Shackley's involvement in the narcotics industry is legion. Not least, Col Bo Gritz - the most highly decorated Special Forces officer in history - has spoken of his encounter with the Burmese warlord Khun Sa. Housed in the centre of the "Golden Triangle," Khun Sa is one of the leading exporters of raw Opium in the world. In an interview captured on camera, the warlord states that his primary contact in the Heroin business was the CIA's very own Ted Shackley. Shackley worked closely with Mafia chief Santos Trafficante, according to Khun Sa.
[v] Tatum has stated that it was routine for all the OSG operatives to establish their own businesses as "covers." Funding was provided as a line of credit with the Key Bank of Central New York, Watertown, New York state by Republican Harry Hyde. The company was formed by attorney, Ben Whitaker. Legal representation was through O'Hara and Crough in Syracuse, NY. Tatum also operated through a number of other similar "fronts." These included Progressive Structures Inc., Irving Place Capital & Development, American National Home Builders.
[vi] Tatum has provided me with a number of documents of this proprietary company including details of incorporation, board minutes, bank statements, legal billings and copies of cashed cheques. In addition he has also provided documents relating to other front companies he was involved with.
[vii] The Obedience of Australia. Privately published by Peter Jones. The book covers in considerable detail Masonic business connections that are shadowy to say the least.
[viii] See The New Yorker article by Fredric Dannen and Ira Silverman - October 23, 1995 for additional details.
[ix] Tatum says DeBusia laundered this sum through banks in London. Coincidences abound in this story and they may be no more than coincidences. However, I think it is worth citing Gerald James, former Chairman of Astra Plc and one of the principal figures in the Scott affair and arms sales to Iraq. In his book "In the Public Interest" (Warner Books 1996) Gerald reproduces an internal company memorandum referring to the massive British-Saudi Al Yamamah arms deal in which a sum of $4 billion is mentioned in connection with a bribe to Saudi Prince Bandar - a nephew of King Fahd. The memorandum states "This 4 bil US was mentioned in connection with M. Thatcher's son." Interestingly, the sum of $3.8 billion is mentioned in the "Kerry Report" that looked into the IranContra affair.
[x] One of the principal prosecution witnesses again Gen. Noriega was Gabriel Taboada. Arguably, without Taboada's testimony (he was regarded as the "star witness") the prosecution case against Noriega may well have failed. Tatum has provided this writer with a number of private letters and other documents written by Toboada. These clearly show that Toboada was "coached" by the prosecution in what to say, and, more significantly, what
not to say. Toboada's correspondence makes it clear he was aware that the prosecution case against Noriega was severely flawed by perjury - a fact known to the prosecution team. Today, Toboada lives in fear of his life - a state of affairs that the US Justice Dept dismiss out of hand.
[xi] Following the intervention of the CIA, DeBusia is acquitted on all counts. Effectively discredited he will continue to maintain silent.
[xii] Private communication with this writer
[xiii] See Alan Friedman's "The Spider's Web" (Faber & Faber 1993) for a more detailed role of BNL in the Contragate affair. I have been reliably informed that that significant portions of Friedman's original manuscript were excised by a wary publisher?
[xiv] It is impossible to judge the veracity of this
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
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