Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 7:50 pm    Post subject:

The easiest way for me to go through some of the relevant articles is to link them in the same order they were published. That is not necessarily in the correct order of events, but as the reporter Jack Anderson learned them. These revelations were coming out in the early 1970's. From a timing stand point, I first began meeting the Websters in 1977. Anderson, and other reporters' articles covered the CIA in both periods that relate to the Websters, the 1950's when they were both part of the agency, and the 1960's-70's when George was with ITT. The articles began in the 1970's when the Senate was scrutinizing both groups.

The first article deals with a memo leaked to Anderson. The article was published on 2-29-1972 His associate, Brit Hume, confirmed the validity of the document. It was written by Dita Beard. She was a tough as nails lobbyist that worked for ITT in DC. The memo indicates ITT made a substantial contribution to Nixon's renomination effort in return for favorable disposition of an anti trust suit the justice department had brought against them. ITT was buying influence and other documents do verify Nixon was instrumental in assuring a positive outcome for ITT.

Secret Memo Bares Mitchell-ITT Move



The above was an artist likeness of Dita Beard that appeared in a Harper's article.

ITT shredded documents and Dita Beard had left town by the next day. Numerous FBI offials were looking for her in multiple states. It's no surprise ITT denied any wrong doing. So did Mitchell and other members of the White House adminstration. Harold Geneen was furthering his influence and power as he continued to grow the conglomerate. Nixon makes multiple references to Geneen on the White House tapes. This was a corrupt company with a firm and inappropriate hold on the White House. McClaren was transferred out of the DOJ and had an unusual appointment to a judgeship where one wasn't needed. Cover up mentality in the part of Nixon's White House and cover up mentality on the part of ITT.


Harold Geneen ITT

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:19 pm    Post subject:

Anderson wrote a daily column. There were numerous pieces or references to the Dita Beard memo and the Senate hearings. I am not going to run through the whole case, but want to point out certain patterns and behaviors.

Dita Beard left DC shortly after the memo was exposed. She had acknowledged the authenticity of her memo to multiple people. On March 2, 1972, she fled to Denver with FBI agents looking for her to issue a subpoena. The tactics that surfaced initially were to discredit her. They referenced drinking and even brought witnesses to the Senate hearings to describe her mental issues.

Dita at some point was admitted to the hospital in Denver with a heart ailment. The tactics changed. The White House sent E Howard Hunt to meet with Dita. He was in the disguise that the CIA had issued him and was used in his involvement in the Watergate break ins. The former CIA agent was one of the Watergate plumbers. Dita now had a lawyer paid for by ITT. A select group of Senators travelled to Denver to question her in her hospital room. The bottom line of her testimony was that she claimed part of the memo had been forged. There was plenty of I don't remember and denials. She made a miraculous recovery and was out of the hospital in a couple of days. She was reassigned to a position in Denver.


E Howard Hunt
Watergate Plumber

The meeting with Hunt is important reinforcing the connection between the Whitehouse, CIA, and ITT. It is obvious by what transpired that these groups had the clout and muscle to pressure an outcome. George Webster was in the telecommuications division and I don't think he would have had direct involvement in these dealings. He certainly would have knowledge how ITT handled it's affairs and bought and coerced results. Geneen compelled political donations from his exeutives and then told to recover it by padding their expense accounts. The company attitude and practice was to buy influence. It is important to point out that ITT put up the reward money in Joan's case. That is verifiable.

On the personal side, I can relate to this and George's demeanor. He often indicated money should influence decisions within the family, a subtle suggestion that offended me. The letter I discovered is another comparison I can make. My daughter testified that part of the letter had been forged. She left the courtroom and boarded a plane for some fun trip. Efforts to portray me in a similar fashion to the tactics used against Dita Beard to discredit are on going.

I'll try to get the next key article up later today.

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 9:25 pm    Post subject:

The next article is the one that was released in the CIA Family Jewels through the FOIA. That copy was of poor quality and hard to read. This article was published on 3-8-1973. Joan was still in high school and residing at home at this time. The Watergate scandal had broken and of course that dominated political news. In my opinion, there were far more serious offenses going on. In a Helms document I posted some time back, he was concerned that the agency's cover firms and domestic activities might be exposed if the CIA was involved in the Watergate hearings.

Jack Anderson himself, ran into one of the Miami contingent at the airport in DC the weekend of the Chilean Embassy break in. His article reinforces the concern that the Watergate plumbers were also the culprits in the Embassy break in as well as 3 diplomats in NYC. In reading Anderson's book, he describes an incident where he may have been premature in disclosing information in a story. It involved then Sen Eagleton of Missouri who had been selected as McGovern's running mate. That incident predates this story. Anderson showed his character and credibility in that incident and reinforces how thorough and reliable he is as a source. He would not be putting his reputation on the line to print a story without due dilignce to find the facts. He was put on an "enemies" list in the White House, and was a problem for the less than scrupulous in DC.

The concept E Howard Hunt was contracted by ITT for activities spying on the Chileans is very plausible just looking on the surface. Hunt was former CIA. At the time he worked in the White House. Harold Geneen of ITT had an established relationship with the WH all the way to Nixon. John McCone, former DCI of the CIA was on the ITT board and was close to Geneen and government officials, as well as a close relationship to his successor, Richard Helms. The administration had already colluded to grant special favors to ITT in the antitrust suit, and ITT offered large sums in return. E Howard Hunt and an ITT attorney paid a visit to Dita Beard in Denver before she changed her story about the memo to the Senate hearing. ITT was really the only likely client to benefit from the break ins.

The FBI gave the Beard memo to ITT which is astounding to give them opportunity to try and discredit it. They should have been asking the questions and finding out what this corporation was doing, not give them a way out. The FBI passed the buck stating the memo was tranferred through White House staff. Another questionable FBI matter was their reported determination that the break in at the embassy was routine.

Chilean Break Ins Reflect Watergate

It's not the least bit surprising that ITT denied any connection or wrongdoing. The Allende government in Chile wanted to nationalize the telephone holdings of ITT. This was the telecommunications division where George worked. His job again was the director of the budget for the US Defense Department. Efforts to undermine the election of Allende began in the early 1960's. ITT funneled money into that effort giving the CIA cover as if they weren't involved. They were successful in keeping Allende out until 1970. Nixon was already obligated to Geneen and ITT.

Another connection was the fact that E Howard Hunt and James McCord, both former CIA and part of the group arrested for the Watergate break ins, were on the committee to re elect the president, Nixon. ITT made an enormous contribution to facilitate the convention and gained a favorable decision in the antitrust issue in return.

Another interesting detail about time to point out. There is something redacted from the Interpol Blue Notice submitted for Joan's disappearance. It is under the area of Joan's addresses and is in this time period. I don't know what it is. I knew all of the other addresses and locations.

Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 3:03 pm    Post subject:

The next article was written by a Washington Post staff writer. The Senate hearings and the focus on the administrations wrong doing received enormous attention obviously. Watergate was the biggest political scandal, and still is, bringing down a presidency.

The article describes a plan for intelligence gathering that involved break ins at foreign embassies. The claim the plan wasn't implemented does not ring true since this is exactly what happened. The idea was to increase the CIA's domestic role. That is not part of the charter granted to the CIA by the National Security Act of 1947, but I don't think rules were part of the thinking.

The other department referenced for greater involvement was the Department of Defense. This was George Webster's area of responsibility with ITT. Again, these plans went all the way to the Oval Office. Nixon was already in bed with Geneen and obligated for favors. Not only was there the contribution to the reelection committee, ITT was also funneling money into Chile to oppose Allende. George Webster was a money man. The CIA kept their hands clean using a cover firm, but also provided the avenues for ITT's effort.

Nixon Aide Proposed Espionage, Burglaries

Below is the list of the actors in Watergate and also suspect in the Chilean break ins. The 5 burglars were indicted along with Liddy and Hunt. Notice the association with th CIA and/or FBI. These men were pros. I want to also point out the reference to bugging phones. This is something I will bring out later.

There were 5 burglars arrested on June 17, 1972 at the Watergate offices of the Democratic National Committee:
Bernard L. Barker - a realtor from Miami, Florida. Former Central Intelligence Agency operative. Barker was said to have been involved in the Bay of Pigs incident in 1962.

1. Virgilio R. Gonzales - a locksmith from Miami, Florida. Gonzalez was a refugee from Cuba, following Castro's takeover.

2. James W. McCord - a security co-ordinator for the Republican National Committee and the Committee for the Re-election of the President. McCord was also a former FBI and CIA agent. He was dismissed from his RNC and CREEP positions the day after the break-in.

3. Eugenio R. Martinez - worked for Barker's Miami real estate firm. He had CIA connections and was an anti-Castro Cuban exile.

4. Frank A. Sturgis - another associate of Barker from Miami, he also had CIA connections and involvement in anti-Castro activities.

The five men were charged with attempted burglary and attempted interception of telephone and other communications.
The burglars were indicted by a Grand Jury on September 15, as were:

6. G. Gordon Liddy - from Washington, counsel to the Finance Committee to Re-elect the President, a former FBI agent, former Treasury official, and former member of the White House staff. During the investigation, Liddy refused to answer questions and was fired from his job.

7. E Howard Hunt Jr. - from Washington, a former White House consultant and CIA employee. Hunt was a writer of espionage novels and had worked on declassifying the Pentagon Papers.

ITT and the CIA ere components of Joan's investigation

Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 9:18 pm    Post subject:

THE NEXT SHOT ACROSS THE BOW!!!

I will be giving an interview about the 1981 Joan Webster unresolved murder. The interview will be on Wednesday, March 3rd at 9PM eastern. The show's host Denny Griffin is a former police officer and investigator. He and his producer have taken time to review documents and get an understanding of the case. The 90 minute live program "Seeking Justice" can be heard on the link below at airing, or can be accessed to hear later.

www.blogtalkradio.com/dennisngriffin

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:43 am    Post subject:

Again, the staff writers on the post expanded on the scandal in Washington in an article on 6-10-1973 that had been exposed by Jack Anderson. The article descibes the incidents of domestic spying that were conistent with the plan Nixon approved, but denied it was implemented. The record clearly shows the plan or one like it was indeed implemented. I have left the article in total even though there are issues unrelated to the events that concern me most. It gives a good snapshot of the depth of the problem and what was going on at the time. History speaks for itself.

Bugging Said to Fit Rejected Spy Plan

The incidents begin with the situations we can all identify from Watergate. These are the break ins that show up if you search that topic. But the next string of events are related to the 4 break ins related to Chile. The beneficiary of those acivities is ITT. Again there are references to phones being bugged. James McCord contended he knew that embassy phones were tapped. McCord was one of the plumbers and he also sent 3 memos to Helms. Helms supressed those memos when the CIA was asked for documentation. That information is verified in the documents previously posted from the Helms collection in CIA papers.


James McCord

McCord was former CIA and had been hired as a security director for the committee to reelect the president. He was an electronics expert. I think it is fair to say of all of these guys that they got their skills and techniques from the CIA background whether they were still officially on that payroll or not. George and Eleanor Webster have to be viewed the same way as having unique training and background. In his position, McCord worked with E Howard Hunt, John Mitchell, and Gordon Liddy. The Chilean break ins can only be viewed as Nixon's obligation to ITT and Geneen. Geneen again pumped a sizeable sum into the reelection coffers.

It has to be repeated that George Webster was in the very division impacted by affairs in Chile. It would be derelict to ignore his CIA background in reviewing all of this. It is impossible to conceive the powers that be at ITT, Geneen and McCone, were ignorant of the "talent" and "asset" they had in their ranks. He was perfectly positioned to work with the numbers and his responsibility was the Department of Defense. George had also been there all through the 1960's during the ongoing efforts of the CIA and ITT to block Allende in Chile.

By this time Steve Webster was a college student. Anne Webster was preparing to head off to college. Joan was home still in high school.

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:21 pm    Post subject:

I can't resist putting another piece up by Jack Anderson dated 5-11-1972, back tracking a little. In the last column under Washington Whirl is a quote by Rep Charlie Rangel D-NY who is now under scrutiny for ethics violations. He is commenting about a million dollar offer ITT made to the CIA to support efforts in Chile. The CIA directed ITT to the conduits to funnel the money without getting their own hands dirty. It will make even more sense with the next article I will be posting. I guess the same criticisms don't apply when it benefits Rangel. What dirty business.

Washington Whirl

THANK YOU FINTAN FOR BEING A BEACON WHERE THE TRUTH CAN BE HEARD!!!

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 8:16 am    Post subject:

Looking forwards to the show at 9 tonight Eve. I'll be tuning in.
_________________
"Man is what he believes."
Anton Chekhov

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 10:12 am    Post subject:

And thank you Eva for your perseverance in bringing this case to light and seeking Justice. You are an example to us all.

Kathy
_________________
IMAGINE

Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 1:31 am    Post subject:

Thank you both. The more I learn in all of this, the more I know this case has to be exposed. Getting the word out there has not been easy by any stretch, but it is moving.

The next article goes into the CIA's involvement in the plot for domestic activities. Former DCI Richard Helms stated what would be expected, that they wouldn't have been involved if asked. That was not in their charter. Four months later, Tom Charles Huston's memo came out revaling a different story and that Helms was very helpful. Helms wasn't completely given a pass for lying to the Senate committee, but I hardly call his penalty any kind of pennance. He was found guilty of perjury regarding the involvement of the CIA with ITT in the affairs in Chile. He was given a 2 year suspended sentence and fined $2000. The fine was paid by CIA friends and it was reported he wore the perjury charge with honor. This didn't come until November 1977.


Richard Helms

When the information came out about the plan written by Nixon aide Tom Charles Huston, Helms was gone. Huston's information was clear, that Helms had been helpful in putting the plan together.


Tom Charles Huston
Nixon Counsel

The article goes on to describe a meeting where methods were discussed. Not to stop activities that were illegal under the CIA charter, but how to do them better and not get caught. Using cover firms was reemphasized and ex CIA personnel. Not only is it most likely ITT knew George Webster's background to use to their advantage, but it's a fair bet the CIA knew where former employees were as well. The public posture said one thing, but the truth of the CIA's continued conduct was something far different. These were men who justified anything as long as it helped them reach their desired goal. There were no boundaries, constraints, and no real accountability. Actions were motivated by men with their own agenda and labeled as National security.

A Sense of Deja Vue at CIA

I am very familiar with the behavior patterns expressed to deal with the problems when the CIA was caught doing things they shouldn't. First is the lie and deny, the time tested method of anyone guilty of conduct they want to keep hidden. But also the attitude to ride it out. Don't acknowledge anything, ignore, don't answer the phone, don't tell, discredit. These are all approaches until one hopes the whole thing will blow over.

Another interesting reference is to the "Safe House." In the Church Senate hearings the use of safe houses came up. They were little better than brothels where influential, politicians, or wealthy individuals might fall prey to their own vulnerabilities thus putting them in a position to be blackmailed, controlled. I am not sure if this term is being used in the same way here, but it is obvious there were plenty of people who did not want their activities known. Again, an age old practice of control to hold things over someone's head. They are then more likely to keep secrets for others not to be exposed themselves and/or be in a position to do things they might not otherwise do.

The CIA clearly shows the ability to plan, stratagize and realliy connive. Their actions were not spontaneous, but took care and sometimes cnsiderable time to execute a plan.