Tail of the Coin - Agency operators working in the shadows.

"Like the wind sweeping across the continents,
we may feel its presence and observe its effects.
Yet we fail to see what’s right in front of us."

Preface
Table A. – Timeline of Relevant Events
1940's
1950's
1960's
1970's
2007-06-27: CIA Family Jewels
Table B. – Links to Documents of Interest
1.b. Penn Jones:
2.b. 'CIA Agent' Alive And Well In Costa Rica:
3.b. Interim Report from Investigator Kennard Smith:
4.b. CIA Family Jewels:
5.b. Presidential Daily Briefings:
6.b. CIA Domestic Improprieties, NYT:
7.b. Jim Hawes:
8.b. Renee Gough:
Table C. – List of Who Died Just Before Testifying
1.c. August 7, 1976: John Roselli
2.c. In January 1977: William D. Pawley
3.c. March 29, 1977: George DeMohrenschildt
4.c. March 1977: Carlos Prio Soccaras
5.c. March 29, 1977: Charles Nicoletti
6.c. May 1977: Lou Staples
7.c. June 1977: Louis Nichols
8.c. August 1977: Alan H. Belmont
9.c. August 1977: James Cadigan
10.c. August 1977: Joseph C. Ayres
11.c. October 1977: Donald Kaylor
12.c. October 1977: J.M. English
13.c. November 9, 1977: William C. Sullivan
14.c. May 8, 1978: David Sanchez Morales
15.c. November 18, 1978: Manuel Artime Buesa
16.c. September 26, 1978: John Paisley
Table E. – Assets:
1.e. William Egan Colby:
2.e. Theodore George ‘Ted’ Shackley:
3.e. Lucien Emile Conein:
4.e. Grayston ‘Gray’ Lynch:
5.e. William ‘Rip’ Robertson:
6.e. David Sanchez Morales
Table F. – Contracted Assets:
1.f. John ‘Jack’ Adrian O'Hare:
2.f. Col. Thomas Michael ‘Mad Mike’ Hoare:
Table G. – Other Assets Not Clearly Defined
1.g. Mitchell ‘Mitch’ WerBell III:
2.g. Gerald Patrick ‘Gerry’ Hemming:
Table H. – Associations Not Clearly Defined
1.h. Bureau of Narcotics Covert Intelligence Network (BUNCIN)
2.h. The Question:
Table I. – Notes
1.i. David Sanchez Morales:
2.i. Worth Noting:
3.i. Bernard ‘Bud’ Fensterwald III:
4.i. FBI Special Agent Don Miller:
5.i. Changes to ‘Contracting’ Over the Years:
6.i. James Richards:
End of Document

In fewer than ten years, between seventy and eighty-five million lives were lost during World War II (WWII). The timeline of this research begins with that catastrophe.

During the war, it became clear to senior United States (US) personnel that there was a necessity for a military special operations group. It would require a special intelligence branch, organizational skills, and support for resistance movements. It also required small teams of personnel for dedicated tasks such as assassination and sabotage. Under the direction of President Roosevelt, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was formed in 1942. The OSS was later disbanded shortly after the end of WWII, in 1945.

Two years later, it became apparent that a void existed for the gathering and processing of foreign intelligence. The CIA added that role to its existing operations. The CIA's primary task is to be a central gathering and processing agency for foreign intelligence. Its secondary role is to take over ‘dirty operations’ once carried out by OSS. That department is titled the Special Activities Division (SAD).

Paramilitary trainers, contract officers, and case officers are examples of CIA employees. These officers then enlisted contractors to perform specialized jobs or tasks that they were not authorized to perform themselves. Typically, only contract officers authorized associations between CIA officers and contractors. If they were found to be doing the job assigned to them, US Senate investigation subcommittees might be formed. Sometimes, that really does happen.

A number of contractors were financed from special Black Ops secret accounts, while others were required to provide their own funding. The latter category was usually questionable and accomplished discretely.

On December 22, 1974, Seymour Hersh of the New York Times exposed activities involving 'Black Ops' contractors (Operation CHAOS). This contributed to the formation of not one but three separate subcommittees within three months: the Rockefeller Committee, the Pike Committee, and the Church Committee. This helps explain why, around that time, certain people 'died'—either physically or by fraudulent means. Those who shammed their deaths were quietly extracted and relocated outside the USA (see Table ‘C.’ below †). Their mantra became ‘the dead can’t talk…’ – especially to Senate subcommittees.

One person, involved for most of his adult life as a discrete, self-funded contractor who had 'No Official Cover' (NOC), is the focus of these manuscripts. His type of character led several lives, left no trails, and never documented any activity. This type of contractor was engaged by the CIA because no trail led back to them. The priority of these extraneous efforts by the agency was to achieve total deniability.

1941-12-07: The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. The United States enters WWII. The political, geographical, and human conditions of the world change forever. By the time the war ends, well over 70 million people will have died because of this conflict.

1942-06-13: The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was formed. The forerunner of today's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

1945-09-20: Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was dissolved. This left a big gap for foreign intelligence gathering and Special Activities (Black Ops).

1947-09-18: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was formed. Designated to gather foreign intelligence and perform Special Activities (Black Ops) when needed. The CIA is chartered to work only outside the USA.

1951: David Sanchez Morales † joined the CIA, using his U.S. Army career as a cover. David was a top CIA asset who took an active part in numerous infamous CIA missions during his career. He served at the JM/WAVE station in Miami, FL, and many other hotspots around the world.

1960-06-15: Grayston Lynch † is honorably discharged from the U.S. Army Special Forces (SFG) and joins the CIA Special Activities Division (SAD).

1961-01-20: John F. Kennedy (JFK) is elected 35th President of the United States (POTUS).

1961-03-01: The 11th Special Forces Group (SFG) was activated. Designated a reserve unit in combination with the 10th Special Forces Active Duty (10th SFG). The 3rd Battalion is headquartered in Miami, FL. Company A, 3rd Battalion, is stationed in Tampa, FL (John Adrian O'Hare † is soon attached to the 11th SFG in Tampa, FL). The 10th SFG engaged in operations in the African Congo during the Congo Crisis, which lasted from 1960 to 1965.

1961-04-17: The Bay of Pigs (BoP) invasion of Cuba by a CIA-sponsored paramilitary group led by CIA Officers Grayston Lynch † and Rip Robertson † fails. The force is made up of around 1,500 Cuban expatriates. 106 of them were killed during the invasion. 1,202 Cuban expatriates are captured, some dying later in different circumstances after their capture.

1963-10-22: John Adrian O’Hare † voluntarily leaves his civilian job in Orlando, FL. Very little is documented past this point. He becomes an enigma from then on.

1964-06-15: John Adrian O’Hare † starts construction of a ‘Vietnam Village’ (complete with an underground tunnel system) on 24,000 acres of land leased from local residents near Oviedo, FL. Construction is accomplished with the help of a US Marine Corps unit based in Orlando, FL, which provides men and equipment. US Army Special Forces (SFG) and CIA operatives train there for several years in this ‘off-the-grid’ location.

1965-02-02: Che Guevara leaves the African continent after visiting and is spotted in Communist China, as mentioned in the President's Daily Briefings (PDB).

1966-06-30: Richard Helms assumes the role of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI).

1969-01-20: Richard Nixon is elected 37th President of the United States (POTUS).

1972-06-17: The Watergate break-in occurs at the Democratic National Convention's (DNC) headquarters, which eventually leads to President Nixon’s resignation.

1973-02-02: James Schlesinger assumes the role of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI).

1973-05-07: James Schlesinger signs the directive ordering senior CIA officials to compile a report of all current and past operations that may have fallen outside the CIA's charter.

1973-09-04: William Colby † assumes the role of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI).

1973-09-11: The Chilean coup d'état occurred, supported by the CIA Special Activities Division (SAD) and other CIA assets. John Adrian O’Hare † is believed by many ‘in the know’ to have played a significant role in the operation on behalf of the CIA.

1973-12-15: The Bureau of Narcotics Covert Intelligence Network (BUNCIN) was created under the auspices of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD), later renamed the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Lucien Conein † becomes head of the agency and recruits Bob Medell in early 1973 and Grayston Lynch † in early 1974 from the CIA. After Watergate, the CIA’s ‘dirty tricks’ and assassination operations were moved from the CIA to BUNCIN, as the CIA was under tremendous scrutiny because of the Watergate fallout.

1974-01-15: John Adrian O’Hare † is tasked with setting up a money laundering operation for monies made from illegal CIA domestic activities. Several daycare centers were opened under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for this reason.

1974-08-09: Richard Nixon resigns as President of the United States of America (POTUS).

1974-12-22: A Seymour Hersh article appears in the New York Times exposing the existence of CIA improprieties under the Nixon Administration. This marks the beginning of the end of the CIA Special Operations Groups (SAC).

1975-01-27: The Church Committee is formed in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The US Senate votes to establish an eleven-member committee to look into abuses by the CIA, FBI, and NSA.

1975-02-19: The Pike Committee, formed by the US House of Representatives, votes to create a select committee to run its own parallel investigation of abuses by the intelligence community.

1976-01-30: George H. W. Bush assumes the role of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI).

1978-05-08: David Sanchez Morales † death certificate states he died from a heart attack. His wife requested that no autopsy be performed. Her wishes were respected, and his body was left pristine. Morales was on a first-name basis with top CIA operatives and the upper echelon. He had served alongside many of them, especially at JM/WAVE in Miami, FL, during the late 1950s and 1960s. His career in the CIA spanned over twenty years. He took part in operations around the globe, including Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, and Chile.

2007-06-27: CIA Family Jewels is finally published and contains almost all the documents in the original draft. Even after 30 years, most of the documents remain heavily redacted.

1.b. Penn Jones: A very accurate piece by someone using a pseudonym (very possibly a retired FBI Special Agent). The details are almost 100% accurate; they are closer than any other documentation. (On the right side, click on Page 2.)

4.b. CIA Family Jewels: Approximately thirty-four years later, most of the heavily redacted Family Jewels papers were finally released to the public.

7.b. Jim Hawes: Jim was a U.S. Navy UDT/SEAL who served in Vietnam and the African Congo. In his book, Jim Hawes wrote about his 'Congolese Navy’ in support of Col. Mike Hoare †. Hawes team were the ones who first identified Che Guevara and confirmed Che was actively conducting military operations in the Congo.

8.b. Renee Gough: Renee was a former U.S. Navy UDT/SEAL who died during his mission in the African Congo as a CIA-contracted demolition expert in 1964. Renee was a good friend of fellow U.S. Navy UDT/SEAL Jim Hawes and served with him in the African Congo. In 2016, Renee was finally given the CIA’s highest award, along with a star on the famed wall commemorating all those killed in the line of service with the CIA.

January 1976: The House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was formed to investigate the John F. Kennedy (JFK) and Martin Luther King (MLK) assassinations. Many witnesses conveniently died before they could be questioned, including six top FBI officials during a six-month period in 1977. The HSCA committee issued the 1979 report, concluding that JFK was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.

The Bureau of Narcotics Covert Intelligence Network (BUNCIN) was activated in December 1972. The official purpose was to gather long-range strategic intelligence covertly and carry out assassinations sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD), later renamed the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Many BUNCIN operators were Cuban anti-Castro assets. The question is: if this list is near accurate, how many assassinations could have been carried out by BUNCIN operators (notice a number were Mob, Castro-affiliated, CIA, etc., with whom BUNCIN was heavily involved)?

1.c. August 7, 1976: John Roselli, 71, a mobster who testified to the House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) and was to do so again, was found dismembered inside a metal drum in Biscayne Bay, Florida.

3.c. March 29, 1977: George DeMohrenschildt, 66, a CIA contract agent who was also a close friend to Lee Harvey Oswald, died of a gunshot wound before scheduled HSCA testimony. In a tape recording of his death, the burglar alarm is audible before the gunshot, indicating an intruder entered the home immediately before the shooting.

6.c. May 1977: Lou Staples, a Dallas, Texas, radio talk show host who told friends he would break the assassination case, died of a gunshot wound to the head.

7.c. June 1977: Louis Nichols, a former No. 3 man in the FBI, worked on the JFK assassination investigation. He was a special assistant to J. Edgar Hoover and Hoover's liaison with the Warren Commission. He died of a heart attack before his scheduled HSCA testimony was to take place.

8.c. August 1977: Alan H. Belmont, FBI special assistant to Hoover who testified to the Warren Commission, died after a long illness. Given that Nichols and Belmont worked directly for Hoover, they both most likely knew that Hoover had hard evidence that the CIA had set up Lee Harvey Oswald as a patsy. Which was why Hoover briefed Lyndon Johnson that he suspected the CIA was involved.

9.c. August 1977: James Cadigan was an FBI document expert with access to documents related to the death of John F. Kennedy (JFK). He testified to the Warren Commission but died due to a fall at his home before the scheduled HSCA testimony.

11.c. October 1977: Donald Kaylor was the FBI fingerprint expert who examined prints found at the assassination scene. He died of a heart attack before his scheduled HSCA testimony.

13.c. November 9, 1977: William C. Sullivan, 65, was the former number three boss at the FBI. He headed Division 5, the counter-espionage and domestic intelligence section. He was shot in an alleged hunting accident shortly after his preliminary meeting with the HSCA.

14.c. May 8, 1978: David Sanchez Morales †, 52, died of a heart attack following drinks with other CIA officers in Washington, D.C., just weeks before he was due to testify before the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). No autopsy was performed, as per his wife’s wishes.

15.c. November 18, 1978: Manuel Artime Buesa abruptly died of cancer in Miami before he was due to appear before the HSCA.

16.c. September 26, 1978: John Paisley, the former CIA’s Assistant Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Research, is found dead in Maryland’s Patuxent River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. His body was attached to diving weights, and he had a bullet wound in his head. Police investigators described it as ‘an execution-type murder.’ The ‘Office of Strategic Research’ is the branch of the CIA that monitors Soviet military movements and nuclear capabilities.

This is a list of suspected ‘back channel’ personnel. All were World War II (WWII) veterans. Most of them also served in Laos and Vietnam around the same time. What follows is the probable link between ‘upper echelon’ and ‘lower echelon’ CIA employees and ‘operatives’ in the field. These men are all heroes and were on a first-name basis with each other. I dare say none of the conversations were recorded, and most meetings took place in a clandestine environment.

The probable flow was from higher-echelon to mid-level to ‘in the field’ assets. The actual connections were likely cemented by the late 1950s. Around 1960, the back channels were fully open and ‘unofficial’ operations were underway. This is in effect the ‘Upper Echelon’ to ‘in the field’ connection, in which all that was communicated never made it into the infamous CIA Family Jewels memo.

1.e. William Egan Colby: Colby served in the U.S. Army during WWII with the OSS in Europe. He was a high-ranking CIA officer serving in Laos and Vietnam. Colby was later promoted through the ranks to Director of the CIA (DCI).

2.e. Theodore George ‘Ted’ Shackley: Ted was known as ‘The Blonde Ghost’. He was one of the most highly decorated CIA officers. Ted was in charge of the CIA’s JM/WAVE in Miami from 1961 to 1966. He was appointed Chief of Station in Laos from 1966 to 1968, and then Saigon Station Chief from 1968 to 1972. From 1972 to 1976, Shackley ran the CIA’s ‘Western Hemisphere Division’. Ted took over the division with one main mission in mind: regime change in Chile. That project was code-named FUBELT. He was appointed Associate Deputy Director for Operations, in charge of CIA covert operations, in 1976.

3.e. Lucien Emile Conein: Lucien was a U.S. Army officer during WWII and served in the OSS. Later, he was a CIA officer who served in Laos and Vietnam. He would eventually head the Bureau of Narcotics Covert Intelligence Network (BUNCIN), the CIA's way of transferring dirty operations and assassinations from the CIA to BNDD (later renamed DEA).

4.e. Grayston ‘Gray’ Lynch: Gray served in the U.S. Army during WWII (D-Day, Battle of the Bulge) and Korea (Heartbreak Ridge). He was in Laos and Vietnam in a U.S. Army Special Forces (SFG) capacity. He joined the Special Forces in 1950 and remained there until 1960, when he joined the CIA. Grayston’s initial posting in the CIA was to JM/WAVE in Miami as a paramilitary trainer. He was one of two CIA contractors (along with Rip Robertson †) at the Bay of Pigs, Cuba, and led the invasion while commanding the support ship ‘Blagar’. Grayston was given the CIA’s highest award for his role in the Bay of Pigs invasion. He was responsible for over 1,000 infiltration missions into Cuba and Latin America by CIA assets. He personally infiltrated Cuba 113 times during the 1960s. Grayston operated mainly out of Key West and Tampa, FL. He was later recruited by Lucien Conien † to join BUNCIN in early 1973.

5.e. William ‘Rip’ Robertson: Rip was a U.S. Marine Captain who served in the Pacific theater during WWII. Rip joined the CIA in 1947 as a ‘Paramilitary Operations Officer’ in their famed Special Activities Division (SAD). By 1961, he was assigned to JM/WAVE in Miami. Rip commanded the ‘Barbara J’ support vessel at the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. He was one of only two U.S. personnel (along with Grayston Lynch †) to be directly involved in the invasion. During the mid-1960s, he led a band of Cuban exiles that supported Col. Mike Hoare’s † operations in the African Congo against Che Guevara. Che had Cuban soldiers, Simba rebels, and Soviet forces (‘advisors’) at his disposal. The Congo Operation took place with the full support and backing of the CIA. This was later confirmed in the Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB). Rip served in Laos in the late 1960s and left in 1970, returning to the U.S.A. under emergency leave due to malaria. He died from the effects of malaria shortly after his arrival in Dallas, Texas.

6.e. David 'El Indio' Sanchez Morales: Morales was born on August 26, 1925, and joined the U.S. Army in 1946 and was discharged in 1953. After boot camp David trained as a paratrooper and served in the 82nd Airborne division as part of the WWII Allied occupation force in Germany. He was recruited into US Army intelligence in 1947. Morales joined the CIA in 1951, using his Army career as a cover. He was closely involved in numerous top CIA operations. Stationed in Cuba during 1958 he supported the Fulgencio Batista regime. In 1961 he was posted at the largest CIA station in the US, JM/WAVE in Miami, Florida. Other operations include the Bay of Pigs invasion, the hunt and capture of Che Guevara, the the secret war in Laos, and the Chilean coup d'état of 1973 among many others.

1.f. John ‘Jack’ Adrian O'Hare: Jack was ‘The Invisible Man’, who supplied training, materials, and intelligence to CIA assets. He was also involved in ‘super-secret’ operations such as the Chilean Overthrow and clandestine intelligence and counterintelligence operations. He worked directly with Grayston Lynch †, Rip Robertson †, and David Sanchez Morales †, among others. Furthermore, he maintained a super-secret role as the invisible link between the CIA and external assets. Basically, he was the direct link between the CIA’s ‘Old Boy Network’, contracted CIA assets, and ‘external resources’. He would at times describe himself as the ‘unit scrounger’ (responsible for finding related materials necessary to achieve an objective by beg, borrow, or trade).

2.f. Col. Thomas Michael ‘Mad Mike’ Hoare: Mike had a checkered role as a mercenary and commanded both 4 Commando and 5 Commando (later 10 Commando). His most famous mission, fully backed by the CIA and mentioned in the Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB), was the Congo Affair. The PDB was read only by President Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) and mentions Mike’s activities in the African Congo and his successful suppression of Communist threats. His mercenary unit was equipped and directly supported with CIA-supplied materials, waterborne support, and land-based support units (such as Rip Robertson † and his band of Cuban exiles). The Congo Operation was a direct response to Che Guevara’s attempts to spread communism in Africa, especially in the Congo area. Mike resided full-time on the African continent during these operations and called Africa his home.

1.h. Bureau of Narcotics Covert Intelligence Network (BUNCIN) was created under the auspices of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD). The BNDD was later renamed the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

BUNCIN was activated in December 1972, just six months after the Watergate break-in. The official purpose was to gather long-range strategic intelligence covertly and carry out assassinations sponsored by the CIA under the BNDD. Many of the BUNCIN operators were Cuban anti-Castro assets and former CIA Special Activity Division (SAD) members such as Lucien Conien † and Grayston Lynch †.

2.h. The Question: If this timeline is near accurate, how many operations and assassinations were carried out by BUNCIN operators on behalf of the CIA? There were a number of groups, such as the Mob, CIA, and Castro-affiliated, with whom BUNCIN was heavily involved during this period. Keep in mind that the Watergate break-in (June 17, 1972) severely hampered the CIA’s ability to carry out its missions because of heavy scrutiny by the U.S. Congress. CIA covert missions continued but were now under the guise of the war on drugs and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

1.i. David Sanchez Morales: In 1978, David was in Washington, D.C., on business. Before leaving, he had a few drinks with old colleagues, then took a flight home to Arizona. On the way back, Morales suddenly took ill. That night, David had a massive heart attack. It took the ambulance five hours to get him to the hospital. And worse, the ambulance did not carry oxygen. A week later, David died in an Arizona hospital. This occurred just weeks before he was due to testify before the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). Several of his longtime Arizona friends became suspicious of him because of the circumstances surrounding his death. A short interview with his friends was recorded. It paints a picture of the man and their concern over his sudden demise just before his scheduled HSCA testimony.

His death certificate states he died of a heart attack on May 8th, 1978. His wife requested that no autopsy be performed. Her wishes were respected, and his body was left pristine.

Morales was on a first-name basis with top CIA staff serving alongside many of them, especially at JM/WAVE in Miami, FL, during the late 1950s and 1960s.

He was an aggressive and accomplished CIA agent with a long and active history spanning the Americas, Asia, and Europe. His missions and life should be the subject of their own manuscript. He was involved in some manner with most top CIA operations within this timeline.

2.i. Worth Noting: It is worth noting that both David Sanchez Morales † and John Adrian O’Hare † both worked on similar projects such as JM/WAVE, the pursuit of Che Guevara, and the Chilean coup d'état of 1973. More importantly, both men were of similar age, members of the WWII Allied occupation force in Germany, and both died of alleged heart attacks. Even more notable, both men did not have autopsies and were hastily buried. The question is: was this one way of avoiding investigations by Senate subcommittees and the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) investigations?

3.i. Bernard ‘Bud’ Fensterwald III: It is known by reliable and informed sources that the CIA used a Washington, D.C., lawyer named Bud Fensterwald.

WerBell and McCord were directly involved with CIA operations, as were other characters Fensterwald represented, such as Richard Case Nagell and John Paisley.

One interesting thought is: if Fensterwald represented so many CIA-affiliated people, why did he also represent assassin James Earl Ray? Could the CIA have wanted to ensure Ray was convicted and acted alone? Or so it would not become associated with domestic operations and the assassination of Martin Luther King?

Another interesting case was documented: Fensterwald had personally interacted with at least one news producer, private investigator, and FBI special agent related to this manuscript. His apparent mission was to throw them off the trail of John Adrian O’Hare † in any way possible. No effort was spared; his mission was to ensure no one could prove he was still alive after March 1975. He was determined to keep anyone off the trail of O’Hare, and he even employed third parties to assist in the effort. This includes a man named Col. William Bishop, U.S. Army, whom Fensterwald insisted was O’Hare. He was proven wrong by an NBC News producer. In 1984, they submitted a new set of prints taken directly from Bishop to the FBI. The man fingerprinted was actually Bishop, a reported convicted child molester from Georgia.

4.i. FBI Special Agent Don Miller: Don Miller was a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). What makes him interesting is his extended pursuit of John Adrian O’Hare †.

After O’Hare supposedly died in 1975, Miller and a fellow FBI agent formally interviewed the immediate family. The official reason was along the lines of ‘impersonation of a CIA officer.’ One of O’Hare’s associates had filed the complaint with the FBI. Shortly after the interview, the investigation was shut down by higher-ups. The official reason given was that it was accepted by the local Orange County, FL, coroner that O’Hare died on March 23, 1975. This should have been the end of the investigation, since the subject was officially declared deceased.

Agent Don Miller was still convinced that O’Hare was indeed alive. For years, Miller communicated with the O’Hare family and tried to obtain information to back up his claim.

After Miller retired from the FBI, he pursued a more direct means of finding O’Hare. An article in the Penn Jones newsletter, written under an acknowledged alias, contained numerous details about O’Hare that few could have known except Miller. That was followed by his contacting an NBC News producer in New York City and telling his version of the story. The producer began a background investigation. They even went as far as to fly to Texas to converse with Col. William Bishop, who some insisted was O’Hare. They obtained Bishop’s fingerprints, which were run through the FBI's New York field office. The prints confirmed it was not O’Hare but, in fact, Bishop, a reported convicted child molester.

The NBC producer eventually contacted O’Hare’s son, Thomas, by phone several times and discussed the story. Thomas recorded conversations strictly as a precaution. The final call informed him that the story did not appear to be of interest to their viewers. What struck Thomas as odd was that during that call, the producer included the fact that his father was deeply involved in the Chilean overthrow of 1973, plus the belief that he was involved with the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963. Also disclosed was that Bud Fensterwald † was heavily involved in their current research. He had even engaged an author to appear to be writing a book about O’Hare, which never transpired.

After hearing the numerous details the producer had uncovered, Thomas did not agree that the story was of little interest to the public. He believes the story was ‘shut down’ by outside influences. What reinforces his assumption is that the final call seemed to inform him of the facts pertaining to operations his father was involved in, rather than just saying there was no story.

This ended Miller’s expedition and his last known effort to find John Adrian O’Hare alive.

5.i. Changes to ‘Contracting’ Over the Years: The methodologies and scope of clandestine contracting have changed dramatically over the years. During the period covered in this story, contractors were quietly, if not secretly, recruited by security agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As the years went on, the type and scope of security and intelligence contracting expanded exponentially, especially after the attacks on America on 9/11 (2001). Since then, the contracting of security, logistical, and acquisition services has been expanded and escalated to the private domain. Currently, government agencies routinely create public civilian corporations or entice private citizens to create establishments to do the work the government itself cannot do efficiently. Governments worldwide face increasing red tape, scrutiny, and restrictions placed against them. This led to the expansion of private institutions founded to do exactly what government agencies used to do through covert means. Some of the benefits of following this scheme are expedited funding, faster development, and quicker implementation of whatever the government security agencies require. This practice will continue, if not greatly increase, as the 21st century unfolds.

6.i. James Richards: A special acknowledgment and thanks to James; he was an important source of information, especially in the early days of this research. The exchange of privileged information began twenty or so years ago. His verified information exposed the scope and complexity of the story. I believe him to be one of the most careful and dedicated researchers in the world on the events mentioned in the posting.

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