Intelligence / Agencies / Private Sector

Hougan, Jim. Spooks: The Haunting of America -- The Private Use of Secret Agents. New York: Bantam Books, 1979. 481 pages.

A ground-breaking investigative survey of parapolitical America, "Spooks" was one of the first books to report on the privatization of the intelligence function: the application of intelligence practices to commercial activities, and the emergence of CIAs-for-hire in the private sector. Within this general framework, Hougan unearths great chunks of America's "secret history." The war between Jimmy Hoffa and the Kennedy family is seen to have had a public and a private side, with the latter fought by countermeasures genius Bernard Spindel against "an archipelago" of public and private intelligence agencies working for Bobby and Jack.

Calling Howard Hughes "an American Dracula," Hougan offers a blow-by- blow account of the bedside battle fought by Intertel and former CIA agent Robert Maheu for control over the drug-addicted billionaire's body and empire. Other sections of the book describe Robert Vesco's assault on Investors Overseas Services; Richard Nixon's "French connection" to industrialist Paul Louis Weiller; the efforts of paramilitary wizard Mitch WerBell and CIA superspook Lucien Conein to introduce a "final solution" to the War on Drugs; and the World War II background of Japanese and German agents who played key roles in the Lockheed bribery scandal. Packed with anecdotes, footnotes, and proper names, "Spooks" is a classic.


O'Toole, George. The Private Sector: Private Spies, Rent-a-Cops, and the Police-Industrial Complex. New York: W.W. Norton, 1978. 250 pages.

A former chief of the CIA's Problems Analysis Branch, George O'Toole began writing magazine articles in the 1970s and in 1975 wrote "The Assassination Tapes" (Penthouse Press), which used a psychological stress evaluator to analyze audio tapes of JFK witnesses, including Oswald, to try and determine who was lying.

This book looks at the threat to civil liberties from private-sector intelligence and investigative firms such as Burns, Pinkerton, and Wackenhut, which are often hired by big corporations for activities ranging from employee screening and strike-breaking to anti-terrorist security and competitor counterintelligence. The gray area between public and private is represented by the Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit and the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. Private record-keeping systems, politicians and their private plumber units, lock-picking and security systems, and the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration's funding for private merchandising of police hardware are also covered. O'Toole believes that the public criminal justice system has ceased to work, and with the strain on tax revenues, this trend will continue. Those with assets will always be willing to spend part of what they have in order to protect the rest, so the private sector is moving in to fill the vacuum.

Here are the names most frequently mentioned in the above books:

    ALLEN RICHARD VINCENT     ALTER SEYMOUR     AMERICAN TELEPHONE TELEGRAPH     ANDERSON SECURITY CONSULTANTS     ANGLETON JAMES JESUS     ARAMCO      ASHLEY JAMES H     AUDIO INTELLIGENCE DEVICES     BACON RANULPH ROBERT MAUNSELL     BAHAMAS CIA IN     BAISE GARY     BAST RICHARD     BEHN SOSTHENES     BELISLE DAVID I     BELL ALLAN D JR     BELLINO CARMINE SALVATORE     BENNETT ROBERT FOSTER (R-UT)     BERTSCHE RALPH     BOSCH ORLANDO     BOUCHARD CONRAD     BRANNON J O     BROTHERHOOD ETERNAL LOVE     BROWN ROBERT KENNETH     BULEN L KEITH     BURNS WILLIAM J (DETECTIVE)     BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL     CAMING WILLIAM     CASEY CHARLES E     CASPER NORMAN     CASTLE BANK     CAULFIELD JACK J     CELLINI EDDIE     CHESLER LOU ARTHUR     CHURCH LEAGUE AMERICA     CLAPP SAM     CLELAND DAVID I     COLSON CHARLES WENDELL     CONEIN LUCIEN     CORNFELD BERNIE     CREOLE PETROLEUM COMPANY     CROSBY JAMES M     DATA GENERAL CORPORATION     DAVIS CHESTER (HOWARD HUGHES AIDE)     DAVIS RALPH E     DE FREEZE DONALD DAVID     DEKTOR COUNTERINTELLIGENCE     DUCOTE JEROME     DURHAM DOUGLAS     EDWARDS SHEFFIELD     ELLSBERG DANIEL     EMMERGLICK LEONARD J     EQUIFAX INC     EXNER JUDITH CAMPBELL     FACTUAL SERVICE BUREAU     FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE     FENSTERWALD BERNARD JR (BUD)     FERRIE DAVID WILLIAM     FIDELITY REPORTING SERVICE     FIGUERES JOSE (DON PEPE)     FIGUERES MARTI     FORD MOTOR COMPANY     FOX B.R. COMPANY     FRANK JOHN JOSEPH     FUNKHOUSER RICHARD     GALINDEZ JESUS DE     GAY BILL (FRANK WILLIAM GAY)     GERATY FRANKLIN R     GERRITY JOHN F     GIANCANA SAM     GOLDBERG SIDNEY (GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES EXCHANGE)     GOLDEN JAMES O     GONZALEZ VIRGINO     GOODWIN LEO JR     GRAVITT T O     GRAYDON STUART F     GROVES WALLACE (MEYER LANSKY ASSOCIATE)     HADDAD WILLIAM F     HALL ROBERT DUKE     HANES ARTHUR J SR     HARTFORD HUNTINGTON     HARTKE VANCE (D-IN)     HARVEY WILLIAM KING     HAUGHTON DANIEL JEREMIAH     HAYES AIRCRAFT CORPORATION     HEADLEY LAKE     HENRY RAY     HERNANDEZ RUMBAUT CARLOS (TRAFFICKER)     HITCHCOCK WILLIAM MELLON     HOLCOMB JACK N     HOLOHAN WILLIAM (MAJ)     HOWAR BARBARA     HUGHES HOWARD R     HUNDLEY WILLIAM G     HUNT E HOWARD     HUNT HAROLDSON LAFAYETTE     HUNT NELSON BUNKER     HUNT WILLIAM HERBERT     ICARDI ALDO     INFORMATION DIGEST     INSTITUTE DEFENSE ANALYSES     INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION CHIEFS POLICE     INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES     INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATORS INC     INTERNATIONAL POLICE ACADEMY     INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE TELEGRAPH     INTERTEL      INVESTORS OVERSEAS SERVICES     IRVING CLIFFORD     IRVING EDITH     ITKIN HERBERT     JAFFE RICHARD E     KELLEY CLARENCE M     KELLY JOHN LOUIS     KELLY VINCE     KENNEDY ROBERT FRANCIS     KHASHOGGI ADNAN     KIERNAN THOMAS (AUTHOR)     KING WILLIAM R     KIRK CLAUDE ROY JR     KODAMA YOSHIO     KOLAR WILLIAM A     KROGH EGIL (BUD)     LANSKY MEYER     LAW ENFORCEMENT INTELLIGENCE UNIT     LEBLANC JULES     LEBLANC ROGER     LEGION JUSTICE     LEWIS EDWARD D     LEWIS WAYNE M     LIPSET HAL (HAROLD)     LOCKHEED CORPORATION     LODOLCE CARL     LONGWORTH EDGAR L (NICK)     LUDWIG DANIEL KEITH     LUGAR RICHARD GREEN (R-IN)     LYNN CARROLL M     MACKEM WALTER     MAHEU ROBERT AIME     MARCELLO CARLOS     MARY CARTER PAINT COMPANY     MASFERRER ROLANDO     MCCLINTIC STEPHEN     MCCORD JAMES W JR     MCCRARY TEX (JOHN REAGAN MCCRARY)     MCDONALD LAWRENCE PATTON     MCKEON THOMAS J     MCKISSACK LUKE     MCLANEY MICHAEL J     MEIER JOHN HERBERT     MELLON KAREN LEIGH BOYD     MELLON SEWARD PROSSER     MILLER GEORGE C     MORGAN JOHN PIERPONT (1867-1943)     MORGAN ROBERT BURREN (D-NC)     MORRISSEY MICHAEL     MOTT STEWART RAWLINGS     MULDOON JOHN PATRICK     MULLEN ROBERT R     MURPHY GERALD LESTER     MURPHY HARRY J     NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ACADEMY     NEAL JAMES F     NEILL HAROLD A     NOYES PETER     OBRIEN LAWRENCE FRANCIS     OCONNELL JAMES P     OLIVER MICHAEL     OLIVER R SPENCER     ONASSIS ARISTOTLE     OTEPKA OTTO F     PELLICANO ANTHONY JOSEPH     PELOQUIN ROBERT DOLAN     PETERS ROBERT (PRIVATE EYE)     PETERSEN HENRY EDWARD     PINDLING LYNDEN OSCAR     PINKERTONS NATIONAL DETECTIVE AGENCY     PISTELL RICHARD CHADWICK     POMERLEAU DONALD D     POSSE COMITATUS     PRESTI JOSEPH     PROBINSKY DAVID     PROJECT MERRIMAC     PUROLATOR SECURITY INC     REBOZO CHARLES G (BEBE)     REDDING GERALD R     REES JOHN HERBERT     REES SHEILA LOUISE     REILLY JOHN F     RESORTS INTERNATIONAL     RETAIL CREDIT COMPANY     RICHARDSON THOMAS P     ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION     ROSSELLI JOHN     ROTHERMEL PAUL M     ROUDEBUSH RICHARD     RUCKELSHAUS WILLIAM DOYLE     RUSSELL LOUIS JAMES     RYAN GEORGE W     SANDS STAFFORD     SCHMAHL HORACE W     SER VAAS BEURT RICHARD     SHELTON TURNER B     SHERIDAN WALTER     SHIMON JOSEPH     SOCIETY FORMER SPECIAL AGENTS FBI     SPINDEL BERNARD R     SPINDEL ELIOT     SPOFFORD CHARLES MERVILLE     STATEN WILLIAM J     STEWART JOHN (DNC)     STIRLING DAVID     SUMMA CORPORATION     TAGGERT RAYMOND A     TAYLOR HOBART     TRAFFICANTE SANTO JR     TRUJILLO RAFAEL LEONIDAS     UFFINGER DON     ULASEWICZ ANTHONY T     VESCO ROBERT LEE     WACKENHUT CORPORATION     WACKENHUT GEORGE R     WEILLER PAUL LOUIS     WERBELL MITCHELL LIVINGSTON III     WESTBROOK COLSTON     WESTERN RESEARCH     WILCOX C TIMOTHY     WILLIAMS EDWARD BENNETT     WOLFE WILLIE (SLA)     WOOLSTON-SMITH ARTHUR JAMES     ZAVALA ANTHONY V

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