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Welcome two part three of my examination of the life and times of
Federal Bureau of Narcotics officers and CIA asset George Hunter White.
In part
one
of this series I outlined White's longstanding ties to the United
States intelligence community, which stretch back to said community's
infancy during World War II. White was an officer and trainer for the
OSS, the predecessor to the CIA, who churned out such pupils as future CIA directors Richard
Helms and William
Colby as well as uber powerful department heads such as Frank
Wisner and James Jesus
Angleton.
White was also involved in forging alliances with various organized
crime syndicates as well as conducting assassinations and field
experiments with 'truth drugs,' chiefly marijuana.
In part
two
I began to examine White's post-WWII intelligence working, including
his continued ties to various underworld figures such as Pierre Lafitte,
a man with close ties to every key member of the notorious French
Connection, as well as his work on MK-
Ultra,
one of the CIA's most notorious ventures into truth drugs and mind
control. More on MK-Ultra and other such programs can be found
here and
here.
As far as MK-Ultra is concerned, White is most well known for a series
of safehouses that he established first in New York City and later San
Francisco. At these safehouses White conducted experiments with a whole
host of drugs given to him by the CIA, most notably LSD. White also
apparently conducted various sexual experiments (that also involved
drugs in many cases) with the aid of local prostitutes that lured johns
back to the San Francisco safehouses from time to time. White did not
restrict his experiments to the safehouses, however. White also took
a sick pleasure in dosing friends and associates with LSD in his private
life. These incidents were apparently outside of his work on MK-Ultra
(officially) and frequently disastrous.
"White's 1953 and 1954 date book entries reveal that he drugged at least
seven unwitting people for no apparent reason other than to see the
effects of LSD on unsuspecting people. One woman drugged by White during
a dinner party at his home had required brief hospitalization. Another
woman, a friend of his wife, suffered long-term effects from the drug
and subsequently required psychiatric treatment for over thirty-five
years. A young aspiring actress who lived in the same apartment building
as the Whites was drugged in 1954 and hours later had found herself on
the roof of the building, contemplating jumping to escape the monsters
trying to drive her mad."
(A Terrible Mistake, H.P. Albarelli Jr., pg. 279)
White seems to have had a perverse fascination with dosing people
unwittingly with LSD. Liz Evans, a former aspiring actress and sometime
prostitute who worked for White during his time in San Francisco,
recounted this peculiar fetish.
"Evans remembers that White 'three or four times at his house' dosed
people with LSD 'just for fun.' She recalls, 'He gave it to me once and I
hated every minute of it. I told him if he ever did it again that would
be the last time he did it to anyone.'
"Evans also recalls that White, or 'someone who worked with him...
sometime around 1959 or 1960,' dosed 'a really pretty, blond-haired
waitress at [San Francisco's] Black Sheep bar.' Says Evans, 'her name
was Ruth [Kelly] and George wanted her to take part in things, but she
had no interest, so he, or someone he told to, dosed her with LSD.'
Kelly, who also performed as a singer at the bar, was dosed during one
of her singing performances in 1960, according to CIA documents. Evans
says, as CIA document confirm, 'She nearly flipped out during her set,
but somehow managed to hold on. After she finished, she ran outside and
got a cab to take her to the hospital. A few days later she was okay.'"
(ibid, pg. 290)
Considering how many of George White's former associates recall him
dosing unwitting peoples with acid, it seems pretty safe to assume the
above-mentioned instances were not isolated. Virtually all such
instances were outside his role in MK-Ultra, at least officially. By all
accounts, however, his actual test subjects for MK-Ultra at the
safehouses did not fair much better. Besides LSD, a whole host of other
exotic drugs were also toyed with, typically with disturbing results.
"In addition to LSD, which they knew could cause serious, if not fatal
problems, TSS officials gave White even more exotic experimental drugs
to test, drugs that other Agency contractors may or may not have already
used on human subjects. 'If we were scared enough of a drug not to try
it out on ourselves, we sent it to San Francisco,' recalls a TSS source.
According to a 1963 report by CIA Inspector General John Earman, 'In a
number of instances, however, the test subject has become ill for hours,
including hospitalization in at least one case, and [White] could only
follow up by guarded inquiry after the test subject's return to normal
life. Possible sickness and attendant economic lose are inherent
contingent effects of testing.'"
(The Search for the "Manchurian Candidate", John Marks, pgs. 105-106)
While it's impossible to tell just how many victims White tallied during
the 1950s and early 1960s, the number is seemingly significant. Another
mystery is just how long White's safehouse operation lasted.
"The MKULTRA crew continued unwitting testing until the summer of 1963
when the Agency's Inspector General stumbled across the safehouses
during a regular inspection of TSS activities. This happened not long
after Director John McCone had appointed John Earman to the Inspector
General position. Much to the displeasure of Sid Gottlieb and Richard
Helms, Earman questioned the propriety of the safehouses, and insisted
that Director McCone be given a full briefing. Although President
Kennedy had put McCone in charge of the Agency the year before, Helms
--the professional's professional --had not bothered to tell his
outsider boss about some of the CIA's most sensitive activities,
including the safehouses and the CIA-Mafia assassination plots. Faced
with Earman's demands, Helms --surely one of history's most clever
bureaucrats --volunteered to tell McCone himself about the safehouses
(rather than have Earman present a negative view of the program). Sure
enough, Helms told Earman afterward, McCone raised no objections to
unwitting testing (as Helms described it). A determined man and a rather
brave one, Earman countered with a full written report to McCone
recommending that the safehouses be closed. The Inspector General cited
the risks of exposure and pointed out that many people both inside and
outside the Agency found 'the concepts involved in manipulating human
behavior... to be distasteful and unethical.' McCone reacted by putting
off a final decision by suspending unwitting testing in the meantime.
Over the next years, Helms, who then headed the Clandestine Services,
wrote at least three memos urging resumption. He cited 'indications...
of an apparent Soviet aggressiveness in the field of covertly
administered chemicals which are, to say the least, inexplicable and
disturbing,' and he claimed the CIA's 'psotive operational capacity to
use drugs is diminishing owing to a lack of realistic testing.' To
Richard Helms, the importance of the program exceeded the risks and the
ethical question, although he did admit, 'We have no answer to them oral
issue.' McCone simply did nothing for two years. The director's
indecision had the effect of killing the program, nevertheless. TSS
officials closed the San Francisco safehouse in 1965 and the New York
one in 1966."
(ibid, pgs. 108-109)
 |
| Richard Helms (top) and John McCone (bottom) |
There were actually at least five known safehouses, two in New York City, two in San Francisco, and one in Mill
Valley,
located about 14 miles north of San Fran (the Agency apparently liked
the isolation of this safehouse). What's more, its interesting to note
that White's safehouse operations were winding down right around the
time San Francisco's grassroots acid scene was emerging. By the time
1965 rolled around, the streets were full of acidheads the CIA could
(and did) study, making White's operation superfluous. Coincidence?
Before wrapping up with White, there are potential episodes in his life I
would like to address. One is White's possible ties to Candy
Jones,
the former model and pin-up girl who later claimed to be the victim of a
CIA mind control plot that created an alternative personality in her
mind. Jones claimed that this process was accomplished through hypnosis
and that her first session occurred in San Francisco during the year
1960.
"San Francisco was a hotbed of MK-ULTRA activity in the 1960s,
incorporating everything from drugs to hypnosis and, later, to
paranormal and occult research. In 1955, MK-ULTRA operator George
White... had moved to San Francisco from New York City, where he had run
a 'safehouse' that was used to test the effects of various drugs on
prostitutes and their clients via two-way mirrors and the like. He set
up an identical operation on Telegraph Hill, and wired it for sound,
bringing in hookers, their johns, and eventually a whole assortment of
local characters, both underworld and 'civilian.' George White's
operation in San Francisco went on until the summer of 1963, covering
the time of Candy Jones' first visit to the hypnotist in the autumn of
1960. Thus, there was a proven CIA presence in San Francisco under the
auspices of the MK-ULTRA mind control program at the time of her
recruitment..."
(Sinister Forces Book I, Peter Levenda, pgs. 317-318)
 |
| Candy Jones |
I've found nothing to indicate that White had any actual contact with
Jones, but as one of the CIA's main MK-Ultra operators it seems likely
their paths would have crossed during his time in San Francisco if her
story is true. Given White's love of pretty women and celebrities, it
seems unlikely George could have been kept away. What's more, there is
some indication that associates of White hypnotized at least one of the
prostitutes, Liz Evans (who was mentioned previously), who worked for
White during his San Francisco days.
"Asked if White or anyone associated with him had ever hypnotized her,
Evans says, 'We used to play these crazy games at that, hypnosis and
like that, yes, I think I was hypnotized once by a friend of George's.'
She does not remember who it was or where."
(A Terrible Mistake, H.P. Albarelli Jr., pg. 290)
Candy Jones has been linked by many conspiracy researchers to Project
Monarch
(the existence of which is highly controversial even within conspiracy
circles), an alleged mind control program that employs drugs, hypnosis
and sexual abuse, among others things, to create alternative
personalities in 'recruits.' Certainly White was involved in his fair
share of drug and sexual experimentations (both for the CIA and in his
private life) and associated with many psychiatrists over the years
skilled in hypnosis, all of which is consistent with Monarch theories.
It's interesting to note that several of White's former OSS pupils, most
notably future CIA director William
Colby, have also been linked with Monarch.
Finally, I would also like to address allegations of George White's role in the death of Frank
Olson, for years the only human being the CIA admitted to testing LSD on. I've already written extensively on the Olson affair
here and
here, so I will be brief here. Olson was a U.S. Army biological warfare specialist employed at Fort
Detrick in the early 1950s. There Olson came into contact with CIA officials and was eventually dosed with LSD by Sidney
Gottlieb
himself at a West Virginia retreat attended by Army scientists and CIA
personnel. Shortly thereafter Olson had a nervous breakdown ending in
his suicide on November 28, 1953. Or at least that's the official story
anyway. A growing body of evidence has emerged that Olson, who plunged
to his death from a thirteenth story window, was murdered, though much
debate remains as to who was the killer.
In 2007 acclaimed author and researcher Gordon
Thomas published a book called
Secrets and Lies that fingered White as Olson's killer. H.P. Albarelli Jr., whose
A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments
is easily the definitive account of the Olson saga (as well as the
CIA's role in the spread of LSD), strongly disputed Thomas' allegations.
"... One of Thomas' most sensational assertions is that George Hunter
White killed Frank Olson, a claim that he skillfully formats as having
come out of the mouth of Eric Olson: 'According to Eric Olson's
reconstruction, what happened was this: White entered Frank Olson's room
in the early hours of that November morning... White delivered his
famous blow and then hurled Olson from the window.
"According to Thomas, White's 'famous blow' was the same that he used in
Calcutta 'to kill a Chinese spy... with one fist blow of such
sufficient force that it made a hole in the man's skull.' [... White
actually shot the spy. Eric Olson, having read White's 1953 date book,
was well aware that White was not in New York on the night in question.]
"In support of his claim that White murdered Olson, Thomas offers no
evidence other than statements he attributes to deceased CIA official
William Buckley. Buckley, Thomas claims, was assigned by DCI Dulles in
1953 to look into the death of Frank Olson. However, in 1953 Buckley was
still attending college and had not yet been recruited by the CIA. Even
after he was employed by the Agency, he was never involved in MKULTRA
work and never assigned to Dr. Gottlieb's TSS branch as Thomas claimed.
"Thomas's account of White killing Olson is indeed fascinating and
provocative stuff, but one problem with it is that White, at the time of
Olson's death, was over 3,000 miles away, having departed New York on
November 10, 1953 for California to help his father arrange for the
burial of his mother who passed away on November 26, 1953...
"Other claims by Thomas appear to be a bit over the line even to the
harshest of CIA and Army critics. But the primary reason for discounting
Thomas' assertions about the death of Frank Olson is simply that they
do not square with the evidence and, instead, dovetail with official
versions that were clearly intended as cover up."
(A Terrible Mistake, H.P. Albarelli Jr., pgs. 673-674)
 |
| Gordan Thomas |
While Albarelli strongly disputes George White as Olson's actual killer,
he compellingly argues that White was involved. Sources revealed to
Albarelli that White was supposed to be assisting CIA agent Robert
Lashbrook, the man who chaperoned Olson threw New York during his final
days. White, however, was forced to drop out due to the sudden illness
of his mother that required his attention in California. Before leaving
he sent Pierre Lafitte (of whom much more is written on in part
two of this series), the long time Corsican
mafia associate, to assist Lashbrook. Lafitte in turn brought in Francois
Spirito, a high ranking Corsican mobster, to aid him with Olson on the night of the chemist's death.
"Why or how Lafitte enlisted the assistance of Spirito is unknown. What
we do know is that Spirito had been unexpectedly released from federal
prison in Atlanta and had journeyed to New York the week before Olson
arrived there with Ruwet and Lashbrook. Spirito's long acquittance with
Lafitte is a matter of historical record.
"Details of what happened the night that Olson died are still somewhat
vague because neither Albert nor Neal would go into specific details.
"At some point during Olson's last night in New York, Neal explained,
Lashbrook had become concerned that 'Olson was once again becoming
unhinged.' Before Olson and Lashbrook retired for the night, the
decision was made that 'it would be best' if Olson were transported back
to Maryland for confinement at Chestnut Grove... but by means other
than the commercial flight Lashbrook had booked for the next day.
"The alternative plan involved Lafitte and Spirito, apparently as
personal escorts for Olson. Said one source, 'White would have been the
ideal alternative, perhaps along with Lafitte, but e was in California.'
That Spirito had just been released form prison in Atlanta where he had
been a subject of Dr. Carl Pfeiffer's 'psychic experiments' was either
overlooked or unknown. 'I don't think anyone knew where he had come from
or where he had been; he was recruited by Lafitte,' said Albert.
"According to Albert and Neal, when a late night 'attempt was made to
remove a subdued Olson from the room to transport him by automobile to
Maryland,' things went drastically wrong. The short and entire
explanation is that '[Olson] resisted and in the ensuing struggle he was
pitched through the closed window.'"
(ibid, pgs. 692-693)
 |
| I believe Spirito is the one on the left |
The above mentioned Dr. Carl
Pfeiffer
conducted experiments at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in the 1950s
and early 1960s that involved inducing psychotic states with LSD.
Pfeiffer's experiments bare many similarities to the work Dr. Ewen
Cameron did for the CIA as part of his ventures into 'psychic
driving.'
Cameron's work has in turn been closely associated with Project
Monarch, the alleged mind control project designed to create alternative
personalities that are capable of assassinations, among other things.
 |
| Dr. Carl Pfeiffer |
And it is here that I shall wrap things up. George White played an
enormous role both in the early Cold War activities of the CIA as well
spurring the acid scene that emerged in the United States in the early
1960s. During World War II White trained several of the most influential
and powerful figures in the early CIA. He also became deeply involved
in early US intelligence ventures into assassinations and truth drugs.
Once WWII was over and the Cold War was heating up White was brought
back into the intelligence fold so that his 'expertise' and first hand
experience in such things could be put to work in the field.
White was a major player in the early days of LSD. He advised Sidney
Gottlieb, the MK-Ultra head, and was involved in the legendary death of
Frank Olson. But more importantly, he was instrumental in the spread of
LSD in both New York City and San Francisco. Both cities, but especially
the city by the Bay, were major players in the emerging acid subculture
that would become big business in the 1960s. Not only did White dose
countless individuals in his safehouses, but also friends and
acquaintances, some knowingly, some not. While Albert 'Captain Trips'
Hubbard, a man who White trained during his OSS days, is generally
described as the 'Johnny Appleseed of LSD,' his former boss certainly
did more than his fair share.
While this alone would be a enough to ensure White's notoriety, there
are even stranger aspects of his life that researchers have only skimmed
the surface of. The implications of his ties to Pierre Lafitte, a man
involved in the international heroin trade, the Corsican and American
mafias, and possibly even the JFK assassination and cover up, a
startling. White himself is not without vague links to the Kennedy
assassination as well, i.e. his interview with Jack Ruby. Indeed, there
are few unsavory aspects of the CIA's early Cold War policy that White
does not appear in. This combined with his access to high ranking CIA
officials implies that White may even have devised some of these
policies.
As with many things of this nature, we shall likely never know whether
White was simply a loyal soldier or an actual agenda setter. All we can
be certain of is that he was ever present in the underbelly of the US
intelligence community in its early years and that his reach was wide,
well beyond that acid tests he is mainly known for. Thus, his place in
modern US history should be far more widely known that it is. Hopefully
this series will help change this state of affairs.
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