"EAGLE AND SWASTIKA: CIA + NAZI WAR CRIMINALS AND COLLABORATORS" CHAPTER 16

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05657204
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 40
• Document Creation Date: October 23, 2023
• Document Release Date: September 28, 2023
• Case Number: F-2011-00655

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Chapter Sixteen
CIA's First Cases (U)
-MP
The Office of Special Investigations inherited a mixed bag of cases from the
Special Litigation Unit. By the time of OSI's establishment in the spring of 1979, SLU's
reputation had plummeted because it had mishandled several investigations, which
subsequently affected the Federal government's efforts to bring Nazi war criminals to
trial. Attorney General Benjamin R. Civiletti even declared that the SLU had a "sort of
system of non-management." Outside observers quickly seized on these failures as yet
another example of the "open secret" with;n Washington that intelligence agencies
planned to stonewall Nazi war criminal investigations. In the words of one author, SLU
was simply "a goldfish in a tank of bureaucratic barracuda."' (U)
(b)(3)
IA summary of SLU's problems is found in Charles R. Allen, Jr., "Nazi War Criminals in the
United States," The Jewish Veteran (September-October 1979), pp. 1-4. OSI's uneven birthing
was not enhanced by internal squabbling within the organization during its first year of existence.
Martin Mendelsohn, SLU's former director and now OSI's deputy director, and Walter Rockier,
OSI's new director, simply did not get along. Philip B. Heymann, Assistant Attorney General,
consequently reassigned Mendelsohn to other duties within the Department of Justice in January
1980. Mendelsohn's removal prompted yet another outcry in Congress and two members of
Congress wrote the US Attorney General to protest the action. In their opinion (joined by over
40 other Congressmen), OSI clearly lost "an invaluable resource" with Mendelsohn's departure.
le Directorate of Operations's point of contact with the new agency, aptly
noted that Mendelsohn's firing highlighted the sensitive nature of the Nazi war criminal
investigations. "We must, stressed, "continue to deal with the political issue of the Nazi
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In the meantime, Walter Rockier, who had left a prestigious position with a
Washington law firm to serve as acting director of OSI, felt uncomfortable in his new
role. An expert on the Federal tax code, Rockler's only work with war criminals had
been at Nuremberg over 30 years earlier. He found the work at OSI too demanding, and
he admitted that he had taken the job "with great reluctance." He stepped down in March
1980 and was succeeded by his deputy director, Allan A. Ryan, Jr., later that spring.2 (U)
A New Director, A New Start (U)
Ryan realized that OSI needed strong leadership and direction if the office were to
overcome its initial handicaps. Among his first actions, Ryan reviewed OSI's entire
caseload, primarily former INS and SLU actions. He found a jumble of cases, ranging
from rather solid ones to mere "my neighbor-is-a-Nazi" accusations. Ryan scored a
victory when the US Supreme Court upheld the legality of the Holtzman Amendment and
denaturalized Feodor Fedorenko, a former Ukrainian concentration camp guard, in 1981.
war criminals as carefully as in the past." See Robert Pear, "Justice Dept. to Oust Nazi Hunter,"
New York Times, 7 January 1980, pp. 1 and 18; Jack Anderson, "Nazi Hunter is Victim of
Infighting," Washington Post, 9 January 1980, p. B15; and Christopher Todd and Bill Frenzel to
Benjamin R. Civiletti, 19 February 1980, with attached petition, in DO Records (10)(3)
Box 1, Folder 2, CIA ARC - inade his comments on a cover note to the Todd and Frenzel (b)(3)
letter. (U)
2Walter J. Rockier, "I Took on My Assignment with Great Reluctance," Legal Times of
Washington, 25 February 1980. Rockler's work with the Nuremberg trials and later with OSI left
him uncertain as to the value of war criminal prosecutions. "They had important symbolic
value," he said in 1995, "but no substantial impact." Rockier, who spent 36 years at the law firm
of Arnold 8t. Porter, died in 2002. See Adam Bernstein, "Nuremberg Prosecutor Walter
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Attorney General Civiletti personally argued 051's case against Fedorenko before the
Supreme Court, stressing the Government's interest in bringing Nazi war criminals to
justice.3 (U)
In late 1979, OSI assigned Arthur Sinai as its liaison to the CIA for requests for
name traces. His CIA counterpart was
f the Office of General
Counse1.4 In February 1980, Sinai passed OSI's first major request to CIA to review its
holdings for information on 275 individuals.5
in transmitting the OSI .
request to the Directorate of Operations and the Office of Security, emphasized the
importance of the Agency's accurate response.6 The Agency's work in this effort marked
the beginning of CIA's assistance to OSI in conducting over a thousand name traces.7 (U)
Rockier". Washington Post, 12 March 2002, p. B6, and "Walter J. Rockier, War-Crimes Agency
Chief, Dies at 81," New York Times, 21 March 2002, p. A31. (U)
3Elizabeth Olson, "Civiletti Urges Supreme Court to Allow Stripping of Ex-Nazi Guard's
Citizenship," Washington Post, 16 October 1980, p. A-2. See also Aric Press and Diane Camper,
"A New Hunt for Old Nazis," Newsweek, 27 October 1980, p. 84. (U)
4Philip B. Heymann, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, to Frank Carlucci, Deputy
Director, CIA, 17 December 1979, ER 79-8922, in OGC Records, Job 85-064903R, Box 1, Folder
6, CIA ARCt designation as the OGC point of contact is found in Daniel B. Silver to
Heymann, 3 January 1980, OGC 80-00032, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 1, Folder 5,
CIA ARC. (U)
5Arthur Sinai, Deputy Director, OSI to Adm. Turner, 19 February 1980, in OGC Records, Job
(b)(3) 85-00903R, Box 1, Folder 5, CIA ARC. (U)
ffTho Chief, IMS/FPLG and Chief, Security Analysis Group, "Name Trace Requests from
Office of Special Investigations, Department of Justice," 12 March 1980, OGC 80-02039, in DO
Records, k3ox 1, Folder 2, CIA ARC. (U)
7CIA provided feedback to OSI concerning the February 1980 request in to Ryan, 11
July 1980, OGC 80-06025, (C), andR Mto Richard Sullivan, Assistant Deputy Director, OSI,
25 July 1980, OGC 80-06437, (C), both in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 1, Folder 5, CIA
ARC. (C) (b)(3)
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CIA faced a new challenge in responding to the growing demands of the Office of
Special Investigations. In late February 1980, CIA officials met with OSI representatives
to determine how the Agency would respond to the name trace requests. The DO agreed
that it would conduct only "on-the-head" traces. The DO then provided the Office of
General Counsel with four general responses: No Trace, No Positively Identifiable
Information, Possibly Identifiable Information is Available, or Information on Subject is
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Available.8 In mid-July 1980, Ryan met with
of the Office of General -
Counsel to determine procedures for OSI's review of the CIA records that the name traces -
had identified. Following this meeting
in turn, outlined the specific agreements
reached between the two agencies on 7 August 1980. This meeting (see Appendix G for a
copy of the CIA letter) established the working principles between CIA and OSI that
continue to the present day.9 (U)
The Soobzokov Case (U)
Despite the progress that Ryan made with CIA during his first months as OSI's
director, a certain degree of suspicion lingered between the two agencies. The
Soobzokov case revealed the intricacies of coordinating a Federal prosecution among
(b)(3)
IMS/FPLG to Chief, IMS/OG/EIRS, "Department of
Justice Request for Information on Alleged Nazi War Criminals," 10 March 1980, (S), in DO
Records Box 1, Folder 4, CIA ARC. (S)
5 7 August 1980 letter to Ryan, OGC 80-06918, is found in OGC Records, Job 85-
00903R, Box 1, Folder 5, CIA ARC. (U)
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numerous departments and agencies. Soobzokov had a brief but complicated relationship
with the Central Intelligence Agency. He first came to the CIA's attention when a case
officer met him in Amman, Jordan, in December 1950.
used Soobzokov as an unwitting informant and then as a paid source on the
Circassian, or North Caucasian, emigre community in the Middle East. (S)
Soobzokov was born in Toktamukai, Caucasus, in the Soviet Union sometime--
between-1918 and 1924. His own accounts obscured his activities both before and during
World War II, but Agency records show that he collaborated with the Nazis as a member
of the Caucasian field gendarmerie in 1942. He ended the war as a Waffen SS
Obersturmfuehrer, or first lieutenant, employed in recruiting fellow Caucasians for
German military service. When the Third Reich collapsed, Soobzokov surrendered to the
British in Austria but escaped a short time later. Joining his family and other refugees, he
went to Italy and then on to Jordan, where he found work with the Amman city
government and became active in local Circassian activities.10 (S)
The CIA remained in contact with Soobzokov after he immigrated to the United
States in 1955. On 6 December 1956, a Maj. Lawrence London addressed a letter to
Soobzokov in Paterson, New Jersey, announcing the formation of Material Testing Unit
No. 1 "to conduct a research program of foreign military material." Maj. London told
Soobzokov, "we are interested in securing the services of qualified personnel, both US
10For a summary of Soobzokov's activities, see Vlemorandum for the
Record, "Prosecution of Tscherim Soobzokov Background on the Documents Requested by the
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citizens and aliens, with experience and knowledge specific to our needs." The Army
officer invited Soobzokov to travel to Fort Meade, Maryland, to join a CIA paramilitary
program, Project AEREADY.I1 (S)
Soobzokov trained at Fort Meade from February through August 1957, and he
returned to Jordan to run a network of Circassians into Syria. Within a month,
Soobzokov had so badly &posed his position in Jordan that the Agency sent him back to
the United States. Despite the debacle,-the Agency kept him asra-raervi agent for'
another two years, investigating his past. In October 1958, Soobzokov admitted that he
had repeatedly lied to the CIA about numerous aspects of his life. A final polygraph test
in late 1959 determined that Soobzokov was "an incorrigible fabricator who is still
attempting deception about his past." The Agency withdrew Soobzokov's operational
approval in the spring of 1960 and had nothing further to do with him.I2 (S)
Department of Justice," 7 February 1980, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder
33, CIA ARC. (S)
Lawrence London to Tscherim Soobzokov, 6 December 1956, contained in packet of
material on Soobzokov relating to Freedom of Information Act request from Mr. Eugene R.
Scheiman to the Department of the Army for all records regarding Soobzokov's employment. See
OGC, Memorandum for the Record, "Freedom of Information Request to the
Department of the Army concerning Tscherim Soobzokov," 29 February 1980, (S), in OGC
Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC. (S)
12Copies of various interrogations and polygraph interviews can be found in the OGC files. For
example, see OGC, Memorandum for the Record, "Department of Justice
Document Request�Tscherim Soobzokov," 21 February 1980, OGC 80-01444, (S), in OGC
Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC. See also Deputy Director
for Security, Memorandum to the General Counsel, "Tscherim Soobzokov," 22 February 1980,
(S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 32, CIA ARC. (S)
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Wanted! (U)
Twenty years later this case created considerable turmoil between the Department
of Justice and the CIA. The Federal government's case against Soobzokov changed
several times after its inception in the mid-1970s as an investigation of the Caucasian
immigrant for Social Security fraud. In 1977, Howard Blum wrote Wanted! The Search -
for Nazis in America, which claimed-that Sdobzokov had particifiatCdin war-crimes�
during World War II and later worked for the CIA. Soobzokov, in turn, sued Blum for �
libel and lashed out at several Federal investigators." At the same time, Harry C.
Batchelder, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York,
became involved in the ever-widening investigation of Soobzokov. Batchelder's
inquiries to the US Army about Soobzokov's government employment brought the
Central Intelligence Agency into the picture during the fall of 1977.14.(C)
lof CIA's Office of General Counsel initially coordinated
the Agency's role in the Soobzokov investigation with other Federal agencies. In late
I3A summary of the case against Soobzokov and his various suits against Blum, his publisher,
various Federal officials, and later against CBS is found in Soobzokov's "Answer" to the
Complaints filed by the Office of Special Investigations. See Answer, United States of America
v. Tscherim Soobzokov, Civil Action No. 79-3468, United States District Court, District of New
Jersey, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 35, CIA ARC. Soobzokov did not reach
a settlement with Blum's publishers until 1983. See "The Insurers of Times Books Reaches
Settlement of Lawsuit," New York Times, 3 July 1983, p. 30. U (b)(3)
11
Information on Tscherim Soobzokov from United States AttorneysLCJffice, Southern District,
New York," 3 October 1977, OGC 77-6284, (C), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2,
Folder 34, CIA ARC. (C)
Office of General Counsel t
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September 1977, he met with Batchelder and two investigators, Anthony DeVito and
Reuben Fier, to discuss the grand jury proceedings against Soobzokov. The Federal
prosecutors wanted to move against Soobzokov for war crimes (including reports that
Soobzokov had personally executed three individuals), Social Security fraud, income tax
evasion, political corruption, threats against grand jury members, immigration fraud, and
perjury. Batchelder, DeVito, and Fier agreed to downplay reports of Soobzokov's
enitiloymenfby the CIA becaUse-his "association was of minimal interest to the grand
jury investigation." The investigators, however, sought any documentation from CIA
records that provided details of his wartime activities. At the same meeting,
learned from the investigators that Soobzokov had an unusually high level of contact with
the Soviet Union, a possible counterintelligence interest. (C)
As a result of his discussion with the three Federal officials, the CIA attorney
recommended to
of the Directorate of Operations that records pertaining
to Soobzokov's activities during World War II be separated from his regular file and
provided to the investigators.
wanted to assure the investigators of the
Agency's "continued good faith" and to emphasize that CIA had had no dealings with
Soobzokov since the 1950s.15 (C)
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'Meeting with Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District, New
York, in response to a Request for Files concerning Tscherim Soobzokov," 8 November 1977,
OGC 77-70 [illegible], (C), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 34, CIA ARC. (C)
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In mid-December 1977, Fier and other attorneys from the Department of Justice
came to CIA Headquarters to review DO and Security files relating to Soobzokov.16 The
Office of Security refused to comply with the US District Attorney's request to review
Soobzokov's polygraph examinations, although it agreed to respond in summary form to
the specific issues.17 By the end of the year, Soobzokov's case had attracted attention
from other investigators, including the House Subcommittee and the General Accounting
Office. This, in turn, raised questions within the Agency as to Who had direct
responsibility for Soobzokov's prosecution.18 (5)
(b)(3)
16 Memorandum for the Record, "Soobzokov Investi ation,"[undated], in OGC
Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 34, CIA ARC. See also to 'Department
of Justice Inquiry on Tscherim Soobzokov," 12 December 1977 C 77-7953, in same files as
above. (U)
17Robert W. Gambino, Director of Security, to Acting Deputy Director of Central Intelligence,
"Release of Polygraph Questions and Answers to the Department of Justice�Tscherim
Soobzokov," 11 January 1978, ER 78-4136, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder
34, CIA ARC. (S)
1 to nTh "The Continuing Saga in the Investigation of Ex-Nazis of the
United States," 2 December 1977, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 34, CIA
ARC. Martin Mendelsohn, the newly-named director of the Special Litigations Unit, also
entered the picture at this point, although SLU's investigation was senarate from the New York
District Attorney's efforts. In March 1978, Mendelsohn told4 Oat a new US
attorney, Thomas H. Belote, had been assigned to the Soobzokov case in addition to Jerry Siegel.
Mendelsohn and Belote both asked for access to the CIA's records and raised the issue of using
CIA material in any trial of Soobzokov. In early 1979, the Government ended the grand jury
investigation of Soobzokov for fraud, leaving Mendelsohn and Belote to focus solely on war
crimes. Set[nThMemorandum for the Record, "War Criminal Investigation," 16 March
1978, OGC 78-1636; Office of General Counsel, Memorandum for the
Record, "Tscherim Soobzokov/Nazi War Criminal Deportation Litigation�Meeting of 8
November 1978," 20 December 1978, (C); Memorandum for the Record, "US v.
Tscherim Soobzokov," 5 February 1979, OGC 79-01253, (S), enclosing Mendelsohn to Robert
Fiske, US Attorney, Southern District of New York, 5 January 1978 [79], and Fiske to
Mendelsohn, 10 January 1979, all in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 34, CIA
ARC. (S)
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The Soobzokov case languished in the Special Litigation Unit for the next several
months until the new Office of Special Investigations took it over and assigned Joseph F.
Lynch as its investigating attomey.I9 Lynch came to CIA Headquarters in June 1979 and
reviewed Soobzokov's three DO files (sanitized with minor redactions of individual
names, project names, and other miscellaneous CIA information). Lynch requested
copies of several documents, including Soobzokov's "Biography of an Emigrant" from
his sanitized 201 file.29 (S).'
While under investigation by the Federal government, Soobzokov had filed a libel
suit against Blum, his publishers, and CBS News. During the course of his testimony for
that case in 1978, Soobzokov claimed that he had provided a written account of his
wartime activities to the State Department when he had applied for a visa in late 1954. In
July 1979, OSI's Lynch contacted the State Department's Visa Section for assistance in
determining whether Soobzokov had made any statements or proVided any written record
while applying for admittance to the United States regarding his membership in the
19Joseph F. Lynch, Special Attorney, OSI to "Tscherim Soobzokov," 3 July 1979, OGC
79-06128, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 34, CIA ARC. Ironically, the US
District Attorney's office in New York still had not decided whether to prosecute Soobzokov
because of possible irregularities in the earlier grand jury investigation. See
Memorandum for the Record, "Konstantin Banff and Tscherim Soobzokov," 3 July 1979, OGC
79-06165, (S), in the same job as above. (U) (b)(3)
20See Lynch to 3 July 1979, OGC 79-06128, and to Lynch, "Tscherim (b)(3)
Soobzokov," 13 August 1979, OGC 79-07451, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2,
Folder 34, CIA ARC. See alsci to 'Department of Justice (b)(3)
Investigation of Tscherim Soobzakov [sic]," 12 July 1979, (S) Lb "Department of (b)(3)
Justice Investi ation of Tscherim Soobzokov," enclosing Lynch's 29 June 1979 notes, 2 July
1979, (S); and
Passport," 11 July 1979, no classification listed], all in DO Records Box 1,
Folder 1, CIA ARC.
DOJ Request to Review Tscherim Soobzokov Soviet Internal
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Waffen SS. While a copy of this request and a follow-up memo in October 1979 appear
in OGC's files on Soobzokov, OSI did not make any similar requests to CIA.2I Based on
the State Department's response, OSI could not substantiate Soobzokov's claims and
pressed ahead with its investigation. (U)
OSI Files Suit (U)
On 5 December 1979, the Office of Special Investigations, with Lynch as the trial
attorney, filed suit against Tscherim Soobzokov for failing to reveal his membership in
the Waffen SS and his other activities on behalf of Nazi Germany. In a 10 count
allegation, OSI declared that Soobzokov had also concealed his criminal record in the
Soviet Union. Consequently, the Government asserted that Soobzokov never legally
entered the United States and that he had procured his 'citizenship through "concealment -
of material facts or willful misrepresentation."22 (U)
In filing suit in New Jersey, OSI's deputy director, Martin Mendelsohn, asked the
Agency for permission to use specific documents in Soobzokov's CIA files, including
21Lynch made these requests to the State Department because Soobzokov had testified that he
had written a report about his Waffen SS activities when he had applied for immigration during
1954-55. See Lynch to Visa Office, Department of State, "Tscherim Soobzokov," 27 July 1979,
and Lynch to Larry Riveria, Department of State, 11 October 1979. The State Department's
response is found in Linda Mathews Eckhardt, Advisery Opinions Division, Visa Services
Directorate, to Lynch, "Soobzokov, Tscherim aka Showabzoqa, Abdel Karim," 1 November
1979, all documents in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 34, CIA ARC. (U)
22A copy of the 5 December 1979 suit, United States of America v. Tscherim Soobzokov, is
found in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 34, CIA ARC. (U)
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polygraph reports and various wartime documents. Some of these documents revealed
that Soobzokov worked for the Germans, which he had admitted during his polygraph
tests. Mendelsohn, however, made no request for any records pertaining to Soobzokov's
immigration.23 (U)
Mendelsohn's letter to the CIA generated considerable activity within the
Agency.24 The Directorate of Operations refused to release its records to OSI because
"should the documents requested be declassified ind.made th}allable for trial, we Nxiotild'
put an almost certain jeopardy on the cover of two CIA staff officers; their subsequent.
successful and highly sensitive operations and the location of CIA installations in the
Middle East and in the United States."25 The Office of Security also opposed the release
of polygraph reports. While it had already agreed to release summary reports of the
polygraph interviews, the Office of Security now rejected that approach because the DO
had refiised to release its records.26 (S)
23Mendelsolm to 6 December 1979, OGC 79-10975, in OGC Records, Job 85-
00903R, Box 2, Folder 34, CIA ARC. (U)
240 pOffice of General Counsel to Director of Security, "Document Request from
Department of Justice," 18 January 1980, OGC 80-00478, (C), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R,
Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC. (C)
(b)(3) 2 'Prosecution of Tscherim Soobzokov�DOJ Request for Assistance," 7
February 1980, OGC 80-01138, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 33, CIA
ARC. For a description of the documents requested by OSI, see Memorandum for the
Record, "Prosecution of Tscherim Soobzokov Background on the Documents Requested by the
Department of Justice," 7 February 1980, (S), in the same job as above. (S)
(b)(3) 26 Deputy Director of Security to "Tscherim Soobzokov," 15 February
1980, OGC 80-01344, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85!-00903R, Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC. (S)
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OGC's new point of contact with OSI, endeavored to fashion other
approaches to assist the Department of Justice in its prosecution of Soobzokov.27
was able to soften the DO's and Security's hard line regarding the specific documents
desired by OSI. In addition,
and the DO contacted two former CIA officers
familiar with Soobzokov from his time in Jordan in the early 1950s, and they suggested
. several other approaches:to obtain information and documents concerning his activities
between 1945 and.I95.5.28 (s)
A Turn for the Worse (U)
The Soobzokov case took a serious turn at the end of March 1980 wh
spoke with Soobzokov's lawyer about the defendant's earlier Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) request. Michael Dennis, Soobzokov's counsel, now asked whether the CIA had
uncovered a "Form V-30," also known as a Personal Data Form, which Soobzokov
claimed to have filed with the US Embassy in Jordan.n7replied that the searches in
response to Soobzokov's FOIA request were still in progress, and he recommended that
(b)(3)
27 summary of the impasse is found in Memorandum for the Record,
"Department of Justice Document Request�Tscherim Soobzokov," 21 February 1980, OGC 80-
01444,(5), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC. (S)
28E71to Rockier, 25 March 1980, OGC 80-02444, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R,
Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC. The DO provided great assistance to in this effort and, in
fact, interviewed the retired officers. See "US v. Tscherim Soobzokov," 03)(3)
March 1980 OGC 80-01922, (S), in the same job as above, The notes from the meetings with
nd are found in DO Records, Box 1, Folder
2, CIA ARC. (S)
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Dennis provide a copy of this document.29 At the same time, Ryan at OSI also learned
that Soobzokov had a Personal Data Form in his possession. According to Soobzokov's
defense attorney, the form showed that he had, in fact, admitted his wartime service to a "
US consul, Robert Wallace, in Jordan in 1952. (U)
Allan Ryan immediately dispatched letters to both the State Department and CIA
requesting their assistance in locating this document. While the State Deriartment again
. failed to-locate any information, CIA-had different and disturbing news. ThetAgenay, in -
reviewing its entire files on Soobzokov, located not only a copy of the Form V-30, but
also found an Operations Memorandum from Amman, Jordan, requesting a security
advisery opinion for Soobzokov's visa in 1953.30 Both documents clearly listed
Soobzokov's affiliations with German collaborationist units and his service in the Waffen
55.31 (S)
. The Agency's discovery- forced -Allan Ryan to dismiss OSI's case against
Tscherim Soobzokov in July 1980. In a public statement, Ryan admitted that his office
could not pursue its case against the Caucasian for concealing his collaboration with the
Germans in the Soviet Union or his service in the Waffen SS when he immigrated to the
United States or when he applied for American citizenship. The case, Ryan said, had
(b)(3)
29--h Memorandum for the Record, "27 March 1980 Telephone Call to Michael Dennis," 3
April 1980, OGC 80-02835, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC. (U)
State Department Documents concerning Tscherim Soobzokov," 2
April 1980, OGC 80-02851, (C), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC.
Copies of the two documents are attached to this memorandum. (C)
31n�Ito Lynch, 23 June 1980, OGC 80-05391, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2,
Folder 32, CIA ARC. (S)
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become complicated when Soobzokov's attorney and the Central Intelligence Agency
both revealed that they had documents that proved that Soobzokov had, indeed, admitted
his wartime activities to the State Department in the early 1950s. As a result of this
evidence, Ryan asked that the US District Court for New Jersey dismiss the charges
against Soobzokov.32 (U)
Only after-several months of research could CIA offer an explanation as to how
these State Department records became part of CIA's filing syStenu-At a meeting Cri 31- -
March 1980 between representatives of OSI and CIA officials,-Ryan tried to diffitse the
tension that had developed between Lynch, who had previously reviewed CIA's sanitized
files on Soobzokov, and
who managed the DO's support for the Nazi
war criminal investigations. It appeared that the CIA had not shown these new
documents to the OSI, althoughn7contended that this was not the case. As
later explained, the documents had been "enveloped and sealed" in Soobzokov's 201 file.
The Agency had not made them specifically available to OSI, nor had OSI specifically
asked for them because of their State Department origins.33 (C)
Ryan now faced a dilemma. He recognized that the Agency's method of
separating "third agency" documents before external review probably created this
situation and that OSI was unaware of the existence of the two critical documents. He
32Statement of Allan A. Ryan, Jr., Director, OSI, Department of Justice, 8 July 1980; Thomas
O'Toole, "CIA 1952 Files Saves Ex-Nazi in Deportation Case," Washington Post, 10 July 1980,
p. A13, both in DO Records, Box 1, Folder 3, CIA ARC. (U)
3 o Chief/EMS and Office of Security, "Tscherim Soobsokov," 10 April 1980, [no
classification listed], in DO Records, Box 1, Folder 2, CIA ARC. (U)
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told the CIA's General Counsel, "the disclosure that your Agency has had the V-30
document since 1953 places the case under discussion in an entirely new light. The
eventual outcome whatever it may prove to be, will almost certainly result in severe
public embarrassment to the United States Government and in particular to the
Department of Justice." OSI's director complained the incident was "an embarrassment
that we could have avoided if we had adequate notice of the existence of the document
_ d_
prior to filing the.complaint."34-(0):,-z.
Questions remain to this day about the two State Department documents in the
Agency's files. In retrospect, it appears that Lynch did not focus on State Department
material during his visits to the Agency when he reviewed Soobzokov's sanitized 201
file. Instead, he was interested in other documents in the file, including polygraph reports
and Soobzokov's biographical material. The State Department's 1953 Operational
Memorandum was in the sanitized file when Lynch reexamined it in May 1980, but he
probably did not pay it much attention because it was sealed as a third agency document.
The location of the State Department Personal Data Form, the Form V-30, is more
uncertain. It was not in Soobzokov's sanitized 201 file in 1996, nor does Lynch mention
it in his notes on 1 May 1980. Thus, it is still a matter of conjecture if Lynch could have
34Ryan to Daniel Silver, 7 April 1980, OGC 80-03058, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2,
Folder 33, CIA ARC. (U)
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proceeded with the suit; certainly, the investigation would have proceeded more smoothly
if OSI's investigators had reviewed all documents in the Agency's possession.35 (S)
An Appearance of Collusion (U)
In July 1980, the Office of Special Investigations dropped its.suit against ,
-Soobzokov because the CIA revelation disproved the Governmenes allegations.:-zThe
Washington Post wrote that it was a "classic case of the right hand not knowing what the
left hand was up to." Elizabeth Holtzman blasted the Agency and said, "I am angered by
the implications of this, if the documents giving rise to the dismissal are in fact valid. As
a minimum, that would mean that despite Soobzokov's admission that he was.a member
of the Waffen SS, the State Department, after consultation with the CIA, chose to admit
'him to the United States." -The Democratic Congresswoman believed that "this once
again raises the spectre of possible connivance and collusion on the part of our
(b)(3)
35- iscussed Lynch's reactions to the CIA's disclosures. See= Memorandum for (b)(3)
the Record, "14 April 1980 Meeting with Allan Ryan, OS!! " 7 April 1980, (S), in OGC
Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 33, CIA ARC; and emorandum for the (b)(3)
Record, "Review of Documents by Joseph Lynch, Department of Justice," [undated], in the same
job as above, folder 32. Lynch visited the CIA on 29 June 1979 and 2 November 1979 and made
notes from both DO and OS records. These notes make no reference to Soobzokov's immigration
efforts. See to Lynch, 9 January 1980, OGC 80-00191, (S), in the same job as above, (b)(3)
folder 33. A copy of the notes is attached to Security Analysis Group to (b)(3)
"Nazi War Criminals Investigation," 13 NM/ember 1979, OGC 79-10220, (S), in OGC (b)(3)
Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. Interestingly, there is no correspondence
from the DO regarding notes, if any, made by Lynch during this 2 November 1979 visit. Nor did
Lynch mention the critical documents during his review of CIA's records on 29 June 1979. See
Lynch to h 3 July 1979, OGC 79-06128, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder (b)(3)
34, CIA ARC. (S)
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government in admitting, and providing sanctuary to, suspected Nazis."36 Soobzokov
remained a controversial figure and protesters often surrounded his house in Paterson,
New Jersey.37 He died after a mysterious bomb explosion, which the FBI linked to a
series of attacks on Arab-Americans and suspected Nazi war criminals in the United
States by militant Jewish organizations. No arrests have been made, and the case remains
open to this day.38 (U) -
-As OSI gained more experience, the' rancoi ov& the gobbicikoit case faded.' The
CIA now realized that "third agency" documents contained vital information' fOr Nazi war
criminal investigations that might not be available in the files of the originating agency.
36Thomas O'Toole, "CIA 1952 Files Save Ex-Nazi in Deportation Case," Washington Post, 10
July 1980, p. A13. The Agency provided.Holtzman with a briefing in the midst of the ongoing
criticism. See Directorate of Operations Spot Report, "Use of Documents from CIA Files in Ex-
Nazi Deportation Case," 14 July 1980, (S), citing a 10 July 1980 Washington Post article, "CIA
1952 Files Save Ex-Nazi in Deportation Case," in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 3, Folder
32, CIA ARC. The New York Times had a small piece in its second section about the dismissal
of the Soobzokov case on 10 July 1980. (S)
37A year after OSI dropped its case, Jack Anderson wrote about Soobzokov. Jack Anderson,
"US Gives Ex-Nazis a Security Blanket," Washington Post, June 5, 1981, p. C17. CIA still faced
a Freedom of Information Act request from Richard Krieger, Executive Director of the Jewish
Federation of North Jersey and the American Civil Liberties Union for details about
Soobzokov's immigration. See American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey v. Department of
Justice, et al, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Civil Action No. 81-
0815, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 27, CIA ARC. Jack Anderson again
reported on Soobzokov in an article, "Long Memories in New Jersey about 3rd Reich,"
Washington Post, 11 July 1981, p. B7. (U)
38Ralph Blumenthal, "Man Accused of Nazi Past Injured by Bomb in Jersey," New York Times,
16 August 1985, p. B2; Albert J. Parisi, "Pipe-Bomb Death Puzzles Authorities," New York
Times, 15 September 1985, Section XI, pp. 8-9; and Judith Cummings, "F.B.I. Says Jewish
Defense League May Have Planted Fatal Bombs," New York Times, 9 November 1985, pp. 1 and
32. (U)
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It also recognized the need to enhance its overall system of conducting-name traces for
OSI. The Soobzokov case was a painful learning experience for both CIA and OSI. 39 (U)
Edgars Laipenieks (U)
As Ryan reviewed the other OSI cases in 1980, he found that the Federal -
govemment.had-beceirne embrbiled in another legal morass over Edgars Laipenieks.
Media reports-and political Maneuvering only complicated matters: In 1976, Soviet
newspaper Tan alleged "in defiance of international law, and mocking the memory of
millions of victims of fascism, the CIA has been for long sheltering in US territory former
Nazi executioners from retribution in token for 'gratitude' for their 'services' to US
intelligence services." Tan cited Edgars Laipenieks, a "former collaborator of the Nazi
police in the Nazi-occupiedlerritory of Latvia, who is guilty of committing at least 37
war crimes."40 (U)
Born in Latvia in 1913, Laipenieks joined that small country's army during the
early 1930s and later competed at the 1936 Olympics. During the Soviet occupation of
Latvia, Laipenieks claimed to have witnessed numerous atrocities committed by the
Russians, including the deportation of his wife's family to Siberia, where they died.
39The problem of handling "third agency" material in CIA files was partially alleviated in late
1980 when the INS allowed CIA to provide immigration records directly to OSI. Glenn A.
Bertness, Acting Associate Commissioner Enforcement tc 12 November 1980, CO
105.3-C, in DO Records, Box 1, Folder 5, CIA ARC. (U)
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Following the Soviet retreat from Latvia in the face of the German onslaught in 1941,
Laipenieks joined the Latvian political police and hunted staybehind communist agents
and sympathizers. In this role, Laipenieks, according to a 1946 CIC report, served
"allegedly [as] an interrogator at the Gestapo jail in Riga, Latvia. He was actually seen
killing four persons at said jail during interrogations." Laipenieks, one witness recounted,
, was "a most cruel and mean character, known for his mistreatment of prisoners.141.(S)
In addition toil-us Latvian police activities, Laipenieks worked fOr-TheiGerman
Abwehr to counter Soviet attempts to infiltrate the Baltic States. According to his own
account, he continued to work with the Germans until 1943 when he returned to his
civilian occupation as a baker in his family's business. Laipenieks fled from Latvia in the
summer of 1944 and eventually arrived in Austria the following summer. After a minor
altercation with the French occupation authorities over stolen property, he became a ski
coach for the French Army, and in 1947 immigrated to Chile, narrowly escaping-the
Soviets, who apparently sought his arrest for his wartime activities.42 (S)
Laipenieks became the coach of the Chilean Olympic ski team during the games
in Melbourne, in 1956. He came to the attention of the CIA the following summer when
his team was scheduled to compete in Moscow. CIA officers in Chile requested a name
40Georgiy Tsaritsyn, "Under the Patronage of CIA," Tass, 16 October 1976, translated by FBIS.
Translated article found in Edgars Laipenieks, PO Records. (U)
(b)(3)
41For a brief description of Laipenieks, see "Rough Summary of Information Concerning the
Wartime Activities of Edgars Laipenieks in Latvia," 20 October 1976, and
(b)(3)
"Rough Summary of CIA Operational Involvement with Edgars Laipenieks i," 20
(b)(3)
October 1976, (S), in Laipenieks DO Records. (S)
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trace on Laipenieks and hoped to use him as a REDSKIN agent, but this plan did not
develop because Laipenieks refused to travel to the Soviet Union. In addition, CIA's
name trace revealed that Laipenieks had a shady past. (S)
Laipenieks toured the United States after the 1956 Olympics where he met the
athletic director of the University of Denver who offered him a position as an assistant
coach and physical education teacher. He accepted the position and moved to the United
States as a Chilean citizen in 1960. He spent Several years.in-Colorado;c:Oaching ahthe -----
University of Denver and working odd jobs during the summer months. Through one of
his sons, CIA reestablished contact with him in the hope that he might convince
o defect at an international track meet at Stanford University
Whom he had met at the
in July 1962. Laipenieks made an appointment with
Melbourne Olympics games, and found that the coach was receptive to Western
advances. (S)
Later that summer, CIA officials in Washington had an opportunity to talk with
Laipenieks and assess him. While his case officer found him in July 1962 to be a "very
willing" and "able operator," Headquarters had a different opinion two months later.43
The Agency expressed concern about his wartime activities, and determined that
Laipenieks was an "anti-social and shifty individual." Headquarters recommended that
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42Ibid. See also "Translation of AES1DECAR/2's Autobiographical Statement," 5 September
1962, (S), in LaipenieksL
DO Records. (S)
435ee B. Chief, SR/2/Baltic, Memorandum for the Record, "AESIDECAR/2
rriiiic),IInformation," 14 September 1962, SR/2-B-62-245, (S), in Laipenieks,
0 Records. (S)
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the defection operation continue with Laipenieks in a lesser role. lathe meantime,
Laipenieks tried on his own to induce a Latvian-born Soviet athlete to defect in the fall of
1962. This independent plan, not approved by Headquarters, backfired, and the athlete
exposed Laipenieks as an American agent. This "inept performance," CIA noted, had
"seriously compromised his usefulness," and the Agency recommended that Laipenieks
be used with "extreme caution."44 (S)
Laipeniekcicst-hiS job;21- the Universityof Denver- in the sumthef Of 1963-and his
contact with the CIA dwindled after that point. � The Agency conCluded that the KGB had
controlled
throughout the period that Laipenieks had been in contact with him.
CIA last heard from Laipenieks in 1968 shortly after the Olympic games in Mexico -
City.45 By the mid-1970s, Laipenieks lived in San Diego, where he worked as a high
school coach and gardener. (S)
The INS Opens an Investigation (El)
CIA played no role in Laipenieks' immigration to the United States nor did it have
any relationship with the Latvian while he lived in South America. The Agency,
however, had complicated matters after it made contact with Laipenieks in 1962. He
admitted to his case officer at that time that he had failed to mention his wartime service
44 uoted in "Rough Summary of CIA Operational Involvement with Edgars Laipenieks
20 October 1976, (S), in Laipenieks, File DO Records. (S)
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to INS officers.
the.CIA officer who debriefed Laipenieks in a
California motel room in 1962, commented that "I couldn't advise him on this matter and
that he should leave it to his conscience whether he should or should not report these
facts" upon submitting his petition for citizenship
recommended that the
Agency take no steps to report Laipenieks to the Immigration and Naturalization Service,
- and he even urged the Agencyto proCess the Latvian under Public Law_110.4-� The
Agency's Tailurelmnotify-the-ImmigratiOn and Naturalization ServicbaboUt these.issties,,..-t �
later had serious ramifications.47-(S) -
The Laipenieks matter took a turn in 1973, when the Central Intelligence Agency
answered with a "no derogatory" reply to an INS inquiry in support of deportation
hearings against him. Two years later, Edgars Laipenieks wrote to the Agency asking for
access to his records to fight his deportation. CIA filed this letter as a Freedom of
Information Act request and informed Laipenieks of this action in April and May 1975.48
The following year, CIA informed the INS that Laipenieks had written to
46 ECAR/2, Background Information," 14 September 1962, (S), in Laipenieks,
Fil j DO Records. (S)
47CIA did inspect Laipenieks' visa file at the State Department in 1962. The Agency's Office of
Security expressed concern about his 1945 arrest by the French in Austria to see whether it had
any impact on his immigration to the United States. See "Laipenieks, Edgars #161 260," 20
December 1962, attached to Deputy Director of Security to Office
of General Counsel, "United States v. Edgars Laipenieks," 5 January 1981, in OGC Records, Job
85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 24, CIA ARC. (U) (b)(3)
48In his May 1975 letter to Laipenieks, Robert S. Young, the Agency's Freedom of Information
Coordinator, said "research on your case is still underway. The Agency appreciates your past
cooperation, and we will notify you just as soon as we possibly can regarding any assistance we
can provide." Robert S. Young, Freedom of Information Coordinator to Laipenieks, 5 May 1975,
in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 26, CIA ARC. (U)
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the Agency for assistance and that "a review of our files neither proves nor disapproves
the allegations." The Agency told immigration authorities that Laipenieks had been
associated with CIA from 1958 through 1967 to "assist us in assessing and developing
targets of interest from Communist Bloc countries."49 The INS subsequently told the
Agency that the Latvian "is not-amenable to deportation under existing laws."50 This
information prompted Gene F.' Wilson, the Agency's Information and Privacy
Coordinator, to write to Laipenieksimthe �SumIner of1976-vvith the fiew-s `twe have
" now been told that you are 'not amenable to deportation under existing laws.' It is our
understanding that INS has advised their San Diego office to cease any action against
you." Wilson concluded his letter with the note that "if such does not prove the case,
please let us know immediately. Thank you once again," Wilson added, "for your
patience in this instance, and your past assistance to the Agency."51 (U)
CIA's correspondence with Laipenieks soon became public knowledge in the fall
of 1976 when Bob Dorn and Martin Gerchen of the San Diego Evening Tribune revealed
that both the American and Israeli Governments suspected him of war crimes. Denying
these reports, Laipenieks showed the three letters that he had received from the Central
Intelligence Agency as part of his FOIA request. This prompted the journalists to
49DD0 to Gen. Leonard F. Chapman, Jr., Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization,
"Laipenieks, Edgars," 8 March 1976, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 26, CIA
ARC. (U)
50 Interdepartmental Branch, Liaison Group, Operations Staff, Memorandum
for the Record, "Laipenieks, Edgars," 28 June 1976, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2,
Folder 26, CIA ARC. (U)
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conclude that the CIA "has intervened with the INS to stop proceedings against
Laipenieks" because of his "past cooperation" and "assistance."52 Bob Dorn raised the
issue with DCI George Bush, when (Bush visited Sacramento in November 1976. The
�
DCI admitted to Dorn only that Laipenieks "had been of some use many, many years
ago."53 (U)
Tlie+tiatvianrContiectioli(U)
The furor surrounding the Laipenieks case coincided with mounting "
Congressional interest in the Nazi war criminal investigations. In October 1976, Reps.
Eilberg and Holtzman of the House Immigration Subcommittee wrote the INS
commissioner demanding information about CIA's intervention on behalf of
Laipenieks.54 Congressman Lucien N. Nedzi also asked the CIA to brief him about the
51Gene F. Wilson, Information and Privacy Coordinator to Laipenieks, 20 July 1976, OGC
Records, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 26, CIA ARC. (U)
528ob Dorn and Martin Gerchen, "County Man Branded as War Criminal," San Diego Evening
.Tribune, 14 October 1976, pp. A-1 and A-10; Martin Gerchen, "New Accuser Emerges in Latvia
Case," San Diego Evening Tribune, 15 October 1976, pp. A-1 and A-10; and Bob Dorn, "Law
Shields Laipenieks," San Diego Evening Tribune, 16 October 1976, pp. A-1 and A-3. (U)
5313ob Dom, "CIA Denies Giving Aid to War Crimes Suspect," San Diego Evening Tribune, 30
November 1976, pp. A-1 and A-I0. (U)
54Ei1berg and Holtzman to Gen. Chapman, 15 October 1976, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R,
Box 2, Folder 26, CIA ARC. (U)
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Laipenieks case that same month.55 While the Agency and the INS responded to
Congressional concerns, pressure mounted for a full investigation.56 (S)
� The GAO paid particUlar attention to Laipenieks during its*investigation as did the -
SLU, which asked to examine CIA's records on him and his cousin, Jakobs Laipenieks, in
early 1979.57 Later that year, the new Office of Special Investigations took up the
Laipenieks case because the Holtzman Amendment now allowed the Justice Department
to purstie those individuals Who entered the United States undeethe f932ThithigitibtF'
law. OSI also expressed great interest in examining the Agency's files on members of
� various Latvian collaborationist units. Without any explanation, OSI told the Agency that
it had decided not to pursue the Laipenieks matter in October 1979.58 (S)
(b)(3)
5 jDeputy Legislative Counsel, Memorandum for the Record, "Briefing of
Chairman I.ucien N. Nedzi (D. Mich.), Special Subcommittee on Intelligence. House Armed
Services Committee, 19 October 1976, OLC 76-3035, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2,
Folder 26, CIA ARC. (U)
56For the CIA's explanation of the events leading to the controversy, see Office of Legislative
Counsel to William G. Miller, Staff Director, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, "Edgars
Laipenieks, ex-Latvian Intelligence Officer Accused of World War II Crimes," 16 November
1976, OLC 76-3329, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 26, CIA ARC. For
Gen. Chapman's response to the House Immigration Subcommittee, see Chapman to Eilberg, 24
January 1977, CO 703.951, in the same job as above. In addition, Martin Gerchen, the San
Diego reporter who broke the Laipenieks story, appealed to his Congressman in 1977 for a full
investigation of the case. (S)
57 to various CIA offices, "Name Trace and Records Search � Meir Katz, Lou
Gleser, Arvid Lazdms, Jakobs (Jacobs) Laipenieks," 5 December 1978, OLC 78-3708, (S), and
o "Edgars Laipenieks," 15 February 1979, OGC 79-01668, (S), both documents
in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 26, CIA ARC. (5) (b) 3)
58George Parker,'OSI tc{ tH:14 May 1979 OW various CIA offices, "Nazi War
Criminal Investigations, ' May 1979, OGC 79-04394 IMS/FOIA, Privacy
and Litigation Group to "Meeting with Department of Justice Representatives re Nazi
War Criminal Investigation," 24 July 1979, OGC 79-06889, (S), and Deputy
Director of Security t
"Department of Justice Investigation of Alleged Nazi War
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- The Laipenieks case lay dormant until January 1980 when ABC Television
announced that the CIA had intervened to prevent his deportation. OSI now opened its
investigations of Laipenieks, Vilis�Hazners, and a postwar Latvian group called-the
Daugavas Vanagi, (the "Hawks of the Dauvaga)."59 The Agency searched its records for
the various Latvian suspects-and organizations and relayed its limited findings.60 (S)
By the summer of 4981,.OSIhad enough evidence to initiate a deportation suit -
against Laipenieks for concealing and misfepresenting-his-activities between 194-1-and:
1943 and his arrest by French authorities in 1946.61 Prior to takinithis action, Ryan,
perhaps mindful of the Soobzokov debacle, wrote to
in the CIA's Office
of General Counsel seeking answers to various questions that had arisen during the
reviews of Laipenieks' files at the Agency. Ryan closed with a question: Did CIA have
Criminals," 7 August 1979, OGC 79-07397, (5), all documents in OGC Recordsjob 85-00903R,
Box 2, Folder 26, CIA ARC. (S)
59The INS charged Hazners as a member of a Latvian police organization and filed a deportation
suit in 1977. SLU poorly handled the case, which was finally dropped by OSI in 1981. Ryan,
Quiet Neighbors, pp. 60 and 355. For various memoranda and correspondence about OSI's
request to examine CIA holdings on the Daugavas Vanagi, see OGC Records, Job 85-00903R,
Box 1, Folder 12, CIA ARC. (U)
60Some of the documents uncovered include a suspected 1962 KGB-inspired Latvian
publication, Who Are the Daugavas Vanagi?, which CIA translated for OSI in early 1981. The
Agency also permitted OSI to examine 1945 and 1946 reports on SD agents in Latvia. In
addition, the Agency uncovered some older material on postwar Latvian resistance and emigre
activities and a translation of a pro-German Latvian encyclopedia article on the wartime
Lettische SS Freiwilligen Legion. The Agency did not permit OSI to review its holdings on
Latvian activities in Denmark in the late 1950s (supported by the Free Europe Citizens Service)
relating to the Daugavas Vanagi. Set tc Acting Chief, FOIA Privacy (b)(3)
and Litigation Group, "Request Traces on the Daugavas Vanagi," 21 November 1980, DOR-
00236, (S), in DO Records, Box 1, Folder 5, CIA ARC. (S)
61A copy of the charges in US v. Edgars Laipenieks filed in San Diego on 2 June 1981, are
attached in Ivars Berzins, Laipenieks' attorney toM 14 July 1981, in OGC Records, Job
85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 24, CIA ARC. (U)
(b)(3)
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any "national security objections ft(b)(3)l1ing of the deportation proceedings against
Edgars Laipenieks?"62
who had replaced
as the (b)(3)
OGC attorney handling the Nazi war criminal cases assured OSI that "all relevant Agency
documents on Laipenieks have been shown to your investigators.63 (S)
In 1982, OSI took its case against Laipenieks before John C. Williams, a Federal
immigration judge: After hearing extensive testimony (much of it videotaped depositions..
,from witnesses in4he-Soviet Union abouthrutality atthetiga Central Prison), Judge
Williams decided in June of that year that the Office of Special Investigations had failed
to prove that Laipenieks had participated in war crimes. It was a setback for OSI, but the
defeat did not reflect any discredit on the CIA in its efforts to assist the Department of
Justice. The following summer, OSI won its case against Laipenieks when the Board of
Immigration Appeals ruled that the Latvian should be deported to Chile for "clear and
convincing evidence" that he had participated in political persecution during the war on
behalf of the Third Reich.64 The 9th US Circuit Court overturned this verdict in 1984
and, despite OSI's repeated efforts as late as 1988, Laipenieks remained in the United
States. (U)
The Laipenieks case lasted over ten years�far longer than the Agency's
relationship with the Latvian. The Agency did not do anything illegal, but it did highlight
62Ryan to 10 March 1981, OGC 81-01999, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, (b)(3)
Folder 26, CIA ARC. (U)
6 o Ryan, 17 April 1981, OGC 81-03212, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, (b)(3)
Folder 26, CIA ARC. (S)
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shortcomings within the Agency in handling and communicating information. The CIA's
failure in 1962, for example, to notify the Immigration and Naturalization Service that
Laipenieks had lied on his application for immigration later createdsproblems.
the Agency's responses to his requests for information in the mid-1970s appeared overly
friendly. Laipenieks exploited the Agency's letters to forestall deportation hearings,
which sowed the perception that the CIA. had actually intervened,with the INS in the
--Latvian's favor._ It was subsequently difficult for the Agency,to explaiRits actions-and-to
demonstrate that it had not assisted Laipenieks. (U)
The Laipenieks case showed that the Agency could provide OSI with crucial
evidence without jeopardizing national security or its responsibility to protect sources and
methods. Likewise, the CIA provided the Office of Special Investigations with frill
access to all "third agency" material contained in Laipenieks' records. The case marked
an important step forward in broadening the working relationship between CIA and the
Department of Justice. (U)
Bolschwing's Reappearance (U)
The Department of Justice scored another coup when it stripped Otto Albrecht
Alfred von Bolschwing of his citizenship. As discussed in Chapter Ten, Bolschwing had
been a major asset of the Central Intelligence Agency in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
64Associated Press report, "San Diego Man Ordered Deported for World War II Activities," 15
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The Agency brought Bolschwing and his family to the United States in 1954, although it
had little to do with him after that point. Bolschwing became an American citizen in
1959 and worked with various American companies in New York and California.65 (U)
Following the arrest of Adolf Eichmann and his trial in Israel, the Central
Intelligence Agency examined its records concerning the "architect of the Final Solution."
an expert,on.the�Counterintelligence Staff, discovered that Bolschwing c�
.-.�..had played a larger role in the.SS thanthe hal,admitted. At theamelime, some of
(b)(3)
Bolschwing's former CIA case officers in Austria, including
wondered
about their agent's claims. In 1961,7�Stated that one of Bolschwing's singleton
agents had proved "fraudulent" following Bolschwing's departure to the United States.66
The Agency, however, did not take any action against Bolschwing after the discovery of
his false record beyond askinghim to withdraw his application for a US government-
sponsored position in India.67 In 1963, Headquarters informed its .German' Station that
Bolschwing, then in Europe, had no CIA connection.68 (S)
September 1983, in OGC Records, Box 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 24, CIA ARC. (U)
65For further information, see Kevin C. Ruffner, "Prussian Nobleman, SS Officer, and CIA
Agent: The Case of Otto Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing," Studies in Intelligence (1998), vol.
42, no. 1, pp. 61-77, now declassified. (U)
6' t1 "Inge von der Tann," [undated c. 1961], (S), in OGC
Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. (S)
67Gordon M. Stewart, Chief, Eastern Europe Division to DDP, "Otto Albrecht Alfred von
Bolschwing," 10 May 1961, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC.
(S)
68Cable, Headquarters to Frankfurt, DIR 70116, 19 September 1963, (S), in OGC Records, Job
85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. (S)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
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�� Bolschwing came to the attention of the Special Litigation Unit (SLU) in a
circuitous manner. While investigating Valerian Trifa, a Romanian bishop, for his role as
an Iron Guard leader during the war, attorney Eugene M. Thirolf inquiried about certain'
German officials posted to Romania in 1941. Thirolf requested information on Otto
Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing, a captain in the German SS and the SD's representative
in-Buchares09 Th rolls letter raised alarm bells in CIA because Bolschwing harrith
1.extensive record� in-the Agency. A quick review of these files by the CIA and Martin'
Mendelsohn, SLU's chief, revealed that Bolschwing "may not have been totally frank �
when he neglected to mention past membership in the Nazi Party" on applying for
naturalization in 1959.70 OGC's, warned in early March 1979 that an
investigation of Bolschwing threatened the Agency because a preliminary examination of
his records raised a number of "obvious questions" about his relationship with CIA over
theyears.71 (S)
69 Thirolf to Anthony A. Lapham, OGC, 18 July 1978, CO 1421, with attachment dated 9
August 1978, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. Thirolf also sought
information on Col. Boris T. Pash, a US Army officer detailed to CIA at various times, and two
other Germans, Artur A. Konradi and Dr. Heinrich Graf von Meran. (U)
7O _o Mendelsohn, 2 February 1979, OGC 79-01118, (S), in OGC Records, Box 2, Folder
29, CIA ARC. (S)
71For a discussion of the early aspects of this case, see to General Counsel, "Otto
Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing�Possible Violation of 18 USC 1001 and 1015 (False Statements
to the US Government)," 12 March 1979, (S). added some comments to this memo in
April 1979 that shed further information about the early Bolschwing investigation. See to
"Attached Memorandum on Otto Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing," 5 April
1979, (C), both documents in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. (U)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
AR)
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A New Campaign (U)
In early 1979, SLU launched a full investigation of Bolschwing's immigration and
(b)(3)
wartime activities in early 1977. Ironically, Mendelsohn had initially planned only to use
Bolschwing as a witness against Trifa. Jeffrey Mausner took over the Bolschwing
investigation for the new Office of Special Investigations in the summer of 1979-and
continued-to-examine the Agency's holdings.72 In Novembei: Of that year;-Mendelsbhn �
approached CIA with several urgent questions regarding the Agency's affiliation with
Bolschwing. In light of OSI's pending suit against Bolschwing, the Department of
Justice was concerned whether CIA had any objections to the-legal proceedings or if the
German could blackmail the Agency. Mendelsohn also expressed uncertainty as to
whether CIA officials might testify on Bolschwing's behalf in light of his close
connection to the Agency.73 (S)
In-January 1980, representatives of CIA's Office of General Counsel and the
Directorate of Operations held a meeting with the Office of Special Investigations to
address Mendelsohn's questions. Speaking for the Agency, the DO's
said that CIA did not plan to assist Bolschwing in his defense, but that the Agency could
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
72Mendelsohn ton� 116 July 1979, OGC 79-06581; _________H "Department of
Justice Investigation of Alleged Nazi W als�Otto Albrecht von Bolschwing," OGC 79-
07460, 13 August 1979, (S); Mausner t 22 August 1979, OGC 79-07895, (S); and
to Mausner, 26 October 1979, OGC 79-09696, (S), all documents in OGC Records, Job
85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. (S)
"Mendelsohn tc 30 November 1979, OGC 79-10974, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-
00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. (S)
(b)(3)
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help OSI in
CIA operations
bringing Bolschwing to trial.
Given the fact that Bolschwing's knowledge of
that the Agency had to worry about any form
(b)(3)
was dated, doubted
- of blackmail.
warned,- however,
that the Agency did not know what Bolschwing's
(b)(3)
case officer
had told him when applying for a visa because
(b)(3)
died. Likewise, the DO noted
that the INS had possessed an "auxiliary" file
(b)(3)
had
on Bolschwing at the time of his_departure from.Austria; neither CIA nor the INS,
however, could locate these.records'.74 (S) � -Df- -
Public pressure grew in-1980 after Simon Wiesenthal's Dokumentationszentrum
des Bundes Judisches Verfolgter des Naziregimes in Vienna announced Bolschwing's
presence in the United States.75 Despite
erbal assurances in January 1980 that
CIA had no objections to OSI's suit, the Agency failed to state this assurance in writing.
Pressed by OSI's new director, Allan A. Ryan, Jr., for an answer to his office's letter of
30 November 1979 about Bolschwing, CIA did not respond until the summer of 1980. At
that time,
attempted to clarify some of 051's concerns about the Agency's
views on this case and the availability of its records for use in court. He reiterated
point that "CIA has no objection to the initiation of proceedings against von
Bolschwing. Indeed, our position on this matter is neutral, and our only interest is to
74 Memorandum for the Record, "Meeting with Department of Justice Representatives
on Alleged Nazi War Criminals Otto von Bolschwing and Tscherim Soobzokov," 17 January
1980, OGC 80-00581, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. (S)
75Bulletin of Information No. 20, 31 January 1980, Dokumentationszentrum des Bundes
Judisches Verfolgter des Naziregimes, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA
ARC. In a routing sheet to OGCJ 3nnotated, "FYI. It looks like the start of a campaign to
get Von Bolschwing." (U)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
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protect sensitive and classified information concerning our former relationship with von
Bolschwing."76 (S)
051 still expressed anxiety about the Agency and its knowledge of Bolschwing's-
activities at the time of his immigration in the mid-1950s. A month after Ryan
announced that OSI had to drop its suit against Tscherim Soobzokov because of the
,discovery of new evidence in CIA's files, Jeffrey Mausner, the OSI attorney handling the ,
Bolschwing.investigation; submitted an eight-page letter to the Agency. He emphasized, -
-"most of our cases are based on a claim that the defendant misrepresented his Nazi
background at the time of his entry into the US or at the time of his naturalization. It is,"
Mausner wrote, "therefore important to know exactly what INS, State Department, and
CIA knew about von Bolschwing at the time of his entry and naturalization." OSI asked
that the CIA search its records for any "preliminary questionnaire" used by the State
Department's consular office in Munich to process his visa application in the second half
of 1953. Likewise, the Department of Justice asked the Agency to produce an expert
witness to explain how the Alien Affairs Staff dealt with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service in the 1950s. OSI clearly wanted to avoid a repetition of the
Soobzokov debacle.77 (S)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
76See Ryan to Silver, 3 May 1980, OGC 80-0492, (S), and
reply, o Ryan, 12
June 1980, OGC 80-04978, (S), both in OGC Records, Job
- ,Box 2Folder 28 "A
ARC. For background information about response, se t (b)p)
(b)(3)
"Department of Justice Questions concerning Otto von Bolschwing, April 1980, OGC 80-
(b)(3)
02813, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 29, CIA ARC. (S)
77Mausner, "Otto von Bolschwing," 28 August 1980; and
tcfl "Meeting with
(b)(3)
DOJ Representatives concerning their Investigation of Edgars Laipenielcs and Otto von
(b)(3)
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The Agency, however, could not satisfy many of OSI's requests because the
passage of time had rendered it difficult to reconstruct the complicated twists involved
with Bolschwing's immigyat on. Officers familiar with the work of the AliensAffairs
Staff in the early 1950s had long since retired. While the Agency identified "third
agency" material within its files and sent copies of these documents for review by the
proper offices (including the State Department, Army, and the National Security Agency),
CIA could not reconstruct theINS's supposed "auxiliary"*file oh Bolsthwing.78 (S)
Meeting a Former Agent (U)
OSI interviewed Otto von Bolschwing at his home in California in early 1981.
Represented by his son, Golman V. von Bolschwing,
from the Central Intelligence Agency also attendeci.the meeting. After
(b)(3)
Bolschwing," 2 September 1980, OGC 80-07543, (5); Note to "Otto von Bolschwing,"
[undated]; and Director of Security to "Department of Justice
Request re Nazi War Criminals Investigation of Otto Albrecht von Bolschwing," 19 September
1980, OGC 80-08078, (S), all documents in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 28,
CIA ARC. (S)
78At the conclusion of Bolschwing's project in Austria in 1954, the CIA had 55 reels of
microfilm of his reports with an additional 10 reels of indexes dating back to 1948. In addition
to his large 201 file, extensive records on Bolschwing collected by the Salzburg Operations Base
survive a nicl are now filed as DO Records
Boxes 9, 13,
and 14, CIA ARC. See also Memorandum for Recordj Records
Integration/Project Officer. "GROSSBAHN File " 16 January 1956, in (b)(1)
Bolschwing DO Records. The microfilm material is located in DO/IMS, (b)(3)
Central Files Branch. The identity and location of the "auxiliary" file remains a mystery. OSI
reviewed Bolschwing's 201 file, but 't is uncertain if the investigators saw any of the Austrian
project files or Bolschwing's microfilm records
/1...\13\
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
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discussing procedural issues, GoIman ("Gus") von Bolschwing did most of the talking:
He called OSI's actions in his father's case "hypocrisy" because the Government knew
the details of Bolschwing's_life before his arrival-in the United States. "And so I wonder
as I sit here," the younger Bolschwing asked, "does the means justify the end? Do two
wrongs make aright? It is just as difficult for my father at this point to prove his case, to
disprove pieces of paper thatare now forty years old, as it was for certain individuals who -
did try to do justice and ftp findlartd to,prosecutaGermans.when there_were
witnesses or it was very hard to obtain living witnesses." Subsequent questioning by
OSI's Mausner confirmed that Bolschwing's memory about his membership in the Nazi
Party and the SS was fragile.79 (U)
The Office of Special Investigations nevertheless filed its suit against Bolschwing
in late May 1981 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of California.
Bolschwing faced three counts of procuring his citizenship in 1959 through willful
misrepresentation when he failed to declare his membership in the Nazi party, the SS, the
SD, and the RSHA, all organizations declared criminal by the International Military
Tribunal at Nuremberg. The court ordered the former German officer to appear at the US
Attorney's office in Sacramento for deposition and to provide all records, photographs, or
other documents from 1932 to 1945." (U)
79Sullivan to L 13 February 1981, OGC 81-01452, enclosing Sworn Statement of Otto
Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing, A8-610-051, 2 February 1981, in OGC Files, Job 85-00903R,
Box 2, Folder 25, CIA ARC. (U)
80U5 v. Otto Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing, Civil Action 5-81-308 MLS, United States District
Court, Eastern District of California, 27 May 1981. See also US v. Bolschwing, Notice of Taking
(b)(3)
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A New Twist (U)
-
Bolschwing offered a new defense in a Sacramento newspaper shortly after OSI
filed its charges. He now claimed that he had actually served as a "secret agent" for the
Office of Strategic Services during the war. "It's not true," Bolschwing said, that "I never -
--I served in the SS or Gestapo- or SD (the intelligence branch of the SS). I did servein the '
OSS for the Americans, and I did parachute into Austria." According to Bolschwing, "it
was dangerous work in Germany (for the Americans)." In a separate statement,
Bolschwing confided that he had even met William J. Donovan, later director of OSS, in
New York prior to the outbreak of World War II. Allan Ryan, speaking for OSI,
immediately denounced Bolschwing's statement. "What he said is not true. Our case
relates from the middle 1930s through the war, and during that period he was not a
double agent for the US or anything like that. He was not affiliated in any way with the
US Govemment."81 (U)
Deposition, 5 June 1981, both documents in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 25,
CIA ARC. OSI apparently dropped the charge of willful misrepresentation but retained the
immoral conduct charge. Se d to 'United States v. Otto
Albrecht von Bolschwing," 29 May 1981, in DO Record Box 1, Folder 6, CIA
ARC. (C)
81 Ryan to Silver, 11 June 1981, OGC 81-05212, enclosing "Alleged Nazi Denies Federal
Charge, Says He Spied for US," San Francisco Chronicle, [c. May 1981], in OGC Records, Job
85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 25, CIA ARC. Bolschwing repeated this assertion in the New York
Times. See "Man, 71, is Ordered to Reply to Charge of Serving the Nazis," New York Times, 29
July 1981, p. A13. CIA denied that Bolschwing had any connection with Donovan or the OSS.
See 1M Ryan, 18 August 1981, OGC 81-07107, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 1,
Folder 4, CIA ARC. (U)
(b)(3)
(bdR)3)
(b)(3)
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Like many of OSI's cases, the Bolschwing suit presented numerous legal
complications. Bolschwing's attorneys and his son requested security clearances to
speak with him about his relationship with the CIA, during the postwar years.. Likewise,
the defense wanted access to all government records pertaining to Bolschwing, which
delayed the case because neither OSI nor CIA were prepared to comply. OSI insisted that
Bolschwing could mount a defense using only those government records relevant to the
court case. This prompted Bolschwing's attorney, Arthur ,I,Ruthejteck, to tell the media
in September 1981 that "my hands have been tied,. . I'm just trying to get authorization
for my client to talk with me." He added, "we're in a real Catch-22 situation. One arm of
the government prosecutes the case and another says you can't talk to your client."82 (U)
3f the Office of General Counsel saw this situation in a different (b)(3)
light. She told Ruthenbeck "Your hypothetical inability to represent your client based
upon your perception of unknown contractual limitations similarly suggests a desire to
infuse this litigation with premature issues."83 Bolschwing, according to both OSI and
CIA, was free to discuss all issues with his attorney although the Department of Justice
stipulated that classified material could not be discussed outside of the courtroom. (U)
In the meantime, Bolschwing's health continued to deteriorate. At the behest of
OSI,3repared a classified affidavit to support the Government's motion for a
825. Lynne Walker, "Accused Nazi's Defense Hampered by CIA Order Not to Talk, Attorney
Says," Sacramento Union, 10 September 1981. See also Ruthenbeck to Smith, 10 September
1981, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 25, CIA ARC. (U)
83 to Ruthenbeck, 21 September 1981, OGC 81-08314, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R,
Box 2, Folder 25, CIA ARC. (U)
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protective order.
he DO's Information Review Officer (IRO), cited the
need to protect critical national security information from unauthorized disclosure as well
as to protect confidential sources. The IRO commented that the "DO files concerning
Von Bolschwing contain extensive information on intelligence methodology in use by
CIA." The Agencynlbsserted, "cannot, on the public record in this litigation,
acknowledge the existence of such information without jeopardizing the sanctity of
classified infonnation."84
Case Closed (U)
CIA's efforts turned out to be unnecessary. In late 1981, Allan A. Ryan, Jr., OSI's
director, announced that Otto Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing had voluntarily
surrendered his American citizenship after admitting his membership in various Nazi
organizations. Ryan agreed that the aging Bolschwing, diagnosed with a "progressive
neurological condition," could remain in the United States until his health improved
enough to permit deportation. He also noted that the consent decision, offered by
Bolschwing's defense, "was made by this Office in consultation with higher authorities in
the Department of Justice and was not reviewed by, or submitted for the approval of, any
(b)(3)
845ee to Neil Sher, Deputy Director, OSI, 6 November 1981, enclosing
Affidavit, US v. Bolschwing, (S), in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 25, CIA ARC.
(5)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
(b)(3)
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other government agency."85 The Bolschwing case ended in March 1982 when
Bolschwing died at the age of 72 of progressive supranuclear paisy.86 (u)
By the end of 1981, the Central Intelligence-Agency had worked with the
Department of Justice in three major Nazi war criminal investigations: Tscherim
Soobzokov, Edgars Laipenieks, and Otto Albrecht Alfred von Bolschwing. The Agency
also-enabled OSI to complete name trace requests on hundreds of immigrants in the---..
United'.States. The Directorate of Operations, the Office of Security, and the Offith.of
General Counsel spearheaded CIA's efforts with OSI. The Agency struggled to protect
national security interests while meeting its legal obligations to support OS!. Despite
some rough spots, the partnership was sticcessful as the Agency and OSI learned how to
cooperate. The nature of the Nazi war criminal investigations grew even more -
controversial during the 1980s. (U)
85See "Statement of Allan A. Ryan, Jr., Director, Office of Special Investigations," with
annotated comments, in OGC Records, Job 85-00903R, Box 2, Folder 25, CIA ARC. (U)
86"Otto von Bolschwing; Ex-Captain in Nazi SS," New York Times, 10 March 1982, p. B-5. (U)
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