CIA EX-AGENT TO DIRECT RIOT CONSPIRACY PROBE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000200340006-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 22, 1999
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: October 7, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

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sy P .I-:t liE 1STEI PYRGHT
i.DYANCC WASHINGTON OQ;;CAU Sion in its interim report
il
w
l probably, call for "short-
ranee" assistance to low-in-
Jgnnson s riot commission ye
teraay selected a forme- off come areas from such
cer of the Central Zntcitioe.^,c sources as private industry
Agency to find out hcthethe and universities :which are
recent city riots were nl}: one located within the cities, Ker.
said.
He is Milan Carl 14islvsk
'
now now a Treasury Dcpar'tmo
lawyer, who was with the CI
from 19x1 to 1964,first as a
intelligence officer and '.ate
as assistant general counsel.
Commission chairman Otto
:erner announced the selec-
tion of Miskovsky at a White
House press conference and
said the former CIA agent
would oversee "indepen feat
inquires" t o d e t e rr.--ine
whether a conspiracy was in-
Volved in riots that tore
through a score of cities this
summer.
Officially, Miskovsky, wh
won the t CIA's Certificate o
Merit in 1962 and Medal o
Merit in 1964, will have th
title !'director of investigations
for the national advisory com-
mission on civil .i;. rd. rs."
It was reported that his job
will be to supervise the -com-
mission's investigation-fn der
way since late July -` and
coordinate the probe with in-
formation being lathered by
the Justice Department and
state. ,and local police agencies.
In announcing the appoint,
nignt, Kerner, the governor of
Illinois, said... it "seems lo;i-
cal"-that"'"there was a conspir
acy-behind the riots. But ;he
'said-the commission has yet to
ind_ any evidence that this was
the?6a.se. Kerner did' not mention'
it, 'but in -testimony last month
before the commission. FBI.
irector J. Edgar Hoover
id he was convinced tft:ere'
vas no evidence of a constpir-
a?cy to foment riots.
N
0034`" .,,
4, lab er
she cities be free of, tae threw.
of more civil disorders, KernC
said. The Illinois governor a a
accompanied at - the Will.
House news con. " r ce - b
Mayor ?John TL; . - Ne
York City, who is vice chair
Saying What.
most:. of he Te-~ man of the commission.
'cent violence began, with rock-I- Neither Kerner
:
' a Demo
,
.
throwing by Negro; youths 1,_,,rat, nor Lindsay, a Republito 16 years old, Kenner said1can, referred to :urban legisla
that universities, in ?particu-1ti?on' now' pending betfore Con
Jklar, should take a 'greater in-1 gress.
terest" in encou'raging'' stu-
dents to` tutor potential high
school dropouts.
Kerner cited inadequate
education and housing ,and a
lack of jobs as factors ^n re-
cent riots, but the Illinois
go.vernor.? said that. the,prime
cause of the riots was.. "a sense
of deep inferiority" felt by
slum Negroes. This feeling' of
inferio}ity, said Kerner,' springs
from poor Negroes being repeat-
edly turned away from decent
jobs and housing.
"I think this is 'the basis of
he whole thing," said Kerner,
'And the white community of
he United States is not
ware of the existence of this
roblem--not aware of how
y
eep and sensitive it is." averted, he, said.
,;.,.?.
Not until the psychic pat-h- -
Kerner said the 11-member'
commission, which has heard.
estimony from, 75 witnesses,
ncluding the mayors of New-'.
.rk and Detroit - cities l rd=
?st nit by this year's. riots
port to President Johnson` "as
soon as possible" with recom-
mendations for "immediat
hhelp" to thwart further Civil:.
of inferiority among g'het
CPYRGHT
Approved For 5~ 9/1Ws:Cl -RDP75-000018000200340006-3
They sidestepped queries
about a reported push by
some commission members
for full-year funding of the
Neighborltpo4., ):Duth Corps
at last summer's 'level. And
neither mentioned the cm-
t3 t lecl a ttipoverty . program -
'.which is expected to,undergo
a' severe test in ; the "louse
next month.
For the immediate future,
the commission will continua I
its investigation with a detailed i
probe of' 25 to 30 cities of
fected by riots, Kerner staid.
This will involve getting "niin-
ute-by-minute, . d e v e lopment-
by- development" knowledge
of the riots ,r- why they oc-
curred ',and how the
cart the