MYSTERY FOR A SHROUD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000400410015-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 5, 1999
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: April 1, 1970
• Content Type: NSPR

Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00149
.. '. T 'S TY L .WDOWN
CPYRGHT
At Great Falls, a few miles above the' Nation's capital, the Potomac is a narr
shining ribbon-of water twisting and winding between its palisades as seen fr
?20,OOO feet. It is here that the great procession of mighty thundering jetli
begin their descent as they head toward National Airport. It is challenging t
,
pilot to keep in the narrow.twisting corridor above the river, where he is re
,to remain because the thundering roar of his aircraft is unwelcome to the resi
of the District of Columbia and Virginia on the land below. Apparently the r
dents of Georgetown in the District of Columbia have more political influence,
as a result of their complaints pilots make sure that when they stray from over the
river, it is on-the Virginia side. As the planes thunder over Langley, Va., pass-
engers look out upon'the roof of a tremendous office complex, .a massive white build
ing with two gigantic bean-shaped parking Sots'-the imposing headquarters of the
Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.).
MYSTERY FOR A SHROUD CPYRGH. T
Intelligence is generally thought o as a c oak and dagger hush-hush business,
shrouded in mystery, and much is made of how secret the C.I.A. operation is. But
.the iceberg has a'big tip--the. building' in Langley, the recruiters on college cam-
puses, and operations such as the U-2 overflights of Russia, and the Bay of Pigs J
invasion of Cuba.
;ant as the budget of the C.I.A. is secret--even the Congressmen who vote the funds
.are not supposed to know the'amount of the agency's budget.., The allotments are con-
Most people recognize the'need of governments for accurate intelligence, necessary
for the protection of their nationals. Things that are really subject to question
.by the layman are the concept of this operation being.a world wide network, com-
puterized, and mass-produced with 'a massive bureaucracy, and the quality and orien-
'tation of the personnel'involved. Of course, the size of the budget to sustain all
this should be a justifiable question for taxpayers. This is particularly import-
Lcealed in appropriations for?other,agencies of government'-. If,,however,?the C.I.A.
,-gets the reputed amount of $4 BILLION a year,:?and this amount can be hidden in the
':budget, it would certainly cause taxpayers to..wonder.if the. federal'.. budget is not
leakier than the New York City water system.
One.thing is certain--anybody who recruits'on:'college.campuses should know what he
is-.hixing=fpr_the students who get honors these days are those who please theiz
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00149R000400410015-0
 WAMaNGTON OBSERVER NEwui rrbu
3.1966
NOV
Sanitized -.Approved For Release : CIA-RDP
CPYRGHT
KONLY WASHINGTON OBSERVER is pleased to an-
nounce that it has won a singular victory
r in its crusade to secure freedom for Mario
FREED Kohly, the imprisoned anti-Communist
Cuban exile leader.
Kohly was released from the Allenwood Federal
Prison Farm, by order of the President of the United
States. He could have been caged I V4 years longer.
But, like everything else that LBJ does, there are strings
attached. It is stipulated that Kohly must cease and
desist in his efforts to overthrow the Communist
regime of Fidel Castro.
For the past nine months, WO staffers have spent
considerable time and intensive effort collecting evi-
dence to prove in a court of law that Kohly was the
victim of CIA entrapment and that he was railroaded
to prison on trumped-up charges and arbitrarily denied
the right to call witnesses in his own defense. Further-
more, WO was prepared to prove that two of Kohly's
attorneys sold out to the CIA. Sixteen potential wit- z
nesses were interviewed and written statements were
taken from seven of them.
WO published a series of three articles on the
"Tragedy of Mario Kohly" (Feb. 15, Oct. 1 and Oct.
15, 1966) and was preparing to run several more de-
tailing the shocking facts relating to the shameful
frame-up against this great Cuban patriot.
The WO expose aroused a lively interest on the,part
of several editors of other publications, who sought
personal interviews with Kohly, but Justice Department ; . ; ....
officials denied their requests. Several Members of 'I"..
Congress made inquiries at the Department of Justice * I
and received long, rambling replies.
Finally, the matter was called to the attention of
President Johnson, who quickly decided that he did
not want Kohly to become a martyr and the symbol of
secret agreement between Washington and Moscow.
anti-Communist Cuban agitation embarrassing to the.
LBJ ordered Kohly paroled for the remaining 15
I months of his prison sentence-he has already served
nine months. There was a hint that LBY would grant
a full Presidential pardon later.
Sanitized'- Approved For Release: CIA-RDP75-00149R000400:41`QO:115,-0
 WASHINGTON OBSERVER NEWSLETTER .
Sanitized - Appro c ~or%Olease : CIA-
CPYRGHT
va .u v Here is the latest sequel in the tragic Kohly
I L i story, revealed in an exclusive story in the
SEQUEL last issue Of WASHINGTON OBSERVER
NEWSLETTER. A convicted narcotics vi-
olator, now serving a sentence at the :\ifcnwood Prison
farm, recently told Kohly that he had been offered
$50,000 to kill him. The confession was transmitted
to the Justice Department authorities and is supposedly
being investigated.
The Federal prison guards have taken a kindly atti-
tude toward Kohly. Consequently, he has received-rea-
sonably fair treatment until now. Recently, Kohly broke
his reading glasses. After waiting six weeks prison doe-
tors furnished him new glasses, but he can't see to read
with them. His wife sent ; ? .ectacles with prescribed
lenses, but prison officials returned the glasses explain-
ing they were unauthorized.
At the same time, prison officials ordered Kohly to
teach a class of prisoners about civil defense-a subject
he knew nothing about. He was furnished instructional
material from the Pentagon, but he can't read the print.
As a disciplinary measure for not obeying orders to
teach civil defense, prison officials are threatening to
send him back to the Lewisburg Penitentiary and place
him in solitary confinement. This would put a black
mark on his otherwise excellent conduct record and
prevent him from becoming eligible for parole. His
petition for parole is currently pending before the
parole board and at the discretion of the board he can
presently be paroled for good behavior.
Castro wants Kohly dead and the CIA-State Depart-
ment clique wants to keep him incarcerated!
"EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW" is inscribed on-
the stone front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in
Washington, but that highest tribunal rejected Kohly's
plea to review the entrapment case against him.
FOIAb3b
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00149R000400410015-0