WH COMMENTS ON JACK ANDERSON COLUMN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00380R000300100009-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 12, 2005
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: March 8, 1973
• Content Type: MF

SECRET
Approved For Release 2005/11/ 1 : A-RDP75BOO38OR000300100009-3
n TS DOCUMENT WAS SUBJECT TO ITT/CHILE JUSTICE INVESTIGATION
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Operations
8 Mt R 1973
REFERENCE: Jack Anderson's Washington Merry-Go-
Round Column of 8 March 1973: "Chilean
Break-ins Reflect Watergate"
1. WH Division has reviewed the referenced column
(copy attached) by Jack Anderson and finds that it con-
tains no new information. To the best knowledge of the
Division, there is no foundation to the allegation that
E. Howard Hunt was engaged on behalf of ITT in breaking
into Chilean diplomatic installations in Washington and
New York.
2. Any connection between ITT and these break-ins
is purely conjectural and the column takes care to
point this out.
Theodore G. Shackley
Chief
Western Hemisphere Division
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Approved For Release 2005/1 S83REa: -RDP75B0 38OR000300100009-3 25X1
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CIA-FK7NMWA~DD30V100009 ' tf irch 8,1973
Chilean Break-ins Reflect Watergate
Anderson
Senate investigators suspect non-government sources alike "ITT is the only likely con-
that the same Miccinn Tmpos-(have told us that the Cuban `tractor for operations against
sible team arrested at the exile community has a pool of the Chileans. It claims to have
Watergate may also have bro- -talent which was trained by an investment worth $153 mil?
ken into the Chilean Embassy the CIA and is available for lion in the Chilean Telephone
several weeks earlier. And I 'dirty tricks: This talent has Company; it knew that docu-
three Chilean diplomats in been used at one time or an-Iments were leaking from its
New York City, the investiga- other by a number of federal I files; it asked the Chilean gov-
tors discovered, have been vie- agencies for missions of ques- ernment to move negotiations
mysterioustionable legality inside andifrom Santiago to Washing-
tiros of similar
,
breakins. outside of the United States. ton."
The Chilean Embassy bur-
Ina memo intended for the "Federal sources report the glary was investigated by the
investi- Cubans to be absolutely loyal, (ITT and Watergate FBI, which dismissed It as rou-
eyes gating only ITT's s senators operations in !fanatically anti-Communist We reported last week on tine. But Senate investigators
Chile, staff director Jerry Lev. and willing to take any risk. It other strange links between disagree. "Careful investiga-
also likely that when `teams' the ITT and Watergate scan- Lion of the circumstances
inson reported: "A source is
ld FBI
bt
o
an cVllmllmunni L 1.1164 acting +
Cu
members knew who had re? not routine.
subcomrnitteg staff that Frank rick Gray and convicted
Sturgis had told other people quested and was financing the Watergate felon E. Howard "Valuable office equipment
that he and Martinez and Gon- operation. Hunt had been involved in an and cash were left untouched.
zalez, two other Watergate de- "Washington business and I abortive effort to discredit the The Ambassador's office and
fendants, had broken into the political sources report that famous Dita Beard memo, the office of the First Secre-
embassy to photograph docuabout eight months before the (which tied a $400,000 political tary were both searched and
ments." Watergate arrest, E. Howard pledge from ITT with a settle- files were inspected. The
Levinson was cautious, how-, Hunt let it be known around ment of its antitrust troubles thieves walked past several
ever, about implicating ITT in the city that he had a 'team' The Washington Post re- more attractive offices to get
the alleged Chilean caper. available for 'Mission Impossi- ported that Hunt, apparently to the First Secretary's office,
"The staff of the subeommrt- ble' assignments and that the disguised in an askew red wig, suggesting they knew where
tee," he reported, "has devel-,team would be willing to work went to Denver to talk to Mrs. they were going:' The burglar-
oped a number of leads sug- for private clients. 1 Beard about renouncing the izing of the New York apart-
gesting a relationship between "It is possible that E. How- I memo. We reported that Gray. ments of Chilean diplomats
ITT and the team which was and Hunt. acting as the con- meanwhile, turned the origi- were described in the memo
arrested at the Watergate." I tractor for the 'team,' had nal memo over to ITT for its as "similar clean break-ins."
But he stressed "that the case, more than one client and that experts to try to discredit. Footnote: Jerry Levinson
outlined in this memorandum fa second client was ITT, which Gray refused to comment refused to comment on his
is circumstantial and that was interested in obtaining in- when we called the FBI for his memo, which he said wasn't
there is no hard evidence of formation about its neotia- response. Questioned by sena- ( intended for publication. An
ITT involvement." 'tins over the fate of its in-;tors under oath, however, he ITT spokesman called the
Ivestment in the Chilean Tele- I testified that he had not I allegations about Hunt "ab-
Suspieious Case IPhone Company. The mem- turned the memo over to ITTI solutely and totally untrue."
Here, however, is the cir- hers of the team may have directly but had delivered it tol He said ITT had never hirer'
cumstantial l ~~ e~ oil g r X13 ft$ti 9 ~ Q ~~ t for any purpose.
as pie were#01n p i hi xton i 3, United Festure syndicate
subcommittee ec
together from jigsaw pieces of ! block a 'Communist' govern- l other words, that not only dis-
t t
i
d H
b
h
gge
un
e
ew
o
patched t
Denver-but also passed the
document to ITT.
This makes the story even
more sordid. It shows that the
White House, while denying
any involvement with ITT,
was working closely with the
giant conglomerate to dis-