EXHUMATION PLEA IN SPY CHIEF CASE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000404000011-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 8, 2010
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: August 1, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/08: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404000011-3
ARTICLE Ai'PE.
ON PAGE 3 ~S t~' f Q N y J
CHIC: O 'P?_I_'t;E
1 August 1981
anon
By Michael Coakley:'*
C?icaco Trare Preis iirvt?
NEW YORK The city's chief medical
examiner Thursday requested exhuma-
tion of the body of Dennis McNeil, who
died -mysteriously one week after his two
c-others contacted -a newspaper to ac-
cuse the.CI.4's ex-spymaster, Max Hugel,
cf joining them in an. illegal stock
Manipulation deal.
The examiner; Dr. Elliot Gross, said in
a letter to the Queens County district
a.torney that an. autopsy- is necessary to
determine whether the 41-year-old
_cNell was murdered:
The district attorney, John Santucci,
s _ i d he is beginning a full investigation
iz:o the McNeil case and hopes to re-
s _,and to the exhumation request by next
'onday.
THE MEDICAL EXAMINER'S deci-
:n to seek an autopsy followed pubiica-
t:_ n of a story in Wednesday's Chicago
Tnoune which revealed details of the
s-.picious June 1* death.
Santucci has assigned two New York
police detectives and two assistant
d;-sct attorneys to sift the evidence and
to attempt to Interview McNeil's widow,
Jea-. and a Chicago businessman, Stan-I
le-- Kieirnar, who was associated with all
McNeil brothers in their Triad
Ec!~-.-gy Corp.
I: :has learned that the probe has been
ha-oered bycMrs. McNel1's refusal to be
in: viewed by the police. One source
clcf-e to the investigation told The Triun, that she informed detectives that she
had Seen asked to remain silent. by th
Feceral Bureau of Investigatiotr :.
'HOWEVER,:- LATE Thursday tbe?
sou.---es said the FBI, which is. conducting,
its _,*An investigation of the McNells, had
indw._ted they would cooperate-with local
at :parities. ...
3=_Nell died in a Queens hospital while
be :c= prepared for surgery for a sus-
pec,~d ruptured spleen. In an unusual
ac`cr, no autopsy was performed at the-
titn '
Vnee accusations. against Hugel, when
pubi' hed two weeks ago in the Washing-
ton. = mot, resulted in his Immediate resig
natma as assistant: director of the CIA.
He c.e: ed the charges, however, and said
the _,:rNels were trying to blackmail
f
lea
THE.TWO SURVIVING McNeil
brothers, Samuel and Thomas, have
vanished. Directors of the Triad firm
char, that about $3.3 million is missing
from Triad and a second company the
McNells ran.
Kielmar, a Chicagoan. whoa is one of
'Triad's- directors,. informed the- FBI last
week that he had been told that Dennis
McNeil. who was employed as an ad-
rninistrative assistant for. the firm, w?s
abducted and beaten twice this
year-once in April or May and a second
time=jusl_ before his death. - .
1{ielmar~'inIus statement to the FBI,
said he "assumed" the alleged beatings
were related to the-brothers' dealings
with Hugel and he interpreted them as' a
warning for the blcNelIs to. cool it with
Hugel." '
LN HIS LETTER to the district attor-
medical the hospital, records on Dennis
McNeil list a ruptured spleen as a possi-
ble cause of his death.
"A rupture of the spleen is most fre-
quently of traumatic origin and often the
result of a criminal act," Gross said in
the letter.
He also raised the suspicion of foul play
in making the '-formal request, for an
exhumation. "I`i,m of the opinion that an
autopsy is- indicated to determine
whether or not the death in any way
resulted from a criminal act," the letter
stated.
S`LCCPS OFFICE revealed only a
portion of the contents- of the letter. -It.
was" learned' that Gross has indicated to
the. district attorney's office that an auto
Psy, in -all probahilit'y will. not by itself
determine- conclusivel
wh
th
y
e
er a homi-
cide had been committed; = .
The hospital's records show that there
were no bruises on Dennis McNell's body_
A number of medical authorities have
said it would be possible for someone to
sustain a severe--blow to the abdomen
without there being any resulting exter-
nal.marks. -
The original report on the-case in the
rhedical examiner's office indicated that
McNeil may Gave suffered from cirrhosis
of the liver, an affliction which could,
according to experts, damage the spleen.
STAT
BUT MRS. MCNELL told The Tribune
in an interview Sunday night that, as far
as she knew, her husband was ir. robust
Physical health at the time of his death, i
except for a mild diabetic condition.
District Atty. Santucci said that if
McNell's death was caused by a beating
that occurred in Queens, a largely subur-
ban-borough, of New York City, it would
be his office's responsibility. to conduct a
homicide investigation.
McNeii's body is buried in Maine and
Santucci has obtained a pledge of cooper-
ation from officials in, that state if al
decision is made to exhume Court ap.
proval would be needed, with or without
the permission of McNell's widow.. San-
tucci said.
SOURCES SAID police are eager to
question 31rs. `IC-Nell about any knowl-i
edge she might have of either alleged
beating.
In her interview with The Tribune, sh
said she knew nothing about any violence
which might have been inflicted on herE
husband. She did say, however, that dur-11l
ing the last three or, four- months _ the
Period during which the first beating sup..i
posedly occurred - McNeil had re-
mained overnight in Manhattan after.
working late on a few occasions and that
it was possible he could have sought
medical assistance without her knowl-
.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/08: CIA-RDP90-00552R000404000011-3