STUDY REPORTED SHELVED

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00806R000201160012-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 19, 2010
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: February 23, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00806R000201160012-8
E RTI CLE APPEARED
ON PAGE'_
,
a
r La Vista had
meats show that American diplomats tuna intelligence operations r.
? took up aspects of his report with an Loftus cited the case of Ferenc Vasta,
envoy of Pope Pius XU and with offs. the Hungarian Nazi.
dais of the International Committee of n his report, rf . La Vista said:
the Red Cross. Both promised to look "The Hungarian Communists are
into the matter, report, records show. also trying to hunt down the Hungarian
Vatican "the rg. La Vista called the fascist, Vajta, Ferenc, who, so their
V
tion at involved in the Illegalsingle of state at the Grand Hotel Rome, under
emigrants." He said that the Vatican the very eyes of the Anglo-Aerican
had brought pressure on Latin Amen. authorities. However, Vajta is not at
can countries to take in Nazis and that the Grand Hotel but according to
"the justification of the Vatican for its fairly reliable sources, in one of the
participation is this illegal traffic is many monasteries in the Rome area '?
simply propagation of the faith." In December 1947, half a year later,
Allegations Were Denied Mr Vajta, who had been an aide to Far.
enc Szalast, the executed Hungarian
Two church historians, the Rev. Rob.
Nazi leader, was. discovered living in:
ert Graham and the Rev. Pierre Blet,
New York, A Congressional inquiry
dismissed the allegations in the report
determined that he had entered the
as "nothing but air" and "artificial and
United States on a diplomatic visa
false." Father Blet also questioned ac.
issued by the American consul in Ma.
counts that Walter Rauff, a former
drid.
Nazi official said to have developed the
n
s
mobile death vans, had been given ref- obtained State Department dncumedicates
uge in church convents before by Mr. Loftus in
ric emu.
to Chile, where his extradition is again g~rab of ~ O0z Nazis is to o t Latin about me America and
being V tin cant spokesman, the Rev. the possible role of the Vatican.
Romeo Panciroli, called the state.
ments of the historians "a sufficiently
clear reply" to the issue and the Vati.
can Indicated that the statements cops.
stituted its official reply.
Mr. La Vista,-a lawyer, worked at the
beginning of World War n as an Inves-
tigator for the Army Air Forces and in
1W5 was
to the embassy In
Rome under the assigned M Foreign
Activity Correlation, a State Depart-
; went intelligence office. He was as-
i signed to trace looted Nazi wealth in a
secret operation code-named "Safeba.
ven" and be also headed the American
team that studied and microfilmed the
NE'h' YORK' TIMES
23 Februery 1984
seized archives of Benito Mussolini.
I. La Vista died in Arlington, Va., in
Study Reported Shelved 1951 at the age of 44.
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL John Loftus, a former member of the
eat s ff~c~?-.+ i
The sta Justice
te D___pe a trrent investigator ?~ ___ vestigations deaiin with war crimi.
whose 1947 re said the Vatican had I pals, said )ie"~ad no u t t e
assisted iti esca of Nazis may redo was s v o presetve
live unwittingly 'ti= 1R onto Ameri- the secrecvoo0 tlU ence links.
can i t lllgence operations that were 1Vir "j of tus, a gostonf er who has
tri esti use oftbe verXE.;5lr tten a ermine t
investigating, accor~dirtg_~to Gwela- star
meat documents Nazis were smuggles into the
anaformerofficials. t tates also
ssaa result, tile sources say, the re- said that accordin
io~ocvmenis he
port by the investigator, Vincent La fence d one to the VaticMed=
an for
Vista, appears to have been ultimately ehT n3-aria cape o ants
shelved without the wider Investigation wo or erg,
be recommended.. However
docu- ' ce t~'
t M
Sept. for economic afairs i in the
counselor American Embassy in Rome, sent
Washington a followup on the La Vista
report in the form of a secret memo-
randum of July 16, 1947, prepared by
the American Embassy in Buenos
Aires. ? ,
The Buenos Aires memorandum
cited an Istituto di Sot. Jeronimus a
Via Tomacelli 132 in Rome that the La
Vista
tepor
as the address for
n
tia
can Croan r elief organization
"engaging In Or Suspected of enga
in
g
g
dum called the institute the hendquhar-
' t
ers of a clandesti
ne movement of
Yugoslav Ustaschi war criminals from
Italy to Argentina. The memorandum
stated: "It would, appear that neces-
sarysums come from Vatican circles,
who had previously actively supported
this organization in 1923-1941. Member.
ship of 'Ustascha'and Catholic religion
are pullssoo yry for help and assistance
in leaving ."
The memorandum listed several
Croatians and a Frenchman - Drago
Kretazlr, Juan Peicevick, Dr. FTodt,
and Marquis Eric de Survllle -.vg it
said arrived in this manner in Argen.
tina by ship from Italy.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/07/19: CIA-RDP90-00806R000201160012-8