WHO'S TRYING TO SUPPRESS BOOK THAT UNCORKS SCANDAL OF DECADE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000300130008-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 21, 2000
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: April 19, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

TIM WASHINGTON INDEPENDENT
.1"?-? ?
CPXORTed For Release 2000/08/27 : t1k-MD07*20D14141R801031001
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. Gr Riehards book IALAGENT published a :little ,,over four
??Fnonths ago has the potential to ,uncork the biggest bureaucratic
:scandal of the Johnson Administration.
tl-,ere is a catch. . Someone: is trying to suppress th
?
When ne-..zs of the book leaked, out from the publisher, Davin-
. Adair, the big, popular, mass circulation11.c'gazines clamored to
:zoo proofs of ic. Roacieris .Digest, Life, ? Look, The. New
'? Yorker, Playboy? they all wanted an advance look ..at 'this . block-
A copy of tho manuscript Si'S rushed to True magazine; Life
n1Eazino rz,,..:oiveci copies of the galleys. Readers Digest and
The New Yorker were also given copies of the mal.ws
Advance enthusiamby the nag-'
In other words all the same
?
people who have had s hand in
keei.-ing the door closed' on the
story since it ban late 1960.
The same people Who will scram-
ble and yell when Con7ress be-
gins to uncover layer after
layer of bureaucratic bungling
which has been hidden by the
? culprits .from the. beginning,
? hidden bloopers tha.t in them-
selves helpto obscure bloopers
? and more hanky-panky.
Thu' shocking lesson Of the,
Goleniewski-Romanoff case (see.
related story beginning page 1)i
"is the glaring error of allow-
was matched by their
similar, chilly 'out polite
(---???\ . Vague reason piled
vague reason. "It's see
. if it becomes a best - soller
first," said' the editor of True.
L'he N C'eT Yorker which had just
-:;un the Penkovskiy Papers re-
" plied: "Doesngt quite .,fit our
necd.s."
? .A r.L.-jor television agent was
also enthusiastic. He thought
a TV documentary was a certainty.
Radio and . TV personalities
a..sked for copies of the book.
There was the same excite4 in-
s t. then silence.
ing
So far Richards, an editor at ? a secret organization like,
::
the New York World Journal Ti-. the CIA to handle a, matter
such rnag-nitucle in' a way that.'
? buno, has been interviewed con-- .
;enables its bureaucrats to ,
corning the book, ? in Hartford
? suppress all signs . of their own? Now York City, Philadelphia,
.m.istake's and bury' all the ,re-
Fort Worth?, .and St. Louis.? .
wit tal4es only a quick reed- I latd leads," -writes Richards.'
"No Agency? and especially a
ing,".said Richards last week,
"tb see why the; suppression -of .secret agency? should have .
book is one of those rare- such absolute. power." -
tasks in which ene!.-- finds. a
common ? interest anong the ?Bri-
?---. tioh and.. ' several
e.gencies of the U,S.'; including
'ehe State Dept., .Foreign .,40f-rig what.. ? ?
Service ? . One of the strangest charges
against the book; a 'charge ob-.
,?viously designed to hinder its
Oa 1 fr.charge. that is -.
Approved For Release 2000A3tait:atrA-gazTSLCt03144R4)06300
*L000k.is
,There seem to be so 'many ,;
groups attempting to suppress 4
the book that it s hard to tell
just who ? is responsible ;or '
?,?
CPYRGHT
paganda." The Virginia Kirkus
Dro.-znization in New York 'oegan
this huckly-. buckly in advance
of- the book's publication. The
Kirkus .group specializes in in
information newsletter to book-
sellers. ? Richards terms the
Z.irkas characterization of
XRIAL aGENT. ?I'a real banana
peel operation." -
"This did a lot of harm," he
said referring to the Kirkus
bleep, "but it also boomeranged
oocause there is no propaganda,
anti-Semitic or otherwise, in
the whole , book.. The subject
(anti-Semitism) has no mention
at all except in one of the op-
tions given the - reader as one
of some seven alternate inter-
pretations which night be placed
on the Goleniewski Case."
Despite the Kirkus allegations
the book has done well in the
few cities where it has gotten
reviews or radio shows. Accord- ?
ing to the author, the. book has
lone well in Washington "on a
word-of-mouth basis; but.' there,
as in - New York, some .parsons
? .possibly CIA. stooges ?? have'
auietly gone to bookdealers on
the whispering campaign of anti-
3emitism and ? put the - banana.
peel under the book. Thus we
-lave found stores whose sales-
ten have told. would - be buyers
that they were out of it, or
that it would take two weeks to.
.4.:)t it, when, in fact, , the 'store
lad it; when, .in 'fact, it would ?
take' only a ,day to obtain it
from.a. - ?.
130008-0
?
:hat coc
acir..it 'navir.ga fe:
eoi;e4es
- ?
daS ror
b 3 0:L sel2.ing
singles." In the home of
the "snake.nest" bureaucracy,
ap:a'arer.tly no group. had been
*01.7..ng the book in large quan-
tities to keep them off the
market; thouzh the thought is
not so far-fetched.
. Early this year ? Princess
Yarinc. :Crepe. tkin, a Russiah
emiF,,ree related to the nobility
.01 St. Peterebura', flew to 1lunic:a
Gorr.,.--,ny, certain of interesting.
a major German publisher in
purchasing the rights to ?the
book. On arrival she found the
director of the publishing house
on holiday. She left an exten-
sive nesso.ge .concerning ? the
book.
? The next morning Pl'incess.
XroNtkin received a telephone?
.call at her. hotel from .a man
-...7ho identified hinself as lire.
C m-an . Hes aid e reprosontea
,en fo.cee- s _
-2-roviderl GuyllicharL
1:4qR0000r4Vp u?sc'a
'cook c on eaining ratny parts
s-representation of tr.....th anc
istortion C.L facts."
Ronanoff is quoted throughout
? ,he book, extensively at tines
from detailed ? and apparent:L.7r
'_engthy. interviews he had with
The Tsarevich .wrote that ha)
'cz-z.celled him or other...self-
,..1ppointed so-called authors,
1 investigators, etc."
"I have no responsibility,'
-le wrote in the advertisement,
"for libelous contents of sail
1 cooks 'concerning other persons
or authorities. A legal acticrl
for liable (sic) and damages
re: .rj..parson will be taken:.
.
the presumption of a copyriert
t?by?Gv Richards is lawless."
?
viczotp.s
TSAR , Romanoff said that he hex_
7 '10Ci.K.?y_et
Princess Kropotkin returned
to her hotel puzzled and. waited
heccr from the - "publishers
representative." She heard
nothing. Five days later there
was no answer to repeated phone
calls to the ?office of "Yr.
Coleman." She returned to the ;
office. There was no one there.
The cardboard ? sign had been i
removed.
:Later, on returning to the
office of the publishing dir-
ector who had been on holiday, ,
Princess Krop.otkin found that :
he had never he$ard of "o. Cole-
man." However, the director;
said, he was interested in the!
rights to the book, though not
on the scale that l'iv4r, 'Coleman"
had indicated in his converse.-
tions with To date . the,.
German publishing house ":conains.
interested," according toDevin-
Adair .
Probably the most :unusual.'
twist, of many, though not en-
tirely inexplicable nor tinged
with espionage maneuvering, is
that llich4 Goleniewski, now
signing his name LN. Roms.noff,
repudiated any connection with
the Richards: book in a paid .
advertisement in the New. York
-Decer?Joer 9.?
? -
.the sane large German publishing
firm she had contz....eted the pre,.
vious day. He inv-ited her to
his office in the center o
When the Princess arrived a
the appointed location, not in
the .same buiiding. she had for-?
nerly visited, she found. the
"office" identified with a card-
board sign over the door. There
were two girls filing and typ-
ing in the office :with "Nr..
Coleman." -Late:c a second man!.
joined ?:then..
According to Dc.---vin -Adair this
"publisher, 6 :CC:presentative". ?
spoke flawless German, as ? well;
as flawless English with a
American accent. He was
prepared. to pay $80,000 for!
the German. rights. to the book.
Contracts WGre ready to. .be,
signed.
"irne Princess hesitated. ? Ob-
viously there was somothing:.!
wrong. "Mr. Coleman's" lcaow-
? lecicr,e of the Goleniewski-Roman-,'
off affair was as extensive or
perhaps more extensive than her
own a.'nc: ho. hadngt read the
THE WASHINGTON INDEPENDEM
"
?
?
?
'been "Lafo:cmed about the hawa
me
and. other p.srsons". whic'n
o?ald be caused Iv' the -publica-
tion of the book. MI- the ad-
N-ertisement he aid not say wic
had ,so info---eted him!
the last months ,." ha wrote ke
lad intervened lottorc.,
telegrams, _phone calls end also
r\srsonilly by: Chief of Secur-
ity of CIA, FBI and by othcfr.
I.'S. Authorities in, order to
Irevent the machinations" of ;
t he ..se"..af-appointed author.
.":Por reasons beyond rt7 Con-.
trel" he added ? the book 1,7Z-S
'41)lishod He did not state ,
that action the U.S. author.
ties had instigated..
Though it may at first glance ..
Edon curious that -a book in
EuPpert of a mans claims to be.
the Tsarevich and ? recounting
I-is strange underground story,
oulci be repudiated by him,
iiichards does spot think it quite
so odd. He has had many talks'
- - - .
Romanoff, , knows his par.-,
E onality (which he describes, a.
z.umber of times in the book
difficult) and .thf....ks the a?'
vertn.sement not too unusua2.
There remains terrific 1. esu.
=the) defectorar..?c:',
double agent censtently facc s
certain risks . even after. ca.-
Iesure; can .easily imagine
*tile 'pies:sures 'exerted on qua4.-
-: ruple -apents. ?
t.
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? loa%noff,
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sesn in ":".,OU.On.
-..-1.th a :;:an caii
Ro::?-:Inof2, S.filo was
the 17.:1CJ:Tfi f:?10
Golon-
io`?:"5:-d-. Net ha-ci-.1::-.;;; heard
hal: for scvo-ral nor..ths I ce....12.ed
tho CIL for d?-..molo?
r.-.onts boforo begcm
story about --oho'
claims. tel6.. A'
the ::_:_:;oncy did not talk
orriployos
Ovon asek-a,..-,w1cd.go that aoor-
- tain 1-..-orson had .evor been cm-
oythora. In short; 1.:r.
? Goc,d7.4-in,a C.IA -,.:,ross relations '
o pro ontative ? f o :Med *Z..T.J that'
was: an:
etornalcontZcxavor,
. a ro-:
:?ublishod on the
1
couldn7t fir
the lo e--actly but he -..,houf:::ht
?it %.:as ..z.-i-'eten by a NO York
Cioy 4icharas. he ?
13roco,:-;,:lc,:::., to tcll ms sono *oio-
do.ta on aichards ,;1fi_ch
thouf..-..t not a little oad.!
aforomentioned
(Inne1v,In
,
?V".
c.ne,-...k ti-n-ough. 3ooks La Print ?
AW:-..L16,%trqnlaq119AMAA.D13000
also had time to chock all
the libraries in t113 Wash-ington
area. one of them had. the ?
book ? exeolYt the Libra:cy Of ?
C'ongross.
When ?Cch aid cell back
.cc..11:fil.7..:.O;. the inforrAtion ,
a:INF:se-ay had.. I asked him if,
ho had found th- ? ook.
be said, "it see:' have dis- ?
"
suggezted that whoovor had :
r,,;:;-..ove'd the book, fretri lais book-
sholf iiiight have been maki,..-ig ?
triyz to various libraries
-aroLndtown.?
.7
Why 'DT ould anybody 1:--tant -1-?o ,
do that?" roto:ctod. Goodlrin.
"I don 211 kriGIT,":1: said.. ' "You7ve' ?
road the book."
`Am' days late I had a copy
i o.z.22,-B.I.Ki,7 AGENT f rop: the pub-'
Dovin-Ado.ir, ..klew
York. ?
Why, itheedx. Goodwin.'-
...OVA On his book
6no? .for the -sook. He was..
e-,zre. it. was thol-a.
,
racament he roturnod to the phone. ?
Ile did not havo the 'book but
..he.would?have one of his ass-
. _ .
.9-ra WASHINGTO1'.; INZ,PENDENT
-0
CPYRGHT
CPYRGHT
Lact4, opcak for themoclvoo..
?- A man who -supplies us with some of the most val-
uable intelligence data we have ever received wokej
r per. sonal:'..rsk behind, the Iron .Curtain,
years,?in the. belief, he was. do41in,3.
FBI- Di.rect.o.r.
- belon3-ed,..:?to an .anti.- Bolshevik organizz.,..tice..
which had. -.-?inf iltrated--:.-' most - --foreign ? inte iger.cx
"-::.agen cies ,-. Inc lud ing the .11us s organizat to:
? hesliped--hira:-gather the data he sent us.? .
?-? --?When-he..wasobiiad to floe to the West,' he a cec.
and ? c ommitments ? from .? .someone. he .thougln
::.?,??F.epresented Hoover.
?? .; princ1p6.1 desire.9'. .wl-lan he arrived, was tx
lia:;?,Hoover.
:!-,?.:,But ? after five years:.,in',. this counci:y:.he has. yet
Hoover..'.? ?
five years .in.'".:this':.Country he has ye; tx
'!..,:.."-.be.-quzar,tionedi by any -Congreesional. conuuittec.?,...
ornanof
b3ei.,.Ouy.... Richards
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