2 SENATORS CLAIM CIA KNEW OF MENGELE DRUG LINKS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-01208R000100120038-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 38
• Publication Date: February 27, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

_ i I VIL 1~1I I II ^.1~1 L J
I Approved For Release 2011/06/04: CIA-RDP90-01208R000100120038-9 ----
ART I CL LPPEARf
ors FLGE //9_
cl aim C
2 senators
drug
Mengele
By Dave Doubrava
WASHINGTON TIMES
27 February 1985
The CIA and other government '
agencies have known for at least. a
decade that accused ? Nazi war
criminal Dr. Josef Mengele has been
"heavily involved" in international
drug trafficking, two U.S.-senators
said yesterday. -
Based on declassified CIA doc-
uments, the two also charged that
Mengele, while living in Paraguay-
under the protection of the govern
meat there, traveled freely,
throughout South ,America, never
trying to hide his name or identity.
Sen. Arlen Specter and Sen.
Alfonse D'Amato also charged that
the U.S.. government has been -neg
ligent in not pursuing Mengele for
his alleged war crimes and drug
involvement, .-saying the United
States apparently: `.'didn't give a
damn"
Sen. Specter, R-Pa.; said~ie
believed the lack of American action
showed the government "wanted to
sweep [Mengele) under the rug" and
said the government's "acts of omis-
sion" in pursuing Mengele "consti-
tute protection."
The senators also said that two
drug traffickers associated with
Mengele, identified only as
"Becker" and "Morelli,".: were
arrested in New York City in 1979,
placed under SS million and $10 mil-
lion bonds, but then "walked out of
prison" and disappeared because of
"a paperwork slip up."
Sen. D'Amato, R-N.Y., said
recently released documents indi-
cated that "Becker" and :Mengele
jointly owned a farm in Paraguay
that served as the base of an interna-
tional drug ring..
In addition, the two senators
charged that U.S. government agen-
cies may be withholding information
which could further the investigatin
into Mengele's current whereabouts .
and possibly lead to his arrest.
They' said.: the seven-CIA doc
uments released yesterday. were
'overly-sanitized" to .delete ref-.
erences to "Becker's" and Mengele's
alleged drug connections.,
The declassified government doc-
uments Aso include an unverified .
report that Mengele's roommate in
1968 in Paraguay was Martin Bor-
mann, Hitler's designated successor.
Bormann is thought to have died
in 1945 in Berlin, but there have been
recurring reports over the last four
decades that he may have escaped to
South America. .
During World War II, Mengele.
- - -------------------
was chief doctor at the Auschwitz
death factory in Poland where more
than 1 million Jews were killed as
part of Adolf Hitler's "Final Solu-
The .Justice Department last
month announced it was conducting
an intensive search to find Mengele
and .the:U.S.Army is, investigating
reports that it.may have had Men-
gele in custody shortly after the war.
Ka.thy,,..Phe'rson? a CIA
spokeswoman,. said her group had
turned the.information over to differ-
ent government agencies, including
the State and Defense departments,
when it was "appropriate.'.'
The heavily censorLd documents
also include a report that Mengele,
73, had undergone plastic surgery to
make himself appear much younger.
The government papers say Men-
gele has used a number of false
names, including . "Dr. Henrique
Wollman" This is Mengele's last
known alias. It was used in 1972 in
Encarnacion, Paraguay, where he
practiced medicine.
_,, Approved For Release 2011/06/04: CIA-RDP90-01208R000100120038-9
et. knew O