LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION WRITTEN BY MR. HELMS TO ROBERT R. MULLEN & COMPANY FOR E. HOWARD HUNT

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00609297
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 14, 2020
• Case Number: F-2016-01299
• Publication Date: July 20, 1973

� Approved for Release: 2020/08/14 C00609297
20 July 1973
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MEMORANDUM FOR: The Record
SUBJECT:
Letter of Recommendation Written
by Mr. Helms to Robert R. Mullen
& Company for E. Howard Hunt
1. Mr. Robert R. Mullen of Robert R. Mullen & Company,
Chief, CCS and the undersigned, case officer
for the company, met In a park near 2eth & " H " Streets, Northwest,
Washington, D.C. on 20 July 1973, at 9:15 AM, to discuss several
matters relating to the company's past cooperation with the Agency.
2. recalled our meeting with Mr. Mullen
on 20 April 1973 when he informed Mr. Mullen that
would be given a meaningful Agency job in
upon his return from in June 1973.
apologized for his inability to be present in a subsequent meeting
4 June 1973 when the undersigned had to inform Mr. Mullen that the
ass ignrilect for aad fallen through and that
instead was to be terminated by the Agency.
began to explain the reasons for the change in plans and Mr. Mullen (b)(1)
Interrupted to say that he completely understood why had to (b)(3)
be terminated by the Agency and did not in any way hold
responsible for the termination nor did he doubt reracity (b)(1)
or integ-rity. Mr. Mullen said that had naturally been (b)(3)
disturbed and unhappy because of the termination, but Mi. Mullen had
reminded him that he had certain gains from his Agency assir7nment,
and particularly mentioned that might still be in (b)(1)
working at some unexciting job except for his Agency employment. (b)(3)
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3. Mr. Mullen then reported that he has postponed his
vacation because of a new business opportunity involving the sale
of freight cars worth $135 million to the Yugoslav government.
Mullen and Company's commission on this deal if it is consummated
will be about $400,000. Mr. Mullen said that he had yestei-day received
a telephone call from an official of the Pullman Company, which is to
supply the freight cars, reporting that Mr. Stankovitz (phonetic) of the
Yugoslav Embassy had contacted the Pullman Company. Mr. Stankovitz
had told the Pullman Company official that he had heard rumors that
Mullen and Company is involved with the CIA. and that the whole deal
would be off if this proved true. .Mr. Mullen wondered whether there
might be some leak within the Agency, but agreed with our comment
that the Ytgoslays had probably read about Mullen's alleged association
with the Agency in TIME Magazine because of Mullen and Company's
employment of E. Howard Hunt.
4. at this point mentioned the letter written
by Mr. Helms on behalf of Mr. Hunt to Mullen and Company. Mr.
Mullen said that Mr. Hunt, in addition to giving Mr. Mullen the above
letter of recommenciPtion, had also exhibited a copy of a letter of
recommendation by Mr. Helms to -- Mr. Mullen thought -- Allied
Chemical Company.
5. Mr. Mullen readily agreed to make a copy of Mr. Helme_
letter of recommerxiation available to the Agency. A letter was not
written by Mr. Helms following Mr. Hunt's employment by Mullen and
Company. Mr. Mullen recalled that at a function at the Kennedy Center he
had seen Mr. Helms. They were nOt able to converse, but Mr. Helmet had
winked and given a hand signal to Mr. Mullen which Mr. Mullen interpreted
as an approbation of Mullen and Company's hiring of Mi. Hunt. Mr. Mullen
explained that his hiring of Mr. Hunt had been a rather natural one as Mr.
Mullen knew both Howard and Dorothy Hunt in Paris from about 1948 to 1950
when Mr. Hunt and Mr. Mullen were employed by the Marshall Plan, and
Dorothy Hunt-was employed by Mr. Averell Harriman, then in Paris.
When then with the Retirement Affairs -Branch,
requsted Mr. Mullen's assistance in securing employment for Mr. Hunt,
Mr. Mullen had arranged several interviews for Mr. Hunt. Mr. Mullen
subsequently decided to have Mullen and Company hire Mr. Hunt because
of his excellent writing abilities, and he had proved a splendid addition
to the staff prior to the Watergate incident.
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6. Mr. Mullen advised the undersigned telephonically at
11:45 AM on 20 July 1973 that when he attempted to get Mr. Helms'
letter of recommendation concerning Mr. Hum, he had been reminded
by his secretary that the entire Mullen & Company file concerning
Mr. Hunt had been given to the U.S. Attorney's office by Mr. Robert
Dennett of Mullen & Company during the investigation of the Watergate
Incident during the Summer and Fall of 1972. Mullen & Company bad
mt kept any copies of material in its Howard Hunt file and, consequently,
no copy of Mr. Helms' letter is available through Mullen & Company.
DC/CCS /CCB
Orig
DDO
10
OLC
1083 (Hunt)
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