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Mitchell WerBell III

January 28, 2023

Mitchell Livingston WerBell III (March 18, 1918 – December 17, 1983) was an OSS operative, mercenary, paramilitary trainer, firearms engineer, and arms dealer.

WerBell

Early life and OSS service

WerBell was born in Philadelphia, the son of a Czarist cavalry officer in the Imperial Army of Russia[citation needed]. Journalist Penny Lernoux described WerBell in her 1984 book In Banks We Trust as "a mysterious White Russian."[1] In 1942 WerBell joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and served in China, Burma, and French Indochina. As a guerrilla operative during World War II, he carried out a secret mission for the OSS under the command of Paul Helliwell in China with E. Howard Hunt, Lucien Conein, John K. Singlaub and Ray Cline.[2][3][4][5][1] Following World War II, WerBell briefly worked as the director of advertising and public relations for Rich's, a department store in Atlanta, Georgia; he left after a year to open his own PR firm.[6]

SIONICS

After WerBell closed his PR firm to design suppressors for firearms, he incorporated SIONICS to design suppressors for the M16 rifle. The name was an acronym for "Studies In the Operational Negation of Insurgents and Counter-Subversion". Through SIONICS he developed a low cost, efficient suppressor for machine guns.

In 1967 he partnered with Gordon B. Ingram, inventor of the MAC-10 submachine gun. They added WerBell's suppressor to Ingram's machinegun and attempted to market it to the U.S. military as "Whispering Death" for use in the Vietnam War.[7] WerBell is credited with over 25 different suppressor designs and the "WerBell Relief Valve", a mechanism designed for machinegun suppressors.[5] WerBell's modular designs and use of exotic materials such as titanium in sound suppressors influence their design to the present day.[5]

SIONICS was absorbed by Military Armament Corporation (MAC), later called Cobray, where WerBell developed a training center for counterterrorism in the 1970s. The courses lasted 11 weeks and students included members of the military, high-risk executives, CIA agents, and private individuals.[6] WerBell concurrently ran Defense Systems International, an arms brokerage firm.

Mercenary activities

In the 1950s, WerBell served as a security advisor to Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and to the Batista regime in Cuba.

WerBell helped plan an invasion of Haiti by Cuban and Haitian exiles against "Papa Doc" François Duvalier in 1966 called Project Nassau (but internally referred to as Operation Istanbul). The mission, which, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Special Subcommittee on Investigations of the House Commerce Committee, was financially subsidized, and to be filmed by CBS News, was aborted when the participants were arrested by the FBI. WerBell was released without being charged.[8]

In 1972 WerBell was approached by the Abaco Independence Movement (AIM) from the Abaco Islands, a region of the Bahamas, who were worried about the direction the Bahamas were taking and were considering other options, such as independence or remaining a separate Commonwealth nation under the Crown in case of the Bahamas gaining independence (which they did in 1973). AIM was funded by the Phoenix Foundation, a group that helps to build micronations. The AIM collapsed into internal bickering before a coup by Werbell could be carried out.[9]

In 1973 WerBell was asked to assist with a coup d'état against Omar Torrijos of Panama, according to CIA documents released in 1993. WerBell sought clearance from the CIA which denied getting involved in coups. The plan was not implemented, though Torrijos died in a plane crash five years later.[10]

In a 1979 20/20 interview WerBell claimed that Coca-Cola had hired him for $1 million to take care of kidnapping threats against its Argentine executives during an urban terrorist wave in 1973. Coca-Cola later denied the claim.[6][11]

In a 1981 interview, WerBell revealed he was about to break with the U.S. Labor Party, whose security staff he has been training at his Powder Springs, Georgia estate.[12]

Later in life WerBell claimed he was a retired Lieutenant General in the Royal Free Afghan Army or sometimes an Afghan Defense Minister after supplying Afghanistan with large weapons contracts and training.[13] WerBell claimed he was given the billet of Major General in the US Army to allow him to travel freely in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War to demonstrate and sell his silenced submachineguns and sound suppressors. This has been confirmed by Major General John Singlaub and Lt Col. William Mozey.[14]

Other exploits

WerBell and Mario Sandoval Alarcón's associate Leonel Sisniega Otero plotted a coup in Guatemala that failed in 1982.[15]

In 1988, Sheriff Sherman Block of Los Angeles announced that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt wrote WerBell a $1 million check in 1983 to kill Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy), Bob Guccione (founder of Penthouse), Walter Annenberg (owner of Triangle Publications), and Frank Sinatra.[16] Los Angeles television station KNBC displayed a photocopy of the check.[16] WerBell died in Los Angeles a month after receiving the check.[16][17]

Death and courtroom poisoning claim

In the 1989 Cotton Club murder case of Roy Radin, Arthur Michael Pascal, then owner of a Beverly Hills security firm,[18] testified that prosecution witness William Rider, Flynt's former brother-in-law and private security agent,[18] "told him of poisoning soldier of fortune Mitchell WerBell III in 1983 in order to take over WerBell's counterterrorist school based in Atlanta. Pascal said that Rider and... Flynt, poured four to six ounces of a digoxin, a powerful heart relaxant, into WerBell's drink during a cocktail party at Flynt's Los Angeles mansion. WerBell, 65, a security consultant for Flynt... died of a heart attack at UCLA Medical Center a few days later."[19] Flynt and his attorney, Alan Isaacman, were in Bangkok and "unavailable for comment, according to a Hustler magazine spokeswoman".[19] "Isaacman characterized an earlier Rider claim of a Flynt-paid murder contract as 'fantasy.'"[19] Rider passed a polygraph test regarding "possible involvement in homicides," according to courtroom testimony.[19] Pascal was later arraigned on a murder charge due to tapes Rider provided investigators.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Lernoux, Penny (1984). In Banks We Trust—Bankers and Their Close Associates: The CIA, the Mafia, Drug Traders, Dictators, Politicians, and the Vatican. New York: Anchor Press / Doubleday. p. 158. ISBN 978-0385183291. OCLC 230577909.
  2. ^ Scott, Peter Dale (1987). The Iran-Contra Connection Secret Teams And Covert Operations In The Reagan Era. Boston: South End Press (1987). p. 64. ISBN 0896082911.
  3. ^ Hunt, E. Howard (1974). Undercover: Memoirs of an American Secret Agent. Berkeley, Calif.: Berkley Publishing Corporation. ISBN 978-0399114465.
  4. ^ Mintz, John (Jan. 14, 1985). "Ideological Odyssey: From Old Left to Far Right." Washington Post. Archived from the original.
  5. ^ a b c Truby, J. David (1972). Silencers, Snipers & Assassins: An Overview of Whispering Death. Boulder, Colo.: Paladin Press. pp. 108–110. ISBN 978-0873640121.
  6. ^ a b c Dunkin, Tom (Jan. 1, 1980). "Cobray: Turning the Tables on Terrorists." Soldier of Fortune, vol. 5, no. 1. pp. 46–50.
  7. ^ Long, Duncan (1989). Terrifying Three: Uzi, Ingram And Intratec Weapons Families. Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press. pp. 25–31. ISBN 978-0-87364-523-2.
  8. ^ "Agnew Assails CBS Special". The Tech, March 23, 1971. p. 6.
  9. ^ Naylor, Robin T. Wages of Crime: Black Markets, Illegal Finance and the Underworld Economy. Cornell University Press (2002).
  10. ^ Corn, David. "Secrets from the C.I.A. Archives." The Nation, vol. 257, no. 18 (Nov. 29, 1993), pp. 656–660. ProQuest 231524760.
  11. ^ Louis. "How Coke Runs a Foreign Empire." Business Week (Aug. 15, 1973), p. 41.
  12. ^ Critique (Spring 1981)
  13. ^ Didion, Joan (2006). We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live: Collected Nonfiction. Knopf. pp. 651–652. ISBN 978-0-307-26487-9.
  14. ^ Major General John Singlaub, Mitch WerBell, Lt Col. William Mozey (1984). American Mercenaries: The Story of Mitch WerBell (video). Powder Springs, Georgia: Brigade Quartermasters.
  15. ^ Scott, Peter Dale. "Contragate: Reagan, Foreign Money, and the Contra Deal." Crime and Social Justice, no. 27/28, Contragate and Counter Terrorism: A Global Perspective (1987), p. 137. JSTOR 29766330.
  16. ^ a b c Freed, David. "Alleged Flynt Plot to Have Sinatra, Others Killed Reported." Los Angeles Times (Oct. 27, 1988), p. 3.
  17. ^ Stern, Gary. "Sheriff: Flynt Offered $1M for Slayings." USA TODAY (Oct. 27, 1988), p. 03A.
  18. ^ a b c Connelly, Michael (Nov. 17, 1991). Los Angeles Times (Nov. 17, 1991),
  19. ^ a b c d McDougal, Dennis. Los Angeles Times (Jun. 20, 1989),

Bibliography

Further reading

  • AP (Dec. 18, 1983). New York Times. p. 52. Archived from the original.
  • Eringer, Robert (1986). "Interview With the Antiterrorist." Interview with Mitchell L. WerBell III. SAGA (magazine). pp. 6-9. Archived.

External links

  • FBI files at Internet Archive released in response to FOIA requests and appeals on behalf of Alan Jules Weberman
  • Biography at Spartacus Educational
  • Cuban Exiles - Project Nassau documents
  • Related newspaper article from MIT archives: Special Subcommittee on Investigations of the House Commerce Committee
  • American Mercenaries: The True Story of Mitchell L. WerBell III (documentary)

January 28, 2023
mitchell, werbell, mitchell, livingston, werbell, march, 1918, december, 1983, operative, mercenary, paramilitary, trainer, firearms, engineer, arms, dealer, werbell, contents, early, life, service, sionics, mercenary, activities, other, exploits, death, court. Mitchell Livingston WerBell III March 18 1918 December 17 1983 was an OSS operative mercenary paramilitary trainer firearms engineer and arms dealer WerBell Contents 1 Early life and OSS service 2 SIONICS 3 Mercenary activities 3 1 Other exploits 3 2 Death and courtroom poisoning claim 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Bibliography 6 Further reading 7 External linksEarly life and OSS service EditWerBell was born in Philadelphia the son of a Czarist cavalry officer in the Imperial Army of Russia citation needed Journalist Penny Lernoux described WerBell in her 1984 book In Banks We Trust as a mysterious White Russian 1 In 1942 WerBell joined the Office of Strategic Services OSS and served in China Burma and French Indochina As a guerrilla operative during World War II he carried out a secret mission for the OSS under the command of Paul Helliwell in China with E Howard Hunt Lucien Conein John K Singlaub and Ray Cline 2 3 4 5 1 Following World War II WerBell briefly worked as the director of advertising and public relations for Rich s a department store in Atlanta Georgia he left after a year to open his own PR firm 6 SIONICS EditAfter WerBell closed his PR firm to design suppressors for firearms he incorporated SIONICS to design suppressors for the M16 rifle The name was an acronym for Studies In the Operational Negation of Insurgents and Counter Subversion Through SIONICS he developed a low cost efficient suppressor for machine guns In 1967 he partnered with Gordon B Ingram inventor of the MAC 10 submachine gun They added WerBell s suppressor to Ingram s machinegun and attempted to market it to the U S military as Whispering Death for use in the Vietnam War 7 WerBell is credited with over 25 different suppressor designs and the WerBell Relief Valve a mechanism designed for machinegun suppressors 5 WerBell s modular designs and use of exotic materials such as titanium in sound suppressors influence their design to the present day 5 SIONICS was absorbed by Military Armament Corporation MAC later called Cobray where WerBell developed a training center for counterterrorism in the 1970s The courses lasted 11 weeks and students included members of the military high risk executives CIA agents and private individuals 6 WerBell concurrently ran Defense Systems International an arms brokerage firm Mercenary activities EditIn the 1950s WerBell served as a security advisor to Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo and to the Batista regime in Cuba WerBell helped plan an invasion of Haiti by Cuban and Haitian exiles against Papa Doc Francois Duvalier in 1966 called Project Nassau but internally referred to as Operation Istanbul The mission which according to Federal Communications Commission FCC and the Special Subcommittee on Investigations of the House Commerce Committee was financially subsidized and to be filmed by CBS News was aborted when the participants were arrested by the FBI WerBell was released without being charged 8 In 1972 WerBell was approached by the Abaco Independence Movement AIM from the Abaco Islands a region of the Bahamas who were worried about the direction the Bahamas were taking and were considering other options such as independence or remaining a separate Commonwealth nation under the Crown in case of the Bahamas gaining independence which they did in 1973 AIM was funded by the Phoenix Foundation a group that helps to build micronations The AIM collapsed into internal bickering before a coup by Werbell could be carried out 9 In 1973 WerBell was asked to assist with a coup d etat against Omar Torrijos of Panama according to CIA documents released in 1993 WerBell sought clearance from the CIA which denied getting involved in coups The plan was not implemented though Torrijos died in a plane crash five years later 10 In a 1979 20 20 interview WerBell claimed that Coca Cola had hired him for 1 million to take care of kidnapping threats against its Argentine executives during an urban terrorist wave in 1973 Coca Cola later denied the claim 6 11 In a 1981 interview WerBell revealed he was about to break with the U S Labor Party whose security staff he has been training at his Powder Springs Georgia estate 12 Later in life WerBell claimed he was a retired Lieutenant General in the Royal Free Afghan Army or sometimes an Afghan Defense Minister after supplying Afghanistan with large weapons contracts and training 13 WerBell claimed he was given the billet of Major General in the US Army to allow him to travel freely in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War to demonstrate and sell his silenced submachineguns and sound suppressors This has been confirmed by Major General John Singlaub and Lt Col William Mozey 14 Other exploits Edit WerBell and Mario Sandoval Alarcon s associate Leonel Sisniega Otero plotted a coup in Guatemala that failed in 1982 15 In 1988 Sheriff Sherman Block of Los Angeles announced that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt wrote WerBell a 1 million check in 1983 to kill Hugh Hefner founder of Playboy Bob Guccione founder of Penthouse Walter Annenberg owner of Triangle Publications and Frank Sinatra 16 Los Angeles television station KNBC displayed a photocopy of the check 16 WerBell died in Los Angeles a month after receiving the check 16 17 Death and courtroom poisoning claim Edit In the 1989 Cotton Club murder case of Roy Radin Arthur Michael Pascal then owner of a Beverly Hills security firm 18 testified that prosecution witness William Rider Flynt s former brother in law and private security agent 18 told him of poisoning soldier of fortune Mitchell WerBell III in 1983 in order to take over WerBell s counterterrorist school based in Atlanta Pascal said that Rider and Flynt poured four to six ounces of a digoxin a powerful heart relaxant into WerBell s drink during a cocktail party at Flynt s Los Angeles mansion WerBell 65 a security consultant for Flynt died of a heart attack at UCLA Medical Center a few days later 19 Flynt and his attorney Alan Isaacman were in Bangkok and unavailable for comment according to a Hustler magazine spokeswoman 19 Isaacman characterized an earlier Rider claim of a Flynt paid murder contract as fantasy 19 Rider passed a polygraph test regarding possible involvement in homicides according to courtroom testimony 19 Pascal was later arraigned on a murder charge due to tapes Rider provided investigators 18 See also EditCobray Company Military Armament Corporation MAC References Edit a b Lernoux Penny 1984 In Banks We Trust Bankers and Their Close Associates The CIA the Mafia Drug Traders Dictators Politicians and the Vatican New York Anchor Press Doubleday p 158 ISBN 978 0385183291 OCLC 230577909 Scott Peter Dale 1987 The Iran Contra Connection Secret Teams And Covert Operations In The Reagan Era Boston South End Press 1987 p 64 ISBN 0896082911 Hunt E Howard 1974 Undercover Memoirs of an American Secret Agent Berkeley Calif Berkley Publishing Corporation ISBN 978 0399114465 Mintz John Jan 14 1985 Ideological Odyssey From Old Left to Far Right Washington Post Archived from the original a b c Truby J David 1972 Silencers Snipers amp Assassins An Overview of Whispering Death Boulder Colo Paladin Press pp 108 110 ISBN 978 0873640121 a b c Dunkin Tom Jan 1 1980 Cobray Turning the Tables on Terrorists Soldier of Fortune vol 5 no 1 pp 46 50 Long Duncan 1989 Terrifying Three Uzi Ingram And Intratec Weapons Families Boulder Colorado Paladin Press pp 25 31 ISBN 978 0 87364 523 2 Agnew Assails CBS Special The Tech March 23 1971 p 6 Naylor Robin T Wages of Crime Black Markets Illegal Finance and the Underworld Economy Cornell University Press 2002 Corn David Secrets from the C I A Archives The Nation vol 257 no 18 Nov 29 1993 pp 656 660 ProQuest 231524760 Louis How Coke Runs a Foreign Empire Business Week Aug 15 1973 p 41 Critique Spring 1981 Didion Joan 2006 We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live Collected Nonfiction Knopf pp 651 652 ISBN 978 0 307 26487 9 Major General John Singlaub Mitch WerBell Lt Col William Mozey 1984 American Mercenaries The Story of Mitch WerBell video Powder Springs Georgia Brigade Quartermasters Scott Peter Dale Contragate Reagan Foreign Money and the Contra Deal Crime and Social Justice no 27 28 Contragate and Counter Terrorism A Global Perspective 1987 p 137 JSTOR 29766330 a b c Freed David Alleged Flynt Plot to Have Sinatra Others Killed Reported Los Angeles Times Oct 27 1988 p 3 Stern Gary Sheriff Flynt Offered 1M for Slayings USA TODAY Oct 27 1988 p 03A a b c Connelly Michael Nov 17 1991 Slaying Case Takes a New Twist With Security Firm Owner s Arrest Crime A Michael Pascal is charged with arranging the 1984 killing of a prostitute in Van Nuys He ll be arraigned Monday Los Angeles Times Nov 17 1991 p 3 a b c d McDougal Dennis Cotton Club Witness Linked to Two Murders Los Angeles Times Jun 20 1989 p 3 Bibliography Edit Hougan Jim 1978 Spooks The Haunting of America amp the Private Use of Secret Agents New York William Morrow ISBN 978 0688033552 Further reading EditAP Dec 18 1983 Mitchell Livingston WerBell Anti Communist Arms Dealer New York Times p 52 Archived from the original Eringer Robert 1986 Interview With the Antiterrorist Interview with Mitchell L WerBell III SAGA magazine pp 6 9 Archived External links EditFBI files at Internet Archive released in response to FOIA requests and appeals on behalf of Alan Jules Weberman Biography at Spartacus Educational Cuban Exiles Project Nassau documents Related newspaper article from MIT archives Special Subcommittee on Investigations of the House Commerce Committee American Mercenaries The True Story of Mitchell L WerBell III documentary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mitchell WerBell III amp oldid 1118228493, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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