For Immediate Release
February 25, 2000

Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced today that it has added several new subject matters to the Historical Interest, Famous Persons, Espionage, and Gangster Era categories of its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Electronic Reading Room. The subjects listed below have been available in paper format for several years and now can be accessed electronically:

HISTORICAL INTEREST

American POWs/MIAs in Southeast Asia -- 4,888 pages
In 1970 - 1973 the FBI investigated the Committee of Liaison with Families of Servicemen Detained in North Vietnam (COLIFAM) - a U.S. antiwar group acting as "liaison" between POWs and their families. The group was alleged to be a vehicle of North Vietnamese propaganda whose activities were believed to be detrimental to the health and welfare of the prisoners held in North Vietnam. No information was developed warranting prosecution of COLIFAM for solicitation under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. In 1982, the FBI compiled information concerning American prisoners of war or American citizens in Viet Nam. In 1992, the FBI provided assistance to the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs by furnishing information and/or performing investigations on behalf of the Committee on all facets of POW issues.

Moorish Science Temple of America -- 3,117 pages

The Moorish Science Temple of America was organized in 1913 in Newark,
New Jersey. The Temple was investigated in 1953 for violation of the Selective Service Act of 1948 and sedition. Some members of the organization claimed to be conscientious objectors but professed they were not pacifists. In September of 1953, the Department of Justice concluded that prosecution for violation of the Selective Service Act was not warranted as the group's conscientious objectors did not evade service other than by a right granted under provisions in the Act. No sedition statutes were violated because subjects' actions were not directed toward members of the armed forces of the U.S. A 1940 investigation was conducted to determine if the Moorish Science Temple of America was committing subversive activities by adhering to and spreading Japanese propaganda. The investigation failed to substantiate that members were pro-Japanese in their attitude.

Student NonViolent Coordinating Committee -- 2,887 pages

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was created in 1960 as a nonviolent civil rights movement primarily devoted to direct-action, voter-registration campaigns in the South. Investigation was opened in 1964 to establish the extent of communist infiltration in the SNCC. Several leaders and members of SNCC had been identified as communists in public hearings of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. SNCC was determined to be extensively communist dominated. In 1966, Stokely Carmichael emerged as SNCC national chairman. In 1968, SNCC merged with the Black Panther Party and, in 1969, the name was changed to Student National Coordinating Committee. Not long thereafter the organization ceased to exist.

Ernst Franz Sedwick (Putzi) Hanfstangl -- 122 pages aka Ernest Sedgwick

Ernst Franz Sedwick Hanfstangl, was an author and intimate friend of Adolph Hitler who served as Hitler's Nazi Press Chief. Hanfstangl fled Germany for England in 1937 and was interned by the British as a German alien enemy and sent to Canada for confinement. In 1938, the FBI noted that Hanfstangl possibly had been connected with the Black Tom and Kingsland explosions. In 1942 he was paroled to the President of the U.S. and placed under the care of Presidential Assistant J. Franklin Carter. Hanfstangl was to make his knowledge of Nazi Germany available to the Office of Strategic Services and other branches of the Government. The FBI never interviewed Hanfstangl or knew of his exact whereabouts in the U.S.

Carlo Tresca -- 1,358 pages

Carlo Tresca, Italian political refugee, agitator, author, and editor, organized labor strikes across the U.S. through the International Workers of the World beginning in 1912. Tresca published an Italian American newspaper "Il Martillo" (The Hammer) in which he criticized both communists and fascists. In 1922, an investigation of Tresca was initiated to determine the status of his U.S. citizenship, as well as his publication of an alleged obscene article in his newspaper. A security investigation was initiated in 1941 for violation of the Neutrality and Registration Acts. Tresca was murdered upon leaving his office on January 11, 1943. The murder remains unsolved by the New York Police Department.

FAMOUS PERSONS

Hugo Black -- 156 pages

Hugo Black was a U.S. Senator from 1927 to 1937 and was appointed Associate Supreme Court Justice in 1937 by President Roosevelt. He resigned from the Supreme Court in 1971 shortly before his death. In 1949 information was developed alleging Black's membership in the Ku Klux Klan of Clay County, Alabama. Records contain several threats against the life of Black, cordial correspondence with the FBI and numerous newspaper articles critical of Black's liberal actions/decisions as Senator and later as Supreme Court Justice.

Abbie (Abbott) Hoffman -- 4,101 pages

Abbie Hoffman, 1960s and 70s activist, anarchist, was co-founder of the Youth International Party (YIP a.k.a. Yippies) and one of the "Chicago Seven". He was the subject of a security investigation in 1968 in view of his anarchist actions, as well as an anti-riot law investigation as a result of his leadership in disturbances at the 1968 Democratic National Convention (DEMCON) in Chicago. The cases were closed in 1973 upon the final judgment of the "Chicago Seven" trial. The trial case was dismissed at the request of the Government in January, 1973, after the U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit, Chicago, Illinois, reversed the convictions and remanded the case back to the U.S. District Court, Chicago, for a new trial if the Government so desired . The "Chicago Seven" was the term used for the seven leaders tried for violations of anti-riot laws stemming from the DEMCON demonstrations.

Thomas Mann -- 95 pages

Thomas Mann, German author, Nobel prize winner in literature and naturalized American citizen, was investigated from 1927 through 1955. The security investigation gathered information showing Mann's affiliation with communist causes and associates. Mann wrote magazine articles for an anti-Nazi magazine which was published by German communists.

Nelson Rockefeller -- 1,592 pages

Nelson Rockefeller, Medal of Freedom winner, 1977; Vice-President to President Gerald Ford, 1974 - 1977; and Governor of New York State 1959 -1973, was investigated in 1950 and 1969 for suitability to fill presidential appointments and again in 1974 to perform the duties of Vice-President. The FBI investigated numerous threats against the life of Rockefeller as Governor, Presidential Candidate, and Vice-President. Records also include personal correspondence between Rockefeller and the FBI demonstrating his affable relationship with the FBI, newspaper articles chronicling various aspects of Rockefeller's life, and documents in which his name was merely mentioned.

Dr. Wilhelm Reich -- 789 pages

This German immigrant described himself as the Associate Professor of Medical Psychology, Director of the Orgone Institute, President and research physician of the Wilhelm Reich Foundation and discoverer of the biological or life energy. A 1940 security investigation was begun to determine the extent of Reich's communist commitments. A board of Alien Enemy Hearing judged that Dr. Reich was not a threat to the security of the U.S. In 1947, a security investigation concluded that neither the Orgone Project nor any of its staff were engaged in subversive activities or were in violation of any statute within the jurisdiction of the FBI. The Orgone Institute, founded by Dr. Reich, claimed that "orgone energy" would prevent and cure a
variety of serious diseases, including cancer. In 1954 the U.S. Attorney General filed a complaint seeking permanent injunction to prevent interstate shipment of devices and literature put out by Dr. Reich's group. That same year Dr. Reich was arrested for contempt of court for violation of the Attorney General's injunction. Dr. Reich died in a Federal Prison in 1957 while serving a 2 year sentence for contempt of court.

Muriel Rukeyser -- 118 pages

Muriel Rukeyser, author, poet and editorial free lance writer, came to the attention of the FBI when a background investigation for suitability was initiated in 1943 in conjunction with her government employment as copywriter with the Office for Emergency Management. The investigation terminated when she resigned from the position a few months later. A security investigation into Rukeyser's communist activities started as the suitability investigation ended. Investigation determined that Rukeyser sponsored or was a member of numerous organizations which were cited by the Attorney General or House Committee on Un-American Activities as communist front organizations. Louis F. Budenz testified in 1951 that Rukeyser was a concealed Communist Party member.

ESPIONAGE

Nathan Silvermaster Group -- 1,951 pages

Nathan Silvermaster was a leader of a Soviet espionage ring. This espionage investigation from 1945 to 1959 uncovered Soviet placed agents working within the U.S. Government. The case - titled Gregory, using the middle name of Silvermaster - exposed 27 individuals in the Silvermaster ring who gathered information from at least six Federal agencies to turn over to the Soviets. No indictments for espionage were returned against any subjects in the Gregory case by any Grand Jury; however, a Grand Jury did return an indictment against Alger Hiss for perjury.

GANGSTER ERA

Al (Alphonse) Capone -- 2,397 pages

Al Capone was a notorious gangster who conducted his illegal enterprises in Chicago, Illinois during the 1920s. Many of the activities ascribed to the "Capone Gang" were not violations of Federal law within the FBI's investigative jurisdiction. In 1929, the FBI was ordered by the Attorney General to investigate the legitimacy of an affidavit that petitioned for a postponement of Capone's appearance in response to a Federal Grand Jury subpoena. The investigation established that facts within the affidavit were indeed false. Capone was tried and convicted of contempt of court on February 25, 1931. When Capone was convicted for income tax evasion, the Judge ruled that the sentence for contempt of court should be served concurrently with the tax evasion sentence. Capone served his prison sentence from 1931 to 1939. Capone was in poor health following his release from prison and died in 1947 at home in Florida.

 

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These documents have been converted to an electronic format from paper copies housed in the FOIA Reading Room located at FBI Headquarters. Portions have been blacked out to protect personal privacy, confidential sources, national security, etc., in accordance with the exemption provisions of the FOIA. The index to the paper format documents in the FOIA Reading Room is now available at the FBI's website and, as additional documents are converted to an electronic format, they will be added to the Electronic Reading Room.

Viewers may select records from the categories of historical interest, famous persons, espionage, violent crime, gangster era, or unusual phenomena at http://www.fbi.gov.