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INSIDE
THE
SHADOW
CIA
What?
Abig
private
companyonewithaboard
of
formerCIA,FBIandPentagonofficials;
one
in
charge
of
protectingNuclear-Weapons:facilities,nuclearreactors,theAlaskanoil
pipeline
andmorethanadozenAmericanembassiesabroad,onewith
long-standing
tiestoa
radical
ring-wingorganization;onewith30,00)0menandwomenunder
anns
secretlyhelped
IRAQ
in
its
efforttoobtainsophisticatedweapon'sAndfueledunrestinVenezuela?This
is
all
the
plot
of
anewbest-sellingthriller,right'!
Or
theravings
of
someoverheatedconspiracybut
right?
Right?
In
the
WINTEROF1991,DavidRamirez,a24year-oldmember
of
theSpecialInvestigations
Division
of
theWackenhutCorporation,wassent
by
hissuperiors
on
anunusualmission.
Ramirez:
a
fonner
MarineCorpssergeantbasedinMiami,wastoldtoflyimmediately
to
San
Antonio
alongwiththreeothermembers
of
STD-aunit.knownasfounderandchairmanGeorgeWackenhut's"privateFBI,"thatprovidedexecutiveprotectionandconductedundercoverinvestigationsandstingoperations.Oncetheyarrived,theyrentedtwograyFordTaurusesand
drove
fourhourstoadesolatetown
on
theMexicanbordercalledEaglePass.There,
just
after
dark,
theymettwotruckdrivers
who
hadbeenflowninfromHouston.Insideanearbywarehousewasan18-wheeltractor-trailer,whichthetwotruckdriversandthefourWackenhut
agents
intheirrentedcarsweresupposedtotransporttoChicago."Myinstructions
were
very'
clear,
It
Ramirezrecalls."Donotlookintothetrailer,secureit,andmakesureitsafelygetsto
Chicago."
It
went
withoutsayingthatnooneelsewassupposedtolookinthetrailer,either,
which
iswhytheWackenhutmenwerearmedwithfullyloadedRemjngton870pump-action
shotguns.
The
convoydrovefor30hoursstraight,stoppingonlyforgasandfood.Eventhen,one
of
theWackenhutagentshadtostaywiththetruck,standing
by
one
of
thecars,itstrunkopen,shotgunwithineasyreach."Whenever
we
stopped,Iboughtashotglasswiththename
of
thetownon
i ~
II
Ramirezrecalls."IhaveglassesfromOklahomaCity,KansasCity,St.Louis."Alittlebefore
5:g0_0!1
themorning
of
thethirdday,theydeliveredthetrailertoapractically
empty
w a r e h o u s ~ o u t V
Chicago.Aburlymanwhohadbeenwaitingforthemontheloading
dock
toldthem
to
take
~ f f
thelocksand
go
home,andthatwasthat.Theywereonaplaneback
to
Miamithat
a f t e m o o n ~ L a t e r
Ramirez'ssuperiorstoldhim-astheytoldotherSIDagentsaboutsimilarmidnightruns-thatthetruckscontained
$40
millionworth
of
foodstamps.Afterconsideringthesecrecy,thewaytheteamwasassembledandtheordersnottostop
or
openthetruck,Ramirezdecidedhedidn'tbelievethatexplanation.Neitherdowe.Onereason
is
simple:ADepartment
of
Agricultureofficialsimplydeniesthat
food
stampsareshippedthatway."Someoneisblowingsmoke,"hesays.Anotherreasonisthatafterasix-monthinvestigation,inthecourse
of
which
we
spoketomorethan300people,
we
believe
we
know
what
thetruckdidcontain-equipmentnecessaryforthemanufacture
of
159
. ~
....
~ '
 
chemicalweapons-andwhereitwasheaded:toSaddamHussein'sIraq.AndtheWackenhutCorporation-apubliclytradedcompanywithstrongtiestotheCIAandfederalcontracts
worth
$200millionayear-wasmakingsureSaddamwouldbegettinghisequipmentintact.
The
question
is
why.
[n
1954,GeorgeWackenhut,thena34-yearoldFormerFBIagent,joined
up
withthreeotherformerFBIagentstoopenacompany
in
MiamicalledSpecial
Agent
[nvestigators
[nco
Thepartnershipwasneithersuccessfulnorharmonious-GeorgeonceknockedpartnerEdDuboisunconscioustoendadisagreementoverthedirectionthecompany
would
take-and
in
1958,Georgeboughtouthispartners.HowevercapableWackenhut'sdetectivesmayhavebeenattheirwork,GeorgeWackenhut
had
twopersonalattributesthatwereinstrumentalinthecompany'sgrowth.First,hegotalongexceptionallywellwithimportantpoliticians.Hewasacloseally
of
FloridagovernorClaudeKirk,whohiredhimtocombatorganizedcrimeinthestate;andwasalsofriendswithSenatorGeorgeSmathers,
an
intimate
of
John
F.
Kennedy's.
It
wasSmatherswhoprovidedWackenhutwithhisbigbreakwhenthesenator'slawfinnhelpedthecompanyfindaloophole
is
thePinkertonlaw,the
1893
federalstatutethathadmadeitacrimeforanemployee
of
aprivatedetectiveagencyto
do
workforthegovernment.Smathers'sfirmsetupawhollyownedsubsidiary
of
Wackenhutthatprovidedonlyguards,notdetectives.Shortlythereafter,Wackenhutreceivedmulti-million-dallarcontractsfromthegovernmenttoguardCapeCanaveralandtheNevadanuclear-bombtestsite,thefirst
of
manyextremelylucrativefederalcontractsthathavesustainedthecompanytothisday.ThesecondthingthathelpedmakeGeorgeWackenhutsuccessfulwasthathewas,and
is,
ahard-lineright-winger.HewasabletoprofitfromhisbeliefsbybuildingupdossiersonAmericanssuspected
of
beingCommunistsormerelyleft-leaning"subversives
and
sympathizers,"
as
heputit-andsellingtheinformationtointerestedparties.accordingtoFrankDonner,theauthor
of
"Age
or
Surveillance",theWackenhutCorporationmaintained
and
updateditsfilesevenaftertheMcCarthyitehysteriahadebbed,addingthenames
of
antiwarprotestersandcivil-rightsdemonstratorstoitslist
of
"derogatorytypes."By1965,Wackenhutwasboastingtopotentialinvestorsthatthecompanymaintainedfileson2.5millionsuspecteddissidents-one
in
46Americanadultsthenliving.
in
1966,afteracquiringtheprivatefiles
of
KarlBarslaag;aformerstaffmember
of
theHouseCommitteeonUn-AmericanActivities,Wackenhutcouldconfidentlymaintainthatwithmorethan4millionnames,ithadthelargestprivatelyheld-
file
i ) f ~ i . . , u s p e c t e d
dissidents
in
America,
In
1975,afterCongressinvestigatedcompaniesthathad
p"fate
files,Wackenhutgave
Its
filestothenow-defunctantl-CommumstChurchleague
of
Amerlca
of
Wheaton,Illinois.Thatorganizationhadworkedcloselywiththeredsquads
of
big-citypolicedepartments,particularly
in
NewYorkand
L.A.,
spyingonsuspectedsympathizers;GeorgeWackenhutwaspersonalfriendswiththeLeague'sleaders,andwasamajorcontributor
to
thegroup.Tobesure,aftergivingtheLeague
its
files,Wackenhutreservedtherighttousethemforitsclientsandfriends.Wackenhuthadgonepublic
in
1965;GeorgeWackenhutretained
54
percent
of
thecompany.Betweenhissalaryanddividends,hisannualcompensationapproaches$2millionayear,sufficientforhimtolive
in
a
$21
millioncastle
in
CoralGables,Florida,completewithamoat
160
~ - -
a
II
I!
!
!
 
and18
full-timeservants.Todaythecompanyisthethird-largestinvestigativesecurityfirmin
die
country,
withofficesthroughouttheUnitedStatesandin
31
foreigncountries.
It
is
not
possibletooverstatethespecialrelationshipWackenhutenjoyswithinthefederal
government.
Itisclose.Whenitcomestosecuritymatters,Wackenhut
in
manyrespects"is"the
government.
In
1991,athird
of
thecompany's$600-millioninrevenuescamefromthefederal
government,
andanotherlargechunkfromcompaniesthatthemselvesworkforthegovernment,
such.
as
Westinghouse.
Wackenhutis
thelargestsinglecompanysupplyingsecuritytoU.S.embassiesoverseas,several
ofthe
t3
embassies
it
guardshavebeeninimportanthotbeds
of
espionage,suchasChile,Greece
andEI
Salvador.
It
alsoguardsnearlyallthemoststrategicgovernmentfacilitiesintheU.S.,
including,
theAlaskanoilpipeline,theHanfordnuclear-wastefacility,theSavannahRiver
plutonium
plantandtheStrategicPetroleumReserve.
Wackenhut
maintainsanespeciallycloserelationshipwiththefederalgovernmentinotherways
as
well.
Whileearlyboards
of
directorsincludedsuchprominentpersonalities
of
thepolitical
right
as
CaptainEddieRickenbacker,GeneralMarkClarkandRalph
E.
Davis,aJohnBirch
Society
leader,currentandrecentmembers
of
theboardhaveincludedmuch
of
thecountry's
recent
national-securitydirectorate:formerFBIdirectorClarenceKelley;formerDefense
secretary
andformer
CIA
deputydirectorFrankCarlucci:fonnerDefenseIntelligenceAgent
director
GeneralJosephCarroll;formerU.S.SecretServicedirectorJames
1.
Rowley;
fanner
Marine
commandant
P.
X.
Kelleyandactingchairman
of
PresidentBush'sforeign-intelligence
advisory
boardandformer
CIA
deputydirectoradmiralBobbyRayInman.BeforehisappointmentasReagan's
CIA
director,thelateWilliamCaseywasWackenhut'soutsidelegal
counsel.
Thecompanyhas30,000armedemployeesonitspayroll.
We
wanted
to
knowmoreaboutthisspecial.relationship;butthegovernmentwasnotforthcoming.RepeatedrequeststotheDepartment
of
Energyforanexplanation
of
howone
company
gotthesecuritycontractsforneartyall
of
America'smoststrategicinstallationshave
gone
unanswered.
Similarly,
effortstogettheStateDepartmenttoexplainwhetherembassycontractswere
awarded
a r b i . t r a H " l f ~ . . ,
throughcompetitivebiddingwerefruitless,essentially,theStateDepartmentsaid,
"Sont!
of
both."Wackenhut'scompetitors-who,understandably,askednotto
be
quotedtryname
hi'Ve
their
own
version."Allthosecontracts;"saidonesecurity-finnexecutive,"are
just
anotherwaytopayWackenhutfortheirclandestinehelp.Andwhatisthe
nature
of
thathelp?
"It
isknownthroughouttheindustry,"saidretiredFBIspecialagentWilliam
Hinshaw,
"that
if
youwantadirty
job
done,callWackenhut.
"We
metGeorgeWackenhutin
his
swanky,machoofficesinCoralGables.Theroomsarepaneledinadark,richrosewood,accentedwithgray-bluestone.
The
mainofficeisdominatedbyWackenhut's12-foot-longdesk
and
apair
of
chairsshapedlikeelephants-Republicanchairs,"hecallsthem-<:ompletewithreal
tusks.
which,theoldmansayswithsomeamusement,tendtostickhisvisitors.Thehighlight
of
the
usualcollection
of
picturesandawardsistheRepublicanpresidentialexhibit:anautographed
photo
of
WackenhutshakinghandswithGeorgeBush(whomWackenhut,according
to
afanner
161
of 00

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