VOICES BEHIND
THE CURTAIN
by
Gordon Zuckerman
Copyright © 2016, Gordon R. Zuckerman
ISBN: 978-0-9980070-0-7 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0-9980070-1-4 (softcover)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936864
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Printed in the United States of America.
OTHER TITLES BY
GORDON ZUCKERMAN
Fortunes of War
Crude Deception
Matter of Importance
PREQUEL
FAREWELL SPEECH:
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
January 20, 1961
“The conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is a new American experience. The total influence—economic, political, even spiritual—is felt in every city, every state house, and every office of the federal government . . . In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
“As we peer into society’s future, we—you and I and our government— must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow.”
PREFACE
IT’S JANUARY 1948. THE SECOND WORLD WAR CONCLUDED MORE THAN 2 years ago. Believing the world has fought its last Great War, and unaware of or unconcerned about Russia’s potential emergence as a new world power, the American public is preoccupied with getting married, having children, spending its pent-up wartime savings, and looking for peacetime work.
Meanwhile, defense spending has dropped by $400 billion, or 67 percent of peak wartime spending limits. It’s a drop that has some powerful people concerned. In recent years, New York commercial and investment bankers and military contractors have been convening regularly in secret. Carefully guarded meetings have been conducted to discuss how to cushion the adverse economic effects of America’s shift from wartime production to the manufacture of consumer goods.
Not even the most optimistic among the Wall Street investment managers believe proposed solutions—selling off surplus capacity, retooling plants to manufacture peacetime consumer products, and generating postwar demand— will be adequate to offset the economic consequences. Something has to be done. That’s why, on this bitterly cold day at the start of 1948, they decide to retain the law firm of Southwick & Cornforth. They expect its managing partner, J. Jordan McWilliams, to develop an imaginative and comprehensive plan needed to address the urgency of the situation and present it for their approval at the earliest possible date.
PROLOGUE
The Sentinels Gather
(Ten Months Later)
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 1948
The jungle drums registering concern over the latest developments in the fastrising world of anti-Communist campaigning are beating more loudly. The tide of the public’s growing fear of the spreading threat of Communism is rapidly rising.
Jacques and Mike, the European and American Sentinel leaders, via transatlantic telephone, have been exploring possible corporate agendas in play and the evidence that a new Power-Cycle type threat may be forming.
Mary Wheeler Clarke’s sources—former generals now consulting with military contractors—continued to give her reports on the ramped-up plans for increased defense spending.
Marco Tancredi has reported on the situation from his unique vantage point: Members of his late-night office cleaning staff have been separating the discarded executive notes of the members of Manuel’s Club they have discovered in the trash they are required to remove each night.
Walt Matthews, the nationally syndicated columnist for the New York Times, has been reporting the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee with increasing frequency . . .
Natalie’s transatlantic casting program, “Natalie’s Bridge,” widely regarded as a brave effort to identify English employment for out-of-work, blacklisted Hollywood personalities, has caught the attention of the American public.
It had been decided that an all-hands meeting of the Sentinels was needed to organize a plan of opposition. The scheduled dinner in the Stones’ spacious Upper Eastside New York apartment represented the first time all 14 would be called together.
By seven o’clock on the appointed evening, everyone had arrived, been offered their drink of choice, and had sampled Cecelia’s magnificent array of Oriental hors d’oeuvres. With drinks in hand and nibbling on the marvelous finger food, the battle-hardened Sentinels stood around talking. The affection, admiration, and respect they held for each other was apparent.
As involved in their own conversations as they were, they couldn’t help but notice that Mike and Jacques had made their way to the outside balcony. Trying not to appear obvious, the others would periodically steal quick glances through the big plate-glass window. Judging from the body language of the two leaders and the intensity of their facial expressions, the other Sentinels concluded that their leaders were having a serious, do-not-disturb conversation.
* * *
JACQUES WAS TALKING. “I’M GUESSING THIS SITUATION WITH THE military budgeting represents a serious threat to the congressional appropriations process and demands our attention. When the Founding Fathers set up the checks and balances of your remarkable government, I wonder if they anticipated that these concentrated pockets of wealth and influence would become so dominant. Unfortunately, it’s not just a problem for American citizens. Many people in other countries are depending upon the generosity of the American people to help them reconstruct their local economies. Already, they’re starting to worry about how the cost associated with rearmament might interfere with their own needs.”
Responding, Mike said, “We may not like what McWilliams and his cronies are attempting, but at least we know what it is. Now that we have two sources of confirming information, I wonder if we really have any alternative to becoming involved.”
Jacques was about to respond when Cecelia announced, “All right, everyone, dinner is served!”
CONTENTS
PREQUEL
PREFACE
PROLOGUE
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Chapter 1 Manuel’s Club
Chapter 2 Mike Stone & Jacques Roth
Chapter 3 Richard Allen Bailey
Chapter 4 Movie Night
Chapter 5 Mary Wheeler Clarke
Chapter 6 Marco’s Notes
Chapter 7 The Mighty Warrior
Chapter 8 Who Is Marco Tancredi?
Chapter 9 Natalie Cummins
Chapter 10 Attacking Mr. Bill
Chapter 11 Natalie’s New Mission
Chapter 12 Dinner Is Served
Chapter 13 Call Gloria
Chapter 14 Going Their Separate Ways
Chapter 15 Stacking the Deck
Chapter 16 Gloria’s Finest Performance
Chapter 17 Plaything of the Year
Chapter 18 Plan
Chapter 19 Mercedes Exits Mexico
Chapter 20 Target Manuel
Chapter 21 New News
Chapter 22 A Quiet Evening with Cecelia
Chapter 23 Dr. Tom Burdick
Chapter 24 Myron Goldman
Chapter 25 Don Meets Mercedes
Chapter 26 The Pieces Fit
Chapter 27
White Box, Red Ribbon
Chapter 28 Least Bad Decision
Chapter 29 Cecelia’s Big Dance
Chapter 30 Building a Bridge
Chapter 31 Dinner at Claridges
Chapter 32 A Little Chat
Chapter 33 Something of Importance
Chapter 34 Across the Atlantic
Chapter 35 An Alternate Approach
Chapter 36 Mercedes Returns
Chapter 37 A New, Clear Voice
Chapter 38 Fall from Grace
Chapter 39 The Head of the Serpent
Chapter 40 The Fifth Estate
Chapter 41 Aren’t You Going to Say Hello to an Old Friend?
Chapter 42 Dinner at Sardi’s
Chapter 43 Impending Doom
Chapter 44 Gift from a Friend
Chapter 45 Tony Garibaldi, a Fellow Dreamer
Chapter 46 Jordan Sails
Chapter 47 The Retreat
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Jordan McWilliams: Wall Street Attorney-In charge of Manuel members plan
Manuel Rodrigues Arena-Friend of McWilliams, Acapulco Host, Mexico City movie maker
Richard “Slick” Bailey: California congressmen, member of HUAC committee
Mercedes Ordonez Velasquez: Former Miss Universe, under contract to Arena Movie Studios
Mike Stone:/Original Sentinel, Executive V.P. Scone City Bank
Jacques Roth: Original Sentinel, Head of Roth Bank in Geneva
Claudine Demaureux Roth: Original Sentinel, daughter of Henri Demaureux, wife of Jacques Roth
Mary Wheeler Clarke: Former Administrator, CIA, Bern, Switzerland
Henri Demaureux: Fifth Generation family President of Demaureux Bank of Switzerland
Cecelia Chang Scone: Original Sentinel, Born in Hong Kong, married to Mike Scone
Southwick & Cornforth: Powerful Wall Street, New York City law firm
Marco Tancredi: Second generation, Sicilian immigrate, former garbage company executive, founder and owner of American Building Maintenance Company
Armando: Marco’s partner
Gordon Newell: Monterey sculptor, Scone family friend
Don Cerreta: Marco’s oldest and best friend, Federal Prosecutor, Attorney General Office
Natalie Cummins: Retired star of New York and London’s musical Stage
David Marcus: Visiting Fellow, University of California, Owner-founder of Great Britain’s “International Petroleum Investment Advisors”
William W. Wey!, “Mr. Bill”: Successful author, playwright, and screen writer, former World War II highly decorated naval aviator. Target of HUAC anticommunist investigations
Mrs. Cyril “Gloria” Adams: Retired Hollywood actress, former wife of Hollywood Black Listed screen writer
Dr. Tom Burdick. Professor, University of California, doctoral advisor to the “Original Six Sentinels”
Juan Pablo Perez: Venezuelan Petroleum Engineer, consultant co Middle Eastern, oil rich country governments
Tony Garibaldi: Original Sentinel, founder and managing partner Sentinel Vineyards
Walt Matthews: Senior reporter New York Times and long-time Sentinel friend “Voices behind the Curtain Attorneys”
Ben Holt: represents implement Mid-West manufacturers
Ken Hoffman: represents steel maker from Pittsburg
Dale Pennington: represents Oilmen from Los Angeles
Bert Damner: represent aircraft manufacturers from Seattle
Pere Scott: represents oil companies from Houston
Sir Colin Meyer: Duke of Trafalgar, father of Ian Meyer, an original Sentinel
Stanley Victor: McWilliams’ Georgetown friend who hosts weekend cruises on his ocean-going yacht
Pete Ferrari: President American West National Bank
Frank Majors: Foreman, night cleaning office maintenance crew
CHAPTER 1
Manuel’s Club
ACAPULCO, FEBRUARY 1948
J. Jordan McWilliams was standing in front of Acapulco’s international air terminal, enjoying the warm tropical breeze. Waiting next to him was Señor Manuel Rodriguez Arena, a Mexico City movie producer. The two longtime friends were silent as they watched the landing of the first of six flights that would arrive that afternoon. Each plane had departed from a different major city in the United States. On board each craft were the chief executive officers of many of the country’s largest military-industrial corporations. These men were accustomed to making difficult decisions, solving complicated problems, and ensuring important things happened.
Responding on short notice, they had immediately accepted the offer of Señor Arena’s Acapulco hospitality. They understood what appeared to be an innocent invitation was, in reality, their notification that J. Jordan McWilliams was preparing to present his plan for restoring American military spending.
To provide sufficient room for all of his invited guests, Señor Arena had arranged for the exclusive occupancy of Acapulco’s finest boutique hotel. As the only guests, they would be able to listen, discuss, and hopefully, approve McWilliams’s plan.
As Jordan watched the first plane taxi along the tarmac, he reflected on the events that led up to this day. Anticipating the government’s sudden cancellation of military procurement contracts might cause problems. He and his friend Señor Manuel Arena, for the prior 2 years, had been periodically inviting different combinations of these powerful industrialists to his 10-room beachfront villa in Acapulco, where they could discuss postwar problems on a confidential basis. Each time before they departed, the invited guests would make handsome contributions toward the next movie Manuel was planning on producing. Those who appeared to be the most interested in finding some way to extend government spending on military contracts had been invited back. Each time a returning guest was preparing to depart, he was handed two envelopes. One contained the dividends from his previous investment, and the other contained an invoice for the next-to-be-produced movie. The dedicated group that ultimately emerged had come to call themselves members of “Manuel’s Club.”
These Manuel’s Club members were masters of personal compartmentalization. At home, these powerful, respected leaders were active in local politics and charitable causes. They prided themselves on being supportive, loving husbands and caring fathers. They were men of trust and responsibility.
Away from home, however, they were accustomed to “relieving” some of the pressures of their demanding lives. The males-only club indulged themselves with the attentions of their personal secretaries, mistresses, or the fetching local female “cousins” who were frequently present during the less formal parts of the gatherings. Excessive drinking and unexplained absences were never questioned.
The time for talking had passed. Existing government contracts would soon reach maturity, and other contracts were being canceled on a somewhat regular basis. The need for restoring government military spending was fast approaching.
Within an hour, the line of chauffeur-driven limousines was transporting Manuel’s guests to Acapulco’s Villa Verra, the long-recognized exclusive resort hotel of choice for Hollywood’s film colony. Perched high on a hill overlooking Acapulco and its crescent-shaped turquoise bay, Villa Verra enjoyed a fine reputation for luxury. High-profile patrons gushed about the elaborate tropical character of its rooms, the excellence of its cuisine, and the privacy it afforded celebrity guests.
On any given night, the menu, printed daily, featured the finest local seafood, wild quail, and gourmet French and Italian dishes. The six-page leather-encased wine list featured the finest vintages from each of the selected appellations in Italy, Germany, and France. A knowledgeable sommelier stood by to help guests with any unfamiliar selections.
Despite the seriousness of this meeting, Jordan knew that the first night’s dinner needed to be a relaxed, friendly gathering. By early evening, voices and laughter filled the main dining room of the villa’s restaurant. Accustomed to Mexico’s custom of long cocktail hours and late-night eating, Manuel’s gues
ts stood in groups of two or three chatting with old friends. Waiters served exotic drinks in large, interestingly shaped glasses; others carried platters of shrimp, caught that same day, and folded minitortillas stuffed with cheese and jalapeños. A local mariachi band stood off to one side, blaring festive music on trumpet, guitar, violin, and a huge and well-worn string bass.
Their appetites whetted and their spirits buoyed, no one objected when the dinner gong was finally sounded. Once they were seated, everyone’s attention was drawn to their host, J. Jordan McWilliams, who rose from his seat. “Gentlemen, if the situation weren’t so serious, I would not have found it necessary to prevail upon you to join me and your fellow Manuel’s Club members on such short notice. It’s no secret that my colleagues on Wall Street, as well as most of us in this room, are convinced that the cancellation and expiration of so many government contracts could materially affect your ability to maintain current levels of employment and purchase of products and services. Over the next 3 days, my colleagues and I plan to present a three-part plan for you to consider, discuss, and, I sincerely hope, to approve. It’s one that we think could encourage our government to renew military contracting well into the foreseeable future.”
“And exactly how do you intend to do that?” one of the well-oiled guests asked. His tone was sarcastic, his voice slurred.
Unfazed, Jordan responded with vigor, “We are planning to scare the living hell out of the American public over the threat of spreading Communism. At the same time, we are going to introduce a national publicity campaign designed to convince them that improved military preparedness is our best defense! And, we will be electing a candidate to Congress who will decide close votes in our favor.”
His words hung in the silent room. “But I’m getting ahead of myself here,” he said. “I have been told the management has gone to a great deal of trouble to prepare a marvelous meal. Let’s relax and enjoy the evening. We will have ample opportunity during the next 3 days for discussion. Bon appétit!”
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