by John Barron
On instant date NY-694S* advised as follows:
He contacted Arnold Johnson, CPUSA Legislative Secretary, who advised the informant that Gus Hall had instructed that the informant transmit to the Soviets an important message, which message was to be given to CG-5824S* [Morris] who in turn would give it to the Central Committee in the Soviet Union. The message was to the effect that the Soviets were to notify at once all world communist parties on our behalf to continue public campaign which directs fire against the ultra-right elements and provocateurs in the United States who are the real perpetrators of the assassination of President Kennedy and also to strike against those commentators and others including public officials especially in the South who are falsely accusing the CPUSA and the USA working class. Your statements and articles which have already appeared are most effective and correct and need to be continued.
Johnson also stated that Gus Hall wants NY-694S* to immediately get in touch with his Russian contact in the United States and advise that he assumes that the Russians are still interested in Lee Oswald’s wife since she is a Russian and possibly will go back to Russia. The informant is to request that the Russians, in the event they interview her, determine if her husband had any connections with the ultra-right… Informant will attempt to initiate contact November 26…
For information [of] New Orleans and Dallas, NY-694S * is an extremely sensitive source and information containing instant teletype should not be reported but used for lead purposes only.
Soviet President Boris Yeltsin in his book The Struggle for Russia (Random House, New York, 1994) on page 307 quotes a memorandum KGB Chairman Vladimir Semichastny sent on December 10, 1963, to the International Department. It is based mainly on a report from “Brooks,” whom Yeltsin characterizes as “a well-known American communist and KGB agent.” “Brooks” at the time probably was the Soviet code name for Jack. Excerpts quoted by Yeltsin state:
In the opinion of Gus Hall, the official representative of the Soviet Embassy in the USA [emphasis added], we would find it expedient to visit the widow of Oswald, since interesting information about events in Dallas can be obtained from her, as a Russian and citizen of the USSR… in the opinion of the Rezident of the Committee for State Security [KGB], a trip from a Soviet Embassy officer to Oswald’s wife was not expedient.
Thus Yeltsin and KGB files confirm that Jack did what Hall dictated. So did Morris.
seven
ALMOST CAUGHT
THE SOLO TEAM JUDGED that Eva could be a rejuvenating and sustaining confidant of Morris, and in the beginning that is all the FBI expected her to be. However, through the tutelage of Morris as well as her own intelligence and daring, she transfigured herself from a sweet, caring social worker into perhaps the most effective female spy the FBI has ever had. In Moscow, she gathered from Kremlin wives insights into their husbands’ private thoughts and emotions, the kind of intimate personal details no male could obtain. She gradually formed some of the wives into a sort of feminist movement and encouraged them to assert themselves in a male chauvinist world. Eva empowered the women by announcing that she would not attend a banquet or reception unless wives were invited, and her female friends knew that they owed their entrée into high male society to her.
When Boyle warned that interpreters reported every word she spoke to the ID and KGB, Eva said, “So much the better. We’ll just be speaking to a larger audience, won’t we?” Eva was not only stealing Soviet secrets and smuggling out important documents, she was also becoming an agent of influence—someone who not only reported enemy behavior but also helped affect it.
If Eva could do so much as a female spy, how much could Jack’s wife, Rosslyn, do? Surely Roz would be welcome in Moscow. She had gone there in the 1930s to work as a secretary for the Comintern, and her subsequent party record in the United States was unstained. Although she had not been politically active for years, she remained on good terms with Gus and Elizabeth Hall.
While Roz used the excuse that motherhood left her no time for party work, in fact, she had lost all faith in communism and the Soviet Union. She nonetheless supported Jack and Morris when they chose to resume party activity, for reasons she did not understand. She was courteous to the Halls and the few other party members who occasionally visited their home.
Toward the end of a brief vacation in Florida, Jack suggested that on the way back they stop in Washington, D.C. Roz assented, drawing up a detailed list of all the sights they should visit. But the trip did not turn out the way she had planned. When they presented their tickets at the Miami airport, the attendant said that because the coach section of their flight was overbooked, they were being upgraded to first class. Once on the plane, Roz noticed empty seats in coach. At Washington National Airport, two young men, who looked like linebackers for the Washington Redskins, introduced themselves as “friends of Mr. Sullivan” and announced that they had a car for them outside. Roz asked about their luggage. “It will be in the car,” Jack said. As soon as they stepped outside the terminal, a limousine with police escort stopped in front of them. Roz had reserved an inexpensive room in Alexandria. Instead, the limousine took them to one of the most elegant hotels in downtown Washington. Without pausing at the registration desk, the young men carried their bags to a lavish suite. Awaiting them in the room were flowers, chocolates, canapés, champagne, and a man Roz had never met—William K. Sullivan, then the FBI assistant director responsible for SOLO. He told her about the operation and Jack’s role in it; then he, in effect, said: Your country needs you. Your husband needs you. Will you join us?
Roz first spoke to Jack rather than to Sullivan, “I’m so proud of you.”
The Soviets wanted Jack to come to Moscow for consultations with the KGB, and they hoped that afterward he could fly to Havana, see Castro, and then report back to them. Before he and Roz departed in April 1964, Morris composed birthday greetings for Jack to deliver to Khrushchev in the name of Hall and the American party. Boyle thought the letter Morris wrote was outrageously saccharine and obsequious. “This isn’t meant for the commanding general of the Marine Corps,” Morris said. “You’ve got to think like they do.”
Khrushchev long had been a sycophant. While presiding over the extermination of millions of Ukrainians in the 1930s, he variously characterized himself as “Friend and comrade in arms of Stalin… Closest pupil and comrade in arms of Stalin… Stalinist leader of Ukrainians and Bolsheviks… Closest companion in arms of the great Stalin.” In 1944, Khrushchev compelled thirteen poets to write a collective poem to the Great Stalin from the Ukrainian People, and made 9,316,972 people sign the poem before sending it to Stalin. As a former sycophant, Morris reasoned that Khrushchev was vulnerable to sycophancy.
Morris was right. The letter so delighted Khrushchev that he ordered copies circulated among the Politburo and Central Committee, and he invited Jack to a state dinner honoring Algerian Premier Ben Bella on May Day. Famous marshals, four cosmonauts, and the entire Presidium were present. With much fanfare, Jack was introduced to all as the representative of the American party, and many drank fulsome toasts to him. As Morris had instructed, Jack responded with a treacly toast to Khrushchev, and Khrushchev in turn said to him: “Now this great day is complete. It is truly international and here stands a representative from the country in which this great day gave birth. When I hug you I hug your great Secretary [Hall]. Good health to him. He indeed is a staunch leader of your brave Party. Ah, he is my son! Enjoy yourself on this occasion. Sit with us. You are more than welcome.” (The quotations of Khrushchev are extracted from a report Jack submitted to Hall.)
While Ponomarev escorted Ben Bella, Jack dealt with Mostovets and his assistants, Aleksei Grechukhin and Oleg Korianov. At his request, they provided him with an American typewriter so he could write to comrades back home. In plain-language code, he wrote to “Vivian,” an FBI mail drop in New York. Decoded, the letter said: “Mostovets and Grechukhin are even more anxious that I go to Cuba than I am myself. It seems
that even patrons of the arts are kept waiting at the door while Castro looks at the mirror and admires himself… Things are even worse with the Chinese than one can imagine—much worse.”
On May 4, Jack was summoned to meet “a special comrade,” the KGB officer overseeing support operations from Moscow. Partially out of his natural insolence but also for calculated operational reasons, Jack treated KGB personnel as his subordinates. Jack made it clear that he was working for Khrushchev, Suslov, Ponomarev, Mostovets, and the august general secretary of the American party, and nobody else. If something went wrong, he loudly and brazenly accused the KGB of incompetence. So the KGB, perhaps at times contrary to its best professional judgment, humored him or left him alone, which is just what he and the FBI wanted.
The support officer looked like a young Abe Lincoln. Speaking perfect English, he addressed Jack by his first name without identifying himself. He exhibited thorough knowledge of operations in New York and several times insinuated he was acting under the direct authority of the Central Committee.
“Look, Mr. X, if that’s what you want to be called, I do business with the Politburo and Central Committee personally,” Jack said. “If anyone there wants to tell me something, he will do it, face to face. So let’s come to the point. Why am I sitting in this hotel room?”
As if unveiling some great technological marvel, the officer produced a microfilm container that would destroy its contents if improperly opened. He began a lecture about its value and functions.
“You guys showed me this thing last year,” Jack interrupted. “I know how it works. You said you would give me some at a drop or meet. Is this a museum piece, or do you want me to use it? If you do, get it to me.”
The Soviet told him that cryptologists had devised a new code for MORAT communications that Jack would soon be trained to use.
“That’s good,” Jack said. “Thirty years ago when you were a boy and I was studying intelligence in Moscow, I learned that codes should be changed often. As for the lesson, you’ll have to check with the people at ID. They control my time.”
Playing his trump card, Mr. X proudly stated that the Soviets had decided to deliver $300,000 to Jack upon his return to New York. He acted as if the money came from his own pocket and clearly expected expressions of gratitude.
“Mostovets already told me that,” Jack replied. “It’s not as much as my secretary expected, but it will help. By the way, send it in $50 bills; mostly gangsters go around with $100 bills, and they attract attention.”
Meekly, the officer agreed that $50 bills would be better.
They parted affably, having agreed to meet later to discuss new cipher systems with a KGB expert.
While Jack awaited a visa to Cuba, Korianov counseled him about how to deal with Castro. “We are very familiar with Comrade Castro. We know him very well. You know that Khrushchev spoke to him twice. He talked to him very precisely, accurately but tenderly, as one to a child… Comrade Castro is a very sensitive comrade. Our experience has been to talk to him most carefully. We even have learned that there are times not to speak to him, since he is a man of many moods. If his mood is good, he will listen, he will agree with you; but should it be bad, he will shout and pout.” Korianov stressed that the Soviets did not want the Cubans to know of their interest in his trip and they could not contact Jack in Havana. All they could do was help him obtain a visa and make him comfortable on their plane.
The day Jack was scheduled to meet the KGB cipher expert, a KGB officer greeted him coldly.
“There will be no expert present today, and you will receive no instructions in codes,” he began. “I have come to tell you that a very serious situation has arisen in New York, and we are gravely disturbed. The New York Journal American on May 14 published an article by columnist Victor Riesel. It said that the head of the FBI knows how the Communist Party is getting its money from Moscow and that he could name names and places and furnish proof in detail of his allegations. There will be no delivery of the money we discussed.”
For a moment, Jack could not speak. He felt nauseous with fear. The KGB obviously suspected him; both he and his wife were in mortal peril. Not knowing what else to do, Jack did what he did best. He started playing the big con, trying to bluff his way out of trouble.
“This doesn’t make sense!” he shouted. “How could you people make a decision to cripple my party at a time like this? The Worker is depending on the National Office for money. The presidential elections are coming up, and we are preparing for a National Convention. This is a rash and hasty decision on the part of your New York comrades. I’m not going to let a faker like Riesel harm my secretary Gus Hall and my party. I’m going to appeal to the highest authority in the Central Committee against this decision.”
“I am sorry,” said the KGB officer. “There is nothing I can do. The New York comrades have the right to make decisions where security is concerned and such decisions are always final.”
“It’s not that simple,” declared Jack. “I will not go home until this decision is changed. That is what my secretary would expect.”
The telephone rang, interrupting the conversation. The Cubans had granted a visa, and Jack needed to be at the airport in two hours.
He now dreaded the trip to Cuba, and he dreaded having to return to Moscow after he was done there. He could not back out without making himself more suspect. But he could try to spare his wife. As he packed for Cuba, he told Roz what had happened and ordered her to take the next available flight out of the Soviet Union. When they parted, Jack wondered if he would ever see her again.
Back in the States, the FBI traced the leak to a senior assistant to J. Edgar Hoover, who was trying to curry favor with the press and Congress. The assistant knew almost nothing about SOLO but had seen reports to Hoover about the cash smuggled into New York. Since he could not be prosecuted or fired without compromising the operation, the aide was warned to keep quiet and get lost for a while. The FBI made sure that those who fielded any queries from the press, Congress, or other government agencies were totally ignorant of SOLO. To anticommunists in Congress, the FBI said: “It would be wonderful if this were true. But we can’t produce a single source who can verify any of that.” The Bureau did not say there were no such sources; it said they could not produce any. Finally, the FBI managed to convey this message indirectly to a few members of Congress and aides who had contacts with the Soviets in Washington.
After the initial story, no other newspaper paid attention. The storm had passed, though Jack, stuck in Havana, had no idea that he and his wife were safe.
The Cubans placed him in a comfortable little villa. On the second day of his stay, Ramon Calcines, a young member of the Presidium responsible for relations with foreign communist parties, paid a courtesy visit. He said Castro knew Jack had arrived and looked forward to seeing him as soon as his demanding schedule permitted. Calcines added that as Castro kept very irregular hours, he might call at any time, day or night, so Jack should stay in the villa until he heard from him.
Some eight months earlier Hall had stationed Beatrice Johnson, a veteran communist, in Havana to provide liaison between the American and Cuban parties. She came to Jack’s villa the third day, looking worn and disheveled, and recounted a tale of endless adversity. The Cubans had consigned her and her small daughter to a slum unequipped with either a refrigerator or fan, and she was forced to keep perishable food in the icebox of a comrade six blocks away. Her savings and the money the party gave her before she left were exhausted; she subsisted on a pittance earned from a menial job with the Cuban party. Ultra-leftist Americans sympathetic to the Chinese continuously deceived the Cubans with malicious lies about the American party, and she had been unable to see Castro or anyone else of importance. She had been “pushed around, beaten up, and isolated.”
Just confiding her travails to Jack, whom she had known in New York, seemed to raise her spirits and energize her. After recounting her woes she gave him a comprehensiv
e briefing about Cuba. They dined together at the villa every evening, and he came to rely on her advice. After a week without any word from Castro, Johnson told him that some people waited for months. She recommended that Jack compose a melodramatic letter to Castro announcing an urgent need to confer. He did so and sent it to Dr. Rene Vallejo, a close friend and confidant of Castro.
A few nights later, both Castro and Vallejo came to the villa. As in Moscow, Castro was quite cordial, and the flattering personal greetings Jack relayed from Hall made him more so. After Jack handed him a letter from Hall, Castro asked, “Should I read it now or take it with me?”
“It might raise some questions, so perhaps it would be better to read it now,” Jack answered.
Castro read and studied the letter, then said emotionally, “This is one of the most beautiful documents I have ever read, and I speak from the heart. I will always remember and keep it.”
Jack began his presentation by asking, on behalf of Hall, what the American Party could do to help Cuba. “What can we do as a party to build a closer relationship? I also wonder if you would mind meeting our representative. She has been in Havana eight months and still has not been able to meet you.”
Castro jumped from his chair and exclaimed, “You mean she has been here eight months! Why? How is this possible?”
“Well, it’s possible because many people keep people from seeing you. She has tried and tried hard.”
Within fifteen minutes, men marched Beatrice, half-dressed and holding her child in her arms, into the room. Castro courteously introduced himself and invited her to sit and join the discussion.
Jack reviewed efforts of pro-Chinese radicals in both Cuba and the United States to keep the American and Cuban parties apart and lamented that to some extent they had succeeded. He noted that his party could not send literature into Cuba whereas large volumes of Trotskyite, ultra-leftist literature circulated in Havana.