OS - KRONTHAL, JAMES SPEYER

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06619070
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: February 6, 2020
• Case Number: F-2013-01784
• Publication Date: September 29, 1985

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SUBJECT: KRONTHAL, James Speyer
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The recently-released book Widows, written by William Corson
and Joseph and Susan Trento, publishes for the first time the case
of an Agency employee, James Speyer Kronthal, who committed
suicide on 31 March 1953, in his Georgetown home.
Widows alleges that Kronthal was the first "KGB mole in the
CIA," was a homosexual who was blackmailed by the KGB, and that
the Agency may have been involved in and quickly covered up the
death.
Since 8 May 1989, SAD has been investigating this incident and
has determined the following:
� Subject was and had been involved in homosexual activity,
was involved in at least one State Department originated
investigation into HA and had admitte(b)(1)
(b)(3)
Subject's forthcoming reinvestigation and polygraph, bouts
with depression, and his inclusion on Senator Joseph
McCarthy's list of subversive Agency employees, probably
contributed to his suicide.
* There is no evidence to support the allegation that Subject
was a mole for the KGB. Subject had not travelled to Germany
during the period Widows alleges he was arrested for HA by the
Gestapo; therefore, the penetration of the German BND by the
Soviet service could not have discovered isHAaiid used it
against him. Subject's job as an analyst did not put(b)(1)
him in contact with the Soviets. After his death, there was (b)(3)
no Agency concern or investigation into his co-option by the
Soviets and no defector sources have reported his supposed
misdoings.
* The Agency had no mechanism for dealing with the suicide of
an employee in this early period. There was no "contact" in
the DC Police to handle and "cover up" problems with Agency
employees. The newspapers heavily reported the death and
subsequent events. The case was closed by the Agency,
forgotten, and the Security File destroyed in the late 1970's.
A Security File on Subject has been reconstructed, and will be
maintained in Information Management Division.
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29 September 1989
MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Special Activities Division
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Special Investigations Branch
Special Activities Division
KRONTHAL, James Speyer (U)
1. Subject is a deceased Agency employee who committed
suicide in his Georgetown home on 31 March 1953. He is the topic
of the first chapter of the recent book Widows, written by William
Corson and Joseph and Susan
Trento. This book alleges that Subject, due to his homosexuality,
had been co-opted by the Soviet intelligence service, and
committed suicide after dining with Allen Dulles. Widows and
related items in "Newsweek" and REUTERS news service allege
Subject was "The Soviet's First CIA Mole."(Attachments "A&B")
Current SAD interest has been to investigate these allegations to
reconstruct and document Subject's file. (C)
2. The attached memorandum (Attachment "C") details the
initial information gathered by SAD. Subsequent memoranda
(Attachment "D") detail the SAD investigation to date. Below are
the allegations concerning Subject, as detailed in Widows, and the
results of the SAD investigation into these allegations. (C)
3. Allegation #1 -- After Subject's housekeeper could not
wake him, Gould Cassal and
"from the CIA's Office of Security," arrived and discovered
the body. Widows alleges that "the speed with which the Office
Security arrived at the Kronthal home adds some support" to the
theory that DCI Allen Dulles may have approved an "executive
action" to eliminate Subject upon finding Subject had been
compromised and turned. (U)
In fact, Cassal and were not from the Office of
Security. In a 13 June 1989 SAD interview with
(Attachment "E"), he explained that both he and Cassa
assigned to the Office of Training. Subject was the chief of
Covert Training. (S)
WARNING NOTICE
INTELLIGENCE SOURCES
OR METHODS INVOLVED
of
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SUBJECT: KRONTHAL, James Speyer
, also of the Office of
Training, concerned when Subject did not arrive for work and was
late for an important meeting, asked Cassal to go to his house and
get him. Cassal's car was in the shop, so he asked to
drive. Both arrived at the home, met with the-maid, and had
coffee while waiting for Subject to awake. When he did not rouse,
went to Subject's room, finding the body. (C)
4. Allegation #2 -- Subject was found by both men, "his fully
clothed body lying on a daybed. His jacket was off, but he still
had on a shirt and tie. An empty vial was found on the floor.
The two security men followed standard procedure and called the
CIA's unofficial liaison in the Washington DC Metropolitan Police
Department." (U)
stated that he alone entered the room, leaving Cassal
downstairs. As he entered the room, he saw Subject in his
pajamas, in bed. (A contemporary newspaper report says he was
fully clothed, except for a coat) Subject had laid a linen towel
lengthwise across his upper chest and was "obviously dead." On
the table next to him was a little vial and an envelope addressed
to Richard Helms (This is borne out in contemporary newspaper
reports). returned downstairs and informed Cassal, who
called Helms (then Chief Ops). told Helms about the suicide
and asked for advice. Helms told to call the police and he
would dispatch Sheffield Edwards (then D/OS). then called
the DC police. (S)
5. Allegation #3 -- Lt Lawrence Hartnett, head of the DC
Police Homicide Squad, investigated the suicide and was an
unofficial troubleshooter for the CIA, who in turn, supplied him
with intelligence on local politicians. (U)
December 1983 interviews with Hartnett by William Corson, and
mentioned in the 2 February 1984 letter from Robert Crowley
(Attachment "F"), Corson's co-author in The New KGB, remark
that Hartnett conducted the investigation at Subject's home on 31
March 1953. This letter claims Hartnett threatened and
Cassal with arrest for searching the house prior to his arrival,
thereby disturbing the crime scene. Arresting the persons you are
covering up for does not appear to be the action of someone "in
the know."
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SUBJECT: KRONTHAL, James Speyer
remembers that it was only minutes until the police
arrived. He and Cassal had returned to the kitchen table and left
the scene undisturbed. When Hartnett arrived he was told
Subject's name and that he worked for CIA. Hartnett did not know
what the Agency was and confused it with the Civil Aviation
Administration (CAA). was amazed that there were no
established procedures for incidents involving Agency employees.
Of Hartnett, remarked; "He didn't know what CIA was... .My
impression of the man was that he wasn't a very bright bulb."
Certainly, it does not seem that Hartnett cleaned up "messes" for
the Agency and covered up what they "wanted hidden," especially in
light of the fact that the Washington newspapers picked up so much
information about the suicide. (C)
6. Allegation # 4 -- The DC Police retrieved two notes at
Subject's home -- one to Richard Helms, one to Allen Dulles. The
note to Helms remarked that Subject was "mentally upset because of
pressure connected with work." Subject had mailed another note to
his sister, in which he confessed his
homosexuality and that he worked tor the Agency, not the State
Department. (U)
The WASHINGTON POST and WASHINGTON STAR articles about the
suicide report that Subject left a page-long, handwritten note to
"a male friend" on the bedside table indicating he was distraught
due to pressure at work.(Attachment "G") No other notes were
mentioned. said he saw only the note to Helms. He also
remarked that Cassal had told him Helms revealed the suicide note
said "they're after me," supposedly indicating the polygraph and
reinvestigation. In an interview with Richard Helms (Attachment
"H"), he stated he never received the suicide note, but it was
read to him. He further remarked that the note did not go into
specific reasons for the suicide other than Subject was distressed
about work. (S)
The Crowley letter refers to the DC police report, housed at
the National Records Center (NRC) in Suitland, Maryland, which
refers to suicide "notes" addressed to Helms, Dulles, and
Subject's sister. The DC Police state that they only store
homicide reports a total of 27 years at Police Headquarters and
NRC. Suicide reports are retained only a total of 10 years. At
the latest, the report on Subject's death would have been kept
only until late 1980. According to the police, the report on
Subject's suicide no longer exists. (Attachment "I") (S)
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SUBJECT: KRONTHAL, James Speyer
(b)(3)
The Crowley letter also mentions statements from Subject's
sister and notes that she was the recipient of one of the suicide
notes. was very ill in 1983, and still believes the
Agency arranged her brother's death. (S)
7. Allegation #5 -- Subject was a homosexual. (U)
There is ample evidence to indicate that Subject was a
homosexual or had homosexual tendencies. Subject's sister and
cousin knew, according to the Crowley letter, of his tendencies
from an early age. Richard Helms admitted in his conversation
with ADDO/CI on 8 May. 1989 that Subject was thought to be
homosexual. (Attachment "J") (S)
The 1951 State Department investigation, conducted by John W.
Ford, Director of Security, developed evidence that Subject was a
homosexual and obtained a signed statement from another member of
who engaged in two homosexual acts with (W(1 )
Subject. (Attachment "K") The Agency polygraphed Subject in the(pp)
summer of 1951 and obtained an (W(3)
from Subject. Neither the State Department investigative report
nor the Agency polygraph report have survived. (S)
(b)(6)
8. Allegation # 6 -- The Soviets, through a penetration of
the predecessor to the German BND, obtained information that
Subject had been arrested by the Gestapo in the 1930's for
homosexual activity. The Soviet service set Subject up and filmed
him engaged in homosexual activity. From then until his death,
Subject supplied the Soviets with information and the Soviets
directed his actions. (U)
Subject's PHS notes that he worked for Speyer & Company as a
financial analyst from October 1934 until the company's
liquidation in 1938. He then taught Art History at both Harvard
and Radcliffe, joining OSS in April 1942. The only travel outside
the US Subject reported on his PHS during this time was pleasure
travel to Italy, France, and England from June to September 1934.
There is no indication that Subject had been to Germany in the
time frame alleged. Neither is there any evidence to support the
arrest by the Gestapo. (C)
The most damning accusation is the Subject's alleged
cooperation with the Soviet intelligence service.
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SUBJECT: KRONTHAL, James Speyer
Since the Agency's Security File was destroyed in the 1970's, we
can only speculate as to the information it held. However, the
current investigation has entailed a thorough review of some
associated security and 201 files, and not one piece of evidence
has been unearthed which would add even the most remote support to
the Soviet agent theory. Certainly if it cannot be proved that
Subject was in Germany to be arrested by the Gestapo, the Soviet
penetration of the BND had nothing to find on him. Interviews
with SRS/SAG investigators and employees familiar with or
contemporary to this case -- including Richard Helms,
Harlan Westrell
and Jerry Brown -- all report that there was not the
slightest suspicion that Subject was an alleged "mole." (S)
Widows itself is even devoid of proof of a Soviet connection.
The book does not present sourced, substantiated evidence of
Soviet blackmail or cooperation. This is evidenced by the paucity
of footnotes to the chapter and a similar lack of sourced
information in the text. Subject's alleged work for the Soviets
appears no more than speculation on the part of the author and
just another instance of inaccuracy of the facts. (C)
9. Allegation # 7 -- Subject had dinner with DCI Allen Dulles
and upon returning home, committed suicide. (U)
It is evident from the interview with that Subject may
have dined with on the evening he killed himself.
remarked, "The book said the night this (the suicide)
happened he had dinner with Dulles. I think it was
Additionally, recalls that on telling about the
suicide, she remarked: I really don't unders an . We had a date
tonight. He had talked to me last night about our getting
together again. There is also evidence in the interview that
Subject had fits of depression and had been depressed during the
last few days of his life. (S)
Richard Helms, in a 20 June 1989 interview with SAD, remarked
that Subject was not that close to Dulles. He also said Subject
was not a close enough in the
though they worked together (S) (W(1)
(b)(3)
DCI Dulles' calendars for 31 March 1953 (Attachment "L") note
no dinner or evening appointments.
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SUBJECT: KRONTHAL, James Speyer
Rather, he spent the entire day at the White House Cabinet Room in
a National Security Council meeting. Normally, dinners, cocktail
parties, and other engagements are noted on the DCI's calendar.
Becky Rant, of the Executive Registry, who reviewed the Dulles
calendars for this study, noted that the 30 March 1953 page
(Attachment "L") is representative of DCI Dulles' calendar showing
evening appointments. (S)
The exact cause of Subject's death has never been determined,
but was listed as "probable suicide." According to an
unmarked vial was found on the nightstand next to the bed. The
vial was smaller than a standard pharmcist pill bottle and looked
much like one had seen pictured in OSS training material in
the OTR library. and Westrell both remarked that Subject had
used an "L-tablet," the OSS suicide pill. The L-tablet and its
follow on, the L-pill, were both cyanide devices meant for quick
death when capture or torture were imminent. (S)
According to OTS/ cyanide poisoning of this
type is painful and will give the body a blue tint, did not
note a blue tint to the body, but a waxy look and some
perspiration on the forehead. The DC Coroner's report has since
been destroyed, but there is information that a blood sample was
analyzed for narcotics by the FBI laboratory. (Attachment "M")
Unfortunately, the Stas-Otto test done by the FBI lab does not
confirm the use of cyanide, only narcotics and organic poisons.
However, similar to the L-pill was the K-pill, used to "knock out"
a victim. OTS believes several K-pills would have killed the
Subject. Likewise, this drug would not have been found by blood
test, but would have been absorbed by the stomach. (S)
10. Of course, if the "Soviet connection" theory doesn't seem
likely, there should be another motive for Subject's suicide.
Based on this investigation, it appears that Subject was a
homosexual who was soon to be brought into reinvestigation and
polygraph in a period when homosexuals and other "sex perverts"
were being removed from and denied employment. Subject was also
known to have bouts with depression. Additionally, there is
information in a 31 March 1953 FBI memorandum (Attachment "N")
that Subject's name was on Senator Joseph McCarthy's list of
subversive Agency employees.
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SUBJECT: KRONTHAL, James Speyer
All of these factors may have combined, and Subject, feeling he
would be ruined professionally and humiliated or persecuted
publicly, committed suicide. The newspaper claim of Subject being
"upset" because of problems at work would be an appropriate
summation of the above events. (S)
11. The Corson Connection -- There have been allegations
throughout this investigation that Corson was befriended by Allen
Dulles and became an unofficial "troubleshooter" for Dulles. The
attached study (Attachment "0") of William Corson, based on a
review of his security file, interviews, and writings shows that
it is unlikely Corson ever worked for, with, or was attached to
the Agency. There is no evidence that he was an insider, and he
has never made this claim. (C)
Richard Helms notes that he was a close friend of Allen
Dulles, played tennis with him, and saw him on a regular basis and
never heard of or saw Corson during the Dulles tenure. Helms
severely criticized Corson and remarked that Corson was never an
Agency employee, never affiliated with, or assigned to the
Agency. He termed these allegations "nonsense." (C)
Harder to disprove is the allegation that Corson may have
Allen Dulles' diary, which contains particularly damning
information on this case. As the story is told, Corson received
the diary from Allen M. Dulles the son of the
former DCI. The best argument against the diary theory is that
Corson has never mentioned it, never used it as a footnote, or as
a source. If the diary is the document Corson needs to prove his
allegations in Subject's case, it seems absurd that he would not
flaunt its contents in print. Mr Helms also doubts this
allegation is true. (C)
12. The Otto John Connection -- There have also been
continuing allegations by Ed Sayle, UDAC,
that Otto John was debriefed by Corson or Justin
O'Donnell and revealed to them the identity of the
Subject as a penetration of the Agency. The attached memorandum
(Attachment "1") reviews the O'Donnell's file and notes that he
may have cooperated with Corson in a previous book. (S)
Another memorandum (Attachment "Q") details the case of Edward
Hoffer, a Army Counterintelligence Corps civilian, who committed
suicide upon Otto John's defection.
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SUBJECT: KRONTHAL, James Speyer
There are similarities between Subject's case and Hoffer, but
there is no information concerning a penetration of the Agency in
either John's security file or his lengthy 201. There is no
information that O'Donnell debriefed John, or was given
information on a penetration. Corson's involvement in the
debriefing seems unlikely, based on what is known about Corson, as
detailed above. (S)
13. Final Aspects -- The information received to date on
Subject essentially presents all the facts of the case. The basic
information that Subject was an Agency eTnlovee was publicly
admitted by the Agency after his death.
(C)
(b)(1)
(b)(3)
A 15 August 1989 interview with Bruce Solie, a former OS/SRS
employee, disclosed that he had no part in this particular
investigation and could add no information concerning Subject or
the Agency investigation in 1953. (C)
On 26 September 1989, Sam Papich, former FBI liaison officer,
was interviewed on this case (Attachment "R"). Papich stated
that he reported the Subject's suicide to the FBI, however there
was no indication that Subject was a "mole" or of any Soviet
connection. Papich met with DCI Allen Dulles on 30 March 1953, a
day before the suicide, but only as part of his normal liaison
duties. (C)
OMS, has reviewed Subject's medical file. Dr
noted that the last entries in the file were for Subject's
1952 physical. This physical recommended only dental work and
glasses. There is no indication of depression or any type of
psychological counselling in Subject's file, or information on
Subject's subsequent suicide. (C)
14. Based on the information gatered on Subject o date,
is recommended that no further action s case
closed in SAD. (C)
Attachments
(b)(3)
(b)(6)
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The Christian Science Monitor
The New York Times
The Washington Post
The Washington Times
The Wall Street Journal
Reuter
Date 12 May 1989
FIRST SOVIET MOLE IN CIA DIED AFTER DINING WITH DIRECTOR
By Michael Posner
WASEINGTON, May 12, Reuter - The Soviet Union's first mole
inside the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency died under
mysterious circumstances in 1953 after having dinner with
then-CIA director Allen Dulles, according to a new book.
Ex-CIA operative William Corson claims in his book "Widows"
to reveal for the first time the story of the first high-ranking
CIA agent who was also a Soviet spy, American James Speyer
Kronthal.
CIA spokeswoman Sharon Basso said "probably we won't comment
on it, at least until we see the book." The book, co-authored
with investigators Susan and Joseph Trento is due in U.S.
bookstores later this month.
Corson, 64, a retired U.S'. Marine officer who had been
assigned to the CIA as an aide to Dulles, said in an interview
the Soviet spy apparatus blackmailed Kronthal to spy for it
after he joined the newly created CIA in 1947.
The Soviets, Corson said, had uncovered Nazi records
asserting Kronthal, who came from a wealthy New York banking
family and sold stolen art for Nazis before the outbreak of
World war Two, was a homosexual who liked young boys.
Fearful of being exposed, Kronthal reportedly agreed to
serve as a double agent to pass on information to Moscow after
he was named CIA station chief in Berne, Switzerland in 1947.
Kronthal had worked for the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS), forerunner of the CIA, in Berne duringworld war Two
under station chief Dulles, who became CIA director in 1953,
In 1952, Kronthal returned to the United State to help plan
a CIA reorganisation, and when that job was nearly over "his
Soviet handlers told Kronthal...to press for his appointment to
head the clandestine services (of the CIA)," the book said.
"Dulles so trusted Kronthal that he was prepared to give him
any post he wanted," it said.
"But the pressures caused by his fear of being exposed as a
homosexual and a Soviet agent were beginning to tell. Kronthal
herame paralyzed by his fear of exposure."
On March 31, 1953, Dulles invited Kronthal to a private
dinner to find out what top CIA post he wanted, the book said.
It said no one knows what happened at that dinner but the
next day, Kronthal, who had walked to his Georgetown 'home from,
Dulles' home nearby, was found dead in bed by a housekeeper and
two CIA security men.
An empty vial was found near the bed, but the book said an
analysis failed to divulge its ingredients.
Police called the death a suicide.
The authors said murder or suicide could not be determined.
But they speculated that if it were murder, it could have bcca
ordered by Moscow if Kronthal's identify as a mole had bean
discovered or by the CIA "to send a message to the soviets that
the agency knew the man had been compromised and turned."
UNCLASSIFIED
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