UNDERGROUND FOR THE C.I.A. IN NEW YORK: AN EX-AGENT TELLS OF SPYING ON STUDENTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01314R000100090003-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 29, 2006
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: December 29, 1974
• Content Type: NSPR

' a~s~-~Z~~~T~,-RBR-88-01~'~4
IiyS#Y,iIOUR?11.HERSH (little-known domestic unit set increase of antiwar dissent
;~ former agent far the. Cen-~ up in h1964 by the C.LA, ink during the last months of the
~cI InteiL'gence Agency, in re-ffrlare t..an a doyen cities across Johnson :~d:r:in.istration. "And
curiting tha details of hislthe nation, the formerintelli- then it started to snowball
ndercover .career; says that~gence official said. from? there," the former agent
:ew York City became a prime) The division's . ostensible said.
_.LA. domestic spying target function then was legal:, to co- The Times, workin with de-
uring the Iate nineteen-sixties ordinate with the American,tails 'supplied by the former,
Zcause it was considered a~corporations supplying "cover"agent, was .able to verify that
ibig training :',found"-for radi-afar C.LA. agents abroad and ta~he served as an undercover in-
actiti-ities in the lin}ted~aid in the interrogation ofitelIigence spy, although it was'
fates. , ~Amer}can travelers after. theirflmpossible to check all. of Ills
treturn from foreign countries.tinformation.
The agent, who spent morel The former C.l.A. agent in-
-tan four years in the late Began in 1967 ~,
ineteen-sixties. and early sev-~ . The former agent's descrip- sisted an anonymity, saying
nties spying on radical groups tton of life as a domestic C.hA,Ithat if he wad exposed lte would;
a New York, told The -News v. !be forced to publicly deny any
py was provided durin? a se-, .
-ork Times that more than 25~ries of interviews last week,jLnk to the agency.
_LA. agents were assigned to~The contact with The Times,,. A high-ranking Government
~e,cit;-- at the height of anti-came after publication last?tntel[igerice official with inti-
-ar activity at CaIumbia tini-Sunday of the first account of~mate knowledge of C.LA. open-
>rsity and eJsew}sere. the massive spying. lotions said yesterday that the
i ~ , former agent's description af~
The agents tivere tightly con-; The former aoen~ said that:..
rolled by senior officials in the his involvement began ~ with Ute as a domestic spy "seemed
a tittle .bit far out." 13ut thei
~w York office of
the loo--the ^c(?
~^^t
~; tl
Cl
k P
,
.
.
:e
ac
an-
tie Oper~r^,; ~ `;~ : _r ~, r - .;,,t 1~~.,~official added that he was un-,
` , ~! '` ~ able to deny any of t1'le agent's ~~
x~rco~~L ~, As x~cE~v~.v
w2
"I
the
fur
St~
si
i
re
r
19
int
Do
of
f
'
pp
that
vol
me
ter
he
An;
the
hig
ity
tell
ize
for
ing
in 1
and other American dissidents;
inside the United States. InteIli-~ gle
specific allegations, pending a~
check of files.
4'he. Times, quoting well-J'
placed sources, reported last:`
Sunday that the C.LA, had vio-i
latecl its charter by conducting,
massive and illegal intelligence;
operations aimed at antiwar;
li
High-rankly.,; C.LA. officta',s,;
including Richard Helms, they
former I~ift'CtOr of Central
Intelligence and now Ambassa-~
dor to Iran, to'.d Congress ink
the waive Gf the Water~ate~
scandals th?,t or:!v t~,o such
assessment,--done by- }~sychia-':,
trists ~c?orking for t!:z agency-~
have ever been prepared any
American citirens.
?"What v.?c were tryin ; to
dn," iit?~ io-?:;rr C.I:a. a~;ent~
said in an iater?.i~w, "lugs to
find ottt v: }'at the radicals were:
nrarl:etin,, and to learn i` they:
artci t~.e ~~:i?r_,I;lu? ?!1fliitCr Cc:>:~+-
pany in ~~c.rn;. .iiin,, l:r ,:d:;~c~.
cotnpiled, the Sources said.
Wiretaps and Break-ins
The former intelligence agent
said' that he and other C.LA. ~~
agents ha dalso participated in!
telephone wiretaps and break-~
irs in their efforts to closely!
monitor the activities of radi-h
cats in New York. He added li
that the C.LA. had supplied ~;
him with "mare than 40" psy-~,.
cholagical assessments of radi-~~
cal leaden during his spy ~
The'
! A
C.LA
canfi
actua. _.,..._,..._
out tl:e ti:!ited States- was con-
'ducted by V3rIOC(S offices of
`:the Dernestic Operations Divi-
sion, tivhich was initially as-~
signed to s:tch tasks in the C
mid-nire~e~ ;-sixties as infil-.
trating ;gents into varirnas I
ethnic aryl cmire gr0up5 ink
large c:tips.
"When I fist came tot
ll.O.D." rile fcrrler agent said,l
"it was a !ow-kev operation.
14lostly ~K~e did liaison" with;,
other intelligence agencies. !
Approved For Release ~~4~~~~2~?;~ly~I(l~ti~#~d#~,8~i01314R000100Q9.0003-3