CLUES ARE OFFERED SHEVCHENKO RIDDLE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81M00980R001200070019-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 1, 2004
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: April 21, 1978
• Content Type: NSPR

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Appi'1or Release 2004/07/08 : CIAGR681 M00980R001200070019-2
THE NEW YORK TIMES, FRIDAY, APRIL 21, 1978
Clues Are Offered Shevchenko Riddle
By KATHLEEN TELTSCH
Spectal to The New York limes
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., April 19-On
the day that Arkady N. Shevchenko
signed a two-year contract to remain as
an Under Secretary General, another
United Nations official remembers that
the Soviet citizen brushed aside congrat-
ulations, saying he would be happier re-
turning to Moscow.
"Then why don't you do some terrible
thing and get your Government to recall
you?" the official-an American-sug-
gested as a joke. The two laughed, then
went their separate ways.
But less than two months later, Mr.
Shevchenko was summoned home and
refused to go, explaining only that he
had "differences" with his Government.
He hired an American lawyer, and on
April 9 dropped out of sight temporarily.
Responsible intelligence sources said
that both the Central Intelligence Agency
and the Federal Bureau of investigation
had been in contact with Mr. Shevchenko
over a two-year period. The relationship
apparently developed during this period
to the point where Mr. Shevchenko of-
fered to trade information for $100,000.
Agency Competition Suggested
A few knowledgeable diplomats here
are suggesting that there was a competi-
tion between the F.B.I. and the C.I.A.
to get him, and that in the process his
secret activities became known to Soviet
authorities, leading to his recall and his
subsequent decision. Officials in Wash-
ington said, however, that they had no
confirmation that Mr. Shevchenko may
have been exposed because of the rivalry.
Although spokesmen for the F.B.I., the
C.I.A. and the State Department would
not comment on Mr. Shevchenko's re-
ported intelligence contacts, others famil-
iar with the case offer the following
speculations:
The 47-year-old native-of the Ukraine
was known as an intensely ambitious
man who had attained prominence early
and been a protege of Foreign Minister
Andrei A. Gromyko. In that role, he had
intimate knowledge of the sensitive arms-
control negotiations, which resulted in
the so-called SALT 1 accord of 1972. He
has been able during Mr. Gromyko's
visits here each fall to keep abreast of
developments.
However, he was said to be increasingly
a11'U iv11J. 011CVl4ile111SU UUFJ11g 1.fue 11Ve
years he had been here as Under Secre-
tlonaiiy goes to a Soviet citizen-also
I tary General, said they seemed compat- had written a book.
ible and that they obviously had enjoyed' ' Mr. Shevchenko is techniea;ly or. leave
g
the ioious job "perks"
and that $87,000-cameawith his pre sti- i and is receiving his salary and has not
-year salary. He y
seemed very resigned, although Soviet authorities are
proud of her and pleased pressing for his removal.
on when I complimented her and remarked;' Since he has a rew two-.t:; r contract,
the diamond jewelry she wore gat a presumably he could be able to negotiate
reception at the Chinese Mission,' the terms for his resignation and leave with
American said. as much as $100.000. nflicihdls her-' s1d_
However, another official here said~
there was substance to reports that Mr.
Shevchenko had a woman companion and
that this factor should not be ruled out
'
as an influence on his decision to remain here.
Visited Mission Frequently
A number of diplomats have said pri-
vately that they took it for granted that
the Under Secretary General maintained
close links with Soviet authorities and
went frequently to the Soviet Mission
at 136 East 67th Street, only a few blocks
from his own residence.
All staff members are supposed to he
bound by their loyalty oath not to take
instructions from any government. More I t
he was mindful how his decisions would d
be scrutinized at home and also used
phrases such as "my mission would not
like" this or that. Other East Europeans
have said that the control extends even
to their salaries and that they are expect-
ed to turn over a part on the ground
that they should not earn more than the
foreign service employees of their home
governments.
One of Mr. S'hevchenko's major preoc-
cupations was said to be the book he,
was writing under a contract signed three
years ago with Alfred A. Knopf, the
American publishing house, and which
was tentatively titled: "Disarmament-a
Soviet View."
Ashbel Green, a vice president at Knopf
I.'
disturbed that his position here was afShevchenko to change his mind. Then
backwater. This frustration may have on Tuesday the Soviet delegation issued
prompted him to try to obtain informa- a statement charging that Mr. Shevchen-
tion that would be prized in Moscow and ko was being held by intelligence agents
led him into a deepening involvement in "under duress." The coercion charges
the intelligence community. Another view were denied in Washington.
is that he may just have decided his tal- Meanwhile, stories of Mr. Shevchenko's
ents were not being appreciated at home having had a "drinking problem" were
and he could do better elsewhere. spread, with Russian members saying
Mr. Shevchenko was a member of the they knew he drank to excess, even dur-
Soviet delegation in New York from 1963 ing working hours. One Russian said he
to 1970, immediately before he was post- drank gin beginning in the early morning.
ed to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. Another said he was a Scotch drinker.
It is assumed that his access to informa- A third said he preferred rum Cokes.
tion on Soviet policy would be usereul There also were rumors of quarrels with
to the C.I.A. He also could have been his wife and one report was passed to
expected to have information about any reporters by American officials that he
intelligence-gathering activity by Rus- appeared with bruises after she beat him.
sians in this country that would be valu- There also was gossip about involvement
able to the F.B.I. with another woman.
A Meeting In Lawyer's Office Close associates disputed the accounts
According to one well-placed source, of excessive drinking, saying that they,
the C.I.A. probably favored his returning had never seen him intoxicated aurihe
in said
the he'
but One had well- tapered off in source
home while the F.B.I. was reluctant to drank day.
the last
let him slip away. But there is no confir- ea tapeered
year.
that this led one or the other
ko's decision.
What seems to be well-supported is
that he at least went through the motions
of getting ready to go to Moscow for
a short trip, reportedly because of the
illness of his mother-in-law. He was to
leave on Sunday, April 9, accompanied
by his wife, Lengina. On Wednesday and
Thursday he was at work, issuing precise
instructions to subordinates in the De-
partment of Political and Security Coun-
cil Affairs.
He seemed untroubled, according to one
official, who noted that he had discussed
such matters as the need for larger office
space before leaving. However, late
Thursday he called the security office
to ask for new locks on his office and
also to request that the door be sealed
until his return. Then he disappeared.
His wife left Sunday, as planned. Oleg
A. Troyanovsky, the Soviet delegate, and
Anatoly F. Dobrynin, the Ambassador to
Washington, both saw her off.
Ernest A. Gross, Mr. Shevchenko's law-
yer, arranged for both ranking Russians
to meet that evening with Mr. Shevchen-
ko at Mr. Gross's Wall Street office to
dispel any idea that his client was being
held against his will. The two Russians
spent an hour trying to persuade Mr.
who worked with Mr. Shevchenko, said
he assumed that authorities in. Mosco+
had approved his writing the book and
doubted it could have caused him any
difficulties at home. His predecessor as
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j ,, . i
WASHINGTON POST PAGE k `0 DATE
U.S. Intelligence Officials
Dismiss Torrijos Threat
Pentagon officials denied yester-
day that U.S. intelligence has any
evidence that Gen. Omar Torrijos
planned to attack the U.S. Canal
Zone if the Senate had rejected
the canal treaty.
U.S. intelligence officials instead
dismissed the Panamanian leader's
remarks that he was planning such
an attack as political rhetoric. .
However, Senate Minority Lea-
der Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) said
Torrijos' threat imperils other
legislation related to turning the
canal over to Panama in the year
2000.
"The fight isn't over by a long
shot," he told reporters. Baker
called Torrijos' threats to attack
"among the silliest diplomatic
gestures I've ever seen."
Pentagon officials also said yes-
terday that no troopg had been put
on alert in the Canal Zone before
the Senate vote. However, these
same Pentagon officials said that
coincidentally there was a battal-
ion of Army troops conducting a
training drill in the zone in combat
gear shortly before the vote was
taken. -
The infantry battalion that was
on maneuvers the Defense Depart-
ment said, was "not oriented to-
ward any contingency related to
defense of the canal zone."
In a separate response to queries
made about plans to defend the
canal, the Pentagon for the last
several days has been saying there
are contingency plans, which it
could not specify. But, defense
officials said, the United States
was confident it could defend the
canal against attacks if any were
mounted.
I
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WASHINGTON POST PAGE DATE 4
THE WASHINGTON POST Friday, April 21, 1978
A15
Publisher Is Subpoenaed
On Ex-CIA Aide's Book
By Lee Lescaze
Washington Post Staff Writer
NEW YORK-The Justice Depart-
ment has orde>yed Random House,
which published former CIA official
Frank Snepp's "Decent Interval," to
disclose all its documents concerning
that account of the fall of South Viet-
nam.
The Justice Department is suing
Snepp for all the money he has
earned from his book on the grounds
that his gains are "unjust enrich-
ment" because Snepp signed a pledge
demanded of all CIA officers when he
joined the agency to submit any man-
uscript to it for prepublication ap-
proval.
The suit is the first full test of the
constitutionality of that pledge.
Attorney General Griffin B. Bell
told a news conference two months
ago: "If that contract isn't valid, we
and everyone ought to know it. If it's
valid, it ought to be enforced."
Snepp has said he ;ec'ded not to
submit his book beforf publication be-
cause it contains no ,-Iai f,ified infor-
mation and because iovc -nment offi-
cials had been lea'? ing self-serving
versions of events our ounding the
collapse of South lie; nam to the
press.
The subpoenas del iver ed to Random
House ordered the pa',iishing house's
chief, Robert L. Bernstein, and
Snepp's editor, Robert Loomis, to ap-
pear at the New Yor', U.S. attorney's
office next week, -id to bring with
them, in effect, all documents con-
cerning their relations. with Snepp
and his book.
A spokesman for Random House
said yesterday that the subpoenas
would be honored and Random House
was in the process of gathering the
documents.
The government specifically or-
dered Random House to produce all
documents "which related to, discuss
or mention the decision or conclusion,
explicit or implicit, not to submit
["Decent Interval"] to the CIA for
agency review prior to publication of
the book."
It also calls for all documents con-
cerning monies earned by the book or
by the sale of any form of republica-
tion rights.
On March 31, U.S. District Court
Judge Oren Lewis in Alexandria re-
fused a Justice Department request
for an immediate ruling against
Snepp and gave both sides two
mnths to gather evidence in the case.
The Justice Department argued that
the case follows the precedent of a
book by former CIA officer Victor
Marchetti and John Marks, "The CIA
and the Cult of "Intelligence."
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Ap-
peals ruled that Marchetti's contract
signed when he joined the CIA was
valid, but applied only to any classi-
fied information he sought to publish.
The CIA won the right to delete
passages from the Marchetti manu-
script.
Snepp's attorney argued that since
"Decent Interval" contains no classi-
fied material, the case is different
from Marchetti's.
"Decent Interval" accuses the U.S.
government of bungling the final
evacuation from Saigon and thereby
leaving behind thousands of Viet-
namese who had worked for the CIA
and other U.S. agencies.
New York Neuters Name -
Of CompensaC011 Board
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)-New Yol`k's
Workmen's Compensation Board, -is
changing its name in an acknowledge-
ment to millions of working women.
Gov. Hugh Carey signed into law
Wednesday a bill that changes the
title to Worker's Compensation
Board.
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WASHINGTON POST
A b
Vietnamese, Freed on Bail,
Declares Ues `Nobody's Spy'
By Jane Seaberry
` ashington Post Staff Writer
In his first formal press conference