The Robert Stark Espionage Case: FBI Makes the UFO Connection
- Jack Brewer
- 23 hours ago
- 12 min read
FBI records responsive to Lois Jessop were recently obtained from the National Archives in response to a FOIA request submitted by Expanding Frontiers Research. The material partially answers questions left in the wake of FBI memos previously received that reference the New York Saucer Information Bureau and several UFO personalities, as reported in an evolving series of posts. Aspects of the New York UFO community were scrutinized by FBI agents during a Cold War espionage investigation of a man known as Robert Stark. This blogpost will cover FOIA circumstances that arose during the course of research and summarize the latest records received.
Sanderson and Santesson
The EFR ongoing investigation started, or at least got a substantial boost, when a 1958 FBI memo was obtained that documented Ivan Sanderson initiating contact with the FBI. He called the Newark Field Office and alerted it to potential subversive activity taking place at meetings of the New York Saucer Information Bureau (NYSIB). Agents soon visited Sanderson, who was joined for the interview by associate Hans Santesson. The two men proceeded to tell FBI, according to the memo, that NYSIB “meetings are just being held under the guise of information concerning unidentified flying objects but in reality are meetings being used to expand the Communist Party line.”
The memo further documented the men told FBI that when NYSIB meeting attendees were requested to take action, “the requests are not in connection with scientific or factual information concerning unidentified flying objects, but are rather requests for the people to write their Congressmen to stop the nuclear war, to tear down our national defense, and to stop secrecy in the Government.” Both Sanderson and Santesson committed they would be willing to cooperate with the FBI in any manner about NYSIB and those who frequently attended its meetings.
This would not be the last time the FBI heard such things about the UFO genre. Leon Davidson wrote a 1960 letter to Dir. J. Edgar Hoover, sharing his concerns that a force with hidden agendas was "cloaking itself" in the UFO topic. Learn more about his comments, as well as those Gray Barker also sent to the FBI director, as explored in an EFR August blogpost.
Gabriel Green
The 1958 FBI memo referenced above was previously released by FBI, yet EFR did not happen to be aware of it. The subject of the FOIA request that brought it to our attention was not NYSIB, Sanderson or Santesson, but Gabriel Green, one of several people named in the memo and described as potentially subversive. Interestingly enough, it was a May 2025 FOIA request on Gabriel Green, suggested by Erica Lukes, that resulted in EFR obtaining the memo. Once the memo was in hand, a series of FOIA requests on names referenced were then submitted to FBI, as well as requests on people named in records EFR began receiving in response.
No further records have yet been obtained on Gabriel Green, ironically, who was described in the 1958 FBI memo as chairman of the Los Angeles Interplanetary Study Group. Santesson supplied FBI with two pamphlets titled “Thy Kingdom Come” published by the group. The material was described by FBI as “a complete booklet on prior choice economics,” which is a system where acquisition of goods is eligibility-based and tallied over the course of one's lifetime of work history. Gabriel Green advocated the system and reportedly asserted it was used by extraterrestrial civilizations.
It is common when submitting FOIA requests to the FBI for older records to have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). In such circumstances, FBI provides file numbers of potentially responsive records to the requester. A FOIA request is then submitted to NARA for the corresponding FBI files.
Writers as Informants and Assets
An initial research question for EFR became whether the FBI took Sanderson and Santesson up on their offers to be of assistance. The answer comes more clearly into focus as results of FOIA requests continue to be received, but, yes, at least in part, FBI considered the men to be resources.
FBI circled back to interview Sanderson further about the New York Saucer Information Bureau, according to an April 1963 FBI memo. EFR subsequently learned the action was related to an investigation opened in mid-1961 on Robert Stark as a possible Soviet espionage agent. FBI apparently did not particularly prioritize information obtained from Sanderson and Santesson in 1958 but later incorporated it into assessments as its investigation of Stark progressed, revealing his involvement with the NYSIB and various UFO personalities.
More FBI records are currently in processing with NARA and expected to be obtained by EFR on Santesson, Stark and others. Records have already been obtained on select individuals described to the FBI by Sanderson and Santesson as influential at the NYSIB, including purported UFO contactees Daniel Fry, Truman Bethurum and Wayne Aho. Among those referenced to FBI was also Lois Jessop, a secretary and editor at New York Saucer Information Bureau. It was after FBI definitively linked Stark to Lois Jessop and Daniel Fry in January 1963 that it paid another visit to Sanderson in April the same year.
Robert Stark was documented by FBI to use multiple aliases and have a limited verifiable history. He was believed to be foreign, possibly a Polish national, while claiming to have been born in Detroit. He was known to interact with several women of different nationalities. Stark was employed on a limited basis and had experience in electronics and television repair. One of his several aliases was Stanislaw Starkowski, and he enrolled the assistance of a woman known as Cristel Vorwitt, who spent time in West Germany, France, New York and New Jersey. Stark adopted her last name while also using the pen name Edgar A. Griffith. Stark and Cristel Vorwitt claimed to be married while she helped him write several articles and two book manuscripts with flying saucer and contactee themes.
Fry and Jessop Files
When FBI records responsive to Lois Jessop were recently received, it quickly became apparent some of the material was quite similar to records obtained in response to our FOIA request on Daniel Fry. There was, however, an extremely important difference: The same FBI material, so heavily redacted in response to the Fry request it inspired a still-open appeal, was released almost in full in response to the request on Jessop. This is a clear example of why it can be advantageous to put effort in obtaining records for ourselves that may have been previously released, or why one might submit what may at times seem like repetitious requests.
Below is an image from a March 1963 FBI memo in a file deemed responsive to Daniel Fry and obtained directly from the FBI. It is followed by a screenshot of the corresponding pages from a copy of the same memo obtained when FBI referred EFR to NARA for records responsive to Lois Jessop:
Even the subject of the lengthy memo was redacted in the Fry response as compared to records filed as responsive to Jessop:
William Johnston
Another comparison, revealing a reference to a William Francis Johnston in the more declassified set of records obtained:
The above paragraph is relevant because Johnston is the subject of a 2022 FOIA request initially submitted to FBI and still open with NARA. The request was inspired by FBI records responsive to Richard Hall of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena. A 1961 FBI memo, Subject: William Francis Johnston, documents statements obtained by FBI from Hall and Donald Keyhoe. In addition to FBI reaching out to NICAP, it can be discerned from the memo that Johnston resided in Long Island. He had contact with the NYSIB, as documented in the above screenshot. Johnston was involved in the saucer scene and numbered among those (at least ostensibly) trying to raise awareness and influence public opinion on the topic. It is not entirely clear why Johnston was of concern to the Bureau.
FBI documented learning from Hall and Keyhoe that Johnston submitted a NICAP membership subscription application, followed by three more letters directed to the group between 1959 and 1960. Included in his correspondence to NICAP was a copy of a letter sent from Johnston to President Dwight Eisenhower, dated July 4, 1959. In one of the three letters, Johnston sought Keyhoe's help securing a speaker for the Saint Bartholomew's Community Club of New York City.
NARA stated in an interim FOIA response that Johnston is the subject of the FBI file requested in 2022 and that it consists of approximately 400 pages. As of this writing, the file is making its way through the NARA Tier 1 queue for processing.
FBI Makes the Stark-UFO Connection
FBI provided two file numbers to seek from NARA in response to a FOIA request for records cross-referencing or pertaining to Lois Jessop. The largest of the two files contains 61 pages of FBI memos in which Jessop is referenced, while surveillance of Stark and interviews of his contacts are detailed. The progressing story that runs through the memos contains substantial insight into FBI Cold War culture and surveillance tactics. It culminates into a series of July 1963 interviews with Cristel Vorwitt.
“New York calling,” read a card in an envelope addressed to “Robert Vorwitt.” The card carried the salutation, “To RV,” and was signed, “Lois.” The item was retrieved by FBI in January 1963, along with a second card, after Stark was observed placing material into a public trash receptacle near his residence. FBI follow-up indicated Lois Jessop was the sender of one of the cards and Cristel Vorwitt mailed the other. Both cards were torn in half.
"We hope to see you around here soon,” read the other card. “Please be good enough to bring the camera along as we want to make some pictures on Christmas. And have a very merry Christmas." It was signed, “Cristel.”
Later that same month, January 1963, a redacted informant searched Stark's rented room. A list of names and addresses were discovered, which included George Adamski. Also found was correspondence from Daniel Fry, indicating Fry was agreeable to publishing several articles submitted by Stark. A significant portion of the following information was redacted in the Fry file, while fully disclosed in the records provided in response to the request on Jessop:
FBI learned Stark submitted two manuscripts to New York publishers, probably with a lot of assistance from Cristel Vorwitt, and apparently wanting them published under the name Edgar A. Griffith. The titles, as documented in FBI memos, were "Invitation to Space Adventure" and "Focus on the Unknown."
Cristel Vorwitt
FBI lost track of Robert Stark by July 1963. For whatever reasons, the decision was made to tip its hand, at least in part, and proceed with interviewing Cristel Vorwitt.
When first approached, Vorwitt was reluctant to comply with the Bureau and minimized her relationship with Stark. She was documented as telling FBI the arrangement included her financial support of Stark while he wrote. She claimed he promised her $10,000 or a similar payout after he successfully had a book published. Vorwitt emphasized Stark never harmed her and she did not want to contribute to his potential incarceration without knowing more about why the FBI was investigating him.
After two interviews, Vorwitt softened her stance, contacting the New York office on July 17, 1963, and requesting a meeting. She advised an agent she had reconsidered her reluctance to cooperate. Given the potential seriousness of the situation, she decided to inform the Bureau she remained in contact with Stark, as was strongly suspected. Stark had been at the Herbert Hotel in San Francisco, Vorwitt alleged, and further explained she warned him in a letter that FBI was trying to locate him.
Vorwitt described how she recently spoke to Stark by telephone, and that he claimed he did not know the reason for FBI interest and suggested he might contact the San Francisco office to find out. He wanted to know how many agents contacted her, however, and he asked her from where she was making the call. Vorwitt indicated she told Stark she was making the call from work. “He was upset at this answer and told her that this was unwise since the FBI could now trace the call,” FBI documented.
The memo ends with the reporting agent (from the NYC office) noting the Aug. 19, 1963, memo would be copied to divisions including Chicago and Los Angeles. San Francisco would also be copied "since that office is in the process of conducting interviews with the subject."
Interestingly, an October 1963 edition of James W. Moseley's Saucer News was located that carried a paragraph alluding to the circumstances (pictured below). Moseley told readers he was visited on Aug. 23, 1963, by FBI agents from the New York City office, who referenced Robert Vorwitt and the NYSIB, and asked the newsletter distributor for the address of Lois Jessop. The FBI agents, according to Moseley, indicated they hoped Jessop could lead them to Robert Vorwitt/Stark or give them some information on the man. Given what we now know about the content of FBI interviews with Cristel Vorwitt in July, and that the NY office seemed to be under the impression the SF office was in the process of interviewing Stark, one might reasonably speculate the Bureau approached James Moseley in late August for any number of reasons in addition to those overtly stated.
Lois Jessop
The second of the two pdfs we were advised by FBI to request from NARA (and subsequently obtained) may very well be pertaining to a different Lois “Jessup,” a woman who resided in North Carolina. It may be significant that EFR is not the first to note some difficulty positively determining the NYSIB woman's history.
Similarly, EFR has not yet obtained any records documenting an interview of Lois Jessop as described by James Moseley. That might indeed be considered odd, as Jessop became the subject of a FOIA request in the first place because she seemed like such an obvious place for an investigation to lead the Bureau. It is possible records were not preserved, or that they might yet surface in FBI files compiled on other individuals, such as Robert Stark or William Johnston, on which EFR still awaits final responses.
Constance Lois Jessop of the New York Saucer Information Bureau seems to have been born in 1905 in England and was well-traveled. She gained some increased saucer circuit notoriety after writing about a dubious Shaver-like tale of Maltese cavern-dwelling giants. Scholars of Maltese history experienced difficulty tracing her roots and activities. It is not clear, for instance, whether “Jessop” was a maiden or married name and an alternate spelling is common. Lois Jessop was also debated to have been employed at the British embassy in Malta or employed by the British government. This might be considered interesting in the context of our research, as well as in the context of Ivan Sanderson, who was involved with British intelligence during World War II. He was a press agent is a reason he was in New York in the first place.
There is confusion about Constance Lois Jessop's history and activities both before and after her run with NYSIB, which, in a manner of speaking, is right on brand for ufology. Nonetheless, FBI records responsive to Jessop provide insight into the FBI hunt for Stark, his place in the murky history of flying saucers, and how the topic intersects with the intelligence community.
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Timeline
A timeline of select events surrounding Robert Stark and the New York Saucer Information Bureau that can be discerned from FBI records obtained to date:
1921, Stark later unreliably claimed to be born this year in Detroit.
1955, no FBI confirmation of Stark's whereabouts prior to this year. Stark periodically listed his residence as 808 West End Ave., NYC, from 1955-1962. It was later substantiated he resided at the address in apartment 406 in May 1956 and again in October 1957.
1957, Stark was employed at the Bogen-Presto Division of the Siegler Corp., NJ, which was owned by David Bogen, a Russian immigrant who sold the company the same year. Bogen quite successfully ran electronics and audio companies in the New York area before selling them in the 1950s.
1958, Stark lived in LA.
1958, May, Ivan Sanderson and Hans Santesson initiate contact with FBI to inform it about their concerns about the NYSIB.
1959, latter part of year, Stark worked at Jacmir Electronics Corporation, NYC. Owner, Prager, later told FBI Stark was constantly receiving phone calls from a female that Stark said was not his wife and on one occasion received a letter from a female that Prager recalled to be obscene in content.
1960, Oct., FBI documented a mail cover indicated NYSIB was in contact with William Francis Johnston during July & August.
1960-61 Stark used the name Robert Vorwitt while living at 1923 65th Street, Brooklyn.
1961, March, Lois Jessop published “Malta, Entrance to the Cavern World,” in the Journal of Borderland Research.
1961, May, FBI contacted NICAP and inquired about William Francis Johnston.
mid-1961, FBI opens investigation on Stark as a possible Soviet espionage agent.
1962, Stark resided in LA again.
1962, Nov.-Dec., Stark briefly worked as a car spraypainter at Custom Coach Company, Bronx. During this same time, a mail cover reflects various items were received by Stark from Rose Foster with one exception, a postcard from Cristel Vorwitt, postmarked West Germany.
1963, Jan., FBI first links Stark to the UFO genre when Stark is observed depositing material into a public trash receptacle which is retrieved and found to be postcards sent from Lois Jessop and Cristel Vorwitt, respectively. Later that month, Stark is linked to Daniel Fry when a redacted informant reports on correspondence found in Stark's rented room. Informant also reports finding names and addresses on a list that include George Adamski.
1963, Jan.-Feb., Stark was observed working at John's Television Service, NYC, while under FBI surveillance.
1963, April, FBI interviews Sanderson again, inquiring about Stark and his possible connections to NYSIB.
1963, June, spot check and full-time surveillance employed to try to locate Stark.
1963, July, FBI conducts interviews with Cristel Vorwitt. Among other points of interest, she mentions Lois Jessop corresponded with Stark as Robert Vorwitt. Cristel Vorwitt claimed to not know the nature of the correspondence. Cristel is reluctant to assist FBI but soon contacts agent, arranges their now third meeting, and expresses a change of position while giving up Stark's alleged location in SF.
1963, Aug., copies of FBI records on Stark were sent from the New York office to Chicago and LA divisions. SF office was also copied "since that office is in the process of conducting interviews with the subject," the NY office wrote in a memo dated Aug. 19, 1963.
1963, Oct., James Moseley publishes a newsletter stating he was visited by FBI agents from the New York office on Aug. 23, 1963, and asked for the address of Lois Jessop. Moseley further wrote this was so she could help lead FBI to Robert Vorwitt (Stark) or at least give them information on him.