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A 1968 letter apparently written by Don Berliner described the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena as suffering from a lack of leadership, consisting of paid employees who were playing instead of working, and devolving to the point of being incapable of contributing significantly to the investigation of UFOs. Berliner explained to British ufologist Julian Hennessey how his protests escalated until he was ultimately fired by NICAP Director Donald Keyhoe. Don Berliner Keyhoe "has not investigated a case in some ten years," Berliner wrote. His real interest was his next book, Berliner asserted, adding that Keyhoe was withholding good cases from NICAP to include in the book. A disappointed Berliner further described watching the NICAP money dwindle and pushing for publication of Air Force Project Blue Book reports to increase income. He sold management on the idea and proceeded to present the necessary tools to Keyhoe, "who did absolutely nothing for two months," adding that the entire venture could have been set up in two weeks. The letter, apparently written on Don Berliner letterhead and signed by the investigator: The document was recently provided by writer, researcher, and former International Director of the Mutual UFO Network, James Carrion, along with some other NICAP material, all of which may be accessed in a folder on Google Drive. Carrion explained the source of the letter was the MUFON files. The additional material consists of two pdfs, one of which contains NICAP special bulletins and newspaper clippings. The second pdf contains 1979 MUFON Journals, the first of which includes NICAP apologist Todd Zechel's narrative on the alleged CIA sabotage of the UFO organization that supposedly led to its demise. The MUFON Journal provides an interesting snapshot of the era, as it was edited by former NICAP Assistant Director Richard Hall and included content submitted by longtime NICAP investigator Ann Druffel as the MUFON associate editor. NICAP was incorporated in 1956 under tumultuous circumstances involving substantial intelligence community assets. Its initial director soon departed, making way for Donald Keyhoe to take the helm for some 13 years. As documented in Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC and subsequently explored by the Wayward Sons Book Group, Zechel's narrative dubiously credits almost certain CIA asset Nicolas de Rochefort with working himself into a key position with the organization. As the story is typically told in UFO circles, Keyhoe chased away the bad spooks while inviting the good ones, other than for the honest mistakes he supposedly made, such as trusting Joseph Bryan III. A closer review, however, shows de Rochefort actually negated his own appointment to a leadership role. Moreover, by deferring the recommendation that he become Executive Vice Chairman, it was none other than Nicolas de Rochefort himself who arguably assisted in clearing a path for Keyhoe to become the face of the organization. From a January 1957 NICAP Progress Report (see pp93-94): There are many such discrepancies and inaccuracies in not only Todd Zechel's version of events, but in the narratives popularly held within the UFO subculture about NICAP as well. It could be added that Mr. Zechel failed to address a number of additional connections to the intelligence community, which would include but by no means be limited to the relationships between T. Townsend Brown and Counsel Services officers Mary Vaughan King and former State Department man Thomas O'Keefe, a trio which incorporated NICAP; and career intelligence officer Albert Wedemeyer who served in an advisory capacity yet cited the publication of his name as a reason for his 1957 departure. It is this writer's contention the evidence available through archived records and the results of FOIA requests indicates the intelligence community was instrumental in many aspects of the life cycle of NICAP, likely including its very inception. Your author further asserts the praise often delegated to Donald Keyhoe as a competent investigator and transparency advocate is not fully justified. Keyhoe may have been most talented and effective as a public relations man, an expertise that does not always align with truth-seeking and transparency. A significant part of the material published by NICAP is arguably subpar and used claims of conducting scientific investigation as a dubious means of adding credibility to the otherwise unsubstantiated proclamations of extraterrestrial visitation and the orchestrated government cover-up thereof made by its leadership, often times including intelligence officers. Don Berliner is a former NICAP staffer turned independent investigator. He may be best known for his writing on the alleged Roswell UFO incident with Stanton Friedman. Berliner's work in the UFO genre includes serving on boards for the Fund for UFO Research and the Center for UFO Studies.

In December 2025, Expanding Frontiers Research made a public appeal for funds to assist with fees incurred from FOIA requests. This blogpost will provide an update of the status of requests described in December and provide links to records obtained. Over $500 was generously pledged by supporters in December. The total amount of payments allocated by EFR to the National Archives and Records Administration since then is $357.60. About $400 has been spent overall on public records requests during that time. Specific requests presented to donors in December involved the following subjects: Burning Man) Law enforcement records have been obtained from the Pershing County Sheriff's Office on the annual festival. The records were shared at the EFR Patreon, as well as in blogposts. A dedicated section of the EFR online archive was created to provide access to the Burning Man collection. We continue to await a final response to a FOIA request submitted to the FBI. Esalen Institute) FBI records responsive to the Esalen Institute, a California “holistic learning and retreat center” that dates back to the Cold War, were obtained from NARA in March and published at the EFR Patreon. A series of requests and appeals remain open and ongoing with FBI and State Department, of which readers will be promptly advised as we receive notifications. James E. McDonald) FBI records were obtained from NARA on the atmospheric physicist and UFO investigator. The records pertain to activities of McDonald and his wife, Betsy, and reflect community resentment of her political activism, which included helping young voters organize. The records and a growing digital folder of material pertaining to the McDonalds may be accessed at the EFR Patreon. For more information related to McDonald and family, readers may choose to browse the Ann Druffel Special Collection and view our blogpost, Daughter of UFO Researcher James McDonald Wrote UFO Psychology Thesis. Donald Menzel) NARA provided over 100 pages of FBI records requested and they were shared at the EFR Patreon. A master folder of records obtained on the late astronomer may also be accessed from the post. More material continues to be in processing, and an appeal of withheld records remains pending as of this writing. Nicolas de Rochefort speaks at Freedom Day, 1954 NICAP Personnel) A 206-page FBI file on NICAP organizer and almost certain CIA asset Nicolas de Rochefort was obtained from NARA and provided through the EFR Patreon. The EFR blog also contains information about the mysterious Frenchman who was a formidable lobbyist in the United States and was once the subject of a lawsuit filed on behalf of an investigative journalist seeking de Rochefort's CIA records. We continue to await NARA to complete the processing of FBI records responsive to former NICAP board member Joseph B. Hartranft. He was influential in the aviation community and instrumental in negotiations involving the dissolution of NICAP and the acquisition of its files by the Center for UFO Studies. New York Saucer Information Bureau) Significant records were obtained on the NYSIB, its personnel, and a foreign national who was the subject of an espionage investigation and a contact of the UFO group and well-known UFO personalities. The circumstances are described and records are shared in several blogposts, including The Robert Stark Espionage Case: The FBI Makes the UFO Connection, as well as the EFR Patreon NYSIB collection. Walter Bowart, aka Thomas Kirby) We continue to await NARA to finish processing the FBI records requested on the mid-20th century counterculturist. We likewise await final responses from NARA and FBI on records pertaining to Greenwich Village icons Tuli Kupferberg and Susan Elizabeth “Suze” Rotolo. Highlights of other records delivered through the FOIA include a 162-page FBI file obtained from NARA on the International Astronomical Union. The records were summarized and may be accessed through a January blogpost that reflects the significance of academics and scientists to the Cold War global intelligence community. EFR also obtained FBI records responsive to “Storm Area 51,” which show why law enforcement took the 2019 fiasco in the desert dead serious. Read the April blogpost to learn about an AI-powered intelligence tool, Babel Street, that was used to simultaneously monitor hundreds of websites and social media accounts in an effort to combat potentially unlawful actions. We continue to pursue records from county offices responsive to Ramtha's School of Enlightenment. EFR obtained substantial records from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office and followed up with requests to the health department. Significant documents were obtained and may be viewed at the EFR Patreon. Other records requests conducted by EFR include obtaining over 200 pages of written comments submitted to the Uintah County Community Development Office about a proposed oil well in the vicinity of Skinwalker Ranch. Further correspondence with Uintah County revealed the proposal was approved when officials ruled the arguments against construction lacked merit. Expanding Frontiers Research appreciates our supporters that make our work possible. Thank you. Inquiries about projects and related circumstances are encouraged. For more information on NICAP personnel and the intelligence community influence of the UFO genre, please consider browsing the Wayward Sons Book Group, a designated playlist on the EFR YouTube channel. Those who would like to receive a free pdf of the nonfiction book Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC and who would enjoy participating in the weekly Zoom meetings of the book group are encouraged to email jackbrewerblog at yahoo dot com.

The FBI monitored social media posts made by individuals of interest and a variety of websites during 2019 investigations of the dubious Storm Area 51 They Can't Stop Us All movement, according to Bureau records obtained through the FOIA this week by Expanding Frontiers Research. The FBI Las Vegas field office was authorized to conduct physical surveillance, as well as recruit and develop Confidential Human Sources (CHSs) as a result of a viral Facebook post that attracted UFO buffs and promoters alike. FBI surveillance led to the implementation of Babel Street, an AI-powered threat intelligence tool capable of simultaneously monitoring hundreds of websites. A Sep. 10, 2019, FBI electronic communication, "Title: Documenting the use of persistent search, open source collection tools," established the use of Babel Street. The document stated, "Persistent search is necessary because intermittent manual searches do not provide the necessary timeliness of information required to achieve the purpose of the investigation because of the real-time social media tools used by the persons of interest, and because of the scale of the operation." In 2019, Matty Roberts made a Facebook post encouraging people to meet on Sep. 20 outside Area 51, a secure military base in Nevada long associated with UFO and extraterrestrial lore. Participants of "Storm Area 51" were purportedly going to rush the facility and liberate its flying saucer secrets. Some two million people ostensibly registered to attend. The timeline came to include a number of complexities, including being latched onto by UFO showmen, an accompanying rock concert, the cancellation of storming the base, and significant law enforcement attention. Rolling Stone magazine obtained government documents in 2021 showing dozens of law enforcement agencies mobilized in response to a possible siege on Area 51. The records indicate the potential for domestic or international terrorists to embed within the Storm Area 51 attendees was taken extremely seriously. FBI records obtained this week by EFR reflect the Bureau was prepared to subpoena electronic communication and computing service providers for customer information; task Confidential Human Sources with directives if approved by Supervisory Special Agents; open additional investigations on individuals, groups or organizations whose activities may constitute a threat to the national security; and use Babel Street as a persistent search tool to stay advised of developments in real time. A slider of select FBI documents obtained this week: Additional FBI records obtained document Bureau concerns about a Las Vegas business, Area 15, that posted its plans on Facebook to attend and film the Storm Area 51 happenings. FBI followed open sources in its effort to establish principals of the Area 15 business and related information. Media outlets were also of interest. A Sep. 19, 2019, article from The Hill, Storm Area 51 fans setting up camp in desert Nevada, by Aris Folley was collected by FBI. So was Storm Area 51 fans arriving, setting up roadside campsite by Mick Akers for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. EFR submitted a FOIA request for records responsive to Storm Area 51 in August 2025. FBI advised in January 2026 it located approximately 534 pages of records potentially responsive to the request. EFR reduced the scope of the request to not exceed 50 pages. In a final response dated April 22, 2026, FBI explained 49 pages were reviewed and 36 were being released. The released material was semi-heavily redacted. An appeal of withheld pages and redactions will be submitted. EFR filed a new FOIA request for responsive records not included in the release. Records obtained by EFR from the Lincoln County (NV) Sherrif's Office document the arrest of two young men at Area 51 on Sep. 20, 2019. They drove in together, apparently from Utah, for the Storm Area 51 event and were charged with trespassing after breaching the perimeter. The men voluntarily surrendered their cell phones and were released on bail without significant incident. Things turned more serious for Dreamland website operator Joerg Arnu in 2022 when his chronic interest in Area 51 apparently resulted in the search of two properties and the seizure of electronic equipment. Law enforcement records obtained by EFR demonstrate the sheriff's office was dispatched to Area 51 less than six months before the search warrants were served, when Arnu and three men with German passports were instructed to take their drone and vacate the perimeter of the base. ----------------------------------------------------- Browse the Expanding Frontiers Research Patreon for more resources. Join with a free account or assist with our work with financial support. Please consider making a financial contribution to Expanding Frontiers Research at GoFundMe. Expanding Frontiers Research is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit corporation, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Over 200 pages of FBI records responsive to Nicolas de Rochefort were recently obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration. The mysterious de Rochefort (1902-1964) was a psychological warfare specialist, almost certain CIA asset, and organizer of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena after it incorporated in 1956. The records release was a result of a FOIA request first submitted to the FBI in 2020. The latest material obtained was added to a master folder on de Rochefort that also contains 28 pages of responsive records initially provided by FBI in 2020. At that time, the Bureau advised of the existence of FBI file number 140-HQ-13181, in the custody of NARA. The file was subsequently requested, confirmed by NARA to have been compiled as the result of security investigations conducted on de Rochefort during the 1950s and early 1960s, and now obtained after some six years. Nicolas de Rochefort was made a subject of a FOIA request to the FBI by your author while writing Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC , a nonfiction book exploring the overlap of NICAP and the U.S. intelligence community. View meetings of the Wayward Sons Book Group , which meets via Zoom on Wednesday nights (EDT). The meetings are recorded and uploaded to the Expanding Frontiers Research YouTube channel for public access. Researchers and interested parties may receive a free pdf of the book and are encouraged to request invitations to join the weekly Zoom discussions by emailing jackbrewerblog at yahoo dot com. De Rochefort delivering a speech at 1954 Freedom Day Intelligence Community Investigations The most recently obtained FBI records include documentation of a variety of investigations on Nicolas de Rochefort, covering his employment, personal life and security clearance assessments. A Civil Service Commission employment application includes the following note: A 1955 investigation conducted by the U.S. Information Agency noted de Rochefort's apparent abilities to effectively implement propaganda campaigns through mass agitation and word of mouth ( p28 ). He was repeatedly described as a persuasive promoter. An August 1956 FBI memo and report, subject Nicolas de Rochefort aka Nicolas Hardstone and Armand Duplessis , contains an example of repeated references to de Rochefort offering to assist the FBI during interactions in 1950. He is also documented as having provided information during a 1951 investigation, as shown below, but details of the circumstances are not apparent in FBI files obtained to date: The same 1956 FBI report contains the following item, documenting a letter written by Congressman Walter Judd in which he asserts he personally introduced de Rochefort to the Secretary of State and DCI Allen Dulles: The lines following the statement are redacted, per Exemption (b)(3), intelligence sources and means. NARA reported 206 pages were reviewed, of which 174 were released in full and 32 were released in part. Exemption (b)(7)(d) was also cited. An appeal of the use of exemptions has been submitted. From a 1958 Civil Service Commission security investigation form in which de Rochefort reported his previous employment: De Rochefort's reported employment history contains a number of potentially interesting items. His affiliation with NICAP in late 1956 is noticeably absent from any reference in both security investigations and his self-reported activities. Who Was Nicolas de Rochefort? The man who became a NICAP organizer in 1956 was born to a Russian mother and French father in 1902 St. Petersburg. There is relatively wide agreement his father was in Russia on business, and by at least one account the man was a French diplomat, with the family fleeing Russia during the revolution of 1917. Nicolas de Rochefort went on to reportedly hold rigid anti-Communist political views, though his commitment to democracy would be questioned and become the subject of FBI inquiries in later years. Records indicate de Rochefort's loyalties were repeatedly resolved to the satisfaction of U.S. agencies. De Rochefort fought for the French in World War II and became a prisoner of war. He was released for reasons that fall somewhere between concocting an impressive deception about being ill or having well-placed Nazi connections that did him a favor. Thus are the rumors that add to the ambiguity of Nicolas de Rochefort. As character references tapped by the FBI later suggested, hostile occupation by foreign forces may result in difficulty verifying allegiances, as people tend to do what is required to survive, and the best judge of political loyalties may sometimes be more recent actions. The FBI picked up the trail of de Rochefort after he came to the United States for speaking engagements in 1949 and then sought citizenship in 1954. A series of investigations ensued, ranging from the Foreign Agents Registration Act to a Special Government Employee, or SGE, investigation to clear de Rochefort for ongoing work with the Department of Commerce and State Department. Psychological Warfare De Rochefort may have been most recognized among journalists and historians for his 1953 work on the Committee of One Million, a lobbying group consisting of Washington movers and shakers and opposing the acceptance of Red China into the United Nations. He was credited as a group organizer and conceiving of a campaign to collect signatures on a petition. Some million signatures were reportedly obtained and the initiative was considered highly successful in bringing the issue before the American public. Investigative journalists later reported the China lobby was the most powerful and influential Beltway lobby and that the Committee of One Million was the wealthiest and most powerful part of it. Some journalists suspected the group was a CIA product and that de Rochefort was acting on behalf of the Agency. “[T]he China lobby infected our foreign policy with such fear of 'Red hordes' as to contribute to our panicky commitment in Vietnam,” wrote Robert Sherrill in the New York Times. A 1970s lawsuit sought CIA records responsive to Nicolas de Rochefort, but a judge ruled an effective intelligence service could be greatly impaired by irresponsible disclosure ( p61 ). CIA records on de Rochefort, should they exist - which they almost certainly do, as a court docket referenced arguments about the judge conducting an in camera viewing - have yet to see the light of day. Another reason it could be considered really likely the Committee of One Million was a CIA operation involves a 1949 New York attorney named Desmond FitzGerald. He was destined to become the CIA Deputy Director of Plans in the 1950s but, back before he left the law firm, he chaired a political reform group which sought to defeat the incumbent mayor. The name of the group the future Deputy Director of Plans chaired was the Committee of Five Million. What are the odds, huh? By 1954, de Rochefort was hitting his stride as a recognized expert in psychological warfare and continued the pace at Freedom Day, a celebration in Berlin, NH, honoring East German resistance to Communism. The speech delivered by the World War II POW was broadcast in three languages by Voice of America and had accolades entered into the Congressional Record . FBI investigations of de Rochefort repeatedly reference his competent and extensive work on propaganda campaigns, as does his self-reported employment history. The image below is from his 1956 application to the Civil Service Commission, in which de Rochefort makes one of several references to conducting government research from 1952-1954 and propaganda activities from 1950 to present: A State Department document composed as part of clearing de Rochefort for continuing work: The Complex Timeline While the FBI and State Department were investigating Nicolas de Rochefort in 1956 to ensure he remained a low security risk, NICAP was incorporated by what were, in all reasonable likelihood, CIA and State Department assets. In order to better understand the circumstances, let's briefly back up to 1949, when Director of Central Intelligence – and future NICAP chairman of the board – Roscoe Hillenkoetter sent a letter to the Economic Cooperation Administration. The letter informed the ECA that, while it was already furnishing CIA with economic intelligence, its assistance was requested in increasing the classification of information provided from secret to top secret. The letter: This is significant because a Baltimore public relations firm, Counsel Services, operated by Mary Vaughan King and partners, soon began conducting international projects under the auspices of the ECA. From the May 18, 1949, edition of The (Baltimore) Evening Sun: Mary Vaughan King and the public relations firm, Counsel Services, assisted T. Townsend Brown with incorporating NICAP in 1956. Brown, King, and Thomas D. O'Keefe, a man who described himself in records provided to NICAP as a former State Department employee whose responsibilities included serving on the selection board for foreign service officers ( see p41 of NICAP records), incorporated NICAP ( see p4 ): A contract was immediately drawn up, stipulating additional consultants could be retained to work under the supervision of O'Keefe and King ( p7 ): Interestingly, the most recently obtained FBI records include reference to de Rochefort's familiarity with ECA personnel, as well as personnel of the International Economic Administration, a successor of the ECA. The agencies eventually became USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. NICAP and Nicolas de Rochefort It is indeed curious how de Rochefort, an apparent CIA asset with experience in the China lobby and speaking for Voice of America, came to be milling around the NICAP offices. One might reasonably surmise he was brought on by Counsel Services. A sample of documentation of de Rochefort's involvement as contained in a December 1956 progress report for the board, per NICAP records ( p88 ): An intriguing part of the initial NICAP turmoil involved the dismissal of T. Townsend Brown. In the same December 1956 progress report, circumstances were described in which de Rochefort was selected to replace Brown ( p89 ): Fascinatingly, it was none other than Nicolas de Rochefort who nixed the replacement ( pp93-94 ): This might be interpreted a number of ways, including de Rochefort preferred Brown remain as long as possible, or that de Rochefort had no desire to be the executive vice chairman. It might also be interpreted that de Rochefort had greater understandings of the NICAP procedures than most, possibly implying he was involved in their writing. That, or he had a support team pointing out details for him. However we might choose to look at it, the longtime narrative that Donald Keyhoe took the reins of NICAP and cleared out the CIA, which was attracted to the org, seems extremely questionable. It appears quite possible the CIA and Nicolas de Rochefort were, in fact, instrumental in launching NICAP if not forging a path for Keyhoe.

Expanding Frontiers Research is excited to announce weekly meetings are set to begin of the Wayward Sons Book Group. The regularly held Zoom meetings will consist of reading and discussion of this writer's nonfiction book WAYWARD SONS: NICAP AND THE IC. The book explores the intersection between the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena and the intelligence community. Zoom meetings will be recorded and uploaded to the Expanding Frontiers Research YouTube channel for public availability. What: Wayward Sons Book Group When: Wednesday, March 25, 8pm Eastern is the first weekly Zoom meeting. How: Email jackbrewerblog at yahoo dot com to receive a free pdf copy of WAYWARD SONS and to be placed on the list to receive Zoom invitations to weekly group meetings. To be clear, this is not an event that will be published live on YouTube in which people may participate in chat; the group will meet in Zoom meetings, which will be recorded and later uploaded to YouTube. In order to participate, email jackbrewerblog at yahoo dot com. We have a great group shaping up and we hope you join us, bringing your perspectives and insights to the complex dissection of the mid-20th century world of NICAP, UFOs and the U.S. intelligence community. It's guaranteed to prove interesting, and we may very well also learn more about the present by exploring the past. ------------------------------------------- Browse the EFR Patreon and follow us on Bluesky .

Video: FBI Espionage Investigation and the UFO Connection 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. Ivan T. Sanderson 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. ----------------------------------------------- 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.

Law enforcement records of arrests conducted at the 2023 and 2024 annual Burning Man events have been obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research. Material received thus far includes case reports, witness statements and digital images released by the Pershing County (NV) Sheriff's Office as part of a still-open records request. The material has been organized and posted in the EFR Online Archive in a Burning Man collection , which includes a slideshow of several images from the records received. Aerial view of 2010 Burning Man that included a reported 51,525 participants, credit: Kyle Harmon The arrest reports reflect violence and drug use. Domestic violence and battery charges are prevalent, while e cstasy, ketamine, psilocybin, methamphetamine, cocaine and other drugs often found their ways into the custody of law enforcement. In addition to circumstances inherent to rampant use of mind-altering drugs, challenges for law enforcement also include answering the related calls of assault and battery in extreme weather conditions. In 2023, a shelter in place notice was issued when flooding from rain was so heavy that vehicles could not navigate the area. An officer assigned to the event used an all-terrain vehicle to respond to a call for help when a man repeatedly entered a private camp and physically assaulted its members. The officer documented measures taken to detain the suspect and deescalate the situation after having been informed agencies were unable to assist and remove the individual due to the flooding. Both 2024 and 2023 included someone charged with assault with a deadly weapon, and in each case, it was a motor vehicle. A green Chevy van, pictured below, was the carelessly operated weapon of choice in 2024, and in 2023 a Uhaul truck was reportedly used in an attempt to run people down. A similar FOIA request was submitted to the FBI, and a final response has not yet been received. FBI records, if obtained, will be posted in the Burning Man section of the EFR Online Archive. More records are also expected from Pershing County and will be added when obtained. View the growing Burning Man collection of law enforcement records and accompanying images.

A permit to construct oil wells on a property adjacent to Skinwalker Ranch was approved, according to a permit resolution document provided to Expanding Frontiers Research by the Uintah County Community Development Office. The Jan. 22 resolution states a Conditional Use Permit was approved for Uinta Wax Operating, LLC, on property owned by Don Hicken Farms. The document further states: "There were many comments received from the public opposing the installation of these wells, most of which were from outside of Uintah County. Of the comments received, just under half specifically mentioned concerns about light, noise and vibration and the rest expressed a general concern for how the well might affect the Skinwalker Ranch, located on a neighboring property owned by Adamantium Real Estate LLC. Uintah County did not receive any evidence supporting the claims that an oil or gas well would disrupt any existing land use on neighboring properties." Over 200 pages of written comments were submitted to Uintah County and posted by Expanding Frontiers Research in November after cast member of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, Thomas Winterton, appealed to Facebook followers to voice opposition to the permit. Winterton asserted the proposed well would introduce noise, vibrations, and artificial light to the surrounding area, which would “seriously jeopardize our ability to study many of the anomalies on the ENTIRE ranch.” A letter expressing similar concerns was submitted to the county by reported Skinwalker Ranch owner Brandon Fugal, adamantly opposing the proposed land use. The envisioned oil well constituted an egregious, irreparable threat to the irreplaceable scientific and cultural value of the property, Fugal argued. The talking points were echoed by fans of the show through emails sent to the Community Development Office. Local resident Ray Willis took an alternative view. He wrote that he finds it concerning when individuals such as Skinwalker Ranch owners feel entitled to dictate what is done on private land. Willis explained how the Skinwalker camp's approach was “an interesting way to phrase the filming of their lucrative largely fictional television show that has, to date, resulted in no disclosures to the community regarding the nature of their spurious and exaggerated claims.” It would seem county zoning agreed, at least for now. Its observation that it "did not receive any evidence supporting the claims that an oil or gas well would disrupt any existing land use on neighboring properties" indeed goes to the heart of the Skinwalker matter. There is a demographic eagerly willing to credulously accept pretty much anything said by those who promote paranormal pie in the sky, but when it comes to creating economic consequences in the real world, more evidence of an 'irreparable threat to irreplaceable scientific value' is apparently required than Fugal and Winterton simply said so. Another point worthy of consideration is the comments submitted to the county largely consisted of concerns about whether the television show would continue to film. Letters directly addressing arguably valid environmental concerns were slim to nonexistent. They generally didn't mind oil wells; they were opposed to oil wells near Skinwalker Ranch . In what should be an obvious drawback to loading that basket full of eggs, it put the county in the position of potentially ruling that activities entirely permissible and even encouraged on other parcels are banned near Skinwalker Ranch. Because they're filming a television show. About a spaceship buried in a mesa. The idea that all types of activity on surrounding properties should be tightly restricted, above and beyond normal zoning codes, on the grounds some of it may or may not one day impede the production of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, is a tough argument to cast upon rational-thinking people. Oil wells and their detrimental environmental impact are a different argument altogether and one that the Skinwalker faithful largely failed to make.

FBI records were obtained from the National Archives on the International Astronomical Union, a nongovernmental organization founded in Belgium that went on to periodically assemble worldwide leaders in astronomy. The 162 pages of records were compiled by the FBI from 1951-1970 and show the complexity of the intersection between academia and the intelligence community. FBI memos included in the records obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research document how international conferences and collaborations serve as opportunities to establish relationships with assets, gather intelligence, and monitor adversaries. Dr. Frank D. Drake was known to the scientific community for the Drake Equation, a formula that estimated the number of active extraterrestrial civilizations in the galaxy. He was known to the FBI as a confidential informant, numbering among scientists tapped due to their involvement with the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU assembled expert attendees from around the globe to meet in nations including Italy, Ireland and Russia. FBI investigated the likelihood American academics were targeted by foreign adversaries for extraction of classified and sensitive information. Drake indicated “he would be happy to be of service to the U.S. Government or to the FBI,” and provided the Bureau a directory of the 1958 IAU assembly in Moscow, according to a 1959 FBI memo. He advised FBI how the chairman of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory was in a position to obtain voluminous information from various electronic firms, which represented a potential security risk of classified material. Several pages of the records received pertain to FBI interviews conducted with Drake. From the 1959 memo: The FBI records were obtained as the result of a FOIA request for material responsive to Peter A. Sturrock, initially submitted to the FBI in June 2025. Sturrock was a British-born Stanford physicist, known for his open-minded approach to unconventional scientific topics. He founded the Society for Scientific Exploration in 1982. FBI subsequently informed EFR of a file number of potentially responsive records in the custody of the National Archives. EFR then submitted a request to NARA for what turned out to be the file at hand, the subject of which proved to be the International Astronomical Union and containing reference to Sturrock. Additional names of note referenced in the file due to their affiliation with IAU include Harlow Shapley and J. Allen Hynek. A 1967 memo, subject IAU and depicted below, concerns a then-forthcoming IAU assembly in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Dir. Hoover advised the Washington Field Office to use its sources to develop information about IAU and the scheduled event. The stated objective was to determine whether IAU conferences were being used as recruiting grounds and if U.S. residents were targets. It was noted that FBI interest included exploiting the attendance of U.S. residents for intelligence purposes. Page one of the memo above is followed by six fully withheld pages. A list then begins on page 93 of the pdf of dozens of what are termed U.S. candidates recommended for admission to the 1967 IAU conference. The list of recommended candidates includes Peter Sturrock. It is not immediately clear why the first name of Sturrock and some of the candidates are penciled in while others are not: Following the list of recommendations is a list of assembly invitees and a travel flight list, neither of which reference Sturrock. He is then named on a list of awardees of travel grants to the “XIIIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union, Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1967.” Over 100 academic travel grant awardees from American institutions are detailed, beginning on page 117 of the 162-page pdf. The two previously described lists were alphabetized, while the list of travel grant awardees was not; each awardee was numbered, with Sturrock being number 88. The names of IAU attendees from foreign universities and facilities were also monitored on different lists contained in the pdf. From a September 1967 FBI memo: Investigations conducted by FBI in 1955 document events surrounding an IAU assembly in Dublin, Ireland. Informants advised the Bureau they previously attended an IAU event in Rome, at which time they met attendees representing the Soviet Union. The informants anticipated seeing some of the same Russians again in Ireland. The FBI sources further explained their plans to go to Iceland following the completion of the IAU meeting in Ireland. A 1955 Bureau memo documented their plans to speak with the U.S. Air Force about a business venture involving what was termed a “position finder”: Attendees from the U.S.S.R. were photographed disembarking from their flight to the 1952 assembly of the International Astronomical Union held in Rome, Italy. A redacted FBI informant penciled in the corresponding names. The records are reminiscent of events described in FBI memos previously obtained on the late astronomer Dr. Donald Menzel, employed at Harvard and the subject of hundreds of pages of FBI records . He was documented by the FBI in 1946 as having conducted research for the Navy during World War II. This included experiments that had to do with the ionization of the stratosphere which reportedly helped operators of communications equipment and radar forecast the best hours of each day for use of the equipment. His long academic career was characterized by such classified research, frequent attendance at international conferences, and strong skepticism of unsubstantiated UFO stories, about which he corresponded with Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter . FBI memos composed on Menzel in 1974-75 document his activities, including a 1954 invitation he was extended along with colleagues to observe an eclipse of the sun in the Soviet Union, of which he expressed a lack of interest. FBI noted he was a visitor in 1958 to the 10 th  General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union conducted in Moscow. Memos from the 1970s document how consideration was given to contacting Menzel as a “potential security informant or double agent,” as pictured below: FBI indicated its interest was due in part to Menzel's plans to accept the first personal invitation ever extended from the People's Republic of China to an astronomer. He and his wife subsequently traveled to Peking, where he lectured on astronomy at the Academy of Sciences. During the visit, political complications arose due to his affiliation with none other than the International Astronomical Union because Taiwan was a member and China was thereby reluctant to cooperate. FBI seemingly viewed Menzel as a potentially valuable asset due to his connections and frequent travel. During FBI considerations to formally recruit Menzel, the astronomer apparently communicated he was “more than willing” to discuss Bureau internal security responsibilities but, by the way, he was already talking to the CIA: EFR contends that obtaining and reviewing such records not only helps in filling in historical context often absent from unsubstantiated speculation but also provides insight into more recent events. The overlap of academia, politics, and the intelligence community has a lot of moving parts that should be carefully considered with nuance and objectivity when forming assessments.

Expanding Frontiers Research received a final response Friday from the FBI, stating it was unable to identify records subject to the FOIA on Alexander "Lex" Mebane. This blogpost explores reasons an FBI search for records might sometimes overlook material that can be reasonably surmised to exist and is, in fact, responsive to a request. The late Lex Mebane was well-known in the mid-20 th century UFO community, acting in leadership roles and editing publications for civilian groups that included the New York Saucer Information Bureau. The request submitted by EFR stemmed from a 1963 FBI memo obtained through a previous FOIA request which indicated the FBI interviewed a popular UFO personality, Ivan Sanderson, who identified Mebane as someone who could potentially assist the Bureau in an espionage investigation. Clearly, results of an FBI search for records responsive to Mebane should at least include the 1963 memo already in hand. “Partially this is limitations of how the FBI's filing processes work, but partially they default to what is easier for them, which is a much less comprehensive search,” wrote Michael Morisy , co-founder of transparency advocate MuckRock, in a Saturday email when asked to comment on the Bureau search process. His understanding is that a more thorough search would require significantly more resources, as the FBI does not have everything fully indexed in a way we might expect by this point in time. The result is a lot of "no responsive documents" responses where common sense, documentation and public knowledge would suggest otherwise, Morisy explained. The same 1963 FBI memo referenced above also includes mention of Isabel Davis, a UFO investigator and staple of the genre during her era. As was the case with Mebane, FBI documented Sanderson referenced her by name as someone who might help it locate a person of interest. Two FOIA requests submitted to FBI on the late Davis, most recently in 2025, resulted in no records. This would obviously be another circumstance in which FBI search procedures overlook responsive documents. From the 1963 FBI memo obtained via the Freedom of Information Act: 'No records' responses received from FBI on individuals named in the above memo: Although the response to the Davis request acknowledged potentially responsive records were destroyed, it nonetheless seems reasonably apparent FBI search functions rely on some type of index rather than the text of documents themselves. The index may not always contain all the names and other proper nouns that might be referenced in Bureau memos and documents, so sometimes existing responsive records are overlooked. Morisy generally agreed, suggesting a broad, underlying problem for some time now has been that personnel only perform some specific search methods that generally look for indexed terms. The situation was discussed in a 2014 MuckRock interview with Ryan Shapiro. A public records expert who had over 600 FOIA requests on file with FBI at the time of the interview, Shapiro described to MuckRock how FBI responds to basic FOIA requests with a search restricted solely to its Central Records System. That's a limited database that may not include all records of interest. Moreover, Shapiro asserted, the primary means by which FBI searches for records is deliberately designed in a way to routinely fail. “I've often found they do a more comprehensive search on appeal,” Morisy advised EFR, “but haven't found a way to get the more comprehensive search on the first pass.” Researchers may find more success if they request files on a group that the individual was in, he added, or a specific event or investigation the individual got caught up in, concluding, “but it's all more of a black box than it should be.” The FBI material referenced above is part of an ongoing EFR investigation into the intersection of the mid-20th century FBI, informants and subjects of interest in the murky UFO subculture. See the recommended blogposts below for more information and records received thus far as results of multiple lines of ongoing FOIA requests. ------------------------------------ EFR extends a sincere 'thank you' to supporters for making the holiday GoFundMe campaign a success! Valuable funds were raised to help with reproduction fees required by the National Archives for FBI records already identified through our FOIA requests. If you haven't already done so, please consider joining our supporters at the EFR Patreon or with a donation at our GoFundMe nonprofit page . Lots more in store for 2026!

FBI records responsive to Robert T. Stark were recently obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by Expanding Frontiers Research. The FOIA request was part of an ongoing research collaboration between Erica Lukes and this writer into FBI espionage investigations and informants within the Cold War era UFO community. "Subject's activities and unverifiable legend suggest he may be an illegal agent," a 1962 FBI memo states, a summary of intelligence collected on Robert Stark by the New York Field Office. A 1963 FBI memo included in the recent release contains information concerning Cristell Vorwitt, a German-born immigrant and close Stark contact. She and Stark resided "as husband and wife" in Brooklyn from 1960-62, the memo indicates, at which time he left and went to Los Angeles. FBI expended significant resources to track and surveil Stark, including documenting his use of Vorwitt's last name and immediately contacting her upon his return to New York City in 1962. FBI could establish no history of Stark prior to 1956, documenting thereafter he used multiple aliases, false social security numbers, and birth data not supported by records. He was confirmed by FBI to have been employed in 1957 by the Bogen-Presto Division of the Siegler Corporation in Paramus, NJ. Further research indicates Russian immigrant David Bogen (of Bogen-Presto) ran successful electronics and audio companies in New York before selling them in the 1950s. Siegler was among the purchasers in 1957. Stark was experienced in electronics, as described in FBI records, and was periodically employed in the field. The newly obtained records provide more pieces to a puzzle that emerged from a previously obtained 1958 FBI memo referencing Ivan Sanderson and several mid-20 th century UFO personalities. The memo documented Sanderson initiating contact with the FBI, leading to an interview in which he and associate Hans Santesson advised agents of potentially subversive activity taking place at meetings of the New York Saucer Information Bureau (NYSIB). Sanderson and Santesson directly identified purported UFO contactees Daniel Fry and Truman Bethurum as regular attendees before offering to assist the Bureau further if needed. The memo led to a series of FOIA requests submitted by EFR, including following up to learn if FBI documented more interactions with Sanderson, which it did. In 1963, FBI re-interviewed him about the possibility Stark was involved with the New York Saucer Information Bureau. FOIA requests submitted to FBI on individuals named in records obtained to that point, which include requests on NYSIB key personnel, as well as purported UFO contactees Daniel Fry and Truman Bethurum , reveal they were all referenced in records compiled during investigation of Robert Stark. EFR continues to systematically request records from the FBI as well as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which is the custodian of an FBI file compiled on Stark estimated to consist of over 400 pages. Related correspondence with NARA includes a Sep. 5 email in which NARA described the file and confirmed its subject to be Robert T. Stark, aka Robert Starkowski, aka Thadeus Stanislaw Gzula, compiled as part of an espionage investigation from 1954 to 1964. FBI records responsive to self-described UFO contactee Daniel Fry number among those compiled under the Stark espionage investigation umbrella. Though much of the material is heavily redacted, there are direct references to Stark and strong inferences to potential adversaries, with surveillance of their actions thoroughly documented throughout the pdf. A profile of New York Saucer Information Bureau is also contained in the Fry records, including suggestion mail was exchanged within the circles of Stark and the NYSIB. It can also be surmised that someone of interest to FBI, possibly Stark and his associates, tried to persuade Fry to publish certain material in his newsletter. The most recently obtained records further document FBI concern and surveillance of Stark and his contacts. Several dates are referenced which solidify a timeline of his movements between New York and Los Angeles, continuing to clarify the extent the Cold War era U.S. saucer genre was involved with the global intelligence community, unwittingly or otherwise. This is part of a continuing research project and series of FOIA requests. View the EFR GoFundMe - set up to raise funds for FOIA fees to the National Archives – and please consider making a donation to support our research.

FBI records responsive to self-described UFO contactee Daniel Fry ( 1908-1992 ) were recently obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research. The records, which allude to wider investigations of which Fry was but a single aspect, consist of memos with redacted titles and numerous heavily redacted pages. FBI stated 40 of 41 pages were released and cited several FOIA exemptions for withheld material in its Nov. 26 final response . Daniel Fry, 1967 A collaboration between Erica Lukes and this writer came to include Daniel Fry as a subject in a series of numerous FOIA requests. The requests grew out of a 1958 FBI memo obtained by EFR earlier this year that showed how Ivan Sanderson initiated contact with the FBI, alerting it that the New York Saucer Information Bureau (NYSIB) was conducting meetings ostensibly about UFOs. In reality, Sanderson asserted, the meetings were designed to convince attendees the U.S. government was no good. The memo documented that Sanderson and associate Hans Santesson specifically named contactees Daniel Fry and Truman Bethurum as staples of NYSIB meetings, and that both Sanderson and Santesson offered to assist the Bureau further if needed. The previously obtained 1958 FBI memo contained several points of reference for follow-up FOIA requests that continue to be processed and lead to more requests. EFR subsequently obtained a 1963 FBI memo indicating the Bureau did indeed circle back to Sanderson, at which time an agent showed him a photo of a man and asked if the man was attending NYSIB meetings. That circumstance – the re-interview of Sanderson – is referenced in the records responsive to Daniel Fry and moves our research even further in the direction of Robert Stark, a man continuing to emerge as a central figure of these FBI files. From the 1963 FBI memo , subject Robert Theodore Stark: Hundreds of pages of FBI records responsive to Stark have been identified through recent FOIA requests. Those pages contain many references to UFO personalities of the mid-20th century. EFR is in the process of incrementally obtaining the material. Daniel Fry As documented by researchers Adam Gorightly and Greg Bishop in their book “A” Is for Adamski: The Golden Age of UFO Contactees , Fry worked as an explosives technician at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico during 1950. It was there that he constructed a story about his interactions with A-lan, pronounced “a-lawn,” an extraterrestrial. In 1955 Fry founded Understanding Inc., which published a monthly newsletter, Understanding , and in the coming years expanded into a nationwide network of 43 “study groups.” It was such factors, along with the efforts of Fry and other contactees to ostensibly build utopian communes, that would have concerned the FBI. Fry's employment at White Sands, combined with his controversial social circles, would have raised red flags, but he landed in an investigation of Robert Stark for reasons that seem to include mutual contacts and associates. Suffice it to say it was not Fry's stories of aliens that made him a person of FBI interest, even if such stories often served as tools of assessments of reliability and character for investigating agents. In other words, if there are already concerns about questionable activity, then a subject's use of purported interactions with aliens as a means to build a following only tends to serve as evidence those concerns are justified. Daniel Fry's reliability received plenty of doubt without the need for FBI investigation. As researcher Lance Moody documented , Fry struggled to field questions about his purported "doctor" credentials during a 1966 radio appearance on The Betty Grobley Show. When asked to discuss his BA, he seemed unaware he would have obtained such a degree prior to earning a PhD. FBI Records FBI records responsive to Daniel Fry reference a lot of stereotypical FBI 20th century jargon and procedures. We find references to mail “cover,” or surveillance; following the money through detailed attention to financial transactions (it's always about the money because it leads to key people, both sending and receiving); covertly collecting and subsequently examining a subject's garbage; interviewing a person “under a suitable criminal pretext” as to not reveal the actual purposes of an investigation, and similar circumstances. The records document keeping a subject under surveillance through a cab ride and eavesdropping on a subject's call at a payphone – by pretending to make a call from a neighboring phone. One might get the impression the agents seemed to think their surveillance was to be prioritized, and at least some of it involved Robert Stark's cross-country travels and activities. Investigation of a redacted subject – surmised to be Stark in several instances - takes the reader through interviews and surveillance of people of interest, ranging from landlords and neighbors to former employers and co-workers. One of several references to Ivan Sanderson and the New York Saucer Information Bureau: The lone fully withheld page of the 41 responsive pages, page number 13, is surrounded by: a 1963 FBI memo and further reference to the 1958 Sanderson interview; a mail cover that established the NYSIB was in contact with a subject whose name is redacted; and reference to correspondence sent from a redacted individual to Daniel Fry about material to potentially be published in his Understanding newsletter. Page 35 of the pdf is the third page of another 1963 FBI memo. Combined with the circumstances in the above paragraph, it might be interpreted to suggest some of the FBI concern may have been about Fry's network and newsletter being used to disseminate subversive and/or classified material. From the memo: Further indication FBI may have been at least partially concerned about the compromise of classified documents and material: The records also reference a woman named Gunny Larrson and her associates. She made contacts in New York, obtained a grant to come from Iceland to work in horticultural research, and attended international conferences. FBI interest in her activities is not entirely clear, aside from her association with other subjects of interest, however implied Bureau concern may arguably be. It is clear, however, that FBI was trying to establish potential connections between persons of interest, with the New York Saucer Information Bureau and Daniel Fry's newsletter serving as suspected commonalities among the cast of characters. Records also include reference to open associations with Russian United Nations personnel. A New York woman whose name is redacted, an interviewing agent documented, said that some "would find it exciting to associate with this element." Research is ongoing, including numerous FOIA requests.