Search Results

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.

Wayne Sulo Aho (1916-2006) was born in Washington State, the son of Finnish homesteaders. He spent most of his life as a logger before hitting the UFO contactee circuit with stories of Space Brothers in 1957. Wayne S. Aho, 1970 It was not Aho's tales of lifelong ET visitation or his association with common criminals or even his role in a saucer stock scam that made him of interest to EFR, but it was his reference in FBI records of involvement with UFO groups and people accused of subversive activity that put him on our radar. Specifically, a 1958 FBI memo obtained by EFR documented how Ivan Sanderson and Hans Santesson advised FBI of their concerns about the New York Saucer Information Bureau (NYSIB). Major Aho, as he liked to be known, was identified as a staple of the group, along with fellow alleged contactees Daniel Fry  and Truman Bethurum , among others. When they first started, meetings held by the NYSIB around New York City dealt primarily with UFO matters, Sanderson and Santesson informed the FBI, but that changed around February of 1958. All meetings after that had no connections to scientific or factual information about UFOs and became filled with calls to complain to Congress about the U.S. government. In their book “A” Is for Adamski: The Golden Age of the UFO Contactees , authors Adam Gorightly and Greg Bishop explain how Aho claimed to receive telepathic communications and frequently observe craft while attending events held by fellow contactees. He also took up with Otis T. Carr, a conman who once tried to sell the FBI – of all agencies – a bogus fingerprinting invention and doubled down by pitching the Army a $20 million scheme for a flying saucer that could go to the moon and back. Carr and Aho embarked on a nationwide tour, collecting donations to help them build the spacecraft that never came to fruition (no, they didn't front a famous rock band). FBI records collected by EFR include material obtained from the National Archives as well as files previously released to The Black Vault through the Freedom of Information Act. As reported by Gorightly and Bishop, Aho was not charged in the saucer stock scheme, but Carr went to prison after an SEC investigation was conducted. Mail fraud was also at issue, as solicitations were sent far and wide. FBI records show that following Carr's presentation to the Army, at least one source indicated Uncle Sam would further entertain a proposal if Carr and company could produce blueprints, plans and other specifications. They could not produce such details but that did not stop them from setting a date in 1959 to launch Aho to the moon from Frontier City, Oklahoma. Suffice it to say Aho remained earthbound. From a 1959 FBI memo: More than one fan of Carr and Aho was enthusiastic enough to write Dir. Hoover himself, alerting him to the circumstances, in the event he was not yet aware, and encouraging J Edgar to... promote Carr's groundbreaking discoveries that included free energy: Evidence of Carr's downfall, per the FBI, which noted the courts "finally stepped in to protect gullible New Yorkers" from a flying saucer firm: Interesting and darkly entertaining as some of this may very well be, these are probably not the reasons that individuals ranging from Ivan Sanderson to Leon Davidson were concerned about subversion in the UFO genre. Our ongoing investigation here at EFR would suggest that, while confidence men and their targeted audiences certainly play starring roles in the history of UFOs, it was likely those with designs on influencing political loyalties that most concerned select UFO investigators and FBI agents. As suggested by Ivan Sanderson and Hans Santesson when taking it upon themselves to initiate contact with the FBI, Aho's involvement as a key individual with the New York Saucer Information Bureau, a group called Washington Saucer Intelligence, and the social circles of those in their orbits lead to areas of concern. From a 1960 FBI memo from the Salt Lake City Field Office to Dir. Hoover, featuring the now-common theme of luring people in with promises of scientific information about UFOs while flopping to a full complement of unrelated and often anti-social agendas: The meeting attendee interviewed above added that the topics were unusual for inclusion in a purported discussion of technical matters. In another memo from the Salt Lake City FBI office, this one dated 1964, documentation is made of an attendee at a meeting of the New Age Foundation who became concerned enough about the proceedings to reach out to the Bureau. Aho was a speaker who left the attendee confused, alternating between promoting peace and opposition to the U.S. government. After the regular meeting, the source continued, there was a second gathering at the home of one of the women in attendance. At this second gathering, a man known as “Pierce” asserted that a civil revolution was forthcoming and that citizens should collect arms for protection. According to the informant, Pierce “proposed doing away with all Negroes”: As we continue to work through the saucer-related FOIA records of the era, as motivated by Sanderson and Santesson, it should become increasingly apparent why leaders of UFO groups and public meetings were typically assumed by the IC to be subversive, oblivious, and/or manipulating credulous followers for reasons that included financial gain or political agendas. The NYSIB, Washington Saucer Intelligence, NICAP, and eventually CUFOS, MUFON and others, were often associating with the same pool of unsavory characters and enabling their access to the public. That access was provided through publishing their articles, inviting them as speakers, and acting with general complicity to their extremist rhetoric while giving them platforms to disseminate their ideologies. We might further consider how much, if any, the circumstances ever changed. ------------------------------------------ If you have not already done so, please consider joining our Patreon as a free or paid subscriber. We are currently raising funds for FOIA fees for records at the National Archives, and the best ways to help are with either a paid Patreon subscription or a contribution via the secure "Donate" button located on our website homepage . Thank you for your consideration.

Over 200 pages of written comments recently submitted to the Uintah County Community Development Office concerning a property adjacent to Skinwalker Ranch were obtained by Expanding Frontiers Research. The comments – consisting mostly of email messages - were sent after Thomas Winterton, a cast member of the cable television show The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch, made a Facebook post urging followers to voice opposition to a Conditional Use Permit requested by Uinta Wax for property owned by Don Hicken Farms LLC. The request seeks authorization to construct an oil and gas location, widely expected to be an oil well. Winterton's Oct. 24 Facebook post included an Oct. 14 letter received by Adamantium Real Estate LLC, an entity incorporated in Delaware that owns the Utah property commonly known as Skinwalker Ranch. The letter was sent from the Community Development Office, notifying potentially interested parties of the permit requested for Don Hicken Farms and inviting written comments. Limited liability and other types of corporations are commonly incorporated in Delaware when founders and primary parties wish to conceal their identities from public disclosure. The Oct. 14 letter sent to Adamantium Real Estate: Thomas Winterton asserted in his Facebook post, “[T]he exact location of this well will be less than 150' from the anomaly in the mesa.” He went on to state it would forever destroy the opportunity to study unique and unexplainable phenomena. 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,” Winterton wrote, then urgently pleaded with those who follow their investigation to contact Uintah County and respectfully demand the permit be denied. Records obtained include Adamantium's response to Community Development as written by Brandon Fugal (see page 4 ). While demanding the permit be denied, Fugal asserted the proposed oil well constitutes an egregious, irreparable threat to the irreplaceable scientific and cultural value of the property. Fugal further described Skinwalker Ranch as “the preeminent global epicenter of documented paranormal and anomalous phenomena,” yet, as demonstrated by investigative reporter Steven Greenstreet , Fugal's claims perpetually fail to rise to the level of scientific standards practiced outside the realm of television entertainment. Several email messages submitted to the Community Development Office reference "Skinwalker Insiders," which are people who subscribe to a Secret of Skinwalker Ranch-themed website. A quick search and a few clicks revealed a membership currently runs $12 per month, or $96 annually, entitling subscribers to “inside” information, a tee shirt, and discounts on merchandise. The basic argument opposing the Uinta Wax permit for Don Hicken Farms as expressed by Skinwalker supporters is that construction on the adjacent property will hinder or cease what is often described as scientific study of deeply significant anomalies. A lot of the comments submitted are repetitious, as they reflect templates and talking points distributed on social media, and several submissions show the authors to simply be uninformed. For instance, many seemed to think some government body such as "the state" wishes to drill for oil. However, the Community Development Office letter posted by Winterton clearly established the parties to be private for-profit entities that include the owner of the land, Don Hicken Farms. Also, and as might be expected, many of the comments contain the dubious suggestion that paradigm-shifting scientific discoveries of existential significance are occurring on a regular basis - but not all of the comments. Ray Willis describes himself as a neighbor with a view of the mesa that's so good Skinwalker Ranch parks its tour bus outside of his gate. The tour bus is quite possibly a reference to “add-on” activities marketed at PhenomeCon , an annual event sponsored by Uintah County which blurs science and entertainment while relying heavily upon Skinwalker cast members for activities and content. Willis says Skinwalker Ranch and its interests “are not to the betterment of our community” (see page 112 ). He finds it concerning when individuals such as Skinwalker Ranch owners feel entitled to dictate what is done on private land. “[M]y social media feeds were flooded today,” Willis wrote Community Development, “with calls to action by the personnel of Skinwalker Ranch for their wide fanbase to inundate your office with the opinions of people nowhere near here about how this drilling should be stopped because it will negatively impact the 'investigation' at SWR...” Willis added how that's “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.” “As a former civil servant,” he continued, “I am appalled that SWR is calling upon their cult of TV nerds to influence development in my neighborhood.” Other comments include an email submitted by Nancy J. Stratton, “Retired U.S. Department of Energy Counterintelligence Cyber Analyst.” She asked that the permit be denied due to its potential impact on groundbreaking research being conducted at the Fugal ranch “as documented by the Federal Government, Fugal, and others.” Stratton asserted, “Mankind deserves this chance at transparency.” ( p1 ) Chris Roberts, “Skinwalker Ranch Archaeologist,” argued the location of the potential oil well appears to be an attack on the cast and its work. “The proximity of the well pad to the mesa where interesting artifacts have been discovered within the mesa actually appears as an attack on Skinwalker Ranch and particularly the mesa where I study,” he wrote. Roberts added that he'd be happy to meet with Community Development and the Skinwalker Ranch team for a review and redesign – of plans composed by and belonging to Uinta Wax and Don Hicken Farms, we reasonably surmise. ( p94 ) Norman Joseph Jester III of Like Whoa Inc. in California wrote to Uintah County on a letterhead, pictured above. He explained he holds a technical and scientific background and, while he respects the economic opportunity the proposed permit may hold for proponents, he urges its denial due to its proximity to scientific investigation of significant importance. He enclosed an image, pictured below, of his 2011 Certificate of Lifetime Patron Membership to the Center for Ancient Astronaut Research and the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association, signed by Giorgio Tsoukalos and Erich von Daniken. ( pp1-3 ) Paige Sechi explained they were raised in the Uintah Basin and encouraged the county to prioritize the long-term well-being of the community. “I'm not writing you because of the media depictions of the ranch, but in the environmental, geological, and cultural significance of the area where the drilling is proposed,” Sechi wrote. Their perspective, arguably among the more measured and pointed, was noticeably absent from other emails as compared to concerns about the future of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. ( p137 ) Paul Wilson, P.E., opposed approval of the permit because it would significantly affect ongoing scientific investigation that could benefit Utah as well as the entire country. The oil or gas will always be there, he argued, while the loss of the present investigation will do permanent damage to a major scientific breakthrough. “As a staunch Trump supporter,” Wilson concluded, “I believe he would not want this to affect the American people.” ( p147 ) Dr. Carry Duckworth, “Scientist and PI in the UK,” opposed the permit because Skinwalker Ranch conducts a high-tech venture undertaking world-renowned scientific research going back at least 20 years. But it's not just about the scientific community and those who understand and follow the high-quality research like Duckworth does, they emphasized. It's also about the large community that follows and contributes to the research online. ( p88 ) “There will be huge negative societal impact if this does not continue,” Duckworth warned. “This community activity is excellent for both research on the ranch and the mental health of many of these individuals through developing friendships and the sense of purpose by contributing to groundbreaking research activity.” This writer confidently suspects law enforcement officers, personnel at the county medical examiner's office, and members of the search party who retrieved the deceased body of Andrew Barton Crowe might disagree with the doctor's assessment of Skinwalker Ranch societal impact. Noteworthy in the discussion of Uintah Basin properties is Utah 2023 S.B. 219 , Criminal Privacy Violation Amendments. Introduced by State Sen. Ronald Winterton, the bill expanded on existing legislation by increasing penalties for the use of equipment such as drones and ground-penetrating radar to survey land where there is an expected right of privacy. The Senator's son, Thomas Winterton, assisted in presenting discussion on the bill that restricts unauthorized use of technology to detect, observe, or measure property characteristics. It is not entirely clear what the consequences were perceived to be if a literal act of Congress was not undertaken to discourage the public from trying to glean details about the 500-acre Adamantium Real Estate property and its subterranean features. One might suppose it didn't have a lot to do with werewolves. The permit debate provides an analogy of UFO culture. A majority of emails fail to express basic understandings of such central issues as energy consumption, oil drilling and, importantly, goose-and-gander values that typically characterize a healthily functioning community. The vast majority of emails fail to consider what is most valued by the public, while simultaneously arguing paranormal entertainment special interest is not just of vast significance, but highest importance. If no competent argument is made to explain why proposed land use is bad for the region, in and of itself and independently of activities on adjacent properties, then the issue is framed, in effect, as 'Landowner A should not be permitted to do as he desires on his property because Landowner B should be permitted to do as he desires on his property'. If the argument is subsequently reduced to 'oil wells are fine, just not in the vicinity of a mesa I believe has a giant alien spaceship buried beneath it', then it's failing to make a legitimate point for why Don Hicken Farms should be denied the right to use its land as it sees fit within legal guidelines. And from this writer's desk, that self-centered irrationality is pretty much UFO World in a nutshell. In a follow-up email exchange, Uintah County Community Development clarified the permit for Don Hicken Farms is in the review stage and "is currently waiting on additional information from the applicant." It was further explained that when a decision is reached, an applicant is typically notified by mail or email, so there is not a designated way to track the status of a permit request. EFR therefore envisions monitoring the situation through standard channels and possibly checking back in the future for further information from Uintah County.

Expanding Frontiers Research continues to investigate concerns expressed by mid-20 th century UFO investigators to the FBI about activity taking place within the flying saucer genre. Previous FOIA requests revealed Dr. Leon Davidson wrote FBI Dir. J. Edgar Hoover in 1960 about the UFO topic used as a disguise for conducting subversive activity. Prior to that, in 1958, UFO writer Ivan Sanderson contacted the Newark Field Office with similar concerns. He and writer and editor Hans Santesson subsequently spoke with agents about the New York Saucer Information Bureau, a group they identified as promoting Communist ideology. The two volunteered to assist and inform FBI as it deemed advantageous. Since obtaining the above material, EFR has been reviewing information from a variety of sources, as well as submitting additional FOIA requests on names dropped to the FBI by Davidson and Sanderson. Current and past research of the overlap between the intelligence and UFO communities indicates the agencies documented much more about subversive activities surrounding UFO personalities than they collected relevant material about the flying saucers the demographic claimed to study. Truman Bethurum, 1954 The latest records obtained and reviewed include an FBI file on Truman Bethurum , a self-described UFO contactee. Bethurum was documented in a 1958 FBI memo to have been named by Sanderson as a regular attendee at New York Saucer Information Bureau meetings while also touring the country to discuss UFOs with no visible means of support. Sanderson and Santesson advised the FBI, the memo stated, that “the New York Saucer Information Bureau was a possible Communist Front organization inasmuch as recent material published by this bureau and special guests at this bureau's meetings, have indicated to them that the 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.” Truman Bethurum (1898-1969) was a blue-collar worker from California. He claimed his first contact with alien visitors was in 1952 and included the beautiful Aura Rhanes, the alleged captain of an often-returning spacecraft. He wrote books about his extraordinary adventures and pushed an agenda - supposedly at the instruction of Aura Rhanes - to raise money for the Sanctuary of Thought, an Arizona commune. If Bethurum's bit was the idea of an attractive alien, it eluded the FBI. Its records indicate Valor, a magazine operated by William Dudley Pelley, had an apparent financial stake and interest in organizing and promoting Bethurum speaking engagements in 1954. That was surmised from information provided to the Bureau by Thomas Eickhoff, an Ohio man informing the Cincinnati Field Office of activities surrounding Bethurum. Eickhoff indicated George Hunt Williamson, who also described himself as a contactee, and another man known as Mr. Manspeaker, were handling details of organizing and advertising a Bethurum event in Cincinnati. Both men were described as being involved with Valor. The event stood to potentially raise thousands of dollars in ticket sales. Eickhoff told FBI he did not know why Valor was interested in Bethurum or what the plans were for the money that might be raised. FBI noted Valor was published by William Dudley Pelley and that it was described as a journal of applied spirituality, dealing with mysticism and flying saucers. The 1954 FBI memo documented Pelley was "said to claim that these individuals arriving in flying saucers are of greater intelligence and learning than the earth people and are here to give the earth people intellectual guidance and spiritual endowment." Aug. 12, 1942, St. Louis Post-Dispatch William Dudley Pelley (1890-1965) was an American fascist activist and supporter of Nazi Germany. His antisemitism led to founding the Silver Legion of America, commonly known as the Silver Shirts, in 1933. The Silver Shirts were characterized by their paramilitary uniform and fascist ideology. Pelley unsuccessfully ran for president of the United States in 1936 as the candidate for the Christian Party. He was convicted in 1942 of sedition and seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was paroled in 1950. William Pelley FBI records are posted on the Bureau website. Other issues that arise in FBI records responsive to Bethurum include the activity of UFO researcher Leonard Stringfield of Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects, known as CRIFO. He attended a meeting with Thomas Eickhoff, Williamson, Manspeaker and Bethurum to discuss organizing a Bethurum appearance in Cincinnati, according to Eickhoff. A 1954 interview is referenced by FBI that was conducted by Stringfield with Col. John O'Mara of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The interview was presented early on in this writer's book, Wayward Sons: NICAP and the IC , as it provides documentation that intelligence officers have been telling UFO writers for some 70 years that UFO Disclosure is imminent. In the FBI records at hand, Stringfield's agenda is called into question, including documentation of a statement attributed to him that the Air Force couldn't do anything about his activities because, “I'm claiming saucers are interplanetary.” Yet another FBI informant – redacted and remaining unnamed in this instance - “advised that he was furnishing the foregoing information because he thought that possibly the real purpose of the Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects organization might be to gather bits of information about a very secret U.S. Air Force Development Project.” A 1977 Stringfield book with a forward by Keyhoe Maj. Donald Keyhoe, soon to become the frontman of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena at the time the FBI memos were authored, is also referenced. Col. O'Mara, while providing Stringfield with statements supportive of a flying saucer mystery, nonetheless told Thomas Eickhoff, the Ohio FBI informant, that Keyhoe “is a fraud.” The colonel alluded to the existence of information in Washington to that effect, which may be a reference to circumstances described in now-declassified FBI records responsive to Keyhoe. The Bureau identified Keyhoe's writing as irresponsible and cited a specific example of an entirely untrue story published by the saucer enthusiast and conspiracy monger. Stringfield previously came to this writer's attention after declassification of a 1978 NSA memo was requested and successfully obtained in 2017. The memo fascinatingly reflects how a longtime staple of the Mutual UFO Network and an NSA assignee, Thomas Deuley, informed his supervisors about his attendance and activities at an annual UFO symposium in Ohio. As Deuley explained, presentations included Stringfield, Todd Zechel and others discussing documents purportedly created by the CIA. Deuley described in the memo how he relied on CIA to determine the documents were not authentic. He also explained how Zechel, who was reported by the Washington Post in 1979 to be an NSA man himself, solicited information on UFOs from Deuley. The memo further documented how Zechel made the claim publicly a number of times to have worked for the NSA, yet NSA records did not indicate that to be the case. Zechel addressed the situation with Deuley, explaining he wanted to clear it up, and subsequently claimed to Deuley that confusion arose because he worked as a shift supervisor at an ASA (Army Security Agency) facility in Korea from 1963-1966. Deuley's memo described Zechel urging him to find out about UFOs and share information he learned. Deuley wrote further, "There is some thought that [Zechel] would be capable of being behind the CIA letter fraud and that he is apt to go to most any length to collect information or to bend facts to fit his needs."  Deuley wrote his NSA supervisors about Zechel, “I have talked with him in a frank, clear manner that should have portrayed to him my position and I feel, without specific examples of him being dishonest, I should give him a chance of building a productive working relationship.” It is not clear exactly what kind of relationship would have been considered productive. “Any further contact or requests for information will be reported,” Deuley concluded. A number of interesting points arise in the 1978 NSA memo and its reading is recommended. The identity of the memo author – Thomas Deuley - is confidently established through the work of Philip Klass . In 2018, this writer submitted a follow-up FOIA request to NSA, seeking additional memos and reports written by the analyst who authored the 1978 MUFON conference memo on Zechel's solicitation of information. NSA advised this week by email, as fate would have it, that the request was too broad. EFR is in correspondence with the Agency, working on narrowing the scope of the request in an effort to reach a resolution that provides more material for review and consideration.