The Why Files: Operation Podcast - 560: Operation Gladio | How The Mob Financed The CIA's Secret Army

Episode Date: July 9, 2024

After World War II, the CIA hatched a covert plan to stop Soviet expansion in Europe. They created a secret army, recruiting an unexpected mix of allies. This clandestine operation, known as Gladio, s...panned across all NATO countries. What began as a defensive strategy quickly morphed into something far more sinister. Innocent civilians became casualties in a shadow war fought on European streets.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You searched for your informant, who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth. While curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. In 1948, the streets of every major city in America saw a huge and sudden rise in the heroin supply. Harry Enslinger was the commissioner of federal narcotics,
Starting point is 00:00:41 and he wanted answers. A confidential informant drops a bombshell. The man bringing in the heroin is the head of the mafia's national crime syndicate, Lucky Luciano. That was a surprise. The mob didn't deal drugs, but maybe things changed. Anslinger sent agents to Sicily, where they caught Luciano preparing a half-ton shipment of heroin, heading to New York City by way of Havana. Now, the U.S. government didn't have jurisdiction in Sicily, so they brought in the local police. They refused to make an arrest.
Starting point is 00:01:13 Anslinger called the State Department for help. After a few transfers, his call is finally connected to the U.S. Embassy in Palermo. A young man picks up the phone and says, Sorry, Commissioner, have your agent stand down. Lucky's with us. Anslinger was confused. He asks, what do you mean us? The response was the last thing Harry Anslinger expected to hear.
Starting point is 00:01:36 Lucky Luciano, one of the world's most notorious crime bosses, was working for the CIA. After World War II, Europe was divided. The Western Allies controlled West Germany, while the Soviets held the East. As former Allies became enemies, the Cold War began. The Soviet Union suffered massive losses liberating countries as it marched to Berlin. And those liberated countries? They weren't giving them back. Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria.
Starting point is 00:02:13 They became Soviet satellite states. And the Soviets wanted more. How much more? Nobody knew. Europe was in ruins. But the Russian army was still strong. If they pushed west, they would be hard to stop. The Allies needed a plan to contain the Soviets, so they turned to Alan Dulles of the CIA, America's new
Starting point is 00:02:31 intelligence agency. During the war, the Office of Strategic Services, or the OSS, coordinated espionage and covert operations. Alan Dulles was the OSS station chief in Switzerland. He watched the Soviet Union closely, and he didn't trust them. They may be temporary allies, but they were communists. Dulles believed in using every tool available to fight communism. A radical plan to stop Soviet expansion landed on his desk. It focused on training small groups of citizen soldiers in sabotage, supply raids, propaganda, and guerrilla warfare. These stay-behind soldiers would resist Soviet influence even if their governments fell. The White House loved the idea.
Starting point is 00:03:16 The only question was, who would lead this secret army? Alan Dulles had the answer. Nazis. Oh, great. What could possibly go wrong? Operation Paperclip was a covert U.S. intelligence program that brought Nazi scientists, engineers, and technicians to America after World War II. Many of these scientists had been implicated in war crimes and human rights abuses, but the U.S. looked the other way.
Starting point is 00:03:52 Dr. Kurt Blom was one of the Nazis' leading experts in biowarfare. He conducted horrible experiments on concentration camp inmates. After the war, Blom was arrested and would have been hanged, but America intervened and he went to work for the CIA. As a Nazi, he used chemicals on people against their will. What did he do for the CIA? He worked for the MKUltra program. Using chemicals on people against their will?
Starting point is 00:04:16 Yep. At least he was consistent. Dr. Eric Traub was a top Nazi bioweapons designer. After the war, he worked for the U.S. Army and helped launch the Germ Warfare Lab on Plum Island in New York. And what happened there was bad. How is a Plum Island link down in a place with all this stuff? Arthur Rudolph, Walter Dornberger, and Wernher von Braun developed the V-2 rocket that killed thousands of people in London.
Starting point is 00:04:46 V2 rockets were built using forced labor from concentration camps. They later worked for NASA and built the rockets that went to the moon. Whoa, whoa, whoa, let me fix that for you. They later worked for NASA and built rockets that never went to the moon. Fake moon landing link down here too, by the way. About 1,600 Nazi scientists were recruited by the United States. A lot of them were connected to war crimes and unethical experiments, but their backgrounds were sanitized to avoid public backlash.
Starting point is 00:05:17 Yes, Nazis were evil, but to the Americans, they were a necessary evil used to prevent Soviet expansion. General Reinhard Gellin was Hitler's intelligence chief for the Eastern Front. He had a reputation for abusing Soviet POWs to extract information. After the war, the Soviets wanted him charged with war crimes. Gellin offered the United States all of his Soviet intelligence files, and in exchange, he wanted protection and a role in future operations. The U.S. agreed.
Starting point is 00:05:46 Under Operation Paperclip, Gellin became an American asset. All war crimes were forgiven. Gellin worked for the CIA to stop Soviet aggression. The CIA was a civilian organization. It wasn't armed or militarized. It only gathered intelligence. Gellin needed something with more teeth. He built a new organization focused on the Soviet Union.
Starting point is 00:06:10 It was more than just for intelligence gathering. They would be a paramilitary organization trained in guerrilla warfare and sabotage. Gellin's first recruits were Hitler youth and former Nazi soldiers. He called them werewolves. They were ordinary citizens by day and communist killers by night. Alan Dulles loved it. Gellan's werewolves
Starting point is 00:06:32 would be the secret army the CIA didn't have. Resources poured in from the US and the UK and Gellan set up a network of secret supply caches all over Germany. The new German government didn't know these secret stay-behind armies existed until a former Nazi officer exposed the operation. The Americans were caught funding a secret Nazi army
Starting point is 00:06:57 led by the brutal General Reinhard Gellin. This was horrifying news. The new German government ordered a full investigation. But that never happened. The CIA had the investigation closed and covered up. It didn't matter that the operation was illegal. The werewolves were necessary. The Soviet Union was strong and getting stronger.
Starting point is 00:07:19 Then a new threat emerged. In 1947, communists were winning local elections all over Italy. National elections were coming up. Italy was becoming the first communist country in Western Europe. This was unacceptable. It would undermine America's position in Europe and increase Soviet influence. The CIA wanted Gehlen's guerrilla warfare plan expanded and brought to Italy. They would recruit hundreds of paramilitary soldiers, starting in Rome. This new army would be called Operation Gladio, named for the gladius, the sword used by Roman soldiers.
Starting point is 00:07:58 Recruits would be trained by US and British special forces and given all the tools and tactics needed to fight communism in Italy. The CIA just needed one last thing to get Gladio running. A lot of cocaine. The CIA would use Operation Gladio to create fear and instability in Italy. They would spread propaganda, infiltrate political events, bribe police, politicians, and disrupt demonstrations. They had to convince citizens
Starting point is 00:08:31 that the Italian Communist Party was a dangerous threat. A secret agreement was made with Italian military intelligence. If Gladio needed to escalate, they would commit acts of violence and pin the blame on Italian communists. The 1948 national election was approaching. Gladio had to act fast. This operation needed
Starting point is 00:08:51 planning and a lot of money. Small problem. Congress controlled the money and wasn't aware of Operation Gladio. Asking for funding would reveal its existence defeating its purpose. The money had to come from somewhere else, and it had to be kept secret. CIA officer Colonel Paul Hellwell had a solution. He worked with the Chinese National Army fighting Mao Zedong's communists. Chiang Hai-shek funded the Chinese National Army by selling opium. Hellwell smuggled opium into China using Civil Air Transport, an airline owned by Chinese nationalists.
Starting point is 00:09:27 That airline was sold to the Airedale Corporation, a quiet little American company running out of a fake address in Delaware. Oh, so the CIA bought the planes? They did. The planes joined the CIA's secret fleet, the infamous Air America, that ran drugs to war zones for decades. Alan Dulles loved the idea of funding Gladio with untraceable drug money. But Gladio needed a lot of money. They'd have to flood American cities with drugs. Getting the product wasn't the problem. The CIA had all the cocaine and heroin it needed. The problem was distribution. They'd need a small army of drug dealers to cover
Starting point is 00:10:02 the entire country. Luckily, a network was already in place. It was organized, had logistics, had security, and they already had plenty of customers. The CIA found its perfect partner in crime. They'd use the mafia. You sailed beyond the horizon in search of an island scrubbed from every map. You battled krakens and navigated through storms. Your spade struck the lid of a long-lost treasure chest. While you cooked a lasagna.
Starting point is 00:10:45 There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover best-selling adventure stories on Audible. You searched for your informant who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth, while curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. The relationship between the Mafia and the CIA began a long time ago.
Starting point is 00:11:29 During World War II, German submarines were threatening the American coastline. The military couldn't monitor every dock and waterfront, so it got help from the one organization that could. The Mafia. U.S. intelligence cut a deal with mob boss Charles Lucky Luciano, who was in prison. In exchange for his cooperation, Lucky received a reduced sentence and other perks. What? He broke Omerta. He did.
Starting point is 00:11:55 Omerta is the mafia code of silence. You don't talk to authorities. Snitches get stitches. I know what it means. Oh, hey, why are you so upset? I used to run with a crew in Jersey. I don't like a rat. You were an organized crime. Yeah, we prefer the term family business, thank you very much. But yeah, I was with the Pesce family.
Starting point is 00:12:22 Wait, wait, wait. It's a story for another time. Oh, maybe a next sponsor ad, perhaps. Good idea. So when the CIA needed to move heroin, they knew who to call. Lucky Luciano and his mafia syndicate. Definitely. At the time, the mafia avoided drugs.
Starting point is 00:12:37 Well, they used heroin to keep prostitutes in line. But they didn't sell drugs. It was considered dishonorable. But when the CIA came calling, Lucky Luciano made an exception. The money was just too big. They made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Right. Besides, the mafia didn't want communists in power either. Communists are bad for family business.
Starting point is 00:12:57 They are. Organized crime would become a target in a communist state. The mafia and the CIA liked things the way they were so business fronts were set up in sicily and italy heroin was smuggled into the us hidden in everyday items like sardine cans wheels of cheese and barrels of olive oil jimmy hoffa and the teamsters moved the drugs around the country the operation instantly generated a ton of cash a lot of people chasing that dragon. Yep. Heroin was good business. Operation Gladio now had its funding. But there's still a problem.
Starting point is 00:13:31 Cash couldn't be paid directly to the CIA or the mafia. It had to be laundered through a legitimate financial institution. But walking into a bank with millions in cash sets off a red flag or two. They needed a bank that could handle cash without scrutiny from U.S. Treasury agents, Italian bank examiners, or the international monitors. Only one bank on the planet could do this, the Vatican.
Starting point is 00:14:04 The Institute for Works of Religion, or Vatican Bank, was founded in 1942 to safeguard property for religious work or for charity. It only accepts deposits from top church officials. Five cardinals oversee transactions and report to the Pope. And that's all we know. It's the most secret bank in the world. Exactly what the CIA needed. Yeah, you know what else the CIA needed that bank for?
Starting point is 00:14:28 I'd rather just keep going. Two words. Alien bodies. The Vatican Bank is hiding alien bodies. Yep, they grab them, bag them, tag them, and store them in the basement archives. You know, there is something suspicious about the Vatican's secret archives. Now you're starting to see. Hmm. Come, swim with me, human. Sw swim with me and open thine eyes, that thou mayest behold the
Starting point is 00:14:49 world in its true form. The Vatican Bank isn't subject to international law. It doesn't report to any agency or government, only to the Pope. It was perfect for laundering drug money. And of course, the Church would get a cut. Yeah, the family business, everybody wants their peak. The Vatican was familiar with black money from the United States. The church helped the OSS create rat lines to move the important Nazis out of Europe.
Starting point is 00:15:16 Plus, the church was anti-communist. Communism threatened the power of the United States, threatened the power of the mafia, and threaten the power of the church. So this unlikely partnership was formed, and the CIA started sending millions of dollars in cash to the Vatican. Operation Gladio launched in 1948, just in time for Italy's national election. The CIA, with help from the church, used psychological warfare to create fear of a communist takeover. Communism would bring violence, economic collapse, and the loss of religious freedoms. It worked. The Communist Party was defeated. The CIA was thrilled.
Starting point is 00:15:54 They were able to change the outcome of a sovereign country's democratic election. And they didn't have to use the secret Gladio army. But what good is an army if you don't use it? So the CIA sent word to the Gladio soldiers. But what good is an army if you don't use it? So the CIA sent word to the Gladio soldiers, prepare for war. It would take a few years to organize, but Gladio was finally ready to enter its second phase, terrorism. Italian politics stabilized briefly, but the Cold War intensified, and Italy was on the front line. The Italian Communist Party, though defeated, remained a force. Violence was coming.
Starting point is 00:16:36 On December 12, 1969, a bomb in Milan's National Agrarian Bank killed 17 and injured 88. Anarchists were blamed. In 1972, the Red Brigades, a communist group, rigged a car bomb in Petano. It killed three police officers. Italy had entered the years of lead. Far left and far right groups committed acts of violence. Bombings, assassinations, and kidnappings plagued the entire country. Something had to be done.
Starting point is 00:17:11 Prime Minister Giulia Andriotti proposed a new, more stable government, but it was up to Parliament to decide. So a vote was set for March 16th, 1978. Meanwhile, Aldo Moro, a five-term prime minister, supported the historic compromise. This plan would give the Italian Communist Party a larger role in the government. Now, Moro wasn't a communist, but the Communist Party had a lot of public support. He feared excluding the party would lead to more violence.
Starting point is 00:17:45 So Moro would present his historic compromise plan to Parliament just before the vote. The CIA wouldn't like that. Well, it didn't matter. Moro never made it to Parliament. The Red Brigades kidnapped him that morning and murdered him weeks later. Moro's death killed the historic compromise. Andriotti's new government proceeded
Starting point is 00:18:01 without the Communist Party. I don't believe in coincidences. Well, neither did journalist Mino Piccarelli. He published an article with a really provocative theory about what really happened to Aulo Moro. Piccarelli had discovered Prime Minister Andriotti's connections to the Sicilian mafia, and he openly wondered if Andriotti ordered
Starting point is 00:18:21 or was complicit in Moro's death. Piccarelli thought Italian intelligence might have aided the Red Brigades. He implied Operation Gladio members and foreign intelligence agencies like the CIA could be involved. Now, Peccarelli didn't have hard evidence, but he believed there was a conspiracy between Andriotti, the mafia, and CIA. He knew if he kept digging, he'd find proof. Oh boy, this is the kind of thing that'll get you whacked. What happened?
Starting point is 00:18:48 Peccarelli was found dead in his car on March 20th, 1979, shot four times. And there it is. Through the 1970s and 80s, the years of lead continued in Italy. More bombings and assassinations. The bodies were piling up. In 1984, Judge Felice Cassone, a young, ambitious magistrate, investigated these attacks and saw a disturbing pattern. Military explosives like C4 were often used.
Starting point is 00:19:24 Communist groups were usually blamed, but few arrests were made. His breakthrough came when Vincenzo Vinciguerra confessed to the Pediato bombing. He said his group was armed and trained by Italian military intelligence. That's where they got the C4. Their orders were to cause disruption and violence and frame communists. This was state-sponsored terrorism. Then things got worse. Cassone got a call from the local police. They had confiscated a briefcase from a local politician.
Starting point is 00:19:56 It contained documents describing a plan to take over the Italian government. Cassone couldn't believe it. The officer said, there is more. The suitcase had a false bottom with more hidden documents. Cassone asked what they found. The officer sounded nervous and said, there is more. The suitcase had a false bottom with more hidden documents. Cassone asked what they found. The officer sounded nervous and said, sir, we can't tell you over the phone. Cassone went to the police station to read the documents and was speechless. The documents confirmed hundreds of innocent people were killed in bombings
Starting point is 00:20:21 by groups working for Italian military intelligence. Cassone followed the lead. He gained access to Italy's military intelligence archives. That's when he learned these attacks were connected to Operation Gladio, launched by the CIA. Cassone now had evidence that a secret unit in military intelligence was conducting guerrilla operations against its own people. Even more shocking, it wasn't just Italy. Operation Gladio was conceived in Germany by former Nazis, expanded in Italy, and then spread across NATO.
Starting point is 00:20:52 Cassone uncovered attacks all over Europe. Germany, France, a few in Belgium. All were false flag operations where civilians were killed intentionally and communists were blamed. Cassone then realized Gladio was far bigger than he thought. He felt his life was in danger. From July until October of 1990, I was the only one who knew about Operation Gladio, who was not already part of the conspiracy. Prime Minister Andriotti initially denied knowing anything about Gladio. But in 1990, under political pressure, he confirmed Operation Gladio was real
Starting point is 00:21:27 and had operations throughout Europe. Now, most countries denied involvement at first, but there was too much evidence. Finally, NATO said that these stay-behind armies were real, but only for defense. The US and UK continued to maintain a no-comment policy on Gladio. The truth coming out put Prime Minister Andriotti under tremendous scrutiny.
Starting point is 00:21:47 Eventually, he was arrested and charged with being complicit in the murders of Peccarelli and Moro. After multiple trials and appeals, he was acquitted for lack of evidence and cleared of all charges. He had friends in high places, eh? He did. He was important to the cause. Andriotti oversaw Operation Gladio in Italy. About 30 acts of violence were directly linked to Gladio, with 150 more suspected. Around 600 innocent people died from Gladio bombs, with twice as many injured. If all suspected attacks are proven to be Gladio-related, the death toll is in the thousands.
Starting point is 00:22:24 No one has answered for these crimes. Over the years, as more innocent bodies piled up, the CIA said it needed more money and power. Communism was taking root all over the world, so they got more money and power. The agency became militarized. It now had its own secret army that it could deploy anywhere there was a Soviet threat.
Starting point is 00:22:43 Small problem. It was all a lie. From the 1950s through the 1980s, the USSR was an existential threat to America. The CIA was constantly warning us of Soviet strength, fueling massive military spending. But was the threat real? In the 1960s, Americans were terrified of the Soviets. Let us face, without panic, the reality of our times. The fact that atom bombs may someday be dropped on our cities. Sputnik launched. Yuri Gagarin went to space.
Starting point is 00:23:24 Americans panicked. The Soviets seemed unstoppable. NASA had to be created. More military spending was needed. But was it? The CIA said yes. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 almost started a nuclear war. It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States,
Starting point is 00:23:55 requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union. Clearly, war with the Soviet Union was coming. More military spending was needed. But was it? The CIA said yes. I grew up in the 1980s when military budgets exploded. Generation Xers like me believed that war was going to break out at any second.
Starting point is 00:24:15 You can do it in the army. We were in an arms race that we couldn't afford to lose. It was a race for survival. But was it? The CIA's job is to gather intelligence so the U.S. government can make informed decisions. Somehow these decisions always led to more military funding and more power for intelligence agencies. But the CIA knows best. Or does it?
Starting point is 00:25:06 You searched for your informant. Or does it? closer to the truth, while curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible. While the Soviets puffed out their chest in Cuba, their people back home were starving. From 1953 to 1964, they couldn't produce enough food to feed their population. The CIA didn't know? In the 60s, Americans were told more military spending was the only way to stop Soviet world domination.
Starting point is 00:25:45 In reality, 1964 started 20 years of the Soviet era of stagnation, not domination. Their economy was falling apart. The CIA didn't know? Yes, in the 1960s, the Soviets poured resources into their space program and their military. But at the expense of everything else. The state-run system was failing. Productivity was low. Their technology was outdated.
Starting point is 00:26:05 There's no incentives for innovation. Their scientists and engineers were fleeing. It was called a brain drain. The CIA didn't know? In 1985, Soviet President Gorbachev tried to revitalize the Soviet system. Part of his plan was glasnost, which means openness. He allowed Soviet citizens more freedom to express themselves. What the people expressed was they were miserable. We finally learned the truth. Defending against Soviet aggression wasn't a strategy. It was a sales pitch. Throughout the entire Cold War, American military contractors got wealthy and intelligence agencies grew powerful,
Starting point is 00:26:45 protecting us from a country that was going bankrupt and whose citizens were sick and starving. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, the Soviet Union had already been in ruins for years. The whole world saw it. Somehow, the CIA didn't know. Gladio was funded right up until it was exposed in 1990. Gladio still had armies ready to repel the expansion of the Soviet Union.
Starting point is 00:27:08 But by then, there was no Soviet Union. The Baltic states left. Ukraine, Belarus, the Central Asian republics, they were on their way out. The CIA didn't know? In 1991, the USSR was officially dissolved. How did the U.S. respond to its greatest enemy being defeated? It increased its military spending by 12%. Why?
Starting point is 00:27:30 The Cold War was over. The Soviets lost. But I guess the CIA didn't know. Operation Gladio was real, but is still controversial and classified. The version I've told today isn't official because nobody knows the whole truth. The CIA does. Well, they do, but they won't tell us. The CIA can't confirm or deny its participation in any covert operations.
Starting point is 00:27:59 Bulls**t. Now, the CIA claims it was never involved in drug trafficking. They admit Air America existed for intelligence gathering and transporting supplies. Yeah, supplies are smack. Smack? Yeah, you know, skag, horse, brown sugar, china white. Heroin. What'd I say?
Starting point is 00:28:20 The CIA said it never happened. In 1996, journalist Gary Webb linked the CIA to Nicaraguan Contras trafficking cocaine into the U.S. to fund rebels. That sounds familiar. Doesn't it? Did the CIA put drugs into black community? We don't have any evidence so far that they did it directly. And what we have evidence of is that men working for a CIA-run army did do that. I will get to the bottom of it, and I will let you know the results of what I found.
Starting point is 00:28:51 An official 1998 report investigated Webb's claims and finally put the issue to bed. The reports acknowledged that the CIA had worked with individuals known to be involved in drug trafficking, but did not find conclusive evidence that the CIA itself had facilitated or condoned these activities. Who conducted that investigation? The CIA did. They investigated themselves? Yep. Do you know, as well as everyone else, that the CIA has been dealing drugs throughout the world and bringing drugs into this country since Vietnam's war.
Starting point is 00:29:29 You brought them in here in body bags. You were in the Golden Triangle. So you're going to come in this community and insult us and tell us that you're going to investigate yourself? You've got to be crazy. Whistleblowers, including federal agents, said they witnessed CIA involvement in moving drugs. The head of the DDA at the time, Robert Bonner, said that a ton of pure cocaine worth hundreds of millions of dollars
Starting point is 00:29:54 had been smuggled into the United States. And he blamed the CIA. Now, we understand what you're saying. A ton of cocaine was smuggled into the United States of America. Well, in cooperation with the CIA? That's what, that's exactly what appears to have happened. Declassified documents show
Starting point is 00:30:13 the U.S. government, including CIA, associated with known drug traffickers. They overlook these activities to... Is that communism? Yep. If you ask the question, did the CIA sell drugs in the black neighborhoods of Los Angeles
Starting point is 00:30:32 to finance the Contra War, the answer will be a categorical no. Now, having said that, and what is true is the policymakers absolutely closed their eyes to the criminal behavior of our allies and supporters in that war. The policymakers ignored their drug dealing, their stealing, and their human rights violations. The CIA didn't admit to working with organized crime,
Starting point is 00:31:08 but investigations and declassified documents show they did. The Vatican and CIA haven't confirmed any financial arrangement, but there's a lot of indirect evidence of Vatican support for anti-communist activities, but no hard proof. That's why they used that bank. Right. So what's the truth? We don't know. All I can do is give you my opinion. I know we need a strong military
Starting point is 00:31:30 and intelligence agencies. And this episode isn't about communism or the military. This episode is about the lies we've been told for years by the people who swore to protect us. And do I believe that the Soviet threat was exaggerated in order to line the pockets
Starting point is 00:31:43 of military contractors and expand the power of the CIA? Come on. Of course. We were told this would happen. President Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex. He said if we let the defense companies become too powerful, they'll undermine democracy and influence policy to serve their own financial interests. Ike nailed it. That's what happened. CIA operations like overthrowing governments concerned Eisenhower. He knew intelligence agencies were necessary,
Starting point is 00:32:13 but stressed the need for transparency and oversight. Otherwise, the agencies would become a law unto themselves. Ike nailed it again. That's what happened. JFK often asked Eisenhower for advice. Ike told him, don't let the intelligence agencies have too much power. At first, JFK trusted them. But then in 1961, he signed off on the CIA's plan to overthrow Cuba's government.
Starting point is 00:32:37 The Bay of Pigs invasion was a disaster. The CIA botched it. It embarrassed America and solidified the relationship between Cuba and the Soviet Union. JFK started to believe that maybe the CIA was doing more harm than good and needed to be reformed or even dismantled and rebuilt. Their growing power was undermining democracy, just as Eisenhower warned. During the 1960s, there was another serious threat to democracy, organized crime. The mob ran the labor unions and important businesses.
Starting point is 00:33:10 They could buy judges, influence politicians. They were powerful enough to change the outcome of elections. Some say the mafia helped JFK get elected, which would be ironic because JFK's victory brought the mafia a big problem, his brother Robert. As Attorney General, RFK prioritized fighting organized crime. because JFK's victory brought the mafia a big problem, his brother Robert. As Attorney General, RFK prioritized fighting organized crime. I think we're playing the role of organized crime. I think it's a very serious situation that's facing the country at the frozen time. John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.
Starting point is 00:33:45 Robert F. Kennedy, about to run for president, was assassinated five years later in 1968. As JFK's attorney general and confidant, RFK would have continued his brother's policies. He also pledged to reopen the investigation into JFK's murder if he was elected. Now, why reopen an investigation? I thought this was all solved. A president on a crusade against the CIA, killed. A potential president on a crusade against the CIA, killed. A potential president on a crusade against the mafia, killed. Now, we know the official stories, JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald, a lone gunman, case closed. RFK, Sirhan Sirhan, lone gunman, case closed. But there are other theories, with real evidence, that place the blame not on lone gunmen, but on two powerful organizations.
Starting point is 00:34:24 Two organizations with the motive, opportunity, and means. The CIA and the Mafia. Now, whether the CIA and the Mafia were involved in the assassinations, I'm not sure. But I am sure of one thing. They've both mastered organized crime. Thank you so much for hanging out today. To be continued... share. That stuff really makes him happy. Like most topics we cover on this channel, today's is recommended by you. So if there's a story you'd like to see or learn more about, go to the Y-Files.com slash tips. Remember, the Y-Files is also a podcast. Twice a week, I post deep dives into the stories we cover here on the channel, and I also post episodes that wouldn't be allowed on the channel. You know what? This one probably wouldn't be allowed on the
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Starting point is 00:37:01 fish toy dolls. Those are the plugs and that's going to do it. Until next time, be safe, be kind, and know that you are appreciated. Oh, oh, oh, yeah I played Polybius in Area 51 A secret code inside the Bible said I was I love my UFOs and paranormal fun As well as music, so I'm singing like I should But then another conspiracy theory becomes the truth
Starting point is 00:37:48 My friends, and it never ends No, it never ends I feel the crab cat and I got stuck inside Mel's home With MKUltra being only two away Did Stanley Kubrick fake the moon landing alone On a film set or were the shadow people there The Roswell aliens Just fought the smiling man I'm told
Starting point is 00:38:27 And his name was cold And I can't believe I'm dancing with the fish Heck, I'll fish on Thursday night Wednesday, J2 And the white balls of the breeze All through the night All I ever wanted Was to just hear the truth
Starting point is 00:38:48 So the world falls on my feet All through the night The Mothman sightings and the solar storm still come To a god, the secret city underground Mysterious number stations, planets are both two Project Stargate and what the Dark Watchers found. We've been a simulation, don't you worry though.
Starting point is 00:39:32 The Black Knight said a lot, he told me so. I can't believe I'm dancing with the fish, heck of a fish on Thursday nights when they chase you, and the weapons have been beat all through the night All I ever wanted was to just hear the truth
Starting point is 00:39:53 So the wild birds have been beat all through the night Headful fish on Thursday nights when they chase you And the wild birds have to beat all through the night All I ever wanted was to just hear the truth So the wild boars have to beat all through the night Gertie loves to dance, Gertie loves to dance, Gertie loves to dance, Gertie loves to dance, Gertie loves to dance. Gertie loves to dance on the dance floor, because she is a camel. Camels love to dance when the feeling is right I'm wasting time Getting lucky Getting lucky

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