James Abercrombie

James Smither Abercrombie, the son of a farmer, was born in Huntsville, Texas on 7th July, 1891. His family moved to the outskirts of Houston and started a dairy business.

In 1909 his cousin, Charles Abercrombie, employed him on a drilling rig for the Goose Creek Production Company. Later he worked as a field superintendent for Crown Petroleum. In 1918 he borrowed money in order to start his own company drilling for oil.

Abercrombie went into partnership with Harry Cameron. The Cameron-Davant Company, sold oil-drilling supplies and parts for rigs and wells. In 1921 Abercrombie became president of Cameron Iron Works. He also established the James S. Abercrombie Company, an in

Joseph Alsop

Joseph Alsop was born in Avon, Connecticut on 11th October, 1910. After graduating from Harvard University in 1932 he joined the New York Herald Tribune as a staff reporter. He began a political column in 1937 under the title “The Capital Parade”. It was later renamed “Matter of Fact.”

After the Second World War Alsop became an important political journalist. Alsop lived in Washington where he associated with a group of journalists, politicians and government officials that became known as the Georgetown Set.

This group included Frank Wisner, George Kennan, Dean Acheson, Richard Bissell, Desmond FitzGerald, Stewart Alsop, Tracy Barnes, Thomas Braden, Phili

Gilberto Alvarado

Gilberto Alvarado was born in Nicaragua in 1940. He joined the Frente de Liberacion Nacional (FLN) a guerrilla group inspired by the activities of Fidel Castro in Cuba. However, he was also a CIA informant.

In 1963 the FLN sent Alvarado to Mexico in order to obtain entry to Cuba where it was hoped he would be trained in sabotage.

On 25th November, 1963, Alvarado contacted the U.S. embassy in Mexico City and said he had some important information about Lee Harvey Oswald, who had recently been arrested and accused of assassinating John F. Kennedy.

Thomas C. Mann passed the information onto Winston Scott and the following morning, Scott's deputy, Alan White and another CIA

Ulius L. Amoss

Ulius Louis Amoss was born in 1895. During the First World War he worked for the International Committee of the YMCA in Greece.

After the war Amoss set up an export business, Gramtrade International Corporation, of which he was president from 1936 to 1942. In 1942, the government took over the business when Amoss was ordered to report to the army. While in the Armed Forces, Amoss served as Director of the Balkan Desk for Information, and Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Ninth Air Force.

Amoss then joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). According to a recently declassified document, while Colonel Amoss was chief of station in Cairo, Egypt, he "recruited, trained and la

Robert Anderson

Robert Bernerd Anderson was born in Burleson, Texas, on 4th June 1910. He graduated from the University of Texas Law School. He worked as a lawyer until he became a member of the Texas State House of Representatives in 1932. The following year he was appointed as Assistant Attorney General of Texas. In 1934 he became a Texas State Tax Commisioner.

Anderson purchased the KTBC Radio Station. In 1943 he sold it to the wife of Lyndon B. Johnson for $17,500. By 1951 the station was earning $3,000 a week.

A close friend of Sid Richardson and Clint Murchison, Anderson became president of the Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.

When Dwight Eisenhower won the presiden

Jacobo Arbenz

Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, the son of a Swiss immigrant, was born in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, on 14th September, 1913. His father committed suicide when Arbenz was still very young and was raised by his Guatemalan mother.

Arbenz joined the army and in 1935 graduated as sub-lieutenant. He joined the Guatemalan Military Academy in 1937 and became a teacher of science and history.

In 1939 Arbenz met and fell in love with Maria Cristina Vilanova. They were married soon afterwards. Maria was a socialist and soon converted her husband to this political philosophy. During this period Maria developed a strong friendship with the Chilean Communist leader Virginia Bravo and the Sa

Richard L. Armitage

Richard L. Armitage was born on 26th April, 1945. Armitage graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1967. He joined the United States Navy and served on a destroyer stationed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. This eventually resulted in him becoming an advisor to the Vietnamese naval forces.

In 1973 joined the office of the U.S. Defense Attaché in Saigon. Here he became involved with Ted Shackley, the CIA chief in South Vietnam. According to Joel Bainerman (The Crimes of a President) Shackley and his Secret Team (Thomas G. Clines, Carl E. Jenkins, David Morales, Raphael Quintero, Felix Rodriguez and Edwin Wilson) became involved in the drug trade while serving in L