27-85 YED 01:07 PH THE TRure | magazine has a syine: “No ‘BU, no story And f was thax spirit of aeeresive joamalicm that Grow me t0 bocome 3 senior editor at Forbes in 1990 afer reuming froma yoar ‘wotkiog is New Zealand. Pror ro dat I'd ui io almost 20 yeas writing for ewspa- pers, and then Busines Week magazine For te mon part. Forbes lives up 10 ‘at motio, under the sometimes brilliant ‘and ever-curmudgeonly direction of Bdicor James Michaels, now in his 705. Burrnake po mistake about it Even the putes: of ‘the major madia shy avy from some sto- ios that are just toe explosive. too cose 12 home or put too many advenising dears srk: “Fostergate” published vo moots ago in Media Bypass. was one of those stones, Indeed. it is proving 10 be the “iu rll” of investigative joumalism: You touch it you die Toe essence of the story is obviously explosive: + Vincent W, Fost, former White House Deputy Counsel was under investi- ‘Fstoe for espionage a: the ume of is sup- posed “suicide” on July 20, 1993, + Foster had been under invesuzation for selling sensiuve code material © the State of Israel Included in the booty I've pow Keamed. rosy fave been even the top-level codes by which the president soentities himself to ths Penagon when ferdenng mitary 8cuon. including the use fof nucles. weapons. Srecifiealy. Foster is suspected of selling the operating code Of a sophisie Eaied new comouter developed bv Dallas. 8 EE EOI eee Garena a Ye ‘Systems. just before be died. One month later, the CLA learned it was in the hands Of the Isratlis, according to to separate intelligence sources. + Foster had a Swiss bank account ‘Actually, be had several Foster alto was making curious, periodie one-day forays to Geneva, Just before he died. his coded ‘nccount for the Israeli moncy had $2.73 sallion in it. + Foser was probably not the only Dbencliciary of those funds. Also under suspicion for expiontge «2s the presi- ‘dent's wife, Hilary Rodsam Clinton. wbo say have been providing Foster with the sensitive binders from the super-secret ‘National Security Ageacy tha: Foner’s ‘executive assistant testified be had. + Foster, for many years, bad been a behind-tbe-scenes handler on behalf of Astansas billionaire Jackson Stephens fora Linde Rock bank dim-processing company called Systematics (now Alltel Information Services). Syematics was ‘not only “laundering” covert money for the intelligence commaniry. but was ‘also decply involved ima massive bank spying effort by oar goverament dubbed. That bank-surveil- lance program, considered by former CLA ‘Director William Casey tobe tbe crowning achievement of his long caréer, has given us mountains of daz on World money flows, + Foster was not the ooly high-level USS. official wath w Swass account Several ‘hundred other accounts have beep identi- fied by an NSA-CIA computer “swat” (cam called the Fifth Column, uemed with eae: Shall Know the fi ruth : P06 Sees and the Truth Shall Get You Fired +n an amazing case of vigilante jus ‘ice. a couple of these veteran compute; spies. apparently equipped with their ow, Cray, tooling around the country some ‘where in the tack of 2 semi-tailer muck, bre iy, Haves ha wes a civeave aig ancrel Antern eal us Cancaiint maiezrmarked for ese by ta: CIA wnen Wa: agency, af well, cisans up its own cemupiion probiems, The take so far ‘epwards of $2 bulion including. 0° course Fosuer’s Swiss money. Ingeed. ic was the loss of that money Upped Foster tix someone eas on to tim. Dig anyone in une goverment authorize this? No, But if these “vicums ‘want the moncy back: all hey beve todo is step forward — and reveal where the money | = came from. and why they haveo't paid taxes on it. Needless t0 say. notakers,Norona. {2s How do I know a this? Months of research |" Xo successfully corrobo- rate — from raukiple independest and creéi-| ble imeligence sources, | ‘end even some tard do. vumenradon — the amaz- ing revelations of 3 foulmovihed Kearucky salvage dealer. “quaint” rot openior and : = — lesceridarits of Simes ai tamed Caress. yes | 10nd GredencsstO thes Buc don't ler wat | £ -Gained acce: metoricsl quesuens. provide any cocumerss o= proof Bun theve were Ite things he'd say convinced me he has an uncanny side major banks, and even inside Forbes. Hs coulé no: be ignored. Bn by bis he has proven to be eesily accurate in hs zeveletons, Hiayes is an infuriscing chancter to eal with. and full of contradictions. He can cuss @ blue steak and rambles on with bawdy ties for hours. but prays out loud sppear to have gone sno secret en aecouns at Mellon for who knows i vse. The money allegedly is tied to the holdings of two brothers, Jemes and OF Ml, Stay, William R. Meddecs (sometimes spelied Meadors o: Meadows) who died sbec: 50 yeers ago with no direct heirs and no & wills. They ate sd to have owned one: 53 eighth of the old Gulf O, and muck. mach more. Mellon, which effectively conuolled Gulf and many oer large companies, nat SF ually vehemently denies =f any such accounts exist and has dismissed wase clans for years — quite "] successfully. Recency 4 tough. a surong case for ic existence of this mysterious moki-bitior- dollar “Meddess" cr “Meio” er “Meadows” oil esate has emerzed i the form of 2 set of five 5} wucrty damning evi- ‘dence — if they ae real. Mellon insists they are fool yoo. The white- hired, chtio-smolang good of" boy is no: your average entrepresear, Undl he redred tase January. he was one (of the CIA's most dan ‘Fevous. unprecicable — and mos: effective — ntact operaives ‘Together vith partner who shares code name of Remning Fox Hayes stated ‘out fying guns to Fidel Caszo before the overthrow of Bansis in the 1950s then for siz yeas by led in Brazil, Legend has 1c he may have serves with Dwvision D. an elie CLA sqoud charged with beeaking into computer foeuives, incivding those of foreign intelligence agencies, eicner physically or digially, Thai's dangerous work. and Hayes is 0 stranger to violence. He abso hates reporter. which is why ‘mos: who ty 4 tlk (© hum get thon shrift ane come v4 ay convinced he's nacung but 2 blowtare Lueuls. F eaugnt him on 4 good day ang we have gouen alvaig wel Tratrnne ram irvine 10, before every teal. While on the phone ‘0 Some US. senator or congressman, of be'l be standing i his woderwear cooking hickee and dumplings. He says be’s worth a couple of mullion dollass. is beensed to pructice law in The Hague, and das a Revion model. {helieve bum Especially now, ‘Why believe Chuck Hayes? Besies all the corboration 1 — and: Meda Bypass — have gous about his identity 30d his CLA reputation. T witnessed an ‘ercat on Aug. 28 that finally put my 2g9Ing doubus to vest Ithappened in a crammed linle probate Sap and thes the petidenty of tt ated Stas, Lisa Foour’s higepowec: Wasingion storey, JumesHomasen scamanly dees tat any such pores tor mes Mellon Bank bes eter to comment sbout the aff f cbecui So fa 0 Bocancetaior 32 Bur given shat I saw in Judge Ke courroom, comebudy with sufficrent 20 computing power could clesrls 4 positon to know exactiy that kere / aurestonsfer informavien fs Dares Bacar nae the manta Wedentia! nosnatio: by stockholder and editor S. “Steve Forbes, Jr. So when T sent Jeters to Mellon's pubie-relenoes deo ment sskiog for commen! on the Meéders checks and ther the Lis Foster wire cans fer, Forbes got some very testy phone cls from Pitsburgh. acco my bosses. ‘That was smal pomtoes, however. ‘compared to the furo: this Fostergate ory ‘was causing inside the mxgazine. For one thing. Istambted onto the fact {that another senior editor x Forbes. Dana ‘Wechsler Lindea, has for many years been a director of Boston Systematics, a curious computer compeny said © be loosely aff- fated wits the Systematics in Arkansas and run by her father, former CLA operative Horry Wechsler. She claims 10 have known nothing of eny bask-spving activites az Boston Systematics. The main operations of Boston Systemadcs sxe cared on by ‘two Israeli subsidiazies run by ber cousins. Josy and Oded Leventer ‘According 10 sources connened 10 Inslew Jnc.. whose enbanced PROMIS racking software bas allegedly boce heavily used in the dank-surveDlance effort, Boston Systematics and Hary Wecbsler had close ties to Isaeliintll- gence and to the latc Britsh publisher Robert Maxwell Dana Wechsle: Linden it mamed to 2 top computer officer at Goldman, Sachs & Co. tae same broser- age house that has agreed to pay more thax 5250 million to sete claus that ic helped ‘Maxwell loot half a bilhon dollars from his company’s pension accounts, ‘What bappened when this as dis- closed co the management a Forbes? Nothing. Nor was there appareatiy any acuon (aken when I disclosed to my Bost cs. including Steve Forbes, in April tbat I had come across suspicions tat one of tte high-level government figures with one of those Sms bank aecovats was none other ar Casper Weinbergcr. former secretary of defense ‘After leswing governmen:. Weinberg recame publisher of Forbes. and 1s close to Suve Forbes as chairmas of Forbes Inc. publisher emenus sod rezular columaisi tor te magazine After Forbes consic — 1 sas preaiely wold by £1 magazine that “Cap 3 coup called “Al.CurrencEven’s. Clinton Whiewate” by 2 former Wharion business school professor oné computer in Nir. Nussbaum’s safe? Trach e do with te sury big shelved Officially, Forbes Edinor Sim Michaz's bas said he alone decided no to ra Fostergate because of concerns about the credibility of some of my source: ‘Most notably. one Charles Heyes, Ts doubtful woo, carly on, Bur as Hayes ‘claims gained moce and more corrobers- ‘Gon, that excuse was no longer valid. Sail. Forbes unexplainably would not touch ‘what is arguably one of the most impor: stories of the past 20 years. Sometuns was amiss. (On Werlnesday. Aug. 16.1 gave to Jim Michaels (who himself is said wo bee worked with the pr-CIA Office of ‘Swrategic Services and sul bas tes ce the NSA) an updated memo cing incceasing corroborates for Fostergatc. including an vpdate on the Weinbers ‘Swiss account story. Net only hive five separate sources now reported hearing ¢f such accounts, I bad semually. obsaine? what turmeé out to be an encrypted account number at Union Bank of ‘Switzerland, Ic had come from records 2 th: car of former CIA drug. and gun-run: ner Barry Seal Page 62: Q. What documents do you believe Mr. Foster kept 1 WITNESS: There were two 1-inch ring binders that were from the National Security Agency. Course! Vincent F oon ee th ‘whiz named J, Orin Grae, who is also author of the curent standard text on iter- national financial markets. Grabbe. wbo apparently has his own inteigence soorees, i inumately familiar with US. tank-spying cffors: His on former compater software fim was approached by the CIA to be used a5 2 front for seeking spies into major banks and bro- Kerage-bouse computer rooms. Grabbe is rightly suspicious of the cacroaching. Surveillance Sete ‘The ie behind posting that sccount rurcber oo the Jotermet. apparent. was to spook the owner af that Swiss account into moving the money in 2 way that would kad to yet another stash of ici funds, When that dida't happes. someone appaready went abesd and raided that ‘ccount for $2.3 million. The monty was pulled back to thet Treasury escrow account aed someone had left note. io ‘Weinberee-’s Bar Harbor. Maine. drop box stating simply the decrypied account hhumber and a bref message: “You ave been had That's the same message # gunning Hayes claims showed up on Mellon MUR, cea WOW §GGE AIO ingy vembrvate? Teor the svomses Judge Kelly's deliverizcg my Wenberger memo Aug. 16, Jim Micheeis “You've obviously your boonet about this story” Michaels said. “Bux 've got 2 maganne to He dide't went me working on even though since Apel | hee bets pursving it ox my own time while Gcliverios my usual quote of steriss 10. Forbes. He gave me an either/or choice: Tue Truru é 3 sorts toa trips Foster.made:to Swi 1991) Tesign aad tske two weeks severance pay only pt for each year worked. of unpaid leave Tad boer tre. ‘Though Forbes later issued 2 press who 2lso is statement saying Ihad resignec ofmy own the increasi: “free will” it was who« 2 lawyer would cali constructive terminarion Why? I believe it was for gecting too close to the skelatons in Cap Weinberger's closet — an allegation that Forbes has never deaieé, bu: merely ‘ignored { had touched the third ruil. Zap. Alas. “No gus, 20 stom" merican pu Editor's note: James Normaa isn't the eg mower = emsiecvrd te ISCO Avink from the Bits corporate censorship. Cov: Washington reponer Surah arious 25 ly tangled Fos 222008 those scaling formidable w to bring the truth before : See page 36 for * on the haressment of jouraiic: well-respected out sp of che some of whom already have giver. « and others tho refuse to be bludgeon: imo silence. haem Boe yeaa pe oer rl ieee Fin Bde eer cg SSS ee {Son cee Sacroneemnee