Paul Helliwell

Paul Lional Edward Helliwell (1915 - 24 December 1976) was an American lawyer and CIA agent "instrumental" in setting up Civil Air Transport[1] and according to the Wall Street Journal, "deeply involved" in financing covert actions against Cuba from 1964 to 1975.[2] Helliwell was reported to have been instrumental in the purchase of the site for Disney World.[3]

Career

Helliwell joined the United States Army during World War II. Later he transferred to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). In 1943, with the rank of Colonel, he became head of the Secret Intelligence Branch of the OSS in Europe. William Casey eventually replaced him in 1945. Helliwell then became chief of the Far East Division of the War Department's Strategic Service unit.[4] In 1947, Helliwell joined the CIA.

According to Daniel Hopsicker (Barry and the Boys), Helliwell ran Red Sunset Enterprises in Miami. Hopsicker claims it was a CIA front company set up to recruit frogmen and explosives experts for Operation Mongoose.

Helliwell continued to work as a lawyer in Miami and served as legal counsel to a Panamanian holding company that controlled a Bahamian gambling casino connected with Meyer Lansky.

Death

Helliwell, suffering from emphysema, died of a collapsed lung at his home in Coral Gables, Florida on December 24, 1976.[3] He was survived by his wife, Marjorie, and a daughter, Anne.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Donald E. Weatherbee (2008), Historical Dictionary of United States-Southeast Asia Relations, Scarecrow Press, p155-6
  2. ↑ Peter Dale Scott (2010), American War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection, and the Road to Afghanistan, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p162
  3. 1 2 3 "Paul Helliwell rites tomorrow". The Miami News (Miami). December 27, 1976. p. 4A. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ Spector, Ronald (February 1982). "Allied Intelligence and Indochina, 1943-1945". Pacific Historical Review 51 (1): 23–50. doi:10.2307/3639819. JSTOR 3639819.

Further reading

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