THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CONSPIRACIES AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES Michael Newton For Harold Weisberg The Encyclopedia of Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories Copyright © 2006 by Michael Newton All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Newton, Michael, 1951– The encyclopedia of conspiracies and conspiracy theories / by Michael Newton. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–8160–5540–8 (hc: alk. paper) 1. Conspiracies—Encyclopedias. I. Title. 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Contents Preface iv Entries A–Z 1 Bibliography 398 Index 404 Preface Black’s Law Dictionary defines a conspiracy as “a The fact that thousands of conspiracies exist combination or confederacy between two or more and have been amply documented does not mean, of persons formed for the purpose of committing, by course, that every theoretical conspiracy is true. their joint efforts, some unlawful or criminal act.” Some are absurd, transparently ridiculous, or even That is it, in a nutshell—and the marvel of modern physically impossible. A number of the plots detailed journalism is that virtually any suggestion of an within these pages seem to be half tawdry jest active conspiracy provokes knee-jerk charges of and half distilled insanity. Unfortunately for the “paranoia,” “eccentricity,” or outright “delusional critics of “conspiratorial thinking,” some of the insanity.” silliest plans are also among the best-documented, In fact, we are surrounded by conspiracies each confessed by their authors and verified from declas- day, around the world, in every walk of life. Each sified government files. time a pair of thieves goes shoplifting, it is a conspir- Who, in real life, would plot to embarrass a acy. Wherever prostitutes and pushers meet with national leader by dusting his clothes with depilatory johns and junkies, conspiracies thrive and multiply. powder to make his hair fall out? Or by lacing his Each time a bribe is offered and accepted, anywhere favorite cigars with hallucinogenic drugs to make criminals or corrupt politicians plot illicit backroom him babble incoherently on television? Who would deals for their own benefit, wherever police ignore ever think to kill a famous skin diver by planting the commission of crime—there lies conspiracy. explosive seashells along his favorite beach? What Illegal plots are hatched within the best and worst twisted mind would surgically implant microphones of families, in seedy bars and Fortune 500 board- inside a stray cat and then release the cat on the rooms, at the Pentagon and in the nests of radicals grounds of a hostile embassy? who scheme against the government. The White House The answer to all four of those questions is the has been both a target and a hotbed of conspiracy in same: the CIA. Within living memory, our “master modern times. Some famous (or notorious) organiza- spies” devoted countless hours and untold taxpay- tions are conspiratorial by definition—the Mafia, the ers’ dollars to these and other bizarre schemes: Ku Klux Klan, and the CIA are only three examples “remote viewing” by psychic spies, mind control via out of thousands. Other institutions, though created LSD, and assembly-line production of hypnotized to deter illegal actions, have themselves become cor- “robot” assassins. By 1976, in the wake of Water- rupted over time, committing more crimes than they gate, the Vietnam War and congressional hearings on solve. Some individuals and institutions are the illegal domestic surveillance, citizens in the Land of authors and the targets of conspiracies: The late the Free had to ask themselves if there was any dif- President John F. Kennedy provides a case in point. ference between truth and illusion, between conspir- In fact, it may be said that active plotters, by virtue acy and government business as usual. of their lifestyles, are most likely to become the focus As conspiracies vary in scope and intent, so the of hostile conspiracies (a lesson some leaders of selection of topics for the work in hand has been organized crime have learned only during the final arbitrarily confined to significant conspiracies and moments of their violent lives). conspiracy theories. The author defines that term to iv Preface mean any plot (or suspected plot) that involves or tion of conspiracy, and allegations of such actions affects large numbers of people, or that, while hav- are included here. Likewise, while some hoaxes, ing a limited direct impact, still inspires widespread practical jokes, and publicity stunts stop short of interest or comment. An example of the first variety crossing the line into fraud, their impact on society would be the Iran-contra conspiracy, in which two may be profound and deleterious, thus warranting successive presidents violated federal law, obstructed inclusion here. justice, and condoned illegal sale of weapons and Entries in this encyclopedia are alphabetically narcotics to pursue an outlawed terrorist campaign arranged. They include short biographies of conspir- abroad. The latter might include a claim that John ators and victims, profiles of conspiratorial organi- Dillinger (America’s most famous outlaw of the zations and movements, brief histories of nations 1930s) escaped his final shootout with police and that have spawned or suffered from conspiracies left a hapless double to die in his place. Both plots (and which has not?), descriptions of specific con- pervert the course of justice, one threatening the very spiratorial events, and general essays on social, polit- soul of the republic, with the other being a mere ical, or religious movements of a conspiratorial sideshow, and both are offered here—if nothing else, nature. The appearance of a name or term in SMALL for sheer variety. CAPITALS denotes a subject with its own discrete entry As indicated by this volume’s title, some conspira- in the text. “Blind” entries also direct the reader to cies detailed within its pages may exist only in the- entries containing information on the subject listed ory, lacking any sort of “smoking gun” that would (e.g., Billy the Kid—See UNDEAD OUTLAWS). The bibli- permit indictment, trial, and conviction of suspected ography is limited to sources published or translated plotters—where, in fact, conspirators are even in the English language, and while extensive, it is by named. Inclusion of those theories here, as theories, no means exhaustive. Most of the works listed there does not constitute endorsement either by the contain their own bibliographies, replete with fur- author or his publishers. In every case, the allega- ther leads to this or that conspiracy theory. tions have been previously published elsewhere; Thanks are due to Dave Frasier at Indiana Univer- those sources may be found in the work’s extensive sity for his generous assistance with various points of bibliography. research. Every effort has been made to make the In a similar vein, while legal definitions of con- work in hand as timely and complete as possible, but spiracy require the plotting of a crime, society conspiracy theories evolve and mutate with the speed accepts a broader meaning that includes any covert of e-mail in this Internet age. Readers are invited to combination against the public interest, whether submit corrections and any pet conspiracy theories or not laws are broken. Thus, it may not be a crime of their own to the author in care of Facts On File. to pay off inventors and suppress their inventions— Barring a request for anonymity, any material used a superefficient carburetor, say, or a cure for AIDS— in future editions of this work will be publicly but such actions clearly fall within the wider defini- acknowledged. v A ABBAS, Abu (1948–2004) in hiding until 1996 when Israeli authorities permit- One of the world’s most notorious terrorists prior to ted him to settle in the Gaza Strip as part of the the advent of Osama bin Laden (see BIN LADEN endless Middle East “peace process.” Abbas pub- FAMILY), Abu Abbas was born in 1948 in a Syrian licly embraced nonviolence, while U.S. and Italian refugee camp for Arabs who were expelled from authorities ignored him. U.S. troops captured Abbas ISRAEL. He studied at Damascus University and was in April 2003 after they invaded Baghdad as part of recruited by the Popular Front for the Liberation of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. His death in U.S. cus- Palestine in 1968. After guerrilla training in the tody was announced in February 2004, with jailers Soviet Union, Abbas joined the newly formed Pales- blaming his demise on natural causes while the late tine Liberation Front and engaged in bitter conflict prisoner’s widow called his death an assassination. between rival Palestinian groups in LEBANON.He subsequently allied himself with Yasser Arafat and Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In AFGHANISTAN 1981, Abbas was credited with planning the hang- Darius I and Alexander the Great were the first con- glider attack on an oil refinery at Haifa, Israel.