William Colby
Colby directed the CIA’s Phoenix program in South Vietnam from 1968 to 1971, and Captain John DeCamp had been one of Colby’s Phoenix subordinates. Colby developed a paternal affection for the brash, young Nebraskan, and the two remained very close until the latter’s death. DeCamp introduced Colby to Senator Schmit, and Schmit wanted to hire Colby as the Franklin Committee’s initial investigator, but his fellow senators on the committee shot down the appointment. Because of rumors concerning King’s affiliation with the CIA and Franklin monies being diverted to the Nicaraguan Contras, they feared Colby might be part on an ongoing cover-up of King’s activities.
After Caradori’s plane crash, however, the Franklin Committee embraced Colby: He was hired by the Franklin Committee to investigate Gary Caradori’s death, but he couldn’t provide a definitive explanation for the plane crash, writing to Senator Schmit, “I only regret that we were not able to penetrate more effectively the clouds of confusion and contradiction that have surrounded this whole case.”
Though many conspiracy theorists have posited that King was connected to the CIA, Colby never broached the subject in Conspiracy of Silence. He did say, however, that pursuing the allegations could entail “danger,” and he promised to submit the subcommittee’s child abuse allegations to the US Attorney General.
Two years after that interview, in the spring of 1996, Colby went missing for eight days. His body was found floating in Maryland’s Wicomico River. The medical examiner surmised that the 76-year-old Colby, who was in poor health, had opted to go canoeing by himself on a cold, blustery day in April and had fallen out of his canoe as the result of a heart attack or stroke.
According to DeCamp, Colby disclosed to him that King’s pedophilic pandering was linked to the CIA. DeCamp told me that Colby, a devout Catholic, had become disillusioned with the CIA’s use of children for sinister agendas and was determined to put a stop to it. If what DeCamp says is true, then perhaps Colby’s appearance on Conspiracy of Silence and his giving the Franklin allegations to the US Attorney General was his first salvo in a crusade to expose an evil enterprise. Colby was certainly in a position to be the man who knew too much, and his rather enigmatic death deprives us of that knowledge.
Paul Rodriguez
The Washington Times’ Rodriguez did some serious investigative reporting on DC prostitution—his work was nominated for a Pulitzer. As he ventured deeper into prostitution among the powerful, he kept running into the name of Craig Spence, a registered lobbyist and Republican “powerbroker.”
“I had been told by several prostitutes along with law enforcement that there were connections between Craig Spence and Larry King,” says Rodriguez. “I never pursued those connections, because I was overcome with considerable local material that I had to ferret out. The allegations were that Spence and King hosted blackmail sex parties that included minors.” Paul | Audio Clip Two
The New York Times described Spence’s taste in fashion as “Edwardian dandy.” He had a penchant for capes, stretch limos, and brawny bodyguards. Spence has also been described as DC’s version of Jay Gatsby, for his enigmatic personality and the extravagant parties he threw at his Victorian mansion in the upscale Kalorama neighborhood. Senior members of the Reagan and Bush administrations, ambassadors, senators, and congressmen all attended, including high-level CIA officials William Casey and Ray Cline.
The Washington Times reported that Spence spent $20,000 a month on prostitutes for himself and his associates, and that he had the juice to arrange midnight tours of the White House for himself, his friends, and the “call boys” whose services he leased. Paul Bonacci told Yorkshire Television that he was one of the “call boys” who took a midnight tour, and corroborated that King and Spence were partners in pedophiliac pandering. Rusty Nelson also spoke to me about the partnership of King and Spence.
A June 30, 1989 Washington Times article, “Power Broker Served Drugs, Sex At Parties Bugged for Blackmail,” revealed that audio and video recording devices were hidden in Spence’s home, and discussed his penchant for blackmail. A month later another article reported that Spence used sexually compromising photographs taken in his home to blackmail an associate.
Spence even told the Washington Times that his home had been bugged by “friendly" intelligence agents, and he continually dropped hints to friends and colleagues that he was freelancing for the CIA. The CIA denied this, but the Washington Times confirmed that Spence was a CIA asset. “We had sources disclose that Spence wasn’t a direct employee,” says Rodriguez. “But he did carry out services for the agency.” Paul | Audio Clip Three
Spence’s parties had two tiers of guests: the squares, who left at a certain hour; and the serious customers, who stuck around for the drugs and hookers. The hookers mostly came from an escort service run by Henry Vinson. After nearly a year of overtures, Vinson consented to an interview with me in December of 2003. He’d left Washington, DC and moved to West Virginia, becoming the proprietor of a successful and legitimate business.
“I visited Spence’s home on many occasions and saw all his blackmail equipment,” Vinson told me. “King and Spence transported children all over the country. They both talked about bringing the boys in from Boys Town, and they arranged for influential people in Washington to be flown to the Midwest to meet these kids. But they preferred to have the pedophiliac parties at Spence’s home, because of the blackmail equipment.” Henry | Audio Clip One
While King was detained in Minnesota, Vinson was the focus of an investigation launched by the Secret Service and the US Department of Justice, which resulted in a 43-count indictment that included violations of the Mann Act, money laundering, and racketeering. Vinson was already looking at thirty years and a $500,000 fine, but the Assistant US Attorney for the District of Columbia filed a memorandum requesting that Vinson receive an extremely punitive sentence because his escort service hadn’t screened for HIV.
“They were trying to force my silence, and they got it,” says Vinson. “My plea agreement was for 63 months, and I agreed not to be interviewed by the media in exchange for that minimal sentence.” Henry | Audio Clip Two
Though the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jay Stephens, identified Vinson’s enterprise as the largest male escort service in DC, only Vinson and three accomplices were arraigned for crimes related to prostitution. Vinson claims that he told federal authorities about the Washington luminaries who used his escort service, but Stephens said that the investigation hadn’t revealed Vinson’s patrons to be affiliated “with any political or military organization,” except for the federal employees whose names had already been made public. “Everything about the government’s investigation was a lie,” says Vinson. Henry | Audio Clip Three
The Washington Times obtained hundreds of credit card receipts, canceled checks, and a list of Vinson’s clients, which indicate that US congressmen patronized Vinson’s escort service. This corroborates Vinson’s account, not the government’s. Vinson also says that he informed federal authorities about the pedophile ring allegedly operated by King and Spence, and that Spence had disclosed that their enterprise was affiliated with the CIA. All of his statements to federal authorities are, however, unavailable.
“I’ve been told that over 25,000 documents were sealed,” says reporter Rodriguez. “We’ve attempted to unseal those documents on two occasions, but were rebuffed. We’ve been told, ‘It will be a cold day in hell’ before those documents are ever unsealed.” Paul R | Audio Clip Four
In November 1989, Craig Spence’s body was found in a room at Boston’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Next to it, on the bed, was a newspaper clipping about then-CIA Director William Webster attempting to protect CIA agents summoned to testify before government bodies. The Washington Post reported that Spence had been subpoenaed by the grand jury investigating Vinson. His death was ruled a suicide.
Like Colby, Spence undoubtedly took a number of secrets to his grave.