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rise to stories of "Marcos gold"—a legend that was supplemented illegitimately. Not that they were in the smuggling business by additional later recoveries of WWII gold and other loot using a per se, but they were all in the arms business, they were all Filipino Army battalion under the overall command of Marcos retracing dollars of one description or another that had henchman General Fabian Ver. accumulated all through the '40s and '5Os, really. And that But Marcos was not the sole illegitimate beneficiary of war loot probably is as broad a definition as I can give you... once controlled by Santa Romana. Another was the late Baron Krupp who, I have been told, also gained access to some of these General Cocke then added that involvement in Project Hammer assets. Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that Santa Romana, extended to: prior to his death, was apparently associated with former US ..the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agencies of all President and head of the CIA, George H. W. Bush, and "had types, Pentagon in the broad sense of it and as such, the some contact" with Jeb Bush, the Governor of Florida. Treasury, Federal Reserve. Nobody got out of the act, every- In any event, this bullion has collectively given rise to a whole body wanted to get in on the act."” class of gold and platinum certificates issued over the decades, mainly by top-drawer European banks. The certificates bear the Cocke's involvement with clandestine CIA activities dates back names of prominent, and in some cases infamous, individuals— many years. At the very least, he is known to have been involved usually heads of state—as beneficiaries. However, these named with the CIA's Nugan Hand Bank. For example, US Treasury owners were and are not the legal records obtained by veteran journalist and beneficiaries but, rather, were cat's-paws author Jonathan Kwitny show Cocke as the used to muddy the waters concerning the registered "person in charge" of Nugan true origin of the bullion. Nor did the banks Hand's Washington office.° that held the assets own them, but they we Cocke also indicated in his affidavit that could and did use them in support of their In examining the he was regularly contacted by the CIA for off-balance sheet activity—to the point of ° expert assistance over the years and was usu- irresponsibility. techniques employed ally debriefed by them following overseas It should not be forgotten that this gold in setting up Project travel. Despite this, a Freedom of and platinum hoard was stolen and that, ° Information Act request to the CIA made on under international law, every effort should Hammer, one Is struck behalf of this writer was dismissed with the ave been made to return it to its rightful not just by the statement that "...no records responsive to owners —rather than secretly stash it in . ° our request were located"—which is not ank vaults for use in Cold War covert complexity of it entirely the same thing as saying that no operations. jAnd although it can reasonably but also by the way the records ex hat the CIA; b e argued that the true owners cou . . t also appears that the is not the never be traced—since the greater banks and intelligence only one that cares to deny knowledge quantity of the bullion was privately agencies involved of General Cocke. Another is former owned (rather than being central bank . Citibank CEO and Chairman John ullion)—it is clear that the ends structured things Reed, who, in a sworn affidavit dated 5 to shield themselves from responsibility... dictated the means. December 2000, stated he had "no And even though numerous nations knowledge of any persons named Erle around the world were to benefit from Cocke, Jr, or Barrie D. Wamboldt". ost-war reconstruction based on the Both the CIA and Citibank's John Reed use and application of this war booty, hold at least one major advantage over the price of this apparent largesse was General Cocke: they are alive and he is for these nations to be moulded into dead; and while it is true that the dead Uncle Sam's image. As they say in can't lie, it is also true that they can't America's boardrooms, "There's no rebut anyone's testimony —sworn or such thing as a free lunch". otherwise.* In examining the techniques employed in setting up Project In his deposition, Cocke states that although he had never "met" Hammer, one is struck not just by the complexity of it but also by — John Reed, he had attempted on numerous occasions to speak the way the banks and intelligence agencies involved structured with him, but was continually rejected: things to shield themselves from responsibility (and lawsuits, no We did our best to make the normal approaches, but I can doubt) by utilising subterranean networks, each working at "arm's see the President of the United States with no trouble. I can- length". not see Reed? Piecing these techniques and networks together has been an arduous, painstaking task, but the process has further unveiled a The "we" Cocke was referring to, besides himself, was Paul shadow world of parallel finance usually only known to those Green, a "long-time real estate lawyer in New York" with "50 initiated into it. years practice", who "had done most of his real estate dealings illegitimately. Not that they were in the smuggling business per se, but they were all in the arms business, they were all retracing dollars of one description or another that had accumulated all through the '40s and '5Os, really. And that probably is as broad a definition as I can give you... General Cocke then added that involvement in Project Hammer extended to: ..the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agencies of all types, Pentagon in the broad sense of it and as such, the Treasury, Federal Reserve. Nobody got out of the act, every- body wanted to get in on the act."” In examining the techniques employed in setting up Project Hammer, one is struck not just by the complexity of it but also by the way the banks and intelligence agencies involved structured things to shield themselves The "we" Cocke was referring to, besides himself, was Paul Green, a "long-time real estate lawyer in New York" with "50 years practice", who "had done most of his real estate dealings through Citibank"."" Green also did some of his banking business with Citibank at its Fifth Avenue, New York, branch under account FOCUS #946 963 94. According to Cocke, Paul Green was an outside counsel for Citibank and went back "...30-odd years with large transactions through that bank, buying and selling big buildings. He was very much involved buying and selling the Empire State Building one THE EMPIRE STATE CONNECTION During his April 2000 deposition, just days before his death from cancer, Brigadier-General Erle Cocke, when asked about the overall objective of Project Hammer, replied: Well, it was mainly to bring back monies to the United States from all types of activities, both legitimately and NEXUS ¢ 35 from responsibility... AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2003 www.nexusmagazine.com