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2024-01-28
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
FOI/PA
DELETED PAGE INFORMATION SHEET
FOI/PA# 1412188-000
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â (pg. 1)
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â (pg. 2)
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â (pg. 3)
0150 MRI 01833
00 FBIWMFO FBIMM
DE RUCNFB #0179 3062249
ZNR UUUU
0 022128Z NOV 93
FM DIRECTOR FBI
TO FBI WMFO/IMMEDIATE/
FBI MIAMI/IMMEDIATE/
BI
UNCLAS
SECTION 1 OF 2
CITE: //0607//
PASS: SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT (SSA) [REDACTED] SQUAD C-4, WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN FIELD OFFICE (WMFO); SSA [REDACTED] SQUAD C-4, MIAMI DIVISION; AND SENIOR SUPERVISORY RESIDENT AGENT (SSRA) [REDACTED] WEST PALM BEACH RESIDENT AGENCY, MIAMI DIVISION.
SUBJECT: âFINDERSâ GROUP; WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT - SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE - PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO; WMFO.
(Dated and Stamped November 3, 1993)
â (pg. 4)
PAGE TWO DE RUCNFB 0179 UNCLAS
RE FBIHQ FACSIMILE TO MIAMI SSA [REDACTED] DATED 10/27/93 AND TO MIAMI SSRA [REDACTED] DATED 10/28/93; AND FBIHQ SSA [REDACTED] TEL CALL WITH WMFO SSA [REDACTED] on 10/29/93.
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (DOJ) HAS REQUESTED THE FBI CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS MADE BY [REDACTED] CONCERNING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS THE âFINDERS,â AND WHAT ROLE, IF ANY, WAS PLAYED BY THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.
BY SEPARATE COMMUNICATION, WMFO WILL BE PROVIDED AVAILABLE DOCUMENTATION RECEIVED TO DATE FROM DOJ, CONCERNING [REDACTED] ALLEGATIONS. UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE (UCSC) SA [REDACTED] UCSC HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, D.C. [REDACTED] ALSO POSSESSES DOCUMENTATION CONCERNING âFINDERSâ WHICH IS TO BE OBTAINED BY WMFO.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BEING PROVIDED AS BACKGROUND IN THIS MATTER FOR WMFO AND MIAMI:
IN 1987, [REDACTED] WERE CONVICTED OF SEXUALLY ABUSING CHILDREN. ONE OF THE CHILDREN WHO ATTENDED THE SCHOOL DURING THE TIME OF THE ALLEGED SEXUAL ABUSE WAS [REDACTED] DOING BUSINESS AS
â (pg. 5)
PAGE THREE DE RUCNFB 0179 UNCLAS
[REDACTED] AFTER THE IMPOSITION OF PRISON SENTENCES ON BOTH [REDACTED] BECAME CONVINCED THAT NUMEROUS OTHER CHILDREN HAD BEEN ABUSED AND THAT THE ABUSE WAS PART OF A LARGE, WELL ORGANIZED SCHEME. SUBSEQUENTLY, [REDACTED] HAS ATTEMPTED TO INTEREST CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS AND THE UCSC IN HIS EFFORTS TO ENHANCE EFFORTS IN THE AREA OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND INVESTIGATING CLAIMS OF ORGANIZED SEXUAL ABUSE.
DURING OCTOBER 1994, [REDACTED] MET WITH UNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN ROSE (FLORIDA) TO DISCUSS ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING A GOUP KNOWN AS âFINDERS.â BOTH CONGRESSMAN ROSE AND [REDACTED] SUBSEQUENTLY PROVIDED INFORMATION CONCERNING THESE ALLEGATIONS TO DOJ.
AN FBIHQ INDICES SEACH REVEALED A REFERENCE TO âFINDERSâ IN FBIHQ FILE 7-HQ-20191. A REVIEW OF THIS FILE INDICATED THAT FBI JACKSONVILLE (JACKSONVILLE FILE 7-1248) AND FBI WMFO (WMFO FILE 7-1685) HAD CONDUCTED INVESTIGATION RESULTING FROM AN ARREST OF TWO INDIVIDUALS IN TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, IN 1987.
ON 2/4/87, [REDACTED] WERE ARRESTED BY THE TALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT (TPD) ON
â (pg. 6)
PAGE FOUR DE RUCNFB 0179 UNCLAS
MISDEMEANOR CHILD ABUSE CHARGES RESULTING FROM A COMPLAINT THAT SIX CHILDREN PLAYING IN A PARK WERE UNKEPT AND NEGLECTED. [REDACTED] THE TWO SUBJECTS WITH THE CHILDREN, COULD NOT INITIALLY PROVIDE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION AS TO THEIR LEGAL CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN AND WERE UNCOOPERATIVE REGARDING THEIR IDENTITY AND THE CHILDRENâS IDENTITY. AS A RESULT OF INFORMATION DEVELOPED DURING THESE ARRESTS, THE TPD CONTACTED THE METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT (MPD), WASHINGTON, D.C., AND PROVIDED INFORMATION CONCERNING [REDACTED] AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH A GROUP KNOWN AS âFINDERS,â BASED IN WASHINGTON, D.C. ON 2/5/87, THE MPD EXECUTED SEARCH WARRANTS, PREPARED BY THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEYâS OFFICE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON, D.C., ON TWO PROPERTIES OWNED BY THE âFINDERSâ IN WASHINGTON, D.C. SPECIAL AGENT (SA) [REDACTED] USCS, PARTICIPATED IN THESE SEARCHES.
A JOINT INVESTIGATION, CONDUCTED BY THE MPD AND WMFO, LEAD TO THE IDENTIFICATION AND INTERVIEW OF THE MOTHERS OF THE SIX CHILDREN, TWO OF THE FATHERS, AND SEVERAL OTHER KEY MEMBERS OF THE âFINDERSâ GROUP. ON 2/18/87, WMFO PRESENTED THE RESULTS OF THEIR INVESTIGATION TO ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY [REDACTED] UNITED STATES ATTORNEYâS OFFICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF
â (pg. 7)
PAGE FIVE DE RUCNFB 0179 UNCLAS
COLUMBIA, WASHINGTON, D.C., WHO DECLINED PROSECUTION FOR VIOLATION OF TITLE 18, U.S. CODE, SECTION 1201 (KIDNAPING [sic]) AND 2251 (SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN). WMFO SA [REDACTED] WAS THE WMFO CASE AGENT IN THIS MATTER.
DOJ REVIEW OF THE USCS DOCUMENTS INDICATES THAT DURING THE EXECUTION OF THE SEARCH WARRANTS BY THE MPD AT THE TWO âFINDERSâ PROPERTIES, USCS [REDACTED] CLAIMS TO HAVE OBSERVED A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF COMPUTER EQUIPMENT AND DOCUMENTS PURPORTEDLY CONTAINING INSTRUCTIONS OF OBTAINING CHILDREN FOR UNSPECIFIED PURPOSES. THE INSTRUCTIONS ALLEGEDLY INCLUDED THE IMPREGNATION OF FEMALE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, PURCHASING CHILDREN, TRADING CHILDREN AND KIDNAPING [sic] THEM. [REDACTED] CLAIMS
[REDACTED - LARGE SECTION OF PAGE]
â (pg. 8)
PAGE SIX DE RUCNFB 0179 UNCLES
[REDACTED - LARGE SECTION OF PAGE]
[REDACTED] HAS ALLEGED THAT THE FINDERS ARE INVOLVED IN A WELL ORGANIZED CHILD ABUSE SCHEME, AND THAT [REDACTED] IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT, AND THE FBIâS FOREIGN COUNTERINTELLIGENCE SECTION, CONSPIRED TO COVER UP THOSE ABUSES.
UCSC SA [REDACTED] SHOULD BE CONTACTED BY WMFO TO OBTAIN COMPLETE USCS DOCUMENTATION CONCERNING âFINDER.Sâ [sic]. INVESTIGATION BY WMFO IN THIS MATTER WHILL ALSO INCLUDE THE INTERVIEW OF [REDACTED] AND [REDACTED] AND THE REVIEW OF ANY DOCUMENTATION IN THE POSSESSION OF [REDACTED] THE STATE DEPARTMENT PASSPORT OFFICE, AND THE FOREIGN COUNTERINTELLIGENCE DIVISION, FBIHQ.
BT
#0179
NNNN
â (pg. 9)
0151. MRI 01834
00 FBIWMFO FBIMM
DE RUCNFB #0180 3062551
ZNR UUUU
0 022128Z NOV 93
FM DIRECTOR FBI
TO FBI WMFO/IMMEDIATE/
FBI MIAMI/IMMEDIATE/
BT
UNCLAS
SECTION 2 OF 2
CITE: //0601//
PASS: SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT (SSA) [REDACTED] SQUAD-C4, WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN FIELD OFFICE (WMFO); SSA [REDACTED] SQUAD C-4, MIAMI DIVISION; AND SENIOR SUPERVISORY RESIDENT AGENT (SSRA) [REDACTED] WEST PALM BEACH RESIDENT AGENCY, MIAMI DIVISION.
SUBJECT: âFINDERSâ GROUP; WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT - SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE - PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO; WMFO.
â (pg. 10)
PAGE TWO DE RUCNFB 0180 UNCLAS
IT IS NOTED THAT A MEMBER OF CONGRESS HAS INDICATED TO THE DOJ THAT [REDACTED] DUE TO THE âFINDERSâ INVESTIGATION.
INVESTIGATION SHOULD BE CONDUCTED PROMPTLY IN THIS MATTER AND WMFO WILL SUBMIT RESULTS BY TELETYPEN TO THE VIOLENT CRIMLS/FUGITIVES UNIT, VIOLENT CRIMES AND MAJOR OFFENDERS SECTION, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE DIVISION.
LEADS:
MIAMI DIVISION
AS STUART, FLORIDA
WILL LOCATE AND INTERVIEW [REDACTED]
DOING BUSINESS AS [REDACTED] AND OBTAIN ANY RELEVANT MATERIAL IN HIS POSSESSION CONCERNING âFINDERS.â
WMFO
AT WASHINGTON, D.C.
1. WILL LOCATE AND INTERVIEW USCS SA [REDACTED]
2. WILL LOCATE AND INTERVIEW USCS SA [REDACTED] WASHINGTON, D.C., TP#[REDACTED] TO OBTAIN USCS DOCUMENTATION RELATING TO âFINDERS.â
3. WILL INTERVIEW WMFO SA [REDACTED] TO OBTAIN DETAILS
â (pg. 11)
PAGE THREE DE RUCNFB 0180 UNCLAS
OF THE WMFO INVESTIGATION PERTAINING TO âFINDERS.â
4. WILL REVIEW AVAILABLE DOCUMENTATION CONCERNING âFINDERSâ FROM [REDACTED] STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICE AND THE FOREIGN COUNTERINTELLIGENCE DIVISION, FBIHQ.
BT
#0180 OLIA +
NNNN
â (pg. 12)
0-93B (Rev. 01/25/91)
PAGE 9
ADMINISTRATIVE NOTE:
BY MEMORANDUM DATED 10/26/93, FROM ACTING ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN C. KEENEY, CRIMINAL DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, TO ASSISTANT DIRECTOR LARRY A. POTTS, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REQUESTED THAT THE FBI CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS MADE BY [REDACTED] CONCERNING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS THE âFINDERS,â AND WHAT ROLE, IF ANY, WAS PLAYED BY THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. THIS COMMUNICATION DESIGNATES WMFO AS OFFICE OF ORIGIN AND SETS SPECIFICS LEADS CONCERNING THE INVESTIGATION OF THIS PRELIMINARY INQUIRY.
ON 11/2/93, THIS MATTER WAS COORDINATED WITH UNIT CHIEF [REDACTED] OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (OPR), FBIHQ, WHO OPINED THAT ABSENT ADDITIONAL FACTS BEING DEVELOPED, THERE IS NO OPR ISSUE INVOLVED IN THIS MATTER.
Drafted By: DRW:RDT Room/TL #: 5042 Phone No: 4294
COPY DESIGNATIONS:
1 - MR. KAHOE
1 - [REDACTED]
1 - [REDACTED]
1 - TICKLER
â (pg. 13)
(Rev. 5-26-92)
To : SAC, WMFO (31-WF-189911) Date : 07/01/96 From : SAC, MIAMI Subject : âFINDERSâ GROUP [ ] RUC [X] File Destruction Program
Enclosed are _2_ items.
These items are forwarded to your office since file meets criteria for destruction.
Enclosures are described as follows:
[ ] Original Notes. [ ] Original FD-302's. [ ] Laboratory and/or Technical Support. [X] Miscellaneous Documents.
Enc. 2
NOTE: DO NOT BLOCK STAMP ORIGINAL ENCLOSURES.
â (pg. 14)
FD-340a (Rev. 11-12-89)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED
HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED
DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
(Title) _Finders Group_
(File No.) _31C-WF-189911*_
ITEM DATE TO BE RETURNED DISPOSITION
FILED YES | NO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 11/9/93 | X Orig. notes [REDACTED] mh
2 11/15 | " " " [REDACTED] "
3 " | " " " [REDACTED] "
4 11/23 | " " " [REDACTED] "
5 6/13/94 | " " " [REDACTED]
6 " | " " " [REDACTED]
7 " | " " " [REDACTED]
8 " | " " " [REDACTED]
9 " | " " " [REDACTED]
10 " | " " " [REDACTED]
11 " | " " " [REDACTED]
12 " | " " " Notes by [REDACTED]
re: '87 investigation
31C-WF-189911-1A
NOV 09 1993
FBI-WASH FIELD OFFICE
â (pg. 15)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-1
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 11/05/93
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [X] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [X] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [X] No
Title: FINDERS
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
SA [REDACTED] - Previous Case Agent
â (pg. 16)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-2
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 11/5/93
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [X] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [X] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [X] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED] MPD
â (pg. 17)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-3
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 11/12/93
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [X] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [X] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [X] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED] USCS
â (pg. 18)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-4
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 11/8/93
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [X] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [X] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [X] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED]
â (pg. 19)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-5
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 1/11/94
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [ ] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [ ] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [ ] Original notes re interview of
REF: MPD [REDACTED]
â (pg. 20)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-6
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received :
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [ ] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [ ] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [ ] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED]
â (pg. 21)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-7
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 5/13/94, 5/17/94, and 5/24/94
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [ ] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [ ] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED] CONCERNING NAME OF C/S
â (pg. 22)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-25-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-8
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 5/27/94
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [ ] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [ ] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [ ] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED]
â (pg. 23)
3/27/94
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-03-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
[REDACTED - b3 per CIA; b6; b7C]
[illegible] in CIA [illegible], Office of Gn Counsel
Retired 3 April 1992
- In Feb 1987 was Acting Chief Special Activities Division Office of [illegible]
- Section handled [illegible] of CIA Employees / Media Leaks and CI work internal investigations - Allegations of CIA employee involvement etc.
- Had regular [illegible] w/ FBI, USDS, DIA requests for information (like MPD's) was referred to his [illegible] not used for MPD to call [illegible] was there from 82 to 88, [illegible] MPD
Recalls [illegible] 2 connects to CIA + FINDERS
1. [REDACTED] worked for Agency in 60's
2. Was some [illegible] at Future Enterprises. his assupt at time was this Future Ent was was same one MPD linked to FINDERS. Does not recall how the [illegible] was made. [illegible] connect. Assumption was low level, unclassified intro [illegible]
â (pg. 24)
not sure how connect was made.
could have been the address - could have learned about Future Ent. link to FINDERS thru newspaper
not [illegible] how name came up
- mostly [illegible] on records checks on âFINDERSâ in ST + DDO records.
[illegible] may gone down to MPD to demon this
- was at least one phone conv
- [illegible] he provided info on [REDACTED] was that Future Entp. was being used by CIA for [illegible]
No idea how MPD came to idea [illegible] does not recall discussing [illegible] [REDACTED] does not recall if CIA [illegible] know [illegible] but possible
- Finders [illegible] in 1987 [illegible] media mentioned CIA
Thinks perhaps he saw about [illegible] pages [illegible] tries to see if Agency was [illegible] involved
- No agency [illegible] of [REDACTED] were look at then. MPD telephoned [illegible]
One teleph conv. followed by visit to MPD
up front about involved. Left MPD with [illegible]. MPD offer send [illegible]
[illegible]
FINDERS - def not a CIA [illegible - âfrontâ?]
â (pg. 25)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-9
Field Office Acquiring Evidence :
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 1/3/94
From (Name of Contributor) : SA [REDACTED]
(Address of Contributor) : [REDACTED]
(City and State) : El Centro, CA
By : SA [REDACTED]
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [X] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [X] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [X] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED]
â (pg. 26)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-10
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 12/20/93
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [ ] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [ ] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Title: "FINDERS GROUP"
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED] AT USCS HQ
â (pg. 27)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-11
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received :
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [ ] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [ ] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Title: "FINDERS GROUP"
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED] 12/21/93
â (pg. 28)
ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS UNCLASSIFIED DATE 02-12-2014 BY NSICG [REDACTED]
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A-12
Field Office Acquiring Evidence : WMFO
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 12/20/93
From (Name of Contributor) : [REDACTED]
(Address of Contributor) : USCS, HQ, 1301 CONSTITUTION AVE, NW
(City and State) :
By : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [X] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [X] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [X] No
Title: "FINDERS" GROUP
Reference:
Description: [ ] Original notes re interview of
Photocopies of notes made by [REDACTED] [illegible]
1987 INVESTIGATION OF THE FINDERS
Photocopies of [REDACTED] memos to file on Finders
â (pg. 29)
FD-340a (Rev. 10-3-77)
(Title) _______________
(File No.) _______________
ITEM DATE TO BE RETURNED DISPOSITION
FILED YES | NO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 3/1/94 | X Orig. notes Re: [REDACTED]
1A(2) 3/3/94 | X orig notes re int of [REDACTED]
31C-WF-189911-1A
SERIALIZED MP FILED MP
FEB 28 1994
FBI-N. MIAMI [illegible]
â (pg. 30)
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A1
Field Office Acquiring Evidence :
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 1-26-94
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : [REDACTED]
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [X] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [X] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [X] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED]
â (pg. 31)
FD-340 (REV. 8-18-89)
Universal File Case Number : 31C-WF-189911-1A(2)
Field Office Acquiring Evidence :
Serial # of Originating Document :
Date Received : 11-15-93
From (Name of Contributor) :
(Address of Contributor) :
(City and State) :
By : [REDACTED]
To Be Returned [ ] Yes [X] No
Receipt Given [ ] Yes [X] No
Grand Jury Material - Disseminate Only Pursuant to Rule 6 (e)
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
[ ] Yes [ ] No
Title:
Reference:
Description: [X] Original notes re interview of
[REDACTED]
â (pg. 32)
PRECEDENCE CLASSIFICATION
[X] Immediate [ ] Top Secret Time Transmitted:
[ ] Priority [ ] Secret Sender's Initials: WW
[ ] Routine [ ] Confidential Number of Pages:
[ ] Sensitive (including cover page)
[X] Unclassified
To: FBI HQ Date: 11/3/93
Facsimile Number : (202) 324-3089
Attn : SSA [REDACTED], VCU, CID
From : SAC, WMFO
Subject : "FINDERS" GROUP
WSTA-SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN;
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE - P.I.
OD: WMFO
Special Handling Instructions: PLS HAND CARRY TO SSA [REDACTED]
ATTACHED IS A MEMO LOCATED IN THE WMFO FILE ON FINDERS DEALING
WITH THE STATEMENT / MEMO OF CUSTOMS AGENT [REDACTED] FOR YOUR
INFORMATION.
Originator's Name : SA [REDACTED] Telephone: X7792
Originator's Facsimile Number : (202) 863-1786
Approved: WW
Confirmed by telcal w/ SSA [REDACTED] 31C-WF-189911-2
Receipt of fax on 11/3/93 at [illegible] NOV 03 1993
FBI-WASH
â (pg. 33)
TO: SAC, WASHINGTON FIELD OFFICE DATE: 3/9/87
(7-1685) (P) (C-4)
FROM: SA [REDACTED]
SUBJECT: [REDACTED]
KIDNAPPING
OO:WFO
On 2/18/97, [REDACTED] NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN (NCMEC0, 1835 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. (WDC), Suite 700, provided the writer with the attached memorandum. [REDACTED] related she had received the memorandum from [REDACTED] CUSTOMS, WDC.
A review of the memorandum reflects obvious [REDACTED] observed and what was infact [sic] recovered by the METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT (MPD) during the execution of search warrants at [REDACTED]
[REDACTED - large section]
On 2/28/87, this memorandum was brought to the attention of [REDACTED] MPD, the [REDACTED] handling captioned matter for MPD. [REDACTED] advised the writer that a thorough review of all evidence obtained at the two aformentioned
2-WFO 7-1685-5b
MAR 09 1987
AV:rlwrlw FBI - WASH. FIELD OFFICE
(2)
â (pg. 34)
WFO 7-1685
locations did not produce any of the items described in the items described in the examples cited above by [REDACTED] advised no evidence of child sexual exploitation, kidnapping or any related crimes was obtained, and that there were no computerized lists ordering children. A copy of the memorandum was provided to [REDACTED]
[REDACTED - entire rest of page]
2*
â (pg. 35)
TO: SAC, WMFO (31C-WF-189911) (P) DATE: 11/4/93
FROM: SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
SUBJECT: "FINDERS" GROUP;
WSTA - SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN;
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE - PI;
OO: WMFO
Attached to this memo is material provided to WMFO by FBIHQ, CID, VCU at a 11/02/93 meeting concerning captioned matter held at FBIHQ. The following individuals were present at this meeting:
SSA [REDACTED] FBIHQ
SSA [REDACTED] FBIHQ
SSA [REDACTED] WMFO
SA [REDACTED] WMFO
SSA [REDACTED] indicated that this investigation was to be a preliminary inquiry focusing primarily on the âFINDERSâ Group. SSA [REDACTED] stated that he, or another FBIHQ representative would arrange for review of the files/documents in the possession of the [REDACTED] State Department, and Intelligence Division FBIHQ, and advise WMFO accordingly.
2-WMFO 31C-WF-189911-3
MDC:mdc NOV 04 1993
FBI - WASH. FIELD OFFICE
â (pg. 36)
11/2/93
To: Unit Chief [REDACTED]
From: SSA [REDACTED]
Subject: âFindersâ - Preliminary Inquiry
On 11/2/93, met with SSA [REDACTED] Division 5 Special Staff(ext 3951, Room 4127) and SSA [REDACTED] Office of Liaison and International Affairs (OLIA, ext 4634), FBIHQ who is the FBIHQ liaison with the State Department. I had previously provided [REDACTED] with a packet of documents concerning the âFindersâ preliminary inquiry. The three of them will determine the best manner to request the records checks by [REDACTED] DOS for âFinders.â
[REDACTED] will conduct a search of Division 5 records to determine if there is any documentation concerning âFinders.â
â (pg. 37)
11/1/93
PRELIMINARY INQUIRY - ALLEGATIONS OF ORGANIZED CHILD ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS âFINDERSâ
⏩ On 11/1/93, a representative from the Violent Crimes Unit (VCU), Violent Crimes and Major Offenders Section, Criminal Investigative Division (CID), prepared a packet of documents received to date in this matter for review by WMFO.
⏩ On 11/1/93, a representative from the VCU contacted WMFO SSA [REDACTED] and scheduled a meeting between representatives of the Violent Crimes Unit, SSA [REDACTED] and the WMFO case Agent on 11/2/93.
⏩ On 11/1/93, a representative from the VCU met with FBIHQ Office of Liaison and International Affairs SSA [REDACTED] (State Department liaison) and SSA [REDACTED] to discuss DOJâs request that the FBI review documents from the State Department Passport Office (dos0 and the [REDACTED] pertaining to âFinders.â It is noted that the DOJ requested that an FBI Agent âreview relevant documents firsthand, from the relevant intelligence agencies, as opposed to having to rely on the agencyâs summaries or reviewâŠâ
During a meeting at DOJ with Section Chief Bergasser and DOJ Attorney [REDACTED[ on 10/28/93, it was pointed out that a written request from the FBI or DOJ would be required before any records could be obtained from DOS [REDACTED] for review by the FBI. During that meeting, Mr. Bergasser requested that the FBI prepare a communication to [REDACTED] DOS and let him review it before it was sent to those agencies.
â (pg. 38)
10/29/93
PRELIMINARY INQUIRY - ALLEGATIONS OF ORGANIZED CHILD ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS âFINDERSâ
⏩ On 10/28/93, a representative of the Violent Crimes Unit met with George Bergasser, Section Chief, and Attorney [REDACTED] Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Department of Justice. Bergasser noted that DOJ had received a three-ring binder from Special Agent [REDACTED] U.S. Customs Service (USCS). This binder contains USCS briefing material on âFinders.â They requested that the FBI contact USCS to obtain a copy of the material contained in the three ring binder.
Bergasser noted that in 1987, in Stuart, Florida, a
[REDACTED - large section]
Bergasser noted that during October 1993, [REDACTED] met with United States Congressman Rose (FLorida) to discuss allegations concerning a group known as âFindersâ. Both Congressman Rose and [REDACTED] concerning these allegations to DOJ. He is concerned that several Congressional subcommittees may be looking at the âFindersâ matter and that the TV documentary â48 Hoursâ plans to air a segment on it.
[REDACTED - rest of page]
â (pg. 39)
[REDACTED - large section]
⏩ On 10/28/93, an FBIHQ indices search revealed a reference to âFindersâ in FBIHQ file 7-HQ-20191. On 10/29/93, a review of this file indicated that FBI, Jacksonville (Jacksonville file 7-1248) and FBI, WMFO (WMFO file 7-1685) had conducted investigation resulting from an arrest of two individuals in Tallahassee, Florida in 1987.
File review of 7-HQ-20191 indicated that a joint investigation conducted by the MPD and WMFO, lead to the identification and interview of the mothers of the six children, two of the fathers, and several other key members of the âfindersâ group. On 2/18/87, WMFO presented the results of their investigation to Assistant United States Attorney [REDACTED] United States Attorneyâs Office for the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., who declined prosection [sic] for violation of title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1201 (kidnaping [sic]) and 2251 (sexual exploitation of children). WMFO SA [REDACTED] was the WMFO case agent in this matter.
⏩ On 10/29/93, the information obtained at DOJ was discussed with WMFO SSA [REDACTED] and Miami SSRA [REDACTED] West Palm Beach RA, and a teletype was prepared designating WMFO as Office of Origin in this matter.
â (pg. 40)
10/28/93
PRELIMINARY INQUIRY - ALLEGATIONS OF ORGANIZED CHILD ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS âFINDERSâ
⏩ On 10/27/93, an indices check by the Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC) identified four FBIHQ files (7-20191, 9-67521, 62-119517, and 66-19075) as having references to âFindersâ, and three FBIHQ files (87-0 serials 15124, page 1, and serial 15140; 157-370 and 157-1552) containing references to [REDACTED] There were no references to [REDACTED] These files have been obtained and will be reviewed by the Violent Crimes Unit.
⏩ On 10/27/93, SIOC identified 16 articles in the Lexis-Nexis data base concerning âFindersâ. These articles indicate that on 2/4/87, the Tallahassee Police Department, Tallahassee, Florida conducted a traffic stop on a van containing two men and six small children. The two men were arrested and were each charged with one count of child abuse.
⏩ On 10/27/93, a lead was sent to the Miami Division to locate and interview [REDACTED] The case Agent has known [REDACTED] for approximately 15 years and will contact him 10/28/93 to schedule the interview with him.
⏩ On 10/28/93, FBIHQ OLIA was contacted concerning the review of [REDACTED] State Department Office files pertaining to Finders. A written request in LHM format will be prepared to obtain this information.
⏩ On 10/28/93, Jacksonville (JK) SSA [REDACTED] advised that JK was involved in an investigation with the group known as the âFindersâ in 1987. This case involved the recovery of six children in Tallahassee, Florida who were traveling in a van with two grown males not related to them. The FBI had participated in the arrest of these two individuals who were each charged locally with one count of child abuse. SA [REDACTED] advised that many allegations had been made regarding sexual abuse in this case, but non were proven. It appears that there was parental consent for the children to travel with these individuals. The children were subsequently returned to their parents and the subjects spent about ten days in the local jail and released. This investigation was conducted primarily by local authorities.
⏩ On 10/28/93, [REDACTED] National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was interviewed concerning âFindersâ and the two searches conducted in 1987 at the two Finders properties in Washington, D.C.
â (pg. 41)
[REDACTED - LARGE SECTION] subsequent to the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) making the traffic stop of the van, the TPD determined that these two men belonged to a group known as the Finders based in Washington, D.C.. As a result of information developed by the TPD during the traffic stop, the TPD contacted the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (WMPD). The WMPD developed information that was subsequently utilized to obtain a search warrant for a warehouse and a residence located in Washington, D.C. owned by the Finders. U.S. Customs and the WMPD participated in this search and [REDACTED] noted that approximately seven computers and numerous computer floppy discs were seized during the search. He did not participate in any subsequent review of this material.
[REDACTED] advised that the NCMEC has not developed any positive information that the Finders organization is involved in child sexual abuse.
[REDACTED - LARGE SECTION]
!!!
[REDACTED] also advised that he had been told that documentation had been located in the WMPD files to indicate that SGT. John Stycher (deceased), who had been his Sergeant during the Finders search, had been contacted by a [REDACTED] who had told him to step away from the Finders case. Allegedly, [REDACTED]
!!!
⏩ WMFO conducted investigation in this matter and this information will be subsequently reviewed.
⏩ On 10/28/93, George Bergasso, Section Chief, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Department of Justice advised that the DOJ has a book of material on the âFindersâ and additional material that will be made available for review by the FBI. Representatives of the Violent Crimes Unit will meet with him on 10/28/93.
â (pg. 42)
10/29/93
FBIHQ FILE SUMMARY OF 7-20191 REFERENCE âFINDERSâ GROUP
[REDACTED] by Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) on misdemeanor child abuse charges. The two subjects were arrested after a complaint was made that six children were playing in a park seemed to be unkept and neglected. The two subjects with the children could not initially provide sufficient information as to their legal custody of the children and were uncooperative regarding their identity or the children identity.
After the subjects were arrested the TPD obtained information from the children that they were from the Washington, D.C. area. TPD and FBI Jacksonville contacted the Youth Services Division in Washington, D.C. in an effort to further identify the children. The FBI got involved in the investigation at this time due to the possibility that the children had been kidnaped [SIC]. The vehicle registration records for a van the men had in their possession when arrested reflected that it was [REDACTED - LARGE SECTION]
A joint investigation by the Washington Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation lead to the identification and interview of the mothers of the six children in question, two of the fathers, and several other key members of the âFindersâ group. All persons interviewed claimed their group consisted of an alternate communal type life style made up of intellectuals who have chosen to live the way they do. The mothers were all aware that the children had been taken to Florida on a trip, they were familiar with and thoroughly trusted the men in whose care the children had been placed, and all insisted the children were well cared for.
On 2/8/87, The United States Attorneys Office, WDC, declined prosecution in this matter for the violation of USC, Title 18, Sections 1201 and 1251;
[REDACTED - SECTION]
References of FBIHQ File 7-201191:
Serial #2 - Photos of subjects and children
Serial #9 - Teletype from WMFO to FBIHQ re [REDACTED] âFindersâ, allegedly a
â (pg. 43)
[REDACTED - SECTION]
Serial #15 - Teletype from Jk to FBIHQ dated 2/7/87, synopsis of investigation to date.
Serial #16 - Teletype from FBI Richmond (166C-841) to FBIHQ dated 2/7/87, re results of search warrants on property owned by [REDACTED] Virginia by Virginia State Police. Search warrants did not produce evidence of Federal or State violations of the law concerning sexual exploitation of children, however it appears that the children found in Florida had lived at this location.
Serial #20 - Airtel from FBIHQ to Jacksonville dated 3/10/87, responding to indices check request.
Serial #24 - Teletype from WMFO to FBIHQ, re interview of [REDACTED] provides info pertaining to âFindersâ group and explanation of incident in Florida.
Serial #26 - Airtel from WMFO to FBIHQ dated 4/1/87, advising that AUSA [REDACTED] declined prosecution in this matter stating that their (sic) is no evidence of a Federal violation. No additional investigation in this case.
â (pg. 44)
10/28/93
To: [REDACTED]
From: [REDACTED]
Re: Finders
On 10/28/93, I spoke to SSA [REDACTED] and SA [REDACTED] Jacksonville Division (JK) regarding information they may have on a group known as the âFindersâ.
SSA [REDACTED] advised that JK was involved with an investigation with a group known as the âFindersâ in 1987. This case involved the recovery of six children in Tallahassee, Florida. The children were traveling in a beat up 1979 ford van with two grown males not related to them. The children were recovered in fairly good condition except that they were very dirty. On 2/20/93, a FOIPA request regarding this investigation was made by Washington D.C. [REDACTED] could not provide additional information regarding the FOIPA request. SSA [REDACTED] recommended that I speak with the Tallahassee RA case Agent [REDACTED]
SA [REDACTED] advised that the FBI and local law enforcement participated in the arrest of two individuals who were traveling around the country with six young children not related to them. SA [REDACTED] said that heh was providing this information from memory, but advised that the media blew the case out of proportion. He advised that many allegations were made regarding sexual abuse in this case, but none were proven. It appears that there was parental consent for the children to travel with these individuals. The children were returned to their parents and the subjects spent about ten days in the local jail and released. This investigation was conducted primarily by local authorities. SA [REDACTED] could not provide additional information in this matter.
notes:
JK case file 7-1248 consolidated to 62D-2214
WMFO case file 7-1685
FBIHQ case file 7-20191
JK indices negative for [REDACTED]
â (pg. 45)
January 25, 1993
Dear Colleague::
In February, 1991, U.S. Customs âintegratedâ their Child Pornography and Protection Unit into the Smuggling Investigations Division, Office of Investigative Programs. At the time, Customs stated that âthese changes have in no way affected the manner in which child pornography investigations are being conducted by our field offices or the support that our headquarters staff provides.â
I asked Customs to provide me with arrests, convictions and employee-hours spent on child pornography and protection. Customs own numbers show a dramatic and inexcusable decline.
YEAR ARRESTS CONVICTIONS EMPLOYEE-HOURS 1988 106 100 47,772 1989 54 57 54,613 1990 110 103 100,524 1991 82 116 61,173 1992 57 69 27,435
As you can see, since the Unitâs heyday in 1990, arrests and convictions have been nearly halved, and employee-hours have been reduced to barely one-fourth of previous levels!!
Therefore, I am introducing a Concurrent Resolution calling on Customs to reestablish its Child Pornography and Protection Unit, and to equal or exceed its 1990 efforts.
It is clear Customs has given up most of their efforts to put an end to this reprehensible trade. Itâs time to make a permanent commitment to stopping those who prey on the most vulnerable members of our society. If you would like to cosponsor this Resolution, contact me, or [REDACTED] of my staff at [REDACTED]
Sincerely,
[signed]
Tom Lewis
Member of Congress
THIS STATIONARY PRINTED ON PAPER MADE WITH RECYCLED FIBERS
â (pg. 46)
/files/the_finders_mcmartin_pre_school.png
Diagram of McMartin Pre-School, which has been demolished⊠[illegible] says two tunnels may have once been connected.
â (pg. 47)
A formal report will be released when forensic tests are concluded
âą 45 foot tunnel
- 9 foot wide subterranean entrance found under west wall of the "Dog' room
(Classroom 4 [REDACTED] classroom).
- Avocado tree roots cut on both sides of the entrance.
- Disney bag, "Copyright 1982," found 4-1/2 feet below the classroom fllor
and 3" to 6" in from entrance and under foundation, Classroom 4
- Tunnel proceeded south, then east 45 feet through Classrooms 4 and 4, and
north, then east 10 feet within Classroom 4
- Tunnels were 30" wide, 44" to 46" deep, with top of the tunnel 30" under
the clasroom floor.
- The footing between Classrooms 3 and 4 was arched where the tunnel passed
underneath and 12" shorter in depth at this location than the same footing
12 feet to then (sic) north.
- Four large, upright containers were found in the tunnel under the arch,
obviously hand placed.
- A 9 foot wide chamber was found along the tunnel under Classroom 4. Top of
chamber and top of sections of the tunnel had layers of plywood covered with
tar paper which had apparently been supported by cinder blocks and 2" x 2"
and 2" x 4" wooden posts found underneath.
- Tunnel features made it evident that tunnel was hand dug.
âą 7 foot tunnel extending into the triplex next door
- Tunnel extended from the bathrooms off the office and Clasroom 1 to the
front yard of the triplex next door. Front yard concealed from street by
three-car garage.
- Children described entrance and exiting tunnel in triplex yard exactly where
tunnel and exit were found.
- 1 39" x 41" area under a hole cut in this neighbor's bathroom floor had been
excavated and susequently filled.
âą Other significant facts
- A small, white plastic plate with three pentagrams hand drawn on top of
light green paint was found by the archaeologists in the stratified dirt in
the play yard.
- Per historical archaeologist, pentagrams were hand drawn by an adult and
not part of the manufacturers design.
- Many other artifacts found, whose analyses will be released upon completion
of tests
- No doorknobs were on Classroom 3 door, only a dead bolt lock.
- Each classroom had on and off light switch labeled "Fire Alarm." System did
not connect to fire station but was used as an alert within the school.
- More than 2000 artifacts were found under the school floor, including over
100 animal bones.
Due to severe time constraints our archaeology team was unable to further
explore the extent of the tunnel networks. Above documented through
photographs, notes, graphs, diagrams and charts. For more details call
(213) 854-5172.
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
â (pg. 48)
ENF 1 E:INV:SM
Mr. and Mrs.
Dear Mr. and Mrs.
Thank you for your letter dated September 13, 1991, expressing your concerns regarding the U.S. Customs Service Child Pornography Program.
The Child Protection Act of 1984 clearly defined the agency jurisdiction in this typically multidisciplined area of enforcement. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has jurisdiction pertaining to the use of the U.S. mail to transport child pornography, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has jurisdiction over the interstate transport of child pornography, and the U.S. Customs Service has jurisdiction over the interdiction and the international distribution of child pornography. The statute has created a close working relationship between the agencies at the field office and Headquarters level. The point of this is that the statute has permitted a clear definition of the responsibility for the respective agencies.
Recently, the U.S. Customs Service Headquarters Office of Enforcement experienced a massive reorganization. This reorganization caused the Child Pornography and Protection Unit to be integrated into the Smuggling Investigations Division. The Child Pornography and Protection Unit was a part of the General Smuggling Branch which was a part of the Smuggling Investigations Division. All Units, Branches, and Sections were eliminated during the recent reorganization. The child pornography program is now headed by the National Child Pornography Program Manager, a Senior Special Agent assigned to the Smuggling Investigations Division, Office of Investigative Programs, at Headquarters. These changes have in no way affected the manner in which child pornography investigations are being conducted by its field offices or the support that the Headquarters staff provides to these field offices. The primary functions of the Unit remain the same, that is to coordinate investigations within the U.S. Customs Services and between the U.S. Customs Service and other agencies, as well as collect, analyze, and disseminate child pornography data.
â (pg. 49)
Headquarters has established and still maintains working relationships with the Department of Justice through the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Service, and various Military Investigation Commands. The Office of Enforcement also continues to work in conjunction with the Customs Office of Inspection and Control in seeking out and discovering new and unique methods of smuggling child pornography into the United States from other countries.
The aggressive approach that the U.S. Customs Service has demonstrated in conducting child pornography investigations within its jurisdictional area, has had an impact on both the violators and the distributors, and the methods of smuggling used by these individuals. The U.S. Customs Service will continue to target and investigate the importation of child pornography as aggressively as we have in the past. The ultimate effect is the enhancement on our part to prevent the exploitation and abuse of children.
Should you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
â (pg. 50)
Finders/Chronology
(See previous material for dates)
- Contact of U.S. Customs by Tallahassee PD regarding discovery of unidentified children and adult male âguardiansâ in city part.
- Requested contact with Washington MPD for assistance in locating possible address and relatives of children.
- Address located with assistance of MPD Intelligence Division.
- Second address identified. One residence, one warehouse.
- Search warrants obtained by MPD Intel. Warehouse site of previous MPD Intel inquiry involving classified maps of underground tunnel/sewer system, Washington, DC.
- During search warrant staging, disclosure of pending search warrant execution made by Tallahassee PD to local media (Tallahassee, FL). Tallahassee Media representative contacted D.C. media for more details. D.C. media reps perused public information at courthouse, are waiting at search warrant sites for MPD search teams.
- Search warrants executed with MPD and two U.S. Customs agents (one at each site). FBI not involved until walk through on following day.
- Seizure of numerous documents made to include passports, telexes, computer/electronic media, correspondence, et al. (See previous material for expanded description).
- After search warrant shut down on first day, news reports carried FBI press release announcing the FBI as âlead investigating agench.â (sic) Day after, once search resumed, FBI agent from Washington Field Office (WFO) makes walk through of warehouse, but does not examine any seized evidence. !!!
- Additional search warrant executed on farm in rural Virginia with support by Virginia State Police. No federal involvement. Evidence of satanic/cult ritual discovered.
- Based on observed documents, Custom agent unsuccessfully attempts to gain access to evidence for detailed analysis for use in investigating possible export, neutrality act, mann act, and child pornography violations. !!!
- [REDACTED - Large section]
â (pg. 51)
- [REDACTED - Large section]
- [REDACTED] contacts MPD Intelligence and advised that all reports regarding Finders are to be classified at the Secret level. [REDACTED] also advised that no information was to be turned over to the FBI WFO for investigation, and that the WFO would not be advised of the [REDACTED] involvement/contact.
- Children discovered in Tallahassee were eventually turned over to individuals claiming to be parents or guardians. No further MPD, FBI, or Customs involvement.
- As fas as is known, no details of [REDACTED] involvement ever became public. !!!
â (pg. 52)
PRECEDENCE CLASSIFICATION
[ ] Immediate [ ] Top Secret Time Transmitted: 10:35
[X] Priority [ ] Secret Sender's Initials: WW
[ ] Routine [ ] Confidential Number of Pages: 8
[ ] Sensitive (including cover page)
[X] Unclassified
To: FBI HQ - VCU Date: 11/5/93
Facsimile Number : (202) 324-3089
Attn : SSA [REDACTED]
From : FBI WMFO (C-4)
Subject : "FINDERS" GROUP, WSTA
Special Handling Instructions: PLS HAND CARRY TO SSA [REDACTED]
Originator's Name : [REDACTED] Telephone: X7844
Originator's Facsimile Number : (202) 863-1786
Approved: [REDACTED]
31C-WF-189911-4
NOV 05 1993
FBI-WASH
â (pg. 53)
TRANSMIT VIA: PRECEDENCE: CLASSIFICATION: 3B
[X] Teletype [ ] Immediate [ ] TOP SECRET
[ ] Fascimile [X] Priority [ ] SECRET
[ ] AIRTEL [ ] Routine [ ] CONFIDENTIAL
[ ] UNCLAS E F T O
[ ] UNCLAS
DATE __11/5/93__
FM FBI WMFO (31C-WF-189911) (P) (C-4)
TO DIRECTOR FBI/PRIORITY/
FBI MIAMI/PRIORITY/
BT
UNCLAS
CITE: //3920//
PASS: CID, VCU, SSA [REDACTED]
SUBJECT: âFINDERSâ GROUP, WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT-SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE-PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO:WMFO.
REF: WMFO FACSIMILE TO FBIHQ ON 11/3/93.
FOR INFORMATION OF FBIHQ, REVIEW OF WMFO FIELD OFFICE FILES CONCERNING CAPTIONED GROUP REVEALED THE FOLLOWING:
WMFO OPENED A KIDNAPPING CASE (7-1685) ON 2/6/87, AS A RESULT OF A 2/4/87 ARREST OF TWO MEN IN TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA FOR CHILD ABUSE. THESE INDIVIDUALS, [REDACTED]
2-WMFO
Approved: _______ Original filename: __KCH006W.309__ Time Received: ______ Telprep filename: ______ MRI/JULIAN DATE; ______ ISN: ______ FOX DATE & TIME OF ACCEPTANCE: ______
â (pg. 54)
^PAGE 2 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
[REDACTED] WERE TRAVELING IN A VAN WITH SIX MINOR CHILDREN. THE VAN UTILIZED BY THESE INDIVIDUALS BORE [REDACTED - Large section]
THE TALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT (TPD) CONTACTED THE METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT (MPD), WASHINGTON, D.C., TO GET INFORMATION ON THE CHILDREN, AS THEY HAD MADE STATEMENTS INDICATING A PRIOR RESIDENCE IN WDC.
ON 2/5/87, TPD CONTACTED THE LOCAL CUSTOMS OFFICE, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY CONTACTED THE WDC AREA CUSTOMS OFFICE, WHICH IN TURN CONTACTED MPD. SPECIAL AGENT (SA) [REDACTED] CUSTOMS, PROVIDED THE INFORMATION CONCERNING THE ARREST OF [REDACTED] TO MPD INTELLIGENCE AND THE INFORMATION ON THEIR WASHINGTON, D.C. ADDRESSES.
PRIOR TO 2/5/87, MPD [REDACTED] HAD RECEIVED INFORMATION FROM A CONFIDENTIAL SOURCE, THAT A GROUP OF PEOPLE CALLING THEMSELVES, THE âFINDERSâ, WERE CONDUCTING BRAINWASHING TECHNIQUES AT [REDACTED] THE SOURCE REPORTED
â (pg. 55)
^PAGE 3 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
CHILDREN WERE USED IN RITUALS BY THE GROUPS, BUT REPORTED SOURCE NEVER OBSERVED ANY ACTUAL CHILD ABUSE.
BASED ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY TPD AND THIS SOURCE, MPD OBTAINED SEARCH WARRANTS AND EXECUTED THEM ON 2/5, 2/6/87 AT THE TWO WDC ADDRESSES. MPD SEIZED COMPUTERS, SOFTWARE, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE FINDERS GROUP FROM THESE LOCATIONS. NO EVIDENCE OF CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION, KIDNAPPING, OR ANY RELATED CRIMES WAS OBSERVED, OR OBTAINED FROM THIS SEARCH.
PRESENT AT THIS SEARCH WERE MPD DETECTIVES, FB SA [REDACTED], WMFO CASE AGENT AND CUSTOMS SA [REDACTED]
A MEMO FROM SA [REDACTED] DATED 3/9/87 WAS LOCATED IN THE [REDACTED - Large section]
â (pg. 56)
^PAGE 4 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
[REDACTED - Large section]
MEMO WAS SENT TO FBIHQ VIA FACSIMILE ON 11/3/93.
WMFO INVESTIGATION OF âFINDERSâ GROUP REVEALED THROUGH A 2/7/87 INTERVIEW OF GROUP MEMBER [REDACTED] THE FOLLOWING:
[REDACTED] ADVISED FINDERS WAS A GROUP [REDACTED] IN 1972 WITH THE IDEA OF RESPONDING TO PEOPLE IN EMERGENCIES. [REDACTED] ADVISED THAT THE GROUP GATHERED INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE OR COMPANIES. [REDACTED] ADVISED THAT âFINDERSâ WAS BASED OUT OF 1307 4TH STREET, N.W., WDC. [REDACTED] DESCRIBED THE [REDACTED] AS MYSTERIOUS, AND RELATED THAT NO ONE USUALLY KNEW WHERE HE WAS.
JOINT INVESTIGATION BY MPD AND WMFO LEAD TO THE IDENTIFICATION AND INTERVIEW OF THE MOTHERS OF THE SIX CHILDREN IN QUESTION, TWO OF THE FATHERS AND SEVERAL OTHER KEY MEMBERS OF THE SO-CALLED âFINDERSâ GROUP. ALL PERSONS INTERVIEWED CLAIMED THEIR GROUP CONSISTED OF AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE, COMMUNAL-TYPE ASSOCIATION MADE UP OF INTELLECTUALS WHO HAVE CHOSEN TO LIVE THE WAY THEY DO. THE MOTHERS WERE ALL
â (pg. 57)
^PAGE 5 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
AWARE THAT THE CHILDREN HAD BEEN TAKEN TO FLORIDA ON A TRIP, THEY WERE FAMILIAR WITH AND THOROUGHLY TRUSTED THE MEN IN WHOSE CARE THE CHILDREN HAD BEEN PLACED, AND ALL INSISTED THE CHILDREN WERE WELL CARED FOR, ALTHOUGH IN AN ALTERNATIVE MATTER [sic?]. EVERYONE INTERVIEWED STATED EMPHATICALLY THAT NO ONE IN THEIR GROUP ENGAGED IN SEX WITH CHILDREN, THAT NO RITUALIZED ABUSE OCCURRED, THAT THE âFINDERSâ ARE NOT A SATANIC CULT, ANED THAT THE CHILDREN ARE IN FACT THE OFFSPRING OF THE MOTHERS INTERVIEWED. ALL OF THE MOTHERS AND THE THREE FATHERS INTERVIEWED AGREED TO BE POLYGRAPHED CONCERNING THEIR TESTIMONY.
ON 2/18/87, THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEYâS OFFICE, WDC, DECLINED PROSECUTION IN CAPTIONED MATTER FOR VIOLATION OF UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 18, SECTIONS 1201 AND 2251.
[REDACTED - Large section]
WMFO FILES ALSO CONTAINED A 10/7/92 EXTORTION CASE (9A-WF-183055) WITH [REDACTED] AND [REDACTED] THIS CASE WAS OPENED AS A RESULT
â (pg. 58)
^PAGE 6 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
[REDACTED - Large section]
THAT HE AND SEVERAL OTHERS OF THE âFINDERSâ GROUP, [REDACTED] ADVISED THAT HE AND HIS COLLEAGUES REALIZED THAT [REDACTED] [REDACTED] AND THE OTHERS, AT THE TIME, WERE IN A CUSTODY BATLE OVER THE GROUPâS PROPERTY ASSETS. [REDACTED]
[REDACTED - Large section]
[REDACTED] PURPORTEDLY RESIDED AT [REDACTED] VIRGINIA.
â (pg. 59)
^PAGE 7 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
ON 6/14/93, THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEYâS OFFICE FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DECLINED PROSECUTION OF THIS MATTER AND THIS CASE WAS CLOSED.
WMFO CONTACT WITH U.S. CUSTOM SERVICE, WDC, INDICATES THAT CUSTOMS SA [REDACTED] WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW UNTIL MONDAY, 11/8/93.
WMFO IS SCHEDULED TO REVIEW THE MPD FILE CONCERNING âFINDERSâ ON 11/4/93.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES AT WMFO.
BT
â (pg. 60)
PRECEDENCE CLASSIFICATION
[ ] Immediate [ ] Top Secret Time Transmitted: 11:30
[ ] Priority [ ] Secret Sender's Initials: WW
[X] Routine [ ] Confidential Number of Pages: 8
[ ] Sensitive (including cover page)
[X] Unclassified
To: FBI HQ - VCU Date: 11/5/93
Facsimile Number : (202) 324-3089
Attn : SSA [REDACTED]
From : FBI WMFO (C-4)
Subject : "FINDERS" GROUP, WSTA
Special Handling Instructions: PLS HAND CARRY TO SSA [REDACTED]
Originator's Name : [REDACTED] Telephone: X7844
Originator's Facsimile Number : (202) 863-1786
Approved: [REDACTED]
31C-WF-189911-7
NOV 05 1993
FBI-WASH
â (pg. 61)
Memorandum
To : SAC, WMFO (31-WF-189911) Date: 11/4/93
From : SA [REDACTED] (C-4)
Subject : âFINDERSâ GROUP;
WSTA - SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN;
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE - PI;
OO: WMFO
Attached to this memo are copies of METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT (MPD) investigative file reports of pertinent information obtained during writerâs 11/4/93 review of the MPD case jacked on the FINDERS GROUP.
The MPD case jacked was made available for review by Lieutenant [REDACTED] MPD Intelligence Division, 300 Indiana Avenue, NW, WDC.
The MPD case jacked did not contain a listing of the specific items seized from the 2/5 - 2/6/87 searches of the FINDERS GROUP properties, 1307 4th Street, NE, and 3918/3920 W Street, NW, WDC. In addiction there was no indication of the present status of any items seized at these searches, or a listing of personnel present at the searches.
Lieutenant [REDACTED] indicated that the MPD investigating Detective for this case was Detective [REDACTED] presently [REDACTED] Lieutenant [REDACTED] opened that Det. [REDACTED] could answer questions concerning the specifics of this search.
2-WMFO 31C-WF-189911
MDC:mdc NOV 04 1993
FBI - WASH. FIELD OFFICE
â (pg. 62)
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATIVE FILE REPORT
P.D. 854 Rev. 7/76
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION | DIVISION | BRANCH
| Intelligence | Domestic Security
------------------------------------------------------------
FILE TITLE | I. D. NO. | ARREST NO.
The Finders | |
Investigation ------------------------------------
| COMPLAINT NO. | CASE NO.
| | 87-225
------------------------------------------------------------
[ ] ACTIVE [X] CLOSED | OTHER OFFICERS
[ ] REQUESTED ACTION | Intelligence Division
COMPLETED | AUSA [REDACTED]
[ ] ACTION REQUESTED | S/A [REDACTED] FBI
FROM | S/A [REDACTED] US Customs
[ ] OTHER |
------------------------------------------------------------
BY | CROSS FILE RELATED FILES
Detective [REDACTED] | [ ]
UNIT | [ ]
Intelligence | [ ]
DATE | [ ]
April 13, 1987 | [ ]
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT RE;
Overview Report
------------------------------------------------------------
SYNOPSIS:
This report deals with the entire investigation concerning a group of subjects who call themselves The Finders. This document will explain the involvement of the Metropolitan Police Department and various agencies involved and the action taken during the course of this instant investigation. All the following information is still of a sensitive nature and should not be disseminated outside this unit.
Source Information:
In December of 1986, [REDACTED] called the intelligence division and reported that she had information concerning a cult operating in the District of Columbia. [REDACTED] was advised that Detective [REDACTED] of this office handled cult investigations and was currently out of town but would contact her after his return [REDACTED] was contacted in late December by Detective [REDACTED] by telephone and [REDACTED] advised she wished to be interviewed concerning this cult. Detective [REDACTED] stated that a group of individuals were trying to introduce her into a cult and explained the nature and circumstances of this cult. (SEE R.O.I. dated 12/18/86) [REDACTED] was advised that although this group was unusual, they were committing no criminal offenses and the police department would only be interested if this group was involved in criminal activities.
In January 1987 [REDACTED] again contacted Detective [REDACTED] and stated that some of the members were interested in exploring satanism. Detective [REDACTED] again advised in ascertaining what activity this group was involved in and asked [REDACTED] to call Detective [REDACTED] if additional information became available.
Law Enforcement Information:
On February 5, 1987 Detective [REDACTED] received a phone call from the U.S. Customs Service in Tallahassee, Florida. Customs was trying to find out if the Intelligence Division had any information concerning a group of subjects known as The Finders.
------------------------------------------------------------
DISTRIBUTION | [REDACTED] | 4/13/87
| |---------------
| | DATE
| | 4/13/87
------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICIAL USE ONLY PAGE 1 OF 4
â (pg. 63)
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATIVE FILE REPORT
P.D. 854 Rev. 7/76
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION | DATE | BRANCH
(Continuation) | April 13, 1987 | Domestic Security
------------------------------------------------------------
FILE TITLE | I. D. NUMBER
The Finders Investigation |
------------------------------------------------------------
The Customs representative stated that (6) children had been located in Florida along with two men and that the children were dirty, unkept, insect bitten, underfed and possibly sexually abused. U.S. Customs stated that they had tried to contact representatives of the Finders at [REDACTED] without success and they feared that other children were being abused at that address and were unsure if the children had been kidnapped from thier [sic] parents. Detective [REDACTED] was put in contact with Investigator [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] of the Tallahassee Police who were the lead investigators in the case. [REDACTED] told [REDACTED] that the children were recovered in Tallahassee Florida after a call to police stating that six children were being kept in the back of a van near a Florida park. The police responded to that location and determined that the children were in fact in poor condition and tried to question the two men. identified as [REDACTED] refused to answer questions by the police and were arrested for child neglect. The children when interviewed by the Tallahassee Police stated that they were enroute to a âsmart schoolâ in Mexico and could not give any positive information concerning their parents. [REDACTED] stated that the children were all extremely hungry and urinated and deficated on the floor during the floor during the interviews. [REDACTED] stated that the children also talked about other children in Washington D.C. and stated that they were under the control of the âgame callerâ, [REDACTED]
Search Warrants:
Based on the information received from the source and from the authorities in the State of Florida, AUSA [REDACTED] authorized a search warrant for the premises of [REDACTED] Washington D.C. Search Warrants were executed for the premises of [REDACTED] by members of the M.P.D. Intelligence Division on February 5-6,1987. Although no children were found large amounts of documents dealing with child rearing and shaping were recovered along with manuals for master plans and âdirty tricksâ for enemies of the Finders group. All this information was turned over to the Florida authorities for evaluation.
Medical Reports:
[REDACTED - Large section]
Psychological Report:
[REDACTED - Large Section]
Interviews:
Detective [REDACTED] of the M.P.D. a expert profiler with extensive training with abused children interviewed both [REDACTED] in Tallahassee Florida during
------------------------------------------------------------ 041387-06 P.J.A. OFFICIAL USE ONLY PAGE 2 OF 4
â (pg. 64)
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATIVE FILE REPORT
P.D. 854 Rev. 7/76
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION | DATE | BRANCH
(Continuation) | April 13, 1987 | Domestic Security
------------------------------------------------------------
FILE TITLE | I. D. NUMBER
The Finders Investigation |
------------------------------------------------------------
the week of February 11, 1987. Detective [REDACTED] report is attached and made part of this summary.
Interviews:
Twenty one former Finders have been interviewed concerning their involvement in the organization. They stated that the organization began as an alternative life style in the 1960âs and many of them became disenchanted with the quasi-military order under the direct supervision of [REDACTED] Many of the former members stated that they feared retribution from the Finders organization. In the case of [REDACTED] she needed police intervention to stop the harrassment [sic] of the Finders, In the [REDACTED] case, [REDACTED] was burned down and remains an open arson. In the [REDACTED] case, members of the Finders attempted to infiltrated [REDACTED] in the United States. In general all members of the Finders who had left the group felt that harm would come to them if they spoke out against [REDACTED] or his organization.
Family Members:
Detected [REDACTED] interviewed all the family members who were willing to talk. Specifically, they all stated that [REDACTED] had brainwashed their children and prevented any contact with either thier [sic] children on grandchildren. Members of the Finders, according to family members would stop any contact by sending letters describing explicit sexual acts involving current members, including photographs and drawings. In the [REDACTED] case members of the Finders attempted to take over the [REDACTED] family residence and force [REDACTED] out of her home.
Virginia State Investigation:
Special Agent [REDACTED] of the Virginia State Police stated that his organization executed search warrants at the Finders Farm in Madison County Virginia. [REDACTED] stated that this group appeared to be a survivalist organization with attempts to take over the city government in Culpepper Virginia. During Virginia States investigation information was revealed that bodies were buried on the farm at the Nethers, but excavation revealed nothing. However, cages were discovered on the premises that witnesses revealed were used to keep children during thier [sic] visits to the farm.
F.B.I. Investigation:
The F.B.I. had contact with the Finders since 1971 including a recent report dealing with C.I.A. involvement with at least one of the members of the Finders passing information overseas concerning activities of the Central Intelligence Agency. When it became apparent that no Federal laws were violated the F.B.I. vacated the investigation.
Central Intelligence Agency Investigation:
Although the C.I.A. claims thier [sic] only involvement was that [REDACTED] was a former employee of the agency, They stated that they were monitoring this investigation from the beginning. [REDACTED - Large section]
------------------------------------------------------------ 041387-06 P.J.A. OFFICIAL USE ONLY PAGE 3 OF 4
â (pg. 65)
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATIVE FILE REPORT
P.D. 854 Rev. 7/76
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION | DATE | BRANCH
(Continuation) | April 13, 1987 | Domestic Security
------------------------------------------------------------
FILE TITLE | I. D. NUMBER
The Finders Investigation |
------------------------------------------------------------
Summary:
It is the writers belief that the Finders organization is and has been utilized by the Central Intelligence Agency as a disinformation service spreading non essential, non-critical information to various organizations throughout the United States and overseas. This group to [sic] the most part is made up of overeducated non-achievers who lacked the inborn intitative [sic] to succeed on thier [sic] own. Therefore [sic] they fell in with a charismatic leader who gave them direction and self importance. To [sic] the most part this organization individually is harmless, However when directed and monitored by a controlling factor they are capable of destructive and illegal activities. As in any cult structure the main drive is for the group and individual values and ideaology [sic] is lost, Therefore when a member is asked to perform a task that hereto fore may have been objectionable, He or She performs this mission for the good of the group.
As to the abuse of the children; I do not think that child abuse was a planned tactic of this group, but as in any cross section of society, sick and demented subjects belong to a cult as well. I do believe that the shaping of the children is a planned experiment of this group as in the case of the Naziâs they strove for a perfect society, thereby in thier [sic] own way tried to form a group of children and ultimately adults that did not suffer from the illâs of normal society, but took only the benefits that afforded them perfection.
Lastly I do not feel that the Finders have disbanded as reported by thier [sic] leaders be [sic] instead, as reported in thier [sic] master plan, have appeared to disband to prevent further detection by law enforcement or social service officials. I firmly believe that this group should be monitored in a general sense and if further developments occur they should be noted.
------------------------------------------------------------ 041387-06 P.J.A. OFFICIAL USE ONLY PAGE 4 OF 4
â (pg. 66)
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATIVE FILE REPORT
P.D. 854 Rev. 7/76
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION | DIVISION | BRANCH
| Intelligence | Domestic Security
------------------------------------------------------------
FILE TITLE | I. D. NO. | ARREST NO.
FINDERS | |
------------------------------------
| COMPLAINT NO. | CASE NO.
| | 87-225
------------------------------------------------------------
[ ] ACTIVE [ ] CLOSED | OTHER OFFICERS
[ ] REQUESTED ACTION |
COMPLETED |
[ ] ACTION REQUESTED |
FROM |
[ ] OTHER |
------------------------------------------------------------
BY | CROSS FILE RELATED FILES
Sgt [REDACTED] | [ ]
UNIT | [ ]
DSB | [ ]
DATE | [ ]
2/19/87 | [ ]
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT RE;
Finders involvement with the Central Intelligence Agency
------------------------------------------------------------
At Approximately 1530 hrs, 2/18/87, Det [REDACTED] spoke with S/A [REDACTED] references any contact the members of the Finders may have had with the Agency. S/A [REDACTED] was guarded but frank in his responses. He confirmed that [REDACTED] Isabelle, now deceased, was an employee of the agency from 1950 until 1971. When asked if our investigation was âtreading on anyoneâs toes out thereâ, [REDACTED] replied âSort ofâ.. He acknowledged that they have had someone on the case since it first broke on the news media. He also stated that the agency is aware that during the period 1969 - 1971 [REDACTED] traveled to Moscow, North Korea, and North Vietname. [REDACTED - Large section] S/A [REDACTED] stated that he would contact Det [REDACTED] on 2/19/87 to arrange to come to this office for further discussion. As of 1430 hrs, 2/19/87, he has not contacted this office.
As a practical matter, what is not being said is as important as what S/A [REDACTED] has said. [REDACTED] acknowledged that we are treading on their toes and that they have had someone working on the case since Feb 5 when it broke. They apparently have a vested interest in [REDACTED] and/or the group. They have not contacted any of the investigating agencies while they have been working on the case. They are also aware that [REDACTED] traveled to prohibited countries during a period of hostilities that could only have been arranged by them. Finally, he stated that [REDACED - Large section] This could explain a lot about the groups funding, which we have been unable to document to this point.
[REDACTED - Large section]
------------------------------------------------------------ 021987-02 [unintelligible]
â (pg. 67)
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATIVE FILE REPORT
P.D. 854 Rev. 7/76
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION | DATE | BRANCH
(Continuation) | |
------------------------------------------------------------
FILE TITLE | I. D. NUMBER
|
------------------------------------------------------------
[REDACTED] Did not know that the person he turned the information over to in Europe was a source of this office and is not aware that the Source brought the Disc back to this office. [REDACTED] actually transfered [sic] the disc in London. Det [REDACTED] then turned the Disc over to WFO/FBI, Counter Intelligence office for analyzation. We have not been apprised of the results of that alaysis [sic], nor do we expect to be.
Regardless of what type operation they may be engaged in, there will be no justification for the way the children have been treated, and the matter will be addressed in Family Division, Superior Court.
------------------------------------------------------------ 021987-02 P.J.A. OFFICIAL USE ONLY PAGE 2 OF 2
â (pg. 68)
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT
INVESTIGATIVE FILE REPORT
P.D. 854 Rev. 7/76
------------------------------------------------------------
REPORT OF INVESTIGATION | DATE | BRANCH
(Continuation) | |
------------------------------------------------------------
FILE TITLE | I. D. NUMBER
|
------------------------------------------------------------
[REDACTED] Did not know that the person he turned the information over to in Europe was a source of this office and is not aware that the Source brought the Disc back to this office. [REDACTED] actually transfered [sic] the disc in London. Det [REDACTED] then turned the Disc over to WFO/FBI, Counter Intelligence office for analyzation. We have not been apprised of the results of that alaysis [sic], nor do we expect to be.
Regardless of what type operation they may be engaged in, there will be no justification for the way the children have been treated, and the matter will be addressed in Family Division, Superior Court.
â (pg. 69)
NOV-03-1993 11:07 FROM FBI WMFO SQUAD C-4
|ââââ| |âââââââââââââââââââââââââ|
|SEAL| INVESTIGATIVE INFORMATION REQUEST FORM | ITC Use Only: |
|ââââ| FBI Savannah Information Technology Ctr | SITC Record: #14334 |
220 East Bryan Street | Date/Time In: 11/3 11:10|
Savannah, Georgia 31401 | Date/Time Out:11/3 14:30|
| Database(s) Used: |
· Commercial Telephone: (912) 944-9824 thru 0828 | 1. _TRW_ 5. _LW__ |
· FAX: (912) 231-1076 and (912) 231-0974 | 2. _TY__ 6. _PH__ |
· Secure FAX & STU III: (912) 231-1075 | 3. _EQ__ 7. _IA__ |
| 4. _MN__ 8. _____ |
| Handled By _[REDACTED] |
|âââââââââââââââââââââââââ|
TO: FBI, SAVANNAH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Date: _11/3/93__
Forfeiture/Seizaure Related: [ ] Request Type: [X] Fax [ ] Telcal [ ] Mail
Reply: [X] Fax [ ] Telcal [ ] Mail
Requestor: _SA [REDACTED]_ Phone #: (202) 252-7792 Fax #: (202) 863-1786
UCFN: 31C-WF-189911 (UCFN File # is required.)
Office/RA: WMFO SQUAD C-4 Precd.: [ ] ROUTINE [ ] PRIORITY [X] IMMEDIATE
Fugitive: [ ] Yes [X] No NCIC Activity/Date: __________
CCH Conducted: [ ] Yes [X] No Off-Line Searches Conducted:
Driver's Lic. Conducted: [ ] Yes [X] No Subject: [ ] Yes [ ] No
Driver's License #: ________ State: ______ Vehicle Registration: ________
SEARCH CRITERIA (Attach additional sheets if necessary)
Name - Last: [REDACTED] First: [REDACTED] Middle: [REDACTED]
Alias: [REDACTED] Sex: _M_ DOB1: [REDACTED] DOB2: ___/___/___
SSAN1: [REDACTED] SSAN2: ___-__-____ Spouse: _______________
RESIDENCE:
Street Address: [REDACTED] City/State: _WDC_ Zip: [REDACTED] Phone:
BUSINESS
Business Name: _âFINDERSâ GROUP__ Street Address: [REDACTED]
City/State: _WDC_________ Zip: __________ Phone: ____________ Business ID:
CHECK DESIRED SEARCH PARAMETERS
[X] 1. Specific Information Desired: __CONDUCT LEXUS/NEXUS CHECK FOR REF-
-ERENCES TO SUBJECT AND GROUP FINDERS IN MEDIA AND FAX RESULTS TO WMFO
[ ] 2. Determine All Individuals Associated with SocialSecurity Number(s)
[ ] 3. Report Validity of Social Security Number
[ ] 4. Employment Report (subject to availability)
[ ] 5. Determine Who is Associated with Telephone Number(s)
[ ] 6. Determine Address of Business/Person (__ U.S. ___.___.___ State(s))
[ ] 7. Determine Property Owned by Individual (__ U.S. ___.___.___ State(s))
[ ] 8. Determine Who Owns Property Listed Above
[ ] 9. Determine Who Resides at Addresses Listed Above
[ ] 10. Determine Finance Background Info, Financial Associates/Institutions
[ ] 11. Determine Corporate Business Info/Institutions Associated with: ____
__________________________________________________ (Person/Business)
|ââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ|
| |
| Reply From: FBI, Savannah Information Technology Center (SITC) |
| Return Reply To: |
| SAC: WMFO |
| Attention: SA [REDACTED] SQUAD C-4 31C-WF-189911-8 |
| Based on search criteria, marked records attached: |ââââââââââââââââââ| |
| [X] Possible Identifiable Records | SEARCHED INDEXED | |
| [ ] Other Peripheral Information | SERIALIZED FILED | |
| [ ] Brief Synopsis of Information Found | NOV-8 1993 | |
| [ ] No Information Found |ââââââââââââââââââ| |
|ââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ|
â (pg. 70)
|ââââ|
|SEAL|
|ââââ|
ââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ
To : SAC, WF (31C-WF189911) Date: 11/3/93
ATTN: [REDACTED]
From : SAVANNAH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER
INVESTIGATIVE INFORMATION SERVICES
Subject: [REDACTED]
Attached are copies of Investigative Information Services printouts setting forth results of inquiries conducted by Investigative Information Services. Also attached are two copies of an accomplishment/reply form. It is requested that you record the Investigative Information Services accomplishments on this form, return one copy to the Investigative Information Services, and maintain one copy together with the computer printouts as a serial in your case file.
Set forth below is a brief synopsis of results of inquiries.
[REDACTED] is utilized by the subject. Property data and tax assessor info is attached. All other searches were negative.
Should additional contact be necessary, this request was handled by Analyst [REDACTED], Telephone [REDACTED]
1 - WF (Enc. 1)
Attn: Special Agent Supervisor
Note: Copy forwarded [REDACTED]
Via Mail____/Facsimile__X_Date 11/3/93
1 - SVITC
(2)
NDB
â (pg. 71)
â (pg. 72)
â (pg. 73)
â (pg. 74)
â (pg. 75)
â (pg. 76)
TIME: 12:01:50 METRONET N-LINE INFORMATION SYSTEM DATE: 11/03/93
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTION : A (E)DA (N)BRS (A)DDR (P)HN (Z)IP (C)ITY (S)TATE (U)S
(M)ENU (H)ELP (F)WD (B)ACK (W)METRO AREA (X)CLEAR
SELECTION : FILE : R (R)ESIDENTIAL (B)USINESS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAME : [REDACTED] FOR FIRST NAME SEARCH, ENTER F :
HOUSE# : [REDACTED] STREET: [REDACTED]
CITY : WASHINGTON ST : DC ZIP CODE: PHONE #: ( ) -
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RETURNED NAME/ADDRESS
NEAREST HOUSE # FOUND
[REDACTED]
SENDER : UNKNOWN LENGTH OF RES : 00
MEDIAN INCOME : 0211.OK HOME OWNER PROB :
WEALTH RATING : A HOME VALUE : [REDACTED]
DATE OF BIRTH : HOME VALUE INDEX: [REDACTED]
DWELLING TYPE : UNKNOWN
NET.ASP ° ANSI ° FDX ° 2400 E71 ° LOG CLOSED ° PRINT OFF ° ONLINE
â (pg. 77)
TIME: 12:07:22 METRONET N-LINE INFORMATION SYSTEM DATE: 11/03/93
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTION : A (E)DA (N)BRS (A)DDR (P)HN (Z)IP (C)ITY (S)TATE (U)S
(M)ENU (H)ELP (F)WD (B)ACK (W)METRO AREA (X)CLEAR
SELECTION : FILE : B (R)ESIDENTIAL (B)USINESS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NAME : FINDERS GROUP FOR FIRST NAME SEARCH, ENTER F : F
HOUSE# : 1307 STREET: 4TH ST NE
CITY : WASHINGTON ST : DC ZIP CODE: PHONE #: ( ) -
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
RETURNED NAME/ADDRESS
GLOBAL PRESS REVIEW
1307 4TH ST NE
WASHINGTON DC 20002 7001
(202) 546 - 9828
NET.ASP ° ANSI ° FDX ° 2400 E71 ° LOG CLOSED ° PRINT OFF ° ONLINE
â (pg. 78)
Front Footage : 0
Depth Footage : 0
Bldg Footage : 37,200
Pool : 0
# Units : 4
# Baths : 0.0
# Bedrooms : 0
Total Rooms : 0
Stories : 0.0
END OF DATA
Universal Directory of ALL Data for Washington DC
For: FINDERS GROUP
1 Tax Lien DC - No Record on PH Online
2 Judgment DC - No Record on PH Online
3 Bankruptcy DC - No Record on PH Online
4 Environmental DC - No Record on PH Online
5 Tax Assessor Name DC - No Record on PH Online
6 Grant Deed Name DC - No Record on PH Online
7 Federal Aviation Admin. DC - No Record on PH Online
8 Watercraft US - No Record on PH Online
END OF LIST
â (pg. 79)
MAIL-IT REQUESTED: NOVEMBER 3, 1993 1032ZC
CLIENT:
LIBRARY: ASSETS
FILE: ALLOWN
YOUR SEARCH REQUEST AT THE TIME THIS MAIL-IT WAS REQUESTED:
[REDACTED]
NUMBER OF RECORDS FOUND WITH YOUR REQUEST THROUGH:
LEVEL 1... 2
LEVEL 1 PRINTED
THE SELECTED RECORD NUMBERS:
1
DISPLAY FORMAT: FULL
SEND TO: SAVANNAH, # 5
FBI
220 EAST BRYAN STREET
SAVANNAH GEORGIA 31402FRANC
â (pg. 80)
LEVEL 1 - 3 OF 3 RECORDS
TRW REDI Property Data, Copyright (c) 1991
PROPERTY RECORDS FOR DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
ESTIMATED TAX ROLL CERTIFICATION DATE July 31, 1991
Owner: [REDACTED]
Mailing Address: [REDACTED]
MUNICIPALITY: [REDACTED]
â (pg. 81)
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--SLEUTH SUMMARY 3-NOV-1993 [FINDERS GROUP] Page 1/1 No. Name Clues Source ---- ------------------------- ------------------------------------ -------- 1 FINDERS GROUP Officer of FINDERS' KEEPERS OH-COR 2 FINDERS GROUP Officer FINDERS GROUP OH-COR 3 FINDERS GROUP Officer of FINDERS GROUP OH-COR 4 FINDERS GROUP INTERNATION [REDACTED] IL-COR 5 '' [REDACTED] IL-COR 6 FINDERS GROUP LIMITED [REDACTED] CO-COR 7 '' [REDACTED] CO-COR 8 '' [REDACTED] CO-COR Number=More Info N=New Search R=Revise State(s) S#=Save Clue E=Exit ____
â (pg. 82)
INFO AMERICA--OHIO Secretary of State Corp--Summary 3-NOV-1993
SEARCH KEY: [FINDERS GROUP]
No. Business Name Type Status Date
---- ------------------------------- ---------------- ----------- ----------
1 FINDERS GROUP TRADE NAME CANCELLED 01-03-1986
Number=MoreInfo O=OrderDocs N=NewSrch E=Exit 1
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--OHIO 3-NOV-1993
1 SECRETARY OF STATE CORPORATE--Detail Page 1/2
Information current through 10-16-1993
Name: FINDERS GROUP
Owner(s): FINDERS GROUP
Address: 629 OAK ST
COLUMBUS 43215
Type: TRADE NAME
State of Origin: NOT AVAILABLE
Date of Filing: 01-03-1986
Status: CANCELLED ON 02-22-1991
Date of Expiration: 01-03-1991
State ID Number: RN88852
*** History ***
Date Transaction
---------- ---------------------------------
02-22-1991 CANCELLED BY OPERATION OF LAW
RETURN=More Information P#=Page E=Exit to Summary
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--OHIO 3-NOV-1993
1 SECRETARY OF STATE CORPORATE--Detail Page 2/2
*** History *** (Cont'd)
Date Transaction
---------- ---------------------------------
10-01-1990 LETTER/RENEWAL NOTICE MAILED
â (pg. 83)
COMMON NPV 100000000 100
***** DOCUMENT FILING HISTORY *****
File Date Transaction
--------- -------------------------------------------------------------
08-29-86 Type: ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
Comment: FINDERS GROUP LIMITED
RETURN=More Information P#=Page E=Exit to Summary
INFORMATION AMERICA NETWORK--CORPORATE GLOBAL 3-NOV-1993
3 COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF STATE--Detail Page 4/4
[FINDERS GROUP LIMITED]
***** DOCUMENT FILING HISTORY (Cont'd)*****
File Date Transaction
--------- -------------------------------------------------------------
NOT AVAIL Type: 1993 CORPORATE REPORT MAILED 08/01/92
DUE 10/31/92
NOT AVAIL Type: 1993 CORPORATE REPORT SECOND NOTICE 11/30/92
SUSPENDED AFTER 01/31/03
12-15-92 Type: INTENT TO DISSOLVE
Document No: 921119454
12-14-92 Type: DISSOLVED CORPORATION
Document No: 921119455
Number=MoreInfo RETURN=Summary O=OrderDocs P#=Page N=NewSrch E=Exit
â (pg. 84)
INVESTIGATIVE INFORMATION SERVICES
In order to better help us serve your investigative needs,
please complete the following and return to:
FBI, Savannah Information Technology Center
220 East Bryan Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
SAVANNAH ITC RECORD #: [REDACTED] UCFN: 31C-WF-189911__
ANALYST: [REDACTED]__________________
Was the information provided helpful to your investigation?
[ ] YES [ ] NO
If NO, please let us know how we could be more helpful to your
investigation:____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
ACCOMPLISHMENT(S) resulting from information:
PERSON(S): (Enter total number applicable to each of the following)
____ FBI Fugitive(s) Arrested: [ ] FBI [ ] Local Date_______
____ Local Fugitive(s) Arrested: [ ] FBO [ ] Local Date_______
____ Subject(s) [ ] Arrested [ ] Located [ ] Identified
____ Witness(es) [ ] Located [ ] Identified
____ New Witness(es) [ ] Located [ ] Identified
BUSINESS(ES): (Enter total number applicable to each of the following)
____ New Business(es) Identified
____ New Business Associates/Associations Identified
____ Financial Audit Trail(s) Enhanced
ASSET(S): (Enter total number applicable to each of the following)
(TYPES: C = CASH R = REAL PROPERTY P = PERSONAL PROPERTY)
____ Asset(s) [ ] Located [ ] Identified [VALUE: ____ TYPE: ____]
____ Asset(s) Subject to Seizure/Forfeiture [VALUE: ____ TYPE: ____]
____ Potential Economic Loss Prevented [VALUE: ____ TYPE: ____]
OTHER: (Enter total number applicable to each of the following)
____ New Case(s) Initiated
____ New Lead(s) Generated
COMMENTS:______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
1 - Case File [REDACTED]
1 - SITC
â (pg. 85)
PRECEDENCE CLASSIFICATION
[ ] Immediate [ ] Top Secret Time Transmitted: 0900_
[ ] Priority [ ] Secret Sender's Initials: ____
[ ] Routine [ ] Confidential Number of Pages: ______
[ ] Sensitive (including cover page)
[X] Unclassified
To: FBI HQ. VCU Date: 11/8/93
Facsimile Numbe : 324-3089
Attn : SSA [REDACTED]
From : SAC, WMFO (C-4)
Subject : FINDERS
OD: WMFO
Special Handling Instructions:
Originator's Name : [REDACTED] Telephone:
Originator's Facsimile Number :
Approved: WW 31C-WF-189911-9
NOV 08 1993
FBI-WASH
â (pg. 86)
TRANSMIT VIA: PRECEDENCE: CLASSIFICATION: 3B
[X] Teletype [ ] Immediate [ ] TOP SECRET
[ ] Fascimile [X] Priority [ ] SECRET
[ ] AIRTEL [ ] Routine [ ] CONFIDENTIAL
[ ] UNCLAS E F T O
[X] UNCLAS
DATE __11/8/93__
FM FBI WMFO (31C-WF-189911) (P) (C-4)
TO DIRECTOR FBI/PRIORITY/
BT
UNCLAS
CITE: //3920//
PASS: FBIHQ, TRAINING DIVISION, NCAVC/ISU FOR SSA [REDACTED]
SUBJECT: âFINDERSâ GROUP, WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT-SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE-PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO:WMFO
FOR INFORMATION OF NCAVC, CAPTIONED MATTER WAS OPENED ON 11/2/93 AS A RESULT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEâS REQUEST THAT THE FBI CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS MADE BY [REDACTED] CONCERNING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS THE âFINDERSâ, AND WHAT ROLE IF ANY, WAS PLAYED BY THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.
[Semi intelligible handwriting in footer]
31C-WF-189911-10
MOC: Kch (2)
KCH00SW.312
KCH00850.312
MRI/JULIAN DATE: 699/312; ISN: 005
FOX DATE & TIME OF ACCEPTANCE: 1250 DS
â (pg. 87)
^PAGE 2 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
[REDACTED - Multiple large sections]
[REDACTED] WITH U.S. CONGRESSMAN ROSE (FLORIDA) TO DISCUSS ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING A GROUP CALLED âFINDERSâ. BOTH ROSE AND [REDACTED] PROVIDED INFORMATION CONCERNING THESE ALLEGATIONS TO DOJ.
WMFO INVESTIGATED A GROUP CALLED FINDERS IN FEBRUARY, 1987. FINDERS WAS AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE GROUP, LOCATED AT 3918/3920 W STREET, N.W., AND 1307 4TH STREET, N.E., WDC, THAT EVOLVED INTO A DATA GATHERING GROUP. THE GROUP WAS PURPORTEDLY HEADED BY A [REDACTED] VIRGINIA, WITH THE LEADER IN THE WDC [REDACTED] WMFO CLOSED THE CASE WHEN NO VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW, NO CHILD ABUSE, NO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE OCCURRED.
â (pg. 88)
^PAGE 3 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
SA [REDACTED] THE WMFO CASE AGENT FOR THE 1987 INVESTIGATION, ADVISED THAT THIS MATTER WAS BROUGHT UP AGAIN SOMETIME IN 1989, WHEN TV TALK SHOW HOST [REDACTED] WAS PURPORTEDLY PLANNING TO AIR A SPECIAL EXPOSING FINDERS AS A SATANIC CULT. SA [REDACTED] PROVIDED SSA [REDACTED] OF NCAVC, QUANTICO WITH INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS INVESTIGATION. SA [REDACTED] ADVISED THAT WHEN THE TELEVISED SPECIAL AIRED THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO FINDERS.
LEADS;
TRAINING DIVISION, NCAVC, AT QUANTICO, VA.
REVIEW RECORDS CONCERNING THE FINDERS AT QUANTICO AND ADVISE FBIHQ, AND WMFO OF ANY REFERENCES TO FINDERS, SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSING THEIR CURRENT STATUS AND LOCATION IF KNOWN. ADDITIONALLY, REVIEW ALL REFERENCES TO FINDERS AND THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY IN AN ATTEMPT TO DETERJINE [sic] IF ANY CORRLATION [sic] EXISTS.
BT
â (pg. 89)
0023 MRI 00698
PP FBIWMFO
DE FBIWMFO #0006 3121750
ZNR VVVVV
P 081749Z NOV 93
FM FBI WMFO (31C-WF-189911) (P) (C-4)
TO DIRECTOR FBI/PRIORITY/
BT
UNCLAS
CITE: //3920//
PASS: FBIHQ, TRAINING DIVISION, NCAVC/ISU FOR SSA [REDACTED]
SUBJECT: âFINDERSâ GROUP, WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT-SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE-PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO:WMFO.
FOR INFORMATION OF NCAVC, CAPTIONED MATTER WAS OPENED ON 11/2/93 AS A RESULT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEâS REQUEST THAT THE FBI CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS MADE BY [REDACTED] CONCERNING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS THE âFINDERSâ, AND WHAT ROLE IF ANY, WAS
31C-WF-189911-10
â (pg. 90)
PAGE TWO DE FBIWMFO 0006 UNCLAS
PLAYED BY THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.
[REDACTED - Multiple large sections]
[REDACTED] WITH U.S. CONGRESSMAN ROSE (FLORIDA) TO DISCUSS ALLEGATIONS CONCERNING A GROUP CALLED âFINDERSâ. BOTH ROSE AND [REDACTED] PROVIDED INFORMATION CONCERNING THESE ALLEGATIONS TO DOJ.
WMFO INVESTIGATED A GROUP CALLED FINDERS IN FEBRUARY, 1987. FINDERS WAS AN ALTERNATE LIFESTYLE GROUP, LOCATED AT 3918/3920 W STREET, N.W., AND 1307 4TH STREET, N.E., WDC, THAT EVOLVED INTO A DATA GATHERING GROUP. THE GROUP WAS PURPORTEDLY HEADED BY A [REDACTED] VIRGINIA, WITH THE LEADER IN THE WDC [REDACTED] WMFO CLOSED THE CASE WHEN NO VIOLATIONS OF FEDERAL LAW, NO CHILD ABUSE, NO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN WAS DETERMINED TO HAVE OCCURRED.
SA [REDACTED] THE WMFO CASE AGENT FOR THE 1987
â (pg. 91)
FD-36 (Rev. 8-29-85)
FBI 4B
TRANSMIT VIA: PRECEDENCE: CLASSIFICATION:
[X] Teletype [ ] Immediate [ ] TOP SECRET
[ ] Fascimile [X] Priority [ ] SECRET
[ ] AIRTEL [ ] Routine [ ] CONFIDENTIAL
[ ] UNCLAS E F T O
[X] UNCLAS
DATE __11/10/93__
FM FBI WMFO (31C-WF-189911) (P) (C-4)
TO DIRECTOR FBI/PRIORITY/
FBI MIAMI/PRIORITY/
BT
UNCLAS
CITE: //3920//
PASS: CID, VCU, SSA [REDACTED]
SUBJECT: âFINDERSâ GROUP, WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT-SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE-PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO:WMFO.
RE: BUREAU TELETYPE TO WMFO AND MIAMI, DATED 11/2/93, AND WMFO TELETYPE TO BUREAU AND MIAMI DATED 11/6/93, BOTH CAPTIONED AS ABOVE.
REFERENCED BUREAU TELETYPE ADVISED THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REQUESTED THE FBI CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS MADE BY [REDACTED] CONCERNING CHILD
[Semi intelligible handwriting in footer]
31C-WF-189911-11
MC:SG (2)
Original filename: SRG-011W.314
Time Received: 9:00pm; Telprep filename: SRG-011SO.314
MRI/JULIAN DATE: 1232/314 /314; ISN: 033
FOX DATE & TIME OF ACCEPTANCE: 131 DS 11/9/93
â (pg. 92)
^PAGE 2 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
SEXUAL ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS THE âFINDERSâ, AND WHAT ROLE, IF ANY, WAS PLAYED BY THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.
REFERENCED BUREAU TELETYPE INITIATED SAID PRELIMINARY INQUIRY AND SET FORTH LEADS FOR WMFO AND MIAMI.
INVESTIGATION AT WMFO INDICATES THAT MATERIALS SEIZED DURING THE EXECUTIONS OF TWO FEBRUARY 1987 SEARCH WARRANTS OF âFINDERSâ ADDRESSES IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WERE PROBABLY FORWARDED TO THE TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA POLICE DEPARTMENT (TPD) FOR INCLUSION IN THEIR âFINDERSâ CASE.
LEAD:
MIAMI DIVISION AT TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
THROUGH LIAISON INTO THE TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA POLICE DEPARTMENT, REVIEW THEIR INVESTIGATIVE FILES CONCERNING THE âFINDERSâ. ASCERTAIN THE STATUS OF ANY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE MAINTAINED BY THE TPD, REVIEW SAME AND ADVISE FBIHQ AND WMFO. LOCATE INVOLVED TPD PERSONNEL TO INCLUDE THE THEN CHIEF OF POLICE, AND DETERMINE IF ANY OUTSIDE AGENCY (NOTIBLY [sic] FROM THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY) ATTEMPTED TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF THEIR INVESTIGATION.
â (pg. 93)
^PAGE 3 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
BT
â (pg. 94)
077 MRI 01232
PP FBIWMFO
DE FBIWMFO #0033 3141842
ZNR UUUUU
P 101830Z NOV 93
FM FBI WMFO (31C-WF-189911) (P) (C-4)
TO DIRECTOR FBI/PRIORITY/
FBI MIAMI/PRIORITY/
BT
UNCLAS
CITE: //3920//
PASS: CID, VCU, SSA [REDACTED]
SUBJECT: âFINDERSâ GROUP, WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT-SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE-PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO:WMFO
RE: BUREAU TELETYPE TO WMFO AND MIAMI, DATED 11/2/93 AND WMFO TELETYPE TO BUREAU AND MIAMI DATED 11/6/93, BOTH CAPTIONED AS ABOVE.
REFERENCED BUREAU TELETYPE ADVISED THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REQUESTED THE FBI CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INQUIRY INTO
31C-WF-189911-11
â (pg. 95)
PAGE TWO DE FBIWMFO 0033 UNCLAS
ALLEGATIONS MADE BY [REDACTED] CONCERNING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS THE âFINDERSâ, AND WHAT ROLE, IF ANY, WAS PLAYED BY THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.
REFERENCED BUREAU TELETYPE INITIATED SAID PRELIMINARY INQUIRY AND SET FORTH LEADS FOR WMFO AND MIAMI.
INVESTIGATION AT WMFO INDICATES THAT MATERIALS SEIZED DURING THE EXECUTIONS OF TWO FEBRUARY 1987 SEARCH WARRANTS OF âFINDERSâ ADDRESSES IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WERE PROBABLY FORWARDED TO THE TALLAHASSEE, FLORID POLICE DEPARTMENT (TPD) FOR INCLUSION IN THEIR âFINDERSâ CASE.
LEAD:
MIAMI DIVISION AT TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
THROUGH LIAISON INTO THE TALLAHASSEE FLORIDA POLICE DEPARTMENT, REVIEW THEIR INVESTIGATIVE FILES CONCERNING THE âFINDERSâ. ASCERTAIN THE STATUS OF ANY PHYSICAL EVIDENCE MAINTAINED BY THE TPD, REVIEW SAME AND ADVISE FBIHQ AND WMFO. LOCATED INVOLVED TPD PERSONNEL TO INCLUDE THE THEN CHIEF OF POLICE, AND DETERMINE IF ANY OUTSIDE AGENCY (NOTIBLY [sic] THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY) ATTEMPTED TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF THEIR INVESTIGATION.
â (pg. 95)
|ââââ|
|SEAL|
|ââââ|
ââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ
To : SAC, WMFO (31C-WF-189911) (P) (C-4) Date: 11/12/93
From : SSA [REDACTED]
Subject: FINDERS GROUP;
WSTA-SEOC;
OOJ-PI;
OO:WMFO
On 11/9/93, SSA [REDACTED] OLIA-FBIHQ was telephonically contacted re the status of his efforts to have both [REDACTED] U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT queried re the FINDERS. [REDACTED] had previously been requested by SSA [REDACTED] VCU-CID, to handle the inquiries on a headquarters level. [REDACTED] advised that he was drafting a letter for approval by the VCU which would be sent to the respective agencies. He further advised that [REDACTED] was assisting him in this effort.
SSA [REDACTED] was requested to advise WMFO of the results of his efforts as soon as possible.
On 11/9/93, SSA [REDACTED] advised that he was handling the review of any FCI files at FBIHQ and would advise WMFO of the results.
2-WMFO
JKD:plj
(2)
31C-WF-189911-14
â (pg. 96)
PRECEDENCE CLASSIFICATION
[ ] Immediate [ ] Top Secret Time Transmitted:
[X] Priority [ ] Secret Sender's Initials:
[ ] Routine [ ] Confidential Number of Pages: 7
[ ] Sensitive (including cover page)
[X] Unclassified
To: FBIHQ - VCU Date: 11/12/93
Facsimile Number : 324-3089
Attn : SSA [REDACTED]
From : FBI WMFO (C-4)
Subject : FINDERS -
PI
Special Handling Instructions: ID 302s OF MPD CASE OFFICER
[REDACTED] + USCS SR AGENT [REDACTED].
Originator's Name : [REDACTED] Telephone:
Originator's Facsimile Number : (202) 863-1786
Approved: [initial]
31C-WF-189911-15
NOV 12 1993
FBI-WASH
â (pg. 96)
C4
0014 MRI 00488
PP FBIWMFO FBIJK
DE FBIMM #0002 3161508
ZNR UUUUU
P 121505Z NOV 93
FM FBI MIAMI (31C-WF-189911) (P)
TO FBI WMFO/PRIORITY/
FBI JACKSONVILLE/PRIORITY/
BT
UNCLAS
CITE: //3460//
PASS: TALLAHASSEE RA.
SUBJECT: FINDERS GROUP, WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT - SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE - PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO:WMFO.
RE WMFO TELETYPE TO DIRECTOR AND MIAMI, DATE 11/10/93.
FOR INFORMATION OF WMFO THE TALLAHASSEE RESIDENT AGENCY IS IN THE JACKSONVILLE DIVISION. REFERENCE TELETYPE WILL BE FAXED TO THE JACKSONVILLE DIVISION.
BT
#0002
31C=WF-189911-16 NOV 15 1993 FBI - WASH FIELD OFFICE
NNNN
â (pg. 97)
FD-36 (Rev. 8-29-85)
FBI
TRANSMIT VIA: PRECEDENCE: CLASSIFICATION: 3B
[X] Teletype [ ] Immediate [ ] TOP SECRET
[ ] Fascimile [X] Priority [ ] SECRET
[ ] AIRTEL [ ] Routine [ ] CONFIDENTIAL
[ ] UNCLAS E F T O
[X] UNCLAS
DATE __11/15/93__
FM FBI WMFO (31C-WF-189911) (P) (C-4)
TO DIRECTOR FBI/PRIORITY/
BT
UNCLAS
CITE: //3920//
PASS: VCU-CID SSA [REDACTED]
SUBJECT: âFINDERSâ GROUP, WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC ACT-SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN; OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE-PRELIMINARY INQUIRY; OO:WMFO.
RE BUREAU TELETYPE TO WMFO AND MIAMI DATED 11/2/93, AND WMFO TELETYPE TO BUREAU DATED 11/6/93, BOTH CAPTIONED AS ABOVE.
REFERENCED BUREAU TELETYPE ADVISED WMFO THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REQUESTED THE FBI CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INQUIRY INTO ALLEGATIONS MADE BY A [REDACTED] CONCERNING CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE BY A GROUP KNOWN AS THE
31C-WF-189911-17
Approved: [illegible] Original filename: MDC003W.319#4
Time Received: Telprep filename: MDC003SO.319
MRI/JULIAN DATE: 1145/319 ISN: 010
FOX DATE & TIME OF ACCEPTANCE: 439 J
â (pg. 98)
^PAGE 2 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
âFINDERSâ AND WHAT ROLE, IF ANY, WAS PLAYED BY THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.
TO DATE, WMFO HAS CONDUCTED THE FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION INTO CAPTIONED MATTER.
THE WMFO CASE FILE ON THE âFINDERSâ WAS REVIEWED AND SUMMARIZED FOR FBIHQ IN REFERENCED WMFO 11/6/93 TELETYPE.
THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT (MPD) CASE FILE WAS REVIEWED BY WMFO ON 11/4/93. COPIES WERE MADE OF SIGNIFICANT DOCUMENTS AND SENT TO FBIHQ, VIA FACSIMILE ON 11/5/93. ON 11/9/93, A PHOTOCOPY OF THE ENTIRE MPD FILE WAS OBTAINED AND HAND CARRIED TO FBIHQ.
WMFO INTERVIEWED FBI SA [REDACTED] RESPECTIVE CASE AGENTS FOR 1987 âFINDERSâ INVESTIGATION ON 11/5/93. FD-302s REFLECTING THESE INTERVIEWS WERE SENT TO FBI VIA FACSIMILES ON 11/8/93 AND 11/12/93.
WMFO HAS NOT YET INTERVIEWED CUSTOMS SA [REDACTED] PER INSTRUCTIONS OF FBIHQ, BUT IS PREPARED TO DO SO UPON FBIHQ AUTHORIZATION.
â (pg. 99)
^PAGE 3 WMFO 31C-WF-189911 UNCLAS
WMFO HAS SET FORTH LEADS FOR THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE UNIT TO REVIEW ITS RECORDS FOR REFERENCES TO THE âFINDERSâ AND FOR MIAMI TO REVIEW LOCAL POLICE RECORDS FOR SAME.
WMFO IS AWAITING THE RESULTS OF OLIA SSA [REDACTED] EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY ANY PERTINENT FILES AT EITHER [REDACTED] THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT. IF POSITIVE, THE WMFO REVIEW OF ANY IDENTIFIED FILES WILL BE CONDUCTED AS SOON AS ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE.
WMFO CONTINUES TO RUN INDICES CHECKS AND REVIEW FILES FOR POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS TO CAPTIONED INVESTIGATION.
BT
â (pg. 99)
PRECEDENCE CLASSIFICATION
[ ] Immediate [ ] Top Secret Time Transmitted:
[ ] Priority [ ] Secret Sender's Initials:
[X] Routine [ ] Confidential Number of Pages:
[ ] Sensitive (including cover page)
[X] Unclassified
To: FBIHQ - VCU Date: 11/22/93
Facsimile Number : 324-3089
Attn : SSA [REDACTED]
From : FBI WMFO
Subject : FINDERS -
PI
Special Handling Instructions:
Originator's Name : [REDACTED] Telephone: 212-252-7844
Originator's Facsimile Number:
Approved: [unknown initials]
31C-WF-189911-19
NOV 22 1993
FBI-WASH WM
â (pg. 100)
Until February 1987, the Finders were invisible to all but a few friends, relatives, neighbors, police, and intelligence buffs.
The Finders liked it like that.
Even those familiar with the group of 20 adults and six children had different notions of what the members were up to. The Finders liked that, too. The more disparate the images, the more invisible the group became.
Friends of the Finders described them as â60s throwbacks who lived communally, ascribed to Eastern philosophies, played elaborate games using the globe as their board, and raised their children creatively. Relatives branded them a cult and charged that they were pawns of their leader, Marion Pettie Jr., a.k.a. the Game Caller, the Student, the Stroller. Police followed leads alleging that the group was satanic and used the children in rituals. Intelligence buffs believed the technology-savvy bunch was made up of spooks. Neighbors of Finders homes in D.C. and rural Virginia tagged them as plain weird. How else to explain perpetually shuttered windows, a rooftop hot tub, and adults outfitted in dress clothes ambling outdoors with buck naked kids who donât go to school?
These images ran in concentric circles, like planets around the sun. Then on Wednesday, February 4, 1987, the planets began to collide.
Shortly before 5 oâclock that afternoon a woman who lived next to Myers Park in Tallahassee, Florida, called police to report an odd sight: a man dressed in a coat and tie playing in the park with six unkempt children. When two patrol cars arrived at Myers Park the officers found two well-dressed men and six kids alongside a foul-smelling, blue Dodge van with Virginia plates. The kids, between the ages of 2 and 7, were bug-bitten, had scratches on their legs, and were wearing dirty clothes.
One officer interviewed the men, Michael Holwell, 23, and Douglas Ammerman, 27. The other questioned the children.
Had Holwell and Ammerman told the police they were from a D.C.-based communal group, had they explained they were on a camping trip, had they reached in the glove compartment and forked over the letters-of-consent from the childrenâs mothers, had they not acted so evasive and weird, they well might have been thanked for their time and left alone. But there are too many what-ifs in the Finders saga, too many chapters that could have been the last one.
Instead, what happened is this: Holwell and Ammerman were arrested on misdemeanor child-abuse charges. Within a day the national news rocket took off, fueled with the worst kid of off-the-record innuendo, misleading court documents, and wide-eyed pronouncements from officials working the case. If you believed the reports, Holwell and Ammerman were satanic D.C. cultists that swiped children from their parents, sexually abused them, and peddled kiddy porn across the globe.
The _Washington Post_ ran Page One stories three days in a row. Washington TV stations dispatched reporters to Tallahassee to broadcast live remotes. The _Miami Herald_ quoted parents of Finders wondering if the group was going to pull a mass suicide, _a la_ Jonestown. The staid _New York Times_ reported that âsome have described [the Finders] as a bizarre cult of devil worshipers.â Everyone got in on the act. There were stories broadcast by Rita Braver, Connie Chung, Larry King, CNN, even the BBC.
The Law pulled out all the stops, too. The Tallahassee and D.C. Police hooked up with the FBI, the U.S. Customs Service, Interpol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (an FBI-like unit), and police in Virginia, San Francisco, and New York.
Holwell and Ammerman sat in stir at Tallahasseeâs Leon County Jail and the state of Florida held the children in protective custody. Meanwhile, police raided Findersâ homes in D.C. and Virginia, investigating everything from the menâs sexual habits to their finances.
The only trouble was, they hadnât broken any laws. After six weeks in jail, the charges against the men were dropped. And though the state kept some of the children from their mothers for months, eventually all of them were returned.
A year-and-a-half later, the Finders have quietly gone back to their own business. But some questions have yet to fade. How did the case get so whacked out of proportion? Why did it continue, week after week?
And who are the Finders, anyway?
-
The Tallahassee Police Department responded to my Freedom of Information Act request by turning over most of their Finders files. Their cooperation was remarkable. The Washington Metropolitan Police Department, on the other hand, which searched two D.C. Findersâ dwellings, refused to answer any questions for this article. âwe were not the lead agency,â explained spokesman Sergeant Joe Gentile. D.C. Police also denied my Freedom of Information Act request and appeals, claiming that this case was a juvenile matter and therefore off limits.
Officer Judy Suchocki, one of the arresting officers, guides her patrol car between stands of oaks to a patch of dirt at Tallahasseeâs Myers Park. As her headlights illuminate webs of Spanish moss hanging from the trees, she tells the story of the arrest.
Suchocki had responded to a Code 13P, suspicious persons, and arrived as the back-up to the first officer on the scene, Tony Mashburn. Mashburn questioned Holwell and Ammerman; Suchocki interviewed the four boys and two girls in the Dodge van.
âThey were scared of us, which is not unusual for kids,â says Suchocki.
âMy first impression was that they were dirty, but I would not say that they were unusually dirty for kids,â she says. âThe van smelled like urine and there were blankets all over the back. They definitely were sleeping in the van. I asked the kids where they were from, why they were here, where they were going. Mary was the one who was talking. She was real talkative.â
Mary, 7, said they were from Washington and she recited their Glover Park address and phone number. She gave all the kidsâ names and their ages: Max Livingston, 6; Benjamin Franklin, 4; Honey Bee, 3; John Paul Pope, her brother, 2; and B.B., 2. They didnât go to school, though they had been taught how to read and how to play games. One of the two men was her daddy, Mary said, but they hadnât seen their mommies since before Christmasâwhich the Finders donât celebrate. She explained that they have lots of mommies and daddies and that the adults do what the Game Caller says. Right now, they were being âweanedâ from their mommies and just âgoing different places,â sleeping in campgrounds.
âI was worried about the kids being kidnapped,â says Suchocki. âFor her to tell me they were being weaned was odd.â
After questioning the kids for 20 minutes, Suchocki compared notes with Mashburn.
Ammerman and Holwell had told Mashburn they were D.C. teachers en route to Mexico where they were going to start a school for brilliant children. The kidsâ parents, they said, were back in Washington. Then Ammerman became evasive, refusing to claim any of the kids as his own, and Holwell clammed up entirely.
âIâm not sure whatâs going on,â Mashburn told Suchocki. They radioed their higher-ups.
â (pg. 101)
Waiting for their supervisor to arrive, Suchocki continued her interview with the kids. The Game Callers was a big fat man who sat on a pedestal and threw pennies at them, Mary said. Suchocki began to think the kids had been brainwashed.
Mary recounted a recent trip to a coin-op laundry: They hadnât put enough soap in the machine and some of the clothes didnât come clean. They said they received food in reward for work, lived on a diet of raw vegetables and fruit, and hadnât eaten since morning. As they talked, Mary took oranges and bananas from a box in the van and peeled them for the other kids.
âStuff like that made me wonder if the men were taking care of the kids properlyâeven if they werenât being kidnapped,â says Suchocki.
Florida child-abuse laws make it a misdemeanor to deprive children of food, clothing, shelter, or medical care or to cause them mental injury. On arrival, Suchocki and Mashburnâs supervisor decided, if nothing else, these laws had been broken and he told the officers to arrest the men.
Suchocki didnât put up any argument.
âThere was no way I was going to let these men continue with the kids if I could help it,â she says. âCan you imagine how I would have felt if we let them go and I learned later that these six kids were kidnapped? Think about it. If it was your child who was kidnappedâŠâ
When informed that they were under arrest, Holwell fell to the ground.
âThe guy just did a fake faint,â says Suchocki. âIâve seen it several times. Women are real good at doing it. Usually when a person really faints you donât bend the knees. This guy did a Scarlett OâHara thing.
âI checked him. I looked at his eyes to make sure he wasnât diabetic or something. I said, âGet up. I know youâre faking this mess.â And he wouldnât get upâŠ.It was like a child playing, like when you go in to check if theyâre asleep at night.â
A few teenagers hanging out in the park noticed the commotion and fetched their home video camera to tape the arrest. Holwell was hoisted by his limbs, put in a patrol car with Ammerman, and driven to the station. Suchocki drove the kids over in the van.
Ammerman, who had a valid driverâs license, was booked under his name and also under an alias, Kenny Rogers. Holwell had no ID and was booked as John Doe, with the a.k.a.âs Michael James Houlihan and James Michael Holwell.
âThe children were extremely hungry when they got to the police department,â officer Mashburn wrote in his three-page report. âThe children appeared as if they hadnât bathed in several days and most of them didnât have on any underwearâŠThe childrenâs clothing were extremely filthy and they had on mismatched socks.â
Investigator Cheryl Weigand of the Sex Crimes and Juvenile Unit âMiranda-edâ Holwell and Ammerman in a holding cell and attempted to interview them. Instead of answering Weigandâs questions, Ammerman asked about the charges while Holwell laid on the cellâs floor with his eyes shut tight, jerking his body. âHolwell was doing the frog,â says Weigand, who was appointed the caseâs lead investigator.
âIf they had said who they were, given us a number where we could have contacted the mothers, Iâm not saying the situation wouldnât have concerned usâit might still have been a little hard for us to understandâbut it would have lifted a large cloud,â Weigand says. âWe had six children, and we didnât know who their mothers were.â
Weigand ushered the kids through the second of the many interviews they would endure.
Mary said the Game Callerâs name was Marion Pettie. She said he forbade the children from entering the Glover Park house and that he lived on the roof. While on the road, she explained, they wrote to Pettie on a modem equipped computerâa TRS-80 laptopâand then he would tell them what to do.
I donât understand, Investigator Weigand said.
Mary told her they were âdifferent.â
Different indeed. One of the boys peed on the rug in Weigandâs office. Other kids soiled their pants. Six-year-old Max Livingston, she noted, had a poor understanding of time. He didnât seem to recognize a stapler, a typewriter, and other common office objects. Weigand led the kids back to the van to get some food and one of the 2-year-olds ate eight bananas and a carrot.
âThese children were not properly taken care of,â says Weigand, who hails from New York. âBeing a police officer is very much a learned behavior. You see one incident and say âwhat if?â We see hundreds and hundreds and we learn what is reasonable for a parent to do and what is not reasonable.â
Weigand spoke with one of the girls about sexual abuse. â[S]he became very evasive,â Weigand wrote in her report. âShe denied any âbad touches,â or any inappropriate behavior by the adults. [She] became very fidgety, and wanted to end the interview.â
Later, two of the kids described a game in which they ripped off an adultâs clothes. Apparently, the kids only tore off a manâs jacket and then rummaged through his pockets for change. They told Weigand about another game where women walked around naked. âBoth children felt that this was very funny,â wrote Weigand, âand went along with the concept of it being a game.â
The police fingerprinted the children and
â (pg. 102)
took their mug shots after agents from Floridaâs Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) arrived to place the kids in protective custody.
Investigator Weigand phoned the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and explained the situation, giving them the Glover Park phone number and address Mary had memorized. D.C. Police reported back to Weigand, saying they had reached an answering machine with a âweirdâ message on it, some kind of biblical passage. D.C. said it was going to send a cruiser by the house. Tallahassee didnât hear from D.C. until the next day.
-
As Finders travel the country and the world, they communicate with fellow members via electronic mailboxes, such as MCI Mail. No matter where they are they can receive or transmit a message with a Touch Tone phone, a computer, a modem, and the mailbox password.
The day after Tallahassee Police arrested Ammerman and Holwell, a Finder named SS (Stuart Silverstoneâthey typically use their initials when corresponding) sent a âpriorityâ report to BM (Bob Meyer).
âThe sequence of events started here when I returned to W St [the Glover Park home] last night around 10pm to a waiting Metropolitan Police Officer Smith of the 2nd District HQ,â SSâs report reads. Officer Smith told SS that three kids were found in Tallahassee living in a van and that police thought one of the mothers lived at this address.
âThe ofcr asked my name, which I gave, whether this was a school, No, and that was about it,â wrote SS. âI offered to make some calls to try + locate the mother.â
SS checked the answering machine and listened to a message left by the D.C. Police. A few minutes later the phone rang. It was an official from Floridaâs HRS explaining that they had the kids and that juvenile court would be holding a custody hearing the next morning. âHe asked me if I knew where the mothers were, + I said I would try to find out. He asked if this was a schoo, + I said No, it was a private residence. He would not tell me more, such as the names of the men being held + charges.â
On Thursday, the day after the arrest, the juvenile court granted HRS temporary custody of the children. The criminal court set bond of $100,00 each for the misdemeanor child-abuse charges leveled against Ammerman and Holwell. SS called Investigator Weigand, using the name Steve Learner, and told her he was trying to help put the mothers in touch with her. Weigand explained the particulars of the case. Would the mothers get their kids if they showed up? he asked. Not necessarily, Weigand said.
âIt was a very routine sort of investigation,â says Officer Scott Hunt, who was the Tallahassee Police Department spokesman at the time.
Hunt phoned the press Wednesday night and briefed them, but on Thursday the only mention of the arrest was in a small story in the local paper, the _Tallahassee Democrat._ âChild abuse cases were not that unusual,â says Hunt.
That changed before the close of Thursday when D.C. Police realized Ammerman and Holwell were members of the Finders.
âTheir [D.C. Police] response was âHoly shit! Weâve been looking at these freaks,ââ says Hunt.
Tallahassee Investigator Cheryl Weigand spoke to Detective Jim Bradley of the Washington Metropolitan Police Intelligence Unit that day. In her report she wrote, âHe asked this investigator if I thought there was a possibility there may be more children at either of the locations [the Glover Park home the women and children resided in or a Northeast warehouse that the men called home]. This investigator stated that may be true, but I did not have any specific child that I knew of there. He stated that he was going to get search warrants on both locations, and try to serve them later this date.â
Det. Bradley filed an affidavit for the search warrants at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday afternoon, explaining that he was looking for evidence of kidnapping, a federal crime, or any related offenses described in the affidavit.
âPrior to February 5th, 1987 your affiant, Detective James E. Bradley, Jr. received information from a confidential source of information,â wrote Bradley. âThis source stated that a group of subjects calling themselves the Finders, A [sic] cult, were conducting âbrainwashingâ techniques at the above described two locations in Dist of Columbia. The source stated that members of the âcultâ attempted on numerous occassions [sic] to introduce it into the âcultâ by promising financial rewards and sexual gratification. The source stated that children are used in âritualsâ by the members of the âcultâ. The source stated that it never personally observed the children being abused but that it had had conversations with grandparents of the children who feared for the safety of the children.
âThe source further stated that during the latter part of December 1986 it personally had conversations with one of the âcultâ members, identified as Allen Schoen, wanted it to âexploreâ Satanism with members of the âcultâ.â
Judge Jean Dwyer approved the warrants shortly after 4 p.m.
Bradleyâs affidavit became the fount of much of the sensational reporting that followed. Ex-Finder Paula Arico, mother of Mary and John Paul Pope and formerly Holwellâs wife, says Bradleyâs âconfidential sourceâ is a woman who had a brief affair with a group member. Two independent sources confirmed this.
In the affidavit, Bradley summarized what he had learned from Tallahassee Police and wrote, âLastly, the source in this investigation told your affiant that the information concerning this âcultâ is kept in computers stored at the addresses listed in this affidavit.â
In what appears to be an addendum, Bradley added this zinger in slightly larger type.
âOn December 15, 1986 Detective Bradley responded to the area of Glover Park in the rear of the 3900 Block of W Street, N.W. Det. Bradley observed a clearing approximately seventy yards behind the house and several stumps surrounding the open area. Several round stones had been gathered near the circle, this practice is sometimes used in Satanic rituals, and evidence that several persons had gathered in the clearing recently. The rear of the residence is covered from the alley by heavy bamboo growth, save a small entrance to the rear yard. In the rear yeard [sic] was a small very ornate gravestone propped up against the support pillar for the porch.â
Like other members of the Metropolitan Police, Det. Bradley did not return phone calls and did not reply to a written request for an interview.
To a school of journalists circling a story, an affidavit like this oneâpacked with sex, child abuse, the occult, and cultismâis fresh blood. Affidavits are court documents, and journalists can quote from them without fearing a libel suit. Whether the police have their facts straight doesnât matterâan affidavit tells a journalist what the police think they know.
If that wasnât enough to chum the waters, sexual abuse got tossed in. An HRS caseworker told Investigator Weigand and at least one other Tallahassee officer that two of the children were âconfirmed cases of sexual abuse,â even though the physician who conducted sexual exams on the children for HRS had _not_ confirmed sexual abuse.
The doctorâs dictation, transcribed the day after the exam, cautiously describes possible abuse of one boy and one girl.
âThis is a distinctly abnormal hymenal pattern compatible with either digital or attempted penile penetration,â he said of the girl. âThe absense of supperficial [sic] abrasions revealed by tolluidine [sic] blue would argue against any recent trauma (in the last 3-5 days).â Of the boy, he stated, âThis degree of anal sphincter laxity should prompt questioning in the area of anal digital penetration or sodomy, although it is not diagnostic of either.â
Thursday evening, D.C. news stations broadcast their first Finders stories and Fridayâs _Washington Post_ ran a small story in Metro.
On Friday, Weigand, another Tallahassee investigator, and an FBI agent tried to interview the men at Leon County Jail, where they were kept in isolation. TO the investigatorsâ surprise, when they arrived at the jail they bumped into Doug Ammermanâs brother, David.
David told the officers Doug had visited their parents in Gainesville a few weeks before the arrest with a boy he claimed was his. Doug Ammerman had told his parents he was heading for Miami.
Though David said he hadnât seen his brother in three or four years, the year before he had written Doug a letter. David showed the investigators the reply. It wasnât from Doug. It was from Stuart SilverstoneâSSâand printed on the letterhead of Gung-Ho Traders, 1307 Fourth Street NE, the address of the Findersâ warehouse. Silverstoneâs letter said Doug had left for China with a Dr. Gung-Ho just before the postman delivered Davidâs letter. David Ammerman also showed investigators a letter addressed to their mother signed by âThe Three Wives of Gung Ho.â
The letter reads, âThis is to testify that your son Douglas, aka Earnest Angel, I Betterson, Danny Proper, Kenny Rogers is a true master of the art of fucking. The shape of his cock is unique and he is truly an artist at using it to give us the most pleasure. The depth! The width! The heights! No other man touches us in this way.
âHis hands have magic as they stroke our slender limbs and moist pussies. Words cannot describe the tender passion that Douglas brings to our orgiastic pleasuresâŠ.â
âOh Mrs. Ammerman, we cannot thank you enough for having raised such a great stud. Just think if he had never left home, weâd never have known the ectasy of his throbbing [penis].â
Doug Ammerman refused to speak with the investigators or his visiting brother. Holwell, however, offered some âbasic informationâ and asked about the children. Had they been seen by a doctor? Was anything found? Where were they? The investigators told him the kids were in protective custody and not in need of immediate medical attention.
Friday was also the day that reporters from the _Post_ and local TV stations got their hands on the affidavit, just in time to photograph and videotape the raid of the Findersâ warehouse.
At a press conference in Tallahassee, Scott Hunt revealed that âphysical examinations showed sexual abuse to one of the children.â
The Washington TV stations went wild. Take WUSA-TV, for example, D.C.âs CBS affiliate. They broadcast the arrest footage shot by the teens. Bob Strickland appeared live from Tallahassee. Me-lo-dra-ma-tic Mike Buchanan, citing police sources, reported that the Finders had âworldwide connections,â used âsex and children to obtain power and money,â and had two bank accounts with over $100,000 in each one. The Glover Park residence was âa breeding house where women exercise great control.â The children in custody were âlike shells, zombie-like.â
In the searches of the Findersâ two D.C. addresses, police recovered computers, data disks, software, diaries, and other personal papers. Police also seized photos they said showed children taking part in animal blood-letting ceremonies. One photo supposedly showed a child in chains.
If you missed it on TV, there it was on Page One of the Saturday _Post_ in two stories above the fold, complete with police mug shots of the kids in Tallahassee.
âOfficials Describe âCult Ritualsâ in Child Abuse Case,â on _Post_ story was headlined. âCustoms officials said they were looking into whether a child pornography operation wasa being conducted,â the article said. Adding to the intrigue, _Post_ reporters that photos of naked children were âvisible through a bag carried from the warehouseâ during the raid. (In TV footage of the raid, one of the articleâs
â (pg. 103)
authors can be seen scribbling madly as she peers through a jam-packed plastic bag a cop hauls away.)
The _Miami Herald_âs Page One story quoted Officer Scott Hunt, âIt is our belief these kids were not kidnapped but that their parents gave them away, because one of the rites of passage into this satanic organization is that you have to give up your rights to your children, and that the leaders of this organization can do what they want to with your children.â
In the _Tallahassee Democrat_âs Page One story, Hunt was quoted, âAs far as weâre concerned, this goes from coast to coast and from Canada to MexicoâŠ.There is no doubt in our mind that this will have at least national, if not international, repercussions.â
The FBI had joined the case to look into the âtransportation of children across state lines for immoral purposes or kidnapping.â U.S. Customs was contributing its satanism and pornography expertise. Interpol was investigating a tip about Holwell.
The Tallahassee Police Department was awash in the media flood. âI had 75 reporters waiting for me in the lobby,â says Hunt. âWe logged 450 telephone calls to me in two days. They were bringing in overtime people to help take messages.â Hundreds of calls were from parents claiming the children. Canvassing the nation for the kidsâ parents were the National Center for Exploited Children, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Child Find, Childrenâs Clearing House, the National Child Safety Council, and the National Association of Missing Children. Aside from a bomb threat phoned to the house holding the kids, they were physically safe as could be.
-
Saturday night, three days after the arrest, the Finders went public with their story. R Gardner Terrell, a CPA formerly with the Internal Revenue Service, sent a memo to D.C. and Tallahassee Police, the FBI, HRS, the juvenile court judge, the FBI, Dan Rather, and the _Washington Post_. With a stab at wit and humor, the Finderâs trademark, Terrell headed the memo âSUBJECT: Investigative Leads.â
âThis memo is respectfully offered in the hope that it will clear up some misunderstanding concerning the current âmissing childrenâ case receiving so much media coverage,â he wrote. Terrell explained that in early January, Ammerman, a landscape gardener, and Stanley Berns, an architect, had taken the seven children to Berea, Kentucky, to help the Rev. Jim Wyker build a retirement community called New Hope. Terrell gave the name and phone number of a Berea couple who helped care for the kids during their visit, and said the plan had been to enroll them in the coupleâs Montesorri school while the community was being built.
Because the Rev. Wyker was not ready to break ground for New Hope, wrote Terrell, âthe men took the children on a vacation/camping trip to the warmer climate of Florida with the full applause and approval of the childrenâs mothers.â Terrell wrote that he drove to Florida with Holwell, computer programmers Christian Herbst and Thomas R. Van Deusen, and Robert M. Meyer. Herbst, noted Terrell, has a Harvard M.A., while Meyer âis a Princeton and Oxford M.A.â
âWhen we were satisfied that the six children [were] safely in the hands of five capable adults, Mr. Meyer and I left Florida.â On the day of the arrest, Holwell and Ammerman took the kids to the park while the three other men looked for âaccommodations.â
âThe mothers had fully authorized these men, in writing, to care for their children and expressed full confidence in them,â wrote Terrell, referring to the authorization letters in the vanâs glove compartment. âAll of the mothers are now in San Francisco working in business offices, earning money to help pay for âNew Hope.ââ
Terrell, who claimed he owned the raided Glover Park home and the Northeast warehouse, closed by saying he considered the arrests and raids âmistakes.â Not violations of civil liberties. Not a humiliating pain in the ass. Not a wholly unnecessary bureaucratic fuck-up. Mistakes, thatâs all. His memo included his phone number and an offer to help in any way he could.
Reporters and police never poked a hole in Terrellâs even-toned and cordial letter. From Berea, Kentucky, the Rev. Jim Wyker confirmed that the men and children had stayed with him for a week in January. The 86-year old retired non-denominational minister was a rock-solid source. He told the _loisville Courier-Journal_ he met the Finders at a âmeeting of commune proponentsâ a few years before. That past November, he told them about his New Hope plans, and Junary 9 they popped in to help. âThe only thing we discussed was the land and the building and the childrenâs center,â he said. âIâm not trying to uphold the folks from Washington. I donât know them. All I know is what I saw.â
The report of three other men jibed with tips police had gotten about a white van traveling with the blue van. Several state police had even been put on the lookout for the white van.
On Sunday, a college student and part-time Tallahassee Police Department employee brought to police a TRS-80 computer he found. (One police source told me the student brought the computer in on Thursday, but that the police wanted to explore its files for a few days.) Files on the computer included a report from the three men Terrell mentioned in his memo, Herbst, Van Deusen, and Meyer.
This trio had left Holwell and Ammerman at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning. âThey were dressed in suits and ties, the van had been cleaned up; and the kids had been dressed in clean clothes, they had a large amount of produce with them, and the kids had a breakfast buffet before they left,â the confiscated report reads. Holwell and Ammerman were supposed to link up with the men via their electronic mailbox. Until they read SSâs report the next morning, the three men had no idea where Holwell and Ammerman had gone. SSâs report didnât send them into a panic though: One spent the day earning a few dollars helping âa cripple,â while the other two researched an article about desktop publishing at Tallahasseeâs Florida State University library.
Other files in the TRS-80 included a report from a member working in Hong Kong and a short note from MDP, Marion D. Pettie, to the âKids Game.â Dated 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, it reads, âIf authoritarians approach again, say that you are on the way to Mexico to start a school and that you are authorized by the mothers to do this.
âIt feels like a hostile act when kids are found not to be in school. If they ask tell about their degrees, plus a few that they donât have. Announce that you are going to call the school: âHarvard University for Bright Kids.ââ
The Sunday _Washington Post_ ran two Page One stories on the Finders, one headlined âCult Member Defends 2 Men in Child Abuse Case.â
âWe are all in a state right now where we are afraid. Weâve been made almost dysfunctional by the reports,â Terrell told the _Post_ in what the paper called a lengthy telephone interview. Terrell described the âbloodletting ritualâ as the slaughter of two goats kept on a farm in Virginia. The goats had been killed for food, he said, and the kids had watched the slaughter as an educational experience.
The _Post_âs conversation with Terrell came shortly after police raided five Findersâ properties in two small Virginia towns near Old Rag Mountain, Etlan and Nethers. Again, the _Post_ satisfied the readersâ longing to peer behind the curtainâno matter what might be there. âThe door of one cabin was open yesterday, revealing large amounts of food, clothing, sleeping bags, books and pamphlets from groups such as the World Future Society,â the article revealed. A plastic bag containing hundreds of neckties and several pairs of panty hose were on the floor, along with boxes of diapers.
The _Post_ coverage included juicy tidbits in paragraph 16 of one of the stories. According to a U.S. Customs spokesman, agents who saw photos seized in the D.C. raids said that some of them appeared to involve sex between adults and kids. This appeared balanced with a D.C. Police source colling the pictures âno more pornographic than what you find in your average home.â Later in the story, a D.C. Police source confided that the D.C. raids didnât turn up âanything anywhere.â
âWe had two separate investigations going on. Ours and the mediaâs,â says Tallahassee Policeâs Lt. Jo Ann Van Meter, who supervised the beginning of the investigation.
âI never expected the media attention I got,â says Tallahassee Police spokesman Hunt. âNever. Thatâs the problem you have with multiple jurisdictions. The media was playing off al of us and making it a bigger story.â
-
On Monday, Day 6 of the Finders Crisis, Washington Metropolitan Police began to slink away from the case.
The day before, D.C. Detectives Jim Bradley and Eric Witzig had interrogated the kids in Tallahassee. Bradley, who had requested the D.C. search warrants, said that his visit to Tallahassee was prompted by three separate accounts of the Glover Park houseâs basement. Exactly what he was looking for in Tallahassee escaped Investigator Weigand, who wrote in her report for that day, âHe indicated that there may have been a hole dug in the walls or the floor of the basement, for unknown reasons.â Judging from the Tallahassee reports, the D.C. detectives trip to Florida was a waste. They didnât learn much more than Mary could count to 10 in Chinese.
âThe chief in D.C. sent up a hue and a cry in the beginning,â says Tallahasseeâs Lt. Van Meter, âand then when his guys didnât come up with anything, he backed away.â
âBy Monday, Washingtonâs out of this, theyâre shutting down,â recalls Lt. Van Meter. âWeâre getting calls from the chief in D.C. telling our chief, âWe donât have anything. Bye.ââ
Monday was also the day Tallahassee got first wind of Marion Pettieâs whereabouts.
Lt. Lee Hart of the Culpeper (Virginia) Police Department informed Tallahassee that he had a contact with the Finders. Hart said this contact told him Pettie put out the word for members to flee and hide, and Pettie would probably go to Andrews Air Force Base and catch a military plane flight to China. This was plausible: Pettie, a retired Air Force master sergeant, had the right to free, stand-by military transport.
Monday also saw a visit to the Washington, D.C., Field Office of the FBI by one of the Finders mothers and the three men from the white van.
An FBI report of the interviews gives the impression that Herbst, Van Deusen, and Meyer had remained calm until they read the newspaper accounts on Friday morning, February 6th. â[T]hey realized they were being portrayed as child abusers and satanists. Frightened, the three decided to return to WDC and figure out what to do.â
In Mondayâs _Washington Post,_ Terrell explained the menâs silence and passivity (ââFindersâ Member Labels Arrests âAll a Big Mistake.ââ). Shortly before the Tallahassee arrests they had been stopped by police in Marion County, Florida, and that incident combined with 10 years of being hassled by D.C. cops convinced the men that it would be better to deal with a judge than unreasonable police.
Another Finders mother called the Tallahassee Police Monday and asked whether the mothers would be arrested if they came to claim their kids. âWe couldnât give the mothers the guarantee that they wouldnât be arrested,â says Lt. Van Meter. The mother agreed to call back the next day.
Two more mothers visited the FBI in D.C. on Tuesday. âEveryone interviewed states child abuse and child sexual exploitation is not a part of their beliefs and sex with children is morally reprehensible,â the FBI report states. âAll have complete confidence in the ability of any of their group to care for the childrenâŠThey do not in any way, shape or form practice âsatanism,â and all are eager for the return of their children. Everyone interviewed agreed to be polygraphed by the FBI should the need arise.â Two more mothers were to be interviewed the next day, the report explains, and after that the mothers were planning to head to Tallahassee.
â[We] have not uncovered any indication of a federal statute,â the report concludes.
âWe had pretty much tied up the case,â Investigator Weigand says.
By Tuesday, the _Post_ had consigned the Finders story to the Metro sectionââD.C. Police: Finders Odd, Not Criminal.â
That night, Terrell invited reporters into the Findersâ warehouse for an interview. Sitting with his back to the cameras, a Ronald Reagan mask covering the hind part of his head, he explained that the mothers hadnât come forward because they were waiting out the storm.
Terrell also told reporters that he was âplaying the role of Ghingiz K. Plato.â
Tallahassee Police spokesman Hunt was flabbergasted. âWhy are we doing this jousting in the media? I believe Mr. Terrell could go a long way in clearing this case if he produces the mothers of these children as he says he can,â he told the _Tallahassee Democrat_ on Tuesday.
âUp till that point, people said the olâ police department did some pretty dumb things,â recalls Investigator Rick Huffman, who inherited the case from Weigand when she left for vacation. âThen thereâs this clown on TV saying all these stupid things. People started saying thatâs too stupid to be any kind of a cult. In Tallahassee, it turned out that this whole thing was being perceived as a joke.â
The Weigand believed the case was wrapped up Tuesday, she still wondered why the mothers had not hightailed it down to Tal-
â (pg. 104)
lahassee the day they learned of the arrest.
âSeems to me that people who have never done anything wrong have nothing to fear,â says Weigand. âWhat were they hiding? If it were me, Iâd blindly go get my child.â
-
Sex, confusion, small-mindedness, fear, the press, and the enigmatic Finders kept jolting the Finders case back to life.
HRS recruited Chicago psychologist Dr. Nahman Greenberg to tackle the question of sexual abuse. Known for his sex-abuse work in the Manhattan Beach, California, preschool case, Greenberg held a series of interviews with the kids. His conclusion: the evidence was inconclusive.
The tangle of law-enforcement outfits working the case continued to confuse everyone.
âA couple of officers in D.C. used our arrest as an excuse to go into the warehouse,â says a Tallahassee officer who asked for anonymity. âThey were obsessed with this group and wanted access.â
Larry Kahaner, a D.C. journalist and author of the current book, _Cults That Kill_, spoke with police about the Finders while researching his book. (the Finders are not mentioned in his book, nor does he classify them as a cult that kills.)
âFinders were operating here for 25 years,â says Kahaner, âand as far as I know, law enforcement had nothing on them. I think that was a very embarassing thing. Not that they got caught with their pants downâbut they were at least half-way down.â
Investigator Huffman is the only Tallahassee officer who squarely discussed problems in his own department with me. He says the arresting officers did right. âYou really have to commend them. Itâs easier to cut someone loose than to get involved.â But, he says, âIf you get down to the bottom line, people have the right to remain silent.â
A sociology major in college, Huffman says he compared the Finders to the Amishâdifferent, not bad. Yet he cautions, âThey do have their immaturities.â
âOur chief of police wasnât here,â says Huffman. âHeâs very progressive and has the ability to think in new ways. But I had to deal with the deputy chief. He had already written the group off.
âThere was a meeting with the FBI, HRS, stateâs attorney, guardian ad litem [a legal advocate for the kids]âeverybody. I had only said one thing: Letâs be objective.
âHe let out a sigh I can still remember. He said, directed at me, something to the effect of âif it swims like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck, what the hell more do you need?â Obviously, these men should be sent down the river.â
Huffman says the deputy chief meant well, âBut he had a very narrow view.â
Separate Florida agencies were battling over what to do with the case, too. âIt became a political ball that bounced from one agency to the next,â says Lt. Van Meter. âHRS and the stateâs attorney didnât want to let go of it. They kept insisting there was more to it. We got really embarrassed. It got to be a real circus.â
Willie Meggs, the stateâs attorney, handled both the adult and juvenile cases.
âWillie gets up every morning and takes his righteous indignation pill,â says Van Meter. âHeâs very religious, very conservative. To him, these people were heretics. Heâs the kind of guy who has mom tattooed on one arm and apple pie on the other. To him, they were living wrong and living bad. The HRS case-worker came off like that, too.â
Sherry Walker, the assistant stateâs attorney first assigned to the juvenile case, stepped down because she believed her office was âprojecting our own morals on this group.â Walker, who is running for state senate, doesnât bad mouth Willie Meggs. She thinks he was doing his job as an elected official.
âTallahassee is very conservative. Anything not Southern Baptist is fearful to people. In this conservative environment, it looked like the mothers were unfit. We believe that kids should get three meals, clean clothes, and be put to bed at a decent hour. In this area, women are the primary caretakers. Mr. Meggs was elected by this same conservative group,â Walker says.
Meggs did have âvery deep feelingsâ about this case, Walker allows. âWhen you have such deep feelings about what you think is right and wrong, it does slow things up. A legal decision is not the same as a moral decision.â
Willie Meggs, who displays a Holy Bible in his office, says he thinks the case went on so long because Holwell and Ammerman refused to cooperate. âThe defendants acted like horseâs tails,â he says. âThey were all secretive. If blame has to be placed anywhere it ought to be placed on these people.â
Meggs says his office wanted to be âabsolutely sureâ of the kidsâ safety. âWe werenât just willing to let them go to these women who claimed to be their mothers.â
Meggsâ office repeatedly offered plea bargains in the Holwell and Ammerman cases. âWe didnât have anything,â Meggs says, point blank. âWhen it all boiled down, when you get down to the final analysis, I just wanted them to get out of Dodge.â
Meggs stands by his officeâs actions. âWe all have a soft spot for kids,â he says. âI certainly hope that the citizenry would want us to get to the bottom of a case like this. The only thing I wish is that we could have done our
â (pg. 105)
investigation without the press.â
Nearly everyone who tangoed with the Finders affair slagged the mediaâincluding the mediaâand blamed them for protracting the cases. Some attacks were, of course, âkill the messenger.â Others whipped reporters for all the right reasons. Some were more introspective complaints. Others lamented the constraints of late-20th century journalism, where itâs the McMedium, not the message.
âThis became a big story because the press made it a big deal,â Scott Hunt says. Hunt, who took flak for announcing sexual abuse and satanism in the case, is red in the face now. âHow do you think I got this information? By osmosis? Somebody told me.â
One report that especially irks Hunt was originated by WUSA and rebroadcast by the Tallahassee CBS affiliate. âThey prefaced the story, âFace: Tallahassee Police Department has botched this investigation,ââ says Hunt. The local station invited Hunt to the studio to rebut.
âI went live on the air and called the D.C. affiliate a bunch of liars,â he says with satisfaction. âI didnât bare any horses. I let the CBS affiliate have it right between the eyes.â
Rick Huffman doesnât let Hunt or others in his department off so easily. Part of the problem, he says, is that the Tallahassee Police Department wasnât used to national attention. âWe had Connie Chung call us up,â he remembers. âOur old PID [public information officerâHunt] is flapping his gills all over the department.â
According to Huffman, Hunt said, âThis is it folks! This is my day! Connie Chung is going to interview me.â
Huffman, who didnât give any interviews once he took over the case, says publicity meant power-money-promotion to some on the staff. Others, he says, like Hunt, had purer motives. âThey were like, wow, we may be the impetus to bring down pedophilia all over the world. Weâre the snowball at the top of the mountain. Maybe we can do some good.â But Huffman didnât believe this was a credible case.
âThey had no experience dealing with a case of this sensitivity,â Huffman says. âThey were passing along circumstantial evidence to the media.â
Huffman was particularly rankled by the allegations of sexual abuse.
âI told them, You people are dealing with fire. For you to mention possible sexual battery to the media, they donât hear âpossible.â You are proposing the idea. This is where the inexperience hurt them. They should have personally gone to the doctor and had a good tete-a-tete to find out how far we were going to go with this. If the doctor said we had semen stains on the girl, they should have asked, Well, did you find a little? A lot? Where did you find it? If it was inside the vagina it would be different than on the foot.
âI just think we jumped to conclusions.â
The ordinarily toothless _Post_ ombudsman, Joseph Laitin, was critical of his paperâs Finders coverage. He chomped into his colleagues. âThe news stories were laced with unnamed sources; innuendo abounded,â he wrote. âFacts were in short supply, but space in _The Post_ wasnât.â
In the _Washington Journalism Review_âs Finders critique, the news director of WRC-TV was asked if his reporters were too quick to trust the authorities. âWell, theyâre initially your source,â he said, âand as long as you report it as such youâre reporting a news storyâŠI mean, weâre not an investigative agency. Weâre journalistsâŠ.Maybe police did jump the gun, I donât know. These things tend to look very different in hindsight.â
Getting facts straight is tough, as I showed in a piece of Finders press criticism I wrote for _City Paper._ I incorrectly reported that the men faced sexual abuse charges, I incorrectly stated their bond, and I incorrectly said they were arrested February 5. And I only faced a weekly deadline.
_Tallahassee Democrat_ reporter Jan Pudlow, who did some of the best reporting on the group and stuck with it long after the pack had gone home, says the Finders have to shoulder some of the blame for the mediaâs goofs.
âIf youâre looking at the mediaâs responsibility to capture the truth about these people, Iâve got to admit Iâve got a little bit of bitterness lingering because these people did not make it easy for reporters to tell the truth about them,â says Pudlow. âYou know what they call wit and humor? I was part of their wit and humor. The wit is being deceitful and downright lying and what they call humor isnât real funny.
âIâve been in the business about 10 years and I realize that when you interview somebody, everybody uses a little manipulation. We all know that. But I have never been so blatantly manipulated as by this group.â
Pudlow, the first reporter to interview the mothers when they came to Tallahassee, says, âIf the Finders told me today that they were coordinating the second coming of Christ and there was Jesus at their right hand I still wouldnât want to get a quote from them.â
-
I first called the Glover Park home in late June, dialing one of the many Findersâ phone numbers listed in the Tallahassee Police documents. âGooten tag,â said the answering machine. âNi Hau. Konichi wah.â I didnât leave a message.
I then called the Northeast warehouse and group member Bob Meyer answered. I requested a group interview and told Meyer I had the police records. I dropped a detail to Meyer that not many people know. When they arrived in Tallahassee to claim their kids, the Finders mothers told police the group did not call itself the Finders. Finders, they said, was the name of a business the group no longer ran. Thatâs right, Meyer said, laughing. As we spoke, I could hear the punctuated chatter of a computer keyboard: Was Meyer keyboarding our conversation?
(Because the Finders refer to themselves as both the âFindersâ and the âso-called Finders,â I call them the Finders throughout this article for consistencyâs sake.)
I offered to send the group clips, including my press critique. A few days later, July 2, they left a message on my home answering machine. I had not given Meyer my home number, though it is listed.
âHello,â the message began. âThis is the so-called Finders calling for Jon Cohen on Saturday at 8:30 in the evening. Sorry we didnât get through to you. Maybe weâll get together later.â
I called them back at the warehouse to see about an interview. I got a rhyming message that went something like this:
Could we bui anotherâs year
Our windy salutations here
âTwould make us meet
Be quick then
As our Lord requests
A truthful foal of wit and zest
We bid thee speak
I left a message.
The next day, _City Paper_âs receptionist buzzed me and said Steve Usdin was here to see me. Since I didnât recognize the name, I asked her to put him on the phone. âThis is Steve Usdin from the so-called Finders,â he said. I ran downstairs.
Usdin, clean-shaven and dressed in a conservative coat and tie, was maybe in his mid-20s. I told him I was swamped and asked if we could meet the next day.
âI donât know,â he said.
âIâll set tomorrow aside and wait in the office all day,â I said eagerly.
âDonât do that for me,â he said. âI donât make appointments.â
â (pg. 106)
âWell, Iâll be here,â I said.
âNot on my account I hope,â Usdin said. There was more sincerity than sternness in his voice.
He took out a reporterâs notebook and asked me for my phone numbers.
âYou already have them,â I said.
âOh yes,â he answered. âWell, I look forward to making this work.â That was the last I saw of Usdin for a month.
Over the weekend of July 16, the Finders hand-delivered an envelope to _City Paper_âs office. Inside was a photocopied note that reads:
TO: JON COHEN
FR: M.D. [last name inked out]
RE: FINDERS
DT: 17 JULY 1988
If you want to do an in-depth study of the Finders, it would be best to do an in-depth study of the Troubadours, trouveres, and similar movements, or you wonât understand what weâre talking about.
The Finders often use the _Encyclopedia Britannica_ as a source book. The 1987 edition of the _Britannica_ describes troubadours and trouveres as closely related lyric poet-musicians who traipsed through France, Spain, and Italy in the 12th and 13th centuries. Adored by the courts, their verse typically explored love. Their poetry also set up lyrical conversations about âmatters of a religious, metaphysical, or satirical character.â
The word troubadour, notes _Britannica_, is a French form derived from the Occitanian _trobar_, âto find,â âto invent.ââ
On July 19, I left another message on the warehouse answering machine. Later that day, Kristin Knauth, whose son Ben Franklin was held in Tallahassee, called me back,
âTwo people are in Atlanta covering the convention, two are in Japan, and one had to go to San Francisco on an emergency,â Knauth said. âCan we meet later?â
On July 26, I called the warehouse yet again and asked for Steve Usdin.
Bob Meyer answered and said Usdin wasnât there. Since Meyer was the first person I spoke with a month before, I asked him what it was going to take to arrange an interview.
âIs there a time thatâs best for you?â he asked.
I told him my schedule and he assured me heâd do what he could.
Two days later, Kristin Knauth called me. âWe have an information gift for you,â Knauth said. She invited me to pick it up at the Glover Park house.
âCan we meet for an interview?â I asked.
âAfter you read this, youâll probably have more questions,â she said.
When I arrived at the Glover Park house, Knauth led me to a lounge that has a world map covering one wall and made me a cup of tea. She was kind enough, striking me as more nervous than zombie-like. SHe reminded me of an actress doing an improvisation who was trying a little too hard to maintain a character.
I was nervous, too. In all fairness, I was also in character and trying hard to maintain it. From my readings and dealings with group members, I knew that she intended to interview me as I intended to interview her. My goal was to regulate what I said, not to blather on to ease the tension.
I took out a stack of papers from a package she handed me, my information gift. The first page cracked me up:
To Jon Cohen
Fr M.D. [âStudentâ is scratched out]
Dr 20 July 1988
Re Mutual Benefit
Enclosed are some information gifts. I am planning to do an in-depth study of Jon Cohen, his associates and his relatives. How do you suggest I go about it?
I told Knauth I didnât think they needed my help to do an in-depth study of me, in-depth studies being their specialty. I quickly flipped through the other papers as we chatted. Along with what are essentially book reports, there was a smattering of electronic mail dispatches from members working in Japan, at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, and San Francisco. A blurb in one of the group memos caught my eye:
âOn participatory journalism: I have heard it mentioned in conjunction with âNew Journalismâ of the Tom Wolfe/Hunter Thompson vairety [sic] where the journalist becomes an actor in the drama he or she is reporting on. But what the student means by it is hard to sayâmaybe one tenit is Maoâs âNo investigation, no right to speakâ so Iâll quit guessing.â
Knauth proceeded to win the upper hand in the interview game, offering no information yet still getting me to talk.
Before I left, I told her I was running out of time and if they wanted to speak with me it would have to be sooner rather than later. She said Usdin would be the best one to speak with me and that heâd be back from San Francisco in a few days.
âHeâs welcome to call me at home,â I said at the door.
âYou already gave him the number?â she asked coyly.
âNo,â I said, âBut he has it.â
â (pg. 107)
On August 2, Steve Usdin came by my office for the second time.
âIâm here because our elected leader for the day asked me to come down here,â Usdin said.
I asked him if I could tape record the conversation and he said I was welcome to, but he hadnât come here to give an interview.
âThen why are you here?â I asked.
âTwo reasons. One, to tell you that weâll answer all your questions. Two, we like you. We think youâre a kindred soul. We thought there might be something bigger we could do together.â
âLike what?â I asked.
âI donât know,â said Usdin. âMaybe start a paper together.
Usdin told me that he was a reporter, too, and that he covered the Democratic Convention for a Japanese TV station. (i later checked this out and it was true.) We joked about the Tallahassee case a little.
âYou know that _Post_ story âPolice Say Finders Odd, Not Criminalâ?â he asked. âI say, Police Criminal, Not Odd.â
Then Usdin said that he never understood why police were going after them for satanism, saying he thought laws against devil worshipping were abolished after the Salem witch hunt.
âNot that Iâm into satanism,â he said. âIâm no more interested in satanism than the Democratic Convention. Actually, Iâm more interested in the Democratic Convention because I get paid for going there.â
Usdin said he was in Moscow when the story broke and first heard about it on a shortwave radio. âWe got our 15 minutes of fame multiplied by five,â he laughed.
At the end of our talk, I asked if I could speak with Marion Pettie at the meeting where theyâd answer my questions.
âI donât see why not,â said Usdin. âHe speaks to me and Iâm a reporter.â
âIâd also like to hear what you dig up in your investigation of me,â I said.
Usdin smiled widely. âMaybe weâll write a story about you,â he said.
What were their names and what were their games?
Who are these funny persons who play the game of games?
Sometimes they act like nice guys or dragons raising hell,
But before it flips they change the game; thatâs why it works so well
âOpening and closing stanzas from the Findersâ song, âthe Ballad of Ballads,â sung to the tune of âOh, Susanna.â
-
RTGIAD. Ready to go in any direction. Itâs a salutation or a closing found on most every Findersâ report, and itâs the essence of the group.
If you arenât RTGIAD, you canât play the game calls. And with the Finders, everything is a game call. Dress, diet, work, play, travel, marriage, divorce, pregnancy, child-rearing, pranks, investigationsâeven calling games can be a game call. Many people have suggested that the whole arrest was a game call. The point of all this fun and games: Every game call yields knowledge, which members bring to the Student, Marion Pettie, so he can call better and better games.
Itâs hard to lead a game-playing lifeâin this societ, at leastâwithout raising eyebrows.
While the Florida fracas exposed the Findres to the highest degree of scrutiny, it was not the first time outsiders had tried to understand the group and its motives.
After Mario Pettie retired from the Air Force as a master segeant in 1956, he returned to the Cupeper area, his home town. One of Pettieâs sons told the _Washington Post_ that during the â60s his father spent his days at the library near Pettie Farm, the familyâs 90-acre property by Old Rag Mountain, and became âa student of the world.â In the late â60s early â70s, Pettie Farm was known for its free organic meals and philosophical pow-wows on the front porch. Pettieâs son told the _Post_ that his father began a new life around 1971 when he started a commune with his followers in the Glover Park house.
Today, members look much more yuppie than hippie, a turnabout that started in the early â80s. Though they have changed with the times, they still donât blend in.
Theyâve turned heads in rural Culpeper, where they often show up at town meetings in business suits. John Davies, a Culpeper attorney who represented a former group member in a divorce proceeding five years ago, says they never say anything but always take notes.
âFrom my perspective, they can have a significant impact on a community like Culpeper,â says Davies. âI think part of their goal is taking control of the local government.â As evidence, Davies says he knows of a stock-broker running for local office with whom they tried to invest $25,000. And theyâre always researching townspeople.
The finders have combed local real estate titles to see who owns what and how much they owe, says Davies. Heâs also noticed Finders men walking down the street in coats and ties and making notes on every house they pass.
Davies says he thinks thereâs an old-fashioned motivation behind their game playing: Dollars. âBasically, theyâre doing collectively what an individual investor would do,â he says.
In Washington, several people have posited that the Finders gather information because they are spies. !!!
Daniel Brandt, who has put together a data-bank of intelligence citations he sells as spy-BASE, says he first met Steve Usdin and Jeff Ubois, another group member, in the summer of â84. âThey approached me âcause they saw I was doing this database,â says Brandt. âI had posted a note about it in an extremely obscure journal called _Reset.â
Usdin and Ubois claimed they represented an outfit called Information Bank and they gave Brandt software in exchange for information. âThey were very well-informed about counterspying,â says Brandt. He met with them several times over the next year, visiting the warehouse twice.
âThey kept pumping me for information and I got suspicious,â says Brandt.
Brandth grew more suspicious when his friends told him odd tales about their dealings with the Information Bank. Realizing the depth of the Information Bankâs knowledge of the left, he sent out a three-page memo to progressive groups around D.C.
Dated November 10, 1986, the memo is headed âA Summary of What is Known About Some Very Strange People Who use Computers and Seek Out Progressives so That They can ask a lot of Suspicious Questions.â In addition to Information Bank, Brandt wrote, members said they were from Global Press Review, Hong Kong Business Today, and The Seekers. Members also approached Lou Wolf, a co-editor of _Covert Action Information Bulletin_, and he helped Brandt check them out.
âThere are several characteristics that lend themselves to the interpretation that this is an information-gathering front for a cult of some sort,â Brandt wrote in his summary, noting that members may not be told the purpose behind their missions. âThe guise of computer consulting is an ideal method of spying on the Left,â he concluded. âIt would take about twenty seconds to copy an entire mailing list from a hard disk onto a floppy.â
âIf itâs a game, itâs pretty bizarre,â says Brandt, who hasnât heard from the group in a few years. âIt seems like there must be some sort of impetus behind it.â
More than a year before the Tallahassee case, Rep. Robert Kastenmeier (D-Wis.) looked into the group at the behest of a constituent whose son had joined. Kastenmeier says he had a hunch that they were intelligence linked, but when he took it to the House Intelligence Committee he couldnât get verification. Kastenmeierâs office did learn
â (pg. 108)
that Pettie had a background in military intelligence.
According to FBI documents, Pettie worked in Air Force intelligence and sometimes bragged about his intelligence connections in later years. When the Finders story broke, WUSA reported that a police source claimed Pettieâs deceased wife worked for the CIA. _Cults That Kill_ author Larry Kahaner, who has many sources in the FBI and Washington Metropolitan Police, says he was told the Finders once did database training for the CIA.
âI donât think you have to read anything deep and dark into this,â says Kahaner. âThe interesting part about the Finders is that they like to play games with law enforcement agencies. Thatâs their shtik. As youâll notice in Tallahassee, they did indeed embarrass them. It may have been one of their games.â
None of the Tallahassee Police I spoke with knew anything about the Finders working for an intelligence operation. But they all had a similar response to Investigator Cheryl Weigandâs: âNothing they are involved with would surprise me.â
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Paula Arico nearly spits up her food laughing when I tell her people suggest the Finders may be spooks.
Arico and I are eating at a restaurant in Tallahassee. She resettled here after the juvenile court finally deemed her fit to raise Mary and John Paul. âThatâs their model, to pretend theyâre CIA,â says Arico, who was in the group for 8 years and now works as a bookkeeper for a progressive construction company. âWouldnât it be an exciting life?â
This is one of the few times in our many talks that Paula calls the group âthey.â Though she left he Finders more than a year ago, itâs still âwe thisâ and âwe that.â She also speaks lovinglyâno, adoringlyâof Pettie.
âThe rest of us are just dead between the ears compared to him,â says Arico.
Arico has a theory for why the Finderâs gather megabytes of information. âWe want to be the best at everything, and you canât be the best in anything if you donât have information about what the best is,â she says. âSo getting your information-gathering skills together is the first thing you have to do.â
âBut why compile a giant _Whoâs Who?_â I ask.
âItâs a mystery why things are of interest to Pettie, but heâs not able to call complete games if he doesnât have complete information.
âYou donât know what game Pettie has in mind to call tomorrow. He already has it in mind. Heâs got next yearâs game in mind based on the information youâre bringing him right now.â
Talk like this sounds like slavish devosion, brainwashing, cult. But ultimately the labels are stupid. If any group defies a label itâs the FInders. Theyâre constantly changing, reinventing themselves, drafting new âConstitutions,â setting new rules-RTGIAD.
A taste of Finders cosmology can be found in John Fowleâs novel _The Magus_, in which Maurice Conchis (consciousâget it?) bedazzles the protagonist with a troupe of actors/consciousness-seekers playing the âgodgame.â As one of _The Magus_â characters says, â[I]n the godgame we start from the premise that in reality all is fiction; yet no single fiction is necessary.â
Paula Arico has lived the godgame. âThe best thing about it for me is that I lived and worked with my best friends for eight years,â Arico says. âItâs hard to have that. And in a situation where everyone was committed to working it out. If youâve ever had that one-on-one relationship with another person whereâs that long-term level of commitment, I had that with 20 people.â
âYou really trusted 20 people?â I ask.
âFor the time that I did,â she replies. âI got my eyes opened pretty quickly in about three weeks of February in 1987. But up until then, yeah, I had implicit trust, because we were all commited to Pettieâs dream. His dream was our dream.â
On the day of the arrest, Paula Arico was working temp jobs in San Francisco, sharing an apartment with a single mother not in the group. It was part of a âwomenâs gameâ that had been underway since December 1986, and Arico was having a blast. For a long tim,e the women had wanted the men to do more child-rearing and it was finally happening. She was sure Mary and John Paul were in good hands.
âI canât describe the feeling for those kids,â says Arico. âThey were the future of the tribe. We are all fucked up. No amount of game playing has managed to straighten us out. Some people have been in the group for 20 years and are still fucked up. Itâs the new generation thatâs going to bring the new age in.â She notes that she doesnât think people in the group are any more fucked up than non-Finders.
Arico didnât get wind something was wrong until Friday morning. âI was getting ready to
â (pg. 109)
go to work, and I got a phone call from somebody who was telling me that if Stuart [SS] had already called me and told me to go to Tallahassee that those orders were reversed.â The person didnât have any other information.
Carolyn Said, mother of B.B., was the only womenâs game player who had a computer, and she kept Paula and the others plugged into the group. Paula called her and learned zilch.
Then the mothersâSaid, Arico, Knauth, Judy Evans, and Pat Livingstonâbegan hearing news reports. âBy Friday afternoon we were all in a tizzy,â says Arico. They finally contacted Pettie in Southern California and planned a group meeting in San Francisco for Saturday night.
I ask why they didnât call the Tallahassee Police in the interim. âWe had to make a group decision,â she says.
Pettie arrived at dusk and, as is their custom, the women massaged him to help him think. They carried out a traditional Finders meeting, each person speaking their mind, going round and round in a circle. Since the police had seized the computers from their D.C. homes, one of the groupâs concerns was how to stay in touch. But the kids were Topic A.
âThis wasnât the first time that things had not gone right with the kidsâ game and we were all just really upset about that that nobody had learned their lessons any other times,â she sys.
Pettieâs advice: Your home is in D.C., not Tallahassee. Go back to D.C. and let your presence be known.
They took his advice.
Back in D.C. Sunday night, the womenâthe alleged satan-worshipping-kidnapping-brainwashed pornographersâwere greeted by reporters camped on their porches.
Pettieâs game call was to let the FBI call the game. The possibility of kidnapping, the bureau said, took precedence over the misdemeanor child abuse charges. One agent advised they immediately head to Florida and hire a good attorney.
When the mothers called Scott Hunt at the Tallahassee Police Department on Monday evening they couldnât get through.
âCarolynâs on the phone saying sheâs B.B.âs mother and sheâs met by snorts and giggles,â recalls Arico. âSheâs the 200th caller claiming these beautiful children.â They finally spoke to Tallahassee Police, but Hunt still told the media they had yet to hear from the mothers. âIâll never forgive him for that,â says Arico.
After finishing their last FBI interview on Wednesday, the women hit the road for Tallahassee. By Friday, they were sitting in their lawyerâs office.
âYou havenât lived until youâve been employed by the Finders,â says the attorney hired to represent them, Paula Walborsky. âThey elect a new leader each day. I could be hired or fired two or three times in 24 hours. But I really got sucked in. I loved it. There were great, sexy Constitutional issues.â
Constitutional issues didnât come into play for weeks, though. It took until the next Thursday, in fact, for Walborsky to set up a
â (pg. 110)
court-sanctioned, one-hour meeting between the mother and kids.
The mother-and-child reunion took place at a park where a dozen HRS officials showed up to watch. âWe would not leave,â says Arico. âWe told them that they would have to physically take the children away from us. We were not going to get up and walk away from our children.
âJohn Paul is in my arms and heâs saying, âBut I want to go home with you.â And Iâm saying, âWell, I want you to go home with me, too.â I just sat there with him crying my eyeballs out, and heâs crying his eyeballs out, and they came and took him away from me.â
During the next few weeks, the Finders settled into the media saddle and displayed what may be their finest wit and humor of the affair. But it ultimately drove Arico and two other mothers from the group.
A memo attributed to âM.D. Pettieâ delivered to the _Tallahassee Democrat_ said he was resigning as leader of the Findersâa position he said he didnât know he held. âI thought I was just a consultant on Wit and Humor,â the memo said. âIf I ever was the leader, I hereby resign to devote myself full-time to Zen Walking.â
The Finders also stared publishing a newsletter, _The Daily Finder_, in which they announced that they were all moving to Tallahassee. âThe Finders are always looking for signs and symbols,â they wrote. âSince February 4, Florida has been sending signals that they want to keep some Finders members, so now the rest are coming.â
Another issue of _The Daily Finder_, âCome to Tallahassee,â invited friends to come join the drama and featured the song, âOld Tallahasseeâ:
Well I came to Tallahassee
In a van so full of glee
They put me in the jailhouse
With a chain upon my knee
You get the idea.
Before the trial, Ammerman and Holwell spoke freely with Walborsky, who was assisted by several Finders men. âThey all had handlebar mustaches and dressed alike,â Walborsky says.
âI sent them to FSU library to get me books for the case to explain their philosophy. They came back with books on psychology, India, American Indians, Samoan tribes, Chinese philosophy.â
Juvenile court was packed with on-lookers and media on the first day of the custody battle. Witnesses Holwell and Ammerman showed up in prison garb and shackles. âTalk about a circus,â says Walborsky. âWe could have sold tickets.â
Right before the hearing, Walborsky learned that the Findres men she had been working with had left town and were replaced by Steve Usdin. She also got the news that Pettie had put a gag order on Ammerman and Holwell and that she was going to be fired.
âI said ooooh-kay. The First Amendment issues havenât even been argued and they stand up and fire me,â she says.
In court Steve Usdin delivered a proclamation from Pettie. Our interests and the stateâs interests are the same, he said, so we donât need counsel.
âSome people practice law 20 or 30 years and never get fired on television,â Walborsky jokes.
Pettieâs strategy of nonresistance split the mothers. Knauth and Livingston gave Walborsky the boot, as instructed, while Arico, Evans, and Said retained her.
Arico describes the behind-the-scenes drama of that morning.
Livingston had called Pettie. âShe begged him to tell her what to do,â says Arico. âHe said, âFire your attorney.â If you called him and begged him and he told you to do it, you canât say no. She was in agony. She really loves her son and she knew what would happen the way I knew what would happen if I fired my attorneyâit wouldnât be in the best interest of the children.â
Arico understood Pettieâs logic. If youâre in a confrontational situation, in some ways, youâre creating it. Do what Gahdhi and Ammerman and Holwell and others have done when attacked: Donât fight.
On another level there were the teachings of Lao Tzu. Planning. Strategy. Tactics. Loyalty. âThose ideas are really the crux of the group,â says Arico,â and they are what keep the group functioning at the high level that id does.â Pettie wanted them to go before the judge and tell him in unison that he could end all this right now, he could be the game caller. âThink if you were a judge, and there were five women in your courtroom, and in all of your experiences with them you knew that they really loved their kids and were trying to do the right things,â says Arico. âThatâs the position Pettie wanted the judge put in.â
Arico couldnât accept Pettieâs advice. âThe group told me to choose between Pettie and
â (pg. 111)
my kids. I chose my kids.â
The hearing lasted until Wednesday. Walborsky hammered on the constitutional issues and appealed tot he judgeâs experience. âThis is a judge who has seen thousands of juvenile cases,â Walborsky says. âI told him if the walls could talk they would cry. This wasnât the real thing. Essentially thatâs what he said in the end. He praised the efforts to raise the kids correctly. He was only concerned about their educations.â
John Paul, B.B., and Honeybee, the three youngest children, were returned to their mothersâArico, Said, and Evans. The judge didnât free the older three because he wanted their mothers to demonstrate that they would adequately educate them.
Arico agreed to cross every t and dot every i, and after two months of state supervision, she was given full custody of Mary. Livingston and Knauthâs children were put in foster homes, but the state finally relinquished custody to the mothers that August.
Hours after the March 18 juvenile case ended, the Finders announced to the press that they had disbanded. It wasnât true, of course. But it did signal the end of Arico, Said, and Evansâ membership in the group.
Arico cites many personal reasons for leaving the group that have little to do with the Florida incident. A few years before, she sys, âI saw the wrigin on the wall, but I didnât read it.â
She spoke with attorneys about suing the authorities and decided there were too many obstacles. âI would have had to put my children into therapy immediately to prove that they had been traumatized. As far asIâm concerned, whatever trauma there was, theyâve basically gotten over it now.â Another hurdle would be proving wrongful intent. âEverything they did was within the limits of the law,â she says.
Aricoâs final analysis of what ent wrong: âYou just canât have a highly disciplined lifestyle and have kids. You just canât. It just doesnât work.â
Make no mistake, though. She loved being a Finder. âItâs a very magnetic situation,â she says. âBut the mysteryâs gone now, he whole mystique that nobody knew what we really did.â CP