William King Harvey
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William King "Bill" Harvey (September 13, 1915 – June 9, 1976) was a Central Intelligence Agency officer, best known for his role in Operation Mongoose. He was known as "America's James Bond."
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Biography [edit]
Harvey was born September 13, 1915 in Cleveland, Ohio.[1] He was the son of Sara King Harvey, professor at Indiana State Teachers College in Terre Haute, now Indiana State University.[1] He graduated from Wiley High School in Terre Haute in 1931, eventually enrolling at Indiana University, then graduating from Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington. He married the daughter of a lawyer from Maysville, Kentucky but, after that marriage ended in divorce, joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in December 1940. He resigned from the FBI in July 1947 after breaking an FBI regulation and refusing a resulting re-assignment to Indianapolis. Peter Wright of MI5 writes in his book Spycatcher that Harvey was fired by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover as a result of his drinking. He joined the CIA shortly thereafter where his FBI knowledge proved to be invaluable. Along with James Angleton, he became one of the foremost operatives in the secret war against the KGB during the Cold War.
Operation Mongoose was a CIA operation run from Miami, Florida, that enlisted the help of the Mafia to plot an assassination attempt against Fidel Castro, the leader of the Cuban Revolution. Harvey was one of the case officers who dealt with John Roselli.[2]
Harvey was also posted to West Berlin as Chief of Base in the 1950s, where he led the operation that built an underground tunnel to the Soviet sector, to spy on their communication channels. This operation was called PBJOINTLY.
In 1975, he testified before the Church Committee on some of the CIA's past operations.
Harvey died in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 9, 1976 from a heart attack.[1]
Further reading [edit]
Biography [edit]
- Bayard Stockton (2006). Flawed Patriot: The Rise and Fall of CIA Legend Bill Harvey. Dulles: Potomac Books.
In fiction [edit]
- Norman Mailer (1992). Harlot's Ghost: A Novel. New York: Random House.
References [edit]
- ^ a b c McCormick, Mike (April 28, 2007). "HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: America’s James Bond: The new biography of William King Harvey". Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Indiana). Retrieved March 7, 2013.
- ^ Jack Anderson (1971-01-18). "6 Attempts to Kill Castro Laid to CIA". The Washington Post.
External links [edit]
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