Russ Kick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Vatican Spy Files Released Monday June 4, 2001 US Army Releases Cold War Documents on Vatican Spy: Priest was Nazi War Criminal and US Secret Agent Jonathan Levy - Tom Easton Attorneys TEL. 513-528-0586 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.vaticanbankclaims.com Cincinnati, Ohio - A pending lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Southwestern District of Ohio against the Army and CIA has resulted in the release of over 300 pages of Cold War documents by the Army. The documents are all from the file of a Nazi war criminal, Fr. Krunoslav Draganovic, who was responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of Serbs in wartime Yugoslavia. Draganovic founded the Vatican "ratline" or escape route that was responsible for the escape of thousands of Nazis to South America postwar including Adolph Eichman and Klaus Barbie. The lawsuit filed by attorney Jonathan Levy sought declassification and release of documents under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act. Levy and Tom Easton are lead counsel for plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit brought against the Vatican Bank for return of Nazi gold to Holocaust survivors and their families. According to Levy, "Draganovic was the key Vatican operative who participated in the postwar laundering of Nazi gold." Draganovic worked for a number of intelligence agencies including the American Army and CIA, all were aware of his Nazi past and hatred of Serbs, but chose to disregard this in favor his equally rabid anti- communism. The newly released documents detail Army payments to Draganovic for data on a variety of Cold War matters. Some of the operations detailed included recruitment of Croatian mercenaries to help the Dominican Republic fight Castro, Army help in obtaining a US tourist visa for the war criminal to visit Cleveland and New York in 1961, purchase of the Yugoslav Army order of battle, and details on numerous other operatives in the Vatican, including a well known Irish Monsignor. Of significance to the Vatican Bank lawsuit which also names the Franciscan Order as a codefendant, was the Army assessment that Draganovic commanded the loyalty of all Franciscan priests in Yugoslavia, even exceeding the Vatican's authority. Scans of select documents are available at http://www.vaticanbankclaims.com/press.html The lawsuit, Alperin v. Vatican Bank, was originally filed in November 1999 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Levy v. Army and CIA is pending in the Southwestern District of Ohio and seeks release of additional documents. For more information contact: Jon Levy Tel. (513) 528-0586 press release is at <http://www.centrexnews.com/news_archive/2001.06/04vatican.htm> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
