James DiEugenio on Permindex: A Case Study
- Fred Litwin
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
The sources for his allegations on Clay Shaw all come from conspiracy books and can be easily debunked. However, I want to show you one egregious example of the misuse of a document.
DiEugenio writes this about Shaw:
There is another connection with Permindex and Shaw, which is important to note in advance. It was not revealed until 2003, perhaps as one of the Assassination Record Review Board’s (ARRB) delayed declassifications. An Agency document dated from June 28, 1978 described Clay Shaw’s service to CIA as encompassing from 1949-72. That document made reference to a claim “that CIA used Shaw for service in Italy with U.S. agent Major Louis Mortimer Bloomfield.” Shaw’s part is described as making connections with political circles and the business world in Rome, and also with developing relationships with extreme rightwing groups. As we shall see, this was accomplished, and the Canadian high-powered lawyer Bloomfield was an integral part of it. (Joan Mellen, A Farewell to Justice, p. 389)
This sounds like quite a damning document. DiEugenio took this right out of Joan Mellen's book, A Farewell to Justice, which is footnoted at the end.
Here is the relevant paragraph from Mellen's book: (page 389)
It reads as follows:
9 Mar 67 USSR International Affairs
Moscow TASS - 0504 GMT 7 Mar 67
Text Moscow -
Claims CIA used Shaw for services in Italy w/ U.S. Agent Major Blumenfeld, establishing secret ties w/Rome's political circles & business world. Shaw's task to est. contacts w/extreme rightist groups in Rome.
World Trade Center in Rome a branch of Swiss "Permidex" [sic] org, which allegedly financed OAS groups in France & is actually cover for branch of CIA.
In this case, she was taking notes from a Pravda (the official Communist Party newspaper)/TASS (the Soviet State news agency) article from March 1967.
Here is the Pravda article:
All of these allegations came from the Paese Sera newspaper in Rome, and it was all nonsense. They just made it up. They couldn't even get Louis Bloomfield's name right. Shaw never visited Italy after the formation of Permindex/Central Mondiale Commerciale, and he never attended any board meetings.
DiEugenio makes it look like he is quoting from a CIA document. But, all of this came from a communist-controlled newspaper.
DiEugenio's last paragraph will come back and haunt him:
As the reader can see, those attempting to label Permindex a Russian disinformation story-- like Max Holland--are simply and utterly wrong. It and P2 and Gladio and the Strategy of Tension were all too real.
It doesn't help his case to quote from a Pravda/Tass article that included information from Paese Sera -- a communist-controlled newspaper in Rome.
Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Permindex
CMC evicted in early 1962 because they couldn't pay rent.
Many conspiracy books claim that Permindex moved to South Africa. There is no evidence that it did.
There is no evidence that Permindex plotted against de Gaulle.
The complete set of State Department documents on Permindex.
Chris Peeks interviews me about Permindex.
Conspiracy theorists mislead people on Permindex/CMC.
Many books maintain that the President of Permindex, Ferenc Nagy, lived in Dallas in 1963. He actually lived in Herndon, Virginia.
The book Coup in Dallas gets Permindex all wrong, and with no footnotes.
Was Montreal lawyer Louis Bloomfield running an assassination bureau?
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The memo only quotes from Pease Sera.
The information that Shaw lived in Rome and worked for the CIA originated with Paese Sera.
Clay Shaw was on the Board of Directors of Permindex. Here is his file.
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Exclusive - Louis Bloomfield's Secret Correspondence with George H. W. Bush... Revealed for the first time.
Yes, a conspiracy book actually makes this claim.
Revealed for the first time.
They were involved!
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