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Craig J. Spence (October 25, 1940 – November 10, 1989) was an American journalist, lobbyist, and socialite who committed suicide in 1989 in the wake of a ''
Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' exposé reporting on his involvement in a prostitution ring and in blackmail.


Background

Spence attended
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
and began his journalism career working for WCBS in New York City. He would eventually become a correspondent for
ABC News ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...
. During the Vietnam War, he covered Southeast Asia, but in 1969 he was banned by the government from reporting in Vietnam after which ABC relocated him to Tokyo. There he also found work as a freelance reporter and as a stringer for Britain's Daily Mail. Spence spent about a decade in Tokyo during which he made prominent connections at a time of great economic growth. He began doing public relations consulting for the government-supported Japan External Trade Organization and Japanese corporations. Spence arrived in Washington D.C. in the late 70sMichael Hedges and Jerry Seper, "Power broker served drugs, sex at parties bugged for blackmail" ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' June 30, 1989
and soon become a fixture of Washington high society leading to a 1982 feature in the New York Times which remarked that Spence's "personal phone book and party guest lists constitute a ''Who's Who'' in Congress, Government and journalism." Guests at Spence's lavish parties were known to include
William Safire William Lewis Safire (; Safir; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009Safire, William (1986). ''Take My Word for It: More on Language.'' Times Books. . p. 185.) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He ...
,
John N. Mitchell John Newton Mitchell (September 15, 1913 – November 9, 1988) was the 67th Attorney General of the United States under President Richard Nixon and chairman of Nixon's 1968 and 1972 presidential campaigns. Prior to that, he had been a municipal ...
,
Phyllis Schlafly Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist, author, and anti-feminist spokesperson for the national conservative movement. She held paleocon ...
,
James Lilley James Roderick Lilley (; January 15, 1928 – November 12, 2009) was a CIA operative and an American diplomat. He served as United States ambassador to China from 1989 to 1991. Born to American parents in China, Lilley learned Mandarin at a youn ...
,
Alfred M. Gray Alfred Mason Gray Jr. (born June 22, 1928) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1 July 1987 until his retirement on 30 June 1991 after 41 years of service. Early lif ...
,
Joseph diGenova Joseph diGenova (born February 22, 1945) is an American lawyer and political commentator who served as the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1983 to 1988. He and his wife, Victoria Toensing, are partners in the Washingt ...
, and
Roy Cohn Roy Marcus Cohn (; February 20, 1927 – August 2, 1986) was an American lawyer and prosecutor who came to prominence for his role as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings in 1954, when he assisted McCart ...
. In January 1985, Spence registered with the U.S. State Department as a foreign agent for Japan and began lobbying for Japanese interests. Throughout the 1980s, Spence built a reputation as an influential lobbyist who represented many Japanese concerns and established close friendships with a number of leading Japanese politicians, including Motoo Shiina, considered by Tokyo analysts to be an inside favorite to replace scandal-plagued
Sōsuke Uno was a Japanese politician who was briefly Prime Minister of Japan in 1989, the first Prime Minister who came from Shiga Prefecture. A scandal exposed by the geisha Mitsuko Nakanishi contributed to his premature resignation from office after just ...
as prime minister. Spence was close friends with journalist
Liz Trotta Elizabeth Trotta (born 28 March 1937) is an American journalist and conservative commentator. Life and career Trotta was born in New Haven, Connecticut. Her parents, Gaetano "Thomas" Trotta, a successful pharmacist, and Lillian Theresa Mazzacan ...
who wrote extensively about Spence in her memoirs. The two met in 1966 at
Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
's home and the two later found themselves working as war correspondents during the Vietnam War. Trotta later recalled the various personalities she would see at his Washington D.C. parties including
Ted Koppel Edward James Martin Koppel (born February 8, 1940) is a British-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for '' Nightline'', from the program's inception in 1980 until 2005. Before ''Nightline'', he spent 20 years as a broad ...
,
William Casey William Joseph Casey (March 13, 1913 – May 6, 1987) was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1981 to 1987. In this capacity he oversaw the entire United States Intelligence Community and personally directed the Central Intelligence Agency ...
, and
Eric Sevareid Arnold Eric Sevareid (November 26, 1912 – July 9, 1992) was an American author and CBS news journalist from 1939 to 1977. He was one of a group of elite war correspondents who were hired by CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and nicknamed " Murrow's& ...
. Trotta also recalled going on one of Spence's midnight tours of the White House, which would later gain extensive media coverage.


Vinson prostitution ring

Spence's name came to national prominence in the aftermath of a June 29, 1989, front-page headline article in ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' identifying Spence as a major customer of a homosexual escort service which had been raided in February and was now under investigation by the
Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
, the
District of Columbia Police The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the DC Police, and, colloquially, the DCPD, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columb ...
and the
United States Attorney's Office United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for suspected credit card fraud. The ring was being operated by a man named Henry Vinson who had been using a funeral parlor to
launder Launder or Launders may refer to: * Launder (surname) * Launders (surname) See also * Laundering (disambiguation), several types of washing, literally or metaphorically {{Disambiguation ...
the money being made. Clients included 'key officials of the Reagan and Bush administrations' and Spence was mentioned by name. The newspaper said he spent as much as $20,000 a month on the service. Spence had also been linked to a White House guard named Reginald deGueldre who allowed Spence and his friends to take late-night White House tours.Paul M. Rodriguez and George Archibald, "Homosexual prostitution inquiry ensnares VIPs with Reagan, Bush" ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' June 29, 1989
Among the guests in Spence's midnight tours of the White House were two male prostitutes. A White House probe regarding the tours led the
Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
to furlough three guards,Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper, "Secret Service furloughs third White House Guard" ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' July 24, 1989
but it was also publicly stated that the First Family's security was never threatened, and it was explained that security guards were allowed to give private tours.Paul Bedard, "First lady not worried about hookers' tour of White House" ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' July 10, 1989
President Bush was made aware of the scandal.Frank J. Murray, "White House mute on 'call boy' probe" ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' July 7, 1989
A follow-up article featured reports from Spence's friends and guests indicating that Spence's home was wired up with extensive surveillance equipment and that he would attempt to entice guests into sexual encounters with prostitutes to use as
blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to f ...
. One male soldier reported that he had been enticed into an encounter with a female prostitute by Spence, who then used photos of the tryst in order to blackmail him into 'beating up a couple of guys.' When the soldier afterwards refused to have sex with Spence, Spence showed the pictures to the soldier's wife, leading to the couple's separation.Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper, "Sex party held at Aussie Embassy" ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' July 28, 1989
Spence entered a downward spiral in the wake of the exposé, increasingly involving himself with call boys and
crack Crack frequently refers to: * Crack, a fracture in a body * Crack, a fracture (geology) in a rock * Crack, short for crack cocaine Crack may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Cracks'' (film), a 2009 independent thriller * Crac ...
.Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper, "Spence arrested in N.Y., released; Once-host to powerful reduced to begging, sleeping in park" ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' August 9, 1989
He disappeared briefly, evading government agents who wanted to
subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
him to testify about the Vinson prostitution ring. Spence made headlines again after his arrest on July 31, 1989, at the
Barbizon Hotel The Barbizon (known since 2005 as Barbizon 63), is a building located at 140 East 63rd Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It was for many decades a female-only residential hotel for young women who came to New York City for ...
on East 63rd Street in Manhattan for criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of cocaine. In August, 1989 during an eight-hour interview with the Washington Times, Spence denied that deGueldre alone had cleared the White House tours and explained that the guard had only served as a guide. The reporters, Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper would write that "Mr. Spence hinted the tours were arranged by 'top level' persons", including
Donald Gregg Donald Phinney Gregg (born December 5, 1927) is a retired American politician, CIA employee, and U.S. Ambassador to South Korea. Gregg worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for 31 years, from 1951 to 1982. He was a National Security Council ...
, national security adviser to Vice President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...
at the time the tours were given. When pressed to identify who it was who got him inside the White House, Spence asked "Who was it who got ong-term CIA operative Félix Rodríguez in to see Bush?", indicating that he was alluding to Gregg. Gregg himself dismissed the allegation as "absolute bull", according to Hedges and Seper. "It disturbs me that he can reach a slimy hand out of the sewer to grab me by the ankle like this," he told the reporters. "The allegations are totally false." During the same interview Spence claimed that the surveillance equipment at his home had been set up by "friendly" intelligence agents. Rumors of Craig's ties to the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
dated back to his Vietnam correspondent days, and the CIA was also speculated to be one of the sources of his wealth by his acquaintances.


Death

On November 10, 1989, Spence was found dead and barricaded in Room 429 of the Boston
Ritz Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in add ...
, the city's most expensive hotel. He was dressed in a tuxedo and had three dollars in his pocket. According to the police report, when found by hotel employees he was attired in the style he affected at his lavish dinner parties: "black Tux with white shirt, bow tie, white suspenders, black socks and shoes", with a telephone cradled in his ear and a
Walkman Walkman, stylised as , is a brand of portable audio players manufactured and marketed by Japanese technology company Sony since 1979. The original Walkman was a portable cassette player and its popularity made "walkman" an unofficial term for ...
headset containing a cassette tape of Mozart's "
A Little Night Music ''A Little Night Music'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. ...
".Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper, "In Death, Spence stayed true to form" ''The Washington Times'' Monday, November 13, 1989 Next to his body was a newspaper clipping about efforts to protect CIA agents from testifying before government agencies. His death would later be ruled a suicide from ingesting alcohol and anti-depressants.Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper, "Spence's death result of drug, alcohol poisoning" ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' Jan 3, 1990
Found hidden in a false ceiling in the bathroom were seven small packets of
Xanax Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonl ...
, a prescription anti-anxiety drug, with one pill removed. In black felt-tip marker he had written on a mirror of his room: As a postscript, he wrote, "To the Ritz, please forgive this inconvenience." During the lengthy August interview with Michael Hedges and Jerry Seper which had taken place at a Liz Trotta's Manhattan apartment a few months before his death, Spence alluded to more intricate involvements. "All this stuff you've uncovered, to be honest with you, is insignificant compared to other things I've done. But I'm not going to tell you those things, and somehow the world will carry on." Shortly before that in a phone call with Trotta, during which she had urged Spence to turn himself in to the authorities who wanted him for questioning, he had also retorted that they wouldn't be able to "solve the big thing".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Craig J 1941 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American journalists American socialites War correspondents of the Vietnam War 1989 suicides American lobbyists Suicides in Massachusetts American LGBT journalists 1989 in Washington, D.C. Prostitution in the United States Alcohol-related deaths in Massachusetts