Mitchell Livingston WerBell III (March 18, 1918 – December 16, 1983) was a U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) operative,

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

, paramilitary trainer, firearms engineer, and arms dealer.

Early life and OSS service

WerBell was born in Philadelphia, the son of a Tsarist cavalry officer in the Imperial Army of Russia. Journalist

Penny Lernoux Penny Lernoux (January 6, 1940 – October 9, 1989) was an American educator, author, and journalist. She wrote critically of United States government and Papal policy toward Latin America. Life and works Lernoux was born into a comfortabl ...

described WerBell in her 1984 book ''In Banks We Trust'' as "a mysterious White Russian." Lernoux, Penny (1984)
''In Banks We Trust—Bankers and Their Close Associates: The CIA, the Mafia, Drug Traders, Dictators, Politicians, and the Vatican''.
New York:

Anchor Press Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint (trade name), imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1 ...

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

. p. 158. . . In 1942 WerBell joined the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

(OSS) and served in China, Burma, and French Indochina. As a guerrilla operative during World War II, he carried out a secret mission for the OSS under the command of Paul Helliwell in China with E. Howard Hunt, Lucien Conein, John K. Singlaub and

Ray Cline Ray Steiner Cline (June 4, 1918 – March 15, 1996) was an official at the United States Central Intelligence Agency and is best known for being the chief CIA analyst during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Background Ray S. Cline was born in Anderson ...

.Truby, J. David (1972). ''Silencers, Snipers & Assassins: An Overview of Whispering Death''. Boulder, Colo.:

Paladin Press Paladin Press was a book publishing firm founded in 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown. The company published non-fiction books and videos covering a wide range of specialty topics, including personal and financial freedom, survivalism and ...

. pp. 108–110. . Following World War II, WerBell briefly worked as the director of advertising and public relations for Rich's, a department store in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

; he left after a year to open his own PR firm.Dunkin, Tom (Jan. 1, 1980)
"Cobray: Turning the Tables on Terrorists."
'' Soldier of Fortune'', vol. 5, no. 1
pp. 46–50.
/ref>

SIONICS

After WerBell closed his PR firm to design

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a gun barrel#Muzzle, muzzle device that suppresses the muzzle blast, blast created when a gun (firearm or airgun) is discharged, thereby reducing the sound inten ...

s for firearms, he incorporated

SIONICS SIONICS (an acronym for Studies in the Operational Negation of Insurgents and Counter-Subversion) was an American company producing firearm suppressors. It was founded in the 1960s by Mitchell WerBell III, a former OSS officer. History The co ...

to design suppressors for the

M16 rifle The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...

. The name was an acronym for "Studies In the Operational Negation of Insurgents and Counter-Subversion". Through SIONICS he developed a low cost, efficient suppressor for machine guns. In 1967, he partnered with Gordon B. Ingram, inventor of the

MAC-10 The Military Armament Corporation Model 10, officially abbreviated as "M10" or "M-10", and more commonly known as the MAC-10, is a compact, Blowback (arms), blowback operated machine pistol/submachine gun that was developed by Gordon Ingram in ...

submachine gun. They added WerBell's suppressor to Ingram's machinegun and attempted to market it to the U.S. military as "Whispering Death" for use in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. WerBell is credited with over 25 different suppressor designs and the "WerBell Relief Valve", a mechanism designed for machinegun suppressors. WerBell's modular designs and use of exotic materials such as titanium in sound suppressors influence their design to the present day. SIONICS was absorbed by

Military Armament Corporation Military Armament Corporation (MAC) was an American manufacturer of small arms, co-founded by Gordon Ingram, an engineer and gun designer, and Mitchell WerBell, owner of SIONICS, which manufactured gun sound suppressors. It is known for manufac ...

(MAC), later called

Cobray The Cobray Company was an American developer and manufacturer of submachine guns, automatic carbines, handguns, shotguns, and non-lethal 37 mm launchers. These were manufactured by SWD. In the 1970s and 1980s, Cobray was a counter terroris ...

, where WerBell developed a training center for counterterrorism in the 1970s. The courses lasted 11 weeks and students included members of the military, high-risk executives, CIA agents, and private individuals. WerBell concurrently ran Defense Systems International, an arms brokerage firm.

Mercenary activities

In the 1950s, WerBell served as a security advisor to Dominican dictator

Rafael Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( ; ; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (; "the boss"), was a Dominican military officer and dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from August 1930 until Rafael Trujillo#Assassination, ...

and to the

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...

regime in Cuba. According to FBI archives, WerBell may have attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro. In 1965 WerBell allegedly played a large part in planning the US intervention in the

Dominican Civil War The Dominican Civil War (), also known as the April Revolution (), took place between April 24, 1965, and September 3, 1965, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It started when civilian and military supporters of the overthrown democraticall ...

, codenamed 'Operation Power Pack'. The intervention was largely successful in restoring order on the island. WerBell helped plan an invasion of Haiti by Cuban and Haitian exiles against "Papa Doc"

François Duvalier François Duvalier (; 14 April 190721 April 1971), also known as Papa Doc, was a Haiti, Haitian politician and Haitian Vodou, Vodouisant who served as the president of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. He was elected president in the 195 ...

in 1966 called Project Nassau (but internally referred to as Operation Istanbul). The mission, which, according to

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) and the Special Subcommittee on Investigations of the House Commerce Committee, was financially subsidized, and to be filmed by

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

, was aborted when the participants were arrested by the FBI. WerBell was released without being charged. In 1972, WerBell was approached by the Abaco Independence Movement (AIM) from the

Abaco Islands The Abaco Islands lie in the north of Bahamas, The Bahamas, about 193 miles (167.7 nautical miles or 310.6 km) east of Miami, Florida, US. The main islands are Great Abaco and Little Abaco, which is just west of Great Abaco's northern tip. T ...

, a region of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, who were worried about the direction the Bahamas were taking and were considering other options, such as independence or remaining a separate Commonwealth nation under the Crown in case of the Bahamas gaining independence (which they did in 1973). AIM was funded by the Phoenix Foundation, a group that helps to build

micronations A micronation is a political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from de facto stat ...

. The AIM collapsed into internal bickering before a coup by WerBell could be carried out. In 1973, WerBell was asked to assist with a ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

'' against

Omar Torrijos Omar Efraín Torrijos Herrera (February 13, 1929 – July 31, 1981) was the Panamanian military leader of Panama, as well as the Commander of the Panamanian National Guard from 1968 to his death in 1981. Torrijos was never officially ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, according to CIA documents released in 1993. WerBell sought clearance from the CIA which denied getting involved in coups. The plan was not implemented. In a 1979 ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...

'' interview WerBell claimed that

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

had hired him for $1 million to take care of kidnapping threats against its

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

executives during an urban terrorist wave in 1973. Coca-Cola later denied the claim. In a 1981 interview, WerBell revealed he was about to break with the U.S. Labor Party, whose security staff he had been training at his Powder Springs, Georgia estate. Later in life WerBell claimed he was a retired Lieutenant General in the Royal Free Afghan Army or sometimes an Afghan Defense Minister after supplying Afghanistan with large weapons contracts and training. WerBell claimed he was given the billet of Major General in the US Army to allow him to travel freely in Southeast Asia during the

to demonstrate and sell his silenced submachineguns and sound suppressors. This has been confirmed by Major General

John Singlaub Major General John Kirk Singlaub (July 10, 1921 – January 29, 2022) was a major general in the United States Army, founding member of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and a highly decorated officer in the former Office of Strategic Ser ...

and Lt Col. William Mozey.

Other exploits

WerBell and

Mario Sandoval Alarcón Mario Sandoval Alarcón (May 18, 1923 – April 17, 2003) was a Guatemalan politician who served as vice president of Guatemala from 1974 to 1978 under Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García. A member and founder of the political party, Movimiento de ...

's associate Leonel Sisniega Otero plotted a coup in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

that failed in 1982. In 1988, Sheriff

Sherman Block Sherman Block (July 19, 1924 – October 28, 1998) was the 29th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from January 1982 until his death. He was preceded by Peter Pitchess and succeeded by Lee Baca. Biography Block was born to a Jews, Jewish fa ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

announced that '' Hustler'' publisher

Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. (; November 1, 1942 – February 10, 2021) was an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP). LFP mainly produces pornographic magazines, such as '' Hustler'', pornographic videos, and three p ...

wrote WerBell a $1 million check in 1983 to kill

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...

(founder of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

''),

Bob Guccione Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini Guccione ( ; December 17, 1930 – October 20, 2010) was an American visual artist, photographer and publisher. He founded the adult magazine '' Penthouse'' in 1965. This was aimed at competing with ''Playbo ...

(founder of '' Penthouse''),

Walter Annenberg Walter Hubert Annenberg (March 13, 1908 – October 1, 2002) was an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and diplomat. Annenberg owned and operated Triangle Publications, which included ownership of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer' ...

(owner of

Triangle Publications Triangle Publications Inc. was an American media group based first in Philadelphia, and later in Radnor, Pennsylvania. It was a privately held corporation, with the majority of its stock owned by Walter Annenberg and his sisters. Its holdings ...

), and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. Los Angeles television station

KNBC KNBC (channel 4) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network ...

displayed a photocopy of the check. WerBell died at the UCLA medical facility in Los Angeles on December 16, a month after receiving the check. Freed, David
"Alleged Flynt Plot to Have Sinatra, Others Killed Reported."
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' (Oct. 27, 1988), p. 3.

Death and courtroom poisoning claim

In the 1989 ''Cotton Club'' murder case of

Roy Radin Roy Radin (November 13, 1949 – last seen May 13, 1983, remains found June 10, 1983) was an American show business promoter who packaged vaudeville shows and oldies music nostalgia tours in the 1970s and early 1980s. He was probably best known f ...

, Arthur Michael Pascal, then owner of a

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

security firm, Connelly, Michael (Nov. 17, 1991)
"Slaying Case Takes a New Twist With Security Firm Owner's Arrest Crime: A. Michael Pascal is charged with arranging the 1984 killing of a prostitute in Van Nuys. He'll be arraigned Monday."
''

'' (Nov. 17, 1991)
p. 3.
/ref> testified that prosecution witness William Rider, Flynt's former brother-in-law and private security agent, "told him of poisoning soldier of fortune Mitchell WerBell III in 1983 in order to take over WerBell's counterterrorist school based in Atlanta. Pascal said that Rider and Flynt poured four to six ounces of a

digoxin Digoxin (better known as digitalis), sold under the brand name Lanoxin among others, is a medication used to treat various heart disease, heart conditions. Most frequently it is used for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and heart failure. ...

, a powerful heart relaxant, into WerBell's drink during a cocktail party at Flynt's Los Angeles mansion. WerBell, 65, a security consultant for Flynt... died of a heart attack at

UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as UCLA Medical Center, RRMC or Ronald Reagan) is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United S ...

a few days later." Flynt and his attorney,

Alan Isaacman Alan L. Isaacman ( ; born July 12, 1942) is an American lawyer primarily famous for serving as attorney for publisher Larry Flynt. His past clients also include Geraldo Rivera, Kathy Griffin, Rock Hudson and CBS, Inc. Education Isaacman grew u ...

, were in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

and "unavailable for comment, according to a ''Hustler'' magazine spokeswoman". "Isaacman characterized an earlier Rider claim of a Flynt-paid murder contract as 'fantasy.'" Rider passed a polygraph test regarding "possible involvement in homicides," according to courtroom testimony. McDougal, Dennis
"'Cotton Club' Witness Linked to Two Murders."
''

'' (Jun. 20, 1989)
p. 3.
/ref> Pascal was later arraigned on a murder charge in 1991 due to tapes Rider provided investigators. In 1993, Pascal pleaded guilty to killing a prostitute.

References

Bibliography

* Hougan, Jim (1978)
''Spooks: The Haunting of America & the Private Use of Secret Agents''.
New York: William Morrow. .

External links

FBI files
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

released in response to FOIA requests and appeals on behalf of Alan Jules Weberman
Biography
at

Spartacus Educational Spartacus Educational is a free online encyclopedia with essays and other educational material on a wide variety of historical subjects, principally the struggle for equality and democracy as part of British history from 1700 and the history of ...

Cuban Exiles - Project Nassau documents

Related newspaper article from MIT archives: Special Subcommittee on Investigations of the House Commerce Committee

American Mercenaries: The True Story of Mitchell L. WerBell III
(

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Werbell, Mitchell 1918 births 1983 deaths Arms traders American anti-communists American mercenaries American military personnel of World War II American people of Russian descent Firearm designers People from Philadelphia People of the Office of Strategic Services