Deep State Death by Braided Bathrobe Belt - The 1965 "Suicide" of Ethel DuPont

Well before Epstein was "suicided" with his own bed sheets, death at the presumably distraught's own hand, had become almost an Internet meme or at least a Reddit forum post trope.

Anthony Bourdain hung himself in June 2018 and so did Kate Spade. Other recent celebrity hangings include Chris Cornell (2017), Chester Bennington (2017), Mark Sailing (2018), August Ames (2017) a Canadian pornography actress, and no doubt more I've missed.

The suicides listed above were all relatively controversial. Like the Epstein "suicide" many have speculated that these people were murdered by forces associated with human trafficking rings and/or despicable acts involving children, etc, all under the authority, or at the insistence of very powerful people (aka, the Deep State.)

That the deaths by hanging seemed to be a common denominator, the idea that the method was a "calling card" by the Deep State did not take long to take hold in every media venue except the mainstream. We generally subscribe to the theory that the deaths above, and others, were at the hands of Deep State operators. The death by hanging method, especially with the belt of a bathrobe might be a calling card, but we would argue it is just a more practical murder method when the goal is to make the murder look like a suicide.

As the chart shows, suicide by firearm is the most popular method, followed by hanging, poisoning, falling and cutting. If the plan is to commit a murder and try to pass it off as a suicide, then hanging/suffocating seems the most efficient and practical. A gun to the head is definitely going attract immediate attention, plus, it is apparently to technical to get just right as far as how the gun should be held, the position the body should be in, whether or not the victim had a gun. The "suicide" of Vince Foster is still causing problems for the Clintons because of all those factors.

Aside from hanging, the other "popular" suicide methods are not always practical if you want the murder to look like a suicide. Those of us with dogs know how difficult it is to get "Rover" to take a single heart worm pill. Imagine trying to shove a bottle full of Oxycontin into the mouth of someone who does not want it. There is going to be a struggle, and even if successful, a long wait.

• Fall - You need a high place.
• Cut/Piece - Who has time to wait for the victim to bleed out.
• Drowning - You need a pool or a pond; etc.

The point should be clear. Strangling someone with a rope is quieter than using a firearm, and making it look like a suicide by hanging, is just more practical than the other methods. If there is symbolism in a bathrobe rope, so be it, but it is probably just quick, practical, and does not leave a mess.

Ethel du Pont (January 30, 1916 – May 25, 1965)

Robert Mueller Jr. (l) Dupont (c) Donald Sherwood (r)
1937

Ethel du Pont was the eldest child of Eugene du Pont, Jr. and Ethel du Pont (nee Pyle) and granddaughter of Eugene du Pont Sr., the first head of the modern DuPont Corporation. 

Ethel is most famous for two things, her marriage in 1937 to  Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr., son of  President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt and her eventual suicide in 1965. She divorced Frank Jr. in 1949, and married Benjamin S. Warren Jr. in 1950.

From Wikipedia: Ethel du Pont was forty-nine years old when she committed suicide on May 25, 1965. She had been under psychiatric care several times in the years preceding her death and spent time at the Silver Hill Foundation, a hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut. Her death took place a few months before her son Christopher's wedding in June 1965 and while her son with Warren, then 10 years old, was away at boarding school. 

In typical Wikipedia fashion, there is no mention about the method Ethel used to kill herself. As the clipping shows though, Ethel hung herself

"...by a braided bathroom belt from a shower curtain rod in a locked second-floor bathroom."

Ethel was probably upset about something 

1937

We have not come across any articles, essays, accounts or other evidence that suggests that Ethel's suicide was anything other than what it was; a suicide, not a murder. The only thing that got our attention was the bathrobe rope. As noted above, death by hanging, and in particular, bathrobe ropes, is a common theme with individuals that may have crossed the wrong group of powerful people. As a du Pont and a Roosevelt, Ethel was definitely familiar with powerful people, some of them in the wrong group.

The clipping above showing Robert Mueller Jr. (father of Robert Swan Mueller III) Eugene du Pont Jr. (Ethel's father) and Donald Sherwood. They were definitely powerful. There are other posts in this blog that highlight some of the connections between these members of the Gibson Island Club and nefarious historical events that have occurred, possibly because of their influence and power, over the past 100 years.

Who knows what Ethel was upset about. It probably had nothing to do with Cold War intrigue, illicit weapons transfers, third world coups, or first world assassinations. Nevertheless, her suicide must have been the talk of the Gibson Island cocktail parties in the summer of 1965.

Only the previous Fall (October 12, 1964), another face very familiar to the Gibson Island Set had been shot to death  on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath in Georgetown, where many of the Gibson Islanders had their full year residences.

Mary Pinchot Meyer was not "Suicided"

Her murder remains suspicious to this day. Theories generally surmise she was killed because of what she knew about the JFK Assassination. This Smithsonian Magazine article tells the story.

Mary Pinchot and Cord Meyer
Married '45 - Divorced '58

There were only about 100 families on Gibson Island back in the 1960s. Whether or not Mary Pinchot spent much time on Gibson, either as a child, or later in life, we are not sure. We tend to believe she was at the very least familiar with the place and Ethel du Pont.

Mary Pinchot's uncle Gifford (Gifford Pinchot - 28th Governor of Pennsylvania) was an early buyer of a Gibson Island lot (1920s or 1930s) along with Ethel's grandfather Eugene du Pont. In those early days, there were probably less than 50 families on Gibson Island. Ethel was four years older than Mary Pinchot. It is probably not a stretch to speculate they knew each other.

We'll take a closer look at Ethel and Mary and see if they had more in common than their association with Gibson Island, for now though, the gang at Gibson Island sure must have had a lot to talk about with the tragic deaths of Ethel and Mary within eight months of each other.

More information about the Pinchots and Gibson Island

• Ahoy! Mary Pinchot Meyer's Cousin, Gifford Pinchot II, was a Gibson Island Yachtsmen
• Our Fascination with Gibson Island, Maryland

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The Gibson Island Atomic Lighthouse and Introduction to Merson Booth

In the years following the splitting of the atoms over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scientists, government leaders and business men described a future where atoms would be split, at a slower pace, for fun and profit. 

Atomic Studebakers would whisk commuters to cities where the electricity was too cheap to meter. Flying cars, moving side walks, elevators to space, all powered by nuclear energy were the promise. While we are still waiting for our atomic powered flying cars, Gibson Island did manage to get the only Atomic Lighthouse in North America. 

"It's easy to grin, when your ship comes in,
and you've got the stock market beat..."

Members of the Gibson Island Yacht Squadron have no doubt appreciated the sight of the Lighthouse (officially the Baltimore Harbor Light) after a long sail from Newport or Bermuda, since the Gibson Island Yacht Club was created in the 1920s. The children and grand children of the original Club founders, such as the Eugene DuPonts, the Gifford Pinchots, and the Sifford Pearres (a relative of General Charles "Pearre" Cabell, and Dallas Mayor Earle Cabell)  probably radiated with pride when a nuclear light was installed in 1964, before being replaced a year later with conventional power.

We can only guess as to why the Gibson Island approaches were chosen to test the first and only nuclear powered lighthouse. Perhaps Gibson Island resident Merson Booth thought it was a good idea and was in the position to make it happen.

Merson Booth passed away in 2012 at the age of 88. He spent his entire career in the Nuclear industry. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1946, Merson was assigned to work on the US Nuclear Weapons program in Los Alamos, NM.

In the 1950s, Admiral Hyman S. Rickover recruited Merson Booth "to participate in the early development of the Navy's first nuclear-powered vessels" according to his Washington Post Obituary.

In 1958, Merson resigned from the Navy and joined the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). He retired in 1972 as chief of systems at the age of 48. (The WAPO obituary does not make it clear if Merson just retired from the AEC and went to work somewhere else or retired permanently.)

Merson Booth Obituary - 12/2/2012 (Part 1)

Merson Booth Obituary - 12/2/2012 (Part 2)

How do you sneak 300 lbs. of Highly Enriched Uranium out the back door

We have another series of posts in progress where we present facts, opine and speculate on an incident called The Apollo Affair. The Wikidpedia summary is below.

The Apollo Affair was a 1965 incident in which a US company, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC), in the Pittsburgh suburbs of Apollo and Parks Township, Pennsylvania was investigated for losing 200–600 pounds (91–272 kg) of highly enriched uranium, with suspicions that it had gone to Israel's nuclear weapons program. Full Wikipedia Article

Our posts are more focused on the possible financial mechanisms that could be used to launder the large sums of money that must have changed hands in order to move HEU from Pittsburgh to Israel. The Posts (so far) are here:

The Apollo Affair, Missing Uranium and Katy Perry (Part 1)
The Apollo Affair, Missing Uranium and Katy Perry (Part 2)
The Apollo Affair, Missing Uranium and Katy Perry (Part 3)
The Apollo Affair, Missing Uranium and Katy Perry (Part 4)

Our broader thesis, with respect to the Apollo Affair is that Zalman Shapiro, the President of NUMEC is not at the "tippy-top" of the conspiracy pyramid and that he must have had help from government agencies, and/or the Navy, and/or other Uranium industry companies to be able to pull off the caper. In short, the government agencies and other entities that were responsible for keeping tabs on weapons grade uranium had to have been persuaded to look the other way.

The AEC, where Merson Booth worked, was the primary agency that was mandated to keep track of all sorts of nuclear material, including the HEU at Apollo. They were also the primary agency in charge of investigating the loss of the HEU.

The "persuaders" would naturally be wealthy and powerful, so when we discovered that Merson Booth was a member of the Gibson Island Club, we figured we had a good lead.

Manhattans at the Gibson Island Club

Your finer and more exclusive Eastern Establishment clubs will usually have a "signature" cocktail that you must have at least one of before switching to your preferred cocktail. The Gibson Island Club probably has one. We don't know what it is, but for narrative purposes, we'll say its a "Manhattan" as in "Manhattan Project Cocktail."

How exactly Merson got involved with the Gibson Island Gang, we have no idea. Nevertheless, he would have been useful in the illicit weapons trade business the gang started back in World War 1. Maybe over Manhattan's, Merson mentioned he worked with Zalman Shapiro under Admiral Rickover's nuclear boat project.

That Merson worked for the AEC is also more than a curiosity and deserves a deeper dive in to the archives. In the meantime, Merson's involvement in a "Radiation Incident" is also worth a closer look.

• Radiation Incident, Westinghouse Testing Reactor, Waltz Mills, PA - April 18, 1960
• Investigation of Radiation Incident, May 27, 1960

The Radiation Incident

Merson Booth was a member of the AEC committee that investigated the radiation incident at Waltz Mills. We are still going through the documents that are linked above. In the meantime, our cynicism prevents us from dismissing the proximity of Waltz Mills, PA from Apollo PA, where the AEC would discover in 1965, that 300 lbs. of HEU was missing, and it was eventually discovered that the HEU ended up in the hands of the Israelis. 

Apollo PA to Waltz Mills PA, 25 miles as the crow flies. 40 Minute Drive

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Thank's For Getting This Blog Un-suspended "Mr. Green."

If it happens again I will let you know.
I'll also try and get the you know what.
This bus does not stop at 82nd street.

Probably Just a Coincidence - You Never Know When You Might Need to Blow Up a Synagogue

The ascension of George Lincoln Rockwell as the leader of the US Neo-Nazi movement was contemporaneous with the formation of NUMEC and Apollo Industries by some enthusiastic Zionists back in 1958. If there is one thing the Deep State is good at, is distracting attention from a large crime with a headline grabbing smaller crime.

As described in our previous posts, George Lincoln Rockwell started to attract attention as the leader of the American Neo-Nazi movement in 1958. Harold Noel Arrowsmith Jr., whose family was an early investor in the development of Gibson Island, provided Rockwell with some funds and printing equipment that allowed Rockwell to get some momentum. We also wrote that Rockwell may have had foreknowledge of the 1958 bombing of an Atlanta Synagogue. Rockwell and Arrowsmith were both interviewed by the FBI shortly after the bombing.

If the Deep State is going to commit to nurturing a terrorist group, it will typically try to get its monies worth. The Deep State long term plan is generally to advance a branch of a dialectic (black civil rights groups versus segregationist proponents.) Over the short-term though, their is no reason why the terrorist group, already on the pay roll, couldn't be used to clean up a few messes, or eliminate the occasional witness.

Zionists form NUMEC 

As described in our on going series about the Apollo Affair (Part 4) (Part 3) (Part 2) (Part 1), the Mossad, with the help of some Pittsburgh area Zionists formed NUMEC in 1958. The purpose of NUMEC was to smuggle Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) out of the NUMEC plant and into the Israeli nuclear weapons program.

We argue that the Pittsburgh area Zionists were mostly just the cover for a larger Deep State effort, and theorize that the "entrepreneur" (Zalman Shapiro) who formed NUMEC from the consolidation of Apollo Steel, San Toy Mining, and American Nut and Bolt Fastener, probably had to answer to a group of investors that are not known.

The Dave McGowan Theory of Serial Killers     

In the book, "Programmed to Kill", Dave McGowan puts for the idea that some of those famous serial killers of the 1960's and 1970's were creations of an MK Ultra type effort, or if not quite created "whole-cloth" at least had some CIA encouragement. These serial killer "characters", such as the Zodiac Killer, Charles Manson, David Berkowitz, and others, helped the Deep State advance its long term agenda to;

1. So fear and create "tension" in the broader populace and,
2. Kill a witness and/or enemy whose death can be blamed on the random murder of an unhinged serial killer.

Take the Zodiac Killer for example. Mr. Zodiac kills two teenagers one night. A few weeks later, another teenager is murdered in the same general area. Whether or not the three murders are related, the "authorities" have a great narrative to sow fear among normal people that no one is safe. Let the social engineering begin.

David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) played a similar roll in terrorizing the populace of New York City in the late 1970's. There is also evidence and assertions by researchers that two of the Son of Sam's murders were likely "contract hits", by either Berkowitz himself, or other members of the Process Church, which also had CIA connections.

Neo Nazis Needed

The formation of NUMEC was a big undertaking. Zalman Shapiro took the first steps towards its creation in 1956. (The 1956 formation was mostly on paper through its incorporation. We consider the actual formation of the business to have occurred in 1958, when NUMEC was merged with the aforementioned operating companies [Apollo Industries and its subsidiaries, San Toy, Apollo Steel and American Nut.])

Under such a large and treasonous undertaking (creating a company to smuggle HEU), and under the assumption Shapiro had Deep State help, proper planning would likely have to include a mechanism to destroy or cover-up any illegal activity if the conspiracy was discovered.

George Rockwell and his band of Neo-Nazis might have been the perfect foil for that role. We can imagine a scenario where Shapiro and his cohorts, which included names like, Sachs, Lowenthall, Solomon, Reizenstein, Kaplan, among others, eventually attracted the attention of the Feds, and needed to be eliminated. Under the auspices of standard antisemitism, a bomb in the Pittsburgh branch of the Zionist Organization of America, of which Shapiro was a member, might be the ideal cover for the murder of a witness and co-conspirator for a huge Deep State sponsored Uranium smuggling program.       

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Arrowsmith of Gibson Island, a Few More Familiar Names and a Dueling Scar

As noted in our last post, Harold N. Arrowsmith Jr. was known to associate with Neo-Nazis, including George Lincoln Rockwell, and old-Nazis, like Hans Rechenberg.

The historical record can confirm that Rockwell and Rechenburg were first degree connections to Harold Arrowsmith. A few more names have popped up in the list of associates of Rockwell and Rechenburg that are interesting. We have not dug deep enough to confirm a first degree connection between Arrowsmith and these associates, so we'll call them second degree connections for now.

• Link to Original Post - About the Gibson Islander Neo-Nazi Financier, the "Face" he Financed, and the Futile JFK File Search - August 21, 2019
• Link to Follow Up Post - More About Arrowsmith, the Nazi from Gibson Island - August 22, 2019

Did Somebody Say Hookers?
Harold N. Arrowsmith was not the first wealthy WASP that Rockwell ran in the same circles with that was a potential source of funding for a nascent North American Nazi movement. Prior to Rockwell's receipt of some "start-up" capital from Arrowsmith in 1958, Rockwell was introduced to
DeWest Hooker (aka West Hooker.)

DeWest Hooker

DeWest Hooker is another one of those characters in the huge circle of JFK conspirators, Cold-War spies, culture manipulators and disinformation agents that all seemed to know each other, in some way, before November 1963.

The last name "Hooker" is one of those "Eastern Establishment" family names that would lend credibility to a possible "mark" like George Lincoln Rockwell, who was looking for a wealthy benefactor back in the mid-1950s. As this blog post reads, Dewest looked like a genuine "hoi polloi", and he may well have been. There are other Hookers in the general "milieu" of the JFK conspiracy, including a branch in the Rockefeller family. An Edward Hooker was the room mate of George H.W. Bush at Andover and the uncle of George de Mohrenschildt.

The Hooker/Rockwell association does not appear to have developed into a benefactor/protege relationship, and we only think it is noteworthy that apparent attempt was made because of the more successful relationship that developed a few years later between Rockwell and Arrowsmith. (ie. Neophyte Nazi (Rockwell) find WASP money (Arrowsmith.) In other words, was Rockwell an actor in a play he probably did not know he was in?

Otto Skorzeny with "dueling scar"

Otto Skorzeny, Super Nazi, had one Hell of a Dueling Scar
As described in this post the CIA station in Munich was keeping tabs on Harold Arrowsmith in 1962. Harold was noted to have been in contact with an un-repentant ex-Nazi named Hans Rechenburg. 

The CIA has a substantive file on Hans Rechenburg with 129 records available for review in the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act section of the CIA FOIA vault.

The most interesting record we have come across so far is a translation of a correspondence between Rechenburg and Super Nazi Otto Skorzeny. The letter is dated February 19, 1962 and a February 12 letter is referenced.  (The letter between Rechenberg and Arrowsmith is date January 20, 1962.) 

We'll set aside further speculation as to whether the letters have any significance for the time being and anyone is free to go through the Reckenberg CIA files if you are conducting your own research.

CIA Vault - Translation of letter between
Otto Skorzeny and Hans Rechenburg

• Link to full letter (pdf) above
• Link to "Rechenberg" (also occasionally "Reckenburg") Files in CIA Vault.
• Link to CIA Vault 

Otto Skorzeny gained Super-Nazi status when in World War II, Hitler asked him to rescue Benito Mussolini from his prison "high in the Abruzzi Apennines."

Skorzeny agreed and on 13th September he led an airbourne force of commandos by glider to a dangerous landing near the hotel where he was being held. Mussolini was soon freed and Skorzeny flew him to safety. Source: Spartacus Educational

Otto Skorenzy is also a suspect in the JFK Assassination, which is what makes him relevant to this narrative. The book below is relatively new (we have not read) and presents evidence that Skorzeny was involved in the plot to kill JFK.

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More About Arrowsmith, the Nazi from Gibson Island

Harold Noel Arrowsmith corresponded with both "Old-School" Nazi's, like Hans Rechenberg, in addition to the neo-Nazis.

Our post yesterday highlighted Harold Noel Arrowsmith Jr.. The Arrowsmith family was one of the early "investors" in the Gibson Island real estate development. The post, About the Gibson Islander Neo-Nazi Financier, the "Face" he Financed, and the Futile JFK File Search can be read here.

Subsequent to yesterday's post, we found additional information about "Harold Jr."

• Seems to have lived in both Maryland and Germany since at least the late 1950's.
• Moved to Germany permanently in 1974, and passed away there in 1989.
• He was wealthy. As a result of international tax treaty issues, an appeal and litigation by his heirs prompted the disclosure that Harold had about $30 million when he died.

Munich Station - Keeping Tabs

We noted the absence of a "file" on Arrowsmith in the maryferrell.org archive database in the earlier post. A subsequent check of the CIA archives was more fruitful. (A few JFK researchers have said on various message boards that the maryferrell.org website is "controlled opposition." Maybe they are correct.)

The screenshot below shows that in early 1962, the CIA in Munich was monitoring the correspondence of Harold Arrowsmith with a German national named Hans Rechenberg. The letter indicates that Harold Arrowsmith either had an innocent interest in German history, which would square with his "anthropology" interests, or that his willingness to finance some small expenses may indicate more nefarious intentions.

Link to full Document - CIA Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act

The Rechenberg Dossier

Every stack of paper sounds important when you call it a dossier.

Hans Rechenberg (also Hans-Joachim Rechenberg, sometimes Rechenburg) was a Nazi "journalist" who worked under Reich Minister Walther Funk before the war and under Goebbels during the war. He was a war correspondent for the Reich and flew with the Luftwaffe on London bombing missions and parachuted into Tunisia with the Afrika Korps. In May 1943 Rechenberg was listed as MIA and spent the rest of the war in Concordia, Kansas until being repatriated back to Germany in 1946.

After the war, Rechenberg was apparently unrepentant, or duty bound, or needed the money, and remained loyal to some of his former bosses who rank high enough in the Nazi organizational chart to warrant a trial at Nuremberg.  These loyalist activities included:

Francois Genoud
Swiss Banker, ODESSA Supporter

• advocating for better prison conditions for his former bosses.
• oversaw "Progress", a Pro-German Nationalism / Anti-American Magazine.
• conspiring with a Swiss banker and escape agent for Nazi criminals named François Genoud 
• and according to the German to English translation, "With Genoud Rechenberg has worked in the marketing of the estate of Martin Bormann and at the trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961."

In short, as of 1962, Rechenberg was assisting some of the more infamous Nazis in a variety of ways and was an "undercover agent" for the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) aka West German Intelligence.

• CIA list of Rechenberg contacts
• CIA Intercept of Skorzeny & Rechenberg letter

Revisiting Arrowsmith

Harold Arrowsmith becomes even more interesting given that he was corresponding with Rechenberg, who it turns out, was actively running Nazi rat lines, if not actual Nazis. We can't say for sure if Arrowsmith's "old school" associations were prompted by the fall out with George Lincoln Rockwell and his new brand of American Nazis. (ie Rockwell was a disappointment, so Arrowsmith hooked up with the original version of the Nazi band.)

Alternatively, Arrowsmith may just have become disillusioned with Rockwell in particular, or Rockwell had served out a particular purpose, or the breakup was part of the school play. Whatever the case, Arrowsmith seems to have been in a relatively rare position to effect communication, plans, conspiracies, financial transfers, and a host of other arrangements between two "verbotten" entities; the Old School original Nazis and the New Wave Neo-Nazis of North America.

Nazi Rat Lines to New Orleans

The discovery of Harold N. Arrowsmith dovetails slightly with the broader thesis described by George Webb and McDuff (Kennedy's Man to Smash the CIA) on their Youtube channels (Webb Channel) (McDuff Channel), which, in summary, says that the CIA was running former Nazi's into place like New Orleans, and that these Nazi's were not always the scientific types, like under Operation Paperclip. That thesis is expanded on this earlier post; Who was Edward Pierpont Morgan? Was Charles W. Lyons a CIA Cut Out? Did Otepka run across a Nazi Rat Line?

Also worth a watch, The Nazis Next Door: How America Became A Safe Haven For Hitler’s Men, by the author of this book.

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Crowdsource Gibson Island Names Out of 1936-1937 Maryland Phone Directory

The Phone Directory Pictured Below contains the names and numbers of Gibson Island residents.

If anyone wants to help extract the names, that would be great,.

The entire directory is 133 pages long. The entire directory, including the commercial "Yellow Page Listings" is 189 pages.

I am only interested in the Residential Listings.

Cover Page

Towns covered in Directory

Here is an example listing

In order to avoid Duplication, write in the comment section below. "I have letter C."

When you have all the letter C names, add to your comment or put in a separate comment.

See Example in Comment. 
(There was only one under letter "A". There won't be too many. Gibson Island was pretty sparesly populated back then.)

Here is a link to the Directory. It is in PDF Form.

http://connergenealogy.com/wp_files/Catonsville/Catonsville_Directory_1936_pdf_only.pdf