Documents / FOIA release
This FBI Freedom of Information release is part of the Bureau's file on Silas M. Newton. It holds 1941 reports from the Kansas City and Los Angeles field offices in an espionage case that began in New York City. Agents looked at Newton's oil businesses, including the Kansas Western Pipeline Company and the Newton Development Company, along with his bank accounts in McCracken and Wichita, his hotel residences and his marital status. Informants described him as an oil promoter and a loyal American. The case was left pending with undeveloped leads.
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
was reportedly residing at the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel, Hollywood, California, and had authorized to conduct all business with the State Oil and Gas Division for the Newton Development Company. advised that she has no record of of the Hollywood Knickerbooker Hotel, 1714 Ivar Avenue, Hollywood, California, was recontacted, and, in addition to the information which he had previously furnished to the Los Angeles Office and which is contained in the report of Special Agent dated March 20, 1941, in instant case, further advised that SILAS M. NENTON is presently residing at the Hollywood Knickerbooker Hotel and has been a guest at the hotel since March 1941; that for years NENTON has made it a practice to reside at the Knickerbooker when in Los Angeles, but that he has always lived alone at the hotel and has never been accompanied by a wife, and has never indicated in any way that he is married. stated that NEWTON has never discussed his marital status insofar as informant knows. Continuing, advised that at the present time Mr. NEWTON Informant stated that He advised that NEWTON is connected in some way with the petroleum business and is associated with not considered advisable to attempt to discreetly interview relative to NEWTON'S marital status or his relationship with subject Special Agent discreetly contacted regarding the marital status of NENTON and was advised that SILAS M. NEWTON. stated that he was cognizant of the fact that NEWTON was or had been married, but stated that he never saw NEWTON'S wife, did not know her name, and did not know whether she was living or dead. was of the opinion that NEWTON volunteered the information that none of the Newton drillers or riggers working for the Newton Development Company knew anything about NEWTON'S marital status, because this subject had come up in a discussion one day, but no one was able to furnish any information concerning NEWTON'S domestic affairs. The records of the Los Angeles Retail Merchants Credit Association were checked with regard to SILAS M. NEWTON, with negative results.
Not linked to a story yet.
FOIA release, from the fbi-vault collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 18 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.