[Marxism] Encounters with the FBI

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

While going through some old papers this weekend, I came across my FBI 
files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act in early 1979. 
With the Democrats in Congress giving George W. Bush the right to use 
the FBI against the American people, it might be useful to share some of 
my FBI dossiers with you since I am a typical victim of police state 
abuse in many ways.

In early 1968, I was living in Hoboken, New Jersey in a tenement 
apartment that cost $39 per month. The building was filled with some 
colorful characters, including a number of people who had gone to Bard 
College like me. Two of the non-Bardians fit right in to the bohemian 
scene. One was a skinny guy named Hans Kary, who sold LSD and pot for a 
living, including to me. In early 1966, Hans stumbled across the Hare 
Krishna on the Lower East Side and became a convert immediately. He 
explained the attraction to me. “Man, if you chant Hare Krishna all day, 
you get higher than if you were on acid and it is free.”

Hans became a leader of the Hare Krishnas in no time at all and changed 
his name to Hansadutta das. He was eventually expelled after becoming a 
big-time cocaine dealer in the 1980s when he was running a Hare Krishna 
temple in Berkeley. Apparently, the cult began selling blow as a way of 
supporting its other activities. Eventually, the drug dealing became an 
end in itself and led to members killing each other. You can read about 
this in the excellent “Monkey on a Stick” by John Hubner and Lindsey 
Gruson. You can also check out Hansadutta’s website at: 
http://www.hansadutta.com/. There’s nothing about his notorious past.

Hans was pals with a guy named Luke Faust, who lived on the top floor. 
Luke earned a living as a model in life drawing classes and doing 
occasional gigs as a folk banjo player. He was a pleasant but taciturn 
fellow. He never mentioned it to me, but was deeply involved with the 
folk revival scene in Greenwich Village and played with Dave van Ronk 
and Bob Dylan. After I moved to New York City, a guy named Robert Palmer 
from Little Rock, Arkansas took over my apartment and began gigging with 
Luke. They formed a band called Insect Trust that included Elvin Jones 
on drums. One of their two albums was called “Hoboken Saturday Night”. I 
don’t remember who did the cover art, but it was a drawing of our back 
yard–clothes lines and all. Palmer eventually became an editor at 
Rolling Stone and then a reporter for the New York Times. He died in 1997.

Even though I had joined the Socialist Workers Party by this time, an 
FBI visit was prompted by my application for a seasonal job at the 
passport bureau in Rockefeller Center. Apparently, they did background 
checks on low-level clerical jobs. When they knocked on my door, they 
announced themselves as building inspectors. After I flushed a marijuana 
plant down the toilet, I let them in. After answering a few innocuous 
sounding questions, the interview concluded and they went on their way. 
In 1979, I learned the true purpose of their visit...

full: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2007/08/19/encounters-with-the-fbi/

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