Mary Price
Encyclopedia
Mary Wolfe Price 1909—1980 was an American who was accused of being a spy for the Soviet Union
.
, Price graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
in 1931. She eventually made her way to New York City, where she worked as secretary to journalist Walter Lippmann
of the New York Herald
.
, controller of the secret apparatus of the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) on behalf of the Soviet Union
, with all the information she could concerning the material Lippmann was writing and his contacts. Elizabeth Bentley
was made the courier between Washington D.C., where Price worked, and New York City
, where she and Golos lived together.
Price allegedly became a "cut out", or go-between, for government employees who were also members of the CPUSA secret apparatus. Among them were Maurice Halperin
, Duncan Lee
, Helen Tenney
of the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS), Robert Miller of the U.S. State Department, and Michael Greenberg, an associate of presidential aide Lauchlin Currie
. Lee was the personal assistant to OSS head General William J. Donovan, the first intelligence chief in America's newly created wartime intelligence agency. The material from Halperin was considered extremely valuable especially how it related to the Polish government in exile
.
Mary Price's apartment in Washington eventually became the rendezvous point for meetings between Golos' courier and the Perlo group
. Various members of the Perlo group would meet with Bentley every two or three weeks in the apartment. Those members delivering stolen intelligence materials included Victor Perlo, chief of the Aviation Section, War Production Board
(WPB); Edward Fitzgerald of the WPB; Charles Kramer
who worked for Senate Subcommittee on War Mobilization, the Office of Price Administration, and Senate Subcommittee on Wartime Health and Education throughout World War II
; Allen Rosenberg
, who was on the Board of Economic Warfare
and became Chief of the Economic Institution Staff of the Foreign Economic Administration
; and Donald Wheeler
of the OSS Analysis division.
Soviet intelligence considered the Perlo group to be an extremely valuable asset, and upon the death of Golos in late 1942, sought to control Mary Price directly.
Iskhak Akhmerov
, chief of the NKGB illegal station in the U.S., wanted to establish her in an apartment in the Georgetown section of Washington for the sexual entrapment of blackmail victims.
Elizabeth Bentley claimed Price was psychologically unfit for further clandestine work. The head of the CPUSA, Earl Browder
, later released her from the NKGB. Her code name used by Soviet intelligence was "Dir".
around 1945 and organized the state chapter of a liberal group, the Southern Conference for Human Welfare. In 1948, Price became the head of the state's Progressive Party
. As the Progressive Party nominee, she was the first woman to appear on the ballot as a candidate for Governor of North Carolina
. After Bentley accused Price of being a spy in July of that year, she came in a distant third in the election, and moved back to Washington, D.C., where she worked at the embassy of Czechoslovakia
. In later years, she married Charles Adamson and worked for the National Council of Churches
. She died in California in 1980.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
Early years
Born in 1909 in Rockingham County, North CarolinaRockingham County, North Carolina
Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 93,643. Its county seat is Wentworth.- History :The county was formed in 1785 from Guilford County...
, Price graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
in 1931. She eventually made her way to New York City, where she worked as secretary to journalist Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann
Walter Lippmann was an American intellectual, writer, reporter, and political commentator famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War...
of the New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
.
Espionage career
Sometime prior to March 1941, Mary Price allegedly agreed to furnish Jacob GolosJacob Golos
Jacob Golos, , was a Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary of ethnic Jewish heritage who became a secret police operative on behalf of the USSR in the United States...
, controller of the secret apparatus of the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) on behalf of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, with all the information she could concerning the material Lippmann was writing and his contacts. Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Terrill Bentley was an American spy for the Soviet Union from 1938 until 1945. In 1945 she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligence and became an informer for the U.S. She exposed two networks of spies, ultimately naming over 80 Americans who had engaged in espionage for...
was made the courier between Washington D.C., where Price worked, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where she and Golos lived together.
Price allegedly became a "cut out", or go-between, for government employees who were also members of the CPUSA secret apparatus. Among them were Maurice Halperin
Maurice Halperin
Maurice Hyman Halperin was an American writer, professor, diplomat, and Soviet spy .-Biography:...
, Duncan Lee
Duncan Lee
Lt. Col. Duncan Chaplin Lee was confidential assistant to Maj. Gen. William Donovan, founder and director of the Office of Strategic Services , World War II-era predecessor of the CIA, during 1942-46...
, Helen Tenney
Helen Tenney
Helen Barrett Tenney worked for the Comintern apparatus in the 1930s and funnelled information to the Soviet Union on behalf of the Spanish Communists where she learned espionage tradecraft....
of the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS), Robert Miller of the U.S. State Department, and Michael Greenberg, an associate of presidential aide Lauchlin Currie
Lauchlin Currie
Lauchlin Bernard Currie was a Canadian-born U.S.economist from New Dublin, Nova Scotia, Canada, and allegedly an agent of espionage for the Soviet Union....
. Lee was the personal assistant to OSS head General William J. Donovan, the first intelligence chief in America's newly created wartime intelligence agency. The material from Halperin was considered extremely valuable especially how it related to the Polish government in exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
.
Mary Price's apartment in Washington eventually became the rendezvous point for meetings between Golos' courier and the Perlo group
Perlo group
Headed by Victor Perlo, the Perlo group is the name given to a group of Americans who provided information which was given to Soviet intelligence agencies; it was active during the World War II period, until the entire group was exposed to the FBI by the defection of Elizabeth Bentley...
. Various members of the Perlo group would meet with Bentley every two or three weeks in the apartment. Those members delivering stolen intelligence materials included Victor Perlo, chief of the Aviation Section, War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
(WPB); Edward Fitzgerald of the WPB; Charles Kramer
Charles Kramer
Charles Kramer, originally Charles Krevisky, was an American economist who worked for U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his brain trust. Among other contributions, he wrote the original idea for the Point Four Program. He also worked for several congressional committees and hired...
who worked for Senate Subcommittee on War Mobilization, the Office of Price Administration, and Senate Subcommittee on Wartime Health and Education throughout World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; Allen Rosenberg
Allen Rosenberg
-Biography:He graduated from the Boston Latin School in 1926, Harvard University in 1930 and Harvard Law School in 1936. Shortly thereafter, he found work with the U.S. government's Railroad Retirement Board and the Senate Civil Liberties Committee as an attorney and investigator...
, who was on the Board of Economic Warfare
Board of Economic Warfare
The Office of Administrator of Export Control was established in the United States by Presidential Proclamation 2413, July 2, 1940, to administer export licensing provisions of the act of July 2, 1940 . Brigadier General Russell Lamont Maxwell, United States Army, headed up this military entity...
and became Chief of the Economic Institution Staff of the Foreign Economic Administration
Foreign Economic Administration
In the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Foreign Economic Administration was formed to relieve friction between US agencies operating abroad. As described by the biographer of the FEA's chief, Leo Crowley, the agency was designed and run by "The Nation's #1 Pinch-hitter".S. L...
; and Donald Wheeler
Donald Wheeler
Donald Niven Wheeler was a lifelong social activist, teacher and member of the Communist Party, as well as an accused Soviet spy. Allegations of espionage made against him were never proved, and he was never convicted despite repeated investigations.-Education:He was a graduate of Reed College and...
of the OSS Analysis division.
Soviet intelligence considered the Perlo group to be an extremely valuable asset, and upon the death of Golos in late 1942, sought to control Mary Price directly.
Iskhak Akhmerov
Iskhak Akhmerov
Iskhak Abdulovich Akhmerov was a Soviet spy of Tatar ethnicity who joined the Bolshevik Party in 1919. Akhmerov attended the Communist University of Toilers of the East and the First State University, where he graduated from the School of International Relations in 1930...
, chief of the NKGB illegal station in the U.S., wanted to establish her in an apartment in the Georgetown section of Washington for the sexual entrapment of blackmail victims.
Elizabeth Bentley claimed Price was psychologically unfit for further clandestine work. The head of the CPUSA, Earl Browder
Earl Browder
Earl Russell Browder was an American communist and General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1934 to 1945. He was expelled from the party in 1946.- Early years :...
, later released her from the NKGB. Her code name used by Soviet intelligence was "Dir".
Political activities and later years
Price, by now retired from spying, returned to North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
around 1945 and organized the state chapter of a liberal group, the Southern Conference for Human Welfare. In 1948, Price became the head of the state's Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1948)
The United States Progressive Party of 1948 was a left-wing political party that ran former Vice President Henry A. Wallace of Iowa for president and U.S. Senator Glen H. Taylor of Idaho for vice president in 1948.-Foundation:...
. As the Progressive Party nominee, she was the first woman to appear on the ballot as a candidate for Governor of North Carolina
Governor of North Carolina
The Governor of North Carolina is the chief executive of the State of North Carolina, one of the U.S. states. The current governor is Bev Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor.-Powers:...
. After Bentley accused Price of being a spy in July of that year, she came in a distant third in the election, and moved back to Washington, D.C., where she worked at the embassy of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. In later years, she married Charles Adamson and worked for the National Council of Churches
National Council of Churches
The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA is an ecumenical partnership of 37 Christian faith groups in the United States. Its member denominations, churches, conventions, and archdioceses include Mainline Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Evangelical, and historic peace...
. She died in California in 1980.