MKUltra Subproject 6

Subproject 6 of Project MKULTRA was originally set up in 1953 to fund the isolation and testing of natural products from the Rivea species of plants. A 1 June 1953 memo to the Comptroller shows $5,000.00 was obligated under authority of a 13 April 1953 memo from the DCI to the DD/A and a 17 April 1953 memo from the DD/A to the Comptroller. Sidney Gottlieb signed as Chief of the Chemical Division, TSS. The contractor named on the invoice is the Foundation for the Study of Human Ecology, Inc., and Willis A. Gibbons signed as Research Director.

A 23 June 1955 draft memo for the record explains that the subproject was repurposed. Its new aim was to add funds to part of Subproject 48, described as an over-all returns-interrogation and rehabilitation program. A separate proposal asks for funds to study and evaluate certain persons released by Communist bloc countries. The proposed budget was Personal Compensation $2,500.00, Travel $1,500.00, and Miscellaneous $1,000.00, totaling $5,000.00. The memo says the principals were TS cleared and that cut-outs and cover arrangements would be used for dealings with unwitting personnel.

The rest of the file shows the money was never spent on the original work and was returned. The memo states no funds were expended because the contractor donated his services without compensation. An 11 October 1955 memo refunds $5,000.00 by cashier's check (numbered 7737 in the papers) and closes the Subproject 6 files. Receipts dated mid-1955 acknowledge the $5,000.00. A March 25, 1955 letter sets strict mail rules, including double envelopes, registered first class mail, and use of a nom de plume instead of real names.