MKUltra Subproject 18

Subproject 18 was a MKULTRA project that was funded and then closed quickly. A memo dated 1 December 1953 said the subproject had been approved and $400,000.00 was obligated to cover its expenses. The surviving paperwork does not say what the research was. The name of the contractor and the institution are redacted.

On 4 January 1954, Invoice No. 1 was submitted for $1,337.45. This single invoice constituted complete payment of the subproject. A memo from Sidney Gottlieb, Chief of TSS/CD, asked that a check for $1,337.45 be made out to a redacted payee and sent through the TSS/Budget Officer. Cashier's Check No. M137222 was issued for that amount. The work was billed as services rendered on 24 December 1953.

Because only $1,337.45 of the $400,000.00 was actually spent, a 28 January 1954 memo to the Comptroller asked that the large unexpended balance of $398,662.55 be freed up. That money was to stay available to TSS for fiscal year 1954 research obligations not covered by Project MKULTRA. The file also contains travel and ticket records, including a Trans World Airlines passenger ticket and baggage check, though several pages are very dark and mostly illegible.