1962. It was the only year in which JFK was president for the whole entire year. World events impinged on my family as my big brother onboard an aircraft carrier chasing Soviet submarines when not recovering Mercury astronauts had his four year enlistment extended to five. Somehow bright fourth grader that I was, I missed the story of the dramatic raid by the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation on March 3, 1962. According to reporter Amando Doronila who covered the raid, 200 agents seized 35 truckloads of documents from 27 offices and corporations controlled by American expatriate Harry Stonehill.
The Battle Continues
The raid would have a profound effect on Philippine politics, because included among the mountain of documents was a book in which Stonehill had recorded bribes that he paid to many prominent politicians including then Senator Ferdinand Marcos. There are a lot of amazing things about this story including a little sidebar about Stan Lee of Marvel fame, who was a friend of Harry Stonehill and passed up a chance to be a wheeler dealer in the Philippines to continue his comic book career. The really amazing thing is that the implications of the March 3, 1962 NBI raid are still being litigated in the United States.
This article will be available in the July 15, 2022 edition of Think Outside The Tax Box.
