Helen Tenney
Encyclopedia
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.
In 1942, Tenney worked for the New York City
-based Short Wave Research, a company contracted to the Office of War Information to recruit persons knowledgeable in foreign languages.
In late summer of 1943, Tenney moved from New York to Washington, D.C.
at the suggestion of Jacob Golos
to obtain employment with the Spanish section of the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS). She moved into Mary Price
's former apartment which was used as a meeting point for government employees engaged in espionage and their Soviet case handlers and couriers.
Tenny began supplying reports and memoranda from OSS. This information included a considerable quantity of data on activities of OSS personnel in virtually all sections and all countries around the world. Tenney also supplied information concerning a monitoring station on Long Island
.
Beginning in 1944, Tenney was being paid a regular stipend of $50 per month — considerable for the times — which had been arranged through Joseph Katz
. In December 1944, Joseph Gregg became Tenney's handler, however Tenney complained about his technique and Gregg was replaced by Inez Munoz.
Tenney resigned from the OSS in June 1946 and transferred to the United States Department of State. By then the FBI had Tenney under surveillance. The State Department eased her out of her position and revoked her passport. In January 1947, Tenney had a nervous breakdown. She was confined to a psychiatric hospital for observation after a deadly combination of alcohol and phenobarbital
which was regarded as a suicide attempt. Tenney remained unconscious for five days and upon regaining consciousness, was in a delirium and regarded as in a severe hallucinatory psychotic state. Her observers overheard Tenney mumbling about being followed, having her telephone tapped, having her friends under surveillance, and being a Russian spy. She then appeared to have a violent phobia against everything Russian, even the mention of the word "Russian", and was watched closely for another suicide attempt. Doctors, citing patient confidentiality, refused to discuss the case with FBI investigators.
By February 1946, unbeknownst to Tenney, her contact with Soviet intelligence Elizabeth Bentley
, had defected and was cooperating with the counterintelligence investigation. Bentley visited with Tenney and concluded that her suicide attempt was genuine; Tenney felt alone and isolated not knowing the larger Soviet espionage operation had been compromised and that the Soviet controllers had broken off contact with their American agents. Tenney was unremorseful and appeared to wish to reestablish contact with Soviet handlers, dashing the FBI's hopes to gain her cooperation.
In June 1947, the FBI interviewed Tenney and determined she was in frail mental and physical health.
In 1998, Tenney was identified in the Venona project
transcripts as code name "Muse", based on her transfer from the dismantled OSS to the Department of State.
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
apparatus in the 1930s and funnelled information to the Soviet Union on behalf of the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Communists where she learned espionage tradecraft.
In 1942, Tenney worked for the 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...
-based Short Wave Research, a company contracted to the Office of War Information to recruit persons knowledgeable in foreign languages.
In late summer of 1943, Tenney moved from New York to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
at the suggestion of Jacob Golos
Jacob 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...
to obtain employment with the Spanish section 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). She moved into Mary Price
Mary Price
Mary Wolfe Price 1909—1980 was an American who was accused of being a spy for the Soviet Union.-Early years:Born in 1909 in Rockingham County, North Carolina, Price graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1931...
's former apartment which was used as a meeting point for government employees engaged in espionage and their Soviet case handlers and couriers.
Tenny began supplying reports and memoranda from OSS. This information included a considerable quantity of data on activities of OSS personnel in virtually all sections and all countries around the world. Tenney also supplied information concerning a monitoring station on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
.
Beginning in 1944, Tenney was being paid a regular stipend of $50 per month — considerable for the times — which had been arranged through Joseph Katz
Joseph Katz
Joseph Katz allegedly worked for Soviet intelligence from the 1930s to the late 1940s as one of its most active liaison agents. Katz was assigned management of the “First Line,” that part of the NKGB mission aimed at recruiting selected members of the Communist Party USA...
. In December 1944, Joseph Gregg became Tenney's handler, however Tenney complained about his technique and Gregg was replaced by Inez Munoz.
Tenney resigned from the OSS in June 1946 and transferred to the United States Department of State. By then the FBI had Tenney under surveillance. The State Department eased her out of her position and revoked her passport. In January 1947, Tenney had a nervous breakdown. She was confined to a psychiatric hospital for observation after a deadly combination of alcohol and phenobarbital
Phenobarbital
Phenobarbital or phenobarbitone is a barbiturate, first marketed as Luminal by Friedr. Bayer et comp. It is the most widely used anticonvulsant worldwide, and the oldest still commonly used. It also has sedative and hypnotic properties but, as with other barbiturates, has been superseded by the...
which was regarded as a suicide attempt. Tenney remained unconscious for five days and upon regaining consciousness, was in a delirium and regarded as in a severe hallucinatory psychotic state. Her observers overheard Tenney mumbling about being followed, having her telephone tapped, having her friends under surveillance, and being a Russian spy. She then appeared to have a violent phobia against everything Russian, even the mention of the word "Russian", and was watched closely for another suicide attempt. Doctors, citing patient confidentiality, refused to discuss the case with FBI investigators.
By February 1946, unbeknownst to Tenney, her contact with Soviet intelligence 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...
, had defected and was cooperating with the counterintelligence investigation. Bentley visited with Tenney and concluded that her suicide attempt was genuine; Tenney felt alone and isolated not knowing the larger Soviet espionage operation had been compromised and that the Soviet controllers had broken off contact with their American agents. Tenney was unremorseful and appeared to wish to reestablish contact with Soviet handlers, dashing the FBI's hopes to gain her cooperation.
In June 1947, the FBI interviewed Tenney and determined she was in frail mental and physical health.
In 1998, Tenney was identified in the Venona project
Venona project
The VENONA project was a long-running secret collaboration of the United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, the majority during World War II...
transcripts as code name "Muse", based on her transfer from the dismantled OSS to the Department of State.