White, George

Epithet: of Hunton, county Kent

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001086.0x0003b7

Epithet: of Add MS 33774

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001086.0x0003b0

Epithet: MP

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000815.0x000061

Epithet: of Norwich

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001086.0x0003b8

Epithet: of Add MS 35789

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001086.0x0003b3

Epithet: musician

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000429.0x00021f

Epithet: of Waltham, county Kent

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001086.0x0003b9

Biography

George White was born in Los Angeles June 22, 1908 to L. D. White, city manager of Alhambra. Graduating from Oregon State College in 1928, he worked as a reporter for five years on the San Francisco Bulletin and Los Angeles Daily News before entering the Mexican border patrol in 1933, transferring to the narcotics bureau the following year. In 1936 he infiltrated the notorious Hip Sing Tong brotherhood of Seattle by masquerading as a drug dealer. A simultaneous sting on both coasts based on information supplied by him destroyed the organization and led to over 30 arrests. ("When the Rookie took the Tong") He attained the rank of Colonel while serving in the Office of Strategic Services, where he helped to establish a school for counter-espionage. He commanded troops in India under to General "Wild Bill" Donovan during the allied invasion. In 1946 he led a drug bust in Mexico which cracked a dope ring led by Arthur Zweier. Travelling abroad in 1948 he traveled to France where he helped police capture a narcotics trafficker, Lucien Santoni, In Rome, he compiled evidence against heroin suppliers, resulting in the arrest of Marcello Enzi. In May 1948 he arrived in Istanbul, where he cracked a dope ring posing as a merchant seaman, aiding Turkish police in capturing smugglers led by Severt Dalgakiran, and in the seizure of heroin plant. ("The Calculating Colonel and the Turkish Trap") He was awarded the Treasury medal for exceptional service in recognition of his efforts in destroying dope rings in the Middle East and Europe. Later he was assigned to New England. He was appointed head of the Chicago Narcotics Bureau and was sent to Mexico City in 1949 where he uncovered a Mexican heroin smuggling operation that was headed by Francisco Lavat. Appointed director of the Bureau of Narcotics in San Francisco, he uncovered a drug ring in Oakland run by Andrew Ingoglia ("Undercover Trap"). He was assigned to Boston, when he was tapped as a special investigator to Kefauver hearings into tax fraud and racketeering His testimony against renowned gangster Lucky Luciano led to his deportation. He was then assigned as chief investigator to Newbold Morris whose committee was investigating graft and corruption in government agencies. His refusal to reveal his sources for information given in testimony before the Senate led to his imprisonment overnight. In 1954, White was called to investigate corruption in the Houston Police department, the ensuing shake-up ended in the death of an officer turned informant and the ensuing dismissal of the Police Chief Morrison who was found to be an addict, and a re-structuring of the entire department. ("Dope-buster") In 1955, back in San Francisco, White conducted a sting operation, which exposed the state narcotic agent Braumoeller of selling drugs seized in raids to known criminals, resulting in his arrest. In 1956, he championed the cause of convicted schoolteacher Robert Enzensperger, who was falsely accused of transporting marijuana. His investigation led to the release and exoneration of the teacher.( "The Strange Case of the Framed Schoolteacher") He spearheaded a heroin seizure in San Francisco sending Rinaldo (Red) Ferrari to jail for narcotics trafficking in 1956.("When they Stole for Junk"). As the culture became more permissive, White continued to speak out against the use of marijuana. Testifying before a senate sub-committee in 1959, he advocated greater cooperation with the Mexican authorities and stiffer penalties for drug offenders In 1965 George White retired to Stinson Beach where he soon took a post as Chief of the fire department.

From the guide to the George White Papers, 1932-1970, (Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives)