THE WASHINGTON PAY-OFF: An Insider's View of Corruption in Government

by Robert N. Winter-Berger ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 1972

Many people -- possibly a great many -- will buy and read The Washington Pay-Off. Buy it because Lyle Stuart intends an advertising campaign at least equal to that lavished on The Rich and the Super-Rich, and read it because scattered throughout are engrossing and, in several instances, sensational disclosures concerning some of the most recognizable names on the American political grid -- former President Johnson, Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell, former Speaker McCormack, Congressman John Rooney, Minority Leader Ford, President Nixon, Majority Leader Hale Boggs -- not to mention such hustling busboys of venality as Bobby Baker, the late Nathan Voloshen and his sidekick Martin Sweig, and New York Supreme Court Justice Mitchell Schweitzer. Most of the time Winter-Berger, five years (1965-69) a freelancing lobbyist in D.C., only extends what we already know: there is an enormous amount of influence-peddling and bottom-feeding going on in Washington (e.g., compare his comment that ""G.E. lobbied both parties and, by Washington rules, had the right to expect favors from whoever was in power"" with the current I.T.T. imbroglio). But there are certain allegations here of a more serious, individual nature in which the central issue will surely revolve around Winter-Berger's own creditability. His inside disclosure, for example, that Senator Pell was arrested in a Greenwich Village gay bar raid some years ago will be contested; so will his assertion that Congressman Rooney was Voloshen's ""key connection for the underworld""; and so (perhaps) will his most incendiary tale: soon after becoming president in 1963, LBJ, distraught by the breaking Baker scandal, came to then Speaker McCormack's office and said, among other incriminating things, ""John, that son of a bitch [Baker] is going to ruin me. If that cocksucker talks, I'm gonna land in jail."" Winter-Berger, who claims to have been witness to this extraordinary outburst, reports further that Johnson was crying hysterically: ""I practically raised that motherfucker, and now he's gonna make me the first President of the United States to spend the last days of his life behind bars."" As a lobbyist, Winter-Berger worked both sides of the isle, shystering for both Democrat McCormack (via Voloshen-Sweig) and Republican Ford. The amazing and ultimately incredible aspect of all of this is that Winter-Berger tries to continue the double-hat role in his book -- he is privy to all of the green exchanging hands but at the same time he professes no wrongdoing; his conscience is as clean as that proverbial houndstooth, and at one point he insinuates he was a spy among the fixers for the Justice Department. This is an age of lying in government and hence cynicism about government. There will be those prepared to accept Winter-Berger's testimony at face value. This is the price for the failure of open government -- the citizenry, denied access to the truth, its birthright, becomes a mob ready to swallow innuendo and surly rumor in lieu of full and honest information.

Pub Date: April 14, 1972

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Lyle Stuart

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1972

Categories: NONFICTION