The Case of Freddie Woodruff – The True Story of the Betrayal and the Assassination of a CIA Agent
Join us and our guest Michael Pullara for our next meeting, on Thursday, March 14, 2019, at 6:30 p.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Boulevard, Houston, TX 77005. More information is below. The author of The Spy Who Was Left Behind: Russia, the United States, and the True Story of the Betrayal and Assassination of a CIA Agent, Pullara will present his book in which he lays out his years of investigation into the 1993 murder of CIA’s station chief Freddie Woodruff in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.
In 1993 the world was still in turmoil. The Western Allies were holding their breath to see whether the remainder of the 380,000 Russian soldiers who had occupied East Germany would actually leave the country. Russia was in a constitutional crisis with Boris Yeltsin on one side and the Russian Parliament on the other. Georgia was a lawless country and overrun with Russian agents.
Woodruff was stationed in Georgia with orders to help train Georgia’s security forces. The United States were trying to establish a democratic Georgia as a bastion of western influence. On August 8, 1993, Woodruff was shot in the head and the Georgian police quickly produced a suspect, a young soldier named Anzor Sharmaidze, with the explanation that it was merely an accident. US diplomats were content to leave it at that, praising Georgia’s swift work, and both countries breathed a sigh of relief – digging deeper could have created a delicate diplomatic and military situation.
Pullara, however, did not believe in the official version. He grew up in the same town as Woodruff, knew the family, and hence, became interested in the case. After some digging, he felt there was something not quite alright with Woodruff’s death. After all, the bullet that killed Woodruff was never found and key witnesses had retracted their testimonies since. Convinced that Sharmaidze was wrongfully imprisoned, Pullara used this as a force to lead his investigation, ultimately securing Sharmaidze’s release in 2008. The murder, however, remains unsolved.
Pullara takes the reader with him through his investigation during which he uncovers interesting strands, moles and an extensive cover-up in Washington and in Moscow to keep the peace in a time so short after the Cold War ended during a time of hot-button issues.
Michael Pullara is a Houston-based trial lawyer by training and represents plaintiffs in complicated commercial disputes. He also represents individuals who are suing for violations of their human rights on a pro bono basis. His career spans over thirty-eight years in which he has represented death row inmates seeking free exercise of religion, American oil companies suing Italian Mobsters, Arabs suing for damage caused by US military action in Iraq, and small business owners suing international telecoms for fraud and breach of contract. The Spy Who Was Left Behind: Russia, the United States, and the True Story of the Betrayal and Assassination of a CIA Agent is his debut as an author.
Our meeting will be on Thursday, March 14, 2019, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall of Christ the King Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Boulevard, Houston, TX 77005. Our customary food and beverage reception starts at 6:30 p.m., the presentation at 7:00 p.m. Meeting fees are $15 for members, $10 for students, and $20 for nonmembers. Parking is available on the Rice University campus, entrance off Greenbriar Boulevard, $3 credit card only.