How the CIA Built Its Secret Prisons

When CIA officials decided to build a series of secret prisons, they immediately contacted the chief of the agency's European supply base, a Frankfurt-based logistical whiz. “It was too sensitive to be handled by headquarters,” Kyle “Dusty” Foggo tells the New York Times. He called a contractor buddy, and with little fuss, the two swiftly arranged the construction of three prisons inside ordinary-looking city buildings in Bucharest, Morocco, and near a former Eastern bloc city.

The prisons were small, capable of holding about six inmates each. Their identical interiors were designed to prevent injuries during interrogation, with nonslip floors and plywood-covered walls. Prisoners were kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day, and rewarded with DVDs or video games if they behaved. The work helped earn Foggo an eye-popping promotion. But he was accused of funneling projects to his contractor friend in exchange for favors, and later pleaded guilty to corruption charges. (More CIA stories.)