The second sentence was supposed to mean: "hired for their expertise as spies, and despite having been in the secret police or worse".
If that slip is the reason for the downvotes, fine. Otherwise, blame the NYT.
If that slip is the reason for the downvotes, fine. Otherwise, blame the NYT.
Others were hired for their expertise as spies, secret police and worse:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/us/in-cold-war-us-spy-age...
"Some spies for the United States had worked at the highest levels for the Nazis.
One SS officer, Otto von Bolschwing, was a mentor and top aide to Adolf Eichmann, architect of the “Final Solution,” and wrote policy papers on how to terrorize Jews."