Maheu and the clique of Mormon executives ran the Hughes-Nevada businesses – the Mormons handled Hughes business that was outside of Nevada.
Aside from Maheu and the Mormon valets, one of the few people who spoke with Hughes on the phone regularly was John Meier. Meier handled the projects personally important to Hughes.
Hughes also involved Meier in some of his political and business projects, including the acquisition of Air West, the purchase of several mining claims in Nevada and Hughes’s extremely delicate dealings with Donald Nixon.
Hughes funded Meier’s creation of a political environmental lobby, the Nevada Environmental Foundation to continue fighting the AEC, financed by Howard Hughes. In November 1969 Meier technically resigned his position with Hughes to set up the Nevada Environmental Foundation, which Hughes funded to stop the Nuclear Energy Industry. Secretly, Meier continued to carry out other personal assignments for Hughes.
11/1/1969