From the September, 1996 issue of Penthouse.

The Alien
Incontrovertible evidence, from a film that has been suppressed for decades, that mankind is not alone in the universe...

Bob Guccione doesn't give up. And he doesn't get scared. "The three extraordinary images published here may well be the most important pictures in the history of photography," says Guccione, the editor and publisher of Penthouse.

'And there are plenty of people in our government and elsewhere who would prefer that it was never published. "Take a look at the photos accompanying this article and you'll get a glimpse of what he means. Penthouse is publishing these photos in order to focus the light of publicity on the continuing government suppression of its own research into evidence of extraterrestrial visitors to our planet.

"A photograph of Jesus Christ might be a comparable story to the first real photo of an extraterrestrial," Guccione says. "Otherwise, there's nothing that compares to this."

It's extraordinary enough that the picture is being published at all. Guccione is confident that had the government-and particularly military intelligence-known of the existence of this picture before publication it would never have seen print.

"The picture would, in fact," Guccione says, "have never been seen again. I have no doubt that the military would classify this above Top Secret, and lock it away with other definitive evidence that we are being visited by alien beings." Evidence, Guccione says, that includes the motion picture of the real "alien autopsy" following the Roswell incident, from which the accompanying images were taken. Indeed, he suspects that had certain agencies been aware of these images, more dire measures than mere suppression might have been employed.

"I'm one of those people who believes that the government works for us," Guccione told me, speaking very emphatically. "We pay their salaries and fund their enterprises, and I don't believe that we employ them to suppress information in the name of our "best interests."'

Yet they do. As editor of Omni for the past six years I had the opportunity to work with Guccione on the development of Project Open Book, Omni's attempt to, simply, open the books on the government's investigation of extraterrestrial visitors to our planet. We sought to treat the subject seriously and scientifically, to deal with issues and incidents in a manner that was, above all, rational, that addressed the questions of U.F.O. believers and U.F.O. skeptics.

Throughout the project Guccione supported our efforts without any interference in our editorial content. He had no ax to grind, other than the compulsive search for truth. What Bob was interested in was the dialogue, the chance for all of us to participate in a discussion and investigation of one of the great stories of our time. Maybe the greatest story of all time. So we dug in.

And again and again we encountered government censorship, denial, dismissal, and misdirection. The compound effect of which is further complicated by well-intentioned perhaps but obvious frauds and hoaxes such as FOX TVs "Alien Autopsy" film of a season or so back. The result is a field filled with confusion, hysteria, foolishness, some serious research (and I'd count Project Open Book among that), and no real government acknowledgment that the issue exists.

But, as noted, your favorite magazine doesn't give up. The photograph came into Bob's possession precisely because he doesn't get scared, and won't back off when his convictions are aroused. And because he knows that our "best interests" in this matter can only be served by full disclosure of any -evidence that exists. No matter what they say.

"Who are they to keep from us incontrovertible evidence that we are not alone in the universe?" Guccione asks. "The images here have been suppressed for decades and come from a film taken under extremely tight military security. We're fortunate that a few frames were smuggled out of the installation where the footage was originally made. And fortunate that the owner has decided to go public with the image."

The picture belonged to the daughter of a German scientist who escaped to America at the outset of World War II. In this country the scientist worked with Einstein and Oppenheimer and was also involved in top-secret government research endeavors, including the infamous Philadelphia Experiment and the investigation of the crash of a mysterious spacecraft in Roswell, New Mexico, in the late 1940s.

Years after the Roswell crash, the woman says, her father presented herwith several frames of motion-picture film, instructing her to keep them hidden, making it clear to her that simply possessing the film could endanger her life. Yet the film, he assured her, was genuine, and would prove beyond any possibility of denial the government's cover-up of alien visitors on Earth. She would know when the time was right to reveal the pictures to the world.

The images remained in the woman's possession for nearly half a century. Devoted to her father-and her father's memory-she obeyed his wishes and said nothing. Gradually, as public interest in the alien-visitation phenomenon grew, and as hoaxes such as the recent "film" of an alien autopsy attracted attention and controversy, she began to consider going public with her secret film.

The woman's name will not be made public. Her well-being is in part responsible for that decision. "How we got in touch with each other is our business," Guccione says. "I respect her privacy and sympathize with her concerns for her own safety And I have absolutely no doubt that these pictures are genuine." He also has little doubt that, now that the pictures are in print, the government will insist that this is simply another hoax. "To do anything else," Guccione says, 11 would be for the government to admit openly to an ongoing cover-up. And that's not going to happen. They'll never admit that they have alien bodies in their possession-yet we know that they do!"

It is that unique combination of heart, mind, and irrepressible curiosity that led Bob Guccione to publish this image, despite his awareness of the very real risks that accompany publication.

"The biggest risk we face," Bob says, "is ignorance- being kept in the dark about a story that will change the of history. That's a risk that we cannot afford to take, and with the publication of these pictures I challenge the government to acknowledge the existence of the complete motion-picture documentation of alien presence on Earth." While he doesn't expect the government to come clean immediately, it's worth remembering that Penthouse, its editors and crew, never give up! - Keith Ferrello

Here is a link to the Penthouse Magazine article on the web