Thomas Allen LeVesque

Thomas Allen LeVesque (1948–2018) was an American conspiracy theorist who promoted legends of the Hollow Earth, The Shaver Mystery, and Dulce Base. According to the author Adam Gorightly, in the final years of his life LeVesque confessed to fabricating his Dulce Base tales as a form of creative writing.

Early life Thomas Allen LeVesque was born to Thomas Lewis LeVesque and Mary Louise Gimball in Lexington, Kentucky. His father had served as a radio engineer on the USS Baldwin; he went on to a career in electrical engineering in the communication industry. On April 18, 1951, at the age of 2, LeVesque was a passenger aboard the USNS George W. Goethals. In 1965, Thomas Allen LeVesque, age 16, was arrested in Long Beach, California along with three other teens; the four were charged with placing explosives in a public building. On July 8, 1973, LeVesque wed Mary Jane Martin in Los Angeles, California.

Promotion of conspiracy theories LeVesque promoted multiple conspiracy theories about subterranean civilizations. Author Aaron Gulyas notes that LeVesque links the 19th-century Hollow Earth theories to late 20th-century conspiracy theories about UFOs and alien abductions. He proposed making an expedition to the North Pole hole.

The Hollow Hassle was a subscription newsletter about Hollow Earth conspiracy theories that was maintained by Mary Jane Martin from the 1960s to the 1980s; LeVesque was described as the "driving force" behind the newsletter. LeVesque argued Bible verses revealed that the Earth is hollow. LeVesque argued that Schaver was a "normal guy who had data downloaded into his brain".

Dulce Base conspiracy theories Starting in 1979, conspiracy theorist Paul Bennewitz became convinced he was intercepting electronic communications from alien spacecraft and installations outside of Albuquerque. By the 1980s he believed he had discovered a secret underground base near Dulce populated by grey aliens and humans. By 1983, Bennewitz's claims appeared in the popular press.

The story spread rapidly within the UFO community and by 1987, conspiracy author John Lear claimed he had independent confirmations of the base's existence.

In 1987, he visited Dulce along with Bill Hamilton. In 1989, LeVesque authored "The Dulce Base" under the pen name Jason Bishop III (LeVesque is French for "The Bishop").

Confession of fabrication and death LeVesque died on December 21, 2018 in Mariposa, California. Writer Adam Gorightly documented his interactions with LeVesque in his 2021 book Saucers, Spooks and Kooks; according to the book, LeVesque confessed that Castello never existed but instead was an example of "creative writing".