Riley/Stock photographs, Passaic, New Jersey

Photographs of an object over Passaic, New Jersey, were taken on 31 July 1952, according to a data sheet sent to the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC). The sheet gave the time as 10:15 a.m. and the place as the 200 block of Brooks Avenue. It named John H. Riley, 28, as photographer and George J. Stock as a known witness. It recorded that the object was greyish, about 30 feet across, and in sight about seven minutes. Charles Gregg, a staff writer at The Herald-News, sent seven photographs to ATIC on 2 August 1952.

ATIC's Technical Analysis Division wrote a restricted memorandum on 12 August 1952. It said ATIC did not believe the photographs were authentic. It gave two reasons: the object was supposedly visible for seven minutes in a populated area yet no one else reported it, and the relative sizes of foreground objects put it at about the size of a lady's sun hat at 30 to 40 feet away. The memorandum added that Riley was apparently trying to sell the photographs to East Coast newspapers. It asked for a check on the reliability of the observer and photographer.

On 22 August 1952 the Air Force 2nd District Office of Special Investigations forwarded the request to the FBI's Newark office. Newark received it on 27 August. In a letter of 3 October 1952 the Newark office reported negative police and credit checks on Riley and said no complaints were on file against his business. A hardware store co-owner told agents he did not consider Riley reliable. Riley's landlord reported one tenant complaint about late-night visitors to his laboratory.

Newark's letter also reported on Stock. Thomas Cavanaugh, Stock's supervisor at the Passaic Parks and Recreation Department, said Stock told him he had taken the photographs himself and gave the film to Riley to develop. According to Cavanaugh, Riley made copies and sold them. Cavanaugh said he had examined Stock's negatives and they did not appear to be touched up. He said Stock's father also witnessed the event. Newark's memorandum to the FBI Director of 3 October 1952 stated that no interviews or field investigation of the sighting were made by the division. The results went to the New York OSI office.