Facts:   - battles: world war ii first indochina war    - allegiance: south vietnam state of vietnam    - rank: 40 tướng -rrb- px '' général de brigade '' -lrb- thiếu      - serviceyears: 1948-55    - branch: infantry , vietnamese national army    - death place: paris    - birth place: cholon , cochinchina   Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of lê văn viễn .
major general lê văn viễn -lrb- `` bảy viễn '' ; or , `` viễn the seventh '' ; 1904 -- 1970 -rrb- was the leader of the bình xuyên , a powerful vietnamese criminal enterprise decreed by the head of state , bảo Đại , as an independent army within the vietnamese national army -lrb- `` quân đội quốc gia việt nam '' -rrb- .viễn 's career trajectory was quite unique in coming from a criminal background to become a -lrb- non-communist -rrb- leader of the việt minh 's zone 7 , then later named a general , in charge of an auxiliary military force within the french union , and , finally , named a general in the vna .from 1951-55 , he made arrangements with bảo Đại , by which the bình xuyên was given control of their own affairs in return for their financial support of the government .in 1955 , viễn flew to paris with the help of savani and the deuxième bureau/sdece after his unsuccessful attempt to oust the american-backed premier , ngô Đình diệm .