14.00000
104-10069-10077
2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
001) 3. 244,087
MLA 30372
27 November 1962
Subject: Reported Use of Yacht Potomac by Alpha 66
1. On 20 Nov 62 LAFO received an unsolicited telephone call on the
listed telephone number. The caller wanted to advise that there was reportedly
in the harbor at Long Beach a vessel, formerly used by the late Theodore
Roosevelt, called the Potomac. This vessel, according to the informant, was
being used by the Alpha 66 organization. She was believed taking on a cargo
of weapons crated as Argentine beef, and destined to leave soon for Seattle.
He added that a Wes Davis had just signed on as an engineer, and there was
another character named Cliff Roberts on board. Both were described as bearded
adventurers.
2. The caller refused to identify himself, claiming that he did not
know whether contact with the Agency would be approved by his employer, and
further did not know whether or not the information was valid or of in Beich, L
LCDR L. Lessing-
Long
3. In response to a call to the Intelligence Officer, USCG, it was learned
that ther is a vessel, the Potomac, formerly one of the 155' USCG cutters.
For some time it had been used by the late F. D. Roosevelt as the presidential
yacht. Later it had been disposed of to the Maryland (State) Fish and Game
Commission, and more recently it had been acquired by the Hydra-Capital, Inc.,
410 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach, California (OR 5-1549).
4. USCG advised further that an investigator for the Los Angeles County
Prosecutor, D. L. Wheeler, had accepted an assignment (taking leave of absence
to do so) to bring the Potomac from the Barbados to California. The plan,
supposedly, was to make her a floating museum of some sort. On his arrival
in Barbados, Wheeler is reported to have found the craft in foul shape, with
only a single engine operative. He refused the job and returned to Los Angeles.
The craft later, however, did turn up in San Diego in October and was later
observed tied up in Cerritos Channel; Los Angeles harbor area; and subsequently,
she was moved back to San Diego, where it is presently in a shipyard. She
has since been painted, and appears to be
be 
undergoing some modifications to
her hull.
-us Dept of Justee - Fed. Bldg - IH. Cak
5. The unidentified informant (paragraphs 1 and 2), subsequently identified
as Asst. US Attorney Bill Spivak was re-contacted by telephone. It was
suggested to him that in the event any more information concerning the Potomac
and the likelihood of her use in any foreign activity came his way, we would
appreciate another call. On this occasion. Spivak volunteered the statement
that it was his understanding that the Cliff Roberts he had referred to pre-
viously had come from Barbados with the vessel) This was Spivak's first
reference to Barbados.
6. The above is for your information only. The sketchiness of the material
presented LAFO as well as the circumstances of its origin militate against its
credibility. As a consequence, no follow-up is anticipated unless requested.
TFW-30 how 62
mss
006 920
end
CONFIDENTIAL
GROUP 1
Excludes automatic
WH-765
RETURN TO CA
Background Use Only
Do Not Reproduce