HW 53320 DoclId: 32403461 AGENCY RECORD NUMBER RECORD SERIES AGENCY FILE NUMBER AGENCY ORIGINATOR FROM TITLE DATE PAGES SUBJECTS DOCUMENT TYPE CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTIONS CURRENT STATUS DATE OF LAST REVIEW COMMENTS Page 1 TO ; JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION FORM AGENCY INFORMATION CIA 104-10320-10095 ‘OFK CIA-OGC FILES CIA OSBORN, HOWARD J. DOCUMENT INFORMATION THE RECORD MEMO:MAHEU, ROBERT A. 06/24/1966 6 MAHEU, ROBERT CASTRO OP. ROSELLI, JOHNNY GIANCANA, SAM PAPER CONFIDENTIAL 1A RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WI 03/26/99 JFK-M-12 : F2 Date: 03/07/05 Peleased under the John Kennedy WSsassination Records Ollection Act of 1992 (44 USC 2107 Nate). ases#: NW 53320 Date: He—-24-2017 DIR. OF SECURITY 1999.03.26.15:09:09:106120 OF 104-10057-10355 AND 104-10122-10218. 104-10320-10095 TH DELETIONS DUPLICATE ITEM IS RESTRICTED
noe es HW 53320 I ~. i> 4 . _~ ocld: 32403481 et . sol . oe 24 June 1946 ~ / MEMORANDUM FOR: Osputy Director of Central Intelligence ma . oe aust RA LETNTE, fad se. SUBJECT : 1. This memorandum. is for information only. 2. In August 1960, Mr. Richard M. Bissell approached Colonel Sheffield Edwards to determine if the Office of Security ‘had assets that may assist in 2 sensitive mission requiring gangster-type action. The mission target was (he-lignidation of» Fidel Castro. oO 3, Because of its extreme sensitivity, only a small group - was made privy to the project. The DCI°was briefed and gave his approval. Colonel J. C. King, Chief, WH Division, was briefed, but all details were deliberately concealed from any of the JMWAVE officials. Certain TSD and Commo personnel partici- pated in the initial planning stages, but were not witting of the purpose of the mission. . 4, Robert A. Maheu was contacted, briefed generally on the project, and requested to ascertain if he could develop an en- tree into the gangster elements 23 the first step toward accom- plishing the desired goal. , Te 5. Mr. Maheu advised that he had met one Johnny Roselli on several occasions while visiting Las Vegas. He only knew him casually through clients, but was given to understand that . he was 2 high-ranking member of the "syndicate" and controlled. all of the ice-making machines on the Strip. Maheu reasoned that, if. Roselli was in fact a member of the clan, he undoubtedly had connections leading into the Cuban gambling interests. — cLassiFied BY DNeBBYY EXEMPT FRIV GNQFRAL DECLASSIFICATIO SCIEDULE OF 2 f. TIAN PREM? TION ORY: a agit —_— ; AUTOSTAsICALLY. rons <Teus impossible, insert date or eyent) Page 2 BE Eenete glee Pee eee ate awe: GORFIDR: HA ae AO Ae BES Be eh OLE En
ee. ~ @ am ~ ON a hin S FY yor ey Catena had 4. Mahcu wis asked to appro2ch Roselli, who knew Maheu’ -. as 2 personal rolaticss exacutive handling domestic and foreign oS accounts, and tell him that he hid recently been retained by 2 clinnt who represented several international business firms which were suffering heavy financial losses in Cuba as a result oe of Castro's action. They were convinced that Castro's removal was the answer to their probl2m and were willing to pay a price of 3130, C00 for its successful accomplishment. It was to be made clear to Roselli that the U. S. Government was not, and should not, become .ware of this operation. | 7. The pitch was made to Ros2lli on 14 September 1960 at the Hilton Plaza Hotel, New York City. His initinl reaction wae to . void getting involved but, through Maheu's persuasion, he agreed to introduce him to a friend, Sam Gold, who knew ‘the "Cuban crowd. " Roselli made it clear he did not want any moncy for his pirt and balieved,S1im would feel the same way. Neither of these individuals w@Xever paid out of Agency funds. 8. During the week of 25 Septembgr, M:heu was introduced to Sam who was staying at the Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach. a hurd, uncouth indi- Wig initial imrerossion of Sanrwas that of -the-mill hood>. vidualwwho looked and acted liks + common run-of ‘lum. However, his living accommodations at the hotel belied~ this, 4s did the fact that Maheu lcarned Sam ws under periodic surveillance by the FBI. It was several weeks after his meeting with Sam and Joe, who was identified to him as 2 courier operating between Havana and Miami, that he saw photographs of both of these individuals in the Sunday supplemental MParade." They were identified as Momo Salvatore Giancin2 and Santos Trafficant, respectively. Both were on the list of the Attorney General's - ten most-wanted men. The former was described as the Chicago chieftain of the Cosa Nostra and successor to Al Capone, and the latter, the Cosa Nostra boss of Cuban operations. Mahcu called this office immediately upon ascertaining this information. s. of accomplishing 9. In discussing the possible method esort to firearms but, this mission, Sam suggested that they not x if he could be furnished with some type of potent pill, that could CLASSIFIED B 04 3BSbA_127e% 76 o 2 ; . Ese rae TTT DECLASSIFICATION SCHEQULE GE: 2 TN ON CATEGORY: — ne § SBt1), - 7,3 (Ose one or more) YS Cay AUTO i aLLY DECLASZIIFTES 7 hes C NTTAL Qrana- ceunguidtd fo con kilente Coane ows 7 HW 53320 DBocld:32403431 Page 3
HW 53320 16. Of significant interest was an incident which involved a request levied by Sim upon Mahevland now shapes up 25 2 potential flap."] At the height of the project negotiations, Sam expressed concern about his girlfriend, Phyllis McGuire, who he learned was getting much atten- . tion from Dan Rowan while both were booked at a Las Vegas night club. (Rowan,_at-that time a rela- tively unknown comedian, is now 2 partner in Rowan and Martin, the summer replacement for the Dean Martin coast-to-coast. TV show. ) Sam asked Maheu to put a bug in Rowan's'room to determine the ex-— tent of his intimacy with Miss McGuire. Mahe ~totd-Sem-he didn't have the facilities. whe F’V Pons . pert Sam threatened to-leaye-Miami'to go to Vegas and take-care of the matter*himself. “In order to ‘pre- vent this, Maheu contacted Edward Dubois, a Florida investigator, and asked him to handle the job. { ~ Bo ay Jristead of installing a bug in the room, the technician placed.a tap.on. the phone, which ob-_ viously did not_ serve Sara's. purpose. {The techni- cian involved in the assignment was discovered in the process, arrested, and taken to the Sheriff's office for questioning. Aftershe fattettio-= each Dubois.by telephone,/ he called Maheu,at the =" Kenilworth Hotel, Miami, and informed him that 7 he had been detained by the police. ‘This call was made in the presence of the Sheriff's personnel. Subsequently, the Department of Justice an- nounced its intention to prosecute Maheu along with the technician. On 7 February 1962, the Director of Security briefed the Attorney General, Robert Kennedy, on the circumstances leading up to Maheu's involvement in the wiretap. At our re~ quest, prosecution was dropped. 2 “7. Die: SIFICATION «ee  @CION CATEGORY: "23 (circle one or more) cLassirits sy OG33¥E / SCHEBUG 2 =? § Shri. a aneritit ses At ocld:324034681 Page 5
> _ cette HW 53320 Crs Two artickgs appeared in ths Chicago press, - one on 16 August 1963, and one on 20 August 1963, that suggested Sam was working with the Agency. The first article appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times -written by staff writer, Sandy Smith, and had as its headline: CIA Sought Giancana Help for Cub: Spying. It relates that the Agency reportedly was in touch ~ with Sam in 1959 and requested that he assist them in obtaining intelligence out of Cuba. It also men- tioned the Las Vegas wiretap, which the article claimed was handled by a "Florida investigative organization." It further went on to state that, upon inquiry of this organization, they stated the tap was placed at the request of the Central Intelli- gence Agency. The other article appeared in the Chicago Daily News, authored by Columnist Tony Weitzel, and commented that during March 1962, Sam confronted an FBI Agent who was shadowing him and said, "Why don't you fellows leave me alone? I'm one of youl” Sam allegedly stated that, after Castro's rise in Cuba, a CIA operative con- tacted him and wanted to know if Sam could do.any- thing for the Government on the turbulent little island.. Sim said he had friends on both sides, but no clout. That. was it. 17. ‘Roselli was introduced to James P, O'Connell, of this Cffica, who was identified to him as an employee of Robert A.°. Maheu, Associates. Over the several months of close contact be- tween theses two individuals, Roselli began to speculate as to O'Connell's true employer and, at one point, stated that he was convinced he was employed by the CIA, and that the project was sponsored by ths Agency. He hastened to state that he was not forcing the issue, nor would he want confirmation of this and, further, he would not mention this to anyone else, including Sam. Sam was never introduced to any Agency personnel and, while CIA was never méntioned to him, it is Mahcu's belief he eventually sus-~ pected the Agency was the power behind the operation. - ctassifien sy 26 BS EXE it AL DECLASSIFICATION SCHEDULE OF | ar . LEGLMeTION CATEGORY: 5 . NF . FAL § eel), . -«) (circle one of more) AUTOTGs.< aot DECLASSIFIED ON Sens deundrated focontrlenfial DocId: 32403481 Page 6
a 18. In May 1962, because of Mr. O'Connell's assignment to an overseas post, it was decided to turn Roselli over to a Mr. William Harvey, .who was at that-‘time Chief, Task Force W. Harvey was introduced as ‘William Walker. It is not known whether Roselli ever became aware of Harvey's true name: a . c e ‘ =! .& . e. : . . : .' ; ? . - . , “yc o- . , . . : . Fd . . : . . ° , : 7 : ; : | . a °. e . . = . ¢ . - ad aie - . ~ oe . i] , « - C. t ° 75 = chassirien BY POSSE 0 IY I2e. tL DECLASSIFICATION OM OONERA SCHEDULE OF Ef. :- — EME TION CATEGORY: : § SB(1), (2° 1 (circle one of mm t AUTOR... uur VECLAScLFIEO ON doongended Fe coo hitantel . A . 2. . Cunless impossible, insert cate of event) HW 53320 Bocld:32403481 Page