UNITED STATES GOVN@NMENT A Casper ¥, Cellahen’ _____ Memorandum Wyre TO *Hr, Tolson DATE: January 20, 1966 3 FROM :¢, D, DeLoach oe C2’ SUBJECT: SENATOR EDWARD LONG CC, a of # ; ( D, = MISSOURI) 7 rn SUBCOMMITTEE ON ADMINISTRATIVE - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE = ee There is attached a letter to Senator Long express-— ° ing our views relative to the opportunity afforded Bureau i representatives to explore with his committee the true facts ‘ as to the Bureau's controlled use of electronic listening : devices with the sanction and approval ¢ the Attorney General : and as limited to serious matters involving the national 5 security or safety of human lives. : ACTI ON: [ , E That this letter be cleared with the Department prior 4 to sending to Senator Long, i t. TEEN eR CONTAINED | 3 INCLASSIFIED i owed 1/00 ay <omeLM P i Enc. Pd i Y S (ak jee ge LOLS : i re 1 - Mr. DeLoach ry ~ Si 1 - Mr. Rosen i Rp do f° Ll - Mr. Sullivan ws f ys; 1 - Mr. Gale ; i Sk SH | 1 - Mr. McAndrews &E ds, yr | 1 ~ Mr. Leggett - P & noe me “ LZ i 7 i) @ FEBS 66 | hee . . . , aad 4 ead ~ fi & omy Vesoreneiies 2? . may ot : JED . ‘ eg ~ pte - a . (p i } ed in response to your request did is not for dissemi- 4 | i \ _ ration outside your Committee, PTs use #3 limited to official proceedings by 23 | ran 3 Ee: vd Hy cas ite your Committee and the content may nut be disclosed to unauthorized person~ = I pe 7 Ros nel without the express approval of the FBI . an ws cone . ~ coe sig om sme ~ OGL HW 55107 -DoclId: 32969556 -Page 146 -- ~~ : | So ie 7 . . 1 i OPTIONAL FORM NO, 10 $o1d-106 . . (MAY 1962 EDITION . ! . ( M~ . “at GEN, REG, NO, 27 y Tolson
oT19 (Ro. 11-30-65) IN NEVADA CURBED Suit Against Bugs by F.B.I. Hinders U.S. Prosecutors | a x By WALLACE TURNER | Special to The New York Times ” WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 — ‘| Electronic eavesdropping by the : iFederal Bureau of Investigation } at Las Vegas casinos has crea-: * ted serious problems for the: i Justice Department in its pro-! Secution of Las Vegas gamblers,} The probiems arose as a direct! e:result of a suit for 36,000,000 tin damages filed by Edward! Levinson a Las Vegas casino! joperator. He charged that an » RBI. “bug” in his office had linvaded his privacy. The suit was filed last month by Mr. Levinson, manager of the Fremont Hotel. Its impli- cations are far reaching, The suit and attendant detail also serve to illustrate the changing values of electronic eavesdropping as an investiga- tive tool. Wiretapping in the usual sense is not at issue, al- though telephone lines were use| to connect concealed micro- phones to listening devices some distance away. ‘ Wiretap Evidence Barred A telephone tap is illegal un- der a section of the Federal Communications Act of 1934 that prohibits interception and divulging of telephone conver-|’ sations. Telephone tapping has fallen into disrepute among law enforcement officials. Increas- ingly, the evidence it yields is © being barred by the courts. ‘ The law on electronic eaves- :; dropping is more complex, since it traces to the Fourth Amend- ment guarantees against seaxch and seizure. Thus the rules dre! based on court decisions, not on Statutes. Generally, evidence from such eavesdropping may | not he used. The suit filed by Mr. Levin- son and a companion suit filed by his associate, Johnny Grandy, will cast a cloud for a long time to come on evidence pre- sented by Federal prosecutors In any case connected with Las Vegas gambling, ‘The Levinson suit isa straight demand for damages from agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and from the Central Telephone Company Whose lines serve Las Vegas. The Grandy suit asks an order forbidding, the use of electronic eavesdropping devices in five Cano notel. These are the Fremont, the Sands, the Desert! ¢ Inn, the Slardtist wed -the Pivi- . ea tone | Serer RSET RN ae HW 55107 pocla:32989558 ‘Page 149 _ + _ Trespass Issue Inve The problem for prosecutors dealing with evidence gathered}} by such devices arises because ‘almost without exception the], -“pug” has been planted through trespass. Evidence, such as the conversations of defendants,}} taken in this way, cannot be used, Federal law oh this question is clear, Eavesdropping with thes unaided ear or spying with the runaided eye can produce legally radmussible evidence. But a tres-|, pass by eavesdroppers into any “protected area” taints the evidence. , Such areas of constitutional protection have included homes, apartments, hotel rooms, even taxicabs, . Concealing a microphone in|, these protected places is a tres- pass, the courts have held. Thus any evidence so obtained is tainted. . Some sources here have hinted :that the turmoil over the bugs ,in Las Vegas put a damper on 'some aspects of the investiga- ition of Robert G. Baker by a jFederal grand jury. However, another well-placed source said that this was not true. Mr. Baker, the former secre- tary to the Democratic Senate majority, was indicted on nine counts by a Federal grand jury on Jan. 6, The F.BI. has refused to comment on the allegations in the Levinson and Grandy suits. One of Levinson’s attorneys in the action is Edward Ben- nett Williams, the Washington ‘lawyer who also represents Mr. Baker. ’ The suit says the FBI leased 25 lines from Central Telephone under the spurious business name of Henderson Novelty Company. The lines al- legedly fanned out into various rambling establishments. Mr. Levinson’s suit contends that one line was connected to the switchboard of the Fre- mont Hotei, then extended to a microphone in his office tele- Phone so that eavesdroppers could hear all that went on in the office. Discovered by Accident This device allegedly func- Hioned from Oct. 30, 1962. to ‘April 27, 1963. It was removed «when a telephone company em- “ploye found it in a search. “The chance discovery of a hid- iden microphone in the Sands {Casino Hotel office prompted examinations-for-bugs through- + va {eon the Las Vegas, gambling}, complex. oe Mop¥ 2 x / oe — Joe (Lal ahV a Conrad, oh phe Lie Pan Rofsen wv Sullivan Tavel ‘ T ier, ——___ 1 Tt_is generally believed in | BE aa jlaw “@iiiGreement circles that ah R the Federal Bureau of Investi- ete. hoom gation has used such listening!} Holmes devices for a long time. This Gand raises a crucial question: How andy i much aware are the prosecutors in the department of Justice of the origin of their evidence. Some FBI reports are studded ' With fictional names such as “informant a whose ture iden- tify cannot he revealed.” In- formant in reality might be an agent assigned to assess the daily harvest of the eléctronic eares ‘dropping. .. ‘oy wares OL en ee ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED CLASSI 00 The Washington Post and Times Herald The Washington Daily News The Evening Star - New York Herald Tribune New York Journal-American New York Daily News New York Post »The New York Times ‘ The Baltimore Sun The Worker BY The New Leader The Wall Street Journal lson Zs ‘gach Me FE v x — P nmannmaiehted Aiea, Spon? i _ i The National Observer ' Date This document is prepared in responsé to your request and ‘nation outside your Committee. People's World is it Tis use is limited toj offic i dissemi- COrings by es your Committee and the content may nut be disclosed to unauthorized person- nel without the express approval of the FBI . ~ qari i BS t. = x af AES mere
i a : « (“@NITED STATES GO~ @yment . . , M © Memorandum TO : MR, TOLSON DATE: 1/21/66 rRomM ; Ce De perbdtn ec Mr. DeLoach ; . Mr. Mohr - ‘ Mr. Gale SUBJECT: _ . ’ ; Mr. Rosen SENATOR EBWARD B,. LONG (Democrat- Mr. Sullivan Missouri) - U.S.Senate Committee ' Mx. Wick on the Judiciary; ; Mr. pes . “Subcommittee on Administrative au. rei hae - Practice and Procedure TOL OB AW, JIU 77 acm: F2ITITS age Ta ae oN (THE LONG COMMITTEE) Senator Long requested that I see him at 2 p.m. today. Mx. Gale accompanied me. . FO omen mao m b66~. S/60- GD . With the Senator were Bernard Fensterwald (Chief Counsel), and, his Administrative Assistant, Dan Miles. Prior to discussing official business matters all parties agreed that the subject of the discussion would be completely off the record, as usual. _ Senator Long had on his desk the statement which we had pre- viously prepared for him. He stated he had been reading the statement ‘over and had a few reservations as to whether the statement should be issued at this time. He agreed that the statement was truthful in all aspects; however, he expressed the opinion that issuance of.the istatement would perhaps pour gasoline on the fire. He referred to the ‘iNew York Times article of 1/21/66 by Wallace Turner, stating that this jjaxrticle had caused a few raised eyebrows, no doubt, and that a release itby him, Senator Long, at this time, completely clearing the FBI, would jin effect cause further articles. He indicated that the article was | both against his subcommittee and the FBI. ‘ re ae wy nes — vom I presented the Director's letter to Senator Long and told {him that he might want to read this letter carefully prior to making up his mind. He did read the letter and stated it was a fine one. His Administrative Assistant, Miles, also read the letter and indicated no objection to it. I pointed out that the letter was most strong in praise of the Senator and specifically that the Director had commendsa& the Senator and his subcommittee on the fact that they were attempting to establish guidelines against indiscriminate.and, 5 uncontrolled wire tapping in the future. roa GGFR hm is : PRET joee a There was no doubt but what Senator LOMGT sreatayEbiked and AY appreciated the Director's letter. Despite thee Fowevess he stated 2 eke a oo DD: dL R 8 card ep 4 es y aN C CH AG ) | ae —— CONTINUED_- .OMER - & (9 etd ~. COPY .SENT TO -IR. TOLSON aa ‘ ¥. a ° mie a , : oneBe . et a —— \ ocument is prepared in response to your request andiis not for diskemi- 5 . F EE r iS ‘}t) nation outside your Committee. -Its use is limited to official proceedings by \ . . your Committee and the content may nut be disclosed to unauthorized persone yy nel without the express. approval_of the. PBI... __.____-.. rd, ans Mie ayy im mee atin Seah canainiernoaeed ee.
Mr. Tolson personally believed it would be far-better to wait a short period of time and release both the Director's letter and his statement ina ‘status report ar the final report of his committee. He stated ha Yaad not given up the idea of issuing both the statement and the letter fat this time; however, he thought it would be best for both the FBI | and his committee if he could wait briefly until the current furore iby the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times had died down somewhat. [pe had given the whole matter a great deal of thought and that. he I told the Senator that, regardless of his actions, some reporters would have mental halitosis and attempt to embarrass both the Senator and the FBI, whether the statement was issued or not. He was advised that reporters usually bring criticism for three or four days and then forget the matter completely. He was told that 95% of the papers in the. United States would praise him for his actions, particularly papers in his home state, such as the Kansas City Star and the St. Louis Globe~Democrat. ts The Senator stated this was all true; however, he felt it li Ho eas be unwise to make a public’ statement at this specific time. }He said the time was just not right. The Senator was told that it was, of course, his prerogative as to when he wanted to issue the statement and the letter. However, he was advised we wanted to be informed when he planned to make such a@release. He stated he might decide to make such a release in , San Francisco on 2/2 or 3/66. \ I then asked him point blank whether or not he intended to ijhold hearings concerning the FBI at any time in the future. He stated [ype ¢ did not. ‘I asked him if he would be willing to give us a commit- ment that he would-.in no way embarrass the F-BI. He said he would \jagree to do this. i ; Fensterwald asked if it would be possible for me or Mr. Gale {to appear before the Long Subcommittee in San Francisco and make a jSimple statement to the effect that the FBI used wire taps only in cases involving national security and kidnaping and extortion, where a life is involved, and used microphones only in those cases involving heinous crimes and Cosa Nostra matters. He stated no further questions ffvour be asked. cee TR ae, oo HW.55107 Docld:32989558 Bagge 151 —rsm0 se 4 . . wwe tee 5 . oie . CURT SEIT get mt NRTOTE ERP UETE TEN TATE “Pen AU ET EORTC MT ASIEN OP ORD UN ID tet aN Aejoea stn be EERIE cAI OY Baye