14-00000 re SECRET OCC 77-3747 6-)0o-77 oo | - | : 10 June 1977 -MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. William W. Wells - Deputy Director for Operations VIA ‘: Mr. Anthony A. Lapham So General Counsel FROM a Maurice A. Sovern Office of the Special Assistant. to the DDO for External Oversight SUBJECT : Letelier Assassination - Rosselli Traces 1. In August of 1976, the Senate Select Committee arranged a joint meeting between representatives of the Committee staff, the FBI and CIA and representatives of the Dade County, Florida Police Department who were then investigating the murder of Mr. John Rosselli. It will be recalled that shortly before Rosselli met his sudden demise, he testified before the SSCI who were looking into the Letelier assassination. 2. . At the meeting, the Dade County detéctives posed a series of questions which they believed would assist them in. their investigation of Rosselli's murdér. 3. Within the limitations of the protection of sources and methods, we prepared replies to some of their queries, but asked the Attorney General in October 1976 ‘for guidance on the propriety of our assisting the local law enforcement officials in light of the constraints in E.0O. 11905. We suggested to the Attorney General that we believed the FBI was the appropriate vehicle for further dealing with the Dade County authorities and forwarded our answers to the DOJ for further dissemination via that channel. 4. We recently received a reply from the Attorney General that we can make this material available to the Dade County police, if we choose. While the DOJ response to our letter was in process, a new Director was appointed, WARNING NOTICE SENSITIVE INTELLIGENCE SOURCES ! AND METHODS INVOLVED E2 IMPDET CL BY 018630 SECRET
we, SECRET who in the course of his confirmation hearings was asked by. _John Marks (of Marchetti fame) whether the new DCI would continue to permit CIA obstruct Justice in the Letelier investigation by refusing to make this material available to the Dade County investigators. 5. LA Division has again prepared the same answers to the original questions, now for direct transmittal to the Dade County authorities. However, the circumstances of the investigation are substantially changed. At our request, an OGC attorney telephoned one of the investigators who. : told him that they were pursuaded that it was. a gang-style : laying for reasons unconnected to the Letelier assassination or the Rosselli testimony before the SSCI. The investigator also gave the.impression that they really weren't looking for the material but that it would be nice to have to complete their files on the case. The investigator was more interested on what material CIA had on organized crime. 6. The pressure to make our trace material available to Dade County authorities is internal. The Director indi- cated to the General Counsel in response to the latter's briefing on the.Marks question that we should give this material to the Dade County police. It is clear that when the Director gave his order, he was assuming that the material was important to the investigation and that it. was needed, neither of which presently is the case. . “7. We can be done with this matter by your ‘concurring in the attached memorandum; however, we are taking the unusual step of routing it through the General Counsel before it reaches you to ask for their guidance on whether -release is still necessary. 8. We would also like to bring to the General Counsel's notice a tactical suggestion from LA Division who notes Office of Security Miami office's long relationship with the Dade County police authorities and.whether further negotia- tion and any future transmittal of material should be accomplished through them. vy Maurice A. Sovern - Q/SA/DO/O:MASovern:kaw (1542) Distribution Original § 1 - DbO 2 - OGC 2 - SA/DO/O SECRET