JFK Assassination System Date: 10/13/20 Identification Form i TI Agency Information AGENCY: HSCA ! RECORD NUMBER :. 180-10112-10466 RECORD SERIES: NUMBERED FILES ; AGENCY FILENUMBER: 015106 Document Information ORIGINATOR: CIA FROM: TO: TITLE: Peleased under the John DATE: 06/25/1976 - Kennedy PAGES: 25 issassination Records Ollection Act of 1992 SUBJECTS : (44 USC 2107 Note). ANTI-CASTRO ACTIVITIES ase#:NW 53080 Date: STURGIS, FRANK, BACKGROUND © W5—30-2017 CIA, INTELLIGENCE DOCUMENT TYPE: NOTES CLASSIFICATION: — Unclassified “RESTRICTIONS: | 3 CURRENT STATUS: — Redact _ DATEOF LASTREVIEW: — 01/01/2003 OPENING CRITERIA : COMMENTS: — NOTES FROM 6-25-76 - 9/21/77. BOX 296. Hw $4080 DocId:32264840 Page 1
Notes -- call from Frank Sturgis 6/25/76 He just ran across a friend of his who used to be an agent, in communications, and & he "revived" his mind on something that ‘he "completely forgot.” (He had previously told me that he had tost almost all his notes from his adventures in the intelligence business, which explains why he hadn't remembered — ‘this before.) He reminded me he told me that he had been sent to Washington by a group of key men in Castro's inner circle and told to - give some secret documettts and lists of names to Hoover, personally. (Sturgis didn't tell me this, but Pedro Diaz-Lanz -- the guy who came out with Sturgis and was head of Castro's Air Force --. told someone the list contained the names of Cuban exile double agents. At the top of the list, says Diaz-Lanz, was Artime's name.) Be Sturgis says he never did get to see Hoover but he did see his personal secretary. He says he was sent to Hoover directly . because the insiders didn't trust the American Embassy. He believes the Rockefeller Commission and the Watergate Commission has testimony from his about plots agaaast Castro, but he couldn't | get an OK to assassinate pkaks Castro because of the Eisenhower administration. One of the people that Sturgis says he was in touch with here, besides xkeRka tee CIA, was Al Tarabochia. He was in touch. with Tarabbohia at this particular time, and therefore Tarabochia would know of this incident: . os There was a meeting in Cuba bout two, two and half months ‘before the Kennedy assassination. There were a number of ‘high-rakking rebel officers present: fm Fidel, Raul, Che, ‘the chief of GB (can't remember his name), a man who was called "EI Mexicano," several other people, a woman...and- Jack Ruby. “The meeting was in Havana. One of the rebel officers present was sa half-brother wk of a Cuban exile living in Miami. After the - JFK assassination, the officer sent a letter to his’ half brother . telling of the meeting, the discussion to assassinate JFK and ~ — the presencd of Jack Ruby. He smuggled the letter out, probably. “tThhough Mexico. ‘The deal was that Castro would supply Ruby with a flow of drugs. Ruby would get the money to buy the drugs by being given the winning number in the bolito drawing. That's how Ruby would be .paid off.. oe aWhen Cuban exile got letter some CIA agents found out about it, but "Rbefore they could get it from him, he made contact with the FBI here in Miami and he turned over the fetter to agents from the Miami. FBI. office. They advised him that it was a very delicate situation and . not tell anyone about it, : a HW 53080 -DocId:32264840 Page 2.
Sturgis doesn't know name of Cuban exile, but he worked in a factory in Miami or Hialeah. Hets going to try to find out, he's checking on it now. : The friend he ran into, the guy with the Company, was the one who °°. ° told him Tarabochia had this information. Sturgis says the background jis this: Ruby had gone to Cuba many |. times and while he was there he was trying to get some action because "McWillie was a friend of his, as you know." (NOTE: In. interview with Canfield in Coup d'tat, Sturgis has a tough time _ PBeambering who McWillie is) Ypage 243). This is where Ruby - probably thought @ up the idea of making a deal with Castro. vo We all know he had criminal connections." There Should. be © some record of his trip through the American Embassy in HW 53080. DocTd: 32264840 Page 3 “Mexico City of his trip to Cuba through there. "But this could: ..-.. have been a secret xx trip he went on, on the other hand, if... 7 he was involved gm in an assassination," Bo He doesn't know how long after the assassination the Cuban exite~ _ got the letter from his half-brother. (It probably came via Mexico) — Sturgis: "This man here like to had a shit hemorrhage." (Coincidence?:. From Robert Morrow's Betrayal: "Not to be vulgar," . | thought aloud, "but he'll have a Shit hemorrhage." Morrow was speaking of Castro's reaction to his counterféét operation.) (l asked him about Crife's piece in the Wash. Post re the Castro- — Trafficante relationship) Sturgis says that's news to him. But he doesn't believe it because Castro kicked out the mob and Lansky and Trafticante sbost their casinos. "! told Santos one day, | said, 'Santos, “ls just xkekxa left a meeting with Castro and he ordered me to “close down the casinos for 10 days." And he did. Sturgis was put in charge of casinos for a while by Sastro. Sturgis believes if that was the case, that would make Aleman an _sagent for Castro also. But if he did make contact with Trafficante “it was through Rolando Martinez, because he knew Trafficante very well, he used to work for the Havana Hilton, so he knows all xe the mob people, "He knows them as well as 1 do." “Afteman and Martinez are MEKYKSKS very close friends. ‘Barker got fired from the CIA because of his connections with the “racket people,
Sturgis - 6/30/76 - tatel --says Tarabochia should remember Castro-Ruby incident because "} know theCtA agent, or former agent, who. told him about it." -thinks the.woman he mentioned as being at the meeting was Tanya, - Che's secretary who was killed witht him in Bolivia.. -also trying to get name o f Cuban exile in Miami who received the letter --his ex-ClA friend spoke to Tarabochia about it at the time and perhaps Tarabochia wk should have it on record... - .it should alsok& be part. of the FBI files in Washington, along with the original letter... | : -CIA should have a report in too, "We sent the report in." salad --re Celluta Fantasma: (Was that Company operation or Naval Intelligence operation?), "No, Company operation.” The people ‘who were involved. in that were Dr. Louis Conte-Aquerra (sp?); he asked my assistance and |-went to see my CO, who was Sam Jenis. Conte-Aquerra was associated with the Company and they came to me because they knew lt was about the wm only one who could do successful air operations. So they asked me if | would do a series of five air operations and | said, certainly, | would... “(re | heard of the relationship “xk of Jukio Lobo and his anti-Castro activity. | understand Bill Attwood went down +o interview him and... | "welt, Bill was with the Company. . No, wait a minute, walt a minute.. Attwood, Attwood...! forget...| think he was with / the Company...!'m not sure offhand...| didn't know all the agents." (Wasnit it Rojas in charge of Cellula Fantasma?) Conte-Aquerra was the big man on if. Hets the one who arranged for the financing for the people that | would do the operation for... | As a matter of fact, | went on three of them myself..! couldn't ‘qet the Cubans to do it sol used Americans. One of the pidots. . was Bilt Johnson..) oo (What was Rojas! role?) ! didn't fool around withsRojas. You know, there was a movement within CIA which told Conte-Aquerra that he - was going to be a big official in the new government. And many of | the agents who were also going to get positions went along with +he idea that Conte Aquerra would be the president of the new Cuba. And he was being financed through his own CIA contacts to do a series of these operations (How does Lobo fit in?) Well, Julio gave money. He was working -also with CIA, He was giving money which he was taking off income “tax and so forth. This was +he way what you'd call “washiag" money... ‘This is how CIA would wash money through different Cuban business | . -.people--and American businessmen--which wouldn't lead directly. tg the CIA. Julio Lobo was one of the people. 53080 Docld:32264840 Page 4
(Were you dealing with him much?) Well, ! worked with him, but l wasn't dealing directly with him because he wasn't connected with k the x People {| was associated with. He Was more with the economic section, you know, that certain officials dealt with, 9 ~ (You met him here in Miami or Havana?) In Havana. But | didn't have any pe dealings with him because, you know, certain people. | worked with certain people, - Itowas the thing that you call compartmentation, you know. ° They dealt with didferent people in difterent Ways. Just like: Tony Verona. He was a CIA agent, He not only was one of the leaders, -he was an agent per se. And even today Manolo Artime is still..an- agent, He wasn't then but he is today... He'S SsTilt with them. You know he was the civil coordinator between the Revolutionary Junta and the Bay of Pigs... - _ (mentioned Gerald Shamma.and her Artime story) Heh heh bh, she ‘told you that stor » eh. | wish she hadn't told you that story, heh heh heh, oo a . Artime: "When he came- back from Cuba, they made hima businessman, they made him a very wealthy man, | think he's got a little Problem with Semoza now, but he was working closely with him, **But if you're with the right people they don't give a shit “what you did, as long as they contro! you. The CIA. got some shits of the wortd working for them, oO - The Agency slammed the door on all four of us when we got out of prison, Colby sent orders out to all stations not to tatk to us or have any contact with us. But i¢ makes no “difference to me, if | need to get to them | go through other people., But, hey, that's the name of the game, | guess. When you ‘get | into the big league stuff with the powefdul people up in Washington or Langley, if the wrong group of people are in contro! and you're — Not in that league, they can hurt you. And right now the wrong .. 0): “9roup is up there. Have been since Colby's been up there. Colby's “got his own peopte and !'m not one of: them." “ (Looks like they're getting ready to hang we Lucien Conein) Well, "YOu know, Howard knew him very well. Evidentally, he's been involved in some things and they don't want to let it come out. But there's a lot of shit Colby has been involved in and he comes. out smeéling like a rose" Evidentally, he [Conein].is in Based bad with the wrong people. Colby cleaned house and put his own people in theeeam and what they do is use people for sacrificia| lambs.., like they did us in Watergate...to take the heat off of them.. ‘Howard himself didn't realize that he was used and we in turn worked with Howard and they buried all of us.. H-53080;, DocId:32264840 Page 5 __