04-10 {22-10218 ox ve + 24 Jume 1956 - _ MEMORANDUM FOR: +Ses=teDiractor of Central fatellizence % 1 . eee ne . >, ere? 1. This memorandum is for information only. os we See AOD 2.. In August 1960, Mr. Richard M. Bissell approached ~~ Colonel Sheffield Edwards 6 determine if the Office of Security. * had assets that may assist in a Sensitive mission Fequiring angster-type action. The mission target was Qhe-Ligchistior ot) Fidel Castro, 3. Because of its extreme Sensitivity, only a smali group ° waa made privy to the project. The DCI was briefed and gave his. approval. Colonel J. C. King, Chief, WH Division, wag briefed, but all details were deliberately concealed rom any of the JIMWAVE oificials. Certain TSD and Commo Personnel sartici~ pated in the initial planning stages, but were not witting of the Purpose of the mission, : e | 4. Robert A. Maheu was contacted, briefed generally co the project, and requested to ascertain if he could Cevelov an en- tree into the gangster elements as the first step teward accom-~ dlishing the desired goal, 3. Miz. Maheu advised that he had met one Jonny A2cselli | 22 Several occasions while visiting Las Vegas. “ts smy imew aim casually through clients, but was Ziven to understand tha: h2-vas a high-ranking member of the "syndicate" ans contested all of the ice-making machines on the Strip. lishes -cassred “oselli was in fact a member of the clon, he “wadoustadly 2 ee ti nad connections izading into the Cuban gamoling i:cavests. get
14-00000 a ‘ 4 fa t “4 h Peete eae yess ce ~ ich were suffering heavy financial loases in Cuba as a result * >. Maheu was asked to approach Roselli, who tmew iflaheu 453 a personal relations executive handling domestic 224 foreign accounts, and tell him that he had recently been setained by a ESE ant who represented several international business firms . - - ao 4 ped pee Castro's action. They were convinced that Castro's removal a3 the answer to their problem and were willing to vay a price ee w of $150, 000 for its succesSful accomplishment. i: was to be made ~ of clear to Roselli that the U. S. Government was not,: and i should not," | Decome «ware of this overation. . — - . 7. The pitch was made to Roselli on i4 September 1940 at “the Hilton Plaza Hotel, New York City. His initial reaction was ‘to. “void gatting involved but, through Maheu's persuasion, he = — _agras-l te introduce him to a friend, Sam Gold, who !mew the sy & Se ee “Cuban crowd." Roselli made it cleay he did not want any money for is part and believed Sam would feel the sameway. Meither z impressivw tr Sarmtwis that dra-hard, uncouth indi-- viduab.who looked ‘and-aeted like 1-common -run-of-ins-mill hood. luc Powever _his-hiving accommodations at the-hotel selied” this, .s did. the fact that Maheu learned Sam was under ceriodic oi thes2 individuals w&sVaver paid cut of Agency funds. - 2. Deriag the week of 23 Seotember, f..heu w2s ‘ntrecnced to Sam: who was staying at the Fontainebleau iictel, Lilami Seach. - surveillance by the FBI) It waa several weeks alter his meeting with bam and Joe, who was identified to him as a courier coerating between Havana and Miami, that he saw phetograchs of hotn of these individuals in the Sunday supolemental "Parade." They were identified as Momo Salvatore Giancsn3 and Santos ante cti f.in of tne 2938 Nostra and succeasor to 2 Oncene, .nd ‘ther va boss of Cuban cperaiions. caneu onibe)c tely upon ascertaining this informacion, - - = 2% * zt x > eae gee = ms *, Im discussing the vossible mathods oc zccompiisaing 7 nz 4 me ot a a = “se ~~ fe 2 lasion, Srm sonuzeasted that they not regert fo “Loearc a ue if tise Parniaheas «8e gore tyte cl notent vill, Una. soma
be placed in Castro's food or drink, it would be a much more effective operation. Sar indicated that ha had 2 prospective ~~ nomines in the person of Juan Orta, a Cuban official who had - been receiving kickback payments from the gambling interests, . eel. who still had. access to.Castro and was. in a financial bind. ' Pee eb ie . fo 21d, - Cornelius Roosevelt, \Chief,. TSD, was. consulted and a i aa / assigned Dr, to develop a pill that had the ve een -j} elements of rapid solubility, high lethal pontent, and little or Pag fp Faye ' mo traceability. Six of these items were $ produced and, after. 7; tes ee “ | being checked out for their effectiveness by Dr. Edward M. 3 | cr -; Gunn, three pilla were ultimately turned over to Sam for the ‘mission. Neither TSD nor Dr. ‘Gunn wif briefed on ‘the ultimate use of the pills. HS SRD Se Sa arid ME ne AE nen SET op ll. Joe delivered the pills to Orta. After ‘several weeks. of xeported attempts, Orta apparently got cold feet and asked out ofthe assignment. He suggested another candidate who made " several attempts without success. So So, . | 32. Joe then indicated that Dr. Anthony Versna, one of the , a principal officers in the Cuban Exile Junta, had become -1is~- affected with the apparent ineffectual progress of the Junta and was -willing to handle the mission through his own resources. 13. Dr. VercGna was approached and jumped at the oppor-~ tunity of getting involved in an independent operation. Ele vas told that the private interes icking the project did not want the U. S. Government a “particularly the CLA, to know of their \ involvement. (SoZ taf as this Office knows, ha has never divulged 33 participation’ in the project to the Agency.) — 1 em soe Ane o #, He asked, asa prere quisite to the deal, that he be given 315, 200 for organizational expens23 and requested $1, 7°08 worth f communications equipment. pus be Sire oS, - * be 13, Dy. Verona'’s potential was never fully =<ploite wpe, ee at & ° cal 2 a the croject waa canceled shortly after the Bay of >i 3 3aisode ; Verona was advised that the offer .vas withdriwn, the pills a wt w Lf 18 rj a et ry feta @ < @ a e one ts} Sgt on ceresty ad aye i . ( Steet oo, ie re ro
: - (16. OF significant interest was an incid a request levied by Sam upon Maheul and now shapes Up asa potential flap.) i . 7, . 6Xpressed concern gig “tole Sam -he-didu't have-thefacilities, ‘we . . . 4 . At the height of the Projact negotiations, Sam termine the ex- ies : RERUN Hare Mahe whsreupen ° Sam threatened to leave Miamt to g0 to Vegas and take-care-of-the-mattem hitiself-~ li orderté pre~_ ventthis, Mahau- contacted Edward Dubois sa Florida investigator, and-asked him.to handle the job.f —.- _ yistead of ingtalting a bug-in the-xoom, the tecknician placad 4 tan on the phone, whickob- viously did not _S! erve Sam's purpose. | The techni-~ Cian involved-in the assignment was discovered in the process, arrested, and taken to the Sheriif's oa * office for questioning. Aftes n Kenilworth Hoteh, Miami, and informed him tHat -’ he had been detained by the police. This call wag 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 1942, the EBULE ¢- i. EE 1 ay oe ah BECLASSIFICATION Director of Security briefed the Attorney General, Robert Kennedy, on the circumstantes. leading up to Maheu's involvement in the Wiretap, At our re- quest, prosecution was dropped, OME TION CATECORY: ent which involved ill _ Dubsisby telephone,fhe called Mahewat-the |e
Two articles appeared in the Chicago press, one on 16 August 1963, and one on 20 August 1253, / that suggested Sam was working with the agency. . / The first article appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times. _ . : f written by staff writer, Sandy Smith, and had asics | Se >. headline: CIA Sought Giancana Help for Cuba Spying. . ~ it relates that the Agency reportedly was in touch oo with Sam in 1959 and requested that he assist them in obtaining intelligence out of Cuba. it also men- _ tioned the Las Yegds wiretap, which the article : claimed was handled by a "Florida investigative . . xganization." 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- ae gence Agency. The-other article appeared.in the o Chicago Daily News, authored by Columnist Tony - Weitzel, and commented that during March 1952, Sam confronted an FBI Agent who was shatowing nim and said, 'iVhy don't you fellows leave me - alone? I'm one of you!" Sam allegedly stated that, atter Castro's rise in Cuba, . CLA operative con- f2cted him and wanted to know if Sam coula ao any=- ning for the Government on the turbulent little island. 5S.m said he had friends on both Sides, but mo clon. rene z3nat was it. te 17. Roselli was introduced to James DP. OConneil, a £ ee - #9 Li. gs Over the several months of close contact be- sween these two individuals, Roselli began to sveculate as to O'Connell's trus employer and, at one point, stated that he was convinced he was employed by.the CIA, and that the project was. sponsored by the Agency. He hastened to atate that he was not forcing ihe issue, nor would he want confirmation of this and,” oarther, he would not mention this to anyOre else, including Sam. cal al Sam. 723 never introduced to any Agency personnel and, while CI WRS nev?> mentioned to him, it is Mahbeu's belief he: eventually sus- N 4 BeCtead tae \gency was the power behind the 20eration.
Zed PeMty » Personal aelekios from yo ANTIN fe WRMO AQ WeWw VO | Sohwy Roselki aay Ret