480-10413-10419 AGENCY : RECORD NUMBER : RECORD SERIES : AGENCY FILE NUMBER : ORIGINATOR : FROM: TO: TITLE: DATE: PAGES: SUBJECTS : DOCUMENT TYPE : CLASSIFICATION : RESTRICTIONS : CURRENT STATUS : DATE OF LAST REVIEW : OPENING CRITERIA : COMMENTS : v9.1 HW 50955. Docld: 32264993 JFK Assassination System Identification Form Agency Information HSCA 180-10113-10119 NUMBERED FILES 003362 Document Information -HSCA ORR, PATRICIA 08/05/1977 7 CIA MEXICO CITY HUNT, E. HOWARD MEMORANDUM Unclassified 1A; 1B Redact. 01/01/2003 CIA 77-4. Box 77. Page 1 Date: 10/1/201
HY 0955 MEMORANDUM 8/5/77 FROM: PMO RE: CIA Station in Mexico City Attached find a list of individuals known to have been connected with the CIA station in Mexico City during Lee Harvey Oswald's visit. This information has been gleaned mainly from the executive session testimony of David Phillips, ex-CIA agent who had been in charge of Cuban Affairs for the CIA in Mexico City. Other information comes from staff interviews with a witness, Boris Tarasoff, formerly with the intercept unit of the CIA station. It has been suggested that E. Howard Hunt may have been involved in CIA activities in Mexico City and specifically with the visit of Lee Harvey Oswald. Many. critics cite the fact that the CIA Station Chief has never been identified publicly.as a basis for speculation that Hunt % ‘possibly_néld that position. This, however, would, conflict with information from Phillips that the Station Chief-'was named Winston Scott, now deceased. This does not preclude the possibility that Hunt held A Nee ea ray Doctld: 32264993 Page 2
HW 50955 MEMO 8/5/77 pg. 2 Yc another position at the station, but Tarasoff was shown photographs of E. Howard Hunt which he could not identify.nor did he recognize the name:from CIA-Mexico City. I will also be forwarding an organizational chart of the CIA station as best I can make it out with the information known presently. \ BDocldad:32264993 Page 3
-~l- MEXICO CITY -- CIA A review of notes taken from interviews with David Phillips indicates that there are a several areas which our witness may be questioned about. Organization & Personnel Personnel in Mexico City Station: David Phillips: In 1963 Phillips was in charge of Cuban affairs for the CIA in Mexico City. As such, he was responsible for the monitoring of the Cuban Embassy. He was in Mexico City from September 1961 to early 1965, succeeding Tom Hazlett. He originally comes from Ft. Worth and joined the CIA in 1950. He recalls the Oswald tape as an _iuntercept» between the Soviet and Cuban embassies. head of Russian affairs at Mexico City Station would have been primarily responsible for information derived from this intercept. —Phillins was never in the intercept unit. which His immediate superior was | but he answered to Winston Scott. Winston Scott: Station Chief for the Mexico City CIA Station in 1963. Supervisor for Phillips in practice, although the deputy Chief of Station would normally have been the person to whom Phillips was to report. Scott was known for his almost photographic memory and a strong personality. He did not like to delegate “co. authority. Scott was the person who made final determination as to whether information coming in over an intercept was to be forwarded to Washington or not. Scott is now deceased. He died of a heart attack around 1972. His name was not previously known publicly. Deputy Station Chief under Scott in Mexico City. Phillips was not sure whether it was or Allen White who held this office at the time of Oswald's visit, but he feels fairly positive that it was HY 50955 Doctd: 322764993 Page 4
—3- MEXTCO CITY -- CIA Goodpasture (cont'd): in Spanish, ie. translations were done at the intercept unit when the Language was Spanish. The tapes , that were in Russian were brought back to CIA head- quarters in all likelihood. (From Phillips' testimony, it appears that the Russian translator for the CIA was based in the Embassy where CIA headquarters were.) Goodpasture transported the tapes'and transcripts in suitcases. She was notified if tapezwas‘interesting “or not. Phillips believes that Goodpasture is retired and residing in Also assigned to Phillips, replacing | Phillips believed[____|presently works in the Washington headquarters of the CIA. (phonetic) Although Phillips was somewhat shakey about facts with respect tol _———s Jhe was able to tell us that was. the Russian translator for the CIA.and that his office was most likely in CIA headquarters rather than the Soviet intercept unit outside. Phillips claims that|[__]was not in Mexico city at the time of Oswald's visit. CfA officer in charge of the assignment.for Russian affairs, and as such was Phillips' counterpart at CIA station. | worked with his wife, Jon this assignment. (and his wife later worked with Phillips when they were all assigned to] Phillips maintained that it would have been "responsibility to ‘decide where the inforation _ ——"éontained in the Oswald intercept was to go and whether : the intercept should be kept for any reason. Win Scott, though, would have ultimate responsibility. Phillips did no know of the [| |whereabouts today. Clark Anderson: Local FBI agent in Mexico City, who would routinely receive petinent- information from the CIA. His title was Legal Attache at the American Embassy. He is identified in the Church report only as "Legat* Since he was the highest ranking ‘BI official in Mexico, NW 50955 Docta:3226a089- 4RG_-javestigation there was under his direction.
HW 450955 MEXICO CITY -- CIA Anderson (cont'd): Anderson worked with Phillips in the Dominican Republic in 1965. He is presently retired and residing in San Antonio, Texas. Desmond Fitzgerald: Chief of CIA operations in Washington CIA headquarters, who originally recommended Phillips to: the Mexico City job. (Fitzgerald is mentioned in the Church report as one of the CIA agents involved with plots against Catro's life. The.Church report :names him as "the senior CIA officer charged with responsibility for Cuban affairs." He had a meeting with AMLASH on October 29, 1963 for..a.policy discussion, informing AMLASH that the U.S. was prepared to provide support for a Cuban uprising only after a real coup had. been effected.) Fitzgerald is now deceased. Wife of worked -with him at Soviet Affairs desk, assisting him in the work. She would prepare the reports to headquarters, etc. and he would sign them. - She had previously resigned from another staff employee position at the CIA, but was hired again on apart-time basis for her knowledge or Russian and her experience in.Soviet matters. Worked under | 4s ~ Concerned with other matters related to Soviet affairs, such as Eastern European affairs. Doclda: 322764993 Page 7?
MEXICO CITY -- CIA Personnel: From.:other sources, namely, through information garnered by our own investigation, we are also aware of others involved with CIA Mexico City Station.in 1963. Mr. and Mrs. Boris Tarasoff: As one of the CIA's husband-and-wife teams, the Tarasoff's, had the job of translating and transcribing conversations in the Russian language going in and out of the Soviet Embassy by telephone. They were experts in voice identification using such aids as newspaper clippings and other miscellaneous informations about different individuals to help determine geographic origins, etc. about persons whose conversations were being tapped. The Tarasoffs were directly involed in the translation and transcription of the Oswald conversation, although the specifics have become dim in Mr. Tarasoff's memory. Tarasoff succeeded Tarasoff was never questioned by any investigative agency about the Oswald conversations. Boris Tarasoff thought the conversation was most likely between Kanstaninov and Oswald and did not involve Kostikov or Yatskov. Tarasoff knew no one by the name of Kostin. | Tarasoff presently resides in Identified by Tarasoff as CIA "contact" between the station and the translators. ..It is not clear whether Tarasoff was in the station or in a separate intercepting unit, but it appears that he was pwobably outside the station. seemed especially interested when the second call between Oswald and the Soviet Embassy was intercepted and Oswald identified. Robert Zambernardi: Identified by Tarasoff as the photographic expert at the Mexico City station.at..least from September 1963 to November 1963. HW 50955 Docld:3272764993 Page 8
cseos an EGGR9CEE - PII 6 ofed WASHINGTON: CHIEF OF OPERATIONS SPECIAL ‘AFFAIRS = - ‘(Desmond Fitzgerald) © | - assisted Phillips; rieplaced | [-] oversaw Cuban operatives CUBAN EMBASSY 2 CIA operatives: onle in the diplomatic se‘ction, one in the administriative section. | CUBAN AFFAIRS . Ann Goodpasture, _ MEXICO CITY -- CIA ORGANIZATION The CIA Station was housed at the U.S. Embassy. We have been’ able to identify several CIA positions from various | descriptions. May I suggest*the following skeletal framework as‘a possible picture of the CIA's organizational chart for September-October 1963. ‘ MEXICO STATION CHIEF (Winston Scott) Overall responsibility for CIA activities in Mexico. DEPUTY © STATION CHIEF tacer Allen Il ste) REPORTS OFFICER (David Phillips) : & | sASSISTANT INTERCEPT UNIT SL SGONTACT — Bill Bright CONTACT ‘ Boris’ Tarasoff  Mrs..Tarasoff Robert: Zambernardi. (photo expert) ee | before 10/63) ORR 8/5/77 AMERICA MB x - AMBASSADOR -~ LEGAL ATTACHE (Clark Anderson) FBI (Russian translations, transcriptions)