DATE: 11-14-2017 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 Docld: 32334065 Page 1 Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 19927 (44 USC 2107 Hote}. JFK Assassination System Identification Form Agency Information FBI 124-90110-10058 HQ CR 97-3575-7 Document Information FBI MM HQ 09/30/1958 8 JOSEPH MEROLA JOSEPH RAYMOND MEROLA PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT Unclassified 4 Redact 08/06/1998 INDEFINITE RPT Date: 6/3/2015
Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 19927 (44 USC 2107 Hote}. “ DATE :, 11- ‘14- 2017 . a -_ Kx Rejort Ferm as,7 7 ‘ \ FD-23, res . . Swe ; ~L FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION ‘Reporting office : office of Origin , _ “MIAMI MIAMI Investigative Perio 8/22, 293 913, “4 8,13,19, TITLE OF CASE Typed By: | | CWE 7 mbs CHANGED ; CHARACTER we ASE JOSEPH MEROLA ; B. LEONARD BIRD; . REGISTRATION. ACT; ROBERT: N. DILLARD ; NEUTRALITY MATTERS ‘UNKNOWN PILOT Synopsis: | a o knowledge of any planned revolution in Haiti. He sai han - e recently received a contract from the Haitian covernndat : to construct houses. States he is personal friend of ARTHUR BONHOMME, Secretary of Public Works in Haiti, and through 4 him obtained authority for housing project. ROBERT N. DILLARD, businessman, Miami, advised he had no information about any planned revolution in Haiti and he had no relative who is a pilot and had no relative who had been contaetédd to fly arms into Haiti. DILLARD advised that he knew HAROLD BUSSINIUS, a Haitian National, and described: him as a liar and con man. RUDOLPH BABOUN, Haitian Consul, Miami, advised that information furnished by HAROLD BUSSINIUS was not believed reliable. JOSEPH MEROLA, Miami, FBI No. 4989299, not. available for interview. . pt TNFORMATION aN ~ Po =  BEREIN IS CLASSED : ray Re fn’ liz A. LEONARD BIRD, businessman, Miami, Fla., states he has Pie DATE_{/o1/45_2 Approved i 1 cr Do not write in spaces below Copies maw IV {-” . Sos go tc “LS > Bureau (RM) 1 - USA, Miami- (RM) 1 - U. S. Customs, {Mifami (RM) 1 - New York (Info) (RM) 3 - Miami ae Seka nM oy ae Property of FBI - This ay ig tofyou by the FBI, and neither it nor its contents are to be distributed outside at the agen¢ p03 OCT is” an Jk " Je U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1956 O—385319 a { DoctId:32334065 Page 2?
Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (442 USC 2107 Hotes. DATE: 11-14-2017 1 es ~ rey io Caeed MM 97-230 DETAILS : ay . The title of this case,is being marked changed to show the full name of B. 'B. LEONARDABIRD. as furnished by BIRD when interviewed on August 22 22, , 1958. This case is predicated on information furnished by RUDOLPH BABOUN, Haitian Vice Consul, Miami, Florida, who furnished the following information to the Miami Office of the FBI on August 28, 1958. BABOUN stated that he had received information that 27 Americans and one LEONARD BIRD of Miami, and one JOSEPH MEROLA, who hangs around the Garden of Allah Motel, Miami Beach, were involved in a revolutionary attempt against Haiti. BABOUN also said that one Mr. DILLARD, who operates a lumber business, and who has been trying to obtain a lumber contract through the Haitian Government, has a relative who has been offered $10,000.00 to. fly arms into Haiti. BABOUN also said that his informant advised that the Haiti Revolution had a depot of arms and ammunition located some distance from Miami and arms worth $70,000.00 cached on an island between Florida and Haiti. want we eaten ‘neha wenn ea On September 4, 1958, BABOUN recontacted the / , Miami Office and advised that: his informant was HAROLD. | a a Haitian National, and that BUSSINIUS had turned to Haiti at BABOUN' s > expense. Fj f Mi rae On August 29, 1958, BABOUN advised the: Miami Office that one ROBERT GREEN contacted him and said he was representing MEROLA and that if BABOUN wanted to deal | with MEROLA to send word to GREEN. GREEN quoted MEROLA t as saying, "This time we won't miss". BABOUN interpreted this to mean that the Revolution will be successful. A Sy 2. 9-35 Po cp enn —o | Docld: 32334065 Page 3
Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassinati ii : 7 . on Records Collect “1 f UsC 71 ‘ot pare. ta ta outs ; ctron Act of 1992 (44 use 2107 Hote). — a ~ MM 97-230 . DILLARD again stated that he wanted it understood ’ ‘that he,icd at no time, had any knowledge of any planned revolution in Haiti and had no relatives who had been approached to fly arms to Haiti. / DILLARD stated that in his opinion, LOCASSIO, NUNNALLY, and BUSSINIUS are nothing but "con men" who would attempt to.make a dollar in any manner they could. He also said that even after financing the trip to Haiti for BUSSINIUS and NUNNALLY, and after ascertaining they had no timberland available to them, BUSSINIUS again approached him in August, 1958, and tried to tell him he now had timberland available if DILLARD was interested. DILLARD said he told BUSSINIUS he wanted no further business dealings with him. On September 4, 1958, RUDOLPH BABOUN, Haitian Vice Consul, Miami, advised that HAROLD BUSSINIUS was sent to Haiti by him and he did not know when BUSSINIUS would return to the United States. On September 8, 1958, BABOUN advised SAS TOBIAS E. MATTHEWS, JR. and CHARLES W. EDMISTON that he now realized that LEONARD BIRD and DILLARD are not connected with any planned revolution in Haiti and that he did not believe all information furnished by BUSSINIUS was reliable. He also said that he now recalled that he had met BIRD and that BIRD was negotiating with the Haitian Government in order to obtain a contract for constructing a housing project in Haiti. On. September 19, 1958, CHARLES J. MATHEWS, Special Investigator, Dade County Manager's Office, Miami, telephonically advised that he had, just returned from Haiti and while in Haiti had interviewed HAROLD BUSSINIUS. He stated that he contacted Haitian officials about BUSSINIUS' | location and they were reluctant to admit that BUSSINIUS was in the National Peniténtiary. They gave Mr. MATHEWSS permission to interview him. i | | 92-25 PS - F _ SEM _ 4 . ie No : - 7 _ Y | Docld: 32334065 Page 4