124-10369-10049 JFK Assassination System Date: 4/15/201 Identification Form Agency Information _ AGENCY: FBI RECORD NUMBER: —124-10369-10049 RECORD SERIES: HQ AGENCY FILE NUMBER: 62-117290-ADMIN FOLDER-H9 Document Information ORIGINATOR: FBI FROM: HQ / TO: USSS _ TITLE: DATE: 12/19/1969 . * PAGES: 289 SUBJECTS : . HSCA ADMINISTRATIVE FOLDER, LEE HARVEY OSWALD VOLUME XXI a DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT - CLASSIFICATION: — Secret RESTRICTIONS: 1B; 1C;4 CURRENT STATUS: — Redact DATE OF LASTREVIEW: 03/20/1999 ? OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE, APPROVAL OF CIA . COMMENTS : INC FOLDER, LIST, MEMO, A/T, LET, R/S, S/S, RAPSHEET, TTY, INSERT, FD-302, ENV, TABS, NOTE, DRAFT MEMO, COURT ORDER, NEWS RELEASE v9.1 31 HW 50953 DBacld: 32319415 Page i
SECRET; — SAC, Hew York (65-23422) 31/6/69 : To Director, FEI (65-60127) on mS (14+ Mr. Goble MICHAEL JELIBAVCIC, aka i» Mr. McWilliams E8P « BR Reference is made to Department of State telegram ated 10/29/40 from Enbassy Moscow, to State Headquarters (6-9) hich reported subject was ordered by the Soviets on 10/29/69 to leave the U8GE ae ef referenced telegram were (4) previously furnii to New York and Chicago. New York ghould remain alert te return of @ubject re, to the Uaited States for the purpose of interview concerning on (u infoxuation on Aim previously furnished by "Sawey.” Sear oo: 4 de wind during any forthcoming interview that. the Soviets ~ have in the past expelled individuals from the USER to cover LM:as = (77) « Sat ae hes 3 ! NOTE: . > ok Samny, Soviet defector~in\pi ace. ainysase tithe ehe| ith | S24 Department, KGB, had been mofinting< Sena Stiat theysubject, / Gye x American Express representative in Motcoe | We are “desi rour of ae ' interviewing sybject concerning what he knows about the operation SF against him. (it should be noted tha: ArBe Iippel, Cenittee gant ea ale of subject in Hoscow, was recruited by t Ree RGB and —— ee sank é @ pr us wl wore. CASSIFIEO .- ecoed oak | pe cot. Om [th] so TK qc WeTOzs [SEE REVERSE SBE oct Rats ‘ | SIDE FOR i CLASSLFECATION ACTION . Messi SE ECRED | 50953 Docld:32319415 Page 2
HY cal “Ctette Bie 2 he PROC a nbn Ran rete ni tata 50953 nities f Doctd: 32319415 Page 3 : 70s 20f Pant iM Le _: Washington, aa 20016 oid as SANIT HED duly 253 1969. | 5601 Potomac Avenue, N ah cpt: o vai MPS 2GoLeds . srert Deer info 3 yeceasseiey | REVIEWED 1 ay | Gta Sypn- CPR-on 1efash$) ae0iFK TASK FORCE BAeKeFED Info CLASSIFIED AND — CNL. ; fe - (oheaben ts Speter PR CrP) 0 oo LO x) “23 BRC Honorable William P. Rogers BK REL SSE he PULL ” Secretary of State ~— » >.) CG Sew Dd aa nS ASE IN PART Washington, D.C. Dear Mr. Secretary: s. et In winding up my affairs at the Department of State, there is a pend- ing matter which ‘T believe merits your attention. ‘Lee Harvey Oswald, the presumed assassin of President Kennedy, was alledgedly present at-a party given by a Mexican communist sympathizer ‘and attended by the Cuban Consul, a veteran intelligence.officer, when he was in Mexico shortly before the assassination. There are allega~ tions that the Mexican Government may have been aware of Oswald's ‘presence at that. party and that the Cuban Government may have tried to intimidate others who saw him there. A careful “investigation of these allegations could perhaps explain them away. Until then, however, their public disclosure ‘could reopen e the debate about the true nature of the Kennedy assassination and damage the credibility of the Warren Report. Since I was the _Embassy officer. in. Mexico who acquired this intelili- gence information, I feel a responsibility for seeing it. through to its final evaluation. Accordingly, I have prepared a memorandum J (enclosed) explaining this information and its initial assessment, keyed ih to three memoranda of conversations with my Mexican informant. I believe you would want to consider carefully whether to let well enough alone in this case, or whether the risks attending possible -public disclosure of these allegations make further investigation warranted ¢ , ; Respectfully, 2 . aa / fipree— Charles William Thomas _ Enclosure: pennant Memorandum and four attachments. be ty le D me + ot . 7 oe - Lae : wera . Tee
pom ; . | C. | \ . _ . 4 CONFIDENTIAL mae Os ROR a . ce et SET, ; Wine “ MEMORANDUM. Le ea 21a! tise ue swald in Mexico SUBJECT: Investigation of Lee Harvey 0 1. While serving as Political Officer in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico ‘City from 1964 to 1967, I became quite friendly with the Mexican play- ; tight, Elena Garro de Paz. An intellégent, witty, and outspoken woman, / I found her a very useful if- sometimes biased ‘source of political gossip i and personal history. on significant Mexican personalities. She introduced i my wife and me’ to many important people in Mexico. She was also. parti- . cularly knowledgeable about agrarian affairs. A biographic report that I prepared on her on May 3, 1966 is attached (Tab A) « . 2. On one occasion, Miss Garro inadvertently mentioned to me that she- had been at a party with Lee Harvey Oswald and two American companions when Oswald was in Mexico just before the Kennedy assassination. The party had been at the home.of her cousin, Ruben Duran. ° The memorandum of that conversation, dated December 10, 1965; is attached (Tab B). I _had not read the Warren Report, but I assumed that if Oswald had been to such a party in Mexico, it would have been well known to the Embassy. I also knew Miss Garro to be something of a professional anti-communist who tended to see a communist plot. behind any untoward political event. However, the episode about her being escortéd into hiding’ at an obscure ca hotel intrigued me. Accordingly, I decided to report the matter in writing. I gave the memorandum of conversation limited distribution | within the Embassy, and did not send any copies to Washington. 3. A few days later I was called to the office of Mr. Winston Scott, who headed the Embassy's Political Research Section (CIA). “Also present was Mr. Nathan Ferris, the Embassy's Legal Attache (FBI). - They had noted with interest my December 10 memorandum of conversation. They pointed ' out that there had been a great many rumors about Oswald at the time of | the assassination and that some could not be verified and others had proved faise. They asked me, however, to try and get a more detailed = replay of Miss Garro's story. Mr. Scott made clear that the FBI had full. responsibility for any further investigations of the Oswald case: — 4, In a memorandum of conversation dated December 25, 1965 (Tab C), I provided a much more detailed and accurate restatement of Miss Garro's _ alleged encounter with. Oswald and subsequent developments. Certain errors) in my original presentation were corrected. Miss Garro guessed that the date of the party at her cousin's house was in early September, 1963. She admitted that she had gone to the Embassy to report briefly about this matter on ah earlier occasion. © At emai ame OF Ea Ra one a tat Sits at HW 50953 DocId:32319415 Page 4
Le ; | _— SeNeEpmerra— 7 3 Durans after the assassination about. a party which Oswald had reportedly | _ attended, but that the transcript of. the interrogation was entirely “unsatisfactory by normal investigatory standards. Furthermore, the party inquired. about was not ‘theone at. Ruben Duran's house, reported by. te . Elena Garro, but at an entirely, different place. This— transcript may - well be the source of Mr.: Ferris" ‘belief that ‘Elena Garro's ‘story: had been . checked out and found to. be. untrue." : 10. It would appear: that: whereas. ‘the: ‘FBI has discounted the Elena Garro , -allegations, the CIA is still considerably disturbed by them. The CIA may not have pressed for-further investigation, however, for a number of reasons: 1) considering the sensitive overlap and subtle competition between two intelligence’ ‘collecting: agencies, it had to yield to the FBI's clear jurisdiction;~'2)* there are. obvious complications in conducting such an investigation in a>foreign country; 3) there is a close and delicate relationship between the CIA Station Chief and] the| and 4) some of the people oS) appearing in the Elena:-Garro scenario.may wéll be agents of the CIA. Under the circumstances it:-is unlikely. ‘that<any further investigation of this matter will ever take. place: unless: it: is ordered by a high official in ‘Washington. at : oe li. If all the allegations in. ‘the attached memoranda wére true, ‘they would not, in themselves, prove that there was a conspiracy to assassinate - - -. President Kennedy. However, if they were ever made public, those who ; have tried to discredit the Warren. Report could have a field day in speculating about their implications. ~The credibility of the Warren Report. would be damaged all the more.if it. were learned that these allegations were known and never: adequately: dnvestigated by the competent American authorities. a not we . 12. Reference is made. again to, the biographic report (Tab A) on Elena ‘Garre. She is hardly ‘an ordinary: ‘or average person. Her strengths and | weaknesses become exaggerated: precisely because she is not. It would — be easy and convenient to sweep this matter under the rug by claiming that Miss Garro is an unreliable informant since she is emotional, ; opinionated, and "artistic." I have been affected at times by that cE temptation, myself. No American official, however, knows her better than Dose Ido. On the basis of the facts that I have presented, I believe that, os on balance, the matter warrants further investigation. . 43. ‘Finally, the record should show that a representative of a major -: Charles William Thomas |  * Suly. 25, 1969 | HY 50953 DBoctd:32319415 Page 5
HY DIRECTOR, FBI 7/15/69 ACS, INFORHATTON CONTAINED ~ of, UFO (6260-19296) HEREIN f¢ TED Tones gegen re WHEE SEOs TEMA SSYE SR. a fo SAMUEL P, BERZON ' Gd Lhe HISCSLL/NOUS - INFORMATION CONCERNING; —GOISUI ICUs 220 ot ye TS + ISRAEL ew" DECLASSIFY ON; 258 ACU. seuFOlet to Bureau dated 1/7/63, under first character above, ne copy K®, which enclosed a copy of a letter dated 12/8/62, from subject to INS end in which he indicated he had attended the U.S. Naval ceadery, “ copy of subject's Letter is enclosed for the inforration of 1, For the additional information of the Burecu and ~~ i, on 7/10/69,(VF 56®-3* renorted|thet S*MUEL F. BFRZON (s », Lo contacted the Lebassy of Israel }(fror Minnesotz, jexact Bi ocation not_ebtained by inforr@nt, at which time he inquired of iss PHINA iGLL°CK, a secretary at the febassy,CS— as to the status of < letter he had written toe the =mbassy ea few weeks ago. PCLLCX) asked as to the neture of the contents of the letter did subject said he did not cara te discuss its contents over the telephone. Hovever, ke did state he has quite a militery beekground in the U.S.; 7 hes not been able to get clesrance to servelin the Israeli {Ss vefense Forces, \singe he right lose his citizenship, but “ thought (the Israelis right find sorething suiteble for fir. C %— He mentioned thet his letter «else contcins ‘many things of & political nature’, which he thought (the Israelis \should CS J krow shout; that he had been(te the Frbassy |e couple of Cs yeers ago; that he could not gol te Yoreel Ither and that he CS5 could not reveal the reason why, but that he told 11 «bout this in the letter. “cording te informant (POLL‘CK) did not give subject C$] em affirmative anawer as te the status of his letter, or as te what ection would be taken in the matter, (> - Burress (1 -(1L65-10828) (erpessy GP rs21)) Cs) 2+ Hinneapolis (Ene. 1) C2) 2- FO | (6) ksa 2 - Ag gt : fey, & 7 iw f FRE Bey C1 -(he5-524) Cnpessy oF srseQJG) A Rope MP RG vynsr BR) 50957 Doctd: 32319415 Page @
LEG 62-0-1928G If information from(UF 56%-Sk Ns disserineted,C So it should be classified “Seeret - Ne Foreign Dissemination’ and should be suitably paraphrased, since it contains D informetion furnished by fe sensitive source in the Isreeli field.\ In the event H/F prepares e cormunication which ray subsequently be disseminated and which includes information fron (UF 568-58) the cover communication should explicitly cs") State that the LH, of report, contains inforration which _ should be designated(“SCOPE, \ The Bureau will stamp the C: <) document prior te disserination. Since there is no indicetion that subject is presently in the ¢rred Services, it being noted that in his letter te iS, above, he furnished his employment as Vitro Leboratories, Silver Spring, Ud., and the fect that his azeet location is unknown, no recommendation is being rade te further identify Subject. However, H2 should search its indices on subject _ end furnish the Bureau and UFO the results thereof, It is further requested that M? designate a copy of its reply to the Bureau end CFO files on (the Embassy of tsraeiye) HY 50953 DBoctd:32319415 Page 9