DADE COUNTY REQUEST FOR AGENCY ASSISTANCE REGARDING THE DEATH OF JOHNNY ROSELLI.
Originator: CIA
From: RIVERS, CURTIS R.
To: DIR/OS, CIA
Document date: 1976-10-08 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

# DOCID-32363163

## Page 1

Date:

11/07/99

Page:

1

JEK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION

FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY

: CIA

RECORD NUMBER

: 104-10122-10375

RECORD SERIES

JFK

AGENCY FILE NUMBER

: 80T01357A

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : CIA

FROM : RIVERS, CURTIS R.

TO : DIR/OS, CIA

TITLE : DADE COUNTY REQUEST FOR AGENCY ASSISTANCE REGARDING

THE DEATH OF JOHNNY ROSELLI.

DATE: 10/08/76

PAGES :

7

SUBJECTS : ROSELLI, JOHNNY

ESTEVEZ

DOMINGU

MASFERRER, ROLA

NIEVES, LUCIANO

TORRIENTE, JOSE

QUINTANA, JOSE

ANTONIO CORTIZO

CUBELA SECADES,

BLACK, FRED

MORGAN EDWARD

SHIMON, JOSEPH

ARTIME BUESA, M

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION : SECRET

RESTRICTIONS : 1A, 1B

CURRENT STATUS : RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW :

03/28/94

OPENING CRITERIA

COMMENTS

JFK44: F7 1994.03.28.13:53:22:400007: 6 PAGE MEMO, 1

PAGE COVER SHEET

Heleased under the John F. Kennedy Accascination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 USC 2107 Note). Case#:NW

15924 Date: 10-26-2021

CLASSIFIEO

ATTACHMENT

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

NW 65924 Docld:32363163 Page 1

---

## Page 2

SUBiLCT, (Optional)

=ROM:

MANU MITH HELIONU SHEEI

Dade

County Request

For Agency Assistance

regarding

the Death of Johnny Roselli

• EXTENSION

NO.

DATE

Curtis R. Rivers

¡O: (Offices designation, room number, ond

suilding)

• DATE

RECEIVEO

OFFICER'S

INITIALS

FORWARDED

8 October 1976

COMMENTS (Number doch commen lo show from whom

to whom. Diane a lino across colume otto roch commont.)

C/ SAG

8Cs7.6

BB

2.

C/OPS/PS'

3.

4.

5.

6.

Quiety Secuits

8.

%.

0.

CISAL

CIA HISTOMCAL RET

2.

3.

JORAM

+

610 USE PREVIOUS

EDITIONS

SECRET

CONFIDENTIAL

INTERNAL

USE ONLY

UNCLASSIMIED

---

## Page 3

8 October 1976

MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Security

APPROVES FOR T

FROM

: Curtis R. Rivers

SUBJECT

: Dade County Request for Agency Assistance

Regarding the Death of Johnny Roselli

1.

The following is provided for your information and

pertains to an assessment of the information contained in

Office of Security files relevant to the request from the

Dade County Sheriff's Office pursuant to their investigation

of the death of Johnny Roselli.

2. The Dade County Sheriff's representatives requested

all Agency information pertaining to several Cuban nationals.

A review of Office of Security indices in this regard dis-

closed the following:

a.

Ramon Don Eestevez Dominquez--Office of

Security records were negative.

b. Rolando Masferrer Rojas--Covert. (36. 859)-

and overt _(352 772) security files were located

regarding

Rolando Arcadio Masferrer (Rojas), aka:

Roland Rojas Masferrer, a Cuban citizen born

12 January 1918 in Holguin, Cuba. Although

limited national agency checks were conducted on

Subject in January 1950, there is no indication

that Masferrer was ever utilized

by the Agency.

He is a former Cuban senator and Cuban Communist

Party member (expelled in 1945), a former com-

mander for Batista's private army!

and firmly

anti-Castro. The two files contain numerous rbl

reports regarding his activities in connection

with an attempt to invade Cuba in 1960 and

subsequent effort to invade Haiti in 1967.

Masferrer and 75 of his followers

were arrested

in January 1967 in Marathon, Florida, while

preparing for the invasion of Haiti.

SEGRET.

EZ IMPDET

CL BY 007472

---

## Page 4

Masferrer claimed that his Haiti invasion

plot was approved by the U. S. Government (varying

-between the CIA and the FBI as the approving

agency).. While the CIA approval claim was untrue,

Agency concern, at the time, centered around the

possibility of unfavorable publicity and the

compromise of sources and methods if the Agency

was

forced to disprove Masferrer's charges in

court. A handwritten note in Masferrer's file

revealed that he died in 1975 when his car was

-blown apart by a bomb in-Florida. No further

details

regarding his death were contained in

his subject files. Since Masferrer has never

been affiliated with the Agency,

should, it is helieved that Dade County officials

be referred to the FBI for information

regarding Masferrer.

C.

Luciana Nieves--Office of Security files

contain

information

regarding Luciano Nieves Nestre, date and place

of birth o October 1933, Santa Clara, Cuba:

Nieves was

on 4 February 1966 in

Florida. It was developed that he was a Cuban

national who had been arrested, tried, and

sentenced to 20 years in Cuba for allegedly

being involved in

an anti-Castio plot. He was

released in March 1965 after serving approxi-

mately. 16 months of his sentence and went to

Spain briefly where he was of interest to the

Madrid Station. In August 1S65 he entered the

United States and in November 1965 was contacted

by Directorate of Operations (DDO) representatives.

From November 1965 until approximately January

1966 he was of operational interest to the DDO.

It is noted that the DDO maintains a

201 file (201-788521) regarding Subject and it

is believed that the Office of Security would

have to defer any decision regarding the release

of information concerning Nieves to the DDo.

2

C312

---

## Page 5

d. Jose de La Torriente--Security records

contain only sparse information provided by the

Domestic Contact Service in 1970 showing that

one Jose de La Torriente, not further identified,

claimed to have worked for the CIA for many

• years. An attachment to a 1970 Domestic Contact

Service memorandum containing details of Torriente's

claimed association with the Agency was not con-

tained in Office of Security files.

It is

believed that a decision to release information

regarding Torriente would have to be deferred to

the DDo.

e.

Jose Quintana--Office of Security records

contain no information identifiable with Jose

Quintana.

f.

Jaoquin Antonio Cortizo--Office of

Security records are negative.

g.

Manola Artimes--Security records contain

overt (611 523) and covert (210 838).. Files

regarding Manuel Francisco Artime-Buesa. Artime-

Buesa is a former Agency operational asset

utilized by the DDO during

period 1959-1963. Any decision regarding the

release of information regarding Artime-Buesa of

his present whereabouts should be deferred to the

DDO.

h. AMLASH--Rolando Cubela (Secades), Agency

cryptonym--AMLASH, is the subject of the

Office

of Security covert file 101 080. - Cubela is a

rather celebrated Cuban national and operational

contact of the DDO mentioned throughout both of

the Senate Select Committee assassination reports.

Although Cubela is identified in the assassina-

tion reports as AMLASH and his identity has never

been revealed by the Agency, his true identity

has been surfaced in several recent news articles.

All information on Cubela in the possession of

the Office

of Security would fall within the

- purview of the DDO, and it is believed that any

decision to release information pertaining

to

SECRET

---

## Page 6

Cubela should be deferred to the Latin America

Division of the DDo.

It should be. noted that

during the st itees ieatve Cubeta Sean files

from both the DDO and the Office of Security.

i.

Dade County Sheriff's Office repre-

sentatives requested the "names of the three

Cubans mentioned in the Roselli testimony."

It is believed that the response to this ques-

tion should be deferred to the Senate Select

Committee on Intelligence since the Office of

Security does not have access to the Roselli

testimony.

3. Additionally, the Dade County Sheriff's Office repre-

sentatives ask for all Agency information pertaining to several

individuals of unknown citizenships, but believed to be U.S. -

citizens.

A review of the Office of Security indices in this

regard disclosed the following:

a.

Fred Black--Office of Security records

revealed only newspaper clippings contained in

the

Robert G. Baker subject file (260 273)

showing that Fred B. Black, JI., a consultant

with North American

Aviation, was a close

friend and business associate of "Bobby" G.

Baker.

Black was mentioned repeatedly in the

media coverage of Senate investigations

of Baker in the early 1960's.

While Black's

citizenship is undetermined, it is probable

that he is a U. S. citizen.

b.

Edward Morgan--A covert security file

(46: 394) was located regarding Edvard Pierpont

Morgan,

date and place of birth 28 May 1913,

granted a Covert Security Clearance on 2 Feb-

ruary 1951 for use as a "cut out?' in connection

with negotiations for the School of Advanced

International Studies and John Hopkins University.

SECRET

---

## Page 7

The Covert Security Clearance was amended and

approved in March 1951 to include Morgan's use

in providing covert legal support for opera-

tions in the form of a

"cut out"', legal advice,

transmission of funds, and other

assistance of

a legal nature in connection with DO projects.

Since Subject may have been utilized by the DDO,

it is felt that any decision to release infor-

mation regarding Morgan should be deferred to

the DDo.

It is noted that while only the afore-

mentioned subject file exists regarding Morgan;

in his capacity as Robert A. Maheu's personal

attorney, Morgan is mentioned sporadically in

the Maheu, Harvey, and Roselli files. In 1967

Maheu was

interviewed and advised that he had

briefed Morgan regarding the details of his

involvement in the Agency-sponsored Castro

assassination plots.

Morgan's current asso-

ciation with Maheu, professional and/or personal,

is unknown.

Morgan is currently practicing law

in the District of Columbia law firm of Welch

and Morgan.

Joseph Shimon--No Office of Security

subject file exists regarding Joseph Shimon,

aka:

Joseph Shiman.

However, he is mentioned

in the Johnny Roselli file as

a personal friend

of Roselli.

It is further noted in the Roselli

file that Shimon knew Maheu, but the nature and

extent of their official/social relationship is

unknown. Shimon is described as a former

District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Depart-

ment (MPD) inspector who was discharged from the

D.C. MPD as a result of a conviction involving

wiretapping activities.

4.

To date, no decision has been made as to the type and

form of response

to be made to the Dade County Sheriff's Office

request. Additionally, a formal request to the Office of

5

SECRET

---

## Page 8

security has not been received.

Office of Security files have

een searched and pertinent intormation reviewed:

Pending a

decision as to what form the response, if any, will take, it

is recommended that the Office of Security files containing

information pertinent to the request be retained in a readily

available status and no further action be taken at this tine.

Curtis R. Rivers

6

SECRET

---