MEMO:MEETING WITH HSCA ON MEXICAN INTERVIEWS.
Originator: CIA
From: BRECKINRIDGE, SCOTT D., OLC
To: THE RECORD
Document date: 1978-07-24 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY

: CIA

RECORD NUMBER

104-10145-10374

RECORD SERIES

JFK

AGENCY FILE NUMBER

80T01357A

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

AGENCY ORIGINATOR

FROM

TO

TITLE

DATE

PAGES

CIA

BRECKINRIDGE, SCOTT D., OLC

THE RECORD

MEMO: MEETING WITH HSCA ON MEXICAN INTERVIEWS.

07/24/1978

3

SUBJECTS : HSCA IN MEXI

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER

CLASSIFICATION

: SECRET

RESTRICTIONS

: 1A 1B

CURRENT STATUS :

RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

: 08/09/93

COMMENTS : JFK59 : F10: 1993.08.09.11:23:44:930060

Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of

1992 (44 USC 2107 Note). Case#:NW

65924 Date: 10.26-2021

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

104-10145-10374

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SECRET

0G 478-257.3

24 July 1978

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT : Meeting with HSCA on Mexican Interviews

1.

Niles Gooding, George Joannides,

Rodger Gabrielson,

BIll Sturbitts, Marty Hawkins and Norbert Shepanek met with

Messrs. Blakey and Cornwell at 0730 Saturday morning.

purpose was to discuss activity in Mexico City planned by

HSCA.

?. As usual, it is difficult to plan how to approach

questions as limited information is provided by the SCA

people.

They had told us of their interest in ten persons

in Mexico City. A quick check of Agency records had broker

them out into

separate groups and in the discussion with

the HSCA representatives, one of these groups was subject

to yet further distinctions.

3. The first group consisted of the following:

a. Calvillo. - An unwitting co-optee, it

had been agreed previously that Calvillo would

not

be asked about the activity he engaged in that,

unknown to him, was at CIA initiative.

b. Henry Lopez - A former contract agent

of CIA. He is a former employee--as distinguished

from "agent" in the full sense of the word--and

could be interviewed as

a former employee.

c. Two men by the names of Palomares and

Flores, neither of whom has had an operational

association with the Agency.

4. The second group is more complex, consisting of

persons in whom the HSCA would be interested because of

their private activities without reference to Agency

connections, which all of them had.

HSCA has spoken

to

other persons in Mexico City, and had independent informa-

tion about them of interest to their investigation; they

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SECRET

IMPDET COML3170

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SECRET

(HSCA) felt they could simply approach them directly with-

out reference to any Agency association. They are as

follows:

a .

The two who worked for CIA, LIONION and

Alvarez Duran, operated photographic surveillance

posts. It was agreed that arrangements would be

made whereby they could be interviewed by an

electronic means, in adjoining but separated

rooms.

One of them may not be available as

he

may be in Spain.

b. Two persons who reside in Mexico City,

who formerly were employees in the Cuban Embassy,

Consuelo Esperon and Suoto. These would be

interviewed as HSCA had done with other former

employees of the Cuban Embassy, to ascertain

what, if

anything, came to their attention about

Cuban

attitudes towards and reaction to the

assassination of President Kennedy, etc. It

so happens, both were penetrations

of the Cuban

Embassy.

Again, HSCA people took the position

they would not mention any possible Agency

connection or activity.

They declined to have

these persons interviewed under the same arrange-

ments that would be used with two support agents,

whose only interest is that they worked for CIA.

c.

_Two U.S: citizens,

Mrs. June Cobb Sharp

(believedato be in Mexico City) and a Mr.

Wichtrich.

Both are private citizens who are reported to have

information of interest to the HSCA, in their

private capacity. HSCA proposes to interview

these persons just as they did the two penetration

agents, without any mention of CIA.

5.

In essence, we have an anomaly, whereby we have

arranged to have support agents (whose only interest to

HSCA is their work for the Agency) interviewed by tele.

phonic equipment.

Two agents whose nature is ordinarily

even more sensitive (penetration agents) are being

interviewed directly because they worked in a hostile

diplomatic installation (and not because

they worked for

CIA) with no reference to be made to their association

2.

SECRET

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"SECRET

with CIA (HSCA declining to include them in the arrangement

for the first two agents above). And two U.S. citizens whose

work with CIA is of no interest to HSCA (although

"the reasons

for interviewing them were not revealed to us will be inter-

viewed without reference to their CIA connection.

In the

eyes of HSCA, while they recognize a proprietary relation-

ship on the part of CIA with

the two support agents (operated

photographic surveillance posts), they do not recognize

such

a relationship with the others,

as HSCA would have inter-

viewed them anyway for unrelated reasons (i.e., unrelated

to CIA connections).

6. While HSCA has had to postpone their trip until

around

7 August (the Mexican Government requested a delay),

the basic problem remains.

There is more time to get

some feel for what is involved, but in essence, it is the

position of HSCA that since they would have interviewed

the four persons without reference to a CIA connection)

they will do so anyway, but have solemnly undertaken to

not raise any question about CIA connections or activities.

S. D. Breckinridge

Distribution:

Orig - OLC/Subj.

1 - OLC/Chrono

1 - Niles Gooding IG Staff

1

- George Joannides/OLC

1

Rodger Gabrielson/OLC

1

- Bill Sturbitts/LA Division

1

- Marty Hawkins/LA Division

1 - Norbert Shepanek/PCS/ LOC

SEGRET

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