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

# DOCID-32366763

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Date: 02/11/05

JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : CIA

RECORD NUMBER : 104-10134-10074

RECORD SERIES : JFK

AGENCY FILE NUMBER : 80T01357A

DOCUMENT

INFORMATION

AGENCY ORIGINATOR : CIA

FROM : RIVERS, CURTIS R.

TO : DIR/OS

TITLE : DADE COUNTY REQUEST FOR AGENCY ASSISTANCE REGARDING

THE DEATH OF JOHNNY ROSELLI.

DATE : 10/08/1976

PAGES : 6

SUBJECTS : DEATH

DADE COUNTY, FL

ROSELLI, J

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER

CLASSIFICATION : SECRET

RESTRICTIONS :

CURRENT STATUS : RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

: 08/19/93

COMMENTS : JFK48 : F19: 1993.08.19.16:58:02:960014

Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Flecords Collection Act of

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

55924 Date: 10-26.2021

(R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED 104-10134-10074

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SECRET

8 October 1976

MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Security

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 Masterrer, 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 FBI

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 haran o

in January 1967 in Marathon, Florida, while

preparing for the invasion of Haiti.

SECRET

E2 IMPDET

CL BY 007472

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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

be referred to the FBI for information

regarding Masferrer.

C.

Luciano Nieves--Office of Security files

contain only polygraph (IRD #72675) information

regarding Luciano Nieves Mestre, date and place

of birth 6 October 1933, Santa Clara, Cuba.

Nieves was polygraphed 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-Castro 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 1965 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

SEGRET

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SECRET

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.

Manola Artimes--Security records contain

overt (611 523) and covert (210 838) files

regarding Manuel Francisco Artime-Buesa.

Artime-

Buesa 15

a former Agency operational asset

utilized by the DDO during the approximate

period 1959-1963. Any decision regarding the

release of information regarding Artime-Buesa or

his present whereabouts should be deferred to the

DDO.

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

3

SECRET

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Cubela should be deferred to the Latin America

Division of the DDO.

It should be noted that

during their investigation, senate select

Committee staffers reviewed Cubela's raw files

from both the DDO and the Office of Security.

1 .

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:

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, Jr., a consultant

with North American Aviation, was a close

friend and business associate of "Bobby" G.

Baker. Black was mentioned repeatedly in the

news 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 Edward Pierpont

Morgan, date and place of birth 28 May 1913,

St. Louis, Missouri.

Morgan, a U. S. citizen

and former FBI agent from 1941-1945, was

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.

4

SEGRET

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SECHET

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 DDO 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.

C.

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

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

wiretapping activities.

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

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SECRET

Security has not been received. Office of Security files have

been searched and pertinent information reviewed.

Pending a

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

1s recommended that the Ottice of Security files containing

information pertinent to the request be retained in a readily

available status and

no further action be taken at this time.

Curtis R. Rivers

6

SECRET

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