MEETING WITH MR. ((DELETION)).
Agency: CIA
Originator: CIA
From: BRECKINRIDGE, S.D.
To: MFR
Document date: 11/7/78
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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104-10145-10191

OLC #73-3130

7 November 1978

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

03

SUBJECT : Meeting with Mr. (Herbert Manel1)

1. Yesterday afternoon I met with Mr. (Manell) in the

company of Messrs. Shepanek and Holmess?

at corda

• The purpose of the

meeting was to ascertain Mr. Manell's recollection of cer-

tain events in Mexico City in connection with the visit of

Lee Harvey Oswald there.

I told Mr Manell the questior

that had arisen over the memoires of Win Scott.

2.

While Mr.(Manell)has not read the Scott memoires,

he said that he could offer speculation on how Scott came

to write such a thing.o≥Mr. Scott at times was "prone to

exaggeration." Manell) said that Oswald's visit came at

the end of the summer.

The summer was a period when lots

of "kooks" came to Mexico and contacted the Soviet Embassy.

•S Manell said that

this proved to be very time consuming

from the Station's point of view as the Station was obliged

to report to Headquarters and appropriate Embassy components

on these people when they were identified.

He considered

this function to be one of "no profit" operationally,

although it was of course a necessary Cl responsibility.

When Oswald identified himself in a telephone call

Soviets it was viewed by (Manell) as being a meaning-

less instance of one more probable useless contact to

o Manerts) wire a part-time ployee, ended up writingala.

cable. No one thought much of Oswald, and Win Scott signed

off on the cable without question.

4.

On the question of photographic coverage he said

there is a practical explanation of why there were no

photographs of Oswald.

He said the work was very boring.

He believes that the Mexicans were simply not photographing

22405

E 2 IMPDET CL BY 1 3120

gijod

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14-00000

everyone.

his wife ever

saw a photograph of Lee Oswald. While neither

He feels that Oswald's

appearance was

so distinctive that

It would have made an impression on him. He said that in

his meetings with the HSCA he had told them his personal

convictions, which he still holds, that there was

"no

conspiracy

at the Station."

He worked the Soviet target

and would more than likely have seen all pictures.

3 Manell and wife are convinced that the Station had n

In sum,

photographs of Oswald; and that the Mexican photo LP

operators are probably alone responsible for not having

taken pictures of Oswald's entries or exists of the Soviet

Embassy•

03

Mane 11)

Following the assassination of President Kennedy,

recalds a number of Agency personnel listening t

radio broadcasts.

Then the name of Oswald occurred. hi:

first reaction was, "My God, that's the man I reported on."

Someone else may have responded similarly but he recalls

that as his reaction.

This led to a cable to Headquarters.

Speaking in a rather all-inclusive way he said

that there

no photographs of Oswald there then, so

there were none to burn or destroy afterwards.

7. (Manell)mentioned the fact that the HSCA people

pressed him on why Tom Karamessines had signed off on a

communication for a name trace.

He could not understand

Holmes told him that the

• Division Chief had signed

the cable, which required the next highest person's

release. Manell) clearly had not thought of that,

our discussion we observed that the HSCA investigators

were asking him (in the field at the time) what had

happened at Headquarters at the time.

told in est sat at ence in he ust a doge

not know about the statement in Win Scott's memoire so

there was no occasion to comment on it.

Mr. @anell said that he would speak with his

wife to

see if she had anything to add to what he

stated

2

GINg

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les, linda pol inter illegal nain among evane.

above.

He reported later that his wife had nothing addi-

tional to offer.

I told him that I would prepare a draft

memo of the conversation and show

it to him before putting

it into

final form, which was done.

S. D. Breckinridge

Distribution:

1

- OLC/Subject

1 - OLC/Chrono

1

- Shepanek/Holmes

1 - Mr. (Mane11)

3

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