INTERVIEW SUMMARY:  ROCCA, RAYMOND
Originator: SSCIA
From: DWYER, DAN AND GREISSING, ED
To: FILES
Document date: 03/15/1976
Document type: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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157-10011-10102

2022 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

Date: 10/07/93"

Page: 1

JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY

:SSCIA

RECORD NUMBER

: 157-10011-10102

RECORDS SERIES :

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : ROCKEFELLER COMMISSION

FROM : DWYER, DAN AND GREISSING, ED

TO : FILES

TITLE :

INTERVIEW SUMMARY: ROCCA, RAYMOND

DATE: 03/15/76

PAGES : 6

SUBJECTS :

ROCCA, RAYMOND, RETTRED CHIEF, CY/RESEARCH AMD AMALYSIS, CIA FRI

THE GPFLOOR PHASE

THE WARREN COMMISSION PHASE

INVESTIGATION OF CUBAN LEADS

CIA ATTEMPTS AGAINST CASTRO

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION : S

RESTRICTIONS : REFERRED

CURRENT STATUS : P

DATE OF LAST REVIEW : 09/29/93

OPENING CRITERIA :

COMMENTS :

SSCI Box 337, Folder 6 (VI-C-3-W), (ROCCA)

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

AN 30955

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SSCI

Box 337, Folder 6

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Record Number 157-10011-10102

415/22

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INTERVIEW SUMMARY

Interview With:

Interviewers:

DATE :

Place:

Raymond Rocca

Dan Dwyer and Ed Greissing

3/15/76

Arlington, VA

Ed Greissing and Dan Dwyer of the SSC staff interviewed

Raymond Rocca, retired Chief, Counterintelligence/Research

and Analysis, CIA, at his home in Arlington, Virginia on+

March 15, 1976. The purpose of the interview was to clarify

the role of the CIA in the investigation of President Kennedy's

assassination.

(1) The GPFLOOR Phase. The GPFLOOR phase of the CIA's

investigation of the assassination covered the period of

November 23, 1963 until January 23, 1964. Rocca explained that

Richard Helms, DDP, delegated Jack

desk chief of the

(a) (A)

Western Hemisphere division, to direct and control the CIA's

responses to information that was being reported from CIA stations

around the globe.

Most of the information the CIA received

came from Mexico City where Oswald had

contacted the Soviet and

Cuban diplomatic establishments in late September and early

October. Rocca noted that Thomas Karamessines, Assistant DDP,

was probably involved in Helms' decision to have Jack worchen (1) (A)

direct the GPFLOOR investigation.

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RELEASE OF THIS DOCUMENT

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(2)

Warren Commission Phase.

Rocca places the beginning

of the Warren Commission ohase around January 23, 1964, when J.

Lee Rankin contacted Helms and asked for CIA assistance for the

Commission. Helms delegated Rocca to be the "point of contact"

of the CIA with the Warren Commission. Rocca's own Counterintelli-

gence staff involved in research matters for the Commission

included Tom Dooley, Paul Hartman and Thomas Hall. Other CIA

personnel involved with the Commission were gack whitten, Murphy (1)(A)

(Chief of SB), J.C. King, Wigren (Chief SB Research); and Bagley

(Deputy Chief SB). Rocca noted that as liaison became more

informal, staff members of the Commission had direct contact

with Whitten

Murphy, Wizgren and Bagley, Helms maintained (Ne)

direct contact with Rankin.

Rocca emphasized that the Warren Commission phase was not

interpreted by CIA

as an investigation. Rocca said that when

the Warren Commission "task force" was established, all

cables and materials generated in the GPFLOOR period from Mitten*s(NA)

desk were made available to the task force. Rocca added, however,

that the task force made no appraisal of the GPFLOOR phase. When

questioned if the Warren Commission "task force" reviewed Mexico

City traffic to check name traces, for example, Rocca replied

the material was left alone except for the allegations such as

the Alvarado matter which concerned the Commission. Whitten

(1) (A)

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handled requests from the Commission that dealt with the Mexico

City allegations.

(3) Investigation of Cuban Leads. Rocca commented that

the Cuban resident tour (Cuban diplomatic and intelligence

personnel) in Mexico City should have been more carefully

examined. Rocca opined that the Commission staffers who

visited Mexico City made a perfectly sound request to inter-

view Silva Durran themselves. Rocca stated he could never

understand why the request wasn't granted. Rocca noted that

the personnel at the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City of greatest

interest were Louisa Calderon and (fnu) Rodriguez, who were

both DGI. Rodriguez was the Deputy Chief of the resident tour

in 1963. Rocca noted that Rodriguez ran two known assassination

operations in Nicaragua.

Rocca also noted that Rodriguez ran V.T. Lee into Cuba in

December 1962-January 1963. Rocca feels this information needs

a full address in light of Oswald's FPCC connection.

Rocca stated that he was unaware of any requests from

the Warren Commission that dealt with WAVE operations or Cuban

groups. Rocca noted that immediately following the assassination,

Paul Hartman was instructed to collect all information from the

CIA which was contained in its files on Oswald. Rocca suggested

that the SSC contact Hartman to ask him if he levied any request

on or conducted a search of WAVE files. Rocca added, however,

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that WAVE support of Cuban groups was characterized as

"political action", and as such included operations that

the CIA could not tightly control. As a result, files of

Cuban group leaders would not be

CIA property and the WAVE

station only received that information that filtered from

Cuban group leaders for one reason or another.

Rocca strongly urged the Committee to persist in gaining

access to WAVE files. Rocca concluded that Cuban leads should

have been pursued and added that information he and his assistant

Dap Pratt assimilated during the Garrison investigation, coupled ()V)

with WAVE information, would be the logical route of documentary

investigation. Rocca pointed to information he found during

the Garrison investigation as "relevant"

• Rocca cited a Cuban

agent who had penetrated a training camp near New Orleans and

who was forwarding mail to a drop in Mexico. Rocca noted that

this penetration coincided with Oswald's effort to infiltrate

Bringuier's group. Rocca tentatively interpreted these two

events as "coincidentally relevent" to the possibility that

Oswald could have been a witting Cuban agent.

(4) CIA Attempts Against Castro.

Rocca was unaware of

assassination plots against Castro. Rocca hypothesized that Dulles

might have briefed Warren in some way about covert action against

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Cuba. Rocca also suggested that J.C. King might have known of

some sensitive operations in general but that he would have

been left out on specifics. Rocca added that whitten 'might (1) V7)

have known about sensitive operations through osmosis" because

Whitten as desk Chief, Western Hemisphere, would send out

(1) (17)

traffic to stations including traffic dealing with operations.

Rocca noted that the DDP or Director could have by-passed

(1) (A)

Whitten by authoring and cabling a message themselves.

With regard to Western Hemisphere cable traffic and assass-

ination plots,

Rocca: noted that in April 1975 there was an

individual (name unknown) from Western Hemisphere appointed

by Dave Phillips to work with the Inspector General. This

individual found the memo that discussed Desmond Fitzgerald's

having used Robert Kennedy's name in meeting with AMLASH, in

the WH files.

(5) Miscellaneous. Rocca saw nothing strange in the

FBI report on Oswald's FPCC activities being routed to SAS.

He stated that SAS would have received all reports of relevance

to Cuba.

Rocca could offer no explanation as to why the WAVE cable

discussing anti-Castro groups' public statement on the

assassination was filed in the "sensitive Ops-Kennedy file"

and later placed in the Oswald 201 file.

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Rocca commented that the FBI and CIA differed significantly

that

on the treatment of the Warren Report gave the issue of

foreign conspiracy. CIA advised the issue should be left more

open than it was.

(6) Summary. Rocca believes that the DGI in Mexico City

should have been more carefully investigated by the Warren

Commission CA "task force" and in the GPFLOOR phase. Rocca

was unaware of any requests on Cuban groups or CIA Cuban

operations that was levied on CIA by the Warren Commission or

on the WAVE operation by another CIA component. Rocca expressed

the opinion that the SSC persist in gaining access to relevant

WAVE files. Rocca believes that some of the information he

compiled during the Garrison trial, coupled with relevant WAVE

information and review of information an DGIS Mexico City activities

in 1963, would be a logical resource for appraising unresolved

questions about possible Cuban involvement in Kennedy's assass-

ination.

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