Agency: HSCA
Originator: HSCA
From: BOLDEN, ABRAHAM
Document date: 01/19/1978
Document type: SUMMARY

## Page 1

JFK Assassination System

Identification Form

Agency Information

Date:

10/1/201

AGENCY :

RECORD NUMBER:

HSCA

180-10070-10273

RECORD SERIES: NUMBERED FILES

AGENCY FILE NUMBER: 004825

Released under the John

Assassination Record

Collection Act of 199:

144 USC 2107 Note) .

Case#:NU 54756 Date:

Document Information

ORIGINATOR: HSCA

FROM:

BOLDEN, ABRAHAM

TO :

TITLE :

DATE: 01/19/1978

PAGES:

7

SUBJECTS :

FBI; LEADS AND INFORMATION

BOLDEN, ABRAHAM

DOCUMENT TYPE: SUMMARY

CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified

RESTRICTIONS: 3

CURRENT STATUS: Redact

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 01/05/1996

OPENING CRITERIA:

COMMENTS :

Box 100.

v9.1

14 54756

DocId: 32244215

Page

1

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## Page 2

KENNEDY

004825

1.

INVESTIGATION INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

Identifying Information:

Name_

Abraham Bolden

Address 76 325. SangamoiST.

City/State Chueagoi

Date of Birth 1=18-35

Social Security

2. Physical Description:

Height

Weight

Ethnic Group

NEGRO

Date

1/19/18

Place mid cit aliens nee.

- Telephone 488-4822

MOIS M

Spouse

BARBARA

Children

YES

Color Eyes BRouNHair BLACk

Special Characteristics

BEARD

3.

Personal History:

a.

Present Employment: NATIONAl LEAD CO.

Address

Telephone_

• 1800Si PEORiA, CHgo. IU.

b. Criminal Record

1. Arrests

1.

2: Convictions '

Additional Personal Information:

a. : Relative(s) : Name.

Address

b. Area frequented: Chucago south side

c. Remarks:'

care turban, ds manher o Solance religion

Investigator

HH 54756 DocId:32244215 Pageate

Samirl. Kelly

FOrm #4-B

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## Page 3

SELECT COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS

NAME Abraham Wendell Bolden

Address 7632. S. Sangamon St.

Chicaco, Illinois

Date 1-19-78 Time_

Place Mid City Holiday Inn

S. Holstead & Madison Sts.

Chicago, Ill.

Interview:

on 1/19/78 the writers interviewed Mr. Bolden at the

Mid.

City Holiday Inn, Chicago, Illinois. Bolden had been a

Secret Service Agent in 1963, stationed in Chicago and it was

believed that he could furnish information relative to a con-

spiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy in Chicago

on 2 November 1963.

A brief background on Abraham Bolden is necessary to •

understanding our need to

talk to him at this time.

He was

out of East St. Louis, Illinois and joined the Secret Service

in 1959 (Eisenhower was President). He worked counterfeit

cases in Chicago and in the summer of 1961 he was assigned

to the White House Detail.

He was the first negro agent

assigned to this detail. Bolden spent only three months

in this detail and was evidently shocked at what he saw.

He complained to his supervisor, Harvey Henderson, ana to

James Rowley, then head of Secret Service about the general

laxity and the heavy

drinking among the agents who were as-

signed to protect the President. He also resented the slurs

against blacks which were called to his attention from time

Interviewer

Naulelese

(Signaturel

James P,

kelly and Harold Rese

(Typed)

Date Transcribed

1-24-78

WH 54756 DocId: 32244215 Page 3

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## Page 4

Interview/A. W. Bolden/1-19-78

Page Two

to time, eg., the separate housing facilities for black

agents on southern trips. He was transferred back to

Chicago.

While attending a refresher course in Washington in

mid-May, 1964, Bolden was

returned to Chicago on a subter-

fuge and subsequently arrested and charged with soliciting

a bribe, obstruction of justice and conspiracy in an alleged

attempt to sell SS file information to a Chicago counterfeiter.

His first trial, in July 1964, resulted in a mistrial; his

second trial, a month later, in a conviction. He was sen-

tenced to serve six years. He appealed and in June, 1966,

the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

The writers found Bolden not at all bitter about the

1964 case although we did not dwell on it. We questioned

him about the events which allegedly took place in Chicago

just prior to

and on 2 November 1963.

Bolden told us that around October 30, I963, he recalled

a long teletype message coming in to the Chicago office from

the FBI. It was unusual, he told us, for the FBI to cooperate

on any cases

with the SS. But Mary Cooney, a clerical person

working in the office at the time, and now believed to be

deceased, took this message to the ARSAIC, Maurice Martineau.

Prior to the telex, there was a phone call from the FBI.

Bolden doesn't know if it was local FBI (Chicago) or Washington

Hdg. calling.

HH 54756 DocId: 32241215 Page 4

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## Page 5

Interview/A.w. Bolden/1-19-78

Page Three

There were only about 13 agents in the Chicago SS

office at the time and the substance of the teletype and

the telephone call alleging a threat against the life of

the President on an upcoming trip (2 Nov) to Chicago was

quickly disseminated.

Surveillance was undertaken by the agents on two of

the four subjects identified with the threat. Because

Bolden was black, he and another black agent, Conrad Cross,

were excluded from the "north side" Chicago surveillance

because it was a predominantly white neighborgood.

Through

a series of blunders, the surveillance was "blown" by

Lloyd

Agent Jay Lawrence Stocks and the two subjects were appre-

hended and brought in to the Chicago SS office. Bolden's

awareness of the progress of this surveillance came partly

from office gossip and partly from his monitoring the ss

radio channels in his car. In any event, he said Agent

stocks was subject of some earthy comments from his fellow

agents.

Bolden recalls that James Rowley called from Washington

and suggested that

Martineau use a COS file number.

Bolden explained that

a CO (for Central Office) number was

issued only in or from Washington Headquarters and an "S"

for Secret or Sensitive was given when they wanted to seques-

ter information contained in the

file. He explained that

HH 54756 DocId:32244215 Page 5

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## Page 6

Interview/A.w. Bolden/1-19-78

Page Four

these files were kept separate from all others and that

SS could say they had nothing in their files on a subject

when in fact a

. "COS" file existed. He said as far as he

knew, these were never destroyed, (underscoring ours).

In addition to the COS file number, Bolden said that all

agents who were involved in this surveillance activity

were told by ATSAIC Martineau to turn in their notebooks.

All memos were typed, he told us, by a Charlotte Klapkowski

(sp?) who is now working at Headquarters in Washington and

is close to retirement age. "Now don't expect her to tell

you anything. She is very loyal to the Service and wouldn't

say anything she thought would hurt them in any way," he

told us.

The memo copies were all sequestered by Charlotte

on this surveillance.

Strong,

Bolden recalls that in addition to Stocks, Agents

Motto and Noonan were involved in the apprehension

of the two men.. On Saturday morning, November 2, Bolden

was in the office early. He

recalls that the interrogation

rooms were littered with cigarette butts and coffee cups,

evidence of a night-long interrogation. He saw only one

of the two men they had apprehended. He describes this man

as swarthy, stocky, "a truck driver type." is the way he

described him. The man was 5'9"": or 5'10", wearing a jacket

HH 54756 D00Id:32244215 Page 6

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## Page 7

Interview/A.W. Bolden/1-19-78

Page Five

and shirt with open collar. His hair was dark and he had

a crew cut which is described as

" Detroit style." The writers

showed Bolden our Committee "mug" book containing I through 71

and 73-81, and he stated that the facial structure of photo

#74 was similar to that of the subject being questioned by

agents in the office. Picture #74 is listed as "unidentified -

possibly Jim Braden." It is directly underneath Thomas Vallee's

picture in the mug book. Vallee, #76, was not recognized by

Bolden at all, although he was familiar with the case.which

was described in the article written by Edwin Black in the

Chicago Independent, a now-defunct publication, dated November

1975. On page ten of this article entitled "The Plot to Kill

JFK in Chicago, November 2, 1963 - Twenty Days Before Dallas,"

the writer is checking all arrests in the city of Chicago. He

says:

"Then we checked every arrest in the entire city on those

days. Who arrested them? Why? Any weapons? It took weeks.

In the process, we'd develop leads: Look for Cuban names. Look

for the name

'Bradley.' Look for the name 'Braden.' Nothing

came of it."

• (underscoring ours).

Bolden recalls that one of the two men had a Spanish-

sounding name.

He said the SS agents took their pictures

with a Polaroid camera. The agents' notes were typed up and

the memos were then

taken to O'Hare Airport and given

to a

crew member (pilot?) of a commercial flight to Washington.

H# 54756 DocId: 32244215 Page 7

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## Page 8

Interview/A.W. Bolden/1-19-78

Page

Six

where he believes an SS employee met the flight and delivered

the material to Headquarters.

The two suspects in Chicago

were turned over to the Chicago Police who took them away

in a patrol wagon. He recalls that at least one of the two

had a Spanish-sounding name.

Bolden recalls Tom Mosely's name mentioned in the office

around that period (Nov 1963). He said when Agent Tom Kelley

arrived in Chicago from Dallas on or about 11/26/63, he men-

tioned a John Heard or Hurt. They searched the office card

files for a similar sounding name. He also recalls that he

and Conrad Cross were sent to check out a mixed Black-

Spanish neighborhood on Rockwell Street to determine where

a certain person who resided there was on 11/22/63. They

were unable to locate the person, who had moved,: and

Bolden could not recall the subject's name. The PRS had

a record of the person from a previous threat. Bolden

was critical of the activities of PRs, saying they did not

do a thorough job. He did not further elaborate.

Bolden, whose 43rd birthday coincided with our interview,

was accompanied by his wife, Barbara. He told the writers

that he is now working for the National Lead Company, 1800

S. Peoria Street, Chicago, as night supervisor in quality

control. He is also a minister in the Islamic Faith and

teaches a course in religion in Chicago.

HN 54756 DocId:32244215 Page 8

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## Page 9

Interview/A.W. Bolden/1-19-78

Page Seven

Bolden told the writers that he made notes of some of

the things that he uncovered in connection with the events

of October 30 - November 2, 1963, but that when he was

arrested in 1964, this notebook was seized'by the government

(Secret Service). He said that he would have no objection

to testifying in Washington under oath relating to the

matters which he discussed with us in this interview.

Borden

Bolden related

to the interviewers that he was the

informant who supplied the information for Edwin Black's

article in the Chicago Independant, Nov. ,1975

HH 54756 DocId:32244215 Page 9

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