FRANK ANTHONY STURGIS
Agency: CIA
Originator: FBI
To: FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, MI
Document date: 08/17/1961
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

104-10221-10218

Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination

Records Collection Act of 1992

(44 USC 2107 Note)

NW 53217 6/20/17

Copy вон

Repen chi

Detes

Pioldi Olileo Pilo R

08F 56463

UNITED STATES D'ARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

-SEGRET -

1 =

•INS, Mial RH

1 - U.

S. Border Patrol,

Miant (RM)

1 - U. S. Custons, Miami (RM)

LEMAN L. STAPPORD, JR.

AUG 1 7 1961

onas Miant, Florida

Buroci Filo 81.

2-1499

FRANK ANTHONY STURGIS

401-242.56

Charaden

MANINDILOTA 11/M11E13

Synopilli

On 7/2/61, MM I-l. Informed that about 75 Cubans gathered

at Davie Airport, Davle, Pla,, where newsmon were waiting.

Two airplanes ware rented from Howe Aviation, Tamiami

Airport, Miawl.

Planes vere flown to Davie Airport where

a group was to make parachute jump.

Subject was in

attendance with 3 or 4 of his men fron his organization

known ag Internntional Anti Communist Brigade.

subject nor his men participated in parachute jumps, but

were interviewed by press representatives.

article 7/3/61 said International Brigade had billed

exercise as a mass drop by some 70 parachutists of one

of its meuber groups, the Intercontinental Panetration

Forçes (INTERPEN) •

that his organization had 5,000 members of ühich 700 were in

active training to coubar Communiem.

Source said newspaper

article had greatly exagzersted truth and that subject

had no more than 10 individuale in his organization at

that time and INTERPEN had a maximum of 20 members.

On 7/17/61 Department of Justice, Washington, D. C..

directed letter to PBI stating it wes opinion of

MEARE DE marce,

Intornal Security Division there is sufficient indication

of possiblo violations of Iitle 18, USC, Section 960 to

warrant investigation. On 8/9/61, MM I-l reported

subject had returned

from Washington, D. C., several days

-SEGRET-

1Aug41

Tale document contatos nalthor recommandaliaia uce cosciutione of lha FB:. Il la lbe proporly of lao fBi and la logned 1

cour agoney, ll and lla anniente gra not lo de diatribatad outa llo your agaray.

7:1-242256

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104-10221-10218

KH 2-192

sypopats Continued,

880 and indicated he had had many conferences of importance

with high military officialo

in t-l sald subjectio

orzanizat lon

actualy consists of himself only, and the

organization

"is nothing oxcept a "paper" organization;

Subject reported to have no folloving,

is not attompting

to recruit anyone.

DETAILS:

On April 20, 1961, WILLIAM JOHN. JOHNSON, 1271

Berthuest

180th Terrace, Miami, and WILLIE MARVIN HALL,

59 West 58th Terrace, Miami, came to the Office of the

FBI end infomed SA JAMES M. CONDY that subject was

, recrulting for a Cuban invasion.

These individuals had

Been subject with applications for the International Anti-

They aaid they knew of four Cuban's

sno had aigned with subject, honever, they sore

inable to furnish identities of these individuale.

more to son lat

JOHNSON and WAll stated they would advise the FBI of

furcher activities of subject.

The "Parade" magazine supplement of the "Miami

Berald", Miami, Florida, dated May 14,

1961, contains an

article

by FRANK FIORINI Ba COld tO JACK ANDERSON,.

captioned

"An American soldier of fortune in Cuba says

The following 1s this article

in its entirety:

2

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MY 2-192

"Cube 18 one of the biggest stories of 1961,

an a mato of prove a torn to or a le dorid:

But also awept up in it are countless lesser men.

Regardless of the final outcome, these men--Cuban

exiles and fellow freedom fighters- are truly making

history.

"One of those little men is Frank Florini.

American-bore,

"Castro supporter who split with

Castro, he played a prominent role in the April

landings in Cuba.

'Parade readera first met

Florini in an article, Soldiers of Portune (June

12, 1960). After the

Castro revolution, Florint

lost his U. S. citizenahip.

When he turned.

against Castro, however, Sen. George Snathers of

Florida, on

'Parade's' appeal, helped Florini win

a hearing before the State Departeent.

On March 14

the citizenship of this dedieated freedom fighter

was restored.

"Here Fiorini reveals the inside story of

the April lendings and what preceded them--and

tells why he and his companeros uill be victorious,

in spite of the ups and downs.

"As you read this, the fight for Cuban fraedom

1s continuing:

My companaros on that embattled

island possesg the Indomitable will of men who

know that one setback' or one victory does not decide

the cause of libarty. It is thia flery spirit that

has enabied then to strike back, again. and again,

"Today it 19 popular to consider the April

landings an attempted large-scale invasion which

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181 2-192

"Castro crushed.

In truth,

they were only small

raid, not a landing in force,

as Castro would

have the world now belleve

"Now I an free to roveal, for she sires time,

the truth of how the recent historic landings

were plotted, and how, on April 17, they

finally were carried out.

"For long time, we had been working in

stoalth to establish our underground. We came

and went under cover of the dark.

Some time's wa

slipped through the Sugar-Cans Curtain by boat,

playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek with

Castro' &

gunboats

among the oftshore atolls and

coral reefs.

Sonatimas te swooped over the

treetops by plane and looked down upon Castro's

bright orange patrol cars.

We kept secret trysts

with underground leaders, dumped supplies from

che air into guerrilla hideouts. We raturned to

Florida for more arus.

"Using a secret code taker from the Bible,

we kept in daily radio contact with shopkeepers,

students, workers, peasanta, even militiamen.

At night

they blew up bridgas, sabotaged

factorios, attacked small outpoats.

"Many of us once

fought for Castro and

the democracy he promised.

Now we fight againat

him who turned sur dream

of democracy into a

Communiat nightmare:

"A Fight for Freedon

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MM, 2-192

'Because I an an American, some call me

soldier of fortune. But my fight la lot freedon

In my own way, I am fighting for my country.

which cannot tolerate a Communist colony upon

its lack doorstep.

"From the first our fight against Castro

was complicated by his orm revolutionary exper-

ience.

He recognized the strategic importance

of the mountains, thich he used as a base to

batter Batista.

Whereas Batista's troops

stuck to the roads, Castro's militiamen swarmed

over the nountains.

"He also knew that a successful revolt

must hars the support of the paople.

To hold

the loyalty of the campesinos, the dirty-necks

who inhabit the countryside,

Castro put shirts

on their backs and food in their bellies.

"Of no small help to Castro has been our

The Cuban exiles have been

divided into a hundred movimientos preoccupled

with their own rivalries.

For over two yeare,

they dissipated their funds and energies in

internecine quarrels.

Most have been mere

debating societies whose members talked and

dreamed big but have little support inside Cuba:

I finally became fed up with all of them and,

formed my own International Brigade, training:

In the Florida Everglades.

"In helping to set up an anti-Castro force

Inside Cuba, I collaborated with Victor

emman.el Paneque, the legendary 'Diago' who

directed the Havana underground for Castro.

Diago is a short, stocky daredevil who vears

a cigar in his mouth as a permaneat article of

dress. He fears nothing.

=5 -

$1

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HÀ 2-192

"One of our boat important noved in proparing

for the April landinga was to open a guerrtlla

pocket laside Las villas Provinco where Drago

had been ralaed. He prepared to activate ht

undersround in Cuba,

and I alerted my Inter-

national Brigade. But first, we had to ecout

the acene in Las Villas.

"Shortly before Chelatmas, we arranged to

the underground chiofs at a secret spot on

Cuba's northern coast

We coumunicated by

radio, using the Bible code.

We headed for a

tiny atoll in the Bahamas.

"Diago had cached arme on tho atoll with

all the secrecy of the notorious pirate Captain

Kidd, who, burying nie treasure. We loaded a

according to legend, used these same

atolls for

45-foot cabin cruiser with arms, mounted a

20. mm, cannon in. the star and plowed across the

Caribbean.

"After dark as anchored in a cove off the

north coast of Las Villas. The silence was

complete. Not a light, not a sound from

shore; only the gentle, soothing lapping of the

water against the cruser's hull.

But in

Castro's Cuba by night, you never knew when

machine guns would start to chatter and tracers

cut their atrange pattems like firaflies

about your sars.

"Short of Ammunition

"We waited tensely.

Then from the shore

came the wink of a flashlight. He returned the

=6 .

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MM 2-192

"oignal.

After another wait,

there was a

faint drip-drip of multied oate.

"As a rowboat with four men aboard pulled

alongside, Diago and I cocked our Tommy gune.

but our visitore spoke the right password

Two were coumanders in Castro & militia; the

others were clvillans. All were members of

Diago's underground.

hid: on an atoll. for a fow days while

ve transferred our lethal cargo to the mainland

and received reporte of what was happening: in

The patriotic loaders who visited us,

allay by enot after dank to of sooning

anger against Castro.

His alliance with

coumnun 18n

had disillusioned most thinking

men.

But even the masses vere muttering over

the hardships he produced by purchasing

Communist arms instead of food and putting

guns before butter.

"The underground chiefs revealed a chink

in Castro's armor: his militia briotled with

weapons that tre short of ammunition.

By

rationing amunition, Castro unwittingly showed

how little he trusted his own men.

Apparently

he took no chances that they would defect and

turn their arms against him.

"This scareity of ammunition was discovered

by Diago's wen.

These daredevils would creep

up benind Castro militlamen, prod them with

daggers and order them to drop their guns and

ammunition belts. If they would agree to walk

•7.

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MM 2-192:

"straight shead without looking back, thats

lives would be spared.

"Diago'g contacts also aupplied us with a

11ot of chevitos, Castro Informere, in Las Vitlas.

Democratic Revolucionary Front launched a

guerrilla attack in the very area we had

chosen.

Castro poured in his militia in

tremendous numbers..

Of 200 guerrillas, only

40 escaped.

"Dismayed, we abandoned our plan and pulled

back to the Bahamas::

We tried to deliver

another boatload of weapons, but before our

cabin cruiser could make contact, it was caught

in the headlight of a jeep patrolling the

constal road.

summoned by radio, bore down on us.

managed to give it the slip, however, by racing

co the offshore atolls, where the water wag tor

shallow and snagged with coral reefe for the

bigger ahip to follow...

"Meanwhile, Castro's agents in Miami

suspected what we were

They had orders

upon our return

never to let us

out of their

But we turned tha tables on them and

began spying on thau.

I intercepted a telogram

to one Caatro agent, Rudy Faneitty, who was

registered at Miant

Beach's Surrey

• Hotel.

The wire, obviously in code, was addressed to

'Lieutenant' Faneitty and was signed by

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MA 2-192

"Celia Sanchez. I remember Colla vell fron m

service with Castro in the Sterra Meatra®

She

was Probably closer to Pidel than any other

person.

"Back at our base in the Bahamaa, we

rented a twin engined plane, which we loaded

with veapons and fitted

with Cuban narkings.

We hoped these might discourage the militia

frow taking pot shots at us ao we flew lon

over Cuba.

"It was 6:30 a.I: when we zoomed across

the beach at

tree-top level.. The sun was up,

and people were stirring,

We spotted several

bright orange patrol care with cream-colored

Mili lamen waved at us; our masquerade

"Back to the Boat

"Diago assured

me that we could land

on the roadway near

The rendezyous spot. But

the roade were either too ahort, too curved

or too narrow to set the plane down. We

circled the area for 35 anxious. almutes, chen

decided to dump the arms.

Fortunately we had

prepaied for this emergency. The weapons were

wrapped in blankets of foam rubbor to prevent

damage.

"The weapong were picked up and safely

hidden.

On successive days, we made two

attempts to land. He circled in vain

over eugar-cane fields and green hills.

time we were forced to drop our supplies.

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MM 2-192-

"The best way to get ashore, we decided,

was by boat.

This time we pointed our cabin

crutser towerd Ortente Province where I had

once, fought alongelde Castro in the mountains.

As we churned across the sea, we amused

ourselves by listening to Castro rage over

Rado Havana about our lights. Castro

screamed about 'invasion planes!; naming the

areas. over

which ve had flown.

The phony

markingd, wiich had confused the militiamen,

didn't fool him.

"'A United Front

"For several days we tried to land on the

Cuban shore, but Castro's gunboat patrole proved

too vigilant and we had to give up the

effort.

Maanwhile, however, another group

of men went ashore

in Pinar

Dal Rio Province.

Among them waB Angue McNair, a fellow American.

But five of the group, Including McNnir, somehow

got separated from the others and were picked

up by Castro's militia.

Now McNair, a dedicated

fighter for freedom, has been abot by Castro

without trial.

of our cause.

"But McNair and the others did not die.

in vain.

And It is inportant to remember

that, whataver our situstion now, Castro himself

did not win his triumph for three long years.

Deapite all the ups and downs, victorias and

defeats, those of us who believe in Cuban

freedom are in the battle to the end.

-

10

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MM 2-192

MM I-1, who has been involved in Cuban

revoluttonary activities torthe past four years

furnished the following Information on July 2, 1961:

on July 2, 1961, about seventy-five Cuband

gathered at Davie Aisport, Davie, Plorida, where about

six newsnen wers waiting.

These neusmen represented

Untted Presa International, Time and Life

magazines, and

some Spanish-language newspapers publiened in Miami on

& weekly basis.

Two airplanes were rented from Rowe Aviation;

Tamiami Airport, Miami.

One plane was a four-place

Cessna,

Registration Number 9197D.

The other plane was

a two-place Piper Colt.

These planes were florn to

Davie Airport, where GERAL: PATRICK HEMMING, DICK WATLEY,

FRANK LITTLE and ORIANDO GARCIA each made a parachute.

jump.

HEMMING, WATLEX and LIITLE belong to HEMMING! e

organization,

known as Intercontinental Penetration

Forces.

ORLANDO GARCIA 18 one of the officialg of the

Revolutionary Junta of National Liberation.

Also making

-a parachute Jump was LEON DANIEL, United Press International

Bureau Manager from Rnoxville, Tennessea, DANIEL

claimed thet he had made previous parachute jumps, but

on landiog fron this jump, he fractured his enkle and

was taken to Broward General Hospital, Broward County,

Florida:

jumping. There were no other military maneuvers or mock

And are, photogr

• The newemen photograpired the parachute

attacks, as were previously planned. ELOY GUTIERREZ

MENOYO,

former comnender in the Cuban Revolutionary Ardy,

did not attend this demonstration. AGUSTIN CAPO, a

Cuban national, was supposed to come and demonstrate

radio equipment to be used in some

military attack

against the present Cuban Government. However, CAPO

did not appear.

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N4 2-192

FRANK ANTHONY, STURGIS, aLsonOwn as FRANK

FIORINI, ppeared dressed In civilian clothes,

wich

three or four of his men from his organization, known

as the International Ant1-Communtat Brigades

Neither

FIORINI nor hle men participated in the parachute Jumps,

but they were intervieved by the press representatives.

About forty other Cuban nationale and members

of the Revoluttonary Junta of National Liberation posed

for photographers, simulating bearing a lecture on the

techniques of parachuting.

They also did some close

order drill for the benefit of the photographers.

Newsmen also interviewed different individuals.

The "Miami Herald", a dally newspaper

published in Miami, Florida, on July 3, 1961, contained.

an article stating that the International Brigade had

billed the exercise as a mass drop by some seventy

parachutists, of ona of its member groups, the Inter-

continental Penetration Forces.

The article stated the

drop was scheduled for 9 AM. but by noon there ware only

some forty anti-CASTRO recruits on hand to jump. A

spokesman for

the International Brigade stated they had

onlj two parachutes and intended to borrow others to

give everybody a chance to jump.. The article stated that

FRANK FIORINI, the head of the Intemational Brigade,

claimad that his organization had five thousand members,

of which seven hundred were in active training to combat

Concuntsm, wherever it exists.

He further clained that

the organization includes air and parachute groups,

underwater demolition teams,

and. many others who will

not fight, but will help in educational activities.

The article continued that JOHN PATRICK

HEMMING, head

of the Intercontinental Penetration Forces,

claims to be an ex-Marine, with alnost five years of

esparience in the Corps, who fought with CASTRO from 1958

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N1 2-192

to Auguot, 1960, and also fought with the rebel forces

In Nicaragua, trying to overthrow President LUIS SOMOZA.

HEMMING Claimed that his organization consiots of

headquarters group of about thirty persons, and others

aro strung out across the Unted States on recruiting

nissions.

MM T-1 advised that the above newspaper article

had greatly exaggerated the truth, and that FIORINI has

no nore than ten

Individuals In his organization, and

REMMINC's organization has a maximun of twenty members.

On July 3,

1961, MM T-I reported that subject

and GERALD PATRICK HEMMING were very happy and pleased

after the demonstration a described above.

Subject made a statement that the United States

Goverwent had called him and had plans for him but that

he should wait until the end of the fiscal year when the

Unitod Statos Government will have more money to give

subject for his International Brigade. Subject refused

to state which United States Government agency will

support him.

On July 17, 1961, J. WALTER YEAGLEY, Assistant

attorney General, Internal Security Division, directed a

batter to the FBI. This letter in part states as follows:

"It 1s noted that recent information

furnished to the Department concaring the subject

Indicates that he is identified as head of the

International Anticommunist Brigade and was

present with several of his men at a gathering

of some 75 Cubans at Davie Airport, Davie,

Florida, on July 2, 1961, at which occasion,

Gerald Patrick Hemning, head of the Inter-

continental Penetration Forces, and geveral

• 13 .

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## Page 14

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MM 2-192:

"Individuals nade parachute jumps. The 'Miami

Hesald' on July 3, 1961, reportedly contained

an article indicating that approximately 70 men

of Scurgis' organization were scheduled to make

parachuss jumps but only two parachutes were

avallable.

In thie article Scurgis (Florint)

claimed his organization has 5,000 men of which

7CO are in training and that his orgenization

includes paratroop groups,

underwater depolition

teang, and others in educational activitiea."

The Department concluded that in light of the

above deacribed activities on the part of the subject,

as well aa his past history of extensive revolutionary

activity, lt was the opinion of the Internal Security

Division

that there is sufficient indication of posaible

violations of Title 18, United Statea Code, Section 960

to warrant investigation.

On Juiy. 18, 1961,

Mis T-l informed that JERRY

BUCHANAN,

to him as

"Bucky!", had escaped arrest

by the Mismi Follce Department in

connection with the

cheft of the tug boat "Gil Rokie" on February 4, 1961.

MN T-1 Identifiad the photograph of BUCHANAN which had

appeared in the "Norfolk. Ledger-Dispatch-The Portsuouth

Star", dated May 16, 1961.

MM I-1 advised that BUCHANAN was formarly

associated with a group of individuals who trained at

No Name Key,

Florida; under the auspices of ROLANDO ARCADIO

MASFERRER ROJAS.

BUCHANAN lived for a period of time

at 1651 Weat Flagler Street, Miani, a barracks-type

boarding and rooning house which was furnished by

MASFERRER.

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MM 2-192

After the Miami City Police Department arrested

most of the individuals living at this location for

vagrancy, the group distanted and several of them, inelud-

1ng BUCHANAN, Jolned with KENNETH JOSEPH PROCTOR and hiS

8roup at the Cuba Hotel, 35 Northwest 17ch Court, Miami.

BUCHANAN was aBadctated

with PROCTOR fron approximately

october, 1960, when they were both with MASFERRER,

until February 4, 1961, at which time PROCTOR was

one of those arrested by the Miami Police Department for

the theft of the "Gil Rokie".

MM T-1 heB no information that BUCHANAN 1e

currently recruiting for FIORINI.

BUCHANAN 1s believed

to be in the Norfolk area and la known to have been

assoclated wich FRANK FIORINI in the Miami area; howaver,

there is no indication hs ie associating with FIORiNI

at the present time.

On July 18, 1961, Detective Sergeant CHARLES

SAPP, Intelligance Unit, Miami Police Department, advised

that his department had information relating to BUCHANAN

alleging he had participated in the theft of the tug boat.

"Gil Rokle" Pebruary 4, 1961. Detective Sergeant SAPP

expinined that his office wao no longer interested in

this matter. The four individuals arrasted at this time

In connection with the theft served approximately 30

days and have since been released.

process outstanding for BUCHANAN and he 18 not wanted

by the Mami Police Department.

On July 21, 1961, the Counter Intelligence

Corps of the United States Army,

Columbia, South

Carolina, Informed that on July 20, 1961, a confidential

source had furnIshed the following

information to

Counter Intelligence Corps at Fort Jackson, South

• 15 .

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104-10221-10218

MS 2-192.

On an unknown date, believed to be between

July 20, 1961, and August 1, 1964, commando-type rata

was to be made by the International. Brigade galnst tho

Russian ahipo in either Matanzaa Harbor or. Martel

Harbor;

Cuba.

This source was of the belief the action

would take place in Mariel Harbor because there the

commandos can maneuver better and this is the harbor

where cho largoot of tho Russian ships are unloading.

The raid was to be led by VICTOR PENCHE (probably VICTOR

PANEQUE) aldo known as Commander Diego, and would consist

of a total of eight men utilizing an old American-type

PT boat:

The last time the source knew of the location

of this boat was that it was in Florida.

On Auguot 9, 1961, MM T-1 furnished the

following information:

Subject returned from Washington, D. C., several

days ago and

indicated he had had many conforërces.of

Importance with

high military officials of the United

States Government:

He did not identify any of these

individuals.

He daid that insofar as the Cuban anti-

CASTRO effort 10 concerned, no one will receive any

support from the United States Government other than

JOSE MIRO CARDONA.

MM T-1 Bald that as of this moment, subject's

International Brigade consists of ono member only,

that of the subject himself. MM I-l said subject's

organization is nothing-but a "paper" organization,

that

he has no following and is not attempting to recruit

anyone into his International Anti-Communist Brigade.

Subject stays out late mont every evening and claims

to be attending many important meetings otherwise

unexplained by him.

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MM: 2-192

MM T-1 sald GERALD PATRICK REMMING now has

no use whatever for subject and does not regard him as

being. of any potential importanca in any anti-CASTRO

movement.

-Subject said he was told by a united States

Naval offtclal in Washington, D. C., that 1f he really

wanted to do something constructive to assist the United

States Government, he should Join the United Scatas

Armay.

Subject said thie he will positively not de

Subject presently resides at an address in the

1300 block of Northwest 133rd Street, Miant, Florida,

and his celephone number is MU 1-5864.

MM I-l also said JERRY BUCHANAN, who formerly

lived in the Miami aroa and was associated with subject,

1s no longer in this area and it 18 bellaved he has

returned to the northeastern section of the United

States, though his exact location is not known.

- 17*.

- SECRET -

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104-10221-10218

-UTD

DE: 56463

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

FEDERAL BURRAU OF INVESTICATION

La Raily. Mrose Rifer en

File Nä

2-192

Mlan1, Florida

AUG 1 7 1061

RB 1

FRANK ANTHONY STURGIS:

NEVIRALITY: MATTERS

Roference la made to the report of Special

AgenE LEMAN I. STAPPORD; JR., dated and captioned as

above

at Hlam1, Florida.

MM T-1, sentioned in this report, bas furnished

reliablo information In the past.

PROPERTY OF FBI - This menorandum ie loaned

to you by the PBl, and neither it nor its contente are

to be distributed outside the agency to which loaned.

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