Agency: FBI
Originator: FBI
From: HARTINGH
To: MORRIS
Document date: 12/18/1995
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

JFK Assassination System

Identification Form

Agency Information

Date:

3/31/201

AGENCY :

RECORD NUMBER :

FBI

124-10375-10259

RECORD SERIES: HQ

AGENCY FILE NUMBER : 62C-HQ-1029205-1096

Document Information

ORIGINATOR:

FBI

FROM: HARTINGH

TO :

MORRIS

TITLE :

DATE: 12/18/1995

'PAGES:

13

SUBJECTS :

JFKARCA OF 1992

DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified

RESTRICTIONS:

3; 4

CURRENT STATUS: Redact

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 03/26/1999

OPENING CRITERIA:

INDEFINITE

COMMENTS :

INC APPEAL

v9.1

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142

Page

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## Page 2

Memorandum

To

From

Subject:

Mrs. Morri

John A. Harting ale

JFK TASK FORCE

Date

12/18/95

Dep. Dir.

Chief of

Staff_

Off. of Gen.

Counsel

Asst. Dir.:

Crim. Inv.

CJIS

Finance

Info. Res.

Insp

Lab.

National Sec.

Personnel

Training

Oft. of EEOA _

Off. of Public

& Cong. Affs._

Director's Office

PURPOSE: To advise that on of about 12/20/95, the Assassination

Records Review Board (ARRB) will advise us of their

determinations n 25 FBi documents, previously postponed

(redacted) to protect informants and foreign government

information and to request Criminal Investigative Division (CID)

and National Security Division (NSD) review the determinations

and provide their positions on the determinations, the length of

the time postponed, and the substitute language added by the

ARRB, as to appeal.

RECOMMENDATION: That CID and NSD addend this memorandum with

their positions as to appealing the ARRB decisions and so advise

the JFK Task Force and Office of the General Counsel (OGC) by

12/21/95.

APPROIED:

Crim. Inv.

Cim. dis. Info,

info. He

Trialing

Brealer

Deputy Dircutor.

France

Gon. Counsel

sonial Sec.

ersonnel

Albis

Cong. Altairs

Enclosure

+2-19-1029205-1096

62-HQ-1029205

1 - Mr. Kennedy, Room 7142 (Enclosure)

1

- Mr. R. Bucknam, Room 7176 (Enclosure)

1

- Mr. Shapiro, Room 7427 (Enclosure)

Mr.

P. Kelley, Room 7338 (Enclosure)

1

- Mr.

Bryant, Room 7110 (Enclosure)

-

Mr.

D. Evans, Room 4230 (Enclosure)

- Mr.

Loturco, Room 4026 (Enclosure)

- Mr. Esposito, Room 7116 (Enclosure)

-

Mr. Divers, Room 4944 (Enclosure)

1

1

1

1

- Mrs. Tucker, ROom 4944

(Enclosure)

-

IRD Front Office, Room 5829 (Enclosure)

Mrs. Keeley, Room 6362 (Enclosure)

- Ms. Siford/Mrs. Leeper, Room 7176 (Enclosure)

CLER (14)

(CONTINUED - OVER)

ENCLOSURE

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wick nopersdeted

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## Page 3

Memorandum from John A. Hartingh to Mrs. Morris, dated 12/18/95

Re: JEK TASK FORCE

the information he provided was very limited. The efforts

to

locate this individual were not successful.

The Springfield,

Massachusetts Resident Agency tried to find the PCI, but he seems

to have left the area without a trace. The ARRB has opened this

document in

full.

11.

DI 100-10461-1458, NAR 124-10001-10059, is

information from DL 6-S about a lunch conversation between

Joe

Landin and Augustin Estrada.

The postponed information was

narrowed as much as possible with the redactions for that

information which was singularly identifying. The informant was

contacted by the Chief Deputy Counsel of the Dallas office.

The

informant requested that his identity be withheld because he

still lives in the same area and associates with some of the same

people.

The ARRB decided to withhold the numeric portion of his

symbol number and the sequential portion of his file number for

10 years and to release all singular information.

HQ 62-109060-4150, HQ 105-82555-1505, NAR 124-

10058-10056, NAR 124-10035-10155, both documents involve

MM 639-S .

The JFK Task Force had previously agreed with the ARRB

to only postpone the numeric portion of the symbol number, unless

the field office prefix of the symbol number could not be

determined from the communication and the prefix in itself was

singularly identifying.

Previously the ARRB postponed the

numeric portion of symbol numbers until the year 2017, but the

ARRB voted to sustain the numeric portion of this symbol number

for 10 years.

14-15. HQ 105-82555-1976, HQ 62-109060-2987, NAR 124-

10062-10385, NAR 124-10079-10230, is about two informants, MEX 18

& 19 -S, who were providing information on Americans visiting the

Communist American community in Mexico during the time of the JFK

assassination.

These informants were very close to Elizabeth

Catlett Mora. One document sets out the details of a dinner

party attended by four people, while the second document concerns

the travel of Joseph and Eva Frank Bernstein while they were in

Mexico during

1964. Both of the informants are deceased, but

their son was

interviewed about the release of information which

could tend to identify the relationship his parents had with the

FBI.

The family requested that the confidential relationship be

maintained.

They did not want that information to become public,

because one daughter is living in Mexico and her reputation and

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## Page 4

Memorandum from John A. Hartingh to Mrs. Morris, dated 12/18/95

Re: JFK TASK FORCE

work could be affected by the knowledge of her parents'

relationship with the FBI. The ARRB sustained the numeric

portion of the symbol numbers for 10 years, but released

the

singular information

in both documents.

16.

4Q 62-109060-3447, NAR 124-10058-10033, 10023,

10024, identifies

SA 673-S as providing information about Alfred

Dwight

Amos Featherston, who supposedly knew something about the

JEK assassination.

The JFK Task Force had narrowed the

postponements

to the most singularly identifying information and

had reconciled the release to reflect all that was previously

released.

The informant is deceased. A surviving daughter was

interviewed concerning harm should the confidential relationship

of her father with the FBI be revealed and she did not have a

problem with the information being made public, as long as his

true identity being revealed. The ARRB

portion of the symbol number and the sequential portion of the

file number for 10 years, but released the singular identifying

information.

17.

HQ 62-109060-2981, NAR 124-10058-10009, identifies

LA 3436-S as

"the daughter of Charlotte Randall McElfresh"

The

ARRB had voted to open this document at their last meeting. When

the FBI provided the

results of her interview, the ARRB voted to

reconsider the additional information at this meeting. The

informant requested that her identity as an informant

be protected.

ed that hende

continue to

At this meeting the ARRB sustained the

postponement of the numeric portion of the symbol number and the

phrase "is the daughter of" for a period of 5 years and to use

substitute language of "identifies the relationship".

18. HQ 62-109060-1042, NAR 124-10027-10024, identifies

an informant, since his name

is written to the side of his

"134"

file number.

The informant is the same as MM 639-S addressed in

items 12 & 13 above.

The informant was contacted by the CDC of

the Miami office and requested that his confidential relationship

with the FBI continue to be protected, since he was aware of

someone wanting to kill whoever reported on them to the FBI.

ARRB sustained the postponement of the sequential portion of the

file number and the informant's true name for 10 years, with the

substitute language of file number and informant's name.

5

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## Page 5

Memorandum from John A. Hartingh to Mrs. Morris, dated 12/18/95

Re: JFK TASK FORCE

19 .

HQ 62-109060-1NR2321, NAR 124-10030-10093,

identifies Richard W. Hunter as a confidential

had voted to open this document in full at their meeting 10/23 -

The FBI provided the ARRB with additional information

once the source was found and interviewed. The source stated

that he is still in contact with the person he reported on and

fears for his safety.

The ARRB reconsidered this document at

this meeting and voted to sustain the name of the source and

singular identifying information until 2017. The substitute

language would be "name" and "informant identifying information".

20. HQ 62-109060-5NR1275, NAR 124-10027-10065,

identifies John Wesley Hall as a potential informant.

individual is deceased. The Birmingham office interviewed his

widow concerning the harm to the surviving family should his

status as an FBI informant be made public.

The widow requested

that the confidential relationship be protected.

The ARRB

sustained the postponement of his name for a period of five

years.

21 - 25.

HQ 105-82555-8, 9, 10, 11, & 1NR16, NAR 124-

10023-10234, 10235, 10236, 10237, & 10238, are documents with

information from the Swiss government. These documents were

opened in full by the ARRB at a prior meeting and appealed by the

FBI to the President.

The FBI withdrew its appeal and the ARRB

voted to reconsider their decision and wait to hear from the

Swiss government.

The Swiss government requested that only the

names of their citizens be protected in these documents. The

ARRB sustained the postponements until the year 2017 with the

substitute language of "name of Swiss citizen".

The FBI provided written justifications arguing the

need to protect the individuals and

singular information listed

above.

However, the ARRB supports the position that the

information ordered disclosed is relevant and significant to the

assassination and that it outweighs any harm that would be caused

to the individuals to be disclosed.

As experienced in the prior appeal to the President, we

have difficulty meeting the statutory burden of protecting FBI

symbol number informants, PSI's and PCI's under the JFK statute.

detentere whether her a un

We would have to determine whether they are alive, locate them

and/or their relatives, interview them for their position on

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