LETELIER ASSASSINATION - ROSSELLI TRACES
Originator: CIA
From: SOVERN, MAURICE A., O/SA/DO/O
To: WELLS, WILLIAM W., DDO
Document date: 1977-06-10 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

# DOCID-32357597

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JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION

FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : CIA

RECORD NUMBER

104-10106-10019

RECORD

SERIES

JFK

AGENCY FILE

NUMBER

80T01357A

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

AGENCY ORIGINATOR : CIA

FROM

TO

TITLE

DATE

PAGES

SOVERN, MAURICE A., 0/SA/DO/0

WELLS,

WILLIAM W.,

DDO

LETELIER ASSASSINATION - ROSSELLI TRACES

06/10/1977

3

SUBJECTS

: DADE COUNTY

ROSSELLI

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER

CLASSIFICATION

SECRET

RESTRICTIONS : 1A

CURRENT STATUS : RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE

OF LAST REVIEW

05/08/97

COMMENTS :

JFK38 : F8: 1997.05.08.14:40:00:450092 : ROUTING

SHEET

IS PAGE ONE OF DOCUMENT.

Released under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of

1992 (44 USC 2107 Note]. Case#:NW

E5924 Date: 10-26-2021

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED. 104-10106-10019

NW 65924 Docld:32357597 Page 1

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LAJNCLASSIFIED

SUMECT: (Optional)

FROM:

Maurice A:

0/ SA/ DO/0

2D0109

ETO: "(Officer designation, room number fand

building)

Ralph J

SA/ DO/,0

Katrosh

INTERNAL

UST ONLY

CONMICANTIAL

ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET

Letelier Assassination

Rosselli Traces

Sovern

EXTENSION

NO

SECRET

1542

DATE

10 June 1977

DATE:

OFFICER'S:

INITIALS

COMMENTS: (Number each comment to show front whom

to whom. Draw a line across' columni

after. each comment.)

RECEIVED

FORWARDED

3. Mr.

OGG

2001 Hqs.

Anthony: Lapham

610-27

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Mr.

William W. Wells

DDO

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FORM

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USE

PREVIOUS

EDITIONS

SECRET

LI CONFIDENTIAL

INTERNAL

USE ONLY

UNCLASSIFIED

NW 65924 Docld:32357597 Page 2

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## Page 3

C

SECRET

0G677-3727

6-10-77

10 June 1977

MEMORANDUM FOR:

VIA

• :

FROM

SUBJECT

Mr. William W. Wells

Deputy Director for Operations

Mr. Anthony A. Lapham

General Counsel

Maurice A. Sovern

Office of the Special Assistant to the

DDO for External Oversight

: Letelier Assassination • Rosselli Traces

1.

In August of 1976, the Senate Select Committee

arranged a joint meeting between representatives of the

Committee staff, the FBI

and CIA and representatives of

the Dade County, Florida Police Department who were then

investigating the murder of Mr. John Rosselli.

It will

be recalled that shortly before Rosselli met his sudden

demise, he testified before the SSCI who were looking into

the Letelier assassination.

2. At the meeting,

the Dade County detectives posed

a series of questions which they believed would

assist them

in their investigation of Rosselli's murder.

3. Within the limitations of the protection of

sources and methods, we prepared replies to some of their

queries, but asked the Attorney General in October 1976

for guidance on the propriety of our

assisting the local

law enforcement officials in light of the constraints in

E. 0. 11905.

We suggested to the Attorney General that we

believed the FBI was the appropriate vehicle for further

dealing with the Dade County authorities and forwarded

our answers to the DOJ for further dissemination via that

channel.

4. We recently received a reply from the Attorney

General that we

can make this material available to the

Dade County police, if we choose.

While the DOJ response

to our letter was in process, a new Director was appointed,

WARNING NOTICE

SENSITIVE INTELLIGENCE SOURCES

AND METHODS INVOLVED

E2 IMPDET CL BY 018630

SECRET

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• =o

SECRET

who in the course of his confirmation hearings was asked by

John Marks (of Marchetti fame) whether the new DCI would

continue to permit CIA obstruct Justice in the Letelier

investigation by refusing to make this material available

to the Dade County investigators.

5.

LA Division has again prepared the same answers to

the original questions, now for direct transmittal to the

Dade County authorities.

However, the circumstances of the

investigation are substantially changed.

At our request,

an OGC

attorney telephoned one of the investigators who

told him that they were pursuaded that it was a gang-style

slaying for reasons unconnected to the Letelier assassination

or the Rosselli testimony before the SSCI. The investigator

also gave the impression that they really weren't looking

for the material but that it would be nice to have to complete

their files on the case.

The investigator was more interested

on what material CIA had on organized crime.

6.

The pressure to make our trace material available

to Dade County authorities is internal.

The Director indi-

cated to the General Counsel in response to the

latter's

briefing on the Marks question that we should give this

material to the Dade County police.

It is clear that when

the Director gave his order, he was assuming that the

material was important to the investigation and that it

was needed, neither of which presently is the case.

7.

We can be done with this matter by your concurring

in the

attached memorandum; however, we are taking the

unusual

step of routing it through

the General Counsel

before it reaches you to ask for their guidance on whether

release

is still necessary.

8.

We would also like to bring to the General Counsel's

notice

a tactical

suggestion from LA Division who notes

Office of Security Miami office's long relationship with the

Dade County police authorities and whether further negotia-

tion and any future transmittal of material should be

accomplished through them.

Maurice A. Sovern

0/SA/ DO/0: MASovern: kaw

Distribution

Original &

(1542)

1 - DDO

2

- OGC

2 - SA/DO/0

SECRET

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