MEMO:REQUEST FOR DETERMINATION OF CREDITABLE SERVICE- MR DAVID A. PHILLIPS.
Originator: CIA
From: B. DEFELICE
To: GENERAL COUNSEL
Document date: 04/10/1976
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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104-10194-10037

2023 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

SESTET

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MEMORAVDUY FOR. Genoral Counsel

SUBJECT

ReSuri dr preparato rolled tablo

Servico

This senorandun roquests a determination

whother servico perforned for CIA by Mr. David 1. Phillips -

as an independone contractor • during the period August

1950 until 3 Yarch 1954 and again for the period 19 Mugust

1958 until 13 March 1960 can be considered as creditable

service under CIARDS.

Mr. Phillips,

currently a GS-13

employee assigned as Chief, Latin America Division,

DDo, plans to

. sociro in early May 1975.

1950 running an English-language newspaper when

Mr. Phillips was a resident of anting he was

Chile in

to work with the CIA Station there.

Headquartors granted a

merationad clearance

for his use on 2 May 1950

inder Project [FULMINATER.

operational

project approval for FULMINATER-1 (Mr. Phillips) 159100

31 May 1950 in the anount of $65.00 (550 por

nonth salary

plus $12.50 oxpenses) for tho month of June 1950 and an

for FY 1951.

TCS-A 1064 dated 10 July 1950,

An oparational dispatch,

the Chief of Station,

Mb-J3 Santiago requested that the first payment be made 1 August

sonth of July 1950 in

the amount of $50.00 to

Mr. Phillips' bank account in Fort Worth,

the amount of 350 was

to be mado on the first of

month thercaftor until furthor notice".

16-23

advised loadquaroven er the she son of saution satiaro

apartuent for Mr.

Phillips to be used by Mr. Phillips in

having an agent polygraphed by a loadquarters polygraph toam.

2

063838

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4. Mr. Phillips states:

"During this perlod I recall a numbor of activitles

undortaken for

and I truvulled to lon York for

clandestino training.

the Statiol filo indicates "lle was originally

approved operationally to handle the complex Soviet espionago

CaSO OfCFULMINATER-2. •It will be rocallod that leadquarters

1'1s conduct of this case was considered

excellent.o.'

I also handlod

the Station.

"I signed a new contract on 25 January 1952 for

$500.00 per month which ran until the termination date of

31 August 1953.

Actually this was in the form of a loan

which was paid off at the rato of $500.00.. The advance was

used to purchase printing equinment which allowed me to do

work f05 the Station, but which I rotained.)

"Afterl termination of the contract on 31 August I

remained in Chile until & March 1951.

recruitod a CPlagent who stil:

Durina this porlod 1

was a cabinot ember under AlPerorks for the Station-- and

On 3 February 1954

Headquarters asked that l bo made available for another

assignment.

The Station pointed out that I was working on

tho recruitment,

and that I and my family were planning on

a Furopean vacation.

Headquarters again requested my assign-

Thus I doparted for tha Guatemala project in early

March, abandoning my free family trip to Europe (tickets

paid for by advortising in ny papor) and leaving my family

oshind to pack up.

I accepted this assignnont without knowing

where it was, or for how long it would last.

Indeed I did

not oven have a contract.

August soned a the goner datese there ten.

always available

and when I finally did leave it was

for Agency business rather than ny own.

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connoction with Project ISSUCCESS:

The following 19 a

record of. his employment history beginning a March 1958:

Date

•4 March 1954

31 July 1951

1 August 1954

31 Marcis 1955

1 April 1955

6 February 1956

7 February 1956

13 August 1958

19 August 1958

13 March 1960

14 March 1960

• Action

ontract enploye

ontract torminate

Contract Employee

Contract terainated

Excepted Appointmont Staff Employee

Rosignation Staff Employee

Ixcepted Appointmont Staff Agent

Staff Agont

Contract terminated

Excepted Appointment Staff Employee

6.

On 13 jugust 1958, Mr. Phillips resigned from the

Agoncy as a staff agent with tho intention of opening a publie

rolations firm in Havans, Cuba.

In anticipation, however, of

using him operationally in Cuba, Ill Division requested that a

contract be prepared for him as an indepandent contractor with

compensation to be $7200 por annun.

The contract information

checklist stated that Mr. Phillips would bo ongaged in PP

activitios "as assignod by the Chiof of Station, Havana

according to Station requirements".

On 11 August 1958, the

Chief,

wu Division sont a cable to the Chiof of Station,

havana stating that Mr. Phillips was leavin‹ CIA to start

his own firm

in Havana

and that "Headquarters arranging enploy-

ment Mr. Phillips at $7200 por year effective 15 August 29

contract agent to carry out such XUGAGE tasks as COS may assign.

Payment details boing pouched." On 16 Soptenher 1958, the

Chief, Wii Division sent another cable to the COS, Havana

statine that based on talks with Ambassador Walter Donnelly

in New York, Ambassador Donnelly strossed the need to supply

programming technician to Radio Catacas as soon as possiblo.

The cable further stated:' "Since

PCS officor with these

alonts due arrivo Caracas mid-October, current noed is fo:

Davo Phillips TDY (Caracas possibl)

NI coptembor and to remain parhaps one month as wook of

16-17

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consideration

in part: "In full

and services

except that for thoso periods of time during

you aro performing services nocessitating certain

specializad professional skills on a full timo basis outside

the country

compensatod

of your present permanent assignaent, you will be

at the rate of $13,000 por annua."

navel nd

operational expenses were authorizod as follows:

"While

perforning those tasks for which you will be compensatod at

the rato of $13,000 per annun, as

set forth in paragraph

one (1) above, you will be advanced or reinbursed funds for

necessary expenses incurred in

connection with

such operational

travol as may bo directed or authorizod by che Government.

This

may include per dien. in lieu of subsistence in the courso

of such travel and while on temporary duty away from your

permanent post of assignment overseas.

In addition, you will

be advanced or reimbursed funds for necessary operational

oxponsos as specifically approved by the Governmont.

Payment

and accounting for tho items sot forth herein will be in.

conformance with applicable Government regulations."

The following information is supplled by sir. Phillips

concerning his Cuban assignment:

"In the summer of 1958 I resigned from the Agency with

the intention of opening a public relations firm in lavana,

In discussing this the then-Chief, then-Mi Division,

King askod me if l would work for the Agency in Cuba.

Inderstanding that this roierred to part-time work which would

allon me to pursuo my oms endeavor, I agreed and a contract

was drawn up and made effective 15

Washington.

This sas in

In Havana was advised on 11 dugust

prior to my departure on 13 August.

"After settling in and renting an office in lavana I

was asked if I would travel on full-time agency work.

one month'.

after 21 Septenhor'

indicate

that 1

might be called on for future travel outside

cuba.

I did in fact so to Caracallon 28 Soptember.

16-17

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..::

"This trip sor a pattern wrier l6-17

relevision developmental project

for long periods.

This continued through late sunner of

"Fidel Castro toppled Batista the last night of

1958.

From

that time I was devoting

most of my time to the

Agency.

I ran,

from my office,

a country-wido press service.

I handled several agents.

In the summer of 1959 I was

instructed by the Station to attend a meeting with a group

ot cubans plotting against fidel Castro.

(See Memorandum.

for the Record of 6 August 1959.)

The last sentence of my

report on this neoting read:

"With the new death penalty

in Cuba for anti-revolution activity,

it is not hard to

Imagine that at least one member of this group might inform

to the government.'

That was prophetic.

The Cubans in the

meeting, with two exceptions, went to jail where several of

them remain to this day.

There was some indication that

the meeting might have beon bugged. I was advised of this

while in the U. S. (still working on the tolevision project)

and the Station suggested there mighi be dangor in my

returning to Havana.

I elected to return.

"By this time (late summer of 1959) Fidel Castro

had eliminated 'public relations'

I had no cllents, and no

prospect of obtaining them.

Despite this I stayed in lavana

until March of 1960 doing nothing but Agency work.

did retion it was acknowledged that I would be coming back

to staff status (my contract was amended again while

still in Havana to pay for

shipment of furniture).

on arriving in the Washington area I began to work as a staffor

on the Bay of Pigs operation.

"In summary: Despite intent on my part to havo a

I began working for the Agoncy when I arrived.

In TDY status which was full-time Agency work.

I was always on call

and working on instructions from the

Station until recalled

for the Headquarters assignment.

was some risk in much of what I was tasked to do by the Station."

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is requested as to whether

the perlod fron August 1950 until 3 March 1951 and agaln

the period 19 August 1958 until 13 March 1980 can be

for retirement purposes.

R. DeFelico

Deputy Director of Personnel

Distribution:

Orig & 1 - Adse

%. Do/Pers

).- C/CPD

DDA/OP/CPD/CWSandman: dhc

03

(9 Apr 75)

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