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2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

JNLASSTFIED

SUBJECT: (Optional)

INTERNAL

'LY.

CONFIENTIAL

ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET

Lit Crim-US V. Leon

SECRET

FROM:

(William H. Godson)

CÍ/R&A/O

03

EXTENSION

NO.

1592

DATE

TO: (Officer designation, room number, and

building)

DATE

RECEIVED

FFICER'

NITIALS

FORWARDED

COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom

to whom. Draw a line across column after each comment.)

1.

AC/CI/R&A/0

0 2 NOV 1977

2.

3.

AC/CI/R&A

219%

2lew

5.

6.

7.

8.

C/CI Staft

3

NOV

1977

5-6: This nite is

imens I the thenk

much it died,

wet bie e

The file.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

FORM

13-62

610 USE

PREVIOUS

EDITIONS

SECRET

CONFIDENTIAL

INTERNAL

USE ONLY

UNCLASSIFIED

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1976711

1 November 1977

NEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Counterintelligence Staff

FROM

:

(william H. Godson)

CI/R&A/0

SUBJECT

:

Herbert Itkin File

I have reviewed the material in the Herbert Itkin

file which is divided into two main divisions.

The first

concerns the details of Itkin's use as an unpaid witting

informant on matters concerning an attempt by Haitian exiles

in 1963 to unseat then President Duvalier.

This involved

a large number of contacts with Haitian exiles in New York,

Washington, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Itkin

became a legal advisor for a Haitian Government-In-Exile and

Bernard E. MONCURE (P) a CI Staff staff agent in New York,

rode piggy-back on Itkin's contacts with the Haitians to make

his own operational contacts within the group.

He also

provided a small amount of money to them ($4,300) from CIA

funds.

It would seem from information in the file that there

was high-level

governmental interest in removing Duvalier

from office in 1963.

This information

• is contained

written notes which

are paraphrased and indicate high-level

interest in the activities

of the Haitian exile group.

suggest that this material be kept in case there are

Freedom

of Information Act requests on CIA activities involving Haiti

in 1962-1963.)

2.

The second and bulkier section of material concerns

Itkin's efforts to involve MONCURE and CIA in his attempts to

secure custody of his wife's children from her second marriage.

Itkin had been heavily involved as a lawyer and confidant with

on the Mafia.

the FBI for domestic issues

of Itkin for foreign intelligence matters:

In March 196 while maintaining he FBi and,

The FBI and the

federal prosecutors in New York starting in 1968 found Itkin

to be a very important witness in a series of criminal indict-

ments starting with New York City Water Commissioner Marcus.

WAITING NOTICE

26Ma29s fordinarer soon

AND RETRODS INVOLVED

E2 IMPDET

CL BY 019816

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Itkin and his wife had for a long time been struggling to

maintain custody over her children from her second marriage.

Claiming that she had violated the custody stipulations of

a New York court by moving them more than 50 miles

from New

York without his permission, Frederick Hersh, Mrs. Itkin's

tormer husband, gained custody of the children by means of

a ruling from the British court in 1966. Mrs. Itkin began

legal procedures in New York to regain the children. As

part of their effort they swore affadavits that Mrs. Itkin:

had taken the children

to England at the request of the CIA.

Itkin embellished on his CIA record by stating that he had

worked for CIA for many years prior to 1963, and insisted

Stassen and Allen Dulles in

that his original contested it man

1954.

Most of these assertions were fabrications. MONCURE's

CIA relationship was exposed in various legal circles in

New York.

The Agency wanted to avoid MONCURE's having to

contradict Mr. and Mrs. Itkins' affadavits in court.

FBI seemed to have been more interested in protecting Itkin's

reputation

as a witness than in protecting MONCURE's reputa-

tion

for honesty.

3.

MONCURE did not appear in court. The Federal

authorities eventually placed

protection around Itkin and

his wife, keeping them on a military reservation, while:

he appeared as a star witness

in numerous Mafia cases which

led to covictions.

23

One small side issuegis worth noting:

Thomas L.

Roberts, who was a law partner of Itkin)until mid-1961, became

a CIA staff agent under cover in Africa)?4The many fraudulent

03 Roberts yes of Itkin spread a scintilla of suspicion around

The latter was given a polygraph examination in

Frankfurt.

He answered questions on his relationship with

Itkin including financial and his few contacts

with Marcus

to the satisfaction of his interrogators.

5.

Comments: The thrust of the file is mainly defensive.

CIA was reacting to Itkin's tactics to help his wife gain cus-

tody over her children.

Itkin's numerous trips to England

and Europe were made on behalf of the FBI, and they were part

of an FBI attempt to gain information on

the Mafia. Before

the recruitment of Itkin and his utilization by the FBI, CIA

did pass to the Attorney General in 1963 information on

Department of Labor official's alleged criminal involvement

with the Mafia, which MONCURE had elicited from Itkin. The

file also refers to MONCURE's continued contact with one Mafia

figure Lenzieri, who was a legal client, as a means of self-

protection as Lenzieri represented a channel back to the Mafia

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• SEGRET

FOr MONCURE, who was apprehensive of Mafia retaliation because

of his involvement with Itkin.

6.

I have talked to Will Kerbe who is presently the

case officer in contact for MONCURE. He says that MONCURE

is in limited law practice and is drawing a pension from

the Agency as well as a contract for services connected with

Golitsyn.

There is probably nothing in the file which could

damage MONCURE's security as much of the information

regarding his association with Itkin has already been exposed.

The most recent information in the file is a January 1975

memorandum fox the record from Acting Chief, CI, which

states that John X. Greaney, Assistant General Counsel had

learned that Seymour Hersh had learned details of the Itkin-

MONCURE relationship.

Here would?

It would appear that Mr. Greaney is

the most knowledgeable person in the agency on the legal

aspects of the Itkin case and probably maintains his own

files.

03

Welliams A Gerbson

William H. Godson

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