MEMO:OFFICE OF FINANCE RECORDS - E. HOWARD HUNT.
Originator: CIA
From: HOWE, LAWRENCE J
To: THE RECORD
Document date: 02/21/1974
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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104-10119-10146

2022 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

COURSE CESSITIVE

21 February 1974

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT: Office of Finance Records - E. Howard Hunt

1.

On the instruction of Mr. Steven L. Kuhn, Chief

of Operations, PSI, the undersigned made an appointment

for the afternoon of 20 February 1974 to interview Mr.

William Caufield, Chief, Certification and Liaison Divi

sion, Office of Finance, anc

Mr. Joseph Hudson of Finance

on the subject of Mr. E. Howard Hunt. At the outset of

the interview Mr. Caufield advised the undersigned that

instruction had been received from the Director of the

Office of Finance, Mr. Thomas Yale, that discussion on

the subject of Mr. Hunt was to be carried out only with

the Office of the Inspector General. Mr. Caufield stated

that he had informed Mr. Yale of the requested interview

and had received this instruction with the suggestion

that the undersigned contact Mr. Yale directly with any

inquiry.

2.

Accompanied by Mr. Caufield, the undersigned

briefed Mr. Yale on the nature of the request and iden-

tified the "Task Force" effort being undertaken by the

Office of Security in concert with the Offices of the

Inspector General and Legislative Counsel. MT. Yale

responded that he recognized the legitimacy of the in-

quiry.

Mr. Yale explained that subsequent to initiation

of the complete audit being undertaken by MI. Quinn of

the Audit Staff, the Deputy Director for Management and

Services,

Mr. Harold L. Brownman, had requested the

Office of Finance to discontinue

their investigation of

Mr. Hunt to avoid duplication.

Mr. Yale added paren-

thetically that it was

the nature of Finance Officers

not to leave a job half done and that an "informal"

inquiry into Mr. Hunt's financial records had neverthe-

less continued at a more subdued

pace.

E2 IMPDET

CL BY 011696

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3. A review of the circumstances surrounding

Hunt's conversion to Contract Type A employment and

assignment was then undertaken by Messrs. Yale, Caufield,

Hudson and the undersigned.

The contract and

payroll

files of Mr. Hunt were reviewed for possible indications

of the nature of the operational activity undertaken in

Madrid.

A review of travel vouchers indicated that Mr.

Hunt and his family made accountings indicating departure

from Washington, D. C.

• on 5 August 1965 with an arrival

in Madrid, Spain, on 16 August 1965.

The costs of this

travel were charged to the budget of the Western Hemi-

sphere Division, Deputy Directorate for Plans, Madrid

Station Support account.

A subsequent accounting sum-

marized PCS travel expenses and included a payment for

apartment rental for 16, 17 and 18 August 1965 with a

payment in the amount of $125 to MI. F. Reid Buckley for

this purpose.

It was determined that an allottee bank account

in Mr.

Hunt's name had been established at the Riggs

National Bank of Washington. All salary and other non-

operational reimbursements were made to Mr. Hunt through

sterile check to this account.

An operational account

was established for Mr. Hunt with the Chase Manhattan

Bank of New York City.

A review of all payments made to

Mr. Hunt through the Chase bank account through Mr. Hunt's

operational advance subsidiary account, or 1442 account,

had been made.

There was no record of any operational

accounts or advances

being processed through this channel.

Mr. Yale stated that this fact defined his concern.

felt that it was inconceivable that Mr. Hunt could have

undertaken operational activity without some transfer of

or accounting for funds.

To date, no such records have

been developed.

No reference to a project or project

digraph or operational FAN number has been located.

expenses connected with Mr. Hunt identified to date were

charged to the Madrid Station Support.

A review made of

has not indicated any

• "Developmental

Target of Opportunity (D&TO)" funds or "Other Opera-

tional Activity (OOA)" funds expended by or on behalf of

Mr. Hunt.

These two accounts would normally be the source

of operational funding not charged against a specific pro-

ject activity.

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5. A review of all of the travel vouchers on record

for MI. Hunt during this period also failed to identify

a project.

In addition to the PCS and return vouchers,

two other

Une accounting

covered a trip by the

tened wise entire tet damly covered a te

A second voucher covered a TDY

trip from Madrid to Washington with return to Madrid

made by Mr. Hunt from 5 January to 8 January 1966.

voucher states in the space provided for the citation of

the travel order number - "no travel order." The account-

mung the spacino ride.

The

ing was approved

and signed by Mr. Thomas Karamessines,

then Deputy Director for Plans.

No justification of

statement of purpose for this TDY was given on the account-

ing.

6. Mr. Yale determined that further review of possible

sources or identification of operational funding was in

order.

Mr. Yale gave instructIons that the entire 1442

advance account of Mr. Hunt be reviewed for other possible

channels of funding outside of the New York Chase account.

After discussion, it was agreed that particular attention

be taken to any items connected with publishing or book

royalties. Mr. Yale noted that the royalty offset waiver

provision ammended to Mr. Hunt's contract was, in his ex-

perience, somewhat unusual.

7. Mr. Yale was informed by the undersigned of the

intention to interview Mr. Edward Ryan, currently Chief,

Division D, who was at the time of Mr. Hunt's Madrid assign-

ment, Deputy. Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division.

Mr.

Yale suggested that Mr. Davis Powell also be interviewed.

The undersigned informed Mr. Yale that this had been done

and briefed Mr. Yale on the generally negative results of

Yale then recommended that Mr. Sam

Halpern be interviewed. Mr. Yale noted that Mr. Halpern

had been an assistant to Mr. Desmond Fitzgerald

when the

latter was Chief, Western Hemisphere Division and had ac-

companied Mr. Fitzgerald when he became Deputy Director

for

Plans. Mr. Yale recalled that subsequent to Mr. Fitzgerald's

passing that Mr. Halpern remained on the staff and acted as

an Executive Officer for Mr. Thomas Karamessines.

Mr. Yale

Karamessines would

have delegated all the arranging of "details" surrounding

assignment such as Mr. Hunt's to Mr. Halpern. Mr. Yale

offered the parenthetical observation of his surprise at

what he interpreted to be reticence to date to interveww

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...

USTAVE

The undersigned assured Mr. Yale that be would be

informed of any information identifying

any possible project

activity developed in subsequent

investigation. Mr. Yale

stated that any information

in this area would

greatly

facilitate the job of checking computorized financial

records.

Lawrence J. Howe

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