F-2002-00709 ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT LETTER

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00780391
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: July 13, 2023
• Document Release Date: November 21, 2022
• Case Number: F-2022-01647
• Publication Date: May 23, 2002

Approved for Release: 2022/11/14 C00780391
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington, D.C. 20505
23 May 2002
Mr. R. Thomas Holder
Reference: F-2002-00709
Dear Mr. Holder:
The office of the Information and Privacy Coordinator has just received
your 10 October 2001 letter requesting records under the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Specifically, your request is for records
pertaining to George J. Ornas, who was shot to death near Placitas, NM
on 1 December 1970. For identification purposes we have assigned your
request the number referenced above. Please refer to this number in future
correspondence.
As you may know, the discovery of anthrax in a letter mailed to the
United States Senate on 15 October 2001 led to a series of escalating safety
concerns about opening, handling, and even being in the proximity of mail,
especially in government offices in Washington, D.C. These concerns, in turn,
led to disruptions in, and then total curtailment of, mail delivery service, to
include Freedom of Information Act-related correspondence, at many federal
agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency.
Under such extraordinary circumstances, the administration of the
Freedom of Information Act has inevitably been delayed at all affected federal
agencies. As a matter of both common sense and legal precedent, when mail
delivery is delayed, so is the commencement of the process of FOIA
administration, regardless of the time at which a FOIA request is placed into
the mail by the requester or postmarked thereafter. Simply put, the FOIA
process cannot begin until the personnel of an agency FOIA office are able to
open any belatedly delivered item of mail.
Approved for Release: 2022/11/14 C00780391
Approved for Release: 2022/11/14 C00780391
In an effort to assist you, we searched our electronic system of
previously released records, but found none relating to George J. Ornas. We
can, however, conduct searches in our other records systems if you insist, but it
is only fair to apprise you of the very low probability of success before we start.
The mission of the Central Intelligence Agency is primarily concerned with
foreign intelligence � not domestic � matters. Section 103 (d)(1) of the
National Security Act, as amended, specifically provides that "the Agency shall
have no police, subpoena, law-enforcement powers, or internal security
functions." Executive Order 12333, which regulates the conduct of intelligence
activities in the United States and elsewhere, provides that the responsibility
for domestic intelligence collection is generally within the province of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
To conduct an effective search of our files for information on an
individual, we need as much identifying information as possible. If you wish to
pursue this, please provide us with the full name, date and place of birth,
nationality, and citizenship status at the time of death. Without these we may
be unable to distinguish between individuals with the same or similar names.
In cases such as yours, where the subject is deceased, we need some
evidence of death, such as a death certificate, an obituary, or press statement,
so that we can be sure there are no privacy considerations. We can search
without this evidence, but if we should locate relevant records and did not
have such evidence, we would have to withhold information that, if released,
would be an unwarranted invasion of that person's privacy. Privacy rights are
addressed in the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. � 552a) and the FOIA
5 U.S.C. � 552(b)(6)].
As you are aware, the FOIA authorizes federal agencies to collect fees
for records services. You will note on the enclosed fee schedule that we charge
search fees, including computer time where indices are computerized, and
copying costs for releasable documents. In accordance with Section (a) of the
schedule, search fees are assessable even if no records are found or, if found,
we determine that they are not releasable. This means you will be charged
even if our search results are negative or if we determine that no information
is releasable under the FOIA. The search fees for each item in a request are
usually about $150.
Approved for Release: 2022/11/14 C00780391
Approved for Release: 2022/11/14 C00780391
Based upon the information provided in your letter, we have determined
that your request falls into the "all other" fee category, which means that you
will be required to pay charges which recover the cost of searching for and
reproducing responsive records (if any) beyond the first 100 pages of
reproduction and the first two hours of search time, which will be furnished
without charge. Copying costs will be assessed at the rate of ten cents per
page.
Before we can begin processing your request, we must receive the
information requested in paragraphs 5 and 6 above, and your commitment to
pay all fees incurred under the conditions stated above. We will hold your
request in abeyance for 45 days from the date of this letter pending your reply.
Sincerely,
Kathryn I. Dyer
Information and Privacy Coordinator
Enclosure
Approved for Release: 2022/11/14 C00780391
Approved for Release: 2022/11/14 C00780391
(b)(3)
(b)(6)
OIM/IRG/PIR
Signature assigned by: (b)(3)
Distribution: (b)(6)
Orig - Adse
1 - PIRD/F-2002-00709 SPR � bio/obit, fee commit/all other
../20 May 2002
FOIA
00709 Holder
(b)(3)
(b)(6)
Approved for Release: 2022/11/14 C00780391