Spanish Police Seek Aid in 'Beria' Case

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00764R000500080013-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 1998
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: October 8, 1953
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2001/07/27 : CIA-RDP83-00764ROO0500080013-6
Spanish Police Seek
`Aid in 'Beria' Case
They want me to work with
Gallo in attempting to establish
other contacts with the man Gal-
lo says represented himself as
the purged leader of the Soviet
secret police.
PARES, ranee, Oct. pan-
ish police today asked me to re-
turn to Madrid to work with
Fabio Gallo in an effort to bring
the case of Lavrentl Deria to a
conclusion.
By +GFSE FUSON
San Diego Union Staff Writer
By Vans-Atlantic Teleuhone
herp Is" some truth to Gallo's
claim he 'knows that Beria es-
calie?d from Russia and is seek-
ink sanctuary in the United
States.
Vicente Reguengo, chief of
Spanishp61tical police, also told
me he` thinks Gerhart Eisler may
be in Spain, perhaps with the
man supposed to be Beria.
Beria- directed the Red inter-
Spanish police are convinced
io ?Editorial ott Page b-4J/
national espionage rings of which
Eisler had been a member.
Eisler fled the United-States In
1949 as a stowaway aboard the
Polish liner Batory and made his
way to East Germany. He jumped
bail of $23,000 in New York in
May of that year` while under
conviction for illegal entry.
Identified at one time as the
No. 1 Communist In the United
States, Eisler was ousted lash
April as propaganda boss for the"
East Germany Communist re-
gime.* Press dispatches said he
retired from public life to write
his memoirs.
Gallo told Spanish police he
met Beria in Gibraltar, as a re-
sult of a prior secret arrange-
merit but was unable to effect
his delivery to-the United States
-- -or anywhere else-because the
United States had failed to for-
ward the requested guarantees
of safety in America.
G,llo' said `'he- received no c6-
o-
ope a ion rom united
operation
taches in Spain.
He said that one man who iden-
tified himself as an attache of
the United States Embassy in
Spain and demanded that Gallo
take him personally to Beria.
Gallo said he could not do that
because this attache could not
produce proper guarantees.
Gallo said the agent insisted he
had.been sent by the American
government to handle the case.
Gallo refused to believe him be-
cause he did not have any of
the guarantees and did not ex-
hibit any knowledge of them.
Gallo said the attache then said
that "if you don't co-operate with
me, I'll turn you over to the
Spanish police, and you know
what they will do to you."
SPANISH HELPFUL
However, when the Spanish po-
lice did receive the case, they ex-
tended complete' co-operation.
For six weeks United States
authorities have refused to take
the case seriously. It has been
only in the last few days that
they have shown considerable
interest in the matter.
Gallo, who was taken into cus-
tody by Spanish police after he
had tried to draw away from the
story, evidently in fear of some
retribution, has been released for
another try to bring the case to
an end. The story has been cen-
sored in Spain, but 12 of the top,
agents of the secret police have
been working with Gallo.
The story has been investi-
gated now for almost two months
and the conclusion to this almost
unparalleled international mys-
tery is not yet in sight.
Approved For Release 2001/07/27 : CIA-RDP83-00764ROO0500080013-6