LETTER TO J. WALTER YEAGLEY FROM LAWRENCE R. HOUSTON RE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT, FLORIDA UNITED STATES V. ROLANDO MASFERRER, ET AL
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
0005308745
Release Decision:
RIFPUB
Original Classification:
U
Document Page Count:
5
Document Creation Date:
June 22, 2015
Document Release Date:
December 10, 2008
Sequence Number:
Case Number:
F-2009-00016
Publication Date:
October 20, 1967
File:
Attachment | Size |
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DOC_0005308745.pdf | 614.85 KB |
Body:
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20505
October 20, 1967
The Honorable J. Walter Yeagley
Assistant Attorney General
Internal Security Division
Department of Justice
Washington, D. C. 20530
RE: United States District Court
Southern District, Florida
United States v. Rolando Masferrer, et al
I would like to call to your attention the following situations
which may identify a relationship between those persons involved in
the Masferrer trial set for November 6, 1967, in Miami and those
persons named by James Garrison, the District Attorney in New
Orleans, Louisiana, in his so-called investigation of the conspiracy
to assassinate President Kennedy.
Mr. Garrison has speculated that the actual assassination of
President Kennedy was accomplished by seven unnamed Cubans who had
formerly worked for CIA. This false allegation is completely contrary
to the conclusions reached by the Warren Commission to Investigate the
Assassination of President Kennedy. It should be noted, however, that
Mr. Garrison has in the course of his investigation continuously attacked
the Central Intelligence Agency and has used charges which reflect those
themes used primarily by the Soviet propaganda outlets when they attack
CIA. Mr. Garrison in his most vehement denunciation of CIA, which
appeared in the October 1967 issue of Playboy Magazine, made reference
to several persons who previously had been associated with CIA. Several
of these same people are known to have been associated with the
defendants and counsel in the Masferrer case.
A Cuban by the name of Eladio del Valle, who was murdered
in Miami on February 22, 1967, is reported by Garrison to have paid
David Ferrie $1, 500 each time he flew a mission to deliver weapons
to Cuba. Ferrie also died on February 22, 1967, in New Orleans
however, and Garrison has named him as a conspirator with Oswald
and Clay Shaw. Since Garrison has claimed that Ferrie and Oswald
worked for CIA, there is an oblique inference that del Valle also was
associated with the Agency. Del Valle did not work for CIA. There
is reason to believe however that he was closely associated with
Masferrer and may in fact have been murdered because of a trip he
made to Haiti in which he could have alerted President duValier of the
impending Masferrer invasion. There are also reports that Gino Negretti,
the defense counsel for Masferrer, Father Georges and Rene Juares Leon,
was involved with del Valle. Garrison has stated he has lost a valuable
witness because of del Valle's death.
Another situation which follows the same pattern of developing
information for use in publicly embarrassing CIA involves an author by
the name of Robert K. Brown, who is affiliated with Panther Publications,
P.O. Box 369, 1219 Walnut Street, Boulder, Colorado 80301, and who
has been making inquiries in and around the Miami area since July 1967.
Mr. Brown has indicated that his purpose in looking into CIA activities
in the Miami area is to protect the United States Government from the
inefficiency of CIA. Mr. Brown is a friend of Martin F. X. Casey, one
of the defendants with Masferrer. An FBI report of September 22, 1967,
states that Robert K. Brown plans to hire an attorney to defend those
persons being tried for conspiracy to invade Haiti. Casey has been
associated with Gerald Patrick Hemming, Jr., who was the head of an
independent guerrilla organization called INTERPEN which ran a
training facility in 1962 at No Name Key, Florida. Also associated
with Hemming and Casey in this endeavor was Joe Garman, who was
arrested on January 2, 1967, with Casey and Masferrer although he
was not indicted. Hemming did approach James Garrison on July 8,
1967, on the pretext that he was writing a magazine article and that
he was currently living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
An individual by the name of Lawrence J. Laborde, who had
been employed in 1961 by CIA but fired in 1962, telephoned the CIA
office in New Orleans on May 11, 1967, and stated that he feared
Garrison would subpoena him to testify before the grand jury. Laborde
offered to leave the United States if CIA wanted him to in view of his
past association with CIA. Laborde was told by the New Orleans
office that CIA was in no position to advise him about his personal
conduct since we considered it in all likelihood a provocation by
Garrison to embarrass CIA and make publicity out of an attempt to
remove potential witnesses from Garrison's jurisdiction. Laborde
again approached the CIA New Orleans office on September 27, 1967,
asking for additional instructions. This latter approach was also
considered to be a provocation. Laborde has been seen in Miami and
is known to have been associated with Hemming and Martin Casey.
Laborde's son talked with Garrison and discussed his father's former
relationship with CIA in July 1967. Laborde's previous association
with Robert K. Brown goes back to June 1962 when Brown wrote an
article for the Denver Post which was also highly critical of CIA
and identified certain operational assets, particularly those maritime
vessels with which Laborde had been familiar. Martin Casey had a
picture of Brown and himself on a vessel called Tejana III which was
the vessel Laborde was captain of in 1961.
Garrison in his October Playboy interview also refers to a
Howard Kenneth Davis. Davis is a Miami resident also previously
involved with INTERPEN and Hemming. Davis has also been associated
since 1962 with Robert K. Brown.
In summary, while we have only speculation to go on at this
time, we feel that due-, to the interrelationship of people who have
been involved in Cuban operations-whether CIA-sponsored or
independently-sponsored refugee groups -it would appear that Garrison's
entire effort is designed to use any means of publicity to give further
support to his investigation. Since Masferrer and other defendants
announced at the time, of their arrest that they were given the green
light by CIA for their, invasion of Haiti, we. can assume that this will
form a basis for their defense. It is also worth noting that to date
the counsel for the defendants have not filed any motions on behalf
of their clients. It appears to be significant that Garrison is willing
to postpone the trial of Clay Shaw in New Orleans until February 1968
which would then give him additional time, to take advantage of the
adverse publicity generated from the Masferrer trial in Miami.
Sincerely,
Lawrence R. Houston
General Counsel
cc: Mr. Nathaniel E. Kossack
First Assistant, Criminal Division
Department of Justice
Washington, D. C. 20530