New Releases August 23 2023
Thanks to Joe Backes and Alan Dale for keeping up with these silent releases by the NARA, the most recent on August 24, 2023, that includes 21 new unredacted documents, two of which I want to comment on as good examples of why they were withheld.
One is 104-10172-10108.pdf that is quite long and concerns Maurice Halpern, an Ivy League academic and communist that documents how closely he was monitored. This Halpern is not to be confused with Samuel Halpern, the CIA officer and deputy to Desmond FitzGerald.
Maurice Halpern, like Oswald, relocated to the USSR to live but after awhile, like Oswald, he became disenchanted with the Soviet lifestyle and returned home. It is labeled NBR - Not Believed Relevant, and was continuously withheld, I believe, because it demonstrates how closely these leftist were monitored by the government.
Another is the 4th document listed - 104-10180-10155 - from July 12, 1960, from J.D. Jacob Esterline, C/WH/4 in which he reports his recruitment of Emilio Americo RODRIGUEZ - so he can be paid $300 a week via his New Orleans bank.
First off, former CIA officer Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, who served for over 20 years including the top foreign post of CIA Chief of Station Moscow, says that his evaluation of the assassination evidence indicates that it could have been a covert intelligence operation carried out by the CIA, and his top suspect is Jacob Esterline.
Esterline was a top CIA officer involved in the Bay of Pigs, Mongoose and JMWAVE, and was a close associate of David Atlee Phillips, who includes Easterline in his fictional book The Carlos Contract, barely disguised by the character "Hyphenated Jake."
As the guys over at Mary Ferrell have deciphered, Rodriguez was an important player, recruited by Esterline, who lived in New Orleans, worked in Havana for American companies, and was a close associate of a number of JMWAVE commandos and Pathfinders including Tony Sforza (AMYRE-1).
Cryptonym:
AMIRE-1
Definition:
Emilio
Americo Rodriguez.
Status:
Documented
Discussion:
One of
the most closely guarded CIA cryptonyms and true names in the history of the
case. The sources for the true name and the crypt are mutually reinforcing. The
principal center RIF blocks for Rodriguez (10180; 10161, and 10215) also betray
his identity in all of the documents. And, finally, the story behind this
identification is buttressed by the parallel story of AMPARCH-1 (Warren E.
Frank, AKA Edward D. Knapman) and AMRYE-1 (Tony Sforza, AKA Henry Sloman): All
three men worked together in Havana, were exfiltrated at the same time, and
then went to JMWAVE where they worked together. Used the psuedonym Peter J.
Digerveno: See
https://maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=147737&search=jmwave#relPageId=37&tab=page
Sources:
(1)
104-10161-10341. 1/27/65 Biographical Data on Emilio Americo Rodriguez.
Although
the name is redacted everywhere in the document, the redactor failed to redact
it on the RIF sheet, effectively nullifying decades of effort to hide this
name. His CIA security number, 214442, at the top of this document, links to
hundreds of other documents where his name is redacted.
(2)
104-10161-10373. 6/20/60 CIA Report of Investigation approved by SAIC Dale B.
Whiteside.
The
redactor for this document failed to remove Emilio’s initials—E. A. R. They
appear, along with Emilio’s CIA security number, in the “Case No.” field of the
report.
(3)
104-10180-10132. 6/16/61 CIA MFR, RE: Initial Debriefing of [AMIRE-1].
This MFR
is located in a stream of documents [in the 10180 center RIF block] that all
belong to Emilio. This MFR discusses his work with Tony Sforza (AMRYE-1) in the
CIA’s stay-behind net before and after the January 1961 the break in relations
with Cuba.
(4)
104-10271-10246. 9/22/60 CIA Havana Station cable (6269) to DIR.
This
cable mentions Francisco Pancho Varona’s (AMCONCERT-1) contact with Jack
Stewart in Havana in 1958. It also mentions that AMCONCERT-1 was then passed to
“AMIRE-1 under stay-behind planning.” This history of the person behind the
AMIRE-1 crypt, especially the passing of AMCONCERT-1 from Jack Stewart to
AMIRE-1, is born out in the next two source documents (104-10113-10074 and
104-10109-10162).
(5) 104-10113-10074.
6/11/69 Memo from Miami SAIC Charles W. Kane for Chief of Station Miami.
This
memo explains that Francisco Pancho Varona’s Havana case officer at “about
1959” was Jack Stewart.
104-10109-10162.
6/18/69 Memo from Anthony R. Ponchay (Esterline), COS, WH/Miami to SAIC Kane.
This
memo reveals that subsequent to being handled in Havana by Jack Stewart,
Francisco Pancho Varona was handled by Frank Belsito and “Emilio Rodriguez.”
When combined with HAVA 6269 (see above), this makes it certain the Emilio
Americo Rodriguez’ CIA crypt was AMIRE-1.
Page 6
of this report discusses Henry Sloman’s (Tony Sforza) involvement in a CIA plan
to exfiltrate Cubela from Cuba. It also notes that “AMIRE-1 advised that
Rolando Cubela very probably will defect on OP ASTA.”
(7)
104-10103-10125. Memo by John D. Peters, WH/4/PM/OPS
This
memo is a preliminary debrief report on AMPANIC-7 (Emilio Adolfo Rivero Caro,
AKA “Brand”), whose CIA Havana contact was Emilio Rodriguez. The debrief states
that “AMIRE-1” was known to AMPANIC-7 “as Emilio Rodriguez.” NB: Researchers
who want to see this in the clear will need to put quote marks around the RIF
number to pull up all versions of this RIF.
104-10513-10095:
DISPATCH-ALIASES.
Almost
illegible, but it indicates that Emilio used the alias Eugenio, that he worked
with AMYUM-1 whose alias was "Ojeda", that he is linked with
AMCONCERT-1 and AMBRONC-5. It is clear that he is the subject, which refers to
his 201-274049 bio number.
104-10129-10002:
PERSONAL HISTORY STATEMENT
This
redacted Agency personal history statement form describes an unknown agent
living in Cuba under a cover job and in the United States using a pseudonym
with black hair and a ruddy complexion. When compared to a more recent
declassified version of the same document it confirms this a personal history
statement detailing some of Emilio Americo Rodriguez's biographic history.
(Unredacted version:
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2018/104-10129-10002.pdf)
104-10332-10002:
ARRB-CIA ISSUES: CRYPTONYMS
"AMIRE-1
- 201-274049 - A Career Agent, AMIRE-1 died of natural causes in October or
November 1968. The DCI sent a letter of condolence to his wife."
Here's some more on Rodriguez:
2017 JFK Document Release Shows Former Intelligence Analyst Got It Right - WhoWhatWhy
JFK Assassination Anniversary—What We Learned From New Files | Time
Each of the document released in the late batches should be analyzed and reviewed in this fashion, and anyone who does so should send along your report to me for publication here:
Billkelly3@gmail.com
1 comment:
Very interesting bio had Sr. Rodriguez: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2018/104-10129-10002.pdf
Pilot, Tulane Med School, N.S.A.& "Intelligence" U.N.K, USN USS Saratoga references, Taught at the Berlitz Language School at the International Trade Mart in New Orleans, was doing a very large counterintelligence op at Caracas Station in 1967. https://www.tpaak.com/emilio-rodriguez Like I said, he was a real interesting guy.
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