Harry Dean: Memoirs

[Ernie Lazar]

As an addendum to my previous message - the following information may help interested parties understand why it would be impossible to perpetually hide the existence of FBI files.

As you peruse the various indexes used by the FBI (listed below), I would suggest that Harry could submit an FOIA request to the FBI just to ask the FBI to check relevant indexes (which often existed on index cards) in order to determine if his name appears in any relevant index and give the FBI his authorization to release any such index card. [For example see index #37 and #38.]

Authority for Maintenance of the System: Federal Records Act of 1950, Title 44, United States Code, chapter 31, section 3101; and title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, chapter XII, require Federal agencies to insure that adequate and proper records are made and preserved to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures and transactions and to protect the legal and financial rights of the Federal Government, title 28, United States Code, section 534, delegates authority to the Attorney General to acquire, collect, classify, and preserve identification, criminal identification, crime and other records.

(The following chart identifies various listings or indexes maintained by the FBI which have been or are being used by various divisions of the FBI in their day-to-day operations. The chart identifies the list by name, description and use, and where maintained, i.e., FBI Headquarters and/or Field Office. The number of field offices which maintain these indices is also indicated. The list indicates those indexes which are in current use (designated by the word "active") and those which are no longer being used, although maintained (designated by the word "inactive"). There are 27 separate indices which are classified in accordance with existing regulations and are not included in this list. The following indices are no longer being used by the FBI and are being maintained at FBIHQ pending receipt of authority to destroy: Black Panther Party Photo Index; Black United Front Index; Security Index; and Wounded Knee Album.)

1) Administrative Index (ADEX). Consists of cards with descriptive data on individuals who were subject to investigation in a national emergency because they were believed to constitute a potential or active threat to the internal security of the United States. When ADEX was started in 1971, it was made up of people who were formerly on the Security Index, Reserve Index, and Agitator Index. This index is maintained in two separate locations in FBI Headquarters. ADEX was discontinued in January 1978. This list is inactive at FBI Headquarters and 29 Field Offices.

2) Anonymous Letter File. Consists of photographs of anonymous communications and extortionate credit transactions, kidnapping, extortion and threatening letters. It is active at FBI Headquarters.

3) Associates of DEA Class I Narcotics Violators Listing. Consists of a computer listing of individuals whom DEA has identified as associates of Class I Narcotics Violators. It is active at FBI Headquarters and 56 Field Offices.

4) Background Investigation Index--Department of Justice. Consists of cards on persons who have been the subject of a full field investigation in connection with their consideration of employment in sensitive positions with Department of Justice, such as U.S. Attorney, Federal judges, or a high level Department position. It is active at FBI Headquarters.

5) Background Investigation Index--White House, Other Executive Agencies, and Congress. Consists of cards on persons who have been the subject of a full field investigation in connection with their consideration for employment in sensitive positions with the White House, Executive agencies (other than the Department of Justice) and the Congress. Active at FBI Headquarters.

6) Bank Fraud and Embezzlement Index. Consists of individuals who have been the subject of "Bank Fraud and Embezzlement" investigation. This file is used as an investigative aid. It is active in one Field Office.

7) Bank Robbery Album. Consists of photos of bank robbers, burglars, and larceny subjects. In some field offices it will also contain pictures obtained from local police departments of known armed robbers and thus potential bank robbers. The index is used to develop investigative leads in bank robbery cases and may also be used to show to witnesses of bank robberies. It is usually filed by race, height, and age. This index is also maintained in one resident agency (a suboffice of a field office). Active in 47 Field Offices.

8) Bank Robbery Nickname Index. Consists of nicknames used by known bank robbers. The index cards on each would contain the real name and method of operation and are filed in alphabetical order. Active in one Field Office.

9) Bank Robbery Note File. Consists of photographs of notes used in bank robberies in which the suspect has been identified. This index is used to help solve robberies in which the subject has not been identified but a note was left. The role is compared with the index to try to match the sentence structure and handwriting for the purpose of identifying possible suspects. Active at FBI Headquarters.

10) Bank Robbery Suspect Index. Consists of a control file or index cards with photos, if available, of bank robbers or burglars. In some field offices these people may be part of a bank robbery album. This index is generally maintained and used in the same manner as the bank robbery album. Active in 33 Field Offices.

11) Car Ring Case Photo Album. Consists of photos of subjects and suspects involved in a large car theft ring investigation. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

12) Car Ring Case Photo Album and Index. Consists of photos of subjects and suspects involved in a large car theft ring investigation. The card index maintained in addition to the photo album contains the names and addresses appearing on fraudulent title histories for stolen vehicles. Most of these names appearing on these titles are fictitious. But the photo album and card indexes are used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

13) Car Ring Case Toll Call Index. Consists of cards with information on persons who subscribe to telephone numbers to which toll calls have been placed by the major subjects of a large car theft ring investigation. It is maintained numerically by telephone number. It is used to facilitate the development of probable cause for a court- approved wiretap. Active in two Field Offices.

14) Car Ring Theft Working Index. Contains cards on individuals involved in car ring theft cases on which the FBI Laboratory is doing examination work. Active at FBI Headquarters.

15) Cartage Album. Consists of photos with descriptive data of individuals who have been convicted of theft from interstate shipment or interstate transportation of stolen property where there is a reason to believe they may request the offense. It is used in investigating the above violations. Active in three Field Offices.

16) Channelizing Index. Consists of cards with the names and case file numbers of people who are frequently mentioned in information reports. The index is used to facilitate the distributing or channeling of information reports to appropriate files. Active in nine Field Offices.

17) Check Circular File. Consists of fliers numerically in a control file on fugitives who are notorious fraudulent check passers and who are engaged in a continuing operation of passing checks. The fliers, which include the subject's name, photo, a summary of the subject's method of operation and other identifying data, are used to alert other FBI field offices and business establishments which may be the victims of bad checks.

18) Computerized Telephone Number File (CTNF) Intelligence. Consists of a computer listing of telephone numbers (and) subscribers' names and addresses) utilized by subjects and/or certain individuals which come to the FBI's attention during major investigations. During subsequent investigations, telephone numbers, obtained through subpoena, are matched with the telephone numbers on file to determine connections or associations. Active at FBI Headquarters.

19) Con Man Index. Consists of computerized names of individuals, along with company affiliation, who travel nationally and internationally while participating in large-dollar-value financial swindles. Active in four Field Offices.

20) Confidence Game (Flim Flam) Album. Consists of photos with descriptive information on individuals who have been arrested for confidence games and related activities. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

21) Copyright Matters Index. Consists of cards of individuals who are film collectors and film titles. It is used as a reference in the investigation of copyright matters. Active in one Field Office.

22) Criminal Intelligence Index. Consists of cards with name and file number of individuals who have become the subject of an antiracketeering investigation. The index is used as a quick way to ascertain file numbers and the correct spelling of names. This index is active in two Field Offices and one Resident Agency.

23) Criminal Informant Index. Consists of cards containing identity and brief background information on all active and inactive informants furnishing information in the criminal area. Active at FBI Headquarters.

24) DEA Class 1 Narcotics Violators Listing. Consists of a computer listing of narcotic violators--persons known to manufacture, supply, or distribute large quantities of illicit drugs--with background data. It is used by the FBI in their role of assisting DEA in disseminating intelligence data concerning illicit drug trafficking. This index is also maintained in two resident agencies.

25) Deserter Index. Contains cards with the names of individuals who are known military deserters. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in four Field Offices.

26) False Identities Index. Contains cards with the names of deceased individuals whose birth certificates have been obtained by other persons for possible false identification uses and in connection with which the FBI laboratory has been requested to perform examinations. Inactive at FBI Headquarters.

27) False Identities List. Consists of a listing of names of deceased individuals whose birth certificates have been obtained after the person's death, and thus whose names are possibly being used for false identification purposes. The listing is maintained as part of the FBI's program to find persons using false identities for illegal purposes. Inactive at 31 Field Offices.

28) False Identity Photo Album. Consists of names and photos of people who have been positively identified as using a false identification. This is used as an investigative aid in the FBI's investigation of false identities. Inactive in two Field Offices.

29) FBI/Inspector General (IG) Case Pointer System (FICPS). Consists of a computerized listing of individual names of organizations which are the subject of active and inactive fraud investigations, along with the name of the agency conducting the investigation. Data is available to IG offices throughout the federal government to prevent duplication of investigative activity. Active at FBI Headquarters.

30) FBI Wanted Persons Index. Consists of cards on persons being sought on the basis of Federal warrants covering violations which fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI. It is used as a ready reference to identify those fugitives. Active at FBI Headquarters.

31) Foreign Counterintelligence (FCI). Consists of cards with identity background data on all active and inactive operational and informational assets in the foreign counterintelligence field. It is used as a reference aid on the FCI Asset program. Active at FBI Headquarters.

32) Fraud Against the Government Index. Consists of individuals who have been the subject of a "fraud against the Government" investigation. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

33) Fugitive Bank Robbers File. Consists of fliers on bank robbery fugitives filed sequentially in a control file. FBI Headquarters distributes to the field offices fliers on bank robbers in a fugitive status for 15 or more days to facilitate their location. Active at FBI Headquarters and in 43 Field Offices.

34) General Security Index. Contains cards on all persons that have been the subject of a security classification investigation by the FBI field office. These cards are used for general reference purposes. Active in one Field Office.

35) Hoodlum License Plate Index. Consists of cards with the license plate numbers and descriptive data on known hoodlums and cars observed in the vicinity of hoodlum homes. It is used for quick identification of such person in the course of investigation. The one index which is not fully retrievable is maintained by a resident agency. Active in three Field Offices.

36) Identification Order Fugitive Flier File. Consists of fliers numerically in a control file. When immediate leads have been exhausted in fugitive investigations and a crime of considerable public interest has been committed, the fliers are given wide circulation among law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and are posted in post offices. The fliers contain the fugitive's photograph, fingerprints, and description. Active at FBI Headquarters and in 49 Field Offices.

37) Informant Index. Consists of cards with the name, symbol numbers, and brief background information on the following categories of active and inactive informants, top echelon criminal informants, security informants, criminal information, operational and informational assets, extremist informants (discontinued), plant informant--informants on and about certain military basis (discontinued), and potential criminal informants. Active in 56 Field Offices.

38) Informants in Other Field Offices, Index of. Consist of cards with names and/or symbol numbers of informants in other FBI field offices that are in a position to furnish information that would also be included on the index card. Active in 15 Field Offices.

39) Interstate Transportation of Stolen Aircraft Photo Album. Consists of photos and descriptive data on individuals who are suspects known to have been involved in interstate transportation of stolen aircraft. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

40) IRS Wanted List. Consists of one-page fliers from IRS on individuals with background information who are wanted by IRS for tax purposes. It is used in the identification of persons wanted by IRS. Active in 11 Field Offices.

41) Kidnapping Book. Consists of data, filed chronologically, on kidnappings that have occurred since the early fifties. The victims' names and the suspects, if known, would be listed with a brief description of the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping. The file is used as a reference aid in matching up prior methods of operation in unsolved kidnapping cases. Active at FBI Headquarters and inactive in four Field Offices.

42) Known Check Passers Album. Consists of photos with descriptive data of persons known to pass stolen, forged, or counterfeit checks. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in four Field Offices.

43) Known Gambler Index. Consists of cards with names, descriptive data, and sometimes photos of individuals who are known bookmakers and gamblers. The index is used in organized crime and gambling investigations. Subsequent to GAO's review, and at the recommendation of the inspection team at one of the two field offices where the index was destroyed and thus is not included in the total. Active in five Field Offices.

44) La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Membership Index. Contains cards on individuals having been identified as members of the LCN index. The cards contain personal data and pictures. The index is used solely by FBI agents for assistance in investigating organized crime matters. Active at FBI Headquarters and 55 Field Offices.

45) Leased Line Letter Request Index. Contains cards on individuals and organizations who are or have been the subject of a national security electronic surveillance where a leased line letter was necessary. It is used as an administrative and statistical aid. Active at FBI Headquarters.

46) Mail Cover Index. Consists of cards containing a record of all mail covers conducted on individuals and group since about January 1973. It is used for reference in preparing mail cover requests. Active at FBIHQ.

47) Military Deserter Index. Consists of cards containing the names of all military deserters where the various military branches have requested FBI assistance in locating. It is used as an administrative aid. Active at FBI Headquarters.

48) National Bank Robbery Album. Consists of fliers on bank robbery suspects held sequentially in a control file. When an identifiable bank camera photograph is available and the case has been under investigation for 30 days without identifying the subject, FBIHQ sends a flier to the field offices to help identify the subject. Active at FBI Headquarters and in 42 Field Offices.

49) National Fraudulent Check File. Contains photographs of the signature on stolen and counterfeit checks. It is filed alphabetically but there is no way of knowing the names are real or fictitious. The index is used to help solve stolen check cases by matching checks obtained in such cases against the index to identify a possible suspect. Active at FBI Headquarters.

50) National Security Electronic Surveillance Card File. Contains cards recording electronic surveillances previously authorized by the Attorney General and previously and currently authorized by the FISC; current and previous assets in the foreign counterintelligence field; and a historical, inactive section which contains cards believed to record non-consented physical entries in national security cases, previously toll billings, mail covers and leased lines. The inactive section also contains cards Attorney General approvals and denials for warrantless electronic surveillance in the national security cases. Inactive at FBI Headquarters.

51) Night Depository Trap Index. Contains cards with the names of persons who have been involved in the theft of deposits made in bank night depository boxes. Since these thefts have involved various methods, the FBI uses the index to solve such cases by matching up similar methods to identify possible suspects. Active at FBI Headquarters.

52) Organized Crime Photo Album. Consists of photos and background information on individuals involved in organized crime activities. The index is used as a ready reference in identifying organized crime figures within the field offices' jurisdiction. Active in 13 Field Offices.

53) Photospread Identification Elimination File. Consists of photos of individuals who have been subjects and suspects in FBI investigations. It also includes photos received from other law enforcement agencies. These pictures can be used to show witnesses of certain crimes. Active in 14 Field Offices.

54) Prostitute Photo Album. Consists of photos with background data on prostitutes who have prior local or Federal arrests for prostitution. It is used to identify prostitutes in connection with investigations under the White Slave Traffic Act. Active in four Field Offices.

55) Royal Canadian Mounted Policy (RCMP) Wanted Circular File. Consists of a control file of individuals with background information of persons wanted by the RCMP. It is used to notify the RCMP if an individual is located. Active in 17 Field Offices.

56) Security Informant Index. Consists of cards containing identity and brief background information on all active and inactive informants furnishing information in the criminal area. Active at FBI Headquarters.

57) Security Subjects Control Index. Consists of cards containing the names and case file numbers of individuals who have been subject to security investigations check. It is used as a reference source. Active in one Field Office.

58) Security Telephone Number Index. Contains cards with telephone subscriber information subpoenaed from the telephone company in any security investigation. It is maintained numerically by the last three digits in the telephone number. It is used for general reference purposes in security investigations. Active in one Field Office.

59) Selective Service Violators Index. Contains cards on individuals being sought on the basis of Federal warrants for violation of the Selective Service Act. Active at FBI Headquarters.

60) Sources of Information Index. Consists of cards on individuals and organizations such as banks, motels, local government that are willing to furnish information to the FBI with sufficient frequency to justify listing for the benefit of all agents. It is maintained to facilitate the use of such sources. Active in 10 Field Offices.

61) Special Services Index. Contains cards of prominent individuals who are in a position to furnish assistance in connection with FBI investigative responsibility. Active in 28 Field Offices.

62) Stolen Checks and Fraud by Wire Index. Consists of cards on individuals involved in check and fraud by wire violations. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

63) Stop Notices Index. Consists of cards on names of subjects or property where the field office has placed a stop at another law enforcement agency or private business such as pawn shops in the event information comes to the attention of that agency concerning the subject or property. This is filed numerically by investigative classification. It is used to insure that the agency where the stop is placed is notified when the subject is apprehended or the property is located or recovered. Active in 43 Field Offices.

64) Surveillance Locator Index. Consists of cards with basic data on individuals and businesses which have come under physical surveillance in the city in which the field office is located. It is used for general reference purposes in antiracketeering investigations. Active in two Field Offices.

65) Telephone Number Index--Gamblers. Contains information on persons identified usually as a result of a subpoena for the names of subscribers to particular telephone numbers or toll records for a particular phone number of area gamblers and bookmakers. The index cards are filed by the last three digits of the telephone number. The index is used in gambling investigations. Active in two Field Offices.

66) Telephone Subscriber and Toll Records Check Index. Contains cards with information on persons identified as the result of a formal request or subpoena to the phone company for the identity of subscribers to particular telephone numbers. The index cards are filed by telephone number and would also include identity of the subscriber, billing party's identity, subscriber's address, date of request from the telephone company, and file number. Active in one Field Office.

67) Thieves, Couriers and Fences Photo Index. Consists of photos and background information on individuals who are or are suspected of being thieves, couriers, or fences based on their past activity in the area of interstate transportation of stolen property. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in four Field Offices.

68) Toll Record Request Index. Contains cards on individuals and organizations on whom toll records have been obtained in national security related cases and with respect to which FBIHQ had to prepare a request letter. It is used primarily to facilitate the handling of repeat requests on individuals listed. Active at FBIHQ.

69) Top Burglar Album. Consists of photos and background data of known and suspect top burglars involved in the area of interstate transportation of stolen property. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in four Field Offices.

70) Top Echelon Criminal Informer Program (TECIP) Index. Consists of cards containing identity and brief background information on individuals who are either furnishing high level information in the organized crime area or are under development to furnish such information. The index is used primarily to evaluate, corroborate, and coordinate informant information and to develop prosecutive data against racket figures under Federal, State, and local statutes. Active at FBI Headquarters.

71) Top Ten Program File. Consists of fliers, filed numerically in a control file, on fugitives considered by the FBI to be 1 of the 10 most wanted. Including a fugitive of the top 10 usually assures a greater national news coverage as well as nation-wide circulation of the flier. Active at FBI Headquarters and in 44 Field Offices.

72) Top Thief Program Index. Consists of cards of individuals who are professional burglars, robbers, or fences dealing in items likely to be passed in interstate commerce or who travel interstate to commit the crime. Usually photographs and background information would also be obtained on the index card. The index is used as an investigative aid. Active in 27 Field Offices.

73) Truck Hijack Photo Album. Contains photos and descriptive data of individuals who are suspected truck hijackers. It is used as an investigative aid and for displaying photos to witnesses and/or victims to identify unknown subjects in hijacking cases. Active in four Field Offices.

74) Truck Thief Suspect Photo Album. Consists of photos and background data on individuals previously arrested or are currently suspects regarding vehicle theft. The index is used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

75) Traveling Criminal Photo Album. Consists of photos with identifying data of individuals convicted of various criminal offenses and may be suspects in other offenses. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

76) Veterans Administrative (VA)/Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Matters Index. Consists of cards of individuals who have been subject of an investigation relative to VA and FHA matters. It is used as an investigative aid. Active in one Field Office.

77) Wanted Fliers File. Consists of fliers, filed numerically in a control file, on badly wanted fugitives whose apprehension may be facilitated by a flier. The flier contains the names, photographs, aliases, previous convictions, and a caution notice. Active at FBI Headquarters and in 46 Field Offices.

78) Wheeldex. Contains the nicknames and the case file numbers of organized crime members. It is used in organized crime investigations. Active in one Field Office.

79) White House Special Index. Contains cards on all potential White House appointees, staff members, guests, and visitors that have been referred to the FBI by the White House security office for a records check to identify any adverse or derogatory information. This index is used to expedite such check in view of the tight timeframe usually required. Active at FBI Headquarters.

80) Witness Protection Program Index. Contains cards on individuals who have been furnished a new identity by the U.S. Justice Department because of their testimony in organized crime trials. It is used primarily to notify the U.S. Marshals Service when information related to the safety of a protected witness comes to the FBI's attention. Active at FBI Headquarters

Records Maintained in FBI Field Divisions

FBI field divisions maintain for limited periods of time investigative, administrative and correspondence records, including files, index cards and related material, some of which are duplicated copies of reports and similar documents forwarded to FBI Headquarters. Most investigative activities conducted by FBI field divisions are reported to FBI Headquarters at one or more stages of the investigation. There are, however, investigative activities wherein no reporting was made to FBI Headquarters, e.g., pending cases not as yet reported and cases which were closed in the field division for any of a number of reasons without reporting to FBI Headquarters.

Duplicate records and records which extract information reported in the main files are also kept in the various divisions of the FBI to assist them in their day-to-day operation. These records are lists of individuals which contain certain biographic data, including physical description and photograph. They may also contain information concerning activities of the individual as reported to FBIHQ by the various field offices. The establishment of these lists is necessitated by the needs of the Division to have immediate access to pertinent information duplicative of data found in the central records without the delay caused by a time-consuming manual search of central indices. The manner of segregating these individuals varies depending on the particular needs of the FBI Division. The information pertaining to individuals who are a part of the list is derivative of information contained in the Central Records System.

These duplicative records fall into the following categories:

(1) Listings of individuals used to assist in the location and apprehension of individuals for whom legal process is outstanding (fugitives):

(2) Listings of individuals used in the identification of particular offenders in cases where the FBI has jurisdiction. These listings include various photograph albums and background data concerning persons who have been formerly charged with a particular crime and who may be suspect in similar criminal activities; and photographs of individuals who are unknown but suspected of involvement in a particular criminal activity, for example, bank surveillance photographs:

(3) Listings of individuals as part of an overall criminal intelligence effort by the FBI. This would include photograph albums, lists of individuals known to be involved in criminal activity, including theft from interstate shipment, interstate transportation of stolen property, and individuals in the upper echelon of organized crime:

(4) Listings of individuals in connection with the FBI's mandate to carry out Presidential directives on January 8, 1943, July 24, 1950, December 15, 1953, and February 18, 1976, which designated the FBI to carry out investigative work in matters relating to espionage, sabotage, and foreign counterintelligence. These listings may include photograph albums and other listings containing biographic data regarding individuals. This would include lists of identified and suspected foreign intelligence agents and informants.

(5) Special indices duplicative of the central indices used to access the Central Records System have been created from time to time in conjunction with the administration and investigation of major cases. This duplication and segregation facilitates access to documents prepared in connection with major cases

Edited September 30, 2014 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Trejo]

As former FBI Agents Don Adams and Wesley Swearingen have written, FBI Agents don't always follow the FBI protocol, and often go around it when that might be more practical for their local purposes.

It's one thing to know the book -- it's another thing to go by the book -- and when the rubber meets the road, these two might not always correlate.

In other words, there are exceptions.

When it came to the JFK murder, and to the directive of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover that Lee Harvey Oswald was to be regarded as the "Lone Assassin," and that there were no accomplices who were still at large -- not only the volunteered information of Harry Dean, but also the internal information provided by FBI Agents themselves, like Don Adams and Wesley Swearingen, would be discarded by the FBI -- despite their formal rules and protocols.

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo

Edited September 30, 2014 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

BUMP

Edited September 30, 2014 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

As former FBI Agents Don Adams and Wesley Swearingen have written, FBI Agents don't always follow the FBI protocol, and often go around it when that might be more practical for their local purposes.

It's one thing to know the book -- it's another thing to go by the book -- and when the rubber meets the road, these two might not always correlate.

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo

Since I do not know what you intended your comment to apply to -- I can't respond appropriately except to point out that everything must be judged upon its merits -- not just accepted because one or two Agents make claims. Furthermore, as I have told you in private emails, many Agents spent their entire careers working ONLY in a field office and they had no personal knowledge of HQ practices and procedures OR their knowledge was limited in scope and duration.

As is often the case with Paul's messages, one gets into epistemological disputes. Paul thinks ANYTHING he finds which can be twisted to support his argument becomes "credible" information -- no matter what the source.

There are very famous examples (about FBI Agents) which I have previously mentioned. I am going to summarize them here again because they clearly illustrate the problem with Paul's capacity for careful reasoning.

EXAMPLE #1 = JACK LEVINE

One former FBI Agent (Jack Levine) made comments in 1962 (after he resigned from the FBI) which were widely repeated in books and articles----even by well-known and respected scholars---regarding the number of FBI informants inside the CPUSA. Levine declared that 1500 of the 8500 members of the CPUSA were paid FBI informants and, consequently, the FBI was the single largest financial contributor (from dues payments) to the Communist Party in our country.

Decades later, indisputable evidence became available to prove that Jack Levine's comments were entirely FALSE. In reality, there were only 401 FBI informants inside the CPUSA in 1962 -- and -- the Party had only 5164 members at that time.

But there was no possible way (in the 1960's) to know (with any reasonable certainty) that Jack's comments were false -- because there was no way for ordinary folks or for even accomplished scholars to have access to the relevant data.

BUT -- there were major clues which SHOULD have produced alarm bells. Namely,

(1) that if you carefully researched Jack Levine, you would have discovered that he was employed by the FBI from September 12, 1960 through August 4, 1961 and then he resigned. Since FBI Agents usually have a minimum of 13 or 14 weeks of "New Agent" training classes before being assigned to a field office, that means Levine had a maximum of EIGHT MONTHS work experience within the FBI and more importantly,

(2) Jack never worked at FBI HQ in Division 5 (where Agents have access to classified information regarding CPUSA membership numbers and numbers of FBI informants inside the Party.)

One Pulitzer-Prize winning historian (David J. Garrow) sent me an email making the following observations about this matter:

Hi--This is superb--thank you tremendously for e-mailing me! First off, I'm not at all surprised by the informant numbers. On present-day reflection those make *much* more sense than the Levine #, and Levine of course was not a Division 5 HQ guy who would have been in any informed position to know the overall total--what he knew was no doubt street agent chatter. I've seen tens of thousands of pages of FBI docs, but I've never before seen unredacted inspection reports, and filing for inspection reports was a brilliant FOIA idea, and one neither I (nor anyone else that I'm aware of) ever thought of.

What Paul Trejo fails to understand is the point made by Garrow regarding "street Agent chatter" -- which is another word for rumor and gossip and hearsay by people who don't have access to relevant primary source factual information.

But, now, let's turn our attention to a much more serious example

EXAMPLE #2 = W. CLEON SKOUSEN

Skousen is a much more interesting and pertinent example for our purposes for several reasons.

1. First, Skousen worked for the FBI for many years (just like Swearingen and Adams)

2. Second, Skousen DID work at FBI HQ -- including in Supervisory positions (unlike Swearingen and Adams)

3. Third, the claims made by Skousen's admirers (including his relatives) appear (on the surface) to be incontrovertible

4. Fourth, Skousen was a prolific speaker and author and is frequently cited by all sorts of other people as an "expert" regarding internal security matters because of his FBI experience. In fact, Skousen and his admirers have even described him as a one-time "Administrative Assistant to J. Edgar Hoover".

5. And, lastly, hundreds of libraries in our country and around the world include Skousen's books in their holdings -- particularly his two most famous ones, The Naked Communist and The Naked Capitalist.

I won't take a lot of space here to summarize Skousen's career but if anyone is interested in a very detailed discussion of it, see my online report about Skousen -- which includes my detailed critique of his 1963 pamphlet entitled "The Communist Attack on the John Birch Society" -- along with my rejoinder to comments made by Paul Skousen (his son). https://sites.google.com/site/ernie124102/skousen

The critical information to know about Cleon Skousen is that his FBI career was primarily involved with administrative matters, public relations, and training schools for police departments particularly with respect to juvenile delinquency matters --- but he never developed any expertise with internal security-related matters.

Furthermore, when the FBI's Research Section was instructed by J. Edgar Hoover to examine one of Skousen's articles published in Law and Order magazine whose theme was identical to the theme of his book, "The Naked Capitalist" -- there were major mistakes of fact which no serious student of Communist movement history should make -- particularly somebody who had FBI experience.

BOTTOM-LINE

So, just because somebody worked for the FBI in some capacity does NOT mean they have correct or entirely accurate knowledge either about the FBI's practices or about internal security matters.

HOWEVER, as is the case in ANY large organization, you can always find critics. Sometimes those critics provide VERY valuable insights.

Sometimes, however, they are malcontents who are pissed off and have grudges because they received a poor performance evaluation or they were passed over for promotion or they did not receive what they thought was proper recognition for their work OR they have personality disputes with their immediate supervisors or co-workers who are elevated to other positions.

The point is: just because somebody publishes a book about the FBI does not mean everything in it is accurate and truthful. One has to make INDEPENDENT judgments based upon careful examination of what is being presented. Probing questions have to be asked in order to determine the time, place, and scope of somebody's actual knowledge AND to separate out what David Garrow called "street chatter" from actual truth. And, sometimes, there may be no way to make final or reliable judgments based upon current knowledge (such as the Jack Levine matter in the 1960's).

SWEARINGEN BOOK:

Paul frequently cites his book (FBI Secrets: An Agent's Expose) but it is extremely significant to point out that even Swearingen acknowledges in writing that he uses pseudonyms for almost all of the persons he names in his book. Consequently, there is no possible way for Paul Trejo or for ANYBODY else to perform any serious research into Swearingen's assertions insofar as one needs to know the specific names of the persons involved in the incidents which Swearingen discusses. But what this DOES reveal is how credulous Paul Trejo is -- because even though he cannot possibly verify anything contained in Swearingen's book, he thinks it is indisputable TRUTH!

POSTSCRIPT:

I could add former FBI Agent Dan Smoot to my list of alleged "FBI experts" about Communism whose FBI career (when carefully examined) reveals something much different from the general perception made by his admirers. Smoot was censured three times during his FBI career and upon the last occasion he was scheduled to be transferred from Dallas to a minor field office as a disciplinary measure. Not surprisingly, he abruptly retired within days of that transfer. Furthermore, his FBI personnel file reflects that he was not considered desirable for any possible re-hiring.

One of the relevant questions which needs to be asked about all FBI Agents who worked for the Bureau for lengthy periods (i.e. over 10 years) is: were they ever considered and recommended for a Supervisory Agent position? IF NOT, then WHY NOT? I know Paul Trejo does not ask such a question -- but it is extremely significant for a variety of reasons.

Another question which needs to be asked is: does an Agent's employment history reflect that he was constantly bouncing around and being assigned to different field offices -- especially if being transferred from a major field office to a minor office or "resident agency" position?

For example: Don Adams entered the FBI in 1962. About a year later he was assigned to Dallas but then went to Lubbock TX for 4 years. Why? Then he says he went back to Dallas for one year, then to Buffalo NY for 3 years and then to Akron Ohio, Why is that?

Normally, Agents are expected to bounce around during their first few years with the FBI but usually they eventually settle down (unless they request a transfer for family, medical, or other reasons).

I am NOT suggesting anything derogatory about Adams --- BUT as I said, when you review FBI personnel files, Agents who had sterling performance reports usually were able to be assigned to their first or second preferred location and settled down there (after their initial training and probationary period). So, at a minimum, probing questions need to be asked and answered before, willy nilly, believing everything which some Agent writes or says.

If, for example, Paul Trejo had done even cursory research into Wesley Grapp's background as an FBI Agent, he would have immediately discovered that Grapp did not transfer from FBI-Miami to FBI-Los Angeles field office until March of 1964 -- which means, obviously, Grapp did NOT "drive around for hours" with, or talk to, Harry Dean in September 1963 upon multiple occasions. It is this sort of easily confirmed FACT which makes it possible to separate the serious and potentially credible "eyewitness" stories from the bogus and manufactured or grossly exaggerated and flawed "eyewitness" accounts.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Ernie Lazar

[Ernie Lazar]

As former FBI Agents Don Adams and Wesley Swearingen have written, FBI Agents don't always follow the FBI protocol, and often go around it when that might be more practical for their local purposes.

It's one thing to know the book -- it's another thing to go by the book -- and when the rubber meets the road, these two might not always correlate.

In other words, there are exceptions.

When it came to the JFK murder, and to the directive of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover that Lee Harvey Oswald was to be regarded as the "Lone Assassin," and that there were no accomplices who were still at large -- not only the volunteered information of Harry Dean, but also the internal information provided by FBI Agents themselves, like Don Adams and Wesley Swearingen, would be discarded by the FBI -- despite their formal rules and protocols.

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo

But again Paul you are making broad generalizations from evidence which you have never personally investigated. More troubling, however, is your use of loaded terminology which is calculated to prejudice readers into accepting YOUR interpretation. For example, you state that "internal information provided by FBI Agents...would be discarded by the FBI". As is always the case with you, your use of the English language requires constant scrutiny.

To "discard" can mean to literally "throw away" (such as when you "discard" old clothes) OR it can mean to "reject" after being considered (such as when you are playing poker, and you "discard" a card because you decide it cannot help you.

Furthermore, when information is "discarded" there are many subjective factors in play which non-participants are NOT privy to. For obvious reasons, you prefer to focus your attention upon Swearingen and Adams. But you must be aware that literally hundreds of FBI Agents were assigned to investigate something connected with Kennedy's murder. LOTS of "information" was "discarded" in the sense that after it was evaluated, a decision was made that it was not credible or useful. In some cases, "information" was not even pursued (i.e. a person was never interviewed by the FBI or by HSCA etc.).

The key point here is this: YOU always select and believe as credible whatever "information" conforms to the conclusion you have already formed. You automatically reject and disbelieve or de-value any "information" which contradicts or diminishes your conclusion.

For example, for some unfathomable reason, you objected to my description of Edwin Walker as an "authoritarian personality" -- even though he joined an organization (JBS) which was deliberately created to be a "monolithic body" in which members had no ability to select their leaders nor any ability to choose or revise the policies which the leader of the organization pronounced. Furthermore, his entire career was inside a military command structure with a strict hierarchy of authority where orders were given and were expected to be obeyed. Period.

So, bottom-line is this: You read two books which I am certain you have never researched but just mindlessly accepted as "truth" because they contain assertions which fit into your pre-existing beliefs and you don't even pretend that you are operating under your own stated rules which require "independent confirmation" for any serious assertions or allegations -- so, instead, you immediately and cheerfully accept these books as "gospel truth" as though Swearingen and Adams came down from Mt. Sinai to give us God's word.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Trejo]

The resigned Major General Edwin Walker was a complex personality. He cannot be labeled so easily. He was homosexual at a time when homosexuality was severely frowned upon in American society, and when it was a felony in the US Military.

Naturally, Edwin Walker had to learn to lie -- to live in the closet -- and this compromised his integrity to a significant extent. It was probably torture for him.

Yet in many ways, Edwin Walker was a "liberal" personality, or even a "Libertarian."

For example, even though he moved largely in racist circles in the South (e.g. the White Citizens Councils) he never used the "N" word in his speeches -- contrary to his contemporary, Alabama Governor George Wallace, and other politicians in the Deep South in 1960-1963.

Further, Edwin Walker, when he was a US General, fulfilled his military duty to enforce the Brown Decision for racially integrated public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957-1959. The speech he gave in 1957 showed that he was clearly not a racist at that time.

When Edwin Walker finally caved in to the far Right wing of Southern politics as they bore down on him there in Arkansas, he still framed his position in terms of States Rights, and not in terms of racial superiority or inferiority.

He said that if a given American State wants to racially integrate their public schools, that should be their free choice to do so. However, if another American State chooses to keep their public schools racially segregated, it should also be their right to do so -- under the US Constitutional provision of States Rights.

In other words -- race was not the issue for Edwin Walker -- but he finally decided that the US Federal Government exceeded its authority by compelling individual US States to racially integrate their public schools -- AGAINST THEIR WILL.

Now -- I still believe that Edwin Walker was wrong in his politics. We have a Supreme Court in the USA who is given authority by the Constitution to *interpret* the Law, and they *interpreted* the Law to permit no exceptions in the fulfillment of public school education without regard to race, religion, creed, national origin and so on.

So, in my opinion, the States Rights argument was incorrect -- but I make a careful distinction here -- it wasn't a RACIST position. It was a Constitutional position.

Furthermore, Edwin Walker's opinion was that it was the US Federal Government which was "authoritarian" and was forcing its will upon unwilling States. So, in that sense, Edwin Walker was opposed to this sort of "authoritarian" politics.

There are other nuances that I perceive with regard to Edwin Walker. In my opinion, after perusing his personal papers at UT Austin, I conclude that Edwin Walker was basically an honest man with a conscience, and he wanted to confess to the murder of JFK from the day of the murder and for the rest of his life.

The reason that Edwin Walker didn't openly confess, was that he had given his word to his comrades that he would keep the JFK conspiracy a sacred secret, and so he kept his word.

Yet the temptation for Walker to confess was so strong, in my opinion, that he immediately began leaving clues. His first and most important clue was to closely associate himself with Lee Harvey Oswald in the public record. It was vital for everybody to know that he had always known Lee Harvey Oswald was his 10 April 1963 shooter, said Edwin Walker, and he first announced this to the German newspaper, the Deutsche Nationalzeitung, less than 24 hours after JFK was murdered.

True, Walker denied this under oath to the Warren Commission attorneys, but he again blurted this out to the world through the National Enquirer, in his newsletters to the Friends of Walker, in his private conversations, and also to US Government officials, including to Senator Frank Church in the late 1970's, and finally to a local newspaper the year before he died.

The keystone of Harry Dean's claim is that he heard Edwin Walker speaking about Lee Harvey Oswald in September of 1963. This confirms Edwin Walker's own claim, in his personal papers, that he knew about Lee Harvey Oswald for most of 1963, as well as evidence that we have that Walker carefully tracked Oswald for much of the Spring, all of the Summer, and much of the Autumn of 1963.

So, the bottom line is this: only those who think in either/or, black/white terms, or who insist that all FBI men always followed all the FBI rules all the time, would be inclined to label Edwin Walker as an "authoritarian" personality, and leave it at that.

Sincerely,
--Paul Trejo
<edit typos>

Edited September 30, 2014 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

The resigned Major General Edwin Walker was a complex personality. He cannot be labeled so easily. He was homosexual at a time when homosexuality was severely frowned upon in American society, and when it was a felony in the US Military.

Naturally, Edwin Walker had to learn to lie -- to live in the closet -- and this compromised his integrity to a significant extent. It was probably torture for him.

Yet in many ways, Edwin Walker was a "liberal" personality, or even a "Libertarian."

For example, even though he moved largely in racist circles in the South (e.g. the White Citizens Councils) he never used the "N" word in his speeches -- contrary to his contemporary, Alabama Governor George Wallace, and other politicians in the Deep South in 1960-1963.

Further, Edwin Walker, when he was a US General, fulfilled his military duty to enforce the Brown Decision for racially integrated public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957-1959. The speech he gave in 1957 showed that he was clearly not a racist at that time.

When Edwin Walker finally caved in to the far Right wing of Southern politics as they bore down on him there in Arkansas, he still framed his position in terms of States Rights, and not in terms of racial superiority or inferiority.

He said that if a given American State wants to racially integrate their public schools, that should be their free choice to do so. However, if another American State chooses to keep their public schools racially segregated, it should also be their right to do so -- under the US Constitutional provision of States Rights.

In other words -- race was not the issue for Edwin Walker -- but he finally decided that the US Federal Government exceeded its authority by compelling individual US States to racially integrate their public schools -- AGAINST THEIR WILL.

Now -- I still believe that Edwin Walker was wrong in his politics. We have a Supreme Court in the USA who is given authority by the Constitution to *interpret* the Law, and they *interpreted* the Law to permit no exceptions in the fulfillment of public school education without regard to race, religion, creed, national origin and so on.

So, in my opinion, the States Rights argument was incorrect -- but I make a careful distinction here -- it wasn't a RACIST position. It was a Constitutional position.

Furthermore, Edwin Walker's opinion was that it was the US Federal Government which was "authoritarian" and was forcing its will upon unwilling States. So, in that sense, Edwin Walker was opposed to this sort of "authoritarian" politics.

There are other nuances that I perceive with regard to Edwin Walker. In my opinion, after perusing his personal papers at UT Austin, I conclude that Edwin Walker was basically an honest man with a conscience, and he wanted to confess to the murder of JFK from the day of the murder and for the rest of his life.

The reason that Edwin Walker didn't openly confess, was that he had given his word to his comrades that he would keep the JFK conspiracy a sacred secret, and so he kept his word.

Yet the temptation for Walker to confess was so strong, in my opinion, that he immediately began leaving clues. His first and most important clue was to closely associate himself with Lee Harvey Oswald in the public record. It was vital for everybody to know that he had always known Lee Harvey Oswald was his 10 April 1963 shooter, said Edwin Walker, and he first announced this to the German newspaper, the Deutsche Nationalzeitung, less than 24 hours after JFK was murdered.

True, Walker denied this under oath to the Warren Commission attorneys, but he again blurted this out to the world through the National Enquirer, in his newsletters to the Friends of Walker, in his private conversations, and also to US Government officials, including to Senator Frank Church in the late 1970's, and finally to a local newspaper the year before he died.

The keystone of Harry Dean's claim is that he heard Edwin Walker speaking about Lee Harvey Oswald in September of 1963. This confirms Edwin Walker's own claim, in his personal papers, that he knew about Lee Harvey Oswald for most of 1963, as well as evidence that we have that Walker carefully tracked Oswald for much of the Spring, all of the Summer, and much of the Autumn of 1963.

So, the bottom line is this: only those who think in either/or, black/white terms, or who insist that all FBI men always followed all the FBI rules all the time, would be inclined to label Edwin Walker as an "authoritarian" personality, and leave it at that.

Sincerely,

--Paul Trejo

<edit typos>

You have GOT to be kidding!

Walker was a "liberal personality" or a "libertarian" because you think he never used the "n-word" ??? THAT is all that is required to be a "liberal" on race-related matters?

And because Walker followed orders (which obviously he was required to do in order to keep his job), THAT is compelling evidence to you regarding his personal beliefs and values?

How many black soldiers did Walker come into contact with during his career? How many did he command? How many did he personally recommend for advancement?

But the worst example you cite is this one:

When Edwin Walker finally caved in to the far Right wing of Southern politics as they bore down on him there in Arkansas, he still framed his position in terms of States Rights, and not in terms of racial superiority or inferiority.

Paul -- can you REALLY be that totally ignorant about U.S. history and, in particular, the code words used to defend Jim Crowism? "States rights" was used by life-long racists to project a "kinder, gentler" persona so that well-meaning northerners might be persuaded to sympathize with the public policy decisions made in the south by "respectable" and prominent people who despised black Americans -- such as requiring literacy tests for voting which were DESIGNED to exclude blacks. And that was described as a "states rights" matter!

Furthermore, there is no "liberal personality" or "libertarian" who agrees to be the featured speaker at KKK or other white supremacist events. And there is no "liberal personality" or "libertarian" who befriends and endorses vicious racists like Sen. James Eastland and Gov. Ross Barnett and Gov. Lester Maddox. And none who states (as Walker did) that he believed there were more "good Americans" inside the KKK than inside a liberal group like ADA.

AND there is no "liberal personality" or "libertarian" who meets with the Imperial Wizard of the United Klans of America to discuss whether he might consider the offer of the position of Grand Dragon for the State of Texas -- and then that person mentions to a friend that he is "considering" accepting the position!

AND there is no "liberal personality" or "libertarian" who subscribes to or contributes articles to viciously racist publications such as Conde McGinley's "Common Sense" and Ned Touchstone's, "The Councilor" -- nor does such a person CHOOSE to associate himself with somebody like Medford Evans -- who was a life-long segregationist whom, YES, did use the word "n".

So, the bottom line is this: only those who are willfully ignorant and blind would be inclined to ignore all of the massive evidence regarding Walker's actual beliefs and values.

And since nobody on this website has ever stated or believed or even hinted that "all FBI men always followed all the FBI rules all the time" -- there is obviously no relevance to your comment and it merely reflects your total inability to accurately summarize what has been repeatedly stated so you feel compelled to INVENT straw-man arguments.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Trejo]

Fifty years ago, on this date, the Warren Report was being finalized. Among the final interviews done for the Warren Report were the FBI interviews of Loran Hall, Larry Howard and William Seymour.

These interviews were in response to the sworn testimony of Silvia Odio, who claimed that Lee Harvey Oswald had come to her doorstep during the final week of September 1963, with two Hispanic men, who introduced themselves by their "war names".

To the best of her recollection, which she admitted was hazy, their war names were "Leopoldo" and "Angelo." She had never seen them before. She remembered clearly, though, that the American was introduced to her as "Leon Oswald." (It's common for a Spanish person to use the name, Leon, instead of Lee, since there is no Spanish first-name, 'Lee,' and Leon is the nearest equivalent.)

They claimed to be representing JURE, one of the many counter-revolutionary Cuban Exile groups committed to the overthrow of Fidel Castro. This was significant for Silvia Odio, because she herself -- along with her parents -- was a member of JURE.

Silvia Odio came from a wealthy family in Cuba. Her father was languishing in a Cuban prison, jailed by Fidel Castro, and SIlvia Odio's husband had also deserted her and her children, leaving her feeling depressed much of the time. Still, she kept heart, held down a job, and took care of her children and her two younger sisters in the USA. She was now living in Dallas.

She had never seen these three strangers at her door, but they claimed to be from JURE, so she listened to them, but she refused to invite them inside. Leopoldo said they drove all the way from New Orleans to see her, and had to be getting back on the road right away. The hour was about eight o'clock at night, but there was a bright porch light shining at this apartment complex, so she got a very good look at all these men for about twenty minutes as they made their pitch.

They claimed to know Silvia's father, and they asked her for a donation for the cause (knowing she was from a rich family) and they also asked her to translate a Spanish fund-raising letter to English for them (knowing she was educated).

Still, Silvia remained skeptical. She told them that she would first contact her father and ask if she knew them, before she would commit to helping them. She was bothered by it, since she really wanted to do all she could to help JURE and get her father out of prison. But she had also learned to be cautious, and to beware of swindlers within the Cuban Exile community.

The men left -- Leopoldo put his glasses back on and drove them away in his car. But sometime around the weekend Leopoldo called her on the telephone, and asked her, "What did you think of the American?" Silvia was speechless. What about him? Leopoldo added, "He's a great asset. He's a former Marine and a sharp-shooter, but he's also kind of nuts -- you never know which way to take him."

Silvia remained speechless. So what? Leopoldo added, "He said you Cubans don't have any guts because Kennedy should have been assassinated after the Bay of Pigs." Silvia just hung up at that point. Why was Leopoldo talking about assassinating JFK?

Silvia Odio told her sisters and her closest friends about the incident. Actually, her youngest sister, Annie, was there with her when this happened. She told her middle sister, Sarita, and her older friend, Lucille Connell, and also her psychiatrist, Dr. Burton Einspruch. Then she forgot all about it and went back to her work-a-day life.

Until the JFK assassination. When Lee Harvey Oswald's photograph was plastered on every TV screen in the world, Silvia Odio fainted away, and had to be hospitalized. When she awoke in the hospital, Oswald's photo was still being shown on TV, and she and her sister Annie, who had also seen Oswald at their front door, cried together.

The person who took this story to the FBI, however, was Lucille Connell, who wanted to be sure that the FBI had all the facts they needed to solve the JFK murder. Mrs. Connell also added some guess work of her own to the FBI account, but these guesses faded away as the facts and testimony were recorded. (Although, in their 1996 book, Oswald Talked, Ray and Mary La Fontaine believe that the FBI should have given more credence to Lucille Connell, and less to Silvia Odio.)

Before she gave testimony to the Warren Commission, Silvia Odio spent lots of time with the FBI as well as attorney Wesley Liebeler. Silvia reported words to this effect, "Even during my interviews, Mr. Liebeler told the group that the Warren Commission does not want to hear that Lee Harvey Oswald had any accomplices, and so if that is the result of these interviews, they will be severely challenged."

All Silvia could do was tell the truth about what happened. She was surprised, however, when the FBI questioned her sanity, and insisted on interviewing her psychiatrist, and asked all her friends and associates if they thought that Silvia Odio was a "mental case".

The FBI and the Warren Commission ultimately concluded that Silvia Odio did not really see Lee Harvey Oswald at her door during the last week of September 1963 because of her "mental condition." HOWEVER -- the FBI also did some further investigation based on Silvia's claim.

For one thing, they picked up Loran Hall. Why they chose Loran Hall, they do not say. (Silvia Odio was unable to identify the two Hispanic men out of hundreds of photographs shown to her by the FBI). In a surprising development, Loran Hall admitted that he was the one who was there at Silvia Odio's apartment on that day.

Furthermore, said Loran Hall, Larry Howard was the second Hispanic man with him. However, added Loran Hall, the American was not Lee Harvey Oswald, but William Seymour, another former member of Gerry Patrick Hemming's raiding group, Interpen.

The FBI rushed this story to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who quickly submitted it to the Warren Commission as his final word. Siliva Odio was simply mistaken, and her belief that William Seymour was Lee Harvey Oswald was due to her "mental condition."

HOWEVER -- the FBI also interviewed Larry Howard and William Seymour. Both men loudly denied their involvement, and said Loran Hall was a xxxx. They produced viable alibis. So, the FBI returned to Loran Hall, and told him that his story didn't check out.

So, Loran Hall changed his story. He never saw Silvia Odio before in his life, he said. It must have been some other Cuban woman that they visited -- and anyway, he can't remember her name. Also, it wasn't William Seymour, it was Wahito, another mercenary comrade, with them that day.

The FBI then took this information to J. Edgar Hoover. Knowing this contradicted what Hoover had told the Warren Commission, Hoover chose to ignore this report, and deny that he ever heard it. He ordered the Warren Report to proceed to the printing press with his original story about William Seymour.

And when we read the Warren Report conclusion about Silvia Odio's testimony today, we read that Silvia Odio, due to her "mental condition," mistook William Seymour for Lee Harvey Oswald.

Yet the day that was published, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover knew that it was incorrect.

So much for FBI protocol and rules.

Now -- does any of this relate to the story told by Harry Dean? Yes it does. From the start, Harry Dean has always named names in the plot to murder JFK. They were all related to the John Birch Society, said Harry Dean to Joe Pyne in January 1965.

Resigned Major General Edwin Walker was first on the list. Then Congressman John Rousselot, the money man. Then Guy Gabaldon, a radicalized hero of WW2, and his two close followers, Loran Hall and Larry Howard.

We know that Harry Dean volunteered lots and lots of information to the FBI from 1960-1964. We have ample evidence of this. And we know that the FBI interviewed Loran Hall in connection with the Silvia Odio story -- without telling us WHY they selected Loran Hall.

This is a great mystery, that demands a resolution. Harry Dean says that he gave the FBI the name of Loran Hall in late 1963 and early 1964.

Silvia Odio did NOT give the FBI the name of Loran Hall. Yet the FBI still picked up Loran Hall -- and Loran Hall initially CONFESSED to visiting Silvia Odio with Larry Howard and "an American."

Further -- as Harry Dean has always said -- when on the road, Loran Hall and Larry Howard always went by their "war names." In this case, Loran's war name was "Lorenzo Pacillo," and Larry's war name was "Alonzo Escruido."

Harry Dean has always suspected that because Silvia Odio admitted she was hazy about their war names, that the two men really didn't say, "Leopoldo" and "Angelo," but "Lorenzo" and "Alonzo."

Small wonder, in my opinion, that the same FBI who accused Silvia Odio of a "mental condition" for claiming that Lee Harvey Oswald had accomplices, would also accuse Harry Dean of a mental condition, for claiming that Lee Harvey Oswald had THE SAME TWO ACCOMPLICES.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

<edit typos>

Edited October 2, 2014 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

Fifty years ago, on this date, the Warren Report was being finalized. Among the final interviews done for the Warren Report were the FBI interviews of Loran Hall, Larry Howard and William Seymour.

These interviews were in response to the sworn testimony of Silvia Odio, who claimed that Lee Harvey Oswald had come to her doorstep during the final week of September 1963, with two Hispanic men, who introduced themselves by their "war names".

To the best of her recollection, which she admitted was hazy, their war names were "Leopoldo" and "Angelo." She had never seen them before. She remembered clearly, though, that the American was introduced to her as "Leon Oswald." (It's common for a Spanish person to use the name, Leon, instead of Lee, since there is no Spanish first-name, 'Lee,' and Leon is the nearest equivalent.)

They claimed to be representing JURE, one of the many counter-revolutionary Cuban Exile group committed to the overthrow of Fidel Castro. This was significant for Silvia Odio, because she herself -- along with her parents -- was a member of JURE.

Silvia Odio came from a wealthy family in Cuba. Her father was languishing in a Cuban prison, jailed by Fidel Castro, and SIlvia Odio's husband had also deserted her, leaving her feeling depressed much of the time. Still, she kept heart, held down a job, and took care of her two younger sisters in the USA. She was now living in Dallas.

She had never seen these three strangers at her door, but they claimed to be from JURE, so she listened to them, but she refused to invite them inside. Leopoldo said they drove all the way from New Orleans to see her, and had to be getting back on the road right away. The hour was about eight o'clock at night, but there was a bright porch light shining at this apartment complex, so she got a very good look at all these men for about twenty minutes as they made their pitch.

They claimed to know Silvia's father, and they asked her for a donation for the cause (knowing she was from a rich family) and they also asked her to translate a Spanish fund-raising letter to English for them (knowing she was educated).

Still, Silvia remained skeptical. She told them that she would first contact her father and ask if she knew them, before she would commit to helping them. She was bothered by it, since she really wanted to do all she could to help JURE and get her father out of prison. But she had also learned to be cautious, and to beware of swindlers within the Cuban Exile community.

The men left -- Leopoldo put his glasses back on and drove them away in his car. But sometime around the weekend Leopoldo called her on the telephone, and asked her, "What did you think if the American?" Silvia was speechless. What about him? Leopoldo added, "He's a great asset. He's a former Marine and a sharp-shooter, but he's also kind of nuts -- you never know which way to take him."

Silvia remained speechless. So what? Leopoldo added, "He said you Cubans don't have any guts because Kennedy should have been assassinated after the Bay of Pigs." Silvia just hung up at that point. Why was Leopoldo talking about assassinating JFK?

Silvia Odio told her sisters and her closest friends about the incident. Actually, her youngest sister, Annie, was there with her when this happened. She told her middle sister, Sarita, and her older friend, Lucille Connell, and also her psychiatrist, Dr. Burton Einspruch. Then she forgot all about it and went back to her work-a-day life.

Until the JFK assassination. When Lee Harvey Oswald's photograph was plastered on every TV screen in the world, Silvia Odio fainted away, and had to be hospitalized. When she awoke in the hospital, Oswald's photo was still being shown on TV, and she and her sister Annie, who had also seen Oswald at their front door, cried together.

The person who took this story to the FBI, however, was Lucille Connell, who wanted to be sure that the FBI had all the facts they needed to solve the JFK murder. Mrs. Connell also added some guess work of her own to the FBI account, but these guesses faded away as the facts and testimony were recorded. (Although, in their 1996 book, Oswald Talked, Ray and Mary La Fontaine believe that the FBI should have given more credence to Lucille Connell, and less to Silvia Odio.)

Before she gave testimony to the Warren Commission, Silvia Odio spent lots of time with the FBI as well as attorney Wesley Liebeler. Silvia reported words to this effect, "Even during my interviews, Mr. Liebeler told the group that the Warren Commission does not want to hear that Lee Harvey Oswald had any accomplices, and so if that is the result of these interviews, they will be severely challenged."

All Silvia could do was tell the truth about what happened. She was surprised, however, when the FBI questioned her sanity, and insisted on interviewing her psychiatrist, and asked all her friends and associates if they thought that Silvia Odio was a "mental case".

What's interesting in this story, however, is that although the FBI and the Warren Commission ultimately concluded that Silvia Odio did not really see Lee Harvey Oswald at her door during the last week of September 1963 because of her "mental condition," the FBI also did some further investigation based on Silvia's claim.

For one thing, they picked up Loran Hall. Why they chose Loran Hall, they do not say. (Silvia Odio was unable to identify the two Hispanic men out of hundreds of photographs shown to her by the FBI). In a surprising development, Loran Hall admitted that he was the one who was there at Silvia Odio's apartment on that day.

Furthermore, said Loran Hall, Larry Howard was the second Hispanic man with him. However, added Loran Hall, the American was not Lee Harvey Oswald, but William Seymour, another former member of Gerry Patrick Hemming's raiding group, Interpen.

The FBI rushed this story to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who quickly submitted it to the Warren Commission as his final word. Siliva Odio was simply mistaken, and her belief that William Seymour was Lee Harvey Oswald was due to her "mental condition."

HOWEVER -- the FBI also interviewed Larry Howard and William Seymour. Both men loudly denied their involvement. So, the FBI returned to Loran Hall, and told him that his story didn't check out.

So, Loran Hall changed his story. He never saw Silvia Odio before in his life, he said. It must have been some other Cuban woman that they visited -- and anyway, he can't remember her name. Also, it wasn't William Seymour, it was Wahito, another mercenary comrade, with them that day.

The FBI then took this information to J. Edgar Hoover. Knowing this contradicted what Hoover had told the Warren Commission, Hoover chose to tear up this report, and deny that he ever saw it. He ordered the Warren Report to proceed to the printing press with his original story about William Seymour.

And when we read the Warren Report today, and view Silvia Odio's testimony and the Warren Report conclusion about it, we read that Silvia Odio, due to her "mental condition," mistook William Seymour for Lee Harvey Oswald.

Yet the day that was published, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover knew that it was incorrect.

So much for FBI protocol and rules.

Now -- does any of this relate to the story told by Harry Dean? Yes it does. From the start, Harry Dean has always named names in the plot to murder JFK. They were all related to the John Birch Society, said Harry Dean to Joe Pyne in January 1965.

Resigned Major General Edwin Walker was first on the list. Then Congressman John Rousselot, the money man. Then Guy Gabaldon, a radicalized hero of WW2, and his two close followers, Loran Hall and Larry Howard.

We know that Harry Dean volunteered lots and lots of information to the FBI from 1960-1964. We have ample evidence of this. And we know that the FBI interviewed Loran Hall in connection with the Silvia Odio story -- without telling us WHY they selected Loran Hall.

This is a great mystery, that demands a resolution. Harry Dean says that he gave the FBI the name of Loran Hall in late 1963 and early 1964.

Silvia Odio did NOT give the FBI the name of Loran Hall. Yet the FBI still picked up Loran Hall -- and Loran Hall initially CONFESSED to visiting Silvia Odio with Larry Howard and "an American."

Further -- as Harry Dean has always said -- when on the road, Loran Hall and Larry Howard always went by their "war names." In this case, Loran's war name was "Lorenzo Pacillo," and Larry's war name was "Alonzo Escruido."

Harry Dean has always guessed that because Silvia Odio admitted she was hazy about their war names, that she didn't hear "Leopoldo" and "Angelo," but "Lorenzo" and "Alonzo."

Small wonder, in my opinion, that the same FBI who accused Silvia Odio of a "mental condition" for claiming that Lee Harvey Oswald had accomplices, would also accuse Harry Dean of a mental condition, for claiming that Lee Harvey Oswald had THE SAME TWO ACCOMPLICES.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

The FBI did not "accuse Harry Dean of a mental condition for claiming that LHO had the same two accomplices."

For strict factual accuracy, the only known mental patient ever documented in this thread is Harry's commitment to a mental institution in Canada for some period of time beginning in October 1948.

[Paul Trejo]

What's critically important for JFK Research in 2014, IMHO, is the fact that a few principals who were eye-witnesses to the events surrounding the murder of JFK, and who testified for the Warren Commission, and volunteered information to the FBI, are still alive.

For the serious researcher, these are our most valuable assets, and we should make use of every resource available to ensure that they are treated kindly, courteously, and asked all the vital questions that we must still ask -- while they are still alive.

Here are the eye-witnesses I know are still alive:

1. Marina Oswald

2. Michael Paine

3. Ruth Paine

4. Silvia Odio

5. Larry Schmidt

6. Bernard Weissman

7. Harry Dean

8. Ron Lewis

9. Judyth Vary Baker

Umm, that's all I can think of at the moment. Can anybody think of any others? I have dozens of names in my head, but all of those major eye-witnesses have already passed away.

I can think of one more who faced off with resigned General Edwin Walker at Ole Miss in 1963 -- namely the Episcopalian Bishop, Duncan Gray, of Oxford, Mississippi.

All these people are well into their 80's (except for Judyth).

It seems to me that treating these people with the utmost respect, while we continue to fish for details regarding the most significant political event of the 20th century, is as worthwhile today as it was a half-century ago.

Sadly, J. Edgar Hoover decided that it was a matter of National Security to promote the Myth that Lee Harvey Oswald was a "Lone Shooter" in the murder of JFK, and to authorize the FBI to tamper was countless items of evidence that showed conclusively that Lee Harvey Oswald was clearly not the "Lone Shooter".

Hoover's decision also resulted in stomping down hard on the testimonies of those who had more to say about resigned General Edwin Walker -- i.e. nearly all those people I named above.

The time has come to ACT, people. We need to move before it's too late and Nature herself runs her course.

And we need to insist on common courtesy, too. Please make this a priority.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

<edit typos>

Edited October 2, 2014 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

UPDATE RE: HARRY DEAN's FBI FILES

1. Today I received Harry's FBI-HQ file (62-109068 -- which incorporates HQ 62-109217). The file includes the inventory prepared by the House Select Committee on Assassinations which lists every serial in the file.

2. There is no "new" information which we do not already know about.

3. There are no new file numbers referenced on any serial OR on any search slip which reflect that there might be some other file(s) pertaining to Harry Dean (Paul's "secret files" delusion).

4. I also received an email today regarding the Rousselot file which I have paid for (HQ 94-54427). I was informed that it is being processed right now and I should receive it within the next 5 days.

[Thomas Graves]

UPDATE RE: HARRY DEAN's FBI FILES

1. Today I received Harry's FBI-HQ file (62-109068 -- which incorporates HQ 62-109217). The file includes the inventory prepared by the House Select Committee on Assassinations which lists every serial in the file.

2. There is no "new" information which we do not already know about.

3. There are no new file numbers referenced on any serial OR on any search slip which reflect that there might be some other file(s) pertaining to Harry Dean (Paul's "secret files" delusion).

4. I also received an email today regarding the Rousselot file which I have paid for (HQ 94-54427). I was informed that it is being processed right now and I should receive it within the next 5 days.

[emphasis added by T. Graves]

Excellent work, Ernie!

Thank you for spending the money and taking the time to do all of this.

Two quick questions: Are there any redactions in the documents? If so, could any of them be taken to even remotely suggest the existence of "secret files"? (I'm just trying to think like Trejo here.)

Thanks,

--Tommy

Edited October 14, 2014 by Thomas Graves

[Ernie Lazar]

UPDATE RE: HARRY DEAN's FBI FILES

1. Today I received Harry's FBI-HQ file (62-109068 -- which incorporates HQ 62-109217). The file includes the inventory prepared by the House Select Committee on Assassinations which lists every serial in the file.

2. There is no "new" information which we do not already know about.

3. There are no new file numbers referenced on any serial OR on any search slip which reflect that there might be some other file(s) pertaining to Harry Dean (Paul's "secret files" delusion).

4. I also received an email today regarding the Rousselot file which I have paid for (HQ 94-54427). I was informed that it is being processed right now and I should receive it within the next 5 days.

[emphasis added by T. Graves]

Excellent work, Ernie!

Thank you for spending the money and taking the time to do all of this.

Two quick questions: Are there any redactions in the documents? If so, could any of them be taken to even remotely suggest the existence of "secret files"? (I'm just trying to think like Trejo here.)

Thanks,

--Tommy

Tommy:

There are no redactions on any of the 162 pages with one relatively minor exception on a 3/6/64 SAC Los Angeles memo to J. Edgar Hoover.

That one serial redacts the symbol numbers of several "concealed sources" who provided the FBI with information regarding FPCC and Edgar Swabeck. Here is the paragraph:

"The concealed sources utilized in the citations of the FPCC and Edgar Swabeck, applicable for the period of Dean's activities in Chicago, mostly were derived from the reports of Special Agent John N. Morgan, dated 7/26/61, at Chicago and Special Agent Lee R. Inman, dated 7/26/62 at Los Angeles, regarding 'Edgar Swabeck--Security Matter-Socialist Workers Party' (Bufile 100-381850, Los Angeles 100-60840) are: CSLA 3184-S, WF-(#redacted)-S, and CG(#redacted)-S in conjunction with the FPCC and CG(#redacted)-S, CG(#redacted)-S and LA(#redacted)-S in connection with Swabeck."

The "S" suffix in each symbol number refers to "security informant".

What is particularly significant about this paragraph is that:

(1) The primary FBI summary reports about FPCC and about Swabeck in two different field offices in July 1961 and then again in July 1962 were based upon information sources OTHER THAN Harry Dean -- and those sources were specific symbol-number sources, i.e. actual FBI security informants (including one from Washington field i.e. "WF").

(2) Furthermore, the two FBI Agents referenced as being the key case Agents in Chicago and in Los Angeles re: FPCC/Swabeck/SWP are NOT the Agents whom Harry claims he made his reports to, nor are they the Agents whom had the most personal contacts with Harry in those offices --- which strongly suggests that when Harry contacted Chicago or Los Angeles, he spoke with general intake Agents (i.e. any Agent(s) on duty who accepted phone calls (or other unsolicited contacts) from anybody whom wanted to contact those FBI offices--as opposed to Agents assigned to receive information from a known specific confidential source or informant.)

The HQ file also has 12 pages of search slips on specific persons connected to FPCC in Chicago (i.e. Florence Levinsohn, Juan del Rosario, Miguel Diego Alfonso, Edward and Joyce Gourfain, Bernardino Sanchez, Richard and Florence Criley, Joaquin Freire, and Frank Vega) and the names of those persons are not redacted and none of their file and serial number references are redacted even though some of these folks are still living and nobody ever provided any death records on these folks when the FBI released this file 30 years ago. [Note: Their search slips do not list any Harry Dean file numbers--which means that whatever Harry provided to FBI-Chicago apparently was not considered very valuable---perhaps because Chicago already had more reliable information about these people from other people.]

Although, obviously, Paul Trejo will never accept the self-evident meaning of all the documentary evidence contained in Harry's HQ file or any of his other FBI or CIA files -- it is now very clear to any impartial independent researcher exactly what Harry's relationship was to the FBI in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Of particular significance is what I pointed out from the very beginning of my messages here in EF -- even though at that time I had seen NONE of Harry's FBI files (HQ or Los Angeles) nor his CIA file.

From the beginning (in June 2010) I summarized the standard operating rules and procedures which the FBI applied to any prospective information source.

I based my summary upon:

1. My acquisition of numerous FBI informant files which reveal in great detail the checklist which every field office used when they were asking HQ for approval to develop an informant or confidential source

2. Many SAC Letter instructions from Hoover to field offices containing very detailed instructions about what procedures should be followed

3. Familiarity with pertinent sections of FBI Manuals re: how to develop informants and what reports and evaluations were required AND

4. My reading of numerous books by many historians who have specialized in FBI history

5. The court-ordered study and inventory of the FBI's record-keeping practices and procedures AND

6. Congressional hearings regarding FBI practices (such as the extensive Church Committee hearings and reports).

Significantly, what I summarized (in June 2010) is precisely the procedure which FBI offices in both Chicago and Los Angeles followed with respect to Harry Dean.

As I have repeatedly stated, the FBI was NOT interested in Harry because of his publicity-seeking activities for his "JBS plot" story.

Instead, the ONLY reason the FBI became involved is because of Harry's incessant efforts to falsely associate himself with the FBI -- by either suggesting or by stating that he was some sort of "undercover agent" or "undercover operative" or "political spy" for the FBI.

The ultimate proof for this assertion is simply this: there are several lengthy periods of time when Harry's FBI files (HQ and Los Angeles) were totally DORMANT---and, in fact, Los Angeles even recommended that it be administratively closed!

The ONLY reason why new serials were created is because of many incoming inquiries about Harry (many from newspaper reporters, publishers, and TV programs) who asked the FBI to confirm or deny that Harry was some sort of FBI confidential source who provided information to the FBI because he was "asked" or instructed by the FBI to do so.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Ernie Lazar

[Paul Trejo]

Evidently Ernie Lazar believes that the FBI would tell him if they had any secret files on the JFK murder; down to the file numbers themselves!

LOL,

--Paul Trejo

Edited October 15, 2014 by Paul Trejo

[Ernie Lazar]

Evidently Ernie Lazar believes that the FBI would tell him if they had any secret files on the JFK murder; down to the file numbers themselves!

LOL,

--Paul Trejo

Paul, you STILL don't understand. Let's be honest about this -- just one time OK?

1. You have NO knowledge about any "secret files" pertaining to Harry Dean or the "JBS plot". If you had such specific knowledge, you would quote from or refer us to some document which lends credence to your assertion about the possibility that such files or serials exist.

2. Instead, you have just INVENTED your assertion from whole cloth.

3. The FBI has MANY files which originally were classified "secret", "top secret" or "confidential" -- but dozens of historians and researchers have discovered those files because there are methods (which you are TOTALLY ignorant about) to discover them -- and MANY of them have been released. How do I know that? Because I have copies of many of those files and serials which were so-classified AND you can find numerous previously classified files online -- especially on websites such as National Security Archive and Government Attic -- and many historians and newspaper reporters have obtained and reported upon information contained in those classified files.

4. There is NOTHING which Harry Dean has EVER stated or written which qualifies (today) for classification as "secret" information. Which is why ALL of his files went through a mandatory de-classification review 25-30 years ago (!!) and have been released without redaction!

5. Virtually everything Harry told the FBI was gossip, rumor, hearsay and rank speculation on his part. The few bits of information which Harry gave to the FBI which actually were somewhat helpful -- were not totally virgin revelations. The FBI had significant informant coverage inside (for example) FPCC and it was, therefore, already familiar with all of the personalities whom Harry brought to their attention -- especially the leadership of FPCC -- because most of them were on the FBI's Security Index BEFORE Harry contacted Chicago in August 1960.

6. The fundamental problem we have Paul is that you continue to speak from TOTAL ignorance. It is essential for your fiction for you to invent "secret files". If you ever had to admit that there are no "secret files", then your entire argument collapses into absurdity. This is why you REFUSE to contact knowledgeable scholars and historians and Congressional researchers who have intimate knowledge regarding what type of JFK-related information is currently not available (until 2017). If, for example, you were to ask them "Is there any JBS-related information being withheld" OR "Is there any information regarding John Rousselot or Edwin Walker being withheld" --- you would not like the answer you got.

7. As I told you before, ANYBODY who believes ANYTHING can claim that there are "secret files" in existence at some government agency. But merely asserting that such files exist is not proof that they exist. MILLIONS of pages pertaining to JFK's murder have already been released -- but nobody has found ANY clue to some "secret" file(s) regarding Harry Dean or about anybody else whom Harry has linked to the "JBS plot".

8. And when the FBI created contemporaneous documents (i.e. search slips and correlation summaries plus notations on its file copies of memos and reports written in the 1960's) about Harry, about JBS, about Minutemen, about Rousselot, about Walker, about Galbadon, etc. etc. -- NOWHERE are there any references to any serials or files which might support your assertion.

9. In other words, when the FBI created its own exclusively internal documents which were intended to inform its own employees (including its Assistant Directors) about ALL information in FBI files pertaining to specific individuals, organizations and subjects -- they somehow "forgot" to include what YOU think are files or serials which existed in the FBI's filing systems and indexes --- even though all of this was done YEARS before FOIA came into existence and, consequently, the FBI never even dreamed such data would ever be made public.

10. But as I have repeatedly pointed out -- fiction writers are NOT constrained by FACTS. Fiction writers can INVENT whatever they think will advance their preferred narrative and story-line. The rest of us have to rely upon verifiable factual evidence.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Ernie Lazar