Rex Bradford Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 On a trip to NARA last year, I noticed that 5 documents in the HSCA Immunized Testimony boxes remained withheld in full. Most prominent were Santos Trafficante's immunized testimony of 14 Nov 1977, and a lengthy memo written later in preparation for his public testimony. I made inquiries, and all 5 documents are now open in full, and last week I went to College Park and scanned them. See the page below for links to all of them, as well as other HSCA testimony I got while there (Priscilla Johnson McMillan and William Walter). http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/...timony_Released Trafficante's testimony contained no bombshells that I could see - he did name Tony Varona as being hired into the anti-Castro plots, which I don't believe came out as such in his public testimony. But mostly Trafficante played dumb, pretending that the only reason he was brought into the plots was as an interpreter. Presumably no one else in Florida could be found who spoke both English and Spanish. Trafficante did himself bring up the British reporter in jail (Hudson, though not by name), but denied that Ruby visited him there. I don't know why this and other testimony was withheld in full - I was told they simply "fell through the cracks." Maybe someone else will find a tidbit that I missed. Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Drago Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Gee ... It couldn't be because the testimony originally contained smoking guns that have since been sent to the smelter, could it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Bradford Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Gee ... It couldn't be because the testimony originally contained smoking guns that have since been sent to the smelter, could it? One never knows, but my personal view is that Trafficante was a very smart man who knew how to handle congressional committees. His public testimony is similar to this previously-withheld testimony in his smooth deflection of questions and his obvious lack of candor and general closed-mouthedness. Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Plumlee Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 On a trip to NARA last year, I noticed that 5 documents in the HSCA Immunized Testimony boxes remained withheld in full. Most prominent were Santos Trafficante's immunized testimony of 14 Nov 1977, and a lengthy memo written later in preparation for his public testimony.I made inquiries, and all 5 documents are now open in full, and last week I went to College Park and scanned them. See the page below for links to all of them, as well as other HSCA testimony I got while there (Priscilla Johnson McMillan and William Walter). http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/...timony_Released Trafficante's testimony contained no bombshells that I could see - he did name Tony Varona as being hired into the anti-Castro plots, which I don't believe came out as such in his public testimony. But mostly Trafficante played dumb, pretending that the only reason he was brought into the plots was as an interpreter. Presumably no one else in Florida could be found who spoke both English and Spanish. Trafficante did himself bring up the British reporter in jail (Hudson, though not by name), but denied that Ruby visited him there. I don't know why this and other testimony was withheld in full - I was told they simply "fell through the cracks." Maybe someone else will find a tidbit that I missed. Rex Rex. Not sure if this helps, but there are seven pages withheld in an FBI report dated approx August of 1976 (reference (62-2116 for correct dates) found within the PHX-72 OO (Office of Origin) field report) referenced as a FBI 62-2116- (???pgs) file. These pages were sanitized in full in 1993, but made reference to the death of John Roselli and his previous associates. (referenced Phoenix Organized Crime, Sgt Ed Salem and Sgt Harry Hawkins, as well as the Tri-State Drug Task Force, chaired then by Arizona Governor, Bruce Babbit. Also Senator Berry Goldwater's name was also found within these pages, but not sure in what context) Also this report was part of information obtained from "Dade County Homicide, Miami Florida" in 1978 (I think). Those none sanitized pages made reference to Trafficante, John Farrentello, John Martino, Tony Varona, John Mc Cord, and Charles Nicolette, ? Mc Willie? I think but not sure. There were also references to the 'Grace Ranch' of Tucson Arizona and the 'Mc Cord Ranch of New Mexico'. The FBI file was sanitized, however the Dade County information was not and that information was not included within the FBI data banks of 1993. This subject came up during the hearings of Senator John Kerry's investigations into Iran/Contra and Narco.., which was Classified Top Secret Committee Sensitive, and remains classified as of this date. This information also "Fell through the cracks" so to speak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Thomas Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Peter, Rex, No offense to you personally, but I get to page 3 on this thread you suggest [or others] and am told I must get a membership in order to go further. And I hope Rex sees this: ALL document requests are now being directed to this. Just on a hunch I tried to pull up a Warren Commission document and got re-directed to the page that says I have to be a paid member. Steve Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Speer Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 (edited) Peter,Rex, No offense to you personally, but I get to page 3 on this thread you suggest [or others] and am told I must get a membership in order to go further. And I hope Rex sees this: ALL document requests are now being directed to this. Just on a hunch I tried to pull up a Warren Commission document and got re-directed to the page that says I have to be a paid member. Steve Thomas MFF is a free site, with special privileges available to paying customers. If you click on the links provided by Rex, you should be able to go page by page to read the file. If you do a search and then click on a link, however, it will not work. You will have to go into the master list and find the file, and read from there. Other privileges include the ability to make comments on individual documents and articles. That said, I just double-checked and Peter is right. The search limit page is coming up on the third page. I believe this is a mistake and that Rex will fix this pronto. Edited January 30, 2008 by Pat Speer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Plumlee Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Rex, No offense to you personally, but I get to page 3 on this thread you suggest [or others] and am told I must get a membership in order to go further. I live hand to mouth since being 'done in' and having lost all my money and things FOR working on the JFK assassination and now am asked to pay money to work further on it?! I understand it may seem a trivial amount to some, but it is not trivial to me. I wonder what MF would feel about this. Truth is not to be sold nor squandered, IMO. PETER. I WILL PAY YOUR FEES. ALTHOUGH I DO NOT ALWAYS AGREE WITH YOU RESEARCH AND CONCLUTIONS. HOWEVER, I RESPECT YOUR DEDICATION AND TIME ON THIS SUBJECT IN SEARCH FOR TRUTH. PERHAPS REX CAN MAKE THE ARRANGEMENTS VIA EMAIL TO ME AND WE WILL GET YOU A MEMBERSHIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Bradford Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Rex, No offense to you personally, but I get to page 3 on this thread you suggest [or others] and am told I must get a membership in order to go further. I live hand to mouth since being 'done in' and having lost all my money and things FOR working on the JFK assassination and now am asked to pay money to work further on it?! I understand it may seem a trivial amount to some, but it is not trivial to me. I wonder what MF would feel about this. Truth is not to be sold nor squandered, IMO. PETER. I WILL PAY YOUR FEES. ALTHOUGH I DO NOT ALWAYS AGREE WITH YOU RESEARCH AND CONCLUTIONS. HOWEVER, I RESPECT YOUR DEDICATION AND TIME ON THIS SUBJECT IN SEARCH FOR TRUTH. PERHAPS REX CAN MAKE THE ARRANGEMENTS VIA EMAIL TO ME AND WE WILL GET YOU A MEMBERSHIP. To all, My apologies and forebearance is requested. We just yesterday implemented an opening of the archive which backfired. The pre-yesterday behavior was that all searches were limited to members, and browsing free to all. The intended behavior as of today is to allow a limited number of searches for non-members, and keep browsing free. A programming bug has caused browsing to be limited as well. This will be fixed asap. Please be patient while this is resolved. When the bug is fixed, hopefully later today, this will be the behavior of the MFF site: 1. All browsing (i.e., following links on the site, email links, etc.) remains free and open to all, whether member or anonymous visitor or whatever. 2. Searches from within the site or from outside (i.e., google) will allow a few "free pass" clickthroughs, before a message appears requiring membership to continue using search access to the site. The intent is to make the site even more open than previously, not the other way around. Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Bradford Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 To all MFF users, The bad behavior should be fixed now; apologies again. The new behavior of the site is now somewhat more open than before: 1. Browsing, as always when we aren't breaking things, is completely free, as is following email links, etc. 2. Searching, from within the site, and from outside (Google, Yahoo, etc.) allows a few clickthroughs to the site before the big bad message demanding payment shows up. This is to allow more people to see what the site has to offer. Obviously if you are doing active research using the search engine, a paid membership would still be necessary. I remain happy to explain the policy if it's not clear, thanks. Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Thomas Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 To all MFF users,The bad behavior should be fixed now; apologies again. The new behavior of the site is now somewhat more open than before: Thanks Rex Steve Thomas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Speer Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 On a trip to NARA last year, I noticed that 5 documents in the HSCA Immunized Testimony boxes remained withheld in full. Most prominent were Santos Trafficante's immunized testimony of 14 Nov 1977, and a lengthy memo written later in preparation for his public testimony.I made inquiries, and all 5 documents are now open in full, and last week I went to College Park and scanned them. See the page below for links to all of them, as well as other HSCA testimony I got while there (Priscilla Johnson McMillan and William Walter). http://www.maryferrell.org/wiki/index.php/...timony_Released Trafficante's testimony contained no bombshells that I could see - he did name Tony Varona as being hired into the anti-Castro plots, which I don't believe came out as such in his public testimony. But mostly Trafficante played dumb, pretending that the only reason he was brought into the plots was as an interpreter. Presumably no one else in Florida could be found who spoke both English and Spanish. Trafficante did himself bring up the British reporter in jail (Hudson, though not by name), but denied that Ruby visited him there. I don't know why this and other testimony was withheld in full - I was told they simply "fell through the cracks." Maybe someone else will find a tidbit that I missed. Rex Rex, I was just glimpsing through it and I found a bit of interest. Maheu repeatedly testified and and stated that he pretended to be a businessman, and that he was functioning as a cut-out to protect the CIA. And here Trafficante testifies that Maheu introduced himself as a representative of the CIA. This confirms my suspicion that Maheu only pretended to be a cut-out loyal to the CIA, but was really more in tune with the mafia, providing them with get-out-of-jail-free cards. From my analysis, Maheu has also lied repeatedly about the taps on Rowan and the leaks to Pearson. He should have been tried for perjury an eon ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Bradford Posted January 30, 2008 Author Share Posted January 30, 2008 Rex, I was just glimpsing through it and I found a bit of interest. Maheu repeatedly testified and and stated that he pretended to be a businessman, and that he was functioning as a cut-out to protect the CIA. And here Trafficante testifies that Maheu introduced himself as a representative of the CIA. This confirms my suspicion that Maheu only pretended to be a cut-out loyal to the CIA, but was really more in tune with the mafia, providing them with get-out-of-jail-free cards. From my analysis, Maheu has also lied repeatedly about the taps on Rowan and the leaks to Pearson. He should have been tried for perjury an eon ago. Interesting, I had missed that. Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Speer Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Beyond the Trafficante statement on Maheu, confirming that Maheu was never a true cut-out, he made a number of other statements which I thought may be of interest. Trafficante is not my area of expertise so some of this may be common knowledge. p51 Says one of his fellow prisoners in Cuba was named Civello. Could this be Joe Civello, the Dallas mob boss? If so, is it possible Ruby was there to visit Civello? I don't recall reading that Civello was arrested in Cuba. p57 Says he's friends with one Evaristo Garcia Vidal. Later on p87 he admits Vidal was his business partner in Havana. Is this Vidal any relation to Hemming's buddy Felipe Vidal? p59. Admits he knew Sturgis/ Fiorini in Cuba. Says they had dinner in late 60's as well. (After RFK hit?--just a thought.) p61 Denies knowing Loran Hall p62 Admits knowing John Martino from Cuba p64 Is shown a series of photos anti-Castro groups. The only face he recognizes is Sturgis/Fiorini. p66 Says he never met Joe Shimon p68 Admits knowing Aleman. Says he tried to help Aleman get a loan with the Teamsters via his lawyer Frank Ragano. (Ragano would later join Aleman in claiming that Santos talked openly about killing the Kennedys.) p70 Says he met Aleman with someone named Coco or Kiki. p71 Says Aleman and mobster Angelo Bruno had a milk business in the Dominican Republic. p72 Doesn't deny talking to Aleman about RFK but denies making the "Kennedy is going to be hit" statement p74 Says he and Bruno shared a "Pest Control" business. p76 When asked a series of questions about his attitude towards the Kennedys, and whether he made negative comments about them he repeats "I might have" a number of times. (This makes me suspect the Aleman story was true and that he did indicate there was gonna be a hit.) p78 Says Marcello came back from Guatemala via a commercial airplane and denies he used a private plane. His certainty on this point is suspicious. p82 Won't state how many casinos he owned in Cuba p88 Admits knowing Lewis McWillie p89 Admits knowing Norman Rothman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Deitche Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Beyond the Trafficante statement on Maheu, confirming that Maheu was never a true cut-out, he made a number of other statements which I thought may be of interest. Trafficante is not my area of expertise so some of this may be common knowledge.p51 Says one of his fellow prisoners in Cuba was named Civello. Could this be Joe Civello, the Dallas mob boss? If so, is it possible Ruby was there to visit Civello? I don't recall reading that Civello was arrested in Cuba. Dino Cellini and Henry Saavareda were with him- maybe a transcritption issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Deitche Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Beyond the Trafficante statement on Maheu, confirming that Maheu was never a true cut-out, he made a number of other statements which I thought may be of interest. Trafficante is not my area of expertise so some of this may be common knowledge.p51 Says one of his fellow prisoners in Cuba was named Civello. Could this be Joe Civello, the Dallas mob boss? If so, is it possible Ruby was there to visit Civello? I don't recall reading that Civello was arrested in Cuba. p57 Says he's friends with one Evaristo Garcia Vidal. Later on p87 he admits Vidal was his business partner in Havana. Is this Vidal any relation to Hemming's buddy Felipe Vidal? p59. Admits he knew Sturgis/ Fiorini in Cuba. Says they had dinner in late 60's as well. (After RFK hit?--just a thought.) p61 Denies knowing Loran Hall p62 Admits knowing John Martino from Cuba p64 Is shown a series of photos anti-Castro groups. The only face he recognizes is Sturgis/Fiorini. p66 Says he never met Joe Shimon p68 Admits knowing Aleman. Says he tried to help Aleman get a loan with the Teamsters via his lawyer Frank Ragano. (Ragano would later join Aleman in claiming that Santos talked openly about killing the Kennedys.) p70 Says he met Aleman with someone named Coco or Kiki. p71 Says Aleman and mobster Angelo Bruno had a milk business in the Dominican Republic. p72 Doesn't deny talking to Aleman about RFK but denies making the "Kennedy is going to be hit" statement p74 Says he and Bruno shared a "Pest Control" business. p76 When asked a series of questions about his attitude towards the Kennedys, and whether he made negative comments about them he repeats "I might have" a number of times. (This makes me suspect the Aleman story was true and that he did indicate there was gonna be a hit.) p78 Says Marcello came back from Guatemala via a commercial airplane and denies he used a private plane. His certainty on this point is suspicious. p82 Won't state how many casinos he owned in Cuba p88 Admits knowing Lewis McWillie p89 Admits knowing Norman Rothman p57- Evaristos Garcia Sr. was a big time bolita bankers in Cuba. When him and his son Evaristos Jr. came to Miami, they formed the core of Trafficante's Cuban mob. Garcia Sr. Jr. later relocated to COsta Rica. p59- Sturgis came to Miami right after Castro took over to ask for help from Dade COunty Criminal Intelligence Bureau. He wanted their file son a suspected hoodlum in Cuba. That man of course was Trafficante. p70. Kaki Argomaniz? He was a Cuban mobster with Trafficante. He was also involved with the World FInance Corporation (WFC), a front back in Miami for the CIA and Trafficante-backed drug traffickers. p74- Santo and Philly boss Angleo Bruno were involved with the Pan American Pest Control Business as well as possible two more. Ironically Kaki Argomaniz, referenced above, was an officer in the King Spray Pest Company, along with two other Trafficante associates. That company was part of the WFC controversy. Bruno had a winter home in North Bay Village. Angelo's wife, Sue, was a partner an interest in a vending machine company owned by Agostino and VIncent Amato, two Trafficante guys in Miami. Well actually they were made members of the Gambino family who were close Trafficante associates. p76- made some afterwards- I talk about some post-assasination incidents in The Silent Don. p82- Santo definitely owned the Sans SOuci- purchased from Pittsburgh mafiosi Gabriel and Kelly Mannarino. He was a definite investor in the Hotel Deauville. He likely had an interest in the Capri. There are a few others that he may have had hidden interests in as well. p88- McWillie and his bodyguard Russell Matthews worked at the Capri - close to Trafficante. Matthews was an associate of Joe Civello in Dallas. McWillie was a CHicago guy. Both knew Jack Ruby. Both knew Trafficante. p89- Trafficante likely knew Rothman through the Mannarinos. Rothman became a trusted associate of Santo's in Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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