John Simkin Posted July 15, 2004 Posted July 15, 2004 There is some evidence that some members of Interpen (Intercontinental Penetration Force) were involved in the assassination of JFK (Gerry P. Hemming, Loran Hall, Roy Hargraves, William Seymour, Lawrence Howard, Steve Wilson, Howard K. Davis, Ed Collins, Bill Dempsey, Dick Whatley, Ramigo Arce, Ronald Augustinovich, Joe Garman, Edmund Kolby, James Arthur Lewis, Dennis Harber, Ralph Schlafter, Manuel Aguilar, Oscar Del Pinto, etc.) I always thought this group was funded by the CIA. However, I was recently told that there is no evidence of this. Does anyone know who funded this group. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKinterpen.htm
James Richards Posted July 15, 2004 Posted July 15, 2004 (edited) Hi John, Edited August 28, 2005 by James Richards
John Simkin Posted July 16, 2004 Author Posted July 16, 2004 Thank you for that information. I suppose the CIA could have funnelled in money via other organizations such as Alpha 66. According to Dick Russell’s book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rolando Masferrer left Cuba with $10 million. I suppose some of this could have been used to fund Interpen. Russell says that Santo Trafficante also funded some of Masferrer’s projects. I assume that members of Interpen had no direct contact with CIA officials such as David Attlee Phillips, David Morales and William Harvey? Have any of them mentioned any CIA men at all? What about businessmen like Clint Murchison and Haroldson L. Hunt?
Larry Hancock Posted July 16, 2004 Posted July 16, 2004 John, as far as money goes for Interpen goes there were multiple sources including a lot of direct fund raising, that was a major effort by GPH in particular. They solicited funds all over the place including anti-communist and right wing sponsors from New Orleans, Dallas and California. I think Hemming makes a point that despite their big talk, none of these sources came up with any serious donations - one of them solicited - Walker - had no money of his own and depended on right wing donations himself, from folks like Hunt who financed his campaign for Gov. Hemming has talked about their fund raising at great length; I've even seen an interview he did on TV (I probably would have donated). Much of the money they got was local, from donations in the community, from exile groups who contributed to get their folks trained. In general they often were just scratching by day to day. One of the reasons for this of course that the CIA put it's money into people it could control (or thought it could) or who were designated by the Special Group - such as Artime. It did it's own training, vetted its own exiles and minutely controlled them. And in doing so was often either less successful and certainly less visible than the independent action groups like Alpha 66/SNAFE or Commandos L. The Interpen folks that did get involved in actual expeditions into Cuba seem to have done it with exiles - Hargraves is one of the most visible in that. On a side note there are plenty of FBI interviews and CIA memos (most from the FBI) about various Interpen folks serving as informants over the years but that was voluntary on their part, not as paid agents as Sturgis was, he actually reported to Barker as a case officer. And Hemming was even cleared for a provisional CIA security status after his return from Cuba and debriefed; that was cancelled later after an incident with a fire arm. CIA demanded control and deniability and ultra low profiles -and even polygraphed all its people. Not exactly a good fit for the more action oriented exiles and the Interpen folks. -- Larry
James Richards Posted July 18, 2004 Posted July 18, 2004 I post the following as it contains several individuals with solid connections to Interpen (Hargraves, Seymour, Whatley and Ponce DeLeon). Also of interest is the Robertson and Barnes look-a-likes as referenced in Larry Hancock's post in the discussion on his book thread. It should also be noted that fuzzy photographs prove nothing but I must say I do find these interesting. James
Chris Cox Posted July 25, 2004 Posted July 25, 2004 Thank you for that information. I suppose the CIA could have funnelled in money via other organizations such as Alpha 66.According to Dick Russell’s book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rolando Masferrer left Cuba with $10 million. I suppose some of this could have been used to fund Interpen. Russell says that Santo Trafficante also funded some of Masferrer’s projects. I assume that members of Interpen had no direct contact with CIA officials such as David Attlee Phillips, David Morales and William Harvey? Have any of them mentioned any CIA men at all? What about businessmen like Clint Murchison and Haroldson L. Hunt? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I sincerely doubt there's any truth to 10 million dollars leaving Cuba at a time when people fled in fear, shirts on backs and little else. Most felt that the situation with Castro was temporary, things would stabilize and many could return home. Not sure how this story came about but I've heard it's false, by those who knew Masferrer well. Interpen was one group but were many others involved in anti-Castro activities ('58 and onward) and the FBI and CIA played "cat and mouse." Some as in case with Diosdado raid in Homestead/Keys had prior info, made a show and eventually arms were returned and "biz as usual." The effort to interdict activities (sanctioned or not) were laughable to those participants I've interviewed over the years. And John makes a point about all the many vain efforts to remove Castro, indicate that someone (CIA? )wanted him there. The CIA and State Department (Embassy/Military Attaches in Cuba) were sympathetic to Castro at first. He was funded and helped and studied. It is the least known fact about Castro's triumph. There's something to this hunch. http://216.97.42.106/doc_351-375/doc0370.html This link takes you to Gordon Winslows Cuban Exile site. Interesting on subject of misc groups CIA interfaced with.
John Simkin Posted August 28, 2005 Author Posted August 28, 2005 Gerry, is Dennis Lynn Harber still alive? Was there anything suspicious about the deaths of Edwin Anderson Collins (1964), James Arthur Lewis (1970) and Steve Wilson (1984). Is it possible that these four men could have been involved in the assassination of JFK? The only word I've heard on Harber is that he died in Merida, Mexico years ago.Edwin Anderson Collins was murdered by Castro "fellow-travelers" upon their discovery of his identity, and just a few weeks after he was tasked to penetrate their "protest march" from Canada, down the east coast, and on to Havana, and GITMO. Steve Wilson and I identified his body at the Medical Examiner's morgue, and when I questioned an assistant there as to the severe lacerations, cuts and bruises on Eddy's face and scalp -- he responded that: "...This was most likely due to crabs and other critters munching on the corpse post-mortem !!" Upon my questioning exactly how a corpse [in salt water] might continue to bleed, acquire bruises, and suffer contusions and edema after only 8 hours +/- in Biscayne Bay [400 yards off the docks of Dinner Key & City Hall] -- police detectives Tony Fontana and Bill Cloy charged into the room demanding to know our purposes. Eddy Collins was one of our best swimmers, as evidenced when he was blown overboard [sans UDT the same life jacket he is pictured wearing in the No Name Key pix] -- along with Dickey Chappelle, Hargraves, and Felipe Vidal on a Cuba run during early 1964. Wilson and I tracked down the now hiding boat crew a few days later, and with less than Abu-Ghraib measures, thoroughly "interviewed" them. Their "official" story to the police was that Eddy was drunk and that he had dived overboard to recover a dinghy which had cast adrift that night. Despite witnesses ashore reporting screams beforehand -- they had insisted that had he uttered one sound they could have turned the boat around, located and recovered him. [they admitted to the police that they had motored to the dock, and "immediately" called the police??] The live-aboard boaters and shrimpers who already knew Eddy over the years, wondered about the great discrepancies in timing, especially the police report [initial call] showing that this was made some 45 minutes after the boaters heard the screams and turned on their searchlights [evidenced in their official log books]. They had asked the "hippies" what was going on only 5 minutes after the screams, and just after the "protestor" boat was being tied to the dock. Eddy Collins had been recruited by FBI agents [MIA/FO], and John Evans of the "Johns Committee" (Red-Squad) in Tallahassee -- to assist in monitoring the "peace marchers". The "Mounties" [R.C.M.P.] had inserted two assets into the group in Canada, and one of these had operated together with one of our guys, who, the year previous, had worked a joint CSS/RCMP/FBI operation involving Nicaraguans, Cubans, and other foreign nationals embarking on a mission to attend training camps inside Cuba. This operation was assisted by Col. Arturo Espaillat, Robert Emmett Johnson, and leaders of the right-wing "R'assemblent Nationale" (FRN); who were battling with the Marxist FLQ in Montreal [Front D'Liberation Quebeqous]. However, our guy had suffered blown cover via a Johnson screwup, wasn't interested in the Op, and recommended Eddy in his stead. Jim Lewis, upon his return from Vietnam during 1970, and while working in Miami with CIA contract agent Tom McCrory (a certified Marine Surveyor), took an interest in yet another treasure trove opportunity -- and it was to be the last of a half dozen well paying previous hunts. Steve Wilson had been working a couple of months [as an Ironworker] on the Key West desalination plant project, after returning from similar work on the missile silos at Fargo. [because of our security clearances, quite a few of the InterPen "Ironworkers", had first worked on the "Hawk-4B" AAA sites around Miami before "booming out" to Malmstrom, Fargo, etc.] Wilson found a buddy in a union carpenter by the name of Roger Clark whilst laboring in Key West. He was totally unaware of the fact that Clark had been the erstwhile partner-in-crime with "Murph-the-Surf" [NYC "Star of India" burglary]; and cooperated with Clark in fencing "treasure-trove" gold bars and pancakes which Clark had accidently found near the Florida coast -- "somewhere" in 10 fathoms [2 atmospheres] of gulf waters. The fence was "Kaki" Argomaniz [Honduran Consul General], who was a CIA asset working under Cesar Diosdado, and his boss Wallace D. Shanley -- Miami Customs bossman. With $40,000 RVN earned money in the bank, Jim Lewis purchased a Beckmann Electro-Lung from California [a rebreather/helium/oxy/nitro SCUBA which required no decompression stops ascending after lengthy dives] -- paid the fee for a company instructor to check him out off Fowery Rocks before the sale could be made -- and behind both mine and Wilson's backs, joined with "Skinny Ralph" Sclafter on a series of dives. Jim deduced that one of the promising sites might be near Egmont Key, off the entrance to Tampa Bay. His fatal mistake was diving solo [a real "No-No"], leaving "Skinny" in the boat as diver/tender. A SEAL team buddy from 'Nam showed up the day after he went missing [trip paid for by his wealthy Republican mother in California]; and we searched for the body for two days. Later that week I had a violent disagreement with said SEAL, who suggested that "moi" should have been supervising the scheme more closely -- whereupon "moi" explained that Jim and "Skinny" were "Claim-Jumping" us all. Weeks later, one of our previous pro bono attorneys [John Bircher]; who had since been appointed U.S. Attorney for the So. Dist. of Florida; was astounded when we confronted him with evidence that he had been in collusion with IRS/CIA/FBI "pogues" in reporting that the treasure trove was actually goods stolen from a private collection, whose owner was extremely reluctant to report same. Clark had supposedly died while driving off of a Key's bridge, [bNR] "Body-Not-Recovered"; however, the IRS was caught jack-hammering the concrete floors of Clark's father's house/Florida Room/Garage without a warrant. The day of the JFK assassination, Jim Lewis was [as usual] playing Chess at "Little Joe's" apartment by the Miami River -- together with Eddy Collins, "Skinny", Dick Whatley, Bobby Willis, and Bill Dempsey. When Garman started dancing in the street soon after hearing the news from Dallas, Jim chastized him severely [along with Cuban pissed-off neighbors]; He reminded him that just four days before; he had been a member of our security detail for JFK at MIA [Monday, 18th Nov.], and that he had been prepared to "take-a-bullet" for the President !! Bill Dempsey wasn't on that detail because he was once again in-country illegally; however Whatley had been at MIA with us also. [Whatley and Lewis didn't accompany us on the Rorke/Sullivan search because they had just returned from British Honduras [belize], and were persona-non-grata there. We had just returned from Guatemala the first week of November 1963] Dennis Harber came into contact with us because he was a cut-out for ex-Colombia dictator Rojas Pinilla, who, despite our refusing cash donations, insisted on providing emergency housing and credit at grocery stores for the Sturgis "Op-40" group which I inherited post BOP. Ex-Venezuela dictator Perez Jimenez [Marita Lorenz's sugar-daddy] agreed to the same conditions through 1963. Harber was a drunk and homo, thereby precluding even playing a patsy role in any serious scheme, and was excluded from Collins' "peacenik" Op, despite having worked on the "Pirate Radio" Op just weeks before his death. Steve Wilson died of a cerebral aneurism, as an Ironworker, high above the Miami skyline -- "connecting" up on the "red-iron". Once again, the innuendo of the InterPen guys being involved somehow in Dealey Plaza. "Dame" Hoover must be grinning right now, despite the severe heat !! You alleged that I will "...no doubt take (secrets??) to the grave !! And that "...out of loyalty" will protect comrades who have vital information. Kindly cite any evidence that I have "secrets" that ALL [or specific] private citizens have a right to !! And per chance you might mention the names of "comrades" who I might be "protecting". Bernie de Torres' name came from me, and the first time was not with Garrison during 1967, but in a Sunday briefing I gave at Koger Center DEA HQ to Gene Propper, Larry Barcella, Carter Kornick, et al. -- and that was with reference to the perpetrators of the Letelier assassination on "Embassy Row" two months previous. John Cummings [then of NewsDay, NYC] was there on "deep background" at my insistence, and to date has never uttered a word about it. Cummings was later amused that I had brought Bernie as far as the ATF parking lot across the street, when he bailed-out and ran for a public phone, and called Janet Reno at home to report "some difficulties" !! One of the folks at that briefing later married into my wife's family, something he is still unaware of today. In Gene's book "Labrynth", he styles Bernie as "TB", Fonzi calls him "Carlos". "Faces-in-Dealey Plaza"; "along-the-parade-route"; "doggie without an umbrella man"; Jesus H. Christ, gimme-a-break and get a life. Massive "Kazakh" conspiracies by the "se-cretin' team" [mucho secretions !!]!! I can still hear in my head the German speaking voice on the tape at MI/HQ in Central America -- the beaner Colonel asking the interpreter what the dude was laughing about ?? And the words in Spanish "...este asesino dice que nunca fue un nido de franco tirador en el rinconcito...pero esta fue el lugar donde los prietos (negros) se escondio' para ver las fotografias de mujeres desnudas mientras que jugaban la paja" !! [Translated: This assassin says that there was never a snipers nest in the corner, but that it was a hideout for the "Schwarzes"; where they jerked off while looking at "dirty pictures" (paraphrasing).] This is the guy with the suppressed broom-handle mauser [with wooden shoulder-stock/holster and artillery barrel] whose role I played for Oliver Stone in the movie. A quikie for the Lieutenant. Yes we screwed up regularly, we used Ron Lippert (Jones), the same way we used Everett Jackson during 1967. We inserted radiological badge film strips in their gear, and this was recovered by assets working out of the Uruguay embassy in Havana. And because of moles that Angleton missed, DGI later mocked them all [including Frank Emmick, et al.] while they did their 10 and 12 years in Fidel's Gulags. I already had been bitched at by J. A. for some of this, but countered with the SCOTUS rulings on the "law-of-entrapment" -- if one is PREDISPOSED to act in accordance with a scheme beforehand, then there is no entrapment !! Ron was determined to be predisposed by RCMP, Johnson, Espaillat, et al. !! I feel for his daughter's health maladies, and maybe he is right. But it was one of his "Canuck" buddies who smuggled the "Newcastle" vectors into Cuba, forcing Fidel to slaughter all poultry. I raised hell about the African Swine Fever Operation, and gave Cummings the inside track on that. Just 6 years ago, I raised hell with a buddy in Miami about the crop-duster ferry pilot who was spotted "dusting" a Cuban experimental farm with nasty ass beetkles -- while enroute to Aruba via Jamaica. My Miami guy's sister was Madeline Albright's right-hand person. How the hell could "Clintonites" give a State Dept. contract to a cohort of Mas Canosa ?? Fidel's got 5000+ doctors and nurses in Venezuela. And what have we got, other than money grubbin clowns who can't even pull off a "banana-coup" !! I am awaiting Arlen Specter [gettin' closer to eternity he is] to switch from denouncing a great paratroopin' Hugo Chavez, and denounce the embargo against Cuba as a "War Crime". [A theoretically/lawful state of belligerency has existed with the U.S. since BOP !!]
John Simkin Posted September 28, 2005 Author Posted September 28, 2005 John, as far as money goes for Interpen goes there were multiple sources including a lot of direct fund raising, that was a major effort by GPH in particular. They solicited funds all over the place including anti-communist and right wing sponsors from New Orleans, Dallas and California. I think Hemming makes a point that despite their big talk, none of these sources came up with any serious donations - one of them solicited - Walker - had no money of his own and depended on right wing donations himself, from folks like Hunt who financed his campaign for Gov. Hemming has talked about their fund raising at great length; I've even seen an interview he did on TV (I probably would have donated). Gerry, did Henry Luce or William Pawley give any money to Interpen?
John Simkin Posted October 2, 2006 Author Posted October 2, 2006 Interpen (Intercontinental Penetration Force) was established in 1961 by Gerry P. Hemming. Other members included Loran Hall, Roy Hargraves, William Seymour, Lawrence Howard, Steve Wilson, Howard K. Davis, Edwin Collins, James Arthur Lewis, Dennis Harber, Bill Dempsey, Dick Whatley, Ramigo Arce, Ronald Augustinovich, Joe Garman, Edmund Kolby, Ralph Schlafter, Manuel Aguilar and Oscar Del Pinto. A recently declassified document says that in 1962, Robert Emmett Johnson was a member of Interpen. Later that year Johnson invited Robert K. Brown (USAR/CounterIntelligence Corps) to a meeting in Miami. Brown was the publisher of Alberto Bayo's 100 Questions for a Guerrilla. This book included an article written by Ulius Amoss called Leaderless Resistance which "referred to the proper strategy for conducting resistance operations against Castro and inside/outside of Cuba". The document also goes onto say: "Also included were numerous fotos of the G/W instructor cadre of InterPen which were taken by Brown at the Everglades training camp." Interpen was also involved in training members of the anti-Castro groups funded by people like Roland Masferrer, Carlos Prio and Santos Trafficante. When the government began to crack down on raids from Florida in 1962, Interpen set up a new training camp in New Orleans. The group carried out a series of raids on Cuba in an attempt to undermine the government of Fidel Castro. These stories were reported by the photo-journalist, Tom Dunkin, for Life Magazine. Roy Hargraves working closely with Felipe Vidal Santiago, carried out a series of raids on Cuba in the 1960s (23 in 1962). This involved a plan to create a war by simulating an attack on Guantanamo Naval Base. In 1963 Hargraves led a team of exiles in a successful raid on Cuba. After capturing two Cuban fishing boats Hargraves took them to the Bahamas. Some members such as William Seymour and Ed Collins, worked with Bernardo De Torres on non-Interpen operations in 1963. Declassified FBI files show that the agency had an informer within Interpen. His code name was MM T-1. In one document dated 16th June, 1961, said the person had “been connected with Cuban revolutionary activities for the past three years”. One document dated 12 th May, 1961, claims that Allen Lushane of Miami “had made a trip to Texas to recruit Americans for some future military action against the Government of Cuba”. The document adds that the “first training camp was established by Gerald Patrick Hemming with Dick Watley and Ed Colby running the camp.” In an interview that he gave to John Newman on 6th January, 1995, Hemming claims that this informer was Steve Wilson. Some researchers believe that a combination of Interpen members, CIA agents and anti-Castro Cubans were involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This included James Arthur Lewis, Roy Hargraves, Edwin Collins, Steve Wilson, Gerry P. Hemming, David Morales, Herminio Diaz Garcia, Tony Cuesta, Eugenio Martinez, Virgilio Gonzalez, Felipe Vidal Santiago, Robert Emmett Johnson, Carl E. Jenkins, Chi Chi Quintero and William (Rip) Robertson. Photomontage supplied by James Richards
James Richards Posted October 2, 2006 Posted October 2, 2006 I have been working with a prominent ex Interpen member (who wishes to remain anonymous) so to create the definitive list of who was who. This is a work in progress and names will be added. After so long, it is easy to forget. FWIW. James ************* Interpen members: Gerry Hemming Howard K. Davis Dick Whatley Ed Kolby Robert Willis Bill Dempsey Ralph Edens (Fat Ralph) Bill Seymour Ed Collins Ronald Ponce De Leon Roy Hargraves Skinny Ralph Schlafter Joe Garman Lawrence Howard Loran Hall Dennis Harber Martin Casey Steve Wilson Kane (The son of WW2 U.S. Airforce General "Killer" Kane or Cain) Hawaii (real name unknown) A South Pacific Islander. Cookie (real name forgotten. He was slightly retarded but a nice guy, so we made him the cook) Others that on and off were associated with us: Nelly Hamilton Dickie Chappelle Rolando MasFerrer Robert K Brown James Arthur Lewis Luis Van Hoeck Remegio 'Cuku' Arce Oscar Del Pino There were others that were loosely involved with us that were NOT Interpen: Vince Hannard George Tanner I know that there were at least a dozen or more persons I've forgotten. There was a French Canadian that later was killed in the Canadian terrorism bombings by a French Canadian group. There was an ex member of the Black Watch who went to Rhodesia and presumably is buried there. With Frank Sturgis and his group: Robert Rostallon (may have been killed in Central America) Robert Steel (last seen in British Honduras) Angus McNair (Killed in Cuba)
John Simkin Posted October 3, 2006 Author Posted October 3, 2006 The release of FBI files has revealed that they had an informer within Interpen. His code name was MM T-1. In one document dated 16th June, 1961, said the person had “been connected with Cuban revolutionary activities for the past three years”. One document dated 12th May, 1961, claims that Allen Lushane of Miami “had made a trip to Texas to recruit Americans for some future military action against the Government of Cuba”. The document adds that the “first training camp was established by Gerald Patrick Hemming with Dick Watley and Ed Colby running the camp.” In an interview that he gave to John Newman on 6th January, 1995, Hemming claims that this informer was Justin Joseph “Steve” Wilson. Does anyone know anything about Allen Lushane? Is it true that the “first training camp was established by Gerald Patrick Hemming with Dick Watley and Ed Colby running the camp.” Was Steve Wilson really a FBI spy?
Hiram Huesca Posted September 29, 2015 Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) Mr. Simkin, New member here If you google "Argimino Fonseca", you will find a memo, from CIA to FBI, describing a new anti-castro group in Miami. This group, Hermandad Cubana, was born in my living room when I was eight years old in the NW section of Miami. The memo mentions an attached "thermofax" copy of a fund-raising bond like those being sold. I have never found the attachment (It would be so nostalgic!) but I do have an original that I could post as a jpeg, if only I could find the icon for attachments here I was tasked with pressing an embossed dry seal on thousands of these. My arm nearly fell off ! I sold only one; to a neighbor "gusana" who took pity on me. My afternoon of TV watching was suddenly interrupted, one day, by my uncle and a group of men I had never seen. They recruited me hurriedly to help them move all the furniture into the bedrooms and kitchen. I feared we had been evicted! We set up folding chairs, a card table at the front, a flag pole with gold fringed Stars and Stripes, another, shorter pole with the Cuban flag, numerous booklets (Don't touch them kid!) , several chairs for dignitaries, precious box fans on wheels, Cuban coffee cups, water tumblers, spinning ash tray, etc. What followed, immediately, reminds me of the Unexpected Party at the beginning of The Hobbit. A giant man, name of "Gerry from the CIA" and a nearly mum partner "Davy" came in, wearing fatigues, boots, and Gerry sported a 1911 Colt on his thigh. These were the guests of honor along with a number of "distinguished and valiant veterans of Playa Girón". Among these were Loran Hall, William Seymour, Dennis Harber, Manolo Aguilar, and others I have not yet identified on-line. One of these had sat a few yards from my family and me, at the Orange Bowl stadium, on 29 December 1962, as JFK and Jackie welcomed them back from their Cuban prisons. What he was doing in my living room almost a year prior to said release and ceremony remains a mystery for me to solve: any suggestions would be appreciated; no Twilight Zone solutions accepted. I have very good photographs of one of these meetings, albeit sans Gerry and Davy. I don't know if it would be wrong to post it. Almost every one involved is now dead or in their 90's. I am very curious as to the identities of several faces there. What wisdom can you offer? Gerry gave a long speech, in basso profundo Cubish, with a "gringo" accent but also with perfect grammar. He stressed that, "Mr. Kennedy gives with one hand and Mr. Kennedy takes away with the other hand. But we don't need Mr. Kennedy. We can do this ourselves. All we need is PLATA (silver) and valour." He used the word "plata" many times. I am remembering more of his speech in bits and pieces only after more than half a century. Gerry - "that Americano is a horse"- of the CIA mesmerized all the women there, including my mom and aunts, with his looks and voice. He won us all over, later, in the kitchen, when he declined American coffee from the huge urn and said, "I don't drink that stuff. I want real coffee. I want Cuban coffee." This flowed from the small cafeterita by the kitchen sink. My brother joked "How is the weather up there?" and ran off when Gerry reache out for him. I was left behind and Gerry had me hold my folded arms stiffly at my sides. He then cupped my elbows with his huge hands and lifted me up like a rocket to face level. He smiled and asked, "So, how is the weather up here?" As I could listen to English better than I could summon up the words at that time, I only said, in broken English, "My father six foot." He said, "You are going to be taller ... mas alto." and set me down with a pat to my head. He then engaged in very quiet and fragmented exchanges with Davy : " we can get it later ... might as well now ... etc." In my opinion, and that expressed by my aunt at the time, these bond sales were a cover for the real source of funds. I say this because three of the men came back in rapid succession asking for three booklets, then a box, then all the boxes (twelve and each about three cubic feet in volume). These requests were separated by not more than twenty minutes. It would have been impossible to even hand out bonds that quickly; much less transact the sales. Nevertheless, a brown grocery bag with long, canvas, zippered pouches like those used by banks and merchants, filled with thick rolls of $100 bills appeared in my uncle's hands after the meeting. He showed me one of the rolls and his .38 special, snub-nose "la fookah" in the bag: not a profane word; just Cubish slang for "gun". I cried out, "Tio!, are we rich now ?!!!" and he responded, "Boy, if I touch this, they will shave my head off!" In Cubish this is , "¡Me la sepíllan!". I do not know whence the money came. But I assure you it was not from sales of bonds to our minimum-wage, blue-collar neighbors. Another twist to this is that most of the people sitting in the audience were not neighbors. They were INTERPEN members and BOP veterans. Gerry, Davy et al later came back, in my uncle's Café Pilon delivery van and unloaded a small arsenal of scoped rifles, C4 (two kinds), initiators, and other such things to hide in the crawl space under our house, in our garage, and in a piano-sized mountain, in our Florida room, covered by a thin layer of coffee bags, chocolate bars, banana chips, etc. I discovered the C4 when I dared to steal some chocolate. But I did not take it off the top where my uncle would notice it gone and polish my rear end with the razor strop. I dug into the center of the pile only to find long gray bars of PlayDough ?? and some plastic-wrapped lumps of stuff that stank like a car engine. I know what that was now. I did not taste any of it. There was also a thirty-five gallon steel drum of something that had to be turned topsy-turvy once every three days. Gerry and Davy showed us how to turn the drum over. For once, Davy spoke! And it was worth the wait. He told us, "If you forget to do this every three days, this whole neighborhood will reach the Moon before the astronauts." To this day, I do not know what was in the drum, even though I have asked friends who were in special forces and trained in demolition. I wish I had discovered Gerry's blog and asked kim. During these block meetings, a skeletal man, in a red MG Midget convertible, would park in front of our house. He would sit stiffly, staring at the windshield of his car. Every ten minutes or so, he would jot down some notes on his little black note pad then pull up a large, wind-up camera with two reels at the back and a long tele-photo lense. He would film our packed Florida room and living room, then set the camera down and resume his wax statue stare at the windshield. My brother and I went out to do a Buckingham Palace Guard number with him. We were told to not bother him. Several of the INTERPEN men and veterans became alarmed. Then Gerry glanced at the man and announced, "Don't worry. He's harmless. He's just FBI doing his job." This man and a partner later visited another uncle of mine, recently arrived from Cuba, at his place of work and interrogated him, unsuccessfully, about the goings on at the house. One day, I returned from school to a strangely roomier and cleaner Florida room: the candy mountain was gone! More than half a century later I have learned that Alpha 66 had retrieved the arsenal while I was at school. We had an 83-foot Coast Guard cutter with a wooden hull. I have photos of it as well. It had been used in shelling operations to kill Fidel. I have to think that innocents must have been hurt instead. But I did not know any of this until six years ago. There is only one other like it remaining, as a floating museum piece, in its original white and shiny state. That old one was the vessel Fonseca et al would go to Cuba with. They were caught and executed quickly, about one week before Dallas, according to executedtoday.com. But I think that the ill-fated raid took place in mid October 1962, during the worst of the Missile Crisis. I wonder if it was related to the Wiliam Harvey raids that got him canned by RFK. My uncle, cousin, and I had been allowed to go below deck very briefly. There was a huge torpedo there and no tube nor catapult to launch it. The cutter, flying American colors, was to be rammed against any Soviet military vessel available to provoke the war everyone else feared. Alternatively, it was to fly a Soviet flag and ram an American ship in Guantanamo Bay. Fonseca was warned repeatedly to not go in this Fidel-killing / ship-ramming raid. He was told there were Castro spies everywhere and he would be found out. And they were. They had barely disembarked when they were met with an unwelcome party. After several days of silence, my aunt got a phone call to turn on our Zenith Trans-oceanic and tune in Radio Rebelde from Cuba. There, a woman was reading off a list of the raiders "esvirros" who had been executed that week. The name Fonseca was read. My aunt covered her mouth and ran out of the room crying. I was surprised at her pity, since she was very upset with her husband for exposing us to possible jail time and removal of us kids. Well this should be enough for a first post, yes? I am still piecing together all of these events that I experienced from two feet below adult eye level. And yet, this was a great vantage point for adults to reveal things they thought I would not remember. If anyone can fill in any of this with your higher knowledge, it would mean the world to me. Sometimes I wish I could file a FOIA request for those FBI movies of my family and our "guests" while they were all young and full of life. Bye! HH Edited November 11, 2015 by Hiram Huesca
Glenn Nall Posted September 29, 2015 Posted September 29, 2015 Thank you for that information. I suppose the CIA could have funnelled in money via other organizations such as Alpha 66. According to Dick Russell’s book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rolando Masferrer left Cuba with $10 million. I suppose some of this could have been used to fund Interpen. Russell says that Santo Trafficante also funded some of Masferrer’s projects. I assume that members of Interpen had no direct contact with CIA officials such as David Attlee Phillips, David Morales and William Harvey? Have any of them mentioned any CIA men at all? What about businessmen like Clint Murchison and Haroldson L. Hunt? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I sincerely doubt there's any truth to 10 million dollars leaving Cuba at a time when people fled in fear, shirts on backs and little else. Most felt that the situation with Castro was temporary, things would stabilize and many could return home. Not sure how this story came about but I've heard it's false, by those who knew Masferrer well. Interpen was one group but were many others involved in anti-Castro activities ('58 and onward) and the FBI and CIA played "cat and mouse." Some as in case with Diosdado raid in Homestead/Keys had prior info, made a show and eventually arms were returned and "biz as usual." The effort to interdict activities (sanctioned or not) were laughable to those participants I've interviewed over the years. And John makes a point about all the many vain efforts to remove Castro, indicate that someone (CIA? )wanted him there. The CIA and State Department (Embassy/Military Attaches in Cuba) were sympathetic to Castro at first. He was funded and helped and studied. It is the least known fact about Castro's triumph. There's something to this hunch. http://216.97.42.106/doc_351-375/doc0370.html This link takes you to Gordon Winslows Cuban Exile site. Interesting on subject of misc groups CIA interfaced with. >>> And John makes a point about all the many vain efforts to remove Castro, indicate that someone (CIA? )wanted him there. it should go without saying that any real 'inability' to kill Fidel Castro in the early 60's is flat out ridiculous.
Glenn Nall Posted September 29, 2015 Posted September 29, 2015 Mr. Simkin, New member here If you google "Argimino Fonseca", you will find a memo, from CIA to FBI, describing a new anti-castro group in Miami. This group, Hermandad Cubana, was born in my living room when I was eight years old in the NW section of Miami. The memo mentions an attached "thermofax" copy of a fund-raising bond like those being sold. I have never found the attachment (It would be so nostalgic!) but I do have an original that I could post as a jpeg, if only I could find the icon for attachments here I was tasked with pressing an embossed dry seal on thousands of these. My arm nearly fell off ! I sold only one; to a neighbor "gusana" who took pity on me. My afternoon of TV watching was suddenly interrupted, one day, by my uncle and a group of men I had never seen. They recruited me hurriedly to help them move all the furniture into the bedrooms and kitchen. I feared we had been evicted! We set up folding chairs, a card table at the front, a flag pole with gold fringed Stars and Stripes, another, shorter pole with the Cuban flag, numerous booklets (Don't touch them kid!) , several chairs for dignitaries, precious box fans on wheels, Cuban coffee cups, water tumblers, spinning ash tray, etc. What followed, immediately, reminds me of the Unexpected Party at the beginning of The Hobbit. A giant man, name of "Gerry from the CIA" and a nearly mum partner "Davy" came in, wearing fatigues, boots, and Gerry sported a 1911 Colt on his thigh. These were the guests of honor along with a number of "distinguished and valiant veterans of Playa Girón". Among these were Loran Hall, William Seymour, Dennis Harber, Manolo Aguilar, and others I have not yet identified on-line. One of these had sat a few yards from my family and me, at the Orange Bowl stadium, on 29 December 1962, as JFK and Jackie welcomed them back from their Cuban prisons. What he was doing in my living room almost a year prior to said release and ceremony remains a mystery for me to solve: any suggestions would be appreciated; no Twilight Zone solutions accepted. I have very good photographs of one of these meetings, albeit sans Gerry and Davy. I don't know if it would be wrong to post it. Almost every one involved is now dead or in their 90's. I am very curious as to the identities of several faces there. What wisdom can you offer? Gerry gave a long speech, in basso profundo Cubish, with a "gringo" accent but also with perfect grammar. He stressed that, "Mr. Kennedy gives with one hand and Mr. Kennedy takes away with the other hand. But we don't need Mr. Kennedy. We can do this ourselves. All we need is PLATA (silver) and valour." He used the word "plata" many times. I am remembering more of his speech in bits and pieces only after more than half a century. Gerry - "that Americano is a horse"- of the CIA mesmerized all the women there, including my mom and aunts, with his looks and voice. He won us all over, later, in the kitchen, when he declined American coffee from the huge urn and said, "I don't drink that stuff. I want real coffee. I want Cuban coffee." This flowed from the small cafeterita by the kitchen sink. My brother joked "How is the weather up there?" and ran off when Gerry reache out for him. I was left behind and Gerry had me hold my folded arms stiffly at my sides. He then cupped my elbows with his huge hands and lifted me up like a rocket to face level. He smiled and asked, "So, how is the weather up here?" As I could listen to English better than I could summon up the words at that time, I only said, in broken English, "My father six foot." He said, "You are going to be taller ... mas alto." and set me down with a pat to my head. He then engaged in very quiet and fragmented exchanges with Davy : " we can get it later ... might as well now ... etc." In my opinion, and that expressed by my aunt at the time, these bond sales were a cover for the real source of funds. I say this because three of the men came back in rapid succession asking for three booklets, then a box, then all the boxes (twelve and each about three cubic feet in volume). These requests were separated by not more than twenty minutes. It would have been impossible to even hand out bonds that quickly; much less transact the sales. Nevertheless, a brown grocery bag with long, canvas, zippered pouches like those used by banks and merchants, filled with thick rolls of $100 bills appeared in my uncle's hands after the meeting. He showed me one of the rolls and his .38 special, snub-nose "la fookah" in the bag: not a profane word; just Cubish slang for "gun". I cried out, "Tio!, are we rich now ?!!!" and he responded, "Boy, if I touch this, they will shave my head off!" In Cubish this is , "Me la sepíllan!". I do not know whence the money came. But I assure you it was not from sales of bonds to our minimum-wage, blue-collar neighbors. Another twist to this is that most of the people sitting in the audience were not neighbors. They were INTERPEN members and BOP veterans. Gerry, Davy et al later came back, in my uncle's Café Pilon delivery van and unloaded a small arsenal of scoped rifles, C4 (two kinds), initiators, and other such things to hide in the crawl space under our house, in our garage, and in a piano-sized mountain, in our Florida room, covered by a thin layer of coffee bags, chocolate bars, banana chips, etc. I discovered the C4 when I dared to steal some chocolate. But I did not take it off the top where my uncle would notice it gone and polish my rear end with the razor strop. I dug into the center of the pile only to find long gray bars of PlayDough ?? and some plastic-wrapped lumps of stuff that stank like a car engine. I know what that was now. I did not taste any of it. There was also a thirty-five gallon steel drum of something that had to be turned topsy-turvy once every three days. Gerry and Davy showed us how to turn the drum over. For once, Davy spoke! And it was worth the wait. He told us, "If you forget to do this every three days, this whole neighborhood will reach the Moon before the astronauts." To this day, I do not know what was in the drum, even though I have asked friends who were in special forces and trained in demolition. I wish I had discovered Gerry's blog and asked kim. During these block meetings, a skeletal man, in a red MG Midget convertible, would park in front of our house. He would sit stiffly, staring at the windshield of his car. Every ten minutes or so, he would jot down some notes on his little black note pad then pull up a large, wind-up camera with two reels at the back and a long tele-photo lense. He would film our packed Florida room and living room, then set the camera down and resume his wax statue stare at the windshield. My brother and I went out to do a Buckingham Palace Guard number with him. We were told to not bother him. Several of the INTERPEN men and veterans became alarmed. Then Gerry glanced at the man and announced, "Don't worry. He's harmless. He's just FBI doing his job." This man and a partner later visited another uncle of mine, recently arrived from Cuba, at his place of work and interrogated him, unsuccessfully, about the goings on at the house. One day, I returned from school to a strangely roomier and cleaner Florida room: the candy moutain was gone! More than half a century later I have learned that Alpha 66 had retrieved the arsenal while I was at school. We had an 83-foot Coast Guard cutter with a wooden hull. I have photos of it as well. It had been used in shelling operations to kill Fidel. I have to think that innocents must have been hurt instead. But I did not know any of this until six years ago. There is only one other like it remaining, as a floating museum piece, in its original white and shiny state. That old one was the vessel Fonseca et al would go to Cuba with. They were caught and executed quickly, about one week before Dallas, according to executedtoday.com. But I think that the ill-fated raid took place in mid October 1962, during the worst of the Missile Crisis. I wonder if it was related to the Wiliam Harvey raids that got him canned by RFK. My uncle, cousin, and I had been allowed to go below deck very briefly. There was a huge torpedo there and no tube nor catapult to launch it. The cutter, flying American colors, was to be rammed against any Soviet military vessel available to provoke the war everyone else feared. Alternatively, it was to fly a Soviet flag and ram an American ship in Guantanamo Bay. Fonseca was warned repeatedly to not go in this Fidel-killing / ship-ramming raid. He was told there were Castro spies everywhere and he would be found out. And they were. They had barely disembarked when they were met with an unwelcome party. After several days of silence, my aunt got a phone call to turn on our Zenith Trans-oceanic and tune in Radio Rebelde from Cuba. There, a woman was reading off a list of the raiders "esvirros" who had been executed that week. The name Fonseca was read. My aunt covered her mouth and ran out of the room crying. I was surprised at her pity, since she was very upset with her husband for exposing us to possible jail time and removal of us kids. Well this should be enough for a first post, yes? I am still piecing together all of these events that I experienced from two feet below adult eye level. And yet, this was a great vantage point for adults to reveal things they thought I would not remember. If anyone can fill in any of this with your higher knowledge, it would mean the world to me. Sometimes I wish I could file a FOIA request for those FBI movies of my family and our "guests" while they were all young and full of life. Bye! HH jesus. "albeit sans Gerry and Davy...?" jesus.
Hiram Huesca Posted September 29, 2015 Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) I think Gerry did not like to be photographed. I think Davy did not like to be photographed. I'm pretty sure jesus was not there either. I will try to post an image ... URL ??? I'll have to learn how to post images later. I like your quotes -- mosaic. Edited September 29, 2015 by Hiram Huesca
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