178 10002 10091

178-10002-10091 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992 JFK Assassination System Identification Form Date: 8/31/201

Agency Information AGENCY: ROCKCOM RECORD NUMBER: 178-10002-10091 RECORD SERIES: SCHWARZER-MANFREDI FILES . AGENCY FILE NUMBER: S-M (IV-W)

Document Information ORIGINATOR: ROCKEFELLER COMMISSION FROM: ΤΟ: TITLE: DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM C. STURBITTS DATE: 04/16/1975 PAGES: 113 SUBJECTS: ANTI-CASTRO ACTIVITIES ASSASSINATIONS, FOREIGN LEADERS CIA CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS CUBAN EXILES FERRIE, DAVID STURGIS, FRANK HUNT, E. HOWARD MIAMI NEW ORLEANS SHAW, CLAY STURBITTS, WILLIAM C. GARRISON, JIM DOCUMENT TYPE: DEPOSITION CLASSIFICATION: Secret RESTRICTIONS: 1A; IB; IC CURRENT STATUS: Redact DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 02/13/2001 OPENING CRITERIA : COMMENTS: Unknown whether name is releasable. 9.1 NW 50955 DocId: 32204971 1 Page 1 410 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 WARD & PAUL 1 Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 SECRET 1 CONTENTS 2 Deposition of Examination by Counsel For the Commission William C. Sturbitts 4 2 5 (AFTERNOON SESSION Page 58) 6 William C. Sturbitts (Resumed) 7 58 8 9 178-10002-10091 10 11 12 178-10002-10215 13 14 15 178-10002-10279 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library 25 SECRET NW 50955 DocId: 32204971 Page 2 A WARD & PAUL 1 חפר Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 6 5 4 2 1-4 SECRET PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON CIA ACTIVITIES Langley, Virginia Wednesday, April 16, 1975 Deposition of WILLIAM C. STURBITTS, called for 7 පි 9 10 examination by Counsel for the Commission on CIA Activities, the witness being duly sworn by Thomas C. Hogan, a Notary Public in and for the State of Virginia, in the offices of the Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, Virginia, at 9:50 12 o'clock a.m., on Wednesday, April 16, 1975, the proceedings 12 being taken down in stenotype by Ruth G. McClenning, and 13

transcribed under her direction. 14 APPEARANCES: 15 16 17 On behalf of the Commission: GEORGE MANFREDI, ESQ., ROBERT B. OLSEN, ESQ. 18 19 20 410 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 21 22 23 24 25 NW 50955 DocId:32204971 Page 3 SECRET Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library 1 SECRET 2 Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 1 2 Thereupon, PROCEEDINGS כיו 4 5 6 7 8 WILLIAM C. STURBITTS, called as a witness by Counsel for the Commission on CIA Activities, and having been first duly sworn by the Notary Public, was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY COUNSEL FOR THE COMMISSION BY MR. MANFREDI: 9 Q Mr. Sturbitts, will you state your full name for the 10 record? 11 A William C. Sturbitts. 12. WARD & PAUL Q Mr. Sturbitts, do you recall when we spoke some 13 : weeks ago you signed a document entitled, "Advice and 14 Waiver"? 15 Right. 16 Q You understand that document is still in effect? 17 A Sure. 18 Q 19 410 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 A Mr. Sturbitts, by whom are you currently employed? You mean the Agency or 20 Q That is right. 21 A Central Intelligence Agency. 가 :' 22 Q And what is your current position with the Agency? 23 A I am a Special Assistant, Latin America, for 24 Economic Intelligence Collection and Operations. 25 Q NW 50955 DocId:32204971 Page 4 And would you briefly review for me the history of SECRET Gerald Ford Library Photocopy from ت WARD & PAUL Phane (Area 202) 544-6000 SECRET 3 1 your employment with the Agency? 2 A When I first came in I was in the Intelligence 3 Directorate for approximately ten years and I was put on special 4 detail, special indefinite detail, in the Deputy Director, Plans, 5 which is now the Directorate of Operations. 6 Q What year were you put on that detail? 7 A I guess it was 1964, January, I believe. 8 Ω And what did that detail involve? 9 A Cuban operations, economic warfare. 10 Q And how long were you on that detail? 11 A I was in the Cuban operations for nine years. 12 Q Between 1964 and. 1973? WARD & PAUL 13 A (Nods in affirmative.) 14 Q And in 1973 did you assume your current position? 15 A Yes, January. 16 Q Now, while you were on special detail to the DOD? 17 A Yes. 18 2 Were you stationed in Washington? 19 A Yes. 20 Q And did you commute with some frequency to Miami? 21 A Yes. 22 Q Were your activities in Miami in any way connected 23 with the operations of the Miami Station? 24 A In some way. My responsibilities were worldwide. 25 I took temporary duty predominantly in Europe, and then Miami. 410 1st Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 NW 50955 DocId: 32204971 Page 5 SECRET Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library SECRET 4 Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 1 Most of my operations were run out of Europe. 2 Q Run out of 10 A Europe. Some were run out of Miami but the big ones 4 were run out of Europe. 5 Q Well, in the course of your activities with respect 6 7 to Cuba did you have occasion to become familiar with the operations of the Miami base? 8 A Yes. 9 Q And the situation in the Cuban community in Miami? 10 A Yes, sir. 11 Q During the nine years you were with DDO's Cuban 12 WARD & PAUL operations, who was who were the chiefs of the Miami 13 Station? 14 A I think in 1963 Ted Shackley was the Chief and he 15 16 was followed by I can't think of his name. I should know it. Well, I will come back to that. 17: 18 Q Then, the next Chief of Station was Paul Henze. What years was he Chief? 19 A 410 first Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 I think Paul was there about a year and a half. He 20 left in 1968 when we reduced the size of the Station. Let's 21 say Henze was there from 1966 to 1968. And then Jake Esterline. 22 He was Chief of Station from 1968 to 1973. 23 Q Now, what was the formal title of the group to which 24 you were assigned for the 9-year period? 25 A Well, when I first came in it was known as the ۱ SECRET NW 50955 DocId:32204971 Page 6 Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library WARD & PAUL Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 SECRET 5 מיו 1 2 Special Activities Staff. It was headed by Desmond Fitzgerald. And then, I believe after that it became the Cuban Operations Group. 4 Q Now, was this a special group within the DDO or was 5 it attached to one of the area divisions? 6 A No. Following the Bay of Pigs, they created a thing 7 called Task Force W which was headed by Bill Harvey. And 8 that when Harvey left, he went to Chief of Station, Rome,. 9 10 11 and Fitzgerald took over, it became Special Activities Staff. It wasn't attached to anything except it reported to the Deputy Director, Plans. 12 Q And that was Mr. Karamessines? 13 A Yes. Well, it was Helms at that time back when it 14 was first created. Helms was DDP at that time. 15 2 And Task Force W was created immediately after the 16 Bay of Pigs?. 17 A Well, not immediately. I think sometime around 1.8 19 in the Bay of Pigs was in April. I think this was created in September, something like that, 1961. 20 Q And that subsequently became the Special Activities 21 Staff? 22 A Special Activities Staff and consequently became the 23 24 Cuban Operations Group. As the Cuban Operations Group it went back into the Western Hemisphere Division. 25 And what was the date of that reorganization? 410 Fast Straat, S.E., Washington, DC. 2000.3 NW 50955 DocId: 32204971 Page 7 SECRET Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library WARD & PAUL Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 1 2 SECRET A Well, let's see. I would say that was probably around 1965 because Fitzgerald then became Chief, W.H., and then 3 later DDP. 4 Q Now, Mr.Harvey do you recall what position Mr. 5 Harvey held after he left Task Force W? 6 A Yes. He was Chief of Station, Rome. 7 Q And is he still with the Agency? 8 A Oh, no. He retired a long time ago. 9 2 Do you know where he lives at the present time? 10 A Frankly, I don't. I have an idea where he lives. 1.1 He went to work for a friend of mine who had a law firm. 12 Harvey is a lawyer. 13 2 Indianapolis area? A 14 Yes, some place around there. It is in the midwest, Indiana. 1.5 What was the role that was assigned to Task Force 16 W? 17 A It was the overall Cuban operations. 18 Q Did the Miami when was the Miami Station estab- 19 lished? 20 A Well, I think they had a forward operatio-s base down 21 there about 1960 which was small, in Coral Gables. 22 Q This was, then, prior to the Bay of Pigs? 23 A Oh, yes. 24 2 Now, in addition to Task Force W, was the Miami 25 SECRET : Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library t 410 1st Street, S.C., Washington, D.C. 20003 NW 50955 DocId:32204971 Page 8 6 Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 SECRET 1 Station running any operations against Cuba? 2 A You mean prior to the Bay of Pigs? C1 Q Yes. 4 A 5 it was a I really don't know. It was a small forward base and it was more or less as I recall, a support type 6 thing. : 7 Q Well, after the Bay of Pigs when Task Force W was 8 established, did it have sole responsibility for Cuban .: 9 operations? 10 A Yes. ! 11 Q Or was that shared with the Miami base, Miami 12 WARD & PAUL Station? 13 A No. The Miami Station was under Task Force W. 14 Q All right. Would that also be true of the Special 15. Activities Staff, the Cuban Operations Group? 16 A Right, except that at the present time the Station -: 17 has no Cuban operations. 18 Q I understand that. When were Cuban operations termi- 19: nated? 410 Fust Street, S.E., Wastington, DC. 20003 20 A 21 At the Station? Let's see. there in 1972. It was during fiscal year '72. I think it was Sternfield went down 22 in early 1973. It was a gradual reduction. 23 Q And have those operations been terminated entirely : 24 or are they now run out of the Washington area? 25 A All Cuban operations are run out of Washington. SECRET NW 50955 DocId:32204971 Page 9 Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library SECRET Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 7 There are no more paramilitary operations, that type of thing. 2 Q But there are some Cuban operations being run out of כין the Washington area? 4 A Right. :: 5 Q Is that correct? 6 A Right. Worldwide. : 7 Ω Mr.Sturbitts, in the last couple of weeks you may 8 have seen some allegations in the press about possible assassina- 9 tion attempts that have been mounted or alleged assassination 10 attempts that have been mounted 11 A Right. 12 Q WARD & PAUL against Fidel Castro. In the course of your 13 activities with respect to Cuba, did you ever learn of any such 14 attempts? 15 A 16 17 Well, let me answer it this way. I wouldn't say attempts. I know there was discussion. "Attempts" is too strong a word. 18 Q 19: Well, can you place in time your first knowledge of any such discussions? 410 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 20 A Well, the first knowledge I had of any discussions, 21 22 23 And I knew that he was going to meet I was on TDY and this was October, November, 1963, with Fitzgerald let me put in Paris. it another way. I had overheard that discussions were going on 24 with a member of Castro's military but that he wanted, as 25 I recall, he wanted some British I mean Belgian rifles and SECRET Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library NW 50955 DocId: 32204971 Page 10 410 1024 Street, S.F., Washington, D.C. 20003 WARD IN PAUL Phone (Area 202) 544-6000 9 1 a telescopic sight. 2 Q Who wanted them? こ יו A This military guy that was in Fidel's 소 I think at one time he was a commandante. Now, I knew that was going 5 6 on. I didn't participate in it because I was there for another reason. And I know that subsequent to that time that Fitzgerald 7 8 met with him again and as I recall, as the personal representa- tive of the Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy. 9 10 11 I provided all those files. There are 19 volumes that we gave to your people. But I don't know who was reviewing them. I think Belin was going to do it himself. : 12 Q Yes. He is. He is doing it himself. 13: You said there were 19 volumes of documents with 14 respect to this. 15 A 19 files, manila. 16 Q All having to do with possible assassination? : 17 A All having to do with this whole time period and 18 19 can we go off the record for a minute? (Discussion off the record.) 20 21 BY MR. MANFREDI: Q The first knowledge of such conversations that you ! 22 had, I take it you obtained on a trip to Europe with Mr. 23 Fitzgerald? 24 A I simply overheard it, that is right. 25 Ω And who were the parties to the conversation you over- NW 50955 DocId:32204971 Page 11 SECRET Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library WARD & PAUL Phone (Arca 202) 544-6000 10 1 heard? 2 A A fellow named Nestor Sanchez. 3 Q And Mr. Fitzgerald? 4 A Yes, and I really can't recall some of the other 5 people. We were we had just moved the Station at that time, 6 i: in Paris, out of the Embassy into the old Rothschild Palace 7 and we felt that it was probably bugged, so all conversations 8 9 took place we walked around the garden and tyat type of thing, and, you know, I was walking with somebody, somebody 10 was in front of me, and you just overhear conversations. 1.1 Q This was in Paris? 12 A Yes. 13 Q I see. 14 Mr. Sanchez was he a member of the military? 15 A No. Mr Sanchez was in the Special Activities Staff. 16 He was stationed in Washington. And he was in contact with 17 Cuban military-type. 18 Q Was it your understanding that the Agency had received 19 instructions with respect to this activity from another 20 component of the Government? 21 A : 22 Well, let me put it this way. I don't know whether they received instructions. I have to assume, and I am pretty 23 positive, that this was a result of a Special Group decision. 24 And at this time you have to remember that Bobby Kennedy was 25 overseeing this deal, presumably for his brother, and he was 410 First Street, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 NW 50955 DocId:32204971 Page 12 SECRET Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library 410 fust Steel, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003 WAND & PAUL Phone (Arda 202) 544-6000 יו ניו 1 - 2 SECKEI 11 part of that Special Group. He called the meetings, he presided he did a number of things. Q Were there any other occasions that you can recall in which the possibility or the subject of assassination of 10 5 Fidel Castro was discussed? 6 A 7 Q No, not really. You referred to this as the first occasion. 8. A This is the first 9 Q Was there a second? 10 A the first time I knew about it or even heard it 二 discussed. 12 Q Well, prior to the investigation that is currently 13 underway I am referring now to our Commission's investigation 14 were there any other occasions in which this subject came to your attention after this discussion in the garden in 16 Paris? A 18 The only other thing that came to my attention was that the decision was made not to provide him with this sight that he wanted. Whether that is right or wrong, I don't know, 20 but that is what I was told. 21 2 When did you learn that? 22 A Oh, I would assume in must have been early 1964, 23 around February, something like that. 24 Q Off the record. 25 (Discussion off the record.) NW 50955 DocId:32204971 Page 13 SECRET Photocopy from Gerald Ford Library