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14-Q0000 104-10106-10325] 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F_ KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
"JN LASSIFIED Interal
CONF FNTIAL
'LY SECRET
ROUTING AND RECORD SKEET
SUBJECT: (Oetionol) Lit Crim U S Lon
frOM: EXTENSION NO_
William H. Godson
CI/RGA/0
03 1592 DATE
TO: (Cfficer_detignotion, room]qumbet, aid DATE building) OFFICER"S COMMENTS (Number each commcat to show from_ whom
RECEIVED FORWARDED
INITIALS 6 whom; Draw line across columa ofter each comment: )
1 AC/CITRGA/O
0 2 |nov 197
2.
3-
AC/CI/RGA
2
245-/he
5_
C/cI Staff
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1977
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Form 610 USEPREVIQUS
3-62 EDITiONS SECRET CONFIDENTIAL INTERNAL
Yp " USE ONLY
UNCLASSTFIED
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268 )7 -
tt ' If-22
1 November 1977
NEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Counterintelligence Staff
05
FROM WWilliam H. Godson
C1/RGA/0
SUBJECT Herbert Itkin File
1 I have reviewed the material in the Herbert Itkin
file which is divided into two main divisions The first
concerns the details of Itkin' s use as an unpaid witting
informant on matters concerning an attempt by Haitian exiles
in 1963 to unseat then President Duvalier This involved
a large number of contacts with Haitian exiles in New York,
Washington
)
the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico Itkin
became a Jegal advisor for a Haitian Government In-Exile and
put up 515,000 of his "own funds" for this Haitian enterprise
Bernard Es MONCURE (P) a CI Staff staff agent in New York,
rode piggy-back on Itkin' s contacts with the Haitians to make
his OWn operational contacts within the group He also
provided a small amount of money to them (84,300) from CIA
funds_ It would seem from information in the file that there
was high-level governmental interest in removing Duvalier
from office in 1963 _ This information is contained in hand -
written notes which are paraphrased and indicate high-level
interest in the activities of the Haitian exile group (I
suggest that this material be kept in case there are Freedom
of Information Act requests on CIA activities involving Haiti
in 1962-1963 .)
2 The second and bulkier section of material concerns
Itkin' s efforts to involve MONCURE and CIA in his attempts to
secure cus tody of his wife' s children from her second marriage _
Itkin had been heavily involved as a lawyer and confidant with
Mafia syndicates and labor unions particul- the teamsters
Mhile doing this he had gained
a
'iarge
amount of information
on the Ma fia In March 1963 MONCURE had recruited Itkin for
the FBI for domestic issues while maintaining for CIA the use
of Itkin for foreign intelligence matters The FBI and the
federal prosecutors in New York starting in 1968 found Itkin
to be a very important witness in a series of criminal indict-
ments starting with New York City Water Commissioner Marcus
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Itkin and his wife had for a long time been :struggling to
maintain custody
over her children from her second marriage _
Claiming that she had violated the cus stipulations of
a New York court by moving them more than 50 miles from New
York without his permission, Frederick Hersh, Mrs Itkin' s
former husband, gained
cuS of the children by means of
a ruling from the British court in 1966 _ Mrs Itkin began
legal procedures in New York to regain the children As
part of their effort they swore affadavits that Mrs Itkin:
had taken the children to England at the request of the CIA.
Itkin embellished On his CIA record by stating that he had
worked for CIA for many years prior to 1963, and insisted
that his original contact had been set up between Harold
Stassen and Allen Dulles in Philadelphia in the summer 0f
1954_ Most of these assertions were fabrications_ MONCURE S CIA relationship
was exposed in various legal circles in
New York. The Agency wanted to avoid MONCURE 1 S having to
contradict Mr _ and Mrs . Itkins affadavits in court The
FBI seemed to have been more interested in protecting Itkin' s
reputation as a witness than in protecting MONCURE 5 reputa -
tion for honesty.
3_ MONCURE did not appear in court _ The Federal
authorities eventually placed protection around Itkin and
his wife, keeping them on a military reservation
9
while :
he appeared as a star witness in numerous Mafia cases which
led to covictions
4 One small Side issuegis worth noting: CThomas L
Roberts who was a law partner of Itkin)until mid-1961 = became
a CIA staff agent under cover in Africa)z The many fraudulent
activities of Itkin spread a scintilla of suspicion around
03 Roberts The latter was given a polygraph examination in
Frankfurt_ He answered questions on his relationship with
Itkin including financial and his few contacts with Marcus
to the satisfaction of his interrogators
5 Comments: The thrust of the file is mainly defensive_
CIA was reacting to Itkin's tactics to help his wife gain cus 3
tody over her children_ Itkin' s numerous to England
and Europe were made on behalf of the FBI and they were part
of an FBf attempt to gain information on the Mafia Before
the tecruitment of Itkin and his utilization by the FBI , CIA
did pass to the Attorney General in 1963 information on a
Department of Labor official' s alleged criminal involvement
with the Mafia, which MONCURE had elicited from Itkin The
file also refers to MONCURE S continued contact with one Mafia
figure Lenzieri, who was a legal client , as a means of self-
protection as Lenzieri represented a channel back to the Mafia
cIn
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for MONCURE who was apprehensive of Mafia retaliation because
of his
invoivement
with Itkin
6 I have talked to Will Kerbe who is presently the
case officer in contact for MONCURE _ He says that MONCURE
is in limited law practice and is drawing
a pension from
the. Agency as well as a contract for services connected with
Golitsyn: There is probably nothing in the file which could
damage' MONCURE 5 security as much of the information
regarding his association with Itkin has already been exposed.
The most recent information in the file is a January 1975
memorandun for the record from Acting Chief CI which
states that John Ka Greaney Assistant General
'Counsel_
had
learned that Seymour Hersh had learned details of the Itkin-
MONCURE relationship It would appear that Mr Greaney is
the most knowledgeable person in the agency on the legal
aspects of the Itkin case and probably maintains his own
files.
0}
(b/ be' H/ , Gohrv
William H_ Godson
(Irv
SECRET