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Cryptonym: AMDENIM-4

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Definition:
Larry Laborde, captain of the Tejana III for many years. The vessel was used for resupply and infiltration operations until Laborde was laid off in 1962.
Status:
Documented
Discussion:
The Tejana III was owned by Alberto Fernandez/AMDENIM-1. The third source below illustrates that Laborde's cryptonym is documented. 104-10264-10051: "AMDENIM-4 advises C/BAR that Tejana III blew all seals on one engine during sea trials on 15 August 1961."
Sources:

180-10097-10375: [No Title]

December 1960: King Ranch and Czarnikow-Rionda contributed $38,000 to the $70,000 purchase price of Tejana III. It was a sub-chaser. Laborde was the Tejana III captain going back all the way to 1953. (For more details, see the various versions of 124-10222-10494). Also see 105-10105-10188, p. 9 of 26: "Laborde was a DDP contact from February or March 1961 to 20 April 1962. He served as acting captain of a vessel owned by Fernandez/AMDENIM-1 and used by the Miami Station in Cuban operations...Michael W. Laborde, the son of Lawrence, has told members of Garrison's staff that his father was associated with Alberto Fernandez...with Gerald Hemming, and one "Roy" (perhaps Leroy Collins...perhaps Roy Hargraves) in training Cubans as guerrilla fighters..."

104-10218-10142: CABLE-AMDENIM/4 CONFRONTED C/O DAY TEJANA DEPARTED KEY WEST TO RUN OPN MEGANO SAYING HE HAD CONSIDERABLE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

3/31/61 memo from JMWAVE to BELL: AMDENIM-4 asked if his allowance could be increased. "AMDENIM-4 has mastered TEJANA for past eight years hence most valuable keep ship operational." It was agreed that his allowance would increase to $700.

104-10056-10015: INTERLOCKING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BROWN/SLAFTER AND GARRISON

March 1961-1962: "PCSA requested 24 March 1961. Request was withdrawn in April 1962 as Laborde (AMDENIM/4) was considered a safety hazard. However, Laborde was paid with CIA funds and was in charge of the TEJANA III while it was engaged in CIA operations. Laborde was also aware of the location of the warehouses in Key West where operational arms were stored. Laborde was extremely bitter towards the Agency when he was terminated as captain of the boat and was undoubtedly author of an anti-CIA article that appeared in the Denver Post on 3 June 1962...was an INTERPEN member with Gerald Hemming, Leroy Collins and Howard Davis...his son Michael Laborde identified Alberto Fernandez as the leader of his father's group. Fernandez was also the owner of the TEJANA III, and remained friends with Laborde for years after Laborde's termination.

104-10172-10426: CABLE: LIST OF JMATE OWNED AND/OR WAVE CONTROLLED MARITIME ASSETS

5/18/61 cable from JMWAVE to BELL: "List of JMATE owned and/or WAVE controlled maritime assets." is provided. Tejana is described as operational and located at JMBAR - "w/19 ft. powr. cat w/2, 80 H.P. Mercury OBM". The other vessels are Matusa and Sandpiper (formerly known as Theano) in Islamorada, Wasp in Marathon, Seagull and Voodoo in Miami, El Polo and Barbero in Newfound Harbor, and Ropelu in Key West.

1994.04.22.16:06:28:970005: Reel 53, Folder E - LAWRENCE LABORDE.

Sept. 1961-1962: Problems accelerated with LaBorde. In Sept 61, Larry Piotti of the Office of Logistics saw once again Laborde's indiscretion due to alcohol (104-10218-10141) By 4/20/62, JMWAVE cancelled the request for a POA (104-10218-10140). On 4/24/62, Bill Harvey cancelled the PCSA for Laborde. (104-10218-10139). The Chief of Base of JMBARR may have been the CIA officer "Max A. Kubarker" (104-10218-10135), aka Charles Hostynski.

124-10294-10309: No Title

4/25/62 teletype from FBI, SAC Miami to Director: LaBorde claims he was told by CIA officer "Max" he would get 5000 dollars if he bombed the SS Williams that is delivering goods to Cuba - however, the owner Teofilo Baboun was anti-Castro and Max LNU claims he told LaBorde not to do it. LaBorde knows where arms warehouses are in Key West, was planning to break into them with his associates after blowing up the ship. CIA considered him capable of committing the act. Earlier pages discuss how Tony Cuesta taught Gerry Hemming and Ed Collins how to use an aqualung for underwater demolitions as part of this plan. (p. 6 of 25). See 104-10264-10035, 6/29/62: Sam Halpern, TFW exec, writes: "We would appreciate...receiving your views on what possibly be done to make life difficult for Laborde...our aim obviously would be to ensure that Laborde does not continue to be a source of misinformation and to be a general nuisance to all of us."

1994.04.22.16:06:28:970005: Reel 53, Folder E - LAWRENCE LABORDE.

July 1962: Bill Stuckey article about Laborde in 1962 and his efforts with Hemming to start a camp in Louisiana. Describes his bitterness with the CIA. Reveals his bio number as 201-294688. More details in 104-10218-10131.

1993.08.03.08:10:09:060060: GARRISON AND THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION

Circa 1962: Larry Laborde's son Michael told Garrison that his father was associated with Alberto Fernandez/AMDENIM-1, Gerry Hemming and "Roy" in training Cubans as guerilla fighters. (Memo date: May 1967)

104-10264-10035: DISPATCH: GYROSE/OPERATIONAL COMMENT ON NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

7/3/62 TFW/Exec Sam Halpern writes a memo to Ted Shackley, asking what can be done to make Laborde's life more difficult. Wants to stop Laborde from being "a source of misinformation"...(Laborde has been associated with the Tejana III since early 1961 and) at various times has been the Acting Captain of the Tejana but basically served as its chief engineer as a result of his experience with the pancake diesel engines which comprised as the power plant of the ship...throughout 1961 WAVE, of necessity, relied upon wealthy (Cuban) exiles to provide boats to be used on maritime operations in the absence of unilateral boats or the ability to acquire them...(Laborde's) experience as a pancake diesel motor engineer made him literally indispensable if the TEJANA were to be utilized. The problems mounting out of the program to utilize (Cuban) exile boats on a contract basis led to a policy decision to replace such boats with unilaterally controlled boats as soon as time would permit. The phasing out of Cuban exile boats quite naturally was interpreted by the boat crews and owners to represent a decrease in (anti-Cuban government) activity and possibly an end to such activity..."

104-10119-10391: LABORDE REPORTED RECEIVING A SUBPOENA FROM GARRISON

5/11/67, Don Pratt, CI/R&A states that "Subject was never recruited or paid directly by the Agency, but did serve as engineer and captain on a ship used in the Cuban operation. (The owner of the ship was recruited and paid for its use.) Subject did, however, become privy to a great deal of information about the operations, none of which would probably be compromising at this late date...he also allegedly has impersonated himself as having CIA backing (a boat sale). Pratt believes this is a provocation by Garrison...(DCS in New Orleans has no secure commo link to headquarters and Subject's contact would have to be called up to HQS - Pratt assuming Garrison has the DCS (Domestic Contact Service) phone tapped.)"

104-10218-10124: MEMORANDUM-LAWRENCE J. LABORDE, SAID HE WAS AN EX-CIA EMPLOYEE AND HE FEARED JIM GARRISON

Unsigned CIA memo (probably Angleton's research and analysis aide Ray Rocca), 5/12/67: "(Laborde) visited the New Orleans office of the DCS (Domestic Contact Service) that day...Subject feared that DA Jim Garrison would subpoena him, that he was willing to leave the US to avoid a subpoena, and that he wanted the office to tell him what to do. A review of Subject's file has led to the hypothesis that this visit was a provocation, probably engineered by Garrison in an attempt to trap CIA into advising Subject to leave Louisiana. Had such advice been given, Garrison would have been able to buttress his charge that CIA (and the FBI) are attempting to obstruct the course of justice in New Orleans...Headquarters dispatch of 23 March 1962 warned Miami that Subject was indiscreet, drank too much, and had an unsavory reputation...(subject was terminated in April 1962 and) had no further relationship with the Agency...CI/R&A proposes to take the following steps...to advise DCS to telephone its New Orleans office and answer the request for direction over the telephone in that office, which we consider probably tapped by Garrison's office."

1994.04.28.14:57:28:100005: Reel 8, Folder F - GERALD PATRICK HEMMING

1967 model linking Larry Laborde with JIm Garrison - Laborde's son visited Garrison four times during June-July 1967; friends with Soldier of Fortune publisher Robert K. Brown since 1962; PCSA of CIA from 3/61 to 4/62 when he was determined to be a security hazard.

Contributors:
John Newman • Bill Simpich

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