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Cryptonym: GOOSECREEK

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Definition:
Slugline used when requests are made for traces or other assistance from Staff D.
Status:
Speculative
Discussion:
GOOSECREEK might derive from the need to engage in a "wild goose chase" in running down "traces".

Note that Ramon Cortes, an attorney living in Dallas and Mexico City, represented the companies "Transcontinental S.A.", and "Intercontinental S.A." Cortes has an intriguing history culminating after 11/22/63 as possibly involved in the assassination working with the Chinese Communists, according to Angleton's sources and a French source - none of which panned out.

William Pawley was Chairman of the Board of the "Intercontinent Corporation".

Also see 104-10219-10190, p. 10: William K. Harvey, Chief of Staff D, studying Edmond Eddy Verniers - who may have assisted in the defection of William Martin and Berton Mitchell of the NSA - who was involved in automotive parts on a large scale in a manner similar to Ramon Cortes.
Sources:

1993.08.05.14:01:12:340052: Withheld

8/31/54 memo on William Pawley describes him as "Chairman of the Board of the Intercontinent Corporation."

104-10185-10363: CABLE:BASED ON INFO FROM QJWIN, SUBJ PARA 2B REF B ALMOST UNQUESTIONABLY

April 1960: Rabney/Silver in Frankfurt sends response to Washington, asks Presland (Harvey) whether QJWIN "should go through Leopoldville move as planned". CIA writes memo saying that the "candidates" QJWIN was looking for were safecrackers and document-suppliers. See https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=52280&relPageId=8

John Newman, Countdown to Darkness (2017), p. 291.

June 1960: Identifies James Rabney as the pseudonym for Arnold Silver. Silver was chief of the Luxembourg station from 1957-1960 and a close deputy of Bill Harvey. During June 1960, he took over as Operations Branch of Staff D while Harvey was the Staff D chief.

104-10176-10021: EXTENSIVE INFO AVAILABLE PERSONS MENTIONED REFS

Sept 7, 1960, HQ to Bill Harvey: Many traces being run in the ZRGRACE GOOSECREEK case involving the defection of two NSA officers, Bernon Ferguson Mitchell and William Hamilton Martin.

104-10176-10019: TWO ODINCH GRADE GS-11 MATHEMATICIANS DEPARTED TWO WEEKS LEAVE

Sept 16, 1960 Bill Harvey discussing the sensitivity of ZRGRACE GOOSECREEK case. RYBAT and "EYES ONLY FOR GOODING". At end, "Request full station and liaison info arrival, contacts and any travel in Korea, departure date and destination and other background data...please cable soonest the channel slugged as above." See 104-10145-10275: Gooding may have been Captain Niles Gooding, who was asked by the CIA to serve as a liaison between the HSCA investigators and CIA officers stationed in Mexico City. Gooding is described as a retired Navy officer. See 180-10142-10132: Gooding is described as a retired Army officer, sitting in on the interviews with Ramon Alvarez Durant/LIEMPTY-1 and Danny Flores aka Luis Aparicio, whose faces were hidden from the HSCA investigators.

104-10237-10129: EUSEBIO AZCUE LOPEZ

On 10/20/60, Julio de la Chica Vallejo contacted the FBI office in El Paso, telling them he was a Mexican citizen and a personal friend of Cuban embassy officer Eusebio Azcue. Azcue contacted him on 10/10/60 and asked him to be an intermediary for the Cuban government and make purchases of $350,000 in US automobile parts, to be shipped through the free port of Puerto Mexico (also known as Coatzacoalcos) in Vera Cruz to Cuba. Although de la Chica turned him down, the subject was brought up again by Azcue and a group of men on 10/16/60 due to their concern about a US embargo on the shipment of products to Cuba.

104-10176-10017: WILLIAM H. MARTIN WAS ADMITTED CONTACT GEORGE PERESTEROPOULOS

10/26/60 apparently from Anita Potocki at HQ, ZRGRACE GOOSECREEK cable asks recipient to "examine in depth" all the references.

104-10185-10051: CABLE- JAMES N RABNEY PLANNING CONTACT YOU ABOUT MID-APRIL CONNECTION SOME ASPECTS LAURICLE DISCUSSINS WITH YOU OCTOBER 60

3/23/61 memo: "James B. Rabney (Arnold Silver) planning contact you about mid-April connection some aspects LAURICLE discussions with you October 60. Would appreciate any assistance you can give."

104-10185-10364: CABLE:APOLOGIZE DELAY REPLYING REF A. FOLLOWING

4/12/61: Harvey sends "preliminary traces keyed (referenced) personalities" with the GOOSECREEK slugline. Second page of memo refers to Harvey's source for an illegal Chilean copper deal being approached by agent of "Interkontinental S.A." to be an intermediary financier...

104-10185-10386: CABLE:QJWIN NOW ON WAY MARSEILLE VIA PARIS TO MEET AND ASSESS ADDITIONAL

4/24/61 memo from Rabney/Silver to Harvey saying he will assess two candidates met by QJWIN in February. Debriefing with QJWIN on May 1 or 2. This GOOSECREEK trail seems to end with Harvey's concurrences with Rabney's suggested plan: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=22288&relPageId=2 Also see 104-10185-10042: Follow-up meeting between Rabney/Arnold Silver and QJWIN in late July 1961.

CORTES BUENROSTRO, RAMON

Ramon Cortes identified as agent of "Intercontinental S.A.", links back to Harvey's source at "Interkontinental S.A." at second page of 104-10185-10364, see the 4/12/61 post above. See oswald 201 file, vol 1/, Oswald 201 File, Vol 1, Folder 1, p. 32: Ramon Cortes is trying to fend off Cuban government investigators who were accusing his company Transcontinental of shipping used parts instead of new parts.

Commission Document 227 - FBI O'Connor Report of 20 Dec 1963 re: Oswald

12/11/63: "MM T-1 advised that information relating to one R. B. Cortes...(see Alien Registration report No A12 834 715)... reflects that Cortes had been a representative of a firm known as Intercontinental S.A.. Also, that about 1960, Cortes, as a representative of a firm known as Ameco (American Material and Equipment Company) of Texarkana, Texas, had visited Cuba and had allegedly stolen Cuban funds entrusted to him...as of January 1962, one Ramon B. Cortes was then president of Transcontinental S.A., a firm which was reported to be trans-shipping material from the United States to Cuba through Mexico." See State Secret, Chapter 4, for more on Cortez's role with Transcontinental S.A.: https://www.maryferrell.org/pages/State_Secret_Chapter4.html

Contributors:
Bill Simpich

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