28-01-2010, 04:56 PM
Thank you ever so much for the invite. Deeply appreciated.
I am not an expert on Morales, but he has always drawn my interest.
Your term 'chameleon-like nature' certainly applies quite aptly to one of
Frank Olson's assassins-- a man with over 30 confirmed aliases , according to the FBI, and strong links to Lee Harvey Oswald and the CIA.
David Sanchez Morales, aka 'El Indio', got his start in assassinations in Korea with former OSS officer and CIA field director Hans Tofte. Tofte ran a small hit team that operated quite effectively there. [Tofte also had an American Indian from North Dakota who was called on to perform hit jobs.] Later on, as most know, Tofte transferred his special skills to Guatemala, where the entire art of 'wet jobs' and killing became greatly refined. About this time, Morales was an 'Ops Officer' for the CIA at GS grade 12. In late 1954, he was cited for bravery in his activities in Latin America. Allen Dulles approved his citation. CIA records state: "From 1946 through 1953, I [Morales] was on active duty with the U.S. Army serving the first two years with the 82nd Airborne Division; and the remaining five years as a training and administrative advisor in Germany." After this, Morales [vetted by CIA and sheep dipped around 1951-52] became a special advisor to 'several Central American governments.'
As many of us are aware, Morales went on to become a ghostly-like doer of death, including, according to some, participation in the JFK assassination. Many that knew Morales likened him in manner of operation and style to Jerry Patrick Hemming. I asked Hemming about this once and Hemming replied, "I don't know if I'm insulted or flattered."
Morales had brief contact once with one of Olson's assassin's in D.C. when that man [Olson's assassin] was first vetted for Agency duty by Sidney Gottlieb and then was ushered into the partial employ of James Angleton. It's a long convoluted story covered in detail in my Olson book and in my forthcoming bio of George White. Olson's killer did not like Morales due to David's "less than refined tastes" and "ill eating habits." Before his death, Gottlieb told me he did "not recognize the name Morales." Of course, he did recognize the name of Olson's assassin, but readers should not make the mistake of reading too much into that.
I am not an expert on Morales, but he has always drawn my interest.
Your term 'chameleon-like nature' certainly applies quite aptly to one of
Frank Olson's assassins-- a man with over 30 confirmed aliases , according to the FBI, and strong links to Lee Harvey Oswald and the CIA.
David Sanchez Morales, aka 'El Indio', got his start in assassinations in Korea with former OSS officer and CIA field director Hans Tofte. Tofte ran a small hit team that operated quite effectively there. [Tofte also had an American Indian from North Dakota who was called on to perform hit jobs.] Later on, as most know, Tofte transferred his special skills to Guatemala, where the entire art of 'wet jobs' and killing became greatly refined. About this time, Morales was an 'Ops Officer' for the CIA at GS grade 12. In late 1954, he was cited for bravery in his activities in Latin America. Allen Dulles approved his citation. CIA records state: "From 1946 through 1953, I [Morales] was on active duty with the U.S. Army serving the first two years with the 82nd Airborne Division; and the remaining five years as a training and administrative advisor in Germany." After this, Morales [vetted by CIA and sheep dipped around 1951-52] became a special advisor to 'several Central American governments.'
As many of us are aware, Morales went on to become a ghostly-like doer of death, including, according to some, participation in the JFK assassination. Many that knew Morales likened him in manner of operation and style to Jerry Patrick Hemming. I asked Hemming about this once and Hemming replied, "I don't know if I'm insulted or flattered."
Morales had brief contact once with one of Olson's assassin's in D.C. when that man [Olson's assassin] was first vetted for Agency duty by Sidney Gottlieb and then was ushered into the partial employ of James Angleton. It's a long convoluted story covered in detail in my Olson book and in my forthcoming bio of George White. Olson's killer did not like Morales due to David's "less than refined tastes" and "ill eating habits." Before his death, Gottlieb told me he did "not recognize the name Morales." Of course, he did recognize the name of Olson's assassin, but readers should not make the mistake of reading too much into that.