Frank Anthony Sturgis (December 9, 1924 – December 4, 1993), born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the Watergate burglars. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) The Watergate burglaries, which took place on May 28 and June 17, 1972, have been cited in testimony media accounts and popular works on Watergate as He served in Fidel Castro's revolutionary army as a soldier of fortune, and later trained Cuban exiles for the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until The term " Cuban exile " refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island dating back to the Ten Years' War The Bay of Pigs Invasion (aka Playa Girón) was an unsuccessful attempt by a U
Frank Fiorini Sturgis' family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when he was a child. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern In 1942, Sturgis joined the U.S. Marine Corps and, during the Second World War, served in the Pacific. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
After the war Sturgis attended the Virginia Polytechnic Institute before becoming the manager of the Whitehorse Tavern. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic University in He also served in the United States Army (1950-52). The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. This was followed by a spell as the owner-manager of Tophat Nightclub in Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach (pronounced /vɚˌdʒɪnjəˈbiːtʃ/ is an Independent city located in the South Hampton Roads area and one of the largest cities in His family owned a fruit stand in the area. While in Norfolk, Virginia Sturgis attended a few classes at Old Dominion University. Norfolk is an Independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States Old Dominion University (ODU is a large public Research university located in historic Norfolk Virginia.
Contents |
Entry into intelligence operations
On September 23, 1952, Frank Fiorini filed a petition in the Circuit Court of the City of Norfolk, Virginia, to change his name to Frank Anthony Sturgis, adopting the surname of his stepfather Ralph Sturgis, whom his mother had married in 1937. Events 1122 - Concordat of Worms. 1459 - Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle of the English Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Norfolk is an Independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Whether coincidentally or not, the new name resembled that of Hank Sturgis, the fictional hero of E. Howard Hunt's 1949 novel, Bimini Run, whose life parallels Frank Sturgis' life from 1942 to 1949 in certain salient respects. Everette Howard Hunt Jr ( October 9 1918 – January 23 2007) was an American Author and spy. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [1]
In 1956, Sturgis moved to Cuba. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Republic of Cuba (ˈkjuːbə or) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest and second-most populous island of the Greater Antilles) Isla de la He also spent time in Mexico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, and Honduras. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica,) is a Country in Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest Panama, officially the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá) is the southernmost country of Central America. Honduras in Spanish, República de Honduras) is a democratic republic in Central America. It is believed that during this time Sturgis worked as either a soldier of fortune or a contract agent for the Central Intelligence Agency, or both. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all The 1975 Rockefeller Commission report, however, found that "Frank Sturgis was not an employee or agent of the CIA either in 1963 or at any other time. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The US President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States was set up under President Gerald Ford in 1975 to investigate the activities of the Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. "[2]
.jpg/180px-Frank_Sturgis_(various).jpg)
Sturgis also became involved in gunrunning to Cuba. Illegal arms trafficking, also known as Gunrunning is trafficking in ( Smuggling) contraband Weapons and Ammunition. On July 30, 1958, Sturgis was arrested for illegal possession of arms, but was released without charge. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. There is some evidence that, in 1959, Sturgis had contact with Lewis McWillie, the manager of the Tropicana Casino. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lewis McWillie testified at the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations Sept
After Fidel Castro gained control of Cuba, Sturgis formed the Anti-Communist Brigade. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13 1926 is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until In his book Counter-Revolutionary Agent, Hans Tanner claims that the organization was "being financed by dispossessed hotel and gambling owners" who operated freely under Fulgencio Batista. General Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (fulˈxensjo βaˈtista i salˈdiβar January 16, 1901 &ndash August 6, 1973) was a Cuban
In 1959, Sturgis became involved with Marita Lorenz, who was having an affair with Fidel Castro. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Marita Lorenz (born August 18, 1939 in Bremen) is a German woman who at the age of 19 in 1959 had an affair with Fidel Castro and in January In January 1960, Sturgis and Lorenz took part in a failed attempt to poison Castro. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. It is also believed that Sturgis was involved in helping the CIA organize the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Bay of Pigs Invasion (aka Playa Girón) was an unsuccessful attempt by a U
Sturgis was also a member of Operation 40. Operation 40 was a Central Intelligence Agency -sponsored undercover operation in the early 1960s which was active in the Caribbean (including Cuba) He later explained: "this assassination group (Operation 40) would upon orders, naturally, assassinate either members of the military or the political parties of the foreign country that you were going to infiltrate, and if necessary some of your own members who were suspected of being foreign agents. . . We were concentrating strictly in Cuba at that particular time. Actually, they were operating out of Mexico, too. "
Alleged JFK assassination connections
In an article published in the Florida Sun Sentinel on December 4, 1963, Jim Buchanan claimed that Sturgis had met Lee Harvey Oswald in Miami, Florida shortly before the assassination of John F. Kennedy. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. James Forrest Buchanan ( July 1, 1876 - June 15, 1949) was a professional Baseball player. Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18 1939 &ndash November 24 1963 was according to three United States government investigations the assassin of U John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Buchanan claimed that Oswald had tried to infiltrate the Anti-Communist Brigade. When he was questioned by the FBI about this story, Sturgis claimed that Buchanan had misquoted him regarding his comments about Oswald.
According to a memo sent by L. Patrick Gray, acting FBI Director, to H. R. Haldeman in 1972: "Sources in Miami say he (Sturgis) is now associated with organized crime activities". Louis Patrick Gray III (July 18 1916 – July 6 2005 was acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI from May 2 1972 to April 27 1973 Directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are appointed by the President of the United States. Harry Robbins Haldeman (publicly known as H R Haldeman, and informally as Bob Haldeman) ( October 27, 1926 &ndash November 12, Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In his book, Assassination of JFK (1977), Bernard Fensterwald claims that Sturgis was heavily involved with the Mafia, particularly with Santo Trafficante and Meyer Lansky activities in Florida. Bernard "Bud" Fensterwald Jr ( 2 August 1921 – 2 April 1991) was an American Lawyer who defended James The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian Criminal Secret society which is believed to have first developed in the mid-19th century Meyer Lansky (born Majer Suchowliński, July 4, 1902 &ndash January 15, 1983) was a gangster who with Charles
The Rockefeller Commission of the U. The US President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States was set up under President Gerald Ford in 1975 to investigate the activities of the S. Congress in 1974 investigated Frank Sturgis and E. Howard Hunt in connection with the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Everette Howard Hunt Jr ( October 9 1918 – January 23 2007) was an American Author and spy. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Specifically, it investigated allegations that E. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis were CIA agents and were present in Dallas at the time of the assassination and could have fired the alleged shots from the grassy knoll. [3] Some support for Hunt's involvement, at any rate, came from a figure from the 1960s counterculture, Kerry Wendell Thornley, who believed he had, on several occasions from 1961-63, conversed with Hunt (who Thornley claimed used the alias "Gary Kirstein") regarding plans to assassinate John F. The Counterculture of the 1960s and early 1970s refers to a period between 1960 and 1973 that began in the United States as a reaction against Kerry Wendell Thornley (April 17 1938 - November 28 1998 is perhaps best-known as the co-founder (along with childhood friend Greg Hill) of Discordianism. Kennedy while Thornley had been living in New Orleans. Newsweek magazine reported and printed photographs of three men, including two supposedly resembling Hunt and Sturgis, who were detained at the grassy knoll shortly after the assassination. Newsweek is an American weekly Newsmagazine published in New York City. The Newsweek article stated the official reports that the men were released and were only "railroad bums" who would find shelter sleeping in the boxcars of the trains located near the grassy knoll. According to Newsweek, the men were released without further inquiry.
According to the 1975 Rockefeller Commission report, Hunt testified that he had never met Sturgis before they were introduced by Bernard Barker in Miami in 1972. Everette Howard Hunt Jr ( October 9 1918 – January 23 2007) was an American Author and spy. Bernard Leon Barker (born 17 March 1917) was a former member of the Cuban secret police under the Batista regime Sturgis testified to the same effect, except that he did not recall whether the introduction had taken place in late 1971 or early 1972. Sturgis further testified that while he had often heard of "Eduardo," a CIA political officer who had been active in the work of the Cuban Revolutionary Council in Miami prior to the Bay of Pigs operation in April 1961, he had never met him and did not know until 1971 or 1972 that "Eduardo" was E. Howard Hunt. [4]
In a deathbed statement [1] released in 2007, Howard Hunt names Sturgis as one of the participants in the JFK assassination. Everette Howard Hunt Jr ( October 9 1918 – January 23 2007) was an American Author and spy.
He claimed to Marita Lorenz, "We killed the President"
Watergate burglary
On 17 June 1972, Sturgis, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, Bernard L. Barker and James W. McCord were arrested while installing electronic listening devices in the National Democratic Party campaign offices located at the Watergate office complex in Washington. Virgilio R Gonzalez was a contract CIA operative and one of the five men recruited by E Eugenio Rolando Martinez (alias Musculito) was a member of the anti-Castro movement in the early 1960s and later was one of the five men recruited Bernard Leon Barker (born 17 March 1917) was a former member of the Cuban secret police under the Batista regime The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. The Watergate burglaries, which took place on May 28 and June 17, 1972, have been cited in testimony media accounts and popular works on Watergate as The phone number of E. Howard Hunt was found in address books of the burglars. Everette Howard Hunt Jr ( October 9 1918 – January 23 2007) was an American Author and spy. Reporters were able to link the break-in to the White House. Bob Woodward, a reporter working for the Washington Post was told by a friend who was employed by the government that senior aides of President Richard Nixon had paid the burglars to obtain information about its political opponents. Robert "Bob" Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an assistant managing editor of The Washington Post. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D
Prison and later life
In January 1973, Sturgis, Hunt, Virgilio Gonzalez, Eugenio Martinez, Bernard L. Barker, Gordon Liddy and James W. McCord were convicted of conspiracy, burglary and wiretapping. While in prison, Sturgis gave an interview to Andrew St. George. Sturgis told St. George: "I will never leave this jail alive if what we discussed about Watergate does not remain a secret between us. The Watergate scandals were a series of Political scandals during the presidency of Richard Nixon that resulted in the Indictment of several of Nixon's If you attempt to publish what I've told you, I am a dead man. "
St. George's article was published in True magazine in August 1974. True, aka True The Man's Magazine, was published by Fawcett Publications from 1937 until 1974 Sturgis claims that the Watergate burglars had been instructed to find a particular document in the Democratic Party offices. This was a "secret memorandum from the Castro government" that included details of CIA covert actions. Sturgis said "that the Castro government suspected the CIA did not tell the whole truth about this operations even to American political leaders".
In 1976, Sturgis gave a series of interviews where he claimed that the assassination of John F. Kennedy had been organized by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Ernesto "Che" Guevara (June 14 Following the Cuban revolution,Guevara reviewed According to Sturgis, Lee Harvey Oswald had been working in America as a Cuban agent.
In November 1977, Marita Lorenz gave an interview to the New York Daily News in which she claimed that a group called Operation 40, that included Sturgis and Lee Harvey Oswald, were involved in a conspiracy to kill both John F. The Daily News of New York City is the fifth most-widely circulated daily Newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 703137 Kennedy and Fidel Castro.
In August 1978, Victor Marchetti published an article about the assassination of John F. Victor Marchetti ( 1930 -) is a former special assistant to the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a prominent Paleoconservative Kennedy in the Liberty Lobby newspaper, Spotlight. Liberty Lobby was a Political advocacy organization which existed in the United States between 1955 and 2001. In the article, Marchetti argued that the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) had obtained a 1966 CIA memo that revealed Sturgis, E. The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations was established in 1976 to investigate the John F Howard Hunt and Gerry Patrick Hemming had been involved in the plot to kill Kennedy. Gerald Patrick Hemming Jr (March 1 1937 &ndash January 28 2008 Fayetteville North Carolina) was a former U Marchetti's article also included a story that Marita Lorenz had provided information on this plot. Later that month, Joseph Trento and Jacquie Powers wrote a similar story for the Sunday News Journal.
The House Select Committee on Assassinations did not publish this alleged CIA memo linking its agents to the assassination of John F. The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations was established in 1976 to investigate the John F Kennedy. Hunt now decided to take legal action against the Liberty Lobby and, in December 1981, he was awarded $650,000 in damages. Liberty Lobby appealed to the United States Court of Appeals. It was claimed that Hunt's attorney, Ellis Rubin, had offered a clearly erroneous instruction as to the law of defamation. Ellis S Rubin (June 20 1925 – December 12 2006 was an American attorney in Miami Florida who gained national fame for handling a variety of highly The three-judge panel agreed and the case was retried. This time Mark Lane defended the Liberty Lobby against Hunt's action.
Lane eventually discovered Marchetti’s sources. The main source was William Corson. It also emerged that Marchetti had also consulted James Angleton and Alan J. Weberman before publishing the article. James Jesus Angleton (December 9 1917 &ndash May 12 1987 known to colleagues as Jim and nicknamed "the Kingfisher" was a long-serving chief of the Central Intelligence Alan Jules Weberman (born May 26, 1945) better known as A J Weberman, is an American writer political gadfly, and self-styled founder of As a result of obtaining depositions from David Atlee Phillips, Richard Helms, G. Gordon Liddy, Stansfield Turner and Marita Lorenz, plus a skillful cross-examination by Lane of E. David Atlee Phillips ( October 31, 1922 – July 7, 1988) was born in Fort Worth Texas Richard McGarrah Helms ( March 30, 1913 &ndash October 23, 2002) was the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI from 1966 to 1973 George Gordon Battle Liddy (born November 30, 1930) was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed during several years of Stansfield M Turner (born December 1, 1923 in Highland Park, Illinois, USA) was an Admiral and Director of Central Howard Hunt, the jury decided in January 1995 that Marchetti had not been guilty of libel when he suggested that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated by people working for the CIA.
Lorenz also testified before the House Select Committee on Assassinations where she claimed that Sturgis had been one of the gunmen who fired on John F. The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations was established in 1976 to investigate the John F Kennedy in Dallas. Sturgis testified that he had been engaged in various "adventures" relating to Cuba, which he believed to have been organized and financed by the CIA.
Sturgis denied that he had been involved in the assassination of Kennedy. Sturgis testified that he was in Miami throughout the day of the assassination, and his testimony was supported by that of his wife and a nephew of his wife. The House committee dismissed Lorenz's testimony, as they were unable to find any other evidence to support it.
In an obituary published December 5, 1993, the New York Times quoted Sturgis' lawyer, Ellis Rubin, as saying that Sturgis died of cancer a week after he was admitted to a veterans hospital in Miami, Florida. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Ellis S Rubin (June 20 1925 – December 12 2006 was an American attorney in Miami Florida who gained national fame for handling a variety of highly Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the It reported that doctors diagnosed lung cancer that had spread to his kidneys, and that he was survived by a wife, Jan, and a daughter. [5]
Notes
- ^ Will Ruha, proposal identifying fictional Hank Sturgis with Fiorini. For a contrary view, from Chapter 19 of the Rockefeller Commission report (denying suggestion that Sturgis took his present name from the Hunt character, or that the name change was associated in any way with Sturgis' knowing Hunt before 1971 or 1972), see "Were Watergate Conspirators Also JFK Assassins?". The US President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States was set up under President Gerald Ford in 1975 to investigate the activities of the Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Report to the President by the Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States Chapter 19
- ^ Gerald R. Ford Library, Summary Description of Rockefeller Commission Files
- ^ Report to the President by the Commission on CIA Activities Within the United States Chapter 19
- ^ "Frank A. Sturgis, Is Dead at 68; A Burglar in the Watergate Affair. " Obituary, New York Times (December 5, 1993)
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic