Reference is made to office memorandum of Assistant Director Thomas J. Kelley dated Soptember 30, 1966, received in this office Cctober 3, 1966, forwarding 19 checks issued to Y. Marjorie Flores, wife of Representative Adam Clayton Powell. It was requested that Mrs. Powell be interviewed immediately to determine whether the checks bear her genuine endorsement and to obtain any other information pertinent to this inquiry.

On October 3, 1966 SAIC Gittens and SA Gonzalez proceeded to Barrio Cerro Gordo in Voga Alta, Puerto Rico where Mrs. Powell's home is located. Although she was at home at the time of this visit, she declined to be interviewed and relayed information through a third party (believed to be a maid or a visitor) that she was ill; that she would call this office the next morning to arrange for an interview.

On Octobor 4, Mrs. Powell failed to call this office. It was learned that her telephone was out of order. On the afternoon of October 4, a second trip was made to Cerro Gordo, but this time, Mrs. Powell was not at home.

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On the morning of October 5, 1966 a third trip was made to Cerro Gordo, where Mrs. Powell was interviewed in her home by SAIC Cittens and SA Gonzalez. When advised of the nature of our business and shown the photostatic copies of the checks in question, irs. Powell said that the checks did not bear her genuine endorsement; that she had not authorized the endorsements; that to the best of her knowledge, she at no time had given her husband, Representative Adam Clayton Powell, expressed or implied authority to negotiate the checks.

Concerning the question of whether she had received funds and/or benefits from these checks, Mrs. Powell said that she really did not know. She said that she has neither seen nor heard from her husband in more than a year; that the question of support is now being handled by her attorney, Kr. Gonzalo Diago Betancourt, First National City Bank Building, Suite 702, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. She further explained that Mr. Diago is her cousin.

Krs. Powell declined to make a decision one way or the other with regard to signing any papers (claim or release) in connection with these checks. She requested that she be given time to consider the matter and to discuss the situation with Mr. Diago. She also requested that all further discussion in this matter be held with her attorney.

On the same afternoon, Attorney Diago Betancourt was interviewed in his office. The situation was explained to him and he requested that copies of the checks be left with him. He said that he felt that the question of these checks had a direct bearing on a conference he was scheduled to have that afternoon with Mr. Powell's attorney, Virgilio Kendez Cuesta of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He further explained that his appointment with Mr. Mendez Cuesta concerned the question of financial support for Mrs. Powell. Accordingly, the photostats. were left with Mr. Diago, who promised to call this office as soon as they had reached a decision. He said that he felt quite certain that he would not know before Monday, October 10, 1966 whether Mrs. Powell would make any kind of statement about the checks.

On October 11, 1966 SAIC Gittens again interviewed Mr. Diago in his office, at which time Kr. Diago advised that it was Mrs. Powell's decision not to make any kind of statement in this matter, either oral or written; that she would not sign either a claim or a release. He said that he did not have the photostats of the checks immediately available but that he would return them to this office on October 12, 1966.

On October 12, Mr. Diago still did not have the photostats available. He said that he and Mrs. Powell needed more time to study this matter, and that perhaps sometime in the future, they would decide on their course of action. He was told that any further inquiries concerning these checks should be made to the Check Claims Division of the U. S. Treasury Department.

On October 13, 1966 Mr. Diago returned the 19 photostats to this office.

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DISPOSITION

In view of the foregoing, this inquiry will be considered closed in San Juan with the submission of this report.

ATTACIDENTS

1. Check photostats (19)

2. Copy of letter from Committee on House Administration.

CLG:00a

(The above-referred-to document was marked "Langston Exhibit 19" and received in evidence.)

Mr. TAYLER. At this time, Mr. Chairman

Mr. HAYS. Just a minute. Are you entering that whole thing into the record or just those two paragraphs?

Mr. TAYLER. The report plus the transmittal letter is being offered. Mr. HAYS. Without objection. I just wanted to clear up what we were putting in here.

Mr. TAYLER. The whole exhibit is marked "No. 19," but it includes the report as well as the transmittal letter.

I would also offer at this time for admission in the record at the appropriate places Langston exhibits 7 through 18. Mr. HAYS. Without objection.

Mr. TAYLER. That is all I have, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. DICKINSON. I would like to ask one clarifying question of the witness, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Langston, you related the conversation that you had with the Federal marshal in Puerto Rico as to his efforts in trying to locate and deliver a message to Mrs. Powell. Did he give a reason as to why he was unable to find her, whether or not she was at home or whether he felt she was dodging him or anything of that nature?

The WITNESS. He stated that he had been to her home on a number of occasions at odd hours, day and night, in an effort to locate her and the house appeared to be deserted and closed up.

He further stated that she appeared to be, and I quote, "hiding out."

Mr. DICKINSON. Did he say whether or not he had attempted to learn her whereabouts through her attorneys?

The WITNESS. No, sir; he did not state that.

As a result of my second conversation with the marshal, he gave me the information that he had made these repeated efforts to locate Mrs. Powell and he had been unable to do so. During that conversation I asked him to contact the attorneys for Mrs. Powell and ask them to respond to our message to them. We had not had a response

at that time. We were unable to reach them by telephone at that time. They also appeared to be hesitant about making contact because I talked to the receptionist or secretary in his office, in the attorney's office, and I asked for one and then the other.

After some pause she would come back and say he is not in, he will be back in an hour or so. I left word that they call this committee collect. We never got a telephone call direct from them, to my knowledge.

Mr. DICKINSON. Was this conversation relative to the lawyers and then your efforts to talk to the lawyers yourself by telephone in response to the first telegram that you received from them?

The WITNESS. Yes, the first telegram from them.

Mr. DICKINSON. Did you in fact attempt throughout that day to contact them at the address they gave as to where they would be? The WITNESS. I attempted on several occasions, and I believe Mr. Tayler made an effort also to contact them by telephone.

Mr. DICKINSON. Is it true you got through to their office and talked to some young lady in the office?

The WITNESS. Yes; I talked to someone in the office. It was a rather bad connection. The accents of the people in Puerto Rico, Spanish, were hard to understand and the operator was particularly hard to understand so I wound up talking through the operator direct to the person in the attorney's office.

Mr. DICKINSON. And learned they were not available and left word for them to return your call and they never attempted to return your call as far as you know?

The WITNESS. That is correct.
Mr. DICKINSON. Thank you.

That is all I have to ask.

Mr. TAYLER. Mr. Chairman; for the record, Mr. Langston, would you identify by name the U.S. marshal in Puerto Rico to whom you spoke on the occasions you mentioned?

The WITNESS. I spoke one time to the chief deputy marshal.

By Mr. TAYLER:

Q. Do you remember which occasion that was?

A. On the first occasion.

Q. That was back on December 20?

A. On December 20. I placed a call for the marshal. He was not in. So I talked to the chief deputy marshal.

Q. His name?

A. Diago Martin.

Q. M-a-r-t-i-n?

A. M-a-r-t-i-n. On the second occasion I also placed a call for the marshal and he was not available, so I talked to the chief deputy on the second occasion, the same one, Diago Martin.

Q. So Mr. Martin was the only one you talked to in the marshal's office?

A. That is correct.

Mr. TAYLER. That is all I have, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. HAYS. Are there any other questions?

That is all.

Mr. O'CONNOR. We were going to have Mr. Tayler testify conerning his contacts with the U.S. attorney in Puerto Rico.

C. WILLIAM TAYLER, having been duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows:

By Mr. O'CONNOR:

Q. Will you state your full name and your position with the Special Subcommittee on Contracts.

A. C. William Tayler, counsel to the special subcommittee.

Q. You have just completed an interrogation of Mr. Julian Langston concerning the efforts to obtain the appearance of Mrs. Adam C. Powell before the special subcommittee. Have you had contacts with the U.S. attorney in Puerto Rico concerning Mrs. Powell?

A. Yes.

Q. Would you relate to the committee how the contacts were made and the nature of the discussions that you have had with him.

A. First let me describe the background of my first phone call to the U.S. attorney for Puerto Rico, which was made on December 28, 1966. When I arrived in the committee offices on the morning of December 28, I was shown the cablegram from Mrs. Powell's attorneys which is Langston exhibit No. 13, which stated that they had no information about her scheduled appearance on the 29th other than what they had heard in the press, and they were asking for clarification. Since it was already late in the morning of the 28th and Mrs. Powell's reservations were for a plane leaving San Juan at 6:36 p.m. that day, San Juan time, I undertook to contact these attorneys by telephone in order to get the message through as quickly as possible. I instructed one of our secretaries to place the call and she advised me that she had reached the office of the attorneys for Mrs. Powell and had been informed by a girl on the other end of the line in that office that they were at lunch and would be back at 1:15 p.m., Washington time, and she would have them return my call.

My secretary identified me as counsel for the House Administration Committee when she left the message. One fifteen came and went and the call was not returned.

At 1:45 I again attempted to reach her attorneys and according to the information given us by a secretary in their office they were not in and they would be back in an hour. At this point I undertook to instruct Mr. Langston to phone the U.S. marshal and have him find the attorneys. The instruction was to find the attorneys and tell them that Mrs. Powell was to be before the subcommittee on the next day and she was to take the 6:35 p.m. Eastern Airlines flight out of San Juan.

I then phoned the U.S. attorney for Puerto Rico, Mr. Francisco Gil, Jr., and advised him of our situation, that we were trying to reach Mrs. Powell's attorneys to get her on the plane that evening. I asked him to contact the attorneys as quickly as possible and tell them that she was expected here before the subcommittee on the following morning.

I did not hear from Mr. Gil until the morning of the 29th, early in the morning, when he called me and reported a conversation he had had on the preceding evening with one of the two attorneys, Reinaldo Paniagua Diez. He said Mr. Paniagua Diez had informed him that Mrs. Powell had no notification of a scheduled appearance on the 29th other than what the newspapers had reported and the information