CHILEAN BREAK-INS PUZZLE WATERGATE INVESTIGATORS

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 01430357
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2017
• Case Number: F-2007-00094
• Publication Date: May 29, 1973

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'..-.PPYOTUCTUZLES
29 .141r(1971'
-'ChileanBreab insPuzzlP. t.- No evidence has. turned up
,.that -members of the team that
erbroke intO the Watergate were
,Watergate Investigators.;a4fthoUgh hints that some of
involved in the entries,
� - '-ii.lient'Anay have participated
' 'have come from the authorities
� By MICHAEL. C. JENSEN
One unsolved puzale that: -
Watergate investigators are The next break-in was said'
to have .taken place- six. days
studying is the identity of in-; later at the East 36th Street!
-truders who _broke into thej apartment in Manhattan � of ..Ia-;
offices and residences of vier Urrutia. president of the!
� Chilean diplomats in Washing-;
1 Chilean Development Corpora-!
��e.,,ton and New York at least foura-taon and a clos.ea-economic ad-1
.times from April, 1971 to May, viser to Chile's president, Dra
.1972. . . � Salvador Allende Gossens.
Four break-ins against Chile-
a.ns took place in the 14 months
immediately preceding the
break-in at the Democrats'
Watergate headquarters last
June. They also occurred at a
time when the Chilean Govern-
ment was -negotiating with the
International Telephone and
Telegraph Corporation overj
compensation for Chile's take-
over of the huge conglomerate'si
-telephone subsidiary.
Because of far more sensa-
tional disclosures, Watergate in-
vestigators have not actively
purSited the Chilean case in
recent weeks, beyond asking a
auestion or two about the
..)reak-ins during . interrogations
of the :Watergate burglars.
. However. - Senate investigat-
ors have informed both the
Senate \trate:gate- -committee
and the Watergate prosecutors
in Washington about the details
of the four break-ins Al the �
offices and residences of the
Chileans.
�3 Occurred In New York-
. Furthermore, a member of the
-speeial intelligence unit of the
New York Police Department
was said to have concluded
that the three break-ins that oa-
curred in Manhattan were no
routine burglaries. And .investi-
gators in Washington said that
the four break-ins had followed
similar patterns.
They were apparently done
by professionala, �tita a few.
items taken to make the break-
ins appear to he burglaries, in-
vestigators said. Other valuable
items were left behind, how-
ever, and sensitive papers were
disturbed, possibly in the'
course of being photographed.
Investigators � "reconstruct the
break-ins as follows:
Thera first known break-in oc-
curred'. on the afternoon of
pill 5, 1971 at the Manhattan
esidence on Lexington Ave-
nue of Humberto Diaz-Casa-
nueva, Chile's Ambassador to
the United Nations. The Am-
bassador- reportedly told the
police that the 'intruders had
stolen such iema as a hair-dryer
and a nair of ho,-us an_ (Latina.
Pistol Stolen �
Mr. Urrutia told the police
that a .25-caliber Bernardelli
pistol had been stolen. How-
ever, a fur. coat in a closet
was reportedly untouched. Gova
ernment papers were said to
have been disturbed, and chew-
ing gum was edged into the
apartment's lock, a . familiar
practice of professional intrud-
ers that gives them time to
escape if they are surprised
during the course of an .entry.
The third reported break4n
took place on Feb. 10, 1972,
investigators said, at the New
York residence on East 46th
Street of Victor Rioseccaefors
merly a Chilean offiCialeatAlte
United Nations, A radiri:and a
television set were reportedly
taken and papers disturbed.
Tile fourth and most pub-
licized break-in took place over
the weekend of Ma 13, 1972;
at the Chilean Embassy in
Waahington. Files of :the Am-
bassador and his -first secre-
tary, Fernando Bachelet, were
reportedly rifled and -.two ra-
dios taken.
Chilean officials have been
ordered by their Government,
not to discuss the matter, but
snurces close to the case said!
that. the former Chilean Am-
bassador, Orlando letelier, had
confirmed that the Washington
intruders apparentlaewareaeek-
ing sensitive Government docu-
ments.
Speculation by Investigators
Capitol Hill investigators
have speculated that the in-
truders might have been seek-
in; evidence of links between
Cuba and Chile, or looking for
politically sensitive documents
relating to the take-over. by
Chile of I.T.T. properties.
in-Florida. _
-.-.First reports about a break-
. at the Chilean Embassy be-
.gan . to circulate in Miami a
week or so after the Watergate
break-in of June 17, 1972, and
-there was speculation that the
two might have been related.
That link never has been
red, and some investigators
doubt that itsexists.
One explanation offered for
the Chilean break-in was that
if any Cuban-Americans partici-
pated, as was the case in the
Watergate. they might have
been looking for documents
--that would indicate collusion
between the Chilean and Castro
governments.
Shortly after the specula-
tion began in Miami. Chileanl
break-in and reported it to the;
city- police, who started an
astestigation that has been in-
conclusive,
....Earlier this month. a Cuban:
named Felipe de Diego was
interrogated by State Attorney
Richard E. Gerstein in Florida
regarding- participation . in -the.
break-in at the offices of Dr.
Daniel Ellsherg's psychiatrist
in Los Angeles.
He and his attorney indicat-
ed that, if. eranted immunity,
Mr. de Diego might shed new
light on other surreptitious op-
eratiens in Washington. Inves-
tigators in aliarui later indicat-
ed that these operations might
include the Chilean break-in
or- break-ins, .
officials acknowledged the
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