I Never saw Bosch Use Dynamite, Says Informer

By Terry Johnson King

Miami News Latin American Writer

Paid informer Ricardo Morales, chief government witness in the “Cuban Power” trial of Orlando Bosch, has admitted under cross-examination that he never actually had seen Bosch make use of any of the half-dozen dynamite shipments which Morales says he gave him.

Except for one occasion, when Morales and Bosch tested some dynamite sticks on the bank of a canal behind the Doral Country Club after Bosch had complained the explosives were not detonating properly, Morales testified he had not been present when the dynamite was used.

FBI agents, including Benjamin Grogan, corroborated Morales’ testimony that on four occasions he was fitted out with a miniature tape recorder in the parking lot of Miami High School before attending Cuban Power meetings. He also met with Bosch alone to discuss bombings, he said.

The meetings included one in a SW 8^th Street restaurant, where Bosch told Morales not to worry about being under surveillance – “The FBI doesn’t work evenings or Sundays.”

The tapes were admitted into court as evidence, but were not played for the jury.

Morales said he was employed by the FBI from April through September of this year, receiving about $2,000 in payment for his undercover activities. In cross-examination, defense attorney Melvyn Greenspahn sought to establish Morales’ reputation as a mercenary, based mainly on a 9-month period in 1963 when he said he was “fighting communism” in the Congo.

Greenspahn questioned Morales on the various nicknames of the other eight who are being tried with Bosch on charges of conspiracy to damage foreign vessels, and then added, “Is it not true, Mr. Morales, that your nickname is Chivato (Stoolpigeon)?”

Government prosecutor Donald Bierman immediately brought out, on re-direct questioning, that Morales’ nickname is actually “Monkey.”