Casolaro
| Tracking # |
DOJ-AP-2017-003743; 1345156-000 |
| Submitted | Feb. 19, 2016 |
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Communications
From: Michael Best
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
All documents relating to Joseph Daniel Casolaro (June 16, 1947 – August 10, 1991). I am specifically requesting all previously unreleased documents, as well as a cross-reference search for Alan David Standorf, Inslaw, PROMIS and Main Core. Please also include any records created or received by the FBI relating to the investigation of his death in Room 517, Sheraton Hotel, Martinsburg, West Virginia. The deaths of Joseph Daniel Casolaro and Alan David Standorf have both been widely reported.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Michael Best
From: Early, Holly H. (RMD) (FBI)
Dear Mr. Best,
The FBI has received your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy (FOIPA) request and it will be forwarded to Initial Processing for review. Your request will be processed under the provisions of FOIPA and a response will be mailed to you at a later date.
Requests for fee waivers and expedited processing will be addressed once your request has been assigned an FOIPA request number. You will receive written notification of the FBI’s decision.
Information regarding the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy is available at http://www.fbi.gov<http://www.fbi.gov>/, http://www.fbi.gov/foia/ or http://www.justice.gov/oip. If you require additional assistance please contact the Public Information Officer.
Thank you,
Holly Early
Public Liaison/GIS
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4286
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
E-mail: foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov>
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>
Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia
Please check the status of your request online at http://www.fbi.gov/foia by clicking on the CHECK STATUS OF YOUR FOI/PA REQUEST under the FOIA INDEX located on the right side of the page. Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.
-
~WRD000
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
An interim response, stating the request is being processed.
From: Michael Best
In addition to the CRS search, I am requesting a cross-reference search and an ELSUR search.
Thank you.
From: Early, Holly H. (RMD) (FBI)
Dear Mr. Best,
The FBI has received your additional correspondence regarding your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy (FOIPA) request and it has been forwarded to the assigned analyst for review. If appropriate, a response will be forthcoming.
Additional information regarding the FOIPA may be accessed at http://www.fbi.gov/ or http://www.fbi.gov/foia/.
If you require additional assistance please contact me.
Thank you,
Holly Early
Public Liaison/GIS
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4854
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
E-mail: foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov>
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>
Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia
Please check the status of your request online at http://www.fbi.gov/foia by clicking on the CHECK STATUS OF YOUR FOI/PA REQUEST under the FOIA INDEX located on the right side of the page. Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.
-
~WRD373
From: Michael Best
It is my understanding that records relating to the investigation of his death in Martinsburg, West Virginia were provided to the Bureau, possibly in relation to the Inslaw matter. Please include any such materials.
Thank you!
Michael Best
1345156-000
From: FOIPAQUESTIONS
Dear Mr. Best,
The FBI has received your additional correspondence regarding your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy (FOIPA) request and it has been forwarded to the assigned analyst for review. If appropriate, a response will be forthcoming.
Additional information regarding the FOIPA may be accessed at http://www.fbi.gov/ or http://www.fbi.gov/foia/.
If you require additional assistance please contact me.
Thank you,
Holly Early
Public Liaison/GIS
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4854
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
E-mail: foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov>
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>
Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia
Please check the status of your request online at http://www.fbi.gov/foia by clicking on the CHECK STATUS OF YOUR FOI/PA REQUEST under the FOIA INDEX located on the right side of the page. Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.
-
~WRD000
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
A letter stating the requester must agree to or prepay assessed or estimated fees in order for the agency to continue processing the request.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 19, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1345156-000.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: FOIPAQUESTIONS
Dear Mr. Best,
Please check the status of your FOIPA Request at http://www.fbi.gov and access the (Freedom of Information Act) link at the bottom of the page, or http://www.fbi.gov/foia, or https://vault.fbi.gov/fdps-1/@@search-fdps, and follow the instructions below.
Check the Status of Your FOIPA Request
If your FOIPA Number is [1195846-0] please enter [1195846-000] into the system. If your FOIPA Number is [1195846-1] please enter [1195846-001] into the system. If you have any questions about the status of your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>.
FIND STATUS OF FOIPA- LAST UPDATED ON May 18, 2016
Please enter the whole FOIPA number-Example: [1234567-000]
FOIPA:
Results will show the Request Number, Case Type and Process Description shown below:
FOIPA:
1234567-000
Case Type:
FOIPA
Process Description (Will display the current progress of the request)
The FBI’s FOIPA Program is searching the FBI’s indices for potentially responsive documents.
You may be contacted via formal letter for all fees and/or negotiation issues that may apply.
NOTE: Recent requests are entered into the FOIPA database in the order that they are received. Before you can check the status, you must have received correspondence assigning a FOIPA request number and the information transferred to the online database. Status information is updated weekly. If a request has been closed within the last six months the online database will display the following: The FOIPA number entered has been closed, and appropriate correspondence has been sent to the address on file.
Thank you,
Holly Early
Public Liaison/GIS
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4854
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
E-mail: foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov>
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>
Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia
Please check the status of your request online at http://www.fbi.gov/foia by clicking on the CHECK STATUS OF YOUR FOI/PA REQUEST under the FOIA INDEX located on the right side of the page. Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.
-
~WRD000
From: Michael Best
I agree to pay the fees associated with this request. Please process it as is, with the documents identified and do not continue searching at this time.
From: FOIPAQUESTIONS
Dear Mr. Best,
The FBI has received your additional correspondence regarding your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy (FOIPA) request and it has been forwarded to the assigned analyst for review.
Additional information regarding the FOIPA may be accessed at http://www.fbi.gov/ or http://www.fbi.gov/foia/.
If you require additional assistance please contact me.
Thank you,
Holly Early
Public Liaison/GIS
Record/Information Dissemination Section (RIDS)
FBI-Records Management Division
170 Marcel Drive, Winchester, VA 22602-4843
PIO: (540) 868-4593
Direct: (540) 868-4854
Fax: (540) 868-4391/4997
E-mail: foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foiparequest@ic.fbi.gov>
Questions E-mail: foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov<mailto:foipaquestions@ic.fbi.gov>
Do you have further questions about the FOI/PA process? Visit us at http://www.fbi.gov/foia
Please check the status of your request online at http://www.fbi.gov/foia by clicking on the CHECK STATUS OF YOUR FOI/PA REQUEST under the FOIA INDEX located on the right side of the page. Status updates are performed on a weekly basis.
-
~WRD000
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Good morning,
I'm contacting you about the FOIA request you made for records concerning David Casolaro. As you probably recall, the FBI located approximately 1,380 pages that are potentially responsive to your request. I just wanted to let you know about the potential waiting time for a request of this size. Once requests go over a certain size, usually in the 50-100 page range, they become increasingly complex, greatly slowing down the time required for processing. Generally the larger the file, the longer it takes to process. Given our current workload and staffing levels, it may be a very long time before you would begin to receive material from this request.
We contact folks with requests of this size to see if there might be a way to possibly narrow the scope of the request. Is this something you might be willing to consider? I can help you decide how to reduce the scope. We can narrow the request by date, or if you are looking for something specific, we can approach it that way.
Please let me know how you would like to proceed. I can be reached at 540-868-1695<tel:540-868-1695>, Monday - Friday from 7:00 am until 3:30 pm, Eastern time, or you can reply to this email if you prefer.
Thanks much,
Becki
Rebecca Bronson
Records Management Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
540-868-1695
From: Michael Best
Thank you, but I would like the entire file.
Can you give me an idea of what "a very long time" looks like? I'm surprised that this is the first time I've gotten a letter for something like this - I didn't even get a response like this for the 33,000 page FBI file I paid the duplication fees for (before the request was incorrectly closed and then re-opened).
Thanks!
Michael
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Michael,
I’m surprised that your very large case was not sent to be negotiated; we’ve been doing that for a couple of years now. If I may ask, what was the subject?
At 1380 pages, your request on David Casolaro is currently in the large track queue. The current median estimated time of completion for large track cases is approximately 475 days. If we can narrow the scope to a small-track case (50 pages or fewer), the median estimated time of completion then becomes 183 days.
If you would prefer not to reduce the scope, we can keep the request at its current size.
Best,
Becki
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~WRD000
From: Michael Best
The subject was Thomas Clines. I've had many other requests of considerable size, 750,000 pages, 17,000 pages, 8,000 pages, 7,000 pages, etc., and never heard from a negotiator before now. I have, surprisingly, agreed to and paid fees only to have the FOIA request closed and sent to the back of the queue again when re-opened.
I'd like to keep the request as is - it's taken at least five FOIA requests to even get acknowledgement that the file exists, which is rather surprising since it was the subject of Congressional investigations.
From: Michael Best
Also, I feel compelled to point out that the file I requested is on DANIEL Casolaro, not David Casolaro. "At 1380 pages, your request on David Casolaro is currently in the large track queue."
I'm fairly confident this was just an error on your part (I make worse ones every day, especially when it comes to names!) but wanted to point it out in case it was an error in the processing of the request itself.
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
My apologies – we’ve been extremely busy lately. As long as we have the FOIA number, we should be good.
Best regards,
Becki
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~WRD148
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
That’s good to know and again, I’m sorry that you’ve had requests that large not be offered negotiation. Our goal with the negotiation process is to streamline things for requesters and to hopefully get material to them (you) as quickly as possible.
Best,
Becki
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~WRD089
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Michael,
Good news – your Thomas Clines request is in the negotiation queue. I hadn’t noticed it because it’s still way down on the list. I really hope we can narrow the scope on that one. It’s an extra large case and if it stays at its current page count, it would likely be several years, realistically, before you begin receiving material. If you wouldn’t mind, please be thinking about what information on Clines would best suit your needs. We can have a chat about that in a week or so. I would like the opportunity to find something that would be helpful to you.
Best,
Becki
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~WRD398
From: Michael Best
Becki,
Why am I being contacted on the Thomas Clines request long after the Casolaro request?
Unfortunately, I need the complete file. He was one of the key figures in the Iran-Contra scandal and many other affairs.
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Michael,
The reason you were contacted about Casolaro first is that he hit the negotiation queue first and we work first in/first out. I hope you’ll reconsider narrowing the scope on Clines, though, because, like all of them, the larger the number of pages, the longer it takes to process.
Hope this is helpful.
Best,
Becki
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~WRD289
From: Michael Best
Thanks for clarifying!
I have one more question:
What's the size range for medium requests? In this case, I don't think I can limit the scope of my request but I'll keep the numbers in mind for future requests where I can limit the focus. In this instance and with Clines, my interest is too categorical to be able to reasonably describe limits on what I need. It's the sort of situation where I don't know what I'll need and what I won't need until after I see it, whereas with many cases I can at least prioritize it.
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Michael,
Medium track runs from 51-950 pages.
Hope this is helpful,
Becki
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~WRD335
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 19, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #1345156-000.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Bronson, Rebecca (RMD) (FBI)
Hi Mike,
This one is waiting to be assigned to an analyst.
Best,
Becki
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~WRD281
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Michael Best
I am appealing the integrity of the review process. 1,380 pages were located. I agreed to pay for all of these. Only 34 pages were reviewed. This is entirely inconsistent with what was located, and documents that (per the FBI's own correspondence) they failed to review 98% of the pages they located.
From: OIP-NoReply@usdoj.gov
04/26/2017 02:45 PM FOIA Request: DOJ-AP-2017-003743
From: OIP-NoReply@usdoj.gov
DOJ-AP-2017-003743 has been processed with the following final disposition: Affirmed on Appeal -- Other -- Agency Performed Adequate Search.
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