Leonard H. Stringfield FBI Files

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A copy of FBI files on Leonard H. Stringfield (Born: 17 Dec. 1920; Deceased: 18 Dec. 1994), a DuBois Chemical executive from Cincinnati, Ohio and director of the group Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects (CRIFO), as well as the publisher of its monthly newsletter, ORBIT.

Stringfield claimed to have cultivated multiple anonymous government sources for his CRIFO investigations, some USAF personnel, several associated with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Greene County, Ohio. Such actions would have made Stringfield a natural subject of counterintelligence interest for the Bureau. His name appears in tangential releases of FBI documents made public through FOIA in recent years. See for example: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/fbifiles/paranormal/georgehuntwilliamson-fbi1.pdf

Stringfield is deceased. See "The Cincinnati Enquirer" of 20 Dec. 1994 (link and attachment): https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29648995/the-cincinnati-enquirer/

Stringfield has been deceased for longer than the 25-year period after which Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) is acceptable under E.O. 13526, Section 3.5(e) (https://www.archives.gov/isoo/training/mdr). Much of the potentially pertinent records on Stringfield's activities, in fact, stretch back farther still, some 50 years older or more. This is pertinent because, under Executive Order 13526 (https://www.archives.gov/isoo/policy-documents/cnsi-eo.html) signed by President Barack Obama in December 2009, and still in effect, classified documents 50 years or older, must be declassified unless they include the names of confidential intelligence sources or information on weapons of mass destruction technology.

If some records may be released immediately while others require a review, I respectfully request a two-tiered release. I am making this request as a member of the news media, and request classification as such, including a fee waiver. I have previously written for Gizmodo, Slate, The New Republic, the New York Review of Books, Inverse.com, Scienceline.org, Gawker, Chemical Engineering magazine, and elsewhere. The documents I seek concerns U.S. government operations and activities. Their disclosure is likely to contribute to understanding of these operations or activities.

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,

Matthew Phelan

Dear Director, Office of Information Policy:

I am appealing the "no responsive documents" ruling of my FOIA request, Request No.: 1504296-000 // Subject: STRINGFIELD, LEONARD H, citing as evidence the fact that one or more prior FOIAs released to the public by the Federal Bureau of Investigation have, in fact, included material on Mr. Leonard H. Stringfield and his organization, Civilian Research, Interplanetary Flying Objects (CRIFO).

Please see, as an example, pages 24 to 28 of this FBI FOIA release to John Greenewald Jr. from last year: https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/fbifiles/paranormal/georgehuntwilliamson-fbi1.pdf

As a matter of scoping, with respect to my original request—and this appeal—I am primarily interested in FBI documents and records about or referencing Mr. Stringfield from the years 1970 to 2000. I am requesting a tiered search and release that is moves more or less in reverse chronological order. Please focus initially on records produced with respect to Mr. Leonard H. Stringfield from the 1990s, 1980s, and 1970s.

This search is to include each of the following record stores and interfaces: the Central Records System (CRS), the Automated Case Support system ("ACS") Investigative Case Management system ("ICM"), the Automated Case Support system ("ACS") Electronic Case File ("ECF"), and the Automated Case Support system ("ACS") Universal Index ("UNI").

I also request a search of "ELSUR", the database containing electronic surveillance information, for any and all records or activities related to my person for any on-line account or address or associated service. In addition, please extend the search criteria across any external storage media, including I-Drives, S-Drives, or related technologies used during the course of investigation. Please include processing notes, even if request is denied in part. Please identify individuals responsible for any aspect of FOIA processing in the processing notes, along with explanation of their involvement if not typically assigned FOIA responsibilities for the record systems above. Please include materials responsive to this request from the Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, New Mexico and Nevada field offices if possible, to reduce overlap with field office requests.

Thank you; Sincerely,
Matthew Phelan

This is an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act.

On 09/05/2021, I requested documents under the Freedom of Information Act. My request was assigned the following identification number: FOIPA Request No.: 1504296-001, Subject: STRINGFIELD, LEONARD H.

Per the Bureau's response to me, signed by Michael G. Seidel on February 16, 2022 (PDF attached), the records released to me were a rapid-response release culled from previously released documents.

"In an effort to provide you with responsive records as expeditiously as possible, we are releasing documents from previous requests regarding your subject. We consider your request fulfilled. Since we relied on previous results, additional records potentially responsive to your subject may exist. If this release of previously processed material does not satisfy your request, you may request an additional search for records. Submit your request by mail to Initial Processing Operations Unit, 200 Constitution Drive,
Winchester, VA 22602, or by fax to (540) 868-4997. Please cite the FOIPA Request Number in your correspondence."

I am therefor requesting that a more comprehensive search of FBI records, beyond these previously released records, be conducted, as noted by Mr. Seidel in his reply.

As a matter of scoping, with respect to my original request—and this appeal—I am primarily interested in FBI documents and records about or referencing Mr. Stringfield from the years 1970 to 2000. I am requesting a tiered search and release that moves more or less in reverse chronological order. Please focus initially on records produced with respect to Mr. Leonard H. Stringfield from the 1990s, then the 1980s, then the 1970s, and so on.

This search is to include each of the following record stores and interfaces: the Central Records System (CRS), the Automated Case Support system ("ACS") Investigative Case Management system ("ICM"), the Automated Case Support system ("ACS") Electronic Case File ("ECF"), and the Automated Case Support system ("ACS") Universal Index ("UNI").

I also request a search of "ELSUR", the database containing electronic surveillance information, for any and all records or activities related to my person for any on-line account or address or associated service. In addition, please extend the search criteria across any external storage media, including I-Drives, S-Drives, or related technologies used during the course of investigation. Please include processing notes, even if request is denied in part. Please identify individuals responsible for any aspect of FOIA processing in the processing notes, along with explanation of their involvement if not typically assigned FOIA responsibilities for the record systems above. Please include materials responsive to this request from the Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, New Mexico and Nevada field offices if possible, to reduce overlap with field office requests.

If you have any questions about handling this appeal, you may telephone me at 917.859.1266 (mobile).

Thank you for your consideration of this appeal.

Sincerely,
Matthew Phelan