William Mayer, FBI file
| Submitted | Dec. 4, 2017 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Parker Higgins, FOIA The Dead
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
A copy of all documents or FBI files pertaining to William Mayer, an obituary of whom was published in The New York Times on December 2, 2017 under the headline "William Mayer, Wide-Ranging Composer, Is Dead at 91". Please see attached PDF copy of that obituary, which may also be found at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/obituaries/william-mayer-wide-ranging-composer-dies-at-91.html.
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,
Parker Higgins, FOIA The Dead
From: Federal Bureau of Investigation
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:
A copy of all documents or FBI files pertaining to William Mayer, an obituary of whom was published in The New York Times on December 2, 2017 under the headline "William Mayer, Wide-Ranging Composer, Is Dead at 91". Please see attached PDF copy of that obituary, which may also be found at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/obituaries/william-mayer-wide-ranging-composer-dies-at-91.html.
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,
Parker Higgins, FOIA The Dead
From: National Archives and Records Administration
Dear Parker Higgins,
Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act
request to the National Archives and Records Administration, via
FOIA@nara.gov.
Because you have requested access to historically permanent federal
records, we have forwarded your FOIA request, received in our office
December 14,2017, to our Office of Research Services, Special Access and
FOIA staff, for further review and handling. As a result, you will be
assigned a tracking number by that office.
If you would like to follow up with that office directly, please contact
them at the address below, or electronically via email.
Special Access and FOIA Staff (RD-F)
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740
By phone: 301-837-3190
By fax: 301-837-1864
By email: specialaccess_foia@nara.gov
Thank you for contacting the National Archives and please visit our website
at www.archives.gov/foia for further information. Please also visit our
main website, www.archives.gov, to learn more about the many exciting
resources we offer the public.
Sincerely,
Matthew Heichelbech
Government Information Specialist Detailee
National Archives and Records Administration
Office of the General Council, Archives II
301-837-1934
matthew.heichelbech@nara.gov
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Thu, Dec 14, 2017 at 4:25 PM
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information Request: William Mayer, FBI file
To: FOIA@nara.gov
National Archives and Records Administration
FOIA Office
170 Marcel Drive
Winchester, VA 22602-4843
December 14, 2017
This is a follow up to a previous request:
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request
the following records:
A copy of all documents or FBI files pertaining to William Mayer, an
obituary of whom was published in The New York Times on December 2, 2017
under the headline "William Mayer, Wide-Ranging Composer, Is Dead at 91".
Please see attached PDF copy of that obituary, which may also be found at
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/obituaries/william-
mayer-wide-ranging-composer-dies-at-91.html.
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,
Parker Higgins, FOIA The Dead
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/agency_login/
national-archives-and-records-administration-129/william-
mayer-fbi-file-46360/?uuid-login=4413aa06-8160-4db2-8df4-
e0259b625884&email=FOIA%40nara.gov#agency-reply
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the
above link to let us know.
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 46360
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
---
On Dec. 13, 2017:
There are eFOIA files available for you to download.
---
On Dec. 4, 2017:
To Whom It May Concern:
This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request
the following records:
A copy of all documents or FBI files pertaining to William Mayer, an
obituary of whom was published in The New York Times on December 2, 2017
under the headline "William Mayer, Wide-Ranging Composer, Is Dead at 91".
Please see attached PDF copy of that obituary, which may also be found at
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/obituaries/william-
mayer-wide-ranging-composer-dies-at-91.html.
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,
Parker Higgins, FOIA The Dead
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/agency_login/
national-archives-and-records-administration-129/william-
mayer-fbi-file-46360/?uuid-login=4413aa06-8160-4db2-8df4-
e0259b625884&email=FOIA%40nara.gov#agency-reply
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the
above link to let us know.
For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 46360
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
From: National Archives and Records Administration
Dear Mr. Higgins,
This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated
December 14, 2017 for records in the custody of the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA). You requested access to Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) case file 100-NY-37158 regarding William Robert Mayer.
Your request was received in this office on December 19, 2017 and assigned
reference number *RD 55596*.
We examined case file number 100-NY-37158. Based on our review, however,
this file is deemed unresponsive to your request. The subject of the file
is Morton Sobell, also known as Morton Sobill. The file was compiled
between the years 1942 and 1984. It consists of approximately 10,000 pages
within 44 sections and five sub-files.
We skimmed the file and we also searched the FBI index cards for William
Robert Mayer. The FBI index card indicated that a William Robert Mayer was
only mentioned on page seven in serial 1,015 and on pages five and seven in
serial 1,109. The William Robert Mayer who is mentioned in the file does
not appear to be the individual that you requested. The William Robert
Mayer who is mentioned in the file worked at the General Electric Company
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was not a
composer. His parents’ names were Herman and Helen and he was not born on
November 18, 1925 in Manhattan. As such, we will not be reviewing case
file 100-NY-37158 in response to your request.
We regret that we could not assist you further. This concludes the
processing of your request in this office. If you have additional
questions concerning your request, please contact me directly at
jennifer.namsiriwan@nara.gov.
We do not consider this response to be a denial of your request under the
terms of the FOIA because we have determined that the requested case file
is not pertinent to your subject of interest. However, if you consider
this to be a denial of your request, you have the right to file an
administrative appeal within ninety (90) calendar days from the date of
this letter via regular U.S. mail or email. By filing an appeal, you
preserve your rights under FOIA and give the agency a chance to review and
reconsider your request and the agency’s decision. If you submit your
appeal in writing, please address it to the Deputy Archivist of the United
States (ND), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi
Road, College Park, Maryland 20740. Both the letter and the envelope
should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” If you
submit your appeal by email, please send it to FOIA@nara.gov, also
addressed to the Deputy Archivist of the United States. Please be sure to
explain why you believe this response does not meet the requirements of the
FOIA. All correspondence should reference your internal case tracking
number *RD 55596*.
If you would like to discuss our response before filing an appeal to
attempt to resolve your dispute without going through the appeals process,
you may contact our FOIA Public Liaison, Martha Wagner Murphy, for
assistance at:
FOIA Public Liaison: Martha Wagner Murphy
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Email: DC.foia.liaison@nara.gov
Telephone: 301-837-3270
If you are unable to resolve your FOIA dispute through our FOIA Public
Liaison, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), the Federal
FOIA Ombudsman’s office, offers mediation services to help resolve disputes
between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies. The contact information for
OGIS is:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road – OGIS
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Email: ogis@nara.gov
ogis.archives.gov
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Toll Free: 1-877-684-6448
This concludes the processing of your request in this office. If you have
any questions, you can contact us via email at specialaccess_foia@nara.gov
or via telephone at 301-837-3190.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Namsiriwan Crabb
Archivist
Special Access and FOIA Branch (RD-F)
National Archives and Records Administration
https://www.archives.gov/research/foia
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