Hey, happy new year. Hope you’re doing OK. I’m going to keep this brief, but I feel the need to tell you about something that I stumbled upon today while doing research into something else. There I was, slogging through section 87 of part II of the FBI’s Manual of Rules and Regulations (years 1960-1968), focusing on the procedures and paperwork involved with the FBI’s Security Index, when I learned about a new form that agents were required to fill out.
The form actually came out in 1965 as part of a presidential protection agreement between the FBI and Secret Service after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. What I was surprised to learn was that 1) “reports are to be disseminated henceforth to Secret Service in all security index cases,” and 2) they were to “utilize form FD-376, which is designed to serve as a letter of transmittal for both local dissemination and dissemination at the SOG” [Seat of Government].
Here’s the passage in question with my highlights:
“Interesting!” thought I, and I immediately pulled out my trusty laptop and began Googling “FD-376 AND FBI.”
What popped up surprised me, because I’d seen it before. Do you remember when I told you about the time that there was a bomb threat against Frank Sinatra at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida? Well, that was one of the documents that popped up in my search today, courtesy of The Black Vault website, along with several related records. Two of the records have 10s on them, just like Ron’s 10s.
Here’s a link to the documents I found on The Black Vault.
What follows behind the two “10s” is what surprised me. There in all its splendiferous glory was an FD-376 stipulating why the FBI was forwarding this information to the Secret Service. They chose option #6: “Individuals involved in illegal bombing or illegal bomb-making,” which was the logical choice for the occasion.
Here’s the FD-376:
As you’ll recall, my theory has been that the 10s on Ron’s missing person records mean that the FBI’s liaison to the Secret Service had received a copy of those records, which would indicate that the Secret Service did as well. So the fact that the Fontainebleau Hotel bomb threat also carried 10s along with the FD-376 seems consistent with my theory.
But hold on: If reports for anyone on the Security Index were automatically forwarded to the Secret Service, then it seems like less of a big deal. Also, not every Security Index case was given a 10 on their records. Some got 8’s, some got 4’s, some got 2’s, and so on. Some may not have been given a number at all—I don’t know. I haven’t looked into that yet.
But the 10s do seem like much bigger cases, right? The assassinations, both actual and attempted, the serial killers, the bomb threats, etc.—they seem especially well-suited for the Secret Service.
Based on this new information, I’d like to revise my hypothesis:
First, if Ron was indeed on the Security Index (and I am 100% sure that he was), I think we can all acknowledge that Ron’s records had been sent to the Secret Service, along with every other Security Index occupant. So, that’s at least something.
Second, do you think the FBI’s liaison to the Secret Service is going to want to know about every Tom, Dick, and Harry that the FBI was keeping tabs on, a list of people numbering in the tens of thousands? I don’t.
But what if the FBI liaison was only notified of the truly big stuff…the reports that dealt with the most relevant topics at hand? You know, the assassins, the serial killers, the bombers, and, yes, Ronald Tammen.
That’s a theory I’d be able to buy into.
In the near future, I’ll be posting detailed evidence that supports my theory that the two-word phrase on Ron’s and other people’s FBI docs—“see index”— is indeed code-speak for the Security Index. Hopefully, it’ll be a more riveting read than Section 87 of the FBI’s Manual of Rules and Regulations, which lulled me into a two-hour nap this afternoon. Stay tuned!
Questions? Concerns?
This gave me actual goosebumps.