Cryptonym: LISTERINE
104-10079-10391: HANDWRITTEN LIST ENTITLED "ASSETS KNOWN".
Undated CIA document: Page 2: "6. LISTERINE (George Cablesworth - T) who has supplied cover, (unintelligible), to Gerende (note: Ramon Joseph Alvarez Durant) over the years to whose social security payments and (unintelligible) tax payments to GOM..."
104-10187-10014: CIA FILE ON (ASSET) DEVELOPMENT AND PLANS.
Review of Project LIEMPTY from December 1,1959 - November 30, 1960: Page 6: ..."IV. PERFORMANCE OF PRINCIPAL AGENTS IN TERMS OF PRODUCTION, SECURITY AND COVER:...B. Raymond H. Gerende...Insofar as the Station and Gerende (Ramon Joseph Alvarez Durant) know, his cover with LISTERINE's firm has held up very well. In fact, Gerende recently was able to negotiate a sales contract with a customer having a very large sales capacity for the product manufactured by LISTERINE's firm. This, of course, endears Gerende to LISTERINE in addition to contributing to Gerende's cover employment..."
01/28/69: Dispatch from COS, Mexico City to Chief, WH Division: Subject: Raymond H. Gerende's Cover Status: ..."2...Previously, Gerende had been able to 'prove' a total income of about 8000 pesos per month, ostensibly from IDEN B (handwritten in left marginalia: CEMSA). IDEN B was owned by LISTERINE, and for years he had carried Gerende on his payroll as an independent salesman on commission. He would ostensibly pay Gerende a certain amount of money, and IDEN B's accountant would duly file income tax returns and social security based on this alleged payment. IDEN B would also pay whatever taxes were called for by the statements filed. This system of 'ghost payrolling' is quite common in Mexico, as everybody gains...3. All this ended on 31 December 1967, when LISTERINE sold IDEN B to IDEN A. For a while thereafter, Gerende paid taxes only on the money he actually earned with IDEN A, which was, as stated, about 500 pesos per month. As of 1 July 1968, however, LISTERINE arranged, at Gerende's request, to have his accountant (who continued to handle Gerende's taxes as a favor to LISTERINE) to lump together all of Gerende's earnings (from teaching as well as IDEN A) as 'professional earnings' and to file returns for Gerende which included the total amount...Other than LISTERINE and the accountant, no one knows that Gerende's ostensible earnings have dropped, and, as far as we know, LISTERINE is the only person who is aware of Gerende's tie with WOFIRM (CIA)." - - - 03/18/2025 release, page 106: "IDENTITIES: IDEN A - OSRAM. IDEN B - Cia. Electrica Mexicana S.A. (CEMSA): light bulb manufacturer." https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10219-10005.pdf