Interview of Farson, Wyoming source re Franklin John Painter, aka Nick Leuis

[guess: Sub-76C] [illegible] Q

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Date of transcription 7/29/75

(1)

[redacted]

Farson, Wyoming, telephone [redacted] was advised of the identity of the interviewing Agent and of the nature of the interview. She furnished the following information:

She had [redacted] who later advised that his original name was FRANKLIN JOHN PAINTER, but he had officially changed his name in August, 1967, in Rock Springs, Wyoming. She had [redacted] and it was [redacted].

She described NICK LEUIS as follows:

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Name NICK LEUIS Alias Franklin John Painter Race White Sex Male Height 5'11" to 6'0" Weight 160 pounds Hair Dark brown or black, short. If he let it grow long, it would be naturally curly, parted on the left side. Sideburns Middle of ear Eyes Brown Age 39 years Date of Birth April 27, 1936 at California Complexion Dark, olive; possibly Latin or Indian blood. Accent None Habits 1) Smokes moderately, has smoked Winston, Marlboro, Camel Filters, Raleigh Filters and Pall Mall cigarettes. 2) Drinks heavily at times when he is not drinking he is very good person. Was self-admitted to Wyoming State Hospital, Evanston, Wyoming, in 1969 to cure drinking habits.

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Interviewed on 7/29/75 at Farson, Wyoming File # DN 164-98

by SA [redacted] Date dictated 7/29/75

This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the FBI. It is the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.

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DB COOPER-54424 [handwritten: 16 4-8L 663-2 [illegible] Sub-76C]

DN 164-98 (2)

[redacted] stated that [redacted] had been born on [redacted] at Rock Springs, Wyoming. At that time, NICK LEUIS had been in Rock Springs and was living with [redacted] telephone [redacted]. She does not know where or if he was working. He had left Rock Springs shortly after the [redacted] and had not returned to Rock Springs until the Fall of 1972. At that time, he had stopped by the [redacted] residence in Farson, Wyoming, for a couple of days to say hello. He was not driving any type of vehicle and did not say where he was going when he left. He had wanted to [redacted] He did not seem to have any money at that time.

[redacted] stated that she last heard from him in December, 1974, when he called the home at Farson, Wyoming, from Ely, Nevada. He had wanted to come back [redacted] He had told her that he had been in Alaska and Canada and owned quite a bit of land in both these places. He had also said that he had "money in the bank". She had [redacted] She has not heard from him since then.

[redacted] stated that she has lived [redacted] because the majority of the time, NICK was gone. She does not know where he worked or even if he worked. She stated that NICK was a loner and never told her anything about what he was doing.

She recalled that when he was not drinking he was very intelligent and had a very good command of the English language. However, when drinking, he was very belligerent and used foul language.

She and NICK did their banking at the State Bank of Green River, Wyoming, however, this account had been closed by her in 1972.

She currently has [redacted] [redacted]

She provided three photographs of NICK LEUIS: two [redacted] pictures taken in 1967 and one snapshot taken in 1972 when NICK had dropped in for about three days.

DB COOPER-54425

DN 164-98 (3)

She recalled that NICK had told her that he had been a paratrooper in the military stationed in Germany and had done a good deal of jumping. She did not know what branch of the service he was in or the dates. She thought he had been going under the name PAINTER at that time. She recalled that he mentioned that he had received his GED certificate of high school graduation while in the military.

At this time, the physical description of the unknown subject, also known as DAN COOPER, was reviewed with [REDACTED] and she advised that on all the points mentioned, it seemed to be a description of NICK LEUIS.

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b6 b7C

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DB COOPER-54426