Nikola Tesla FBI Files - Page 6

FBI NYC            1-12-43            11-06 PM            WHS
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UNSUBS --- EQUIPMENT, EXPERIMENTS AND RESEARCH OF NIKOLA TESLA, DECEASED, [REDUCTED] ESPIONAGE – M. RETEL UNDER ABOVE HEADING TO THE BUREAU FROM THIS OFFICE DATED JAN NINE LAST. INQUIRY DEVELOPS THAT TESLA DIED JAN EIGHT, RATHER THAN THURSDAY, JAN SEVEN, AS [REDUCTED] STATED IN REFERENCE TELETYPE. ON THE NIGHT OF JAN EIGHT, SAVA KOSANOVICH, GEORGE CLARK, AND KENNETH SWEEZEY VISITED TESLA-S HOTEL WITH A REPRESENTATIVE OF SHAW WALKER CO. IN ORDER TO OPEN THE SAFE IN THE ROOM OF TESLA. KOSANOVICH LATER REPORTED TO WALTER GORSUCH, OFFICE OF ALIEN PROPERTY CUSTODIAN, NYC, THAT HE WENT INTO THE ROOM IN ORDER TO SEARCH FOR A WILL OF TESLA. KOSANOVICH AND THE OTHERS MADE THE SEARCH OF THE SAFE IN THE PRESENCE OF THREE ASST MANAGERS OF HOTEL NEW YORKER AS WELL AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE YUGOSLAVIAN CONSULATE, IDENTITIES OF LATTER NOT YET KNOWN. AFTER THE SAFE WAS OPENED, SWEEZEY, TOOK FROM THE SAFE A BOOK CONTAINING TESTIMONIALS SENT TO TESLA ON THE OCCASION OF HIS SEVENTY FIFTH BIRTHDAY. THIS BOOK WAS ARRANGED FOR TESLA BY SWEEZEY. KOSANOVICH TOOK FROM THE ROOM THREE PICTURES OF TESLA, TWO BEING ENLARGED NEWSPAPER PICTUREX. ACCORDING TO MANAGERS OF HOTEL AND KOSANOVICH HIMSELF, NOTHING ELSE WAS REMOVED FROM THE ROOM OR SAFE. THE SAFE WAS THEN CLOSED UNDER A NEW COMBINATION, WHICH COMBINATION IS NOW IN POSSESSION [REDUCTED] KOSANOVICH. ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, JAN NINE, GORSUCH AND [REDUCTED] FTIZGERALD OF ALIEN PROPERTY CONTROL WENT TO HOTEL AND SEIZED ALL THE PROPERTY OF TESLA, CONSISTING OF ABOUT TWO TRUCKLOANDS OF MATERIAL, SEALED ALL ARTICLES AND TRANSFERRED THEM TO THE MANHATTAN STORAGE AND WAREHOUSE CO. NY, WHERE THEY ARE NOW LOCATED. AT THAT [REDUCTED] TIME THERE WERE ALSO IN THIS WAREHOUSE APPROXIMATELY THIRTY BARRELS AND BUNDLES BELONGING TO TESLA WHICH HAD BEEN THERE SINCE ABOUT NINETEEN THIRTY-FOUR. THESE HAVE ALSO [REDUCTED] BEEN SEALED AND ARE NOW UNDER ORDERS OF ALIEN PROPERTY CUSTODIAN. IN VIEW OF FACT TESLA IS A US NATURALIZED CITIZEN, ALIEN PROPERTY CUSTODIAN FEELS THAT ITS JURISDICTION OVER PROPERTY IS DOUBTFUL BUT [REDUCTED] FEELS THAT NO OTHER AGENCY WILL BE ABLE TO GET [REDUCTED] TO GET TO THIS PROPERTY FOR AT LEAST TWO DAYS.