Alpha 66 says California man not member of group

[951-Riverside]

A Cuban exile arrested in California with a huge cache of weapons is not a member of the militant group Alpha 66 as he claims, Alpha 66 leader Ernesto Diaz said Thursday.

Robert Ferro, 61, was arrested after authorities raided his Upland home Friday in Southern California and found more than 1,000 weapons, including assault rifles, machine guns and live grenades, according to The Associated Press. Authorities believe Ferro was running a black market ring out of his home.

Ferro told investigators that he was a member of Alpha 66 ''a militant group who collectively desire to overthrow Fidel Castro and liberate the country of Cuba,'' according to an affidavit filed in federal court by the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Ferro also said Alpha 66 had paid for the guns and other caches of weapons, according to the court document.

Diaz disputed Ferro's account.

''He is not a member of Alpha 66, nor does Alpha 66 have any knowledge of who this person is,'' Diaz said.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14388359.htm

[pinniped]

1. Another article claimed the suspect had weapons that were .gov....

property.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-guns21apr21,1,7187045.story

Rozenberg said outside court that Ferro possessed government-issued weapons and said that how he acquired them "may come to light as this case develops."

Let's see if they do some gun traces and see what the source was.

On the other hand, .gov might have their tracks covered on this one. Maybe some of the guns were purchased by .gov agents at gun shows and handed off to Ferro.

Diaz said he suspects that Ferro could be part of a Cuban government plot to discredit Alpha 66.

Uh, their mission is quite clear, overthrow Castro. How can one discredit 66? Make them look like a bunch of violent gun-toting militia dudes?

Why would 66 not want this dude on their team? He certainly has adequate training and an ample supply of weaponry.

BTW- It appears Ferro has a previous address in FL. There's a small chance there might be some anti-Castro type people in that state.

# 1 Address in POMONA, CA
# 1 Address in UPLAND, CA
# 1 Address in HIALEAH, FL
# 1 Address in RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA

Hey, it's not like he has a history of hating Castro:

Ferro, a retired Army Special Forces officer, had previously been accused of running a paramilitary camp on a Pomona chicken ranch to train Mexican nationals to overthrow Cuban leader Castro.


Of course there's always the chance he was a collector. I saw some pics with a bunch of old brown cardboard Colt boxes. He may have had some nice 70 series. There were also a lot of revolvers pictured.

I'll say he's definitely part of 66 if they find some .45cal Liberator pistols.