Cuba Archive - Case 1924

Case ID: 1924

Title: N/A

First name: Alejandro

Last name: Berger

Suffix: N/A

Aliases: Alex

Name also reported as: N/A

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Date of Birth: N/A

Civil Status: Unknown

Date of death/disappearance: Day:24 / Month:1 / Year:1975

Citizenship: United States

Last known address: N/A

Last known city: Cherry Hill, New Jersey

Last known province-TOD: N/A

Last known province current: N/A

Last known country: United States

Location death-address: Fraunces Tavern, Pearl Street (lower Manhattan)

Location of death - city: New York city

Location of death province - at TOD: N/A

Location of death province - current: N/A

Location of death - country: United States

Trial held?: No

Docket Number: N/A

Sentence details: N/A

Arrest or detention at time of death: No

Date of arrest: N/A

Imprisoned/Detained: Location: N/A

How long imprisoned/detained: N/A

Death attributed to: Castro regime

Death attribution detail: FALN terrorist group

Associated Event: N/A

Case description:

Uruguayan-born executive for the Philadelphia-based chemical company Rohm and Haas killed instantly in the bombing of the historic restaurant Fraunces Tavern where George Washington had said farewell to his troops in 1783. He was in New York for business meetings and was having lunch with clients when the bomb exploded. His young wife, Diana Berger-Ettenson, was six months pregnant with their son Adrian. The Cuba-sponsored Puerto Rican nationalist terrorist group FALN (Frente Armado de Liberación Nacional) took credit for the bombing. FALN was responsible from 1974-83 for 72 bombings, 40  incendiary attacks, 8 attempted bombings and 10 bomb threats in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Newark, and Miami that resulted in 5 deaths, 83 injuries, and over $3 million in property damage.
Puerto Rican nationalists perpetrated a $7 million armored car robbery in Hartford, CT, whose proceeds were sent to Cuba.  Nobody was captured or convicted of the Fraunces Tavern bombing, but in 1978 William Morales, an FALN explosives expert, accidentally set off a pipe bomb he had been building in a Queens apartment. He suffered injuries to the face and hands. Although no firm evidence could be found to link him to the Fraunces Tavern attack, his possession of the explosives, including 70 sticks of dynamite, earned him a jail sentence of 89 years. He soon escaped from Bellevue Hospital's prison ward, fled to Mexico, and then to Cuba. Testimony by expert witnesses to the U.S. Senate confirmed that the FALN was organized in 1974 by Cuba’s Intelligence Directorate (Dirección General de Inteligencia -DGI) in collaboration with Puerto Rican nationalist Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, who already had a long history of political violence. Three defectors from Cuban intelligence have confirmed that FALN was sponsored and financed by the Cuban regime and that some of its leaders were provided safe haven in Cuba.
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Ciudadano uruguayo que era ejecutivo de una empresa de Filadelfia y murió mientras almorzaba con clientes por una bomba en el histórico restaurante Fraunces Tavern donde George Washington se había despedido de sus tropas en 1783. El grupo terrorista nacionalista puertorriqueño patrocinado por Cuba FALN (Frente Armado de Liberación Nacional) se atribuyó el atentado . FALN fue responsable de 1974 a 1983 de 72 bombas, 40 ataques incendiarios, 8 intentos de atentados y 10 amenazas de bomba en Nueva York, Chicago, Washington, DC, Newark y Miami que resultaron en 5 muertos, 83 heridos y más de $3 millones en daños a la propiedad. Los nacionalistas puertorriqueños perpetraron el robo por $7 millones de un vehículo blindado en Hartford, CT, y ese dinero lo enviaron a Cuba. Nadie fue capturado ni condenado por el atentado de Fraunces Tavern, pero en 1978 William Morales, un experto en explosivos de las FALN, detonó accidentalmente una bomba casera que había estado construyendo en un apartamento de Queens. Sufrió heridas en la cara y las manos. Aunque no se pudo encontrar evidencia firme que lo vincule con el ataque de Fraunces Tavern, su posesión de los explosivos, incluidos 70 cartuchos de dinamita, le valió una sentencia de cárcel de 89 años. Pronto escapó de la sala de la prisión del Hospital Bellevue, huyó a México y luego a Cuba. El testimonio de peritos ante el Senado de los Estados Unidos confirmó que la FALN fue organizada en 1974 por la Dirección General de Inteligencia de Cuba (DGI) en colaboración con el nacionalista puertorriqueño Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, quien ya tenía una larga historia de violencia política. Tres desertores de la inteligencia cubana han confirmado que FALN fue patrocinado y financiado por el régimen cubano y que algunos de sus líderes recibieron refugio seguro en Cuba.

Sources: Conflict of Evidence:

Violation Status: Reported: Highly likely / Highly reliable source(s)

Cause of Death: - Terrorism/Attack on civilian

Occupations: - Business and Financial Operations Occupations

External Files: N/A

Relatives in Archive: N/A

Victim Type: - Civilian casualty / Bystander

Affiliations: N/A

Other Victims Same Event: - Case 1324: Frank Thomas Connor - Case 980: Harold Sherburne - Case 1687: James Gezork

Case Record - Alejandro Berger