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10 - PEOPLE/(H-M)/Ramon J. Martinez.md
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@ -6,15 +6,22 @@ tags:
- The_Finders
- Washington_DC
- 1980s
summary: "Ramon J. Martinez was the U.S. Customs Special Agent in Washington D.C. who conducted the February 1987 investigation of The Finders' properties and authored the reports documenting warehouse contents, CIA interference in the investigation, and the subsequent suppression of the case."
summary: "Ramon J. Martinez was the U.S. Customs Special Agent whose February and April 1987 reports documented the contents of The Finders' warehouse and the end of the investigation."
location: "Washington, D.C."
updated: 2026-10-15
relations:
- type: investigated
with: "[[The Finders]]"
start: 1987-02-05
end: 1987-04-13
fn: 1
---
Ramon J. Martinez was a U.S. Customs Special Agent based in Washington D.C. who conducted the primary federal investigation of [[The Finders]]' properties in February 1987. His reports, filed February 7, 1987 and April 13, 1987, constitute the principal primary documentary record of what investigators found at the group's warehouse and Glover Park properties, including the telex communications describing international operations involving children and the subsequent CIA interference in the investigation. Both reports were included in the FBI Vault's November 2019 release of Finders documents under FOIA case number 1372462-0.[^1][^2]
### The 1987 Finders Investigation
Martinez was called in by Metropolitan Police to assist with the investigation after the van used to transport six malnourished children in Tallahassee, Florida on February 4, 1987 was traced to [[The Finders]]' warehouse at 1307 Fourth Street NE in Washington D.C. He executed search warrants on the warehouse and the Glover Park duplex alongside MPD Detective Bradley on February 5-6, 1987.[^1]
Martinez was called in by Metropolitan Police to assist with the investigation after the van used to transport six malnourished children in Tallahassee, Florida on February 4, 1987 was traced to The Finders' warehouse at 1307 Fourth Street NE in Washington D.C. He executed search warrants on the warehouse and the Glover Park duplex alongside MPD Detective Bradley on February 5-6, 1987.[^1]
His February 7, 1987 report documented the following at the warehouse:
@ -36,9 +43,9 @@ Martinez's overall documented assessment: the files indicated "international tra
On February 6, 1987, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] took over the investigation and took possession of the computers and floppy disks seized from Finders properties. The FBI's Foreign Counterintelligence Division directed the Metropolitan Police Department to classify all MPD reports as Secret and directed MPD not to brief the FBI's own Washington Field Office.[^1][^2]
In late March or early April 1987, Martinez met with MPD Sgt. [[John H. Stitcher Jr.]], who informed him that the investigation "had become a CIA internal matter" and that "the Finders was a CIA front gone bad." An MPD report filed by Stitcher on February 19, 1987 had previously documented a CIA official's acknowledgment that the investigation was "treading on their toes," that the CIA had "had someone working on the case since it first broke," and that the agency had a "vested interest" in the group.[^1]
On March 31, 1987 Martinez contacted an MPD detective to review the seized documents, and on April 2, 1987 he spoke at the Metropolitan Police Department with a third party who discussed the case with him on an "off the record" basis. Martinez reported that this person said the MPD report had been classified secret, that the FBI had directed MPD not to advise the FBI's Washington Field Office, that the FBI had withdrawn from the investigation several weeks earlier, and that the investigation had become a CIA internal matter.[^3] The same person said the State Department had advised MPD that the passport holders' travel to Moscow, North Korea and North Vietnam from the late 1950s to the mid-1970s was within the law.[^3] A Customs Service memorandum quoted by U.S. News & World Report in December 1993 recorded that the CIA "admitted to owning the Finders organization as a front for a domestic computer training operation but that it had gone bad."[^4] An MPD report filed by Stitcher on February 19, 1987 had previously documented a CIA official's acknowledgment that the investigation was "treading on their toes," that the CIA had "had someone working on the case since it first broke," and that the agency had a "vested interest" in the group.[^1]
Martinez's April 13, 1987 report concluded: "The MPD report has been classified SECRET... FBI had withdrawn from the investigation... FBI Foreign Counter Intelligence Division had directed MPD not to advise the FBI Washington Field Office... No further information will be available. No further action will be taken."[^1]
Martinez's April 13, 1987 report concluded: "No further information will be available. No further action will be taken."[^3]
### Professional Consequences
@ -48,10 +55,12 @@ In 1994, the U.S. Customs Service proposed to remove Martinez from his position.
### Significance as a Primary Source
Martinez's reports, confirmed authentic by the FBI Vault's 2019 release, remain the most detailed primary-source description of what federal investigators found at [[The Finders]]' properties. The key evidentiary limitation is that no second investigator present at the same raids independently confirmed all elements of his reports in records accessible to the public, particularly the specific telex describing the Hong Kong children purchase order.[^3] His April 1987 report provides the primary documentary basis for the claim that the CIA intervened to end the investigation.
Martinez's reports, confirmed authentic by the FBI Vault's 2019 release, remain the most detailed primary-source description of what federal investigators found at The Finders' properties. The key evidentiary limitation is that no second investigator present at the same raids independently confirmed all elements of his reports in records accessible to the public, particularly the specific telex describing the Hong Kong children purchase order.[^5] His April 1987 report provides the primary documentary basis for the claim that the CIA intervened to end the investigation.
### Footnotes
[^1]: Martinez, Ramon J. U.S. Customs Service Reports, February 7, 1987 and April 13, 1987. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/ted-gunderson-fbi-the-finders.
[^2]: MintPress News. "Losing Finders: How the US Government Worked to Keep the CIA Connection Secret." 2019. https://www.mintpressnews.com/finders-cult-us-government-worked-keep-cia-connection-secret/277948/. Also: FBI Vault, "The Finders," FOIA case number 1372462-0, vault.fbi.gov/the-finders.
[^3]: Sword, Autumn. "Were 'The Finders' a CIA-Fronted Satanic Cult?" Skeptical Inquirer, February 28, 2023. https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/were-the-finders-a-cia-fronted-satanic-cult/.
[^3]: U.S. Customs Service, Report of Investigation (Continuation), signed by Ramon J. Martinez, April 13, 1987, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 2 of 4. https://archive.org/details/report_of_investigation_finders
[^4]: Witkin, Gordon, Peter Cary, and Angel Martinez. "Through a glass, very darkly: Cops, spies and a very odd investigation." U.S. News & World Report, December 27, 1993. Text as enclosed in FBI WMFO teletype dated December 23, 1993, FBI Vault "The Finders," FOIA 1372462-0, Part 1 of 4. https://archive.org/details/the-finders-part-01-of-04
[^5]: Sword, Autumn. "Were 'The Finders' a CIA-Fronted Satanic Cult?" Skeptical Inquirer, February 28, 2023. https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/were-the-finders-a-cia-fronted-satanic-cult/.