Who was Jack Ruby?

[Paul Brancato]

I am starting this thread because I would like to know what fellow board members think are the most reliable, and/or interesting books and articles about Jack Ruby. The research seems fragmented, and some sources claim things others do not. I'm interested in as much detail as possible, and in hearsay and speculation, especially about whether Ruby and Oswald knew each other.

Edited September 28, 2016 by Paul Brancato

[Chris Newton]

Paul,

The WC apologists want you to believe he was just upset and that he did it for Jacky.

In the WC denier camp we seem to have two factions, those that want Jack to be connected to the CIA and those that argue his roots point to the Mafia.

Good luck if you plan on suggesting he was somewhere "in between" -you'll be set upon by all three camps.

Few of us have read (or heard) what Jack said about himself so I offer you this fantastic 2 hours of Jack Ruby interviewing himself:

[Paul Brancato]

Thanks Chris.

Some of the most interesting material on Ruby is written by John Armstrong. Is that research reliable?

[James DiEugenio]

The standard biography of Jack Ruby is the one by Seth Kantor. Which I think was published in 1975.

That book is good at getting across the ties Ruby had to the local police and the Mob.

Another book I have found useful in writing about Ruby is Jim Marrs' Crossfire. Since Jim lived in Dallas, he did a lot of work on Ruby, and although its not as long as Kantor's book, its pretty interesting stuff. (BTW, has anyone read the updated edition of Crossfire? Is it better, worse, about the same?)

The giveaway to Ruby is the fact that its pretty clear that he began stalking Oswald the night of the assassination. And the fact the WC lied about this, and in the case of the actual shooting of Oswald, lied their heads off--and in fact overruled Burt Griffin who wanted to pursue the security breakdown--is the giveaway with Ruby.

IMO, Ruby and Oswald knew each other. There is that memo about Garrison having a job application in which Oswald used Ruby's name, plus the Rose Cheramie evidence. And the fascinating vignette about the Cuban guy in Pennsylvania who had the name of Ruby's club--Lisa Pease wrote about that in Probe years ago. And John Armstrong also dug up some sources. Armstrong is good at implicating Ruby in CIA gun running.

The WC cover up about Ruby was huge and deliberate. As disgusting in its own way as the cover up about Oswald.

But one can see why guys like Dulles and McCloy would do it. There is simply too much there.

Edited September 29, 2016 by James DiEugenio

[Ron Ecker]

My own small contribution to the Jack Ruby mess is here:

http://www.ronaldecker.com/rubysdog.html

[Paul Brancato]

Thanks Ron - very interesting article with much insight.

James - I have both books and will review them.

As we all know, Ruby said he had a story to tell but couldn't tell it safely during his Dallas incarceration. I'm sure we've all speculated what what he might have said had Warren taken him to DC. We have hints I suppose, since he did say many suggestive things in his final years. I'd like to know what ideas the experts and non experts like myself have regarding Ruby's untold story, or whether there even was one.

At this point in pondering this mystery I have speculations of my own, starting from the premise that Ruby knew Oswald. I think it likely that their acquaintance did not go back any further than September 1963. I find the witnesses who saw Oswald at the Carousel fairly convincing, as most of those witness statements date from shortly after Nov. 22, 1963. The one I posted a link to in a thread on Oswald/Ruby suggests that David Morales was with Oswald at the Carousel. Perhaps their presence their together can be seen from three angles - Oswald, Morales, and Ruby. Oswald in my view was set up as a patsy by the CIA, so that would be what Morales was up to. If true, Oswald would have been unaware of that, and instead would have had his own purpose, perhaps to infiltrate a plot being hatched in Dallas. if the plot was to be a fake attempt by a Castroite to kill JFK, and Oswald the failed shooter, Oswald might have been willing to participate, and still think he was 'infiltrating'. I personally doubt that Oswald was a secret right winger, and I don't think there is any credible evidence that he shot anybody ever. There is better evidence in my opinion that he attempted to infiltrate the anti-Castro DRE in New Orleans. I also think the files pertaining to Cubans supposedly found at Ruth Paine's house but never put into evidence really existed and belonged to Oswald.

To come back to the point, whatever Oswald thinks he is doing, others think otherwise. So - what was Ruby thinking? Did he know that Oswald was to be the Patsy in a plot to kill the president? I always find myself going back to the 'fake assassination attempt hijacked by a real kill team' angle because it requires far less character assassination to imagine the willing involvement of so many actors. I referring here to the broader conspiracy in which apparently secret service, Dallas police, and local military intelligence all withdrew protection of JFK. But it applies equally to individuals like Ruby and Oswald. It's far easier for me to imagine Ruby being recruited for an operation whose ultimate goal was removing Castro from power, than one in which a U.S. President would be killed in order to accomplish that same goal.

Ruby s a good candidate for the person that placed CE 399 on a stretcher at Parkland. If he did then he was prepared to do so beforehand, which would indicate that he knew Oswald did not fire the bullets that killed JFK, and therefore that it was necessary to plant evidence linking the MC supposedly belonging to Oswald to the assassination, real or attempted. The rest of the story is less clear to me. Why did he shoot Oswald? Was it to protect himself? He might have seen himself as the back up Patsy in case Oswald lived and was able to prove his innocence. Or perhaps he had no choice and was blackmailed into it.

Ruby claimed he was ready to name names, persons high up. LBJ and Walker come to mind. But he came up with these suggestive dollops while claiming he couldn't talk freely, suggesting other names he dared not utter.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Paul Brancato

[Ron Ecker]

Why did he shoot Oswald?

I think Jim Marrs gives the best answer to that in Crossfire (p. 586): "There were no alternatives for a Mob directive."

[Denny Zartman]

The standard biography of Jack Ruby is the one by Seth Kantor. Which I think was published in 1975.

That book is good at getting across the ties Ruby had to the local police and the Mob.

Another book I have found useful in writing about Ruby is Jim Marrs' Crossfire. Since Jim lived in Dallas, he did a lot of work on Ruby, and although its not as long as Kantor's book, its pretty interesting stuff. (BTW, has anyone read the updated edition of Crossfire? Is it better, worse, about the same?)

The giveaway to Ruby is the fact that its pretty clear that he began stalking Oswald the night of the assassination. And the fact the WC lied about this, and in the case of the actual shooting of Oswald, lied their heads off--and in fact overruled Burt Griffin who wanted to pursue the security breakdown--is the giveaway with Ruby.

IMO, Ruby and Oswald knew each other. There is that memo about Garrison having a job application in which Oswald used Ruby's name, plus the Rose Cheramie evidence. And the fascinating vignette about the Cuban guy in Pennsylvania who had the name of Ruby's club--Lisa Pease wrote about that in Probe years ago. And John Armstrong also dug up some sources. Armstrong is good at implicating Ruby in CIA gun running.

The WC cover up about Ruby was huge and deliberate. As disgusting in its own way as the cover up about Oswald.

But one can see why guys like Dulles and McCloy would do it. There is simply too much there.

I've read the updated Crossfire. It's good, but seems much denser than the first edition, so it's not as easy to read as I felt the first one was. I'd recommend the first Crossfire to beginners, and the updated version to people who are more advanced.

I personally thought Seth Kantor's "Who Was Jack Ruby?" was a major let-down. Kantor is a good reporter, but the book is more like detailed reporter's notes that start in the middle, rather than what we would recognize as a standard biography that introduces the reader to the subject. I think you need to come into Kantor's book with a lot of knowledge about the case already.

[James DiEugenio]

Denny:

I think its time for a new biography of Ruby myself.

We have several books on Oswald's life.

But to my knowledge there is only the Kantor book on Ruby.

[Michael Walton]

There's a great little clip of Ruby leaving the courthouse and he's asked about his involvement and he says something to the effect of, "If Adlai had been vice president, Kennedy'd still be alive" or something along those lines. Quite revealing. Search the YTV channel Saintly Oswald and it's there.

[David Andrews]

My own small contribution to the Jack Ruby mess is here:

http://www.ronaldecker.com/rubysdog.html

An overlooked reference to Ruby's character:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Back,_Little_Sheba_(1952_film)

As I remember it from the 1960s, "Come Back, Little Sheba" was a camp phrase slung about by homosexuals to refer to lost hopes, or to call out neglected-acting drama queens (such as the pining dog owner that Shirley Booth plays in the movie).

Edited September 30, 2016 by David Andrews

[Guest Rob Caprio]

How do we explain the fact that prior to March 14, 1964, Jack Ruby was never convicted of a crime in Dallas? Nine previous times he had walked on charges filed against him.

What kind of connections does it take for this to happen?

The CIA is mentioned all the time because of the gun running, but let's not forget to he was also a FBI informant. What if he was more?

[Paul Brancato]

Rob - it is striking that he was never convicted for the various crimes he committed.

David - I must be dense - could you explain your post?

[Paul Brancato]

James - I think you got my point. I've come to the same conclusion. We don't know enough. I not convinced that he was 'mob', even though it seems obvious on the surface. But being 'ok' with mobsters, or friends with the Dallas mob boss, or making phone calls to various mob connected people in the weeks and months before Nov.22 doesn't make him a mobster. Is there proof that he was part of the Chicago Syndicate's move into Dallas in the late 1940's? I don't have the impression that he was rolling in dough.

I'm becoming more convinced that Ruby and Oswald knew each other, and that the WC did their best to make sure that didn't come out. A prior relationship changes everything.

[Denny Zartman]

Denny:

I think its time for a new biography of Ruby myself.

We have several books on Oswald's life.

But to my knowledge there is only the Kantor book on Ruby.

Hi James,

I agree, we're overdue for a serious Ruby biography. I'm surprised there are so few books about Jack Ruby, considering his importance to history.

I do have a book about Ruby's trial from 1968 called "Moment Of Madness: The People Vs. Jack Ruby" by Elmer Gertz. Unfortunately I don't recall learning much from it, but it's been a while since I've read it.

There is a book coming out this December about Dorothy Kilgallen, and I'm hoping it sheds a little light on Ruby's statements from jail.