HSCA Chief Investigator Cliff Fenton

[William Kelly]

The implications of just having Martino's name written as a notation means someone said it, most likely Oswald and that is earth shattering.

If a conspiratorial name is going to be mentioned that Oswald would know, then Martino makes perfect sense. He ties to all levels of the actual conspiracy from David Morales down to the Cuban exile shooters.

I agree with Larry, Fitz and Co. knew more about the conspiracy than they publically admitted and that information would have come from Oswald, including the name John Martino.

I believe more attention should be given to what Ellis said. Zach's post above is a vital one with serious implications.

Nice pix James,

I wrote an article on JFK in Atlantic City that makes mention of Martino's early roots.

Is there any background to that photo of Martino?

BK

[Zach Robertson]

Thanks, James.

What Stavis Ellis said in his interview with Jack Moriarity is very important.

First, he is saying that Martino hired the shooter. Oswald, of course, was not the shooter. He is likely referring to someone like, Sandalio Herminio Diaz Garcia. I have little doubt that Oswald knew and mixed with the crew who set him up in the time leading up to the assassination. This would include Diaz Garcia and Tony Cuesta as well as Richard Case Nagell.

Then he mentioned that Oswald was hired by the #2 man at the TSBD, a Cuban. James is likely correct in his assertion that this man is Joe Molina. Curiously, Jose Rodriguez Molina voluntarily went to the DPD for closed questioning. What became of that? Researching Molina’s associations would seem to be somewhat important.

Thanks, David for that information. To finish up what was documented with Ellis, the handwritten note reads:

SGT DV HARKNESS PO OAK CLIFF

NEW COUNTY BLDG DOWNTOWN POINT SAT 3 - WHEELER

BRACED LHO RE: LEAFLETS

Ellis also describes a shooting sequence slightly different from the 'official' version. He was in a position to be right in the thick of the action [100-125 feet away from JFK] and with his experience in the military and intelligence; he would understand this sort of thing.

It should also be noted that Ellis was not only well respected within the DPD as a leader and honest man who was not afraid to make tough decisions, but he was also well respected in the community and by JFK himself. This morsel is just probably the tip of the spear as to what the DPD really knew that initial weekend of 11-23.

Zach

[Steve Rosen]

"Taney, we're in way over our heads here. And there's no Hogan to protect us."

- Cliff Fenton to Robert K. Tanenbaum when Tanenbaum arrived in D.C. to lead the HSCA under Richard Sprague. Fenton was referring to Frank Hogan, a legendary New York City D.A. whom they both worked under.

Quote from Robert K. Tanenbaum, J.D., "An Analysis of Government Misconduct: The House Select Committee on Assassinations",

Passing the Torch Conference, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. October 18, 2013. Lecture.

Cliff Fenton, streetwise and honest detective, pictured below.

Edited October 31, 2013 by Steve Rosen

[Larry Hancock]

Zach, James, and all. Perhaps one way to get a hold on this is to turn it around. My thought would be to list each item of information in the note and then brainstorm who would have known that,

or at least thought that, in order to give it to the DPD in some fashion.

Given that Martino stated he was a courier, and I presume that meant carrying money as well as information, certainly whoever received the money or saw it being passed in Dallas would think

of him as the person "hiring" a shooter. Pondering that, why not pay the shooter somewhere else rather than Dallas, like Miami. One reason would be quite simple, you want your guys on the

ground in Dallas, probably under observation from other members of the team - before you start passing out cash.

Anyway, I think it would be an interesting exercise to reverse it in this fashion. Equally interesting is to speculate on exactly who DPD interviewed who would have provided this limited

information under interrogation. And to me it makes it more credible that the information was obviously limited, suggesting it was from someone on the tactical side and verifying that this

was an extremely compartmentalized operation, the sort that would be run by a professional paramilitary case officer...

[David Andrews]

Ellis also describes a shooting sequence slightly different from the 'official' version.

Can anyone give a link to Ellis' statement, if it's available online?