Familiar Faces in Dealey Plaza

[Allan Eaglesham]

One of the more bizarre sub-plots of the Kennedy-assassination saga is the story of Joseph Milteer. A wealthy activist who belonged to several right-wing and racist groups, Milteer was a member of the National States Rights Party, which had close anti-Castro links [1]. Less than two weeks before President Kennedy's visit to Dallas, Mr. Milteer was recorded on audiotape by Miami-police informant William Somerset, predicting that the president would soon be assassinated by a sniper in an office or hotel [2] . Somerset also made the claim that Milteer telephoned him from Dallas on the morning of November 22, 1963, with the prediction that President Kennedy would never visit Miami again. Although Milteer was interviewed by the FBI on November 27 and information was passed to the Warren Commission, neither Milteer nor Somerset was called to testify [3] .

If, indeed, Milteer was in Dallas on that day and knew of a plot to kill the president, it is likely that he would have known where it was to occur: in Dealey Plaza. Researcher Robert Groden carefully examined photographs taken there, and discovered one of a portly individual on Houston Street resembling Milteer [4] , taken by Associated Press photographer James Altgens.

In this article, we present and discuss others who were captured in photographs - in and around Dealey Plaza immediately before and after the assassination - and who, at least "on face," resemble certain notable individuals often linked to the "crime of the century."

There was at least one other visitor from out-of-town in Dealey Plaza on that fateful Friday afternoon, whose career was even more checkered than Joseph Milteer's: Jim Braden. Approximately thirty minutes after the assassination, Mr. Braden's presence in the Dal-Tex Building, directly across Houston Street from the Texas School Book Depository, aroused suspicion and led to his being taken into police custody. After providing a statement, he was allowed to leave. In fact, Mr. Braden had changed the name on his driver's license just 10 weeks before, from Eugene Hale Brading [5] ; if the police had checked their records for that name, they might have held him for further questioning. Brading's lengthy police record included arrests in Dallas, and he had complex ties with Mafiosi [6] [7].

On parole at the time, permission to travel from Los Angeles was contingent upon his reporting to the Federal Parole Office in Dallas, which he did on November 21. The Parole Officer's report states that Brading's plans included seeing tycoon Lamar Hunt on oil business [8]. Although Brading subsequently denied visiting Mr. Hunt [9], it is noteworthy that Jack Ruby, on November 21, visited the building that housed the corporate offices of the Hunt Oil Company [10] . Furthermore, Brading lodged at the Cabana motel, on the Stemmons Freeway close to Dealey Plaza, which was visited by Ruby late in the evening of November 21 [11] .

Larry Florer was taken into police custody also as a result of being a stranger in the Dal-Tex Building. In his statement, he claimed not to have been in Dealey Plaza at the time of the shooting, but made his way there after hearing a radio broadcast in a café [12]. Braden, in his statement, made no mention of his location at the time of the shooting [13], which is odd inasmuch as he was taken in for questioning, presumably, with reference to what he had observed of the shooting of the president:

"I am here on business (oil business) and was walking down Elm Street trying to get a cab and there wasn't any. I heard people talking saying, "My God the President has been shot."

From this point, Braden's statement is strangely similar to Florer's.

Braden: "I moved on up to the building across the street from the building that was surrounded and I asked one of the girls if there was a telephone that I could use and she said, "Yes, there is one on the third floor of the building where I work."

Florer: "I stopped on east side of Houston Street across the street from the Texas School Book Depository. I stood there for a few minutes and then a lady that was standing next to me, I asked her where there was a telephone, and she said that the only pay phone that she knew of was the County Records building. She said that there were a lot of phones on the third floor of this building that I was standing in front of. She said that she worked on the third floor and that there was probably a phone up there that I could use."

Braden: "I walked through a passage to the elevator they were all getting on (freight elevator) and I got off on the third floor with all the other people and there was a lady using the pay telephone and I ask [sic] her if I could use it when she hung up and she said it was out of order and I tried to use it but with no success."

Florer: "So I rode up the elevator with this lady and got off on the third floor with this lady and we walked to the information desk and this lady went on back to her department, to her spot. So then I, there was a lady at the information desk and I asked her if I could borrow her phone and she said that all the lines were busy or something to that effect." Braden: "I ask [sic] her how I can get out of the building and she said that there is an exit right there and then she said wait a minute here is an elevator now. I got on the elevator and returned to the ground floor and the colored man who ran the elevator said you are a stranger in this building and I am not supposed to let you up and he ran outside to an officer and said to the officer that he had just taken me up and down in the elevator and the officer said for me to identify myself and I presented him with a credit card and he said we'll have to check out everything and took me to his superior and said for me to wait and we will check it out."

Florer: "So I stood there for a minute and a fellow walked up to me. He asked me what I wanted and he told me that I couldn't use the phone. So I walked back down to the elevator and rode it back down to the lobby. As soon as I got to the lobby I walked back outside and the fellow I had talked to about using the phone was pointing out the window, pointing toward me and said that I was the man that was on the third floor. At this time two officers walked up and said for me to come with them."

All indications are, then, that Braden and Florer were considered to be suspicious merely as a result of their presence in the Dal-Tex Building. It stretches credibility that the similarities in their police statements resulted from chance; their encounters with a lady in front of the Dal-Tex Building suggest that Braden and Florer were standing together, or in close juxtaposition, when one or both of them approached her. Alternatively, this was a shared cover story to explain their presence in that building. Several researchers have discussed the possibility that shots were fired from there [e.g. 14-16].

In his book Triangle of Fire, Bob Goodman stated that the west side of the Dal-Tex building, i.e. facing Dealey Plaza, housed the offices of the Dallas Uranium and Oil company on the third floor. Although believed to be owned by H.L. Hunt, Dallas Uranium and Oil was not a registered company and appears to have been a "front" [17].

In a photograph of the crowd in Dealey Plaza minutes after the shooting, snapped by Dallas Times Herald photographer William Allen, an individual is visible in a trench coat, wide-brimmed hat and dark glasses. Dallas Chief Criminal Deputy Alan Sweatt, who assisted in processing Dealey-Plaza witnesses, identified him as Jim Braden [18] . Indeed, comparison with an earlier mug-shot of Eugene Hale Brading reveals a likeness.

Several books on the assassination include photographs of a man in black-rimmed eyeglasses, purported to be Mr. Florer. The original identification of this individual as Florer appears to have been made in the pages of the Dallas Times Herald [19], yet other discussion of that newspaper story indicates that the man in "horn-rimmed glasses" at whom bystanders shouted, "I hope you die," was not identified by name [20] . In 1992, Goodman contacted an individual suspected of being the man in horn-rimmed glasses, presumably Larry Florer, only to be informed that the man was under legal counsel and instructed not to talk [21]. (Attempts to contact Mr. Goodman via his publisher were fruitless.)

In his police statement, Florer gave his age as 23, and although, in another photograph by William Allen (see below), his unlined complexion is consistent with that, the overall impression is of a man in his 30s. The putative Florer looked like Theodore (Ted) Shackley with his hair dyed. At the time of the assassination, Shackley (AKA the Blond Ghost because of his pallor) was about 35 years old and Station Chief of JM/WAVE in Miami, the headquarters of the CIA's huge Operation Mongoose, the single objective of which was to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba, by assassination if necessary. The vain efforts to kill Castro included collaboration with Mafia bosses.

In 1966, Shackley moved to Vientiane, Laos, to lead the CIA-backed Hmong tribes-people in their secret war with the North Vietnamese army [22]. This effort also was unsuccessful, with terrible loss of life among the Hmong. Mr. Shackley moved on to become CIA Station Chief in Saigon in late 1968.

David Sanchez Morales was Ted Shackley's Chief of Operations at the JM/WAVE station [23]. He was a tall (6' 2"), well muscled individual of Mexican-Indian extraction [24] who had been involved in various CIA schemes including the successful coup d'état in Guatemala in 1954 and the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. His Operation Mongoose activities included a close relationship with Johnny Rosselli, the link man to Mafia bosses Sam Giancana and Santos Trafficante [25] . Morales worked with Shackley also in Laos [26] and in Vietnam where he was possibly involved in the Phoenix assassinations program [27]. During a drinking bout with friends in the early spring of 1973, Morales was boasting of his exploits - involvement in the capture of Ché Guevara, etc. -- when the mention of John Kennedy's name sent him into a frenzy. The lengthy invective ended with: "Well, we took care of that son of a bitch, didn't we?" [28] .

A man in dark glasses, in another photograph taken by Mr. Altgens, resembles David Morales. He had mounted the base of a lamppost at the corner of Houston and Main, presumably to obtain a good view of Dealey Plaza as a whole. By comparison with men in front of him and nearer the camera, he appears to have been of large build.

Also involved in anti-Castro activities in 1963 was Gerald Patrick Hemming, leader of Interpen, the Intercontinental Penetration Force. Hemming was an ex-marine who had joined Castro's rebel army in 1958 as a paratroop instructor. Right-wing in his politics, he exited Cuba in 1960, disillusioned, and offered his services to the CIA, but was refused. Interpen was a multi-national group of a couple of dozen soldiers of fortune financed by exiled Cubans and casino owners who had been thrown out of Havana by Castro [29] . In the far-reaching interviews reported by Noel Twyman in his book Bloody Treason [30] , Hemming appeared to know a great deal about the murder of President Kennedy; he claimed to have refused offers made to him to kill the president and had nothing to do with the assassination. Twyman leaves open the possibility of GPH's presence in Dallas on November 22, 1963: Hemming failed to categorically deny that an individual described in a Secret Service document, as follows, was himself.

John Stevens Rutter Lawrence...advised that at 11:45 AM, November 22, 1963, he was walking north on Akard Street from Commerce to Main...(when) his attention was called to a man walking in the opposite direction on the same side of the street...carrying a rifle...(T)he man was about 6' 5'' tall, and weight [sic] about 250 pounds or more. He appeared to be a professional football type and very muscular. He had dirty blond hair and wore it in a short crew cut. The man was in his 30s and was wearing a light colored business suit and white business shirt. (at the bottom of the document someone had hand written: HEMMINGS?) [31] In Twyman's words, this is a dead-ringer description of Hemming in 1963, except that he is apparently clean shaven and has cut his hair [32]. Mr. Lawrence's companion, Philip Ben Hathaway, provided a similar description of a man carrying a heavy gun case, in a voluntary police statement on 11/22/63; Mr. Hathaway described the business suit as "gray colored" [33]. The Altgens photograph of the president's limousine as it passed from Main Street into Houston shows a man, apparently tall and broad-shouldered, with facial features resembling those of Gerald Patrick Hemming. The man had a crew cut and was in a dress shirt, tie and dark jacket.

General Edward G. Lansdale was Coordinator of Operations for Operation Mongoose. He had been intimately involved in CIA operations in the Philippines and in Vietnam in the 1950s [34]. The ambassadorship to Vietnam, promised to Lansdale by President Kennedy, was withdrawn as a result of the objections of Secretary of State Dean Rusk [35] . Colonel L. Fletcher Prouty, who was liaison officer between the Air Force and the CIA in their cooperative U-2 spy-plane operations, knew Lansdale well and believes that the general was captured in a photograph in Dealey Plaza (taken by George Smith of the Fort Worth Star Telegram), walking away from the camera in front of delivery gates at the Texas School Book Depository.

General Lansdale had a drooping right shoulder, and, indeed, the man in the photograph appears to have a similar posture. On his web site, Col. Prouty quotes Lieutenant General Victor Krulak as saying, "The haircut, the stoop, the twisted left hand, the large class ring. It's Lansdale" [36] .

Colonel Prouty has been quoted as saying that he believes that Lucien Conein was, like his erstwhile CIA cohort Ed Lansdale, in Dealey Plaza when President Kennedy was assassinated [37] . During World War II, Conein had served with the elite Jedburghs and had jumped behind enemy lines into France in 1944 where he worked with the Corsican Brotherhood, an underworld organization allied with the resistance [38]; later he parachuted behind Japanese lines in Indochina. In 1951 he established a CIA base in Nuremberg, southwest Germany, from which spies were helped across the border into Czechoslovakia; for a time, Ted Shackley worked alongside Conein in those spy-running operations [39] . Soon thereafter, Conein returned to Vietnam to work closely with Lansdale in various projects, including their successful efforts to establish Ngo Dinh Diem as president. In 1954-56, Conein was in charge of paramilitary groups whose objective was to destabilize North Vietnam and compromise the efforts of the International Commission that had been set up to aid the transition from French to Vietnamese rule [40]. In 1963, "Lou" was still in Vietnam, nominally with the US Army, but actually still operating as a CIA agent [41] . Ironically, he served as liaison between the US and the South Vietnamese generals who overthrew and murdered President Diem--just three weeks before the Kennedy assassination.

In the Altgens picture showing the limousine turning onto Houston Street, standing close to the man resembling Mr. Hemming, is someone who looked like Lucien Conein.

When we wrote to Col. Prouty about this, he responded [42]: "...I noted this same photo you have found and the likeness between that person and Lou...I'd say that the guy is Conein." Although later in his letter he stated, "I make no solid claim for Conein in the Dealey Plaza picture," he went on to say, "but I do know that many of the Vietnam-trained, Mongoose inner circle were there."

Neither do we make solid claims about the identities of the men shown in the pictures in this article. We report for the first time that individuals resembling Theodore Shackley, David Morales, Gerald Patrick Hemming and Lucien Conein were in Dealey Plaza, in addition to those resembling Joseph Milteer, Eugene Hale Brading and Edward Lansdale. We leave it to the reader to surmise on the implications, or lack thereof, of these observations.

This article by Allan Eaglesham and Martha Schallhorn was originally published in JFK Deep Politics Quarterly, October 2000.

http://www.manuscriptservice.com/FFiDP/FFiDP/

Acknowledgement: We thank Walt Brown and John J. Hayes for constructive criticism of a draft of the original manuscript.

Notes

[1] Anthony Summers, Conspiracy, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York (1980) 430.

[2] Robert G. Groden, The Killing of a President, Viking Studio Books, New York (1993) 154-155.

[3] Jim Marrs, Crossfire: The Plot that Killed Kennedy, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., New York (1990 Paperback Edition) 266.

[4] Groden, op. cit. 196-197.

[5] Peter Noyes, Legacy of Doubt, Pinnacle Books, New York (1973) 28.

[6] David E. Scheim, Contract on America: The Mafia Murder of President John F. Kennedy, Zebra Books, Kensington Publishing Corp., New York (1989) 68.

[7] Noyes, op. cit., 47-60.

[8] Noyes, op. cit., 71-72.

[9] Noyes, op. cit., 73.

[10] Warren Commission Hearings Volume XXIV, p. 342 (24H 342).

[11] Marrs, op. cit., 337.

[12] 19H 476.

[13] 19H 469.

[14] Josiah Thompson, Six Seconds in Dallas, Bernard Geis Associates, Distributed by Random House, New York (1967) 132.

[15] Groden, op. cit., 184.

[16] Harrison Edward Livingstone, Killing Kennedy, Carroll & Graf, New York (1995) 18.

[17] Bob Goodman, Triangle of Fire, Laquerian Publishing Co., San José (1993) 216-217.

[18] Richard B. Trask, Pictures of the Pain, Yeoman Press, Danvers (1994) 545.

[19] Ibid. 547.

[20] Marrs, op. cit., 339.

[21] Goodman, op cit., 215.

[22] David Corn, Blond Ghost: Ted Shackley and the CIA's Crusades, Simon & Schuster, New York (1994) 130-167.

[23] Gaeton Fonzi, The Last Investigation, Thunder's Mouth Press, New York (1993) 371.

[24] Ibid., 368.

[25] Ibid., 373.

[26] Corn, op. cit., 138.

[27] Fonzi, op. cit., 378-379.

[28] Ibid., 389-390.

[29] Warren Hinckle and William Turner, Deadly Secrets, Thunder's Mouth Press, New York (1992) 180-181.

[30] Noel Twyman, Bloody Treason, Laurel Publishing, Rancho Santa Fe (1997) 647-748.

[31] Ibid., 722.

[32] Ibid., 722-723.

[33] 19H 477.

[34] Cecil B. Currey, The Unquiet American, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston (1988) 112-185.

[35] Ibid., 227-228.

[36] http://www.prouty.org and click on "PHOTOS."

[37] Harrison Edward Livingstone, High Treason 2, Carroll & Graf, New York (1992) 481.

[38] Corn, op. cit., 33-34.

[39] Corn, op. cit., 41.

[40] Currey, op. cit., 161-163.

[41] L. Fletcher Prouty, JFK: The CIA, Vietnam and the Plot to Assassinate President Kennedy, Birch Lane Press, New York (1992) 259.

[42] L. Fletcher Prouty, written communication, May 7, 1996.

[John Simkin]

Thank you for this excellent summary of different people that have been identified as being in Dallas during the assassination of Kennedy. I know James Richards has been involved in similar research and hopefully he will post his information on this subject in this thread.

I think this information raises a serious question. Why would people involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy wish to be in Dealey Plaza when the event took place? Of course the shooters had to be there. Other researchers have suggested that each shooter would have had a “spotter”. Maybe it would have been necessary for someone to coordinate the assassinate. It has been claimed that the man with the umbrella might have been playing this role.

However, I would have thought that the person organizing the assassination would have kept the numbers down to a bare minimum. After all, the more people who knew about it, the more chance of these people talking in the future.

Also, knowing what I do about people like Ted Shackley and Edward Lansdale, if they had been involved in the killing of Kennedy, the last place they would have been was in Dallas on the day of assassination.

This raises another possibility. Maybe the people involved in the assassination, arranged for this people to be in Dallas on that day. This would ensure that researchers would be provided with a series of false leads.

My research into Lyndon Johnson has raised another possibility. Once again you can find evidence that suggests that he was involved in the assassination. Yet, the evidence seems too obvious. A skilled operator like Johnson would have made sure that nobody involved in the assassination could have been linked back to him. Is it possible that Oswald was not the only “patsy”? That incriminating evidence was planted to implicate several very powerful people. Why? To ensure their participation in the cover-up. Did Lyndon Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, Allen Dulles, John McCone, Robert Kennedy, etc. take part in the cover-up because evidence had been planted that implicated them in the assassination or related events. In doing so, they of course further implicated themselves. If this was the strategy, it worked perfectly. In many ways, it was the perfect crime, making it virtually unsolvable.

[James Richards]

Great piece, Allan. Thought provoking indeed.

The idea of certain individuals being present in Dealey Plaza is a curious one and understandably there are critics. Why would one be near the scene of the crime if one didn't have to? I think a broad answer is that the frailty of human nature would have played a part. This was the hit of the century and they wanted to be there for it - they couldn't resist being there. This was a chance they were willing to take given that there was so much loathing for JFK by certain individuals like David Morales. Besides, I think they believed they could control the various aspects of evidence like the suppression of photographs. When the Lone Nut scenario stuck, there was really no need as they would have figured that the official investigation would have ended further speculation. How wrong they were.

When people like Fletcher Prouty and Victor Krulak identify Ed Lansdale as the man in the Tramps photo, I guess we have to listen. When several individuals are gathered at the corner of Main and Houston who strongly resemble known Agency personnel and assets then we must take note. When other spectators gathered in Dealey Plaza could be virtual twins to various militant Cuban exiles, then we must investigate further.

To not ask these questions would be negligent. Maybe several of these individuals were directed to Dealey Plaza to play the part of actors - to muddy the waters for investigators. Even that alone suggests the reality of a plot to kill the President.

Thanks, Allan, for your piece. I enjoyed it immensely.

James

Edited November 21, 2004 by James Richards

[Mike Perez]

Outstanding article Allen !!!!!

It reaaly makes you think about how into the Government the conspiracy goes. Obviously with all these heavy hitters in Dallas on 11-22-63, it went far deeper than most people think..

Mike

[Dawn Meredith]

Great piece, Allan. Thought provoking indeed.

The idea of certain individuals being present in Dealey Plaza is a curious one and understandably there are critics. Why would one be near the scene of the crime if one didn't have to? I think a broad answer is that the frailty of human nature would have played a part. This was the hit of the century and they wanted to be there for it - they couldn't resist being there. This was a chance they were willing to take given that there was so much loathing for JFK by certain individuals like David Morales. Besides, I think they believed they could control the various aspects of evidence like the suppression of photographs. When the Lone Nut scenario stuck, there was really no need as they would have figured that the official investigation would have ended further speculation. How wrong they were.

When people like Fletcher Prouty and Victor Krulak identify Ed Lansdale as the man in the Tramps photo, I guess we have to listen. When several individuals are gathered at the corner of Main and Houston who strongly resemble known Agency personnel and assets then we must take note. When other spectators gathered in Dealey Plaza could be virtual twins to various militant Cuban exiles, then we must investigate further.

To not ask these questions would be negligent. Maybe several of these individuals were directed to Dealey Plaza to play the part of actors - to muddy the waters for investigators. Even that alone suggests the reality of a plot to kill the President.

Thanks, Allan, for your piece. I enjoyed it immensely.

James

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

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I agree with Richard. Great piece Al. I see John's point too, but on the issue of Lansdale, Prouty has me convinced. Just look at someone you know well from behind, you can tell it is this person. It isn't like this is a fuzzy photo we are talking about, where you really cannot tell who it is. And why not be there? When you hate someone that badly, and the hit is so well planned, what is the risk really? It's been 41 years and they've still gotten away with it, so the risk paid off, right?

Dawn

ps. Just got in from a memorial service and my husband directed me to a new news story: a new video game "recreating the assassination of jfk" to "show that it was done with 3 bullets". I realize this is off topic, but am so disgusted I wanted to post it somewhere, and this is my first post of the day.

The "new history". for today's kids. ...Sick beyond all belief!!

[Tim Gratz]

Great piece, Allan. Thought provoking indeed.

The idea of certain individuals being present in Dealey Plaza is a curious one and understandably there are critics. Why would one be near the scene of the crime if one didn't have to? I think a broad answer is that the frailty of human nature would have played a part. This was the hit of the century and they wanted to be there for it - they couldn't resist being there. This was a chance they were willing to take given that there was so much loathing for JFK by certain individuals like David Morales. Besides, I think they believed they could control the various aspects of evidence like the suppression of photographs. When the Lone Nut scenario stuck, there was really no need as they would have figured that the official investigation would have ended further speculation. How wrong they were.

When people like Fletcher Prouty and Victor Krulak identify Ed Lansdale as the man in the Tramps photo, I guess we have to listen. When several individuals are gathered at the corner of Main and Houston who strongly resemble known Agency personnel and assets then we must take note. When other spectators gathered in Dealey Plaza could be virtual twins to various militant Cuban exiles, then we must investigate further.

To not ask these questions would be negligent. Maybe several of these individuals were directed to Dealey Plaza to play the part of actors - to muddy the waters for investigators. Even that alone suggests the reality of a plot to kill the President.

Thanks, Allan, for your piece. I enjoyed it immensely.

James

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your idea that certain people may have been sent to Dealey Plaza to "muddy the waters" is certainly intriguing. Arguably, if this did indeed happen, one would have to consider the persons directing such individuals to Dealey Plaza as members of the conspiracy. This would certainly also indicate the sophistication of the conspirators. Do you have any evidence that such "false leads" were being planted in Dealey Plaza? If I recall correctly, in The Last Investigation Gaeton Fonzi suspected that on at least one occasion he was fed disinformation perhaps for no other resason to consume his time and direct him away from investigating more fruitful lines of inquiry. Mr. Richards is certainly correct that planting false leads, e.g. sending innocent people to Dealey Plaza "suggests the reality of a plot". Indeed, is it not conclusive evidence of a conspiracy?

[James Richards]

Hi Tim,

Indeed. This aspect is overlooked somewhat. To muddy the water is an effective technique to lead investigators up the garden path - exactly what has happened over the last 41 years. Take the example of the Tall Tramp who some believe (including me) to be Charles Harrelson. Harrelson is Mob connected, add the arrest of Mob crony Jim Braden aka Eugene Hale Brading and the spectacular debut of Jack Ruby on international television and the Mob look good for this. Parlor games in full swing.

The question is then asked, why would a loose head like Harrelson be recruited to participate in the assassination? The answer is he wasn't. Harrelson was there to be photographed. Harrelson would have been clueless and probably still is.

As to who was in the position to motivate Mob connections, I believe we need to look no further than John Roselli who was under the orders of David Morales.

IMO, Allen's wonderful piece is a most important contribution to what happened in Dealey Plaza. Remember, only one of these speculations need to be correct to prove other men were involved. This gives us all an exciting avenue of research.

James

[Ron Ecker]

Is it possible that Oswald was not the only “patsy”? That incriminating evidence was planted to implicate several very powerful people. Why? To ensure their participation in the cover-up.

I think this is a real possibility, the strongest evidence of it being the Mac Wallace fingerprint. (I believe it's Wallace's fingerprint because Darby says it is and because the FBI says it isn't.) There is no way that Johnson would have his own known thug Wallace there in the TSBD. But Wallace could have been put there to make Johnson subject to blackmail if he didn't toe the line in the cover-up.

The same could have been done to the CIA. Suppose, for example, that two of the arrested "tramps" were Frank Sturgis and E. Howard Hunt in disguise. That could have been pursued, if necessary, instead of dropped. With respect to the Mafia, consider the arrest of Jim Braden. Again, that could have been easily pursued to finger the Mafia, thus assuring Mafia cooperation, the Mob even going so far as to have Jack Ruby shoot Oswald.

Having anti-Castro Cubans on the scene, including one conspicuously within spitting distance of JFK by the knoll, obviously made them potential patsies.

Potentially having the goods on everybody could also explain why our lookalikes saw no need to stay away if they wanted to be there. Everybody and his brother were fair game as far as "who done it," but everybody could feel pretty safe as long as everyone cooperated. One might even say that it's surprising that more people weren't there!

[Dawn Meredith]

Is it possible that Oswald was not the only “patsy”? That incriminating evidence was planted to implicate several very powerful people. Why? To ensure their participation in the cover-up.

I think this is a real possibility, the strongest evidence of it being the Mac Wallace fingerprint. (I believe it's Wallace's fingerprint because Darby says it is and because the FBI says it isn't.) There is no way that Johnson would have his own known thug Wallace there in the TSBD. But Wallace could have been put there to make Johnson subject to blackmail if he didn't toe the line in the cover-up.

The same could have been done to the CIA. Suppose, for example, that two of the arrested "tramps" were Frank Sturgis and E. Howard Hunt in disguise. That could have been pursued, if necessary, instead of dropped. With respect to the Mafia, consider the arrest of Jim Braden. Again, that could have been easily pursued to finger the Mafia, thus assuring Mafia cooperation, the Mob even going so far as to have Jack Ruby shoot Oswald.

Having anti-Castro Cubans on the scene, including one conspicuously within spitting distance of JFK by the knoll, obviously made them potential patsies.

Potentially having the goods on everybody could also explain why our lookalikes saw no need to stay away if they wanted to be there. Everybody and his brother were fair game as far as "who done it," but everybody could feel pretty safe as long as everyone cooperated. One might even say that it's surprising that more people weren't there!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

--------------------

Hi Ron,

So are you in effect saying Wallace's fingerprint was "planted" to blackmail LBJ???? I recall seeing one of John's post to this effect also, but tell me HOW DO YOU PLANT A LATENT???

Remember this latent print was found at the same time as the assassinaation, how could anyone ever know to connect it up with LBJ? History is hindsight, all the stuff that's been written about Wallace and LBj since is one thing, but how could anyone have known this in advance?

I want to respond more fully on John's article too, as it really: ( 1. )does not give Barr McClellan the credit he is due- (like not even mentioning all the Clifton Carter stuff) but does credit Dave Perry on why no one should listen to Barr. (too much to address tonight).

Read a lot more about just who Mac Wallace was to LBJ. I think there is PLENTY of evidence that Wallace was LBJ's hired hit man, period. (Anyone here read the other account of Mac Wallace being there at LBJ's at his people's bequest, the account given in Sample and Collom's "The Men On the Sixth Floor"? (you can get it online).

(And the print evidence is a fact. I am glad you acknowledge that.)

Who else WOULD LBJ have had there? IF he was involved at the assassin stage, which I have always believed to be the cae. Remember: means, motive and opportunity. John well lays out just how close LBJ was from no longer being "a heartbeat away". It's clear, he was going to be dropped from the ticket and probably indicted. The tapes between he and Hoover speak volumes.

I think John makes a good case for LBJ, conspirator before the fact, even tho he backs away from it.

I also agree that there were other "patsies", and waters muddied beyond all recognition.

But:

I agree with Wim: we need "the all-of-the -above" category to check off on the question of "who killed jfk".

Dawn

[Tim Gratz]

Hi Tim,

Indeed. This aspect is overlooked somewhat. To muddy the water is an effective technique to lead investigators up the garden path - exactly what has happened over the last 41 years. Take the example of the Tall Tramp who some believe (including me) to be Charles Harrelson. Harrelson is Mob connected, add the arrest of Mob crony Jim Braden aka Eugene Hale Brading and the spectacular debut of Jack Ruby on international television and the Mob look good for this. Parlor games in full swing.

The question is then asked, why would a loose head like Harrelson be recruited to participate in the assassination? The answer is he wasn't. Harrelson was there to be photographed. Harrelson would have been clueless and probably still is.

As to who was in the position to motivate Mob connections, I believe we need to look no further than John Roselli who was under the orders of David Morales.

IMO, Allen's wonderful piece is a most important contribution to what happened in Dealey Plaza. Remember, only one of these speculations need to be correct to prove other men were involved. This gives us all an exciting avenue of research.

James

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Rosselli was a fascinating character. His biography "Johnny Roselli: All American Mafioso" is a great read. In "Sons and Brothers" Mahoney states that Roselli was at the Armory Lounge (Giancana's HQ) in a Chicago suburb on Election Night 1960 and it was Roselli who was orchestrating the Outfit's "get out the vote" effort for JFK. I am not convinced he was a conspirator but it appears he had the intelligence to plan a sophisticated operation and, of course, he did, during the week of the assassination, evade his FBI tails.

[James Richards]

Rosselli was a fascinating character. His biography "Johnny Roselli: All American Mafioso" is a great read. In "Sons and Brothers" Mahoney states that Roselli was at the Armory Lounge (Giancana's HQ) in a Chicago suburb on Election Night 1960 and it was Roselli who was orchestrating the Outfit's "get out the vote" effort for JFK. I am not convinced he was a conspirator but it appears he had the intelligence to plan a sophisticated operation and, of course, he did, during the week of the assassination, evade his FBI tails. (Tim Gratz)

Hi Tim,

I agree that Roselli is a fascinating character. In Larry Hancock's book, "Someone Would Have Talked", Larry explores John Roselli in some detail.

Personally, I believe Roselli was a 'go to' man for aspects of the assassination. One such aspect I believe is that Morales would have used him to secure the services of Herminio Diaz Garcia for rifle duties from the 6th floor of the TSBD. It is also my opinion that Diaz Garcia (Trafficante's man in Cuba) may have been one of Roselli's contacts in those early days of the Castro assassination plots.

Both books you cite are indeed great reads.

Cheers,

James

[Tim Carroll]

Nice work Allan,

Milteer has been discussed for years, and then Lansdale, but the grouping at Houston and Main is relatively new to me. I personally made the guestimate that the man behind the Conein look-alike is Guillermo Novo. But the one that most intrigues me is the James McCord look-alike. What say you about this one?

Tim

Edited November 22, 2004 by Tim Carroll

[Ron Ecker]

Hi Ron,

So are you in effect saying Wallace's fingerprint was "planted" to blackmail LBJ???? I recall seeing one of John's post to this effect also, but  tell me HOW DO YOU PLANT A LATENT???

I didn't say that. If Wallace's fingerprint was there, it's because Wallace was there at the time of the assassination.

Remember this latent print was found at the same time as the assassinaation, how could anyone ever know to connect it up with LBJ?  History is hindsight, all the stuff that's been written about Wallace and LBj since is one thing, but how could anyone have known this in advance?

If it's true that Wallace killed a man in cold blood and LBJ helped get him off with five years probation, and later LBJ used Wallace to kill the Ag Dept's Marshall, I would think there were FBI types and others who knew this, and could prove it, or else could make LBJ worry about them proving it, if Wallace were arrested in the aftermath of the JFK assassination.

[Greg Parker]

Hi Allan,

Nice pickup on the similarities between the Florer and Braden statements.

I have to disagree with the line of thought expressed in response that these people were meant to muddy the waters and throw researchers off. That's giving way too much credit for the foresight of those involved.

Dulles stated what the expectations were when he said he didn't think anyone would ever bother reading the final WC report.

That said, I'm uncertain of what to make of either Florer or Bradem -- though you've just raised their potential importance -- at least in my mind.

[Tim Carroll]

I have to disagree with the line of thought expressed in response that these people were meant to muddy the waters and throw researchers off. That's giving way too much credit for the foresight of those involved.

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Greg,

The first I ever heard of this concept of muddying the waters came from Chauncey Holt, who described that many people associated with various nefarious activities were invited to witness some activity in the Plaza, which was not explained as a presidential assassination. Some, I believe, expected an apparent attempt on the president which, depending on one's affiliation, would have either pretextualized an invasion of Cuba or discredited the far right-wingers at a time when JFK's approval rating was plummeting as a result of his inability to forestall the civil rights movement until after the 1964 election. I think of it as the Agatha Christie-type, Murder On The Orient Express scenario.

Think of the optionality created: if Oswald became the patsy it was a Castro-sponsored attempt (as long as the patsy was killed); if Braden became the patsy then Bobby's war on organized crime is justified to go full tilt boogie; if one of General Walkers' guys became the patsy then the far right extremists are discredited and the civil rights movement immediately gains significant approval. Any one of the above scenarios would have vaulted Kennedy to heroic, profile in courage status. His reelection would be guaranteed. The possibility of some such demonstration planned by the administration was expressed in writing to H.L. Hunt by his security chief, Paul Rothermel, on November 4, 1963.

Tim

Edited November 22, 2004 by Tim Carroll