Jim Marr's comments on the James Files story: Has any of it been debunked?

[Sandy Larsen]

I've kept an open mind regarding the so-called James Files confession. I've seen a lot of points made that supposedly shoot holes in the story, but none of them so far have struck me as being very substantial. The one thing that bothers me a little is that Files made no mention of the slow-down in the limousine speed that occurred right before what would have been File's shot to the head. (Ironically, this point was made by none other than James Fetzer, the guy who seems to see conspiracy in everything.)

Today I came across something written by Jim Marrs, in 2009 as far as I can tell. In it he asks three questions and asks how each are possible if James Files weren't who he says he is.

My question is, have any of these questions been answered in a way that indicates Files hasn't been telling the truth?

Here is what Jim Marrs wrote:  (Read just the blue titles for a summary of the questions.)

Quote

TO JAMES FILES CONFESSION CRITICS: ANSWER ME THIS

by JIM MARRS

First off let me set the record straight. I have not -- nor am I now --
taking any particular position on the truthfulness of the James E. Files
confession. I was not on the Grassy Knoll on November 22, 1963, so I cannot
state with any 100 percent assurance what really happened.

All I have ever said on this matter is that I am aware of much more to this
story than simply a talking-head videotaped confession and that I feel it
deserves more serious attention than it has received in the past. Those who
have been so quick to dismiss Files as a hoax do not know the full details
of this issue. Others have personal problems with one or more of the
researchers who have brought the Files story public. Let's not toss out the
message just because we don't like the messenger. Never forget that the
whole Files story came about due to a tip from an FBI agent, not from mere
speculation by some researcher.

Despite what I feel to be an honest and open-minded attitude toward the
Files story on my part, I, along with anyone else who dares to admit
interest in this issue, have suffered much abuse on the Internet and other
places from some critics who, after superficial or no research, branded the
Files story a hoax.

Without making a long, involved story even longer, I would simply like the
answers to the following three simple questions regarding James Files:

[1]  HOW DID JAMES FILES KNOW THAT HUMAN TEETH IMPRESSIONS
WOULD BE FOUND ON A .222-CALIBER SHELL CASING FOUND ON THE
GRASSY KNOLL IN 1987?
[NOTE: This was debunked by Allan Eaglesham in 2007. See his presentation
titled The Tell-Tale Dash: James Files and the Dented Cartridge Case. Jim Marrs
made a note of Eaglesham's presentation in his latest (2013) edition of Crossfire.]

It is a fact that John C. Rademacher of Granbury, Texas, discovered a
.222-caliber shell casing on the north Grassy Knoll in Dallas' Dealey Plaza
in 1987. He brought the casing to my class at the University of Texas at
Arlington in 1990. I recall asking him about strange marks on the casing
because at the time I was very interested in the sabot or husk bullet issue.
Rademacher said the mark was on the casing when he found it but that he had
no idea what it was.

On May 3, 1993, researcher Bob Vernon along with TV executive Barry Adelman
first interviewed James E. Files in prison. Files claims to have used an
unusual and expensive single-shot match pistol, a .222-caliber Remington
XP-100 "Fireball", to shoot President Kennedy from behind the wooden picket
fence on top of the Grassy Knoll. Toward the end of the interview, Files
casually mentioned that he had left the .222-caliber shell casing behind on
the Grassy Knoll and that if anyone was to find it they would know it was
his. When asked how it could be identified, Files said he had bitten down on
the empty shell casing and left it behind on a cross piece of the wooden
picket fence. "It will have my teeth marks on it," he explained.

Reflecting on this information, Vernon recalled seeing something about a man
finding a shell casing on the Grassy Knoll in the files of the late Texas
researcher Joe West. After locating the story in West's material, Vernon
along with Mrs. Joe West visited Rademacher in July, 1993, and first saw the
shell casing with the markings on it. After about two months of
correspondence, Vernon finally obtained the shell casing in late September,
1993, and sent it for study by Dr. Paul Stimson of the University of Texas
at Houston, a member of the American Boards of Oral Pathology and Forensic
Odontology. About Oct. 4, 1993, following days of microscopic examination,
Dr. Stimson reported, "Opinion: The indentations are oriented on the shell
casing in a pattern that would be consistent with the maxillary right
central incisor making the larger mark and the two smaller marks would be
consistent with the lower right central and lateral incisors. It is my
opinion that the marks are consistent with having been made by human
indentation."

It is highly unlikely that this whole story could be a gigantic hoax
involving such diverse people as Dr. Stimson, Vernon, Joe West (who died
before ever learning of the casing connection between Rademacher and Files)
and his wife, Adelman, Files, myself and others over a period of more than
six years.

Having rejected the complicated hoax theory and considering that apparently
no one in the world knew of the casing/teeth issue prior to Dr. Stimson's
findings in October, 1993, I am left with the question --- If he had no
first-hand knowledge, how did James Files know that human teeth impressions
would be found on a .222-caliber shell casing discovered on the Grassy Knoll
in 1987?

[2]  HOW DID FILES FIND OUT ABOUT THE "WHITE STAR" TEAMS IN LAOS
UNLESS HE WAS A MEMBER?

During interviews with James E. Files, he told of his military record which
included a stint with the 82nd Airborne Division concerning covert
operations in Laos in 1959. He said he was supposedly out of the military
but was actually being paid by the U.S. Army and specifically mentioned
being part of the "White Star" teams to train Laotian Army regulars. Being a
Vietnam-era veteran myself and a lay historian, I was surprised that I had
never heard of the "White Star" teams. In fact, I chalked this term up as a
point against Files since no one I knew had ever heard of such teams. Then
in the summer of 1996, in a telephone conversation with Col. Fletcher
Prouty, I happened to mention that Files claimed to have trained Laotian
Army troops in 1959. "Oh, that was my operation," said Prouty. "They were
called the White Star teams." Prouty explained that members of the "White
Star" teams were "sheep-dipped," He explained this process as "an intricate
Army-devised process by which a man who is in the service as a full career
soldier or officer agrees to go through all the legal and official motions
of resigning from the service. Then, rather than actually being released,
his records are pulled from the Army personnel files and transferred to a
special Army intelligence file. (The Secret Team: pp. 172-173)" This is
exactly the process mentioned by Files and, obviously, could go far in
explaining some of the frustrations encountered in trying to verify his
military record. Prouty said the "White Star" teams were composed of
"sheep-dipped" officers and men who were hired by a private company created
by the CIA and sent to Laos to train troops. Prouty's statements force the
question --- If Files is a phony and never in the military (as some critics
have asserted), how did he know the correct term "White Star" teams and the
circumstances of their involvement in Laos.unless he was part of it?

[3]  WHERE DID FILES LEARN OF AN "ABORT TEAM" IF NOT FROM JOHNNY
ROSELLI?

According to the Files confession, the JFK assassination was carried out by
Chicago mob hit man, Charles "Chuckie" Nicoletti on orders from boss Sam
Giancana. ".(Richard) Cain and Nicoletti were actual gunmen for the hit."
wrote Giancana's brother Chuck in his 1992 book Double Cross (pp. 334-335).
Files said the hit team originally was to be Nicoletti and mobster Johnny
Roselli. Files himself was only to have transported weapons to Dallas and
acted as driver. But, according to Files, Roselli arrived in Dallas early on
the morning of November 22, 1963, by means of a "military flight". Roselli
said the CIA had sent an "abort team" to Dallas to stop the assassination
and he declined to participate saying they would all be killed. Undaunted by
Roselli's fears, Nicoletti decided to move ahead with the carefully-laid
plans and so asked Files --- a man who had been his driver and confederate
in several other jobs --- to back him up. Many critics have questioned why
Files at such a young age and not being a "made" Mafia man would have been
included on something as important as the JFK assassination. This is a very
good question but it appears answered in this account of Files' last-minute
substitution after Roselli suddenly backed out, fearful of being killed by
an "abort team".

Files' use of the term "abort team" was only the second time in my career I
had heard that term. The first involved a "black ops" military pilot who
also mentioned an "abort team' --- and in connection with the JFK
assassination!!

William Robert "Tosh" Plumlee claimed to have been involved in secret
government skullduggery beginning before the Bay of Pigs invasion and
lasting through the Iran-Contra scandal. I have reams of FBI and DEA reports
on Plumlee and they state he was claiming to have knowledge of the JFK
assassination as far back as the 1970s. In addition to his numerous
government files, Plumlee was called for secret testimony during the
Iran-Contra hearings. He obviously is a credible source.

In the late 1980s, Tosh took me on a guided tour of Dallas and presented an
incredible story of how he piloted a plane from Florida to New Orleans on
November 21, 1963. In New Orleans, he picked up a team of men, along with
some small cases, and flew them to Dallas, arriving early on Nov. 22.
Originally slated to land at Red Bird Airport, he was diverted to Garland
Airport due to early morning rain and overcast. Here the team disembarked.
This group was largely unknown to Tosh except for one man whom he had
piloted before. He only knew this man as "Colonel John Roselli". Tosh also
said he was told that the group were an "abort team" sent to Dallas to stop
an assassination attempt on President Kennedy. Tosh's account of this
flight, his observations in Dealey Plaza and his planned return trip to meet
David Ferrie in Houston make for a fascinating tale, one that has never been
disproved.

Tosh says he flew Roselli into Dallas on a military plane and Roselli tells
Files he arrived on a military flight. Tosh said the flight was to bring in
an "abort team" and Roselli bows out of his part in the assassination
confessing fear of an "abort team". Since Tosh and Files are the only two
people I have ever heard mention an "abort team" and since by all research
Tosh and Files never met, how could Files have known about an "abort team"
unless his story of Roselli's statements are true?

Now I am the first to admit that there are problems with the Files
confession, mostly due to the lack of substantiating documentation. Of
course, men like Files don't live long or prosper with the Chicago mob or
CIA by leaving behind a well-managed paper trail. In my study of this issue,
I have found many small things which seem to corroborate his story. Three of
these are mentioned above.

There remains much more research to be done on the Files. In the meantime,
if someone will simply give me a credible and well-supported answer to the
above three questions, I might consider joining the chorus of nay-sayers in
the James Files confession.

- Jim Marrs

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Sandy Larsen

[James DiEugenio]

Sandy:

 

See Allan Eaglesham's site on Files.

Also, Joe West was one of the worst things to ever happen to the JFK case.

 

[Sandy Larsen]

Jim,

Thanks, I'll look at Allan Eaglesham's material. Do you know if he "debunked" any of Marrs' three points/questions?

Also, what was it about Joe West that harmed the JFK case? More importantly, does that carry over to the James Files confession? Because I'm not at all influenced by Joe West, but I am to some degree by James Files.

 

EDIT:  Never mind about my Eaglesham question... I found it and am studying it. Thanks.

Edited November 7, 2016 by Sandy Larsen

[Larry Hancock]

Sandy I think if you do some web searching you will find most everything debunked as well as the fact that Files had read assassination books before he started talking.  As to the shell casing, of course it was found a long way from where he describes it behind the fence.  And as to Tosh Plumlee, I would encourage you to wade through the different variations of his story and note the dramatic changes as well as his dialog on JFK and Bobby being warned of the attack before hand, given the exact location of it in front of the Adolphus hotel, then told that plans had changed and the whole thing was out of control - and JFK just drove right on down the street with Jackie.  Check out how it is that Tosh knows that and his remarks on how he was visited in Florida by a senior CIA officer (Helms, don't recall) and given that sort of detail. Then draw your own conclusions.

When you are finished I will be happy to sell you my copy of the first Files video release of his story - on cassette no less - just one more of my great investments in JFK research. ..grin.

 

 

 

[James DiEugenio]

You lucky dog Larry.  You made millions.

 

As per Joe West, if you are old enough to recall, Joe was one of the prime motivators behind the whole Roscoe White fiasco.  He then was the guy who discovered James Files.  Coincidence?

Edited November 7, 2016 by James DiEugenio

[Sandy Larsen]

Jim, never mind about my Eaglesham question... I found it and am studying it. Thanks.

Thanks Larry. Are you of the opinion that Tosh Plumlee was in cahoots with Wim? You don't find Tosh to be credible?

[Larry Hancock]

Sandy, as your quote of Jim relates, Tosh was telling at least parts of his story, before Joe West ever got involved with the Files story and before anything from Files got out to the public. Nothing in Tosh's earliest information really would have anything to do with Files story other than the issue of flying in someone he recognized as Roselli from Florida (how he would have recognized Roselli is a question that comes to mind). Without getting wrapped up in why Roselli would have flown into Dallas with an abort team in order to tell Nicholetti that he was backing out because an abort team was there (my mind sort of blows up at that point) I'll just answer your question by saying that no, even after several dialogs with Tosh, a full review of all the FBI documents and arrest records I could get on him and searches of the references he provided, I simply was not convinced that of any association between he and military intelligence or by the various iterations of his story about Dallas. 

[Chris Bristow]

One mistake Files made was he said the Stemmons sign was about to cut of his field of view and so he "had to take the shot". Of course the headshot came 5 seconds after Kennedy passed the sign, even earlier from Files position. It could not be any other sign as the Ft Worth sign blocked his view several seconds after the headshot. It could only have been the tree on his right. Surprising that such a crucial part of his decision involved that last chance to shoot but he remembers it  wrong. 
  He exchanged a cordial letter with a member of the 'family' while in jail, that tells me he did not make it all up. I would think if he falsely implicated Roselli and others he would not be in good favor with the family.
I think the basic story could be true but when it comes to filling in for Roselli as a shooter, he may have added that so he could be billed as the guy who shot Kennedy. It is possible he had someone plant the shell casing with the tooth mark.
 One other thing bothers me. Don't mob hits use professional hit men? People who can not be directly tied to the family. People who come in just to be the gunman, then disappear with no connections? In this case the gunman were also the front team, the same people who were driving around the town days before, visiting the plaza. I thought big hits like the president would not be played so loose. Maybe that is just Hollywood?
One more question. I heard a discussion about whether Oswald drove or had a license but Files said Oswald drove a Blue Falcon to his motel room. Has anyone found a Blue Ford Falcon connected to Oswald.

[Larry Hancock]

As to using professionals, its sort of important to note that there is no indication that Roselli had ever used a weapon since his basic training during WWII and his days of being a street guy were decades behind him.  Given his age, his physical condition (fine for Vegas and LA clubs but not so much for tactical operations) and the fact that he would be about a far as you could get from being a professional shooter he seems an unlikely pick.  He is also a particularly bad choice given that the FBI had Roselli under daily surveillance (we have the records) and he was very well aware of it. And then to draft Files at the last minute, give him a handgun he had never  used, one that has a rather unique kick and which he had never practiced with - again probably not the best way to go from a professional standpoint. Not to mention that if any of those players are busted it goes right back to Chicago with no deniablity at all. 

[David Josephs]

Quote

Never forget that the whole Files story came about due to a tip from an FBI agent

As if this was some sort of ringing endorsement for truth and honesty....   Virtually every bit of deception that occurs in this case was at the hands of the FBI...

Mr. Files lied as part of his profession.  Day in and Day out...  a xxxx.  

Between he and the FBI in this case, sadly, he is probably a more reliable source.   

[James DiEugenio]

Read this article about Roscoe White and you will see why I have problems with anything the late Joe West discovered.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/i-was-mandarin/

The Roscoe White case was a first rate fiasco.

Edited November 7, 2016 by James DiEugenio

[Larry Hancock]

And in the end, after he sold the Files story rights (which might an indication of what was going on right there) Files first promoter (West's partner Bob Vernon) came public with a number of points which undermined Files.  I had some lengthy emails with him at that point in time, probably on an earlier PC at this point.  It was kind of a dump of how he himself had become fed up the the Files story that he had touted for several years.

Edited November 7, 2016 by Larry Hancock

[Sandy Larsen]

Allan Eaglesham's research and presentation are indeed a serious blow to the James Files confession. At the very least it indicates that Files was aware of the marks on the .222 caliber shell beforehand and that he fabricated the story of biting down on it, IMO. Of course this casts doubt on the rest of his story.

For anyone reading this who wants to know more, the presentation is given here and is titled The Tell-Tale Dash: James Files and the Dented Cartridge Case. It pretty much proves that the .222 caliber shell that Files allegedly bit down on was not manufactured till 1971 or later.

Thanks to Jim DiEugenio for the heads-up on this.

Edited November 8, 2016 by Sandy Larsen

[Larry Hancock]

Sandy, I had mentioned Bob Vernon later, the first "promoter" of Files; you might find the following of interest - it elaborates on some of the issues raised by Allan:

http://citizensforjustice.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=158

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Larry Hancock

[James DiEugenio]

Eaglesham does not to a lot of work on the JFK case, but when he does its usually pretty good.

If you have not seen his work on the photos of the sixth floor, which he did with Tom Alyea, you really should.  Its eye opening.

The WC could not even get the first day crimes scene photos correct. If you cannot do that, then what is your inquiry worth?