Leopoldo and Angel

[Paul Trejo]

Dick Russell:

Dick Russell, who was at this conference with Escalante, wrote about the story in the 2003 edition of The Man Who Knew Too Much:

The most intriguing news to come out of the Nassau conference, however, was Escalante's revelation about what another leader of the Alpha 66 group allegedly told him. As we have seen, Nagell would never reveal the true identities of "Angel" and "Leopoldo" - the two Cuban exiles who he said had deceived Oswald into believing they were Castro operatives. Instead, on several occasions when I prodded him, Nagell had cleverly steered the conversation toward a man named Tony Cuesta - indicating that this individual possessed the knowledge that he himself chose not to express. Cuesta, as noted earlier, had been taken prisoner in Cuba during a raid in 1966.

David, good catch. I hope this leads to empirical evidence -- in the meantime we have the claim of Harry Dean which details a meeting in mid-September 1963 in which ex-General Walker, Congressman John Rousselot, war hero Guy Gabaldon, Loran Hall and Larry Howard were present. Rousselot gave Gabaldon a briefcase full of money with instructions to manipulate Lee Harvey Oswald into believing that they were involved with the CIA (anti-Castro) and that Gabaldon, at his office in Mexico City, was actually a CIA officer.

The ultimate purpose of the deception was to manipulate Oswald into any position they liked. Bannister, Ferrie, Bringuier and Butler had already 'sheep-dipped' Oswald, and led him to pose himself for newspapers, radio and television as an FPCC officer (which was totally fake). Yet for the public it appeared real. That was the payoff.

Why did Oswald accommodate them? In my opinion they decieved Oswald into believing that he was the centerpiece of a major attack on Castro -- there were so many of those going on in the right-wing underground. Oswald was instructed to obtain entry into Cuba and kill Castro. If he was successful he would be showered with money and fame. And he couldn't refuse, because (as Ron Lewis explained in his 1993 book, Flashback: The Untold Story of Lee Harvey Oswald), Guy Banister made it clear to Oswald that it was well-known that Oswald was one of the shooters at ex-General Edwin Walker on 10 April 1963.

One possible reason for Loran, Larry and Lee stopping at Sylvia Odio's apartment was, as she suggested, that she had underground rightist contacts that might get a person into Cuba very quickly. This was probably a preferable route for Oswald to bluff his way into Cuba and kill Castro. Everybody (in the right wing) would be happiest in that event, even if Oswald was killed in the process.

IMHO, Oswald had serious misgivings about Banister's weak plan -- he did not want to go through Mexico to Cuba, even though he was assured that all FPCC officers got immediate clearance to enter Cuba without investigation. What if it didn't work? Therefore, Oswald dreamed of hijacking an airplane to Cuba -- that would bypass the Mexican consulate, and just might convince Castro that Oswald could be trusted. That's probably why Oswald pushed it so hard, both with Marina and with Ron Lewis. But they wisely refused. So Oswald had to go along with Banister's plan (which was secretly Walker's plan).

So, it is possible that Loran Hall, hearing Oswald's dilemma, decided to take a little time before driving Oswald to Mexico to meet Gabaldon, and visit Sylvia Odio instead, on the off-chance that she might like Oswald enough to sneak Oswald into Cuba for the purpose of killing Castro. Well, as we know, Sylvia rejected their clumsy offer. So, Oswald had to travel to Mexico.

Yet only a few days before the Odio visit, Oswald had recieved a visit from Richard Case Nagell -- a secret double-agent -- who warned Oswald that if he succeeded in getting a passport to Cuba, that Nagell would have to kill Oswald immediately, just to keep Nagell's own secret identity secure. (In passing I note that two other men besides Oswald were considered as possible patsies -- Gerry Patrick Hemming and Richard Case Nagell. This is by their own admission. Now, IMHO Lee Harvey Oswald was also a double-agent. So I notice a pattern -- perhaps all the possible patsies for the JFK assassination were double-agents.)

My point, David, is this: I find so many puzzle pieces to confirm my suspicion that Loran Hall and Lawrence Howard were the two men who accompanied Oswald to Mexico and beyond (perhaps even to Dallas) that I believe we should continue to dig deeper at this spot.

Maybe our data about Tony Cuesta can discuss, confirm or deny this scenario.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

<edit typos>

Edited November 19, 2012 by Paul Trejo

[David Boylan]

Another possibility would be Hall's friend Nico Crespi. Hall testified to the HSCA and told Dick Russell that he and Crespi went to harrass Oswald.

I was surprised the HSCA did not follow up on this with more questions.

I must admit I've gone back and forth on this for years whether Hall/Howard or some other combination visited Odio. Wasn't the stated purpose of their visit to have Sylvia translate a fund raising letter from Manolo Ray from Spanish to English? If memory serves, I believe that Howard told Garrison investigator Steve Burton that he was still pissed at Hall and that Hall still had the letter.

[Paul Trejo]

Another possibility would be Hall's friend Nico Crespi. Hall testified to the HSCA and told Dick Russell that he and Crespi went to harrass Oswald.

I was surprised the HSCA did not follow up on this with more questions.

I must admit I've gone back and forth on this for years whether Hall/Howard or some other combination visited Odio. Wasn't the stated purpose of their visit to have Sylvia translate a fund raising letter from Manolo Ray from Spanish to English? If memory serves, I believe that Howard told Garrison investigator Steve Burton that he was still pissed at Hall and that Hall still had the letter.

David, yes, that letter was also cited in the Warren Commission testimony of Sylvia Odio. But was that the "purpose" of the visit, or simply a "ruse?"

As Sylvia Odio said, she had become accustomed to such door-to-door requests for money and contacts and translation and other support over the years. They were common. My point is that since they were so common, a stock-letter could be circulated within the Cuban community for any old purpose -- as a "ruse" or an excuse just to make a door-to-door cold call on somebody.

I mention this possibility because their conversation took approximately a half-hour, if my memory serves me rightly, and a request for translation wouldn't take a half-hour. Also, when "Leopoldo" called Sylvia Odio back in a day (or two) he got "fresh" with her, as she said, so there is also some possibility that Loran Hall was "cruising" and might use this letter as a "ruse" to "cruise".

Yet if the letter was the main purpose of business -- why take Lee Harvey Oswald to the visit? Why mention him as a centerpiece of the phone call the next night (or night after)?

My guess is that Hall, Howard and Oswald would have accepted money, personal favors, social contacts, anything -- from Sylvia Odio -- but their main purpose was separate from what they told her.

There could have been several possible "main purposes", for example: (1) for Loran to show off to his buddies how smooth he could be to rich women on their way from New Orleans to Mexico; (2) for Loran Hall to make a political contact that he had been intending to make for a long time, and now had the opportunity; (3) to induce Odio to introduce Oswald to JURE in order to later besmirch JURE (as other researchers have long suggested); (4) to learn from Odio some information to make Oswald's bluffing his way into Cuba easier than it was going to be (as I suspect); or (5) other possibilities.

But IMHO the letter was only a small part of their conversation, ergo it was only a small part of the "purpose" of their visit.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited November 7, 2012 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

Paul,

Well, Silvia Odio gave her testimony to the Warren Commission on July 22, 1964. Loran Hall was first interviewed by the FBI almost two months later on September 16, 1964 (and then re-interviewed on September 20, 1964). So, in my humble opinion, Loran Hall was not picked up for questioning "immediately" after Odio gave her testimony. As you know, Silvia told the WC that the two men who were at her apartment (with Oswald) called themselves "Leopoldo" (definitely) and "Angelo" (or something like that). These names are somewhat similar phonetically to Hall's and Howard's "war names" of "Lorenzo" and "Alonzo," respectively. Therefore, it's possible that the "war names" mentioned by Silvia reminded someone (who was privy to her testimony) of Hall's and Howard's "war names," and that that person, for whatever reason, pointed the FBI in the direction of Hall and Howard...

...

Edit: I've been thinking about it some more (oh, no!), and I suppose it's possible that Hall, Howard, and Oswald were all three at Silva's apartment, but, due to her sense of self-preservation, Oswald was the only one she recognized for the authorities. In this scenario, she may have intentionally given misleading descriptions of Hall and Howard to the WC...

--Tommy

Tommy,

Thanks for the discussion. I'll respond to two of your points, and then I'll pose some further questions for you.

(1) You note that Odio gave her testimony to the WC on 22 July 1964, and that Loran Hall was interviewed by the FBI seven weeks later on 16-20 September 1964. Clear that is not "immediate" but that is tangental to my point -- why did they choose Loran Hall and Larry Howard, since Odio could make no identification aside from their alleged "war names"?

(2) You note that their war names, "Leopoldo" and "Angelo" are "somewhat similar phonetically" to "Lorenzo" and "Alonzo," which were Hall and Howard's war names, but that still doesn't make a convincing link. These are only first names. The FBI had a ton of first names -- without last names would they even bother? I don't see the feasibility there.

OK, now I'll bring up a point that is rarely discussed, namely, the FBI's Warren Commission Exhibit #3108, which is dated only 7 days after the JFK assassination (11/29/1963).

In this FBI report, Sylvia Odio's name is mentioned along with Lee Harvey Oswald and General Edwin Walker. Are you familiar with this, Tommy? Here is an excerpt:

----------------------- BEGIN EXCERPT OF FBI COMMISSION EXHIBIT No. 3108 ------------------------------------

Mrs. C. L. CONNELL, 6949 Lake Shore Drive, Dallas, Texas, advised she has been a voluntary assistant to the Catholic Cuban Relief Committee of Dallas, Texas, for approximately the past year. She stated one of her Cuban refugee acquaintances, SYLVIA ODIO, 1616-A West Davis Street, Dallas, advised her telephonically on November 28, 1963, that she knew LEE HARVEY OSWALD, and that he had made some talks to small groups of Cuban refugees in Dallas in the past.

ODIO stated she personally considered OSWALD brilliant and clever, and that he had captivated the groups to whom he spoke.

ODIO further reported to CONNELL during this conversation that a call had been made in recent months by a Cuban associate of hers to an unknown source in New Orleans, Louisiana, requesting information on LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

ODIO volunteered that information was in turn received from the New Orleans source to the effect that OSWALD was considered by that source in New Orleans to be a "double agent". The source stated OSWALD was probably trying to infiltrate the Dallas Cuban refugee group, and that he should not be trusted

<snip>

CONNELL voiced the opinion that General EDWIN A. WALKER and Colonel (FNU) CASTER, a close acquaintance of WALKER, have been trying to arouse the feeling of the Cuban refugees, in Dallas, against the KENNEDY administration.

She based this statement upon information furnished her by various Cubans to the effect that WALKER and CASTER made speeches before Cuban groups in recent months in the Dallas area in opposition to the KENNEDY administration policies.

--------------------------- END EXCERPT ------------------------------------------------

I find this information riveting. Here's my first take on it:

(1) Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) was seen giving speeches in Dallas to small groups of (anti-Castro) Cuban Exiles in Dallas prior to the JFK assassination.

(2) Sylvia Odio witnessed at least one of these speeches, and she was impressed by LHO, and she said that other Cuban Exiles were also "captivated"..

(3) Sylvia Odio said a Cuban friend of hers called "somebody" in New Orleans requesting further information about LHO.

(4) "Somebody" in New Orleans reported to her friend that LHO was considered a "double agent" and that the Cuban Exile group should not trust him.

(5) Ex-General Edwin A. Walker and his close associate, Colonel "Caster" (first name unknown) had also been making speeches in Dallas among the (anti-Castro) Cuban Exiles in Dallas, attacking the JFK Administration before the JFK assassination.

Here is evidence from the FBI that should have been seized upon in 1963. But it wasn't. Why? I think it was because ex-General Walker's name was involved, and the FBI had orders to tip-toe around this outspoken enemy of JFK.

But there are other implications -- Sylvia Odio knew LHO *before* she saw him at her house on or about Wed25Sep63, and that is precisely why she could make a positive identification of him.

Also, LHO was on the right-wing, making speeches to Cuban Exiles on the right in Dallas. This harks back to his visit to Carlos Bringuier in New Orleans, offering to train Cubans to fight Castro at a local training camp (probably Lake Pontchartrain).

Ex-General Walker was also making speeches to anti-Castro Cubans in Dallas. How much interaction did Walker have with anti-Castro Cubans? After Walker was acquited by a Grand Jury in Mississippi in January, 1963 for his role in the bloody riots at Ole Miss University on 30 September 1962, Walker roared that he would now seek justice from the JFK administration "through the Cuban community." Did he start his interaction with Cuban Exiles as early as January, 1963?

Is it possible Walker and LHO met each other during some of these Cuban Exile meetings in Dallas?

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited November 8, 2012 by Paul Trejo

[Thomas Graves]

Paul,

Well, Silvia Odio gave her testimony to the Warren Commission on July 22, 1964. Loran Hall was first interviewed by the FBI almost two months later on September 16, 1964 (and then re-interviewed on September 20, 1964). So, in my humble opinion, Loran Hall was not picked up for questioning "immediately" after Odio gave her testimony. As you know, Silvia told the WC that the two men who were at her apartment (with Oswald) called themselves "Leopoldo" (definitely) and "Angelo" (or something like that). These names are somewhat similar phonetically to Hall's and Howard's "war names" of "Lorenzo" and "Alonzo," respectively. Therefore, it's possible that the "war names" mentioned by Silvia reminded someone (who was privy to her testimony) of Hall's and Howard's "war names," and that that person, for whatever reason, pointed the FBI in the direction of Hall and Howard...

...

Edit: I've been thinking about it some more (oh, no!), and I suppose it's possible that Hall, Howard, and Oswald were all three at Silva's apartment, but, due to her sense of self-preservation, Oswald was the only one she recognized for the authorities. In this scenario, she may have intentionally given misleading descriptions of Hall and Howard to the WC...

--Tommy

Tommy,

Thanks for the discussion. I'll respond to two of your points, and then I'll pose some further questions for you.

(1) You note that Odio gave her testimony to the WC on 22 July 1964, and that Loran Hall was interviewed by the FBI seven weeks later on 16-20 September 1964. Clear that is not "immediate" but that is tangental to my point -- why did they choose Loran Hall and Larry Howard, since Odio could make no identification aside from their alleged "war names"?

(2) You note that their war names, "Leopoldo" and "Angelo" are "somewhat similar phonetically" to "Lorenzo" and "Alonzo," which were Hall and Howard's war names, but that still doesn't make a convincing link. These are only first names. The FBI had a ton of first names -- without last names would they even bother? I don't see the feasibility there.

OK, now I'll bring up a point that is rarely discussed, namely, the FBI's Warren Commission Exhibit #3108, which is dated only 7 days after the JFK assassination (11/29/1963).

In this FBI report, Sylvia Odio's name is mentioned along with Lee Harvey Oswald and General Edwin Walker. Are you familiar with this, Tommy? Here is an excerpt:

----------------------- BEGIN EXCERPT OF FBI COMMISSION EXHIBIT No. 3108 ------------------------------------

Mrs. C. L. CONNELL, 6949 Lake Shore Drive, Dallas, Texas, advised she has been a voluntary assistant to the Catholic Cuban Relief Committee of Dallas, Texas, for approximately the past year. She stated one of her Cuban refugee acquaintances, SYLVIA ODIO, 1616-A West Davis Street, Dallas, advised her telephonically on November 28, 1963, that she knew LEE HARVEY OSWALD, and that he had made some talks to small groups of Cuban refugees in Dallas in the past.

ODIO stated she personally considered OSWALD brilliant and clever, and that he had captivated the groups to whom he spoke.

ODIO further reported to CONNELL during this conversation that a call had been made in recent months by a Cuban associate of hers to an unknown source in New Orleans, Louisiana, requesting information on LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

ODIO volunteered that information was in turn received from the New Orleans source to the effect that OSWALD was considered by that source in New Orleans to be a "double agent". The source stated OSWALD was probably trying to infiltrate the Dallas Cuban refugee group, and that he should not be trusted

<snip>

CONNELL voiced the opinion that General EDWIN A. WALKER and Colonel (FNU) CASTER, a close acquaintance of WALKER, have been trying to arouse the feeling of the Cuban refugees, in Dallas, against the KENNEDY administration.

She based this statement upon information furnished her by various Cubans to the effect that WALKER and CASTER made speeches before Cuban groups in recent months in the Dallas area in opposition to the KENNEDY administration policies.

--------------------------- END EXCERPT ------------------------------------------------

I find this information riveting. Here's my first take on it:

(1) Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) was seen giving speeches in Dallas to small groups of (anti-Castro) Cuban Exiles in Dallas prior to the JFK assassination.

(2) Sylvia Odio witnessed at least one of these speeches, and she was impressed by LHO, and she said that other Cuban Exiles were also "captivated"..

(3) Sylvia Odio said a Cuban friend of hers called "somebody" in New Orleans requesting further information about LHO.

(4) "Somebody" in New Orleans reported to her friend that LHO was considered a "double agent" and that the Cuban Exile group should not trust him.

(5) Ex-General Edwin A. Walker and his close associate, Colonel "Caster" (first name unknown) had also been making speeches in Dallas among the (anti-Castro) Cuban Exiles in Dallas, attacking the JFK Administration before the JFK assassination.

Here is evidence from the FBI that should have been seized upon in 1963. But it wasn't. Why? I think it was because ex-General Walker's name was involved, and the FBI had orders to tip-toe around this outspoken enemy of JFK.

But there are other implications -- Sylvia Odio knew LHO *before* she saw him at her house on or about Wed25Sep63, and that is precisely why she could make a positive identification of him.

Also, LHO was on the right-wing, making speeches to Cuban Exiles on the right in Dallas. This harks back to his visit to Carlos Bringuier in New Orleans, offering to train Cubans to fight Castro at a local training camp (probably Lake Pontchartrain).

Ex-General Walker was also making speeches to anti-Castro Cubans in Dallas. How much interaction did Walker have with anti-Castro Cubans? After Walker was acquited by a Grand Jury in Mississippi in January, 1963 for his role in the bloody riots at Ole Miss University on 30 September 1962, Walker roared that he would now seek justice from the JFK administration "through the Cuban community." Did he start his interaction with Cuban Exiles as early as January, 1963?

Is it possible Walker and LHO met each other during some of these Cuban Exile meetings in Dallas?

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Paul,

So, when Loran Hall ran into the mysterious Nico Crespi on a Dallas sidewalk in early October of 1963, was Crespi on his way downtown to "heckle" Oswald for being a suspected double agent?

--Tommy

Edited November 9, 2012 by Thomas Graves

[Paul Trejo]

Paul,

So, when Loran Hall ran into the mysterious Nico Crespi on a Dallas sidewalk in early October of 1963, was Crespi on his way downtown to "heckle" Oswald for being a suspected double agent?

--Tommy

Tommy,

I have no information about Nico Crespi, but I'm accumulating information about Loran Hall. He was a close associate of Gerry Patrick Hemming -- they fought in battles together along with Larry Howard.

I want to emphasize that at one point the late Gerry Patrick Hemming (a long-time member of this list) was like Harry Dean in that he personally knew Fidel Castro and Che Guevarra in 1959, and personally fought alongside of them to defeat the Batista regime. Other people that helped Castro in 1959 included Frank Sturgis, David Ferrie, Loran Hall and Larry Howard.

After Castro won his revolution and then showed his true colors -- Red on Red -- he also started subjecting his former USA supporters to firing squads. That is why Gerry Patrick Hemming quit Castro. That is why Harry Dean quit Castro. That is why Loran Hall and Larry Howard and Frank Sturgis and David Ferrie and many others quit Castro.

In the late 1950's, it was hip and cool to support Fidel Castro. Ed Sullivan, famous TV host, also supported Fidel Castro. So did TV host Jack Parr. Everything changed when Castro showed his Communist colors. Most of the USA supporters not only quit Castro, they also began attacking Castro, and spying against him for the USA intelligence community.

I mention this because many of the former pro-Castro supporters from the USA suddenly turned against Castro in the early 1960's, and began conducting raids on Cuba -- guerrila raids of nighttime bombing of small villages, or burning sugar crops.

This is where Gerry Patrick Hemming, Loran Hall and Larry Howard become relevant. This is what they did, first with INTERPEN, run successfully by Hemming, and then Loran Hall and a few of Hemming's guys tried to split off and form their own band of guerrilla warriors, collecting money from Castro-haters like Sylvia Odio (whose parents languished in a Castro jail cell in Cuba.)

We should notice that Lee Harvey Oswald also fits a similar profile. He was at one point sympathetic to Castro -- like most young hipsters in 1959. But he snapped out of it when Castro began shooting Americans -- and evidently LHO became a double agent. We find him associating mainly with Cuban Exiles in New Orleans. That is very important.

Yet we also find LHO -- according to Sylvia Odio -- making speeches in Dallas to Cuban Exiles. That is extremely interesting -- and the Warren Commission heard about this one week after the JFK assassination -- and decided to ignore this trail.

So -- to hazard an answer to your question, Tommy, Loran Hall was known to Lee Harvey Oswald through -- at the very least -- the Cuban Exile community, who shared paramilitary training grounds and equipment with the Minutemen, and who were sometimes led by USA paramilitary operatives like ex-General Edwin Walker and LHO himself.

Therefore, it is entirely plausible that Nico Crespi was on his way to hear LHO speak -- and to make a donation.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited November 9, 2012 by Paul Trejo

[Thomas Graves]

Paul,

So, when Loran Hall ran into the mysterious Nico Crespi on a Dallas sidewalk in early October of 1963, was Crespi on his way downtown to "heckle" Oswald for being a suspected double agent?

--Tommy

Tommy,

I have no information about Nico Crespi, but I'm accumulating information about Loran Hall. He was a close associate of Gerry Patrick Hemming -- they fought in battles together along with Larry Howard.

I want to emphasize that at one point the late Gerry Patrick Hemming (a long-time member of this list) was like Harry Dean in that he personally knew Fidel Castro and Che Guevarra in 1959, and personally fought alongside of them to defeat the Batista regime. Other people that helped Castro in 1959 included Frank Sturgis, David Ferrie, Loran Hall and Larry Howard.

After Castro won his revolution and then showed his true colors -- Red on Red -- he also started subjecting his former USA supporters to firing squads. That is why Gerry Patrick Hemming quit Castro. That is why Harry Dean quit Castro. That is why Loran Hall and Larry Howard and Frank Sturgis and David Ferrie and many others quit Castro.

In the late 1950's, it was hip and cool to support Fidel Castro. Ed Sullivan, famous TV host, also supported Fidel Castro. So did TV host Jack Parr. Everything changed when Castro showed his Communist colors. Most of the USA supporters not only quit Castro, they also began attacking Castro, and spying against him for the USA intelligence community.

I mention this because many of the former pro-Castro supporters from the USA suddenly turned against Castro in the early 1960's, and began conducting raids on Cuba -- guerrila raids of nighttime bombing of small villages, or burning sugar crops.

This is where Gerry Patrick Hemming, Loran Hall and Larry Howard become relevant. This is what they did, first with INTERPEN, run successfully by Hemming, and then Loran Hall and a few of Hemming's guys tried to split off and form their own band of guerrilla warriors, collecting money from Castro-haters like Sylvia Odio (whose parents languished in a Castro jail cell in Cuba.)

We should notice that Lee Harvey Oswald also fits a similar profile. He was at one point sympathetic to Castro -- like most young hipsters in 1959. But he snapped out of it when Castro began shooting Americans -- and evidently LHO became a double agent. We find him associating mainly with Cuban Exiles in New Orleans. That is very important.

Yet we also find LHO -- according to Sylvia Odio -- making speeches in Dallas to Cuban Exiles. That is extremely interesting -- and the Warren Commission heard about this one week after the JFK assassination -- and decided to ignore this trail.

So -- to hazard an answer to your question, Tommy, Loran Hall was known to Lee Harvey Oswald through -- at the very least -- the Cuban Exile community, who shared paramilitary training grounds and equipment with the Minutemen, and who were sometimes led by USA paramilitary operatives like ex-General Edwin Walker and LHO himself.

Therefore, it is entirely plausible that Nico Crespi was on his way to hear LHO speak -- and to make a donation.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Paul,

Loran Hall was quoted as saying that Nico Crespi told him on a Dallas sidewalk that he was on his way downtown to heckle Oswald.

--Tommy

[Ian Kingsbury]

Is this Caster related to Warren Caster the man withe rifles on the 21st?.

Did Connel pass this information on to Walker or was he being kept up to date

By others?.

Sorry it's 2 questions but a link is starting to appear where Odio is not as

Straight as once appeared!.

[Paul Trejo]

Paul,

Loran Hall was quoted as saying that Nico Crespi told him on a Dallas sidewalk that he was on his way downtown to heckle Oswald.

--Tommy

Yes, Tommy, but consider the source. Over the years Loran Hall became a habitual xxxx.

The operative term in this statement is that Nico Crespi told him on a Dallas sidewalk that he was on his way downtown to hear Oswald make a speech.

The moral judgment of the speech is at first glance clear, i.e. he wanted to heckle Oswald. However, Loran Hall could have been speaking sarcastically, or in a clandestine manner, depending on his listerner at the time. All we can conclude with certainty from that sentence is that Oswald made a speech in Dallas.

Yet that is the most important part of the sentence. Who knew that Oswald made speeches in Dallas?

Here we have confirmation from Nico Crespi (through Loran Hall) that Sylvia Odio was telling the truth when she told Mrs. Connell that she heard Oswald make a speech in Dallas.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited November 9, 2012 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Trejo]

Is this Caster related to Warren Caster the man withe rifles on the 21st?.

Did Connel pass this information on to Walker or was he being kept up to date

By others?.

Sorry it's 2 questions but a link is starting to appear where Odio is not as

Straight as once appeared!.

Great question, Ian. The FBI said about "Colonel Caster" that his first name was unknown (FNU). Who was this guy?

When a first name is not given, the first thing I imagine is that we are looking at an alias -- an undercover name -- like "Colonel Mustard."

Mrs. Connell also said that "Colonel Caster" was a "close acquaintance" of ex-General Edwin Walker. How would she know that? Did she know either man? Both men? Did she attend their speech? Did she attend many of their speeches?

Sylvia Odio later described Mrs. Connell as very busy -- very much involved with the rightist societies in Dallas, including the JBS (John Birch Society) and the Friends of Walker.

So, again, who was "Colonel Caster?" Well, here's my guess. Insofar as "Colonel Caster" was a "close acquaintance" of ex-General Edwin Walker, I would guess we are talking about Robert Allen Surrey, because Surrey was continually seen with ex-General Edwin Walker. Surrey practically lived in Walker's house at 4011 Turtle Creek Boulevard in Dallas. Surrey literally set up his business office in Walker's home.

Robert Allen Surrey was a supporter of Walker for Texas Governor in 1962 when H.L. Hunt financed Walker's campaign. Walker lost badly, but Robert Allen Surrey never left Walker's side after that. Surrey became Walker's publisher and helped Walker set up the AEPC (American Eagle Publishing Company). Surrey was the president of AEPC yet he never took a salary. He was clearly a "close acquaintance" of ex-General Edwin A. Walker.

Robert Allen Surrey was also a member of the ANP (American Nazi Party) and he was also a publisher for that Party. Surrey was a racist. Surrey was at Walker's side in 1962 during the riots of Ole Miss, where hundreds were wounded and two were killed in the effort to prevent a black student, James Meredith, from registering at Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. Walker and Surrey were both members of the John Birch Society, and they were intent on impeaching Earl Warren for his "Brown v. Board of Education" ruling.

So, there's my guess. Custer was Surrey. Why did Surrey choose the name "Caster?" OK, I will make another guess. As a racist, Surrey probably chose the name "Colonel Custer", but Hispanic linguistics would pronounce that name, "Kooster," if they saw it in print, and so they probably only heard it over a microphone. Now, Hispanics have no short "u" vowel for "Custer" as English speakers do, so, the Cubans probably pronounced "Custer" as "Caster" with a Hispanic "a". Thus, the Cuban community pronounced his name, "Caster", and that's what Mrs. Connell heard and reported to the FBI. Just a guess.

Now, if Mrs. Connell passed this information on to Walker (because she did belong to the Friends of Walker group), what does that imply to you, Ian?

Finally, I must agree with you, Ian, that "Odio is not as straight" as she once appeared. She was an intense Castro-hater, but more than that, she evidently lied to the Warren Commission (if and only if Mrs. Connell told the truth) when they asked Odio point blank if she ever saw Lee Harvey Oswald before that visit at her house on or about Wed25Sep63. She said "no" she never saw him before that.

But the Warren Commission had FBI evidence as early as 29 November 1963 from Mrs. Connell in which Sylvia Odio claimed to have seen LHO making speeches in Dallas. Weird.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

<edit typos>

Edited November 9, 2012 by Paul Trejo

[Guest Tom Scully]

Paul, do you think some people are unable to embrace your conclusions, or your unique conclusions were "ripe for the pickin'" ....still available for you to come along after all these years to "discover" because some people know "too much" and thus cannot see the forest for the trees?

http://educationforu...08

....It was a chore to extract this sample of Joesten's wrting, but I was impressed by what

Joesten has to offer and I've read that John Simkin was, also.....

Now, one of the many correspondents personally unknown to ne who wrote to me aftav

the publication of Oswald .: ^Assassin ,_oг_ Fall Guy? to volunteer

additional inforr.ation has boen able to identify this

myatorious colonel. He is Col. Robert L. Castorr,

formerly of Dallas, and a close friend of General Edwin A. Walker.

In the period immediately preceding the assassination,

Castorr and iYolker held paveral neetings with Cuban. refugee groups

in the Dallas area at which inflamnatory speeches

against the Kennedy Administration were made. After the assassination, Col.

Castor:: moved to Washington whore ho is now enployed by tho

"IJational Federation of Independent Businesses." His hone is at 451l 33rd Street,

Worth Arlington, Virginia. It is to be hoped that District Attorney Garrison

7/Îll do something the Warren Conuiiasion should have done but, cls usual, failed to do:

subpoena Colonel Colonel Castorr and grill him relentlessly about his

and General 'Volker 's role in the events that led up to the assassination.

A final word, about Nancy's fir et husband, Robert Perrin.

Lilvo Ruby, ho was aliving link be two en tho Mafia and the CIA. Perrin, like Ruby,

was a dope smuggler and white slaver for the Mafia (Jack

Dragna, Mickey Cohen otc.) on one hand, and a gun-runner for the CIA on tho other.

Soon after the assassination of President Kennedy, Perrin died in Hew Orleans, of all placei?

(quote name='Greg Parker' post='119245' date='Sep 21 2007, 01:20 PM']Paul,

The following is an excerpt from an article on L Robert Castorr.

Nothing more is known of Castorr's "extracurricular" activities until 1983. In that year, he was "persuaded" to become a partner in a company called Impex Aalamin by an Iranian exile named Habib Moallem, and Robert Sensi. Both were keen to see Ayatollah Khomeini driven from power, and for the Soviets to be kept out of Iran. Impex - ostensibly an import-export business, was in reality, a front for recruiting spies. To help achieve their ends, they had hired Castorr to introduce them to America's top intelligence officials, having chosen him because he was a former military officer now in Public Relations who moved in Washington's conservative circles. Moallem and Sensi would later become involved in the arms-for-hostages negotiations with Iran.

I was wondering if you could shed any further light on Castorr, or the events described? Any help deeply appreciated.

Full article here.(/quote]

Greg,

Thanks for asking this!

Castorr was also member of the Burma Star Association. If my memory is still working, Nestor Sanchez was also a member.

http://www.burmalibr...4/msg00124.html

"In a February 1995 tour arranged by B/Gen. Robert L.

Castorr, to commemorate the end of the second Burma campaign, a

group of 25, including American veterans and survivors of

veterans, made the pilgrimage to retrace the steps of the famed

Merrill's Marauders, as guests of the Myanmar government.

Three weeks later, on the Big Island of Hawaii, as we

sit next to a golf course on a warm, sunny day, I asked my father,

retired Capt. Donald W. Delorey, to tell about the trip back in

time when the tour arranged by Castorr took them to the place

where, as young men, they had repelled the Japanese Army and

changed the course of history.

For me the trip has double importance. Not only was my father

in Merrill's Marauders, my mother, Mary Jane Healy Delorey was

a nurse who served with the 44th Field Hospital and the 69th

General Hospital. He was also retracing the steps of their

courtship as they crossed paths in India and Burma.

Delorey first heard about the trip at a meeting of the

Burma Star Association. As the group assembled, he was pleased to

find several of his friends among the travelers."

Have you read this? http://www.majesticd...man_fbifile.pdf

I am sorry, but I think the tendency in this thread is to make mole hills out of mountains. What is the point if you do no take as much as possible into account, in an attempt to find answers to as many mysteries as possible, with regard to this case, involving two murders, the victims being JFK and LHO. Compare what I have presented in my two posts (prior to this one) in this thread, and what is advanced in Seamus's article and in Jim's take on Crisman.

Consider that during twenty of the last thirty years, two men, father and son, have either occupied the office of POTUS or of VPOTUS. Yet, how, or why would they avoid being even marginally candid about so many details of their backgrounds and relationships?

Consider that Jim dismisses the reliability of the motives and the information, or at least of the intensity of the information, of both Hersh and Baker.

Consider how few members of SMOM in the U.S. there actually were into the late 1980's and who they were. Consider the direct and indirect connections to Ernest L. Byfield, Jr. and dismiss them all as coincidental or inconsequential. Byfield was William HG Fitzgerald's best man. Between the two of them, there is a connection no more than one person removed, from as wide a variety as Ruby, DeMohrenschildt, Harken Energy, McNamara, TFX, and many more.

http://www.washingto...anguage=printer

L. Robert Castorr Association Executive

Sunday, April 10, 2005; Page C09

L. Robert Castorr, 92, a retired executive with a number of business groups and a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, died April 7 after a heart attack at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.

Mr. Castorr, a resident of Bethesda, was born in Detroit and enlisted in the Army Reserve at age 18 in 1930. He served in the Civilian Conservation Corps for a year, then after further military training and education moved to active duty in 1940.

During World War II, he served in North Africa and in the Burma campaign as an infantry combat commander. After the war ended, he briefly served as chief of staff and spokesman for Gen. George C. Marshall at the Pentagon. He left active duty in 1947 but stayed in the reserves until 1973.

Mr. Castorr worked as a field manager for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and as national field manager and assistant to the president for the National Federation of Independent Business, handling legislation and public relations, through the 1960s. He later moved to the Small Business Administration, where he was assistant to its president and oversaw its program for retired executives. In later years, he worked for himself as an international trade consultant.

Mr. Castorr was an official with the World Conference of Mayors during the 1980s. He served as an officer with the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the Knights of Malta, and was a member of the Order of St. Stanislas, a philanthropic organization.

http://www.google.co...biw=811&bih=514

Memoirs of a Psychic Spy: The Remarkable Life of U. S. Government ...

books.google.comJoseph McMoneagle, L. Robert Castorr, Edwin C. May - 2006 - 328 pages

And the Burma connection. I had some info (but lost it ) that Nestor Sanchez was also in Burma. Here's some notes on two others that were in Burma:

Harold Weisberg's Grand Jury testimony on the History matters website. – Col Castorr. Harold describes Castorr as "political agent who is keeping the Cuban people stirred up." And "Father McChann tells the Secret Service that Col. Castorr's actions are consistent with that of an intelligence agent." Castorr was L. Robert Castorr of Dallas, Texas and Arlington, Virginia (and Maryland)

Harold also noted that "Col. Castorr who was a friend of General Walker told a mutual friend that he was involved in a sideline of running guns to Cuba – a profitable sideline – and this is all part of the Odio story."

From Weberman's Modules

Nancy Perrin had furnished reliable information to local police departments in the past and was about as reliable as "junkie hooker snitches" came. Nancy Perrin stated that RUBY smuggled B.A.R.s. In April 1964, the Dallas Police Department checked the personnel at the garages and service stations patronized by RUBY. The Dallas Police discovered that a station attendant, Donnell Darius Whitter, who serviced RUBY'S car had been arrested on November 18, 1963, for possession of two B.A.R.s which had been taken during a burglary of the National Guard Headquarters at Terrell, Texas. Nancy Perrin referred to a man named "Youngblood." Scott Malone wrote: "Another name she mentioned was transcribed by the Warren Commission first as "Ed Brunner" and then as "Eddie Brawner" from Miami. This has lead some to suspect she was referring to Eddie Browder, who was from Miami and was in Texas at the time of the meeting." The CIA: ...

Posted 24 February 2009 by Robert Howard

http://educationforu...06

...Another interesting item is in reference to Colonel L. Robert Castorr, in an article dated from the year 1945, there is the following passage....

Castorr addresses Lions Club Meeting Galveston Daily News December 7, 1945

Colonel L. Robert Castorr new commanding officer of the local army recruiting station told members of the Lions Club yesterday of his experiences while training troops for combat in Burma and China. Lt. Col. Castorr has seen war service in Africa, Europe and the China-Burma-India Theaters of operation. He recounted combat maneuvers that had to be used against the Japanese. He also talked briefly of the new army recruiting campaign.

http://educationforu...24

...UNITED STATES:

Report of the Grand Priory of the United States

Spring, 2005

The priories of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are proceeding with plans for an investiture and regional meeting on May 15th. The Order is being hosted by the Mepkin Abbey in Charleston, South Carolina. Chevalier Artur Pacult and Dame Dawn Barrell are the hosts of the event. Chevalier Dr. Don Hunsaker II, GCCStS, Grand Prior of the United States will officiate in the absence of the Grand Prince Juliusz Sokolnicki.

The Washington DC area including nearby Virginia and Maryland, invited all Order members to attend a grand reception in honor of Ambassador at Large for the Order, B/General Robert Castorr .....

Brigadier General L. Robert Castorr ....

....He was a war veteran, and tireless Freedom Fighter for Poland, and a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Stanislas. He was 94 years old.

http://www.legacy.co...96562&fhid=3060

L. Castorr Guest Book | View 2 of 19 Entries:

More, below on each retired military officer displayed on this page:

http://www.corporati...nc-3003404.aspx

http://www3.citadel....ignious_bio.htm

Lieutenant General George M. Seignious II USA (Ret.) died on July 3, 2005 at the age of 84.

http://www.islandpac...ames-leach.html

Heart attack claims James Leach, decorated veteran, advocate for military

By PATRICK DONOHUE

Published Thursday, December 17, 2009

http://docs.google.c...BlfvZDJ-g&pli=1

Finding Aid for Papers (ca. 1900-2005)

of General William Childs Westmoreland

II. Public Appearances / Ceremonies

Video 9

Award from Sovereign Order of St. Stanislas; Mrs. Westmoreland Awarded Order of the

Palmetto (Charleston, S.C.), 1994 Jan. 14 (115 min.)

Ceremonies at the Citadel, WCW awarded the Order of the White Eagle by his Serene Highness

Prince Juliusz Nowina Sokolnicki; Mrs. Westmoreland awarded the Order of the Palmetto at the

same ceremony. Footage includes a review of the Citadel cadets and a reception at home of

General Watts.

http://www.citadel.e...y-board-members

Oliver L. Peacock

A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, he earned a B.A. in History from Florida Atlantic University before entering the U.S. Army and forging a career that led him to the rank of Major General and membership in the Infantry Hall of Fame. Since 1994, he has been the owner and operator of the O.L. Peacock Company of private investment management. He has served as a consultant to the Secretary of the Army, a member of the Florida Indian Affairs Commission, and as Military Secretary of the Governor of South Carolina.

Everyone mentioned, except Castorr, was from or moved to South Carolina after his "service."

Castorr's 2005 "reception" was held at the University Club in DC......

[Paul Trejo]

Paul, do you think some people are unable to embrace your conclusions, or your unique conclusions were "ripe for the pickin'"

....still available for you to come along after all these years to "discover" because some people know "too much" and thus cannot see the forest for the trees?

<snip>

Tom, I don't have conclusions yet, only theories. Also, I'm happy to learn new facts from others on the Forum -- provided they are actually facts.

For example, you demonstrated clearly that somebody named "Colonel L. Robert Castorr" did exist, and that he circulated among the Cuban Exiles in Dallas during the period in question. So he is probably the person that Mrs. Connell reported to the FBI as "Colonel (FNU) Caster".

It's unclear why Connell called Castorr "a close acquaintance of General Edwin A. Walker," or whether your source that repeats that claim used Connell as his source.

Probably the fact that Walker and Castorr were both Army veterans made them appear "close" to an outsider like Mrs. Connell.

Anyway, since you identified Castorr for us, I can cease my guesswork about Mrs. Connell's testimony to the FBI about "Colonel (FNU) Caster." He clearly was not the Nazi publisher, Robert Allen Surrey. Thanks for the factoids.

That does not change my main question one iota, however. Who else knew that Lee Harvey Oswald (like ex-General Walker) was making speeches in Dallas to Cuban Exiles?

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited November 9, 2012 by Paul Trejo

[Thomas Graves]

[...]

Who else knew that Lee Harvey Oswald (like ex-General Walker) was making speeches in Dallas to Cuban Exiles?

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Well, Nico Crespi, who was evidently an anti-Castro acquaintance or colleague of Loran Hall's, knew that Oswald was making speeches in Dallas, and, suspecting LHO of being a double agent (i.e. pro Castro), was on his way downtown to "heckle" him one day in early October, 1963.

--Tommy .

Edit: Apparently, Colonel L. Robert Castorr's original last name was Castorri. I say this based on the fact that the following obituary (from 2005) says that when he died, L. Robert Castorr was survived by two brothers, Albert (R.) Castorri and Larry Castle, and that he was preceded in death by another brother, Arthur Castorri.

http://www.legacy.co...060#fbLoggedOut

FWIW, Albert R. Castorri had been a U.S. Army master sergeant stationed in Brasil in 1951.

http://fl.findacase....40308.FL.htm/qx

--Tommy

Edited November 10, 2012 by Thomas Graves

[Thomas Graves]

[...]

Who else knew that Lee Harvey Oswald (like ex-General Walker) was making speeches in Dallas to Cuban Exiles?

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Well, Nico Crespi, who was evidently an anti-Castro acquaintance or colleague of Loran Hall's, knew that Oswald was making speeches in Dallas, and, suspecting LHO of being a double agent (i.e. pro Castro), was on his way downtown to "heckle" him one day in early October, 1963.

--Tommy .

Edit: Apparently, Colonel L. Robert Castorr's original last name was Castorri. I say this based on the fact that the following obituary (from 2005) says that when he died, L. Robert Castorr was survived by two brothers, Albert (R.) Castorri and Larry Castle, and that he was preceded in death by another brother, Arthur Castorri.

http://www.legacy.co...060#fbLoggedOut

FWIW, Albert R. Castorri had been a U.S. Army master sergeant stationed in Brasil in 1951.

http://fl.findacase....40308.FL.htm/qx

--Tommy

edited significantly and bumped

edit #2: Larry Castle's obituary

http://www.fredhunters.com/obituary/94968/Larry-Castle/

Edited November 10, 2012 by Thomas Graves

[Paul Trejo]

[...]

Who else knew that Lee Harvey Oswald (like ex-General Walker) was making speeches in Dallas to Cuban Exiles?

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Well, Nico Crespi, who was evidently an anti-Castro acquaintance or colleague of Loran Hall's, knew that Oswald was making speeches in Dallas, and, suspecting LHO of being a double agent (i.e. pro Castro), was on his way downtown to "heckle" him one day in early October, 1963.

--Tommy

Tommy, you've jumped to a series of conclusions.

First, a double-agent could be either pro-Castro (Canal Street) or anti-Castro (Bringuier's office) depending on the circumstances. One can only guess Oswald's inner commitment.

Secondly, Lee Harvey Oswald in this scenario was addressing Cuban Exiles like Sylvia Odio who hated Castro fiercely. Therefore, the speech that Oswald delivered in Dallas to the Cuban Exiles was anti-Castro. If that isn't obvious please tell me why.

Thirdly - you haven't demonstrated that Loran Hall was being forthright and straightforward in his description of the NIco Crespi episode, instead of his usual, angry, sarcastic self.

All that said, I appreciate your focus on Nico Crespi, because it confirms Sylvia Odio's phone call to Mrs. Connell which Connell reported to the FBI. It also places LHO among the right-wing radicals in Dallas, showing once again that his accomplices in the street were consistently rightists.

Finally, if Connell is telling the truth, then Sylvia Odio clearly lied to the Warren Commission when she swore that she never saw LHO before the visit of Leopoldo, Angel and Leon.

Best regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited November 10, 2012 by Paul Trejo