Suspicious Vehicles and 11/22/63

[Steve Thomas]

Lee,

12 arrests made that day, as per Roger Craig. I still have an incomplete list. Garrison's Cuban that was released?

Do you know where I can read more about this?

Steve Thomas

[Lee Forman]

Lee,

12 arrests made that day, as per Roger Craig. I still have an incomplete list. Garrison's Cuban that was released?

Do you know where I can read more about this?

Steve Thomas

Hello Steve.

http://www.ratical.org/ratville/JFK/WTKaP.html

Jim also asked me about the arrests made in Dealey Plaza that day. I told him I knew of twelve arrests, one in particular made by R. E. Vaughn of the Dallas Police Department. The man Vaughn arrested was coming from the Dal-Tex Building across from the Texas School Book Depository. The only thing which Vaughn knew about him was that he was an independent oil operator from Houston, Texas. The prisoner was taken from Vaughn by Dallas Police detectives and that was the last that he saw or heard of the suspect.

Incidentally, there are no records of any arrests, either by the Dallas Police Department or the Sheriff's Office, made in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963. Very strange! Any and all arrests made during my eight years as an officer were recorded. It may not have been entered as a record with the Identification Bureau but a report was always typed and a permanent record kept -- if only in our case files. A report on any questioning shows a reason for your action and protects you against false arrest. I am saying that there is absolutely no record in the case files or any place else.

1. Tramp - Curly

2. Tramp - Moe

3. Tramp - Larry

4. Tramp [Jack Beers photo]

Now we know that there is also a possibility of more tramps - but I don't know that there is much more than that documented.

5. Name escapes me - the guy that turned himself in for outstanding warrants in another state. Robin Unger brought that one up once.

6. The unknown hispanic individual in the squad car photo - possibly Ronald Ponce de Leon. James Richards posted that photo before.

7. Lonie Ray Wright - RR Tracks

8. John Elrod - RR Tracks

9. Lee Harvey Oswald

10. James Braden

11. ARTHUR ALVIS MCDUFFIE, DOB February 6, 1944, date of arrest November 25, 1963. Doesn't count for 11/22 however [tnx to Bernice Moore]

12. Russell McLarry - not 11/22 [tnx to James Richards]

13. Larry Florer

Now we begin to come to unfamiliar ground - and I may not be 'capturing' everything. I'll leave the Torbitt stuff for the end.

There is the Jack Beers photo, of what appears to have been a 4th tramp. Worth noting - he does not match the description of either 6, 7 or 8 above.

There is the youth coming out of Fritz' office when Oswald was being taken in. I think Greg Parker said that this individual may have been associated with the Indignant White Coucil.

There is Donald Wayne House - but that is Fort Worth. So is the other individual, Kenneth Glenn Wilson - Fort Worth. Tnx to Duke Lane's Cowtown Connection.

Then there is the man who appears to be under arrest, being taken off the knoll. I don't have this frame handy. Robin posted that one someplace.

Then we have the 'protective custody' arrests - Euins, Brehm and son, TSBD workers include Givens and Arce, etc.

There is also the odd Boyscout story, which can be found in Walt Brown's stuff - and the incident with a toy gun that allegedly took place higher up on Main st. If Robinson saw this boy at the station - wouldn't he have been under arrest as well?

In the John Elrod account, the man whom he believes may have been Lee Harvey Oswald is also thought to perhaps by JT Masen. Was Masen arrested that day?

There is also the arrest made by Craig - of a woman in her 30s, in a brown Chevy, trying to leave the parking area. Is that part of his 12?

I think last - probably I am forgetting someone, we have the Garrison photo shown to Craig, of an individual that 'yelled in Spanish' and was released.

Torbitt:

http://www.whale.to/b/torbitt.html

Meanwhile, the Dallas Police were arresting a goodly number of Permindex agents at the assassination site. An important figure, James Powell of Army Intelligence on assignment through the DIA to the Defense Industrial Security Command of Columbus, Ohio and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, was trapped and arrested in the School Book Depository Building shortly after 12:30 pm. He was later released along with the others by Captain Will Fritz in charge of Homicide for the Dallas Police Department.150

...

The chain of evidence connecting Albert Osborne, Fred Lee Crismon, alias John M. Bowen, Permindex, and his co-workers became iron clad when a Black Star photographer snapped a picture a few minutes after the assassination of Crismon, alias Bowen, and two of his charges in the process of being arrested by two young Dallas police officers at Dealey Plaza. Fritz later released all three. The Crismon, alias Bowen, arrest picture received limited public distribution in 1969 when it was published in the Midlothian Mirror by Penn Jones, the Texas editor.

This apparently is Copeland's [?] take on the three tramps.

Co-Director of the Mexico based assassins, John H. Bowen, alias Fred Lee Crismon, alias Free Lee, alias Jon Gould, alias Jon Gold, and Thomas Beckam, front, and another assassin in the process of being arrested at Dealey Plaza immediately after the assassination.

Same deal...

...

[Lee Forman]

My favorite suspicious vehicle. Number 25.

A large, 4 door sedan, creme or beige in color, possibly an Impala. Parked the morning of 11/22/63 in Vida Lee Whatley's regular parking space: from the southwest corner of TSBD, about 5 or 6 spaces west of the corner of the building. This space was also used by Sheriff's Dept. and all had assigned spaces. For this reason, anyone parking in a space assigned to someone else usually got some reaction. The men that had parked in her space received verbal abuse heaped upon them by Ms. Whatley, however, they kept silent. They were in the process of removing long packages from the car, which Ms Whatley said could have held rifles.

She reported the incident, and license # to Roy Truly. It's unknown if he did anything at all about it - there are no records. Ms Whatley was at Sanger/Harris for lunch, so she was not a witness to the motorcade at 12:30pm.

Thanks to Steve Thomas, for posting the Jim Conner account originally, and Jim himself, Lee Whatley's son, for allowing me to follow up on some of the additional details.

"In looking at your diagram: the original layout of the parking lot was somewhat different. As I remember, there was not parking up against the wood fence, but a drive which allowed access to a row of parking just north and west of the fence. Any one using the fence as a place to shoot over or through would have been standing in an open drive and would have been pretty obvious."

Did Roy Truly bother to report on the incident? Is there a way to find out?

Holland's cars - located behind the fence at the GKS position. I don't know if they are suspicious, but I note them in any case. I think Holland has placed them too close to the corner of the fence in his drawing.

A dark blue something [26], a light tan '61 Oldsmobile [27] and a 4 door Chevy sedan, 60 - 61, 'off-white' [28].

[Lee Forman]

1. Tramp - Curly

2. Tramp - Moe

3. Tramp - Larry

4. Tramp [Jack Beers photo] Shemp?

5. Name escapes me - the guy that turned himself in for outstanding warrants in another state. Robin Unger brought that one up once.

6. The unknown hispanic individual in the squad car photo - possibly Ronald Ponce de Leon. James Richards posted that photo before.

7. Lonnie Ray Wright - RR Tracks

8. John Elrod - RR Tracks

9. Lee Harvey Oswald

10. James Braden

11. ARTHUR ALVIS MCDUFFIE, DOB February 6, 1944, date of arrest November 25, 1963. Doesn't count for 11/22 however [tnx to Bernice Moore]

12. Russell McLarry - not 11/22 [tnx to James Richards]

13. Larry Florer

14. There is the youth coming out of Fritz' office when Oswald was being taken in. I think Greg Parker said that this individual may have been associated with the Indignant White Coucil.

15. There is Donald Wayne House - but that is Fort Worth.

16. So is the other individual, Kenneth Glenn Wilson - Fort Worth. Tnx to Duke Lane's Cowtown Connection.

17. Then there is the man who appears to be under arrest, being taken off the knoll. I don't have this frame handy. Robin posted that one someplace.

Let's eliminate the 'protective custody arrests' for the time being...Euins, Brehm and son, TSBD workers including Givens and Arce, etc.

18. There is also the odd Boyscout story, which can be found in Walt Brown's stuff - and the incident with a toy gun that allegedly took place higher up on Main st. If Robinson saw this boy at the station - wouldn't he have been under arrest as well?

19. In the John Elrod account, the man whom he believes may have been Lee Harvey Oswald is also thought to perhaps by JT Masen. Was Masen arrested that day?

20. There is also the arrest made by Craig - of a woman in her 30s, in a brown Chevy, trying to leave the parking area. Is that part of his 12? No records on this one, unless she was one of the 3 TSBD employees that Lewis claimed to have talked with. Only one [simmons?] was close in age to the description provided by Craig.

21. We have the Garrison photo shown to Craig, of an individual that 'yelled in Spanish' and was released.

22. As per Torbitt, "Meanwhile, the Dallas Police were arresting a goodly number of Permindex agents at the assassination site. An important figure, James Powell of Army Intelligence on assignment through the DIA to the Defense Industrial Security Command of Columbus, Ohio and Muscle Shoals, Alabama, was trapped and arrested in the School Book Depository Building shortly after 12:30 pm. He was later released along with the others by Captain Will Fritz in charge of Homicide for the Dallas Police Department." Was Powell actually placed under arrest?

23. But we need to add this one, which I found very curious - Billy Lovelady! He wasn't just put under protective custody, he was apparently locked up for several days and not allowed visitors. He was also made to surrender his shirt, which he got back later. When incarcerated, he was interrogated every few hours or so. How had he managed to be in two places at once?

Well - this doesn't belong on the thread about suspicious vehicles anyway...

[Lee Forman]

Here's Tramp number 4, as photographed [allegedly since I can't find a reference] by Ira Jefferson "Jack" Beers, Jr. He doesn't match any description of any of the other arrested individuals - anyone know who he is? Is there a proof sheet that demonstrates that this was one of Beers photos?

[Robin Unger]

Cops checking the Car Park area behind the fence.

[Lee Forman]

Cops checking the Car Park area behind the fence.

Nice Robin!

That's the area where the footprints and cigarette butts and mud on the bumper was found? The GKS location? One would think that photos would have been taken of the area they are examining.

23. But we need to add this one, which I found very curious - Billy Lovelady! He wasn't just put under protective custody, he was apparently locked up for several days and not allowed visitors. He was also made to surrender his shirt, which he got back later. When incarcerated, he was interrogated every few hours or so. How had he managed to be in two places at once?

Gary Mack has informed me that this information is incorrect. I could find no evidence of an arrest record for Lovelady in the DPD files, or at NARA. This information came by way of Lovelady's Brother-in-Law so I will request additional information.

- lee

[Ron Ecker]

Cops checking the Car Park area behind the fence.

Nice Robin!

That's the area where the footprints and cigarette butts and mud on the bumper was found? The GKS location? One would think that photos would have been taken of the area they are examining.

Unless I'm mistaken, this photo was taken during the HSCA acoustics reenactment. I recall seeing it somewhere before in that context. See similar photo on p. 175 of TKOAP.

[Ron Ecker]

Here’s a suspicious vehicle for you. From an HSCA summary interview (Doc #180-10078-10493) of SS agent Samuel A. Kinney:

“SA Kinney reported that on the day of the assassination, SA Stuart Stout of the four-to-twelve shift was driving into Dallas to man a post at the Trade Mart in time for the President's arrival at the Mart. Stout was passed by a car leaving Dallas at a speed of 110 m.p.h. Stout remarked that "that car must have robbed a bank." SA William Duncan, who was on the same shift had given notice that it was five minutes away from the Mart. Duncan's story places the appearance of the speeding car at approximately 12:30 P.M.”

http://spot.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp.back_...rrb_tenth2.html

[Lee Forman]

Thanks Ron.

I think I remember an incident that may be related to that one. Need to find it. It's a shame that there was no description of the vehicle? Let's call that one #29. Hopefully at some point, some of these vehicles may be found to be redundant. So Vehicle #30 [Malcolm Summers] may someday be found to be the same as #29, for instance -- or the Chevy II, Vehicle #3, that was photographed in the back lot - too bad the photo isn't in color [i added the Maroon just to illustrate the point] - the description would be perfect.

Yesterday, November 23, 1963, I was standing on the terrace of the small park on Elm Street to watch the President's motorcade. The President's car had just come up in front of me when I heard a shot and saw the President slump down in the car and heard Mrs. Kennedy say, "Oh, no," then a second shot and then I hit the ground as I realized these were shots. Then all of the people started running up the terrace away from the President's car and I got up and started running also, not realizing what had happened. In just a few moments the President's car sped off and everyone was just running around towards the railroad tracks and I knew that they had somebody trapped up there. I imagine I stayed there 15 or 20 minutes and then went over on Houston Street to where I had my truck parked. I had just pulled away from the curb and was headed toward the Houston street viaduct [sic] when an automobile that had 3 men in it pulled away from the curb in a burst of speed, passing me on the right side, which was very dangerous at that point, then got in front of me, and it seemed then as an afterthought, slowed in a big hurry in front of me as though realizing they would be conspicuous in speeding. These three men were of slender build and seemed to be very excited in talking and motioning to each other. They went on across the Houston Street Viaduct and I turned off at Marsalis Street exit [sic] and they continued on going towards Zangs Blvd. They were in a 1961 or 1962 Chevrolet sedan, maroon in color. I [cross-out] don't believe I could identify these men, but I do believe I could identify the automobile if I saw it again.

- lee

[Lee Forman]

#31...Tim Gratz brought this one up before.

I remember commenting before on the name that the plate was registered to - James Cecil Bradley. NARA search: 'James Bradley,' returns this one:

BRADLEY, HARRY EUGENE, LEE, JAMES BRADLEY, COLE, JAMES LEE, BRADING, EUGENE, BRADY, GENE, BRADING, GENE, BRADING, EUGENE HALE, BRADEN, JIM

17 or so to go.

- lee

http://www.law.uga.edu/academics/profiles/...3professor.html

PROFESSOR RESEARCHES A POSSIBLE GEORGIA CONNECTION IN JFK DEATH

Published in The Athens Observer, p. 2A (February 5, 1987).

Almost a quarter century ago, on Nov. 22, 1963, while riding in an open limousine in a motorcade, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. At least two and possibly as many as six rifle shots were fired at his automobile in less than 10 seconds beginning around 12:30 p.m. The famous Abraham Zapruder film, which captures the horrible murder in color and motion, plainly shows both Kennedy and Texas Gov. John Connally, while seated in the open car, being struck and injured by bullets. The wounded president, slumped over his wife's lap, his pupils dilated and deviated, bleeding from a head shot and at least one additional shot to the body, was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he arrived within 10 minutes. He died a few minutes later in Emergency Room No. 1 after valiant medical efforts failed to revive him, and his death was announced at 1 p.m. Gov. Connally suffered severe and painful injuries, but survived.

The gruesome and sickening facts of President's tragic death, which so shocked the nation, are known by most of us. What is far less known is that there might have been a Georgia connection to the Kennedy assassination. To be precise, there are two possible connections. The first-admittedly a tenuous one-involves a mysterious car in Dallas with a Georgia license plate reported speeding away shortly after the assassination. The second-which is far more substantial-involves a deceased south Georgian, Joseph Milteer, who on Nov. 9, 1963, 13 days before the assassination, was recorded on tape telling a police informer that JFK's killing was "in the working," that it could be carried out by means of a rifle fired from a building, and that "[t]hey will pick up somebody within hours afterwards ... just to throw the public off."

The Mysterious Fleeing Chevrolet

In 1978 and 1979 the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U. S. House of Representatives, reflecting the widespread dissatisfaction with the Warren Commission's inadequate investigation and its conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acting alone killed President Kennedy, reinvestigated the JFK assassination. At the conclusion of its work, in 1979, the Committee published 13 volumes of materials-a Final Report, and 12 volumes of hearings, testimony, exhibits, and staff reports. Vol. 12 contains a staff report with a remarkable title-"Conspiracy Witnesses in Dealey Plaza." This staff report provides evidence of the first possible Georgia connection to the assassination-the mysterious fleeing Chevrolet with a Georgia license tag.

The House Committee report stated: "The Dallas County Sheriff's Department ... received [a] report of a car seen speeding from the direction of Dealey Plaza on the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963. In a report dated Nov. 22, Deputy Sheriff Jack Watson reported that he had received information through the sheriff's office about the car. Watson reported that the Carrollton, Texas, Police Department called in that they had received a citizen's report that a car had been parked near the Harry Hines Circle for several days before Nov. 22. According to the information from the Carrollton police, 'very shortly after the shooting' that car was seen traveling north on Harry Hines Boulevard 'at a high rate of speed.' The Carrollton police described the car as a red 1963 Chevrolet Impala with Georgia license plate 52J1033. Watson's report stated that the information on that car was broadcast to all stations north."

The information concerning the fleeing car was given to the Warren Commission by Dallas police officials, and is mentioned in one of the volumes published by the Warren Commission in 1964.

The FBI also investigated the matter of the reported fleeing Chevrolet. The House Committee's report explained:

"According to an FBI report on the car with the Georgia license plate, the Dallas County Sheriff's Office had received the call on the radio between 1:54 and 2:11 p.m., and it reflected that a car had been spotted speeding along Harry Hines Boulevard just prior to that. The FBI was advised on March 27, 1964 by its Atlanta office that the 1963 Georgia license 52J1033 was listed to J. C. Bradley of Twin City, Ga. That license was for a four-door 1960 Chevrolet.

"The owner of the car and license, James Cecil Bradley, was interviewed by special agents of the FBI on May 14, 1964. At that time Bradley informed the FBI that he owned a 1960 Belair Chevrolet. The color of the car was not given, but Bradley stated that he had never owned a red 1963 Chevrolet Impala. Bradley said that in August or September 1963 his 1963 license plate was stolen from he car as it was parked overnight with a flat tire on Highway 80 between Swainsboro and Twin City, Ga. Bradley stated that he reported the theft to law officers in Twin City and Swainsboro."

The Assassinations Committee report also found: (1) Bradley's statement that his car tag had been stolen was confirmed in an FBI interview by a friend who helped to repair the flat tire; (2) official records confirmed that Bradley had reported his tag as stolen; and (3) the tag later stolen was originally issued to Bradley on Mar. 28, 1963. The Committee was unable to determine who stole the tag or who was in the fleeing Chevrolet.

What conclusions, then, can be drawn from this evidence? First, we have positive, undeniable proof of at least a possible Georgia connection to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. We have a prompt and specific citizen's report of a suspicious red Chevrolet with a Georgia tag that had been parked for several days and later was seen speeding away from the assassination vicinity shortly after the shooting; and upon examination the reported vehicle's tag was shown to have been stolen. (There were, it should be noted, other reports of other suspicious fleeing or parked automobiles.) Although the citizen's report of the red Chevrolet might be erroneous, misreported, or hoax, or a plant, and although there could be a perfectly innocent explanation for the speeding car if the report was correct, the fact remains that the report is also circumstantial evidence that some of the assassins might have escaped in a car with a Georgia tag stolen in Georgia by the assassins themselves, or by others.

Second, this Georgia link to the assassination does not involve any specific known individual. It certainly does not involve Mr. Bradley, who appears to have been a perfectly innocent victim. The link instead involves (1) the stolen plate 52J1033, (2) the theft of the plate, which apparently occurred at dead of night on a south Georgia roadside approximately two months before the assassination, and (3) a mysterious red Chevrolet to which the tag apparently was affixed on Nov. 22, 1963, when the car was spotted under suspicious circumstances in the city where President Kennedy died. Thus far no evidence has been found connecting the stolen plate or the fleeing car with the late Joseph Milteer, of Valdosta and Quitman, Ga., who is discussed in the second and third parts of his article. Milteer was a second possible Georgia connection to the assassination. Thus, the two possible Georgia connections appear to be wholly independent and unrelated.

Third, the citizen's report seems quite credible, assuming it is accurately reported. It was made less than two hours after the assassination. It was specific, and the fact that the plates turned out to be stolen appears to corroborate the citizen who made the report to the police. The car's reported parking and movements are suspicious. The fact that the occupants of the car never stepped forward and that the identity of the vehicle has never been determined also is noteworthy. If the report is correct, and the auto contained one or more assassins, the it would appear that at least some of the killers of President Kennedy escaped in a car bearing a stolen Georgia tag! Furthermore, if an assassin was in the Chevrolet, any lingering doubt whatever about the existence of a conspiracy must evaporate, since no one will claim that Oswald was in the car.

Finally, it is obvious that the information put together by the House Committee warrants further official investigations to clear up important questions concerning this possible Georgia connection to the Kennedy assassination. Of course, the passage of time make the job impossible, but in the interest of truth a thorough reinvestigation should at least be attempted. What questions need further investigation? First, who stole the license plate, and what were the circumstances? Second, what was the red Chevrolet reported fleeing the assassination? Third, who was in that automobile? Fourth, can the citizen who have the original report about the mysterious car be located and his present story heard? Finally, do the police or FBI have more information which might be helpful?

[Lee Forman]

Oops - wrong sized version of the photo. Edited.

#32 - Tom Tilson's account of the middle sized, black car. Peter Whitmey's article below, and a crop from Duke Lane's Cowtown Connection.

Worth noting that indeed, from the McIntyre photos, a car does not appear in the background. There is an odd line right at the area at the base of the slope in the background in the versions I have seen, which makes it appear as if the photo has been cropped - but a bit of a longshot to have a car removed? Thanks to Robin Unger for this McIntyre attached - scaled it down a bit. Given som exploration of photos and the area in question - the story doesn't seem to work well for other reasons. I tried to call Tilson to ask him about it some time last year, but was informed that he was deceased.

The area in question, driving on Commerce heading into Dealey Plaza, would have been on the lefthand side. Indeed, there is a steep slope behind the railroad tracks there. However, in the photos - there are large concrete pillars that do not appear to have any noticeable gap which would allow a vehicle to access this area. Thinking that perhaps there would have been an entrance from the far side of this area, I tramped through the undergrowth there - but that raises the problem of the Stemmons Freeway. Tilson has the vehicle heading off towards Industrial, which would only be feasible if the vehicle had come from the grassy area and entered Elm street - otherwise, it would appear that the vehicle would have been entering the ramp to the highway.

Maybe Dinah Tilson ? would be willing to talk about it finally, and clear up the confusion that surrounds this one. As per Whitmey - Marrs published Tilson's daughter Dinah's married name in Crossfire - unfortunately, my copy doesn't have a reference section. Did anyone try to get in touch with Dinah?

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/tilson.htm

You won't find any reference to Dallas Police patrolman Tom G. Tilson, Jr. in the Warren Commission volumes, despite the fact that he allegedly provided important information to the homicide squad of the Dallas Police on November 22, 1963. Tilson did come forward in August of 1978, however. and was interviewed by a staff member of the HSCA (House Select Committee on Assassinations). A brief summary of his account was included in the 1980 book Conspiracy by Anthony Summers (who mistakenly referred to him as "John Tilson") and a lengthier description of him appears in the 1989 book Crossfire by Jim Marrs. Tilson also appeared as a witness for the defense in the mock trial of Lee Harvey Oswald originally broadcast on Spotlight, and later on A. & E. Tilson even made an appearance along with his friend Madeline Brown at the "open bar" gathering that took place prior to the first annual Assassination Symposium on John F. Kennedy (ASK) held at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Dallas in November 1991 (looking amazingly like Lyndon Johnson).

Tilson has claimed for the last fourteen years (and possibly longer) that on November 22, 1963 he was driving towards Dealey Plaza on Commerce Street with one of his daughters seated beside him just as the motorcade came through the triple underpass. He had already heard on his police radio of the shooting and as he approached the area immediately to the west of the railroad tracks, Tilson spotted a man sliding down the steep bank on the north side of Elm Street. He noticed the man throw something into a dark-colored car on the driver's side, then get in and immediately drive quickly away towards Industrial Boulevard several blocks west of the assassination site.

Even though Tilson was not on duty that day, he instinctively turned around on Commerce and followed the man, who was heading in the direction of Ft. Worth. Although he managed to approach the car close enough to get a good look at the driver, whom he described as matching the physical features of Jack Ruby. He did not attempt to force the driver off the road, but instead he had his daughter, Dinah, write down the license number, make, and model on a slip of paper (to this day he can not recall what kind of car the man was driving, however). Once he reached his home, he gave the information to someone in the homicide department of the Dallas Police, which he described in his 1978 testimony as being elitist, resenting "...any encroachment on its authority." He never heard back from the Department again, and after holding onto the slip of paper for ten years, finally discarded it, around the time of his wife's death.

In order to possibly learn more about Tilson's alleged experience, I wrote to him in January of 1991, and after not receiving a reply, phoned several months later. Initially, I found him to be quite credible, learning, for instance, that he would have definitely forced the driver to pull over had his daughter not been in the car. He also mentioned that they were heading for Dealey Plaza to pick up another daughter who was watching the motorcade; he even recalled seeing LBJ's car go by as he approached the triple underpass. Although he could not remember what kind of car he had followed, he indicated that it was a middle-sized sedan and black in color, with no noticeable features such as fins. Naturally, I was interested in speaking to his daughter (whose married name is referred to by Jim Marrs), but was told by Tilson that she refused to discuss the subject. He also mentioned being advised not to answer any questions posed in writing, in that he had been "burned" by a writer from Chicago some years ago.

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

Unfortunately for Tilson's story, photographer Mel McIntire was on the west side of the Triple Underpass, photographing the motorcade as it passed. The first of his photos, taken just as the presidential limo emerged from under the Underpass, shows thirteen spectators on the north side of Elm Street, and three more on the south side. The figure Tilson claimed to see would have been in plain view of all of these witnesses. Even worse, McIntire's second photo, with the Secret Service followup car in the foreground, shows a broad expanse of grass north of Elm Street and west of the Underpass. The automobile that the supposed shooter got into would be visible in this photo -- if such an automobile actually existed.

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

In November of 1991, I finally visited Dallas for the first time, attending the symposium not far from Dealey Plaza. In the course of walking around the assassination site numerous times, I became aware of the fact that the area adjacent to the railroad tracks to the west is not paved as one might expect but, in fact, is a fairly large, flat lawn.

Given that film footage shows people on the sidewalk beside Elm Street west of the triple underpass, it seems hard to believe that only Tilson saw a car parked near the bank in the middle of the lawn. It Is also likely that the lawn would have been wet from the morning rain, and therefore, a car would leave tire tracks, especially if it sped away at a high rate of speed. Finally, it is very likely that those people standing on the sidewalk, still waving at the President, would be aware of a car driving over the lawn and onto the street.

While in Dallas I spoke to Tilson from my hotel room, indicating to him my surprise that he was not included on the panel of witnesses at the symposium. He seemed quite disappointed that he had not been invited, nor had he been contacted by Oliver Stone's research team headed by Jane Rusconi earlier that year. I also learned from Tilson that his daughter, Dinah, had not been as young as I had imagined in 1963, and, in fact, was 18 years old. For reasons he did not go into, I learned that she had not spoken to her father for many years. He mentioned that he had been going out with Madelene Brown (L.B.J.'s alleged mistress) since meeting her on a talk show, and seemed, in general, to be enjoying the media attention he was receiving.

When I arrived home I wrote a one-page letter to Tom dated Nov. 29, 1991, outlining the reasons why I had come to the conclusion that his allegations were nothing more than a hoax, and indicated in a postscript having sent a photocopy to Jim Marrs, who appears to have no doubts as to his credibility. As of this date (September 21, 1993), I have not heard back from either Tilson or Marrs.

I believe it is important that all allegations made regarding the assassination of President Kennedy be thoroughly checked out and scrutinized, particularly when it applies to individuals who did not visibly come forward immediately following the tragedy in Dallas.

A piece of Duke Lane's 'Cowtown Connection' article. Maybe Duke can comment or perhaps he has an update.

Tom Tilson Tells Tall Tales

===========================

One of the first things I was curious about was whether this arrest had any

connection to the black sedan chase so often related to the events in Dealey

Plaza. This connection was bolstered by an article which appeared the day

after the assassination in The Dallas Morning News which told of a man having

been arrested in Fort Worth because he was said to be driving a car "linked

to the slayer."[6] Fort Worth was the apparent destination of the driver of

the black sedan headed westbound on the DFW Turnpike and chased by an

off-duty Dallas policeman.

This incident was first reported by Earl Golz in The Dallas Morning News[7]

nearly twenty years after the fact, and repeated by Jim Marrs in

Crossfire,[8] to which the reader is referred for additional information. In

addition, rumblings of a car having been found abandoned in Fort Worth later

in the day_naturally tied to the "black car chase"_raised even more

interesting possibilities. Was the man in the FHK photo the same one who

off-duty officer Tom Tilson chased from Dealey Plaza, and who may

subsequently have abandoned the car before having been arrested?

Unequivocally not. To begin with, it is apparent that there never was a car,

black or otherwise, where Tilson claimed he initially saw it. His interview

with Golz clearly states that he was driving along Commerce Street just

beyond the Stemmons Freeway bridge but not yet as far as the Triple Underpass

(the railroad bridge) when he saw a man run down the bridge abutment, toss a

long object (a rifle?) into the back seat, run around to jump into the

driver's seat and take off.

According to his daughter who was riding with him, "seconds before she saw

the fleeing man, the presidential limousine had just sped past his parked car

on the grass... and the limousine was turning onto Stemmons Freeway."[9] This

time roughly corresponds to the time that Mel McIntire took two photographs

of the limo emerging from under the railroad bridge and, shortly thereafter,

the Secret Service follow-up car turning onto Stemmons.[10] In neither photo

is there a "parked car on the grass." With the rest of the motorcade still in

Dealey Plaza, it is impossible that a car could have gotten to that spot in

time for Tilson to have seen it before passing under the Triple Underpass. It

simply wasn't there.

Moreover, photographic evidence belies Tilson's claim that "everyone was

jumping out of their cars pulling up on the median strip" in the plaza as he

saw the man running down the abutment and jumping into his car.[11] Of the

many photographs taken in DP, none show "everyone... jumping out of their

cars [and] pulling up on the median strip," and none show cars parked on the

median even long after the motorcade had left the plaza, much less when

Tilson claims they were (before the press bus had even reached the

Underpass). Obviously, Tilson has never looked at any pictures of the

assassination and aftermath before.

If that doesn't prove the lie, then consider that the Dallas Police

Department (DPD) recorded and investigated, however cursorily, quite a number

of reports about suspicious cars in the Dallas area that afternoon.[12] Yet,

according to Tilson, his own compatriots decided to ignore his report because

"if you didn't have a big white hat on, they didn't even want you in the

office."[13] Does it make sense that detectives will credit and investigate

reports from ordinary citizens, yet ignore one from "one of their own?"

Also, is it credible that a fleeing assassin would drive a dozen or so blocks

through city streets to get on a highway when there was and is an entrance

ramp onto the same highway, going in the same direction, within 100 yards of

where his car was supposedly parked and immediately to the left of the

Stemmons Freeway entrance taken by the motorcade? I think not.

If Tilson's story is a fabrication, however, that doesn't preclude that a car

was found abandoned in Fort Worth, and in fact, one was. Almost by accident,

I met a retired Fort Worth police officer, WD Roberts, who had called in a

report of an abandoned and presumably stolen car only a few minutes after the

time that Kennedy was being shot thirty miles away.[14]

Officer Roberts, who is now retired from the force, was on patrol in the

Riverside section of east Fort Worth and had come across the vehicle. He

called it in to the dispatcher at about 12:45 to 1:00. (It was later

determined to have been stolen in Houston the previous week.) Roberts is

certain that the car was not black (ergo not related to Tilson's "black

sedan"), but only recalls it as being "a light color, perhaps even

two-toned." Since it had been parked there for a number of days, we can

reasonably conclude that it was not related to the JFK murder, thereby

removing it from consideration in relation to the arrest in question.

Edited March 27, 2006 by Lee Forman

[Lee Forman]

#33 & #34 - the vans parked on Elm at the corner with Houston. One is allegedly marked 'Clean.' A lot like 'Air Conditioning.'

Can't find the docs I wanted to post with it - another day...

[Lee Forman]

#35 - the old man and the black Buick that Danny Arce claimed to have seen, prior to the arrival of the motorcade.

#36 and #37 - the bit supplied by John Elrod on a blue Thunderbird and a white Dodge.

"According to court records from the resulting criminal trial, [the] lawmen (on November 18, 1963) crouched in two unmarked cars watching a pale blue 1962 Thunderbird convertible pull up alongside a white Dodge. They saw two men get out and start passing a number of high-powered rifles and shotguns from the white car to the adjacent convertible. When the Thunderbird pulled away, the FBI agent and two detectives radioed for help. Two Dallas police officers cruising nearby in their squad car followed radio instructions to arrest the men in the Thunderbird for a traffic violation. When the patrolmen turned on their toplight and honked for the Thunderbird to pull over, the convertible sped off."

"The ensuing chase through downtown traffic reached speeds of 60 mph. Five blocks later the Thunderbird sideswiped two cars, tried to make a left turn at full speed and crashed head on into a utility pole. The driver of the Thunderbird got out and managed to run some 30 feet before being tackled and arrested. His name was Donnell Darius Whitter."

"The passenger in the blue Thunderbird was unable to leave the car. His face had smashed into the windshield. He was identified as Lawrence Reginald Miller. He was treated at the emergency room of Parkland Hospital and charged with multiple criminal violations arising out of the incident. After having his face stitched up, Miller was remanded to the Dallas city jail."

#38 - Jada's White Cadillac and the accident she had that morning - 11/22/63.

[Blair Dobson]

anyone ever find the original of the car in Gen walkers yard with the license plate not blacked out?

that always struck me as odd...