Permindex and William Torbitt

[Robin Ramsay]

Shaw was a director of the World Trade Centre in New Orleans and was brought into a similar project in Italy involving a company called Permindex (Permanent Industrial Exhibitions), which proposed to create a network of World Trade Centres: propagandising for American business. Around these bare facts was created a story in which all these companies were CIA fronts for covert operations and assassinations. Permindex had been involved in trying to assassinate General de Gaulle and then had killed JFK. This story was planted on a Soviet-sympathising Italian newspaper; was then picked up by a left-wing magazine in New York and a magazine in Canada; and thence made its way to the Garrison investigation. And Garrison believed it without checking it. His 1988 book. On The Trail Of The Assassins, carries a couple of pages on Permindex in which he quotes only the Canadian and Italian versions of the story. Parts of this Permindex story - itself disinformation - were then picked up and used to form the centrepiece of the most famous and most durable piece of disinformation generated by the case, the Nomenclature Of An Assassination Cabal by 'William Torbitt,' better known as the Torbitt Memorandum. 'Torbitt' took Garrison's inquiry into the ClA's links to the assassination and converted them into a story about the FBI's responsibility for the assassination. (This, in my view, tells us that the author/s of Torbitt were working for the CIA, trying to diminish the 'Garrison effect.') At the beginning of the first chapter 'Torbitt' tells us that the assassination was the work of the FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency, who jointly ran 'the Control Group.' These two agencies ran another really secret agency, the Defense Industrial Security Command (DISC). Clay Shaw, David Ferrie et al., previously identified as CIA, were in fact DISC. Because it was 'underground' and - because it was full of interesting and authentic-sounding bits and pieces, Torbitt was 'sexy.' However, as soon as I began trying to check the few citations in it, they proved to be useless: either they didn't exist, were impossible to get or, when tracked down, didn't say what Torbitt said they did. But Torbitt lives on. Like all good conspiracy theories, it is immune to refutation.

Extract from Who Shot JFK (2002)

[Lee Forman]

Hello Robin!

Saw some of your stuff other places. Like your style!

Here's one piece of Torbitt that really interested me.

"Another  planning  member of the cabal working  for  Lyndon

Johnson was H.L. Hunt, the Dallas oilman and functioning director

of  the  American Council of Christian Churches. Hoover  had  his

agents  take H.L. Hunt and his family to New York City  at  12:30

pm,  November 22, l963. For protective reasons, the Division Five

.i.FBI;  men  kept the Hunts at a hotel in New York  three  weeks

until it was determined Hunt's part in the assassination could be

kept from public knowledge.131"

131 New Orleans District Attorney Records; Warren Commission

testimony.

From the Warren Commission Report index - HL Hunt, page 367

The Commission has also investigated the possibility that Ruby was associated with ultraconservative political endeavors in Dallas. Upon his arrest, there were found in Ruby's possession two radio scripts of a right-wing program promoted by H. L. Hunt, whose political views are highly conservative. Ruby had acquired the scripts a few weeks earlier at the Texas Products Show, where they were enclosed in bags of Hunt food products. Ruby is reported to have become enraged when he discovered the scripts, and threatened to send one to "Kennedy."

If the Torbitt statement is fact [as not substantiated by the Warren Report's index section on HL Hunt], one could assume that the FBI was also informed in advance of the assassination. You could also imply that Hoover knew all about it, but simply took a few 'stupid' pills later on that day, and for a greater part of the following day.

- lee

[Guest Dale Thorn]

Torbitt seemed plausible to me mostly for the description of the network that aided James Earl Ray after the MLK killing. It's also worth having a copy of Torbitt just for the strong statement about the cardinal purposes of the penal system and what happens when the FBI "throws in" with organized crime. I've quoted that passage many, many times.

[Guest Tom Scully]

It wasn't only the FBI that "threw in".

Despite the intelligence gathered from the investigations of the 1957 Apalachin, NY meeting of LCN from across the US, the retiring head of the Secret Service, U.E. Baughman said in July, 1961 that there had not been a national organized crime syndicate for the past forty years.

Earl Warren's daughter Virginia traveled the world with Conrad Hilton and there was speculation printed in newspapers that the two would marry. Murray Chotiner claimed he "made" Earl Warren. Warren was so close to Toots Shorr he participated in the ground breaking ceremony, while Chief Justice of the U.S., of Shorr's new NYC restaurant.

The RFK led, D.O.J. permitted the promotion of Howard P. Willens to head of the criminal division and Willens designed the organizational structure of the WC and established its investigative priorities, despite no official explanation ever, for the fact that Willens's father moved next door to Tony Accardo in 1958.

The FBI admits never investigating the background of another important WC senior asst. counsel, besides Willens, Albert E. Jenner, Jr.

Tom Clark was named by Warren as one of two who approved the appointment of Jenner to the WC staff, despite Clark's own questionable activities.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ruby#Alleged_links_to_organized_crime

....Within hours of Ruby's arrest for shooting Oswald, a telegram was received at the Dallas city jail in support of Ruby, under the names of Hal and Pauline Collins.[32] In one of the Warren Commissions exhibits, Hal Collins is listed as a character reference by Ruby on a Texas liquor license application.[33] Hal Collin's sister was married to Robert Clark, the brother of then-sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Tom C. Clark. Tom C. Clark advised newspaper columnist Drew Pearson that financier Henry Crown and the Hilton Hotel chain had financial interests in syndicated racketeering activities in Chicago.[34][35][35][36][37] Tom C. Clark also recommended that the Warren Commission appoint Henry Crown's attorney, Albert E. Jenner, Jr., to serve as assistant counsel to the commission.[38]...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Crown#Controversy

....In the book titled, "The Drew Pearson Diaries" published five years after Pearson died in 1969, his stepson, Tyler Abell compiled and edited information contained in Pearson's investigative files. Included in the book is the additional details Pearson said Tom C. Clark and J. Edgar Hoover had learned from Ragen.:

"...it led to very high places. J. Edgar Hoover intimated the same thing. He said the people Ragen pointed to had now reformed. I learned later that it pointed to the Hilton hotel chain,[6] Henry Crown,[7] the big Jewish financier in Chicago [involved in Cook County real estate deals with Jacob Arvey, the local democratic political boss], and Walter Annenberg [son of the prewar wire service owner Moses Annenberg.]"[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Tom C. Clark appointed Crown's son, John, as one of two of his 1956 Supreme Court session law clerks.[15] ....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Humphreys#Mob_career

...In 1947, Humphreys was assigned the difficult task of securing paroles for four important Outfit members, the most prominent being Felice "Paul Ricca" Deluca. The four had been in jail three years already, but some new indictments were coming up that promised to not only destroy their chances for parole, but add on some serious time to their sentences. A deal was made with the U.S. Attorney General at the time, Tom C. Clark.[4][5][6][7]

[Guest Dale Thorn]

Thanks for that info Tom. I read somewhere that we're all connected through something like 3 to 5 links - I know Bob, Bob knows Jim, and Jim knows the President etc. But you look at these people in the Kennedy affair - Ruby to Collins to Clark, Oswald's stepfather to Korth, DeMohrenschildt to everybody, including Jackie Bouvier - that's a lot closer than 3 to 5 links.

It's almost as if they were all buying their coke from the same dealer.

[Guest Dale Thorn]

The Torbitt Document, which is not actually a document at all, but an unfounded essay is a clever piece of black propaganda.

It is deliberately meant to mislead.

No disagreement from me. But aside from its usefulness as an example of propaganda, the topic of disinformation is an uncomfortable reminder to me of some dreadful experiences in debating with debunkers. Not on the JFK topic (this year anyway), but other topics in current intrigue. If no one is hosting or promoting high school and college classes on the techniques of disinformation and debunking of conspiracies, where do you point people to read authoritative documents on those? I don't remember seeing any specific pointers on the Education Forum. Debating with debunkers is very tricky I've discovered - full of traps. It would be nice to have a subforum and library just for instruction on that subject.

[Greg Burnham]

The Torbitt Document, which is not actually a document at all, but an unfounded essay is a clever piece of black propaganda.

It is deliberately meant to mislead.

No disagreement from me. But aside from its usefulness as an example of propaganda, the topic of disinformation is an uncomfortable reminder to me of some dreadful experiences in debating with debunkers. Not on the JFK topic (this year anyway), but other topics in current intrigue. If no one is hosting or promoting high school and college classes on the techniques of disinformation and debunking of conspiracies, where do you point people to read authoritative documents on those? I don't remember seeing any specific pointers on the Education Forum. Debating with debunkers is very tricky I've discovered - full of traps. It would be nice to have a subforum and library just for instruction on that subject.

It's called the Library at the Angleton School of Counter-Intelligence, Georgetown University.

[Jim Phelps]

Perhaps J DeEngenio can off some solid information on why PERMINDEX is not an important issue in the JFK assassination. Offer up lots of hard and solid information, and not the one line of hand waving that isn't worth much.

Nice little PERMINDEX write ups that don't even use Torbitt:

http://ce399fascism.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/the-origins-of-permindex/

http://www.parisflammonde.com/review1.html

http://www.parisflammonde.com/review2.html

http://www.maebrussell.com/Articles%20and%20Notes/Kennedy%20Conspiracy.html

[Guest Dale Thorn]

Y'all should love this - I did a Google search this morning for Torbitt and Propaganda, and this forum and topic was the 6th entry on page 1 of the Google results. If I interpret the results correctly, the main purpose of Torbitt was to steer investigators (Brussell et al) toward Bloomfield and his network, and thus away from the CIA.

Given what I remember about Hoover slipping a few juicy little items into the mix to keep the other agencies on the defensive (i.e. the Bush memorandum, the "surgery to the head" item), Torbitt may derive from inter-agency fighting, although it seems to accuse both the FBI and CIA. When the JFK film was released in 1991, I remember Mae Brussell, John Judge and others in that area being a huge influence on the Left, especially in California, so maybe Torbitt was exclusively for their benefit (detriment actually). Certainly the bookstores in California were big on Brussell et al - I recall being an avid reader of Steamshovel Press, Flatland, Covert Action Quarterly, Paranoia, Probe, and one or two more.

[Jim Phelps]

I've seen lots of those old articles also and read the 1969 Paris Flammonde presentations on PERMINDEX, which is what set the standard for these other items.

Jim DeEugenio and his little buddy Seamus Coogan have been tossing out all sorts of unsupported comments on Para Sera being seeded by Russians, so and so being James Angleton's snow job, and all sorts of items that need to have a lot of explanations.

So, Jim DeEugenio how about tell us how you came to these conclusions and include references.

[Thomas Graves]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ruby#Alleged_links_to_organized_crime

[...]

Tom C. Clark advised newspaper columnist Drew Pearson that financier Henry Crown and the Hilton Hotel chain had financial interests in syndicated racketeering activities in Chicago.[34][35][35][36][37]

[...]

[...]

Tom,

If Clark was such a bad guy, why would he "rat out" Henry Crown and the Hilton Hotel Chain like this?

--Tommy

Edited February 2, 2012 by Thomas Graves

[Guest Tom Scully]

While he was alive, Drew Pearson kept his mouth shut, except to write that businessmen and politicians who were names known to every Chicago household, "ran the mob". http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=15588&view=findpost&p=185918

It was his step-son, Tyler Abell, who published the names he found in Pearson's files, five years after Pearson's death.

Drew Pearson Diary Hotter Than Column

‎

News And Courier - Oct 17, 1972

...Pearson also specified that it be edited for the public good, rather than to prevent hurt feelings. So if you were on the scene during the years covered, maybe the best thing that can happen to you is to land on the cutting room floor. "We have had several copies made. So if anybody is thinking of disposing of me to get rid of the diary, it won't work," said Abell...

Publication Of Pearson Diary To Reveal...‎ St. Joseph News-Press

I have no doubt that the information published by Tyler Abell about the family who are primary sponsors of Obama and enjoy immense influence at JP Morgan Chase Bank, is accurate information.: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=1457&view=findpost&p=245584

............................

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?mode=searchResult&absPageId=751672

ADMIN FOLDER-W8: HSCA ADMINISTRATIVE FOLDER, LEE HARVEY OSWALD VOLUME X pg 123

Found in: FBI - HSCA Administrative Folders

type of charges he intended to press (77-72922) ALBERT E JENNER JR. Assistant to Rankin Jenner,.born 1907 Chicago Illinois is a lawyer We have not investigated him however files show he was a member of

RIF#: 124-10369-10006 (11/09/64) FBI#: 62-117290-ADMIN FOLDER-W8

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do;jsessionid=D3C687690C24B48F4B188D7063C1D623?docId=10111&relPageId=124

...Subsequent to Jenner's appointment to the staff of the president's commission, Jenner was ill and confined and confined to a hospital. Our Chicago SAC personally a report on our investigation of the assassination and at that time Mr. Jenner seemed most appreciative and indicated he was serving the Commission at the direct request of the Chief Justice Earl Warren. He expressed his very high regard for the Director and the FBI, indicating he became acquainted firsthand with the reports of the Bureau when serving on a Loyalty Committee in Washington years ago. He said that he had always noticed that our reports were completely impartial and factual...

Citizen Hoover: a critical study of the life and times of J. Edgar ... - Page 80

books.google.com Jay Robert Nash - 1972 - 298 pages - Google eBook - Preview

....Hoover once told President Johnson: "The Las Vegas casinos represent the worst element of the Cosa Nostra — except, of course, for Del Webb's." Some years ago Hoover had every casino in Las Vegas wiretapped, except, of course, Del Webb's. Hoover's intimate association with Webb together with his evaluation of the notorious killer, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, one of the first.....

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1XkRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JOADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6817,4424376&dq=del+webb+crown+kirkeby

Eugene Register-Guard - Mar 19, 1977

Ex-Yankees Owner Linked to Mobsters

.....Mobster Moe B. Dalitz, a top Lansky aide, and convicted stock swindler Allard Roes, as well as two of their associates, obtained substantial blocks of Webb stock through a property transfer in 1969.

Webb executives refused to allow IRE to examine stockholder records, even after IRE purchased a share of stock in the public corporation. Robert H. Johnson, who replaced Webb as president, and Jacobsen both declined to be interviewed.....

....Crown, now 80....became a close advisor to Webb and one of the few men allowed in the inner councils of the corporation....

He has been described by a close associate as Webb’s "money man." A.A. McCullom, a former Webb executive, said he had to be interviewed by Crown before he was hired by the Webb corporation in 1961.