Thomas Graves

Since Tom hasn't been around these parts for awhile, I thought I might add the article regarding Mae Belcher from an AP News Story from November 27, 1975. Texas Widow Recalls Loans To Promoter New York (AP) -- A Texas minister's widow told of selling 3,000 shares of stock for $30,000 and drawing $5,000 more from a bank to lend James E. Lofland, accused of swindling several persons. Esther Armstrong, 75, widow of H. Parr Armstrong of Fort Worth, took the stand as a major government witness. She pointed out Lofland, "the man in the blue suit and shirt," as having proposed a "joint partnership" in development of property at Tucumcari, N.M. Lofland is accused of taking $246,000 from Mrs. Armstrong: $234,000 from Myrtle Rupe of Oklahoma City, and other amounts from persons who were not repaid. Mrs. Rupe testified earlier in the week that she spent more than $235,000 on deals with Lofland. She said he repeatedly promised repayment from big loans he said he expected, and that she pledged her house to borrow more when Lofland asked. Lofland allegedly preyed upon recently widowed elderly women by promoting business deals, using their funds. Jailed in lieu of $100,000 bail since capture by the F.B.I. last Aug. 25, Lofland had served six years on convictions of getting money by false pretenses and for stolen bond deals. Both Mrs. Rupe, 73, and Mrs. Armstrong told of being introduced to lofland in 1972 by a mutual acquaintance from Abilene, Texas, Mae Belcher. Mrs. Armstrong told Judge Richard Owen and a jury in Manhattan federal court that she had made an $8,000 loan to Mrs. Belcher when the Abilene woman brought Lofland to see her in March 1972. When Mrs. Belcher talked of promotion of a movie, "I didn't want anything to do with it," Mrs. Armstrong related. But after Lofland described plans to develop 80 acres of Tucumcari and said he would take care of Mrs. Belcher's debt, Mrs Armstrong entered an agreement. She was to get a 25 per cent interest in the project and was promised return of her own loan, she added. When she went to her bank, "my banker objected, so I had to go to another bank," Mrs. Armstrong recalled. For her stock, she got $300,000 from Ridglea State Bank, then drew $5,000 more from University State Bank. "Did he ever pay the $35,000?" asked Assistant U.S. Atty. Jed S. Rakof. "No," Mrs. Armstrong answered. If your reading this and wondering what the big deal is, the answer revolves around the fact that some researchers have wondered if Belcher Oil associated with the CIA ship, the Rex, might have a link to Dallas, ie Collins Radio. Unfortunately, research re Mae Belcher seems to have yielded nothing more than phone calls from David Ferrie, circa 1962 and involvement to some degree, with James Lofland's scam artistry Areas which possibly could yield results may include H Parr Armstrong, if he is mentioned in the JFK Files, which does not seem to be the case. Additionally Marita Lorenz, proponent of the "assassination caravan" story from Miami to Dallas, has some relatives, either in her or her husband's genealogy, with the same last name. See 1993.08.09.18:23:38:310007 Folder on Operation Cobra, William Pawley, Frank Sturgis and William....... http://www.maryferre...2&relPageId=155 Then there was a Birdie Sue Belcher of the Retail Merchants Credit Association, in Dallas, which provided background checks on persons in Dallas, in the Warren Commision investigation See http://www.maryferre...6&relPageId=175 Was Mae Belcher, J.A. Belcher, or A.M. Belcher related to attorney Frank Baker Belcher, Sr of Los Angeles, owner of Belcher Aircraft and father of son Frank "Bud" Baker Belcher, Jr (whom Chauncey Holt or Tosh Plumlee identified as a "Bud Belcher-- pilot from California" in the famous photo of LHO handing out flyers in New Orleans)? In other words, was there a connection between Belcher Aircraft and Belcher Oil? --Tommy

bump It's interesting that pilot "Bud" Belcher's father, Los Angeles attorney Frank B. Belcher, Sr was married to George Reynold's sister, Ruth B. Reynolds. And that George Reynolds' brother, Bob Reynolds, was satation chief of JM/WAVE. --Tommy

Does anyone know if James ever got around to ID-ing the short guy standing on the far right? Personally, I think it is Chauncey Holt, but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise. --Thomas photo of LHO leafleting with Bud Belcher and Leroy Young labeled on the photo, Chauncey Holt(?) on the right[/color].JPG] bump P.S. Did "Bud" Belcher (in the photo of LHO handing out flyers in front of the N.O. International Trade Mart) have connections to Collins Radio? Wim Dankbaar says he was "the son of Frank Belcher of the Belcher Aircraft family". I'm sure "Bud" was a nickname and his real name was Frank Baker Belcher, Jr., born 6/08/22 in North Hollywood, California, died 9/16/87. His father, Frank Baker Belcher Sr, was a very wealthy and influential attorney in Los Angeles. Frank Sr. was president of the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 1938 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Om_G6XLDA5AJ:www.lacba.org/showpage.cfm%3Fpageid%3D5918+%22+frank+b+belcher%22+%22los+angeles%22+attorney&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1 and wife's maiden name was Ruth Betsy Reynolds from Illinois. Our "Bud", Frank Baker Belcher Jr, is mentioned in this 2001-2002 obituary: Richard Belcher • Oakhurst merchant OAKHURST — Richard Bradley Belcher, owner of Oakhurst Office Supply, died on March 2. He was 48. Services will be held Friday [March 8], starting at 10 a.n. at Sierra Pines Church. Burial will follow at Oakhill Cemetery. Mr. Belcher was born in North Hollywood on August 11, 1953. He had resided in Oakhurst for 10 years. He served in the U.S. Navy for four years. Mr. Belcher enjoyed music. He was also active in the Tuesday Morning Prayer Breakfast. Mr. Belcher was the father of Danielle, Christian and Landon, all of Fullerton. He was the son of Loretta Belcher-Baker of Newport Beach and the late Frank Baker Belcher Jr. Also surviving are his sister, Karen Belcher Capuano, Tujunga; and Frank E. Belcher-Baker, Newport Beach. --Tommy bump

[Does anyone know if James ever got around to ID-ing the short guy standing on the far right? Personally, I think it is Chauncey Holt, but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise. --Thomas bump P.S. Did "Bud" Belcher, ("son of Frank Belcher of the Belcher Aircraft family"), have connections to Collins Radio? --Tommy

According to James Douglas in JFK and the Unspeakable page 254 "As Mercer watched, a man walked around to the back of the [green] pickup [parked about halfway on the sidewalk on Elm Street near the Triple Underpass]. He reached in and pulled out a rifle case wrapped in paper. The man carried what was apparently a rifle up a slope that would soon be known as the grassy knoll." The next day, Mercer photo-identified Jack Ruby as having been the man sitting in the driver's seat of the pickup. The theory is that the plotters planned to use Ruby as a backup hitman in case the cops couldn't do the job on LHO in the Texas Theater. So they put Ruby in this situation where he would be identified, even before the assassination, as the guy who delivered the rifle to the Grassy Knoll. The fact that Mercer had identified Ruby from FBI photos must have been relayed to Ruby himself by someone in the FBI or Dallas Police Department, etc, and was sufficient leverage to force Ruby's hands in his stalking and killing of LHO. It's interesting to note that mobbed-up Jack Ruby was known to have run guns to Fidel Castro in the late 1950's and that Julia Ann Mercer (apparently) told author Henry Hurt in 1983 that the man she saw carry the rifle up the grassy slope was another "Castro-connected" man, Lee Harvey Oswald. (ibid., p. 445, footnote #201) (Or his double?) So that the rogue CIA plotters could pin the assassination on Castro and/or the Mafia... --Tommy P.S. But I think Paul Baker does raise a valid point when he questions Mercer's ability to recognize the face of the man who was killing LHO at the very moment he was killing him. Mercer very clearly stated several times that at the moment Oswald was being shot she recognized/identified the dude doing the shooting as being the same guy whose photo (Ruby's) she'd chosen just the day before for the FBI. expanded a bit and bumped again

Tom, Fascinating analysis on your part. If LHO intended for it to be picked up by his lawyer, then it depends on whether it was in the eventuality that LHO was still alive (but incarcerated) or whether LHO had aready been killed. Regardless, I wonder who that lawyer was. Dean Andrews? --Tommy If true, that proves very much Judyth V. Bakers point, that Oswald was out there to prevent the assassination, that he was part of an abort team (like Tosh Plumlee), and was forced to infiltrate at least one assassination team. KK Karl, If Baker is right, it would explain why Richard Case Nagell (who thought LHO was part of the assassination team) was unable to talk LHO out of proceeding with it. --Tommy

[quote name='Greg Parker' date='16 [...] RD Lewis, the polygraph examiner of Buell Frazier described the infamous paper bag as looking like a "paper gun case". [...] [...] According to James Douglas in JFK and the Unspeakable , "As Mercer watched, a man walked around to the back of the [green] pickup [parked about halfway on the sidewalk on Elm Street near the Triple Underpass]. He reached in and pulled out a rifle case wrapped in paper. The man carried what was apparently a rifle up a slope that would soon be known as the grassy knoll." The next day, Mercer photo-identified Jack Ruby as having been the man sitting in the driver's seat of the pickup. The theory is that the plotters planned to use Ruby as a backup hitman in case the cops couldn't do the job on LHO in the Texas Theater. So they put Ruby in this situation where he would be identified, even before the assassination, as the guy who delivered the rifle to the Grassy Knoll. The fact that Mercer had identified Ruby from FBI photos must have been relayed to Ruby himself by someone in the FBI or Dallas Police Department, etc, and was sufficient leverage to force Ruby's hands in his stalking and killing of LHO. --Tommy

Tom, Fascinating analysis on your part. If LHO intended for it to be picked up by his lawyer, then it depends on whether it was in the eventuality that LHO was still alive (but incarcerated) or whether LHO had aready been killed. Regardless, I wonder who that lawyer was. Dean Andrews? --Tommy

Tom, It would be interesting to know if any unused/blank labels like the one on this package were found among his effects after he was murdered. --Tommy

Scott, you're regularly posting and then quickly deleting most or all of the content in your posts, not all of your posts, but many more than anyone else. You make it plain that the proof supporting what amounts to the many teasers you are posting, is for sale. Isn't it fair to describe your participation here as spamming the board? You posted the same thing you just deleted, word for word, here on another forum, many months ago. So what was is the posting and retracting all about, if it isn't a merely form of commercial advertising? Another example; you've filled another of your threads with re-quotes of your own posts: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=18755&pid=248409&st=0entry248409 Mary covered part of your teaser, in her files: A Record from Mary Ferrell's Database http://http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/marysdb/showRec.do;jsessionid=31F699C338C1DB09F9FD4EAC6AF226C3?id=6266 Comments: Tampa police officer identified by Thomas White, III, as involved in ... FBI Special Agent Barry Carmody did locate and interview Massey. Carmody Tom, At least Scott's posts are short, well organized, to the point, and interesting to read. --Tommy

John, There is a West Nassau Street in Tampa, Florida. It runs from east to west (duh) and begins with the "1000" block (at the eastern end of the street). It has no "600" block. According to the (U.S. Treasury Department's) Federal Bureau of Narcotics's book "Mafia", Santo Trafficante Jr. lived at 2505 Bristol Avenue. (I think they meant to say 2505 West Bristol Avenue, because that's the only kind of "Bristol Avenue" there is in Tampa.) 2505 West Bristol Avenue and the "1000 block" of West Nassau Street are about two miles apart. FWIW, West Nassau Street is broken up a bit, and there are no 3700-3800, 4400-4800, or 5200-5400 blocks. -Tommy

Here is the video Mr. Phelps turned us onto in post #1, this thread: http://rechtiskrom.w...-frank-sturgis/ --Tommy The 1969 Italian documentary Two Kennedy's. The clip we're talking about starts just around 1:04:50. Whoever it is (LHO?) that's standing behind Sturgis (who has the upraised pistol) sure doesn't want to be caught on film. Look how fast he turns his head away and bends down twice behind the others. Sturgis even turns to look at him and (maybe) warns him to hide. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qLpfVBiQi-Q#t=3893s --Tommy P.S. It looks like Oswald had at least three helpers passing out flyers. Dig the helper wearing the black bermuda shorts at 1:06:44.

BISHOP, WILLIAM C. "BILL" Sources: List of patrons at Sportsdrome Gun Range one of the days Oswald was allegedly there. Mary's Comments: 1963 City Directory; Wm. C. Bishop, Bank Manager, Brook Mays Music, 2927 W. Colorado Blvd., Dallas, TX. 1966 City Directory; Wm. C. Bishop, Investments, 1st Natl. Bank Bldg., Dallas, TX (214) 748-3347; residence; 2927 W. Colorado (214) 337-7023. (See entry for Wm. C. Bishop) BISHOP, WILLIAM C. (CLARENCE ?) (COL.) Sources: Madisonville Meteor, 7/6/92 Mary's Comments: DOB: 2/18/23; POB: Georgia; DOD: 7/2/92. Served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Paratrooper with Darby's First Rangers Battalion. Served 23 years in military intelligence. Was at Pearl Harbor. Prisoner of war during both WW II and Viet Nam. 33rd degree Mason, Shriner of Hellana Temple, Dallas. Survived by wife: Jean Gibbs Bishop of Madisonville, two daughters and sons-in-laws, Nita and Doran Walker of Cleburne and Susan and Pete Alanis of Houston; two sons, Robert Smith of Houston and Richard Smith and wife, Karen of Sugarland. Buried 7/5/92 in City Cemetary in Madisonville. Interviewed by Gary Shaw and Earl Golz in 1984. Told strange stories of involvement with CIA and involvement in murder of Trujillo. He claimed he was in Baker Hotel in Dallas as part of military intelligence 11/22/63. Claimed he was at Trade Mart, Dallas, checking identification. Claimed to have been in Africa. Claimed to have been involved in murders of James Meredith, Martin Luther King and Jimmy Hoffa. Although we have copies of Bishop's Military I.D., the government denies any knowledge of him. (See card on Bill Bishop) Robert: If someone who has a subscription to, newspaperarchive.com and could search the Madisonville Meteor of Texas, from July 2, 1992, and post it here on the forum, that would be a big help...... Well here it is. The date was in error. He died on July 2, 1999, not 1992. Col William C Bishop Birth: Feb. 19, 1923 Death: Jul. 2, 1999 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Bishop&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=46&GScnty=2676&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=55932319&df=all& The photo on the tombstone states he was a Colonel in the US Army was a POW and served in WW II, Korea and Vietnam..... sounds like the Colonel Bishop Richard Dick Russell interviewed alright; see the original edition of The Man Who Knew Too Much pages 30, 39, 102, 505-506, 507-514, 524, 570, 581, 584, 681-682, 692, 702, 703, 704 and 705. Robert, Well, there's definitely something fishy about his date of death because on page 681 of the 1992 edition of TMWKTM, Dick Russell writes: "As I was completing this book in July 1992, Bishop died of heart failure at his home in Cleburne, Texas." Maybe, as Gerry Patrick Hemming liked to say, Bishop just decided to "up and die" in 1992! --Tommy

Bill, That's a good question. --Tommy

Bump ( emphasis added)

Zach, When I clicked on the link, I got the same photo of Bishop that's in TMWKTM, with the extra notation that it was taken of him when he was "down in Texas". Was there supposed to be more to the "file"? BTW, I think it is very important for researchers to be familiar with his 'record" and what he said to people like Dick Russell. Thanks, --Tommy

Does anyone know if Delgado is still alive? If so, how to contact him? Thanks, --Tommy I'd like to ask him about the time he, Oswald, and a couple other Marines went to a gay bar, at Oswald's suggestion, called The Flamingo which Delgado said was a mile or two outside Tijuana, Mexico. Delgado said Oswald knew how to get there and seemed to be familiar with the joint. I'm trying to figure out if the place was mafia-owned. The mafioso I knew in San Diego had owned some bars in Tijuana with his brother before they moved from TJ to San Diego. They had previously lived in Los Angeles from around 1920 until 1924 and were associated with LA boss Jack Dragna who, in turn, was associated with Johnny Roselli. Also, it's interesting to note that, according to Dick Russell's source in TMWKTM, when Oswald was stationed in Japan, he may have been used by a US intelligence agency in its attempt to get a Russian, Colonel Eroshkin, to defect to the US, and that LHO may have tried to compromise Eroshin by engaging him in a homosexual relationship. bump

Thanks for the info, talk about truth being stranger than fiction; I felt that the most intriguing passages in Longton's article dealt with the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Catherwood Foundation; and the possibility that The Collective by LHO was used a source by Guy Pauken. And "Paisley's yacht "contained highly classified communications gear capable of communicating via satellites linked to the [top secret] CIA ground station at Pine Gap, Australia." Again, thanks. Namebase.org shows connections between Joseph "Joe Hooks" Mirabile (current Detroit Partnership underboss and son of Anthony "Papa Tony" Mirabile who was murdered in San Diego in December of 1958) and only three other people: John Arthur Paisley, Robert W. Gambino (former head of C!A security), and Frank Rucco. I know who Paisley and Gambino were, but can anyone tell me who Frank Rucco is/was? Thanks, --Tommy edited and hit, I mean bumped bump

So maybe Oswald wasn't in the hospital for nearly as long a period of time as has been reported... --Tommy

Does anyone know if Delgado is still alive? If so, how to contact him? Thanks, --Tommy I'd like to ask him about the time he, Oswald, and a couple other Marines went to a gay bar, at Oswald's suggestion, called The Flamingo which Delgado said was a mile or two outside Tijuana, Mexico. Delgado said Oswald knew how to get there and seemed to be familiar with the joint. I'm trying to figure out if the place was mafia-owned. The mafioso I knew in San Diego had owned some bars in Tijuana with his brother before they moved from TJ to San Diego. They had previously lived in Los Angeles from around 1920 until 1924 and were associated with LA boss Jack Dragna who, in turn, was associated with Johnny Roselli. Also, it's interesting to note that, according to Dick Russell in TMWKTM, when Oswald was stationed in Japan, he may have been used by a US intelligence agency in its attempt to get a Russian, Colonel Eroshkin, to defect to the US, and that LHO may have tried to compromise Eroshin by engaging him in a homosexual relationship.

Scott, I'm drawing a blank here. Maybe it's just the library computer I'm using.... --Tommy

Does anyone know if Delgado is still alive? If so, how to contact him? Thanks, --Tommy

Mr. Kaiser, Some members of our group, The S.F.R.G. http://cuban-exile.com/menu1/!sfrg.html are interested in listening to what you have to say about your new and upcoming book. You may bring whomever you wish. We will be calling a meeting for Feb 25 at ten in the morning and would like you to attend. (Brunch is on us) Please let me know if this fits your schedule. The venue is not yet announced but you can ride with me or I with you. Please verify your phone number: 210.251.4754. Regards, Gordon Winslow I will be contacting Gordon Winslow as soon as I get into Miami. Thank you for allowing me to speak at your Conference, it would be an honor for me to attend such an important group of people. Regards, Scott Kaiser http://cuban-exile.com/menu1/!sfrg.html Treefrog, Gordon Winslow, others and myself. Thanks for the memories, I had a great time! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20673422/SFRG%20004.JPG Hi Scott, Did you have an opportunity to ask anyone if they knew who A and L were? Thanks, --Tommy

What's the point? --Tommy

It's been a long time but I think I read it in Marrs Crossfire book like 17/18 years back. If i recall correctly, he had a written letter to somebody (maybe RFK, maybe a reporter??) that LBJ was behind it all. He also said something to the effect of If Aldai Stevenson was the VP, then JFK would still be alive today. I'm sure some of the other researchers on this site can provide some validation. [...] Ruby babbled on about a conspiracy to get the Jews the 1st time they spoke to him, so I don't think it surprising they didn't go through the bother of transporting a convicted killer to DC. [...] Are you saying they thought Ruby was just too crazy to give any meaningful testimony about the assassination? Aren't convicted murderers ever called upon to testify in a court of law, or are they considered, by definition, to be "just too crazy" to do so? --Tommy Ruby had yet to be convicted, and he was questioned in a room with about a dozen or more people in it, including those from Texas who he implied intimidated him from telling the truth, which he could only do if he was taken out of Texas. The only reason not to take Ruby out of Texas for proper questioning was not to learn the truth. BK JFKcountercoup Bill, I agree with what you wrote. Unfortunately, I was still editing my last post when you were replying to it. (It would have been nice, however, if you had kept my original last sentence or at least put a [...] in its place to indicate that you were cutting it out in your reply.) Keep up the good work, --Tommy