Gene Kelly

Gary Your excellent work on Tippit inspired me to dig further into the anomalies associated with his murder. The Tippit story is for me the true Rosetta Stone (but not in the sense that Wesley Liebeler meant) which points clearly/brightly to treachery by a larger group in the President's death. I know there are many other subplots, loose ends, and things that don't fit together ... but the Tippit story is one that I simply can't turn away from. I'm sure your work on Connally meets the same standard for excellence. Volume notwithstanding, one aspect that I believe keeps many from digging into the JFK story is that it requires a lot of work, and a lot of reading (i.e. patience). One has to perform their due diligence; there are no short cuts, thanks to the devious plotters and psychological operations expertise applied. Thanks for making "Controlling the Past" available, Gene Kelly

Micah I don't know much about Ms. Molina, but she is a respected Los Angeles politician, who was forced out in 2014 by term limits. She was the first Latina elected to the legislature in 1982, and a legend amongst the Hispanic community. She was described as "taking on the old boys network" and was later elected to the Los Angeles City Council. A Mexican-American who was a hero and role model for a generation of Latino political activists, Molina was also a feminist champion embraced by NOW (and Gloria Steinem). I'm not sure what happened with the bookkeeping irregularities charged against Serrano ... there is likely a back story there, and the timing - as RFK records were being released (20 year anniversary) and Sandra was going public in 1990 with her badgering by LAPD - suggests retribution/discrediting. Other accounts of Ms. Molina characterize her as brusque and harsh on her subordinates and colleagues. Gene

What is more appalling (insult to injury) is that the "authorities" let this travesty go unchallenged ... and even today, there's little interest in following through with it. I'm guessing that no DA in their right mind would want to resurface any of this - then or now - as there's too much to overcome, and too much to lose. Too much power controlling the legal system, investigatory bodies, and media. No wonder that Sandra Serrano doesn't want to give interviews anymore. In 1990, Serrano-Sewell was charged with embezzling $9,800 from a councilwoman’s campaign funds. An AP story stated that Sandra Serrano Sewell, 42, of Pasadena, was charged with one felony charge of grand theft by embezzlement. Sewell allegedly took the money while bookkeeping for the Committee to Re- Elect Gloria Molina in 1985. The alleged embezzlement was discovered during a routine audit by the state Fair Political Practices Commission two years later. Serrano-Sewell pleaded no contest to grand theft for embezzling thousands of dollars from Los Angeles City Councilwoman Gloria Molina. Sandra was working as Molina's bookkeeper when she cashed nine unauthorized checks in the last four months of Molina's 1985 state Assembly campaign, prosecutors said; the embezzlement was not discovered until 1987, however, when a routine audit by the state Fair Political Practices Commission turned up bookkeeping irregularities. Sewell has steadfastly maintained her innocence. The AP story unfortunately repeated the myth being perpetuated: Sandra claimed that she was badgered and had never recanted the polka dot story. But her story was often resurrected by conspiracy buffs who suggested the woman in the polka-dot dress was part of an assassination plot. Sirhan B. Sirhan was convicted of Kennedy’s killing and is serving a life sentence. Sewell declared in 1988 that police had harassed her into recanting. ″There was a lot of badgering that was going on. I was just 20 years old, and I became unglued ... I said what they wanted me to say, ″ she said. Police dismissed the woman’s badgering allegations. ″She did not tell the truth, ″ said Cmdr. William Booth, spokesman for the Police Department. A more recent 2014 article in the UCLA center for the Study of Women describes Sandra as a Latino activist, who met her future husband (Mario Sewell) at a Peace and Freedom meeting through Young Democrats, which gave her a glimpse into the ‘Hippie’ California culture of the time. She attended her very first NOW (National Organization for Women) meeting, and the Comision Femenil Mexicana Nacional and discovered her passions at the intersection of women’s leadership and Chicano politics, as the national president of the organization. In advocating for equal treatment of women regardless of their education or career choices . Sandra is currently the Executive Director at Centro de Ninos, Inc. in Pasadena.

Manuel Pena has connections to both the JFK and RFK murders. It was Pena who traced Oswald's telescopic sight to a California gun shop. After the assassination, Senator Dodd helped a Senate Internal Security Subcommittee publish a story that Oswald bad been trained at a KGB assassination school in Minsk. Two mail-order houses were the center points from which Oswald ordered his Smith and Wesson .38 revolver (Seaport Traders of Los Angeles) and his Mannlicher-Carcano rifle (Klein's of Chicago). Oswald ordered his pistol two days before Senator Christopher Dodd's subcommittee began hearings in January 1963. The subcommittee’s statistics later showed a purchase in Texas made from Seaport Traders. One of the groups being investigated for firearm purchases was one that Oswald had in his address book ... the American Nazi Party. An investigator looking into interstate firearms sales at this time was Manuel Pena, the LAPD lieutenant who was later one of the officers investigating Robert Kennedy's assassination. Pena had an interesting background; he served in the Navy during WWII and in the Army during the Korean War, and was a Counterintelligence officer in France. He spoke French and Spanish, and had connections with various intelligence agencies in several countries. In 1967, Pena "retired" from the LAPD, leaving to join AID, a cover for political operations in foreign countries. Roger LeJeunesse, an FBI agent who had been involved in the RFK investigation, told author William Turner that Pena had performed special assignments for the CIA for more than ten years. After his retirement from the LAPD (and a public farewell dinner) in November of 1967, Pena inexplicably returned to the LAPD in April 1968 ... just in time to head the LAPD group called Special Unit Senator that controlled the RFK investigation two months later. Pena was the trusted courier of key evidence being supplied to the FBI ... and he was affiliated with the same mercenaries and cut-outs used by JMWave operatives in various operations -- Saigon, El Salvador, Uruguay, Phoenix -- who were employed by cover with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Adrian I once had a very wise boss who said "its not the answers we get wrong, its the questions that we ask". There are a handful of specific stories or subplots to the assassination that are particularly insightful and worth digging into (imho) - questions, if you will. All of these topics have a wealth of information available (and some obvious disinformation too, which is itself telling) from a wealth excellent research in the last 50 years. From these topics, you will get a very good sense of what the right questions are to ask: What happened in Mexico City at the end of September 1963 (beginning on Sept. 20th) and how was that information managed and manipulated by the CIA Who were Ruth and Michael Paine, and what was their true interest in Lee and Marina Oswald ... who put them up to this, as "handlers" Where was Officer J. D. Tippit in the hour following the assassination, and why was he killed ... leading to Oswald's apprehension in the Texas Theater How was the iconic Zapruder Film handled in the days (and years) following the assassination, and what is the film's true provenance Why did Jim Garrison become interested in the assassination, and was he on the right track ... how/why was his investigation subverted and sabotaged I could add other interesting topics such as the autopsy, the ballistics/weapons, intimidation of witnesses, suppression of evidence, conduct of the Warren Commission, Jack Ruby's associates, behavior of the mainstream media, etc. There is much information to digest, and many rabbit holes one can lost within. But for me, the five topics above - when fully understood - shed light on who orchestrated the murder, and why. Gene

Further comment on Lisa's book, specifically the polka dot girl mystery: Lisa does a good job establishing that there were many operatives at play, as well as elaborating upon the mind control aspect of Sirhan's manipulation. There were at least 4-5 people observed with "polka dots" ... on ties, scarves, and most famously dresses. This is suggested as both a trigger mechanism for Sirhan's controlled state, and an identification signal amongst the operatives. There are several candidates for the Polka Dot girl - it seems there was more than just one at play - and there were many witnesses (almost 20) beyond just Sandra Serrano who saw her with Sirhan, and commented on her odd behavior. Yet in the trial, the prosecution, with the aid of the defense team, cleverly manipulated the young witness Vincent DiPierro into establishing Valerie Schute as the mysterious female, even though she didn't at all resemble the individual described by so many others (Schulte had blonde hair, was on crutches, and wore a lime green dress with yellow splotches). Lisa's later interview of an older Vincent DiPierro demonstrates that he was intimidated by LAPD, and later feared for his life. DiPierro hinted at some sort of deal he made with the FBI to stick with the Schulte identification. There was a bar downstairs at the Ambassador Hotel that apparently served as a staging area from which to “launch” the patsy (Sirhan), and the inference is that Sirhan was drugged as well as programmed … right out of the Artichoke Playbook. In fact, there may have been more than one patsy (or Sirhan doppelganger) to attack RFK from either downstairs or upstairs, depending upon his post-speech path. Lisa mentions the untimely death, allegedly from an overdose of sleeping pills in a motel in April 1969, (as the trial was beginning) of Cathy Sue Fulmer (or Sandy Rossi) who was at the Ambassador with a green scarf with orange polka dots. Fulmer had been observed in conversation with the more shapely polka dot female and the mysterious tall male with blonde hair in a gold sweater. Lisa found a 3/20/69 interview of one Ernie Johnson which was suppressed by LAPD (like most of the evidence concerning the polka dot female), who stated that he saw the two women arguing in the pantry, earlier in the evening. It’s thought provoking that there were many individuals sporting the polka dot "signal", but no pictures have ever surfaced to record their presence. Twenty years later, in 1988, we were informed that that 2,410 police photographs from the case had been burned in August 1968. The Polka Dot girl(s) is an obvious participant in the operation, but also appears to be an intentional distraction ... meant to stand out, to be observed/heard. The LAPD and FBI had no genuine (public) intention of finding her, officially concluded she was mistaken for Valerie Schulte, and that she never existed. This is not credible, when all of the witness evidence is considered, including the discredited testimony of John Fahey, the man who picked up (or was picked up by) the operative in the polka-dot dress and spent the day of the assassination with her. She was meant to create false leads and confusion (i.e. cognitive dissonance) ... one of the hallmarks of a psychological operation.

If you read Lisa's book closely (including the preface), she describes the entire operation as a magic act ... classic deception by a large team of operatives. The entire "show" was rigged - ACE Security, Hotel Security (Gardner, Murphy), LAPD (Pena, Hernandez, et al), the District Attorney and prosecutors (read Evelle Younger's biography, to understand how the autopsy photos ended up in Angleton's safe), the Crime Lab (Wolfer), Sirhan's so-called "defense" team (Cooper, Kaiser, et al), the US Attorney (William Byrne, Jr., later proposed as FBI Director and nominated to the federal bench by President Nixon) ... even the Mayor (Sam Yorty). They even infiltrated the Medical Examiner's Office and tried to discredit Thomas Noguchi (i.e. phony physician Donald Angus Stuart). The deck was stacked. Lisa makes a good case for the fact that Sirhan was manipulated in the pantry and used as a distraction (and likely shot blanks), as was Michael Wayne (i.e. to draw focus). One need only examine the background and connections of Thane Cesar to understand where the real bullets originated from. And separate from the weapon in Sirhan's hand (which was never traced/connected to the ballistics), there were clearly multiple weapons in play. There were Sirhan look-alikes (doppelgangers), operatives dressed as busboys, kitchen managers and "auditors" (e.g. John Khoury) and individuals supplied with press badges. Many suspects were described by witnesses (who statements were buried in records) as looking Mexican, but speaking a foreign language (i.e. Lebanese Arabic). Lisa makes some interesting connections to Robert Maheu and certain QJ WIN contacts (i.e. Harold Meltzer, who worked out of the Ambassador Hotel, and one Hanna Yazbeck). Instead of Communists and Russia, the backdrop cover story (read motive) was now Israel/Palestine and the Middle East.

Marshall Houts was interesting in his own right. He was an FBI agent, OSS operative, lawyer, judge, professor and author of 44 books, including "Where Death Delights," on which the "Quincy, M.E." television series was based. He created Trauma magazine in 1959, a medical journal for emergency room physicians, which he edited until his death. Houts became an undercover FBI agent in Brazil and Cuba, then quit the FBI to join the OSS in the middle of World War II because "things were getting pretty quiet." During his OSS service, he parachuted into the Japanese-held island of Macao (near Hong Kong) because he could speak Portuguese, and worked behind enemy lines in Burma. Houts served five years as a Municipal Court judge, then moved to Los Angeles, where he was general counsel to author Erle Stanley Gardner's Court of Last Resort from 1951 to 1961. He investigated 600 murder cases and won freedom for 41 wrongly convicted people. He was an "official observer" at Jack Ruby's trial for the murder of Lee Oswald and had a painting of Ruby in the courtroom hanging in his office. He was quoted as saying; "There was no conspiracy … Ruby's being in that place at that time was pure accident." He authored a study of Dwight D. Eisenhower in collaboration with Harold Stassen, former Minnesota governor and Eisenhower confidante. He also published a book on the legal aspects of the trial of Jesus by the Sanhedrin, which many churches regard as heretical ... although he grew up traveling with his father, who was a minister and devoted Methodist circuit rider in the mountain towns of eastern Tennessee and West Virginia. Quite a life.

Ron: thanks for your compliment. My summary is simply a collection of past work by many excellent researchers, whose shoulders we ride upon. I simply organized a set of key points. David: I'm not well versed in film production, so the importance of edge markings was a bit lost on me. They seem akin to fingerprints, which can be traced back to the original film production or the processing lab. I presume the 0183 identification refers to the initial processing in Dallas. Later in Zavada's report, there are sections identified without that ID number (and some with an ID of 0184) which would imply this was not a camera-original copy. It would appear that Roland Zavada is independent and legitimate ... but his study proves little as far as provenance and originality. Like fingerprints, these edge markings could be gotten around, including using a blank film and then adding the desired number/marking, as you suggest. It would seem to me that Kodak would be very cautious and careful (in the 1996-1997 timeframe) with offering its experts and performing any limited studies, given the still classified nature of their government work, and what was in question. From Zavada's report: Perforated Number: The Zapruder 8mm film was identified during processing with a number – 0183 perforated vertically within the 8mm width as a part of company practice for customer identification – a control system to match the processing request or order to the film. The perforation would typically be located at the core of the returned 8mm reel, thus placing it following the scene exposed last – the customer tails end of side two. Also note that as the laboratory receives the film, this location is at the outside end of the camera spool, immediately following the integral camera thread-up leader that will be removed prior to processing. Chris: I'm very interested in other pictures of Mr. Zapruder, and why he would head back towards the Pergola area (an area of speculation and intrigue, as were the Hester couple). For having witnessed a brutal assassination (his vantage of the shooting is second only to the Umbrella Man and DCM), it seems strange that he and Ms. Sitzman immediately part ways and walk away . If that were you or I, we would be staying put and in shock ... staying together, consoling each other, trying to find a policeman, etc. In the photograph, you can see others (i.e. the Newman's) still lying on the ground. Very much like the UM and DCM casually walking away in opposite directions. One additional thought: Zapruder is quoted as having been "deeply troubled" by Frame 313 (including experiencing nightmares) and this was used as an rationale for why, when he sold the film to Time-Life, it must be withheld from publication (although he signed over the full rights, and Time did later expose that frame as a picture). This stipulation was also used as an excuse for why Time-Life sequestered the film for 12 years. I've also read related explanations that imply he wanted to spare the Kennedy family further pain. This seems, in retrospect, a bit dramatic and sounds similar to Jack Ruby's stated reason for killing Oswald.

Back to Lisa's book ... I'm almost through it. I would add that she really does a nice job of digging into the detail of the ballistics, the bullet controversies, and the numerous (not well known) witnesses who were suppressed (or buried) by LAPD SUS. Also, the slipshod work of DeWayne Wolfer, who was compromised, incompetent and blatantly complicit in manipulating or falsifying the evidence. For his "service", he was then promoted to head the LAPD Crime Lab, and later made the head of ACE Security (talk about the fox guarding the henhouse). But his unethical actions and flawed findings were clearly refuted by the excellent challenges of forensic expert Robert Harper ... who in turn was sandbagged by the Ron Kessler of the Washington Post. Its instructive that the RFK investigation was concurrent with Garrison's work, and may of the same players were very busy spinning the facts. I think Lisa takes this part of the story much further than any other previous author (e.g. Kaiser, Turner & Christian, Melanson, Shane O'Sullivan, etc.). She does a meticulous job of citing references and sources, and conducted an amazing number of interviews. Its a good read, and informative. Her book certainly has me thinking ... and I'm wondering why Bobby's death was not focused on by the HSCA, which originally was to take on all three murders. Also, the mysterious death in March 1980 (actually an assassination) of Allard Lowenstein, who was determined to find justice for RFK. Some areas that I wish she could've taken further/deeper are the background of Michael Wayne, the identity of the Polka Dot girl, Officer Manuel Pena (a true bad guy, the ultimate bona fides of Thane Cesar (a Robert Maheu hitman for sure), and the suspicious John Antoine Khoury character (with apparent QJ WIN tentacles).

Eddy/Robert I've spent quite a bit of time reading and studying information about the Zapruder Film. I've even put a few papers together, mainly for my own edification, to navigate through the complex history of the film. Its quite a complicated affair (still not sure I fully grasp what David Healy told me about Kodak manufacturing double 8mm film stock without edge markings). There exist passionate debate and opinions about alteration. What I am convinced of is that the film was "managed" in some way, to fit with the official storyline. It's difficult to decide what to believe with the JFK case in general, with all of the conflicting the information (and skilled disinformaionalists), but Abraham Zapruder is also an enigma to me. Something about him - and his film's chain of custody and Time-Life negotiations - seems "off". I wouldn't be that surprised if he isn't the innocent bystander that the history books paint him out as. Doug Horne plowed some very important new ground in the assassination story, that I'm sure of ... and the interviews (not too long ago) of NPIC's Brugioni and McMahon are quite amazing. I was in Rochester this summer, and took pictures at the retired Kodak facility where Hawkeyeworks is located (I'm having trouble uploading these to the EF). It gave me the creeps to be nearby ... a sinister feel and presence. I'd caution anyone from trying to use the ZFilm as a marker for timing, since I'm convinced its been altered and important information removed (Stemmons sign, limo stop, crossfire fusillade). It's almost as if the film was itself a part of the plot, to throw everyone off, and support the other piece parts (3 shots, one shooter, wounds/autopsy, etc.). More than 50 years later, we still talk about it ... and its been the stimulus of every attempt to get to the bottom of Dealey Plaza since Jim Garrison's trial (i.e. HSCA, Stone's JFK, the AARB and the Records Act). The film is as well-protected today (with the Sixth Flor Museum) as it was when Time-Life took possession the week after the assassination. Gene

That his independent authenticity study was window dressing ... it proved little, and was essentially meaningless?

Rick This is great ... thanks for sharing. It is, as you say, a cogent explanation of a very complex story. The ZFilm (and other films) are the source of infinite controversy, but their provenance and accuracy literally shed light on the fundamental questions underlying JFK's murder. For me, there are a number of basic facts associated with the ZFilm that are, by themselves, powerful and compelling ... the film tells the entire story of what really happened in Dealey Plaza, and the powerful forces that orchestrated the assassination: The organization (Time-Life) that vigorously pursued purchase rights and copies of the film. Life spends a small fortune on the Monday following the original $50K purchase to secure motion picture rights and total ownership - of a primary piece of evidence in the President's murder - but never exploits the film commercially for 12 years. Clearly an act of suppression as opposed to profit. How is it that a private business can secure and purchase the evidence in a crime? While the popular chain of custody story is one of Zapruder negotiating with Time-Life over the weekend (which itself seems a cover story), the actual film is already in the hands of government authorities, being studied and altered ...its as though the Stolley story (and Time-Life's possession) is an intentional distraction for what's actually happening to the film. In its first issue after the assassination, Life misrepresented the content of the film (the frontal throat wound, inaccurately described as the President turning his body to face the snipers nest) ... a practice that continued until its public release (albeit with bootleg copies) in 1975 Since the film was altered, the conspirators had to manufacture altered copies as well ... so, the infamous "first-day copies" (made on Friday) had to be quickly switched out with replacements. In this light, the additional sum of $100K can be considered, in essence, "hush money" ($25K annually each January, for the next five years). How little the Warren Commission was interested in the film. The frames published by the Commission consist of 12 exhibits - less than one second of the 26-second film - in Volume XVIII. The Commission studied a grainy second-generation FBI copy in early 1964; they only viewed the ostensible "original" for one day (February 25th) and only after being provided the purported camera-original film by Time-Life. Certain scenes on the film had to be altered - the brief car stop, multiple hits to the head from both front and rear, exit debris leaving the skull from the rear, movement of Secret Service agents and motorcycle escorts, the edge of the Stemmons Freeway sign - to match other aspects of the cover story that are otherwise seriously in question (i.e. one shooter, 3 shots, autopsy) but the head snap could not be removed ... so the movie was suppressed for 12 years. Few pictures exist of Zapruder himself doing the actual filming from that uniquely-positioned pedestal (I'm preoccupied by this) and where he was actually standing ... and why him? And he immediately "donates" $25K to Tippit's widow ... an interesting choice. While many citizens had their cameras and film immediately confiscated in Dealey Plaza (some never to be returned), Zapruder's camera wasn't taken. After the shooting, his associate Marilyn Sitzman walks towards the Pergola, while Zapruder heads straight to the TSBD Building (as depicted in the Bell Film). Zapruder also told the Warren Commission that immediately after the assassination, he went to his office and told his secretary to call the police or Secret Service because "I knew I had something, I figured it "might be of some help". But according to Forrest Sorrels, he was alerted to the film by a reporter from the Dallas Morning News who contacted him and informed him that a man had made some movies that the Secret Service might be interested in. As the body of JFK is being transported live, Zapruder is already on air to say he has a film and he remembers the shot exactly how the Warren Commission will say it happened ... but clearly different than the unaltered film he had just shot. They say they will air his film and then they don’t; WFAA will later say they had no equipment to air color film. Something feels "off" about Zapruder's actions and statements, not just his film. The specter of Hawkeyeworks (see attached pictures taken this past summer while visiting Rochester) ... the facility remained classified until 2009, and has been unoccupied since. The infamous windows on the 11th floor are where the covert government offices were located, where top-secret clearance was required for access. Code-named 'Bridgehead' the facility supported the government’s overhead satellite reconnaissance systems and a sophisticated, state-of the-art Photographic Operations Center, which derived its code name from its location adjacent to the Driving Park Bridge that spans the Genesee River Gorge. In 1969, Jim Garrison subpoenaed the ZFilm from Time-Life, who fought it all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled handing over (grudgingly) a blurry copy for the Shaw trial. The ZFilm has kept the assassination story alive and in the public eye for 50 years. Publicly revealing the film on Goodnight America (aptly titled) in 1975 stirred doubts and precipitated the Church Committee hearings in 1976, and the 1976-79 House Select Committee (i.e. "The Last Investigation"). Including the ZFilm as part of Oliver Stone's 1991 JFK and the dramatic Frame 313, shown during Garrison's Shaw trial, reinvigorated public interest and in 1992 led Congress to pass the JFK records Act, ordering declassification of an enormous amount of records ... a process still going on today The weekend NPIC analyses - hidden from the official record - were first questioned in 1975, but then obscured by incomplete/inaccurate documentation. Each NPIC team believed they were handling the original Zapruder film - one group working from an 8mm film reel, and the other from an unslit 16mm reel - and during the twelve-hour period between the two teams, the original film was likely altered at Hawkeyeworks. Adding to the intrigue of the covert operation, members of both NPIC briefing board teams were threatened by the "Secret Service" to not talk (even to their supervisors). If the film worked on by McMahon had been the same worked on the night before, there would’ve been no need for a compartmentalized operation ... the same duty crew that worked on Saturday night could have been called in again. Use of two separate crews reveals a covert operation. It’s now evident that there were two separate briefing boards, and two different film formats. The two events were only exposed (pun intended) during 1996-1999 AARB, and by later interviews in 2009-2011 of the principals who processed the film boards (Homer McMahon and Dino Brugioni). Only 40-50 years later does a full picture emerge of film provenance. Dino Brugioni's 2009 interview describes "Secret Service" agents arriving with the ZFilm at NPIC on November 23rd - directing the analysis “in individual stop frames” - with particular attention to the portion of the film showing the limousine just ahead of the Stemmons sign, its subsequent disappearance behind the sign, and then the frames after it reappeared. Homer McMahon's interview describes JFK reacting to "6 to 8 shots fired from at least three directions” (i.e. the flurry of shots described by Kellerman). In 2011, Brugioni was shown a good image of frame 313 from the extant Zapruder film - the so-called “head explosion” - obtained from the National Archives. Brugioni was startled to find out that this was the only frame graphically depicting the “head explosion” in the extant film, which the National Archives has characterized as “the original film.” He insisted that the head explosion he viewed multiple times in 1963 was of such a great size, and duration (in terms of time), that there should be many more frames depicting that explosion than “just the one frame” (Frame 313), as shown in the ZFilm today. Furthermore, he said the “head explosion” depicted today is too small in size, and too low in the frame, to be the same graphic depiction he recalls witnessing on Saturday, November 23rd, 1963 at NPIC. The legal status of the ZFilm became uncertain with the passage of the Assassination Records Collection Act in 1992, and a legal battle ensured over the next 7 years to make the film an official record. There then ensued debates with Zapruder's heirs ($16M in "just compensation") over final ownership including copyright, only once again to be "protected" (in perpetuity) by the Sixth Floor Museum The AARB commissioned a limited authenticity study of the ZFilm, based on examination of its edge print (the markings and script imposed at the factory where it was produced, and after it was exposed). The AARB asked if Kodak would perform the Zapruder film study pro bono; Kodak agreed in 1997, and hired a retired film chemist, Roland Zavada. The ZFilm's private ownership continued to hamper its analysis. Zavada described “the tremendous complexity” introduced by LMH (Zapruder’s heirs) in their challenge to demand copyright license before any of the photographs could be used... similar to what Time-Life did to Josiah Thompson in 1967. Researchers have pointed out that the CIA/FBI could have conveniently lost or destroyed the ZFilm (as with many other evidential items), yet it did not. This suggests that everything associated with the film - from filming to distribution - was scripted. And that perhaps Abraham Zapruder was no innocent bystander. In late 1999, LMH transferred the copyright and all of its holdings to the Sixth Floor Museum, where the myths are now perpetuated forever. Author Phillip Melanson summarized the contentious history of the ZFilm best: "It is possible that the film of the century is more intricately related to the crime of the century than we ever knew -- not because it recorded the crime of the century, as we have assumed, but because it was itself an instrument of conspiracy." Gene

This is from the Marshall Houts article in the July 1967 issue of Argosy magazine, where Dr. Milton Helpern discussed the subject of JFK's wounds and his autopsy: "A relatively simple case was horribly botched up from the very beginning; and then the errors were compounded at almost every other step along the way. "I've already touched on the gravest of them all - the selection of a 'hospital' pathologist to perform a medico-legal autopsy. This stemmed from the mistaken belief that because a man can supervise a laboratory or perform a hospital autopsy to see whether a patient died from emphysema or heart disease, he is qualified to evaluate gunshot wounds to the body. It's like sending a seven-year-old boy who has taken three lessons on the violin over to the New York Philharmonic and expecting him to perform a Tchaikovsky symphony. He knows how to hold the violin and bow, but he has a long way to go before he can make music." In the article, Helpern goes on to state that "Humes was a 'hospital' pathologist, rather than a forensic or medico-legal pathologist." The hospital pathologist performs his autopsies on cases where death occurs in a hospital, usually as a result of some disease and where the cause of death can be presumed. It is generally performed to confirm a diagnosis. A forensic pathologist, on the other hand, performs autopsies usually where death is not attended by a physician. In these cases, a pathologist often follows misleading, frustrating clues. His work is much trickier, since cause of death is often crucial to subsequent legal action. The 'hospital' pathologist is as much out of his field when he attempts a medico-legal autopsy as is the chest surgeon who attempts a delicate brain operation. The Warren Commission did not attempt to establish the expertise of Commander Boswell in gunshot wounds, because "he had absolutely none worthy of mention." Commander Boswell was chief of pathology at the Naval Medical School. Colonel Finck, who was then chief of the Wound Ballistics Pathology branch of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, told the Warren Commission that he had personally performed about 200 autopsies for the Army in Frankfurt, Germany, while serving there from 1955 to 1958. In his current capacity, he said, he had personally reviewed 400 autopsies. But he was vague on the number of bullet-wound cases in his 200 personally performed autopsies, except to say that there were "many." Moreover, the fact that he reviewed 400 cases did not mean that he "presided at the autopsy table and attempted a personal evaluation of whether a bullet wound...is a wound of entrance or a wound of exit. Finck was perhaps the most qualified of the three who performed the autopsy on the President, but his experience was mostly "supervisory and administrative." Colonel Finck's position throughout the entire proceeding was extremely uncomfortable. If it had not been for him, the autopsy would not have been handled as well as it was; but he was in the role of the poor bastard Army child foisted into the Navy family reunion. His experience was limited primarily to 'reviewing' files, pictures and records of finished cases. There's a world of difference between standing at the autopsy table and trying to decide whether a hole in the body is a wound of entrance or a wound of exit, and in reviewing another man's work at some later date in the relaxed, academic atmosphere of a private office. The men were accomplished in their respective fields of general pathology, the author sadly concludes, but their field "was not bullet wounds in the body."

Lisa's book does a nice job of laying out the suspicious behavior of Michael Wayne (aka Wien), a 21-year old from England who purportedly was a "collector" of political trinkets and worked at a bookstore on Sunset Boulevard. Wayne bore a resemblance to Sirhan (one of several Doppelgangers apparently in play). Lisa paints him out to be a facilitator of sorts, gathering press badges for the conspirators and possibly smuggling a gun into the Ambassador. Wayne was seen earlier at candidate headquarters , stole a copy of RFK's itinerary, got a ride with the enigmatic Khaibar Khan, and gained access to RFK's 5th floor suit prior to the evening's speech. A photo shows RFK autographing Wayne’s poster (possibly used to later shield a weapon) as Senator Kennedy walked to the Embassy Room to give his speech. Wayne was later cleared as a suspect, and disappeared into history leaving a cold trail ... not much is known or recorded about Wayne, and I would be very curious to know who he really was, and what became of him. Wayne appears to have been monitoring RFK's movements for the operation, and gained entry to the Pantry, "guarded" by a part-time security guard/bodyguard/hitman named Thane Eugene Cesar who has clear links to Howard Hughes machinations and the infamous Robert Maheu (who some believe orchestrated RFK's murder). Cesar was sheltered/protected by a "handler", author Dan Moldea, for the ensuing 30 years. Ace Guard Services was formed in early 1968 by Frank and Loretta M. Hendrix, and Gene Cesar was hired in May of 1968, just days before the assassination. Several years after the assassination, DeWayne Wolfer (criminalist in Sirhan’s case) became president of Ace. Wayne was observed to be loitering in the kitchen/pantry areas, was asked to leave (by hotel managers) but returned shortly before RFK was shot, and was with Sirhan. Wayne was observed by several witnesses running from the pantry, and was arrested/handcuffed by an Ace Security Guard (Augustus Mallard) and taken to the Hotel Security's office ... notably, not apprehended by police authorities. Lisa makes the case that Wayne's role after the shooting was to "draw focus" and allow the actual shooters and operatives to escape. She also makes a case for a rather large operation at play. Lisa points out a cogent remark by FBI agents, who stated that Wayne wasn't much bothered by his being detained that night. Wayne's later interviews and polygraphs with LAPD clearly appear to be managed/minimized, especially his alleged affiliation with a militant extremist (Keith Duane Gilbert) whose business card was in his possession. Wayne's polygraph was conducted by LAPD Sgt. Enrique Hernandez, who predictably determined Wayne to be "truthful" and also infamously interrogated (i.e. intimidated) witness Sandra Serrano. Hernandez "retired" in 1973 and later made his reputation in private security as founder of Inter-Con Security Systems, allegedly servicing NASA contracts with NASA at Edwards Air Force Base. Its not too difficult to connect all the dots here.

I got the book for Christmas and am reading ... Lisa is a great researcher and investigator, and ties many points together in a credible manner. I've read quite a bit about RFK and all the loose ends - and many good authors that preceded her - but Lisa puts another dimension onto the story. Like getting a graduate education in the story. Its actually quite sad, almost depressing, to understand what happened to RFK and our country in June 1968. I had just graduated from high school, and there was great hope that Bobby would lead the country out of the mess that was Vietnam, widespread racial tensions and questionable politicians. He seemed a candidate of the people (all people) and someone who had moral courage and would put the country on the right path. What a loss ... and then we got Ricard Nixon for the next 6 years. It breaks my heart to read about what happened to him, and how brazen and brash the plotters were, including the coverup and intimidation for years to come. Many of my age and era lost faith in politics, government, and the ability to effect change. Not sure the country ever quite recovered.

Hey Lance I guess fools rush in ... so here I am. This is an interesting story. I'm old enough to remember that ice skating was a popular hobby for many in the 1960's. Not so much today, as all of the popular rinks have since closed down. But a rink was quite the social centerpiece in those days. I grew up in the city (Philadelphia) so I didn't skate well and stayed away from ice rinks. It seems that Jack Ruby and David Ferrie were a bit old to have been recreational skaters in 1963. Plus, the reason most anyone I knew skated was to meet girls ... which doesn't fit with Jacob Rubenstein (who was 52 years old at the time) and seminarian David Ferrie (who was 45 years old at the time) ... neither of which had girl friends. Ferrie responded to the ice skating legend by stating that "...he had been considering for some time the feasibility and possibility of opening an ice skating rink in New Orleans" and wanted to gather information on the ice rink business. "He stated that he introduced himself to [rink manager] Chuck Rolland and spoke with him at length concerning the cost of installation and operation of the rink." However, Rolland later said that he never spoke to Ferrie about running an ice rink. Rolland said that Ferrie had spent his time at the rink's pay phone, making and receiving calls. Maybe ice rinks were considered a good (safe) innocent-looking neutral place to meet and talk discretely, like movie theatres and parking garages. Ferrie and Eladio Del Valle didn't last too long, once Jim Garrison got wind of their exploits. Somebody hung up their skates for good. Gene

The White Album's original working title, A Doll's House (after the play by Henrik Ibsen) had been changed when the English progressive rock band Family released the similarly titled Music in a Doll's House earlier that year. From the day of its release, everybody referred to The Beatles as 'the White Album’, the last to be mixed separately for both stereo and mono. The Beatles had not been particularly interested in stereo until this album, but after receiving mail from fans stating they bought both stereo and mono mixes of earlier albums, they decided to make the two different. The sleeve designed by pop artist Richard Hamilton, famously features no artwork at all on its cover (hence the name), and was intended as a contrast to its predecessor Sgt. Pepper which featured a brightly colored and visually dense cover. The cover reflects the contrast in style; where Pepper has a consistent aesthetic and even a concept to some degree, The White Album is a mishmash of numerous styles which infamously came about from each band member’s increasing isolation and disagreements. The album also included a poster comprising a montage of photographs, with the lyrics of the songs on the back, and a set of four photographic portraits taken by John Kelly during the autumn of 1968 that have themselves become iconic. Within the collage of photos inside of The Beatles “White Album” there is a very small photo of Paul McCartney naked which was eventually censored in the United States. There was also a naked drawing of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the same collage that was censored as well. Early album copies had a individual number stamped on the front. Inside the package along with the two discs wrapped in black inner sleeves were four individual photographs of and a folded poster containing a photo-collage with the lyrics to the songs on the reverse (the first album to appear on the Apple label). McCartney described the recording sessions as a turning point for the group, saying "there was a lot of friction during that album. We were just about to break up, and that was tense in itself", while Lennon later said "the break-up of the Beatles can be heard on that album". Another divisive element was the constant presence of John Lennon's new partner, Yoko Ono, whose attendance in the studio broke with the Beatles' policy regarding wives and girlfriends not attending recording sessions. Of the album's 30 tracks, only 16 have all four band members performing. Producer George Martin never much liked the White Album, famously stating: “I really didn’t think that a lot of the songs were worthy of release, and I told them so ... I don’t want a double album ... I think you ought to cut out some of these, concentrate on the really good ones and have yourself a really super album"

Jim I think that was a bad cut & paste. I tried to lift some quotes out of a document about Phillips, and couldn't get rid of the long narrow thing. Sorry for that Gene

David J. and All David Atlee Phillips was an interesting character, to say the least. I believe his Agency position was well above Howard Hunt (and Win Scott) and probably a Division Director in the federal hierarchy. He and his second wife were raising seven children (four from his first marriage; three from his second) when he died in 1988. He was born in Fort Worth, Texas and attended William and Mary College and Texas Christian University. His NYT obituary states that "tall and ruggedly handsome, he became an actor in New York, but World War II intervened". He served as a nose gunner in the Army Air Forces, was shot down over Austria but made it back to Allied lines after escaping from a German prison camp. Phillips - a failed actor turned expatriate newspaper publisher in Santiago, Chile - was recruited into the CIA in 1950. In 1955, he won a Distinguished Intelligence Medal for mounting deceptive radio broadcasts in the CIA’s overthrow of the democratically elected government of Guatemala in 1954. With Howard Hunt, Phillips served as propaganda chief in the CIA’s failed effort to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. When he was assigned to Mexico City in 1962, station chief Win Scott described him as “the finest covert action officer I have ever met.” Documents recently released show that he began as contract agent in 1951 and later became a staff employee in 1960 (earning just under $12,000 a year). Much of his career was conducted under deep cover, and he was rarely photographed. Phillips served as a station chief in the Dominican Republic and in Rio de Janeiro. He worked under diplomatic cover in Mexico City as a Branch Chief of Cuban Operations. He rose through the ranks from contract agent, undercover intelligence officer, chief of station and eventually over all Western Hemisphere operations (a CIA Division) in Latin America. By 1975 Phillips had 25 years of service, at a time when negative news stories and public sentiment were circulating about the CIA's reputation. In his sealed sworn testimony to the HSCA in 1976, Phillips had trouble telling a straight story about what he knew of Lee Harvey Oswald. One day he told the Washington Post that Oswald had threatened JFK in Mexico City. The next day, when testifying under oath, he denied it. HSCA counsel Richard Sprague said Phillips had "slithered" around questions about his statements to the Post. Phillips also denied under oath using the name Maurice Bishop and knowing Antonio Veciana; Gaeton Fonzi believed they could make a case for perjury, but HSCA Chief Counsel Blakey declined to bring charges. He was also questioned by the HSCA about his possible relationship with both Freeport Sulphur and the Moa Bay Mining Company. Alleged evidence linking Phillips to Oswald surfaced in 1979, only to disappear in an apparent theft of HSCA’s research materials: HSCA investigators discovered a training film from the archives of Georgetown University. David] Ferrie, Oswald, Guy] Banister, and David Atlee Phillips were all on an 8mm "home movie" shot in the summer of 1963 (Ref. Hopsicker 2001, p. 153). Antonio Veciana also allegedly appeared in the film, which was footage of a Cuban-exile guerilla training camp in Louisiana. Phillips was first called to testify before the HSCA in November 1976 under closed session. This is the only time Phillips testified before the HSCA while Richard Sprague was Chief Counsel. Conspicuously absent from the hearing was Robert Tanenbaum. Somehow, Phillips had something to do with the implosion of the original HSCA. Apparently, Tannenbaum had become paranoid, distrusting everyone. What drove Richard Sprague to resign as chief counsel was his proposed use of controversial investigative equipment, unrestricted investigation, and his refusal to play politics with chairman Gonzalez. Sprague did indicate, in retrospect after his resignation, that if he had it to do over, he would have started his investigation with an investigation of the CIA’s role; he did not indicate that Phillips or his testimony had any role in his resignation. In his 1996 ARRB testimony, Tanenbaum also mentions David Phillips in connection with the budget crunch of early 1977: “When it became clear that we had to recall David Phillips to the Committee, when it became clear that we had to probe into this area that burst forward like ripe peaches falling from trees, the CIA's involvement with anti-Castro Cubans and Lee Harvey Oswald, where the Committee almost shut us down virtually. That is to say, we could no longer make long distance telephone calls. We had franking privileges removed.” Read more here: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article183786081.html#storylink=cpy Phillips apparently created problems for the agency after he retired. He battled the CIA to allow him to publish his memoir, titled “The Night Watch.” He also caused a crisis when The New York Times ran a story on March 1, 1977, alleging that the CIA funneled large sums of money to foreign leaders. Phillips retired from the agency in 1975 and founded the Association of Former Intelligence Officers in the same year. He was a propagandist to the very end. He wrote a breezy, anecdotal account of his career in ''The Night Watch, 25 Years of Peculiar Service,'' which appeared in 1977. He authored five books, including his CIA memoir (The Night Watch), Careers in Secret Operations: How to Be a Federal Intelligence Officer, The Terror Brigade, The Carlos Contract, and The Great Texas Murder Trials: A Compelling Account of the Sensational T. Cullen Davis Case. Gene Read more here: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article18378His career included assignments as the agency's station chief in Venezuela, Brazil and the Dominican Republic, operation of a radio station on an island off the coast of Cuba during the early months of Fidel Castro's rule, and undercover duty in GuateHis career included assignments as the agency's station chief in Venezuela, Brazil and the Dominican Republic, operation of a radio station on an island off the coast of Cuba during the early months of Fidel Castro's rule, and undeHis 25-year CIA career was conducted under “deep cover,” meaning he utilized fictitious names and corporate identities to disguise who he was. He was never to be photographed except for his official identification for the CIA and U.S. State Department (he worked under diplomatic cover in MeHis 25-year CIA career was conducted under “deep cover,” meaning he utilized fictitious names and corporate identities to disguise who he was. He was never to be photographed except for his official identification for the CIA and U.S. StateHis 25-year CIA career was conducted under “deep cover,” meaning he utilized fictitious names and corporate identities to disguise who he was. He was never to be photographed except for his official identification for the CIA and U.S. StateHis 25-year CIA career was conducted under “deep cover,” meaning he utilized fictitious names and corporate identities to disguise who he was. He was never to be photographed except for his official identification for the CIA and U.S. State Department (he worked under diplomatic cover in Mexico City, 1961-1965). Department (he worked under diplomatic cover in Me xico City, 1961-1965). Department (he worked under diplomatic cover in Mexico City, 1961-1965).xico City, 1961-1965).rcover duty in Guatemala, Mexico CHis career included assignments as the agency's station chief in Venezuela, Brazil and the Dominican Republic, operation of a radio station on an island off the coast of Cuba during the early months of Fidel Castro's rule, and undercover duty in Guatemala, Mexico C ity and Beirut.ity and Beirut.mala, Mexico City and Beirut.6081.html#storylink=cpy

Larry What stays with me is your deep suspicion and interest in Henry Hecksher. He was 79 years old when he died in 1990 in Princeton NJ. Hecksher was born in Hamburg, Germany, and was a lawyer and a judge there before emigrating to the United States in 1938. He joined the Army, rising to the rank of captain, took part in the Normandy invasion, and was wounded in Antwerp. He later became an intelligence officer and interrogated some of the top Nazi leaders. He joined the Office of Strategic Services and in 1946 became head of its counterintelligence section in Berlin. He remained with the agency when it became the CIA and later served with the State Department in Laos, Indonesia, Japan and Chile. His pseudonyms were Nelson L. Raynock and also James D. Zaboth and Henry Boysen. He seems connected with Carl Jenkins and Morales. He was the station chief in Santiago, Chile when they overthrew Allende. Hecksher retired in 1971. Any luck in further deconstructing his involvement? Gene

One of the most famous Jedburghs was William Colby, who would later become Director of the CIA. Colby, whose Jedburgh codename was “Berkshire,” led a Jed team into occupied France in August 1944. He was only 24 years old. The son of an Army officer, Colby had attended Princeton and Columbia before joining the military. He cheated on an eye exam to become a paratrooper. Jump school, along with French language skills, made him a good candidate for OSS. 50 years later Colby described the mission casually as “to harass the Germans as much as possible… ambushes on the road, blowing up bridges, that sort of thing.” In 1945, Colby led an OSS special operations team into Norway (under the codename “Operation RYPE”) to sabotage German rail lines and prevent any German efforts to reinforce the homeland from the north. According to Colby, this team “was the first and only combined ski-parachute operation ever mounted by the US Army” during World War II. After the war, many American Jedburghs, including Colby, joined OSS’s successor, the CIA.

Ron Al Carrier discusses the possibility of an excellent marksman, who fired through the windshield and hit the President. Or, given the elevations involved, could have gone over the windshield (or through a small space in the frame). It was only 60+ yards away, with an excellent frontal vantage that didn't change as the Limo slowly advanced towards/into the kill zone. Beyond the headshot wound issue, I have also aligned this shot origin with the neck wound and have established it by showing Elm at a higher elevation at this point and how the shot would have to penetrate the windshield through its trajectory. This also explains the compromised velocity that would result in a shallower wound path. I have been challenged on this through photos including Altgens 6 and 7 and have provided arguments on both. Because this is already a rather complex subject, I will not go into detail on the throat wound. Craig Roberts touched on it as well in a May 2006 thread: My military training once again took over. I would use an area within the Plaza that would afford the best kill zone for either a crossfire or triangulated fire. Simply put, I would position my teams in such a way that their trajectory of fire converged on the most advantageous point to assure a kill. In the military, single snipers are seldom used. Normally, the smallest sniper team consists of two men, a sniper and his spotter/security man. Even in police SWAT teams, a marksman has an observer who is equipped with a spotting scope or binoculars to help pick and identify targets and handle the radio communications. I would have never put anyone in the School Book Depository with so many locations that were much more advantageous unless I needed diversion. If I did, it would be a good place for red herrings to be observed by witnesses. In that thread, various knowledgeable posters (Shanet Clark, Ryan Crowe) suggested that the emphasis on Zapruder, the Grassy Knoll fence and the Bookstore Depository are red herrings. The main sniper was forward and to the left .... and escaped unnoticed. Regarding the throat wound, the sketch by Dr. McClelland apparently has it right, positing the back wound as exit for the throat wound entrance (which I acknowledge is a controversial topic, and as they say, a two-beer discussion). Gene

DJ/Jim John lists five different wallets for Oswald: Westbrook's, Bentley's, and 3-4 that Ruth Paine voluntarily turned over to DPD (i.e. a red billfold, a brown wallet, and a black plastic wallet. Maybe Armstrong only had it partially right ... there were five Oswalds! Gene PS. Just kidding (joke)

The South Knoll gets into the controversies of the hole in the windshield, the throat wound, and Tosh Plumlee's story. It also implies that the Zapruder filming is somehow a staged part of the entire scenario. A South Knoll shooter also explains how they avoid collateral damage with Nellie and Jackie (all part of the plan). Of course, if they wanted to hit Connally, they could easily have done so. Distraction and misdirection (the hand of the magician). You'd think that an individual in the Terminal Annex parking lot (a perfect location) would have been seen, but he must have had the benefit of spotters and break-down support ... maybe that stalled truck seen in the Cancellare photo. The other sniper consideration pointed out (as far as that shooting vantage) is that the shooter didn't have to re-aim. He can fire off several shots. Perhaps it was a silenced weapon ... but its only about 60 yards away, which is a sure shot for an experienced marksman. Harry Holmes has his office in the Annex Building. Then there's O'Hare and Robertson strolling across the lawn shortly thereafter (the "sweepers"). Richard Trask (citing Edgar F. Tatro, "Who's Afraid of the Grassy Knoll South?"), wrote: "At least one assassination buff believes to have located just to the right of a tree near the (south knoll) parking lot what he sees and identifies as '. . . a distinct figure clearly resembling a man holding a rifle-like object.'"