James Richards

Don't you have a good photo comparison of Florer and Ted Shackley, or is that one just too much of a reach? (Tim Carroll)

Tim,

I haven't done a Shackley/Florer comparison but I know Allan Eaglesham has explored the possibility. For me, Shackley possessed a certain intensity (in the eyes) that our Mr. Florer lacks.

IMO of course.

James

His address is shown as 3609 Patomic in Dallas. A search at Mapquest finds no such street, but it's probably a phonetic misspelling of Potomac. Here is 3609 Potomac, if anyone in Dallas would like to try tracking Florer down: (Ron Ecker)

Thanks, Ron.

If I were a betting man, and I am, I would put a lazy fifty on that the Larry Florer who lived on Potomac was not the man who the DPD questioned.

I'm sticking my neck out here but what the hell. Ridicule I can handle.

I firmly believe one individual who has gone underinvestigated over the years has been one Edmund Kolby. In the interview with Roy Hargraves printed in Larry Hancock's book which in my opinion is sprinkled with gold nuggets, Hargraves tries to direct traffic toward Dick Whatley via Kolby. Hargraves admits that he and Felip Vidal Santiago were on a flight to Dallas with 2 other guys. When asked if these guys were Ed Collins and Edmund Kolby, Hargraves doesn't commit. Hargraves also said that Whatley, James Arthur Lewis and Bobby Willis were also activated at the same time.

Anyway, I offer this comparison below. Has anyone ever noticed that Florer fits the description Lee Bowers gave of one of the men he saw positioned behind the fence.

The color image below is a contemporary one showing Edmund Kolby on the left. That is Howard K. Davis on the right.

James

So who exactly was Whatley? Was he one of the 13 No Name Key guys arrested by Diosdado in 1962? (Ron Ecker)

Ron,

I wish I had some solid information on Dick Whatley for you. I don't believe he was arrested in the No Name bust; his name wasn't listed.

I can tell you Whatley was the one who sent Gerry Hemming and Loran Hall to Dick Hathcock to borrow money on the Johnson rifle and the golf clubs. Whatley was supposedly good friends with Hathcock.

Whatley was also in Guatemala training members of Brigade 2506 for the Bay of Pigs. There he encountered Bernardo De Torres and indeed, may have been travelling with De Torres in July of 1963. I have nothing to back that up though.

Whatley's covert work was mainly done from within a small cell which also included James Arthur Lewis and Bobby Willis - Willis being someone I know next to nothing about. (I have added him to the long list)

Whatley went out of his way to not have his photograph taken. He was very secretive. There are 2 individuals who in my opinion should be seriously questioned in relation to the assassination of JFK. Whatley is one of them, Edmund Kolby is another. Both men are still alive.

James

What were the circumstances regarding the Whatley lookalike? I recall you posting that comparison on the Lancer forum. Wasn't the lookalike photographed in the sheriff's office or DPD? (Ron Ecker)

Hi Ron,

Yes, the image I used was taken from a section of film exposed in the DPD. This guy was in the company of uniformed officers. There was very few frames as the incident just flashed by. The cameraman wasn't focused on this action.

I don't know who the cameraman was; maybe Gary Mack could help out here.

I should also point out that Howard K. Davis was quite determined in saying that this guy was not Whatley.

James

Does anyone have any background information on Larry Florer? I am very interested in finding out who this guy really was.

In his statement given on the day of the assassination (see below), Florer says he went to the County Records Building looking for a telephone. I was always under the impression it was the Dal-Tex.

Anyway, any background on this guy would be hugely appreciated.

James

John,

CIA connections can be interpreted a few ways but I have done the following. We can also add Lansdale which Prouty identified and Allan mentioned in his seminar piece.

Also regarding Interpen personnel, I forgot to include Roy Hargraves.

FWIW.

James

Is their any photographic evidence that any members of the Intercontinental Penetration Force were in Dallas on the day JFK was assassinated? (John Simkin)

John,

The following is far from conclusive but worth pondering.

James

Superb piece, Richard.

It just staggers me that a plethora of medical personnel indicate ravening ruin to the back of the head and are photographed doing so, yet the official story still gets air-play.

Thanks for the excellent read.

James

Indeed, Richard.

The Duran comment is most interesting. He was of course in a situation at the time to understand what was happening amongst the more militant Cuban exiles.

I think we can say that several individuals had political motivations to kill the President and there was also some serious animosity and hatred toward JFK. All in all, a potent combination to spur action.

James

Here's the scoop. It was Dan Rather who fired the shots from the 6th floor of the TSBD.

It's amazing what these people will do for ratings.

James

Maybe James Richards has a better photograph? (John Simkin)

Meet Malcolm Wallace.

James

Martha Schallhorn co-authored the original article that appeared in JFK/Deep Politics Quarterly. She deserves most of the credit, because it was she who noticed the Conein look-alike from which the article grew. (Allan Eaglesham)

Hi Allan,

I would also like to chime in here with praise for Martha. She goes about things quietly but with much style and intelligence.

A class act all the way.

BTW, thank you for your kind words.

James

one more thing,

anything on john lennon? i heard that the doorman was a cuban exile (John Geraghty)

John,

I have posted on this subject before so my apologies to forum members who must endure this again.

The doorman of the Dakota Building was a character by the name of Jose Perdomo. He was a Brigade 2506 member and graduated through Fort Benning in 1963. Perdomo went under a few aliases and one of them may have been Sam Jenis who Frank Sturgis was reporting to late in 1959. I have not yet confirmed that.

The story goes that before Lennon was gunned down, Perdomo and Mark Chapman were in deep conversation regarding the JFK assassination.

FWIW.

Perdomo below.

James

Good stuff, Tim.

Those peaceful overtures JFK made toward Castro you mention I believe are paramount to what happened in Dallas. When Vidal received the word via his network that an olive branch was to be extended, assassination plans began. IMO of course.

Again, excellent piece.

James

Good stuff, Larry.

The Wallace/Busby connection is a fascinating one indeed.

James

Rosselli was a fascinating character. His biography "Johnny Roselli: All American Mafioso" is a great read. In "Sons and Brothers" Mahoney states that Roselli was at the Armory Lounge (Giancana's HQ) in a Chicago suburb on Election Night 1960 and it was Roselli who was orchestrating the Outfit's "get out the vote" effort for JFK. I am not convinced he was a conspirator but it appears he had the intelligence to plan a sophisticated operation and, of course, he did, during the week of the assassination, evade his FBI tails. (Tim Gratz)

Hi Tim,

I agree that Roselli is a fascinating character. In Larry Hancock's book, "Someone Would Have Talked", Larry explores John Roselli in some detail.

Personally, I believe Roselli was a 'go to' man for aspects of the assassination. One such aspect I believe is that Morales would have used him to secure the services of Herminio Diaz Garcia for rifle duties from the 6th floor of the TSBD. It is also my opinion that Diaz Garcia (Trafficante's man in Cuba) may have been one of Roselli's contacts in those early days of the Castro assassination plots.

Both books you cite are indeed great reads.

Cheers,

James

Hi Tim,

Indeed. This aspect is overlooked somewhat. To muddy the water is an effective technique to lead investigators up the garden path - exactly what has happened over the last 41 years. Take the example of the Tall Tramp who some believe (including me) to be Charles Harrelson. Harrelson is Mob connected, add the arrest of Mob crony Jim Braden aka Eugene Hale Brading and the spectacular debut of Jack Ruby on international television and the Mob look good for this. Parlor games in full swing.

The question is then asked, why would a loose head like Harrelson be recruited to participate in the assassination? The answer is he wasn't. Harrelson was there to be photographed. Harrelson would have been clueless and probably still is.

As to who was in the position to motivate Mob connections, I believe we need to look no further than John Roselli who was under the orders of David Morales.

IMO, Allen's wonderful piece is a most important contribution to what happened in Dealey Plaza. Remember, only one of these speculations need to be correct to prove other men were involved. This gives us all an exciting avenue of research.

James

The only discussion I had with Bob about that poster board collage was that it be moved to accomodate my photo recreations. If memory serves, which is less by the minute, that area of the poster board was devoted to scenes from the movie, JFK. I'm with you on not being aware of an 11/22/63 photo showing that line-up of motorcycles with the TSBD in the background. (Tim Carroll)

Thanks, Tim. A still from the Stone movie makes sense.

James

Great piece, Allan. Thought provoking indeed.

The idea of certain individuals being present in Dealey Plaza is a curious one and understandably there are critics. Why would one be near the scene of the crime if one didn't have to? I think a broad answer is that the frailty of human nature would have played a part. This was the hit of the century and they wanted to be there for it - they couldn't resist being there. This was a chance they were willing to take given that there was so much loathing for JFK by certain individuals like David Morales. Besides, I think they believed they could control the various aspects of evidence like the suppression of photographs. When the Lone Nut scenario stuck, there was really no need as they would have figured that the official investigation would have ended further speculation. How wrong they were.

When people like Fletcher Prouty and Victor Krulak identify Ed Lansdale as the man in the Tramps photo, I guess we have to listen. When several individuals are gathered at the corner of Main and Houston who strongly resemble known Agency personnel and assets then we must take note. When other spectators gathered in Dealey Plaza could be virtual twins to various militant Cuban exiles, then we must investigate further.

To not ask these questions would be negligent. Maybe several of these individuals were directed to Dealey Plaza to play the part of actors - to muddy the waters for investigators. Even that alone suggests the reality of a plot to kill the President.

Thanks, Allan, for your piece. I enjoyed it immensely.

James

Hi Tim,

In that photo of you and Groden, I was checking out that white board with the photographs and was curious about the one on the right hand side third from the top (the color one showing the TSBD with the motorcycles in front). Do you know anything about it?

Just curious.

James

The young man next to Oswald kinda resembles a young Seymour.... (Ryan Crowe)

Funny you should mention that, Ryan. That was the reason I was asking about this guy. I haven't fully got my head around the implications of it but there is a striking similarity.

The CAP image was snapped in 1955 which would make Seymour about 18 years old. There are a few mysterious characters in assassination folk lore and Seymour is one of them.

Why has his HSCA testimony never been released? Why did FBI traces on him turn up nothing? Why does he have 2 possible birthdates a few months apart? There is also a 'soft file' on Seymour and the only other people I am aware of who had these were Lee Oswald and Sylvia Duran.

I have in the past speculated that the guy next to Ferrie in the helmet with the Captain bars looks like Dennis Harber. A homosexual (not that there's anything wrong with that) with strong ties to William Seymour and Bernardo De Torres in the summer of 1963.

Anyway, comparison below. There would be eight years between the images used.

The larger image shows Seymour, Harber, Rudolfo Fasco and Bernardo De Torres.

Maybe someone can identify all the individuals in the CAP photo and I can forget about this. Then again ....

James

Tony Atzenhoffer sounds right.

Colin Hammer does not ring a bell,he maybe the other guy? Did you see the program I meant? (Wim Dankbaar)

Wim,

I did see a program related to this but I don't think it was one of Nigel Turner's. I may be wrong. I seem to remember that the whole documentary or whatever it was dealt solely with Lee Harvey Oswald.

Maybe another forum member can help out here as my memory seems to be getting worse.

James

Given the discussion here on Covert Operations and the like, I thought I would post this link which may provide a broad overview and if anyone is interested, may initiate a direction for further research.

FWIW.

http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/427/427lect02.htm

James

Wim,

Were the names Tony Atzenhoffer and Colin Hammer? I believe these guys helped to identify both Ferrie and Oswald and like you say, one of them may have been in the photo.

Details are sketchy to say the least. I would really like to know who the guy is next to Oswald with his hand to his helmet.

James

I have been trying to identify the individuals in the Ferrie/Oswald CAP photo but without any luck. All I know is that one of them is John B. Ciravolo Jr. who might be the guy with his hands on his hips in front of LHO but I'm not sure.

Can anyone help out here?

James