James Richards

Hi Shanet,

I may be way off base here but firing a paralyzing dart just seems way too funky. I would think that if a trained sniper gets an opportunity for a shot, he will take it and it will be intended to kill. For the same reasons, why would an assassin use a .22?

Having said that, the throat wound is bizarre. Could it have been a bullet fragment? Is the so-called evidence tainted? How is the shallow back wound explained? Troubling to say the least.

I have also heard it suggested that the LHO double in the sniper's perch fired blanks as his job was to get people looking that way. If you are going to fire blanks, why not fire real bullets?

I guess my point is that assassination teams would be going for the kill which means large caliber and a simplistic plan. Given that and the missed shots, one would have to say that their performance in Dealey Plaza (even though they got the job done) was far less than perfect.

James

I'm sure Gary Mack will correct me if I am wrong but the photo would have been snapped post 1966. The Hertz sign as Tosh suggested is still there atop the TSBD. It is advertising Ford where in 1963 it was Chevrolet. Also there are overhead signs on Elm (near the corner of Houston) which were put in place in 1966.

James

If I recall there is a picture of me that was in that article I think. We were coming out of a bombed out building Danny Sullivan was behind me I had a mustach at that time and had a M1 rifle over my shoulder. (Tosh Plumlee)

Tosh,

Thanks for the info on Sergio.

Is this the photo below you refer to? Sorry about the poor quality.

Cheers,

James

No. I nor Sergio reconized anyone at the Plaza. (Tosh Plumlee)

Hi Tosh,

Is this the Sergio you refer to? I just want to clarify who was who.

Cheers,

James

Do you believe it was coincidence that Eugene Hale Brading aka Jim Braden was arrested at Dealey Plaza for acting suspiciously, and that on the night of RFK's murder he was staying in LA not far from the death site?

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I don't know about Brading but I would liked to have seen Roy Hargraves, Gerry Hemming and Lawrence Howard grilled about where they were. The following is Hargraves' response when asked about the Robert Kennedy assassination. Gerry of course being Gerry Hemming and Fat Larry being Lawrence Howard.

Three of us from the JFK thing were on the ground at that time, here. (laughs) Fat Larry, Gerry and I. Yeah, We were here. And I pulled the operation. I don’t even know Larry is out here. I knew he was up in California, bull didn’t know he was on the ground at the time.

The infamous Eugene Thane Cesar who I believe fired shots at RFK is another suspicious character in all of this.

James

Hoover was also very quick to head off any investigation that didn't include Oswald. His hand written note on this memo which is dated the day of the assassination, stands as testimony to that.

FWIW.

James

Nixon does not say what time he arrived back but it is clear that Hoover knew that Oswald was a communist soon after he was arrested. Or did he know that before he was arrested? (John Simkin)

On the day of the assassintion, the DRE were pushing Oswald as a Communist and less than subtely hinting he was backed by Castro. The DRE statement at the bottom of the page is very interesting as they seemed to know a lot about LHO who official history records as some lone nut loser.

Given Hoover's comment, one would have to say that for a lone nut, Oswald certainly got around and kept some interesting company.

James

Interesting James, I have a few never published audio tapes of Dutch journalist Willem Oltmans (who past away last week) interviewing George Demohrenschildt. Very interesting.

I'll make those availlable soon on a website.

Wim

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Good stuff, Wim. I will certainly be interested to hear those. Keep us posted.

james

Tim,

Good post. I find it interesting how the Cubans involved were very much underplayed. They were passed off as Bay of Pigs veterans still with a cause at heart. The reality is that Eugenio Martinez was a veteran of over 300 dangerous missions into Cuba and was considered a CIA legend. Virgilio Gonzalez was passsed off as a humble locksmith when in fact he had solid history with Felipe Vidal Santiago in Cuba before their defections, was also a veteran of many anti-Castro Cuban missions and had trained in sniper camps. Both of these men were also participants in Operation Tilt (Bayo-Pawley mission). These were serious guys.

Then we can add one of those who got away during Watergate, namely Felipe de Diego who came through Fort Benning in 1963 with Posada Carilles and Felix Rodriguez.

James

Shanet,

I think you will find that the man in the doorway of the TSBD is Billy Lovelady.

James

Indeed. That period of 1976 to 1978 was a time when many an individual who may have offered something substantial passed away. Along with Harvey we have people like John Roselli, William Pawley, George DeMohrenschildt, Carlos Prio and David Morales.

Seeing that George DeMohrenschildt gets a mention in the above list, I thought forum members might be interested in this contact sheet.

James

Gaeton Fonzi (staff investigator of the HSCA) also resisted this attempt to move him off track and intended to interview Harvey but was cheated of this opportunity when he died as a result of complications from heart surgery in June, 1976.

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Indeed. That period of 1976 to 1978 was a time when many an individual who may have offered something substantial passed away. Along with Harvey we have people like John Roselli, William Pawley, George DeMohrenschildt, Carlos Prio and David Morales.

Strange that.

James

Interesting post, John. I was curuious to see how a few names seemed to pop up in several different sections.

Personally, I believe the assassination and the cover-up were two different things. Trying to link people into both is where it all gets messy. I also don't think any organization as an entity was responsible but several individuals from an interesting cross section with similar personal motivations and ambition were involved hence the cross-pollination.

David Morales and the banner of JM/WAVE are a good example where CIA, Mafia and anti-Castro Cubans mixed freely. Operation Tilt with participants like John Martino, Eddie Bayo and Rip Robertson cover the spectrum nicely.

As to the cover-up, Hoover and LBJ stand out above all.

FWIW.

James

But if we're talking about who really did the deed, and not just about approval or quiescence, then the most intriguing is Howard Hughes, through Maheu, then to Roselli. . . . 

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Tim,

This is indeed an intriguing angle. It's probably way too early in my research to be posting this but I noticed that Tosh has joined the forum and there is a slim chance he may be able to identify this guy below.

This character worked as a bodyguard for Hughes during the early 1960's. I have not been able to find out much about him except that he has a background in the military and that he was familiar to several anti-Castro players during 1963.

This photo was taken in San Diego, 1962.

James

Hi David,

I have been hunting for a photograph of Wheat for some time but without luck. Maybe he would find his way onto this collection below.

James

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PHOTOalpha15.htm

Below is Tosh Plumlee on the left and Nazario Sargen in the middle.

James

Hi Christy,

I can't get Gerry to reply to my emails these days so I've given up there.

Yes, I was reading about the movie on Chapelle. She was really tough and mixed it up well. I can really see Jennifer Anniston pulling that role off, not.

BTW, in the interview with Roy Hargraves printed in Larry's book, there is a mention of an incident involving Chapelle, where she was along for the ride on one of Vidal's missions.

I also believe Chapelle had a bit to do with Tony Cuesta and his guys. She sure mixed with interesting company.

James

Chris Cox mentioned photo journalist Dickey Chapelle in another thread and I was wondering if anyone had ever heard of an interview she supposedly conducted with Felipe Vidal Santiago?

I do know that Chapelle was along for a mission that Vidal was running which also included Roy Hargraves and Ed Collins so there was definite initial contact.

The interview supposedly went down after the assassination. This is interesting because Chapelle was supposed to be in Vietnam in late 1963 which means that if she did speak with Vidal, then it was immediately after JFK's murder.

BTW, Chapelle was killed in Vietnam during 1965 while on patrol with a Marine unit. She was the victim of a land mine.

If anyone has any information on this alleged interview that obviously never saw the light of day, it would be greatly appreciated.

James

Sorry, but I know nothing of Tony Cuesta beyond what little I've read. Leopoldo and Angel, if they in fact existed, are also a mystery to me. There were many hispanic customers that visited my modest bookstore; none stand out in my memory, except those I knew from past association. (Vaughn Marlowe)

Thanks, Vaughn.

I appreciate your reply.

James

Vaughn,

Welcome to the forum. I'm not sure about documents that will link Nagell to the CIA, or indeed if any have survived the passage of time. There are many learned folk here who may assist in that task. In my opinion however, Nagell was far from a lunatic.

I am very interested in the connection between him and Tony Cuesta. If there is anything you could post on that subject, it would be greatly appreciated. Also if you have any opinions on the mysterious Leopoldo and Angel.

Cheers,

James

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression that the first time the Zapruder film was shown on American television was in March of 1975 on Geraldo Rivera's 'Good Night America'.

However, the Z film was supposedly shown on Australian televison a month before that. Does anyone know anything at all about that particular screening?

Any information would be appreciated.

James

John,

Jackson's role in securing the Zapruder film is also noteworthy. Here he is below.

James

Wim,

If you think Phillips' headstone is nondescript, check this one out.

James

Thanks Bill,

Yes, Gary informed me of the man being Jim Ewell but for some reason I have been unable to post my correction - I kept getting errors. This is not the only forum I am having difficulties at. It has been driving me nuts.

This whole exercise shows that one shouldn't believe what one reads. The photo of Ewell and MacDonald was published in an old Australian Post magazine and the caption said it was Barrett.

The original image at the airport came form the Don Cravens collection and the back of the photo had, 'taken at Dallas airport, 22nd of November, 1963' written on it.

Anyway, does anyone know if the man below is FBI Agent Robert Barrett?

James

Some more information on the original photo I posted thanks to Gary Mack.

It seems that the image wasn't taken on the 22nd of November. It was snapped at Love Field and was a response to bomb threats which Earl Cabell and others received just prior to their trip to Washington for JFK's funeral.

James