James Richards

Hi Thomas, I must admit the whole tramps thing has me completely confused. I don't buy the official Doyle, Gedney and Abrams identifications but do give serious consideration to Charles Harrelson being the Tall Tramp. 'Frenchy' bears a striking resemblance to a Cuban exile mixed up with Operation Tilt but then again, 'Frenchy' looks somewhat like Michael Paine. I don't think the Old Tramp was Chauncey Holt and while we are all guessing at identities, let's not forget that Fletcher Prouty and Victor Krulak identified the man passing the three men under police escort as being Edward Lansdale. James

Kathy, Rogers allegedly murdered his parents in 1965. The press dubbed the killings as 'The Ice Box Murders'. In 1975, Charles Frederick Rogers was ruled as being legally dead by Judge Arthur C. Lesher. He is not one of the three tramps arrested in Dallas. That aside, Rogers is a very interesting character who according to witnesses may have interacted with Oswald in the weeks leading up to the assassination. The photograph below is Charles Rogers circa late 1950's. The clipping is concerning the murders. FWIW. James

Peter, Not that I am aware of. If one was to go exploring though, one would start with Joseph D. Charles. FWIW. James

Tim, you won't see them on the forum unless someone has copies of what I've seen. I probably should not have mentioned them in the first place as I do not possess the photos nor would I have permission to post, distribute nor use them. I can tell you I've viewed them and that they show Ferrie in the company of DeJoseph, not Sturgis. Of course it is well known that DeJoseph was an associate of Sturgis. The photos were made during a series of trips to New Orleans in the summer of 1962 in which discussions were underway about a training camp for the CRC in the New Orleans area....which never jelled by the way. Perhaps someone else has access to the photos, I know a limited number of people have seen them. However in this case I'm afraid you would have to take my word that they exist. Which puts me right there along with Tanenbaum I suppose....guess I'll go write an internal memo on them. (Larry Hancock) Just to continue the interesting associations of Larry De Joseph beyond David Ferrie. Via an FBI informant, De Joseph was said to have been an employee of Santo Trafficante in Cuba where he worked at the Sans Souci Gambling Casino in Havana. To back that up, William Kenney, Departmental Attorney for the United States Department of Justice advised that De Joseph was fronting for Trafficante in a deal with the Guatemalan government where a casino would be constructed. In return for gambling rights, Trafficante would build a public housing project. De Joseph was also closely associated with Roger Rigaud who was a leader of the Parti National Haitien. Rigaud would stay with De Joseph while in Miami. Rigaud was closely aligned with Paul Magloire who was the co-ordinator of the various Haitian exile groups. In mid 1963, Rigaud was mixed up with this deal where a base was to be set up in Haiti so operations against Castro could be conducted. Also in this group was Robert Emmett Johnson, his brother William, Loran Hall, Felipe Vidal Santiago, Eduardo Perez aka Eddie Bayo, Antonio Rodriguez Echezabal and Enrique Molina. Certainly a curious circle of operators. FWIW. James

Greg, I agree that the Oxnard call is of vital importance as I submit the caller had a direct connection to one of the teams in Dallas. In my opinion of course. James

Greg, I guess the question begs here, was the motorcade running on time at this point? The other interesting aspect here is that I also remember reading that at about 12:20, the motorcade stopped on Ervay Street for a brief time. Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the U.S. Post Office located on Ervay, where Oswald rented P.O. Box 2915? James

Cody is certainly an interesting character. In the early 70's, he and his wife were managing the Red Lion Apartments in Oak Cliff. I have been trying to get some information about this complex which I believe opened in mid 1963. If anyone can help here (like owners, developers etc), it would be greatly appreciated? In 1971, Cody shot a young man named Prince Stovall during a disturbance at the apartments. Also involved was a Dallas Detective named D.E. Bynum who himself has somewhat of an interesting history with many curious associations. If anyone has anything on him, it also will be appreciated. The image below shows George Butler on the left and Joe Cody on the right. James

Dr. Carl Lamanna was Dr./Col. Jose Rivera's superior officer who arranged for him to have the security clearance at Fort Detrick, Maryland. The photo James Posted above is of Rivera and two other officers he seems to be trying to impress. While I can't say where the photo comes from at this point, I think it is possible to ID those two officers and see what relation they have to Rivera and Lamanna. Can anyone tell me what rank these officers are? Captains? Colonels? The unit patch on the left shoulder of the officer on the right appears to be the insignia of the US Sixth Army, which was in the South Pacific during WWII and is HQ was at Presidio, California, near San Francisco. That's where Lamanna and Rivera were both stationed for a short period of time, as oppossed to the seven or eight years Rivera spent at Brooks Army Hospital in Texas. The Bio Weapons facility at Presidio in the late 50s, when they were there, was operated, I believe, by the NAVY. Lamanna and Rivera were there at the same time LHO was in San Diego in USMC. Lamanna has written medical textbooks that are still in use today, and did experiments with Anthrax. It's possible that while with the 6th Army, Rivera got to meet Shiro Ishii, of Japanese Bio War Unit 731, who some say was the real Dr. No. There's a reference in a British publicaiton that Siro Ishii was brought to the USA, Maryland in particular, where Fort Detrick is located, and Rivera may have had some interactions with the Japanese Paperclip. If the officers in the photo with Rivera are officers in the 6th Army, and were involved in the capture and interrogation and payoff of Shiro Ishii, then that narrows it down a lot. Follow me? BK Bill, I don't think the insignia is from the Sixth United States Army. Their's is a 6 pointed star and the one in the photo is five. It does however resemble the shoulder insignia worn by the 122nd Army Reserve Command but the quality is poor so it is difficult to tell. As to the officers, the guy on the left bears some resemblance to Lt. Col. Frank Glenn who was a consultant in surgery for the Sixth U.S. Army. The guy on the right looks a bit like William Amspacher. These are only guesses on my part and I may be way off the mark. Cheers, James

Image posted for Bill Kelly. James

Greg, I seem to remember reading somewhere that at about 12:10, the motorcade was making a turn from Lemmon Ave onto Turtle Creek Boulevard. James

This is Frank Castro below. James

From left to right, unknown, Marcos Diaz Lanz, Pedro Diaz Lanz and Frank Fiorini aka Frank Sturgis. James

Peter, It happened last Thursday and he was buried today. I'm not sure the story has been reported yet (maybe one of the Miami papers) but he was apparently very depressed and was living an impoverished life. FWIW. James

Pedro Diaz Lanz shot himself in the chest. He was 81. James

Don, I think you will find that the guy in the image you posted is the same man on the far right in the photograph below. I believe he is a member of the Dallas police. James

Thanks James. Not a laboratory, granted, but a very unusual apartment! Blackboard with graphs and equations....microscope and other biological equiptment - if not 'laboratory' grade. Very strange - as was the man. [would love to know the books on the shelf and other contents of the flat.] Peter, I can tell you some of the titles of the books contained on the shelf but not all - "Muzzey" by James G. Biaine "Meet General Grant" by W.E. Woodward "The Ciano Diaries" Also, the book "Inquest" by Edward Jay Epstein was laid open on a chair. Cheers, James

The photograph below was taken in Ferrie's apartment at the time of his death. Hardly a laboratory. FWIW. James

Steve, It wasn't so much a camp but a rented house. Ten Cuban exiles were staying there under the guise of foreign exchange students. The operation was run by Gil Strickler who amongst others, had connections to Tony 'Poe' Poshepny. Come to think of it, I don't recall reading much at all about Gilbert "Strick" Strickler in assassination literature but for those interested, he is well worth researching. An Army Reserve Colonel and quite a fascinating character with very curious connections to the CIA's world of paramilitary training. FWIW. James

Given some of the recent questions raised about Op 40, I was wondering if any author or researcher has ever connected the Operation 40 program with the Naval Commission of the Cuban Revolutionary Council and in particular the Naval Intelligence Office commanded at the time by Andres Triay? Ronato Diaz is another interesting character in the complicated mix of Agency policy and anti-Castro politics. Given his command and association with the Council, would have been close to the goings on within the ranks of Operation 40. James

Thanks James - no hits anywhere on that name (Lee Forman) Lee, This is Ibrahen Macin. He was mixed up in some plot to hit Castro in mid 1963. I do not have any details unfortunately. James

Lee, It has been suggested by a contact of mine that the guy in the photo you posted is Ibrahen Macin aka Ibrahen Rodriguez Hernandez. This guy was connected to the MIRR. FWIW. James

Regarding the HSCA Mugbook, does anyone know who Frank Dugan is? (number 32) James

Steve, Vallee was 30 in 1963. He died in 1998. James

Steve, The stories mainly involved the power and influence Morales would wield during his visits to Arizona. He had personal relationships with many prominent folk including the police chief. Doors would open and the gratuities would flow. There was also the so-called inside word on business opportunities in Latin America that some of his friends took advantage of. James

Steve, Yes, I did see Shane's documentary which I thought was skillfully constructed and a very well balanced presentation. I have not read Shane's book but look forward to doing so. Many years ago, I did speak with several people who knew Morales from his school years and from the 'neighborhood'. One particular gentlemen is still owed a small sum of money from 'Didi'. I don't like his chances of getting it back. Also, two brothers who were well acquainted with Morales shared some interesting stories - nothing that tied him to the dramatic events of 1963 and 1968, but curious impressions and anecdotes. James