James Richards

I thought forum members might find this image interesting. That's Santo Trafficante apparently quite chummy with a couple of Cuban cops. This was after his arrest and just before he went into prison.

I get the feeling that he didn't do any real hard time.

FWIW.

James

James, is it possible that certain shots were fired without a silencer to distract potential witnesess,whilst similtaneously silenced rounds from at least two shooters did the actual wounding, Eg one shooter in TSBD three shots all blancs, Two shooters Dal Tex using silenced rounds, two shooters Knoll area likewise.

Is this a possible scenario? Ryan, Al? All pure speculation of course.

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Hi Stephen,

I am far from an expert and like Pat, I do agree that a combination of silenced and non silenced shots were fired in Dealey Plaza. The varying effects would certainly be confusing for those close to the action.

I do believe that whether the gunfire was masked or not, all bullets were meant to hit JFK.

James

James, do you have any other photographs of Hawkins?

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I do, Tim, but they are not scanned. I am having major printer and scanner type problems which is frustrating to say the least.

As to Maurice Bishop look-a-likes, there is also J.C. King. There is an image of him at the photo archives in the CIA section.

I guess the point needs to be made that a common practice for Intelligence agents and assets is to share names and identities. It is possible that Maurice Bishop may indeed have been a composite of David Phillips, John O'Hare and who knows else.

As we have all come to expect in this case, things are not always cut and dry.

James

Remember that in Dick Russell's 'The Man Who Knew Too Much', Colonel Bill Bishop claimed that he and David Phillips had both served as case officers to Veciana.

When showed the 'Maurice Bishop sketch', Col. Bishop said that Veciana was under enormous pressure and in effect made a composite of Phillips, Col. Bishop and others that Bishop refused to name. Could they have included Esterline and Jack Hawkins?

IMO, the Bishop sketch although looking a lot like David Phillips, did resemble Col. Jack Hawkins.

The image below shows Esterline on the left and Hawkins on the right.

James

Thanks, Ryan. As always, your information is very helpful. Have you ever heard of any of the Cuban exiles being armed with AK-47's? This seems like a new development for me.

I would also like to extend my thoughts and prayers to our friends in England.

James

That's a nasty-looking weapon, James!

Do you know who manufactured the silencer and what type of weapon it is on?

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Hi Tim,

Rather than embarrassing myself with a layman's guess, hopefully Ryan can give us some details.

James

Given some of the discussion lately regarding shot origin and how many reports witnesses heard, I though it was appropriate to post the following image and hopefully we can get Ryan Crowe to give us an expert's opinion on what exactly a rig like this will do.

Specifically, does this effect the rifle's performance, how is the sound controlled and what kind of volume levels are produced.

The man in the photo is Jose 'Yayo' Varona

James

Hi John,

Cubria was mixed up in this counter revolutionary group called La Cruz. There is not much on them but they were mentioned in some early press reports not long after the first round of defections after Castro took power.

I don't have any specifics about Cubria's background or when he was recruited by the Agency. As of April of 1974, he was still in a Cuban prison and in poor health.

James

That's very interesting, Jack. With some curious implications I must say.

Even before seeing your analysis, I had always wondered about the following. I can't put my finger on it but something is not quite right given that both images are supposedly from LHO's time in the CAP.

FWIW.

James

He looks like a young William Seymour to me..

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He sure does, Ryan.

This is something I have been curious about for some time, and it's not just the physical similarity.

James

And Hand has escaped the long arm of the law! (GROAN!!) (Tim Gratz)

That's because no one has ever fingered him.

James

Interesting that Helliwell died in the mid-seventies. We can research it but do you have any reason to suspect his death was other than from natural causes? Of course there was a lot of other stuff going on in the mid-seventies as well, as you well know! (Tim Gratz)

Tim,

Helliwell died on the 24th of December, 1976 of Emphysema. I guess given the timing, one would have to look at this with some suspicion. I'm sure shadowy elements of the government have all ways to bring on death. How hard it would be to induce Emphysema, I have no idea? I did read once where a drug was developed which exaggerated already existing ailments. I guess it's possible.

I think the reality is that during this mid 1970's period there were some deaths which were definitely suspicious and some not. My feeling is that Helliwell's passing was natural.

FWIW.

James

James, by chance have you seen this Michael Hand in some pub down there on the Gold Coast? (Tim Gratz)

Tim,

I have been thrown out of some of the better establishments here on the Gold Coast but I never did see Michael Hand. My bet is that he is being protected with a new name and living in either Hawaii or Miami.

Nugan/Hand were laundering money out of the Golden Triangle with guys like Shackley, Secord and Clines right in the mix.

Helliwell died in 1976 right when things were falling apart for the bank. Winding the clock back a bit, Helliwell was the paymaster for the Bay of Pigs operation and was connected to Edwin Wilson who I believe may have been the middle man between Morales and the money itself.

Just my opinion of course.

James

I googled him.  No wonder James knows him.  He is a staff member at Australian National University, where he is a beekeeper.

"Congratulations to all winners of ribbons and especially to Paul Helliwell who won the Most Successful Exhibitor ribbon."  (From the Newsletter of the Beekeepers Association of the ACT.)

From his photo, he must have been quite young at the time of the assassination, though!

http://cvs.anu.edu.au/ryszard/helliwell.htm

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Come on, Tim. You have to try a bit harder than that.

Here's some clues. Sea Supply Corporation, Castle Bank, Bay Of Pigs.

Failing that I guess it's possible the Aussie beekeeper trained his hive to attack the motorcade. Maybe that's what DCM was doing there on Elm waving his arms around, trying to shoo the bees.

James

Hey guys,

Helliwell being paymaster of course.

If I had an image of Helliwell laundering some of Trafficante's money and then handing a wad of it over to David Morales while John Roselli sits in the background toasting a future without JFK, trust me, I would post it.

I have had a few beers on this warm and sunny Gold Coast winter's day and the last thing I feel like doing is writing lots of stuff on Helliwell so Google this guy as there is plenty on him.

Cheers, (literally)

James

Hi Harry,

I echo Ron's thoughts. Thanks for sharing your story.

Guy Gabaldon is a very interesting character and worth much research. Here he is below (seated).

The other three men are actors Jeffrey Hunter, Vic Damone and David Janssen. They were shooting a movie which was based on Gabaldon's adventures in WW2. For the life of me, I can not think of the title.

James

Who was the paymaster? To whom were the funds given? (Tim Gratz)

IMO, one would have to seriously look at Paul Helliwell.

James

It's my understanding that Ferrie is the second man from the left. Is that correct? In looking at this photo again, the third man from the left, whom I'd paid no attention to before, got me wondering.

Ron

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Yep, that's Ferrie. The guy third from the left standing bears a resemblance to Dennis Harber. (IMO)

James

Excellent stuff, Stephen. I appreciate the effort and your reply.

That is some terrific information. Excuse my ignorance but what is the NOCS? Is Meister now a Lousiana lawyer?

Thanks again.

James

James ,(identikit/sketch enhanced)  is there another image of the sketch that might reveal more of the blotches that appear to be writing underneath the face?

John

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John,

Of the photographs showing the rifle which include the identikit image, the one I posted was the best.

James

James,

I seem to recall something about the composite image not being related to the Oswald case. It just happened to be in the background of a photo. I don't know where I saw this so I may be misremembering. I looked in JFK: First Day Evidence but didn't see it.

Ron

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Hi Ron,

I seem to recall the same thing. The image comes from this one below of the rifle on display. Strange place to have an identikit image just laying around, and propped up to be seen.

Anyway, on some of the other photographs snapped of the rifle, this identikit image has been removed.

Even if this has nothing to do with Oswald and the assassination, DeLeon is still an interesting character and somone of interest as they say.

James

Hi Stephen,

I am curious if the guy I have circled below has ever been identified? Any information you (or any other forum member) can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

James

So not to divert the 'Jean Souetre' thread, I have started a new one concerning Ronald Ponce DeLeon and the possibility that he was the man in the police identikit image.

I also submit DeLeon may have been photographed in Dealey Plaza after the shooting.

FWIW.

James

Hi Steve,

Interesting indeed. I think the one thing which stands out here is that the composite image doesn't look anything like Oswald. I believe this composite image is actually of Ronald Ponce DeLeon. (see below)

FWIW.

James

Speaking of staff, that included L. Fletcher Prouty. He worked for Taylor, and worked with Lansdale. He knew both men. As far as I can tell, Prouty first IDed the guy walking past the tramps as Lansdale in 1990, in a letter to Jim Garrison. Taylor and Lansdale had both died 3 years before. Now it's interesting to me that Prouty, knowing both men, would look at that photo, which looks more like Taylor than Lansdale, and say, "Hey, that's Lansdale!" I can't help but wonder if Prouty, rather than saying what would sound too incredible or preposterous (the Chairman of the JCS in Dealey Plaza?), did what was necessary to draw attention to the photo, and then let the wheels turn as they may. It pretty well works for me, but only after James pointed out who the man really looks like. As James said, he didn't mention it before because he was afraid people would laugh at him. Maybe Prouty felt the same way. (Ron Ecker)

Even though both men (Lansdale and Taylor) point to conspiracy, the implications of it being Taylor seem to be more sinister than Lansdale. In a way, as a conspiracy of shadowy government types, I guess we would expect Lansdale to be there.

If this man walking past the tramps is indeed Taylor then that throws a whole new light on things. I know a lot of people respect Fletcher Prouty and I don't wish to sully his name, but maybe he wanted to point researchers to a conspiracy but not one that included Max Taylor.

Given some of the research Jim Root is doing, I can understand why Prouty steered clear of putting Taylor into the mix. That convoluted world of codebreakers, soviet moles and mind control I believe is a way of understanding what Oswald was all about, and may reveal who was behind his fake defection and his ultimate fate of being a patsy for the murder of the President.

Food for thought.

James