Bill Simpich
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Posts posted by Bill Simpich
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I post this chronology now in hopes that it may help Gil - It looks like the links work, but the margins are out of place - if someone can help me, I will edit it. Bill
The Death of Oswald
A note about this chrono: The most important aspects to me are:
1. Butler's role in running the show in the police basement on 11/24, and Dallas refusing to address who was calling the shots.
2. The Sept 63 memo, newly released, that shows Jim Hosty, George Butler, the Communist informants and the ultraright weapons runners all penetrating each other's missions, Jack Revill, Masen, Hall, and Seymour...there's a lot going on...there was a big scene going on, and everyone knew it.
3. The role of former "Communist" William Lowery, who ran a shoe store near the Texas Theater, who had been tailing Joseph Molina for many years until he surfaced in late Sept 63. Did LHO take his place in tailing Molina? When LHO/LHO's double was seen outside Johnny Brewer's shoe store, was he looking for Lowery at that store...did he go to the wrong place?
4. Butler was a heavy hitter - connected with the Klan and the ultra-right in many formations.
5. His former partner was Captain Pat Gannaway - master of the Dallas spooks - Special Service Division chief - ran criminal intelligence, vice and narcotics. Gannaway is everywhere.
Background from John Simkin: George Butler is indeed an critically important character and has already been discussed here - reprinted below in this particular font.
George Butler was born in Texas in 1907. He joined the Dallas Police Force and in October, 1946, Paul Rowland Jones, an underworld crime boss, contacted Lieutenant Butler and offered him money to help him establish his gambling operation in Dallas. Butler arranged a meeting between Jones and Sheriff Steve Guthrie. Jones offered Guthrie an annual sum of $150,000. This conversation was recorded and Jones was eventually convicted of attempted bribery. Jones appealed his three-year sentence on grounds that he had been entrapped by a well-established corrupt law-enforcement system in Dallas. Undocumented but colorful article on background here.
According to Seth Kantor: "Butler's... knowledge of organized crime was so intimate that he had been the key man in the department contacted by the Chicago mob when the chose to move into Dallas in 1946 and make police payoffs" and later he was "loaned by the Dallas police department to aid three different U.S. Senate investigatory groups as an expert on gangster operations".
In his dealings with organized crime Butler got to know Jack Ruby. Ruby's sister, Eva Grant had been involved with Paul Rowland Jones and Waldron Duncan in an attempt to transport opium between Chicago and Dallas. Later Butler was to claim that Ruby had been a sleeper (a member of organized crime who maintained the image of a law-abiding citizen. Steve Guthrie told the FBI that Ruby was a front-man in Dallas for the Chicago syndicate.
Butler knew about Ruby and his criminal connections with people like Paul Jones by the late 1940s. Penn Jones describes him as being head of the Policeman's Union in Dallas for a number of years.
1946-1947: "The Kefauver Committee conspicuously failed, as Ruby's lawyer Luis Kutner alleged, to expose the extent of the Chicago mob's takeover of Dallas gambling in 1946-47, when Ruby himself moved from Chicago to Dallas. (Scott, Deep Politics, p. 162)
Butler said that Jones was his informant after the election of 1946 and said Ruby wanted to be part of his group, but they didn't want any part of him. Ruby had to go from SF to Dallas because SF didn't want him.
Pat Gannaway and Butler arrested Paul Jones at the end of the operation.
Ruby was interrogated behind closed doors at a Kefauver Committee hearing by Lt. George Butler of the Dallas Police in 1950.
Kefauver congratulated Butler in 1950 for stopping corruption from reaching Dallas. (Scott, Deep Politics, p. 152 - Butler contradicted this statement in 1958) George Butler, told the FBI (HSCA Volume 9, p. 520😞
[quote] Ruby was not involved in the bribery attempt. In fact, he [Butler] had never heard of Ruby until after the investigation and trial had been completed. He stated the way Ruby came into the picture was a number of individuals who were involved in the bribery attempt and in particular Paul Roland Jones began "hanging out" at Ruby's club after the sentence. [unquote]
Bill Turner wrote that Jones told the FBI he believed Butler was first in earnest and wanted a payoff, desisting only when he learned the Texas Rangers were wise to the negotiations."
According to Michael Benson, Butler was an associate of Haroldson L. Hunt. His source was probably Bill Turner, who wrote that Butler made a point of driving H.L. Hunt to his speaking engagements.
1955: Butler transferred from the field of racketeers and mobsters and into the juvenile division. (Stated in the 1958 testimony, below)
1958: With RFK asking the questions, Butler testified at the Investigation of improper activities in the labor or management field. Hearings before the Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field
Butler testified mainly about how the mob moved in during the late 40s with their coin-operated machines into Dallas and had an 18 million dollar enterprise - hardly what he testified in 1950.
Gambling and prostitution were endemic in Dallas during this period, so Butler was putting on RFK or RFK was letting it happen for political reasons. This document shows mobster Pat Manning promising Butler that gambling was all the mob wanted, and he would prevent other stuff from happening.
In 1961 - Butler also provided information to W. Penn Jones Jr. According to Jones, Butler told him that 50% of the Dallas Police Department were also members of the Ku Klux Klan. More to the point, he also wanted Jones to start a statewide Klan newspaper with him! (Bill Turner, Ramparts, June 1967)
Late Nov 61, Jack Revill, Lowery, DL-16-S (who reported on LHO that year), DL-6-S, and DL-107-C aka Earl Harvey all said that Minutemen were unknown to them.
4/30/62 Penn Jones tells FBI Edgar Wesley Seay, employee of Gen Walker, tried to burn down his newspaper with gallon can of gas w paper fuse thrown thru front door.5/10/63: First, in a conversation between Jerry Gordon and Morris Lansburgh. In this conversation, Gordon is referring to hotel bookings for the day's of May 7, 8, 9, and 10, 1963. At one point in the conversation, Gordon states, "10th down, thirty-five, seven, zero, two [pause] yes sir! [Pause] Some of your friends from Texas"..........On May 12 1963, [Jerry] Gordon is having a discussion with Sam Belkin, a casino credit manager concerning customers at the casino who owe the casino money......Gordon is reading off the names to Belkin, and Belkin is cross-referencing them against a list he has, after running down the 36th name, Sam Gordon.....five. the following,"...........BUTLER......Paid..."
So, the conversation implies, at least by what Gordon states to Lansburgh, that a Dallas police Lieutenant is on familiar terms with Morris Lansburgh. If that were the case it belies the fact that with the assassination seven months away, there is good reason to suspect the charge made through the years that there were some bad apples on the Dallas police force was not inaccurate; In that context, a Dallas detective staying at the Flamingo in Vegas.9/3/63: Hosty gets a hot tip from Donald Kemp that Edward Schwille of Dallas is active with a group similar to the Minutemen - Revill and everyone else are saying no knowledge of them in Dallas. Schwille wrote a letter on 11/26/63 seeking best evidence on Jack Ruby, knew Jack had Jake Ehrlich (note: great criminal attorney who could have won Ruby's case if Belli hadn't moved in w/his mob connections).
Schwille, the leader, supplied weapons to Ashland Burchwell in 1962, weapons seized by DPD before Burchwell could leave Dallas for Oxford, MI to join Walker in the fight against Meredith. Burchwell has been working with Felix Botello, former DL-18-S, who used to work with Lowery in the Communist Party and knew (as T-1) that Joe Molina would never join the Communist Party.
Molina worked with the American GI Forum, which was also spied on by Lowery and friends. Lowery became chairman of the American GI Forum.
Botello and Burchwell said they disagreed w. Minuteman leader Robert DePugh and refuse to align with him and the Minutemen.
Hosty knew about the right-wing during the 1962-63 period - as he said in his book - here he is with his superiors saying he really should be checking in again with Felix Botello, DL-18-S (see more about him below), and take the statement of the right-winger Delbert Ray.
Penn Jones knew about the Venus Ranch, I believe it was also known as White Gate Farm - Delbert Ray, the Bircher who ran the ranch, was a close associate of Edgar Wesley Seay, another Bircher and an Edwin Walker employee.
The police believed that Seay set fire to Penn Jones' newspaper office on 4/30/62 with a gallon of volatile fluid thru the front door The FBI thought that Delbert Ray was implicated in some way. Ray also was a warehouse operator in Dallas.
9/9/63: Hosty's informant is also his close friend, a Republican party activist. Although Hosty claims to be a JFK man and a Democrat, Weisberg found that both he and Revill "were as far to the right as even Dallas permits" (p. 1 of 😎
9/23/63: Bill Lowery was an FBI infiltration agent into the CPUSA. Additionally, he was co-founder of the Dallas chapter of the GI Forum with Joe Molina and others including Felix G. Botello who had also been a security informant against the extreme right (DL T-18-S) and was associated with Ashland Burchall in a Minutemen like group. Burchall had served under Edwin Walker in Germany.
The FBI considered Walker an advisor to the Minutemen in Texas.
Jerry Shinley: John Stanford and William Lowery had been the subject of wide-spread publicity about two months before the assassination. John Stanford, then a resident of San Antonio, was being investigated by Texas state and Bexar County authorities because of his alleged membership in the Communist party. In July of 1963, U. S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy asked Texas officials to refrain from taking action against Stanford until after the completion of Federal proceedings. (San Antonio Express, p. 5-A) On September 23, 1963, a hearing on Stanford was held before the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) in Washington. One of those testifying was William J. Lowery, who revealed that he had been acting as an FBI informant within the Communist Party since 1945. (Dallas Morning News, September 26, 1963, s. 1, p. 1; San Antonio Express, September 24, 1963, p. 1- A)
Lowery's testimony that he had infiltrated the American G. I. Forum and other reputable groups created some controversy. An FBI spokesman denied that the FBI had ordered the infiltrations and said Lowery had been following the orders of the Communist Party in joining those groups. (San Antonio Express, September 25, 1963, p. 10-D; September 27, 1963, p. 5-B) In December, state and county officials raided the home of John Stanford and seized many of his papers and belongings. (San Antonio Express, December 28, 163, p. 1-A). Thus, the Dallas Police were suspicious of Molina because he was associated with a man who had been identified as an FBI informant on the front page of a Dallas newspaper. During his testimony before the Warren Commission, Molina attempted to talk about Bill Lowery, but was cut short by Commission counsel, Joseph A. Ball. (6 H 373) Another question of interest in this matter is whether Lee Harvey Oswald might have had any contact with Lowery or Stanford. Also, the publicity Lowery received may have had some influence on later rumors that Oswald was himself an FBI informant.
Lowery’s September 1963 testimony before the SACB in Washington spelled the end of his undercover career. But that opened the door for someone else to take over “surveillance” of Molina, the token subversive. Did Oswald do it?Lowery's testimony was that he had infiltrated this and "other groups" on behalf of the FBI. The FBI actually went to press denying it!
10/1/63 Butler had a tape of the "karate guy" who made anti-JFK remarks at an anti-Castro Oct meeting in Farmers Branch. The karate guy spoke there with John Martino, Father Machann, Mrs. Trudy Castorr. Tapes created by Irving chiropractors, husband and wife, "Roeder" or "Rowder". (Weisberg files)
Trudy Castorr discusses at great length how Butler was also pals with Sylvia Odio and got deep inside information from the whole Dallas Cuban crowd. Trudy Castorr made a point of giving him letters from Lucille Connell about Odio. It turns out Sylvia Odio was the cousin of Marcella Insua, the daughter of Joaquin Insua (informant and the head of Catholic Cuban Relief in Dallas).
Weisberg considered Butler and Revill the most important police witnesses.
Early November 1963: Waldo also contacted Mark Lane and informed him that he had discovered that Jack Ruby, J. D. Tippit and Bernard Weismann had a meeting at the Carousel Club eight days before the assassination. Waldo added that he was too scared to publish the story and other information that he had about the assassination. Lane introduced Waldo to Dorothy Kilgallen. Her article on the Tippit, Ruby and Weissman meeting appeared on the front page of the Journal American. (Lee Israel, Kilgallen (1979))
I believe that this information about the meeting at the Carousel Club originally came from Butler. It is possible that it was Butler who provided Dorothy Kilgallen with the information about Jesse Curry's tapes.
Sylvia Meagher later claimed that Butler gave contradictory information to the FBI and to the press about Ruby’s past criminal associations and activities.
The Dallas Police website had some information on George Butler (for many years he was President of the Dallas Police Association. In fact, the Dallas Police Association headquarters building has been officially named the “George E. Butler Building” in his honor. (I visited it at 9:30 am the last Monday of Nov. 2018 - the reception was hostile just from knocking at the door - then I told them I was a JFK researcher! Definitely worth visiting - you might meet someone more reasonable - just one block from Lorenzo Hotel.)
Trudy Castorr says she heard Butler was involved with the Minutemen and with the Cubans within the police dept. Weisberg mentions he thought Butler was involved in a mix-up because the car was not in place - that got Oswald shot by Ruby
11/20/63: Masen arrested, 5 foot 5, 130 pounds, small guy. Strongly sympathetic with Minutemen.
11/21/63: Entire operational plan for the motorcade is conducted in Curry's office.
Gannaway, Sawyer (guarded the TSBD), Lumpkin (drove pilot car w/radio communications), SS members Forrest Sorrels and Winston Lawson among the fourteen present. Lawson reduced the # of motorcycles w/President from 4 to 2 on each side.
11/22/63 The official report indicates that homicide officers found the shells in the TSBD - when in fact it was Jerry Hill and/or Luke Mooney. "Lumpkin then instructed Revill to organize his team against the east wall...and make a systematic search...a member of Revill's searching party...found the rifle."
Here is a photo of Lowery at his shoe store...
Oswald may have been placed in the TSBD to monitor American GI Forum's Joseph Molina to replace Lowery. Molina's home was searched in the middle of the night after the assassination, and he spent most of 11/23 in interrogation at the police station.
11/22/63: Butler saw Ruby on this day in City Hall, but not on Sat or Sun.
11/22/63: Houston Chronicle reported: "Oswald, who had been interviewed by the FBI only six days before [the assassination], became important to the police only after he missed an employee roll call soon afterwards. 'He was the only one who couldn't be accounted for,' Detective Capt. Pat Gannaway said. There was no roll call and many employees could not be accounted for.
11/22/63 Pat Gannaway was the chief of the DPD Special Services Bureau. His subordinate Bill Biggio was directing police intelligence communications at the Fair Park office on 11/22. (source: Earl Golz)
Jack Revill, Don Stringfellow, Bill Biggio and all the members of criminal intelligence division reported directly to Gannaway. So did vice and narcotics. Gannaway was a reserve Army Intelligence officer - like many of the DPD officers. The famous report of Harvey Lee Oswald and the employees of the TSBD went from Revill to Gannaway.
Ruby would frequent the Special Services Bureau since 1956 to arrange for the city licenses that he needed to operate his nightclubs in Dallas. (pp. 2-3) The source for this information, Mary Hartford, was Gannaway's secretary from 1956-62. Another police chief described Hartford as possibly Ruby's "mistress" because their relationship was so close.
Gannaway had the six members of the Indignant White Citizen's Council at the Trade Mart "taken into custody" to prevent them from being assaulted after the killing of JFK. A suit was filed - they lost.
For background on Gannaway and the Special Services Bureau, see the Warren Commission testimony of Lieutenant Jack Revill (who became Assistant Chief in 1982) is very revealing in describing the duties and responsibilities of the Special Services Bureau. He stated: "I am currently in charge of the criminal intelligence section." Later he outlined the overall task of the bureau. "Our primary responsibility is to investigate crimes of an organized nature, subversive activities, racial matters, labor racketeering, and to do anything that the chief might desire. We work for the chief of police. I report to a captain who is in charge of the bureau – Captain Gannaway."
Lieutenat Revill later indicated that he had been assigned to an investigative panel set up to determine how Jack Ruby had gained access to the City Hall basement where he had shot Oswald. This type of enquiry was obviously also the responsibility of the Special Service Bureau.
For a very revealing account of the functions of DPD's Special Services Bureau, see Philip H. Melanson's article "Dallas Mosaic" published in the Third Decade, vol. 1, no 3, March 1985, pages 12-15. Among other things, Dr. Melanson mentions that " the spooky little unit was physically removed from the rest of the DPD and was headquartered in a building on the state fairgrounds." (Vol. IV HSCA, 597.)
I believe it was located very close to the Women's Building on the State Fairgrounds.
Note that Dallas' Special Services Bureau was replicated in the postwar era in other major cities, such as New York City's BOSS (Bureau of Special Services) that monitored Malcolm X right up to serving as his bodyguard's on the day of his assassination at the Audubon Ballroom in 1965, and Chicago's Special Services that had Sam Giancana's right-hand man Richard Cain working in the vice squad in the early sixties.
11/22/23 aftermath - Walker identified as a friend of Earl Lively, writer for American Mercury magazine. Walker was saying LHO and Ruby were seen together prior to 11/22 - citizens suspected Walker of involvement in JFK assassination.
Again, Ruby and George Butler knew each other from the Kefauver Committee investigation of 1950 - see above.
11/23/63, 2 am: The Dallas police come barging into Joe Molina's home in the middle of the night and have a search warrant for his place. Their leader is Pat Gannaway, Butler's ex-partner. Nothing turns up, but they strongly suggest Molina come to the station the following morning, he complies.
11/23/63: When James Worrell tried to report his observations of the killing on 11/23/63 following Curry's request for witnesses to come forward, Lt Butler fielded Worrell's call. What was Butler doing out at Farmers Branch, it was a small town? I thought he was working juvie, what's he doing here? My bet is that the hottest witness calls went directly to Butler so he could decide how to dispose of them.
http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=38&relPageId=206&search=%22lt._butler%22
An extra bullet was found by a postman below the 6th floor - it was a 30 06 cartridge. WFAA's Bert Shipp wound up with it on 11/23. The bullet was given to George Butler - who wound up giving it back to the TV employee!
11/24/63: Bill Turner alleged that Butler was in charge of the Oswald transfer, was one of the biggest Klan leaders around, and gave the "all clear" to bring him into the basement. Waldo corroborates all of Turner's points in this memo to Weisberg - written from Mexico!
Bill Turner was unequivocal that Butler was the man who had the overall responsibility for the transfer of Oswald.
Between 10-11 am, Thayer Waldo (in a 12/2/63 FBI interview) said that the reporters were standing outside on Commerce Street when Butler came up to them and told them "Come in." They proceeded to enter where they were checked for weapons.
10:45 am: The reason for the delay in moving Oswald is that they needed to obtain armored vehicles - which didn't arrive until this time. Later, Curry - who was at the Homicide Bureau - and others changed their minds and told Asst Chief Stevenson they had decided to use detective cars to transport LHO, using the armored vehicles as a decoy.
11 am: Lt. Butler's statement - written 11/30/63, says he and several other detectives reported to Captain O.A. Jones, "who stationed the detectives where he wanted them". Chief Batchelor, Sgt. Pat Dean and Butler searched the armored car before LHO came down. Dean allegedly told Butler that Batchelor wanted Butler to ride in the armored car with LHO.
Jones said Deputy Stevenson summoned him at 11 am and told him to move a few detectives "where needed". He was plainly not in charge.
Stevenson said Cecil Tolbert was in charge of patrolmen; Jones (from the bunko squad) was in charge of detectives, and "homicide officers" were in charge of actual transport of LHO.
At 11:10 - Detective Roy Lowery states that Butler was cleaning out the armored car, with a group of officers around him. See the KRLD raw footage at around 8:00.
Fort Worth Telegram journalist Thayer Waldo said that the morning of 11/24, he never saw anyone trembling like Butler.
Waldo wrote in a long letter that he was stunned when Patrick Dean was introduced to the Ruby jury as the officer in charge of security at the jail that morning, rather than Butler.
Butler was busy on 11/24/63. On 24th November, 1963, Jesse Curry decided to transfer Lee Harvey Oswald to the county jail. The undocumented story is that Will Fritz placed Butler in immediate charge of the transfer.
Despite his role in the transfer of Oswald to the county jail and his long term relationship with Ruby, Butler was not interviewed by the Warren Commission.
Butler is listed as #13 in this schematic diagram of the police basement, but portions appear missing, see this legible copy of the diagram of the Dallas police basement at p. 43 - pp. 44-46 has the same list of officers.
In his testimony to the commission, Thayer Waldo of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, claimed that during the transfer Butler "was an extremely nervous man, so nervous that when I was standing asking him a question after I had entered the ramp and gotten down to the basement area, just moments before Oswald was brought down, he was standing profile to me and I noticed his lips trembling as he listened and waited for my answer. It was simply a physical characteristic. I had by then spent enough time talking to this man so that it struck me as something totally out of character."
Two detectives - R. L. Lowery and W.J. Cutchshaw - provided statements that three men were pushing the WBAP tv camera from the basement lobby to the basement - see the KRLD raw footage at 10:10 to see the giant camera - Lowery said that the camera was never plugged in and the camera cap was never taken off - both detectives agreed that only two men tried to leave with it and had no good story about the missing third man. The detectives believed the third man was Ruby, and that's how he got in. The WBAP men were apparently David Timmons and John Alexander - never questioned by the Warren Commission. (See attached clip below from Lowery's report.) Other officers claimed these detectives' findings were "unfounded". Jimmie Turner, the director at WBAP, claimed to be the third man, and was the man chosen to testify to the WC, and changed Alexander to "John Tankersley". Timmons was forced to change his story, but Tankersley contradicted Turner by saying the third man was possibly a detective - he couldn't recognize his boss, Turner?! It may be that they couldn't keep their story straight, but managed to skate anyway.
According to Harold Weisberg, Butler prematurely gave the signal to bring out Oswald. Bill Turner and Penn Jones described Butler as high up in the Klan. Even an FBI memo describes him as way to the right. Butler was also pals with Sylvia Odio and the whole Dallas Cuban crowd.
Weisberg wrote that if Butler had waited, the auto would have been parked and blocked the area where Ruby broke through to point his pistol at Oswald.
Butler is quoted as saying in those final seconds: "He'll never make it to the street."
As you can see in the youtube video starting at 1:41, Fritz is eight feet in front of Oswald. The story goes that Ruby emerged from the crowd with detective Blackie Harrison and reserve sergeant Kenneth Croy were his blocking fullbacks. The WC questioned Croy very closely - this is the guy who "found Oswald's wallet" from an unidentified bystander at the Tippit crime scene, and never reported it to anyone for forty years.
This meant that Oswald was exposed to an assault similar to what happened when the Secret Service told the patrolmen not to flank JFK on their motorcycles. Meanwhile, the officers were blinded by the burst of television lights when Oswald came on the scene.
I wonder if Fritz actually made a gesture for Ruby to make his move?
The pickup car was so close to position that within seconds of Ruby firing the shot, the car tapped Ruby right in the butt! You can see it on the video.
The difficulty in verifying these photos show how little video there really is on the Oswald shooting...
From John Armstrong, who is asking for review of the photos below: After reading Croy's testimony, I am convinced that Croy was most likely the person who allowed Ruby to gain entrance to the basement so that he could kill HARVEY Oswald. Please, I urge everyone to read Croy's Warren Commission testimony and draw your own conclusions. Here is an excerpt of that testimony:
Mr. GRIFFIN. Tell us how you came to believe that man was Jack Ruby?
Mr. CROY. Well, as I was standing there and this blur came from my left, someone running, and he ran by me at a pretty good clip, he was gaining momentum and he ran by me.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Now, was there anybody in front of him at that point?
Mr. CROY. Yes; there was reporters.
Mr. GRIFFIN. There were reporters. Now, what did he do as he got to these reporters?
Mr. CROY. He ran through them.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did he push them aside, or what?
Mr. CROY. These reporters. He just lowered his head and ran through them like a fullback went through a line.This YouTube/CNN video, less than a minute long, shows Kenneth Croy in a white hat and police uniform standing next to Ruby in police headquarters just a second or two before Oswald appears. Croy is the rightmost figure in the shot immediately below, which was taken at the 12-second mark of the video. Note how Croy seems to stand back from the action as Ruby shoots Oswald. Ruby can be seen in the video standing next to reporters in the middle image. It is clear that Ruby did not "run by me [Croy] at a pretty good clip." Ruby did not run through the reporters "like a fullback went through a line."
John Armstrong makes these IDs - I am unsure about Croy, and the Ruby figure has a fedora and a prominent nose but an oddly-cut sideburn pointing to 2 o'clock.
(We can see Ruby's prominent nose but no 2 o'clock sideburn.) On December 1, 1963, Croy gave an affidavit in which he said, "I saw a man running into the crowd in a crouch. At that moment I reached for this individual and touched his coat tail attempting to stop him. I saw him run right up to Oswald ...."
Once again Croy was lying. As can be seen from numerous film clips of the shooting, Croy did not "reach for this individual" nor did he "touch his coat tail attempting to stop him." Warren Commission attorney Burt Griffin had reviewed films of the shooting and knew Croy was not telling the truth.
Mr. GRIFFIN. Did any one of these films that you watched show you reaching out and touching the coat of Ruby?
Mr. CROY. No; none that I saw.//// Thanks to John Armstrong.
Butler is the crucial link between the Dallas Police Dept and the Dallas Cubans and their friends (the Castorrs, the Odios, Connell, etc.; see this lengthy Harold Weisberg interview with the Castorrs) He was pals with all of them.
Jan Stevens' story on Butler and Fritz is a good analysis and highly worth reading - it jibes with my review of the videotape. He also points out Fritz's lack of a reaction to the shot - that they are trained to react - and that anyone with a brain in their head would have used a human shield to protect LHO.
The pistol holster found at Ruby's home was "musty and moldy, for a snub-nose". (p. 45 of 49)
Passes for the Carousel Club included No. 227 for Dallas police officer Ray Hawkins (p. 26 of 96) But the DPD 1/9/64 report about these passes does not include Hawkins' name! The negative template at work. (pages 37-40 of 96)
The 11/24/63 FBI report does have Hawkins' name. But it doesn't have the names of Dallas deputy sheriff Buddy Walthers, or Records Building deputy Travis Hall, both of whom are important.
The list of cards (see p. 37 of 96) names Deputy sheriff Buddy Walthers (number 167) and Travis Hall, a county clerk deputy at the Records Bldg (number 207) but their actual cards cannot be found either in the xeroxed cards (pp. 15-30 of 96) or in the 11/24/63 FBI report! Walthers was the critical source for the 3126 Harlandale House of Cubans. Travis Hall, described by the FBI as a "cashier" - was given his card by Jack Ruby at the County Records Building on 11/19/63, after seeing Jack at the Records Building earlier that month. A list of Carousel members obtained on 11/28/63 from Monte Timmons also omits the names of Hawkins - but "deputy Hall" and "deputy Walthers" are on there!
Capt. Westbrook wound up sending the card and a note to Chief Curry on 12/12/63 where Hawkins said he had not yet received the card - the problem is that Hawkins signed the card, so he had certainly received it!
Hawkins was the biggest problem.
Corporal Ray Hawkins was in the area as officers were dispatched to look for the suspect who shot Officer Tippit. Corporal Hawkins responded and drove by 10th and Patton then converged on the Texas Theater when information came out that the suspect may have entered the theater. Corporal Hawkins and his cover squads met a witness at the back door of the Texas Theater. Upon entering, they conducted a row-by-row search. As officers neared Oswald, he jumped up and pulled out a pistol. Officers subdued Oswald after a struggle. Corporal Ray Hawkins went down in history as the officer who handcuffed Lee Harvey Oswald.
11/25/63 Gannaway's records list Ruby as a "sex deviate".
11/27/63 Gannaway is told by Chicago PD that Jack Ruby is Not the Jack Rubenstein in the HUAC records (this is the 1947 document referring to Jack Rubenstein as part of the staff of Richard Nixon) (p. 3 of 96)
11/27/63 Seth Kantor reported Curry was quietly conducting a probe of 50 detectives and uniformed officers to see if one or more of them aided Ruby.
On 9th December, 1963, Jack Revill wrote to Jesse Curry claiming that Butler: "related that he had information that Lee Harvey Oswald was the illegitimate son of Jack Ruby. Lieutenant Butler further stated that he had information that Jack Ruby had applied for a visa to Mexico about the same time that Lee Harvey Oswald visited that country. He suggested that we contact the Mexican Consul to confirm this information."
12/9/63: FBI report says Butler told them someone must have pressured Curry to bring out the prisoner while the news media was there - wouldn't say who.
This story, run in the 12/15/63 Oklahoman, states that "Butler cannot be found"...That was simply not true - it was three weeks after the assassination - but Butler may have been lying low about that time and getting his ducks in a row.
.
Our indices indicate Earl Lively, Jr., probably is identical to Earl William Lively, Jr. In 1962, Office of Special Investigations, Air Force (OSI), furnished us information that Lively was a member of the Air National Guard and at that time was a student of the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. He was investigated by OSI since a national agency check revealed he was a subscriber to “The Worker” and the “Midweek Worker,” both communist publications. Individuals interviewed by OSI reported Lively was extremely anticommunist and as being extremely rightist in his political views. They reported in their opinion Lively subscribed to communist publications only to obtain background information on the Communist Party line. They also reported Lively extremely anti-Fidel Castro.
OBSERVATIONS:
In view of the serious allegation that Lt. Butler of the Dallas Police Department is involved in scheme to furnish FBI data to Earl Lively, Jr., desirable we have SAC, Dallas personally discuss this allegation with the head of the Dallas Police Department and impress upon him the undesirability of Lt. Butler being involved with such a scheme as alleged by our source. Inasmuch as Lowery has testified for the Government before the Subversive Activities Control Board, and is no longer a security informant, we will not jeopardize an important informant situation by discussing his allegation with the head of the Dallas Police Department.
ACTION:
Attached is a teletype to SAC, Dallas, instructing the SAC, Dallas, to personally contact the head of Dallas Police Department and alert him to the information furnished by Lowery and impress upon him the undesirability of individuals in his department divulging to unauthorized individuals data furnished the Dallas Police Department by the FBI. We are also instructing SAC, Dallas, to request the that the head of the Dallas Police Department determine whether Lt. George Butler of the Dallas Police Department is involved in a scheme to furnish FBI data to Lively as alleged by Lowery.
1/22/64 Former Security informant to Dallas office of FBI is redacted - this is a reference to Lowery, who is talking with Butler - Butler is "allegedly involved in scheme to furnish FBI data to DLPD and to Earl Lively, Jr." Told Shanklin to speak to Curry to determine if Butler's involvement in scheme is "true".
1/22/64: Butler was suspected by the Dallas FBI of being involved with a scheme involving the Oswald file by January 1964, and was described as being "pretty far right" by Curry - Curry assured that Fritz had custody of the Oswald file under lock and key, but that he would speak to Butler.
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Gil, looking forward to your follow-up piece on this story. The killing of Oswald is the simplest of the three killings of that weekend to analyze. I hope many good minds will finally bear down on this, provide serious scrutiny, and work together.
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Schweikert's bill is important. It eliminates the exceptions. It gets those records out there now. We will work with his office on amendments and more.
We still need to create effective archives for our own materials and others. We still need to push NARA, NBC and elsewhere for new records.
Let's figure out how to get the Justice for Kennedy Act through Congress in 2023.
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Bill, that seems about right, the video indicates Ruby was only hiding behind Croy for a minute or so.
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A reasonable proof is hard in this situation without an identifying witness.
A way to begin would be to identify the circumstances in which the photograph came into your possession and to work backwards to try to obtain its provenance - the history of the custody of the photo.
I get the feeling this photo has been floating around the internet for awhile.
I tried using google lens on it, and it took me to that other picture of Westbrook you posted on Tangodown63.com. Impressive.
Of course, it also took me to a picture of John Wayne! LOL.
Another way is to analyze the photo - who else might be in it?
After that, the best way would be to approach Westbrook's family, friends, and colleagues. Or Morales'?
It would be a fair question. It sure looks like both men are in the photo. The interviewees might appreciate receiving a copy of the photo.
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Let me join Stuart in requesting a way to prove Westbrook is with Morales! That would be a golden find.
I completely agree with John and David that Croy covered for Ruby and got him into position - and that information comes straight from the questioning conducted by one of the Warren Commission attorneys to Croy and others - you can find it for yourselves in Croy's testimony.
Dale Myers attacks me whenever he can - I welcome his insults - it shows how weak his argument really is and how insecure he is.
With that said, his book on Tippit has very well-researched material and I think it is important to cite his research when it stands up.
Let's all avoid character attacks and focus on this rich material. We are doing good work here.
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Dan Rather claimed he only saw the Zapruder film once - on Nov 25 - and as we know he reported JFK's head as going forwards - instead of backwards. (See 2:07 of this video)
Just this week - Dan Rather said how central the JFK story is to our nation's history. My question - Has he ever tried to get his own story right? Has anybody got the Rather story right? And did Wikipedia do a good job with it - as far as it goes, of course?
...Here's Wikipedia on Dan Rather:
...In 1959, Rather began his television career as a reporter for KTRK-TV, the ABC affiliate in Houston. He was subsequently promoted to the director of news for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston.
...On February 28, 1962, Rather left Houston for New York City for a six-month trial initiation at CBS. Rather did not fit in easily on the East Coast. His first reports for CBS included coverage of the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 in Jamaica Bay, and a report on the suffocation of children at a hospital in Binghamton, New York. Shortly after, Rather was made chief of CBS's Southwest bureau in Dallas.
In August 1963, he was appointed chief of the Southern bureau in New Orleans, responsible for coverage of news events in the South, Southwest, Mexico and Central America.
In his autobiography, Rather noted that he was in Dallas in November 1963 to return film from an interview in Uvalde at the ranch of former Vice President John Nance Garner, who celebrated his 95th birthday on November 22.
He happened to be "on the other side of the railroad tracks, beyond the triple underpass, thirty yards from a grassy knoll that would later figure in so many conspiracy theories."
His job was to fetch a film drop from a camera truck at that location, and take it to the station for editing. (Note: He said when the presidential limo sped by him too quickly, he knew something was wrong.)
He did not witness the shooting of Kennedy, and knew nothing of the events until he reached KRLD, having run through Dealey Plaza.
(Note: To my knowledge, no one ever filmed Dan Rather in Dealey Plaza).
He later wrote:
“The moment I cleared the railroad tracks I saw a scene I will never forget. Some people were lying on the grass, some screaming, some running, some pointing. Policemen swarmed everywhere and distinctly above the din, I heard one shout, 'DON'T ANYBODY PANIC.' And of course, there was nothing but panic wherever you looked.”
In his autobiography, Rather said he was one of the first to view the Zapruder film showing the assassination, and the first to describe it on television. Rather reported the fatal headshot as forcing Kennedy's head forward, but it was thrown backward.
Later, he reported that some Dallas schoolchildren had applauded when they were notified of the president's death. Administrators said they had announced that school was to be dismissed early, and did not mention the assassination. However, teacher Joanna Morgan confirmed that students had cheered at the news that Kennedy was shot. This story infuriated local journalists at then-CBS affiliate KRLD-TV (now Fox-owned-and-operated KDFW-TV).
Rather's reporting during the national mourning period following the Kennedy assassination and subsequent events impressed CBS News management. In 1964, they selected him for the network's White House correspondent position.
Let me move on from Wikipedia - In this Daily Mail article, Rather says that with CBS help, he was the first reporter to speak with Zapruder, although LIFE outbid them for the film. You can see Rather's reports here as well.
CBS producer Don Hewitt is quoted in the same article as saying that he gave Rather orders to sock Zapruder in the jaw and steal the film. Rather was ready to do it, before Hewitt had second thoughts and called him back! (The original quote is here - Hewitt was one of the founders of 60 Minutes).
At 9:59 of this youtube interview about the Zapruder film - Rather says Don Hewitt's story is not true.
Again, how accurate is this accounting I have provided here?
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We have what is called a Case Management Conference on Jan 13 - not a substantive hearing, it is a discussion & scheduling event where future hearing dates are set. I would tell Lori and others to calendar 1/13, 5 pm to find out those future dates.
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I did my presentation at Lancer this year largely on the whoppers of Mike Howard.
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Roger Odisio is doing great things by letting people know many of the details about our lawsuit. Many of the aspects of the suit (and the suit itself) can also be reviewed by visiting the MFF website.
He writes: "....much will be lost if you don't push for NARA to update the Collection using the full ARRB definition, besides cleaning up the Collection, and following what the JFK Act requires NARA and the President to do before allowing record disclosure to be postponed."
I want to assure Roger and everyone that we are pushing for NARA to update the Collection on exactly that basis - and that we want documents added to the Collection from all relevant entities, public and private.
As stated in the complaint, it is our position that NARA has the power to identify new assassination records and add them to the Collection:
"53. Defendant NARA is the successor agency to the ARRB, and has assumed responsibility for ensuring compliance with the Act. (footnote 62) The ministerial non-discretionary duties include following up with agencies to complete outstanding ARRB search requests, to search for additional information and Assassination Records as well as to direct agencies to locate lost and missing records as their existence becomes known."
Footnote 62 refers to 65 FR 39550 (June 27, 2000). This section states: "The Assassination Records Review Board was established by the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 3443). At the termination of the Review Board on September 30, 1998, its records were transferred to the Archivist of the United States. NARA continues to maintain and supplement the collection under the provisions of the Act. NARA is, therefore, the successor in function to this defunct independent agency."
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Bart Kamp - among many others - makes the case that the Darnell and Weigman films portray Oswald on the book depository steps at the time of the shooting of JFK.
http://www.prayer-man.com/misc/prayer-man-in-a-nutshell/
NARA stands in the shoes of the ARRB since its dissolution. NARA has the power to demand the originals of these films from NBC and the Sixth Floor.
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Mark Adamczyk and Patrick McCarthy have been incredible. Everyone in our group put many hours into this project for which they should be recognized. We all brought different strengths and perspectives.
MFF's Rex Bradford, Jeff Morley, Larry Hancock and Debra Conway have also put in a great deal of time and effort. I hope everyone will consider donating to MFF.
Rex has a great page breaking down the details of the lawsuit that can be seen here.
You never know what the courts are going to do. We have to focus on what all of us can do.
Getting the word out about hard facts on the history of the USA is worth the effort.
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I'm late to the party here - but here is the memo saying that "John D. Whitten" called the FBI and advised on 12/3/63 that Oswald came to the Top Ten Record Store twice during 11/22/63, and that Tippit was inside during Oswald's second visit.
John D. Whitten was the real name of the CIA chief of Western Hemisphere, Division 3, which included Mexico.
Incidentally, Whitten was talking with an FBI clerk named Carl Walters - not an agent - and asked Walters not to use his name because it would be "bad for business". Walters' memo was written on 12/3/63, the day of Whitten's phone call.
The reason this memo is not better known is because it's not on the internet or at MFF - you have to go to the Archives to get a copy - 124-10087-10197.
It's from the Dallas FBI file - which is still not on the internet or at MFF - we need to get a copy and digitize it. We would have a lot more information from that file alone.
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Ned Bennett of the Covert Action staff is revealed as the author, based on this note by Angleton’s aide Ray Rocca, who provided him much of the background. This version is “full” and totals 53 pages with attachments.
Oswald 201 File (201-289248)/ NARA Record Number: 104-10009-10022.
http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=53510&relPageId=2 (Dooley’s note)
http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?mode=searchResult&absPageId=607550 (Rocca’s note)
Bennett also participated in the debriefing of Robert Webster: http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=16420&relPageId=5
Anyone who knew Webster knew the sensitivity of the Oswald case. The two men were closely linked. See chapter five ("The Double Dangle") of my book The Twelve Who Built the Oswald Legend.
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Talk about tough love.According to NBC News, the last three administrations cited national security concerns in their reasoning to decline declassifying information.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1276138
Nearly 1,800 Americans directly affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are opposing President Joe Biden’s participation in any memorial events this year unless he upholds his pledge to declassify U.S. government evidence that they believe may show a link between Saudi Arabian leaders and the attacks.
The victims’ family members, first responders and survivors will release a statement Friday calling on Biden to skip 20th-anniversary events in New York and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon unless he releases the documents, which they believe implicate Saudi officials in supporting the acts of terrorism. The group says that as a candidate Biden pledged to be more transparent and release as much information as possible but that his administration has since then ignored their letters and requests...
...A White House spokesperson said its Office of Public Engagement and the National Security Council staff have met with 9/11 victims’ family members to discuss their document requests and “hear their thoughts on policy priorities.”
“Our hearts are with the families who lost loved ones on 9/11, especially in these days preceding the 20th anniversary of the attacks,” the spokesperson said in a Friday morning statement.
The spokesperson noted that Biden has vowed to ask the Justice Department to resolve issues related to the former administration’s invocation of the state secrets privilege, specifically that it be “narrowly tailored” and not undertaken to “prevent embarrassment” to a person or organization.
“We look forward to having more to share in the coming days about actions we are taking to ensure greater transparency under the law,” the spokesperson added.
(Family member Brett) Eagleson said he believes the U.S. government will not release the documents because of deep diplomatic and military ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia...
And they are finding some allies...
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) says it’s time to tell Americans the whole story about the 9/11 attacks.
“The American people deserve the truth,” Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), introduced legislation to help families of 9/11 victims declassify secret government reports.
“If information is power, then we must give the 9/11 families access to that information,” Menendez said.
The September 11th Transparency Act would force government investigators to make public much of the still-secret findings about the 9/11 attacks.
“Continued concealment of this evidence is inexcusable,” Blumenthal said.
Lawmakers invited 9/11 families here to Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. and promised they will expose the truth, even if it embarrasses the Saudi government...
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Steve and Paul and all interested - I posted "virtual handouts" at Project JFK - Events.
If you go there, you can download highly analyzed chronologies with hundreds of links that I have put together; several power point presentations, and much more.
I am sharing these key materials for free, and urge others to post their material at Project JFK or elsewhere. (We can't post it here, just not enough bandwidth.)
My two JFK books can always be revised.
From now on - I'm sharing my research online and encouraging others to do the same. We can build up a head of steam this year.
I think we should all be seeking out filmmakers, screenplay writers, graphic artists, everyone in the visual arts.
People need to see this material. Those of us on the Forum like to read - we are way in the minority!
I get it, most people want to see it for themselves. I will start a new thread for these materials sometime next week, but wanted to get this out now.
Again - if you want to see these key materials - download them at Project JFK - Events
[Topic 1] - State Secret preface - (pdf) Download
[Topic 2] - Summary of The 12 Who Built the Oswald Legend (pdf) Download
[Topic 2a] mffpdf_145772 (Note: Enclosure to Allen Dulles "exonerating" Michael Paine, 12/2/63 - I believe the author is Mary Bancroft) (pdf) Download
[Topic 2b] Powerpoint on Oswald, Connally, Hosty, Ruth Paine: appropriateaction2020now [Autosaved] [Autosaved] (pptx) Download
[Topic 3] Cryptonyms and Pseudonyms at the Mary Ferrell Foundation - two samples (pdf) Download
[Topic 4] 16 page chronology on the Deaths of Oswald and Tippit - with links on Lt. George Butler, FBI informant/Communist Party Dallas chief Bill Lowery, the Special Service Bureau_ Red Squad, &_Army Intelligence members within the Dallas Police (pdf) Download
[Topic 4a] Powerpoint - Counter-Narrative on 11/22 - Focus on Westbrook's role re the Death of Tippit sept1114 (pptx) Download
[Topic 4b] lumpkingannaway (10 bullet points on the role of Lumpkin, Gannaway, and colleagues) (pdf) Download
[Topic 4c] oswalddeathbutler (10 page chrono/shorter version of Topic 4, above - focus is on Butler) (pdf) Download
[Topic 4d] loweryrubycameraman (png) (clip of Detective Lowery, who believed Ruby posed as cameraman to enter basement) Download
[Topic 5] How the Warren Commission Covered Up JFK's Murder (pdf) (my article refuting WC counsel David Belin's ten key arguments claiming LHO was guilty) Download
[Topic5a] Powerpoint presentation supporting the article in Topic 5, above. (pptx) Download
Topic #6 - Dallas Police Dept_Special Service Bureau_Red Squad,_Army Intelligence outline (pdf) Download
[Topic 6a] lumpkingannaway (docx) (12 bullet points on Lumpkin, Gannaway, et al. - expanded version of 4b, above/ Download
[Topic 6b] lumpkinsawyer (png) (1953 memo re Lumpkin as Special Services Bureau chief and Herbert Sawyer as his #2, chief of Vice) Download
Three additional posts - you will see why I added all three (pdf) (One: The Tony Krome comparison photos of Ruby Friday and Sunday) Download
[Extra a] Two: Color basement diagram of Ruby shooting Oswald (png) (Note: The personnel key to this diagram is here.) Download
[Extra b] Three: dallasbasementbroadangle (png) (Broad angle diagram that links the Western Union office with the Dallas police basement.) Download
P.S.
Steve Thomas,
Great tip on CD 81! I credited you more than once in my talk Thursday night. I love that story about having to pay the Dallas Police Assn. $100 to get the documents on this.
The 3 authors who wrote the report on the death of Oswald were Westbrook, OA Jones (forgery squad, also known as the bunko squad in many towns), and Herbert Sawyer (back in 1953, he was chief of the vice squad - and #2 at the Special Services Bureau right behind Lumpkin, who was chief till he got elevated to DPD deputy chief about that time)
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Jim - Good call. I agree. I will raise it with Rex. He can fix anything.
Tony Krome - that display of Ruby on Friday and Sunday with the blacked-out portion of his face - you have basically convinced me it's the same guy. I used it last night in my presentation and credited you - it made a big impression.
Ron - I think what Tony displayed shows the power of the glare from the flashbulbs going off when Oswald and company entered the basement. That's why Ruby's face is distorted, the sideburn is distorted, etc.
Thanks to you all, and John Armstrong as well.
Bill
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Thanks for the assist, David! When you use this chart -
Look at this listing of the witnesses, the cameras, and their locations.
You can also see the rails on the north side of the ramp that the newsmen (and Ruby) were supposed to be behind. The big TV cameras were stationed there. If they had stayed behind the rail, Ruby could have never got hsi shot off.
And then this diagram provides a little more information about the numbers that aren't legible on the color version, plus the location of Western Union (to the north). Again, Croy is #21, Blackie Harrison is #45, Jack Ruby is #90, and was between these two officers in front of the rail that he was supposed to be behind. For LHO, x marks the spot, with Jim Leavelle #63 and LC Graves #40 on either side of him.
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Steve - On this diagram, Croy is #21, Blackie Harrison is #45, Jack Ruby is #90, and was between these two officers in front of the rail that he was supposed to be behind.
If you go thru Croy's multiple statements in late Nov-early Dec, you notice that he doesn't admit knowing Ruby in this first interviews, then he gradually admits it. Why didn't he make him at least go behind the rail, or kick him out altogether as not-a-member-of-the-media?
That question, of course, is never asked. Croy, Harrison, and the other cops let a bunch of reporters get in front of the rail. That was part of the flanking maneuver that allowed Ruby to get right in front of Oswald and shoot him.
When was the "all clear" signal given? When Ruby was in place. Not before. All of us need to get much more serious about this event and give it "the electron microscope" treatment John Newman talks about and many of us are good at when we are looking at Dealey Plaza.
My version of the diagram gives the broader view going back to Ruby's possible footpaths after he leaves Western Union and walks into the police station.
In John Armstrong's better-defined colorized diagram, you can see Ruby's alternate foot paths more clearly, the placement of the rails and how many people were improperly in front of them, and much more,
Can someone help me figure out how to compress John's color diagram to below 200 KB so I can post it? I tried compressing it but didn't do it right.
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There are new documents that no one I know has looked at yet - released in 2013 by the City of Dallas - the 800 page investigation of the "operational security" of the LHO transfer. For the first time that I know of, we have possession of the actual 100-plus exhibits and the investigative report in one place.
I call it the Warren Report of the Dallas police.
Look who signed it - instead of Allen Dulles and friends, it's Pinky Westbrook, forgery squad chief OA Jones, and the guy who failed to get the name of the witness who offered the phony LHO ID (5'10"/165) at 12:45 pm 11/22 - Herbert Sawyer.
Look at this diagram - and John Armstrong sent me a better-defined copy in color, which I will share when I figure out how to get under the 200 KB limit. (How to compress it?)
Look at the photos of Ruby hiding between Blackie Harrison and reserve officer Kenneth Croy that John sent me - contrary to Croy's story, he is not "running between them" - you can see them at...
Look at this listing of the witnesses and their locations.
It's going to take months, maybe years, to digest all this new information.
I am going to present on this between 5:30-6 pm PDT tomorrow, August 4, on the free zoom conference at Project JFK - sign on here if you want to join us, the documents and the recording will be posted if you can't make it at that time. (I'm doing six segments total on different issues between 4-7 pm PDT).
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The killing of Oswald is one of the most neglected stories of the assassination weekend.
What is doubly tragic about it - it's the moment when most Americans said oh my god, this is some kind of a plot.
But the research community has failed to focus on it. We need a new filing system to understand this evidence and keep it straight.
There are new documents that no one has looked at yet - released in 2013 by the City of Dallas - the 800 page investigation of the "operational security" of the LHO transfer. For the first time that I know of, we have possession of the actual 100-plus exhibits and the investigative report in one place.
I call it the Warren Report of the Dallas police.
Look who signed it - instead of Allen Dulles and friends, it's Pinky Westbrook, forgery squad chief OA Jones, and the guy who failed to get the name of the witness who offered the phony LHO ID (5'10"/165) at 12:45 pm 11/22 - Herbert Sawyer.
Look at this diagram - and John Armstrong sent me a better-defined copy in color, which I will share when I figure out how to get under the 200 KB limit. (How to compress it?) Also take a look at the photos John sent me on the thread about Jack Ruby I posted a few days ago - it's on the first page of this site's active contents.
Look at this listing of the witnesses and their locations.
It's going to take months, maybe years, to digest all this new information.
I am going to present on this between 5:30-6 pm PDT tomorrow, August 4, on a free zoom conference at Project JFK - sign on here if you want to join us, the documents and the recording will be posted if you can't make it at that time. (I'm doing six segments total on different issues between 4-7 pm PDT).
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It looks like this link works, you should be able to see John's photos comparing Dean and Croy.
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I am going public with some new findings on the JFK case on Wed - August 4, 4-7 pm PDT at Project JFK, on a live zoom - I hope you will join us.The materials will be posted on Project JFK by tomorrow so you can review them in advance - my presentation will be in 20-minute segments on six different topics so you can pick and choose - and the sessions will be videotaped so you can view them at your discretion if you can't be there live.I am puzzled with one point that I want to discuss here - I asked John Armstrong about his note asking researchers to review these photos that depict Jack Ruby and DPD reserve officer Kenneth Croy and Ruby. I am unsure about either one.Below, I post a post-arrest photo of Ruby at the bottom that just doesn't seem to match. Your thoughts on Ruby?I asked John about Ruby and Croy (Croy is much tougher to ID), and here is our correspondence to date:(In the photo at the top of this post - we can see Ruby's prominent nose but no 2 o'clock sideburn.)
John wrote:
This YouTube/CNN video, less than a minute long, shows Kenneth Croy in a white hat and police uniform standing next to Ruby in police headquarters just a second or two before Oswald appears. Croy is the rightmost figure in the shot immediately below, which was taken at the 12-second mark of the video. Note how Croy seems to stand back from the action as Ruby shoots Oswald. Ruby can be seen in the video standing next to reporters in the middle image. It is clear that Ruby did not "run by me [Croy] at a pretty good clip." Ruby did not run through the reporters "like a fullback went through a line."
(John Armstrong makes these IDs - I am unsure about Croy, and the Ruby figure has a fedora and a prominent nose but an oddly-cut sideburn pointing to 2 o'clock.)
John continues: On December 1, 1963, Croy gave an affidavit in which he said, "I saw a man running into the crowd in a crouch. At that moment I reached for this individual and touched his coat tail attempting to stop him. I saw him run right up to Oswald ...."
I asked John "How did you determine this man was Croy, who I agree was nearby and not a good actor? Is it possible he was Patrick Dean, who was also nearby? Photo evidence is really tricky."
I also sent John the picture above, with this note: "Denis Morissette id's this man as Patrick Dean, who was also standing near Ruby. Re Ruby - I do agree that it seems unlikely for two men to be wearing the same fedora."
John's response:
Dean, according to his WC testimony, was not standing near Ruby..........Mr. GRIFFIN - Now, as I understand from your statement, and interrupt me if I am incorrect, when you saw Ruby shoot Oswald, you moved toward the struggle and then Ruby was taken into the jail office, and did you follow them on in?Mr. DEAN - Yes, sir. I ran immediately, jumped over these cars, or one of them, jumped over the hood of it, over the top of it, and they were dragging--Ruby and several detectives that were subduing him were about at the door, or [-indicating]-
Mr. GRIFFIN - I had just as soon not have you mark at this point.Look at the attachment that I sent to you (see above). Easy to see that the man standing next to Ruby in the video was Croy (according to Croy's WC testimony) and not Dean (who said he had to jump over a car as officers were subduing Ruby). When I reviewed many of the videos taken of the Ruby shooting, I seem to remember watching Croy as he hurriedly left the area. The one fact that distinguished Croy (as a reserve officer) from other DPD officers is that reserve officers were not allowed to carry/wear a gun.Croy's WC testimony pretty much convinced me that he was "most likely" either accompanied Ruby into the basement or allowed him to enter the basement. It is also worth noting that Croy was not listed among the officers present when Ruby shot LHO. Why?
(Note: John sent me some more interesting pictures of the officer he believes is Croy - they are pretty persuasive - too big for me to post on this note, I will figure out how to shrink it down.)
Still curious about the man he believes is Ruby - I will follow up with him, and would appreciate any comments.
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KENNEDY - The mystery relaunches
The new film - Oliver Stone accuses the CIA; & The Truth That America Refuses by Marc Gugain
Dallas, November 22, 1963. An hour before his assassination.
Paris Match
Paris Match devotes its front page to the assassination of JFK on the occasion of the presentation in Cannes of a formidable documentary by American director Oliver Stone.These images are almost sixty years old, but the shock they cause has not aged a bit. In 1991, in "JFK", director Oliver Stone tackled the Dallas conundrum. Today, he relies on declassified documents to revive the thesis of the CIA-led operation. For “JFK revisited. Through the Looking Glass, "which he just presented at Cannes, he couldn't find funding in America. As he tells Paris Match about his fight to transmit this appetite for truth to young people, writer Marc Dugain delivers his analysis.
Another Bledsoe lie?
in JFK Assassination Debate
Posted · Edited by Bill Simpich
A "General Offense Report" was created in investigating the General Walker shooting of 4/10/63. The 10/11/63 Bledsoe police report is a clever forgery, as Oswald was allegedly living in the home of Mary Bledsoe at 621 N. Marsalis the week of October 7-14.
James R. Follliard wrote a case study of this fake report in 1994 - Mary Ferrell told him that Dallas researcher Rev. Al Chapman told her that it was provided to him by Lt. Carl Day Several copies existed of varying quality before the Garrison trial in 1969 - a forensic examiner should try to figure out how and when it was created. The head of DPD forensics, Day destroyed the chain of custody for the three rifle shells - Day also took custody of the rifle at the 6th Floor, and claimed finding fingerprints that were not found by the FBI.
James R. Black followed up Folliard's study with a great memo showing that a substitution cipher was used for the number of the report - 21-18-1-6-9-14-11 becomes U-R-A-F-I-N-K. A fink is commonly known a stool pigeon. Black offers several good reasons such a game might have been played.
The most provocative reading would be that Oswald was shown this memo before the assassination to let him know that he was a known stool pigeon to the police. My tentative conclusion - subject to change - is that this fake police report was created to waste time and poison any notion that Ruby and Oswald knew each other or even knew about each other. Such a technique is very effective. I don't think this was a joke. There is nothing "funny" about this kind of malicious forgery.