Steve Thomas

Paul, You jogged my memory about something. I had a conversation with Ron Ecker about this in 2016. http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/23210-rio-grande-building/?tab=comments#comment-337553 At the time, I suggested it might be a matter of interpretation of what Geneva Hine actually said. In her WC testimony, she testified, "Miss HINE. Yes, sir: I was alone until the lights all went out and the phones became dead because the motorcade was coming near us and no one was calling..." At the time, I asked if the phones actually went out, or did they just become silent because no one was calling because they were all outside watching the parade? Of course, that wouldn't explain any long distance calls. Steve Thomas

Ron, Don't forget James Worrell. And, if the shooters had escaped, who was doing the elevator sending? Steve Thomas

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Vince, Interest will dwindle and fade into the dim recesses of time. Look what happened to interest in Lincoln's assassination. How many people never get past John Wilkes Booth? It's inevitable and part of human nature. *shrug* Steve Thomas

Colleen, I started reading through John's essay, and a couple of things jumped out at me too. I haven't gotten to your question of the "signaling" yet. http://www.harveyandlee.net/TSBD_Elevator/TSBD_elevator.html Mr. Ball. Did you stay at your desk? Mrs. Hines. Yes, sir. I was alone until the lights all went out and the phones became dead Mrs. Hines wanted to see what had happened so she hurried down the hall to the office of Lyons and Carnahan (see #2-photo below), a publishing company with an office facing Elm Street (follow the green line On 2nd floor diagram below). She knocked on the door but nobody answered. She then hurried to the office of Southwest Publishing, another office that faced Elm Street (see #3-photo below). A young lady was in the office talking on the telephone, but would not answer the door. One floor below, on the 4th floor, was the office of the Scott Forseman Company. Office workers Sandra Styles, Victoria Adams, Elsie Dorman, and supervisor Dorothy Garner were watching the parade thru their office window. If the phones became dead, how could another worker be talking on the telephone? If Geneva Hines was on the 2nd floor, how could the 4th floor be one floor below? Geneva Hines heard the shots and wanted to find out what happened, but in her travels, she walked right passed the elevator and the stairs leading down to the first floor. The "lights were out". Why didn't she just go outside? Steve Thomas

Vince, I don't think the patrolman Tague talked to was Foster; at least he didn't speak of talking to Tague in his WC testimony, but I won't quibble about that. He could have talked to Tague and just didn't mention it. I was interested in this little passage in Foster's testimony. The sergeant in question was D.V. Harkness: https://www.jfk-assassination.eu/warren/wch/vol6/page251.php Mr. Ball. Where did you go from there? Mr. Foster. Went on around the back side of the bookstore. Mr. Ball. Immediately? Mr. Foster. Yes, sir. Mr. Ball. . Back side? What do you mean by that? Mr. Foster. Well, I guess you would say the northwest side of it. Mr. BALL. When you got over to the School Book Depository Building, what did you do? Mr. Foster. I was standing around in back there to see that no one came out, and the sergeant came and got me and we were going to check the---all the railroad cars down there. Mr. Ball. Who was that sergeant? Mr. Foster. Sergeant came up there. Mr. Ball. Did you search the railroad cars? Mr. Foster. No; he sent me back down to the inspector. Told me to report back to Inspector Sawyer. Mr. Ball. Where? Mr. Foster. At the front of the Book Depository. Mr. Ball. Did you talk to Sawyer there? Mr. Foster. Yes, sir. Mr. BALL. Did you tell your sergeant or Sawyer, either one where you thought the shots came from? Mr. Foster. Yes, sir. Mr. Ball. What did you then tell them? Mr. Foster. Told them it came from that vicinity up around Elm and Houston. Mr. Ball. Did you tell the sergeant that first, or did you tell that to Sawyer? Mr. Foster. Told that to Inspector Sawyer. Mr. Ball. You told that to Sawyer? Mr. Foster. Yes, sir. Mr. Ball. Did you tell that to the sergeant? Mr. Foster. I don't know whether I told the sergeant that or not. If Foster thought that the shots came from the vicinity of Elm and Houston", why wouldn't he have immediately told Harkness? And, if he and Harkness were all set to search the railroad cars, why did Harkness instead tell Fotster to go see Sawyer in the front of the TSBD? Why did Harkness change his mind? Foster must have told Harkness where he thought the shots came from. Why else would he have sent Foster to go see Sawyer? Steve Thomas

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Vince, I don't think so, at least as far as what he told the WC: https://www.jfk-assassination.eu/warren/wch/vol6/page255.php Mr. Ball. What did you do after that? Mr. WHITE. As soon as the train passed I went over and on the northwest side of the Depository Building. On the northwest side of the book store up there with the rest of the officers and after about 30 minutes they told me to go out and work traffic at Main and Houston, and I stood out there and worked traffic. Steve Thomas

I don't know if others have been experiencing this, but I have not been able to access the McAdams witness statement site for several weeks now. I ran across another site that provides witness statements in word processing format - at least as far as the Warren Commission is concerned - here: https://www.jfk-assassination.eu/warren/wch/index.php Copyright by www.jfk-assassination.com https://www.jfk-assassination.eu/about.php For me, word processing format makes it a whole lot easier to cut and paste than pdf format. Does anyone know if HSCA and/or other Committee reports like the Church Committee are available in Word format? Steve Thomas

I did just run across a reference that this Manual is four volumes big. Steve Thomas

John, While I can't help you with your specific request, I have done a little bit of research in how to find out about specific classes of informants. In several cases, I have run across references to the the FBI's, "Manual of Instructions". Needless to say, this "Manual" is very big. I'm pretty sure that an SI is a Security Informant. Here's one instance: https://archive.org/stream/SecurityInformantProgram/Security%20Informant%20Program/ 1201915-0%20-%2066-HQ-2542-3%20-%20Section%2025%20Serial%20%201%20COVER%20SHEETMediaPag_djvu.txt Memoramum to: Mr. Jenkin from: T. J. Brownfield^ SUGGESTION: When converting an informant from one classification to another^ suggests the FD form (pink sheet) be block stamped and made serial 1 of the new informant file. For instance, if a 170 (Extremist Informant) was being converted to a 137 (Criminal Informant) and had ten serials, the pink sheet would be serial 1 of the new 137 file and all prior serials would not be changed. These would retain the original file and serial numbers. The new 137 file number would be added to the 170 index, card in indices. A charge out would be placed in the 170 file indicating the transfer had been made.; There's a reference to this "Manual of Instructions" in the Warren Hearings themselves CE 836 page 819 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1134#relPageId=845&tab=page I'll keep looking to see if I can find this Manual online. Steve Thomas

Lewis, Did anyone ever suggest or testify to two rifles being fired simultaneously or in near real-time proximity to each other from the sixth floor of the TSBD? If not, then the significance had to be with the rifle and not the shooting. It doesn't suggest two shooters. I personally believe that the Carcano had to be substituted so it could be matched to the shells, which had been found first and had already been documented and entered into evidence. Somebody had slipped up and planted the wrong caliber shells. The Sheriff's Deputies who found the rifle, testified that it was a Mauser. Once the Dallas City Police Department arrived on the scene, the Sheriff's Deputies were shooed away and sent elsewhere. The Dallas City Police took over the crime scene, and the rifle became a Carcano. That's my thought. Steve Thomas

Ron, Thanks for the referral to your 2014 post. That is very interesting. At the time, Chris Scally suggested that this patrolman might be R.M. Williams. I don't think so. According to Purdue Lawrence's traffic assignments, Williams was supposed to patrol on Main from Field St. to Houston. https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1137#relPageId=514&tab=page His ID number identifies him as a motorcyclist. Tague didn't say anything about the patrolman wearing a motorcycle helmet. Steve Thomas

Vince, It's always been my contention that the greatest evidence for conspiracy is not the number of shots that hit, but the number of shots that missed. I was re-reading a couple of noes that I took, and something struck me. James Tague said, " Mr. TAGUE And I ducked behind the post when I realized somebody was shooting after the third shot. After the third shot, I ducked behind the bridge abutment... And I says, "Well, you know now, I recall something sting me on the face while I was standing down there." And the patrolman said, "Well, I saw something fly off back on the street." Do you happen to remember off the top of your head, which patrolman Tague was talking to? I'd like to go back and re-read his witness statement. Steve Thomas

Ron, I haven't spent a whole lot of time on Veciana, but I came to the personal conclusion that he double crossed Phillips. Steve Thomas

John, I wouldn't say that the IS-R category is specific to Oswald. That's just the category, or subheading that this particular memo about Oswald was filed in. That category was probably used with a lot of other people as well. With the particular memo you cited; the 11-30-63 number is the date of the memo --- November 30, 1963. It's a memo from the Special Agent in Charge in New Haven to the Director with copies to the SAC in New York, and probably also to the Washington Field Office. I have no idea what the memo was about. Steve Thomas

John, I'm pretty sure that IS-R stands for Internal Security - Russia. It's more like a category than an Informant Code. I once spent some time trying to figure out why some memos relating to Oswald were labeled IS and some were labeled IS-R. I wondered if it had something to do with the date the report was written, but that assumption really didn't pan out. I never really did learn the difference.. I think it had more to do with the person making out the report and whatever quirks they were writing under at the time than anything else. Steve Thomas

... and witness intimidation and alteration of sworn testimony. Steve Thomas

Just as an aside, there's a picture of JFK's limo flying down the Stemmons Freeway with a person's foot hanging out the side. Across the Freeway is a man on a roof with a rifle. I believe that he is one of Mr. Cooper's men. (Cooper was the Head of Security for the Trade Mart). DPD Archives Box 14, Folder# 4, Item# 10, page 5 http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box14.htm This is the after-action report of Batchelor, Lumpkin and Stevenson: Steve Thomas

Bill, I believe that you are right about Manuel Rodriguez Arcarberro being informant DL 282-S, but my evidence is circumstantial. [No Title] page 2 This is a 1966 memo from Wallace Heitman. As you and others have pointed out, "T" informants are transactional, and only relate to that particular informant, at that particular time, in that particular case. Information about Informant DL 282-S can be found in the Dallas case file DL 134-332 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=194594&relPageId=2&search=%22DL_134-332%22 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=174523&relPageId=2&search=%22DL_134-332%22 [No Title] page 2 shows us that Dallas case file DL 134-332 consists of one volume. Sub-file 134-332-A also consists of one volume. HARON_FBIREC.TBL page 28 https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=213423&search=%22DL_134-332%22#relPageId=28&tab=page tells us that DL 282-S is a Dallas informant that dealt with Alpha 66 matters and case file 134-332 can be found in response to ARRB request# FBI-20. https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=202873&relPageId=1&search=DL_282 FBISUMRY_FBI20.WPD page 1 shows that Dallas case file DL 134-442 contains memos from Wallas Heitman concerning meetings of the Dallas Chapter of Alpha-66 that took place at the home of Jorge Salazar. Finally, the following memo tells us that 282-S moved to Puerto Rico in 1972. Case file 134-332 was then closed. We'd have to learn if Orcarberro moved to Puerto Rico in 1972. https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10146&relPageId=15&search=DL_282 ADMIN FOLDER-L2: HSCA ADMINISTRATIVE FOLDER, JACK ANDERSON COLUMN MLK-JFK page 15 Steve Thomas

Bill. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/docid-32180962.pdf On 11/23/63, Wallace Heitman reached out to Enrique Varona, Manuel Perez, and William Hsuek to see if they had any information on this matter. I believe that this should be William Hsueh (from page 782 of the 1961 City Directory) https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth806907/m1/1118/zoom/?resolution=2&lat=2621.5&lon=684 Varona is not in the 1961 Dallas City Directory. https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/docid-32328737.pdf is a May 5, 1964 report from Heitman shows Varona as Dallas PSI T-1 and cross references him with the SNFE and a report out of Miami filed by SA William Drew out of Miami in February of 1964 Cross references file 105-112098-443 (105-112098 is the Bureau File on Alpha 66 and the SNFE. 443 is Osvaldo Pino Pino) Steve Thomas

Published in The Virginian Pilot on Nov.10, 2019 https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pilotonline/obituary.aspx?n=winston-g-lawson&pid=194399504 “Winston G. Lawson, 91, of Virginia Beach died Thursday at Lake Taylor Transitional Hospital in Norfolk. He was born in western New York to Cecile Lawson (nee Post) and Merle Lawson. After graduating from high school in Buffalo he headed at age 16 to the University of Buffalo, graduating in 4 years with a History and Government degree.” Not one word in his obituary about JFK. “During the Korean War he served in Army Counterintelligence. After the war he used that experience to join the United States Secret Service where he served under 7 Presidents from Eisenhower to Reagan. Some of his favorite memories are from his time guarding Vice Presidents Humphrey and Agnew. After a long and distinguished career in which he rose to Acting Assistant Director he retired and went on to serve another 10 years with the intelligence community. Following that career he worked for Reverends Billy and Franklin Graham doing security around the world.” Like Vince, I wonder why the almost one month delay before Lawsons's death was picked up by CNN and the NYT. Steve Thomas

CNN is reporting that Winston Lawson has died at age 91. https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/07/us/winston-lawson-secret-service-agent-obit/index.html Steve Thomas

Bob, Is this what a Denial of Service attack is all about? Steve Thomas

Michael, I was curious to know if you could see what threads guests are looking at. One guest user is looking at something called "robots.txt" The info in that thread reads, User-agent: * Crawl-delay: 30 User-agent: AlphaBot Disallow: / User-agent: AlphaSeoBot Disallow: / User-agent: AlphaSeoBot-SA Disallow: / User-agent: AhrefsBot Disallow: / User-agent: Yandex Disallow: / I have no idea what that means. Steve Thomas