Stu Wexler

@Benjamin Cole are you using North's Pearl Street Mafia book? Or the earlier one? I think the former deserved much more attention than it got. I still go with Hancock&Boylan, but North's last JFK book is another that gets you into Dallas in Oct and Nov 63-- which to me has become the key separator between theories worth considering and not. They really need to get you into Oswald's orbit, because whether you believe he was a total dupe or you believe he was some kind of lone, hired gun, no group trying to kill JFK is logically going to use Oswald without at least *thinking* they can control his actions. Stu

Ben what does the 1979 inspection say for CE399 out of curiosity? Stu

There is no scientifically reliable method for CLBA. The entire premise behind the application is bogus.

Oh I would argue it comes pretty damn close to contradicting the earlier editions. The earlier editions suggest Oswald may have been working for Castro and offer very little in the way of support for the idea that Oswald was intelligence connected. They are not friendly to Jim Garrison. The 2013 edition has interviews with Leake, Helms and Gaudet that, if true, would make Jim Garrison blush. No way you can write what he wrote in the earlier editions if you obtained the revelations he supposedly did in the early 80s. Not without a damn good explanation that no one has been able to get.

It would definitely be worth following up to see if he has since deposited the records. To add to what Larry is saying. I did a lot of follow up with this, notably with Kurtz's colleagues-- who knew both Hunter Leake and Kurtz. They were pretty strong in their convictions that Leake may well have told Kurtz what Kurtz noted in his later book-- because they swore by Kurtz's integrity. On the other hand, they did not have nearly as much faith in Leake. Eg they suggested Leake was trolling Kurtz. I do have questions myself about Kurtz's integrity and it goes to the chronology laid out in the original post. Compare how Kurtz's positions or assertions evolved to when he is supposed to have had these revelatory interviews with people like Leake and Helms. He makes assertions or dismisses CIA duplicity in pre-2013 books. Those assertions are at best bad faith if not outright deceptions if he had the kind of revelations from Leake and Helms (and others) in the early 80s. In other words, you can't mimimize CIA connections to the assassination if Hunter Leake told you he and Bannister were running LHO as a paid operative, among other things. But he dates those interviews before the earlier editions of his book. That is what he has to explain, imo. Stu

It is a deeply researched book on individuals and radical right networks with whom Larry Hancock and I are very familiar. It adds a lot in that regard. While we do not doubt that people in that milieu were actively considering plots against JFK and others, the book falls short when it attempts to paint Oswald as some kind of right winger and when they attempt to drill down to an actual Dealey Plaza plot. Stu

Worth noting this is the day JFK speaks about the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed the day before.

David. Do you have confirmation that is Westbrook in the photo with Morales? That does indeed look like Morales Stu

This will be online? Or just on request. And is he indexing Weisberg's material related to his Garrison work? Stu

Given the potential value, Pat, have you thought about posting correct measurements and placement in the car? Stu

Larry, Are you still following up on his source? Any chance we can get someone like Jeff Morley to interview said source, with off the record and anonymity protections, to see if Jeff can at least confirm his or her bona fides? I have reservations trusting Tucker C, but I am willing to keep an open mind. Stu

One of the most interesting marks *appears* to be over Mohr Chevrolet ("appears" will be explained.) I found it interesting for two, potentially connected reasons. The first is it employed, at least in 1962 and possibly into 1963, one Charles Waters. Waters is a good candidate for someone who impersonates Oswald, in both New Orleans and in Texas. The second has to do with Oswald's library card. Recall that it included the name Jack Bowen on it as a reference. Investigators traced that to a coworker at Jaggars who turned out to be a criminal working under an alias, John Grossi. Grossi appears to have mafia connections, although that was not fleshed out in 1963-4. Grossi ofcourse denied anything suspicious and any substantive connection to Oswald. But he did volunteer that his (Grossi/Bowen) actual library card was in possession of his friend in Dallas-- who was working at Mohr Chevrolet. This was same exact dealership that Waters worked at. It raised the possibility to me that the library card was a way that LHO could potentially link up with Grossi's friend at Mohr and then, maybe, through that to Waters. All speculative but the coincidence seemed pretty remarkable to me. So wht do I say "appears" to be over Mohr Chevrolet. Michael Paine would later do Michael Paine things and say that he thought-- but it was not definitive-- that *he* may have marked the map and that it was for a nearby store, not Mohr. He said he seemed to remember taking Oswald there (the other store) on a job hunt. Stu

Be very careful when characterizing New Orleans accents. Everyone assumes Cajun-like. But I went to school there for 4 years. And some folks can almost pass for NY, esp if they lived out of state for a while. See, for example, actor Anthony Mackie. Stu

Hard to imagine how we "win" the Vietnam War without raining down a level of destructive bombing that would have devastated the civilian population-- already plenty devastated-- to a level that would (rightfully) shame us as a country to the entire world for a generation.

Is there evidence that the FBI talked to him about it? Is it documented?

Again: we have the Alyea film which shows what is clearly an MC rifle found where people said it was found. There are some claims that should no longer be propagated.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/02/stephen-miller-green-card-immigration-1630406

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01287-2#Sec4

While we are talking about Pena. More than once he made reference to a guy named Wilfredo Mas as a key player in the New Orleans exile community and possibly in the JFK case. There is virtually nothing on someone named Wilfredo Mas. Anyone know more? Stu

I tried to find Roache. He is dead. I tried to find people who knew him and worked with him. Found one but he was not much help. Weisberg has some stuff on Smith in his files. It seemed as if he showed up somewhere Weisberg was meeting a witness. The unfortunate thing is that David Smith is far too common a name. Many years ago I did an old NARA online search for Customs/INS files. Many files appeared to have been destroyed. Stu

Now that is clear that ET is also in the John Hunt photos, I believe it is imperative that we get both Gary Murr and David Mantik to offer their thoughts on the matter. When did Mantik, for instance, do his analysis? Gary M did his before John Hunt had those pictures taken. It is still the case that an HSCA workup on all the ballistics materials showed no markings for ET. I will go back to them and double check one more time when I can. Again, they were not specifically looking for initials. But they noted the initials on each fragment/round as well as discolorations, etc. I think it may behoove us to see if any of said analysts are still alive and willing to comment. I am not anti Steve Roe on this. I think he did a service by finding the initials. Earlier in the year Greg D also thought he saw Todd's initials and I think he would confirm that all I did was to encourage him to dig deeper. He came back and, to his credit, said they were not there. Here I do see them both on Roe's and Hunt's photos. I hope we get some follow up. And ofcourse it does not mean CE399 caused all the non-fatal wound damage to JFK and JBC. I still put that at a very low probability. And finally I want to say that any insinuation that John Hunt deliberately hid something is absurd. He was a friend and someone of the highest integrity. His contributions to JFK and RFK research are immense. Indeed, his work on the diminished velocity theory of the SBT is as devastating as anything on the subject. Stu

Ofcourse the question some of us are asking: what does he say about Gene Wheaton's allegations?

The HSCA firearms panel did a microscopic analysis and reported every nook and cranny they saw on lab reports. They were not specifically looking for initials but they reported everyone but Todd's. David Mantik and Gary Murr looked in person. John Hunt had high resolution photos that are online. And Gregg D. went looking with the same NIST stuff a few months ago only to say he was wrong and did not see them. I am actually hoping he (and Gary M) both comment on this. Did Gregg do a thorough search or only the area he suspected had the initials? I would normally concede this but all of the above has me a bit suspicious as it came after Stone's film advertised it widely. If Greg and Gary (and Mantik) concede they could have missed it. I am inclined to say it has been missed. Stu

Steve, I went back to that thread and saw that you had someone looking into it at Fairleigh Dickinson. Any word on that? I am in NJ and an willing to go and look. Stu

Was it Truly or Shelly who had outside payment?