Leslie Sharp

Florida lawyer files challenge to disqualify Trump from 2024 race, citing 14th Amendment

BY ELLA LEE - 08/25/23 3:49 PM ET

. . . Lawrence Caplan, a tax attorney in Palm Beach County, filed the challenge in federal court Thursday, pointing to a clause in the amendment that says those who “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the government cannot hold office. . .
 

In an interview with The Hill, Caplan said that “someone had to take the lead” on challenging Trump’s candidacy. 

“This is a scary, scary guy, and if he’s president, I think we’re all on the way to fascism,” he said. “There’s no law that says we have to remain a democracy forever.”

https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4171623-florida-lawyer-files-challenge-to-disqualify-trump-from-2024-race-citing-14th-amendment/

8 hours ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

No, and no.

You only see what you look for? 

15 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:

Speaking of bold strategies, Trump is boldly selling merchandise (T-shirts, mugs, etc.) featuring his mug shot and his new slogan, "NEVER SURRENDER!"

He coined the new Orwellian slogan shortly after surrendering in Fulton County. 🤥

Do you think his supporters will grasp the utter irony of a caption, "never surrender" on a photo of him surrendering? 

2 hours ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

I paid a lot of money for it and then someone else got a copy of it off ebay for next to nothing!

I loaned my copy for review and the person who bought a copy also reviewed it. It appears to be a book with partially real names and partially fake with a discernable timeline in the first half and a totally rubbish second half.

Then I got in touch with his widow and his daughter responded as well.

They responded by telling me that Bill began the book before becoming terminally ill and a ghost writer completed it. A limited number of books were printed and delivered to their Houston home which partially flooded in one of those sudden and torrential floods that strike Houston, and a lot of books were written off as useless.

They sent me a translation list of the fake names to show who they really represented. Some I could fathom. Some events in the first half I could track.

Jones Harris then added his two-cents worth about the Chinese. I tracked him down to his apartment in New York and afterwards dismissed what he had to say. He was listened to because he was one of the first to challenge the official version of the JFK murder.

But it was the first half of the book which ties McLendon's father to the CIA and 'Radio Nord' which is of interest. According to Weaver's own pre-publication manuscripts ("notes"), Radio Nord in the Baltic was a listening station. It appears that this meant a sonar listening station for USSR nuclear submarine movements. The station appeared when Oswald appeared in Helsinki - just above the Baltic, and was there when Oswald found his way to Minsk. He got there from New Orleans to France to England and then by some mysterious route to Helsinki. This was the day after the British General Election and London hotels were already swamped.

Without knowing what McLendon, Murchison and Thompson were involved with - which included the CIA 'Radio Free Europe' which was tied to the Houston Post and the Hobby family, none of Weaver's stuff makes sense. It has to be factored in with Pierson's two-ship stations and a lot of other material which the JFK enthusiasts are mostly unaware of. Gary Murr was the first to stumble across some of it which he shared with Larry Hancock, and then Gary notified a friend of mine to look in this direction.

I am putting our own findings into book form.

 

 Radio Nord in the Baltic was a listening station.

Can you explain to the lay person whether Kagnew Station, later known as Stonehouse, factors into your scenario?

Have you come across Francis Raven of the NSA? 

Can you describe the interior of the Murchison home on Preston Road? 🙂 

George de Mohrenschildt's liaison in Haiti, Herbert Itkin seems to strike an annoying chord with the host of this thread, so I'll advance the inquiry to include sniper Robert Emmett Johnson:

Robert Emmett Johnson 

In the early ’60s, Robert Emmett Johnson, would-be journalist and skilled assassin, attested that he had been employed by Information Services International to support the agenda of dictator Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic. ISI, founded and presided over by former OSS officer Ulius Amoss—dealt with extensively in the previous chapter, boasted as a trusted advisor, General Charles Willoughby. The day following the critical note, “O says done-- Oswald in place,” Pierre leaves a clue that the W. team included E. Johnson. 

W team  E. Johnson’s

(Itkin)

Said to be fiercely independent and opinionated, Johnson advised Special Agents of the FBI in Miami on September 19, 1961 that he had been employed as Foreign Affairs Analyst for Dominican Republic leader Generalissimo Trujillo, who had been assassinated in May of that spring. Johnson held the “analyst” position from 1956–1960. At the time of his visit from the FBI (9/61), Johnson stated he was then employed by ISI, which he described as “an independent intelligence-gathering organization” founded by Amoss, a former Chief of Staff in the US Air Force. On the ISI board of Trustees was Charles Willoughby.

            As mentioned in a previous chapter, inside Trafficante’s world at Trescornia in 1959, among those he said he recognized—all of whom had a shared history—was mercenary sharpshooter Emmet Johnson. Factoring in Johnson’s employment by the master of leaderless resistance, Ulius Amoss and ISI trustee Charles Willoughby, there is sufficient reason to suspect that Johnson was on, or involved with, “W’s” team.

            According to the meticulous research presented by historian John Simkin, a declassified document says that in 1962, Emmett Johnson was a member of “Interpen” (International Penetration Force) established in 1961 by former US Marine Sgt. Gerry P. Hemming. With funding from Santo Trafficante and several wealthy, and organized, among other things, to train members of anti-Castro groups Interpen set up a training camp in New Orleans in 1962. 

Before he died, Emmett Johnson managed to publish several books under the imprint Paladin Books, publisher of Col. Charles Askins’ books (Askins is also identified in the 1963 record of the plot to assassinate Kennedy in Dallas)) under the name “Paul Balor.” The cover of the second edition of his book, Manual of the Mercenary Soldier, published in 1993 features a clear image of Mitchell Livingston WerBell, notorious arms equipment manufacturer and dealer who had served in Donovan’s OSS during the war. 

4 minutes ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

You wrote: "if you're looking at de Mohrenschildt in Haiti objectively — not through the lens of little Don Pierson or the Olga Patricio ...." I guess that says it all by explaining what is in all those folders that are stacked in a small room in Santa Fe. They are folders stacked upon other folders with more folders on their way, and they will be stacked on top of existing folders. So here is a suggestion that does not require folders but volunteers: ask your local food bank if you can be of assistance to them. That will occupy your lonely moments by introducing you to some new friends.

That's your response to facts that insist AG Robert Kennedy didn't get his brother assassinated by, drum roll please, Carlos Marcello? 

A bit desperate, Mervyn.

As a matter of interest, since you indicate you are active on Facebook, have you come across Matteo Messina? He's another Carlos Did It aficionado and goes similarly berserk when challenged. And, you had better not mention Jean Rene Souetre to Matteo.  

US businessman is wannabe ‘warlord’ of secretive far-right men’s network

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/22/charles-haywood-claremont-institute-sacr-far-right

1 hour ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

No insults, I genuinely don't want to know about your mother's movements. With regards to whatever it is you are now asking, I don't know anything about it. Okay?

If, as you suggest, you're interested in solving the cold case murder investigation and if you're looking at de Mohrenschildt in Haiti objectively — not through the lens of little Don Pierson or the Olga Patricio —  you should not ignore this:

. . . in 1954, as a young oil lawyer Herbert Itkin had wrangled a meeting in Philadelphia with DCIA Allen Dulles. . . .        

Author Nancy Welford in “The Faux Baron: George de Mohrenschildt,” reveals that Dulles set Itkin up with a meeting with George de Mohrenschildt who told Itkin his name was Philip Harbin and that he was 'from that man in Philadelphia [Dulles].' William Gaudet, in his HSCA deposition, confirmed that he too knew George de Mohrenschildt as Harbin from China. Before pursuing Gaudet, it is important to know that de Mohrenschildt, working under this alias, pursued oil matters with Herbert Itkin who served as a nonpaid, voluntary agent between 1954 to 1960. By early ’63, while Itkin was the registered attorney for the Haitian government-in-exile, George de Mohrenschildt and his wife Jeanne left Dallas and established residence in Haiti in order to “pursue interests” on the island. 

Herbert Itkin Uncovered

W team E. Johnson’s

(Itkin)

—Lafitte datebook, October 26, 1963

Gali Sherbatov - L.O.

(Orlov)

(Itkin)

-Harvey-

—Lafitte datebook, October 27, 1963

In pursuit of analysis of these entries, author Albarelli wrote: 'The name (Herbert) Itkin is found in new datebook and related financial pages—Itkin’s name is important on a number of levels. Fortunately, we have a fair amount of info on him… More to follow. Also, there is more on H. L. Hunt. That also will follow.'

            Herbert Itkin and Charles Norberg* shared other traits outside the legal profession including the ability to master the wearing of a number of masks. According to researcher and author Bill Simpich, “by May 1963, Itkin became the attorney for the Haitian government-in-exile. CIA documents show that Itkin's handler in 1963 was Mario Brod, who was recruited in Italy by James Angleton during World War II and had operational involvements in Haiti. . . . **

            According to government documents (not released until 1998), in 1963, Itkin, a partner in a NY law firm was the registered agent for the “Haitian Government in Exile” representing Louis Dejoie and other Haitian exile groups in 1963. He reportedly furnished money to a group invading Haiti in August 1963. In 1972, in the midst of a scandal involving Itkin, his father-in-law called the CIA office in New York to say that “subject was closely tied to BKCROWN [CIA], giving it much assistance in Haiti and elsewhere, implying Itkin was a trusted informant or agent, not a staff employee.”

*Charles Norberg —The document is a June 24, 1971 letter from Chief of Haitian Affairs, David R. Ross to Bush, who was the US Ambassador to the United Nations at the time.  The Ross letter to Bush reveals that de Mohrenschildt’s “private attorney” for his Haitian affairs was Charles R. Norberg. In 1993, Norberg told [Bruce] Adamson he could not find his work files on his de Mohrenschildt’s dealings, nor could he remember “the precise nature of his legal work on behalf of his former client.” In his book, Adamson also reproduces, in its entirety, a letter dated May 20, 1971 that de Mohrenschildt wrote to US Congressman Earle Cabell, who was the mayor of Dallas when JFK was assassinated, as well as brother to Charles Cabell, who had been deputy director of the CIA until right after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and JFK’s subsequent firing of Cabell and Dulles. The letter, which requests help on Haitian issues, also identifies Norberg as his then attorney. . . 

** Before his brother was assassinated, Bobby Kennedy himself was relying on mob tips from Itkin. In 1966, Itkin was reportedly researching under his code name ‘Portio,’ while Angleton held onto his private ‘Mike/Portio/Haiti’ file. In 1968, CIRA (CI research and analysis chief) Ray Rocca swore that the ‘CI Staff definitely never was in contact’ with Itkin. By 1971, CIRA's bird-dog investigator Paul Hartman was asking to review Itkin's CIA file, no doubt to educate himself on some fine points.”

Any deliberation related to de Mohrenschildt in Haiti must include Army Col. Sam Kail, known to most researchers for his significant role as Military/CIA liaison and direct involvement in Jeanne and George's trip to the island in 1963.


Frank "Brandy" Brandstetter [Hilton's manager at the Havana hotel in the late '50s], and David Atlee Phillips both spent long periods of time in the volatile political climate of Cuba and Mexico City. Also close to Brandstetter were George de Mohrenschildt and Dallas conservative radio entrepreneur and alleged agent and friend of Jack Ruby, Gordon Mc Lendon, as well as Army Colonel Sam Kail and Dorothe Matlack, described by scrupulous researcher and author Bill Simpich as a renowned figure for pioneering the Army’s use of human intelligence and serving as the Pentagon’s liaison to the CIA.

. . . As we learned earlier, Sam Kail  was frequently on loan to the CIA and is identified in the Pierre Lafitte records on numerous dates, most significantly Wednesday, November 6 when Pierre notes:

Meet with Kail (T).

. . . and further to Kail's role with the ACSI:

On Wednesday, December 11, 1963 [FBI Director] Hoover met with the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Intelligence, Army Major General Edgar Doleman, and the Chief of the Security Division of the ACSI (Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence). The name of the colonel had been redacted. ACSI is recognized by seasoned assassination researchers as the division of the Army that Dorothe Matlack as assistant director of the Office of Intelligence for the Army reported to. It was Matlack who, at the insistence of Col. Sam Kail, a military intelligence officer who had been assigned to work with the CIA, made arrangements for George de Mohrenschildt and French born Haitian banker Clémard Joseph Charles during their visit to D.C. prior to their departure for Haiti. 

With much gratitude to researchers Paul Brancato and Lawrence Haapanen, the colonel that met with FBI Director Hoover on December 11 has been identified as Col. Graham E. Schmidt. Schmidt had been a member of the Nuremberg Military Community in the late 1950s while Operation Paperclip was in full throttle. Schmidt is mentioned by author Linda Hunt who is responsible for a 1991 groundbreaking exposé of the operation in her book Secret Agenda. Hunt drew extensively from the administrative files, the “Top Secret” files, and the dossiers of the ACSI’s Paperclip records stored at the Washington National Records Center. Hoover’s guest on December 11, Col. Schmidt, was also named in documents related to shutting down Operation MKULTRA in September 1963. He is mentioned in transcripts of the 1977 Senate Hearing on Intelligence which was holding the Army’s feet to the fire for those experiments. The Senate hearing, chaired by Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater opened with the history of two deaths: Frank Olson, the CIA scientist assigned to the Technical Services Staff in 1953 when he was thrown through a window of the NY Statler Hilton by Pierre Lafitte and company, and tennis star Harold Blauer who died after the fifth dose of a mescaline derivative at the hands of Army Chemical Corps doctors conducting experiments at the NY Psychiatric Hospital. Involved in the initial financial settlement with the Blauer family was President Eisenhower’s Assistant Attorney General Warren Burger who is alleged to have buried the Army’s role in the tragedy. Just three months after the MKULTRA operation was alleged to have been closed down, with Col. Schmidt dead center in the effort, Warren Burger was sitting in Hoover’s office a day after Schmidt had met with the director.

11 hours ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

No, nothing personal at all. I am not interested in your mother's whereabouts as you seem to think I am. But here you are once more talking about "may provide clues", and you might as well be talking about De Mohrenschildt ordering a strawberry shake from a Dairy Queen. What has that got to do with Don Pierson and Haiti?

More insults, eh Mervyn.

According to David Boylan, your revelations dovetail with long-acknowledged facts. Is that correct?

If so, I'm genuinely curious to learn whether Morales might factor in to little Don Pierson's scheme? Perhaps you can expound in the specifics whether ZAMKA was involved or are we looking at distinct operations? After all, I'm here to learn.
 

One of the more interesting dispatches sent on 11/22/63. This was from Jake Esterline, COS, Panama City asking about the boat. This was for Zamka true name of David Morales. You'd think that at 20:30 hours (8:30 pm), just hours after the President was assassinated, Esterline, JMWAVE and Morales would have other issues to deal with??

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=31773#relPageId=2&search=zamka

43 minutes ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

Leslie, you are continuing to ramble and I have absolutely no interest in your ramblings. I don't recall anything about your mother and even is she did live "off and on in Eastland", so did the road sweeper and the girls at Dairy Queen. So what? What has any of that got to do with the ship mv Olga Patricia? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Next you will be telling us about why your small home in Santa Fe (I have seen your pictures) is so full of folders. No doubt it so that you can tell us all of these rambling stories unrelated to ships and shipping.

You have NO "responsibility" to challenge the theory that Marcello "Did it" and there is NO connection between Marcello and the Olga Patricia. None. As for your statement about Baltimore and the rest of your sentence, it's a ramble that just gets sillier by the moment. I don't want to engage in this time waster.

Unless you want to address the documented account of the ship known to be Olga Patricia, I have no desire at all to respond any further to your responses.

If you have documentation about the Olga Patricia, or the other vessels I alluded to, or a direct connection between Don Pierson and De Mohrenschildt regarding Papa Doc and Haiti, I want to hear about it and see the documents. If you don't, I suggest you waste the time of David Von Pein who has his own evangelistic cult concerning a magic bullet and a lone gunman named Lee Harvey Oswald that he would like to tell you about.

But I am not interested.

Personal insults, Mervyn?

George de Mohrenschildt, as well as Herbert Itkin, appear in the 1963 datebook maintained by Pierre Lafitte which also includes references to several meetings in New Orleans in August that may provide clues to activity in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  
 

2 hours ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

Leslie, posting irrelevant rubbish drives people away. If you have documented evidence please post it, but your long posts are full of guilt by association which is meaningless drivel. By documented evidence, I mean investigative reporting of the kind undertaken by Gary Murr. He originally contacted us after reading what we already knew and did not know. Gary pointed us in the right direction. Larry Hancock has also been a tremendous help, and his book 'Shadow Warriors' is worth buying and reading. Larry does his homework. Larry also credits Gary Murr for his contributions. I credit both of them because they were of great help in solving the question of where the Olga Patricia came from. Court documents revealed where it went after Don Pierson and Haiti. I am sorry if this is harsh, but if only gossip appears on this forum then it loses its importance and relevance.

23 minutes ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

Leslie this is more 'kitchen sink' stuff.

It has no connectivity whatsoever.

I have the documentation to support everything I have written and a little bit of which I have reported here.

By chucking so much irrelevant stuff on to this thread at every turn, you are not helping but confusing the issue.

The ONLY people who added to this story at the very beginning are Gary Murr and Larry Hancock - especially with reference to his book called 'Shadow Warriors'.

My associates are currently working on the publication of three interconnected volumes in which this story and a lot more will be documented.  However, there are very specific gaps in our knowledge, some of which I have outlined, and that is why I welcome additional details, but please, no more of this "A" knows "B" and "B" knows "C", therefore "A" knows "C" - it's guilt by association and it is rubbish!

This is a public forum, and I'm assuming in good faith that you were earnest when you said recently (paraphrasing) "we are all here to learn."

There is every reason to contribute to this particular thread when I recognize possible clues, including funding of the operation you reference. I'm not suggesting Murchison couldn't do so out of the wallet in his back pocket, but if the agency was wanting to maintain a level of control over Morales — identified in the documents David Boylan has linked to — then the Baltimore / Chait vignette might prove to be relevant.

Please don't think I'm attempting to derail your contributions; but also, I'm asking you to be open to additional and/or new revelations relevant to your own efforts that go far beyond "A knows B" I assure you. 

I would begin with Murchison's development along with Leo Corrigan in the Bahamas at the same time Hjalmar Schact (significant to the operation to assassinate Kennedy in Dallas) and Sir Stafford Stands were also entrenched. 
 

Of possible relevance . . . 
 

Baltimore-based Harold B. Chait, a vice president of Boston Metals Processing Corp — an investment of OSS operative Ulius Amoss* —transported money from the company and also the Baldt Anchor and Chain Company using trust accounts at The Bank of Maryland to the South Florida Soldiers of Fortune who put the funds into the hands of a ragtag army. “Both companies were CIA fronts for laundering money,” asserts researcher John Bevilaqua. 

            The allegation makes a good deal of sense of the remarks made by Chait’s wife on October 18, 1962. As President of the Baltimore Women’s Committee for Cuban Freedom during a speech before the members, Phyllis Chait casually revealed that “one of the more fascinating aspects of CIA operations in Cuba is its method of supplying arms and ammunitions to Cuban liberation groups. Time and again, CIA cutters make their dash to Cuba and deliver such items as .45-caliber Thompson machines guns and .30-caliber ammunition…” explaining that there was a method in the agency’s madness of delivering unmatched weapons and ammunition. 

            Mrs. Chait would have been familiar with those Thompson machine guns because her husband and his investor, Ulius Amoss who, before passing away in November 1961, had enjoyed significant funding for his private intelligence operation ISI (focused at the time on the Dominican Republic) from financier Clendenin J. Ryan, Sr. who was invested heavily in Thompson Machine Guns corporation. His partner in the military contractor enterprise was J. Russell Maguire’.  Mrs. Chait added,  “I have heard former Castro gunrunners laughingly describe how they were sometimes given official escort when they wheeled Castro’s munitions through the streets of Miami. . . .”

. . . The reader will recognize Bridgeport, Connecticut as the hometown of Mrs. Thomas Eli Davis, Jr. whose family, the Hawleys, were fifth generation bankers in service to the military-industrial complex and corporate headquarters DuPont's Remington Arms. Known as “The Arsenal of Democracy,” Bridgeport was also headquarters of Russell Maguire’s Auto-Ordnance and Thompson machine guns.

            Maguire, who established offices in Wichita Falls, Texas and the First National Bank of Dallas from which he directed his oil investments, had managed to keep his political views private until 1951 when he openly provided financial support of John Beaty’s Iron Curtain Over America, once described as the most extensive piece of racist propaganda in the history of the anti-Semitic movement in America. A professor of English at Southern Methodist University in Dallas until his retirement as department chair in 1957, Beaty worked in close physical proximity at the university with Professor Ilya Mamantov and expert in petroleum law, the esteemed Robert G. Storey, both of whom feature in this investigation into the assassination. Maguire’s magazine, the American Mercury was by then headquartered outside Dallas, convenient to Maguire’s oil operations.

(*see EF thread Ulisu Amoss, leaderless resistance . . . )

Further to Ulius Amoss

ISI, the private intelligence agency founded by “leaderless resistance” mastermind Amoss, was also funded by Russell Maguire. Of note, in addition to Charles Willoughby, trustees who carried the torch of ISI following the death of Amoss in November 1961, included chairman of Baltimore Savings and Loan, Henry P. Irr, who as head of the National Savings and Loan Association would cochair a senate subcommittee with banker Samuel W. Hawley of Bridgeport, CT, the father-in-law of soldier of fortune Thomas Eli Davis, Jr., in 1963. And as noted, the vice-chair of ISI Trustees was Richard F. Cleveland who in his capacity during the Alger Hiss scandal would have encountered Robert L. Morris, the future president of the Dallas branch of the John Birch Society. 

            The ISI mirrored somewhat the profile of an organization known to American and British intelligence as “Nightingale,” identified in Dick Russell’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. This murky group further described by Miles Copeland, former CIA official, was made up of “aging emigres from Czarist Russia, joined by a smaller number of disillusioned Soviet Communists” which formed a near fanatical secret organization. Their cohesiveness was greatly enhanced by the financial support they got from a multimillionaire American who was involved in a one-man crusade against “the evils of Communism.” As we read in the next chapter, Nightingale was the notorious unit of Ukrainian soldier/mercenaries devoted to the founders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Yaroslav Stetzko and Stepan Bandera. 

            Amoss had amassed an eclectic cadre of informers committed to wiping out communism. As we will read in a later chapter, the multimillionaire American was most likely H. L. Hunt, although he was far more often referred to as “that Texas multimillionaire” instead of “an American multimillionaire”; however, as we will read, two other US candidates of great wealth that launched private, rabid anti-communist intelligence gathering apparatuses, surface in the investigation.

            During the war, Amoss teamed up with the enigmatic George Hunter White when White’s circle of powerful cohorts was wide, particularly for a man in his early 30s. Among them was Major Hugh Angleton, described by a friend as a red-faced farm boy from Boise, Idaho who had gained infamy for having joined in the chase of Pancho Villa. When Hugh Angleton’s son, James Jesus, was drafted directly out of college into Donovan’s OSS, the ethics-challenged White befriended him based solely on the high esteem he held the Major. Max Corvo, the head of OSS intelligence in Italy from 1943 thru May 1945 said of Hugh Angleton, “he was ultra conservative, a sympathizer with Fascist officials. He was certainly not unfriendly with the Fascists.” No doubt influenced by his father, as mentioned in Jeff Morley’s The Ghost, James Angleton preferred collaborating with fascists to enabling Communists, the same as his boss Allen Dulles.

The Dominican Republic Assumes Center Stage

Under questioning by Warren Commission counsel Albert Jenner who was an attorney for military contractor General Dynamics (the military contractor lobbied for in Congress by Bobby Baker, written about at length in Chapter 4) lurched from what seemed to be an unrelated line of questioning to enquire of witness George de Mohrenschildt very specifically: “Did you have any contact with the Dominican Embassy in 1958? In a somewhat elusive response, de Mohrenschildt said, “I think I was invited to—Dominican Embassy. Yes… Yes. I was trying to work up some kind of concession, I think. I was working on some kind of oil deal, and tried to contact the Dominican Ambassador—purely for business reasons—some kind of an oil project which had to do with the Dominican Republic.” DeMoya had served as Trujillo’s ambassador to DC at the time. 

            Also active in the affairs of Trujillo was professional mercenary Mitch WerBell in the same timeframe as Johnson’s presence in and out of the country alongside his brother, William, who worked for an anti-communist publication in the DR. Contributing to this hypothesis that Lafitte’s “E. Johnson’s” is Robert Emmett Johnson, is mention of oil attorney Herbert Itkin, the double agent for the FBI and CIA, active in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in the same entry. As revealed, not only was Itkin involved with business interests of George de Mohrenschildt who was alleged to have been in Haiti from the spring of 1963 until after the assassination, but, as a DC based petroleum attorney with interests in the Dominican Republic, Itkin crossed paths with loyalists to Trujillo, including Trujillo’s ambassador to the US, Manual de Moya Alonzo and J. Russell Maguire. 

            According to a memo for J. Edgar Hoover dated Oct 29, 1959, from the Army Asst. Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Industrial and Personnel Security Group, as follow up to Maguire’s request for a high-level security clearance, Maguire and de Moya had mutual investments and oil interests. As noted in the report, Maguire’s 1957 correspondence containing allegations of “vital nature to national security,” made its way to the top, to Secretary of Defense Neil McElroy.          Army intel then advised the FBI director that “in 1958, a check in the amount of $24,950 was deposited into the account of a publication owned by Maguire. The check drawn on the account of then Ambassador DeMoya, gave rise to the whether or not there was an obligation to register as a foreign agent.” The report further states, “through our coverage of Dominican activities, we learned DeMoya had made substantial payments to Maguire who is known to be sympathetic toward Dominican regime” . . . and that Maguire had carried articles favorable to Trujillo in his magazine, the American Mercury. 

            In light of industrialist Russell Maguire’s significant financial support of Merwin K. Hart’s National Economic Council, juxtaposed with Merwin Hart’s extensive business dealings with Otto and Ilse Skorzeny, war profiteer Maguire warrants additional scrutiny. 

. . . Author Albarelli had picked up on Ulius Amoss while pursuing the death of Frank Olson, writing, “According to a 1943 letter by [George Hunter] White to another FBN agent, [Harold] Abrahamson and [Frank] Olson had attended the session because they were interested in pursuing “aerosol delivery possibilities with Lowe’s acetate.” Also observing the effectiveness of these interrogation-drug sessions were OSS officers Charles Siragusa and Ulias [sic] C. Amoss . . . Siragusa and Amoss had come to New York for a meeting regarding what White referred to as the “Mafia Plan,” an OSS assassination program.” White had applied the less than crafty code name to the assassination program run jointly by CIA and FBN that was just then coming into existence. 

Siragusa, who was familiar enough with Thomas Eli Davis, Jr. to remark on his loyalty to the cause, and Amoss had both traveled to NY for a meeting regarding what Hunter White referred to as the Mafia Plan. Amoss’s involvement in the truth drug experiments is notable in context of his later concept for leaderless resistance whereby a small, tight knit group of individuals that could operate without any deemed central control. It is not a stretch to assert that active participants in Dealey Plaza fit a specific profile including the ability to “operate without any deemed central control.” Today, the model is favored worldwide by countless terrorist cells, as well as extremists groups in the United States.

Amoss’s Spider’s Web

Prior to America’s active involvement in WWII, according to Julius Amoss, the government seized control of his private businesses. He had invested in a number of companies that fed into the military contracting apparatus, including Shirgun Corp., a.k.a. Schirgun. The company’s primary product was a gun bolt lock invented by Henry Schirokauer. Another investment was Boston Metals Processing Corp., in the business of heavy scrap metal. A third, GramTrade International was an export-import business. The three companies share a similar profile of corporations that eventually came under the umbrella of the World Commerce Corporation, cofounded by Amoss’s boss, Bill Donovan and British spy William Stephenson. According to prolific researcher/author John Bevilaqua who provided author Albarelli with invaluable context, a vice president of Boston Metals, Harold B. Chait transported money from the company and also the Baldt Anchor and Chain Company using trust accounts at The Bank of Maryland to the South Florida Soldiers of Fortune who put the funds into the hands of a ragtag army. “Both companies were CIA fronts for laundering money,” asserts Bevilaqua. 

            The allegation makes a good deal of sense of the remarks made by Chait’s wife on October 18, 1962. As President of the Baltimore Women’s Committee for Cuban Freedom during a speech before the members, Phyllis Chait casually revealed that “one of the more fascinating aspects of CIA operations in Cuba is its method of supplying arms and ammunitions to Cuban liberation groups. Time and again, CIA cutters make their dash to Cuba and deliver such items as .45-caliber Thompson machines guns and .30-caliber ammunition…” explaining that there was a method in the agency’s madness of delivering unmatched weapons and ammunition. 

            Mrs. Chait would have been familiar with those Thompson machine guns because her husband and his investor, Ulius Amoss who, before passing away in November 1961, had enjoyed significant funding for his private intelligence operation from financier Clendenin J. Ryan, Sr. was invested heavily in Thompson Machine Guns corporation, Russell Maguire’s partner in the military contractor. “I have heard former Castro gunrunners laughingly describe how they were sometimes given official escort when they wheeled Castro’s munitions through the streets of Miami. . . .” The committed anti-communist told her mutually aligned friends, adding that, “long before Castro launched his revolution in Mexico, Robert C. Hill, our ambassador to that country warned bluntly, that Castro had surrounded himself with Communists and that Communist aid and direction was paramount in his movement.” As mentioned in the foreword of this book, Ambassador Hill was a close friend to the family of author Albarelli and responsible for a seminal moment leading to key evidence that exposes the conspiracy to kill JFK in Dallas.

            From Doug Valentine’s Strength of the Wolf, we learn that Col. Amoss and George Hunter White—who featured significantly in the clandestine life of Pierre Lafitte—first met in February 1942 while working on the “Eliopoulos case” with White’s protégés, FBN Agent Charlie Siragusa and Charlie Dyar. Elias Eliopoulos was a Greek known as the “top-hat overlord of dope,” described as having given definitive shape to the modern underworld of drugs. Valentine tells us that by March 1943, White and Amoss were investigating “the frequent tie-up” between smuggling and spying, personified by Eliopoulos, until Bill Donovan fired Amoss for importing “an ex-convict from the United States for the purposes of expert assassination.” (Credible sources insist that Amoss never left Donovan’s fold.) 

            While in Greece, Amoss had orchestrated various casino operations in order to facilitate spying, at the same time his Nazi counterpart, Otto Begus was pursuing similar activities. This is important because Begus features significantly in the papers of Otto Skorzeny, as does Merwin K. Hart whose National Economic Council also enjoyed the financial largesse of the Ryan family, the same Bridgeport, CT based arms manufacturers that backed Ulius Amoss’s ISI after the war. 

The Lafitte Datebook: A Limited Analysis

by Dick Russell

Author of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1992), On the Trail of the JFK Assassins (2008), and They Killed Our President!With Jesse Ventura (2013).[HC1] 

            Submitted September 13, 2018, upon request of a film production company interested in developing a documentary focused on the book initially titled Coup in Dallas: Who Killed JFK and Why. 

            Pending verification by forensic document specialists and handwriting experts, I have carefully reviewed the 1963 datebook allegedly written by Jean Pierre Lafitte. Based on the entries I have seen, cryptic as many of them are (no doubt intentionally), this is a crucial piece of new evidence indicating a high-level conspiracy that resulted in the assassination that November 22 of President John F. Kennedy. Many of the names mentioned are familiar to me as someone who has researched and published numerous articles and three books on the assassination over the past forty-plus years. A number of these names, however, were not known publicly in 1963 and for more than a decade thereafter. Thus, assuming the datebook entries were indeed set down at that time by Lafitte, this adds substantial credibility to the likelihood that the document contains never-before-revealed information about a conspiracy involving accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald as well as his own killer, Jack Ruby.  

            My first book on the subject, The Man Who Knew Too Much, initially appeared in 1992. It does not mention Lafitte, whose name was not known to me at the time (or to any other assassination researchers that I’m aware of). He turns out to have been a deep-cover contract operative for the CIA and U.S. drug enforcement agencies. It’s my understanding that the datebook, or desk diary, was kept secret by Lafitte’s family after his death, until author Hank Albarelli was granted access and ultimately given permission to use certain information from the datebook under terms and conditions. 

Let me here offer my insights into some of the names and dates in the datebook, and their potential significance in revealing the identities of the perpetrators behind what’s been called “the crime of the century.” I should add that the datebook also contains references to individuals whose names have not appeared before in assassination-related documents. From the datebook, it can only be concluded that Lafitte was directly involved with a number of people covertly connected to the assassination. 

SOUETRE. This clearly is Jean Rene Souetre, whose name appears in a number of entries between April 25 and December 4. It appears that Souetre was part of a “kill squad” who showed up for meetings in New Orleans, Madrid, and Mexico City prior to the assassination. Souetre’s name first appeared in the “assassination literature” following a 1977 release of CIA documents, which stated that “he had been expelled from the U.S. at Fort Worth or Dallas 48 hours after the assassination . . . to either Mexico or Canada.” According to what the FBI told a Souetre acquaintance whom I interviewed, he’d been “flown out that afternoon by a private pilot . . . in a government plane.” Souetre was a known hitman for the OAS, a terrorist group in France that had targeted President de Gaulle. 

WILLOUGHBY: Until my first book came out in 1992, assembling circumstantial evidence linking retired General Charles Willoughby as a possible “mastermind” of the assassination, no one had raised such a possibility before. The datebook cites the far-right General Willoughby numerous times, specifying: “Nov 22 – Willoughby backup – team [with a strikethrough of the word team] squad – tech building – phone booth/bridge.” Prior to that, an April 12 entry states: “Willoughby soldier kill squads.” 

@Greg DoudnaSILVERTHORNE: That same datebook entry says: “Silverthorne – Ft. Worth – Airport – Mexico.” The name of Silverthorne did not appear publicly until the late 1970s, when CIA officer William Harvey’s handwritten notes about the agency’s QJ/WIN assassination program were released. Silverthorne was a pilot who traveled “for a certain federal agency” to “countless countries” for “reasons best left unsaid,” according to author Albarelli’s 1996 interview with him.

ANGLETON: Listed in the datebook by his last name as well as initials (JA and JJA), the then-head of Counterintelligence for the CIA appears to have been involved in “high-level gathering in DC'' during which “Lancelot planning” was discussed. The Lancelot reference is to a plot to kill JFK. The datebook’s final mention of James Angleton,(December 5, 1963) states: “JA – CLOSE OUT LANCELOT.” Angleton’s name was not generally known until the mid-1970s, when he was forced out of the CIA following revelations that he’d organized an illegal domestic spying program. 

GEORGE W.: The several references in the datebook, including one (August 29) regarding “shipment of LSD for New Orleans & Dallas – Texas laws?” are clearly referencing George White. He was a key operative in the CIA’s top-secret MKULTRA program to control human behavior using drugs, hypnosis, and other means. He worked undercover for the same narcotics agency as Lafitte. White’s name never came to light until 1977 during a congressional investigation. 

TOM D.: Also referred to in several entries, this was Thomas Eli Davis, Jr., first mentioned in 1978 in the assassination literature as having trained anti-Castro Cubans and had been acquainted with Jack Ruby. The September 27 entry about Mexico City says: “Oswald – Comercio Hotel – meet with Tom D. at Luma.” It was stated by the Warren Commission that Oswald had been to the Comercio; the Hotel Luma was first mentioned in my 1992 book as a meeting point. The September 29 datebook implies (“Tom at embassy – done”) that Davis, who resembled Oswald, had impersonated him in visiting either the Cuban or Russian embassies in Mexico City. 

CRICHTON: The name of Jack Crichton, who was connected to Military Intelligence and arranged the first translators for Marina Oswald after the assassination, appears several times in datebook entries in advance of the assassination. 

A. L. EHRMAN: This July 30 entry clearly refers to Anita L. Ehrman, a foreign correspondent whose body was found that day in her Washington apartment. The only other reference to this appears in my 1992 book, citing a notebook seized from Richard Case Nagell by the FBI on September 20, 1963 but not released until 1975. That entry says: “ANITA L. EHRMAN. 7-30-63 WASHINGTON, D.C.” Nagell was involved with Oswald in an assassination plot. 

_____________________________

I believe that this datebook fills in many gaps about what really happened on November 22, 1963, and in the months leading up to it. This will be particularly evident to students of the assassination. 

·        There was a high-level conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy involving meetings in and officials from Washington, D.C., as well as in other parts of the U.S., Mexico City, and Madrid.

·       That Lee Harvey Oswald was just as he claimed after his arrest – a patsy set up to take the fall (“October 25: Oswald set in place,” meaning that he was set in place in Texas School Book Depository building. November 9: “On the wings of murder. The Pigeon way for unsuspecting Lee.”) 

·       That Oswald’s rifle was apparently planted ahead of time: (“November 20: rifle into building – yes/ok/DPD”) DPD stands for Dallas Police Department. 

·       That the shooting of police officer J. D. Tippitt after the assassination was apparently not part of anyone’s plan: November 22: “O Tippett [sic] (why?) – ask JA who is Tippet?”

·       That Jack Ruby did not metamorphose out of nowhere to kill Oswald. The name “Ruby” appears in June 7 and October 30 entries. 

·       That a cover-up was in place prior to the assassination that included a legal team (Robert Storey and Judge Duvall) as well as a translator for Marina Oswald. 

·       That a Dallas airport previously speculated as a rendezvous point for escaping assassins was listed in the datebook on November 24. “Red [Bird] Airport.”

·       That the plan involving Oswald was in place for some time. On September 16: “T. says L.O. is ‘idiot’ but w[ill] be used regardless. Set-up Complete.” On October 5, JFK’s visit to Dallas was announced in the press. The next day, the datebook says: “Oswald – issue (!). Check with Caretaker.” On October 16, Oswald went to work at the Book Depository. 

·       There are references to Oswald traveling to Mexico City in late September. Some have questioned whether he actually went there. The datebook indicates that he assuredly did, but also that Tommy Davis was there simultaneously.

·       Prior to this, apparently Oswald was being shadowed in New Orleans. “May 10: T. says tail LO – No direct contact.” Oswald had moved to New Orleans on April 24.

·       The name of WALKER appears more than once, initially concerning the shooting attempt on his life that Oswald was later accused of. “April 7 – Walker – Lee and pictures. Planned soon – can he do it? Won’t.” (it’s possible that the word is ‘Wait.’) The indication is, someone was setting up Oswald to do this, but he didn’t want to. The shot was fired at Walker on April 10. Later references indicate that General Walker was in fact aware of, if not in on, the plot to kill JFK: 

·       Other extreme right-wingers are notated at different times: Mitch WerBell, a known arms dealer; Otto Skorzeny, ex-Hitler operative living in Madrid; Willoughby compatriot Pedro del Valle.

·       Two mentions of SHAW, in connection with New Orleans, most likely Clay Shaw, named by Jim Garrison as a co-conspirator in 1967. 

In summary, it is possible from this datebook to piece together many things about the assassination that could be merely educated guesses until now. I believe, presuming the datebook is verified as having been written by Lafitte in 1963, that this constitutes probably the strongest evidence that has ever come to light of a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy.

8 minutes ago, Greg Doudna said:

Not a chance now, just drop it. Your categorical refusal to allow me to ask, and to support me in asking, the legal controller for access to the ink analysis that has already been done, removes any confidence in me that you are acting in good faith. You are only repeating the above as a ploy. Just stop it.

I do not believe the owners of that scientific information would refuse a good-faith request for access at this stage unless there is an organized forgery operation in process. 

So the datebook has been "orphaned" by the elusive former owner Phen Lafitte, whom nobody alive on earth today is known to have ever seen? That means legal ownership is coming to you? You already have possession. If it were regarded as genuine, it could be worth millions, whether or not there is a private kickback agreement to the allegedly existing Ms. Lafitte orphaning the alleged text of the century. But regarded as a forgery, worth zero.

No wonder you refused to answer when someone a while ago asked if you had a financial interest in the datebook, and who owned it. Whereas the ethical thing to do is to disclose financial interest. As in politics, so in scholarship.

For anyone interested, compare the literary style of the author of the odd letter (really bizarre) written in 2000 by an anonymous CIA person who claimed knowledge of the circumstances of Frank Olson's death, to the Manhattan district attorney's office, on page 775 of Hank Albarelli's book A Terrible Mistake, and the literary style of the Lafitte datebook which surfaced a few years later: the cryptic allusions, the riddle-like writing, the latinisms, and the odd associations of flight, murder, and "wings".  

The CIA person's letter (2000):  "... Mr. Olson's fateful flight on the night in question was ventured on wings..."

Lafitte datebook (copyright 2009), entry for Nov 9: "On the wings of murder. The Pigeon way for unsuspecting Lee."

Speaking of flight and "wings", there is a CIA pilot written by name in the Lafitte datebook in a starring role at the entry for Nov 22, 1963, the day of the assassination (Coup in Dallas, p. 437). That pilot was in contact with Albarelli in Florida (p. 437). Wild idea, but: did the author of the forged datebook write himself into the datebook by name in a cameo role on Nov 22, 1963?

Forgers in history do often like to "autograph" their work! 

Morton Smith did. He was the Columbia University professor who discovered the sensational "Secret Mark" alleged 18th century copy of a 3rd century CE letter of the church father Clement of Alexandria.

Jesus in the Gospels spoke of salt losing its savor, which anciently meant block salt losing its taste. The "Secret Mark" letter has Jesus saying that but alters it into an allusion to poured salt losing its taste by being mixed with non-salt. But poured salt (capable of being mixed) was only first invented and manufactured, and then widely sold, starting early in the 20th century, by ... (wait for it) ... the Morton Salt Company. That is, an allusion to a 20th century invention carrying the proper name of the discoverer of the letter (Morton Smith) is written into the alleged 18th century copy of the 3rd century original.

A lot of scholars think that looks like the forger signing his handiwork.

I urge everyone to consider the Lafitte Datebook "presumed forged" in light of the secrecy and concealment which is characterizing this item, as its present status. 

Thanks to Tom Gram, Doug Campbell, Benjamin, and many others for talking sense. 

If Leslie will let me, I will attempt to leave this datebook topic and move on to other things. 

Just to clarify, you have retracted your offer to identify an ink analyst who would agree "for scientific purposes" to examine the datebook. We've now put that to rest and you can focus on your own projects, hopefully. 

Before we conclude our communication, you really should do your homework before posting ill conceived speculation.  You write, 

For anyone interested, compare the literary style of the author of the odd letter (really bizarre) written in 2000 by an anonymous CIA person who claimed knowledge of the circumstances of Frank Olson's death, to the Manhattan district attorney's office, on page 775 of Hank Albarelli's book A Terrible Mistake, and the literary style of the Lafitte datebook which surfaced a few years later: the cryptic allusions, the riddle-like writing, the latinisms, and the odd associations of flight, murder, and "wings".  

The CIA person's letter (2000):  "... Mr. Olson's fateful flight on the night in question was ventured on wings..."

Lafitte datebook (copyright 2009), entry for Nov 9: "On the wings of murder. The Pigeon way for unsuspecting Lee." 

Had you read Coup, you would be aware of the origin of "on the wings of murder. The pigeon way":

Returning now to the assassination of Darlan which serves as template for the future set-up of Lee Harvey Oswald as “the perfect patsy” on November 22, 1963, soon after the execution of Francois Darlan’s assassin, Fernand Bonnier, there were scattered and persistent reports that the young Frenchman had been a patsy of sorts and that he was not an avid monarchist but was only an impressionable, somewhat naïve, youth, who had been manipulated toward murderous ends by skillful others. This belief stems from the fact that Bonnier’s “friend,” Henri d’Astier, while active in La Cagoule, on several occasions joined Filliol in carrying out a devious tactic for ridding La Cagoule of suspected double-agent members by manipulating them into veiled assassination efforts during which it would be highly likely that they would be captured or killed. Filliol dubbed this manipulation “the pigeon way.” Here, one is easily reminded of the quote by CIA official Miles Copeland: “You can sometimes gain points in the war of dirty tricks by killing an expendable person on your own side and blaming it on the other when considering this type of lethal deception.” And in mid-November 1963, Pierre Lafitte, in New Orleans, would jot down in his datebook: “On the wings of murder. The pigeon way for unsuspecting Lee [Oswald]. Clip, clip his wings,” no doubt a reference to Jean Filliol’s tactic of manipulation within his assassin camps. 

And regarding Joseph Silverthorne, your right, "Wild Idea."  Perhaps you should stick to ancient texts?

5 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

I do not wish to accept any terms or conditions, or anything other than an entirely above-board and transparent review of the purported document by an independent panel of experts. 

Anyone with the slightest regard for history, or civic obligations, if believing the datebook to be authentic, would have the same view as myself. 

If the datebook was believed to be authentic, it should have been immediately hustled off to NARA, or other reputable repository, by any means necessary. 

I gather it stands as un-refuted fact that the Australian film company, having spent time and money, then scotched the documentary after an ink analysis of the datebook was performed. 

Geez, the forgers could not even find period ink?

The forgers did the work of two men? Abbott and Costello?

I hope you'll help persuade Greg to renew his offer and accept the reasonable terms and conditions I proposed.

3 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Evidently, the Australian film company, despite having spent some time and money, decided to scotch the project after an ink analysis (on the datebook). ---BC

Is this statement accurate or not? 

. . . discussion of prior authentication efforts is closed as far as I'm concerned. I hope you can help persuade Greg Doudna to reconsider his offer and accept my terms and conditions.

49 minutes ago, Paul Brancato said:

Leslie - a reputable ink and paper analysis was already done - is that correct? I’m sure you’ve answered this question before, but if you don’t mind, could you explain why the results are not public? If a nda is hanging this up, does it have to do with Hank’s untimely passing?

Yes, but as I said earlier Paul, discussion of prior authentication efforts is closed as far as I'm concerned.

I hope Greg will reconsider his offer to identify an ink analyst who would take on the project for, in his words, "research purposes only, with the intention of a scientific publication," providing the party or parties agree to the terms I laid out previously.  

16 minutes ago, Benjamin Cole said:

Yes, the datebook is almost certainly bogus. 

And why would anybody agree to an extremely limited ink analysis only of the purported document?

I assume any middling forger would use period pens, ink and paper.

Although maybe the forger in this case was so dim-witted as to not to bother.

Evidently, the Australian film company, despite having spent some time and money, decided to scotch the project after an ink analysis. 

That is, if anything we know about the datebook is true at all. 

A three-dollar bill from Bernie Madoff....

Do you know what distinguishes a professional investigator like Albarelli from the rabble that show up on assassination forums? He had the self confidence, self respect, and good sense to not hurl absurd accusations.

@Ed Berger @Robert Montenegro

 

At first Donovan appears to have played no formal part in the establishment of either BACC or WCC, although his law firm, at that time known as Donovan Leisure Newton Lombard & Irvine acted as legal advisers.” (A few amateur historians have written that Allen Dulles’s law firm, Sullivan and Cromwell, served as advisers to BACC and WCC, but we found no hard evidence of that. Additionally, it has been written that Dulles encouraged Donovan to participate in BACC [British-American-Canadian Corporation] and WCC, but again no hard evidence of that was found.) This leads us to speculate that Donovan may have initially been the “face” of WCC rather than the inspiration as those listed in early documents for WCC include Harry Beaston Lake and W. W. Cumberland, both investment bankers at the firm Ladenburg Thalmann, 25 Broad St. NYC. 

            In 1879, American banker Ernst Thalmann, teamed up with Adolph Ladenburg, the scion of a German banking family. As confirmed in “History of Ladenburg Thalmann,” by World War II the firm was providing banking services for British Security Coordination (BSC), including acquisition of foreign currency which was required in small denominations by a plethora of British covert wartime agencies as well as escape packs for Allied aircrew. The SOE turned to the BSC, and the close links between the BSC and Donovan's OSS meant that there was continual collaboration between all three entities in support of this task. Harry Lake and Bill Donovan shared an address at the exclusive One Sutton Place for a number of years. It should be noted that Lake was on the board of the American Moroccan Corporation, which will have greater relevance as we pursue the role of Thomas Eli Davis, Jr. in Chapter 5. 

            In a convenient web of other addresses, Donovan’s law partner, George Stanley Leisure lived at 640-660 Park, sharing a prestigious address with J. Russell Forgan, another founding board member of World Commerce. Leisure was on the board of financial investment giant Empire Trust whose web extends over time to those active on the ground in Dallas that managed the immediate aftermath of the assassination. Forgan’s company, Glore Forgan was heavily invested in J. Peter Grace’s W. R. Grace & Co., a global maritime shipping concern. Grace, the first Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a.k.a. the Knights of Malta, in America, sat on Forgan’s board for decades. 

            Of note, at the height of the war, the man at the official helm of the SOE, Roundell Palmer, the 3^rd Earl of Selborne, was also in charge of economic warfare, placing him in close proximity to decisions involving the services Ladenburg Thalmann provided. Reporting directly to Lord Selborne was Viscount Frederick Leathers, a former Minister of Transport who was placed in charge of war support. For those more familiar with the esotericism that pre-occupied the shadows of power at the time, both in the US and Britain, both men were alleged members of the Prieuré de Sion, a neo-chivalric fraternal order with alleged roots in the Crusades, established legally in 1956 in France. In an instance of continuity, Viscount Leathers later appears in the roster of board members of the World Commerce Corporation. 

            Brown explains that among those legal advisers [Donovan and Leisure’s firm] was Lt. Col. Otto C. Doering, Donovan’s second in command at the OSS. Donovan only became an official director of WCC in October 1947. At the same time, Edward R. Stettinius, Secretary of State from November 1944 to July 1945, who had substantial holdings in WCC joined the board. According to Brown, in due course a number of other people prominent in intelligence and special operations joined the firm, as directors, officer, or shareholders. They included J. Russell Forgan of the Glore Forgan group of merchant bankers (and future career ambassador David Bruce’s successor as chief of OSS Europe; Lester Armour (former deputy chief mission to Moscow who would inherit the chairmanship of the Swift Armour packing company of Chicago); W.K. Eliscu (a member of Donovan’s OSS staff); Lieutenant Colonel Rex L. Benson (staff member of the British Secret Intelligence Service and chairman of merchant bankers Robert Benson and Company of London. Here it should be noted that Benson was the lead SOE interrogator of Otto Skorzeny after his surrender. Brown adds that the WCC board also included several persons who had been prominent in the Canadian intelligence services.

            In addition, Brown tells us that people with intelligence connections, but not formally members of any intelligence service, took an interest in the corporation. They included Nelson Rockefeller (son of John D., and former coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, an organization with intelligence responsibilities and associations in South America); John Jay McCloy (former undersecretary of the War Department and high commissioner in Germany) Richard Mellon (of Gulf Oil corporation); and Sir Victor Sassoon. The list of WCC board members and “interested parties'' reflects America and Britain’s future power brokers that would influence matters on a global scale as the Cold War escalated. 

            With so many powerful corporate titans interested in the WCC, in hindsight the holding company emerges as a quango, an acronym for ‘quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organization, a term coined in the 1970s inspired by remarks of the president of Carnegie Corporation in 1967 describing “a genus of organization which represents a noteworthy experiment in the art of government.” Were the founders of the WCC following European models established under fascist regimes for the control of and profit from global supply chains and markets, and did that agenda require the services of the sophisticated intelligence apparatus established by Donovan and Stephenson being shuttered by democratically elected government officials after the war? A former employee of WCC recounts, “The idea was to take advantage of the organization and international contacts that were set up during the war… The goal was to set up various companies, mostly in Central and South America.” And as British writer and wartime intelligence officer Roald Dahl argued in support of the creation of WCC, “we all needed jobs in civilian life.” 

            It is believed that BACC/WCC was initially funded in part with about $10 million that was in the accounts of the OSS London office at the time of Germany’s surrender. Eustice Mullins writes: “This money could not be ‘returned’ to the U.S. Government without stating where it had come from. As proceeds from dealings in gold and jewels, an inquiry could provoke a Congressional investigation.”

Follow the Money and the Arms . . .

. . . 

Skorzeny and Victor Oswald had known each other since at least 1951. This was the point during which Skorzeny was establishing an independent engineering office in Madrid. Introductions between the two appear to have come through Johannes Bernhardt, the former senior SS intelligence officer who headed SOFINDUS, the corporate network used by the Nazis in Spain. Readers may recall that SOFINDUS assets were acquired by the Allies after the war. Victor Oswald, as a lead British intelligence operative, in addition to his OSS duties, was involved in the post-war acquisition of SOFINDUS, placing him in close contact with Bernhardt. Bernhardt had contacted the Allies even before the war ended, attempting to transfer millions of dollars of SOFINDUS assets in return for favorable treatment. That offer was graciously accepted. In 1951, Victor Oswald and Johannes Bernhardt were joined by Otto Skorzeny, who had been transferred to Spain by US intelligence. This new business relationship with the revamped SOFINDUS was the intended cover for much of the intelligence and covert activity carried out by Skorzeny. 

2 hours ago, Mervyn Hagger said:

"George De M was definitely a "Man Of Mystery.

Including being an impulsive adventure, woman and dollar chasing rogue?"

Joe, in 1943 he married a Dorothy Pierson in Florida and she divorced him soon afterwards. So far I have not been able to establish any family links between Dorothy Pierson and Don Pierson, but it is very interesting that the paths of George De Mohrenschildt and Don Pierson both went through Papa Doc and Haiti. Clint Murchison also had business interests there a,nd for a time part of the long term CIA attack plan using Cuban expats was a new invasion of Cuba proceeded by air raids taking off from Haiti.

Clint Murchison, colleague of George de Mohrenschildt over the years and who invested in Radio Nord with Gordon McLendon, also had dealings with Otto Skorzeny in Spain (as well as in the Houston area Jan 1963) along with Empire Trust's Jack Crichton, Joe Zeppa of Delta Drilling, and Algur Meadows of General American Oil and Republic National Bank of Dallas. 

And, it is well documented that Herbert Itkin had represented de M's interests in Haiti; Itkin appears more than half dozen times in the record maintained by New Orleans' based Pierre Lafitte in the lead up to the assassination in Dallas.

Of possible interest to speculation that a reinvasion of Cuba from Haiti - or possibly the Dominican Republic - was in play in 1963:

Talk Joannides Cuba –

he refer to K org. in

Mex – similar setup now.

Discuss with King – Geo 

+Charles about Havana

Mx trips. (Holdout) [followed with a check mark]

(Note: We were discouraged from including the following in our book as it remained an unresolved question within "the community," but I determined that in spite of the controversy and in light of Pierre Lafitte's August 1963 entry (seen above), it was important to revisit.)

J. C. King and AMWORLD

AMWORLD was among the most tightly held secrets of the Kennedy administration, and one that would evade five Congressional investigations following his assassination, until documents were finally revealed in 1990. According to author Lamar Waldron with Thom Hartmann in Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK, the first AMWORLD document was a SECRET, EYES ONLY five-page memo prepared on June 26, 1963. The authors reveal, “The memo is sent by J. C. King, Chief [of the CIA’s] Western Hemisphere Division, to the ‘Chiefs of Certain [CIA] Stations. The memo is titled: ‘AMWORLD’ Background of Program, Operational Support Requirements and Procedural Rules’. It begins: ‘this will serve to alert you to the inception of AMWORLD, a new CIA program targeted against Cuba. Some manifestations of activity resulting from this program may come to your notice before long.’” Author Waldron continues to provide in-depth analysis of the highly classified operation, highlighting in particular that secrecy was so paramount, normal lines of communication were not adhered to. 

Among CIA records that were finally released, a memorandum titled “AMWORLD MEETING IN MIAMI, 28-29 June 1964,” includes the following: “AMBIDDY-1 [Cuban exile leader Manuel Artime Buesa] claims to have been contacted in the past by the Mafia for the sale of arms.” (Note: The memo also states that the Dominican Republic is often mentioned within AMWORLD as a possible source of support, the significance of which is pursued further in Chapter 8.) In light of Lafitte’s entry to indicate that Santo Trafficante arrived in New Orleans to meet with William King Harvey on August 13, the possibility exists that the meeting at Antoine’s on August 16, and subsequent communication between Lafitte and Joannides, and discussions with J. C. King, George Hunter White, and Charles Siragusa may have surpassed plans for Lee Harvey Oswald’s involvement in the forthcoming assassination of the president (plans that were weeks away from being solidified and sanctioned), but were equally, if not more focused on deliberations at the highest level of AMWORLD, an operation that had been in play for months. 

CIA Officer Henry Hecksher, a native of Hamburg, Germany who joined the OSS and later contributed to the evolution of the CIA, was the case officer of Manuel Artime. As such, Hecksher became involved in AMWORLD in 1963. In 1964, he and Artime traveled to Madrid, Spain to meet with Rolando Cubela, the Cuban revolutionary and founding member of the DRE whose agency contact officer was George Joannides. At the time, Madrid was still a base of operation for Otto Skorzeny and arms dealer Victor Oswald. Author Ralph Ganis stresses the significance of the friendship Otto had maintained with the Berlin Operations Base, including chief of base William King Harvey in the early 1950s. Henry Hecksher, Artime’s minder and directly involved in AMWORLD had served under Bill Harvey in Berlin. (see chapter notes for possible further significance.)
 

Also of possible significance, two station chiefs who piggy backed between Havana and Madrid:

Alfonzo Rodriguez: a.k.a. Earl Williamson, a.k.a. Wallace Growery was station chief in Madrid in 1951 as Otto Skorzeny positioned himself in the Spanish capitol to begin his service to the CIA and his lucrative work for not only himself and wife Ilse, but Johannes Bernhardt’s Sofindus, and the World Commerce Corporation. Rodriguez, who had served in Bill Donovan’s OSS during the war, would have been the boss of Al Ulmer who many researchers will recognize as having gone into private business with Win Scott, the former Station Chief in Mexico City at the time of the assassination of JFK. According to records, in 1944 Rodriguez was posted by the Army Counter Intelligence Corps to the OSS, including stints in London and Tangier, where he was vice counsel, affording him ample opportunity to encounter dubious characters named in this investigation. His obituary reads, “After the war, he was assigned to Costa Rica and served as station chief during the revolution there. He was deputy chief of the CIA’s Latin American division in the late 1940s and served in Madrid and Mexico during the 1950s. He was part of the task force that worked with anti-Castro forces in Miami after the attempted invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. He concluded his career at the CIA as Director of Training.

James Noel: Close agency colleague of Rodriguez, James Noel was the CIA Station Chief in Havana at the time of the failed attempt at the Bay of Pigs. In late 1959, Noel had received instructions from Col. J. C. King, chief of the Western Hemisphere for the agency to prepare an analysis of the political situation in Cuba which, for a specific audience in the government hierarchy, that Fidel Castro, under the influence of his closest collaborators had been converted to Communism and that Cubans were preparing to export the revolution throughout the hemisphere to spread the war against capitalism. King then recommended actions to “solve the Cuban problem, including consideration of eliminating Castro.”” Director Dulles then passed on King’s memorandum to the National Security Council which signed off on “Operation 40,” to address the “Cuban” problem. Presided over by VP Richard Nixon, the group included NSA Gordon Gray. The direct Task Force was headed up by Tracy Barnes who we encounter in a significant essay in our appendix focused on the identity of a major player in Pierre Lafitte’s datebook, coded “T.” Tracy Barnes’s team included Gerry Droller, a.k.a. Frank Bender, an egocentric agent at Central Intelligence who appears on a significant date in the 1963 Lafitte datebook. Also named in the datebook is Jack Crichton, among a cadre of Texas oilmen including future president George H.W. Bush that Richard Nixon had assembled to gather necessary funds for the task force.

1 hour ago, Doug Campbell said:

“I think your inability to read Coup, after three attempts, might say a good deal more about you than it does Albarelli's investigation?” -Linda O’Hara

It might. But it doesn’t.

 

That's all?

Would you like to hear the story behind my pen name?  I've shared it with those I respect, but I can make an exception if you're interested.

Between October 1st, when Lafitte says that he sent a cable to Madrid that all was ok, and to tell Tom D. (Davis), he then notes, O. says come to Madrid. Eight days later, in the most incriminating statement written by Lafitte to date reveals a recap of Otto’s strategy, worth repeating once again now that we have Otto’s role as tactician in context: 

OSARN_OSARN_OSARN_

OSARN-get Willoughby-Litt- 

plus Souetre, others (Hungarians)

Lancelot proj - kill squads Dallas,

New York, Tampa-(Labadie) -T says 

called Oswald to purpose- weapons- 

Walker. Davis in N.O. with 

swamp groups Florida (Decker, 

Bender, Vickers, K of M)---

To underscore the ideology driving Otto’s choice for involvement in the plot to kill Kennedy, one that unites all those named on October 9 including Lafitte, the history of the Secret Organization of National Revolutionary Action (OSARN) as presented in Chapter 1 warrants repeating as well: 

OSARN was closely aligned with Benito Mussolini and Hitler. OSARN’s purpose was stated: “We want to build a new Europe in cooperation with national socialist German and all other European nations freed from liberal capitalism, Judaism, Bolshevism and French Masons . . . to regenerate France and the French race . . . to ensure that Jews who stay in France are subject to harsh laws, preventing them from infesting our race. . . . OSARN was also closely associated with Reinhardt Heydrich, head of the dreaded Nazi Gestapo.” 

By 5th of November, within a day or two of Tom and Carolyn Davis’s arrival in Madrid, Otto had told Pierre that Lancelot is a “go,” adding reference to a “phone booth.” This is particularly telling if the Davis couple had just delivered detailed schematics of Dealey Plaza and the kill zone. By November 15th, Otto seems to have reconsidered the tech building—phone booth/bridge, telling Lafitte to “turn them.” That is the last mention of Otto or Ilse Skorzeny until the 28th, when Pierre makes a note to “call Madrid.” The 1st of December, he is sending cables to New York and Madrid.