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Everything posted by Leslie Sharp
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@Bob Ness I'm not seeing "Malam". Other versions. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:James_Jesus_Angleton?fbclid=IwAR04mBA7SxD9YZypaHfuh3e_PtckKxW_g-NpStbffQgaiLk6O4gL4YWoHS0
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@Paul Brancato Two other versions (jpeg dated 1966) of the same photo edit out the Arizona license plate. Arizona plates with Grand Canyon State on bottom line varied very little during the decade. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:James_Jesus_Angleton?fbclid=IwAR04mBA7SxD9YZypaHfuh3e_PtckKxW_g-NpStbffQgaiLk6O4gL4YWoHS0 It's easy to project candidates for the cowboy to fit a hypothesis. This may well be someone known to James and Cicely in her home state of Arizona unrelated to our investigation. That said, I've been running the cowboy past several JFK photo collectors; one asked unsolicited, "Lafitte?" Cowboy also shares a number of features with Boots Askins (not the least of which are the unusual style of trousers shoved into the "boots"), but there are several anomalies that need resolving, for instance chest girth and shoulders. We need a photo expert.
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Thanks @Dan Rice Another car guy said Starliner. 1960 works better than 1966.
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Seriously? I checked photos of him and didn't see a resemblance. What was he doing in the SW dressed in western gear? I also ran it by a researcher knowledgeable of this history in Haifa and he made no mention of Amit.
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A Problem with "Prayer Man"
Leslie Sharp replied to Leslie Sharp's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
@Jeremy Bojczuk Before I consider your post carefully and respond in full, I'm on board Alex Wilson joining the forum for this debate, assuming he'll play nice and by these house rules, not those of ROKC. -
@Pete Mellor What about the cowboy, Pete? Any ideas? I don't know about others, but I think it's a rather incongruous photo.
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Thanks, Paul. And yes, our focus is on the cowboy, not the Israeli connections. He's not identified. I'm told that the white Ford Galaxy on the right facing is 1966 model. Arizona plates. As you know, Cicely Angleton grew up in Arizona. Her father was invested in mining. His company ended up under the umbrella of Phelps Dodge.* She had relatives living in So. Arizona in 1963 (I've spoken with one of them), but none match this cowboy. I could propose several candidates based solely on naked eye analysis: 1) Lafitte himself as master of disguise; 2) Charles "Boots" Askins; the sheriff of Tombstone; or just some guy looking for an autograph. ] Any guesses? fyi, Amit identified in the tag was the head of Mossad. *for any who are interested in propinquity and the MIC: Nicholas Katzenbach married into the Phelps dynasty; Phelps Dodge board of directors included Lewis Douglas. Douglas sat on the board of American Express with Gen. Lucius Clay; Clay was replaced in Germany by John Jay McCloy; McCloy and Douglas married sisters; the cousin of those sisters was married to German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. McCloy was a lead member of the Warren Commission. Note: Adenauer's Bundeswehr generals were in a meeting with the JCS in the Gold Room of the Pentagon on November 22.
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(courtesy Robert Ward Montenegro) https://www.jns.org/james-angleton-1917-1987/
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@Joseph Backes Of possible relevance, the following is an overlooked (and in at least one instance ignored) essay shared by H. P. Albarelli Jr. back in 2013 which pertains directly to August events in New Orleans. Note: I've shifted Hank's closing paragraph & notes to the forefront in the event the reader might question the relevance to your remarks. Joannides & Lafitte in New Orleans, 1963 . . . Portions of Lafitte’s date books for his New Orleans years are revealing of his dealings with various CIA officials, including at least 3 apparent meetings with CIA Western Hemisphere Division employee, George Efythron Joannides. Interestingly, Lafitte’s second encounter with Joannides occurred the second week of August 1963, just days after Lee Harvey Oswald’s Friday, August 9 arrest for provoking a disturbance through leafleting for his Fair Play for Cuba Committee New Orleans chapter. Lafitte’s handwritten notations for Friday, August 16, 1963 read: “… at Antoines room— Martello, Joanides [sic] & Labadie. Quigly [sic] interview Oswald over street demonstration. Call Holdout.” Another notation, made 6 days later reads: “Talk Joanides Cuba—refer to K Organization in Mexico — similar setup now. [D]iscuss with King, ask George and Charles about Havana, Mexico trips…” NOTES: “Antoines room” is thought to be Antoine’s, a well-known New Orleans restaurant that hosted meetings and gatherings in a number of private rooms. There are several references to Antoine’s in the date books. “Martello” appears to be a reference to New Orleans Police Department officer, Lt. Francis L. Martello; not to be confused with Francis “Monk” Martello. Lt. Martello interviewed Oswald in the New Orleans lockup on August 10, 1963. “Quigly” is perhaps a misspelling of the name Quigley. FBI SA John L. Quigley also interviewed Oswald in New Orleans jail. “Labadie” is a known alias, as in Jean Labadie, that Lafitte used often in New York City, but it is also the surname of Stephen J. Labadie, a special agent for the FBI. “Holdout” is unknown; perhaps it is a code-name for a program or confidential informer. “King” is most likely J.C. King, CIA Western Hemisphere director, but could possibly be William Harvey, as some CIA associated people occasionally and mockingly referred to Harvey as “King.” “George and Charlie” are believed to be FBN officials. Copyright © 2013—H.P. Albarelli Jr. Over fifteen years ago, while beginning to research a book on the odd death of U.S. Army biochemist, Dr. Frank R. Olson, I became aware of the existence of an enigmatic character with the unlikely name Jean Pierre Lafitte. The origins of my awareness came from my perusal of the 1952 and 1953 diaries of Federal Bureau of Narcotics official George Hunter White; a September 20, 1977 article in the New York Times by investigative journalists John M. Crewdson and Jo Thomas; and the private notes and correspondence of James R. Phelan, an investigative journalist and writer, who, in the 1950s through the 1960s, was quite close to both Lafitte and White. Later, during the year 2000, my knowledge about Lafitte grew considerably greater after I was consulted on Frank Olson’s murder by investigators for New York City District Attorney Robert Morgenthau’s office. Spurred by these meetings, I made about a dozen trips to northern New England and southern Florida to interview several individuals who were close to Pierre Lafitte. About 18 months ago, while researching a forthcoming biography of George Hunter White, these interviews resulted in my gaining access to some of the personal writings of Lafitte, including his private date books, which stylistically are quite similar to those of FBN official and CIA consultant, George White. Suffice it to say, I became intrigued with the life and activities of the man known as Jean Pierre Lafitte, who beginning in 1952, through to about 1978, covertly work for the FBN, CIA, FBI, Secret Service, and INS. Lafitte also managed to carry out a number of major, international swindling schemes and operated a number of well-known restaurants. In June 1952, according to a letter by George White, the CIA officially recruited Lafitte as a “special employee” after he was summoned to Washington, D.C. to meet with CIA officials, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb and James Jesus Angleton. Wrote White: “Expecting to be at CIA only a day, Lafitte was held over for a few days. I hope to hell they know what they are in for. I suspect even to that crew that he’s one of a kind.” While at CIA headquarters, Lafitte also met Agency Security Chief, Sheffield Edwards, Frank Wisner, and Richard Helms. Subsequently, Lafitte undertook a number of covert domestic and international assignments for the CIA, including a trip to the Republic of the Congo in December 1960, which coincided with the January 1961 CIA-assisted assassination of Patrice Lumumba. Lafitte’s work for the CIA lasted until about 1978. While writing my book on Olson’s murder, A TERRIBLE MISTAKE: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA’s Secret Cold War Experiments [Trine Day, 2009], of which Lafitte played an integral and deadly role, I could not avoid learning about a number of provocative connections between Monsieur Lafitte and Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Not the least of these connections was that Lafitte, using an assumed named, throughout the 1960s lived in New Orleans. Indeed, in an incident that caused a flap at CIA headquarters in December 1969, the FBI arrested Lafitte in New Orleans. Briefly detained, he was released after a number of discrete phone calls from Capitol Hill were made to FBI headquarters. At the time of his arrest, Lafitte worked as the head chef at the Plimsoll Club, then part of the International Trade Mart.
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A Problem with "Prayer Man"
Leslie Sharp replied to Leslie Sharp's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
Your argument about the call is persuasive yet begs the question: why, 18 years after the fact when you inquired, wouldn't someone on the paper seize the opportunity to run a story denouncing allegations that Osborne made the call? Did they, and I've missed it? The coincidence that Bowen and Hudson were together on September 28 - school cover in Mexico — at the same time as Oswald's trip and that Hudson was responsible for a similar assassination-related call focused on Jack Ruby is one of those high strangenesses. British journalist with the Cuba link to Trafficante & Ruby is one and the same John Wilson-Hudson identified in Lafitte's datebook on October 30. Ruby closely replicates Lafitte's note in the same 24 hour period. The Lafitte datebook also substantiates claims that Osborne ran a school for assassins. How could Pierre know about that school? Next time it's Mellor. bueño bye -
United States Army cover-story E. Howard Hunt?!
Leslie Sharp replied to Paul Brancato's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
I saw all that; what I didn't see was reference to specifics, i.e. Army Intel operations Hunt might have been involved with in the spring or summer of 1963 that might have generated records that might be held in Army Intel files and not CIA. I think I understood Larry to say that (paraphrasing very loosely) whatever was in Army files related to those operations involving Hunt undercover would be in Agency files. Do you concur? I'm not pursuing whether Dorothy was killed by the CIA. I am however keenly interested in her role as translator for the Spanish Ambassador, and Hunt's aggressive effort to ensure she could maintain at least a part time position well into 1963. Was he hoping to continue to enjoy her income stream, or was there something else in play. If memory serves, Tracy Barnes is in the loop of the request. -
United States Army cover-story E. Howard Hunt?!
Leslie Sharp replied to Paul Brancato's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
Thanks, Douglas. I hope you'll indulge my questions as this is not my area of expertise, but because Sam Kail features in the notes of Pierre Lafitte (as does the name Hunt - with E. Howard being our primary candidate), this line of inquiry is of particular interest. Did EHH elaborate in any detail what specific operations specific to the spring/summer of 1963, and to whom (if anyone) he reported to within Army Intel. Would those operations be recorded only in Army Intel files, or CIA, or both? -
United States Army cover-story E. Howard Hunt?!
Leslie Sharp replied to Paul Brancato's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
Then might the discussion refocus on the documents unearthed by Robert Ward Montenegro rather than a rehash of previous research? I'm particularly intrigued by the possible implications of Hunt and or Harvey Army Intel cover. Has this been analyzed in the past? -
A Problem with "Prayer Man"
Leslie Sharp replied to Leslie Sharp's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
PM: "It sounds like a completely fictitious story." "There is no way that would have happened without being talked about....: LS: This is black and white? PM: His birth certificate reads Albert Osborne. The 'Alexander' was Albert's invention, among a few other monikers. LS: the operative phrase is ". . . told the FBI." PM: you quote (inaccurately) Intrepid researcher Mae Brussell, long overdue for recognition by the wider community of assassination research, confirms, and takes it a bit further: ."Bowen-Osborne had been running a school for highly professional marksmen in Oaxaca, Mexico, since 1934. LS: Confirmed in a September 28 datebook entry: Bowen + Hudson school cover - wife Spain. PM: No sale for me! LS: Opinion, not fact, and hardly black and white. PM: Not surprising that people get confused about Osborne. To be clear, it is Albert Osborne that we are dealing with here. Osborne met John Howard Bowen in North Carolina in the 1920's and thereafter stole & used Bowen's identity. Bowen never worked with Osborne and took no part in Osborne's shenanigans. Osborne travelled to MC in '63 using the Bowen alias because Mexican authorities had previously bunged him out of Mexico as Osborne. The real John Howard Bowen died in 1962 as a result of injuries from a car accident. LS: Can you provide links to your source(s), or notes from interviews you have conducted personally? PM: Not true. Albert visited family in Grimsby in 1953, Daryl Featherstone still had the 'Bible Stories for Children' that Uncle Albert presented to him at Christmas 1953 when I visited him c2019 in Grimsby. LS: thanks for the correction. Obviously it is a serious detail, and could alter Hank's investigation significantly? The salient fact is "Bowen" + Hudson appear in a personal record of events maintained by Pierre Lafitte leading to the assassination in Dallas. LS: My sincere apologies for adding an "r" to your christian name. Had the names Bowen and Hudson not surfaced in Lafitte's 1963 record on a date that coincides with Oswald's trip to Mexico City, we would not have included a reference to Bowen. Are you familiar at all with government documents related to John Wilson Hudson? Do you know any reason why he might be liaising with "Bowen"? sláinte -
Made clear throughout Skorzeny's papers, he and Ilse were firmly entrenched in Franco's Spain after the war where he functioned unfettered as an arms dealer with his good friend Victor Oswald, a contract trainer for Nasser's army, and we know that he was an operative for the Dulles/Stephenson/Donovan World Commerce Corporation and appears in documents related to the CIAs QJ/WIN program among other notable activities. For our purpose, it is the Meadows-Skorzeny oil scheme, comprised of Texas independent oilmen, that ties it altogether. Meanwhile, Ilse traveled the globe under cover of NY based real estate concern, Previews Inc., doing the bidding of her beloved commando. (Previews Inc. was cofounded by Wild Bill Donovan's chief of security, Archbold van Bueren who investigated the Amerasia case, said to have launched what evolved into the Cold War propaganda machine.) Thom Hartmann explains what The Reich which Otto and Ilse continued to serve loyally using Madrid as base will look like in the US if the MAGA cult triumphs and lands Trump back in the Oval Office. Note: in this piece, Hartmann fails to note that the former PM of Spain who was aligned with a branch of the Falange party in his youth still sits on the board of Fox News Corporation. ' . . . My wife Louise and I have been in Spain all this week while Jefferson Smith fills in for me on my radio/TV show, and we’ve learned more than a little that might answer those questions. Most Americans, when they think of fascism, think of goose-stepping National Socialist soldiers and death camps, and believe that that whole system of government was totally crushed by the Allies in 1945 at the end of World War II. But Spain was fascist right up until dictator Francisco Franco’s death in 1975 at the age of 82. There are still many people here in Spain who regard the Franco time fondly; if you were on his side, supported his Falange party — later called simply “The Movement” — or were assiduously nonpolitical, life could be relatively normal. Just this morning a Spaniard we spent a few hours with told us how most people simply avoided politics back during Franco’s time — and are still, to this day, reluctant to discuss the horrors of his regime. “There is talk of reparations for his victims,” she said, “but it is very contentious. Mostly, people avoid discussing those times.” https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/elections/america-after-a-maga-win-in-2024-what-a-fourth-reich-here-might-look-like/ If you weren’t political, life went on like in much of the rest of “free” Europe. People worked, went to theater and dance clubs, raised their kids, vacationed, cared for pets, engaged in hobbies, fell in love or got divorced: As long as Franco’s regime wasn’t mentioned in a negative light, life was good. As in most fascist or neofascist countries throughout history and today, the wealthy were the most well taken care of, but even working people and the poor enjoyed a reasonable social safety net. In 1942, Franco mandated a national health care insurance program, for example, and throughout his reign expanded the number of hospital beds and clinics across the country; in 1951 he led a movement through much of the Spanish speaking world to establish what became something like American Social Security. But… if you spoke out against his fascist movement, job opportunities vanished, you could be imprisoned, or even “disappeared,” as happened to tens of thousands. One of the people we spoke with here told us how the media was entirely in the bag for Franco with pro-fascist slogans and news shorts airing constantly, along with commentary praising him even interspersed into music and programs on radio and TV. Trump and his followers have given us numerous insights into how he’d transform American society to resemble something like Franco’s regime. As with Franco, loyalty to Trump and his cult was a far more important factor in rising through the ranks of government and even private industry. Trump has promised — most recently just a few weeks ago — that he would use the awesome police powers of the federal government to target his political enemies for persecution, imprisonment, and possibly even death. https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/elections/america-after-a-maga-win-in-2024-what-a-fourth-reich-here-might-look-like/
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A research friend recently asked: What does Ganis say about Souetre and/or his relationship with Skorzeny? Does Lafitte appear in the book as well? My response: I believe Major Ganis [author of "The Skorzeny Papers: Evidence of the Plot to Kill JFK"] relies primarily if not solely on Otto's Skorzeny's papers along with open source material related to OAS Captain Jean Souetre. The dissolution agreement of the Ganis-Albarelli collaboration prohibits him from including anything Hank may have shared in confidence from the Lafitte datebook about Souetre's movements in November 1963. Major Ganis was also prohibited from mentioning Pierre Lafitte in context of the Dallas plot for the same reason. It is my understanding that he developed significant skepticism about the datebook so he was entirely comfortable with the restriction. He argued with me that Hank never showed him the physical instrument. I've made attempts to explain to him that — to my knowledge — Hank did not actually take physical possession of the datebook until November 2018; he invited the Major to meet him in London for the launch of authentication and Ganis declined the invitation. By then, their collaboration was "in trouble" primarily over the characterization of Otto Skorzeny as a "FORMER" N.a.z.i.. Hank contended Skorzeny wasn't a "former" N.a.z.i. (see, for example, evidence in the film footage from his 1975 military funeral.) Lafitte hints strongly at an active fascist ideology fueling the plans for the assassination in Dallas. We now realize that "Rudel", Hitler's ace pilot Hans-Ulrich, appears in Lafitte's '63 notes, and that after more than a decade in pursuit of a visa for entry into the US, he suddenly landed one, and landed on the continent around October 9 to attend a conference at Wright-Patterson. The October 9 Lafitte datebook entry spells out active contributors to the plot for Dallas, including Jean Souetre. On Hank's behalf, I should make clear he also believed strongly that the information from Ganis's Skorzeny collection which he presented in "The Skorzeny Papers" would some day prove invaluable to serious historians.
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A Problem with "Prayer Man"
Leslie Sharp replied to Leslie Sharp's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
Thanks, Pete. Very interesting read. It's remarkable he had opted to make a phone call related to the assassination; does he deny that call as well, or is it an instance of presumed identity? To reiterate, we make no mention of Osborne or Bowen traveling on a bus with Oswald because Lafitte makes no such note. -
Did the INS pick up Jean-Rene Souetre in Dallas?
Leslie Sharp replied to Steve Thomas's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
@Ron Bulman, If I can jump in here as coauthor of Coup in Dallas which you reference: as you know, we don't speculate Soutre was in the US; we know he was because Lafitte makes it clear in his 1963 datebook. Of course it is possible Marton and Varga were aliases for those traveling with Souetre. However, Hank referred to them based on the conviction his source was solid, that Hungarian revolutionaries [FNU] Varga and Lajos Marton who in August 1962 had made an attempt on de Gaulle's life in a similar plot to Dealey, traveled with Souetre to MC and into the US. Adding to the tragedy for those who cared deeply about Hank is the loss of his relevant notes and documents which he had yet to incorporate in the endnotes to our manuscript; the Marton - Varga citation was a critical and unfortunate omission. I posit that Hank's source was no less solid than undated photos of a country-club prison, Marton's own words, or records maintained by French authorities — which as I have now confirmed included not just sympathizers, but active Vichy government officials, including Jean Népote — listed in at least one QJ/WIN document and the head of INTERPOL which in 1963 was still riddled with N-azis tied directly to Reinhard Gehlen. In 1963, these "former" Vichy officials were only one degree removed from the strategist for the Dallas plot to assassinate Kennedy, Otto Skorzeny who tapped OAS Capt. Jean Souetre as a lead mechanic. We then factor in Harlon B. Carter, who as head of SW Region of the INS including Dallas had control over Howell Norwood and Virgil Bailey and was responsible for the Texas Mexican border in 1963. Bailey and Howell were responsible for detaining two "French" citizens in Dallas; their official reports have never been made public. Harlon Carter knew as a close comrade in the Border Patrol, sharpshooter Charles 'Boots' Askins — a military attaché at the US Embassy in Madrid where he liaised directly with Otto Skorzeny in the early '50s. Askins is named in the Lafitte datebook within hours of the names Souetre and Col. Jack Canon - another psychopath and expert marksman who served as Charles Willoughby's head of the Z. Org in Korea. Willoughby features in a half dozen Lafitte datebook entries. Returning to convicted assassin Marton, according to an article published in Hungary Today on the anniversary of the Revolution, at 90+ he remains unrepentant for his role in Petit Clamart. The article goes on to reveal that he remains convinced America was the enemy of Hungarian "democracy," an assertion that is utterly laughable when one considers autocrat Viktor Orbán has been the PM of the country since 2010. (of interest to those who follow the trajectory from 1963 to the current political crisis in America: Just last month, May 23, 2023 — Hungary's nationalist leader Orbán said he "wants Trump to win U.S. election" — CNBC reporting. Hungarian-American Sebastian Gorka, Trump's deputy assistant in 2017, served as advisor to Orbán in 1998. Gorka hosts the podcast "America First with Sebastian Gorka". You can't make this stuff up. I've wondered if the vigorous defense of Marton on EF is somehow a reflection of current political sympathies -
A Problem with "Prayer Man"
Leslie Sharp replied to Leslie Sharp's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
Got it. Thanks for the clarification. -
A Problem with "Prayer Man"
Leslie Sharp replied to Leslie Sharp's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
I appreciate you hanging in on this. We can wrap it up after your responses, and of course you can choose to ignore this last round altogether. RO1 Oswald was in custody for about 43 hours until he was murdered. We know almost nothing we can rely on about what he was asked or what he said during that time. LS 1: I think you're saying the limited notes of his interrogations that ended up in NARA reveal very little. Can you clarify at what hour the questioning first turned to the assassination of the president? RO1 In his first interrogation he did offer an alibi when asked. LS 1: It's odd to emphasize "when asked" because he's being accused of either shooting a DP officer and/or the president of the United States. If he was totally innocent — meaning oblivious of the plot — wouldn't you agree he would have seized every opportunity to state spontaneously and unequivocally "I Was Outside." I don't know why that's difficult to acknowledge, except that his failure to do is indication he was indeed cognizant of aspects of the plot and realized he'd been manipulated into serving as the pigeon. As I recall, an early iteration of the PM argument was, Oswald Is Innocent. From my perspective, that's when the credibility began to slide. RO1 We have no idea if he said any more about that as you think logic dictates. If he did, it's a safe bet we wouldn't know about it. They tried to suppress his alibi LS 1: Meaning the "out with Shelley in front" alibi? Or, the "I'm just a patsy" alibi? If it was only a single statement — in response to a single question — "Out with Shelley in front," it is a very weak alibi. However, if you're convinced he said more and/but we'll never know he said more, that should be factored in. RO1 and killed him so he couldn't defend himself and they were free to create their own story. LS 1: who specifically do you posit arranged for Ruby to kill Oswald so he couldn't defend himself; who do you posit was responsible ... as in actively involved... in creating their own story? RO1 Any lawyer would have advised him to keep his mouth shut, particularly about his alibi, until he had representation. LS 1: but he didn't have a lawyer, so why argue that he would keep his mouth shut, particularly about his alibi, of his own volition? Inherent distrust of authority, OR, was he processing his being the fall guy for an operation he knew at least something about? RO1 RO1: Obviously not. I don't know that and neither does anyone else. LS 1: I'll let this slide. Something doesn't make sense, but I don't think it alters the salient issue one way or the other. RO1 So if Oswald was PM that would establish that he didn't kill JFK and was a patsy as he claimed. LS 1: Or . . . Oswald was the patsy, and he doesn't need to be PM. RO1 As indicated in the LaFitte datebook. And it would blow up the WR in the process to provide a basis for determining who actually did the murder. LS 1: As indicated previously in this thread, my concern is that the now somewhat high profile PM hypothesis could collapse and the blowback would be, "see! we told you Oswald was the assassin." RO1 All of your points that I disagreed with and tried to refute, including some I wondered where they came from, was your way of trying to firm up and verify the PM story, not an indication you disagreed with it. LS 1: But I didn't say I was trying to firm up and verify the PM story, I said I saw a problem with Prayer Man (ergo the title of the post) because he's standing outside the building and his designated role as patsy is compromised by being caught on film. RO1 PM is consistent with the Oswald as a patsy story in Coup in Dallas. LS 1: No. Oswald was the patsy as defined in Lafitte's records. Was Oswald the PM is the question at hand. -
A Problem with "Prayer Man"
Leslie Sharp replied to Leslie Sharp's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
One person's "idle chit-chat" is another dozen researchers' concerted effort toward a permanent take down of the official version of the assassination AND identification of who killed JFK. Not a parlor game for me. I guess I misinterpreted your contribution as genuine interest. -
It's lengthy. I'll see how much I can include in a single comment here. Byrds, Planes, and an Automobile One of the men with whom the truth may lie, concerning the JFK assassination's links to the University of Texas, was one of UT's most ardent supporters who happened to own the building that has become synonymous with the assassination. His ties to UT are well known. His numerous ties to the assassination are lesser known. One of his least known ties, it appears, is to the UT Rambler. Somewhat like the plot to assassinate Trotsky and most unlike the failed assassination conspiracy against Hitler in which Allen Dulles and Mary Bancroft participated, the plot to assassinate President Kennedy seems to have been sophisticated, intricate, and meticulously planned. It can be presumed therefore that, as researcher William Weston has written, "One of the most critical elements of this plot was the Texas School Book Depository." In addition to both the circumstances of Oswald's employment at the TSBD, and the routing of the motorcade by the building, Weston points out that there would have been a need for a team of plotters to make detailed plans inside the building well in advance of November 22, including firing angles, planting of false evidence, and getaway plans. This could have been done, Weston says, by six TSBD employees assigned to lay new flooring on the fifth and sixth floors from late October until November 22.298 It is a plausible argument, which brings up the concern that any long- term improvement to the property such as a flooring project would have to have been of interest to, if not directly initiated and contracted by, the building's owner. Roy Truly, the "superintendent" who hired Oswald was "a building manager."299 In a story published the day after the assassination, Dallas Morning News reporter Kent Biffle referred to Roy Truly as "Superintendent of the textbook building...."300 The floor crew was supervised directly by William Shelly, "the assistant manager who was in charge of the floor laying project."301 These titles imply that they were building managers more closely associated with the landlord than with the private textbook brokerage firm which leased the building.302 The employment of these individuals would seem to be a relatively easy fact for researchers verify. Weston writes, "The electrical power for the whole building and even the telephone stopped working about five minutes prior to the assassination.303 How two such entirely different systems as the electricity and the phones could go out simultaneously is beyond explanation, unless one can assume that the interruption was deliberate."304 Although this claim is currently in dispute, it cannot be denied that the conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy would have involved intimate knowledge of the TSBD building. Truly and Shelly were possibly employed to some extent by the building's landlord, David Harold Byrd. Dallas oilman David Harold Byrd, born April 24, 1900, was the cousin of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and his brother, Senator Harry F. Byrd, "the leader of conservative opinion in the United States."305 D.H. Byrd owned the Texas School Book Depository building from the 1930s to the 1970s. In May 1964, he had the "Oswald window" removed and kept it as part of his estate.306 In 1972, after Byrd sold the building to Mr. Aubrey Mayhew, an arsonist set it on fire. It was saved, however. Shortly thereafter Mayhew defaulted on his payments to Republic National Bank of Dallas307 and the property reverted to the Byrd family.308 In 1975 Byrd sold it again.309 Byrd had a close relationship with both Lyndon Johnson and John Connally. Evidently not satisfied with being the cousin of a powerful and respected U.S. senator,310 for D.H. Byrd, "Another goal was to reach a rapport with the politicians who ran things, especially at the seat of state government in Austin....Sam Rayburn, Morrie Sheppard, John Connally, and Lyndon Johnson on the national scene were to become men I could go to any time that I wanted action, and so were a succession of Texas governors. Among the ablest was John Connally...who says he's in my debt for pleading his cause... with...Ida Nell (Nellie) Brill, Sweetheart of The University of Texas in 1940...."311 Byrd probably also knew George de Mohrenschildt, David Atlee Phillips and George Bush through the Dallas Petroleum Club.312 In 1945, future club member de Mohrenschildt obtained a masters degree in petroleum engineering after eighteen months at the University of Texas at Austin. 313 During that year he was investigated by the FBI and ONI. That same year he worked under Warren W. Smith, president of Pantipec Oil, owned by the parents of William F. Buckley, Jr. Smith and de Mohrenschildt soon quit and formed the Cuban-Venezuelan Oil Voting Trust Company. When Castro took over, this company forfeited oil leases covering about half of Cuba. Jack Crichton of Army Intelligence Reserve Service, mentioned earlier, had also worked under Warren Smith at Pantipec, which sells to Sun Oil.314 By 1957, George de Mohrenschildt had established himself in oil ventures ranging from wildcat drilling to aerial surveillance and had begun working for the CIA.315 It is probable that Byrd knew David Ferrie and he definitely knew the very top Air Force brass through Civil Air Patrol (CAP). CAP Captain David Ferrie was CAP cadet Lee Harvey Oswald's trainer.316 Byrd was a co-founder of Civil Air Patrol. Displayed in his office, at 1110 Tower Petroleum Building in Dallas, were many pictures of himself in uniform with aviation dignitaries and Air Force Generals.317 He was an aviation buff but could not become a fighter pilot because his eyesight was bad.318 He co-founded CAP six days before Pearl Harbor. 319 After World War II he spearheaded the establishment of the Cadet Program in CAP and contributed many scholarships to its cadets.320 In Dallas on May 24, 1963, the U.S. Air Force presented to Byrd its Scroll of Appreciation, which reads: For rendering meritorious service to the United States Air Force from Dec. 1941 to April, 1960. Motivated by a strong sense of patriotism, Mr. Byrd played a major part in the successful operation of the Texas Wing, Civil Air Patrol, throughout World War II. After the war he assisted in the incorporation of the Civil Air Patrol and its designation as an Auxiliary of the Air Force. Mr. Byrd helped initiate the International Air Cadet Exchange and worked closely with the Air Cadet League of Canada. The many scholarships established or supported by Mr. Byrd have aided countless cadets in the attainment of additional training and higher education. His contributions of material and personal aircraft to the use of Civil Air Patrol materially aided in the performance of its mission.. The distinctive accomplishments of Mr. Byrd have earned for him the sincere gratitude of the United States Air Force. (Signed) - Curtis E. Le May Chief of Staff (Signed) - Eugene M. Zuckert Secretary of the Air Force321 D.H. Byrd counted among his close friends one of the most famous aviators, General Jimmy Doolittle.322 Byrd and Doolittle were hunting buddies. Of Doolittle he wrote, "Having a fondness for being Number One in all my undertakings, it doesn't come naturally for me to confess that Doolittle is the one man whom I would gladly serve in any venture as Number Two."323 On one intriguing trip without Doolittle, Byrd went hunting in central Africa in November and December 1963. It was his first such trip of five during his lifetime outside of the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.324 Byrd prepared well for the trip: Temco, Inc. was an aircraft company founded by D.H. Byrd and which later merged with his friend James Ling's electronics company (1960), and aircraft manufacturer Chance Vought Corporation (1961) to form Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). Byrd became a director325 of LTV and bought, along with Ling, 132,000 shares of LTV in November 1963.326 Byrd then left the country to go on his two- month safari in central Africa. He returned in January to find his good friend Lyndon Johnson president of the United States, his building famous, and a large defense contract awarded to LTV to build fighter planes -- to be paid for out of the 1965 budget which had not yet been approved by Congress.327 Mac Wallace, who received a five-year suspended sentence in the shooting death of John Douglas Kiner in Austin on October 22, 1951, went to work for Temco, Inc. of Garland, Texas five months after his trial. He remained in that position until February 1961, four months before Henry Marshall's mysterious death on June 3, 1961, when he transferred to the Anaheim, California offices of LTV.328 The transfer required a background check by the Navy. "The most intriguing part of the Wallace case was how a convicted murderer was able to get a job with defense contractors. Better yet, how was he able to get a security clearance? Clinton Peoples [the Texas Ranger Captain who investigated the Marshall and Kiner murders]329 reported that when the original security clearance was granted, he asked the Naval intelligence officer handling the case how such a person could get the clearance. `Politics,' the man replied. When Peoples asked who would have that much power, the simple answer was, `the vice president,' who at the time was Lyndon Johnson. Years later, after the story broke [of Billie Sol Estes' March 20, 1984 testimony that implicated Lyndon Johnson, Malcom Wallace, and Clifton Carter in the death of Henry Marshall], that investigator could not recall the conversation with Peoples but he did say no one forced him to write a favorable report. He also added that he wasn't the one that made the decision to grant the clearance. The whole matter might have been solved with a peek at that original report but unfortunately, when the files were checked, that particular report was suspiciously missing. It has never been seen since."330 Wallace was transferred and given clearance in February 1961. "In January 1961, the very month Johnson was sworn in as vice president, and the month Henry Marshall was in Dallas discussing how to combat Estes-like scams, Billie Sol Estes learned through his contacts that the USDA was investigating the allotment scheme and that Henry Marshall might end up testifying. The situation was supposedly discussed by Estes, Johnson, and Carter in the backyard of LBJ's Washington home. Johnson was, according to Estes, alarmed that if Marshall started talking it might result in an investigation that would implicate the vice president. At first it was decided to have Marshall transferred to Washington, but when told Marshall had already refused such a relocation, LBJ, according to Estes, said simply, `Then we'll have to get rid of him.'"331 According to Craig Zirbel, author of The Texas Connection, in May 1962, "...Johnson flew to Dallas aboard a military jet to privately meet with Estes and his lawyers on a plane parked away from the terminal....This incident would probably have remained secret except that LBJ's plane suffered a mishap in landing at Dallas. When investigative reporters attempted to obtain the tower records for the flight mishap the records were "sealed by government order."332 Still more LTV intrigues were revealed by Peter Dale Scott: "A fellow- director of [Jack Alston] Crichton's333 firm of Dorchester Gas Producing was D.H. Byrd, an oil associate of Sid Richardson and Clint Murchison, and the LTV director who teamed up with James Ling to buy 132,000 shares of LTV in November 1963. While waiting to be sworn in as President in Dallas on November 22, Johnson spoke by telephone with J.W. Bullion, a member of the Dallas law firm (Thompson, Wright, Knight, and Simmons) which had the legal account for Dorchester Gas Producing and was represented on its board. The senior partner of the law firm, Dwight L. Simmons, had until 1960 sat on the board of Chance Vought Aircraft, a predecessor of Ling-Temco-Vought. One week after the assassination, Johnson named Bullion, who has been described as his `business friend and lawyer,' to be one of the two trustees handling the affairs of the former LBJ Co. while its owner was President."334
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Jim D is now promoting EMERALD ROBINSON
Leslie Sharp replied to Joseph Backes's topic in JFK Assassination Debate
@Ron Bulman Thanks! I was writing from memory. Wichita Falls, not Tulsa. (Tulsa was another hot case JFK had instigated - as I recall.) Do we mention Albert Meadows in the WF case? The cobbler has no shoes. I've dispensed all of my hardcopies of Coup and am waiting on a shipment; and my Word app crashed the other day and I lost the M/s we submitted to the publishers.