Leslie Sharp

Courtesy of intrepid researcher @Robert Montenegro . . . One of the first places in military history you see a "L-Shaped" ambush taught to infantrymen, in a standardized field manual, is the Nazi German guerilla warfare manual titled "Oberkommando der Wehrmacht Nr. 03268/44, Merkblatt 69/2, "Bandenbekämpfung," 6.5.1944" SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny was the author of that field manual and SS-Sturmbannführer Arthur Ehrhardt oversaw the training described in it (both men were CIA assets and luminaries of the post-WWII "Kameradenwerk der Bruderschaft" organization). Here is a photograph of the original illustration of an "L-Shaped" ambush from the Nazi German guerilla warfare manual: The Skorzeny-Ehrhardt approved guerilla warfare manual also states that the rifle commandos need to get jobs that employ them in and around the kill zone, in advance of an assassination plot, so they can best plan how to attack their target and calm suspicion from locals (who may become worried if they see unfamiliar faces in their town).

' . . . The familiarity with which [Allen] Dulles addresses [Ret. Gen. Charles A.] Willoughby in the March 18 note dispels any claim that his association with the general had always been at arm’s length. Willoughby responds with equal effusiveness on July 15, 1963. By this time, Lafitte, who was embroiled in tracking the progress of what appears to be preliminary plans to assassinate Kennedy, had already mentioned Willoughby in his datebook on six dates. In the letter to Dulles, Willoughby apologizes for the delay in responding, and suggests to Dulles a “thorough review in his own diminutive paper, the Foreign Intel Digest.” He further recommends that “a preface to Dulles’s book be authored by an outsider and vet of the intelligence fraternity…” followed by, “In general terms, I speculate on the possibility of collaboration in some related fields.” Willoughby closes with emphasis on his language skills and history of having lived and worked “in these countries for years.” Willoughby’s travel itinerary indicates that on or about October 10, 1963, he departed the US for specific destinations in Europe before attending the annual meeting of the International Committee for the Defense of Christian Culture (ICDCC) in Lucerne, Switzerland on the 14th and 15th. In April of the previous year, the general had secured a membership in the ICDCC’s international directorate, as well as a membership for his friend and founder of the Crusade for Freedom, Tulsa-based Billy James Hargis. The ICDCC was described by Willoughby as “Pan European”—transcending national boundaries. It has strong affiliates in Scandinavia... Spain, Austria, the Netherlands and Italy. It recently moved into Latin America negotiating for a branch in Montevideo and seeking similar cooperation in Argentina as well as consideration for an African potential.’ Assassination researchers will recall that it was Hargis who organized “Operation Midnight Ride,” a six-week cross tour designed to warn America that its Christian ideals were under immediate threat of Communist forces on American soil. Joining Harris in the operation, launched in February 1963, was (Ret.) General Edwin A. Walker. Although he was not a scheduled speaker, it is clear from Willoughby’s notes about his trip to Lucerne that he used the annual congress as an occasion to advance whatever was on his mind. Present in Lucerne was Theodor Oberlander who featured prominently on the list of ICDCC speakers. Oberlander, coordinator of the Ukrainian Waffen SS units during the war and directly responsible for crimes committed by the Nachtigall Unit (also known as the Ukrainian Nightingale Battalion Group), working in support of Stetzko’s OUN execution “squads.” Despite being an avowed Nazi, Oberlander had the support of Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, who said of him, “he never did anything dishournable [sic].” In later years, Willoughby would speak fondly of his frequent visits with Oberlander. According to Prof Scott: “Fifteen days before he was shot down, President Kennedy was warned directly that assassins were being trained in Russia to commit murders in the U.S. and England…” The notice originated with conservative Charles Kersten of Wisconsin. Critical to the success of the assassination plot was infecting the country with wild speculation about an immediate Communist threat, driven home even within the administration weeks before Dallas, ensuring that many within the D.C. establishment would immediately conclude that the president had been taken out by “some silly little Communist.” Scott concludes this area of study with, “Three or four days after the Kennedy assassination, a Munich right-wing newspaper linked to the ABN—the Deutsche National-Zeitung und Soldaten-Zeitung—was able to publish the hitherto unrevealed story that Oswald shot at General Walker…” The legend of LHO was complete. Postscript In 1976, April 22 to be exact, at the behest of the Inspector General, the CIA committed to file a Memorandum For The Record, “Subject: Assassination of Stefan [sic] Bandera.” This memo for the record was under the aegis of IG John Waller. That year was Bush’s initial access to agency documents, including the assassination of President Kennedy. As referenced previously, during his tenure, Director Bush also asked for the files on Jack Ruby’s 1959 visit with Santo Trafficante in Trecornia Prison in Cuba. The four-page memo to file regarding the assassination of the head of the ABN, Stepan Bandera, requisitioned by Waller goes to extreme lengths speculating about the circumstances of the murder of Bandera. Reads the memorandum: [this] has been written in an attempt to determine whether there is sufficient information to support the KGB agent… claim that he assassinated Ukrainian emigre leader Stefan [sic] Bandera in Munich in October 1959…’ One observation states, “Results of the autopsy on Bandera’s body showed traces of potassium cyanide positioning, but it was never established that the cyanide was the cause of death.” The delivery system of the cyanide was a custom-built spray gun. As is so often the case in the intelligence community, a close relative of John Waller, Martha Waller Moore had coauthored Cypher and Code with former spy and relative by marriage, Dan Moore. The reader is reminded that Dan Moore accompanied J. H. Rand to Moscow to ensure that Robert Webster—the chemist behind the industrial use “spray gun”—was returned to the US In September/October 1963, a notice was floated in D.C. news outlets that the OUN was planning to relocate their headquarters from Munich, Germany to the US capital. There is no indication that the move actually transpired. . . . '

@David Boylan Is there any chance we can get back on topic, CARL TRETTIN, or do we need to examine the hierarchy further before considering his history with the agency in Europe prior to arriving on the scene in 1963? Do we have an organigram of Trettin's role within COG? How might his history in Berlin and Munich dovetail with William King Harvey's ZRRIFLE; how does Trettin's handling of Guitart impact our understanding of the Odio incident; was Trettin in frequent contact with Henry Hecksher; is AMWORLD worth revisiting, etc.

Paul, I'm curious if you were satisfied with the Reiner-O'Brien caveats, particularly related to the shooters identified in their podcast? I wonder if the 'build up' was overstated and perhaps a disservice to their efforts. On Melber's MSNBC segment Reiner promoted the podcast (paraphrasing) "and we will name the shooters." I didn't hear any caveats during the interview.

Do you have the org. chart to indicate Trettin's position within the hierarchy? Structure isn't critical to this particular analysis; in fact, hasn't it been established that certain of these officers could have been operating outside officialdom if for no other justification than plausible denial? Was Trettin operating within a sub-structure created by Chief of Counter Intel?

@David Boylan @Gerry Down How does this excellent structural background relate to the topic of the thread, CARL TRETTIN?

104-10172-10106: GUITART, COMPIZANO AUGUSTIN. 07/23/63: CIA document: PROVISIONAL OPERATIONAL APPROVAL: Memo for Chief, SAS/OS - C. Trettin: SUBJECT: Guitart Campuzano, Agustin. NUMBER: 201-727514. REFERENCE: Your memorandum, dated 18 June 1963. "A Provisional Operational Approval is granted for the use of this Subject as set forth below. A Provisional Operational Approval issued by CI Staff grants the same authority, on a temporary basis, for the use of an individual as the authority granted in an Operational Approval unless otherwise specified by CI/OA. It is based, however, only on preliminary file checks and investigation and is subject to a further final review when all investigation is completed." 104-10172-10106: GUITART, COMPIZANO AUGUSTIN. 08/05/63: Letter from Carl Teels to Dr. Guitart: "Dear Dr. Guitart, Please excuse my writing in English but I find myself short of time and it is quicker if I write in English. I am returning herewith the papers you forwarded to me and am also enclosing a visa waiver for (REDACTION). Visa waivers are of little value these days because of various restrictions that have arisen in connection with travel to the United States from Cuba via another country. This situation I will discuss with you when I am in New Orleans which I expect will be during the week of 12 August 1963. You mentioned that your son, (REDACTION) might contact me. To date, he has not called so I trust that there has been no need on his part to see me. Since I have received no word from you I suppose Rene has not yet answered your letter. Let us hope that we hear from him soon. I would like to discuss with you the possibility of contacting your friend (REDACTION) of (REDACTION). Perhaps by the time I arrive you will have had some good ideas on how best to carry this out. I'm looking forward to seeing you and will call you as soon as I arrive in order to make an appointment to see you. Best regards, Carl Teels." A month after Rene Lafitte tells her husband to ignore Bill Dalzell’s antics which appear to have been related to Ed Butler, and just days after Oswald paid a fine for the August 9 demonstration, Pierre makes a note on August 16: Antoine’s Room – Martello, E. Joanides [sic] and Labadie. Quigly [sic] Interview st. demonstration Call Holdout Martello is a reference to New Orleans Police Department officer, Lt. Francis L. Martello (not to be confused with Francis “Monk” Martello). Lt. Martello happened to pass by as the August 9th confrontation between Oswald and Bringuier—described as nothing more than shadowboxing—broke out. According to Martello’s incident report, “[Oswald] seemed to have set them up, so to speak, to create an incident, but when the incident occurred, he remained absolutely peaceful and gentle.” Although official records do not explain why Tampa based FBI Special Agent Stephen J. Labadie might have been in the French Quarter in New Orleans on August 16, a Lafitte entry of the following month, on September 24, reads “-Oswald D/T (Labadie/Florida),” indicating that SA Labadie was directly engaged in matters of keen interest to Pierre Lafitte and his superiors. Quigly is a misspelling of the name Quigley, FBI Special Agent John L. Quigley who interviewed Oswald in the New Orleans jail before he paid a $10 fine and was released. Holdout was a mystery. Perhaps Lafitte was referencing a confidential informer, or perhaps a code-name for a program. There are also reasons to speculate holdout could be a high-level double agent whose identity was so significant to a much larger set of circumstances that were unfolding under Angleton’s control that Lafitte dare not speak or write his name. In the following chapter of this investigation, we consider the possibility that "holdout" was the moniker of someone in the highest echelon of domestic intelligence who, having been persuaded that there was “righteous” justification for an assassination that would impact global politics for decades, came on board with the plot to permanently remove John Kennedy from that stage. As noted previously, some datebook entries may have been created after the fact—a reflection on prior events, or notes for future reference—so we can’t know with certainty that Lafitte was present at this meeting at Antoine’s, nor is it clear that the meeting was held on the 16th. We do know however that on the 16th, Oswald was less than a fifteen minute walk from Antoine’s, this time standing in front of Clay Shaw’s International Trade Mart, passing out leaflets again. Lafitte’s datebook remains dormant for the next four days; then on August 21st, the day of the radio debate hosted by Bill Stuckey, he records: Talk Joanides [sic] 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] The cornerstone of the two entries made within a week of one another is George Joannides who maintained addresses in both Miami and, for a period in 1963, New Orleans. Investigative journalist Jefferson Morley, whose groundbreaking lawsuit against the CIA continues to reverberate, pursued George Joannides’ role as agency liaison to the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978. Morley revealed that the agency personnel file for Joannides indicates that in 1963 he served as the chief of the Psychological Warfare branch of the Miami station with a staff of twenty-four and a budget of $1.5 million. As such, Joannides was also in charge of handling the anti-Castro student group that Lee Harvey Oswald had tried to infiltrate in New Orleans in August 1963. Known as the Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil (the Student Revolutionary Directorate), Joannides was responsible for guiding and monitoring the young Cuban exiles. According to the Directorate’s leaders in Miami, funding also supported the DRE chapters in New Orleans and other cities. Morley shares that at least two leaders recall having had a close but stormy relationship with George Joannides whom they knew only as “Howard.” The records of the Directorate, now in the University of Miami archives, support their memories. The group’s archives show that “Howard” worked closely with the Directorate on a wide variety of issues. In his essay, “What Jane Roman Said,” Morley writes: While the details of Joannides’ motivations remain concealed, the results of his actions in 1963 are well documented. According to a Kennedy White House memo, the CIA “guided and monitored” the Cuban Student Directorate in mid-1963. Declassified CIA cables show that “Howard” demanded that the group clear their public statements with him. In his job evaluation from the summer of 1963, Joannides was credited having established control over the group. He dispensed funds from the AMSPELL budget, which the Directorate’s leaders in Miami and New Orleans used to publicly identify Oswald as a supporter of the Castro government in August 1963. AMSPELL funds were also used within hours of the [sic] Kennedy’s death to link Oswald to Castro. The results of his expenditures, it must be said, were consistent with US policy. The former Directorate leaders say their purpose in launching a propaganda blitz against Oswald was to discredit the Castro regime and create public pressure for a US attack on Cuba . . . Morley also writes that Joannides “kept his hand in all of this secret. Joannides certainly knew of the Directorate’s contacts with Oswald within hours of Kennedy’s death, if not earlier [emphasis added].” Also according to Morley, “Joannides did not report his knowledge in written documents. Such records might have been turned over to law enforcement and thus exposed the agency’s operations to public view. His actions were consistent with his duty to protect “sources and methods” and with Jane Roman’s observation that SAS was keeping information about Oswald “under their tight control.”” With Lafitte’s August 16 entry, those questions are laid partially to rest. We now know that Joannides met with FBI and New Orleans police on the heels of Oswald’s street demonstration of the 9th. Whether Joannides turned over records during that meeting, or merely gave FBI SA Labadie and SA Quigley, along with NOPD Martello, a verbal update on agency operations is unknown.

Fully agree. Lot's of workarounds!

In réponse to the suggestion that since Canon and Souetre corroborate the Lafitte datebook, I should be encouraged: Whether the datebook aligns with alternative investigations is less a concern for me than the inevitability that the full and accurate account of Dallas, 11.22.63, falls further through the cracks with every 'sensational' reveal unless we speak out. The assassination may be reconciled for the sake of a historical record limited to generalizations, three-letter acronyms and unresolved anomalies (e.g. lines of communication and coordination between Souetre or Canon with Diaz Garcia and Nicoletti), but the cold case murder investigation is either solved or it isn't. Lafitte identifies other skilled sharpshooters than are named in this podcast. As a side note: a marksman contacted me this afternoon to point out that it's known in his world Nicolleti 'couldn't load a rifle.' He was known as a two in the hat shooter ... you put a guy in the back seat behind the target who sits to the right of the driver in the front. Term was coined back when men wore hats. Two behind the right ear. Can't miss. I haven't listened to the early episodes of this podcast but I'm fairly confident that if, for instance Otto and Ilse, Hjalmar Schacht, Hans Rudel, or Crichton, or Pierre Lafitte were mentioned, I would have heard about it. Dick Russell was aware they are prominent in Hank's investigation and why; Skyhorse/Hector/Tony were certainly aware and might have insisted that RFK Jr. at least peruse Coup with the possibility of reviewing the datebook first hand. since when does anything one person like Garland Williams says be considered definitive? Then we can add Williams to dozens of other testimonials, including Files, Plumlee, Hemming, Morrow, Bishop, Marcello, Kimble, Hunt, MacKenzie et al. Related specifically to Diaz Garcia, I think I've shared Hank's Jan 16, 2019 in the past. Dick was made aware while he was still in active collaboration with Rob Reiner that Lafitte commiserated with Angleton regarding Cubans in direct capacities. This was just six weeks after Hank took possession of the datebook, two weeks after Hank took possession of the ledger sheets and 48 hours before Hank fell seriously ill. (I can't help but revisit the timeline with a renewed alarm that Hank's emails may have been hacked.) From: Hank Albarelli <hankalbarelli@icloud.com> Date: January 16, 2019 at 7:06:54 AM EST To: dickrusl Subject: Note to Angleton There’s a very interesting post-assassination note to Angleton from Lafitte . . . that points up two things: . . . and Lafitte agrees with Angleton on the merits of having not used Cubans in “direct capacities.” . . .

He was on to them very early, along with follow-up on the Souetre angle introduced by Texas researchers in the early days. But, you can't have Willoughby and Canon and leave the rest on the cutting room floor. As I said to Jeff Morley when he reviewed the Lafitte datebook in person in NYC and honed in on Harvey, you can't have Harvey without factoring in Willoughby; you can't have Willoughby without Otto and Ilse Skorzeny; you can't have Willoughby and Canon without Askins; you can't have Souetre without Lamy Filiol Litt (and likely Pugibet); you can't have Souetre without the Hungarians; you can't have the "W team" without R. Emmett Johnson; you can't have any of them without Jack Crichton coordinating on the ground. And who commissioned and coordinated Diaz Garcia? Nicolleti? Were they operating independently of Otto Skorzeny's strategic plan for Dealey? How did the teams avoid shooting each other if they're positioned in a virtual circle unless they were highly coordinated?

I hear you. 🙂. Maybe grab a pint and elaborate here on EF? If Oswald was on her doorstep, then he left and went "somewhere" for the next few days prior to surfacing at the Y. Right?

It's my understanding they relied on Jefferson Morley to a degree; Dick said that he had not seen the final script when I last communicated with him.

Do you expand on who might have been impersonating Oswald in Mexico City? Do you elaborate on Oswald's whereabouts pre and post the incident at Odio's condo? Had he relocated to Dallas from New Orleans at that juncture?

Indeed. Dueling confessions. Without coordination, this is a keystone cop caper.

It is my understanding that Dick Russell was consultant for Rob Reiner's initial project, the forerunner to the Reiner-O'Brien project and podcast. Hank Albarelli had already provided Dick with specifics from his investigation, including details found in the Lafitte datebook, before Coup in Dallas was published. It strikes me as most unfortunate that they stopped short of exposing the international para-fascist component of the cabal, a.k.a. Otto and Ilse Skorzeny, Leon Degrelle, Hans-Ulrich Rudel et al in league Gen. Edwin Walker and Dulles's close confidant Gen. Charles Willoughby which fleshes out why OAS Capt. Jean Rene Souetre in particular was among the teams brought on board. They also fail to acknowledge that award-winning sniper Col. Charles Askins (who had served in Madrid while Otto and Ilse set up shop) joined Jack Canon, and that trained sniper R. Emmett Johnson was on "W's team," a likely reference to Roscoe White. Have they buried the indispensable role played by Jack Crichton on the ground in Dallas and the implications of his business history with Otto Skorzeny in Madrid? And where is James Angleton? Who coordinated Nicolleti and Diaz Garcia? Who coordinated the coordinators? I'll reiterate once again, CIA's Garland Williams told Hank Albarelli that "the Cubans" would never have been used as snipers in this particular operation. FOREWORD by Dick Russell The book you are about to read contains the strongest evidence ever published of a high-level conspiracy by the military-industrial complex and its ultra-right-wing allies to assassinate President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. As an author who has spent years researching and writing three books on the subject, I state that unequivocally. The narrative by H. P. Albarelli, Jr., coauthored with Leslie Sharp and Alan Kent, is based upon a 1963 datebook, or desk diary, kept by a mysterious, deep-cover intelligence operative named Jean Pierre Lafitte. Albarelli had written about Lafitte’s connection to the CIA in his 2009 book, A Terrible Mistake. I’ll let the authors describe how he gained access to the datebook. . . . Some of the people identified as apparent conspirators in the datebook will be familiar to students of the Kennedy assassination. Others are named for the first time publicly. The interlocking connections between Texas oil interests and intelligence operatives are examined in detail, as well as the global reach involving fascist elements threatened by the Kennedy administration’s move toward peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union. Here established beyond doubt is that the real perpetrators needed a fall guy to take the rap as a lone, Left-leaning gunman. The set-up of Lee Harvey Oswald began many months before, carefully orchestrated by a cabal of evil geniuses in espionage. One of these was James Angleton, then chief of CIA Counterintelligence. Another was Charles Willoughby, who formerly served as spymaster for General Douglas MacArthur. A third was Otto Skorzeny, Hitler’s favorite commando, aided by the US to establish a postwar domicile in Franco’s Spain, where he created secret camps to train assassins. In implicating Willoughby (whose possible role was first raised in my book The Man Who Knew Too Much), French hitman Jean Rene Souetre, soldier-of-fortune Thomas Eli Davis, Jr., and oil industrialist Jack Crichton, Coup in Dallas opens wider doors to which researchers have been seeking keys for years. . . . '

The Greenspun story is very interesting. I believe Phelan and Lafitte recount it in a series published in True, The Man's Magazine. The links may still be active on the net. I'll check.

‘Star-studded’ birthday party fundraiser for RFK Jr. turns into debacle before it even begins' By Social Links forCarlos Greer Updated Jan. 6, 2024, ' . . . The PAC Fighting 4 One America is producing the event and another PAC, American Values 2024, is footing the bill for the fundraiser, which is set to take place in Indian Wells, Ca., on Jan 22.' https://pagesix.com/2024/01/05/gossip/star-studded-birthday-party-fundraiser-for-rfk-jr-turns-into-debacle-before-it-even-begins/ Fighting 4 One America Daphne Barak is a news innovator, film and television producer, geo-political subject matter expert, and author. She made the biggest ratings in the US and cover stories worldwide for two decades. Known for landing the big “get” interviews, Barak has spent the last two decades speaking with heads of state, royals, Hollywood stars, musicians, athletes, artists, and newsmakers when their stories were “breaking news” around the world. In addition, she was also a Trump delegate for the 2016 and 2020 elections. Erbil Gunasti is a film and television producer, geo-political subject matter expect, and author, specializing in socio-economic military strategies. Based at the United Nations in New York, Gunasti represented eight prime ministers of Turkey for fifteen years, including the current president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ran for mayor in Palm Springs, and speaks half a dozen languages. In addition, he was also a Trump delegate for the 2016 and 2020 elections. https://fighting4oneamerica.com/about-us/ American Values 2024 Tony Lyons — Co-Founder, American Values 2024 & President & Publisher, Skyhorse Publishing Tony Lyons is an attorney and president of Skyhorse Publishing. Founded in 2006, the independent book publisher has produced an eclectic and broad mix of work, from nature and sports to current events, politics, health, and fiction. Through it's twenty-three imprints, Skyhorse boasts fifty-Seven New York Times bestsellers and a 10,000 title backlist. Among its stable of authors is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Mark Groton — Co-Founder, American Values 2024, Chairman of Tower Research Capital LLC Mark Groton is the founder and Chairman of Tower Research Capital LLC, one of the leading computerized trading firms in the world. He was also founder and CEO of the file-sharing company LimeWire. Gorton is a life-long advocate for livable streets, alternative transportation, and open government. He founded Open Plans in 1999 and is also a Founding Board Member of Reinvent Albany, a non-profit that seeks ethical New Yor5k government and fair elections. Groton is also the executive producer of the November 2022 documentary, Four Died Trying, which explores the extraordinary lives and calamitous deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, the Reverend Martin Luther King, and Robert F. Kennedy. https://www.av24.org

Right, and I was only confirming that Lafitte was a master of disguise. I've attempted to link the photo but it exceeds my EF limit.

Albarelli provides insight into Lafitte prior to the murder of Frank Olson in this passage, ' . . . Throughout the 1930s, “Pierre Lafitte” often went by the aliases Jean Pierre Mornard and Jean Monard, as well as by Pierre Jean Martin during the time that he was closely aligned with the French Gestapo-like group called the Malice. Lafitte’s surviving personal effects act to support the claim and contain a few French SS badges as well as two Malice identity cards under the name of Martin. The Malice was established on January 30, 1943, by Pierre Laval, another close associate of Lafitte. Laval had served as Prime Minister of France in 1931 and 1932. Far right in his politics, Laval, after the Germans seized control, served the Vichy government as vice president of its Council of Ministers and then as head of the government. When France was liberated in 1944, the government of General Charles de Gaulle had him arrested for treason. He was tried and sentenced to death. After attempting suicide, Laval was executed by firing squad. Laval put La Cagoule member and Vichy Secretary General Joseph Darnand, yet another Lafitte associate, in charge of the Malice. Darnand (sometimes mistakenly spelled “Danard”) was a thirty-seven-year-old former World War I French army officer and a transportation company director. When World War II began, he again joined the French army and soon founded a Vichy anti-Resistance militia. In August 1943, Darnand became an officer in the Nazi SS because he was disgusted with the Vichy authorities after they refused to arm his Malice soldiers who had all been targeted by the Resistance for assassination. French Sûreté Commissioner Jean Belin also revealed that SS Otto Skorzeny played an earlier role in Vichy affairs. Belin writes that in September 1940, he “was personally instructed by the Minister of the Interior [Vichy government] to proceed to the Chateau de Chateldon with a strong force of police and a whole battalion of cyclists.” Belin states, “There was a strong belief that the Nazis were about to kidnap Pierre Laval and remove him by air, just as they had rescued Mussolini after the invasion of Italy.” Commissioner Belin had firm orders that any brazen Skorzeny-type action to snatch Laval be prevented. Belin further stated that within twenty-four hours of going to the Chateau, “the German Ambassador to Vichy France, Otto Abetz, had arrived in the provisional capital, accompanied by a force of SS men armed with machine guns.” Belin explained: “At first Marshall Petain had apparently refused to see Hitler’s envoy but later relented. He had, however, persisted that Laval remain under house arrest. Abetz lost his temper and declared that he would liberate the Vice-Premiere by force, only to be told that, if he attempted any such thing, his men would be fired on as they approached the Chateau.” Belin soon returned Laval to Vichy, and Skorzeny apparently was never called on to assist Ambassador Abetz. In time, Joseph Darnand put. Filliol in charge of the Limoges [city in southwestern-central France] branch of the Malice. The blithe psychopath Filliol quickly developed whole new dimensions to his homicidal psyche, not the least of which were enhanced interrogation techniques featuring brutal torture and the drugging of subjects. Historians Brunelle and Finley-Croswhite inform us that Filliol and his mistress, Alice Lamy, a name that surfaces in Lafitte’s datebook, interrogated and tortured over one hundred people in one day alone at an abandoned movie theatre called the Palace in Périgueux, France. This extraordinary act of sustained torture would pale in consideration of Filliol’s next horrific act, the destruction of the town of Oradour-sur-Glane in Limousin (France). There the Nazis, with Filliol’s close assistance, murdered over six hundred people, including two hundred children. Pierre Lafitte would also cross paths with Filliol—who like Lafitte would use at least twenty aliases—when in 1944 he was associated with the SS Waffen Charlemagne Division, a French unit aiding the Nazis in their occupation of France. It is reported by surviving members of Lafitte’s family that he was with the SS Brigadefuhrer Krukenenberg in April 1945, just prior to its being moved to Berlin to defend Hitler in his final bunker days, but independent confirmation of this remains elusive. There is no evidence that Lafitte was ever captured, let alone brought to trial; however, at the end of World War II, Filliol was tried in absentia and sentenced to death. His sentence was never carried out because he escaped to Spain and fascist dictator General Francisco Franco refused to extradite the killer. Once in Spain, Filliol soon established contact with Nazi Otto Skorzeny who had been “re-settled” for the benefit of US intelligence interests in the country’s capital. . . . '

But his mug shot from the early 1950s reveals a balding guy who doesn't appear particularly trim.