Rose Cheramie Saga takes a strange turn

[Robert Howard]

There has been a very unusual twist to the Rose Cheramie/Melba Marcades story. A recent book, which I have mentioned in one of my recent posts,

HIT LIST: An In-Depth Investigation Into The Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination - Richard Belzer & David Wayne - 2013 - Skyhorse Publishing,

contains a short passage provided by the authors by Walt Brown.

The passage in question; page 51, reads as follows: .......Rose Cheramie, on the other hand, is always listed as "Big Sandys," Texas. It is never taken far enough to state that
she was found on the easement to the property of either Jerome Ragsdale or Paul Rothermel, whom I can never keep apart. Either way, she wasn't found on the street.

footnote 186
186 Walt Brown, Ph.d., 26 Oct 2012, email to author.

Well, as it turns out, a key witness turning up dead very near the property of Paul Rothermel (and otherwise in the middle of nowhere on a remote Texas highway),

is actually very noteworthy indeed. Paul Rothermel was the Security Chief for billionaire H. L. Hunt, who has often been linked to the JFK assassination. (It was

Hunt to whom Lee Harvey Oswald wrote the cryptic note asking for more information before he proceeded with the plan.) Rothermel was an ex-FBI agent, and,

as Hunt's chief of security, obviously should have raised some red flags if the dead body of a crucial witness was found on the easement to his property.

End

Because of my intense interest in the Cheramie angle in the JFK Assassination, and because I have exchanged emails with Walt before this book

was released, I contacted him and asked if the authors had quoted him correctly. He assured me they had.

As far as the dual mention of Rothermel and Jerome Ragsdale, the latter was an attorney who represented Lady Bird Johnson in the civil suit

involving Madeline Brown's now deceased son - Steven Mark Brown's claim that he was the son of LBJ, and sought monetary compensation for not being included in LBJ's financial

assets. I do not claim to be an expert on the matter except to know that following the articles at that time. It was Jerome Ragsdale who was first claimed as Madeline Brown's son.

I normally do not insert myself into situations, but because I believe that it is not unusual for new information to turn up in regards to JFK assassination

related matters, feel that this account of where Rose Cheramie's body was found, should be something that all JFK researchers should be aware of.

[David Boylan]

Thanks Robert. Very interesting!

[Thomas Graves]

There has been a very unusual twist to the Rose Cheramie/Melba Marcades story. A recent book, which I have mentioned in one of my recent posts,

HIT LIST: An In-Depth Investigation Into The Mysterious Deaths of Witnesses to the JFK Assassination - Richard Belzer & David Wayne - 2013 - Skyhorse Publishing,

contains a short passage provided by the authors by Walt Brown.

The passage in question; page 51, reads as follows: .......Rose Cheramie, on the other hand, is always listed as "Big Sandys," Texas. It is never taken far enough to state that she was found on the easement to the property of either Jerome Ragsdale or Paul Rothermel, whom I can never keep apart. Either way, she wasn't found on the street.

footnote 186 Walt Brown, Phd., 26 Oct 2012, email to author.

Well, as it turns out, a key witness turning up dead very near the property of Paul Rothermel (and otherwise in the middle of nowhere on a remote Texas highway), is actually very noteworthy indeed. Paul Rothermel was the Security Chief for billionaire H. L. Hunt, who has often been linked to the JFK assassination. (It was Hunt to whom Lee Harvey Oswald wrote the cryptic note asking for more information before he proceeded with the plan.) Rothermel was an ex-FBI agent, and, as Hunt's chief of security, obviously should have raised some red flags if the dead body of a crucial witness was found on the easement to his property.

End

Because of my intense interest in the Cheramie angle in the JFK Assassination, and because I have exchanged emails with Walt before this book

was released, I contacted him and asked if the authors had quoted him correctly. He assured me they had.As far as the dual mention of Rothermel and Jerome Ragsdale, the latter was an attorney who represented Lady Bird Johnson in the civil suit involving Madeline Brown's now deceased son - Steven Mark Brown's claim that he was the son of LBJ, and sought monetary compensation for not being included in LBJ's financial assets. I do not claim to be an expert on the matter except to know that following the articles at that time. It was Jerome Ragsdale who was first claimed as Madeline Brown's son.

I normally do not insert myself into situations, but because I believe that it is not unusual for new information to turn up in regards to JFK assassination

related matters, feel that this account of where Rose Cheramie's body was found, should be something that all JFK researchers should be aware of.

Robert,

It would be "very interesting indeed," if we could tie Rose Cheramie's death to H. L. Hunt or Lady Bird / LBJ.

Two Questions--

1) Was Jerome Ragsdale Lady Bird's attorney, Madeline Brown's son, or both?

2) Wasn't Oswald's "Note to Mr. Hunt" determined to be a probable forgery by the HSCA's handwriting experts? (Going from memory here.)

Thanks,

--Tommy

PS What you have posted above makes me wonder where Malcolm "Mac" Wallace was when Cheramie died.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Thomas Graves

[Robert Howard]

It would be "very interesting indeed," if we could tie Rose Cheramie's death to H. L. Hunt or Lady Bird / LBJ.

Two Questions--

1) Was Jerome Ragsdale Lady Bird's attorney, Madeline Brown's son, or both?

Answer: The lawsuit, as I understood it, was that initially Jerome Ragsdale was accused by the Brown's of being the father, and that allegedly

Jerome Thorne Ragsdale claimed he was the father, then after a period of time, with the previous litigation either in limbo, or the case

did not proceed because Scott Brown never appeared for a court date; then at that point Steven Brown filed the $10.5 million lawsuit

against the Johnson estate, and in the process naming LBJ as the father. Then Steve Brown died. Jerome Thorne Ragsdale is also deceased.

more at end of this post

2) Wasn't Oswald's "Note to Mr. Hunt" determined to be a probable forgery by the HSCA's handwriting experts? (Going from memory here.)

Yes, as you probably know the "Dear Mr. Hunt letter" has been ostensibly linked to a KGB disinformation plot, The Mitrokhin Archive/The Sword & The Shield,

E. Howard Hunt and H. L. Hunt; the letter was mailed to Penn Jones, as I recall.

Thanks,

--Tommy

PS What you have posted above makes me wonder where Malcolm "Mac" Wallace was when Cheramie died.

I think that is a valid question, I do know that some records regarding Malcolm "Mac" Wallace turned up missing,

and there were those one set of fingerprints of which remain "unknown."

If you read Todd C. Elliott's book; the section about Rose's death on September 4, 1965, his account lends

validity to what Walt asserts.

I cannot believe, the drug deal circa November 27, 1963 is "peripheral" to JFK's assassination...

Although I believe amongst the major JFK researchers, my view is probably a minority view.

Below are some more pieces of this miasma......

Headline: Wedding of Jerome Thorne Ragsdale and Catherine Haizlip Held;

Dallas Morning News; Date: 03-25-1945;

and much more

http://coldcaseupdate.blogspot.com/2011_03_26_archive.html

July 7, 1957

PHILIP O. VOGEL MARRIES MISS NANCY ANN STEELE

Dallas Morning News; 08-14-1960; Page: 2;

Letters from Readers;

Good Law Enforcement

I read with dismay the article by Harry McCormick on alleged wire-tapping supposedly

conducted by the Dallas Police Department, implying that Juanita Phillips also known

as Candy Barr, did not receive a fair trial. She was tried, convicted and conviction upheld

on higher courts through due process of law. Unwarranted criticism of one of the finest

police departments in the United States as was done by innuendo in a poor way to

repay loyal, honest and dedicated service. I had opportunity to observe closely

law enforcement in 11 states, in addition to Texas. We citizens of Dallas are

receiving the best in law enforcement and should appreciate it. Efficient law enforcement

is like freedom - we never miss it until it is gone, and sometimes that's too late.

Paul Rothermel 9104 Leaside Drive DI8-4438

Paul M Rothermel, Jr

MAN CLAIMS TO BE LBJ'S SON

The Dallas Morning News - Friday, June 19, 1987

By David Jackson

A man claiming to be the illegitimate son of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson on Thursday filed suit in Dallas against Lady Bird Johnson for $10.5 million, alleging that she conspired to deny him part of the Johnson inheritance.

Steven Mark Brown, 36, of Dallas, who filed the lawsuit himself, included in the lawsuit an affidavit from his mother in which she claims to have had an affair with Johnson from 1948 to 1969.

Mrs. Johnson could not be reached for comment.

"My legal birthrights have been violated and a conspiracy was formed to deprive me of my legal heirship,' Brown wrote in his lawsuit. Brown also accused two friends of Johnson, Jess C. Kellam of Austin and Jerome T. Ragsdale of Dallas,

of participating in the conspiracy.

In her affidavit, Madeline Brown said Ragsdale , a Dallas attorney who died in 1978, was assigned to handle the legal problems involved with her pregnancy by Johnson. Mrs. Brown said Ragsdale later claimed to have fathered the child himself.

"This was to shield Lyndon Baines Johnson from any adverse publicity,' Mrs. Brown stated.

Ragsdale kept records of Brown's birth in a safe-deposit box at the Mercantile Bank. After Ragsdale 's death in 1978, Mrs. Brown said, officials discovered that the box had been drilled open and its contents removed.

Mrs. Brown said she met Johnson at a social function at the Adolphus Hotel in 1948. At that time, she said, Johnson invited her to his television station at the Driskell Hotel in Austin.

"He had an apartment in the Driskell and we routinely started having an affair,' Mrs. Brown said.

Mrs. Brown stated she moved to Dallas in 1948 after leaving her husband, James Glynn Brown. The couple divorced in 1955.

10-3-1990 Stephen M. Brown Said He Was LBJ's Son - (AP) DALLAS

A man who said he was the son of President Lyndon B. Johnson

and once sought $10.5 million of the Johnson inheritance has died of cancer.

Steven Mark Brown, 39, died Friday at Methodist Medical Center, Madeline Brown,

his mother, said she had an affair with Johnson from 1948 to 1969. A memorial

service will be held Monday at St. George's Episcopal Church in Dallas.

In 1987, Mr. Brown filed a $10.5 million lawsuit against the President's widow

Lady Bird Johnson, alleging that she conspired to deny him part of the Johnson

inheritance. The case was dismissed two years later when Mr. Brown, a naval

operations specialist failed to appear in court.

In the lawsuit Mr. Brown contended that Jess Killam and Jerome Ragsdale,

two friends of Johnson participated in the conspiracy. Ragsdale, a Dallas

lawyer who died in 1978, handled legal problems involved with Mrs. Brown's

mother's pregnancy, Madeline Brown swore in an affidavit. She said Ragsdale

later claimed to be the father to shield Johnson from adverse publicity.

Steven Brown was a 1975 graduate of Texas A&M university. He helped restore

the Oak Cliff Historical District and was project manager for the Jefferson

Avenue Beautification Project in Dallas. Survivors in addition to his mother

include a brother Jimmy Glynn Brown of Dallas.

Carl Wallace;

Dallas Morning News; 05-02-1961; Page: 5;

Funeral services for Carl Wallace, 81, 8342 Forest Hills Blvd., who founded the C. Wallace

Plumbing Co., in 1902, were held here Monday. Burial was in Hillcrest Memorial Park.

Mr. Wallace, a native of Edwards, Miss., died in a Dallas hospital Sunday.

Survivors are two sons; Sam P. Wallace and Frank E. Wallace of Dallas;

a daughter Mrs. Fred Massengill of Terrell; 14 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

[Larry Hancock]

Robert, very interesting information....not to be a stickler but is their some primary source - courthouse records, plat maps etc - that Walt references, and is it

Rothermel or Ragsdale, that would make a serious difference. The body was actually found on the side of the road, not out in a pasture or something like that.

I've reviewed the police reports on it. As I recall Hunt (the oil one) sent Rothermel and another security guy who had been working for him to scope out the

Garrison investigation.

Anyway, a primary source would be really helpful. Larry

[Robert Howard]

No, there isn't. You will notice I included the footnote reference, which was the most specific segment of the account in Belzer's book. You may remember that there was a big flap between Walt Brown and

members of another JFK Forum, who wanted Walt to produce JFK Documents he had with a deceased researcher, whose name escapes me. I have wondered if, perhaps Walt's information came from that. Which, is just

speculation on my part. I am sure others know more about this than I do. As to the Rothermel/Ragsdale issue, I am confused about that myself. But my position about this whole story is conveying the information

available to other researchers, as I believe potentially this could be very significant.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Robert Howard

[Paul Brancato]

Wasn't Rothermel a Us govt agent?

[Larry Hancock]

Paul, Hunt preferred to hire former FBI agents out of the Dallas office for his company security activities. Rothermel and John Curington were employed to conduct

surveillance and telephone bugging of Hunt employees - not sure but both may have been former FBI. Former FBI agents seem to have been all over the place, the

question is always whether they retired or just irritated Hoover....

[Robert Howard]

He was a former FBI Agent, who went to work as security chief for the H. L. Hunt family from 1957-1969, among other things, according to Dick Russell he provided an inside scoop to the security surrounding Lee Harvey Oswald the weekend of the assassination, probed information being gathered by Jim Garrison about the Hunt family and being available for interviews for select persons. If I had an interview list regarding the JFK Assassination, he would be in there with Postal Inspector Harry Holmes, to name but one. The Hunt family fired Rothermel in 1969, and was sued by the family or maybe it was vice-versa, there was something involving phone-taps which made the newspapers. An example

of how slippery Paul was, the fact that he supplied information to William Wood, aka Bill Boxley, a member of Garrison's staff who relayed info back to the CIA. Among other caveat's Rothermel claimed was that he purchased a copy of the Zapruder film; amongst the first to do so, and that Sergio Aracha Smith was a frequent visitor to the Hunt offices circa January 1963. The earlier post I made where Rothermel wrote the Dallas Morning News regarding the good name of the DPD in the Candy Barr marijuana bust, is a tip off to me that he was privy to all sorts of information regarding that fiasco, of which, the dynamics of that event I regard as something of a precursor for Jack Ruby's activities in the shooting of Oswald; the latter comment may not make sense to you. For more info see The Man Who Knew Too Much 1st printing.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Robert Howard