Who was Jack Ruby?

[Paul Trejo]

Jack Ruby, Oswald, and the murder of JFK

Since October 1963, a three-man musical "combo" group was performing in Ruby's club that consisted of John Anderson (trumpet), Bill Willis (drums), and William Simmons (piano). The small group worked only four hours a day, from 9 PM to 1 AM. Curiously, and without explanation, Willis and Simmons lived fifteen miles away from the Carousel Club, in a house located at 2530 W. 5th in Irving, TX., just 200 feet west on the opposite side of the street from Ruth Paine (2515 W. 5th). When Ruby shot HARVEY Oswald, Nancy Powell (Tammi True) told the WC that she saw Bill Willis (drummer) near the police station. Neither Willis nor Simmons were interviewed by the WC.

<snip>

--Above excerpted from John Armstrong’s writings at HarveyandLee.net. Copyright © 1999-2016 by John Armstrong

.

In the late 1960's and early 1970's I played in various dance bands in San Jose, in part-time jobs with bennies. This was before the advent of Disco, so in those days, every USA nightclub worth a nickel had a dance band.

The typical hours were 9pm to 1am. You played four 45-minute sets with three 15 minute breaks. You played Top-40 music. That was the rule. Country, R&B, Soul or Pop, you played four 45-minute sets, and you were lucky to get Union Scale.

Also, we never lived close to the downtown area where the nightclubs were. The flophouses would steal trumpets and guitars every week,

To protect your private property was the key -- the suburbs were cheap and secure. .

Top 40 dance bands typically made chump change, and so rented houses outside town as bands..

Also, it was typical for dance bands to make a circuit -- that is, you wouldn't play in one nightclub all year long, but you would move around every month or two, so that the club owner could offer variety to the customers -- or to cool off arguments between managers and tempermental artists. .

So far there is nothing unusual in the fact that Jack Ruby had a dance band at his striptease club -- or that they had only started there since October 1963, or that it was a trio (which is the cheapest combo) or that they worked only the typical four hours a day.

In fact, it was a sweet gig if they worked 7 days a week 4 hours a day in one nightclub. That was superb for a dance band. John Anderson, Bill Willis and William Simmons were three lucky jazz musicians; who got to watch strippers every night, so that was an additional benefit if you like that lifestyle.

John Armstrong tries to make this sound more dramatic than it really was. There is nothing unusual about three musicians living together in a suburb 15 miles away from their nightclub. They were probably centrally located to a dozen other nightclubs they would play during the year.

The fact that they lived down the street from Ruth Paine is a mere coincidence -- what else have you got?

But of course, John Armstrong likes to take coincidences like baloons and twist them into CIA conspiracies before your eyes.

Now, the stripper "Tammi True" told the WC that she saw Bill Willis near the police station when Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. Since Tammi True was not inside the police station at the time -- nor did she ride in Jack Ruby's car with him at the time -- we can conclude that she was somewhere on the street at the time -- walking through.

But that is no surprise since the Carousel Club was walking distance from the police station. So it is also no surprise that the drummer of the Carousel Club band was also out on the street at that time, and so also near the police station.

Again, John Armstrong likes to take an ordinary coincidence and build it up into a Conspiracy. He has done this with every known "mistaken identity" case with regard to Lee Harvey Oswald, and has created a mythology for a JFK CT seeking a new urban legend.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited October 6, 2016 by Paul Trejo

[Jim Hargrove]

The fact that they lived down the street from Ruth Paine is a mere coincidence -- what else have you got?

Some of this stuff can't be proved today because the FBI never bothered to investigate the case! Imagine not even questioning three people who may have seen Ruby hand a gun to Oswald outside the Book Depository right after the assassination. Nothing to see here, move on, right?

Here is the full post again that so upsets Paul:

Jack Ruby, Oswald, and the murder of JFK

Since October 1963, a three-man musical "combo" group was performing in Ruby's club that consisted of John Anderson (trumpet), Bill Willis (drums), and William Simmons (piano). The small group worked only four hours a day, from 9 PM to 1 AM. Curiously, and without explanation, Willis and Simmons lived fifteen miles away from the Carousel Club, in a house located at 2530 W. 5th in Irving, TX., just 200 feet west on the opposite side of the street from Ruth Paine (2515 W. 5th). When Ruby shot HARVEY Oswald, Nancy Powell (Tammi True) told the WC that she saw Bill Willis (drummer) near the police station. Neither Willis nor Simmons were interviewed by the WC.

12 hours before the assassination:

In the early morning hours of November 22, some 12 hours before the assassination, Mary Lawrence was working at the B & B Restaurant, just two doors from Jack Ruby's Vegas Club. She was the head waitress and had known Jack Ruby for the past eight years. She and the night cashier saw Jack Ruby and a person identical to Lee Harvey Oswald in the restaurant shortly after midnight on November 22. Following the assassination, she reported this to the Dallas Police and received a phone call on December 3 from an unknown male who stated, she said, "If you don't want to die, you better get out of town." When subsequently questioned by the Dallas Police, Mary Lawrence stated that the man with Ruby was "positively Lee Harvey Oswald." Neither Mary Lawrence nor her friend were interviewed by the Warren Commission. Adding some credibility to Mary Lawrence's report is the fact that few people in America knew back then what we know today--that Jack Ruby and (LEE) Harvey Oswald were seen together by many witnesses, in different locations, prior to the assassination, who gave statements to that effect to Dallas and D.C. authorities.

A few minutes after the assassination:

A few minutes after the shooting Victoria Adams, who worked in the TSBD, told the Warren Commission that she observed a man standing on the corner of Elm and Houston a few minutes after the assassination who may have been Jack Ruby. Across the street Mrs. Louis Velez, and two co-workers, saw Ruby walking up and down the street near the TSBD. When HARVEY Oswald came out of the building, they saw Ruby give him a pistol (perhaps, as was reported, a pistol with a defective firing pin). These women knew Oswald, who ate with them at a nearby restaurant, and both were acquainted with Jack Ruby. Mrs. Velez told her story of Ruby giving Oswald a pistol to her mother (Mrs. Evelyn Harris), who was interviewed by FBI agent Manning on 11/30/63. Neither Mrs. Velez nor her co-workers were interviewed by the DPD or FBI and given the opportunity to confirm or deny their story. If their story is true, then Ruby may have been setting up HARVEY Oswald, by giving him a pistol (with a defective firing pin) to provide justification for the police if and when they shot him. On Friday evening (11/22/63) District Attorney Henry Wade told news reporters, “when a Dallas Police officer was arresting him the pistol was snapped at another police officer's head and didn't fire.” (@ 1:35)

LEE Oswald just after 1 pm near Ruby’s apartment:

About 1:03 PM LEE Oswald was seen by several witnesses in the Oak Cliff suburb of Dallas walking west near the corner of 10th St. & Marsalis--more than a mile south of HARVEY Oswald's rooming house. LEE Oswald was only three blocks north of Jack Ruby's apartment (223 S. Ewing), where he had been seen the night before by Helen McIntosh, a guest of Ruby's next door neighbor. Four blocks from Ruby's apartment, and only one block east of 10th & Patton, was a small, single story house at 511 E. 10th that was owned by attorney Dick Loomis, Sr., and his wife. Mrs. Loomis was a housewife and President of the Oak Cliff Fine Arts Club. She told FBI agents Griffin and Carter that a young couple, who were identical to LEE Harvey and Marina Oswald, lived next door in an apartment complex at 507 E. 10th (13 apartments) about one week before the assassination. Mrs. Loomis saw Marina and her infant child in front of her home and recalled that Marina had jet black hair (at this time Marina had two children). She said Marina wore very plain clothing and on one occasion wore a light blouse and plaid skirt and on another occasion a dark blouse and the same plaid skirt. She once saw a heavy-set man visit the apartment next door and thought it may have been Ruby. FBI agent James Hosty, who never met Oswald face-to-face prior to November 22, 1963, told fellow FBI agent Carver Gayton that he left notes under Oswald's apartment door. But the Warren Commission reported that Oswald lived either at his rooming house (1026 N. Beckley) or at Ruth Paine's house in Irving, TX, neither of which was an apartment. Hosty did not leave notes at Oswald's rooming house or at Ruth Paine's, but he could have left notes under the door at several of LEE Oswald's previous apartments, including 507 E. 10th, 1106 Diceman Avenue, or an apartment in Oak Lawn that Ruby rented for Oswald (according to DPD informant T-1).

Ruby’s close friend Tommy Rowe fingered “Oswald”

Tommy Rowe, a very close friend of Jack Ruby's, worked at Hardy's Shoe Store with Johnny Brewer. In 1964 Rowe told researcher/publisher Penn Jones that it was he who told shoe store manager Johnny Brewer that he saw a man wearing a brown shirt enter the Texas Theater (click here to see Midlothian Mirror editorial about Tommy Rowe) . Inside the darkened theater Rowe claims that it was he (NOT Brewer) who directed the police to the man wearing the long sleeved brown shirt--HARVEY Oswald. Rowe was never interviewed by the DPD or FBI. For years after the assassination Rowe told friends, relatives, and JFK researchers that it was he, NOT Brewer, who pointed out (HARVEY) Oswald to the police in the dark of the Texas Theater. Rowe was so close to Jack Ruby that he moved into Ruby's apartment when Ruby went to jail for killing HARVEY Oswald . In 1967 the New Orleans District Attorney's office interviewed Tommy Rowe, who lived in Apt. 206 at 223 S. Ewing (the apartment next to the one occupied by Jack Ruby in 1963). If Rowe's statement is true then Johnny Brewer lied to Julia Postal, lied to the police, lied to the FBI, and lied to the WC. He never followed the man in the brown shirt, or anyone else, to the theater. The man responsible for getting the police to the Texas theater appears to have been Jack Ruby's friend, Tommy Rowe. And it appears that Johnny Brewer may have been merely a "wannabe" and not a co-conspirator.

NOTE: If Rowe's story is true, then we have to wonder how Rowe knew about a man (HARVEY OFollowing the assassination Jack Ruby was now confronted with his worst nightmare. HARVEY Oswald was still alive, in jail, and was the one person who could expose the “Oswald Project" (HARVEY and LEE) and directly link Ruby and CIA operatives to the assassination of President Kennedy. Frank Sheeran, an alleged hitman, recalled a conversation he had with former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. During the conversation, Hoffa claimed that Ruby was assigned the task of coordinating police officers who were loyal to Ruby to murder Oswald while he was in their custody. After Oswald was taken to jail Ruby was given a choice to either finish the job himself or forfeit his life.

Within hours of HARVEY Oswald's arrest Ruby began to stalk him and look for an opportunity to get close enough to shoot him. Around 7:30 PM Ruby tried to enter Capt. Fritz's office when Oswald was being questioned, but was stopped by two uniformed officers. At 10:30 PM Ruby stopped at Phil's Delicatessen to purchase sandwiches and make phone calls. One of the phone calls was overheard by delicatessen employee John Frickstad. During the call Ruby said, “If anything should come up he (Ruby) could be reached at the radio station (Gordon McLendon's KLIF radio).” Ruby took the sandwiches and drove to Dallas City Hall where District Attorney Henry Wade was giving a press conference (11:15 PM). When Wade said that Oswald was a member of the “Free Cuba Committee," a group populated by CIA assets and supporters such as Clare Booth Luce, Admiral Arleigh Burke, and Hal Hendrix, Jack Ruby corrected him and said, “that's 'Fair Play for Cuba Committee,' Henry.” Newsreel footage from WFAA-TV (Dallas) and NBC shows that during the press conference Ruby was impersonating a news reporter (probably KLIF radio). Some speculate that Ruby may have hoped to kill Oswald that night at the press conference. After killing Oswald, Ruby told the FBI that he had his loaded snub-nosed Colt Cobra .38 revolver in his right-hand pocket during the press conference.

The following day (Sat., Nov 23) Ruby arrived at the Allright Parking Garage between 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM and asked to use the telephone. He phoned the KLIF “hotline," known only to radio station personnel, and asked if any KLIF newsmen were at City Hall. After completing the call, Ruby left and within a few minutes called Thomas Brown, the manager of the parking garage. He told Brown that two men would soon stop by the garage and ask for him (Ruby). Ruby asked Brown to tell the men to contact him at KLIF radio. The two unidentified men soon arrived and Brown relayed the message. Around 3:00 PM Ruby returned to the parking garage and again telephoned KLIF radio, spoke with Garnett Hallmark and said, “I understand they are moving Oswald over to the county jail ... you know I'll be there.” At 4:00 PM a WBAP news crew was outside of the police station waiting for the transfer of Oswald to the county jail. Ruby approached a WBAP engineer and cameraman and said that he knew DA Henry Wade and offered to get information for them. Ruby was apparently trying to pose as a news reporter to once again gain access to the police station and to Oswald. After Ruby learned that Oswald was to be transferred to the county jail the next morning, he left the area.

Shortly after midnight, at 2:15 AM (Sunday, Nov 24) Deputy McCoy, of the Dallas County Sheriff's office, received a call from a man who said that his group was going to kill Oswald during his transfer to the county jail. Fifteen minutes later (2:30 AM) an unknown individual telephoned the Dallas FBI office, spoke with SA Vernon Glossup, and said, “We are going to kill the man who killed the President.” At 3:00 AM Dallas Police Officer Billy Grammer received a phone call from a familiar voice warning him that Oswald would be killed if the police didn't transfer him in secret. Grammar was home the next morning and watched on television as his friend, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald. Grammar gave a sworn affidavit to the Dallas Police in which he identified Ruby as the man who called the police station at 3:00 AM. Grammar was never asked to testify before the Warren Commission. It appears that Ruby, ordered to kill HARVEY Oswald, was trying to find a way to avoid his assignment by warning the Sheriff's office, the FBI, and Dallas Police that Oswald would be killed. But he was unsuccessful.

The next morning, at 12:21 AM (CST), the Dallas Police escorted Oswald through the police basement in full view of reporters and TV cameras. Jack Ruby stepped out from a crowd and fired his .38 revolver into Oswald's abdomen, fatally wounding him. The shooting, broadcast live from the Dallas Police station, was seen by millions of television viewers.SWALD) wearing a dark brown long sleeve shirt in the Texas Theater. Rowe's close relationship with Jack Ruby may be the answer. Theater patron George Applin said that he saw Jack Ruby sitting in a seat at the back of the theater as Oswald was being subdued and arrested by police.

At the Texas Theater:

POLICE IN THE LOWER AREA. When Johnny Brewer opened the rear exit door of the theater, the police were waiting in the alley. Brewer claimed that he pointed out (HARVEY) Oswald to the police inside the theater. However, this may not be true. A very close friend of Jack Ruby's, Tommy Rowe, worked at Hardy's Shoe Store with Brewer. In 1964 Rowe told friends, relatives, and JFK researchers that it was he, NOT Brewer, who pointed out (HARVEY) Oswald to the police in the dark of the Texas Theater. Rowe was so close to Jack Ruby that Rowe moved into Ruby's apartment when Ruby went to jail for killing HARVEY Oswald. (Click here to see Midlothian Mirror editorial about Tommy Rowe.) (Click here for a 3/1/68 Los Angeles Free Press interview with Penn Jones and Roger Craig also discussing Tommy Rowe.) Unfortunately, Tommy Rowe was never interviewed by the DPD or FBI or WC or HSCA. It is worth repeating that in 1967 the New Orleans District Attorney's office interviewed Tommy Rowe, who lived in Apt. 206 at 223 S. Ewing (the same apartment occupied by Jack Ruby in 1963). Mr. Rowe said that he told shoe store manager Johnny Brewer that he saw a man wear­ing a brown shirt enter the Texas Theater on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. If Rowe's statement is true then Johnny Brewer never saw the man in the brown shirt in front of his store, enter the theater, nor did he point out (HARVEY) to the police.

After the assassination:

Following the assassination Jack Ruby was now confronted with his worst nightmare. HARVEY Oswald was still alive, in jail, and was the one person who could expose the “Oswald Project" (HARVEY and LEE) and directly link Ruby and CIA operatives to the assassination of President Kennedy. Frank Sheeran, an alleged hitman, recalled a conversation he had with former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. During the conversation, Hoffa claimed that Ruby was assigned the task of coordinating police officers who were loyal to Ruby to murder Oswald while he was in their custody. After Oswald was taken to jail Ruby was given a choice to either finish the job himself or forfeit his life.

Within hours of HARVEY Oswald's arrest Ruby began to stalk him and look for an opportunity to get close enough to shoot him. Around 7:30 PM Ruby tried to enter Capt. Fritz's office when Oswald was being questioned, but was stopped by two uniformed officers. At 10:30 PM Ruby stopped at Phil's Delicatessen to purchase sandwiches and make phone calls. One of the phone calls was overheard by delicatessen employee John Frickstad. During the call Ruby said, “If anything should come up he (Ruby) could be reached at the radio station (Gordon McLendon's KLIF radio).” Ruby took the sandwiches and drove to Dallas City Hall where District Attorney Henry Wade was giving a press conference (11:15 PM). When Wade said that Oswald was a member of the “Free Cuba Committee," a group populated by CIA assets and supporters such as Clare Booth Luce, Admiral Arleigh Burke, and Hal Hendrix, Jack Ruby corrected him and said, “that's 'Fair Play for Cuba Committee,' Henry.” Newsreel footage from WFAA-TV (Dallas) and NBC shows that during the press conference Ruby was impersonating a news reporter (probably KLIF radio). Some speculate that Ruby may have hoped to kill Oswald that night at the press conference. After killing Oswald, Ruby told the FBI that he had his loaded snub-nosed Colt Cobra .38 revolver in his right-hand pocket during the press conference.

The following day (Sat., Nov 23) Ruby arrived at the Allright Parking Garage between 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM and asked to use the telephone. He phoned the KLIF “hotline," known only to radio station personnel, and asked if any KLIF newsmen were at City Hall. After completing the call, Ruby left and within a few minutes called Thomas Brown, the manager of the parking garage. He told Brown that two men would soon stop by the garage and ask for him (Ruby). Ruby asked Brown to tell the men to contact him at KLIF radio. The two unidentified men soon arrived and Brown relayed the message. Around 3:00 PM Ruby returned to the parking garage and again telephoned KLIF radio, spoke with Garnett Hallmark and said, “I understand they are moving Oswald over to the county jail ... you know I'll be there.” At 4:00 PM a WBAP news crew was outside of the police station waiting for the transfer of Oswald to the county jail. Ruby approached a WBAP engineer and cameraman and said that he knew DA Henry Wade and offered to get information for them. Ruby was apparently trying to pose as a news reporter to once again gain access to the police station and to Oswald. After Ruby learned that Oswald was to be transferred to the county jail the next morning, he left the area.

Shortly after midnight, at 2:15 AM (Sunday, Nov 24) Deputy McCoy, of the Dallas County Sheriff's office, received a call from a man who said that his group was going to kill Oswald during his transfer to the county jail. Fifteen minutes later (2:30 AM) an unknown individual telephoned the Dallas FBI office, spoke with SA Vernon Glossup, and said, “We are going to kill the man who killed the President.” At 3:00 AM Dallas Police Officer Billy Grammer received a phone call from a familiar voice warning him that Oswald would be killed if the police didn't transfer him in secret. Grammar was home the next morning and watched on television as his friend, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald. Grammar gave a sworn affidavit to the Dallas Police in which he identified Ruby as the man who called the police station at 3:00 AM. Grammar was never asked to testify before the Warren Commission. It appears that Ruby, ordered to kill HARVEY Oswald, was trying to find a way to avoid his assignment by warning the Sheriff's office, the FBI, and Dallas Police that Oswald would be killed. But he was unsuccessful.

The next morning, at 12:21 AM (CST), the Dallas Police escorted Oswald through the police basement in full view of reporters and TV cameras. Jack Ruby stepped out from a crowd and fired his .38 revolver into Oswald's abdomen, fatally wounding him. The shooting, broadcast live from the Dallas Police station, was seen by millions of television viewers.

--Above excerpted from John Armstrong’s writings at HarveyandLee.net. Copyright © 1999-2016 by John Armstrong

[Paul Trejo]

Some of this stuff can't be proved today because the FBI never bothered to investigate the case!

Imagine not even questioning three people who may have seen Ruby hand a gun to Oswald outside the Book Depository right after the assassination.

Nothing to see here, move on, right?

Guesswork and speculation are all that John Armstrong has had to offer. If we really want to know who Jack Ruby was, then we should turn to a gentleman and a scholar, a professional news reporter, who personally knew Jack Ruby. That would be Seth Kantor.

Seth Kantor knew Jack Ruby only in the course of his news reporting in Dallas -- because Jack Ruby would show up at almost every public event in Dallas. Seth knew that Jack Ruby was a pimp, and so they had no social interaction, but Seth also saw Jack Ruby at official, City sponsored, public events so frequently that they were on a first name basis. For years.

Seth Kantor told the truth to the WC when he said that he saw Jack Ruby at Parkland Hospital only minutes after the JFK assassination. Why would he lie about it? He had no reason to lie about it. Yet the WC attorneys chose to dismiss his testimony about this.

There was no big mystery -- Jack Ruby was obsessed with being around the in-crowd in Dallas -- and the in-crowd was now gathering at Parkland Hospital, so Jack Ruby had to be there. He had no purpose there other than to be seen. He walked up to Seth Kantor, greeted him, and asked him plaintively, "Do you think I should close down my strip club for the weekend, Seth, in mourning for JFK?"

Seth Kantor thought the question was bizarre -- as if Seth really cared two cents for any given strip club in Dallas. But, just to be polite, Seth told Jack that it would be the polite thing to do. So, Jack hurried back downtown to the Dallas newspaper office to change his weekend advertisement, and to contact all his employees.

Seth found nothing odd in Jack Ruby's behavior -- not for Jack. Jack, as the most notorious pimp in Dallas, would have dozens of friends in the Dallas Police Department -- and would probably be an informant for them, to obtain special favors from them. Jack was always the "nice guy" to the Dallas cops -- even though most of them considered Jack to be a sleaze-ball.

This is from somebody who actually knew Jack Ruby. If you really want to know who Jack Ruby was, read Seth Kantor. Otherwise, you'll be guessing and speculating forever.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited October 6, 2016 by Paul Trejo

[Jim Hargrove]

John Armstrong has shown how Jack Ruby may have been far more intimately involved in the assassination plot and the framing of “Lee Harvey Oswald” than most of us previously believed. It seems entirely plausible to me that Ruby was following instructions from CIA’s David Atlee Phillips via the two men’s mutual friend – KLIF co-founder Gordon McLendon (himself a former Naval intelligence officer). Ruby was clearly in contact with McLendon before, during, and after the Kennedy assassination. Antonio Veciana says he saw his contact (who eventually turned out to be Phillips) talking with LEE Oswald at the Southland building in Dallas in the summer of 1963, just as the assassination plot and the plot to frame “Lee Harvey Oswald” were unfolding.

If this theory is correct, do you seriously believe any of the principals would share this information with a newspaper reporter?

Really?

[Paul Trejo]

John Armstrong has shown how Jack Ruby may have been far more intimately involved in the assassination plot and the framing of “Lee Harvey Oswald” than most of us previously believed. It seems entirely plausible to me that Ruby was following instructions from CIA’s David Atlee Phillips via the two men’s mutual friend – KLIF co-founder Gordon McLendon (himself a former Naval intelligence officer). Ruby was clearly in contact with McLendon before, during, and after the Kennedy assassination. Antonio Veciana says he saw his contact (who eventually turned out to be Phillips) talking with LEE Oswald at the Southland building in Dallas in the summer of 1963, just as the assassination plot and the plot to frame “Lee Harvey Oswald” were unfolding.

If this theory is correct, do you seriously believe any of the principals would share this information with a newspaper reporter?

Really?

Jim,

What you have there is guesswork and speculation -- pure and simple.

While I agree that Antonio Veciana saw David Atlee Phillips in the company of Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas in the summer of 1963 in the context of a meeting for Alpha 66 -- a Cuban Expatriate mercenary group -- the meeting was about the assassination of Fidel Castro.

Lee Harvey Oswald was never an Agent for the CIA -- but he desperately wanted to be. He had trained for it since he was a teenager, but he made too many mistakes. He left his mission in the USSR too early, and then he got caught up in George DeMohrenschildt's hatred for General Walker on April 10, 1963.

Only the rabble at 544 Camp Street in New Orleans would have anything to do with Lee Harvey Oswald after that point. In late April 1963 we find Lee Harvey Oswald in the company of Guy Banister and David Ferrie.

Now, David Atlee Phillips in his manuscript, THE AMLASH LEGACY (1988), describes how Phillips participated in the grooming of Lee Harvey Oswald to appear to be an officer of the FPCC, so that with his "resume" of New Orleans newspaper clippings, radio spots and a TV appearance as an FPCC officer, Lee Harvey Oswald could try to get an instant visa into Cuba from Mexico City. Phillips intended for Lee Harvey Oswald to meet a Kill-Fidel Team in Havana, and finally get rid of Fidel Castro once and for all.

In all this, Lee Harvey Oswald was not a CIA Agent, but another mere mercenary in New Orleans, like Loran Hall, Gerry Patrick Hemming, David Ferrie, Jack S. Martin, Fred Crisman and Tommy Beckham. Clay Shaw threw a few dollars in the direction of Lee Harvey Oswald, who was poor, broke and needy -- because he had no salary from the CIA or from anyplace.

Perhaps if the plot of David Atlee Phillips to assassinate Fidel Castro was successful, then Lee Harvey Oswald would have returned to the USA as a full-fledged employee of the CIA. We will never know, because as David Atlee Phillips confesses in his 1988 manuscript, "somebody" hi-jacked Lee Harvey Oswald into the plot to murder JFK.

John Anderson never addresses this realistic scenario portrayed by David Atlee Phillips -- because John Anderson is lost in his own guesswork and speculation.

To understand Jack Ruby, we need to consult people who knew Jack Ruby personally -- people like newsman Seth Kantor. John Armstrong offers guesswork. Seth Kantor's account of Jack Ruby -- the lowly pimp who would do anything that the Dallas Police asked him to do -- is based on real biography.

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited October 6, 2016 by Paul Trejo

[Jim Hargrove]

You speculate that the Dallas meeting between Phillips and “Oswald” was about assassinating Fidel Castro, but that is sheer guesswork. A far more likely interpretation of that meeting is presented in the next paragraph. In order to turn suspicion away from the CIA, you speculate that “Oswald” was a CIA-wannabe since his teen years, and yet…. We have discussed the enormous similarities between the false defections of “Oswald” and Webster, and at the time of our discussion you tried to deflect attention from the CIA by stating that the false defections might have been orchestrated by ONI rather than CIA. So much for your support of the wannabe excuse!

From Guatemala to Cuba to Dallas, David Atlee Phillips was an enabler of assassins and a professional xxxx. By the time of the Missile Crisis, Phillips was supporting DRE leaders in Miami to the tune of $25,000 per month, and he helped revive DRE following the Bay of Pigs. He clearly felt, as did so many of the Cubans, that Kennedy had betrayed him. That is evidenced by his and his Agency’s violent operations against the Cuban government even after being ordered to desist by the Kennedy Administration.

David Atlee Phillips had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to plan and help execute the murder of JFK. What I’m presenting is a description of the how that was probably accomplished. For you to suggest a different reality, you have to assume, among other things, that the frequent communications between Ruby and Phillips’ parter McLendon was a coincidence. There are far too many coincidences in this case.

You suggest we consult Phillips’ manuscript to determine if he was involved in the assassination of JFK? You suggest we consult Seth Kantor’s work to see if Phillips, or McLendon, or Ruby confessed to him, a professional newsman? Puh-lease! Most rookie cops would laugh at those arguments.

[Paul Trejo]

Jim,

You're missing the fact that 544 Camp Street in New Orleans was mostly about the assassination of Fidel Castro. Even Jim Garrison overlooked that vital point in his zeal to blame the CIA for the JFK assassination.

CIA Agents David Morales and David Atlee Phillips considered themselves to be true patriots in the battles of Anticommunism, and they proudly dedicated their lives to stopping Communism from spreading in Latin America, though this meant assassination of Latin American Communists. Fidel Castro was on the top of their list.

The top secret program, AMLASH, was their baby. Naturally this involves all the baggage that comes with that lifestyle.

Yet when David Atlee Phillips wrote, The AMLASH Legacy (1988), he had retired, and he wanted to portray his legacy in an honorable light. So he told the truth, IMHO, when he said that he participated in the 544 Camp Street scenario to help Lee Harvey Oswald infiltrate the Communist Party and the FPCC.

Although Jim Garrison and Joan Mellon would claim that all the people at 544 Camp Street were plotting to assassinate JFK, I believe they were too hasty and jumped to conclusions. It is more likely that only a tiny few of the mercenaries at 544 Camp Street knew about the secret Civilian plot against JFK, and that by far most of them continued to believe that they were in a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro.

This includes Lee Harvey Oswald. This would explain why Lee Harvey Oswald got himself in the position of being the Patsy -- he played along with his "Team" all the way to the bitter end -- handing over his personal rifle and keeping his mouth shut as long as he could.

Jack Ruby had no part in this. He was a Dallas pimp who would do anything the Dallas Police asked him to do. Some Dallas Police asked Jack Ruby to kill the cop-killer for them. He did. Read Seth Kantor's book, Who Was Jack Ruby (1978), for a logical explanation of Jack Ruby, without the guesswork.

Also, follow it all up with Walt Brown's, Treachery in Dallas (1995) to recognize the direct role played by rogues inside the Dallas Police Department -- led by General Walker. It all fits together logically.

The latest FBI FOIA releases don't support John Armstrong -- they support Dr. Jeff Caufield and his new book, General Walker and the Murder of President Kennedy: the Extensive New Evidence of a Radical Right Conspiracy (2015).

Regards,

--Paul Trejo

Edited October 7, 2016 by Paul Trejo

[Paul Brancato]

Jim - thanks for your post in your words. I was not aware of the close lifelong relationship between Phillips and McLendon, and it may be significant. We know for sure that Phillips was seen with Oswald in Dallas. We also have a reason to suspect that Phillips put David Morales onto Oswald. The description given by building inspector Wade of a scene at the Carousel club in November of 1963 suggests that Morales was there with Oswald - in Ruby's club. Now, I am aware that Larry Crafard was staying at the club during that period, and that many suspect some Oswald sightings to be Crafard. But Mr. Wade obviously took close notice of the 3 men sitting together that night, because Ruby stepped in when a photographer took a photo that would have shown the people at that table. According to Wade, Ruby said the photo didn't come out. Additionally 'Oswald' took part in a hypnotist show. Thomas Graves has been postulating here that Morales was watching Oswald in New Orleans.

One other thing I would mention - there are still documents being withheld about the CIA - DRE links, specifically Joannides, DRE case officer. The Miami CIA station was closely linked to these operations both in NO and in MC, and it's those operations we know the least about. Remember, the WC wouldn't touch it, and that in itself is enough for us to know there were state secrets being protected then, and now, regarding Phillips, Morales, Joannides, Shackley, and ultimately Helms.

[Chuck Schwartz]

This is Jack Ruby explaining his relationship to Gordon McLendon to Earl Warren..

I felt I have always abided by the law--a few little infractions, but not serious--and I felt we have one of the greatest police forces in the world here, and I have always been close to them, and I visited in the office. And over the radio I heard they were working overtime.
I stopped at the delicatessen called Phil's on Oak Lawn Avenue, and suddenly I decided--I told the clerk there I wanted him to make me some real good sandwiches, about 10 or 12, and he had already started on the sandwiches and I got on the phone.
I called an officer by the name of Sims and I said, "Sims, I hear you guys are working," and so on. I said, "I want to bring some sandwiches." And he said, "Jack, we wound up our work already. We wound up what we were doing. We are finished what we were doing. I will tell the boys about your thoughtfulness, and I will thank them for you."
In the meantime, there is a fellow in town that has been very good to me named Gordon McLendon. Do you know him, Mr. Warren?
Chief Justice WARREN. I think I do not.
Mr. RUBY. He had been giving me a lot of free plugs. And all the while listening to the radio, I heard about a certain diskjockey, Joe Long, that is down at the station, giving firsthand information--I want to describe him--of Oswald.
Very rarely do I use the name Oswald. I don't know why. I don't know how to explain it--of the person that committed the act. [Pause to compose self.] So before going down to the police station, I try to call KLIF but can't get their number.
I wanted to bring the sandwiches to KLIF so they would have the sandwiches, since they already started to make them up.

And I remember Russ Knight, a diskjockey--these names aren't familiar to you, but I have to mention them in order to refresh my memory.
His name was Moore, or something, and I tried to get information on the telephone, but they couldn't give me the phone number of his home.
I probably thought I could get the phone number, but after 6 p.m., you cannot get into the premises unless you have a "hot" number that is right to the diskjockey room.
So I couldn't get a hold of that.
But in the meantime, I called Gordon McLendon's home, because I know he lives near the synagogue out there, and I got a little girl on the phone, and I knew they had children, and I asked for the number for KLIF.
I said, "AnShe said, "No."
I said, "Is your daddy or mommy home?" I forget what transpired. I said, "I would like to get the number of the station so I can get in the building at this time."
She said she would go and see, and gave me a Riverside exchange.
Mind you, this is 6 or 7 months back, gentlemen.
And I asked her name. Her name was Christine, I think. I said, "I wanted to bring some sandwiches."
She said, "My mother already brought sandwiches."
And I said, "I wanted to go there too." And that was the end of this little girls conversation with myself.
I called that number, as I am repeating myself. There was no such number. It was an obsolete number.
I go down to the--I drive by--I leave the delicatessen--the clerk helped me with the sandwiches out to my car, and I thanked him. I told him, "These were going to KLIF, and I want you to make them real good."
He helped me with the sandwiches in the car. I got in the car and drove down toward town. I imagine it is about 4 or 5 miles to the downtown section from this delicatessen.
But prior to going into the station, I drove up McKinney Avenue to look over a couple of clubs to see if they were activating. I knew the club across from the Phil's Delicatessen and I knew the B. & B. Restaurant was open. That is a restaurant and I know the necessity for food, but I can't understand some of the clubs remaining open. It struck me funny at such a tragic time as that happening.yone home?"

[Chris Newton]

This is Jack Ruby explaining his relationship to Gordon McLendon to Earl Warren..

Thanks Chuck

I have to LOL at the epic phone call story.

The important part is that they may have been communicating information about Oswald, (via Joe Long), to Ruby, (encouraging him to listen with "free plugs")?

[Chris Newton]

From Guatemala to Cuba to Dallas, David Atlee Phillips was an enabler of assassins and a professional xxxx. By the time of the Missile Crisis, Phillips was supporting DRE leaders in Miami to the tune of $25,000 per month, and he helped revive DRE following the Bay of Pigs. He clearly felt, as did so many of the Cubans, that Kennedy had betrayed him. That is evidenced by his and his Agency’s violent operations against the Cuban government even after being ordered to desist by the Kennedy Administration.

David Atlee Phillips had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to plan and help execute the murder of JFK. What I’m presenting is a description of the how that was probably accomplished. For you to suggest a different reality, you have to assume, among other things, that the frequent communications between Ruby and Phillips’ parter McLendon was a coincidence. There are far too many coincidences in this case.

I agree with Jim and would add that the vehemently anti-Castro assassination rumors purportedly released by DRE post-assassination are probably not coincidental.

[Jim Hargrove]

I agree with Jim and would add that the vehemently anti-Castro assassination rumors purportedly released by DRE post-assassination are probably not coincidental.

Indeed! The evidence makes it very clear that JFK was assassinated to provoke an invasion of Cuba!

Jim DiEugenio has made some great presentations showing how just about every aspect of JFK's foreign policy was at odds with the MIC, but the statement above is the obvious truth, IMHO.

[Jim Hargrove]

Jim - thanks for your post in your words. I was not aware of the close lifelong relationship between Phillips and McLendon, and it may be significant. We know for sure that Phillips was seen with Oswald in Dallas. We also have a reason to suspect that Phillips put David Morales onto Oswald. The description given by building inspector Wade of a scene at the Carousel club in November of 1963 suggests that Morales was there with Oswald - in Ruby's club. Now, I am aware that Larry Crafard was staying at the club during that period, and that many suspect some Oswald sightings to be Crafard. But Mr. Wade obviously took close notice of the 3 men sitting together that night, because Ruby stepped in when a photographer took a photo that would have shown the people at that table. According to Wade, Ruby said the photo didn't come out. Additionally 'Oswald' took part in a hypnotist show. Thomas Graves has been postulating here that Morales was watching Oswald in New Orleans.

One other thing I would mention - there are still documents being withheld about the CIA - DRE links, specifically Joannides, DRE case officer. The Miami CIA station was closely linked to these operations both in NO and in MC, and it's those operations we know the least about. Remember, the WC wouldn't touch it, and that in itself is enough for us to know there were state secrets being protected then, and now, regarding Phillips, Morales, Joannides, Shackley, and ultimately Helms.

Thanks Paul. I'm pretty aware of Morales's reputation as Phillips' assassin (suspected in the killings of both Che Guevara and Allende, no?) but I'm not up to speed on his possible connections with "Oswald." I'll look into it right away.

JA believes Crafard would be less likely to be confused with "Oswald" in person (as opposed to comparing photographs) because his teeth were so bad.

Now that everyone is aware of the full scope of Joannides' treachery, my guess is that some ancient documents may still be being shredded even now.

[Joe Bauer]

Whenever I read Jack Ruby's testimony to the Warren Commission I have to stop and often re-read parts as it is hard to follow.

It is so disjointed and scattered and meandering.

It's so clear that Ruby was a mentally and emotionally imbalanced person. So many issues such as PTSD ( from a traumatic childhood ), anger control, deep insecurities, and on and on.

And from everything I have read about Ruby in his Dallas days, he was always like this.

Pounding an out-of-line Carousel Club patron's head into the ground and spontaneously raising up with a confused expression and saying to those watching him do this..."what am I doing?" Many other similar tales in the years people knew him.

Still, Ruby was socially functional enough to run ( barely at times ) strip joints. However it sounds like the book keeping part was beyond him. He dealt mostly in cash. And one can be sure that most of his clubs profits were not declared to the IRS.

So, with all of this long time crazy personal and business background, combined with his Warren Commission testimony that was so impulsively off-the-wall some members of the commission and their staff thought Ruby was brain damaged and then the ultimate insanity act of murdering a handcuffed man in front of millions to save Jackie Kennedy the ordeal of coming back to Dallas for a trial, one must ask ...WHY ???

Why on Earth would the Warren Commission take crazy Jack Ruby's word about his not being at Parkland versus totally mentally together and career accomplished Seth Kantor's word that Ruby was indeed at Parkland and had actually spoken to Kantor in person there?

The Warren Commision's decision to believe mental and emotional basket case Jack Ruby over Seth Kantor in the very important Parkland Hospital part of the 11,22,1963 story and Ruby's part in this is just another loud ( and sad ) credibility ruining clarion call from that group and their investigative efforts and findings.

Edited October 9, 2016 by Joe Bauer

[Joe Bauer]

The proposed scenario of certain members of the Dallas PD setting Oswald up for the Ruby hit makes more and more sense to me over the years.

I recall seeing a You Tube video of a press interview of Dallas PD Sergeant Patrick Dean ( head of basement security ) immediately after Ruby shot Oswald.

In this he stated that when he heard the shot he briefly wondered whether one of his own in the DPD had shot Oswald!

That was a remarkable statement in its inference.

Clearly ( at least in Dean's Mind ) some of Oswald's own police protection wanted him dead for his alleged killing of one of their own.

Dallas PD detective Jim Leavelle mentioned many times in his later year interviews that his focus and concern with Oswald was as the killer of one of his own. Much more so than whether Oswald had killed JFK. You could see and feel Leavelle's level of hate for Oswald as a cop killer of one of his brothers. Obviously he felt Oswald got what he deserved.

So, Oswald hating Leavelle is assigned as one of Oswald's only two personal security "escorts" into that light glaring and obviously loosely scanned basement crowd with Ruby in the front row?

And wasn't Ruby standing right next to another Dallas Police person in the front row right up to the second he lurched and fired. And wasn't this side-by-side Dallas Police person a long time friendly acquaintance of Ruby?

Oswald was practically paraded "in front of" his only two security handlers.

I saw more and tighter protection of Howdy Doody and Uncle Bob during one of their promotional appearances when I was a kid in the 1950's.

Oswald should have been taken to the County Jail at night unannounced and surrounded by a complete circle cordon of officers three men thick.

The level of death threats to Oswald were probably greater than any other criminal in our history. Tens of thousands a day as reported on the national news.

That is why it is literally sickening to look back and see Oswald's transfer handled as if he was a suspect in a common murder versus the one of the century.

It all screamed " SET UP " ... and bi-polar wannabe or favor owing or threatened and coerced Jack Ruby was the fall guy picked to get rid of the other more dangerous fall guy.

So, who was Jack Ruby?

A pathologically insecure somebody wannabe who took care of dirty deed business for others who asked him ( or ordered him ) to do this.

Edited October 8, 2016 by Joe Bauer