Who is Abe Greenbaum?

[Richard Booth]

42 minutes ago, Matt Allison said:

Richard- yes, it's a really excellent observation. I hadn't thought very much about Nagell's letters in a while, but these threads on the subject make me realize that it's worth the time to try and decipher them.

What strikes me the most about Nagell's letters is his sense of humor. It's 2 parts espionage, 1 part Mad Magazine. 

[James DiEugenio]

Remember what Garrison said:  "Richard Case Nagell is the most important witness there is."

IIRC, he would not speak to the HSCA.  Does anyone have different info on that?

[Richard Booth]

54 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said:

Remember what Garrison said:  "Richard Case Nagell is the most important witness there is."

IIRC, he would not speak to the HSCA.  Does anyone have different info on that?

I've never read a word about the HSCA that relates to Nagell, causes me to wonder if ANY of their investigators even knew who he was. 

[James DiEugenio]

No, they did try and get in contact with him.

But he did not want to talk to them or the ARRB.

In that he reflects Fletcher Prouty.

[Richard Booth]

2 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

No, they did try and get in contact with him.

But he did not want to talk to them or the ARRB.

In that he reflects Fletcher Prouty.

It seems to me that he leveraged his knowledge of classified things when he wanted to get things he needed -- pension, out of prison, his kids. Once he got what he wanted, he kept his mouth shut. 

Being nearly shot to death and having a grenade thrown at you also tends to make a person reluctant to talk.

He was smart enough to realize that others who did open their mouths often ended up dead. For some, a subpoena or interest from the HSCA was followed quickly by death. 

[James DiEugenio]

I agree.  I think Nagell came to the conclusion that it just was not worth it.  Can't really blame him either. 

If you read my destruction of Litwin's POS book on Garrison, Prouty did the same thing.

When he saw Joannides in the HSCA chambers, he decided not to go though with his interview.  And then for the ARRB , he realized what he was there for, and just told them what he knew wanted to hear--even though it was not true. 

Unfortunately, is what the JFK case became.

[Matt Allison]

Full agreement with both of you guys here. Nagell was wicked smart, but he also had relied on a government job and paycheck from the moment he was out of high school, so he had to be careful about what he said and to who. I'm glad we got the book bio of him that we did, and can only imagine what else he could have revealed about his life if he had told his own story. But that is a true rarity in the spook world.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Matt Allison