Lumpkin, Gannaway, and the DPD-Army Intelligence network

[Bill Simpich]

 

I have reported on the Gannaway relationship with convicted wiretapper Robert Denson in 1963, reprinted below.  

Denson, head of the Tri-State Private Detective Agency, was hired to work on Jack Ruby's trial defense.  Denson was working on protesters appearing with placards supporting Ruby.

This late 1964 FBI memo by Robert Barrett indicates that the Gannaway-Denson relationship was being monitored by none other than Criminal Intelligence detective Don Stringfellow (identified as DL T-23)  

Stringfellow is infamous for passing a phony report to the military during the afternoon of November 22 - so seeing Stringfellow snitching on his boss Gannaway indicates a big lack of harmony within the Special Services Bureau - because Revill was snitching on Gannaway too.  Maybe Stringfellow and Revill just wanted to get Gannaway fired - or was it more than that?

The same memo goes after assistant DA William Alexander for having custody of the Oswald diary that was leaked to LIfe Magazine - which is more understandable - it mentions how Alexander hated the FBI and was referred to by people who knew him as "a vicious nut".  Why did Jack Ruby love Alexander so much - even though he was his prosecutor?  Why did Alexander leak info about Oswald having Hosty's "home phone, office phone and car license number", and plant phony info that Oswald was an FBI informant?

I should mention that "police department number" is provided for many suspects - we should conduct a public records act request in Texas using these numbers!!

Here is an interesting FBI memo written by Robert Barrett from 3/15/63, entitled Crime Conditions in the Dallas Division.  It names Jack Revill as FBI T-1, who wants his identity confidential.  

Revill reported to Barrett that a close relationship continued between Gannaway and private detective Robert B. Denson - even though Denson had recently been convicted in the Tyler federal court for wiretapping.  

The word was that Gannaway was going to retire soon and go into the private detective business with Denson.  Denson ran the Tri-State Detective Agency.  

Denson was later hired by the Ruby defense team.  He would shoulder reporters aside and ask them not to photo him - but both he and Belli denied that he was Belli's bodyguard.

When Karen Lynn Bennett testified on 12/23/63 at a Ruby bail hearing, she was followed out the door by defense attorney Tom Howard and Denson.

[Steve Thomas]

8 hours ago, Bill Simpich said:

 

I have reported on the Gannaway relationship with convicted wiretapper Robert Denson in 1963, reprinted below.  

This late 1964 FBI memo by Robert Barrett indicates that the Gannaway-Denson relationship was being monitored by none other than Criminal Intelligence detective Don Stringfellow (identified as DL T-23)  

 

Bill,

I was looking through the memo you cited and a couple of things jumped out at me:

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=122178&search=stringfellow#relPageId=15&tab=page

Page 15

Captain, J. M. Solomon was the Head of the Reservists for the Dallas Police Department. I wonder if they were related.

Jack Ruby’s Accountant, Abraham Kleinman, saw Jack Ruby in Sol’s Turf Bar on November 23^rd.

 

Page 16

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree did it?

Steve Thomas

 

[Bill Simpich]

I am reviving this thread because I think there is more to be learned about William Paul Gannaway - aka Pat Gannaway, head of the Special Services Division on 11/22/63 and cross-designated with Army Intelligence.

For a while I have wanted to see the original statement of Gannaway quoted by Mark Lane in Rush to Judgment, after Lane writes that Oswald "became important to the police only after he missed an employee roll call soon afterward"...

Here's the Gannaway quote:

"He was the only one who didn't show up and couldn't be accounted for."

I found it in the 11/28/63 copy of the Corpus Christi Times.

As Gaeton Fonzi pointed out back in 1971 (and Mark Lane and others as well):  "There was no roll call.  48 of the 75 employees were outside when the President was shot and many couldn't get back in after the assassination and even among the employees known to have been on the sixth floor earlier that day." 

I recommend Mark Bridger's article on the roll call in the Dealey Plaza Echo.   This is a critical issue that illustrates the incredible bad faith of Gannaway, who publicized this story around the country.  Note how it was shut up afterwards.  I have had a heck of a time validating Gannaway's quote.

There are second-hand reports saying Gannaway said that Oswald's description was broadcast following the shooting of JFK because he was missing from a "roll call" at the TSBD.   The Corpus Christi article is such a second-hand report, I am looking for a direct quote from Gannaway on that.  They needed something to explain the 12:44 call about the 5 foot 10-165 pound man - the description found in the CIA/FBI/INS reports on LHO and nowhere else.

Also, I have seen virtually no discussion of the six right wingers who were seized and held in jail by Gannaway for possible conspiracy to kill JFK from 11/22 to 11/26:  Bobby Joiner, 34, his three nephews Roy Joinder, 17, Raymond Joinder, 16, Gary Joinder, 17, Gene Guinn, 31, and William Jennings, 17, all from Grand Prairie.  UPI reported on 12/6/63 that these right wingers were carrying signs such as "Kan the Kennedy Klan" at the Trade Mart.  The Cuban exiles Juan Quintana and Raul Castro Baile - who met regularly at Alpha-66's House on Harlandale - in Dallas had a Rambler with a bumper sticker also saying "Kan the Kennedy Klan" before 11/22/63.

The right wingers were with the Indignant White Citizens' Council - Jack Revill claimed they were arrested so that they wouldn't be assaulted by other citizens on the street.

Arrestee Gene Guinn went on to file a suit against Gannaway in September 1964 which was widely reported.

They were originally charged with "conspiracy to commit a felony:  to wit, Murder".  So here are some actual arrests for conspiracy to kill JFK besides Clay Shaw!   Including 16 and 17 year olds, OMG.

This was later lowered to "trespassing".   On a public sidewalk?

I think that holding them for four days was a stunt by Gannaway to divert attention from other right wingers, his office, and himself.

Does anyone have an earlier copy of this report?  Lane says it is in the 11/24/63 Daily Morning News.  I thought I remembered it as early as 11/22 in the Houston Post, but now I can't find it there from what Denis M. posted.

Which leads to another question - Where is the best site to read the November 1963 JFK assassination articles from the Dallas-Fort Worth newspapers?   These newspapers are not on MFF, and I believe they should be.  Is there a good place to access them?   I could start a separate thread, but wanted to raise these issues here first.

[Steve Thomas]

4 hours ago, Bill Simpich said:

 

Also, I have seen virtually no discussion of the six right wingers who were seized and held in jail by Gannaway for possible conspiracy to kill JFK from 11/22 to 11/26:  Bobby Joiner, 34, his three nephews Roy Joinder, 17, Raymond Joinder, 16, Gary Joinder, 17, Gene Guinn, 31, and William Jennings, 17, all from Grand Prairie.  UPI reported on 12/6/63 that these right wingers were carrying signs such as "Kan the Kennedy Klan" at the Trade Mart.  The Cuban exiles Juan Quintana and Raul Castro Baile - who met regularly at Alpha-66's House on Harlandale - in Dallas had a Rambler with a bumper sticker also saying "Kan the Kennedy Klan" before 11/22/63.

The right wingers were with the Indignant White Citizens' Council - Jack Revill claimed they were arrested so that they wouldn't be assaulted by other citizens on the street.

Arrestee Gene Guinn went on to file a suit against Gannaway in September 1964 which was widely reported.

They were originally charged with "conspiracy to commit a felony:  to wit, Murder".  So here are some actual arrests for conspiracy to kill JFK besides Clay Shaw!   Including 16 and 17 year olds, OMG.

This was later lowered to "trespassing".   On a public sidewalk?

I think that holding them for four days was a stunt by Gannaway to divert attention from other right wingers, his office, and himself.

Does anyone have an earlier copy of this report?  Lane says it is in the 11/24/63 Daily Morning News.  I thought I remembered it as early as 11/22 in the Houston Post, but now I can't find it there from what Denis M. posted.

Which leads to another question - Where is the best site to read the November 1963 JFK assassination articles from the Dallas-Fort Worth newspapers?   These newspapers are not on MFF, and I believe they should be.  Is there a good place to access them?   I could start a separate thread, but wanted to raise these issues here first.

Bill,

You might be interested in this Forum thread "A Possible Rambler Lead?"

https://educationforum.ipbhost.com/topic/8031-possible-rambler-lead/#comment-76073

FBI Agebt, Wallace Heitman wrote a bunch of Reports on the Cuban exiles community in Dallas. 

You can find them in the MFF site.

In the process, he interviewed Castro and Quintana. If I remember right, Castro owned the Rambler.  I wish Roger Craig had been asked if the Rambler he saw had a bumper sticker.

The placards and bumper stickers were picked up at a John Birch Society meeting a day or so before Adlai Stevenson's talk in Dallas where he got bonked on the head. The Joiner's were there and so were some of the Cuban exiles folks including Castro and Quintana, as well as Larry Smith.

The signs were stored at General Walker's place on Turtle Creek Blvd.

I have often wonde4ed if this was the same John Birch Society meeting that Michael Paine and Lee Harvey Oswald went to.

Most of the Joiners were teenagers. They were released on the morning of the 26th, when the DPD emtied out the jail following Oswald's muder, along with John Elrod and Daniel Wayne House.

Gene Quinn owned a Sinclair gas staation. When Dennis Offstein (of Jaggers-Chiles-Stovall fame) got out of the Army (where he served in the Army Security Agency), he went to work in a Sinclair gas station. I've often wondered if it was the one owned by Gene Quinn.

Steve Thomas

 

 

 

[Steve Thomas]

5 hours ago, Steve Thomas said:

Bill,

Gene Quinn owned a Sinclair gas staation. When Dennis Offstein (of Jaggers-Chiles-Stovall fame) got out of the Army (where he served in the Army Security Agency), he went to work in a Sinclair gas station. I've often wondered if it was the one owned by Gene Quinn.

Steve Thomas

 

 

 

Bill,

I had a chance to go back and look at my notes this morning:

From Ofstein's WC testimony:

Mr. OFSTEIN. I reside in Dallas at the present time; I was born in St. Louis and I have lived in Florida for the most part of my life.
Mr. JENNER. And are you a married man?
Mr. OFSTEIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. How long have you lived in Dallas?
Mr. OFSTEIN. Approximately 3 years.

Mr. OFSTEIN. For the past 2 years I have been with Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall as a cameraman.
Mr. JENNER As a cameraman?
Mr. OFSTEIN. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. What was your work immediately prior to that, by whom, were you employed?
Mr. OFSTEIN. I was working for Sinclair Refining Co. at a local service station.
Mr. JENNER. Here in Dallas?
Mr. OFSTEIN. Yes, sir.

 

Ofstein was discharged in November, 1960 and had lived in Dallas for three years. So almost immediately after being discharged, he relocates to Dallas where he takes a job working in a gas station?

 

When George de Mohrenschildt first visited Haiti in 1956, he was working for the Sinclair Oil Company.

Department of State Incoming Telegram No. 013865, Dec. 19, 1963, House Select Committee on Assassinations (contained in JFK Document No. 009963)

 

de Mohrenschildt would help Oswald get a job at Jaggers-Chiles-Stovall in 1962.

 

From the 1961 Dallas City Directory page 139

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth806907/m1/473/

J H Sinclair Service Station (James H. Bland) 1023 S. Hampton Rd. This is roughly 2.5 miles W/SW of the Texas Theater.

 

And, another one

 

former Sinclair station

622 N Haskell Ave
Dallas, TX

In recent years, this former Sinclair station has housed several restaurants. It is now home to the MaD Foodery restaurant. The decorations on top of the columns are not part of the original station design.

inclTexas Sinclair Gas Stations

http://www.roadarch.com/gas/txsinclair2.html

 

Haskell is way out on the northwest side of Dallas

 

However, there was another one also, and wouldn't this be ironic if this is where Ofstein worked?

 

(There was a Sinclair Service Station at 1820 N. Beckley in Dallas)

 

At 12:45 PM on November 22, 1963 Gene Andre Guinn, age 31 of 636 Lacewood was arrested along with the Joiners for picketing at the Dallas Trade Mart. Guinn was a member of the White Indignant Citizens Council. . Guinn was also suspected of printing the “Wanted For Treason” leaflets.

DPD Archives Box 7, Folder# 7, Item# 18

http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/box7.htm

 

According to the Mary Ferrell Chronologies, “Guinn runs for political offices and seems to be a right winger” (He ran for City Council in 1965.) His address would be in Police District 84, which Officer Tippitt had been assigned in the past. This street is near O'Bannon street where Mrs. Stella Jacob lives. She formerly lived at 508 S. Marsalis and she works at the TSBD.”

 

In a handwritten note to the Guinn citation, Ferrell adds, “He owned Sinclair Station, 1820 N. Beckley; member of hate group; did Rockwell's printing?”.

 

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=40392&relPageId=183&search=Gene_Guinn

 

Jack Revill wrote a memo to Captain Gannaway about the subversive groups under surveillance prior to Kennedy's visit.

Dallas Municipal Archives and Records Center : Box 13, Folder 4, Item 52

http://jfk.ci.dallas.tx.us/27/2705-002.gif and

jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/.../Poster%205.doc

 

“The only demonstrators observed at the DALLAS RADE MART were members of the INDIGNANT WHITE CITIZENS COUNCIL. Six of those individuals were taken into custody shortly after knowledge of the assassination became known. This step was taken to prevent theses persons from being assaulted by spectators at the scene. The arrested persons of this group are as follows:

 

BOBBY JOINER

RAYMOND LEE JOINER

GARY DWAYNE JOINER

ROY EUGENE JOINER

GENE AURORA GUINN

WILLIAM L E CUMMINGS”

 

(I have seen his name spelled Gene Andre Guinn, Gene Audra Guinn, and Gene Aurora Guinn).

 

Steve Thomas

 

 

 

[Bill Simpich]

Revill’s memo about the six arrestees makes no sense - they had no grounds to hold them on a bogus charge for four days.

The arrestees’ connection to the Harlandale Cubans and Gen. Walker seems very important to me.

I wonder if there is any way to show Ofstein worked at Guinn’s Sinclair station?  That would be a break.

[Tom Gram]

Not sure if relevant, but apparently the FBI, SS, and DPD all knew about the picket signs and the Indignant White Citizens Council before the assassination. Someone called the FBI on Joiner at 4:45pm on the 21st and reported that Guinn was printing picket signs.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10110#relPageId=39

[Steve Thomas]

3 hours ago, Bill Simpich said:

Revill’s memo about the six arrestees makes no sense - they had no grounds to hold them on a bogus charge for four days.

The arrestees’ connection to the Harlandale Cubans and Gen. Walker seems very important to me.

I wonder if there is any way to show Ofstein worked at Guinn’s Sinclair station?  That would be a break.

Bill,

Because of that Stevenson incident in October, I don't think the Dallas Police were brooking any nonsense when it came to street demonstrations.

Earlier I mis-identified Larry Smith as a participant in Stevenson. Actually, his name was Larrie Schmidt.

A Month Before JFK's Assassination, Dallas Right Wingers Attack Adlai Stevenson

Remembering the ferment in the "City of Hate"

By Bill Minutaglio, Steven L. Davis/ November 18, 2013

https://newrepublic.com/article/115601/jfk-dallas-right-wingers-attack-adlai-stevenson

From the book DALLAS 1963. Copyright 2013 by Bill Minutaglio & Steven L. Davis, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Twelve/Hachette Book Group, New York, NY. All rights reserved.

“Stevenson listens to numerous apologies and receives assurances that most people in Dallas don’t agree with the protesters."

"Then, a policeman passes the word that not all of the protesters have left the premises. Nearly a hundred people are marching in front of the auditorium. The group is surrounding Stevenson’s limousine and chanting anti-UN slogans. Larrie Schmidt’s people are among them.”

Schmidt would later claim credit for organizing the Stevenson inclident.

Larrie Schmidt, Spartacus Educational bio

https://spartacus-educational.com/JFKschmidt.htm

“While in the army Schmidt made friends with Bernard Weissman. While in Germany the two men discussed the possibility of establishing a right-wing political group when they returned to the United States. Larrie Schmidt left the army in October, 1962.

Weissman was discharged in August 1963 but was unable to find work. Short of money, Weissman contacted Schmidt who at that time was living in Dallas. Schmidt told Weissman about his involvement in the attack on the liberal politician, Adlai Stevenson. According to Schmidt, this had been organized by General Edwin Walker. Schmidt added that his brother was working as General Walker's chauffeur and general aide.

Weissman arrived in Dallas on 4th November, 1963. Soon afterwards Schmidt got Weissman to join an organization called the Young Americans for Freedom. Schmidt also introduced Weissman to Joe Grinnan of the John Birch Society. Grinnan was involved in organizing protests against the visit of John F. Kennedy. Grinnan seemed to know about the visit before it was officially announced to the public. Grinnan suggested that they should place a black-bordered advert in the Dallas Morning News on 22nd November, 1963. The advert cost $1,465. Grinnan supplied the money. He claimed that some of this came from Nelson Bunker Hunt, the son of Haroldson L. Hunt. Weissman was given the task of signing the advert and taking it to the newspaper office.”

So, like I said, you've got the John Birch Society, the anti-Castro Cuban exiles, the Indignant White Citizens Council people, Larrie Schidt and the YAF and Walker people, and, though it's a stretch,  possibly Michael Paine and LHO all at the same place and same time.

As far as Ofstein possibly working at Guinn's Sinclair station, I just don't know. I've never been able to find out just where he worked.

 

PS: For the purposes of your research, I've never seen any connection between Guinn and any kind of military intelligence, whether it's Lumpkin or Whitmeyer, or Crichton or Brandstetter, the 112th or 316th, the Army Security Agency, or the 4150th, etc.

Steve Thomas

 

 

Edited May 26 by Steve Thomas

[Paul Cummings]

I searched Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Gannaway shows up on November 28, 1963. Earlier dates provided no results. I have the article if you're still interested.

[Bill Simpich]

Paul, that would be great if you could send it to me or post it in this thread.

[Paul Cummings]

44 minutes ago, Bill Simpich said:

Paul, that would be great if you could send it to me or post it in this thread.

I don't have the patience to see if I can get in here. How about email?