Marcello and Oswald and the assassination

[Greg Doudna]

1 hour ago, Norman T. Field said:

Let us remember that LHO had a negative test for GSR after being arrested. Therefore; he did not fire a bolt action rifle once, let alone three times. 

True Norman. Anyone who is in doubt on this should read Pat Speer's article on his website (https://www.patspeer.com/chapter4fcastsofcontention). Somewhere else on the same website Pat Speer has a discussion of shirts of Oswald either not examined for gunshot residue or if they were the outcome was not disclosed.  

I follow Flip de Mey's analysis that the 6th floor Mannlicher-Carcano had been linked to Oswald and was used in the assassination and shooting of JFK, but was not fired by Oswald. 

[Lawrence Schnapf]

@denny- the patsy for the Guatamalan president was set up as a communist sympathizer. I'm not as familar with the killing of the attorney-general elect.

I now think Marcello is the most logical candidate behind the assassination ( I used to believe it was exiles who were "encouraged" by rogue elements of the CIA). Marcell had the means, motives and opportunities. Indeed, the FBI seemed to be circling in on him in the weeks after the assassination with 8 close associates being interviewed or questioned by FBI. But then Hoover shut down that angle around December 18th. 

Marcello involvement would also explain the strange silence of the Kennedy family. Most families would use their power to bring justice to the person who killed their loved member. Instead, the  Kennedy family reaction was "what good would it do? it wont bring him back". I think the real truth was RFK suspected the mafia and knew that if that rock was unturned, it would expose lots of ugly secrets (at that time) which would ruin his political future and the memory of his dead brother.       

[Pete Mellor]

On 3/6/2022 at 8:30 PM, Greg Doudna said:

You have a Marcello operative directly going from being with Marcello at the time of the assassination to Oswald's former landlady following the assassination asking about a lost "library card", which John Canal in Silencing the Assassin (2000), pp 93-95, brilliantly says was the Marcello operative just saying that to get her (the landlady) to give him (the Marcello operative) access to Oswald's old room in order to sweep it or check for anything left behind incriminating. Consciousness of what there? Then that same Marcello operative makes that strange trip to Houston and Galveston arriving in Galveston the same time as Breck Wall, "president of the 'mob-infiltrated' American Guild of Variety Artists, also arrived in Galveston, having driven south from Dallas. Then, less than an hour after arriving in Galveston, Wall received a phone call from Ruby" (Canal, pp 95-96). And the only reason Marcello via Ruby had Oswald killed Sun Nov 24 was probably because some things had failed from the same Marcello operation to have Oswald killed Nov 22.

So Marcello is just all over the assassination. Looks like a duck, walks like a duck, maybe it is a duck? (Except Oswald looking like a duck was a decoy?)

Greg, You have quoted the John Canal book in this and another thread.  It is one publication that I haven't got in my library. So, I now have it on order from Amazon @ £5. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Greg Doudna]

9 hours ago, Pete Mellor said:

Greg, You have quoted the John Canal book in this and another thread.  It is one publication that I haven't got in my library. So, I now have it on order from Amazon @ £5. Thanks for the recommendation.

Canal makes the unusual argument that Oswald was a lone-nut assassin, but that Marcello had Oswald killed to silence Oswald concerning things Oswald knew re Marcello's crime operations apart from the assassination. I do not agree with that, however Canal makes some interesting and original arguments and analysis nevertheless. One does not have to agree with every argument in a book to recognize high-quality analysis at points. 

[Jon Pickering]

Thanks to their success in handling that pesky Kennedy fellow in '63, the Italian mob now flies it flag over armed bases in over 150 countries worldwide and saw the wise guys behind it retire as wealthy and free men secure in the knowledge they could forever cover up the murder of a U.S. president, and, not end up in oil drums and subterrenean apartments with two shots behind the ear. Or, go to hoosgow for terms no less than their full natural lives, or, even face constant legal pressure from various do-gooders in the system. How fortunate that Carlos never got brought down in BriLab like some street punk. The world of the Mafia would have been frothing with these type occurrences were it not for their successful hit on John Kennedy. 

[Pete Mellor]

On 3/9/2022 at 2:36 AM, Lawrence Schnapf said:

Marcello involvement would also explain the strange silence of the Kennedy family. Most families would use their power to bring justice to the person who killed their loved member. Instead, the  Kennedy family reaction was "what good would it do? it wont bring him back". I think the real truth was RFK suspected the mafia and knew that if that rock was unturned, it would expose lots of ugly secrets (at that time) which would ruin his political future and the memory of his dead brother.       

I recall a lunch meeting between RFK and Florida senator George Smathers in the mid-sixties.

Smathers asked Bobby why he'd aborted his personal investigation into his brother's assassination. "Because every time I pump the FBI or CIA for information," RFK responded, "I end up with a death threat in the mail. So does Teddy."

[Pete Mellor]

23 hours ago, Greg Doudna said:

One does not have to agree with every argument in a book to recognize high-quality analysis at points. 

Couldn't agree more Greg.  Armstrong being a case in point.

[Leslie Sharp]

Excerpt from Hank Albarelli's Coup in Dallas: The Decisive Investigation into Who Killed JFK with Leslie Sharp and Alan Kent, Introduction by Dick Russell, Afterword by Charles R. Drago: 

" . . . Captain Gannaway’s observation was especially ironic considering how closely aligned his protestations were with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgard Hoover vs. the task force on organized crime headed by US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. RFK had already widened his investigation into Dallas mob connections by calling for federal grand jury hearings a month before Geddie’s interview with Gannaway. According to investigative journalist Mark North, author of Act of Treason: The Role of J. Edgar Hoover in the Assassination of President Kennedy, who uncovered a deeply buried case against a Dallas bookmaker by the name of John Eli Stone, “Robert Kennedy, knowing he could not get indictments in Dallas because of the pro-Mob mind-set, had chosen the smaller conservative city [Wichita Falls, Texas].” 

            North observed that, “ . . . reporters were there when Philip Bosco [a Joe Civello bookmaker] was called into the Grand Jury room. From Bosco, RFK had the opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of the Pearl Street Mafia. But true to omertà, Bosco took the Fifth against self-incrimination. He was brought before Judge Sarah [sic] Hughes, who ‘exempted him from criminal prosecution . . .’” According to North, after Bosco again refused to answer, and again took the Fifth, a reluctant Judge Hughes scheduled a contempt of court hearing to, in North’s words, “placate RFK’s prosecutors.” North’s investigation into the deeply buried facts surrounding the 1963 case, revealed that the prosecutor was meaning to also prosecute the Civello mob. (Note: Mark North chose to refer to the Civello crime family in Dallas as Pearl Street Mafia because it originated in the Pearl Street Market district.)

            The records that North unearthed revealed that on October 21 the grand jury reconvened in Wichita Falls, and by the afternoon it had issued a sixteen-count indictment for violation of federal gaming statutes against Dallas bookmakers John Eli Stone and brother James, along with Isadore “Izzy” Miller, as well as Albert Meadows who had been arrested for violation of federal gambling laws. Writes North, “. . . the Dallas media understood the lethal nature of the threat that the prosecution posed. Exposure and verification of the Joseph Civello mob’s long-term criminal operation in Dallas was what city officials had long been denying. A major scandal was in the making. . . and RFK’s assault was gaining momentum.” North concluded, “Reporters were describing the trial as ‘a full-scale investigation into gambling and racketeering in the North Texas area. It was lethal prosecution in the making.’”

            Those indicted in Wichita Falls on October 21, including Isadore Miller along with his brother, and John, and Jim Stone, all bookmakers and gamblers for whom Jack Ruby “ran book” were, according to North, the closest to Ruby in the lead up to the assassination. He also reveals that following the indictments, Ruby understood that he would be next. “According to codefendant Izzy Miller, Ruby was prescribed a ‘drug for nervousness.’ Ruby was close to the breaking point. In addition to his criminal association with Stone and Bosco, he had been in regular communication with a key Marcello lieutenant in New Orleans . . .” North determined that with Joe Civello’s arrest and prosecution, the frightening dimensions of the epidemic of crime created by him and his Mob associates had been revealed; in fact, national media interests had labeled Civello an anonymous officer of an invisible government.

McWillie - Tues

with Davis - Oswald

—Pierre Lafitte datebook, March 23, 1963

 

Crime syndicates across the country relied on certain elements within law enforcement to turn a blind eye, and Dallas was no exception, as evidenced by the remarks of Pat Gannaway, the head of the division that was purported to be dedicated to uncovering and impeding organized crime. It is well documented that for decades, a number of noted Dallas business and social elite enjoyed the pastime of gambling and the attendant vices. Of particular interest are the oilmen identified during inquiries of the House Select Committee on Assassinations when they learned from Jack Ruby’s Havana gambling friend Lewis McWillie that Billy Byars, H. L. Hunt and Sid Richardson all gambled at Benny Binion’s legendary Top of the Hill Terrace located west of Dallas when it was managed by McWillie between 1940 and 1958. McWillie was also asked about Murchison and Toddie Wynne Sr. and their friendship with Civello capo Joe Campisi.

According to Scripps Howard investigative reporter Seth Kantor who was one of the more skilled reporters of his day, “Ruby’s special Las Vegas connection was Lewis McWillie, the syndicate gambler Ruby had visited in Cuba in 1959. Ruby had made a series of calls in 1963 to McWillie, who was closely associated with Meyer Lansky’s hoodlum empire and was installed in Las Vegas as pit boss at the Thunderbird casino.” Kantor continues, “On May 10, 1963, Ruby had a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson Centennial revolver shipped to McWillie, according to records of Dallas gun dealer, Ray Brantley.” Brantley will be of particular interest to certain researchers that are aware Dallas police officer Joe Cody was reported to have been contacted immediately following Jack Ruby’s murder of Lee Harvey Oswald because the gun used on Oswald was licensed to Cody. That gun’s history traced directly to Ray Brantley, the same Dallas gun dealer that Ruby had used to ship a revolver to Lewis McWillie."

[Leslie Sharp]

" . . . As noted, five months before that call, in an entry made on June 7, 1963, Lafitte identifies John “Wilson-H” with Ruby and vice versa. Does that suggest that JW-H had an extended relationship with Trafficante and or Lafitte beyond his timely imprisonment in 1959? The entry also refers to a shipment, and to $ [dollars]. While we can’t be certain of the product in question, it is safe to consider that the two men were involved in a significant transfer, either or weapons, drugs or precious commodities. And, it still cannot be ignored that among those pointing Warren Commission investigators to Ruby’s Mafia connections within days of his murder of Oswald, was Hudson’s unsolicited call with his rendition of the Ruby-Trafficante history in Cuba, prying open the pandora’s box of mob involvement. Nor can the near mirror image of Lafitte’s October 30^th entry compared with Ruby’s notebook on October 29^th be discarded as inconsequential.

         Another piece of this particular puzzle captures our attention: back in March 1963, Lafitte included a note written horizontally on the page, “McWillie – Tue with Davis – Oswald. According to extensive testimony, Lewis McWillie, who served as what amounted to Trafficante’s consigliere in Havana, played host to Jack Ruby in 1959 during the now infamous trip that was reported to authorities, strictly by chance, by Wilson-Hudson. Mention of McWillie in the entry in the spring of 1963, adds further credence to the argument that his boss, Trafficante continued interacting with Pierre Lafitte well into the early ’60s."— Coup in Dallas . . . by H. P. Albarelli Jr. with Leslie Sharp et al.  

[Ron Bulman]

2 hours ago, Leslie Sharp said:

 

Excerpt from Hank Albarelli's Coup in Dallas: The Decisive Investigation into Who Killed JFK with Leslie Sharp and Alan Kent, Introduction by Dick Russell, Afterword by Charles R. Drago: 

" . . . Captain Gannaway’s observation was especially ironic considering how closely aligned his protestations were with the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgard Hoover vs. the task force on organized crime headed by US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. RFK had already widened his investigation into Dallas mob connections by calling for federal grand jury hearings a month before Geddie’s interview with Gannaway. According to investigative journalist Mark North, author of Act of Treason: The Role of J. Edgar Hoover in the Assassination of President Kennedy, who uncovered a deeply buried case against a Dallas bookmaker by the name of John Eli Stone, “Robert Kennedy, knowing he could not get indictments in Dallas because of the pro-Mob mind-set, had chosen the smaller conservative city [Wichita Falls, Texas].” 

            North observed that, “ . . . reporters were there when Philip Bosco [a Joe Civello bookmaker] was called into the Grand Jury room. From Bosco, RFK had the opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of the Pearl Street Mafia. But true to omertà, Bosco took the Fifth against self-incrimination. He was brought before Judge Sarah [sic] Hughes, who ‘exempted him from criminal prosecution . . .’” According to North, after Bosco again refused to answer, and again took the Fifth, a reluctant Judge Hughes scheduled a contempt of court hearing to, in North’s words, “placate RFK’s prosecutors.” North’s investigation into the deeply buried facts surrounding the 1963 case, revealed that the prosecutor was meaning to also prosecute the Civello mob. (Note: Mark North chose to refer to the Civello crime family in Dallas as Pearl Street Mafia because it originated in the Pearl Street Market district.)

            The records that North unearthed revealed that on October 21 the grand jury reconvened in Wichita Falls, and by the afternoon it had issued a sixteen-count indictment for violation of federal gaming statutes against Dallas bookmakers John Eli Stone and brother James, along with Isadore “Izzy” Miller, as well as Albert Meadows who had been arrested for violation of federal gambling laws. Writes North, “. . . the Dallas media understood the lethal nature of the threat that the prosecution posed. Exposure and verification of the Joseph Civello mob’s long-term criminal operation in Dallas was what city officials had long been denying. A major scandal was in the making. . . and RFK’s assault was gaining momentum.” North concluded, “Reporters were describing the trial as ‘a full-scale investigation into gambling and racketeering in the North Texas area. It was lethal prosecution in the making.’”

            Those indicted in Wichita Falls on October 21, including Isadore Miller along with his brother, and John, and Jim Stone, all bookmakers and gamblers for whom Jack Ruby “ran book” were, according to North, the closest to Ruby in the lead up to the assassination. He also reveals that following the indictments, Ruby understood that he would be next. “According to codefendant Izzy Miller, Ruby was prescribed a ‘drug for nervousness.’ Ruby was close to the breaking point. In addition to his criminal association with Stone and Bosco, he had been in regular communication with a key Marcello lieutenant in New Orleans . . .” North determined that with Joe Civello’s arrest and prosecution, the frightening dimensions of the epidemic of crime created by him and his Mob associates had been revealed; in fact, national media interests had labeled Civello an anonymous officer of an invisible government.

McWillie - Tues

with Davis - Oswald

—Pierre Lafitte datebook, March 23, 1963

 

Crime syndicates across the country relied on certain elements within law enforcement to turn a blind eye, and Dallas was no exception, as evidenced by the remarks of Pat Gannaway, the head of the division that was purported to be dedicated to uncovering and impeding organized crime. It is well documented that for decades, a number of noted Dallas business and social elite enjoyed the pastime of gambling and the attendant vices. Of particular interest are the oilmen identified during inquiries of the House Select Committee on Assassinations when they learned from Jack Ruby’s Havana gambling friend Lewis McWillie that Billy Byars, H. L. Hunt and Sid Richardson all gambled at Benny Binion’s legendary Top of the Hill Terrace located west of Dallas when it was managed by McWillie between 1940 and 1958. McWillie was also asked about Murchison and Toddie Wynne Sr. and their friendship with Civello capo Joe Campisi.

According to Scripps Howard investigative reporter Seth Kantor who was one of the more skilled reporters of his day, “Ruby’s special Las Vegas connection was Lewis McWillie, the syndicate gambler Ruby had visited in Cuba in 1959. Ruby had made a series of calls in 1963 to McWillie, who was closely associated with Meyer Lansky’s hoodlum empire and was installed in Las Vegas as pit boss at the Thunderbird casino.” Kantor continues, “On May 10, 1963, Ruby had a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson Centennial revolver shipped to McWillie, according to records of Dallas gun dealer, Ray Brantley.” Brantley will be of particular interest to certain researchers that are aware Dallas police officer Joe Cody was reported to have been contacted immediately following Jack Ruby’s murder of Lee Harvey Oswald because the gun used on Oswald was licensed to Cody. That gun’s history traced directly to Ray Brantley, the same Dallas gun dealer that Ruby had used to ship a revolver to Lewis McWillie."

This picture relates to your post.  Enrique Press and Shine, two doors down from the Carousel, owned by Izadore "Izzy" Miller and his brother David.  It was a bookmaking operation monitored by RFK's task force.  Ruby was observed conducting business there.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Ron Bulman

[Leslie Sharp]

Thanks for this great photo, Ron.