A fresh analysis of the Dean Andrews phone call and the name "Clay Bertrand"

[Cory Santos]

On 4/6/2022 at 10:27 AM, Greg Doudna said:

 But he was unable to discover what every other law enforcement official and agency involved in organized crime prosecutions, from Robert Kennedy on down, had known for years: that Marcello was the head of organized crime in the region, headquartered in New Orleans. 

Greg, your above statements, based upon your personal opinions, are incorrect.  Garrison was keenly aware that the mafia existed.  He also knew about Marcelo.  Lastly, you state, essentially, that everyone but him knew about Marcello and the mafia.  As you do not really provide a date of reference, you might note Hoover did not believe in the mafia until late in the game.  So assuming you were correct, he was in good company.   

Edited April 10, 2022 by Cory Santos

[Greg Doudna]

 

12 hours ago, Cory Santos said:

Greg, your above statements, based upon your personal opinions, are incorrect.  Garrison was keenly aware that the mafia existed.  He also knew about Marcelo.  Lastly, you state, essentially, that everyone but him knew about Marcello and the mafia.  As you do not really provide a date of reference, you might note Hoover did not believe in the mafia until late in the game.  So assuming you were correct, he was in good company.   

Cory--

"Garrison further stated that he has heard of allegations linking Marcello to organized crime and the Mafia, but does not know if they are true." (HSCA interview of Garrison, 1977)

I posted the following in an earlier thread, maybe I should have been clearer in citing it, but here is partly where I have been getting that. David Scheim, Contract on America (1988), 70-74:

"But critical review of the Kennedy case was put on hold in February 1967, following the dramatic announcement of New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison that he had uncovered an assassination conspiracy. In the wake of Garrison's sensational allegations, Congressional calls for a new investigation were soon forgotten. And thinking the D.A. had a genuine lead, many leading assassination probers rushed down to New Orleans to jump on his bandwagon.

"Through the efforts of these researchers, a good deal of legitimate information was exchanged and disseminated from Garrison's office. Yet as Garrison's case unfolded, his specific accusations became increasingly outlandish and the thrust of his efforts increasingly questionable. Especially bizarre was Garrison's prosecution of Clay Shaw, who became his prime culprit. A retired director of the New Orleans International Trade Mart, Shaw was a soft-spoken liberal who devoted most of his time to restoring homes in the Old French Quarter and writing plays. It took the jury less than an hour to find Shaw innocent of Garrison's extravagant accusations. As summarized by Walter Sheridan, a former aide to Robert Kennedy who investigated the New Orleans probe for NBC, Garrison's effort was 'an enormous fraud,' involving 'bribery and intimidation of witnesses.' The particulars were reported by Newsweek, the New York Times, Look magazine, the Saturday Evening Post, an NBC News special, and the book Counterplot by Edward J. Epstein. The methods, as documented in these sources, included promised or transacted bribes of cash, gifts, an airline job, financing for a private club, heroin and a paid vacation in Florida. Garrison and his aides also resorted to threats of imprisonment and death, a plot to plant evidence in Clay Shaw's home and indoctrination of witnesses to parrot invented charges under the influence of hypnosis and drugs.

"Although Garrison made extravagant charges against an assortment of Cuban exiles, CIA agents, Minutemen, White Russians and Nazis, he conspicuously avoided any reference to one prime assassination suspect: the Mafia. For example, in discussing testimony concerning Ruby's anti-Castro activities, which he quoted at length, Garrison described Ruby as a ‘CIA bagman’ and an 'employee of the CIA.' But Garrison said nothing about Ruby's organized crime involvement. The cited testimony, in contrast, contains not one allusion to the CIA. Yet it is replete with references to the 'Mafia' and the 'syndicate' in connection with both Ruby's Cuban activities and his night club operations. Amazingly, Garrison also refrained from mentioning the close and portentous ties of his key suspect, David Ferrie, to Mafia boss Carlos Marcello.

"But such ties were of little concern to Garrison, who declared on national television that Marcello was a 'respectable businessman' and who stated that there was no organized crime in New Orleans. According to Garrison, 'people worry about the crime "syndicate," but the real danger is the political establishment, power amassing against the individual.' Skeptical of Garrison's professed ignorance about organized crime, a team of Life magazine reporters once asked him about Frank Timphony, a notorious Syndicate figure in Garrison's own district. Garrison claimed never to have heard of him and, carrying the act further, placed a call to an aide in the reporters' presence. The Garrison aide 'promptly assured' his boss that Timphony was 'one of the biggest bookies in New Orleans.'

"It became apparent, however, that the district attorney's knowledge of organized crime was quite direct and intimate. Garrison's hand-picked chief investigator during his first years as district attorney was Pershing Gervais, an admitted associate of Carlos Marcello. Gervais was formerly a New Orleans policeman but was fired after twice stealing the payoff money awaiting distribution to his fellow officers. In 1967, Life magazine reported that Garrison had been given free lodging and a $5,000 line of credit on three trips to the Mob-controlled Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. One of Garrison's tabs was personally signed by Marcello lieutenant Mario Marino, who took the Fifth Amendment when questioned about the matter. And on June 1969, as Life subsequently reported, Marcello bagman Vic Carona died after suffering a heart attack in Garrison's home during a political meeting. 

"Throughout his career, Garrison demonstrated his fidelity to his reported friend, Carlos Marcello. This loyalty was exhibited in the early 1960s, when Garrison conducted a cleanup of the Bourbon Street night club district after being elected district attorney as a reform candidate; his raids deliberately avoided the clubs controlled by Marcello. From 1965 through 1969, Garrison won just seven cases against Marcello gangsters. Yet he dismissed 84 such cases, including one charge of attempted murder, three of kidnapping and one of manslaughter. 

"In 1971, Garrison was on the receiving end of an indictment--on the federal charge of accepting $50,000 a year in payoffs to protect illegal gambling. The tax evasion case against Garrison became 'airtight,' as evaluated by U.S. Attorney G. Gallinghouse, when six of Garrison's codefendants turned state's evidence against him. The jury was presented with first-hand bribes to Garrison and with actual tape recordings to the bribe transactions. But Garrison was acquitted, possibly with the help of reported bribes of $50,000 and $10,000 offered to rig his trial and swipe evidence. The outcome was reminiscent of Marcello's acquittal on a fraud charge on November 22, 1963, after a juror had been offered a $1,000 bribe and the key witness against him set up to be murdered.

"Although Garrison, now a judge, vigorously denies any corrupt links to organized crime, his congenial relationship with the Marcello fiefdom has been repeatedly demonstrated in both his conduct and contacts, as reported in several sources. Indeed, as recently as 1987, Garrison was seen dining at La Louisianne restaurant in New Orleans with two of Carlos Marcello's brothers, Sammy and Joe, Jr. The latter is allegedly the acting Mafia boss of Louisiana now that Carlos is in jail.

"Given Garrison's coziness with the Marcello Organization and his strange blindness toward Mob leads in his Kennedy assassination probe, it is reasonable to question his motive in pursuing it. Indeed, the possibility that Garrison deliberately tried to obscure Mafia ties to the case is indicated by his false charges against an Edgar Eugene Bradley of California, described in Los Angeles files as 'the man Garrison mistook for Eugene Hale Brading.' There were enough similarities between Bradley and Brading for Garrison's accusations to confound reports about Brading. But to a professional investigator, the distinction between Bradley, an uninvolved Caliornian, and Dal-Tex felon Brading was apparent.

"A further incident raised the possibility of Mob input into Garrison's Kennedy probe even more sharply. On March 3, 1967, during a campaign by the Mob and Teamsters to spring the latter's former boss, Jimmy Hoffa, from prison, James 'Buddy' Gill tried to bribe government witness Edward Partin to invalidate his testimony against Hoffa. Gill, the intermediary in this Mob ploy, had been an administrative assistant and close associate of former Senator Russell Long. Long, in turn, was an old political ally of Garrison who assisted the Marcello-coordinated effort to spring Hoffa.

"During Gill's approach to Partin, apparently to apply additional pressure, Gill informed him that Garrison was going to subpoena Partin in his assassination probe. And on June 23, 1967, Baton Rouge Radio Station WJBO broadcast that Partin had been 'under investigation by the New Orleans District Attorney's Office in connection with the Kennedy Assassination investigation.' The station quoted a Garrison assistant as saying that a man drove Oswald and Ruby during alleged encounters in New Orleans and that Garrison's office was 'checking the possibility it was Partin.'"

Edited April 10, 2022 by Greg Doudna

[James DiEugenio]

Actually Cory its worse than that.

In his campaign against B girl drinking, Garrison shut down at least three Marcello controlled bars, a couple of them were fronts held in name by someone else.

Also, Garrison even raided places out of his jurisdiction, in Jefferson Parish, to try and get the DA there, where Marcello was actually located, to be more aggressive against him.

GD has fallen for a lot of myths created by Garrison's enemies, but that were skewered a long time ago.

The files of the ARRB have changed the game.  Just remember, the first WC critic to say that JFK's murder allowed America to go into Vietnam was Jim Garrison.

[Cory Santos]

3 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Actually Cory its worse than that.

In his campaign against B girl drinking, Garrison shut down at least three Marcello controlled bars, a couple of them were fronts held in name by someone else.

Also, Garrison even raided places out of his jurisdiction, in Jefferson Parish, to try and get the DA there, where Marcello was actually located, to be more aggressive against him.

GD has fallen for a lot of myths created by Garrison's enemies, but that were skewered a long time ago.

The files of the ARRB have changed the game.  Just remember, the first WC critic to say that JFK's murder allowed America to go into Vietnam was Jim Garrison.

Jim, I agree about Garrison and Marcello.  I was being nice. As you know, I have spoken with primary sources that knew this about Marcello and Garrison.  Again, if ones sources are only books, then one can have the tendency to rely on the bias of the authors.  I could cite Posner all day, but when I researched Garrison so long ago, I found a bias against weighing the facts.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Cory Santos

[Greg Doudna]

59 minutes ago, Cory Santos said:

Jim, I agree about Garrison and Marcello.  I was being nice. As you know, I have spoken with primary sources that knew this about Marcello and Garrison.  Again, if ones sources are only books, then one can have the tendency to rely on the bias of the authors.  I could cite Posner all day, but when I researched Garrison so long ago, I found a bias against weighing the facts.

Cory, could you elaborate a little on what primary sources told you re Marcello and Garrison?

[Greg Doudna]

On 4/9/2022 at 12:40 PM, Paul Brancato said:

Myth - LBJ and WC saved the world from nuclear annihilation by claiming a lone nut did it, rather than a conspiracy related to Cuba and Castro. That didn’t stop us from bombing the heck out of so-called Soviet proxies later. 
The truth has long been obvious - JFK was trying to bring peace to the world by focusing on finding common ground with the Soviet Union and allowing the third world to be unaligned rather than militarized pawns. Those of us that mourn his death, and the death of his brother and MLK (who had finally turned against the Vietnam war and had proposed to occupy DC in furtherance of ending that war) mourn the loss of the world these men envisioned. The Mafia is long gone, and we still live in permanent war. 

Well said Paul. I agree, and mourn too.

[Greg Doudna]

Called to attention from a post of Gil Jesus yesterday, unknown to me at the time I wrote the piece, but there is this hard confirmation from Dallas Police Chief Curry on Saturday Nov 23 that he had information that Marguerite was going to be calling for an attorney Saturday Nov 23.

The 29-second clip of Curry speaking in a hallway surrounded by reporters on Sat Nov 23 is the third video clip down in this article: https://gil-jesus.com/?page_id=4945. The full transcript:

Reporter. But no lawyer has seen Oswald?

Curry. No lawyer has seen Oswald.

Reporter. Has Oswald made any requests for a lawyer?

Curry. He has, but, uh, he didn't say who he wanted or anything, so we couldn't just go out and, and start calling lawyers for hm. Its not our responsibility--

Reporter. The ACLU, did they then?

Curry (looking away to one side). I don't know.

Reporter. OK, as of now it would be up to Oswald to hire his own lawyer if he wants one?

Curry. Yes. His mother I understand at this time has said that she would get him an attorney this morning.

Reporter. Has he been arraigned yet?

Curry. Yes. He was arraigned last night about 1:30.

No contact of Marguerite to any other attorney has ever been identified. The one and only known logical attorney Marguerite would call would be childhood friend Clem Sehrt in New Orleans whom she had contacted in the past concerning Lee's legal needs. 

Curry's statement confirms what is three times confirmed independently from testimony of Louisiana sources, that Marguerite or someone on Marguerite's behalf contacted her known attorney in her time of need in New Orleans, Clem Sehrt, seeking legal counsel for her son.

There are only two possibilities: Sehrt turned down the request and did nothing further; or Sehrt declined the request himself but forwarded the request. As childhood friend of Marguerite he would have done, and did, the latter.

This is the obvious mechanism by which Dean Andrews, colleague of Andrews and certainly known to him, came to receive the phone call Saturday afternoon that he did concerning which there has been so much mystery.

It is just obvious that is the mechanism.

There is no other explanation known for Marguerite's attempt to obtain an attorney for Lee.

All that needs to be supposed is that Marguerite had assistance in making her contact to New Orleans from the ones most considerate and helpful to her in a personal way that morning of Sat Nov 23, agents of the Secret Service. 

This in turn focuses attention on that curious name "Clem Bertrand" as the memory of Dean Andrews' secretary of hearing that name from Dean Andrews, as the identity of someone involved in making the request.

The head of the Secret Service office in Houston was named "Lane Bertram". 

That is the name. That is the solution. That is the pathway by which Marguerite Oswald reached out to the only lawyer she knew who could help her son. This is the source of the New Orleans Sat Nov 23 request which ended up reaching Dean Andrews. 

Every link in the chain is there or reasonably reconstructed. It has been all along. This is the solution to that phone call to Dean Andrews.