The Conspiracy to Murder Lee Harvey Oswald -- Part I

[Gil Jesus]

The Conspiracy to Murder Lee Harvey Oswald

By Gil Jesus ( 2023 )


 

https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Beers-photo-uncropped.jpg

The Warren Commission found that Jack Ruby's murder of Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas Police headquarters was a spontaneous act, a twist of fate that allowed Ruby to walk through a garage door and down a ramp to be in perfect position to shoot Oswald just minutes before police brought him out.


For years the Commission's supporters have supported that position by arguing that Ruby could not possibly have known WHEN the transfer was going to occur. They bolster their argument with the fact that Ruby visited a Western Union office to wire some money to one of his showgirls before going to the police station.


They argue, quite rightly, that since the transfer was to occur sometime after 10am, one would expect Ruby to be in position in the basement at that time, not at Western Union.


But if Ruby conspired with the Dallas Police to kill Oswald during the transfer, he wouldn't have to KNOW when police were moving Oswald if it was understood that police would simply wait for Ruby to get into position before bringing Oswald down.


In order to wait for Ruby to get into position, all police had to do was to delay the transfer by additional interrogation of Oswald on the morning of the transfer until they got the "all set" signal to move him.


The "all set" didn't mean the transport car was in position because it wasn't, as is evident in this video.


 

https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/oswald-transfer.mp4

I suggest that the "all clear" signal meant that Ruby was in position and they could bring Oswald down.


If I'm right about that, the Commission's supporters' timing argument is thereby nullified.


I believe that the evidence shows that there was a conspiracy to kill Oswald before police surrendered custody of him to the Sheriff's Department.


And I am prepared to identify the persons I believe were involved in this conspiracy by name, beginning with the police officers, including the one who planned the transfer, Police Chief Jesse Curry.



Chief Jesse Curry

Chief Curry, like many of his officers, was not a supporter of President Kennedy. His preference and loyalty was to Lyndon Johnson. At the time a Presidential assassin and cop-killer was loose in his city, Curry's priority was not to lead his department in the capture of the murderer, but instead to drive Lyndon Johnson to Love Field and to stand by aboard Air Force 1 and be photographed during Johnson's swearing-in.


 

https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/curry-on-af1_1.jpg

There are several reasons why I place Curry in this conspiracy.

It was Curry who planned the transfer.

Curry who took his phone off the hook and was unavailable to his own department once he went home. This made it impossible for a nighttime transfer when police received death threats against Oswald.

Curry's promise to the press that Oswald would be transferred in front of them meant more than the protection of his prisoner.

It was Curry who came into Capt. J.Will Fritz's office on Sunday morning and told Fritz that everything in the basement was "all set" for the transfer. ( 4 H 233 ) That fact is corroborated by Detective L.C.Graves, who told the Commission that, "Chief Curry told Capt. Fritz that the security was taken care of." ( 13 H 7 )

Several witnesses who were in Fritz's office testified that Curry also had a secret meeting off to the side with Fritz and they spoke low enough so that no one else could hear.

Harry Holmes:

"Chief Curry came around the other side of the desk and took Will Fritz over in the corner and they bowed their heads and discussed in an undertone......they were mumbling in an undertone and I didn't distinguish one thing that was said." ( 7 H 301 )


Detective L. D. Montgomery:

"...I didn't hear the Chief say anything because he was talking to the Captain, and when the Chief and the Captain talk --- they were kind of talking low and I wasn't straining my ears to hear..." ( 13 H 26 )

Neither Capt. Fritz nor Chief Curry mentioned this secret conversation that took place in the corner in Fritz's office and neither were asked about it by the Commission's counsel.

In addition, Detective L.C. Graves, who was outside Fritz's office, testified that Chief Curry, "made a number of trips there ( to Fritz's office ) during the time he ( Oswald ) was being interviewed." ( 13 H 4 )

Was Curry beginning to panic because Ruby had not yet showed up ?

Oswald had been removed from his cell at 9:30 am for a short interrogation before the scheduled transfer at 10 am. But Jack Ruby was not in the basement yet, so the transfer had to be delayed. The excuse for that delay was additional interrogation of Oswald.

This additional interrogation of Oswald was totally unnecessary, because there was no law against the Dallas Police going to the County Jail to question Oswald if they needed to. Fritz admitted such during his testimony. ( 4 H 234 )

So the additional interrogation was unnecessary. The Dallas Police could have transferred Oswald at 10 am as scheduled, except for the absence of Ruby in the basement.

The man responsible for stalling the transfer until Ruby was in the basement was Capt. J. Will Fritz.



Capt. J. Will Fritz

For a police conspiracy to kill Oswald to succeed, there had to be someone in charge who could stall the transfer long enough until Jack Ruby got into the basement.

That man was Capt. Fritz.

According to Harry Holmes, while officers outside his office were getting restless to begin the transfer, Fritz stalled them by saying, "We are going to have a little while to talk. I don't know how long, because they want to effect this transfer." ( 7 H 300 )

What did he mean by that ? Effect it in what way ?

He was never asked.

Fritz told many lies to the Commission like when asked if the transfer car was in position when he came out of the jail office.

Mr BALL. Was the car there that you were going to get in ?

Mr. FRITZ. Yes sir. ( 4 H 243 )

It was Fritz who gave the final "OK" for Leavelle and Graves to bring Oswald out of the jail office and into the basement.

Even if Fritz didn't know Ruby by sight, he had a Lieutenant in front of him who did. Lt. Richard E. Swain, who preceded Fritz into the basement, was never called by the Warren Commission to testify.

In this video, we see Lt. Swain enter first, then Capt. Fritz enters the basement, looks in the direction of Jack Ruby and then turns back and nods for Leavelle and Graves to bring out Oswald.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRn-nipHQg

It's very easy for one to conclude from this video that despite his testimony to the contrary, Capt. Fritz knew who Jack Ruby was. He saw him in the crowd, knew who he was and what he was going to do, and ok'd his men to bring out Oswald.

Fritz also gave different reasons for delaying the transfer. Henry Wade wanted to move Oswald on the evening of November 22, but Fritz told him that "Sheriff Bill Decker did not like for prisoners to be moved in the nighttime." ( CD 4, pg. 32 )

But there's other evidence that a nighttime transfer was not Decker's decision to make.


Decker testified that when he heard from a reporter about the transfer being done at 10 am Sunday morning, he called the police station and was told, "that he wouldn't be moved that night and that's all there was to it." ( 12 H 47 )

However Decker felt about moving a prisoner in the nighttime, it took a back seat to his concern for the safety of the prisoner once threats were received.

It was Decker who suggested that Oswald be moved immediately once he was notified by the FBI that death threats had been made against Oswald.

Mr. DECKER. Yes it was in the morning, 12:30 in the morning.

Mr. HUBERT. It was your suggestion that he should be moved immediately ?

Mr. Decker. Yes Sir. ( 12 H 49 )

If Fritz lied to Wade about Decker being against a nighttime transfer, he lied to Curry about not being ready to transfer the prisoner until 10 am Sunday morning.

Chief Curry and Fritz allegedly had a conversation about transferring Oswald at 4 pm on Saturday afternoon, but Fritz said they were still questioning him. It was at that time Fritz agreed that they could transfer him at 10 am on Sunday. ( 4 H 233 )

The excuse that Oswald was not transferred sooner because they need to further question him is, in my opinion, not an excuse at all.

Sheriff Decker testified that Police could have questioned Oswald at the County Jail after the transfer anytime they wanted to. ( 12 H 49 )

Fritz corroborated this when asked what would he have done once the prisoner was transferred and he had more questions. He testified that, "I would have talked to him later in the county jail." ( 4 H 234 )

So why didn't they transfer Oswald earlier ? Why wait to do the transfer on Sunday ?

Because Fritz wanted to wait until Sunday when Lt. Wiggins was back from his days off and was scheduled to be in the jail office.

Wiggins "had known Jack Ruby for years", ( 12 H 393 ) and would have been able to tell them when Ruby was in the basement.

In order for this conspiracy to be successful, there had to be a "set of eyes" in the basement who would notify upstairs that Ruby was in position.

Since Oswald was being interrogated on the third floor, Chief Curry needed someone to let him know WHEN Ruby was in position so he could relay that to Fritz. It had to be someone who knew Ruby.

That man was Lt. Woodrow Wiggins, a "floating" supervisor, who on the day of the transfer, was filling in for the jail office supervisor.



Lt. Woodrow Wiggins

Lt. Wiggins was what we call a "floating" supervisor, filling in for other department supervisors on their days off.

Sunday, November 24th was his first day back to work after his own two days off and placed him in the jail office covering for that supervisor's day off. ( 12 H 389 )

Not only did his assignment in the jail office allow Wiggins to know where Oswald was in the building, it put Wiggins in the perfect position of checking the adjacent basement to see if Ruby was there.

In his testimony, Wiggins admitted that although he had no role in the transfer and did not take part in securing it, he "was in and out of the basement looking it over." ( 12 H 390 )

Looking it over for what ? Or should I say, for whom ?

He was never asked.

Wiggins testified that he received a call from upstairs saying they were bringing Oswald down and as soon as he hung up, he noticed the indicator lights on the elevator showing it was on its way. ( 12 H 391 ) This would imply that Fritz et al were already on their way down when the call was made.

In his report to Chief Curry for the record, he said, "I do not remember who called me". ( 21 H 729 ) But six days later his memory seemed to improve enough to take a guess at who called him when he told the FBI, "it might have been Lt. Wells." ( 21 H 731 )

The report of Lt. T.L. Baker said that prior to leaving the office, Fritz told a Detective named Baker to call the jail office. During that conversation, Wiggins "said all was clear" and Baker told him they were "leaving with Oswald and to have the cars ready." ( Dallas Police Box 5, pg. 307 )

This report indicates that Wiggins told them, "all was clear" BEFORE they left Fritz's office and well enough in advance to move the cars into position. It blows away Wiggins' account of the call being made as they were on their way.

BTW, neither Lt. Baker nor Detective Baker were called to testify.

Wiggins also testified that once they got off the elevator, Fritz asked him again, "are they ready ?" at which time he stepped out of the door and into the corridor first. He said that although he could not remember whether or not he answered Fritz, he was sure if he did answer him, he told them that they were ready. ( 12 H 392 )

I suggest that Wiggins went out the door and into the basement, saw Ruby and told Fritz "they" were ready.

But Wiggins didn't have the cars ready, as evident in the video of Oswald's murder. Sgt. James Leavelle testified that, "we were given to understand that the car would be across the passageway". He added that Capt. Fritz said, "Everything is all set", but he ( Leavelle ) was, "surprised when I walked to the door and the car was not in the spot it should have been." ( 13 H 17 )

In spite of the car not being in position for the transfer, Fritz, instead of delaying Oswald's advance into the basement until the car was in position, came into the basement, looked in Jack Ruby's direction and turned back and nodded for his detectives to bring Oswald into the basement.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRn-nipHQg

To "Keep Him From Getting Away"

According to his testimony, Detective L.D. Montgomery was placed by Fritz behind Oswald during the transfer in order to, "make sure he didn't get away." ( 13 H 27 )

This of course was in spite of the fact that there were anywhere from 60 to 75 armed police in the basement and Oswald's right arm was handcuffed to Leavelle and Graves had his left arm.

Oswald wasn't going anywhere.

When asked by Counsel Bert Griffin if he felt that his primary reason for being behind Oswald was to prevent him from getting away rather than to prevent anyone from getting at him, Montgomery replied, "keep him from getting away". ( ibid. )

Montgomery was there to prevent Oswald from breaking loose from Graves and jumping behind Leavelle, which he might have done had he seen Ruby coming at him with a gun.

Montgomery was NOT there to protect the prisoner.

With this configuration, Fritz guaranteed that when Ruby ambushed Oswald, Oswald was boxed in and would have no means to escape.

"We knew he ( Oswald ) needed killin'", Leavelle said in a subsequent interview, but the police couldn't kill Oswald themselves. This case was too high profile for Oswald to end up hanging in his cell.

Oswald had to be killed by someone on the outside. Someone who shared the police department's level of corruption and lack of morals.

That task fell on the shoulders of a cop lover and strip club owner named Jack Ruby.

Coming in Part II: Jack Ruby, Lee Oswald and their connections to "people in high places".

Edited February 25, 2023 by Gil Jesus

[Charles Blackmon]

"We knew he ( Oswald ) needed killin'", Leavelle said in a subsequent interview

Gil is there a video you can post where Leavelle says this? That would be gold.

 

[Gil Jesus]

15 minutes ago, Charles Blackmon said:

"We knew he ( Oswald ) needed killin'", Leavelle said in a subsequent interview

Gil is there a video you can post where Leavelle says this? That would be gold.

 

I've seen it somewhere, I'll have to search to see if I can find it.

[Joe Bauer]

I also once watched and heard Leavelle in an interview ( he did so many over the years and seemed to bask in all the media attention glow the rest of his life) that he ( paraphrasing but close ) couldn't give two hoots about Oswald supposedly killing JFK.

It was Oswald's brutal killing of Officer J.D. Tippit ( one of our own ) that ate at his vengeful "Oswald needed killin" thoughts and concerns.

Who cares about JFK? ( my take ) 

Also, Gil, you brought up another point about Curry that just adds to the list of his failed leadership actions and decisions that weekend.

He drives LBJ to Air Force 1.

Why did he think he should then climb on board and immerse himself into the cramped LBJ swearing in space and crowd and stand there next to an "attaboy winking and smiling " Albert Thomas, knee high head popping Jack Valenti, and a traumatized, blood covered Jackie Kennedy through it all?

LBJ had tons of SS security once he was on board AF1. He didn't need Curry once he boarded.

The city of Dallas's police force needed Curry.

Their general in command right in the heat of battle!

The last place Curry should have been was attending ceremonies that had nothing to do with the greatest man hunt urgency in DPD's history ( and U.S. ) to an almost beyond words degree

Curry's own forces just lost the President of the United States!

Curry surely felt the greatest weight of security failure blame and the most important duty obligation of his entire career in finding the U.S. President's killer?

Shouldn't Curry have instantly realized his DPD head place in the minutes and first hours after JFK was hit was to be totally on the ground accessible in the Dallas command center?

Like NYC Mayor Judy ( his cross dressing name ) Giuliani during the 911 attack?

 

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[George Govus]

Gil, thanks!

I love your explications, this one is another cracker. That's a good thing.

Regarding "effecting the transfer."

That just meant the DPD had a plan, and meant to carry it out. A turn of speech, out of fashion nowadays.

 

[Mark Ulrik]

2 hours ago, Gil Jesus said:

I've seen it somewhere, I'll have to search to see if I can find it.

Maybe it was rather something like this?

Quote

[Ruby] thought that if he could get a shot at Oswald and kill him, then a grand jury would say "Well, Jack, that's a bad thing you've done, but since he needed killing anyhow, we're going to let you go this time." And he could stand at the front door of the Carousel Club and people would come from far and wide to shake the hand of the man who killed the assassin.

https://www.cbs19.tv/article/features/14-boxes-of-jack-ruby-records-become-public-next-week/287-477719764

https://kenrahn.com/Marsh/Jfk-conspiracy/Knudsen83.txt

In other words, according to Leavelle, Ruby expected to get off easy for having saved the executioner some work.

[Joe Bauer]

Is your initial thread post here Gil an excerpt of your book?

I have given some thought to writing an article myself presenting the Oswald assassination event in a re-scrutinizing and larger scope contemplation light different than those I have come across with admittedly limited research in this story area to this point.

And yes, even as poorly skilled as I am in the writing realm. 

I just feel a ( one legacy leaving JFK truth passion thing in my life ) compulsion to do something like this for at least three reasons. 

One being I watched Ruby whacking Oswald on live national TV on the morning of 11/24/1963 as a 12 year old and imo the visceral and psychological effect it had on me would be an interesting young American historical experience sharing and reflection imo.

Two: I believe the full truth about Ruby killing Oswald is one of the most important keys to knowing the full truth about the JFKA.

Three: I still feel, after 60 years, that Ruby killing Oswald ( and witnessed live by tens of millions of Americans) had a much deeper and harmfully traumatic effect on our society than anyone has adequately captured intellectually.

Much more so than we have seriously pondered and considered in our collective societal consciousness.

Strip joint owning, police sandwich procuring Jack Ruby destroyed ( in less than 48 hours after JFK ) the only real chance America had in finding out the truth regards the JFKA. 

That laughably low life weird suspect background fact accompanied by Ruby's provenly false basement access excuse should always beg the highest level suspicion interest ... forever.

HE'S BEEN SHOT!  HE'S BEEN SHOT!

LEE OSWALD HAS BEEN SHOT!

The day America lost it's trust in their own government.

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[Gerry Down]

Thanks Mark for putting that quote into context.

[Bill Simpich]

The killing of Oswald was what we all saw on TV at the same time - not JFK.

Oswald’s killing was the signal that the government was out of control and we would never know just what happened.  

The result?  Trauma.

Thank you, Gil, for putting this case back under our nose.

Have you noticed how little effort we have put into solving it?

The trauma continues to this day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gil Jesus]

16 hours ago, Joe Bauer said:

Is your initial thread post here Gil an excerpt of your book?

I have given some thought to writing an article myself presenting the Oswald assassination event in a re-scrutinizing and larger scope contemplation light different than those I have come across with admittedly limited research in this story area to this point.

And yes, even as poorly skilled as I am in the writing realm. 

I just feel a ( one legacy leaving JFK truth passion thing in my life ) compulsion to do something like this for at least three reasons. 

One being I watched Ruby whacking Oswald on live national TV on the morning of 11/24/1963 as a 12 year old and imo the visceral and psychological effect it had on me would be an interesting young American historical experience sharing and reflection imo.

Two: I believe the full truth about Ruby killing Oswald is one of the most important keys to knowing the full truth about the JFKA.

Three: I still feel, after 60 years, that Ruby killing Oswald ( and witnessed live by tens of millions of Americans) had a much deeper and harmfully traumatic effect on our society than anyone has adequately captured intellectually.

Much more so than we have seriously pondered and considered in our collective societal consciousness.

Strip joint owning, police sandwich procuring Jack Ruby destroyed ( in less than 48 hours after JFK ) the only real chance America had in finding out the truth regards the JFKA. 

That laughably low life weird suspect background fact accompanied by Ruby's provenly false basement access excuse should always beg the highest level suspicion interest ... forever.

HE'S BEEN SHOT!  HE'S BEEN SHOT!

LEE OSWALD HAS BEEN SHOT!

The day America lost it's trust in their own government.

 

No, I've never written a book on the subject, although others have written books and cited my research in them.

I agree with you. The perps got away with murder but the cost was the public's trust in government.

[Mark Ulrik]

21 hours ago, Gil Jesus said:

Oswald had been removed from his cell at 9:30 am for a short interrogation before the scheduled transfer at 10 am. But Jack Ruby was not in the basement yet, so the transfer had to be delayed. The excuse for that delay was additional interrogation of Oswald.
This additional interrogation of Oswald was totally unnecessary, because there was no law against the Dallas Police going to the County Jail to question Oswald if they needed to. Fritz admitted such during his testimony. ( 4 H 234 )
So the additional interrogation was unnecessary. The Dallas Police could have transferred Oswald at 10 am as scheduled, except for the absence of Ruby in the basement.

Can you name the individual(s) arguing that the interrogation needed to be prolonged?
It seems to me that the interrogators were making efficient use of the additional time afforded by the delay.

21 hours ago, Gil Jesus said:

According to Harry Holmes, while officers outside his office were getting restless to begin the transfer, Fritz stalled them by saying, "We are going to have a little while to talk. I don't know how long, because they want to effect this transfer." ( 7 H 300 )
What did he mean by that ? Effect it in what way ?
He was never asked.

Perhaps you misread this. He's talking about conducting (not affecting) the transfer.

21 hours ago, Gil Jesus said:

Even if Fritz didn't know Ruby by sight, he had a Lieutenant in front of him who did. Lt. Richard E. Swain, who preceded Fritz into the basement, was never called by the Warren Commission to testify.
In this video, we see Lt. Swain enter first, then Capt. Fritz enters the basement, looks in the direction of Jack Ruby and then turns back and nods for Leavelle and Graves to bring out Oswald.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mRn-nipHQg

It's very easy for one to conclude from this video that despite his testimony to the contrary, Capt. Fritz knew who Jack Ruby was. He saw him in the crowd, knew who he was and what he was going to do, and ok'd his men to bring out Oswald.

It's impressive what you can conclude simply from reading a person's body language, isn't it? But none of this would be necessary if your hypothesis about Wiggins being the primary Ruby spotter were correct.

21 hours ago, Gil Jesus said:

"We knew he ( Oswald ) needed killin'", Leavelle said in a subsequent interview, but the police couldn't kill Oswald themselves. This case was too high profile for Oswald to end up hanging in his cell.

The Leavelle quote is wrong and quite misleading.