The Anonymous Phone Call to the Tippits of Connecticut

[Paul Jolliffe]

14 minutes ago, Jim Hargrove said:

John K: 

Megathanks for the MK/ULTRA articles.  They reference events a few years later than we are examining for the earliest Russian-speaking Harvey Oswald's appearances in the U.S., but no doubt Americans who approved of things like MK/ULTRA were well entrenched in the US Government by the mid-1940s.  Does anyone doubt that?

Paul J:

I’d completely forgotten the Elizabeth Bentley info you had posted years ago.  Megathanks for reminding us of it.  You make a great case that she may have been the anonymous caller.

Isn’t it fascinating that Ms. Bentely appeared before HUAC just a year after Jack Ruby did?  Small world, eh?  Do we seriously believe that the Gerald Ford Library referenced a “false document” about Ruby and HUAC from 1947?  See paragraph #1 below.

Nice find, Jim.

Here's one more to add to the "Elizabeth Bentley was the anonymous caller" file: 

Bentley testified repeatedly and said several times in 1948 that John Abt was the spymaster in charge of the "Perlo Group" before she took it over. She claimed that the Abt's apartment in NYC was an informal hangout for communist spies. (Whether any of that was true is irrelevant.) What does matter is that the news of the tenuous connection between John Abt and "Oswald" ("Oswald" asked on Saturday, 11/23/63 that John Abt be contacted for legal help) would have sent Bentley into a frenzy in late November, 1963, just like the anonymous woman caller.

See these news articles from FBI files, particularly pages 16, 17 and 38: 

https://vault.fbi.gov/rosenberg-case/elizabeth-bentley/elizabeth-t.-bentley-part-11-of 

 

[Jim Hargrove]

It would be helpful to find a specific reference to doppelgangers (or similar terminology) in Dulles’s “The Craft of Intelligence.” I spent a half hour or so trying to find a searchable version of the book, without success.

One of the problems I have convincing myself that the Hungarian book was owned by Harvey Oswald and suppressed by the FBI is that so often the FBI just made evidence it didn’t like disappear.  As one of many, many examples, all the original NYC school records simply disappeared while in FBI possession, despite the best efforts of Judge Florence Kelley to find out what happened to them.  Why would the FBI allow Marina to keep “Circus Maximus” if they understood the significance of the Hungarian connection?

Thanks, Paul, for the link to the news articles on Bentley et al. Fascinating that Bentley apparently said she got “all kinds of information from her strategic contacts in the Office of Strategic Services headed by Gen. William J. Donovan” and had all that information on John Abt.  Since both Frank Wisner and Allen Dulles were active in the OSS, it is easy to see how an apparent CIA project could have had roots prior to the Agency’s inception.

It’s also easy to understand that the Abt/”Oswald” connection could have concerned Bentley, but I’m not sure why that would have prompted her to make that call to the Tippits of Connecticut, especially suggesting all the Commie connections.  Does that make sense?

[Jim Hargrove]

BTW, Geo just emailed me copies of some of the interior pages from Circus Maximus.  Surprisingly to me, the cartoon captions are in English, and many are quite funny.  Here’s one (cropped to preserve bandwidth and hopefully preserve “fair use”).

[Paul Jolliffe]

4 hours ago, Jim Hargrove said:

BTW, Geo just emailed me copies of some of the interior pages from Circus Maximus.  Surprisingly to me, the cartoon captions are in English, and many are quite funny.  Here’s one (cropped to preserve bandwidth and hopefully preserve “fair use”).

Jim,

Ask Geo if any of the cartoons in "Circus Maximus" could be seen as anti-communist (or, conversely, as pro-communist).

As to why the FBI didn't make it disappear, well I can only guess, but it's possible that the (presumed) Hungarian roots for "Oswald"/Harvey were unknown to very many in the FBI. We know that Hoover knew the CIA had a doppelganger project going on using "Oswald"/Harvey by 1963, but exactly when did Hoover know the specifics of the origins of that project? 

I wouldn't be surprised if Hoover himself wasn't fully clued in on "Oswald"/Harvey's real origins (whether Hungarian or not), and therefore the FBI may not have realized the significance (if any)  of "Circus Maximus."

One more thing:

When Marina put this book up for auction in 2013, she included a letter of provenance. Maybe she lied about that, but in 2013, outside of you, me, John A., David J., and a very few others, who could possibly have recognized the significance of a Hungarian book of cartoons in "Oswald's" possessions?

There was no commercial value in faking a Hungarian book in 2013. If Marina was going to lie about a book, then she would have produced something much more incendiary, not an obscure book of bland cartoons by a man from a country with (officially) no connection to her infamous husband. 

We probably will have to leave it there - neither of us can prove it was or was not originally "Oswald's" book. 

[Paul Jolliffe]

5 hours ago, Jim Hargrove said:

It would be helpful to find a specific reference to doppelgangers (or similar terminology) in Dulles’s “The Craft of Intelligence.” I spent a half hour or so trying to find a searchable version of the book, without success.

One of the problems I have convincing myself that the Hungarian book was owned by Harvey Oswald and suppressed by the FBI is that so often the FBI just made evidence it didn’t like disappear.  As one of many, many examples, all the original NYC school records simply disappeared while in FBI possession, despite the best efforts of Judge Florence Kelley to find out what happened to them.  Why would the FBI allow Marina to keep “Circus Maximus” if they understood the significance of the Hungarian connection?

Thanks, Paul, for the link to the news articles on Bentley et al. Fascinating that Bentley apparently said she got “all kinds of information from her strategic contacts in the Office of Strategic Services headed by Gen. William J. Donovan” and had all that information on John Abt.  Since both Frank Wisner and Allen Dulles were active in the OSS, it is easy to see how an apparent CIA project could have had roots prior to the Agency’s inception.

It’s also easy to understand that the Abt/”Oswald” connection could have concerned Bentley, but I’m not sure why that would have prompted her to make that call to the Tippits of Connecticut, especially suggesting all the Commie connections.  Does that make sense?

Jim,

Your question as to why Bentley chose to call the Tippit's in Connecticut is a good one.

Perhaps the simplest explanation is best: Bentley made the call because she was there and had read of the Tippit's connection to J.D. Tippit in the local paper. The ease of making a local call to a family who had a link to the assassination  assured that Bentley's ideas about who did it would be known, but not in a way that could be tracked back to her. 

Since 1948, Elizabeth Bentley was a professional anti-communist crusader. She saw Reds everywhere. Her entire raison d'etre was to alert Americans to the danger posed by communist infiltrators.

In 1950, in the midst of the extended lawsuit brought by William Remington, she was convinced "the communists" were surveilling her. (See page 59 of this document):

https://vault.fbi.gov/rosenberg-case/elizabeth-bentley/elizabeth-bentley-part-01-of/view

The anonymous woman caller (Bentley) believed not only had this "group in New York" of (Hungarians and Communists) had somehow utilized "Oswald" to assassinate the president, but that they had "plans to take over the government, which of course, they would deny. . . "

Jim, compare that phrasing from the anonymous woman caller in 1963 with Elizabeth Bentley's sworn testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee on Saturday, July 31, 1948.

It's the same:

Mr.  Rankin.  You  knew  the  Communist  Party  was  dedicated  to  the 
destruction  of  this  Government,  did  you  not? 

Miss  Bentley.  I  did  not  at  the  time  I  was  in  it.  That  was  one  of 
the  reasons  I  got  out. 

Mr.  Rankin.  When  you  found  that  out,  you  quit.  You learned  that 
the  Communist  Party  was  plotting  the  overthrow  of  this  Government? 

Miss  Bentley.  I  would  say  that  was  correct;  yes. 

Mr.  Rankin.  And  that  that  was  one  of  the  chief  planks — we  will 
say  of  the  platform — or  one  of  the  chief  elements  in  their  program? 

Miss  Bentley.  I  don't  know  if  it  is  in  their  open  program,  but  it 
certainly  is  in  their  basic  secret  program ;  yes. 

Mr.  Rankin.  I  am  not  talking  about  the  open  program,  because 
we  do  not  get  that,  you  understand.  Now,  you  knew  also  that  it  was 
dedicated  to  the  destruction  of  what  they  called  the  capitalistic  sys- 
tem— that  is,  the  right  to  own  private  property  ? 

Miss  Bentley.  That  would  be  correct,  yes. 

Mr.  Rankin.  You  learned  that  in  Russia  they  have  taken  over  the 
land  and  that  private  enterprise  has  been  reduced  and  that  the  people 
of  Russia  have  been  reduced  to  the  status  of  slaves.  You  found  that 
out  before  you  quit  them ;  is  that  true?

Miss  Bentley.  I  do  not  know  that  I  exactly  found  it  out;  but  judg- 
ing by  the  Russians  with  whom  I  dealt,  it  would  be  extremely  plausi- 
ble ;  yes. 

Jim, the anonymous woman caller on 11/30/63, the subject of this post, the subject of a "Top Secret" FBI memo classified for three decades after the assassination, could only have been Elizabeth Bentley.

There simply is no other viable candidate.

There is no longer any doubt.

The exact ramifications of that knowledge are yet to be determined . . . 

[Paul Jolliffe]

3 minutes ago, Paul Jolliffe said:

Jim,

Your question as to why Bentley chose to call the Tippit's in Connecticut is a good one.

Perhaps the simplest explanation is best: Bentley made the call because she was there and had read of the Tippit's connection to J.D. Tippit in the local paper. The ease of making a local call to a family who had a link to the assassination  assured that Bentley's ideas about who did it would be known, but not in a way that could be tracked back to her. 

Since 1948, Elizabeth Bentley was a professional anti-communist crusader. She saw Reds everywhere. Her entire raison d'etre was to alert Americans to the danger posed by communist infiltrators.

In 1950, in the midst of the extended lawsuit brought by William Remington, she was convinced "the communists" were surveilling her. (See page 59 of this document):

https://vault.fbi.gov/rosenberg-case/elizabeth-bentley/elizabeth-bentley-part-01-of/view

The anonymous woman caller (Bentley) believed not only had this "group in New York" of (Hungarians and Communists) had somehow utilized "Oswald" to assassinate the president, but that they had "plans to take over the government, which of course, they would deny. . . "

Jim, compare that phrasing from the anonymous woman caller in 1963 with Elizabeth Bentley's sworn testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee on Saturday, July 31, 1948.

It's the same:

Mr.  Rankin.  You  knew  the  Communist  Party  was  dedicated  to  the 
destruction  of  this  Government,  did  you  not? 

Miss  Bentley.  I  did  not  at  the  time  I  was  in  it.  That  was  one  of 
the  reasons  I  got  out. 

Mr.  Rankin.  When  you  found  that  out,  you  quit.  You learned  that 
the  Communist  Party  was  plotting  the  overthrow  of  this  Government? 

Miss  Bentley.  I  would  say  that  was  correct;  yes. 

Mr.  Rankin.  And  that  that  was  one  of  the  chief  planks — we  will 
say  of  the  platform — or  one  of  the  chief  elements  in  their  program? 

Miss  Bentley.  I  don't  know  if  it  is  in  their  open  program,  but  it 
certainly  is  in  their  basic  secret  program ;  yes. 

Mr.  Rankin.  I  am  not  talking  about  the  open  program,  because 
we  do  not  get  that,  you  understand.  Now,  you  knew  also  that  it  was 
dedicated  to  the  destruction  of  what  they  called  the  capitalistic  sys- 
tem— that  is,  the  right  to  own  private  property  ? 

Miss  Bentley.  That  would  be  correct,  yes. 

Mr.  Rankin.  You  learned  that  in  Russia  they  have  taken  over  the 
land  and  that  private  enterprise  has  been  reduced  and  that  the  people 
of  Russia  have  been  reduced  to  the  status  of  slaves.  You  found  that 
out  before  you  quit  them ;  is  that  true?

Miss  Bentley.  I  do  not  know  that  I  exactly  found  it  out;  but  judg- 
ing by  the  Russians  with  whom  I  dealt,  it  would  be  extremely  plausi- 
ble ;  yes. 

Jim, the anonymous woman caller on 11/30/63, the subject of this post, the subject of a "Top Secret" FBI memo classified for three decades after the assassination, could only have been Elizabeth Bentley.

There simply is no other viable candidate.

There is no longer any doubt.

The exact ramifications of that knowledge are yet to be determined . . . 

The transcript from the full set of HUAC's hearings in the summer of 1948 can be found here:

https://archive.org/stream/hearingsregardin1948unit/hearingsregardin1948unit_djvu.txt

[John Kowalski]

21 hours ago, Paul Jolliffe said:

Note that it does NOT say "Mrs. M. Oswald", but merely "Mrs. Oswald." Also, while the references to "1940" and "Nazis" is handwritten, I see no reference to "New Jersey". I remember reading Malcolm Blunt's guess that a CIA analyst did a search on the name "Oswald" and this popped up.

Paul:

Had a look at page 2, it mentions 1940, Nazi, does not mention Mrs. Oswald.

[John Kowalski]

On 2/19/2024 at 6:17 PM, Paul Jolliffe said:

As a longtime resident of NYC, and as a spymistress herself, it is inconceivable that Bentley would not have known that Yorkville was home to a huge variety of Eastern European immigrants, many of communist leanings/sympathies (or more.)

When I spoke to Tina Tippet she said that the woman called her several times, always in a rush, fearing that she will be overheard. Maybe her work as a spy made her concerned about people eavesdropping on her conversations, or she was living with someone when she made the phone calls.

[John Kowalski]

Jim:

Can you explain to me who Russ Geck is.

 

[Sandy Larsen]

6 hours ago, Paul Jolliffe said:

Jim, the anonymous woman caller on 11/30/63, the subject of this post, the subject of a "Top Secret" FBI memo classified for three decades after the assassination, could only have been Elizabeth Bentley.

....

There is no longer any doubt.

 

I think that you are probably right about Bentley, Paul. Kudos to you for a great discovery and line of reasoning.

Though I wouldn't go so far as to say there is no longer any doubt. I'm a bit more cautious than that.

 

[Paul Jolliffe]

16 hours ago, John Kowalski said:

Paul:

Had a look at page 2, it mentions 1940, Nazi, does not mention Mrs. Oswald.

John,

Up in the top left of page two supposedly the really blurry name reads "Oswald, Mrs." 

However, it is so indistinct as to be worthless. The CIA analyst apparently did a search on the name "Oswald" and this document came up, according to Malcolm Blunt.

Personally, I doubt it has much to do with any of this, whether that name really is "Oswald, Mrs." or not. Until and unless something better comes along on this, it seems a dead end.

[Paul Jolliffe]

10 hours ago, Sandy Larsen said:

 

I think that you are probably right about Bentley, Paul. Kudos to you for a great discovery and line of reasoning.

Though I wouldn't go so far as to say there is no longer any doubt. I'm a bit more cautious than that.

 

Thanks, Sandy.

Yes, I probably should have assessed my confidence level at 95% +, but of course, there is still a tiny possibility that yet more information might emerge from the notes of Mrs. Jack D. Tippit, information that might point in another direction.

However, based on what have at this time, it seems inconceivable that anyone else could fit besides Elizabeth Bentley.

[Paul Jolliffe]

15 hours ago, John Kowalski said:

Jim:

Can you explain to me who Russ Geck is.

 

John,

Russ Geck is the husband of Andrea Gardos, the granddaughter of Emil and Grace Gardos. Andrea Gardos Geck's father was John (Janos) Gardos, son of Emil and Grace Gardos. He was mentioned in the infamous 1966 FBI memo in which the FBI was so concerned about Grace's possible return to the USA from Hungary (with her son), that they considered launching some kind of counter-operation against her!

(They were terrified she knew something and might say something at a time, 1966, when the public's doubts about the Warren Commission's conclusions were growing.)

The late John Butler did a masterful job of tracking down Russ Geck through Facebook, and through correspondence, established beyond any doubt that little John Gardos (born in 1939) could NOT have later been our "Oswald."

Apparently there are no surviving family stories or memories of any possible little child/refugee/orphan the Gardos' might have fostered alongside their own biological son for a bit in the 1940's. 

So, we have no evidence (at least not yet) that either the Gardos couple, or Fred Blair or (presumably) Louis Weinstock ever fostered our "Oswald" in Yorkville in the 1940's. 

However, as David Josephs pointed out four years ago, the FBI memo which is the subject of this thread did NOT specifically state that either "Emile Kardos" (Emil Gardos), "brother - in - law" (presumably Fred Blair) or "Weinstock of 'Woman's World'" were either the father or uncle of "Oswald."

The anonymous woman caller (Bentley) connected those men somehow with "Oswald", but left open the possibility that "Oswald's" father and uncle ("Hungarians and Communists") were yet other men. 

If that is correct, then (Bentley) knew these (yet to be identified) other men who had custody of little "Oswald" at a time when he was indeed already called "Oswald." (Otherwise, Bentley could never have been sure that the little boy with whom she interacted in the 1940's was the same person accused of murdering the president in 1963.)

Again, for the general readers (if there are any), we know (Bentley's ) information to the Tippit's was taken so seriously by the FBI that they corrupted the names, classified the memo "Top Secret" and tried to hide it away forever. If the anonymous caller was a crackpot, none of that would have happened. It is because of the FBI's reaction to this call that we can confidently know the information was real. 

So, exactly how many people did (Bentley) know who fit the profile?

 

 

[John Kowalski]

Paul:

Thank you for the information regarding Russ Geck. You have also made a good case for Bentley being the person who probably called Tina Tippet.

 

[Jim Hargrove]

20 hours ago, Paul Jolliffe said:

Jim,

Ask Geo if any of the cartoons in "Circus Maximus" could be seen as anti-communist (or, conversely, as pro-communist).

I'm confident Geo will approve of me quoting his full answer here which, if Gardos=Gardosh, seems kind of stunning.  Here it is:

Hi Jim

the old 1947 drawing that somone has put on in 2019  (David Josephs I think - or maybe Paul Joliffe ) was from somewhere else not this book ---in this 62 -63 booklet, in the 60s there was no artist left who would root for Communism that turned out to be  just a Police state stifling any individual initiative - hence pepe were starving. Of course they never promised anything else...except the false belief that eating the rich will make the poor less poor.

they are like steinberg in the new yorker - abstract...tongue-in-cheek humour, clearly silently anti Communist

The point in it for us is not the content.

But that the artist was a family relative of Gardosh [ who worked then at Corvina] and the name Gardosh is also up in an Oswald family [ one among hundreds but still there as the Tippit Call also did say...]

So they must have had a way [ maybe by diplomatic post] to send that book.
My twopence is that my Uncle at the Rand working with his former student Kissinger and McNamara and Cyrus Vance and Bob Kenbedy could have the ways and the clout to be a middle man to send the book to link the distant relatives Oswald and Gardos.
Because on a personal level people do not hate an opponent 24/24 as they are also just family...and they could not be aware of the tragic future...certainly my Uncle could not. If Gardos had infos...he might have tried to counteract others and our task now is to see the codes he used to send messages by the books he sent.

The in-law of my Uncle Karl Mannheim had a Memory Card system with all cards having a letter of the ABC

That is a simple method to hide words into a bridge game report.
 

Just got back from an appointment and received Geo's note above.   My first question involves whether "Gardosh" is another version of "Gardos?"  Anyone know?