Shearn Moody Jr

[Lee Forman]

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:KHCpPc...s&ct=clnk&cd=10

Shearn Moody, born Galveston, Nov. 2, 1895, died Feb. 28, 1936; Ensign, U.S.N., 1917-18; director and official of many companies. Married, Aug. 26, 1931, Frances Russell.

Issue, 2 children:

Shearn Moody, Jr., born May 23, 1933.

Robert Lee Moody, born July 28, 1935.

http://www.nationarchive.com/Summaries/v246i0020_13.htm

...He [Roy Cohn] was often a favored guest at the ranch of multimillionaire Shearn Moody, who readily provided, we learn, "many little boys of the night" to guests who desired them...

http://www.texasescapes.com/DEPARTMENTS/Vi...enger_Hotel.htm

One lowly enlisted man stationed at Ft. Sam Houston in the 1950s deserves mentioning. His name was Shearn Moody Jr. and he found that soldiers who owned property in San Antonio could live "off-post." He told his company commander that he wanted to live at the Menger Hotel and the Captain patiently explained to him that he'd have to own the hotel if he wanted to live there. Specialist 4th Class Moody patiently explained to the Captain that that was the case.

http://www.tylwythteg.com/enemies/Helms/helms.html

Sleaze Factor by D. Glaze: In the back of your mind, note the name of the late Shearn Moody of the old Galveston, Texas family. Shearn, AKA "The Raging Queen of Galveston," was once called "The Sleaziest Man in Texas" in a Texas Monthly cover story. Just prior to revelations of a state and federal probe into his theft of millions from the Moody charity trust, an ad hoc political group begun by Shearn gave Jesse Helms a special award as "Conservative of the Year." I was living in the Galveston area at that time, and Helms was widely rumored to be in town during the period. After hearing of the award ceremonies a couple of years later in Texas Monthly, I assumed that Helms also stayed over to party with Moody and his large harem of young men. (Note: people around the country were shocked when the late Texas comedian Bill Hicks joked about Helms having the hides of young boys nailed on the wall of his barn, but it has long been assumed by many Texans that Helms is not simply covering up his adulterous, bisexual lifestyle.) Anyway, a few years ago I wrote Helms and expressed surprise over his association with Shearn Moody. Helms wrote back and denied ever having heard the name. Hmmmmmmmmm.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKcaddyD.htm

John Simkin: I believe in the past you represented Billie Sol Estes. On 9th August, 1984, you wrote to Stephen S. Trott at the U.S. Department of Justice. In the letter you claimed that Billie Sol Estes, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mac Wallace and Cliff Carter had been involved in the murders of Henry Marshall, George Krutilek, Harold Orr, Ike Rogers, Coleman Wade, Josefa Johnson, John Kinser and John F. Kennedy. You added: "Mr. Estes is willing to testify that LBJ ordered these killings, and that he transmitted his orders through Cliff Carter to Mac Wallace, who executed the murders." Did Billie Sol Estes provide you with any evidence that suggested his story was true?

Douglass Caddy: My relationship with Billie Sol Estes began in 1983 when Shearn Moody, a trustee of the Moody Foundation of Galveston, Texas, asked me to visit Billie Sol who was incarcerated in the federal prison at Big Spring, Texas. Billie Sol had telephoned Mr. Moody at the suggestion of a fellow inmate who knew Moody from past days when that inmate had been a lobbyist in the state capital. Billie Sol told Moody that he wanted to tell the story publicly about his long and close relationship with Lyndon Johnson (LBJ) as LBJ's bagman and requested Moody's assistance in getting this done. Moody was happy to oblige.

I met with Billie Sol in prison, who related his desire to tell all. I suggested that he do so in book form and that I would be helpful in any way that I could since I already had two books published.

Moody and I heard nothing more from Billie Sol until soon after his release from prison in early January 1984. At that time he called Moody and Moody again asked me to visit Billie Sol at the latter's home in Abilene, Texas.

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:LVRnf...us&ct=clnk&cd=5

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1Organized Crime and Deep Politics in Jefferson County, Texas, During the Mid-Twentieth Century.As a consequence of the James Committee investigation, not a single public servantdid any jail time or was even convicted. County Sheriff Charlie Meyers lost his job. Sodid DA Ramie Griffin and Beaumont Police Chief Jim Mulligan. Beaumont policelieutenant Jim Stafford was suspended for taking two of his detectives to a brothel andtelling the madam: “We want to pick a girl on the house.” Port Arthur Chief of PoliceGarland Douglas, and his Assistant Chief David Moore were suspended, then reinstated.They were defended by their personal counsel Jack Voyles, who was also the Port ArthurCity Attorney—a blatant conflict of interest. Elroy Mauldin was transferred to SanAntonio. A number of officials were indicted, including Sheriff Charlie Meyer, CountyConstables O’Neil Provost and GB Graham, Port Arthur Police Chief Garland Douglas,and Justice of the Peace Lloyd Blanchard. None were convicted or served any jail time.1Deep PoliticsThe aftermath of the James Committee gives more evidence that the anti-vicecampaign was a reflection of a deeper political struggle. While no one suffered anyserious consequences from the shake-up, several players did lose their jobs and theirpositions in the county’s power structure. Meanwhile, other players who were just asimplicated in the rackets continued to thrive. What accounts for the difference?The law enforcement establishment put up the most resistance to the JamesCommittee investigation, and these were the players who lost power. Meanwhile, thecounty’s elected representatives continued to thrive. For example, former Mayor JimmyCokinos—who was implicated as running interference with the police on behalf of the

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2rackets—did not suffer. He continued to thrive in local politics. Cokinos went on to serveas a County Commissioner until his defeat in March 2004.Port Arthur’s State Senator Jep Fuller stayed in office until 1963. After his legislativeservice he was able to secure lucrative work as a legal representative for oil and gasinterests. Then he served as a judge on Jefferson County’s 60th Judicial District Court,before retiring from public service altogether to make even more money as a powerfulindustry lobbyist.1His role in ElRoy Mauldin’s protection racket does not seem to havehurt him in the least.Congressman Jack Brooks, who had been elected to Martin Dies’ old seat, was able tokeep his name out of the James Committee’s final report altogether.After the James CommitteeAfter the James Committee drove the rackets underground, it became much moredifficult to distinguish between organized crime and legitimate business in JeffersonCounty. The families with connections to organized crime also invested in apparentlylegitimate businesses. It is nearly impossible to tell whether these were fronts for moneylaundering, or entirely separate from criminal endeavors. Now that gambling was nolonger openly tolerated by Jefferson County law enforcement, the two Southeast Texasfamilies most prominently associated with organized crime—the Fertittas and the Rogersbrothers—began to branch out into legally-sanctioned gambling enterprises in Nevada.The Maceo-Fertitta Crime FamilyThe Fertittas descend from the notorious Maceo brothers’ crime family, whoterrorized the island of Galveston during the wide-open era. Sam and Rosario Maceo got1Gas Services Division, Texas Railroad Commission, Docket # 413, Docket Year 1968; West 1973.

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3their start by smuggling alcohol during Prohibition. After Prohibition was repealed theygraduated to drug smuggling. In 1937, Sam Maceo was indicted in a massive narcoticsinvestigation. By the 1950s, the Galveston crime family was in decline, and they werereputedly kicking tributary payments upstairs to Mafioso Carlos Marcello in NewOrleans. Marcello was reputed to control the rackets all up and down the Texas GulfCoast, as well as inland metropolises of Dallas and Houston. Marcello was also linked toindustry through Houston oilman Lenoir Josey, among others.2As in Jefferson County, ninety miles up the Coast to the east of Galveston, theMaceos operated their gambling establishments right out in the open by compromisingthe local power structure: judges, politicians, and law enforcement. Pete Salvato—anassociate of the Maceos who ran his own casino—told one reporter about the family’srelationship to the lawmen: “Paid them off, every month, in cash. They used the law tochase the competition out of town.” The Maceos also used murder, mayhem, and threatsto muscle out potential competitors in the legitimate businesses they owned.3As theMaceo brothers aged, control of their crime family passed to their nephews, Victor andAnthony Fertitta.The Maceo family had long-standing connections with organized crime in JeffersonCounty. These ties were made public after the Texas State Attorney General obtained aninjunction against Western Union that prevented the telegraph company fromtransmitting horse-racing information in to the state. When the Maceos continued to offergambling on horse races, the state legislature investigated. It found that a Beaumont mannamed Felix J. DeMary owned a small café in Louisiana, just across the river fromOrange, Texas. DeMary’s Louisiana operation obtained racing information from a wire

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4service controlled by the Carlos Marcello family in New Orleans. DeMary had contractedwith Sam Maceo to transmit the information to Maceo’s Turf Grill in Galveston via adirect telephone hook-up.2When the state Attorney General shut down the Maceo crime family’s gamblingoperations on Galveston in 1957, many of the Galveston mobsters moved east toJefferson County. As mobsters tend to do, they branched out into ostensibly legitimatebusinesses, which were often linked to mob activities. For example, several of theimmigrants from Galveston opened glass businesses. Legitimate glass replacement iswonderfully synergistic with illegitimate protection racket. If you have to breaksomeone’s window to get them to pay protection, you then get to charge them again forreplacing the glass. In Beaumont, testimony to the James Committee revealed that theFertitta family ran a market that sold alcohol illegally, even to minors, and operated a realestate office as a front for gambling.4Other members of the Fertitta family opened up shop in Las Vegas. The familyalready had ties to Vegas. Sam Maceo had helped secure a Nevada gaming license forMoe Dalitz, when the Cleveland mobster moved to Las Vegas in the 1940s.5Maceonephew Frank Fertitta Jr. went to Vegas in the late 1950s, shortly after the Texas Rangersbroke up the Galveston concession…..….Today, Frank Fertitta Jr. and his sons—Lorenzo and Frank III—run Station’sCasino, which operates a number of casinos nation-wide. In the 1990s, Fertitta was oneof the largest contributors to the Republican Party. Station’s was driven out of Missouriin 2000, after Michael Lazaroff, Station’s Missouri lobbyist, was discovered to be …influencing Missouri Gaming Commission decisions. Conveniently, Carl Thomas was2Crime Investigating Committee 1953, pp. 8-9.

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5killed in a mysterious one-car accident, shortly before he was scheduled to testify in thathearing about XXXX’s role in the skimming racket.6Frank Fertitta and his cousin Tilman Fertitta have maintained a major businesspresence in southeast Texas, representing the third generation of the Maceo family’sdubious enterprises. Tilman Fertitta began his entrepreneurial career in Houston in the1970s, engaging in a series of businesses that have traditionally been popular withracketeers: pornography and adult bookstores, coin-operated video games, andconstruction.7Fertitta lived high on the hog, running up bank loans of over $10 million,and then weaseling out of them after the mob-driven S&L scandal led to widespread bankfailures. This happy circumstance allowed Fertitta to pay back only pennies on the dollarto the federal taxpayers who insured the banks’ depositors. “Thank God the banksfailed,” Fertitta once gushed, a remarkable comment indeed from a man who had once saton the board of a failed S&L.8More recently Fertitta has involved himself in shady waterfront development deals upand down the Texas Gulf Coast. Much of his enterprise has been financed by taxpayerdollars. When Tilman Fertitta is asked about his family’s organized crime ties, heresponds with the classic evasion: “I don’t know. What’s the Mafia? I never…what isthat? I’ve never seen the word Mafia used, though. That’s the first I’ve ever heard theword Mafia used. They were in the gambling business.”9Fertitta aims to bring gambling back to Galveston, and admits that: “If I were a fish,I’d be a shark.” Speaking of Galveston, the Maceo crime family’s traditional stompingground, Fertitta boasts: “I basically have the Island,”10

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6Tilman Fertitta has emerged as one of the dominant economic and political powerbrokers on the Gulf Coast, and his influence even extends into Democratic nationalpolitics. His cousin Frank Fertitta is one of the country’s biggest Republican contributors,thus ensuring that the family has both parties tied up…… While there are whispers that drug smuggling remains part of the family’sbusiness repertoire, there have been no indictments. In truth, smuggling may well bebesides the point by now. While the prominent Fertittas do still associate with unsavorycharacters right and left, they are also raking in millions every year in clean money,generated by apparently legitimate business enterprises. And you can buy politicians justas well with clean money as you can dirty money. Either way, the Fertittas today remainnearly untouchable on the Gulf Coast. In that sense, not much has changed since thewide-open days.The Rubenstein FamilyIn the 1930s, members of Chicago’s notorious Rubenstein family began to migratesouth to Texas. Jacob Rubenstein settled in Dallas, where he quickly established ties withthe local mobsters. He changed his name to Jack Ruby, and later became infamous formurdering Lee Oswald, the presidential assassin. Prior to his notoriety, Ruby wasinvolved in smuggling drugs from Mexico through Texas, along with Chicago crime bossSam Giancana. Giancana and other members of the Chicago mob were also heavilyinvested in casinos in Nevada and around the world. Casinos are a synergistic businessfor underworld types, because they are effective means of laundering money. You caneasily launder illicit funds by betting and losing on a turn of the roulette wheel.

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7Jack Ruby also had ties to a number of Texas oil men. He was involved with ShearnMoody of Galveston. The Moody’s were and remain Galveston’s other power family,along with the Maceo-Fertitta clan. Shearn Moody eventually became notorious forthrowing massive gay sex orgies at his mansion, and for stealing from his own family’sphilanthropic foundation. His family’s insurance company was also heavily invested inNevada casinos such as the Sands.Another branch of the Chicago Rubenstein family landed in Beaumont in the mid-1930s. This crew centered on four brothers: Ben, Sol, Nate, and Vic Rubenstein. Thebrothers changed their surname to Rogers, and eventually became major power players insoutheast Texas. They had already caught the attention of state investigators by the1940s, who labeled them as “the Chicago Rubenstein/Rogers gang.”3After the era ofwide-open vice came to an end in Jefferson County, several of the Rogers brothers ofBeaumont followed the lead of Benny Binion and Galveston’s Maceo-Fertitta family, andmoved into gambling enterprises in Las Vegas.In The Boardwalk Jungle, Ovid Demaris reports that the Rogers were front men forthe mob-owned Caesar’s Palace, and eventually Circus Circus. The name “Circus Circus”has a tradition among Chicago mobsters, in that Al Capone’s enforcement arm wasknown as “the Circus Circus gang.” Construction for both casinos was financed by loansfrom the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund, which served as a lending bank fororganized crime. Steven Brill, in The Teamsters, reports that according to FBI files, “in1965, it was alleged a mob meeting was held in Palm Springs, California, to discuss thedivision of hidden ownership of Caesar’s Palace between New England and Midwesternorganized-crime forces.”113Cite House Journal

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8The mobbed-up hidden owners skimmed millions in profits from the casinos to payback the Teamsters’ pension fund. Nicholas Pileggi, in his book Casino, reports that oneof the minority partners in Circus Circus was the legendary skimmer, Carl Thomas, whowas brought in to ply his trade in the Rogers brothers’ casino, just as he testified havingdone with XXXX.12In 1977, Sol Rogers formed a group of investors bidding to take over the mob-riddenAladdin for $25 million, and to assume the hotel’s $38 million debt owed to theTeamsters’ pension fund. The attempted takeover fell through when governmentinvestigators discovered the hidden underworld interests involved in the deal.13Like the Fertitta family of Galveston, Beaumont’s Rogers brothers eventually made atransition from mob-infested enterprises to corporate business. It is difficult to tell exactlywhen they left their unsavory alliances behind, if they ever did. For example, in the1980s, in the wake of the Reagan administrations’ deregulation of S&Ls, organized crimeelements began to systematically loot savings institutions throughout the state. While thiscatastrophe made Tillman Fertitta rich, it was disastrous for the nation’s taxpayers. InBeaumont, the Rogers brothers had founded several banks of their own, including SanJacinto Savings. In April 1985, at the height of the S&L looting, money from NewOrleans mob associate Herman Beebe was funneled through the Rogers’ brothers’ SanJacinto Savings in a series of shady transactions—after Beebe had already been convictedof defrauding the Small Business Administration.Shady associates and dealings aside, by the end of their lives, the Rogers brotherswere raking in millions from apparently legitimate development deals, and they hadbecome major power players in Jefferson County politics. Like the Fertittas, the Rogers

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9brothers played both sides: Ben Rogers ran the local Democratic Party in JeffersonCounty, while Vic Rogers controlled the local Republicans, thus insuring that theirinterests were protected, no matter what the electorate wanted.The prominent role that the Rogers brothers continued to play in Jefferson County’spower structure is one more piece of evidence indicating that the reforms brought aboutin the wake of the James Committee were superficial. Most of the same players were ableto remain in power—no matter how mobbed-up they may have been—as long as theywere willing to submit to industry’s overriding interests in the local political economy.1Ibid. pp. 258, 259, 261-2652Brewton,Pete. The Mafia, CIA, and George Bush. New York: Shapolsky,1992, pp. 120-121; Brown, JeanM., Free rein : Galveston Island's alcohol, gambling, and prostitution era, 1839-1957, Master’s thesis,Lamar University, 1998.3Brown, Jean M., Free rein : Galveston Island's alcohol, gambling, and prostitution era, 1839-1957,Master’s thesis, Lamar University, 1998.4James Committee report., pp. 147, 118-1195Brewton,Pete. The Mafia, CIA, and George Bush. New York: Shapolsky,1992, pp. 120-121.6Linsalata, Phil. “Casino Developer'sFamily Ties Include Skimming Case.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch(Missouri), October 14, 1992, Wednesday, five star edition, p. 1A; Associated Press. “Carl Thomas Sr.;Banned From Nevada Casinos,” Los Angeles Times, November 11, 1993, Part A; Page 42; Column 3;Metro Desk7Alison Cook. “Food Fight.” Houston Press. June 30,19948Allan Turner. “CEO casts his net for downtown.” Houston Chronicle October 20, 2002, Sunday, p. A1;Brewton,Pete. The Mafia, CIA, and George Bush. New York: Shapolsky,1992, p. 120.9Alison Cook. “Food Fight.” Houston Press. June 30,1994; Brewton,Pete. The Mafia, CIA, and GeorgeBush. New York: Shapolsky,1992, p. 120.10Allan Turner. “CEO casts his net for downtown.” Houston Chronicle October 20, 2002, Sunday, p. A1;Alison Cook. “Food Fight.” Houston Press. June 30,1994; Katy Vine, “Fertittaville,” Texas Monthly July,2004, p. 38.11Brill 1978, get page number12Brill, 1978; Demaris, Ovid. The Boardwalk Jungle (New York: Bantam, 1986); Reid, Ed, The GrimReapers (New York: Bantam, 1969); Pileggi, Nicholas, Casino (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995)13See the Las Vegas Sun’s history of the Alladin, downloaded December 2004 fromhttp://www.lasvegassun.com/dossier/events/aladdin/history.html

http://gatorpress.com/stories/page30.html

Later, Ruby made trips to the area to recruit dancers for his cabaret in Dallas. The Escapades Lounge in Houston was a favorite spot. He is reported to have provided girls for wild sex parties at the home of Shearn Moody, president of American National Insurance Co. in Galveston.

www.jfk-online.com/dblewmaroch.html

Dante A. Marochini

born 2/28/25

9/49 National Carpenter Co. Queensboro NY

1/50 Detecto Scale Co. Brooklyn

7/50 Santomauro Dairy Brooklyn

3/51 Lasaponara Dairy Goshen NY

1/52 Leone Lumber Co, Fairlawn NJ

4/52 Curtiss Wright, Woodridge NJ

6/55 Dante Realty Agency, Flushing NY

3/58 Van Vlandereen Machine Co.

12/58 Italian Swiss Colony

8/1/60 Witco Chemical Co.

1/61 American National Insurance

4/1/61 Jim Dandy Co.

1/18/62-1/28/62 Ipick Door Co, Kenner LA

2/1/62-8/15/62 L & J Wine Co.

11/1/62-3/19/63 Solari Co.

3/19/63-6/10/63 Standard Coffee Co.

6/10/63-8/25/63 Arnaud's Restaurant

8/26/63-CCSD Michoud

http://newtimes.rway.com/1996/112096/cover.htm

A: One documented case, not mentioned in the book, centered on a Galveston millionaire named Shearn Moody who was famous for holding huge sex parties at his home, and this man's name was in Ruby's address book. So yeah, he definitely knew at least some of these millionaires. Moody's family insurance company, Gold America National Insurance, was in turn invested heavily in Nevada casinos like the Sands. Ruby definitely knew him.

http://majikthise.typepad.com/majikthise_/..._rent_peng.html

There was an eccentric Galveston millionaire (one of his eccentricities was allegedly hiring a guy to assassinate George Wallace -- this got him in trouble) named Shearn Moody who supposedly had a penguin fetish, and stocked a pool (which he could get to by way of a water slide from his bedroom) with the critters. He was also famous for his orgies, and for being one of those rightwing texas millionaires whose name ended up in Jack Ruby's address book. I'm not sure how the penguins fit into his lifestyle as orgiast, however.

http://gatorpress.com/stories/page13.html

The CIA however, continued to train exiles at camps in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. CIA-trained insurgent Sergio Arcacha Smith traveled to Houston in March of 1963 to work with ex-President Carlos Prio, Robert McKeown, and the Free Cuba Committee. The group met at a private club in Dickinson owned by Galveston's Maceo Brothers.

http://www.echolist.com/entertainment/2004...er/news757.html

[James Richards]

Good stuff, Lee.

Moody certainly is an interesting character. I have been working an angle where Moody was financing operations conducted by Arturo Espaillat and Robert Emmett Johnson. Progress is slow but there is something there for sure.

James

[Pat Speer]

Good stuff, Lee.

Moody certainly is an interesting character. I have been working an angle where Moody was financing operations conducted by Arturo Espaillat and Robert Emmett Johnson. Progress is slow but there is something there for sure.

James

Excellent, Lee. Beyond the obvious--Ferrie headed to Galveston after the assassination--there is the possibility Mr. Moody paid off Billie Sol to cover his own involvement. Remember, when Billie Sol made his claims, the HSCA was fresh, and Blakey's claim of Marcello's involvement was on everyone's mind. What better way to distract everyone's attention than claim it was LBJ on his own? Hopefully, Mr. Caddy will offer us some insight into the enigmatic Mr. Moody.

I have a personal interest as well. When I was a kid my dad was in the oil business, working closely with an oilman named Johnny Mitchell. While reading the memoirs of Robert Maheu, I found out that Johnny Mitchell was one of Maheu's best friends, and that they'd met on a plane ride from Tampa (Trafficante country). When I googled Mitchell I found out that his brother George is still alive and one of the richest men in the Houston/Galveston area, and that the brothers had got their start under the tutelage of Sam Maceo. Johnny Mitchell even purchased the Maceos' flagship casino, The Balinese, after the Maceo brothers had died. Somewhere along the line I came into contact with Sam Maceo's son and he confirmed that his dad was close to the Mitchell brothers. He also told me that his dad and uncle--the Maceo brothers--died in the mid 1950's.

So I'm always on the lookout for stuff on The Maceo brothers. Thanks. You can find a whole chapter on them and their complete control of Galveston in USA Confidential.

Another interesting aspect is that, along with George Mitchell, one of the biggest developers in Galveston is the Fertitta family. Both empires derived from the Maceo family empire. If Moody money is tied into this stuff as well, that shouldn't prove surprising. On another thread Douglas Caddy discussed this, and said that as far as he knew the Moodys had nothing to do with the Maceos, however.

Edited March 14, 2006 by Pat Speer

[Lee Forman]

Thanks James.

Thanks Pat.

You might have noticed that I tried to hold off from speculation. Difficult for me : ) The parties held by Moody, his position in Galveston, the possibility of girls? being supplied to some of his parties by Ruby, Ferrie's trip to Galveston, Cheramie's claims about the heroin delivery to the port, McKeown, even Torbitt - it's many strange intersecting lines. Unfortunately, wasn't able to turn up something that said 'Clay Shaw and Moody' or 'David Ferrie and Moody' which is what I was looking for. If anyone knows of such a connection, that would be great to know. I was unaware of the Maceo brothers until I started digging into Moody a bit. I was also perplexed as to why Moody would have assisted Estes.

Anyway - the big reason why I was interested in Moody is attached. Prior to Trafficante stumbling into the Teamsters pension fund through Ragano [working for Hoffa], it appears that a lot of the casinos and hotels built by the syndicate were fronted by a number of insurance companies. I don't know if anyone has ever done research into the names of the companies and which contributed to what project - however, investments in Nevada are interesting, but begs the question on Cuba. The fact that RFK was being informed and that then Senator Raymond Baker was pushing investigations just adds fuel to the fire.

- lee

[Pat Speer]

In the book The Grim Reapers, Ed Reid relates a story about the beginnings of Las Vegas. Evidently, Dalitz and the Cleveland mob were having difficulty getting a gambling license until Sam Maceo had a talk with Senator Pat McCarran. I found another reference to Maceo in The Green Felt Jungle. In the back of that book, Ovid Demaris re-printed a segment of Rosselli's 1950 testimony before the Kefauver Committee. Among the list of names he acknowledged knowing was Sam Maceo. In Mickey Cohen's memoirs he says nice things about Maceo. Evidently, Maceo contributed significant funds to Cohen's pet charity: the foundation of Israel.

[James Richards]

It seems that Moody and John Connally didn't exactly see eye to eye.

FWIW.

James

[Douglas Caddy]

Good stuff, Lee.

Moody certainly is an interesting character. I have been working an angle where Moody was financing operations conducted by Arturo Espaillat and Robert Emmett Johnson. Progress is slow but there is something there for sure.

James

In regard to Shearn Moody, Jr., I wish to add the following information:

In 1979, I moved from Washington, D.C. to Houston, Texas. I was admitted to the Texas Bar that same year. In 1980, George Strake, Jr., who was the Texas Secretary of State in the first administration of GOP Governor William Clements, asked me to join his staff as Director of Elections for the State of Texas. Enforcement of the Texas election code in the state’s 25 4 counties fell within the purview of the Secretary of State (and still does today.)

In 1981, while still employed by the State of Texas, I was contacted by Howard Phillips, Chairman of the Conservative Caucus, Inc., of Vienna, Virginia, who had been one of the original founders of Young Americans for Freedom. Phillips asked me to become legal counsel to the Texas Policy Institute, which was about to receive a $250,000 grant from the Moody Foundation of Galveston, Texas.

The Moody Foundation had three trustees, brothers Robert and Shearn Moody, Jr., and their aunt, Mary Moody Nothern, daughter of the founder of the financial dynasty. Shearn Moody was the sponsor of the Foundation grant to the Texas Policy Institute.

After receiving the grant, the Texas Policy Institute in 1982 organized a National Conference on Star Wars to encourage the authorization of the Star Wars Project, which later was officially proposed by President Reagan. Howard Phillips invited Senator Jesse Helms to address the conference at its opening session, which took place at a well-attended dinner at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston, Texas. At the dinner Howard Phillips presented an award for conservatism to Senator Helms, who left early the next morning to return to Washington.

Senator Helms was correct, then, when he stated that he was unfamiliar with the name of Shearn Moody, Jr. Although an attendee at the dinner, Moody played no role in its activities. To Helms the key person at the event was Howard Phillips, whom he knew to be a national conservative activist.

By the way, among the Star Wars Conference other attendees was historian J. Evetts Haley, author of “A Texas Looks at Lyndon.”

I worked with Shearn Moody, Jr. for the three years following the 1982 Star Wars Conference on a number of other Moody Foundation grants..

However, I know next to nothing about Moody’s activities in the period before 1981, when I met him for the first time. When I worked with him he had serious health problems stemming from high blood pressure and had long since stopped giving any wild parties at his ranch in Galveston. He spent much of each year in Durham, N.C., where he was enrolled under supervision on the low-sodium rice diet made famous by a doctor associated with Duke University.

In the posting by Lee Forman, mention is made of Tilman Fertitta. Fertitta today is an extremely successful businessman, owner of a chain of restaurants around the U.S., including Landrys. He has extensive business interests in Galveston, where he is engaged in heated business rivalry with Robert Moody, Shearn Moody’s brother, usually to the latter’s detriment who is not popular locally due to his arrogant attitude. When Bill Clinton was President, on a number of occasions he attended fund-raising events for the Democratic Party at Fertitta’s home, located in the River Oaks section of Houston.

In 1986, Shearn Moody, Jr. fell under the influence of a con man, William Pabst. His association with Pabst eventually led to his losing his post as a trustee of the Moody Foundation. Pabst fled Houston in 1986 and is today still a fugitive from justice, wanted by both federal and Texas law enforcement for his criminal activities.

Moody was convicted of defrauding the Moody Foundation due to his association with Pabst.

His conviction was later reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His other conviction for bankruptcy fraud, however, was affirmed. His close adviser for many years, Norman Revie, was convicted with him of bankruptcy fraud and is today, like Pabst, a fugitive from justice.

Ultimately Moody was set free from prison by an order of a federal judge after I wrote a letter to the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and asked to appear voluntarily before the federal grand jury to testify how an agent from the Criminal Intelligence Division of the Internal Revenue Service had directed me to spend $38,000 of a Moody Foundation grant. I asked that both I and the agent be required to testify under oath, with the threat of perjury, about the transaction. The U.S. government refused to let the IRS Criminal Intelligence agent testify (because my evidence was air-tight) and, as a consequence, the federal judge ordered Moody’s release from prison on the ground that the U.S. government had failed to disclose the role of the IRS agent at Moody’s trial.

Below is an article from the Houston Chronicle of January 18, 1987, which describes my association with Moody.

Houston Chronicle

January 18, 1987

“In harm's way, again What do Watergate, CIA and Moody probe have in common? Caddy

By Dianna Hunt

Staff

HE HAD RECEIVED bomb threats, been followed, had his phones tapped and the windows of his office shot out in the night.

Yet Douglas Caddy still feared he might just be paranoid.

"We used to joke about it," says Caddy, a Houston author and attorney. "Do you think somebody's trying to give us a message?"

His fears, apparently, were not unfounded. In a sworn statement submitted to a Houston private investigator and the FBI, a former military explosives expert says Caddy was the target of an alleged bomb plot hatched by Galveston millionaire Shearn Moody Jr.

Moody, says the expert, tried to hire him to "blow (Caddy's) legs off" because Caddy prompted investigations into impropriety within the multimillion-dollar Moody Foundation.

For Caddy, the front-row seat in a money-and-power scandal is an all-too-familiar occurrence. As a defense attorney and witness in the Watergate scandal, a friend and former roommate to South Korean lobbyist Tongsun Park, and a one-time publicist in a CIA front company, Caddy turns up in the strangest places.

"I don't know why," he concedes. "I just do."

He flatly denies ever working for the Central Intelligence Agency.

"I get tarred with it, but I never have worked for the CIA," Caddy says.

Caddy, 48, emerged as a central figure in the latest scandal after approaching Moody Foundation officials in 1985 with information about the possible mishandling of millions of dollars in foundation grants.

His complaints prompted an internal Moody Foundation probe, which ultimately led to the hiring of Houston private investigator Clyde Wilson to look into the matter. The state attorney general's office and federal officials likewise are investigating.

Five people - including Moody and his administrative aide Norman Revie - already have been indicted by a Houston federal grand jury.

Caddy's life the last three decades has been scattered with similar brushes with important people and events.

A graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and New York University Law School, Caddy became involved in the Watergate scandal just half an hour after the arrest of five burglars in the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel - when he received a 3 a.m. call from former CIA operative E. Howard Hunt.

Caddy served as defense lawyer to both Hunt and another Watergate conspirator, G. Gordon Liddy, and later testified about his refusal to accept $25,000 in "hush money."

His involvement in Watergate stemmed from his friendship with Hunt, with whom he shared office space in the Washington-based Mullen Company - a public relations firm and offshoot of General Foods that was later identified as a front company for the CIA.

Caddy went to work as a lobbyist in General Foods' New York office in 1967, but transferred to the Mullen Company in 1969. He left the company in 1971 to go into private practice as an attorney.

"I didn't ask to be put in the Mullen Company," Caddy says now. "General Foods put me there.

"I didn't even know the Democrats had their headquarters in the Watergate."

Just a few years later, though, Caddy would be back in the midst of another scandal - one involving his former college roommate, Tongsun Park, a Korean rice dealer.

Park, a glittering party-giver and a central figure in "Koreagate," was granted immunity from criminal prosecution in 1978 for his much-publicized testimony that he paid members of Congress in exchange for political favors.

Caddy says Park was the first person he met at Georgetown University, and they later became class officers together, as well as friends. During that time, Caddy said he suspected - but never knew - that Park worked for the Korean CIA.

"I suspected - much like working in the Mullen office - that something was up," Caddy said.

Caddy says he was questioned by staff members of the U.S. House of Representatives ethics committee about his relationship with Park, but never testified publicly.

Through it all, Caddy remained active in conservative Republican politics and helped found two youth groups, the Young Americans for Freedom and the International Youth Federation for Freedom. And in 1974, he wrote a book, "The Hundred Million Dollar Pay-off," about organized labor's role in campaign financing.

Caddy came to Texas in 1979, and went to work in 1980 in Austin as director of elections for then-Secretary of State George Strake. While there, he agreed to a friend's request to serve as local counsel to a non-profit foundation that wanted to apply for a Moody Foundation grant. He moved to Houston in 1981.

Caddy said he first met foundation trustee Shearn Moody Jr. at the foundation's Galveston offices, where they and other officials discussed the grant.

Caddy eventually would serve as director or legal counsel to several organizations that would receive more than $1 million in Moody Foundation grants.

Those grants are now among more than $3 million in grants under investigation. Caddy says the investigation of him is "retaliation" for his raising the initial allegations with officials. He also attributes the probe to what he says is a friendship between the Moodys and Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox.

Caddy says he has cooperated fully with investigators because he has "nothing to hide."

"We're very proud of what we did," Caddy said. "We fulfilled our contracts for the purposes stated."

Among his grant-funded projects were conferences on terrorism, Hispanics and the "Star Wars" technology, and - at Moody's request - an investigation into allegations raised by convicted West Texas swindler Billie Sol Estes. Estes has long claimed to have information implicating former President Lyndon B. Johnson in wrongdoing.

During that time, Caddy says he began to consider himself a friend to Moody, and once agreed to work undercover posing as Moody's lawyer to help an FBI investigation of alleged corruption among Alabama state officials.

The friendship began to cool, however, after Moody's lawyer revealed the "cover" in a North Carolina bankruptcy court, Caddy said. Moody's increasing association with William R. Pabst, convicted in 1985 of charity fraud, furthered the split.

Caddy said Moody ignored repeated warnings to steer clear of Pabst. On Oct. 31, 1985, Caddy urged the Moody Foundation to investigate grants to several foundations Pabst and his associate, Vance Beaudreau, helped set up.

Moody, Pabst and Beaudreau have since been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly diverting Moody Foundation grants to pay personal expenses.

It wasn't long after his split with Moody that Caddy says he started receiving threats.

Caddy said he received three or four bomb threats over a period of several days, and the windows in his sixth-floor office were shot out during the night. About a month later, he found a spent cartridge near his desk.

Throughout, he says, his house has been watched, he's been followed and his telephones have been wiretapped. Friends and associates, too, have been harassed, Caddy says.

In a July 22, 1985, letter to Moody, Caddy attributed the threats to "Pabst and his kooky paramilitary colleagues."

Last week, D. Michael Hollaway, the explosives expert, said under oath that Moody and Pabst tried to hire him later that year to plant explosives in Caddy's car.

Hollaway said Moody told him he wanted to "blow his (Caddy's) legs off," or have him shot by a sniper. Hollaway declined the offer.

"William R. Pabst just talked to me about using enough explosives to scare Caddy, but Shearn Moody wanted him either dead or his legs blown off," Hollaway said. "Shearn Moody was not kidding about this but was very serious."

Hollaway said he was approached by Moody and Pabst "at the time that Douglas Caddy started causing problems at the Moody Foundation."

Caddy says he's not surprised by Hollaway's allegations.

"It's what comes out of a case involving a family fortune and a family dynasty," Caddy said. "I think quite frankly, yes, they were trying to send us a message."

He remains worried, though - particularly since Pabst and Beaudreau are fugitives believed to be hiding in Mexico.

"It still bothers me that Pabst and Beaudreau are still running around out there, because they're unstable people," Caddy said. "I am still fearful for my life and the lives of my associates.

"We're not just paranoid. If he (Moody) had found the right guy, they would have done it." [End]

Any attempt to tie Shearn Moody, Jr., to the Kennedy assassination conspiracy, in my opinion, is a waste of time and energy as there is no connection. History, however, does owe him a debt of gratitude for his responding favorably when Billie Sol Estes contacted him about the latter publicly telling the story of his relationship with Lyndon Johnson. Had Moody not encouraged Billie Sol to do so, much of what is now known of LBJ’s use of the stone killer, Malcolm (Mac) Wallace, would still be cloaked in secrecy.

[Lee Forman]

Any attempt to tie Shearn Moody, Jr., to the Kennedy assassination conspiracy, in my opinion, is a waste of time and energy as there is no connection. History, however, does owe him a debt of gratitude for his responding favorably when Billie Sol Estes contacted him about the latter publicly telling the story of his relationship with Lyndon Johnson. Had Moody not encouraged Billie Sol to do so, much of what is now known of LBJ’s use of the stone killer, Malcolm (Mac) Wallace, would still be cloaked in secrecy.

Mr. Caddy - thanks for that. Incredible! I really enjoyed reading every word. Sounds as if you were born under a lucky star for sure.

On the final note - I haven't seen anything at all - it just occurs to me that Galveston would have been a very powerful area of a lot of 'mixing' of interests. Howard Hughes, 'rich Houston Oilmen' and others, visiting the Balinese Room - the Maceo Brothers, etc. Prostitution in Galveston apparently was common since the 1830s. A large center of power, influence and trafficking, even though it appears that the migration to Nevada for casinos was taking place in late 1950s, since Galveston was effectively shutdown by the Rangers. I did enjoy reading about the techniques used by the Balinese Room to thwart investigation into their gambling activities.

Anyway - I have not seen any kind of connection of any kind whatsoever, aside from the question as to what kind of relationship Ruby may have had with Shearn, and some interest in Galveston, and insurance companies funding Maffia casinos and hotels. I would point out though - that if the operation in Dealey Plaza was compartmentalized - with multiple 'cells' made up of multiple players, being directed by multiple channels and through funding provided by multiple sources - all with plausible denial and on a 'need to know basis,' using code names, and etc., well....the Estes / Wallace thing would only be a small piece of the overall puzzle - and unrelated to other pieces.

- lee

[Douglas Caddy]

Any attempt to tie Shearn Moody, Jr., to the Kennedy assassination conspiracy, in my opinion, is a waste of time and energy as there is no connection. History, however, does owe him a debt of gratitude for his responding favorably when Billie Sol Estes contacted him about the latter publicly telling the story of his relationship with Lyndon Johnson. Had Moody not encouraged Billie Sol to do so, much of what is now known of LBJ’s use of the stone killer, Malcolm (Mac) Wallace, would still be cloaked in secrecy.

Mr. Caddy - thanks for that. Incredible! I really enjoyed reading every word. Sounds as if you were born under a lucky star for sure.

On the final note - I haven't seen anything at all - it just occurs to me that Galveston would have been a very powerful area of a lot of 'mixing' of interests. Howard Hughes, 'rich Houston Oilmen' and others, visiting the Balinese Room - the Maceo Brothers, etc. Prostitution in Galveston apparently was common since the 1830s. A large center of power, influence and trafficking, even though it appears that the migration to Nevada for casinos was taking place in late 1950s, since Galveston was effectively shutdown by the Rangers. I did enjoy reading about the techniques used by the Balinese Room to thwart investigation into their gambling activities.

Anyway - I have not seen any kind of connection of any kind whatsoever, aside from the question as to what kind of relationship Ruby may have had with Shearn, and some interest in Galveston, and insurance companies funding Maffia casinos and hotels. I would point out though - that if the operation in Dealey Plaza was compartmentalized - with multiple 'cells' made up of multiple players, being directed by multiple channels and through funding provided by multiple sources - all with plausible denial and on a 'need to know basis,' using code names, and etc., well....the Estes / Wallace thing would only be a small piece of the overall puzzle - and unrelated to other pieces.

- lee

Lee – Re: Shearn Moody, Jr., you are correct. I should not hastily foreclose any possibility in the consideration of the JFK assassination conspiracy, especially since it has been previously disclosed in the Forum that Moody was apparently financially involved in the funding of the Bay of Pigs project. This came as news to me.

I am slowly reading all the past topics on the Forum dealing with the assassination and am constantly amazed at the quality and quantity of valuable materials being posted by Forum members. It is a real eye-opener and should serve as a terrific educational tool for anyone, student and non-student alike, wishing to learn how the world really works.

[Pat Speer]

Mr. Caddy, do you have any insight into Moody's feelings about LBJ? Were they involved in a long-time feud? In your talks with Moody, did the subject of Howard Hughes or Robert Maheu ever come up?

[Ron Ecker]

Prior to Trafficante stumbling into the Teamsters pension fund through Ragano [working for Hoffa], it appears that a lot of the casinos and hotels built by the syndicate were fronted by a number of insurance companies. I don't know if anyone has ever done research into the names of the companies and which contributed to what project - however, investments in Nevada are interesting, but begs the question on Cuba. The fact that RFK was being informed and that then Senator Raymond Baker was pushing investigations just adds fuel to the fire.

Lee,

FWIW there was some connection between the Guarantee Reserve Life Insurance Company, which according to the doc you posted was being investigated in the early 1960s for allegedly lending money to Giancana, Rosselli, and Marcello, and the Rio Grande National Life Insurance Company, the employer in 1963 of Louie Steven Witt, the HSCA’s Umbrella Man.

This is evident from a post I found, through Google, in an insurance forum that refers to both companies, as follows:

“my mother just asked me to check into old life insurance policies she purchased and ‘paid up’ on me and my three sibliings.... she first purchased them under a company called Guarantee Reserve that became Rio Grande National Life that became Kentucky Central....”

I don’t believe Guarantee Reserve “became” Rio Grande National Life, as the latter had been around for a century or more, before merging with Kentucky Central in 1967, and Guarantee Reserve is apparently still around (relocated from Indiana to Illinois). But obviously, based on the life insurance policies referred to, Guarantee Reserve and Rio Grande National were somehow affiliated.

Ron

[Antti Hynonen]

Ron,

Your quote is likely accurate regarding Rio Grande Life and Guarantee Reserve. It is possible that such an acquisition took place e.g. in the 1970's.

In my mind many of the smaller, or medium size life insurance companies have been bought out, or merged over the last 30 years. Not many left.

Below is some of the history that relates to Kentucky Central, which was one of several Life insurance companies acquired by Jefferson-Pilot in the 1990's. Due to the fact that Kentucky central itself had probably acquired the afore mentioned Rio Grande LIC, which in turn had acquired Guarantee Reserve, as per you quote, there is not much at all about these on the web. I'm sure some of the "old policy holders" of Jefferson-Pilot, today, were initially policy holders of the Rio Grande LIC or the Guarantee Reserve LIC.

In other words, their affiliation, is likely, most simply, one having acquired the other years ago and to further complicate matters the trend in the industry has kept booming, making it very complicated to track which company has been merged with which.

https://www.jpfnet.com/Jpf/Public/contentNa...pository=Public

History

Jefferson Pilot Financial's beginning lies with two North Carolina insurance companies - Jefferson Standard, founded in 1907, and Pilot Life, founded in 1903. The two companies joined together under a new holding company, Jefferson-Pilot Corporation, in 1968. On January 1, 1987, the two companies merged to form Jefferson-Pilot Life Insurance Company.

Since 1994, Jefferson-Pilot completed four major acquisitions, including Chubb Life Insurance Company of America (since renamed Jefferson Pilot Financial Insurance Company), Alexander Hamilton Life, Guarantee Life Insurance Company and in-force life insurance of Kentucky Central Life. In 2000, Alexander Hamilton Life and Guarantee Life Insurance Company were merged into Jefferson Pilot Financial Insurance Company.

Our product offerings, already among the broadest in the industry, continue to expand as we reach out to people across the country. We are licensed to operate in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The company's stock is traded on the New York, Midwest and Pacific Stock Exchanges.

Edited March 15, 2006 by Antti Hynonen

[Pat Speer]

At the risk of sounding naive, what is it about a Life insurance company that makes it attractive to criminals? Is there a heavy cash flow? With plenty of opportunity to skim? A few years ago I was researching the criminals who'd taken over and cleaned out the record company I was working for; I was surprised to find that the mother of one of the crooks, whose every son and daughter had declared bankruptcy, and who lived in Oakland, was on the board of directors of an insurance company in the midwest. I was quite sure it was her because she had an unusual name with a Z for a middle initial.

Any ideas?

[Ron Ecker]

Pat,

Perhaps criminals are naturally attracted to a business that is based on people dying, it being just a matter of how soon (and whether or not it was "suicide").

Ron

[Mark Stapleton]

Prior to Trafficante stumbling into the Teamsters pension fund through Ragano [working for Hoffa], it appears that a lot of the casinos and hotels built by the syndicate were fronted by a number of insurance companies. I don't know if anyone has ever done research into the names of the companies and which contributed to what project - however, investments in Nevada are interesting, but begs the question on Cuba. The fact that RFK was being informed and that then Senator Raymond Baker was pushing investigations just adds fuel to the fire.

Lee,

FWIW there was some connection between the Guarantee Reserve Life Insurance Company, which according to the doc you posted was being investigated in the early 1960s for allegedly lending money to Giancana, Rosselli, and Marcello, and the Rio Grande National Life Insurance Company, the employer in 1963 of Louie Steven Witt, the HSCA’s Umbrella Man.

This is evident from a post I found, through Google, in an insurance forum that refers to both companies, as follows:

“my mother just asked me to check into old life insurance policies she purchased and ‘paid up’ on me and my three sibliings.... she first purchased them under a company called Guarantee Reserve that became Rio Grande National Life that became Kentucky Central....”

I don’t believe Guarantee Reserve “became” Rio Grande National Life, as the latter had been around for a century or more, before merging with Kentucky Central in 1967, and Guarantee Reserve is apparently still around (relocated from Indiana to Illinois). But obviously, based on the life insurance policies referred to, Guarantee Reserve and Rio Grande National were somehow affiliated.

Ron

Ron, et al,

I think you've discovered a possible link there between the mob and Louie Witt.

It would be very interesting to find out when the buyout or merger of Guarantee Reserve and Rio Grande occured. If Guarantee Life was a mob firm, it might have been owned by another layer of non-reporting Companies, but a decent corporate lawyer could probably trace its ownership.

Wouldn't it be interesting if Mr. Witt was an employee of a mob controlled Company?