Exclusive: Perry Russo Talks in Baton Rouge, Part Two

Just after David Ferrie died, Perry Russo called the media in Baton Rouge to talk about his experiences with the man. Here is an audio of his conversation with WAFB, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on February 24, 1967.:

This blog post has a complete transcript of the conversation.

This is an important interview because it took place before Perry Russo had made any contact with Jim Garrison's office. And so this is all he knew before being injected with sodium pentothal and being hypnotized three times.

Is this evidence of a conspiracy to assassinate JFK? Russo says that Ferrie talked "in general terms, not specifically about Kennedy though, about how easy it would be to assassinate a president of the United States ..." And Ferrie said it "just in a joking way, he said it could be done."

Russo said Ferrie never mentioned Lee Harvey Oswald and Russo never heard the name until after the assassination. There was no mention of Clay Shaw or Clay Bertrand.

It's also unclear how well Perry Russo really knew David Ferrie. He said that Ferrie talked about how Castro was getting a bad deal, and that Castro was "a good thing in Cuba." That doesn't sound like David Ferrie. He also seems unsure where David Ferrie lived.

Russo also said that Ferrie had a roommate who was "sterile" as regards to politics. That might be true but, as we know, he later said that Ferrie's roommate was Lee Harvey Oswald. And Oswald wasn't "sterile" as regards to politics.

Russo never informed the Warren Commission or the FBI about his conversations with David Ferrie. The assassination caught him by surprise and then Russo "forgot" about his conversations with Ferrie.

Conspiracy theorists don't like to talk about this interview because it doesn't fit their narrative.

Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Perry Russo

Perry Russo Describes his Session on Sodium Pentothal

Russo tells Shaw's attorneys what it was like to be injected with sodium pentothal.

A Tape Recording of Perry Russo's Third Hypnosis Session

You can read Andrew Sciambra's memorandum after interviewing Perry Russo in Baton Rouge, and a link to a recording of Russo's third hypnosis session.

Perry Russo Admits Clay Shaw had "nothing to do with anything."

A transcript of an April 1971 interview of Perry Russo by Clay Shaw's attorneys.

Perry Russo Talks - in Baton Rouge, Part One

Russo's initial story was different from the story in the courtroom.

Perry Russo Talks - in Baton Rouge, Part Two

James Phelan wrote a memo listing all the inconsistencies in Perry Russo's stories.

Perry Russo Pays a Visit to Shaw's Lawyer...

In January 1971, Russo told Shaw's attorneys that Clay Shaw was not at the supposed conspiracy meeting at David Ferrie's apartment.

Lt. Edward O'Donnell Testifies about Perry Russo's Lie Detector Test...

Jim Garrison had Perry Russo take a lie detector test. It did not go well.

Perry Russo's First Lie Detector Test...

When asked about Russo's lie detector test, Jim Garrison lied.