I was delighted this week when I received an email from Anthony Summers, author of Not in Your Lifetime: The Defining Book on the J.F.K. Assassination , about my new book, A Heritage of Nonsense: Jim Garrison's Tales of Mystery and Imagination . He said he was happy to see my excellent work on Richard Case Nagell. He also provided this quote for publication: A long overdue corrective – essential equipment for anyone serious about studying the Kennedy assassination. Click here to buy A Heritage of Nonsense. Previous Relevant Blog Post Jim Garrison (and others) on Rose Cherami Larry Hancock and Anthony Summers now agree that Cherami did not have foreknowledge of the JFK assassination.

I discussed my new book, A Heritage of Nonsense: Jim Garrison's Tales of Mystery and Imagination , on Conspiracy Clearinghouse. You can buy my new book here .

Cover of New Orleans Magazine, March 1971 This issue of New Orleans Magazine, with its cover story by Rosemary James, was in the papers of Clay Shaw at NARA. Money quote : The persecution continued while a city went about business as usual, conclusively re-electing Shaw's adversary to one of the most powerful offices in the United States. If members of the community were concerned, the community as a while demonstrated what can only be described as an historic unconcern. Many of those who did get involved, who did care, have called it a crucifixion. Money Quote: The folk wisdom resurfaced again with cries of "Where there's smoke, there's fire." Commenting on that cliche, Shaw said, "Where there's smoke, there might well be a very efficient smoke producing machine ... which is the case here." Money Quote: Shaw is fond of quoting the French abbé , who, after the terror had abated, was asked what he had done during the French Revolution. "I survived," said the abbé succinctly. Shaw things that Garrison did not expect him to survive. "He may well have thought he would get the world's attention by arresting me and never have to bring the case to trial. "He said he thought I would commit suicide, so he might well have thought the case would never come to trial." "He didn't know it, but I'm a tough old bird." Money Quote: Shaw theorizes that the only sin a Louisiana politician cannot commit if he wants to retain approval and his office, is the sin of boring the populace. And he believes that much of Garrison's appeal lies in the fact that he has never committed this sin. Money Quote: Nor was he surprised at the testimony of some witnesses brought against him during his trial, those who offered up allegations that they had seen him with Oswald and/or Ferrie. "I was not shocked a bit. Throughout the trial there had been testimony by perjurers, psychopaths, convicts ... I was not at all shocked. You must bear in mind that a prosecutor has many levers he can push to make people say anything he wants them to say. What these people said was quite untrue but I assume there was some reason they felt they had to say it." Money Quote: The chief trial assistants ... James Alcock and Alvin Oser ... are now Criminal Court Judges. Garrison, whose pull with Governor John McKeithen has resulted in other judgeships for loyal allies, was successful in getting Oser appointed to a new seat and Alcock appointed to the seat left vacant by the trial's presiding jurist, Edward Haggerty, when he was removed for a thing called "gross misconduct." Shaw's terse comment: "They were paid off. And doesn't this say something about our system of justice in Louisiana .. when a prosecutor controls half the criminal judges who must rule on the cases he presents." Money Quote: The bombshell of the hearing came when Perry Raymond Russo took the Fifth Amendment. James Alcock already had testified that Russo was the only witness in hand when Shaw was first arrested. Russo was the man, who after several sessions with a hypnotist, said at Shaw's preliminary hearing and at his conspiracy trial that he saw Shaw with Ferrie and Oswald in 1963 at Ferrie's New Orleans apartment. When he took the stand in federal court, defense attorney F. Irvin Dymond asked Russo, "Did you see Clay Shaw at David Ferrie's apartment in 1963?" Russo replied, "I refused to answer on the grounds that my testimony might incriminate me." Money Quote: "People keep assuring me that Jim Garrison has ruined my life, but that simply isn't true. No man's life is ruined by outer circumstances, unless, at some level of his being, he consents to his own ruination. And that consent I have never given, nor will I ever give." Money Quote: Shaw feels that his long ordeal might serve some useful purpose to society if people everywhere can understand that what happened to him could happen to them .. that the individual rights granted all of us under the constitution must be guarded with continual vigilance if they are not to be lost. He says his feelings can best be summed up in eleven words spoken by John F. Kennedy: "When any man's rights are violated, every man's rights are threatened!" Previous Relevant Blog Posts Clay Shaw Writes Rod McKuen, Part Two A letter written just before Shaw's death. Clay Shaw Writes Rod McKuen Shaw writes about the Supreme Court decision stopping his prosecution. Clay Shaw Deserves an Apology Oliver Stone needs to apologize for re-victimizing Clay Shaw. Rod McKuen's Tribute to Clay Shaw   A lovely tribute read at Clay Shaw's funeral. 1972: Jim Garrison Releases Crazy Statement After the U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Him.   Here is Jim Garrison's full statement on the ruling. The Christenberry Decision   Here is Judge Christenberry's ruling on Garrison's prosecution of Clay Shaw for perjury. The Wisdom Decision   Judge Wisdom upheld Judge Christenberry's decision.

In his book Honest Answers About the Murder of President John F. Kennedy , Vince Palamara includes the first page of this document, with the notation "From the new file releases - yet another prediction," in his section on assassination predictions : (page 97) The redacted text in page one is "interviewed by a CIA representative." The quote on page page two was from Karl-Erick Ridderstrale : Why would anybody include the above document in any sort of book on the JFK assassination? Does Palamara really think that this was an authentic example of foreknowledge? Palamara's book, Honest Answers , is a gold mine of material to blog. Stay tuned. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Vince Palamara The Problem with JFK Conspiracy Books Conspiracy books just repeat the same stories without checking primary documents. Vince Palamara on Richard Case Nagell Palamara just repeats stories from Dick Russell. Vince Palamara on Rose Cherami Palamara just says stuff about Cherami without checking. Previous Blog Posts about Vince Palamara's book on a Supposed Chicago Plot A Reply to Vince Palamara Vince replied to my five-part series on his epic failure of a book, but once again he falls flat. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Five An examination of Palamara's second eight pieces of corroborating evidence for the plot. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Four An examination of Palamara's first eight pieces of corroborating evidence for the plot. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Three A look at the origin of the supposed plot. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Two A look at Homer Echeverria. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part One A look at Lloyd John Wilson.

Here is the complete 52-page secret service file that was released by the ARRB (RIF #154-10003-10058) I tell the complete Raymond Broshears story in my new book, A Heritage of Nonsense: Jim Garrison's Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Raymond Broshears Hal Verb on Raymond Broshears Hal Verb interviewed Raymond Broshears and did not find him credible. Raymond Broshears Testifies Before the HSCA   A link to a tape of his testimony and a transcript. Exclusive: Raymond Broshears on the Stan Bohrman Show, July 1968   An audio recording of Broshears on the Bohrman Show. First Garrison Interview with Reverend Raymond Broshears   Bill Turner sent a memo to Stephen Burton saying that he should find and interview Raymond Broshears. Here is Burton's memo. David Ferrie's Roommate Reveals the Assassination Plot!   Broshears revealed the plot to the LA Free Press Reverend Raymond Broshears Tells All to Stephen Jaffe and Mark Lane!   Lane and Jaffe pay the good Reverend a visit. Reverend Raymond Broshears Reveals the Shaw-Ferrie Link! Broshears even identified the three tramps. Reverend Raymond Broshears Tells Even More in New Orleans!   Of course, they had to fly Broshears to New Orleans to tell more stories. Reverend Raymond Broshears Makes a Startling Revelation!   Broshears outs a Garrison suspect. The good Reverend writes about Jim Garrison   Broshears' newsletter discusses his trip to New Orleans Reverend Raymond Broshears Talks to the HSCA   Hard to believe but the HSCA actually interviewed Broshears. What do JFK conspiracy books say about Raymond Broshears?   For some reason, conspiracy theorists believe Broshears is credible. Who was Leon Oswald?   James DiEugenio believes that Raymond Broshears corroborates the existence of a Leon Oswald.

Vince Palamara's new book, The Plot to Kill President Kennedy in Chicago and other Traces of Conspiracy Leading to the Assassination of JFK , is an epic failure. Despite the enticing title, Palamara does not provide any evidence of a plot in Chicago in November 1963. My first blog post in this series looked at Lloyd John Wilson . My second blog post in this series looked at Homer Echeverria . My third blog post in this series looked at the origins of the Chicago plot story. My fourth blog post in this series looked at Palamara's first eight supposed pieces of corroborating evidence for a Chicago plot. My fifth blog post in this series looked at Palamara's second eight supposed pieces of corroborating evidence for a Chicago plot. A Reply to Vince Palamara In Chapter Three, "Not a Random of Fate -- Prior Precedent," Palamara brings up Richard Case Nagell: (pages 92 - 93 of the Kindle edition) Richard Case Nagell was one of the most important witnesses there was in the JFK case. The following is merely a detailed summary from Dick Russell’s book The Man Who Knew Too Much : Palamara just accepts that Russell's book is accurate. Rather than doing his own research into Nagell, Palamara buys into the Nagell story, hook, line and sinker. And then he writes this: (page 93 in the Kindle edition) A most compelling piece of evidence that Nagell had at the time of his arrest in September of 1963 was this near duplicate of Oswald’s Uniformed Services Identification and Privileges Card. In the card seized by the Dallas Police, there is an overstamp that appears which says “October 1963.” In the version that Nagell had, the imprint does not appear. Why? But did Nagell have this in his possession when he was arrested in El Paso? Here is my blog post on this card. There is no evidence that this was found in Nagell's possessions when he was arrested. Here is an excerpt from Russell's book: (page xvii) It was 1976. Richard Case Nagell had provided written authorization granting my access to files about him being maintained by his then-attorney, Bernard Fensterwald, Jr., in Washington D.C. Poring through a thick sheaf of correspondence and other documents in the lawyer's office, I came across a poor photocopy of a "Uniformed Services Identification and Privileges Card." It bore the picture and apparent signature of Lee Harvey Oswald. Although it appeared in the Nagell file, no other notation accompanied it. First, it was a photocopy. Second, it was found in 1976 in the Nagell file in Bernard Fensterwald's office in Washington D.C. Conspiracy authors go crazy when discussing chain of custody. Just where is the chain of custody for this photocopy? We can't even be sure that it came from Nagell. He never mentioned the card. Surely it must have been fairly easy for someone to make. There is no evidence that any such card was in Nagell's personal effects when he was arrested. Here is a list of his personal effects : Here is another list : (at page 188) It is quite comical to see conspiracy theorists like Vince Palamara believe that a poor photocopy, found in 1976, is proof that Nagell possessed the card when he was arrested in 1963. In addition, Palamara writes: (page 93 in the Kindle edition) After his arrest, on the way to the El Paso Federal Building, Nagell issued a statement to the FBI: “I would rather be arrested than commit murder and treason.” This supposed statement by Nagell comes from Russell's book: (page 2 in the second edition of his book) "On the way to the El Paso Federal Building for further questioning, Richard Case Nagell issued only one statement to the FBI: "I would rather be arrested than commit murder and treason." However, Russell's footnote for this statement indicates that it comes from a Nagell draft of a memo in support of his petition for habeas corpus written in 1967. There is no contemporaneous source for this statement. Palamara continues: (page 93 - 94 in the Kindle edition At a preliminary hearing for Nagell, the defendant related to the officer the obvious: that he wanted to be caught. To which Bundren replied that he knew Nagell was not out to rob the bank. The following exchange then occurred: Nagell: Well, I’m glad you caught me. I really don’t want to be in Dallas. Bundren: What do you mean by that? Nagell: You’ll see soon enough. After the assassination and the murder of Oswald by Jack Ruby, Officer Bundren was hit with the ramifications of Nagell’s prediction. Bundren stated: “How the hell would he have previous knowledge of it? How would he know what was coming down in Dallas? Nagell knew a lot more about the assassination than he let on, or that the government let on. It’s bothered me ever since.” But did Nagell really have any foreknowledge of the assassination? This blog post covers that issue. The quote from police officer Jim Bundren, who arrested Nagell in September 1963, comes from page 45 in the first edition of The Man Who Knew Too Much : "Many years later, Jim Bundren, retired from the police force and teaching a course in criminal justice at an El Paso college, would look back and remember: "I was sitting next to Nagell at one of the preliminary hearings. I don't remember the exact date, but I know it was before the Kennedy assassination. Nagell looked over at me and said, 'You're a pretty good cop, aren't you? You know, if I didn't want you to, you'd never have caught me.' "I said, 'You really didn't want to rob that bank, did you?' "He just looked at me for a minute. He's got that look that's unusual, the penetrating eyes, that scar down one side of his face. And he said, 'What makes you say that?' "I said, 'I saw the shots you fired in the bank. With your Army training and everything, I just felt like maybe it was some kind of a diversionary tactic.' "Nagell just smiled and said, 'Well, I'm glad you caught me. I really don't want to be in Dallas.' "I said, 'What do you mean by that?' "'You'll see soon enough,' he said." Russell's interview with Bundren was on May 11, 1990, almost twenty-seven years after the arrest. That was Russell's second interview with Bundren. He first interviewed him on October 25, 1975, and during that interview Bundren said nothing about Dallas. Here is what Bundren said in his first interview: (page 64 in the first edition of The Man Who Knew Too Much ) "Yeah, okay, Oswald's name came up. I can't tell you whether Oswald was mentioned before or after the assassination. I remember Nagell saying something to me about that, and also about General Walker that Oswald was supposed to have shot at. Nagell mentioned Cuba. He mentioned a lot of things. That's about all I can say." Bundren isn't that confident as to whether Nagell brought up Oswald before or after the assassination. So, can we be that sure as well about the Dallas comment - particularly since in 1975 Bundren said nothing about Dallas, despite the fact he later said that Nagell's comment "bothered me ever since." (page 45) Bundren told Russell that "when the assassination happened, I didn't think about it right away, because that was a pretty hectic time." He didn't go the Warren Commission. He added, "I talked to an FBI agent here about it, but a lot of this was just QT -- 'Not at liberty to discuss it.' I was just a young cop, there was nothing I could do." Nothing he could do? He couldn't go to anybody in the police force? The FBI? And no one else in El Paso claims that Nagell had any foreknowledge of the assassination. Edward J. Murphy, one of the FBI agents who questioned Nagell, did not remember any connection between Nagell and the assassination (page 65 in the first edition of The Man Who Knew Too Much). Juan L. Medina, a jailor in 1963, told Russell that "I think there was something in his mind he never did tell anybody." (page 65) Fred Morton, the assistant U.S. attorney, told Russell that "as long as I was in the case, I don't recall any statement by Nagell in any way concerning the assassination." (page 65) And Russell asked Nagell's court-appointed attorney, Joseph Calamia, if there was any evidence that Nagell knew Oswald. He said no. (page 66) I hope that Vince Palamara will read my new book, A Heritage of Nonsense: Jim Garrison's Tales of Mystery and Imagination, which has a chapter on Richard Case Nagell. Additional Posts on Richard Case Nagell A Wrap-Up of the Richard Case Nagell Story   The Importance of Richard Case Nagell to Some Conspiracy Theorists Was Richard Case Nagell the "Most Important Witness There Is"?   Jim Garrison and a few conspiracy theorists think Nagell is a very important witness. But is he really? Genesis of the Richard Case Nagell story Did David Kroman Crack the JFK Assassination Conspiracy?   David Kroman met Richard Case Nagell at the Springfield Medical Center for Federal Prisoners. Stephen Jaffe, a Garrison volunteer, wrote a memo, relating Nagell's story through the eyes and ears of David Kroman. Richard Case Nagell Shoots Up the State National Bank in El Paso...   Nagell was convicted of armed robbery and was sentenced to ten years, but his conviction was overturned because of startling new evidence. Richard Case Nagell and the JFK Assassination Did Richard Case Nagell Have Foreknowledge of Oswald and the JFK Assassination?   There is no credible evidence that Nagell had any foreknowledge of either Lee Harvey Oswald or the JFK assassination. Did Richard Case Nagell Meet Lee Harvey Oswald?   Nagell claims he met Oswald in Japan, Texas, Mexico City, and New Orleans. There is no credible evidence that he ever met Oswald. Did Richard Case Nagell Warn Fidel Castro about the Assassination?   Nagell went to Cuba and met with Fidel Castro and even played ping-pong with the man.   Insane Conspiracy Theories about Richard Case Nagell Who was Leon Oswald?   Richard Case Nagell said that he knew the two Oswalds - Lee Harvey and Leon. Some conspiracy theorists believe this madness. Richard Popkin Melds the Second Oswald Theory with the Richard Case Nagell Story Combine one part crazy and one part ridiculous and what do you come up with? An early attempt at a unified conspiracy theory of the JFK assassination. Paul Bleau's Plots   Was there a plot in Los Angeles against JFK? Two Smoking Guns of the Richard Case Nagell Story Is this Document the Smoking Gun on the Richard Case Nagell Story?   Nagell sent conspiracy theorist Dick Russell one page of a military intelligence file which seemed to indicate that he was monitoring Oswald and his wife on behalf of the CIA. But does the whole document really show that? Dick Russell's Second Smoking Gun on the Richard Case Nagell Story   Did Richard Case Nagell have an Oswald Military ID in his possession when he was arrested in September 1963? Richard Case Nagell and Jim Garrison Why Didn't Richard Case Nagell Testify at Clay Shaw's Trial?   Richard Case Nagell believes that he wasn't called to testify at Clay Shaw's trial because his testimony would have blown up Jim Garrison's case. Jim Garrison Discusses Richard Case Nagell   At a conference in September 1968, Garrison and his investigators discuss his face-to-face meeting with Nagell in New York City. Richard Case Nagell Sends Jim Garrison on a Wild-Goose Chase   William Martin, an Assistant District Attorney working for Jim Garrison, tried to retrieve a tape that Nagell said contained the voices of three JFK assassination conspirators. Richard Popkin Writes Garrison About Richard Case Nagell   Richard Popkin, author of "The Second Oswald," writes Jim Garrison about Richard Case Nagell. Garrison staffer Tom Bethell thought the Nagell lead was useless. Richard Case Nagell's Mental Health Richard Case Nagell's Lawsuit   A lawsuit by Nagell proves his mental issues. Richard Case Nagell's Fight for a Disability Pension   Nagell won a full disability pension in 1982 and the 60+ page court case provides complete details on his mental problems. Why Did Richard Case Nagell Shoot Up the First National Bank of El Paso? Richard Case Nagell told a psychiatrist why he shot up the bank in El Paso in 1963. Richard Case Nagell's Family Speaks about his Mental Health   The FBI spoke to Nagell's ex-wife, his mother, his sister, and one of his friends. They all agreed that Nagell had significant mental health problems. Richard Case Nagell Visits Europe in 1969...   Nagell visited the American consulates in Zurich and Barcelona in 1969. He was a deeply disturbed man. Richard Case Nagell in Europe, 1970 Edition   More shenanigans in Europe in 1970. Richard Case Nagell Visits Zurich His mental issues were apparent during this visit. Richard Case Nagell's Evidence Richard Case Nagell's Nonexistent Evidence   None of the so-called evidence that Nagell promised would materialize on his death has shown up. Did this evidence ever exist? Thomas Samoluk on Richard Case Nagell Samoluk was Deputy Director of the ARRB and he doesn't think much of the Nagell story.

Vince Palamara's new book, The Plot to Kill President Kennedy in Chicago and other Traces of Conspiracy Leading to the Assassination of JFK , is an epic failure. Despite the enticing title, Palamara does not provide any evidence of a plot in Chicago in November 1963. My first blog post in this series looked at Lloyd John Wilson . My second blog post in this series looked at Homer Echeverria . My third blog post in this series looked at the origins of the Chicago plot story. My fourth blog post in this series looked at Palamara's first eight supposed pieces of corroborating evidence for a Chicago plot. My fifth blog post in this series looked at Palamara's second eight supposed pieces of corroborating evidence for a Chicago plot. In Chapter Three, "Not a Random of Fate -- Prior Precedent," Palamara brings up Rose Cherami: (pages 96 - 97 of the Kindle edition) Rose Cherami, real name Melba Christine Marcades, was hospitalized on 11/20/63, two days before the assassination, at Moosa Memorial Hospital in Eunice, Louisiana. Cherami had been en route from Florida to Dallas with two men who looked either Italian or Cuban. All three were part of a drug-smuggling ring but the two men told her that they were going to assassinate the president in Dallas in just a few days. Cherami had been thrown out of the car and, soon after, was hit by another car while hitchhiking. The driver took her to the hospital. After the assassination, Cherami told Dr. Victor Weiss that she knew both Jack Ruby and Oswald and had seen them sitting together on several occasions at Ruby’s club. She also said she was acting as a drug courier for Ruby (she was a stripper for Ruby, as well) and that Ruby was involved in the assassination plot. Did the two men really tell her "that they were going to assassinate the president in Dallas in a few days"? Or was that part of her story, told after the assassination? Rose Cherami had an agenda and she wanted to get out of the hospital. And she succeeded as Lt. Fruge took her to Houston to investigate a narcotics deal. He didn't go the FBI and tell them that he had a witness with foreknowledge of the JFK assassination. And did Cherami tell Dr. Victor Weis that she knew both both Ruby and Oswald? Here is Weiss's outside contact report with the HSCA: Palamara says that Cherami "was a stripper for Ruby, as well." There is absolutely no evidence that Cherami worked for Jack Ruby in any capacity. She did tell Lt. Francis Fruge that she stripped for Jack Ruby at the Pink Door. But Ruby never owned a club by the name of the Pink Door. She also told Fruge that Ruby and Oswald had been bed partners. It's also unlikely that a 40-year old drug-addled prostitute would work as a stripper. As I have pointed out earlier, you can look at Cherami's rap sheet, and she was continually arrested in the early 1960s, in a variety of cities, but not in Dallas. Here is a previous blog post on Rose Cherami and Jack Ruby. If you want to know the true story about Rose Cherami, please read my new book, A Heritage of Nonsense: Jim Garrison's Tales of Mystery and Imagination. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Rose Cherami Did Dr. Victor Weiss Talk to Rose Cherami Before the JFK Assassination? Weiss never said he talked to Cherami before the assassination. Was Rose Cherami Murdered? The medical evidence is clear that Cherami was not murdered. An Important New Find Regarding Rose Cherami   An article from 1957 relates to her credibility. Did Dr. Wayne Owens Hear Rose Cherami Predict the JFK Assassination?   No. Dr. Owens did not corroborate the Cherami story in any way, shape, form, or manner. Did Rose Cherami Ever Work For Jack Ruby?   There is no evidence she ever worked for Jack Ruby Did Rose Cherami Watch the Dallas Motorcade on Television?   Joan Mellen claims Cherami was watching the motorcade on television. This is ridiculous. Francis Fruge's Conversations with Rose Cherami about the JFK Assassination   He claims she told him she was going to kill JFK. Did Anybody Hear Rose Cherami Predict the JFK Assassination?   There is no firm evidence that she predicted the assassination. Did Rose Cherami Provide Valuable Information on Dope Smuggling?   No, her information was useless. Jim Garrison (and Others) on Rose Cherami Some conspiracy theorists are admitting the Rose Cherami story is nonsense. Was Sergio Arcacha Smith with Rose Cherami in November 1963?   It is doubtful Arcacha Smith was with Cherami.

This was a fun podcast. Here is a link to the document that Joe asked me about during the podcast at 58:20. My new book, A Heritage of Nonsense: Jim Garrison's Tales of Mystery and Imagination , has nine terrific conspiracy stories. A large part of our discussion was on Guy Banister. Here is a conclusion of the HSCA : And did David Ferrie know Lee Harvey Oswald? Previous Relevant Links on Guy Banister The Decline of Guy Banister Banister's mental health was in decline in 1964. Was Guy Banister's Office at 544 Camp Street?   Guy Banister's office was at 531 Lafayette and his office was not connected to the office at 544 Camp Street. Was Guy Banister a CIA/FBI Mastermind? Guy Banister couldn't pay his rent in 1964 and was evicted. Mancuso's Restaurant   Some pictures of Camp and Lafayette streets. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Guy Banister   Oliver Stone's so-called documentary, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass , makes the claim that Guy Banister gave Lee Harvey Oswald an office at 544 Camp Street in New Orleans. Did Delphine Roberts see Oswald in Banister's Office?   Roberts was interviewed by Garrison's office in 1967 and she said nothing about seeing Oswald in Banister's office. Did Delphine Roberts See Lee Harvey Oswald in Banister's Office? (Part Two) Mary Brengel worked for Banister for a few months, and she also did not see Oswald in the office. Did David Ferrie Speak to Clay Shaw on the Telephone from Guy Banister's Office? Joseph Newbrough, who worked for Banister, told PBS Frontline that Banister's office was not connected to 544 Camp Street. Did David Ferrie Introduce Jack Martin to Lee Harvey Oswald in Banister's office?   Jack Martin loved to tell stories. He said nothing about Oswald being in Banister's office when he blabbing to the FBI and the Secret Service in 1963 and 1964. Exclusive: Garrison Tells the HSCA about Guy Banister   Garrison told the HSCA some ridiculous stories about Banister. Why did Guy Banister Pistol-Whip Jack Martin?   The film JFK's  explanation is not right. Exclusive: Jim Garrison Talks to Jack Martin   Jim Garrison interviewed Jack Martin in his office on December 14, 1966. Here is a link to a tape recording of that interview and a transcript. Martin talks about seeing Oswald in Banister's office with Sergio Arcacha Smith. But there are problems with his story.

Vince Palamara's new book, The Plot to Kill President Kennedy in Chicago and other Traces of Conspiracy Leading to the Assassination of JFK , is an epic failure. Despite the enticing title, Palamara does not provide any evidence of a plot in Chicago in November 1963. My first blog post in this series looked at Lloyd John Wilson . My second blog post in this series looked at Homer Echeverria . My third blog post in this series looked at the origins of the Chicago plot story. My fourth blog post in this series looked at Palamara's first eight supposed pieces of corroborating evidence for a Chicago plot. Now it's time to look at Palamara's other eight supposed pieces of corroborating evidence. PRS Agent Glen Bennett (page 208 in the Kindle edition) PRS Agent Glen A. Bennett told the HSCA: “[He] remembers the name Vallee but does not recall why.” I don't understand how this corroborates a plot. Bennett worked in the Protective Research Section in Washington D.C. Palamara leaves out this section from Bennett's outside contact report with the HSCA: Agent Joseph Noonan (pages 208 - 209 in the Kindle edition) Agent Joseph E. Noonan, Jr.: As previously noted, Noonan “participated directly in surveillance involving Tom Mosely and Homer Echevarria … he and [the] other agents were uneasy that the Cubans might have some ties to the CIA … a little later they received a call from Headquarters to drop everything on Mosely and Echevarria and send all memos, files, and their notebooks to Washington and not to discuss the case with anyone.” Noonan also knew about the Vallee case. In addition, the administrative assistant of the Intelligence Division (formerly known as PRS) made an interesting observation to Agent Bob Ritter soon after the Reagan assassination attempt (3/30/81), “She [unnamed] came to me later in the day and said she wanted to ‘warn me’ … She’s been around a long time. She started in the Chicago Field Office and worked there during the JFK assassination [This had to be either Charlotte Klapkowski or June Marie Terpinas]. She told me that ‘funny things’ went on back then and she has the same feeling again … she wouldn’t elaborate on that. She did say that SAIC Richards told her to type only the original of my report. No copies were to be made, not even the standard agent’s copy. And she was ordered to shred my original handwritten submission! She knew how strange that was. She warned me to look out for myself.” Noonan did work on the Echevarria case. Once the Secret Service was convinced that "there was no violation over which the United States Secret Service as jurisdiction," everything was turned over to the FBI. Here is an excerpt from a secret service file from December 19, 1963 : Palamara then infers wrongdoing from a report after the Reagan assassination attempt. We have no idea what they were really talking about. The story comes from the book, Breaking Tecumseh's Curse: The Real-life Adventures of the U.S. Secret Service Agent Who Tried to Change Tomorrow, by Jan Marie and Bob Ritter. Palamara doesn't give the complete dialogue from the book: (page 309 in the Kindle edition) “There’s still more. I wrote up my findings and gave them to the administrative assistant of ID to be typed. She came to me later in the day and said she wanted to ‘warn me.’” “Warn you of what?” I asked. “She’s been around a long time. She started in the Chicago Field Office and worked there during the JFK assassination. She told me that ‘funny things’ went on back then and that she has the same feeling again.” “What kind of funny things?” “I don’t know; she wouldn’t elaborate on that. She did say that SAIC Richards told her to type only an original of my report. No copies were to be made, not even the standard agent’s copy. And she was ordered to shred my original handwritten submission! She knew how strange that was. She wanted to warn me to look out for myself.” This dialogue is with an unnamed administrative assistant. When Ritter asks what kind of funny things, she answers, "I don't know." Does this dialogue tell us anything about a supposed Chicago plot? As for Charlotte Klapkowski, who worked in the Chicago office and typed up reports, here is an excerpt from her outside contact report with the HSCA: Agent James S. Griffiths (page 209 in the Kindle edition) “Griffith[s] stated that the name of Thomas Vallee was familiar and remembers a case concerning Vallee but does not remember any of the details.” In the Fall of 1963, shortly before the ill-fated Chicago trip, Chicago Police Lieutenant Berkeley F. Moyland’s son, Moyland Junior, told author James Douglass that his father counseled Vallee after hearing his threatening remarks about JFK, warning him that this kind of talk could lead to serious consequences. Moyland Senior took the extra step of phoning the Secret Service with a warning about Vallee. However, it was not Moyland but an FBI informant named “Lee” whose alert disrupted the four-man rifle team and potential patsy Vallee as well. The Treasury Department (with jurisdiction over the Secret Service) swore Moyland to secrecy over the matter, although Moyland confided in his son in his final years. One wonders if the “Lee” was Lee Harvey Oswald. Again, this is all about Thomas Arthur Vallee and has nothing to do with a Chicago plot. Here is an excerpt from the outside contact report of Agent Griffiths: On the next page, it states that "he had no knowledge of any of the information in Edwin Black's article." As for Berkeley Moyland, here is one of the few documents in which he is mentioned: None of this relates to a Chicago plot. Palamara then says that it was "an FBI informant named "Lee" whose alert disrupted the four-man rifle team and potential patsy Vallee as well." But the source for that is Edwin Black's article: A few hours after that meeting adjourned, the phone rang in the Chicago office of the Secret Service. Agent Jay Lawrence Stocks was for a few hours the ranking agent, so he took the call. It was the Federal Bureau of Investigation calling from Washington. The FBI man warned Stocks of a serious and dangerous four-man conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy at the Army-Air Force game. The suspects were rightwing para-military fanatics, armed with rifles and telescopic sights. The assassination itself would probably be attempted at one of the Northwest Expressway overpasses. This information came from an informant named "Lee." All of this information was either made up for came from Abraham Bolden. Black wrote in his article that he talked to Jay Stocks but he wouldn't answer any questions. Black then writes that a teletype from James Rowley "clanged out confirmation of the conspiracy." But no one has ever seen such a teletype. Black then goes on to say that the Chicago office was understaffed and so "reinforcements were sent in from other offices around the country." And yet, not one agent anywhere has come forward to corroborate the supposed plot. Chicago American column (pages 209 - 210 in the Kindle edition) Chicago’s American, 11/26/63: “Daly Diary” by Maggie Daly: “The word is that the assassination of President Kennedy was planned at a meeting on Chicago’s west side in the early part of February.… That a dissident Cuban group financed Lee Harvey Oswald and that he lived on occasional money from the members and occasional money from his mother.” Here is the column by Maggie Daly: How on earth does this relate to a plot in Chicago in November? And of course Oswald was not getting money from the members of this group or his mother. Does Palamara believe that Oswald was part of the conspiracy? In a footnote, Palamara references this article: Palamara mentions the quote from Ruth Paine that "I understand there are people in the Chicago area who are talking of helping her, too," Does he really think that corroborate a Chicago plot? Agent Edward Z. Tucker (pages 210 -211 in the Kindle edition) Agent Edward Z. Tucker: told the HSCA the details of his involvement in the Thomas Arthur Vallee investigation. From the HSCA interview:” Tucker told us that for security reasons, on or about October 30, 1963, he recalls going to interview a subject named Vallee, who was supposed to represent a threat to the President. This was a customary practice prior to Presidential visits. Accompanied by Agent Tom Strong, he visited Vallee at his rooming house on the north side of Chicago. He was troubled by his conversation with Vallee, who he says had one or more rifles in his possession. Absent any Federal sanctions, Tucker reported back to the Secret Service office about his misgivings. The next day Vallee’s landlady, whom Tucker suspects was the informant, called the Secret Service office and said that Vallee had told her that he was not going to work on Saturday, November 2nd, the day JFK was coming to Chicago. Tucker said it was this information which caused the Secret Service to alert the Chicago Police Department to place surveillance on Vallee. He is aware that they did, and that Vallee was arrested by two Chicago Police officers on November 2nd before the President was due in Chicago. On that Saturday morning, Tucker’s assignment had been to go to the airport (O’Hare) and meet the President. He did not recall that he was to ride in the Pilot car in the motorcade, but he said he did not go into the Secret Service office downtown and was therefore unaware of any other subjects that the Secret Service might have had in custody at the time. If this happened, he was not informed about it, he said. When he reached the airport in the morning of November 2, 1963, he was told that the President had canceled his trip to Chicago but that several Members of Congress had arrived, and the Secret Service was told to escort them to the Army-Air Force Academy game at Soldier Field. He thinks he went home instead.” A whole paragraph about Thomas Arthur Vallee. This has nothing to do with a supposed Chicago plot. Palamara does not include this excerpt from Tucker's outside contact report with the HSCA: Agent Gary M. McLeod (page 211 in the Kindle edition) Agent Gary M. McLeod: told the HSCA that he did recall the name Thomas Arthur Vallee and that Agent Ed Tucker was assigned to the Vallee case that involved guns but does not remember any involvement with the Chicago Police. Here, McLeod is dead wrong. I can't figure out what Palamara's point is. Faulty memory? HSCA Report (page 211 in the Kindle edition) HSCA Report: “One agent [Robert Motto] did state there had been a threat in Chicago during that period, but he was unable to recall details.” Specifically, Robert J. Motto told the HSCA: “The trip was cancelled. I think they told us at the [Air Force/ Army game at Soldier’s Field], but we decided to watch it anyway … When I got back to the office, someone said there had been threats.” Please note Motto confirming a threat and actually using the plural “threats” in his actual interview, not the summary. First, Motto talked about Edwin Black and his article: Here is what Motto said about 'threats': Palamara puts great emphasis on the use of the word 'threats.' Note that he did not say plot and note that his memory is very unclear. This is hardly corroboration of a plot. And Palamara does not quote the HSCA on the supposed plot : Agent Louis B. Sims (page 211 in the Kindle edition) Agent Louis B. Sims: told the HSCA: “He could not remember dates but he recalls it could have been any time up to a year prior to the assassination, he was assigned to conduct a surveillance on a subject that was either Puerto Rican or Cuban. He does not remember any specific details other than it involved gun running and it appeared to be a very sensitive investigation. He stated the names Echevarria and Manuel Rodriquez were familiar; but he couldn’t place them.” Please note Sims stating that the subject was “Puerto Rican” as his first thought. Mr. Bolden told the HSCA that Mr. Vallee was independent of the four-man team, and he told the author the same thing, adding that the confusion was “done intentionally by the government agencies.” Sims later became involved in the Watergate investigation: Again, there is nothing here to corroborate a plot. Sims remember somebody involved in gun running. It certainly might have been Echevarria, but he is very uncertain. Sims was very much involved in the investigation of Abraham Bolden, and he told the HSCA that the evidence against Bolden was overwhelming. Palamara quotes Bolden as saying that Vallee was independent of the four-man team, but then why is continually bringing up Vallee as corroboration for the four-man team? Previous Relevant Blog Posts Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Four An examination of Palamara's first eight pieces of corroborating evidence for the plot. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Three A look at the origin of the supposed plot. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Two A look at Homer Echeverria. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part One A look at Lloyd John Wilson. There was NO Assassination Plot in Chicago Chad Nagle tries to argue that there was a plot. Edwin Black Speaks to the HSCA   The HSCA did speak to Edwin Black. It was a memorable interview. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Supposed Chicago Plot   There is no evidence of a plot in Chicago against JFK. Paul Bleau and the Supposed Chicago Plot Against JFK   Bolden's story about the supposed Chicago plot has changed over the years. Paul Bleau's Plots   An examination of supposed other plots against JFK. Abraham Bolden's May 1964 Press Conference   Bolden didn't say one word about a supposed plot against JFK in Chicago.

Vince Palamara's new book, The Plot to Kill President Kennedy in Chicago and other Traces of Conspiracy Leading to the Assassination of JFK , is an epic failure. Despite the enticing title, Palamara does not provide any evidence of a plot in Chicago in November 1963. My first blog post in this series looked at Lloyd John Wilson . My second blog post in this series looked at Homer Echeverria . My third blog post in this series looked at the origins of the Chicago plot story. My last blog post discussed the footnotes for this statement in Palamara's book: (page 206 in the Kinde edition) Direct and indirect corroboration for Mr. Bolden’s accounts of threats to JFK’s life in Chicago, in general, and the 11/2/63 plot in Chicago, in particular, comes from the following sources: Now I'd like to look at the sixteen pieces of "direct and indirect corroboration for Mr. Bolden's accounts of threats to JFK's life in Chicago." Maurice Martineau's interview (page 206 in the Kindle edition) “[Maurice] Martineau said that he was in Chicago when President John F. Kennedy made a visit prior to November 1963. He could not recall the precise date. “We got a telephone threat. The caller was not identified, that Kennedy was going to be killed when he got to Jackson Street. We adjusted the routine to rely on the Chicago Police to cover the area. The threat did not materialize,” he said.… We asked Martineau about threats against JFK in [the] Chicago area [for] November 1963. Martineau visibly stiffened. “I can recall no threat that was significant enough to cause me to recollect it at this time” he said. In contrast to the wealth of detail which flooded his earlier recollections, his answers became vague and less responsive.” The first part of Martineau's interview with the HSCA refers to a threat that was received during Kennedy's March 1963 visit to Chicago. Here is a document which details the threat: What this has to do with a threat or a plot in November 1963 is beyond me. Martineau's answers to threats in November 1963 might have been vague, but that is hardly proof of a plot. This comment probably reflects more about the state of mind of the interviewers (James Kelly, Lee Matthews) than on Martineau's knowledge. Palamara does not quote this section from his interview : And then there is this: While the writers did not ask Mr. Martineau flat out if he knew about the circumstanced which former agent Bolden mentioned to us in his Chicago interview we did question him obliquely about the matter of Thomas Arthur Vallee and the alleged Cuban/Latin types which Bolden mentioned. The paucity of documents in this case makes it difficult to pin down a witness on details or even recollections of past events which the Service seems to treat as a "non-event." Quite a telling statement about the state of mind of the interviewers and an admission that there are no documents which support Bolden's claim. Palamara then inserts this excerpt from a memo: Sounds suspicious, no? This comes directly from this document. And it refers to this document: And this document refers to Homer Echeverria. This has nothing to do with a plot against JFK in early November 1963. Former Secret Service Agent George McNally (pages 206 - 207 in the Kindle edition) Col. George J. McNally, WH Signal Corps and former Secret Service agent: “But during the Chicago visit [3/23/63], the motorcade was slowed to the pace of a mounted Black Horse Troop, and the police got a warning of Puerto Rican snipers. Helicopters searched the roofs along the way, and no incidents occurred.”225 Please note McNally calling the suspects “Puerto Rican.” I am not sure why this is relevant. It refers to a threat received during the March 1963 visit to Chicago by JFK. Postcard received (page 207 in the Kindle edition) “A postcard was received in the Saturday morning mail of the Chicago office threatening the life of the President during the [3/23/63] motorcade from O’Hare Field to the Conrad Hilton Hotel.” Once again, this refers to the threat that was received in March 1963 and has nothing to do with a threat or a plot in November 1963. FBI Agent Thomas B. Coll (page 207 in the Kindle edition) FBI agent Thomas B. Coll: “I remember that case. Some people were picked up. And I’m telling you it wasn’t ours. That was strictly a Secret Service affair. That whole Soldier Field matter was a Secret Service affair … You’ll get no more out of me. I’ve said as much as I’m going to on that subject. Get the rest from the Secret Service.” Note Coll using the plural “people.” There is no source in Palamara's book for this quote, but it comes from Edwin Black's article. Coll was an FBI public relations flack in Washington D.C. I doubt he had any first-hand knowledge of anything in Chicago. I have little faith in anything in the Black article. Captain Robert Linsky (page 207 in the Kindle edition) Captain Robert Linsky, security liaison between the Chicago Police and the Secret Service, remembered the Vallee arrest. But what does the arrest of Thomas Arthur Vallee have to do with a supposed plot in Chicago. It's even unclear whether there was even a threat from Vallee. Here is the Secret Service Protective Research File on Vallee . You can read more about Vallee here. Secret Service Agent Lloyd Stocks (page 207 in the Kindle edition) Lloyd Stocks remembered, “something about a guy called Vallee.” This was Thomas Arthur Vallee, a man arrested apart from the four-man team. Vallee’s sister Mary Vallee-Portillo told author James Douglass: “My brother probably was set up. He was very much used.” Again, Palamara brings up Vallee and at least mentions that he was "arrested apart from the four-man team." I don't really care what Vallee's sister thinks. Vallee was not set up and he wasn't used. As for Agent Lloyd Stocks, here is an excerpt from his outside contact report with the HSCA: Unfortunately, the next page in the contact report is missing. Sergeant Lawrence Coffey (page 207 in the Kindle edition) Sergeant Lawrence Coffey: “Naturally, I remember every detail … How often is anyone involved in a threat against the President’s life?” Palamara doesn't provide a source for this comment, but it comes from Edwin Black's article. Here is the full quote: Naturally, I remember every detail ... How often is anyone involved in a threat against the President's life? One involving a lot of heavy weapons like this Vallee character. Coffey was referring to Vallee and not to any supposed Chicago plot. Here is an excerpt from his HSCA outside contact report: Thomas Arthur Vallee (pages 207 - 208 in the Kindle edition) Thomas Arthur Vallee himself: “Soldiers Field. The plot against John F. Kennedy.” Mr. Vallee claimed he was framed by someone with special knowledge about him, such as his “CIA assignment to train exiles to assassinate Castro.” Vallee told Edwin Black that he had been assigned by the Marines to a U-2 base in Japan, Camp Otsu, which came under the control of the CIA, just as Oswald came under similar control of the CIA at another Marine U-2 base in Japan. A whole paragraph on Vallee, which has nothing to do with a supposed plot. Palamara's footnote for the second part of the paragraph refers to James Douglass's book, JFK and the Unspeakable , and his source is Edwin Black. Camp Otsu was not a U-2 base when Vallee was stationed there. These are the first eight pieces of evidence that Palamara claims corroborates Bolden's alleged plot. As you can see, there is nothing in here that corroborates Bolden's story. The next eight pieces of evidence cited by Palamara will be examined tomorrow. Previous Relevant Blog Posts Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Three A look at the origin of the supposed plot. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Two A look at Homer Echeverria. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part One A look at Lloyd John Wilson. There was NO Assassination Plot in Chicago Chad Nagle tries to argue that there was a plot. Edwin Black Speaks to the HSCA   The HSCA did speak to Edwin Black. It was a memorable interview. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Supposed Chicago Plot   There is no evidence of a plot in Chicago against JFK. Paul Bleau and the Supposed Chicago Plot Against JFK   Bolden's story about the supposed Chicago plot has changed over the years. Paul Bleau's Plots   An examination of supposed other plots against JFK. Abraham Bolden's May 1964 Press Conference   Bolden didn't say one word about a supposed plot against JFK in Chicago.

Vince Palamara's new book, The Plot to Kill President Kennedy in Chicago and other Traces of Conspiracy Leading to the Assassination of JFK , is an epic failure. Despite the enticing title, Palamara does not provide any evidence of a plot in Chicago in November 1963. My first blog post in this series looked at Lloyd John Wilson . My second blog post in this series looked at Homer Echeverria . Palamara relies on Abraham Bolden for details of the supposed plot: (page 204 of the Kindle edition) However, prior to the scheduled visit, Chief James J. Rowley himself phoned SAIC Maurice G. Martineau with word that, via J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, they had wind of an assassination plot involving a four-man team of gunmen. According to Bernard Fensterwald’s memo from his interview with Mr. Bolden, “Martineau called in all men in his charge in Chicago and told them of Rowley’s call. He also informed them of the following as to this matter: (1) there were to be no written reports; any information was to be given to Martineau orally; (2) Nothing was to be sent by TWX (interoffice teletype); he (Martineau) was to report only by phone to Rowley, personally; (3) no file number was to be given to this case. All Secret Service agents in Chicago (including Bolden) were shown four photos of the men allegedly involved in the plot (of the four, Bolden remembers two names: Bradley and Gonzalez).” All of the information from this paragraph comes from Bernard Fensterwald's interview with Bolden from March 1968. But Bolden's story about the Chicago plot has changed over the years: 1967 Mark Lane Press Conference Mark Lane held a press conference in December 1967 along with Richard Burnes from Jim Garrison’s office. They had spent several hours with Bolden, and he told them that he was given the names of the people involved in the Chicago plot. At least one of the men was followed through the streets of Chicago. Lane told the press that “The identities of those who planned the assassination (in Chicago) of President Kennedy are known to the United States Secret Service. One of these men has been sought by District Attorney Jim Garrison for some time.” 1968 Interview by Bud Fensterwald Bolden said that the Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office, Maurice Martineau, received a personal phone call from James Rowley, head of the Secret Service. He supposedly told Agent Martineau that the Secret Service “had word of an assassination plot” which was supposed to take place during JFK’s visit to Chicago. The agents were told to keep it all hush-hush and were shown pictures of the four men who were allegedly in the plot. The agents investigated and found that the four men were staying with a landlady. 1975 Article by Edwin Black A phone call came in from the FBI in Washington which was taken by agent Jay Stocks. He was warned about a “serious and dangerous four-man conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy at the Army-Air Force game.” The assassination would take place at an expressway overpass. A telex then came in from Rowley about the plot. A tip came in from a landlady who said four men were renting rooms and she had seen four rifles with telescopic scopes. She told the police that “perhaps there was some threat there.” Two of the men were followed and then brought in for questioning. 1978 Interview by the HSCA Bolden claimed a telex came in from the FBI, and then a phone call came in from the FBI. Bolden was not sure if the call was from the local office or Washington. Two of the four suspects were put under surveillance and were apprehended and brought into the Chicago office. Bolden saw one of the men and he picked out the picture of ex-mobster Jim Braden as being similar. He did not recognize a picture of Vallee. 2008 Bolden Book, The Echo from Dealey Plaza This time the phone call came in for Martineau from the Chicago office of the FBI who had information about JFK’s upcoming trip: “A woman who owned a rooming house on the city’s North Side had gone into one of the rooms to do some housekeeping and had discovered two rifles equipped with telescopic sights. She had rented the room to two men she believed to be Hispanic and had also seen two white men going in and out of the room. Knowing that the president was due to visit Chicago, she grew concerned and called the authorities.” Notice that there is no threat to JFK. In fact, Bolden writes “Martineau professed to believe that this was not yet a Secret Service matter, in that there had been no direct threat to the President in connection with the rifles.” In a book of over 300 pages, Bolden devoted only one page to this supposed plot. Now, of course, memories fade over time. But what makes this even more suspicious is that when Bolden talked to Lane in 1967 and Fensterwald in 1968, he tied the Chicago plot to the Garrison investigation. Here is an excerpt from his interview with Bud Fensterwald: In December 1967, Jim Garrison indicted Edgar Eugene Bradley for conspiring to kill JFK, a charge that had absolutely no foundation. Garrison also believed that Manuel Garcia Gonzalez was one of the gunmen on the grassy knoll. Of course there is no corroboration for this plot. Not one document has emerged and no witnesses have ever come forward to corroborate the claim. Palamara then includes this incredible quote from Bolden: (page 206 in the Kindle edition) However, Abraham Bolden and Nemo Ciochina are far from the only sources for the Chicago plot. Bolden wrote to the author: “I do not believe Oswald acted alone because evidence is that there were at least 3 riflemen following the President just 3 weeks before he was assassinated in Dallas.” At least three riflemen following the President? Edwin Black said there were four rifles in Chicago; Bolden said there were two. Is he including Lee Harvey Oswald? What about the grassy knoll assassin? And, of course, Nemo Ciochina is not a source for the Chicago plot. He told Palamara to focus on Lloyd John Wilson, who was clearly not part of any plot. Palamara then includes this sentence: (page 206 in the Kindle edition) Direct and indirect corroboration for Mr. Bolden’s accounts of threats to JFK’s life in Chicago, in general, and the 11/2/63 plot in Chicago, in particular, comes from the following sources: He footnotes this sentence with the following: From Chicago Independent article by Edwin Black, November 1975; Stocks, Coll, Linsky, Coffey, and Vallee himself. See also Last Word (2011) by Mark Lane, pages 162 - 163, and 2022 book JFK Revisited by James DiEugenio (and the documentary with the same name), pages 69 - 70. The sole source for Black's article was Abraham Bolden. The source for Mark Lane's account of the Chicago plot is Abraham Bolden. The source for DiEugenio's section on the Chicago plot is Edwin Black's article, Jim Douglass' book JFK and the Unspeakable , and Abraham Bolden's book. If you go to JFK and the Unspeakable , you will see that Douglass spoke to Bolden several times, and then there is footnote 131 on page 200: Investigative journalist Edwin Black wrote a breakthrough article, "The Plot to Kill JFK in Chicago November 2, 1963," in the November 1975 issue of the Chicago Independent magazine. Edwin Black would later become famous for his series of book on the Holocaust: The Transfer Agreement (New York: Macmillan, 1984), IBM and The Holocaust (New York, Crown Publishers, 2001), and W ar against the Weak (New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2003). Black's revealing JFK article, accessible only to the readers of a short-lived magazine and ignored by the mainstream media, soon disappeared from public view. (I found a copy in the basement of the University of Chicago Library a quarter of a century later.) The article drew on the initial research of Chicago court investigator Sherman Skolnick. Black devoted eight months to interviewing witnesses and digging through government documents. Crucial to his article was the firsthand information provided at great risk by an unidentified Secret Service agent -- Abraham Bolden. It all circles back to the Edwin Black article , and his source was Abraham Bolden. Here is a short excerpt from Bolden's interview with the HSCA : Here is another quote from  JFK and the Unspeakable:  (page 201) "[Secret Service agent] Martineau set up a twenty-four hour surveillance of the men's boarding house. He passed out to his agents four photos of the men allegedly involved in the plots." His source for the photos is Sherman Skolnick's suit against the National Archives in 1970. Of course, no one has ever seen any photos. Skolnick was the first to discuss Chicago plot but his source was Abraham Bolden. He disseminated a lot of nonsense. Take this excerpt from an interview with Art Kevin in 1970:   And then there is this: Here is a copy of Skolnick's complaint. So, as you can see, there are no sources for a Chicago plot other than Abraham Bolden, and even he can't keep the story straight. My next post will examine Palamara's sixteen pieces of information which he claims corroborate the Chicago plot. Update Here is a letter that Mary Ferrell sent to Bernard Fensterwald with some choice words about Sherman Skolnick. See the third paragraph: Previous Relevant Blog Posts Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part Two A look at Homer Echeverria. Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part One A look at Lloyd John Wilson. There was NO Assassination Plot in Chicago Chad Nagle tries to argue that there was a plot. Edwin Black Speaks to the HSCA   The HSCA did speak to Edwin Black. It was a memorable interview. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Supposed Chicago Plot   There is no evidence of a plot in Chicago against JFK. Paul Bleau and the Supposed Chicago Plot Against JFK   Bolden's story about the supposed Chicago plot has changed over the years. Paul Bleau's Plots   An examination of supposed other plots against JFK. Abraham Bolden's May 1964 Press Conference   Bolden didn't say one word about a supposed plot against JFK in Chicago.

Vince Palamara's new book, The Plot to Kill President Kennedy in Chicago and other Traces of Conspiracy Leading to the Assassination of JFK, is an epic failure. Despite the enticing title, Palamara does not provide any evidence of a plot in Chicago in November 1963. My first blog post in this series looked at Lloyd John Wilson. I now want to turn my attention to Chapter Seven: The Chicago Plot (page 201 in the Kindle edition) On 11/1/63 South Vietnam’s President Ngo Diem is assassinated in a CIA backed coup.197 Right at the start of the chapter, Palamara gets it wrong. It was not just a CIA-backed coup. It was a coup supported by President Kennedy. Here is an excerpt from Fredrik Logevall's book, Choosing War: (pages 63 - 64 in the Kindle edition) At the White House, too, the Diem-Nhu team’s intransigence added to the sense that a coup was urgently needed. But what if the coup failed? Just as they had done in the last week of August, Kennedy and his lieutenants in October spent much time debating the implications of a takeover attempt that did not succeed. They were convinced that a failed coup would be disastrous for America’s image abroad and would almost certainly bring about the very thing that a coup was intended to prevent: an ejection of the United States from South Vietnam by the Diem regime. This fear of failure and its implications were the dominant theme in the hundreds of pages of cable traffic sent by Washington to the embassy in Saigon in the last half of October. It was a fear bluntly articulated by Robert Kennedy at a top level meeting on 29 October. “If the coup fails,” he warned those around him, “Diem throws us out.” At the same time, no one in the Kennedy inner circle was prepared to alter course. As always, their concern was pragmatic, not ethical—not whether the United States had any business getting involved in the overthrow of a foreign government, but whether that overthrow would work. The administration pressed forward with the “selective pressures” policy, and it continued to promise the coup plotters that a new government could count on full U.S. support. At home, officials emphasized that the one- thousand-man withdrawal plan was conditional on success in the war and that it marked no change in American policy. They publicly repeated the president’s line that “what helps win the war we support, what interferes with the war effort we oppose.” Finally, Kennedy made one decision that plainly revealed that, whatever his reservations about a coup, he was determined to get rid of the Ngos: he left in the hands of Lodge—whose anti-Diem views had been unambiguously clear since he set foot in Saigon in August—the final decision on whether to try to call off or delay the coup. Lodge did neither. By the end of the day on 1 November, a new regime had taken power in Saigon. Its first order of business was to make absolutely certain that the old one could never return. Palamara continues: The very next day, 11/2/63, JFK’s trip to Chicago, Illinois is canceled at the last minute due to threats against his life: apart from subjects Thomas Arthur Vallee, Thomas Mosely, and Homer Echevarria, there was a team of four Cuban gunmen, two of whom eluded surveillance and escaped. Former Secret Service agents Sam Kinney, Bill Greer, Robert Kollar, J. Lloyd Stocks, Gary McLeod, Robert J. Motto, Edward Tucker, David Grant, James Griffiths, Abraham Bolden, and Chicago SAIC Maurice Martineau told the HSCA that this trip was cancelled at the last minute – the excuses were varied: JFK had a cold (a repeat of the Cuban Missile Crisis alibi that turned out to be a false pretense), Diem’s death (refuted by Salinger), the Thomas Arthur Vallee arrest, and others. When the author asked former agent Walt Coughlin why the trip was cancelled, he responded, “I have not a clue!” There is no evidence that JFK's trip was cancelled because of threats to his life. There is also no evidence that there was a team of four Cuban gunmen. This was a story propagated by Edwin Black in a small independent newspaper in 1975 and his sole source for the story was Abraham Bolden. Note that the supposed plot was uncovered on October 30th, some three days before JFK's visit. Here is an excerpt from Black's article "The Plot to Kill JFK in Chicago" from the Chicago Independent: A few hours after that meeting [a coordination meeting between the Secret Service and the Mayor's office on October 30] adjourned, the phone rang in the Chicago office of the Secret Service. Agent Jay Lawrence Stocks was for a few hours the ranking agent, so he took the call. It was the Federal Bureau of Investigation calling from Washington. The FBI man warned Stocks of a serious and dangerous four-man conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy at the Army-Air Force game. Had they really uncovered a serious plot against Kennedy on October 30th, they would not have waited until the day of the trip to cancel his plans . Kennedy's trip was cancelled because of the assassination of Diem. Palamara writes that this was "refuted by Salinger," but here is his outside contact report from the HSCA: The major problem with Palamara's chapter on the Chicago plot is that he doesn't actually spell it out. Was it the plot that Black wrote about? Was it Arthur Vallee's supposed threat against JFK? Or was it all based on Homer Echevarria, a bus driver for the Chicago Transit Authority? Palamara brings up Homer Echevarria at the start of his chapter: (pages 201 - 202 of the Kindle edition) Joseph Noonan, a Chicago office agent, told the HSCA that he “participated directly in surveillance involving Tom Mosely and Homer Echevarria … he and [the] other agents were uneasy that the Cubans might have some ties to the CIA … a little later they received a call from Headquarters to drop everything on Mosely and Echevarria and send all memos, files, and their notebooks to Washington and not to discuss the case with anyone.” On November 21, 1963, Thomas Mosley was negotiating the sale of machine guns to a Cuban exile named Homer Echevarria. In the course of the transaction, Echevarria said that “we now have plenty of money – our new backers are Jews” and would close the arms deal “as soon as we [or they] take care of Kennedy.” The next day, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Mosley, an ATF informant, reported his conversation to the Secret Service, and that agency quickly began investigating what it termed “a group in the Chicago area who may have a connection with the JFK assassination.” Echevarria was a member of the 30th November group, associated with the DRE with whom Oswald had dealings the previous summer. Mosley said the arms deal was being financed through Paulino Sierra Martinez and his J.G.C.E. – Sierra interestingly was connected to Bobby Kennedy’s effort to unite various exile groups, through Harry Ruiz Williams. How the story of Homer Echevarria fits into a supposed Chicago plot is beyond me. All of the activity occurred after the assassination -- whereas the supposed plot was to have taken place at the beginning of November. The supposed statement by Echevarria -- "we now have plenty of money -- our new backers are Jews ..." was reported to the Secret Service on November 26, 1963. Even then the informant was not clear if Echevarria's group or the Jews were going to take care of Kennedy. Conspiracy theorist Larry Hancock has concluded that the FBI and Secret Service investigated this case: The reality turns out to be that neither the Secret Service nor the FBI dropped its investigation of the incident. They continued an effort to determine what exile group(s) Echeverria had been associated with, to develop the context of the remarks through additional meetings with (and reports from Mosley) and whether or not an actual threat was in play that might extend to President Johnson, Here is a document that discusses the investigation into Echevarria. Hancock notes: In the end the determination was made that no ongoing threat existed and that no illegal acts had actually been committed in regards to weapons or explosives sales. At that point investigation ceased as there were no grounds to refer the information for charges. Here is the Protective Research file on Homer Echevarria: And you can even find reference to this case in the Warren Commission volumes: And here is an excerpt from a deposition of Joseph Noonan who was a Secret Service agent in the Chicago office: Q: What was your assessment at the time of the degree of seriousness of the threats against either Johnson or Kennedy? Noonan: At the time I didn't feel that Tom [Mosley] had heard what he said he heard. I think he heard possibly a braggadocious, conditional threat at best which made a good story, and it was difficult to get Tom to evaluate Echevarria's demeanor because I don't think he understood Cubans too well; and Tom was the type of individual that liked a good criminal story; and this was --- I think he probably heard it in a statement like that; but I think it was -- as I recall it, I did not put a lot of faith in what exactly was said or that what was said is an indication of what the people involved tended to do by God if anything got in their way. But in my opinion probably they got a guy that was very hot under the collar, that was braggadocious, and of course everything hinged on whether the statement was made prior to the assassination. Here is an excerpt from a secret service file from December 19, 1963: The Secret Service passed their information to the FBI, who did little investigation, according to the HSCA. But why is Palamara bringing up Echevarria? He is mentioned fourteen times in Palamara's book -- but what is his claim about Echevarria? Palamara won't say. Coming up: Palamara lists 16 "direct and indirect corroboration for Mr. Bolden's accounts of threats to JFK's life in Chicago." I will examine all sixteen. By the way, Bolden's book makes it clear that the Echevarria story is distinct from the team of snipers mentioned in Black's article. And sometimes Bolden likes to conflate things: Bolden says Echevarria told a Secret Service informant that his group would "take care of Kennedy." In a boarding house just off the highway from O'Hare and linked to Echevarria, authorities found high powered rifles, ammo and Kennedy motorcade maps. And Bolden even claims that the dates of the Echevarria investigation were changed: I was there when in early November, 1963 the Chicago office of the secret service investigated a character named Echevarria. Echevarria stated that President Kennedy was about to be assassinated. I heard the investigating agent dictating the reports in early November, 1963. The investigation took place prior to the assassination in Dallas. On the afternoon of November 26, 1963, Inspector Kelly, SAIC James Burke, and representatives of the FBI had a meeting in the Chicago office of the secret service. Kelly and Burke were the lead investigators representing the secret service in Dallas prior to the assassination of Lee Harvey Oswald. The Echevarria investigation took place during the first two weeks in November. I was there in the office when the reports that had already been dictated by the investigating agents and typed by the secretaries were rounded up and banded in a single stack in the office of SAIC Martineau. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that these collected investigative reports were dictated by the agents PRIOR to the assassination of Kennedy. However, after Kelly and Burke ended their conference, these same reports were restructured and the dates of the investigation were changed to indicate that the Echevarria investigation was conducted AFTER the assassination and had reference to the concern for the protection of President Johnson as Blaine claims in his “CYA” book. I was there. I know what happened and Blaine may fool the general public, but he can’t fool me. Interestingly, when Bolden was interviewed by Bernard Fensterwald in March 1968, he said nothing about Homer Echevarria. Nor did Bolden mention any of this during his HSCA interview. And Bolden's book claims that the Echevarria story started just a few days before the assassination in Dallas: (page 56) Just a few days before the shooting in Dallas, the Secret Service received even more threatening information, this time about a group of anti-Castro Cuban activists allegedly planning to assassinate the president. Homer S. Echevarria had been overheard to make a statement to the effect that Kennedy was about to be taken care of. As you will see in future posts, Palamara basically believes the Edwin Black story but can not come up with any corroborating evidence. Previous Relevant Blog Posts Vince Palamara's Epic Failure, Part One A look at Lloyd John Wilson. There was NO Assassination Plot in Chicago Chad Nagle tries to argue that there was a plot. Edwin Black Speaks to the HSCA The HSCA did speak to Edwin Black. It was a memorable interview. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Supposed Chicago Plot There is no evidence of a plot in Chicago against JFK. Paul Bleau and the Supposed Chicago Plot Against JFK Bolden's story about the supposed Chicago plot has changed over the years. Paul Bleau's Plots An examination of supposed other plots against JFK. Abraham Bolden's May 1964 Press Conference Bolden didn't say one word about a supposed plot against JFK in Chicago.