Gilberto Policarpo Lopez Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, alleges that there were plots to assassinate JFK in Chicago and Tampa in November of 1963. In addition, the documentary alleges that Thomas Vallee and Gilberto Policarpo Lopez were patsies-in-waiting in Chicago and Tampa respectively, who would have been arrested had the supposed plots succeeded. The only problems with this thesis is that there is no evidence that there was a plot in Chicago. And there is no evidence of a plot in Tampa as well. Here is an excerpt from a transcript: (25:06 in Episode four) Oliver Stone: And what about the trip to Florida? Paul Bleau: On November 18th, Kennedy was scheduled to do a 27 mile-long motorcade in Tampa. The Secret Service was very nervous about the Floridian Hotel [sic, should be the Floridan Hotel] where the motorcade would have gone by. It would have forced a sharp turn. Nobody fired away at him. But in this case, the alternate patsy would have been a Gilbert Policarpo Lopez. He was a Cuban exile. He, uh, attended Fair Play for Cuba Committee meetings. One day after the assassination, on November 23rd, he makes his way to Mexico City. The Fair Play for Cuba Committee loaned him money for his travel, and he ends up being the lone passenger on an airplane to Cuba. The CIA, they found out about the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, the weird trip to Mexico City, the fact that he was a lone passenger on a plane to, uh, Cuba. And they didn't pass on the information to the Warren Commission. So when the HSCA found out about this lead that wasn't pursued, even they called it egregious. Oliver Stone: And what do you think was the relevance of it? Paul Bleau: Well, if he had been assassinated in Tampa, Lopez, he would have been the potential patsy. If they had to admit to a front shot, because Oswald was behind, there were rumors that he had assisted Oswald in the assassination in Dallas. Bleau's source on the supposed plot in Tampa and Gilberto Lopez is Lamar Waldron's 2005 book, Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK. (pages 254 - 259, 500 - 504, 698 - 703) The only difference is that Waldron believes the Mafia was behind the JFK assassination conspiracy, while the producers of JFK: Destiny Betrayed believe it was the CIA and the military-industrial complex. There is no evidence to support either theory. Let's start with the supposed threat against JFK in Tampa. Waldron referenced two articles that appeared in local newspapers: Tampa Tribune, November 23, 1963 Miami Herald, November 24, 1963 There is additional information about the threats from Gerald Blaine's 2011 book, The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence. Blaine was a Special Agent of the Secret Service on the White House Detail who worked on security in Tampa. He had called the Protective Research Section (PRS) in New York and asked for a list of potential threats. One file that came back was of Wayne Gainey, and here is the "flash card" on him that was provided to Blaine: A local agent, Arnie Peppers, had been visiting with Gainey's parents and his psychiatrist. His parents were cooperative and they made sure that Gainey was with them during JFK's visit to Tampa. An agent was also sent out to keep surveillance on their home. The other threat was from John William Warrington. He was fifty-three years old and had written a series of threatening letters to Kennedy in October 1963. He was arrested in Tampa on October 18, 1963 for sending an extortion letter to a bank president. Warrington had been in out and out of mental hospitals for years and had been diagnosed as schizophrenic. He was still in jail when Kennedy visited Tampa. Those were the main threats on Kennedy's life. Kennedy visited Tampa on November 18, 1963. Here are some pictures from his almost thirty-mile long motorcade: It doesn't appear that the Secret Service was all that concerned and JFK was actually standing during a large part of the motorcade. Paul Bleau mentioned some concern about the Floridan Hotel. Once again, he got this directly from Waldron's book: Waldron interviewed Tampa Police Chief Mullins who said he was concerned about several tall buildings. However, one of his comments is revealing. Waldron says Mullins "said he depended on hotel staff to keep him abreast of any suspicious or strange people." Really? You're really worried about the hotel but you rely on hotel staff? There is no mention of Mullins' concern about the Floridan Hotel in Blaine's book. There was no assassination attempt in Tampa despite Waldron's claim that the Floridan Hotel was a better vantage point than the Texas School Book Depository: (page 710) Ninety-nine windows of the hotel had an unobstructed view overlooking the intersection where JFK's limo would have to slow to a crawl to make a hard left turn. The angle to JFK's limo was even better than that of the Texas School Book Depository, meaning a shooter would not have to extend their rifle out of the window to get a good shot. Perhaps there was no attempt on JFK's life because there was no assassination plot. But what does any of this have to do with Gilberto Policarpo Lopez? Well, absolutely nothing. You can read about Gilberto Policarpo Lopez in the HSCA Final Report. This document has detailed biographical information on Lopez: January 26, 1940: Born in Havana, Cuba. His mother Esperanza Rodriguez y Castellamos was born in Key West, Florida and was an American citizen. June 2, 1960: Received an American passport in Havana which was valid until January 25, 1963. Lopez told them he planned to move to the United States. February 23, 1962: Lopez was classified as 4-F by the Draft Board because of "a language barrier." The Board also received a letter from Dr. James Malgrat noting that Lopez had been treated for Grand Mal Epilepsy for the last six months. He took daily medication for convulsions. August 11, 1962: Lopez married to Blance Andrea Leon in Key West, Florida. In June 1963, they moved to Tampa. He had had recurrent attacks of epilepsy and in early 1963 was hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. August, 1963: Lopez's wife returned to Key West because of marital difficulties. November 17, 1963: Lopez attended a meeting of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in Tampa at the home of Mary Quist. Someone was showing color slides taken in Cuba. While at the Quist home, Lopez awaited a telephone call from Cuba on whether he could visit. November 20, 1963: Lopez obtained a Mexican tourist card in Tampa, and on November 23rd, he arrived in Mexico on his way to Havana. Lopez entered Mexico at Nuevo Laredo. He registered at the Roosevelt Hotel and on November 27th boarded a Cubana flight to Havana. He was the only passenger. The photograph you see at the top of this page was taken at the International Airport in Mexico City on November 27th. To get to Cuba, Lopez borrowed $150 from people in the Fair Play for Cuba Committee of which he only paid back $25. July 14, 1964: Lopez's wife received a letter from her husband and was surprised he was in Cuba although he had told her he wanted to return before their marriage broke up. She believed that he returned to Cuba "because of his close relationship with his parents." CIA interest in Gilberto Policarpo Lopez started in December 1963 when Mexican security asked the Mexican City CIA station for information: In March 1964, a source told the CIA that a Lopes [sic] was involved in the Kennedy assassination. Here is that message: The Church Committee discussed this lead and criticized the FBI and the CIA for not giving enough information to the Warren Commission to evaluate the lead for themselves. The FBI had not told the Warren Commission about Lopez's attendance at an FPCC meeting - and that it might have relevance since V.T. Lee had written a letter to Oswald suggesting that he get in touch with the Tampa branch of the FPCC. [Please note that the Church Committee was wrong - Lee had never made that suggestion.] In 1977, the CIA Inspector General, in response to the Church Committee report on Lopez's travel, followed up on the lead. They noted that there were numerous errors in that initial report about Lopez: The HSCA felt that the failure of the CIA to tell the Warren Commission about the Gilberto Lopez lead was "egregious." The CIA disagreed with that conclusion: An HSCA memo also came up with a reason why the lead was withheld from the Warren Commission: The LIFIRE operation referred to cooperation between the CIA and Mexican federal officials who participated in a plan of photographing passengers on flights departing for Havana from Mexico City. In any event, the HSCA concluded: From the information gathered by the FBI, there appeared to be plausible reasons for both Lopez' desire to return to Cuba and for his solicitation of financial aid from the Tampa FPCC chapter. Lopez' contacts in Florida appeared to have been innocent and not connected with the assassination, and while there was a suggestion in the Senate committee's report that Lee Harvey Oswald was also in contact with the Tampa FPCC chapter, the committee could find no evidence of it. Nor could the committee find any evidence that Oswald was in contact with Lopez. By the way, the FBI submitted two reports to the Warren Commission which mentioned Gilberto Lopez. One mentioned his trip to Cuba, and the other was about his passport. It can't be denied that the HSCA and the Church Committee said that the FBI and the CIA were delinquent in their obligation to inform the Warren Commission. But there is absolutely no evidence that Gilberto Policarpo Lopez had any connection to the JFK assassination. And as I have shown there was no plot against JFK in Tampa. So why on earth do people believe that Gilberto Lopez was going to be a patsy? Well, Lamar Waldron notes that there "eighteen parallels" between Oswald and Lopez which "demonstrate" that they were both "being manipulated by the same people." (page 502) But consider some of the so-called parallels: They each had a job within the vicinity of JFK's motorcade. Not surprising that Lopez might have been near the Tampa motorcade - it was almost thirty miles long. Both men were in a Texas city the week of November 22, 1963. Neither man was a good driver and neither owned a car. Both were white males and 23 years of age during 'most' of 1963. Both spent part of 1963 "in a southern city that was headquarters for one of the two mob bosses that the HSCA says were most likely behind the JFK assassination." Both are "said" to be informants for "some US agency." Both were living apart from their wives. This is the kind of propinquity that perhaps Jim Garrison would appreciate. How does Waldron tie this all to the Mafia? He quotes a 2003 article from the Key West Citizen in which they note that Lopez "worked in the construction industry in Tampa -- which has had a long-established organized crime connection with Key West - before traveling to Texas at the time of the assassination." That's a pretty loose connection. While Paul Bleau dismisses the Mafia theory, he does believe there are 'parallels' between not just Oswald and Lopez but a large number of alternative patsies. Here is his "potential alternative patsy comparison chart: Every good researcher should keep this cheat sheet handy. Perhaps you can add your own column for a patsy of your choice. This is indeed cutting-edge JFK assassination research, no? The last part of Bleau's segment on Gilberto Lopez is just plain ridiculous: Paul Bleau: Well, if he [JFK] had been assassinated in Tampa, Lopez, he would have been the potential patsy. If they had to admit to a front shot, because Oswald was behind, there were rumors that he had assisted Oswald in the assassination in Dallas. Bleau elevates old rumors into a spurious allegation. Two patsies in Dallas? The segments in JFK: Destiny Betrayed on the supposed plots against JFK in Chicago and Tampa are outright embarrassing. There is no evidence of any plot in either city, and the notion that there were 'patsies-in-waiting' cannot be taken seriously. Don't miss the Viewer's Guide to JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Over the past several months, I have shown in multiple blog posts how Oliver Stone's documentary series, JFK Revisited and JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers. In fact, despite months of work, there are still many more misleading segments that need to be addressed. It's no wonder that the fact checkers of Netflix nixed the airing of the films. There is a choice between four hours of tendentious nonsense (JFK: Destiny Betrayed) and two hours (JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass). As a handy guide for viewers, here are all those posts in order of their appearance in JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, preceded by some general critiques.

Conspiracy theorist Paul Bleau was largely responsible for Oliver Stone coming to Quebec City. One reporter from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) had the temerity to actually question Bleau about the supposed plot against JFK in Chicago: Mr. Bernatchez, a gentleman with a distinguished career, came to shake my hand before I was on air. He had an all-business air about him that foreshadowed what would be his skeptical tone during our 12-minute talk. This was further confirmed when a poker-faced assistant of his asked me if I believed all this stuff involving intelligence in the conspiracy. I responded yes, when I really should have pointed out the complexity of the case. For example, when he asked what I based my affirmation about there being prior plots on, I answered that the plots I discuss in the documentary were about Chicago and Tampa during the month that preceded Dallas. I explained that there were FBI files (I should have added HSCA) about Tampa and that the Chicago plot was based on Edwin Black’s research as well as Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden’s witnessing of the goings-on. He seemed surprised. When he said that the conspiracy was not acknowledged by the media, I talked about how five government investigations that succeeded the Warren Commission and revelations from these as well as from the investigators/insiders themselves presented a very different account from what is concluded by the obsolete Warren Commission—which is what seems to be the basis on which Lone Nut scenario believers continually turn to. There are actually no FBI or HSCA files on a plot in Tampa. Bleau tells Bernatchez that the "Chicago plot was based on Edwin Black's research as well as Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden's witnessing of the goings on." This makes it sound like these are two separate sources for the Chicago plot. But Black got all of his information from Bolden. Here is an excerpt from Bolden's interview with the HSCA: What Bleau does not want to admit is that Abraham Bolden is the ONLY source of information about the supposed plot in Chicago. There is not one piece of evidence to corroborate his allegations. Here is my previous post on Oliver Stone's so-called documentary JFK Revisited and the Chicago plot. And guess what? Abraham 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 Assistant District Attorney 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.” Springfield News, December 6, 1967 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 from 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 Thomas 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. (Page 55 – 56) 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 devotes 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 to Fensterwald in 1968, he tied the alleged 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. Where did this all come from? Perhaps from some rumors right after the assassination: This page reads: Larry Fanning, Executive Editor, "Chicago Daily News", had previously advised that on November 2, 1963, four men were reportedly arrested in Chicago, Illinois, and charged with carrying a concealed weapon. One of these individuals, according to Fanning's source, was believed to be the subject Oswald. SAC Marlin W. Johnson has periodically maintained contact with Mr. Fanning in an effort to determine Fanning's sources for this story. On January 21, 1964, Mr. Fanning advised SAC Johnson that he had looked into the matter thoroughly and there was absolutely no truth whatsoever in the story. He stated he could not tell Mr. Johnson exactly how the story originated. Fanning might have gotten it from his Assistant City Editor, William Mooney: Was this the genesis of the story about the Chicago plot? I also find it interesting that the story of Thomas Vallee and the four-man assassination team both feature landladies. In both cases, it was a landlady who called the police or Secret Service. Might Bolden have been conflating the Vallee story with the rumor above? I am sure that some people will respond to this article by claiming that evidence of the Chicago plot has been destroyed by the Secret Service. And they did destroy some records. Here is an excerpt from my essay, "Did the ARRB Prove a Conspiracy in the JFK Assassination?" In episode 4 [of JFK: Destiny Betrayed], Tunheim and Samoluk discuss the Secret Service destruction of two boxes of domestic survey reports, Here is an excerpt from a transcript: (19:25) Judge Tunheim: They destroyed a group of records which involved threats to President Kennedy in the fall of 1963. They have what they're called threat sheets and there were many threats made to President Kennedy's life during the year 1963. They fought us on the release of those records. They even enlisted Vice President Gore's wife to help them because she had a very legitimate concern for mental health records. And the idea was that this might disclose the names of people who had mental health problems. No doubt Tunheim and Samoluk were right to be upset about the destruction of two boxes of records. But right after their appearance in JFK: Destiny Betrayed, the documentary moves to supposed plots against JFK in Chicago and Miami. The juxtaposition is not by accident - since there is no documentary evidence that there was a threat in Chicago, JFK; Destiny Betrayed uses Tunheim and Samoluk to imply that the destroyed records contained valuable information related to the supposed plot. But the HSCA had already looked at Secret Service documents during that period: Here is what the HSCA said about the alleged Chicago plot: The committee was unable to document the existence of the alleged assassination team. Specifically, no agent who had been assigned to Chicago confirmed any aspect of Bolden's version. One agent did state there had been a threat in Chicago during that period, but he was unable to recall details. Bolden did not link Vallee to the supposed four-man assassination team, although he claimed to remember Vallee's name in conjunction with a 1963 Chicago case. He did not recognize Vallee's photograph when shown it by the committee. The Secret Service wrote a letter to the ARRB noting that "the folder concerning the canceled trip to Chicago would only have contained a preliminary survey report, if any document at all, since final reports are not conducted when a trip is canceled." Preliminary survey reports are just the basic plans for a trip. And in fact Secret Service records that were thought to have been destroyed were found by Gerald Blaine and given to NARA. Update Here is the Secret Service Protective Research File on Vallee: The reason for PRS interest is "subj was reported by confidential source to have made critical remarks re JFK adm." Just critical remarks? Was there really a threat?

James DiEugenio's book about the so-called Oliver Stone documentary JFK Revisited has an interview with Paul Bleau, who is his expert on plots against JFK: (page 436 of the Kindle edition) Oliver Stone: Describe please the prior plots around John F. Kennedy before Dallas and explain for us their importance. Paul Bleau: Well, the complete failure by the Warren Commission to look into at least seven plots that failed during the last six months— Stone: Seven? Bleau: At least seven, seven that failed in the last six months of Kennedy’s life, is a glaring example of how the Warren Commission investigation was inept. Because had they done so, they would have recognized the template, they would have been able to build an offender profile, and even round up suspects. Bleau actually believes that the Warren Commission could have "been able to build an offender profile, and even round [ed] up suspects." He implies that there is a connection between these so-called plots. What were these plots? I have already blogged about the supposed plot in Chicago, and the supposed plot in Tampa. There is no evidence that there were plots in either city. Part of the problem is that Bleau does not differentiate between a threat and plot. For instance, in Chicago there was a supposed threat from Thomas Arthur Vallee, but he was not part of a plot. Even then, the evidence that he uttered a threat is extremely thin. Mr. Bleau is eager to accept anything in regard to other 'plots.' He claims there was a plot in Nashville in May of 1963: (page 436 - 437) Stone: Well, what is the first plot? Bleau: There was one in Nashville … in May of 1963. Where Kennedy was waiting for a helicopter after a motorcade and he was approached by a gunman who had a gun hidden underneath a sack. And the Secret Service spotted the gunman and picked him up. What’s key is there is no file on it. Stone: No file on it? Bleau: There’s no file, there’s nothing known about it. Stone: Was it witnesses, was it seen? Bleau: Oh yes. This was in Nashville. Governor [Frank] Clement talked about it to his son. Stone: And the gunman was arrested? Bleau: He was picked up but he was let go by the Secret Service. And there’s no identification. Nobody knows anything about him. So the key for this one is the secrecy about it. Stone: Well, how do you know? Bleau: Because articles came out later that the son of the governor talked about what his father related to him. I couldn't find much about this alleged plot in Nashville. I did manage to find this short piece by Bill Adams: SYNOPSIS OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST JFK MAY 18, 1963 IN NASHVILLE, TN by Bill Adams 8/17/93 A few years ago I began looking into other assassination sites as well as other potential assassins and potential patsies. I was able to track a potential JFK assassin to the general area (Knoxville, TN) of a planned JFK motorcade in May of 1963. The trip was altered prior to the actual day of the trip and JFK instead made a visit to Nashville, TN. His visit, on May 18, 1963, included several motorcades. In early 1992 I [was] shocked to see a tabloid print a story about an assassination attempt against JFK DURING THE NASHVILLE trip! Congressman Bob Clements of Tennessee had made a startling revelation. He said father, the late Gov. Frank Clement (Governor of Tennessee in 1963) told him of a strange incident while JFK awaited a helicopter after visiting the Governor. The tabloid quoted Congressman Bob Clement of Tennessee as stating, "While the President waited for the helicopter, a man approached with a gun hidden underneath a sack." "Secret Service agents spotted him and grabbed him". I called and interviewed the Congressman in the early summer of 1993. I also obtained actual Nashville news stories about the Congressman's revelation in January of 1992. As a result of reading the news stories and talking to Congressman Clements, I have been able to piece together the following story: President Kennedy arrived in Nashville on May 18, 1963. He rode in a motorcade to Vanderbilt University where he gave a speech outside in the football stadium. JFK left the stadium in another motorcade an drove to the Governor's mansion. Somewhere between the Governor's mansion and the helicopter landing site at Overton High School a man approached JFK with a handgun under a sack. It is unclear whether JFK was in his limousine or not at the time. The Governor witnessed this event and the subsequent capture of the suspect by the Secret Service. The man was held at the High School for some time. Nothing more is known about the man. The Secret Service asked the Governor to keep the event out of the press for fear it would lead to more assassination attempts. I haven't been able to find the Nashville Banner article. Vince Palamara notes that: Bob Clement said: "Back in those days, privacy was easier to accomplish". The paper interviewed the widow of Paul Doster, the former SAIC of the Nashville office who died in 1987)---although Paul did not mention the incident to her, she said: "But, you've got to remember, he was pretty secretive, even to me." I don't know the true story here. But it sure doesn't sound like a plot. The next plot, according to Bleau, was in Los Angeles: (page 437) Stone: Second plot? Bleau: Second plot would be Los Angeles in June, when Kennedy actually attended the showing of PT 109. Which was a movie about his war heroics. The alternate patsy in this case would have been Vaughn Marlowe, and Vaughn Marlowe had many similarities to Oswald. He was ex-military and he headed a chapter of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in Los Angeles. And he could be portrayed as anti-Kennedy. But what was this plot? Bleau gets his information from Dick Russell's book, The Man Who Knew Too Much. I went to Russell's book, and he discusses this alleged attempt on JFK"s life on pages 208 - 221 in hi new edition from 2003. Russell's source is Richard Case Nagell, a fabulist of the highest order. (page 210) President Kennedy was scheduled to come to Los Angeles in June. According to Nagell, a second plot to assassinate him was being discussed among some Cuban exiles in the spring of 1963 -- much more seriously than the Miami proposal of the previous winter. "It was to take place," Nagell says, "during the showing of the movie PT-109 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, in June 1963." The man being looked at for "recruitment" as a shooter was Vaughn Marlowe, an executive officer of the Los Angeles Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Vaughn Marlowe's real name was Vaughn Snipes. He was an organizer for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and a member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee (FPCC) in Los Angeles. He ran a left-wing bookshop in Venice, California. One day, Richard Case Nagell walked into his bookshop, and they began a friendship. They shared left-wing views and Nagell did some writing for a newsletter that Marlowe was publishing. After Nagell was in prison for his El Paso 'heist,' he sent a letter to Marlowe asking him to send a press release to Earl Warren, Senator Richard Russell and various newspapers saying that Nagell "had been overheard to say during his arraignment that 'the FBI held full responsibility for the Kennedy assassination' and that he was immediately led out of the court by 'federal men.' Meaning, as I later came to learn that he'd attempted to notify the FBI that a domestic plot was in place to assassinate JFK." This is all delusion. Marlowe did send out a few press releases. He then sent a coded telegram to Nagell informing him that he had done so. Russell got a copy of the telegram and at the bottom was a typed paragraph from Nagell: (page 211) One of the two Cubans who were associating with Oswald in August and September 1963 (who also fits the description of one of the two Cubans who allegedly visited Sylvia Odio at Magellan Circle with Oswald the day before his trip to Mexico in September 1963) was witnessed entering the "ON THE BEACH BOOKSTORE" on two separate occasions while he [Snipes] was under surveillance. The bookstore was located in Venice and Snipes was the proprietor. Snipes, who once boasted that he was a good shot with a rifle, was considered for recruitment to hit JFK in June 1963 during his visit to the Beverly Hilton hotel. That "project" never materialized. Marlowe told Russell that "I just have no recollection of anybody I knew as a Cuban coming into the bookstore, or my having any contact with anyone who was Cuban." (page 214) So, the "project never materialized." However, Russell has found another clue that there was to be an attempt on JFK's life. Much like his fiasco in the bank in El Paso in September 1963, Nagell knew he had to be in custody during the L.A. attempt: Three days before JFK's trip to the West Coast, on June 4 [1963] Nagell requested admission to the psychiatric ward at the Veterans Administration Hospital in suburban Brentwood. It was the same tactic he employed in Florida the previous December, to remove himself the local scene and, I believe, to somehow inform his respective intelligence contacts about what he had uncovered. An FBI report notes the diagnosis from the Hospital: Subject's condition diagnosed by Veterans Administration, Los Angeles, on 6/4/63 as "depression, tearful, nervous rigid. Would only utter words, 'Got to see my kids.'" Richard Case Nagell suffered from physical brain damage from his airplane crash in 1954. Russell looks for clues that there was some sort of plot, but really comes up empty: (page 219) A question that arises, in looking back at press accounts of Kennedy's trip is whether the president might have already been alerted that something was afoot. JFK arrived in L.A. on the afternoon of June 7, having just spent eighteen hours aboard two aircraft carriers at California's China Lake Naval Ordnance Testing Station. There, The New York Times noted, he was "given a look at virtually every weapon in the Navy arsenal." JFK then went to L.A. aboard a helicopter that landed on the roof of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. There was a group of picketers from CORE outside the hotel. On the night of June 7th, Kennedy flew to Hawaii. This is the evidence of a plot against JFK? I challenge anybody to read the section in Russell's book and see if they can make any sense of it. He believes that Nagell was up to something because he wrote the following: "In May 1963, another representative of the same foreign government made the same proposal to me. At that time I agreed to such a proposal." Russell believes that the 'proposal' relates to the L.A. plot against JFK. My head hurts. It's bad enough that Dick Russell can write such nonsense. But then to have Paul Bleau talk about all of these 'plots' as if they are real, and then to claim that the Warren Commission should have built an "offender profile" so they could round up suspects? Paul Bleau missed his calling. Rather then teach business, he should have become a profiler for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Harold Weisberg actually checked out the entries in Russell's book on Snipes and Marlowe. Here is a letter he wrote to Jim Lesar: Don't miss the Viewer's Guide to JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Over the past several months, I have shown in multiple blog posts how Oliver Stone's documentary series, JFK Revisited and JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers. In fact, despite months of work, there are still many more misleading segments that need to be addressed. It's no wonder that the fact checkers of Netflix nixed the airing of the films. There is a choice between four hours of tendentious nonsense (JFK: Destiny Betrayed) and two hours (JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass). As a handy guide for viewers, here are all those posts in order of their appearance in JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, preceded by some general critiques 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. 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 isssues. 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'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?

You can read Part One here. Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers by intimating that that there was a through-and-through hole in the windshield. The film also misleads by claiming that flares of light are evidence of a shot from the front. Here is an excerpt from a transcript: (27:49 of episode 3) Whoopi Goldberg: The reports of this extra bullet substantiate some researchers' claim that there was a fourth shot hitting the limo at Zapruder frame 328. Frame 328 of the Zapruder Film. Dr. Randy Robertson: The bullet itself is important, but what's more important is, when it struck, and where it came from. And previously at 313, when the bullet went forward through JFK's head, a small fragment had cracked the windshield, from the inner surface. Later, the final shot, was at 328 was when it struck. Both times there were flares of reflected light as the glass was deformed from the impacts of one of a fragment and two of the whole bullet. And these two events occurred in 0.9 seconds. So, therefore they couldn't have been shot from the same rifle. Screen shot from JFK: Destiny Betrayed showing first light flare. Screen shot from Destiny Betrayed showing second light flare. Whoopi Goldberg: The Warren Commission's contention is that only three shots were fired, and that one of them had missed its target completely. So how does one account for the extensive damage to the limousine? Dr. David Mantik: There is a lot of damage in the car. The chrome strip, which went around the windshield, was dented from the inside, which suggests a projectile from the rear. Six witnesses reported a through-and-through hole in the windshield. Whoopi Goldberg: After the Secret Service tried to scrub down the interior at Parkland Hospital, the Presidential limo was then flown to Washington. The interior was completely cleaned up within 36 hours, and the windshield was replaced within 48 to 72 hours. The car was then shipped first to the Ford factory in Michigan, and then to Cincinnati, where it was extensively rebuilt by a car restoration company. First, let's discuss the issue of the flares at frames 314 and 329 of the Zapruder Film. Dr. Gary Aguilar, Dr. Doug DeSalles and Bill Simpich debunk the notion of the flares here. They note that the supposed first flare, at Zapruder frame 314, is "restricted to the frame of the vent window, the chrome strip along its leading edge that covers the windshield support, and other chrome objects near it." You can see the flare in frame 309 of the Zapruder film, well before the head shot. Frame 309 of the Zapruder film. You can see the so-called flare on the right side of the frame. Robertson believes that the supposed bullet found in the limousine by Chiefs Mills and Martinell hit the windshield at frame 328: A whole bullet directly struck the windshield frame at 328 bending its tip in the process and falling back into the limo where it was later recovered during the initial limo inspection. Josiah Thompson believes that the flare substantiates his theory of a shot from the rear at frame Z-327 - Z-328, but concedes another possibility: (Last Second in Dallas, page 234) It is difficult to know what to make of this flare. It endures for only a very short interval. Is it an indisputable sign that the windshield was struck from the rear by a fragment at this time? No. It is possible that the car's angle to the sun changed as it proceeded and this caused the flare. So, Robertson believes the flare in Frame 329 is the result of a shot from behind hitting the windshield, and Thompson believes the flare is the result (if not a coincidental artifact) of a shot from the rear hitting Kennedy. I believe the flare is nothing more than a reflection from the sun. Conspiracy theorists are reading way too much into the flares. Here are frames 325-330 of the Zapruder film and you can see "the progressive movement of the reflected sunlight on the curve of the windshield." (“'Your Lying Eyes' – Josiah Thompson’s Lonely Labyrinth" by Louis Girdler, page 78) Zapruder Frame 325 Zapruder Frame 326 Zapruder Film Frame 327 Zapruder Film Frame 328 Zapruder Film Frame 329 Zapruder Film Frame 330 Now on to the supposed through-and-through bullet hole in the windshield. The presidential limousine arrived in Washington D.C. at 8:00 PM. It was driven to the White House garage and arrived at 9:00 PM. At 1:00 AM, a team of five FBI agents arrived at the garage and examined the limousine. You can read more about the handing of the limousine here. About 10 PM, Chiefs Mills and Martinell were sent to examine the car for bone and bullet fragments: A team of FBI agents then thoroughly examined the car at 1:00 AM. Robert Frazier described what happened: Warren Commission Exhibit 350 shows the crack in the windshield. The photo was taken by FBI agent Robert Frazier on November 23rd: Warren Commission Exhibit 349 shows a small dent on the chrome strip on top of the windshield: Warren Commission Exhibit 351 shows the crack in the windshield: Robert Frazier was asked about the windshield: The windshield was removed from the limousine. Here is a memo written by F. Vaughn Ferguson of the Ford Motor Company: Ferguson wrote that "Examination of the windshield disclosed no perforation, but substantial cracks radiating a couple of inches from the center of the windshield at a point directly beneath the mirror." In March 1964, the windshield was further examined at FBI headquarters: The HSCA also examined the windshield: Here is Figure 5 from the HSCA volumes: The evidence is clear that there was no through-and-through bullet hole in the presidential limousine. So, what about the six witnesses who said they saw a hole? Douglas Horne wrote about the six witnesses on his blog. Four of the witnesses, Dallas motorcycle policemen Stavis Ellis and H. R. Freeman, reporter Richard Dudman, and medical student Evalea Glanges, all supposedly saw the bullet hole while the limousine was at Parkland. Richard Dudman was a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Horne quotes him from The New Republic: A few of us noticed the hole in the windshield when the limousine was standing at the emergency entrance after the President had been carried inside. I could not approach close enough to see on which side was the cup-shaped spot that indicates a bullet had pierced the glass from the opposite side. Note that he couldn't get that close. Here is what he wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of December 1, 1963: Here he says "This correspondent and one other man saw the hole, which resembled a bullet hole ..." Robert Branson's column from the December 15, 1963 issue of the Battle Creek Enquirer, mentions the other reporter: Other reporters did not get that close either. And Richard Dudman walked back the claim in an article in the November 22, 1988 edition of the Bangor Daily News: Another one of Horne's witnesses is George Whitaker who was a senior manager at Ford Motor Company. He was interviewed in 1993 and said that on November 25th "he discovered the JFK limousine -- a unique, one-of-a-kind item that he unequivocally identified -- in the Rouge Plant's B building." He then noticed a bullet hole. The only problem is that the car was still in Washington. It was not driven to the Rouge Plant until December 20, 1963. The last witness on Douglas Horne's list is Secret Service agent Charles Taylor, Jr., who wrote a report on November 27, 1963: The report says "In addition, of particular note was the small hole just left of center in the windshield from which appears to be bullets fragments were removed." Taylor is clearly referring to the defect in the windshield in which metal scrapings were taken. His allegation was investigated by the Church Committee in 1975. After quoting Taylor's report, this staff report noted: The Committee staff interviewed Taylor: Here is his affidavit: By the way, had there been a through-and-through bullet hole in the windshield, it would have looked more like this: It is relevant that the windshield is still in existence. Douglas Horne notes that "the windshield at the National Archives today exhibits long cracks -- not a through-and-through bullet hole -- and is damaged on the outside." Horne is forgetting that there were some cracks added to the windshield during its subsequent handling. Horne concluded that the Archives windshield was not in the limousine on November 22nd: "It simply cannot be." Rather, "the windshield evidence was twice switched-out -- substituted -- by the U.S. government." Yes, we now have the multiple windshield theory. To Douglas Horne, this is all part and parcel of a series of altered evidence: The pattern is the same, and the pattern is one of lying, and intentionally covering up the truth, by destroying some evidence, and substituting altered evidence in its place. All of this substitution of evidence---tampering with wounds prior to the commencement of the autopsy through clandestine post mortem surgery; the alteration of some of the key autopsy photographs and x-rays (and the destruction of others); and the alteration of the Zapruder film---was intended to suppress evidence of shots from the front (i.e., proof of conspiracy), so the government could more easily promote its lone assassin cover story. Why on earth did Oliver Stone leave out the multiple windshield theory and the alteration of the Zapruder film from JFK: Destiny Betrayed? Previous Relevant Blog Posts on JFK: Destiny Betrayed "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Oswald's Income Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, makes the erroneous claim that Lee Harvey Oswald was not paid for his last quarter of service in the U.S. Marines. Oliver Stone Disses the Sixth Floor Museum JFK: Destiny Betrayed needlessly, and unfairly, criticizes the Sixth Floor Museum. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Supposed Extra Bullet Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, alleges that an extra bullet was found in JFK's limousine the evening of the assassination. This is just not true. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on CIA Involvement in Plot against de Gaulle JFK: Destiny Betrayed alleges the CIA was involved in an assassination plot against French President Charles de Gaulle. Scenes from a fictional film are used to buttress the allegation. The truth - the CIA had nothing to do with the supposed plot. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Allen Dulles and the Warren Commission The evidence is clear - Robert Kennedy wanted Allen Dulles on the Warren Commission. What Ever Happened to Jim Garrison? Jim Garrison is AWOL in Oliver Stone's so-called documentary JFK: Destiny Betrayed. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass Oliver Stone Admits "JFK Revisited" is a Flop Oliver Stone is disappointed that no major movie or TV reviewers have commented on his so-called documentary. Oliver Stone Claims the Zapruder Film was Altered Yes, Oliver Stone is an alterationist. "Guilt by Orientation" - The CIA Strikes Again! James Kirchick's terrific article on Oliver Stone and homosexuality. Is the JFK assassination linked to 9/11 and Covid-19? Just when I thought conspiracy theorists couldn't get any crazier. Two Important Posts Debunk "JFK Revisited" Tracy Parnell debunks a series about JFK Revisited on the WhoWhatWhy website, and Andrew Jackson debunks the film on Quora. Both articles are well worth your time. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Autopsy Photographs of JFK, Part Two Did Saundra Spencer really develop a completely different set of autopsy photographs? "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Autopsy Photographs of JFK Oliver Stone's so-called documentary tries to make the case that a White House photographer took photos at the autopsy. The only problem is that there is no evidence he was actually there. Oliver Stone Pulls the Wool Over Joe Rogan's Eyes, Part Two Stone misspeaks on the Joe Rogan show about JFK's brain. Oliver Stone Pulls the Wool over Joe Rogan's Eyes Stone misspeaks on the Joe Rogan show and I present a challenge to conspiracy theorists. Jefferson Morley and "JFK Revisited" Tracy Parnell dissects Morley's article on JFK assassination documents and "JFK Revisited" "JFK Revisited" Misleads by Putting Words in Kennedy's Mouth, Part Two Did President Kennedy actually say that he was going to shatter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the wind? "JFK Revisited" Misleads by Putting Words in Kennedy's Mouth... David Talbot claims that JFK told the French Ambassador that he was not in full control of his entire government. There is no evidence he ever said that. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Supposed CIA Support of the 1961 Coup Attempt in France Oliver Stone's so-called documentary claims the CIA supported the 1961 coup attempt against French President Charles de Gaulle in 1961. The only thing missing is evidence. Max Boot on Oliver Stone's Lies Max Boot: Oliver Stone just can't stop spreading lies about JFK's assassination. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Valery Giscard D'Estaing Did Gerald Ford really disclose to French President Valery Giscard D'Estaing that the JFK assassination was a conspiracy? Perhaps not. "JFK Revisited" Star Believes in a Massive COVID Conspiracy Robert Kennedy, Jr. believes in a massive conspiracy regarding Covid and the intelligence agencies. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Kennedy's Back Wound While Gerald Ford edited some language in the Warren Report, he did not change the location of the back wound. Autopsy photographs show exactly the location of the back wound. "JFK Revisited" alleges Oswald was "placed" Oliver Stone's so-called documentary alleges that Oswald was "moved" to Dallas and "placed" in the Texas School Book Depository. This is totally ridiculous. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on JFK's Throat Wound The preponderance of the evidence indicates JFK's throat wound was one of exit. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Supposed Chicago Plot There is no evidence that there was actually a plot against JFK in Chicago. Was James Gochenaur a Credible Witness in "JFK Revisited"? Gochenaur's writings don't back up his allegations in JFK Revisited. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Guy Banister Oliver Stone's so-called documentary claims that Guy Banister gave Oswald a room at 544 Camp Street. The evidence does not support the allegation. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on JFK's Brain, Again... Dr. Robert Kirschner's consultation with the ARRB explains a mystery in the documentary. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Weight of JFK's Brain JFK Revisited makes a big deal about the weight of JFK's brain and ignores a non-conspiratorial explanation. JFK Revisited Distorts John Stringer's Testimony Oliver Stone's so-called documentary makes it sound like the autopsy photographer said that he did not take the photos of JFK's brain that are in the current inventory, JFK Revisited Lays an Egg Oliver Stone took to Twitter last weekend to bemoan the fact that the mainstream press is ignoring his so-called documentary, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Oliver Stone with "JFK Revisited" Crucifies Clay Shaw Once Again There is something really obscene about Oliver Stone once again going after Clay Shaw. JFK Revisited Doesn't Tell the Whole Truth about John Connally You won't learn everything you need to know about Connally's position on the shots from Oliver Stone's so-called documentary. JFK Revisited Uses Marina Porter to Mislead Viewers Oliver Stone tries to make it seem like Marina Porter has denied taking the backyard photographs of Lee Harvey Oswald. JFK Revisited: Were the Oswald Backyard Photographs Faked? Oliver Stone once again raises the issue of the legitimacy of the backyard photographs of Lee Harvey Oswald. JFK Revisited: Was Clay Shaw the elusive Clay Bertrand? This post debunks every witness that has ever claimed Shaw was Bertrand. Oliver Stone's Poverty of Imagination He cannot imagine any sort of non-conspiratorial explanations for any of the suspicious pieces of evidence in his film. Was Clay Shaw a "Contract Agent" for the CIA? No, Clay Shaw was not a "contract agent." Steve Roe Blog Posts on JFK Revisited Oliver Stone's JFK: Destiny Betrayed Film Never Checked the Facts Steve Roe finds additional evidence that debunks the allegation in JFK: Destiny Betrayed that Oswald not paid by the Marines for the 3rd quarter of 1959. Oliver Stone Disses the Sixth Floor Museum Stone and DiEugenio falsely accuse the Sixth Floor Museum as openly promoting Oswald as the Assassin. Oliver Stone's JFK Revisited Screenwriter Reprimanded by ARRB in 1998 An exchange of letters between James DiEugenio and Jeremy Gunn of the ARRB. Is This How Real Documentaries Are Made? There is some 'interesting' editing in Oliver Stone's so-called documentary. JFK Revisited Screen Writer Crawfishes on Dallas to Chicago Airmail Overnight Delivery James DiEugenio changes his story on the Klein's money order. Debunking Another JFK Myth - Overnight Mail from Dallas to Chicago Conspiracy theorist James DiEugenio doesn't understand the history of the mail deliver in the United States. JFK Revisited: More Deception and Half-Truths The truth about Jack Ruby and the FBI. JFK Revisited: Again, Caught Creating False Mysteries "Stone/DiEugenio hatch another Bogus Mystery with Sinister Strap/Sling Mounts on Oswald's Rifle" JFK Revisited: Tripping on the Stairs Oliver Stone claims that Oswald could not have been in the sniper's nest on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Steve Roe exposes Stone's mistakes. Oliver Stone doubles-down on the Looney Frontal Shot to the President In an interview on RT [Russia Today], Oliver Stone says that the throat wound might have been made by a flechette. Oliver Stone - Deceptive Filmmaker? Steve Roe presents some examples of Oliver Stone's 'creative' abilities. A Look at the "JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass" Film by Oliver Stone Oliver Stone distorts the testimony about Oswald's palmprint on the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle.

About once a week on Facebook, somebody posts the picture below and says this proves that David Ferrie and Lee Harvey Oswald knew each other. Conspiracy authors also regularly cite this photograph, which was first shown on the PBS Frontline documentary on Lee Harvey Oswald in 1993. This picture was taken in 1955 when Lee Harvey Oswald was just 15 years old. You can see David Ferrie on the left - and the picture is of a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) meeting. Edward Voebel got Lee Harvey Oswald interested in CAP. Here is an excerpt from his testimony before the Warren Commission: So, we know that Oswald only attended 2-3 meetings. Stephen Roy, author of Perfect Villain, wrote that: Could a CAP officer have forgotten a cadet? As a high school teacher, Ferrie worked with about 80 students, all boys. As a CAP officer in Cleveland, he had worked with about 100 boys. In his first tenure with the CAP/Lakefront in New Orleans, he worked with about 130 boys. As an instructor with CAP/Moisant, he had worked with about 20 boys. On his return to CAP/Lakefront, he worked with about 100 more boys. In his Falcon/IMSU group, he worked with about 15 boys, some new and some holdovers from CAP. That totals between 430-440 boys. Oswald had attended 2-4 meetings eight years earlier. Can one believe that Ferrie might have forgotten him? David Ferrie gave a full statement to the FBI on November 25, 1963. Here are a few excerpts: Fairly early on, David Ferrie said the photograph of Oswald had a "very vague familiarity to him." Ferrie started to call around and see if he could find out more about Oswald being in CAP. Here is a statement from Roy Tell: Ferrie did call Edward Voebel and here is Voebel's statement to the Garrison investigation: Interesting that Ferrie told Voebel he wanted information so he could be of assistance to the Warren Commission, and to be of assistance to the D.A.'s office. Indeed, Ferrie actually phoned the FBI to tell them that he might have briefly been teaching CAP while Oswald was there. On December 10, 1963, David Ferrie gave another statement to the FBI: So, there you have it. Ferrie and Oswald were very briefly in CAP together. It's not unusual for a teacher, eight years later, to forget a student who only attended a few classes. This was all known before the picture above was shown on PBS Frontline in 1993. Conspiracy authors try to make this all into something far bigger than it was. Here is a headline in Probe Magazine from July-August 1998. But, the witnesses quoted in the article don't really deviate from what Ferrie said in 1963. For instance, Jerry Paradis said that "he does not know of any relationship between Ferrie and Oswald other than their contact at CAP meetings, and recalls that there was nothing unusual about their relationship there." Paradis couldn't say how many times Oswald was at CAP meetings but that he would guess "at least ten or fifteen meetings." He also added that "I am not saying that they may have been there together." Jerry Paradis said that "he does not believe the relationship between Oswald and Ferrie "meant anything really," and does not think that Ferrie "was a bad guy or anything like that." Anthony Atzenhoffer said that "I can't remember seeing the two of them together. I don't have that detailed a memory. But I'm sure they were there together at the same time." James DiEugenio, in his book Destiny Betrayed, brings up the witness statement of Thomas Lewis Clark: (page 85) So in 1964, David Ferrie told Clark he taught Lee Harvey Oswald. This is totally consistent with what David Ferrie knew back then. He probably just briefly noted that they were in the same CAP unit for a very short period of time. I don't know if Thomas Clark was really a roommate of David Ferrie - but, it's interesting that he knew that Ferrie was quite sick at the time, and it's quite telling that Ferrie told him nothing of any assassination plot, no mention of Clay Shaw, Clay Bertrand, or anything that might have been of interest to the Garrison investigation. And no mention of Ferrie knowing Oswald in 1963. Thomas Clark testified before the New Orleans grand jury on March 16. 1967. He was not asked about Lee Harvey Oswald, and he admitted stealing a credit card belonging to a Dave Martin from Ferrie's apartment. Coming Soon: A blog post on whether Lee Harvey Oswald had David Ferrie's library card. Stay tuned. Update Patricia Lambert notes in her excellent book, False Witness, that the photo of Ferrie and Oswald at a CAP meeting was taken by cadet John Ciravolo. She spoke to him in 1997 and he said, "I'm in the picture and I'm sure David Ferrie wouldn't remember me either."

Screen shot from JFK: Destiny Betrayed Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, alleges that General Curtis LeMay was at JFK's autopsy. Here is an excerpt from a transcript: (56:27 in episode 3) Douglas Horne: There were a lot of people at the Bethesda morgue. The latest count by all the researchers that I know of is about 33 people. There was a gallery, bleachers. Apparently all three rows were filled with people. Both Dr. Humes has complained after the fact and Tom Robinson, the mortician from Gawler's Funeral Home. They both equated it to a three-ring circus. Dr. Gary Aguilar: But these three autopsy pathologists who are not really credentialed to do that kind of an autopsy, were given the body, told ‘here’s the body, he was shot from behind, he fell forward,’ which they wrote in their autopsy report, ‘figure out how the wounds fit the known circumstances of the shooting.' But what this really speaks to is the fact that the autopsy was not in the control of the surgeons that were charged with doing it, it was in the control of people who were there who were telling them what they could do and what they couldn’t do. Douglas Horne; Paul O’Connor was a Navy Corpsman helping the pathologists. He told me in 1999, he told others this in 1992, he's told several people, that Dr. Humes, during the autopsy, complained that somebody was smoking a cigar, ‘tell him to put the damn thing out.’ So O’Connor, he went over to the gallery, the three rows of bleachers, and there was General LeMay, sitting in his uniform, with a big fat cigar in his hand, and LeMay looked at him after he asked him to put it out, and promptly blew smoke in his face. Douglas Horne: Did LeMay go to the autopsy to gloat over the death of his nemesis? Was General LeMay at JFK's autopsy? Douglas Horne writes in Volume V of his book series, Inside the Assassination Records Review Board, that a certain 'deep throat' told him LeMay was at the autopsy: Horne ultimately goes on to dismiss 'deep throat': I later came to distrust the mystery witness, who I decided to refer to as "JFK Deep Throat" and to conclude that he could not possibly be who he said he was. Because Deep Throat turned out not to be who he said he was, everything he told me was, of course, suspect. In JFK: Destiny Betrayed, Horne avoids the details of the story about LeMay's "gloating" and other intentions and reduces it to a question he himself is posing: "Did LeMay go to the autopsy to gloat over the death of his nemesis?" Horne doesn't tell us that this comes from a very suspect source. The only support for the allegation that General LeMay was at JFK's autopsy comes from Paul O'Connor, who, at the time, was a young (22 years old) medical corpsman stationed at Bethesda. As you will see, the story about LeMay keeps changing. He was interviewed by William Matson Law for his book, In the Eye of History: Disclosures in the JFK Assassination Medical Evidence: (page 195 from the revised 2015 edition) O'Connor: I remember one general who was sitting in the gallery. It was a teaching morgue and we had a big gallery. I remember Curtis LeMay sitting there with a big cigar in his hand. Law: How did you know it was Curtis LeMay? O'Connor: I knew Curtis LeMay by seeing him before and by the big cigar he smoked all the time. Law: What was his manner when you saw him? O'Connor: Nonchalant. Kind of, "well, let's get this show on the road." Law: You didn't see him nervous, upset? O'Connor: No. He was just -- Law: Just there in the gallery smoking a cigar. O'Connor: Right. O'Connor told the story to James DiEugenio in 1991: (page 302 of the second edition of Destiny Betrayed) When this author interviewed the late Paul O'Connor, who was at the autopsy that night, he related an unforgettable story. He said that there were dozens of military brass in the gallery, the likes of which he had never seen. Someone was smoking a cigar. Dr. Humes called him over and said, "Please go tell this man to stop smoking." O'Connor went over, and as he approached him, he saw it was LeMay. Needless to say, he was not going to tell the Air Force Chief to stop anything. And here is how Douglas Horne tells the story from Volume 2 of his book, Inside the Assassination Records Review Board: The story got better from time to time. LeMay was there. He had a cigar in his hand. He was smoking it. Humes instructed O'Connor to get it put out, but O'Connor couldn't tell a general what to do. O'Connor did instruct LeMay, who then blew smoke in his face. It won't be long until this story morphs into an exploding cigar! But wait, there's more! Harrison Livingstone held a press conference on May 19, 1992 to discuss the medical evidence. He wrote an article in Dateline Dallas of Summer/Fall 1992: JAMA {Journal of the American Medical Association], claiming to have interviewed the autopsy doctors, quoted them as ridiculing the idea that generals and admirals were present at the autopsy. In fact, the Assassinations Committee published a list of numerous flag officers present, and some of these men who assisted at the autopsy told the story at my press conference a week after JAMA's that General Curtis LeMay and "the entire Joint Chiefs were there." In fact, that is the most reasonable assumption, because enlisted men certainly would not have filled up the large gallery viewing the autopsy. Paul O'Connor was quoted in the Dealey Plaza Echo in November, 2004: Yes, it was funny. He was smoking a big cigar without his dress blouse on and Humes told me to go tell him to put that damned thing out in 'his' morgue. So I went up to him, saw who it was and beat a hasty retreat. I told Humes who it was and he turned white as a sheet. That was the funniest thing that happened that terrible night. What is most telling about that article is this O'Connor statement: Kim, there were a lot of strange things that happened that night -- that's why I can recall quite a few things that other people have forgotten -- or lied about! And here is what Paul O'Connor told Bill Kelly: I talked to Paul about that, over a beer at the hotel bar in Dallas and then again on the phone at length. Paul said he remembers a four star general in the room with a cigar, and one of the doctors telling an aide to have whoever is smoking a cigar removed from the room, but when told who it was negated that order. Paul was suspicious that it was LeMay but wasn't sure. He wasn't sure? In fact, there is absolutely no corroborative evidence that General Curtis LeMay was at JFK's autopsy. Sibert and O'Neill's FBI report listed the attendees at the autopsy, and General LeMay is not on the list: In addition, William Matson Law interviewed Francis O'Neill for his book: Law: I've been told that there were officers of high rank in the autopsy room that night. Is that true? O'Neill: There was the commanding officer of the hospital. There was a rear admiral. There was General Godfrey McHugh, who was on the airplane with Kennedy and was his military attaché; he was a one-star general. And there was a Major General Wehle who tried to enter and I kicked him out and he came back in and told me he was there to get another casket because the other one was broken. There was no one else. The HSCA also listed the people at the autopsy and General LeMay was not on their list. Dr. Humes was asked about this in 1996 during his deposition with the ARRB, and Douglas Horne was present: Dr. Boswell was also asked about the Joint Chiefs of Staff: So, was Paul O'Connor a credible witness? In his first interview with the HSCA, he said nothing about General LeMay. He also said several things which were unusual. For instance, he maintained that JFK was in a body bag when the casket arrived: But other witnesses said JFK was not in a body bag. Sibert and O'Neill's FBI report says that Kennedy was wrapped in a sheet: Dr. Humes also took exception to the idea of a body bag: O'Connor also told the HSCA that JFK's brain was gone: In fact, JFK's brain was removed by the autopsy doctors and was photographed by John Stringer. Vincent Bugliosi spoke to Stringer in September of 2000: (page 1,069 in Reclaiming History) Dr. Humes took the brain out of the president's head and put it in a jar of formalin. I personally saw this. I don't know how anyone could say that the president had no brain, except for money. O'Connor's HSCA interview also indicated that he had some difficult moments after the autopsy: Of course, the Bay of Pigs invasion took place in 1961. Might there be some connection between O'Connor's faulty memory and his emotional issues after the autopsy? And have a look at Paul O'Connor's claim about the back wound of Kennedy. It's an implausibly precise recollection of details. Supposedly Humes or Boswell told O'Connor to leave the autopsy room while they took x-rays of the body. O'Connor "recalls that Jenkins or someone else told him that the doctors have " ... found a fragment of a bullet lodged in the intercostal muscle on the right rear side ..." of the President's body. Of course, James Jenkins said nothing of the kind during his HSCA interview. Here is a diagram O'Connor prepared for William Matson Law's book: Here is a comment from his interview with Law about the back wound: Now, I had this picture made at the University of Florida showing his back wound and this is exactly what happened (photo 10). The bullet struck him in the back as shown in the previous photograph. It passed through the outer layer of muscle and through the inner layer of muscle between the vertebrae. These are the intercostal muscles and they connect the spinal column together. This bullet came in, arched downward, and bulged against what they called the pleural cavity, which is a protective cavity around both lungs. It did not penetrate that lung area. It just bruised it real badly. I had it highlighted showing there was bruising on the right lung. The back of the right lung was bruised, but wasn’t torn. It was bruised badly enough to hemorrhage in the tissues, but not enough to tear the lung or the cavity. As I said before, during the X-ray procedure after the photographs were taken, X-ray technician Jerrol Custer was turning the body over and this bullet or bullet fragment fell out on the table and was retrieved. I didn’t see that because I was out of the room when they were taking X-rays. Of course, Jerrol Custer did not tell the ARRB about any of this. The issue of memory is an important one throughout the JFK assassination controversy, And it's an issue that JFK: Destiny Betrayed is determined to avoid. In particular, the ARRB thought that the memory of the medical witnesses was important enough to comment on: The deposition transcripts and other medical evidence that were released by the Review Board should be evaluated cautiously by the public. Often the witnesses contradict not only each other, but sometimes themselves. For events that transpired almost 35 years ago, all persons are likely to have failures of memory. It would be more prudent to weigh all of the evidence, with due concern for human error, rather than take single statements as "proof" for one theory or another. Jeremy Gunn, General Counsel of the ARRB, addressed the issue of memory in a talk at Stanford University: The last thing I wanted to mention, just in terms of how we understand the evidence and how we deal with what we have, is what I will call is the profound - underscore profound - unreliability of eyewitness testimony. You just cannot believe it. And I can tell you something else that is even worse than eyewitness testimony and that is 35 year old eyewitness testimony. And even Paul O'Connor understood the issue of memory. He was interviewed in 1990 by Harrison Livingstone for his book High Treason 2 and he said nothing about LeMay. But he did say that JFK was in a body bag when the casket arrived at Bethesda: (page 268) Yeah. We opened it up, unzipped the body bag. Which is another thing everybody is going crazy about, too. The body bag. Seems like I'm the only one who remembers that. They brought him in and opened his body bag. He was nude except for a bed sheet wrapped around his head. Which was totally soaked with blood. Yes, he is the only one who remembers it that way. Livingstone tried hard to get O'Connor to recant his belief about the body bag, and here is what O'Connor said: (page 272) You know something, it could, because I thought I remember him being in it and having him zipped in it, but sure -- to my mind -- it was. But it has been so many years and so much has happened, I kind of doubt my own ability to remember the fine details. And here is what David Lifton had to say on the Education Forum: I am certain Paul O'Connor told the truth when I interviewed him in August, 1979. At that time, he told me three things about the JFK autopsy: 1) The body arrived in a shipping casket 2) Inside the casket, the body was inside a body bag 3) The cranium was empty. He noted that: Harry Livingstone once tried to twist O'Connor's words around, and attempt to misrepresent what he experienced that night, and what he said about it. After that experience, O'Connor and I had a phone conversation, in which he expressed his own dismay at Livingstone's antics. He remembered exactly how it was, and repeated it all over again—the same basic facts--just as described in the HSCA document, and as related to me in August 1979, on the phone; and then again on camera in October 1980. Paul O'Connor is a truth teller. It is others who are attempting to twist his account around, and pretend it is all false. It is they, not O'Connor, who are promoting an urban legend. Here is what is extremely relevant: ABOUT THE "Later" Interviews of O'Connor: I caution anyone reading these posts to tread carefully in evaluating what O'Connor says in these later interviews because, by that time, he was no longer in the mode of genuinely recollecting, for the first time, what resided in his memory; but rather, was repeating--again and again--what he had already said before, and also, and perhaps more important--was reading various books on the assassination. On this point: I know for a fact--from speaking directly to Paul in 1990-1992--that Harrison Livingstone was calling him up and attempting to talk him out of the fact that the body arrived in a body bag. Another person engaged in that sort of behavior was James Jenkins, who was trying to tell him that there really was a brain, and that he removed it (when Jenkins had said completely different things to me, when I interviewed him in 1979, and then on camera in 1980). So "beware," is all that I'm saying. 'Beware' is also good advice when it comes to JFK: Destiny Betrayed. Update David Lifton had more to say about the allegation that LeMay was at JFK's autopsy: Thank You: Paul Hoch provided important research for this blog post. Larry Happanen improved the blog post with relevant feedback. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on JFK: Destiny Betrayed "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on General Curtis LeMay, Part One Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, claims that General Curtis LeMay was ordered by General Zuckert to land at Andrews Air Force Base from his holiday in Canada, and that LeMay then decided to go to National Airport. That is not what happened. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on JFK's Head Wound, Part Three Oliver Stone's so-called documentary, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers on the opinions of Parkland Hospital doctors and Bethesda witnesses regarding JFK's head wound. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on David Ferrie and the CIA Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, erroneously claims that David Ferrie was an asset of the CIA and that he also flew missions for the CIA. This is simply not true. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Israel and Nuclear Weapons Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, makes it appear that Israel was about to use nuclear weapons in the 1973 Yom Kippur war. A key important fact was left out. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Dr. Charles Crenshaw Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, features Dr. Charles Crenshaw to bolster its claim that President Kennedy was shot from the front. Viewers are not informed of Dr. Crenshaw's credibility problems "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on the Harper Fragment Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers into thinking the Harper fragment was occipital bone that came from the back of Kennedy's head "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on JFK's Head Wound, Part Two Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, tries to make the case that because Parkland Hospital doctors saw cerebellum extruding from Kennedy's head wound, that it indicated an exit wound. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on JFK's Head Wound, Part One Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series JFK: Destiny Betrayed uses a variety of supposed witnesses to allege that the wound in the back of Kennedy's head was one of exit. Audrey Bell is one such witness and she doesn't have much credibility. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Jack Ruby Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers on the motivations of Jack Ruby. The Enabling of Oliver Stone An essay on the intellectual monstrosity of JFK: Destiny Betrayed. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Otto Otepka Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers into believing that Otto Otepka uncovered evidence that Oswald was a fake defector. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads by Claiming Jack Ruby was Signaled Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, alleges that Jack Ruby was signaled by car horns in the basement of the Dallas Police Department. The evidence clearly shows that there were many horns being sounded in the basement. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Supposed Extra Bullet, Part Two Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers by intimating that that there was a through-and-through hole in the windshield. This is simply not true. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Oswald's Income Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, makes the erroneous claim that Lee Harvey Oswald was not paid for his last quarter of service in the U.S. Marines. Oliver Stone Disses the Sixth Floor Museum JFK: Destiny Betrayed needlessly, and unfairly, criticizes the Sixth Floor Museum. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Supposed Extra Bullet Oliver Stone's so-called documentary series, JFK: Destiny Betrayed, alleges that an extra bullet was found in JFK's limousine the evening of the assassination. This is just not true. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on CIA Involvement in Plot against de Gaulle JFK: Destiny Betrayed alleges the CIA was involved in an assassination plot against French President Charles de Gaulle. Scenes from a fictional film are used to buttress the allegation. The truth - the CIA had nothing to do with the supposed plot. "JFK: Destiny Betrayed" Misleads on Allen Dulles and the Warren Commission The evidence is clear - Robert Kennedy wanted Allen Dulles on the Warren Commission. What Ever Happened to Jim Garrison? Jim Garrison is AWOL in Oliver Stone's so-called documentary JFK: Destiny Betrayed. Previous Relevant Blog Posts on JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass Oliver Stone Admits "JFK Revisited" is a Flop Oliver Stone is disappointed that no major movie or TV reviewers have commented on his so-called documentary. Oliver Stone Claims the Zapruder Film was Altered Yes, Oliver Stone is an alterationist. "Guilt by Orientation" - The CIA Strikes Again! James Kirchick's terrific article on Oliver Stone and homosexuality. Is the JFK assassination linked to 9/11 and Covid-19? Just when I thought conspiracy theorists couldn't get any crazier. Two Important Posts Debunk "JFK Revisited" Tracy Parnell debunks a series about JFK Revisited on the WhoWhatWhy website, and Andrew Jackson debunks the film on Quora. Both articles are well worth your time. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Autopsy Photographs of JFK, Part Two Did Saundra Spencer really develop a completely different set of autopsy photographs? "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Autopsy Photographs of JFK Oliver Stone's so-called documentary tries to make the case that a White House photographer took photos at the autopsy. The only problem is that there is no evidence he was actually there. Oliver Stone Pulls the Wool Over Joe Rogan's Eyes, Part Two Stone misspeaks on the Joe Rogan show about JFK's brain. Oliver Stone Pulls the Wool over Joe Rogan's Eyes Stone misspeaks on the Joe Rogan show and I present a challenge to conspiracy theorists. Jefferson Morley and "JFK Revisited" Tracy Parnell dissects Morley's article on JFK assassination documents and "JFK Revisited" "JFK Revisited" Misleads by Putting Words in Kennedy's Mouth, Part Two Did President Kennedy actually say that he was going to shatter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the wind? "JFK Revisited" Misleads by Putting Words in Kennedy's Mouth... David Talbot claims that JFK told the French Ambassador that he was not in full control of his entire government. There is no evidence he ever said that. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Supposed CIA Support of the 1961 Coup Attempt in France Oliver Stone's so-called documentary claims the CIA supported the 1961 coup attempt against French President Charles de Gaulle in 1961. The only thing missing is evidence. Max Boot on Oliver Stone's Lies Max Boot: Oliver Stone just can't stop spreading lies about JFK's assassination. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Valery Giscard D'Estaing Did Gerald Ford really disclose to French President Valery Giscard D'Estaing that the JFK assassination was a conspiracy? Perhaps not. "JFK Revisited" Star Believes in a Massive COVID Conspiracy Robert Kennedy, Jr. believes in a massive conspiracy regarding Covid and the intelligence agencies. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Kennedy's Back Wound While Gerald Ford edited some language in the Warren Report, he did not change the location of the back wound. Autopsy photographs show exactly the location of the back wound. "JFK Revisited" alleges Oswald was "placed" Oliver Stone's so-called documentary alleges that Oswald was "moved" to Dallas and "placed" in the Texas School Book Depository. This is totally ridiculous. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on JFK's Throat Wound The preponderance of the evidence indicates JFK's throat wound was one of exit. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Supposed Chicago Plot There is no evidence that there was actually a plot against JFK in Chicago. Was James Gochenaur a Credible Witness in "JFK Revisited"? Gochenaur's writings don't back up his allegations in JFK Revisited. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on Guy Banister Oliver Stone's so-called documentary claims that Guy Banister gave Oswald a room at 544 Camp Street. The evidence does not support the allegation. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on JFK's Brain, Again... Dr. Robert Kirschner's consultation with the ARRB explains a mystery in the documentary. "JFK Revisited" Misleads on the Weight of JFK's Brain JFK Revisited makes a big deal about the weight of JFK's brain and ignores a non-conspiratorial explanation. JFK Revisited Distorts John Stringer's Testimony Oliver Stone's so-called documentary makes it sound like the autopsy photographer said that he did not take the photos of JFK's brain that are in the current inventory, JFK Revisited Lays an Egg Oliver Stone took to Twitter last weekend to bemoan the fact that the mainstream press is ignoring his so-called documentary, JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Oliver Stone with "JFK Revisited" Crucifies Clay Shaw Once Again There is something really obscene about Oliver Stone once again going after Clay Shaw. JFK Revisited Doesn't Tell the Whole Truth about John Connally You won't learn everything you need to know about Connally's position on the shots from Oliver Stone's so-called documentary. JFK Revisited Uses Marina Porter to Mislead Viewers Oliver Stone tries to make it seem like Marina Porter has denied taking the backyard photographs of Lee Harvey Oswald. JFK Revisited: Were the Oswald Backyard Photographs Faked? Oliver Stone once again raises the issue of the legitimacy of the backyard photographs of Lee Harvey Oswald. JFK Revisited: Was Clay Shaw the elusive Clay Bertrand? This post debunks every witness that has ever claimed Shaw was Bertrand. Oliver Stone's Poverty of Imagination He cannot imagine any sort of non-conspiratorial explanations for any of the suspicious pieces of evidence in his film. Was Clay Shaw a "Contract Agent" for the CIA? No, Clay Shaw was not a "contract agent." Steve Roe Blog Posts on JFK Revisited & JFK: Destiny Betrayed Oswald's Marine Corps 3rd Quarter Pay False Mystery Oswald was paid by the Marine Corps, not ONI, CIA or any other Intelligence agency. Cartoonists Oliver Stone and James DiEugenio try to Dupe the Public about Dr. Malcolm Perry JFK: Destiny Betrayed doesn't tell the whole truth about Dr. Malcolm Perry. Oliver Stone's JFK: Destiny Betrayed Film Never Checked the Facts Steve Roe finds additional evidence that debunks the allegation in JFK: Destiny Betrayed that Oswald not paid by the Marines for the 3rd quarter of 1959. Oliver Stone Disses the Sixth Floor Museum Stone and DiEugenio falsely accuse the Sixth Floor Museum as openly promoting Oswald as the Assassin. Oliver Stone's JFK Revisited Screenwriter Reprimanded by ARRB in 1998 An exchange of letters between James DiEugenio and Jeremy Gunn of the ARRB. Is This How Real Documentaries Are Made? There is some 'interesting' editing in Oliver Stone's so-called documentary. JFK Revisited Screen Writer Crawfishes on Dallas to Chicago Airmail Overnight Delivery James DiEugenio changes his story on the Klein's money order. Debunking Another JFK Myth - Overnight Mail from Dallas to Chicago Conspiracy theorist James DiEugenio doesn't understand the history of the mail deliver in the United States. JFK Revisited: More Deception and Half-Truths The truth about Jack Ruby and the FBI. JFK Revisited: Again, Caught Creating False Mysteries "Stone/DiEugenio hatch another Bogus Mystery with Sinister Strap/Sling Mounts on Oswald's Rifle" JFK Revisited: Tripping on the Stairs Oliver Stone claims that Oswald could not have been in the sniper's nest on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Steve Roe exposes Stone's mistakes. Oliver Stone doubles-down on the Looney Frontal Shot to the President In an interview on RT [Russia Today], Oliver Stone says that the throat wound might have been made by a flechette. Oliver Stone - Deceptive Filmmaker? Steve Roe presents some examples of Oliver Stone's 'creative' abilities. A Look at the "JFK Revisited: Through The Looking Glass" Film by Oliver Stone Oliver Stone distorts the testimony about Oswald's palmprint on the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle.

First-generation researcher Paul Hoch shows off the latest conspiracy tchotchke - a "Hands Off Cuba" coffee mug: You can purchase these coffee mugs here. They have a whole line of products: Why was Paul Hoch showing off his new purchase? Largely because of his important work in this blog post about the usage, or should I say non-usage, of 544 Camp Street on Oswald's handbills in New Orleans. We are still waiting for an explanation from Oliver Stone and James DiEugenio as to why they used a fake handbill in JFK: Destiny Betrayed. Don't miss the Viewer's Guide to JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Over the past several months, I have shown in multiple blog posts how Oliver Stone's documentary series, JFK Revisited and JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers. In fact, despite months of work, there are still many more misleading segments that need to be addressed. It's no wonder that the fact checkers of Netflix nixed the airing of the films. There is a choice between four hours of tendentious nonsense (JFK: Destiny Betrayed) and two hours (JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass). As a handy guide for viewers, here are all those posts in order of their appearance in JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, preceded by some general critiques

Jim Garrison writes in his book, On The Trail of The Assassins, that David Ferrie was brought to his office for questioning upon his return to New Orleans. "And the more he talked, the less his story held together. For example, when I asked him the reason for his departure from New Orleans only one hour following the assassination, he responded that he had driven to Houston to go ice skating. When I asked him why he had chosen one of the heaviest thunderstorms in many years as the occasion for his ice skating trip, he had no adequate reply." The first part of that paragraph is just plain wrong. Ferrie and his friends did not leave just after the assassination. Ferrie was in court that day, and the verdict only came in at 3:15 PM. Ferrie then attended an "impromptu victory party at the Royal Orleans Hotel," and at 4:30 PM picked up Al Beauboeuf to start the trip. The story about the bad weather was repeated in the film JFK during a very early scene (page 22 in the screenplay): Jim Garrison: Dave, may I ask why the urge to go ice skating in Texas happened to strike you during one of the most violent thunderstorms in recent memory? David Ferrie: Oh, it was just a spur of the moment thing ... the storm wasn't that bad. At the end of the scene, Garrison tells Ferrie that "I find your story simply not believable." I doubt that's true - I can't find any direct evidence that Ferrie was questioned by Garrison. The police report shows that Ferrie was questioned by Assistant District Attorney Frank Klein and police officer Raymond Comstock: This doesn't preclude the possibility that Garrison later questioned Ferrie - I just haven't seen any documentation to support that it happened. If anybody has some documentation, please let me know. But, was the weather that bad? Researcher Stephen Roy did some research which shows the weather wasn't that bad: In 1963, the US Weather Bureau kept records of local climatological data from such locations as Moisant Airport and Houston International Airport. The hourly precipitation report at New Orleans was as follows: 4-5pm Fog, thunder 5-6pm Light rain shower, .04 6-7pm Light rain shower, .03 7-8pm no precipitation 8-9pm Thunder, .02 9-10pm Light rain shower .49 10-11pm Light rain shower .12 The New Orleans reports from Moisant Airport showed that the 8-9pm thunderstorm was not unusually severe. The hourly precipitation report at Houston showed light rain showers during the 9pm-5am period. At shortly after 9:00pm, when Ferrie, Beauboeuf and Coffey said they left the New Orleans area, the thunderstorm had ended and turned to light rain, a condition that prevailed all along the route to Houston. Beauboeuf recently confirmed that the weather was rainy. When Al Beauboeuf and Mel Coffey were questioned by Garrison's Assistant District Attorneys in late 1966 and early 1967, they were both not asked about the weather. When I talked with Beauboeuf, he felt the controversy was just plain silly. He told me that Ferrie would always fly into thunderstorms rather than fly around them. To think that a thunderstorm would stop Ferrie from driving, he said, was just ridiculous. Update Here is an early article about the New Orleans investigation in which Garrison gave an entirely different reason why he was suspicious of this trip: So, Ferrie drove instead of fly because of the weather. But why take a trip when he should have been at home watching television.

This week, I received my Kindle version of James DiEugenio's book, JFK Revisited, which contains annotated transcripts of the two versions of Oliver Stone's documentary. The citation about the segment on David Ferrie in the book is quite something. It leads to a Colonel William Bishop, who was quite the fabulist. Using a ridiculous conspiracy book to prop up the JFK Revisited documentary is not a good look. I am also astonished by his laziness in putting together the citations - he neglected to put in hot links to articles and documents. Even worse, most of his citations are to other conspiracy books. For instance, here is his note on the segment (55:30 in Episode 2 of JFK: Destiny Betrayed) regarding the Katzenbach memo: (page 177) Hoover's memo to LBJ is written about by reporter Alex Johnson in an NBC news report of October 26, 2017. The tape and transcript of Hoover saying the case against Oswald is not that strong is at history-matters.com titled "LBJ-Hoover 11-22-63." The memorandum by Katzenbach is at the Mary Ferrell Foundation website, labeled simply "Katzenbach Memo." The link to history-matters.com just goes to the web site and not the actual document. He could have easily put in a link to the Katzenbach memo, as I did in my post on this section of the documentary. In episode four, JFK: Destiny Betrayed presents a segment on David Ferrie: (10:14) Whoopi Goldberg: In the spring of 1963, Oswald moved from Dallas back to his home town of New Orleans, where he began associating with men who, it would be revealed, had clear connections with these government efforts. One of these men, David Ferrie, had been with Oswald in the Civil Air Patrol back in 1955, and was known as an extreme anti-communist. He was also a trainer and a pilot for the CIA in its secret war against Cuba. Oswald was involved with these Cuban exile training activities with Ferrie. You can read my post on this segment here. The notation regarding the segment caught my eye: (page 226) The relationship of David Ferrie in the CAP with Oswald, and Ferrie’s anti-Castro activities are dealt with in William Davy’s Let Justice Be Done, pp 3–10, 25–33; information about Oswald being at the training camp is on p. 30; that information is also noted in Dick Russell’s book The Man Who Knew Too Much (p. 329). Ferrie’s activities are sketched in Deadly Secrets by Warren Hinckle and William Turner (pp. 232–33). Ferrie’s life and career is also written about in HSCA, vol. 10 (pp. 105–114). Once again, no link to the HSCA volume and not even Amazon links to the conspiracy books that he cites. Besides the HSCA, primary sources are not cited. I am quite familiar with the Davy and Turner books, but I needed to check the citation in the Dick Russell book. The excerpt from page 329 quotes a Colonel William C Bishop: "In many instances, what I picked up was after the fact. I did look into Oswald's background. I'd never met him, but I'd seen him in a training film in New Orleans the past summer. He just happened to be in the group out there at the Pontchartrain camp." So, who is this Colonel William C. Bishop? He was a contact of Robert D. Morrow, an author of two books claiming that he had inside knowledge of the JFK assassination. His first book, Betrayal, claimed that Jack Ruby, Eladio del Valle, Guy Banister, David Ferrie and Clay Shaw organized a plot to kill John F. Kennedy. Morrow claimed that he was the man who bought the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle that killed JFK. Here is a review of his book, First Hand Knowledge, by Ulric Shannon. Shannon notes: Another example is Morrow's stated knowledge of a man named John O'Hare, whom Morrow describes as a CIA mercenary. Morrow tells of interviewing him in 1983, and states that O'Hare died in Cleburne, Texas, in 1992. Yet O'Hare's death certificate, which is reproduced in the appendices of First Hand Knowledge ostensibly to support Morrow's claim, indicates that O'Hare died on March 23, 1975, in Orange County, Florida. When I confronted Morrow with this discrepancy, he stated: Well, that's a different John--that--John O'Hare, is, I think, the same guy. But then, of course, they all faked their deaths. He was told to go underground and they buried a Cuban in his place. Again, this is another "fact" Morrow failed to bring out in First Hand Knowledge. Morrow also told me that O'Hare used the name Bill Bishop and was known as Oscar The Assassin. Yet, in First Hand Knowledge, Morrow had those monikers belonging to Eladio del Valle. Again, Morrow does not seem to be very familiar with his alleged accomplices. We will get back to John O'Hare in a few minutes. Was Robert Morrow really in the CIA? Here is one document about Robert D. Morrow: Here is another memo: Morrow was interviewed by the staff of the Church Committee: Morrow does like to throw around names - Frank Sturgis, Carlos Bringuier, Clay Shaw, David Ferrie and Jack Ruby. This alone violates Paul Hoch's rule about evaluating witnesses. I suspect that a useful measure of the plausibility of an allegation could be derived from the percentage of well-known names. If a source claims to have met with David Ferrie, Allen Dulles, and Fidel Castro in Jack Ruby's nightclub, I'll go on to the next document. In fact, there was a small training camp across from Lake Pontchartrain in the summer of 1963: (page 166 of On The Trail of Delusion) In the summer of 1963, about twenty anti-Castro Cubans trained at a small camp. There were only a couple of rifles to practice assembly and disassembly, and no actual shooting occurred. Food was scarce, the men complained bitterly, and after a little more than a month, the Cubans were all sent back to Miami. Time to get back to the story. According to Russell, Morrow met a man in the early 1960s who had the 'war name' of Oscar del Valle Garcia. His true name was Bill Bishop, and he called Morrow up in 1983 because he was dying of terminal cancer, and "wanted to set the record straight." Supposedly Morrow flew to Cleburne, Texas, and interviewed Bishop. Bishop's terminal cancer wasn't that terminal and in 1990 Russell received Morrow's file on Bishop and then went to researcher Gary Shaw's house to actually meet him. Bishop told Russell the following: He was assigned by the CIA to assassinate Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo. He knew Richard Case Nagell and said that Nagell was under CIA contract. Bishop said he served as a case officer for Antonio Veciana. In 1992, Gary Shaw played a portion of a tape in which Bishop claimed he participated in the CIA's MK-ULTRA program. (page 681 in the first edition of Russell's The Man Who Knew Too Much) "That was how, after the Korean War, I got involved with the CIA," Bishop said. "I have been subjected to every known type of drug. The medical doctors connected with the agency found that certain drugs work quite well in conjunction with hypnosis -- hypnotic power of suggestion -- with some subjects. It did with me. I speak with absolute certainty and knowledge and experience that this is not only possible, but did and is taking place today." The talkative Bishop had more to say. Robert D. Morrow's script for a one-hour documentary on the assassination had these allegations from Bishop: That William Bishop was the CIA link between Oswald and Antonio Veciana. Bishop said he was the "CIA man selected to personally report to President Kennedy on all matters pertaining to Cuba." Bishop claimed he gave Kennedy proof of missiles in Cuba in March 1962. Rolando Masferrer told Bishop that Veciana's Alpha 66 group carried out the JFK assassination. Bishop personally met with Jack Ruby several times and that Ruby was a gun runner for Alpha 66. Bishop claimed he met Clay Shaw in 1967 as Clay Bertram. Bishop said that he flew with David Ferrie into Cuba on the night of the Bay of Pigs. Former CIA Director William Colby told Bishop to go underground during the Church Committee. Bishop told Morrow, off the record, that he killed Jimmy Hoffa. Bishop claimed to be at Parkland Hospital when JFK was brought in after the assassination. Concluding the script, Morrow wrote that "Bishop seems to be the most likely candidate to have engineered the President's death." Can this get any sillier? Why, yes it can! Noel Twyman used the revelation of William Bishop in his 1997 book, Bloody Treason. Here is a page from his picture section, which alleges that Bishop was also John Adrian O'Hare: Washington attorney Bernard Fensterwald lifted fingerprints belonging to Bishop from a drinking glass and discovered that they matched the fingerprints of O'Hare. Really? I couldn't find much on John Adrian O'Hare. But I did find a front-page story from the Daytona Beach Morning Journal of May 10, 1976: You can download the rest of the article. Here is a short excerpt from the second half: This all seems to like an elaborate scam. Here is John Adrian O'Hare's obituary: Orlando Sentinel, March 25, 1975 Bernard Fensterwald hired a private investigator to look into Mr. O'Hare. I have not had the time to read this report. Was O'Hare Bishop? I doubt it. So, was William Bishop part of the CIA? Robert Blakey asked in 1978: Here is a document from 1970: I guess the calls continued: Now, William Bishop did have some ties to Rolando Masferrer: "Bishop impressed the group as being a psycho, and no one would take orders from him." William Bishop was also known as Clarence Ward Bishop. I found this about Clarence Ward Bishop: Tallahassee Democrat, September 26, 1963 So, to make a long story short, Colonel William Bishop is James DiEugenio's source that Lee Harvey Oswald attended an anti-Castro Cuban training camp in 1963. Well, guess what? When Playboy Magazine was publishing James McKinley's history of political assassination in America in 1976, they were contacted by Morrow who showed them the supposed film of Oswald at the training camp: Not surprisingly, "Morrow's film showed no one who looked remotely like Oswald." I am sure that in reply DiEugenio will just say, well, I also sourced Davy's claim (page 30) that Robert Tanenbaum saw such a video at Georgetown University. David Phillips, Lee Harvey Oswald, Antonio Veciana, and Guy Banister were supposedly in the video (see page 116 in Destiny Betrayed, and page 48 in Joan Mellen's A Farewell to Justice) Of course, James DiEugenio loves to cite non-existent evidence. DiEugenio Sources Non-Existent Evidence DiEugenio likes to source documents that are either missing or were never in existence. He says he did get some of “the late Jim Rose’s documents about Crisman and Beckham,” and criticizes me for not seeing these documents. Yet, he won’t tell us what was in those documents, and, of course, he won’t publish any. He writes that “Bob Tanenbaum saw documents from Helms’ office that directed Garrison’s witnesses to be surveilled and harassed. Which they were.” Unfortunately, Tanenbaum says those documents cannot be found. DiEugenio then claims that Richard Case Nagell “told Garrison’s representative, William Martin, that he had an audiotape of four men in New Orleans talking about an assassination plot against Kennedy. He named one of them as Arcacha; he would only describe another of the men as “Q”. Which would strongly denote Quiroga.” Again, this tape has never surfaced, and yet that is enough for DiEugenio to convict both Arcacha Smith and Carlos Quiroga. James DiEugenio is seriously auditioning to become the Marjorie Taylor Greene of JFK conspiracy theorists – Garrison is his “Q.” The only difference is that DiEugenio lacks Greene’s charm. DiEugenio says that the “HSCA learned that the Dallas Police had found diagrams of the sewer system under Dealey Plaza in Arcacha Smith’s apartment after the assassination.” This is not true. Francis Fruge, a Louisiana State police officer, heard that Captain Will Fritz of the Dallas Police might have been told that…but he wasn’t too sure. DiEugenio also believes the story that David Ferrie had a map of Dealey Plaza in his desk at G. Wray Gill’s office. Here is the complete story of DiEugenio’s allegations against Sergio Arcacha Smith. I wrote about this to my friend, and fellow researcher, Tracy Parnell, (don't miss his publication-in-progress e-book on Veciana’s Bishop, The Bishop Hoax) and he had this to say about William Bishop: Of course, Bishop's wilder claims need no debunking; they are clearly nonsense. But I found no evidence that Bishop was Veciana's Bishop. He seems to be just a blowhard who learned a few facts and created his own little false history. Just like Mr. DiEugenio, who is also creating his own false history. Here is the grave location for Colonel William Bishop: His stories about the JFK assassination should have been buried with him rather than being dug up by James DiEugenio. Update Here is an interesting document from 1961 on Bishop: On the past page of the document, they note: Don't miss the Viewer's Guide to JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Over the past several months, I have shown in multiple blog posts how Oliver Stone's documentary series, JFK Revisited and JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers. In fact, despite months of work, there are still many more misleading segments that need to be addressed. It's no wonder that the fact checkers of Netflix nixed the airing of the films. There is a choice between four hours of tendentious nonsense (JFK: Destiny Betrayed) and two hours (JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass). As a handy guide for viewers, here are all those posts in order of their appearance in JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, preceded by some general critiques

Over the past couple of days there has been a small debate at the Education Forum about the anti-Castro training camps north of Lake Pontchartrain in the summer of 1963. James DiEugenio said this today: But there were reports of another camp later on that summer/fall in Tangipahoa Parish, north of New Orleans, at a swampy area of Bedico Creek. (DiEugenio, Destiny Betrayed, second edition, p. 116) And there were reports that Ferrie and Oswald were seen there. Reports? I had not heard of a training camp at Bedico Creek. I went to DiEugenio's Destiny Betrayed and found this passage: (page 115) According to historian Michael Kurtz, there was a sighting of Ferrie, the Cubans and Oswald at another camp in early September of 1963. They were dressed in military fatigues and carrying automatic rifles. They were conducting what looked like a military maneuver. This episode took place in a swampy area of Bedico Creek, which in 1963, was an undeveloped area with an inland body of water in Tangipahoa Parish, about fifty miles north of New Orleans. His citation was Michael Kurtz, Crime of the Century (Knoxville, University of Tennessee Press, 1982) p. 203 I then went to Kurtz's Crime of the Century and found this: One of the most significant eyewitness observations was of Ferrie, Oswald, and numerous Cubans, all dressed in military fatigues and carrying automatic rifles, conducting what appeared to be a "military training maneuver." This event took place near Bedico Creek, a swampy inland body of water near Lake Pontchartrain, about fifty miles north of New Orleans. This occurred in early September 1963, two months after the final government raid on anti-Castro guerilla camps in the United States. His citation was "Author's interview, George Wilcox, 9 Sept, 1979." This is all Kurtz says about the mysterious Mr. Wilcox. In his most recent book, The JFK Assassination Debates, Kurtz does not even list Wilcox in his list of personal interviews, despite the fact that he mentions Oswald being at Bedico Creek: Michael Kurtz has donated his papers to Southeastern Louisiana University. There is no mention of transcripts or tapes of any of his interviews, let alone George Wilcox. This seems like a very dubious citation. And it's not the first time that Michael Kurtz has made dubious claims. Researcher Pat Speer noticed the issue regarding George Wilcox, and other such witnesses, and concluded: It is with deep regret, moreover, that I must admit that my number one suspect for telling deliberate falsehoods is not a single-assassin theorist, or even a far-out conspiracy theorist, as one might expect, but Dr. Michael Kurtz, one of the few historians to write on the case, and someone whose work has routinely been cited by other writers on the case. What I find astounding is that James DiEugenio accepts this story about Oswald and Ferrie, hook, line, and sinker. No skepticism from him. I hope that Mr. DiEugenio can find the time to explain why this anecdote should be accepted as fact. Previous Blog Posts on the Scholarship of James DiEugenio Anatomy of a James DiEugenio Citation Was Lee Harvey Oswald at an anti-Castro training camp in the summer of 1963? Anatomy of a James DiEugenio Citation, Part Two Was David Ferrie at an anti-Castro training camp in the summer of 1963? Fact Checking James DiEugenio, Part Two Bill Boxley was not a CIA plant. Fact Checking James DiEugenio Clay Shaw was not Clay Bertrand. Fred Litwin's Follies! A response to James DiEugenio about my writings. James DiEugenio's Lame Excuses for Fletcher Prouty Prouty couldn't back up any of his allegations when he was interviewed by the ARRB. You wouldn't believe the lame excuse offered up by DiEugenio. James DiEugenio's Lame Excuse for Oliver Stone Why does Oliver Stone support so many dictators? James DiEugenio Gets it all Wrong on Permindex/CMC DiEugenio has no understanding of Permindex/CMC The Scholarship of James DiEugenio - A Case Study DiEugenio gets it all wrong on the Mannlicher-Carcano The Scholarship of James DiEugenio, Part Two The conclusion on the Mannlicher-Carcano The Scholarship of James DiEugenio Over the past ten months, I have debunked every witness cited by DiEugenio regarding Clay Shaw and David Ferrie. Don't miss the Viewer's Guide to JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Over the past several months, I have shown in multiple blog posts how Oliver Stone's documentary series, JFK Revisited and JFK: Destiny Betrayed, misleads viewers. In fact, despite months of work, there are still many more misleading segments that need to be addressed. It's no wonder that the fact checkers of Netflix nixed the airing of the films. There is a choice between four hours of tendentious nonsense (JFK: Destiny Betrayed) and two hours (JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass). As a handy guide for viewers, here are all those posts in order of their appearance in JFK: Destiny Betrayed and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass, preceded by some general critiques

My last blog post looked at James DiEugenio's citation that Lee Harvey Oswald was at an anti-Castro Cuban training camp in the summer of 1963. The training camp was mentioned in this citation: The relationship of David Ferrie in the CAP with Oswald, and Ferrie’s anti-Castro activities are dealt with in William Davy’s Let Justice Be Done, pp 3–10, 25–33; information about Oswald being at the training camp is on p. 30; that information is also noted in Dick Russell’s book The Man Who Knew Too Much (p. 329). Ferrie’s activities are sketched in Deadly Secrets by Warren Hinckle and William Turner (pp. 232–33). Ferrie’s life and career is also written about in HSCA, vol. 10 (pp. 105–114). As I noted in my post the citation for the training camp in Dick Russell's book was sourced from a Colonel William Bishop who was an incredible fabulist. The second source, cited from Davy's book Let Justice Be Done, was Robert Tanenbaum who supposedly saw a movie with Oswald, Ferrie and Banister at the training camp. That film has since disappeared. I have already discussed the allegation that David Ferrie worked for the CIA. So, I return to a short excerpt from my book about the training camp: (page 166 of On The Trail of Delusion) In the summer of 1963, about twenty anti-Castro Cubans trained at a small camp. There were only a couple of rifles to practice assembly and disassembly, and no actual shooting occurred. Food was scarce, the men complained bitterly, and after a little more than a month, the Cubans were all sent back to Miami. I think my paragraph is completely accurate. Another key question to address is whether David Ferrie was at the training camp. Like Oswald, there is absolutely NO evidence that David Ferrie was there. I checked Hinckle and Turner's book, Deadly Secrets (pages 232 - 233). They write that Ferrie "became an instructor at the Lake Pontchartrain camp when it opened." Unfortunately, there is no footnote for this allegation. Here is what Davy says about the training camp: (page 29-30) One of the camps was located across Lake Pontchartrain on land owned by Bill McLaney, a mob-related gambler, who, along with his brother Mike (an acquaintance of Jack Ruby), had once operated casinos in Cuba. On President Kennedy's order, the FBI raided a house near this camp on July 31, 1963. Several people were arrested, a cache of munitions and explosives was confiscated and the nearby camp was shut down. Needless to say this did not further endear Kennedy to the anti-Castro movement. Ferrie was a frequent presence at this camp often drilling the Cubans and mercenaries in guerilla warfare. Davy is conflating two different things. First, there was an FBI raid on a house in July of 1963 owned by Bill McLaney. There was also a training camp that was nearby, but I have seen no evidence that that had any relationship to the house owned by McLaney. New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 2, 1963 What was the training camp all about? Please note that that I am posting in this article all the major Garrison documents I have about the training camp. Some of these documents have never before been posted on the internet. The documents clearly show that there was no contemporaneous evidence that Ferrie or Oswald was there. In early January 1967, Garrison sent out a memo regarding investigative assignments. Al Oser was tasked into looking into several anti-Castro Cubans and finding out more about a supposed training camp near Covington. Here is his first report: So, Carlos Bringuier told Oser that Ricardo Davis was "the purchasing officer of the camp." Here is Oser's second report: Here is Oser's third report: Oser went out to the McLaney house and found an air strip and an old firing range which had been built 20 years earlier. Here is Oser's fourth report: Oser went back to the firing range to see if he could find any 6.5 mm., 38 cal. and other types of ammunition. Milton Brener, author of The Garrison Case, tells a funny story about the search for ammunition: (page 71) Bill Gurvich was surprised one morning to see the assistant, Alvin Oser, his face covered with mosquito bites, tramping through the D.A.'s office with hip boots. "Where have you been?" asked Gurvich? "In the g-d- swamp," replied Oser. "Doing what?" asked the bewildered Gurvich. "Looking for bullets," responded Oser, showing a sack full of spent cartridges. "What bullets? queried Gurvich. "Oswald's," responded Oser. Gurvich was not at all sure he understood. He determined from Garrison that Oser's report was, indeed, accurate, and the D.A. patiently explained to Gurvich that he was looking for a 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano bullet, one that would have been fired from a weapon of the type used by Oswald in the assassination of Kennedy. Gurvich was incredulous. "What are you going to do with it when you find it, Jim?" asked the investigator. "That stuff was Army surplus and plenty of people have 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano rifles and ammunition. Even if you find one," said Gurvich, "what do you have to compare it with? You don't have Oswald's gun." "You just let me find one," said Garrison. Several members of his staff patiently examined each of the spent cartridges under magnifying glasses for marks which would identify it as coming from a rifle similar to Oswald's. Shortly after the incident, Garrison approached Gurvich and advised that if a cartridge from a 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano could not be found on the ground, that perhaps one might be buried under the ground. "Can you get a metal detector for us?" asked Garrison. "Of course," responded Gurvich. "You can?" asked the delighted and admiring Garrison. "How long will it take you?" "About twenty minutes," said the investigator as he thumbed through the yellow pages of the New Orleans Telephone Directory to the listing of rental businesses. "Can you show us how to work it?" asked Garrison. "Sure," responded Gurvich. "You turn on the switch and start walking." No 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano cartridge was ever found. By January 25, 1967, Garrison had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Here is an excerpt from the Richard Billings diary of January 25, 1967: Giant has talked to two Cubans who convinced there was a camp set up to plan and train for Castro assassination . . . Camp was north of lake . . . A spy was found in camp in August, driven to Miami and questioned by Laureano Batista . . . CDP tried to turn spy over to FBI, but Bureau had no jurisdiction . . . Giant sends Fowler to see Batista . . . Another name attached to camp: Ledovido Interam . . . Fowler points out there were two camps -- one CDP where the spy, Fernando Fernandez, was caught; another run by ultra conservatives . . . Turns out CDP camp didn't break up when spy was caught (claim they knew he was there all the time and kept him for protection against other infiltrators) . . . Camp broke up because of raid on conservative camp . . . Davis ordered departure . . . CDP camp on land owned by Redemptorist Fathers, later located by Oser with help of Angel Vega, one of Cubans there . . . Ultra conservative camp reportedly on land owned by McLaney (see report on raid) . . . Alberto Fowler was active in the fight against Castro, and he was also aiding the Jim Garrison investigation. The anti-Castro Cuban training camp was separate from the McLaney arms cache. I don't have Oser's fifth report, but here is his sixth report: On February 5, 1967, James Alcock, second-in-command to Jim Garrison, interviewed Angel Vega who attended the training camp run by the Christian Democratic Movement: There were twenty Cubans who trained at the camp. Note the condition of the camp -- "the house and grounds where they stayed were completely run down, giving the appearance they had not been inhabited for quite a while." All they had were two or three old Springfield rifles and one M-1 carbine. Vega told Alcock that "No shooting whatsoever took place at the camp." He never heard of David Ferrie or Sergio Arcacha Smith. Alcock also met with Laureano Batista who was an officer in the Christian Democratic Movement and who knew a lot about the training camp. Only about 20 people attended the camp. They did discover a pro-Castro spy at the camp. Batista claimed they shut down the camp once the FBI found the arms cache. The McLaney house was located in Mandeville, and just to east is Lacombe which is where the MDC training camp was located. Alcock spoke to Frank de la Barre on the phone in March 1967. Davis did not tell Frank de la Barre the true purpose of the camp, which was to be built on his family's property. Al Oser then met Angel Vega in New Orleans who took him to what remained of the training camp. Vega took Oser to the exact location of the camp, but the house had been painted and cleaned up by a new owner. Vega claimed the camp broke up two days before news of the McLaney explosives raid. While Vega did hear some gunshots while he was at the camp, they actually did not come from the camp itself. Finally, on March 22, 1967, Bill Gurvich spoke to Ricardo Davis in Houston, Texas. Davis tells the cover story of bringing in men for his lumber company. He does say that "Ferrie had nothing to do with this camp." Gurvich notes at the end of his memo that Davis "was somewhat a bragger." He also tells the story of being introduced to Lee Harvey Oswald by Carlos Quiroga. Here is a relevant excerpt from an FBI report: In June, the Shaw defense team interviewed Laureano Batista: Note that "Davis never reported Lee Harvey Oswald, David Ferrie or Clay Shaw as being at any training camp." Here are a few excerpts from a CIA report on Ricardo Davis: Davis claims that 19 men were sent to the MDC camp near Lacombe. Carlos Quiroga heard there was a pro-Castro spy at the camp The Shaw defense team also interviewed Carlos Bringuier about the training camp. I don't have a date for this memo: Davis told Bringuier that David Ferrie had nothing to do with the training camp. Bringuier also contacted the FBI in December of 1963 about the training camp: Bringuier said he knew of no connection that OSWALD had with any Cubans, and that OSWALD made no mention of any Cuban training camp and gave no indication of knowing about a training camp or of being acquainted with any Cubans. Here is an extensive FBI report about the training camp from October 1963. Another source on the training camp comes from Stephen Roy, aka Blackburst. He interviewed Victor Paneque, who was an MDC trainer at the camp: My principal source would be an interview I conducted with Victor Paneque, who was the MDC trainer at the camp. I will find the tape and transcribe the relevant portion. My notes indicate that Paneque did all the training, did not ever see Ferrie at the camp, and ascertained (in 1967) that nobody else there had seen him. In NODA interviews, Laureano Batista Falla (2/5/67) said there were no English-speaking people at the camp except Ricardo Davis and Fernando Fernandez. Angel Vega (2/5/67) said he never saw Arcacha or "Lindbergh" (NODA code name for Ferrie) at the camp, that the only other Americans he saw there were the de la Barres. Ricardo Davis, who helped organize the MDC camp, gave a joint interview with Arcacha to Holland McCombs of Time (3/21/67). Both told McCombs that "Arcacha and Ferrie did not run any training camp, that Ferrie did not run any training camp..., that Ferrie did not concentrate on any one thing long enough to operate a training camp." While Quiroga and Bringuier were not directly involved in the MDC camp, they both had heard that Ferrie had nothing to do with it. And there are other bits of evidence to this effect, which I will dig up. The best history of the training camp comes Milton Brener's book, The Garrison Case: (page 70) The camp was beset by problems during its short existence. On one occasion, a pro-Castro spy was discovered. The local Cuban community was much chagrined to learn that there was no crime for which a pro-Castro sympathizer would be punished for spying operations in the midst of an anti-Castro group. An additional group of about ten Cubans arriving from Miami were the subject of an inquiry by the Federal Bureau of Investigation when the automobiles in which they were traveling had broken down on one of the highways leading out of New Orleans. Upon hearing Davis's story to the F.B.I. of the purpose of their venture, the Cubans were furious. They had been told that they were to train to liberate their homeland. They had never been told of any cover story and were not interested in cutting timber. As a final straw, at the end of July the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered the cache of explosives at another location in St. Tammany Parish. Neighbors of the De La Barre property, already jittery due to the presence of the Cubans, suspected a connection between the cache of explosives and the strange operations on the De La Barre property and caused further inquiry. By August 1st every one of the Cubans had been sent back to Miami by bus. Thus ended the abortive attempt to locate a Cuban training camp near New Orleans. The Garrison investigation uncovered no evidence that David Ferrie or Lee Harvey Oswald was there. The only evidence that Oswald was there comes from the allegations of Robert Tanenbaum and Robert D. Morrow that they saw films of Oswald at the camp. The film produced by Morrow didn't show Oswald, and the the film that Tanenbaum says shows Oswald has never turned up. I will conclude with a paragraph from Stephen Roy's unpublished biography of David Ferrie, Perfect Villain: David Ferrie and the JFK Mystery: Because of his arrests, Ferrie was ostracized by the Cubans. Houma was a last gasp, but to no avail. He was still persona non grata. And so, with little fanfare, David Ferrie’s involvement with the Frente Revolucionario Democratico quietly ended. While the sources on Ferrie’s anti-Castro activities from, at the earliest, summer 1959 to about October 1961 are many, detailed, mutually corroborative and reliable, there are no reliable sources for significant anti-Castro activities on his part after October 1961. This is an important point missed in most studies of Ferrie’s life and career. The single thread of Al Landry’s runaway, pulled by New Orleans area police, led to the virtual collapse of Ferrie’s life: his job, his Falcon group, his position in the anti-Castro group and his standing in the community. While he would love to have continued on in the fight against Castro, nobody would have him. What scattered reports there are of anti-Castro activities by Ferrie in 1962 and 1963, such as running training camps, all come from sources of questionable reliability and are impossible to corroborate. Ferrie had other battles to fight. For a brief period, Jim Garrison thought the answer to the JFK assassination was within the anti-Castro community. Nothing panned out, and Garrison realized there were far shinier targets out there.

Here is a short excerpt from a letter written to Harold Weisberg in 1972 by Howard Roffman, who went on to write Presumed Guilty in 1976. Roffman spent a lot of time talking to Meagher. His anecdote is consistent with the way Meagher viewed the case. When she served as a referee for Jim Garrison's book in the mid-1980s, she was extremely critical of his writings on New Orleans. However, she still recommended that his book be published because he argued that Oswald was innocent. That made the book worthwhile even though she knew the material on Shaw and Ferrie was useless. Here is Meagher's terrific comment on chapter 7 of Garrison's book: Previous Relevant Blog Posts about Sylvia Meagher Penn Jones' Phone Call with Sylvia Meagher This phone call broke their relationship. Sylvia Meagher's Letter to Look Magazine Sylvia Meagher's reply to Look Magazine's article "The Persecution of Clay Shaw." Mark Lane vs. Sylvia Meagher An exchange of letters between Lane and Meagher. Sylvia Meagher and Jim Garrison, Part One Sylvia Meagher writes Clay Shaw and he replies. Sylvia Meagher and Jim Garrison, Part Two An unpublished Meagher memo on the trial of Clay Shaw. Sylvia Meagher and Jim Garrison, Part Three - a never before published article by Meagher Another unpublished Meagher memo on the Garrison investigation and Warren Report critics. Garrison's Playboy Interview - What Couldn't Be Printed Sylvia Meagher's letter to the Editor regarding Garrison's interview in Playboy Magazine. Sylvia Meagher's Reaction to the Verdict in the Shaw Trial Meagher writes Harold Weisberg with her comments on the verdict. Two Letters to Jim Garrison about "A Heritage of Stone" James Phelan and Sylvia Meagher write Garrison letters about his book. Kerry Thornley writes Sylvia Meagher An exchange of letters between Thornley and Meagher. Did RFK Tell Garrison that there were guns between him and the White House? Meagher writes Thornley about Lane's comment on RFK Sylvia Meagher Congratulates Clay Shaw On His Acquittal Meagher writes Clay Shaw. Was Jim Garrison Napoleon or Rasputin? Meagher writes Thornley with an opinion. M. S. Arnoni and Sylvia Meagher Take On Jim Garrison... Exchange of letters between Meagher, Arnoni and Garrison. Jim Garrison Blows His Top Meagher writes Weisberg about the damage Garrison is doing to critics of the Warren Report. James Phelan Writes to Richard Popkin Meagher replies to the New York Review of Books regarding Popkin's article on Garrison. Sylvia Meagher Replies to Richard Popkin An exchange of letters between Popkin and Meagher.