1. Did Nagell Meet Oswald in Japan? James DiEugenio, in his book Destiny Betrayed, claims that Nagell met Oswald in Japan: (page 95) "In late 1956, Nagell was transferred to a secret intelligence group called Field Operations Intelligence (FOI). This group was involved in what intelligence operators call "black ops": assassinations, kidnappings, blackmail, etc. FOI operated in the Far East, so Nagell worked in Japan. It was there, in 1957-58, that Nagell first encountered Lee Harvey Oswald. Nagell wondered why Oswald was seen outside the Soviet Embassy in Tokyo. So he arranged to be introduced to him under an assumed name. Nagell and Oswald had girlfriends at the Queen Bee, a famous nightclub in Tokyo." DiEugenio doesn't provide a footnote for the claim that Nagell was introduced to Oswald. I had to go to Russell's book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, to see where this comes from: (page 136 of the first edition) "Not long after this, under an assumed name Nagell arranged to be introduced to Oswald. Nagell determined that Oswald had entered the Soviet embassy "allegedly to have some coins identified." But once inside, Nagell learned either from Oswald or other sources that the young Marine had met with a Colonel Nikolai G. Eroshkin." Russell does admit that there is no proof that this happened: "This book marks the first time that any known meeting between Oswald and Soviet intelligence in Japan has ever been alleged. Thought I have only Nagell's word that it occurred, the name of "Nicolai G. Eroshkin" under a heading of former military attaché at the Tokyo Embassy does show up in the notebook taken from Nagell by the FBI in 1963." In other words, this is just stuff that Nagell said or wrote. Dick Russell also claims that Nagell and Oswald frequented the Queen Bee, an expensive night club in Tokyo: (page 145) "Nagell confided two important things about this period in conversation with Bernard Fensterwald, Jr.: that Oswald definitely "had CIA connections" in Japan, and that both Nagell and Oswald had had girlfriends at the Queen Bee. Oswald's girl was older than he, lived in the suburb of Yokohama, and was named Midorii." [Note: It should be Midori] The source for this allegation is a Bernard Fensterwald memo of a conversation with Richard Case Nagell on May 31, 1978. As David Reitzes noted in one of his excellent essays on Richard Case Nagell: "Nagell's claim about him and Oswald frequenting the Queen Bee together is equally problematic. Nagell never mentioned the Queen Bee prior to May 31, 1978, in an interview with Bernard Fensterwald, Jr. It seems more than coincidental that the Tokyo nightspot had just been linked to Lee Harvey Oswald for the very first time, in Edward Jay Epstein's Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald, published earlier that year." Even the Queen Bee story in Legend is somewhat suspect, as Reitzes noted: "Incredibly, Epstein's tale of Oswald and the Queen Bee is based solely on the recollections of a single eyewitness, Oswald's Marine buddy Zack Stout, who told Epstein that Oswald had fallen in love with a woman who Oswald allegedly stated worked at the Queen Bee (Epstein, 360; Russell, 145). If Oswald was lying or if Stout is mistaken, the Queen Bee story goes up in smoke." 2. Did Nagell Meet Oswald in Texas? It is not entirely clear when Nagell met Oswald in Texas, but James DiEugenio writes in Destiny Betrayed: (page 96) "Nagell first went to Dallas to check up on the status of Oswald. He found the supposed communist in the midst of the counterrevolutionary White Russian community." There is no footnote for this allegation. However, Dick Russell writes: (page 155 in the second edition) "Monitoring an assassination plot against JFK was not the only assignment Nagell received from the Soviets in October 1963. He was also told to check into a young "defector" who had returned from the USSR four months before." Russell's source - just something that Nagell told him. Nagell also claimed that he made a tape of four conspirators discussing the assassination in late August 1963, and that Oswald was one of the four people. The search for the tape was discussed in this blog post. Like all other supposed evidence cited by Nagell, it never turned up. 3. Did Nagell Meet Oswald in Mexico City I posted this FBI document yesterday: Of course, Nagell was in jail in El Paso when Lee Harvey Oswald was in Mexico City. Dick Russell is aware of this, and he writes in the second edition of his book that "he would have to be describing an earlier meeting in Mexico, a visit that did not appear on the historical record." (page 7) Of course, there is no evidence of any other visit by Lee Harvey Oswald to Mexico City. 4. Did Nagell Meet Oswald in New Orleans? Richard Case Nagell said that he met Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans to warn him about how he was being used: (page 437 in the first edition of The Man Who Knew Too Much) "In September 1963, "Laredo" (a code name unknown to Oswald) met with Oswald at Jackson Square in New Orleans, where both were photographed. ["Laredo," as described in Chapter Thirteen, was Nagell's admitted code name for meetings with his Soviet contact.] Photos of two of Oswald's associates, whom I shall call "Leopoldo" and "Angel," were displayed to Oswald. Oswald was informed that neither Leopoldo nor Angel were agents of Cuban G-2 (as the Dirección General de Intelligencia was then called), a story they had strapped on Oswald the previous month. He was informed that the two were in fact counterrevolutionaries known to be connected with a violence-prone faction of a CIA-financed group operating in Mexico City (and elsewhere), that in 1962 both of them had participated in a bomb-throwing incident directed against an employee of the Cuban Embassy there, that both were well-known to Cuban and Mexican authorities, and, of course, to the CIA. He was informed in so many words that he was being "used" by fascist elements in an attempt to disrupt the Cuban revolution, to ruin chances for a contemplated rapprochement between Cuba and the United States, probably to incite the U.S. government to initiate severe retaliatory measures against Cuba (in the form of an invasion), etc. He was asked some subtle questions relating to his discussions with Leopoldo and Angel, about his pending move to Baltimore, Md., why he was going there without his wife and child, etc. His replies were evasive and in some instances untruthful. Despite evidence to contrary, he denied that there had been answer serious discussion to kill President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, or anybody else. He seemed genuinely upset and visibly shaken when a query was made in that direction. He stated that he was a friend of the Cuban revolution, that he leaned toward Cuban Marxism, but not Soviet Leninism, whatever that meant ... " Hey, what a great story! Dick Russell also wrote: (page 441) "At this point, Nagell met Oswald again. He arranged with a vendor in New Orleans' Jackson Square to take a photograph of the two of them secretly. That "faded Polaroid pic," Nagell wrote me in 1976, still existed "amongst my belongings in another country." That photograph has never turned up. So, did Nagell ever meet Oswald? There is not one iota of evidence that he did. Dick Russell asked one of Richard Nagell's lawyers, Joseph Calamia about this: (page 18 in the second edition) "There was no evidence that he knew Oswald? "No," Calamia said evenly." The whole Richard Case Nagell story can be summed up in one word: nothing. Nagell did not have foreknowledge of Oswald or the JFK assassination. He never met Lee Harvey Oswald. None of his supposed evidence ever turned up. Richard Case Nagell suffered brain damage in the 1954 plane crash and he was never the same. His significant mental health problems dominated his life. Unfortunately, he never got the help he needed and deserved. And yet, some conspiracy theorists cling to the Richard Case Nagell story. And they are still waiting for the evidence to turn up. Any day now. Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

James DiEugenio, in his book Destiny Betrayed. writes: (page 94) "Even though the Warren Commission had an FBI report on Nagell that said he had met Oswald only socially in Texas and Mexico City, there is no record of anyone on the Commission ever interviewing him. (As we shall see, their meeting was anything but social.) Nagell did try. He wrote two letters to the Commission saying he had knowledge of both Oswald and the conspiracy -- in advance of the assassination. Either someone intercepted the letters or the Commission was not interested. Since, as we shall see, Nagell was in prison at the time he wrote the letters, the former is a distinct possibility." The footnote for Oswald meeting Nagell is from an FBI report by SA David Reid from December 20, 1963. The footnote regarding Nagell's two letters to the Warren Commission indicates DiEugenio's source is Probe Magazine (Vol, 3, No. 1). Unfortunately, Probe Magazine says nothing about the source of the allegation. Let's tackle his point about Oswald and Nagell. As usual, DiEugenio gets it all wrong. The FBI report did not say that Nagell had met Oswald. It quoted Nagell as saying he met Oswald. That's quite a difference. Nagell only started talking about Oswald after the assassination. Here's an article from the El Paso Times from January 27, 1964: Nagell adds suspicion by not mentioning that he was the one who had brought up Oswald first. Here is the FBI report that DiEugenio cites: Of course, when Oswald was in Mexico City, Nagell was in jail in El Paso. As for Texas, well, it's hard to determine when Nagell supposedly met Oswald. Here is another FBI report from El Paso. Marina Oswald denied ever meeting Richard Case Nagell. It's interesting that Nagell told the FBI that "he knew nothing of Oswald's intention to assassinate the President." Now, all of the above came after the assassination of JFK on November 22, 1963. Dick Russell claims that Nagell had foreknowledge of the assassination. He writes: (page 2 in the second edition of his book) "On the way to the El Paso Federal Building for further questioning, Richard Case Nagell issued only one statement to the FBI: "I would rather be arrested than commit murder and treason." However, Russell's footnote for this statement indicates that it comes from a Nagell draft of a memo in support of his petition for habeas corpus written in 1967. There is no contemporaneous source for this statement. There is also police officer Jim Bundren who arrested Nagell in September 1963: (page 45 in the first edition of The Man Who Knew Too Much) "Many years later, Jim Bundren, retired from the police force and teaching a course in criminal justice at an El Paso college, would look back and remember: "I was sitting next to Nagell at one of the preliminary hearings. I don't remember the exact date, but I know it was before the Kennedy assassination. Nagell looked over at me and said, 'You're a pretty good cop, aren't you? You know, if I didn't want you to, you'd never have caught me.' "I said, 'You really didn't want to rob that bank, did you?' "He just looked at me for a minute. He's got that look that's unusual, the penetrating eyes, that scar down one side of his face. And he said, 'What makes you say that?' "I said, 'I saw the shots you fired in the bank. With your Army training and everything, I just felt like maybe it was some kind of a diversionary tactic.' "Nagell just smiled and said, 'Well, I'm glad you caught me. I really don't want to be in Dallas.' "I said, 'What do you mean by that?' "'You'll see soon enough,' he said." Russell's interview with Bundren was on May 11, 1990, almost twenty-seven years after the arrest. That was Russell's second interview with Bundren. He also interviewed him on October 25, 1975, and during that interview Bundren said nothing about Dallas. Here is what Bundren said in his first interview: "Yeah, okay, Oswald's name came up. I can't tell you whether Oswald was mentioned before or after the assassination. I remember Nagell saying something to me about that, and also about General Walker that Oswald was supposed to have shot at. Nagell mentioned Cuba. He mentioned a lot of things. That's about all I can say." Bundren isn't that confident as to whether Nagell brought up Oswald before or after the assassination. So, can we be that sure as well about the Dallas comment - particularly since in 1975 Bundren said nothing about Dallas, despite the fact he later said that Nagell's comment "bothered me ever since." (page 45) Bundren told Russell that "when the assassination happened, I didn't think about it right away, because that was a pretty hectic time." He didn't go the Warren Commission. He added, "I talked to an FBI agent here about it, but a lot of this was just QT -- 'Not at liberty to discuss it.' I was just a young cop, there was nothing I could do." Nothing he could do? He didn't go to anybody in the police force? Dick Russell also talked with Edward J. Murphy, an FBI agent who had interrogated Nagell. Here is what he said: (page 65, first edition) "When Murphy emerged from a meeting, the moment I mentioned Nagell's name a startled look crossed the agent's face. "Well, sir," I asked, "do you remember any mention of a connection between that man and the assassination of President Kennedy?" Murphy's face blanched, and he shook his head rapidly from side to side. "I don't recall anything like that, no." Fred Morton, the assistant U.S. attorney who had called for "sanity tests" for Nagell, said: "As long as I was in the case," Morton said with a shrug, "I don't recall any statement by Nagell in any way concerning the assassination. The first I remember hearing this was in some magazine years later. It'll always be a mystery to me as to what the hell he was really doing in that bank that day." Dick Russell could find no corroboration for any of Bundren's comments. There is no credible evidence that Nagell had any foreknowledge of Oswald and the assassination. Coming Up Tomorrow: Did Richard Case Nagell Ever Meet Lee Harvey Oswald? Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

Missing or nonexistent evidence? Here is a handy chart from the ARRB on "Possible JFK Records" that Richard Case Nagell might have in his possession. They are putting it charitably - I don't believe any of these so-called records ever existed. Let's go through each one of these supposed pieces of evidence. Polaroid picture of Oswald and Nagell William Turner mentioned the Polaroid photograph in an article for the LA Free Press in the July 25 - 31, 1975 issue: Nagell then wrote a letter to the LA Free Press: Nagell then wrote Dick Russell in 1976: "At this point, Nagell met with Oswald again. He arranged for a vendor in New Orleans' Jackson Square to take a photograph of the two of them secretly. That "faded Polaroid pic," Nagell wrote me in 1976, still existed "amongst my belongings in another country." (page 441 in the first edition of Dick Russell's The Man Who Knew Too Much) Russell also notes that: (page 58) "In a bank vault in Switzerland, Nagell says there is a "faded Polaroid pic" of himself and Oswald, which Nagell arranged to be taken by a street vendor in New Orleans' Jackson Square in September 1963." 2. The audiotape of Oswald and Cuban co-conspirators A previous blog post examined the efforts of Assistant District Attorney William Martin to retrieve the supposed tape from a friend of Richard Nagell. When Martin arrived at the home of Frederick John, the friend of Nagell, he was told that the tape had been "the subject of a burglary sometime in 1964." In the second edition of his book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Russell writes: (page 275) "As for the tape, Nagell indicated to me that as of the late 1970s, anyway, it remained in safekeeping. I have tried in vain to located Nagell's friend Frederick H. John." 3. Letters sent by Richard Case Nagell Richard Case Nagell claimed that he wrote a registered letter to J. Edgar Hoover in September 1963 warning him of an impending conspiracy to kill JFK. Dick Russell writes: (page 442 in the first edition of his book) "Nagell has never revealed the full contents of this letter (see Chapter One for the contents of his 1976 affidavit concerning as much as he has put on record). He did say it included telling the FBI that he "had received instructions to take care of Lee Oswald, that is, to kill him, in September of 1963." The letter was composed in a style "done to persuade the reader that its sender was familiar with CIA procedure, that it was not a crank letter." By using the alias "Joseph Kramer," the pseudonym of a known Soviet agent, Nagell also seemed to have been informing the FBI that Soviet intelligences was simultaneously aware of such information." In 1976, Nagell wrote a letter to U.S. Representative Don Edwards who was the chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights. They were looking into the destruction of a note that Lee Harvey Oswald had left for FBI agent James Hosty in 1963. Nagell wanted Edwards to look into possible destruction of his supposed letter to Hoover. Edwards then replied: The FBI replied to the Nagell letter: Nagell then replied on November 21, 1975: Here is Richard Case Nagell's affidavit from 1975: In April 1976, Dick Russell called Congressman Edwards and asked him if the committee was following up on the information provided by Richard Nagell. Edwards didn't remember the Nagell information but telephoned back and said that they had received a letter from Nagell in October 1975. Russell asked about the second letter from November and the affidavit that Nagell had sent. Edwards didn't remember and promised to get back to Russell. He never did. Russell then told Nagell of what had happened and Nagell wrote back with this letter with an edited copy to the FBI: The salient paragraph is on the first page: "I have the receipts for almost every letter that I've ever sent by registered mail ... just as I have duplicates of the letters themselves. You can bet on it. And Kelley, Edwards and all the other liars, cheats and double-crossers had better think about that. The fact that I've never revealed the exact date that my September 1963 letter to Hoover was mailed, or the fact that I've never divulged the full contents of that letter, indicates absolutely zilch. The only remaining thing that I have to say on the subject at this point in time is that my 11/21/75 affidavit, and my stated willingness to undergo a polygraph examination, was the last good-faith gesture that I shall ever make to a representative or official of the United States government. (A xerox copy of my affidavit was also sent to Kelley; I neve received a response). Fuck 'em all." It's interesting that Nagell did not send a copy of the receipt or a duplicate of the letter to Edwards. In fact, Nagell never sent copies to Dick Russell, either. I don't believe Nagell sent any such letter, which is why the letter, the receipt, and a copy of the letter has never turned up. But there is also direct evidence from Richard Nagell that he might not have sent such a letter. In January 1967 Nagell sent a letter to Senator Richard Russell, who had served on the Warren Commission. He received a perfunctory reply. Check his reply to Russell: Nagell writes: "One purpose in communicating with you at this time is to advise that I am no longer certain the letter I dispatched to the Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, in September 1963 was sent via postal registry, or, for that matter, even mailed." What an astounding admission, no? On October 31, 1995, the ARRB sent a letter to Richard Nagell: Unfortunately, as you can see from the notation, Nagell was found dead in his apartment on November 1, 1995. In the first edition of his book, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Dick Russell claims that "In the event of his demise, Nagell made arrangements for this [the Polaroid photograph] and more to surface." Perhaps all of this so-called evidence would be found. The ARRB started making arrangements to find out: On November 7, Tom Samoluk of the ARRB flew to Los Angeles: Samoluk went back later that month to have a look at Nagell's footlockers: It's been over twenty-five years since the ARRB searched Nagell's footlockers, nothing has turned up. And nothing ever will. Nagell's evidence never existed in the first place. Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

Over the past ten days I have put up several posts on Richard Case Nagell's story, including three on his mental health: Why Did Richard Case Nagell Shoot Up the First National Bank of El Paso? Nagell told a psychiatrist in 1966 exactly why he shot up a bank. Richard Case Nagell's Fight for a Disability Pension Nagell won his court case for a full disability pension in 1982 and the court decision provides a good overview of his mental health. Richard Case Nagell Shoots Up the State National Bank in El Paso... Nagell's conviction was overturned because of startling new information The FBI spoke to several members of Nagell's family, and they also saw very strange behavior on his part. Here is what his wife had to say: Here is what his mother had to say: Here is what his brother had to say: Frederick John was a friend of Richard Nagell's who you will meet in an upcoming blog post.. Here is what he thought about Nagell: The FBI included information from an informant about Nagell's bank accounts: Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

In September 1963, Richard Case Nagell entered a bank, demanded American Express Travelers Checks, fired two shots in the ceiling of the bank, and then tried to escape. I blogged about this here. I included a significant amount of evidence that Nagell had mental issues because of brain injuries sustained during a plane crash in 1954. In 1966 he was examined by a psychiatrist and Nagell opened up about the bank. The report notes that "... Nagell emphasized to Dr. Parlato very carefully that his whole purpose of entering the bank in El Paso was for the purpose of obtaining psychiatric help and treatment, and not for the purpose of actually robbing the bank. He kept emphasizing this throughout the interview." The breakup of his marriage was a significant event: I have already published the findings of the appeals court which showed that Nagell sustained physical damage to his brain. And I have also published the court case which award full a full disability pension to Richard Case Nagell. I find the explanation that the purpose of shooting up the bank was to get psychiatric attention far more convincing than the explanation that he shot up the bank so that he would be in custody when Oswald killed JFK. Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

Richard Popkin's The Second Oswald and Harold Weisberg's Whitewash presented the theory that somebody was impersonating Lee Harvey Oswald in order to incriminate him in the assassination. How else to explain Oswald popping up in so many locations? Richard Case Nagell claims to have talked to both of the Oswalds! Here is an excerpt from the first edition of Dick Russell's The Man Who Knew Too Much: (page 443) "Oswald was certainly of a physical "type" for which others might be mistaken (George de Mohrenschildt even told this writer, much to my dismay, that I bore a resemblance to Lee Harvey Oswald.) And, in the summer of 1963, Nagell says there was someone else -- a Leon Oswald -- who showed up on the periphery of the burgeoning conspiracy. "I knew both of them, " Nagell told me in 1975. "I have been trained in observation, and there is no mistaking who is who. The other Oswald was working with anti-Castro Cubans. He was not pro-Castro. This Leon Oswald, the second Oswald, allegedly registered at hotel in Mexico City where I had once registered under a different name. Don't ask me the date, but it was sometime between July 4 and September 20. I told Popkin he ought to check with the State Department, because somebody's got a picture of him. But Leon Oswald, in my opinion, did not resemble Lee Harvey Oswald. He was somewhat taller, and not as articulate or intelligent. I have no idea whether or not he was personally acquainted with Lee Harvey Oswald." Unfortunately, according to Nagell, "The second Oswald, Leon, apparently was eliminated by mistake." Dick Russell believes that since Nagell's orders to eliminate the real Oswald came from the KGB, that "it would make sense it was the Soviets' mistake." James DiEugenio also believes that there was a Leon Oswald. Here is an excerpt from his book, Destiny Betrayed: (all DiEugenio references are from page 248) "But the point is that the man Russo identified was Leon Oswald, not Lee Harvey Oswald. And, in fact, the evidence today is pretty much decisive that there was a Leon Oswald in New Orleans around this time." What is this decisive evidence? Let's go through DiEugenio's witnesses one-by-one. "For instance, Sylvia Odio, one of the best and most important witnesses in this case, said that two Cubans came to her house in late September with a Caucasian man they called Leon Oswald." Yes, but she identified the man as Lee Harvey Oswald. Is DiEugenio now ready to throw that out because they said his first name was Leon? Of course, DiEugenio uses Nagell as one of his bits of compelling evidence: "Richard Case Nagell also said he knew a Leon Oswald in that summer of 1963. Nagell said that this Leon Oswald was meant as a Second Oswald and was working with the anti-Castro Cubans, he was not at all pro-Castro." Whatever Nagell says, DiEugenio believes! Next up is Raymond Broshears: "Raymond Broshears, a friend of Ferrie's, also spoke about a Leon Oswald. He described him as resembling Oswald." I have written several blog posts about Broshears, who was a fabulist of the highest order: Reverend Raymond Broshears Tells All to Stephen Jaffe and Mark Lane! Reverend Raymond Broshears Reveals the Shaw-Ferrie Link! Reverend Raymond Broshears Tells Even More in New Orleans! Reverend Raymond Broshears Talks to the HSCA What do JFK conspiracy books say about Raymond Broshears? David Ferrie's Roommate Reveals the Assassination Plot! Reverend Raymond Broshears Makes a Startling Revelation! He claimed to be a roommate of David Ferrie's but Stephen Roy, the biographer of Ferrie, found him very hard to believe. Broshears told Garrison's investigators a lot of stuff about Oswald, Ferrie and the assassination. This got him a free ticket to New Orleans to talk to Garrison and his Assistant D. A.'s. He spoke to them for several hours and told them many stories - none of them believable. Broshears also spoke to the HSCA and told them even more stories. DiEugenio's source is Dick Russell (page 367) who quotes Broshears: "I myself met a person who was introduced to me as Leon Oswald. A very fleet passing meeting. I had sex with him. He looked a helluva lot like him, but it's highly unlikely to me this was the same Lee Oswald." Of course, Broshears had sex with Leon Oswald. Next up for DiEugenio is Michael Kurtz: "Michael Kurtz interviewed rightwing witnesses in Baton Rouge who recalled meeting an Oswald who was introduced to them as Leon Oswald in July and August of 1963. This happened more than once, and on his last visit to the area, Leon Oswald was accompanied by two Latins." DIEugenio's source is an article "Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans: A Reappraisal" by Michael Kurtz in the Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association from Winter 1980. Here is the relevant paragraph: "One feature of Oswald's five-month sojourn in New Orleans that has never been revealed is the fact that he made several trips to Baton Rouge in the summer of 1963. According to witnesses, Oswald accompanied a prominent leader of the White Citizens' Council and of other segregationist organizations to Baton Rouge six or eight times in July and August. These witnesses met Oswald, who was introduced to them as "Leon" Oswald. Oswald's companion, who was a personal friend of two of these witnesses, stated that he had was employing "Leon" to do construction work for him. Oswald, however, was not dressed in work clothes; he was wearing what appeared to be "dressy clothes." Furthermore, Oswald and his companion engaged in discussions which included criticisms of American foreign policy as being "soft on Communism," and of United States civil rights programs. On their last visit to Baton Rouse, the two men were accompanied by two "Latins," neither of whom said anything to them." Kurtz's sources for this paragraph are "confidential interviews." Over the years, Michael Kurtz has made a variety of claims in his book and articles that he has never backed up with any evidence, and many of which contradict each other. A fellow critic, Pat Speer, has written an article about Kurtz's credibility. Here is what Speer had to say about the above paragraph: "Well, then, what about Oswald in Baton Rouge? Strangely, in Crime of the Century [Kurtz's book from 1993], there is no mention of Oswald visiting Baton Rouge in the company of a prominent leader of the White Citizens' Council. There is this, however. On page 203 of the 1993 edition, Kurtz reported: "Accompanied by two 'Latins,' Ferrie and Oswald were observed in Baton Rouge, where they openly denounced Kennedy's foreign and domestic policies." Kurtz's source? His 1980 article, Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans, which said nothing about Oswald and Ferrie being spotted in Baton Rouge. So, yikes, it looks like Kurtz somehow switched Ferrie into the role formerly played by the prominent leader of the White Citizens' Council." DiEugenio's next source is David Lewis: "David F. Lewis, who once worked for Banister, said that he was introduced to a man named Leon Oswald by Sergio Arcacha Smith's right hand man Carlos Quiroga at Mancuso's Restaurant in late 1962. It is doubtful this was the real Lee Harvey Oswald since he was still living in the Dallas-Fort Worth area at the time. All of this testimony strongly suggests that there actually was a Leon Oswald who resembled Oswald" DiEugenio's source for this is Paris Flammonde's book, The Kennedy Conspiracy. (page 23 - 24) Flammonde's source is the book Plot or Politics by Rosemary James & Jack Wardlaw. (page 49). Here is the relevant paragraph: "The Lewis story is that in late 1962, he was drinking coffee with Banister's secretary, Delphine Roberts, in Mancuso's Restaurant, when Carlos Quiroga, a Cuban exile, came in with a fellow he introduced as Leon Oswald. They all had coffee together. A few days later, as Lewis was leaving Banister's office, he passed Quiroga, Ferrie and Leon Oswald. Lewis was working for Banister at the time. Then, a few days later, Lewis entered Banister's office and there was a meeting in progress of Banister, Quiroga, Ferrie, Leon Oswald, and another person. Lewis was told to leave. Lewis told Chandler that it wasn't until Garrison's office started talking to him three years later after the assassination that he came to the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald might be the same person or recalled any of the above incident." I have already posted material about the credibility of David Lewis. He was an early Garrison witness but he quickly disappeared from the scene and was not called to testify. The affidavits that he filed with Jim Garrison do not mention Leon Oswald. Here is an excerpt from David Lewis' statement of December 15, 1966: No mention of Leon. And from the same document, here is his description of that meeting in Banister's office. I think Rosemary James mistakenly attributed Russo's description of "Leon Oswald" to David Lewis. David Chandler was actually in the D.A.'s office and watched David Lewis provide his statement: Again, no mention of Leon Oswald. DiEugenio's last witness is Niles Peterson: "Niles Peterson, who was a friend of Russo's and briefly attended the gathering, told William Davy and Peter Vea that there was a Leon Oswald there. This author believes that it was this man -- not Lee Harvey Oswald -- who was at Ferrie's the night of the gathering described by Russo." Niles Peterson always denied that Oswald was at the party. He never said anything about a Leon Oswald. DiEugenio may infer that he did - because he did see a roommate of Ferrie's who had a beard - but that stretches logic to the breaking point. There is a much simpler solution to all of this nonsense. There was no assassination planning party at David Ferrie's apartment. No Oswald, Leon or Lee Harvey, was there. Making up a fictitious Leon Oswald to fit Russo's poor description of Lee Harvey Oswald is a solution only a conspiracy theorist could embrace. Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

Hat tip: A big thank you to Mark Zaid who sent me a copy of this court decision. For those of you who don't know, Mark Zaid is one incredible lawyer and a hero in many ways. In 1982, Richard Case Nagell's fight for a full disability pension was answered by the United States Court of Claims. He won his fight and the court ordered the Army to negotiate a settlement with Nagell. I have posted the complete text of the court case in the Documents section on this website. Here are the salient points: The Army Board of Correction of Military Records had refused to change Nagell's records to show retirement for disability. Nagell also wanted retirement pay from the date of his discharge. The government claimed that his claim was barred by the statute of limitations. Nagell argued that limitations had not run out "because he had been under a 'legal disability' since 1954. The court had to answer three questions. First, whether Nagell was under a legal disability, by reason of insanity or mental incompetence, on July 10, 1963 (when the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records first denied his application for a neurological examination), and if so, for how long was he under the disability; whether his disability was service-connected; and the nature and extent of his disability. The Court answered the three questions: (1) Plaintiff was in 1963 under a legal disability, traumatic encephalopathy chronic, a mental disorder, within the meaning of Section 2501, and has been under the disability continuously since then, and indeed since 1954; (2) The disability was the result of three head injuries received by the plaintiff while in the service, and primarily the head injury received in the crash of a military airplane in 1954, and was therefore service-connected; and (3) The extend of the disability is 100 percent. The court then discusses Nagell's injuries: Two of plaintiff's three head injuries were wounds in action in Korea in 1952 and 1953. One was a flesh wound, and one was a brain concussion. The third, and by far the most serious, came in an airplane crash on November 28, 1954. Plaintiff, now transferred from a combat zone in Korea to counterintelligence training in the United States, was a passenger in a B-25 bomber enroute from Los Angeles to Washington. The plane attempted a night landing in bad weather at Friendship Airport in Maryland, and crashed. Plaintiff, the only survivor, was undiscovered in the crash for nearly 12 hours. Plaintiff suffered a concussion of the brain, compound fractures of the cheekbone and jaw, and severe lacerations of the face and scalp. He was taken to the hospital at Bolling Air Force Base, and lay in a coma and then semi-comatose for a month. In January 1955, he was transferred to Walter Reed Army Hospital because of the severity of his head wounds. Recovery at Walter Reed took 6 months. While hospitalized, plaintiff's behavior became so erratic and uncooperative that he was transferred to a psychiatric ward. An electroencephalogram taken of the plaintiff at the time registered abnormal. While on the ward, plaintiff was examined by Dr. Edwin A. Weinstein of the Neuropsychiatry Division, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Dr. Weinstein did not treat plaintiff, but rather studied his case in the course of his research for a study of the behavioral effects of brain injury. Dr. Weinstein's opinion then was that the plaintiff had a severe brain injury, but his finding were not made part of plaintiff's mental clinical record, and his opinion of plaintiff's mental condition was not sought for some years. Description of Dr. Weinstein's opinion and findings in detail are here reserved until the chronological points at which they were given. (PP52-55 of this opinion, infra). On May 5, 1955, plaintiff was returned to active service by a medical board as fit for duty. The Board found that in addition to his bodily injuries, he had suffered a concussion of the brain, which was cured. The Board made no mention of brain injury, but rather concluded that plaintiff exhibited a passive-aggressive reaction which was unrelated to the crash ("EPTS" -- exhibited prior to entry on service) and so not incurred in line of duty. The court noted that before the airplane crash Nagell was "a brilliantly successful, albeit sometimes tactless and brusque young officer." In Korea he performed 175 patrols and was described as "fearless and a tower of strength in combat. He held his company together as an efficient fighting force in the face of heavy losses and aggressive assaults by the enemy." His performance after the crash deteriorated: 8. After the crash, in the words of Dr. Weinstein as a witness at the trial, plaintiff went steadily downhill. 9. Five months before the crash, in July 1954, plaintiff had been transferred from the infantry to military intelligence, for training in the Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC). After the medical board found his concussion was "cured," and returned him to duty, he completed his training, performed an assignment in California for almost a year, and then from April 1956 to March 1958, was stationed in Korea and Japan for field intelligence and counterintelligence work. This exact nature of the plaintiff's duties appears to be a military secret, but it appears that he worked in both counterintelligence and intelligence field assignments. 10. His performance evaluation began to record his increasing difficulties. In several OER's his superiors expressed the opinion that the accident had affected his personality. Comments, obviously with sympathy for his history, were these: "lacks self-confidence and is excessively sensitive"; "will often mask his true feelings by calling attention to his rank and status"; "somewhat discontent"; "undecided and spontaneous"; "tendency to resent constructive or critical comment regarding his work and becomes agitated"; "rather erratic handling of his personal affairs." More OER comments were: "apt to lose his temper"; "does not know how to get along with people"; "most obnoxious attitude." 11. He began what became a series of confrontations and charges of persecution. In March 1957, while he was still in Korea, an OER rating officer noted that "he is developing a well-defined 'persecution complex' where he thinks some officers make up and report 'stories' to discredit him and other officers are 'too nosey' about his personal affairs." Plaintiff accused the rating officer of prejudice. The investigating officer found no prejudice or bias; plaintiff, he said, made the charges "in a highly agitated state of mind." Plaintiff was given a new assignment. 12, In January 1958, plaintiff received an official reprimand for having entertained a woman at the Bachelor Officer's Quarters. An OER for the six-month period ending January 31, 1958, spoke of the incident as showing a lack of judgment, and also spoke of a persecution complex. Following the reprimand, plaintiff was removed from counterintelligence duties because of the incident and his impending marriage. Plaintiff accused his commanding officer of bias and wrote a letter to the Inspector General and Judge Advocate which an OER thereafter described as "a vindictive and self-admitted effort to bring embarrassment upon this organization and its commanding officer." The endorsing officer said that plaintiff lacked maturity, judgment and common sense, and suffered a persecution complex. Shortly after this incident, plaintiff's commander ordered him to submit to a psychiatric examination. 13 In February 1958, plaintiff spent five days in the neuropsychiatric ward at the U.S. Army hospital in Tokyo. The examining psychiatrist, Dr. Carl L. McGahee, recorded that the patient "emphasized that he had no problem which merited psychiatric attention." Dr. McGahee found plaintiff to be "quite guarded in his projective responses. However, there was no evidence of a thinking disorder of neurotic or psychotic proportions." Dr. McGahee concluded that plaintiff is "so far free from mental defect, disease and derangement," and that there was no medical reason why plaintiff should not be disciplined or separated from the Army. He recommended plaintiff's return to duty on February 18, 1958. 14. An OER for February 1958 contained a flat recommendation that plaintiff be discharged from the Army because of "certain trends of character and conduct brought sharply into focus during recent months." The criticism focused on plaintiff's charges against his seniors following his reprimand; the endorsing officer wrote: "Captain Nagell lacks maturity, judgment and common sense; apparently he has been unable to adjust himself to the requirements expected of a Captain of the United States Army." These charges were also described by another superior officer as "malicious, unfounded, and further indication of his unsuitability as an officer in the United States Army." Nagell got married and moved back to the United States in July of 1958 when he took command of an infantry basic training company at Fort Dix in New Jersey. For the first three months, his reviews were glowing but within a year he was again exhibiting a loss of temper and an obnoxious attitude. Nagell resigned in August 1958 and was given an honorable discharge on October 29, 1959. Nagell returned to civilian life and applied to work as a policeman but a board found him medically disqualified. He worked for the California Department of Employment from December 1959 to March 1961. His was discharged from this job because, he claimed he made an "indiscreet statement to the press." In 1960, Nagell applied to the Veteran's Administration for a disability rating. He described his 1954 injury as a brain concussion. He was seen by a neuropsychiatrist but only told him he had suffered a mild concussion. No evidence of mental deterioration was found and Nagell was given a 64 percent combined wartime disability rating. "He was also found to be disabled as a result of a service-connected brain concussion, but because this condition was determined to be less than 10 percent disabling, no compensation was payable for it." In May 1960 Nagell wrote to Senator Thomas Kuchel and he "complained of the Army's failure, despite his history of head injury, to given him a neurological examination before his discharge." "My Pre-Resignation Physical Examination was hurried and incomplete to say the least. As a prime example, even though I received a neurological injury in combat, and another -- very serious -- neurological injury in the aforementioned plane crash, I did not receive examination by a Neurologist." This was the first admission by Nagell that he suffered neurological damage. It was suggested that he seek review by the Army Board for Correction of Military Records. Nagell then attempted suicide in 1962: 27. Twice in 1962, plaintiff was a psychiatric patient at VA hospitals. In May, he was admitted to a Los Angeles facility because of homicidal and suicidal tendencies. A psychiatric resident, Dr. Harvey Weintraub, diagnosed "acute anxiety reaction with depressive features in a markedly passive aggressive character, passive dependent type." Plaintiff did not disclose to Dr. Weintraub his history of head injury. Plaintiff was not considered an active suicide or homicide threat and was allowed to discharge himself after three days. He was referred to an outpatient psychiatric clinic. 28. Shortly after he was released, plaintiff shot himself, and was again admitted to hospital. The evidence of this episode is not direct and no scars of the shooting are mentioned in later physical examination in the record. The shooting is mentioned, however, in subsequent medical histories and in a Fifth Circuit opinion, described below, which goes extensively into plaintiff's medical history. In two such medical histories, plaintiff is reported to have said he shot himself, in another that it was an assailant, and in another that he was vague about the shooting incident. In still another, it is said that Nagell suggested that his wife shot him. The contemporaneous preoccupation with suicide points to plaintiff having shot himself; the variation in plaintiff's accounts is consistent with a symptom of his troubles diagnosed below. Nagell then tried to reenlist in 1962 but he was not accepted. He then entered the VA hospital at Bay Pines, Florida in December 1962. He was treated by Dr. James Martin, Acting Chief of the Psychology Service. His report stated: IMPRESSION: This appears to be a very interesting case for diagnosis. There are many psychological test signs of inefficiencies of thinking. Substuporous mental states are suspected, and there is retardation of thought. Level of mental functioning is no better than low-average at the present time, although there are many indications of previously superior mental ability. The psychological testing does not, however, resemble that given by individuals who have impairment of brain tissue. To this examiner, the patient's history, behavior, and test performance strongly resembles that seen in epileptic individuals. The possibility remains that this is a beginning of a paranoid break with reality, possibly paranoid schizophrenia, although the patient certainly shows no clinical signs of psychosis at the present time. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to the reported history of headaches, amnesia, irritability, and confusion, the patient shows on psychological testing many signs of inefficiencies of through, delayed thinking, inability to integrate, and a waxing and waning of alertness, which resembles that seen in epileptoid individuals. It is recommended that neuro-psychiatric studies by undertaken to rule out this condition. Nagell was then see by Dr. P. C. Clark, the Chief of Psychiatric Service. His report noted that Nagell "is emotionally unstable and continues to be aggressive, critical and paranoid. This type of behavior has been noted since being in the service in 1954 or earlier." His diagnosis: "Chronic brain syndrome associated with brain trauma, cerebral concussions in 1953 and 1954, with behavioral reaction-passive-aggressive type with paranoid traits." He was then examined by staff psychiatrist Dr. M. L. Schwartz. His report notes: "He states that his main trouble is 'headaches which I have had continuously recently.' He also complains of 'dizziness, and at times an uneasy gait.' These symptoms are sometimes associated with a transient loss of memory. During the interview his retention and recall were good. Sensorium was intact. When I asked him what he thought was wrong he said 'I think my trouble is physiologic.' When I asked him what he meant by physiologic he stated 'My trouble is all due to my head injury.'" The hospital wanted him to stay in for further observation, but Nagell refused and was discharged on January 25, 1963. On January 2, 1963, while still in the hospital, Nagell wrote a letter to President Kennedy: "In 1954 I was the sole survivor of a B-25 bomber crash in which I sustained a serious head injury. Since then I have never been the same -- mentally or physically -- although the Army returned me to a general duty status. I was aware of my condition but pride made me try to 'hang on.' Eventually, many of my superiors and co-workers could see that there was something wrong. I know my subsequent military efficiency reports and other records, some of which are buried under the wraps of security classifications, substantiate this. My condition became worse as the years went by." Nagell complained the examination he had at the time of his resignation was "incomplete to say the least." On February 3, 1963 Nagell applied to the Army Board for the Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) for a "complete and adequate physical examination by the Army to include a neurological examination and if applicable to receive a disability retirement from the Army." Nagell's application was denied on July 10, 1963. The court noted a few troubling aspects of their decision in that they got the dates of Nagell's examinations wrong leading the court to lose confidence in their thoroughness. "From all that appears, the decision of the Board was reached with no more than a hasty review of the record for negative purposes." The court decision then discusses the shooting affair at the bank in El Paso, Texas, and notes the reason: "His reason for the entry into the bank and the shooting, plaintiff told a psychiatrist three years later, was that he had tried to get into a VA Hospital and they had refused him and that he had entered the bank and attempted this holdup in order to force the VA to take him." Shortly after his arrest, Nagell was committed to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners at Springfield, Missouri. He was examined there by three doctors who agreed with the diagnosis of "mental illness, undetermined, in a man who is utilizing passive aggressive tactics." However, they said he did "possess the capacity for rationality" and supported an adjudication of competence. Nagell stood trial and was convicted on May 6, 1964. He was sentenced to 10 years. The court noted: "Throughout the trial, plaintiff vociferously denied that he had any mental disease or incapacity. He repeatedly said he would not accept insanity as a defense, and would not cooperate with his counsel in asserting such a defense. He denied that he had ever been treated by a psychiatrist. During the trial, according to the Fifth Circuit's first opinion, "[plaintiff] would interrupt witnesses on the stand, calling them liars, and would jump up and shout that he was not insane."" An FBI agent told Nagell's counsel about the involvement of Dr. Edwin Weinstein. He then made a motion for a new trial and Nagell was examined in the El Paso jail by Dr. Weinstein. The appeals court described Weinstein's testimony: "He had given the Nagell case intensive study. He had attempted to keep in touch with Nagell, after this release from Walter Reed, but could obtain no reply to his inquiries. He said Nagell had apparently suffered a fracture through the base of his brain, which injured the underside of the brain, and not only damaged the brain but some of the cranial nerves coming off the brain. He described Nagell's 'rather long, stormy, and tragic course' in the hospital. He had a fracture through the orbit and a broken jaw. There was extensive laceration and scarring of the face. He attacked the corpsmen who had charge of him at the hospital. There was behavior interpreted as a suicidal gesture, resulting in his being locked in a psychiatric ward as a precaution against suicide. He was hospitalized from November 1954, until May, 1955. The doctor did not see him from April 28, 1955 until he interviewed him on June 5, 1964. He got a letter from Nagell dated January 10, 1963, while he was at Bay Pines hospital. He received another letter two weeks later. These were fully set forth in the evidence. Dr. Weinstein had examined the records from Bay Pines. He testified that unless a psychiatrist had an accurate history of what had happened to Nagell in the past, including the brain damage history, he would be very much at sea and confused by the manifestations in his case. He said that one aspect of Nagell's illness, particularly complicating it, had been his denial of illness, and his attempt to conceal information. It was Dr. Weinstein's opinion that Nagell could not completely and accurately differentiate between right and wrong. In response to a hypothetical question, detailing what took place at the alleged robbery, and considering the entire history of Nagell's case, he said, 'I would say that this was a symptom or a manifestation of disturbed brain function and during the period his judgment and perception of reality was seriously disturbed so that he could not accurately differentiate right from wrong', that, in his opinion, Nagell was disassociated with reality at the time of the incident. He gave it as his opinion that the act at the bank on September 20, 1963, was directly related to Nagell's mental illness, that the act was an alternative to suicide. He said the brain damage sustained by Nagell did not affect the ordinary components of intelligence and that he did have sufficient intelligence to know the nature of the charges against him, but that he would hesitate to say that he was reasonably able to factually confer with his attorneys or to raise a defense." Following Dr. Weinstein's testimony, psychiatrists who testified for the government at Nagell's trial now reversed themselves: "One said that there was no better than Dr. Weinstein in the country and that after consulting with him and further interviews with Nagell, he would now change his testimony and give his opinion that Nagell could not distinguish between right or wrong on the day of the shooting. The government's psychiatric witness at the trial testified that he had known of Nagell's brain injury." Dr. Joseph Hornisher said that Nagell was suffering from Anton's disease, "which would cause him to deny mental illness and to do anything he could to mislead others with reference to it. He agreed with Dr. Weinstein's diagnosis of organic brain illness." Despite all of this, Nagell's motion for a new trial was dismissed and he was again sentenced to 10 years in prison. Nagell then attempted suicide by taking an overdose of "prescribed drugs which he had secretly hoarded." Nagell was then discharged from the prison hospital on July 16, 1964, and returned to the penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Between November 11 and December 22, 1964, Nagell was a patient at the prison hospital's psychiatric ward. The diagnosis was "character disorder, sociopathic personality, with emotional instability, malingering, refusal to talk or cooperate." In January 1966, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the trail court's denial of a new trial. On return of the case to the district court, they ordered Nagell recommitted to the Springfield Medical Center for another competency examination. Nagell was seen by clinical psychologist Dr. Robert Murney. He reported that Nagell "told him that the bank incident had been an attempt to gain help after having been turned away on several occasions by VA hospitals." His diagnosis: "In my opinion, this patient has both neurotic and characterological problems which I would infer at times to have reached psychotic proportions. Specifically, he shows an hysterical component in his personality which tends toward conversion symptoms and psychosomatic reactions but more basically his personality structure is characterized by emotional detachment and withdrawal, guardedness, suspiciousness, and distrust as well as tendencies towards projection. When we view these findings within the context of the patient's behavior over the last four years and particularly in view of his adamant refusal to cooperate on prior occasions, there is strong reason to believe that the underlying paranoid elements may reach delusional proportions under an intense and prolonged emotional stress." Nagell was also examined by Dr. Joseph Alderete who was the Chief of Psychiatric Services at the Center. Alderete found Nagell to be "of better than average intelligence, and to be oriented in time, person and place." But also found him "not mentally competent at the time of the alleged crime." Dr. Alderete could not confirm or deny that Nagell had suffered a brain injury. His diagnosis was "paranoid personality associated with features of a paranoid state, presently in remission." He summarized his conclusions: "In resume, then, the psychiatric symptomatology began some time in 1959 with symptomatology suggestive of paranoid personality and proceeded under ever increasing stress to a paranoid state at the time of the alleged crime, and persisted until recently with a slow remission to his present paranoid personality. A paranoid personality is not a psychotic state; it falls under the general category of personality pattern disturbance. The depth of the psychopathology of a personality pattern disturbance allows these individuals little room to maneuver under conditions of stress except into actual psychosis. It is the opinion of the psychiatric examiner, in closing, that this is exactly what took place, namely that Nagell, a lifelong paranoid personality under slowly building conditions of stress, went into an actual psychosis (paranoid state) and subsequently went into remission, and is now again a paranoid personality." Both Weinstein and Alderete testified at Nagell's retrial in September 1966. Weinstein testified that Nagell was suffering from "traumatic encephalopathy," a mental disease caused by an injury or trauma, incurred in the airplane crash. Nagell had a damaged brain: "here is a man who was a highly successful person as a soldier up to the time of a brain injury. He has gone successively downhill ever since, and I think the brain injury is the major cause of the decline." Among the consequences of Nagell's illness are "impaired judgment, confabulations -- 'fictitious story' or 'delusional formation' with no awareness of falsity -- and anosognosia, or Anton's disease." The court elaborated on confabulation: "Confabulations or "fictitious story" is "a symptom of certain forms of mental disorders consisting in making ready answers and reciting experiences without regard to truth." Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 333 (24 ed. 1965). Another definition: "The relation of imaginary experiences to fill in gaps in memory." Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, c-79 (11th ed. 1970). See also, R. Campbell, Psychiatric Dictionary, 126 (5th ed. 1981) ("The term implies also lack of insight, in the sense that the subject fully believes his answers to be correct. Confabulation is found in organic brain disease in which intellectual impairment is a prominent feature.")" Dr. Weinstein gave three illustration of stories that Nagell made up: "One was that he had received a telegram telling him that his two children had been killed, another that he had been blackjacked and robbed in New York, and a third that he had been born in Montana. Each had a psychological explanation: The first expressed how much he missed his children; the second his worry about his brain and his poor judgment in controlling himself; and his third his unhappy childhood." Dr. Weinstein noted: "Due to altered brain function you might say his brain was working in a way comparable to someone who might dream something ... When a person uses this method of trying to compensate for problems and dealing with it means to me that his brain function is pretty impaired." Despite the expert testimony, Nagell was again convicted of robbery and in September 1966 sentenced to 10 years in prison. He went back to the federal penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth. On February 2, 1967, Nagell was again transferred to the Medical Center at Springfield for evaluation. Dr. Alderete's diagnosis was "paranoid personality in remission [with] mild schizoid features." Nagell was observed for eight weeks and then returned. Nagell's second conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeals on April 3, 1968. The court found that "reasonable doubt must have existed in the minds of reasonable jurors on that issue [Nagell's insanity], and that the trial court, in light of the strong evidence of Nagell's insanity, erred in not instructing the jury in terms of the specific intent required for attempted armed robbery." In early 1968, Nagell made a trip to Europe. He appeared at the U.S. consulate in Zurich and said that he was on a CIA mission. They described Nagell as "quite incoherent. In fact, appears psychotic, possibly dangerous." The court noted Nagell's stories on the JFK assassination: "Stories told by plaintiff, both related to this trip and earlier matters, involve work for and persecution by the CIA. For instance, he has told of dealings with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to the Kennedy assassination, as part of what he said was an undercover CIA assignment, and that he staged the bank incident in 1963 to reach the safety of federal custody because he feared a CIA assassination. These are here treated as likely confabulations, i.e., continuing symptoms and manifestations of his brain injury." On December 12, 1968, Nagell was given a neuropsychiatric examination by Dr. Benjamin Kagwa of the VA, in connection with his disability claim. Nagell had complained of headaches, dizziness and loss of memory. The clinical record notes him to be "irritable, hostile and almost combative." He was both "somewhat raving literally" and capable of coherent and relevant speech. Nagell disclosed little about prior hospitalizations and diagnoses. The new diagnosis: "Chronic Brain Syndrome, associated with brain trauma, with behavior reaction characterized by passive-aggressive and paranoid features. Incapacity marked. Competent." On January 9, 1968 Nagell was rated 100 percent disabled as a result of chronic brain syndrome. In January 1969, Nagell was admitted to a VA hospital in Brooklyn, NY with a complaint of severe headaches. Dr. Iris Norstrand, a staff neurologist, made this diagnosis: Psychophysiologic central nervous system Disturbance, manifested by Headaches. Paranoid Personality. Encephalopathy due to Remote Trauma. In May 1969, Nagell again applied to the ABCMR for correction of his record and disability retirement. He was turned down. In May 1970, Nagell tried again without success. On August 17, 1971 Nagell was granted legal custody of his two children. There was only a written application to a judge. "Plaintiff's testimony is that there was no court proceedings and no written application made by him. He intimates that the CIA can explain why the judge gave him custody under such circumstance." [see below for more information on this] Nagell was seen at the VA Outpatient Clinic in Long Beach, California on March 22, 1972 by a staff psychiatrist, Dr. R. E. Cohenour. He did not disclose his previous diagnoses. He told the doctor about his imprisonment and release in East Germany "while working for the CIA" and that his case had been mismanaged by the government. The diagnosis: "Psychosis organic brain syndrome, brain trauma. Veteran is competent." Nagell files his lawsuit to gain full disability on January 2, 1973. The ABCMR said it would reconsider his case if he made a written request, supported by Dr. Weinstein's opinion. Nagell wrote Weinstein who replied on March 20, 1973: "In response to your letters of March 7 and March 12, I can state that at the time I saw you at Walter Reed you had sustained a brain injury. As to your condition in October 1959, I have no first hand information and could not state definitively whether or not you were disabled, in the sense of being unfit for military service at the time. However, in light of subsequent events, I would be willing to write a letter to the Justice Department for you." Dr. Weinstein wrote a letter. dated July 23, 1973, to the Board: "Mr. Richard C. Nagell has asked me to send you a statement of my opinion of his medical condition in October 1959. As I did not see Mr. Nagell between April 28, 1955 and June 7, 1964, I can only state my general impression of his medical condition in 1959. My initial encounter with Mr. Nagell was in the course of a research study on the effects of behavior of head injuries. My later examination of him from 1964 was in response to a subpoena from the United States District Court in El Paso. Mr. Nagell is the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed a score or so of people on the night of November 28, 1954. He was brought to the hospital in shock and coma and a tracheotomy was performed. In addition to the putative brain injury, he had fractures of the faciomaxillary bone and numerous lacerations. He went through a delirious stage in which he was restless and violent, evidently imagining he was in battle. He was admitted to Walter Reed on January 3, 1955 and was noted as disoriented for place. He continued to be restless, afraid to sleep and was transferred to a psychiatric ward after threatening to commit suicide. His behavior improved and he was transferred back to an officer's ward in mid April. Following an operation for an anal fissure, he was confused, demanding, and uncooperative for a few days. Though he still had some memory impairment, the patient was insistent on returning to duty. He is said to have destroyed the record of his N.P. examination and he later denied to the CIC [Counter-Intelligence Corps] that he had ever had a neuropsychiatric examination. After Mr. Nagell's release from hospital, he was assigned to CIC school where he had problems with his memory. He then went to Japan where in contrast to his good efficiency ratings he received lower grades. In Japan he was sent to Tokyo Army Hospital in 1958 for psychiatric study because of antagonistic, disrespectful and impetuous behavior. He has also made several suicidal gestures, shooting himself in the chest in 1962 and trying to cut his wrists after his arrest in El Paso in 1963. There have also been periods of confabulation and amnesia. As I have testified in several court appearances, personality and behavioral changes are common sequelae of brain injuries such as were sustained by Mr. Nagell. These include lapses in memory, denial of illness, outbursts of temper and violence and anti-social behavior. Any medical evaluation of Mr. Nagell made in 1959 should have considered his severe brain injury as a causal factor in his behavior. After his injury he was in my opinion unfit to be an Army officer." On April 3, 1974 the Board found that Nagell was again fit for general military service beginning in May 1955 and "that his medical records and efficiency reports between 1955 and 1959 gave no basis for a determination that he was unfit for further service on October 30, 1959, when he resigned. The Board said his mental health declined after he left the Army. They concluded that "neither error nor injustice appeared in the failure to retire plaintiff in 1959 by reason of disability." ************* The above is a summary of the events up until the trial and decision of the court for Nagell in his fight for a full disability pension. There are a lot more details of his various psychiatric examinations in the full court case. ************* Nagell and his children It sounded bizarre that Nagell won custody of his children. Here is what Russell says about that: (page 669 in the first edition) "...it was the spring of 1970 in Berlin when he was finally somehow informed of the whereabouts of his two children. If they had previously been in Europe, by this time they had returned to Los Angeles. A June 19, 1970 letter from L.A.'s director of the Department of Public Social Services let Nagell know that the case record had been reviewed and the staff "will proceed without delay to contact Mrs. Nagell and develop a plan to provide you the opportunity to visit [his son] Robert. I specify Robert is under our supervision and his sister is not. We are further prepared to return to Juvenile Court if Mrs. Nagell does not cooperate with us." Reunited with his children late that month, Nagell would take legal custody of Robert and Teri Nagell on August 17, 1971. I know that his ex-wife, Mitsuko, had since remarried, but I was unable to find her. Trying to find out more about this most bizarre of circumstances surrounding Richard Case Nagell, through a university alumni office I was able to locate Robert Lamont Nagell by phone in February 1992. Now thirty-two and working as a veterinarian in California, he said: "I saw my father for the first time in 1970. And I lived with him for a number of years, until eventually he decide he was not into parenting. He was a very secretive man. Do you know I don't even know where he was born? Or his mother's maiden name? He was never willing to have a photo of himself taken with his family." "I haven't spoken to my father in eleven years. The last talk we had was amicable enough, it closed a chapter and I've never really looked back. If I had a relationship with him, it might be worthwhile for you to talk to me. But our family is completely split up. Nobody talks to anybody, except me and my mother. I don't really want to delve into my past. I would be interested in what really went on myself, but my mother will not even talk to me about it. My father always told me that someday the truth would be known." Download the complete court case here. Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

Conspiracy theorists offer different reasons why Richard Case Nagell did not testify at Clay Shaw's trial. James DiEugenio, in his book Destiny Betrayed, writes: (page 294) "For instance, Richard Case Nagell had a grenade thrown at him from a speeding car in New York. Nagell brought the remains of the grenade to Garrison and told him he did not think it was wise for him to testify at Shaw's trial." DiEugenio's source is page 436 of Dick Russell's book The Man Who Knew Too Much: (page 436) Of course, anything that Richard Case Nagell says is suspect. So, we have to take this with a grain of salt. But note that he says it was a "practice Mark IV hand grenade." A practice grenade is inert - it won't go off. I also cannot find any reference to a 'Mark IV' hand grenade anywhere (although here is a reference to a British Army MK IV from World War I). Here is a Mk. II practice hand grenade. "The manual describes the practice grenades as being similar in every way to the live grenade but omitting the explosive charge, detonator, fuze and filling hole plug." Jim Garrison has a very different story about Nagell and the Shaw trial in his book On The Trail of the Assassins. Garrison claims that Nagell arrived "shortly before the trial, willing to testify against Shaw." After talking with Nagell, Garrison decided not to use him as a witness: (page 229) "However, he was also as inflexible as ever about identifying the intelligence agency with which he had been associated - and might still be associated. I understood his concern about the non-disclosure agreement which he apparently had signed with his parent agency. But it was all too clear to me what a field day the defense lawyers would have when they discovered on cross-examination that he would not disclose his affiliation. In short order they would be coming at him just as the sharks had come at Santiago's fish. By the time they finished with Nagell, the jury would have been left with the impression of a crackpot. One such incident, one such discrediting, is all it takes to undo an entire case. I decided that with Nagell we could not take the risk." Of course, Nagell wouldn't identify the "intelligence agency with which he had been associated." He wasn't associated with any. For once I agree with Garrison: "the jury would have been left with the impression of a crackpot." I don't believe that Garrison ever intended to call Nagell to the stand. His name did not appear in the memo listing trial witnesses that Tom Bethell leaked to the Shaw defense team. There is not one word in Garrison's book about a practice hand grenade. You'd think someone would have taken a picture of Garrison, Nagell and the 'remains.' But wait, there's more! Richard Case Nagell has a third reason why he was not called to the stand. This is from the first edition of Dick Russell's book, The Man Who Knew Too Much: (page 443 - 444) "One of the key witnesses in Jim Garrison's conspiracy case was Perry Russo, a young insurance agent and acquaintance of David Ferrie. Russo told a reporter in February 1967 of a party he had attended at Ferrie's apartment, placing the date at probably September 15. There Ferrie introduced him to a "Leon Oswald," whom Russo could not positively identify as being Lee Harvey. Nagell told Garrison that it assuredly was not, since the real Oswald had been in his own company on the night in question. This was a major reason, Nagell believed, why Garrison did not call him as a witness in the Clay Shaw trial; Nagell's testimony might have cast doubt on Garrison's case." There you have it. Lee Harvey Oswald was with Nagell, and not at the party with Ferrie and Bertrand. My head is hurting. None of this nonsense bothers conspiracy theorist James DiEugenio. He actually believes that a second Oswald, Leon Oswald, was at the party with Ferrie and Russo. I will discuss that in a future blog post. Stay tuned. Previous Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

In 1992. Dick Russell wrote a letter to Harold Weisberg with some important information on his upcoming book on Richard Case Nagell: Dick Russell did include one page from the military intelligence file in his book The Man Who Knew Too Much. Russell discusses the need to find a "smoking gun" to convince people that Nagell "was indeed someone worthy of serious attention." (page 53) In May 1986, Nagell sent Russell page 2 from a Military Intelligence "Agent Report" dated May 2, 1969. I reproduced that page 2 in my first blog post on Nagell. Russell writes that: (page 54 in the first edition) "What was so striking about this report was that, unlike any other government file I had seen about him, it stated directly that Nagell had been monitoring the activities of Oswald, his wife, and "Anti-Castro organizations" on behalf of the CIA. The beginning sentences of the report were not phrased in a manner attributable to Nagell. In other words, they did not say "SUBJECT alleged" or "claimed" or "stated"; the facts about Nagell were simply stated as facts." Just looking at page two, it seems obvious that the material was coming from Nagell. However, here is the complete document: Just have a look at the opening sentence of page one: "On 11 April 1969, SUBJECT appeared as a walk-in at Berlin Station and stated in substance as follows:" No wonder Nagell only sent page two to Dick Russell. Of course, he never would have sent Russell page four which has the agent's notes: "AGENT'S NOTES: It was obvious throughout both interviews with SUBJECT that HE was mentally disturbed. SUBJECT broke down and cried on numerous occasions, usually when the conversation concerned HIS attempts to locate HIS family. SUBJECT'S allegation that HE received no cooperation from VA Hospitals or the State Department could quite possibly stem from SUBJECT's extreme emotional state and HIS propensity to interpret anything but immediate response to HIS demands as an indication of non-cooperation. Subsequent investigation revealed, in fact, that measures have been taken to fulfill the promises made to SUBJECT." This "smoking gun" clearly was using smokeless powder. If this is the only document Russell can cite as direct evidence about Nagell, well, his whole case is blown apart. Everything allegation about Nagell just comes from Nagell (and Russell). There is no underlying documentation. At some point Russell apparently realized that the document didn't quite substantiate his allegations because he did not include this "smoking gun" in his second edition. By the way, here are Harold Weisberg's comments on this document and on Russell's book: Hat Tip: I retrieved the military intelligence document from Malcolm Blunt's documents on the Dealey Plaza UK website. Mark Zaid also had received the file through a FOIA request. Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

I introduced Richard Case Nagell yesterday. He supposedly had foreknowledge of the JFK assassination, and conspiracy theorists believe he wanted to stop the plot. James DiEugenio writes in his book Destiny Betrayed: (page 97) "Instead he went into a bank in El Paso ostensibly to purchase some American Express checks, since he was being paid through them by the CIA. There, he decided to fire shots in the bank that deliberately did not hit anyone. Thinking he would only be tried on a misdemeanor, he thought he would be able to produce evidence in court showing the machinations of the plot. But he was not allowed to mention American Express in court; he was charged with a felony, and some of the evidence he had in his car disappeared. Therefore, the plot proceeded." Here is the El Paso Times from Saturday, September 21, 1963: Nagell pleaded not guilty, and he even tried to commit suicide. Here is the El Paso Times from September 22, 1963: James DiEugenio's source is Dick Russell's book, The Man Who Knew Too Much. Here is what Russell has to say about the robbery attempt: (page 291) "His actions inside the bank were all by design, intended as a signal to whomever was waiting for him right across the Mexican border. When he asked teller Patsy Gordon for $100 in American Express traveler's checks, this was intentional. At our last meeting, Nagell suggested I reexamine his trial transcript and think about why the prosecution raised such an objection to his specific mention of American Express. In a letter to Greenstein, he indicated that it was through American Express that he was supposed to receive payment for his intelligence work in 1962 - 1963 -- money that Nagell had said "failed to materialize." Further, it is noteworthy that the letters "Am Ex" appear at least six times in the address book of Lee Harvey Oswald, which also contained the telephone number for the American Express office in Moscow." Of course, that money failed to materialize! Nagell was not doing intelligence work in 1962 and 1963. And even if he was and even if he was being paid in American Express travelers checks, it still doesn't explain why he walked into a bank with a gun. Here are some excerpts from his arrest report: Some comments: Nagell tried to escape. He ran out the west side door and then down Oregon Street. He got into his car, drove down the alley, and tried to merge on to traffic on Overland. He was discharged from the army in 1959 and then went to work with the Liquor Board of the State of California. He was discharged from the Board. His was unable to pay support for his children for the last year and a half because he was unemployed, and because of his failure to pay support, the court ordered him not to see his children. Bizarrely, he said a set of license plates had been sent to him, and then a second set of plates were sent, and he decided to keep both. He declined to say anything about his motivations regarding what happened in the bank. They found a handcuff key in his underwear. You can clearly see from the arrest reports that Nagell had some mental issues. And you can see further evidence of that in the FBI's 55-page report on Richard Case Nagell from February 4, 1964. Here is an excerpt (although you can read the salient points just below the report): Some comments: He said that "he was unhappy with the American judicial system, because he had attempted, through judicial procedures, to get to see his two children, a girl 3 1/2 and boy 2 1/2, in custody of his divorced wife, and the California court had not executed an order in keeping with his request." (p. 31) He said he did not want an attorney. (p. 32) He said he wanted to talk to the FBI, and then said he had cut his wrist and lost a pint of blood. (p. 33) He did not think he was crazy, but he said he needed psychiatric attention. He was highly emotional and often could not remember what he was saying, or where he was. (p. 34) He was hospitalized at the Veterans' Hospital from December. 20, 1963 until January 1963. "He stated that he had been confined in this hospital as a result of "spells" that he had been having and that he was in the hospital for observation." (p. 34) He said that "he had not been able to get his feet on the ground since his discharge from the United States Army in 1959. (p. 34) He "intimated" to the FBI that he gone into the bank "so that they would take him back in the hospital." He had been suffering from headaches for several days. (p. 35) The report noted that "all the enlisted men of the 441st CIC Detachment thought that Nagell was slightly unbalanced and was not a normal officer. The reputation among the enlisted men was to stay away from Nagell." (p. 37) Nagell told another prisoner that "after his release from the United States Army, he drifted from job to job and became more and more mentally confused as to his political, religious, and economic allegiances." He then supposedly joined the Communist party. He also said that during his trip from Los Angeles to El Paso, he "stopped by the side of the road on at least three occasions and attempted suicide with a pistol in his possession. He explained to STANGA [the other prisoner], however, that he did not have the guts to do it and just let things drift along." (p. 43) Nagell's mother said that "her son had had a brilliant career in the military service up until the time of the plane crash near Washington, D.C. following which he was unconscious for three weeks in the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington. Upon his recuperation from these injuries, he underwent a complete personality change." Richard Case Nagell was the sole survivor of a plane crash in 1954: Dallas Morning News, November 30, 1954 Nagell was convicted of bank robbery. But he won a new trial on appeal because of some startling new information. Here is an excerpt from Nagell v. United States 354 F. 2d 441: Thee startling new information was that Nagell sustained a physical brain injury from the plane crash in 1954. He was a damaged man and it showed. How is this treated by conspiracy theorist James DiEugenio? Nagell's plane crash and his subsequent brain injury is not mentioned at all in his book Destiny Betrayed. Nor will you find any excerpts from this legal decision, or from any of the many psychiatric examinations of Nagell over the years. He dismisses any concerns about Nagell's mental instability in Probe Magazine (Volume 3, No. 1): "In the wake of Russell's book and the revelation of a plane accident, commentators like Mark Zaid and Paul Hoch have questioned Nagell's utility on the basis of possible mental instability. Probe has decided not to engage in telepathic psychiatry." DiEugenio then published a letter that Nagell wrote and tells readers that that should be enough to "decide if Nagell is in control of his faculties." Here is a small excerpt: DiEugenio believes this is all very clever because of the use of 'code' For instance, 'Young Regent of Yanquis Land' is JFK, etc. Aren't you now convinced of Nagell's sanity? DiEugenio then closes with a figure of speech: "the poor devil rode the whirlwind." Richard Case Nagell needed help. Jim Garrison and Dick Russell only made Nagell's situation worse by encouraging his delusions. So why did Nagell shoot up the bank? Well, in June 1966 Nagell gave a specific reason for his actions. Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog post. Previous Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

In 1992, Dick Russell published The Man Who Knew Too Much, which was about Richard Case Nagell, the man "hired to kill Oswald and prevent the assassination of JFK." Here is how Spartacus Educational describes the Nagell story: "According to Nagell, when he recovered [from a self-inflicted gun shot] he began working for the Central Intelligence Agency as a double agent. This involved becoming an activist in the American Communist Party. This included distributing Marxist propaganda in Mexico. Nagell also claimed he was involved in monitoring a group of Cuban exiles plotting against Fidel Castro. In 1963 Nagell discovered that this group was planning to assassinate John F. Kennedy while making it appear that it had been ordered by Castro. When he told the KGB they ordered him to warn Lee Harvey Oswald about what was happening. Nagell also claimed he warned the FBI and CIA about the plot. In September, 1963, Nagell walked into a bank in El Paso, Texas, and fired two shots into the ceiling and then waited to be arrested. Nagell claimed he did this to isolate himself from the assassination plot. This was successful and Nagell was charged with armed robbery and ended up spending the next five years in prison." I remember buying the book in Brooklyn Heights when it first came out. It was a massive tome - over 800 pages. The book was subsequently put on a diet and was reissued in 2003, coming in at only 588 pages. I read it on a flight going back to Europe and I just found it hard to believe. Russell made fantastic claims [sometimes putting words in Nagell's mouth] and yet there was no hard evidence to back up any of it. The evidence was seemingly always in a footlocker somewhere. Not surprisingly many people found the Nagell story a bit much. Here is what Paul Hoch had to say in an Echoes of Conspiracy newsletter: "The Man Who Knew Too Much" There is much of value in Dick Russell's book, from his own investigation of subjects such as Win Scott, Frank Ellsworth, and the right in Dallas. That makes it important to assess the claims of its central character, Richard Case Nagell. The book is designed around the story of Nagell - much more than "Reasonable Doubt" depended on Robert Easterling, who was relegated to a single chapter. Unfortunately, I found no reason to believe that Nagell - spooky as he may be - ever had anything to do with Oswald. If Nagell was involved with the Los Angeles FPCC, for example, that is interesting but quite probably unrelated. Russell must have gone through a period of intense skepticism about Nagell - his reputation as a journalist and researcher has been good. But, surprisingly, the book says little that explains to me why he ultimately found Nagell's story credible. The book includes a page from a 1969 document provided by Nagell, and Russell gives much weight to the fact that it flatly asserts that Nagell investigated Marina Oswald for the CIA. But the remaining pages are not published, and even on that same page it seems obvious to me that the writer sometime simply omitted "subject claims." Consider the alternative: is it plausible that the interviewer had access, before he wrote this memo, to actual CIA information? Would the CIA have told some military intelligence agent that Nagell had been involved with an investigation of the Oswalds? I doubt it. Nagell seems to have served as a Ouija board, helping Russell fit the usual wide range of stories together. Go to him with the right question, and you'll get an answer. Maybe that is what it takes to get a coherent picture in this case: someone to say, yes, those pieces all fit - I was there. I am disturbed that Russelll does not even mention that Nagell told Garrison that Clay Shaw was one of the men associating with Oswald. (Or so Garrison says, in "Trail of the Assassins.") At the least, Russell should have pointed out Garrison's claim. One also has to wonder why the Nagell story never caught on, except with a few buffs, such as Bud Fensterwald, who - "de mortuis nil nisi bonum" notwithstanding - didn't meet too many theories he didn't like. Russell says "There was, no doubt, a method to Nagell's seeming madness" (p. 266), but there certainly seems to have been madness there. Here is the document cited by Paul Hoch which is on page 735 of the first edition of The Man Who Knew Too Much. The document appears to be based upon what Nagell is telling the author. This is the only page I have seen from this four-page document. If anybody has the other pages, please let me know. Russell did not put this page in the second edition of his book. One conspiracy theorist who buys into the Nagell nonsense is James DiEugenio. When Nagell died in 1995, DiEugenio quotes Jim Garrison as saying that "Richard Nagell is the most important witness there is." In his book, Destiny Betrayed, DiEugenio adds that "No serious and objective writer in the field can disagree with that to any great extent. If Nagell was not the most important of the cooperating witnesses, he was certainly in the top five." (page 93) Destiny Betrayed, has a couple of sections on Nagell and page 93 starts off with this paragraph: Most of what DiEugenio writes about Nagell is taken from Dick Russell. Over the next few months, we will be debunking the Nagell story. We have already debunked the DiEugenio claim that Nagell was physically attacked because of his so-called knowledge. I should cite the work of David Reitzes who did some incredible work debunking Nagell. His research is a handy guide. Richard Case Nagell died on November 1, 1995 in Los Angeles. Here is his obituary from the November 10, 1995 edition of the Los Angeles Times: Was Richard Case Nagell a "key witness"? Was he the "most important witness there is"? Stay tuned. Richard Case Nagell Blog Posts 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 had 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 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'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?

A few days ago I blogged about Oliver Stone's lack of support for protestors in Cuba who are fed up with the dictatorship. Already this year Oliver Stone has made a documentary which fêtes Nazarbayev, the dictator of Kazakhstan. It seems that Oliver Stone, for some strange reason, likes dictators. What was the response of James DiEugenio to my posts? Here are some of his comments from Facebook: "It speaks to your credibility and your neocon politics. The USA stood for dictatorship in the 1953 overthrow of Mossadegh, in the 1954 overthrow of Arbenz, the refusal to hold elections in Vietnam in 1954 and installation of a dictator in DIem, the 1960 assassination of Lumumba, the 1965 overthrow of Sukarno, the 1973 overthrow of Allende. I have never seen you complain one iota about any of these. Oliver did in his book Untold History. I won't even talk about how many people were killed as a result of those choices the US made, but they are in the millions. You are pretty selective in your choices of dictators are you not? Do all these others get Fred's OK?" I responded: "So your answer to stone’s love of dictators is to criticize me? Whatever you think of me, it doesn’t change the fact that Oliver stone fetes dictators like Putin, Castro, Chavez, and Nazarbayev. The mind boggles." And his reply: "No what I said is that he criticized all of those guys I named. Somehow in all of your books including your signature book Conservative Confidential, you have not. So in other words you are very selective in your choices. They all have to do with Stone? Why, because you think Oswald did it and he does not. Talk about mind boggling. And cherry picking." and "The other thing Fred leaves out is that one reason Oliver did the film and the second one is due to the fact that Kennedy was an anti colonialist. The Indonesia overthrow would have not occurred under JFK. And in the long version of the documentary we spell that out with two authorities. Lumumba was killed deliberately at the time he was since Dulles knew Kennedy would have favored him. Again, you will not see this in Fred's books. In fact, he makes the truly nutty statement that LBJ was continuing Kennedy's policy in Vietnam.😜 When in fact, LBJ admitted on tape in February of 1964 he did not agree with Kennedy's withdrawal plan! Therefore, even when you have it in the guy's own words, that makes no difference to Fred. This is why all his books should be dismissed. Like McAdams, they are all written with a neocon agenda which colors everything in them." There's a few more DiEugenio comments that you can read on Facebook. But you get the point. The only defense he can offer regarding Oliver Stone's love for dictators is to criticize me. The logical fallacy here is Tu Quoque. Here is a paragraph from The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: "The Latin phrase tu quoque translates to "you too." This is an attempt to justify wrong action because someone else does the same thing: "My evidence may be bad, but so is yours." This fallacy is frequently committed by proponents of various alternative medicine modalities, who argue that even though their therapies may lack evidence of effectiveness, more mainstream modalities also lack such evidence. That argument, of course, doesn't justify a treatment that lacks evidence. It is, furthermore, a false premise, as the level of evidence for mainstream therapies is often much higher than that for those considered 'alternative.'" DiEugenio's arguments could also be classified as ad hominem., What he leaves out from his comments is my long record of fighting dictatorships and campaigning for human rights. The cornerstone of the Free Thinking Film Society, which I started in 2007 to show films in Ottawa, was democracy, freedom, and human rights. Here are some of the films that I showed in Ottawa: Che: Anatomy of a Myth A look at the real murderous Che Guevara. A Night on Afghanistan Keeping Our Promises; Fundraiser for the Afghan School Project in Kandahar (to send girls to school). Crossing The "Schindler's List" for North Korea -- The Wall Street Journal Iranium Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon Europe’s Last Dictator: The ultra-nasty regime in Belarus Film and Speeches about the horrible regime in Belarus. When China Met Africa (Film)/China in Canada (Panel Discussion) A look at Chinese state-owned investment in Africa and panel discussion on Canada with Terry Glavin, David Harris, David Kilgour, Scott Simon and Jason Loftus. God Loves Uganda A film showing Christian missionaries in Uganda pushing for harsh penalties for homosexuality. Organ Harvesting in China A panel discussion on how China harvests political prisoners for organs with author Ethan Guttman, David Matas and others. Hacked! When Cyber Spies from China Attack A film on cyber spying from China followed by a panel discussion. Transcending Fear: The Story of Gao Zhisheng Gao Zhisgheng is a human rights attorney in China known for defending activists and religious minorities and documenting human rights abuses. He has been disbarred and detained by the Chinese government several times, and severely tortured. He last disappeared in February 2009 and was unofficially detained until December 2011, when it was announced that he has now been imprisoned for three years. His commitment to defending his clients is influenced by his Christian beliefs and their tenets on morality and compassion. The Invisible Men Gay Palestinians live under the threat of death in the Palestinian Territories and must escape to Israel where they become the invisible men. Education Under Fire The 30-minute documentary profiles the growth, struggle, and inspiring spirit of the Baha´i Institute for Higher Education. Baha´is in Iran have been subjected to systematic persecution, including arrests, torture, and execution simply for refusing to recant their beliefs. Putin’s Kiss Nashi is an increasingly popular political youth organization in Russia with direct ties to the Kremlin. Officially, its goal is to support the current political system by creating future elite among the brightest and most loyal Russian teenagers. But the organization also works to prevent the political opposition from spreading their views. Free China The fates of a woman living in Beijing and a man living in New York become inextricably linked because of a common conviction. From the award-winning director of “Tibet: Beyond Fear”, Free China: The Courage to Believe examines the widespread human rights violations in China through the remarkable and uplifting stories of Jennifer Zeng, a mother and former Communist Party member and Dr. Charles Lee, a Chinese American businessman, who along with hundreds of thousands of peaceful citizens are imprisoned and tortured for their spiritual beliefs. The Living A film about the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s. Speaker: David Kilgour. Justice for Sergei How an innocent Russian lawyer dies in prison 2010, The Netherlands Oscar’s Cuba The story of Dr. Oscar Biscet who has just been released from a 25-year prison sentence in Cuba for his promotion of human rights. The Power of the Powerless A look at the velvet revolution that toppled communism in Czechoslovakia. The Lives of Others The horrifying, sometimes unintentionally funny system of observation in the former East Germany. For Neda On June 20, 2009, Neda Agha-Soltan was shot and killed on the streets of Tehran during the turmoil that followed the Iranian presidential contest. Within hours, images of her dying moments, captured on cell phones, appeared on computer screens across the world, focusing the world's attention on mass protests against the rigged elections in Iran. Features previously unseen footage of Neda with friend and family, as well as exclusive video of her recorded the day she died. Outside The Great Wall At a time when China has joined the economic powerhouses of the world, it has also erected a new Great Wall against free speech and democracy, blocking the flow of information among Chinese and from overseas. This brave documentary features interviews with 12 prominent Chinese intellectuals and artists living in exile, from Nobel Prize-winning writer Gao Xingjian in Paris and novelist Zheng Yi in Washington, to Tiananmen student leaders Wang Dan and Zhang Boli, and the “Godfather of Chinese Democracy” Xu Wenli. The story of these courageous men and women is the story of the struggle for freedom and human rights in China. Their fight continues today. I no longer show films in Ottawa. However, I am still involved with human rights. Here is a picture of me with Martin Lee, the father of democracy in Hong Kong. I moderated a panel on Hong Kong for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa. I was in Hong Kong for the handover in 1997. That night Martin Lee led a demonstration at 2 AM outside the legislative assembly, which was being disbanded by China. They gave out these face masks and I kept mine, and brought it to show him. I will be donating it to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. And while James DiEugenio likes to criticize my book Conservative Confidential, here is part of my conclusion that he will never quote: (pages 184 - 187) The United States, under Barack Obama, has been in full retreat from the world. It doesn’t look like any Republican successor would behave very differently. Countries like France may be called on to step up to the plate. The French led the successful effort to depose Libyan dictator Gaddafi in 2011, and the French defeated Al-Qaida forces in Mali in 2013. As Conrad Black put it in his 2014 book, Rise to Greatness: The History of Canada from the Vikings to the Present, Canada is not going to be able to replace the United States in the world — “no country could do that” — but there is an opportunity and a duty for Canada “to fill some of the space that has been vacated.” Canada is in a fairly good position to pick up some of the slack America’s retreat has created. Our finances are in good shape. We aren’t burdened by the sclerotic lethargy of most western European countries. We also have credibility that few can match, largely because we have no overseas colonial baggage and no history of unjust wars. And despite what the NDP sometimes says, the world thinks well of Canada. The Harper Conservatives once sensed that Canada could play a bigger role in promoting democracy. Their 2008 platform stated that they would “make the promotion of Canada’s democratic values on the world stage a major focus of our foreign policy.” The Conservatives pledged to establish “a new, non-partisan democracy promotion agency that will help emerging democracies build democratic institutions and support peaceful democratic change in repressive countries.” That never happened. In 2011, the Liberal Party promised: “We will establish a Canada Democracy Agency, with capacity to broker, coordinate and support deployments of Canadian governance expertise, from both within federal agencies, and beyond — including other governments, retired professionals, the private sector and NGOs.” And why on earth shouldn’t Canada lead big time on this issue? How about also pushing for a Council of Democracies — an organization that could have far more relevance, far more clout and far more gravitas than the ridiculous, dictator-driven United Nations? Canada could lead on democracy and freedom around the globe. We could be the ones to champion dissidents around the world and to help oppressed minorities everywhere in their fight for freedom. As dictators fall, and they inevitably do fall, Canada could be the first in to help build fledgling democracies. It wouldn’t be easy. We’d have to stare down China and promote Taiwan, actively support the Iranian opposition, organize international coalitions, tell the Saudi royal family to keep its brand of Wahhabism to itself, and occasionally we’d have to remind the Americans about their own commitment to human rights. Want the CBC to do something useful for a change? How about CBC Farsi to unite Iranians around the world? Sure beats Little Mosque on the Prairie, no? Further, the government must offer more opportunities for Canadians to match significant international initiatives. In 1979, the government introduced a matching program for the acceptance of Vietnamese boat people into Canada, and more than 60,000 Vietnamese refugees were allowed into the country, far more than originally planned. Matching programs are routinely used for relief projects but their use can be extended to educational, social and other uses, too. We also need to get more Canadian schools and communities involved. Alaina Podmorow is a Canadian hero. She started raising money for teachers in Afghanistan when she was nine years old. As of 2015, her charity, Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan, had raised more than half a million dollars. Twelve-year-old Craig Kielburger, from Thornhill, Ontario, started an NGO, “Free The Children,” to work against child labour. Think of what could have been done if every grade school in Canada had been paired with a grade school in Afghanistan. When kids get involved, creativity flourishes and the emotional involvement is at a very deep level. Cities and towns can also be twinned to help our foreign policy goals. Civic engagement easily trumps the bureaucrats sitting in Ottawa. Changing the national narrative to one based on freedom and democracy will also bring together leaders and activists from a broad cross section of Canadian minority communities. Their concerns, interests and experiences — in short, their solidarity — in ongoing struggles against totalitarian, authoritarian and anti-democratic regimes and forces in their homelands, could enrich our foreign policy. Relearning the importance of solidarity not only helps with Canadian cohesion, but can help fight apathy, ameliorate the isolation that new Canadians often experience, and provide ways for far-flung diaspora communities to learn from one another, to share experiences and ideas, and build alliances and partnerships in peace, order and good government, and the global cause of democracy, equal rights and the rule of law. When it comes to winning the Olympic Gold Medal in hockey, there’s nothing this country won’t do. When Canada excelled at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, we all took pride that we were the first host nation to lead in Gold Medals since Norway in 1952 — our 14 Golds set a new record. But we were all a bit sheepish about our “Own the Podium” slogan. It was a bit brash for us. Many in the international community were also taken aback — was Canada going too far for Olympic success? Wasn’t this completely out of character? It’s time for us to be brash. And if we are going to brash about something, then why not for freedom and democracy? Somehow I don't get the feeling that Alexei Navalny, rotting in prison in Russia, is anxious to see Oliver Stone's new documentary on the JFK assassination. I am sure that Syrian refugee children would love DVDs of Stone's interviews with Vladimir Putin. And, of course, the hungry people of Venezuela must be proud that Oliver Stone documented the successes of their hero Hugo Chavez. Previous Relevant Blog Posts James DiEugenio's Lame Excuses for Fletcher Prouty Oliver Stone Sides with Cuba's 'Repressive Dictatorship' Two Views on Oliver Stone's Love Affair with Nazarbayev Oliver Stone Fêtes Another Dictator Oliver Stone's Greatest Hits Is the director's latest film soft on Castro? 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