Hellhound on His Trail

by Hampton Sides

  598 Arcade Photo Studio: Ibid., p. 152.

  599 convoy of bureau sedans: Here I relied on a compilation document of FBI interviews with tenants at the housing project titled, "Capitol Homes Interviews," Hughes Collection.

  600 "There must have been a billion of 'em": "Capitol Homes Stirred Up by That Mustang."

  601 Every inch of the impounded car: This passage is largely drawn from the FBI analysis of the Mustang, in "Report of the FBI Laboratory, April 19, #44-38861," Hughes Collection.

  602 Theodore A'Hearn: FD-302 report of A'Hearn's April 11, 1968, interviews at Cort Fox Ford in the compendium document "Los Angeles Investigations," Hughes Collection.

  603 Thomas Mansfield: FD-302 report of Agent Mansfield's April 12, 1968, interviews at the St. Francis Hotel, in "Los Angeles Investigations," Hughes Collection.

  604 Lloyd Johnson and Francis Kahl: FD-302 report from the interview conducted by Johnson and Kahl with Pinela at Home Service Laundry, in "Los Angeles Investigations," Hughes Collection.

  605 George Aiken: FD-302 report from interviews conducted at the National Dance Studio by Aiken, in "Los Angeles Investigations," Hughes Collection.

  606 "Yes, Eric Galt was a student here": FD-302 report from interviews conducted at the International School of Bartending by A'Hearn and Raysa, in "Los Angeles Investigations," Hughes Collection.

  607 Donald Jacobs: Ibid.

  CHAPTER 38

  CANADA BELIEVES YOU

  608 disguised themselves as hippies: Frank, American Death, p. 172.

  609 "Take the door off its hinges": Ibid.

  610 a few telltale artifacts: FD-302 report filed on April 17, 1968, by the FBI agents Harry Lee, John Sullivan, Roger Kaas, and John Ogden, which enumerates and describes all the items found inside Galt's room.

  611 William John Slicks and Richard Ross: This passage is drawn from the FBI's FD-302 report of the April 13, 1968, interview conducted with Stein by Slicks and Ross, in "Los Angeles Investigations," Hughes Collection.

  612 Tomaso had sharp recollections: FD-302 report of the April 13, 1968, interview conducted with Tomaso (a.k.a. Marie Martin) by Slicks and Ross, in "Los Angeles Investigations," Hughes Collection.

  613 handwritten sign: McMillan, Making of an Assassin, p. 285.

  614 John Ogden and Roger Kaas: FD-302 report of April 14 and 15, 1968, interviews conducted with Garner by Ogden and Kaas, Hughes Collection.

  615 "we were numb": Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 348.

  616 Abe Plough: See Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 489.

  617 "After Dr. King was killed": Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 345.

  618 "'I am a man'--they meant it": Reynolds, quoted in Beifuss, At the River I Stand, pp. 346-47.

  619 "We have been aggrieved": Memphis Press-Scimitar, April 17, 1968, p. 1.

  620 "We won": Newsweek, April 29, 1968, p. 22.

  621 Sun Fung Loo: The FBI's summary of Ray's activities while in Canada, in the MURKIN Files, 4442-4500, sec. 57, p. 61.

  622 wrote to the registrar of births: A copy of Galt's request for Ramon Sneyd's birth certificate is in the House Select Committee on Assassinations, Appendix Reports, vol. 5, p. 15.

  623 Lillian Spencer: This passage concerning Spencer at the Kennedy Travel Bureau is drawn from "King Murder Suspect Held--He Hid 1 Month in Metro," Toronto Daily Star, June 8, 1968, p. 1. I also relied on RCMP interviews with Spencer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Files, Hughes Collection.

  624 "I thought it was an odd name": Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 155.

  CHAPTER 39

  ARMED AND DANGEROUS

  625 found the laundry service: FBI interview with Estelle Peters conducted on April 16, 1968, by Special Agents Charles Rose and Robert Kane, FD-302 report, Hughes Collection.

  626 fingerprint raised from a map: "Scientific Report on the Subject of Analysis of Fingerprint Evidence Related to the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by the Fingerprint Panel," House Select Committee on Assassinations, Appendix Reports, vol. 13, pp. 109-21.

  627 "Our net was beginning to close": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, pp. 242, 247.

  628 "All I can say": See Frank, American Death, p. 124.

  629 FBI announced that it was issuing a warrant: A copy of the warrant, with accompanying shots of Galt/Ray adapted from his bartending school photo, is in the Hughes Collection.

  630 jaywalked across a busy street: Ray discusses the jaywalking incident in both of his books, Tennessee Waltz, p. 84, and Who Killed Martin Luther King? p. 99. See also Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 158.

  631 shredded his driver's license: Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 84.

  CHAPTER 40

  THE PHANTOM FUGITIVE

  632 "the man without a past": These characterizations are taken from a variety of media sources immediately after Galt was identified--including the Memphis Commercial Appeal the Washington Post, the Atlanta Constitution, Newsweek, and Time.

  633 "No, that's not him": "Eric Galt, Alleged Brother Conspired to Assassinate Dr. King, FBI Declares," Atlanta Constitution, April 18, 1968, pp. 1, 29.

  634 "I just don't know": Ibid.

  635 "was a two-dimensional cutout": Newsweek, April 29, 1968.

  636 "Fiction wouldn't touch it": Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 16, 1968.

  637 "destroyed the production plants": "Who Is Phantom Fugitive? Reporters Put Together Facts," a special "Task Force Report" in the Atlanta Constitution, April 22, 1968, p. 8.

  638 "He is the man who killed": Mrs. Szpakowski's conversation with her husband concerning Galt is recounted in Frank, American Death, p. 316.

  639 "All the signs were there": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, pp. 241-42.

  640 "Les, we have pretty good evidence": The conversation between DeLoach and Les Trotter is recalled in DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 245.

  641 "we're under tremendous pressure": Ibid., p. 246.

  642 "We're getting there": Ibid.

  CHAPTER 41

  THE TOP TEN

  643 "He came with a suit on": Loo, quoted in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, June 10, 1968.

  644 Sneyd sat at the crowded bar: Posner, Killing the Dream, pp. 244-45; Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 160.

  645 "He was a dirty little neck": Peterson, quoted in Life, May 3, 1968.

  646 thumbnail sketch: This information concerning Ray's prison history is primarily drawn from FD-302 reports of the FBI's interviews with Ray's former prison inmates at Jefferson City, in the voluminous compendium document St. Louis Files, Hughes Collection.

  647 "raise" the numerals: See Shaw, "Are You Sure Who Killed Martin Luther King?"

  648 agents soon found a brother, John Ray: My description of the FBI's initial contact with John Ray is primarily based on FD-302 reports of interviews in St. Louis Files, Hughes Collection.

  649 "seal his lips forever": Interview with John Ray conducted on May 2, 1968, by Special Agents Jack Williams and Patrick Bradley, FD-302 report, Hughes Collection.

  650 "What's all the excitement about?": The FBI's initial interview with John Ray, conducted on April 22, 1968, by Special Agents Harry C. Jun and Robert Hess, FD-302 report, Hughes Collection.

  651 John Ray would boast: See Ray and Barsten, Truth at Last, p. 109.

  652 "hottest man in the country": Jerry Ray, quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times, May 3, 1968.

  653 "He sure didn't have any love": Jerry Ray, quoted in Life, May 3, 1968.

  654 "A supermarket": Ray, quoted in McKinley, "Interview with James Earl Ray," p. 134.

  655 found him in the rear of the store: For a good account of the incident at Loblaws, see Frank, American Death, p. 317.

  656 beheld a rotund man: Ibid.

  657 "I should have pulled a holdup": Posner, Killing the Dream, p. 249.

  CHAPTER 42

  RESURRECTION CITY

  658 "the greatest nonviolent demonstration": Young, quoted in McKnight, Last Crusade, p. 84.

  659 "the idea of rebirth": Young, Easy Burden, p. 481.

&n
bsp; 660 Lurleen Wallace's body lay in the rotunda: Carter, Politics of Rage, pp. 320-21.

  661 electric lines, water lines: For plans and preparations for the Poor People's Campaign, see Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, pp. 500-506, and Young, Easy Burden, pp. 484-85.

  662 "one of the bigger tasks": McKnight, Last Crusade, p. 85.

  663 "hurt the president--deeply hurt him": Ramsey Clark, quoted in McKnight, The Last Crusade, p. 110.

  664 "Mecca for migrants": Ibid., p. 87.

  665 "one of paranoia": Clark, Crime in America, p. 235.

  666 The Ray clan had a hundred-year history: For background on the Ray family, I relied largely on McMillan's psychological study, Making of an Assassin, and documents in the McMillan Papers.

  667 cannibalize their own house: Posner, Killing the Dream, p. 85.

  668 "I made it to keep my sanity": Life, May 3, 1968.

  669 "He liked being clean": Newsweek, April 29, 1968.

  670 William Duncan and James Duffey: FBI interview with Jerry Raynes conducted in Center, Missouri, by Duncan and Duffey on April 17, 1968, FD-302 report, Hughes Collection.

  671 "He was thinking all the time": McMillan interview with Jerry Raynes, March 20, 1969, box 1, McMillan Papers.

  672 "those people will poison you": Ibid.

  673 "All politicians are thieves": Ibid.

  674 "I don't hate niggers": Ibid.

  675 "People try to get too much out of life": McMillan interview with Ray's father, Oct. 20, 1969, box 1, McMillan Papers.

  676 ship bound for Angola: Ray, Tennessee Waltz, pp. 86-87.

  677 second floor of the Hotel Portugal: My descriptions of Sneyd's hotel and its Lisbon environs are drawn from O'Neil, "Ray, Sirhan--What Possessed Them?" and my own visit to the hotel in July 2007.

  678 Gentil Soares: In this section I chiefly relied on FBI reports prepared in collaboration with the Portuguese International and State Security Police in Lisbon. These reports include interviews (with customs officials, hotel personnel, nightclub employees, and prostitutes who had contact with Sneyd) conducted in Lisbon on June 8-12, 1968, and distilled in a thirteen-page document titled "Lisbon Files," Hughes Collection.

  679 Gloria Sausa Ribeiro: Ibid.

  680 "He did not know any Portuguese": Ibid.

  CHAPTER 43

  A RETIREMENT PLAN

  681 "What appealed to Jimmy about Hitler": George McMillan interview with Jerry Ray on April 1, 1972, box 5, McMillan Papers.

  682 "was unreasonable in his hatred": Rife, quoted in McMillan, Making of an Assassin, p. 147.

  683 "retirement plan": This passage concerning Curtis is primarily drawn from "Raymond Curtis Interviews, Whitfield County Jail, Dalton, Georgia," box 1, McMillan Papers. See also McMillan, Making of an Assassin, pp. 175-85; Frank, American Death, p. 183; and Posner, Killing the Dream, p. 136.

  684 John Sutherland: The passage here on Sutherland and the alleged fifty-thousand-dollar bounty to kill King is chiefly drawn from "Evidence of a Conspiracy in St. Louis," House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Final Assassinations Report, pp. 359-75. I also relied on the testimony of Russell Byers in HSCA, Appendix Reports, pp. 177-310.

  CHAPTER 44

  PLAGUES

  685 declared open for business: My passage on the Poor People's encampment on the Mall is primarily drawn from daily coverage in the Washington Post throughout May and June 1968, as well as from McKnight, Last Crusade, pp. 107-39; Risen, Nation on Fire, pp. 235-36; Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, pp. 494-539; and Young, Easy Burden, pp. 477-92.

  686 "plague after plague": Abernathy, quoted in McKnight, Last Crusade, p. 130.

  687 "Resurrection City was flawed": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, pp. 503, 516.

  688 "megalomania": McKnight, Last Crusade, p. 116.

  689 "just another fish-fry": Ibid., p. 126.

  690 "Ralph was frustrated": Young, Easy Burden, p. 490.

  691 "The gray skies poured water": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 517.

  692 "document such things as immorality": Hoover memo quoted in McKnight, Last Crusade, p. 128.

  693 "some grotesque soap opera": McKnight, Last Crusade, p. 134.

  694 "almost a perfect failure": Ibid., p. 107.

  695 "Lincoln smiled kindly": Clark, Crime in America, p. 236.

  CHAPTER 45

  A BANK WITHDRAWAL

  696 Charles J. Sweeney: My depiction of Sweeney's task force is drawn from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Files, Hughes Collection. See also Posner, Killing the Dream, p. 43.

  697 Doris Catherine Westwood: Westwood statement in the sixty-three-page compendium document Scotland Yard Files, Hughes Collection.

  698 Maurice Isaacs and his wife: This passage is drawn from various accounts in the London papers--including the Times and the Telegraph--and my own visit to the jewelry store address near Paddington Station. I also benefited from an interview with the Isaacses' son, Vincent Isaacs, June 27, 2008, London.

  699 Robert Wood: From Royal Canadian Mounted Police Files, Hughes Collection.

  700 Ian Colvin: My recounting of Sneyd's calls to Colvin is primarily drawn from Colvin's article "Dr. King Suspect Here 3 Weeks, Mystery Calls to the Daily Telegraph," London Daily Telegraph, June 10, 1968, p. 1. See also Frank, American Death, p. 320.

  701 "He was nervous": Nassau, quoted in Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 166.

  702 Trustee Savings Bank in Fulham: My account of Sneyd's robbery is largely drawn from Scotland Yard interviews with the bank employees, in Scotland Yard Files, Hughes Collection. See also Posner, Killing the Dream, p. 249; Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 166; and Frank, American Death, p. 321.

  703 "Mr. Sneyd, on April 4": My depiction of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police interrogation of Ramon Sneyd is primarily drawn from "Statement of Ramon George Sneyd, Born October 8, 1932, Cautioned by: R. Marsh, Detective Sergeant, Metro Toronto P.D.," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Files 1, Hughes Collection.

  704 "He seemed ill": My depiction of Sneyd's stay at the Pax Hotel in Pimlico is drawn from "The Man in Locked Room," Evening Standard, June 10, 1968. See also Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 167.

  705 "I was in a daze": Young, Easy Burden, pp. 486-87.

  706 "We were all still trying": Ibid.

  707 "I haven't heard from Major Wicks": Colvin, "Dr. King Suspect Here 3 Weeks," p. 1. See also Posner, Killing the Dream, p. 248.

  708 "many criminals seeking refuge": Butler's obituary, Times (London), April 21, 1970.

  709 "We knew that the fugitive": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 249.

  CHAPTER 46

  I CAN'T THINK RIGHT

  710 "He was so neurotic": This passage is chiefly derived from "Statement of Anna Elizabeth Thomas, Hotel Proprietress, Pax Hotel," Flying Squad Office, New Scotland Yard, Hughes Collection. See also Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 167.

  711 "Passport please": My account of the Heathrow Airport encounter between Sneyd and Human is drawn from "Statement of Kenneth Leonard Human, Immigration Officer, London Airport Heathrow Terminal Two," taken on June 10, 1968, at the Flying Squad Office, New Scotland Yard, Hughes Collection.

  712 Philip Birch: My depiction of Birch's initial questioning of Sneyd is adapted from "Statement of Philip Birch, Detective Sergeant, Special Branch," taken on June 10, 1968, at the Flying Squad Office, New Scotland Yard, Hughes Collection.

  713 Thomas Butler arrived: This passage concerning Butler's interrogation of Sneyd comes from "Statement of Thomas Butler, Detective Chief Superintendent, Flying Squad, New Scotland Yard," taken on June 10, 1968, Hughes Collection. I also relied on "Statement of Witness, Kenneth Thompson," Scotland Yard Files, Hughes Collection.

  714 "As a result of inquiries": "Statement of Thomas Butler," Hughes Collection.

  715 "Yes, I shouldn't say": Ibid.

  CHAPTER 47

  THREE WIDOWS

  716 DeLoach was making late Saturday morning pancakes: This passage is prim
arily drawn from DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 249.

  717 "Every muscle in my body relaxed": Ibid.

  718 "Dammit, man": Ibid., p. 250.

  719 "Fine--prepare the press release": Ibid.

  720 At St. Patrick's Cathedral: My account of the scene outside St. Patrick's is largely drawn from the coverage of Robert Kennedy's funeral in the New York Times and the Washington Post, June 9, 1968.

  721 in good taste to wait: Author interview with Clark, Oct. 9, 2008, New York City. See also Richard Gid Powers, Secrecy and Power, p. 422, and Gentry, J. Edgar Hoover, pp. 606-7.

  722 "We're happy he's been caught": Williams, quoted in Atlanta Constitution, June 9, 1968, p. 20.

  723 "Some felt this case": Byrd's comments before the U.S. Senate, in MURKIN Files, sec. 57, p. 71.

  724 two men held up a bank: For an in-depth discussion of the Alton bank robbery and the possible involvement of the Ray brothers, see House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Final Assassinations Report, pp. 342-50.

  725 "We are dealing with a man": Hoover, quoted in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 7, p. 7.

  726 "one of the strongest": Author interview with Clark.

  727 "Some Americans": Ibid.

  728 "Nothing Ray did": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 256.

  729 "was a loner": DeLoach testimony in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 7, p. 28.

  730 "Truth be told": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 257.

  CHAPTER 48

  RING OF STEEL

  731 "Look, they got me mixed up": This exchange between Sneyd and Eugene is recounted in Frank, American Death, p. 201.

  732 "Yes, I'd like you to call my brother": Ibid., p. 203.

  733 Patriotic Legal Fund: Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 181.

  734 Alexander Eist: The passages concerning Eist and his time spent with Sneyd in London are drawn from a lengthy interview with Eist conducted at Cambridge, England, on August 4, 1978, by Edward Evans, chief investigator, House Select Committee on Assassinations, Appendix Reports, vol. 3, pp. 264-84.