by Joan Mellen
CHAPTER 15
p. 239, Epigraph: Humpty Dumpty: Jim Garrison on ABC television, Issues and Answers, Sunday, May 28, 1967, transcript at NOPL.
p. 239: an “army” of men: Anonymous letter May 22, 1967, Postmark is Dallas, Texas, To District Attorney Jim Garrison. The letter is signed Mr._____________, NODA, NARA. The second letter is dated January 9, 1968, To: Mr. G.
p. 239: Wood as instructor for CIA: Memorandum, Subject: Garrison and the Kennedy Assassination, Reference: CI/R & A Memorandum no. 9, Subject: Garrison and the Kennedy Assassination, 5 June 1968, Paragraph 19 circa signed by Donovan E. Pratt, 104-10310-10253, Agency file: CIA-DDP-FILES, January 3, 1969, NARA.
p. 240: became one of his investigators: Boxley was taken on as a “special officer—without pay,” Warrant of Appointment, May 4, 1967, William C, Boxley, document signed by Joseph I. Giarrusso, Superintendent of Police. Courtesy of Gary Shaw. Boxley at once ingratiated himself with Garrison with a memo outlining “CIA shop talk”: “Jim—I have underlined in red authentic ‘shop talk.’” AARC.
p. 240: failed his polygraph: In fact, it appeared that Boxley had “lied on every question,” Wood interview with George E. Rennar.
p. 240: Garrison ignored the suspicions of his staff and defended Boxley, terming him “a man who had been with the intelligence agency but still cared about the United States”: “Garrison claims Foreign Spy Link,” New York Times, July 12, 1968, p. C35; see also FBI, Memorandum For: Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Attention: Mr. S. J. Papich, 15 July 1968, Subject: Garrison and the Kennedy Assassination: William Clarence Wood Jr., aka William Boxley, NARA.
p. 240: disappeared for weeks: Interview with Louis Ivon, January 12, 2000.
p. 240: Wood recounts how Garrison gave him the name “Boxley”: “Ex-CIA Agent Tells His Role in Garrison’s Conspiracy Probe,” Tatler Investigative Special / National Tatler, September 1975, pp. 4–5.
p. 240: maintained contact: Interview of William C. Wood, aka Bill Boxley by George E. Rennar, AARC (1971).
p. 240: Wood applies for reemployment: CIA requested a check from the FBI on Wood, and “adverse information” resulted in his not being formally rehired: CIA, Attn: Director, Domestic Contact Service, Deputy Director, DSC. 26 April 1968, HOU-80-68, Re: Bill Wood, Agent for Jim Garrison, Making Inquiries in Dallas, signed by Ernest A. Rische, NARA.
p. 240: “the color of thunderstorm clouds”: Jim Brown, Central Intelligence Assassination, p. 203.
p. 240: “ insurance adjuster”: Tom Bethell, “Conspiracy to End Conspiracies,” National Review, December 16, 1991. p. 48.
p. 240: twisted logic: Interview with Steve Bordelon; undated memos of Boxley, re: John “the Pirate” Rigsby and the National States Rights Party. See also Re: Jesse Curry, courtesy of Gary Shaw.
p. 240: Sea-land: Bordelon looked askance: Interview with Steve Bordelon, April 3, 2000.
p. 240: Boxley suggests that Oswald was an FBI penetration into the Soviet Union: Memorandum, February 23, 1968, To: Jim Garrison, From: William C. Wood (Boxley), Re: Penetration and Diversion of Clandestine Operations, NODA, NARA.
p. 241: Hemming claims he was the man at the gate: John Newman accepts Hemming’s statement that it was he who went to see Oswald at El Toro, see Oswald and CIA, p. 105.
p. 241: Gerald Patrick Hemming was an asset of James Angleton and CIA Counter Intelligence: Interviews with Gerald Patrick Hemming. Hemming’s close affiliation with Angleton was a persistent theme of these interviews.
p. 241: Giesbrecht identifies David Ferrie from his “bushy eyebrows . . . mustaches on top of his eyes”: The latter comes from the National Enquirer article by William Condie, William Dick, Iain Calder, Pearl Trachtenberg and Paul Feis, January 28, 1968.
p. 241: Giesbrecht had already provided his information to the FBI: See Report of Ewald I. Carlson, March 6, 1964, 124-10259, 89-69- 1860. See also To: Director, FBI, From: SAC, Minneapolis, March 20, 1967, 124-10259-10118, 89-69-1861, NARA. For further details about the Giesbrecht-Winnipeg Airport story, see Peter Whitmey, “The Winnipeg Airport Incident,” The Fourth Decade, November 1995, pp. 22–25; and “The Winnipeg Airport Incident Revisited,” The Fourth Decade, March 1999. I am indebted to Peter Whitmey for his help in unraveling the nuances of the Winnipeg Airport incident. See also the National Enquirer article, January 28, 1968. The Garrison files refer to Giesbrecht as “Mr. Richard”: Memorandum, September 18, 1967, To: File: From: Louis Ivon, Chief Investigator, NODA, NARA. Regarding Garrison failing to receive a letter from Giesbrecht: See To: Boxley (The place in Canada file), October 30, 1968, handwritten memo from Jim Garrison.
p. 241: “planted lead”: “Time, Place and Number Correlations” (Ruby, Ferrie, Oswald and Shaw), undated memo, circa late 1967, NODA, NARA.
p. 241: “I got the distinct feeling”: Memorandum, February 19, 1968, To: Jim Garrison, From: William Boxley, Re: Interview with Bob Lavender, NODA, NARA.
p. 241: Martin handles Boxley’s expense requests: Memorandum, May 25, 1967, To: Charles R. Ward, From: William R. Martin, Re: William Boxley, Investigator. District Attorney’s Staff: NODA, NARA. This one was for $200.
p. 242: a sketch of Ruby and Oswald: This telephone conversation between William Martin and Bill Boxley was taped and transcribed, July 20, 1967, NODA, NARA.
p. 242: Huff was a close friend of Guy Banister: Interview with Allen Campbell, June 10, 2002.
p. 242: Erbon W. Wise: See Erbon W. Wise, My Military Years, 1941–1969 (Selfpublished, 2001). The pages dealing with Jim Garrison are 161–162; 164–166.
p. 242: Wise made a sizable contribution to Governor McKeithen’s campaign: Interview with John Tarver, June 15, 2000. A second source reported that Wise became Adjutant of the Louisiana National Guard “as reward for his support.” That source is Raymond Huff, in 1967 Regional Commissioner for the U.S. Customs Office, MCC Investigative Report, May 31, 1967, Reported by Aaron M. Kohn, MCC.
p. 242: Huff considers Wise “very weak and naive”: Investigative Report, May 31, 1967, Reported by Aaron M. Kohn. Here Kohn interviews Raymond Huff, NARA.
p. 242: Garrison wanted to be a brigadier general: Interview with Erbon W. Wise, January 13, 2000.
p. 242: Huff attempts to collaborate with the FBI: To: Mr. W. C. Sullivan, From: D. J. Brennan Jr., April 12, 1967, Subject: James C. Garrison: Fraud against the Government, 124-10043-10396, 62-109060-5126, NARA.
p. 243: Statement of the Rev. Clyde Johnson, April 4, 1967, handwritten, April 4, 1967, typed version: April 5, 1967, Sworn statement witnessed by James Alcock and Louis Ivon, NODA, NARA.
p. 243: Johnson fears for his life: Interview transcript: Clyde Johnson and Sam Depino, June 14, 1967, NARA.
p. 243: Ed McMillan identifies Clay Shaw as having been in Clyde Johnson’s room: Memorandum, April 11, 1967, To: Jim Garrison, From: Louis Ivon, Re: Statement of Edward McMillan, NODA, NARA. See also Clyde Johnson confirms Ed McMillan’s statement: June 1, 1967, To: Jim Garrison, From: Dets. D. Ward & L. Otillio Jr., Re: Statement of Clyde Johnson residing at Box 327, Kentwood, La, NODA, NARA.
p. 243: Johnson was not an ideal witness. He didn’t answer one of Garrison’s subpoenas because of an outstanding bad check warrant: FBI, June 26, 1967, To: Director, FBI, From: SAC, New Orleans, 124-10251- 10233, 89-69-3236, 3237, NARA.
p. 243: Jim Garrison was skeptical: See note by Jim Garrison appended to Statement of Edward James Whalen. The Whalen testimony is in Memorandum, September 18, 1967, To: Jim Garrison, From: James L. Alcock, Re: Edward James Whalen, W/M, 43, FBI #346-8982, NODA, NARA.
p. 244: “any time you step on a pig’s tail”: Memo from Yockey, interview with Clyde Johnson in room atop Tony’s Bar, Kentwood, Louisiana, June 15, 1967, NARA.
p. 244: Gurvich stole Clyde Johnson’s sworn statement: Transcription of taped conference with William Gurvich, 8/29/67, September 6, 1967, LHM Edward F. Wegmann, NARA. A snob, Gurv- ich called Johnson “Slidin’ Clyde.” Gurvich conference, August 29, 1967, p. 18. Gurvich also claimed that John
son was available “for hire to anyone at a price”: Re: Clay Shaw—7/6/67 Memorandum— Re: Clyde Johnson, Edward F. Wegmann, Papers of Edward F. Wegmann, NARA.
p. 244: the Wegmanns and Dymond flew to Dallas: John R. Nelms to F. Irvin Dymond, August 26, 1967, NARA.
p. 244: William Alexander helps the Shaw defense team: Edward F. Wegmann to William Alexander, September 1, 1967, NARA.
p. 244: Aynesworth continues to assist: Edward F. Wegmann to Hugh Aynesworth, September 12, 1967, NARA (“Please be reminded that I am still waiting for you to send me your expenses from our last trip to Dallas,” Wegmann writes.)
p. 244: Depino was an FBI media asset under Joseph Sylvester: See FBI To: Director, From: SAC, New Orleans, November 4, 1966, 89-69- 1355, 62-109060-4355, NARA. Depino asked only that “his identity be protected”: AIRTEL to: Director, FBI, From: SAC, New Orleans, April 14, 1967, 124-10259-10228, 89-69-1996, 1997; this is a 44-page document. See also To: SAC, From: ASAC Sylvester, April 26, 1967, 89-69-2055, NARA.
p. 244: needed psychiatric help: Domestic Intelligence Division (5), June 16, 1967: “News articles have previously reported . . . ,” NARA. A report of Depino’s television performance is in FBI, To: Director, From: New Orleans, June 16, 1967, 124-10263- 10044, 89-69-3190, NARA.
p. 244: Files were disappearing: Memorandum, November 2, 1967, To: Investigative Personnel, From: Tom Bethell, Re: Missing Files, NODA, NARA.
p. 244: the “Duncan Miller” letter: JOHN J. KING-OSWALD-GUNSPOST OFFICE BOX “FRAUDS,” Marked King, John J, undated, a Boxley memo, NODA, NARA.
p. 244: twirling an Annapolis ring: Interview with Phyllis Kritikos, December 2, 2001.
p. 245: “there’s nothing they could offer me”: Jim Garrison at the New Orleans Round Table Conference, September 1968, p. 33, AARC.
p. 245: King is called “Miller”: Although Garrison calls the man “John Miller,” in On the Trail of the Assassins, he told Mary Ferrell it was John J. King, interview with Mary Ferrell, December 14, 2001. King’s motives remain unclear. His son, John J. King Jr., told researcher Larry Haapanen that his father was apolitical, but believed there had been a conspiracy. How he could have obtained—if he did—authorization to offer Jim Garrison a judgeship is not known. He died in 1975: interview with Larry Haapanen, December 3, 2001. See also On the Trail of the Assassins, pp. 132–136. See also “A Barrel of Trouble” by Andy Van De Voorde, Denver West-word magazine, vol. 17, no. 12, November 17–23, 1992, p. 22. The subject of this article is John J. King.
p. 245: A transcript of Jim Garrison’s appearance on The Tonight Show, January 31, 1968, is available at the National Archives, transcribed February 1, 1968.
p. 245: “it’s not going too well”: Jim Garrison conversation with Robert Buras and L. J. Delsa, interview with Robert Buras, February 1, 2002.
p. 246: Carson stalked out: Mirror (Midlothian, Texas), March 21, 1968, Editorial.
p. 246: Carson is no Noel Coward: Jim Garrison to Zach Sklar, July 1, 1988, AARC.
p. 246: Bill Brazzil, vice president in charge of WTVJ, first wrote a thank-you letter to Jim Garrison, March 11, 1968, “I am deeply indebted and grateful to you for taking the time and trouble. . . .” Then he wrote to Helms, complaining about Jim Garrison: March 21, 1968, NARA. Lawrence Houston decided not to accept Brazzil’s offer of help until they learned more about him, Official Routing Slip, April 1, 1968, D/ DCS All key, signed by LR Houston.
p. 246: Gerstein asks Larry King to ask Louis Wolfson to help Jim Garrison: Interview with Seymour Gelber, November 17, 1999.
p. 246: Wolfson asks how much it would take to complete the investigation: Testimony in the Office of the States Attorney, September 15, 1971, Document 0071
p. 246: own troubles: King promised to write a column that would help Wolfson and to talk to John Mitchell on his behalf, for which Wolfson gave King $32,500. Then King lied to Wolfson about conversations he purportedly had with Mitchell and appropriated the $32,500: signed statement of Larry King.
p. 247: “the lowest person I’ve ever run into”: Interview with Louis Wolfson, November 19, 1999.
p. 247: King arrested: “TV Personality Booked in Case,” Times- Picayune, December 21, 1971, section 4, p. 16.
p. 247: for the Parrot Jungle incident: Sepe is told the Miami investigation is closed: FBI, To: Director, FBI, From: SAC, Miami, March 3, 1967, 89-69-1599, NARA. Sepe tells the FBI his inquiry is not related to the inquiry at New Orleans: AIRTEL, To: Director, FBI, From: SAC, Miami, March 3, 1967, 62-109060-4651, 89- 69-1599. He had a friend named Lee: Memo: November 8, 1977, To: Bob Blakey, From: Fonzi & Gonzales, Re: Fauto Odon Alvarez—Aldo Vera Serafin, courtesy of Gaeton Fonzi. See also FBI interview with Mrs. Lillian Spingler, December 20, 1963, CD-246, pp. 3–15; interview on December 19, 1963 by Special Agent James J. O’Connor, File # Miami 105-8342, NARA. Regarding Sepe wanting to continue the investigation of the Parrot Jungle incident: See: To: Richard E. Gerstein, From: Alfonso C. Sepe, Re: Assassination of President Kennedy, April 18, 1967. Sepe went ahead with his own super secret investigation: Dan Christensen, “JFK, King: The Dade County Links,” Miami magazine, September, 1976, p. 25. Regarding Alfonso Sepe’s report on the Parrot Jungle incident, see April 18, 1967, Memo to: Richard E. Gerstein, From: Alfonso C. Sepe, Re: Assassination of President Kennedy, April 18, 1967, 5 pages, Marked: Close Investigation, NARA. Lillian Spingler’s December 20, 1963 interview with SA James J. O’Connor is CD 246, which includes interviews with clerk Mrs. J. R. Trigg, who also saw Martinez Soto, interviews with ticket seller Mary Tyson, Mrs. Louise Rosher and the manager of the gift shop, Mr. William Vander Wyden.
p. 247: “forgetful”: Interview with James Savage, January 5, 2001. See also “Wolfson Had Accused King in the Past, Gerstein Says,” by James Savage. Miami Herald, December 22, 1971, p. 8C. See also Arvin K. Rothschild, Larry King: Brilliant Interviewer and Super Con-Man. manuscript.
p. 247: printed after the incident: Interview with Martin F. Dardis.
p. 247: King does not apologize to Wolfson: Interview with Louis Wolfson.
p. 247: for Savage’s reporting, see “Wolfson: Give King Psychiatric Help,” by James Savage. Miami Herald, December 24, 1971.
p. 247: talk only to Gene Miller: Interview with James Savage, July 30, 2002.
p. 248: Gerstein had been trying: “Garrison, Gerstein Talk about Donation, Gerstein Tells Why He Held $5,000, Has No Opinion on Garrison Probe,” by James Savage and Gene Miller. Miami Herald, January 16, 1972, p. 1.
p. 248: “Garrison was something of an eccentric”: Larry King by Larry King (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982), p. 19.
p. 248: “I trust everyone”: Jim Garrison to Zachary Sklar, June 1, 1988, AARC.
p. 248: Hemming at Tulane and Broad: Interviews with Gerald Patrick Hemming. Comments by Gerald Patrick Hemming are based on interviews with Gerald Patrick Hemming, October 22–25, 1999, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and numerous telephone calls and e-mails since. Information about Carl McNabb is from interviews with McNabb, June 13 and 14, 1999, and subsequent meetings and telephone calls. For Hemming at No Name Key, see “Hemming Wages Own War against Communist Cuba,” by Larry Grove. Dallas Morning News, January 23, 1963.
p. 248: two heavy machine guns: “Adventurer Works Hard to Establish Anti-Castro Base Near Covington,” by William Stuckey. States-Item, July 21, 1962. The source of this description was Luis Rabel.
p. 248: “deep beliefs in democratic principles”: CIA 104- 10273-10066, From: D/D Security, To: Chief, Contacts, Title: Memo: Hemming, Gerald P, Date February 21, 1962, RUSS HOLMES WORK FILE.
p. 248: “he is OK”: Agency: Army, Record Number 198-10005- 10014, Records Series: Califano Papers, Originator: OSD, From: Col. Patchell, To: Gen Lansdale, Date: 08/02/62, Subjects: Hemming, Jerry Patrick; Anti-Castro Cubans, Califano Papers, box 3, folder 1, NARA.
p. 249: “We’re going to be indicted by Jim Garrison”: Appendix A: Roy Hargraves tape 2, side A, 2001 Interview with Noel Twyman, in Larry Hancock,
Someone Would Have Talked: What We Know about the JFK Assassination after 40 Years (Incirca Southlake, Tex.: JFK Lancer Productions & Publications, 2003), p. 276.
p. 249: “Hector” and “El Indio” are split into two separate “CIA officers” by David Atlee Phillips in his memoir, The Night Watch (New York: Atheneum, 1977), p. 49. Phillips describes both as having been involved in the overthrow of President Arbenz. Gaeton Fonzi has identified “El Indio” as David Sánchez Morales, see The Last Investigation.
p. 249: Jim Garrison’s investigators are showing photographs of Hall, Howard and Seymour: Memorandum, To: Louis Ivon, From Kent A. Simms, Re: Four Pictures for Identification by Arestes [sic] Peña and Evaristo Rodriguez, June 5, 1967, NODA, NARA.
p. 249: assassination training: Jim Garrison at the New Orleans conference.
p. 249: Roy Hargraves: See “Greeting” dated 13 February 1963, signed “Away all boats, Gerry.”
p. 249: CIA knows Hemming is there, but thinks Hargraves is Leroy Collins: 31 August 1967, Memorandum For: Director, Domestic Contact Service, Attn: Mr. George Musulin, Subject: Garrison and the Kennedy Assassination: Gerald Patrick Hemming Jr., 201-309125, reference: CI/R & A. Memorandum, subject; Memorandum no. 5: Garrison and the Kennedy Assassination, dated 7 August 1967, NARA.
p. 249: it is not true that Hemming has Life magazine credentials: Interview with Richard N. Billings, August 2, 2000.
p. 250: double-talk: Hemming attempts to confuse Jim Garrison: See Memorandum, September 18, 1967, To: Jim Garrison, From: Tom Bethell, Re: Visit of GERRY PATRICK HEMMING AND ROY HARGRAVES, NODA, NARA.
p. 250: Hemming did not share with Jim Garrison that Guy Banister had enlisted him to kill John F. Kennedy: Gerald Patrick Hemming, HSCA Interrogatories, March 21, 1978, 221 pages. Despite the efforts of the Assassination Records Review Board, there were 256 restrictions on this document, NARA. Hemming’s own FOIA request mentions evidence of his meeting “with individuals threatening the life of President John F. Kennedy in 1962 and 1963,” and refers to meetings in Florida, Texas and Louisiana: Gerald Patrick Hemming to Mr. Clarence Kelly, Director, FBI, 17 August 1975.
