Reclaiming History

by Vincent Bugliosi

  Eva, who had recently divorced, followed Jack to San Francisco approximately six months later with her young son, Ronnie. She also worked with Jack selling newspaper subscriptions door-to-door.107 They both had good reputations. A former crew manager of Jack’s recalled him as an honest and forthright person who associated, not with any hoodlum element, but with the sports crowd and those involved with professional fighting. He was also of the opinion that had Jack possessed a larger physique, he would have liked to have been a police officer since he had a personal liking for law enforcement.108

  At first Eva and her son shared an apartment with Jack, who helped pay Ronnie’s private-school expenses. Then, in 1936, while still in San Francisco, Eva remarried, and for a while, Jack lived with his sister and her new husband and Ronnie in a four-room apartment.109

  Ronnie recalls that his uncle left the newspaper subscription business and went into the linoleum-laying business while in San Francisco, working for himself.110 Also, for a short time in 1936, Jack, ever true to his reputation as a hustler who would do anything to make a buck, went into business with Sam Gordon. The two bought small turtles and painted their backs and sold them at a fair in Pomona, California.111

  On July 14, 1937, Jack’s sister Marion had the Cook County sheriff’s office take her mother to the Presbyterian Hospital of Cook County. Marion said Fannie “had become unmanageable, and gets into hysterics and screams and shouts day and night.”112 After she was examined by a psychiatrist and found to have “senile deterioration” and to be in a “paranoid state,” a Cook County judge committed Fannie, at age sixty-two, to Elgin State mental hospital in Illinois, the committing document referring to “the alleged insanity” of Mrs. Rubenstein.113 Three months later she was released into daughter Marion’s custody only to be readmitted in January of 1938 at the wish of the majority of the family.114* The return home had not worked out. A letter from Florence Worthington, chief social worker, requesting Fannie’s readmittance to Elgin State Hospital stated that the family said their mother was “uncooperative and causes constant discord in the family. She is very noisy and uses obscene language.”115 In an earlier letter Worthington stated she had been informed that the “patient eats a great deal. She refuses to do anything—cook, wash dishes, dust, go out, etc. She crochets all the time. If she ever does cook something, she leaves the entire kitchen in such a mess that it takes hours to clean it up…The mother and father fight, the mother making up obscene jingles about the relationship between the father and the daughters.”116

  It is interesting to note an observation that was made about the Rubenstein family in a progress report: “The children all seem to be wholesome, nice young people. They manage to leave the impression of living rather comfortably, but in visiting with them longer, one learns that they have little income among them and use great ingenuity to make the house comfortable, meet weekly expenses, etc.”117

  Marion, the only one of the children who had been upset at her mother’s readmittance to Elgin in January of 1938, had planned to share an apartment with her.118 Fannie was released again four months later.119 A May 1938 letter to Marion from the managing officer at Elgin indicated the rather obvious eagerness of the medical staff to shed themselves of the impossible Fannie and to send her home again, saying, “It has been decided that this parole may be carried out at once. You may call for her at your earliest convenience.”120 Follow-up reports indicated that Fannie, living with Marion in a West End Avenue apartment and away from her husband and children, was doing much better than the first time she was paroled.121

  Jack, who had returned to Chicago from San Francisco in 1937, was without work until he eventually contacted an attorney friend, Leon Cooke, who had organized the Scrap Iron and Junk Handlers Union.122 Leon had decided on his own that the low wages at that time made the formation of a union a good idea. According to Earl Ruby, Leon did all the legal work, and Jack became secretary-treasurer of Local 20467 of the union.123

  The union’s application for an affiliation to the AFL-CIO in March of 1937 was accepted, and at that time Leon Cooke was listed as the financial secretary on the application but Ruby’s name doesn’t appear as a union official.124 Jack’s employment records with the Social Security Administration show that he was employed by the union for approximately two and a half years from the last quarter of 1937 through the first quarter of 1940.125

  An acquaintance and former executive director of the Waste Trade Industries in Chicago, Theodore Shulman, recalled that Ruby always exhibited a “highly emotional attitude” and seemed to get “overly excited about things that did not go his way.” He recalled that Jack would advocate a union strike at the smallest provocation.126

  On December 8, 1939, John Martin, who had become president of the union, and Leon Cooke, who was no longer an officer of the union, got into an argument at union headquarters and Martin shot Cooke. Cooke went to the hospital under his own power and gave a statement saying that Martin became angry with Cooke’s assertion that union members were not receiving adequate salaries, and pulled a gun and shot him. Cooke died a month later. Martin, during his murder trial, maintained that he shot Cooke in self-defense and it was Cooke who had the gun. Martin was acquitted of the murder.127 Although conspiracy theorists for years have boldly asserted that Ruby was involved in Cooke’s murder (e.g., “Ruby was involved in the December 1939 murder of Leon Cooke”),128 no evidence has ever emerged that he was, and he was never a suspect, although on the morning after the shooting, the Chicago Daily Tribune printed a photo of “Jack Rubenstein” alongside a photo of Cooke saying that Rubenstein was the “present secretary” of the union and had been “seized for questioning.”129

  Jack left the union about two months after Paul Dorfman was appointed to run it.130 Abe Cohn recalls that the union became disorganized after Cooke’s death, and although Ruby expressed to a friend that he wanted very badly to take over the union, he later complained to Cohn that “his heart was not in it” and that he was going to quit.131 Another acquaintance, Ira Colitz, believed that one reason for Ruby leaving the union was that progress was too slow and Jack was more interested in making a “fast buck.”132 In fact, Dorfman recalled that to his knowledge, “Ruby was never a salaried employee of the union but probably drew some expense money from collected dues.”133

  Leon Cooke’s death affected Jack, and out of respect and remembrance, or as Jack said, “for sentimental reasons,” he adopted Leon as his middle name. Although he rarely used it when signing his name, it remained on his driver’s license.134

  The Warren Commission concluded, “There is no evidence that Ruby’s union activities were connected with Chicago’s criminal element. Several longtime members of the union reported that it had a good reputation when Ruby was affiliated with it, and employers who negotiated with it have given no indication that it had criminal connections.”135 Bill Roemer of the FBI, who led the federal government’s drive against organized crime in Chicago, said that “Ruby was nothing in that union. The mob came in and took it over later.”136

  In 1941, Ruby, his brother Earl, and three friends, Harry Epstein, Marty Gimpel, and Marty Shargol, “went on the road.” Ruby and Epstein had formed a small company, the Spartan Novelty Company, selling gambling devices known as punchboards, candy, and small cedar chests. They traveled throughout the Northeast, in particular Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, with no fixed address, living in hotels.137 Later that year, Jack returned to Chicago and continued selling punchboards, primarily through mail order, including an advertisement that ran in Billboard magazine.138

  After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Ruby tried to promote, with two Chicago associates, a plaque in remembrance of the tragedy. He particularly liked this idea because he had always been very patriotic, having busts of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Douglas MacArthur in his room at home while growing up.139 However, the market became flooded with Pearl Harbor–themed trinkets before their plaque—depicti
ng the Statue of Liberty with a blue background and the words “Remember Pearl Harbor” printed thereon in silver ink—could be developed. One of Ruby’s associates described Ruby as a “perfectionist” and said it took anywhere from four to six weeks to develop a proof of the plaque that was acceptable to him.140

  Another venture of Jack’s about this time in which his sister Marion and brother Earl invested $1,500, almost every dime they had, was a bust of President Roosevelt’s head with an excerpt from his 1932 inaugural speech.141 Jack sold quite a few of them for one dollar each. But nothing Jack did ever went really well, only providing him with his next meal, not easy street, even though he was tireless in his efforts and energy.

  Jack’s younger brothers, Sam and Earl, were already in the military when he registered with the Selective Service in Chicago for duty on October 16, 1940, and was classified 1A, meaning he was eligible for the draft. Later he received a deferment, although the Warren Commission was unable to determine whether he was reclassified as 1A(H), the classification for registrants who have reached their twenty-eighth birthday, or 3A, applying to persons whose entry into military service presents financial hardship to dependents, since the records of the local draft board were destroyed in 1955 in accordance with an act of Congress in 1943. Jack’s local board in Chicago, Local Draft Board No. 124, had passed out of existence in 1947.142 Hyman stated that his brother initially applied for a deferment “because he was the only one home. We were all in. My mother was alone.”143

  However, Jack was later reclassified 1A again and inducted into the U.S. Army Air Force on May 21, 1943.144 His enlistment records show his occupation at the time as “sells novelties and premiums” and his income as “$3000 annually.”145

  Jack entered active duty at the induction center at Camp Grant, Illinois, on June 4, 1943, and arrived at his first duty station, Keesler Field, Mississippi, about a month later, starting a twenty-two-dollar-per-week pay deduction for his mother and father. From his induction until his discharge some thirty-three months later, Jack would serve in six different states, with later assignments in North Carolina, New York, Georgia, and Florida. His longest assignment would last a little over seventeen months with the 114th Air Force Base Unit (B) at Chatham Field in Georgia.146

  During that summer of 1943, Hershey Colvin was a corporal in the training unit at Keesler Field and an instructor in “marching, rifle lore, and calisthenics.” Hershey had also been a childhood friend of Jack’s from the Roosevelt Road area of Chicago. Jack was assigned to Colvin’s unit when he arrived, much to Colvin’s pleasure, and Colvin later stated that he considered himself to be Jack’s closest associate in the unit. Socializing frequently with his old buddy, Colvin later characterized Jack’s behavior as nervous, high strung, and “taut as a fiddle,” and stated that Ruby left the impression that it was impossible for him to relax, carrying on conversations in an excitable manner. Colvin also reinforced the view of many others with regard to Jack’s irritation at anyone making remarks degrading Jews, and his hot temper. Dating back to his Chicago days, Colvin knew of no criminal associates of Jack’s and reiterated that although Jack was known as a hustler who made a quick buck on the sale of cheap merchandise, he was definitely not a criminal or “a heist guy.”147

  At Chatham Field in Georgia, Jack’s closest friend at the time, fellow airplane mechanic Irving Zakarin, witnessed Jack beating up another crew member with his fists. The man, a buck sergeant from Texas, made the mistake of calling Jack a “Jew bastard.” Zakarin described Ruby as someone who would do anything for his friends, including readily loaning money to them, and was “very emotional,” crying when President Roosevelt, whom he greatly admired, died in April of 1945.148

  At Bluethenthal Field in North Carolina, where Ruby had been stationed before being transferred to Chatham, another acquaintance, Sergeant Stephen Belancik, echoed others’ feelings about Jack’s temper and remembered he liked to gamble in card or dice games near the barracks. And apparently Jack had all the makings of a Sergeant Bilko, the television role made famous years later by the actor Phil Silvers, who played the conniving but likeable army hustler who was continually scheming to make a buck while working as little as possible. Belancik recalled that on one occasion in 1944 Ruby contacted someone in Chicago to send him punchboards and chocolates, which Jack then peddled throughout the base to make extra money. Also, according to Belancik, Ruby had no liking for work, and carefully avoided any situation that would dirty his hands.149 However, his Chatham Field buddy, Zakarin, differs in his recollection about Ruby’s work ethic, remembering that Ruby, who was thirty-four at that time, “always worked harder than the younger men in the group in order to prove he could keep up with them.”150

  Ruby’s military records indicate that his military occupational speciality was Airplane and Engine Mechanic 747.151 He was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, American Theater Ribbon, and Good Conduct Medal. Regular character and efficiency ratings ranged from “Unknown” to “Excellent” and there were no records of any court martials or absences without leave. His proficiency with firearms earned him a “sharpshooter” qualification with the M-1 rifle. Ruby was honorably discharged at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, on February 21, 1946, as a private first class.152 His discharge physical indicated that with the exception of a sore left thumb, plantar warts, and a case of athlete’s foot, he was in good physical condition.153

  On April 4, 1944, while Jack was still away in the service, his mother was admitted to Michael Reese Hospital with arteriosclerotic heart disease, followed by complications of bronchial pneumonia, which proved fatal. She passed away while in the hospital on the evening of April 11, 1944. Jack came home for the funeral in Chicago and was very upset, having become very fond of and devoted to his mother despite all the family turmoil to which she had contributed.154* But years later, he would take the death of his president harder.

  After his discharge, Jack returned to Chicago. He and his three brothers, Hyman, Sam, and Earl, teamed up to run Earl Products Company, which Earl, the sole investor, had started after he left the service in 1944 and which involved selling small cedar chests and candy punchboards by mail order. As his brothers were discharged from the military and returned to Chicago, Earl gave each of them equal shares of the business even though they did not invest money in it. Jack recalled that he “prospered” in the business, but dissension soon set in since there wasn’t enough money to go around, and Hyman left, leaving Earl, Sam, and Jack to manage the company.155 However, that too was short-lived as Jack and his brothers had a falling out. Earl and Sam wanted Jack, who was the sales manager, to sell exclusively the products they were manufacturing, but Jack seemed interested in selling products made by others too. Consequently, Jack and Sam had an argument (“a real run out” was how Earl put it, “a little difference as to the politics of the company” were Sam’s words), and as Earl said later, “We just couldn’t get along so we decided to buy Jack out.” And they did for a little over $14,000 in cash,156 almost assuredly the most money Jack Ruby would ever have to his name.

  Two other catalysts to Jack’s departure from Earl Products in 1947 were his apparent dislike for traveling outside the Chicago area to secure new accounts, as Earl and Sam would have liked, and sister Eva’s moving to Dallas some four or five years previously. She had been writing Jack with tales of how good life was there, and asked him to come and join her. Jack subsequently left for Dallas very shortly after his buyout, but not before he and a partner from Detroit were unsuccessful in a cookware promotion business.157

  With the help of some money Jack had sent her earlier to obtain a building lease, Eva had purchased a nightclub, known as the Singapore Supper Club, in the 1700 block of South Ervay Street in Dallas. Earl and Hyman had also given money to Eva to help her out. Jack, after his arrival, invested “a lot” of his $14,000 cash windfall and became a 50 percent partner with Eva in the club, which was primarily a dance hall that served beer.158 But the club was in a bad area, and
business was so poor they were lucky they were eating. Jack eventually left Eva by herself to run the Singapore and returned to Chicago for a few months to enter into various “merchandising deals,” as he referred to them, but they proved unsuccessful. A pattern was well established. Jack was always selling some cheap item of merchandise, and he was always unsuccessful. When Eva asked Jack to come back to help with the club, he returned to Dallas that same year, 1947.159

  Jack, who had been using the name Jack Ruby for some time, decided to officially change his name from Jacob Rubenstein, his petition saying he sought the change because the name Rubenstein was too long and because he was “well known” as Jack Ruby. On December 30, 1947, he secured a decree from the 68th Judicial District Court in Dallas effecting the change, which included the addition of a middle initial, L, in memory of his late friend Leon Cooke. Jack’s brothers Earl and Sam had already changed their name to Ruby; it’s unknown if this prompted Jack to follow suit. Earl stated that he and Jack never discussed the name change. Hyman kept the name Rubenstein.160

  Now officially “Jack L. Ruby,” and having left his failed merchandising deals in Chicago, Jack’s main interest in life for the next sixteen years became managing nightclubs and dance halls in Dallas. Though he was an owner of nightclubs, where smoking and drinking were almost automatic, he himself never smoked and rarely drank. Apparently, Jack rarely took a drink because he could not hold his liquor.161 Eva testified that Jack didn’t drink a fifth of liquor a year. When they went out, she said, “We ordered two drinks. I would drink mine and have to drink two-thirds of his.” And she added, “I don’t remember but once he had a cigar in his mouth…and maybe he had three or four cigarettes in his life that I know of.” Said Earl, “He didn’t smoke at all.”162