Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba, & the Garrison Case
Page 63
38 Ibid.
39 Harold Weisberg letter to Andrew Sciambra, 12/28/68.
40 Ramparts, April of 1976, p. 8.
41 Garrison, Playboy interview.
42 Probe, Vol. 4 No. 4, p. 11.
43 Ibid, p. 17.
44 Ibid.
45 Gurvich’s grand jury testimony of June 28, 1967.
46 Gurvich’s grand jury testimony of July 12, 1967.
47 Op cit, Probe.
48 Author’s 1996 interview with a confidential source. He is confidential for reasons stated in the text.
49 This early information about Gordon Novel is from the Novel file of Jim Garrison, plus an unpublished manuscript called The Mysterious Mr. Novel co-authored by Irv Yarg. Both use Lou Ivon’s extensive check of Novel’s police record.
50 See FBI memorandum of 4/20/67 in which Novel explains more about the Houma raid being Agency sanctioned as a lease deal between Schlumberger’s oil exploration company and the CIA. In this report, Novel states that both he and Sergio Arcacha Smith are still employed by the CIA in 1967.
51 Interview with Novel in Los Angeles in early 2007; Yarg, p. 5.
52 Flammonde, p. 102.
53 The information about this recruitment meeting by Dulles was conveyed to the author in a 1997 interview with Lars Hansson at the Beverly Hills Hotel. In the 80s Hansson became a companion of Novel and his friend John Lear in Las Vegas. Lars talked about his relations with both men in a 1993 issue of Steamshovel Press, No. 8.
54 Pease, Lisa. “Gordon Novel: Agent Against Garrison.” Probe, Vol. 5 No. 5, p. 10.
55 Pease, Lisa. “Gordon Novel: My Dinner with Allen.” Probe, Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 26.
56 This important series appeared in Probe, Vol. 4 No. 5 and No. 6, and concluded in Vol. 5 No. 5.
57 Researcher Michael Levy discovered these at the AARC and showed them to me on a 1993 visit to his home in Washington, D.C. Novel admitted he also communicated with Richard Helms by telegram in his deposition for his lawsuit. He would sometimes request his salary be forwarded. See Probe, Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 27.
58 Probe, Vol. 5 No. 5, p. 11.
59 Ibid; See also Flammonde, p.97.
60 Ibid, Probe, p. 12.
61 Probe, Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 26.
62 Probe, Vol. 5 No. 5, p. 12.
63 Ibid, p. 34.
64 Flammonde, p. 97.
65 New Orleans States–Item, 3/22/67.
66 This CIA orchestrated journalistic campaign in smearing Garrison was revealed in Novel’s private correspondence with a deceased Kennedy researcher.
67 New Orleans States–Item, 3/27/67.
68 Ibid., 6/28/67.
69 New Orleans States–Item, 3/27/67.
70 Probe, Vol. 4, No. 4, p. 10.
71 Probe, Vol. 3 No. 4, p. 17.
72 Joan Mellen interviews with Lou Ivon 5/27/01, and John Volz, 5/21/98.
73 New Orleans States–Item, 3/2/67; Hurt p. 281.
74 Hurt, p. 281.
75 On the controversy over P.O. Box 19106, see Flammonde, pp. 227–31. The entry in Oswald’s book was most intriguing, since Dallas did not have post office box numbers that
high in 1963. Garrison, p. 147.
76 Garrison, p. 148. This ties in with Ferrie’s comment to Russo in October 1963, “We will get him and it won’t be long.” Popkin, “Garrison’s Case,” p. 28.
77 New Orleans Magazine, July, 1967, p. 59.
78 Talbot, p. 326.
79 Probe, Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 21.
80 Hougan, Spooks, p. 124.
81 Author’s interview with Steinberg at his home in Virginia in 1993. In his book Kennedy Justice, Victor Navasky also mentions this point on p. 456.
82 Probe, op cit.
83 NODA Memorandum of 5/24/67, Martin to Garrison.
84 Case of Novel vs. Garrison and Playboy, his deposition at page 534.
85 See William Davy’s article at ctka.net, “Shoot Him Down.” This promise appears to have been a cruel joke, since there is no evidence this gift was ever transferred.
86 Ibid.
87 Author’s 1994 interview with Sal Panzeca in New Orleans.
88 NODA affidavit of Marlene Mancuso, 5/20/67; Mellen, pps. 192–93.
89 NODA Memorandum of Kimble, 10/10/67. Also William Turner, “The Garrison Commission,” Ramparts, January 1968, p. 68.
90 Oster interview with Joan Mellen, 10/01/2001.
91 Probe, Vol, 4, No. 4, p. 10.
92 Probe, Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 18.
93 Ibid.
94 Ibid.
95 NODA Memorandum from Bill Boxley to Jim Garrison, undated.
96 Author’s 1994 interview with John Volz at his office in New Orleans. Volz wanted to test Bundy, so he asked him what color the pamphlets were. Bundy came up with this rather unusual color. Volz later found out that, indeed, some of the flyers that Oswald distributed were yellow. Today, they are preserved as an exhibit at the Royal New Orleans Collection.
97 “The JFK Conspiracy: The Case of Jim Garrison” is on You Tube.
98 For an overview of what happened to Sheridan’s witnesses after the program aired see Garrison, pps. 169–71; Flammonde pps. 304–14; and Garrison’s Playboy interview.
99 Probe op. cit., Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 18.
100 New Orleans Police Department statement of Bundy’s cell mate Arthur King, May 22, 1967.
101 Ibid. It should be noted that although Bundy had a probation record for breaking into cigarette machines for petty change for narcotics, at this point, he was in jail voluntarily since he feared consequences of his addiction. This would appear to further undercut the accusations of Cancler and Torres. (NODA memorandum of 3/16/67).
102 Op cit, NODA memorandum from Boxley to Garrison.
103 Affidavit of Beaubouef, April 12, 1967. When I interviewed Beaubouef’s attorney Hugh Exnicios in New Orleans in 1995, he told me that he allowed Shaw’s lawyers into his office to transcribe the tape he had made of the Loisel–Beaubouef discussion. He then made a mistake and left the office to get something to eat. When he returned, both the tape and the lawyers were gone.
104 Phelan, Rush to Judgment, p. 22.
105 Baton Rouge Morning Advocate, February 25, 1967.
106 Probe, Vol. 6 No. 4, p. 5 and p. 32. A much longer version of this report was in this issue.
107 Probe, Vol. 3 No. 3, p. 24.
108 Kirkwood, pps. 161–73.
109 Ibid.
110 Author’s 1993 phone interview with James Phelan.
111 Davy, pgs.121–22.
112 Op cit., Kirkwood.
113 E mail message from Matt Herron in 2009.
114 Mellen, A Farewell To Justice, p. 144.
115 Lyon Garrison let the author copy these and many other exhibits in 1994.
116 Probe, Vol. 6 No. 5, p. 26. At a meeting in San Francisco, I showed these Garrison-marked transcripts to a gathering of Kennedy researchers. They all agreed that Russo was not being prompted and were surprised that Phelan would present it as otherwise. What Phelan and Shaw’s lawyers did was use the March 12 hypnosis session as the first one, where Dr. Fatter refers to a “TV screen,” in order to leave the impression that he is leading Russo. But the first session was March 1, where Russo came up with all the details of the date, place, and people including the “big guy” with “white hair,” “Clem Bertrand.” Again, these documents are all right out of Garrison’s files—before anyone else could adulterate them for their own agenda.
117 Biles, p. 44.
118 Ibid. Biles brief but incisive discussion of this issue is one of the best in the literature.
119 See the You Tube series, “The JFK Conspiracy: The Case of Jim Garrison.”
120 WC Vol. 11, pps. 370–71.
121 Russell, pps. 288–89.
122 Ibid., p. 367.
123 Kurtz, “Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans: A Reappraisal,” p. 17.
124 Flammonde, pps. 23–24.
125 Interview by Peter Vea and William Davy in 1994 of Niles Peterson i
n New Orleans. Michael Kurtz in his book The JFK Assassination Debates, notes that a Cuban he encountered, Santos Miguel Gonzalez, recalled the gathering at Ferrie’s. He also said that Shaw, Ferrie, and Oswald were there. But he denied there was any discussion of assassinating Kennedy that night. Which is not necessarily inconsistent with Russo’s recall since he said this discussion occurred when almost everyone was gone (Kurtz, p. 164).
126 “The J.F.K. Conspiracy,” Newsweek, May 15, 1967, p. 36.
127 Ibid., p. 40.
128 Material on Aynesworth’s activities in Dallas are primarily from Joesten, Garrison, pp. 100–5.
129 WR, pps. 187–88.
130 Probe, Vol. 4 No. 4, p. 12.
131 Ibid.
132 Confidential CIA memorandum of October 10, 1963.
133 Davy, p. 133.
134 New Orleans Police Report of June 12, 1967. As noted in the footnote above, Exnicios told me that Shaw’s lawyers absconded with the tape. If this is accurate, then they may have had it altered.
135 The Western Union teletype is dated May 13, 1967, and it includes a “rough draft copy” of the piece that appeared in the May 15 Newsweek. The elipses are in the original.
136 Detective D. K. Rodgers report to Captain W. F. Dyson, of 2/27, in Dallas Police files.
137 Ibid.
138 Ibid.
139 Ibid.
140 Detective D. K. Rodgers report to Captain W. F. Dyson of 3/3, in Dallas Police files.
141 Flammonde, p. 97. There is a CIA memorandum of June 6, 1967, based on an FBI report, which says that “Other sources have stated that Gordon Novel and Arcacha Smith have “marque” letters granting them immunity and are allegedly employed by the CIA.” A letter of marque is one which grants the bearer immunity from committing a crime since it is in his line of duty.
142 Op. cit., Rodgers report of March 3.
143 Probe op. cit., Vol. 4 No. 4, p. 11.
144 Ibid., p. 13.
145 Ibid., p. 14.
146 NODA Memorandum of July 13, 1967, from Andew Sciambra to Jim Garrison.
147 Op cit, Probe, p. 14.
148 Mellen, A Farewell to Justice, p. 235.
149 Navasky, p. 405.
150 Garrison, p. 166.
151 Hougan, Spooks, p. 124.
152 New York Times, May 16, 1947.
153 New York Times, February 24, 1997.
154 New York Times, June 2, 1960.
155 Navasky, p. 456.
156 New York Times, January 15, 1995.
157 Navasky, pp. 412–413.
158 Ibid., p. 457.
159 Op cit., Hougan.
160 Ibid.
161 Ibid., p. 126.
162 Ibid., p. 128. It is important to recall that RFK had a supervising role in Operation MONGOOSE at this time, which explains his access to the CIA.
163 Ibid., p. 126.
164 Ibid.
165 Ibid., p. 129.
166 Ibid., p. 128. As we shall see, the first tarring of Garrison’s name with Mob connections, particularly Carlos Marcello, began with a story in the September 8, 1967, issue of Life. Not only did Sheridan have ties to the magazine, so did another Shaw ally, reporter David Chandler. Sheridan uses the Marcello tactic in his book, The Fall and Rise of Jimmy Hoffa, on page 417.
167 Probe, Vol. 4, No. 5, p. 24.
168 Ibid.
169 Ibid.
170 Vincent Bugliosi, Reclaiming History, (W.W. Norton and Company: New York, 2007) p. 1175.
171 The judge’s order is in Flammonde, p. 212.
172 Two favorable articles are Turner and Popkin, already noted; Powledge is also favorable.
Chapter 12
1 Garrison, p. 139.
2 Popkin, “Garrison’s Case,” p. 19. Andrews appeared on the NBC show to deny that Clay Shaw was Clay Bertrand, after which NBC narrator Frank McGee intoned that NBC knew the “real” Clay Bertrand and was withholding his identity for his own protection. Andrews was soon pushed to reveal his identity and said Bertrand was New Orleans barkeeper, Eugene C. Davis, who vehemently denied the charges and gave Garrison a sworn statement to that effect. See Flammonde, pp. 307–8.
3 New York Post, March 2, 1967.
4 New York Times, June 3, 1967.
5 New Orleans Times–Picayune, May 6, 1967.
6 This program in on You Tube.
7 This interview is available at the JFK Lancer web site.
8 It is important to note here that Allen Dulles was one of the originators of Operation Mockingbird, the CIA’s program to control the media. Therefore, he knew how to develop a program for his asset Novel.
9 Some residents of McLean today are Elliot Abrams of Iran/Contra fame, Frank Carlucci of the Carlyle Group, former Vice-President Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, conservative political operative Bill Kristol, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Supreme Court Justices Anthony Scalia and Anthony Kennedy.
10 From the reporting notes of Julian Granger of Scripps Howard News Service.
11 From a 1994 interview with a source who knew the man who owned the house.
12 See Anthony Summers, Official and Confidential, p. 244. According to Novel, there were also people in the White House who wanted him to puruse this lawsuit.
13 Gordon Novel interview by Dave Emory of 10/29/84, on The Expressway Show. This interview is available at Spitfire.list.com as program number 253. The title is “The Watergate Tapes Revisited.”
14 Ibid. This lawsuit failed. But as we shall see it was part of an endgame strategy that the Agency had to ultimately destroy Garrison both personally and professionally. The overall strategy largely succeeded.
15 New Orleans States–Item, March 11, 1970.
16 Op Cit, Dave Emory tape.
17 Probe Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 18.
18 Journal of Life reporter Richard Billings, p. 82.
19 Navasky, pps. 456–57.
20 Ibid., p. 491.
21 CIA Memorandum of May 8, 1967 by Richard Lansdale.
22 Op. cit, Probe, p. 21.
23 Note from Miller to Lansdale to cover document enclosures, May 31, 1968.
24 Novel Chronology accompanying the unpublished manuscript “The Mysterious Mr. Novel.”
25 Probe op. cit., Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 26.
26 NODA Memorandum of May 11, 1973, Ivon to Garrison.
27 One example of this is Ferrie’s friend and Bay of Pigs veteran Julian Buznedo. When I contacted him in Denver, he told me that he was interviewed by two government agents in 1967 before Garrision called him.
28 Probe, Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 16.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Litchfield interview with Joan Mellen, January 30, 2002.
32 Merryl Hudson interview with Joan Mellen, February 3, 2001.
33 WR p. 324.
34 See Meagher, p. 387; Gary Shaw with Larry Harris, Cover Up (Cleburne, Texas: privately published, 1976) p. 109.
35 CD 1553; also Fonzi, pps. 114–15.
36 Fonzi, p. 114.
37 Author’s interview with Delsa in 1994 in New Orleans.
38 Benson, pps. 168–69.
39 Author’s 1998 interview with Ray Marcus in Los Angeles.
40 FBI Memorandum of March 23, 1967 from Los Angeles office. Schiller lived there at the time.
41 In one of David Lifton’s derogatory articles about Garrison written at the time, he ridiculed a meeting he had with Garrison in Los Angeles. (June 6, 1968 in the journal Open City) Lifton met Garrison at the Century Plaza Hotel in October of 1967 and he said he had “never seen a man so utterly frightened, and so convinced that he was constantly followed, bugged, etc.” This shows how uninformed Lifton was about Garrison. For Hall told Jaffe that the LAPD had recruited an employee of the Century Plaza Hotel to spy on Garrison when he was there on investigatory trips to Los Angeles. (Memo from Jaffe to Garrison of 4/30/68).
42 Memorandum from Jaffe to Garrison of March 20, 1968.
43 FBI Airtel of January 15, 1968.
44 Probe,
Vol. 5 No. 3, p. 7.
45 Memorandum from Jaffe to Garrison of 4/30/68.
46 Op Cit, Probe, p. 33.
47 Author’s 1997 interview with Kunkin in Los Angeles.
48 Ramparts, April 1967, “The Plot Thickens” p. 8.
49 Letter from Guthman to this author dated August 8, 1993.
50 Billings Journal, p. 20.
51 Los Angles Times, July 14, 1967, “New Orleans: Justice is on Trial.”
52 Navasky, pps. 468–69.
53 Justice Department Memorandum of September 22, 1967.
54 Probe, Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 20.
55 Ibid., p. 21.
56 Ibid., p. 22.
57 Ibid.
58 CIA Memorandum for the Record of the Garrison Group dated Septemeber 20, 1967.
59 Ibid.
60 Bill Simpich has surveyed the Rocca collection on Garrison. In an e-mail communication with the author on April 21, 2012, he said it would take a person a number of years, perhaps a decade, to read the library of documents Rocca eventually collected on the Garrison inquiry.
61 When the author characterizes the memo of this meeting as “sketchy,” he is being generous. The notes of this meeting take about one minute to read.
62 Memorandum for the Record, Garrison Group, 9/26/67.
63 Memorandum for the Record, 9/29/67. It is surprising that the ARRB could not get CIA to completely declassify this document, follow the chain of these memoranda to their conclusion, or interview anyone who was at these meetings.
64 Marchetti said this on more than one occasion, including an aforementioned interview with this author.
65 New Orleans States–Item, April 10, 1967.
66 Ibid., April 11, 1967.
67 Ibid., April 25, 1967.
68 Baton Rouge States–Times, February 27, 1967.
69 Flammonde, p. 120.
70 Ibid.
71 Probe op. cit., Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 25.
72 Ibid.
73 Ibid.
74 New Orleans States–Item, August 8, 1967.
75 Ibid., May 22, 1968,
76 Interview of Baumler by Bud Fensterwald and J. Gary Shaw, December 30, 1981.
77 Interview of Baumler by Harold Weisberg, April 9, 1968, forwarded to Jim Garrison.
78 Op. cit., Interview of Baumler by Fensterwlad and Shaw.
79 Op. cit., Weisberg’s interview of Baumler.
80 Ibid.
81 Probe op. cit., Vol. 4 No. 5, p. 22.
82 Ibid.
83 NODA Memorandum of interview of Daphne Rosen to Garrison, September 16, 1968.