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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 26, 2021 10:48:36 GMT -5
Unexpected Gotta Go In the fall of 1966, Garrison decided to reopen his file on the JFK assassination. Banister was dead of a heart attack in '64. Ferrie was still around, somewhere. The first thing he needed to do was retrace his steps on the source for Ferrie's trip to Texas. Garrison contacted Herman Kohlman, the Asst. DA that had given him the lead, he told Jim it was Jack Martin. Within a matter of hours Martin was in the office, sipping coffee, then slowly began telling Jim about the incident. On the afternoon of the assassination, Banister and Martin had been drinking at Katzenjammer’s. After returning to Banister's office, Martin made a comment about visitors that summer, and Banister viciously pistol whipped him. On the police report, Martin reported it as an argument over a phone bill, but then, any expected answer not asserted, is not evidence. It cannot be relied upon for Jack to have explained the reason and details of whatever involvement went on in that office that summer. Martin has no reason to lie to Garrison about Lee Oswald and David Ferrie in the office together. Perhaps he didn't expect Jim it to take to the next level of inquiry, Martin did not come forward, and had to be retrieved. Then he told Jim, "...we’re going to bring the goddamned federal government down on our backs..." Telling this to the DA does no good in any revenge against David Ferrie, it only leads back to Camp St. and trouble from the Feds. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On the Trail of the Assassins | Jim Garrison“Now, does a simple argument over phone bills sound like a believable explanation to you?” I asked. I waited. Then, dreamily, he shook his head slowly. “No,” he admitted. “It involved more than that.” “How much more?” Again I waited. He breathed deeply, sucking in the air. “It started like it was going to be nothing at all,” he began. “We’d both been drinking at Katzenjammer’s maybe more than usual, because of the assassination and all. Banister especially.” Pausing to chug down another cup of coffee, he made a real effort to collect his thoughts. “Well, when we came back to the office, Banister started bitching about one thing and then another. He was in a mean mood. Then all of a sudden, he accused me of going through his private files. Now I never went through his private stuff ever—absolutely never. And that really ticked me off.” He hesitated for a long moment. “Go on, Jack,” I said gently. “I guess I blew up,” he continued, his face flushed with memories of injustice. “That’s when I told him he’d better not talk to me like that. I told him I remembered the people I had seen around the office that summer. And that’s when he hit me. Fast as a flash—pulled out that big Magnum and slammed me on the side of the head with it.” “Just because you remembered the people you’d seen at his office the past summer?” I asked. “Yeah, that’s all it took. He went bananas on that one.” “And just who were the people you’d seen in the office that summer?” I prodded softly. “There was a bunch of them. It was like a circus. There were all those Cubans—coming in and going out, coming in and going out. They all looked alike to me.” "...He drew a long breath and then went on. “Then there were all these other characters. There was Dave Ferrie—you know about him by now.” “Was he there very often?” I asked. “Often? He practically lived there.” Then Martin fell silent. I saw by the look in his eyes that he had come to a full stop. I was not about to let my weekend visit to 544 Camp Street go down the drain that easily, so I gave him a hand. “And Lee Harvey Oswald?” I added. Jack swallowed, then nodded. It was almost as if he felt relief in finally having a burden lifted from him. “Yeah, he was there too. Sometimes he’d be meeting with Guy Banister with the door shut. Other times he’d be shooting the bull with Dave Ferrie. But he was there all right.” “What was Guy Banister doing while all this was going on?” “Hell, he was the one running the circus.” “What about his private detective work?” “Not much of that came in, but when it did, I handled it. That’s why I was there.” “So, Jack,” I said. “Just what was going on at Banister’s office?” He held up his hand. “I can’t answer that,” he said firmly. “I can’t go into that stuff at all.” Unexpectedly, he stood up. “I think I’d better go,” he said. “Hold on, Jack. What’s the problem with our going into what was happening at Banister’s office?” “What’s the problem?” he said. “What’s the problem?” he repeated, as if in disbelief. “The problem is that we’re going to bring the goddamned federal government down on our backs. Do I need to spell it out? I could get killed—and so could you.” He turned around. “I’d better go,” he mumbled. He wobbled as he headed for the door.
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 26, 2021 10:49:18 GMT -5
Leaflets Left to the Right Guy Banister died of a heart attack in early June 1964. His connections to the "Fair Pay for Cuba' committee should have been investigated by the Warren Commission. Immediately after he died the FBI confiscated all his files, even before his widow could get to the office. Mrs. Banister spoke to the Garrison team and told them she had found some "Fair Play for Cuba" leaflets, and some index cards. Delphine Roberts, was Banister's secretary, "As I understood it, he had the use of an office on the second floor, above the main
office where we worked. Then, several times, Mr. Banister brought me upstairs, and in the office above I saw various writings
stuck up on the wall pertaining to Cuba. There were various leaflets up there pertaining to Fair Play for Cuba."The State Police took the cards when they arrived to clean out the rest. Jim had Lou Ivon retrieve the index from the State. A stack of file cards was all that was left of Guy Banister's records. The titles on these tabs give reference to the involvement and the wide political scope of operations. It appears to be some serious military apparatus involved in international world affairs. The FBI office in New Orleans, SA Quigley, SA de Brueys, up to Hoover, should all be aware of this connection to Oswald prior to 11/22. American Central Intelligence Agency 20-10
Ammunition and Arms 32-1
Anti-Soviet Underground 25-1
B-70 Manned Bomber Force 15-16
Civil Rights Program of J.F.K. 8-41
Dismantling of Ballistic Missile System 15-16
Dismantling of Defenses, U.S. 15-16
Fair Play for Cuba Committee 23-7
International Trade Mart 23-14
Italy, U.S. Bases Dismantled in
General Assembly of the United Nations 15-16
Latin America 23-1
Missile Bases Dismantled—Turkey and Italy 15-16++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Guy Banister | Spartacus Educational "...On 9th August, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald distributed leaflets that supported Fidel Castro and his government in Cuba. On these leaflets was the address 544 Camp Street, New Orleans. This was also the office of Carlos Bringuier, an anti-Castro exile. Around the corner from 544 Camp Street, located in the same building, was 531 Lafayette Street, which housed the detective agency run by Banister. This raised suspicions that Oswald had been involved in a right-wing conspiracy to kill Kennedy...."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 26, 2021 10:50:02 GMT -5
On the Lake of Pontchartrain On July 31, 1963, the FBI raided a property out on Lake Pontchartrain, in a sting operation to shut down Anti Cuban Training Camps. The property belonged to William McLaney the brother, Las Vegas casino owner Michael McLaney. The land was being used to store huge amounts of ammunition and explosives in trailers. 11 people were arrested, but there was no mention in the press of the apprehensions. When Jack Martin came back in to the office, Jim showed him two newspaper articles and asked, "is this Guy Banister's business"? He was very interested, as he took his time reading carefully through each article, but was troubled to find no mention of the arrests. Garrison asked him to explain, and Martin told him 11 people arrested, 9 of them were Cubans. "The Lake Pontchartrain 11".The raid was in response to President Kennedy's pressure on the FBI to stop the CIA's unending violations of the Neutrality Act. No mention of the arrests made it clear, Banister had no intention of changing anything, the munitions were moved to other locations. What Martin told Garrison over the next few weeks was confirmed with further investigations. A supply line thru the Dallas-New Orleans-Miami corridor provided a steady stream of arms and ammunition. Any large supply of artillery was kept in far flung areas of the city. Quick delivery and drop off was key. There was no large supply of weapons, or ammunition stored at Banister's office for any long period of time. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CACHE OF MATERIAL FOR BOMBS SEIZEDProbe of St. Tammany Case Continues"...More than a ton of dynamite, 20 bomb casings three-feet long, napalm (fire-bomb) material and other devices were seized
Wednesday by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in a resort area in St. Tammany Parish, between Mandeville and Lacombe."
"...according to the special agent in charge of the New Orleans F.B.I. office, the dynamite, bomb casings, and other materials,
were seized in connection with an investigation of an effort to “carry out a military operation against a country with which
the United States is at peace. This is in violation of Title 18, Section 960 of the U.S. Code.” BOMB CACHE COTTAGE LOANED TO NEWLY-ARRIVED REFUGEEOwner’s Wife Says Mate Did Cubans FavorThe wife of the owner of a cottage on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain where a large quantity
of explosives and war materials were seized said Thursday that the house was loaned to a newly arrived
Cuban refugee three weeks ago.
Mrs. William Julius McLaney, 4313 Encampment, said that neither she nor her husband, who operates a race horse feed business,
had knowledge that the munitions were stored at the house near Lacombe until agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation questioned
her husband Wednesday before making the seizure.
She said that the place was loaned to a Cuban they knew only as “Jose Juarez” as a favor to friends of theirs in Cuba.
The McLaneys had operated a tourist business in Havana, but came to New Orleans in 1960 “because Castro made things impossible down there.”++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Barry Seal, the Dallas get-away plane, and the JFK assassination By Daniel Hopsicker So just who were Mike and Bill McLaney? Mike was a casino owner in Havana, where one of his employees, Lewis McWillie, was Jack Ruby’s best friend. When Fidel Castro took power, Mike McLaney was arrested for three months, then freed, and continued to operate under Fidel Castro in hopes of becoming gambling czar of Cuba, his hopes nursed by having paid out $102,000 to Fidel Castro’s Ministry of Gambling, Watergate burglar Frank Sturgis. When the Casino Nacional was nationalized in 1960 he lost $7 million. Not long after, the Miami exiles arrived, Lee Oswald offered his services to the exiles. Whether Oswald is patsy or conspirator or emissary from the Spiders From Mars, he was there, in the company of men like Guy Banister, David Ferrie, and CIA agent David Atlee Philips. At some point, Mike McLaney sent the CIA a detailed plan for knocking out three Havana refineries. But instead of getting his plan approved, he got an urgent phone call from Washington warning him “not to attempt such a thing under any circumstances.” When we asked the engaging but slippery “CIA’s man in ’60’s New Orleans” Gordon Novel if he had known the McLaney brothers, his answer was interesting. “I knew Mike McLaney by name, a CIA guy, supposedly. Dead now.” “But,” he continued, “here’s the problem of dealing with intelligence: its a beehive. Each cubicle is like this. McLaney over here and me over here, see? We’re in separate cubicles, and our operations never overlapped. Just because he did this and I did that and we were both in New Orleans doesn’t mean we ever came in contact.” The FBI’s Lacombe raid assumed a prominent role in Jim Garrison’s investigation of the Kennedy assassination. He believed that the exiles training there—for an assassination attempt on Castro—had been ‘spun off’ into the successful attempt on Kennedy.
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 26, 2021 10:50:37 GMT -5
Buttoned Up In August 1961, an operation out of New Orleans to a Schlumberger Plant in Houma LA., broke in the bunkers and robbed a large amount of military ammunition. Sergio Arcadia Smith, David Ferrie, Lateen Martins, and a CIA operative named Gordon Novel. There were others, but those were the main players. They brought the stash back to New Orleans in a laundry truck and private car. In 1975, AJ Weberman noted in his book Coup D'Etat in America, "The New Orleans States Item reported that a reliable
source informed them that there were crates marked "Shlumburger" in Guy Bannister's office soon after the burglary."David Ferrie's Web of Intrigue | By John S Craig"The HSCA discovered that in the summer of 1961, Novel, Martens, Ferrie and others associated with New Orleans private investigator Guy Banister, robbed the munitions bunker owned by the Schlumberger Company of Houma, Louisiana. The men took the stolen munitions to Banister's 544 Camp Street office. Novel claimed that the raid was not an illegal act but arranged by the CIA in Operation Mongoose, an official operation against Cuba, developed by the National Security Council with the blessing of JFK...." In testimony before the Grand Jury, Layton Martens was an obvious liar regarding the munitions at Houma. One juror called him out on it, "Let me make a statement, Mr. Martens. You must think these men are stupid."++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Grand Jury Transcript
Layton Martens | March 29, 1967Q. "...Now, what happened on that trip? It was at night and when the vehicles arrived at the Blimp Base at Houma the locks and bolts outside the Schlumberger Bumker was cut, the door was opened, everybody had on gloves, and to help you refresh your recollections, Sergio Arcacha, who was always in a jacket and tie, wore a sport shirt. As a matter of fact on this particular occasion, he had his sport shirt buttoned all the way up. Explosives were removed from the Schlumberger Bunker and placed in the back of the laundry truck and then the expedition came back to New Orleans, Does that refresh your memory? A. Something rings a bell. Now as I have said before, it is true I do remember - I do not remember taking a trip to Houma with any of these people. I do remember one instance, the only person I could actually say I know was present was Ferrie. I don't remember about a laundry truck but I do remember an instance where we did go - and I think it was close to the Lakefront here somewhere near New Orleans, but this was back in '61."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 26, 2021 10:51:23 GMT -5
Take the Steps In 1964, The FBI would all be aware Banister and his war against Cuba from Dallas to New Orleans. Lee Oswald did not take a summer vacation to New Orleans, he went to get work that was already assigned. A garage full of filing cabinets of Castro sympathizers at the Paine house, and a Minox document camera in Lee's sea bag are indications some sort of intelligence surveillance. The removal of those cabinets after the assassination is extremely suspicious. The Commission completely ignores both, the Minox camera and the removal, and or even the existence of those files. That camera was the same kind FBI issued for photographing documents. Look at that, a spy camera and a garage full of Cuban files. Sounds like Camp St. Something else the 1964 investigation completely ignored. The Commission stepped lightly around New Orleans. Years later, the HSCA looked further at the connection and chided the original inquiry for basic inadequacies, such as Ruby's connection to New Orleans in relation to Oswald, as well as the FBIs direct involvement in anti-Castro groups, while Lee was there. Eventually, Jim received a copy of the Secret Service Report on the investigation of 544 Camp St., dated Dec 09, 1963. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Garrison Footnote:"The Secret Service synopsis stated: “Extensive investigation conducted thus far has failed to establish that the FAIR PLAY FOR
CUBA COMMITTEE had offices at 544 Camp Street, New Orleans. It has likewise been impossible to find anyone who recalls ever
seeing Lee Harvey Oswald at this address.”
The front entrance of the Secret Service’s office was located approximately 50 feet from 544 Camp Street. If, after walking those 50
feet, the two Secret Service agents had gone up the stairs, they would have found themselves on the landing outside the door of Guy
Banister’s office. If they had not known this beforehand, Banister’s name was printed there for them to read.
If they had made any effort to investigate him, they would have found that one of Banister’s employees had taken off on a bizarre trip
to Texas an hour or so after the President’s assassination and that later the same afternoon, in a remarkably uncharacteristic action,
Banister had pistol-whipped another of his employees. If they had obtained a search warrant, they would have found a stack of left-over
“Fair Play for Cuba” leaflets in the office.
Had they questioned Delphine Roberts, Banister’s secretary, she might have told them what she later admitted to others: that Banister
had been engaged in closed-door meetings with Lee Oswald and that he had arranged for a third-floor room for Oswald’s use.
However, the Secret Service investigators did not take these steps. Rather, as their seven-page report reveals, they located a number
of individuals whose marginal connection with 544 Camp Street had ended back in 1961 or 1962. The agents engaged these individuals in
discursive conversation on matters bearing no discernible connection with President Kennedy’s assassination. That was the sum and
substance of the Secret Service’s 'extensive investigation'.”
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 30, 2021 10:21:27 GMT -5
Spotted Red As Garrison poured thru the 26 volumes, he decided to look at Oswald's background as a Communist. Nelson Delgado was a first cook in the Army at Fort Hancock, N.J. when he testified in 1964. He knew Lee Oswald in early 1959, while stationed in Santa Ana California. Delgado had bunked next door to Oswald for about 11 months, and recalled no Marxist background. “...never said any subversive things … and he didn’t show no particular aspects of being a sharpshooter at all.”Nelson went further to say, that Lee appeared less interested in his rifle than other Marines, and was more of a thinker, a reader. Most importantly, he did not recall any instance of Lee speaking subversively, or against the government with any socialist or communists ideals. MR. LIEBELER: You told the F.B.I. that in your opinion Oswald was not a good rifle shot; is that correct? MR. DELGADO: Yes. MR. LIEBELER: And that he did not show any unusual interest in his rifle, and in fact appeared less interested in weapons than the average Marine? MR. DELGADO: Yes. He was mostly a thinker, a reader. He read quite a bit. MR. LIEBELER: This F.B.I. agent says that you told him that Oswald became so proficient in Spanish that Oswald would discuss his ideas on socialism in Spanish. MR. DELGADO: He would discuss his ideas but not anything against our government or nothing Socialist, mind you. ---------------------------------------------- Daniel Powers served with Lee at the Naval Air Technical Center in Florida, and Keesler Field in Mississippi, and El Toro Marine Base, and in Japan. MR. JENNER: Did he ever express any sympathy toward the Communist Party? MR. POWERS: None that I recall. MR. JENNER: Toward Communist principles? MR. POWERS: None that I recall. MR. JENNER: Or Marxist doctrines? MR. POWERS: None that I recall. No, sir. ------------------------------------------------- Other Colleagues John E. Donovan, who was a first lieutenant at El Toro when Oswald was there. “… I never heard him in any way, shape or form confess that he was a Communist, or that he ever thought about being a Communist.” Donald Peter Camarata: “I have no recollection … of any remarks on his part concerning Communism, Russia or Cuba.” Peter Francis Connor: “I never heard Oswald make any anti-American or pro-Communist statements. He claimed to be named after Robert E.
Lee, whom he characterized as the greatest man in history.”
Allen D. Graf: “Oswald never gave to me any indication of favoring Communism or opposing capitalism.” John Rene Heindel: “Although I generally regarded Oswald as an intelligent person, I did not observe him to be particularly
interested in politics or international affairs.” Mack Osborne: “I do not recall any remarks on his part concerning Communism, Russia or Cuba.” Richard Dennis Call: “... I do not recall Oswald’s making serious remarks with regard to the Soviet Union or Cuba.”++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On the Trail of the Assassins | Jim Garrison"The statements of Oswald’s other associates at the Marine base were almost uniform in their agreement that he had no inclination in the direction of communism or anything leftwing. Only one man who had been at the Marine base with him testified that Oswald had exhibited Marxist leanings. This man—Kerry Thornley—had not served with Oswald as long as a number of others and had not even lived on the same part of the base at El Toro. That seemed odd to me. Moreover, Thornley’s testimony was heard directly by the Warren Commission, and subsequently was given great attention by the media. I noticed, however, that in the Commission volumes, it was separated from the affidavits of the other Marines. This made me wonder if any members of the Warren Commission had actually read the other Marines’ affidavits, which overwhelmingly contradicted Thornley’s claims."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 30, 2021 10:22:22 GMT -5
Deflection to Russia Next, Jim focused on Lee's time after the Marines, and the trip to the USSR. After taking his Russian Exam at El Toro CA., Oswald applied for a discharge to take care of his mother, he said, was going thru physical hardships that required care. In Sept. 1959, he received an honorable discharge 4 weeks early from his completion of service. 3 days later he left New Orleans for Russia on a steamship cruise. It was an odd way to travel to Europe, and serious questions are raised about where he got the money to make such a trip. He purchased his ticket to the UK from Lykes office of the New Orleans International Trade Mart, owned by Clay Shaw. There is no record of what air flights he took east from there. The Commission said he flew into Helsinki, Finland, on Oct 9 th 1959 His passport however, shows he did not leave England until the next day Oct. 10 th. He arrived in Moscow by train on Oct 19 th. He was on a deluxe tourist package that included, the opulent Berlin Hotel, and a personal guide throughout his stay. Almost immediately upon arrival, he met with Soviet Officials, they were very interested in this young American with radar secrets. He went thru extensive interrogations but there is no record of where or when. After two weeks he made a dramatic appearance at the US Embassy. He told the Americans, he now had an allegiance to the USSR, and will give the Soviets all that he knew. The entire drama appears to be staged and both consulates felt Lee was baiting them to create a scene. A very good indicator that US State Dept knew exactly what he was doing, was voluntarily handing over his passport to US authorities. To keep it out of Soviet hands. When Oswald's defection hit the news back home, "...no derogatory information was contained in the U.S.M.C. files concerning Oswald,
and O.N.I. [Office of Naval Intelligence] advised that no action against him was contemplated in this matter.”In January 1960, Oswald was sent to Minsk to work in at a radio factory. He had a nice apartment with a balcony and a fairly high salary. After 15 months in the Soviet Union, Lee decided he wanted to go home and applied at the US Embassy to return to the US.
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 30, 2021 10:23:00 GMT -5
Goin' Home In Feb. 1961, Oswald decided he wanted to come back to the US. Oddly, this is only a few weeks after the "Bolton Ford Incident". In the meantime, he met Marina Prusakova, fell in love, and in April of '61, were married. But there was a snag to get Marina home. Lee's new wife had been a member of the Communist Youth Organization, "Komsomol", and was not eligible to enter the US. Of course she lied during her exit interview, but assurances had to be made in writing, and the only one that could vouch for her was Lee. When the "rat bastard killed the president", the FBI pulled that out from under her and threatened deportation in exchange for her cooperation. Meanwhile, back there, it took some time for the Soviet authorities to allow the exit, and Marina gave birth to their daughter June, in Feb. '62. Finally in the spring, Lee was told they could not come directly from the USSR, they'd have to come west thru Brussels. They arrived in NY, June '62. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On the Trail of the Assassins | Jim Garrison"It is noteworthy, for example, that the State Department approved Oswald’s return, although it easily could have refused a defector’s request. The department’s report stated that Oswald “had not expatriated himself’ by his actions upon arriving in the Soviet Union in 1959. It added that there was no indication in F.B.I. reports that Oswald was a communist. It authorized the American Embassy in Moscow to lend him the money, on behalf of State, for his return. Such a repatriation loan, according to State Department regulations, cannot be made unless the recipient’s “loyalty to the United States” has been established “beyond question.” Considering that Oswald had supposedly defected and handed military secrets to the Soviet Union, his loyalty hardly would appear to have been “beyond question.” Yet the loan of $436 was granted after a few months’ delay. Similarly, the State Department’s Passport Office found no reason why Oswald’s passport should not be renewed and authorized the American Embassy to renew it in August 1961*. Ordinarily, when a U.S. citizen goes abroad and commits an act indicating allegiance to another country, particularly the Soviet Union, the Passport Office automatically prepares a “lookout” card in case the party ever attempts to renew his passport. No such “lookout” card ever was prepared for Oswald. Garrison Footnote: Subsequently, in June 1963, when Oswald applied for his passport again, he received it within 24 hours.
Such prompt service is rare in any event but would have been utterly impossible had Oswald’s “defection” been genuine.--------------------------------------------------------- "...The government never prosecuted Oswald for his alleged defection. Immediately upon his return to the U.S., Oswald, along with Marina and their daughter, moved to Fort Worth, Texas. There he worked at the Leslie Welding Company until October 7, 1962, when the Baron George de Mohrenschildt and his wife came over from Dallas to spend the evening as guests of Lee and Marina at their modest apartment." The following day, Lee packed up and moved to Dallas, just 30 miles from George. "...In any event, before October 1962 was over, Oswald had obtained a job that, for a former defector to the Soviet Union, seemed quite unlikely. Jagger-Stovall-Chiles, under a contract with the Pentagon, was engaged in the production of charts and maps for military use. Writer Henry Hurt has observed that “part of the work appeared to be related to the top-secret U-2 missions, some of which were making flights over Cuba.” This job required an extremely high security classification. Lee Harvey Oswald not only was given the job within one week of his arrival in Dallas, but also had access to a variety of classified materials."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 30, 2021 10:23:40 GMT -5
George de Mohrenschildt A strange character in the Kennedy assassination indeed. George de Mohrenschildt was a Russian immigrant, born in 1911. His parents were extremely wealthy. His father was Sergey Alexandrovich von Mohrenschildt and his mother, Alexandria. von Mohrenschildt was a name of noble decent, from the Mayor of Reval, what is now the capitol of Estonia, near Finland. Born, Jerzy Sergius von Mohrenschildt in Mozyr, in the Russian Empire, he moved to the US in 1938 and changed the "von" to "de". He lived on Long Island with his older brother, Dimitri, who was a member of the OSS, and a staunch anti communist. Dimitri had founded the CIA backed "Radio Free Europe" and "Radio Liberty". Meanwhile, George met the nearby Bouvier family. Jacqueline Bouvier, the future Mrs. Kennedy, would sit on de Mohrenschildt's knee and call him "Uncle George". George tried selling insurance, then decided to go and to school for a Master's Degree in Geology from the University of Texas. In 1942 he married Dorothy Pearson, they had a daughter Alexandira, but divorced in 1944. At the end of WWII he moved to Venezuela and worked for Pantepec Oil. In 1947, he married the daughter of a diplomat with the State Dept., then divorced in '49. de Mohrenschildt became a US Citizen in 1950, and launched an oil investment firm. He was married again the following year, and moved to Dallas to work for Clint Murchison as a petroleum geologist. He joined the Dallas Petroleum Club and taught at the college. Offshore oil engineer George Kitchel, told the FBI, among his good friends were oil barons, Clint Murchison,
H.L. Hunt, John W. Mecom, Sr., and Sid Richardson. He was a member of the right wing "Texas Crusade for Freedom", other members of that group included, Earle Cabell, Everette DeGolyer, David Harold Byrd and Ted Dealey. In 1957 he was divorced again, and went to Yugoslavia for the State Dept. sponsored International Cooperation Administration. While there, he was accused of drawing military fortifications. When he returned to the US he was debriefed by the CIA . Two years later he married his fourth wife Jeanne. Between '60 and '61 the two toured Central America and the Caribbean. By 1962, the couple were back in Fort Worth. That summer de Mohrenschildt was asked by George Bouhe, a prominent member of the "White Russian" community, to meet the Oswalds. When he asked if they were "safe". Bouhe replied, "he had checked with the FBI"++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On the Trail of the Assassins | Jim Garrison"Oswald’s most frequent associate in Dallas, I discovered, was George de Mohrenschildt. He had been in the United States longer than most of the White Russians and was hardly an ordinary émigré. His father, Baron Sergius de Mohrenschildt, had been governor of the province of Minsk for the czar. The family had fled from the communists after the 1917 revolution. De Mohrenschildt spoke Russian, French, German, Spanish and Polish. In World War II he had worked for French intelligence. This polished member of the international polo-playing set possessed a doctorate in international commerce and a Master’s degree in petroleum engineering and geology. De Mohrenschildt had become a consulting geologist and was a member of the exclusive Dallas Petroleum Club with extremely affluent contacts in the business world. Among his close friends, one of the more interesting was Jean de Menil, the president of the mammoth international Schlumberger Corporation, which had close ties with the Central Intelligence Agency. De Mohrenschildt had traveled to the far corners of the world. He had visited Ghana in the role of a stamp collector, although he was actively in the oil business at the time and did not collect stamps. In Yugoslavia he had spent an entire year representing the International Cooperation Administration, a well-known Central Intelligence Agency front based in Washington. He had been in Guatemala when, coincidentally, much of the C.I.A.’s combat training of the anti-Castro Cubans who invaded at the Bay of Pigs took place. And later he moved to Haiti, where he became involved in a “government oriented” (to borrow the Warren Commission report’s phrase) business venture." My conclusion that de Mohrenschildt was an unwitting "baby sitter" for Oswald came not only from publicly available evidence but from my conversations with him and Mrs. de Mohrenschildt. Some years after the assassination, after my investigation was well under way, I established phone contact with de Mohrenschildt. To avoid monitoring, we developed a routine of my calling him at the Petroleum Club in Dallas or his leaving a call for me at the New Orleans Athletic Club. Both de Mohrenschildt and his wife were positive that the shooting of the President, or even of a rabbit for that matter, simply was not in Lee Oswald’s make-up. They were vigorous in their insistence that Oswald had been the scapegoat. I was particularly affected by the depth of their unhappiness at what had been done not only to John Kennedy but to Lee Oswald as well. Garrison Footnote:George de Mohrenschildt committed suicide in March 1977, hours after arranging to meet an investigator from the House Select
Committee on Assassinations. It is theoretically possible for de Mohrenschildt to have been working for another part of the intelligence
community. However, the depth of his cover and its subsequent protection by some members of the Warren Commission and the federal
investigators supports the likelihood that he was with the Agency, which is forbidden by law to operate domestically. The Warren
Commission never called this cosmopolitan man as a witness. Rather, his deposition was taken for the members of the Commission to read.
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Post by Michael Capasse on Jun 30, 2021 10:24:12 GMT -5
Bolton Ford Incident
On Jan. 20, 1961, Oscar Deslatte was the Asst Manager at Bolton Ford in New Orleans, when two men walked in and asked about trucks.
They said they were interested in purchasing 10 Ford Econline Trucks, one man identified himself as Joseph Moore.
Deslatte told his boss, Fred Sewell, it was for, "Free Democrats of Cuba", or some such organization. Deslatte offered $75/each over his cost.
As the men were filling out the paperwork, the two began talking to Deslatte and Sewell. When Moore asked the name on the invoice be changed to " Friends of Democratic Cuba", the other man said, "By the way, you'd better put my name down there because
I'm the man handling the money." When Deslatte asked, "What's your name?" the man replied, "Oswald."It was just about 3 months before the Bay of Pigs Invasion, but Lee Oswald was living and working in Minsk, Russia, USSR, almost 6,000 miles away. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On the Trail of the Assassins | Jim Garrison"...The next morning I had hardly arrived at the office when Lou Ivon came in with a lead—picked up by one of his police investigators on the street —that Oswald had visited the Bolton Ford dealership on North Claiborne Avenue. We followed this up as we did with even the thinnest of leads and, although the rumor turned out to be false, we ended up finding something potentially more important. As we later learned from salesmen Fred Sewall and Oscar Deslatte, two men claiming to represent an organization called Friends of Democratic Cuba arrived at the Bolton dealership on January 20, 1961. This was only three months before the abortive Bay of Pigs attempt to invade Cuba, the great turkey that Kennedy had inherited from the preceding administration. One of the men was a powerfully built Latin with a thick neck and a distinct scar over his left eyebrow.† The other was a thin, young Anglo-Saxon who obviously was in charge. The two men indicated that they wanted to buy ten Ford pickup trucks. They wanted a bid from Bolton Ford on the price. The Latin identified himself as “Joseph Moore” but said the bid had to be in the name of “Oswald.” The young Anglo-Saxon confirmed this, explaining, that “Oswald” was his name and that he was the one with the money. Instead of asking the buyers to sign, Deslatte himself printed the name “Oswald” on the form.* Of course, as all the world now knows, the real Lee Oswald was in the Soviet Union that day and would be for more than another year. Following President Kennedy’s assassination, Sewall and Deslatte remembered “Oswald’s” visit and called the F.B.I. When the F.B.I. agents saw the bid form with Oswald’s last name on it, according to the two salesmen, they picked it up carefully with solenoid tongs. After hearing of the Bolton Ford incident, I became very interested in Friends of Democratic Cuba. I obtained a copy of its articles of incorporation. There, among the organization’s incorporators, was the ubiquitous name of Guy Banister. I pondered the implications of this staggering information. In the very month that John Kennedy was inaugurated, an intelligence project being run by Guy Banister was using the name “Oswald” in bidding for pickup trucks for apparent use in the Bay of Pigs invasion. More important, the thin young American who had done the bidding either knew Lee Oswald or knew his name. In either case, Oswald was far off in the Soviet Union at the time. At the very least, this strange incident seemed to make Oswald’s actual appearance at Guy Banister’s operation in the summer of 1963 something less than sheer happenstance." Garrison Footnote:After Lee Harvey Oswald returned to New Orleans and began handing out pro-Castro leaflets, this man with the scar
was always present on the edge of the crowd. It is standard operating procedure for an intelligence agent engaged in a provocative activity
to have a nearby bodyguard to protect him against a violent reaction from the crowd.
It seems probable that this man with the scar was Oswald’s bodyguard because of the regularity of his presence—invariably on the outer edge
of the scene and invariably wearing sunglasses. The sunglasses were large, but they could not conceal the vertical scar that ran up through
this man’s left eyebrow. We learned of his consistent attendance from our questioning of persons present at the leaflet handouts, many of whom
we had identified from our copies of the news photos.
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