Mrs. Lovell Penn was a schoolteacher who thought she had seen OSWALD firing a rifle near her property shortly before the assassination. The FBI reported: "Mrs. Lovell T. Penn, Belt Line Road, Cedar Hill, Texas, telephone number CY-9-4463, advised that she and her husband live on a farm located 3.7 miles from Cedar Hill toward Grand Prairie on Belt Line Road.

"On October 6, 1963, she was at home preparing six-weeks tests, as she is a teacher at Cedar Hill High School. Sometime between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on October 6, 1963, she heard someone fire a high caliber rifle in her pasture. They have cattle in this pasture, and she was concerned that the person might wound or kill some of the cattle. Her husband was also working in a field not too far from where the shooting was taking place. She got into her car and drove to where the men were. Two men were standing by a car, which was a 1957 black and white Chevrolet, bearing Texas license. The third man was standing some distance away in the field with a rifle. She could not describe this rifle, and did not know if it had a scope on it or not. She asked one of the men by the car if they had permission to hunt of shoot on the property. This man asked her what reason she had to ask such a question. She then told the man the property belonged to her, and since they had some cattle in the pasture she was afraid they might shoot them. This made the man with the rifle angry, and he walked back toward the car and made several nasty remarks which she could not recall. At the time, the man by the car she had been talking to told the man with the rifle to keep quiet. The man by the car then told her he could understand her situation. She then advised them that she was leaving. and if they did not leave she would call the police when she got to the house. She took the license number of the car and left; these three men left, and she did not call the police. After a check of the cattle revealed none of them had been shot, she threw away the license number. She cannot recall any part of this number.

"Since thinking about this incident, and in view of the assassination of President Kennedy with a rifle, she has wondered if this man with the rifle was OSWALD. She saw a photograph of OSWALD in the newspaper and stated that a side view of OSWALD does not look like this person. The full face photograph, however, she believes does resemble him...She stated that the man by the car who she talked to was about 40 years of age, dark complexion, medium height and weight. She could not describe this person any further but believes she would know him if she were to see him again. She could not give any description of the other man by the car at all. The man with the rifle was a young white male or medium height and slender build.

"Mrs. Penn stated that the field where the man was shooting has been plowed since the incident, and she did not feel there was any possibility that any of the shells could be located. She advised that she would return to the field where the incident took place and look carefully for any of the shells and would advise the results of this search."

Mrs. Lovell Penn was able to recover a 6.5 millimeter spent shell casing from the area. The FBI determined that it had not been fired from OSWALD'S Mannlicher-Carcano. [FBI DL-89-43 Henry J. Oliver dictated 12.2.63]

It was around this time that S.A. Hosty reopened OSWALD'S case in Dallas to assist the New Orleans FBI. S.A. Hosty said he checked the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but was unable to locate OSWALD.

On Monday, October 7, 1963, Ruth Paine drove OSWALD to the bus station, and he returned to Dallas. OSWALD did not rent an apartment and move Marina and June Oswald into it. Instead, he inquired about a room at 1026 North Beckley. There were no rooms available, so he took one elsewhere from Mary Bledsoe, paid the weekly rent of $7 in advance, and moved in on the same day. OSWALD looked for work. He went to the unemployment office and showed up for a job offer or two, which took only a few hours.

There was no hard evidence that OSWALD was job hunting at this time, and the Warren Commission placed him in an environment devoid of witnesses: "He spent much of the time when he was not looking for work in his room." OSWALD distanced himself from his family. OSWALD told Ruth Paine that "as soon as he gets enough money and his new baby is old enough, he will get an apartment for his family in Dallas." [FBI 105-92555-48]

At this time the FBI was looking at OSWALD as a possible espionage agent: "The following FBI record number 327 925 D is furnished for official use only. FLASH BY BUREAU: LEE HARVEY OSWALD (maybe identical) Any information or inquiry received notify Espionage Section, Division Five, Bureau (Reference memorandum dated November 4, 1959, captioned LEE HARVEY OSWALD Internal Security - Russia). FLASH CANCELED information received October 9, 1963." [Unmarked FBI Document - Arrest record format] After the events of November 22, 1963, the FBI was critical of this decision: "It will be noted that stop placed against the Subject in the Identification Division which was removed by (Deleted) on October 9, 1963, after Subject arrested in New Orleans for Fair Play for Cuba Committee on August 9, 1963. Geesling advised stop was placed in event Subject returned from Russia under an assumed name and was inadvertently not removed by him on September 7, 1962, when case was closed. Inspector feels Geesling in error in removing stop on Subject in Ident on October 9, 1963, particularly after arrest on August 9, 1963, for Fair Play for Cuba activity in New Orleans. We might have missed further arrests without stop identification. Geesling erred in not having additional investigation conducted when Subject returned to the United States and Geesling wrong in not having Subject placed on Security Index." [FBI Memo Gale to Tolson 12.10.63]

According to Ruth Paine, OSWALD spent the weekend of October 12, 1963, to October 13, 1963, at her home, allegedly taking a driving lesson. On Monday, October 14, 1963, Ruth Paine drove OSWALD to Dallas. He went back to 1026 North Beckley, and rented a room from landlady Mrs. Arthur Carl Johnson under the name O.H. LEE.

Why did OSWALD return to 1026 North Beckley? The Warren Commission Report suggested it was because of the television and refrigerator. Evidence suggested OSWALD believed this address was a safehouse. This was the first time that OSWALD rented an apartment under a false name. Michael Paine commented, "I don't know how he was spending his time and especially before the assassination, he was particularly secretive. I wondered at the time, who does he talk to? Why he rented an apartment under a false name, and why it hit a raw nerve when my wife called him, I must confess, remain mysteries."

Ruth Paine testified that she was having coffee with four young mothers when she remarked that LEE OSWALD needed a job:

Jenner: Now there came an occasion, did there not, that weekend or the following weekend at which there was a discussion at least by you with some neighbors with respect to efforts to obtain employment for OSWALD?

Paine: As best as I can reconstruct it was while having coffee at my immediate neighbors, Mrs. Ed Roberts, and also present was Mrs. Bill Randle, and LEE had said over the weekend that he had gotten the last of unemployment compensation checks that were due him and that it had been smaller than the others had been, and disappointing in its smallness and he looked very discouraged when he went to look for work...And the subject that he was looking for work, and that he hadn't found work for a week, came up while we were having coffee, four young mothers at Mrs. Robert's house, and Mrs. Randle mentioned that her younger brother, Wesley Frazier thought they needed another person at the Texas School Book Depository where Wesley worked. Marina then asked me, after we had gone home, asked me if I would call the Texas School Book Depository to see if indeed there was the possibility of an opening and at her request I did telephone...I looked up the number in the book, and dialed it, was told I would need to speak to Mr. Truely who was at the warehouse. The call was transferred to Mr. Truely and I said I know of a young man whose wife was staying in my house, the wife was expecting a child, they already had a little girl, and he had been out of work for a while and was very interested in getting any employment and his name, and was there a possibility of an opening there, and Mr. Truly said he didn't know whether he had an opening, that the young man should apply himself in person. This was on Monday, October 14, 1963.

Ruth Paine had been instructed to find OSWALD a job in downtown Dallas. She was not told that it was supposed to be in building that was likely to over look the route of the a Presidential motorcade. Ruth Paine knew that Buell Wesley Frazier, the younger brother of Linnie Mae Randle, was employed at the Texas School Book Depository. Temporary stock-boy jobs were always open there, and so it came as no surprise to Ruth Paine when Linnie Mae Randle suggested that LEE OSWALD try the Texas School Book Depository, after Paine brought up the subject of OSWALD and a job.

Gerald Posner claimed that OSWALD'S placement in the Texas School Book Depository was pure coincidence since Roy S. Truly (the superintendent of the Texas School Book Depository who died in 1988), Linnie Mae Randle, Ruth Paine, and a dozen others, would have had to have been part of the conspiracy. Ruth Paine could have placed him there alone.

On Monday, October 14, 1963, Ruth Paine called Roy Truly and secured a position for OSWALD. Marina Oswald told the HSCA: "She went to all the trouble to get the job for him." Michael Paine was asked, "Was it mere coincidence that your wife placed OSWALD in Dealey Plaza?" He responded, "That is so simple that it should not be a part of this. He lost his job at the photo lab and you've heard the story - and it's true. Ruth was discussing it over coffee with some neighbors and they thought there was a job opening at the Texas School Book Depository." He was asked, "Did she know this neighbor's son worked at the Texas School Book Depository?" He responded, "That is how come she knew. I think he had a job there, and he spread the news in that household that they might be still be looking for other employees. So Ruth took the number down that he should call and told it to OSWALD. He called and was interviewed. We were trying to get him a job to help him out. Ruth had no idea where it was. We thought it was somewhere other than Dealey Plaza. There was absolutely no input from the CIA to get him a job there. It was Ruth's idea. There might have been a conspiracy, but that was not a part of it. And we know we had no CIA connection, we didn't know the Texas School Book Depository was there. We didn't know that President Kennedy was going to come by. We had absolutely no part of it. If there was any conspiracy, it could only have been that they knew OSWALD was a Communist, and would pick on him. Hosty came around, he knew where OSWALD was working. We had no CIA contact." It was pointed out to Michael Paine that his wife's father had CIA contact: "No, he worked for the Agency for International Development. The CIA may have used the Agency for International Development as a front for awhile, but it doesn't mean that every Agency for International Development employee is CIA. Bill Hyde was vehemently opposed to the CIA using the Agency for International Development for these purposes. Ruth was a very truthful person and she really knew Bill well enough to know where he would stand on a matter like that." Michael Paine was again told William Hyde had CIA contact: "Sure, okay, that's possible." Ruth Paine wrote this to her mother: "Big news. LEE was accepted for a job this am. Minimum wage and nothing special about it, but he is very happy and I think things will ease for them." [FBI CV 105-7674]

James Hosty was asked about Ruth Paine and the Texas School Book Depository: "At that time, no one knew the motorcade was going to pass by. That's just pure happenstance. Nobody knew there was going to be a parade until the Tuesday before. Before that they said there would be no parade. They didn't know what the route was going to be, until they knew where the luncheon was going to be. And the luncheon was not decided until that Saturday. It wasn't until Tuesday they decided to even have a parade. Remember they called off the parade in Miami the weekend before. The Secret Service picked..."

The CIA's Counter-Intelligence Staff provided intelligence to the Secret Service when the President traveled abroad. [CIA DDCI Memo: The CIA Role in Support of Presidential Trips Abroad 5.31.63]

Linnie Mae Randle had also suggested two other jobs for OSWALD. One with the Manner Bakery, and the other with the Texas Gypsum Company. Ruth Paine told the FBI she ruled out the Manner Bakery because OSWALD could not drive a bakery truck; but she could not recall Linnie Mae Randle having suggested Texas Gypsum.

Jenner: Do you recall whether or not Mrs. Randle, as a friendly gesture - her suggestions were friendly, were they not, in connection with his securing employment?

Paine: Oh yes.

Jenner: Did she mention the Manner Bakery?

Paine: Possibly, yes. I do recall saying that LEE doesn't drive, making the point that this was a hampering thing for him. And therefore it made it impossible for him to drive a truck for the Manner Bakery.

Jenner: And in that connection, had she mentioned the Texas Gypsum Company?

Paine: I don't recall that.

Jenner: At least you do recall that it was impractical to consider possible positions which would require him to operate an automobile.

Paine: Yes, I believe I do recall a reference now to driving a truck, delivery truck.

Jenner: You have no recollection of any other suggestion as to possible places of employment?

Paine: I have no recollection of that.

During another part of her testimony before the Warren Commission Ruth Paine stated:

Jenner: You have no recollection of any other, at least two other places being suggested, and you, in turn, stating that they would be unsatisfactory, one because an automobile had to be used, or it would be necessary for LEE to have an automobile, and the other that he was lacking in the possible qualifications needed? None of that refreshes your recollection?

Paine: None of that refreshes my recollections.

OSWALD turned down a job at Love Field Airport in Dallas that paid $310 per month - for a job in the Texas School Book Depository - that paid $210 per month. The Warren Report stated "the Texas Employment Commission attempted to refer OSWALD to an airline company which was looking for baggage and cargo handlers at a salary which was $100 a month higher than that offered by the Depository Company. The Employment Commission tried to advise OSWALD of this job at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 16, 1963. Since the records of the Commission indicate that OSWALD was then working, it seems clear that OSWALD was hired by the Depository Company before the higher paying job was available. It is unlikely that he ever learned of this second opportunity." [WR p247]

The HSCA questioned Marina Oswald about this:

Q. If he would have had another job offer at the same time for more money, can you think of any reason he might have taken the job in the Texas School Book Depository instead of another job?

A. I do believe he did like Ruth, and, since she went to all the trouble to get the job for him, I think that would have been the courteous thing to do.

Q. Do you think he would have taken a job for less money just because he liked Ruth?

A. No, it doesn't sound logical...To tell the truth we were very poor and I think a better offer of a job would probably be more likely he would take.

The Warren Commission questioned Ruth Paine:

Q. Did you ever hear anything by way of discussion or otherwise by Marina or LEE of the possibility of his having been tendered or at least suggested to him a job at Trans-Texas, as a cargo handler at $310 a month?

A. I do not recall that.

Q. This was right at the time he obtained employment at the Texas School Book Depository?

A. And he was definitely offered such a job?

Q. Well I won't say it was offered - that he might have been able to secure a job through the Texas Employment Commission as a cargo-handler at $310 a month.

A. I do recall some reference of that sort, which fell through - that there was not that possibility.

Q. Tell us what you know about that. Did you hear of it at the time?

A. Yes.

Q. Now would you please relate that to me?

A. I recall some reference to -

Q. How did it come about?

A. From LEE as I recall.

Q. And was it at the time or just right -

A. It was at the time, while he was yet unemployed.

Q. And about the time he obtained employment at the Texas School Book Depository.

A. It seemed to me he went into town with some hopes raised by the employment agency, I don't know - but then reported that the job had been filled and was not available to him.

Q. But that was -

A. That is my best recollection -

Q. Of his report to you and Marina.

A. Yes.

Q. But you do not recall discussing it?

A. I recall something of that nature. I do not recall the job itself.

On Tuesday, October 15, 1963 OSWALD called Marina and told her he had secured employment. On Wednesday, October 16, 1963, 35 days before the assassination, OSWALD began working at the Texas School Book Depository.

The Warren Commission did not say how the Employment Commission tried to advise OSWALD of the job at Love Field. OSWALD used Ruth Paine's address and telephone number as a contact point at this time. Ruth Paine, who had been instructed to place OSWALD in downtown Dallas, never told OSWALD about the job at Love Field. OSWALD'S job at the Texas School Book Depository required less skill, and was of a lower status, then his previous jobs, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It involved moving book cartons. The Warren Commission: "OSWALD'S employment at the Texas School Book Depository was wholly unrelated to the President's trip to Dallas." [WR p247] The Texas School Book Depository was in the geographic area where Ruth Paine had been instructed to find OSWALD a job in by her father or sister. Ruth Paine was not a professional assassin like GERRY PATRICK HEMMING, or a professional spy like HUNT, yet it was not by accident that Ruth Paine got OSWALD a job along a likely parade route. This does not mean she was a part of any conspiracy. All it means is that someone told her to babysit OSWALD and get him a job in downtown Dallas. When OSWALD began working at the Texas School Book Depository, the conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy was well under way. OSWALD had ordered the rifle, visited the Soviet Embassy and Cuban Consulate in Mexico City and was ripe for a setup. It was not by accident that, through her father, her brother, her brother-in-law and her sister, Ruth Paine traced back to ANGLETON and ANGLETON led to HUNT, PHILLIPS et. al.

On Friday, October 18, 1963, Buell Frazier drove OSWALD from the Texas School Book Depository to Irving. Since it was OSWALD'S birthday, Marina Oswald and Ruth Paine had arranged a small celebration.

The FBI: "A Secret, October 22, 1963, Airtel, from Dallas to the Bureau, bearing dictator initials of 'JPH' advised FBI Headquarters that S.A. Hosty received information from Immigration and Naturalization Service, Dallas, Texas, on Friday, October 18, 1963, that 'an individual, possibly identical with LEE HARVEY OSWALD, was in contact with the Soviet Embassy, Mexico City.' S.A. Hosty explained: "Immigration and Naturalization Service, Dallas, merely advised that they were in possession of a communication indicating (deleted)." [Hosty to Shanklin FBI Dallas-10461 12.6.63 also 62-109060-7959]] The FBI: "On October 18, 1963, Mr. Jeff Woosley, Supervisory Clerk, INS, Dallas, advised S.A. James P. Hosty that their office was in receipt of a communication, classified 'Secret' from CIA Mexico City. This communication indicated copies were furnished to the FBI. This communication indicated that an individual, possibly identical with OSWALD, was in contact with the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City." [FBI 100-10,461-47; NARA FBI 124-10171-10138]

James Hosty stated: "I found out from the Dallas Immigration and Naturalization Service that they had gotten a CIA communication. It was verbal information [I received] from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. I then wrote to FBI Headquarters, and then to New Orleans, and they sent me a copy of another CIA communication. The FBI sent the communication to New Orleans, which was the office of origin at the time. The Dallas Office did not get a copy." [FBI DL 100-10461-47; FBI Bufile 105-82555-39] In 1978 James Hosty's attorney, Francis X. Lilly, told the FBI "prior to the assassination, certain information was not known to S.A. Hosty. In particular he had not been advised of the visit of OSWALD to Mexico City, and was not aware of the people to whom OSWALD spoke in Mexico City. Nor did he know the real identity of these people...this information was not made available to S.A. Hosty...and it is doubtful whether Bureau regulations would have allowed Mr. Hosty to interview OSWALD even had additional information been made available to him " [FBI Bassett/Ryan 10.4.78 re: Hosty's attorney Francis X. Lilly]

The FBI document that concerned OSWALD'S Soviet-contact was routinely channeled to S.A. Hosty. S.A. Hosty's name appeared in the appropriate place in the block stamp. After the assassination, S.A. Hosty's name was erased from the block stamp, and the serial was initialed to file by FBI Supervisor Kenneth Howe. [FBI ltr. Ryan to Bassett 10.4.78] James Hosty; "It was crossed out, not erased. That's when they were hiding things from me. They took it out of my workbox. My lawyer was confused." [Interview with A.J.W. 1993] Hosty told the Warren Commission he first became aware of OSWALD'S contact with the Soviets in Mexico City on October 25, 1963.

The minute Hosty discovered that OSWALD was in touch with Soviet Intelligence he should have interviewed him immediately. He lied to the Warren Commission and told them he first became aware of OSWALD'S contacts with the Soviets on October 25, 1963 rather than October 18, 1963. He never interviewed OSWALD.

On Sunday, October 20, 1963, OSWALD stayed with Ruth Paine's children, while Ruth Paine drove Marina Oswald to Parkland Hospital, where she gave birth to a second daughter, Rachel Oswald. On Monday, October 21, 1963, OSWALD visited Marina Oswald in the hospital and spent the night in Irving.

Why would OSWALD assassinate the President one month after his wife had given birth to another child? Was he untroubled about the prospect of abandoning his newborn daughter?

OSWALD wrote the Communist Party that, on the evening of Wednesday, October 23, 1963, he had attended a meeting sponsored by General Edwin A. Walker. [11WH425] This meeting was also sponsored by the National Indignation Committee. William Coleman and David Slawson: "Investigation has led to the conclusion that this must have been an anti-Castro meeting." [WC To: Rankin Summary of Evid. of For. Inv.] Edwin Steig, a DRE sympathizer reported having seen OSWALD at a DRE meeting on October 13, 1963. [WCD 205 p646 cited by Scott]

JOHN MARTINO spoke to a group of John Birch Society members in September 1963. A member of the Dallas Chapter of Alpha-66 attended this meeting in September 1963 and informed the FBI that bumper stickers bearing the words "Kan the Kennedy Klan" had been sold there. One member of Alpha-66 changed the word "Kan" to "Kill" before pasting the bumper sticker on his car. [FBI 105-96777 6.25.64]

Ruth Paine described the gathering on Wednesday, October 23, 1963, as a meeting of The National Indignation Committee. The National Indignation Committee was founded in Dallas, in October 1961, by Frank McGehee in reaction to the United States having trained Yugoslavian pilots in Texas. The National Indignation Committee was an anticommunist umbrella group with Birchite and Walkerite ties. By February 1962 the National Indignation Committee had held 175 rallies and was tooling up a pressure campaign to force Congress to halt all military aid to any Communist regime anywhere and to fire any government official responsible for any in the past. [Life Magazine 2.9.62 pages 110 to 129]

OSWALD lost touch with the White Russian exile community after he returned to Dallas. The only people known to have been associated with OSWALD at this time were the Paines. On Friday, October 25, 1963, OSWALD accompanied Michael Paine to a meeting of the American Civil Liberties Union, at Methodist University. OSWALD spoke at this meeting. He said that two days earlier he had infiltrated General Edwin Walker's meeting and General Edwin Walker and his fellow John Birchers were anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic. General Edwin Walker had been responsible for the violence directed at U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson.

OSWALD associated with George DeMohrenschildt and Guy Banister, two anti-Semites. As stated, OSWALD'S believed the opposite of what he said and wrote. If OSWALD said he was against anti-Semitism, he was for it. If OSWALD said he was for communism, he was against it.

Michael Paine believed OSWALD was sincere: "I didn't know DeMohrenschildt. But I should say that I had, at the time, absolutely no question in my mind that LEE described himself as Communist." Michael Paine equated OSWALD with his father: "He thought his important mission in life wasn't working, he wanted to raise a family, but that was kind of trivial. A more important activity was social change. And I accepted that, I had no quarrel with it." Michael Paine was asked if it had even crossed his mind that OSWALD was a tool of right wing forces: "No. Definitely not. He resented authority. He resented his employer at the photo company. This was not part of his cover. I wouldn't have said LEE was a powerful intellect. He said you got your directions from reading between the lines in The Worker and The Militant, and I asked him to show me how to do it. So he got out the paper, and put it across our knees, and he wasn't actually able to do it, but I accepted that as that's what he felt - I could see that. I remember the newspaper had many articles from Italy criticizing David Rockefeller. I don't know why they had such a vendetta against David Rockefeller."

Michael Paine brought his friend, Frank Krystinik, to the American Civil Liberties Union meeting with OSWALD. Krystinik told the FBI: "There was a question and answer period, and the presiding officer made reference to the fact that Ambassador Stevenson had been struck on the head by a sign poster at a meeting in Dallas the day before. LEE OSWALD jumped to his feet and interjected himself into the discussion by stating that General Walker was both anti-Semitic, and anti-Catholic. Krystinik, a member of the Roman Catholic faith, followed OSWALD from the room when the meeting adjourned at approximately 10:00 p.m. and began questioning him in general about the anti-Catholic allegation against General Walker. The discussion between them became rather heated, and OSWALD told Krystinik that Krystinik was a 'petty capitalist.' This apparently arose because OSWALD had learned that Krystinik had a home wood-workshop where he manufactures birdhouses and occasionally employs three men in the manufacture of these birdhouses. OSWALD told Krystinik that he was exploiting workers. Frank Krystinik asked OSWALD about his political belief, and OSWALD stated he was a Marxist. Frank Krystinik asked, "Does that mean you are a communist?" OSWALD then said, "All right, if you want to call me that, that is what I am, a Communist."

In 1964 Ruth Paine told the Warren Commission that OSWALD "I would say that he was a combination, that the man within was an introvert, preferred the company of the television set or a book, but that he could, as I have said, be a genial host or go to a meeting of the American Civil Liberties Union with my husband and I understand that he made a fairly good impression upon some of the people there...I have recently, perhaps a year ago, became [sic] on the membership committee of the Dallas ACLU Chapter. That chapter only just opened a year and a half ago."

On Friday, October 25, 1963, S.A. Milton Kaack learned from the FBI's contact at the Post Office, that when OSWALD left New Orleans, his mail was forwarded from Box 30061 to Ruth Paine in Irving. On October 25, 1963, the FBI Headquarters and Dallas were advised of OSWALD'S new address. [FBI 105-1435-13; FBI 100-10461-51 NARA 124-10171-10141] On Friday, October 25, 1963, S.A. DeBRUEYS prepared an FBI report on OSWALD and the New Orleans Fair Play for Cuba Committee. This report was generated because of OSWALD'S brush with the New Orleans Police Department. It dealt with the BRINGUIER incident, and OSWALD'S appearances on William Stuckey's radio program. It did not mention OSWALD'S change of address, although it contained information developed by S.A. Kaack, as well as a four-page appendix, and another copy of S.A. Agent Quigley's interview with OSWALD. On Friday, October 25, 1963, an index card on OSWALD was created by Plans. This card read:

OSWALD, LEE H.

SEX M DOB OCTOBER 18, 1939 100-300-011

USA NEW ORLEANS DBA-55777 OCTOBER 25, 1963 P2

CIT ?

OCC ?

USA, NEW ORLEANS 4709 MAGAZINE. MEMBER OF THE FAIR PLAY FOR CUBA COMMITTEE WITH HEADQUARTERS AT 799 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY. SEE DOCUMENT REGARDING DISTRIBUTION OF CUBAN PROPAGANDA.

On November 23, 1963, OSWALD told the FBI he lived at 4706 Magazine Street. The card contained the number 100-300-011. This was the CIA's Fair Play for Cuba Committee file. The CIA stated it contained 30 CIA-originated documents. On Friday, October 25, 1963, the CIA generated a cryptic dispatch, most of which was deleted. Presumably, it concerned OSWALD: "Please transmit the attached envelope to (deleted) only. Att sent DDP by (deleted) October 30, 1963." [CIA Allen v. DOD #15027]

OSWALD allegedly spent the weekend of Saturday, October 26, 1963, to Sunday, October 27, 1963, with his wife and newborn infant in Irving. JOHN MARTINO was in Dallas at this date.

The FBI: "Three communications relating to and setting forth some details of OSWALD'S contact with the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City, including the name of a Soviet that OSWALD contacted [Valeriy Kostikov], were block stamped into the Dallas Office on Friday, October 25, 1963, were routinely channeled to S.A. Hosty by the Desk on Monday, October 28, 1963, and were not retrieved from S.A. Hosty's personal work box until after the assassination on November 22, 1963, according to a notation on Dallas serial 100-10461-50 by Dallas Supervisor Kenneth C. Howe."

This document stated: "Re: New Orleans airttel to Dallas October 2, 1963. Enclosed for Dallas is a copy of a radiogram from Legat, Mexico City, to Bureau October 18, 1963, and a copy of Bureau cablegram to Legat, Mexico City October 22, 1963. For the information of the Bureau, New Orleans Airtel to Dallas October 2, 1963, requested Dallas to locate Subject and his wife...48-49-50 go to James P. Hosty October 28, 1963. Obtained from his box and initialed into file to complete his file following November 22, 1963 - Howe." [FBI File 100-10461]

S.A. Hosty had failed to add this documents to the other serials on OSWALD when he received it on his desk on October 28, 1963. Dallas Supervisor Kenneth C. Howe had to do it after November 22, 1963. Hosty was again staying away from OSWALD. The FBI wondered why Hosty had not glanced at these documents prior to the Kennedy assassination. The FBI: "In short, absent mitigating circumstances, it is unusual for any Agent to claim ignorance of the contents of three communications residing in his personal workbox for approximately 26 days.

"Dallas file 100-10461-48, -49, -50, and Bureau file 105-82555-42 and -43. Bureau file serial 43 corresponds to Dallas serial 48 and is classified SECRET."

Serial 48 was the CIA'S report on OSWALD'S visit to the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City, and included the name of Valeriy Kostikov, serial 49 was a summary of information that FBI Headquarters had on OSWALD.

James Hosty stated that he neglected to retrieve these three documents (in addition to the October 22, 1963 Immigration and Naturalization Service document) from his personal work box until after the assassination, however, in a report dated December 6, 1963, S.A. Hosty wrote he postponed a interview with Marina Oswald "despite the information received shortly prior to that time to the effect LEE OSWALD had been in touch with the Soviet Embassy, Mexico City..." That indicated that he had looked at least one of the reports.

James Hosty remarked, "[The FBI reports about OSWALD] disappeared from my workbox. They took them out of my workbox. See, the Bureau is trying to cover up the fact that they were doing the coverup. They took that stuff out of my file drawer because it referred to Valeriy Kostikov. See, I was aware he had made contact with the Embassy, but I didn't know who Valeriy Kostikov was, and anything that had his name on it, disappeared. They put it back in the file later." [FBI Dallas 100-10461-48, 49, 50]

James Hosty's explanation made no sense. S.A. Hosty was avoiding the OSWALD case by not serializing and filing "hot" reports on OSWALD.

S.A. Hosty explained why OSWALD'S name had not been entered on Security Index of the FBI or furnished to the Secret Service despite OSWALD'S contact with Valeriy Kostikov, who was believed to be a KGB assassin: "Dallas was not in possession of any information indicating OSWALD had any vicious potential or capabilities [S.A. Hosty knew OSWALD beat his wife], nor any other information concerning him which would have made it appear desirable to furnish Secret Service information concerning him."

FBI Serial 50 informed the Dallas FBI Office that OSWALD had returned to Dallas. S.A. Hosty should have known OSWALD was in Dallas on Monday, October 28, 1963. On Tuesday, October 29, 1963, S.A. Hosty received additional notification of OSWALD'S new address from S.A. Milton Kaack. S.A. DeBRUEYS had not furnished the address to S.A. Hosty in an earlier report.

James Hosty: "I did not know OSWALD was in Dallas at this time. As far as I knew, he was in New Orleans. I was told he had returned to Dallas on Friday, November 1, 1963, when Ruth Paine told me that. I got that lead from New Orleans." [Dallas FBI 100-10461-47 Bufile 105-82555-39]. James Hosty stated: "I got the address on Tuesday, October 29, 1963, and I had to verify it and check Ruth Paine out. I went out on Friday, November 1, 1963. Two days."

On Friday, November 1, 1963, OSWALD opened Post Office Box 6225 at the Dallas Post Office Terminal Annex. OSWALD listed his address as Beckley Avenue, although he gave a false house number. [WR p313] He paid the rent in advance through December 31, 1963. There was no indication in the Warren Report that the FBI authenticated the signature on the application for Post Office Box 6225 or on the change of address card that routed his mail from Post Office Box 30061 to Ruth Paine's address. Withheld postal application forms included "Qc37 & 38," which were examined by the FBI laboratory in an effort to identify OSWALD'S signature. [FBI LAB report d-436518 11.26.63; WR p312, 566]

On Friday, November 1, 1963, when OSWALD rented Post Office Box 6225, he indicated that the box would be used to receive mail for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and the American Civil Liberties Union, which he had recently joined. Under "Kind of Business" OSWALD wrote 'non-profit.'OSWALD wrote the Communist Party: "Could you advise me as to the general view we have on the ACLU? And to what degree, if any, I should attempt to heighten its progressive tendencies?"

Louis Nichols was head of the Bar Association of Dallas. He visited OSWALD on November 23, 1963. OSWALD told him he wanted John Abt for an attorney. Abt defended numerous Communists. Nichols wrote: "He then asked me if I knew any Dallas lawyer who was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union. I told him I did not. He then stated that he was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union. I again asked him whether he desired that either I, or anyone else of the Dallas Bar Association, do anything at that time toward getting him an attorney to represent him. He stated that if he could not get the New York lawyer, or if he could not get a lawyer who was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union to represent him, and if there was an attorney in Dallas who believed as he did, and believed in the things he believed in, and believed in his innocence as much as he could, that he might call on us in the following week about getting such as lawyer."

Michael Paine was asked why OSWALD opened a post office box in the name of the American Civil Liberties Union? He answered, "I didn't know he did that and I can't begin to guess why. [Paine was mailed documents] I was surprised and confused. The last thing I heard from him was that he couldn't join the organization. The reason he couldn't, was that he really didn't approve of protecting the rights of people like General Walker to talk. Then I learned he had joined, after the assassination. Becoming a American Civil Liberties Union member, then committing a heinous crime, would sully it."

OSWALD hated the ACLU just as he hated the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. OSWALD had no affiliation with the ACLU and had no right to receive mail in the name of the ACLU. OSWALD was about to launch an operation against the ACLU. After he was arrested as a suspect in the assassination he used the opportunity to further "dirty-up" the ACLU by associating himself with it.

S.A. Hosty was determined to avoid OSWALD, however, he had to conduct a superficial investigation of OSWALD due to OSWALD'S contact with the Soviet espionage apparatus. Instead of beginning his investigation of OSWALD with a personal interview of the Subject that would have given him first hand insight into OSWALD'S personality, S.A. HOSTY interviewed Ruth Paine and Marina Oswald about LEE HARVEY OSWALD. Why did Hosty go to secondary sources when the primary source was available on weekends or at work?

In 1993 HOSTY stated that he was not avoiding OSWALD: "I could not interview OSWALD since he had been in touch with the Russian Embassy. Are you aware of that? I was aware of this prior to the assassination and that put a bar on any interview. It's the rules, go check the rules. See, you're supposed to be an expert on this. Stop and think. If I went up and talked to him and said, 'Hey, why are you visiting the Russian Embassy?' wouldn't that have given away our technique? It's in the Senate Intelligence Committee Report. The damn Warren Commission, those idiots, didn't understand that. But the intelligence committee got it straight. I was following the rules. Question Headquarters. The damn Warren Commission shot off its mouth, they didn't know what the hell they were talking about, and they didn't bother to ask me why I didn't interview him. I didn't think an interview would be productive. He'd been interviewed three times unsuccessfully."

1. After the assassination Ruth Paine stated that S.A. Hosty had visited her "for the purpose of arranging an interview with OSWALD." S.A. Hosty denied this: "One of the purposes of the visit was to arrange an interview for Marina Oswald. It would appear either Mrs. Paine has been misquoted by the newspapers or she may have been confused on November 1, 1963, and thought I desired an interview with LEE OSWALD rather than Marina Oswald. This could explain the Subject's having the my name and the office telephone number in his possession. It should be noted at the time of this interview, Mrs. Paine was speaking in Russian and in English to this writer and to Marina Oswald and may have confused my request. This should be a matter of record in view of the allegations in this case." [FBI 100-1944-285A 12.3.63 to SAC]

2. James Hosty said he was trying to interview Marina Oswald: "One of the purposes of the visit was to arrange an interview for Marina Oswald. [Mrs. Paine] may have been confused on Friday, November 1, 1963, and thought I desired an interview with LEE OSWALD rather than Marina Oswald." Why was S.A. Hosty more interested in Marina Oswald than LEE HARVEY OSWALD? Marina Oswald was not a member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. She had not visited the Soviet Embassy and Cuban Consulate in Mexico City.

3. When Hosty testified before the Warren Commission he stated: "I then told her the purpose of my visit, that I was interested in locating the whereabouts of LEE OSWALD..."

On Friday, November 1, 1963, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Ruth Paine and Marina Oswald received a visit from S.A. Hosty in Irving, Texas. OSWALD was at work. S.A. Hosty said he had no information on Ruth Paine, but after a background check, he found she was "a responsible and reliable citizen." Hosty checked with Bell Helicopter and discovered Michael Paine had a security clearance. He checked with Edward T. Oviatt, the headmaster of the St. Marks School where Ruth Paine was employed as a Russian teacher. The Paines had good credit and no criminal record. The interview with Ruth Paine lasted about 20 to 25 minutes. Ruth Paine told S.A. Hosty that Marina Oswald and her two children were living with her, and that OSWALD was in Dallas. Ruth Paine told S.A. Hosty OSWALD was living in Dallas because she did not want him at her home, although she was willing to let him visit his wife and children on weekends. Hosty "I asked her if she knew where he worked. After a moment's hesitation, she told me he worked at the Texas School Book Depository near the downtown area of Dallas. She didn't have the exact address and it is my recollection she went to the phone book, found it to be 411 Elm Street." Ruth Paine: "We did talk about the importance of Hosty not going to where he was working. I got Hosty's card and told him if you want to see LEE, he's coming out this evening. You can certainly see him here. Hosty never came."

Ruth Paine had no reason to withhold this information from Hosty- she knew nothing about the Kennedy assassination plot nor the part that the Texas School Book Depository would play in it. If S.A. Hosty wanted to interview OSWALD, he could have driven to the Texas School Book Depository, or he could have returned to Irving that evening. He could have interviewed OSWALD on Saturday. He did not.

Hosty asked Ruth Paine if she knew OSWALD'S address in Dallas. Ruth Paine, who knew OSWALD'S telephone number in Dallas, indicated that she thought she could find out where OSWALD was living, and would let S.A. Hosty know. Hosty was asked by the Warren Commission if he asked Ruth Paine for OSWALD'S telephone number: "No sir, I didn't ask her about a telephone number and she didn't volunteer. She told me she did not know where he lived." Ruth Paine told the Warren Commission:

Paine: He asked me if I knew where LEE lived. I did think of these phone numbers but -

Jenner: During the course of the -

Paine: Or later.

Jenner: Of the interview?

Paine: At least between that time and the time he came again, but I have been impressed with what I have now concluded was a mistaken impression I have which effected my behavior; namely that the FBI was in possession of a great deal of information, or so I thought, and certainly would find it very easy to find out where LEE OSWALD was living. I really didn't believe they didn't know, or needed to find out from me. This is a feeling stemming from my understanding of the difficulties they faced working in a free society. I would behave quite differently now, but I have learned a lot from this particular experience.

Jenner: Did you make any effort to obtain OSWALD'S address so that you could give it to the FBI? Paine: No. As I have testified, I really thought they had it."

Ruth Paine wrote: "I assumed [S.A. Hosty] wanted to see LEE. The FBI has to follow the activities of a good many two-bit communists, and I was certain they kept themselves informed on LEE'S whereabouts...It was the first time I had talked personally with an FBI agent and my already great respect for the agency went up. We discussed the difficulty in a free society of politely watching people with queer, possibly dangerous ideas. Unlike public opinion or a congressional committee, the FBI never even mentions an individual in public until they have evidence that will stand up in court. I never felt so proud to pay my taxes, and to live in this country as after talking with the FBI man." [WCE 460 p191]

Ruth Paine gave Hosty OSWALD'S work address. If the FBI visited OSWALD on the job it would have caused him more problems than if the FBI visited him at his rooming house. If Ruth Paine was told by a family member that OSWALD was 'alright' perhaps she believed his covert activities centered around his rooming house? Ruth Paine's story that she believed the FBI already had OSWALD'S home address in Dallas was absurd. If the FBI already had OSWALD'S address, why had S.A. Hosty asked her for it?

Ruth Paine said OSWALD told her: "He had been upset by the FBI's coming out and inquiring about him, and he felt it was interference with his family. He said to me that the FBI was inhibiting his activities...I asked whether he was worried about losing his job, and he was." Albert Jenner asked Paine: "Did he say so, Mrs. Paine?" She responded: "I recall particularly a telephone conversation with him. On one of those in which he called out to talk to Marina...I said to him if his views, not any references now to the FBI or their interest in him, but if his political views were interfering with his ability to hold a job, that might be a matter of interest to the American Civil Liberties Union, that he should, in our country, have a right to unpopular views or any other kind. This I believe was after he had been to a ACLU meeting with my husband, that meeting having been Friday, October 25, 1963." S.A. Hosty told the Warren Commission that OSWALD "had alleged that the FBI had him fired from every job he ever had. I told her this was not true...I wanted to know his place of employment for the purpose of determining whether or not he was employed in a sensitive industry, and when I found out he was working in a warehouse as a laborer, I realized that this was not a sensitive industry."

S.A. Hosty testified that when Marina Oswald came into the room during his interview with Ruth Paine, Marina Oswald became very disturbed. According to S.A. Hosty, Ruth Paine had to assure Marina Oswald that the FBI was not a secret police force like the KGB, and would not harm her. Ruth Paine testified that Marina Oswald had not been intimidated by S.A. Hosty: "And I can't recall certainly who brought it up, but I think Marina asked of Hosty what did he think of Castro? He said, 'Well, he reads what is printed and from the view given in the American newspapers of Castro's activities and intentions, and he certainly didn't like those intentions or actions.' And Marina subsequently expressed an opinion, but contrary, that perhaps he was not given much chance by the American press, or that the press was not entirely fair to him. This I translated." Ruth Paine said that S.A. Hosty had also asked her if OSWALD had been active in the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Marina Oswald told this interviewer in 1994: "I discussed nothing with Hosty. No questions. Never expressed any favorable opinions of Castro to him. I do not know what they were talking about."

S.A. Hosty told the Warren Commission that he did not question Marina Oswald; instead he asked Ruth Paine to assure Marina that the FBI was not like the KGB or Gestapo. On another occasion, Hosty said he asked Marina Oswald only one question, using Ruth Paine as an interpreter; it concerned "approaches by foreign agents." He told his FBI superiors that "no interview was conducted of Mrs. Oswald because Dallas was awaiting information from New Orleans." S.A. Hosty advised them that the investigation was designed to avoid having OSWALD'S wife "gain the impression she was being harassed or hounded because of her immigrant status so that the interview, when conducted, would be as productive as possible." J. Edgar Hoover commented: "I just don't understand such solicitude." [HSCA V8 p516] James Hosty commented, "He was a horse's ass. The solicitude is referring to my not interviewing Marina. He thought that if I interviewed Marina, she would have confessed her husband was going to kill the President six months ahead. And besides, that's what the Manual said, I was just goin' by the Manual."

When OSWALD saw Ruth Paine that evening, she said she gave him information on S.A. Hosty. Ruth Paine said Hosty gave her his card. Hosty told the Warren Commission: "I then gave her my name and telephone number. I wrote it down on a piece of paper for her. I am fairly certain I printed it so she would be able to read it alright. I printed my name and wrote down my office telephone number, and handed it to Mrs. Paine. No address, no license number. It was my recollection it was on my paper. I took a piece of paper off, tore it in half...we don't carry cards. We are not allowed to carry cards." Neither the card nor the slip of paper was recovered.

On November 22, 1963, the FBI found S.A. Hosty's name, telephone number, license plate number (one digit off), and office address, in OSWALD'S address book, all written in the same ink. How did OSWALD find out S.A. Hosty's license plate number? Was it on Hosty's first visit or his second visit? Or was it from another source?

Marina Oswald testified to the Warren Commission that while S.A. Hosty was talking with Ruth Paine during his first visit on, Friday November 1, 1963, she went outside and copied down S.A. Hosty's license plate number, as OSWALD had instructed her to do if S.A. Hosty harassed her. Marina Oswald: "LEE had asked me if an FBI agent were to call, that I note down his automobile license number, and I did that." [Marina Oswald WC Test. P48] James Hosty stated, "She snuck out and copied the plate numbers."

S.A. Hosty told the Warren Commission that he parked his car down the street so that Ruth Paine's neighbors would not become aware of his presence. If this was true how could Marina have found the vehicle and copied it during Hosty's first visit?

During his second visit to Ruth Paine on Tuesday, November 5, 1963, Hosty parked in front of the house; however, Ruth Paine testified that Marina Oswald remained in her room throughout the short interview, and that she could not have seen S.A. Hosty's car except when he pulled away. Ruth Paine told this researcher: "So far as I can recall Marina wasn't present [during the second visit from S.A. Hosty]."

Ruth Paine told the Warren Commission: "To the best of my recollection I have to say to you that I cannot be absolutely certain that the blue Oldsmobile was in front of my house on that day. I don't remember for certainty. My best recollection was that it was on the street." Albert Jenner went to Ruth Paine's home and determined that if the car was parked on the street it would have been impossible for anyone inside Ruth Paine's home to have copied the plate number.

Ruth Paine told the Warren Commission:

Paine: Hosty, I, and a second agent was with him, I don't know the name, stood at the door of my home and talked briefly about the address of OSWALD in Dallas. Marina was in her room feeding the baby, or busy some way. She came in just as Hosty and I were closing the conversation, and I must say we were both surprised at her entering. He then took his leave immediately. I was aware that he had parked his car out in front of my house. My best judgement is that the license plate number was not visible, however, while it was parked; not visible from my house.

Jenner: Did you see the car?

Paine: I saw the car.

Jenner: Parked?

Paine: Yes, I noticed it particularly. Because the first time he had come on November 1, 1963, he had parked down the street, and he made reference to the fact that they don't like to draw attention for the neighborhood to any interviews that they make, and in fact my neighbor also commented when she had talked with him a few days previously that his car was parked down the street and wasn't in front of my house. So I noticed the change that he had parked directly in front. But to the best of my recollection, in back of the automobile of my husband.

James Hosty told this researcher: "The car was right in the driveway and there were two license plates. She was there at the front door with Ruth Paine. She could have just looked over her shoulder and saw it." Hosty was asked by this researcher, "I thought she said she snuck out and copied it?" James Hosty stated, "Why don't you ask Marina about that?"Marina Oswald told this interviewer in 1994: It was during the second visit. [The car] wasn't at the front. Hosty doesn't remember. It doesn't mean he's lying. Yes, I copied the plate number. Anything coming from me, you don't believe it, do you?"

There is a lot of conflicting testimony regarding this notation in OSWALD'S address book. Ruth Paine testified that she did not see Marina Oswald copy the plate number on a piece of paper immediately after Hosty left nor did Marina mention anything to Ruth Paine about a plate number. Ruth Paine testified she gave OSWALD S.A. Hosty's address and phone number on Friday November 1, 1963. Marina Oswald said she gave him the license number on that same day. How could she have given him this information when S.A. Hosty's second visit had not yet occurred? Was the plate number written in the same ink as the rest of the information?

Oswald obtained the number himself, and this was why the address of the FBI also appeared.

After the assassination, the notation in OSWALD'S address book of S.A. Hosty's name, address and licence plate number led to speculation that OSWALD was an FBI informant. S.A.'s Robert Gemberling and John T. Kessler covered up the S.A. Hosty/OSWALD contact and omitted S.A. Hosty's name, address, telephone and license plate number in the early report on OSWALD'S address book that was sent to the Warren Commission. S.A. John T. Kessler admitted to the HSCA that he did it because "He did not want to cause Hosty any unnecessary unpleasantness or exposure."

The weekend after S.A. Hosty's visit, Saturday, November 2, 1963 to Sunday, November 3, 1963, OSWALD was allegedly in Irving, Texas. Marina Oswald testified that OSWALD told her he was going to the FBI "to ask them to leave you out of all these visits." [HSCA V12 p328] On Monday, November 4, 1963, S.A. Hosty allegedly telephoned the Texas School Book Depository and found that OSWALD was working there. He was given the address of Ruth Paine as OSWALD'S residence "which I knew not to be his correct address." This was what S.A. Hosty told the Warren Commission. [Hosty's WC test. p452]. It was not recorded in the OSWALD Dallas Field Office file, nor did anyone in the Texas School Book Depository remember the call. James Hosty recalled, "I did a credit verification type of pretext call. I didn't identify myself. They wouldn't have remembered it that much later. It was a routine call. It is in the file." S.A. Hosty told the Warren Commission that on Monday, November 4, 1963, he requested that Dallas again be made the office of origin for the OSWALD case. On Monday, November 4, 1963, S.A. Hosty sent a letter to the Little Rock FBI Office advising it to discontinue its investigation of OSWALD'S whereabouts. (Robert Oswald lived in Little Rock, Arkansas)

On Tuesday, November 5, 1963, S.A. Hosty, and Gary S. Wilson, an FBI Agent-in- training, drove to Irving. S.A. Hosty said he stood at the door and talked briefly with Ruth Paine. She told him that OSWALD had been there that past weekend. She testified: "Agent Hosty asked me, and I am not certain which time, but more likely the second, since so far as I can recall Marina wasn't present, if I thought this was a mental problem, his words referring to LEE OSWALD. I said I couldn't understand the mental processes of anyone who could espouse the Marxist philosophy, but this was far different from saying he was mentally unstable or unable to conduct himself in normal society." S.A. Hosty said Ruth Paine told him OSWALD was "a very illogical person and that he had told her that weekend that he was a 'Trotskyite Communist. Since she did not have his address she thanked him and left.'" S.A. Hosty did nothing further with the OSWALD case.

HEMMING told this researcher: "Oh boy. Hosty is gonna get pissed off. Don't play this for Hosty. This is your deep throat word on Hosty. Hosty, on more than one occasion, used his good offices for the Domestic Contacts Division people in dealing with the émigré community. Quite often these immigrant assholes did not want to talk to CIA, or did not want to talk to FBI. So they traded back and forth. In fact, a couple of the Domestic Contacts Division people were given the ID card with the badge to pose as FBI people questioning these emigres. Because nobody wanted an official record of a CIA operative, even Domestic Contacts Division, talking to these people. They didn't want any dangles. And they wanted to keep Hoover happy that the Bureau was handling all this shit. So Hosty did this on a fairly frequent basis. Now if he was the guy that was told by the Agency to lay-off OSWALD, it would have been a completely normal thing."

S.A. Hosty was censured and put on probation for "inadequate investigation, including earlier investigation of OSWALD'S wife, delayed reporting, failure to put Subject on Security Index, and for holding the investigation in abeyance after being in receipt of information that Subject had been in contact with the Soviet Embassy, Mexico City." [HSCA V8 p519]

James Hosty: "That Security Index means you get picked-up in times of national emergency. If he was on that, it would not have prevented the assassination. Only two people were on the Index in Texas."

The FBI: "Past research in the OSWALD file discloses no justification for a statement that Bureau regulations would have precluded an OSWALD interview prior to the assassination." A December 10, 1963, memo from J.H. Gale to Tolson stated in part: "His wife should have been interviewed before the assassination and investigation intensified, not held in abeyance after OSWALD contacted the Soviet Embassy in Mexico. While reference to 'investigation intensified' does not specifically state that OSWALD should have been interviewed, there is no justification for assuming that an intensified investigation would have excluded an interview of OSWALD. An Agent with Hosty's experience (Entered On Duty January 21, 1952) would be expected to conduct the interview of a security Subject without compromising classified information. Also, OSWALD had been interviewed previously by Bureau Agents on June 26, 1962, August 16, 1962 and August 10, 1963." [FBI Memo From D. Ryan to Bassett 10.4.78] William C. Sullivan commented: "His activities as disclosed by sources and interviews did not warrant day-to-day surveillance."

James Hosty: "They are damned liars. You can put that in there. It was only if I had been granted permission. CIA would have had a say so in it. Somebody in the Bureau is just trying to cover their ass." Michael Paine: "I think Hosty was coming around and trying to be quite circumspect. He was coming around when LEE wasn't there, asking to talk to people like Ruth Paine or Marina. OSWALD didn't want to talk to the government. He didn't want to allow the government to ask him questions. He hated authority. Hosty tried to be discreet about it. He must have felt a little embarrassed. I thought he was a nice gentleman, and I'm sorry it turned out so unfortunate for him. I assume Hosty also felt that he had to do his job, but he was watching a lot of people who he didn't think were too significant. I think he didn't think LEE was significant."

On Wednesday, November 6, 1963, OSWALD charged out, from the Dallas Public Library, The Shark and the Sardines, by former President of Guatemala Juan Jose Arevalo. This book was translated by June Cobb. The book was due on November 13, 1963. The book was never returned to the library. [WCE 2642]

On Thursday, November 7, 1963, J. Edgar Hoover sent S.A. Milton Kaack's October 31, 1963, New Orleans FBI report on OSWALD to the CIA. [CIA DBA-55715] J. Edgar Hoover hadn't sent the CIA anything on OSWALD since the interview in August 1962 conducted by S.A. John Fain, which had been sent in September 1962. These reports were shopped by the Records Integration Unit and CI/SIG had a look at them. CI/SIG's interest in OSWALD was understandable in 1963: it knew of OSWALD'S visit to the Soviet Embassy, Mexico City, and contact with the KGB.

On Friday, November 8, 1963, J. Edgar Hoover sent a report dated September 24, 1963, on OSWALD, to Richard Helms. The CIA received it on Tuesday, November 12, 1963. This was a New Orleans FBI Letter Head Memorandum on OSWALD'S Fair Play for Cuba Committee activities. On November 8, 1963, the FBI received a report from MEX-118. The report was received by Matthew D. Crawford Jr. in person on November 6, 1963: "Brief description of activity or material: NO INFO LOCATED RE LEE HARVEY OSWALD - Gobernacion. File Where Original is Located 134-325A Remarks NO CC - negative info. 1-105-3702 L H OSWALD (PECK)." [FBI 1053702-10; NARA FBI 124-10230-10425]

On Thursday, November 14, 1963, the CIA received S.A. Kaack's report dated October 31, 1963, on OSWALD'S activities in New Orleans. The S.A. Milton Kaack report was sent with a cover letter dated November 7, 1963. The CIA described to the HSCA the Routing of this FBI document: "It was transmitted to CIA by the FBI under a cover note dated November 8, 1963. The date stamp on the reverse of the cover sheet indicates it was logged into the Agency on November 12, 1963. The Deputy Director of Plans (DDP) Counter-Intelligence Staff (deleted) received it on November 15, 1963. The report then went to DDP Special Activities Staff Counter-Intelligence Office that was then concerned with Cuban matters. The registry for the Special Activities Staff, Counter-Intelligence Office, handled the report on November 21, 1963. On November 22, 1963, the report was received by the DDP Counter-Intelligence Staff CI/SIG presumably because it concerned a former defector to the Soviet Union. Apparently it was being processed by that office when President Kennedy was assassinated. Prior to the assassination the CIA had no information concerning OSWALD'S activities in New Orleans beyond this report." [CIA 1634-1088 p3]

A CIA Routing and Record Sheet was dated November 14, 1963.

FROM: RECORDS INTEGRATION DIVISION/ANALYSIS-4

TO:

1. COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE/LS November 15, 1963. (Initials JAN)

3. SAS/CI Horn. (Initials AN)

9. SAS CI CONTROL November 21, 1963 (Initials CR)

10. CI/SI November 22, 1963 (Stamp CI/SI, not Officer's Initials)

11. CI/IC

DBA-55715

File Title (None)

Abstract X

Index

File Number (Primary Code) 201-289248

Document Date: October 25, 1963.

A Routing and Record Sheet from RID/AN -6 contained this additional information: The words "Cuban WAVE" in the comments section, "Microfilmed November 14, 1963, Doc. Micro. Ser." "Index" now had an X next to it. The "File Number (Primary Code) E 100-300-11" was present but was crossed out. In all of the Routing and Record sheets this researcher has examined I have never seen Officer's Initials entered with a rubber stamp. S.A. Milton Kaack's widow was contacted in August 1993. She said her husband died "a long time ago."

Before this final report, DeBRUEYS reports on OSWALD reached the CIA. S.A. DEBRUEYS report contained New Orleans Police Department report on OSWALD and part of S.A. Quigley's report on OSWALD. S.A. Quigley's interview with Frank Bartes that concerned OSWALD was absent. The only additional information in S.A. DEBRUEYS report was interview with Jessie James Garner regarding a Fair Play for Cuba Committee meeting at Magazine Street and that "On October 7, 1963, NO T-1 advised that there is no such Post Office Box as 30016 in the New Orleans area." [WCD 692]

The CIA: "As of November 1963, HUNT was assigned to (deleted) however, apparently Mr. HUNT had some collateral duties with Deputy Director Plans/Domestic Operations Division/Facilities Branch. Mr. HUNT was assigned to such tasks from November 1961 to February 1965." [HUNT as leader of Cov. Ops. of DOD: Complaint HUNT v. ajweberman USDC/SD Fla. Miami 76-1252-Civ-PF filed 7.28.76 para. 4B]

The CIA reported: "On November 19, 1963, DO/OPRP, in the person of HOWARD HUNT A/DO/CA, requested a PCSA to utilize (Deleted) #344, 074, as a ghost writer in the United States and abroad under DODS Project (deleted). The routing sheet attached to the request indicated that (Deleted) was known to Mr. John Greely, DO/AF." [CIA Memo Edmund X. Klipa to Solie undated] On December 9, 1963, HUNT asked for approval to hire #377 955 as a ghost writer for the Domestic Operations Division. On August 21, 1964, Elizabeth McIntosh (now deceased) DO/CA requested a PCSA/CSA to utilize #397 025 Quentin James Reynolds, who wrote for Readers Digest and Random House, as a witting ghost writer in the United States. The request was denied by Edmund X. Klipa, Chief, Investigations Division, who reported to Bruce Solie that Quentin Reynold's was a security risk. Quentin Reynolds (born April 11, 1902 died March 17, 1965) was one of America's most popular correspondents during World War II. He was a colleague of Daymon Runyon and Heywood Broun. In 1952 he wrote an article for Reader Digest and a book for Bennett Cerf on George DuPre, a Canadian who claimed to be a British Secret Agent during the war. DuPre was an imposter.

On Friday, November 8, 1963, OSWALD went to Ruth Paine's house for the weekend. Before he did, he wrote a note to the man he erroneously thought was one of his CIA Case Officers, Mr. E. HOWARD HUNT, who used a Mexico City address. The HSCA asked Marina Oswald:

Q. Did your husband ever mention the name HUNT; H-U-N-T?

A. No.

Q. Are you sure?

A. Yes, right now I am sure, if I said before than maybe I just don't remember the name.

Q. Did you ever hear about a letter - withdraw that.

A. That he supposedly wrote?

Q. I don't want to hear what the media may have said, I want to know if you have any knowledge of him writing a letter to anybody named HUNT?

A. No.

Q. Did he write many letter to people?

A. No. [HSCA V12 p339]

In August 1975 a copy of OSWALD'S letter to HOWARD HUNT was mailed to researcher Penn Jones. It was postmarked Mexico City. After a reproduction of this letter was turned over to the FBI, Director Clarence Kelley stated: "Investigation to date has failed to produce evidence that the alleged letter was written by OSWALD." This was untrue. The Justice Department reported, "The copy of the purported OSWALD letter has been subjected by the Bureau to handwriting analysis. The results are inconclusive. The writing is sufficiently similar to known samples of OSWALD'S handwriting, that Bureau experts cannot eliminate the possibility that the letter is genuine. Neither can they say definitely that it is OSWALD'S writing." The FBI: "The photocopy...does not reproduce the handwriting on the original document with sufficient clarity of line detail for adequate handwriting comparisons or any definite determination whether that handwriting was, or was not, prepared by LEE HARVEY OSWALD, whose available genuine writings consist of a large number of documents previously submitted in this investigation. However, from such comparisons and examinations as could be made, significant similarities in letter formations were noted as well as a number of unexplained handwriting variations. In the absence of the original document...or a clear photograph of the original document it is doubtful whether OSWALD can be definitely identified ,or positively eliminated, as the writer of the questioned letter." [FBI 62-2115-760]

Three handwriting experts retained by the Dallas Morning News in 1977 concluded that the letter was "OSWALD'S authentic writing, written by him." OSWALD had misspelled the word "concerning" the same way once before. [Summers Conspiracy p626]

The HSCA could not discredit the letter from OSWALD to HUNT. HSCA investigator Kenneth Klein questioned handwriting expert Joseph P. McNally:

Klein: At this time I would direct your attention to the document marked JFK-506, dated November 8, 1963...For the record could you read that document please.

McNally: 'N-o-v 8, 1963: Dear Mr. HUNT: I would like information concerning (concerding) my position. I am asking only for information. I am suggesting that we discuss the matter fully before any steps are taken by me or anyone else. Thank you LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

Klein: Using the blowup, will you explain why the panel could not reach a conclusion with respect to that document?

McNally: Number one, this is of course a photo reproduction. It is a peculiar type of photo reproduction...it has some of the characteristics of being a photo reproduced from a microfilm enlargement which was originally out of focus...This is an extremely good reproduction of that particular fuzzy original photo reproduction...this document itself, although the writing pattern, or the overall letter designs, are consistent with those as written on other documents, this is much more precisely and much more carefully written. There is no great deviation from the writing of OSWALD insofar as individual letter design forms are concerned...

According to Joseph P. McNally, the forger composed the text of this letter. After that he studied OSWALD'S handwriting, and did a good job of reproducing it. Upon completion, he misspelled LEE HARVEY OSWALD'S middle name when he signed it. Instead of correcting this error, he microfilmed it slightly out of focus, developed the microfilm negative, and printed it. Then he photographed that print. These last steps were unnecessary. Why didn't the forger simply photograph the original forgery? This indicated the letter was opened, microfilmed, then resealed, and sent to its original destination. Someone obtained a print made from an original microfilm negative, photographed it, and mailed it to Penn Jones. The HSCA testimony continued:

Klein: I have but one question. On balance, this HUNT letter, do you find more similarities or dissimilarities overall in the comparison to the other writings or letters, words that all seem to agree in other documents?

McNally: There are no dissimilarities in the body of this particular letter, the context, until you come down to the signature...a part of the signature agrees with OSWALD'S signature...and part of it does not agree...and for these reasons we were unable to come to any firm conclusion regarding this particular document...we are not able to accurately determine that it is specifically a forgery...

Klein: Is it in your opinion a fake?

McNally No, I am not certain on this particular document.

According to Joseph P. McNally there were no dissimilarities in the body of the letter and part of OSWALD'S signature "agreed with the signature." The HSCA focused on the one part that did not agree. The preponderance of evidence showed that OSWALD wrote the letter, and a small part indicated he did not. Shouldn't the HSCA have concluded OSWALD wrote it? Instead, the HSCA, like the FBI, said it could not come to a firm conclusion regarding it. The HSCA's handwriting experts were "not able to accurately determine that it is specifically a forgery." If something was not a forgery, it was authentic. There was no twilight zone.

Joseph McNally's statement that this letter was "much more precisely and much more carefully written" was interesting considering that the day after OSWALD wrote this letter, he wrote a letter to the Soviet Embassy, Washington, which the Warren Report stated was much more carefully written than his previous letters. OSWALD prepared two handwritten preliminary drafts: "According to Marina Oswald, OSWALD he retyped the envelope 10 times." [WR p309]

Was the letter mailed to Penn Jones by a Mexican police official? HUNT'S Mexico City address was an anti-Castro safehouse, in which the Mexican police had an interest, since anti-Castro attacks had been planned from there. During his HUNT v. ajweberman deposition, HUNT stated: "I traveled down there [Mexico] in 1960, I was there with my family until the early fall when it became apparent that the Cubans [exiles] had incurred the hostility of the Mexican Government. At that point I sent my wife and my family back to the United States..." In Give Us This Day, HUNT wrote: "In Mexico I was to be treated by the station as a separate unit responsible for all frente matters including the Mexico City delegation of the Cuban Revolutionary Front. We found a small furnished house in Lomas de Chapultepec...I established a private office, moved in a large safe and worked out operation schedules with my station contact...the delegation reported increasing harassment from Mexican officials. Finally Sam reported having been trailed to the safehouse and when I looked down from the third floor window, I could see a sloppily dressed surveillant slouched against a lamppost. A counter-surveillance team traced the man to Mexican Police Headquarters." [HUNT Day pp. 51-58] The CIA was still supporting anti-Castro elements in Mexico City in September 1963: "Basic Headquarters position is to render assistance any responsible group carrying fight to Castro. (Deleted) falls in this category and Headquarters interested in effecting procurement as well as receiving details thereof. While [we] obviously do not wish to have (Deleted) involved in any overt exile activity, there is no objection to (Deleted) rendering purely covert assistance provided does not jeopardize his operational utility." [CIA Special Affairs Staff 9.30.63 to JMWAVE Mexico City from J.C. King]

The CIA reported that HUNT had set up a Washington, D.C., "Letter Address" in 1963 and terminated it in 1965: "Address still being used by (deleted)."

DO/SEC 63-72

June 18, 1963

MEMO FOR: Deputy Director of Security (Investigations and Operational Support)

ATTENTION: Mr. (Deleted).

SUBJECT: (Deleted) Request for

This will confirm a verbal request to your office for a (deleted) in Washington, D.C. to be set up in the (Deleted). It will be used for an indefinite period of time, should be service daily and the volume should be light. Please confirm the activation of this facility as soon as possible. The (deleted) is being forwarded under separate cover.

Joseph R. Murphy

DODS Security Officer.

Penn Jones received a cover letter with the HUNT note: "At the end of the last year I gave Mr. Kelley, FBI Director, a letter from LEE OSWALD. It is my understanding it could have brought out certain circumstances in the Kennedy assassination. Since Mr. Kelley has not responded to that letter, I've got the right to believe something bad might happened [sic] to me, and that is why I see myself obligated to keep myself away for a short time..."

This letter was originally sent to the FBI with a return address "Insurgentes, Sur No. 30, Mexico, D.F., Mexico" on it, and it bore the initials "P.S." Whoever sent it, mistakenly expected a response. Earl Goltz reported that the address was a working class apartment building in Mexico City. The FBI reported that this address "is a postal box for 'The Picadilly,' a hotel for transients in Mexico City." When the sender failed to receive a response from FBI Director Clarence Kelley, he decided to avoid the address on the letter for a short time, or had moved permanently. The letter was from someone who had experience with the heavy-handed tactics of the Mexican police. The FBI denied having received this letter: "After a check of all appropriate personnel and files, the Bureau reports it has no record or other indication of receiving this letter. FBI Agents interviewed the now retired documents analyst who would have been responsible...He has no recollection of the OSWALD letter." [DOJ File Hantman to Civiletti 6.24.77]

This letter gave some idea of what really went on between HUNT and OSWALD:

"I would like information concerding my position..." HEMMING deceived OSWALD into thinking that OSWALD worked for the CIA, and that HUNT and PHILLIPS were his Case Officers. HUNT and PHILLIPS could easily have shown him their CIA identification cards, and made it possible for OSWALD to verify their employment with the CIA. But if HUNT and PHILLIPS were working for the CIA, and not a rogue element within that agency, why couldn't they prevent S.A. Hosty from bothering his wife? A phone call from the CIA to the FBI should have put an end to this. Just what was OSWALD'S position anyway? Was he a snitch who was not carried on the books, or was there paperwork about his undercover work at the Agency? "I am asking only for information." OSWALD was not asking for documentation. He just wanted a verbal report. "I am suggesting that we discuss the matter fully..." OSWALD was willing to discuss the matter with his Case Officer "before any steps are taken by me or anyone else." Before he or HEMMING did anything else on behalf of the Agency.

James Hosty was asked about the HUNT letter: "Well it was a forgery, and I can tell you the guy who did it. How did OSWALD sign his name? The only trouble is he signed it 'LEE HARVEY OSWALD.' He never used his middle name. He spelled his own middle name wrong." [see LEE HENRY OSWALD]

Recently declassified Justice Department documents revealed that its investigation of the HUNT note focused on Nelson Bunker and H.L. Hunt. E. HOWARD HUNT was not mentioned. Internal Revenue Service informant Paul Rothermel brought the letter to the attention of the FBI coupled with allegations that the Hunts had been involved in the JFK assassination. Robert Keuch drafted a Memorandum dated January 27, 1977, which suggested various prosecutorial strategies, should a conspiracy in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy come to light, which involved the Hunts..

The same day OSWALD wrote the letter to HOWARD HUNT, Friday, November 8, 1963, OSWALD went to FBI headquarters in Dallas and asked to speak with S.A. Hosty. Ruth Paine testified to the Warren Commission: "LEE told me he had stopped at the downtown office of the FBI, and tried to see the agents, and left a note. And my impression of it is that this notice irritated, that he left the note saying what he thought. This is reconstructing my impression of the fellows bothering him and his family and this is my impression then. I couldn't say this was specifically said to him later...I will just go on to say that I learned only a few weeks ago that he never did go into the FBI office. Of course knowing, thinking, that he had gone in, I thought that was sensible on his part. But it appears to have been another lie."

Nancy L. Fenner, the secretary at Dallas FBI Field Office who spoke with OSWALD, gave the following statement to the FBI:

"I, Nannie Lee Fenner, being duly sworn, hereby make the following free and voluntary statement to Assistant Director Harold N. Bassett, and the Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Office, Theodore L. Gunderson.

"Mr. Bassett advised me that information had come to the Bureau's attention indicating the possibility that LEE HARVEY OSWALD had personally appeared at the Dallas Office sometime prior to the assassination of former President Kennedy. He also advised that as a result of the information received, indications were that I was the receptionist who was present when OSWALD appeared at the office.

"The following, to the best of my recollection, is what occurred relative to the above.

"Approximately one week or ten days prior to November 22, 1963, an individual appeared at the reception desk and asked to see S.A. HOSTY. I checked to see if he was in, and learned that he was not, and so informed this visitor. He then left a note. On the envelope there appeared the name 'S.A. HOSTY.' The envelope was not sealed, and the note was partially sticking out from the envelope. Accordingly, I pulled the note out and it said something along the following: 'Let this be a warning. I will blow up the FBI and the Dallas Police Department if you don't stop bothering my wife. Signed, LEE HARVEY OSWALD.' From photographs I saw in the newspaper, I recognized the person who delivered the above note to be LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

"As best I can recall, I took the note in to the ASAC, Kyle Clark. Kyle Clark, after reading the note, stated that he was just a nut, and gave it to S.A. Hosty. Following return from Kyle Clark's office, I showed the note to Helen May and sometime shortly thereafter, when James White and Joe Pearce were near my desk, Helen May told me to show the note to them and I did so.

"Sometime later in the day, S.A. HOSTY came to the office and I personally gave him the note, he read it and made some comment to the effect that OSWALD was a nut..." Nancy Fenner, contacted in August 1993, declined comment.

Nancy Fenner was re-interviewed by the FBI on September 2, 1975. She stated that the statement she initially furnished on July 15, 1975, was accurate. "She categorically stated that the note which she received from OSWALD made absolutely no mention concerning President Kennedy. It is her recollection that the note was handwritten, which she described as a large scrawl, very childlike in nature. She indicated that on giving this matter additional thought she was now of the opinion that Miss Helen May may have seen OSWALD as he was departing the office after he delivered the note. It may be recalled that in Mrs. Fenner's initial statement of July 15, 1975, she advised that she had shown the note in question to Joe Pearce. On September 5, 1975, an additional statement was taken from Mrs. Fenner, and at this time she advised that it is her clear recollection that Pearce did not see the OSWALD note, but that he had the envelope and/or letter in his hand, and she is certain now that he did not read the letter. She claimed that she told Pearce that 'some nut' had left the letter and he merely picked it up and laid it down."

"Miss Helen Lee May was re-interviewed on September 2, 1975, and she categorically denied ever seeing OSWALD at any time, or ever seeing the note or letter which he delivered. She did recall that sometime subsequent to the assassination, Mrs. Fenner again brought up the subject of the OSWALD note, and stated that Clark (former ASAC Clark) had told her to forget about it."

"Miss Marian F. Roberts, the former secretary of SAC Gordon Shanklin, was interviewed on September 6, 1975, in Sun City, Arizona. She advised that she was aware that OSWALD appeared at the reception desk and left a note with a Mrs. Fenner for S.A. Hosty prior to the assassination of President Kennedy. She stated that she had never seen the note and was not aware of its contents although she had heard the letter wanted Hosty to stop harassing OSWALD'S wife. She related that she recalled entering the Dallas Office at about the same time that Helen May was entering, at approximately mid-day. To her recollection, this was a few weeks before the assassination, and she and Mrs. May saw a slender, dark haired, young man hand something to Mrs. Fenner. This was not significant to her at the time; however, following the assassination Helen May said something to her to the effect, 'You remember, Marian, we were coming into the office about the time OSWALD handed Fenner the note.' She stated that after she saw pictures of OSWALD after the assassination she can easily assume that he was the individual she saw handing something to Mrs. Fenner. She recalled that on the same day she observed this person, Mrs. Fenner told her a short time later a man had left a note for Hosty to quit bothering his wife. She said that Mrs. Fenner told her the man did not say much, but he was 'teed off' at Hosty. This, according to Mrs. Roberts, tended to further her belief that the man she and Miss May saw was OSWALD. She said, in her opinion, OSWALD'S appearance at the Dallas Office, and the note he left for Hosty, were common knowledge among Dallas Office personnel, who were there at the time of the assassination. She stated that after the assassination, she heard from an unrecalled source that it was decided to destroy the note, but she does not know who made this decision to have the note destroyed. She stated she recognized the importance of the note after she heard of the decision to destroy it." On September 5, 1975, S.A. Joe A. Pearce was re-interviewed. He categorically denied he ever saw OSWALD, that he had ever had in his hands or in his possession any note left by OSWALD, and that he ever read any note left by him. He said that after deliberating on the matter since his prior affidavit of July 22, 1975, he recalled that there were several discussions in the latter part of the 1960's concerning a note left by OSWALD for Hosty. During some of these discussions Mrs. Fenner remarked to others in his presence that Pearce had seen the note. He admitted that he did not contradict the statement, and explains his failure to do so on his lack of appreciation of the seriousness of what she was communicating to the people involved." S.A. Drain said he heard about the letter from Fenner. S.A. Charles T. Brown Jr. told the FBI he first heard of the note in the early part of 1964, during a conversation with S.A. Vincent Drain. When Mrs. Martha Ann Campbell heard about the note from Fenner, she brought it to the attention of her boss, Kenneth Howe. "She said that upon hearing Fenner's name, Howe made a 'face,' and Howe told her that she was not to discuss the visit or the note any more and it was emphatic enough that she followed his instruction. She said that she had enough sense to realize that something was being held back at that time but she said nothing about it."

On August 31, 1975, Tom Johnson, publisher of the Dallas Times Herald telephonically contacted Assistant to the Director, Deputy Associate Director (Investigation) James B. Adams. Tom Johnson stated that he received an anonymous call from a female who stated: "Not everyone in Dallas knew about it, and she thinks it is unfair to leave the impression that many of the men knew about it. In case you are interested, Mr. Hosty destroyed the note on orders of Mr. Howe. Mr. Gemberling was handling the case. Mr. Bill Anderton, and Mr. Urial Horton, also know if it. Mr. Gemberling knew about the note, and saw it, but it was destroyed on the instructions of Mr. Howe...

"At the time of this current inquiry, S.A. Robert Gemberling was on sick leave, having been diagnosed by his doctor on August 2, 1975, as having had a heart attack. In the absence of obtaining clearance from his physician, who was out of town, and whereabouts unknown, Gemberling was not interviewed at this time." S.A. Gemberling was out for about two months.

S.A. James Anderton said he heard about the note from Fenner. S.A. Ural Horton could not recall the circumstances when he first learned about the note. The FBI interviewed S.A. James W. Bookhout on September 2, 1975. "He advised that sometime during the investigation of the assassination case, he greeted S.A. Gemberling in the office, and asked him how it was coming. He recalled that Gemberling responded that everything was fine, and his only current problem was to decide to propriety of putting a certain OSWALD letter into the assassination report. Gemberling said it was not so much his problem as it was of S.A. Hosty. According to Bookhout, he immediately terminated the conversation, since Hosty had already received newspaper publicity in connection with the assassination. and he did not want to have any knowledge of Hosty's problems, and did not want to get involved with them."

Special Agent J.V. Almon heard of the note, possibly from Gemberling. [FBI 62-19060-7302X] Another former FBI agent, Joseph L. Schott, told the Associated Press that the note threatened the life of S.A. Hosty.

On September 8, 1975, S.A. Howe...advised that while he can't remember specifically why he knew the note in question was from OSWALD, he knows it was either signed by him, or OSWALD'S wife's name, Marina, was mentioned therein. He stated at that time they had a case on Marina, and he knew her to be the wife of LEE HARVEY OSWALD. He recalled that the note was on plain paper, and was either handwritten, or hand printed, and was threatening in nature either concerning some action OSWALD said he was going to take possibly against S.A. Hosty, or against the FBI Office. He said he can't remember whether he found the note before, or after, OSWALD was shot, but believes it was after. He advised that he found the note in Hosty's workbox, and considered it of sufficient import to be brought to the attention of the SAC, and took it immediately to Shanklin. He can't remember what wording he used to convey to Shanklin what he had, but knows that Shanklin was made aware by him of what he had. He recalls that Shanklin's reaction was to wave him away and say, 'Don't tell me about it. I don't want to hear, and I don't want to know anything about it.' He said from this reaction it was his impression that Shanklin had possibly heard of the existence of the note, but he does not know this to be a fact.

"Continuing, Howe stated that he cannot remember whether he left the note with Shanklin, but feels that at this point one of three things had to have occurred:

(1) He left the note with Shanklin.

(2) He returned the note to Hosty's workbox.

(3) He held the note and personally gave it to Hosty. He claims that he subsequently told Hosty what had happened, but he does not recall having any discussion with him concerning it. He stated that at that stage he felt it was a matter for the SAC to resolve with Hosty, and having told them both about the matter, he took no further action. He claims that he did not subsequently discuss it with Shanklin, Hosty or anyone else. He denies instructing Hosty to destroy the letter, and denies receiving any instructions from anyone else that he should tell Hosty to destroy the letter. He said he never knew of the ultimate disposition of the letter. He claims he has no recollection of having prepared a memorandum, or having made any written record of the note.

"Howe was confronted with the information furnished by his former secretary. He advised he does not recall this, nor under the circumstances as they existed at that time can he categorically deny it didn't happen. He said at the time the matter was still in the hands of the SAC, and until some adjudication by him, he felt the matter should not be discussed. He claims that if any decision was made that information concerning the note should or should not be included in a communication, he had no part in that decision."

"James Hosty was re-interviewed on September 22, 1975. Hosty stated that his best recollection is that the note sent by OSWALD was in the nature of a complaint, complaining about Hosty having interviewed OSWALD'S wife. He stated that he recalls it said: 'If you have anything you want to learn about me, come talk to me directly. If you don't cease bothering my wife, I will take appropriate action and report this to proper authorities.' [Hosty: "Which he did. He reported it to the Soviet Embassy, right? It was not threatening."] Hosty did not recall a signature, and did not recall the name of Marina Oswald having been mentioned. He still maintains at the time he received the note he thought it was from a prior Subject, Jimmy George Robinson, but realizes how 'stupid such an assumption was on my part' when advised that his interview with Robinson took place in June 1963."

OSWALD would not have threatened S.A. Hosty by saying he was going to report him to higher authority. OSWALD threatened some sort of violence in that note, yet S.A. Hosty did nothing about it. Could anyone, even S.A. James P. Hosty, be that stupid to confuse these two cases? S.A. Hosty ignored it because he believed OSWALD was part of a government operation, and was ultimately on the same side he was on.

The FBI: "He refused to sign an Interrogation; Advice of Rights form, and also refused to be placed under oath. However, upon arrival of the Inspector, he made available a three-page typed statement concerning this matter. Among other things, Mr. Sullivan, in his statement, noted that on one occasion during a conversation with Mr. Shanklin that latter mentioned that he had internal personnel problems in the OSWALD case because one of his agents (the name was not given to Sullivan or if so he had forgotten) had received, while OSWALD was alive, a threatening letter from him because of the agent's investigation of OSWALD. According to Sullivan, he raised a question as to the details, and Shanklin seemed disinclined to discuss it other than to say he was handling it as personnel problem with Mr. J. P. Mohr. He advised he did not press the matter, and they went on to other topics. Further, no mention was made of anything being destroyed. Continuing, Mr. Sullivan advised that in another later conversation, Mr. Shanklin mentioned to him that Director J. Edgar Hoover was furious at one of his agents, James Hosty, and was going to give him a transfer out of Dallas. When he inquired why, Shanklin replied that Mr. Hoover did not like the way Mr. Hosty had handled his part of the OSWALD investigation, it was then Mr. Shanklin told Sullivan that it was Hosty who had received the threatening message from OSWALD before the assassination. He stated that Shanklin did not mention that any message had been destroyed."

"FBI Dallas SAC Gordon Shanklin was re-interviewed on September 25, 1975. He was allowed to review the four affidavits previously furnished by Howe, and two affidavits furnished by Hosty and the and the affidavits of Ural Horton of July 23, 1975, and of Marian F. Roberts of September 6, 1975, as well as the FD-302 concerning the interview with William Sullivan. He categorically denied having any knowledge or recollection of S.A. Kenneth C. Howe having brought the matter he mentioned to Shanklin's attention either before, or after, the assassination. He also had no independent knowledge of S.A. Hosty ever discussing OSWALD being in the FBI office, or leaving a note, or telling him to type up a memorandum and later telling him to destroy it...Concerning Sullivan's comments, Mr. Shanklin stated that he is completely at a loss to understand why any comments Sullivan made concerning their conversation regarding any note received from OSWALD. He said he did discuss the OSWALD investigation on a number of occasions with Sullivan, and certainly Hosty's name came up, particularly in connection with the allegation that OSWALD was an FBI informant. He also notes that on a number of occasions he may have discussed disciplinary action against Hosty and other Agents with Sullivan, and certainly with John P. Mohr, but categorically denied that there was any such comment made as it relates to a note. He also denies having any knowledge of a meeting which allegedly transpired for the purpose of making a decision as to whether the note should be destroyed." The FBI reported: "Two Special Agents in Charge who were assigned to Dallas during periods covering the OSWALD investigation were censured for their overall responsibility in the matter." Gordon Shanklin died in July 1988, at age 78.

The note from OSWALD was put in S.A. Hosty's work box, where it joined the other documents on OSWALD. As stated, in S.A. Hosty's statement on July 17, 1975, he told the FBI that, at the time he received the note, "He thought it was from another Subject of his, one Jimmy George Robinson, a Ku Klux Klan leader from Garland, Texas, who had made a complaint to the Dallas Office of the FBI alleging his civil rights had been violated by the Garland Texas Police Department. Hosty stated that he and another agent went to Robinson's residence and not finding him at home, interviewed his wife, who gave them a completely different version of his allegation against the Garland Police Department. Her statement completely wiped out the civil rights complaint according to Hosty...Robinson was placed in jail in June 1963, for assaulting his wife. While in jail his wife allowed Garland Police Department officers to search his residence, including the area claimed to be his study. He claimed that his wife had no right to let the police search his office as it was not under her control; hence he felt his civil rights had been violated. As noted in this report, Hosty in company with another agent, interviewed Robinson's wife on June 24, 1963. She said that while still married to Robinson she left him following the assault on her person. She stated she allowed the police officers to conduct a search."

When OSWALD saw S.A. Hosty during his interrogation by the Dallas Police Department on November 22, 1963, OSWALD was angry. OSWALD became upset when he identified himself, and OSWALD accused him of having bothered his wife. S.A. Hosty quoted OSWALD as saying: "'So you are Hosty. I've heard about you." All during this interview OSWALD was extremely hostile toward the FBI an uncomplimentary toward the Director and all FBI agents. At one point in the conversation, OSWALD stated 'I'm going to fix you, FBI.'" [FBI Memo from Hosty to SAC 11.29.63 100-10461-134] Captain Will Fritz, who headed the Dallas Police Department Homicide Squad, told the Warren Commission that OSWALD had said S.A. Hosty "accosted his wife on two occasions. He practically told her she would have to go back to Russia."

After the assassination the note was discovered by Hosty's Supervisor, S.A. Kenneth C. Howe. James Hosty explained, "That's when he came to take the Kostikov stuff out of my workbox. He was getting the stuff away from me, and that's when he found it." S.A. Hosty told the FBI in 1976: "About an hour following his interview with OSWALD, on the day of the assassination, he received a message at the police department to return to the Dallas Office. He recalled Mr. Gordon Shanklin, and Mr. Kenneth Howe, being present. They had his work box in their possession, and either Gordon Shanklin or Kenneth Howe showed him the note from OSWALD, and asked him what it was all about. He then explained his previous interview of Mrs. Paine, and OSWALD'S wife, at the Paine residence on Friday, November 1, 1963, and the vehement protest that OSWALD made to him during the interview on November 22, 1963. [James Hosty told this researcher in 1993: "They just had the note, not the work box."]

"After explaining this to Mr. Shanklin, he instructed him to set forth in memorandum form the information which he had orally explained, making specific reference to the note. He stated he dictated this memorandum, as instructed, to Miss Martha Connally (now Martha Campbell), and that the memorandum was addressed to the SAC under the caption 'LEE HARVEY OSWALD aka: IS-R-CUBA.' He stated he did not have the note from OSWALD in his possession when he dictated his memorandum, it having been left with Mr. Shanklin. He said the memorandum, when typed, was an original, and there was one copy, and was possibly three or four pages in length. He said he remained in the office while Miss Connally transcribed his dictation, and when it was completed, carried the memorandum to Mr. Shanklin, and it was probably about 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. He handed this memorandum to Mr. Shanklin, and recalls no pertinent comment made at that time."

In the late afternoon of November 22, 1963, S.A. Hosty spoke with Dallas Police Lt. Jack Revill. Lt. Jack Revill testified that S.A. Hosty had said the FBI had information that OSWALD was "capable of committing this assassination." Lt. Jack Revill noted this, and his secretary testified that she prepared a report for him that afternoon. S.A. Hosty denied, under oath, making this statement to Lt. Jack Revill. He told this researcher, "Revill was a typical Texas redneck and he hated Kennedy. He wouldn't believe a Communist did it. The word 'capable' is inaccurate. I said he did do it." According to S.A. Hosty, nothing further occurred concerning the memorandum or note until Sunday, November 24, 1963.

When Hosty told Revill that the FBI had information that OSWALD had violent tendencies, he was making reference to the threatening note OSWALD left for him.

Nancy Fenner: "It is my recollection that I was called to work on Sunday, which would have been November 24, 1963. Sometime during my working on that date, ASIC Kyle Clark said to me 'Forget about the OSWALD letter.' At a subsequent date, while assembling a report on the assassination case, S.A. Hosty was present, and at that time I asked S.A. Hosty whatever happened to the OSWALD letter to which S.A. Hosty stated 'What letter? --- I don't know what you are talking about.' Sometime after this, perhaps two or three days, Supervisor Kenneth Howe said, 'Nan, forget the letter.' The foregoing are the only individuals to my personal knowledge who apparently read the letter delivered to me as mentioned previously. All of the above people are either working or did work for the FBI. Other than advising my husband, I have never furnished this information to anyone either in or out of the Bureau." [Fenner 7.15.75]

According to S.A. Hosty nothing further occurred concerning his memorandum about the threatening note until Sunday, November 24, 1963. He said he was on duty in the office on that date handling various duties, when he learned that OSWALD had been shot. Approximately two hours later he met with Gordon Shanklin and Kenneth Howe: "On entering, Gordon Shanklin stated 'OSWALD is dead now. There will be no trial.' He then handed S.A. Hosty his Memorandum dated November 22, 1963 , with the OSWALD note attached, and told him to get rid of it. He claimed the memorandum had not been block stamped or serialized. He tore up both copies of the memorandum, and the note, in Gordon Shanklin and Kenneth Howe's presence, and threw them in the wastepaper basket in Gordon Shanklin's office. He advised that Gordon Shanklin, then said: 'Get rid of it, get it out of here!' He said he then took the torn pieces out of the wastepaper basket, went to the men's wash room and flushed the scraps of paper down the commode. He said that no one was with him when he did this."

S.A. Hosty was asked if the fact the memo had not been block stamped or serialized indicated the FBI never intended to include it in the OSWALD file. He stated, "That's an assumption on your part. They hadn't decided what they were going to do. It was never a government record. It was never accepted into the records. It's possible they had no intention, but we don't know. We didn't do it until after he was dead."

Between 1963 and 1975, the existence of the note was kept secret by the Dallas FBI. In 1975 FBI Director Clarence Kelley stated: "The note contained no reference to Kennedy, or in any way would have forewarned of the subsequent assassination." The HSCA regarded all of this as "a serious impeachment of Gordon Shanklin and S.A. Hosty's credibility..." [HSCA R p196] S.A. Hosty stated that he had not destroyed evidence, or obstructed justice, since OSWALD was dead, and the Warren Commission had not been formed at this time.

James Hosty: "I was ordered to do it. I didn't want to do it, but I was told to do it. I figured he had to know some reason." The FBI: "In the September 15, 1975, issue of Time magazine there appears an article on page 19 captioned 'The OSWALD Cover-up.' This article makes reference to OSWALD'S visit to the Dallas Office prior to the assassination and delivery of a threatening note. This article claims that FBI sources close to the investigation believe the note was more ominous than Director Kelley implied, and that the Bureau's Inspectors have learned that OSWALD specifically threatened to take action against the government. This article points out that, according to present and former FBI officials John P. Mohr, then the Bureau's administrative chief, told the Dallas agents to destroy it. Continuing, the article claims that Mohr, who retired in 1972, denies any knowledge of OSWALD'S note or its disappearance. So too do his former aides in the Administrative Division, Nicholas P. Callahan, James B. Adams and Eugene W. Walsh...On September 11, 1975, Time Magazine reporter Sandy Smith came to Bureau Headquarters to see Mr. John B. Adams. Mr. Smith had previously indicated a desire to to talk with Mr. Adams. On this occasion Smith was advised that his article troubled Mr. Adams because for the first time there was an allegation that any cover-up which might have taken place could be an institutional cover-up by involvement of FBI superiors in Washington, concerning the OSWALD note. Mr. Adams noted that if Smith did not act in good faith in preparation of the article, and if he could not back it up, such might be construed as being malicious, and grounds of libel. Mr. Smith stated that he received this information from four, five or six separate officials, present or former, and he was sure the information was true...In view of the above, Mr. John P. Mohr was re-interviewed on September 12, 1975...Mr. Mohr was advised of the information which Mr. Smith had furnished, and he advised he had no intention of filing a libel suit because of the high costs involved, and the fact that he was already engaged in a suit that which may prove financially burdensome. Nevertheless, he stated that if the Government could file a suit in his behalf, he would be more than willing to appear before any body, including a grand jury, to testify to the accuracy of his prior sworn statement in which he denied having any knowledge of the OSWALD visit until it appeared in the newspapers."

In 1974 FBI Director Clarence Kelley ordered "J. Adams" to help conduct the FBI investigation of many of the allegations in Coup D'Etat in America. Circa 1975 James B. Adams testified before the SSCIA about a letter and magnetic tapes that had been sent to Martin and Coretta King by William C. Sullivan. The tape contained evidence of infidelity on the part of Martin Luther King, and the note urged that he commit suicide, "the one honorable thing left for you to do." James B. Adams testified he could find no basis for the conclusion of the staff of the SSCIA that the letter was a "suicide urging." That annoyed Senator Frank Church and he asked: "It is certainly no Christmas card, is it?" James B. Adams agreed. [Wise The American Police State 307 f.n.] FBI Director Clarence Kelley and James B. Adams questioned S.A. Hosty about the note on July 7, 1975. James Hosty stated: "James B. Adams was to low down on the totem pole to have ordered the destruction of the note. James B. Adams never interviewed me."

In July 1975 J.B. Adams of the FBI noted: "Mr. (Deleted) dictated to Mrs. Metcalf his recollection of the information furnished to him, pointing out that he did not take notes at the time the source was furnishing him the information, but later made notes. The results of this dictation are attached, along with other notes dictated during the interview with Mr. (Deleted). Mr. (Deleted) specifically requested that his identity as a source of this information be concealed and not revealed without his permission since his motives might be misunderstood (deleted) but he felt that (deleted) this unverified information at this point, which could do harm to the FBI if untrue, he would prefer to report it to us and if we could determine there was nothing of substance to the information it could be put to rest (deleted). Mr. (Deleted) was advised by FBI Director Kelley that his motives were appreciated."

Mr. Deleted's source told him "I think some information may come out which is going to blow the whole lid off this damn OSWALD case. OSWALD was mad (upset) because the Bureau had his wife under surveillance. He wanted he case Agent (who was working on Marina)...Hosty to quit harassing Marina. When he came by the FBI Offices he was looking for Hosty. He made a threat, I understand left a threatening letter.

"After the assassination the letter was brought up...things really hit the ceiling. I heard they destroyed the letter. I am convinced Mr. Hoover and Mr. Shanklin were never told about OSWALD coming by...There were at most five or six, maybe even seven, a secretary who is now in New England...Hosty and his supervisor Ken Howe. The secretary said something about it to a friend. The major thing that was wrong, we didn't notify other agencies...the police and Secret Service of OSWALD'S visit. There are so many people who have come in, letters have come in, somebody could have put it aside...didn't make much of it. That changed the whole course of history.

"OSWALD was very upset. He wanted Hosty to stop harassing her. He threatened Hosty. Nobody did the follow up on this. That's where it went wrong." [FBI 62-109060-7226X 7.14.75]

After he dropped off the note, OSWALD went to Irving for the weekend. He told Ruth Paine and Marina Oswald that he had "visited the FBI office or building and told them to stop the harassment." Marina Oswald told the Warren Commission she thought this was bravado. [FBI 62-109060-7193, 62-109060-7302X, 7226X, 7314X, 7314; Anson Kill Pres. p85; WR p364; 11 WH 367] Marina Oswald HSCA testimony contained this excerpt:

Q. Are you aware that a short time before the assassination, LEE HARVEY OSWALD delivered a note to the FBI Office in Dallas addressed to agent Hosty?

A. When I heard this on the news, I was surprised.

Q. When you heard it on the news, was this the first time you knew anything about it?

A. That was news to me that a note like that ever existed. I had my doubts, because knowing a little bit of LEE'S personality and my knowledge he had been annoyed by the FBI and wanted to be left alone, I wondered if he would go - I don't know the right word for it - and threaten somebody with a note. The content of the note I found out through the news media. I seriously doubt-

Q. Forgetting what the news media said the content of the note was, you had no indication from him that he has ever written a note to them?

A. I do not remember that. He slightly mentioned something. I do not recall at all because I was surprised when I heard it on the news. It didn't bring any memories, like, well, I forgot. Lee said, "Well I am going" - he mentioned he was going to talk to them and tell them to stop harassing him, that is true, but I don't recall that he mentioned anything about the note...He said he was going to ask them to leave me out of all these visits. [HSCA Test. P328] In 1994 Marina Oswald told this researcher: "I knew nothing about it. That's what they [the Warren Commission] say. I don't know."

S.A. Hosty told the Warren Commission:

Hosty: This is an interview form which I made for my interview with OSWALD on November 22, 1963. It was dictated, as the form will indicate, on November 23, 1963.

Stern: Let me ask you there Mr. Hosty, about your practice in reducing to formal form your notes of interviews. This happened the next day?

Hosty: Right.

Stern: Is that faster than usual because of the circumstances?

Hosty: Because of the circumstances. We have to reduce them to writing within five days.

Stern: In five days?

Hosty: Five working days.

Stern: Did you retain the notes of this?

Hosty: My notes are then destroyed because this is the record.

Stern: And in this particular instance did you destroy your notes of this?

Hosty: Yes, sir.

Stern: Now you say that you are required to reduce your notes of an interview to writing within five working days.

Hosty: Right.

Stern: Did that happen with respect to the interviews you conducted on October 29, 1963, November 1, 1963, and November 5, 1963.

Hosty: To make this a littler clearer, this would be an interview of a Subject, not of a witness, unless this witness has something that was quite pertinent to the investigation. Routine type matters do not have to be put on these interview forms, but pertinent interviews would be. Now everything in this case after the assassination was declared to be pertinent. All interviews, regardless of how insignificant, were to be put on these forms.

Stern: But the interviews you conducted at the beginning of November, and the end of October, were not within this rule?

Hosty: No; because they were not an interview of the Subject or anything that contained anything of major importance.

Stern: Do you, yourself destroy the notes?

Hosty: Yes.

Stern: Do you recall specifically destroying the notes of your interview?

Hosty: Yes sir; in the waste basket.

Stern: Your interview of OSWALD on November 22, 1963, you put the notes in the waste basket?

Hosty: Right.

Stern: Do you recall specifically what you did with the notes of your interviews of October 29, 1963, November 1, 1963, and November 5, 1963?

Hosty: After I reduced them to writing, such as I did here, and I got the form back, I proofread it, then I threw them away.

Stern: And you testified that the notes of your end of October - early November interviews were transcribed after November 22, 1963.

Hosty: Yes.

Stern: Did you give any consideration to retaining the notes in view of the turn the case had taken?

Hosty: No.

Stern: The intervening assassination?

Hosty: No because this is the record and the notes would not be as good as this record, because the notes are not written out fully as this is. It would just be abbreviations and things of that type.

Stern: And you received no instructions about retaining these notes?

Hosty: No; we had no instructions. We were following the same rule we always had.

OSWALD was angry with S.A. Hosty because he felt S.A. Hosty knew of OSWALD'S connection to the CIA. OSWALD did not want his family involved in his clandestine activities. He did not see his mother from October 8, 1962, to November 23, 1963. OSWALD could have taken his pregnant wife and child to Mexico City, and had Marina Oswald apply for a visa to the Soviet Union with him. It would have been highly effective, but even a deep-cover operative like OSWALD drew the line somewhere.

James Hosty told this researcher: "Now wait a minute, don't forget this. Marina Oswald knew about his attempt on General Walker. If he was any kind of a KGB plant, she would have also known that too. Maybe he didn't want me talking to her for fear she'd slip up and say something implicating him. That's what he was worried about." S.A. Hosty, however, was not Russian-speaking and would have had to have used Ruth Paine as an interpreter.

Ruth Paine believed the reason OSWALD reacted in this fashion was because, "I told OSWALD, 'You've been to Russia, you've come back so they're going to try to keep track of what you are doing. Don't worry about it. If you have legitimate things you want to say, this is a free country, you talk.' But it is quite different if he was also shooting at people. I can imagine he would be pretty nervous if he knew he had done criminal activity. They might figure out the Walker shooting or something. That's the only thing I can think of. But who knows? He had a fairly strange mind, and it was hard to say what was going on."

The Warren Commission reported: "Ownership of a second rifle. The Commission has investigated a report that, during the first two weeks of November 1963, OSWALD has a telescopic sight mounted and sighted on a rifle at a sporting goods store in Irving, Texas. The main evidence that OSWALD had such work performed for him is an undated repair tag bearing the name "OSWALD" from the Irving Sports Shop in Irving, Texas. On November 25, 1963, Dial D. Ryder, an employee of the Irving Sports Shop, presented this tag to agents of the FBI, claiming that the tag was in his handwriting. The undated tag indicated that three holes had been drilled in an unspecified type of rifle and a telescopic sight had been mounted and the rifle boresighted.

"As discussed in Chapter IV, the telescopic sight on the C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano was already mounted when shipped to OSWALD, and both Ryder and his employer, Charles W. Greener, feel certain that they never did any work on this rifle. Although this would not alter the evidence which establishes OSWALD'S ownership of the rifle used to assassinate President Kennedy, the possession of a second rifle warranted investigation because it would indicate that a possibly important part of OSWALD'S life had not been uncovered.

"Since all of OSWALD'S known transactions in connection with firearms after his return to the United States were undertaken under an assumed name, it seems unlikely that if he did have repairs made at the sports shop he would have used his real name. Investigation has revealed that the authenticity of the repair tag bearing OSWALD'S name is indeed subject to grave doubts. Ryder testified that he found the repair tag while cleaning his workbench on November 23, 1963. However, Ryder spoke with Greener repeatedly during the period between November 22, 1963, and November 28, 1963, and, sometime prior to November 25, 1963, he discussed with him the possibility that OSWALD had been in the store. Neither he nor Greener could remember that he had been. But despite these conversations with Greener, it is significant that Ryder never called the repair tag to his employer's attention. Greener did not learn about the tag until November 28, 1963, when he was called by T.V. reporters after a story appeared in the Dallas Times-Herald. The peculiarity of Ryder's silence is compounded by the fact that, when speaking to the FBI on November 25, 1963, Ryder fixed the period during which the tag had been issued as November 1, 1963, to November 14, 1963, yet, from his later testimony, that he did so on the basis that it must have occurred when Greener was on vacation, since Greener did not remember the transaction. Moreover, the FBI had been directed to the Irving Sports Shop by anonymous telephone calls received by its Dallas office and by a local television station. The anonymous male who telephoned the Bureau attributed his information to an unidentified sack boy at a specified supermarket in Irving, but investigation has failed to verify this source.

"Neither Ryder, nor Greener, claimed that OSWALD had ever been a customer in the Irving Sports Shop. Neither has any recollection of either OSWALD or his Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, nor does either recall that transaction allegedly represented by the repair tag, or the person for whom the repair was supposedly made. Although Ryder stated to the FBI that he was "quite sure" that he had seen OSWALD, and that OSWALD may have been in the store at one time, when shown a photograph during his deposition, Ryder testified he knew the picture to be of OSWALD, "as pictures in the paper, but as far as seeing the guy personally, I don't think I ever have."

"Subsequent events also reflect on Ryder's credibility. In his deposition, Ryder emphatically denied that he talked to any reporters about this matter prior to the time a story about it appeared in the November 28, 1963, edition of the Dallas-Times Herald. Earlier, however, he told an agent of the United States Secret Service that the newspaper had misquoted him. Moreover, a reporter for the Dallas Times Herald has testified that on November 28, 1963, he called Ryder at his home and obtained from him all of the details of the alleged transaction, and his story is supported by the testimony of a second reporter who overheard one end of the telephone conversation. No other person by the name of Oswald in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has been found who had a rifle repaired at the Irving Sports Shop."

Officer F.M. Turner of the Dallas Police Department reported that on Sunday, evening, November 24, 1963, that department had received a telephone call from one Ray John of Channel Eight News, presumably in Dallas, advising that the news office had received an anonymous phone call in which the called had stated that "he (she) thought OSWALD had a rifle sighted in on Thursday, November 21, 1963, at a gun shop at 211 or 212 Irving Boulevard." Officer Turner reports that he checked, and found the Irving Sports Shop at 221 East Irving Boulevard. Officer F.M. Turner spoke to Mr. Charles Woodrow Greener, (born January 16, 1918; died May 1987), time not indicated, who said he and Dial Ryder had discussed the matter, but that neither could remember having done any work for LEE OSWALD, or remember the assassination weapon. Mr. Greener said he would check his files for names and re-contact the Dallas Police Department. Charles Woodrow Greener told Officer F.M. Turner the rifle in question had been brought in between Monday, November 4, 1963 and Friday, November 8, 1963.

After the assassination Ryder discussed the possibility that OSWALD had been in the Irving Sports Shop with his boss, Mr. Greener. He might have also discussed it with his friends, and one of them might have phoned in the tip to the television station. The fact that the caller was unable to pin point the date of the visit, and did not know the exact address of the Irving Sports Shop, supported this possibility. The reason Ryder had not discussed the repair tag with Greener, was that he did not want to get involved. When the FBI showed up on November 25, 1963, he reluctantly gave the Bureau the repair tag, but he did not tell Greener that he did this. (Greener was not there at the time). By this time the press was aware of the story, and although he denied to his boss that he spoke with the Dallas Times Herald, he in fact did grant the newspaper an interview. Ryder was afraid of loosing his job if he brought adverse publicity to the store.

Gerald Posner called Dial Ryder an attention seeker who refused to be polygraphed. [Case Closed p214]

Ruth Paine testified that "At no time after Marina and I and our children arrived in Irving, Texas, on September 24, 1963, from New Orleans, Louisiana, did I ever take LEE OSWALD or Marina Oswald to the Irving Sports Shop, which is located at 221 East Irving Boulevard, Irving, Texas. I was quite aware during all of this period of Marina's activities and where she was. I know of no occasion when either she, or LEE OSWALD, visited either the Furniture Mart or the Irving Sports Shop. There was no occasion during the period when Marina resided with me in the Fall of 1963, of which I was aware, or now recollect, that Marina rode either in my station wagon or any other automobile or means of conveyance with LEE OSWALD at the wheel. Neither the Irving Sports Shop, nor Mrs. Whitworth, nor Dyal Ryder, was ever mentioned in my presence by either of the OSWALDS."

Garland Slack was a witness who observed OSWALD at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range. He believed Ryder's story.

Slack: But I do know that they got the boy that worked on his rifle scope on Wednesday. That was in the middle of the week, between Sunday, November 10, 1963, and Sunday, November 17, 1963. They got his deposition because the boy, I know, put his scope on his rifle for him. No, sir; I don't know his name. Never tried to find out his name. I never talked about it, because [FBI Agents] Charlie Brown and Doc Carter asked me not to tell what I knew, and that is all. I had nothing to gain. In other words, they took it up, what they found, I never knew.

Liebler: When you mentioned this fellow that put the scope on the rifle, how do you know?

Slack: Because I read it in the newspaper about a week afterwards.

Liebler: You have no direct knowledge yourself about the scope?

Slack: No; there were so many different fellows working on the rifle range, there was possibly three or four boys who did it, and I never really connected which one it would be, because I wasn't doing any investigating anyway. See what I mean? I felt like that knowing the guy, and connecting it together, if I just kept my mouth shut, and tried to just remember seeing the fellow, there was a lot of that done. It was done in our own family.

The Warren Report stated: "Possible corroboration for Ryder's story is provided by two women, Edith Whitworth, who operates the Furniture Mart, a furniture store located about one and a half blocks from the Irving Sports Shop, and Mrs. Gertrude Hunter, a friend of Mrs. Whitworth. They testified that in early November 1963, a man who they later came to believe was OSWALD, drove up to the furniture mart in a two tone blue and white 1957 automobile, entered the store and asked about a part for a gun, presumably because of a sign that appeared in the building advertising a gunsmith shop that had formerly occupied part of the premises. When he found that he could not obtain the part, the man allegedly returned to his car and then came back into the store with a woman and two young children to look at furniture, remaining in the store for about 30 to 40 minutes.

"Upon confronting Marina Oswald, both women identified her as the woman they had seen in the store on the occasion in question, although Mrs. Hunter could not identify a picture of LEE HARVEY OSWALD and Mrs. Whitworth identified some pictures of OSWALD, but not others. Mrs. Hunter proported to identify Marina Oswald by her eyes, and did not observe the fact that Marina Oswald had a front tooth missing at the time she supposedly saw her. After a through inspection of the Furniture Mart, Marina Oswald testified that she had never been on the premises before.

"The circumstances surrounding the testimony of the two women are helpful in evaluating the weight to be given to their testimony, and the extent to which they lend support to Ryder's evidence. The women previously told newspaper reporters that the part for which the man was looking was a 'plunger,' which the Commission has been advised is a colloquial term used to describe a firing pin. This work was completely different from the work covered by Ryder's repair tag, and the firing pin of the assassination weapon does not appear to have been recently replaced. At the time of their depositions, neither woman was able to recall the type of work which the man wanted done.

"Mrs. Whitworth related to the FBI that the man told her that the younger child with him was born on October 20, 1963, which was in fact Rachel Oswald's birthday. In her testimony before the Commission, however, Mrs. Whitworth could not state that the man had told her the child's birth date was October 20, 1963, and, in fact, expressed uncertainty about the birthday of her own grandchild, which she had previously used as a guide to remembering the birth date of the younger child in the shop. Mrs. Hunter thought that the man she and Mrs. Whitworth believed was OSWALD drove the car to and from the store; however, LEE HARVEY OSWALD apparently was not able to drive an automobile by himself, and does not appear to have access to a car.

"The two women claimed that OSWALD was in the Furniture Mart on a weekday and in mid-afternoon. However, OSWALD had reported to work at the Texas School Book Depository on the dates referred to by the women and there is no evidence that he left his job during business hours. In addition, Ruth Paine has stated that she always accompanied Marina Oswald whenever Marina left the house with her children and that they never went to the Furniture Mart, either with or without LEE HARVEY OSWALD, at any time during October or November 1963. There is nothing to indicate in November the Oswalds were interested in buying furniture.

"Finally, investigation has produced reason to question the credibility of Mrs. Hunter as a witness. Mrs. Hunter stated that one of the reasons she remembers the description of the car in which OSWALD supposedly drove to the furniture store was that she was awaiting the arrival of a friend from Houston, who drove a similar automobile. However, the friend from Houston had advised that in November 1963, she never visited or planned to visit Dallas, and that she told no one she intended to make sure a trip. Moreover the friend added, according to the FBI interview report, that Mrs. Hunter has a 'strange obsession for attempting to inject herself into any big event which comes to her attention' and that she is likely 'to claim some personal knowledge of any major crime which receives much publicity.' She concluded that 'the entire family is aware of these tall tales Mrs. Hunter tells and they normally pay no attention to her.'" [WR 316]

The FBI reported: "The Commission requested several investigative steps to be taken to substantiate or disprove an allegation that prior to the assassination OSWALD and his wife, Marina, visited the Irving Sports Shop to have a telescopic sight mounted and sighted on a rifle. This was initially reported by an employee of the store, Dial D. Ryder, who allegedly found a repair tag with the name OSWALD on it. This allegation has been somewhat supported by Gertrude Hunter and Edith Whitworth who claimed they saw the OSWALDS [between Wednesday, November 6, 1963 and Friday, November 8, 1963,] and directed them to the sport shop. The circumstances of this whole situation indicated Ryder prepared the repair tag after the assassination. However, he is so involved he can't back out now. Then women appear mistaken in their identification as the supporting data furnished by them is not consistent with what we know of the OSWALDS' background. Current info further substantiates our findings. The enclosed communication from Houston discloses that Mrs. Hunter is known to exaggerate and has an 'obsession' to inject herself into any big event. Her family reportedly knows she has a tendency to tell tall tales. When the remaining investigation is received, the Commission will be notified." [FBI 105-82555-5298] After the Warren Report was published, Gertrude Hunter twice told the FBI she was going to sue her sister-in-law, Doris M. Dominey, for giving the Bureau this false information.

The FBI reported on July 18, 1964: "Mr. Herald advised that on November 22, 1963, he arrived in Dallas, Texas, at approximately 4:45 p.m. on an assignment from the New York Office of the Paris Match magazine to make photographs regarding the assassination of President Kennedy. He advised that approximately five days after arriving in Dallas he and Miss Jean Campbell, a correspondent for the London Evening Standard, were in Irving, Texas, to contact people regarding Mrs. Oswald. He stated that as he and Miss Campbell were driving down the street they noticed a sign that said 'Gun Shop' and decided to stop at this place to see if anyone there might know OSWALD. Upon entering the shop they found it had been converted into a used furniture store and was no longer a gun shop.

"He advised they talked to a woman in the store, a Mrs. Edith Whitworth, and asked her if she knew the Oswalds. Mrs. Whitworth advised them that LEE HARVEY OSWALD was in her store on a Wednesday, or Thursday, afternoon about the first week in November 1963. Mrs. Whitworth told them that OSWALD asked for a gun part, and Mrs. Whitworth specifically named this part, calling it a plunger. Mr. Herald advised that Mrs. Whitworth then stated that OSWALD became interested in some of the furniture in this store, and a woman entered the store, whom she assumed to be OSWALD'S wife, and this woman had two children with her, one being a very young baby.

"Mr. Herald stated that he recalls that Mrs. Whitworth gave a very detailed description of how OSWALD was dressed, and she also stated that the man conversed with this woman in a foreign language. Mrs. Whitworth advised Herald and Campbell that OSWALD talked of furniture, and stated that he would need some furniture for an apartment or a house in about three or four weeks.

"Mr. Herald advised that Mrs. Whitworth stated OSWALD had remained in the store for approximately 20 minutes, and that when he and his wife left, they entered a 1955 blue sedan, possibly a Ford, which automobile was parked directly in front of the window of the store. He stated that Mrs. Whitworth said that OSWALD did not bring any weapon in the store, and that she did not see him with any weapon of any kind at that time. He stated that Mrs. Whitworth advised them she had seen OSWALD on television and she was certain that he was the person who had been in her store.

"Mr. Herald stated that Mrs. Whitworth advised them that there was another woman in the store at the time the Oswalds were in there, however, she did not recall the name of this woman. He advised that he and Miss Campbell, upon leaving the store, telephonically contacted this other woman, and she told them basically the same story that Mrs. Whitworth told them. Mr. Herald further advised the Mrs. Whitworth had referred OSWALD to a local sporting goods store in Irving.

Paul Matthian, a reporter for the Paris-Match, accompanied Miss Jean Campbell on an interview with Mrs. Hunter in Irving, Texas, regarding Mrs. Hunter's comments concerning the visit of the LEE HARVEY OSWALD family to the store of Mrs. Edith Whitworth, an acquaintance of Mrs. Hunter" Matthian recalled that Mrs. Hunter, in attempting to determine the date of the OSWALD visit to the store, associated the date with a particular bus trip her husband had taken, and she decided that the OSWALD visit must have occurred on either Wednesday November 6, 1963, or Thursday, November 7, 1963, a day or so subsequent to her husband's bus trip.

"He advised that Mrs. Hunter stated that she devoted more attention to Marina Oswald than to LEE HARVEY OSWALD, because Marina was carrying an infant, approximately two to three weeks old, in her arms. Mrs. Hunter voiced some nice remark about the baby and recalls that Marina did not reply to Mrs. Hunter's comment. Mrs. Hunter then stated, according to Matthian, that OSWALD spoke to Marina in a foreign language, apparently apprising Marina of Mrs. Hunter's comments.

"Matthian advised that he does not recall whether Mrs. Hunter mentioned exactly what it was that OSWALD needed for his gun. He also does not recall whether Mrs. Hunter stated that Mrs. Whitworth referred OSWALD to the 'Irvington Sports Shop' or merely indicated in the direction of the Irvington Sports Shop.

"Matthian stated that when Mrs. Hunter remarked that the OSWALDS entered a 1957, or 1958, two tone blue and white Ford, he asked her why she remembered the type of car used by the Oswalds. He stated that Mrs. Hunter's reply was that OSWALD, operating the vehicle, made a "U" turn and was about to proceed in the wrong direction on a one way street. Matthian did not recall whether Mrs. Hunter stated that she informed OSWALD of the illegal turn, or he became aware of his error in some other way, but he does believe that Mrs. Hunter stated that OSWALD was then instructed to back the vehicle down the street toward the Irvington Sports Shop."

Either Hunter and Whitworth saw the Oswalds or they conspired to perpetrate a hoax. There was no middle ground where they thought they saw a family that resembled the Oswalds. Either Whitworth obtained the birth date of Rachel Oswald from public sources in furtherance of this hoax, or she obtained it from OSWALD. There was a one in 365 chance that she picked this date randomly. She told the FBI her grandchild was born on the same day, and that was why she remembered it. The FBI was asked to check this out. The outcome of the investigation was unclear. The FBI checked a listing which contained all female, white, legitimate, babies born in the Dallas area in on October 20, 1963, but could not locate the couple Edith Whitworth had confused the OSWALDS with: "Our investigation did not establish any of the parents whose children were born on October 20, 1963, were in Whitworth's store, and were possibly mistaken by Mrs. Whitworth for the Oswalds."

On November 17, 1963, one day before the article about Dial Ryder appeared in the Dallas Times Herald, Whitworth told Campbell about the visit by the OSWALD family to her store. She also told Campbell that she directed OSWALD to the Irving Sports Shop, one and half blocks from her store. At the time, only associates of Ryder and the FBI and Dallas Police knew about the repair tag. The FBI: "Our investigation indicates Ryder may have fabricated the repair tag. The only fact that lends credence to his story are the comments made by Whitworth..." [FBI 105-82555-4558; FBI 62-109060-NR 170 8.4.64] J. Lee Rankin noted: "The significance of Officer Turner's report that Greener had told him that the rifle had been brought in between November 4, 1963, to November 8, 1963, is clear when considered in connection with your report on Mrs. Edith Whitworth who said she had, on November 6, 1963, November 7, 1963, or November 8, 1963, directed LEE HARVEY OSWALD to a gun shop one and a half blocks from her used furniture store."

Mrs. Hunter said Edith Whitworth directed OSWALD to the "Irvingtown Sports Shop." There was a repair tag at that very sporting goods store with the name OSWALD on it. Was this coincidence? On December 23, 1963, Whitworth told S.A. John Gemberling her story. [FBI 62-109060 NR 12 4.30.64]

Edith Whitworth said that OSWALD entered her store and asked for a rifle part, which she called 'a plunger.' The Warren Report stated that this was different than having a scope mounted and boresighted. OSWALD always had to throw in a lie, or two, when he communicated with others, and after he found out he was in the wrong place, he did not have to convey the true nature of the work he wanted done.

Whitworth and Hunter said OSWALD was accompanied by Marina Oswald, June Oswald and their newly born child. Marina, June and Rachel were in Irving, Texas, at the time, not far from this store. The witnesses with opposing testimony were Marina Oswald and Ruth Paine. The Warren Commission believed Ruth and Marina. Why? Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Whitworth were not subject to deportation as Marina Oswald was. Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Whitworth did not trace back to the intelligence community as Ruth Paine did. Whitworth and Hunter said the family appeared on a weekday, during working hours. OSWALD could have slipped away from the Texas School Book Depository for a few hours.

OSWALD had stayed in the Furniture Mart for 20 minutes, then left in a 1957 or 1958 Ford, immediately making a U-turn on a one way street. Evidence presently in this data base indicates that OSWALD was in the process of learning to drive during the Fall of 1963 and was planning to take his driver's test. [FBI 62-109060-944, NR 4. 30. 64] OSWALD knew how to drive by this time.

The Warren Report: "Mrs. Hunter stated that one of the reasons she remembers the description of the car in which OSWALD supposedly drove to the furniture store was that she was awaiting the arrival of a friend from Houston, who drove a similar automobile. However, the friend from Houston had advised that in November 1963, she never visited or planned to visit Dallas, and that she told no one she intended to make sure a trip." On August 11, 1964, Mrs. Gertrude Hunter, 141 South Hastings, Irving, Texas, furnished the following information to the FBI regarding the proposed trip of her relatives, "James and Doris Dommney" of Houston, Texas: "Mrs. Hunter stated that the Dommneys had not directly told her that they planned to visit her in November 1963, but that her sister-in-law and mother of Doris Dommney, one Mrs. Paterson, had written her that the Dommneys were planning to visit the Dallas area in November 1963, and would probably visit her in Irving, Texas. Mrs. Hunter stated that Mrs. Paterson died on or about June 13, 1964." Mrs. Hunter told Miss Campbell that she used her husband's but trip to pinpoint the date.

Mrs. Hunter's sister-in-law did not like Mrs. Hunter: "Mrs. Hunter has a 'strange obsession for attempting to inject herself into any big event which comes to her attention' and that she is likely 'to claim some personal knowledge of any major crime which receives much publicity.' She concluded that 'the entire family is aware of these tall tales Mrs. Hunter tells and they normally pay no attention to her." [WR 316] Did Mrs. Hunter have a criminal record for filing false police reports? If she had, the FBI would have certainly used this to discredit her. What other crimes had she injected herself into? What crimes had Mrs. Whitworth injected herself into? Whitworth changed her story when she testified before the Warren Commission. Had she been pressured into doing this?

The Warren Commission, on the advice of the FBI, ignored physical evidence (the tag) and eyewitness testimony (Hunter and Whitworth) and chronological synchronicity (early November 1963) and concluded OSWALD had not visited the Irving Furniture Mart and had not done business with the Irving Sports Shop. It was more logical to conclude that OSWALD went to the Irving Sport Shop from the Irving Furniture Mart that day. He was only a block and a half away. OSWALD was associated with a group of paramilitarists who were always doing something with arms, such as having sights mounted on them. OSWALD may have gone into the Irving Sporting Goods Shop to have a scope mounted on a rifle for a friend of his, a friend named GERALD PATRICK HEMMING, and had been told by HEMMING it was alright to use the name OSWALD. HEMMING knew this would leave traces that would be discovered after the assassination that indicated OSWALD was involved with weaponry. Why did the FBI have to discredit this story? The FBI was intent on not uncovering a broader conspiracy which it had overlooked. Admitting that OSWALD had access to two weapons would have complicated things, because it would have meant acknowledging OSWALD had a life the FBI was unaware of. The FBI called Ryder a liar: "Previous investigation conducted in this matter indicates the employee, Dial D. Ryder, may be lying. However, he has become so involved he apparently is sticking with his story." It was the FBI that was lying, not Ryder, Whitworth or Hunter.

"This is to inform you of events since my interview with comrade Kostine in the Embassy of the Soviet Union, Mexico City, Mexico. I was unable to remain in Mexico City because I considered useless indefinitely because of my visa Mexican visa restrictions which was for 15 days only. I had a I could not take a chance on applying for an extension unless I used my real name so I returned to the U.S."

"This is to inform you of recent events since my meeting with comrade Kostin in the Embassy of the Soviet Union, Mexico City, Mexico. I was unable to remain in Mexico City indefinily because of my Mexican visa restrictions which was for I5 days only. I could not take a chance on requesting a visa unless I used my real name, so I retured to the United States."

OSWALD admitted that he deliberately used a false name. The Warren Commission: "The fact is that he did use his real name for his Tourist Card, and in all the dealings with the Cuban Embassy, the Russian Embassy and elsewhere. OSWALD did use the name of [HARVEY OSWALD LEE] on the trip but he did so only sporadically and probably as the result of a clerical error." OSWALD'S Tourist Card would not have expired for another week. He could have remained in Mexico City and made more attempts to secure a visa, only he considered it useless to do so.

"It was unfortun that the Soviet Embassy was unable to aid me in Mexico City but I had not planned to contact the Mexico City Embassy at all so of course they were unprepared for me. Had I been able to reach Havana as planned I could have contacted the Soviet Embassy there for the completion of would have been able to help me get the necessary documents I required assist me would have had time to assist me, but of course the stuip Cuban consule was at fault here. I am glad he has since been replaced by another."

The final draft read: "I had not planned to contact the Soviet embassy in Mexico City so they were unprepared, had I been able to reach the Soviet Embassy in Havana as planned, the Embassy there would have had time to complete our business. Of corse the Soviet embassy was not at fault, they were, as I said, unprepared, the Cuban Consulate was guilty of a gross breach of regulations, I am glad he has since been replced."

OSWALD had discussed a deal with the Soviet Military Attache in Mexico City, in which he promised information, in return for a visa. Note how OSWALD stopped in mid-sentence. Could the next words have been "our deal" or "our arrangement?" The word business indicated some sort of two-way transaction, when the only business OSWALD allegedly had at the Soviet Embassy in Havana was his visa stamp.

What did OSWALD mean by the word "unprepared?" OSWALD insinuated that had the Soviet Embassy had time enough to check his bona fides, the Soviet Embassy would have discovered that he did business with the KGB in the past. Or did he mean that they had not be "briefed" or "prepared" for his arrival by other KGB elements?

Ruth Paine told the Warren Commission: "He typed it early in the morning of November 9, 1963, because after he typed it we went to the place where you get the test for the drivers. It was that same day." Paine said she read the letter on the morning of November 10, 1963.

Paine: "Well I read it and decided to make a copy...And I decided that I should have such a copy to give to an FBI agent coming again, or to call. I was undecided what to do. Meantime I made a copy.

Jenner: But you did have the instinct to report this to the FBI?

Paine: Yes.

Jenner: You made a copy of the document?

Paine: And having made it, while the shower was running, I am not used to subterfuge in any way, but then I put it back where it had been, and it lay the rest of the Sunday on my desk top, and of course I observed this too...This was the first indication I had that the man was a good deal queerer than I thought, and it didn't tell me, perhaps it should have, but it didn't tell me what sort of a queer he was. He addressed it "Dear Sirs." It looked to me like someone trying to make an impression, and choosing the words he thought were best to make that impression, even including assumed name as a possible attempt to make an impression on someone who was able to do espionage, though I left that open as a possibility, and I thought I'd give it to the FBI, and let them conclude, or add to it what they know. I regret, and I would like to put this on the record, particularly two things in my own actions prior to the time of the assassination. One, that I didn't make the connection between this phone number that I had of where he lived and that of course this would produce for the FBI Agent who was asking the address of where he lived. Well that is regret 1. But then of course you see in light of events that followed, it is a pity I didn't go directly, instead of waiting for the next visit, because the next visit was November 23, 1963. I put my copy of the letter away in my desk. I then, Sunday evening, also took the original. I decided to do that Sunday evening...I was disturbed about it. I didn't go to sleep right away. He was sitting up watching the late spy story if you will, on the TV, and I got up and sat on the sofa with him saying "I can't speak" wanting to confront him with this and say "What is this?" But on the other hand I was somewhat fearful and didn't know what to do.

Rep. Ford: Fearful in what way?

Paine: Well, if he was an agent I would rather just give it to the FBI, not to say, "Look, I am watching you" by saying "What is this I find on my desk?"

Jenner: What led you to hold on to this rather provocative document [and not give it to the FBI]?

Paine: It is a rather provocative document. It provoked my doubts about this fellow's normalcy more than it provoked thoughts that this was the talk of an agent reporting in. But I wasn't sure.

Warren Commission Counsel David Slawson: "The letter undoubtedly constitutes a disturbing bit of evidence, and will probably never be fully explained...He seems to have written it in the hope that by inferring that he had somehow been 'in on' some secret and mysterious dealings involving the Soviet Embassy, Mexico, some benefit, however small, could be salvaged from the otherwise total failure of the trip." [HSCA V12 p157]

In his last letter to the Soviet Embassy OSWALD wrote that Azque had been replaced. Consul Eusebio Azque would be replaced on November 18, 1963, but it was not until December 4, 1963, that Consul Eusebio Azque's replacement was publicly announced. How did OSWALD know?

David Slawson asked the CIA: "In OSWALD'S letter to the Soviet Embassy in Washington written after he returned to the United States from his trip to Mexico, he refers to the Cuban Consul (presumably, Azque) as having been 'replaced.' Do you know whether Mr. Azque was fired, transferred, or otherwise moved in such a manner that OSWALD might have been mislead into thinking he had been replaced? Or was any other consular official whom OSWALD might have believed had been the Consul, transferred or replaced? If Azque or some other Cuban Consular official was in fact replaced, do you have any information on how OSWALD would have learned this, and learned it so quickly?" [CIA 519-219A]

The CIA Station in Mexico City reported: "The allusion to a man, presumably a Cuban Consular official, who has since been replaced, may be explained as follows: (Deleted) OSWALD has an argument with Cuban Consul Azque. Doubtless OSWALD meant Azque when he said he was glad a certain man had been replaced. By coincidence, Azcue, who had been in Mexico for about 18 years, was due to be transferred. It was known early in September 1963 that Subject, from a reliable source, that Azque's replacement would arrive about September 9, 1963, and that Azque would leave Mexico permanently to return to Cuba late in October. He was still in Mexico doing his Consular job through September, and early October, and he finally departed for Cuba by air from Mexico City on November 18, 1963, using Cuban Diplomatic Passport 63/357...We do not know how OSWALD might have learned that Azque had been or was to be replaced, but we speculate that he might have heard it from Sylvia Duran during one of his visits." [CIA 201-334089- doc. trans. & cross ref; CIA 273-103] In 1994 the CIA released a highly deleted Memorandum for the Record about a meeting in "B's" car on November 4, 1963, during which Consul Eusebio Azque's departure was discussed. Another CIA document indicated that the Agency was that Azque was going to be recalled in early August. [CIA 201-334089]

The Warren Report: "We do not know who might have told OSWALD that Eusebio Azque, or any other Cuban, had been, or was to be, replaced, but we speculate that Sylvia Duran or some Soviet official might have mentioned it if OSWALD complained about Eusebio Azque's altercation with him." [WR p310]

Sylvia Duran denied that she told OSWALD Azque was replaced, however, she did have this knowledge. OSWALD'S statement betrayed his foreknowledge of Consul Eusebio Azque's removal and his intimate connection with Duran.

I and Marina Nicholyeva are now living in Dallas, Texas. You already ha The FBI is not now interested in my activities in the progessive organization FPCC of which I was secretary in New Orleans, La. New Orleans, Louisiana, since I am no longer connected with live in that state. November the November the FBI has visited us here in Texas on Nov. 1st. Agent of the FBI James P. Hasty warned me that if I attempt to engage in FPCC activities in Texas the FBI will again take an "interest" in me. The agent also "suggested" that my wife could "remain in the U.S. under FBI protection," that is, she could refuse to return to the defect from the Soviet Union. Of course I and my wife strongly protested these tactics by the notorious FBI.

"The Federal Bureu of Investigation is not now interested in my activities in the progressive organization 'Fair Play for Cuba Committee' of which I was secretary in New Orleans (state Louisiana) since I no longer reside in that state. However, the F.B.I. has visited us here in Dallas Texas, on [Friday] November 1, 1963. Agent James P. Hasty warned me that if I engaged in F.P.C.C. activities in Texas the F.B.I. will again take an 'interrest' in me. This agent also 'suggested' to Marina Nichilayeva that she could remain in the United States under F.B.I. 'protection', that is, she could defect from the Soviet Union, of course, I and my wife strongly protested these tactics by the notorious F.B.I. Please inform us of the arrival of our Soviet entrance visa as soon as they come."

OSWALD stated that the FBI was no longer interested in his work with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, because he had moved from Louisiana. OSWALD had not engaged in any activities on behalf of the Fair Play for Cuba after he returned to Dallas from Mexico City. He said that S.A. Hosty "visited us here in Dallas." OSWALD never received a personal visit from S.A. Hosty in Irving, Texas. He added, "on November 1, 1963 Agent James P. Hasty warned me that if I engaged in Fair Play for Cuba Committee activities the FBI will again take an interest in me." Again? The FBI took no interest in OSWALD in New Orleans until he summoned it after he was arrested.

Why Hasty instead of Hosty? In his address book, the entry concerning S.A. Hosty read, "- Nov. 1, 1963, FBI agent (RH121) James P. Hasty, MU 8605, 1114 Commerce St., Dallas." Why are there only six digits in the telephone number? Telephone numbers in this area contained seven digits. James Hosty said the misspelling of his name was proof that OSWALD did not really know him. James Hosty: "Had he known me he would have had it right, or I would have bounced him off the wall a couple of times." Ruth Paine testified that S.A. Hosty gave her his card. Was OSWALD unable to copy the information correctly? OSWALD hinted that if he did not receive a Soviet visa soon, his wife might "defect" to the United States. What did OSWALD mean by "F.B.I. protection"? Did OSWALD imply that in exchange for citizenship, Marina Oswald would willingly become an FBI anti-communist puppet?

Scott and Allen did an article regarding OSWALD'S premature knowledge of Azcue's departure: "According to the FBI's findings, there was absolutely no way OSWALD could have obtained this information during his September visit to Mexico City, since the secret recall orders from Havana were not transmitted until after he had returned from Dallas. Even then, there was no publicity and only a handful of persons knew about the order, one FBI report states." [Northern Virginia Sun 11.21.67] The CIA took note of this article: "Memo for (Deleted) From (Deleted)...According to (deleted) there is little substance to the inference in Allen and Scott's column that there is a great mystery about OSWALD'S knowledge of Azque's recall." The CIA claimed that OSWALD learned about it from Sylvia Duran.

Scott and Allen surmised that OSWALD got this information from the KGB, when in fact it came from Sylvia Duran. The Warren Commission never asked Duran if she knew the Azque was being recalled before OSWALD'S visit to Mexico City or whether she told OSWALD about Azque's recall. [CIA 1342-485A]

Ruth Paine saw the letter to the Soviet Embassy on Sunday, November 10, 1963, and copied it, yet she testified she never asked OSWALD about his trip to Mexico City. She showed her husband the copy: "Ruth showed it to me. And he was complaining about being mistreated from his point of view, about not being allowed to go to Cuba." This letter in itself, was suspicious, was highly suspicious.

Additionally, Ruth Paine had these facts available her: OSWALD was a former Marine who defected to the Soviet Union and married a Russian; he had contact with the Communist Party and subscribed to its publication, The Worker; he lived under a false name in a Dallas rooming house; the FBI was interested in him. Ruth Paine testified: "The FBI came as I thought they well might, and was interested in this man who had been to the Soviet Union, and I felt that if he had any associations this would be very easy for them to know. I didn't see any, that would tend to point to the possibility of his being a spy or a subversive...I felt happy that they were charged with the responsibility of knowing about it." [WCE 460 p12] Ruth Paine should have concluded OSWALD was a possible Communist agent, unless she had been told otherwise.

Ruth Paine told the Warren Commission she did not suspect OSWALD worked for the KGB. Ruth Paine: I have no reason to believe he was associated with anyone else...I thought that he was not very intelligent. I saw as far as I could see he had no particular contacts. He was not a person I would have hired for a job of any sort, no more than I would have let him borrow my car.

Jenner: Did his level of intelligence affect your judgement as to whether the Russian Government would have hired him?

Paine: Yes, I doubted if they would have hired him. I kept my mind open on it to. Well, as I have described in my testimony, I asked myself whether or not he might be a spy. I was not at all worried about ideology contrary to my own, or with which I disagreed, and it looked to me that he was a person of this ideology or philosophy which he calls Marxism, indeed nearly a religion. But not that he was in any way dangerous because of these beliefs.

Sen. Cooper: Thinking now and then that he might be a spy, or in the employ of the Soviet Union, were you concerned about the fact that such a person was living in your house?

Paine: Well, if you recall my testimony, I concluded that he was not, and I was also pleased that the FBI had come, and I felt that they would worry about that, and that I didn't need to worry about any risk to me of public censure for my befriending such a person.

Sen. Cooper: You had said that prior to the assassination you considered LEE OSWALD as being violent or dangerous?

Paine: Well, now I have said that the thought crossed my mind once in relation to myself.

Senator Cooper: What caused that?

Paine: That he might be violent, because I thought he might resent my stepping in to do for his wife, what he was not doing.

Senator Cooper: You said at one time you came to the conclusion that he wasn't an agent or spy because you didn't think he was intelligent enough.

Paine: That, and the fact as far as I could see, he had no contacts or any means of getting any information that would have been of interest to the Soviet Union...As regards he might be a Soviet agent, what does this man know that would be of interest to anybody...you judge he didn't know anything that the Soviets might be interested in. I never gave it any thought of the possibility of his being employed by this government...OSWALD was not a person that would have been hired by the FBI...I simply cannot believe that the FBI would find it necessary to employ such a shaky and inadequate person..."

Ruth Paine told the Warren Commission she did not suspect OSWALD worked for the KGB. Ruth Paine: "I judged by the fact that they didn't come [back to interview OSWALD] that this was not someone they were terribly worried about talking to immediately...It seemed to me that a goodly portion of it [the letter], the part upon which I could judge, was false... I have no reason to believe he was associated with anyone else...

In 1975 the FBI questioned former Special Agent Bardwell Odum about the note. "He advised that until he read recent newspaper publicity he had never heard any reference made to a note left by OSWALD for Hosty, or that OSWALD had ever been in the Dallas Office of the FBI...Odum stated he did not make any statement to Mr. Hosty at any time that Mr. Shanklin had ever said anything to Mr. Odum about destroying anything or telling Hosty or anyone else to destroy anything. He stated that any statement by an FBI Agent pertaining to the destruction of anything which might be considered evidence would be a matter which would be so unusual, that he would not forget it. Moreover, Odum advised that he does not recall ever specifically being sent by Mr. Shanklin to interview Mrs. Paine, except on one occasion when Mr. Shanklin stated go back out there and be sure we don't miss anything. As to interviewing Mrs. Paine on a late Saturday evening or early morning hours of the following day, he does not recall making a visit to Mrs. Paine's house at 'such an ungodly hour.'"Bardwell Odum went on to state that, approximately three weeks before this FBI interview, he had received a telephone call from Ruth Paine, who had asked him about the note. Bardwell Odum commented to this researcher in 1993, "I don't remember the call from Paine. They retired me from the FBI in 1968 and by 1975, when I was questioned, I told them, 'Unless Hosty says there was a note, I did not believe it. I want something besides Nancy Fenner's statement.' Well you know, Hosty took the assassination very personally. He was a good Catholic, and Kennedy was the first Catholic President. The case on OSWALD was assigned to Hosty. I talked to him almost daily after the assassination. He never mentioned the note. That's a historic document. He's a guy that's aware of historical significance. If he had one like that, I can't see him destroying it. The only letter that I can remember is a note that OSWALD left in a Russian cookbook, the Secret Service found it. They gave it to us. It pertained to the Walker thing. That's the only note I can remember getting from Ruth Paine. I don't even remember ever seeing that letter, and right now I can't remember even hearing about it. It must have been somebody else who got that from Ruth Paine. The FBI report is not right. I sure don't remember. I was working around the clock and not sleeping much. If I got the letter, all I did was deliver it to Hosty or something, because I don't remember anything about it. I wasn't in on that conversation. I didn't anything know about it. Hosty never told me anything about it. This is the first time I heard about it." James Hosty said that he and Bardwell Odum each submitted their copy of the letter as a Warren Commission Exhibit.

Gordon Shanklin thought S.A.'s Odum and Hosty had discovered another threatening note from OSWALD and began to freak out. His first thought was to destroy another important piece of evidence.

Ruth Paine testified that on Saturday morning, November 9, 1963, she drove OSWALD "to a station in Dallas where you can take the written test and eye test that permits you to get a learner's permit [to drive an automobile]...when we got there it was closed being Election Day." Ruth Paine stated he was not out of her sight for a sufficient portion of the day to have gone anywhere.

Ruth Paine was telling the truth about having driven to a station in Dallas in the morning, but she lied about being with OSWALD in the afternoon. OSWALD had been told that he would be receiving remuneration for his services sometime in late November and on the afternoon of November 9, 1963, he visited a car dealer.

The Warren Report stated: "The testimony of Albert Guy Bogard has been carefully evaluated, because it suggests the possibility that OSWALD might have been a proficient automobile driver and, during November 1963, might have been expecting funds with which to purchase a car. Bogard, formerly an automobile salesman with a Lincoln-Mercury firm in Dallas, testified that in the early afternoon of November 9, 1963, he attended a prospective customer who he believes was LEE HARVEY OSWALD. According to Bogard, the customer, after test driving an automobile over the Stemmons Freeway at 60 to 70 miles per hour, told Bogard that within several weeks he would have the money to make a purchase. Bogard asserted that the customer gave his name as 'LEE OSWALD,' which Bogard wrote on a business card. After OSWALD'S name was mentioned on the radio on November 22, 1963, Bogard assertedly threw the card in a trash can, making the comment to co-employees that he supposed OSWALD would no longer wish to buy the car.

"Bogard's testimony has received corroboration. The assistant sales manager at the time, Frank Pizzo, and a second salesman, Eugene M. Wilson, stated they recall an instance when the customer described by Bogard was in the showroom. Another salesman, Oran Brown, recalled that Bogard asked him to assist the customer if he appeared during certain evenings when Bogard was away from the showroom. Brown stated that he too wrote down the customer's name, and both he and his wife remember the name 'OSWALD' as being on a paper in his possession before the assassination.

"However, doubts exist about the accuracy of Bogard's testimony. He, Pizzo, and Wilson, differed on important details of what is supposed to have occurred when the customer was in the showroom. Whereas Bogard stated that the customer said he did not wish credit, but wanted to purchase a car for cash, Pizzo and Wilson did indicate that the man did attempt to purchase on credit. According to Wilson, when the customer was told he would be unable to purchase a car without a credit rating, substantial cash, or a lengthy employment record, he stated sarcastically, "Maybe I'm going to have to go back to Russia to buy a car." While it is possible OSWALD would have made such a remark, the statement is not consistent with Bogard's story. Indeed, Bogard has made no mention that the customer ever spoke with Wilson while he was in the showroom. More important, on November 23, 1963, a search through the showroom's refuse was made, but no paper bearing OSWALD'S name was found. The paper on which Brown reportedly wrote OSWALD'S name has never been located.

"The assistant sales manager, Mr. Pizzo, who saw Bogard's prospect on November 9, 1963, and shortly after the assassination felt that OSWALD may have been this man, later examined pictures of OSWALD, and expressed serious doubts that the person with Bogard was in fact OSWALD. While noting a resemblance, he did not believe that OSWALD'S hairline matched that of the person who had been in the showroom on November 9, 1963. Wilson has stated that Bogard's customer was five feet tall. Several persons who knew OSWALD testified that he was unable to drive, although Mrs. Paine, who was giving OSWALD driving lessons, stated the OSWALD was showing some improvement since November. Moreover, OSWALD'S whereabouts on November 9, 1963, as testified to by Marina Oswald and Ruth Paine, would have made it impossible for him to have visited the automobile showroom as Mr. Bogard claims." [WR 321]

Albert Bogard was born in Cowshatta, Louisiana. When he reached the 11th grade he joined the Navy for four years, then sold automobiles. Albert Bogard said he was hospitalized at the North Louisiana Sanitarium, Shreveport, Louisiana, following a car wreck in 1951, for a fractured skull. Bogard told the FBI that on June 6, 1959, he had a light heart attack at Shreveport, Louisiana, but did not consult a doctor for two days afterward. He was questioned by Joseph A. Ball of the Warren Commission:

Ball: Who did you work for last fall, 1963?

Bogard: Downtown Lincoln Mercury, 118 East Commerce, Dallas, Texas.

Ball: Shortly after the death of President Kennedy you notified the FBI, didn't you?

Bogard: I did not notify the FBI.

Ball: Did you notify someone that you had information?

Bogard: Was the other salesman notified the FBI.

Ball: Who was he?

Bogard: I forget the name.

Ball: But he notified the FBI that you have some information?

Bogard: Yes.

Ball: And did some special agent from the FBI come and call on you?

Bogard: Yes, sir. Several times.

Ball: And took a statement from you?

Bogard: Yes, I took a lie detector test.

Ball: You told him about an incident which occurred some time before?

Bogard: Just one week before.

Ball: Just one week before?

Bogard: Yes, sir; just one - one week before - two weeks before.

Ball: About what date? Do you remember?

Bogard: Ninth day of November, I think it was, to be exact.

Ball: 1963?

Bogard: 1963.

Ball: What day of the week was that?

Bogard: That was on a Saturday.

Ball: When was it, in the morning or afternoon?

Bogard: Afternoon.

Ball: About what time?

Bogard: I think it was around 1:30 p.m. or 2:00 p.m., as I was leaving town shortly after I gave the demonstration in the automobile, and I was in a hurry.

Ball: Tell me just what happened there.

Bogard: A gentleman walked in the door and walked up and introduced himself to me, and tells me he wants to look at a car. I show him a car on the showroom floor, and take him for a ride out on the Stemmons Expressway and back, and he was driving at 60 to 70 miles an hour, and came back to the showroom. And I made some figures, and he told me that he wasn't ready to buy, that he would be in a couple or three weeks, that he had some money coming in. And when he finally started to leave, I got his name, and wrote it on the back of one of my business cards, and never heard from the man any more. And the day that the President was shot, when I heard that - they had the radio on in the showroom, and when I heard the name, that he had shot a policeman over in Oak Cliff, I pulled out some business cards that I had wrote his name on the back on, and said "He won't be a prospect any more because he is going to jail," and I ripped the card up an threw it away.

Ball: Threw it away?

Bogard: Threw it away.

Ball: And when the FBI agent came to see you, the card had already been thrown away?

Bogard: Yes sir, I tore it up that very day.

Ball: This was Friday, November 22, 1963?

Bogard: Yes sir, the day I heard that Kennedy had been killed. I hadn't heard that the President had been killed; just heard a policeman had been shot and that's when I tore up the card and said, "He won't want to buy a car."

Ball: Now what kind of a looking man was he, or could you describe him?

Bogard: I can tell you the truth, I have already forgotten what he actually looked like. I identified him as in pictures, but just to tell you what he looked like that day, I don't remember.

Ball: You don't have a memory of it?

Bogard: No, sir.

Ball: Was he tall or short?

Bogard: About medium build I would say.

Ball: Do you remember what name he gave you?

Bogard: Gave me LEE OSWALD.

Ball: Did he give you that when he first introduced -

Bogard: He give me that when he started to leave.

Ball: Oh, gave you that when he started to leave?

Bogard: Yes.

Ball: And didn't give you any name when he first introduced himself?

Bogard: No, sir.

Ball: Did he tell you what kind of a car he wanted?

Bogard: Yes, sir. Wanted a Caliente, two door hardtop.

Ball: What kind of make is that?

Bogard: Mercury Comet.

Ball: And did you show him one?

Bogard: Yes sir.

Ball: What color did you show him?

Bogard: Red.

Ball: You took a ride with him?

Bogard: Yes, sir.

Ball: Did he drive, or did you drive?

Bogard: He drove it.

Ball: Drive it right out of the shop, or did you drive it first and then -

Bogard: No; he drove it right offhand. He got in driving it.

Ball: Did he appear to know how to drive the car?

Bogard: Well, he had drove before, I am sure, because he took off.

Ball: Did he -

Bogard: He might have drove a little reckless, but other than that, he knew how to drive.

Ball: What do you mean "He might have drove it a little reckless?"

Bogard: Well, going 60 and 70 miles an hour right up a freeway and took curves kind of fast.

Ball: Did it appear to you that he knew how to handle the car?

Bogard: Yes.

Ball: Now, when you got back from the showroom, you said you did some figuring. What kind of figuring.

Bogard: Just took out some papers and going to write up how much the car would cost, and, just like with anybody else, just trying to close the deal, and he said he would have the money in two or three weeks and would come in and -

Ball: Did you tell him you needed a down payment?

Bogard: He said he would have it.

Ball: Did you tell him how much?

Bogard: Yes.

Ball: How much?

Bogard: Three hundred dollars, I think. And he said he didn't have the money then and would just pay cash for it at a later date...

Ball: Did you tell anybody about it at that time?

Bogard: Now, at the time, I don't know whether - Now Mr. Pizzo, I think I introduced him to him. I introduced him to Mr. Pizzo. He asked what was wrong with him, and I said he hasn't got the money right now. Will be back in couple or three weeks...he was expecting some money - to have the money in two or three weeks...

Ball: Now what was your impression when you saw OSWALD on television?

Bogard: All my impression was that he had been in and tried to buy a car, that he wasn't a prosect any more.

Ball: What about his picture in the paper? Did you recognize him from the picture?

Bogard: Yes; I recognized him as being the same fellow who had been in.

Ball: And did you tell anyone out there that you thought it was the same person?

Bogard: They began asking me then and I said "Yes" and this Pizzo recognized him too.

Ball: What did Pizzo say?

Bogard: Said, "Yes" that is the same man. And Pizzo also has been questioned by the FBI.

Ball: How do you spell his name?

Bogard: P-I-z-z-o.

Ball: He was the sales manager?

Bogard: Yes, sir.

Ball: Is he still the sales manager out there?

Bogard: No sir...

Ball: Now when was it that you talked with the other salesmen about this, and told them that you thought the man had been in to see you?

Bogard: We were all standing there listening to the radio, and the name came on the radio, and I pulled this business card out with LEE OSWALD wrote across it.

Ball: Who were some of the men standing by the radio when you pulled this business card out?

Bogard: Oh, I think Oran Brown was there, Mr. Wilson was there, and this other little boy, hadn't been there very long. I can't remember his name at this time right now.

"At about 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, November 9, 1963, a young man came to the automobile showroom walking and alone, stating that he was interested in a car. Albert Bogard said he introduced himself, and asked the prospective customer his name about twice before the individual gave his name as LEE OSWALD. Albert Bogard said he seemed to recall OSWALD said he had previously looked at a Rambler and Plymouth automobiles, although he could not be certain.

"He said he showed OSWALD 'every car in the showroom and on the Lot,' following which he took OSWALD back inside in an effort to 'close' with him. At this time OSWALD said he had no money, but he would have money in a couple or three weeks. Albert Bogard said he suggested a down payment and tried to find out where OSWALD intended his money would come from. OSWALD replied: 'I've got it coming.' He was particularly interested in a two-door Mercury hardtop which sells for about $3000. OSWALD asked for a demonstration drive.

"Bogard said he and OSWALD got in a demonstration car, with OSWALD driving, that OSWALD drove to Industrial Boulevard, south on industrial about two or three blocks, and made U-turn, proceeding north on Industrial, and thence to Stemmons Freeway. He drove out Stemmons at a rapid rate of speed, 75-85 miles per hour, to the Inwood Road exit to the right, back to the left under the freeway, and again to the left and on to the freeway, where he proceeded in a southeasterly direction. OSWALD continued on Stemmons Freeway to R.L Thornton Freeway, turned to the right at the Colorado Avenue exit, made a left back under the freeway, and thence back up on the freeway and proceeded in a northwesterly direction. At a point where OSWALD had a choice of continuing on the freeway which would mean bearing to the left, he started to go straight northward on Cadiz Street. Bogard called his attention to the fact the car had little gasoline in it, whereupon OSWALD turned back onto Industrial and thence to the automobile concern.

"Bogard said he again approached OSWALD on the proposition of a down payment, stating he could proceed with a credit check. OSWALD declined, stating he would pay cash. He would not give his address, but said he lived in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. He said, as he recalled, OSWALD wore no coat or tie and was believed dressed in a 'sweat shirt' was bareheaded, and did not look like a $3,000 car man. Bogard said he wrote OSWALD'S name 'LEE OSWALD' on the reverse side of one of his, Bogard's, business cards.

"He related that on November 22, 1963, he heard the name of OSWALD on a radio broadcast and recognized the name as that of his prospective customer. He said he remarked on this to others and pulled a number of cards out of his pocket, selected the card with OSWALD'S name on it, and threw it in the wastepaper basket. He said he saw OSWALD'S picture on television, and confirmed that this was the name individual who had come to his place of business on November 9, 1963, but who had never returned to his knowledge.

"He stated OSWALD did not enter into any conversation except as to the car, and he observed no unusual actions. Albert Bogard remarked that he has been in Dallas for a short time only, and that OSWALD appeared much more familiar with the streets than he is. Agents requested Albert Bogard to travel the same route OSWALD had driven. Agents observed this route carried Albert Bogard and OSWALD on Stemmons Expressway, on a portion of the route traveled by President Kennedy's motorcade on November 22, 1963, and that the site of the proposed luncheon for Mr. Kennedy was on this route. A total distance of some 13 miles was traveled. It was observed the Texas School Book Depository Building is within sight of Downtown Lincoln-Mercury showroom, perhaps three-fourths mile distant. Upon return to the motor company, agents asked Bogard to locate his business card on which he said he had written the name of OSWALD. He stated trash had been picked up by the janitor and placed in a large receptacle to the rear of the building, somewhat inaccessible for a through search. He did not locate the card." [FBI Report of Manning C. Clements and WARREN C. DEBRUEYS 11.23.63 WCE3071

On January 14, 1964, William A. Branigan sent a Memorandum to William C. Sullivan concerning Bogard: "This recommends Dallas be authorized to afford polygraph examination to one Albert G. Bogard, a Dallas automobile salesman, who states that OSWALD, on November 9, 1963, made inquiry concerning the purchase of a Mercury car.

"Observations: Bogard's story is know to several people in Dallas. Bogard's comment that OSWALD inferred that he had money coming to him would, if true, be of pertinence to our investigation. Our inquiry has established that OSWALD did not have sufficient funds in November 1963 to make even the $300 down payment necessary to purchase the car. Moreover, his wife has stated that OSWALD was opposed to purchasing a car due to the expense of maintaining one, and there is no evidence to establish that OSWALD could drive. In addition, Mrs. Ruth Paine places OSWALD in her home on November 9, 1963, (election day) and states that in her opinion it would not have been possible for OSWALD to have traveled to the automobile agency on November 11, 1963, as he was not out of her sight for a sufficient portion of that day to have made the trip. Accordingly, it appears that Bogard's story is untrue.

"Recommendation: That Dallas be authorized to proceed with the polygraph examination. Attached for approval is an airtel to Dallas. On February 24, 1964, Albert Guy Bogard underwent an FBI lie detector test: "The report indicates the emotional responses recorded by the polygraph were those normally expected of a person telling the truth." [WCE 3031] Albert Guy Bogard told the Warren Commission, "I can tell you the truth, I have already forgotten what he looked like. I identified him as in pictures, but just to tell you what he looked like that day I don't remember. Gave me the name LEE OSWALD."

Eugene M. Wilson was interviewed by the FBI shortly after the Kennedy assassination. "Wilson related that another salesman at Downtown Lincoln Mercury, known as Al Bogard, on some day about the first part of November 1963, believed to be a Saturday, but exact date not recalled, came to him with a customer. The company had a policy that if a salesman had a prospective customer that the salesman could not sell a car, the salesman was supposed to bring the prospect to a senior salesman before letting the customer go. On this occasion, Bogard brought this customer to him, and introduced the customer, but Wilson does not recall the customer's name. Bogard told Wilson that the customer had no cash, no credit, and had been employed on his job for only a short period of time, and Bogard had not been able to sell him a car. Wilson said he talked to this customer for only a minute or so, and told him that if he did not have a credit rating, or a substantial amount of cash, and had not been employed on his job for some time, they would be unable to sell him a car. This customer than said rather sarcastically, 'Maybe I am going to have to go back to Russia to buy a car?' Wilson then told the customer, 'Maybe that is where you should go.' The customer immediately walked away without further conversation, and Wilson did not pay any attention as to where the customer went. Wilson is now of the opinion that this event occurred sometime during the morning, before noon, on a Saturday, sometime during the first part of November 1963, but cannot be more specific as to the date of the month, day of the week or hour of the day. After this customer left, Guy Bogard mentioned to Wilson that he had used the red demonstrator car, that Eugene M. Wilson had been using the car, and the car did not have much gasoline in it when he let the customer drive it. Guy Bogard also stated that the customer drove like a madman, driving much too fast, as it had been raining and the pavement was slick. Bogard seemed very unhappy with the way this customer drove, commenting that he drove 'like he was crazy.' Wilson described this customer as a white male, between 26 and 30 years old, weighed about 135 pounds, and was only about five feet tall, and he definitely recalled that the customer was much shorter than he, Wilson, because he looked down, when talking to the customer. After the customer left, Wilson dismissed the matter from his mind. The next day after President Kennedy was assassinated, Bogard walked up to Wilson and mentioned that the man who had shot President Kennedy was the customer to whom Bogard had introduced Wilson. Wilson stated he did not see Bogard with a card in his pocket with the name OSWALD on it, did not hear Bogard say anything about having the name OSWALD on a card, and did not see Bogard throw a card away, and state that he had no further use for this prospect's name. After Bogard mentioned to Wilson that he had introduced OSWALD to Wilson, Wilson saw photographs of LEE HARVEY OSWALD in the newspapers and on television, but he could not say that LEE HARVEY OSWALD was, or was not, the customer who said he might have to go back to Russia to buy a car. Wilson explained that he had cataracts on his eyes, and cannot see out of his left eye, and has only 20/15 vision in his right eye. Due to his poor vision, and the fact that he talks to many prospects during a period of two or three weeks, he could not remember enough about what this customer looked like, to know whether or not this customer was identical with LEE HARVEY OSWALD. Mr. Wilson stated that his company had five red demonstrators, all just alike, and they were not assigned specifically to any salesman. Various salesmen usually drove the same car, but they were all parked outside with the keys in them, and if the vehicle was not in use, any salesman could go out and get one without seeking permission from anyone else." [FBI Dallas 100 - 10461 C. Ray Hall 9.8.64]

At first, Eugene M. Wilson said he was sure it was OSWALD, but when the FBI returned on September 9, 1964, he told them he had cataracts and was unsure. He said he never saw the card on which Albert Guy Bogard claimed he had written "OSWALD." However, he did remember a customer who said he had to go back to Russia to buy an automobile. How many other people in Dallas would have made such a remark? Wilson remembered Bogard complaining about the way the customer drove. The customer who visited Downtown Lincoln Mercury was LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

The FBI showed Frank Pizzo photographs of OSWALD. He expressed "serious doubts that the person with Bogard was, in fact, OSWALD. While noting a resemblance, he did not believe OSWALD'S hairline matched that of the person who had been in the showroom on Saturday, November 9, 1963." Frank Pizzo said "his face resembles him more than his hairline" since the man he had seen looked older and his hairline had receded more. Frank Pizzo, 63, died of a heart attack in 1991. His daughter stated: "He could never say for sure if it was him or not. Whoever it was who was driving, couldn't drive very well, and he drove the same route Kennedy took." [FBI Administrative DL 100-10461 AEC:LAC D Cover page,2,3; FBI 62-109060-3761; WC Pizzo test. to Jenner; WCE 3071]

The FBI: "In the report prepared by Special Agents C. Ray Hall and Maurice J. White on December 11, 1963, covering an interview with Mr. Oran Paul Brown, it appears that Mr. Brown provided corroboration for the testimony of Mr. Bogard. Mr. Brown stated that one to two weeks before the assassination Guy Bogard asked him to service OSWALD if he appeared in the salesroom while Guy Bogard was not in, and that Brown wrote OSWALD'S name on a slip of paper which at some time he brought home with him. Oran Paul Brown further stated that when he returned home on the evening of November 22, 1963, his wife asked him what he knew about OSWALD, since she had seen OSWALD'S name on a piece of paper among his effects. Please interview Mrs. Oran Paul Brown to determine whether or not she ever observed the name 'LEE OSWALD' on a piece of paper among Oran Paul Brown's effects, and whether or not she ever made the remark her husband ascribed to her." This second notation of OSWALD'S name proved unrecoverable as well. The Warren Commission: "Mr. Oran Paul Brown provided corroboration for the testimony of Mr. Bogard." Oran Paul Brown, 64, died of cancer on February 24, 1991.

Salesman Jack A. Lawrence, who moved to South Charleston, West Virginia, after the assassination, told the FBI that Albert Guy Bogard "wrote up papers covering the sale of this car to OSWALD."

The FBI reported: "On September 14, 1964, Jack A. Lawrence, 205 Ninth Avenue, South Charleston, West Virginia, was re-interviewed and advised that he did not know and had never seen LEE HARVEY OSWALD. He said that a day after the assassination of President Kennedy, a group of salesmen at Downtown Lincoln-Mercury in Dallas, Texas, including Mr. Bogard, Mr. Pizzo, himself and others, were standing around listening to a radio in the salesroom when the news that OSWALD had been arrested for the assassination came over the air. When the name OSWALD was spoken, Mr. Bogard said OSWALD was the man who had been in the Downtown Lincoln-Mercury about ten days before to look at cars and was to return later concerning buying one. This was the first time that Mr. Lawrence knew that OSWALD had been in the automobile agency and was a prospective customer of the firm.

"Mr. Lawrence said that at no time did he see Mr. Bogard take any papers or card out of his pocket and say the name OSWALD was on them. He said that Mr. Pizzo told Mr. Bogard to go get 'the papers' on OSWALD, but that Mr. Bogard never did this. He said that whenever they have a prospective customer, it is a rule of the firm that they take the name and address of the prosect and write up a possible sale on paper in each case, even though no sale is actually made. This gives them prospects for possible future sales. These papers are filed and maintained for some period of time. He said he never saw any papers that had been drawn up with OSWALD as a prospective buyer, and that Mr. Bogard never did go get the papers, if there ever were any."

"Mr. Lawrence continued that during the conversation among the men at the time they were listening to the radio, someone, he believes it was Mr. Bogard, said that he had used Mr. Wilson's demonstrator when OSWALD was in, and that he and OSWALD took a ride in Wilson's car on the day OSWALD was there.

"After this conversation, Jack A. Lawrence said that he told Frank Pizzo and Albert Bogard that they should call the FBI and give them this information because everyone should cooperate in helping to clear up this matter. He said that when he suggested this, Mr. Guy Bogard seemed a little nervous and walked off, but would not make the call. He told Frank Pizzo he was going to call the FBI and Mr. Pizzo was in favor of the call. Therefore he called the FBI reporting the above concerning OSWALD, and that then Mr. Pizzo became miffed and appeared angry that the call had been made.

"Mr. Lawrence said that shortly thereafter, William Faller, 'the big boss' called him into his office and had a check for Mr. Lawrence, telling him that his services had been good, and they would like to keep him on, but since he had already given notice and decided to leave in a few days, they felt it best that he leave then, and he was paying Mr. Lawrence what was due him. This action caused Mr. Lawrence to believe that Mr. Pizzo had gone to Mr. Faller and told him about the call to the FBI and that Mr. Faller had let him go right away, instead of letting him stay on till the end of the month as he had planned when he gave notice he was leaving.

"Mr. Lawrence said that on the day of the assassination, he felt rather bad because he had been out the night before. He did go down to a sales meeting that morning, but left afterwards, driving in his assigned demonstrator to the YMCA where he stayed in Dallas, so he could get some rest and sleep. He said that right after noon he was on his way back to the Downtown Lincoln Mercury Company and was going along the same way that the Presidential party had ridden. When he approached the place where the assassination took place, the police stopped all traffic and he could go no farther. He said since he was due back at the salesroom, he parked the car because he could go no farther and walked the rest of the way. He said he was nervous mainly because of his having been 'out on the town' the night before and because of the shock of learning of the President's assassination." [NARA FBI 124-10268-10303]

The salesman and management of Downtown Lincoln Mercury did not want their establishment associated with OSWALD. This was why Wilson and Pizzo were reluctant to positively identify OSWALD. If not for Jack Lawrence, Bogard's story would never have come to light.

On January 24, 1964, Bogard appeared at the Dallas Office and advised he was willing to be interviewed with the polygraph. He related to Special Agents Arthur E. Carter and C. Ray Hall that on Saturday night, January 11, 1964, while worked as the manager of the Bent L-Bow Tavern is Dallas, Texas, several men came into the tavern, asked to see the manager, then, when Bogard appeared, they proceeded to hit him about the head with a beer bottle, then knocked him down and stomped him about the head.

"He said he never had seen these men before, could not identify them, and had no idea why they assaulted him. He said he was hospitalized at Baylor Hospital, Dallas, Texas, for concussion and head cuts, from January 11, 1964, to January 18, 1964. Since his release, he has been taking Dramamine for dizziness, and took his last medication at about 11:00 p.m. on January 23, 1964." [FBI Dl-10010461 Arthur E. Carter: LAC] In September 1964 Albert Guy Bogard was in jail for having passed bad checks. [FBI 62-109060-3761]

On February 14, 1966, at 41, Bogard allegedly committed suicide by inhaling car exhaust somewhere in Louisiana. Researcher Penn Jones wrote: "Bogard was from Hallsville, Louisiana. He was found dead in his car at the Hallsville Cemetery on St. Valentines Day, 1966. A hose had been connected to the exhaust end, and the other end inside the car, with the windows up. The ruling was suicide."

The Warren Commission acknowledged that: "The testimony of Albert Bogard received corroboration. The assistant sales manager at the time, Frank Pizzo, and a second salesman, Eugene M. Wilson, said that they recalled an instance when the customer described by Bogard was in the showroom." Paul Oran Brown recalled the name OSWALD as did his wife. You had three people who recalled the name OSWALD. None of these men had ties to the intelligence community, as did Ruth Paine, who said she was with OSWALD during the time he took the test drive with Bogart. Bogart, who spent the most time with OSWALD, remembered his face. Shortly after the assassination Pizzo felt that OSWALD may have been this prospective customer, but was unsure later on. Had any pressure been exerted on him by his boss? Gerald Posner wrote that no other employee of this Lincoln-Mercury dealership corroborated Albert Guy Bogard and so he was "fired soon after the told the story."

The Warren Report stated: "Whereas Bogard stated that the customer said he did not wish credit but wanted to purchase a car for cash, Pizzo and Wilson did indicate that the man did attempt to purchase on credit." Perhaps Bogard was not privy to these conversations? Why split hairs? Bogart was no a publicity seeker. He said "Was the other salesman notified the FBI." He passed a lie detector test. According to the Warren Report: "On Saturday, November 23, 1963, a search through the refuse of the showroom was made, but no paper bearing OSWALD'S name was found." S.A. DeBRUEYS was one of the FBI Agents who questioned Albert Guy Bogard and made this search. If such a card existed DeBRUEYS would have destroyed it or not conducted a through enough search of the large garbage bin behind the showroom to locate it.

The FBI ignored Bogard's testimony because it indicated OSWALD did, in fact, know how to drive. More importantly, his testimony indicated that OSWALD was under the impression that he was going to have some money, for the first time in his life, in two or three weeks. This sounded like a promise that was made to someone who was going to be dead in two or three weeks. It was clear from this incident that OSWALD had another life that was unbeknownst to the FBI. Bogard's beating came around the same time that the FBI was debating how to discredit his testimony. The circumstances surrounding his suicide deserves a closer look.

Additional evidence that OSWALD was able to drive came from insurance agent Edward A. Brand who told this researcher: "My office was diagonally across the street from the rooming house on North Beckley where OSWALD stayed. He came in to buy some insurance. I said, 'Let's see your drivers license.' It was in the name of O.H. LEE. I said, 'Well, what kind of a car do you have?' He said, 'I don't have one right now but I'll be buying one in a short time - in another week or so. This was about a week from the assassination. And he said, 'I'll be paying cash for it, so I won't need collision, but I will have to have liability.' I asked him if he had an accidents or tickets. He said he had gotten a speeding ticket in San Antonio. I was questioned by the FBI about this, but they took the viewpoint that he couldn't drive, and did not have a license, so my testimony was disregarded."

OSWALD was driven to the Sportsdrome Rifle Range several occasions by HEMMING, including Sunday, November 17, 1963, as part of the set-up. A credible assassin had to have practiced, and HEMMING knew that OSWALD'S presence at the rifle range would be detected, and reported after the assassination by the good 'ole boys in adjoining booths. HEMMING also had to obtain spent shells from OSWALD'S Mannlicher-Carcano to plant in the Texas School Book Depository on November 22, 1963. HEMMING fired OSWALD'S Mannlicher-Carcano and OSWALD fired HEMMING'S "sporterized" Mannlicher-Carcano. HEMMING put the spent shells from OSWALD'S rifle in his pocket, and OSWALD put the spent shells from HEMMING'S weapon in his pocket. HEMMING said he liked OSWALD'S gun, and offered him double what it was worth. He told him to bring it to the Texas School Book Depository on November 22, 1963. By that time, HEMMING would have the money to purchase the weapon from OSWALD, because everyone in INTERPEN, including OSWALD, was going to come into some money.

After the assassination, several men who were at the range that day told the FBI that they had seen OSWALD there. However, after the assassination, the FBI, determined, to portray OSWALD as the lone assassin so it would not be accused of having overlooked a broader conspiracy, suppressed all indications that OSWALD had a questionable associate - such as the tall man who accompanied him to the Sportsdrome Rifle Range.

According to the Warren Commission Report, four Sportsdrome witnesses were convinced that the person they had seen was OSWALD, however, Ruth Paine, Michael Paine and Marina Oswald testified that OSWALD was watching pro football at the home of Ruth Paine in Irving, Texas, on Sunday, November 10, 1963, when the first of the Sportsdrome witnesses sightings of OSWALD occurred, and was with him on the other occasions when the Sportsdrome witnesses placed him at the range.

Jenner: It is your opinion, based on your recollection of all the association of LEE OSWALD with you and at your home, that it could not have been possible for him to have taken a weapon, such as the rifle involved here, to any range, shooting range, sportsdrome, gun range, or otherwise, on any occasion when he was in Irving, Texas, residing or staying as a guest in your home?

Paine: The only time when he was there and I was away long enough for him to have gone somewhere and come back, and I now know that I can recall was Monday November 11, 1963. I have described my presence at the home on November 9, 1963, and November 10, 1963. And to the best of my recollection, there was no long period of time that I was away from home when he was there. I may also say that there is no way of getting from my home unless you walk or have someone drive you...It has been reported in the press that he had been seen at a firing range on the weekend of November 9, 1963, November 10, 1963, and the following weekend and it all seemed to me important to say what I could on the subject if I had any contrary information, and I did any time the reporters asked me about it."

The testimony of the Sportsdrome witnesses was dismissed in favor of the of the Paines and Marina Oswald. No impartial witnesses came forward and corroborated the testimony of Ruth Paine, Michael Paine, and Marina Oswald. OSWALD never went to the movies, or to a grocery store etc. all weekend, so no one else except these three dubious individuals, put him in Irving, Texas. The Sportsdrome Rifle Range witnesses were all credible, and there was no indication they had ever perpetrated a hoax, before, or after, the assassination. Ruth Paine and Marina Oswald were putty in the hands of the FBI. Michael Paine went along with it out of a sense of loyalty to his wife.

When S.A. Hosty made it clear to Marina Oswald and the Paines that the FBI and the Warren Commission were determined to prove OSWALD was the lone assassin, the three were willing to account for his presence whenever necessary. Marina Oswald was afraid of being deported for sexual immorality, Ruth Paine was either afraid she would either have to come out of the closet, or expose someone in her family who told her Oswald was "alright." Michael Paine: "I am sure my wife didn't lie. If people had asked me, seldom do I keep records enough so I can say where I was, or what I was doing, on a certain day. My wife is a lot better at it, so I don't recall what evidence, what records she was basing that statement upon. So she could have, I won't say she said things that weren't true, but they were true to her belief, I'm sure." Ruth Paine was asked about this by this researcher: "I'm sure they're sincere. They didn't get a name, right? What I tried, when I went before the Commission, was to be sure that I had dredged everything I could from my memory so that I could remember what happened. Out at my house, I would remember, that's real clear. Which makes the other sightings, whether its the rifle range, or going into the furniture store, were at times when I knew he was with me. I know what I saw. I don't have to reconcile my testimony with theirs. It's a question of what I know. It's pretty simple for me. You're the one with the problem. How did Posner deal with that? I think he thought they were pretty reasonable people too. He did talk to me at one point and he said these people seemed credible."

There was no reason to believe Ruth Paine, Michael Paine, and Marina Oswald. It was their word against Bogard, it was their word against the Sportsdrome witness. These average Americans did not trace back to ANGLETON as Ruth Hyde Paine did.

The Warren Commission: "Rifle Practice - Several witnesses believed, that in the weeks preceding the assassination, they observed a man resembling OSWALD practicing with a rifle in the fields and wooded areas surrounding Dallas, and at rifle ranges in that area. Some witnesses claimed OSWALD was alone, while others said he was accompanied by one or more other persons. In most instances, investigation has disclosed that there is no substantial basis for believing that the person reported by the various witnesses was OSWALD.

"One group of witnesses, however, believed they observed OSWALD at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range in Dallas at various times from September through November 1963. In light of the number of witnesses, the similarity of the description of the man they saw, and the type of weapon they thought the individual was shooting, there is reason to believe that these witnesses did see the same person at the firing range, although the testimony of none of these witnesses is fully consistent with the reported observations of the other witnesses.

"The witnesses who claimed to have seen OSWALD at the firing range had more than a passing notice of the person they observed. Malcolm H. Price Jr. adjusted the scope on this individuals rifle on one occasion. Garland G. Slack had an altercation with the individual on another occasion, because he was shooting at Slack's target; and Sterling C. Wood, who on a third date was present at the range with his father, Dr. Homer Wood, spoke with his father and very briefly with the man himself about the individual's rifle. All three of these persons, as well as Doctor Wood, expressed confidence that the man they saw was OSWALD... Although the testimony of these witnesses was partially corroborated by other witnesses, there was other evidence which prevented the Commission from reaching the conclusion that LEE HARVEY OSWALD was the person these witnesses saw. Others who were at the firing range remembered the same individual, but, though noting a similarity to OSWALD, did not believe the man was OSWALD; others were either unable to state whether the man was OSWALD, or did not recall seeing anybody who they feel may have been OSWALD. Moreover, when interviewed on December 2, 1963, Slack recalled that the individual that he saw had blonde hair, and on December 3, 1963, Price stated that on several occasions when he saw this individual, he was wearing a 'Bulldogger Texas style' hat and had bubble gum or chewing tobacco in his cheek. None of these characteristics match those known about LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

"Moreover, the date on which Price adjusted the scope for the unknown person was September 28, 1963, but OSWALD is known to have been in Mexico City at that time; since a comparison of the events testified to by Price and Slack strongly suggest they were describing the same man, there is reason to believe that Slack was describing a man other than OSWALD. In addition, Slack believed he saw the same person at the rifle range on November 10, 1963, and there is persuasive evidence that on November 10, 1963, OSWALD was at the Paine's home in Irving and did not leave to go to the rifle range. Finally, the man Price assisted on September 28, 1963, drove and old car, possibly a 1940 or 1941 Ford. However, there is evidence that OSWALD could not drive at that time, and there is no indication that OSWALD ever had access to such a car. Neither OSWALD'S name, nor any of his known aliases, was found in the sign-in register maintained at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range, although many customers did not sign this register. The allegations pertaining to the companions who reportedly accompanied the man believed to be OSWALD are also inconsistent among themselves and conform to no other credible information ascertained by the Commission. Several witnesses noticed a bearded man at the club when the person believed to be OSWALD was there, although only one witness thought the two men were together; the bearded gentleman was located and he was found not to have any connection with OSWALD.

"It seems likely that the identification of Price, Slack and Woods was reinforced in their own minds by the belief that the man who they saw was firing a rifle perhaps identical to OSWALD'S Mannlicher-Carcano. The witnesses agreed that the man they observed was firing a foreign-type, bolt-action, rifle, with the ammunition clip immediately in front of the trigger action, and that a scope was mounted on the rifle. These features are consistent with the rifle OSWALD used for the assassination. The witnesses agreed that the man had accurate aim with the rifle.

"However, the evidence demonstrated that the weapon fired by the man they observed was different from the assassination rifle. The witnesses agreed that the barrel of the gun which the individual was firing had been shortened in the process of "sporterizing" the weapon. In addition, Price and Slack recalled that certain pieces were missing from the top of the weapon, and Dr. Wood and his son, and others, remembered that the weapon spouted flames when fired. None of these characteristics correspond with OSWALD'S Mannlicher-Carcano. Price and Slack believed that the gun did not have a sling, but the assassination weapon did have one. Sterling Wood, on the other hand, recalled that the rifle that he saw had a sling. Price also recalled that he examined the rifle briefly for some indication as to where it had been manufactured, but saw nothing, whereas the words 'Made In Italy' are marked on the top of OSWALD'S Mannlicher-Carcano.

"The scope of the rifle observed at the firing range does not appear to be the same as the one on the assassination weapon. Price remembered that the individual told him that his scope was Japanese, that he had paid $18 for it, and that he had it mounted in gun shop in Cedar Hills, although apparently no such shop exists in that area. The scope on the Mannlicher-Carcano was or Japanese origin, but it was worth a little more than $7 and it was already mounted when he received the rifle from a mail order firm in Chicago. Sterling Wood and Slack agreed that the scope had a somewhat different appearance from the scope on the assassination rifle.

"Though the person believed to be OSWALD retained his shell casings, presumably for re-use, all casings recovered from the area where it is believed that OSWALD may have practiced have been examined by the FBI Laboratory, and none has been found which was fired from OSWALD'S rifle. Finally, evidence discussed in Chapter IV tends to prove that OSWALD brought his rifle to Dallas from the home of the Paines in Irving, on November 22, 1963, and there is no other evidence which indicates that he took the rifle or a package that might have contained the rifle out of the Paine's garage, where it was stored, prior to that date." [WR p319]

Malcolm Price Jr. had to retire from his job at Ling-Tempco-Voight because of a heart condition. He worked at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range to support his wife and five children. Malcolm Price Jr. was a confused witness. Malcolm Price Jr. told the Warren Commission he first saw OSWALD at the range on Saturday, September 28, 1963, when he drove up in a 1940, or 1941, model Ford. Malcolm Price Jr. told his boss Floyd Davis about OSWALD. Floyd Davis told J.P. Adamcik, and K. L. Anderton, of the Dallas Police Department, on December 2, 1963, that Malcolm Price Jr. said he had seen OSWALD "on Saturday, November 9, 1963, and Sunday, November 10, 1963, as well as Sunday, November 17, 1963."

Price was questioned by the Warren Commission:

Liebler: I would like to have you state your full name for the record.

Price: It is Malcolm Howard Price, Jr.

Liebler: Where were you born?

Price: I was born at Graham, Texas.

Liebler: How long have you lived in Grand Prairie, Texas?

Price: Oh, about 13 years.

Liebler: When were you born?

Price: April 6, 1928.

Liebler: Where are you employed?

Price: I am retired, I am unemployed.

Liebler: I understand that's primarily because of the fact that you have a heart condition?

Price: Yes, that's right.

Liebler: Are you married?

Price: Yes; I am.

Liebler: Do you have any children?

Price: I have five.

Liebler: Are you familiar with Sportsdrome Rifle Range?

Price: Yes; very familiar with it...I have helped them there - I'm not, as you say, employed, but I do help them from time to time. They are close friends of mine, and I have helped them get the things set up and get it started...Virginia and Floyd Davis.

Liebler: The Commission had information to the effect that sometime during November 1963, you saw a gentleman at the rifle range whom you subsequently came to believe was LEE HARVEY OSWALD?

Price: That's right. The first time I saw this person was in September, the last week, the last Saturday of September, and that was the afternoon they opened the rifle range.

Liebler: On the last Saturday of September? That would be Saturday, September 28, 1963?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Tell me the circumstances under which you first saw this fellow?

Price: Well it was just about dusky dark, and he came in an old model car, I would judge it was possibly a 1940 or 1941 model Ford.

Liebler: Was anyone with him?

Price: No; he was by himself, and I have heard that he couldn't drive, but he was driving that day because he was the only one in the car, and he came down and inquired if there was anyone there that could set a scope, a telescope on a rifle, and I told him that I could, and he said, well - he had one that he had had mounted and boresighted, but it hadn't been fired on a range, and that he would like to have it sighted in, so I went down and set up a target on a hundred yards.

Actually he set up the target himself and I drove my car and turned my headlights on the as I proceeded to set the rifle. I fired the rifle approximately 12 to 18 times, I would say, and I zeroed in on it a hundred yards, and Mr. Floyd Davis came in from work before we left, and he also drove his pickup down and turned his lights on the target.

Liebler: On the opposite side of the target from your car?

Price: Yes; and Mrs. Davis went home - she was tired and wasn't feeling too good, and she went home as soon as he got down there.

Liebler: As soon as Mr. Davis did?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Did Mr. Davis see this fellow at that time?

Price: Well, I don't know whether he saw him or not. He apparently don't remember it.

Liebler: You have discussed it with Mr. Davis?

Price: Oh, we have talked about it some, but he doesn't - he don't even recall turning his headlights on.

Liebler: Now, did this man fire the rifle himself?

Price: He fired three shots after I had got it set to where I could fire a pattern, with three shots in a bull's eye. I turned it over to him and I said, "Now I am satisfied with it, you try it."

And he fired three shots and scored bull's eyes with all three - a very tight pattern. He said, "Well, I am completely satisfied."

Liebler: How much did you charge him for zeroing the rifle in?

Price: I didn't charge him anything. I charged him $1 for the use of the range, and that was all. I just did that as a favor to Floyd to help him get his business in. I figured this was just another hunter who had come down to get his rifle zeroed in for deer season.

Liebler: Did you have any other conversation with this fellow at that time?

Price: No, that was all. It was rather abrupt. He didn't talk too much, and I was kind of surprised that he didn't fire the rifle more. He just fired three shots and he said "Well, that's good enough," and he got up and left.

Liebler: Did he leave the shell casings lying there at the range or did he take them with him?

Price: No, he took them with him - he picked them all up after the rifle was fired and took the shell casings along with him.

Liebler: You have an opportunity to observe the rifle, did you not?

Price: Yes, I had it in my hand.

Liebler: Would you be able to identify it?

Price: Well I believe I would - it was a foreign made rifle, and I wasn't too familiar with it at the time.

Liebler: Did you see it again?

Price: On two other occasions that he was there.

Liebler: Before we go on to that, you indicated that in order to see the target you have to turn the lights of the automobile on and that of Mr. Davis' truck on, is that right?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Was it light, up at the rifle range, from where you fired?

Price: Oh yes, we have neon lights there.

Liebler: So you didn't have any difficulty in seeing this fellow?

Price: No - no difficulty at all.

Liebler: Then this fellow just put the rifle in the car and drove off?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Did he have a gun case or anything like that?

Price: Well, if he did, he didn't bring it down to the firing house.

Liebler: He didn't have anything he wrapped the rifle in?

Price: Not that I know of. In fact, the best I remember, when he got out of the car, he just picked the gun up out of the back seat because it wasn't wrapped in anything or wasn't in a case.

Liebler: Did you see this fellow again?

Price: On two other occasions - one was two weeks later and at the turkey shoot. It was Sunday, though, it was on a Sunday.

Liebler: It would have been in October sometime, then is that right?

Price: Yes it would.

Liebler: The last Saturday in September, which is the day you indicated was the first time you saw him was September 28, 1963?

Price: Yes; that was the day they opened. They opened in the afternoon.

Liebler: And two weeks later would have been October 12, 1963, and the Sunday following would be October 13, 1963; is that right?

Price: Yes, somewhere around there. They had a turkey shoot, and I went down to participate in a turkey shoot, and he was sitting in a Booth Six or Booth Eight, and was firing on a hundred yard line with a heavy bore rifle and I didn't talk to him then, but the third time that I saw him there I did.

Liebler: Did you see this time in October, the day of this turkey shoot, did you see he had the same rifle you had observed?

Price: No, I didn't pay too much attention to that. I just saw him as he came by and he went on down to the booth. There are people that come down there and some of them have as high as six or seven different rifles. This Mr. Slack that you just talked to - I noticed him in particular because he had quite a variety every time he come down there - he had three or four rifles with him.

Liebler: There's nothing that happened on this second time that you saw him that particularly stands out?

Price: Well - not that I know of personally, but I do understand there was a hassle between him and Mr. Slack over shooting the wrong target or something like that. I was over at the opposite end shooting at a target for the turkey shoot, and I didn't pay attention to that. That was their business.

Liebler: Who told you there was a hassle between this guy and Slack?

Price: It was Mr. Davis and Mrs. Davis.

Liebler: But you, yourself, don't remember anything that happened on this day, as far as this fellow was concerned?

Price: No.

Liebler: Now going back to the first time you saw him, was there anyone there at the rifle range besides this man, Mr. Davis and yourself?

Price: At the first time I saw him - me and Mrs. Davis was the only one there, and we were just fixing to close up and go home and he came in and, like I said, inquired if there was anybody that could set a telescope. I took him down to set his telescope, and we stayed there that much longer, and Mr. Davis came in, and Mrs. Davis went on home.

Liebler: Did Mrs. Davis have the opportunity to see this man?

Price: Not that I know of - she knew there was somebody there, but she was inside the building.

Liebler: There was nobody else there?

Price: There was no one else there.

Liebler: When was the next time you saw him, the third time?

Price: Well, I don't remember just exactly when it was, but it was - it could be anywhere from one week to three weeks later - I don't remember exactly, but it was on a Sunday, Sunday, was the only time I went down there after that in a good while.

Liebler: Mr. Price, this is Mr. Davis from the attorney general's office for the State of Texas. Mr. Price has testified that he saw OSWALD out at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range.

Price: I don't remember the exact date on that, but the third time that I saw him he did have the same gun. And I asked him if it was still doing the job, if it was still set, and he said, "It was shooting just fine," and Mr. Slack was there at the time and at this particular time - that might have been the day they had the hassle there, I don't know, but they were sitting right next to one another - Mr. Slack was in Booth 9 and OSWALD was in Booth 8, and he commented on his telescope.

Liebler: Who commented on the telescope?

Price: OSWALD.

Liebler: Commented to you?

Price: Yes; he asked me to look through it, and he said, "It's one of the clearest telescopes that I have ever seen - one of the brightest." He said, "It's a Japanese scope, and I gave $18 for it."

Liebler: He told you that he paid $18 for it?

Price: Yes; he said that it was - he remarked that it was a four-power telescope, and he said it was mounted on Redfield mounts. You see, they make mounts for several different guns, but I don't know one mount from another myself. I just took his word for it that it was a Redfield mount, but I looked through the scope and it was very clear. It was bright, and we compared it with two scopes that Mr. Slack had on his gun, and a fellow that was shooting on the right side in Booth 7 - I don't know who that was, but we compared it with three different American-made scopes and his telescope was brighter and clearer by far. You could read the lines and numerals on the target very plainly with it...

Liebler: Did he tell you where he had it mounted?

Price: He said he got the thing from a gunsmith in Cedar Hill for a debt, the gun, and that he bought the scope and the gunsmith mounted it for him.

Liebler: The same gunsmith?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: And that was in Cedar Hill?

Price: It might be; but I don't know of any gunsmith in Cedar Hill. [The Warren Commission determined no such gun shop existed. WR p320]

Liebler: But you remember that he did tell you it was done by a gunsmith in Cedar Hill?

Price: Yes; then, I questioned him about it, I told him, I said, "I didn't know there was a gunsmith in Cedar Hill." He said, "Yes, one over there, and he owed me some money, and he gave me this gun to settle the debt" and he said, "I bought the scope, and he mounted it and boresighted it."

Liebler: Was there anyone with him that day, or was he by himself?

Price: I don't know; I don't know whether he by himself or not.

Liebler: Did you see anybody else that seemed to be with him?

Price: No; there was a lot of people there, and everybody was milling around talking to everybody else, and I don't know whether he was with anyone or not.

Liebler: Now, what about that fellow that was in the booth on the other side of Mr. Slack, do you remember anything about him, I think you said.

Price: All I remember about him was that he was a big fellow with a long black - it was either black or dark red beard.

Liebler: Did you talk to him at all.

Price: Other than just to comment on his scope - I didn't have any conversation at all with him.

Liebler: Are you talking about OSWALD now?

Price: No, I'm talking about the fellow with the beard.

Liebler: Did you look through his scope too?

Price: Yes, I did.

Liebler: Did OSWALD talk to the fellow with the beard?

Price: Well, I suppose - he spoke to all of them - to OSWALD and Slack both, about the clarity of the telescope.

Liebler: Were you there when they were talking about the clarity of OSWALD'S telescope?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Did you see this fellow that you think was OSWALD come or go from the range, or did you just see him there then?

Price: I just saw him there. I just saw him there a couple of times.

Liebler: A couple of times that day?

Price: No; two separate times I believe, that OSWALD was present at the range both times that he was, as I remember, but I don't know whether they were there together or not.

Liebler: We are getting our wire crossed - you're talking now about the fellow with the beard.

Price: Yes.

Liebler: You meant that he was there on the range at a couple of different times?

Price: Yes, he was there both times I saw OSWALD.

Liebler: That you saw OSWALD?

Price: That I saw OSWALD, yes. The second and third time.

Liebler: But you never saw them come and go together?

Price: No; I didn't pay any attention to who came - whether they came or left together, or how they got there, but just that one particular time - he was the only one there.

Liebler: You never noticed how OSWALD came to the rifle range, and left the range?

Price: That's right.

Liebler: Except that first time you saw him?

Price: That's right.

Liebler: Did you see the rifle closely that day - you must have handled it looking through the scope?

Price: Oh yes, I handled it. It was a Mauser-type rifle.

Liebler: What do you mean by that? I don't know anything about rifles.

Price: Well, it's strictly a military rifle and it's patterned after the German Mauser.

Liebler: A bolt-action rifle?

Price: A bolt action and the general outline it had - about oh, possible a six shot clip that set just ahead of the trigger, and I understand that it was a 6.5 Italian, but at that time I didn't know. I thought it was a Mauser, because there's a friend of mine in Grand Prairie that has an Argentine Mauser that was 7.6, and it looked very familiar - they looked a whole lot alike.

Liebler: Did you have a chance to look at any of the writing, or printing, that was stamped on the rifle?

Price: Well, the only thing that I could see on it - I looked for a brand name so I could see approximately where it was made, and the only thing I could find on it was a serial number.

Liebler: Did you look closely for a brand name?

Price: I didn't examine it too close.

Liebler: But you did see the serial number?

Price: I saw the serial number and the gun wasn't blued at the time - it had a bright finish on the barrel. It looked like it had been placed in a lathe and turned down, as far as - well, in an attempt to sporterize the gun.

Liebler: It had been worked on in some manner in an attempt to sporterize it?

Price: I thought it had.

Liebler: How far did the barrel protrude from the stock of the rifle, how far did it stick out from the end of the stock?

Price: Possibly six or eight inches at most.

Liebler: Had the stock been cut back in an attempt to sporterize the rifle?

Price: Well, not that I could tell - it was similar to a German Mauser and they have, you know, they have got a full length, almost a full length stock with a wooden piece on the top of them also.

Liebler: And the wooden piece on the top was still on this rifle - which did you see?

Price: No, I don't believe it was.

Liebler: It had been taken off?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: And it had been taken off as part of an attempt to sporterize the rifle?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Had the end of the barrel been cut off?

Price: I don't know whether it had been cut off or not.

Liebler: You say the barrel had a shiny finish?

Price: Yes, it did at the time.

Liebler: I will show you two pictures that have been previously marked "Exhibits 3 and 4" on the deposition of Mr. Greener, and ask you if you recognize that as the rifle that this man had at the range.

Price: Except from the sling and forepiece - I would say they are the same gun. The gun had no sling on it. It did have the mounts on the side for a sling.

Liebler: It didn't have a sling on it?

Price: It didn't.

Liebler: What do you mean when you say forepiece?

Price: The forepiece is this top wooden piece; of course that could be taken off and replaced very easily.

Liebler: The wooden piece that is on the top of the barrel, is that what you are referring to?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: And you say that was not on the rifle that you saw?

Price: No; it wasn't. This barrel has a step along in here somewhere.

Liebler: A step?

Price: A step along in here building up to a larger diameter, and another one here, which you can see.

Liebler: It get larger by degrees as it come back toward the action, is that right.

Price: That's right, and that's the reason I thought at the time that it had been placed in a lathe and turned down, but I'm not too familiar with the foreign-made guns, and I have learned since then that all Mauser rifles are of that type - they are made that way.

Liebler: With these steps as they come back toward the action?

Price: That's right.

Liebler: Is this the same kind of scope that you saw on the rifle that OSWALD had, the fellow you thought was OSWALD?

Price: Yes; it had large receivers at both ends and I believe, now, I might not be right about the brand name, but I believe it was a Tascosa, since I examined it - it was a Japanese made scope. They make several different brands of those things - it could be any of them, but I believe, as I remember it, it was a Tascosa.

Liebler: So, if you took the sling off this rifle and took the top wooden piece off the barrel, you think it would look pretty much like the one that this fellow had?

Price: Yes...

Liebler: When did you first become aware of the fact it was OSWALD - when did you first think that it was OSWALD?

Price: When I saw him on television when they were transferring him from the Dallas jail.

Liebler: And did you recognize him right away as the fellow you had seen at the rifle range?

Price: Yes; I contacted the FBI the next day. I debated on it all night whether I should call them or get mixed-up with it, or not.

Liebler: Did you mention it to anyone else, when you saw him on television.

Price. Yes; my family.

Liebler: Did you talk about it with anyone else before you told the FBI?

Price: No.

Liebler: Whom did you talk with at the FBI, do you remember?

Price: Charlie Brown.

Liebler: Let's see if we can establish the date of the last time that you saw this man at the rifle range. Do you recall that the President was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963? Can you tell us approximately how long prior to the assassination this time was that you saw the man?

Price: The last time I saw him was a week before Thanksgiving; Sunday before.

Liebler: The Sunday before Thanksgiving - that's the last time you saw him at the rifle range?

Price: That's the last time that I was down there at the rifle range - the last time I went there until after, oh, a month or so after the assassination.

Liebler: You mean it was the Sunday immediately preceding Thanksgiving?

Price: That's right; I was down there for the turkey shoot that we had.

Liebler: You saw him at the rifle range that day?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Well, the last Sunday before Thanksgiving was after the assassination.

Price: It was after?

Liebler: Yes; and you saw this man at the rifle range, you saw OSWALD at the rifle range after the assassination?

Price: I believe I did, because that was the last time I went down there.

Liebler: What makes you say it was the Sunday preceding Thanksgiving, are you sure about that?

Price: Well, I am not exactly positive but it was getting close to Thanksgiving because I was trying to get a turkey.

Liebler: Do you remember whether you saw him after the assassination?

Price: No.

Liebler: You are not sure one way or the other?

Price: I know I haven't seen him after the assassination - I was down there the last time and I was thinking it was a week before Thanksgiving, but anyhow, it was before the assassination, the Sunday before but they were holding a turkey shoot.

Liebler: The Sunday before the assassination would have been November 17, 1963, that would have been two Sundays before Thanksgiving.

Price: Well, it might be right - that's been so long ago - I'm not sure about the dates, I don't remember dates too well.

Liebler: But you were pretty clear in your mind you didn't see OSWALD after the assassination.

Price: That's right.

Liebler: Have you ever seen him since?

Price: I have never seen him since. I have been down there quite often since December.

Liebler: Down at the rifle range?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: And business at the rifle range has fallen off since the assassination, rather sharply, hasn't it?

Price: Well, for a while it continued, but it has fallen off very sharply in the last month and a half except for Sundays - they do have good business on Sunday...

Liebler: The last time you saw this man at the rifle range - do you remember if there was anybody else there that you know?

Price: Garland Slack.

Liebler: And you saw Mr. Slack?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Anybody else?

Price: Well, there was this big fellow, I don't know who he is.

Liebler: Have you ever seen him since?

Price: No; I haven't. I understand that Mr. Davis saw him one time because he called me and told me that he had saw him, about two weeks ago, and he turned the license number of the car over to the FBI.

Liebler: Did you ever see him talk to this big fellow other than to talk about this telescope on this time you have told us about?

Price: Well not that I particular remember.

Liebler: Did you form any impression as to whether they were together or not?

Price: No.

Liebler: You couldn't tell one way or the other?

Price: No. I didn't pay attention to it. There was - I just thought of it - a doctor and his son there at the same time and they were firing a .308 caliber Winchester, I believe - it was either a Winchester or a Remington, and anyhow, they had identical guns and they were sharpening up for, I believe, they said they were going to Canada and they were there at the same time.

Liebler: Was this the Sunday, the last time you saw him?

Price: Yes.

Liebler: Do you know there names - do you know what their names are?

Price: No; I don't - I don't know their names - I have heard it, but I don't remember it.

Liebler: Would you remember it if I mentioned it to you?

Price: Well, I might.

Liebler: Is the doctor's name - Dr. Wood?

Price: That don't sound like it - there was doctor there and his son - I know they were father and son.

Liebler: About how old was the son?

Price: In his early 20's I believe.

Liebler: And did they talk to this fellow about the telescope?

Price: I don't remember if they had any conversation with him or not.

Liebler: What makes you mention that?

Price: It's just the fact that they were there at the same time, and I know they were talking to Garland Slack, and there is a possibility that they either observed or talked to OSWALD, because he was sitting next to Slack.

Liebler: You have nothing else that you want to add - I don't think of any more questions. I want to thank you for coming down and cooperating with us to the extent that you have...

Price: Well I try to help all I can. I don't remember dates too well - it's been quite some time. I can remember faces but I can't remember names and dates worth a hoot.

Liebler: Well we appreciate your coming down here.

Davis: Thanks again - we appreciate your coming down.

Price: You bet.

OSWALD was in Mexico City on September 28, 1963, when Price placed him at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range. The error of Malcolm Price in regard to OSWALD'S alleged visit to the Sportsdrome Rifle Range in October 1963, and the testimony of seemingly innocent Ruth and Michael Paine led this researcher to have once believed in the existence of an OSWALD "double." This researcher should have examined the testimony of Malcolm Price, and realized that Price was clearly confused about dates, and said so on several occasions: Malcolm Price was indefinite about the date of his second encounter, and his last encounter with OSWALD. If he was unsure of these encounters, was he mistaken about the one that occurred on September 28, 1963? In reality it was OSWALD who appeared at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range, not an "OSWALD double."

Malcolm Price was shown several different photographs of OSWALD, and Curtis La Verne Crafard, a employee of JACK RUBY. Malcolm Price pointed to both OSWALD and Curtis La Verne Crafard, then said that he was the man he had seen at the range. Malcolm Price told the Warren Commission that only one of its pictures had any resemblance to the man at the range - a photograph of OSWALD that highlighted his pointy nose and receding hairline. Malcolm Price, 48, died of a heart attack in 1976.

Mrs. Price was contacted in July 1993. She related, "When we saw OSWALD on television on the night of the assassination he said 'That was the same man who had been down there.' He was convinced it was OSWALD, and he was not someone who went around making up things. My husband doubted Ruth Paine's testimony. My husband had no reason to make up anything. He said that to us, here, and I don't know how the word got out, he said that, then someone wanted to interview him. He always had a real bad heart all his life, but he never missed a days work at LTV, where he worked for 13 or 14 years. We had five children. I have no reason in the world to think he made this up. He was sincere."

Mrs. Lovell Penn reported: "Two men were standing by a car, which was a 1957 black and white Chevrolet bearing Texas license." Floyd Davis reported: "This Mr. Price did say that OSWALD was in an old model Chevrolet when he was out there on this Friday, the 9th, because it was late in the afternoon when he came out there...He definitely thinks that it is the same man OSWALD on November 9, 1961, and November 10, 1963. I don't believe he said there was anyone with him, and he come out there just at dark, right before dark and was driving an old-model Chevrolet, or was an old-model Chevrolet."

Note that OSWALD was spotted in Cedar Hills by Mrs. Penn, and then OSWALD told Price he had been to a gunsmith shop in Cedar Hills.

Garland Slack's (born May 9, 1904; died August 1978 of heart disease) testimony supported Malcolm Price:

Liebler: I would like you to state your full name for the record, if you would?

Slack: Garland Glenwill Slack.

Liebler: Where do you work, sir?

Slack: I work for myself. Heating contractors and real estate development.

Liebler: How many people do you have working with you?

Slack: Just my wife and I now. We are on a semiretired basis. We were in the water business and we sold out our water business to the city of Dallas in June 1963, and we are on a semi-retired basis.

Liebler: How old are you Mr. Slack?

Slack: 58.

Liebler: Are you married, do you have any children?

Slack: Yes, Johnny Glenwill Slack is a mechanical engineer. He is working on a government project in Richmond, Indiana, and Marilyn Slack, she is the wife of an Air Force man, Vernon Stone, stationed at Burke Burnett. I have six grandkids. Our profession, we are real estate business. We just sell what we own. We own half a million dollars worth of property on the Military Parkway, and the heating business, we only do what people can force us to do, our old friends jobs that we had put in 30 years ago. And we are on an area selling off our land around us. We subdivide and sell off ten or 12 lots, and when we get that finished, we subdivide another tract.

Liebler: Are you familiar with the Sportsdrome gun range?

Slack: Yes; quite familiar with it.

Liebler: Do you know the man who owns it or who runs it?

Slack: Yes, he ran a ditching machine, and dug water ditches for the waterworks. I didn't know that until after we got real well acquainted, and I knew I had seen him, but I never could figure out until "Doc" Carter and Charlie Brown, they knew my full name and found out where I worked, and who I was, and I said I knew him but where, I didn't know.

Liebler: Were you out at the rifle range at any time in November 1963.

Slack: Yes; we were there the Saturday before Armistice Day. We marked it on our calender. That was November 9, 1963. We were out there late in the evening and there were not very many people there, because we got there in the really closing time. But we didn't shoot the rifle because they wanted the people to go home. But we went back Sunday for this turkey shoot.

Liebler: What was the date?

Slack: Now that was November 10, 1963.

Liebler: You went back to the rifle range the immediate following Sunday, is that right?

Slack: That is right, November 10, 1963. OSWALD was there Sunday, November 10, 1963. He was there on Sunday, November 17, 1963. Sunday, November 10, 1963, was the turkey shoot. I contacted him three or four times trying to get him to pay a dollar and get in the turkey shoot. Ten men were paying a dollar a shoot, and he commented he could win the turkey, but he didn't have the dollar.

Liebler: This was on November 10, 1963, is that right?

Slack: But had no direct contact no more than asked like the ten other fellows I talked to. That was my impression of him.

The next, Sunday, November 17, 1963, is where he and I had the run in, where he shot my target. I paid two bits and put up a target, and before I got ready to shoot it, somebody would shoot a hole in it. So Lucille, my wife, she was with me. She was keeping score. We got to noticing who it was, and maybe he would shoot anybody's target, and I raised the devil. I didn't see why I have to pay my two bits and pay for a new target sheet and I'm shooting at Booth 9 and the rifle range operator came and told him not to shoot at my target after that, and that is how I remembered the part in his hair, and the look on his face. And I told him, I said, 'You are not going to win no turkey shooting rapid fire.'

He shot rapid fire about three or four times, and they had a cap full of shells and they were shooting - I mean he was burning up the ammunition. And I talked about this going back to Snug Harbor, because somebody is going to get hurt, because everybody's shooting at everybody else's target.

And there was a bunch of ruffians shooting pistols, and there was lots of people. And I remember when I told him that, he gave me a look that I would never forget. That is the only reason I remember him when they showed him on television. It made me sick, and I tried to figure it out. It took me a day to figure out where I had seen him.

I said, Lucille we own the waterworks, and we know a lot of men, and do a lot of things. We have a fish hatchery, and we contacted maybe five or six people we don't know every day, and I didn't sleep at night for three nights until I pinned down where we saw him.

And I went to the rifle range and these four or five other people knew he had been there, but they were afraid to say anything about it.

But when I asked the manager, I said, 'OSWALD was over here,' and he said, 'Yes, I know he was.' And they was afraid it would hurt their business. I told Charlie Brown and Doc Carter where I saw the fellow, and I think it was; everyone doubts if they knew anything at all on him, so they met me over there, and between the three, they admitted sure.

Liebler: Who is this Charlie Brown that you referred to ?

Slack: He is the FBI man. He and Doc Carter, they came out two different times and I talked to them.

Liebler: Carter is also and FBI agent?

Slack: One was Secret Service, and one was the FBI.

Liebler: You mentioned there were other people out at the range who saw OSWALD. Do you remember their names?

Slack: No sir; because I was not taking their names. But I do know that they got the boy that worked on his rifle scope on Wednesday. That was in the middle of the week, between November 10, 1963, and November 17, 1963. They got his deposition, because the boy, I know, put his scope on his rifle for him...I read about it in the papers about a week afterwards.

Liebler: You have no direct knowledge yourself about the scope?

Slack: No; there were so many different fellows working on the rifle range, there was possibly three or four boys who did it, and I never really connected which one it would be, because I wasn't doing any investigating anyway. See what I mean?

I felt that knowing the guy and connecting it together, if I just kept my mouth shut and tried to just remember seeing the fellow, there was a lot of that done. It was done in our own family.

In other words, Vernon Stone was with me and Jimbo, he is 12 years old, the boy, and when it dawned on me where I saw him, and I knew that I had my son-in-law take my gun, my custom made gun out of OSWALD'S, take it out of his hand and put it in the car, because I was afraid he would steal it, and I told Vernon by long distance on the telephone, and Vernon did too, and well, he had already made up his mind that he never had seen that fellow. He didn't want to remember, anything, and Jimbo doesn't either. He didn't want to remember.

Liebler: What is this incident about the rifle? Did OSWALD have your rifle at any time?

Slack: He handled my rifle and he handled my targets, that was November 17, 1963.

Liebler: Did you say anything to OSWALD other than -

Slack: The only time - I didn't specifically say to OSWALD. I said to all the boys, to seven or eight shooters, about that rapid firing, and about shooting other targets, rather than the one they bought and paid for. If they were in chair seven, and there was a number down 100 yards, Number Seven, he was supposed to shoot Number Seven.

Liebler: Other than that, you didn't say anything to him?

Slack: That is all I said.

Liebler: Did you have a chance to see the rifle he had?

Slack: I absolutely saw the rifle.

Liebler: What kind of rifle was it?

Slack: It was an Italian type rifle, but it never showed in the newspapers a picture of that rifle. In other words, if the first picture that came out of the officer holding the rifle, that was on the floor of the Book Depository, if that was the gun, I had never seen that gun before, and I know rifles and I know scopes.

Liebler: What was the difference between it and the rifle you saw?

Slack: The one that he had was a small three quarters, about seven hundred and fifty thousandths diameter tube, a small tube no bigger than your thumb, with the windage gauge. They were practicing. It was a cheap scope. Well, $5.66 scope. But it was sporterized. You cut the wood off of them. Short barrel.

Liebler: In other words, this rifle that OSWALD had was a sporterized rifle? It had been rebuilt?

Slack: Just as advertised. I have seen besides the OSWALD, I have friends that have those rifles. I wouldn't shoot a toad frog with one of them, because I know they are just junk.

In other words, you take that rifle as it was manufactured, and you cut the barrel off eight inches, and you take all the wood off the top of the barrel and cut this off her and varnish it, and you have it blued, and it makes a pretty little gun. It was one that he had wrapped up and handed over the fence, but they had two other guns that type. They had no scopes on them.

Liebler: Was there somebody else?

Slack: That Sunday there sure was. The tall boy had the biggest feet of any kid I ever saw, and about the time he would go to shoot, he would kick with his feet, and I said if my feet was that big I would bump somebody too. He was the boy that drove him to the rifle range on November 17, 1963. They found the boy. He had no connection with him except that he had driven him there.

Liebler: How do you know they found him?

Slack: I read it in the paper. I don't know what his name was. Don't know where they found him, but they found him and he had no connection with him, no more than I had. He just probably begged a ride, and he took him to the rifle range, but they had three guns.

Lucille remembers the boy handing the guns over the fence, and they were throwing the guns in the back of an old-model car and taking off like they did.

And I recognized that because a gun, a good gun, you are not supposed - they just threw those old guns in that car, or they took two of them. Of course, one was wrapped up in a blanket, a dirty looking old grey blanket that had a red trim, I remember. I remember that because, because we found an old blanket at our house and I told Lucille I was trying to think, I knew it was something common, this good gun, it was wrapped and tied up.

The sporterized Italian gun was tied up, and he handed it over the fence nicely. And he had a grey and red maroon, looked slick as satin, and I remember it well, what a gun case - you see everything at a shooting place - some bring a rifle in a tote sack - for a gun case.

The other thing I remember about that blanket he had wrapped around his gun, it was tied up with a rag string that was torn about an inch and a half wide out of a filling station type wipe cloth, a ribbon, pink, and he had torn it up and - to use as a rag string.

Liebler: Do you remember what kind of car these fellows drove?

Slack: No, I couldn't remember it, and Lucille couldn't except it was an old model car.

Liebler: Was it a sedan?

Slack: A four-door sedan, and it was a dark color, and he left there like a crazy bunch of hoodlums. And Lucille would remember that because she made a remark to me. You know how boys take off and make dust fly.

Well we had - in other words, without having some reason, you wouldn't notice what kind of car it was.

Liebler exhibited photographs of the Mannlicher-Carcano to Slack. Slack maintained it was not the gun he saw at the range. Garland Slack was shown the same photographs Malcolm Price had seen. He said that Curtis La Verne Crafard was not the man that he had observed. When shown a photograph of OSWALD, he said it depicted the same man he had seen at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range with some differences. Garland Slack gave the FBI a target which he believed OSWALD had handled so the Bureau could examine it for latent fingerprints. [FBI DL 89-43-1810] No prints were found.

Slack: Now this newspaper man, Gruber, a Washington pressman, was he some of your bunch?

Liebler: What was his name?

Slack: Gruber.

Liebler: What about him?

Slack: He is the fellow that came to see me about three weeks ago. He called me three or four times and gave me a lot of trouble, and I give him to understand that I didn't want to talk with him, because the newspapers had, I thought, made too big a show of it.

And they used my name and address. They didn't put my picture with the assassination, or the picture, but I expected it any time to come out, but I have a good friend with the Times Herald, Mr. Albert Jackson, and I called Albert and I told him not to send his men because I was not talking to the newspaper. My phone was tapped, and they came out the next day, and everything that I told Albert, the newspaperman, and I told him that, because I didn't want it to get in the paper. He never put it in the paper. My old friend he never got anything but the News, they got it all.

Liebler: What made you think your phone was tapped?

Slack: I think it was because they had things in the paper.

Liebler: Who do you think tapped it, the newspaper people?

Slack: The FBI and the Secret Service they didn't tap it. They don't do things like that.

Liebler: The Secret Service doesn't?

Slack: No.

Liebler: What about the FBI?

Slack: They said they did not do it, and I blamed it on the newspaper. And they came and made a television picture of me, and gave me an interview. And I wanted to know what identification they had and who they were with, and they fooled around and made about a three minute conversation and they never did show it, but it was never shown anyplace. Just news hounds. And they put up a big front that it was the Warren Commission.

Liebler: Who were they?

Slack: The television guys from Fort Worth, and they were in such a hurry to leave, they just took my picture and took off. They had 15 minutes to get to Fort Worth, and I never heard any more of it at all.

Liebler: I don't think they had anything to do with the Warren Commission.

On September 1, 1964, J. Lee Rankin requested that the FBI interview Lucille Slack. On September 10, 1964, Mrs. Lucille Slack told the FBI "that on November 17, 1963, she went with her husband to the Sportsdrome Rifle Range. She stated she was certain of the date, November 17, 1963, as her daughter, son-in-law and grandson had visited them on November 9,1963, November 10, 1963, and November 11, 1963, and her son-in-law and grandson had accompanied Mr. Slack to the Sportsdrome Rifle Range on November 9, 1963, and November 10, 1963, whereas her son-in-law and grandson did not accompany the following Sunday, November 17, 1963. She stated they arrived at the rifle range about noon, and after Mr. Slack had purchased his ticket, and had talked to some people, she carried a 30.06 rifle from their car through the building to Mr. Slack who was in the far west shooting stall, believed to be Booth 9. She stated she remained with him until dark. Mrs. Slack stated she did not see LEE HARVEY OSWALD, or anyone who resembled him, at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range. She claimed she did not recall Mr. Slack being involved in any altercation; however, she did remember someone firing on his target on two different occasions, and he told Mr. Davis, owner, Sportsdrome Rifle Range, about this, and received new targets. Mrs. Slack advised she recalled seeing a great big man with a beard, who was wearing ear muffs, a red plaid shirt, and green pants. She stated he was shooting big guns and was shooting from stall number four or five. She stated she did not see anyone with this person and believed he was alone at the rifle range.

"Mrs. Slack advised that on the night of November 22, 1963, Mr. Slack, after seeing LEE HARVEY OSWALD'S picture on television, mentioned to her he believed he had seen OSWALD before. Mrs. Slack stated that Mr. Slack first thought that OSWALD was a truck driver for the Dallas City Water Works. She explained that she and Mr. Slack owned the Urbandale Waterworks, but had turned this business over to the Dallas City Works on July 1, 1963, and for about eight weeks subsequent thereto, a number of the Dallas City Waterworks trucks were in and out of their place. She stated that following Thanksgiving dinner on November 28, 1963, Mr. Slack told her he had seen LEE HARVEY OSWALD at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range. She stated they drove to the rifle range and talked with Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Davis. She stated they did not want to talk about LEE HARVEY OSWALD being seen at the rifle range, saying it might hurt their business. She stated they did mention that a dentist and his son had been at the rifle range and had claimed OSWALD was there the day they had been there.

"In an effort to resolve discrepancies in information furnished by Mr. Slack concerning this incident, Mrs. Slack contacted Mr. Slack during this interview. According to Mrs. Slack, Mr. Slack maintained that OSWALD was at the rifle range on November 17, 1963, and that he had been brought there by a man named 'Frazier' from Irving, Texas. Mrs. Slack stated she felt her husband was confused as to the date when he observed the individual he believed to be OSWALD at the range, but he was sincere in the statement he had previously made to Agents to the FBI and during his testimony before the President's Commission." [FBI 62-109060-3765]

Gerald Posner quoted Garland Slack out of context: "You see, you read the papers and you get to where you imagine things and you find yourself imagining that you saw somebody..." Here is the context:

Liebler: Could you recognize the side of his face?

Slack: But not positive enough until I got to see him at the time he was shot. You see, you read the papers and you get to where you imagine things and you find yourself imagining that you saw somebody and I never had anything that made me as sick for three days. Absolutely made me sick of stretching my brain or trying to figure out what the contact we had with the guy. [WC V10p398]

Garland Slack's imagination would not have caused him to be sick to his stomach for days. Only the truth would have caused this visceral reaction. Garland Slack had never perpetrated a hoax prior to this report or after this report. He was a responsible citizen who would not have lied to his own wife. He was not a publicity seeker. Although he was confused on several points, he was telling the truth about having seen OSWALD.

Note Mrs. Lovell Penn said OSWALD acted nasty. Witness E.P. Bass described OSWALD as rough in appearance and very rude. Albert Guy Bogard admitted that OSWALD had scared him when the two went for a test drive. Garland Slack told the FBI that OSWALD was ready for a fight and looked cocky. Slack's description of OSWALD'S personality conformed with other reports.

The Dallas Police Department reported: "This date, December 2, 1963, I went to 220 West 10th Street and interviewed Dr. Homer Wood. He stated that on November 16, 1963, he took his son Sterling Charles Wood, w/m/13, to the Sportsdrome Gun Range, 8000 West Davis, to zero in his rifle. Sterling was assigned to the Booth 4, and shortly after he got in the booth, he saw OSWALD walk up an enter Booth 5. After OSWALD had fired a few rounds, Sterling noticed that his rifle was spitting a long steam of fire from the end of the barrel and that prompted Sterling to ask OSWALD what kind of rifle and scope he was using. OSWALD told Sterling he was using a 6.5 mm Italian make carbine with a 4X scope. No other conversation transpired. Sterling and Dr. Wood observed that OSWALD fired approximately eight to ten rounds, and that each time he was careful in ejecting the hulls, that they were caught in his hand and put into his pocket. OSWALD checked his target at least one time, then left the range by himself. He was driving some type of car, but Sterling does not remember what make or color it was. When Sterling and Doctor Wood checked Sterling's target, they also looked at OSWALD'S target and both concurred that he did some good shooting, since all the rounds fired except one hit the bull's eye. Dr. Wood and Sterling are sure that OSWALD was using the sling when firing the rifle."

The Warren Commission questioned Dr. Wood:

Liebler: Please state your full name for the record.

Wood: Homer Wood.

Liebler: You are a dentist, is that correct?

Wood: That is correct.

Liebler: Would you state briefly your educational background.

Wood: Well I had two years of predental at Southern Methodist University, and four years at Baylor University College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas.

Liebler: Are you a native Texan?

Wood: I am a native Texan, yes.

Liebler: Born here in Dallas?

Wood: Born in Besse May, Texas. It is a dead town now.

Liebler: When were you born?

Wood: July 4, 1910.

Liebler: How long have you been practicing dentistry?

Wood: Since 1938.

Liebler: The Commission is advised that sometime during November 1963, you and your son, whose name I understand is Sterling Charles Wood, went to the Sportsdrome Rifle Range, is that correct?

Wood: That is correct. If I recall correctly, it was on November 16, 1963. That was a Saturday afternoon.

Liebler: Are you clear in your own mind that it was a Saturday that you went to the range?

Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Was that the only time you went to the rifle range during November?

Wood: That is correct.

Liebler: What time of day did you go out there?

Wood: I was listening to the Southwest Conference football game. My boy kept asking me to "Hurry daddy, I want to go try my scope out on my gun," and I listened to half of the game. I presume when he got out there it was around 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon. At the rifle range, I am not definite, but it was between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. We left before 5:00 p.m.

Liebler: Left the range before 5:00 p.m?

Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Did you get an opportunity to finish listening to the game?

Wood: No; we didn't hear any more of the game.

Liebler: Tell us what happened after you arrived at the range?

Wood: Well, the range was pretty busy because it was just before deer season and most of the fellows out there were sighting in their scope, and we waited a short while to get a place for my boy to sit down to sight in his scope. Then when he did - now do you want me to start here with OSWALD?

Liebler: I want you to tell me just what happened.

Wood: Okay. My boy was shooting his rifle, and there was a fellow sitting to his right. I thought it was an off brand gun. It wasn't shooting like the other rifles there. When he would fire the rifle, at the end of the barrel there would be a big ball of fire coming out at the end of the barrel, and that is what attracted my attention to this fellow.

When I said to my son, I said, "Son be careful, I am afraid that gun is going to blow up." And I was kind of laughing and joking around with the other fellow that was waiting in -waiting to sight in their scope, and I would hand him cotton, and I would say. "Get ready, this fellow is getting ready to shoot this 105 Howitzer." And I said to my son, step back, or lean over, or be careful, and he said "Daddy, that is alright. It's an Italian carbine."

So they fired several rounds, and after they would fire three or four rounds, then the keeper out there would say let's go look at our targets, and we would go down, and I would look at my boy's target, and he wasn't doing so good, but the second round we went down there and we noticed this fellows target to our right, and my boy made a statement, "Daddy, this fellow is not having much trouble." So I did notice his target, and most of his shots was within the target, but there were a few that was outside the target, from an inch to two inches outside of it.

Liebler: Outside the bull's eye?

Wood: Bull's eye. And that is a far as - do you want me to go into the OSWALD deal now, or just want me to go on and tell what he did, or are you going to ask me some questions?

Liebler: I want to ask you first of all, did you talk to this fellow at all?

Wood: I didn't say a word to the fellow, but my son did.

Liebler: Did your son tell you at the time what he had said to the fellow?

Wood: He didn't tell me at the time, no sir. He told me later on.

Liebler: He told you after the assassination, is that correct?

Wood: Yes; after the assassination he told me that.

Liebler: He told you what he said to the fellow after the assassination. Now you mentioned previously that when you warned your son to be careful of that rifle because of your fear that it would blow up and your son had told you, don't worry, it is an Italian carbine, is that correct?

Wood: Well -

Liebler: And that is substantially what he had mentioned to you at the range, that it was Italian?

Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Do you know whether your son spoke to this man before he told you it was an Italian carbine, or not?

Wood: I feel sure he did not speak to the man before.

Liebler: Your son's statement was based only on his observation of the rifle, is that correct?

Wood: On his observation of the rifle and what he knows about guns, but he knows quite a bit. He studies about guns a lot.

Liebler: Do you think your son would be qualified to make a statement in this regard?

Wood: I feel sure, more so than I am. I know very little about guns, but he knows quite a bit.

Liebler: Did you observe this fellow leave the rifle range before you?

Wood: I did not, but I didn't notice when the change was made, but my son said he did. He noticed that the fellow came there after my boy and this fellow had left, before my boy had finished. The reason for that was, that my boy was having some trouble sighting in his scope, and he asked the keeper to help him. This fellow was there less than most of the fellows that was out there.

Liebler: Do you remember the name of the keeper?

Wood: I do not. He was a tall fellow; all I know.

Liebler: Slender?

Wood: Slender, yes.

Liebler: Do you know Mr. Floyd Davis?

Wood: No, sir; he might have been the fellow that was helping my son, I don't know. But I recognized his picture later in the paper when it came out, and - that this fellow was there practicing, and I recognized the fellow as the fellow who had helped my son.

Liebler: Helped your son sight in his scope?

Wood: Helped my son sight in his scope, and I don't know who owned the range. I have no idea.

Liebler: Did there come a time subsequent to that, that you were able to identify this man that you had seen there as LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

Wood: Would you repeat that?

Liebler: After you saw this man you left the rifle range. Then later on the next Friday the President was assassinated, and at sometime subsequent to that time, did you connect up LEE HARVEY OSWALD with this man that you saw at the rifle range?

Wood: I did.

Liebler: Tell me when and how you did that?

Wood: I saw him flashed on the television screen at home several times. They would interrogate him and bring him down the hall and bring him back to his cell. This particular time I mentioned to my wife, I said to her "Honey, that looks exactly like the fellow that was sitting next to Sterling at the rifle range." But I am not going to say anything to Sterling, because I want to see if he recognizes him and if he thinks it was.

Well, I would say within 30 minutes, or an hour, he was flashed back on the screen and he said to me, "Daddy, that is the fellow that was sitting next to me at the rifle range."

Liebler: So that you, independently of your son, first noticed the resemblance between OSWALD-

Wood: And mentioned it to my wife.

Liebler: And Sterling was not in your presence at that time?

Wood: No, sir; he was not in the room.

Liebler: Then later he came into the room, saw OSWALD'S picture on the television, and said to you that that was the guy that was out on the rifle range that previous Saturday, is that correct?

Wood: Yes.

Liebler: You did not mention to Sterling in any way the resemblance between OSWALD and the fellow at the rifle range prior to the time he mentioned it himself?

Wood: No. They mentioned on the newscast that he was an ex-Marine. Well, I figured an ex-Marine will be a husky sort of fellow, and I kept watching him, and he didn't look like a Marine to me. But he was a Marine, but he didn't seem to have the build. He looked to me as a fairly frail man, not too strong, and that is the reason I wasn't thinking too much about it until he was flashed on the screen and then his profile just came to me that that was the man that was out at the rifle range.

Liebler: What did you do then after you had this conversation and Sterling's observation?

Wood: I said I think I should report that to either the Dallas Police or the FBI.

Liebler: Did you do so?

Wood: I did not until the following Monday. On Sunday, the next morning - this was Saturday night - on Sunday morning we went to church and my wife said after church, let's go down and look at the place where the President was assassinated. We haven't been down, so we went down there and looked over the area and we walked back to our car, and I would say it was between 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m., and I turned on the radio in the car and it said OSWALD had been shot.

So I said to my wife, well I don't know whether it would do any good to turn it in or not, and I didn't turn it in. But later on, on Monday I had a fellow in my office who works for the State's Comptroller's office and told him about this incident and he said, "Dr. Wood, I certainly would turn it in. Any thing that you could do will help."

So after I left the office, I called the FBI and told them I had some information that might be of importance to them concerning the OSWALD case, and they talked to me, and this was Monday. And I told them I was leaving town. I think I told them, I am not positive, but we went out, me and my wife and son went out to Uvalde deer hunting, and while we were out there - this was on, we went out on Tuesday, and we were there Wednesday night, and Will Fritz of the Dallas Police force called me and questioned me about my son and me and were we sure, and I said we were fairly sure that it was, and he wanted to know when we were coming back, and I said that me and my wife were thinking about going to Mexico so it will be Sunday before we return. And he said, when you return would you please call me.

Well, that was on the following Monday and I called Will Fritz and he had two men from homicide come out and talk to me. And on my lunch hour, two FBI agents came out and talked with me.

Liebler: Was this on Monday, too?

Wood: It was on Monday, I believe. I am fairly sure it was on Monday, because I called as soon as I came back, and I recall that when I called, there was the homicide, two officers from Will Fritz's office came, and as well as I remember, they called my office girl, the FBI called my office girl and asked could they come out to see me, and they came around my lunch hour, and I talked to the FBI at the time...

Liebler: Did the FBI or Dallas police show you any pictures of OSWALD when they interviewed you?

Wood: Both the Dallas police and the FBI, I think, showed me the same photograph that each showed me as they came out.

Liebler: And you identified that man in that photograph as the fellow you had seen at the rifle range?

Wood: I put it in this category that I couldn't be absolutely positive, but in my mind I was positive it was OSWALD that I saw out at the rifle range.

Liebler: They showed pictures also to your son, did they not?

Wood: He said they did, yes sir.

Liebler: You weren't there when they did?

Wood: They interviewed my son at school. The Secret Service came out to his school, I think, a couple of times to see him, and an officer from Will Fritz's office came out once or twice to school to see him, and the FBI came out, I think, at the house on two occasions just before I got off from the office, and I never was there when my son saw either of them.

Liebler: Do you know that the FBI subsequently showed your son a picture of the rifle used to assassinate the President?

Wood: I knew this.

Liebler: Were you aware of the fact that your son indicated that the picture that the FBI showed then [him] was not the same rifle that was in possession of this man at the rifle range?

Wood: I am not aware of that. I am aware of the fact that he - he thinks he said that the rifle they first showed him was the rifle, but the scope was not the same scope that he showed them [him]. I think that is what my boy said. I don't know for sure whether they showed him two different pictures or not, but one time they came out, the FBI come and stayed a very short while, and said is this the scope? That is the way I understand my wife to say, and my boy said, no that is not the scope.

Dr. Homer Wood was shown the same photographs exhibited to Malcolm Price and Garland Slack. He rejected the photo of Curtis La Verne, and identified OSWALD as the man at the range. Dr. Homer Wood was questioned about having seen OSWALD:

Liebler: Do you have any doubt about it?

Wood: In my mind, there is no doubt. If I just had to swear on a Bible, I couldn't, but in my mind, it is him.

Liebler: Well, of course you realize you are testifying under oath?

Wood: I know he is a dead man and all that, but I must say in my own mind it is him, I am positive...

Liebler: Do you know of anybody else that was at the range when you observed this fellow, who also observed him?

Wood: Yes, I told the FBI of Kenneth Longley. Dr. Longley's son, a dental surgeon, a friend of mine, was talking to me at the time they were shooting. He was getting ready to take over one of the booths, and I understand that later the FBI went out to interview him. And he had two friends with him. They interviewed them too, but I have forgotten their names.

Liebler: Did they observe this individual too?

Wood: Other than what I have said, the conversation that I was concerned about, and I handed them each cotton to put in their ears when he fired this rifle, and I don't know how much observation they made of the man.

Liebler: Have you discussed with them the question of whether or not this man was LEE HARVEY OSWALD?

Wood: I had seen Dr. Longley's son. He had a front tooth knocked out and Dr. Longley brought him over to my office, but nothing was mentioned about OSWALD or this man at the rifle range.

Homer Wood, contacted by this researcher in July 1993, stated: "The more I get into it, the worse it gets. I get nothing out of it. Last time my son Sterling talked about it was with the FBI. He was in Junior High, and they had him crying, and saying he was a liar, and all that stuff, so I'd rather not get into it. My boy saw whoever was with him, my boy says he didn't drive, he just got in the car. We got out of the way when he started shooting. He called us from school one day about it. I was not that good of an observer, I was just talking about my son. He said it looked like him."

Dr. Homer Wood, a professional dentist, testified that he had seen OSWALD at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range Saturday, November 16, 1963. Homer Wood stated the time of OSWALD'S presence was between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. OSWALD first caught the attention of Dr. Homer Wood when Homer Wood noticed a "ball of fire" coming out of the barrel of OSWALD'S gun each time he fired. HEMMING told this researcher: "The old Italian ammo gives off flashes of fire. Unburned powder. Old powder that's got damp over the years, still burning as it comes out the barrel, which causes a blow torch effect. Like at the Sportsdrome." Homer Wood had seen OSWALD.

Sterling Wood, age 13, was questioned by the Warren Commission. Sterling Wood said he was at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range Saturday, November 16, 1963, at about 1:30 p.m. for about one hour.

Liebler: Would you state your name for the record?

Sterling Wood: Sterling Charles Wood.

Liebler: How old are you?

Sterling Wood: Thirteen.

Liebler: Do you go to school?

Sterling Wood: Yes sir, Boude Story Junior High.

Liebler: The Commission has been advised that you and your father went out to the Sportsdrome gun range on West Davis at about 8000 West Davis sometime in November, is that correct?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Can you tell us the date that you went out there?

Sterling Wood: It was the Saturday before. It was six days before the President was killed. It was a Saturday.

Liebler: The Saturday before he was assassinated?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Who all went out to the range, you and your father?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Can you tell me about what time you got out there?

Sterling Wood: I would say it was about 1:30 p.m. right after my daddy was off from work.

Liebler: How long did you stay out there?

Sterling Wood: About an hour.

Liebler: You went there to sight your rifle in for deer hunting?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Did you go deer hunting?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Now I understand that you and your father saw a man out there firing I the booth next to you?

Sterling Wood: Yes sir.

Liebler: Can you tell us what happened right there at the rifle range that day?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir. I came out there. I had been shooting for about ten or 15 minutes, and he came up next to me and he started shooting, and he only shot about eight or ten times. I noticed every time he got through shooting, he would take the breech and open it up, and put the shell in his pocket. We went down to check our target and I remembered that his was almost always in the bull's eye. And as we came back to shoot again, I talked to him. I said, "Sir, is that a 6.5 Italian carbine?" He said, "Yes, sir."

Liebler: Why did you ask him that question?

Sterling Wood: Because I read gun books, and I was pretty sure that it was a 6.5 Italian carbine, and I wanted to make sure.

Liebler: Have you told your father about this, that it was an Italian carbine?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: How did you express it?

Sterling Wood: I said, "Daddy, it looks like a 6.5 Italian carbine," and I asked him if it was a four-power scope, because it was funny looking, it wasn't American, and he said, "Yes it was."

Liebler: Had you talked to your father about this fellow, or this rifle, before you talked to this guy?

Sterling Wood: I think I said that it looked like an Italian make gun to me.

Liebler: You said that to your father?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Can you remember why you mentioned that particular gun to your father?

Sterling Wood: Well, call it an Army rifle.

Liebler: How could you tell that?

Sterling Wood: Well, you could tell it had been scratched up and it was a surplus gun. It was probably - you can tell it was probably used in the war.

Liebler: Was there anything else peculiar about this rifle that made you mention it to your father?

Sterling Wood: It had a sawed-off barrel, shorter barrel than most rifles were.

Liebler: How long did the barrel of the rifle stick out?

Sterling Wood: About how far out of the stock?

Liebler: Would you say that it was about three or four inches?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Would you say the barrel was sawed off?

Sterling Wood: You could tell it was shorter than most military rifles, and every time he shot, a spit of fire would come out, and I could feel the heat when he shot every time...it wasn't too much bigger than a yard stick.

Liebler: Did you talk to this fellow any more than just ask him what you have already told us?

Sterling Wood: No, sir.

Liebler: And he only said two words to you?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Did he leave the range before you left?

Sterling Wood: Before I did.

Liebler: Did you see him go?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: How did he go?

Sterling Wood: He left with a man in a newer model car.

Liebler: Did you see the model?

Sterling Wood: No, I didn't. They went into the parking lot. They went around and I heard the car door slam and they took off, but it was a newer model.

Liebler: What kind of car?

Sterling Wood: It was a Ford if I remember.

Liebler: Was it a convertible or station wagon?

Sterling Wood: It was a hard top.

Liebler: About this other fellow that this guy was with, was he a big man or just -

Sterling Wood: About the same size this man was.

Liebler: About how tall would you say this man was?

Sterling Wood: Oh, about 5' 9".

Liebler: Now the FBI talked to you about this once before or a couple of times, didn't they?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Did the FBI ask you now how this fellow left the range?

Sterling Wood: What do you mean by that?

Liebler: Did he ask you, did he go and get in a car or did he leave with somebody else?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Do you remember them asking you this?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: What did you tell them?

Sterling Wood: I told him that they left in a newer model car. He had to go around through the main office because that was 30 yards down and he had to come around, and he left in a newer model car with this man, and he wasn't driving.

Liebler: That the man who you saw firing was not driving?

Sterling Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Did you tell the FBI what kind of car it was?

Sterling Wood: I think I told him, I am pretty sure it is a Ford. That is what I remember because I like Fords and I remember what a Ford looks like.

Liebler: Did you tell the FBI that this fellow, who you saw shooting this rifle, left with another man?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: You are pretty clear about that?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: And you also told that the fellow you saw shooting the rifle wasn't driving the car, is that right?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Now later on the next week, after the President was assassinated, did you see a picture of this man, or observe his picture on television, or the radio, or newspaper, or see him in any other way?

Sterling Wood: Are you talking about OSWALD?

Liebler: The man that was firing at the rifle range?

Sterling Wood: That is what made me notice him.

Liebler: Tell us about that.

Sterling Wood: The man out at the rifle range had a mean stern face. You could tell he was a cold man, and that is what made me look at him more than I did anybody else. So when I saw the picture on television that night, I was sure it was him.

Liebler: You spoke to your father about it?

Sterling Wood: Yes, we went out to get a paper about the assassination and I said, "Dad, that looks like the man to me." And he said it did, too.

Liebler: Did your father mention it to you first, or did you mention it to your father?

Sterling Wood: I mentioned it to him first.

Liebler: Was your mother there when you mentioned it to him?

Sterling Wood: No sir, she was out. We had gone to get a paper.

Liebler: The first time you saw this guy's picture was in the newspaper, is that right?

Sterling Wood: Yes: I kept remembering how he looked and I finally told my dad.

Liebler: You told your father that this guy you saw at the rifle range looked like OSWALD, based on the picture of OSWALD in the newspaper?

Sterling Wood: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Now did you ever read in the newspaper anything about OSWALD'S ability to drive an automobile?

Sterling Wood: No, sir: I didn't read anything about that.

Liebler: Do you remember whether or not OSWALD could drive a car or not?

Sterling Wood: I think he could because my mother told me something about him going to Mexico, is that right...I thought he could drive.

Liebler: Did this other man that he was with fire a rifle at all?

Sterling Wood: No, sir.

Sterling Wood was shown the same photographs as the other witnesses. He rejected the photograph of Curtis La Verne Crafard and identified OSWALD. He said the rifle that OSWALD used at the Sportsdrome was not identical with the Mannlicher-Carcano that was purchased by OSWALD. Sterling Wood stated that Charles McDowell and Kenney Longley might also have observed OSWALD that day. Sterling added that OSWALD was a very good shot: "He was the most accurate of all the targets I noticed."

Liebler: Do you recall that sometime after the assassination of the President, your husband saw a picture of OSWALD either in the newspapers, or on television, and said something to you about it? Do you remember that?

Theresa Wood: Yes.

Liebler: Tell me what happened and the circumstances and what you saw?

Theresa Wood: He thought he was the same man he saw out at the gun range. In fact, he was sure of it. And he asked Sterling and Sterling said, "Yes, daddy, it is the same man." And they were very, very, sure of it at the time.

Liebler: Now was Sterling in the room? Did your husband first see OSWALD'S picture on the television or in the newspapers; do you remember?

Theresa Wood: I don't remember exactly. I think it was in the newspapers, or somewhere. They had three pictures of him. I think it was in the newspapers, could have been on television.

Liebler: Was Sterling there at the time your husband first spoke of this to you?

Theresa Wood: No, I don't think so. I think he later asked Sterling.

Liebler: Do you remember whether he asked Sterling, or whether Sterling mentioned it of his own accord without any prompting from his father? Do you remember now what happened?

Theresa Wood: No, I don't remember exactly. I know they were both talking about it. They were both pretty sure that he was the man.

Liebler: But you have no recollection at this point that your husband first saw a picture, and said to you, now in substance, that this looked like the man he saw on the rifle range and he wanted to wait and see if Sterling recognized him also, and that he purposely did not mention it to Sterling, but waited to see if Sterling would come forward with the same idea? Do you remember that happening?

Theresa Wood: No; my husband was very, very sure. In fact, he was positive. And there was a friend that they met at the range. He called him to see if he thought, or if he had recognized OSWALD.

Liebler: What was that friend's name?

Theresa Wood: It was Kenny Longley.

Liebler: You didn't talk to Longley, did you?

Theresa Wood: No.

Liebler: Your husband did.

Theresa Wood: I think my husband called, but never did talk to the boy. The boy was in school.

Liebler: Do you know if he ever talked to the boy about it afterwards?

Theresa Wood: I don't think so. Kenneth Longley though was a good ways off or something, and I don't know whether he really saw him. According to my husband he said he could have.

L.C. Graves: December 2, 1963

We talked to Floyd Davis, owner of the Sportsdrome gun range at about 10:00 p.m. tonight. He lives in the Sunset Trailer Park. Mr. Davis and his wife say that they couldn't say that they had seen OSWALD at the gun range. They said they opened the range on October 16, 1963, and have been there every day except for three days. Mr. Harold Price, who lives on Rice Street in Grand Prairie, works for Mr. Davis at the range. Price told Davis that OSWALD has been out there to the range on November 9, 1963, and November 10, 1963, as well as Sunday, November 17, 1963. Price also told Davis he had helped him set up his scope. Price says that OSWALD wouldn't talk to anyone at the range, and that he would shoot his rifle three or four times real fast, wait a little while, and fire three or four more fast shots. Price said that OSWALD had not carried his rifle in through the gate, that someone handed it over the fence to him after he got inside. The rifle was wrapped in something and tied with string. Davis doesn't know anything about the person who was supposed to have handed him the gun.

Price thinks that a white male, who looked like a foreigner, 250 to 300 pounds, with a beatnik beard, was with OSWALD when he was at the range.

A man named Mr. Slack, who works for the Water Department in the Urbandale Sub Station, is also supposed to have seen OSWALD at the range on the above date. Mr. Davis says that his records and some 605 brass shells was turned over to the FBI man who contacted him on December 1, 1963.

Floyd Guy Davis was questioned by the Warren Commission on April 1, 1964. He said he did not remember having seen OSWALD on Sunday, November 17, 1963 but he did remember someone getting into a fight with Garland Slack.

Davis: Well the only thing that I know that happened there was some people that said they had seen OSWALD out at the range on three different occasions. I believe it was on November 9, 1963, November 10, 1963, and November 17, 1963. And they informed the FBI that he was out there. The two I am sure that contacted me was Mr. Malcomn Price, or Howard Price, and Garland Slack, and the FBI in turn came out and talked to me. That is Malcomn Howard Price, he worked with me. He does now. At that time he was helping us out there get the range started, and he has a heart ailment where he don't hold a regular job, so he helps us out there a little bit on the range.

Liebler: Did he tell you he saw and individual he thought was OSWALD at the range?

Davis: He sure did.

Liebler: Did he tell you what date he thought he saw this man?

Davis: He said on November 9, 1963, November 10, 1963, and November 17, 1963.

Liebler: Three different occasions?

Davis: Yes sir.

Liebler: Were you at the range on those days?

Davis: I was there, but not at the same time he was talking about on November 9, 1963, and November 10, 1963. Now on November 17, 1963 I was there, and the two individuals he brought up in his testimony, I remember them being there, but I don't remember their faces.

Liebler: How do mean you remember them being there?

Davis: Well, Mr. Slack, there was this Booth 9 on the rifle range -

Liebler: On what date?

Davis: On the November 17, 1963; and I was holding this turkey shoot at the same time. Mr. Slack come to me and was complaining about someone shooting his target. So there was two young fellows. I can remember the approximate height of them, but I don't remember what their faces looked like, that they were in Booth 8. I do remember the person that was in Booth 7 though, because I don't know if you have talked with Mr. Charlie Brown in the last two weeks or not on this.

Liebler: Mr. Brown, the FBI agent, yes.

Davis: There was a fellow with a black beard in the Booth 7 at the same time. I remember him because he was outstanding you know, and I went to see these fellows in Booth 8, and was giving them heck about shooting at the wrong target. And this other fellow, I remember him because he wouldn't say anything to me. I tried to speak to him on two or three different occasions because he had a lot of guns and I thought he would be a good customer.

Liebler: The fellow with the beard?

Davis: Yes.

Liebler: He was how tall, approximately?

Davis: He was over six feet and weighed a good 250 pounds. A big bruiser.

Liebler: I think we can assume that was not LEE HARVEY OSWALD.

Davis: They were trying to find him. Charlie Brown was trying to find this person, and two weeks ago on a Sunday morning I saw him in an automobile out on Davis, I believe it was.

Liebler: The big fellow with the beard?

Davis: The big fellow with the beard. And I got the license number on the car, and the type of car it was, and called it into the office. I haven't heard anything from Mr. Brown since then, whether he got the information, but I am sure he did when I turned it into the office.

Liebler: Now let's review this. Mr. Slack was in Booth 9, is that correct?

Davis: Yes.

Liebler: This big fellow was in Booth 7?

Davis: Right. And there was two young fellows in Booth 8. One of them was 5'6" or 5'7" somewhere in that vicinity, and the other one was about 6' and he was blackheaded. I can remember that. As far as remembering their faces, with that turkey shoot we had 225 people that day, I can't remember what they looked like.

Liebler: You say these two fellows, one was approximately six foot tall or over, is that correct?

Davis: Yes.

Liebler: Was he heavy or slender?

Davis: No; he wasn't particularly heavy set, he was just a medium build.

Liebler: He was not of a light build however?

Davis: No he wasn't. He was just about my size. I would say 160 to 170 pounds.

Liebler: How tall are you?

Davis: Six-one.

Liebler: And you weigh?

Davis: I weigh about 160, but I was a little bit heavier around that time.

Liebler: Did you determine which of the fellows was shooting at Mr. Slack's target?

Davis: No, sir.

Liebler: Did you speak to both of them or all three of them?

Davis: Not as an individual. I spoke to the group to be sure they were firing at the right target and to watch were they were facing because they were shooting at the wrong target.

Liebler: This Mr. Slack, now then, believes that one of the two of these fellows could have been LEE HARVEY OSWALD, is that right?

Davis: Yes, that's right.

Liebler: Mr. Slack has told you that?

Davis: Yes, sir.

Liebler: And Mr. Price was also there that same day?

Davis: Yes.

Liebler: He also indicated that he thinks one of those two gentlemen was OSWALD?

Davis: Yes.

Liebler: You, yourself had an opportunity to observe both of these gentlemen, did you not?

Davis: Yes, I sure did.

Liebler: I want to show you some pictures which had been previously marked...[Davis rejected the photograph of Curtis La Verne Crafard, and said the man looked like OSWALD]

Davis: It sure looks like him. I couldn't say definitely that it was him, but it sure looks like him...This Mr. Price did say that OSWALD was in an old model Chevrolet when he was out there on this Friday, the 9th, because it was late in the afternoon when he came out there. And Mr. Price helped him sight that rifle in. Helped him sight the scope in on the rifle, and he had two comments to say about the rifle, sir. I am not for sure, I don't know anything about it, but he said the markings, all but the serial number, had been filed off this particular rifle.

Liebler: Did Mr. Price say that?

Davis: Yes, sir. All he said that the scope was the clearest scope he had ever seen for a small scope...

Liebler: How long have you known Mr. Price?

Davis: Well, I have actually only known him since the rifle range opened. But two of his boys helped us at the racetrack, or helped my wife last summer. As far as an individual person, I didn't know him until we opened the gun range, other than to speak to him.

Liebler: How older fellow is he?

Davis: Mr. Price is approximately 35, and he does have a heart condition that the doctors won't let him work, as far as any work is concerned, and that is why he stays down at the range, more or less to watch it for us.

Liebler: In your opinion, is he a reliable fellow?

Davis: He is very reliable or I wouldn't have him down there.

Liebler: You don't think he would say he saw OSWALD, if he didn't in fact see him?

Davis: No, sir. In fact, he told us about this before he called the FBI. But he was afraid - he had five children, and he was afraid that it was some Communist plot or some gang that had done this, and he was afraid for his children or he would have called them sooner.

Liebler: He is not a publicity seeker?

Davis: No, he wasn't. I would say he was very sincere of this. It might have been a case about a double identity, or someone that looked a lot like him. I would say definitely that he thought he saw him. There was also some doctor or lawyer in Oak Cliff, and his son, that he said he saw him out there on November 17, 1963.

Liebler: That was on November 17, 1963?

Davis: That was on November 17, 1963.

Liebler: Was that Doctor Wood?

Davis: I believe it was.

Liebler: Was that Doctor Wood?

Davis: I believe it was.

Liebler: Dentist?

Davis: He might be a dentist. They told us at the range - Charlie Brown, I believe, afterwards, of the FBI, said that he wasn't sure if it was him, but they told us previously they were sure that it was OSWALD.

Liebler: Do you know whether the cases that you gave the FBI were cases that were used in a rifle that were used by these gentlemen that were firing from Booth 8, on November 17, 1963?

Davis: From what Mr. Price told me, he was down at the range helping out on that particular target He saw these fellows pick-up all the shells and - they shot that day, which is very frequent, because they reload a lot of that ammunition, but these particular fellows did pick them up.

Liebler: Did your wife observe these two individuals on November 17, 1963?

Davis: No, sir; she was in the office, she doesn't remember them, or she said that she didn't remember them. She doesn't remember this part I was telling you about, Slack coming to them and complaining about their shooting the wrong target.

Liebler: Who else said they saw OSWALD on November 9, 1963, and November 10, 1963?

Davis: That was Mr. Price.

Liebler: That was Mr. Price?

Davis: Yes. Mr. Slack said he saw him on November 17, 1963.

Liebler: November 17, 1963, only?

Davis: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Mr. Price was not at the range on November 17, 1963.

Davis: Price was at the range on November 17, 1963, yes, also.

Liebler: Did he say that he thinks these gentlemen were with Mr. OSWALD?

Davis: He thought this one individual that was with this taller fellow in booth number eight was OSWALD.

Liebler: Both Mr. Slack and Mr. Price came to that conclusion, is that correct?

Davis: Yes.

Liebler: Am I correct in understanding then that both Mr. Price and Mr. Slack observed these two gentlemen on November 17, 1963, but only Mr. Price observed them on November 9, 1963, and November 10, 1963, is that correct?

Davis: Yes, sir.

Liebler: Do you know whether Mr. Price thinks they are the same men?

Davis: He definitely thinks that it is the same man OSWALD on November 9, 1963, and November 10, 1963. I don't believe he said there was anyone with him, and he come out there just at dark, right before dark and was driving an old-model Chevrolet, or was an old-model Chevrolet.

Liebler: Was it just a car or a station wagon?

Davis: I don't remember. He just said it was an old-model car, and he could have meant a station wagon when he said an old car.

Mrs. Virginia Louise Davis verified her husband's story and told the Warren Commission she had noted OSWALD'S visit in a journal:

Liebler: Can you tell us the date that Mr. Price said he took OSWALD in, or this man who he thought was OSWALD, who was the last customer?

Mrs. Davis: I don't know the exact date, but I wrote it in my journal, but I don't have it with me.

Liebler: When you refer to the journal, what do you mean?

Mrs. Davis: It is a daily record I keep of everything that happens at the range. When we first opened, everyone had to sign it. But the FBI picked-up the sign in slips and checked it out, and of course, OSWALD wasn't on it, but at the time we did not have fences up, and anyone could get on the range without us knowing it.

In August 1964, J. Lee Rankin wrote this to the FBI: "In the interview report prepared by Special Agents Carter and Brown on December 2, 1963, covering their interview with Mrs. Davis' husband, Floyd Guy Davis, it is stated that Mr. Davis 'furnished a list of members who have registered to shoot at the range.' I do not believe that the Commission is in receipt of this membership list.

"From several statements obtained from the Davises, it is not clear precisely what records were maintained at the rifle range during 1963. Hence, we request that you have them clarify what records reflect the names of persons present at their rifle range during those months, and that you attempt to get for the Commission a copy of all such records which you have not previously obtained. In addition, please attempt to obtain a copy of the 'journal' or 'daily record' to which Mrs. Davis referred, for the months of September, October, and November 1963. The Commission is particularly interested in any entries in Mrs. Davis' journal which she may have made on September 28, 1963, October 13, 1963, November 10, 1963, November 13, 1963, and November 17, 1963, and a few days on either side of these dates.

"If your Bureau previously has obtained any membership lists, or other similar records, from the Davises, we would appreciate receiving a copy of them, so that we will have a complete set of everything which has been obtained in regards to the rifle range."

On September 1, 1964, the FBI noted: "The Commission requested Mrs. Davis and her husband Floyd Guy Davis, operator of the Sportsdrome Rifle Range, to be reinterviewed to clarify what records they maintained at the rifle range on October 1963, through November 1963, which would reflect the names of individuals present at the range during those months. In a previous interview with Mrs. Davis she commented that no written registers were kept when OSWALD was alleged to have practiced at the range, however, when she furnished a deposition to Mr. Liebler of the President's Commission, she commented she had written in her journal regarding a date that a man thought to be OSWALD had been at the range. The Commission was interested in any entries in Mrs. Davis' journal and they further indicated the desire to have a complete set of documents of records which have been obtained in regard to the rifle range." [FBI Airtel 9.1.64]

HEMMING was at the range with OSWALD but he was not the big bruiser with the beard. He was the man who was in the same booth with OSWALD as described by Davis. The big bruiser was Michael Bentley Murph.

Floyd Guy Davis told the FBI that the fat man with a beard he associated with OSWALD returned to the range on March 15, 1964. Floyd Guy Davis got his license plate number. The FBI traced the plates to Michael Bentley Murph, who said he was at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range: "On a Sunday, either November 3, 1963, or Sunday November 10, 1963, about one and a half hours before sunset, he went alone to the Sportsdrome Gun Range in a 1962 white over red, four door Chevrolet, bearing 1963 Texas License PW 2958, which vehicle is registered to his employer, Southern Lead Rolling Company, to test fire two Remington rifles.

"One rifle was a Model 721, .300 Super, Holland and Holland, and the other a U.S. Rifle, .30 caliber M 1903A3. Neither rifle had a scope, only open sights.

"He did his target practice in about third position from the west end of the firing point. As he remembers the position was Booth 7 or Booth 8. The best he can remember is that there was a white male, and a white female, firing together at the west end of the firing point. On the east of his position were some six or eight other individuals and possibly two or three others on the gun range. He was not acquainted with anyone who was at the range that day and could not recall well those who were there. He believes he was the only lone individual and all others were in groups of various sizes. Upon viewing a photograph of OSWALD he advised OSWALD is unknown to him other than through the news media. He does not recall seeing anyone at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range resembling OSWALD. He does not recall anyone shooting a rifle with a scope, and believes most everyone else at the range was shooting .22 caliber rifles. He spoke only briefly with the persons on his left or right and this limited conversation was in regard to clearing firing points so everyone could go forward and examine their targets.

"He is described as: Age 27, Born November 6, 1936, Height 5'11" weight 300 pounds, Hair dark brown, Eyes brown. It is noted Murph had a four year growth beard. When at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range, as described above, which is the only occasion he has ever been at the Sportsdrome Gun Range, he was wearing his firearms earmuffs. He had a red sweat shirt and green work trousers, but he does not recall if he was wearing these. He arrived at the range about one and a half hours before sunset and left after sunset."

The Warren Report stated: "Several witnesses noticed a bearded man at the club when the person believed to be OSWALD was there, although only one witness thought the two men were together; the bearded gentleman was located and he was found not to have any connection with OSWALD."

Malcolm Price said that OSWALD was accompanied by a man, who fired from booth seven, "who looked like a foreigner 250 to 300 pounds with a beatnik beard...a big fellow with a long black or red beard...OSWALD was present at the range both times that he was."

Price: All I remember about him was that he was a big fellow with a long black - it was either black or dark red beard.

Mrs. Slack advised she recalled seeing a great big man with a beard, who was wearing ear muffs, a red plaid shirt, and green pants. She stated he was shooting big guns, and was shooting from stall number Booth 4 or Booth 5.

MALCOLM PRICE SPOTS MURPH

Malcolm Price stated: OSWALD was accompanied by a man, who fired from booth seven, "who looked like a foreigner 250 to 300 pounds with a beatnik beard...a big fellow with a long black or red beard..."

Garland Slack described the man who accompanied OSWALD on Sunday, November 10, 1963, as tall, having a lot of hair, dark complexion and full beard, "a tall boy wearing a beard." [FBI 62-109090 NR 9.2.64, 62-109060-3765]

Wesley Liebler asked Sterling Wood about the other man OSWALD might have been with:

Liebler: About this other fellow that this guy was with, was he a big man or just -"

Sterling Wood: About the same size this man was...oh about 5'9".

In 1993 Homer Wood stated, "How could Sterling tell how tall he was when he was seated in his car? Driving, how could he tell? My son could have been mistaken."

Although Floyd Davis did not remember OSWALD, he stated that OSWALD was not with Michael Murph, but with another man. Floyd Davis stated: OSWALD was at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range Sunday, November 17, 1963, - the day of the turkey shoot - "two young fellows were in Booth 8. I do remember the person that was in Booth 7. [ Michael Murph] This was when I went to these fellows in Booth 8, and I was giving them heck about shooting at the wrong target. Mr. Slack, was in Booth 9 on the rifle range...On November 17, 1963, and I was holding a turkey shoot at the same time. Mr. Slack come to me and was complaining about someone shooting his target. So there was two young fellows, I can remember the approximate height of them but I don't remember what their faces looked like, that were in Booth 8. I do remember the person that was in Booth 7, though, because I don't know whether you talked to Mr. Charlie Brown in the last two weeks or not on this-

Liebler: Now let's review this. Mr. Slack was in Booth 9, is that correct?

Davis: Yes.

Liebler: This big fellow was in Booth 7?

Davis: Right. And there was the two young fellows in Booth 8. One of them was 5' 6" or 5' 7", somewhere in that vicinity and the other one was 6' and he was black headed. I can remember that but as far as remembering their faces, with the turkey shoot we had 225 people that day, I can't remember what they looked like.

Liebler: You say that these two fellows, one was approximately 6' tall or over, is that correct?

Davis: Yes.

Liebler: Was he heavy set or slender?

Davis: No; he wasn't particularly heavy set, he was just a medium build.

Liebler: He was not of a light build, however?

Davis: No; he wasn't. He was just about my size. I would say 160 to 170 pounds.

Liebler: How tall are you?

Davis: 6'1"

Liebler: And what do you weigh?

Davis: I weigh about 160, but I was a little bit heavier about that time.

Liebler: Did you determine which of the fellows was shooting at Mr. Slack's target?

Davis: No, sir.

Liebler: Did you speak to both of them, or all three of them?

Davis: No as an individual. I spoke to the group to be sure they were firing at the right target and to watch where they were facing because they were shooting at the wrong target.

Liebler: This Mr. Slack, now then, believes that one of the two of these fellows could have been LEE HARVEY OSWALD?

Davis: Yes, that's right.

Liebler: Has Mr. Slack told you that?

Davis: Yes sir.

Liebler: Malcolm Price was also there the same day?

Davis: He said he was.

Liebler: He also indicated that he thinks one of those two gentlemen was OSWALD?

Davis: Yes...There was a fellow with a black beard in the Booth 7 at the same time. I remember him because he was outstanding you know, and I went to see these fellows in Booth 8, and was giving them heck about shooting at the wrong target. And this other fellow, I remember him because he wouldn't say anything to me. I tried to speak to him on two or three different occasions because he had a lot of guns and I thought he would be a good customer.

Liebler: The fellow with the beard?

Davis: Yes.

HEMMING 1994: "That was not me. I call him the döppleganger. His name is John Orr. He was in on Iran Contra. He looks just like me. I weighed about 200. Skinny as a fucking rail. I was 6' 5". If there are people out there who have gotten the idea that I'm a player, it makes them nervous. These aren't bad people themselves. Sorry about that. It's all a misunderstanding. I had no business in Dallas after July 4, 1963, and July 5, 1963. I was never in Dealey Plaza until 1975 when I was on my way down to Ecuador. I was working for the Florida Life Insurance Company collecting a dollar and a half from little old ladies. I worked for them until we left for the Guatemala trip and that was the end of that."

It was pointed out to HEMMING that OSWALD'S visits to the range occurred on weekends. HEMMING told this researcher: "Who the fuck would fly 800 fuckin' miles? The standard plane that was available at the time was the Aztec and that flew 175 miles an hour. But you could get faster planes like Learstars, which were Navy Ventura bombers converted to Executive shit. It whipped along at about 275. It would take two hours to fly across the Gulf from Miami to Dallas. A B-25 could even do it faster...Did he practice with that weapon? I take it under consideration. The guy would have had to have practiced somewhere, it had to be a remote area, buses don't run to remote areas, and they don't want him to have a friend with a car - that's completely out - so he's got to ride a bus to a place within the city that is a range to fire his weapon. Where's the box of ammo, where's the empty shell casings? Where is the gun cleaning kit, where are the extra clips that hold the fucking bullets? It could be a completely innocent thing or that one of these mysterious friends that he'd never want to identify, whoever encouraged him to get the weapon, or bought the weapon for him, or all that bullshit, he on his own decided, 'Hell, I'll call up Sammy, or Slime Ball, and pop a few caps. My next problem is getting fucking ammo. Well maybe Slime Ball or Sammy. 'Well let me look around.' And it took him a few weeks and he found some ammo."

Dr. Homer Wood was asked to look at a photograph of CHRIST and asked if this was the man who accompanied OSWALD to the Sportsdrome Rifle Range: "You gonna get me in a knock down and drag out divorce from my family, but I'll look at it. You better start researching the divorce columns. I was in the service, I'm patriotic. I don't want to be a hero. My son was the hero. He made the statement and he came home from school. We saw it on TV and that's when we turned it in. Kids are a lot better observers than older people. In fact my son, when he was 10 and 12 years old could identify every car on the road. How he did that, I don't know. My son is a foot surgeon. A good one too." Homer Wood said the man was definitely not CHRIST, and "I asked my boy and he said 'No.' CHRIST looked fairly old to me."

Homer Wood was sent a photograph of HEMMING and asked if this was the man OSWALD had been with. He said, "I never received it." It was sent out again. Homer Wood said: "I'm not interested in that situation. Too many problems with it. I don't like to be rude. Discontinue, will ya?"

OSWALD allegedly stayed with Ruth Paine and Marina Oswald through Monday, November 11, 1963, which was Veterans Day. That Monday, Ruth Paine was away from home from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

On November 27, 1963, Cecil A. Hamblen, the early night manager of the Dallas Western Union Office told his superior that about two weeks earlier, circa Wednesday, November 13, 1963, he remembered OSWALD sending a telegram from the office to Washington, D.C., possibly to the Secretary of the Navy, and that the application was completed in an unusual form of hand printing. The next day Cecil A. Hamblen told a magazine correspondent that he remembered having seen OSWALD on prior occasions collecting money orders for small amounts of money. Soon thereafter, Cecil A. Hamblen signed a statement relating to both the telegram and the money orders, and specifying two instances in which he had seen the person he believed to be OSWALD in the office; in each instance the man had behaved disagreeably, and one other Western Union employee had been involved in assisting him. The second employee, A. Lewis, did recall one of the occurrences described by C.A. Hamblen, and believed the money order in question was delivered to "someone at the YMCA."

At the request of the FBI, officers of Western Union conducted a complete search of their records in Dallas and other cities for money orders payable to LEE HARVEY OSWALD or to any of his known aliases or for telegrams sent by OSWALD or by his known aliases. In addition, all money orders addressed to persons at the Dallas YMCA, during October, and November 1963, were inspected; as were all telegrams handled from November 1, 1963, through November 22, 1963, by the employee whom Cecil A. Hamblen assertedly saw service OSWALD; as were all telegrams from Dallas to Washington sent in November 1963. No indication of any such money order, or telegram, was found in any of these records.

Note that Western Union conducted this search, not the FBI. The style of OSWALD'S handwriting was unknown to Western Union officials and if OSWALD used an unknown alias they would have been unable to identify OSWALD as the recipient or originator of the document. A Justice Department document revealed the conclusions of the Warren Commission "could not include the possibility of money sent, or received (deleted), if OSWALD had used any other name than that of LEE HARVEY OSWALD, or his known aliases." [CIA 454, 423-152] A Memorandum for the Record signed by Richard Helms that concerned OSWALD'S bank accounts, safety deposit records and general finances remained deleted. [CIA 454, 423-152]

The FBI: "Hamblen informed the Warren Commission representative he could not state for certain whether the individual in question was OSWALD or not. He furnished conflicting information to the Warren Commission representative, and was unable to produce any evidence that OSWALD had ever received, or sent, a telegram or money order through the Western Union office in Dallas. Hamblen claimed a fellow employee, Mrs. McClure, could verify his information...Mrs. McClure denied ever seeing OSWALD in the Western Union office." "Hamblen's superiors" concluded "that this whole thing was a figment of Mr. Hamblen's imagination." The Warren Commission agreed. [WR p332] Cecil A. Hamblen, born August 2, 1907, died in June 1971.

On Thursday, November 14, 1963, Ruth Paine drove OSWALD'S daughter June to a T.B. Clinic: "There was a slight suspicion that she might have been exposed to T.B."

On November 15, 1963, OSWALD did not visit Marina Oswald and Ruth Paine. Marina Oswald remembered that during a telephone conversation that took place on Monday, November 18, 1963 , OSWALD said he had waited for some time on line on Saturday, November 16, 1963, to take his driver's test. Eventually he gave up, and went home to 1026 North Beckley. Ruth Paine testified: "Then he called us Saturday afternoon of November 16, 1963, to say he had been and tried to get his driver's permit but that he had arrived before closing time but still too late to get in because there was a long line ahead of him, the place having been closed the previous Saturday for election day and the following Monday, November 11, 1963, Veterans Day. There were a lot of people who wanted to get permits and he was advised that it wouldn't pay him to wait in line. He didn't have time to be tested."

An undated application for a Texas Drivers License was found among OSWALD'S effects. No one who took a driver's test on Saturday, November 16, 1963, verified OSWALD'S presence on line. The Warren Report cited no witnesses to OSWALD'S whereabouts on Saturday, November 16, 1963, except for Sterling and Homer Wood, who placed OSWALD at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range.

Ruth Paine told the Warren Commission that the reason OSWALD did not go to Irving that weekend was because Marina asked him not to: "She felt he had overstayed his welcome the previous weekend which had been three days, November 9, 1963, November 10, 1963, November 11, 1963, because he was off Veterans Day, November 11, 1963, and she felt it would be simpler and more comfortable if he didn't come out."

Jenner: It is your definite recollection that the failure to come on the weekend preceding the assassination was not at his doing but at the request of Marina, under the circumstances you have related?

Paine: I am absolutely clear about that.

As for Sunday, November 17, 1963, S.A. Bardwell Odum questioned Gladys Johnson, OSWALD'S landlady about OSWALD'S whereabouts. "During the period he stayed at this address OSWALD would customarily leave home on Friday morning for work and not return to the house until Monday afternoon after work. The only exceptions to this routine were as follows:

1. On Monday, November 11, 1963, he did not return since after being gone since Friday morning November 8, 1963, but returned the night of Tuesday, November 12, 1963, after work.

2. On the weekend of November 15, 1963, November 16, 1963, and November 17, 1963, OSWALD was at the house and was not absent to any extent. Mrs. Johnson remembers seeing him on Saturday November 16, 1963, when he made a trip to a nearby washateria and she recalls seeing him in the living room on Sunday, November 17, 1963, watching television.

3. On the night of November 21, 1963, OSWALD did not return to the house, and Mrs. Johnson has not seen him since that time.

Mrs. Johnson stated that OSWALD stayed 'closer to home' than any roomer she has ever had before. He did not drink or smoke and rarely left his room in the evening except to watch television in the living room or to go to the nearby Cabell's Market where he usually got bread, lunch meat and jelly to prepare meals in his room. He did not talk to anyone, and had no visitors. To her recollection he never spent an evening away from the house except the evenings previously mentioned when he indicated he was going to Irving, Texas.

When Gladys Johnson testified before the Warren Commission she stated:

Ball: Now in the weekend, that would be the weekend before the assassination, he stayed there.

Johnson: He remained there.

Ball: Did you, or did you not, see him go out that weekend?

Johnson: I did not see him go out, I did not, no sir."

(Mr. Johnson leaves room)

Ball: Let me ask you this; did he, that weekend, on Saturday, make a trip to a place where they wash clothes?

Johnson: Well, I think he did go across to that Washeteria. I think he did.

Ball: Did you see him go any place, except for that, on that weekend.

Johnson: That's the only time. I had just forgotten that, but I do remember he carried some clothes out of the house that morning and the Washeteria is right across the street, less than a block.

Ball: But he left his room?

Johnson: And he wasn't gone long, and I didn't see him return with any clothes, but I do know that he was gone just about long enough to do a wash.

The testimony of Gladys Johnson was questionable. Firstly, the FBI agent who questioned Johnson was suspected of having taken part in the FBI cover-up. Secondly, why would OSWALD miss a weekend with his family just to stay in his room or watch television or do his laundry? Thirdly, the only witness to his whereabouts was Gladys Johnson. None of the other roomers observed him nor did anyone in the laundermat. [WC Test. Mrs. Arthur Carl (Galdys) Johnson; WR p740; Johnson Lee & Marina p410]

On Sunday, November 17, 1963, Ruth Paine telephoned OSWALD at 1026 North Beckley. Ruth Paine recalled: "June was fooling with the telephone dial, and Marina said, 'Let's call papa' and asked me ..." She asked for OSWALD by his real name, and was told that he did not live at that address. Ruth Paine: "I said, 'Is LEE OSWALD there?' He said 'There is no LEE OSWALD living here.' As best I can recall. This is the substance of what he said. I said, 'Is this a rooming house?' He said 'Yes.' I said 'Is this WH 3-8993?' And he said 'Yes.' I thanked him an hung up...I said to Marina, they don't know of a LEE OSWALD at that number. She looked surprised."

Ruth Paine stated: "I think the guy was not too well put together. He gave us a phone number for us to call so we could let him know if his baby came. But he didn't tell us he was using an assumed name. After he hadn't been out that weekend, Marina wanted to talk to him. I didn't think of it, quite frankly." Sunday, November 17, 1963, was the day that OSWALD was sighted at the Sportsdrome Rifle Range.

On the morning of Sunday, November 17, 1963, evidence suggested that HEMMING flew OSWALD and several members of Alpha-66 to Sulphur, Oklahoma.

On November 23, 1963, Willis Price, a service station owner in Sulphur, Oklahoma, told the Police Chief Charles J. McBee that on November 17, 1963, "a person believed to be identical with LEE HARVEY OSWALD accompanied by two Cuban males, and one Cuban female, were in a service station in Sulphur operated by Price. The female made two local telephone calls from a telephone at the service station, speaking in Spanish. It is not known to whom she was speaking. These people were driving a 1958 Ford, two tone color, dark brown and lighter color, no license plate information obtained. The Chief of Police stated there are some Cubans in Sulphur. Willis Price is considered reliable as he operates a service station and is well-known to the Chief of Police and other members of the Police Department. Willis Price identified the person referred to above as OSWALD on the basis of pictures of OSWALD shown on television and in newspapers. Willis Price, according to the Chief of Police, was positive of his identification." [FBI OK City 89-41-46]

The FBI questioned Willis D. Price on November 23, 1963:

"Willis D. Price, 1123 Broadway, advised he is the operator of the FINA Service Station at 1123 Broadway, and at about 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 17, 1963, a group of people who appeared to be Cubans, with a light complexioned man who resembled LEE HARVEY OSWALD, drove up beside his service station in about a 1958 Ford Station Wagon, and some of them came to his station. He has seen a photograph in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper of OSWALD, and the light complexioned man with the Cubans resembled OSWALD. He has since however seen television pictures of LEE HARVEY OSWALD which did not very much resemble the man in the company of the Cubans. The automobile which they parked by the side of his station appeared to be of white and tan color with a white center and tan bottom. He did not know what license the vehicle carried. In the station wagon were two women who never got out of the vehicle. One of these women appeared to be about 40, and the other older. The following described people got out of the station wagon and came into the service station: a woman in her late 20's or early 30's; a tall slender girl about 13 years of age; a child 2 or 3 years old; two men, both dark complexions, and wide across the face. Both appeared to be Latins, were about 5' 6" to 5' 7" tall and wore slacks. One man who resembled the photograph of OSWALD, was light complexioned, pale, appeared to be in late 20's or early 30's, about 6' tall, 170 pounds, thin and slender, light brown hair, reasonably high forehead, thin lips, and wore slacks. The man who resembled OSWALD spoke in the language of the other people who looked like Cubans.

"Before getting out of the station wagon they asked if they could use the telephone in the station, and he gave consent. When they first drove up, the man who resembled OSWALD was in the back seat and by motion attracted his attention and motioned for one of the women to talk to him. She held up a small black book with a name and box number on it which he does not remember. From actions they thought the box number was a street number or address. The woman who held up the black book spoke broken English. Price told her it was a mailing address and not a street address.

"When the group of people came into the service station the woman, who appeared to be in her 20's, asked for a telephone directory, and on obtaining the directory, she looked up a number. She made a telephone call. The first number she attempted to call did not answer, and she looked up another number. She telephoned a second time and spoke in broken English. At the last of her telephone conversation she gave some name as though referring to her own name, and said 'from Cuba.' She then hung-up and talked to the light complexioned man resembling OSWALD in a foreign language. These people then left, driving west of Highway 7, after getting into their station wagon. He does not remember which direction they came from. The man resembling OSWALD never spoke English in the station, but only used motions to Price. He looked American, but spoke in the same language as the people he was with." Willis Price, 62, died of a heart attack in 1989.

The last page of OSWALD'S Spanish-English, English-Spanish dictionary contained an illegible phrase. On April 2, 1964, the FBI sent this analysis to the Warren Commission:

TRANSLATION OF UNKNOWN PHRASE

Commission Exhibit 116

Illegible phrase contained on the last page of the University of Chicago Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary.

On the assumption that the last two penciled lines on the last page of this dictionary may be Spanish, it appears that the first word could be "YO" and the second word either SOPA or SOPLE and the third word EL. The fourth word is not readable from a Spanish aspect.

YO-I

SOPA - SOUP

SOPLE - I BLEW

EL - THE

On the assumption that the questioned phrase is written in Russian and English using a combination of Latin and Cyrillic script, it is possible that the first word could be TO, '20' or '70.' The second word could be Russian for '88 GUM,' '88 SULPHUR,' or 'SARA. The third word could be the Russian word AND. The last word in this phrase could possibly be the Russian word LETTERS or the Russian name NINA." [FBI 105-825552419 NARA FBI 124-10047-10005]]

The FBI interviewed every Cuban in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Dr. Miguel L. DeSocarraz at the Oklahoma Veterans Hospital residence, Post Office Box 200, advised the FBI on November 23, 1963, that "he is a Cuban refugee and very anti-communist. The following people contacted him on Sunday, November 17, 1963: Manolito Rodriguez, [Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro] with his wife and two or three year old baby; two other men, both of whom were dark complected, one having the name of Salazar and the other Chito Rivero. With Salazar and Rivero were their wives, and a girl about 13 or 14 years of age. Salazar is dark, short, husky and in his 20's. Rivero is dark, short, thin and in his 50's. All of these people were in an older Ford Station Wagon of cream color. He did not know a 1958 Ford from other year models.

"Socarraz, after examining a photograph of LEE HARVEY OSWALD which appeared in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper, stated the Manolito Rodriguez possibly did resemble OSWALD. However, he is certain Rodriguez is not identical with OSWALD. Rodriguez cannot speak English. He resides at 1208 Huspeth (Oak Cliff) Dallas, Texas, with telephone number FR-4-5923...Rodriguez is employed as a welder in Dallas."

Miguel L. DeSocarraz, contacted in June 1993, asked: "How did you get my telephone number? Did you pose as someone else when you spoke to my brother in Miami? You were not that doctor that he was thinking of, were you? I think what you find in the document there is all I can tell you. There is nothing else I can add. I don't want you to call me anymore." [DeSocarraz telephone 210-428-7559 423-8094]

Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro, born in Cuba on November 8, 1928, was a former Officer in the Army of Fidel Castro and was the President of the Dallas Chapter of Alpha-66. Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro had worked for the Coca-Cola Company until February 1958, when he joined the rebel army of Fidel Castro. He served with Fidel Castro until October 21, 1959. He entered the United States around this time, then returned to Coca-Cola in Cuba, where he worked clandestinely against Castro. On September 9, 1960, as a result of his imminent arrest, he took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy, Havana, and came to the U.S. on November 29, 1960. He worked as a dishwasher in Miami Beach, and remained there until September 6, 1963, when he registered as an alien in Dallas.

The FBI never interviewed any of the individuals name by Miguel L. DeSocarraz except for Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro.

When S.A. Wallace Heitman interviewed Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro, he said Alpha-66/Second National Front of Escambray was a fund-raising organization that had been inactive in the Dallas area until recently. He said meetings were held at "3126 Hollandale," and that he had no contact "with any American persons or other persons" concerning arms purchases: "Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro noted that he had been an admirer of President Kennedy, both as a person and politician, adding that he recognized Kennedy's policies concerning politics in Cuba had been dictated by the whole international situation. He said he believed President Kennedy had been a fighter against Communism and a friend of the Cuban people. Never had he made any derogatory statements against President Kennedy. He pointed out that Alpha-66/Second National Front of Escambray had bought and placed flowers at the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Although Rodriguez heard rumors that many Cubans were critical of Kennedy's policies toward the Cuban situation, he thought most of these critics were ex-Batista followers." In 1993 Wallace Heitman stated, "I may have interviewed him. I spoke Spanish, I did interview a lot of Cubanos. I remember Alpha-66, but Manuel Rodriguez is too common a name."

The Dallas Chapter of Alpha-66 picketed U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson when he spoke at Dallas Municipal Auditorium in October 1963. They staged a protest march to advertise the plight of Cuban exiles. According an FBI informant in Alpha-66: "The occasion of Stevenson's speech was selected because he is the U.N. Ambassador and was involved in the decision which reportedly withdrew air support from the invasion forces at the Bay of Pigs." [FBI 105-96777 6.25.64]

A Miami FBI report stated: "Another government agency which conducts intelligence and personnel investigations [CIA]," advised that one of its sources reported hearing from Dora Causa Ramirez this statement by Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo, the leader of Alpha-66, on November 21, 1963: 'Something very big would happen soon that would advance the Cuban cause.'" Dora Causa told the FBI that Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo referred to an anti-Castro action, and added that her sister had married a member of Alpha-66. The CIA commented: "This remark, when taken out of context, is impossible to evaluate, but it is typical of exile rumors which, being interpreted by exiles, support whatever hypotheses they are expounding on at any given moment (deleted)." [CIA 88-27]

The CIA planned to screen the Cuban rumors by "preliminary investigating of more plausible ones before passing them on to the U.S. agencies."

The teletype continued: "'D' reports one Manuel Rodriguez (Matronym unknown) living in Dallas, Texas, was known to be violently anti-President Kennedy. (Deleted) traces indicate 'E,' 5310 Columbia, Dallas, Texas, as a member of the Second National Front of Escambray, and organizer of Dallas Second National Front of Escambray. (Deletion of one line.) This nebulous identification may be in some way related Paragraph 2 statement which Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo is reported to have made. While this relationship is obviously most circumstantial and nebulous, it is being passed to FBI and Secret Service Miami as a reflection of the rumors which are currently circulating. Information will be carefully identified as rumor." [CIA 88-27]

The United States Secret Service issued a Protective Research Memorandum on Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro which described him as known to be "violently anti-Kennedy."

After the Kennedy assassination, Detective Buddy Walthers of the Dallas Police Department wrote: "November 23, 1963. Mr. Decker: At about 8 a.m. this morning, while in the presents (sic) of Allan Sweat, I talked to Sorrel, Dallas Secret Service head. I advised him that for the past few months at a house at 3128 Harlendale some Cubans had been having meetings on the weekends and were possibly connected with the 'Freedom for Cuba Party' of which OSWALD was a member. November 26, 1963. I don't know what action the Secret Service has taken, but I learned today that sometime between seven days before the President was shot these Cubans moved from this house. My informant stated the Subject OSWALD had been to this house before. Buddy Walthers." [County of Dallas Supp. Inv. Rep. Sheriff's Dept; 7 WH 548; cf. 19 WH 503,505]

Buddy Walther's lead was never followed up. The Secret Service never contacted Buddy Walther's informant or traced down the occupants of 3128 Harlandale to question them about OSWALD. An investigation of this nature was never conducted, since it might have linked OSWALD to Alpha-66. The bottom of the Buddy Walthers document indicated no action was ever taken on it by the Dallas Police Department.

In 1975 the CIA advised: "Our file search to date had revealed no information concerning [3126 Hollandale or 3128 Harlendale]. However, we are not satisfied that all possible CIA records have been consulted. A final report concerning this question will be forwarded to the [Rockefeller] Commission by May 2, 1975." [CIA 1643-1088 p24] Later that year the CIA concluded: "The files of appropriate components of the Plans Directorate have been checked and show no record of any CIA contact with any anti-Castro group in Dallas. Alpha-66 is not listed in the 1963 Dallas telephone directory. Dallas city map and 1963 crisscross directory reveal no street named Harlendale. There is no Hollandale Street in Dallas. However, there is a Hollandale Lane in Farmers Branch, Texas - a Dallas suburb. Numbers on Hollandale Lane run from 2800 to 3028. There is no 3126. In 1963 one Lloyd Humphreys resided at 3028 Hollandale Lane, the last house on the street. CIA has no record of Humphreys." [CIA 1636-1086 rel. 4.22.82]

In December 1975 FBI Bureau Supervisor William O. Cregar, the FBI/CIA liaison in 1967, revealed the results of a review of information in the Dallas file on the 3126 Harlendale, Rodriguez, OSWALD connection conducted by FBI S.A. Gemberling just before he had his August 1975 heart attack. It revealed: "It was noted from review of Dallas files that the address referred to by Deputy Sheriff Walthers was erroneously listed as 3128, but the actual address was 3126 Harlendale Street. Review of Dallas file reflects that the original organization known as Alpha-66 held meetings during early 1963 at 3126 Harlandale Street, Dallas, Texas, and a letter furnished to the FBI Dallas by a Mrs. Dorothy Keasler Klein, 4141 Prescott Street, Dallas, Texas, reflects that she had received an unsolicited form letter from that organization on November 19, 1963, asking for donations. The letter from Alpha-66 was on letterhead stationary, which reflected the above address and was signed by Manuel Rodriguez, General Secretary of Alpha-66." The FBI added: "A review of Dallas file (deleted) reflects that former (deleted) whose identity is known to the Bureau, Bufile (deleted). According to this source, as well as other informants familiar with Cuban matters during the period 1963 to 1964, LEE HARVEY OSWALD was not known to have ever associated with, or been known to, Alpha-66 members, and there is no information that he ever visited 3126 Harlendale Street, Dallas, Texas as reported by Deputy Sheriff Walthers."

The FBI located Harlendale Street, a fund raising letter from Alpha-66 with the return address of 3126 Harlendale Street, and an informant who had attended Alpha-66 meetings there. This information was no doubt passed to the CIA by the Dallas FBI or by Headquarters in 1963 - it was clearly of interest. Yet the CIA denied that 3126 Harlendale Street existed. The CIA attempted to conceal the Alpha-66 connection. PHILLIPS, Antonio Veciana and Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro were all associated with Alpha-66; OSWALD was tied in with Alpha-66 by a Dallas Police informant and by Antonio Veciana, who had seen him with PHILLIPS, the mastermind of Alpha-66. Antonio Veciana said he had been to Harlendale Headquarters but had never seen OSWALD there. Antonio Veciana told Gaeton Fonzi: "They found out OSWALD had a neighbor called Rodriguez. He was surprised because one of the heads of Alpha-66 in Dallas was named Rodriguez and Veciana was afraid that they would think that he was involved, and that's why he didn't say anything to Diosdado. But later he found out it wasn't the same Rodriguez, that OSWALD'S neighbor was a Mexican. Further explanation: He says he heard that afternoon when Kennedy was killed that a Latin named Rodriguez may have been involved in the assassination and when he heard that he got scared because he knew that he knew a Rodriguez in Dallas who was connected with Alpha-66." [SSCIA 157-10007-10311]

In 1969 Buddy Walthers was shot and killed in the course of his police duties. Buddy Walthers was accompanied by Deputy Sheriff Allen Sweatt on November 22, 1963, when he referred the 3126 Harlendale Street matter to the United States Secret Service. Allen Sweatt died of heart disease in 1975.

During the FBI's investigation of Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro, it discovered that when undercover Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent Frank Ellsworth questioned Dallas gun dealer John Thomas Masen, the name of Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro was mentioned. John Thomas Masen reported that Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro, or one of his associates, had contacted him "for the purchase of weapons in connection with a clandestine Cuban operation, and that he might possibly be involved in other political type activities." Frank Ellsworth stated that Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro was a member of the DRE and John Thomas Masen was a Minutemen. Frank Ellsworth, a former Army Intelligence agent, policeman, and FBI confidential informant was contacted in May 1993: "Well, I worked undercover on him at that time. We were investigating Mr. Masen for gun law violations. He was a licensed gun dealer. But he was making machine guns. I saw him do it, the jury agreed that he did it, and he did time for it. He was apparently connected with the Minutemen. Specifically, he talked about it. I really couldn't say how much of it was hot air, and how much of it was truth. I really wasn't interested in his political affiliations. The name Manuel Rodriguez came up very vaguely." Frank Ellsworth told the Warren Commission that investigating the political affiliations of Thomas Masen and Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro was the responsibility of S.A. Hosty. [WC Griffin Memo 4.16.64]

Frank Ellsworth: "My initial interest in Mr. Masen was two-fold, neither one of which had anything to do with the Cubans. They were stealing Fort Hood blind, hauling weapons out the back gate on 18-wheelers - this wasn't no little bitty job - some GI taking a box or two of ammunition. This stuff was going off in flat bed trailers. They even got away with a medium-sized tank. As far as I know, that thing is still hidden someplace. Our understanding, the snitches that we had, it was the Minutemen. Masen was having this stuff stolen from the National Guard Armory. There was a Master Sergeant that ultimately went to the penitentiary over this. Masen was putting me in touch with him. A couple of guys [Lawrence Reginald Miller and Donnell Darius Whitter] were bringing it to him one night. They ran a red light, and there was a big chase. They ended up wrapped around a telephone pole, and guess what they found in the trunk? All of this stuff. We didn't know anything about this. We were supposed to meet Masen in his place of business at 7:00 a.m. to look the merchandise over. When we showed up there Masen was, to say least, somewhat peeved. We couldn't figure what, in God's name, was the matter with this guy. We'd watched him make machine guns for six weeks and all of a sudden we had to peel him off the ceiling. He finally told us to go next door and get the newspapers. We figured out what happened.

"The FBI did have a good deal of information on the Minutemen, but they might not have chosen to talk about it. Quite frankly, it was a real nebulous organization and we weren't sure who belonged to it, and who didn't. There was a lot of overlapping of groups, there was a lotta people claiming to be purchasing for the Cuban revolution, the purchasers were purchasing for resale to all sorts of places. A lot of the deals were set-ups. A real barrel of snakes."

John Thomas Masen was arrested on November 21, 1963, and charged with possession of dynamite by the Dallas Police Department. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also filed charges against him. John Thomas Masen was contacted in June 1993. He was asked about Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro. He answered: "You know, let me ask you, 30 years ago, what happened with your conversation with your mother? I didn't know Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro. When I spoke to the Senate Intelligence Subcommittee guy, I asked: 'Do you think we had any knowledge or had anything to do with this?' His comment was 'Yer still alive, aren't ya?' The people who had anything to do with this are all dead and gone." John Thomas Masen claimed he was not incarcerated, but was placed on probation and fined $500. He said that Frank Ellsworth suspected that he had the tank.

Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro "advised he does not know (deleted) [Masen?] and the latter has not been in contact with him or any of the other Dallas Alpha-66 officers for the purpose of discussing the collection of arms, or money for the purchase of arms, or for any other reason in connection with anti-Castro activities."

John Thomas Masen was one of the two gun dealers in the Dallas area who sold ammunition for OSWALD'S Mannlicher-Carcano. In 1993 John Thomas Masen claimed "Most of the gun shops in the area sold it." The FBI studied samples of the bullets John Thomas Masen sold, and determined that there was no way to know for certain if they were the same bullets fired at President John F. Kennedy.

Frank Ellsworth was interviewed by Warren Commission Counsel Burt Griffin. Burt Griffin had a Secret Service agent drive him to the home of Frank Ellsworth. Frank Ellsworth told him he had arrested John Thomas Masen two days before the assassination for seven violations of the Federal Firearms Act. Frank Ellsworth was asked why he was interviewed at his home. He stated: "I don't have any recollection of where he interviewed me. I frankly thought we did this in the old Federal Building. I don't have any recollection of anyone coming to my house..." [FBI Bufile 105-133465 9.18.64]

After November 22, 1963, the FBI kept a close watch on Alpha-66 in Dallas and it notified FBI S.A. Clark Anderson about its investigation. [FBI 105-112098-433] On April 19, 1964, Antonio Veciana gave a speech in Dallas which alluded to the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro was interviewed by the FBI in May 1964, during a investigation of Alpha-66 in Dallas. Copies of the interview were sent to the Warren Commission. In November 1964, the investigation of Dallas Alpha-66 was placed on inactive status for six months. By this time, most members were "primarily concerned with making a living for their families instead of engaging in political activities," and most of the leadership of Alpha-66 was employed by Curtis-Mathes. The meetings of the group were held biweekly in the home of Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro. A document dated December 3, 1964, about Alpha-66 was almost totally deleted. [FBI 105-112098-537] In 1966 the FBI stated Dallas Alpha-66 no longer existed. Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo had been taken prisoner by the Government Of Cuba at the beginning of 1965. Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo was released in 1987.. [FBI 105-66754-234]

In 1975 Michael Canfield interviewed Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro in Puerto Rico. Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro said he moved there because he had been persecuted in the United States for being an anti-Communist. Fidel Castro had betrayed him and he vowed to dedicate his life to fighting Communism. He had played an important part in the anti-Batista struggle, and was imprisoned in Cuba for doing so. Upon his release, he joined the army of Fidel Castro. After the revolution he was made a Province Leader. When he discovered that Fidel Castro was a Communist, he fled to the United States, where he worked with the Cuban Revolutionary Council and helped found Alpha-66/Second National Front of Escambray. When questioned about the Oklahoma service station incident, he said "someone thought one of his friends was OSWALD" but "it was just one big mistake that was soon cleared up." At first Manuel Rodriguez Occarberro said the FBI never questioned him about the incident. Michael Canfield produced an FBI report and he remembered, but he said he did not want to talk about the assassination.

On February 16, 1956, James Edgar Wethington, born November 13, 1923, Detroit, Michigan, (aka John Robert Klinner) was sentenced to five years in the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta for violations of the White Slave Act. He was conditionally released on January 29, 1960. On October 1, 1960, he was arrested in Miami for violating his parole. Upon his release from prison, he moved to Miami. John Robert Klinner, and nine others, were picked up by the Cuban coast guard while trying to infiltrate Cuba in February 1963. The group told the Cubans they were shipwrecked and drifted into Cuban waters, but the ruse was uncovered when a shipmate of John Robert Klinner was recalled as a previous CIA suspect. The FBI: "Subject was one of a group of repatriates who arrived at Homestead Air Force Base on April 9, 1963, aboard a chartered Pan American Airways flight from Havana, Cuba. The April 10, 1963, issue of the Miami Herald contained an article entitled 'Nine Yanks Return After 43 Days in Castro Jail.' The article described the repatriates as nine shipwrecked Americans who spent 67 days in Cuban prisons, including 43 days in solitary confinement." John Robert Klinner married Margerite Patricia Dignum on July 20, 1963. Margerite Dignum told the FBI that after their marriage they moved to Nassau, Bahamas, where they lived until Margerite Dignum returned, alone, to Miami in early September 1963. John Robert Klinner remained in Nassau until about three weeks before Thanksgiving, when he appeared in Miami, and contacted her. To the best of her recollection, about a week before Thanksgiving November 1963, John Robert Klinner told her that he had just returned from Cuba.

The FBI: "Mrs. John Robert Klinner said that during the time she lived with John Robert Klinner he often made references to the fact that he was associated with the Cuban Freedom Fighters." The Cuban Freedom Fighters was another name for the International Anti-Communist Brigade. The FBI "This serial indicates Klinner's true name was James Edgar Wethington, that he had a long criminal record and that he claimed to be associated with the Cuban Freedom Fighters." [FBI 62-109060-3038 p655] HEMMING told this researcher: "When STURGIS found out this International Anti-Communist Brigade shit was sticking in peoples throats, they created a Freedom Fighters thing with Alexander Rorke. Edith Kermit Roosevelt gave them $75,000."

On July 21, 1962 , The Long Island Press carried an article by Edith Kermit Roosevelt titled: "Freedom Fighters At Odds With CIA." The article stated: "Rorke's group, the U.S. Freedom Fighters, has information that out of 400 Cubans sent by the CIA to Cuba in the last six months about 320 men or 80% have been captured and killed by Castro's police...U.S. Freedom Fighters organize phantom cells in Cuba, cells of from one to five persons, who carry out sabotage. Only last week Cuban guerillas were infiltrated in 40-foot boats by U.S. Freedom Fighters to aid rebels in the Matanzas Province. They were sent there to exploit last fall's phantom cell operation within the province which resulted from leaflet raids by Rorke, Bill Johnson, Bill Wall, and FRANK FIORINI, all of Miami."

Dignum said that Klinner frequently made calls someone he called 'the Major' and 'Wong.' "For the information of the Bureau and Dallas, Dignum also advised that John Robert Klinner, on numerous occasions, told her he had been associated with the CIA. [FBI 62-109060-2272, FBI 62-109060-3083] The CIA advised the FBI it had "no interest whatsoever in John Robert Klinner." [FBI Miami 89-43-3123]

According to Margerite Dignum, on November 22, 1963, Margerite Dignum and John Robert Klinner were shopping in a Miami department store when the announcement came that President Kennedy had been shot. John Robert Klinner insisted they return home at once. From home he immediately made a telephone call to someone he addressed as "the Major" and "Wong" then asked: "Was it us, was it one of our boys, or was he one of our group that did it?" He speculated whether anyone in Miami would be arrested in relation to the assassination.

Marguerite Dignum attorney, John C. Sullivan Jr. reported John Robert Klinner's suspicious activities to the FBI on December 27, 1963. Miami FBI indices reflected that John Robert Klinner was the Subject of Miami File 76-1938, and 105-7037. [NARA FBI 124-10268-10396, 10431] On January 11, 1964, John Robert Klinner was arrested for selling property under lien and for a traffic violation. He was released the same date on bond. On January 20, 1964, S.A. Frank P. Griffee questioned John Robert Klinner. "John Robert Klinner, on January 20, 1964, advised that he resides in the Santa Anna Motel, Miami Beach, Florida. He is employed as a swimming pool attendant by the Castaways Motel, which is located adjacent to the Santa Anita Motel. Klinner advised that he is separated from, and in the process of securing a divorce from, Marguerite Patricia Klinner. Klinner advised that to the best of his recollection, during the afternoon of the date upon which President Kennedy was assassinated, he heard of the assassination while in an automobile with his wife on the way to the Miami International Airport. He stated he had no recollection of having been in Burdines department store, Miami. Klinner stated he was going to the airport to catch a plane for Nassau. He said that after arriving at the airport, he and his wife did make some telephone calls concerning the assassination, but the only people to whom they talked were his wife's relatives. Klinner specifically denied making a telephone call to anyone he referred to as 'Major.' He stated that he knew no one named 'Wong.' Klinner stated he was acquainted with a man who referred to himself as 'Major,' that this individual is connected with the Alpha-66 Movement in Miami, and that he had been approached by members of the Alpha-66 movement in Miami who attempted to induce Klinner to join them in their endeavor. Klinner stated he refused to have anything to do with the group. Klinner said he felt his wife was merely trying to embarrass him due to their pending divorce action. Specific inquiry concerning Klinner was made by officials of the Second National Front of Escambray, Alpha-66, on January 30, 1964. Each advised they had no personal knowledge of Klinner whatever." [FBI Miami 89-35-281 4.8.64; NARA FBI 124-10268-10417] Major Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo was the leader of Alpha-66. The FBI questioned Antonio Veciana about Klinner. "On January 30, 1964, (Deleted) advised that he had no personal knowledge of John Robert Klinner who was being investigated in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy." [FBI DL 89-43 G Cover Page] Marguerite Dignum sought protection from the CIA in Miami in October 1964, because she believed her life was in danger: "She was afraid her husband was connected with the Kennedy assassination, and that he fears she will expose him." The last quotation was taken from a synopsis of a CIA document withheld because of National Security considerations. [WCD 1107; Miami Herald 4.11.63; FBI 62-109060-2272, 2442; CIA Index JFK Doc; CIA 891-908]

On February 7, 1977, the SSCIA requested that the FBI give it all it's documents on John Robert Klinner. The FBI reported that 28 documents were withheld in their entirety based upon Third Agency considerations and only five would be made available. The documents concerned:

(1) Isreal Romero (deleted) as serial 945 in 109-480. (Undated)

(2) Aldo Vera Serafin. (Undated)

(3) (Deleted) (Undated)

(4) (Deleted) serial 105-179310-4 EBF pages 1-4. (Undated)

(5) Maz Lesnick (deleted) serial 109-480-107. (Undated)

(6) (Deleted) serial 109-480-107. (Undated)

(7) (Deleted) serial 140-0-3319. (Undated)

(8) CIA report CS-77501 dated November 7, 1955, (2 pages) captioned "Communist Influence in FEV, Havana University" serial 64-200-210-1329.

(9) CIA report CS-77501 dated November 7, 1955, (3 pages) captioned "Status of Political Opposition" serial 109-12-210-43.

(10) CIA report CS-87280 dated March 14, 1956, (2 pages) captioned "Activities and Plans of Cuban Revolutionaries" serial 109-12-210-80.

(11) CIA report CS-102463B, dated September 4, 1956, (1 page) captioned "Communist Youth Agitation Against Guatemalan Regime" serial 64-200-2101554.

(12) CIA teletype 3/383, 154 dated January 3, 1959, captioned "Communist Revolutionary Developments" (3 pages) serial 109-480-1481 page 2.

(13) CIA information report #TDCS 3/ 417, 162 dated October 29, 1959, regarding "Pending changes in the Cuban Army" serial 37 of 113-7-210.

(14) CIA information report CS# - 3/435,570 dated April 29, 1960, regarding "Cuban Government Military Preparations" serial 1625 of 109-12-210.

(15) CIA teletype 3/448, 244 dated August 27, 1960, captioned "Distribution of Weapons Received from Communist Bloc Countries" (1 page) serial 64-47156-51.

(16) CIA information report #CS - 3/435,570 dated November 9, 1960, regarding "Activities of Cuban Military," serial 2501 of 109-12-210.

(17) CIA letter to Director dated January 3, 1961, regarding Aldo Vera Serafin located as serial 1 in 105-86020.

(18) CIA letter to Director dated March 15, 1961, regarding Aldo Vera Serafin located as serial 2204, 105-86020.

(19) CIA Report #00-B 3, 183, 123 dated April 5, 1961, regarding Aldo Vera, serial 5 of 97-4524.

(20) CIA report #CS DB-3/651, 488 dated October 4, 1962, regarding plans of Manuel Ray Rivero to form a new anti-Castro organization.

(21) CIA report 3/656, 879 dated September 27, 1963, captioned "Commitment of Manuel Quiza Docal to Support Activity of JURE" (1 page) serial 105-114543-38.

(22) CIA report 3/657, 474 dated October 22, 1963, (2 pages) captioned "Publication of Replica to Counteract Pro-Batista Propaganda in the Cuban Exile Community" serial 105-10098-373.

(23) CIA report 3/366, 474 dated March 7, 1964, captioned "Planned Infiltration of Cuba by Eloy Gutierrez Menoyo" serial 105-112098-420 page 2.

(24) CIA report #00-A-3, 296, 580 dated March 30, 1964, regarding Major Aldo Vera, DSE member in Matanzae City, located as serial 210, 65-63987.

(25) CIA teletype DB-315/00549-64 dated August 27, 1964, (2 pages) captioned (1) "Resignation of Rogelio Cisneros Diaz from JURE." (2) "Attitudes of Dominican Government Toward Entry of JURE Vessels in that Country" serial 105-114543-198, page 2.

(26) CIA cable #TDCSD B-315/00468-66 dated February 2, 1966, regarding Haitian Cuban Group Planning invasion of Haiti, serial 635 of 105-95677.

(27) CIA report CSDB-312/02405-66 dated August 29, 1966, (2 pages) captioned "Activities of Cuban Emigres who publish Revolucion and their Relationship with the CCEP" serial 105-148341-8X.

(28) CIA report CSDB-312/02669-66 dated September 28, 1966, (2 pages) captioned (1) "Plans of the CCEP to Hold a Congress in February 1967." (2) "Possible disbandment of JURE" serial 105-148341-10. [NARA FBI 124-100066-10455]

Marita Lorenz claimed that on Saturday, November 16, 1963, OSWALD was in Miami with STURGIS, HEMMING, Pedro Diaz Lanz, Orlando Bosch and others. According to Marita Lorenz, OSWALD was present at a meeting where the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was discussed. She also claimed that she was a member of the team who drove from Miami to Dallas, shortly before the assassination. On November 29, 1963, a business man from Cincinnati, Ohio, reported to the FBI that during a visit to Miami a taxi driver told him "he could positively identify OSWALD as being in Miami when President Kennedy was last in that city for a visit on Monday, November 18, 1963. OSWALD was with two other male individuals." S.A. James O'Conner questioned two taxi drivers about the report. Both said they had seen OSWALD, although they furnished the FBI with inaccurate descriptions. [FBI 62-109060-1201; Cinn. FBI Office 62-2758; FBI 62-19060-386, 1408]

Marita Lorenz: "On the weekend before the Kennedy assassination I saw OSWALD with Orlando Bosch at Bosch's home. Pedro Diaz Lanz and FRANK STURGIS were there, as were the Novo brothers, who were from New Jersey. They were going over Dallas street maps, circling places. I thought they were going to hit another armory. They were talking about locations. I can't remember any specifics, but the event was supposed to occur in Dallas in November. There was talk of a high powered rifle. The word 'Kennedy' spoken to Bosch [sic] which made me say, 'What about him?' All eyes were on me, studying me, when OSWALD started a dispute with FRANK and Bosch about my presence. I spoke with OSWALD that night, someone told me he spoke German, and I found out that he did. FRANK told me I would be going to Dallas with him tomorrow. It was during the weekend, so it was hard for me to get a baby sitter on such short notice. We left after midnight in two beat-up looking cars and drove to Dallas. About eight of us, with FRANK'S 'baby,' a high powered rifle, scope and silencer attached, in the trunk of our car. Before we left, we were briefed by FRANK, Bosch and Pedro Diaz Lanz. No phone calls, no speaking Spanish in Texas, no leaving for restaurants. Supplies and 'kits' were dumped in the truck. We wore dark street clothes...I was in the car with the Novos, FRANK and Orlando Bosch. OSWALD rode with HEMMING and Pedro Diaz Lanz. The car I drove in was beat-up, they had guns in the back. It had big tail fins, four doors, Florida plates. No one talked about the Dallas operation during the trip. Just, 'When we get there nobody goes out, no papers, no broads.' I asked FRANK who was paying for the trip and he told me, 'The Company.' The guns in the car looked like OSWALD'S [Mannlicher-Carcano]...When he arrived in Dallas we stayed at the Cabana Motel."

The idea that STURGIS took Marita Lorenz to Dallas was absurd. She was only 23 at the time. STURGIS had fought in World War II. So had HUNT and CHRIST. How much experience could Marita Lorenz have had as paramilitarist? Marita Lorenz said that when they got to the Cabana Motel in Dallas, JACK RUBY ordered STURGIS to send Marita Lorenz away. As she was leaving, she saw HUNT check into the motel. During her deposition in HUNT v. SPOTLIGHT, Marita Lorenz said she saw HUNT hand STURGIS and envelope full of money inside the motel. In her testimony in HUNT v. SPOTLIGHT, Elizabeth McIntosh testified that HUNT was at a meeting during the afternoon of November 21, 1963, at the CIA, so he could not have been in Dallas. She could not place him at the Agency on November 22, 1963. A Mrs. (FNU) McManus also said HUNT was in Washington on November 21, 1963.

When the Novo brothers were subpoenaed during a Federal investigation of the Orlando Letelier assassination, they disappeared. About 23 other Cuban exiles, mostly veterans of the Bay of Pigs Brigade, were subpoenaed. In 1977 the members of the Bay of Pigs Brigade elected Ignacio Novo as their military leader. Guillermo Novo and Alvin Ross Diaz were arrested for cocaine trafficking by the Miami Organized Crime Bureau in April 1978. The name, address and telephone number of Pedro Diaz Lanz was found in the address book of Alvin Ross Diaz. Danny Benitez made the arrest. STURGIS was an informant for Danny Benitez, although STURGIS repeatedly denied ever having heard of the Novos brothers. When STURGIS was questioned about the Novo brothers in 1978, in relation to the charges made by Marita Lorenz, he said he had never heard of the "Nova brothers." During his deposition in the course of HUNT v. ajweberman, STURGIS was asked:

Q. Do you remember the Novo Brothers, Cuban exiles that are presently in New Jersey?

A. De Novo?

Q. Guillermo Novo?

A. The name - I don't recall the name at the present time. It's possible. Like I said, I know many Cubans.

STURGIS had to have at least heard about the Novo Brothers. STURGIS was associated with Carlos Prio Soccarras, who in his later years, worked closely with the Novo brother's Cuban Nationalist Movement. HEMMING told this researcher: "Of course STURGIS knew the Novos. The Novo connection comes through Navarro. He had lunch with the Novos on two occasions at Centro Vasco."

On May 5, 1978, Ignacio Novo was arrested in the basement of his brother-in-law's house in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Novo brothers were sentenced to life in prison on March 24, 1979. The next month, a valise exploded while being loaded on an airliner at Kennedy Airport. The Cuban Nationalist Movement took credit for the explosion. They demanded the immediate release of the Novo brothers. [O'Leary Washington Star 4.28.78]

Marita Lorenz may have seen the Novo brothers in connection with anti-Castro activities and so she decided to work them into her story. HEMMING told this researcher: "First, the Novo brothers hadn't even been invented yet. Talk about one of the Novos being present in the Brigade. He wasn't in the Brigade. She gets the Novo brothers later on from the Letelier business. PHILLIPS pulled that stunt."

The HSCA interviewed Orlando Bosch. He said he had met Marita Lorenz once, in 1962, when he planned an air raid on Cuba with Alexander Rorke. The HSCA: "Lorenz later called him and said she wanted to get involved in anti-Castro activities, but Bosch turned her down and never saw her again. He further stated he had never traveled west of New Orleans in his life." Pedro Diaz Lanz was interviewed by the HSCA: "Immunized testimony was received in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 1978, from Pedro Diaz Lanz who denied Lorenz's allegation and explained his whereabouts on November 22, 1963." HEMMING denied making the car trip to Dallas with STURGIS. The HSCA questioned STURGIS about Marita Lorenz's allegations. He testified "Sir, that is an absolute lie. I have never been with Marita Lorenz and OZZIE as she calls him, or Pedro Diaz Lanz or Marcos Diaz Lanz, or Doctor Orlando Bosch, or JERRY PATRICK, which she claimed all of us besides some other Cubans [STURGIS again pretended that he was unfamiliar with the Novo brothers], were in two automobiles and left Miami Florida two days before the assassination of the President of the United States. She is a liar. I took a polygraph examination to that effect that I have never been involved at any time in conspiring to kill the President of the United States, nor was I with her in any automobile with these people or any other people going to Dallas to plot to kill the President of the United States. She is an absolute liar." STURGIS told Paul Meskil: "She said she drove from Miami, Florida, to Dallas, Texas, and in the automobile were, I'm not sure of all the names, myself, her, she mentioned Orlando Bosch...a couple of Cuban brothers, which I think she got mixed up there because there are only two Cuban brothers, Pedro Diaz Lanz and Marcos Diaz Lanz, and also, the person who financed this trip to Dallas was E. HOWARD HUNT...I naturally denied it." On May 31, 1978, Marita Lorenz testified before the HSCA. She told her usual story: "The HSCA found no evidence to support Lorenz's allegation." [Lorenz references: FBI 31-88948-6 Miami; FBI 105-83564,-1 NR 2.1.61, 1.23.60 Airtel, LHM 1.23.60, NR 1.25.60, 2.10.60, 2.17.60, 1.22.60, 1.26.60; FBI 105-83564-1.20.61; Miami 31-88948-6 Invest. Report 8.22.62-10.12.62]

HEMMING told the HSCA that he "had the 'impression' that STURGIS was in Dallas the week of the assassination." HEMMING told this researcher: "The thing is there was a caravan. The possibility that she knew about the STURGIS caravan...Do I know that the caravan actually left, yes. At that fucking period of time, I can't pinpoint it, there was an attempt to get Phillipe Vidal and Tony Cuesta to go to a financial meeting in Dallas, Texas, by STURGIS. They didn't know him from Adam, so they called us. We didn't have broads hanging out with us. She said STURGIS admitted something against his interest while he was fucking her, no way. No way STURGIS is gonna admit to shit. She might have put two and two together. Marcos Jimenez Perez, that Padron bitch that ended up with Manuel Artime who was hanging out at Marcos Jimenez Perez's house too. Colonel Pardo. Anyone of them could have made comments in that point in time. Things were being discussed. She is putting two and two together because evidently STURGIS went to Marcos Jimenez Perez and needed some funds to go raise some money in Texas. And she picked up on this story about the cars going to Dallas. The strange thing was, why the fuck didn't they fly? It's 38 fucking hours of driving. Jesus fucking Christ, they had no I-95 then. I don't discount that Marita saw something. I don't discount that she may have seen somebody, there was a caravan or talk about a caravan. Now we don't discount the fact that she saw or heard reference to it, but as far as pin-pointing the personalities, that's bullshit." HEMMING 1995: "The caravan left for Dallas on Tuesday, November 19, 1963."

On Monday, November 18, 1963, President John F. Kennedy arrived in Miami at 5:00 p.m. In 1978 HEMMING told this researcher: "They tried to get us to Dallas. They got us to the airport when Kennedy came through Miami on November 18, 1963, supposedly to eyeball the crowd for Castro double agents who might try to harm the President. I made sure our people weren't carrying any weapons. We were there and there was going to be a hit. We got in a helicopter and went over to the beach. [In 1994 he denied having said this.] Now when that didn't work they tried to get us to Dallas. They tried to get us in the same city." In 1984 HEMMING told this researcher he was at the airport: "FBI S.A. George Davis was the man who contacted us on Saturday, November 16, 1963. I had never dealt with him before. He told me to go down to the undercover office of military intelligence. We had a meeting, during which they explained to us why we were needed at the airport. Nick Navarro, Tony Fontana, BERNARDO De TORRES and Secret Service Agent Ernesto Aragon were there. Aragon had posed as a Postal Inspector to set up Robert K. Brown in 1962. I met him. These people are dirty, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt - that they were doing what they were fucking told to do. That they have gravitated to positions of prominence since then, means somebody thinks they know something. They wanted our group to be at the airport when Kennedy came through Miami on November 18, 1963. Gorman disobeyed orders. There was going to be a hit by the Santana brothers. During the shootout with the Castro double agents the President would catch a slug. Learn the goddamn business. That's the way it's done. We were supposed to be left there with fuckin' holes in our head. A hit was going to go down there and we were going to be left holding the bag, asshole. Now when that didn't work, they tried to get us in Dallas." HEMMING was asked if any files existed on this incident: "Who the fuck keeps files on a crazy fucking operation like that? Were we seen there? Yeah. STURGIS was photographed there." In a Freedom of Information Act request dated January 3, 1977, addressed to the United States Secret Service, HEMMING asked for "Reports reflecting the request of an intelligence agent that my associates and I be present at Miami International Airport, to assist in the 'security' of the visit of President Kennedy to Miami on November 15, 1963." STURGIS was questioned about his presence at Miami Airport. He said he knew nothing of it. "That's too far back, really..." Joseph Gorman, contacted in Bowling Green, Kentucky declined comment. HEMMING called Joe Gorman: "Well, I talked to Little Joe and he said no, he didn't bring his 45. If he did he would have probably taken a shot at him. I mean that's how he felt. What if somebody thought that was our attitude too? That we'd all been running our mouths and bad mouthing Kennedy. What if they thought Joe was representative of the group? What the fuck you think they're puttin' us there for?"

During another conversation HEMMING stated: "We got within spitting distance of Kennedy. We were right there in the receiving line. We're in the gauntlet line. And that's supposed to protect him from anybody trying to rush in and do something. Their attitude is a guy with knife, a bomb, a gun, is gonna rush up. They're not into this kind of rifle sniper type bullshit for some reason. We were the only ones that would recognize Castro double agents. Diosdado had engineered the Santana brothers being taken off the U.S.S. Oxford and being sent to No Name Key the year before. Now, according to George Davis, one of the Santana brothers was reported back in Miami for a hit on JFK. They needed people that could recognize Santana in an instant." Howard K. Davis confirmed HEMMING'S Miami Airport story. Gordon Winslow located photographs of the event, but could not locate HEMMING or Howard K. Davis. Gordon Winslow: "HEMMING didn't know President Kennedy gave a speech out there that day." HEMMING told me about the airport incident in 1978. In 1994 he denied that he did this: "I first told Oliver Stone about the airport incident in 1990. I didn't even tell my own brother, so why should I tell you, slipdick? It wasn't likely OSWALD was there that weekend. It is only likely if they really were prepared to do the hit at the airport. Now that hit would have gone down in front of a lot of people." Wallace Shanley stated: "I have no knowledge of his being at the airport. But it is plausible. There are such people, and HEMMING would have some competence in identifying them."

When The Washington Post of January 20, 1967, carried an article in which BERNARDO De TORRES said he helped the Secret Service guard the President in Miami, William Branigan checked with that agency. According to BERNARDO De TORRES, the United States Secret Service requested his help in spotting potential Cuban assassins. [Miami Herald 2.19.67] The United States Secret Service admitted it contacted several Cuban groups before the visit and asked for their assistance. Brigade 2506 was one of the groups contacted but the Secret Service denied talking to BERNARDO De TORRES. The Secret Service: "De TORRES is known to be a member of Brigade 2506, but not known as one of the top leaders. Some Cubans did mingle in the crowd to try to identify trouble makers." The FBI files indicated BERNARDO De TORRES was military commander of Brigade 2506. William Branigan suggested using BERNARDO De TORRES as informer to William C. Sullivan and J. Edgar Hoover. [FBI 62-109060-NR 2.23.67, 1.27.67, 3.2.67, 5539, 455; FBI 10582555iNR 3.2.67] J. Edgar Hoover commented: "Be certain we don't use De TORRES as an informant or in any capacity." The Miami FBI Office reported that BERNARDO De TORRES was never an informant, Potential Security Informant, or source of information.

No one was trying to frame HEMMING for the Kennedy assassination. HEMMING was not at the Miami Airport on Monday, November 18, 1963, and has constructed a smoke screen with no documents to support him. The only article that gave credence to HEMMING'S story concerned BERNARDO TORRES, who was involved with HEMMING in the assassination.

Before the visit of President John F. Kennedy to Miami on Monday, November 18, 1963, the Secret Service learned from a confidential source that "Pedro Diaz Lanz, a Cuban political extremist, might attempt to approach the President to embarrass him publicly. Pedro Diaz Lanz attacked President Kennedy verbally at a Cuban rally in New York on November 3, 1963." The Secret Service ordered Pedro Diaz Lanz put under surveillance beginning Friday, November 15, 1963. Through Miami Immigration and Naturalization Service intelligence officer Charles Yaeger, "arrangements were (telephonically) made to have Pedro Diaz-Lanz report for an interview by that Agency [Immigration and Naturalization Service] during the time the President was in Miami. Mr. Yaeger subsequently confirmed that when Pedro Diaz-Lanz was requested to report to their office for an interview on Monday, November 18, 1963, he informed them that he was leaving for New York City on the morning of Monday, November 18, 1963." [Ernesto Aragon 12.30.63 File 2320, Miami] Miami television Newsman Vic Walters interviewed Pedro Diaz Lanz about this telephone call. Pedro Diaz Lanz neither remembered any phone call from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, nor any appointment or trip to New York City. As for his whereabouts on November 22, 1963, he was lecturing in front of a Woman's Club in Wichita, Kansas. Newspaper accounts supported Pedro Diaz Lanz, who appeared as a replacement for Alexander Rorke. [Wichita Eagle 11.22.63]

A United States Secret Service document on President John F. Kennedy's visit to Miami noted that Orlando Bosch was interviewed about a demonstration he was planning against the President: "From a confidential source of this office, information was received that Orlando Bosch was planning to picket the President by using widows of Cuban Freedom Fighters dressed in black. Orlando Bosch was interviewed about this report at his home, at which time he was told that he would be personally held responsible for any adverse incident." [USSS Field Force File, Miami, Florida (2326) 1-16--602.111 Aragon/Rowley 12.30.63-Rowley dead 11.2.92 at 84] The United States Secret Service also received word that two former members of the Bay of Pigs Brigade were planning to ask President John F. Kennedy to return the Brigade flag that he had been presented in December. An article in the Miami Herald reported that Manuel Artime planned to demonstrate as well.

On the evening of Monday, November 18, 1963, OSWALD called Ruth Paine and Marina Oswald and admonished them for having asked for him by his real name at the rooming house on Sunday November 17, 1963. Ruth Paine testified: "Marina said immediately after [the call] he didn't like her trying to reach him at the phone in his room in Dallas yesterday. That he was angry with her for having tried to reach him. That he said he was using a different name, and she said 'This isn't the first time I felt 22 fires' a Russian expression."

How OSWALD found out about the call was never explained. Presumably he would have found out about it when the call came in, on Sunday, November 17, 1963, since he was supposed to be at the rooming house that day. If he was angry because of a breach of security, why did he wait until the next evening to call Marina and discuss it with her. The answer to this was that OSWALD was not in the ROOMING HOUSE on Sunday, and found out about the call when he returned home from work on the evening on Monday, November 18, 1963.

On Tuesday, November 19, 1963, OSWALD received a call from Covington, Louisiana, one of his childhood homes, and the place where the INTERPEN training camp had been located. HEMMING told this researcher: "We had an interest in that place for months." A telephone operator in Covington, Louisiana, with eight years on the job remembered: "November 28, 1963. Security Office, Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph, New Orleans, advised Novemeber 27, 1963, that a long distance operator in Covington, Louisiana, advised she recalled placing a pre-paid person to person call to Dallas, Texas, two or three days prior to November 24, 1963. This call was made to LEE HARVEY OSWALD at the Texas School Book Depository, Dallas. Operator recalled she contacted Dallas information and obtained number for Book Depository and was connected without difficulty. Call reportedly was placed by adult female, very polite, with no speech impediment or accent. Operator stated that answering party in Dallas, who was a female, was asked by operator for LEE HARVEY OSWALD. Answering party advised she did not know OSWALD. Operator recalled that calling party then stated OSWALD was a new employee. Operator believes calling party said OSWALD was the janitor. Operator states that answering party said "Oh" as if she knew who it was and call was completed. Security office of Southern Bell has checked all toll tickets for November 21, 1963, and November 22, 1963, without locating ticket for above call. As Covington, Louisiana, exchange handles call for six Louisiana cities it will be necessary to make IBM run or more than 70,000 tickets in an attempt to locate this call. Security Manager for Southern Bell Telephone advised operator appears sincere, is levelheaded and has seven to eight years service. Security office tried to break her story but were unsuccessful. Operator stated she worried about this information on November 23, 1963, and November 24, 1963, and consulted her parents about same prior to reporting this to her supervisor November 24, 1963. Fact that this matter was discussed with parents was verified by Security office."

The Security office subsequently advised the FBI that all toll tickets in the accounting section were run through IBM November 27, 1963, and no such toll ticket located. Checks included tolls for metropolitan New Orleans, Slidell, Covington, Mandeville, Madisonville, Pearl River and LaCombe, Louisiana. Bonnie Richey, the secretary in the Texas School Book Depository who took the call, stated she had some "faint recollection of receiving a call on or about November 21, 1963, or November 22, 1963, for some person, name not recalled, whom she did not know, and recalls that during the conversation some mention was made of the person sought being employed as a janitor. She stated that her recollection is very hazy in this regard, and she cannot be more definite about the call, cannot state that she did or did not receive the call, and has no recollection of receiving a call for LEE HARVEY OSWALD. [FBI 62-109060-1603; FBI DL 89-43 Horton 11.28.63; FBI NO 89-69 11.27.63, 11.30.63, S.A. Nathan O. Brown] OSWALD did not telephone Marina Oswald that day.

On November 15, 1963, the Dallas Division was considered the new office or origin of Marina Oswald SOBIR case. On the Tuesday, November 19, 1963, the Washington FBI Field Office sent this airtel, still highly deleted, to the Director. [FBI 105-8255-78] This Airtel was received by the FBI Office in Dallas on Friday, November 22, 1963.

November 19, 1963

TO: DIRECTOR, FBI (105-82555)

FROM: SAC, WFO (105-37111) (RUC)

LEE HARVEY OSWALD

IS - R

SOBIR

(OO:DL)

Re cablegram to Director from Legat, Mexico City, October 18, 1963, captioned LEE OSWALD, IS-R. (Deleted) The informant stated OSWALD is married to Marina Nichilayeva Oswald, a Soviet citizen, and has a new daughter, Audrey Marina Oswald, born October 20, 1963, Dallas, Texas. OSWALD'S address is known to informant as Box 6225, Dallas, Texas.

An additional copy of airtel sent Bureau for transmittal to Legat, Mexico City and one copy being sent New Orleans for information.

Should information from informant be utilized in any communication prepared for dissemination, it must be suitably paraphrased to protect source and classified 'Confidential' due to the sensitive nature of investigative technique used and since it reveals investigative interest in a foreign diplomatic establishment.

Information being furnished Dallas for whatever action deemed necessary since that office is origin and status of investigation unknown to WFO.

4- Bureau (1- Legat, Mexico City) (Info)

2- Dallas (100-10461) (RM)

1 - New Orleans (100-16641) (Info) (RM)

WRM:mfm (8)

100-10461-57

[Blockstamp reads] "November 22, 1963 Hosty H."

The cablegram that was made reference to in this document dealt with OSWALD'S contact with Valeriy Kostikov. This airtel dealt with his contact with his contact and his wife's contact with the Soviet Embassy in Washington and the fact that Kostikov was a KGB assassin. James Hosty: "You know when I got that? It was after the assassination. Then it disappeared from my workbox. Of course I had gotten earlier communications saying he was at the Russian Embassy, and mentioning Kostikov's name, but not saying Kostikov was a Soviet hitman." S.A. Hosty told his superiors in the FBI:

To: SAC Kansas City

From: S.A. JAMES P HOSTY JR.

The area of concern to me in any testimony before any committee concerns (deleted). It was attached to OSWALD'S file in CCO where I found it after the assassination. This airtel later disappeared. It did not reappear until after I testified before the Warren Commission. Former Assistant to Director Belmont told me I was not to have seen that Air Tel. Former ASAC Clark had hidden this Air Tel from me on orders of Belmont. In view of (deleted) this is understandable, but if the committee begins pressing me this could be a very touchy area.

Kansas City, Missouri

November 14, 1975

I, James Hosty, having been duly sworn make the following statement:

I wish to bring the following information to the attention of the FBI at this time not that I am alleging any wrongdoings on anyone's part but in anticipation of possible questioning about LEE HARVEY OSWALD before any Congressional Committees, the possibility of asking about the handling of any other communications in this case might cause me to have to furnish the following story which could cause considerable difficulty.

On November 22, 1963, shortly after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and shortly after learning that LEE OSWALD was a prime suspect, I attempted to locate his pending file and, after determining the file was out of the jacket, search the Chief Clerk's office. One of the supervisors, Joseph Loeffler, located this file and immediately handed it to me. I noticed on the top of the file was an airtel from the Washington Field Office to the Bureau dated either November 18, 1963, or November 19, 1963, block stamped into the Dallas Office on November 22, 1963. Supervisor Kenneth Howe had apparently seen this airtel since he had written my name in the blockstamp. I don't recall if the airtel had already been serialized. On the way to the SAC's office I read this airtel and was able to determine that (deleted). I took this file to the SAC and was shortly thereafter instructed to proceed to the Dallas Police Department to interrogate OSWALD. I never received this airtel through normal channels.

On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, I had advised the Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service in Dallas, Texas, that his office in Washington should contact our office in Washington since we had two items of secret information which I could not give him. The two items of secret information were this airtel in question and an earlier CIA communication dated October 10, 1963, from Mexico City concerning OSWALD'S contact.

In the early part of May 1964, while reviewing the file on OSWALD prior to my testimony before the Warren Commission, I was unable to locate this airtel which I considered to be highly pertinent since it involved my knowledge of OSWALD'S contacts with the Soviet authorities.

On approximately May 4, 1964, while being questioned by Warren Commission Staff Attorney Samuel Stern in the presence of former Assistant to the Director Alan Belmont concerning my conversation with Secret Service, I mentioned to Stern the Washington Field Office airtel. Belmont immediately stated in anger 'I told them not to let you see that airtel!'

Upon return to Dallas Office following annual leave, I had occasion to look in volume one of the OSWALD file,, and noted both copies of this airtel were now the top serial in volume one. I noted my name had been crossed out and former Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kyle Clark had written his name below mine and initialed it for filing. It should also be noted that shortly after the assassination the case on OSWALD was reassigned from me to ASAC Clark.

It would appear that from the afternoon of November 22, 1963, until sometime in May 1964, former ASAC Clark had retained the serial in his possession which would be proper in view of the fact that the case was assigned to him.

I wish to point out I have not contact with any past or present FBI employees who were assigned to the Dallas Field Office on November 22, 1963, in the past year.

I have not previously furnished this information because it did not appear to be pertinent to previous inquiries until it became apparent that the House Committee might reopen the entire OSWALD case. I have read the foregoing statement consisting of four pages.

Kansas City, Missouri

November 26, 1975.

I, James Hosty, having been duly sworn make the following sworn statement:

On November 25, 1975, Inspector E. N. Best in regard to issues I raised in my sworn statement of November 14, 1975, made available to me copies of serials 48, 49, 50 and 57 of Dallas file 100-10461, on LEE H. OSWALD. These four serials reflect my name, which was in the blockstamp of all four serials, had been crossed out and what appears to be the initials of S. A. Kenneth Howe, former Dallas supervisor, appears in the blockstamp. On serial 50, there is a notation which appears to be in S.A. Howe's handwriting which reads as follows: "48 - 49 - 50 c/o to JPH October 28, 1963, obtained from his box & initialed into file to complete file following November 22, 1963. H" Serial 57 is a Washington Field Office airtel dated Tuesday, November 19, 1963, which is the airtel referred to in my sworn statement of November 14, 1975. I was unable to locate either copy of this airtel when I reviewed this file in the early part of 1964 prior to my testimony before the Warren Commission. I later discovered both copies of this airtel were in the OSWALD file when I reviewed it in the middle of May 1964 following my return from Washington, D.C.

I can now see that S.A. Howe and not former ASAC Kyle Clark had initialed this serial into file. I had assumed Clark's initials would have been on this serial since this case had been reassigned to Clark sometime after November 22, 1963.

Shortly after I was interviewed by Samuel Stern, Warren Commission Attorney, in the presence of former Assistant to the Director Alan Belmont, on or about May 4, 1964, during which time Belmont stated "I told them not to let you see that Airtel." Belmont and I left the building where the interview occurred to go to lunch. While en route to lunch Belmont told me I had to be careful not to divulge FBI "Z" coverage. It is possible Belmont had this technique in mind when he made the statement "I told them not to let you see that Airtel" although I cannot be certain of this.

Inspector Best on November 25, 1975, also advised me that two reports were sent to the Warren Commission by Washington Field Office concerning (deleted) the second report of S.A. C.E. Graham dated Wash. Field Office December 2, 1963, stated an anonymous source furnished the same letter. Inspector Best advised this report was furnished to the Warren Commission December 23, 1963.

It is now clear to me that not only did we furnish information on the obtaining of this letter (deleted) but we also furnished to the Commission our obtaining this letter from an anonymous source.

After reviewing the above serials it appears that serials 48, 49 and 50, which I had previously received, were placed in the file as the note indicated to bring the file up-to-date. It is possible 57 was handled in the same manner; however, I still have doubts this was true with serial 57, because I was unable to locate either copy in the file, and because of the statement made by Belmont that I was not to see this airtel. James Hosty, Inspector E.N. Best, FBI, Bill D. Williams, SAC Kansas City Missouri.

The FBI did not buy this: "A review of the Dallas Field Office file reflects that S.A. Hosty, the Case Agent, was routinely furnished classified information and communications in the LEE HARVEY OSWALD case. Also, on November 22, 1963, Dallas received a communication dated Tuesday, November 19, 1963, from the Washington Field Office containing classified information relating to OSWALD'S visit to Mexico City. This communication was routinely channeled to Hosty as indicated by Hosty's name appearing in the appropriate place in the block stamp. Hosty's name was then crossed out and the serial was initialed to file by Kenneth Howe. It appears that this communication, while originally directed to Hosty, was retrieved from channels by supervisor Kenneth Howe after the assassination on November 22, 1963, whereupon he crossed out Hosty's name on the block stamp, as was done on Dallas serials 48, 49, 50 and initialed them to file in order that a complete file on OSWALD be assembled. Hosty may or may not have seen this serial prior to the assassination, but there is certainly no data to suggest he was ever denied classified information pertinent to his case on OSWALD prior to the assassination."

Hosty claimed he never saw this document until after the assassination. S.A. Hosty accused Kenneth Howe of having forged his name on this document. This was clearly untrue and even the FBI could not accept this. If S.A. Hosty became aware, on the same day that the President was to visit Dallas, that one of his Subjects had been in contact with a Soviet assassin, he should have contacted the Subject immediately. S.A. Hosty should have contacted OSWALD when he found out he was in contact with the Soviet Embassy. He should have contacted him upon his return to Dallas from New Orleans to ascertain if he intended to open a Dallas Chapter of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee.

Also on Tuesday, November 19, 1963, the New Orleans FBI sent a letter to FBI Headquarters changing the office of origin of the OSWALD investigation from New Orleans to Dallas. The Bureau had sent a similar letter regarding Marina Nikolaevna Oswald on November 15, 1963. On Wednesday, November 20, 1963, OSWALD visited the Post Office and filled out a postal form. [Dallas PD Form 209 Invoice of Search Warrant of Ruth Paines home 11.26.63 G.F. Rose] That day he received "One notice of attempt to deliver mail, card dated November 20, 1963, to Mr. LEE OSWALD, 251 West 5th Street, Irving, Texas - a parcel to be picked up."