V. POSSIBLE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN JACK RUBY AND ORGANIZED CRIME

    CONTENTS

    A. THE SHOOTING OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD: RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT *

  1. Following the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby's relationship with the Dallas Police Department was scrutinized. Rumors had naturally arisen concerning this relationship. They included the allegations that Ruby provided off-duty employment for officers at his nightclubs,(1) that he enabled policemen to obtain bank loans by acting as a cosigner, (2) that he provided officers with female companionship,(3) and that he had visited Hot Springs, Ark. with the chief of police. (4) Although documentation for these allegations has not been produced, it is known that Jack Ruby did maintain a close relationship with the police force, "one of the greatest police forces in the world," according to Ruby,(5) even if its nature cannot be determined with precision.

    RUBY'S FRIENDSHIPS WITH POLICE OFFICERS

  2. Ruby took great pride in and thoroughly. enjoyed his friendships with Dallas police officers. He has been described as an individual who loved police officers, (6) was a "police buff," (7) had great respect for authority(8) and was "keenly interested in policemen and their work."(9) The relationship was both collectively and individually. oriented. "I have always been very close to the police department:' Ruby stated in 1964, "I don't know why."(10) As part of this closeness Ruby offered his friends what he could: a free table, a few beers, a listening ear.

  3. Ruby told the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that he had never given money or other things of value to officers except when he gave out bottles of whiskey as Christmas gifts.(11) This practice may have occurred at other times, since it has been reported that policemen were seen going into Ruby's private office in the Carousel (one of Ruby's nightclubs) and leaving with bottles of whiskey. (12) Further, Ruby brought refreshments to officers working at headquarters during major criminal investigations,(13) a practice illustrated by his offer of sandwiches to officers working Friday night, November 22, 1963. (14) On another occasion, Ruby bought two officers late-night steak dinners at a restaurant near the Carousel, (15) and an employee of an all-night restaurant in Dallas told the FBI that when Ruby was present, he would pick up the checks of all Dallas policemen in the restaurant. (16)
    *Prepared by Donald A. Purdy, Jr., senior staff counsel and Howard Shapiro, research attorney.

  4. Ruby was also generous at his nightclubs, waiving the usual cover charge and providing beer and mixed drinks to officers at reduced prices or for free, (17) and perhaps coffee and sandwiches. (18) Joey Gerard, an entertainer who worked at the Carousel occasionally, remarked that Ruby always had a pot of coffee at the end of the bar, and officers would congregate there. (19) Another Carousel employee said that policemen had free access to the kitchen, where they could help themselves to food. (20) Ruby wrote, "The police always were free to use my private office to make calls." (21) Perhaps this "hospitality was not unusual for a Dallas nightclub operator," (22) and possibly other burlesque clubs had similar policies for policemen, (23) but the scope of Ruby's actions seems unusual. One ex-employee of Ruby's told the FBI that he would have a "celebrity night" at the club every Sunday night, where he would entertain as many as eight law enforcement officers and give them steak dinners and drinks. (24) Ruby suggested that these gestures, in spite of the difficulties he sometimes encountered in making a profit, (25) were to be viewed as a manifestation of his concern for the financial status of Dallas police officers. Police salaries were low and officers had little money to spend for personal entertainment. (26)

  5. When Officer L.C. Mullinax was killed while on duty in 1962, Ruby was reportedly deeply affected, grieving over the death for several days.(27) He attended the funeral(28) and forced several strippers-employees to do so. (29) Afterwards, Ruby gave $150 to the officer's widow, even though the light bill at his club was in arrears. (30) Reportedly, Ruby staged a benefit performance for the widow of another slain policeman. (31) Earl Ruby told the committee that his brother once gave a policeman several hundred dollars to cover the cost of his wife's pregnancy. (32)

  6. Intimations have been made that Ruby made payoffs to DPD members for protection and to avoid being closed down for liquor or other violations. (33) There is, however, no significant documentation of this,(34) and Police Chief Jesse Curry commented that payoffs were most unlikely because there was no need for Ruby to pay any police officer. (35) Although, in 1963, Ruby told a boyhood friend that he had had to make small payoffs to unidentified city officials when he first came to Dallas, he had discontinued this practice because Dallas had become an extremely clean city vis-a-vis vice activities. (36)

  7. Similarly, a belief has arisen that Ruby was an informant for the police. Although the idea of Ruby as a registered DPD informant has been thoroughly disavowed by Chief Curry (37) and questioned by other officers, (38) several policemen have stated that they received information from Ruby which led to arrests and aided investigations. Detectives Joe Cody and A. M. Eberhardt, who were partners, mentioned a number of specific instances when Ruby gave them information leading to arrests. (39) Officer J. Herbert Sawyer told the select committee that he had heard that Ruby had passed on information to various officers, but that the information had been of little importance. (40) Detective Cody stated that a phone call from Ruby to headquarters was not an uncommon event, and whoever Ruby knew was on duty at the time was given the opportunity to receive a criminal lead.(41)

  8. Civilians were also aware of Ruby's tendencies to provide information. One of his employees said that Ruby was furnishing criminal information to police officers, (42) Bobby Simons, a musician who periodically played at Ruby's clubs, said that Ruby was a "fink." (43)

  9. Ruby promoted and enjoyed the camaraderie and companionship of individual officers, making a point of using an officer's first name. (44) Ruby knew quite a few of the names of the approximately 1,200 men on the force in 1963. (45) Although a definite count was not possible, there can be no doubt that Chief Curry's statement that Ruby was known by no more than 50 DPD employees was incorrect. (46) Jack Revill, an officer for over 20 years, stated in 1978:

    I would say that those officers who knew Jack Ruby were nonuniform personnel, with the exception of the officers assigned to various beats where his clubs were geographically located. Consequently, we are talking about members of the vice section, narcotics section, the intelligence section, approximately 60 men in that Bureau. Members of the burglary and theft unit would probably have known Jack Ruby. Some members of homicide and robbery may have known him. So we are probably speaking in the area of 100 to 150 people, officers, who would have known Jack Ruby, and this included uniform officers also. (47)

  10. Detective Eberhardt stated that Ruby "knew just about everybody,"(48) and a majority of DPD members interviewed in 1963 and subsequently have admitted to being acquainted with Ruby or having been in one of his clubs. Almost all knew of him as a Dallas businessman and nightclub owner. (49)

  11. Detective E.E. Carlson was a close friend of Ruby's,(50) perhaps as the result of an incident in 1954 when Carlson and his partner, Officer D.L. Blankenship, were outnumbered and endangered by flying beer bottles in an altercation in or near one of Ruby's clubs, the Silver Spur. According to Detective Eberhardt, Ruby was always ready to defend police honor: "If an officer got in trouble around his place, he would help him." (51) On this occasion, Ruby interceded and enabled the-two officers to come out relatively unscathed. (52) Detective Carlson commented that he felt a strong sense of gratitude toward Ruby as a result of this event. (53)

  12. Lieutenant George C. Arnett told the FBI that he was very well acquainted with Ruby. (54) Officer Harry N. Olsen was another of Ruby's better friends, in part because he dated (and eventually married) a Carousel stripper, Kay Coleman. (55) Olsen told the warren Commission that he would talk to Ruby and try to calm him down when he got mad.(56) Ruby also spent some time (possibly over an hour) on Friday night, November 22, 1963, with Olsen and his future wife. (57)

  13. Detectives Eberhardt and Cody were also close friends of Ruby. Detective Eberhardt stated that he visited Ruby's club almost every night when he was on the night shift,(58) and that he had invited Ruby to his home for the christening of his child, born in 1963. (59) Detective Cody has said that he and Ruby went ice skating together, adding that Ruby was an avid hockey fan. (60) Lieutenant James R. Gilmore, a frequent visitor to Ruby's clubs due to his duties on the vice squad,(61) was said by Sam Ruby, Jack's brother, to have been very friendly with Ruby.(62) Others made similar statements to the FBI following the Oswald shooting. (63)

  14. It is unclear whether Ruby cultivated friendships with DPD senior officers. Captain Will Fritz, the head of homicide, strongly denied knowing Ruby,(64) saying that the first time he saw Ruby was when Ruby was arrested following the Oswald shooting(65) and that he had had to ask who he was. (66) Others were not so sure. Robert Lee Shoreman, a musician sometimes employed by Ruby, stated that an older detective by the last name of Fritz frequented the Carousel during one period.(67) Travis Kirk, an attorney familiar with the Dallas law enforcement scene (he worked in the district attorney's office for 6 years) opined that Captain Fritz and Ruby had to have known each other, although he had never seen them together. Kirk stated that Captain Fritz was a "domineering, dictatorial officer possessing photographic memory," and he would certainly have known any nonlaw enforcement persons who had access to headquarters (68) which Ruby did. (69)

  15. Alfred Davidson, who was befriended by Ruby in the autumn of 1963, said that Ruby was casually acquainted with the chief of police and other high-level officers. (70) Reagan Thurman, a long-time friend of Ruby's, said the same. (71)

  16. Despite Ruby's many police friendships, incidents similar to Detective Cody's ice-skating account were rare, as almost all DPD Ruby encounters took place in his clubs or at police headquarters. (72) There was an allegation that Ruby had been seen riding in squad cars, (73) and Eva Grant, Ruby's sister, told the Warren Commission that some officers had been out to Ruby's apartment. (74)

    RUBY AND OFFICER TIPPIT

  17. It is unclear whether Ruby knew Officer J.D. Tippit. Ruby stated that he did not.(75) Others, however, have said that Ruby did know Tippit or that Tippit had frequented Ruby's club(s), (76) sometimes also alleging a possible conspiracy.(77) Andy Armstrong, a Carousel employee, told the FBI that when Ruby heard the news of Tippit's shooting on Friday afternoon while at the Carousel, he indicated he knew Tippit. (78)

  18. At a later date, Ruby told Armstrong that the Tippit he knew was another man on the force and not the one killed. (79) There were three men on the force who pronounced their names similarly, although there were minor spelling differences,(80) and Ruby admitted being acquainted with Detective Gayle M. Tippit. (81)

    POSSIBLE POLICE DEPARTMENT FAVORS

  19. An important question is whether Ruby received anything in return for his friendship and whatever favors he bestowed, beyond personal satisfaction and vicarious feelings. Tangible rewards are difficult to ascertain and appear to be minimal. Ruby said he never asked for any special favors from any police personnel,(82) a contention echoed by Theodore Fleming, an officer who knew Ruby and left the force in March 1963. (83)

  20. Nevertheless, Ruby seems to have been able to avoid minor legal and criminal difficulties, difficulties which should have followed from Ruby's violent character.(84) In 1961, a stripper known as Najada was allegedly slapped by Ruby. She immediately went over to a lieutenant or captain of the DPD vice squad who was in the Carousel at the time, saying she wanted to press charges. The officer laughed at her in Ruby's presence and told her she was crazy.(85)

  21. In February 1963, Ruby assaulted Don Tabon at the Adolphus Hotel, injuring his eye. (86) The incident was treated similarly. Tabon having filed a complaint against Ruby, received a phone call from a DPD detective who suggested he drop the matter. (87) Tabon did not heed this advice, but Ruby was acquitted on the assault charge. (88)

  22. Ruby may have been able to get traffic tickets taken care of. (89) Sam Ruby recalled that at one time Ruby and/or his sister, Eva Grant, had six tickets outstanding, and a warrant was issued. A Lieutenant Shakespeare took care of the matter. (90)

  23. When Ruby hired a new exotic dancer, he was able to use his DPD contacts to determine the true age of the dancer (he wanted to avoid underage employees) and whether she had a criminal record or was involved in drugs or prostitution. (91) Had there been evidence of such involvement, the vice squad would have advised Ruby to fire her. (92) When Mrs. Eileen Kaminsky, one of Ruby's sisters, visited Dallas in August 1963, there was hearsay that the DPD treated her with unusual hospitality. (93)

  24. An indirect advantage of Ruby's DPD friendships was the official and unofficial presence of policemen in his clubs, from which he gained protection from troublemakers and felons. The possibility that off-duty DPD officers worked at Ruby's clubs as bouncers or the like has been alleged by many. (94) DPD regulations forbid any offduty employment in places which serve liquor,(95) and almost all officers have denied participating in or having knowledge of this practice, as has Ruby. (96) Any misconceptions were explained by a common practice whereby special policemen were furrushed by the city (through the police department) to many Dallas clubs and taverns, which paid the city a set fee. The city in turn reimbursed the individual men involved. (97) These special officers were not part of the DPD, but were regulated by the special services bureau of the DPD, and wore a uniform similar to the police uniform. (98) Ruby has said that he used this service. (99)

  25. Ruby was seemingly able to enter DPD headquarters unnoticed and unchallenged, as was dramatically illustrated during the assassination weekend, when he was seen within and around headquarters several times on Friday night (100) and Saturday, (101) and of course on Sunday morning in the DPD basement. Dallas policemen have stated that Ruby was a frequent visitor to headquarters (102) and that he had "entree" to the building.(103) One Dallas nightclub owner told the FBI that it was common knowledge that Ruby spent time at headquarters almost every day.(104) Contradicting this, Lt. James Gilmore told the committee in 1978 that Ruby was not a constant visitor to headquarters and that he only came there in order to take care of business. (105) Vehement denials have followed inquiries to DPD personnel concerning Ruby's possible access to police files and information.(106)

    SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1963

  26. Ruby's access to headquarters and his friendly relationship with the Dallas police, regardless of its nature, has led to speculation that he received assistance in entering the police basement on Sunday morning, November 24. No person has been able or willing to state with certainty that he saw Ruby enter the basement. (107)

  27. The FBI (108) and the DPD (through a special investigative unit) (109) conducted inquiries into Ruby's entry. The Warren Commission was privy to these materials and itself interviewed numerous individuals. As a result, the Commission had information from virtually everyone involved in Oswald's transfer and everyone in the vicinity of the basement. (110) More information has been elicited in the 15 years since 1963 and during the course of the committee's investigation.

  28. The access route that the Warren Commission concluded was "probable" (111) and which the DPD investigative unit characterized as a "reasonable certainty" (112) was the route given by Ruby. during several, but not all, interviews after the shooting. (113) It begins with Ruby walking down Main Street, away from the Western Union office where he had just sent a money order to an employee, and toward the Main Street ramp entrance to the Dallas police basement. Ruby sensed the commotion and noticed a police car leaving the basement via the ramp. He saw a patrolman on guard at the ramp moving away from his post to direct the car into traffic. (114) While this occurred, he turned from the Main Street sidewalk into the ramp. Someone may have hollered at him in an attempt to stop him, but he ducked his head and kept going. (115) Moments later, he shot Lee Harvey Oswald. The basement may be diagramed as follows:

    COMMISSION EXHIBIT NO. 2179

  29. The statements and testimony of the police officers directly involved did not corroborate Ruby's explanation. Patrolman Roy E. Vaughn was the officer assigned to guard the Main Street ramp entrance, and he stated that even when he stepped away from his position to assure the police car safe ingress to the street, he was still able to see the ramp, and saw nobody go down it at the time. (116) Patrolman Vaughn's assertion has not changed in 15 years. (117) He was deemed truthful in a polygraph examination given him several days after the Oswald shooting, when he averted that he had not knowingly let Ruby go down the ramp. (118) In his Warren Commission testimony, Chief Curry placed the blame for Ruby's entry on Patrolman Vaughn, but intimated that the error may have been inadvertent, that Ruby may have slipped by without Patrolman Vaughn's realizing it. (119)

  30. The recollections of other police witnesses contradict Ruby's entering from the ramp. Lt. Rio Samuel Pierce was the driver of the car on the ramp, and he stated he did not see Ruby and was unaware that anyone went down the ramp in the timespan. (120) Similarly, his two passengers, Sgt. James Putnam and Sgt. Billy Joe Maxey, did not notice any attempt by anyone to enter from the ramp(121); both men commented that the narrowness of the ramp would make it extremely difficult for a person to slip by when a car was exiting. (122) Both Lieutenant Pierce and Sergeant Putnam were "positive" that no one entered the ramp at this time. (123)

  31. Sgt. Don Flusche did not have any official assignments related to Oswald's transfer to the county jail, but he was standing diagonally across from the Main Street ramp on the opposite side of the street during the period in question. He told the committee in 1978 that he saw the car exit the ramp.(124) He also recalled the obvious commotion caused by the basement shooting. There was no doubt in his mind that Ruby, did not walk down the ramp and, further, did not walk down Main Street anywhere near the ramp. (125) His information was not known or considered by the Warren Commission or the DPD investigative unit. After learning of it in 1978, Capt. Jack Revill,(126) a member of the unit, stated, So if that be true, then maybe Ruby did not enter the basement that way. It tends to dispute the findings of the investigative team I was assigned to."

  32. Detective W. J. "Blackie" Harrison was standing in the basement and said that he saw Lieutenant Pierce's car go up the ramp and stop at the ramp entrance for a very short time. He did not see Ruby come down the ramp.(128) His response was deemed truthful when the Dallas Police Department administered a polygraph test to him. (129)

  33. Lieutenant Pierce, (130) Sergeant Maxey, (131) Detective Harrison(132.) and Sergeant Flusche(133) all knew Ruby by sight, which should reinforce their statements. Patrolman Vaughn had encountered Ruby several times on police business, (134) and told the Warren Commission in 1964 that he "knew" the man,(132) although he told the FBI in December 1963 that he doubted that he would recognize Ruby if he saw him on the street. (136) In 1977, Patrolman Vaughn told the committee that he definitely knew Ruby and would recognize him. (137)

  34. Several officers stationed in the basement have stated that during the period encompassing Lieutenant Pierce's departure and the Oswald shooting, they may have glanced toward the Main Street ramp at various times without consistently focusing on the area. None has said he saw Ruby or any other individual come down the ramp. (138)

  35. Civilian witnesses have also stated that nobody went down the ramp when Lieutenant Pierce's car drove out. Terrence McGarry, UPI reporter covering the transfer, told the FBI that he was at the bottom of the Main Street ramp, in the middle, and nobody came down the ramp during the 5 minutes preceding the shooting. (139)

  36. Harry Tasker, a cabdriver, had been hired by a reporter to wait outside the police station in readiness for a quick departure when Oswald was enroute to the county jail. Like Sergeant Flusche, Tasker was on Main Street, across from the ramp, and he declared that no one resembling Ruby entered the basement (via the ramp) in the 5 minutes before the shooting. (140)

  37. Napoleon J. Daniels, a former member of the Dallas Police Department,(141) had gone down to police headquarters at about 11:00 a.m. to watch the transfer of Oswald. He saw Patrolman Vaughn at the top of the Main Street ramp and, knowing him from his days on the force,(142) engaged him in conversation.(143) Following this, Daniels continued to watch the proceedings from a spot right off the ramp, on the side furthest from the Western Union office. (144) He stated that when Lieutenant Pierce's car came up the ramp, Patrolman Vaughn stepped away from his post, but no one slipped by to go down the ramp. (145)

  38. Daniels stated several times that he acted as a lookout at this time to insure that nobody entered the ramp, because Patrolman Vaughn was occupied with stopping the traffic. (146) In three 1963 interviews, however, Daniels said that an individual went down the ramp several minutes after Lieutenant Pierce's car had left and before the shooting. (147) In a 1978 Committee deposition, he again averred that an individual went down the ramp after the car had exited. (148) In his 1964 Warren Commission testimony, Daniels at first had stated that an individual walked down the ramp before the car came up, (149) but he changed this statement to after the car came up, when shown his previous statements. (150) Regardless of when it occurred, Daniels said that this person went right by Patrolman Vaughan, (151) without Vaughn trying to stop him. (152)

  39. In his 1978 committee deposition, Daniels was questioned concerning the identity of the individual going down the ramp:

    Q. Did this individual resemble anybody in particular?
    A. Well, there again, I didn't see his face that good. I saw the back of him and kind of the side, you know. I didn't recognize him. But I thought maybe he was some guy who had been down there before and was coming back, you know, to-there was newsmen all over the place down there.
    Q. Based on what. {lid you see of this individual, did he resemble Jack Ruby ?
    A. I didn't know Jack Ruby.
    Q. After that time did you see pictures of Jack Ruby in the newspapers and magazines ?
    A. Mm-hm. Yes, I did. And he did resemble the guy I'd seen go down in there.(153)

  40. This dialogue must be contrasted with Daniels' earlier statements. He had told the Warren Commission that he did not think the individual was Jack Ruby,(154) and prior to his Dallas Police Department polygraph test he stated that he was sure it was not Ruby. (155)

  41. The Warren Commission believed that Daniels' story "merits little credence."(156) Its reasons may have included the inconsistencies in Daniels' numerous statements and the problem posed by the time sequence% since it has been determined that only 55 seconds elapsed between the time Lieutenant Pierce's car cleared the crowd the bottom of the ramp and the fatal bullet. (157)

  42. Another civilian witness whose testimony was examined because the Warren Commission believed that it partially corroborated Ruby's narration(158) was James Turner, a WBAP-TV (Dallas) director. Turner told the Warren Commission that he saw Lieutenant Pierce's car going up the Main Street ramp and that about the same time he glanced toward the ramp and saw Ruby coming down it. (159) Turner did not know Ruby,(160) but he was certain that the individual he saw was the same man that shot Oswald. (161) He said that what distinguished Ruby from other men was his hat, which Turner described as felt, round on top, and with a wide (not a snap) brim. (162)

  43. Sylvia Meagher commented on this description in her book "Accessories After the Fact":

    Turner's description of the hat is completely inconsistent with the hat Ruby was wearing when he shot Oswald * * * That hat has a narrow brim, not a "pretty large one," and an ordinary top, not a "round" one. (163)

  44. More importantly, the point where Turner stated he saw Ruby is approximately two-thirds of the way down the ramp. Warren Commission counsel Leon D. Hubert, Jr. directed a number of questions during Turner's deposition toward the possibility that Ruby may not have come all the way down the ramp, but may have come from the garage area, crossed the railing dividing the parking area and the ramp at some point, and then continued down the ramp incline. (164) Turner admitted that he did not see Ruby prior to his being at that point well down the ramp and that because of the degree of the incline and a column which partially blocked his view, he could not see all the way to the top of the ramp. (165) This exchange was not mentioned in the Warren Commission report and casts serious doubt on the Commission's conclusion that Turner's testimony corroborates the ramp theory.

  45. Dallas Police Department reservist. W.J. Newman, said that he saw an individual coming down the Main Street ramp (and blending into the media crowd) about 1 minute before the shooting, just after a shout of "here he comes." (166) Newman could not identify the individual, other than to say that he was a white male. In 1978, he underscored his inability to identify him by declaring that he was only sure that it wasn't Santa Claus.(167) Newman also stated that the man had come down the ramp on the far (jail office) side,(168) a description that does not coincide with the Warren Commission's, which placed Ruby on the near side of the ramp. (169)

  46. Newman had been stationed on the Commerce Street side of the basement, guarding a door opening into the subbasement machincry area.*(170) As a result, his vision was somewhat obscured by the pillars in the basement parking lot,(171) as well as by the many people in the area.

  47. Newman's story should not have been used as corroboration of the Warren Commission conclusion, as was attempted. (172) In fact, Commission Counsel Burt Griffin explicitly did not believe Newman's testimony.(173) It lacked specificity and, like Turner's testimony, again failed to show that the person entered at the top of the ramp, rather than from within the basement area.

  48. The evidence is thus inconclusive, even dismissing Daniels' tale, as did the Warren Commission. (174) Eight witnesses stated that no one (much less Ruby) came down the ramp when Lieutenant Pierce's car left, while one witness (Ruby) stated that he did go down the ramp. The declarations of Newman and Turner can be variously interpreted.

  49. Given these contradictions, which have not yet been fully, explained, the investigative focus should have been on Ruby's story (a focus some did have, notably Burr Griffin) and whether he was credible, as well as whether the other witnesses were credible.

  50. Following the shooting, Ruby was pushed to the ground, disarmed and taken away. Sgt. Patrick T. Dean, who was believed to have been the man in charge of basement security,(175) was one of Ruby's subduers, having leap over a car to do so. (176)

  51. Difficulties have arisen with respect to who was with Ruby and where and what he told them. After a brief interludein the basement jail office, Ruby was escorted to the jail elevator and up to the fifth floor by a number of policemen, including Detectives Don Ray Archer, Barnard S. Clardy, Thomas D. McMillon, and Harrison and Capt. Glenn King.(177) Detective Harrison and Captain King departed almost immediately. (178) The rest were joined by Forrest Sorrels of the Secret Service and Sergeant Dean, who had brought Sorrels from the third floor on orders from Chief Curry.(179) At this time, the semiformal questioning of Ruby, who had been stripped,(180) began. Sorrels stayed only 5 to 7 minutes(181) and then left. C. Ray Hall of the FBI continued the interrogation for several hours. (182) Detectives Archer, Clardy and McMillon were present throughout the period,(183) albeit leaving the room for short intervals; Sergeant Dean left before or just as Hall began the questioning.

  52. Sergeant Dean and Detectives Archer,(184) Clardy (185) and McMiIlon(186) said they heard Ruby say, at some point during this sequence, that he had entered the basement when Lieutenant Pierce's car exited. Sorrels never heard that statement. (187)'Shortly thereafter, Ruby refused to tell Hall and then Captain Fritz the details of how he got in. (188) He also refused to answer questions about his means of access when the FBI interviewed him November 25(189) and then when DPD Lt. Jack Revill interviewed him on December 1 and 3, 1963.(190) During an FBI interview on December 21, 1963, however, he returned to the theory accepted by the Warren Commission,(191) as was the case in a sworn deposition taken after his trial. (192)
    *See figure 1, par. 601.

  53. These changes of mind have aroused suspicion and required a closer look at the statements of Detectives Archer, Clardy and McMillon and of Sergeant Dean. Sergeant Dean had told the Warren Commission in 1964 that, following the shooting, he trailed the group taking Ruby into the jail office and then returned to the basement area where he was interviewed by several television reporters.(193) He then went to the third floor where he encountered Chief Curry and Sorrels, following which he went to the fifth floor where the questioning was to take place.

  54. Dean stated that immediately after Sorrels finished his questioning, he (Dean) asked Ruby how he got in, as Sorrels had failed to make this inquiry, and that Ruby replied he had come down the Main Street ramp when Lieutenant Pierce's car drove out. (194) Sorrels did not remember hearing anything of this nature(195) and told Griffin that Ruby may have told Sergeant Dean how he got in the basement, but Sorrels did not remember hearing it nor does it show up in his notes. (196)

  55. There is another dispute concerning whether Sorrels was still on the fifth floor when Sergeant Dean made his inquiry. Sorrels told the Warren Commission that he had left after questioning Ruby (197) and that he left alone, without Dean. (198) Further, Dean's statements have been inconsistent. (199) In 1964, he said that he could not recall whether Sorrels had been present when he asked this question. (200) But in 1977 he stated that Sorrels was present. (201) He also told the Warren Commission that he and Sorrels departed the fifth floor together. (202) Yet during a 1964 meeting of Dean, Sorrels, and Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade, Dean refuted Sorrels' statement that he did not hearby Ruby's access explanation by saying that Ruby must have spoken after Sorrels had left. (203)

  56. Detective Archer stated that he heard Ruby recite the ramp theory in answer to Dean's inquiry. (204) Detective McMillon said that he too, heard it when the question was asked, but did not know who had posed the question. (205) Detective Clardy originally remarked that he had heard the response at some point in the proceedings when he personally asked Ruby how he got in (he did not mention Sergeant Dean). (206) On the other hand, Clardy told the committee that he did not ask Ruby any questions. Rather, he only heard Ruby's general remarks made to others on the fifth floor. (207) When FBI Agent C. Ray Hall asked about the entry later that day, Ruby "did not wish to say how he got into the basement or at what time he entered."(208) At least two of the detectives were still present at this time,(209) and they did not speak up to relate what they had heard from Ruby earlier. (210)

  57. Detectives Archer, Clardy and McMillon all failed to report, immediately Ruby's Main Street ramp explanation to their DPD superiors(211) despite its obvious importance. Detective McMillon's original report of November 27, 1963, to Chief Curry did not mention Ruby's statement (212), although his December 4, 1963, FBI interview did. (213) When asked by the Warren Commission why this information was not included in his original report, McMillon said, "Well, I couldn't possibly have mentioned everything that I knew about the deal here. I just didn't mention it, I didn't think anything about it being important at all at the time."(214) Detective Clardy did not report Ruby's statements until November 30, 1963 ;(215) no explanation has come forward for his belated action. Detective Archer first mentioned Ruby's statements on December 1, 1963. (216)

  58. Sergeant Dean told the Warren Commission that he notified Lieutenant Fierce of what Ruby had told him sometime Sunday afternoon,(217) and that Pierce informed Capt. Cecil Talbert. (218) Dean also stated that he did not talk with Patrolman Vaughn the rest of the day,(219) but moments later, when asked the same question, he stated that he did speak to Patrolman Vaughn on the second floor of headquarters, with Lieutenant Pierce present and possibly Captain Talbert. (220)

  59. Although these factual inconsistencies may be insignificant, Griflin, among others,(221) was greatly disturbed by the entire situation involving Ruby's story--when he told it and to whom--and let his feelings be known, particularly when questioning Dean.

  60. In 1977, Dean described the issue with Griffin to committee investigators. He remarked that at one point while Griffin was questioning him, they went off the record, and Griffin told Dean that two reports he had submitted to the DPD were not true(222) and that Ruby had not told him that he had come in via the Main Street ramp. (223) Dean had expressed shock to Griffin and said he would not answer any more questions. He also stated that when he went to Washington, D.C., Chief JustiCe Warren personally apologized for Griffin's conduct and vindicated Dean. (224)

  61. It is clear that Dean is a key figure. He seems to have appeared every time something important was taking place. In addition to being in charge of basement security, he was at Parkland Memorial Hospital on Friday (Ruby was reportedly there) and on the fifth floor of headquarters during Ruby's initial interrogation. A Texas appellate court ruled that his testimony should not have been admitted in Ruby's trial and resulted in his conviction being overturned.(225) His confrontation with Griffin created serious problems within the Warren Commission and was partially responsible for the curtailment and restriction of the Ruby part of the investigation. (226)

  62. On May 28, 1964, Dean sent a letter to Chief Curry requesting that he be allowed to take a polygraph examination and suggesting 16 questions. (227) Sometimes later, Dean was administered a polygraph test by Officer P.L. Bentley. Dean admitted in 1978 that he had failed the examination. (228) This information had never been transmitted to the Warren Commission. Nor was the committee able to find a copy of the actual questions and results or a copy of the DPD polygraph log for 1964. (229).

  63. The committee was unable to arrange a convenient date for deposing Dean, and he refused to respond to written interrogatorice sent him in the form of a sworn affidavit. (230).

  64. Some of Griffin's concerns seemed to emanate from two inquiries:1) Why did Ruby initially explain his access and then subsequently refuse to do so? 2) Could aspects of Ruby's story have originated with things said to him by others.? (231)

  65. Ruby may have become silent on the fifth floor after his initial statements because he was suddenly in the presence of strangers, particularly Hall of the FBI.(232) When he was apprehended in the basement, transported via the elevator and initially questioned on the fifth floor, he was among his best friends, "Dallas police officers," and there would be no reason not to explain what had just occurred. Tom Howard, the first of many attorneys to counsel Ruby, said that his hesitancy was the result of his not wanting to get a Dallas police officer and friend in trouble. Ruby himself gave this explanation to Lieutenant Revill on December 1, 1963.(233) Griffin suggested that Ruby did not wish to finger anybody on the force out of fear of possible revenge. (234) At some point, Ruby may have also been advised by. legal counsel not to discuss how he entered the basement, a reason which he a]so mentioned to Lieutenant Revill.(235)

  66. Clearly, Ruby's story contained details that indicated a knowledge of activity on Main Street landscape that morning. He knew that a patrolman was guarding the ramp entrance, (236) he recognized the driver of the police car as Lieutenant Pierce, and he stated that the patrolman had to guide this car into the traffic. These facts were undisputed, and Ruby was aware of them. Therefore, even if the conclusion of the Warren Commission is not believed, it appears that Ruby was either near the Main Street ramp entrance less than a minute before the shooting or he was apprised of these details by someone else.

  67. Both of these possibilities are supportable. Shortly after leaving the Western Union office, Ruby would have been close enough to see the activities at the top of the Main Street ramp (237) and then take another route to the basement. He would have been close enough if he were within the basement, positioned on or just off the ramp when Lieutenant Pierce's car drove up, to see, even if only partially, the events taking place at the top of the ramp. Further, amid the incredible confusion following the shooting, bits and pieces of names (i.e., Lieutenant Pierce) and events may have come to his attention.

  68. One possibility, suggested by Griffin,(238) is that Dean told Ruby what to say in order to protect his reputation and esteem, since he was one of the men in charge of security in the basement and Ruby's entrance might have been blamed on him. Dean stated that as Ruby was being subdued he (Dean) first said, "Jack, goddam." Ruby then said, "Dean, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Dean's rejoinder was, "Man you got me in one hell of a shape," (239) inferring that Dean was immediately aware of his personal predicament.

  69. It is possible that Dean went to the third floor (where he met Chief Curry and Sorrels) to find Ruby, as Griffin has suggested.(240) Dean explained that he went there because he wished to speak to a superior officer about the extent of the information concerning Ruby's identity which would be proper to disclose to the media. (241) Subsequently, he found Ruby on the fifth floor and had an opportunity to talk to him. According to Griffin, "Ruby, being cultivator of police favor and not being desirous of incurring the wrath of the police department, might well have taken the hint from Dean."(242) At least one person on the fifth floor indicated that Ruby-Dean conversation could have taken place privately.(243)

  70. Other theories of how Ruby could have gotten into the basement have been voiced. Of these, four can be supported to some extent.

  71. The first is the obvious possibility that some officer let Ruby in the basement, as had been done normally at other times that weekend (244) and over the years. (245) Jack Ruby's relationship with the DPD would have distinguished him from most other citizens, and until Oswald was shot, his presence would have been innocuous and could have been ignored. Theodore Fleming, a DPD officer for 8 years (he left in March 1963), told the FBI that there was a "good likelihood" that any officer acquainted with Ruby would have allowed him in the building if Ruby had requested permission to do so.(246) There was, however, no evidence to support this theory although the committee reasoned that no one would be likely to admit letting Ruby in if he had done so.

  72. A second theory involves a press pass--Ruby might have gotten through a security checkpointby flashing media identification. (247) This theory has been fueled by Eva Grant's comment that Ruby had some sort of press card,(248) by Ruby's own comments during the weekend (particularly on Friday night when he was seen at headquarters with a note pad and pen) (249) that he was coveting the assassination for the Jewish press,(250) and by the testimony of DPD reservist Harold B. Holly, Jr.

  73. Holly was assigned to Parkland Hospital following the shooting to assist with the handling of traffic there. He stated that he had met another reservist there, identity unknown, and that they had engaged in conversation. The unknown reservist said that either he had let Ruby in the basement or had seen someone else do it, and that Ruby was wearing press identification on his jacket. (251)

  74. Holly's story contained a number of inconsistencies. In a December 1, 1963, interview with Lieutenant Revill, Holly declared that the unknown reservist let Ruby in and did not mention that the reservist had also said he might have seen Ruby being let in by someone else.(252) Then, in a December 7, 1963, FBI interview, Holly added third possibility: that the reservist merely said that he had seen Ruby in the basement. (253)

  75. During his December 1, 1963, DPD interview, Holly was shown photographs of several reserve officers. The report on this interview stated that he was not able to identify the unknown reservist. (254) Yet Holly told the FBI that he had picked out one of the photographs as possibly being a good likeness.(255) The most likely prospect for the unknown reservist was W.J. Newman, because he had recalled the man coming down the Main Street ramp. (256) In addition, he was at Parkland Hospital on Sunday after noon and might have been there at the same time as Holly. In fact, Capt. J.M. Solomon, who displayed the photographs to Holly, stated that Newman's picture was chosen by Holly. Yet Captain Solomon told the Warren Commission that "he [Holly] is confused * * * his statements were so general, such a general nature, and when I showed him the pictures he was unable to positively identify them." (257)

  76. Newman stated that he did not tell anyone at the hospital of what he saw, since he believed it to be insignificant. (258) To add to the confusion, Lieutenant Revill said that Holly did choose one picture, but that the reservist he chose, when interviewed, was out fishing on Sunday and not at Parkland Hospital. (259)

  77. Besides Holly's lack of credibility,(260) the basic problem with the press theory is that Ruby did not have any press passes on his person when apprehended,(261) and he told the FBI he did not have any sort of press card or other identification on the outside of his coat, nor did he show any identification to gain entry to the basement.(262) No discarded press badges were found within the basement, (263) and since many officers knew Ruby, the ruse of a reporter would not have worked with them.

  78. The third theory--that of the television camera--states that Ruby assumed the disguise of a television technician or helper and entered the basement by helping to push a camera into place. Two DPD members, Detectives Roy Lee Lowery and Wilbur Jay Cutchshaw, have mentioned this possibility.

  79. Detective Lowery stated that approximately 3 to 5 minutes before the shooting, he was not sure if it was before or after Lieutenant Pierce's car went up the ramp, although Detective Harrison recalled hearing Lowery say that it was just prior to Pierce's departure,(264) he saw three men with their heads down, coming through the double doors in front of the jail office with a television camera on a tripod and dolly (it was from WPAB, Dallas). The camera was never actually used, and after the shooting Lowery noticed that only two men were moving it away. Detective Cutchshaw had independently noticed the same thing. Both detectives talked to the two known members of thetelevision crew, who said that there had only been two men pushing the camera originally and that they knew nothing about a third. Lowery and Cutchshaw therefore inferred that Ruby had been the third man, (265)

  80. Joseph Goulden, a reporter, wrote an article in a Philadelphia newspaper stating that he was told by an "unimpeachable law enforcement source that Ruby got in the basement with the assistance of a local television cameraman, while carrying television equipment into the basement. (266) When interviewed by the FBI Goulden said that his source got the story from Ruby himself and that the cameraman in question was Jack Renfro. also of WBAP-TV. (267)

  81. Both cases seemed to be implausible. The explanation for the trio seen by Lowery and Cutchshaw is that the two men who were originally moving the camera (identified as Dave Timmona and John Tankersley) were having difficulty balancing the equipment. Another WBAP employee, the aforementioned James Turner, who was stationed with a second WBAP camera already in place in the basement, came over to help. (268) Further, Detectives H.L. McGee and D.G. Brantley were with this camera coming down in the elevator to the basement, and they said that Ruby was not present, that only Tankersley and Timmona were moving the camera. It is also unlikely that Ruby would have used this route because the camera was moved approximately 4 minutes before the shooting, which would correspond with the time at which Ruby was leaving Western Union.(269) Finally, and most important, Renfro, the cameraman, stated that Goulden was at Parkland Hospital at the time of the Oswald shooting. (270)

  82. Last is the alley theory. The alley in question is situated between the Western Union office and the DPD headquarters, running from Main Street to Commerce Street.

  83. In the middle of the alley is a door leading to the first floor of the municipal building.(271) (The municipal building contains both the city hall and the police building. At the street level, the building is divided, although on all other floors it is solid. ) Once inside the door off the alley and in the first floor corridor of the municipal building, a person would normally be able to reach the DPD basement parking lot by either elevator or a fire escape stairway. The stairway has doors at the first floor and the basement. If Ruby had left Western Union and started to walk down Main Street toward Patrolman Vaughn's position, he would have passed the alley and had access to the building.

  84. Although Commission counsels Hubert and Griffin indicated an awareness of the alley in questioning the witnesses, (272) the Warren Commission Report does not mention this possible route.(273) Further, the special DPD investigative unit did not consider it at all.(274)

  85. The possibility that Ruby entered via the alley, went down the stairs,(275) and through the basement door is logistically attractive. Through his knowledge of Dallas police headquarters, Ruby may have been aware of the alley, the stairs ,and the door, and this mode of entry would have been much less conspicuous than the others. It would have enabled Ruby to get in position without having to pass very many persons, since the route went through a fairly empty parking lot in the basement.(276) Further, most, if not all, people were probably focusing on the area nearest to the jail office and ramps, awaiting Oswald's appearance. This path would also have taken Ruby across the garage area and through a railing at a point near the bottom of the Main Street ramp.(277) With respect to timing, Ruby could have entered the basement via this route in the 4 minutes that elapsed between his visit to Western Union and the shooting.(278) On June 26, 1964, an FBI agent walked through the route (including going through the railing near the bottom of the ramp) in response to a request from the Warren Commission; he found that it required 189 steps and 2 minutes and 25 seconds. (279)

  86. Although there were at least three doors along this route, it was possible that they were not or could not be secured. The Warren Commission noted that there were doubts about whether the door at the bottom of the fire escape was secured. (280) John O. Servance, the head porter for these buildings in 1963, said that even when the door at the bottom of the fire escape is locked in such a way as to prevent egress from the basement, a person could still open it from within the stairwell. (281) This was corroborated by two other maintenance employees, Edward Pierce and Louis McKinzie.(282)

  87. Sergeant Dean stated that both he and Sergeant Putnam checked the door prior and found it to be locked from the basement side. When asked by Griffin if he knew that it could still be opened from the inside, Dean at first had no response. (283) Then he said he believed that he and Sergeant Putnam had asked a maintenance man (identity unknown) about this door, and this individual locked it so that a key would be necessary regardless of which side it was to be opened from,(284) contradicting the testimonies of McKinzie and Servance.

  88. Capt. Cecil Talbert's Warren Commission testimony indicated that he did not check this door while he was checking other doors in the area since the usual procedure was to have this door locked at all times after 6 p.m. and always on weekends, and he assumed this was the case. (285)

  89. Edward E. Pierce, also a building maintenance employee, stated that the door leading from the alley into the first floor was constructed in such a manner that it had to be locked from the outside every time an individual left the building in tiffs fashion. Otherwise it would remain open. Pierce said that on Sunday. morning the door was probably opened and closed several times prior to the shooting because the porters were working and needed to get into the alley.. (286) Capt. William Westbrook, a member of the DPD special investigative unit, indicated in 1978 that the alley door was not checked that morning (287) (although his basis for this statement was not clear).

  90. Setvance reiterated the mechanics of the alley door to the Warren Commission and added that the third door at issue--the one leading from the first floor corridor to the fire escape stairwell--was also unlocked all the time. (288)

  91. At the very least, this information raises the possibility that the alley door was left open, albeit inadvertently, and that if Ruby had gone through this door, he would then have been able to continue to the basement without locked barricades. Additionally, security at the relevant point in the basement was not airtight. Patrolman Alvin R. Brock had been assigned to watch the door leading from the fire escape and the nearby elevator doors, but he was reassigned by Sergeants Putnam and Dean at 10:45 a.m. (289) Brock had assumed that reservist located in the immediate vicinity would watch these spots. (290)

  92. Brock's reassignment was not unique; other basement personnel, as well as previously unassigned officers and reservists,(291) were given new traffic duties around this time. For instance, Reserve Patrolman G.E. Worley, Jr., was originally assigned to the garage area and was supposed to keep cars from parking in the first two places on the north side of the parking area. He was reassigned between 10:45 and 11 a.m.,(292) which took yet another man out of the area.*

  93. The reassignments were the result of a change in the transfer plans. The idea of transporting Oswald in an armored car via Elm Street was dismissed in favor of a route along Main Street, with Oswald in a regular police car. Traffic reassignments became necessary,(293) and Sergeant Dean was so notified by Capt. Talbert.(294) The men originally assigned along Elm Street were reassigned, and several other policemen, such as Officers Brock and Worley, were moved out of the basement, even though nobody knew when Oswald would be transferred.
    * See fig. 2, par. 602.

  94. During its investigation of the Oswald shooting, the Dallas Police Department drew up a schematic diagram of the basement, with each person labeled with a number.(295) On this chart, a notation shows that Worley was reassigned at 11 a.m.. Brock at 10:15 a.m. An individual labeled as number 57 is depicted as being at the top of the Main Street ramp. (along with Vaughn and Daniels); another notation states that this person was reassigned at 11 a.m. The key for the diagram does not include a number 57, and the committee did not know who this individual was.

  95. Reservist Newman told the Warren Commission that immediately prior to the shooting, there were only two security men in the garage area: himself, located on the far side of the railing next to Chief Curry's parking area, and a regular officer nearby the first aid station in the basement. (296) Patrolman Brock stated that when he left the basement at 10:45 a.m., he noticed the reservist that he had mentioned previously and another reservist in the garage area nearby the bottom of the ramps. (297)

  96. Although Ruby denied the use of the alley when given a polygraph examination,(298) the question was ambiguous as to exactly what "alleyway" meant. The Warren Commission stated that it did not rely on the results of this examination,(299) and an expert committee, panel refused to make any conclusions concerning the test because the procedures used in 1964 were of such poor quality. (300)

  97. While other theories are possible involving other entrances to the building, the evidence seems to indicate that they should be judged unlikely, (301) given the timing and the lack of witnesses with information to support them. (302)

  98. Several miscellaneous considerations concerning the "abortive transfer"(303) should be mentioned. The number of media persons with their investigative curiosities and aggressiveness, compounded by their equipment, created mass confusion in the basement that Sunday morning. Captain Fritz characterized the news media as a mob,(304) Detective C.N. Dhority's term was "bedlam."(305) They had disregarded Dallas Police Department instructions to stay behind the railings on the far side of the ramps (from the jail office); they had moved forward in a "general surge" (306) when Oswald's appearance was imminent. This situation might have aided Ruby's entry by providing a distraction. It would also have given Ruby "some concealment after he entered the basement," (307) essentially precluding his being stopped before the shooting

  99. Additionally, the large number of media necessarily blocked the vision of some Dallas Police Department personnel, (308) as did the lights needed by the television cameras to insure a clear Picture:(309) lights described as "blinding."(310) Detective Harrison specifically remarked that it would have been difficult to recognize a man coming down the Main Street ramp duo to the glare m your face." (311)

  100. The evidence available indicates that Jack Ruby did not come down the Main Street ramp when Lieutenant Pierce's car exited. The weight of the eyewitness evidence belies this route, and the testimony of various witnesses who supported this route was often inconsistent and inconclusive. Further, the fact that 55 seconds had elapsed between the time the police car cleared the crowd at the bottom of the ramp and the moment of the shooting militates against the Main Street ramp route. This interval would had to have included driving the car up the ramp, hesitation at the ramp entrance before pulling out into the street, Ruby's walk down the ramp(312) and his momentarily positioning himself behind Detective Harrison's shoulder before darting out to shoot Oswald (a movement which is evident from the video tapes and photographs of the incident). (313) While this amount of action is possible m that time, it is improbable.

  101. The alley route was the most likely alternative because of the factors of time and distance, the lack of security in the garage area and along the entire route, and the testimony concerning the security at the doors along the route. This possibility was not considered or investigated by the FBI or the Dallas Police Department and was virtually ignored by the Warren Commission.

  102. However Ruby got into the basement, there was no concrete evidence to show that he received any assistance in doing so from a Dallas Police Department member(314) or anyone else. Ruby. himself denied receiving any assistance. (315) The coincidence of the timing of his visit to Western Union and the shooting seems to preclude any of the assistance theories,(316) as did the uncertainty of officials as to exactly when and how Oswald would be transferred. Chief Curry said that there was no possible way for anyone to have known when Oswald was to be moved, including Chief Curry himself.(317) These factors made warnings or signals highly improbable.

  103. Nevertheless, the timing was so perfect that it made it difficult to accept mere coincidence, and it is unlikely that Ruby entered the basement without some-sort of assistance. This might have been in the form of knowledge of the Oswald transfer plans, direct help in entering the basement, or direct help in both entering and shooting Oswald.(318)

  104. COMMISSION EXHIBIT NO. 2179

  105. Figure 2

    B. ORGANIZED CRIME'S MOVE TO DALLAS, 1947*

  106. It has been alleged that in 1946 Jack Ruby was involved in an attempt to bribe Dallas Sheriff-elect Steve Guthrie. This bribery attempt did in fact occur and involved several Chicago organized crime figures, but Ruby's involvement has never been established. The committee believed it important to reexamine the documents and files relating to this event to determine if Ruby had been involved and if he was associated with the participants.

    THE BRIBERY ATTEMPT

  107. In June 1946, Steve Guthrie won the Democratic primary elect on for Sheriff of Dallas County and was to take office in January 1947. (319) The District Attorney also was retiring, and a "reform" candidate, Will Wilson, was taking office.(320) According to Paul Roland Jones, (321) prior to this time illegal operations had been carried on with the consent of Sheriff Smoot Schmid and various members of the Dallas Police Department. (322) Jones stated that it would be impossible to operate illegal operations under the new administration, so he made plans to discontinue his activities. (323) Prior to this he had, however, made an effort to arrange the continuation of his illegal activities under the new administration.

  108. On October 29 or 31, 1946, Jones called Dallas Police Detective George Butler and asked him to arrange a meeting with Sheriff-elect Steve Guthrie. (324) Subsequently Butler asked Guthrie if he would assist the police department with its investigation of Jones' activities. (325) Guthrie agreed, on the condition that recordings be made of his conversations with Jones.(326) Butler agreed, and arrangements were made with the Texas Rangers to have the meetings recorded. Thereafter, Guthrie and Butler met with Jones on several occasions. Some of Jones' associates also were present at several of the meetings.

  109. The committee obtained the original recordings of these meetings. It also acquired partial transcriptions of the recordings and Butler's detailed notes.

  110. The following sequence of events has been developed from the review of these documents.**

  111. Jones and Guthrie met for the first time on November 1, 1946.(327) During their conversation, Jones mentioned some people from Chicago who had moved to Dallas--Marcus Lipsky, James Weinberg, Paul Labriola, Julian Breakstone, Lou Schneider, and Jimmy Barcella. Jones also discussed the opening of a club in Dallas and stated:

    Here is my proposition to you. You pick a man, a local man, we will put him in business. We will rent him a building but we will finance it We will put in some juke boxes, some marble tables, some sort of slot machines. We will get him a mechanic and a pickup truck. We will start hustling getting him some locations, legitimately, no muscles attached. Somebody that you trust. if you trust him, I trust him. We will furnish him all the slot machines, marble tables, punchboards, et cetera. We will operate and there will be only one gambling house in the county. (328)

    *Prepared by Donald A. Purdy, Jr., senior staff counsel, and Leslie H. Wizelman, staff researcher.
    **Jones and Butler had several meetings during this period which offered nothing pertinent to the resolution of this issue, and they, therefore, are not discussed.

    Jones also stated they would bring in only one man from Chicago, "who is capable of stopping the money."(329). Jones described the man as looking like a preacher and being neither a "dago" nor a Jew. (330) The other people would be local people, naming as examples Bob Fletcher, Tom Cooley, and Sherman Little. (331)

  112. On November 3, 1946, Jones called Butler from Chicago and told him that two headmen from the syndicate and two others from Las Vegas, Nev. would be arriving in Dallas on November 5, 1946.(332) on November 5, 1946, Jones and Jack Knapp registered at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas.(333) Jones introduced Butler to Knapp and informed Butler that his other men, including "their big lawyer from Chicago," would be in Dallas the next day. (334) According to Butler's notes:

    Jones talked about buying the Chicken Bar at Fort Worth cut off and Industrial Boulevard for $185,000. The money to came from his people and the place Co be converted into a gambling club and night spot. He said other locations were discussed but this was the perfect location.(335)

    Jones also stated that:

    After things were going smoothly he would take off and leave the operation in the hands of an equally experienced man who has been here for some time [Harry Hornstein]. (336)

  113. On November 6, 1946, Jones and Knapp met Guthrie and Butler at Guthrie's home; this meeting was also recorded. (337) That evening, Pat Manning arrived in Dallas, and another meeting was arranged for November 7, 1946. (338) Jones, Knapp, Manning, Guthrie, and Butler were present at the November 7 meeting. Manning identified himself as being involved in the policy business in Chicago. (339) A teletype, dated November 8, 1946, from the Chicago FBI office, advised that Manning was believed to be Pat Manno, "who is in actuality a member of the Chicago syndicate and close friend of Joe Batters," also known as Anthony Accardo, a leader in the Chicago syndicate. (340)

  114. According to Butler, the November 7 meeting included discussions of:

    various problems in connections with fixing the various people involved.... It was indicated that already in the bag were: Al Templeton, Gonzales, Will Wilson and that the city would be an easy changeover, come the April election. (341)

  115. The subject of the "local man" who would serve as a front man came up again during the conversation. Manning asked Jones if the man had been chosen. Knapp responded, "Well, we've got a lot of prospects. We have got a half dozen."(342) Later in the discussion Manning said they were not going to bring any people from Chicago into this arrangement, relying instead entirely on "local fellows." (343) Specific names of the local participants were not mentioned. There was also some discussion of undesirable characters in Dallas, including Lois Green, Johnnie Grissaffi, Junior Thomas, Mac Barnes, Monk Wright, Bennie Binion, and AI Meadows.(344)

  116. Jones and Knapp left Dallas for Chicago on November 8, 1946. (345) On November 14, 1946. Jones called Butler from Syracuse, N.Y., and advised he was going to New York City and then to Chicago, where a meeting of the Chicago syndicate was planned for November 18, 1946. (346) This meeting was allegedly for the purpose of mulating plans for moving into gambling activities in Dallas.(347) Toll records indicate Jones was in Syracuse from November 13, 1946 to November 24, 1946. (348) On November 20, 1946, Jones again called Butler from New York City and advised he had been in Chicago but had since returned to New York. (349) He said he was leaving New York for Chicago and would be in Dallas in 1 or 2 days. (350)

  117. On November 23, 1946, Jones and Knapp arrived in Dallas.(351) Butler met them at the Adolphus Hotel.(352) Butler again met with Jones on November 25, 1946. (353) Jones informed Butler that the man with him at the Adolphus Century Room on November was Bob Fletcher and that "Bob was ready to go. So were Johnny Andrews, Chilton, Day, and Little." (354) Jones returned to Chicago on November 26, 1946. (355)

  118. On December 2, 2946, Jones returned to Dallas and again spoke with Butler. (356) He told Butler that Knapp would be in Dallas the next day. (357) He also said that Pete Strance and Bill Bundy, local Dallas characters, had recently been in Chicago and contacted Eddie Vogel, stating that they had "put up $168,000 to elect Jester for Governor and Guthrie for Sheriff and they had been given Dallas County."(358) They offered Vogel part of the "take" If he would finance them and return their $168,000. (359) According to Butler:

    This declaration by these men was made at about the same time Paul Jones made his. Paul was with Vogel and Manning at the time he last called Butler from Chicago. As a result of this other proposition, coming from a fairly reliable source, Paul says his people are a little cold and willing to wait until Steve gets set before they start moving. (360)

  119. On December 4, 1946, Butler told Jones to keep away from Dallas until after "the round up of the outside racketeers in Dallas," but Jones decided not to leave Dallas. (361) On December 12, 1946, Butler visited Jones and was introduced to two men identified as Murray Humphreys and Jake Guzik, Chicago syndicate leaders. (362) Handwritten notes next to Butler's notes stated that these two individuals were not actually Humphreys and Guzik. Later in his notes, Butler said that Dominic Joseph Blasi was the man introduced to him as Murray Humphreys. (363)

  120. Jones, Butler and Guthrie met again on December 13, 1946. (364) Jones said Pat Manning's real name was Pat Manno, Jack Knapp's real name, Jack Nitti. (365) According to Butler, Jones gave Guthrie some money and stated that Knapp and some of the other people would be in Dallas next week and there would be "one last meeting." (366)

  121. On December 18, 1946, Butler contacted Jones who advised that Knapp and "another man from Chicago" were in Dallas, (367) Jones also stated he was going to bring his local representatives, Jesse Chilton, to the meeting with Guthrie in the afternoon. (368)

  122. During the evening of December 18, Jones was arrested along with Don Blaski, alias Dominic Joseph Biasi, and Knapp, alias Romeo Jack Nitti. (369) Jesse Chilton was also arrested. (370) According to Butler, charges were filed against everyone but Blasi. (371) They were charged with attempted bribery of elected officials and held without bond.(372) In 1947, Jones was convicted of attempted bribery and released on appeal bond. (373)

    RUBY'S ALLEGED INVOLVEMENT

    Treatment by the Warren Commission

  123. The FBI reviewed the transcripts of the recordings of the meetings, but not the actual recordings. (374) It was noted in the report that some of the recordings had been inaudible and a detailed transcription had been impossible to make.(375) Consequently, the recordings had not been fully transcribed, but merely summarized. (376) Following its review of these transcriptions, the FBI concluded that they failed to disclose any mention of Jack Ruby.(377)

  124. The FBI also interviewed George Butler, who stated, according to the FBI report of the interview:

    Ruby was not involved in the bribery attempt. In fact he had never heard of Ruby until after the investigation and trial had been completed. He [Butler] stated the way Ruby came into the picture was a number of individuals who were involved in the bribery attempt and in particular Paul Roland Jones began "hanging" out at Ruby's club after the sentence.(378)

  125. Carl F. Hansson, who was chief of police in Dallas during 1946, was also interviewed. He stated that during the Jones investigation he had "on several occasions" read the transcripts of the recordings taken of the various interviews, and he did not recall the name Ruby ever being mentioned. He stated that "he positively does not think that the name of Jack Ruby ever came up in the recorded interviews of Jones by Guthrie and Butler." (379)

  126. The FBI report of Steve Guthrie's interview provides the following version of Ruby's involvement:

    Jack Ruby at that time was a "small time peanut" with this group who were going to bribe Guthrie. Ruby's name came up on numerous occasions, according to Guthrie, as being the person who would take over a very fabulous restaurant at Industrial and Commerce Streets in Dallas. The floor of that building was to be a regular restaurant and the upper floor would be used for gambling. Ruby was to run this club. Jack Ruby never in person talked with Guthrie about this matter and, in fact, Guthrie and Ruby had no conversation during this investigation. However, according to Guthrie, Ruby's name constantly came up as being the person who would run the restaurant and Guthrie said if the records can still be heard, Ruby's name will be heard on numerous occasions. (380)

  127. Two Chicago reporters also indicated they had information that Ruby was involved m the bribery case. Frank Kiernan, special assistant to the U.S. attorney in Chicago, received the information from Jack Wilner, a crime reporter for the Chicago Daily News. (381) Wilner had stated that Ruby was reportedly involved in 1947 with Nick de John, Paul Labriola, Marcus Lipsky, and Jones in an effort to take over gambling in the Texas area. (382) Morton William Newman, also a reporter from the Chicago Daily News, stated he had heard from George Butler that Ruby was involved in an attempt to bribe Guthrie. (383) lie was also advised that Ruby was particularly close friend of Jones. (384)

  128. When interviewed by the FBI, Jones stated, according to the interview report:

    * * * He had never mentioned the name of Jack Ruby, and that he could be sure of this, because he had never heard of Jack Ruby at this time. He said that he is sure that neither Manno nor Nappi had mentioned Ruby during conversations and negotiations with Butler and Guthrie, as Jones was present at all of them. He stated in addition the conversations had not had to do with exactly who would be operating in the Dallas area, and thus there would have been no occasion for discussion of Ruby or anyone else as a person who was to operate a restaurant at Industrial and Commerce Streets. (385)

  129. Jack Ruby did, in fact, know Jones. The Warren Commission states that Ruby was friendly with "numerous underworld figures" and included Jones among them. (386) It appears, however, that Ruby did not meet Jones until after Jones was arrested for the bribery attempt and released on appeal bond.

  130. When Jack Ruby was interviewed by Federal narcotics agents in October 1947, he stated he had known Jones for the. past or 5 months. (387) He had been introduced to him by his sister, but had never spoken to him in Chicago. (388) In 1963 interview, Ruby stated he met Paul Jones in 1947 "at the Silver Spur, it was the Singapore Club first, on Ervay Street here in Dallas." (389)

  131. Eva Grant stated in her testimony before the Warren Commission that she was introduced to Jones by Dr. Weldon Duncan. (390) When asked by the Warren Commission if Jones knew Ruby, she responded, "If he did--no; I doubt if he ever even heard of him * *., and "I don't think he has ever seen him--well, wait a minute, he may have seen the man or heard about him."(391) Grant was then asked if Ruby knew Jones at the time of Jones' narcotics case (fall of 1947). She responded:

    I don't think he ever saw him as far as I know, but I want to tell you that Paul Roland Jones went to Chicago during the period of those 6 months and he did meet my brother Hyman. I don't know what conversation my brother had--my brother thought he was a nice guy--we didn't know anything about his background. (392)

  132. When Hyman Rubenstein was asked if Jack Ruby knew Jones, he replied, "He never met Jones. I met Jones through Eva."(393)

  133. Jones provided yet a different version of his introduction to Ruby. He stated that following his conviction in 1947, he was released on appeal bond and met Dr. Duncan and Eva Grant in Dallas. (394) A short time later, he went to Chicago and was in the company of Paul Labriola, James Weinburg, and possibly Danny Lardino.(395)

    The FBI report on the interview with Jones contains the following:

    They had been in the Congress Hotel to see a man there and met Ruby, whom Jones did not at that time know, coming across the lobby of the hotel. Those with Jones had addressed Ruby by name and introduced him to Jones. (396)

  134. According to Jones, Ruby asked him about the doctor with whom Eva was associating.(397) The report states, "The others accompanying Jones had told him that Ruby was 'OK.'" (398) Jones therefore told Ruby the doctor had a bad reputation, and Ruby said he planned on going to Dallas to straighten his sister out and asked if Jones would help him. The FBI report notes that, "One of those accompanying Jones had again replied that Ruby was all right and urged Jones to help which Jones had agreed to do."(399) A "few days later" Jones returned to Dallas, and about the same time Ruby also appeared in Dallas. Ruby contacted Jones and asked him for assistance in locating an apartment. (400)

  135. Jones related substantially the same version of his first meeting with Ruby in an interview on December 17, 1963. (401) He added, however, that Eva Grant had arranged the meeting between Jones, Labriola, and Weinberg.(402)

  136. In interviews after the assassination, Ruby stated he had moved to Dallas in June 1947 and opened a nightclub with his sister. (403) Late in 1947, he had returned to Chicago for a few weeks, but his sister asked him to come back to help her with the club. (404)

  137. Ruby was having some difficulty in various "merchandizing deals" in Chicago,* so he agreed to return (405)

  138. The Warren Commission concluded on the basis of the above investigation that Jack Ruby was not involved in the 1946 bribery case.(408) The report states that "the Commission finds it difficult to accept" the report by Steve Guthrie that during the bribery meeting the "criminals frequently mentioned that Ruby would operate `fabulous' restaurant as a front for gambling activities." (409)
    *Ruby was probably referring to the disputes he was having with his brothers about the operation of Earl Products. (406) The Warren report states that Jack Ruby "stayed with the company through most of 1947" and that he "had many disputes with his brothers because he insisted on selling the products of other companies, such as costume jewelry, and he did not like traveling outside of the Chicago area." (407)

    Treatment by the Committee

  139. The committee obtained the original recordings of the various meetings between Jones, Butler, and Guthrie. These were sent to Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. to be recorded onto cassette tapes which were then reviewed. The original recordings were of such poor quality, however, that it was impossible to determine on the cassettes Ruby's name ever came up during the conversations. It also appeared that two recordings were missing. An FBI report from Ruby's FBI file refers to 22 phonograph records; (410) the committee only acquired 20. They were in the possession of George Butler.

  140. The committee reviewed the partial transcriptions of the recordings that had been reviewed by the FBI. It looked for any reference to or mention of Ruby. The review failed to reveal any references to Ruby or Rubenstein, Hyman Rubenstein, Eva Grant, Earl Ruby, the Silver Spur or the Singapore Club.

  141. The Chicago Crime Commission provided the committee with two memoranda concerning organized crime in Dallas. One, dated "about 1946," contained background information about "Chicago hoodlums who have been operating in the Dallas area for the past several months." (411)They were James Weinberg, Paul Ross, Paul Labriola, Martin Ochs, Julian R. Breakstone, Charles R. Coy, Nick de John, Jake Guzik, Harry Hornstein, Paul Mann, Louis Snyder, Jake Keller, Marcus Lipsky, Sam Yaras, and Paul Jones.(412) Attached to this memorandum was a list of names not of record in the Dallas Police Department.(413) Neither the memorandum nor the list made any reference to or mention of Jack Ruby or Rubenstein, Eva Grant, the Silver Spur or the Singapore Club.

  142. The other memorandum is a general background report of "rackets in Dallas."(414) It discusses generally the background of organized criminal activity in Dallas and the Jones bribery case. Again, there was no reference to or mention of Jack Ruby, his relatives or business interests. (415)

  143. The committee also obtained some of Butler's original notes. They contained no reference to Jack Ruby during the relevant time period of the fall of 1946. Butler's notes, dated October 21, 1947, did, however, mention Jack Ruby and Eva Grant.(416) On this date, Butler had interviewed Homer Raymond Padgett, who told him:

    * * * he had worked as manager of the Singapore Club for several months. Padgett stated he became very curious about the people and characters who hang around the place and about 3 months ago, when he tried to overhear what some the bunch were talking about, one jumped up and started beating him with a blackjack. Sitting at the table that night were Paul Jones, Abe Schepps, Jack Ruby, and two more characters known to him as Tony and David. They accused him more orless as a stool pigeon, one grabbed him arms behind his back and Jack Rose [sic] started on him with a sap. Padgett said that the Chicago bunch is gradually moving in, a few at a time. Two men have been placed in the shoe department, it Neiman Marcus Co. They were placed there under orders by a man named Max, who operates the Earl Products, Co. in Chicago. Max seems to be the big man who gives the orders * * * Mrs. Eva Grant is the front for the Singapore Club * * * When Grant died [Eva's husband], apparently of natural causes, she inherited about $100,000 in cash. Her brother Jack Ruby [whose real name is Rubenstein] and two others "beat" Mrs. Grant for nearly all her money. (417)

  144. When Eva Grant was asked about this allegation, she confirmed that Padgett, known to her as "Pat," was a floorman and bouncer for the Singapore Club. (418) She said that Jack Ruby beat Padgett because Padgett had cursed Ruby. (419) Grant also knew Abe Schepps but could not remember anyone by the name of Tony or David.(420) She stated that her husband did not work most of the time and did not leave her any money.(421) Grant did not recall anyone by the name of Max who was associated with Earl Products.

  145. Both Grant and Sam Ruby were questioned regarding their knowledge of or association with the individuals involved in the bribery attempt. Grant stated in one interview that in 1947, just prior to the opening of the Singapore Club, she was visited by Captain Reeves and an officer named Swanson or Hansson from the Dallas Police Department. They had asked her questions about knowing AI Capone and gangsters from Chicago who were visiting her club. At that time, she stated, she had been keeping company with Dr. Duncan, who introduced her to Jones who subsequently offered to buy her club, but without success. Jones, however, did use the phone in the club on sev* eral occasions. (423)

  146. In a subsequent interview, Grant said it was possible she first met Jones in the fall of 1946. (424) Grant was not sure whether she had introduced her brother, Jack Ruby, to Jones. She noted that it was shortly after her arrival from the west coast that she first met Captain Reeves and Chief Hansson. (425) She stated that subsequent to her meeting with Hansson in 1947, he asked her for and was given two cases of beer. (426) She said the last two times she saw Jones were just after he got out of jail in the late 1940's and in 1960, when he visited the Vegas Club.(427) Grant said that, Nick de John was a friend of Jones and Dr. Duncan, and she implied she knew de John through them. (428)

  147. Neither Grant nor Sam Ruby had any personal knowledge of Benny Binion, James Weinberg, Martin Ochs, Jake Guzik, Marcus Lipsky, Tony Accardo, Pete Strance, Bill Bundy, Eddie Vogel, Gus Alex, Lou Schneider, Paul Ross, Charles Coy or Julian Breakstone.(429) Grant, however, did recall that Sam Yaras ran a slotmachine business in Dallas and also did a lot of business with Jones connection with juke boxes.(430) She indicated that she had juke boxes in the club from 1945 to 1948.

  148. The committee interviewed and deposed George Butler regarding Ruby's involvement in the bribery case and relations with Chicago gangsters who were in Dallas. Butler stated that:

    In 1947-48 same members of the Capone organization were trying to move gambling into Dallas and he along with Sheriff Steve Guthrie, Chief of Police Carl Hansson, Ranger W.E. (Dub) Naylor, and Col. Homer Garrison set. them up where they either went to jail or left town(432)

  149. Butler said he had a "snitch" in the Capone outfit who told him Ruby had been considered too emotional and erratic and that the syndicate had no use for him and did not want anything to do with him. (433) Butler's informant was later identified as Jones.

  150. When asked if Ruby's or Grant's name ever came up in his conversations with Jones, Butler responded:

    Yeah, when--when Paul Jones--you know, we were in the midst of all this session that was going on. He would tell me about all the bigwheels in the syndicate, and he said there was guy coming in here that--from Chicago, but he's not part of us. He's too emotional. He's too---He doesn't have the stability that they like in their gangster connections, and he did mention that they had opened a place, I think; called the Silver Spur or the Silver Slipper. (435)

  151. When asked for details regarding the Chicago criminals in Dallas, Butler identified Nick de John, Paul Labriola, Martin Ochs, James Barcella, Danny Lardino, Sam Yaras, Lou Schneider, Jake Guzik, Julian Breakstone, Paul Ross, Charles Coy, and Dave Yaras as being part of the "Chicago group." (436)

  152. Butler stated he used to talk to Jones every time he'd see him on the street."(437) Jones became Butler's informant shortly after the election in 1946 and at one point told Butler that "Ruby didn't amount to anything, but he was trying to get in with them." (438) According to Butler, Jones' explanation for Ruby's move to Dallas was that Ruby had been run out of San Francisco. (439) Jones told Butler, "He's not art of us He wants to be but he's no part of us."(440)

  153. When asked about Steve Guthrie's statement that Ruby was part of the Chicago group, Bultler stated he did not "buy it" because:

    I was closer to them than anybody. I'd go into their houses and listen to all that stuff, and they'd bring characters in here like Manno from Chicago and some of those other top hoodlums, and Ruby never was around * * * I think Steve had the impression that they were going to use Ruby to run that Venus cafe, a gambling joint, after they opened up, but in these tapes they definitely say they're going to use local people and not going to use any Jews and I don't know why the Jewish angle came up in this thing. (441)

  154. When Butler was asked if Ruby was part of the Chicago organized crime group that moved to Dallas Butler replied, "I'd say that positively in my opinion he wasn't."(442) Butler stated that the Chicago group did not trust Ruby "or have confidence in his stability." (443)

  155. The committee reviewed Jones' FBI file. This file contained information about the bribery attempt but made no reference to Jack Ruby being involved in the incident.

  156. On the basis of the above investigation and research, it would seem that there is no substantial evidence linking Ruby to the attempted bribery of Steve Guthrie. Ruby did know Jones and may have known other individuals who were involved in the incident or who were Chicago gangsters who had moved to Dallas. Ruby may also have desired to participate in the bribery attempt or be part of the Chicago group generally, but there is no significant evidence that he did in fact participate. There is also no evidence that Ruby was to be involved in the final setup of the gambling establishment, had the bribery attempt been successful, or that Ruby came to Dallas for that purpose. Jones did state he would bring one man from the outside into the arrangement and that the remainder of the participants would be local people. (444) It is doubtful that Jones had Ruby in mind at that time as the "outside representative," since Jones had not yet met Ruby. (The evidence indicates Ruby did not meet Jones until after the bribery attempt had failed.) Jones mentioned several people who might have been involved in the operation of the gambling club,(445) but apparently he did not mention Jack Ruby.

  157. That this incident occurred in 1946 made it difficult, if not impossible, to resolve definitely. The primary participants are dead, including Jones, Labriola, Weinberg, de John, Nitti, and Manno. (446) Memories have faded, and there would have been no reason for people to attach any significance to Jack Ruby's name at that time It is, therefore, unreasonable to expect witnesses to remember, in detail, Jack Ruby in the 1940's. In addition, the committee was unable to interview Steve Guthrie.

  158. Despite problems with obtaining statements from witnesses, the documentary evidence regarding this incident is detailed and comprehensive. George Butler's notes and the FBI reports and transcripts of the recordings provided a surprisingly clear picture of the meetings that occurred in 1946. Because of the comprehensiveness of this coverage, it is logical to assume that had Ruby been involved in any significant way, his name would have appeared some place among these documents. On the basis of a review of these documents and the recordings it would seem that Ruby knew Jones, but there was no significant evidence of his participation in the the bribery attempt.

    C. RUBY'S ACTIVITIES INVOLVING CUBA*

    TRIPS TO CUBA

  159. The Warren Commission Report makes reference to a trip Jack Ruby made to Cuba:

    In September 1959, Ruby traveled to Havana as a guest of a close friend and known gambler, Lewis J. McWillie. Both Ruby and McWillie state the trip was purely social. (447)

    The report explicitly states that there "is no reliable evidence that Ruby went to Havana subsequent to September 1959."(448) Interestingly, it contains no such statement about prior trips, nor even mentions that possibility.

  160. Although admitting some "uncertainty" about Ruby's trip to Cuba, the report strongly implies the trip was purely for vacation. It concludes that there was "no substantiation * * * for rumors linking Ruby with pro- or anti-Castro Cuban activities."(449) It does, however, state that Ruby might have been involved as a middleman in a jeep sale to Cuba. (450) Despite this, the possibility that Ruby's trip might have been connected to organized crime interests was not discussed.
    *Prepared by Donald A. Purdy, Jr., senior staff counsel, and Leslie H. Wizelman, staff researcher.

  161. There was evidence that two Warren Commission staff attorneys, Leon I). Hubert and Butt W. Griffin, who were assigned to investigate the Ruby area, had doubts about the report's conclusions. In a memorandum to the Commission, dated March 19, 1964 they discussed Ruby's activities with regard to Cuba, specifically stating:

    The number and length of Ruby's stays to Cuba are not entirely clear. Ruby admits to having been in Cuba only once: in 1959 for about 10 days. However, records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service show that Ruby flew to Havana from Miami on the night of September 12, 1959, and returned to New Orleans on September 13, 1959. Ruby has not explained this trip, unless it is the trip to which Ruby admits. (451)

  162. The memorandum also stated that Ruby claimed his trip to Cuba was to discuss with McWillie "gambling opportunities Cuba." (452)

  163. Griffin and Hubert further discussed various rumors which they characterized as "possible links among Ruby, Oswald, and various Cuba groups."(453) These included the possibility that Ruby might have been involved in illegal activities in Cuba. (454) The two men stated that the rumors had not been "sufficiently investigated or substantiated." (455)

  164. In his testimony before the committees, Griffin stated that the Warren Commission's investigation did not adequately focus on the possibility that Ruby. was involved in illegal activities with Cuban elements who might have had contact with Oswald.

  165. In a letter dated April 3, 1964, the Warren Commission requested the FBI to conduct further investigation so as "to clarify the number of trips which Ruby made to Cuba in 1959 and succeeding years?' (457) This letter also requested that the FBI investigate further several of the allegations raised in Hubert's and Griffin's memorandum. The FBI did reinterview several of the individuals they had previously interviewed.(458) Nevertheless, a review of Jack Ruby's FBI file and Warren Commission documents failed to reveal any resolution of these issues.

  166. In light of its conclusions the Commission either did not fully investigate the allegations and rumors raised by Hubert and Griffin or, if it did investigate, concluded that these issues did not warrant indusion in the report. This omission has raised serious questions among critics of the Warren Commission. Allegations have been made regarding both the. number of Ruby's trips and the activities he pursued on them. One critic claimed Ruby may have traveled to Havana six or more times," (459) another that Ruby "developed a business interest in Cuba."(460) It has also been suggested that Ruby was serving as a courier for organized crime figures.(461) In addition, allegations have arisen regarding possible associations between Ruby and organized crime members who were involved in the CIA Mafia plots to assassinate Fidel Castro. (462) One of the most serious is that Ruby assisted in obtaining the release of Santos Trafficante, Jr., a leading organized crime member, from a Cuban prison.(463) The evidence would seem to indicate that the Warren Commission's inadequate investigation of Ruby's trips was a major reason for the resulting speculation and that the issue warranted further investigation.

  167. While the committee acquired additional information regarding some of these activities, the evidence was not sufficient to resolve all the allegations.

    Statements by Ruby

  168. FBI and Secret Service interviews.--On December 2, 1963, Ruby was interviewed by Secret Service Agent Moore. The report of this interview states:

    Ruby admitted to Agent Moore that he did make a trip to Cuba, which was supposed to last for 10 days, on an invitation from Louis McWillie, described by Agent Moore as gambler who is well known in Fort Worth and Dallas, Tex. McWillie was known to run gambling games in Dallas prior to 1959, according to Moore * * *. McWillie, according to Ruby, wrote Ruby or sent word to Ruby in Dallas that he, McWillie, would like for Ruby to visit him in Havana. McWillie reportedly sent Ruby plane tickets to Havana and Ruby went down as a guest. Ruby told Agent Moore although he was supposed to spend 10 days in Cuba, following his arrival, he found he did not have a good time as he expected, he was not a gambler, and after several days in Havana with nothing to do, he was glad to return to Dallas. (464)

  169. On December 21, 1963, Ruby was interviewed by FBI Special Agent C. Ray Hall.(465) Ruby stated he had visited McWillie in Havana, Cuba, during August 1959.(466) He lived at the Fosca Apartments with McWillie for 8 to 10 days. (467) Ruby claimed he spent all his time in Havana, "except to go to a small area on one occasion with one of the Fox brothers who owned the Tropicana. (468)" Ruby also told Hall he had never been in Cuba "since or before." (469)

  170. Warren Commission Testimony.--During Ruby's testimony before the Warren Commission, he repeatedly stated he had been in Cuba only once(470) and that this trip was in August 1959.(471) The visit was made at the invitation of McWillie, who sent him his airplane ticket.(472) When asked about his travel route to and from Cuba, Ruby appeared confused. He stated:

    I think I told Mr. Moore I stopped in New Orleans. Sometime I stopped in New Orleans, and I don't remember if I stopped in Florida or New Orleans, but I know I did stop in New Orleans, because I bought some Carioca rum coming back. I know I was to Miami on a stopover. It could have been on the way back. (473)

    Continuing, Ruby conjectured:

    * * * here is what could have happened. I could have made double stop from Havana on the way back in taking in Miami, and then taking another plane to New Orleans, I am not certain. But I only made one trip to Havana. Yet I know I was in Miami, Fla., and I was in New Orleans. (474)

  171. According to Ruby, when he arrived in Havana, the Cuban customs agents delayed him "for hours" while searching his luggage. (475) Ruby claimed the reason for this delay was the discovery his luggage of a photograph of one of the Fox brothers. Ruby stated McWillie met him at the airport (476) and that he stayed with McWillie at Volk's Apartments in Havana for approximately 8 days. (477) Ruby again stated he was bored in Cuba. (478) The only activities Ruby discussed were going to the club every evening with McWillie and swimming at the Capri and Nacional once or twice. (479) He stated he was with McWillie "constantly."

  172. During Ruby's polygraph examination, he again spoke of his trip to Cuba:

    When people ask me they say, "Jack, you went to Havana, Cuba"'and I say, "I went there for a vacation." They say, "How long did you stay?" When I say, "8 days" you somehow have got to answer specifically that it was a vacation, because a person can be very evasive and say he went for vacation but yet had other dealings there. (481)

  173. Following this statement, Assistant District Attorney William Alexander asked Ruby if his trip to Cuba was purely for vacation and pleasure; Ruby replied, "That's right."(482) During the actual examination, Special Agent Herndon asked Ruby if he did business with Castro and Cuba; Ruby replied, "No."(483) Herndon also asked if Ruby's trip to Cuba was solely for pleasure, to which Ruby replied "Yes." (484) Unfortunately, the conditions under which the polygraph examination was conducted were such that the test has to be considered invalid, and therefore the results cannot be interpreted. (485)

  174. Other Statements.--- Ruby made several statements to other individuals regarding his trip and activities in Cuba. An FBI interview report on Clarence Rector states:

    He [Rector] went to Cuba for 2 days in late 1959 and in early 1960 he was back in Dallas and went to the Vegas Club and saw Ruby. He mentioned he had been to Cuba and Ruby stated he had recently been to Cuba himself, as he and some associates were trying to get some gambling concessions at casino there but it did not work out. (486)

  175. The FBI also interviewed Tony Otillar, a ticket agent for Delta Airlines in New Orleans. (487)

    According to the FBI report this interview:

    * * * approximately 7 years ago Jack Ruby flew from New Orleans to Havana, Cuba. At that time Ruby was at the New Orleans Airport to catch this flight. Otillar struck up a conversation with him and then became acquainted with him. He advised that prior to leaving on the flight, Ruby made a long distance call to Dallas, Tex., and talked with someone who was employed at his nightclub. He told whoever he was talking to that he was going to Havana and that the entire trip was being paid for by someone else and was not costing him anything. He advised the person he was speaking to on the telephone not to disclose his whereabouts unless it was to the police or some other official agency. (488)

  176. Alice Nichols, who dated Ruby during the 1950's, informed the committee that in September 1959 Ruby called her and told here was going to Cuba on vacation. (489) Nichols believed Ruby was away for 1 or 2 weeks. She provided the committee with a postcard of the Fosca Building as seen from the Nacional that she had received from Ruby. (490) Dated September 8, 1959, it states:

    Dear Alice, the Tropicana is beautiful and do wish you were here. These people are the most carefree I've ever seen. They party in the street all nite. This is the building we are staying in. Mac says hello.--Love, Jack.(491)

  177. The committee interviewed Samuel Ruby, Jack's brother, on December 27, 1977. (492) He stated that some time in 1960 Jack Ruby had told him that McWillie had sent him a ticket to visit him in Cuba and that while there he had met George Raft. (493) Jack Rub also told his brother that he had only spent a weekend in Cuba.(494)

  178. Wally Weston, a comedian and emcee who worked for Ruby, reformed the committee that while visiting Ruby in jail some time after Ruby was convicted, Ruby mentioned Cuba:

    When I went to see him [Jack Ruby] that one time he was shook he said gez, Wally, now they're going to find out about Cuba, they're going to find out about the guns, find out about New Orleans, find out about everything. (495)

  179. Robert Ray McKeown told the committee that Ruby had visited him in 1959 to discuss selling equipment (i.e., jeeps) to Castro. (496) McKeown claimed Ruby told him he knew some members of the Mafia in Cubs and had visited the country once while on vacation.

    Statements by Lewis J. McWillie

  180. FBI and Warren Commission investigation.--McWillie was first asked about his relationship with Jack Ruby on November 25, 1963, when he was interviewed by the FBI.(498) According to the report of this interview, McWillie said that "some time in 1959, Ruby had been in Cuba for about a 1-week vacation and he had seen Ruby there at that time."(499) McWillie disclosed no additional information about Ruby's trip.

  181. During this initial interview, the FBI also asked McWillie about a statement made by Elaine Mynier, a mutual friend of Jack Ruby and McWillie.(500)Mynier had advised the FBI that shortly after Castro took over, she took a vacation to Cuba. Ruby had given her a "short-written message in code consisting of letters and numbers and including the word 'arriving'" and asked her to convey this message to McWillie.(501) In a later FBI interview, Mynier said Ruby gave the message to her in Dallas and told her to "tell McWillie that Sparky from Chicago is coming." (502) She delivered the message that said McWillie made some comment about Ruby to the effect that "he is nuts?" (503)

  182. When asked about Elaine Mynier, McWillie advised that she was a resident of Dallas who worked for the Avis rental agency at the Dallas airport, and that she was acquainted with Ruby.(504) McWillie remembered that she had visited Havana and stayed for approximately 2 weeks. He denied that he had used her as a courier between Ruby and himself. (505)

  183. The FBI reinterviewed McWillie on June 8, 1964. McWillie applied additional details about Ruby's trip. (506) The report of this interview states:

    In 1959, date unrecalled, he wrote to Ruby and asked him he would like to come to Havana for a week. He stated there was no ulterior motive and that he had been a close friend Ruby's and extended this invitation as one would to a brother. He realized Ruby was working hard with his Dallas nightclub and felt that Ruby needed a rest. Because the cost of plane tickets in Havana could be paid for by pesos for aproximately one-fifth of a cost of a ticket in the United States, he purchased a round trip ticket for Ruby at his own expense and mailed it to Ruby in Dallas, after which Ruby boarded plane and flew to Havana for a visit. (507)

    McWillie believed that Ruby did some sightseeing while in Cuba and visited the Tropicana. (508)

  184. The FBI also interviewed Meyer R. Panitz, (509) a Miami resident and friend of McWillie's and Ruby's. (510) McWillie had stated that Panitz was a bookmaker active in the gambling trade. Panitz advised that in the summer of 1959, he was working at' the Booker T. Lounge in Miami Beach, Fla. During this time, he received a phone call from McWillie who was in Cuba. (511) According to Panitz, McWillie told him that Ruby had visited him in Cuba and was then in Miami Beach. Panitz subsequently contacted Ruby at Wolfie's Restaurant, 21st Street and Collins, in Miami Beach. (512) Panitz stated he visited Ruby on two occasions over a couple of days. (513) He could not recall the month of these visits but was somewhat certain it was in the summer of 1959.(514) There is no evidence that the FBI questioned McWillie about the phone call to Panitz.

  185. Another FBI report, dated March 26, 1964, provides additional information about McWillie's associates. (515)

    As of May, 1960, McWillie was pitboss at the Riviera Casino, Havana, Cuba. Report reflects that it would appear McWillie solidified his syndicate connections through his association in Havana, Cuba, with Santos Trafficante, well-known syndicate member, Tampa, Fla.; Meyer and Jake Lanski: Dino Cellini and others who were members of or associates "the syndicate."; (516)

  186. McWillie was not interviewed by members of the Warren Commission staff, and he did not testify before the Commission.

  187. Statements to the committee.--The committee first interviewed McWillie on May 21, 1977.(517) In this interview, McWillie stated "that to his knowledge Ruby was in Cuba only one time as his guest." (518) He gave an explanation for Ruby's visit that he had never mentioned previously--he wanted Ruby to contact Toni Zoppi, a Dallas columnist, in the hope that Zoppi would come to Cuba and write a favorable story about the casino in which McWillie worked.(519) McWillie explained that Zoppi could not come to Cuba that that he gave Ruby a free trip. (520) In a later statement, McWillie said Ruby never told him before his arrival in Cuba that Zoppi was not coming.(521) According to McWillie, Ruby stayed in Cuba 6 days.(522)

  188. McWillie was also asked about an allegation made by John Wilson Hudson, a British journalist. A State Department cablegram from London, dated November 26, 1963, states that Hudson gave information to the American Embassy in London which indicated that Hudson was detained in Cuba in 1959 and that he knew "an American gangster named Santos while in Havana."(523) Hudson also stated that "while in prison individual named Ruby would come to prison with person bringing food."(524).A CIA release dated November 28, 1963, states that Wilson said while he was in prison, "Santos was visited frequently by an American gangster-type named Ruby. (525)

  189. The "Santos" referred to by Hudson was probably Santos Trafficante Jr., a powerful organized crime member detained in Cuba during the summer of 1959.

  190. When asked about Trafficante in his first committee interview, McWillie stated Ruby did not know Trafficante. (526) McWillie added that he also did not know Trafficante, acting as if he did not even recognize the name. (527)

  191. The committee deposed McWillie on April 4, 1978. (528) At that time, McWillie reiterated his new explanation for Ruby's trip, stating:

    When I was in the Tropicana, they [the Fox brothers, owners of the Tropicana were hunting for business, trying to get business, and I suggested that I call Jack Ruby and have him get a hold of Tony Zoppi. Tony Zoppi is a well known columnist like Bishop, Earl Wilson, people like that. That's the kind of a man he was in Dallas and all society people read his column. He wrote me back that they'd come over on a certain date. So I sent him two tickets, which the place paid for. Then I explained to him we would pay for their room. We figured he would get a lot of publicity from it and people from Dallas would come to Cuba. Later on, if I remember right, Jack came and said that, what's his name, Tony couldn't make it. That's the cause of all my problems. (529)

  192. McWillie also stated he asked Ruby to get in touch with Zoppi because he did not know Zoppi too well and Ruby did. (539) Zoppi was an entertainment columnist for the Dallas Morning News whom Ruby visited frequently to obtain publicity for the acts at his club. (531)

  193. In an effort to substantiate this version of events, McWillie supplied the committee with a letter, postmarked August 18, 1976, written by Zoppi to Matty Brescia, who had given it to McWillie's brother. When McWillie first received this letter, it refreshed his memory regarding Zoppi. This letter states:

    Give my regard to McWillie next time you are in touch.

    Jack Ruby and I were supposed to visit him in Havana but got sidetracked. Jack went on ahead and it caused Mack a lot of trouble over the years. The quick buck artists are saying Jack went down there to plan the assassination. He couldn't have planned a gas station holdup in those days. All of a sudden he's a CIA agent, a Mafia don, etcetera, etcetera, sickening. (532)

  194. When McWillie was asked why he did not tell the FBI about Zoppi, he replied:

    I had just forgot about it, to tell you the truth. I was all shook up about the darn thing happening and it just slipped my mind. (533)

  195. McWillie said Ruby visited Cuba sometime in 1959, perhaps in August. (534) When McWillie was informed that an article by Zoppi stated that the proposed trip was in December 1958, McWillie stated:

    Maybe I did call him before 1959. But I did call him in 1959 again. If I did make a call in 1958, then I did make a call in 1959. (535)

  196. Regarding Ruby's stay in Cuba, McWillie stated Ruby stayed at a "little hotel" which he could see from his apartment window in the "Foxa" building.(536) When asked about Ruby's activities in Cuba, McWillie stated:

    He was right out there where I worked. Every morning when I got up he was there. When I left the place, he went with me to eat and went to bed. (537)

    McWillie also indicated Ruby might have gone to a show at the Capri once or twice, but added, "I don't remember a darn thing he did but bug me all week." (538)

  197. During his deposition, McWillie was again asked about Santos Trafficante. This time McWillie stated:

    * * * he knew who I was and he shook hands with me when he saw me, but that was it. I've been asked that a lot of times, too. But I didn't know Mr. Trafficante intimately, no. (539)

  198. McWillie could not recall if he had ever met Trafficante in the United States. (540) When asked if he visited Trafficante in a Cuban prison, Trescornia, McWillie said:

    I didn't visit him. I went out there once or twice to visit a fellow, he was a dealer. He had a young son and a wife and he gambled all his money away. At times we would take up a collection amongst dealers and give him money. I went out there once or twice to see him. (541)

    Continuing later:

    I saw everybody out there. Trafficante, I think he was in there * * * I saw him but i didn't talk to him * * * I don't know him that intimately.(542)

  199. McWillie stated that he did not believe Ruby was visiting him at the time of his prison visits, but indicated he could have been. (543) When asked if Ruby visited the prison with him, McWillie stated:

    I really don't know. It's possible he could have but I don't think, if he did, he went with me and I don't recall it but he could have. I don't know for sure * * *. (544)

  200. In his deposition, McWillie was also questioned about both Meyer Panitz and Elaine Mynier. (545) McWillie believed Panitz was in Cuba when Ruby was there and could not recall telephoning Panitz in Miami to tell him Ruby was also in Miami. (546) McWillie stated he had dated Mynier but denied receiving a message from her that Ruby had sent from Dallas. (547)

  201. McWillie also stated in his deposition that he had traveled to Miami on many occasions to deposit money in a Miami bank for the Fox brothers, the owners of the Tropicana. (548)

  202. On August 16, 1978, McWillie was contacted by the committee. He repeated his statement that Ruby's 1959 trip was to involve Zoppi.(549)

  203. McWillie was next subpenaed to appear before an open session of the committee. He testified on September 27, 1978, at which time he repeated the Zoppi explanation for Ruby's trip to Cuba. (550) On this occasion, McWillie stated he called Ruby in 1958 and asked him to get Zoppi to come to Cuba, but Ruby "couldn't bring him or something."(551) He then called Ruby again in 1959 and repeated his request.(552) He sent Ruby two ticket% but only Ruby made the trip.(553) Again, McWillie stated Ruby was there a week or 6 days.(554) When asked if Ruby might have stayed longer, McWillie stated, "no, I think I took him to the airport."(555) McWillie also denied that Ruby left, Cuba during his visit, returning later:(556)

    If he [Ruby] did make a trip I would not know it, sir, and I would think I would know it, and I didn't see Jack Ruby after he left that one time. (557)

  204. When asked about Panitz, McWillie at first denied calling him, (558) but when confronted with Panitz's FBI interview, stated he could not "recall" telephoning Panitz. (559)

  205. McWillie's testimony regarding Ruby's activities while in Cuba was substantially the same as his prior statements. (560)

  206. When asked again about his visits to the prison, Trescornia, in which Trafficante was detained, McWillie stated he had visited there twice to visit Guiseppe de George (a dealer friend). (561) He may have also visited Dino Cellini, who was detained there.(562) He a]so recalled that Jake Lansky and Trafficante were at Trescornia. (563) McWillie recalled seeing Celline, de George, Trafficante and Lansky(564) on his first visit to the camp. In fact, he spoke with Cellini, de George and Lansky. (565) McWillie stated, however, "I didn't talk to Trafficante because I didn't know him that well to speak to him." (566)

  207. McWillie indicated the same people were at Trescornia on his second visit.(567) With regard to Trafficante, McWillie stated, "I probably said hello to him the second time I was there."(568) When asked if Ruby could have accompanied him to Trescornia, McWillie stated:

    Jack Ruby could have been out there one time with me. I don't think he was. I went out there, I think, by myself * * * I don't know if he was there at that time or not. If he was, I could have taken him out there with me, yes. I'm not positive about it. (569)

    Statements by Tony Zoppi

  208. With respect to McWillie's explanation of Ruby's trip to Cuba the committee interviewed Tony Zoppi on several occasions. The report of the first interview on March 13, 1978, including the following:

    * * * one day in December Jack Ruby called me and asked me how I would like to go to Cuba and write about the clubs there. When I agreed that it would suit me fine, Ruby. said he had a friend, Lewis McWillie, who managed the Casmo in the Tropicana, and he would arrange for McWillie to send us two tickets. About a week later Ruby called Zoppi to inform him that he had received the plane tickets from McWillie and that they would leave in several weeks. Zoppi stated that he never made that trip because 1 week prior to leaving he had received a call from the Sands Hotel informing him that Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. Joey Bishop, Dean Martin, and Peter Lawford were to appear there in what was ballyhooed to be one of the greatest acts in show business. It was to be called the summit meeting. Of course, Zoppi had to accept this invitation and informed Ruby that he was unable to accompany him to Cuba but perhaps would join him at a later date after he had completed his assignment at the Sands Hotel. Ruby did proceed with his plans and went to Cuba and he was to join him after the holidays. Needless to say, Zoppi remarked that he never did join him because on December 31st, Fidel Castro's revolution was a success and he came into power. (570)

  209. Zoppi was reinterviewed on March 31, 1978, and on April 5, 1978. (571) The report of the March 31 interview states:

    His best recollection was that during September or October of 1958 Ruby offered to write McWillie at the Tropicana to get them airplane tickets so Zoppi could review the acts at the Tropicana to help McWillie's business. The OK for trip was received approximately December 8 or 9 (or 10-12) and the trip was to last. 4--5 days. Zoppi wanted to be back for the holidays. They would pay their own way down and be reimbursed: this was the common practice for journalists reviewing acts. In late November, Jack Entratter and Al Freeman called inviting Zoppi to review a big anniversary show at the Sands in Las Vegas. Zoppi said (as he had written in his article) the show was a "summit meeting" show featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. Zoppi figured there wouldn't be anything "like this" in Cuba so he decided to postpone the trip and told Ruby he would meet him down there after the new year on approximately January 4. Ruby told Zoppi he would go down, stay down there and meet Zoppi in Cuba. Zoppi then states he never went down due to Castro's takeover in January. He vaguely remembers Ruby told him he had a good time in Cuba. He doesn't know if Ruby had been there before or not. (572)

  210. On April 5, 1978, Zoppi was questioned further about the dates of the proposed trip to Cuba. He was also shown the letter which McWillie had given the committee, which had reminded McWillie of Zoppi's role in Ruby's Cuba trip. Zoppi authenticated his signature on this letter. (573) It was pointed out to Zoppi that Castro's takeover did not immediately prevent travel to Cuba. (574) Zoppi then called the Sands Hotel to obtain information about the big shows during the 1958-61 period in order to determine which show he had reviewed. (575) He stated it could have been the December 1958 show with Rowan and Martin, the December 1960 show with Marry Allen and Steve Rossi, or the December 1959 show with Dean Martin.(576) He thought it was the big show with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis which he had referred to in his initial interview; it had taken place from January 20 to February 16, 1960. (577) After reviewing all the show% Zoppi admitted he was very unsure about the date of the scheduled trip to Cuba. (578) Zoppi recalled that the alternative trip on January 4 was probably prevented by Castro's takeover. (579) Castro assumed power in Cuba on January 1, 1959; he severed diplomatic relations with the United States on January 1, 1961. Zoppi agreed that perhaps Ruby had gone to Cuba in August 1959 on vacation and the trip Zoppi and Ruby were to take was an entirely different, trip.(580)

  211. The committee again spoke with Zoppi on September 15, 1978.(581) Zoppi repeated that the trip to Cuba was originally scheduled for December 11, 1958, but he postponed the trip so he could attend and review the December anniversary show at the Sands.(582) He also said that when Castro took over on the first of the year, he decided not to visit Cuba. (583). Zoppi stated it was possible the trip was cancelled because of the break in diplomatic relations on January 1, 1961, but believed the trip was cancelled as a result of the Castro takeover on January 1, 1959. (584) Zoppi also stated that Ruby did not give him an airline ticket. (585) He indicated that sometime later, Ruby asked Zoppi why he did not go to Cuba and Zoppi told him it was "because of all that trouble." (586)

  212. Zoppi also supplied the committee with an article he wrote in 1973 called "Ruby in Retrospect" In it, Zoppi stated:

    Jack had a good friend named Lewis McWillie who was a casino executive at the Tropicana in Havana. He asked McWillie if he would like me to fly to Cuba and do a story on the Tropicana's show. Lew agreed and said he would send a pair of plane tickets. The date was set for December 17. 1960. By coincidence, I received a call from Jack Entratter at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas inviting me to "the summit meeting"--an unprecedented show featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. I called Ruby and told him I would have to postpone the trip to Cuba until early January because I wanted to see the Sands show. He said he would depart as scheduled and see me in Havana "right after the first of the year."(587)

    Statements by Santos Trafficante

  213. Trafficante testified before the committee on September '28, [978. He stated he was detained at Trescornia,(588) but could not remember the exact dates he was there. (589) He recalled Dino Cellini, Jack Lansky. Chuck White (Charles Tontine, Jr.) and Guiseppe de George as being other people held at Trescornia.(590) When asked about visitors and people who might have assisted him in being released from Trescornia, Trafficante stated:

    I had a lot of people come and see me trying to help me to get out, and the attorney that 1 had was a fellow by the name of Mr. Bango, and I think Mr. Gener was interested in getting me cut and a, lot of other people that were in the casino business, native people, like Mr. Fox and Mr. Petere and Mr. Alfred Gonzalez and Raoul Gonzalez. We had a good relationship and they all tried their best to get me out. (591)

    Later, Trafficante testified:

    Let me tell you, Mr. Stokes. this was like a camp. There was no---it was a minimum security place. They would let anybody come in. They would let anybody stay with us until 12 o'clock at night. We would coo [sic], we would have food brought in, we would eat, we would drink and there would be, sometimes, the guards would come and sit down with us and eat. Some meal it was like one big happy family. (592)

  214. When asked about McWillie, Trafficante stated he had seen him "around Havana a lot,";(593) however, he could not recall him visiting Trescornia, but acknowledged that he might have come. (594) Regarding Ruby, Trafficante stated:

    I never remember meeting Jack Ruby * * * There was no reason for this man to visit me. I have never seen this man before. I have never been to Dallas; I never had no contact with him. I don't see why he was going to come and visit me.(595)

    Regarding John Wilson Hudson, Trafficante testified:

    Let me tell you what used to happen. I vaguely remember some guy there that was kind of a little bit of a screwball. I don't know if it's him or not. Because there used to be all kinds of people they would bring into there; people that they would bring into there; people that would have difficulty with the traveling papers * * * So it would be possible that he was there, but I was to see him how, I wouldn't remember none of these people. (596)

  215. A confidential source available to the committee previously reported Trafficante as saying:

    Another guy which I read in the paper was supposedly a journalist * * * I remember him vaguely. I didn't even know he was a--they used to come and go. It was not a matter that they would stay. (597)

    Trafficante is reported to have described this man as "a kook, a funny guy, for me he was a mental case." (598); and stated:

    When he came in there they made him like a joke, he was supposed to fill out his food for the next day, the night before, like * * * Like breakfast and dinner and supper and he had to order it the day before. And that was all in fun, he never would get--until we finally had to give him some of our food. (599)

    Paskin Allegation

  216. In a memorandum, dated January 27, 1964, investigator Albert L. Tarabochia, then working in Miami for the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, wrote that on January 24, 1964, he was advised by Jose A. Gonzalez Lanuza of the Cuban Student Directorate (DRE) that there were "indications of a trip to Cuba made by Jack Ruby in 1963."(600) Tarabochia wrote that further investigation "revealed that Jack Ruby had visited Solomon Pratkin or Paskin in Havana. Paskin owns and operates a curio shop in Havana across from the Hotel Seville." (601) Further, Mr. Carlos Valdes-Fauli reported to the writer that he had received a letter from a relative in Havana in which the above information was related. Mr. Valdes-Fauli, when contacted on the evening of January 27, stated that he had surrendered the letter to Agent James O'Connor of the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the agent contacted him at his place of employment that same afternoon. Mr. Valdes-Fauli added that the letter was dated December 1963 and the reference to Ruby's trip to Cuba was "last year the assassin of President Kennedy's assassin visited Paskin last year at hi