by Joan Mellen
p. 7: “catches more oysters”: “Verbal Blasts Mark D.A. Race,” Times-Picayune, December 28, 1961. Section 1, p. 5.
p. 7: Haik approaches Schiro on Garrison’s behalf: Aaron M. Kohn Interview with Robert Haik. Investigative Report. May 31, 1962. MCC.
p. 8: half-drunk: Interview with Judge Adrian Duplantier, February 6, 2001.
p. 8: “we will do no favors”: Interview with the late Vance Gilmer, January 4, 2001.
p. 8: “tolerance of the status quo . . . smog”: Richard N. Billings interview with Jim Garrison. Undated. 94 pages. Papers of Richard N. Billings. Special Collections. Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
p. 8: no one was above the law: Interview with John Volz, March 13, 2001.
p. 8: “Chinese whorehouse”: Jim Garrison, Coup D’Etat. Unpublished manuscript, p. 3 of 1. AARC.
p. 8: law books: Interview with Louis Ivon, January 8, 1998.
p. 8: commanding officer: Coup D’Etat, p. 10 of 3.
p. 8: “Just another day”: Interview with Louis Ivon and Frank Minyard, January 8, 1998.
p. 9: “You’re hired”: Interview with Ross Scaccia, January 6, 2000.
p. 9: first in her class: Interview with Louise Korns, July 13, 2001.
p. 9: a bank charter: Interview with Numa Bertel, October 9, 2000; interview with Phyllis Kritikos, February 6, 2002; “Obtaining a Charter for a State Bank,” Memo by Louise Korns, August 16, 1965. Courtesy of Lyon Garrison.
p. 9: uncashed national guard paychecks: Interview with Dr. Frank Minyard, January 8, 1998.
p. 9: a gambler named Jules Crovetto: Interview with Louis Crovetto, February 6, 2002.
p. 10: crackdown of Bourbon Street: Interview with Barbara Bennett, February 6, 2001; interview with William Livesay, March 24, 2001.
p. 11: charges would be reduced: Interview with William Alford, May 28, 1998.
p. 11: temper justice with mercy: Interview with William Porteous, July 15, 2000.
p. 11: no jail time: Interview with Judge Louis P. Trent, October 8, 2000.
p. 11: armed robbery: Interview with Ray McGuire, March 2, 2001.
p. 11: “I don’t want them charged”: Interview with John Volz, June 13, 2000.
p. 11: medical school professor: Interview with Ralph Slovenko, April 5, 2001.
p. 11: a hurricane, a cyclone: Interview with Numa Bertel, June 5, 2000.
p. 11: safe crackers: Interview with Denis A. Barry, May 17, 1998.
p. 12: long belly: description provided by Raymond Comstock, May 29, 1998.
p. 12: “the Devil incarnate”: Interview with John Volz, January 15, 2000.
p. 12: card games: Notes of Jack N. Rogers. June 14, 1963. Papers of Jack N. Rogers. These papers are in the custody of Rogers’ daughter.
p. 12: he kept dossiers: Interview with the late Frank Meloche, June 11, 2000.
p. 12: Gervais a Kohn informant: Interview with Louis Ivon, October 9, 2000.
p. 12: “those who have money”: Interview with Burton Klein, April 5, 2001.
p. 12: collecting that much: The source is Denis Barry. Investigative Report. October 5, 1964; information received October 2, 1964. MCC.
p. 12: escaped the Bourbon Street crackdown: Interview with John Volz, July 17, 2001.
p. 12: everyone feared Pershing: Interview with Meloche.
p. 13: skull cap: Internal Newsweek Memo: Garrison Backgrounder. February 24, 1967. NARA.
p. 13: “a man that don’t take money”: interview with Ross Scaccia, April 5, 2001.
p. 13: $1500: See Christine Wiltz, The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld (New York: Faber and Faber, 2000), p. 128.
p. 13: “the real character and purposes of people”: Investigative Report. July 21, 1966. Date information received June 10, 1966, conversation between Aaron M. Kohn and D’alton Williams. MCC.
p. 14: for the Hardy Davis-William Livesay story, see: William Hardy Davis, Aiming for the Jugular in New Orleans (Port Washington, New York: Ashley Books Inc., 1976), p. 26; Interviews with William Livesay, December 20, 31, 2000; January 14, 15, 16, 2001. That Jim Garrison did not know about the setting up of Davis: Interview with Lester Otillio, December 10, 2002. Opposing a reduction in Livesay’s sentence: “Garrison Hits Jail Term Cut,” Times- Picayune, November 21, 1963, Section 1, p. 29. “A Gervais operation”: Interview with Louis Ivon, May 28, 2002. “Clearly violated” Davis’ constitutional rights: Campaign advertisement: “What About O’Hara’s Ghost Stories?” Times-Picayune, October 30, 1965, Section 1, p. 20.
p. 15: “shakeup”: “2 Assistant DA’s Quit in Shakeup.” States- Item, May 19, 1965. See also Jim Garrison to Aaron Kohn, May 18, 1965.
p. 15: Kay Roberts: FBI. Memorandum to Director. From: SAC, New Orleans. Subject: Dissemination of critical information to other agencies. New Orleans Division AR. Criminal Influence in Local Agencies. September 22, 1965. 66-6353-2874. 4 pages. “This information was not disseminated to Jim Garrison,” the document reads.
p. 15: “paddling upstream”: Jim Garrison to Aaron Kohn. Personal and Confidential. May 18, 1965. MCC.
p. 15: Jimmy Moran gave up sending bills: Interview with the late Walter Hammer, March 4, 2001.
p. 16: “never learned to slap”: Jim Garrison to Louis Wolfson, August 24, 1989. Courtesy of Lyon Garrison.
CHAPTER 2
p. 17: “There is no final answer”: Jim Garrison, “When Business Leaders Think of Crime and Politics,” fragment of a play, The Garrison Family Papers.
p. 17: the judges had their own hands in the till: Interview with Donald V. Organ, January 10, 2000.
p. 18: Judge Cocke had run the Dowling office: Interview with Numa Bertel, February 6, 2001.
p. 18: “the white man should know better”: Interviews with Judge Louis Trent and Walter Hammer.
p. 18: “the sacred cows of India”: “Prison Crowding Laid to Judges,” States-Item, October 31, 1962, p. 1.
p. 18: Carlos Marcello wanted Garrison out of office: Interview with McKeithen associate John Tarver, January 31, 2000.
p. 18: “put it in a law book”: Interview with Tarver.
p. 18: a sex deviate: Report of Frank Manning to the FBI. March 6, 1967.
p. 18: King James The First. Investigative files received from New Orleans district attorney Harry Connick. NARA.
p. 19: “you lost”: Interview with Robert Haik. Haik is also the source of the Gervais quotation.
p. 19: Garrison v. Louisiana: Supreme Court of the United States. No. 4, October Term, 1964. Jim Garrison, Appellant, v. State of Louisiana. On Appeal from the Supreme Court of Louisiana. Reargued October 19, 1964. Decided November 23, 1964. 379 U.S. 64.
p. 20: “filthy”: Times- Picayune, June 21, 1963, Section 1, p. 7. For the history of James Baldwin’s book being seized, see also: “Book Charges Refused by DA,” Times-Picayune, June 19, 1963; “Offer in Novel’s Case Pondered,” Times- Picayune, June 26, 1963; “Citizens Group Raps Garrison,” Times-Picayune, June 20, 1963, section 1, p. 30; “Case Dismissed Involving Book,” Times- Picayune, September 11, 1964, Section 1, p. 4.
p. 20: choice between remaining with the Bureau: Interview with H. John Bremermann, July 30, 1999.
p. 20: “just couldn’t make it”: Medical Report by Marshall L. Fowler. 1st Lt. MC. Garrison, James C. Captain. 0-1165863 (1951). AARC.
p. 20: “I know this sounds crazy.” Ibid. Fowler report.
p. 20: flying toward the enemy: “Memo to: Stadiem. From: Garrison. January 16, 1984.
p. 21: Dr. Matthews: Military Records: Garrison, James C. Captain.
p. 21: “neurasthenia, or a hypochondriasis”: Douglas J. Page, Colonel. ARTY-RA President. Appended to FBI document 89-69-3250, Agency file: 124-10251-10247.
p. 21: “over-solicitous mother”: Fowler report.
p. 21: he did not reply: Jane Garrison Gardiner to Robert Haik. Undated. Courtesy of Lyon Garrison.
p. 21: the heroine of a woman’s film reminded Jim Garrison of his mother: Interview with Lyon Garriso
n, October 8, 2001.
p. 22: “I consider him very dangerous”: Investigative Report. July 3, 1965. Date information received: July 1, 1965. Reported by Aaron M. Kohn. MCC. See also: “Resume of Conversation— General Pauley and Colonel Garrison—September 18, 1965. Courtesy of General Erbon W. Wise.
p. 22: his mother pressured him to marry: Interviews with Jay Teasdel, Vance Gilmer.
p. 22: orgies: Interview with Denis Barry.
p. 22: “how do you know if you’re in love?” Interview with Peggie Baker, June 6, 2000.
p. 22: “I belong up there”: Interview with Robert Haik. “Get out of my way”: Interviews with Haik and Barbara Barry Ward.
p. 22: “Sex has nothing to do with morality”: Interview with John Volz, July 31, 2001.
p. 23: like a little pixie: Interview with Lenore Ward, August 8, 2000.
p. 23: he adored his children: Interview with Patricia Chandler, May 22, 1998.
p. 23: “we’re going to have a Snapper”: Interview with Mrs. Liz Garrison, January 11, 1998.
p. 23: “A Heritage of Stone,” Crime, Law and Corrections, ed. Ralph Slovenko (Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1966), pp. xvii-xxv.
p. 23: Commentary magazine: James H. Brown Jr. to Jim Garrison, October 2, 1966; Warner J. Dannhauser to Jim Garrison, October 25, 1966. Garrison papers at the New Orleans Public Library, hereafter NOPL.
p. 23: “all that he did”: Louis Ivon interviewed in John Barbour’s documentary film, The Garrison Tapes.
p. 24: “don’t mess with him”: Interview with the late Linda Brigette, July 28, 2001.
p. 24: “use your influence”: Louis P. Trent to Jim Garrison, September 8, 1966. NARA.
p. 24: a private party: Robert Buras to Joan Mellen, April 21, 2004; conversation with Buras, May 28, 2004.
p. 24: “obviously I was paid”: Interview with John Volz, April 18, 2001.
p. 24: “economic importance of Linda Brigette”: MCC telegram to Governor John McKeithen, September 27, 1966.
p. 24: Carlos Marcello is behind Lamarca: MCC Memorandum, September 29, 1966.
p. 24: Core another Kohn informant: Conversation with Mike Seghers, January 6, 2000.
p. 24: “a dancer could be important”: Investigative Report. October 10, 1966. Date information received: October 7, 1966. Reported by Aaron M. Kohn. MCC.
p. 24: “Flat Earth Society”: Press Release. New Orleans District Attorney’s Office. September 21, 1966. MCC.
p. 25: a mortgage loan: “Denis A. Barry to Aaron M. Kohn, September 26, 1966. See also Aaron M. Kohn to Denis A. Barry, September 29, 1966. MCC.
p. 25: Bugsy Schwartz: “Jury Calls MCC Chief, Evidence on Organized Crime Is N.O. Aim,” Times-Picayune, September 27, 1966, Section 1, p. 1.
p. 25: “Put up or shut up!”: “Put Up Or Shut Up, DA’s Word to Kohn”: Times- Picayune, September 25, 1966, Section 1, p. 1.
p. 25: Kohn testified for three hours: See videotaped Kohn statement for WDSUTV, September 24, 1966, and press release of the same date. MCC.
p. 25: return to sender: Memorandum. December 27, 1966. To: All Members of the Staff. From: Jim Garrison, District Attorney. Re: Mail from M.C.C. NOPL.
p. 25: Kohn had praised his office: “Garrison Given Praise by Kohn,” Times-Picayune, August 25, 1962, Section 3, p. 23.
p. 26: “We got avenues”: Interview with L. J. Delsa, January 12, 2000.
p. 26: “the Mafia angle”: Memo. 3/20/77. To: Tanenbaum. From: Fonzi. Courtesy of Gaeton Fonzi.
p. 26: Raymond Beck informs on Garrison: FBI Memorandum, December 24, 1966. 89-69-1484. See also: To: Director, FBI. From: SAC, New Orleans. December 23, 1966. 62- 109060-4366. NARA. See also: Memorandum. To: Mr. Callahan from J. B. Adams. Subject: Aaron M. Kohn, Former Special Agent. SERVICE RECORD INQUIRY. September 29, 1966. Identifying numbers illegible. Beck’s name is redacted but the reference, “retired former Special Agent, now employed by District Attorney’s Office,” leaves no doubt as to his identity. Beck tells Walter the FBI sent him to spy: Interview with William Walter, January 5, 2000.
p. 26: a shoplifting incident: Interview with William Walter, January 5, 2000. As FBI night clerk, Walter had access to the New Orleans field office files, and Beck had asked him to check on Beck’s own secret file.
p. 26: Pershing Gervais “is advising Garrison”: FBI Memorandum. To: Director, FBI. From: SAC, New Orleans. January 4, 1967. 89-69-1376. 4 pages. NARA.
p. 26: “expose errors in the Warren Report”: FBI Memorandum. To: Director. From: New Orleans. February 23, 1967. 124-10241-10096. NARA.
p. 26: repaid his entire debt: Richard N. Billings, “The Case for a Conspiracy: The Garrison Hypothesis,” March 1 and March 13, 1967. Papers of Richard N. Billings.
p. 27: Oswald’s training: testimony of Colonel Allison G. Folsom. Volume VIII, p. 307.
p. 27: “my dog is really stupid”: Jim Garrison interviewed in Beyond JFK.
p. 27: telephone records of Jack Ruby: Notes of Romney Stubbs. Stubbs viewed the document in the Hale Boggs Papers at the Special Collections at Tulane University. It is no longer there. Curator Bill Meneray says that one day FBI agents arrived, declared that they had the permission of Mrs. Lindy Boggs, and removed most of the material from the Boggs papers relating to his work on the Warren Commission. A freedom of information request to the Department of Justice has failed to produce these documents.
p. 27: “pouring out of the crematorium”: Jim Garrison interviewed by the BBC. 1967. Transcript at NARA.
p. 27: bolt-action rifle: Discussion of Oswald and his rifle. Taped telephone conversation. Office of the District Attorney. Tape 541-HC-36. NODA. NARA.
p. 27: Jim Garrison marked the moment: Conversation with Jim Garrison. House Select Committee on Assassinations, November 26, 1978. NARA.
p. 27: “a little like Pershing”: Interview with Herman Kohlman, May 17, 2001.
p. 27: “unstable”: See: FBI Memorandum. From: W.A. Branigan to W. C. Sullivan. March 6, 1967. 124-10042-10456. 52-109060-4678. NARA.
p. 27: the same term used by the Secret Service: Robert Oswald, Lee: A Portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald (New York: Coward McCann, 1967), p. 156.
p. 27: Andrews told the Secret Service: Dean Andrews’ statements to the FBI and the Secret Service during the weekend of the assassination and the week following can be found in Special Agent Warren C. de Brueys’ Commission Document 75, December 2, 1963. File No. 100- 10461. NARA.
p. 28: “frequent the Gaslight Bar”: Warren Commission Exhibit 3104. Vol. 26, pp. 732-733.
p. 28: “homosexual clique”: Davis, Aiming for the Jugular in New Orleans, p. 25.
p. 28: Andrews told his clients he could be reached at Hotel Dieu: FBI Investigative Files on Lee Harvey Oswald. 180-100-301-0064. Box 2, Section 9. HSCA. NARA.
p. 28: “become famous”: Dean Andrews interviewed for Walter Sheridan’s “White Paper.” Interview No. 2. NARA.
p. 28: Eva Springer: Memorandum. To: Jim Garrison. From: Sgt. Tom Duffy. Re: Miss E. H. Springer - Interview of (Former Secretary of Dean Andrews). Interviewed by: Sgt. Duffy, Sgt. Sedgebeer and Officer Navarre. April 13, 1967. NODA. Garrison’s office also interviewed Prentiss Davis: March 9, 1967.
p. 28: Comstock telephones Regis Kennedy: FBI Memorandum. To: SAC. From: Jean B. Hearn. Subject: Lt. Raymond Comstock, information concerning. December 10, 1971. 89-69-3004A. NARA.
p. 29: “pushing me pretty hard”: Andrews’ interview for Walter Sheridan.
p. 29: thirty and forty men: Dean Andrews on WDSU radio, quoted in FBI teletype: To: Director and Dallas. From: New Orleans. Re: Action by Orleans Parish Grand Jury. 124- 10237-10225. 89-69-1722. NARA.
p. 29: lunch: Jim Garrison’s lunch with Andrews is described in On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy (New York: Sheridan Square Press, 1988), pp. 79–83.
p. 30: “never intended”: “Back Up Material for On The Trail,” June 27, 1989, p. 8.
p. 30: “playing
out his assignment”: “Notes re Oswald in ’63.” NODA. NARA.
p. 30: “doesn’t yet know what can’t be done”: Interview with Mark Lane, January 15, 1998.
p. 30: Moo Moo might be aggressive: Interview with Numa Bertel, February 6, 2001.
CHAPTER 3
p. 31, Epigraph: “The key to the whole case”: Jim Garrison interviewed by WIN magazine. 1 February 1969. “Garrison’s Investigation, 1964-1969,” p. 30.
p. 31: for an account of Garrison’s trip to New York with Rault and Long, see “The Garrison Investigation: How and Why It Began,” New Orleans magazine. April 1967, pp. 8, 50-51. See also: On the Trail of the Assassins, p. 13.
p. 31: “chewed my ear off”: Conversation with Audra McCardell, granddaughter of Russell Long, April 20, 1999.
p. 31: “always thought”: “Believes Two Riflemen Involved In Kennedy Assassination—Long,” Times- Picayune, November 22, 1966, Section 1, p. 1.
p. 31: Charlie Ward handled the routine duties: To: Ward. Scribbled on a January 17, 1967, note to Jim Garrison from Charlie Ward. NOPL. See also the evidence of how many engagements Garrison turned down: Joe Humble to Mr. Jim Garrison, October 27, 1966. See also from the NOPL papers: S. R. Abramson to Jim Garrison, March 10, 1967; Irving Ward-Steinman to Jim Garrison, March 20, 1967; Boyce Holleman to Honorable Jim Garrison, March 22, 1967; Jim Garrison to Steven R. Plotkin, December 1, 1966; Steven R. Plotkin to Jim Garrison, November 29, 1966; Jim Garrison to George Muhs, December 1, 1966; The Exchange Club of New Orleans to Jim Garrison, November 19, 1966; Jim Garrison to Honorable Edward J. Boyle, December 1, 1966; Jim Garrison to Honorable Lansing Mitchell, December 1, 1966; Jim Garrison to Frank R. Barnett, December 1, 1966; Charles Moore to Mr. James “Jim” Garrison. October 24, 1966. NOPL.
p. 31: “nothing else matters”: CIA: From C/CI/Rs & A. Transcript. March 26, 1968. Memo: Garrison TV Interview At The Hague on 11 February 1968. 104-10435-10004. Agency file: RUSS HOLMES WORK FILE. NARA.
p. 32: “or the mob”: Richard N. Billings, “The Case for a Conspiracy: The Garrison Hypothesis.” March 1 and March 13, 1967. Papers of Richard N. Billings.