by Mark Shaw
Regardless, Israel’s research did not cause any governmental agency such as the Manhattan District Attorney’s office to re-open the case. Simultaneously, the House Select Committee on Assassinations’ interest in Kilgallen’s death, based on the ME documents it requested, was “not substantial,” even though, G. Robert Blakey told this author that the Committee thought the death was “fishy.” Another dead end resulted as no thorough investigation ensued meaning Kilgallen’s best chance to reverse the accidental death conclusion passed by. This is because the HSCA had access to the Medical Examiner’s page attached to the autopsy report designating Tuinal in Kilgallen’s blood stream. If the Committee had launched an investigation, it appears likely they may have discovered facts that would have challenged Kilgallen’s officially-stated cause of death.
A third chance to challenge the conclusion that Kilgallen died by accidental means occurred in 2007 when the Midwest Today article written by Sara and published by Larry Jordan appeared. Unfortunately, despite the new evidence offered, especially with regard to statements made by eyewitnesses concerning the events surrounding Kilgallen’s death—including Marc Sinclaire, Charles Simpson, Katherine Stone, and, most important, John Broich—law enforcement officials gave no notice to the excellent exposé.
One indication of how the truth about Kilgallen’s life and times has been distorted through the years emerged in late 2015 when a group of San Diego residents, led by Gene Bryan, a retired school district landscaper with no experience as either a researcher or investigator, propounded baseless facts and conclusions about the revered media icon. Shockingly, the San Diego Union-Tribune, via writer Peter Rowe, quoted Mr. Bryan in an article entitled, “Keeping Conspiracy Alive...” The article, which spread through the internet, abounded with unfounded internet conspiracy theories, and it included Mr. Bryan’s comment about Kilgallen having been killed by those close to the Warren Commission without any substantiation for that theory. Mr. Bryan admitted he had no proof, but that disclosure did not deter publication of the wild accusations. Efforts by this author to protect Kilgallen’s reputation by persuading Mr. Bryan and Mr. Rowe to inform readers of my investigation, of another side of the story featuring credible facts about Kilgallen and her death, fell on deaf ears. So much for responsible journalism in today’s world of sensationalism.
At each juncture where a so-called fresh investigation could have permitted Kilgallen’s day in court, so to speak, since there is no statute of limitations for murder, no one carefully examined credible sources, least of all the NYC medical examiner documents. Thus no one became as alarmed as Dr. Luke must have been when he learned what drugs were present in Kilgallen’s system. All along the way, others who viewed the ME documents, apparently including Dr. Baden and Dr. Hoffman, either did not seize the opportunity to question the official cause of death, or, more likely viewed only documents devoid of the Tuinal mention.
This said, Dr. Hoffman’s declaration to this author that he never saw the proper documents, triggers a plausible explanation, revealed here for the first time, as to how Kilgallen suffered the worst possible injustice among so many when she died. Probing why this happened sheds light on the various theories proposed in this book as to why and how Kilgallen was indeed the reporter who knew too much and was silenced for it.
That the ME’s report was scattershot indicates exactly the type of behavior John Broich described in his audiotape interview. Recall that he said things in the office were “kinda screwed up…pretty unreliable. I wouldn’t trust anything, you know what I mean? I was paranoid as hell when I was there. You never knew what was going to happen from one day to the next.”
Before Broich conducted new toxicological tests in 1968, he said Dr. Charles Umberger believed Kilgallen had been murdered. Arguably, the most important clue, besides the discovery of the three barbiturates in her system, was a startling fact: traces of Nembutal were found on one glass discovered on the nightstand in the bedroom where Kilgallen died. As mentioned, this would have been due to sodium, the salt content, in the Nembutal that could leave a telltale sign.
Dr. Umberger concluded the Nembutal residue was present in the glass that Kilgallen drank from (perhaps there was a lipstick stain). When asked what the significance of discovering Nembutal traces on one glass that had been filled with an alcoholic beverage was, Dr. Donald Hoffman told this author in late 2015, “It’s a big deal.”
Yes, it was. The presence of Nembutal on the glass cannot be overemphasized. Both Broich and Dr. Umberger had to have known this was undisputed physical evidence, another smoking gun in addition to the discovery of Tuinal in her system. The Nembutal had been discovered in Kilgallen’s blood stream and this fact was now substantiated by traces of the drug being present on the glass. No guesswork or speculation was required for these men of science. They knew a dangerous drug Kilgallen would have never taken on purpose had indeed been the “murder weapon” along with the Tuinal and the Seconal combination with the effect accelerated by alcohol.
Why, because it is logical to infer that in order for the Nembutal residue to be present on the glass either in the bottom or on the rim (no clarity was provided), Kilgallen must have ingested powder, not the capsules, while sipping her drink, likely vodka and tonic. Otherwise, no residue would have been noticeable had she had ingested the powerful drug in capsule form.
That Kilgallen ingested powdered barbiturates rather than in capsule form may explain why Dr. Luke was quoted in the November 16, 1965 New York Herald-Tribune as stating, it may be recalled, “Dr. Luke would not speculate about the form in which Miss Kilgallen had taken the barbiturates. ‘We’d rather leave that up in the air, he said. ‘We don’t want to give that out—well, just because...’” with the “because” due to his inability to fit this fact, the powdered barbiturates, to the accidental death conclusion he wanted to reach. Adding “circumstances undetermined” to the cause of death also masked the truth as he knew it to be.
Important to recall is that Nembutal’s effects in high doses have led to its use in executions. As a Schedule II Controlled Substance, the drug is now subject to the strictest rules of government regulators. Physicians and pharmacists have to track every pill.
Broich and Dr. Umberger also knew it was illogical to assume anyone as smart as Kilgallen would break open the capsules before ingesting them. With these facts in mind, the two men must have concluded foul play had been responsible for Kilgallen’s death, and that the famous journalist had been murdered at the townhouse where she had ingested the lethal dose of barbiturates. Recall Broich told wife Eileen that Kilgallen had been “bumped off.”
If this is what the two men concluded, then their silence, the cover-up in 1968, is inexcusable and unethical, and it borders on the illegal. They withheld evidence. They had a chance to show the world Kilgallen did not take her own life, or die by accident, since 1) three barbiturates were in her system, including Tuinal and Nembutal; 2) traces of the Nembutal were on one glass; and most importantly, 3) since there were two glasses present on the bedside table, this apparently meant someone was in the bedroom with Kilgallen when she died. Suicide was thus not a viable cause of her death, the two men must have realized, and accidental death could be ruled out.121
Based on these observations, and those of Marc Sinclaire, Charles Simpson and other eyewitnesses to the events surrounding Kilgallen’s death, hopefully her children, those still alive who knew her well, and millions of fans across the globe, will take solace in realizing that she was killed for what she knew, instead of having been instrumental in her own death. This brave woman’s reputation should be restored once and for all so that she is remembered for a body of work rivaling any journalist or investigative reporter, man or woman, in history.
* * * * *
To be certain, John Broich and Dr. Umberger, who blamed toxic office politics as the reason for not disclosing conclusive evidence Kilgallen had not committed suicide or died acciden
tally, failed her and those who loved her. However, based on fresh evidence uncovered by this author, there may have been a worthy explanation for doing so as well as why there was no future investigation of Kilgallen’s death. The explanation for this happening is connected to threats against certain members of the ME’s office during those years. This, in turn, solidifies the finger being pointed at underworld figures being responsible for Kilgallen’s death, either by their own hand or potentially through an operatives’ cooperation.
During interviews with this author in 2015, Broich’s widow Eileen and his son Chris, an ex-policeman, revealed being approached in 2011 by Stephen Goldner, a forensic toxicologist in the NYC medical examiner’s office and a close, personal friend of the Broich family. According to Chris Broich, Goldner explained that he was writing a book about “how the Mafia controlled the NYC ME’s office.” During the conversation, Goldner told Chris, “Your dad was one of the heroes, because he wouldn’t alter toxicology reports like others did in the ME’s office.”
Eileen Broich told this author that John “was forced to leave” the ME’s office, confirming what Goldner said to Chris. She added, “John had to leave. He admitted Mafia presence in the office. They were intimidating. He called one time from the city and was terrified. He was strong-willed. He wouldn’t be bought. There was pressure to fudge results. I said, ‘Why don’t you go to the police?’ John said, ‘They can’t help me.’”
Eileen Broich recalled the family “moving several times, even to Pennsylvania because John believed we were being followed.” She added, “the ME office was investigated. A lot of shenanigans were going on with corpses, necrophilia and such.” Chris Broich said his father had been “blacklisted,” causing problems with alternative employment in his field.
In late 2015, during his interview with this author, Steve Goldner, the supervising forensic toxicologist at the ME’s office from 1970-1974, confirmed Eileen Broich’s account regarding Mafia “control” of the ME’s office in the early-to-mid-1960s. Goldner—also an attorney who, to date, is responsible for more than 230 FDA-approved drugs and medical devices —said, “his understanding was that the same paranoia, paranoia being rampant, existing then [1970s] had existed in the mid-to-late 1960s because of the Mafia influence.” Asked to be specific, Goldner said, “The Mafia had taken control of a large part of the analyses [being done].” He agreed that he, Broich and other toxicologists were expected “to cooperate” and sign-off on reports even if they doubted the accuracy.
This atmosphere, Goldner admitted, related to “cases where the reports didn’t add up, didn’t tell the whole story.” He recalled, “Well, it wasn’t as if Joe Bonnano122 or a guy from Brooklyn walked in and said ‘I own you guys,’ but we knew what was going on. But on a day-to-day basis, it was pretty clear what was happening.” Goldner then added:
For instance, one-half to two-thirds of the people employed in the laboratories were Sicilian, related to each other, pretty much from the same couple of towns in Sicily. And anyone who was supposed to have a college degree somehow those records were lost, supposedly since they got their degrees in Sicily.…On the third day I got there, I asked a guy who supposedly had a PhD about a particular chemical I wanted to order.…I drew the chemical structure for him. He asked his lieutenant and came back and said, “I don’t think we can get this. It’s very rare.” The structure was a simple one, for Benzene, commonly used. That made me know he was not actually a chemist.
Asked about the fudging of toxicology reports, Goldner confirmed he had witnessed this happening. He added that certain cases, like Kilgallen’s in the 1960s, “peaked interest and were never solved.” Goldner added, “There was a pattern to these cases, you could infer things that didn’t add up.”
Goldner consistently recalled that he and John Broich “worked to stop the Mafia influence, stop this inappropriate influence.” That was “costly for John, costly for me,” Goldner said, adding, “Investigations went nowhere, and yes, I was scared because of the pressure. [They made it clear] that it isn’t going to work if you go to the cops.” Asked if Eileen Broich’s statement that John told her he was “terrified” and could not call the police because “they can’t help” was valid, Goldner said the statement had the ring of truth, based on his discussions with Broich.
Goldner then related the final incident that led to his and Broich’s being “forced to leave” the office: “There was an analysis work done by a person not competent to do so, not trained, and it ended up in an official toxicology report. John and I were told to sign off, and we refused to do so. We knew we were being set up but had to sign or else. It was like, listen, ‘the Sicilians are running the place and you better sign.’ When we didn’t, we were escorted out of the office and that was it.”
Dr. Donald Hoffman confirmed Steve Goldner’s assessment of the ME office to this author, adding the caveat, “I don’t honestly believe it was quite that sinister.” He then stated, “[But] there were some serious issues concerning the quality of the work that came out of that lab at that time.” Regarding John Broich’s fear of repercussion if he exposed the 1968 tests that pointed to foul play that caused Kilgallen’s death, Dr. Hoffman said, “It’s perfectly plausible.”
Dr. Hoffman also confirmed that some Sicilians worked at the ME office, but he would admit to no knowledge of their potential links to the underworld. Regarding Steven Goldner’s assertions that he was forced out of the office, Dr. Hoffman told this author Goldner “was a bright guy who had issues with the administration.” Dr. Hoffman recalled, “There was something Steve was asked to do, to sign a report, and he refused to do so. I believe he was told that if he didn’t sign it, ‘we’ll have no choice but to terminate you,’ and they did.”
Following up on Goldner’s assertions of Mafia control of the ME’s office, a source who demanded anonymity due to safety concerns, when asked about why Brooklyn Deputy medical examiner Dominick DiMaio was connected to the Kilgallen case (signed Certificate of Death) instead of the Manhattan deputy ME, told this author, “That’s very unusual. I don’t know of any high-profile cases like this one where a deputy from another bureau was involved in signing a death certificate in a different bureau. Why didn’t Dr. Luke just sign it or someone from his bureau?” He then added, “But, it was known, or perhaps rumored is a better word, that DiMaio was known to take care of things for the Mafia.”123
In a December 1995 interview with an associate of Kathryn Fauble’s, Dr. DiMaio, asked about why he signed Kilgallen’s the Certificate, replied, “I wasn’t stationed in Manhattan [at the time of her death]. I was stationed in Brooklyn for 15 years. And she died in Manhattan. Are you sure I signed it?” Assured he had done so based on the interviewer possessing a certified copy, DiMaio stated, “The only way I could have signed it…occasionally what happens is that you are temporarily assigned to an area if someone is not available then you will sign it. I never did the autopsy. I don’t know why the hell I signed it. I knew nothing about the case. I had very little contact with [Dr.] Luke. Still can’t understand why I signed it unless I was compelled to do so.”
No follow-up question was asked regarding DiMaio’s “compelled to do so” answer. Recall that John Broich also weighed in on DiMaio’s involvement in Kilgallen’s death, stating in his audiotaped interview, “Regarding the Certificate of Death, it was most unusual for DiMaio to sign it for Dr. Luke, since DiMaio was deputy chief for Brooklyn, and Kilgallen died in Manhattan.”
If there was underworld influence blunting any investigation before it began, did Mafioso Frank Costello, at the behest of Carlos Marcello, use his power to influence the signing of Kilgallen’s Certificate of Death by a Junior medical examiner who was stationed in another ME Office bureau and had no connection to her case. Was this done to prevent any follow-up by the ME’s office— controlled by the Mafia as John Broich and Stephen Goldner alleged—into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the famous columnist’s
death?
Most importantly, was this possible scenario complete with DiMaio’s signing of the Certificate of Death, essentially closing Kilgallen’s case, simply a continuation of the mob operation Kilgallen believed had occurred to assassinate JFK and Lee Harvey Oswald? Had Marcello and the Mafia’s control of the events following the assassinations stretched not only to the very day Kilgallen died two years later but even to the official documents erroneously pinpointing her time of death as “12 Noon” on November 8, 1965, a complete impossibility.
Worse, Dr. DiMaio had signed a document “For James Luke,’ beneath the following printed words: “I hereby certify that in accordance with the provisions of law, I took charge of the dead body. I further certify from the investigation and post mortem examination with autopsy that in my opinion, death occurred on the date and at the hour stated above.” Filed November 10, 1965, two days after Kilgallen died, DiMaio’s untruthful statements marked yet another injustice inflicted on the courageous woman who fought for justice her entire life.
121 There appears no way to prove how the two glasses were transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office and whether Dr. Luke ever knew of their existence. How they ended up in Dr. Umberger’s hands is also a mystery.
122 Bonanno (“Joe Bananas”), born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, rose to the status of Don in New York City at age 26. He ruled the Bonanno crime family after the murder of Salvatore Maranzano during the four-year bloody “Castelammare Wars.” Curiously, Melvin Belli’s private investigator Jim Licavoli told this author that his boss’ bookkeeper “had ties to the Bonanno crime family.”