by Mark Shaw
123 Confirmation of Goldner’s allegation that DiMaio may have “taken care of things for the Mafia” have not been fruitful. In his book, Morgue: A Life in Death written with Ron Franscell, DiMaio’s son Vincent extols the virtues of his father, writing that he coveted his “father’s energy, his sense of justice, his fascination with mystery…and his ability to corral his emotions.” Ironically, on October 4, 1981, Vincent conducted a private autopsy of the remains of Lee Harvey Oswald, whose body was exhumed to make certain it truly was Oswald in his grave. It was.
CHAPTER 38
Perhaps Dorothy Kilgallen’s tombstone should be etched with words she wrote within days after Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald. Questioning the assassinations investigations, Kilgallen wrote something important for the ages: “Justice is a big rug. When you pull it out from under one person, a lot of others fall, too.” This strong statement is as true today as it was five decades ago. If, one day in the future, Kilgallen’s thick file on the JFK assassination investigation is recovered, her search for justice in the death of her beloved president may be completed.
Instead, Kilgallen is currently the forgotten woman in any discussion of the JFK assassination, despite her having launched an investigation second to none, and one far superior especially with regard to objectivity to that of the Warren Commission or, arguably, the House Select Committee on Assassinations. Sadly, for history’s sake, her being erased from the map means than none of Kilgallen’s insightful Journal-American columns, ones based on credible evidence by an eyewitness to the events in Dallas questioning the “Oswald Alone” theory (“The Oswald File Must Not Close,” “DA to Link Ruby to Oswald,” etc.) has ever surfaced in print until now.
In the so-called leading books on the subject—Cased Closed, by Richard Posner; Legacy of Secrecy, by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann; Killing Kennedy, by Bill O’Reilly; and The Kennedy Half-Century, by Larry J. Sabato—Kilgallen is not even mentioned, or is mentioned solely in passing, on only one page.
Although former Charles Manson prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi wrote of Kilgallen’s investigations in his book Reclaiming History, he severely distorted her coverage of the assassinations by completely misrepresenting the facts, ignoring her columns and disregarding Kilgallen having exposed Ruby’s Warren Commission testimony before its release date. Bugliosi also discounted (actually made fun of) any notion that Kilgallen had interviewed Jack Ruby during his trial. He apparently never interviewed Ruby’s co-counsel, Joe Tonahill or read newspaper accounts or Judge Joe Brown’s book confirming the interviews. Like many others, including J. Edgar Hoover, promoting the “Oswald Alone” theory, past and present, Bugliosi fit certain facts to the conclusions he wanted to reach and dismissed credible facts in opposition to those conclusions. This accounts for his unfair treatment of Kilgallen and her pursuit of the truth.
The bottom line is that whoever silenced Kilgallen successfully accomplished the ultimate goal: her voice was never heard again. She was never able to dismiss all the crazy talk of “Oswald Alone” and instead proclaim that, based on her research, what happened in Dallas in November, 1963, was a plain and simple mob operation, start to finish. If Kilgallen had lived, as mentioned, the course of history would have been altered.
Hopefully, when confronted with the fresh facts presented in this book, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office will decide to re-open the investigation into her death. Several witnesses to what happened in the days, months and years surrounding Kilgallen’s death are still alive. They include Ron Pataky, Dr. Donald Hoffman, Dr. Michael Baden, Dr. Steve Goldner, John Mahan, Phyllis McGuire, Jim Lehrer, Barbara Walters, Larry King, Dr. Ibne Hassan, Alan Eichler, Johnny Whiteside, Eileen Broich and her son Chris, and most importantly, “Dickie,” Jill and Kerry Kollmar. Questioning them about their recollections of what happened 50 years ago is important for history’s sake.124
Regardless, it seems entirely appropriate to imagine what may have happened if Kilgallen made her planned trip to New Orleans in November, 1965:
Returning to New York City from New Orleans with her new evidence connecting Marcello, Oswald and Ruby, Kilgallen completed her JFK and Oswald assassinations investigation. She exposed the evidence in a series of Journal-American articles, or perhaps more likely, organized the material into manuscript form so that Bennett Cerf could have rushed her book into publication at Random House. Either way, Kilgallen’s conclusion that the JFK and Oswald assassinations were simply part of a very successful mob operation, it appears certain, would have shone through.
Soon after, the shocking evidence Kilgallen revealed triggered a full-scale grand jury investigation of the twin assassinations. With Kilgallen as the star witness, and her evidence having triggered a full-scale investigation including subpoenaing of relevant witnesses, the Grand Jury issued an indictment charging Carlos Marcello and his Dallas underlings with conspiracy to murder JFK and Oswald.
Based on the same evidence Kilgallen produced, J. Edgar Hoover was indicted. The charge was obstruction of justice by deliberately preventing any investigation of the twin assassinations. He resigned pending the outcome of the court proceedings.
Through Kilgallen’s disclosures, disbarment proceedings were filed against Melvin Belli for having compromised Jack Ruby’s constitutional rights to adequate representation. Ruby’s new attorney was working on a plea agreement with the Dallas prosecutors that would save his life.
Instead of being forgotten through the years Kilgallen’s findings were included in any and all discussions and debates about the JFK assassination. As a result of her relentless search for what really occurred in Dallas in November 1963, Kilgallen’s theories became part of the historical record. For her tireless dedication to truth and justice, Dorothy Kilgallen earned the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism. In the audience, husband Richard and children Dickie, Jill and Kerry loudly applauded their wife and mother, a true beacon of inspiration whose work acumen serve as a role model to men and women alike.
To be certain, Dorothy Kilgallen balanced motherhood with a far-reaching professional career—one that entailed larger-than-life achievements—in a manner that overwhelms those of modern-day female media personalities. Today these achievements go unrecognized, her name is not even listed among the finest reporters in history, man or woman. There are no awards in her name, no tributes, most people remember her for being a What’s My Line? game show celebrity instead of for her accomplishments as a gifted wordsmith, superb columnist, and one of the finest investigative reporters who ever covered a high-profile trial.
In the days and years ahead, it is hoped that Kilgallen will receive the recognition she deserves but instead of being memorialized by the remarks of colleagues, friends or celebrities, perhaps this inspiring woman should be remembered best by a comment made by one of her loyal “Voice of Broadway” readers as noted in the New York Post Daily Magazine:
During her 30-plus years on the newspaper scene, marriages have floundered, murderers have gone to their reward, kings have fallen, queens have been installed, and Dorothy Kilgallen has brought to all of these events a dash of color, a pinch of moral indignation, a soupçon of understanding and two tablespoons of malice. She was the very best at what she did.
124 Also of interest to the D.A.’s office and the general public are the plethora of photograph, documents and other memorabilia about Kilgallen’s life and times available at the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library.
EPILOGUE
Through the years, this author has become known for exposing the truth about important matters of historical importance in my 20+ published books. Each one has been controversial and each time heavy criticism has come my way.
In Down for the Count, my denouncing the verdict in the Mike Tyson rape trial was condemned. In Miscarriage of Justice, my questioning whether the life sentence imposed on spy Jonathan Pollard was proper ignited a backlash by those w
ho believed he should have been executed.
When I wrote Beneath the Mask of Holiness: Thomas Merton and the Forbidden Love Affair that Set Him Free, those who love Merton chastised me for having the audacity to reveal Merton’s human side. My book, The Poison Patriarch: How the Betrayals of Joseph P. Kennedy Caused the Assassination of JFK was rejected by folks who worship the Kennedys despite their being, arguably, the worst political family in history.
This time, the intention is to give Dorothy Kilgallen her “day in court,” so to speak, albeit 50 years after she died. Critics, and perhaps her family members, will criticize me for failing to let her rest in peace but as Thomas Merton once said, “If you want to help others, you have got to make up your mind to write things that some will condemn.” Despite objections, hopefully what I have written will help clear Kilgallen’s reputation because this amazing woman certainly deserves it.
This book was born of eight words: “They’ve killed Dorothy; now they’ll go after Ruby.”
They were uttered, as noted, by Jack Ruby’s attorney Melvin Belli whom I knew personally during the 1980s. He said them to friend Dr. Martin Schorr shortly after Kilgallen’s death.
Dr. Schorr’s revelation happened while I was researching a biography of Belli, published as Melvin Belli: King of the Courtroom in 2007. I then used the information gathered about Belli’s representation of Ruby as the foundation for The Poison Patriarch. Published in 2013, it is the only book written by a criminal defense trial lawyer and network legal analyst based on motive and why Bobby Kennedy was not killed in 1963 instead of why JFK was. For more information about that book, check my website, www.markshawbooks.com.
Despite considerable evidence to the contrary based on common sense and logic, especially with regard to any plausible motive for Oswald alone to have assassinated the president, this true distortion of history has prevailed. Many simply just do not want to believe there was a conspiracy to kill JFK, and these people continue to be in denial. But in recent years, polls have shown that most Americans, especially intelligent young people, have discarded the myths and decided that yes, JFK’s murder was orchestrated by more than one person.
Throughout the writing process for The Poison Patriarch, Belli’s words about Kilgallen’s death haunted me and I knew I had to investigate her mysterious death, a cold case if there ever was one. I began by researching every account written by journalists, authors, and those circulating on the internet including both the incredible and the outlandish. As the research progressed, I was saddened by the amount of false information spread about Kilgallen, the first true media icon.
When I read the words “circumstances unknown” describing Kilgallen’s death imbedded in the New York City medical examiner’s report, my curiosity was peaked. What I hope this book accomplishes is to turn “circumstances unknown” into circumstances known. However, doing so proved most difficult due to the complexities of dealing with a cold case five decades old. Most of the eyewitnesses to what happened have long since passed and retrieving physical evidence was impossible. I thus concentrated first on the most credible aspects of Lee Israel’s Kilgallen biography and Jonny Whiteside’s Johnnie Ray biography Cry. I was also most fortunate to read the superb investigative article “Who Killed Dorothy Kilgallen?” written by Sara Jordan in Midwest Today and published by her father Larry who also contributed.
It was at this point in time that a true blessing happened when I learned of superb researcher Kathryn Fauble whose passion for discovering the truth about how Kilgallen died, and why, was matched by an associate who apparently did much of the legwork. Amazingly enough, I was told there existed several videotaped and audiotaped interviews available with those who knew Kilgallen best, including hairdressers Marc Sinclaire and Charles Simpson. Kathryn was kind enough to permit me to use the preserved interviews as well as other information she provided about Kilgallen’s life and times as the foundation for discovering what really occurred before, during and after the famous journalist and TV star’s death.
As time progressed, I continued the research by reading as many Kilgallen columns and investigative articles as possible. The documents provided insight into her personality and amazing work acumen. I grew to respect her more and more as the days passed. Many times I said to myself, Dorothy, I’m going to give you the investigation you deserved many years ago. And I’m going to make sure the true story of your life and times is told. Several times, I felt as if the Holy Spirit was guiding me along, that Dorothy was actually speaking to me from the hereafter, guiding me to clues and fresh evidence critical to solving the mystery as to why she died and how. Along the way, I kept reminding myself that I was fighting for Dorothy, that I was her defender, her paladin harking back to the days when I was a public defender in the criminal courts. She was truly a remarkable woman. Dorothy may have been a college dropout but she was smart, in fact, smarter than anyone who has ever investigated the case she cared most about, the JFK assassination. And through the years, no one had fought for Dorothy, not her friends, her journalistic colleagues, and not her children. Only the latter know why and one regret I have is that Kilgallen’s two sons, Dickie and Kerry, and daughter Jill would not speak to me about their mother. I posted messages for both Dickie and Kerry on Facebook but neither responded. On two different occasions, I spoke to Jill for a short time explaining my intentions in the book and the desire to secure her side of the story.
During a trip to Los Angeles, I left two voice messages for her suggesting we meet. And later a long message informing Jill that I had completed my research, intended to publish the book, and intended to persuade the Manhattan D.A. to re-open her mother’s case. I pointed out that if she or one of her brothers wanted to read my manuscript, they were welcome to do so with the promise to consider never publishing the book if they objected. Again, no response was received from Jill.
To provide a context for the years, months and days before and after Kilgallen died, I stitched her story together with those most impacting her life. She was indeed, with all due respect to Martha Gelhorn and others who were journalistic pioneers, the first true female media icon, a woman who stood tall while competing in a man’s world.
Regarding Kilgallen’s investigation of the JFK and Oswald assassinations, unlike those who have written about it as self-proclaimed experts, Kilgallen was present, front and center, from the day the president was shot through the Jack Ruby trial, with a front row seat as an eyewitness to history. What she heard and saw provide credibility for what she wrote as the lone wolf screaming about the absurdity of the “Oswald Alone” theories propounded by J. Edgar Hoover. I have no doubt that if she had not been eliminated, the course of history, as noted, would have been altered since Kilgallen had the power to trigger a full-scale grand jury investigation based on the evidence she had uncovered. Hopefully, what she said will be taken seriously with the end result not only a re-examination of her death by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office since Ron Pataky, a main suspect, is still alive, but Congress deciding to re-open the investigation of the JFK assassination to permit the evidence accumulated through her columns, articles, and statements to friends and colleagues and that of reputable researchers to be heard loud and clear. If this happens, I have no doubt the ludicrous “Oswald Alone” €theory will be erased from the history books so that young people can understand the truth about what happened, that the death of JFK was in fact simply part of, as Kilgallen discovered, a mob operation based on revenge, as noted in this book. When this happens, it should be recalled that it was JFK himself who said, “The great enemy of truth is often not the lie—deliberate, contrived, and dishonest—but the myth—persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
Ironically, in my opinion, Kilgallen’s tragic death marks her as “collateral damage” due to Joseph P. Kennedy’s double cross of the Mafia by ordering JFK to appoint Robert K
ennedy attorney general when he had to know RFK would target the underworld figures. When Bobby did, JFK was a dead man, and Kilgallen was killed trying to prove why and by whom.
Most importantly, I believe my research has lain to rest notions Kilgallen either committed suicide or died by an accidental overdose of barbiturates combined with too much alcohol. For too long, speculation of these two causes of death has cast doubt over her career. This despite all the evidence pointing to the only plausible explanation: Kilgallen was murdered to silence the reporter who knew too much about the JFK and Oswald assassinations.
Of all of the words spoken about Dorothy Kilgallen through the years, those propounded by her What’s My Line? fellow panel member Bennett Cerf, impact me the most. He said of his friend, “A lot of people knew Dorothy as a very tough game player; others knew her as tough newspaper woman…. But we got to know her as a human being, and a more loveable, softer, loyal person never lived, and we’re going to miss her terribly.”
Bless you Dorothy. You were a champion in every sense of the word.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While my name appears on the cover of this book as author, what I have written is due in part, to the incredible cooperation provided me by many people who assisted with the story I wanted to tell.
These people include Sara and Larry Jordan of Midwest Today magazine, two gifted journalists whose 2007 article, “Who Killed Dorothy Kilgallen?” was a masterpiece. The investigation they launched was first rate and I thank them for sharing the information they gathered with me. Also to be thanked is gifted researcher Kathryn Fauble, a tireless researcher who has sought the truth about Kilgallen’s death for many years, and her associates who assisted the effort.