From: mshack@juno.com (Martin R Shackelford)
Subject: COPA
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 1996 04:11:20 EDT
To: John Kelin
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COPA 1996
by Martin Shackelford

The conference included the usual overlaps, which is frustrating, so I
skipped around a bit, knowing that the main presentations will be
available on videotape, thanks to the efforts of Bob Groden and David
Starks. 
        I didn't learn as much as at past conferences, as there was more
discussion of procedures for getting the files out than of what the new
files contain. Still, there was some information of interest, and
opportunities for networking. I had good conversations with John
Armstrong (Oswald's twin biographies), Gerry Satterfield (a presenter and
COPA volunteer worker), Stephanie (a COPA staffer), and Josiah Thompson
(about his transition from professor to detective). 
       Informally, I was told that a former FBI official said upper level
FBI officials believed LBJ was involved; Dan Rather was a boyhood friend
of LBJ aide Cliff Carter (Dan Alcorn). A woman who said she was the wife
of the former Marine Commandant (Kay  Riggs, or Hunt-Bell--she told me
Riggs, I heard her use Hunt-Bell) talked about a Marine-Mossad connection
for assassin training from the 1950s on; said this was well-known in
upper-level Marine circles. 
         At the press conference on Friday, Walt Brown asked the
government to simply allow us the truth. Patricia Davis spoke of the
political assassinations/death squads in Guatemala. Dan Alcorn spoke of
drug-related political assassinations (as in Mexico). John Newman noted
that President Clinton is not complying with the Records Act, having sat
on "30-day" FBI appeals from as long ago as March; he also talked about
the CIA and crack cocaine issue, noting the press was trying to turn it
into a racial issue; adding that reporter Walter Pincus has written about
being a former CIA informant ("How I Traveled Abroad on CIA Subsidy"); he
called for a Cocaine Contra Records Act (which he is helping draft). Dick
Gregory gave a strong, and eloquent talk; Alcorn, his attorney, noted
that Dick had refused to return a call from CIA Director John Deutch, who
had asked Dan for Dick's home number (Dick asked who he was kidding,
claiming that the director of the nation's top intelligence agency
couldn't come up with Dick Gregory's home phone number). 
          On Saturday,in the Photographic Evidence Working Panel, Bob
Groden said the Kodachrome Zapruder film is definitely the camera
original, with the bas-relief effect characteristic of Kodachrome film (a
feature I've noted in my Kodachrome slides). He said CBS now owns one of
the original Nov. 22, 1963 bootleg Zapruder copies. 
          During the Medical Evidence Working Panel, Vince Palamara noted
that Secret Service followup car driver Sam Kinney mentioned that brain
matter splattered on the windshield in front of him; en route back to
Washington, in the  C-130 with the limousine, Kinney said he found a
large skull piece from the back of JFK's head. Kinney thought very highly
of his good friend Dr. Burkley. 
          Review Board staff notes: Tom Samoluk has taken a job in
Boston, and married. Eileen Sullivan is temporarily filling his role. 
          A panel that first evening focused on "CIA, Crack Cocaine and
the Contras," with Peter Dale Scott discussing  past CIA drug
involvement. John Newman reviewed recent developments. Dick Gregory
talked about the politics of the battle. He defined a liberal Ku Klux
Klan member as one who lynches you from a short tree. 
          On Saturday, John Armstrong continued his important research
with a talk on "Oswald's Possessions," the early FBI seizure of Oswald's
things, the seizure of his records from two Fort Worth schools; he played
an HSCA audiotape of Gus Rose on the searches (the Minox was found in
Oswald's seabag; Ruth Paine identified it as belonging to Oswald);
outlined the attempted concealment of Oswald's Minox, as well as other
evidence as the FBI substituted its own evidence photos for those of the
Dallas Police (210 DPD photos weren't returned); the HSCA audiotape of
Robert Stovall (they found a Minox camera, not a lightmeter); he also
discussed the phony W-2 forms from Oswald's New Orleans employers, with
tax I.D. numbers assigned in January 1964. 
         Walt Brown outlined the development of the Warren Commission
from the LBJ transcripts; John McCloy is described in one call as a
"publicity hound"; LBJ tells Sen. Russell "the CIA is worried." 
          Phil Melanson talked about the Robert Kennedy case, and the
Scott Enyart lawsuit over his photos of the assassination scene. All is
not clear in the case, as Enyart's best friend testified he and Scott
weren't in the panty at the time of the shots.
         William Pepper gave an impressive outline of the case presented
in his book Orders to Kill. He added that other witnesses have come
forward since the book was published. He knows who Raoul is, and has
talked with him on the phone; James Earl Ray knew nothing about guns;
Marcello mobster Frank  Liberto hired Lloyd Jowers to assist Raoul; Raoul
fired the shots; Jowers hid the rifle in his business, Jim's Grill,
observed by his waitress-mistress, who recently came forward (two
corroborating witnesses, plus Jowers talked on TV in December 1993,
seeking immunity). A witness reported smoke rising from the bushes. The
Army photographed the assassination and the assassin. Ray's attorney
Percy Foreman knew Raoul from Houston; Raoul was involved the the sale of
Army guns  to Marcello. The Memphis intelligence officer who bent over
King's body was on loan from Army intelligence, and later became a CIA
employee. 
          In the Medical Evidence Panel, Art Smith discussed his
interview with Dr. John Ebersole, Bethesda radiologist, who said they
called Dallas that night. Kenneth Rahn noted that Neutron Activation
Analysis can prove dissimilarity, but can only indicate  a possible
common source, not prove it; he suggested the probability of the single
bullet theory. 
         In the New Files from Archives II Topic Research Group, John
Newman noted that Archives II is terribly understaffed. E. Howard Hunt
was asked about the DRE in his HSCA deposition, and blurted out:"Dave
Phillips ran that." He discussed diagraphs, the two-letter prefix to CIA
operational names. ZR represented communications intelligence and
storage; came out of Staff D; also included tightly held operations like
ZR/RIFLE, the assassinations program. (Note: Clay Shaw was cleared for a
program called ZR/CLIFF, according to a recently released document).
Staff D was "a good place to  hide things." The meaning of QK (Shaw was
also cleared for QK/ENCHANT) is unknown at present. The CIA is covertly
attacking the Review Board in Washington. An group member who had
recently visited Harold Weisberg had learned from him that Kerry Thornley
had been identified by several employees of Jones Printing as the man who
picked up Oswald's leaflets. 
         The next panel discussed opening the files. John Newman called
the Records Act "a model that works." Peter Dale Scott expressed concern
that some agencies would wait out the Review Board, as they had the
Warren Commission and HSCA; he noted the potential importance of Marine
G-2 (intelligence) files, and the FBI's Mexico City file. Jim Lesar noted
new information on George DeMohrenschildt and the Paines. The Oswald 201
file is available; 250-300,000 pages from the CIA Segregated Collection;
an the 250 page "John Scelso" deposition; very little from the National
Security Agency or Army; the Board needs to ask for an extension from
Congress, as half their time was spent just getting organized. John Judge
recommended putting pressure on the agencies (faxing, letters, etc.), and
publicizing new data as it becomes available. Newman added that the
military has released only 3 boxes of files (last month alone, the FBI
released 40); another oversight hearing is needed. Scott noted the
repeated involvement of counterintelligence officers with Oswald, and a
Marine G-2unit at New River, North Carolina which included Buck Revell
(later FBI assistant director, and Dallas field office chief). 
         In the Panel on JFK and Castro, Peter Dale Scott discussed
Paulino  Sierra Martinez of Chicago, his ties of RFK ally Harry Williams,
Howard Hunt, James McCord, Alpha 66, Bernard Barker, Carlos Prio, John
Martino and the Minutemen; some, including Frank Sturgis, were reporting
on the group to the CIA. Hitman Richard Cain was promised a career in the
CIA if he provided information on Sierra's group.  Mario Garcia Kohly
(see Robert Morrow's books) was backed by Meyer Lansky. The U.S.
government protested Castro's deportation of Jake Lansky. The DRE bought
guns from John Masen in Dallas. 
         During the Topic Research Group on Oswald, a participant
indicated that David Ferrie sent his CAP cadets to Tulane University for
mind control experiments. The New York Branch of CAP was founded by Cord
Meyers Sr, father of the CIA official. 
         At the Sylvia Meagher Awards Dinner, four people were honored:
the late Bud Fensterwald, and his AARC co-founder Jim Lesar; Peter Dale
Scott; and  Robert Groden. Patricia Davis delivered a lon, but compelling
account of the Jennifer Harbury case and related issues in Guatemala,
where the military opposed "subversion by electoral means," using CIA and
School of the Americas training to torture and kill political opponents. 
         On Sunday, the Paines research team (Carol Hewett, Steve Jones,
Barbara Lamonica, Bill Kelly) noted that Michael Paine's mother was a
close friend of Allen Dulles' mistress Mary Bancroft. His stepfather,
Arthur Young, founded Bell Helicopter, but was upset when they were
converted in Viet Nam for use as "gunships," instead of used for medical
evacuation as in Korea. Ruth Paine visited the Youngs before going to
pick up Marina in New Orleans. Oswald seemed to have many "connected"
friends. 300 cubic feet of files on Ruth's sister remain classified (she
worked for the Air Force and CIA); their father, like George
DeMohrenschildt, worked for the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA)
and AID. Phillip Corso said the Paines were agents. Ruth's husband
Michael  and brother Carl both seemed to have been mistaken for Oswald at
times. The Paines collaborated in the FBI's charade about Oswald's Minox
camera. Michael Paine had numerous previous contacts with FBI agent
Bardwell Odum. In 1979, Ruth Paine was seen examining documents at the
Archives (after HSCA); she now lives in Florida, Michael in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. 
         A Review Board update was given by Executive Director David
Marwell. The Board hasn't yet decided whether to ask for more time; they
have released 4000 documents, and gotten the agencies to release another
4000 by consent. The HSCA and FBI records are nearly completely reviewed.
An HSCA FBI group of files and the CIA's HSCA sequestered collection are
both large. They obtained the Dave Powers film, taken from the followup
car. In New Orleans, they got the Metro Crime Commission files, and have
copied all of the Harry Connick files--they are in Court seeking the
originals. There is no trace of Richard Case Nagell's records. They have
received J. Lee Rankin's related papers, David Lifton's interviews, and
may get Priscilla Johnson McMillan's papers. They are seeking more
records from the Secret Service (more were opened last week), other
governments and the military; the NSA turned out to be very cooperative,
after initial delay. The CIA released 36 boxes of HSCA staff notes; the
FBI, documents on Johnny Rosselli, Carlos Marcello and E. Howard Hunt; 41
boxes of Church Committee documents; Passport Office files; Postal
Service files; McClellan Committee files. They have asked for media
out-takes. Medical witnesses, and the family of White House photographer
Robert Knudsen (who printed the color autopsy photos) have been
interviewed. 
          Hal Verb talked about the missing shot. Roger Feinman discussed
the lawsuits of Mark Lane and Robert Groden against the Posner attack ad
Random House placed in the New York Times, filed under the Lanham Act,
which governs commercial speech. Posner editor Robert Loomis called
undermining faith in the government "a crime." The Lane court appeal was
heard by a former law clerk of Earl Warren. Roger made the somewhat
exaggerated claim that the critics have not misled anyone. 
          Charles Robbart  discussed the conflict between the Lodges and
the Kennedys. The Kennedy limousine was driven by former Lodge driver
William Greer. Gerry Satterfield and David Krall proposed a theory that
the media contained hidden messages announcing the assassination shortly
beforehand, and offered assorted examples, which were at least
thought-provoking--their research is ongoing. 
         Vince Palamara noted that during WFAA's coverage of the Fort
Worth Chamber of Commerce breakfast, the reporter began to talk about the
McKinley assassination. 
         At the close, Walt Brown announced the COPA Board planned to
hold next year's conference in May or June, on a campus where lodging
would be less costly. John Judge noted that it has been a rough year for
COPA; only about 100 attended the conference. John himself is facing
possible heart surgery in the near future, and he is the glue that holds
COPA together. The future, as usual, is difficult to predict.