Oswald's Possessions Arrive In Washington DC Part II
curtjester1
to Dallas was probably the result of a conversation between FBI
Director Hoover and President Lyndon Johnson. Johnson was planning to
announce that the FBI was taking over the invesigation, *and physical
evidence needed to be in Dallas so the police could "officially" turn
the evidence over to the FBI.* Prior to the announcement hundreds of
items of evidence at the FBI laboratory were collected in haste before
lab technicians had time to complete the desilvering process on all
the items. One of the items that was not "desilvered" by lab
technicians was Oswald's FPCC card. Warren Commission attorney Melvin
Eisenberg asked Cadigan, "Do you know why 820 was not reprocessed or
desilvered?"
Neither the WC nor the FBI wanted the public to find out the Bureau
had secretly taken evidence to the Dallas Police a few days later,
***so testimony and photographs had to be altered.*** The transcript
of James Cadigan's ***original*** deposition (pp. 49-50) reads,
"***Time was of the essence and this material, I believe was returned
to the Dallas Police within tow or three days...**" *But someone drew
lines through the ***original*** typewritten transcript and wrote
***"delete"***. This portion of Cadigan's testimony was deleted and
does not appear in his testimony as published on page 434 of Volume
VII of the Warren Volumes.
Thanks to James Cadigan, and his original WC testimony which is
preserved in the National Archives (released 1992), we now know the
FBI secretly obrained ***the items of evidence listed on the Dallas
Police inventories*** for November 22/23, kept them in Washington, DC
for three days, and then quietly ***returned them to the Dallas
Police.***
*While Oswald's possessions were in FBI custody many key pieces of
evidence were altered (W-2 forms), manipulated (Minox camera/light
meter), and suppressed (Lee Oswald's wallet found by Captain
Westbrook). Without a written inventory either to or from the Dallas
Police, the FBI was not concerned that their tampering with would be
discovered.
Oswald's Possessions Are Returned To The Dallas Police
Department
On November 26, the "hundreds of items" were returned to the DPD
headquarters *so that an inventory could be created to show a "chain
of possession" from the DPD to the FBI.* All items were photographed
at DPD headquarters with a desk mounted Recordak camera, which was
known for taking precise, crystal-clear photographs. The police used
4 rolls of 35mm film, 25 feet in length, and 1 roll of 35 mm film that
was 100 feet in length. As each item was photographed it was listed
on one of 25 typewritten pages of inventory, which were jointly
initialed by FBI agents and Dallas Police officers.
President Johnson announced the FBI was taking over the investigation
and shortly thereafter the Dallas Police gave hundreds of items of
evidence to the FBI in front of TV cameras and reporters. The Dallas
Police, who did not have time to develop the film, also gave the five
rolls of film to the FBI. They requested that the FBI develop the
film and provide them with two photographs of each item of evidence.
***BUT THERE WERE PROBLEMS*** If the FBI developed the 5 rolls of
film and returned the photographs of all items to the Dallas Police,
*then many of the photgraphs would show items that had been treated
with the brown fingerprint ink-applied at the FBI laboratory from
November 23-25. These photographs were "proof" that the FBI secretly
had these items of evidence in their possession *before they took over
the case on November 26th.*
Another problem was the volume of evidence, *which grew considerably
while in FBI custody*. The items confiscated by the Dallas Police on
November 22-23 were listed on 5 typewritten pages, *but it took ***21
typewritten pages*** to list all of the items that were returned to
the Dallas Police and listed on the joint DPD/FBI inventory of
November 26. If both lists are placed side by side, *it is apparent
that the FBI returned far more items to the Dallas Police than they
received.*
**In 1999 the author visited the National Archives in order to examine
and compare each item of evidence listed on the 5 pages of DPD
inventory (November 23) with the joint FBI/DPD inventory (November
26). He began by examining the items listed on the DPD inventory of
November 22/23 and found that each item was properly initialed by
Dallas Police officers.
He then located those items on the joint FBI/DPD inventory of November
26 (CE 2003 pp. 263-283). He soon realized there were many more items
listed on the joint FBI/DPD inventory of 11/26/63 than were listed on
the original DPD inventory of 11/22-23/63. It was clear that items of
evidence were added while in FBI custody and also clear that none of
these items ***contained the initials of Dallas Police officers.***
This means that either DPD officers forgot to initial over a hundred
items of evidence, forgot to list those items in inventory, and forgot
to photograph them on the floor of DPD headquarters, ***or the FBI
added items of evidence to the inventory between the 23rd and 26th of
November.***
*The FBI not only added items to the inventory, they also discarded
and/or switched items of evidence.* Dallas Police Officers Gus Roe
and Richard Stoval found a Minox camera at Ruth Paine's. Rose said,
"Among the property we found a little Minox minature camea and on
checking it, it did have a litle roll of film in it ***(along with 9
additional rolls of Minox film)***....All of the property we recovered
from the residence, I initialed it, Stovall and I initialed it and
dated it for evidence."
Rose and Stovall also listed the miniature camera on their handwritten
inventory and on the typewritten inventory which was identified by the
WC as Stovall Exhibit A and published on pages 596-597 in Volume 21.
On the evening of November 22 the Minox camera was photographed on the
floor of the Dallas Police station along with other items confiscated
by the Dallas Police.
On November 26, 1963 the Minox camera was listed as item #375 on the
joint FBI/DPD inventory. But after the Minox camera arrived at FBI
headquarters in Washington, DC, SA Vincent Drain and SA Warren
DeBrueys created a second inventory, ***and changed the Minox camera
to a Minox light meter (Item #375).*** The FBI then, "re-
photographed" a Minox light meter, identified it as item #375, and
sent the photograph to the Dallas Police *in an attempt to convince
the police they had received a light meter and not a miniature spy
camera.*
Finally, FBI agents met with Gus Rose (DPD officer who found the
Minos) and H.W. Hill (property clerk) on three separate occasions and
tried to convince them they found a light Minox light meter and not a
Minox camera. The FBI agents insisted the Dallas Police change their
inventory from a camera to a light meter, *probably so they wouldn't
have to explain to the press why Oswald owned an expensive Minox spy
camera (often seen in James Bond films). Gus Rose discused the
problem with Captain Fritz and, after getting his approval, told the
FBI agents he would not change the inventory.
** Both Drain and DeBrueys should have been asked who instructed them
to create a new inventory at FBI headquarters.
In an attempt to keep th public from learning that HARVEY Oswald owned
a miniature spy camera, which would suggest he had intelligence
connections, the Bureau sought and received helf from Ruth and Michael
Paine. On January, 31, 1964 FBI agent Bardwell Odum ***allegedly***
obtained a Minox II camera, serial number 27259, from Michael Paine.
The Bureau the announced that the Minox camera in their custody
belonged to Michael Paine, and not to Oswald (nothing further was said
about the Minox camera found by Dallas Police.)
On June 23, 1964 FBI agent Warren Debrueys ***allegedly*** returned
the Minox camera to Ruth Paine in Irving, Texas. Michael Paine, on
the nationally broadcast television program Frontline (1994),
confirmed the Minox camera had been returned to him by the FBI and
said the camera was subsequently lost. ***But there was still a
problem.***
The National Archives currently has a Minox III camera, found by the
Dallas Police ini Ruth Paine's garage. This camera is currently
inoperable, is unable to be opened, and therefore the serial number
remains unknown. The Minox Corporation (and thier web site) advises
that Minox III cameras were manufactured with serial numbers 31275
thru 58499. Therefore, the Minox which the FBI obtained from Michael
Paine on January 31, 1964 (serial number 27259) was not the camera
found by Dallas Police which is now in the National Archives. The
serial number of Michael Paine's camera, listed on an FBI Airtel of
2/2/64, shows that it was a ***Minox II***(Minox II cameras were
manufactured with serial numbers up to 31500. The FBI's attempt to
hide the fact that HARVEY Oswald owned a Minox camera is one of the
best known and documented examples of their attempts to alter and
fabricate evidence.**
In an attempt to hide these problems the FBI developed the 5 rolls of
DPD film and then *destroyed the negatives that showed those items of
evidence that were discovered by the brown fingerprint ink.* They
also, *destroyed negatives which showed items of evidence that had
been switched, altered, or destroyed while in their custody.* The
remainder of the original 5 rolls of film was spliced together into
***two rolls,*** which were then copied and sent to the Dallas Police
Department. *The Dallas City Archives has copies of the 2 rolls
available for inspection, and the splicings can be seen easily.*
After the Dallas Police received the film Chief Curry noticed that
many of the negatives were missing and notified the Special Agent in
Charge of the Dallas Office, Gordon Shanklin, by letter. On December
3rd Curry wrote, "On developing the microfilm it has been found that
items #164 thru 360 inclusive did not record." *(Curry's letter shows
that ***over half of the negatives, 196 in total, were missing!!)***
**The 1st roll of film in the Dallas City Archives contains negatives
#1 through #163. The 2nd roll contains negatives #361 through #451 (3
rolls of original film were destroyed by the FBI).**
J. Edgar Hoover responded to Chief Curry's letter by claiming,
*incredibly*, that the missing negatives were the result of "faulty
technique" by the Dallas Police photographer who photographed Oswald's
possessions. *If there was any faulty technique it could have easily
have been seen, frame by frame, on the original 35mm film, but 196
continuous frames were cut (physically removed) from the original 5
rolls of film.*
To placate Chief Curry the FBI re-photographed the "missing" items and
sent copies of the photographs to Dallas. But the new photographs did
not match the description of the items listed on the joint DPD/FBI
inventory of November 26, 1963. To deal with this problem the FBI
simply created a new inventory to match their new photographs which
Hoover sent along with a memo to Gordon Shanklin, SAC Dallas:
"The inventory list submitted by your office (joint FBI/DPD inventory
of November 26, 63) has been superseded by the list furnished to your
office by the FBI laboratory dated 2/1/64. The 11/26/63 list is
***incomplete and is not completely accurate."***
This memo is incredible!! Hoover told Gordon Shaklin that the joint
FBI/DPD inventory of November 26, 1963 was ***incomplete and not
accurate,*** *but there was nothing Shanklin could do.* He dared not
argue with Hoover and simply followed instructions by providing a copy
of the new FBI inventory to the Dallas Police.
** Even though the Dallas Police refused to change their inventory
from a Minox camera to a Minox light meter, the FBI chnged their
inventory. The "re-photographed" item #375 (originally a Minox
camera) and sent a photograph to Dallas. The someone at FBI
headquarers forgot to rid of the Minox camera found by the Dallas
Police in Ruth Paine's garage, and it was turned over to the National
Archives where it can be examined today.
The FBI's alteration of the DPD inventory and film is irrefutable
proof that the Bureau destroyed evidence in order to help fram Oswald
and keep the public from learning the truth about his connection to US
Intelligence and his background.
CJ
Walt
There was an evidence inventory list typed up by the DPD on 11
-22-63. There were also photographs taken of the evidence that was
being confiscated by J.Edna Hoover.
There's no doubt that evidence was turned over to the FBI at midnight
11-22-63, because there are several FBI lab technicians on record as
saying they received and examined that evidence on 11-23-63.
The original evidence list of 11 -22-63 listed only TWO spent rifle
shells....
And it listed the so called PALM PRINT ...... The wording typed on the
evidence inventory list is precisely the same wording that Lt Day
wrote on the 3X5 file card when he placed the piece of cellophane tape
carrying the smudge he had found on the WOODEN foregrip of the TSBD
rifle in the TSBD...."off underside of gun barrell (sic) near end of
foregrip C2766"
When the rifle was pulled from the stack of boxes and cleared of the
live round that was in it, Day immediately started dusting it for
finger prints. The most common places to find prints on a rifle are
at the points where it is held for firing. Those points are the
trigger area, and the fore grip. Finger prints can sometimes be found
in the trigger area, and palm prints can sometimes be found on the
foregrip. On the bottom of the WOODEN foregrip Lt Day spotted a
smudge that he thought might be a "palm print" but it was not clear
enough to identify as a palmprint with the equipment he had with him.
So he lifted that smudge with a 2 inch wide piece of cellophane tape.
He then placed that piece of tape which carried the smudge onto a 3 X
5 inch file card. He then identified where, and when, he had found
that smudge, when he wrote on the card below the tape...... "off
underside of gun barrell(sic) near end of foregrip C2766 " Day also
placed his initials and the date 11 - 22-63 on the card.
This "palm print" later became CE 637...... but before it became a
Warren Commission exhibit it had been turned over to the FBI at
midnight 11 - 22 -63, and when it was turned over to the FBI it was
listed on the evidence inventory list as item number 14. The text
describing Item #14 uses the EXACT words,( including the misspelling
of the word "barrel") in quotation marks, that Lt Day wrote on the
card in the TSBD at about 1:45 the afternoon of the assassination.
When that card was introduced into evidence before the Warren
Commission, and given exhibit number CE 637 the authorities swore that
it was Oswald's palm print which Day had found on the metal gun barrel
when he disassembled the rifle. Their testimony was an out and out
lie, which was desigbed to frame Lee Oswald for the murder of John
Kennedy.
curtjester1
It seems upper echelon DPD as well as upper echelon FBI knew they were
on a mission from the early on.
Do you think when they went to the Funeral Home and were finger
printing Oswald, that they might have got a palm print then, to use as
a backup?
CJ
>
>
> >
> > � � � � � � � �Oswald's Possessions Are Returned To The Dallas Police
Walt
It depends on what you mean by "early on"....
I don't believe that ALL of the DPD were part of the conspiracy from
the get go....There were only a few who were privy to the plot. But
when Lyin Bastard Johnson started flexin his muscles, those who were
not privy to the plot fell in line, behind the Chief. Most of the
detectives had started out treating the crime as a routine murder, and
gathered evidence as they would have in any other murder case..... But
within 12 hours they knew that the President of the United States and
the Director of the FBI wanted the case closed ASAP.... and they knew
that the evidence was supposed to point to Oswald alone. Therefore
the detectives had to back track and create false evidence to replace
the real evidence they had gathered in the first hours of the
investigation.
>
Do you think when they went to the Funeral Home and were finger
printing Oswald, that they might have got a palm print then, to use
as
a backup?
No... I don't believe that was the motive for finger printing Oswald's
corpse..... One of the intelligence agencies (CIA?) that Oswald was
working for, simply didn't know which of their Oswald's had been shot
by Ruby? They knew that they had used other men as decoy Oswald's
and simply wanted verification that the man in the casket really was
Lee Harvey Oswald. We can be pretty sure that the FBI or the DPD
didn't send anybody to the funeral home to fingerprint the
body...because they already had taken his fingerprints before Ruby
murdered him. It had to have been an intelligence agency who did not
have access to the DPD or FBI's records.
> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
curtjester1
Groody...in Marrs' Crossfire. I do think they would know which Oswald
was going to be a patsy, and would want that print on the weapon. It
really would have been something if they partial was found to be the
other Oswald by a Marine records check..ha,ha,ha.
Here is a little more debate on it.
http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=4419
curtjester1
From Farewell America, Chap. 17, The Police
He was an Intelligent agent probably hired by Moynihan and the
Kennedys to find out what he thought happened in Dallas, and Hepburn
lists 7 that were on Dallas's secret payroll out of 22. Something to
think about.
http://www.voxfux.com/kennedy/farewell/farewell17.html
CJ
Walt
How would Groody know?? Some suits come in flashing badges and
credentials and saying they were FBI...
Do you think Groody would say..."Wait a minute... I need to call
J.Edgar Hoover and check you guys out"???
I do think they would know which Oswald
> was going to be a patsy, and would want that print on the weapon. It
> really would have been something if they partial was found to be the
> other Oswald by a Marine records check..ha,ha,ha.
Psssst.... I thought I'd made it clear.... THERE WAS NO PARTIAL PALM
PRINT ON THE RIFLE.
CE 637 is nothing but an unidentifiable smudge ...and THAT'S what the
FBI lab report says.
>
> Here is a little more debate on it.
Debate??? you mean Bullshit....
curtjester1
That is hardly an issue. All that needs to be done is people coming
in and taking a print...like they said "for comparison purposes". And
maybe there was an old palm print on the rilfe if Oswald had held it
in the past.
> I do think they would know which Oswald
>
> > was going to be a patsy, and would want that print on the weapon. It
> > really would have been something if they partial was found to be the
> > other Oswald by a Marine records check..ha,ha,ha.
>
> Psssst.... I thought I'd made it clear.... THERE WAS NO PARTIAL PALM
> PRINT ON THE RIFLE.
>
No discernable one. And that doesn't mean it wouldn't be beneath them
to add one, if they felt they needed to by the agents who came in to
the funeral home and got one. Walt, you need to think outside the bun
more often.
> CE 637 is nothing but an unidentifiable smudge ...and THAT'S what the
> FBI lab report says.
>
>
>
> > Here is a little more debate on it.
>
> Debate??? you mean Bullshit....
>
> >http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=4419
I mean there are some good comments from intelligent people interested
in the case. Lighten up, ol boy.
CJ
Walt
Now this is a distinct possibility..... Because Oswald was one of
RFK's secret team. It was Oswald who gave Bobby the information about
the Cuban exile training camps on the north shore of Lake Ponchatrain,
which allowed RFK to sent the ATF to raid the camp and sieze the bomb
making material and guns and ammuntion.
I strongly believe that this is what Ruby was peeing his pants about
when he said... "They're gonna find out about the guns and Cuba and
everything".. Ruby feared that the Feds would tie the murder of JFK to
the guns and muntions that he had procured and sold to the CIA /
Cubans. Ruby knew the guns and munitions had been stolen from National
Guard Armories and he had bought them to sell to the CIA .
Raymond
> "Among the property we found a littleMinoxminature camea and on
> checking it, it did have a litle roll of film in it ***(along with 9
> from the residence, I initialed it, Stovall and I initialed it and
> dated it for evidence."
>
> inventory and on the typewritten inventory which was identified by the
> WC as Stovall Exhibit A and published on pages 596-597 in Volume 21.
> floor of the Dallas Police station along with other items confiscated
> by the Dallas Police.
>
> joint FBI/DPD inventory. But after theMinoxcameraarrived at FBI
> headquarters in Washington, DC, SA Vincent Drain and SA Warren
> DeBrueys created a second inventory, ***and changed theMinoxcamera
> photographed" aMinoxlight meter, identified it as item #375, and
> sent the photograph to the Dallas Police *in an attempt to convince
> the police they had received a light meter and not a miniature spycamera.*
>
> Finally, FBI agents met with Gus Rose (DPD officer who found the
> Minos) and H.W. Hill (property clerk) on three separate occasions and
> inventory from acamerato a light meter, *probably so they wouldn't
> have to explain to the press why Oswald owned an expensiveMinoxspycamera(often seen in James Bond films). Gus Rose discused the
> problem with Captain Fritz and, after getting his approval, told the
> FBI agents he would not change the inventory.
>
> ** Both Drain and DeBrueys should have been asked who instructed them
> to create a new inventory at FBI headquarters.
>
> In an attempt to keep th public from learning that HARVEY Oswald owned
> a miniature spycamera, which would suggest he had intelligence
> connections, the Bureau sought and received helf from Ruth and Michael
> Paine. On January, 31, 1964 FBI agent Bardwell Odum ***allegedly***
> obtained aMinoxIIcamera, serial number 27259, from Michael Paine.
> The Bureau the announced that theMinoxcamerain their custody
> belonged to Michael Paine, and not to Oswald (nothing further was said
> about theMinoxcamerafound by Dallas Police.)
>
> On June 23, 1964 FBI agent Warren Debrueys ***allegedly*** returned
> theMinoxcamerato Ruth Paine in Irving, Texas. Michael Paine, on
> the nationally broadcast television program Frontline (1994),
> confirmed theMinoxcamerahad been returned to him by the FBI and
> said thecamerawas subsequently lost. ***But there was still a
> problem.***
>
> The National Archives currently has aMinoxIIIcamera, found by the
> Dallas Police ini Ruth Paine's garage. Thiscamerais currently
> inoperable, is unable to be opened, and therefore the serial number
> remains unknown. TheMinoxCorporation (and thier web site) advises
> thatMinoxIII cameras were manufactured with serial numbers 31275
> thru 58499. Therefore, theMinoxwhich the FBI obtained from Michael
> Paine on January 31, 1964 (serial number 27259) was not thecamera
> found by Dallas Police which is now in the National Archives. The
> serial number of Michael Paine'scamera, listed on an FBI Airtel of
> 2/2/64, shows that it was a ***MinoxII***(MinoxII cameras were
> manufactured with serial numbers up to 31500. The FBI's attempt to
> hide the fact that HARVEY Oswald owned aMinoxcamerais one of the
> best known and documented examples of their attempts to alter and
> fabricate evidence.**
>
> In an attempt to hide these problems the FBI developed the 5 rolls of
> DPD film and then *destroyed the negatives that showed those items of
> evidence that were discovered by the brown fingerprint ink.* They
> also, *destroyed negatives which showed items of evidence that had
> been switched, altered, or destroyed while in their custody.* The
> remainder of the original 5 rolls of film was spliced together into
> ***two rolls,*** which were then copied and sent to the Dallas Police
> Department. *The Dallas City Archives has copies of the 2 rolls
> available for inspection, and the splicings can be seen easily.*
>
> After the Dallas Police received the film Chief Curry noticed that
> many of the negatives were missing and notified the Special Agent in
> Charge of the Dallas Office, Gordon Shanklin, by letter. On December
> 3rd Curry wrote, "On developing the microfilm it has been found that
> items #164 thru ...
>
> read more >>
PROBE
From the November-December, 1996 issue (Vol. 4 No. 1)
The Paine's Participation in the
Minox Camera Charade
"We like to be deceived."
----Blaise Pascal
By Carol Hewett
lmost every JFK assassination researcher is aware that the Dallas
police found and inventoried a tiny hi-tech Minox camera amongst
Oswald's personal effects during the search of Ruth and Michael
Paine's home after the assassination.This camera was later omitted
from an inventory list once the FBI took over the investigation. What
is not generally known is the Paines' role in the "appearance-
disappearance"charade.
There were 3 separate inventory lists itemizing the evidence from the
Paine household. This is typical of the routine procedures used by law
enforcement in establishing chain of custody of physical evidence.
First, there was the Dallas police list identifying a "small German
camera and black case on chain and film". A pedometer and camera timer
were also itemized; there was no mention of a light meter but there
was mention of a "brown case (camera) with long chain".1 Then there
was the joint DPD and FBI list which was prepared in response to the
FBI's assertion of jurisdiction over the crime. The camera is
described in aggregate Item #375 as a "Minox camera" together with a
pedometer and a camera timer; there is no mention of a light meter.
Rolls of undeveloped Minox film and two rolls of exposed Minox film
were also inventoried as Item #377. An unidentified electronic device
in a brown case was listed as an unsubmitted and unnumbered item as
having come from the Beckley Street rooming house.2 When the evidence
was taken to Washington, D.C., the FBI Lab prepared its very own
inventory by way of a third list; any reference to the Minox camera
would disappear from this third list.3
There were four separate sets of photographs of the items removed from
the Paine household and Beckley Street residence. First, there were
the photos made by the Dallas Police Crime Lab before the evidence was
turned over to the FBI which shows the evidence grouped together on
the floor of the police station and which depicts the Minox camera.4
At the joint police and FBI inventory of November 26th, a second set
of photographs were taken depicting each individual item or
selectively grouped items with the numbered photos corresponding to
the numbered items. The items ranged from #1 through #455 and required
5 rolls of film. It was understood that the FBI Lab would develop
these 5 rolls of film and furnish a set to Police Chief Curry. This
intact set of photos from the original 5 rolls have disappeared from
the National Archives - assuming that the FBI even turned them over to
the Warren Commission or the Archives in the first place.5
The third set of photos consist of 2 rolls of microfilmed photos which
the FBI Lab made after developing the photos jointly taken in Dallas;
this microfilmed series was furnished to the Dallas Police which in
turn furnished copies to other agencies, including the Secret Service.
6 In a letter dated December 3, 1963, Police Chief Curry advises the
FBI that items #164 through #360 were missing and apparently did not
record; he requests the FBI to re-photograph the items.7 The fourth
set of photos consist of the FBI's "re-photographed" items which were
sent to the Dallas police to supplement the missing photos.8
Not only were there missing frames but some of those that existed had
been altered. The Minox camera itemized in #375 of the joint inventory
list ceased to exist in the set of microfilmed photos first returned
to the Dallas Police by the FBI. Photo #375 which was supposed to be a
group photo of the Minox--along with several other camera items--is now
just a Minox light meter.9
It is generally unknown in the research community that much, if not
all, of the evidence seized from the Paine household and Beckley
Street residence was "loaned" to the FBI on the weekend of the
assassination even before the FBI took charge of the crime. The FBI
assigned number #Q-5 to the Minox camera and/or Minox film at that
time. The evidence was returned to the Dallas police after the FBI's
inspection. It was then turned over once again to the FBI on November
26th when the FBI assumed jurisdiction.10 We know that the Minox film
recovered from the Paine household was in possession of the FBI as of
November 25th because on that date the FBI requested a comparison of
the Minox film as recovered from the possessions of Oswald with Minox
film designated as Specimen Q5. The laboratory results were that Minox
film Q5 was not taken with the same camera as the other Minox film.11
Was the FBI comparing the Minox film later designated as Item #377
with the cassette still remaining in the Minox camera recovered by the
Dallas police?
The FBI's early efforts to conceal the existence of the Minox camera
did not stay secret for long. According to author Gary Savage, a
controversy ensued within the first two months following the
assassination when news reporters received information that the FBI
had altered the inventory list. Furthermore, the FBI had pressured
Dallas police detective Gus Rose to change his recollection of what he
had found from a Minox camera to a Minox light meter. Detective Rose
steadfastly refused to alter his findings and insisted that he found
the camera in Oswald's seabag the weekend after the assassination.12
The FBI was now squarely in the middle of an evidence tampering
dilemma before the Warren Commission investigation was barely
underway. One solution would be to produce the original camera, or any
Minox camera for that matter, in order to resolve the discrepancy.
This is precisely what the FBI did.
We now know that the controversy over the Minox camera reached the
highest levels of the FBI because on January 27, 1964, Mr. William A.
Branigan, Chief of the FBI's espionage section, telephoned SAC Gordon
Shanklin in Dallas to point out the inconsistency in the inventory
lists. Branigan also advised Shanklin that the FBI Lab in Washington
did not have the Minox camera in its possession.13 On January 28, 1964
Shanklin responded by advising FBI Inspector Moore of the FBI Lab that
no such Minox camera had been found--only a Minox light meter.14 This,
of course was an outright lie on Shanklin's part. FBI Director J.
Edgar Hoover apparently found this reply unacceptable because on
January 30, 1964, Hoover sent a teletype to Shanklin advising once
again that the FBI Lab had all Minox related items except for the
Minox camera. Hoover then instructed SAC Shanklin to immediately
investigate this matter and to contact the Dallas Police, Mrs. Oswald
and Mrs. Paine, if necessary.15
In an effort to "locate" the camera, Dallas FBI Agent Bardwell Odum on
January 30, 1964, contacted Ruth Paine to inquire into whether the
Paines owned a Minox camera.16 Ruth recollected that her husband had a
Minox which he had dropped into salt water several years ago; she was
sure that he had thrown it away but she would ask him about it and get
back to him. She also stated that the police took a Minox camera case
along with a light meter belonging to Michael which may or may not
have been a Minox light meter.17 The next day on January 31, 1964,
Ruth Paine called Odum to tell him that her husband still had the
camera and that it was in a coffee can in the garage.18 If this was
true, one would have to conclude that the local police not only did a
poor job of searching the garage the weekend of the assassination but
also fabricated the Minox camera on both its original inventory list
and joint DPD/FBI list. Since this was not the case, the collusion of
the Paines is readily apparent.
The rest of this article can be found in The Assassinations, edited by
Jim DiEugenio and Lisa Pease.
Notes
1 The first DPD inventory list, undated, was obtained from the Dallas
Police Archives. It is attached to an undated joint statement of the
officers which in turn is followed by a supplementary report dated
11/23. The inventory list does not seem to distinguished between those
items recovered on the 22nd, and those items recovered on the 23rd
pursuant to a search warrant. With respect to felonies, police
officers have the power to search and seize what is in plain view.
Closed containers, such as Lee Oswald's boxes, envelopes, suitcases,
and seabags, etc. would require a search warrant. While the weekend
reports are somewhat sloppy in this regard, the undisputable fact
remains that the Minox camera was recovered at that time regardless of
whether it was the 22nd or the 23rd. This author has entertained the
possibility that the police officers' search on the 22nd went beyond
proper legal limits and this was "rectified" by obtaining a search
warrant the next morning.
2 See Commission Exhibit #2003 at Vol. 24, p. 340. The evidence was
delivered to the Dallas FBI office on 11/26. On forms supplied by the
Dallas police, a detailed inventory list was prepared by police
property clerk H.W. Hill and witnessed by FBI Agent Warren De Brueys
and police captain J. M. English. The Minox camera is identified on
Receipt No. 11192-G as one of the items voluntarily given to the
police by Ruth Paine and Marina Oswald on the 22nd suggesting that the
first police search went beyond its permissible scope as is often the
case in criminal proceedings. The listing of the electronic device in
the brown case from the Beckley Street address (set forth in the joint
list at Receipt No. 11199-G) further clouds the issue of what items
came from where and when--at least insofar as the weekend police search
is concerned. The police department version in the Dallas Police
Archives differs from the FBI's list of the 26th in only one respect:
the Dallas list contains the signatures of the FBI agents receiving
the property. The accompanying affidavit of Dallas officer H. H. Hill
describes the process by which a joint inventory was made wherein FBI
Agent De Brueys called out the items, one by one.
3 See evidence list set out in CD 735. Item 375 has been altered to
omit the Minox camera and turn it into a Minox light meter. For some
reason this list contains the Dallas field office file number instead
of the Headquarters file number suggesting that the FBI's own property
list was prepared in Dallas before departure to Washington, D.C. We do
know from an FBI document that Agent DeBrueys delivered the evidence
to the FBI Lab on November 27th. Another document suggests that a 4th
list was prepared by the FBI Lab which superseded all prior lists.
4 JFK First Day Evidence by Gary Savage, pp.208, 210.
5 See 11/26/63 report of FBI Agent Ronald E. Brinkley describing how
the photos were made with the DPD photo-record camera. 5 rolls of
photos were taken using 35mm Kodak High Contrast Copy microfilm. FBI
agent James P. Hosty states in his recent book, Assignment: Oswald, p.
77 that the photos were taken with a Minox camera. This is a mistake
or falsehood on his part as Minox cameras use only Minox film. The
documents setting forth the joint photo session with the Kodak film
were supplied by Researcher John Armstrong and were obtained from the
Dallas Police files. At Mr. Armstrong's request, the National Archives
searched for these 5 rolls of photos and could not locate them.
6 See FBI agent Robert Barrett's report of statement from Assistant
Chief of Police, Charles Batchelor, dated 7/6/64, and available from
the microfilmed collection of Dallas Police Archives. See also FBI
memo dated 11/29/63 from Branigan to Sullivan.
7 Curry's 12/3/63 letter from the Dallas Police Archives furnished by
Mr. Armstrong.
8 Author's conversation with John Armstrong whose opinion is based in
part upon an undated FBI document bearing Agent Wallace Heitman's
name, referencing dates of 1/23/64 and 2/4/64 and referring to 85
photographs of Oswald's belongings.
9 Indeed there are two separate photos of #375, one still in the
possession of the Dallas Police Archives showing the surrounding items
covered up by scraps of paper and the one in the National Archives
showing a blow up of the Minox light meter all by itself; copies
furnished to author by John Armstrong. The National Archives also has
a copy of the same DPD group photos that Gary Savage depicts in his
book. However, these photos were enlarged, then cropped to omit the
Minox camera featured in the top 1/3 of the original photograph. A
copy of the NARA cropped photo was furnished to the author by Anna
Marie Kuhns-Walko.
10 See deposition of FBI Lab expert, James C. Cadigan, NARA: HSCA
Record No. 124-10086-10013.
11 The author's copy of this document was furnished to her by John
Armstrong without the benefit of a RIF cover sheet from the NARA. It
appears to be part of report prepared by Dallas FBI agent, Robert
Gemberling. Note that the Minox film analysis was filed away in a New
York City FBI field office file #65-22483 of the Espionage-Russia
division. According to John Armstrong, a FOIA request failed to turn
up this file.
12 See Savage pp. 212-215,and transcript of Gus Rose's statement to
the HSCA made on 4/13/78.
13 FBI #105-82555-1643, memo dated 1/28/64.
14 Ibid.
15 FBI #105-82555-1580, teletype dated 1/30/64, RIF citation omitted.
This teletype also clarifies the fact that there were two Minox
cassettes, one of which contained film.
16 Dallas FBI field office file, #100-10461, Odum report of 1/30/64
interview with Ruth dictated on 1/31/64 and typed on 2/3/64
17 Ibid.
18 FBI #105-82555/#100-10461, report of 1/31/64 interview with Ruth
Paine, dictated on 1/31/64 and typed on 2/1/64
19 FBI #105-82555/#100-10461, report of 1/31/64 interview with Michael
Paine, dictated on 1/31/64 and typed on 2/3/64
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 FBI #105-82555/#100-10461, Bulky Exhibit Inventory Receipts, two
versions, dated 1/31/64 and 2/8/64
25 2/2/64 cover letter with Airmail from Dallas to FBI Lab
26 FBI #105-82555/#100-10461, report of 1/31/64 interview with
Michael, dictated on 1/31/64 and typed on 2/3/64
27 See Warren Commission Exhibit #2003 at Vol. 24, p. 333.
28 FBI #105-82555/#100-10461, teletype dated 1/31/64
29 Assignment: Oswald, p.86, by James P. Hosty
30 See Warren Commission Vol. 9, p.444
31 See Warren Commission Vol. 10, p.313 and p.325. It is not clear if
Shasteen's relationship with Odum originated with the FBI
investigation into the assassination or if it was pre-existing.
32 See HSCA, Vol. 12, p. 373
33 See HSCA, Vol. 12, p. 390
34 See p. 211 of Gary Savage's book, JFK: First Day Evidence and
Dallas Morning News reports by Earl Golz dated 6/15/78 and 8/7/78.
Featured in next month's issue of Probe: the history of the Minox
camera and strange Minox photographs.
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