JFK, Oswald, Cuba, and the Mafia

JFK, Oswald, Cuba, and the Mafia:

A Chronological History

By David Pratt

ISBN: 978-1-927789-20-9

Copyright 2013 David Pratt

Published By Bev Editions at Smashwords

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Contents

Introduction

Part 1. Prelude. 1848-1963

Part 2. Assassination. November 21-24, 1963

Part 3: Aftermath. 1963-2012

Commentary

Epilogue

References

About the Author

Introduction

There was a time when the statements of government were accepted as truth, or at least were given the benefit of the doubt. So, along with the vast majority of North Americans, when the Warren Commission Report appeared, I assumed that the facts of the case had been examined thoroughly, and that its conclusion, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, was unimpeachable.

The first crack in that edifice appeared when I came across Bertrand Russell’s essay, 16 Questions about the Assassination. The essay raised questions about the composition of the Warren Committee, and its treatment of evidence and witnesses. Published before the Warren Report appeared, Russell republished it in the first volume of his memoirs, which appeared in 1967, and it was there that I encountered it.

Since that time, hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of books have appeared on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I have read only a sample of 100 or so. They raise a myriad of questions. Who shot President Kennedy? Did Lee Harvey Oswald commit the assassination alone or as one of a group of assassins? Or was he, as he claimed, a patsy? What, if any, was the role of organized crime, which raged against Kennedy before the assassination, and gloated afterward? How did Jack Ruby manage the split-second timing that was necessary for him to kill Oswald? How was it that so many witnesses died sudden and violent deaths in the aftermath of the tragedy? How trustworthy were the two government commissions, the Warren Commission of 1964 and the House Commission of 1978?

Because none of these questions have been answered definitively, they continue to intrigue researchers and their readers. There is no shortage of information. In addition to books by independent investigators, in 1992 the Assassination Records Collection Act ruled that all government materials related to the assassination be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration. The collection houses more than five million pages of records, in addition to film, sound recordings, and artifacts. There is no sign, or likelihood, of the stream of books on the assassination drying up.

But as I worked my way through books and reports on the Kennedy assassination over a period of many years, I became increasingly uneasy. It seemed that the books all shared a common characteristic. They began with a conclusion, and then, like defense and prosecution attorneys, they presented the evidence that supported their position, and ignored, dismissed, downplayed, or endeavored to discredit contrary evidence. There was a gap in the literature: the absence of a work that simply presented the evidence and allowed readers to make up their own minds. That is the gap that the present book attempts to fill. It aims to present, in the form of a timeline, only factual evidence that is firmly established, or is accepted by assassination researchers of otherwise differing views. Where differences of opinion occur about the evidence, both sides are represented. Commentary is kept out of the dateline and reserved for the end of the book. The truth may remain elusive, but the reader will be equipped with most of the evidence on which a judgment can be based.

The evidence leads to conclusions which must be framed as probabilities, not certainties.  It is very unlikely that Lee Harvey Oswald shot John F. Kennedy.  However, it is probable that he was linked in some way to the assassination.  He probably shot Patrolman Tippett, and probably shot at General Edwin Walker.  It is not possible to assert that Jack Ruby acted independently in killing Oswald.  Organized Crime had the motive, the means, and the opportunity to kill Kennedy.  Fidel Castro had strong reasons to want Kennedy removed.  The number, nature, and circumstances of the deaths of witnesses are suspicious.  Finally, it is clear that the Warren Commission distorted evidence on numerous occasions to fit a preconceived conclusion.

Part 1. Prelude. 1848-1963

1848 or 1849

Patrick Kennedy, great-grandfather of John F. Kennedy, immigrates to the United States from Ireland in flight from crop failure, famine, and the near genocidal effects of British colonialism (Nasaw 2012). He settles in East Boston.

1858 January

Patrick Joseph Kennedy, grandfather of John F. Kennedy is born.

1880

The 1880 census lists P. J. Kennedy’s occupation as liquor. He is heavily involved in Boston politics, and serves in both the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Senate. By the age of 40, he is wealthy and prominent.

1888 September 6

Joseph Patrick Kennedy, John F. Kennedy’s father, is born.

1890

A New Orleans grand jury states that the existence of a secret organization known as the Mafia has been established beyond doubt.

1898 April 25

The US Congress declares war on Spain.

1898 December 10

By the Treaty of Paris with Spain, the US takes control of Cuba and other Spanish possessions, and installs a military government in Cuba.

1901 March 2

The US Congress enacts the Platt Amendment, giving the US control of Cuba’s foreign and economic policies, leasing of bases, and the right to intervene militarily in Cuba.

1903 July 2

Cuba signs a treaty leasing Guantanamo to the US for $2000 per year.

1908 September

Joseph Kennedy enters Harvard.

1911 March 25

Jack Rubenstein is born in Chicago.

1915 January 21

Joseph Kennedy becomes president of the Columbia Trust Company, of which his father was one of the founders. He becomes an expert financier.

1915 October 7

Joseph Kennedy marries Rose Fitzgerald, daughter of a former mayor of Boston. He enjoyed the company of other women, hundreds of them over his lifetime (Nasaw, 2012). He begins to make money in the stock market and in real estate.

1917 May 29

John F. Kennedy (hereafter Kennedy) is born in Brookline, Massachusetts. During his youth he suffers from numerous illnesses, including scarlet fever, whooping cough, chicken pox, measles, colitis, and appendicitis.

1920 January 17

The Nineteenth Amendment, establishing prohibition in the US, comes into effect. One result is an enormous increase in the income, scale, and power of organized crime.

1924 May 24

J. Edgar Hoover is appointed Acting Director of the Bureau of Investigation. He becomes Director in December.

1926 February 6

Joseph Kennedy buys the FBO film company. Within three years, he is worth several million dollars.

1926 September 26

Fidel Castro is born, the fifth of five illegitimate children born to his father and his father’s cook.

1929 February 14

In the St. Valentine’s Massacre in Chicago, the Capone gang wipes out most of the leadership of the Moran gang, which was invading their bootlegging business. At this time, Jack Rubenstein is thought to have served as a runner for Capone. Three sources report his membership in the Dave Miller Gang.

1931October 17

Al Capone is convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to eleven years in jail.

1932 June

Joseph Kennedy, now a multimillionaire from trading on Wall St., joins Roosevelt’s successful campaign for President.

1933 September 4

The Sergeants’ Revolt in Cuba brings Fulgencia Batista to power, which he wields for the next eleven years through puppet presidents, and the support of the United States and the Cuban and American mafia. Major players in the Cuban economy are Standard Oil, Rockefeller-owned banks, and investors including the Dulles family.

1933 December 5

Prohibition is repealed. Joseph