Cuba 'Paid Oswald To Kill Kennedy'

[Ryan Ruck]

Had a hard time trying to decide where to put this. So I figured that since it alleges major Cuban involvement, it could go here.

Cuba 'Paid Oswald To Kill Kennedy'

CUBA lay behind the 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald and its agents provided the gunman with money and support, an award-winning German director says in a new documentary film.

Wilfried Huismann spent three years researching Rendezvous with Death, based on interviews with former Cuban secret agents, US officials and a Russian intelligence source, and on research in Mexican security archives.

The film, shown to journalists in Berlin, says Oswald travelled to Mexico City by bus in September 1963, seven weeks before the Kennedy shooting, and met agents at the Cuban embassy there who paid him $US6500 ($8790).

Oscar Marino, a former Cuban agent and a key source for the documentary, told Huismann that Oswald himself had volunteered for the assassination mission and Havana had exploited him.

"Oswald was a dissident. He hated his country...Oswald offered to kill Kennedy," Marino said in the film.

"He was so full of hate, he had the idea. We used him...He was a tool."

He said he knew with certainty that the assassination was an operation of the Cuban secret service G-2, but would not say if it was ordered by President Fidel Castro.

Oswald was shot dead by Jack Ruby two days after killing Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

The film argues Cuba wanted to eliminate Kennedy as the chief enemy of its Communist revolution, and portrays him and Castro as dueling opponents each trying to assassinate the other first.

Former CIA official Sam Halpern told Huismann: "He (Castro) beat us. He bested us. He came out on top, and we lost." Laurence Keenan, an officer of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who was sent to Mexico City immediately after Kennedy's death to investigate a possible Cuban connection, said he was recalled after just three days and the probe was aborted.

"This was perhaps the worst investigation the FBI was ever involved in," Keenan said. "I realised that I was used. I felt ashamed. We missed a moment in history."

I've always put my money on the Reds being behind the Kennedy assassination.

It is the most logical conclusion one comes to when considering the fact that Oswald spent several years in the Soviet Union and ultimately ended up marrying a woman believed to be a KGB operative.

Also, reading the responses to this thread on FR, there are those saying that if it was KGB/Communist related, they would have given him a much better rifle than some "cheap $18 POS" to carry out the task. I disagree… They didn't provide him with something like an SVT, SVD, or Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle because they didn't want it easily traced back to them. Fact is that the Carcano is a fairly robust and decent rifle (I've got a carbine version which is just a shorter version of the type Oswald used). Most Carcanos fire a 6.5x55 round which has a fairly flat trajectory and packs a pretty decent punch.

[ExplodedMind]

I was living in Arlington when Kennedy was hit, 30 miles away. What a strange time it was. We knew about the possible Communist connection right away, Oswald had been out on the street in Dallas handing out Commie flyers for some time.

Jack Ruby was a "connected" local club owner (The Carousel Club), which gave rise to the mafia angle that some people believed. I was watching live when Ruby shot Oswald, what a shocking moment. Ruby died of cancer in prison, and said the truth would die with him. He made remarks that indicated there was more to the story. This fueled the mob angle even more, and it was assumed Ruby had to keep quiet to protect his family.

There are connections between Cuba and the mob, of course. Havana was a favorite hangout for mobsters, and one famous mob guy took refuge there for years, can't think of his name right now.

Another interesting character was Carroll Jornegon (sp?). Carroll was a well-known attorney in Dallas with connections to Ruby. After Oswald was buried at Rose Hill Cemetary, Carroll moved to a lilttle house right next to that location, and lived there for many years. Carroll had some nice bass ponds on his place, and if you took a bottle of whiskey over, he would let you fish. He would wander about in a black trenchcoat and a black fedora in 100 degree weather, railing about the FBI shooting holes in his house and other crazy talk. We always thought he was playing the crazy angle to stay alive, as so many people connected to the assasination died mysteriously over the years.

I left Texas in '76, so I don't know what became of Carroll, he would be very old now if still alive. I drove by his place last year, the house was gone, and the grounds were grown over.

EM

[Ryan Ruck]

Jack Ruby was a "connected" local club owner (The Carousel Club), which gave rise to the mafia angle that some people believed. I was watching live when Ruby shot Oswald, what a shocking moment. Ruby died of cancer in prison, and said the truth would die with him. He made remarks that indicated there was more to the story. This fueled the mob angle even more, and it was assumed Ruby had to keep quiet to protect his family.

There are connections between Cuba and the mob, of course. Havana was a favorite hangout for mobsters, and one famous mob guy took refuge there for years, can't think of his name right now.

I knew that Jack Ruby had a mob connection and thus the believed mob involvement. And certainly, I have heard some good points as to why the mob may have been involved in Kennedy's assassination. But, in my opinion, it just doesn't fit the Mafia's style. I mean, think about it, killing a President? Given that the Mafia are more businessmen as opposed to ones who kill just because they can, it just doesn't seem logical at all. If the killing were traced back to them there would have been a crackdown on the mob the likes of which would have never been seen before thus, they would have been put out of business.

Now, the point you mention about Havana being a mobster's haven is interesting. I had not previously known about this! But, if Ruby was a frequent visitor to the area that could explain a lot. Perhaps during his visits (if he indeed made them, I don't know as I haven't done a whole lot of research into this topic) the Cuban/Soviet intelligence was able to get some "dirt" (e.g. sleeping with little boys, talking badly about mob bosses, etc.) on Ruby and used it as leverage to blackmail him into carrying out the hit on Oswald. Using such blackmail is the classic MO of the Communist intelligence services.

[ExplodedMind]

Ryan: It has long been a theory in Texas that Castro and the mob teamed up to take out Kennedy. I don't know if there is any truth to it, but there are interesting connections. Joe Kennedy, JFK's father, was a rum runner during Prohibition, which is the root of the Kennedy fortune. So, could Joe have been "connected?" Probably not, he was Irish, but maybe he stepped on some toes. JFK becomes president, tries to take out Castro (Bay of Pigs and several assasination attempts), and appoints his brother Bobby Attorney General. Bobby proceeds to do a major crackdown on organized crime. Was he settling old scores? JFK boinks Marilyn Monroe, who was also Sam Giancana's moll for a while. One thing about the mob, you cross them, you get hit, though I imagine Marilyn was just a coincidence.

It's all very tangled.

I'm still trying to remember the name of the mobster who took refuge in Havana. I think his name started with an "R". That was in the 70's, I think. Earlier there was lots of gambling in Havana, and Meyer Lansky was there as well as Vegas, where he met his end. You always find the mob wherever you find gambling. Anyway, as I said, I don't know if there is any truth to the rumors, but now I've got to find that mobster's name, or it's going to drive me crazy.

EM

[Brian Baldwin]

You may be thinking of Charles “Lucky” Luciano. He was "deported" there back in the 40's. But considering that Dewey forced the mob to retreat there in the 50's it could be one of numerous bosses that come to mind.

It should be worth noting here that there are a couple of connections for the Kennedys and the mob. The old man.... Joseph Kennedy had for certain connections and Bobby was vicously tenatious in his pursuit of them. Bring some things together here like the Mob becoming increasingly unwelcome in Havana, the Bay of Pigs, Jack Ruby, Bobby's persecution of the mob, and Cuba's likely involvement in John F. Kennedy's death and you can see where a sensible belief in mob involvement can form. This however is all circumstantial evidence and not factually pointed to within history.

My personal belief is that Oswald wasn't the only shooter. I've seen the video so many times and knowing the way a body acts upon being shot, I must believe the president was shot at least once from the front. Who, What, Why? Couldn't really say. And a personal belief doesn't make for factual evidence. We'll see in time, one way or another. Everything makes its way to the light of day eventually. And I'll either be right or wrong, but the President's death will be uncovered completely regardless of our own pursuits.

Brian

[Brian Baldwin]

Here's some interesting material on what I stated. I guess I should have found a link to add to the above to support what I was saying even though it was a personal opinion. No sense in getting lazy on that posting habit.

http://www.cosmos-club.org/journals/1996/goldfarb.html

The author was with Kennedy during his administration.

Brian

[ExplodedMind]

Brian,

Yep, here's more on the idea:

http://www.essays.cc/free_essays/d3/keb114.shtml

Even past the mob’s height of success, there are alleged ties between the Mafia and the 35th president of the United States, John F Kennedy. Chicago mob boss “Momo” Johnson did Kennedy a favor by “raising the dead” and stuffing the ballots in the 1960 presidential election where JFK won by 1/10th of a point. Kennedy then made the mistake of disassociating himself from his Mafia associates and refused to return the favor. These alleged acts form an assassination theory pointing the finger at the Mafia for the hit. It was not only because of the un-returned favors, but JFK and his brother Bobby who was attorney general led a crackdown on organized crime. Convictions involving the mob soared from 35 to 288 in 2 years. This did not make Mafia leaders happy, which is an acceptable motive for Kennedy’s assassination (Fox 308). The speculation surrounding Kennedy’s assassination is visible in the film. JFK is first hit in the throat and bounces forward. The fatal shot came from the front making it obvious that there must have been two shooters, going against the Warren Commission’s reports blaming Lee Harvey Oswald for the killing.

[Excerpt of article]

The only part of your post I'm not sure about is your confidence that the truth will come out. It's been a long time, and most of the people involved are dead. Even Kennedy's brain is missing. Truly hard evidence is thin, other than the Zapruder film and a few similar films and photos. I hope you are right, though, I've followed this mystery for over 40 years. A good book on the direction of the fatal shot is "Best Evidence." Can't remember the author's name this moment, but it will be easy to find. It gets repetitive, but the author did some interesting research using the forensic evidence.

EM

[Brian Baldwin]

My personal thoughts are that the Mafia may have influenced the Castrolites to make the hit. Kind of like Murder Incorporated in their hey day. They wanted revenge for the slight they felt the Kennedy's handed them.

Brian