From the Book Depository to the Texas Theater

What do I believe? I have received this question over a hundred times though never answered it. Rather, I have presented the facts to allow the reader to draw their own conclusion. However, with the final release of information from the investigation, with ‘supposedly’ nothing left to hide my conclusion has not changed.

​Final Release of Information: On March 18, 2025, the National Archives released over 63,000 pages of documents related to President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination, following an executive order by President Donald Trump. This release aimed to promote transparency and address longstanding public interest in the event.​ The newly available documents offer deeper insights into the activities of U.S. intelligence agencies during the Cold War era, particularly concerning covert operations against Cuba and surveillance of individuals like Lee Harvey Oswald.

However, these documents do not substantiate theories suggesting a conspiracy beyond Oswald’s actions. ​ Notably, the release inadvertently exposed personal information, including Social Security numbers of former congressional staffers involved in past investigations, raising concerns about privacy breaches. ​ A summary of new information from these documents indicates that in 1961, nearly 47% of political officers in U.S. embassies abroad were actually CIA intelligence agents working undercover as diplomats.

I believe the relevant documents – those which were not consistent with a lone gunman theory that also implicated the Secret Service, the CIA and even the FBI, were long ago destroyed.

The documents released in 2025 largely reinforce existing historical understandings of the assassination, with no significant new evidence pointing to alternative explanations. The release is supposed to underscore the U.S. government’s commitment to transparency regarding this pivotal historical event as crafted shortly after the assassination. They do not.

My beliefs (and they are only surmise) will not be consoling to the Tippit family and for that I am sad. I know this is not the interpretation they want. I believe documents did exist both in state and federal reports, medical records and in journalistic notes that indicated the lone gunman theory was not valid. I also believe they were destroyed if the documents did not support the lone gunman theory.

My Theory: Lee Harvey Oswald was framed as the lone shooter, J.D. Tippit was involved in the plot to eliminate Oswald and when that failed a dying Jack Ruby, shot Oswald. Multiple shooters were positioned—including one on the grassy knoll who fired the fatal shots, including one from the front and through the neck of President Kennedy. The Chicago Mafia played a central role in orchestrating the assassination. Whether a Secret Service agent accidentally discharged a rifle is more likely than not.  However, I believe the frangible bullet discharged from his rifle struck the pavement, not the President. One bullet struck the president from the front, not the rear (as would have been required if Oswald fired the fatal shot).  The bullet came from the grassy knoll.  It’s just that simple.

I. Oswald’s Role as a Patsy

1. Oswald’s Own Words: “I’m Just a Patsy”

• Oswald denied involvement in both the assassination and the killing of Officer J.D. Tippit during his interrogation though there was an eye witness account of his murder of Officer Tippit.
• His background suggests he may have been an intelligence asset or an unwitting dupe, a convenient fool:
  • He defected to the Soviet Union but was allowed to return without issue.
  • He had CIA connections through Guy Bannister’s New Orleans operation (linked to anti-Castro plots).
  • His Mexico City trip suggests intelligence involvement.  June Cobb, a CIA agent reported on his Mexico activities.
  • Also review the statements of George de Mohrenschildt – a diplomat, a known CIA asset and close associate of Oswald.

2. The Impossible Rifle Scenario

• Oswald’s alleged weapon (6.5mm Carcano) was an old bolt-action rifle.
• Multiple recreations show that firing three shots in 5.8 seconds with accuracy would be nearly impossible.
• Ballistic trajectory inconsistencies (from the Zapruder film and forensic analysis) indicate shots came from multiple directions, not just from behind.
• The rifle used was an Italian Fucile di Fanteria (Eng: Infantry rifle) Modello 91/38 (Model 1891/1938) manufactured at the Royal Arms Factory in Terni, (Regia fabbrica d’armi di Terni), Italy, in 1940.

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II. The Fatal Shot: The Grassy Knoll

1. The Smell of Gunpowder at Street Level

• Witnesses at street level smelled gunpowder near the motorcade and the grassy knoll, which would be impossible if the shots came solely from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
• Patrolman Earl Brown, positioned above the street on the overpass, also smelled gunpowder—confirming the shots originated near the motorcade.

2. Witnesses Identified a Second Shooter

• Senator Yarborough, riding three cars behind Kennedy, stated he smelled gunpowder and saw a Secret Service agent pull out a rifle.  Whether that rifle was fired is not definitive.  If it was fired, whether that was the frangible bullet strike to the ground on Main Street is not definitive but it is my opinion the agent’s rifle was discharged accidentally as the motorcade sped up after the bullet from the grassy knoll struck President Kennedy, with its frangible bullet striking the ground.
• Train yard workers saw a man fleeing from the Book Depository’s west entrance toward the train tracks.  (Oswald exited from the front entrance which faced south and was located on the south east corner of the building.)
• The train master who observed the man running from the west entrance died suspiciously shortly afterward in a single-car accident, one of many suspicious witness deaths.

3. The Zapruder Film and Medical Testimony

• Dr. Robert N. McClelland, a surgeon at Parkland Hospital, described Kennedy’s head wound as an “exit wound” from the rear, suggesting the fatal shot came from the front (grassy knoll).
• The back of JFK’s head was blown out, consistent with a frangible bullet fired from the front.  This is evident from the film.
• The Warren Commission insisted Oswald’s bullets were full metal jacket, which do not fragment or explode inside a skull.
• Eyewitnesses saw a puff of smoke and heard gunfire from the knoll, but their testimonies were ignored.

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III. J.D. Tippit’s Role & His Death

1. Tippit’s Suspicious Actions

• Officer J.D. Tippit was not in his assigned patrol area when he encountered Oswald.
• He misrepresented his location to dispatch just minutes before his death.
• A police vehicle drove past the ramshackled boarding house after Oswald returned from the Book Depository and honked.  Following the horn honk Oswald left and subsequently met with Officer J.D. Tippit—not typical behavior for Oswald if he were trying to flee.
• Officer Tippit was shot four times at close range by Oswald.

2. Was Tippit Tasked with Killing Oswald?

• Officer J.D. Tippit was seen frequently at Jack Ruby’s strip club, a known mob hangout.
• Richard Kane, a Chicago Mafia hitman, allegedly coordinated Oswald’s elimination.
• The theory suggests Tippit was assigned to kill Oswald to prevent him from talking, but Oswald shot him first in self-defense.
• After Tippit was shot and killed, his service revolver was taken—but never recovered.

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IV. Jack Ruby’s Mob Ties & The Chicago Mafia’s Role

1. Jack Ruby: The Mafia’s Enforcer

• Jack Ruby had extensive connections to the Chicago Mafia, particularly to Sam Giancana.
• He smuggled guns into Cuba for mob interests and the CIA’s anti-Castro operations.
• Ruby’s murder of Oswald silenced the key witness, preventing a deeper investigation.
• Ruby was dying of cancer.

2. The Chicago Mob’s Motive

The Chicago Mafia had several reasons to want Kennedy dead:

• Retaliation against the Kennedy family:
  • Joseph Kennedy (JFK’s father) had used mob connections to secure JFK’s election.
  • Attorney General Robert Kennedy aggressively targeted the Mafia once JFK took office.
• Ties to Cuba:
  • The Mafia controlled gambling operations in Havana before Castro’s rise.
  • They were enraged by JFK’s failure to oust Castro in the Bay of Pigs.
  • Oswald’s “Cuban sympathizer” image provided a cover story.

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V. The Cover-Up: Suppressed Evidence & Witness Deaths

1. The Warren Commission’s Flawed Investigation

• The FBI and CIA withheld evidence, including Oswald’s intelligence connections.
• The Secret Service admittedly destroyed records just before the law required them to be preserved.
• Key witnesses were ignored, including medical professionals and police officers.

2. Suspicious Witness Deaths

• Dorothy Kilgallen, an investigative journalist with access to Jack Ruby, was found dead under suspicious circumstances shortly after saying she had “the biggest story of the century.”
• The train master, who saw a man fleeing the Book Depository’s west entrance, died in a single-car accident.
• Multiple eyewitnesses died suddenly, many in car crashes, shootings, or apparent suicides. See more below.

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VI. Conclusion: A Multi-Layered Conspiracy

Key Takeaways Supporting the Conspiracy Theory

• Oswald was set up as the fall guy (“patsy”).
• At least one shooter was positioned on the grassy knoll.
• J.D. Tippit was likely assigned to kill Oswald but was killed instead by Oswald.  What happened to Oswald’s pistol?  It is located in the National Archives.
• A Secret Service Agent following President Kennedy’s car was seen standing up with a rifle after a shot and then thrown back to his seat as the motorcade sped up.  Some reports of that rifles discharge were made and I believe that is true, however, the bullet struck the curb and not President Kennedy.  This could also be the source of the odor of gun powder notwithstanding the fact that gun powder odors flows forward and not backward.
• The Chicago Mafia had a strong motive and direct involvement.
• Witnesses and journalists who knew too much were systematically eliminated.

This case suggests that Oswald was manipulated into being the “face” of the crime, while the true masterminds—mob bosses, intelligence operatives, and rogue law enforcement—covered their tracks. The Warren Commission’s conclusions were deliberately misleading, and key evidence was destroyed or suppressed.

VII: Why These Are My Conclusions

The Smell of Gun Powder

Report of Gunpowder Odor Third and Fourth Cars Back

Senator Yarborough, riding with LBJ, stated he smelled gunpowder seconds after the bullets were fired. The Senator was located three cars behind the President. As a WWII veteran with fifty years of weapon experience he believed it strange and improbable that he would smell gunpowder from the Texas Book Depository six floors up. He was located fifteen feet below the Book Depository ground floor which was a significant distance to his rear, with the wind blowing southwest – downwind. “You don’t smell gunpowder unless you’re upwind of it.” (WCR Volume VII, page 439, July 10, 1964.)

• Senator Yarborough stated he witnessed a secret service agent in the car before him pull out a rifle. The secret service agent looked backward and to the right at the sound of a shot. (See also, Chicago Sun Times, November 23, 1967.)
• Earl Warren requested Yarborough be called as a witness, however, he was not called to testify before the Warren Commission.
• Neither George Warren Hickey nor any of the former agents in the follow-up vehicle were called to testify before a Congressional committee.
• David Powers, personal aide to JFK, was sitting in the follow up car with Agent Hickey. Powers has never spoken of a shot fired from the Secret Service Agent’s vehicle, nor was he called to testify.

Source of the Gun Powder Smell

It possible the gun powder smell could have come from either the motorcade or the grassy knoll. Essentially, all parties agree, the smell of gun powder could not and did not emanate from the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository. Factors impacting the smell are the source of the gun shot, the caliber of the weapon and the wind speed and direction. The wind speed was ten to fifteen miles per hour blowing in a southwesterly direction. (Gun powder odor flows upwind, not downwind.)

Agent George Hickey, four months on the job, is pictured with an AR 15 at the Plaza as agents scramble to protect the President. Eleven witnesses noted this in the ACR. Two witnesses noted this at the time of the third shot. (See: Appendix Item 221.)

George Hickey’s testimony is that he heard gun shots, picked up the AR15 and held it as the motorcade proceeded through the underpass. Other witnesses indicated Hickey had held the rifle at the time of the third shot, at Dealey Plaza. (WCR Volume XVIII, Exhibit 1024, page 763. November 30, 1963.) One witness indicated Hickey rose up at time of first shot with the rifle and then dropped back down. George Hickey died in 2005.

Howard Donahue surmises that the force of the acceleration of the Secret Service vehicle pulled Hickey back down in the car. It is his belief that it was at this time the gun accidentally discharged fatally wounding the president. A voluntary statement made the same date at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department indicated one witness observed a flash of pink simultaneously as a Secret Service Agent stood up in the follow up car to President Kennedy’s car. The witness stated a man could be seen in either the President’s car or the car behind his as he stood up in the open top vehicle. The claim was this same person elevated what appeared to be rifle. (See: Voluntary Statement Dallas County Sheriff’s Department. November 23, 1963.) (WCR Volume XXIV, Exhibit 2003, Page 200.)  However, a frangible bullet did strike the curb on Main Street and this very likely could have been the discharge of George Hickey’s weapon. The back of JFK’s head was blown out, consistent with a frangible bullet fired from the front not the back.  This is evident from the film.

The Smell of Gun Powder

The smell of gun powder is not a smoking gun though it is an important clue (and pretty close to a smoking gun). This points to the fact that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone if he fired a gun at all. The “smell of gun powder” permeates the testimony of witnesses in the Warren Report. Additionally, this testimony is found in Dallas County Sheriff interviews taken the day of the assassination and in individual witness interviews.

Seven witnesses reported they smelled gun powder located in both the motorcade and the grassy knoll area. These statements were taken the day of the shooting.  This could be from the discharge of the Hickey weapon – or from the grassy knoll – or both.

Patrolman on Overpass Smells Gunpowder

Earl Brown, a Dallas City Police Force Patrolman, was stationed on the overpass (often referred to as the “triple overpass”) roughly 100 yards from the point of impact of what is considered to be the deadly shot killing President Kennedy. He testified he heard shots and he, too, smelled gun powder as the presidential motorcade raced to Parkland Hospital. Patrolman Brown was was thirty feet above Elm Street stood on the overpass as the motorcade accelerated to a high rate of speed heading to Parkland Hospital. (Earl Brown, WCR Volume VI, page 233, April 7, 1964.)

Brown stated to the Warren Commission that for him to have smelled gunpowder from his position the smell would have had to have drifted up from the motorcade below. The wind was blowing 15 mph southwest. (WCR Volume XIII, page 767.)

Earl Cabel and wife, Elizabeth, were located four cars to the rear of the Presidential Limousine. Mrs. Cabel indicated she also smelled gunpowder. (Elizabeth Cabel. WCR Volume VII, page 486.)

Motorcade Route

The motorcade route had been set two days before the trip. At least this is what we are told.  I seriously doubt this was a definitive secret.  Traffic would have to be rerouted, officers would have to be assigned.  It is unlikely this route was set only two days before.  This sounds like a fabricated defense to me.

Lee Harvey Oswald had been hired on October 15, only 32 days prior to November 23, 1963.  Oswald was randomly assigned to one of two buildings owned by the Texas Book Depository. This makes a long term, grand plan involving Oswald a shakey but not impossible part of the plan.

Warren Commission Report

Warren Commission Report – Findings of the Warren Commission Report (WCR) indicate multiple eye witnesses smelled gun powder at street level on Elm Street at the western end of the pergola area. Other witness in the motorcade, in both the third and fourth car behind the President’s vehicle, reported a gunpowder odor. This odor could not be present or emanate drifting from the the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository located behind the presidential motorcade. A gunpowder odor drifts upwind, not down.

The Warren Commission

The evidence is straight-forward regarding the assassination of President Kennedy:

The Warren Report knowingly included false information and deliberately omitted incriminating evidence

The Secret Service serving on President Kennedy’s detail conducted themselves in a grossly negligent fashion, moreover, they covered up their many failures

The United States government and its agents pervasively covered up and misrepresented the facts associated with the assassination

Our government deliberately lied to the American people about the facts associated directly and indirectly with the assassination

Our government deliberately destroyed evidence related to the assassination for the purpose of secreting the underlying facts associated with the assassination

Witnesses were pressured to change their representations of the facts as they knew them and originally reported them

These acts are and were unlawful

The Secret Service destroyed all records two weeks before the federal law became effective which required the retention of all records regarding the investigation. This is not denied. ​In January 1995, the U.S. Secret Service destroyed presidential protection survey reports for some of President John F. Kennedy’s trips in the fall of 1963. This action occurred after the passage of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which mandated the preservation and public release of all records related to the assassination. The Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), established by this Act, learned of the destruction approximately one week after it occurred, while they were preparing a request for these specific documents. The ARRB believed that the Secret Service files on the President’s travel in the weeks preceding his murder would be relevant to their investigation. ​

The Secret Service formally explained the circumstances surrounding the destruction in correspondence and an oral briefing to the Review Board. However, the exact reasons for the destruction and the content of the destroyed records remain unclear. This incident has raised concerns about compliance with the JFK Records Act and has been cited as an example of inadequate record-keeping practices within the Secret Service. ​These actions have contributed to ongoing debates and conspiracy theories regarding the assassination, as the destruction of such records hampers efforts to fully understand the events surrounding President Kennedy’s death.

Additionally, the Secret Service destroyed a folder of vital records for the period July-November 1963. This destruction of crucial documents of historical importance occurred notwithstanding the John F. Kennedy Assassination Materials Disclosure Act of 1992, which provides that ‘all records in the possession of the Government relevant to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy should be released to the public at the earliest opportunity,’ and even though the Secret Service had been advised by the National Archives not to unilaterally destroy assassination records. ​

Sound of Three Shots

Multiple recreations of the rifle discharge have indicated Lee Harvey Oswald could not have gotten off three shots over 5.8 seconds considering the rifle used, a 6.5×52mm Carcano Model 91/38 infantry rifle.

One theory suggests an expert shooter got off two shots – meaning Oswald never fired a shot. Three shots are heard on the Zapruder film within 5.8 seconds. The question are from where were they fired and how many shooters were involved? Did Lee Harvey Oswald fire any of the shots?

Physicians from Parkland Hospital where President Kennedy was treated, indicated he was shot from the front, and through the neck. Howard Donahue’s theory, based upon ballistics, is that a JFK Secret Service agent located in the car directly behind the President was responsible for accidentally firing the fatal shot.  I entirely discredit this theory, although I do believe his rifle was discharged.

Secret Service Agents Partied with Strippers until Five A.M.

Secret Service Agents admitted to drinking and partying with strippers until five a.m. the morning of November 22, 1963. There is a good account of these events in Cheever’s book, Drinking in America, reviewed below.

The head of the Secret Service when questioned about the conduct responded that whether his men had a good night’s sleep or were partying until five a.m. would have made no difference in the outcome. This has been disputed by multiple experts.  No doubt this is one (probably of many) reasons the Secret Service records were destroyed.

Railroad Yard Watchman

The railroad yard watchman at his elevated post observed a man running from the side of the Book Depository shortly after the shots were fired. He was located high in an elevated tower observing the train yard. He died in a single car accident shortly after the assassination, as did multiple other significant parties. See the New York Times bestseller, Hit List by Richard Belcher, which reviews the multiple deaths of parties with key information regarding the assassination.

The “grassy knoll.”