26-04-2014, 03:06 PM
Why would a Before conspiracy go thru the trouble to plant a disappearing wallet? Seems to me that would be like a "suicide note" written in disappearing ink. Especially to give it to a cop whose name will be known and eventually will be called to give an account of its discovery. The only mysterious wallet in this situation is the wallet whose "provenance" keeps changing, and that isn't an intrinsic property of the wallet, but instead is a property of the stories told of its discovery.
After having watched hundreds of hours of arrest videos, I believe I can tell you exactly how a cop can discover a wallet which subsequently "magically" reappears in the suspect's pocket. Once a suspect is under control, (i.e. cuffed in most cases) an arresting officer will normally stuff everything that isn't contraband or a weapon back into the suspect's clothing, so that the suspect and his possessions arrive in one piece back at the station, where the suspect is more thoroughly searched and his possessions are systematically inventoried. Is it really harder to believe a) that an officer would look into Oswald's wallet briefly and then cram it back into his pants, or b) that an officer would bring a ready-made fake Oswald wallet complete with incriminating evidence to inspect at the scene of the crime and then make disappear before the suspect arrives at the station?
In fact, the stuff you'd want to plant as a Before conspirator is not actually a full wallet (in case you eventually wind up with too many wallets), but just the fake ID(s) with Oswald's photo and the Hidell name. If you are a member of the "After" team, it is far easier to lie about where something was discovered than it is to slip a new bit of evidence into the existing pile of evidence. I suggest that there were other wallets or billfolds that the cops subsequently found at Ruth Paine's that contained the Hidell ID with Oswald's picture. (Oswald did have access to photographic gear at Jagger-Styles (sp?) earlier in his career, and used the Hidell name in New Orleans.) Or just leave it laying around the house without a wallet. The easiest way for our "Before" conspirators to plant evidence is NOT handing it to a cop anonymously, as you'd run the risk of being recognized, or identified later. Nor would it be dropping it at the scene of the crime after the crime is committed (and you have to make a getaway) without any of your fingerprints on it or being seen. The easiest way is to plant the incriminating evidence beforehand, i.e. shells at the "snipers nest", a fake ID, or the Oswald/rifle photos at the Ruth Paine house (to which you must have had access if you stole a gun from there) and let the cops find it in a routine execution of a search warrant or a consent search. You could then "count on" the cops to exaggerate the strength of their high profile case, and make the most of their discovery.
I find it particularly telling that initial police reports don't mention the Hidell ID. DPD could not have "officially" known the significance of the Hidell name until after the FBI traces the weapon back to Klein's, amazingly excellent police work, (early Saturday AM if memory serves), and then altruistically discloses that fact to DPD. Perhaps someone has the memo where, and when, the FBI generously shares this tidbit with DPD.
However, if you've read Posner or watched the History Channel, or even the Internet site "Oswald's last words" (I think), you know that Cap'n Fritz' very first questions to LHO (on Friday) were about establishing which name was his "real" identity. Of course, nobody official bothered to make a written or audio recording of the prime suspect's interviews, in the single most high-profile killing in the century (a "fact" that still astounds me as more unbelievable than most any other "fact" in the case). It is far easier for me to believe that all this mysterious stuff is actually the cops inventing inconsistent lies about its discovery, than there actually be magical or pre-planted disappearing fake wallets.
Lastly, we know there were "multiple" Oswald's for certain because the FBI investigated an "identity theft" case (where Oswald is the "victim") that occurred when Oswald was in Russia, and J. Edgar himself ordered the FBI to investigate it. We know that Oswald used the Hidell name (but not a Hidell ID) in New Orleans. We know Oswald used a different alias, to get a new Dallas boarding room, at the least. I'm not certain what to make of the Harvey/Lee business past that point.
After having watched hundreds of hours of arrest videos, I believe I can tell you exactly how a cop can discover a wallet which subsequently "magically" reappears in the suspect's pocket. Once a suspect is under control, (i.e. cuffed in most cases) an arresting officer will normally stuff everything that isn't contraband or a weapon back into the suspect's clothing, so that the suspect and his possessions arrive in one piece back at the station, where the suspect is more thoroughly searched and his possessions are systematically inventoried. Is it really harder to believe a) that an officer would look into Oswald's wallet briefly and then cram it back into his pants, or b) that an officer would bring a ready-made fake Oswald wallet complete with incriminating evidence to inspect at the scene of the crime and then make disappear before the suspect arrives at the station?
In fact, the stuff you'd want to plant as a Before conspirator is not actually a full wallet (in case you eventually wind up with too many wallets), but just the fake ID(s) with Oswald's photo and the Hidell name. If you are a member of the "After" team, it is far easier to lie about where something was discovered than it is to slip a new bit of evidence into the existing pile of evidence. I suggest that there were other wallets or billfolds that the cops subsequently found at Ruth Paine's that contained the Hidell ID with Oswald's picture. (Oswald did have access to photographic gear at Jagger-Styles (sp?) earlier in his career, and used the Hidell name in New Orleans.) Or just leave it laying around the house without a wallet. The easiest way for our "Before" conspirators to plant evidence is NOT handing it to a cop anonymously, as you'd run the risk of being recognized, or identified later. Nor would it be dropping it at the scene of the crime after the crime is committed (and you have to make a getaway) without any of your fingerprints on it or being seen. The easiest way is to plant the incriminating evidence beforehand, i.e. shells at the "snipers nest", a fake ID, or the Oswald/rifle photos at the Ruth Paine house (to which you must have had access if you stole a gun from there) and let the cops find it in a routine execution of a search warrant or a consent search. You could then "count on" the cops to exaggerate the strength of their high profile case, and make the most of their discovery.
I find it particularly telling that initial police reports don't mention the Hidell ID. DPD could not have "officially" known the significance of the Hidell name until after the FBI traces the weapon back to Klein's, amazingly excellent police work, (early Saturday AM if memory serves), and then altruistically discloses that fact to DPD. Perhaps someone has the memo where, and when, the FBI generously shares this tidbit with DPD.
However, if you've read Posner or watched the History Channel, or even the Internet site "Oswald's last words" (I think), you know that Cap'n Fritz' very first questions to LHO (on Friday) were about establishing which name was his "real" identity. Of course, nobody official bothered to make a written or audio recording of the prime suspect's interviews, in the single most high-profile killing in the century (a "fact" that still astounds me as more unbelievable than most any other "fact" in the case). It is far easier for me to believe that all this mysterious stuff is actually the cops inventing inconsistent lies about its discovery, than there actually be magical or pre-planted disappearing fake wallets.
Lastly, we know there were "multiple" Oswald's for certain because the FBI investigated an "identity theft" case (where Oswald is the "victim") that occurred when Oswald was in Russia, and J. Edgar himself ordered the FBI to investigate it. We know that Oswald used the Hidell name (but not a Hidell ID) in New Orleans. We know Oswald used a different alias, to get a new Dallas boarding room, at the least. I'm not certain what to make of the Harvey/Lee business past that point.