Jack Ruby, Oswald, and the Murder of JFK

[Jim Hargrove]

Jack Ruby, Oswald, and the murder of JFK

Since October 1963, a three-man musical "combo" group was performing in Ruby's club that consisted of John Anderson (trumpet), Bill Willis (drums), and William Simmons (piano). The small group worked only four hours a day, from 9 PM to 1 AM. Curiously, and without explanation, Willis and Simmons lived fifteen miles away from the Carousel Club, in a house located at 2530 W. 5th in Irving, TX., just 200 feet west on the opposite side of the street from Ruth Paine (2515 W. 5th). When Ruby shot HARVEY Oswald, Nancy Powell (Tammi True) told the WC that she saw Bill Willis (drummer) near the police station. Neither Willis nor Simmons were interviewed by the WC.

12 hours before the assassination:

In the early morning hours of November 22, some 12 hours before the assassination, Mary Lawrence was working at the B & B Restaurant, just two doors from Jack Ruby's Vegas Club. She was the head waitress and had known Jack Ruby for the past eight years. She and the night cashier saw Jack Ruby and a person identical to Lee Harvey Oswald in the restaurant shortly after midnight on November 22. Following the assassination, she reported this to the Dallas Police and received a phone call on December 3 from an unknown male who stated, she said, "If you don't want to die, you better get out of town." When subsequently questioned by the Dallas Police, Mary Lawrence stated that the man with Ruby was "positively Lee Harvey Oswald." Neither Mary Lawrence nor her friend were interviewed by the Warren Commission. Adding some credibility to Mary Lawrence's report is the fact that few people in America knew back then what we know today--that Jack Ruby and (LEE) Harvey Oswald were seen together by many witnesses, in different locations, prior to the assassination, who gave statements to that effect to Dallas and D.C. authorities.

A few minutes after the assassination:

A few minutes after the shooting Victoria Adams, who worked in the TSBD, told the Warren Commission that she observed a man standing on the corner of Elm and Houston a few minutes after the assassination who may have been Jack Ruby. Across the street Mrs. Louis Velez, and two co-workers, saw Ruby walking up and down the street near the TSBD. When HARVEY Oswald came out of the building, they saw Ruby give him a pistol (perhaps, as was reported, a pistol with a defective firing pin). These women knew Oswald, who ate with them at a nearby restaurant, and both were acquainted with Jack Ruby. Mrs. Velez told her story of Ruby giving Oswald a pistol to her mother (Mrs. Evelyn Harris), who was interviewed by FBI agent Manning on 11/30/63. Neither Mrs. Velez nor her co-workers were interviewed by the DPD or FBI and given the opportunity to confirm or deny their story. If their story is true, then Ruby may have been setting up HARVEY Oswald, by giving him a pistol (with a defective firing pin) to provide justification for the police if and when they shot him. On Friday evening (11/22/63) District Attorney Henry Wade told news reporters, "when a Dallas Police officer was arresting him the pistol was snapped at another police officer's head and didn't fire." (@ 1:35)

LEE Oswald just after 1 pm near Ruby's apartment:

About 1:03 PM LEE Oswald was seen by several witnesses in the Oak Cliff suburb of Dallas walking west near the corner of 10th St. & Marsalis--more than a mile south of HARVEY Oswald's rooming house. LEE Oswald was only three blocks north of Jack Ruby's apartment (223 S. Ewing), where he had been seen the night before by Helen McIntosh, a guest of Ruby's next door neighbor. Four blocks from Ruby's apartment, and only one block east of 10th & Patton, was a small, single story house at 511 E. 10th that was owned by attorney Dick Loomis, Sr., and his wife. Mrs. Loomis was a housewife and President of the Oak Cliff Fine Arts Club. She told FBI agents Griffin and Carter that a young couple, who were identical to LEE Harvey and Marina Oswald, lived next door in an apartment complex at 507 E. 10th (13 apartments) about one week before the assassination. Mrs. Loomis saw Marina and her infant child in front of her home and recalled that Marina had jet black hair (at this time Marina had two children). She said Marina wore very plain clothing and on one occasion wore a light blouse and plaid skirt and on another occasion a dark blouse and the same plaid skirt. She once saw a heavy-set man visit the apartment next door and thought it may have been Ruby. FBI agent James Hosty, who never met Oswald face-to-face prior to November 22, 1963, told fellow FBI agent Carver Gayton that he left notes under Oswald's apartment door. But the Warren Commission reported that Oswald lived either at his rooming house (1026 N. Beckley) or at Ruth Paine's house in Irving, TX, neither of which was an apartment. Hosty did not leave notes at Oswald's rooming house or at Ruth Paine's, but he could have left notes under the door at several of LEE Oswald's previous apartments, including 507 E. 10th, 1106 Diceman Avenue, or an apartment in Oak Lawn that Ruby rented for Oswald (according to DPD informant T-1).

Ruby's close friend Tommy Rowe fingered "Oswald"

Tommy Rowe, a very close friend of Jack Ruby's, worked at Hardy's Shoe Store with Johnny Brewer. In 1964 Rowe told researcher/publisher Penn Jones that it was he who told shoe store manager Johnny Brewer that he saw a man wearing a brown shirt enter the Texas Theater (click here to see Midlothian Mirror editorial about Tommy Rowe) . Inside the darkened theater Rowe claims that it was he (NOT Brewer) who directed the police to the man wearing the long sleeved brown shirt--HARVEY Oswald. Rowe was never interviewed by the DPD or FBI. For years after the assassination Rowe told friends, relatives, and JFK researchers that it was he, NOT Brewer, who pointed out (HARVEY) Oswald to the police in the dark of the Texas Theater. Rowe was so close to Jack Ruby that he moved into Ruby's apartment when Ruby went to jail for killing HARVEY Oswald . In 1967 the New Orleans District Attorney's office interviewed Tommy Rowe, who lived in Apt. 206 at 223 S. Ewing (the apartment next to the one occupied by Jack Ruby in 1963). If Rowe's statement is true then Johnny Brewer lied to Julia Postal, lied to the police, lied to the FBI, and lied to the WC. He never followed the man in the brown shirt, or anyone else, to the theater. The man responsible for getting the police to the Texas theater appears to have been Jack Ruby's friend, Tommy Rowe. And it appears that Johnny Brewer may have been merely a "wannabe" and not a co-conspirator.

NOTE: If Rowe's story is true, then we have to wonder how Rowe knew about a man (HARVEY OFollowing the assassination Jack Ruby was now confronted with his worst nightmare. HARVEY Oswald was still alive, in jail, and was the one person who could expose the "Oswald Project" (HARVEY and LEE) and directly link Ruby and CIA operatives to the assassination of President Kennedy. Frank Sheeran, an alleged hitman, recalled a conversation he had with former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. During the conversation, Hoffa claimed that Ruby was assigned the task of coordinating police officers who were loyal to Ruby to murder Oswald while he was in their custody. After Oswald was taken to jail Ruby was given a choice to either finish the job himself or forfeit his life.

Within hours of HARVEY Oswald's arrest Ruby began to stalk him and look for an opportunity to get close enough to shoot him. Around 7:30 PM Ruby tried to enter Capt. Fritz's office when Oswald was being questioned, but was stopped by two uniformed officers. At 10:30 PM Ruby stopped at Phil's Delicatessen to purchase sandwiches and make phone calls. One of the phone calls was overheard by delicatessen employee John Frickstad. During the call Ruby said, "If anything should come up he (Ruby) could be reached at the radio station (Gordon McLendon's KLIF radio)." Ruby took the sandwiches and drove to Dallas City Hall where District Attorney Henry Wade was giving a press conference (11:15 PM). When Wade said that Oswald was a member of the "Free Cuba Committee," a group populated by CIA assets and supporters such as Clare Booth Luce, Admiral Arleigh Burke, and Hal Hendrix, Jack Ruby corrected him and said, "that's 'Fair Play for Cuba Committee,' Henry." Newsreel footage from WFAA-TV (Dallas) and NBC shows that during the press conference Ruby was impersonating a news reporter (probably KLIF radio). Some speculate that Ruby may have hoped to kill Oswald that night at the press conference. After killing Oswald, Ruby told the FBI that he had his loaded snub-nosed Colt Cobra .38 revolver in his right-hand pocket during the press conference.

The following day (Sat., Nov 23) Ruby arrived at the Allright Parking Garage between 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM and asked to use the telephone. He phoned the KLIF "hotline," known only to radio station personnel, and asked if any KLIF newsmen were at City Hall. After completing the call, Ruby left and within a few minutes called Thomas Brown, the manager of the parking garage. He told Brown that two men would soon stop by the garage and ask for him (Ruby). Ruby asked Brown to tell the men to contact him at KLIF radio. The two unidentified men soon arrived and Brown relayed the message. Around 3:00 PM Ruby returned to the parking garage and again telephoned KLIF radio, spoke with Garnett Hallmark and said, "I understand they are moving Oswald over to the county jail ... you know I'll be there." At 4:00 PM a WBAP news crew was outside of the police station waiting for the transfer of Oswald to the county jail. Ruby approached a WBAP engineer and cameraman and said that he knew DA Henry Wade and offered to get information for them. Ruby was apparently trying to pose as a news reporter to once again gain access to the police station and to Oswald. After Ruby learned that Oswald was to be transferred to the county jail the next morning, he left the area.

Shortly after midnight, at 2:15 AM (Sunday, Nov 24) Deputy McCoy, of the Dallas County Sheriff's office, received a call from a man who said that his group was going to kill Oswald during his transfer to the county jail. Fifteen minutes later (2:30 AM) an unknown individual telephoned the Dallas FBI office, spoke with SA Vernon Glossup, and said, "We are going to kill the man who killed the President." At 3:00 AM Dallas Police Officer Billy Grammer received a phone call from a familiar voice warning him that Oswald would be killed if the police didn't transfer him in secret. Grammar was home the next morning and watched on television as his friend, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald. Grammar gave a sworn affidavit to the Dallas Police in which he identified Ruby as the man who called the police station at 3:00 AM. Grammar was never asked to testify before the Warren Commission. It appears that Ruby, ordered to kill HARVEY Oswald, was trying to find a way to avoid his assignment by warning the Sheriff's office, the FBI, and Dallas Police that Oswald would be killed. But he was unsuccessful.

The next morning, at 12:21 AM (CST), the Dallas Police escorted Oswald through the police basement in full view of reporters and TV cameras. Jack Ruby stepped out from a crowd and fired his .38 revolver into Oswald's abdomen, fatally wounding him. The shooting, broadcast live from the Dallas Police station, was seen by millions of television viewers.SWALD) wearing a dark brown long sleeve shirt in the Texas Theater. Rowe's close relationship with Jack Ruby may be the answer. Theater patron George Applin said that he saw Jack Ruby sitting in a seat at the back of the theater as Oswald was being subdued and arrested by police.

At the Texas Theater:

POLICE IN THE LOWER AREA. When Johnny Brewer opened the rear exit door of the theater, the police were waiting in the alley. Brewer claimed that he pointed out (HARVEY) Oswald to the police inside the theater. However, this may not be true. A very close friend of Jack Ruby's, Tommy Rowe, worked at Hardy's Shoe Store with Brewer. In 1964 Rowe told friends, relatives, and JFK researchers that it was he, NOT Brewer, who pointed out (HARVEY) Oswald to the police in the dark of the Texas Theater. Rowe was so close to Jack Ruby that Rowe moved into Ruby's apartment when Ruby went to jail for killing HARVEY Oswald. (Click here to see Midlothian Mirror editorial about Tommy Rowe.) (Click here for a 3/1/68 Los Angeles Free Press interview with Penn Jones and Roger Craig also discussing Tommy Rowe.) Unfortunately, Tommy Rowe was never interviewed by the DPD or FBI or WC or HSCA. It is worth repeating that in 1967 the New Orleans District Attorney's office interviewed Tommy Rowe, who lived in Apt. 206 at 223 S. Ewing (the same apartment occupied by Jack Ruby in 1963). Mr. Rowe said that he told shoe store manager Johnny Brewer that he saw a man wear*ing a brown shirt enter the Texas Theater on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. If Rowe's statement is true then Johnny Brewer never saw the man in the brown shirt in front of his store, enter the theater, nor did he point out (HARVEY) to the police.

After the assassination:

Following the assassination Jack Ruby was now confronted with his worst nightmare. HARVEY Oswald was still alive, in jail, and was the one person who could expose the "Oswald Project" (HARVEY and LEE) and directly link Ruby and CIA operatives to the assassination of President Kennedy. Frank Sheeran, an alleged hitman, recalled a conversation he had with former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. During the conversation, Hoffa claimed that Ruby was assigned the task of coordinating police officers who were loyal to Ruby to murder Oswald while he was in their custody. After Oswald was taken to jail Ruby was given a choice to either finish the job himself or forfeit his life.

Within hours of HARVEY Oswald's arrest Ruby began to stalk him and look for an opportunity to get close enough to shoot him. Around 7:30 PM Ruby tried to enter Capt. Fritz's office when Oswald was being questioned, but was stopped by two uniformed officers. At 10:30 PM Ruby stopped at Phil's Delicatessen to purchase sandwiches and make phone calls. One of the phone calls was overheard by delicatessen employee John Frickstad. During the call Ruby said, "If anything should come up he (Ruby) could be reached at the radio station (Gordon McLendon's KLIF radio)." Ruby took the sandwiches and drove to Dallas City Hall where District Attorney Henry Wade was giving a press conference (11:15 PM). When Wade said that Oswald was a member of the "Free Cuba Committee," a group populated by CIA assets and supporters such as Clare Booth Luce, Admiral Arleigh Burke, and Hal Hendrix, Jack Ruby corrected him and said, "that's 'Fair Play for Cuba Committee,' Henry." Newsreel footage from WFAA-TV (Dallas) and NBC shows that during the press conference Ruby was impersonating a news reporter (probably KLIF radio). Some speculate that Ruby may have hoped to kill Oswald that night at the press conference. After killing Oswald, Ruby told the FBI that he had his loaded snub-nosed Colt Cobra .38 revolver in his right-hand pocket during the press conference.

The following day (Sat., Nov 23) Ruby arrived at the Allright Parking Garage between 1:30 PM and 2:00 PM and asked to use the telephone. He phoned the KLIF "hotline," known only to radio station personnel, and asked if any KLIF newsmen were at City Hall. After completing the call, Ruby left and within a few minutes called Thomas Brown, the manager of the parking garage. He told Brown that two men would soon stop by the garage and ask for him (Ruby). Ruby asked Brown to tell the men to contact him at KLIF radio. The two unidentified men soon arrived and Brown relayed the message. Around 3:00 PM Ruby returned to the parking garage and again telephoned KLIF radio, spoke with Garnett Hallmark and said, "I understand they are moving Oswald over to the county jail ... you know I'll be there." At 4:00 PM a WBAP news crew was outside of the police station waiting for the transfer of Oswald to the county jail. Ruby approached a WBAP engineer and cameraman and said that he knew DA Henry Wade and offered to get information for them. Ruby was apparently trying to pose as a news reporter to once again gain access to the police station and to Oswald. After Ruby learned that Oswald was to be transferred to the county jail the next morning, he left the area.

Shortly after midnight, at 2:15 AM (Sunday, Nov 24) Deputy McCoy, of the Dallas County Sheriff's office, received a call from a man who said that his group was going to kill Oswald during his transfer to the county jail. Fifteen minutes later (2:30 AM) an unknown individual telephoned the Dallas FBI office, spoke with SA Vernon Glossup, and said, "We are going to kill the man who killed the President." At 3:00 AM Dallas Police Officer Billy Grammer received a phone call from a familiar voice warning him that Oswald would be killed if the police didn't transfer him in secret. Grammar was home the next morning and watched on television as his friend, Jack Ruby, shot and killed Oswald. Grammar gave a sworn affidavit to the Dallas Police in which he identified Ruby as the man who called the police station at 3:00 AM. Grammar was never asked to testify before the Warren Commission. It appears that Ruby, ordered to kill HARVEY Oswald, was trying to find a way to avoid his assignment by warning the Sheriff's office, the FBI, and Dallas Police that Oswald would be killed. But he was unsuccessful.

The next morning, at 12:21 AM (CST), the Dallas Police escorted Oswald through the police basement in full view of reporters and TV cameras. Jack Ruby stepped out from a crowd and fired his .38 revolver into Oswald's abdomen, fatally wounding him. The shooting, broadcast live from the Dallas Police station, was seen by millions of television viewers.

--Above excerpted from John Armstrong's writings at HarveyandLee.net. Copyright © 1999-2016 by John Armstrong