W Guy Banister

[Jan Klimkowski]

Guy Banister deserves his own thread, which can be both a data dump and a place to discuss the man himself.

I found this here. I cannot vouch for the evidence presented.

NB the document does not claim to be Guy Banister's autobiography. Rather it uses various sources to attempt to establish a biography.

GUY BANISTER'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
"I was born in a log cabin in Caldwell Parish, Monroe, Louisiana, on March 7, 1901, the son of William Henry Banister and Aline Gregory Banister, the oldest of seven children. I was educated in the Louisiana public schools, and attended Louisiana State University and Soule College of New Orleans. The beginning of my career was as an investigator with the Monroe Police Department. I received an appointment as a Patrolman on December 2, 1929. About two weeks later, the Police Superintendent asked me to take a course in stenography, after which he would assign me to his office as his secretary with sergeant's pay. This was done at the end of six months from the date of my first appointment. About six months later the Superintendent died, and I was assigned duties that made me actually, the Chief of Detectives. On November 5, 1934, I was sworn in as Special Agent, Division of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. The name of this organization was changed a short time later to FBI. I went to training school and I was sent to my first office in Indianapolis, Indiana, as an Agent. I served there until April 1935, when I was assigned to New York City. I worked over the northern part of the country on special assignment for approximately three years. Beginning in New York City, the man having a desk next to mine was S.A. George Starr. George Starr, who spoke Russian fluently his father was a trainer of race horses for the Czar at one time in Russia, was actually the leader in conducting subversive activity investigation for the FBI, for several years. Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, Director, never lost sight of the danger of Communism in this country...George Starr had familiarized me with the problems of Communist Party work and, in fact, he has been given credit for teaching the FBI agents how to conduct these investigations. After I was promoted to SAC, it was my duty to supervise the work of Special Agents assigned to such activity. It was also my duty to develop and supervise those people commonly called informers. To be more specific, we might say that they were counterspies sent in to report on the activities of the Party members. That was part of my duty throughout the nearly 17 years I served as SAC. [FBI 62-103863-13] In May 1938 I was promoted to Special Agent in Charge of a Division, and transferred to Newark, New Jersey. I remained there from May until August 1938, and I was promoted to the position of Special Agent in Charge, and given my first office of command, which was in Butte, Montana..."

Guy Banister told an associate that he was sent to Butte because "at one time he had a visit by an FBI agent who told him that Mr. Hoover had asked for an honest appraisal of the Bureau from some of its top agents. Mr. Banister is alleged to have sent up a memo from Chicago that called the Bureau a prostitute that wanted keep her virginity." [HSCA interview with Oster 1.27.78]

Guy Banister continued: "I stayed there until October 1941, when I was transferred to Oklahoma City as SAC. I remained there until November 1943, when I returned to Butte, Montana, and remained there until September 1952, when I was transferred to Minneapolis, Minnesota...and remained there until the end of January 1954, when I was transferred to the Chicago Division as SAC. I remained there until the end of the year, when I retired from FBI service. I have been informed that up to the time of my retirement, I had served longer in the position of SAC than any other person, a period of nearly 17 years. In January 1955, I accepted a position with the New Orleans Police Department, and I have been there since that date."

Guy Banister spent 30 years in the FBI. While Guy Banister was Chicago SAC, he was involved in the arrest of several members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, and received the Bureau's "Twenty Year Service Award Key." [NARA 180-10096-10011]



WHY BANISTER RESIGNED
Banister cited the failing health of his daughter: "My daughter must remain under the constant care of a specialist...this makes it dangerous to accept the transfer to the Honolulu Division as SAC" According to Mrs. Ross Banister, Guy Banister's sister-in-law, his daughter [Mrs. Donald Duvio] did suffer from an incurable disease. FBI documents, however, indicated that Guy Banister was about to be dismissed because of his actions in a Minnesota murder case. The Governor of Minnesota, Orville Freeman, and Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey, examined the case and pressured the FBI into firing Guy Banister.



BANISTER JOINS THE NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
When he returned to Louisiana in late 1954 Guy Banister became a client of Maurice Gatlin [201-53,454] and a member of Gatlin's Anti-Communist Committee of the Americas - Caribbean Division. The Anti-Communist Committee of the Americas possibly played a minor role in PB SUCCESS.

In early 1955 New Orleans Mayor DeLesseps "Chip" S. Morrison asked Guy Banister to become an Assistant Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department. He accepted, and was assigned to prepare a report on police corruption. Guy Banister investigated the New Orleans syndicate. He recounted: "I accepted the position at the Mayor's invitation, who said that the New Orleans Police Department had many of its members being charged with being grafters. I talked to some of my friends, who are professional law enforcement officers, and they said that it could not be done. The New Orleans Police Department was controlled by a mafia-like organization, and it simply could not be cleaned. I said 'Well, if you say it cannot be done, I accept the challenge.' I had retired, intending to get out of law enforcement, although I must say I regretted getting out of counter-espionage, counter-sabotage, counter-subversive activity work." A "Top Hoodlum Coverage FBI Report" revealed that one of Frank Costello's torpedoes threatened to "run Guy Banister out of town." Guy Banister became involved in a dispute about the mob with his superiors in the police department. A FBI source in the New Orleans Police Department reported Guy Banister made waves, and was demoted. The source noted that "within the last two days, Banister had made a public announcement to the effect that some bribery cases had been sent to the District Attorney. As a result, the citizens of New Orleans have a tendency to look upon all Police Department members as suspects." Guy Banister publicly acknowledged that 98 members of the New Orleans Police Department were suspected of taking payoffs. On June 27, 1956, Guy Banister's probe was ended, he was demoted, and the release of the Banister Report was postponed. On June 30, 1956, Guy Banister was on a nightclub tour with out-of-town friends when several police officers confronted him. When they tried to disarm Guy Banister, he pointed his weapon at them and was arrested. The next day, Guy Banister offered to resign from the force. Instead, he was suspended. In August 1956 Guy Banister told the FBI that a Federal Grand Jury was about to indict 50 New Orleans police officers for income tax evasion "and that the possibility exists that a number of New Orleans policemen will be indicted in state courts for public bribery and malfeasance in office."

Guy Banister was accused of being drunk and pulling a gun in public in a bar in the French Quarter on March 1, 1957. [FBI 61-3176-A N.R. 3.26.57] On March 4, 1957, Guy Banister was suspended by Police Superintendent Provosty F. Dayries. Guy Banister appeared as a witness before the New Orleans Federal Grand Jury investigating police graft on March 7, 1957. The First District Americanism Committee of the American Legion issued a statement, "high in praise of Guy Banister for his work against Communism in New Orleans."



COMMITTEE ON SEGREGATION LOUISIANA STATE SENATE
In March 1957, Guy Banister testified before the Joint Legislative Committee on Segregation of the Louisiana State Senate, which was scrutinizing alleged Communist influences behind racial unrest. Guy Banister: "The great danger from the Communist Party lies in fact that its homeland is outside the borders of the United States...If the Communist Party was not backed by this great empire - the empire of Russia - and it's an empire, it spite of the fact that it is called the Union of Soviet Republics. We know Russia, not only from reading intelligence and counter-intelligence reports, which I would like to avoid remembering as much as possible. We know from books written by her own people, and other people who have been there We know the nature of the land and the people of the land...She is a nation at war all the time and for all times. The modern phase of Russia, commonly associated with Peter the Great, really began in the late 15th century. Then there intervened two and a half centuries of Mongol yoke. From her ancient past, Russian seems to have inherited a state of mind and an institution, the conviction that they are chosen to inherit the earth, and are hence always in the right...Russia has always exploited to the fullest every advantage she could secure from espionage and subversion... Espionage is the second oldest governmental activity of man. The first is law enforcement. You may adopt as a premise the dialectic of any of our historians as the creation of the proto-social mechanism, but immediately upon its coming into being, two problems were presented - the maintenance of internal order of law enforcement, and the protection from the outside groups, which is espionage. The oldest military treatise we have was published about 500 B.C. by Sun Tzu. We scream if espionage is used against us for two reasons. We are not trained to think in that manner and we have been sold on the idea that it is dirty business. Besides, the use of spies is approved by Jehovah, and I don't see how we can well object. The woman, Rahab, Joshua's 'cut-out agent' in Jericho, lived in a house on the wall. That portion of the wall did not fall, when the walls came tumbling down. Russia had made espionage, which is the war between the wars, into a fine art. Lenin said one day that every communist should make himself a Chekist. In other words every Communist should be a spy. They believe in it. They are guided in their actions by it... Communists within the party are expected to spy on one another, and to report to higher authorities and serious deviation from the established party line, or any breach of Communist loyalty to the revolutionary goal. When the Communist Party seizes control of a nation, it directs its espionage system against all who oppose communism. Freedom of the opposition ceases. In this sense it becomes a police state. Opponents of Communism are tagged with various labels such as spies, assassins, and wreckers, who must be destroyed. On becoming securely established in a given nation, Communists, in addition to their other functions, direct their espionage system against foreign nations as a part of their effort to overthrow all non-Communist social orders, so that a world-wide Communist society can be erected...Every member of the Louisiana Communist Party, a component part of Communist Party, is a Soviet agent. The Communist Party is an agency of the Soviet Government. The reported changes in the Communist Party of the United States of America mean nothing. It is simply now engaged in putting on a clean shirt. The Communist Party is inflexible in basic ideas and flexible in method. From concealed Communist Party members, and from those who are not necessarily members, but have been sympathetic toward communism, come agents not only to spy, but to sabotage. We are vulnerable to sabotage by the use of germs. A few highly trained men can knock out a great city like New Orleans. Germs they might use would not necessarily be directed against man, but against plant and animal life. We can be starved into submission. We can retaliate, and that is one of the reasons the Soviets object to the flight of Freedom Balloons. They object, of course, because of the effect of the propaganda leaflets sent up with the balloons. But they also know that with them we can trace air currents across the most productive parts of their lands. Some queer things have happened over here, and I am sure that no one is positive, but test runs have been made.

"We are particularly vulnerable to smuggled atom bombs. Even the big bombs were comparatively simple to assemble, once they were made. Now they have them down to the size of an artillery shell. Dedicated Communist Party members can smuggle them in, leave them. I doubt that we have enough screw drivers and men to use to find them. They can be triggered, set off by a radio wave, or in several other manners. I know that it is possible and comparatively easy to assemble one of them and New Orleans is a key city in the south land. Not only is it the second largest port in the nation - it boasts of the fact that - but if we begin to starve here we will need shipping to bring food and material for war.

"I recall one outbreak of 'hoof and mouth disease' which occurred in dairy herds of Canada. Legally, it was not possible to establish it was done - planted there. But an intelligence officer is never quite satisfied with a legal definition. And I have talked to many men. You can't be certain. We can't be certain that the man who was supposed to have taken it there was the one who actually did. Someone else could have put it there. We have the example of the 'wheat stem rust' which hit Durham wheat in Eastern Montana and Western Dakota - the kind of wheat there where we get our macaroni. That was an up flare. In that case I talked to the nation's leading plant pathologists in that field. We don't know where the spores came from. They trapped them at 15,000 feet in the air. Maybe it's a test run? We don't know. Maybe its natural. But we must be suspicious now. We can't afford to pass it off as natural, as an example."

Guy Banister believed racial integration of the schools was part of a plan formulated by Stalin and the Communist Party to create "dissension between the races." Former FBI SAC WARREN DeBRUEYS told this telephone interviewer that he spoke with Guy Banister about his work with the Sovereignty Committee. He told the HSCA: "I just didn't have any working relationship with Guy Banister, or anyone else, on the Sovereignty Committee. I knew him, and had very limited contact with him. I seem to recall to have gone to his office on at least one occasion because I remember seeing his side of the office. Then I remember inviting him out as a former S.A. to a church meeting...Beyond that I don't think I had any contact with him." Guy Banister's associate, Joseph Oster, commented: "I was aware the Chief knew a lot of people in the FBI and CIA. DeBRUEYS? I believe he came around to see Guy Banister. The name is very familiar. There was a lot of communication between him and the Chief by phone."



ANALYSIS
Guy Banister believed the Soviets were contaminating the wheat in the United States without possessing a shred of evidence that this was the case. Banister was a right-wing crackpot. He hated blacks. His politics were similar to those of David Duke.



BANISTER LEAVES LAW ENFORCEMENT
The suspension of Guy Banister from the Police Department ended on June 1, 1957. He reported to work to find he was now in the Planning Department. He refused the position, and was fired. Guy Banister purchased a newspaper, The Herald, a Gretna, Louisiana weekly. In December 1957 Guy Banister purchased time on a New Orleans television station and announced that Mayor Morrison had interfered with his investigation of police corruption. He referred to the conviction of the Director of the New Orleans Crime Commission for perjury, as evidence of rampant corruption. Guy Banister claimed that "New Orleans District Attorney Leon Hubert failed in his sworn duty to prosecute matters referred to him in connection with the police probe." He also announced he was about to open a private detective agency in New Orleans. Before 1958 was out, Guy Banister testified before a Special Committee of the Arkansas State Legislature, where he claimed that the Communists were behind the riots that followed the integration of the Little Rock, Arkansas, public school system. In 1960 Mayor Daley of Chicago considered appointing Guy Banister as Chief of Police, but reconsidered. On March 29, 1960, Guy Banister was acquitted by Judge Julian Samuel of the 24th Judicial District Court, State of Louisiana, on charges of having defamed one Louis J. Roussel, President of Universal Drilling Company, Inc., by publishing in The Herald an article on December 11, 1958. [FBI NO 105-1458 - highly deleted] The article said the firm had its stock blacklisted by the federal government and that the government has charged fraud and illegal distribution of the stock. Judge Samuel ruled that the article was defamatory and false but that Banister's participation in its publication had not been sufficiently proved.

In 1993 Mrs. Ross Banister stated: "Chip Morrison was thrilled to get him, and he was thrilled to be comin' back to Louisiana. I think that things went real well for quite a while, but then Guy started doing stuff, sort of secret detective work, on his own. As a result, Chip fired him and Guy went into his investigative business. The firing had a great emotional effect on Guy. I think that was sort of the beginning of Guy's end. He started drinking pretty heavy at that time, more so than usual, and he started having family problems. He left his wife Mary Wortham, and moved out. We didn't see much of him. It was just sort of downhill from there on. Mary had Guy put in the hospital for observation, and some tests, and the doctor called Ross and me down there - cause we were about the only family he had, and showed us a brain wave test that he had done. And the doctor said Guy had had a series of small strokes."



THE CIA AND GUY BANISTER ASSOCIATES
Guy Banister's Private Detective Agency was called Guy Banister Associates. In August 1960 the CIA considered using Guy Banister Associates as a source of foreign intelligence and as "a cover mechanism." A CIA search yielded no records on Guy Banister. Guy Banister CIA Headquarters files #201-428,810 and EE-28810 were opened, and file #222918 F-SB/2 was opened on Guy Banister Associates.

On August 26, 1960, this Memorandum for Chief, Office of Security/SSD/I&S Attention Mr. Kunke. Subject: Request for Special Inquiry -- Guy W. Banister, 434 Balter Building, New Orleans 12, Louisiana.

1. (Deleted)

2. For your information Mr. Guy W. Banister, a principal in Subject organization, is a former FBI agent. His present home address is listed as 7059 Argonne Blvd. New Orleans.

3. It will be appreciated if the results of the above requested special inquiry can be provided to Commercial Cover Division/NC by September 12, 1960. (Deleted) Chief, CCD/NC)

On August 30, 1960 a Memorandum for: Special Agent in Charge, David B. Whiteside Subject: Guy W. Banister Associates Inc. #222918 F-SB/2 stated: "The captioned firm, located at 434 Balter Building, New Orleans 12, Louisiana, is of interest to GOLIATH as a cover mechanism. (Deleted)...Paul T. Auden

(Deleted) September 13, 1960, Memorandum for Chief, Investigative Division. Subject: Guy W. Banister Associates Inc. #222918 F-39/2.

1. Subject is engaged in the business of private investigations of all types. Extent of operation is very limited and he appears to be the only employee at present time. Subject's office is presently located at 531 Lafayette Street in a four story building. Subject's office is located on the first floor and is the only office on this floor. He is directly across the street from the Post Office and is located in a commercial section and low-rent district. The Subject' office consists of two rooms. He has been at this location for approximately eight months.

2. The Subject left his Balter Building address on St. Charles Avenue about eight or nine months ago. He occupied two rooms on the first floor of this four story building which is located in the commercial section across from the Masonic Temple which is also housing government offices. The move was attributed to business conditions and it appears that his business is not successful.

5. Dunn and Bradstreet report reflected that Subject, and one investigator named Vernon Gerdes, comprised the two employees of the corporation which has been in operation since 1958. In the opinion of the authorities, the operations of the Corporation in recent months has not been conducted along too successful lines. The Corporation has a few hundred dollars in fixtures and equipment, however, cash is limited. During recent months 'Not sufficient funds' checks has been (illegible). The above tax lien was also reflected in this report. The Corporation has a slow pay record and according to the report the two officers are earning a small living at best."

The next page of this document is generally too dark to read: "One informant stated that Subject aligned himself with the Independent American (illegible) against desegregation or any sort and advocates strongly segregation."



JOSEPH OSTER
Joseph Oster was contacted on November 22, 1993. He commented, "I owned an interest in Guy Banister Associates when the office was on the second floor of the Balter Building, across the street from the United States District Courthouse. It was near the Times-Picayune, in the central business district. It was a beautiful office, completely furnished - four rooms and a reception area. The building was owned by Colonel Buford H. Balter, old, but well kept.

"There was phone calls come in from the CIA Director at that time. I wanted to say Dulles, but that's not it. Yes, I heard the name HUNT. You see, all of the files, even the ones that we had, suddenly disappeared. I've never knew the Chief to be a segregationist, quite frankly..."

In 1978 Joseph Oster told L. J. Delsa, an investigator for the HSCA, that he first met Guy Banister "in the New Orleans Police Department in the early 1960's when Mr. Banister headed up a group of special investigators to check on corruption within the Department's ranks. Mr. Oster was one of the members of this squad. Mr. Banister was fired in 1957 and Mr. Oster soon after went into business with him. Mr. Oster stated that he did most of the investigating and later, date unknown, became dissatisfied because Mr. Banister did not take an interest in the investigations that could have made money for the firm. Mr. Banister had an office on Robert E. Lee Blvd., but then moved to the Balter Building where Mr. Oster joined him...Two sources that were used were Fidelafax and American Security Council...The American Security Council was used for security checks about political backgrounds with special interest in any communist type activities. These two organizations were headed and staffed mostly by retired FBI agents. The personnel in the office at that time were: Carmen Bollino, an ex-FBI agent from Washington, D.C. He and 'the Chief' worked Remington Rand Corporation checks. 'The Chief' was Guy W. Banister's nickname. It should be noted that Mr. Thomas Beckham states that LEE HARVEY OSWALD always said that the 'Chief' would take care of him. Mr. Beckham didn't know if OSWALD meant Mr. Banister or J. Edgar Hoover. Mr. Oster stated that he has heard Banister call Washington and speak directly to J. Edgar Hoover. Mr. Banister used to call and speak to someone in the CIA, but Mr. Oster does not remember any name. John Sullivan, another employee of Mr. Banister's who was also a retired FBI agent from Vicksburg, Virginia. John Sullivan committed suicide shortly after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Other employees and people that had business with Mr. Banister: Edward Stuart Suggs and Major Stewart who wrote and owned the Westbank Herald located in Algiers, Louisiana. (This is New Orleans but it is located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.) This paper was active in Latin American affairs. Mr. Oster feels that Major Stewart had intelligence ties to Latin America. Edward Stuart Suggs was a part-reporter, part-investigator. Mr. Oster describes him as very smart and an adventurer, always trying to impress people with the important people he knew. Mr. Oster remembers catching Mr. Suggs with a very young sailor in the Colonila Hotel located in Exchange Alley. Mr. Oster will attempt to find the report made on this case, in which Suggs was allegedly involved in homosexual acts with the sailor. (The New Orleans Police Department arrest sheets do not reflect any such arrest, but Mr. Oster feels these sheets might have been tampered with over the years.) Mr. Suggs denies to the investigators that he was ever involved in homosexual activities, even though he associated with many young men and know deviates such as David Ferrie...Mr. George Singleton and Mr. Banister were close friends. Mr. Singleton wrote for the Citizens Council and was close to Judge Leander Perez in the fight against integration. Col. Buford Balter, Mr. Singleton, Mr. Stewart and others around Mr. Banister were interested in ultra-conservative politics in which Mr. Oster did not take any active part. Colonel Balter would take out ads in the local papers against integration...Alvin Cobb was a friend of Banister. Mr. Cobb was a supporter of the KKK." [HSCA interview 1.27.78 Delsa & Robert Buras]

JOSEPH NEWBROUGH
The HSCA received a report from Guy Banister associate Joseph Newbrough that "a man that had been in the Federal Civil Service in New Orleans had been in Guy Banister's office on many occasions. This man, whose name he could not remember, was employed by or connected in some way to Mr. HUNT. The man was middle aged, lean, receding hairline, spoke with a Texas accent and always dressed well. He had an office or worked in with someone in the Pierre Marguette Building on Barone Street. He told Mr. Newbrough that he worked for the Hughes Tool Company, but Newbrough could never reach him at that company. Guy Banister told Newbrough that the man worked for H.L. Hunt. He once gave Banister some money to bring to Governor McKeithen or Shelby Jackson, in Baton Rouge, for their campaigns. The amount was not more than a thousand dollars or so, and it was somehow marked as going to an investigation into some such company as Pinrod Drilling. No investigation ever took place but this was a means to funnel money into State officials without anyone knowing about it. The man was not criminal or even bad intentioned, this was just the way some money was put into campaigns. This man used to sit around in the morning with a few regulars in Holsum's Cafeteria and have coffee. He knew the owner, Frank Manning, who was the Chief Investigator for the Attorney General of the State." [HSCA Memo 9.28.78 Buras] HEMMING told this researcher: "The HUNT that was connected with Hughes Tool was someone else."



THOMAS EDWARD BECKHAM
On July 7, 1960, Edward S. Suggs advised the FBI that Thomas Edward Beckham, age 17, was in California, allegedly passing fraudulent checks on his father's account. The FBI also reported: "The name Thomas Beckham never appeared during our investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy. However, on January 13, 1967 we received information that Garrison had located a witness, Thomas Beckham, who allegedly associated with OSWALD and assisted him in passing out leaflets. Our files contain a reference to a Thomas Edward Beckham of New Orleans who in 1962 was seeking funds for a religious group aiding Cubans. Lewis reported that Beckham (Deleted). [FBI 62-109060-4407] This man allegedly had a record with the New Orleans Police Department for being involved in such activities. (Deleted) The information that Thomas Beckham was one of Garrison's witnesses was furnished this Bureau by Edward Suggs, who was one of the original instigators of Garrison's current probe. (Deleted)." [FBI 62-109060-5950 1.3.68] On October 19, 1962, Beckham's mother reported to the FBI that her son was on the third floor of the Charity Hospital in the mental ward. [FBI 62-109060-4407]



BANISTER UNSUITABLE FOR CIA EMPLOYMENT
On September 21, 1960, a memorandum for SSD FILE From Chief SB/2 Subject: Guy Banister Associates, Inc. #222918 F-SB/2 read:

1. Attention is invited to the attached thermo fax copy of a (deleted) memorandum dated September 13, 1960.

2. The contents of the aforementioned memorandum were brought to the attention of (deleted) CCG/NC. (Deleted) advised that after discussing the matter with (deleted) it was decided for reasons indicated in the attached report CCG could not utilize the Subject concern. (Deleted) requested that no further action be taken in this matter. He does not desire a formal report in this matter. As a matter of information, it should be noted that Mr. James O'Connell has furnished Commercial Cover Group with an alternative private detective company." [E.E. Kuhnke Memo for SSD File 9.21.60 Banister Sec. File NARA 1993:08.02.09:57:29:400060.]

In 1967 the CIA stated: "On this date copies of recent newspaper clippings with reference to the alleged involvement of William Guy Banister and his private detective agency in the current so-called 'New Orleans Kennedy Death Plot' which is under investigation by that city's District Attorney, were forwarded through channels tot he Chief/SRS, together with Security Files on each (Guy Banister #EE-28810 and Guy Banister Associates, Inc. #222918). It was noted that Banister was of interest to OO/C in 1960 (deleted) and that interest in the use of Guy Banister Associates as a cover mechanism in August 1960 was dropped upon receipt of an unfavorable report from the field." [CIA OS M.D. Stevens 3.8.67 CIA 1338-1052]



BANISTER AND THE CUBAN REVOLUTIONARY FRONT

FRIENDS OF DEMOCRATIC CUBA
On January 6, 1961, Guy Banister had formed the Friends of Democratic Cuba, a support group for the Cuban Revolutionary Front, and opened an office in the Balter Building, where the Cuban Revolutionary Front had offices.

The Articles of Incorporation of the Friends of Democratic Cuba were drafted by Grady Durham. Its purposes were: "To enlighten the people of the U.S.A. and free world of the evils and perils of the communist dictatorship in Cuba; to promote the cause of freedom from communist tyranny in Cuba; to assist Cuban refugees, those in exile, and other Cuban patriots to regroup and organize for the purpose of opposing communism in Cuba; to solicit for and obtain funds and contributions for these purposes and for the support of the Cuban Revolutionary Front, and to assist that organization in its aims and purposes of opposing communism in Cuba; to promote trade and commerce between the U.S.A. and Cuba; to defray all necessary expenses; and to buy, sell lease and obtain all necessary property, both real and personal, which might be necessary and all licenses, permits, exemptions and sanctions which might be necessary in conformity with the objectives stated herein...Signed June Durham, Grady Durham, W. Guy Banister, Alfred Chittenden and Martin L. McAuliffe, Jr." J.S. Martin, Sr. (Edward S. Suggs) witnessed the signing of this document.

The Friends of Democratic Cuba merged with the Cuban Revolutionary Front in January 1961. HUNT, who was the Chief Political Officer of the Cuban Revolutionary Front, would have had to have approved this merger. The CIA declared: "About one month after its organization, the Friends of Democratic Cuba closed..." At least one CIA document stated that Guy Banister was an FBI contact for the Cuban Revolutionary Front: "Two of Sergio Arcacha Smith's regular FBI contacts were a Mr. De Bruce [S.A. DeBRUEYS] and the deceased Guy Banister...Arcacha Smith was a member of Guy Banister's Friends of Democratic Cuba." The FBI reported: "Banister was also active in the Cuban Revolutionary Front, (Internal Security - Cuba) which information was furnished to the Bureau by LHM dated February 7, 1961." [CIA 1320-484, 1357-506, 1338-1052, 1363-501; HUNT Day p23, 63; FBI 62-22617-A, 62-22617-235, 244, 217, 224; 62-10386-3, 62-105198-5; HSCA V5 p129]



BANISTER AND THE BOLTON FORD INCIDENT
On January 20, 1961, the FBI generated a report that was File #2-41, subject, FRANK ANTHONY STURGIS - Neutrality Matters. This file was withheld. On January 20, 1961, two members of Friends of Democratic Cuba attempted to purchase several pickup trucks from Oscar Deslatte of Bolton Ford. One of them used the name LEE OSWALD. The FBI reported: "On November 25, 1963, Mr. William A. Watson, Vice-President, Bolton Ford Company, New Orleans, telephonically advised his truck manager informed him that the Friends of Democratic Cuba had made a bid on a truck and that the bid was signed by OSWALD. Another name appeared on the bill and believed to be Joseph Moler. He stated all information would be available through his truck manager, Fred Sewell." [NARA 124-10248-10153]

FRED SEWELL
Fred Sewell told an investigator for Jim Garrison: "I think that Oscar Deslatte wrote that on there, LEE OSWALD, but he didn't use the name HARVEY, just LEE OSWALD if I remember right. Yes, it's been six years of course. He represented himself as LEE OSWALD. He's the man that spoke up and said, 'I'm the man handling the money. You ought to have my name too...I would say that the men were in there that I could see them maybe an hour...So then when the President was assassinated and the name came out, Oscar come in either the next morning or the morning after and said, "Say Fred, do you remember those two guys who was in here from Cuba trying to get some buses cheap? And I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'I think that one of those men was the one who killed the President.' I said, 'Aw, you're kidding.' and he said 'We've got a piece of paper around here somewhere with a bid on it.' He went and hauled that piece of paper out and then Oscar called the FBI...The FBI come down and picked it up with two pieces of plastic. They didn't even put their fingerprints on it. And slid these two pieces of plastic on each side of it and offered us a receipt for it and took it with them." Fred Sewell was asked by Jim Garrison: "In other words they expected to find fingerprints on it?" Sewell: "Yes, but I don't think the man ever touched it, really. We did, but I don't think he did. Then Oscar come to me and he said, 'I got some kind of Freedom or Free Democrats of Cuba' or something. He had a name for it. He come in my office and he said kind of contributing to Cuba. He said they want ten buses or they want to bid on ten buses. Do you want to give them a good deal on it? Well, I said, seeing that they're having a hard time down there let's make it $50 over cost for each one of them." [James L. Alcock to Garrison 5.2.67] The files of the New Orleans FBI Office do not show that Fred Sewell was ever interviewed in regard to the Bolton Ford Incident.



OSCAR DESLATTE
Oscar Deslatte, another employee of Bolton Ford, confirmed the report of Fred Sewell in a conversation with the FBI: "Joseph Moore," and an unidentified Cuban male, insisted Oscar Deslatte sell them trucks at cost because they would be used against Castro. Joseph Moore said he was an ex-Marine who was involved in training the invasion brigade. He wrote his name and bid on a piece of paper and handed it to Oscar Deslatte. Joseph Moore then asked Oscar Deslatte to return the slip, and changed the name on it to "OSWALD." OSWALD was in the Soviet Union in 1961. [WCD 75 p677; FBI 67-39565-66; FBI FOIA req. Banister 105-95587-1 p10] In 1979 the FBI released copies of the records of Oscar Deslatte. To see this tag click here. [Bolton.jpg] The words "Friends of Democratic Cuba" and "OSWALD" appeared. [Memo 5.9.67 To: Garrison From: Alcock.] The FBI ran a file check on Joseph Moore on January 9, 1968. Most of the serials were non-identifiable. Serials 25-20038, 26-24044, 162-436 were followed by question marks. Serial 88-6623 had nothing next to it. The rest of the serial were marked "Not Identifiable." [FBI New Orleans 89-69-3730]

HEMMING did not believe the Bolton Ford incident took place: "There's no logical connection at all. Nobody used any trucks during the Bay of Pigs. There were no fucking trucks. Maybe they were trying to con him. Sounds like some Cuban trying to get a deal. Never heard of Moore."

On February 7, 1961, a withheld FBI investigation of Friends of Democratic Cuba culminated in an Letter Head Memorandum: "One copy of the enclosed Letter Head Memorandum is also being furnished to the New York Office for information, in view of the statements attributed to (deleted) by (deleted) to the effect that (deleted). The enclosed Letter Head Memorandum is being classified Secret, as unauthorized disclosure of data contained therein could result in serious damages to the U.S., such as jeopardy of international relations, and endanger the effectiveness of a program of vital importance to national defense. No dissemination is to be made of the enclosed material except to CIA at Bureau level. Confidential Informant NO T-1 is (deleted). Interviews of (deleted) and Guy Banister were conducted by S.A. (deleted) and (deleted). This data is being made part of various individual Subject files of the New Orleans Office in connection with the investigation of various individuals in the '105' category. [Internal Security - Nationalistic Tendency] (Deleted.) Any additional pertinent data received by the New Orleans Office concerning Subject organization will be furnished to the Bureau in a form suitable for dissemination to CIA. Bromwell." [FBI 105-187912-182]

The CIA withheld a good deal of information on Banister; even newspaper clippings. The FBI interviewed Guy Banister about the Friends of Democratic Cuba: "Banister related that he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Democratic Cuba Incorporated, which he describes as a charitable organization chartered under Louisiana State law whose primary purpose is to lend assistance to Cuban exiles. In response to inquiry, Banister stated that he (deleted). Banister stated that he did receive from (deleted). His purpose would then be to furnish such information to (deleted). In addition to the above, Banister remarked that (deleted) is hired by him as a part-time (deleted). He explained that (deleted) is interested in ascertaining the political sympathies of Cuban and other students attending Tulane University. This is of interest to Banister in connection with his interest and position in the Louisiana State organization known as the State Joint Legislative Committee on Un-American Activities."



ANGLETON
On March 30, 1961, ANGLETON sent CSCI-3/764,414 to Sam Papich regarding the Friends of Democratic Cuba. ANGLETON had either generated or had seen this document. It stated:

1. Reference is made to Bureau Memoranda dated January 20, 1961, and February 7, 1961, both entitled "Frente Revolutionario Democratico (FRD)."

2. The following information concerning the Subject, from a reliable source, is forwarded as being of possible interest to the Bureau.

3. The Friends of Democratic Cuba was incorporated January 6, 1961, in New Orleans, Louisiana, with offices in the Balter Building for the purpose of collecting funds to assist Cubans in opposition to Castro. The funds were to be channeled through the Frente Revolutionario Democratico. The New Orleans delegate of the Cuban Revolutionary Front, Sergio Arcacha, was to receive the funds collected, minus some percentage believed by source to be 20% to be retained by the Friends of Democratic Cuba. No public collection of money took place, but it is possible that some donations were received from some company or union. Mr. Arcacha stated the only amount collected was $100 received from a company with which Mario del Canal was connected. About one month after its organization Friends of Democratic Cuba closed because, according to its organizers, some Cubans exhibited a lack of understanding.'

4. The source provided the following information concerning the persons composing the Friends of Democratic Cuba, Inc.

a. Grady Durham...

b. Guy Banister, a former member of the FBI, is a former Second Chief of Police in New Orleans. The later position terminated with differences of opinion with the Mayor of New Orleans. Banister now has a detective agency at 531 Lafayette Street, New Orleans. According to the source, some of his informants consider Banister a decent person and others think he is a racketeer.

5. The source stated that in his opinion Durham and Banister organized the Friends of Democratic Cuba strictly for personal gain. He further stated that he doubted that donations had not been received, and suggested that an investigation of the books of the New Orleans Exporters Company and the Stevedores Union which would reveal the personal gain realized by the promoters and perhaps also evidence of evasion of United States Federal taxes

6. The source further advised that to his knowledge there is no radio plant in the offices of the Friends of Democratic Cuba, nor does that organization operate a transmitter from a boat.

7. The FRD delegate in New Orleans is Sergio Arcacha assisted by Pedro (illegible).

CSCI-3/764,414

WH/4CI (Deleted) 3.16.61

Distribution: Original & 1 Addressee

1- RI

1 -CI R & A

1 - CI/LIA; 1-WH/4?

2 -WH/4/CI

Based on (deleted) 1.23.61]

[CIA 1436-494-AE; Allen v. DOD CIA 07331; Smith CSCI-316/-3737-65 and (deleted) 2.22.61; NARA 1993.07.14.15.:41:50:460270]



JERRY MILTON BROOKS AND GUY BANISTER
The FBI: "Files of the New Orleans Office show that Jerry Milton Brooks was the Subject of an extensive (deleted) violations (deleted) Springfield Division (deleted) and was sentenced to three years (deleted). The files show that on March 27, 1961, Jerry Milton Brooks personally called at the New Orleans Office of the FBI and advised he had been in touch with Guy Banister and Maurice Gatlin and that, at their insistence, he had written to Communist Party New York City Headquarters on March 16, 1961. He also called at Communist Party Headquarters and spoke to the secretary who was situated on the third floor. He stated that he had inquired about membership in the Communist Party and at the insistence of Gatlin and Banister, had also subscribed to several publications. Brooks, at that time, gave every indication to the interviewing agent that he was mentally imbalanced." [FBI 62-109060-6057 p22]



JERRY MILTON BROOKS AND THE MINUTEMEN
"CIA Office of Security indices results: (Deleted) a New York Times newspaper clipping for November 9, 1966, entitled 'U.N. Plot Traced by ex-Minutemen.' It was reported that Jerry Milton Brooks, a former member of the Minutemen, testified in United States District Court in Kansas City, Missouri, that he had suggested to Robert B. DePugh, the national coordinator of the right-wing group, that cyanide be put in the air-conditioning of the General Assembly Building of the United Nations in New York City. Brooks was a government witness, but admitted that he had a police record - convicted of attempted burglary in 1948; burglary and larceny in 1950 and extortion in 1957." [CIA 40474 1.18.68]

During the trial of Minutemen leaders Robert B. DePugh, Troy Houghton, and Walter Patrick Peyson, Jerry Milton Brooks appeared as a Government witness who had infiltrated the Minutemen for one year. The organization suggested he give a lecture on assassinations to trainees at a weekend meeting of the Minutemen. After this lecture, Jerry Milton Brooks approached Robert DePugh, the national coordinator of the Minutemen national, and suggested Jerry Milton Brooks purchase ten gallons of potassium cyanide for $56. According to Jerry Milton Brooks, a member of the Minutemen who was a New York State Policeman would use his credentials to gain entrance to the basement of the United Nations General Assembly Building. Jerry Milton Brooks said Robert DePugh suggested the group assassinate Senator J.W. Fulbright (Dem.-AK). He testified the Minutemen were in possession of unregistered automatic firearms and silencers. Robert DePugh was convicted, and sentenced to four years in prison. [NYT 5.2.67]

On March 15, 1967, Nick Carter of Kansas City, Missouri, overheard Jerry Milton Brooks at a pay telephone talking about the Kennedy assassination. Jerry Milton Brooks' conversation turned to the Minutemen, and he mentioned the name 'Doc' Gould. Elmer Andrew Gould claimed he was a conscientious objector during World War II. His claim was denied but by that time he was too old to be drafted. On January 15, 1963, W.D. Stevens, of U.S. Customs, received a call from an unidentified woman who stated that Elmer Gould had advanced $100 to Kenneth G. Graham to pay an individual named Charlie, (LNU), to kill Senator John W. Fulbright. "Charlie" absconded with Gould's $100. On March 15, 1967, Frank Belecky, area supervisor of the Kansas City, Missouri, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, advised the FBI that Jerry Milton Brooks had become somewhat of a problem to the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Office recently "in that he apparently wants to do something to gain attention or notoriety. He recently attempted to make contact with Robert De Pugh by stating to an individual in contact with De Pugh that he, Brooks, had information which would 'blow the government's Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms case against De Pugh wide open.' Belecky further stated that for the past week or so he has had Brooks come to his office each morning an remain there until evening in order to keep him out of trouble." [FBI 89-43-6097, 6098]

[Seamus Coogan]

Good documented post Jan. I knew much of it however I'd be interested to find out more about the 'Minnesota Murder Case' Jan. I also think the relationship with DeBrueys would be very interesting. Oster clearly has quite a tight relationship between the two.

Seamus, I deleted your inclusion of Jan's original post for the sake of saving bandwidth.

All, There's no need to reproduce in its entirety the post to which you wish to respond. Of course it makes sense to re-post particular sections on which your comments are focused. But in this case, the re-posting is just plain redundant.

Unlike your comments, Seamus, which are, as always, valuable.

Hope you understand.

CD

[Seamus Coogan]

Good documented post Jan. I knew much of it however I'd be interested to find out more about the 'Minnesota Murder Case' Jan. I also think the relationship with DeBrueys would be very interesting. Oster clearly has quite a tight relationship between the two.

Seamus, I deleted your inclusion of Jan's original post for the sake of saving bandwidth.

All, There's no need to reproduce in its entirety the post to which you wish to respond. Of course it makes sense to re-post particular sections on which your comments are focused. But in this case, the re-posting is just plain redundant.

Unlike your comments, Seamus, which are, as always, valuable.

Hope you understand.

CD

Cool Banana's I was about to say that the sources that Jan dug up were good and I recalled some of em come from Weberman. Its a shame AJ may have been a little manic on some stuff because his data accumulation on Banister was pretty darn tooting alright! But In my snobbery I generally stare clear.

[Vasilios Vazakas]

Congratulations Jan, excellent post!

[Magda Hassan]

Oswald and 544 Camp, Part 1 Historian Dr. Michael L. Kurtz was a student at Louisiana State University in New Orleans during the 1962-63 school year. In 1958, LSU-NO, now the University of New Orleans, became one of the first racially integrated universities in the South. One of the most vocal opponents of that decision was W. Guy Banister. It is now common knowledge that Banister recruited LSU-NO students to spy on fellow students and faculty members. He also made frequent visits to the campus. One day in May 1963, Michael Kurtz attended an informal meeting in an unoccupied LSU-NO classroom where Guy Banister debated a number of students on the issue of integration. Banister was introduced by an LSU student named George Higgenbothan. Kurtz knew of Banister; he'd seen him on campus on perhaps a half-dozen occasions to this and would see him a few times more. Guy Banister brought a young man to the meeting with him; Banister introduced the young man as "Lee Oswald." Banister debated integration with the students, arguing for a return to full segregation and criticizing the group for attending an integrated school. While Banister tangled with the pro-integration collegiates, Oswald seemed to fade into the background, and -- to the best of Kurtz' recollection -- said nothing (Author's interview of October 5, 1998). Higgenbothan is mentioned in Hinckle & Turner's book, Deadly Secrets: "George Higgenbothan, one of Banister's collegiate undercover agents, recalled that when he kidded his boss about sharing a building with people papering the streets with leftist literature, Banister snapped, "Cool it -- one of them is mine" (Hinckle & Turner, 234-35). Higgenbothan admitted to a Garrison staff member that he indeed knew Oswald (Memo in Garrison files). Kurtz saw Banister and Oswald together once more, when he was working that summer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, located across the street from the Newman Building at 544 Camp Street and 531 Lafayette. One day in July or August, Kurtz walked across the street to Mancuso's, the coffee shop on the first floor of the Newman Building, to get a cup of coffee. Guy Banister and Lee Harvey Oswald, just the two of them, were sitting at a table together. Banister recognized Kurtz and waved, and Kurtz waved back (Ibid.). Oswald and Banister made at least one other visit to the LSU-NO campus. Kurtz was not present, but he heard about it from a fellow student who had been. The event apparently was very similar to the one Kurtz attended, with one exception - this time it was Oswald who debated the students and argued vehemently against the civil rights program of President Kennedy and against integration in general. This event suggests a reason for Oswald's reticence on the other occasion - he was in all likelihood observing the way Banister debated the students. Now, Banister was probably seeing how Oswald himself could handle such issues (Kurtz, "Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans," Louisiana History, Vol. 21, No. 1, 1981). A friend of Kurtz', Van Burns was working at Pontchartrain Beach, an amusement park off Lake Pontchartrain, in the summer of 1963. He was working his booth one night when a friend of his walked up with two others. Burns' friend introduced the pair to Burns -- their names were David Ferrie and Lee Harvey Oswald. After a moment Ferrie and Oswald strolled off down the boardwalk together. Burns' friend told him that Ferrie was a pilot who had been involved with the Bay of Pigs, and that he had personally flown to Cuba with Ferrie as his pilot. Kurtz and Burns each recognized Oswald by face and by name when he saw him on television on November 22, 1963. Kurtz later found a number of people who recalled Oswald and Ferrie together; Oswald and Ferrie had spent numerous evenings during the summer of 1963 hanging out at a popular watering hole, Napoleon's, where they debated politics with local college students for hours on end. Is Kurtz a credible witness? Dr. Michael L. Kurtz is a professor of history at the Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond. He is the author of Louisiana: A History, and Crime of the Century: The Kennedy Assassination from a Historian's Perspective, as well as a former associate editor for Readings in Louisiana History and a contributor to other scholarly historical journals. He is a two-time winner of the Williams Prize in Louisiana History, presented by The Historic New Orleans Collection and the Louisiana Historical Association, for his 1981 article, "Organized Crime in Louisiana History: Myth and Reality," and his 1990 book, Earl K. Long: The Saga of Uncle Earl and Louisiana, co-authored with Morgan D. Peoples. He has never used his story for personal gain, and he has no ax to grind or theory to support; in the 1993 introduction to his book, Kurtz states, "I myself saw Lee Harvey Oswald and Guy Banister together in New Orleans, but I thought nothing of it at the time [of the assassination], and I still do not. No one has produced the slightest scintilla of evidence linking Banister to the assassination" (Kurtz, xiii). Michael Kurtz and Van Burns were both brushed off when they informed the FBI of their knowledge of Oswald and Ferrie. It also happened when State Representative Reeves Morgan told the FBI about Oswald's visit to his home in Jackson, Louisiana. The only report of Oswald and Ferrie that was investigated was that of Jack S. Martin. Why? BECAUSE HE DIDN'T CALL THE FBI. He called a friend of his on the staff of the New Orleans DA's office. Did the FBI come to investigate? No; the SECRET SERVICE did. Why did the FBI REFUSE to investigate Banister and Ferrie? Possibly because Guy Banister had been with the FBI for over twenty years, most of which time was spent of a Special Agent in Charge, not to mention his years with the New Orleans Police Department. Possibly because Guy Banister and David Ferrie have been alleged to have been an FBI informants. Possibly because Ferrie and Banister both had string ties to New Orleans Mob boss Carlos Marcello -- Ferrie's connections with him being quite overt, as an investigator for Marcello's lawyer, G. Wray Gill, Banister's connection to the mobster being less obvious. Possibly because 531 Lafayette/544 Camp was the focal point of any number of operations that involved members of local law enforcement, the intelligence community, members of organized crime, and anti-Castro Cuban exiles -- and a young man named Lee Harvey Oswald, whose role is unknown to this very day. The FBI did not want to know. Who Was Guy Banister? According to an autobiographical sketch, William Guy Banister was born in a log cabin in Monroe, Louisiana, on March 7, 1901. He attended Louisiana State University and Soule College in New Orleans. He was recruited as an investigator by the Monroe Police Department, then became a patrolman in 1929. He soon advanced to the position of Chief of Detectives. On November 5, 1934, he was sworn in as a Special Agent for the Justice Department's Division of Investigation, which soon changed its name to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He worked primarily around the northern US on special assignment for about three years, working alongside Special Agent George Starr, the FBI's top man in investigating subversives, meaning largely leftist activity. Starr familiarized Banister with the activity of the Communist Party, and Banister notes that Starr is credited with developing the FBI's anti-Communist investigations. Banister writes, "After I was promoted to SAC [Special Agent in Charge], it was my duty to supervise the work of Special Agents assigned to such activity. It was also my duty to develop and supervise those people commonly called informers. To be more specific, we might say that they were counterspies sent in to report on the activities of the Party members. That was part of my duty throughout the nearly 17 years I served as SAC" (FBI #62-103863-13). By his own account, he remained SAC until September 1952. He fails to mention that he spent World War II in the Navy working for the Office of Naval Intelligence. Virtually nothing is known about his activities on behalf of the ONI (Philip Melanson, Spy Saga, 33). At the end of 1954 he left the FBI under somewhat mysterious circumstances and accepted a position in January 1955 with the New Orleans Police Department. In New Orleans he joined Maurice Gatlin's Anti-Communist Committee of the Americas. At the invitation of Mayor DeLesseps Morrison, Banister stepped up to the position of Assistant Superintendent of the NOPD. Morrison assigned him to investigate police corruption. For reasons that aren't clear, he was demoted on June 27, 1956. Three days later Banister got in an altercation with several police officers at a New Orleans nightclub, and was arrested when he pulled a gun. He offered to resign from the NOPD the following day, but was instead suspended. On March 1, 1957, Banister was accused of being drunk and pulling a gun in a French Quarter bar (FBI #61-3176-A). Banister was fired from the NOPD on June 1, 1957. In March 1957, Guy Banister testified before the Joint Legislative Committee on Segregation of the Louisiana State Senate, which was investigating the alleged influence of Communism upon racial unrest and the civil rights movement. It was around this time that the First District Americanism Committee of the American Legion issued a statement "high in praise of Guy Banister for his work against Communism in New Orleans." Banister delivered an illuminating sermon to the Joint Legislative Committee: "The great danger from the Communist Party [of America] lies in [the] fact that its homeland is outside the borders of the United States . . . We know Russia, not only from reading intelligence and counter-intelligence reports, which I would like to avoid remembering as much as possible. . . . We know the nature of the land and the people of the land. . . . She is a nation at war all the time and for all times. . . . From her ancient past, Russia seems to have inherited a state of mind and an institution, the conviction that they are chosen to inherit the earth . . . Russia has always exploited to the fullest every advantage she could secure from espionage and subversion . . . Espionage is the second oldest governmental activity of man. The first is law enforcement. . . . The oldest military treatise we have was published about 500 BC by Sun Tzu [a tract on espionage]. . . . [T]he use of spies is approved by Jehovah, and I don't see how we can well object. The woman, Rahab, Joshua's 'cut-out agent' in Jericho, lived in a house on the wall. That portion of the wall did not fall, when the walls came tumbling down. . . . Lenin said one day that . . . every Communist should be a spy. . . . When the Communist Party seizes control of a nation, it directs its espionage system against all who oppose Communism. . . . it becomes a police state. . . . Every member of the Louisiana Communist Party . . . is a Soviet agent. The Communist Party [of America] is an agency of the Soviet government. . . ." Banister referred to integration as part of a plot formulated by Stalin and the Communist Party to create "'dissension between the races'" (Records of the Joint Legislative Committee on Segregation of the Louisiana State Senate). In 1958 he testified before a Special Committee of the Arkansas State Legislature studying civil unrest; he claimed that the Communists had provoked the rioting that followed in the wake of the desegregation of Little Rock's public schools. Banister's brother Ross told A. J. Weberman in 1993 that he suspected some of Guy's difficulties with his superiors stemmed from "sort of secret detective work" he was doing on his own, and as his problems increased, so did his drinking. He left his wife Mary and had a series of minor strokes. Upon leaving the NOPD, he opened up Guy Banister Associates, a private detective agency that was, in reality, a front for Banister's brand of counter-intelligence directed at suspected spies, subversives, Communists, integrationists, and assorted leftists. Initially located in the Balter Building on St. Charles Avenue, Banister opened up part of his office to Sergio Arcacha Smith, the New Orleans delegate of the CIA-sponsored Cuban Revolutionary Council. For a short time a former NOPD associate of Banister's, Joseph Oster, was involved with Guy Banister Associates. Oster told A. J. Weberman in 1993, "There was phone calls come in from the CIA Director at that time. I wanted to say [Allen] Dulles, but that's not it. Yes, I heard the name [E. Howard] Hunt [CIA liaison officer with the CRC and Bay of Pigs plotter]. You see, all of the files, even the ones we had, suddenly disappeared . . ." When Banister moved to the Newman Building at the corner of Camp and Lafayette Streets in late 1959, the CRC moved with him. In 1978, Joseph Oster told House Select Committee investigator L. J. Delsa that he left Banister's office when it became clear that Banister wasn't interested in the actual private investigations being run out of the office, which were only a front. Oster said that Banister's real work revolved around the investigation of subversives; he recalled the office working closely with the American Security Council and Fidelafax, a private intelligence firm founded and operated by ex-government agents. He noted that a good amount of Banister's funds came in the form of checks from the Remington Rand Corporation, long ago exposed as a major CIA front operation (HSCA interview of January 17, 1978). The CIA claims that while Banister had been of interest to the CIA in 1960, consideration of his agency as a front mechanism was dropped shortly thereafter due to an unfavorable report received from the field (CIA Report of March 8, 1967; CIA #1338-1052). According to the New Orleans States-Item of April 25, 1967, Guy Banister was a key man in supplying arms for the ill-fated "Bay of Pigs" invasion of Cuba, an operation coordinated entirely by the CIA, from whom Banister secretary and mistress Delphine Roberts remembers Banister receiving a great amount of funds in the early '60s (Summers, 326). Dr. Philip Melanson writes, "It is now known that the Agency's operational presence [in New Orleans] in 1963 was extensive. In order to administer its array of Cuban exile groups and activities, as well as to monitor international shipping in the port of New Orleans, the CIA established a very large domestic station -- one of the key stations in the country. A distinguished New Orleans attorney is believed to have served as station chief in the early 1960s. His name has never been publicly revealed; neither . . . has he ever been questioned by any official investigation" (Melanson, Spy Saga, 37). Although he had officially retired from the FBI, Delphine Roberts says Banister was still working in some capacity for the Bureau at 531 Lafayette Street (Summers, 289). This is supported by a 1967 CIA document, declassified in 1983, which named Banister as an "FBI Contact" (Henry Hurt, Reasonable Doubt, 290fn.), as well as a statement made by Jerry Milton Brooks, a former Minuteman and a Banister employee in the '60s. Brooks said that "Banister collected information on the left from every imaginable right-wing source" and that Brooks himself "regularly couriered this data over to the New Orleans FBI office, which incorporated it into its files." Brooks also named Banister as the Minutemen's Louisiana coordinator (Hinckle & Turner, Deadly Secrets, 231). Banister had files on much more than left wing groups, however. A partial index of his files received by the New Orleans DA's office in 1967 -- long after the files themselves has been dispersed -- reveals some of the files maintained at 531 Lafayette Street: American Central Intelligence Agency Ammunition and Arms Anti-Soviet Underground B-70 Manned Bomber Force Civil Rights Program of JFK Dismantling of Ballistic Missile System Dismantling of Defense, US Fair Play for Cuba Committee International Trade Mart Italy, US Bases Dismantled in General Assembly of the United Nations Latin America Missile Bases Dismantled -- Turkey and Italy From his 531 Lafayette Street address, Banister published the Louisiana Intelligence Digest, an anti-integrationist periodical which proclaimed desegregation as a Communist plot -- a view privately espoused by one J. Edgar Hoover -- and attacked President Kennedy for his "pinko" support of civil rights (Hinckle & Turner, 231). If Oswald was working for Guy Banister, it might explain what he was doing in the town of Clinton, Louisiana, in the late summer or fall of 1963 - at a highly controversial Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) registration drive -- whether Banister himself was also present in Clinton (as some claim) or not. (See "How Posner Impeaches Clinton" on the moderated NG.) On January 6, 1961, Banister drew up the charter for the Friends of Democratic Cuba, a fund-raising arm of the CIA-backed Cuban Revolutionary Front. Vice-President was onetime Oswald employer Gerard Tujague. The Front was an attempt by the CIA to unify the many dozens of Cuban exile groups springing up in Miami and New Orleans. The Friends of Democratic Cuba soon merged with the Cuban Revolutionary Front while E. Howard Hunt -- by his own account in his memoir, Give Us This Day -- was the Front's Chief Political Officer. A CIA document states that the Friends of Democratic Cuba folded after only one month (CIA #1338-1052; Weberman), which would mean that it was up and running just long enough to send two men named "Joseph Moore" and "Lee Oswald" to the Bolton Ford Dealership to look into buying a number of trucks for shipment to Cuban rebels. In two documents we find the CIA and FBI pointing fingers at each other of the issue of the late Guy Banister: The CIA reported that two of Sergio Arcacha Smith's "regular FBI contacts" were SA Warren de Brueys and "the deceased Guy Banister" (CIA #1363-501; Banister had OFFICIALLY resigned from the FBI many years before Arcacha Smith moved from Miami to New Orleans); while the FBI reported that "Banister was also active in the [CIA-affiliated] Cuban Revolutionary Front" (FBI #62-105198-5; 5 HSCA 129; Weberman). Weberman notes that a great deal of CIA and FBI documents on Banister are still heavily DELETED; an example is the FBI report that reads: "Banister related that he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Democratic Cuba, which he describes as a charitable organization chartered under Louisiana State law whose primary purpose is to lend assistance to Cuban exiles. In response to inquiry, Banister stated that he [DELETED]. Banister stated that he did receive [DELETED] from [DELETED]. His purpose would then be to furnish such information to [DELETED]. In addition to the above, Banister remarked that [DELETED] is hired by him as a part-time [DELETED]. He explained that [DELETED] is interested in ascertaining the political sympathies of Cuban and other students attending TULANE UNIVERSITY [emphasis added]. This is of interest to Banister in connection with his interest in the Louisiana State organization known as the State Joint Legislative Committee on Un-American Activities" (cited in Weberman web site). Banister was involved in infiltrating Tulane University just as he had Louisiana State University. The morning after Lee Harvey Oswald's August 9, 1963, arrest in New Orleans for creating a disturbance with Carlos Bringuier and others, Oswald was interviewed by Lieutenant Francis L. Martello. Martello reported: "Oswald was asked how many members of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee were in the New Orleans Chapter and he stated there were 35. I asked him to identify the members of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New Orleans and he refused to give names of the members or any identifying data regarding them. Oswald was asked why he refused and he said that this was a minority group holding unpopular views at this time and it would not be beneficial to them if he gave their names. Oswald was asked approximately how many people attended meetings of the New Orleans Chapter of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and he said approximately five attended the meetings, which were held once a month. He was asked where and he said at various places in the city. He was asked specifically at what addresses or locations were the meetings held and he stated that the meetings were held on Pine Street. He was asked at whose residence the meetings were held and he refused to give any further information. It should be noted at this time [that] during prior investigation conducted, while I was a member of the Intelligence Unit [of the NOPD], information was developed that Fair Play for Cuba Committee literature was found in the 1000 block of Pine Street, New Orleans, which was near the residence of Dr. Leonard Reissman, a professor at TULANE UNIVERSITY [emphasis added]. This investigation was conducted by me. "As I remember, Dr. Reissman was reported to be a member of the New Orleans Council of Peaceful Alternatives, which is a 'ban the bomb' group recently established in the city and had conducted meetings and two or three demonstrations in the city. Knowing that Dr. Reissman was reportedly a member of the New Orleans Council of Peaceful Alternatives, I thought there might be a tie between this organization and the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. "When Oswald stated that meetings of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee had been held on Pine Street, the name of Dr. Reissman came to mind. I asked Oswald if he knew Dr. Reissman or if he held meetings at Dr. Reissman's house. Oswald did not give me a direct answer to this question, however I gathered from the expression on his face and what appeared to be an immediate nervous reaction that there was possibly a connection between Dr. Reissman and Oswald; this, however, is purely an assumption on my part and I have nothing on which to base this. I also asked Oswald if he knew a Dr. Forrest E. La Violette, a professor at Tulane University. I asked him this question because I remembered that La Violette allegedly had possession of Fair Play for Cuba literature during the year 1962. . . . ". . . I asked him again about the members of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New Orleans and why the information was such a big secret; that if they had nothing to hide, he would give me the information. Oswald said one of the members of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New Orleans was named "John" and that this individual went to TULANE UNIVERSITY [emphasis added]. He refused to give any more information concerning the Fair Play for Cuba Committee" (10 H 55-56). Wesley J. Liebeler took Lt. Francis Martello's Warren Commission deposition. Mr. LIEBELER. . . . [In the report] you indicate that Oswald had told you that there were about 35 members of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee here in New Orleans. Did you have any reason to question that statement? Mr. MARTELLO. I didn't believe it was a true statement because of the fact that there was very little activity, to my knowledge, of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in the city of New Orleans, and since it was such a new organization, or which appeared to me to be a new organization in the city, it didn't seem likely there would be 35 members in the community. Mr. LIEBELER. Did you ever become aware of the existence of any other member of the group in New Orleans -- Mr. MARTELLO. No, sir. Mr. LIEBELER. Other than Oswald? Mr. MARTELLO. No; other than information that had been developed that there were some possible connections. However, there was no basis in fact that any other person, to my knowledge, was a member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. This particular man, Oswald, was the first person that I have come in contact with that I knew for a fact stated he was a member of the Fair Play for Cuba. Mr. LIEBELER. He is not only the first person you came in contact with who indicated he was a member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, but he is the only one that you ever saw or heard of in the city of New Orleans? Is that correct? Mr. MARTELLO. That is correct. Mr. LIEBELER. . . . Your report refers to a professor at Tulane University by the name of Dr. Leonard Reissman. Did the department, to your knowledge, conduct any investigation of Dr. Reissman in an attempt to associate him with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee or to determine whether or not he was associated with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee here in New Orleans? Mr. MARTELLO. Not to my knowledge, sir. Mr. LIEBELER. Do you have any personal knowledge of the background of Dr. Reissman, other than as set forth in your memorandum? Mr. MARTELLO. No, sir. Mr. LIEBELER. Do you know what he teaches at Tulane University? Mr. MARTELLO. No, sir; I do not. Mr. LIEBELER. Further on in your report there is a reference to another professor at Tulane by the name of La Violette, and you indicate on that you had some recollection that this professor allegedly had possession of Fair Play for Cuba [Committee] literature in 1962. Do you remember any of the details of that? Mr. MARTELLO. No, sir; I do not. Mr. LIEBELER. Was there any investigation conducted of this particular professor in an attempt to determine whether he was associated with Oswald in any way? Mr. MARTELLO. No, sir; there was not. Mr. LIEBELER. Did Oswald indicate to you in any way that he himself knew either of these two professors or any other professor at Tulane University, or had ever had anything to do with them or with other professors? Mr. MARTELLO. He did not indicate by name, but there was a meeting place on Pine Street, the 1000 block of Pine Street in New Orleans, where there were meetings held. Mr. LIEBELER. This is meetings of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee? Mr. MARTELLO. No, sir. . . . Just meetings by other groups. There was no indication of any names, but I had asked him if he held his meetings on Pine Street, and he reflected -- only in gesture that there was some, or there appeared to be some connection between the two, but it is mere speculation on my part (10 H 58-60). If, as Lt. Martello said, Fair Play for Cuba Committee literature was found on the 1000 block of Pine Street, by Dr. Reissman's home, and -- as we know -- there was no Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New Orleans, only Oswald's fraudulent one-man "chapter," this FPCC literature must have come -- directly or indirectly -- from Lee Harvey Oswald or an associate. Peter Dale Scott notes that Martello's memorandum entered in the record during his Warren Commission deposition -- which was not written up at the time of Oswald's August 10th interview with Martello, but rather prepared for the Warren Commission in the spring of 1964 from Martello's August 10 notes -- differs slightly from the report that Martello dictated to the Secret Service following the assassination (26 H 763). In this report he emphasized that FPCC leaflets had been found near Sr. Reissman's home on the 1000 block of Pine Street, and that Reissman frequently entertained a Dr. James Dombrowski, noting that both men were "said to be active in the integration movement." He observed that Reissman and Dombrowski's lawyer were affiliated with the Quaker-associated liberal group, the New Orleans Council for Peaceful Alternatives (NOCPA). Martello reportedly told the Secret Service that an FPCC pamphlet "had blown out of Dr. Reissman's car" (Scott, Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, 262; 26 H 763). Peter Dale Scott notes that Oswald "also told his aunt [Lillian Murret] that he had been to the Reissman home, and he told someone else that his FPCC organization 'was affiliated with Tulane University' (10 H 68)." Scott also observes that Carlos Bringuier, Oswald's DRE opponent in the street fracas, had already targeted the NOCPA as pro-Communist and pro-Castro. After the Kennedy assassination, the Louisiana Joint Legislative Committee on Un-American Activities quickly issued a press release linking Oswald and the FPCC to Dombrowski's organization, the pro-civil rights, pro-integration Southern Conference Educational Fund. Scott adds that his personal interviews of Dr. Reissman's widow have convinced him that Oswald and Reissman had no contact whatsoever; in fact, in the spring and summer of 1963, Dr. Reissman was on leave from Tulane University to a research center at Stanford University of California. Mrs. Reissman also said that her husband had no association with James Dombrowski; it was she herself who infuriated local racists by arranging an integrated birthday party of seven-year-olds at her daughter's school (Scott, 263). Whether Oswald knew Reissman or not, he DID apparently tell his aunt, Lillian Murret, that he did. She told the Secret Service that Oswald had "mentioned that he knew, or was acquainted with, Dr. Reissman" (Scott, 263; 26 H 766). Interestingly, she went on to link Oswald and Reissman to another professed integrationist (and Quaker), Ruth Paine: "It was her impression that Oswald came into contact with Dr. Reissman through the Russian woman [sic]. Mrs. Murret stated that one of the two [Oswald or Ruth Paine; this could not be Marina because Marina spoke no English to Mrs. Murret] told her that Dr. Reissman had a daughter who was studying in Russia (Scott, 263-64; 26 H 766). Murret told the Warren Commission, "He also said that Mrs. Paine knew a Tulane professor. . . . I remember him saying that [Reissman] had a daughter that was attending the university in Moscow, and they either went to his home or they came to Lee's house" (8 H 147; Scott, 264). Continued in part two . . . Dave Reitzes
http://www.acorn.net/jfkplace/03/JA/DR/..../.dr18.txt

[Magda Hassan]

Part 2 here: http://www.acorn.net/jfkplace/03/JA/DR/.dr10.html

[Magda Hassan]

http://ajweberman.com/noduleX19-THE%2054...0NEXUS.pdf

[Dawn Meredith]

Part 2 here: http://www.acorn.net/jfkplace/03/JA/DR/.dr10.html

Magda, I have not read these articles but Dave Rreitzes is not a trustworthy researcher. Jim DiEugenio and others (Bill Davy) have exposed him in the past. Perhaps Jim can comment more here.

Dawn

[Jim DiEugenio]

This is such a run on jumble that I can't make out what he is trying to say.

Especially in the second one that has no paragraph splits. So I went to the link at Acorn to read it more easily.

There are a couple of things Reitzes left out.

When Posner found Roberts, she was in an assisted living center, and according to Allen Campbell was suffering from the approach of senility. Very clever of the plagiarist and liar to leave that out.

Secondly, Roberts spoke to Summers without money. Because Summers told Posner this: after the two left the lawyer's office, it started to rain. Tony had rented a car and as he pulled out in front of the building, he offered her a ride. She got in and after a while she started to talk openly to him about Banister and Oswald.

But further, as the ARRB has shown, Roberts told Bob Buras the same story she told Summers. But Blakey and Cornwell seem to have wanted to keep this out of the HSCA volumes. Since they were intent on leaving whether or not Oswald was a t 544 Camp Street an open question. Even though Oswald stamped the address on the flyers he handed out.

The whole thing about Marina at 544 Camp is interesting of course. If you buy the WC/David Lifton version of Marina, then its hard to swallow. I don't buy that version. Its possible, as more than one witness said he or she saw Marina with Kerry Thornley on more than one occasion. ANd Thornley was part of the 544 Camp Street melange.

The link to Weberman's site shows that this is where Reitzes got most of his stuff. Weberman has a lot of info there, but it resembles a data dump that you have to navigate. For instance he says that Ferrie flew Marcello back from Guatemala. That story is looking more and more like BS as I saw recently pretty strong evidence in the form of flight plans that it was not Ferrie who flew him back.

But some of the stuff there is good, like the behavior of DeBrueys in New Orleans, and his non investigation of Oswald and 544 Camp Street. DeBrueys lied his head off to the CHurch COmmittee.

Bill Davy's new version of his book will essentially update and surpass all of this stuff about Banister and New Orleans. But I should say, this Retizes stuff looks not bad compared to what he does today before he became a toady of John McAdams.

[Vasilios Vazakas]

According to the CIA report Guy Banister was unsuitable...as a cover mechanism in August 1960 was dropped upon receipt of an unfavorable report from the field." [CIA OS M.D. Stevens 3.8.67 CIA 1338-1052]. However this does not prove by itself that they were not cooperating with him indirectly.
We have to examine the New Orleans nexus that surrounded L.H. Oswald. It seems that both Banister and Oswald were connected to Oschner's INCA.
1. Oswald worked for Reily Coffee. Eustis Riley had donated large amounts of money to INCA
2. Ed Butler of INCA organized the radio show at WDSU were Oswald appeared after the Canal street fight regarding Hands Off Cuba leaflets. The leaflets had originated from Banister's office.
3. Ed Butler had Banister employed to work for the American Institute for Freedom Project (AIFP).
4. Edgar and Edith Stern, owners of WDSU radio and television, were members of INCA.
5. James DiEugenio has discovered that Butler was in contact with former DDCI Charles Cabell and Edward Lansdale, both CIA.
6. Ed Haslam wrote in his book Mary and the Monkey that he show the Banister kept in the INCA offices and later Ed Butler sent all the INCA files to Patrick Frawley in California to hide them. Frawley was financing the American Security Council (ASC).
7. Senator Thomas Dodd was in the pay roll of the ASC when he was investigating mail order of weapons, at the time Oswald ordered the Manlicher Carcano.[size=12][size=12] Somehow Oswald was connected to Dodd, Eastland and the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee[/SIZE][/SIZE], a committee that was investigating the FPPC among other subversives.
8. Banister was investigating subversives, as the FBI and Oswald did, and he was using the ASC library that Pennington had found. ASC have been formed by FBI agents and financed primarily by the Military Industrial Complex.
9. CIA had an interest in FPPC and was running an Anti-FPPC operation.
It seems that there is an affinity between INCA members, ASC, CIA and Banister and i wonder if Oswald was working for a private investigating company as Peter Dale Scott first suggested. However i wonder if that company was related to ASC and the military industrial complex.
10.The ASC administer its own National Security Studies Programs, one of them was "Counterintelligence and Covert Operations" by James J. Angleton. So there is a relationship between ASC and the chief of CI.
11. Angleton was the only one who knew all the details of the Oswald file and it is possible that he used Oswald after his returnfrom Russia, indirectly, through the ASC and its connections.
I do not know if the ASC or INCA adn Banister were part of the conspirators that murdered JFK, all i am saying is that they were cooperating against subversives and Castro and they were manipulating Oswald.
Even if Banister was not directly employed by CIA he was involved in operations and people close to CIA. It is also possible that Oswald or his file was used by the newly established Domestic Operations Division which was probably running operations against the FPPC inside USA, and later used Oswald in cooperation with SAS in Mexico.
I have said in the past and maintain that Angleton was one of the facilitators of the plot.