Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive , fraudulent , extortionary , or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a " racket ") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. The term "racketeering" was coined by the Employers' Association of Chicago in June 1927 in a statement about the influence of organized crime in the Teamsters Union. Specifically, a racket was defined by this coinage as being a service that calls forth its own demand, and would not have been needed otherwise. Narrowly, it means coercive or fraudulent business practices; broadly, it can mean any criminal scheme or operation with ongoing or reoccurring profit, as defined in the 1970 U.S. RICO Act , which aimed to curtail the power of the Mafia and other organized crime.
64-675: James Carothers Garrison (born Earling Carothers Garrison ; November 20, 1921 – October 21, 1992) was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana , from 1962 to 1973 and later a state appellate court judge. A member of the Democratic Party , he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the prosecution of New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw to that effect in 1969, which ended in Shaw's acquittal. He wrote three published books, one of which became
128-557: A circuit solicitor , is the term South Carolina uses to refers to its prosecutors. One solicitor is elected for each of the state's 16 judicial circuits, consisting of two to five counties. Appointed assistants to a circuit solicitor are assistant solicitors . In St. Louis, Missouri , the title is circuit attorney , while in St. Louis County, Missouri , the title is prosecuting attorney . The assistant district attorney (assistant DA, ADA), or state prosecutor or assistant state's attorney,
192-543: A "miscarriage of justice" or "travesty of justice" include historian Alecia Long and journalist Gerald Posner . Conspiracy researcher Harold Weisberg called it a "tragedy". Political analyst and conspiracy believer Carl Oglesby was quoted as saying, "... I have done a study of Garrison: I come out of it thinking that he is one of the really first-rate class-act heroes of this whole ugly story [the killing of John F. Kennedy and subsequent investigation]." Conspiracy author David Lifton called Garrison "intellectually dishonest,
256-451: A 25-year-old insurance salesman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana . At the trial, Russo testified that he had attended a party at anti-Castro activist David Ferrie 's apartment. At the party, Russo said that Lee Harvey Oswald (whom Russo said was introduced to him as "Leon Oswald"), David Ferrie, and " Clem Bertrand " (whom Russo identified in the courtroom as Clay Shaw ) had discussed killing President Kennedy. The conversation included plans for
320-568: A District Attorney is typically called a " Public Prosecutor ." Public Prosecutors represent the state in criminal cases and are responsible for prosecuting individuals accused of committing crimes. They work under the supervision of the Director of Prosecutions or the Advocate General at the state level, depending on the specific legal framework of the state. Racket (crime) Originally and often still specifically, racketeering may refer to
384-531: A county prosecutor represents the county and state within their county, prosecutes all crimes within the county, and is legal adviser to the board of county commissioners, board of elections, and all other county officers and boards. On the other hand, county attorneys in Kentucky and Virginia prosecute only certain misdemeanors and sometimes traffic matters and serve as legal counsel for their county, with felony prosecutions and prosecutions of offenses not handled by
448-409: A criminal act in which the perpetrators offer a service that will not be put into effect, offer a service to solve a nonexistent problem, or offer a service that solves a problem that would not exist without the racket. However, racketeers may also sometimes offer an ostensibly effectual service outside of the law to solve an actual existing problem. The traditional and historically most common example of
512-461: A fictionalized version of Garrison in the movie. Garrison himself had a small on-screen role in the film, playing United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren . Garrison also appears live and comments on the Shaw Trial in the documentary The JFK Assassination: The Jim Garrison Tapes , written and directed by actor John Barbour . Garrison died in 1992 and is survived by his five children. He
576-498: A five-man Democratic primary. Despite lack of major political backing, he facilitated his victory through excellent performance in a television debate and last-minute television commercials. Once in office, Garrison cracked down on prostitution and the abuses of Bourbon Street bars and strip joints. He indicted Dowling and one of his assistants for criminal malfeasance , but the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. Garrison did not appeal. Garrison received national attention for
640-513: A man named David Ferrie may have been involved in the assassination. The result of Garrison's investigation was the arrest and trial of New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw in 1969, with Shaw being unanimously acquitted less than one hour after the case went to the jury. Garrison was able to subpoena the Zapruder film from Life magazine. Thus, members of the American public – i.e., the jurors of
704-583: A marked degree. He was considered totally incapacitated from the standpoint of military duty and moderately incapacitated in civilian adaptability." Yet, when his record was reviewed further by the U.S. Army Surgeon General , he "found him to be physically qualified for federal recognition in the national army." Upon returning again to civilian life, Garrison worked in several different trial lawyer positions before winning election as New Orleans District Attorney, starting with his first of three terms in January 1962. In
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#1733085712886768-508: A plot to kill the president was masterminded out of New Orleans in conjunction with the CIA , with cooperation from the Dallas police department and city government, Garrison allegedly tasked his former chief investigator, Pershing Gervais, to look into the possibility that General Cabell had stayed in the city's Fontainebleau Motel at the time of the assassination. The Washington Post reported that there
832-518: A prime source for Oliver Stone 's film JFK in 1991, in which Garrison was portrayed by Kevin Costner , while Garrison himself made a cameo appearance as Earl Warren . Garrison was born in Denison, Iowa , in 1921. He was the first child and only son of Earling R. Garrison and Jane Anne Robinson who divorced when he was two years old. His family moved to New Orleans quite early into his childhood, where he
896-436: A racket is the " protection racket ", in which racketeers offer to protect a business from robbery or vandalism; however, the racketeers will themselves coerce or threaten the business into accepting this service, often with the threat (implicit or otherwise) that failure to acquire the offered services will lead to the racketeers themselves contributing to the existing problem. In many cases, the potential problem may be caused by
960-652: A reckless prosecutor, and a total charlatan". At the time, Garrison came under criticism from author and researcher Sylvia Meagher, who in 1967 wrote: ... as the Garrison investigation continued to unfold, it gave cause for increasingly serious misgivings about the validity of his evidence, the credibility of his witnesses, and the scrupulousness of his methods. According to Shaw's defense team, witnesses, including Russo, claimed to have been bribed and threatened with perjury and contempt of court charges by Garrison in order to make his case against Shaw. "The Garrison Case: A Study in
1024-448: A scale that strongly suggested lunacy leavened by cynicism." Former Orleans Parish district attorney Harry Connick Sr. said it was "a travesty of justice" and that he "thought it was one of the grossest, most extreme miscarriages of justice in the annals of American judicial history." Journalist Max Holland also described the investigation of Shaw as an "egregious miscarriage of justice". Others who have called Garrison's case against Shaw
1088-516: A series of vice raids in the French Quarter , staged sometimes on a nightly basis. Newspaper headlines in 1962 praised Garrison's efforts, "Quarter Crime Emergency Declared by Police, DA. – Garrison Back, Vows Vice Drive to Continue – 14 Arrested, 12 more nabbed in Vice Raids." Garrison's critics often point out that many of the arrests made by his office did not result in convictions, implying that he
1152-627: A state appellate prosecutor who in turn will represent the state in appellate courts with the advice and consent of the district attorney. In other cases, such as in New York, the District Attorney's Office will have in-house appellate prosecutors who handle appeals. Some district attorneys maintain their own law enforcement arm whose members are sworn peace officers . Depending on the jurisdiction, they are referred to as district attorney investigators or county detectives . In England and Wales ,
1216-406: Is a law enforcement official by virtue of their job. In Canada , the equivalent position to a district attorney is a crown attorney , crown counsel or crown prosecutor depending on the province, and the equivalent to an assistant district attorney is the assistant crown attorney, assistant crown counsel or assistant crown prosecutor respectively. In India , the equivalent position to
1280-692: Is a law enforcement official who represents the state government on behalf of the district attorney in investigating and prosecuting individuals alleged to have committed a crime. In carrying out their duties to enforce state and local laws, ADA have the authority to investigate persons, issue subpoenas, file formal criminal charges, plea bargain with defendants, and grant immunity to witnesses and accused criminals. Administrative assistant district attorney (admin ADA), executive assistant district attorney (exec ADA), chief assistant district attorney (chief ADA), or first assistant district attorney (First ADA) are some of
1344-484: Is interred at Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans. Garrison's investigation and trial of Shaw has been described by critics as "a fatally flawed case built on flimsy evidence that featured a chorus of dubious and even wacky witnesses." Political commentator George Will wrote that Garrison "staged an assassination 'investigation' that involved recklessness, cruelty, abuse of power, publicity mongering and dishonesty, all on
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#17330857128861408-477: Is the legal party responsible for presenting the case against an individual suspected of breaking the state's criminal law , initiating and directing further criminal investigations, guiding and recommending the sentencing of offenders, and are the only attorneys allowed to participate in grand jury proceedings. The prosecutors decide what criminal charges to bring, and when and where a person will answer to those charges. In carrying out their duties, prosecutors have
1472-456: Is used in Connecticut , Florida (state attorney), Illinois , Maryland , North Dakota , South Dakota , and Vermont . In Maryland, the roles of Assistant and Deputy are reversed from those used in "District Attorney" jurisdictions, with Deputy State's Attorney being the primary subordinate to the elected State's Attorney and Assistant State's Attorneys (ASA) being the line-level prosecutors of
1536-627: The National Guard , even applying for active duty with the Army in 1951, but because of recurring nightmares of past missions Garrison was then relieved of duty by the Army. Remaining in the Guard when it became apparent that he suffered from shell shock due to his numerous bombing missions flown during World War II led one Army doctor to conclude that Garrison had a "severe and disabling psychoneurosis" which "interfered with his social and professional adjustment to
1600-508: The " numbers racket " or the " drug racket ", neither of which generally or necessarily involve extortion, coercion, fraud, or deception with regard to the intended clientele. Because of the clandestine nature of the black market , most proceeds made from criminal rackets often go untaxed . On October 15, 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ( 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961 – 1968 ), commonly referred to as
1664-526: The "RICO Act", became United States law. The RICO Act allows federal law enforcement to charge a person or group of people with racketeering, defined as committing multiple violations of certain varieties within a ten-year period. The purpose of the RICO Act was stated as "the elimination of the infiltration of organized crime and racketeering into legitimate organizations operating in interstate commerce ". S.Rep. No. 617, 91st Cong. , 1st Sess. 76 (1968). However,
1728-482: The "triangulation of crossfire" and alibis for the participants. Russo's version of events has been questioned by some historians and researchers, such as Patricia Lambert, once it became known that part of his testimony might have been induced by hypnosis and by the drug sodium pentothal (sometimes called "truth serum"). An early version of Russo's testimony (as told in Assistant D.A. Andrew Sciambra's memo, before Russo
1792-539: The Abuse of O=Power". 1969 by Milton E. Bremer District Attorney In the United States , a district attorney ( DA ), county attorney , county prosecutor , state's attorney, prosecuting attorney , commonwealth's attorney , or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a local government area , typically a county or a group of counties. The exact scope of
1856-725: The United States are handled in state judicial systems , but a comparable office for the United States Federal government is the United States Attorney . This term for a prosecutor originates with the traditional use of the term "district" for multi-county prosecutorial jurisdictions in several U.S. states. For example, New York appointed prosecutors to multi-county districts prior to 1813. Even after those states broke up such districts and started appointing or electing prosecutors for individual counties, they continued to use
1920-739: The assassination on the CIA and says the Warren Commission , the Executive Branch, members of the Dallas Police Department, the pathologists at Bethesda, and various others lied to the American public. The book does not mention Shaw or Garrison's investigation of Shaw. Garrison's investigation received widespread attention through Oliver Stone 's film, JFK (1991), which was largely based on Garrison's book as well as Jim Marrs ' Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy . Kevin Costner played
1984-486: The assassination. During Garrison's 1973 bribery trial, tape recordings from March 1971 revealed that Garrison considered implicating publicly the former United States Air Force General and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency , Charles Cabell , of conspiracy in the assassination of Kennedy after learning that he was the brother of Earle Cabell , the Dallas mayor in 1963. Theorizing that
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2048-511: The assassination. Thornley sought a cancellation of this subpoena on which he had to appear before the Circuit Court. Garrison charged Thornley with perjury after Thornley denied that he had been in contact with Oswald in any manner since 1959. The perjury charge was eventually dropped by Garrison's successor, Harry Connick Sr. In 1968 Mort Sahl used his connection to get Garrison a spot on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to discuss
2112-399: The authority to investigate persons, grant immunity to witnesses and accused criminals, and plea bargain with defendants. A district attorney or state attorney leads an office of other prosecutors and related staff. Staff attorneys are most commonly known as assistant district attorneys (ADAs) or deputy district attorneys (DDAs); in states where the head of office is called state attorney
2176-500: The boundaries of a county, judicial circuit, or judicial district. Their duties generally include charging crimes through informations or grand jury indictments. After levying criminal charges, the state's attorney will then prosecute those charged with a crime. This includes conducting discovery , plea bargaining , and trial . In some jurisdictions, the district attorney may act as chief counsel for city police, county police, state police and all state law enforcement agencies within
2240-407: The case – were shown the movie for the first time. Until the trial, the film rarely had been seen, and copies were made by assassination investigator Steve Jaffe, who was working with Garrison's office. In 2015, Garrison's lead investigator's daughter released his copy of the film, along with a number of his personal papers from the investigation. Garrison's key witness against Shaw was Perry Russo ,
2304-448: The charges. In the same year, Garrison was defeated for reelection as district attorney by Harry Connick Sr. On April 15, 1978, Garrison won a special election over a Republican candidate, Thomas F. Jordan, for Louisiana's 4th Circuit Court of Appeal judgeship , a position for which he was later reelected and which he held until his death. In 1987, Garrison appeared in the film The Big Easy where he essentially played himself, and
2368-714: The county attorney being the responsibility of the commonwealth's attorney for the given county. The district attorney usually divides their services into several departments that handle different areas of criminal law. Each department is staffed by several duly appointed and sworn ASAs. The departments of a large district attorney's office may include but are not limited to: felony , misdemeanor , domestic violence , traffic, juvenile, charging (or case filing), drug prosecution, forfeitures, civil affairs such as eminent domain, child advocacy, child support, victim assistance, appeals, career criminal prosecution, homicide, investigations, organized crime /gang, and administration. The name of
2432-539: The county attorney does not handle any criminal matters at all, but serves only as the legal counsel to the county. For example, in Arizona , Missouri , Montana , and Minnesota a county attorney represents the county and state within their county, prosecutes all felonies occurring within the county, and prosecutes misdemeanors occurring within unincorporated areas of the county. Minnesota county attorneys also prosecute all juvenile cases, regardless of severity. In Ohio
2496-400: The jurisdiction of a United States Attorney . Many district attorneys also bear responsibilities not related to criminal prosecution. These include defending the county against civil suits , occasionally initiating such suits on behalf of the county, preparing or reviewing contracts entered into by the county and providing legal advice and counsel to local government. In some jurisdictions,
2560-707: The next year he was featured in The Men Who Killed Kennedy series, airing in the United States beginning in 1988. After the Shaw trial, Garrison wrote three books on the Kennedy assassination, A Heritage of Stone (1970), The Star Spangled Contract (1976, fiction, but based on the JFK assassination), and his best-seller, On the Trail of the Assassins (1988). A Heritage of Stone , published by Putnam , places responsibility for
2624-549: The notes of his encounter with Russo. Throughout his life, Russo reiterated the same account of being present for a party at Ferrie's house along with Mr. Bertrand, where the subject of Kennedy's potential assassination had come up. Garrison defended his conduct regarding witness testimony, stating: Before we introduced the testimony of our witnesses, we made them undergo independent verifying tests, including polygraph examination, truth serum and hypnosis. We thought this would be hailed as an unprecedented step in jurisprudence; instead,
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2688-450: The office varies by state. Generally, the prosecutor is said to represent the people of the jurisdiction in the state's courts , typically in criminal matters, against defendants. With the exception of three states (New Jersey, Connecticut, and Alaska, as well as the District of Columbia), district attorneys are elected, unlike similar roles in other common law jurisdictions. The prosecution
2752-669: The office. In Virginia, the title is commonwealth's attorney . Kentucky splits the role between two officials—by statute, the commonwealth's attorney serves in the Circuit Court (the court of general jurisdiction), and the county attorney serves in the limited-jurisdiction District Court, although the two officials may enter into a written agreement to split their duties as they see fit. Commonwealth's attorneys are elected in their respective jurisdictions in both Virginia and Kentucky for terms of four years and six years, respectively. Kentucky's county attorneys are elected in their jurisdictions to four-year terms. Solicitor , or more fully
2816-468: The office. Often, a senior ADA may oversee or prosecute some of the larger crimes within the jurisdiction . In some offices, the Exec ADA has the responsibility of hiring lawyers and support staff, as well as supervising press-releases and overseeing the work of the office. The salary of an ADA will be lower than the elected DA. The non-monetary benefits of the job induce many to work as an ADA; these include
2880-488: The opportunity to amass trial experience, perform a public service, and network professionally. Upon leaving employment as an ADA, persons seek employment as a judge, in private law firms, or as U.S. Attorneys . Depending on state law, appeals are moved to appellate courts (also called appeals courts, courts of appeals, superior courts, or supreme courts in some states). During the appeals process district attorneys, in many cases, hands all relative prosecutorial materials to
2944-412: The press turned around and hinted that we had drugged our witnesses or given them posthypnotic suggestions to testify falsely. In January 1968, Garrison subpoenaed Kerry Wendell Thornley – an acquaintance of Oswald's from their days in the military – to appear before a grand jury, questioning him about his relationship with Oswald and his knowledge of other figures that Garrison believed were connected to
3008-656: The program featured the voices of Lee Harvey Oswald and JFK filmmaker Oliver Stone . Garrison explained that cover stories were circulated in an attempt to blame the killing on the Cubans and the Mafia, but that he blames the conspiracy to kill President Kennedy firmly on the CIA, which wanted to continue the Cold War . The very same reasonings as to why he thought that President Kennedy was killed were espoused by Garrison in filmed television appearances that he would make leading up to his death,
3072-615: The role of local prosecutor may vary by state or jurisdiction based on whether they serve a county or a multi-county district, the responsibility to represent the state or county in addition to prosecution, or local historical customs. District attorney and assistant district attorney are the most common titles for state prosecutors, and are used by jurisdictions within the United States including California , Georgia , Massachusetts , Nevada , New Mexico , New York , North Carolina , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Texas , Utah , and Wisconsin . State's attorney or state attorney
3136-520: The same party that offers to solve it, but that fact may be concealed, with the intent to engender continual patronage . The protection racket is thus often a method of extortion , at least in practice. However, the definition of the term "racket" has been expanded over time and may now be used less strictly to refer to any continuous or repeated illegal organized crime operation, including those that do not necessarily involve fraudulent or coercive practices or extortion. For example, "racket" may refer to
3200-433: The staff attorneys are usually referred to as Assistant State Attorney (ASAs ). Most prosecutions will be delegated to the assistant attorneys, with the head-of-office sometimes prosecuting the most important cases and having overall responsibility for the agency and its work. Depending upon the state's law, the head may be appointed by the chief executive of the jurisdiction or elected by local voters. Most criminal matters in
3264-481: The state parole board of accepting bribes, but could obtain no indictments. Critical of the state legislature, Garrison was unanimously censured by it for "deliberately maligning all of the members". In 1965, running for reelection against Judge Malcolm O'Hara, Garrison won with 60 percent of the vote. As New Orleans D.A., in late 1966, Garrison began an investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy , after receiving several tips from Jack Martin that
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#17330857128863328-467: The state's attorney's jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions, the district attorney oversees the operations of local prosecutors with respect to violations of county ordinances. In other jurisdictions, the district attorney prosecutes traffic matters or misdemeanors. In some states the district attorney prosecutes violations of state laws to the extent that the state permits local prosecution of these. District attorneys do not prosecute federal crimes, which are
3392-509: The statute is sufficiently broad to encompass illegal activities relating to any enterprise affecting interstate or foreign commerce . 18 U.S.C. § 1961 (10) provides that the Attorney General of the United States may designate any department or agency to conduct investigations authorized by the RICO statute and such department or agency may use the investigative provisions of
3456-466: The statute or the investigative power of such department or agency otherwise conferred by law. Absent a specific designation by the Attorney General, jurisdiction to conduct investigations for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1962 lies with the agency having jurisdiction over the violations constituting the pattern of racketeering activity listed in 18 U.S.C. § 1961 . In
3520-449: The title "district attorney" for the most senior prosecutor in a county rather than switch to "county attorney". The principal duties of the district attorney are usually mandated by law and include representing the State in all criminal trials for crimes which occurred in the district attorney's geographical jurisdiction. The geographical jurisdiction of a district attorney may be delineated by
3584-458: The titles given to the senior ADA leadership working under the DA. The chief ADA, Executive ADA, or first ADA, depending on the office, is generally considered the second-in-command, and usually reports directly to the DA. The exact roles and job assignments for each title vary with each individual office, but generally include management of the daily activities and supervision of specialized divisions within
3648-807: The vast majority of criminal prosecutions are prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service . The CPS is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions , who is appointed by the Attorney General for England and Wales . Within the CPS, 14 Chief Crown Prosecutors, answering to the DPP, head regional teams of Crown Prosecutors. With the exception of the AG and Solicitor General for England and Wales , no prosecutors are political officials in England and Wales and no prosecutor in England and Wales
3712-435: The year after Stone's release of his cinematic film JFK , largely based on Garrison's pioneering role in the lone prosecution in the case of President Kennedy 's assassination. In 1973, Garrison was tried and found not guilty by the jury for accepting bribes to protect illegal pinball machine operations. In an interview with Pershing Gervais conducted by New Orleans reporter Rosemary James, Gervais had admitted to concocting
3776-512: The years prior to winning office as New Orleans District Attorney in 1961, Garrison worked for the New Orleans law firm of Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles from 1954 to 1958, before he first became an assistant district attorney. Garrison became a flamboyant, colorful, well-known figure in New Orleans, but was initially unsuccessful in his run for public office. He lost a 1959 election for criminal court judge. In 1961, he ran for district attorney and won against incumbent Richard Dowling by 6,000 votes in
3840-424: Was convicted in January 1963. In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction and struck down the state statute as unconstitutional. At the same time, Garrison indicted Judge Bernard Cocke with criminal malfeasance and, in two trials prosecuted by Garrison himself, Cocke was acquitted. Garrison charged nine policemen with brutality, but dropped the charges two weeks later. At a press conference, he accused
3904-466: Was in the habit of making arrests without evidence. However, assistant DA William Alford has said that charges would, more often than not, be reduced or dropped if a relative of someone charged gained Garrison's ear. Alford said Garrison had "a heart of gold." After a conflict with local criminal judges over his budget, he accused them of racketeering and conspiring against him. The eight judges charged him with misdemeanor criminal defamation, and Garrison
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#17330857128863968-506: Was no evidence that Gervais ever followed through with the request and that there was no further mention of General Cabell in Garrison's investigation. The article also noted that, by the date in question, Gervais was no longer working for the district attorney in New Orleans. A U.S. talk-radio host, David Mendelsohn, conducted a comprehensive interview with Garrison that was broadcast in 1988 by KPFA in Berkeley, California. Alongside Garrison,
4032-634: Was raised by his divorced mother. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II , having joined the year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . After the war he obtained a law degree from Tulane University Law School in 1949. He then worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for two years where he was stationed with the Seattle office. Leading up to the Korean War era, Garrison joined
4096-428: Was subjected to sodium pentothal and hypnosis) fails to mention an "assassination party" and says that Russo met Shaw on two occasions, neither of which occurred at the party. However, in his book On the Trail of the Assassins , Garrison says that Russo had already discussed the party at Ferrie's apartment before any "truth serum" was administered. Scambria said that the party information was simply accidentally left off
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