joan mellen

Episode 175 is the first in a mini series covering Dean A. Andrews, Jr. the flamboyant jive talking New Orleans attorney that is so aptly portrayed by John Candy in the movie JFK.   Andrews, sick in a hospital bed, received a phone call  the  day after President Kennedy was assassinated.  The mysterious caller who identified himself as Clay Bertrand asked Andrews if he would go to Dallas and represent Lee Harvey Oswald in the murder case related to the assassination.  Oswald was murdered the next day making his representation moot. Bertrand never surfaced again. Coincidentally, Andrews had interacted with Oswald in the summer of 1963 after Oswald had come to him for legal help associated with his marine corp discharge status, his own citizenship status and that of his wife Marina. Andrews would relay this strange call to the  FBI and the Secret Service on the Monday following the assassination and the inquiry was swift but Bertrand could not be identified or located. The matter was investigated but  was dropped by the authorities until Jim Garrison and his team ran across the reference to Dean Andrews in the Warren Report as Garrison's investigation of the Kennedy assassination was resurrected during late 1966.  While Dean Andrews was a friend of Garrison's and an assistant D.A. as well in nearby Jefferson parish, Garrison soon became convinced that Clay Bertrand was really Clay Shaw, a prominent local new Orleans businessman.  Despite extensive prodding, Dean Andrews refused to identify Clay Shaw as the Clay Bertrand who called Andrews the day after the assassination.  Andrews was called to testify in 1967 before the Orleans Grand Jury and his refusal to identify Clay Shaw along with his material inconsistency of testimony under oath...when compared to his Warren Commission testimony taken under oath, ultimately rewarded him with 11 counts of perjury. Some people say that he was the lynch pin of the case against Clay Shaw but ironically he ended up as a called witness for the defense. Was he telling the truth when Garrison claims that stated he would be a dead man if he made the connection under oath...or did he make the name up from the very beginning in a quest to chase fame and fortune. Come listen to another gripping set of episodes in this new mini-series covering one of the most fascinating and important characters in the story of the JFK assassination, Jim Garrison's  investigation and the Clay Shaw Trial.


 Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 173  is the story of the 2nd polygraph test taken by Perry Russo. Jim Garrison and his team, concerned that the results of the first polygraph test administered to Perry Russo would be made public on national television as part of Walter Sheridan's NBC White Paper documentary, scrambled to have a second polygraph administered that would reinforce the veracity and confirm the truth of Perry Russo's statements to be made at trial.  More specifically, that Russo was present at the assassination plot party which took place at David Ferrie's apartment  which was an event that Clay Shaw was present for and participated in...and that a man named Leon Oswald was present and that is one and the same as Lee Harvey Oswald. Oh, and that Clem Bertrand is one and the same as Clay Shaw.  Unfortunately, the test was cut short and it led to a private conversation between Russo and Ed O'Donnell the polygraph operator and a sergeant on the New Orleans police force.  O'Donnell would tell Garrison and members of his staff what Russo had privately relayed to O'Donnell after the polygraph machine was turned off....that Russo could not definitively say that  Clay Shaw had been at the party that night and participated in the assassination  meeting.  Later,  O'Donnell would make the decision to reveal this information publicly going against Garrison as Garrison ignored what O'Donnell had revealed to him about the conversation with Russo.  Several weeks into the Clay Shaw trial, O'Donnell would make the decision to  testify on behalf of the defense, an unusual matriculation of events in the case.  Some critics say that O'Donnell was a foe of Garrison's and that impacted what happened here. Others say it was just one more example of Garrison's disregard for the truth in his quest to bring the case to trial. 

Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Episode 172 is a recap by me  of our three part series which featured an interview of the author Joan Mellen on the Taking Aim Radio Program.  Our three part series bonus episodes (wanders, really)   supplements  our ongoing   story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Joan Mellen is the author of a well done  investigative book entitled  A Farewell to Justice. In  a rare appearance to promote her book, Ms. Mellon  participated in a radio interview that was presented by radio station WBAI in Brooklyn on the show Taking Aim. The conversation aired in October 2005, just prior to her book coming out. ..and it is quite revealing. In the three part series, Ms. Mellen engages in an intimate conversation about some of the most important investigative work done around the assassination itself and the Garrison investigation.  Today's episode discussed and recaps the most important aspects of what we heard from Joan and her interviewers. 

Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction. No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.

Tags: Joan MellonA Farewell to JusticeRalph ShoenmanMark Lane