weeficto- k just come off of working for Oliver Stone on JFK: The Book of the Film, which had turned out fairly well. Jane Rusconi, Stone's chief research Who is Gus Russo? assistant at the time, seemed CO like him. Russo had also secured another plum assign- ment right after this: he was serving as one of By Jim DiEuenio the lead reporters on the PBS Frontline special "Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?" In fact, early In late 1991, when Oliver Stone released tary aide Howard Burris and CIA officer David in 1993. Dennis Effie and myself had met with JFK, Mark Lane decided to write his third book Mee Phillips, about whom some significant Russo in the penthouse bar of a Santa Monica about the Kennedy assassination. Anyone who questions had been raised. And since he was hotel where he was staying as he investigated has read Plausible Denial, knows the signifi- coupled with Newman, I assumed that Russo a reported sighting of Oswald in the Los An- cance of Manta Lorenz to that book. When was investigating the possibility of some form geles area. the book became a bestseller, the media was of foreknowledge of the assassination in some Later in 1993, three things happened that permanently altered my view of and relation- eager to attack it. So in Newsweek. a man was high military circles. My other encounter with quoted deriding Lorenz in quite strong terms Russo in this time period was even more di- ship with Gus Russo. In order, they were his as telling wild and bizarre stories and being rect. Toward the end of 1992, I had reason to comments at the 1993 Midwest Symposium; generally unreliable. The source was, at that visit Washington to see a research associate the showing of his PBS special; and his helm- time, a little known Kennedy researcher. He and examine a new CIA database of documents ing of a panel at the 1993 ASK conference. In was so obscure that Lane replied to the re- that was probably the best index of assassina- light of those three events, there seemed to porter. "So who is Gus Russo? Has he ever tion-related materials available at the time. We be things 1 should have paid more attention written a book? Has he ever written an ar- decided to call up Russo and we arranged to to before that time. For instance, Russo ar- ticle?" At that time, to my knowledge, he had spend a Saturday night at his home. gued against any change in the motorcade done neither. But now Russo has written a When we got there. Russo was his usual route on some weird grounds. First, he said book. It is so dreadful in every aspect that amiable self and his surroundings revealed that the HSCA had investigated that and found Lane's question carries more weight now than that he was indeed immersed in the Kennedy no basis for it. With what we know about then. In retrospect, it seems quite prescient. assassination. There were photos of a man Robert Blakey and the HSCA today, this is sort I can speak about this rather bracing phe- who was a dead ringer for Oswald in combat of like asking someone to trust the Warren nomenon from firsthand experience. To my fatigues in Florida. where Oswald was never Commission. Second, he commented that everlasting embarrassment. Gus Russo is supposed to have been. Russo had obtained even if the motorcade route had gone down listed in the acknowledgments to my book, letters showing that George de Mohrenschildt Main Street, a professional sniper could have Destiny Betrayed. In my defense, I can only ar- had been in contact with George Bush at a still hit Kennedy. (At the time, I thought that gue that my association with Russo at that much earlier date than anyone had ever sus- Russo was at least arguing for a conspiracy, al- time was from a distance. We had communi- pected. Russo had a library of books on the beit a low-level one, although 1 am not so sure cated over the phone a few times because I Kennedy assassination that was abundant and of that today.) Russo also seemed impressed had heard he was interested in the New Or- expansive. He had secured a letter written by with Jack Ruby's deathbed confession in which leans scene and had done some work on Jim Garrison to Jonathan Blackmer of the he seemed to dispel any notion of a conspiracy. Permindex, the murky rightwing front group House Select Committee on Assassinations I frowned on this because it had been made to that Clay Shaw had worked for in Italy in the that examined the significance of two seem- longtime FBI asset and diehard Warren Com- late fifties and early sixties. Later, after my ingly obscure suspects in his investigation, mission advocate Larry Schiller. Also, Ruby's book-came out in the summer of 1992, he Fred Lee Crisman and Thomas Beckham. comments had been erratic while in jail: some called me and asked me for some supporting Russo had a letter from Beckham to a major of them clearly implied a larger conspiracy that documents that I had used in writing it. My magazine that was extraordinarily interesting. seemed to go high up into the government. first impressions of Russo were that he was It discussed the young man's relationship with Related to this, the fact that a notorious CIA amiable, interested, and that, since he lived Jack Martin, the CIA, the Bay of Pigs, a man doctor had treated Ruby with drugs could ex- in Baltimore, he was quite familiar with what who fit the description of Guy Banister, and a plain the erratic behavior. Finally, there was was available for viewing at the National Ar- personal acquaintance of his, "this double another point that I should have considered chives and at the Assassination Archives and agent, Lee Harvey Oswald." (Significantly, more seriously. Before I talked to Russo at his Research Center in Washington D. C. none of the above material appears in Russo's home, he had related to me a rather intriguing book.) fact. 1 had asked him if he had ever heard of the First Encounter so-called "Fenton Report". This is the culmi- I encountered Russo in person a couple of Russo and the Anniversary nation of work—not really a report— done by times at the end of 1992 and the beginning of It was 1993 that proved an important year the HSCA in both Miami and New Orleans. It 1993. I attended the '92 ASK Conference in for Russo. It was the 30th anniversary of the is called the Fenton Report because HSCA Chief Dallas where I exchanged some materials with murder and there were plenty of books, ar- Investigator Cliff Fenton supervised the work. him and at which he did an ad hoc talk with ticles, and even television shows being pre- When I popped that question. Russo's response John Newman. I did not actually attend that pared in anticipation of that event. Russo surprised me. He said, "I've heard it." He went dual presentation but 1 heard that Russo's part somehow had heard of a new author on the on to explain that he had gotten access to the centered on some aspects of military intelli- scene, a man named Gerald Posner. To some then classified taped interviews of the House gence dealing with the assassination. Specifi- people he was actually praising the man and Select Committee at the National Archives. This cally it concerned Air Force Colonel Delk touting some of the new "revelations" to be had been accomplished through some error by Simpson, an acquaintance of both LBJ mili- unsheathed in his upcoming book. Russo had the staff there. The error had persisted for some time since Russo had heard many of the tapes. FICSE January-February, 1999 Russo in Chicago Spiegelman, Lenny and myself sat around in posedly implicating Carlos Marcello in the At Chicago in 1993, Russo stunned Lenny's small living room to view this much assassination. The "strong evidence" has Rusconi, myself and presumably some others anticipated special. We were stunned. First by turned out to be another dry well for the Mob- who had known him previously. As he rose CO the choice of talking heads. True, John New- did-it advocates.) On his panel, Russo gave the podium he ridiculed those who had the man and Tony Summers were on, but they Waldron a solid hour, unheard of at the time. idea that Lee Harvey Oswald had some asso- were overwhelmed, engulfed, obliterated by to present his "evidence" for the so-called ciation with American intelligence. He asked, the clear imbalance from the other side. PBS, "Project Freedom" theorem i.e. the idea that "How many of you think Oswald was some Russo, his fellow lead reporter Scott Malone the Kennedys had already set an invasion of kind of James Bond?" 1 thought this was an and producer Mike Sullivan made no attempt Cuba for late 1963, the Mob found out about oddly posed question. Nobody had ever re- to hide their bias in the show. People like Ger- it and miraculously managed to turn the whole ported Oswald owning an Aston-Martin. or ald Posner, Edward Epstein, Blakey, and even project on its head so that RFK would now leading an army of underwater scuba divers well known intelligence assets like Carlos have to forever remain silent about what he in a spear-gun fight, or employing all kinds of Bringuier, Priscilla McMillan, and Ed Butler really knew about his brother's murder.