Author of "John F. Kennedy Assassination: A Mafia Conspiracy" Discusses His Theory

Jim Gatewood, author of "John F. Kennedy Assassination a Mafia Conspiracy," as well as several other books, was the guest speaker for the Kilgore Rotary Club on Wednesday.

Gatewood spoke about the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas, and discussed Mafia history and other facts which cement his theory that the Mafia was behind the assassination, in conjunction with Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

The Dallas historian gave historical facts about Mafia activity in Dallas, including details on the life of Benny Binion, now famous for opening the Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas and a noted Dallas businessman around the time of the Depression.

Gatewood wove a tale which started back around the time of the Depression, and the path involved noted mobsters from New York, Dallas, Chicago and several other eastern U.S. cities, along with Texas historical figures such as Lone Wolf Gonzales and Frank Hamer, the Texas Ranger who helped gun down Bonnie and Clyde in Louisiana.

He tied all of that history together with a story about Oswald and his involvement in the Mafia and his association with Cuban Freedom Fighters who were mad because JFK had supposedly issued an order to have Fidel Castro killed.

According to Gatewood, Oswald waited on the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository with a look-alike, a Cuban Freedom Fighter who would take the shot if Oswald would not. There were also Cuban Freedom Fighters along the motorcade route to signal the pair when it was time to be ready to fire.

Gatewood said law enforcement in Dallas County knew about an assassination attempt and had their own shooter on the top of the County Records Building to look for snipers. That shooter fired on Oswald's gun after two shots had been fired at Kennedy, causing Oswald's third shot to hit the curb and ricochet into the guard rail.

Oswald hit the president and Texas Gov. John Connally with his first two shots and, according to Gatewood, was firing at Jackie Kennedy with the third shot to make an impact on the shooting that would earn him kudos with the mob.

Oswald missed his ride in a car to the Highland Park Airport, but his look-alike was able to get on the plane.

Jack Ruby, a noted mob figure in Dallas, told Oswald if he missed his plane he should meet him at his apartment, which was near the rooming house where Oswald lived. But, before he could get there, he met Dallas police officer J.D. Tippett and shot him. Then, Oswald was captured at the Texas Theater and Ruby was sent by mobsters to gun him down on Sunday morning, which was seen by millions on national television.

Ruby remained quiet, pleaded guilty to murder of Oswald and died of cancer in prison.

Gatewood offered to discuss his theory with anyone who wanted, and he said he has all of the documentation anyone would want to back up his theory.

Thanks to Greg Collins in 2009.

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New Family Secrets Mob Bus Tour Hosted by @FrankCalabres15 ‏Inflames Victims Families

A century-old code of silence practiced by the Chicago Outfit is being broken several days a week on a bus tour by a former gangster who is taking his personal mob knowledge to the streets.

The "Family Secrets Tour," hosted by Frank Calabrese Jr., is a two-hour guided expedition to mob murder sites around Chicago. "Frank Jr. takes you to the actual crime scenes he experienced firsthand while working as a member of his father's Chinatown crew," states a description of the tour.

Calabrese's new business, at $40.00 per person, began in early October and will "teach you what it was like to think, look, and act like a mobster and how to blend in with the mean streets of Chicago."

"Family Secrets" was the name of an FBI investigation into mob murders and rackets that began in 1998 when Calabrese Jr. wrote a letter to authorities offering to help prosecute his father. Frank "the Breeze" Calabrese was an Outfit boss and killer who controlled his mob crew-and his own family-with an iron fist.

14 mob bosses and associates ended up charged in the landmark case and Calabrese Jr. was a main witness. When the investigation and court cases were finished in 2007, federal investigators had solved 18 gangland murders dating back to 1970.

Now, ten years later, the reformed hoodlum is leading a new bus tour that takes patrons to locations where wayward mobsters were rubbed out. Calabrese Jr. gives his account of growing up in the mob and describes the hits, runs and errors of his family's murderous rackets.

"Don't do this to us. We've suffered enough" said Ellen Ortiz, whose husband Richard was murdered by Frank Calabrese Sr. in 1983. The widow Ortiz, 75, says junior's bus tour is "disgraceful."

Richard Ortiz was a Cicero bar owner whom Calabrese Sr. believed to be dealing drugs and floating juice loans without the blessing of the mob. The Outfit boss blasted Ortiz several times with a shotgun, obliterating his face. Now the thought of Calabrese Sr.'s son leading a tour to mark that murder and others grates on Ellen Ortiz. "It's not right, it's not right" she told the I-Team.

Her son, 12 years old at the time his dad was killed, now has a more direct observation of Calabrese's Family Secrets Tour. "He was the rat so I think the rat should just crawl back in his hole" said Tony Ortiz, now 46.

"The tour doesn't focus on murders -- it focuses on the evolution of the Chicago mob" Calabrese Jr. said in an interview with the ABC7 I-Team. He maintains the tours are therapeutic for him. "I haven't really thought deeply why the exact reason is I'm doing this. For a few reasons. I mean I want to make money too just like anybody else. I want to do good."

The son-of-a-mob-boss, who wrote a 2011 book about his experiences as well, said he is not trying to glorify Outfit life. "They have that right to say 'was he making money, you know?' I'm trying to take something that was bad and make it good for more than one reason" Calabrese Jr. said.

Thanks to Chuck Goudie and Christine Tressel.

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Reports Claim Mexican Drug Cartels Sent an Illegal Immigrant to Start #CaliforniaFires

Acting ICE Director Tom Homan has announced that a suspected northern California arsonist, Jesus Fabian Gonzalez, is a Mexican national who is in the United States illegally. This supports legal marijuana industry leaders’ fears that the Mexican drug cartels are behind the area’s recent deadly wildfires.

Earlier, Breitbart reported that Gonzalez is an illegal alien who has twice been deported back to Mexico. Several days ago, the news broke that ICE had formally issued a detainer for Gonzalez.

Authorities initially arrested Gonzalez after they observed him walking out of a park that had just been set ablaze. Gonzalez claimed he had started the fire because he was cold. It was 78 degrees outside at the time.

On October 14th, GotNews exclusively reported that both senior DHS officials and legal marijuana industry leaders suspected cartel involvement after observing the disproportionate impact the wildfires were having on the state’s legal marijuana crops.

Snopes subsequently set out to debunk GotNews’ reporting, labeling it “unproven.” Its researchers wrote “According to statistics published by the California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, arson (the cause claimed by Got News) was responsible for just 0.37 percent of the 291,282 acres of land burned by wildfires in the state in 2015 and 7.8 percent of fires overall.” Snopes neglected to mention that the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office arrested a suspected arsonist on October 15th.

Similarly, High Times rebuked GotNews’ original story as “actual fake news,” and attacked GotNews’ sources.

Full Details with links at GotNews.

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10 Years Later, Frank Vincent's @ChicagoOvercoat, is Still Finding New Audiences, Watch it Free!

On September 29, 2007, a group of young filmmakers just out of Columbia College began principal photography on their first feature film. They penned an ambitious script written from the perspective
of men in their sixties looking back at their lives with regret. In order to get the green light, the team needed to attach a star, so they sent the script to acclaimed actor Frank Vincent. Frank loved the character and signed on to the project despite the age of the crew, and the rest was history.

Chicago Overcoat, stars Frank as Lou Marazano, an aging mob hit man who tries to do right by his family and get back a piece of the glory days. Kathrine Narducci (The Sopranos) co-stars as Frank’s on-again, offagain girlfriend, along with veteran actors Danny Goldring (Boss) as a tenacious homicide detective and Mike Starr (Dumb and Dumber) as a no-nonsense street boss. The cast also features Emmy Award winner Armand Assante (American Gangster) and Golden Globe winner Stacy Keach (American History X).

After premiering at the Chicago International Film Festival in 2009, Chicago Overcoat got picked up by Showtime in 2010. The movie was then released on Redbox, Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster Express, iTunes, and Hulu, to name a few. Most recently, Chicago Overcoat became available to stream for free to all Amazon Prime members, where it is now finding yet another audience.

Chicago Overcoat Free on Amazon Prime.

The tenth anniversary of principal photography is a bittersweet occasion for the cast and crew, as it follows the news of Frank’s passing on September 13 due to complications from heart surgery. The team was gearing up to commemorate the occasion when they learned about Frank. “The world lost a legend, and I lost a personal hero,” said writer/producer John W. Bosher. “Frank is truly missed.”

Frank’s distinguished career has included memorable performances in such iconic films as Raging Bull (1980), Wise Guys (1986), Do the Right Thing (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), Casino (1995), and Cop Land (1997), in addition to his co-starring role as Phil Leotardo on HBO’s The Sopranos (2004-2007), for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding
Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series” in 2008.

Frank’s rare starring role in Chicago Overcoat gave him an opportunity to truly shine, and his performance earned the praise of many critics, including Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times, Reece Pendleton of Chicago Reader, and Rob Christopher of The Chicagoist. In Variety’s review, critic Alissa Simon noted that Chicago Overcoat “boasts the most charismatic mafia murderer since Tony Soprano...” Frank also received a “Best Actor” nomination at Italy’s Milano International Film Festival Awards in 2010.

But to the Chicago Overcoat team, Frank was much more than a movie star. “We became quite close with Frank and his wife over the years,” said associate producer/casting director Chris Charles. “And we had plans to work together on other projects.” Looking back at Chicago Overcoat, the group also recognizes that Frank was one of the major reasons for the film’s success, which ultimately helped launch their careers. “Frank really took a chance with us,” Chris added. “And we’ll never forget it.”

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3 #MS13 Members Plead Guilty in Savage Death of Teen Girl in Gangland Revenge Killing

Three MS-13 affiliates pleaded guilty to their roles in the savage death of a teenage Virginia girl in what prosecutors say was a gangland-style revenge killing.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, Cindy Blanco Hernandez, 19, Aldair J. Miranda Carcamo, 18, and Emerson Fugon Lopez, 17, pleaded guilty to a host of charges that included abduction and in two instances, gang participation. The three will be key witnesses in the trials of three other gang members charged with directly killing 15-year-old Damaris A. Reyes Rivas.

The January killing of Reyes Rivas, which ultimately resulted in the arrest of 18 young people, galvanized the country and highlighted the brutal nature of one of the nation’s most violent and powerful street gangs.

According to the prosecution, Reyes Rivas was taken to a Virginia park, where she was stabbed with a knife and jabbed with a stick by a large group of MS-13 members. Her body eventually was discovered after it was dumped under a highway overpass on the outskirts of Washington, DC.

FBI agent Fernando Uribe testified in July that Jose Cerrato, a 17-year-old alleged gang member, filmed and narrated the killing on a cellphone with the intention of sending the footage to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador. It’s unclear if the video was ever sent to El Salvador, but Uribe testified that Cerrato was promoted in the gang for his role in the murder, the Washington Post reported.

Reyes Rivas allegedly was killed as revenge for the death of 21-year-old Christian Sosa Rivas. Sosa Rivas was killed around New Year’s Eve after he purportedly was lured to a local park by Reyes Rivas. Some of the eight people charged in connection with his death are believed to have thought Sosa Rivas was a member of a rival gang who was claiming to be an MS-13 member, and the defendants’ purpose was “gaining entrance to and maintaining and increasing position in MS-13 according to the Justice Department.”

Reyes Rivas’ killing was uncovered when investigators found the videos of her killing while looking into Sosa Rivas’ death.

According to testimony by Uribe, 17-year-old Venus Romero Iraheta, an alleged MS-13 cohort and girlfriend of Sosa Rivas, blamed Reyes Rivas for luring Sosa Rivas to his death before stabbing her in the neck with a knife 13 times.

Wilmer A. Sanchez Serrano, 21, another MS-13 affiliate, is accused of stabbing Reyes Rivas in the neck with a sharpened stick.

MS-13, which has become a major focus of President Trump’s Justice Department, was founded more than two decades ago in Southern California by immigrants fleeing El Salvador’s civil war. Its founders took lessons learned from the brutal conflict to the streets of Los Angeles, and built a reputation as one of the most ruthless and sophisticated street gangs in the country.

With as many as 10,000 members in 46 states, the gang has expanded beyond its initial and local roots and members have been convicted of crimes ranging from kidnapping and murder to drug smuggling and human trafficking, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent Jason Shatarsky told the Associated Press.

The gang now has a large presence in Southern California, Washington, DC, and many rural areas on the East Coast with substantial Salvadoran populations like the Carolinas. And in any community where the gang operates, its members often prey on their own people, targeting residents and business owners for extortion, among other crimes.

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