"Exploring the true motive of Jack Ruby's actions before pulling the trigger on Oswald"
Impeach Earl Warren sign located on 2317 East 11th Street in Dallas (Earl Thornton Electric Company, Warren Commission Document #1146, submitted by Earl Ruby [Endnote]
There's a lot of misconceptions about Jack Ruby. It's easy to be confused with all the Assassination literature, articles, etc. painting Ruby as a Underworld or Mafia Hit man, ordered to kill Lee Harvey Oswald to silence him. Certainly Ruby did know some shady underworld characters and often ingratiated himself to Dallas Police officers with drinks and free membership cards to his Carousel Club. There can be no question about that fact.
However there is a relatively unknown side of Ruby's actions and movements that weekend that illustrate a different picture. What is abundantly clear in his later incarceration at the Dallas County Jail, Ruby began fantasying about Jews being killed and slaughtered, even right in the same building. This article will hopefully provide the reader a better understanding what was really in Ruby's mind that fateful weekend.
The following is an excerpt from my chapter ("Welcome Mr. Kennedy to Dallas, The Fuel of Discontent and its impact in the JFK Assassination") in Gayle Nix Jackson's "Pieces of the Puzzle" book, available on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Puzzle-Gayle-Nix-Jackson/dp/B077RXGPJV
Weissman Ad in Dallas Morning News, Weissman Exhibit #1
"Friday, November 22nd Jack Ruby woke up approximately 9:00 AM at his Oak Cliff apartment on 223 South Ewing Street. Getting dressed and ready for his day, Ruby had to do his routine Friday visit to the newspaper to place his nightclub ads. Weekends were his most profitable times for the Vegas Club (live music/dance) and the Carousel (burlesque and vaudeville style entertainment). His first order of business was to make his routine trip downtown to the Dallas Morning News advertising department to make the cut-off time and pay for his ads. Ruby was on cash basis with the Dallas Morning News and could not get his ads published until he paid. In the morning at his apartment, Ruby thumbs the pages of the Dallas Morning News and eventually lands on page 14. There in a bold full page ad, that couldn’t be missed, was the “Welcome Mr. Kennedy to Dallas”. As Ruby read through each line, it was soon apparent that is was anything but a hearty welcome to the 35th President. Outraged, he came to the bottom of the page and saw “The American Fact - Finding Committee, Bernard Weissman, Chairman”. Ruby instantly recognizes this name as being Jewish. Sickened by the fact a fellow Jew could be that disrespectful to a visiting President, the ad would haunt him for the next 3 days. In a fit of anger, Ruby then called his sister, Eva Grant about the Weissman ad. Grant, who didn’t subscribe to the Dallas Morning News, obtained a copy from her landlord. Later Ruby, who had cut out the Weissman ad from his own paper, drove over to Eva Grant’s apartment. Calling Weissman a “Son of a Bitch”, Ruby flew into a rage stating “If that guy is a Jew, they ought to whack the hell out of him”. Ruby then cut out her copy of the Weissman ad. Still fuming, Ruby called up the Dallas Times Herald to see if they published the same ad.[1] They advised him that they didn’t, already fully aware of their competition’s major gaffe.
Photo Credit: Bill Winfrey, Dallas Morning News, March 5, 1964
Approximately 11:00 AM, Ruby shows up at the Dallas Morning News building. Some reports have him eating at the cafeteria in the building. Eventually he made his way up to see if he could locate the Morning News Entertainment writer, Tony Zoppi, about a write-up on his Carousel Club that he left Zoppi. A staff worker informed him that Zoppi had left on a 2-day trip to New Orleans. Walking over to the Advertising Department, Ruby began his normal business transactions. Morning News advertisement employees place Ruby in the building up to approximately 1:30 PM. Ms. Georgia Mayor who was returning on her lunch hour, got word that the President had been shot. Returning to work, she noticed Ruby sitting in a chair in front of her desk. From her desk, there was a view of Dealey Plaza and the Texas Book Depository; however it was an estimated 600-800 yards away. She didn’t recall Ruby paying any particular attention to the scene outside the window. According to Mayor, he was acting normal and assumed that Ruby had not heard the news. By 1:00 she noticed Ruby again at John Newman’s desk (advertising salesman), visibly shaken. John Newman had just arrived back to his desk at 12:40 PM after watching the motorcade around the Sanger Harris building on Main Street. When Newman arrived he noticed Ruby sitting at his desk. Shortly thereafter, another employee, Jerry Coley, came over and told Newman the news that the President had been shot. Soon the whole floor was buzzing over the news. Ruby picked up the phone on Newman’s desk and called his sister Eva. While everyone was talking he put the receiver to the ear of Newman and heard Eva carrying on about the shocking news of the assassination. As calls came in from advertising customers and others, the department became a chaotic scene. Drifting away from Newman, Ruby was seen watching a small television nearby on the coverage.[2] Once the news of the President’s death was confirmed, Ruby called Eva again to tell her around 1:30 PM.
Ruby then begins a whirlwind of activity throughout the day and into the weekend. Some of this boundless energy came from his new dependency on diet pills. Ruby had bragged to several people that he obtained a prescription from his doctor to help in weight loss as part of his health regime. One day while shopping at the Cliff Sanitary Grocery store in Oak Cliff, Ruby struck up a conversation with the owner, Sam Milkie. Discussing a diet that he was on, Ruby told Milkie that he used to feel sluggish and tired. However since taking his diet pills, he felt energized and full of vigor. Reaching into his pocket, he handed Milkie three pills to try. Milkie did try one pill, but felt extremely nervous and upset, refusing to take the other two pills. When Ruby came into the store next time, Milkie asked him the name of the pills in which he replied “Preludin”.[3] Fueled by Preludin, Ruby soon went over to his Carousel Club and instructed his bartender, Andrew Armstrong, to call all his dancers and entertainers and tell them that he was closing for the weekend out of respect for the President. Throughout the day, Ruby made several calls to Eva Grant, and other friends and family. From there he returned back to Eva’s apartment discussing the day’s events. Afterwards, Ruby left her apartment and attended a special service at Temple Shearith Israel given by Rabbi Hillel Silverman. After the service ended at 9:50 PM, Ruby stopped by to thank Rabbi Silverman for visiting Eva Grant after a surgery.[4] Eventually Ruby would make several stops at Phil’s Deli, KLIF radio station and end up in City Hall at Police Headquarters for District Attorney Henry Wade’s midnight press conference on Oswald’s criminal charges. Ruby with pen and notebook was seen posing as a “Jewish Press” reporter.
After the midnight conference, Ruby lined up an interview for his KLIF radio friend, Russ “Weird Beard” Knight with D.A. Henry Wade. Leaving there, Ruby went over to the KLIF radio station and hung around till 3:00 AM talking to KLIF employee Pat Gadosh. Ruby aired his views again to Gadosh about the Weissman ad. Gadosh tried to reassure Ruby that the Dallas Morning News was suffering enough for the distasteful ad. Driving back to his apartment, Ruby kept dwelling on the possible sinister connections that ad had with the assassination. Arriving home, he woke up his roommate, George Senator. Stumbling out of bed he took Senator with him to the Carousel Club to wake up one of his employees sleeping in the backroom, Larry Crafard. Ruby told Crafard to grab his camera, and then they headed out to North Central Expressway and Ross Avenue. At this location Ruby took several pictures of 2’ by 4’ “Impeach Earl Warren” sign located on top of a Potter Steel Company sign.[i] The “Impeach Earl Warren” sign was a John Birch Society advertisement, listing their “Box 1757, Beltham, Massachusetts” headquarters. Ruby is now suspicious that the John Birchers were linked to the Weissman ad. With the newspaper clipping of the Weissman ad, Ruby, Crafard and Senator drive over to the General Post Office downtown to locate Weissman’s P.O. Box 1792 around 5:00 AM. They go inside and locate the P.O. Box which was already stuffed full of mail. Ruby flags down an on duty postal employee and asks who rented that box. The postal employee replied that he couldn’t divulge that information. Stymied, they left and went to the Southland Hotel coffee shop where Ruby talked spent some time talking to the owner, a Mr. Webb. Ruby told Mr. Webb he was so upset with the Weissman ad and the “Impeach Earl Warren” sign, he couldn’t eat anything. Drinking some orange juice, they all left, dropping off Crafard at the Carousel Club.[5]
Around 8:30 AM, Crafard called Ruby at home and asks him what kind of Dog Food he wanted for his dogs. Ruby who had fallen asleep, mistakenly told Crafard that he was going to be up. Grumpy from lack of sleep, Ruby laid into Crafard on the phone balling him out for dumb questions. That was all Crafard needed, he was through with Jack Ruby. Without saying a word, Crafard packed up his gear, leaving the keys to the Club next door, and hitchhiked out of town. Falling back to sleep, Ruby finally gets up around 11:00 AM on Saturday. Operating on little sleep, Ruby drove downtown into Dealey Plaza. Noticing the massive amount of wreaths and memorials placed by people on Elm Street, he got emotional. Stopping to talk to Police Motorcycle cop James Chaney who was on duty, Ruby cuts his conversation when he felt like crying. Walking away he noticed KRLD TV Wes Wise (later to be mayor of Dallas). Ruby talks to Wise briefly and tells him he sees Police Chief Curry and Homicide Captain Will Fritz walking the crime scene if he wanted to interview them. Leaving there, Ruby heads back to his apartment.[6]
Later that afternoon, restless Ruby drives over to Sol’s Turf Bar. Ruby had been a frequent visitor who knew the owner, Elmer Ray Solomon. Sol’s Turf Bar, like the Campisi’s Egyptian Lounge often sold local boxing match tickets, to which Ruby often attended. When Ruby walked in, Frank Bellocchio, a local Dallas jeweler, was displaying the Weissman ad from the Dallas Morning News to other bar patrons. A lively discussion broke out about the ad. Ruby walked over to the group and broke into their conversation saying “I’ve checked that out”. Surprised, the group listened to Ruby telling about the dummy Weissman post office box and how terrible the ad was in light of the assassination. Impressed, the patrons who didn’t know Ruby thought he was a newspaper reporter. Reaching into his pocket, Ruby pulled two Polaroid photos of the “Impeach Earl Warren” sign he had taken earlier that morning. Bellocchio then asked Ruby for one of the photos. Ruby declined saying that he had an “exclusive” with these photos. Stunned, others told him that the “Impeach Earl Warren” signs were all over town, even on bumper stickers. By their impressions, they believed Ruby wasn’t aware of this.[7]
Shortly thereafter at Sol’s Turf Bar, Ruby called his lawyer, Stanley Kaufman, who handled Ruby’s business and tax affairs. Ruby told Kaufman that he wanted help in tracking down Bernard Weissman. Urging Kaufman to use his Jewish contacts with ADL and others, Ruby thought he had a “scoop” in the case behind the real perpetrators of the assassination. He mentioned to Kaufman that he had photographs of the “Impeach Earl Warren” sign and that he had gone to the Post Office and located Weissman’s post office box. Later in Jack Ruby’s trial, Kaufman took the stand. Upon cross examination by Henry Wade’s staff, he admitted that Ruby told him “whoever placed the advertisement must have known President Kennedy was going to be killed in view of the black border around the ad”.[8] Clearly Jack Ruby was implicating the right wing Birchers behind the assassination.
The rest of Ruby’s actions are well known in history. On November 24th, Ruby went down to the Western Union on Commerce Street to wire a stripper some money. Walking a short distance away, Ruby slipped down the Dallas Police basement ramp and took up a position among press reporters. As Oswald was being led out to be transferred to the Dallas County Jail, Ruby lunged forward and fired one deadly shot to Oswald’s abdomen with his 0.38 Colt Cobra snub nosed revolver. Detective Jim Leavelle who was handcuffed to Oswald later stated that if he didn’t jerk Oswald sideways, then most likely Oswald could have survived a straight on gut shot. Instead the bullet transverse his abdomen from the left side hitting major organs and arteries along the way, almost exiting out the other side. Oswald died of massive internal bleeding resulting in cardiac arrest. Ruby was subdued immediately with Detective L.C. Graves pulling the revolver out of his hands. In the search of Ruby’s car was his beloved dog, Sheba and the Weissman ads.
Jack Ruby’s actions that Sunday forever sealed the mystery of a full understanding of the assassination. In his years spent at the Dallas County jail, Ruby’s mental capacity deteriorated. Often he would tell members of his family of torturing and killing Jews in the same building. Fits of depression would lead to many incidents of self-induced injuries, requiring visits to Parkland Hospital. His short lived hero status of killing Oswald, soon gave way to his own mind torturing demons. Deep inside Ruby’s mind, he still held his dark suspicions of right wing extremists who were out to kill the Jews. When Earl Warren came to Dallas to take Ruby’s deposition on June 7, 1964, he heard it straight from Ruby’s mouth. “There is an organization here, Chief Justice Warren, if it takes my life at this moment to say it, and Bill Decker said be a man and say it, there is a John Birch Society right now in activity, and Edwin Walker is one of the top men of this organization--take it for what it is worth, Chief Justice Warren. Unfortunately for me, for me giving the people the opportunity to get in power, because of the act I committed, has put a lot of people in jeopardy with their lives. Don't register with you, does it?”
If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider purchasing the book for other viewpoints and insights.
Endnote - Author verified the address through a Dallas Morning News ad of December 12, 1963 of the “Impeach Earl Warren” sign as belonging to the Thornton Electric Company. Owner of company was Earl Thornton; noted Klansman associated with Roy E. Davis and the Indignant White Citizens Council.
[1] FBI Internal Document, FBI 44-24016 Ruby HQ File, Section 44, March 24, 1964 [2] Ibid [3] FBI Internal Document, FBI 44-24016 Ruby HQ File, Section 27, December 6, 1963 [4] Warren Commission Document #1121, FBI Clements Report of 09 Jun 1964 re: Ruby [5] Warren Commission Document #344, SS Rowley Memorandum of 05 Feb 1964 [6] Ibid [7] Warren Commission Document #1193, FBI Clements Report of 26 Jun 1964 re: Ruby/Oswald [8] Op. cit. 258
[i] Richard J. Potter of Potter Steel Company was a known John Birch supporter. He sponsored talks by high ranking Birch member Tom Anderson. Ironically Potter would contact the FBI about a motel restaurant waitress in Athens, Texas who told him that she knew Jack Ruby as a shady character. Potter said the waitress quoted Ruby as saying “you don’t know how many communists there are in the United States”, suggesting Ruby was a communist.