The JFK Assassination & the NJ Connection by Lee Forman

It is early November, 1963; University of Dallas student and Bay of Pigs veteran, Fermin De Goicoechea Sanchez [a.k.a. George Perrel/Parrel/Ferrel and possibly even Ferilli [REF: HSCA, 180-10078-10057] is planning to attend a conference in the New York area. He is driving north with Juan Manuel Salvat, who is one of the original founders and current leader of the CIA funded Directorio Revolucinario Estudinatil [DRE]. What conference were they planning to attend? The DRE was the most militant of the various anti-Castro Cuban exile organizations; and was actively engaged in seeking to oust or assassinate Fidel Castro. Among its other members the group included Carlos Bringuier, the man who scuffled with Lee Oswald during a street demonstration in New Orleans, leading to Oswalds arrest, incarceration, and eventually his WDSU radio debate with Bringuier and INCA [Information Council of the Americas] Executive Secretary, Ed Butler. Nothing smells like shit here. And its obviously only by sheer coincidence that David A. Phillips suspected by many of having been Lee Oswalds handler, and having been one of the operatives using the alias of Bishop - ran the DRE [as per HSCA deposition of E. Howard Hunt on November 3, 1978]. Pay no attention to the men behind the curtains. Lets back up a little. Fermin isnt happy; hes unhappy. Hes one of the 1,113 antiCastro Cuban fighters of the 2506 captured in the tragic Bay of Pigs fiasco; ransomed for release by the US in exchange for $53M in supplies, December 24, 1962. What a tremendous series of misfortunes, bad timing, wrong decisions, poor planning, bad communications, and sabotage went into that gut-wrenching moment in history! On January 30, 1963, Hugh Aynesworth reported in the Dallas Morning News that Fermin was placing the blame for the Bay of Pigs failure and the rise of Communism in the Hemisphere squarely on the Kennedy administration; giving a rather heated talk on the subject for a Young Americans for Freedom [YAF] gathering at the Mercantile Bank auditorium in Dallas. Along with his DRE credentials, it appears that at this time, Fermin also belonged to a militant right-wing organization known as The Minutemen. Perhaps it was through this channel that Fermin made his connections with alleged Oswald lookalike John Thomas Masen [REF: Commission Document 853 - SS Rowley Memorandum of 24 April 1964 re: Manuel Rodriguez] who was acting as a go-between supplier of arms rumored to be associated with an ill-fated plan for a second Cuban invasion planned for late November of 1963.
Fermin de Goicochea Sanchez

On January 16, 1964, ATF Agent Frank Ellsworth was interviewed about Manuel Rodriguez Orcarberro. Ellsworth had been working undercover, gathering evidence against John Thomas Masen. Masen told Ellsworth that Orcarberro had been trying to buy guns and bazookas from Masen. Masen told Ellsworth that Rodriguez and George F. Parrel were leaders of the local DRE and also members of Alpha-66. Masen told Ellsworth that George Parrel; an associate of Orcarberro, had also been trying to buy

guns from him. Masen also told Ellsworth that Rodriguez and Parrel had made purchases from him, that they presently have a large cache of arms somewhere in Dallas, and that he did not know the location [Ref: SS Rowley Memorandum of 4/24/64 CD 853]. So what conference were Fermin and Salvat headed for in the New York area in early November of 1963, and why is this article about NJ anyway? In the meantime, Rutgers University, Douglass College, in New Brunswick, NJ, was preparing for its 15th Annual International Weekend; November 8-10, 1963. The theme this year was to be "Religion - Help or Hindrance in the Modern State. The year 1963 was proving to show a good turnout, with over 92 students registering, representing over 50 different nations. Schools from across the Eastern seaboard were invited to participate, with the stipulation that only a maximum of four male members could attend, due to limitations on accommodations for men at Douglass. As per details on the event in Rutgers The Caellian and The Daily Targum newspapers, Fairleigh Dickinson produced its three candidates: Reuben Seggalye, representing Uganda, John Yfantis, representing Greece, and Edwin Gray, representing Liberia. Representing Cuba for both Yale and the College of New Rochelle was Irmina Bestard. At Hunter College of New York, Elisabeth Cole had been selected to represent the foreign students and the country of France. Although her French mother lived in New York, Mrs. Alexander Cole had no love for Americans and had her daughter raised and educated abroad. Elisabeth spoke French and Spanish much more fluently than English, which she considered her third language. During one of the breakout sessions, Elisabeth noted, with some concern, that one individual was quite outspoken with regards to the Cuban plight, the failure of the Bay of Pigs and his direct involvement. "Unhappy is the way she describes him. His family had suffered greatly at the hands of Castro. His nametag demonstrated that he represented Cuba, and the school he represented said Fairleigh Dickinson. As noted, he was not one of the three Fairleigh registered invitees; nor was he Irmina Bestard. On the evening of Saturday, November 10, Elisabeth went in search of a payphone to call her exacting and controlling mother. She found the phone in the lobby occupied by the young Cuban. Apparently assuming that she would not understand him [Cole wearing her nametag, representing France], the young man continued carrying on his conversation in Spanish. Among the things Cole said that she heard were as follows: The President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was to be assassinated in Dallas. The place chosen was a book building of some kind, from a nest on the 5th floor. An individual had been chosen as a patsy whose background could not be traced to them. Two names [Spanish] of individuals in Dallas that would be participating were mentioned.

Another individual is spoken of, but not named, in a high position of authority in both Texas and Washington, sympathetic to the Cuban cause, who could be counted upon to provide protection.

After the young man finished his call and left, Elisabeth frantically phoned and informed her mother, who insisted that she immediately report it to the FBI. This she promptly tried to do, but was placed on hold for such an extensive period of time that she was forced to hang up due to a lack of coins. She called again from her mothers apartment in New York, said both Elisabeth and her mother the following day, Monday, November 11, 1963, 11 days before Kennedys assassination. Eleven years later, ex-Senator of Indiana, Raymond Maxwell Baker, brought the Cole investigation to the fore with the FBI, presenting it with a copy of a letter he had written to Phil White of the Department of Justice on October 17, 1974 [REF: HSCA, 18010074-10400]. Baker had the unlucky pleasure of having worked for Guarantee Reserve Life insurance of Hammond, Indiana, before and during his tenure as a Senator. He had begun an ongoing investigation into large sums of money lent to individuals like Ben Jaffee, Sam Giancana, Johnny Roselli and Carlos Marcello. The loans made were extensive, required little or no interest and, as per Baker, had the effect of impeding the companys ability to pay insured claims while building out the large casinos and hotels that became Las Vegas. Baker had taken this investigation directly to the attention of the Attorney General at that time, Robert F. Kennedy. Robert had informed Baker of his intention to begin an investigation into these claims with the Justice Department. Following John F. Kennedys assassination, Baker suspected foul play and began his own investigation into the murder, convinced that organized crime [something that FBI Director Hoover continually denied even existed] had played a role. It is unknown how Baker could have even learned of Cole and her account. In his October 19, 1974 letter to Phil White of the DOJ, Baker says that he had been searching for Elisabeth for several years before finally finding her mother and meeting with her in New York only a few months prior to writing his letter. One can only assume that he was made aware of Cole through his DOJ contacts. Baker again outlined what Elisabeth claimed to have originally reported to the FBI on November 11, 1963. The FBI followed up on Bakers allegations in December of 1974, and January of 1975 [REF: FBI, 124-10053-10113]. They interviewed Elisabeth and her mother [REF: HSCA, 180-10025-10227]. Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, Elisabeth could no longer recall the names, dates and places beyond that which is detailed here in this article. The name Lee Harvey Oswald was never mentioned; she was certain of that. The Spanish names of the Dallas-related individuals were common names, but she could not recall exactly what they were. She did say that these exact same names were given some attention by investigators following the event, and this was covered in a report that she recalls being covered by the media. The FBI was unable to find any trace of a report that Elisabeth Cole and her mother insist was made on November 11, 1963. Into what vacuum did Coles original November 11, 1963 report disappear? Is it possible that it was destroyed by Clyde Tolson, along with many other curious files, following the death of J. Edgar Hoover? Author DM Shiem, in his book, Contract on America, makes an excellent case for Hoovers direct involvement in suppressing

critical information concerning the assassination from the FBI, the Warren Commission, etc. linking the event to organized crime. Thus ended the inquiry. From a historical perspective, Elisabeth Cole is no different than Edwin Bray, Melba Christina Youngblood [a.k.a Rose Cheramie, a former dancer who claimed to have worked for Jack Ruby], Eugene Dinkin, Homer Echevaria, William Grace, Jorge Soto Martinez, John Martino, Richard Case Nagell, Joseph Milteer, Adele Edisen, Gary Underhill, or any other individual that in some way expressed foreknowledge of the assassination - by anonymous phone call, cable, interview or otherwise. Too many references to list here. A good source of info on this subject is Larry Hancocks Someone Would Have Talked, which focuses on such information provided by individuals about the assassination well in advance of the event. Its amazing that so many people knew what Lee Oswald was going to do before he did - that friendless commie lunatic. I did seek out and make contact with Elisabeth Cole. Her only addition to the details defined above was that she seemed to recall that the last name of the Cuban student began with the letter G. Could it be Goicoechea? Unfortunately, Elisabeth did not recognize the photo, but blamed that on her own lack of ability to recall faces, and the passage of time. Was this Fermins destination when he drove forth with Juan Salvat? Why look to penetrate a conference focused on religion taking place more than 1,500 miles away? Did he simply decide upon Fairleigh Dickinson as the school he represented, or did he have some help? The yearbook at Fairleigh Dickinson for 1963 has very few Hispanics even registered maybe four or five in total. None are registered as having been part of the 2506 brigade. How would a student at the University of Dallas learn of this event anyway, since this school was not extended an invitation? Could it have been through Sarita Odio, Silvia Odios younger sister who also attended the University of Dallas at that time [REF: Dallas Morning News, May 5, 1962]? Would Irmina Bestard remember the only other student representing Cuba, aside from herself? Is it possible that the Rutgers archives holds any additional photos of the event that may still be on record and provide an additional clue as to whether or not the student was Fermin? Is it possible that anyone else might recognize the bitter and outspoken Cuban student that participated in the 15th Annual International Week End at Rutgers Douglass College, November 8-10, 1963, as Fermin de Goicoechea, or one of his aliases [see photo]? One thing is for sure, an awful lot of people knew Kennedy was a dead man when he reached Dallas. So much for the continuing efforts to perpetuate the myths about a lone nut communist acting alone. Only a total moron would buy that bridge today. With special thanks to Elisabeth Cole, Steve Thomas, Larry Hancock and the Outlaws. Photo courtesy of James Richards.