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James Files Mug Shot from Stateville Prison (click on image to see larger version) |
It's not that unusual, really. Somebody "confesses" to to being involved in the assassination. David Perry's essay "Rashomon to the Extreme" lists all those who have come to the attention of assassination "researchers." Guys hanging around a bar with too many drinks under their belt spinning tall tales don't make Perry's list although there must have been thousands.
But what if the fellow doing the confessing is a talented con artist? And what if the story is promoted by a talented promoter? You're likely to see it at your local Blockbuster Video store!
Thus it is with James Files, a prisoner in Stateville Prison in Illinois serving a sentence for shooting a policeman. His story has been promoted by the late Joe West, and more recently by Bob Vernon.
But is Files really an assassin? Or is this another of the crackpot "confessions" in the mold of Chancey Holt, Robert Morrow, and others whose claims to have participated in the assassination have failed to stand up to scrutiny?
![]() A Story that "Improves" Over TimeIn his critique of the Files "confession" (see above) Stockwell notes an interesting pattern in the development of the convict's story (quoting Stockwell):
For example:
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Perry's web site, in fact, is a treasure trove of information on Files.
![]() Could a Con Con You?We would all like to think not. But Martin Shackleford, an assassination researcher who is a social worker by profession, has a different perspective.
Such a con would be relatively easy, especially for a veteran like Files.Source: Newsgroup alt.conspiracy.jfk.moderated, post of 2/6/97 |
In brief, NBC retained me as a consultant for their planned story on Files. I hired the detective firm of Jules Kroll. JK established from telephone records Files was in Chicago, not Dallas, on November 22,1963. We then placed a call to Files from Dick Clark's office (DC was producer), and I interviewed Files about Kroll findings. He said he had a twin brother, who no one knew about, and whom he met shortly before November 22, and who he murdered after November 22. He said it was his twin brother in hospital with his wife, not him. His wife, however, said there was no twin, and Kroll confirmed there was no twin. My view then and now is that Files invented the story for the money it would earn him.Epstein's account is corroborated by other sources. A story in the New York Post discusses this episode.Ed Epstein
NBC like other networks likes to take the high-minded stance that it doesn't pay for news and looks down on what it derisively refers to as "checkbook journalism."
But the Peacock Network recently considered airing a special two-hour documentary about the assassination of President Kennedy, which would have put NBC in the position of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for the story of a man who claimed to be an accomplice of Lee Harvey Oswald.
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The only reason the documentary won't be airing during the cricial May sweeps rating period is that NBC wisely hired an outside consultant, writer Edward J. Epstein, who determined that the supposed Grassy Knoll Shooter was a fraud.
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"NBC was talking to Dick Clark Productions. We did hire a consultant," NBC spokeswoman Pat Schultz said. "On his advice and that of others we decided not to go forward."
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The scary thing is, it almost worked. While NBC was skeptical, Dick Clark and his producers were said to be gung-ho. As one source put it, "The amazing thing is how stupid they were." (Richard Johnson, "Peacock tempted to buy news," New York Post, May 9, 1994. Emphasis in original)