The Conflicting motivations of Jack Ruby

A rebuttal To the article "Did he Do it for Jackie?" by John Mcadams

McAdams criticism is sometimes warranted and some of his ideas are sound and reasonable, yet instead of just attacking faulty ideas, he often resorts to personal insults and for examples see his "Wacky at Wechtfest" series of online posts. In his defense of the official story, McAdams has overlooked relevant details and evidence. This is not a new phenomenon, several conspiracy critics have overlooked the repeated mistakes and suppression of evidence by officials and seek only to contend allegations of possible conspiracy. However, such a biased ideology dooms one to ignore a significant amount of viable evidence. 

"Conspiracists can't resist assigning a sinister role to Jack Ruby." (John McAdams)

Some do assign this role based on speculation and others also base their ideas on untenable sources but Jack Ruby was not a mere "volatile vigilante". The Warren Commission found Jack Ruby was acquainted with more than twenty-five to fifty Dallas Policemen and they noted Ruby possessed far-reaching relationships among the DPD, more so than a regular citizen did.i This may explain how Ruby arrived just before the transfer was complete and entered the garage to murder Oswald with ease. Extensive connections with the local Dallas officials afforded Ruby the ability to move unimpeded through secure areas.

"Obviously, to make Ruby a plotter, conspiracists have to impeach this. Further, this motive implies that Ruby was a humane man — although badly misguided — and conspiracists want to portray him as a brutal Mafia type." 

Regarding Jack Ruby's links to the Mafia, the House Select Committee on Assassinations subsequently noted days before Oswald's murder, Ruby began to have visitations and receive phone calls from his prior Mafia associates. He conversed with people he had not spoken to in years that included associates of Carlos Marcello and Jimmy Hoffa.ii Ruby previously was acquainted in Chicago with David Yaras and Lenny Patrick, each was a Mafia assassin and both were associated with Sam Giancana.iii

A Promotional FLyer for Ruby's CArousel CLub

"Further, numerous other witnesses confirm that Ruby was telling his "I did it for Jackie" story within minutes of his arrest."

I have no doubt Jack Ruby repeated many various stories over the years and whether it was ten minutes or ten years subsequent, Ruby's credibility is suspect. Many often ignore that Lee Harvey Oswald repeatedly insisted shortly after his arrest that he was innocent. Why is Jack Ruby's claim of compassion more believable? Why do some afford a proven murderer with dubious connections such credibility? Unlike Oswald, witnesses observed Ruby assassinate his victim. Jack Ruby also received a trial and the benefit of defense counsel and both men in my view are connected to a possible conspiracy. Neither person's claims, nor those repeating them, can solely be the basis for determining the facts.

"Thus Ruby was almost certainly sincere when he claimed to have done it for Jackie. 

There are significant problems with this statement. Having never spent extended time with Jack Ruby, how can one adequately judge his sincerity, we can speculate on his sincerity but not reasonably achieve near certainty. Some official evidence states other motivations feasibly could have guided Jack Ruby.

"That was not exactly the reason for the murder, but it was indeed one of the reasons that weighed on Ruby's befuddled brain." 

Despite McAdams believing Ruby was befuddled, or the claims of Jack Ruby's attorney, Ruby was no emotional fool. Ruby previously took part in a Dallas Police station press conference when he corrected Press Secretary Henry Wade's misstatement about the name of a pro-Cuba group to which Oswald belonged.iv This offers Ruby having previous facts about Oswald and possible premeditation. He was possibly checking for security lapses and planning the future murder. Why did he not shoot Oswald when they moved him around the police station, if he was the confused emotional vigilante, why did he wait for days?

Ruby possessed connections to both the Mafia and Dallas Police based on evidence. Speculating about his sincerity is not a sufficient proof of McAdams' contentions, to claim that misguided compassion largely motivated Ruby is inaccurate. It remains impossible to divine every motivation of Jack Ruby's actions and yet we do know some things. The House Select Committee on Assassinations states officials did not fully investigate Ruby's connections. They affirm "...the FBI's investigation into a conspiracy was deficient in the areas that the committee decided most worthy of suspicion —organized crime, pro- and anti-Castro Cubans, and the possible associations of individuals from these areas with Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby."v Thus, not "conspiracists", but the legal record assigns a feasibly sinister role to Jack Ruby.  

Sincerely,                                   
C.A.A. Savastano

References:
i. Report of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of JFK, Appendix 16: A Biography of Jack Ruby, Underworld Ties, pp. 800, 801
ii. Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations, Appendix Volume IX, Section V, Possible Associations between Jack Ruby and Organized Crime, Part D, prepared by Howard Shapiro research attorney and Michael Ewing staff researcher pp. 188-96
iii. Report of the House Select Committee on Assassination, Section I. Part. A, subsection 4, The Committee believes..., p. 150
iv. Hearings of the President's Commission, Volume V, Testimony of Jack Ruby, p. 189
v. Report of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, Section I, Part. D, subsection 3, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, p. 242

Update: Jack Ruby's contacts with the FBI were suppressed from the President's Commission.

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