JFK The Enduring Secret

This is Part 14 of the mini-series that covers the story of Bobby Baker. We are nearing the end (finally) of the tale  of Bobby Baker and the story of the Carousel motel is most appropriate. It was his dream to build and operate  this coastal travel experience and yet it turned out to be a financial anchor that materially contributed to his personal and political  demise. He would commit fraud along the way to obtain financing for the hotel in a desperate moment after his partners passing and the devastating impact of a coastal storm. And he would misappropriate government resources to put on the  gala grand opening party for the Carousel. One thing after another that seemed small at the time and then magnified under the microscope of the overall Senate Rules and Administration Committee investigation of Bobby Baker. The mysterious death of his business partner also adds to the intrigue of this story. This mini-series is part of a larger series covering Billy Sol Estes, Mac Wallace, Bobby Baker and other members of Johnson's Texas inner circle. All of these men were quite intertwined around Johnson at the time of the assassination. They were involved in circumstances that were closing in on Johnson too and that provided him great motive in the killing of the President. The story is extraordinary.  Once these and other scandals were  revealed during investigation by the Senate Rule and Administration committee's investigation and the work of senator John Williams,  the scandal threatened to take the Vice President down politically. Perhaps, if the tragic events of November 22nd had not occurred, these events might have sent Johnson to jail as other indiscretions were also being investigated.  Rumors of Johnson's involvement in the assassination began to swirl almost immediately after the President's  murder and there is a defined school of thought within the JFK assassination research community that staunchly believes in Johnson's involvement. His involvement  in both the assassination and its cover up. Join us in one of the most fascinating story tells of the Kennedy assassination and stick around as we will be returning to the Mexico City series right after we complete this min-series.

Get on over to Kennedys and King and read the two part article by Andrew Iler regarding his discovery at NARA and the controversy  over final determination orders.

This is Part 13 of the mini-series that covers the story of Bobby Baker. Today we continue  to tell the story of Don Reynolds, the Maryland insurance broker who who made Bobby Baker a nominal partner in his insurance agency and engaged in other business with Baker. Today, we tell the story of the performance bond related to the D.C. stadium build, with Baker's portion of the commissions  disguised and paid in the form of a loan to avoid questions surrounding his conflict of interest in the commission split. Baker  would receive $4,000 from Reynolds commissions which totaled   around $10,000.   Baker's decision  to have the receipt of his  portion of the commissions take the form of  a loan from Reynolds to Baker, was an attempt at  further obscuring the nature of the payment and also turning it into a  a scheme to avoid income taxes on the receipt. In its ugliest vernacular, it was simply a kickback that Baker received related to the commissions on the performance bond insurance premium. The story gets more complicated as Reynolds agrees to overbill on the insurance bond and collect an additional $35,000 over the original price of the bond, disguising what turned out to be an illegal campaign contribution to the Democratic party.  $25,000 of that amount was allegedly  intended to be delivered to the Kennedy Johnson campaign fund but was never proven to have arrived there. This mini-series is part of a larger series covering Billy Sol Estes, Mac Wallace, Bobby Baker and other members of Johnson's Texas inner circle. All of these men were quite intertwined around Johnson at the time of the assassination. They were involved in circumstances that were closing in on Johnson too and that provided him great motive in the killing of the President. The story is extraordinary. We began the story of Don Reynolds in Episode 11 whereby Reynolds crafts an arrangement whereby Baker became a nominal VP of his insurance agency (with a non-voting stock interest) in exchange for Baker's help in expanding  sales and profits. Commission payments for referrals were also a part of the deal.  Reynolds would become friends with Baker and travel on lavish junkets to New York and Miami, living the high life all while cultivating clients made available through Baker's contacts. His tight relationship would lead him to be a bagman too for Baker.  Once these and other scandals were  revealed during investigation by the Senate Rule and Administration committee's investigation and the work of senator John Williams,  the scandal threatened to take the Vice President down politically. Perhaps, if the tragic events of November 22nd had not occurred, these events might have sent Johnson to jail as other indiscretions were also being investigated. Reynolds testimony regarding the stereo and the television advertising kick backed to Johnson  were taking place in closed session at a senate office building literally at the moment that the shots rang out in Dealey Plaza.  Informed of the president's assassination as the meeting was finishing up, Reynolds shook with the gravity of the situation and the fact that the man he had just accused of engaging in graph...Lyndon Johnson, had just become the most powerful man in the world.    Rumors of Johnson's involvement in the assassination began to swirl almost immediately after the President's  murder and there is a defined school of thought within the JFK assassination research community that staunchly believes in Johnson's involvement. His involvement  in both the assassination and its cover up. Join us in one of the most fascinating story tells of the Kennedy assassination and stick around as we will be returning to the Mexico City series right after we complete this min-series.

This is Part 12 of the mini-series that covers the story of Bobby Baker. This mini-series is part of a larger series covering Billy Sol Estes, Mac Wallace, Bobby Baker and other members of Johnson's Texas inner circle. All of these men were quite intertwined around Johnson at the time of the assassination. They were involved in circumstances that were closing in on Johnson too and that provided him great motive in the killing of the President. The story is extraordinary. We began the story of Don Reynolds in Episode 11. Today we continue  to tell the story of Don Reynolds, the Maryland insurance broker who who went into business with Baker, crafting an arrangement whereby Baker became a nominal VP of his insurance agency (with a non-voting stock interest) in exchange for Baker's help in expanding  sales and profits. Commission payments for referrals were also a part of the deal.  Reynolds would become friends with Baker and travel on lavish junkets to New York and Miami, living the high life all while cultivating clients made available through Baker's contacts. His tight relationship would lead him to be a bagman too for Baker.  The end came when the Senate Rules and Administration committee began its investigation and came upon Reynolds, who had sold $200,000 worth of life insurance to Lyndon Johnson as a result of the introduction provided by Baker. But Johnson's insistence on kickbacks on the cost of the insurance premium would prove to be perilous. The kickbacks would come  in the form of a stereo thinly disguised as a gift along with the purchase of television advertising on Johnson's Austin TV station. Once revealed by the committee's investigation and the work of senator John Williams,  the scandal threatened to take the Vice President down politically and perhaps, if the tragic events of November 22nd had not occurred, might have sent Johnson to jail as other indiscretions were also being investigated. Reynolds testimony regarding the stereo and the television advertising were taking place in closed session at a senate office building literally at the moment that the shots rang out in Dealey Plaza.  Informed of the president's assassination as the meeting was finishing up, Reynolds shook with the gravity of the situation and the fact that the man he had just accused of engaging in graph...Lyndon Johnson, had just become the most powerful man in the world.   The characters, setting and details around this story make it an essential example of one more bad choice of association by Baker which eventually led to his demise and, as mentioned, came close to bringing down Vice President Johnson as well.  Rumors of Johnson's involvement in the assassination began to swirl almost immediately after the President's  murder and there is a defined school of thought within the JFK assassination research community that staunchly believes in Johnson's involvement. His involvement  in both the assassination and its cover up. Join us in one of the most fascinating story tells of the Kennedy assassination and stick around as we will be returning to the Mexico City series right after we complete this min-series that was spawned by the recent release of the Billy Sol Estes and Cliff Carter tape that the two recorded in 1971. Folks, you just can't write this stuff.  Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction.  No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the natio

This is Part 11 of the mini-series that covers the story of Bobby Baker. This mini-series is part of a larger series covering Billy Sol Estes, Mac Wallace, Bobby Baker and other members of Johnson's Texas inner circle. All of these men were quite intertwined around Johnson at the time of the assassination. They were involved in circumstances that were closing in on Johnson too and that provided him great motive in the killing of the President. The story is extraordinary. Today we begin to tell the story of Don Reynolds, the Maryland insurance broker who who went into business with Baker, crafting an arrangement whereby Baker became a nominal VP of his insurance agency (with a non-voting stock interest) in exchange for Baker's help in expanding  sales and profits. Commission payments for referrals were also a part of the deal.  Reynolds would become friends with Baker and travel on lavish junkets to New York and Miami, living the high life all while cultivating clients made available through Baker's contacts. His tight relationship would lead him to be a bagman too for Baker.  The end came when the Senate Rules and Administration committee began its investigation and came upon Reynolds, who had sold $200,000 worth of life insurance to Lyndon Johnson as a result of the introduction provided by Baker. But Johnson's insistence on kickbacks on the cost of the insurance premium would prove to be perilous. The kickbacks would come  in the form of a stereo thinly disguised as a gift along with the purchase of television advertising on Johnson's Austin TV station. Once revealed by the committee's investigation and the work of senator John Williams,  the scandal threatened to take the Vice President down politically and perhaps, if the tragic events of November 22nd had not occurred, might have sent Johnson to jail as other indiscretions were also being investigated. Reynolds testimony regarding the stereo and the television advertising were taking place in closed session at a senate office building literally at the moment that the shots rang out in Dealey Plaza.  Informed of the president's assassination as the meeting was finishing up, Reynolds shook with the gravity of the situation and the fact that the man he had just accused of engaging in graph...Lyndon Johnson, had just become the most powerful man in the world.   The characters, setting and details around this story make it an essential example of one more bad choice of association by Baker which eventually led to his demise and, as mentioned, came close to bringing down Vice President Johnson as well.  Rumors of Johnson's involvement in the assassination began to swirl almost immediately after the President's  murder and there is a defined school of thought within the JFK assassination research community that staunchly believes in Johnson's involvement. His involvement  in both the assassination and its cover up. Join us in one of the most fascinating story tells of the Kennedy assassination and stick around as we will be returning to the Mexico City series right after we complete this min-series that was spawned by the recent release of the Billy Sol Estes and Cliff Carter tape that the two recorded in 1971. Folks, you just can't write this stuff.  Even as early as 1964, rumors and serious concerns over  the lone gunman theory and the evidence that might contravene it,  were becoming a major concern for the government and the commission. Conspiracy theories were contrary to the government's stated narrative from the very beginning. This  real-life story is more fascinating than fiction.  No matter whether you are a serious researcher or a casual student, you will enjoy the fact filled narrative and story as  we relive one of the most shocking moments in American History. An event that changed the nation and changed the world forever.