Mr. JENNER. You mean they objected?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Because he told her she cannot do that, she had to
sneak out with that child to be christened and since Communists are
atheists, they knew that she could not possibly be Communists.
Mr. JENNER. You heard afterwards that Marina had had her child baptized
in St. Seraphim's?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. And those persons then in your church, the St. Nicholas
Church, cited that as being a fact which led them to believe that she
believed in the Lord and was therefore not an atheist, that it was a
factor that led them in turn to believe that she was not a Communist,
because Communists are atheists?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. Whereas, you accepted that as a factor to consider, but
there occurred to you a countervailing consideration, which was----
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Correct--which was that the Communists may have
been--if it was a conspiracy, that would to me have been the best way
to get into the good graces of the Russian Church community.
Mr. JENNER. Lead people to believe that you were a Christian?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. And not an atheist?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. And seek by that stratagem to gain their confidence?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. That's correct.
Mr. JENNER. So that that factor, whatever it was, had to be examined
and held in abeyance so you wouldn't jump to a conclusion from that one
thing?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. You see--I don't trust them in any kind of a condition
or any kind of a statement that they make. It doesn't make any
difference, but in fact, I know it isn't truthful--it's just like Mr.
Gromyko lying to President Kennedy sitting in his office, you know,
lying just like a trooper and then knowing that it wasn't so, but he
lied. I don't have to tell you all about what Communists do and how
they operate.
Mr. JENNER. Did there in due course come into this community a man by
the name of George De Mohrenschildt?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Yes, sir.
Mr. JENNER. And you were here when he came here, were you?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, let's say that I met George De Mohrenschildt in
Dallas while I was coming here, just--you know--just occasionally to
see my friends, probably about, I'll say 15 or 17 years ago, somewhere
in that neighborhood.
Mr. JENNER. Had you heard of him prior to that time?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Yes; I heard of him through Jake Hamon.
Mr. JENNER. Through Mr. Hamon?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Hamon, H-a-m-o-n [spelling]--Jake.
Mr. JENNER. Who is he?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. He is an oilman friend of mine here, quite well known,
and he told me there was a Russian here--do I know him, and I said,
"No; I hadn't heard about him." That's how I met him--at a party.
Mr. JENNER. You are talking about George De Mohrenschildt?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. In this 17-year period from that initial acquaintance to
the present time, had you come to know George De Mohrenschildt and
acquire some knowledge of his origin and background?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. I believe so.
Mr. JENNER. Would you please recite it to us--who is he, what is his
history, his marriages, the nativity of the ladies he married and some
of his activities, leaving until a little bit later in the questioning
the business associations or contacts you may have had with him?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, from what I understand, George De Mohrenschildt
comes from what we call by-the-Baltic Germans.
Mr. JENNER. What is--by-the-Baltic Germans?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. The by-the-Baltic Germans are Germans that lived by
the Baltic Sea and they were Russians or rather, Russiafied Germans and
they were in the service of the Czar for generations and generations
and were considered Russians. Most of them were barons, you know,
and I don't know whether George's family were or not, but the "de"
Mohrenschildt signifies that his family had a title.
Mr. JENNER. That's the "de"?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. The "de"--yes; it signifies that. Now, I understand
that he has a friend or his brother is teaching, I believe, at the
University of Chicago.
Mr. JENNER. Is that the University of Chicago or Dartmouth?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Or what?
Mr. JENNER. Dartmouth, or the University of Chicago?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. It might be, now, but at that time when I first
learned it--he was at the University of Chicago.
Mr. JENNER. And his first name?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. I don't remember.
Mr. JENNER. What did you say his first name was?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. I don't remember.
Mr. JENNER. I thought you gave it to me the other day?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. No.
Mr. JENNER. Maybe I could get it from some other source?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. No--not from me. Now, when I first knew George he
was an engineer in charge of the operations of the Rangley Field in
Colorado. Then, he quit the job and went into the business of his
own, which was supposed to be a consultant petroleum engineer and oil
operator.
He was married, as far as I know, three times. I didn't know his first
wife, but I know his daughter by the first wife.
Mr. JENNER. What is her name?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. I don't remember; I'm sorry.
Mr. JENNER. But you have met her?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Oh, yes; they live here at the Maple Terrace, which is
next door to the Stoneleigh Hotel. The second wife was--that's where
this was when he married the second time--it was to a daughter of the
Sharples, S-h-a-r-p-l-e-s [spelling].
Mr. JENNER. Was her name Wynne, W-y-n-n-e [spelling]?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. No; we called her something else--it will come to
me--just leave that blank. They had two children, both of them were
spastic.
Mr. JENNER. Was a boy and a girl?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. That's right. One of them since died.
Mr. JENNER. The boy?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. The boy. The son is still alive, and it's my
understanding that his second wife divorced and she had to pay him, as
I understand it, $30,000. Of course, you have the records.
Mr. JENNER. Yes, sir.
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Then, there were two trusts set for the children and
when one of the children died, George De Mohrenschildt wanted to claim
the trust in his name and that was a fight which went to the courts,
but at the request of some of the friends of Mrs. De Mohrenschildt and
my friends, I called George and told him that if he pursues his suit,
that his name will be mud and he can never come back to Dallas.
Mr. JENNER. How would that be enforced? You mean never come back to
Dallas and join this Russian community?