Mr. RAIGORODSKY. There is no word for that--very engaging, I suppose
would be the nearest.
Mr. JENNER. I think you mentioned, but I failed to pursue it, I think
De Mohrenschildt sought to borrow money from you, did he, in 1963?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Occasionally.
Mr. JENNER. In connection with the Haitian venture?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. No.
Mr. JENNER. He did not?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. No; he sought to have me to participate in the deal.
Mr. JENNER. And you did or didn't?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. I did not.
Mr. JENNER. And that was to be what kind of a deal?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, it is a corporation--here is a chart of what he
was planning to do.
(Handed instrument to Counsel Jenner.)
Mr. JENNER. Now, you have exhibited to me a chart that you have taken
from your file. There is handwriting on the chart--is that George De
Mohrenschildt's handwriting?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Did he send that chart to you?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Yes; here's the envelope.
Mr. JENNER. And have you attached to the chart the envelope in which
the chart was transmitted to you, and it is postmarked September 12,
1962, at Dallas, Tex., and is this an outline?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Of what he plans to do there.
Mr. JENNER. Of what he planned to do?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. You see, "Port-au-Prince, August 27, 1962." He shows
he will have group insurance, cheap housing development, banking,
cotton gin, electric powerplant, import franchise, spinning mill,
weaving plant for cotton mill, and he puts down here "credits available
for these industries."
Mr. JENNER. Do you have any information that he is surveying the
physical characteristics of the surface? Of the entire Haitian area.
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, that's what my understanding was, that that is
how he got in so close to them--because it was one of his consulting
jobs.
Mr. JENNER. For the Haitian Government?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. For the Haitian Government.
Mr. JENNER. Is he still engaged on that; do you know, or are you
informed?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. I don't know--I am not informed.
Mr. JENNER. Is it your impression that his Haitian proposal was
legitimate, that is, a legitimate speculation or otherwise. What I am
getting at, in other words, that it was not anything of an ulterior
character?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, here's some more of the same thing, which I
think might be helpful. Here's what information which they send to John
De Menil.
Mr. JENNER. Which he was sending to John De Menil?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. It's a copy for me.
Mr. JENNER. It is to John De Menil?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. That's right.
Mr. JENNER. Would I have your permission to have these documents in
your file duplicated?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Oh, sure.
Mr. JENNER. I'll tell you what would be helpful to me--if you would
have your secretary restore the file, because you have been generously
pulling documents out of it, and if she will restore it to the order in
which it was originally?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. All right.
Mr. JENNER. Then I will be able to go through it with you.
(At this point the witness, Mr. Raigorodsky, called his secretary, Mrs.
Louise Meek, into the deposing office, giving her the instructions to
comply with Counsel Jenner's request, and after leaving the deposing
office and returning thereto shortly with the file in the order as
requested, Mrs. Meek then departed the deposing room and the deposition
continued as follows:)
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. This shows the Haitian holding company. It shows
what they are trying to do. There is correspondence with the bank and
everything.
Mr. JENNER. There were two files there, as I recall it.
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. You can have them both--the other one is on the well
operation.
Mr. JENNER. Oh, I understand. You were participating with him in some
drilling?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. And they were either dry holes or they didn't amount to
anything?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. One dry hole and one other. I want to ask you
something?
Mr. JENNER. All right.
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Have you ever talked to Mr. H. Gordon Calder. Mr. H.
Gordon Calder is an oil man in Shreveport, La. He is a close friend of
mine; in fact, he probably was the first friend I had in this country.
We went to the University of Texas together. That's over 40 years ago.
His last job before he quit, he was the head of the Southern Production
Co., quite a large organization, and George has been working on several
oil deals with Gordon Calder, and Gordon Calder has been more in
contact with George than I have in the last several years. I see that
Gordon Calder was in this well too; my office has the telephone number
and address of Mr. Calder, in fact, if necessary, I can call him and he
will come over here.
Mr. JENNER. Do you know whether Professor Jitkoff is acquainted with De
Mohrenschildt?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Oh, I'm sure he is.
Mr. JENNER. You are acquainted with Basil Zavoico?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. Who is he?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Basil--he is a Russian. His father was a general in
the Russian Army. He has a brother. Basil Zavoico has been--his primary
business has been what I would say is a bank and insurance consultant
on oil matters. He has been with Prudential Insurance Co.; he has been
with Chase National Bank. He was their consultant; and he has been in a
business of his own mostly connected with oil financing.
Mr. JENNER. Did he at one time reside in Dallas?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. No; he resided in Houston.
Mr. JENNER. Do you know whether he would be acquainted then with George
De Mohrenschildt?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Oh, yes; I'm sure that they had some oil dealings.
Now, both Gordon Calder and Zavoico probably had more dealings with
George than I had.
Mr. JENNER. And he lives in Green Farms, Conn.?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Correct.
Mr. JENNER. And his place is known as "Cronomere"? Is there anything
that occurs to you that might be helpful to the Commission, first,
in its investigation of the assassination of President Kennedy; and
secondly, in regards to the character and integrity of, background and
interests of George De Mohrenschildt?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, the only thing I can say that I was told--it
is a hearsay--that after meeting Marina Oswald--the way Russians met,
there was a party somewhere.
Mr. JENNER. There was what?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. A party--a social gathering.
Mr. JENNER. A party?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Somewhere--I don't remember where.
Mr. JENNER. Here in this country?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Here in Dallas, and at that party, there were several
Russians, and they claimed that in walks George De Mohrenschildt with
Marina Oswald and her husband. That's the only thing that out of
everything that they told me that stuck in my mind.
Mr. JENNER. Do you recall anybody who was reported to have been at this
party?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, I'll say that Mr. Bouhe and Anna Meller.
Mr. JENNER. M-e-l-l-e-r [spelling]?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Yes; I'm not quite sure--there were quite a few other
Russians, but it was George who brought the Oswalds into the party.
Mr. JENNER. We have had some off the record discussions all in the
presence of Miss Oliver and Mr. Davis. Is there anything that occurred
during our off-the-record discussions that is pertinent, which I have
failed to bring out.
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. No; if it was pertinent I would not have taken it off
of the record.
Now, may I say something myself?
Mr. JENNER. Certainly.
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Would you care to know what my opinion of the
assassination is, or is that just an opinion?
Mr. JENNER. All right; let's have it.
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. I still believe it is a conspiracy.
Mr. JENNER. Well, on what do you base that opinion?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, I have read--I'm quite sure everything that you
have read, and you read probably more than I did because you have these
interrogations.
There are just so many things that are unbelievable, that a person like
Oswald, would be allowed to do the things in Russia.
Mr. JENNER. We are interested in that sort of an opinion. What is the
basis of your opinion in that respect?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well, I have studied communism and I have watched them
operating, you know.
Mr. JENNER. All right.
(Discussion between Counsel Jenner and the witness, Raigorodsky, off
the record.)
Mr. JENNER. Now, I want that on the record.
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. Well--the fact that they gave you all of the record,
they gave you all of the records on Oswald, that he was running around
in Russia, marrying a Russian woman, that she was allowed to go out
of Russia--I know several cases where they wouldn't allow a person
whom Americans marry to come for several years. Here, everything was
(snapping his fingers) so--just like that. It just reads too much like
a fairy tale. I mean, as much as they claim they don't trust him, they
surely didn't show it by the action in granting him different things
which he received in Russia and in this country.
Now, Marina, I don't know anything about her.
Mr. JENNER. This is your supposition and rationalization on your part?
Mr. RAIGORODSKY. That is correct.