Mr. RUBY. No.
Mr. SPECTER. “To your knowledge, did any of your friends”—do so and so?
Mr. HERNDON. I think in that way you should be able to answer “Yes” or
“No”.
“Did you or any of your friends telephone the sheriff’s office between
2 or 3 a.m. Sunday morning?”
Mr. RUBY. No.
Mr. HERNDON. Again, I can rephrase that—“To your knowledge—” if you
wish?
Mr. SPECTER. Make it—“Did you or any of your friends, to your
knowledge, phone the sheriff’s office?”
Mr. RUBY. No.
Mr. HERNDON. And then, some of these questions I will ask you again
here, such as, “Did you previously live in San Francisco?”
Mr. RUBY. Yes.
Mr. HERNDON. I understand you did.
I’m going to ask you this question, which will help me, and that is,
“In your dealings, Mr. Ruby, as a nightclub operator, at any time have
you ever overcharged a customer?” I assume there are some times when
you probably are at the cash register, is that correct, and you are
handling the transaction of money with customers or with the bills.
Mr. RUBY. No.
Mr. HERNDON. You understand what I mean by “overcharge”?
Mr. RUBY. We have a very lucrative business in champagne there,
the kind of business that—Bill Alexander knows about it—they get
merchandise received for what they get. It’s quite lucrative and that’s
one way you can survive, I guess.
Mr. HERNDON. I’ll just simply ask the question, “Did you ever
overcharge a customer?”
Mr. RUBY. No.
Mr. HERNDON. I’ll probably ask you questions for your identity, like
“Is your name Jack Ruby?” at the beginning of these series.
Mr. RUBY. Yes.
Mr. HERNDON. Let’s see, gentlemen, I believe we’ve gone over all these
questions, and I’m going to ask you also as a matter of record on the
test—are you tired?
Mr. RUBY. No; as a matter of fact, I’m feeling my best right now.
Mr. HERNDON. You feel all right.
Those are the questions we’re going to ask.
(Reporter’s note: 7:05 p.m.)
Mr. SPECTER. Let the record show that Mr. Alexander and Mr. Tonahill
left the room.
Mr. HERNDON. All right, Mr. Ruby, I’ll get this machine to going again,
and we will get started on series No. 6. Mr. Ruby, could you sit up a
little straighter? When you slouch over like that, I’m not getting the
tracing I want on the reading. Now, that’s much better. [At this time
Mr. Herndon snapped his fingers.] Look straight ahead again, Mr. Ruby.
Mr. RUBY. All right.
Mr. HERNDON. I will let you know when I’m going to start the test, and
if you will answer the questions again, simply and truthfully, “Yes” or
“No.”
If I come to any one of these that you feel like you are not sure how
to answer it and you don’t want to answer it “Yes” or “No,” once again
just refrain from talking and we will discuss the question at the end
of the series.
Mr. RUBY. All right. I’ll remain silent, huh?
Mr. HERNDON. Yes; remain silent.
(Reporter’s note: 7:08 p.m.)
Mr. HERNDON. The test will now begin.
“Is your name Jack Ruby?”
Mr. RUBY. “Yes.”
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you get a Wall Street Journal at the Southwestern
Drug Store during the week before the assassination?”
Mr. RUBY. “No.”
Mr. HERNDON. “Are you tired?”
Mr. RUBY. “No.”
Mr. HERNDON. “Do you have any knowledge of a Wall Street Journal
addressed to Mr. J. E. Bradshaw?”
Mr. RUBY. “No.”
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you previously live in San Francisco?”
Mr. RUBY. “Yes.”
Mr. HERNDON. “To your knowledge, did any of your friends or did you
telephone the FBI in Dallas between 2 or 3 a.m. Sunday morning?”
Mr. RUBY. “No.”
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you ever overcharge a customer?”
Mr. RUBY. “No.”
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you or any of your friends to your knowledge
telephone the sheriff’s office between 2 or 3 a.m. Sunday morning.”
Mr. RUBY. “No.”
Mr. HERNDON. I think that series is over and I will release the
pressure.
(Reporter’s note: 7:10 p.m.)
Mr. RUBY. Are they that important—those questions? I know more
important ones than that. Of course—I’m kidding.
Mr. HERNDON. We have some more coming.
Mr. Ruby, has a customer by any chance ever claimed that they were
overcharged at your place? Have you ever had any problems along that
line?
Mr. RUBY. Oh, yes—we have problems with waitresses and big bills.
Mr. HERNDON. Other than what you told us about the Wall Street Journal,
is there anything else that came to your mind with regard to this Wall
Street Journal question?
Mr. RUBY. As a matter of fact, the question you asked me is so foreign
to me——
Mr. HERNDON. In other words, you are completely unaware of the Wall
Street Journal situation?
Mr. RUBY. I don’t know how it ever came to be there.
Mr. HERNDON. That completes that series.
(Reporter’s note: 7:12 p.m.)
Mr. SPECTER. Let the record show that Mr. Tonahill and Mr. Alexander
returned to the room.
Would you now proceed, Mr. Herndon, to the next series, and we’ll go
through those as rapidly as you can.
Mr. HERNDON. Mr. Ruby. I’ll just read these right down the line, and
if you have any question, then interrupt me. Otherwise, I’ll just keep
going.
Mr. RUBY. All right.
Mr. HERNDON. “Do you intend to answer the questions truthfully?”
Mr. RUBY (no response).
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you go to the Dallas police station at any time on
Friday, November 22, 1963, before you went to the synagogue?”
Mr. RUBY. No.
Mr. HERNDON. “Do you attend the synagogue regularly?”
Mr. RUBY. No—not of late, because of my businesses and my sister was
ill and I had to help at both places—I had to run both places.
Mr. HERNDON. All right, If you feel it is proper, you can answer that
question.
Mr. RUBY. This was a special occasion, this Friday night—I wanted to go
there because of this tragedy happening.
Mr. HERNDON. Very fine. The way I mean that question is—do you attend
the synagogue regularly and at every usual service?
Mr. RUBY. Well, yes—on high holidays and when my father passed away, I
went there consistently for 11 months; morning and evening.
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you go to the synagogue that Friday night?” Now,
“that Friday night”—you know the night we’re talking about?
Mr. RUBY. Friday night.
Mr. HERNDON. The night of the assassination?
Mr. RUBY. Yes.
Mr. HERNDON. I’m going to ask you this question—it’s simple and short:
“Do you pray?”
Mr. RUBY. Not now, because it’s hopeless. I did.
Mr. HERNDON. You can answer it “Yes” or “No” when the question comes.
Mr. RUBY. Pardon me—I take it back—I do pray. I say certain prayers.
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you see Oswald in the Dallas jail on a Friday night?”
Mr. RUBY. Yes.
Mr. HERNDON. “Were you at one time employed by a union?”
Mr. RUBY. Yes.
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you have a gun with you when you went to the Friday
midnight press conference?”
Mr. RUBY. Let’s have that again?
Mr. HERNDON. “Did you have a gun with you when you went to the Friday
midnight press conference?”
Mr. RUBY. You mean at the police station? No.