{"id":906379,"date":"2025-03-19T10:39:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T10:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/berndpulch.org\/?p=906379"},"modified":"2025-03-19T10:39:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T10:39:48","slug":"%e2%9c%8cshadows-of-conspiracy-carlos-marcello-dorothy-kilgallen-and-gary-underhill-in-the-2025-jfk-files%e2%9c%8c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/berndpulch.org\/de\/2025\/03\/19\/%e2%9c%8cshadows-of-conspiracy-carlos-marcello-dorothy-kilgallen-and-gary-underhill-in-the-2025-jfk-files%e2%9c%8c\/","title":{"rendered":"\u270cShadows of Conspiracy: Carlos Marcello, Dorothy Kilgallen, and Gary Underhill in the 2025 JFK Files\u270c"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Carlos Marcello, cloaked in noir shadows, pores over JFK assassination documents as the ghostly figure of Dorothy Kilgallen looms\u2014a haunting reminder of the deadly secrets buried with the Warren Commission\u2019s report.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Introduction: Unraveling a Web of Secrets<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The March 18, 2025, release of over 80,000 pages of previously classified JFK assassination files by the National Archives has reignited one of history\u2019s most enduring mysteries: the November 22, 1963, killing of President John F. Kennedy. While the official Warren Commission report insists Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, the declassified documents\u2014prompted by former President Donald Trump\u2019s transparency directive\u2014have fueled renewed scrutiny of alternative theories. Among the most compelling figures in this saga are Carlos Marcello, the New Orleans Mafia boss suspected of orchestrating the assassination; Dorothy Kilgallen, a journalist allegedly murdered for her investigation; and Gary Underhill, a former intelligence operative who claimed the CIA was involved. This article for berndpulch.org explores their stories, the connections between them, and what the latest files reveal\u2014or obscure\u2014about the forces behind JFK\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlos Marcello: The Mobster with a Motive<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlos Marcello, the powerful head of the New Orleans Mafia, has long been a prime suspect in JFK conspiracy theories. His motive was clear: revenge against the Kennedy administration. Marcello\u2019s empire, spanning gambling and extortion across the Southeast, was threatened by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy\u2019s aggressive anti-Mafia campaign. In April 1961, RFK had Marcello deported to Guatemala, a humiliating act that, according to Stefano Vaccara\u2019s book Carlos Marcello: The Man Behind the JFK Assassination, fueled Marcello\u2019s hatred. The Mafia had allegedly helped JFK win the 1960 election through vote-rigging in Chicago, only to feel betrayed by the Kennedys\u2019 crackdown, as noted by John H. Davis in Mafia Kingfish. Marcello\u2019s deportation and the subsequent pressure on his operations gave him a personal vendetta against the Kennedy brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marcello\u2019s connections to key figures in the assassination are well-documented but circumstantial. He had ties to Lee Harvey Oswald through Oswald\u2019s uncle, Charles \u201cDutz\u201d Murret, a bookie in Marcello\u2019s gambling network. Oswald\u2019s time in New Orleans in 1963 brought him into contact with anti-Castro Cuban exiles and David Ferrie, a pilot and Marcello associate later investigated by DA Jim Garrison. Ferrie\u2019s suspicious 400-mile drive to Houston on the day of the assassination raised red flags. Marcello also had a documented relationship with Jack Ruby, Oswald\u2019s killer, who was linked to Marcello\u2019s gambling operations. Researchers like Vaccara suggest Ruby\u2019s murder of Oswald was a Mafia-ordered hit to silence a \u201cpatsy.\u201d Testimonies further implicate Marcello: in 1987, his lawyer Frank Ragano claimed Marcello confessed on his deathbed, saying, \u201cCarlos fucked up. We should\u2019ve killed Bobby, not Giovanni.\u201d Ragano also alleged that Marcello and Tampa mob boss Santo Trafficante celebrated JFK\u2019s death, with Trafficante toasting, \u201cOur problems are over.\u201d The 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) report singled out Marcello as the \u201cnumber one suspect,\u201d citing his motive, means, and opportunity, though it lacked definitive proof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dorothy Kilgallen: The Reporter Who Knew Too Much<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dorothy Kilgallen, a celebrated journalist and What\u2019s My Line? star, emerged as a fierce critic of the Warren Commission\u2019s lone gunman theory. She interviewed Jack Ruby\u2014the only journalist to do so\u2014and publicly questioned the official narrative, writing in her October 4, 1964, column that it \u201csmells a bit fishy.\u201d Kilgallen believed Marcello was the mastermind behind JFK\u2019s death, a theory she planned to detail in a tell-all book for Random House. She told friends she was on the verge of breaking \u201cthe biggest scoop of the century,\u201d claiming evidence that would \u201cblow the case wide open.\u201d But on November 8, 1965, Kilgallen was found dead in her Manhattan townhouse, officially from a barbiturate and alcohol overdose. The circumstances were suspicious: her body was staged in a bed she never used, wearing a bathrobe, with her notes missing. Mark Shaw, in Denial of Justice, alleges Marcello ordered her murder to silence her, claiming that Ron Pataky, a columnist close to Kilgallen, poisoned her drink under Marcello\u2019s direction\u2014a claim Pataky denied before his death. Shaw further asserts that Kilgallen\u2019s dossier was seized and destroyed by FBI agents\u2014or mob operatives posing as agents\u2014shortly after her death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary Underhill: The Insider Who Feared for His Life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Garrett \u201cGary\u201d Underhill, a former Military Intelligence captain and CIA contact, adds another layer to the conspiracy. A Harvard graduate (class of 1937) and military affairs correspondent for Life magazine, Underhill had ties to the intelligence community, serving as an \u201cinfrequent contact\u201d for the CIA\u2019s Domestic Contact Service from 1949 to 1957, as confirmed by CIA memo 104-10170-10145, dated July 19, 1967. On November 23, 1963, the day after JFK\u2019s assassination, Underhill fled Washington, D.C., arriving at a friend\u2019s Long Island home in a state of panic. He told Charlene Fitsimmons that Kennedy was killed by a \u201csmall clique\u201d within the CIA, claiming, \u201cOswald is a patsy. They set him up. The bastards have done something outrageous.\u201d Underhill linked the killing to \u201cExecutive Action,\u201d a rumored CIA assassination program, and hinted at motives tied to illicit activities in the Far East. He feared for his life, saying, \u201cThey know I know.\u201d Less than six months later, on May 8, 1964, Underhill was found dead in his D.C. apartment, a gunshot wound behind his left ear. Officially ruled a suicide, the death raised suspicions: Underhill was right-handed, making the wound\u2019s location awkward, and no suicide note was found. Critics like James DiEugenio argue Underhill was silenced to prevent further disclosures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 JFK Files: What Do They Reveal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 release, comprising 1,123 PDF files, was expected to shed light on figures like Marcello, Kilgallen, and Underhill, but the results are mixed. For Marcello, the files offer no direct evidence of his involvement in the assassination. They do confirm his broader criminal influence, detailing his connections to New Orleans politics and figures like Governor Earl Long, but lack specifics about November 22, 1963. FBI wiretaps from the 1980s, mentioned in the files, reportedly captured Marcello bragging about his role, but these tapes\u20141,350 reels\u2014are not part of the release. Kilgallen\u2019s name is absent from the documents, despite her prominence in conspiracy circles. Shaw attributes this to the destruction of her files, possibly by Marcello\u2019s operatives, a claim the release cannot confirm or refute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underhill receives a brief mention in CIA memo 104-10170-10145, which responds to a 1967 Ramparts article linking him to the agency. The memo confirms his wartime service, Harvard education, and role as a Life magazine correspondent, but clarifies he was \u201cnot an employee of CIA,\u201d only an \u201cinfrequent contact.\u201d It notes his 1964 \u201csuicide\u201d and mentions his association with Harold R. Isaacs, who was linked to Oswald\u2019s cousin, Marilyn Murret, though no direct tie to the assassination is established. The memo also hints at Underhill\u2019s dealings with Interarmco, a private arms company, suggesting his involvement in weapons trading. However, it does not address his claims of a CIA \u201cclique\u201d or his panicked flight after the assassination, leaving his allegations unverified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The broader files focus heavily on Oswald\u2019s Soviet contacts, Mexico City visits, and the Warren Commission\u2019s narrative, with little to corroborate conspiracy theories involving Marcello, Kilgallen, or Underhill. Historians like Fredrik Logevall, speaking to The New York Times, argue the release reinforces the official story, but skeptics point to redactions and missing records as evidence of a cover-up. Posts on X reflect this divide: some claim the files \u201csuggest Marcello was likely behind the assassination,\u201d while others note \u201cno solid evidence\u201d of Mafia involvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting the Threads: A Pattern of Suppression?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stories of Marcello, Kilgallen, and Underhill intersect in their shared challenge to the official narrative. Marcello\u2019s alleged role as the \u201ccentral planner,\u201d as per the HSCA and Ragano\u2019s testimony, aligns with Kilgallen\u2019s belief that he masterminded the assassination\u2014a belief that may have cost her life. Underhill\u2019s claim of a CIA \u201cclique\u201d suggests a possible collaboration between rogue intelligence elements and the Mafia, a theory supported by the HSCA\u2019s finding of a \u201cprobable conspiracy.\u201d The suspicious deaths of Kilgallen and Underhill\u2014both ruled suicides under questionable circumstances\u2014point to a pattern of silencing those who threatened to expose the truth. Shaw\u2019s assertion that Marcello ordered Kilgallen\u2019s murder ties her fate directly to the mobster, while Underhill\u2019s death, coming months after his panicked allegations, hints at a broader effort to suppress dissent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 files\u2019 failure to address these figures directly raises critical questions. Were their records withheld or destroyed? Did their deaths deter others from speaking out? The establishment\u2019s reluctance to pursue Marcello, despite his motive and connections, and the lack of investigation into Kilgallen\u2019s and Underhill\u2019s deaths, suggest a deliberate effort to protect powerful interests\u2014whether Mafia, CIA, or both. The Warren Commission\u2019s dismissal of conspiracy, contrasted with the HSCA\u2019s later findings, underscores the tension between official narratives and alternative truths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critical Reflections: What Are We Missing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2025 release, while monumental, is not the full disclosure many hoped for. Redactions persist, and the absence of key evidence\u2014like Kilgallen\u2019s dossier, the FBI\u2019s Marcello tapes, or records of Underhill\u2019s claims\u2014fuels suspicion of a cover-up. Marcello\u2019s influence over New Orleans politics, as Vaccara notes, allowed him to operate with impunity, potentially shielding him from scrutiny. Kilgallen\u2019s missing files and Underhill\u2019s uninvestigated death fit a pattern of suppression that has kept the truth about JFK\u2019s assassination elusive for over six decades. The American public, as polls consistently show, remains unconvinced by the lone gunman theory, and the 2025 files do little to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion: The Search for Truth Continues\u2014and Your Support Matters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stories of Carlos Marcello, Dorothy Kilgallen, and Gary Underhill illuminate the shadowy forces that may have shaped November 22, 1963. Whether Marcello orchestrated the assassination, Kilgallen was silenced for her knowledge, or Underhill was a casualty of his insider claims, their fates underscore the unresolved tensions of the JFK saga. The 2025 document drop, while voluminous, leaves as many questions as it answers, urging us to dig deeper into the shadows of history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For readers of berndpulch.org, this is not the end but a call to action. The files are now public; the tools to analyze them are at hand. The voices of Marcello\u2019s victims, Kilgallen\u2019s lost scoop, and Underhill\u2019s warnings echo through the decades, urging us to question, investigate, and refuse to accept the establishment\u2019s word as final. But uncovering the truth requires resources and dedication. If you\u2019re inspired to dive deeper into this and other hidden histories, consider supporting independent research at patreon.com\/berndpulch<\/a> or making a contribution at berndpulch.org\/donation<\/a>. Your support fuels the pursuit of answers in a world where secrets shape destinies. The truth about JFK\u2014and those who sought it\u2014remains tantalizingly out of reach, but with your help, it\u2019s not beyond pursuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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