Episode 161 The Garrison Investigation Part 11 Perry Russo Part 2 Published Apr 20, 2023

Episode 161 is  the eleventh   in a new series of episodes that chronicle the story of the Garrison investigation in  New Orleans and the related trial of Clay Shaw.  Episode eleven  is the second  in a mini-series that addresses the star witness of the Clay Shaw trial, Perry Russo.

In this second episode covering Russo, we tell the story from the perspective of Jim Phelan from the Saturday Evening Post and the  issues with Perry Russo’s testimony. Phelan became privy to certain memos prepared by Andrew Sciambra, Assistant District Attorney, which highlighted these discrepancies in various versions of Perry Russo’s story.  A story that had rapidly become the sole basis for charging Clay Shaw with conspiracy to murder the President of the United States. Unbeknownst to Garrison, Phelan had already become an FBI (and possibly a CIA) informant. He would use his influence with Garrison to secure two memos prepared by Sciambra. The discrepancies between these memos and other statements by Russo would serve as the basis of a confrontation with Garrison and his team.    Phelan began as a friendly member of the press,  but  a few days after charging Clay Shaw,  Garrison would spend a weekend in Las Vegas and Phelan would meet him there. Breaching his confidence, Phelan would secure copies of the memos and then deliver them to the FBI. This occurred  before the initial testimony at Shaw’s preliminary hearing.  Perry Russo had previously gone public on his own before he was discovered by anyone,  including  Garrison…but Garrison  soon took control and the ensuing story related to Russo’s ongoing interactions with the New Orleans D.A.’s office would prove to be more than controversial. Phelan and others would contend that  Garrison and his staff  engaged in a progressive series of actions that included the use of sodium pentothal (truth serum) and a series of hypnosis sessions  all of which pointed to witness manipulation. That he and his office  had engaged in steps to suggest the proper answers  to Russo, was the issue in question and   whether   those actions materially enhanced the original testimony of Perry Russo and were, essentially, untruths… Critics contend that the changes were so radical that  Russo’s testimony evolved from being initially irrelevant,  to so significant that it singlehandedly resulted in  the arrest of Clay Shaw, for conspiracy to murder the President. Join us in in this exciting series of episodes about one of the most fascinating witnesses….in fact the star witness…of the Clay Shaw trial.