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Agent Holly and Captain Gilstrap displayed photographic evidence compiled at both death scenes. Mr. Randall J. Merrins of the U.S. Attorney's Office went on to say that it had been assumed that Sergeant Tedrow was being kept in custody while possible homicide charges against him were being discussed and prepared.
"This is not the case," Merrins said. "Sergeant Tedrow was held for his own safety. We were afraid of reprisals from other unknown members of the Williams-Swasey dope gang."
Sergeant Tedrow, 29, could not be reached for comment. Mrs. Tedrow's presumed slayer, Wendell Durfee, was identified by fingerprints and other physical evidence found in the Tedrow home. Durfee is now the subject of a nationwide all-points bulletin and is also wanted by Texas authorities for the November 1963 disappearance of Dallas Police Officer Maynard D. Moore.
Agent Holly's long pursuit of the Swasey brothers and Leroy Williams was praised by Assistant U.S. Attorney Merrins, who a
Mrs. Tedrow is survived by one sister and her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert D. Sproul, of Little Rock, Arkansas. Her body will be shipped to Little Rock for interment.
_DOCUMENT INSERT_: 1/26/64. Las Vegas _Sun_ article.
GRAND JURY CLEARS POLICEMAN
The standing Clark County Grand Jury today a
The Grand Jury heard six hours of testimony from members of the Las Vegas Police Department, Clark County Sheriff's Department and U.S. Bureau of Narcotics. Members were in unanimous agreement that Sergeant Tedrow's actions were warranted and justifiable. Grand Jury foreman D. W. Kaltenborn said, "We believe that Sergeant Tedrow acted with great resolve and under all the due guidelines of the laws of the State of Nevada."
A Las Vegas Police Department spokesman attending the grand jury proceedings said that Sergeant Tedrow had resigned from the LVPD that morning. Sergeant Tedrow could not be reached for comment.
_DOCUMENT INSERT_: 1/27/64. Las Vegas _Sun_ article.
At a hastily arranged press conference in Washington, D.C., a spokesman for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) a
Lawton J. Spofford told assembled reporters, "Our decision is not based upon the recent decree from the Clark County Grand Jury, which exonerated Sergeant Wayne Tedrow Jr. for the deaths of Leroy Williams and Curtis and Otis Swasey. That body is a 'rubber-stamp' implement of the Clark County political establishment and as such has no sway with us. Our decision is based on information we have received from a friendly anonymous source, who told us that Sergeant Tedrow, under great personal duress, acted in a somewhat heedless but recognizably non-malicious ma
The NAACP, along with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), had previously a
Other Negro leaders present at the press conference said that they did not rule out the possibility of future civil-rights protests in Las Vegas. "Where there's smoke, there's fire," spokesman Welton D. Holland of CORE said. "We do not expect Las Vegas to change its ways without some notable confrontations."
_DOCUMENT INSERT_: 2/6/64. Verbatim FBI telephone call transcript. Marked: "Recorded at the Director's Request"/"Classifled Confidential 1-A: Director's Eyes Only." Speaking: Director Hoover, Ward J. Littell.
JEH: Good morning, Mr. Littell.
WJL: Good morning, Sir.
JEH: You've been meeting some charming new people and rediscovering old friends. That might be a good place to start.
WJL: "Charming" might describe Mr. Rustin, Sir. "Old friend" would never describe Dwight Holly.
JEH: I could have predicted that response. And I doubt that Lyle Holly will become your lifelong chum.
WJL: We share a wonderful friend in you, Sir.
JEH: You're feeling frisky this morning.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Did Mr. Rustin bemoan my efforts against Mr. King and the SCLC?
WJL: He did, Sir.
JEH: And you were properly deplored?
WJL: Cosmetically, Sir, yes.
JEH: I'm sure you were entirely convincing.
WJL: I established a rapport with Mr. Rustin, Sir.
JEH: I'm sure you will sustain it.
WJL: I hope so, Sir.
JEH: Have you spoken to him again?
WJL: Lyle Holly facilitated a second conversation. I utilized Mr. Rustin to forestall some trouble in Las Vegas. It pertained to a client of mine.
JEH: I know elements of the story. We'll discuss it momentarily.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Do you still consider it impossible to re-tape the Dark Prince?
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: I would enjoy some glimpses of his private pain.
WJL: I would, too.
JEH: I doubt that. You're a voyeur, not a sadist, and I suspect that you'll never reconcile your old crush on Bobby.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Lyndon Johnson finds him difficult to reconcile. Many of his advisors think he should include him on the fall ticket, but he hates the Dark Lad too much to succumb.
WJL: I understand how he feels, Sir.
JEH: Yes, and you disapprove, in your uniquely nondisapproving way.
WJL: I'm not that complex, Sir. Or that compromised in my emotions.
JEH: You delight me, Mr. Littell. I will nominate your last statement for Best Falsehood of 1964.
WJL: I'm honored, Sir.
JEH: Bobby may run for Ke
WJL: If he runs, he'll win.
JEH: Yes. He'll form a coalition of the deluded and morally handicapped and emerge victorious.
WJL: Is he maintaining his work at Justice?
JEH: Not vigorously. He still appears to be shell-shocked. Mr. Katzenbach and Mr. Clark are doing most of his work. I think he'll resign, in a timely fashion.
WJL: Is he monitoring the agents for the Warren Commission?
JEH: I haven't discussed the investigation with him. Of course, he receives summaries of all my field agents' reports.
WJL: Edited summaries, Sir?
JEH: You are frisky today. Impertinent might describe it better.
WJL: I apologize, Sir.
JEH: Don't. I'm enjoying the conversation.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Edited summaries, yes. With all contradictory elements deleted to conform to the thesis we first discussed in Dallas.
WJL: I'm happy to hear that.
JEH: Your clients should be, as well.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: We can't send your plant in again. You're certain?
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: I mourn the missed opportunity. I would like to hear a private assessment of King Jack's death.
WJL: I suspect we'll never know, Sir.