The Wes Wise "Allegation"

One  of the biggest problems researchers have in trying to understand the assassination of President Kennedy is relying on second hand information and in partiular reports. The "Wes Wise allegation" is a perfect example of what can happen when  important statements from an interview with an eye witness are ignored, misunderstood, or forgotten.

ON WEDNESDAY, DEC 4, 1963 WES WISE, A FUTURE MAYOR OF DALLAS, TEXAS, WAS SPEAKING IN FRONT OF A CROWD AT THE OAKS EXCHANGE CLUB. THE SUBJECT MATTER SOON TURNED TO THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY AND THE MURDER OF OFFICER J.D. TIPPIT. AFTER THE DISCUSSION ENDED, MR WISE WAS APPROACHED BY MAC PATE, THE OWNER OF A NEARBY AUTO REPAIR SHOP. MAC PATE TOLD WISE THAT ONE OF HIS EMPLOYEES SAW LEE HARVEY OSWALD SITTING IN A CAR, WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING, ACROSS THE STREET FROM HIS REPAIR SHOP ABOUT 2:00 PM ON NOV. 22, THE DAY PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS ASSASSINATED. PATE THEN TOOK MR. WISE TO MEET HIS EMPLOYEE, MR. T.F. WHITE. WHITE DESCRIBED THE MAN HE HAD SEEN SITTING IN A RED FORD CAR IN THE PARKING LOT ACROSS THE STREET IN THE EL CHICO PARKING LOT. MR. WHITE TOLD WES WISE THE MAN WAS LEE HARVEY OSWALD. BUT AT 2:00 PM ON THE AFTERNOON OF NOVEMBER 22, HARVEY OSWALD WAS IN CUSTODY AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS.



WES WISE WROTE A FEW BRIEF NOTES OF HIS CONVERSATION WITH PATE AND MR. WHITE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE INVITATION HE HAD RECEIVED TO SPEAK AT THE OAKS EXCHANGE CLUB. HE WROTE THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER--PP 4537, MACK PATE, TIPPIT SHOT, PATTON STREET, AND A FEW OTHER NOTATIONS. (SEE HANDWRITTEN NOTES BELOW IN LAVENDER COLOR). WISE, HOWEVER, DID NOT WRITE DOWN THE MAKE, MODEL, OR COLOR OF THE CAR AS DESCRIBED TO HIM BY MR. WHITE--ONLY THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER (4537).  WISE LATER REMEMBERED, AND TOLD FBI AGENT EMORY BROWN, THAT MR. WHITE TOLD HIM THE COLOR OF THE CAR WAS RED.


Texas
4537
Mack Pate
Automotive
Clydees Body Shop (n center?)
2 to 3 blocks
Tippit Shot
2-3 block
Patton St.
Beckley & Davis
5 blocks to apt.
5 blocks back
Davis & Patton & x
Then back to theater
25-30 blocks

LATER THAT AFTERNOON (DEC 4, 1963) WISE CONTACTED THE DALLAS COUNTY TAX OFFICE AND REQUESTED INFORMATION ON TEXAS LICENSE PLATE #PP4537.  WISE WAS GIVEN THE NAME OF THE REGISTERED OWNER, CARL MATHER, HIS ADDRESS, 4309 COLGATE, GARLAND, TX, AND ADVISED THAT LICENSE PLATE PP4537 WAS ISSUED TO A 1957 4-DOOR PLYMOUTH. TAX OFFICE RECORDS DO NOT SHOW THE COLOR OF A CAR. ON THE TOP RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE INVITATION WISE HAND WROTE THE WORDS "57 PLYMOUTH, FOR D X"--WHICH INDICATES THE CAR HAD 4 DOORS. HE ALSO WROTE 4309 COLGATE, 2515 W. 5TH, AND MRS. PAINE.  (SEE HANDWRITTEN NOTES BELOW IN BLUE).

57’ Plymouth For d x
Xxxx
4309 Colgate
xxxx
2515 W. 5th St.
Mrs. Paine


1957 4-DOOR PLYMOUTH

WE NOW MUST UNDERSTAND THAT ON THE AFTERNOON OF DECEMBER 4 MR WHITE, A FORMER POLICE OFFICER AND LIFE-LONG MECHANIC, DESCRIBED THE CAR AS A RED FORD FALCON. WES WISE, HOWEVER, ONLY RECORDED THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER OF THE CAR, WHICH WAS PP4537. THAT SAME AFTERNOON THE DALLAS COUNTY TAX OFFICE ADVISED MR. WISE THAT LICENSE PLATE NUMBER PP4537 WAS ISSUED TO A 1957 4 DOOR PLYMOUTH. WES WISE HAD RECORDED INFORMATION FOR THE CAR SEEN BY MR. WHITE AND THE INFORMATION FROM THE DALLAS COUNTY TAX OFFICE ON THE SAME INVITATION, BUT THESE WERE TWO VERY DIFFERENT CARS.

LATER THE SAME DAY (DEC 4, 1963) WISE CONTACTED THE FBI AND WAS INTERVIEWED BY AGENT CHARLES BROWN. WISE GAVE AGENT BROWN THE INFORMATION HE HAD OBTAINED FROM THE DALLAS COUNTY TAX OFFICE--THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER OF THE CAR, A 1957 4-DOOR PLYMOUTH REGISTERED TO CARL MATHER, 4309 COLGATE, IN GARLAND, TEXAS. WISE THEN PROVIDED AGENT BROWN WITH ONE MORE DETAIL THAT HAS CONFUSED RESEARCHERS FOR DECADES. WISE TOLD AGENT BROWN THE COLOR OF THE CAR WAS RED. NOW, HOW IN THE WORLD DID WES WISE COME TO BELIEVE THE COLOR OF THE CAR WAS RED? (NOT GREEN, NOT BLUE, NOT PURPLE, NOT WHITE--BUT RED!!). THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE. MR. WHITE TOLD WES WISE THE COLOR OF THE CAR WAS RED, BUT WISE NOT ONLY FAILED TO WRITE DOWN THE COLOR OF THE CAR ON THE INVITATION, HE ALSO DID NOT WRITE DOWN THE MAKE, MODEL AND YEAR OF THE CAR. AGENT BROWN THEN WROTE AN FBI REPORT, BASED UPON SECOND HAND INFORMATION FROM WISE, IN WHICH HE IDENTIFIED THE COLOR OF THE CAR AS RED.


ON DECEMBER 4, 1963 BROWN'S FBI REPORT STATES "HE (MR. WHITE) OBSERVED A RED 1957 PLYMOUTH FOUR-DOOR SEDAN... AT THE EL CHICO PARKING LOT." AFTER OBSERVING A PHOTOGRAPH OF OSWALD ON TELEVISION MR. WHITE RECOGNIZED OSWALD AS BEING THE INDIVIDUAL HE OBSERVED IN THE RED 1957 PLYMOUTH. WHITE, AS PREVIOUSLY NOTED, DID NOT REALIZE THAT AT THE SAME TIME HE SAW LEE HARVEY OSWALD IN THE RED FORD FALCON, LEE HARVEY OSWALD  WAS IN CUSTODY AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS.
NOTE: AGENT BROWN'S REPORT, BASED UPON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY WES WISE, IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF WHY INFORMATION PROVIDED BY A SECONDARY SOURCE (WES WISE) IS OFTEN UNRELIABLE, INCOMPLETE, OR MISUNDERSTOOD. RESEARCHERS SHOULD ALWAYS, WHEN POSSIBLE, TRY TO INTERVIEW PRIMARY SOURCE WITNESS.
TEN DAYS LATER, ON DEC 14, 1963, FBI AGENT CHARLES BROWN CONTACTED THE DALLAS COUNTY TAX OFFICE AND WAS  PROVIDED THE SAME INFORMATION THAT WAS GIVEN TO WES WISE ON DEC 4, 1963.





AGENT BROWN THEN DROVE TO 4309 COLGATE AND OBSERVED A BLUE 1957 4-DOOR PLYMOUTH, LICENSE PLATE NUMBER PP 4537, IN THE DRIVEWAY. HOWEVER, THE COLOR OF THE CAR WAS BLUE, NOT RED, AS DESCRIBED BY WISE. AGENT BROWN, CONFUSED BY THE COLOR OF THE CAR, SPOKE WITH MRS. MATHER, WHO SAID THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND OWN THE LIGHT BLUE OVER MEDIUM BLUE 1957 PLYMOUTH, LICENSE PP4537, WHICH WAS PARKED IN HER DRIVEWAY. MRS. MATHER ALSO TOLD AGENT BROWN THEY NEVER OWNED A RED CAR. IT WAS THEN THAT AGENT BROWN DECIDED TO PERSONALLY INTERVIEW THE PRIMARY SOURCE WITNESS, MR. T. F. WHITE.

LATER THAT AFTERNOON (DECEMBER 14) AGENT BROWN INTERVIEWED MR. WHITE FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHITE TOLD AGENT BROWN THE CAR HE SAW IN THE EL CHICO PARKING LOT WAS A 1961 RED FORD FALCON (SEE FBI INTERVIEW OF MR. WHITE ABOVE). MR. WHITE WAS A PROFESSIONAL, LIFE-LONG AUTO MECHANIC AND WOULD NEVER CONFUSE A 1961 FORD FALCON WITH A BLUE 1957 4-DOOR PLYMOUTH (NOTE THE HUGE TAIL FINS ON THE PLYMOUTH IN THE PICTURE ABOVE).




NOTE: IF THE WARREN COMMISSION, THE FBI, THE HSCA, AND RESEARCHERS HAD SIMPLY READ THIS REPORT THEY WOULD LIKELY HAVE CONCLUDED THAT THE 1961 RED FORD FALCON, SEEN BY MR. WHITE AT 2:00 PM ON 11/22/63, WAS USING LICENSE PLATES FROM CARL MATHER'S 1957 BLUE PLYMOUTH. THE FOCUS OF ATTENTION SHOULD THEN HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON CARL MATHER AND HIS CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH TIPPIT.
IT IS NOW OBVIOUS THAT THE CONFUSION OVER THE COLOR, MAKE, AND MODEL OF THE CAR WAS THE RESULT OF WES WISE'S TWO SETS OF NOTES, HANDWRITTEN ON THE LEFT SIDE AND THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SAME  INVITATION, BUT WRITTEN AT DIFFERENT TIMES. WISE, WHEN TALKING WITH MAC PATE AND MR. WHITE, MADE A BIG MISTAKE WHEN HE FAILED TO WRITE DOWN THE MAKE, MODEL, OR COLOR OF THE CAR ON THE INVITATION (RED, 1961 FORD FALCON)-. WHEN WISE INTERVIEWED MR. WHITE HE ONLY WROTE DOWN THE NUMBER OF THE LICENSE PLATE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE INVITATION (ABOVE, IN LAVENDER). LATER THAT DAY WISE CONTACTED THE DALLAS COUNTY TAX OFFICE AND ASKED FOR INFORMATION RELATING TO TEXAS LICENSE PLATE 4537. WISE THEN WROTE DOWN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE INVITATION "'57 PLYMOUTH, FORD X (4 DOOR), AND 4309 COLGATE" (ABOVE, IN BLUE). INFORMATION FROM THE DALLAS COUNTY TAX OFFICE, HOWEVER, DID NOT INCLUDE THE COLOR OF THE CAR.

WHEN INTERVIEWED BY AGENT CHARLES BROWN, WES WISE MISTAKENLY COMBINED THE CORRECT INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE DALLAS COUNTY TAX OFFICE (1957 PLYMOUTH), AND THE CORRECT COLOR OF THE CAR PROVIDED BY MR. WHITE (RED). WISE THEN TOLD FBI AGENT BROWN, INCORRECTLY, THAT THE CAR WAS A RED 1957 PLYMOUTH. ONCE AGAIN, THE ONLY COLOR RELATING TO THE CAR SEEN BY MR. WHITE CAME DIRECTLY FROM MR. WHITE, AND HE TOLD WES WISE, AND LATER FBI AGENT BROWN, THE COLOR OF THE CAR HE SAW WAS "RED." IF WES WISE HAD SIMPLY WRITTEN MR. WHITE'S DESCRIPTION OF THE RED FORD CAR ON THE EXECUTIVE CLUB INVITATION (ABOVE, IN LAVENDER), INSTEAD OF ONLY THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER, THEN WISE WOULD HAVE TOLD FBI AGENT BROWN, JUST AS MR WHITE TOLD AGENT BROWN, THE CAR WAS A RED FORD FALCON WITH LICENSE PLATE NUMBER PP4537.

ON DECEMBER 14, 1963 FBI AGENT BROWN WROTE A REPORT THAT INCORRECTLY DESCRIBED THE CAR AS A RED 1957 PLYMOUTH (INTERVIEW OF WES WISE, 12/4/63).  THAT SAME DAY THERE WAS A SECOND FBI REPORT THAT CORRECTLY DESCRIBED THE CAR AS A RED 1961 FORD FALCON (INTERVIEW OF MR. T.F. WHITE 12/14/63). THESE TWO REPORTS, AND THE CONFUSION CAUSED BY WES WISE'S MISUNDERSTOOD AND MISREPORTED DESCRIPTION OF THE CAR SEEN BY MR. WHITE, HAVE CONFUSED RESEARCHERS FOR OVER 50 YEARS.  IT WAS WES WISE, BY FAILING TO ACCURATELY RECORD INFORMATION PROVIDED BY MR. WHITE, AND REPORTING THAT INFORMATION TO THE FBI, THAT HAS CAUSED THE THE HSCA TO REFER TO THIS CONFUSION AS "THE WES WISE ALLEGATION."

ON DECEMBER 14 BOTH AGENT BROWN AND WES WISE KNEW THAT THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBER RECORDED BY T.F. WHITE BELONGED TO CARL MATHER. BUT NEITHER BROWN NOR WISE KNEW THAT CARL MATHER'S FAMILY WAS "BEST FRIENDS" WITH THE J.D. TIPPIT FAMILY. AND NOBODY HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY LICENSE PLATES BELONGING TO CARL MATHER WERE ON A CAR (1961 RED FORD FALCON) DRIVEN BY THE MAN WHO SHOT AND KILLED OFFICER TIPPIT.

NOTE: CARL MATHER WORKED FOR COLLINS RADIO, AN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY BASED IN DALLAS, THAT SPECIALIZED IN RADIO TELECOMMUNICATIONS. COLLINS RADIO WAS INVOLVED IN MANY CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CIA. IN 1963 COLLINS RADIO LEASED A SHIP, OSTENSIBLY USED FOR ELECTRONIC AND OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH, BUT WAS REALLY BEING USED TO TRANSPORT ILLEGAL SHIPMENTS OF FIREARMS AND MUNITIONS TO ANTI-CASTRO CUBAN REBELS. AT THE SAME TIME COLLINS RADIO WAS BUILDING A VAST MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK IN LAOS AND INDOCHINA. CARL MATHER, WHILE WORKING FOR COLLINS RADIO, WAS ASSIGNED TO WORK AT ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE IN BRANDYWINE, MARYLAND, ON AIR FORCE TWO (USED BY V.P. LYNDON JOHNSON).

IN 1978 THE HSCA BRIEFLY LOOKED INTO THE CLAIM BY MR. WHITE THAT OSWALD WAS SITTING IN A RED FORD FALCON WHILE AT THE SAME TIME LEE HARVEY OSWALD WAS IN CUSTODY AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS. CARL MATHER WAS GIVEN IMMUNITY FROM PROSECUTION, BUT WAS NEVER INTERVIEWED. HIS WIFE, MRS. MATHER, WAS INTERVIEWED AND ASKED ABOUT A RED 1957 PLYMOUTH. MRS. MATHER SAID THEY HAD NEVER OWNED A "RED CAR," WHICH CAUSED THE HSCA TO HASTILY DISMISS THE SIGHTING OF LHO IN THE EL CHICO PARKING LOT AS "THE WISE ALLEGATION."

ONE REMAINING QUESTION IS WHY, WHO, AND WHEN WERE ONE OR MORE LICENSE PLATES FROM CARL MATHER'S 1957 4 DOOR BLUE PLYMOUTH PUT ON A RED 1961 FORD FALCON DRIVEN, AND POSSIBLY OWNED, BY LEE OSWALD AT 2:00 PM ON 11/22/63, WHILE HARVEY OSWALD WAS SITTING IN JAIL. ANOTHER REMAINING QUESTION IS THE EXTENT OF CARL MATHER'S INVOLVEMENT IN THE EVENTS OF 11/22/63. MATHER WORKED FOR COLLINS RADIO, WHO WORKED HAND IN HAND WITH THE CIA IN NUMEROUS PROJECTS INVOLVING CUBA, VIETNAM, AND SOUTHEAST ASIA IN THE EARLY 1960S.