Pseudonym: Dobkins, Bill
1993.06.18.16:38:08:000000 - IN INTERVIEW IN 1964 WILLIAM RAY DOBKINS CLAIMED TO HAVE MET OSWALD IN
1958-59: "in 1964 William Ray Dobkins REDACTED claims to have met (Lee Harvey Oswald) in Calif while both in Marine Corps (and discussed) killing Pres. Johnson, Governor Connally and James Langdon." The file number of the related document, a CIA document dated 4/19/67 is also redacted. The JFK Explorer indicates that the related document is open in full at the National Archives, RIF# 104-10009-10003. Also see 180-10110-10189, p. 8, indicating that Dobkins claimed in 1964 that he went to Mexico after his discharge "in order to arrange a defection to the Soviet Union." On 11/6/64, Dobkins told FBI: "Governor (Connally) and Jim Langdon, former District Judge, stole the Dobkins' family ranch from them. He believed that President Johnson should also be shot. Langdon, Connally and Johnson caused the ranch to be taken from the Dobkins family so that Billie Sol Estes could raise cotton on the ranch. Estes...kicked back monies to the Democratic Party. Dobkins met (Oswald) while he was in the Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. Dobkins was in the Marine Corps from November 1958 to August 1959." See FBI 62-109060 JFK HQ File, Section 93, p. 57, 11/6/64. More files 11/9/64, 12/4/64 - see 105-82555, 228, p. 58. "It has been rumored...that another marine, William R. Dobkins, after trying for over a year, was suddenly granted a hardship release from the US Marine Corps as a result of Oswald's (October) 1959 defection and the accompanying publicity." Note this statement contradicts the above statement that Dobkins left the Marines in August 1959. The 2/4/65 letter - sent to the Soviet embassy in Mexico City - goes into much greater detail. 1993.06.19.12:28:10:460000 - page 4.
FBI 62-109060 JFK HQ File, Section 93
1958-1963: "Dobkins met (Oswald) while he was in the Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. Dobkins was in the Marine Corps from November 1958 to August 1959." See p. 57, 11/6/64. In Tijuana, while discussing the theft of the family ranch, a 24 year old Mexican approached Dobkins and said he knew a communist who could help him. Dobkins met Oswald at the Joker Bar in Los Angeles in July 1959 - see FBI Dallas Special Index, #55, p. 84, noted in DL file 89-43-5119, p. 6; also Index #29, pp. 147-151 - Oswald was stationed at El Toro - they discussed defecting together and killing LBJ, Connally, and Langdon upon their return. Dobkins never saw Oswald again - he went back to Tijuana - the communist told him to go back to Texas. (MFF note: Info in this portion illegible in this copy) After returning to Monahans, TX, Dobkins was contacted by a different Communist from El Paso every six months, telling him "they" would help him recover the ranch. He also spoke with a minister from Matamoros, who convinced him that he and Oswald were wrong in planning to kill Johnson. Dobkins then decided he would try to stop Oswald from killing LBJ. He tried to report it to the Matamoros police and he was jailed on 10/17/63. Dobkins was told by a Cuban to contact Miguel A. Suarez Fernandez of 1625 Bayroad?, Miami Beach, FL to stop Oswald, which he did not do. (See 104-10256-10269, p. 4 - Suarez was a pro-Batista senator, had a POA with CIA in 1962, his son was a real estate partner with Bernard Barker/AMCLATTER-1.) At pp. 54-55 - the Matamoros preacher identified as "Ted", a Texas resident; also identifies "Virginia", a hostess at a bar called Judy's in the Matamoros red-light district; claims that the Matamoros local and federal police and the Pecos police were warned in Oct-Nov 1963 that JFK was now Oswald's target. At p. 55 - the ranch theft is allegedly in "Wayne Moore v. B. M. Reed, Jr., et al." filed in Pecos County District Court during March 1959.
124-10369-10008: ADMIN FOLDER-X8: HSCA ADMINISTRATIVE FOLDER, LEE HARVEY OSWALD VOLUME XI
Re Nov. 1963- Nov. 1965: CD 27 - report SA Roy Dahl from the Odessa police on 11/30/63: "Dobkins had been locked up by the Odessa Police Department on the night of 11/29/63. (OPD) advised on (11-29-63) Dobkins had reportedly told a person in the Texas Cafe that he was investigating Lee Harvey Oswald. Dobkins reportedly then entered the (OPD) and told the desk sergeant that he had killed President Kennedy. As Dobkins was drunk at the time, he was arrested by the Odessa Police Department and placed in jail...Dobkins advised...he had been drunk the night before and that he actually had not anything to do with the shooting of President Kennedy...it was determined that Dobkins was in Monahans during the time and subsequent to the shooting of President Kennedy." Also see p. 106: "(Marguerite Oswald) just returned from Monahans, Texas...she stated that Dobkins' physical description is almost identical to that of (Lee Oswald)...that he was discharged from the Marine Corps about the same time as (Oswald), that he traveled to Mexico City by bus on or about the same time that (Oswald) allegedly traveled in 1963...many of the allegations concerning her son's travels very likely could apply to Dobkins and that the authorities have made a grave mistake...when she contacted Dobkins, she was accompanied by Ronnie Dugger, a newspaper reporter connected with the National Observer, Austin, Texas." FBI memo from Bill Branigan to Bill Sullivan, 11/12/65. Also see 124-10312-10055, p. 4, 11/17/65 - Dobkins wrote Marguerite: "this woman's husband built the Estes pipeline and tried to work an angle on the land on behalf of Estes, or some of Estes' bunch...Kennedy's death forced the Federal Land Bank of Houston to count the land as belonging to the R. M. Read Estate in early November 1963 and then caused the lien to be released to someone other than the R.M. Read heirs...the Marines did not (keep their bargain to give Oswald a good discharge.)"
FBI 62-109060 JFK HQ File, Section 94
Late 1964: Reference was made to a 11/9/64 interview with Dobkins. Dobkins' mother Nonis Reed Dobkins had also made threats. Sheriff Pete Ten Eyck knew more about the family than anyone else. Other people who knew the family was mad at them included - turn to page 19 - former Judge Casbeer of Midland, TX; Byron Skelton, attorney, Temple, TX; Judge Hunter Metcalf of Marfa, TX; Tom White, former DA, Monahans, TX; former Senator Hill Hudson, Pecos, TX; Bill Peticalos (phonetic) attorney for Dobkins family; Hart Johnson, former judge, Hudson, TX; oil operation firm Moore and Gilmore of Midland, TX. "Bryan Skelton (head of the state Dem Party) - the man who warned the Presidential Party not to come to Texas at that time - got his job as a result of working with the Estes group to steal the Reed ranch and knew it was a bad time for Kennedy to be close to Connally." Texas Democratic Committee chair Byron Skelton was one of several people who urged JFK not to go to Texas - others included Adlai Stevenson, Sen. William Fulbright, JFK secretary Evelyn Lincoln and Rev. Billy Graham.
1993.06.28.08:21:42:810410 - Correspondence with the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City
4/8/65 memo CSCI 316/01398 65 from DDP to FBI/CIA liaison Sam Papich, described as duplicate of 1006-942: "A usually reliable source in Mexico City provided me with a copy of an anonymous letter to the Soviet Embassy which refers to Lee H. Oswald and which is enclosed for your information. The files in this office contain no information on William R. Dobkins. The information in this memorandum may not receive further dissemination without permission from this agency." A copy of that letter is at 1993.06.19.12:28:10:460000 - page 4.
1993.08.07.06:51:35:310027 - CIA DOCUMENT DIPOSITIONINDEX 16 OCT 58 - 20 OCT 75
Re 4/8/65 document - "1006-942 - this document was denied. The document transmits, to another US agency, information received from a sensitive foreign intelligence source. If released, the document would identify and compromise the foreign intelligence source involved which in return would result in damage to national security interests. Consequently, the document is properly classified. The document also contains information identifying Agency components, contains Agency operational cryptonyms and Agency internal filing instructions. (Date of review 8/7/93, page 1 of 312).
104-10013-10062: WILLIAM R. DOBKINS - - 105-5747 (1-18-67)
1965-1966: "We have been advised that William R. Dobkins is a person of doubtful mental stability who has been interviewed in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy...By letter dated April 8, 1965, entitled 'Correspondence with the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City', your headquarters furnished our headquarters with the copy of a rambling anonymous letter which concerned Dobkins, Lee Harvey Oswald, various political personalities in Texas, and the assassination of President Kennedy which the letter relates to the uncompromising attitude of President Johnson. It is felt that Dobkins may have authored this letter. Mrs. Marguerite Oswald, mother of Lee Harvey Oswald, knows Dobkins and was in contact with him in November, 1966. She claims that he is very similar to her late son and that some of the travel activity attributed to her son might have actually applied to Dobkins." FBI memo, dated 1/18/67, from legal attache Nathan Ferris to Mexico City SAC Winston Scott, re William Ray Dobkins, 105-5747. Note that an 11/22/65 document involving Dobkins (201-782770) as well as an Oswald document from 1957 were destroyed. See page 2 of https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=107555#relPageId=2&search=%22201-782770%22
104-10067-10241: CORRESPONDENCE FOR CUBAN EMBASSY
11/17/66, memo from Chief of Station, Mexico City to Deputy Chief/WH: "From the LIBIGHT/LIMUD intercept program a copy of correspondence from subj - William R. Dobkins, 415 South Main, Monahans, TX 201-782770 - to the Cuban Embassy, Mexico City, D.F., was made available to Station Mexico. The envelope contained only a clipping entitled, 'Parade's Special INTELLIGENCE Report'. There was no written message enclosed. Station files have no information on Dobkins. A copy of the attachment has been made available to (FBI) locally."
104-10196-10030: FORMER DC/CI FILES, MEXICO CHRONO RECORD
1/19/67: Goodpasture cites quotes from the above Farris-Scott report, Goodpasture adds this typed marginalia: "Check Dobkins - similarity to Oswald? Is Dobkins his 'twin' in the 'Double Oswald' theory?" For a better copy of the marginalia, see 104-10522-10085, p. 101. 2/23/67, from SAC Win Scott to FBI liaison Nathan Ferris: "The files of this office contain no info regarding Subject in addition to that contained in my memo dated 11/17/66. You are authorized to dissem...to the intelligence community of the US Gov that Subject was in contact with the Cuban Embassy in Mexico..."
1993.06.25.11:05:15:710410 - William Ray Dobkins
2/24/67, memo from Nathan Ferris to SAC Mexico City Winston Scott: Photos of Dobkins - (Note to MFF readers: Apparently for the purpose of determining if Dobkins looked "similar" to Oswald.) DOB: 1/16/37, POB: McCamey, Texas, 5 foot 10, 145 pounds. "It is the opinion of the Sheriff of Ward County, Monahans, Texas, that all members of the Dobkins family are mentally unbalanced." Also see 180-10110-10189, p. 8: On 5/8/67 Dobkins appeared at the State Dept. and attempted to get a passport to the USSR. On 5/9/67, Dobkins tried to climb the iron fence at the White House and was taken to St. Elizabeth's Hospital. On 5/25/67, there was a mental health hearing where Dobkins' mother was also diagnosed as mentally ill and "expressed a profound dislike for the President regarding their land problem...Regarding William's two brothers...no evidence of mental illness was detected, although they both have similar complaints about the President regarding their land being taken away..."
1968: "William Ray Dobkins related his extreme dislike for the President for being responsible for the loss of his mother's 7000 acre ranch in Texas...Dobkins felt that the President and 'his bunch' which consists of Governor Connally and judicial officers in Texas were responsible for taking the ranch away from them...Several times during the interview, William said he would not make any attempt to kill the President, as he is worth more alive to them than dead...William Ray Dobkins was queried about his admittedly visiting the State Department in Washington DC and the State Department regarding intentions to defect...it was to publicize the injustice and the scheme of the President 'and his bunch' taking the land away from his family." On 12/19/66, William's brother James was positively identified by the FBI as having made a visit to the Soviet Embassy in Mexico. (pp. 4, 6) William said he believed his brother intended to assassinate President Johnson. William Dobkins mailed a partially burned draft card to the Odessa American during March 1967 (p. 7)
104-10408-10414: MEMO: ROBERT LLOYD KAFFKE
1/14/69 memo from legal attache Nathan Ferris to SAC Win Scott: Dobkins tells El Dia in Mexico City that on 12/24/68 he and his colleague Robert Kaffke visited the Cuban embassy as an act of support from the strike committee of the students of San Francisco State College. Dobkins wanted to carry out a study on "why Oswald was not tried." Also see 1993.06.22.19:43:02:650330 - it states that Kaffke was of MHCHAOS interest.