"Jack Ruby's other gun"?
I know that linking to an active auction is generally not kosher, but this one is so... interesting... that I can't resist.
Jack Ruby's Other Gun : Other at GunBroker.com
Let's see, a gun of unknown provenance (but "I Guarantee that this is The Real Deal."), a new seller with no feedback, a writeup with Random Capitalization throughout, a couple of poor pictures, only one of which is of the gun itself - yeah I'm convinced! Anyone wanna loan me $15K?
[EDIT to ADD original Text of the Gunbroker Ad:]
Text of the original Gunbroker.com auction:
The Place - Dallas, Texas. The Date - November 24, 1963.
Two Days After The Greatest Tragedy and Murder of The Twentieth Century – The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Local Nightclub Owner, Wannabe Mobster, Cop Groupie, Dog Lover and All-Around Eccentric Nefarious Character, JACK LEON RUBY, slips into the Dallas County Jail unnoticed. Inside, it is a Freak Show and Total Circus starring Mobs of Law Enforcement, Reporters, TV Broadcasters, FBI, CIA and God-Knows-Who-Else.
“Sparky” as the Hot-Headed Ruby was known, was friendly with Police who often frequented His seedy Strip Joint – THE CAROUSEL CLUB. For the Past Few Tragic Days, Ruby was often seen haunting the Halls of The Dallas Police Station. Even passing Himself off as a Reporter at one point during an interview with Dallas District Attorney Henry Wade who was being questioned about Oswald’s background.
Ruby was usually always armed and on that Fateful Sunday morning He was carrying his Trusty snub-nosed Colt Cobra .38. Ruby had purchased The Second Most Famous Handgun in American History (Number One on that Notorious Hit Parade belongs to the Single-Shot Percussion Derringer that John Wilkes Booth used to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln) on Jan. 19, 1960.
Ruby bought the .38 for $62.50 at Ray Brantley’s Hardware and Sporting Goods, a bright yellow building on Singleton Boulevard in the Industrial Section of Dallas. Jack had bought the gun as Protection for Himself and the wads of Cash he carried on him from The Carousel as suggested by a Dallas Police Detective Buddy – James Cody. He also suggested Ruby buy the infamous Colt Cobra because it was so lightweight and wouldn’t drag his pants down. Detective Cody even actually made the purchase for the Historic Gun with Ruby’s money because Police Officers paid no Sales Tax. This saved Jack
Ruby Eighteen Dollars (it has been suggested that this possibly was the Law Enforcement Officer's discount).
The Time is 11:21 Central Standard Time.
Accused Assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, handcuffed to Detective James Lavelle with Detective L.C. Graves on his left, is being escorted through the basement of The Dallas Municipal Building. Oswald is being transferred from The Dallas Police Headquarters to the nearby County Jail.
The plan is to put Oswald in the waiting Police Car for the short ride up the Garage Ramp. He will then be put in the waiting Armored Car which was too big to enter the Underground Garage for the short trip to the County Jail. But before The Accused Assassin even makes it to the first vehicle, Jack Ruby jumps out and Fires a Fatal Shot into Lee Harvey Oswald’s stomach.
Like many reading this and Millions of other Americans, This Writer also watched Oswald’s Murder by Jack Ruby Live. I was Six years Old. Time Definitely Stood Still. “Oh!” - The Horror and Pain on Oswald’s Face will remain etched on The American Psyche forever. Ruby was jumped on before He could get the Second Shot off.
Lee Harvey Oswald was Pronounced Dead at 1:07 P.M. He died at Parkland Hospital, the very same hospital that President Kennedy had died two days before.
Jack Ruby had Silenced and Destroyed the Biggest Piece of Evidence in what has become The Greatest Crime and Mystery of The Twentieth Century.
Ruby’s Reasons for Killing Oswald – to help the City of Dallas “Redeem” itself, to spare the Widow Jackie Kennedy from having to appear at Oswald’s Trial, and to avenge JFK whom he considered a Friend of The Jews (Ruby’s Real Name was Jacob Rubenstein).
Later on Jack Ruby would change his tune a little saying that His Murder of Oswald was not premeditated. It was a spur of the moment thing and the opportunity presented itself. The always packing Ruby and his .38 snub-nosed Colt Cobra Acted. According to Ruby, there was No Secret Black Ops Agenda.
Not exactly The Story a Conspiracy Enthusiast like myself wants to buy. But there it is.
One Major Point backing Ruby’s claim that He Acted on a Whim is that He left his favorite dachshund Sheba in his car when He murdered Oswald. Not quite the action of a Man who was obsessed with Dogs and lived with a dozen of them, had better Relationships with Dogs than People and referred to his precious Sheba as “His Wife”.
The Initials M J that are scratched on the Gun belonged to a Dallas Detective that handled the .38 investigating Oswald’s Murder.
Jack Ruby’s .38 that murdered Lee Harvey Oswald was kept in a Dallas Bank Safety Deposit Box for 20 Years. In August 1991, Earl Ruby, Jack’s Brother, was awarded possession of the Colt Cobra when He won a long Court Battle for Control of His Late Brother’s Estate. Earl Ruby immediately put the Colt Cobra up for Auction.
Jack Ruby’s Infamous Gun was sold for $220,000 to eccentric Florida Real Estate Developer and Pop Culture Collector, Anthony Pugliese. This is a Man who had a Reputation for wearing Alligator Shoes with the Alligator’s Eyeballs still attached.
Other Popular Jewels in Pugliese’s Collection included Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of The West Hat from THE WIZARD OF OZ , Beatles Suits, a Jacket Orson Welles wore in CITIZEN KANE, a SUPERMAN costume worn by the late Christopher Reeves, Oddjob’s Hat, Chaplin’s canes and Harrison Ford’s INDIANA JONES Bullwhip.
While in Pugliese’s Possession, The Killer .38 continued to have Adventures. In 1992 a Friend of The Developer brought The Gun to Washington, D.C. and offered to show it to Speaker of The House, Thomas Foley. But before that could happen the .38 was seized by The D.C. Police. Because of D.C.’s very strict Gun Control Laws , Ruby’s Colt Cobra was almost melted down until Pugliese’s Lawyers intervened.
On November 24, 1993 , The 30th Anniversary of The Shooting, Pugliese had Brother Earl Ruby fire a 100 Shots with the .38. Each Spent Shell was then put up for Sale for $2,500 each.
In March of 2008, Pugliese put his entire Americana Pop Collection on the Auction Block at The Palms Hotel & Casino in Sin City. The Developer planned to use the profits to finance His Dream Real Estate City - Destiny. Located in Central Florida, the Plan is for Destiny to be the largest Green Eco-Sustainable Community ever built.
The Star of The Big Auction was of course Jack Ruby’s .38 Colt Cobra. It had a Million Dollar Reserve and Pugliese hoped to sell it for $2.25 Million. The highest offer during the Auction was $750,000 and another after it closed for One Million. The Developer rejected the Bids, saying He was in no hurry to part with such a profound piece of History.
What did sell during The Palms Auction was The Toe Tag that identified Lee Harvey Oswald’s Body along with a lock of His Hair sold for $66,000. The Hat that Jack Ruby wore when he Killed Oswald, a Cavanaugh Fedora, sold for $50,000.
Anthony Pugliese has stated that He will now donate the proceeds of the Auction to The Sierra Club. It is not known if His Destiny Dream is still in the Cards.
JACK RUBY’S OTHER GUN
Now that You know most of what there is to Know about Jack Ruby’s .38 Colt Cobra that he used to Murder Lee Harvey Oswald it’s time to Tell The Tale of The Other Gun.
This Story doesn’t quite have the Historical Power of The First Weapon (What Would?) but it is Fascinating just the same.
An Employee at The Carousel Club in Dallas is given a Gun by Ruby – A SMITH & WESSON .38 SPECIAL.
The Employee is A-Jack-Of-All Trades for The-Jack-Of-Ruby – Gofer, Booking Agent, Bouncer, Musican’s Union Rep and sometimes even The Carousel House Emcee and Comedian.
The Gun insures that The Employee can act like Jack Ruby when Jack Ruby isn’t around to be Jack Ruby. Essentially, He is Ruby’s Bag Man – Collecting Money, Debts, Loans and whatever else needed to be Collected.
Jack’s Bag Man’s Wife was a somewhat well known Nightclub Singer and TV Celebrity. She had also dated Bugsy Siegel at one time and it was this type of Mob Celebrity that Ruby was a Total Sucker for.
Both Husband & Wife were interviewed by The Warren Commission and their Statements appear in it. The Daughter of The Wife vividly remembers visiting The Carousel as a Young Girl and spending time in Jack Ruby’s Office. Ruby even gave Her a Collection of Stripper Doll’s He had personally made of The Carousel’s Girls.
Now if only that had Survived! Wow! Talk about a Collector’s Dream!
When Ruby gave His Bag Man the Gun it was wrapped inside a EMPIRE STATE BANK BAG with a box of Ammunition. Exactly how Jack Ruby carried the .38 Colt Cobra that Murdered Lee Harvey Oswald. Ruby was known to have carried the Gun, whether in his Car or in his Jacket, wrapped in a Bank Bag that often also contained The Carousel’s Cash Receipts. The Empire State Bank was located at 108 Main Street in Dallas.
Bob Larkin, Jack Ruby’s Doorman at The Carousel Club remembers, “He carried a lot of money … that’s why he kept a gun in the bank bag … whenever he was carrying money he kept his piece handy.”
For Sale is Jack Ruby’s Other Gun – The .38 Special Smith & Wesson comes complete with Holster. The Holstered Gun is still in an Empire State Bank Bag. The Tip of the .38’s Hammer is Broken Off but it is still fully functional. Ruby told The Bag Man that he did it while Pistol Whipping Someone. From all the Stories about the Hot-Headed Ruby/Sparky beating Guys Up all the time it is a Story that certainly tracks.
Also included is a Partial Box of Smith & Wesson .38 Caliber Ammunition that belonged to Jack Ruby. It makes You think , did the BULLET THAT KILLED LEE HARVEY OSWALD COME FROM THIS BOX?
The Five .38 Caliber Bullets that came straight from the Smith & Wesson are separated from The Box of Ammo. Four of The Bullets are S& W .38’s. One Bullet is Copper Jacketed and marked W-W.
The Final Sale Piece is a Mini Sheriff’s Pin Badge that reads DEPUTY SHERRIFF – DALLAS COUNTY – TEX – SPECIAL. This is exactly the Kind of Badge that A Cop Groupie like Jack Ruby would have been given by his Dallas Police Buddies to get out of Traffic Stops, Parking Tickets or whatever else. The Typical Boy’s Club Stuff.
All of these Historic Treasures have been buried in a Southern California Garage for the past 10 Years that belongs to The Daughter of The Bagman’s Wife. Before that, it was in The Bag Man’s sole Possession.
Can it be Proved? Sure. But there is No Certificate of Authenticity from The Late, Not-So-Great, Jack Ruby. Sure, there’s a Serial Number. It can be Checked & Traced to see if it was bought through the Proper Legal Channels – # 11432. But knowing what We know about Jack Ruby, What are The Odds that it was ever Registered in His Name?
Exhibit A - The .38 he Killed Oswald with was bought and Registered to a Dallas Detective to save Sales Tax. Taking that into consideration, Who knows Who Number 11432 will be traced to? Carbon Dating or whatever can be Done to Validate the Weapon’s Life Span - Same for the Bullets, Ammo Box, Empire State Bank Bag and Mini Sheriff’s Badge.
But all of This Research is for YOU TO DO. On Your Own Time and Own Dime. Part of The Great Sherlockian Mystery & Adventure. I Guarantee that this is The Real Deal.
Here’s Your Chance to own a Piece of Infamous American History. A Tiny Piece to The Puzzle that is still, today, The Greatest Crime and Mystery of The Twentieth Century.
The Transaction will be Handled by a Los Angeles Attorney.
Serious Inquires Only
Last edited by Tom K; 10-17-2020 at 09:50 PM.
|