The Cold Six Thousand - James Ellroy [148]
3 - CRUSADER RABBIT and WHITE RABBIT have mentioned the proposed “Second Freedom Summer” agitation campaign in Mississippi and planned (6/65) agitation in and around Bogalusa, Louisiana. WILD RABBIT wants to exploit these situations, and I believe that if he delivers a properly restrained but somehow flamboyant show of force in that region at that time, he will be able to mobilize a sizable number of recruits resultant. To further induce subservience in his recruits, WILD RABBIT will supply them with low-quality rifles and sidearms purchased by his friend CHARLES “CHUCK” ROGERS (white male/age 43), a covert CIA contract employee currently serving with WILD RABBIT in Vietnam. ROGERS has extensive gun connections among rightist Cuban exile groups in the Gulf Coast region.
4 - WILD RABBIT has also established a “Hate-Leaflet Mail Ministry” among convicts and ex-convicts he knew while working as a Missouri state prison guard, and plans to recruit from the “eager beaver” parolees who contact him upon their release. I believe that this is also a viable recruiting approach.
In conclusion:
I believe that we are theoretically operational as of this (2/20/65) date. Please respond as your schedule allows.
Respectfully,
BLUE RABBIT
DOCUMENT INSERT: 3/1/65. Internal memorandum. Topic: OPERATION BLACK RABBIT/2/20/65 MEMO. To: BLUE RABBIT. From: DIRECTOR. Marked: “Stage-1 Covert”/“Eyes Only”/“Read and Burn.”
BLUE RABBIT,
Consider the proposed measures described in your 2/20/65 memo approved in full. Cold funds to follow. You may share information on a need-to-know basis with FATHER RABBIT and WHITE RABBIT. Given his suspect ideology, do not share any WHITE-HATE information or in any way contact CRUSADER RABBIT, unless so directed.
DOCUMENT INSERT: 3/8/65. Pouch communiqué. To: John Stanton. From: Pete Bondurant. Marked: “Hand Pouch Deliver Only”/ “Destroy Upon Reading.”
J.S.,
We’re operational on both ends now. Here’s the summary you asked for.
It’s all running smooth. A) - Milt Chargin greased cops working the Records Divisions of the Vegas PD & Clark County Sheriff’s & got a list of all the previously busted colored junkies in West Vegas.
B) - I recruited 4 expendable colored pushers to work the bottom-rung distribution in West LV. They’ve got menial casino jobs & were happy to get the gigs. I gave them copies of the prev. ment’d junkie list & had them supply the junkies with free pops taken from our 1st stateside shipment of 1/9/65. The “free samples” got them anxious for more. I told my 4 guys to push “free tastes” on anybody who asked, colored only. They got a lot of takers & we got a lot of steady “Clients” (Milt C.’s word, not mine).
C) - I lean on the 4 guys periodically & up to now I’m convinced that they (1) haven’t stolen kadre merchandise; (2) haven’t sold to non-Negro clients; (3) haven’t snitched off kadre or Tiger Kab personnel; (4) haven’t bragged to their lowlife pals & implicated kadre or Tiger Kab personnel & will not (5) do so if they get popped, which is unlikely, because (6) Milt has greased the LVPD & Sheriff’s Narco squads & has secured a hands-off policy, & if any 1 of the 4 is popped, the plan is to bail them out & clip them before they talk too much.
So, (7), everything is buffered. Tiger drivers deliver the merchandise to drop points & the pushers pick it up, distribute it & funnel the money back the same way. The drivers are all solid pros & will not talk if busted. On his one stateside run, Wayne periodically spot-tailed the pushers & determined that they weren’t skimming or fucking up other ways. Wayne’s got an evil reputation on the west side & it keeps the pushers on a tight leash.
D) - As you know, Wayne’s made one rotation from Saigon & sent the 2nd shipment (4 lbs) stateside on 3/2/65. Rogers, Relyea, Mesplede, Guery & Elorde remain in Laos & oversee the M-base production at Tiger Kamp (while you & the other guys who concocted this whole thing roam around