</s>... SAC. .SAC. CC ST CCC STENO SOP 7-16-68 C-1 PLAINTEXT C-2 C-3 C-4 TELETYPE URGENT C-#4 C-6 C-7 C-8 C-9 C-11 C-12 FROM: SAC, SPRINGFIELD (44-38861) (P 1) S-#3 MURKIN. S-S#4 RE SPRINGFIELD TELETYPE TO BUREAU JULY FIFTEEN LAST. SI ONE SIX ONE FOUR - C CURRENTLY AT ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ENDEAVORING TO DEVELOP INFORMATION RE JOE HEINZ. HAZEL DREW, MOTHER OF PANELA SCHNEIDER, STATES JOHN MC CLINCTON LEFT ALTON JULY PIFTEENTEN, NINETEEN, SIXTEENTEEN MC CLINTON LEFT ALETON JULYA PIFTEN, MINTEENTEH SIXTYSEVEN TWO DAYS AFTER BANK ROBBERY AT THE BANK OF ALTON; FURTHER THAT MC CLINOCK HAS ALWAYS BEEN CLOSE TO HAROLD RICHARD COVINGTON AND WILLIE LEE. PHOTOS OF JAMES EARL RAY DISPLAYED TO HAZEL DREW, PAMELA SCINCHER AND PCI HELEN GRABLE. ALL STATE THEY ARE CERTAIN RAY NOT AN ASSOCIATE OF MC CLINTOCK, COVINGTON ARE LEE AND RAY AN ANFANILAR TO THEM. OR LEE and RAY UNFANLAR TO THEEM. MAIL COPIES TO CHICAGO, MEMPHIS AND ST. LOUIS. P. - Springfield (44.561) - Chicago (44) 11/11/14) (Info) (AM) 1 - Memphis (44)-1997 (Info)(AM) 1 - St. Louis (44+1997) (info) (Am) (4) SEARCHED (4). SEARCHING (PRISED) JUL 1 7 1968 Xena 91-5325 ALTOHBR <loc_464><loc_896><loc_484><loc_916><loc_455><loc_930>2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14178

Summary  
The text contains two distinct sets of declassified government documents. The first set pertains to an FBI investigation into James Earl Ray, the accused in the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK). It details surveillance efforts, coded communication, and regional tracking of suspects such as Raymond Curtis, Charles Willie, and Walter Winchell. Key locations include Jackson, Memphis, Kansas City, and St. Louis. The second set refers to a separate 1967 bank robbery investigation in Alton, Missouri, involving Harold Richard Covington, Delmar Grindstaff, and John McClintock, with no direct connection to MLK or the assassination case.  

Key People  
- **James Earl Ray**: Accused of assassinating MLK; central figure in the FBI investigation.  
- **Raymond Curtis**: Allegedly referred to Ray as "Mississippi" during interrogations.  
- **Charles Willie**: Suspect linked to MLK’s assassination, whose houseboat was investigated.  
- **A.D. Cartwright**: Acquired Willie’s houseboat in 1966; unclear connection to Ray.  
- **Donald Roy Willett**: Inmate at Missouri State Penitentiary, possibly tied to Ray through Curtis’s testimony.  
- **Walter Winchell**: Journalist allegedly providing information about Ray’s activities.  

Key Locations  
- **Jackson, Memphis, Kansas City, St. Louis**: Key cities in the FBI’s regional investigation of Ray and associates.  
- **Alton, Missouri**: Site of a 1967 bank robbery unrelated to MLK.  
- **California, Vietnam**: Mentioned as potential locations for suspect movements or connections.  

Key Events  
- **MLK Assassination Investigation**: FBI tracking of James Earl Ray, coded terms like "MURKIN" (possibly "Murder"), and regional surveillance efforts.  
- **Alton Bank Robbery (July 13, 1967)**: Involves stolen vehicles, suspects with specific clothing descriptions, and connections to parolees and informants.  
- **Interrogations**: FBI questioning of inmates and parole officers to verify alibis or links to suspects.  

Key Organizations  
- **FBI**: Central agency conducting surveillance, tracking, and coded communication in both cases.  
- **Project COINTELPRO (1967–1971)**: Historical context for the FBI’s targeting of civil rights leaders, though Ray’s case predates this program.

MLK Declassified Files

44-cg-1114_738662_03-02-part_2_of_8.pdf

Document Summary

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