</s>.FD-36 (Rev. 5-22-64) . . . Transmit the following in FBI Date: 4/14/68 Transmit in plaintext or code: AIRTEL AIRMAIL (Type in plain text or code) Via (Priority) AIRTETE! AIRTEE AIRTREE TO: DIRECTOR, FBI (FBI) (44-38861) DIRECTORS, FBI (44)-3886) FROM: SAC, MOBILE (157-2627) (P) SUBJECT: 0. MURKIN (COO) MEMPHIS) Re Memphis telcon, 4 /4/16/68. Re Memphis enclosed herewith to the Bureau 3 copies each and to Memphis 2 copies each of 302's of SA DAN O. S.A. copies STEPHENS dated 6/68 and 4/66 & 4/1/68 of SA G. ROBERT MARTZ and SA CARMELLO GRAFFRAFFINNI dated 4/10/68, each reflecting <loc_465><loc_470><loc_465><loc_485><loc_158><loc_485>information concerning the automobile registration and driver's license registration pertaining to ERIC GAIT. ENCLOSURE

Summary:  
The documents include FBI FD-302 forms detailing vehicle registration and driver’s license records for Eric Stavio Galt (variously spelled) in Birmingham, Alabama, with a 1966 Ford Mustang registered to him and a duplicate license issued on March 1, 1968. These records also reference transfer registrations between 1966–1968 and laundry operations at Home Service Laundry and Dry Cleaning in Los Angeles, where employee Esther Nieto and manager Lucy Pinela provided details about garment markings and customer interactions. No direct connection to Martin Luther King Jr., the assassination investigation, or related individuals is present. Separate FBI and CIA records detail investigations into potential links to MLK’s assassination, including James Earl Ray’s identity verification via fingerprint analysis and handwriting comparisons, surveillance of Donald D. Tanner (suspected look-alike for Ray), and tracking Edwin Mason, a U.S. national with passport records in Mexico City and Bogota, Colombia. Hotel records from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, reference U.S. residents like C.C. Bisboe and Standish Rowes, while communications mention a composite drawing of Ray and inquiries about his movements in California and Texas around the time of the assassination. Fragmented telegraph-style FBI notes from April 24–28, 1968, reference flight reservations for O. Gonzalez, L. Maldonado, E.J. Carney, and others, with discrepancies in ticket usage. The FBI notes that passenger Kline’s reservation was used by D. Andruch, while other passengers obtained travel through Southern Travel Agency without using Kline’s name. Atlanta is instructed to investigate these passengers. James Earl Ray (AKA Raymond Owen) is described as an unemployed electrician in Seaside, California, with ties to Wichita, Kansas, including a stepfather Don Colts and alleged connections to the "Buckhorn" nightclub and Louie Meyers, a cattle hauler in Hominy, Oklahoma. The FBI warns Ray is armed and dangerous. Records also mention Harold Edward Nichols under investigation for potential case connections, with efforts to locate his bank accounts and whereabouts on specific dates. Raymond Louis Curtis’s criminal history, including robbery incarceration in 1955 and parole in 1966, is noted, along with James Bradley, Jr.’s involvement in stolen postal money orders.  

Key People:  
- Eric Stavio Galt (various spellings: GALT, GALF)  
- Esther Nieto (employee at Home Service Laundry)  
- Lucy Pinela (manager at Home Service Laundry)  
- James Earl Ray (AKA Raymond Owen)  
- Donald D. Tanner (suspected look-alike for Ray)  
- Edwin Mason (U.S. national with passport records)  
- C.C. Bisboe, Standish Rowes (hotel guests in Puerto Vallarta)  
- George J. Bradley (witness in Veracruz, Mexico)  
- O. Gonzalez, L. Maldonado, E.J. Carney, E. Carney, D. Andruch, R. Ragdale, S. Smith, Goss  
- Harold Edward Nichols  
- Don Colts (phonetic)  
- Louie Meyers  
- Dr. Theodore L. Evans, Dolores Evans (AKA Doddye Evans)  
- Raymond Louis Curtis  
- James Bradley, Jr.  

Key Locations:  
- Birmingham, Alabama (vehicle registration records)  
- Montgomery, Alabama (driver’s license division)  
- Los Angeles, California (Home Service Laundry and Dry Cleaning operations)  
- Austin, Texas (Trek Motel)  
- Puerto Vallarta, Mexico  
- Tequendama Hotel, Bogota, Colombia  
- U.S.-Mexico border (Colorado Bridge, Baja California)  
- Memphis, Tennessee (FBI/CIA operations)  
- Atlanta, Georgia  
- Seaside, California  
- Wichita, Kansas  
- Hominy, Oklahoma  
- Forest, Georgia  
- Augusta, Georgia  
- Jackson County, Missouri  
- Leavenworth, Kansas  
- Indianapolis, North Carolina  
- Salisbury, North Carolina  

Key Events:  
- Issuance and transfer of vehicle registrations for Eric Galt between 1966–1968.  
- Duplicate driver’s license processing for Galt in March 1968.  
- Laundry operations at Home Service Laundry, including garment marking procedures and customer interactions.  
- FBI/CIA investigation into James Earl Ray’s identity verification via fingerprint analysis and handwriting comparisons.  
- Surveillance of Edwin Mason in Mexico City and Bogota, Colombia.  
- Examination of hotel records for U.S. residents in Puerto Vallarta, 1967–1968.  
- Composite drawing of Ray circulated by CIA; hitchhiking observation near the U.S.-Mexico border on April 18, 1968.  
- FBI investigation into flight reservations linked to potential suspects (O. Gonzalez, L. Maldonado, E.J. Carney, etc.), with discrepancies in ticket usage.  
- Tracking of Dr. Theodore L. Evans and his wife Dolores (AKA Doddye Evans) via phone numbers placed from February–April 1968.  
- Investigation into Harold Edward Nichols’s whereabouts and connections to the case.  
- James Earl Ray described as an unemployed electrician in Seaside, California, with ties to Wichita, Kansas, including "Buckhorn" nightclub and Louie Meyers.  
- Raymond Louis Curtis’s criminal history: robbery incarceration in 1955, parole in 1966, and alleged criminal tendencies.  
- James Bradley, Jr.’s involvement in stolen postal money orders.  

Key Organizations:  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)  
- Alabama Department of Public Safety (Driver’s License Division)  
- Alabama Department of Revenue (Motor Vehicle Registration)  
- Home Service Laundry and Dry Cleaning (Los Angeles, California)  
- Southern Travel Agency, Inc. (Augusta, Georgia)  
- North Hill Underwriters, Inc. (Forest, Georgia)  
- U.S. Postal Service  
- Jackson County Jail, Missouri  
- Missouri State Penitentiary (Leavenworth, Kansas)

MLK Declassified Files

44-hq-38861_hs1-233652821_07-04-part_1_of_6.pdf

Document Summary

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