</s>MM 44-1854 HCB/mev 1 The following Eastern Airlines (EAL) crew members of EAL flight to San Francisco, Georgia taken on April 5, 1968, to San Juan, Puerto Rico were con- tacted by S.A. Charles BELL, Miami, Florida. Each stated, after viewing photographs of JAMES EARL RAY, that any other flight him as having been a pass- got any of their flight to have been a passenger- furnish any information of value to this investigation: Name and Address Position Flight Name and address Pilot St. Louis to 14501 S.W. 92nd Avenue Atlanta to Miami Miami, Florida JOHN M. GUTTURE Flight 901 Orchard Drive Miami to San Juan Miami Springs, Florida Attendant EUGENE WALLACE Flight 225 West 60th Street Miami toSan Juan 225 West Florida Attendant ROBERT ELTON Flight Miami to SAN Juan 17640 N.W ., 40th Avenue Miami, FLORIDA Attendant Miami to South Juan The above were contacted on April 22, 1968. 7 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary:  
The documents detail FBI investigations into Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, focusing on James Earl Ray as a suspect. On April 5–6, 1968, the FBI showed photographs of Ray to Eastern Airlines (EAL) crew members who operated flights from Atlanta to foreign destinations; none identified him as a passenger. Fingerprint checks at Miami police departments and sheriff offices yielded no matches with Ray’s prints. Long-distance calls from the Saint Francis Hotel in Los Angeles were analyzed, linking a phone number to Judy Mendelson and her father Max Mendelson. Efforts to locate Walter Lohmeyer through John B. Swift in Florida were unsuccessful. The FBI reviewed rental agreements, credit cards, and handwriting samples tied to Michael St. Pierre and a stolen 1967 Cadillac (VIN F71112795) associated with Lou Eisenberg. In May 1968, the FBI noted no evidence connecting Ray to these activities.  

On May 3, 1968, the FBI Birmingham Office received a letter from Hazel V. Peacock in Okeechobee, Florida, alleging Terrence Alvin Smith and Donald Jackson Carpenter jokingly claimed they killed MLK. The Miami FBI Office investigated, noting Carpenter told Peacock he and Smith had killed MLK and sought to hide them for $100,000. Smith later confirmed the call was a joke and denied involvement in secret organizations. The Atlanta FBI Office noted Smith and Carpenter were at Lee Williams Nursery on April 4–6, 1968, and that Carpenter allegedly told others he had killed MLK.  

James Earl Ray is described as a narcotics addict using amphetamines, with FBI Miami agents distributing wanted flyers to hippy hangouts and psychedelic shops in 1968. A telephone call from Vidor, Texas, to Immokalee, Florida, on December 15–17, 1967, was investigated but yielded no identification. Donald Stout allegedly threatened to kill MLK in 1966 in the presence of hitchhiker Stewart Lindh. James Harvey White, a Ft. Lauderdale barber, was questioned regarding inquiries to the Ku Klux Klan about paying for MLK’s assassination; he denied involvement and stated no connection to threats against MLK. The FBI Miami Office also reviewed Paula Simone Galt’s immigration records, noting her file transferred from St. Louis to Miami in 1967. A vehicle VIN check was conducted for a 1967 Mustang linked to Eric Starvo Galt.  

Key People:  
- **James Earl Ray**: Suspected assassin; narcotics addict with amphetamine use; subject of FBI wanted flyers and fingerprint checks.  
- **Terrence Alvin Smith**: Allegedly joked about killing MLK with Donald Jackson Carpenter; present at Lee Williams Nursery on April 4–6, 1968.  
- **Donald Jackson Carpenter**: Claimed to have killed MLK with Smith; sought $100,000 for hiding them.  
- **Hazel V. Peacock**: Reported claims about Smith and Carpenter’s alleged involvement in MLK’s assassination.  
- **Judy Mendelson**: Linked to a phone number called from the Saint Francis Hotel in Los Angeles.  
- **Max Mendelson**: Father of Judy Mendelson; reported as caller from the hotel.  
- **Michael St. Pierre**: Associated with a stolen 1967 Cadillac and rental agreements.  
- **Lou Eisenberg**: Identified as former owner of the stolen Cadillac (VIN F71112795).  
- **James Harvey White**: Questioned about KKK inquiries related to MLK’s assassination; denied involvement.  
- **Paula Simone Galt**: Immigration records reviewed by FBI Miami Office in 1967.  
- **Eric Starvo Galt**: Linked to a 1967 Mustang via VIN check.  
- **Stewart Lindh**: Hitchhiker present during Donald Stout’s alleged threat against MLK in 1966.  
- **Donald Stout**: Allegedly threatened to kill MLK in 1966.  
- **Lee Williams**: Owner of nursery where Smith and Carpenter were present on April 4–6, 1968.  

Key Locations:  
- **Miami, Florida**: Central to FBI investigations involving EAL crews, fingerprint checks, car rental records, and immigration reviews.  
- **Los Angeles, California**: Saint Francis Hotel, site of long-distance call analysis.  
- **Okeechobee, Florida**: Location of Hazel V. Peacock’s letter reporting claims about Smith and Carpenter.  
- **Birmingham, Alabama**: FBI Birmingham Office received the letter from Peacock on May 3, 1968.  
- **Ft. Lauderdale, Florida**: Home of James Harvey White, questioned regarding KKK inquiries.  
- **Vidor, Texas**: Origin of a telephone call to Immokalee, Florida, investigated in December 1967.  
- **Immokalee, Florida**: Destination of the Vidor-to-Immokalee call.  
- **St. Louis, Missouri**: Source of Paula Simone Galt’s immigration records transfer to Miami in 1967.  
- **Montreal, Canada**: Linked to the stolen 1967 Cadillac (VIN F71112795).  

Key Events:  
- **April 4–6, 1968**: Smith and Carpenter were at Lee Williams Nursery; Carpenter allegedly claimed to have killed MLK.  
- **April 5–6, 1968**: FBI showed James Earl Ray’s photograph to EAL crew members on flights from Atlanta to foreign destinations; none identified him as a passenger.  
- **April 22, 1968**: FBI contacted EAL crews and conducted fingerprint checks in Miami police departments and sheriff offices, finding no matches with Ray’s prints.  
- **February–March 1968**: Analysis of long-distance calls from the Saint Francis Hotel linked to Judy Mendelson and Max Mendelson.  
- **May 3, 1968**: FBI Birmingham Office received letter from Hazel V. Peacock about Smith and Carpenter’s alleged joke about killing MLK.  
- **December 15–17, 1967**: Telephone call from Vidor, Texas, to Immokalee, Florida, investigated but yielded no identification.  
- **September 9, 1966**: Investigation into James Harvey White’s inquiries to the Ku Klux Klan about paying for MLK’s assassination; White denied involvement.  
- **1967**: Immigration records check for Paula Simone Galt (file transferred from St. Louis to Miami) and VIN check for a 1967 Mustang linked to Eric Starvo Galt.  

Key Organizations:  
- **Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)**: Conducted fingerprint checks, telephone investigations, rental record reviews, and immigration file analyses.  
- **Ku Klux Klan (KKK)**: Mentioned in inquiries related to potential involvement in MLK’s assassination.  
- **Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)**: Disseminated identification orders and reviewed Paula Simone Galt’s immigration records.  
- **Eastern Airlines (EAL)**: Provided flight crew information for verifying James Earl Ray’s travel history.  
- **Miami Police Department**: Involved in latent fingerprint examinations.  
- **Salvation Army**: Mentioned in the context of welfare agencies (Miami Division).

MLK Declassified Files

44-mm-1854_v4-part_7_of_8.pdf

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