</s>SL: 44-775 PWB:jfb RE: BROTHER - JOHN LARRY RAY Special Agent PATRICK W. BRADLEY. The following investigation was conducted by The following investigations was conductedby Reality Agent PATRICW. BRADELEY. On May 8, 1968, FRANK J. LESYNA, MILLER-Scheer Reality and Insurance Company, 2846 California, St. Louis, Missouri, furnished by mail by Xerox copy of a check drawn on the insurance company, 2646 California St, Louis, J.J. Jeffersons-Gravois Bank, St Louis, Missouri, is the account Jumbo RAY and is dated May 3, 1968. This check is payable to John Miller and Scheer Real Estate Company in the amount of $80.00 and is signed JOHN RAY. the above is being retained in file. 177 2025 RELEASE UNDER E.O. 14176

Summary  
The text contains law enforcement investigative reports and KKK organizational records from the 1960s. It details suspicions surrounding the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including witness accounts of individuals resembling James Earl Ray at the Holiday Inn North in St. Louis, Missouri. Reports mention a man with a Lincoln Continental (Kentucky license plates) and a golf bag linked to Room 213, as well as a $1 bill with specific serial numbers tied to the room. The text also outlines the formation of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (NKKK) in 1960 through consolidation of regional KKK factions, chartered in 1963 under NKKK. It references Klavern #14 activities in St. Louis, including meetings at El Monti Tavern and rented halls, with commissioning of members by the Grand Dragon of Missouri and Imperial Wizard James R. Venable.  

Key People  
- James Earl Ray (alleged assassin of MLK)  
- John Flavey (suspected lookalike of Ray)  
- James R. Venable (Imperial Wizard of NKKK)  
- Grand Dragon of the State of Missouri (not named in document)  

Key Locations  
- Holiday Inn North, St. Louis, Missouri (Room 213 linked to suspect activity)  
- El Monti Tavern, 8201 Southwest Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri  
- North Lorraine Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri  
- St. Louis, Missouri (general location for rented halls and KKK operations)  

Key Events  
- Witness reports of suspicious behavior at Holiday Inn North in St. Louis, including long-distance calls and cash transactions  
- Formation of National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (NKKK) through consolidation of regional KKK groups in 1960  
- Organizational meetings of Klavern #14 in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 25, 1965; November 30, 1965; and August 9, 1967  
- Commissioning of Klan members by the Grand Dragon of Missouri  

Key Organizations  
- National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (NKKK)  
- Klavern #14 (St. Louis, Missouri)  
- Ku Klux Klan (KKK) regional factions consolidated into NKKK

MLK Declassified Files

44-si-561_sec_017_ser_651-697-part_8_of_8.pdf

Document Summary

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