- Billie Sol Estes
Billie Sol Estes (born 1924) was a scandal-ridden
Texas -based financier best known for his association withU.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and for having accused Johnson of a variety of crimes, including theassassination of his presidential predecessor,John F. Kennedy . [citeweb|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKbakerB.html|title=Billie Sol Estes and the JFK assassination]Estes was born in Abilene, the seat of Taylor County in west Texas. He amassed his fortune through the federal surplus grain program. After marrying in 1946, he moved to Pecos, the seat of Reeves County in southwest Texas, where he sold
irrigation pumps powered bynatural gas . He channeled those profits to launch still another successful business sellinganhydrous ammonia fertilizer . [cite web|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKbakerB.html|title=Same reference above] Mr. Estes currently lives in Granbury, Texas.Fraud charges
In the late 1950s, the
United States Department of Agriculture began controlling the price ofcotton , specifyingquota s to farmers. The limited production hurt Estes' businesses. He responded by expanding into cotton production himself. Over the next few years he developed a massive fraud, claiming to grow and store cotton that never existed, then using the cotton as collateral for bank loans. During this same period he became involved in Texas Democratic state politics and made political contributions toU.S. Senator and laterVice President of the United States Lyndon Johnson . [cite web|url=http://home.earthlink.net/~sixthfloor/estes.htm|title=The Estes Documents]On
June 3 ,1961 , Estes' local contact at theAgricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service , [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKmarshallH.htm Henry Marshall] , was found dead in his car with five gunshot wounds on a remote part of his ownranch . Justice of the Peace Lee Farmer attributed Marshall's death tocarbon monoxide poisoning brought about from a hose attached to the exhaust pipe of his car. The body was buried without anautopsy . Thesuicide verdict was later overturned.. [cite web|url=http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKmarshallH.htm|title=Henry Marshall]On
April 4 ,1962 , Estes'accountant , George Krutilek, was found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Krutilek had been questioned by theFBI about Estes the day before.Meanwhile, Lubbock attorney
Warlick Carr , brother of futureAttorney General Waggoner Carr , filed some thirtycivil suit s against Estes to reclaim damages.As a result of these deaths and an investigation into his business practices, on
April 5 ,1962 , Estes and several business associates were indicted by a federal grand jury on fifty-seven counts offraud . Estes was accused of swindling investors, banks and the federal government of at least $24 million. through false agricultural subsidy claims on cotton production and the use of non-existent supplies of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer ascollateral for loans. He was eventually found guilty of additional federal charges and sentenced to fifteen years in prison.Two of Estes' associates,
Harold Orr andColeman Wade , were also indicted but died of carbon monoxide poisoning (apparent suicides) before they went to trial. Estes was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to eight years in prison. Howard Pratt, manager of a Chicago fertilizer supply company, was also found dead in his car from an apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. There was also a half bottle of liquor in his car however after testing, no alcohol was present in Howard's body.The high-profile case generated extensive national press coverage and was the first topic of President
John F. Kennedy 's press conference onMay 17 ,1962 . As a result of the financial and political scandal, Kennedy apparently began considering dropping Johnson as his running mate in the 1964 election. The political fallout extended to the election ofEd Foreman as a Republican to theUnited States House of Representatives from west Texas in 1962. At the time, he andBruce Alger of Dallas were the only Texas Republican congressmen. There were twenty-two Democrats in the national delegation. Democratic incumbentJ.T. Rutherford 's ties to Estes were the main cause of his defeat. Foreman, however, was defeated two years later in the Johnson-Humphrey landslide.Although Estes went to
prison , his conviction was later overturned by theUnited States Supreme Court ("Estes v. Texas ," ussc|381|532|1965). His appeal hinged upon television cameras and broadcast journalists having been allowed in the courtroom, depriving him of a fair trial. He prevailed by a narrow 5-4 vote.Allegations and conspiracy theories
After his release from jail and LBJ's death, Estes began making allegations regarding Johnson. According to the authors of "
The Men Who Killed Kennedy ", Estes claimed to have funneled millions of dollars into Johnson's pockets from the cotton allotment scam. Although some contributions are a matter of record, Johnson denied thebribery charges.The Estes case also figures prominently in the best-selling book "" by the Texas
historian J. Evetts Haley .. [Citation| first = Evetts | last = Haley| author-link = J._Evetts_Haley| title = A Texan Looks at Lyndon: A Study in Illegitimate Power | publisher = Palo Duro Press| year = March 9, 1964| isbn = 1568490097 ]Estes later claimed Johnson was involved in a conspiracy to murder witnesses in the Estes trial as part of a wider conspiracy related to the
Kennedy assassination . In 1984, Estes' lawyer, Douglas Caddy, wrote to the Department of Justice claiming that Estes, Lyndon B. Johnson,Malcolm "Mac" Wallace , andCliff Carter had been involved in the murders of [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKmarshallH.htm Henry Marshall] , George Krutilek, Harold Orr, Ike Rogers and his secretary, Coleman Wade, the president's sisterJosefa Johnson , John Kinser andJohn F. Kennedy . Caddy added, "Mr. Estes is willing to testify that LBJ ordered these killings, and that he transmitted his orders through Cliff Carter to Mac Wallace, who executed the murders." [Citation| first = Harrison | last = Livingstone| author-link = Harrison Livingstone| title = The Radical Right and the Murder of John F. Kennedy: Stunning Evidence | publisher = Trafford Publishing| year = July 6, 2006| isbn = 1412040558 ]Estes agreed to provide supporting proof to the FBI, which proffered immunity in exchange but Estes ultimately refused to produce any evidence.
Criticswho suggest Estes' claims of his involvement in a wide conspiracy involving mass murder and political assassination were motivated by the desire of a convicted
felon to deflect responsibility for his own criminal behavior and later as a means of generating publicity for the purpose of selling a book he had written.Billie Sol Estes in popular culture
Folk-protest singer
Phil Ochs wrote a song about the incident called [http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~trent/ochs/lyrics/billie-sol.html "The Ballad of Billie Sol."]Allan Sherman performed a parody folksong (co-written withLou Busch ): "Oh, Look What You've Done, Billie Sol, Billie Sol," as did Jesse Lee Turner: mp3 [http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/ss/09/ss9192.mp3] [ [http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/labels/g/g482.htm GNP Crescendo (RCS Label Listing) ] at rcs.law.emory.edu] . [ [http://rcs.law.emory.edu/rcs/pics/d04/4332.htm Jesse Lee Turner: GNP Crescendo 188 ] at rcs.law.emory.edu]The Chad Mitchell Trio performed "The Ides of Texas" about him as well. More recently, Houston based singer/songwriter David Brake wrote the song [http://www.westerlandrecords.com/song4.mp3 "Swindler"] about Estes and performed it withThat Damn Band .Notes
Further reading
*Citation| author-link = Billie Sol Estes| title = Billie Sol Estes a Texas Legend, a
Self-biography written byBillie Sol Estes and published by "BS Production", (1st edition 2004)
*Read the 1962 Time Magazine account of the Billie Sol Estes scandal. [http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19620525,00.html]
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