Moldea responds to Jerry Policoff and his false statements about Greg Stone

Moldea responds to Jerry Policoff's false statements about Greg Stone and his suicide

On December 11, 2005, JFK/RFK conspiracy investigator Jerry Policoff published a statement saying:

I don't think Greg thought he had "let the case down." I really feel Al Lowenstein was almost his whole life (Al could have that effect on people). After Al died Greg's sole mission was to get a book of his speeches et al published (which of course he did), and to take the pursuit of the RFK case as far as he could. The last time I saw him he expressed a real sense of accomplishment in having helped force the LAPD to release what remained of their evidence. He also told me that he did not believe there was anything else he could do on the case and that he needed to get away from it. I only realized later what he was telling me. I thought at the time that he was telling me he had decided to get on with his life.

I know that Dan Moldea's book about the case also was a hard pill for Greg to swallow. They had been close friends and associates on the RFK case, and Greg felt a real sense of betrayal when Moldea's book ended up supporting a lone assassin hypothesis.

I went to Greg's funeral, and Moldea had told Greg's sister he planned to attend. He did not attend, instead calling Greg's sister again and telling her that he just could not handle it.

I do not believe Moldea really thought that Sirhan was a lone assassin. I can only speculate at what his motivations were for writing such a book. Based on what Greg's sister told me about how broken up Moldea was over Greg's suicide, I would not be surprised if he was a bit overwhelmed by guilt. I am not saying Moldea contributed to Greg's suicide, but Greg certainly felt betrayed. In the end though, I really think Greg lost the will to live when Al Lowenstein died. We had a close mutual friend (she had also been a close friend of Lowentsein) who told me more than once that she was very worried about Greg. I think she saw it coming.

We all knew each other by the way because we were all involved in trying to reopen the JFK and RFK cases. Lowenstein only pursued the RFK case in public, but in private he was intensely interested in the JFK case as well.

With regard to Policoff's allegation that "Greg felt a real sense of betrayal when Dan Moldea's book ended up supporting a lone assassin hypothesis," I note that Greg committed suicide in January 1991. My book--The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means and Opportunity--was published in May 1995. At the time of Greg's death--four years before my book was released--I still believed that two guns had been fired at the crime scene. Thus, it is impossible that Greg could have considered my book, 1) "a hard pill to swallow," 2) a "betrayal," and 3) a contributing factor in Greg's decision to kill himself for which I was "overwhelmed by guilt."

Secondly--with regard to Policoff's claim that I was too "broken up" to attend Greg's funeral-- the simple fact is that on February 5, 1991, I flew from Washington, D.C. to Columbus, Ohio, where I rented a car and drove to Otway, Ohio. I went to the funeral home where Greg's body was being viewed. I stayed for several hours and paid my respects to Greg's family and friends, including Greg's sister. Later that same day, I returned to Columbus and flew back to Washington. Consequently, it is a lie to say that I called Greg's sister and told her that I could not attend because I "just could not handle it."

Finally, regardless of what Policoff thinks, I genuinely believe and have proven that Sirhan Sirhan killed Senator Robert Kennedy--and that he acted alone.

Policoff’s July 8 response to Moldea’s reply:

I saw Greg a week or two before he killed himself when I visited L.A. on business. I barely remember writing the post above and do not recall where it even appeared. I believe it was solicited by someone, and that it was that person who printed it. Every word is true though.

Greg’s feeling of betrayal stemmed not from your book, but rather from an article you had recently published where you had made a major retreat from your previous conspiracy beliefs. Since more than a dozen years had passed when I wrote this I think it is understandable that I had forgotten that it was an article that had upset Greg rather than your book which came later. I do not recall exactly where that article appeared, but I have no doubt I can find it if I look for it. The bottom line is that you had already changed your mind about an RFK conspiracy in print, and Greg was upset about it and said so.

When Greg died I lived in Cincinnati, and I also drove to Otway. It was someone’s home, I do not recall whose. Greg’s sister and many of Greg’s former friends were there. You were not. What I reported being told by Greg’s sister is absolutely true, and I have no doubt she will confirm it if I seek her out and ask her about it. If there were formal funeral services at a funeral home that you attended and I did not, I have no recollection as to why I did not, but the likelihood is that I had to get back to Cincinnati. I recall it was a long drive to Otway. All I know is that you were not at the funeral event I attended, and what I reported Greg’s sister told me at that event is 100% true.

I assume you printed this somewhere on your web site, and I would appreciate it if you would also post my response.

Jerry Policoff

Moldea’s second reply to Policoff’s continuing false statements (July 11):

In the first paragraph of his response to my reply to his false allegations against me, Jerry Policoff, speaking of his previous statement about me, insists, “Every word is true. . . .”

Please note that Policoff has already altered his original claim that Greg felt betrayed by my 1995 “book,” which Policoff now realizes was published four years after Stone’s death. With that truth discredited, Policoff now claims that the source of my alleged betrayal of Greg Stone resulted “from an article you had recently published where you had made a major retreat from your previous conspiracy beliefs.”

That is not just a lie. It is also a provable lie. Prior to Greg Stone’s suicide in January 1991, I had never published a book, an article, an essay, a poem, or anything else in which I “made a major retreat” from my belief at that time—that two guns had been fired at the crime scene. In fact, I did not begin my “retreat” from that position until my third and final interview with Sirhan Sirhan on June 5, 1994—over three years after Greg’s death.

Policoff claims, “I do not recall exactly where that article appeared, but I have no doubt I can find it if I look for it.”

Further, today, I spoke with Greg's sister, Dr. Jennifer Stone, who clearly remembers that I came to the funeral home in Otway, Ohio—contrary to Policoff’s original claim, which is also a lie. In fact, that was where she and I first met. Indeed, like many other people, I was very upset about Greg's death, but that did not stop me from coming to Otway to pay my respects.

If there was any question as to whether I was at the funeral home or not—especially when Policoff used it, in part, for such a cruel and harsh allegation against me—all he had to do was call and ask me. I am quite easy to find.

Finally, I attempted to avoid all of this by calling Policoff at his home to discuss and resolve this matter. When Policoff did not return my call, I posted my self-defense.

I believe that any reasonable person will agree that Policoff’s suggestion that my actions might have led to the decision by my friend, Greg Stone, to commit suicide is as irresponsible as it is unfair.