Billie Sol Estes
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Billie Sol Estes (born 1924) was a scandal-ridden Texas-based financier best known for his association with US President Lyndon B. Johnson and for accusing Johnson with a variety of crimes, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy. [1]
Estes was born in Abilene, Texas, and began amassing his fortune through the federal surplus grain program. After marrying in 1946 he moved to Pecos, Texas where he sold irrigation pumps powered by natural gas, using the profits to start another successful business selling anhydrous ammonia fertilizer.
[edit] Fraud Charges
In the late 1950s the US Department of Agriculture began controlling the price of cotton, specifying quotas to farmers. This limited overall production and Estes' businesses suffered. 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 state politics and made political contributions to US senator and later Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
On June 3, 1961, Estes' local contact at the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Henry Marshall, was found dead in his car (reportedly with five gunshot wounds) on a remote part of his own ranch. Attributing Marshall's death to carbon monoxide poisoning brought about from a hose attached to the exhaust pipe of his car, local Justice of the Peace Lee Farmer ruled Marshall had killed himself and the body was buried without an autopsy. The suicide verdict was later overturned.
On April 4, 1962 Estes' accountant, George Krutilek, was found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. Krutilek had been questioned by the FBI about Estes the day before.
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 57 counts of fraud. Estes was accused of swindling many investors, banks and the federal government out of at least twenty-four million dollars through false agricultural subsidy claims on cotton production and the use of non-existent supplies of anhydrous ammonia fertilizer as collateral for loans. Two of Estes' associates, Harold Orr and Coleman 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. He was eventually found guilty of additional federal charges and sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
The high-profile case had extensive national press coverage and was the first topic of President John F. Kennedy's press conference on May 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 fall out extended to the election of Ed Foreman as a Republican to U.S. Congress from west Texas in 1962. At the time he was one of only two Texas Republican congressmen out of 24. The Democratic incumbent's ties to Estes were the main cause of his defeat. Rep. Foreman was defeated two years later in 1964.
Although Estes went to prison, his conviction was later overturned by the United States Supreme Court (Estes v. Texas, ). 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.
[edit] Allegations and Conspiracy Theories
After his release from jail and Johnson's death, Estes began making allegations regarding President 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 the bribery charges.
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 and Cliff Carter had been involved in the murders of Henry Marshall, George Krutilek, Harold Orr, Ike Rogers and his secretary, Coleman Wade, the president's sister Josefa Johnson, John Kinser and John 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."
Estes agreed to provide supporting proof to the FBI, which proffered immunity in exchange but Estes ultimately refused to produce any evidence.
Critics 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.
As of June 2005 Estes was still actively promoting his book, Billie Sol Estes: A Texas Legend.
Folk-protest singer Phil Ochs wrote a song about the incident called "The Ballad of Billie Sol."
Categories: Articles lacking sources from July 2006 | All articles lacking sources | 1924 births | Living people | American businesspeople | American political scandals | Confidence tricksters | Conspiracy theories | John F. Kennedy assassination | People from Abilene, Texas | People in food and agriculture occupations | Politics of Texas | Prisoners convicted of white-collar crimes
