[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

Trafficante to use Cuba as a staging area for the importation of illegal narcotics into
Florida.” 10 Kurtz discounts the theory that the mob killed Kennedy for its own purposes
instead of at the bidding of Castro. Many theorists argue the mob was angered over the
Kennedy administration’s crackdown on the mafia, especially in light of the secret
collusion between organized crime and U.S. intelligence to attempt to assassinate Castro.
Kurtz, however, contends that the mafia faced an even greater crackdown after
Kennedy’s death, but this presupposes that the mob would know beforehand that they
would face a tougher time in subsequent administrations. Furthermore, Kurtz provides
little evidence – other than the AP interview – to bolster his contention that Castro had
the American mafia killed his nemesis.
While Kurtz’s theory seems fantastic (and he acknowledges it cannot be proven
and that future disclosures may change his views), it underlines the difficulty in pinning
down who Oswald was, who he associated with, and whether ultimately he was a lone
gunman or patsy (the word Oswald himself used to describe his connection to the
assassination). Kurtz concludes, “It is quite conceivable that Lee Harvey Oswald was a
‘patsy,’” especially since he seemed to be always associating with anti-Castro Cubans
and right-wing extremists in New Orleans rather than leftists. In Kurtz’s words, “In his
twenty-four years, Oswald lived a life so riddled with contradictions and unexplained
events that it continues to mystify assassination researchers. The deeper one delves into
the details of Oswald’s life, the more ensnared he becomes in mazelike complexity.” 11
10 Kurtz, l-li.
11 Kurtz, 232-233.
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