Final_Judgment

761 [663]
A Challenge to the Readers . . .
After all the clues had been scattered in front of the readers, the authors
of the Ellery Queen mystery novels would issue "a challenge to the reader"
to come up with the solution to the crime before the detective gathered all of
the suspects together in the drawing room to unveil the murderer.
My challenge to the readers is somewhat different. Now that you've
read the book and heard my presentation in its entirely, I'm challenging the
readers to show me any factual errors or any twisted reasoning or quotes
taken out of context or any misrepresentations which would (once exposed)
disprove the theory laid forth in this volume.
As of this time, I am aware of the fifteen following factual errors or
misstatements that appeared in previous editions of Final Judgment and
which have been corrected. Those previous errors were (for the record):
(1) In the first and second editions, I cited a source which erroneously
reported that no Jews died when Israel's Mossad orchestrated the bombing
of Goldenberg's Deli in Paris on August 9, 1982. This error was corrected
in the third edition, at which time I noted that the error was brought to my
attention by a friend (who happens to be Jewish) whose aunt was visiting
Paris at the time of the Mossad crime and who escaped being a victim
herself. Although the lady's companion (who was Jewish) did go into the
deli and died in the bombing, my friend's aunt went elsewhere and thus
survived. So that error was corrected, although it had nothing to do with the
thesis of Final Judgment or even with the JFK assassination itself.
(2) In the third edition of Final Judgment, I cited former FBI man
William Roemer's book, War of the Godfathers, as the source for my
statement that longtime Lansky Syndicate figure Morris Dalitz had been
shot down in the streets of Las Vegas and was later poisoned to death in his
hospital room. In fact, Dalitz did not die in the colorful way Roemer's book
described. Dalitz, apparently, died of natural causes.
By way of explanation, it appears that although Roemer has written
some "non-fiction" relating to the history of organized crime, his book
which contained this (false) description of Dalitz's death also includes
some literary license on Roemer's part. According to Roemer, War of the
Godfathers was "a work consisting mostly of fact" but that "in those limited
portions that are fictionalized, the underlying basis is either fact or an
inferential projection thereof."
In any case, recalling that Dalitz had indeed died—and recalling, as I
was preparing the third edition of Final Judgment that Roemer's book had
provided a graphic description of his demise—I mistakenly relied upon a
portion of the book that Roemer would refer to as having been
"fictionalized." I apologize for my reliance on Roemer's reputation as an
authority on the mob. However, my error (based on Roemer's fantasy) was
corrected as of the fourth edition of Final Judgment. I nonetheless hasten to
add, however, that this error had nothing to do with the thesis of Final
Judgment or with the JFK assassination itself.