Friday evening.—Ruby is uncertain whether he went directly from his sister’s home to his apartment or possibly first to his club.[C6-906] At least 5 witnesses recall seeing a man they believe was Ruby on the third floor of police headquarters at times they have estimated between 6 and 9 p.m.;[C6-907] however, it is not clear that Ruby was present at the Police and Courts Building before 11 p.m. With respect to three of the witnesses, it is doubtful that the man observed was Ruby. Two of those persons had not known Ruby previously and described wearing apparel which differed both from Ruby’s known dress that night and from his known wardrobe.[C6-908] The third, who viewed from the rear the person he believed was Ruby, said the man unsuccessfully attempted to enter the homicide office.[C6-909] Of the police officers on duty near homicide at the time of the alleged event, only one remembered the episode, and he said the man in question definitely was not Ruby.[C6-910] The remaining witnesses knew or talked with Ruby, and their testimony leaves little doubt that they did see him on the third floor at some point on Friday night; however the possibility remains that they observed Ruby later in the evening, when his presence is conclusively established.[C6-911] Ruby has denied being at the police department Friday night before approximately 11:15 p.m.[C6-912]
In any event, Ruby eventually returned to his own apartment before 9 p.m. There he telephoned Ralph Paul but was unable to persuade Paul to join him at synagogue services.[C6-913] Shortly after 9 p.m., Ruby called the Chicago home of his oldest brother, Hyman Rubenstein, and two of his sisters, Marion Carroll and Ann Volpert.[C6-914] Hyman Rubenstein testified that, during the call, his brother was so disturbed about the situation in Dallas that he mentioned selling his business and returning to Chicago.[C6-915] From his apartment, Ruby drove to Temple Shearith Israel, arriving near the end of a 2-hour service which had begun at 8 p.m.[C6-916] Rabbi Hillel Silverman, who greeted him among the crowd leaving the services[C6-917] was surprised that Ruby, who appeared depressed, mentioned only his sister’s recent illness and said nothing about the assassination.[C6-918]
(COMMISSION EXHIBIT 2427)
“CLOSED” SIGN POSTED IN THE WINDOW OF THE CAROUSEL CLUB AND RUBY’S NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT ANNOUNCING THAT THE VEGAS AND CAROUSEL CLUBS WILL BE CLOSED
DALLAS TIMES HERALD
SATURDAY, NOV. 23, 1963
PAGE A-13
Ruby related that, after joining in the postservice refreshments,[C6-919] he drove by some night clubs, noticing whether or not they had been closed as his were.[C6-920] He testified that, as he drove toward town, a radio announcement that the Dallas police were working overtime prompted the thought that he might bring those at police headquarters something to eat.[C6-921] At about 10:30 p.m., he stopped at a delicatessen near the Vegas Club and purchased 8 kosher sandwiches and 10 soft drinks.[C6-922] From the delicatessen, he called the police department but was told that the officers had already eaten.[C6-923] He said he then tried to offer the food to employees at radio station KLIF but failed in several attempts to obtain the private night line number to the station.[C6-924] On three occasions between phone calls, Ruby spoke with a group of students whom he did not know, lamenting the President’s death, teasing one of the young men about being too young for his clubs, borrowing their copy of the Dallas Times Herald to see how his advertisements had been run, and stating that his clubs were the only ones that had closed because of the assassination. He also expressed the opinion, as he had earlier in the day, that the assassination would be harmful to the convention business in Dallas.[C6-925] Upon leaving the delicatessen with his purchases, Ruby gave the counterman as a tip a card granting free admission to his clubs.[C6-926] He drove downtown to the police station where he has said he hoped to find an employee from KLIF who could give him the “hot line” phone number for the radio station.[C6-927]
The third floor of police headquarters.—Ruby is known to have made his way, by about 11:30 p.m., to the third floor of the Dallas Police Department where reporters were congregated near the homicide bureau.[C6-928] Newsman John Rutledge, one of those who may well have been mistaken as to time, gave the following description of his first encounter with Ruby at the police station:
I saw Jack and two out-of-state reporters, whom I did not know, leave the elevator door and proceed toward those television cameras, to go around the corner where Captain Fritz’s office was. Jack walked between them. These two out-of-state reporters had big press cards pinned on their coats, great big red ones, I think they said “President Kennedy’s Visit to Dallas—Press”, or something like that. And Jack didn’t have one, but the man on either side of him did. And they walked pretty rapidly from the elevator area past the policeman, and Jack was bent over like this—writing on a piece of paper, and talking to one of the reporters, and pointing to something on the piece of paper, he was kind of hunched over.[C6-929]
