Although Ruby denies being in Las Vegas after 1937,[A16-407] there are unsupported rumors that he was in that city in late 1962,[A16-408] and the early part of November 1963.[A16-409] Reports that he was in Las Vegas during the weekend prior to the assassination[A16-410] appear similarly unfounded.[A16-411]
There is some uncertainty about Ruby’s trip to Havana, Cuba, in 1959. The evidence indicates that he accepted an invitation from gambler Lewis J. McWillie, who subsequently became a violent anti-Castroite, to visit Havana at McWillie’s expense.[A16-412] Ruby apparently met McWillie in about 1950, when McWillie operated a Dallas nightclub.[A16-413] McWillie, whom Ruby said he idolized,[A16-414] supervised gambling activities at Havana’s Tropicana Hotel in 1959 and later was employed in a managerial capacity in a Las Vegas gambling establishment.[A16-415] Ruby testified that he went to Havana for 8 days in August 1959 and left because he was not interested in its gambling activities.[A16-416] McWillie corroborated this story except that he stated only that Ruby visited Havana “sometime in 1959.”[A16-417] Three Chicagoans reported seeing Ruby in Havana during the Labor Day weekend in 1959.[A16-418] Meyer Panitz, an acquaintance of McWillie, reported that when he met Ruby in Miami during the “summer of 1959” Ruby stated that he was returning from a pleasure trip to Cuba.[A16-419] The theory that the trip to Havana had conspiratorial implications is discussed in chapter VI. There is no reliable evidence that Ruby went to Havana subsequent to September 1959.[A16-420]
Although Ruby denied ever being in Hawaii,[A16-421] there is some evidence that during the summer of 1961 he was in Honolulu seeking dancing talent.[A16-422] While it is unlikely that Ruby would forget a trip to Honolulu in 1961, there is no other indication that such a trip, if it occurred, had any sinister motives.
CHARACTER AND INTERESTS
Family Relationships
As mentioned previously,[A16-423] Eva Grant was the only member of the family living in Dallas when Ruby returned to that city in late 1947. In 1948, she returned to the west coast, visiting Dallas sporadically until 1959, when she assumed management of the Vegas.[A16-424] Despite their recurring arguments, during which they sometimes came to blows,[A16-425] Ruby was closer to Eva than any of his brothers or sisters. In the summer of 1963, Eva complained bitterly to Ruby because he gave a friend about $800 instead of paying Vegas Club bills. Eva, citing her poor health, stated that she should be hospitalized. Ruby rejoined that he had provided her money to enter a hospital. He then shoved her, causing her to fall back about 8 feet and hurt her arm and shoulder. At this point Ruby insisted he wanted her to leave the Vegas Club.[A16-426]
Ruby frequently told Eva to submit to an operation and in early November 1963 she consented. She was hospitalized for a week, leaving about November 13.[A16-427] While she was in the hospital, Jack called Earl and Sam, requesting them to convey their concern to Eva.[A16-428] According to Eva, Jack visited her at the hospital two or three times a day. He kept in constant touch with her throughout the weekend of November 22.[A16-429]
Sam Ruby moved to Dallas from Chicago in July 1955, after selling his interest in the Earl Products Co.[A16-430] His son’s asthma and Eva’s suggestion that he work as a builder in Dallas prompted the move.[A16-431] Apparently as a result of difficulties in collecting the $5,500 Sam loaned Jack in 1955 to pay Federal excise taxes,[A16-432] Jack and Sam were never particularly close to each other. However, Sam entered into a partnership in an unsuccessful ice cream business with Jack’s close friend, Ralph Paul.[A16-433] Jack visited Sam and his family occasionally, especially on Jewish holidays, and from time to time they spoke to each other by telephone.[A16-434]
Jack had sporadic contacts with his brother Earl, who remained in Chicago until about 1960, when he moved to Detroit.[A16-435] The most successful of the brothers, Earl often gave Jack business advice and capital.[A16-436] He estimated, perhaps conservatively, that, when arrested, Jack owed him $15,000.[A16-437] The evidence also indicates that Jack borrowed at least $1,000, and probably more, from his sister Marion in Chicago.[A16-438]