Now, I did not stop there.
Mr. Eisenberg. Before we leave those prints, Mr. Latona, had those been developed by the powder method?
Mr. Latona. Yes; they had.
Mr. Eisenberg. Was that a gray powder?
Mr. Latona. I assumed that they used gray powder in order to give them what little contrast could be seen. And it took some highlighting and sidelighting with the use of a spotlight to actually make those things discernible at all.
Representative Ford. As far as you are concerned.
Mr. Latona. That's right.
Mr. Dulles. Is is likely or possible that those fingerprints could have been damaged or eroded in the passage from Texas to your hands?
Mr. Latona. No, sir; I don't think so. In fact, I think we got the prints just like they were. There had, in addition to this rifle and that paper bag, which I received on the 23d—there had also been submitted to me some photographs which had been taken by the Dallas Police Department, at least alleged to have been taken by them, of these prints on this trigger guard which they developed. I examined the photographs very closely and I still could not determine any latent value in the photograph.
So then I took the rifle personally over to our photo laboratory. In the meantime, I had made arrangements to bring a photographer in especially for the purpose of photographing these latent prints for me, an experienced photographer—I called him in. I received this material in the Justice Building. My office of operations is in the Identification Division Building, which is at 2d and D Streets SW. So I made arrangements to immediately have a photographer come in and see if he could improve on the photographs that were taken by the Dallas Police Department.