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(Testimony of Joseph Rossi)
Mr. Rossi.
Well, now, before I answer that question, let me continue--it not but a minute or so that they got down to the correction on the name and made mention of the fact that it wasn't Lodi or whoever it was but a Jack Ruby nightclub operator in Dallas. Mr. Osorio turned to me and said, "By golly, you were right." I said, "I was right, but I was shocked also. I knew that Jack. is impulsive, but I didn't think he would do a thing like that just offhand."
The things that led me to feel this way about Jack is that I had seen him or I had stopped off into his club or had seen him in a number of discussions and had occasion to see him argue about certain points and things and knew that he got quite emotional and quite upset. He would be right in his own way and would have no way of possibly explaining it to anybody and couldn't get his point across--it would just get him that much more excited.
I have seen him get pretty worked up over the fact that one of the dancers was 5 minutes late in her performance and he would just work up into a dither, with, "Now, where is she, why isn't she here on it's show time and she isn't here," and he would work himself up and all, and saying that he ought to bop her on the head or something like that, and that he was paying them a salary and he couldn't depend on them, and I tioned to him--I said, "Jack, you act like this is a big George White or something like that." I said, "After all, your customers are enjoying selves, they are listening to the emcee and he is popping off jokes and they drinking their drinks. They don't even know what time it is, let alone, that the girl is supposed to be on."
He said, "But that's beside the point. They pay to come up here and schedule a show at a certain time and some of these people, even if they don't know the time, are entitled to see it when we specify it."
Now, he was that type of a person. When I mention this, I mean that he was pretty well overwrought and quite angry over little things.
Mr. Griffin.
Did you ever hear him get violent over any of these things?
Mr. Rossi.
I never really saw Jack get violent but I saw him get pretty angry, or I say he could be violent, if somebody didn't cool him off. So, let's say, that Jack, as I knew him, didn't drink or smoke and always dressed well, and was in as clean appearance as anybody and kept himself clean and wanted to make a good appearance, and wanted to be somebody socially. As I stated, here in this news article and to the Secret Service men who questioned me, and as mention in the article here (showing newspaper) that because of the lack of education and one thing or another, he was limited. He wanted to become somebody socially or somebody important, and yet, he wasn't accepted quite on that status, and I wouldn't say that the man was frustrated about this, but I know that everything he did, basically he would try to do on an upgrade or try to become somebody more important or better socially or a better man.
Mr. Griffin.
What do you know about his friendships with people who are engaged in gambling or other illegal activities?
Mr. Rossi.
Whether he had any of those or not, or whether he was engaged in any activities of that type, I'm not the least bit aware of, because I never did talk to him about anything or at least he never spoke to me about any of that, if he was, and I didn't know too many of his other acquaintances outside of by sight or by seeing them around town and so forth, but just general people and all that.
Mr. Griffin.
Did he have a reputation among other people of your friends who knew him as being somebody who was on the shady side?
Mr. Rossi.
Well, I wouldn't say that the reputation would be on the shady side, but they knew Jack was a manipulator and had been involved in these clubs and there had been some after-hour talk and so forth, but they knew that his background--just like because of mine where I grew up--you see, it was mentioned even in the article here, it was known as the Bloody 24th Ward, so everything in the way of shades of different colors and hues--that all took place there. Now, whether Jack did any of that here or participated in any of it here, I'm not aware of it.
Mr. Griffin.
You didn't have any information at all that people thought he was a professional criminal of any sort?
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