James Files: The Man Who Killed JFK

Sound Bite

This book brings forth a wealth of details newly available to a committed sleuth, and examines James Files' claim to have fired the fatal shot killing JFK from the grassy knoll. Author Jerry Kroth uses his direct prison interviews with Files, Howard Hunt's deathbed confession naming CIA and Mafia figures, and evidence from 50,000+ Trump-released documents to argue Oswald was a patsy in a larger conspiracy.

About the Book

Imagine a 21-year-old Chicago mob enforcer named James Files, working under hitman Charles Nicoletti, positioned on the grassy knoll in Dallas on November 22, 1963. His job: fire only if the backup shot from the Dal-Tex building missed JFK's head. When it did, Files squeezed the trigger on his Remington Fireball pistol-rifle, striking Kennedy in the right temple and fragmenting the bullet in his brain. That's the bold claim at the heart of this book, backed by the author's direct prison interviews with Files and a mountain of overlooked evidence.

Author Jerry Kroth, a California psychology professor, sifts through Files' story with a sharp eye. Files nails details like Tony Accardo secretly running the Chicago Outfit (confirmed decades later by FBI files) and Nicoletti's near-miss by inches (far more plausible than the Warren Commission's 19-foot curb shot). He describes biting the ejected shell casing to dent it, leaving it on the fence, reversing his jacket to blend in as a businessman, and driving off with Nicoletti and Johnny Roselli in a burgundy Chevy Impala—eyewitness accounts match this sequence.

But Kroth doesn't stop at blind belief. He tackles Files' wilder tales head-on: motorcycle rides with a teenage Hillary Clinton? Bogus. Post-prison boasts of killing Che Guevara or being at Marilyn Monroe's death? Delusional ramblings from an 83-year-old ex-con. Yet the core holds up against 63 years of research gaps—no other grassy knoll shooter theory names accomplices, weapons, escape routes, or munitions with such precision.

The book weaves in Howard Hunt's deathbed confession to his son, fingering LBJ as mastermind, CIA operatives like Cord Meyer, James Angleton, William Harvey, David Atlee Phillips, and Mafia ties via Roselli. Oswald's "Mr. Hunt" letter—proven genuine via his unique dyslexia misspelling "concerding"—links him to the plot as a CIA-handled patsy, meeting Phillips weeks before. Trump-era releases (34,000+ docs) reveal Ruby's foreknowledge ("watch the fireworks"), CIA photo doctoring, erased Oswald tapes, and soldiers overhearing the plot in secret bases.

Suspicious deaths are spotlighted — 70+ witnesses averaging 19 years below life expectancy — LBJ's scandals vanishing post-assassination, and why Priscilla Johnson-McMillan—Oswald biographer—doubled as a CIA asset writing FBI-friendly scripts. With charts, timelines, and DOCID lookups for raw files, this isn't fringe ranting. It's a clear-eyed case challenging the lone-gunman myth, letting evidence—and Files' gritty account—speak for itself. Perfect for JFK skeptics ready for facts over folklore.