Actually I don’t buy into the whole "I can’t find my old passport" thing as suspicious at all. If anything, it’s the other way around because if they genuinely felt he was a viable suspect these things could easily be checked and he’d have been caught out in a lie. They did it with Bruce Davis, going as far a checking with Interpol

Thats the point I was trying to make earlier (was trying to type fast at work and it came out garbled!) Blaine reminds me of a guy I went to school with who basically fried his brain through LSD many years ago,so if you disregard what he says due to the inconsistencies and outright nonsense like Gaikowski killing the taxi driver Smith to frighten him off,is there any compelling evidence to make him a viable suspect? His background doesn’t suggest it at all IMO.He lived in a commune,no history of guns,long hair etc,no history of violence,except the one incident when he was hospitalised,which strikes me as a bit of speed paranoia (I believe he thought the Black Panthers were out to get him).Theres just nothing there to flag him up as far as I can see

Source: ZodiacKillerFacts.com

"According to Blaine’s own account, Narlow reportedly stated that Gaikowski had produced a passport with a stamp for London, England in December, 1968, the time of the first suspected Zodiac murders on Lake Herman Road. Gaikowski himself stated in another account that he had been overseas at the time in question. Blaine theorized that Gaikowski’s connections to the counter-culture undergound in the Bay Area had somehow provided him with a fake passport used to hide his true travel history.

According to Blaine, Narlow claimed to have seen a passport that indicated that Gaikowski was not in the United States in December 1968. According to Tom Voigt, Gaikowski “allegedly left for Europe in September 1968 ”and was reportedly in Ireland at that time of the murders on Lake Herman Road on December 20, 1968. This information served as a strong indication that Narlow had, in fact, confronted Gaikowski and had actually seen such a passport, as the time frames in question are exact, and it would have been virtually impossible for Narlow to accurately guess that Gaikowski had been out of the United States at that time without such evidence. Recently, Gaikowski’s accusers have dismissed the passport alibi and claim that Gaikowski could have been in the country at the time of the killings. The denial once again relies on Blaine’s account, and a misunderstanding; according to this version, Narlow did not see the passport and only told Blaine that Gaikowski had mentioned his passport as a possible alibi without providing the actual document. "

The article also states that Blane believed LE knew Gaikowski was Zodiac, but were involved in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by keeping it a secret. Blane also claims that by them doing this, they had put Blanes own life in mortal danger. He claimed that when Gaikowski discovered Blane had gone to LE voicing his concerns about Gaikowski being The Zodiac, Gaikowski responded by committing two homicide’s just to intimidate Blane into keeping his mouth shut. He also claims that Gaik shot at him from a vehicle once.

The article end’s with "Dismissed by authorities as a “kook,” Blaine remained determined to convince the world that he had identified the Zodiac. In 1991, the FBI examined his claims; one bureau report states that Gaikowski claimed he was not in the United States at the time when the Zodiac crimes began but that he had lost his passport. Like Narlow and Shirasago before them, the agents of the FBI saw little reason to pursue further investigation of Blaine’s claims. As the years passed, Blaine occasionally reappeared to tell his story but few were willing to listen. Unable to find an audience for his incredible tale, Blaine faded into the shadows of the Zodiac story and was known among Zodiac researchers as one of the original and genuine crackpots. According to one source, even Inspector Mike Maloney of the SFPD referred to Blaine as one of his “top three kooks.”

Surely LE would’ve investigated whether Gaikowski was in Europe when he said if they thought he was a viable suspect and there was some compelling evidence independent of what Blaine was saying? If a potential murderer says he was abroad as an alibi but can’t find my passport would they eliminate him on that basis alone without checking with the UK.airlines etc?

There’s a very real possibility they didn’t, I say. I strongly suspect LE did not investigate Gaikowski as thoroughly as they would have any other suspect, on the grounds that they thought his accuser was a nutjob.

Getting back to the actual topic here, anybody actually think Gaik’s writing looks like Zodiac’s? I just don’t see any matches,and Gaik has some really specialized formations in a few of his letters

Getting back to the actual topic here, anybody actually think Gaik’s writing looks like Zodiac’s? I just don’t see any matches,and Gaik has some really specialized formations in a few of his letters

Fwiw, I don’t see much resemblance.

I would say that Rick Marshall’s printing is, and this is just my personal opinion, far more like Zodiac’s than Gaik’s. Plus, I just can’t see any Gaikowski’s logic if he were Zodiac…. Embark on a murder spree. Then as his alter-ego, ‘Zodiac’, write letter after letter after letter in his own handwriting, demanding it appear front page for everone to see. And this is the plan of a man who writes for a living, and the current editor of a newspaper in the Bay Area?? Hmmm, seems unlikely.

But I did come across an article from 2004 that was written in Richards memory, an obituary I suppose you could call it. Here’s one paragraph that features in that article where A Fred Leburn recalls his friend saying: "He was very much of an activist journalist," LeBrun said. "He was moved by all the issues of the time — the Vietnam War, Kent State (University, where the National Guard killed four student protesters), the freedom rides, workers’ rights."

Does this compassionate man described here, who is moved with emotion by seeing others suffer, remind you of Zodiac? Nor me, lol.

For resource reasons, heres a link to the entire Gaik Obituary/Article…

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/R … 783636.php

A side by side of Gaik’s writing against the DraftBoard letter. That capital Y looks pretty close, and maybe the upper case S?? I dont hvae many Gaik samples to work with. Any Gaik supporters here with more writing?

Gaik loops his number 2’s Zodiac wrote them like "z.

Gaik being in Europe is strongly contested by some people I have come across at other site’s but there’s not really any question whether Gail was in Europe, starting his European tour in Ireland, because of the article below written in a Newspaper acknowledging Gaik’s visit. What I would like to know is, does anyone know which paper this article appeared in…?

If anyone can tell me the name of the paper, hopefully there’s records of exactly when Gaik was in Ireland and shed some light on whether he was in Europe. Loomis put’s Gaik in Albany in Dec of 68, to which Loomis has been accused of everything from conspiring to cover up the truth about Gaik to simply being mistaken in his dates and times. I have my opinion/belief on the matter, other have theirs.

I really am not looking to find the dates and times for this article just to try to prove Gaik can’t be Z, there’s more chance the article is written before or after the Zodiac is active, I simply would just like to know if anyone can help?

The answer is right there in the little clip you posted. The Knickerbocker, which was the newspaper Gaik worked for in Albany, NY.

We had a huge topic thread on this, was it at the old site?

Sean had posted evidence seemingly indicating RG was in Europe prior to Xmas 68, and the article and a letter establishes he was in Europe/Ireland in January 1969. However, some other evidence placed RG in New York as late as November 1968 and then in Europe/Ireland on January 1, 1969. So he would have had to leave sometime in late December 1968. It would seem very difficult to be in New York in November, which has flights to Europe, and then come back to CA on 12/20/68 to do a murder, then leave days later to go to Ireland. But I supposed it is possible. Sean’s evidence and the newspapers statement that RG left months ago to seek greener pastures suggest he was in Europe and/or Ireland prior to December 1968, but it is not definitive.

The other problem is that we have some of his letters, and none mention coming to California for Xmas. But it could have happened I guess. I think it is not my job to prove where RG was, it is up to those interested in him to prove he was in California in Decemebr 1968. So far that has not happened.

I gave some people advice and tips how to do a FOIA to the FBI and State Dept to see if we can get definitive proof one way or the other. I don’t know if anybody did. I am reluctant to do it myself because I don’t think RG was the Zodiac, based on his documented presence in NY for the Bates murder and letters, non-match on handwriting, etc. I don’t see it as a valuable way to spend my time and money, and if I did discover something, I don’t want to be accused of being a spoiler. So it is up to someone who thinks RG could be Z to do the FOIA requests.

Recently, I transcribed Richard Gaikowski’s article that appeared in the February 1, 1969 edition of the Albany Knickerbocker News. The last paragraph mentions Brian Faulkner’s resignation, which happened during the last week of January, 1969. A couple issues I have with this article is that there are no first-hand accounts of the clashes mentioned at the beginning of the article; there are also some quotes in Gaikowski’s article that appeared in journalist Mary Holland’s Observer article published on January 5, 1969.

CIVIL RIGHTS, SECTARIANISM, ROCK NORTH IRELAND
Albany Knickerbocker News — February 1, 1969
by Richard Gaikowski

The writer of this dispatch below is a former reporter of the Knickerbocker News who set out some months ago to find out if far fields are really greener. In Europe his reportorial instinct led him to Northern Ireland where he witnessed the clashes between Protestants and Catholics battling over civil rights.
Belfast, Northern Ireland — Ask the average man in the average pop in Northern Ireland and he will claim that just by looking at a person he can tell that the individual is a "Teaude" or a "Prod."

"Teaude" is local slang for Catholic and "Prod" for Protestant. I tested several who claim to have a special talent and even though I couldn’t detect one clue which would reveal a man’s religion to me, these men, both Protestants and Catholics didn’t miss once. Asked how they do it, they shrugged their shoulders and answered in melodic Irish brogue: "I dunno, I just can."

Northern Ireland’s population is roughly divided into one third Catholic and two thirds Protestant and just about every aspect of life, from education to politics to sports, tends to divide along Protestant and Catholic lines.

A young Protestant printer in Belfast told me: "As a wee boy I would sometimes get caught by a band of Catholic boys and they would force me to say the ‘Hail Mary’ before they would let me go. When we caught one of them alone we would make them sing ‘God save the Queen.’"

Sharp Division
The line between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in the cities, towns, and villages is as sharp as the border which divides the six counties of Ulster from the 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland.

This deep sectarian division is the main cause for the violence which has rocked ulster over the past four months even though civil rights leaders have tried desperately to steer clear of the religious issue in their campaign for social justice and change.

Ivan Cooper, a Protestant businessman and civil rights leader in Londonderry, said "the poor Protestant needs civil rights as much as the poor Catholic." Ownership of property determines the rights of vote in local elections. If a man owns 20 houses he has 20 votes in elections of local councils even if the owner lives in London, Dublin or New York. Thus Protestants who do not own property are denied the right to vote in local elections the same as the poor Catholic. But the vast majority of Northern Ireland’s poor are Catholic.

Universal Suffrage
There is universal suffrage in elections for members of both of the provincial and British parliaments but one Catholic politician explained "if they (the ruling Unionist party) ever thought we had a chance of winning control of Ulster’s parliament, they would figure a way to keep us from voting their too."

But reform of the local election laws is only one of the goals of civil rights reformers. Unemployment in Northern Ireland is high with an overall average of 8%. John Hume, a Catholic civil rights leader, said "Catholics are the last ones hired in the first ones fired, but what we need is a change where a government will be interested in the welfare of all the people and not in just keeping itself in power. There are unemployed Protestants too."
In Londonderry, called Derry by most Irishmen, the unemployment rate is 15%. Derry Catholics outnumber Protestants by nearly 2 to one,yet the Protestants controlled the local governing council.

After police and protesters clashed in Derry in January barricades were erected around the Catholic section and a free Derry proclaimed. Armed vigilantes defended the area, keeping out both police and hostile Protestants. A clandestine radio station started broadcasting. For six days the barricades were manned before moderate civil rights leaders were able to convince the residents that it would be safe to take them down.

Siege Bitterness
One young Protestant who was ready to charge the barricades told me: "If they get control of the city they will kill us in front of the walls, as they did during the siege." The siege he referred to occurred in 1688 and this is how far back the bitterness goes. Derry then was a Protestant city under siege by the Catholic armies of King James II, who was trying to regain the English throne.

Before William of Orange came to the rescue James II’s generals tried to break the morale of the city by rounding up Protestant prisoners and leaving them to die in front of the wall. What is forgotten, at least by Protestants, is that this caused such revulsion in James II’s army, largely comprised of Irish Catholics, that the troops freed the prisoners. The 1688 siege of dairy is still being fought and refought.

When defeatist elements within Derry were about to throw open the gates, apprentice boys rushed to close them. Today there is still a flourishing body called the apprentice boys of Derry. Members can only be initiated within Derry’s crumbling walls. The provincial prime minister, Capt. Terrance O’Neill, and most of his ministers are a member of the semi secret society.

In those distant and perilous days of the siege Governor Lundy counseled surrender. To this day those who suggest moderation or compromise are scathingly called Lundys.

Ancient Wounds
Because of these ancient wounds, the average poor Protestant is more likely to be a follower of the thundering Rev. Dr. Ian Paisley, leader of the free Presbyterian assembly, then of the civil rights movement.

The support the movement receives from non-Catholics comes largely from the liberal spectrum of middle-class Protestants. These moderates try to downplay Mr. Paisley’s influence. But Mr. Paisley, Ulster’s arch foe of Romanism, popery and civil rights, is able to mobilize crowds of from 2,000 to 5,000 to oppose civil rights demonstrations.
Mr. Paisley, a graduate of Bob Jones University, Greenville, S.C., preaches a type of 17th-century Protestantism which has little in common with most Protestant churches today. A favorite phrase of his, always sure to draw a large chorus of "amens" from his followers, is to refer to the Vatican as "that Scarlett whore on the banks of the Tiber."

Club swinging crowds of Paisleyites have repeatedly clashed with civil rights marchers. Catholic response to Mr. Paisley has not always been exactly charitable either. Protestors often follow the singing of "We Shall Overcome" with a chant "what shall we do with the Reverend Paisley?" To which the answer always comes loud and clear: "String the bastard up and burn him."

Mr. Paisley was released from jail on bail Thursday and vowed to participate in a weekend protest march against alleged police brutality.
Convicted of unlawful assembly during a violent anti-civil rights demonstration last November, he said that after the 14 days of freedom allowed by the bail he would return to jail and finish serving the three month sentence he began Wednesday.

The civil rights movement itself is a conglomeration of elements without a real unified organization leadership.
The leading Catholic leader is Mr. Hume who favors a "go slow" approach to the problem and is generally opposed to the use of civil disobedience tactics. One of his strongest supporters in opposing radicals in the movement has been Miss Mary Sinclair, a spinster from an old-line Protestant family who organized the first civil rights committee two years ago. Miss Sinclair proudly acknowledges that she has been a member of Northern Ireland’s tiny Communist Party for the past 36 years.
"We must keep the civil rights movement non-violent," said Mr. Hume who clearly believes, as do many others, that the situation is such that civil war could break out.

He said: "there are no victors in a civil war. The whole community is the loser. The prospect of a religious war is even more horrifying." But not everyone in the movement shares Mr. Hume’s moderate views.

Happiest Day
"The happiest day of my life will be when City Hall is in flames and the people are attacking Stormount ( the parliament building)," one activist, a schoolteacher, told me in Belfast. At Queens University members of the radical student organization called People’s Democracy openly discuss occupying public buildings.

And then there is the Irish Republican Army (IRA) which police charge is trying to infiltrate and take over the civil rights movement. In Belfast I was introduced to an IRA veteran who had lost one eye in his many battles with the police. He said the IRA had only about 300 members left and that most of these were located around Dublin.
The information the IRA man gave me, however, is suspect since I learned later that he thought I was a CIA agent because I took notes in longhand instead of shorthand.

Special Powers Act
It is difficult not to become paranoid in northern Ireland because the police have wide powers under the special powers act. Under this act police may arrest anyone without a warrant: hold an individual without charge or trial: deny recourse to habeas corpus: search without a warrant: prohibit meetings and assemblies: permit punishment by flogging: prohibit the calling of an inquest to determine cause of death of any person found dead: prohibit circulation of any newspaper: prohibit possession of any gramophone records: and arrest anyone alleged to have spread false reports.

The gramophone records which are currently illegal to possess are recordings of songs extolling the exploits of the IRA. In December the radical newspaper, the United Irishman, was outlawed. Catholics charge the act is used strictly against them and note that the Paisleyite newspaper has not been banned.
The Special Powers Act was originally enacted to deal with such groups as the IRA who advocated the reunification of Ireland through force. But in the civil rights movement and among rank-and-file Catholics there appears to be little support today for ending Ulster’s union with Britain. At least little open support.

Family Allowances
"If we joined the Republic we would have to give up our health service and family allowances," said a Catholic taxi driver in Derry referring to British welfare schemes.
The beleaguered Catholics of Derry called on the British Army for help not the Irish Army even though the Republic’s border is only 5 miles from Derry. But the partition question is a highly emotional one and if Catholics thought there was any real chance for reunification, they might be tempted to exchange the health card for Irish citizenship.

In the Republic there have been cries of "send the army north" but Dublin has been beset by a wave of social unrest and protest also. But if civil war did break out in the North it is difficult to imagine any government in Dublin staying in power which did not try to come to the aid of Ulster Catholics.
In all of this Prime Minister O’Neill has tried to steer a middle course by proposing several mild reforms, although thus far he has not given any ground on the emotional "one man one vote" issue.

But in Ulster there is little middle ground. He has been tagged "Tightrope Terrance" by civil rights supporters and Mr. Paisley rants as vigorously against O’Neillism as he does against Romanism. The deputy premier, Brian Faulkner, and several ministers have resigned over the issue and most observers doubt Captain O’Neill will be in power when spring arrives.

Weren’t some Gaik supporters pointing out that Gaik may have plagiarized an article to make it look as if he was there, and wrote it? Is that this article?

Morf, here is the "source article" — it was written by the late journalist Mary Holland and published on January 5, 1969. At the end of the article, I have included the quotes that appear in both news stories.

Ulster Police Stone Catholics (excerpt)
by Mary Holland
The Observer — January 5, 1969
Northern Ireland police last night issued a statement saying that during the final stages of the march, they arrested four people. They added that despite police efforts some marchers had been injured. "As a result of considerable police activity, the marchers reached the Guildhall safety," the statement ended.
What happened yesterday, perhaps inevitably, was that the civil rights leaders lost control of their crowds and the bitter grievances of the Catholic poor of this city burst into the open in an explosion of hatred against the police, Mr. Paisley and, it seemed, the ludicrous neo-Gothic Guildhall itself, with its stained glass windows depicting glorious scenes from Derry’s Protestant past.

The nonviolence of the civil rights movement was forgotten in a frantic eagerness to charge through their own marshals to get at the police. Even the campaign symbols were perverted. The crowd sang ‘We Shall Overcome’ like a tribal call to war, and then went straight into "What shall we do with the Rev. Paisley?" To which the answer came lusty and clear: "String the bastard up and burn him."

They made wild, unnerving dashes from place to place, and later they began to break up the temporary traffic signs, using them to smash windows, wreck and overturn cars and wreck temporary and ineffectual barricades. They set fire to the car of one of Paisley’s aides, Major Bunting, and danced around it. Their faces had a look of catharsis as they watched it burn.

The Paisleyites were trapped in the Guildhall, and from where they sat it must have felt very frightening indeed. I was not allowed into the meeting, for Mr. Paisley had banned all reporters and at least some of his disciples were prepared to enforce the ban in any way necessary.
"I have the right to throw you out like a dog, for that’s what you are," I was told. Others of them apologized for this violence and explained to me that they had hardened their hearts against the ‘lying Press.’ On remonstrating that this was hardly seemly for a Christian movement, I was told, "it is written, ye shall hate the enemies of the Lord."

But I was able to talk to Paisley’s young men. I asked them what their cause was and what it was they feared from the civil rights movement. A tense and handsome boy of about 17 told me: "It is written in the Bible your salvation is in Jesus Christ and in no other. Oh, can’t you see they do not love the Christ we love and they would stop us worshiping him if they won."

Another, a pleasant, poor-looking man who told me he worked with Catholics and filled in the pools with his workmates, said: "if they get control of the city they will kill us in front of the walls, as they did during the siege."

The siege was in 1688, but this description of the incident is not true. James II’s generals did try to break morale in the city by rounding up Protestant prisoners and leaving them to die in front of the walls,but the revulsion in his army, mainly Catholic Irish, was such that the prisoners were allowed to go free.

They did not get out of the hall until nearly midnight and when they came they were armed with chair legs and stones. The police charged to try to get them through the crowd and the Paisleyites, wielding their motley weapons, charged with them.
Outside, the civil rights leaders begged the crowd "not to play into Paisley’s hands." It was like calling on a Spanish crowd to leave the bullfight after the first blood had been drawn.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Mary Holland’s article:

The crowd sang ‘We Shall Overcome’ like a tribal call to war, and then went straight into "What shall we do with the Rev. Paisley?" To which the answer came lusty and clear: "String the bastard up and burn him."

Another, a pleasant, poor-looking man who told me he worked with Catholics and filled in the pools with his workmates, said: "if they get control of the city they will kill us in front of the walls, as they did during the siege."
The siege was in 1688, but this description of the incident is not true. James II’s generals did try to break morale in the city by rounding up Protestant prisoners and leaving them to die in front of the walls,but the revulsion in his army, mainly Catholic Irish, was such that the prisoners were allowed to go free.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Richard Gaikowski’s article:

Protestors often follow the singing of "We Shall Overcome" with a chant "what shall we do with the Reverend Paisley?" To which the answer always comes loud and clear: "String the bastard up and burn him."

One young Protestant who was ready to charge the barricades told me: "If they get control of the city they will kill us in front of the walls, as they did during the siege." The siege he referred to occurred in 1688 and this is how far back the bitterness goes. Derry then was a Protestant city under siege by the Catholic armies of King James II, who was trying to regain the English throne.

Before William of Orange came to the rescue James II’s generals tried to break the morale of the city by rounding up Protestant prisoners and leaving them to die in front of the wall. What is forgotten, at least by Protestants, is that this caused such revulsion in James II’s army, largely comprised of Irish Catholics, that the troops freed the prisoners. The 1688 siege of dairy is still being fought and refought.

Here is the actual article. I would think the newspaper knew if he was in Ireland or not, they would have communicated by phone or mail.

Got the first parts of a February 1, 1969 (?) article by Richard Gaikowski on the conflict in Northern Ireland. Thanks to DREW.

The article is first hand eyewitness reporting. There are several interview quotes with subjects. At one point Gaikowski mentions meeting a member of the IRA in Belfast – who suspected that Gaikowski was a CIA agent!

IMO the article is quite good, and not the writings of a serial killer obsessed with violence, but rather someone trying to understand the root causes of violence. It follows a pattern that I see throughout his life of empathy for other people. From being a medic in the army to his coverage of the black civil rights movement up to his later support for medical marijuana and gay rights. Tom once told me that this could all be a front in the way that Ted Bundy working for a rape crisis line was a front. Maybe, but if so, then his whole life was lived as a front, and showed degrees of empathy, caring, understanding and insight I have never seen in a serial killer.

The problem would be, back in the late 1960’s when air travel was pretty expensive and RG did not have a lot of money, even assuming he was not in Ireland in the fall and winter of 1968, it is not disputed that he is in NY in November and Ireland in January. So he flew from NY to CA, killed the kids at LHR on 12/20/68, then flew to Ireland days later? I am still waiting to see proof that RG was in the state of California on 12/20/68.

Anyway here is the article.