I think Gaikowski was in Belfast, Ireland only during the last week of January, 1969. The information regarding Mr. Faulkner happened during this time period, and Richard’s letter home to his friend basically corroborates this portion of his itinerary…

February 13, 1969 — letter to Bob Loomis from Europe. Richard writes, "I was over in Northern Ireland for a week in January where I did a couple of articles for the K-N on civil rights struggle there…stayed…in Belfast and they introduced me to an IRA veteran who in one of his many battles with the authorities had lost an eye…"

I thought other evidence indicates it was the first week of January.

There is Richard’s letter, most likely from mid-November, 1968, announcing the first snowfall in the Albany area, followed by the Albany Knickerbocker News article on February 1, 1969.

The Belfast to Derry march that Richard claimed to have witnessed actually took place at the beginning of January, 1969.

Wednesday 1 January 1969
Approximately 40 members of People’s Democracy (PD) began a four-day march from Belfast across Northern Ireland to Derry.

http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/events/pdmarch/chron.htm

"Not much later, he found himself in Northern Ireland where he witnessed a brutal attack on Queen’s University students who marched from Belfast to Derry with the People’s Democracy movement."

http://bobpaley.com/albany_sojourn.html

This analysis is better as the mention of the resignation could have been added later by him or his editor. As you say here the eyewitness account of the march puts RG in Ireland at least as early as 1/1/69.

Shouldn’t doubt be cast on Richard’s claim now that we have evidence of him "borrowing" quotes from another journalist’s article published on January 5, 1969?

No.

Editors some times insert quotes or blend in other reporters writing. Given leadtimes, mail and editing the first week in Jan seems more logical than the last week for this Feb 1 story and matches the multiple eyewitness accounts he gives of the march and related events.

Do a foia to justice and state depts. I will give tips or even write letters for you to use.

A story like this one would be sent via telefax, not regular mail. The KBN had their own telefax at the time, according to one of Gaikowski’s former colleagues. Richard supposedly witnessed these clashes between Catholics and Protestants and yet mentions nothing about them in his February, 1969 article. Why not? There are also photographs that accompany the article but it does not say who took them. IMHO, there are too many questions about this article for me to rely on it concerning his whereabouts at the beginning of January, 1969.

Get his FBI and State Dept files.

Why will none of those interested in RG do this?

Newspaper lead time, editing and arranging, plus the description on the march that at one time you found compelling, lead me to think he was there 1/1/69.

No point in further debate. Get the files! I will write the letters for you if you pay the fees.

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?

Well apparently Richard being in Europe was an elaborate set-up in order to give Richie an Alibi as ‘out of Country’ at the time Z struck. I’ve seen several people claim that because no passport can be located for Richard, that we cannot prove he was abroad at anytime. Then I was told Gaik not having a passport available to check is, in and of itself, highly suspicious. This is more than a decade after Richards death that not finding a passport for him was declared highly suspicious. The implication here being? Richard’s family, as well as Bob Loomis, are involved in a conspiracy in order to cover up the truth.

My two pence worth? Nothing suspicious, unusual or malicious about a decade long decedent no longer having a valid passport because deceased people don’t do a lot of travelling. (I know, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit and all that, but how else can you react to such nonsense?)

I agree with your point about the passport. I’ve also never put much stock in whether he could produce a passport in 1986 showing European stamps from 68-69. But this Ireland article could be part of a ruse to make it appear he was there when he wasn’t.

Regarding the passport situation. It is possible that no records exist or simply can not be found and it has nothing to do with whether or not anyone thinks there is a conspiracy involving Gaik’s family or Bob Loomis.

Consider this, another Zodiac suspect, Bruce Davis, had his passport records checked in 1970 for his whereabouts in 1969. The US Treasury Department contacted New Scotland Yard to try to learn when Davis entered and left the UK. The only reason I can think for the US Treasury Department to have done that is because they did not have a record of when Davis left the US and came back or how many times he may have come and gone. That bit is purely speculation on my part though.

The reply from New Scotland Yard says that the only record they have of Davis is him leaving the UK April 1969, no record of when he entered the UK. BUT, they go on to say that they understand from their local authorities that Davis was in the UK after April 1969! How can this be? Is New Scotland Yard in on a conspiracy because they say they can’t find the records? Highly doubtful.

Knowing what I know about the inquiries into Davis’s passport at a time that was fresh to the crimes, it does not surprise or concern me that Gaik’s passport records could not be found in 1986. I do not believe there was a conspiracy afoot but rather shoddy record keeping by both the US and the UK. As Smithy would say, "Shrug"!

AK, They sure did do things fast back then. On the page that has "continued from page 6" ,I see that the death notice shows Albert Baldes died on 1-31-69 and the newspaper printed it Feb 1st ?

Seagull, that’s really insightful about Scotland Yard trying to trace Bruce Davis’ movements. Makes you wonder if they could come up with anything at all concerning Gaikowski.

AK, They sure did do things fast back then. On the page that has "continued from page 6" ,I see that the death notice shows Albert Baldes died on 1-31-69 and the newspaper printed it Feb 1st ?

Right, well a newspaper usually consists of things that happened the previous day. I am not disputing that.

My point is we have a long article sent – maybe via telefax – from Ireland. That article needs to be read, edited and formatted. I doubt it was sent in on 1/31/69. The article is an eyewitness account of events that happened on 1/1/69. Unless and until someone shows me strong evidence otherwise, I think RG was most likely in Ireland on 1/1/69. And sent in the article sometime in the next two weeks.

I don’t think we’re ever going to find out what Gaik’s travel dates were given that he’s a guy with no criminal background who died a decade ago and we’re looking into what day he went on holiday almost half a century ago. Yes, there’s a possibility that he was in N.Ireland in either January or February but that proves nothing anyway.

To be honest, there’s every chance he left Albany, stayed with his old buddy in California for a fortnight to celebrate Christmas – from say 14th -28th December – then buggered off on his European adventure before New Year. This would obviously give him the chance to cruise around for a few days, murder someone on the weekend, have a free Christmas dinner the next week (after reading all about his exploits in the papers) then hot-foot it out of the country to spend New Year partying in Europe and lie low for a few months over the pond.

It’s a pretty hectic schedule though and would he really know the lovers lanes of Vallejo well enough and get away with disappearing from his hosts’ house late at night to cruise the back roads of Benicia before arriving home in the early hours of the morning (hiding guns and ammo)?? I personally think not but stranger things have happened I suppose.