ALBERT GUY BOGARD

The testimony of Albert Guy Bogard was taken at 11:05 a.m., on April 8, 1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney. 301 Post Office Building, Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex. by Mr. Joseph A. Ball, assistant counsel of the President's Commission.

Mr. BALL. Will you stand and be sworn?
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give before this Commission shall be, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. BOGARD. I do.
Mr. BALL. Will you state your name, please.
Mr. BOGARD. Albert Guy Bogard.
Mr. BALL. And your address?
Mr. BOGARD. 304 Brighton Street.
Mr. BALL. What is your occupation?
Mr. BOGARD. Sales manager for L & L Vending Co.
Mr. BALL. What do you sell?
Mr. BOGARD. Vending machines.
Mr. BALL. Vending machines. What kind of vending machines?
Mr. BOGARD. Vending machines. Cigarette machines.
Mr. BALL. Oh, vending. Oh, I see. I couldn't understand your Texas dialect. That is the--I understand now. Vending.
Mr. BOGARD. I have sinus trouble.
Mr. BALL. Oh, you have? Let me, see. Where were you born and raised?
Mr. BOGARD. Born in Cowshatta, La.
Mr. BALL. Where did you go to school?
Mr. BOGARD. Hall Summit, La.
Mr. BALL. How far through school, sir?
Mr. BOGARD. Finished. Eleventh grade.
Mr. BALL. Eleventh grade? And what occupation did you pursue after that?
Mr. BOGARD. U.S. Navy.
Mr. BALL. How long?
Mr. BOGARD. Four years and two months and three days, I think, to be exact.
Mr. BALL. Then what did you do? What did you do after that?
Mr. BOGARD. I started selling automobiles.
Mr. BALL. Did you sell automobiles from then on until----
Mr. BOGARD. Then on until just recently.
Mr. BALL. I see. When did you take this job you are on now?
Mr. BOGARD. January.
Mr. BALL. Of 1964?
Mr. BOGARD. 1964; yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Who did you work for last fall, 1963?
Mr. BOGARD. Downtown Lincoln Mercury, 118 East Commerce, Dallas, Tex.
Mr. BALL. Shortly after the death of President Kennedy you notified the FBI, didn't you?
Mr. BOGARD. I did not notify the FBI.
Mr. BALL. Did you notify someone that you had information?
Mr. BOGARD. Was the other salesman notified the FBI.
Mr. BALL. Who was he?
Mr. BOGARD. I forget the name.
Mr. BALL. But he notified the FBI that you had some information?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And did some special agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation come and call on you?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; several times.
Mr. BALL. And took a statement from you?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes; I took a lie detector test.
Mr. BALL. You told him about an incident which occurred sometime before?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; week before.
Mr. BALL. Just 1 week before?

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Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; just one--one week before--two weeks before.
Mr. BALL. About what date? Do you remember?
Mr. BOGARD. Ninth day of November, I think it was, to be exact.
Mr. BALL. 1963?
Mr. BOGARD. 1963.
Mr. BALL. What day of the week was that?
Mr. BOGARD. That was on a Saturday.
Mr. BALL. When was it? In the morning, or afternoon?
Mr. BOGARD. Afternoon.
Mr. BALL. About what time?
Mr. BOGARD. I think it was around 1:30 or 2 o'clock, as I was leaving town shortly after I gave the demonstration in the automobile and I was in a hurry.
Mr. BALL. Tell me just what happened there? Tell me the incident that you remember and that you related to the Federal----
Mr. BOGARD. A gentleman walked in the door and walked up and introduced himself to me, and tells me he wants to look at a car. I show him a car on the showroom floor, and take him for a ride out Stemmons Expressway and back, and he was driving at 60 to 70 miles an hour and came back to the showroom. And I made some figures, and he told me that he wasn't ready to buy, that he would be in a couple or 3 weeks, that he had some money coming in. And when he finally started to leave I got his name and wrote it on the back of one of my business cards, and never heard from the man any more. And the day that the President was shot, when I heard that--they had the radio on in the showroom, and when I heard the name, that he had shot a policeman over in Oak Cliff, I pulled out some business cards that I had wrote his name on the back on, and said, "He won't be a prospect any more because he is going to jail," and ripped the card up.
Mr. BALL. Threw it away?
Mr. BOGARD. Threw it away.
Mr. BALL. And when the FBI agent came to see you, the card had already been thrown away?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; I tore it up that very same day.
Mr. BALL. This was Friday the 22d?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; the day I heard that Kennedy had been killed. I hadn't heard that the President had been killed; just heard a policeman had been shot and that's when I tore up the card and said, "He won't want to buy a car."
Mr. BALL. Now, what kind of a looking man was he, or could you describe him?
Mr. BOGARD. I can tell you the truth, I have already forgotten what he actually looked like. I identified him as in pictures, but just to tell you what he looked like that day, I don't remember.
Mr. BALL. You don't have a memory of it?
Mr. BOGARD. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Was he tall, or short?
Mr. BOGARD. About medium build, I'd say.
Mr. BALL. Do you remember what name he gave you?
Mr. BOGARD. Gave me Lee Oswald.
Mr. BALL. Did he give you that when he first introduced----
Mr. BOGARD. He give me that when he started to leave.
Mr. BALL. Oh, gave you that when he started to leave?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. And didn't give you any name when he first introduced himself?
Mr. BOGARD. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he tell you what kind of a car he wanted?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; wanted a Caliente, two-door hardtop.
Mr. BALL. What kind of make is that?
Mr. BOGARD. Mercury Comet.
Mr. BALL. And did you show him one?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. What color did you show him?
Mr. BOGARD. Red.
Mr. BALL. You took a ride with him?

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Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he drive, or did you drive it?
Mr. BOGARD. He drove it.
Mr. BALL. Drive it right out of the shop, or did you drive it first and then----
Mr. BOGARD. No; he drove it right offhand. He got in driving it.
Mr. BALL. Did he appear to know how to drive the car?
Mr. BOGARD. Well, he had drove before, I'm sure, because he took off.
Mr. BALL. Did he----
Mr. BOGARD. He might have drove a little reckless, but other than that, he knew how to drive.
Mr. BALL. What do you mean, "He might have drove it a little reckless"?
Mr. BOGARD. Well, going 60 and 70 miles an hour right up a Freeway and took curves kind of fast.
Mr. BALL Did it appear to you that he knew how to handle the car?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. Now, when you got back to the showroom you say you did some figuring. What kind of figuring?
Mr. BOGARD. Just took out some papers and going to write up how much the car would cost and, just like with anybody else, just trying to close the deal, and he said he would have the money in 2 or 3 weeks and would come in and----
Mr. BALL. Did you tell him you needed a down payment?
Mr. BOGARD. He said he would have it.
Mr. BALL. Did you tell him how much?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. How much?
Mr. BOGARD. Three hundred dollars, I think. And he said he didn't have the money then and would just pay cash for it at a later date.
Mr. BALL. Did he tell you where he lived?
Mr. BOGARD. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Did he give you his--didn't give you his address or telephone number?
Mr. BOGARD. No, sir; or occupation.
Mr. BALL. And he gave you his name, though?
Mr. BOGARD. Lee Oswald.
Mr. BALL. At what time?
Mr. BOGARD. That is when he was fixing to leave.
Mr. BALL. Lee Oswald?
Mr. BOGARD. Uh-huh.
Mr. BALL. You say you wrote it on one of your own cards?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; back of one of my business cards.
Mr. BALL. Did you tell anybody about it at that time?
Mr. BOGARD. Now, at that time I don't know whether--Now, Mr. Pizzo, I think I introduced him to him. I introduced him to Mr. Pizzo. He asked what was wrong with him and I said he hasn't got the money right now. Will be back in a couple or 3 weeks.
Mr. BALL. You introduced him to Pizzo?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And you said this in front of Pizzo that he didn't have the money?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; he was expecting some money--to have the money in 2 or 3 weeks.
Mr. BALL. When did you see the television that called your attention to this?
Mr. BOGARD. I heard it on the radio.
Mr. BALL. You heard it on the radio?
Mr. BOGARD. And then I tore the card up, and that very same night on the 10 o'clock news, I think it was, if I remember correctly, I saw him on TV.
Mr. BALL. Did you see any pictures of Lee Oswald in the newspaper?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; Dallas Morning News, next morning.
Mr. BALL. Now, what was your impression when you saw the man on television?
Mr. BOGARD. All my impression was that he had been in and tried to buy a car, that he wasn't a prospect any more.

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Mr. BALL. What about his picture in the paper? Did it appear to be--did you recognize him from the picture?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes; I recognized him as being the same fellow that had been in.
Mr. BALL. And did you tell anybody out there that you thought it was the same person?
Mr. BOGARD. They began asking me then, and I said, "Yes," and this Pizzo recognized him, too.
Mr. BALL. What did Pizzo say?
Mr. BOGARD. Said, "Yes; that is the same man." And Pizzo also has been questioned by the FBI.
Mr. BALL. How do you spell his name?
Mr. BOGARD. P-i-z-z-o.
Mr. BALL. He was the sales manager?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL Is he still the sales manager out there?
Mr. BOGARD. No, sir.
Mr. BALL. Where is he now?
Mr. BOGARD. I don't know. I think, though, that he is at Eagle Lincoln-Mercury. I wouldn't be for sure, because I haven't seen Pizzo since I left Downtown Lincoln-Mercury.
Mr. BALL. Now, when was it that you talked to the other salesman about this and told them that you thought the man had been in to see you?
Mr. BOGARD. We were all standing there listening to the radio and the name came on the radio, and I pulled this business card out with "Lee Oswald," wrote across it.
Mr. BALL. Who were some of the men standing by the radio when you pulled this business card out?
Mr. BOGARD. Oh, I think Oran Brown was there, Mr. Wilson was there, and this other little boy, he hadn't been there very long. I can't remember his name at this time right now.
Mr. BALL. Oran Brown and Wilson?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes.
Mr. BALL. What are Wilson's initials, do you have them?
Mr. BOGARD. I can't remember Mr. Wilson's initials right now.
Mr. BALL. Wilson, a salesman?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; been there for about 12 years.
Mr. BALL. Is Brown a salesman?
Mr. BOGARD. He works for Fina Oil Co. out here on Inwood Road now.
Mr. BALL. What is it?
Mr. BOGARD. [Spelling] O-r-a-n
Mr. BALL. [Spelling] O-r-a-n---oil what?
Mr. BOGARD. My--no, he works for Fina Oil Co., American Petra Fina Oil Co. A service station.
Mr. BALL. Service station?
Mr. BOGARD. He manages this service station out there. New, big service station.
Mr. BALL. Well, Mr. Bogard, did you receive a letter from the Commission asking you to appear here?
Mr. BOGARD. No, sir
Mr. BALL. You were asked to appear by the Secret Service?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir:
Mr. BALL. I probably should have stated to you the purpose of this inquiry. The Commission has been authorized to investigate the assassination of the President and any facts or circumstances that might determine who assassinated him. And our attention was called to your testimony by the Federal Bureau of Investigation report, and we asked you to come in and testify and you did so willingly, didn't you?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. You were willing?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Willing to come in and testify and be sworn?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.

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Mr. BALL. And testify as to these facts?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. I am a staff officer with the Commission.
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. And I am authorized by the Commission to administer the oath to you and ask you these questions, and all questions you answered were under oath. You understand that?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir; I answered the same questions under a polygraph test.
Mr. BALL. Under a polygraph test from the FBI?
Mr. BOGARD. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. Now, this will be written up and submitted to you for your signature, and you can come down here and look it over and read it and sign it, or you may waive your signature whatever you wish. Which do you prefer?
Mr. BOGARD. Which do you want? Put it that way.
Mr. BALL. I'm going to leave it up to you. That is really something for you to decide whether you want to come back down here or not.
Mr. BOGARD. I don't mind coming back down.
Mr. BALL. We'll notify you and you can come in and we will notify you when it is ready and you can come in and sign it.
Mr. BOGARD. Thank you.
Mr. BALL. Thank you for coming down.
Mr. BOGARD. Thank you, Mr. Ball.
Mr. BALL. All right.