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Clay LaVergne Shaw (March 17, 1913 – August 15, 1974) was an American businessman, military officer, and part-time contact of the Domestic Contact Service (DCS) of the CIA. Shaw is best known for being the only person brought to trial for involvement in the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy, due to an investigation led by Jim Garrison, the District Attorney of New Orleans. The jury ultimately acquitted Shaw after less than an hour's deliberation in 1969, though some conspiracy theorists continue to speculate on his possible involvement.
After graduating from high school in 1928, Shaw was hired by Western Union as manager of a local office in New Orleans. In 1935, Western Union transferred him to New York City where he became a district manager. While in New York, Shaw, who wanted to pursue a career as a writer, attended Columbia University. He later left Western Union to pursue a career in public relations, eventually accepting a position with the Keedick Lecture Bureau.
Shaw enlisted in the United States Army upon the American entry into World War II and was assigned to the Medical Corps as a private. He later received an officer's commission and was posted to England where he served briefly in a hospital unit. He was transferred to the Quartermaster Corps and served as secretary to the General Staff in England and after the Normandy invasion served in France and Belgium. He was decorated by three nations: the United States with the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star, by France with the Croix de Guerre and named Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite, and by Belgium named Knight of the Order of the Crown of Belgium. Shaw was honorably discharged from the United States Army as a major in 1946."Clay L. Shaw", Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971-75. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.
After World War II, Shaw helped start the International Trade Mart in New Orleans, which facilitated the sales of both domestic and imported goods. He was known locally for his efforts to preserve buildings in New Orleans' historic French Quarter.Clay Shaw testimony, State of Louisiana v. Clay L. Shaw, February 27, 1969 "The JFK 100: Who Was Clay Shaw?" Shaw was also a published playwright. The best-known of his works, Submerged (1929), was co-written with H. Stuart Cottman shows Herman Stuart Cottman birthdate as 23 March 1911. shows Herman S. Cottman residing in household of Alfred J. Lewis in New Orleans, Louisiana, being 19 years old as of April 4, 1930. shows Herman Stuart Cottman birthdate as 23 March 1911. when both were still high-school students.
Shaw represented the United States on the board of directors for Permindex, a Swiss trade organization.
On 9 May 1961 Shaw introduced Charles Cabell, Deputy Director of the CIA, at a Foreign Policy Association event in New Orleans.
During the trial, which took place in January and February 1969, Garrison called insurance salesman Perry Russo as his main witness. Russo testified that he had attended a party at the apartment of anti-Fidel Castro activist David Ferrie. At the party, Russo said that Lee Harvey Oswald (who Russo said was introduced to him as "Leon Oswald"), Ferrie, and "Clem Bertrand" (whom Russo identified in the courtroom as Shaw) had discussed assassinating Kennedy. Testimony of Perry Raymond Russo , State of Louisiana vs. Clay L. Shaw, February 10, 1969. The conversation purportedly included plans for the "triangulation of crossfire" and alibis for the participants.
Critics of Garrison argue that his own records indicate Russo's story evolved substantially over time, undermining Russo's creditability. A key source was the "Sciambra Memo", which recorded Assistant D.A. Andrew Sciambra's Direct Examination of Assistant District Attorney Andrew Sciambra by Defense Attorney Alcock , State of Louisiana vs. Clay L. Shaw, February 12, 1969. first interview with Russo. The memo does not mention an "assassination party" and states that Russo met with Shaw on two occasions, neither of which occurred at the party. On February 25, 1969, Andrews testified during Shaw's trial that the name "'Clay Bertrand' was a figment of his imagination.
On March 1, 1969, the 34-day trial concluded when the jury acquitted Shaw after deliberating less than an hour.Clay Shaw Interview, Penthouse, November 1969, pp. 34-35.
Shaw denied any part of a conspiracy and said of the slain President: "I was a great admirer of Kennedy. I thought he had given the nation a new turn after the rather drab Eisenhower years ... I felt he was vitally concerned about social issues, which concerned me also. I thought he had youth, imagination, style, and élan. All in all, I considered him a splendid president."
At the time of his death, Shaw was engaged in a $5 million lawsuit against Garrison and members of an organization, Truth and Consequences Inc., that had financed Garrison's investigation. As Shaw, a lifelong bachelor, had no heirs or surviving relatives who might stand to benefit from the lawsuit, the United States Supreme Court dismissed the suit in 1978.
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