Troy Houghton: The Minuteman

rand wrote:

BOTH TROY HOUGHTON AND Z ALSO WROTE THE NUMBER 2 THIS WAY:

Z:





TROY HOUGHTON:




ALSO, COMPARE HOUGHTON'S 4 with Z's 4 on the car door above

I hate to disagree, but I think the number 2 from Troy is much more obtuse at the top. The number 2 from Z, is much sharper, and acute at the top. Sorry, not a match in my opinion.

rand wrote:

I DON'T YET HAVE ANY PRINTED HANDWRITING FROM TROY HOUGHTON. BUT I DO HAVE HIS PRINTED NUMBERS. I THINK THAT THEY ARE REVEALING.

TROY HOUGHTON WAS BORN AND GREW UP IN LA. HERE IS AN UNCONFIRMED Z LETTER TO KHJ-TV, LOS ANGELES, MAY 2, 1978.


WHAT STRUCK ME ABOUT THIS LETTER IS THE UNIQUE WAY THAT Z MADE 2s. THERE IS A LOOP AT THE TOP OF THE 2:




COMPARE THESE Z RENDERINGS OF THE NUMBER 2 with TROY HOUGHTON'S 2 and 3. NOTE THE DISTINCTIVE LOOP AT THE TOP OF THE 2 AND 3:

What about this one?

rand wrote:

rand wrote:

I DON'T YET HAVE ANY PRINTED HANDWRITING FROM TROY HOUGHTON. BUT I DO HAVE HIS PRINTED NUMBERS. I THINK THAT THEY ARE REVEALING.

TROY HOUGHTON WAS BORN AND GREW UP IN LA. HERE IS AN UNCONFIRMED Z LETTER TO KHJ-TV, LOS ANGELES, MAY 2, 1978.


WHAT STRUCK ME ABOUT THIS LETTER IS THE UNIQUE WAY THAT Z MADE 2s. THERE IS A LOOP AT THE TOP OF THE 2:




COMPARE THESE Z RENDERINGS OF THE NUMBER 2 with TROY HOUGHTON'S 2 and 3. NOTE THE DISTINCTIVE LOOP AT THE TOP OF THE 2 AND 3:

What about this one?

The number 2 in the Supposed Zodiac letter (which may not even be from Z) has a very distinct hook inside the top, and Troy's does not, at least in my opinion, but I am no handwriting expert.

As for me personally, I believe that Zodiac's true, most undisguised writing, was the writing on Hartnell's car door. I think he probably would have been in a hurry to get out of there after the attack, and would have had less time to disguise the writing on the door, so for me personally, I use that writing when comparing possible Zodiac letters.

As we know, a Timex watch was found near Cheri Jo Bates's body. The story is that it came off in a struggle. Two things have bothered me about that: 1) how does a watch come off in a struggle? esp. when Bates probably had no idea that she was going to be killed, and it would have happened so fast. (2) how could someone not know that their watch was missing in a struggle. He would have picked it up unless: he left it as a clue/sign, whiich is precisely what I think he did -- if it was Houghton.

The Timex watch was a clue, IMO, that it was the work of the Minutemen.
Just as the crosshair symbol as a moniker is a clue, with double meaning given the Minutemen logo, that this is the work of the Minutemen. It's an obvious point, but one worth making. No other viable suspect but Houghton had a reason to choose a timepiece for a signature.

Something else about this: "WHEN WE WERE WALKING AWAY FROM THE LIBRARY I SAID IT WAS ABOUT TIME. SHE ASKED ME, 'ABOUT TIME FOR WHAT?' I SAID IT WAS ABOUT TIME FOR HER TO DIE....SHE WENT VERY WILLINGLY.

Two things: he specifically stresses the concept of "time" and "she went willingly." Two more reasons why I believe that the watch was left deliberately as a clue/sign of the Minutemen.

In November 1961, Robert Depugh, the founder of the Minutemen, met with Troy Houghton. They appeared together at a well-attended press conference.

To the delight of photographers, DePugh demonstrated a "Minute Mask" by putting the plastic bag over himself and was promptly photographed wearing it. Alderman (Houghton) was shown nearby watching

Publicity wise, the conference was a great success for the Minutemen. Within 24 hours, however, DePugh had reason to regret such prominent news coverage. The very next morning, DePugh was greeted by newspaper headlines to the effect that Houghton had been arrested for failure to register as a sex offender. So charged and convicted, the offender would have to, for a period of five years, register as a “sex offender” with the local police department wherever they lived or would move to in California.

Next, Depugh had a public spat with George Draper of the San Francisco Chronicle. And Houghton had a spat with the Fresno Bee. The San Fran. Chronicle ran the headline: "Guerilla Boss Orders State Unit to Disband." Under the by-line of George Draper, the story began:

"Caifornia's machine-gunning guerrillas were ordered disbanded yeserday by Robert B. DePugh, national commander of the super-patriotic Minutemen organization. DePugh, a drawling Missouri pill salesman, snapped out his demobilization order from his Los Angeles hotel room after the arrest of the Minutemen's California coordinator for failure to register as a sex offender...."

H. Harry Jones, Jr. in his The Minutemen (1968) writes of this incident:
"Said DePugh recently, when reviewing this traumatic episode in the Minutemen history: 'I never asked him to disband....One of the newspaper reporters out there, I forget what his name was, he was on the San Francisco Chronicle, just put that in the paper, but I didn't say it.'"

Troy Houghton told the SF Bee that he (now calling himself Alderman) had formerly been helping to fight Communists in Central America with "certain chemical knowledge I passed on."

Houghton, of course, disappears in May 1967 -- becomes a missing person. He claims that he is "going underground."

The Epilogue to Jones's book begins with his last interview of Houghton.

"When are you going to start shooting?" I asked Troy Houghton, half seriously, as we sipped coffee in a Springfield, Missouri, restaurant in May, 1967, a few days before his 'disappearance.'
"If Bob [DePugh] goes to jail," Houghton replied, drawing a line across the table top with his right forefinger, 'there's people who say that's the line."
"Who's going to get shot?" I asked, having no idea whether he was in earnest.
"I've assigned names of certain poeple to certain people."
"How many to how many?"
"A medium, three-figure amount."

In Sept. 1968, DePugh was arrested for violation of federal firearms laws. DePugh skipped bail and went underground for over a year until he was caught in 1969 in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. He was convicted in 1970 and released from prison in May 1973. DePugh claimed to have eluded authorities with a "hippie disguise."
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lAMRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p-cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6765,3196831&dq=depugh+arrested&hl=en

In 1968, Minutemen decals turn up in SF and the Bay Area. Houghton was known to put decals on cars and harass politicians and govt. officials with them. In this 1964 Lodi News-Sentinel article featuring Haughton, who is harrassing Calif Attorney General Mosk with decals among other things, Mosk refers to The Minutemen as drifters and misfits: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HLAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pTIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=6696,390786&dq=haughton+minutemen&hl=en
Z claimed he would pick off stray people.

rand wrote:

Good news! I asked Jessica Edgar, who works for the National Archives at Kansas City, to request to have the Haughton's appeals case delivered to their facility and it officially arrived today. Jessica told me that she hopes to take a look at it tomorrow to see if provides any clues that would help to answer our/my questions.

Hey Rand, how is it going on reviewing the appeals case? If you need help reviewing large amounts of documents I am willing to spend the time reading and take notes.

rand wrote:

In November 1961, Robert Depugh, the founder of the Minutemen, met with Troy Houghton. They appeared together at a well-attended press conference.

To the delight of photographers, DePugh demonstrated a "Minute Mask" by putting the plastic bag over himself and was promptly photographed wearing it. Alderman (Houghton) was shown nearby watching

Publicity wise, the conference was a great success for the Minutemen. Within 24 hours, however, DePugh had reason to regret such prominent news coverage. The very next morning, DePugh was greeted by newspaper headlines to the effect that Houghton had been arrested for failure to register as a sex offender. So charged and convicted, the offender would have to, for a period of five years, register as a “sex offender” with the local police department wherever they lived or would move to in California.

Next, Depugh had a public spat with George Draper of the San Francisco Chronicle. And Houghton had a spat with the Fresno Bee. The San Fran. Chronicle ran the headline: "Guerilla Boss Orders State Unit to Disband." Under the by-line of George Draper, the story began:

"Caifornia's machine-gunning guerrillas were ordered disbanded yeserday by Robert B. DePugh, national commander of the super-patriotic Minutemen organization. DePugh, a drawling Missouri pill salesman, snapped out his demobilization order from his Los Angeles hotel room after the arrest of the Minutemen's California coordinator for failure to register as a sex offender...."

H. Harry Jones, Jr. in his The Minutemen (1968) writes of this incident:
"Said DePugh recently, when reviewing this traumatic episode in the Minutemen history: 'I never asked him to disband....One of the newspaper reporters out there, I forget what his name was, he was on the San Francisco Chronicle, just put that in the paper, but I didn't say it.'"

Troy Houghton told the SF Bee that he (now calling himself Alderman) had formerly been helping to fight Communists in Central America with "certain chemical knowledge I passed on."

Houghton, of course, disappears in May 1967 -- becomes a missing person. He claims that he is "going underground."

The Epilogue to Jones's book begins with his last interview of Houghton.

"When are you going to start shooting?" I asked Troy Houghton, half seriously, as we sipped coffee in a Springfield, Missouri, restaurant in May, 1967, a few days before his 'disappearance.'
"If Bob [DePugh] goes to jail," Houghton replied, drawing a line across the table top with his right forefinger, 'there's people who say that's the line."
"Who's going to get shot?" I asked, having no idea whether he was in earnest.
"I've assigned names of certain poeple to certain people."
"How many to how many?"
"A medium, three-figure amount."

In Sept. 1968, DePugh was arrested for violation of federal firearms laws. DePugh skipped bail and went underground for over a year until he was caught in 1969 in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. He was convicted in 1970 and released from prison in May 1973. DePugh claimed to have eluded authorities with a "hippie disguise."
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lAMRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p-cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6765,3196831&dq=depugh+arrested&hl=en

In 1968, Minutemen decals turn up in SF and the Bay Area. Houghton was known to put decals on cars and harass politicians and govt. officials with them. In this 1964 Lodi News-Sentinel article featuring Haughton, who is harrassing Calif Attorney General Mosk with decals among other things, Mosk refers to The Minutemen as drifters and misfits: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HLAzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pTIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=6696,390786&dq=haughton+minutemen&hl=en
Z claimed he would pick off stray people.

Quote :

Troy Houghton told the SF Bee that he (now calling himself Alderman) had formerly been helping to fight Communists in Central America with "certain chemical knowledge I passed on."

Wonder how we could prove that Troy Houghton actually did have the experience of helping fight the communist in Cental America with chemical Knowledge? IF we can prove that...then we have proof he work with the CIA before hooking up with DePugh...who later said he had the capabilities to biologically kill everyone in the US with his skills (assuming his biolab). I wonder if they were blow hards or they actually got brought together from work they had done with the CIA and either started the MM or infiltrated from the very start. Then you add the fact MM were talking and working with the FBI late 50-60's...there is alot of unknown history

Is there any freedom of information act documents that can be requested on TH and perhaps his Alderman alias that might show he had experience in Central American, used as an agent for the FBI for counter intelpro. IF we can find a some agency that did relocate him for protection...surely thing many years out there would be some records somewhere??

I'm certain that there are. You have to request them from the FBI. The only potential problem is that TH is not officially dead, so getting consent is tricky.

TH definitely had access to chemical weapons.



Jessica in Missouri has the appeal papers. I don't have them or I would have gone through them by now. Thanks for the offer of help, though

She'll get back to me this week, I hope.

Rand...the last document is from a FBI handler report??

TH apparently was dead enough for his ex wife to get some sort of death benefit almost 20 years later?

I am struck by the arrogance of TH when he is interviewed. It doesn't seem to match his education or work history.

He clearly had no problem admitting to press of his terrorist leanings.

He seemed to enjoy playing games.

[quote="morf13"][quote="rand"][quote="rand"]I DON'T YET HAVE ANY PRINTED HANDWRITING FROM TROY HOUGHTON. BUT I DO HAVE HIS PRINTED NUMBERS. I THINK THAT THEY ARE REVEALING.

TROY HOUGHTON WAS BORN AND GREW UP IN LA. HERE IS AN UNCONFIRMED Z LETTER TO KHJ-TV, LOS ANGELES, MAY 2, 1978.



I found this info about the envelope that this unconfirmed letter was sent in. Notice the return address...

Quote :

The Envelope-

On the outside of the envelope where the return address should be “Zodiac” has written some backward letters and numbers. The top line reads “CIA” with the letter C reversed

Original 1978 envelope booked in LAPD custody

Thanks, MS. 1,2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7 All good children go to heaven and the Beatles Apple. If this was an actual Z letter, we know he was into the Beatles for sure. Blue Meanies as well. Howard Davis thinks this is good proof that Z was a Manson Family member.

Very interesting stuff here if you haven't seen it. Robert Ackerman's analysis of the strange Halloween card symbol is compelling. CHECK THIS OUT!
http://www.zodiackillertruth.com/robpahalcard.htm

ACKERMAN BELIEVES THAT THE SYMBOL STANDS FOR LA. I AGREE. FOR HIM, HOWEVER, THIS INDICATES THAT THE KILLER WAS LEIGH ALLEN. I STRONGLY DISAGREE. WHY ASSUME IT'S THE KILLER'S INITIALS?

MY ANALYSIS OF THE HALLOWEEN CARD TELLS ME THAT IT'S THE IMAGE OF A FLASHER. SEEMS OBVIOUS TO ME.





PEEK-A-BOO! (FLASHER)




OKAY, NOW WHERE WAS TROY HOUGHTON FIRST CONVICTED OF FLASHING IN 1959?

ANSWER: Los Angeles or LA

WHERE WAS HOUGHTON BORN? LA




HOW MANY EYES ON THE HC? THIRTEEN.

EYES ARE USED FOR LOOKING. LOOK MAGAZINE FEATURED AN ARTICLE ABOUT TROY HOUGHTON IN 1967, WHERE HE SAID THE FOLLOWING:



THE MINUTEMEN FLAG WAS A BETSY ROSS FLAG, WHICH HAS 13 STARS

THE FIGURE ON THE BACK OF THE HC IS COMPOSED OF A SMALL T AND CAPITAL H

THAT'S A LOT OF CLUES POINTING TO TROY HOUGHTON IN ONE CARD. DOES ANY OTHER POI EXPLAIN THE HC AS THOROUGHLY? DOES ANY OTHER POI FIT OR REVEAL THE CLUES THAT ZODIAC SAID HE WAS LEAVING IN THE HALLOWEEN CARD?

AND HE'S A DEAD RINGER FOR ZODIAC:

Hi Rand, the problem with saying that "he's a dead ringer for Z", is that so were a lot of other people...Previously, I posted photos of a lot of random people from the 1960's and '70's, athletes, college students, workers, etc., ALL of whom were a "dead ringer" for Z....Hell, even my daughter's football coach looks like him...

Hi Zab. Sure. I agree. The main point of the last post was the HC symbol being LA and how that relates to the flasher image of the HC. I was just tagging on that TH looks like the composite. But he truly was a dead ringer for Z. Even has the lazy left eye. Also wears dark (pleated?) pants. See for yourself:

I thought I'd mention this as another piece of the puzzle. The discovery that the HC symbol is a rune spelling LA, as well as many other things, suggest that Z must have been somewhat clever, maybe learned and, at least, curious. Some have suggested that TH wasn't smart enough to be Z. I disagree. TH was arrested for tearing out several pages of a library book. Those pages must have been important to him.
Also note the book shelf in the picture above (my last post) of TH sitting in his office. Having been a Klansman since he was a teenager as well as his connections to the Lancaster Church of Jesus Christ Christian crowd, TH was probably familiar with Nazi occultism. That would explain his knowledge of runes. Check out this Youtube video of the Nazi Occult. At 38 seconds in, you see young girls dancing around a Zodiac symbol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up2A8JzD2WY

Here is the logo for the American Church of Theology, an outgrowth of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian. Note the Zodiac symbol and the 13 stars, arrows, etc. A reference to the Great Seal of the United States and the original 13 colonies. This had great significance to the Minutemen.

NOTE THE 4-TEEN on the HALLOWEEN CARD:



IT'S A FLASHER IMAGE, IMO. WHO DID TROY HOUGHTON FLASH? FOUR TEENAGE GIRLS. 4-TEEN.


[/quote]

But was he proud and boastful of the fact he was a convicted flasher?

It seems he was embarassed by it and tried to pass it off as him and his wife sunbathing.

The "14" most likely refers to a 14th victim, either Avery or IMO Nancy Bennallack. The card was sent after Bennallack was murdered but before it hit the papers.

It was a CLUE to his identity. Doesn't matter whether he was proud of it or not. When Troy was a leader of the MM, DePugh obviously didn't like this publicity regarding his regional coordinator from the biggest MM area in the country: the West. But once TH was underground, sure, why not? He didn't care. Perhaps he was proud of it in some sick way. I'm sure Zodiac (TH, IMO), didn't go around telling people he was a serial killer. Probably seemed shy about mentioning it and all the details. But, when he wrote to the press, did he seem shy or ashamed of his behavior? Certainly not. Same thing for TH and his flashing convictions. C'mon? The HC symbol is a rune for LA; TH was born in LA, but more important, that's where he was convicted of indecent exposure for flashing two teenage girls in 1957. He flashed two more in WY in January 1967. The HC is the image of a flasher. PEEK-A-BOO! When TH failed to register as a convicted sex offender in San Diego in 1961, it made national news - it was all over the headlines, followed him everywhere. It's his IDENTITY. You ACHE TO KNOW MY NAME, LET ME CLUE YOU IN...

CLUES TO TROY HOUGHTON'S IDENTITY ON HALLOWEEN CARD:
1. FLASHER IMAGE/PEEK-A-BOO
2. HC SYMBOL = LA: PLACE WHERE TH WAS CONVICTED OF FLASHING IN 1957, HIS BIRTHPLACE TOO
3. 13 EYES = LOOK MAGAZINE: 13 BULLET HOLES IN HIS CAR.
4. 4-TEEN = 4 TEENAGE GIRLS FLASHED
5. PARADISE SLAVES FIGURE - COMPOSED OF a small t, and large H for TROY HOUGHTON; AND
6. CONTAINS BY GUN, BY KNIFE, BY ROPE, SAME AS MM DECAL WITH CROSSHAIR SYMBOL; TH CONVICTED OF ARSON AT AGE 14 (BY FIRE).
7. ZODIAC DREW A Z AND A CROSSHAIR SYMBOL ON THE CARD, FIRST TIME HE DID THAT. WHY? BECAUSE HE WAS TELLING EVERYONE THAT THE CROSSHAIR SYMBOL HAD ANOTHER MEANING FOR HIM; ONE OTHER THAN THE ZODIAC. AND WHAT WAS THAT OTHER MEANING? THE MINUTEMEN, WHICH IT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO SIGNIFY. HE GOT COLD FEET, HOWEVER, AND QUICKLY CAME UP WITH THE ZODIAC AS AN IDENTITY TO MISDIRECT AWAY FROM THE MINUTEMEN.

Has Nancy Slover ever heard a recording of TH voice?

Rand, have you requested an FBI file release for Troy, under the FOIA?

Zab: I don't know of any recording of TH's voice. I've asked Jessica, the archivist for the MO Fed Cts, for any video of him, interviews, etc. but she doesn't know of any or where to look. Missouri local news should have something. She's sending me some local newspaper articles, though. There might be some video of the MM floating around somewhere. Any suggestions on where to look?

Morf: I'm so darn lazy when it comes to the FBI. The problem is that I don't have a death certificate for TH. I'm fairly sure that you need permission to get FOIA stuff without one. You'd know better than I would, though. What do you think, Morf?

I think Morf's point is well taken, if anyone would have it, the FBI would, and I might make a smaller very specific request to see if they have a voice recording of him, or a source for one...

Also, for your reference:

http://www.justice.gov/oip/04_3.html

rand wrote:

Zab: I don't know of any recording of TH's voice. I've asked Jessica, the archivist for the MO Fed Cts, for any video of him, interviews, etc. but she doesn't know of any or where to look. Missouri local news should have something. She's sending me some local newspaper articles, though. There might be some video of the MM floating around somewhere. Any suggestions on where to look?

Morf: I'm so darn lazy when it comes to the FBI. The problem is that I don't have a death certificate for TH. I'm fairly sure that you need permission to get FOIA stuff without one. You'd know better than I would, though. What do you think, Morf?

Has he been declared dead by any family member? Maybe you can request the info for the Minutemen as a whole.