Talk:Pierre LaFitte

Magician?

Wikipedians,

I'm waiting for Anthony Amore's book "The Imposter" to get picked up by a publisher so I can discover more information about this subject, and especially see how past accountings of Voignier differ to his new book.

However - I've discovered that there was ALSO a Jacques Voignier that was a professional magician, wrote a history of magic, and died in 2006.

It is possible that these are the same person, since this criminal/spy Voignier was allegedly taught magic by John Mulholland, and I've known plenty of spies happen to have enjoyed doing card tricks, and I can imagine that after Voignier's life of crime and cons, magic might have seemed like a legitimate line of work for him.

But I can't find a single document connecting the thread - and the magician Voignier had HAIR in the 80's. A full head of hair. Of course, it's possible that he was wearing a wig - they were more popular back then.

But if anyone can figure out what the hell happened to this person, that would be awesome. Guylaen (talk) 14:14, 9 August 2024 (UTC)

One might expect that this mysterious person is buried in the US. Where/when did he die ? From reading H.P. Albarelli's intro to his "Coup in Dallas" (page xvi), the operative "Lafitte" lived out his retirement years somewhere in New England; it was not so far from where Albarelli resided, which I believe was Burlington, VT. So was it northern New Hampshire ? A French expat might want to live within a few hours of Montreal. Maybe he was in a witness protection program ? Also per the into, Albarelli's meeting with Lafitte's widow happened before 2005, which is when "A Terrible Mistake" was published. So that give a rough timeframe. Finally, if the connection between real person Voignier and fake name Lafitte was published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as early as October 1957, it seems really puzzling that Albarelli doesn't make this connection in his "Coup in Dallas" (which, I gotta say, is a prime example of what an unedited manuscript pretending to be a readable book looks like). Stiffcrust (talk) 06:15, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

I think at the moment I'm just waiting for new information to connect more dots here. Guylaen (talk) 09:16, 8 December 2024 (UTC)

Hell Guylaen, I am Leslie Sharp, co-author of Coup in Dallas with the late Hank Albarelli Jr. I note a number of inaccuracies in this wiki page. Who do I consult? 67.0.62.16 (talk) 22:34, 17 June 2025 (UTC)

@67.0.62.16, Please ping me next time. On the visual editor, click on the picture of a person with the plus sign. I would really like your input about the inaccuracies that you've noticed. Guylaen (talk) 17:39, 4 November 2025 (UTC)

When you ping a Wikipedian, it lights up a notification icon on their account. That way, I will know immediately that someone has mentioned me. I am very interested in making sure this page is accurate. BUT ALL WIKIPEDIA PAGES NEED SOURCES.

I can't just edit a page because someone says it's wrong. I need it in writing somewhere. The writing that I've found is what's at the bottom of the page. Guylaen (talk) 17:46, 4 November 2025 (UTC)

Unfortunately Albarelli died of a stroke in 2019. Coup in Dallas was published by his assistant, Leslie, after he passed.

So I chalk up the unfinished nature of it to his... being dead. Guylaen (talk) 09:22, 8 December 2024 (UTC)

Coup in Dallas as Source Material

What has happened to Wikipedia standards?

This article is almost entirely based on the works of one author, Hank Albarelli -- who himself was very vague about his source material in earlier books - citing intelligence whilstblowers whom he can't name (nor who were recorded or filmed in a manner that keeps their identity safe - thus calling into questiion wherther they even existed), failing to properly cite other authors and researchers whose work he has clearly used, and finally this hotly contested datebook that has all the warning signs of the Hitler Diaries. That his successor to the Keeper of the Secrets will only allow acolytes to view the datebook, and that no clear images from it have ever been published, is even more telling.

Adding to those huge problems with using a single book that is itself questionably sourced, is the issue that it contains a glaring error. Oswald never worked in any restaurants in New Orleans. This is possibly a mistaken referrence to Kerry Thornley.

The whole article should come with a giant warning sticker and a cannister of salt.

Wikipedia used to have standards about source material. What happened? ThrillainManilla (talk) 01:16, 29 June 2025 (UTC)

Cool. If you have any information to provide, I would love it. Like I said, I'm waiting on Anthony Amore to finish his book. Guylaen (talk) 17:43, 4 November 2025 (UTC)

I am a Wikipedian. I do not participate in history forum discussions and I do not do original research – original research is not allowed here, so I will not comment on the ongoing battle of the historians over who gets to own what diary or whatever.

I'm just trying to make sure the information here is accurate. Please ping me next time if you have any information about reliable sources.

H.P. Abarelli was a perfectly reliable source before he died, but now that he's dead no one can figure out who his sources were. I figure that if Hank wrote it, it's probably reliable.

However, I should stress this point: RELIABLE DOES NOT MEAN ACCURATE. History always changes. Guylaen (talk) 20:58, 4 November 2025 (UTC)

I just need more sources. I need more than a diary. Even if the diary is published, I can't use it. I need analysis and I need stuff in writing. Guylaen (talk) 20:59, 4 November 2025 (UTC)

However, I must say that even though the apparent Voignier diary is the subject of many pissing matches... the George White diaries are perfectly accessible up at the Hoover Institution in Stanford. I only live an hour and a half away, but I haven't had the time to reserve a spot to read it. Guylaen (talk) 02:37, 5 November 2025 (UTC)