Jack Ruby

  by Krysta Cardinale

Jack Ruby was born under the name Jacob Rubenstein. He was a nightclub owner in Dallas, Texas, and changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in December of 1947. Ruby put his name in history forever, under the heading; “Jack Ruby kills Lee Harvey Oswald.” He committed this act only two days after Oswald had assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

Background of Jack Ruby

Jacob Rubenstein was born in 1911. The exact day of his birth is uncertain and has been reported on various dates from March to June. The most common date of birth is said to be March 24, 1911. Rubenstein was born in Chicago, Illinois to Joseph Rubenstein and Fannie Turek Rutkowski. Both Joseph and Fannie were Orthodox Jews. Ruby was the fifth child of his parents’ eight.

Jacob Rubenstein had a rough childhood. He lived in four different residences before the age of five. His father was an alcoholic and would often get arrested. Rubenstein’s parents fought often and were sometimes physical. In 1921, his parents were separated and divorced.

On July 10, 1923 Jacob Rubenstein and his three younger siblings were placed into foster care. They remained in foster homes for a period of up to five years before returning back into custody of their mother. Once back home, his family lived a life of poverty. Jacob’s mother was ordered by the courts in 1937 to be admitted into a mental institution. She was delusional and uncooperative. She was released in August 1938 at an status of “improved.” She moved into an apartment and stayed separated from the family. Jacob’s parents apparently reconciled shortly after. In 1944, Fannie was admitted into the hospital for heart problems. She died on April 11, 1944. Following her death, Joseph returned to his children and lived with them until he died at the age of 87 on December 24, 1958.

Due to the disintegration of his family, Jacob Rubenstein was forced to work at a very young age. At the age of 10, with no education, Jacob worked scalping tickets for sports events. He also sold little trinkets and items on the streets.

Jack Ruby and Organized Crime

After working on the streets, Ruby soon found himself running errands for Al Capone and his infamous Mafia organization. From 1937-39, Ruby was a “union organizer” for a local branch of Scrap Iron Handlers Union in Chicago. In the early 1940’s he also visited the racetracks often. In 1943, then Jacob Rubenstein was drafted into War World II. He served in the U.S. Air Force as an aircraft mechanic. He was discharged in 1946 and returned to Chicago.

Only a year late, in 1947 Rubenstein moved to Dallas. Once here both he and his brothers changed their name to Ruby. They stated their reason for was to prevent discrimination against their newly founded mail order business because of their Jewish last name. Jack Ruby continued his entrepreneurship in the nightclub business. He went on to manage several nightclubs, strip joints, and dancehalls.

In his new business career, Ruby befriended many Dallas Police Officers. He formed close ties and showered them with liquor and various favors when they visited his night clubs. He would bring cops sandwiches at night and arrange dates with his strippers. Ruby also arranged loans for the police force.

There is a great deal of evidence that Jack was himself a creature of organized crime, and that he had been sent to Dallas by Chicago mobsters. Ruby apparently worked for Sam Giancana and frequently reported to Giancana’s lieutenants’ Dave Yaras and Lenny Patrick. Jack also had a close relationship with mafia-tied gambler Lewis McWillie. He and McWillie went down to Cuba in 1953 for a “gun-running venture.” McWillie had ties to big mob leaders including Meyer Lansky and Carlos Marcello. Ruby helped smuggle guns to Central America as well.

Jack Ruby Kills Lee Harvey Oswald

Jack Ruby became a public figure when committed the first live homicide broadcasted on television. Ruby was known for frequently carrying around his handgun, and had actually been seen in the Dallas Police Station with it the days following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

On November 24, 1963 the question, who is Jack Ruby was forever answered. On this day, Jack Ruby shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, two days after Oswald assassinated JFK. His reasons for killing Oswald were to supposedly demonstrate and show every one that “Jews had guts.” Ruby apparently also stated that he wanted to put the city of Dallas in the public eye, and he wanted to spare Jacqueline Kennedy from having to testify at a trial. Others suggest that it was an order from the Mafia, and Ruby had no personal motives. Jack Ruby shot Oswald with a Colt Cobra .38, and was immediately arrested.

The day that Jack Ruby shot Oswald was while Oswald was in custody; he was being transferred from police head quarters to a jail. The only way Jack Ruby shot Oswald in front of 77 armed policemen in a basement, was to have help from the police. It is public knowledge that Ruby has very close to about seventy Dallas policemen. So, he was definitely someone the police would recognize and allow in, even under such extraordinary circumstances as moving Oswald to a different place.

Trial of Jack Ruby

In 1964, the trial of Jack Ruby began. Melvin Belli, a defense attorney from San Francisco, agreed to provide services to Ruby free of charge. Belli attempted to defend Ruby on the basis of insanity because had a history of mental illness in his family. On March 14, 1964 the trial of Jack Ruby ended. He was convicted of “murder with malice,” and was to receive the death penalty.

Following his conviction, Ruby’s lawyers began the appeal process. Their argument was that Ruby was unable to receive a fair trial in Dallas because of the publicity of the case. In November 1966, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled in favor of Ruby. The death sentence was dropped, and Ruby was granted a second trial. Death however, was his unforeseen future.

Jack Ruby: Death

On December 9, 1966 Ruby was admitted to a hospital in Dallas. At Parkland Hospital, he was being treated for pneumonia. A pulmonary embolism was suffered by Jack Ruby, death occurred on January 3, 1967. Ruby died awaiting his second trial set for the following month. It is a popular belief that he would have been sentenced with “time served,” and freed. Jack Leon Ruby was buried in Chicago at Westlawn Cemetery.