Who was Otto F. Otepka and Why Did Mississippi Sovereignty Commission Keep a File?

Beginning in 1957, Otto F. Otepka served as Deputy Director of the State Department Office of Security. This meant that Otepka was in charge of granting security clearances for all State Department personnel. A cadre of people worked under his supervision. From this position of considerable responsibility, Otepka was plunged into a nightmare universe of harassment and surveillance. He was reassigned and removed to a position from which he could no longer reveal inconvenient truths. Yet he had done nothing wrong. It is an extraordinary tale of a career government officer being framed from within the government, his only sin the scrupulous manner in which he performed his duties.

Now, why would there be a small file of clippings about this man in Sovereignty Files? His story has recently been tied to the assassination of JFK -- but this comes years later, as researchers like Joan Mellen do this work on John F. Kennedy's demise.

Here's is a Sovereignty Commission Link

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd06/045916.png&otherstuff=6|44|0|34|1|1|1|45243|

There's a couple more files you can pull up, too.

And here is a link to a free online book about this man by author Joan Mellen. You might take a look; it's quite fascinating. For myself, it helped answer a question of why one of Kennedy's closest friends and cohorts turned on Jim Garrison, making it so rough for him to convict Clay Shaw.

Link to online book --

Names Sometimes Associated With JFK Assassination Found in Mississippi Sovereignty Commission Files

Looking for names sometimes associated for various reasons with the JFK assassination?? Well, I can't say look no further -- because I have the ultimate guide. However -- Here’s a partial list of some pretty interesting names that can be found in the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission files. (I will update this list as I run into more names.)

I think it's quite fascinating that any records on these folks were collected, since most weren't Mississippi residents. Anyway, I've included one or two links for each name. None are particularly representative of what is in the Commission's treasure chest; But take a look; there are some real gems.

Remember, when using these files look for all sorts of spellings and combinations of names. Even Guy Banister's contract employee, John D. Sullivan, spelled the old coot's name with two n's! Also, all of the files are not thoroughly indexed, so names can appear in reports but not be found through the main index. SUSAN

Here's the link for a basic name searjch./http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/

Remember, this database was built pre-computer days. Try several possible spellings to a name when using it. For instanc, J Egar Hoover has three different versions.

Guy Banister

Jack Brown (as named by Joe Milteer). 

Robert DePugh

Wickliffe P. Draper 

James O. Eastland

David Ferriie

Jim Garrison

J. Edgar Hoover

H.L. Hunt

Lamar Hunt

Lyndon B. Johnson

John F. Kennedy

Robert F. Kennedy

John Lechner (name foud in Richard Nagell’s notebook) 

Carlos Marcello

Robert D. Morrow


Robert Morris

Lee Harvey Oswald

(Fair Play For Cuba)

Marina Oswald


Henry Palmer

David A. Phillips

Alex Rorke, Jr. 

John Roselli

John H. Rousselot

Jack Ruby


John C. Satterfield

Jay Sourwine (note: Pacifica Foundation was chaired by Andrew Goodman's father)

Clay Shaw

Willie Somersett

John D. Sullivan

Robert Surrey

Wesley Swift

Ned Touchstone

Gen. Edwin Walker