Historical Notes: The Infamous Cobra

Jack Ruby did almost nothing efficiently—except to murder Lee Harvey Oswald. According to the Warren Report, he conducted his banking from his "pockets and the trunk of his car," dispensed cash generously to his pals and cared little about repayment, ran up an estimated $50,000 debt in legal fees, and at the time of his death last January in Dallas, owed the Federal Government about $44,000 in back taxes. To complicate matters even further, Ruby made out three separate wills, dividing his non-estate (mostly personal effects) among sisters, nephews and a friendly prison guard. Last week, as lawyers in Dallas and Detroit—where his brother Earl lives—waded through the financial morass, it appeared that the strip-joint owner's most valuable possession was the snub-nosed .38 Colt Cobra revolver with which he killed Oswald. Collectors have reportedly offered as much as $50,000 for the gun.