[Hollywood]

Several Commission assistant counsels met with FBI Inspector James R. Malley, the bureau's liason with the Commission and FBI fingerprint expert Sebastion Latona and they asked Latona if there was a way to prove the lift came from the rifle. Latona reeaxmined the lift submitted by Day and noticed pits, marks and rust spots on it that corresponded to "identical areas on the underside of the rifle barrel - the very spot from which Day said the print had been lifted. J. Edgar Hoover sent a letter by courier to the Commission on September 4 1978 to confirm this finding, along with a photograph showing the corresponding marks on the barrel and the lift. There was no doubt whatsoever that the palm print Day had lifted had come from Oswald's rifle.

Vincent Scalice, leading fingerprint expert for the New York City Police Dept. and also the HSCA fingerprint expert, compared the latent prints in the photographs with finger print exemplars of Oswald's. He found that by maneuvering  the photos in different positions, he was able to find about 18 points of identity. "These are definitely the fingerprints of Lee Harvey Oswald - they are on the rifle. There is no doubt about it." Captain Jerry Powdrill also agreed with Scalice's judgement. So much for the charge that this is all speculation.......