Malcolm X’s family released a letter that says it was written by a deceased New York policeman alleging that the NYPD and the FBI were behind the 1965 murder in Harlem of the civil rights activist.
Malcolm X was shot dead at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, a year after breaking with the Nation of Islam.
Three members of the black separatism group were convicted of the shooting.
On Saturday, some of Malcolm X’s daughters released a letter attributed to former disguised NYPD officer Raymond Wood at the former 165th Street hotel. Family members were joined by Reggie Wood, a cousin of the deceased officer.
In the letter, Raymond Wood allegedly wrote that NYPD supervisors pressured him to attract two members of Malcolm X’s security to commit crimes that led to their arrest days before the activist was killed.
The letter said the arrests had given the chance to secure the hotel’s ballroom door and were part of a conspiracy between federal investigators and New York police to kill Malcolm.
“Under the direction of my manipulators, I was told to encourage leaders and members of civil rights groups to commit criminal acts,” says the letter.
Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance said last year that his office would reopen the case to investigate the longstanding disputes of some historians and academics that the wrong suspects were arrested for the murder.
Following the letter, Vance’s office issued a statement saying that “the review of this matter is active and in progress”.
The NYPD said it is cooperating with the prosecutor’s efforts.
“The NYPD provided all available records relevant to that case to the public prosecutor. The Department remains committed to helping with this review in any way, ”Sgt. Edward Riley wrote in a statement to the Post on Sunday.
The FBI declined to comment.
Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, said she has always lived with uncertainty about the circumstances of her father’s death.
With Post Wires