James Oliver was a white bartender who worked in Paterson at the Lafayette Bar & Grill during the summer of 1966. It was said by some that - on occasion - he refused to serve black patrons. Oliver was on duty during the early morning hours of June 17th.

At about 2:30 a.m., two armed men came into the Lafayette Bar and opened fire. Oliver and one customer were killed instantly. Two other patrons - Hazel Tanis and William Marins - were seriously injured. Awakened by the shooting, a tenant who lived above the bar - Patty Valentine - ran to her window. She saw two men leave the scene in a white car.

At about the same time

Alfred Bello and Arthur Bradley were breaking into a nearby factory. Bello, who was standing lookout, was either in or outside the bar...

Bello's exact location - and what he said about it - would become a huge point of contention for the next twenty years.

Within minutes, police arrived at the Lafayette Bar. They took statements from Marins (who was also questioned at the hospital), Valentine and Bello. No one said they had seen Hurricane Carter, one of Paterson's most well-known citizens, at the scene.

A police bulletin radioed officers to be on the lookout for a white car with two black men inside.

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