Gary James' Interview With Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Detective
Monte Wayne Nicholson



"There's all kinds of conspiratorial theories floating around on everything. Elvis Presley is rumored to be alive and well someplace." - President George Bush, Canberra, Australia Press Conference, January 1992.

"I have to tell you, I've been dreaming of this moment since I was a kid growing up in Tennessee, that one day, I'd have the chance to come home to Madison Square Garden and be the warm-up act for Elvis." - Senator Al Gore's (Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate for 1992) opening remark at the Democratic Convention, July 1992. August 16th, 1992 was the fifteenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. Does anyone really know what happened to Elvis on that day? Monte Wayne Nicholson, a detective on the Los Angeles Sheriff's Dept. has been investigating the Elvis case for fifteen years, since 1977. Monte is the author of the previously published book The Presley Arrangement and the soon-to-be published book, Elvis Calling. Monte was a guest on The Elvis Files and The Elvis Conspiracy, both nationally syndicated TV programs. Recently, Monte has turned down thirty radio interview requests, as well as several TV interviews. Monte did agree to talk to Gary James.

What follows is a disturbing and unsettling account of the "Is Elvis Alive?" controversy.

Q - Monte, you've been investigating this "Is Elvis Alive?" phenomenon for some time now. What are you leaning towards, that Elvis is alive, or Elvis is dead?

A - You know, that is the most difficult question of all for me to answer, because in my mind, I can look at both sides and almost prove the theory, he's alive or dead. If I don't look at all the evidence, I would say at this point, I would be afraid to say he's dead, because sure as the world, somebody's gonna come up with him. I'd be afraid to say that he's alive, because they'll exhume his body and prove that he's dead. I would say that I can't say. I am convinced that the only thing that's gonna solve this is to exhume the body and prove scientifically, physically, with physical evidence, once and for all, that that is him in the grave. Fifteen years ago, we started this circle, and it's still a circle, and we're still walking in it and nothing has been proven. I would say that based on the evidence that's been shown that he's alive, that nothing conclusive has been presented. A wise person would have to say I'm leaning towards that he's dead. But, there may be a greater conspiracy involved, not that he's alive, but I'm convinced that something is not being told. What that something is, I'm not sure of. Could it be that he was murdered? Could it be that he was so involved with the government that they want to keep things quiet? Could it be drug related? Could it be a jealous girlfriend? I don't know. These are all just questions in my mind. But, I am convinced that something is not being told about the circumstances surrounding his death. Is he dead? Probably. But is there a conspiracy? Undoubtedly. I think there's as much conspiracy in this as there is Marilyn Monroe or JFK. Every bit as much. I would like the answers. But now, for me to get those answers, it takes a higher authority or a local authority to make that step. I don't have the authority legally to do what needs to be done, to prove this once and for all. And I don't think the people that stand to gain want it proven, anyway. I think the people that stand to gain from this want the conspiracy to continue.

Q - Since your book is called i>Elvis Calling", is it true that you received a phone call from someone identifying themselves as Elvis, after the Elvis Files TV show aired?

A - Yeah, that's true. In fact, I received several calls. It sounded as much like Elvis as the tapes you heard on The Elvis Files. I am not convinced that it was Elvis Presley. I'm not invulnerable to hoax sightings and hoax calls myself. I have been called, and I have talked to someone, but I have not seen enough evidence that this person is Elvis Presley to convince me as others have, to say 'I talked to Elvis Presley'. My intent is to point out that unless we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt who these phone calls are from, who those sightings are, who those pictures are of, we have nothing. It proves nothing. Any one of the things that have happened can be duplicated somehow. When evidence I see can be duplicated, in any way, I become skeptical. Real evidence is not duplicatable. It either pertains to the crime, or the act, or the event, or it doesn't. A person's fingerprint is their own fingerprint. Elvis Presley's voice print would be his own. In every case of recording, those voice prints do not prove to be Elvis Presley.

Q - So you were able to tape the Elvis calls you received?

A - Yeah. They did not match anything we had known, to Elvis Presley.

Q - Before you had the call analyzed, did you have reason to believe that something wasn't quite right?

A - Well, you know what? I've been in law enforcement for twenty years, and especially when it comes to this Elvis Presley conspiracy, I'm skeptical of everyone. If you want to know who is behind the three theories, Elvis is alive and hiding, he's dead, we lead the detective in this whole thing to certain information to do a couple of things: either convince him that he's dead or, if he's really alive, convince him that he's solved the mystery, and throw him off the track. What you have to do to solve the mystery is look at the person or people, or entity that stands to gain the most from Elvis being alive or the controversy continuing.

Q - That's easy enough. It has to be the Presley Estate. Graceland.

A - And how about all the people who write books and say he's alive?

Q - They're not making as much as Graceland. Graceland takes in $32 million a year.

A - They're the biggest benefactors, aren't they?

Q - Sure, whether he's dead or alive.

A - Well, let's say he's dead though. Now you have to say, if he's dead, and there was foul play, who stands to gain there? Now that's even a bigger mystery. Would the estate be making the kind of money they're making if he were still alive? I mean, I'm just throwing everything out for conjecture, things that I mull over in my mind and wonder about. Maybe Elvis Presley was murdered. What would be a motive to murder him? Well, I don't know exactly, but you know, if he was becoming a problem for the estate, or a problem for someone else, who stands to capitalize on Elvis' memorabilia? Or, if he was an informant, or was about to blow the whistle on somebody for drugs at the mansion... there's a myriad of reasons; anyone in Elvis Presley's position, having the contacts he did, having the money he had, making the enemies he did with people who thought they should be in the inner circle and weren't, and it goes on and on. There are motives that could be logical motives for murder. And again, I'm not accusing anybody of anything. Understand, I'm just throwing out food for thought. A girlfriend, maybe Ginger Alden. Hey, I've seen the will. She wasn't in the will. There was nothing left to anybody except Lisa Marie. And maybe he was getting ready to break up with her. Maybe it was the stepbrothers. Maybe the stepbrothers were involved in something Elvis was about to catch them at. There are enough suspicions or suspicious things or people to gain from his death. Last year, the estate was worth 150 million dollars. It was worth maybe 10 million dollars when he died. So, the estate and Elvis Presley Enterprises are making tons of money off of the fact that the public is still interested in Elvis Presley. There's really one thing that's keeping that interest up, and that is, this controversy that he's still alive, that he might still be alive. So, you could look at a lot of different people other than Graceland. Now Graceland could be sitting idly by, collecting the money and saying this is great, I hope these people like Gail Brewer Giorgio and others keep saying Elvis is alive, because we're making tons of money selling stuff to the public. They may not have to do anything to make money, because the one benefit is, they already have the purse strings. They already hold them. Now, the people on the fringe, like Gai and myself and others who write books on Elvis Presley, we're kind of contributing to their cause.

Q - And so am I, by interviewing you.

A - Absolutely. So, what I'm saying is, even though you think you may have the bottom line recognized, or isolated, which would be Graceland, you kind of have to look away from that and say, wait a minute, they'd benefit no matter what kind of controversy was going on. Maybe it's more of a benefit for the guy that has nothing, that's trying to get something to capitalize on this controversy. I think people get a little overboard when they say, oh, look at this handwriting and look at this voice, and look at this credit report, this proves he's still alive. They don't prove anything. They only prove that the possibility exists. Nothing more.

Q - The Elvis Files left viewers to conclude that Elvis was alive. The Elvis Conspiracy left viewers to conclude that Elvis was dead. Both shows produced handwriting and voice analysts to support their conclusion. How can experts on both shows be right?

A - Okay, and you know, that just goes back to what I said. The evidence that's been presented so far proves nothing. You can get any two experts on a subject and depending on who's paying them, you can get 'em to say what you want. And, I'm not saying that any of these experts were lying. Experts are a funny breed. They are making money, and somehow in their conscious minds, they can rule out things that they noticed that they just decide not to talk about when they're getting paid. They convince themselves that what they're saying is true. So, I don't think that they're lying, consciously. We have court witnesses, expert testimony given by doctors who always testify for the defense, no matter whether they're right or wrong, they always testify for the defense. Others testify for the prosecution, always, no matter what. So, we don't really know what those experts believe. We only know the court accepts them as experts, and allows them to testify.

Q - Monte, there's going to come a time, and maybe that time has already arrived, when the people who are suggesting Elvis is alive, are going to have to either put up, or shut up.

A - Absolutely. I agree.

Q - Someone is going to have to produce some tangible evidence that Elvis is alive.

A - The only evidence in my mind that's going put this to rest once and for all is that they obtain records from the Army, fingerprints, dental records, exhume the body, and once and for all match those identifying characteristics with the body. That's all that's going to do it. I understand the DNA process, which is the most accurate. They could check with Lisa Marie. Hers has to match Elvis Presley's. If it doesn't, it's not him. But the problem now is, I understand in talking to some people that I know in that field, say there has to be enough moisture or fluid available for them to do that test, and they think by now, fifteen years later, the body would be so dehydrated that you wouldn't be able to do the DNA test. But, you could always check dental records forever. So, until that happens, I don't think we're going to stop this controversy, because I think there's too much money at stake. I think money is really the bottom line in this whole controversy. I'm not saying Elvis is dead. I'm saying there's no conclusive proof that he's alive. The most frustrating thing about proving that he's dead, is that the very experts and witnesses who were there during the death, and reporting the medical aspects of the death and all those things, are all saying something different, and their stories don't match. So now, we're in a real quandary. Who's telling the truth?

Q - How do you read Joe Esposito (Elvis' Road Manager)?

A - I met Joe and talked with him, and I liked him. He's a nice guy. I think Joe is an honorable man. But, I think Joe is, for whatever reason, because of his affiliation with family or moral obligations, or whatever, is duty-bound, if nothing else, to say exactly what was said on the day of the death. Nothing more, nothing less. If you'll notice, the same story is what he sticks to, no matter what controversy is brought up and question is asked. Same with Larry Geller (Elvis' hair stylist). Again, I think Larry Geller is an honorable person. I like him. I enjoy talking to him. Any one of these people I would consider a friend. However, I talked to Larry about the autopsy, and I asked him to describe the incisions on the body. He described it as an X. Now, I know, from my experience, they do not make an X incision. They make a T. Now, maybe, I'm not a doctor, maybe in other places they make an X. I don't know. I can just tell you I would like the answer myself. Do they make an X incision in Tennessee? Do not all pathologists have the same methods? Maybe they make different incisions.

Q - Monte, Larry Geller is a hair stylist. He probably was confused.

A - He described this as a huge X. And I asked him again, you mean an X, and not a T? He said, no, it was an X. I said okay. And, I asked him some other questions. I said how about the hair looking like it was pasted on. I know why the hair may have looked like a wig. During an autopsy, they remove the brain. They do a lot of tests. The brain picks up a lot of poisons, drugs, and other things. They can test that and see maybe what the cause of death was. I asked him, and he said, "They didn't do anything like that at all. I know, I groomed his hair." Well, I know for sure they took the brain. So, I know they did do that. He's saying, "No, I did the hair after the autopsy, and there was nothing like that." How did they get the brain if they didn't do that? They didn't do it after they groomed him for the funeral 'cause he groomed him for the funeral, right? That's a controversy. Somebody is not telling the truth. Either they didn't get the brain, or Larry Geller is not saying exactly how it happened either. That's an irrefutable piece of evidence. Someone is not telling it like it is. Somewhere there's an inconsistency. These inconsistencies are what frustrate me.

Q - There was a story that, last August, while you were taping he Elvis Files, a plane with the logo TCB was spotted in the Vegas airport. Any truth to that?

A - The rumor ran rampant, but no one took a picture. No one could verify it. No one was able to prove it. I believe it was just a rumor.

Q - In both of your books, you make reference to a picture taken of Elvis boarding a helicopter in the back yard of Graceland, one hour prior to the world learning of his death. Does such a picture exist?

A - I saw those pictures. That was one of the reasons I wrote the first book. But understand something about the pictures. They make great stories. I saw 'em. I don't have them, and they prove nothing, because there's no way for me to verify when those pictures were taken. I'm sure Elvis got in a helicopter many times. I'm sure he was in the company of government agents many times. The reasons where, and what time, are not provable, therefore the evidence as real evidence, is not valid.

Q - Monte, you did some checking on Elvis' credit card information and found out that Elvis and John Burrows were one in the same and that Elvis' credit card is still very much in use. What's going on here? On the TV special, you also traced the address of John Burrows down, but didn't get to speak with him. You spoke to a woman instead, his landlady, who seemed very confused. This is all so mysterious.

A - I'm going to tell you now what I didn't get to say on the show and what I didn't learn until after the show. I know who those people are now. Number one: his name is not John Burrows. His name is Ron Cotenam. She was telling me her name was something like Pam. And it turns out that's Ron Cotenam's wife, Mary. So, she was putting me on and he was disappearing because I had already talked to him on the phone several times. This Ron identified himself as a house guest and this John Burrows was out doing something else, or out of town or out doing concerts. His whole story was way too good. It was way too convenient. I said, "What's John Burrows do?" "Oh, he's an Elvis impersonator." "Oh, really. Where does he do his act?" "He never does them in Vegas or any place big, he just goes about the countryside doing them in small towns, like one-a-month." I said, "Oh, really?" So, now it's sounding like this is Elvis impersonating himself, which is one of the theories in my book! If we're going to hoax the detective that wrote the book, that already was the first one to come up with the theory that maybe Elvis would go out and impersonate himself, which is not a theory at all, but a story line in a fictional novel, who better to tell that story to than the guy who wrote it? Maybe he believes his own B.S. You see, I'm not a rube and I knew from the onset that this credit stuff was a set up job. Every bit of the credit information I received from this person in Missouri is something I could have duplicated on a computer with a modem, myself. However, the strange part about it was when investigators for the producers, when I gave them this information and they ran it in the credit bureaus back in the Midwest where this information was found, the same information came up. So, that information really was in those credit bureaus, not hoaxed up in a computer. That information really was in their computer banks.

Q - So who's behind Ron Cotenam? Is he being paid by someone to carry out this John Burrows charade?

A - There again, I gave him many opportunities to come and talk to me, either confidentially or publicly, whichever he chose, to tell me the story and he will not talk to me and has since disappeared from view. He's still living in the same place, but he will not talk to me. He will not return my phone calls, letters or anything else. He is not Elvis Presley. I can tell you that right now. Who put him up to it? Again, I have to go back and say I don't know, because I don't have proof. But, if you want to think about who would stand to gain, that's your person. Someone who gains something form this controversy, maybe Ron Cotenam himself. But, I would rather think that someone who wanted to keep the controversy alive has paid him and is getting him to avail himself around the country, either running credit report, because Elvis Presley, if he was in hiding, is not going to be running around the country getting credit reports for himself to buy a car. He's going to be paying cash for it. He's not going to go to a local finance company and have them put in a credit report for Elvis Presley. Number one, if he walks in the door, they're going to know who he is and number two, as soon as they run him, they're going to realize this thing is going to come back 'Elvis Presley' and 'Presley Blvd.' The biggest moron in the world that's sitting in front of a computer that says "Hey Joe, run this guy for a credit check, because I want to sell him a car." He runs it, and it comes back Presley Blvd. and the guy looks just like Elvis Presley, come on, give me a break.

Q - Usually, when a person dies, their credit card is sent in and cut up. Elvis' credit card use should have ended August 16th, 1977.

A - Right. After seven years, your credit history should be wiped out if you're dead. Now, here's what happens: you run Elvis Presley's social security number and it doesn't come back "deceased", it comes back "retired". That's a mystery. I don't know why. I can't tell you why that happens. Another thing, how did the credit information get in there? If I wanted that information in somebody else's computer, all I would have to do is have an access number. You see, these credit bureaus bill the users through the phone lines, like a phone bill. Let's say if my access number to Acme Credit Bureau is XYZ, anyone with a modem that can connect to that phone number of that credit bureau through their computer and punches in the XYZ code is gonna bring up their Credit Bureau. And then what you do is tell the credit bureau under the social security number, this person exists. That other computer absorbs that information. Now, you've got Elvis Presley's social security number with all this information from John Burrows. Now I talked to this guy and he said you can't change the credit bureau's information from a merchant's machine. It won't accept it. But, if the information doesn't exist, what you do is get someone on the inside at the credit bureau, pay 'em a little bit, or it it's someone you know, a friend, you get an access code, a trap door, a systems-op trap door. A systems operator, no matter how secure, usually builds a system. He always leaves himself a trap door so he can get inside the system and trouble shoot, but no one knows it but him. If you get an access to that trap door, a lot of times computers can be set up to find trap doors. They can run so many thousand password possibilities in a second. You leave your computer running and say, "Find it." If it's not that secure of a system, it's not that hard to break into. It could be that someone at the credit bureau just decided it was so neat to have Elvis Presley's credit history in their computer, they just didn't want to let it go, so they left it there for fun. Or, they forgot to delete it. Or, they failed to or it's deleted out of the readily available information and maybe there's just a skeletal structure of it left. So, they run his social security number and it comes back "Elvis Presley Blvd." What's the guy do on his machine? He prints it out, saves it, puts it back up on the screen and alters it however he wants to and then prints it out again. But, you see the bottom line is, I know how to duplicate this evidence. So, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's accurate. Here's really what I can say about it; it shows that someone is putting a lot of effort and money into promoting this hoax. Someone is gaining a lot. You don't make a big investment unless you expect a big return. So, there again, who's doing it? Look at the people who have something to gain and you look at just a select few. You only have four or five different ones you can look at.

Q - I could name three; Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie and Jack Soden, who's running the Presley estate. Who else is there?

A - Let's just say the Presley Estate. That takes all those people in. Now, let's look at Gail Brewer Giorgio. Maybe it's me. You know what? Maybe I'm behind this whole hoax. But, I'll tell you something. I'll be glad to show anyone my financial figures on book sales. My advice to any writers, don't write books on Elvis 'cause there's no money in it. Okay? I have not gained anything.

Q - Gail Brewer Giorgio did sell a lot of books. (Is Elvis Alive?)

A - (Laughs) Gail made a lot of money. And remember, Gail is the only one who says 'I know Elvis is alive, I've talked to him and I can prove it and those voice analyst don't know what they're saying.' The stuff with the credit bureau information also led us on a trail to Ohio, Ft. Worth, Texas. My idea for Elvis Presley is to immortalize him, make him a hero, entertain people and let them watch something besides some of the garbage they have now. We do have a movie company that is mildly interested in the book. I've had a couple of people that wanted to promote the first book as a movie, but of course, they didn't come across. In my case, I tell everyone up front that the books are fiction and that the facts that are in there are just the controversial things that are available for everyone right now, because we've presented them all on TV and where the facts don't inter-link, I plug in fiction and make a story.

Q - What will it take to end this "Is Elvis Alive?" controversy?

A - We exhume the body and do scientific tests and prove once and for all the identity of the body. That's the only thing that's going to stop all of this.

Q - And because Elvis is buried on private property, that will never happen.

A - No, no, no. Private property has nothing to do with it. Gail Giorgio brought that up when we were at one of our rehearsals on the first show. I said, "Gail, think about it. Private property has nothing to do with it. If law enforcement can convince a court or a judge there's reason to believe foul play exists, we'll get an exhumation order." We'll dig up our kitchen if that's what we want to do. Private property does not stop search warrants or exhumation orders. The problem is, no foul play or crime has been reasonably presented to enable anybody to order an exhumation. The state has tried to do it. They can't get it done. There's not enough evidence to convince a court to order it.

Q - What about the Elvis sightings?

A - I believe that the sightings for the most part are hoaxes or mistaken identities, such as in the case of Johnny Harra, through no device of his own, has been mistaken for Elvis Presley and was even on the front of the National Enquirer magazine, walking with a doctor... same doctor that Elvis had. People did take my picture and there it was on the front of the National Enquirer. But it wasn't Elvis, it was me. So you see, there's a sighting. It's a valid sighting. Even the person who sent the sighting picture to the Enquirer may even honestly thought they saw Elvis Presley, but it wasn't and wasn't a hoax. It was just Johnny Harra, who looks very much like Elvis Presley. In other instances, the people who are saying they saw Elvis may really believe, like in the case of Kelly Burgess. But, I think Kelly Burgess was set up. I think the sighting itself was a hoax, but I don't think Kelly Burgess' was a hoax. She believed she saw and talked to Elvis. Here's a few things that come into my mind about Elvis: they try to say he's in the Witness Protection Program. I do not believe he was, has, or ever has been in the Witness Protection Program. I never have believed that. I never have said that, even though one of the national rags quoted me as a top government agent who says he's in the Witness Protection Program. I never even did an interview with this rag. They just wrote that. If Elvis was in the Witness Protection Program and is being seen all over the place, they'd kick him out of the program. They'd say we don't have a contract with you anymore. One of the things about being in the Witness Protection Program is that you have to sign a contract and agree to the rules of the program and that is, you be placed with a new identity and never, ever, ever, the rest of your life or while you're in the program, be seen out in your old identity again or go places where they tell you not to. If he ran around one time, they would probably warn him and the next time, kick him out. So, I don't believe that happened. And the other thing is, I would never say that, being who I am. If I knew he was in the Witness Protection Program, I would be the last person you would hear that from. I would never reveal a thing like that. I would violate every moral obligation I had to the law enforcement community at large and to society. If I'd give that up, I would give up anyone up. The protection of witnesses is vital. So, I wouldn't say it if I knew it, but, I don't think it's true anyway.

Q - Did Elvis help the F.B.I. or D.E.A. out with any information on drug dealers? And how does that prove he's alive?

A - It doesn't. And, I firmly believe from all the F.B.I. documents I've seen, I think he did play a little bit of a G-man. But, I think it was just a game for him. I'm not saying he didn't get in over his head, but, I think his motive was to do something noble. I think he would've done that knowing the study and research I've done into his personality and the things he liked and what he thought of himself. I think he had the capability of wanting to do something noble and using his influence and money and contacts to play G-man. Does that prove he's still alive? No, of course not. Does the fact that a narcotics undercover officer of the D.E.A. traveled with his band, prove that he's alive? No. How does that prove he's alive? That only proves that he was involved. The only thing that's going to work now is solid physical evidence... either Elvis' body alive or Elvis' body dead.

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

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