The Murder of John Fitzgerald
Kennedy: There Never was a Camelot
Mobbed Up
“You told me…before Kennedy was appointed Attorney General,
but I never thought it would be this rough. You told me when they
put his brother in there we were gonna see some fireworks, but I
never knew it would be like this. This is murder.”
Sam Giancana, head of the Chicago Syndicate, on FBI wiretap.
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Sam Giancana (AP/Wide World) |
It now seems certain, looking back in history from this point in
time, that the CIA conspired with prominent figures in the Mafia to
have Fidel Castro killed. Two of the major players in this
clandestine game were the boss of the Chicago Syndicate, Sam
“Momo’ Giancana, and one of his associates Johnny Roselli. These
men acted with the approval and consent of the CIA Deputy Director
of Planning, Richard M. Bissel, along with the Deputy Director of
Operations, Lieutenant General Charles Cabell -- later relieved of
his duty by President Kennedy, who he would describe as a
“traitor.” Cabell’s brother, Earle, was the Mayor of Dallas in
1963 and oversaw all activities relating to the motorcade and its
chosen route through the city and down Elm Street.
About a year after Castro assumed control of Cuba on January 1,
1959, the USA decided on drastic action. By September 1960, the CIA
had agreed on a plan to assassinate Castro. It involved Giancana,
Roselli and also Santo Trafficante Jr, the Mafia boss of Tampa and
West Florida. Both Allan Dulles, Director of the CIA and Cabell were
fully briefed. One theory holds that Robert Maheu, a top aide of
reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes whose casino connections in Las
Vegas had brought him into contact with the Chicago Syndicate, who
was heavily involved in the gambling city, introduced the CIA's Jim
O'Connell to Johnny Roselli. Roselli, in turn, introduced
O’Connell to both Giancana and Trafficante. Although
both the Kennedy brothers were strongly behind the efforts to remove
Castro from power, they never learned of the Mafia involvement until
at least a year after taking office.
The CIA’s involvement with the Mob compromised the Kennedy
Administration’s war on organized crime, driven by Attorney
General Robert Kennedy. The first CIA operation was the disastrous
Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, which ended in abject failure and
humiliation for the US government. In conjunction with this abortive
attempt, the CIA had also linked in with a Cuban-based associate of
Trafficante to organize the murder of Castro in an operation known
by code name “Operation Mongoose,” using poison pills, and a
variety of other wild and wonderful devices, including cigars
impregnated with poison, exploding conch shells, and a wet suit
impregnated with a special fungus that would cause a disabling rare
skin disorder, which was to be presented to the Cuban leader,
well-known for his love of diving. These inventions were also a
miserable failure.
On May 7th, 1962, Robert Kennedy discovered that the CIA was
liasing with the Mob in their assassination attempts against Castro,
and he ordered that it stop. However in 1975 the Senate Select
Committee on Intelligence, known generally as the Church Commission,
discovered that CIA operative William Harvey, the head of the
assassination operation, continued to work with Roselli to arrange
Castro’s murder.
Robert Kennedy’s chief priority when he assumed his new job at
the White House was a war on organized crime. It was a fight in
which he passionately believed. The Kennedy brothers were
startlingly successful in their quest. From 1961 to 1963, there was
a 500% increase in defendants indicted and a 400% increase in
convictions.
He had even written a book about the Mob called “The Enemy
Within.” In the book he said, “If we do not attack organized
crime with weapons and techniques as effective as their own, they
will destroy us.”
Robert and John Kennedy had both been part of the McClelland
Committee hearings into organized crime in March 1959 and they never
forgot Carlos Marcello’s contemptuous defiance in the face of
their questions on his activities and connection to the Mafia. Once
the brothers were in power, they launched a determined assault
against organized crime in America. It was in fact almost a crusade
to eliminate the Mafia, with most of their initial thrust aimed at
Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante Jr. and Sam Giancana. In
addition, they would also target a man who was a close advisor and,
through his position as president of the powerful and wealthy
Teamsters Union, a major financier of their needs. This man was
Jimmy Hoffa.
In addition to his confrontation with Marcello during the
McClelland hearings, Robert Kennedy had also personally attacked and
humiliated Sam Giancana, referring to him as a “little girl”
after Giancana had taken the Fifth Amendment repeatedly rather than
answer questions that had been put to him. It was the kind of thing
a man like the boss of the Chicago Mob would never forget. There was
something else he would never forget.
The Biggest mistake Robert Kennedy ever made was to underestimate organized crime in America and to illegally deport Carlos Marcello, leader of the Louisana Mafia. Robert deported Carlos to Guatemala claiming he was a citizen of Guatamala, not the U.S. Robert knew this not to be the case, he knew the Birth Certificates were false, but proceded as if he didn't.
Marcello, who by the way, forgot to ever become a United States citizen was kidnapped by RFK and deported to South America based on the evidence of a phoney birth certificate he himself had made up. Of course Marcello didn't let this stop him and he re-entered the country virtually at will immediately after the deportation. But, Carlos would never forget, and neither would Giancana, of how Robert humilated him and reneged on old man Kennedy's and Brother John's deal of hands off once in John got into office as president. Marcello was most influential in arranging the details along with Giancana because he controlled, along with Trafficante, all of the South. Trafficante operated out of Tampa and Marcello New Orleans.
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Joe Civello, Dallas Mob Kingpin |
Marcello by the way, had enormously strong ties with Dallas organized crime. Carlos was lifelong close friends with Louisian Bred and born, Joseph Civello, the leader of Dallas organized Crime. Infamous Texas operative via Chicago was Jack Ruby. Ruby was ordered south from Chicago by Giancana. Jack Ruby's father was a collection man and strong arm under Carlos's umbrella and Jack Ruby was tight with the Dallas Police Dept., knowing almost every officer on a first name basis.
John Kennedy, along with aide from his connected father and illegal bootlegger, Joseph Kennedy, the powerful and
ambitious patriarch of the Kennedy clan, had made a deal through
Giancana with the large mob families to guarantee that the presidential
election would be rigged in the major U.S. cities as well as Illinois, a critical state for campaigning candidates. Joseph wanted to ensure that his son John would become president and was not shy about asking his connections for help.
Gianacana had
also helped raise money for JFK’s crucial West Virginia primary
campaign, or had arranged to pay off appropriate political figures.
Judith Exner, one time girl friend of Giancana, admitted to Larry
King on television in 1992 that she repeatedly acted as a courier,
shipping satchels of money between the Chicago boss and John
Kennedy. This money was used to help Kennedy the underdog defeat
Hubert Humphrey, who was the favourite.
One thing that no one has ever been able to explain
satisfactorily. The Kennedys were worth at this time somewhere
between $400/600 million. With that kind of money, why would they
need someone like Giancana to help them buy a state as sparsely
populated as West Virginia? The answer was that the Kennedy's needed the mobs organizational ability. They needed this election, needed to do dirty work to assure it, yet needed to keep their hands clean. What better way to do this than to have old friends help, one hand washes the other.
The Mob had agreed to help, but obviously expected something in
return. They did not count on the new president and his brother
returning the favour by going after them with a vengeance.
Giancana later cursed JFK, complaining, “We broke our balls for
him and gave him the election and he gets his brother to hound us to
death.”
The relationship between Giancana and the Kennedys became even
more complicated when it was revealed that Giancana’s girlfriend,
Judith Exner, was also having an affair with John Kennedy when he
was in office. She had even telephoned him at least seventy times
since he had been inaugurated at the White House, a fact that had
been discovered by FBI chief, J. Edgar Hoover. On March 27, 1962,
Hoover apparently persuaded the President to discontinue the
relationship. Or at least make sure the telephone connection was
broken off.
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Jimmy Hoffa (AP/Wide World) |
If Carlos Marcello hated the Kennedys and Sam Giancana despised
them, Jimmy Hoffa, president of the Teamsters Union was also a
likely candidate in the hate Kennedy stakes. Hoffa had been a major
target of the organized crime crusade and had been involved in many
verbal confrontations with Bobby Kennedy. By 1962, Bobby had
established an entire division within the Justice Department charged
with the sole task of bringing Hoffa down.
According to information that came from a Louisiana Teamster
official called Edward Partin, Hoffa was seriously considering
having Bobby Kennedy and maybe even his brother murdered to stop the
harassment he was facing.
Partin went to visit Hoffa in his office in Washington, in June
1962. The Teamster boss discussed two probable murder plans, one
involving blowing up Bobby’s house on his Virginia estate, and the
other having him shot dead by a sniper using a high-powered rifle
fitted with a telescopic sight. This plot apparently escalated to
also include Bobby’s brother. In 1979, the House Assassination
Committee examined this in more detail and concluded:
“There is solid evidence…that Hoffa, Marcello and Trafficante
-- three of the most important targets for criminal prosecution by
the Kennedy Administration -- had discussions with their
subordinates about murdering President Kennedy.”
There is certainly no doubt that the Mob was beneficiary of the
death of Kennedy. House Assassination Committee Counsel Robert
Blakey also speculated, “the most plausible explanation for the
murder of Oswald by Jack Ruby was that Ruby had stalked him on
behalf of organized crime. The fingerprints of organized crime are
all over Jack Ruby.” Blakey concluded at the time of the
Committee’s report: “The Mob did it. It’s a historical
fact.”
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Santo Trafficante Jnr. (AP/Wide World) |
In 1992, Frank Ragano, long time lawyer and personal friend of
Santo Trafficante, disclosed conversations he had with Trafficante
and Hoffa, both clients of his, and with Carlos Marcello. In essence
they evolved around a conspiracy to murder John Kennedy. On July 23,
1963, Hoffa told Ragano that he had to impress on Trafficante the
need for urgent action to remove Kennedy. Ragano passed on the
message.
After the assassination, Hoffa spoke to Ragano, expressing his
delight at the killing. “Did you hear the good news? They killed
the son-of-a-bitch bastard.” This meant that Johnson would now get
rid of Bobby. Early in December 1963, Hoffa told Ragano, “I told
you they could do it. I’ll never forget what Carlos and Santo did
for me.” Later, in New Orleans, Marcello who was awaiting approval
of a huge Teamsters loan from their vast pension fund, told Ragano,
"When you see Jimmy, tell him he owes me and big.” The loan
was approved.
Just before he died in 1987, Trafficante told Ragano, “We
shouldn’t have killed John. We should have killed Bobby.”
In 1966, Sam Giancana decided to move his base of operations from
Chicago to Mexico City. He was leaving his nominated man “Teets”
Battaglia to run the syndicate with the help of Tony Accardo and
Frank Nitti, two other senior Mafia bosses. In a long, rambling
conversation with his brother Chuck, he said he would be running
deals, not only for the Mob, but also in conjunction with the CIA.
He also claimed “We took care of Kennedy.” This
is the gist of what he recalled:
Jack Ruby had been the Chicago Mob’s man in Dallas for years,
running clubs, gambling rackets and narcotics. Giancana had used
Johnny Roselli as his liaison with Marcello, Trafficante and the
CIA. He had chosen Ruby to kill Oswald because of his tight
relationship with the Dallas police and his ability to infiltrate
into its inner workings. According to Giancana, Oswald, like Ruby,
had ties not only to the Mob, but also into the CIA, he had in fact
been a spy for the US government while he had lived in the Soviet
Union.
Back in America, Oswald had linked up with Guy Bannister, who
operated a private-detective agency in New Orleans, using it as a
front for covert CIA domestic operations and also Cuban exile
activities, in addition to the work he did for the Mob. Oswald’s
strange White Russian contact George Mohrenschildt was also
apparently a confidante and business associate of Sam Giancana.
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Johnny Roselli (AP/Wide World) |
He told his brother that the funding for the assassination
operation on President Kennedy came from wealthy right-wing Texas
oilmen. He also confirmed that Johnny Roselli had been closely
involved liasing with Bannister to select Oswald as the fall guy in
the plot to kill the President.
Working under Giancana, Roselli co-ordinated the assassination
attempt through Bannister, Bob Maheu, the aide to Howard Hughes,
former CIA director Charles Cabell and Frank (Sturgis) Fiorini of
the CIA, a key figure in the anti-Castro movement. Giancana said
that the conspiracy went right to the top of the intelligence agency
and it also included Lyndon Johnson and one-day-to-be-President
Richard Nixon, who just happened to be in Dallas the day Kennedy was
shot.
The assassination had taken months to plan and prepare and dozens
of people had been involved with the original plan calling for a
possible hit in a number of cities, including Miami, Los Angeles and
Chicago as well as the ultimate destination-Dallas.
The planning had involved top people in the Dallas Police
Department and Mayor Earle Cabell, brother of former CIA director
Charles Cabell. Professional hit men had been hired, top-notch
marksmen, including Charles Harrelson (the father of actor Woody
Harrelson) and Jack Lawrence, whose car was reportedly found parked
behind the picket fence atop the grassy knoll. There were also two
Cuban exiles involved, men who were closely linked into Santo
Trafficante Jr. According to Sam Giancana, the man who fired the
shots from the sixth floor of the Book Depository was not Oswald,
but Richard Caine, a Chicago-based ex-police officer and close
associate of the mob boss.
There were two other gunmen on the scene, according to Giancana.
One was Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit, who has been identified
by some researchers as the “Badgeman” the elusive, phantom
figure in police uniform seen behind the picket fence just as the
shooting commenced, and recorded on a photograph by Mary Moorman.
After the assassination, Tippit’s job was to follow Oswald and
kill him, so as to silence the so-called “master” suspect. For
some reason, the police officer backed off on this assignment and
was himself killed by another CIA assassin, also operating as a
Dallas police officer called Roscoe Anthony White. Although Oswald
was accused of carrying out the murder of Officer Tippit, it is also
thought that at least two gunmen were involved, using two different
handguns to murder the officer.
Sam Giancana finished his long, rambling story to his brother by
saying, “On November 22, 1963, the US had a coup; it's that
simple. The government of this country was overthrown by a handful
of guys who did their jobs damned well.”
It is an amazing story and one that can never, of course, be
verified. Then again, it can not be simply denied just because it is
sensational. Giancana cannot be questioned about it, because on June
1975, he himself was executed, shot six times in the head, while
frying sausages in the basement kitchen of his luxurious home in
Chicago.
