Interesting speculation.
Sam (momo) Giancana
It has been claimed that Joseph Kennedy, the powerful and ambitious patriarch of the Kennedy clan, had done a deal with Giancana to guarantee that he would arrange to rig the presidential election in Illinois, a critical state for campaigning candidates, and ensure that his son John would become president. The mobster had also helped raise money for JFKís 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 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, ìWe broke our balls for him and gave him the election and he gets his brother to hound us to death.î
The relationship between Giancana and the Kennedys became even more complicated when it was revealed that Giancanaís 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.
Jimmy Hoffa
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 Bobbyís 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 Bobbyís brother. In 1979, the House Assassination Committee examined this in more detail and concluded:
ìThere is solid evidenceÖthat 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.î
There is certainly no doubt that the Mob was beneficiary of the death of Kennedy. House Assassination Committee Counsel Robert Blakey also speculated, ìthe 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.î Blakey concluded at the time of the Committeeís report: ìThe Mob did it. Itís a historical fact.î
Santo Trafficante Jnr
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. ìDid you hear the good news? They killed the son-of-a-bitch bastard.î This meant that Johnson would now get rid of Bobby. Early in December 1963, Hoffa told Ragano, ìI told you they could do it. Iíll never forget what Carlos and Santo did for me.î 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.î The loan was approved.
Just before he died in 1987, Trafficante told Ragano, ìWe shouldnít have killed John. We should have killed Bobby.î
In 1966, Sam Giancana decided to move his base of operations from Chicago to Mexico City. He was leaving his nominated man ìTeetsî 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 ìWe took care of Kennedy.î This is the gist of what he recalled:
Jack Ruby had been the Chicago Mobís 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. Oswaldís strange White Russian contact George Mohrenschildt was also apparently a confidante and business associate of Sam Giancana.
Johnny Roselli, 1943 mugshot
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 ìBadgemanî 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, Tippitís job was to follow Oswald and kill him, so as to silence the so-called ìmasterî 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, ìOn 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.î
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.
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