After his release, he took Tony Accardos help to capture Chicagos lottery rackets, also known as the Policy Rackets. He used ruthless means and did not hesitate to murder his rivals. We want to fill the back story of where he came from, his home life, his personality, what made him tick. Celozzi and Logothetis will incorporate anecdotes from FBI transcripts with hours of home movies, interviews and letters with family, friends and associates. Giancana was born on the West Side and died not far from where he was born, assassinated 40 years ago Friday night in Oak Park. For example, in Hershs book Robert McDonnell alleges the Outfit pressured various unions (although it is unclear whether he means locally or nationally) to support Kennedy. Mob boss Sam Giancana was killed 40 years ago in his west suburban home and who did it is far more of a puzzle than why. Useful in knowing what went on 50 years ago, and for inferring what still goes on. Even a hint of this, leaked to the press by someone involved, would have been damaging. Later, he became the triggerman, or a vicious killer, of the Outfit. By the time he turned 20, the police suspected that he was involved in three murders. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. Mafia boss Sam Giancana aided a CIA plot to kill Fidel Castro, allegedly helped assassinate JFK, and may have been with Marilyn Monroe on her last night alive. Please try your request again later. The Machine may well have gotten living and dead humans and a variety of fictitious individuals (by making up identities for fraudulent voters) to vote for JFK. A disbarred attorney who was a compulsive drinker and gambler, McDonnell borrowed heavily from loan shark Sam DeStefano, a Mob associate, to support his gambling habit. Controversial . Giancana reportedly said that CIA and the Cosa Nostra were "different sides of the same coin". : Between takes, the sisters politely answer a few questions, but it feels almost meddlesome to probe them further. | EO is Visionary | Sam Mendes makes Shadowplay | Julia Reichert is Remembered. Not long thereafter they found Giancana dead on the floor of his basement.". Geraldo Rivera interviews Sam Giancana, the nephew, godson and namesake of legendary Mob boss of Chicago, Sam "Momo" Giancana. Unable to add item to List. Giancana soon developed a reputation as an excellent getaway driver, a high earner, and a vicious killer. It was how interesting the man was, how complex he was. Adds Logothetis, Without him, I think history would have gone a different way. May 24, 1908, is the birth date according to the Chicago Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Certificate Number 5915. Most probably recognize the name as mid-century Chicago mob boss extraordinaire, but outside his public persona, he was a devoted husband, a caring father and a generous friend, they say. Antonino Giangana and Antonia DiSimonna are the names according to the Chicago Bureau of Vital Statistics, Birth Certificate Number 5915, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFGiancana2004 (, Double Cross: The Explosive, Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America, Mafia Princess: Growing Up in Sam Giancana's Family, "Sinatra was 'go-between for Mafia and JFK', "The Exner File. Courtesy of Abbie Rowe, White House Photographs, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Angelinas parents were Italian immigrants. The Outfit's South Side "policy"-game takeover was not complete until another Outfit member, Jackie "the Lackey" Cerone, scared "Big Jim" Martin to Mexico with two bullets to the head that did not kill him. : But did this really happen? A compelling read that I couldn't put down. The 67-year-old top hoodlum was shot in the head and neck as he fried up the evening snack, seven shots fired from a silencer-equipped .22 caliber pistol. They had three daughters, Antoinette born 1935, Bonnie born 1938, and Francine born 1945. If the syndicate ever wanted to hold a meeting in or around Chicago, Giancana said, they had nothing to fear because they had the area "locked up tight". Courtesy of Las Vegas Review-Journal Archive. Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web. However, in 1957 they decided to place Sam Giancana as an acting boss of the family as Accardo was facing tax evasion charges and they both thought it was best if Accardo disappeared for a while. Giancana's was to appear before a Senate committee investigating CIA and mafia links to plots to kill Fidel Castro. When Maheu contacted Roselli, Maheu hid that he was sent by CIA, instead portraying himself an advocate for international corporations. WebSam never remarried after becoming a widower and was known as a good family man, despite frequent infidelities, and held his late wife in high regard and respect during their marriage and . Judith Exner wrote a 1977 memoir, My Story, with journalist Ovid Demaris, documenting her relationship with former President Kennedy - and mobster Sam Giancana In 1963, J.F. Capones Prohibition-era gang, with 500 gunmen at its height, was larger than the Outfit in 1960, while Cicero was quite a bit smaller (about 70,000 inhabitants in 1924) than the five Outfit-controlled Chicago wards (whose total population was more than 300,000 in 1960). It's very blunt and too the point ( frightening really ) excellent reading. received international critical acclaim for its smooth, well-written style and factual historical content as well as complex, integrated storylines and highly entertaining presentation. Giancana suggested using poison pills to dose Castro's food and drink. More to the point, the "Outfit" and the CIA had forged an unholy alliance( esp in the attempts to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who needless to say passed away due to sheer old age- "El Jefe Maximo had the last laugh). In fact, legendary crime reporter Ray Brennan, writing the day after the election, described it as sissified and bland in comparison to the violent primary election of April 6, 1928. Various individuals, especially Art Bilek, Bill Brashler, Mars Eghigian, Mickey Lombardo, Matt and Christine Luzi, Tim Perri, Vince Sacco, and Jeff Thurston, provided comments and suggestions that improved this article. Usually, it takes me at least a couple of weeks to read a book, but I read this one in a week. For the casual reader there are meticulous details of interest. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 4, 2020. Reportedly, she was Kennedys connection with the organized crime arena. Giancana was present at the Mafia's 1957 Apalachin meeting at the Upstate New York estate of Joseph Barbara. I found it very informative and full of the necessary information that I sought. Clearly, there was no double cross when the Kennedy administration intensified the fight against organized crime. He abducted Eddie Jones, who had taught him about the lottery business. First and foremost, if you're looking for a well-researched biography on Sam Giancana, this isn't it. The couple had three daughters, Bonnie, Francine, and Antoinette. These books, and associated television programs and media coverage, have received a great deal of attention. Gus Russo, in The Outfit, repeats the stories told by the Giancanas and Hersh, claiming that scores of Giancanas vote sluggers or vote floaters hit the streets to coerce the voters. Russo, summarizing the election events overall, states quite strongly that Outfit chieftain Tony Accardo, the Mobs political point man Murray Humphreys, and other top Chicago hoodlums met in June 1960 to decide who would become the next president of the United States. A recent book by Antoinette Giancana, John Hughes and Thomas Jobe repeats the extreme claims that the Outfit elected Kennedy in 1960. Giancana led a life of crime for most of his 67 years. However, before he could testify, on June 19, 1975, Giancana was shot from behind in the basement kitchen of his Oak Park house in Illinois. Various people knew which horse would win and they all bet accordingly. Both my husband and I read this book and found it fascinating. To put bluntly, Chuck simply believed everything his big brother told him, and he put it down on this book. James Files (who claims to be the grassy knoll shooter) ties in with this, although inevitably his account differs in the detail. In 1921, he became a part of the 42 Gang, or the 42s, a youth gang infamous for violence. This also does not mean that Joseph Kennedy, the father of John Kennedy, did not spend lavishly to get out the vote for his son in various parts of the country that is what backers of political candidates do. He'd go through other people's yards, go over fences, all sorts of shit. In 1957, Giancana attended the national summit of organized crime groups in Apalachin, New York, on behalf of the Outfit. Joseph Kennedy (father of John F. Kennedy) was known to Giancana, as he was also believed to be involved in bootlegging. Momo: The Sam Giancana Story: Directed by Dimitri Logothetis. During the late 1930s, Giancana moved away from the 42s and into the Chicago Outfit. In 1945, he was put in the Federal Correctional Complex in Indiana, where he learnt about Chicagos illegal lottery rackets from a fellow inmate named Eddie Jones. I had a paperback version of this book and it was OK, but the hard back book words were bigger and the pictures were a lot bigger too. The Chicago Outfit was not very happy with Giancana, especially because of the FBI attention he was attracting (with his involvement with the CIAs plans). Thus, he had to serve a 1-year term. He wrote the book, which details the inner workings of organized crime in Chicago, with writer Sam Giancana, nephew of the mob boss of the same name who helped start Mr. Corbitt's criminal career. From the 1940s through the 1950s, he controlled the illegal gambling, illegal liquor distribution, and political rackets in Louisiana. The table that follows reports the Democratic percentages in the 1956 and 1960 presidential elections for three groups of political districts: the five Outfit-controlled wards in Chicago, the other 45 wards in the city, and the two premier Outfit-controlled suburbs. She claims the Outfit delivered Teamsters Union votes at the national level. Yet McDonnell admits he did not know Giancana. According to some sources, Giancana and the Mafia were involved in John F. Kennedy's victory in the 1960 presidential election. Corbitt, the "mobbed-up" former chief of police of Willow Springs, Ill., a Chicago suburb, has joined writer Sam Giancana, nephew and namesake of legendary Chicago Mafia boss Sam Giancana, in producing a startling 347-page expose that unveils, for the first time, the surprising identity of the "mystery man" who was the real "power . The first debate between Kennedy and Republican Party nominee Richard Nixon debated occurred on September 26, 1960, in Chicago. In several versions of the story, the Outfit retaliated by assassinating John and Robert Kennedy. Charles"Chuck" Giancana, younger brother of Chicago mob boss Sam "Mooney" Giancana indeed had a unique position to observe not just his older brother 's role in the "Outfit" ( as Chicago's branch of the Mafia is traditionally known in The Windy City, with varying overtones of respect or even fear, but never ever in jest), but the interface between American politics and organized crime. Four of these wards were Outfit controlled. However, the Outfits efforts were secondary to those of the Chicago Democratic Party political machine, which went all out for an Irish-Catholic strongly supported by Mayor Richard Daley. This caused immense displeasure in the Outfit.. [34][35] He was arrested by Mexican authorities on July 19, 1974, and deported to the United States. Daleys efforts, more so than those of the Mob, boosted the turnout for Kennedy in Chicago in 1960. During this period, Giancana had a girlfriend named Judith Exner, who was also a mistress of J.F. , Item Weight During the 1960s, he was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a plot to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Absolutely loved it!! It simply was not interested in doing that for Kennedy. They thought they were one better, hence 42. According to the Giancanas, Joseph Kennedy, the father of John Kennedy, struck a deal with Sam Giancana before the 1960 election. Therefore, they would have owed the Outfit nothing, even if there had been a pre-election agreement. [2] Angeline died on April 23, 1954, leaving him to raise his daughters. When Joe Kennedy gave Giancana the chance to use mob muscle to get his son John elected, Giancana jumped at the task. In 1965, Giancana was convicted of contempt of court, serving one year in prison. (Judith Campbell Exner, John F. Kennedy's mistress)", "CIA offered mafia $150,000 to kill Castro", "MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence; SUBJECT: ROSELLI, Johnny", "CIA opens the book on a shady past Declassified 'family jewels' detail assassination plots, break-ins, wiretaps", "In Re Grand Jury Investigation of Sam Giancana, Appellant.in the Matter of the Application for Writ of Habeas Corpus, Sam Giancana, Appellant, v. United States of America, Appellee, 352 F.2d 921 (7th Cir. Momo: The Sam Giancana Story, will be released this spring at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and will play at the Chicago International Film Festival next fall. [33], After his release from prison in 1966, Giancana fled to Cuernavaca, Mexico in order to avoid further grand jury questioning.