In February 2016, many of Trafficante's personal belongings were sold at an auction in St. Petersburg, Florida. WebSam Giancana. He had a huge wound on the back of his head, and had also been shot 6 times in a circle around his mouth. During John F. Kennedys election campaign in 1960, Giancanas influence in Chicago was called upon to help Kennedy defeat Richard Nixon in Illinois. I was always, his little princess.'. Maheu hid the fact that he was sent by the CIA, instead portraying himself an advocate for international corporations. Like us on Facebook. Father of Private; Private and Private Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain. The identity of the assassin likely a mob cohort who did not want Giancana to testify before the Senate remains officially unknown, but theories abound. After his release from prison, Giancana made a number of tactical (and often violent) manoeuvres which strengthened the Chicago Outfits criminal position. For instance, in 1960 he was involved in talks with the CIA about a plot to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who had forced the mob out of Cuba after his 1959 revolution. Mob lawyer Frank Ragano apparently told some of his associates, you wont believe what Hoffa wants me to tell you. Born and raised in This also failed. "Sam Gold" was Sam Giancana; "Joe" was Trafficante. Acceptance of money from Giancana may have included this dream of faraway casinos as well. Then, on November, 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. An editor and public historian, Carly Silver has written for Smithsonian, Narratively, The Atlantic, Atlas Obscura, and Archaeology, among other publications. Sam Giancana, boss of the 'Chicago Outfit', leaving the Federal Building at Foley Square in New York City in 1965. Perhaps the only alliance worthy of loyalty for Sam and Johnny was between themselves. The woman who police say was killed by her husband in their Las Vegas home was a doctor who was beginning her career after graduating from UNLVs medical school. Following the death of his wife, Angeline, in 1954, Giancana was linked to a series of attractive women, including the singer Phyllis McGuire and a call girl named Judith Exner, a woman who he allegedly would share with the future U.S. president, John F. Kennedy. There was another subject choice for today: Canada's Thanksgiving Day, which is today. When he addressed the groom as Dr. She had the guts to be seen at his funeral Almost nobody cared.. Ultimately, Giancanas interference with the election didnt work in his favour: one of President John F. Kennedys first actions upon taking office was to appoint his brother Robert Kennedy as attorney general. WebSam Giancana was an American organized-crime boss of Sicilian descent. Antionette Giancana, she of pasta sauce fame, doesn't believe it's true. I always wore a white bonnet, white gloves, little white patent leather shoes. WebSam Giancana, byname Momo, original name Salvatore Giancana, (born May 24, 1908, Chicago, Ill., U.S.died June 19, 1975, Oak Park, Ill.), major American gangster, the top syndicate boss in Chicago from 1957 to 1966, who was noted for his friendships with show-business personalities and for his ruthlessness. Powerful mobsters proliferated in 20th century America, but their influence didnt remain in the underground world. She wants Coco to take a DNA test. [1] Trafficante maintained several residences in New York City and Florida. However, rumours about mob involvement were rife. [3] His wife, Josephine, died in 2015 at the age of 95; he is survived by two of his daughters. The real reason were in this situation is Jay Bloom didnt pay her, he said. By the end of the 1930s, Giancana graduated out of the 42 Gang and into Al Capones Chicago Outfit. He joined the notorious 42 Gang when he was just a teenager. As fellow gangster Tony Montana told the Los Angeles Times in 2014: He was into some things with a bunch of guys, including Milwaukee Phil and the English brothers, and they were robbing and shaking down so many joints that Capone took notice of them.. At the time of his death, her father still had been refusing to speak with her. 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And one of Roberts main priorities was to go after the mob, with Giancana therefore becoming a prime target. And he told his grandson to always be proud of his family name. Doctors said he needed gallbladder surgery right away. [9] [2] Early criminal career [ edit] Second from left is Cynthia Duncan, the grand-daughter of Meyer Lansky, and behind her in orange is Antoinette Giancana, the daughter of Sam Giancana. McDonnells lawyer, Ihab T. Omar, said the fault is with Bloom. [15][16] He stated he was chosen by Hoffa because, as both Hoffa and Trafficante's lawyer, he could be assured of attorneyclient privilege. Bullets into the mouth were a Mafia signature. If anything, he must have been walking around with dual personalities. His father was known to beat him severely. WebHis wife, Josephine, died in 2015 at the age of 95; he is survived by two of his daughters. Copyright 2019 Las Vegas Review-Journal, Inc. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service, Planned gun exchange led to fatal shooting, arrest warrant says, $127K slots jackpot hits at Las Vegas Strip casino, Slain woman was new doctor who graduated from UNLV, 3 Nevada inmates, including Las Vegas killer, die in state prisons, CARTOONS: This is worse than digging your own grave, Family suing Las Vegas hotel after child drowns, Rittenhouse appearance at gun event postponed, Citing violence, bus drivers demand better security, Man, 88, dies after east Las Vegas valley crash, Las Vegas police seek missing 11-year-old girl, 1 killed in 2-vehicle northwest Las Vegas Valley crash. In 1957, the Outfits top man, Tony Joe Batters Accardo, stepped aside and anointed Giancana, who had successfully consolidated illegal lottery rackets in Chicago through the tactic of murdering reluctant rivals, as his successor (though, in retirement, Accardo maintained considerable influence). In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Sam Giancana ruled the Chicago Outfit with an iron first. His father was known to beat him severely. As a leading member of the syndicate, he also was suspected of having behind-the-scenes interests in other syndicate-owned Cuban casinos: the Hotel Habana Riviera, the Tropicana Club, the Sevilla-Biltmore, the Capri Hotel Casino, the Commodoro, the Deauville, and the Havana Hilton. His daughters speak publicly for the first time on Momo's involvement with the assassinations of Marilyn Monroe and JFK. On their orders, this man poisoned Castro, but the poison didnt take and the dictator survived. And he told his grandson to always be proud of his family name. His father, Antonio, would chain six-year-old Giancana to an oak tree in their backyard when he disobeyed. However, he was mysteriously released. His daughters speak publicly for the first time on Momo's involvement with the assassinations of Marilyn Monroe and JFK. WebOn September 23, 1933, Giancana married Angeline DeTolve, the daughter of immigrants from the Italian region of Basilicata. In the 1950s, Salvatore Sam Giancana became the leader of the powerful Chicago-based branch of the American Mob called the Outfit that was created by Al Capone. He dropped out of high school before the 10th grade. "[19] In his book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Vincent Bugliosi has claimed there to be many flaws in Ragano's claims, including his own claim that Trafficante was most likely not in Tampa on the day in question, but was rather in North Miami Beach, Florida, receiving dialysis treatments. Roselli desperately needed financial backers. Chuck Goudie, whose column appears each Monday, is the chief investigative reporter at ABC 7 News in Chicago. As one of the most powerful mobsters in the US, Trafficante was invited to the Havana Conference in December 1946. Later that same year, an attempt to kidnap Roe failed, but Roe refused to back down to the Italian organized crime outfit. By the 1950s, long after Capones reign of terror, Giancana was recognised as one of the leading mobsters in Chicago. WebSam Giancana. At 67, Giancana was laid to rest at Mount Carmel Cemetery, the same place where another notorious Chicago gangster, Al Capone, was buried. The Chicago Tribune reported that it was supposedly on the order of U.S. Attorney Nicholas Katzenbach, in exchange for selling weapons to Israel. His surgical wounds were still very tender. Trafficante admitted his anti-Castro activities to the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978, and vehemently denied allegations that he had knowledge of a plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Two days later, on June 19, 1975, Francine, her husband and their daughter visited Sam at his Oak Park home. Maybe all this sordid untidiness can be cleaned up by the opening of Antionette Giancana's version of Chicago mob history to be on display at her Las Vegas Mob Experience museum. Giancana soon left the 42 Gang behind to become a driver for Capones alcohol smuggling operation. Ballistic tests proved the gun killed Giancana two months earlier. But only a few people are fearless enough to declare that they actually share DNA with one of Chicago's most famous Italian gangsters, Sam Giancana. ", "We don't know her or of her," she said. In 1965, Sam Giancana was jailed for refusing to testify on organized crime before the Senate. They had three daughters, Antoinette, Bonnie and Francine. Former Chicago mobster Frank Calabrese Jr. told MSN that he knows who did it, but will never spill the beans. WebSam Giancana, byname Momo, original name Salvatore Giancana, (born May 24, 1908, Chicago, Ill., U.S.died June 19, 1975, Oak Park, Ill.), major American gangster, the top syndicate boss in Chicago from 1957 to 1966, who was noted for his friendships with show-business personalities and for his ruthlessness. But who really masquerades as a Canadian, eh? While the reasoning is unclear, what happened the following year is not: Giancana, back in his Oak Park family home, had allowed someone he knew into his house. However, after his wife Angeline died in 1954 that is just what he became. However, he was mysteriously released. So it silenced him for good., Expressing the shock of the nation, The New York Times columnist William Safire called Giancana the only person in American history to be murdered just before he was to appear in front of a congressional committee.. Hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and subscriber rewards. They had three daughters, Antoinette born 1935, Bonnie born 1938, and Francine born 1945. The views in this column are his own and not those of WLS-TV. But that same month Giancana became terribly ill during a visit to California. Also in the early 1940s, Giancana found himself in prison yet again. Mob Lawyer Frank Ragano Says He Knows Who Killed JFK", "Book alleges plot to kill JFK in Tampa, cover-up", "At Santo Trafficante auction, a chance to buy a piece of Tampa's mob history", Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, Associated Press report on Trafficante's death, "Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life" By Robert Lacy, List of Italian-American mobsters by organization, Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santo_Trafficante_Jr.&oldid=1145558931, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 March 2023, at 20:03. But only a few people are fearless enough to declare that they actually share DNA with one of Chicago's most famous Italian gangsters, Sam Giancana. Salvatore Giancana was born Gilormo Giancana in Chicago, Illinois, in 1908. WebMomo: The Sam Giancana Story: Directed by Dimitri Logothetis. But Giancanas colleagues nonetheless decided to oust him from the outfit in 1967. [13], On January 14, 1992, Trafficante's former attorney, Frank Ragano, told Jack Newfield of the New York Post that he relayed a request from Hoffa to Trafficante and New Orleans boss Carlos Marcello to have Kennedy killed. [20], In 2005, Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann's book Ultimate Sacrifice said that Trafficante was behind an aborted plot to kill Kennedy in Tampa on November 18, 1963. Quickly, there didnt seem to be much room for him at home. On 22 November 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. [13] He testified that he was brought into the plot by Roselli and Giancana, who had been recruited by Maheu. The Chicago fishing advisory committee holds its first evening meeting on Thursday and South Side Muskie Hawks Fishing Swap Night is Wednesday. Chicago Outfit associate Johnny Rosselli, who also worked for Trafficante and at that point was working out of Las Vegas, was the go-between for at least part of this effort. Web(While he was born on May 24, Giancana preferred to celebrate his birthday on June 15.) The mysterious circumstances of Giancanas death form only a fragment of a life riddled with unanswered questions. Several biographies say he was arrested more than 70 times for various offenses. Police rummaged through his possessions and discovered numerous curious artifacts, including a framed photograph of Giancana with Pope Pius XII at the Vatican. The sex symbol was reportedly prepared to reveal her affairs with the Kennedys. Angelina died in 1954 and left Sam to raise his daughters. Giancana started working for mob boss Al Capone after meeting him in a brothel. Mafia boss Sam Giancana aided a CIA plot to kill Castro, allegedly helped assassinate JFK, and may have been with Marilyn Monroe on her last night alive. Another effort was to contaminate Castros food with poison hidden inside a pencil. All around his well-decorated den, Giancanas knickknacks cigar humidor, paintings and hobbies like golf and photography were on display. They had three daughters, Antoinette born 1935, Bonnie born 1938, and Francine born 1945. Earlier that day, Senate Intelligence Committee staffers arrived in Chicago, aware that Giancana had little taste for a grilling by a congressional committee. The next morning, they intended to escort him safely to Washington, to answer the Church committees questions about the CIAs homicidal schemes. Connect to the World Family Tree to find out, May 24 1908 - Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, June 19 1975 - Oak Park, Cook, Illinois, United States, Anthony "Antonio" Giancana, Antonia Lena Giancana (born Simise). To eliminate him, they enlisted their own enemies, namely, the Mafia. Getty ImagesA younger Sam Momo Giancana when he was the number two leader of the Chicago crime syndicate. If not, when Mayor Oscar Goodman's "official" mob museum opens for business maybe it will deal with Giancana's allegedly illegitimate daughter. In 1965, Giancana was jailed for refusing to testify before a Senate committee on organized crime, and in 1967 the national Mob Syndicate, tired of Giancanas presence in the daily newspapers, took away his control of the Outfit. Giancanas murder would remain unsolved. [13] During his testimony, Trafficante also admitted for the first time that he had worked with the CIA from 1960 to 1961 for an attempt to poison Castro but stated that his role was only as an interpreter between CIA officials and Cuban exiles. He opened the steel door to allow in a recognizable face, apparently a trusted friend, whom he invited to share his meal. Renowned for truancy as a child, Giancana was expelled from his elementary school and sent to a reformatory. The former site of one of Giancanas Chicago hangouts, Patsys Restaurant. | Provided photo. The Giancana family unites to make "Momo: The Sam Giancana Story." Associations: Tony Accardo, Frank Sinatra, Judith Exner, John F. Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy, Johnny Rosselli, Santo Trafficante Jr., the Outfit, CIA, Jack Ruby, Tony Spilotro, Phyllis McGuire. Their few conversations usually took place on random pay phones to avoid wiretaps. Jack said, No, Id rather you didnt. I guess he didnt want me to be seen leaving the room. Their oldest sister, Antoinette, published a book in 1984 called Mafia Princess about her life as a mobsters daughter, which she wrote without input from her family. Hes gone hes dead! Antoinette screamed at his body still on the floor. [2] Angeline died on April 23, 1954, leaving him to raise his daughters. Without his power base and worried that the FBI was on his tail for his participation in Castros attempted assassination, Giancana fled to Mexico and then to Argentina in a self-imposed exile of sorts. Wikimedia CommonsAl Capones mugshot from the 1930s. WebSam Giancana was an American organized-crime boss of Sicilian descent. There were mafiosos believed to have affiliations with the highest rungs of the U.S. government, from Santo Trafficante Jr., who was potentially part of a plot to poison Fidel Castro with a milkshake, to Lucky Luciano, who aided the U.S. in World War II using his connections with organized labor on city waterfronts. [13] He stated that he received no payment for his involvement and that he acted out of patriotism. But only a few people are fearless enough to declare that they actually share DNA with one of Chicago's most famous Italian gangsters, Sam Giancana. Eventually, Antonio would unchain him and allow the boy to sleep the night in the family kitchen. Emaciated Elephant Forced To March In Sri Lankan Parade Shocks The World, World Animal Protection Group Uncovers Horrible Mistreatment At Hundreds Of Zoos And Aquariums, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. He served as a getaway driver for Capone and his associates Machine Gun McGurn and Tony Big Tuna Accardo. Accounts differ, but its suggested he and his organized crime brethren were behind John Kennedys 1963 assassination in retaliation for RFKs efforts against the mob. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the public understanding of organized crime's history and impact on American society. The cops chased Giancana, whose cohorts fired and even wounded an officer. U.S. Treasury Department documents indicate that law enforcement believed Trafficante's legitimate business interests to include several legal casinos in Cuba; a Havana drive-in movie theater; and shares in several restaurants and bars in Trafficante's hometown of Tampa, Florida.