Why did the mafia want John F. Kennedy dead? Watch clip from the Godfather Part II

In 1961 JFK became President. He appointed his brother as Attorney General. Robert Kennedy was responsible for law enforcement. He made it very clear that he wanted to deal with organized crime. Organized crime had a motive to see a quick end to the Kennedy’s government. The picture for organized crime was very bleak indeed. Bleak enough for individual members of organized crime to consider killing the president. In 1960 before JFK became President there were only 35 convictions for offences connected with organized crime. By 1962 there were 288. By later 1963 this had nearly doubled. For if JFK was no longer President, his brother would probably no longer be head of the justice department. Key Word Attorney-General - Head of the Justice Department. This meant he was in charge of law enforcement and for public prosecutions of criminals

In 1961 JFK became President. He appointed his brother as Attorney General. Robert Kennedy was responsible for law enforcement. He made it very clear that he wanted to deal with organized crime. Organized crime had a motive to see a quick end to the Kennedy’s government. The picture for organized crime was very bleak indeed. Bleak enough for individual members of organized crime to consider killing the president. In 1960 before JFK became President there were only 35 convictions for offences connected with organized crime. By 1962 there were 288. By later 1963 this had nearly doubled. For if JFK was no longer President, his brother would probably no longer be head of the justice department. Questions 1.What job did Bobby Kennedy have? 2. Why was Bobby Kennedy a threat to the Mafia? 3. Why would killing John F. Kennedy solve the Mafia’s problems?

Sam Giancana Government investigators recorded Giancana ordering the killing of opponents as casually as some people would order a cup of coffee. One of his favourite methods was dumping victims in rivers sealed in cement. Giancana rule a mafia empire with an annual income of 2 billion dollars. Robert Kennedy had made Giancana a priority target. By 1963 Giancana was the subject of total surveillance. FBI agents in cars sat outside his house 24 hours a day, every day. When he went out golfing, the agents went too. It is widely believed that the CIA recruited Giancana and other mobsters to assassinate Cuban president Fidel Castro. Giancana reportedly said that the CIA and the Mafia were "different sides of the same coin.“

The are connections between Giancana and JFK. It is believed that JFK and Giancana shared the same mistress - Judith Campbell Exner. Some allege she may have delivered communications between the two regarding Fidel Castro. It emerged that during the 1960 presidential election Exner took messages from Giancana to Kennedy. She later claimed these messages concerned the plans to murder Fidel Castro. Kennedy also began an affair with her and used her as a courier to carry sealed envelopes to Giancana. He told her they contained "intelligence material" concerning the plot to kill Castro. Many believe that Giancana turned against Kennedy after the Bays of Pigs disaster. Giancana did not think that JFK had the stomach for getting rid of Castro. Giancana also died in mysterious circumstances. Giancana was due to appear before a Government committee. before he could appear, on 19th June, 1975, Sam Giancana was murdered in his own home. He had a massive wound in the back of the head. He had also been shot six times in a circle around the mouth.

The Mob had the means and killing people is something they did routinely. Killing a president is something a bit special, but it is clear from the transcripts of bugged conversations of the FBI that the Mob did not like Kennedy. The mob thought they could control Kennedy by giving money to his presidential campaign in From FBI intercepts, that the mob talked frequently about killing both Kennedy’s. The event itself, the crudity of the method chosen – firing at him in public – and most of all, the role Ruby played in clearing up the mess, suggest that the Mafia did it. But there are two problems with this theory. Firstly, it does not explain Oswald’s involvement. Oswald was not a gangster, or connected to the Mafia. Secondly, although they could theoretically organised the killing, they did not have the ability to organise the cover-up. How would the mafia have the opportunity to interfere with Kennedy’s wounds.

Marcello Undercover informants reported that Marcello made several threats against John F. Kennedy, at one time uttering the traditional Sicilian death threat curse, "Take the stone from my shoe". In September 1962, Marcello told private investigator Edwin Nicholas Becker that, "A dog will continue to bite you if you cut off its tail...," (meaning Attorney General Robert Kennedy.), "...whereas if you cut off the dog's head...," (meaning President Kennedy), "... it would cease to cause trouble". Becker reported that Marcello, "clearly stated that he was going to arrange to have President Kennedy killed in some way". Marcello told another informant that he would need to take out "insurance" for the assassination by, ".... setting up some nut to take the fall for the job, just like they do in Sicily". It is known that the head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover was warned in 1962 of an assassination plot being hatched by Mafia leader Carlos Mrcelllo and did nothing. Just before Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby made contact with Marcello, and Florida boss Trafficante, although it is not known what this was regarding. After Kennedy's assassination, the F.B.I. investigated Marcello. They came to the conclusion that Marcello was not involved in the assassination. On the other hand, they also said that they, "... did not believe Carlos Marcello was a significant organized crime figure," and that Marcello earned his living, "... as a tomato salesman and real estate investor." As a result of this investigation, the Warren Commission concluded that there was no direct link between Ruby and Marcello.

Trafficante was the ”mob” boss of Florida and pre 1959, had one of the largest holdings of property and casinos in Cuba. When Fidel Castro's Communist Government came to power they soon seized the property of Trafficante's Cuban businesses. They also expelled him from the country as an "undesirable” foreigner. Out of all the mafia families, Trafficante probably lost the most. Trafficante had links with they CIA. It is known for definite that he was involved in several plans to assassinate Castro. They all failed! Trafficante has also been linked to the assassination of President Kennedy. Santos Trafficante alleged to have forecast that the president was “going to be hit.” Oswald’s killer, Jack Ruby, knew several of Trafficante’s friends and may have met Trafficante personally. Trafficante, Marcello and Giancana were all associates.

David E. Scheim, The Mafia Killed President Kennedy (1988) Despite official denials. Jack Ruby had indeed been a "professional gangster." Furthermore, telephone records and other documents showed extensive contacts between Ruby and underworld figures from across the country in the months before the assassination. Club dancer, Rose Cheramie was found unconsciousness by the side of the road at Eunice, Louisiana, on 20th November, On the journey Cheramie said that she had been thrown out of a car by two gangsters who worked for Jack Ruby. She claimed that the men were involved in a plot to kill John F. Kennedy. Cheramie added that Kennedy would be killed in Dallas within a few days. Following the JFK assassination, Rose Cheramie was interviewed by the police. She claimed that Lee Harvey Oswald had visited Jack Ruby's night club and he was his boyfriend. Cheramie, the victim of a hit and run driver, was found dead on 4th September, Matthew Smith, JFK: The Second Plot (1992) Television personality and celebrity-reporter Dorothy Kilgallen was permitted to interview Jack Ruby in prison in November She returned to her New York home after her talk to Ruby telling her friend, Mrs Earl T Smith, all about it and declaring she was going to break the assassination mystery wide open. She was found dead a few days later resulting, they said from an overdose. Two days later, Mrs Earl T. Smith was also found dead.

The Causal web is a very good tool for making creating a visual picture of who is connected to who. It is a method often use by police investigators so that they can visually see connections between various, criminals, witnesses and suspects. This is what you will be doing in groups. Causal Web

How are these people linked to the death of JFK Trafficante Giancana FBI OswaId Ruby CIA Marcello

I want you in pairs to write down on separate post it notes what you think the Mafia’s Means were. On a separate post-it note write the Motive and on another write the Opportunity. Once you are sure stick it to the board next to the correct heading.

1.How many witnesses said they heard shots coming from the Grassy Knoll? (A) 2. What happened to many of the bullets that fired at Kennedy and Connally? Why is this suspicious? (B) 3. What happened to Orville Nix’s film? Why was it an important film? (E) 4. What happened to two other privately-made films that were given to the FBI? (E) 5. Why would the FBI do this to the films? (E) 6. What problem was there with the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle? 7. What was happened to 32 witnesses? What is suspicious about the way they have died? 8. Why might you think the CIA, FBI and Army are trying to cover something up? (I) 9. Why do you think the 3 men that were arrested in the car park behind the grassy knoll were later released and their documents were destroyed?