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Sam Giancana
Salvatore "Mooney" Giancana (/ˌdʒiɑːnˈkɑːnə/ JEE-ahn-KAH-nə; born Gilormo Giangana, Italian: [dʒiˈlɔrmo dʒaŋˈɡaːna]; May 24, 1908 – June 19, 1975) was an American mobster who was boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966.
Giancana was born in Chicago to Italian immigrant parents. He joined the 42 Gang as a teenager, developing a reputation in organized crime, which gained him the notice of the leaders of the Chicago Outfit, which he joined during the late 1930s. From the 1940s through the 1950s, he controlled illegal gambling, illegal liquor distribution, and political rackets in Louisiana. In the early 1940s, Giancana was involved in a takeover of Chicago's black American lottery payout system for the Outfit. In 1957, he became the boss of the Chicago Outfit.
According to some sources, Giancana and the Mafia were involved in John F. Kennedy's victory in the 1960 presidential election. During the 1960s, he was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a plot to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Conspiracy theorists consider Giancana, along with Mafia leaders Santo Trafficante Jr. and Carlos Marcello, to be associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In 1965, Giancana was convicted of contempt of court, serving one year in prison. After his release from prison, Giancana fled to Cuernavaca, Mexico. In 1974, he was deported to the United States, returning to Chicago. Giancana was murdered on June 19, 1975, at his home in Oak Park, Illinois, shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the Church Committee.
Giancana was born Gilormo Giangana on May 24, 1908, in The Patch neighborhood of Chicago to Antonio Giangana and Antonia DeSimmona, Italian immigrants from Castelvetrano, Sicily. His father immigrated in 1905, while his mother immigrated in 1906; he had seven siblings. Antonia died in 1910 and his father married Mary Leonardi.
Giancana joined the 42 Gang, a juvenile street crew working for political boss Joseph Esposito. The 42 Gang's name was a reference to Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves. They thought they were one better, hence 42. Giancana soon developed a reputation as an excellent getaway driver, a high earner, and a vicious killer. After Esposito's murder, in which Giancana was allegedly involved, the 42 Gang was transformed into a de facto extension of the Chicago Outfit with leaders such as Frank "the Enforcer" Nitti, Paul "the Waiter" Ricca, and Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo. He was first arrested in 1925 for auto theft. He soon graduated to "triggerman", and by the age of 20 had been the prime subject of three murder investigations but never tried for any of them. In 1929, Giancana was convicted of burglary and larceny, and sentenced to one to five years in the Joliet Correctional Center. He was released in 1932 after serving three years and nine months.
During the late 1930s, Giancana became the first 42er to join the Chicago Outfit. From the early 1940s through the 1950s, he controlled most illegal gambling, liquor distribution, and other political rackets in Louisiana, through longtime friend H. A. (Hol) Killian. Killian controlled the majority of the liquor license issuance by his associations with longtime New Orleans business associate Carlos Marcello.[citation needed] In 1939, Giancana was convicted of bootlegging and sentenced to four years in Leavenworth Prison and Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex.
After his release from prison in 1942, Giancana made a name for himself by convincing Accardo, then the Outfit's underboss, to stage a takeover of Chicago's African American "policy" (lottery) payout system for the Outfit. Giancana's crew is believed to have convinced Eddie Jones to quit his racket and leave the country. Giancana's crew was also responsible for the August 4, 1952, murder of African American gambling boss Theodore Roe. Jones and Roe were major South Side gambling bosses. Roe had refused to surrender control of his operation as the Outfit had demanded, and on June 19, 1951, Roe fatally shot Leonard "Fat Lennie" Caifano, a made man of Giancana's crew.
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. When the lottery money started rolling in for the Outfit after this gambling war, the amount this game produced for the Outfit was in the millions of dollars a year, bringing Giancana further notice. It is believed to have been a major factor in his being "anointed" as the Outfit's new boss in 1957. Accardo joined Ricca in semi-retirement, becoming the Outfit's consigliere. However, it was generally understood that Accardo and Ricca still had the real power. Giancana was required to consult Accardo and Ricca on all important Outfit affairs.
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Sam Giancana
Salvatore "Mooney" Giancana (/ˌdʒiɑːnˈkɑːnə/ JEE-ahn-KAH-nə; born Gilormo Giangana, Italian: [dʒiˈlɔrmo dʒaŋˈɡaːna]; May 24, 1908 – June 19, 1975) was an American mobster who was boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966.
Giancana was born in Chicago to Italian immigrant parents. He joined the 42 Gang as a teenager, developing a reputation in organized crime, which gained him the notice of the leaders of the Chicago Outfit, which he joined during the late 1930s. From the 1940s through the 1950s, he controlled illegal gambling, illegal liquor distribution, and political rackets in Louisiana. In the early 1940s, Giancana was involved in a takeover of Chicago's black American lottery payout system for the Outfit. In 1957, he became the boss of the Chicago Outfit.
According to some sources, Giancana and the Mafia were involved in John F. Kennedy's victory in the 1960 presidential election. During the 1960s, he was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a plot to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Conspiracy theorists consider Giancana, along with Mafia leaders Santo Trafficante Jr. and Carlos Marcello, to be associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In 1965, Giancana was convicted of contempt of court, serving one year in prison. After his release from prison, Giancana fled to Cuernavaca, Mexico. In 1974, he was deported to the United States, returning to Chicago. Giancana was murdered on June 19, 1975, at his home in Oak Park, Illinois, shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the Church Committee.
Giancana was born Gilormo Giangana on May 24, 1908, in The Patch neighborhood of Chicago to Antonio Giangana and Antonia DeSimmona, Italian immigrants from Castelvetrano, Sicily. His father immigrated in 1905, while his mother immigrated in 1906; he had seven siblings. Antonia died in 1910 and his father married Mary Leonardi.
Giancana joined the 42 Gang, a juvenile street crew working for political boss Joseph Esposito. The 42 Gang's name was a reference to Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves. They thought they were one better, hence 42. Giancana soon developed a reputation as an excellent getaway driver, a high earner, and a vicious killer. After Esposito's murder, in which Giancana was allegedly involved, the 42 Gang was transformed into a de facto extension of the Chicago Outfit with leaders such as Frank "the Enforcer" Nitti, Paul "the Waiter" Ricca, and Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo. He was first arrested in 1925 for auto theft. He soon graduated to "triggerman", and by the age of 20 had been the prime subject of three murder investigations but never tried for any of them. In 1929, Giancana was convicted of burglary and larceny, and sentenced to one to five years in the Joliet Correctional Center. He was released in 1932 after serving three years and nine months.
During the late 1930s, Giancana became the first 42er to join the Chicago Outfit. From the early 1940s through the 1950s, he controlled most illegal gambling, liquor distribution, and other political rackets in Louisiana, through longtime friend H. A. (Hol) Killian. Killian controlled the majority of the liquor license issuance by his associations with longtime New Orleans business associate Carlos Marcello.[citation needed] In 1939, Giancana was convicted of bootlegging and sentenced to four years in Leavenworth Prison and Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex.
After his release from prison in 1942, Giancana made a name for himself by convincing Accardo, then the Outfit's underboss, to stage a takeover of Chicago's African American "policy" (lottery) payout system for the Outfit. Giancana's crew is believed to have convinced Eddie Jones to quit his racket and leave the country. Giancana's crew was also responsible for the August 4, 1952, murder of African American gambling boss Theodore Roe. Jones and Roe were major South Side gambling bosses. Roe had refused to surrender control of his operation as the Outfit had demanded, and on June 19, 1951, Roe fatally shot Leonard "Fat Lennie" Caifano, a made man of Giancana's crew.
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. When the lottery money started rolling in for the Outfit after this gambling war, the amount this game produced for the Outfit was in the millions of dollars a year, bringing Giancana further notice. It is believed to have been a major factor in his being "anointed" as the Outfit's new boss in 1957. Accardo joined Ricca in semi-retirement, becoming the Outfit's consigliere. However, it was generally understood that Accardo and Ricca still had the real power. Giancana was required to consult Accardo and Ricca on all important Outfit affairs.
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