Salvatore "Momo" Giancana (born Salvatore Giangana) June 15, 1908 — June 19, 1975) was an Italian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1956-66. Among his nicknames were, "Mooney," "Sam the Cigar," "Sam Flood" and "Sam Gold." is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Oak Park is the name of some places in the United States of America: Oak Park, California Oak Park, Georgia Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park, Michigan Oak Park, Minnesota There is also an Oak Park in Australia. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An Italian American is an American of Italian descent and/or dual citizenship. ... Mobster is a slang term for a person who participates in organized crime, which is known as belonging to the Mob. In western stories and movies, cowboys as mobsters are known as outlaws. ... The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Outfit is a crime syndicate that has a long and extensive history dating back to long before Prohibition and part of the U.S. phenomenon known as the Mafia. ...

Early life

Born as Salvatore Giangana to Sicilian immigrants in Little Italy, Chicago, also known as "The Patch". His father, Antonino (later americanized to Antonio) Giangana, operated a pushcart and later briefly owned an Italian ice shop, which was later firebombed by gangland rivals of his son. It has been alleged by relatives that Giancana's father would have become legitimately wealthy had he not always been forced to bail his eldest son out of prison. Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... Exterior view (in 1909) of the storefront office of P. Schiavone & Son, bankers and steamship agents, located at 925 South Halsted Street. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Molotov cocktail is the generic name for a variety of crude incendiary weapons. ... Gangland is a computer game created by Mediamobsters (now called Sirius Games). ... An allegation is a statement of fact by a party in a pleading, which he or she expects to prove. ... This article is about the legal term. ...

Criminal career

Sam Giancana joined the 42 Gang, a juvenile street crew answering to political boss Joseph Esposito (mobster).^[1] He soon developed a reputation for being an excellent getaway driver, a high earner and vicious killer. After Esposito's murder, which Giancana was allegedly involved in, the 42 Gang was transformed into a de facto extension of the Chicago Mafia. Giancana's leadership qualities and knack for making money on the street gained him the notice of Mafia higher ups like Francesco "Frank 'The Enforcer' Nitti" Nitto and Felice "Paul 'The Waiter' Ricca" DeLucia. The Forty-Two Gang was a Chicago teenage street gang which, like Brooklyns Italian and Jewish street gangs of Brownsville and Ocean Hill, served as a farm team during Prohibition for future members of the Chicago Outfit whose members included future high ranking syndicate members such as Sam Battaglia... CREW (acronym) may refer to: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Concurrent Read Exclusive Write, access model for Parallel Random Access Machine Coherent Radiation Emission Weapon, see Directed-energy weapon, Coined by Iain M Banks Categories: ... 1869 tobacco label featuring Boss Tweed A boss, in political science, is a person who wields de facto power over a particular political region or constituency. ... Joseph Diamond Joe Esposito (d. ... Look up getaway in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up kill, killing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Paul The Waiter Ricca (1897-October 11, 1972) was an American Mafia figure based within Chicago. ...

Family

Sam married Angelina DeTolve, the daughter of immigrants from the Italian Region of Basilicata, on September 23, 1933. They had three daughters. Angelina died in 1954 and left Sam to raise his three daughters. Sam never remarried after the death of his wife and was known as a good family man, despite frequent infidelities, and held his wife in high regard and respect during their marriage and after her death. It's suspected that during the affairs Sam had other children, including one that may reside in the prison system in Oregon. He is known to have children of his own, some that have had name changes. Basilicata is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Puglia (Apulia) to the east, Calabria to the south, it has one short coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea and another of the Gulf of Taranto in the Ionian Sea to the south-east. ... is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Rise to Power

After serving a term in the Illinois Prison System, from where he told his children he was away "at college," Giancana made a name for himself by forcefully staging a take-over of Chicago's African-American bookmaker's, supposedly, nickel-ante, pay-out games for "The Mafia." Giancana's crew is believed to have been responsible for the murder of Teddy Roe, an African-American gang leader from Chicago's South Side. Roe had allegedly refused to give over his stake in the games that Giancana had demanded and had also fatally shot a member of Giancana's crew. Languages Predominantly American English Religions Protestantism (chiefly Baptist and Methodist); Roman Catholicism; Islam Related ethnic groups Sub-Saharan Africans and other African groups, some with Native American groups. ... Bookmakers on a greyhound race course, Reading, UK Booky redirects here. ... The neighborhoods of Chicago lay within Chicagos seventy-seven community areas. ...

When the money started rolling in after this Southside gambling war, the amount that this nickel-ante game had produced for the Mafia was staggering and brought Giancana further notice. It is believed to have been a major factor in his being anointed as the Mafia's new boss when Antonio "Tony," "Joe Batters," "The Big Tuna" Accardo retired from being the front Mafia boss, in 1957. However, it was generally understood that Accardo and another veteran of the Capone era, Paul Ricca, still held the real power. Giancana had to consult them on all major business transactions, especially assassinations. Gamble redirects here. ... Antonino Leonardo Accardo, aka Joe Batters and Big Tuna , (April 28, 1906 - May 22, 1992) was the boss of the Chicago Outfit from about 1945 until shortly before he died of natural causes on May 22nd, 1992. ...

Giancana was purported to have been present at the Mafia's 1957 Apalachin Meeting, in upstate New York. The Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the American mafia held on November 14, 1957 at the home of mobster Joseph Joe the Barber Barbara in Apalachin, New York. ...

Alleged CIA connections

It is widely reputed and partially exposed in the Church Committee Hearings that Giancana and other mobsters had been recruited by the CIA during the Kennedy administration to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who had taken power in January 1959. Giancana was himself reported to have said that the CIA and the Mafia are "different sides of the same coin."^[2] Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... The Church Committee is the common term referring to the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church (D-ID) in 1975. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... assassin, see Assassin (disambiguation) Jack Ruby assassinated Lee Harvey Oswald in a very public manner. ... Look up Leader in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ...

The association between Giancana and JFK is indicated in the infamous "Exner File", written by Judith Campbell Exner. Exner was reputed to be mistress to both Giancana and JFK and some allege she may have delivered communication between the two regarding Fidel Castro.^[3] This biographical article needs to be wikified. ...

However, Sam's daughter, Antoinette Giancana, has stated her belief that her father was running a scam in order to pocket millions of dollars in CIA funding.^[4]

According to the recently-declassified CIA "Family Jewels" documents, Giancana and Miami Syndicate leader Santo Trafficante Jr. were contacted in September 1960, about the possibility of an assassination attempt by a go-between from the CIA, Robert Maheu, after Maheu had contacted Johnny Roselli, a Mafia member in Las Vegas and Giancana's number-two man. Maheu had presented himself as a representative of numerous international business firms in Cuba that were being expropriated by Castro. He offered $150,000 for the "removal" of Castro through this operation (the documents suggest that Roselli, Giancana nor Trafficante accepted any sort of payments for the job). According to the files, it was Giancana who suggested using a series of poison pills that could be used to doctor Castro's food and drink. These pills were given by the CIA to Giancana's nominee Juan Orta, whom Giancana presented as being a corrupt official in the new Cuban government, and who had access to Castro. After a series of six attempts to introduce the poison into Castro's food, Orta abruptly demanded to be let out of the mission, handing over the job to another, unnamed participant. Later, a second attempt was mounted through Giancana and Trafficante using Dr. Anthony Verona, the leader of the Cuban Exile Junta, who had, according to Trafficante, become "disaffected with the apparent ineffectual progress of the Junta". Verona requested $10,000 in expenses and $1,000 worth of communications equipment. However, it is unclear how far the second attempt went, as the entire program was cancelled shortly thereafter due to the launching of the Bay of Pigs invasion.^[5][6][7] The Family Jewels is the informal name used to refer to a set of reports that detail activities conducted by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. ... Santo Trafficante, Jr. ... Robert A. Maheu (born 1918) is an American businessman who worked as consultant to the industrialist Howard Hughes. ... John Handsome Johnny Rosselli (July 4, 1905 - August 9, 1976) had been an very influential Mafia soldier, one who had helped to control Hollywood and Las Vegas for the Chicago Mafia and who had been deeply involved with the CIA plots to kill Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in the early... The Las Vegas metropolitan area, includes the Las Vegas Valley a 600 square mile (1600 km²) basin, and surrounding areas, that are part of Clark County in southern Nevada. ... Map showing the location of the Bay of Pigs. ...

At the same time, Giancana, according to the "Family Jewels", approached Maheu to bug the room of his then-mistress Phyllis McGuire, whom he suspected of having an affair with comedian Dan Rowan. Although documents suggest Maheu acquiesced, the bug was not planted due to the arrest of the agent tasked with planting the device. According to the documents, Robert Kennedy moved to block the prosecution of the agent and of Maheu, who was soon linked to the bugging attempt, at the CIA's request.^[8][9] Mistress is the feminine form of the word master. ... The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. ... Daniel Hale Rowan (Dan) (July 22, 1922 - September 22, 1987) was an American comedian. ...

Downfall

Giancana's behavior was too high profile for the Mafia's taste, and attracted far too much federal scrutiny. He also refused to cut his underlings in on his lavish profits from offshore casinos in Iran and Central America. Both of these factors resulted in much bitterness among the Mafia's rank and file. This article is about casinos for gaming. ... For other uses, see Central America (disambiguation). ...

As a result, Giancana was deposed as day-to-day boss by the still in control Accardo and replaced by Joseph "Joey Doves" Aiuppa. After about seven years of exile inside a lavish villa in Cuernavaca, Mexico, Giancana was arrested by Mexican authorities and deported unceremoniously back to the United States. Joseph John Aiuppa Pronounced I-U-PA (December 1, 1907 - February 22, 1997), also known as Doves, Mourning Doves, OBrien, or Joey Doves, was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit. ... Cuernavaca is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. ...

Death

Shortly after returning to Chicago, Giancana was shot in the back of the head on 19 June 1975 while frying Italian sausage and peppers in the basement of his home in Oak Park, Illinois. After falling, his body was turned over and shot a further six times in the face and chin. It was believed by investigators that his murderer was a close friend whom he had let into the house. At the time he was scheduled to appear before a Senate committee investigating CIA and Mafia collusion in plots to assassinate Fidel Castro. is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the United States, Italian sausage is a style of pork sausage which is noted for its seasoning of fennel and/or anise, containing at least 85% meat. ... Downtown (Oak Park Avenue) Ernest Hemingway Museum Oak Park, Illinois Lake Theater and shops along Lake Street. ...

Some have alleged that the CIA was responsible for the shooting as Giancana had a somewhat troubled history with the agency. However, former CIA Director William Colby has been quoted as saying, "We had nothing to do with it." For the first secretary of the Sierra Club, see William Edward Colby. ...

Most investigators believe that Joey Aiuppa, Giancana's onetime friend and successor as Chicago Outfit boss, was responsible for ordering the hit on the disgraced former Godfather. Joseph John Aiuppa (December 1, 1907 - February 2, 1997), also known as Ha Ha , Doves, Mourning Doves, or Joey Doves, was a member of the Chicago Mafia organiztion known as the Chicago Outfit. ...

Giancana had reportedly continued in his refusal to share the profits from his offshore gambling operations and was also scheming about how to regain his former post as boss. According to former Mafia associate Michael J. Corbitt, Aiuppa seized control of Giancana's casinos in the aftermath of the murder, strategically sharing them with his capos. Michael Jerome Corbitt (b. ... For other uses, see Capo (disambiguation). ...

It is widely believed that longtime friend and associate Dominick "Butch" Blasi was Giancana's assassin. Other Mafia suspects are Harry Aleman, Charles "Chuckie" English, and Anthony Spilotro. Harry The Hook Aleman (b. ... Anthony Tony the Ant Spilotro (May 19, 1938 – June 14, 1986) was a small, infamous, Italian-American mobster and enforcer for the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s. ...

Giancana was interred next to his wife Angelina in a family mausoleum at Mount Carmel Cemetery (Hillside) in Hillside, Illinois. The Bishops Mausoleum at Mount Carmel Cemetery. ... Hillside is a village located in Cook County, Illinois. ...

In popular culture

• Giancana is the subject the biography Mafia Princess, written by his daughter Antoinette. This book was later adapted into the 1986 TV film Mafia Princess, starring Tony Curtis as Giancana.
• The 1995 TV film Sugartime depicts Giancana's relationship with singer Phyllis McGuire of The McGuire Sisters, with Giancana being played by John Turturro.
• Rod Steiger portrayed Giancana in the 1992 TV miniseries Sinatra.
• Robert Miranda played Giancana in the 1998 TV film, The Rat Pack.
• As of May 2007, a six-hour miniseries on Giancana is under development in Hollywood.
• Influential mafioso-rapper Kool G Rap once stated that the "G" in his name stands for Giancana. Kool G Rap released an album in 2002 called The Giancana Story.

For other persons named Tony Curtis, see Tony Curtis (disambiguation). ... The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. ... The McGuire Sisters The McGuire Sisters were a singing trio in American popular music. ... John Michael Turturro (born February 28, 1957) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor noted for his performances in To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), The Color of Money (1986), Five Corners (1987), Men of Respect (1991), Quiz Show (1994), Monday Night Mayhem (1999), Secret Window (2004), The... Rod Steiger (April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American Academy Award-winning actor best known for his intense performances in such films as In the Heat of the Night, On the Waterfront and Doctor Zhivago. ... ... Nathaniel Wilson (born July 20, 1968), known by stage name Kool G Rap, is an American hardcore rapper from the Corona section of Queens, New York. ... The Giancana Story is the third solo album by Mafioso Rap artist Kool G Rap. ...

Urban Legends

It is also widely reputed that, at roughly the same time, Joseph P. Kennedy recruited Giancana to help mobilize labor union voter and financial support behind his son, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, in the latter's bid to become the Democratic Party's nominee for the 1960 Presidential election; the alleged point of contact between the elder Kennedy and Giancana is widely alleged to have been Frank Sinatra. (What is not in dispute is that Joseph Kennedy was a rumrunner and bootlegger who had had extensive dealings with the Chicago Mafia during Prohibition.) It is also been suggested that Giancana rigged the West Virginia Democratic primary, at the elder Kennedy's behest, in order to demonstrate that a Roman Catholic candidate could win in an overwhelmingly Protestant State. (The HBO film, The Rat Pack dramatizes these alleged events).^{[citation needed]} Joseph Joe Patrick Kennedy, Sr. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... This article is about the U.S. state. ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major United States political parties. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... Sinatra redirects here. ... Rum-running is the business of smuggling or transporting of alcoholic beverages illegally, usually to circumvent taxation or prohibition. ... A bootlegger is someone who sells an illegally manufactured product. ... The term Prohibition, also known as A Dry Law, refers to a law in a certain country by which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. ... Official language(s) none (de facto English) Demonym West Virginian Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Largest metro area Charleston metro area Area  Ranked 41st in the US  - Total 24,230 sq mi (62,755 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... For other uses, see HBO (disambiguation). ... The Rat Pack The Rat Pack was a nickname given to a group of 1950s entertainers, which included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. ...

Trivia

• Sam Giancana was arrested more than 70 times in his life and imprisoned only twice. Giancana's nickname "Momo" was derived from the slang term "Mooney" (which meant "crazy") as the teenaged Giancana had a reputation for unpredictably violent behavior.

For other uses, see Slang (disambiguation). ...

Further reading

• Cain, Michael J. The Tangled Web. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-60239-044-7
• Brashler, William. The Don: The Life and Death of Sam Giancana. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1977. ISBN 0-06-010447-3
• Giancana, Sam and Chuck. Double Cross: The Explosive, inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America. New York: Warner Books, 1992. ISBN 0-446-51624-4
• Giancana, Antoinette and Renner, Thomas C. Mafia Princess. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1984.ISBN 0-380-69849-8
• Hersh, Seymour M. Dark Side of Camelot. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1997. ISBN 0-316-35955-6
• Morgan, John M. Prince of Crime. New York: Stein and Day, 1985. ISBN 0-812-88297-0
• Nash, Jay Robert. Bloodletters and Badmen. New York: M. Evans & Co. 1973. ISBN 0-871-31777-X
• Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of Crime. New York: Facts On File, 1982. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
• Talbot, David. Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years. Free Press. May, 2007. ISBN 0-743-26918-7
• Waldron, Lamar, Hartmann, Thom. Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK. Carroll & Graf. 2006. ISBN 0-786-71832-3
• Zion, Sidney. Loyalty and Betrayal: The Story of the American Mob. San Francisco: Collins Publishers, 1994. ISBN 0-006-38271-1

References

Ali Baba by Maxfield Parrish (1909). ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Washington Monthly is a magazine based in Washington DC which covers American politics and government. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel founded by John Hendricks which is distributed by Discovery Communications. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and archival institution located within The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985 by Thomas Blanton, it archives and publishes declassified U.S. government files concerning selected topics of American foreign policy. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the news website, see msnbc. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the news website, see msnbc. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and archival institution located within The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985 by Thomas Blanton, it archives and publishes declassified U.S. government files concerning selected topics of American foreign policy. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Era (or Anno Domini), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Sam "Momo" Giancana: Live and Die by the Sword by Joseph Geringer
• Sam Giancana at Encyclopædia Britannica
• Federal Bureau of Investigation - Freedom of Information Privacy Act: Sam Giancana
• Sparticus Educational - Sam Giancana
• Seize the Night: Sam "Momo" Giancana