John Roselli
Mobster, CIA asset, and Las Vegas fixer.
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John "Handsome Johnny" Roselli (sometimes spelled Rosselli; born Filippo Sacco; July 4, 1905 – August 7, 1976) was an Italian-American mobster for the Chicago Outfit who helped that organization exert influence over Hollywood and the Las Vegas Strip. Born in Esperia, Italy, he immigrated to Boston at age six and later changed his name after fleeing narcotics charges in Massachusetts. By the mid-1920s, he was working for bootleggers in Los Angeles, rising to become a key figure in bribing Orange County officials to secure ports for liquor smuggling.
After his gang dissolved, he moved into vice rackets including prostitution and gambling. He met Al Capone in 1927 and was soon invited to join the Chicago Outfit, tasked with monitoring Capone’s investments and fostering cooperation with the Los Angeles crime family under Joseph Ardizzone and later Jack Dragna. Roselli also led a hostile takeover of the gambling ship Monfalcone and suffered from tuberculosis.
Through friendships with film producers, he entered the movie business, earning producer credits on early gangster films. During the corrupt administration of Los Angeles Mayor Frank L. Shaw, Roselli acted as liaison between city hall and underworld figures, funneling bribes. In the 1940s, he was indicted for labor racketeering with union figures, enlisted in the Army, and served prison time for extortion. By the mid-1950s, he became the Chicago and Los Angeles mobs’ chief representative in Las Vegas, overseeing casino revenue skimming.
After the Cuban Revolution, Roselli, along with mob bosses Sam Giancana and Santo Trafficante, became willing to assassinate Fidel Castro. In 1960, the CIA recruited an ex-FBI agent to approach Roselli for a plot to kill Castro, as detailed in the agency’s later-released “Family Jewels” documents. Roselli was found dead in 1976.
Background
Roselli was born Filippo Sacco on July 4, 1905, in Esperia, Lazio, Italy. He immigrated to Boston at age six with his mother. His father died in 1918. After a narcotics arrest in 1922, he fled to Chicago and changed his name to John Roselli. He moved to Los Angeles in 1924, worked for bootleggers, and later became involved in vice rackets.
He met Al Capone in 1927 and joined the Chicago Outfit in 1928. Roselli worked with the Los Angeles crime family, oversaw offshore gambling, and became a film producer. In the 1930s, he served as liaison between Mayor Frank L. Shaw's corrupt administration and the underworld. In 1942, he was indicted for labor racketeering, enlisted in the Army, and was convicted in 1943, serving prison until 1947.
By 1956, he was the mob's chief representative in Las Vegas, overseeing casino skimming. In 1960, the CIA recruited him via Robert Maheu to plot Castro's assassination. Roselli introduced Maheu to Sam Giancana and Santo Trafficante. Two poison plots failed. In 1963, Frank Sinatra sponsored Roselli for the Friar's Club, where a card-cheating scheme was later discovered.
Roselli was convicted and fined $55,000. He testified before the Church Committee in 1975 about the Castro plot. After Giancana's murder, Roselli moved to Miami. He disappeared on July 28, 1976, and his body was found in a drum in Biscayne Bay on August 7, 1976.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Roselli get involved with the CIA and the Castro assassination plot?
The CIA recruited Roselli, leveraging his mob contacts and access to resources, to help orchestrate an attempt on Fidel Castro's life during the early 1960s. Roselli was not fully briefed on the scope of the operation and later expressed shock at having been used as a front for a government assassination scheme.
How did John Roselli's life end?
Roselli vanished on July 28, 1976, and his decomposed body was discovered on August 7 of that year. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance and death were never fully resolved, and his death is widely attributed to retaliation within the criminal underworld.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: John Roselli (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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