1 00:00:14,971 --> 00:00:17,626 Robert Maheu becomes the cutout for the CIA. 2 00:00:17,713 --> 00:00:20,890 And so it's his job to recruit 3 00:00:20,977 --> 00:00:25,634 just the right Mobster to kill Fidel Castro. 4 00:00:25,721 --> 00:00:30,465 Maheu himself was nervous about the whole operation. 5 00:00:30,552 --> 00:00:34,034 Maheu voiced concerns with his CIA contacts. 6 00:00:34,121 --> 00:00:36,601 Like, are you really sure this is the direction 7 00:00:36,688 --> 00:00:38,168 you want to go? 8 00:00:38,255 --> 00:00:40,257 Because this thing's fraught with peril. 9 00:00:40,344 --> 00:00:43,260 But the CIA at that time was so arrogant 10 00:00:43,347 --> 00:00:45,871 that it didn't even think about the operation 11 00:00:45,958 --> 00:00:48,091 falling apart. 12 00:00:58,406 --> 00:01:01,670 Maheu sets up a meeting in Hollywood 13 00:01:01,757 --> 00:01:04,194 with his connection to the Mafia. 14 00:01:09,286 --> 00:01:12,028 Johnny Roselli was an important man 15 00:01:12,115 --> 00:01:13,769 in the Chicago Mob, 16 00:01:13,856 --> 00:01:16,032 who looked after the business interests 17 00:01:16,119 --> 00:01:18,643 in Los Angeles and in Las Vegas. 18 00:01:20,515 --> 00:01:22,473 He was one of those kind of gangsters-- 19 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,215 handsome guy, dressed to the nines. 20 00:01:25,302 --> 00:01:27,348 And he was a charmer. Handsome Johnny. 21 00:01:29,437 --> 00:01:31,874 He's the most handsome of all the guys. 22 00:01:31,961 --> 00:01:35,660 So you know what I was thinking about-- 23 00:01:35,747 --> 00:01:37,967 he would be nice for me. 24 00:01:39,838 --> 00:01:43,146 He was dating a lot of the dancers and the actresses. 25 00:01:43,233 --> 00:01:47,019 He was involved with Lana Turner. 26 00:01:47,107 --> 00:01:50,066 And then he ended up marrying June Lang. 27 00:01:50,153 --> 00:01:52,764 Roselli walked with the Hollywood crowd. 28 00:01:55,027 --> 00:01:58,596 He acted as a fixer in that realm. 29 00:01:58,683 --> 00:02:00,598 Johnny had movie-star quality. 30 00:02:00,685 --> 00:02:03,123 He knew how to do things. 31 00:02:06,213 --> 00:02:07,910 He called himself the Strategist 32 00:02:07,997 --> 00:02:10,042 because he had clarity-- 33 00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:13,089 the ability to see, the awareness. 34 00:02:24,100 --> 00:02:27,451 Maheu approached Roselli 35 00:02:27,538 --> 00:02:31,977 as a person representing private industries 36 00:02:32,064 --> 00:02:35,111 that wanted Castro out. 37 00:02:36,852 --> 00:02:41,335 Roselli didn't believe that story for a minute. 38 00:02:46,340 --> 00:02:48,516 Maheu wasn't supposed to tell Roselli 39 00:02:48,603 --> 00:02:51,040 that he was working with the CIA. 40 00:02:51,127 --> 00:02:55,000 But in order to explain to Roselli convincingly 41 00:02:55,087 --> 00:02:56,611 what was going on, 42 00:02:56,698 --> 00:02:59,004 Maheu did say, this is something we're doing 43 00:02:59,091 --> 00:03:01,268 on behalf of the government. 44 00:03:01,355 --> 00:03:03,661 Roselli was naturally a little taken aback, 45 00:03:03,748 --> 00:03:05,794 since he wasn't used to being hired by the U.S. government. 46 00:03:05,881 --> 00:03:09,667 In fact, he was used to being afraid of the U.S. government. 47 00:03:09,754 --> 00:03:11,278 On the other hand, 48 00:03:11,365 --> 00:03:13,802 they had lost their entire livelihoods in Cuba. 49 00:03:13,889 --> 00:03:16,892 So the Mafia had every reason to want to do it. 50 00:03:16,979 --> 00:03:18,502 It was an opportunity 51 00:03:18,589 --> 00:03:21,462 to get back the enormous presence they had 52 00:03:21,549 --> 00:03:24,639 in the gambling establishments, the casinos. 53 00:03:24,726 --> 00:03:28,120 Plus, it would ingratiate themselves with the CIA. 54 00:03:28,208 --> 00:03:29,905 And that was a very compelling reason 55 00:03:29,992 --> 00:03:31,646 to get involved in this plot. 56 00:03:33,996 --> 00:03:36,128 Maheu was authorized to tell Roselli 57 00:03:36,216 --> 00:03:39,828 that his clients were willing to pay $150,000 58 00:03:39,915 --> 00:03:41,830 for Castro's removal. 59 00:03:41,917 --> 00:03:45,007 $150,000 by today's dollars 60 00:03:45,094 --> 00:03:47,836 is a million and a half dollars. 61 00:03:47,923 --> 00:03:49,229 Johnny Roselli, from the outset, 62 00:03:49,316 --> 00:03:53,624 said, no, I won't accept your money. 63 00:03:53,711 --> 00:03:56,801 I just want to work with you to get rid of Castro. 64 00:04:08,726 --> 00:04:10,815 I'll do this for my country. 65 00:04:15,211 --> 00:04:17,822 Undergirding a lot of gangster stories 66 00:04:17,909 --> 00:04:20,347 is their own personal mythology, 67 00:04:20,434 --> 00:04:22,740 which is absolutely a love of America. 68 00:04:22,827 --> 00:04:25,090 The very first line of "The Godfather," 69 00:04:25,177 --> 00:04:26,918 said in the dark... 70 00:04:27,005 --> 00:04:29,094 I believe in America. 71 00:04:29,181 --> 00:04:33,664 "I believe in America." First line. 72 00:04:33,751 --> 00:04:37,320 Roselli's boss, Sam Giancana, actually made fun of him. 73 00:04:37,407 --> 00:04:39,714 He said, if you start walking around with a flag, 74 00:04:39,801 --> 00:04:42,107 Roselli would follow you. 75 00:04:42,194 --> 00:04:44,153 At the end of the meeting, 76 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:46,155 Roselli makes it clear to Maheu 77 00:04:46,242 --> 00:04:48,070 that he can't do this all by himself. 78 00:04:48,157 --> 00:04:49,419 He's got to get approval 79 00:04:49,506 --> 00:04:52,117 from the boss of all bosses in Chicago, 80 00:04:52,204 --> 00:04:54,163 and that's Sam Giancana. 81 00:04:55,904 --> 00:04:59,864 It turns out that Sam Giancana is interested. 82 00:05:02,998 --> 00:05:07,002 So Maheu lets the CIA know that he's now made contact 83 00:05:07,089 --> 00:05:08,786 with the mobsters and asks, 84 00:05:08,873 --> 00:05:10,962 should I continue to go forward? 85 00:05:11,049 --> 00:05:14,226 And he's told, we don't care if you deal with the Devil. 86 00:05:14,314 --> 00:05:17,578 We want this job done. 87 00:05:17,665 --> 00:05:19,536 They were going to hire the Mafia 88 00:05:19,623 --> 00:05:21,582 to kill Castro, 89 00:05:21,669 --> 00:05:25,629 which is either a brilliant or a ridiculous idea. 90 00:05:28,110 --> 00:05:31,461 The CIA is now in a very dangerous world 91 00:05:31,548 --> 00:05:33,637 with all these crazy characters. 92 00:05:36,031 --> 00:05:38,250 It's truly a rogues' gallery. 93 00:05:38,338 --> 00:05:41,993 And Castro is standing at the center of it. 94 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:45,475 For the CIA, what cannot happen 95 00:05:45,562 --> 00:05:48,217 is that the plot gets found out. 96 00:05:48,304 --> 00:05:51,176 If this comes out, what will this do to our image 97 00:05:51,263 --> 00:05:53,004 in the eyes of the world? 98 00:05:53,091 --> 00:05:55,790 Secrecy has to be maintained. 99 00:05:55,877 --> 00:05:59,968 So they have to keep a lid on this top-secret plan. 100 00:07:21,658 --> 00:07:25,880 Miami Beach in 1960 was as hot as nightlife 101 00:07:25,967 --> 00:07:27,447 can get in the United States. 102 00:07:29,710 --> 00:07:31,755 There was the Fontainebleau Hotel, 103 00:07:31,842 --> 00:07:33,757 the height of mid-century architecture. 104 00:07:38,980 --> 00:07:43,506 And it became this center for all kinds of gathering 105 00:07:43,593 --> 00:07:46,030 of the entertainment scene... 106 00:07:46,117 --> 00:07:49,556 and also criminal activity. 107 00:07:49,643 --> 00:07:53,255 It was the place in Miami where the mafiosi meet 108 00:07:53,342 --> 00:07:55,039 with the CIA representatives 109 00:07:55,126 --> 00:07:57,651 to discuss the assassination of Castro. 110 00:08:00,523 --> 00:08:03,004 So Maheu arrives. 111 00:08:03,091 --> 00:08:05,659 And he's got Roselli with him. 112 00:08:11,055 --> 00:08:13,188 Also meeting with them but in the background 113 00:08:13,275 --> 00:08:16,278 is a street agent by the name of Jim O'Connell, 114 00:08:16,365 --> 00:08:18,628 representing the CIA. 115 00:08:18,715 --> 00:08:21,022 The CIA is getting a lot of pressure 116 00:08:21,109 --> 00:08:25,592 from President Eisenhower to try to assassinate Castro. 117 00:08:25,679 --> 00:08:29,204 So they have to do everything possible to make this happen. 118 00:08:34,862 --> 00:08:38,822 The Fontainebleau was Sam Giancana's favorite place. 119 00:08:38,909 --> 00:08:42,652 Sam Giancana was the Chicago Mob boss put in charge 120 00:08:42,739 --> 00:08:45,873 of a multibillion-dollar illegal criminal enterprise 121 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:47,527 called the Chicago Outfit. 122 00:08:47,614 --> 00:08:50,399 They had control of Chicago, Vegas, 123 00:08:50,486 --> 00:08:52,488 also the West Coast, Los Angeles. 124 00:08:52,575 --> 00:08:56,579 Sam Giancana was loud, brash... 125 00:08:56,666 --> 00:08:59,451 obnoxious, probably a little crazy. 126 00:08:59,539 --> 00:09:01,541 Maheu wrote later that Giancana 127 00:09:01,628 --> 00:09:03,151 didn't come off as thuggish. 128 00:09:03,238 --> 00:09:06,110 You could tell he wanted attention, and he got it. 129 00:09:06,197 --> 00:09:07,851 When he walked down the hallway, 130 00:09:07,938 --> 00:09:09,723 you could just sense his power. 131 00:09:09,810 --> 00:09:13,117 It was just how he carried himself. 132 00:09:13,204 --> 00:09:17,295 When he walked in, it was like Jesus Christ walking. 133 00:09:17,382 --> 00:09:20,690 He was a very respected person. 134 00:09:22,518 --> 00:09:26,740 Sam Giancana brings in Santos Trafficante Jr. 135 00:09:26,827 --> 00:09:30,221 Santo Trafficante Jr., he's the boss of the Tampa Mafia. 136 00:09:30,308 --> 00:09:33,224 Trafficante is someone that has very powerful presence 137 00:09:33,311 --> 00:09:35,618 in Miami, South Florida, 138 00:09:35,705 --> 00:09:38,403 and also still very close ties on the island of Cuba. 139 00:09:56,987 --> 00:10:00,600 Sam Giancana is not introduced as Sam Giancana. 140 00:10:00,687 --> 00:10:02,645 He's introduced as Sam Gold. 141 00:10:02,732 --> 00:10:06,257 And Santos Trafficante Jr. is not introduced by his name 142 00:10:06,344 --> 00:10:09,043 but as Joe, the Courier. 143 00:10:09,130 --> 00:10:11,828 The idea being that he's the courier 144 00:10:11,915 --> 00:10:14,135 who's going to deliver things to Cuba 145 00:10:14,222 --> 00:10:16,659 so that this execution can occur. 146 00:10:16,746 --> 00:10:19,880 Bob Maheu outlines this idea that the CIA, 147 00:10:19,967 --> 00:10:23,231 the American government, wants the Mafia's assistance 148 00:10:23,318 --> 00:10:26,451 in helping them destabilize Cuba, 149 00:10:26,538 --> 00:10:29,803 meaning getting rid of Fidel Castro. 150 00:10:29,890 --> 00:10:33,197 Maheu's first idea was, we're going to shoot Castro, 151 00:10:33,284 --> 00:10:34,895 like in the movies. 152 00:10:38,855 --> 00:10:41,075 If you're going to try to pin this on somebody, 153 00:10:41,162 --> 00:10:44,644 you want to have the Hollywood version of the story. 154 00:10:44,731 --> 00:10:46,646 So we want to have the guys burst in 155 00:10:46,733 --> 00:10:48,169 with these machine guns. 156 00:10:50,998 --> 00:10:53,565 But the gangsters essentially told him, 157 00:10:53,653 --> 00:10:55,132 those movies aren't real. 158 00:10:55,219 --> 00:10:56,699 You don't do it that way. 159 00:10:56,786 --> 00:10:58,440 It was Giancana's suggestion-- 160 00:10:58,527 --> 00:11:02,531 well, maybe you can put poison pills in his meals. 161 00:11:04,664 --> 00:11:06,927 They came to the conclusion that the best way to do it 162 00:11:07,014 --> 00:11:09,146 would be to poison Castro. 163 00:11:14,064 --> 00:11:15,413 None of them went 164 00:11:15,500 --> 00:11:16,676 to the National Commission of the Mafia, 165 00:11:16,763 --> 00:11:18,242 which was a big sin at the time. 166 00:11:18,329 --> 00:11:19,896 But it was smart they didn't. 167 00:11:19,983 --> 00:11:22,029 The fewer people that know, the better. 168 00:11:26,033 --> 00:11:29,297 Just before the CIA gets involved with the Mafia, 169 00:11:29,384 --> 00:11:32,213 other attempts to kill Fidel Castro 170 00:11:32,300 --> 00:11:34,694 were considered by the CIA. 171 00:11:43,354 --> 00:11:46,967 "Honeypot" is a term used in the spy world that generally 172 00:11:47,054 --> 00:11:49,621 is associated with covert female agent 173 00:11:49,709 --> 00:11:52,929 to use her sexual charms to target 174 00:11:53,016 --> 00:11:56,454 a person they want to get information from. 175 00:11:56,541 --> 00:11:59,457 You met Castro, 1959? 176 00:11:59,544 --> 00:12:02,939 Yes. February 27, 1959. 177 00:12:03,026 --> 00:12:04,767 And I was 18. 178 00:12:06,682 --> 00:12:09,076 Right after the Revolution, Fidel Castro 179 00:12:09,163 --> 00:12:12,470 visits a German boat that comes into Havana 180 00:12:12,557 --> 00:12:13,820 on the way to New York. 181 00:12:13,907 --> 00:12:16,344 And he meets Marita Lorenz. 182 00:12:16,431 --> 00:12:20,609 Castro was charmed by this young woman. 183 00:12:20,696 --> 00:12:22,916 When she travels back to New York, 184 00:12:23,003 --> 00:12:26,136 he contacts her and says, come back to Havana. 185 00:12:26,223 --> 00:12:27,790 And they begin an affair. 186 00:12:27,877 --> 00:12:30,401 Marita talks about this pivotal moment 187 00:12:30,488 --> 00:12:31,838 on "The Geraldo Show." 188 00:12:31,925 --> 00:12:33,840 And you became pregnant with his baby? 189 00:12:33,927 --> 00:12:35,145 Yes, I did. 190 00:12:35,232 --> 00:12:37,278 According to the story by Marita, 191 00:12:37,365 --> 00:12:41,282 she was given a drink of some sort where she was drugged. 192 00:12:41,369 --> 00:12:44,851 And when she came to, she was no longer pregnant. 193 00:12:47,114 --> 00:12:49,420 She winds up going to Florida, 194 00:12:49,507 --> 00:12:51,771 and that's where she's recruited. 195 00:12:51,858 --> 00:12:54,034 And the CIA asked you, Marita, to do what? 196 00:12:54,121 --> 00:12:56,514 Well, they said, would you do this country 197 00:12:56,601 --> 00:13:00,780 a great deed and, uh... 198 00:13:00,867 --> 00:13:02,259 kill him? 199 00:13:04,653 --> 00:13:08,309 So the CIA had a figure named Frank Sturgis, 200 00:13:08,396 --> 00:13:11,268 who later got involved in the Watergate break-in. 201 00:13:11,355 --> 00:13:15,620 He was a Cuban exile who worked 202 00:13:15,707 --> 00:13:18,406 and groomed, as they say, Marita Lorenz 203 00:13:18,493 --> 00:13:21,409 to go back and kill Castro. 204 00:13:21,496 --> 00:13:24,542 Frank Sturgis starts off as a police officer for Castro, 205 00:13:24,629 --> 00:13:28,024 ends up, you know, becoming a staunch anti-Castro activist 206 00:13:28,111 --> 00:13:31,985 and intelligence asset for the CIA. 207 00:13:32,072 --> 00:13:33,943 I did a film, "My Little Assassin"... 208 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,774 Marita Lorenz. 209 00:13:38,861 --> 00:13:41,037 And I played Frank Sturgis. 210 00:13:41,124 --> 00:13:45,389 - You work for the CIA. - Mm, let's say I'm a patriot. 211 00:13:45,476 --> 00:13:48,305 You could help your country, you know? 212 00:13:48,392 --> 00:13:50,090 This is my country. 213 00:13:50,177 --> 00:13:52,483 Sturgis was a very interesting character. 214 00:13:52,570 --> 00:13:53,833 Some say he was CIA. 215 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,096 He says he was, they say he wasn't, 216 00:13:56,183 --> 00:13:58,272 but that's how that works. 217 00:13:58,359 --> 00:14:02,624 In early 1960, Marita Lorenz contacts Castro, 218 00:14:02,711 --> 00:14:06,106 and they decide to get together again. 219 00:14:06,193 --> 00:14:09,152 Did you try and kill your lover Fidel Castro? 220 00:14:09,239 --> 00:14:12,721 Well, let's just say I went back through the motions and-- 221 00:14:12,808 --> 00:14:13,983 How were you going to do it? 222 00:14:14,070 --> 00:14:17,073 Poison him with botulinum toxin. 223 00:14:18,683 --> 00:14:21,643 Frank Sturgis gives her the poison pills, 224 00:14:21,730 --> 00:14:25,168 hiding them in a jar of cold cream. 225 00:14:25,255 --> 00:14:28,171 And then she travels down to Havana. 226 00:14:32,741 --> 00:14:35,091 There they are, in a hotel room. 227 00:14:37,354 --> 00:14:39,487 Marita is lying on the bed with Fidel 228 00:14:39,574 --> 00:14:42,185 and says, wait a minute, I have to freshen up. 229 00:15:03,424 --> 00:15:07,384 The poison pill has melted into the cold cream. 230 00:15:17,786 --> 00:15:20,397 She doesn't know what to do. 231 00:15:27,491 --> 00:15:30,233 Castro senses 232 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,367 there's something wrong. 233 00:15:33,454 --> 00:15:37,284 He asked me, did you come to kill me? 234 00:15:39,155 --> 00:15:40,461 Yes. 235 00:15:44,247 --> 00:15:47,163 Castro reaches over at a bedside table, 236 00:15:47,250 --> 00:15:49,949 and on the table, there's a gun. 237 00:15:54,823 --> 00:15:57,217 He handed it to me. 238 00:15:57,304 --> 00:15:58,653 He said, go ahead. 239 00:16:04,964 --> 00:16:06,878 So I took the gun and... 240 00:16:14,060 --> 00:16:16,453 He said, you can't kill me. Nobody can. 241 00:16:25,854 --> 00:16:28,944 She ends up having sex with Fidel that night. 242 00:16:29,031 --> 00:16:31,207 I mean, this was like beta testing poisons, 243 00:16:31,294 --> 00:16:33,862 beta testing how to kill a foreign leader, 244 00:16:33,949 --> 00:16:35,995 and you'd find out along the way which ways work 245 00:16:36,082 --> 00:16:37,779 and which ways don't. 246 00:16:37,866 --> 00:16:39,781 It wasn't a very auspicious start. 247 00:16:42,088 --> 00:16:45,439 And so the CIA turns to another recruit. 248 00:16:54,143 --> 00:16:56,319 Rudy Maxa in "The Washington Post" 249 00:16:56,406 --> 00:16:58,495 wrote that Johnny Roselli was destined 250 00:16:58,582 --> 00:17:02,717 to walk on the dark side of life never seemed in doubt. 251 00:17:02,804 --> 00:17:04,371 Who was Johnny Roselli? 252 00:17:04,458 --> 00:17:06,938 I would say that the answer to that question 253 00:17:07,026 --> 00:17:09,028 depends upon who's asking it. 254 00:17:09,115 --> 00:17:11,726 Johnny Roselli had a lot of secrets. 255 00:17:11,813 --> 00:17:14,642 One of the big ones was that he wasn't born here. 256 00:17:16,557 --> 00:17:19,342 Fourth of July in 1905, 257 00:17:19,429 --> 00:17:24,043 Johnny Roselli was born in Esperia, Italy, mainland. 258 00:17:24,130 --> 00:17:27,350 His real name is Filippo Sacco. 259 00:17:27,437 --> 00:17:30,658 He loves his mother. He loves his family. 260 00:17:30,745 --> 00:17:34,314 And like many families at that time who are poor, 261 00:17:34,401 --> 00:17:37,012 they realize that a better life awaits them 262 00:17:37,099 --> 00:17:39,449 if they can go to America. 263 00:17:42,974 --> 00:17:46,152 He gets to Boston with his mother when he's six. 264 00:17:46,239 --> 00:17:48,458 And there, he suffered from TB. 265 00:17:48,545 --> 00:17:52,723 His father would end up passing from this illness. 266 00:17:52,810 --> 00:17:55,074 Filippo Sacco is forced to provide 267 00:17:55,161 --> 00:17:56,858 for his mother and his family. 268 00:17:56,945 --> 00:17:59,730 He's the man now of the family. 269 00:17:59,817 --> 00:18:02,690 He starts as a petty thief on the street, 270 00:18:02,777 --> 00:18:04,648 starts low-level crimes. 271 00:18:09,566 --> 00:18:11,351 Eventually he gets into so much trouble 272 00:18:11,438 --> 00:18:15,877 that he realizes that he has to change his name. 273 00:18:15,964 --> 00:18:20,099 As a good Catholic boy, he's inspired by a Vatican painter 274 00:18:20,186 --> 00:18:22,623 with the name Cosmo Roselli. 275 00:18:37,942 --> 00:18:41,120 And he becomes John Roselli. 276 00:18:46,908 --> 00:18:49,128 So he changes his name. 277 00:18:49,215 --> 00:18:53,088 But then he gets popped twice in Boston-- 278 00:18:53,175 --> 00:18:56,483 once for grand larceny, once for a narcotics rap. 279 00:18:56,570 --> 00:18:58,833 He gets out on bond, he skips bail, 280 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,009 and he hightails it, because he doesn't want to go to trial, 281 00:19:01,096 --> 00:19:03,403 he doesn't want to go to prison. 282 00:19:03,490 --> 00:19:05,405 Roselli suffered from TB. 283 00:19:05,492 --> 00:19:09,931 And so he came out West and settled in L.A. 284 00:19:10,018 --> 00:19:11,759 because of the drier climate. 285 00:19:17,504 --> 00:19:20,768 When Roselli first got to Los Angeles, 286 00:19:20,855 --> 00:19:22,596 it's during Prohibition. 287 00:19:22,683 --> 00:19:24,946 Reformers had a ball after World War I, 288 00:19:25,033 --> 00:19:29,385 as they gleefully ushered in Prohibition. 289 00:19:29,472 --> 00:19:31,692 He was involved in bootlegging. 290 00:19:31,779 --> 00:19:35,783 And he'd also boosted a couple trucks, hijacking. 291 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,309 And then Roselli starts working with my great-grandfather, 292 00:19:40,396 --> 00:19:41,658 Jack Dragna. 293 00:19:44,531 --> 00:19:47,186 Jack Dragna takes over the Los Angeles family 294 00:19:47,273 --> 00:19:48,970 in 1931. 295 00:19:49,057 --> 00:19:50,363 And what he did is, essentially, 296 00:19:50,450 --> 00:19:53,366 he brought the extortion of the Hollywood unions 297 00:19:53,453 --> 00:19:56,804 that was already taking place back East to Los Angeles. 298 00:19:56,891 --> 00:19:59,241 And now, under Jack Dragna, 299 00:19:59,328 --> 00:20:02,331 Roselli gets involved, being the liaison 300 00:20:02,418 --> 00:20:05,247 for the Los Angeles family with Chicago 301 00:20:05,334 --> 00:20:07,771 for the extortion of Hollywood. 302 00:20:07,858 --> 00:20:09,947 And he was exceptional at that. 303 00:20:13,299 --> 00:20:15,344 Being among that Hollywood crowd, 304 00:20:15,431 --> 00:20:18,521 you know, dating actresses, he lived that lifestyle. 305 00:20:20,436 --> 00:20:24,745 So he had a lot of clout and notoriety and influence. 306 00:20:24,832 --> 00:20:26,877 But he was running the Hollywood extortion scam, 307 00:20:26,964 --> 00:20:29,228 and that's why he goes to prison. 308 00:20:29,315 --> 00:20:31,447 Now, he gets out in 1947. 309 00:20:31,534 --> 00:20:35,016 And in 1948, Bryan Foy hires him on 310 00:20:35,103 --> 00:20:39,325 as an assistant purchasing agent over at Eagle-Lion. 311 00:20:39,412 --> 00:20:42,023 He genuinely wanted to learn the business. 312 00:20:42,110 --> 00:20:45,200 In the census records, 1950, he put his profession-- 313 00:20:45,287 --> 00:20:47,637 you know, he's a scriptwriter. 314 00:20:47,724 --> 00:20:50,553 And then, finally, he became an associate producer 315 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,774 and was involved with several different studios 316 00:20:53,861 --> 00:20:55,602 in '51 and '52. 317 00:20:55,689 --> 00:20:57,125 And they made B pictures. 318 00:21:04,045 --> 00:21:06,482 These are people that are writing their own stories 319 00:21:06,569 --> 00:21:08,005 even while they're living them. 320 00:21:12,358 --> 00:21:13,881 Throughout all this time, 321 00:21:13,968 --> 00:21:18,059 Johnny Roselli was affiliated with the Los Angeles Mafia. 322 00:21:18,146 --> 00:21:22,324 And then in 1956, after Jack Dragna died, 323 00:21:22,411 --> 00:21:24,500 Roselli transferred his membership 324 00:21:24,587 --> 00:21:26,372 to the Chicago Outfit 325 00:21:26,459 --> 00:21:29,244 and started working with Sam Giancana. 326 00:21:29,331 --> 00:21:32,421 Roselli was a guy who had charm. 327 00:21:32,508 --> 00:21:34,075 That's what separated him 328 00:21:34,162 --> 00:21:36,295 from a lot of the other guys who got their start 329 00:21:36,382 --> 00:21:39,515 in illegal booze during Prohibition. 330 00:21:39,602 --> 00:21:42,649 He saw himself as one of Hollywood. 331 00:21:48,002 --> 00:21:50,396 So this Fontainebleau meeting with Sam Giancana 332 00:21:50,483 --> 00:21:54,138 and Santo Trafficante and Johnny Roselli and Bob Maheu, 333 00:21:54,225 --> 00:21:55,836 I call this, like, the kicking off point, 334 00:21:55,923 --> 00:21:57,620 'cause after this, the U.S. government 335 00:21:57,707 --> 00:21:59,709 now is involved with the Mafia. 336 00:22:08,109 --> 00:22:11,939 I can't emphasize enough how important it was for the CIA 337 00:22:12,026 --> 00:22:15,159 to keep this all very top secret. 338 00:22:15,246 --> 00:22:18,249 They don't want to say words like "murder" or "killing" 339 00:22:18,337 --> 00:22:20,382 or certainly not "assassination." 340 00:22:20,469 --> 00:22:23,820 They actually refer to certain players as A, 341 00:22:23,907 --> 00:22:26,606 as B, as C. 342 00:22:26,693 --> 00:22:28,390 There's always this buffer, 343 00:22:28,477 --> 00:22:31,088 this degree of plausible deniability. 344 00:22:36,006 --> 00:22:37,921 The assassination plot using the Mafia 345 00:22:38,008 --> 00:22:41,882 was supposed to disrupt the control Fidel Castro had 346 00:22:41,969 --> 00:22:43,666 over the society. 347 00:22:43,753 --> 00:22:46,147 It was supposed to make Cuba ripe 348 00:22:46,234 --> 00:22:49,150 for a victorious invasion force, 349 00:22:49,237 --> 00:22:52,501 training Florida, New Orleans, Guatemala. 350 00:23:03,469 --> 00:23:05,862 At this point, to assassinate Castro, 351 00:23:05,949 --> 00:23:08,691 the CIA, at the behest of the Mafia, 352 00:23:08,778 --> 00:23:12,565 decided to put poison pills into his coffee 353 00:23:12,652 --> 00:23:14,654 or into his bouillon. 354 00:23:14,741 --> 00:23:18,962 The CIA's expert in poison was Sidney Gottlieb. 355 00:23:19,049 --> 00:23:20,573 Sidney Gottlieb was probably 356 00:23:20,660 --> 00:23:22,836 the most powerful unknown American 357 00:23:22,923 --> 00:23:24,707 of the 20th century. 358 00:23:24,794 --> 00:23:28,450 He had a license to kill issued by the U.S. government 359 00:23:28,537 --> 00:23:31,148 and carried out clandestine experiments 360 00:23:31,235 --> 00:23:33,455 that resulted in torture and death in many countries 361 00:23:33,542 --> 00:23:35,457 around the world. 362 00:23:35,544 --> 00:23:37,111 He was, 363 00:23:37,198 --> 00:23:39,635 as the head of the chemical division of the CIA, 364 00:23:39,722 --> 00:23:42,116 America's poisoner in chief. 365 00:23:46,250 --> 00:23:48,209 The CIA has a laboratory. 366 00:23:48,296 --> 00:23:50,516 They started working on these pills. 367 00:23:50,603 --> 00:23:53,475 And this was at the point where Roselli then 368 00:23:53,562 --> 00:23:56,260 was tapping into the Cuban exile community 369 00:23:56,347 --> 00:23:59,307 and trying to work an arrangement with them 370 00:23:59,394 --> 00:24:03,485 to where they could go in with these pills and kill Castro. 371 00:24:14,322 --> 00:24:17,107 Miami-- gateway to revolution. 372 00:24:19,153 --> 00:24:21,547 Miami at this time was full of people 373 00:24:21,634 --> 00:24:23,070 who had fled from Cuba 374 00:24:23,157 --> 00:24:25,159 because they hated what Castro was doing there. 375 00:24:31,731 --> 00:24:34,647 People move there, especially the landowners 376 00:24:34,734 --> 00:24:36,475 and the wealthy, 377 00:24:36,562 --> 00:24:39,216 because they were stripped of their land. 378 00:24:39,303 --> 00:24:42,263 Just 90 miles away, Miami feels the backwash 379 00:24:42,350 --> 00:24:43,656 of the Revolution. 380 00:24:53,317 --> 00:24:55,406 It becomes the location 381 00:24:55,494 --> 00:24:58,758 for all the anti-Castro activity. 382 00:25:03,458 --> 00:25:05,155 Being in Little Havana, 383 00:25:05,242 --> 00:25:08,724 Johnny Roselli is ingratiating himself with these groups. 384 00:25:08,811 --> 00:25:11,771 Santo Trafficante already knows some of these figures 385 00:25:11,858 --> 00:25:13,120 because these are guys that were living 386 00:25:13,207 --> 00:25:14,861 the high life in Havana. 387 00:25:14,948 --> 00:25:16,732 They have nothing in Miami. 388 00:25:16,819 --> 00:25:19,082 Now they have the opportunity to join in these efforts 389 00:25:19,169 --> 00:25:21,737 to get back there. 390 00:25:21,824 --> 00:25:24,914 The most important of the Cuban exile figures 391 00:25:25,001 --> 00:25:28,352 that he meets is Manuel Artime. 392 00:25:28,439 --> 00:25:32,443 Manuel Artime is a young leader of the Cuban exiles 393 00:25:32,531 --> 00:25:37,013 and was probably the favorite Cuban exile of the CIA. 394 00:25:38,537 --> 00:25:41,322 Manuel Artime, people call the Golden Boy of the CIA, 395 00:25:41,409 --> 00:25:43,324 even though he didn't speak any English. 396 00:25:43,411 --> 00:25:46,327 He looked like a movie star in a way. 397 00:25:46,414 --> 00:25:48,982 And Johnny gets to know him. 398 00:25:49,069 --> 00:25:52,899 The agency said in documents compiled in 1977, 399 00:25:52,986 --> 00:25:56,642 Artime and his group were supported by CIA. 400 00:25:56,729 --> 00:26:00,733 He was also used by the Mafia in the Castro operation. 401 00:26:00,820 --> 00:26:03,866 This information should not be released. 402 00:26:03,953 --> 00:26:06,216 What are you doing with this outfit, Angus? 403 00:26:06,303 --> 00:26:08,218 Well, it seems to be some sort of a job 404 00:26:08,305 --> 00:26:11,700 that has to be done in Cuba to rid Cuba of communism. 405 00:26:11,787 --> 00:26:13,746 It's not just one exile group. 406 00:26:13,833 --> 00:26:16,444 Dade County Sheriff counted over 100 different exile groups 407 00:26:16,531 --> 00:26:18,185 that were active in South Florida 408 00:26:18,272 --> 00:26:20,840 during this time period. 409 00:26:20,927 --> 00:26:22,668 You had the Movement for the Restoration 410 00:26:22,755 --> 00:26:24,757 of the Revolution of Democracy, 411 00:26:24,844 --> 00:26:27,194 the Pro-Democracy Revolutionary Movement. 412 00:26:27,281 --> 00:26:29,196 I mean, they all had similar-sounding names. 413 00:26:29,283 --> 00:26:31,546 They all had their charismatic leaders. 414 00:26:31,633 --> 00:26:33,287 They all were competing with each other. 415 00:26:33,374 --> 00:26:37,987 It was a rollicking Wild West of an environment. 416 00:26:44,820 --> 00:26:46,909 I grew up on a farm in Cuba. 417 00:26:46,996 --> 00:26:51,653 And the Castro family lived to the east of us. 418 00:26:51,740 --> 00:26:55,178 And right after Castro won in '59, 419 00:26:55,265 --> 00:26:58,051 the older kids would tell us, you know, 420 00:26:58,138 --> 00:27:00,749 Fidel's going to take it all away from you. 421 00:27:00,836 --> 00:27:04,100 And eventually he did. 422 00:27:04,187 --> 00:27:06,842 So my family moved to Miami. 423 00:27:06,929 --> 00:27:09,715 And my brother Bobby had gotten involved 424 00:27:09,802 --> 00:27:11,891 with an anti-Castro group. 425 00:27:18,332 --> 00:27:19,855 He had to leave Cuba. 426 00:27:19,942 --> 00:27:22,118 The communists were going to do him in. 427 00:27:22,205 --> 00:27:23,946 So he left. 428 00:27:24,033 --> 00:27:26,079 Bobby got into the Marines. 429 00:27:26,166 --> 00:27:30,431 He wasn't a boy anymore. He came back more serious. 430 00:27:30,518 --> 00:27:31,954 And he went to Cuba right away 431 00:27:32,041 --> 00:27:35,915 with an organized group to take down Castro. 432 00:27:40,528 --> 00:27:42,835 I remember that night, 433 00:27:42,922 --> 00:27:47,100 the CIA was at the house with Bobby. 434 00:27:47,187 --> 00:27:49,102 And I was in the room. 435 00:27:49,189 --> 00:27:51,757 And they said, okay, it's going to be tonight. 436 00:27:54,629 --> 00:27:57,588 On September 26, 1960, 437 00:27:57,676 --> 00:28:01,157 Tony Zarba, Bobby Fuller, Allen Dale Thompson, 438 00:28:01,244 --> 00:28:03,551 they loaded a boat... 439 00:28:03,638 --> 00:28:05,466 and they left for Cuba. 440 00:28:11,211 --> 00:28:13,822 When they got there, they landed 30 miles away 441 00:28:13,909 --> 00:28:16,303 from where they were supposed to land. 442 00:28:19,393 --> 00:28:21,612 I heard it on the radio. 443 00:28:21,700 --> 00:28:25,051 It was the Cuban radio that gave out the news. 444 00:28:25,138 --> 00:28:26,879 And they said that the group 445 00:28:26,966 --> 00:28:29,098 that had invaded the north coast of Cuba 446 00:28:29,185 --> 00:28:32,188 had been captured. 447 00:28:32,275 --> 00:28:33,929 It was a terrible feeling. 448 00:28:36,715 --> 00:28:39,326 They executed Tony and Allen Dale 449 00:28:39,413 --> 00:28:40,893 as they picked them up, 450 00:28:40,980 --> 00:28:42,851 but there was a big show that they put on 451 00:28:42,938 --> 00:28:45,158 for the execution of Bobby. 452 00:28:47,116 --> 00:28:51,207 At the execution, my uncle Clyde was there. 453 00:28:51,294 --> 00:28:54,341 He said there were hundreds of people at the stadium. 454 00:28:57,344 --> 00:29:00,521 Clyde told me that it was more like a parade. 455 00:29:02,566 --> 00:29:05,091 Clyde said that they brought Bobby out 456 00:29:05,178 --> 00:29:07,615 and that Bobby was shaking. 457 00:29:07,702 --> 00:29:09,660 He could hardly hold his weight. 458 00:29:09,748 --> 00:29:11,314 His knees were wobbling. 459 00:29:11,401 --> 00:29:14,535 It looked like he had urinated in his pants. 460 00:29:14,622 --> 00:29:16,667 And he looked very pale. 461 00:29:16,755 --> 00:29:19,932 But Clyde said that's standard execution procedure 462 00:29:20,019 --> 00:29:21,585 the Spaniards use all the time. 463 00:29:21,672 --> 00:29:23,587 They pumped you full of water. 464 00:29:23,674 --> 00:29:25,894 They drugged you, and they made you look 465 00:29:25,981 --> 00:29:28,723 like you're afraid to die. 466 00:29:28,810 --> 00:29:31,378 When they put him up there to be executed, 467 00:29:31,465 --> 00:29:33,467 he took his blindfold off. 468 00:29:33,554 --> 00:29:36,165 And he stood there, and they executed him. 469 00:29:45,784 --> 00:29:48,177 When he landed on the ground, he was shaking a lot. 470 00:29:48,264 --> 00:29:50,005 One of the soldiers walked up to him 471 00:29:50,092 --> 00:29:52,051 and shot him in the back of the head. 472 00:29:54,531 --> 00:29:56,272 And that stopped that. 473 00:30:05,542 --> 00:30:07,457 It really is a message 474 00:30:07,544 --> 00:30:10,460 that anybody who tries this type of attempt 475 00:30:10,547 --> 00:30:12,462 to kill Fidel Castro 476 00:30:12,549 --> 00:30:15,422 will face these same type of consequences. 477 00:30:21,732 --> 00:30:24,561 One of the things that you'd see again and again 478 00:30:24,648 --> 00:30:27,173 with these efforts to get Castro 479 00:30:27,260 --> 00:30:30,306 is that he seemed to be always one step ahead. 480 00:30:30,393 --> 00:30:32,961 And by that, it's not so much Castro was one step ahead, 481 00:30:33,048 --> 00:30:35,050 as his own security forces. 482 00:30:35,137 --> 00:30:38,010 They were on top of protecting their leader. 483 00:30:38,097 --> 00:30:40,273 And they were very, very effective. 484 00:30:53,895 --> 00:30:56,855 Castro swung closely in line with the communist bloc 485 00:30:56,942 --> 00:30:59,466 and seized almost all United States property 486 00:30:59,553 --> 00:31:01,294 in Cuba. 487 00:31:01,381 --> 00:31:03,513 In August 1960, 488 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:06,865 Castro starts expropriating American businesses. 489 00:31:06,952 --> 00:31:09,868 The U.S. then established a full-scale embargo. 490 00:31:09,955 --> 00:31:12,740 And so a country which had been so embedded 491 00:31:12,827 --> 00:31:14,524 in U.S. trade networks 492 00:31:14,611 --> 00:31:17,310 and had such a huge presence of American companies 493 00:31:17,397 --> 00:31:20,617 all of a sudden had lost its major trading partner. 494 00:31:34,283 --> 00:31:38,287 The embargo was explicitly to create deprivation, 495 00:31:38,374 --> 00:31:42,422 hunger, and upheaval against Castro. 496 00:31:55,870 --> 00:31:58,133 Castro started to reach out 497 00:31:58,220 --> 00:32:00,396 to the Soviet Union for support. 498 00:32:02,746 --> 00:32:06,054 The Soviet Union says, tovarisch, comrade, 499 00:32:06,141 --> 00:32:07,403 what can we do for you? 500 00:32:07,490 --> 00:32:08,927 How can we help you? 501 00:32:11,016 --> 00:32:14,671 They helped train what becomes the DGI, 502 00:32:14,758 --> 00:32:17,370 the General Intelligence Directorate, 503 00:32:17,457 --> 00:32:20,068 which establishes itself 504 00:32:20,155 --> 00:32:22,462 as a very effective spy organization. 505 00:32:25,204 --> 00:32:27,510 Castro made sure that some of the people 506 00:32:27,597 --> 00:32:29,860 who came over as anti-Castro Cubans 507 00:32:29,948 --> 00:32:31,688 were really his agents. 508 00:32:36,519 --> 00:32:38,565 So it was a real hotbed here-- 509 00:32:38,652 --> 00:32:41,568 never knowing which ones were real 510 00:32:41,655 --> 00:32:43,222 and which ones weren't. 511 00:32:58,454 --> 00:33:00,761 Your candidates for the most important office 512 00:33:00,848 --> 00:33:04,112 in the free world seek your votes in this vital campaign. 513 00:33:04,199 --> 00:33:05,853 In 1960, 514 00:33:05,940 --> 00:33:08,595 Massachusetts senator John F. Kennedy 515 00:33:08,682 --> 00:33:12,294 runs against Eisenhower's vice president, Richard Nixon. 516 00:33:13,861 --> 00:33:15,167 Castro is a Marxist. 517 00:33:15,254 --> 00:33:16,690 We never were on the side of freedom. 518 00:33:16,777 --> 00:33:18,213 We never used our influence 519 00:33:18,300 --> 00:33:20,041 when we could have used it most effectively. 520 00:33:20,128 --> 00:33:22,217 And today Cuba is lost for freedom. 521 00:33:22,304 --> 00:33:26,439 Kennedy was so obsessed with Castro. 522 00:33:26,526 --> 00:33:28,702 Castro was such a personification 523 00:33:28,789 --> 00:33:31,226 of every single thing that Kennedy hated. 524 00:33:31,313 --> 00:33:33,924 I think he just thought he was a scumbag. 525 00:33:37,319 --> 00:33:40,148 JFK and Frank Sinatra first meet 526 00:33:40,235 --> 00:33:42,585 at the Democratic Convention in 1956 527 00:33:42,672 --> 00:33:45,371 and are instantly drawn to each other. 528 00:33:45,458 --> 00:33:47,503 And what Jack Kennedy sees in Frank Sinatra 529 00:33:47,590 --> 00:33:49,505 is the future-- 530 00:33:49,592 --> 00:33:53,857 the coming together of politics and entertainment. 531 00:33:56,556 --> 00:33:58,558 This was a very close election. 532 00:33:58,645 --> 00:34:01,430 So, to help with the vote, John Kennedy hitched the wagon 533 00:34:01,517 --> 00:34:03,258 to the star of Sinatra. 534 00:34:11,310 --> 00:34:15,662 Sinatra did so much to help get JFK elected president. 535 00:34:15,749 --> 00:34:17,968 He and Jimmy Van Heusen, 536 00:34:18,056 --> 00:34:20,928 they did this "High Hopes" parody, 537 00:34:21,015 --> 00:34:23,235 and that became the campaign theme song. 538 00:34:32,287 --> 00:34:34,072 All the polls show that this election 539 00:34:34,159 --> 00:34:36,552 is going to be impossibly close. 540 00:34:36,639 --> 00:34:38,685 So every vote counts, and the state of Illinois 541 00:34:38,772 --> 00:34:42,384 now is seen as a very crucial state. 542 00:34:42,471 --> 00:34:44,908 Joe Kennedy, who wants desperately 543 00:34:44,995 --> 00:34:47,650 to have his son elected president of the United States, 544 00:34:47,737 --> 00:34:49,565 knows Sam Giancana 545 00:34:49,652 --> 00:34:52,873 but can't be seen with Sam Giancana. 546 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:56,616 So Joe Kennedy goes to Frank Sinatra and says, 547 00:34:56,703 --> 00:35:00,228 look, I need you to go to Giancana and ask for his help. 548 00:35:00,315 --> 00:35:03,188 I need him to work all his magic 549 00:35:03,275 --> 00:35:05,494 around Chicago to get my son elected 550 00:35:05,581 --> 00:35:08,454 by any means necessary. 551 00:35:08,541 --> 00:35:12,936 Giancana was incredibly close to Frank Sinatra. 552 00:35:13,023 --> 00:35:15,896 In the early '50s, Giancana and Sinatra 553 00:35:15,983 --> 00:35:17,637 meet at a charity event. 554 00:35:17,724 --> 00:35:19,378 And around a year later, 555 00:35:19,465 --> 00:35:23,643 they exchanged star-sapphire friendship pinkie rings. 556 00:35:23,730 --> 00:35:26,341 They had a ball together-- 557 00:35:26,428 --> 00:35:28,778 the way they would kid each other. 558 00:35:28,865 --> 00:35:32,347 They both, I think, truly liked each other. 559 00:35:34,001 --> 00:35:37,918 Frank was a big fan of the wiseguys. 560 00:35:38,005 --> 00:35:40,355 And Frank used to say, 561 00:35:40,442 --> 00:35:42,531 I hung around with wiseguys 562 00:35:42,618 --> 00:35:44,925 because that's who owned the nightclubs. 563 00:35:45,012 --> 00:35:48,320 If the nightclubs were owned by cardinals and monsignors, 564 00:35:48,407 --> 00:35:49,756 I would have been hanging around 565 00:35:49,843 --> 00:35:52,628 with cardinals and monsignors. 566 00:35:52,715 --> 00:35:56,719 Starting 1947 until about 1953, 567 00:35:56,806 --> 00:35:58,373 five or six years, 568 00:35:58,460 --> 00:36:01,420 it is the bleak period in Sinatra's career, 569 00:36:01,507 --> 00:36:04,684 when suddenly he becomes infamous instead of famous. 570 00:36:04,771 --> 00:36:06,251 His records stopped selling. 571 00:36:06,338 --> 00:36:09,167 He is dropped by MGM, his movie studio, 572 00:36:09,254 --> 00:36:10,690 dropped by Columbia Records. 573 00:36:10,777 --> 00:36:12,518 He's dropped by his management. 574 00:36:12,605 --> 00:36:15,434 Drop, drop, drop. 575 00:36:15,521 --> 00:36:17,958 One of the few people that was still behind him 576 00:36:18,045 --> 00:36:19,699 was Sam Giancana. 577 00:36:19,786 --> 00:36:24,443 Sam was making sure that Sinatra still got booked 578 00:36:24,530 --> 00:36:28,447 in places that Giancana controlled or influenced. 579 00:36:28,534 --> 00:36:32,233 So Sinatra was always very loyal to Giancana. 580 00:36:34,496 --> 00:36:37,891 Frank tells Joe that he can get this done. 581 00:36:37,978 --> 00:36:41,677 And he goes to Giancana and asks this favor. 582 00:36:43,505 --> 00:36:48,075 Giancana believes that he can actually tilt the tables a bit 583 00:36:48,162 --> 00:36:51,687 and get Jack Kennedy all kinds of votes 584 00:36:51,774 --> 00:36:53,167 in the Chicago area. 585 00:37:00,305 --> 00:37:01,915 Not till the middle of the next day 586 00:37:02,002 --> 00:37:03,438 was the victory clinched 587 00:37:03,525 --> 00:37:05,919 by one of the closest margins recorded-- 588 00:37:06,006 --> 00:37:08,791 a plurality of barely over 300,000. 589 00:37:08,878 --> 00:37:10,663 This election 590 00:37:10,750 --> 00:37:13,274 was one of the closest in American history. 591 00:37:13,361 --> 00:37:14,797 Illinois is one of those states 592 00:37:14,884 --> 00:37:19,237 that's won by a razor-thin margin by Jack Kennedy. 593 00:37:19,324 --> 00:37:21,848 The vote in the first ward, 594 00:37:21,935 --> 00:37:25,634 that ward was the breeding ground of the Mob in Chicago. 595 00:37:25,721 --> 00:37:27,767 And that year it went to the Democratic party 596 00:37:27,854 --> 00:37:30,770 with a vote of something like 85%. 597 00:37:30,857 --> 00:37:33,773 The election may have been a close one. 598 00:37:33,860 --> 00:37:36,863 But a supreme national effort will be needed 599 00:37:36,950 --> 00:37:40,388 to move this country safely through the 1960s. 600 00:37:40,475 --> 00:37:41,955 I ask... 601 00:37:42,042 --> 00:37:44,740 The Mob certainly felt like it had helped him 602 00:37:44,827 --> 00:37:47,177 become president. 603 00:37:47,265 --> 00:37:49,267 And people like Sam Giancana 604 00:37:49,354 --> 00:37:51,094 and many others thought, this is great. 605 00:37:51,181 --> 00:37:52,835 This is the best thing for us. 606 00:37:52,922 --> 00:37:55,925 You know, JFK is going to leave us alone. 607 00:37:56,012 --> 00:37:57,231 To attest the shattering 608 00:37:57,318 --> 00:37:58,972 of a long-standing political taboo. 609 00:37:59,059 --> 00:38:01,235 This is vapor paper. 610 00:38:01,322 --> 00:38:03,672 Writing messages to our agents. 611 00:38:03,759 --> 00:38:05,283 Drop it in water. 612 00:38:05,370 --> 00:38:06,893 Astonishing. 613 00:38:06,980 --> 00:38:09,504 Get your 007 secret-agent pen 614 00:38:09,591 --> 00:38:11,898 and disappearing vapor paper. 615 00:38:11,985 --> 00:38:13,900 You'll get a bang out of it. 616 00:38:13,987 --> 00:38:17,512 During this time period, James Bond is a sensation. 617 00:38:21,473 --> 00:38:25,651 And the James Bond novels really did influence JFK. 618 00:38:27,827 --> 00:38:31,265 When President Kennedy was asked to choose 619 00:38:31,352 --> 00:38:33,963 his ten favorite books of all time, 620 00:38:34,050 --> 00:38:36,270 he listed "From Russia with Love" 621 00:38:36,357 --> 00:38:37,967 by Ian Fleming. 622 00:38:40,622 --> 00:38:42,885 "It's not just a question of blowing up a building 623 00:38:42,972 --> 00:38:44,539 "or shooting a prime minister. 624 00:38:44,626 --> 00:38:48,021 "Such bourgeois horseplay is not contemplated. 625 00:38:48,108 --> 00:38:52,547 Our operation must be delicate, refined." 626 00:38:52,634 --> 00:38:54,549 Bond... 627 00:38:54,636 --> 00:38:58,031 that smooth, cool-- 628 00:38:58,118 --> 00:39:01,817 not about blowing things up, it's about being smart. 629 00:39:01,904 --> 00:39:05,255 Kennedy resonated with him tremendously. 630 00:39:05,343 --> 00:39:06,822 Just before he became president, 631 00:39:06,909 --> 00:39:08,868 Kennedy had a dinner party 632 00:39:08,955 --> 00:39:12,437 in which one of the guests was his hero, Ian Fleming. 633 00:39:14,221 --> 00:39:16,397 Ian Fleming had been a British spy who, 634 00:39:16,484 --> 00:39:19,139 during World War II, consulted with the Americans 635 00:39:19,226 --> 00:39:21,881 in creating their own intelligence service, 636 00:39:21,968 --> 00:39:24,797 which eventually becomes the CIA. 637 00:39:24,884 --> 00:39:28,148 Kennedy asks, what is the best way 638 00:39:28,235 --> 00:39:31,238 to neutralize Castro? 639 00:39:31,325 --> 00:39:33,936 Fleming's answer was, 640 00:39:34,023 --> 00:39:38,245 the way to take him down is ridicule, chiefly. 641 00:39:38,332 --> 00:39:40,639 The worst thing that could happen to you 642 00:39:40,726 --> 00:39:44,643 is to really be ridiculed, to be embarrassed. 643 00:39:44,730 --> 00:39:46,862 The idea sounds very far-fetched. 644 00:39:46,949 --> 00:39:49,082 He'd thought about printing out leaflets saying, 645 00:39:49,169 --> 00:39:50,953 these American nuclear tests, 646 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:53,956 it will be attracted to beards and may lead to impotence. 647 00:39:54,043 --> 00:39:57,177 And Kennedy, he said, so what will they do? 648 00:39:57,264 --> 00:39:59,397 Well, the men will shave their beards, including Castro. 649 00:39:59,484 --> 00:40:01,877 And then he'll have lost his macho image. 650 00:40:01,964 --> 00:40:04,053 He'll just be any other guy. 651 00:40:04,140 --> 00:40:07,100 I think Kennedy loved that perspective. 652 00:40:07,187 --> 00:40:10,451 Kennedy wished that the CIA was more like James Bond. 653 00:40:10,538 --> 00:40:13,236 You had these different iconic images. 654 00:40:13,323 --> 00:40:16,501 And that then bled in from entertainment 655 00:40:16,588 --> 00:40:18,590 into the real world. 656 00:40:18,677 --> 00:40:21,244 Jackie Kennedy even gives Allen Dulles 657 00:40:21,331 --> 00:40:23,682 a copy of "From Russia with Love" 658 00:40:23,769 --> 00:40:25,901 and says, you know, you should maybe think 659 00:40:25,988 --> 00:40:29,122 about using some of the ideas in this book at the CIA. 660 00:40:33,039 --> 00:40:35,520 Allen Dulles is very concerned whether or not he's going 661 00:40:35,607 --> 00:40:38,523 to remain as the CIA Director. 662 00:40:38,610 --> 00:40:40,960 Dulles was kind of cherry-picking ideas 663 00:40:41,047 --> 00:40:43,441 from the Bond novels and then trying to get 664 00:40:43,528 --> 00:40:47,401 his science and technology Q-types to build them. 665 00:40:49,838 --> 00:40:51,927 The CIA's Technical Services Division 666 00:40:52,014 --> 00:40:55,104 was the equivalent of the James Bond laboratory 667 00:40:55,191 --> 00:40:56,628 which made all the gadgetry. 668 00:40:58,673 --> 00:41:02,460 They considered exploding cigars... 669 00:41:04,113 --> 00:41:06,725 Poison cigars... 670 00:41:06,812 --> 00:41:10,555 poison pens that you would actually prick Fidel with 671 00:41:10,642 --> 00:41:13,732 that would have a hidden hypodermic needle in it. 672 00:41:13,819 --> 00:41:16,517 They were going to put LSD on a microphone 673 00:41:16,604 --> 00:41:19,694 when he went to give his regular weekly radio address 674 00:41:19,781 --> 00:41:21,783 so that he'd get high during the address 675 00:41:21,870 --> 00:41:25,178 and he'd start bumbling like a fool. 676 00:41:25,265 --> 00:41:27,049 One idea that came up 677 00:41:27,136 --> 00:41:30,357 was to, like, have these gigantic fireworks displays 678 00:41:30,444 --> 00:41:32,751 that would somehow convince Cubans 679 00:41:32,838 --> 00:41:34,535 that it was the second coming of Christ. 680 00:41:36,668 --> 00:41:39,932 It sounds crazy, but that's the mood 681 00:41:40,019 --> 00:41:42,717 that had taken over at the CIA. 682 00:41:42,804 --> 00:41:44,502 In the end, 683 00:41:44,589 --> 00:41:47,505 these crazy ideas didn't turn out to be practical, 684 00:41:47,592 --> 00:41:50,116 so they stuck with poison pills. 685 00:42:06,785 --> 00:42:08,221 Johnny Roselli 686 00:42:08,308 --> 00:42:11,180 is in the Cuban exile community in Miami 687 00:42:11,267 --> 00:42:12,747 trying to find a contact 688 00:42:12,834 --> 00:42:15,707 to carry out the plot to kill Castro. 689 00:42:15,794 --> 00:42:17,535 In Little Havana, 690 00:42:17,622 --> 00:42:19,667 one of the people that Johnny relies on 691 00:42:19,754 --> 00:42:22,670 is Tony Varona. 692 00:42:22,757 --> 00:42:25,760 Tony Varona was a Cuban politician 693 00:42:25,847 --> 00:42:28,589 who was pushed out of Cuba by Castro. 694 00:42:28,676 --> 00:42:33,028 And he was one of the leaders of the Cuban exiles in Florida 695 00:42:33,115 --> 00:42:36,771 trying to get rid of Castro and get back into Cuba. 696 00:42:56,138 --> 00:42:59,446 Santo Trafficante, Maheu, and Roselli 697 00:42:59,533 --> 00:43:01,535 meet at Varona's house in Miami, 698 00:43:01,622 --> 00:43:04,016 and they read him into the plot. 699 00:43:05,757 --> 00:43:08,716 Varona knows someone who can get 700 00:43:08,803 --> 00:43:12,372 the CIA's poison pills into Fidel's bloodstream. 701 00:43:16,245 --> 00:43:18,204 That was Juan Orta. 702 00:43:18,291 --> 00:43:21,903 Juan Orta was very close to Castro. 703 00:43:21,990 --> 00:43:25,167 He was director general for the Castro regime. 704 00:43:25,254 --> 00:43:26,995 He was connected enough 705 00:43:27,082 --> 00:43:30,912 that he could drop some kind of pill into Castro's drink. 706 00:43:54,109 --> 00:43:58,070 Maheu then brings the pills to Miami, 707 00:43:58,157 --> 00:44:02,596 where Roselli and Giancana and Trafficante are meeting 708 00:44:02,683 --> 00:44:05,381 with some of these exiles. 709 00:44:10,909 --> 00:44:13,651 You have Johnny and Sam Giancana 710 00:44:13,738 --> 00:44:16,131 and Santo Trafficante all there 711 00:44:16,218 --> 00:44:19,047 to see Frank Sinatra performing. 712 00:44:29,754 --> 00:44:32,191 Giancana was aware that Sinatra 713 00:44:32,278 --> 00:44:34,280 was kind of like a fanboy for him, 714 00:44:34,367 --> 00:44:35,411 but he wanted to make sure 715 00:44:35,498 --> 00:44:37,413 that he didn't have Sinatra around 716 00:44:37,500 --> 00:44:40,416 when they were talking about the plans to kill Castro. 717 00:44:40,503 --> 00:44:42,201 He tells the other mobsters, 718 00:44:42,288 --> 00:44:45,247 don't say anything about this in front of Sinatra. 719 00:44:45,334 --> 00:44:47,206 He's got a big mouth. 720 00:44:51,079 --> 00:44:52,951 Eventually, after the show, 721 00:44:53,038 --> 00:44:55,605 Maheu arrives at the Fontainebleau. 722 00:44:55,693 --> 00:45:00,175 And he's got another guy named Joe Shimon with him. 723 00:45:00,262 --> 00:45:02,177 Maheu's associate, Joe Shimon, 724 00:45:02,264 --> 00:45:05,050 was a crooked Washington cop who befriended Roselli, too. 725 00:45:08,706 --> 00:45:10,620 They all go up to a hotel room. 726 00:45:16,017 --> 00:45:18,890 And inside, who's waiting for them? 727 00:45:18,977 --> 00:45:21,762 Tony Varona. 728 00:45:21,849 --> 00:45:24,983 Traficante was there to translate. 729 00:45:25,070 --> 00:45:27,768 Maheu opens up this attaché case. 730 00:45:29,944 --> 00:45:32,033 There's $10,000 731 00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:35,645 and these poison pills going to Juan Orta. 732 00:45:39,258 --> 00:45:41,347 While all this was going down, 733 00:45:41,434 --> 00:45:43,958 Sinatra calls up to the hotel room. 734 00:45:46,221 --> 00:45:49,137 Sam realizes that it's Sinatra, 735 00:45:49,224 --> 00:45:51,400 and he tells everyone to ignore it. 736 00:45:55,578 --> 00:45:57,319 Joe Shimon said, 737 00:45:57,406 --> 00:45:59,800 "Frank must have called our suite 20 times trying 738 00:45:59,887 --> 00:46:01,367 "to get together with Sam. 739 00:46:01,454 --> 00:46:03,804 He wouldn't leave Sam alone." 740 00:46:07,460 --> 00:46:10,245 Frank Sinatra was fascinated by Giancana, 741 00:46:10,332 --> 00:46:13,640 but Giancana has business on his mind. 742 00:46:15,337 --> 00:46:17,818 After a time, the pills were delivered to Cuba. 743 00:46:17,905 --> 00:46:21,213 Now, with these pills in his possession, 744 00:46:21,300 --> 00:46:23,432 Juan Orta is going to find the best opportunity 745 00:46:23,519 --> 00:46:25,478 to do the deed. 746 00:46:38,491 --> 00:46:41,233 So, one night, Johnny Roselli's eating dinner 747 00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:43,888 in Hollywood. 748 00:46:43,975 --> 00:46:46,804 It's been quite a while since Johnny's heard anything 749 00:46:46,891 --> 00:46:50,242 about the attempt to poison Castro. 750 00:46:58,424 --> 00:47:02,036 Johnny gets a message to call Tony Varona. 751 00:47:17,312 --> 00:47:20,272 On the phone, Roselli finds out this guy Juan Orta 752 00:47:20,359 --> 00:47:22,274 seems to get cold feet. 753 00:47:26,626 --> 00:47:30,282 Orta is not able to implement this plan. 754 00:47:30,369 --> 00:47:32,066 He wants to bail out. 755 00:47:35,678 --> 00:47:37,811 He was nervous about getting caught. 756 00:47:37,898 --> 00:47:40,292 So that idea fell apart. 757 00:47:43,469 --> 00:47:46,907 Now the whole process had to start all over again. 758 00:47:50,476 --> 00:47:53,218 Part of the CIA's plan, the assassination of Castro, 759 00:47:53,305 --> 00:47:55,437 so far had failed. 760 00:47:55,524 --> 00:47:58,092 Part two... 761 00:47:58,179 --> 00:48:00,268 the invasion of Cuba-- 762 00:48:00,355 --> 00:48:02,531 soon to be known as the Bay of Pigs-- 763 00:48:02,618 --> 00:48:05,883 was still full speed ahead. 764 00:48:05,970 --> 00:48:08,146 After Kennedy took office, 765 00:48:08,233 --> 00:48:10,365 he quickly reappointed Allen Dulles 766 00:48:10,452 --> 00:48:13,542 as head of the CIA. 767 00:48:13,629 --> 00:48:15,980 Kennedy immediately is presented 768 00:48:16,067 --> 00:48:20,506 with the well-developed plan for the invasion. 769 00:48:20,593 --> 00:48:22,116 Allen Dulles tells him, 770 00:48:22,203 --> 00:48:24,902 we have hundreds of Cuban exiles 771 00:48:24,989 --> 00:48:28,601 being trained in Guatemala and Fort Knox and New Orleans. 772 00:48:30,690 --> 00:48:34,520 Kennedy, he came in a young man, smart fellow. 773 00:48:34,607 --> 00:48:37,218 He knew foreign policy, but to go up 774 00:48:37,305 --> 00:48:39,960 against the national security apparatus, 775 00:48:40,047 --> 00:48:42,528 I think, is rather intimidating for anybody. 776 00:48:42,615 --> 00:48:45,879 So Kennedy is sandbagged into going along 777 00:48:45,966 --> 00:48:48,186 with the Bay of Pigs invasion. 778 00:48:50,884 --> 00:48:53,191 Through the Mafia's involvement, 779 00:48:53,278 --> 00:48:56,672 the CIA believes that Fidel will be dead 780 00:48:56,759 --> 00:48:59,327 by the time the invasion takes place. 781 00:48:59,414 --> 00:49:03,723 And so they are not paying close attention 782 00:49:03,810 --> 00:49:05,203 to what could go wrong.