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Observations of An Ex-Cop in La La Land |
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Part Five |
 Lucca "Buttface" Micoola hated cigars, but had a half-smoked stogie stitched to his lower lip because his idol Edward G. Robinson always smoked one in gangster films. |
Giancana never knew
what 'low profile' meant
of TheColumnists.com
Sam “Mooney” Giancana wanted to be a star but he was only a gangster. He could get Frank Sinatra to do what he wanted, he hung out and bedded down with some of the lady stars of the entertainment, political, and business worlds. But he was still only a gangster who publicized himself.
Sam had the best gangster teacher in Tony “Big Tuna” Accardo, yet he failed “gangster media relations 101.” Sam went so public that it seemed like he skipped the entire course. I was a teenager growing up in North Miami, Florida and even I knew what he was. I parked cars at the Americano Hotel on Miami Beach. I opened a car door one day--and there was Sam Giancana. Okay, my father was a cop, and we spoke of gangster things in my house perhaps more than you did in your house. But Giancana had been in the newspapers, magazines and on TV. Phyllis McGuire, Keely Smith, Frank Sinatra, and some other stars were photographed with him in the 1950’s.
Going “public” for a gangster could be deadly. There was no excuse for Sam Giancana because as a boy he saw the worst of what “going public” did to Al Capone and the best in Tony Accardo who was a master scholar at keeping a low profile in the media. And Sam was Accardo's trusted bodyguard. So, why did Sam disregard Accardo’s teachings when he became Boss of the Outfit? Was he nuts? Maybe so.
Let’s go way back. When Antonia Giancana gave birth to Salvatore “Sam” Giancana on May 24, 1908, little did she know that he would turn out to be the battiest boy in town. Sam’s wine-breath father didn’t help matters any when he brutally beat young Sam on a regular basis. His father must have thought he was beating the meanness out of Sam, but in reality, the whuppings just made Sam more evil.
As a boy, Sam acted “loony”–howling at the moon and all. That’s how he got his nickname: “Mooney.” As a teenager, he threatened to kill his father if he ever hit him again–and his father wisely cooled out. Sam took over the family home. He conducted his boyhood gang meetings from the home. He’d ordered his parents out while he did his criminal business. Soon as he convinced his peers on Chicago’s Taylor Street in the “Patch” that he was a killer, they gave him “respect.” Young toughs like Albert “Obie” Frabotta, Fifi Buccieri, the Caifano brothers, “Fat Lenny” and Marshall, and many others from the old “42 Gang” threw in with young Giancana. They operated mostly in the Loop, downtown area of Chicago, learning how to do most all types of crimes.
Sam did a couple of juvenile stretches in “Charlietown” in St. Charles, IL, as the juvenile jail was called back then, for his petty crimes. He met a lot of tough kids from Chicago’s black neighborhoods in “Charlietown.” This was where Sam first heard about the “numbers” rackets that were pulling in millions from the poor black bettors. The Outfit up until Sam’s time thought the “numbers” was only a nickel 'n dime caper and had stayed out of it.
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When Tony “Joe Batters” Accardo selected Giancana to be one of his lieutenants, Sam went to work. He organized the numbers racket in Chicago’s Afro-American neighborhoods–the “black belt” as it was then known. Sam brought in the first oriental gangster, Ken “Joe The Jap” Eto. He heard that Eto not only was a smooth killer, but knew math very well. Giancana had Eto do a projection of possible earnings from the numbers racket. Eto figured out that the numbers racket was in fact a multi-million dollar business. But it would have to be organized. The tough blacks would not give it up without a fight.
Sam became very good at getting the black crime bosses in Chicago’s “black belts” to pay homage to the Outfit. He sent word to the black gang bosses to pay up or be killed. After a few turned up stiff, Sam was on his way to taking over their numbers racket. This literally brought in millions of dollars to the Outfit, and made Sam a very big player within. He was indeed a rising star.
Sam Giancana soon took over all the major gambling, whore houses, and the juice loan business in the black belt. In time the Outfit cashed in on the giant narcotics business. Yes, don’t let anyone tell you that the Outfit didn’t approve of selling drugs. The truth is, the Outfit never cared where their money came from as long as it came. Some gangsters may tell their own kids a lie trying to save face, but the truth is the Outfit WAS and IS in the narcotics business. In fact, today it ranks as their biggest illegal money earner ever.
So in 1957, when Accardo voluntarily turned over the day to day operations of the Outfit to Sam “Mooney” Giancana, nobody was really surprised. They were only surprised that a still fit Accardo was stepping back. Sam had finally graduated and became the Boss of arguably the most violent and successful criminal cartel in the Country. Behind the scenes Accardo still retained the CEO spot for himself, but only as an elder “consultant” or “advisor.” Seems Tony Accardo had lots of money and wanted time to enjoy it.
Accardo selected Sam Giancana not only because he had made money for him, but also because he had the respect of the other gangsters. Accardo also knew that Giancana was strong enough to control those who had no respect at all. Sam seemingly had learned his lessons well from the skilled headmaster Tony Accardo. There was one serious character flaw in Sam Giancana that Accardo didn’t know about then, and it would later lead to Sam’s downfall.
One of the first things Sam did after becoming the Boss was to shorten his nickname of “Mooney” down to “Momo.” He hated being called “Mooney.” Sam got a kick out of how the blacks would jive talk ever since he was a kid doing time in “Charlietown” with them. Sam even enjoyed talking “jive” to be funny at dinner parties. I recall Giancana talking jive at one of Frank Sinatra’s dinner parties in the famed Pump Room restaurant at the Ambassador East Hotel. Frank was touring and after a concert one night, he rented half the restaurant, complete with the orchestra, for dancing. Sam had Leo Durocher and Spiro Agnew in stitches. He was telling them a joke about a black kid from the south meeting the Pope in Rome. While I missed hearing the punch line, just hearing a Chicago Italian trying to talk like a southern black kid was hilarious. Sam went on to relate how he once heard a black boss saying he wanted “more money.” To Sam, it sounded like he said. “momo.” Sam liked “more money” so he shortened his nickname to “Momo” from this slang talk.
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with singer Phyllis McGuire |
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Sam had excellent street smarts, but while he was no Paul “The Waiter” Ricca or Tony “Big Tuna” Accardo in the brain department, he was no dummy either. Sam excelled in “human nature 101,” in that he knew how to entice powerful people to indulge in their vices. Sam learned early on that he could make powerful men cater to him via blackmail.
In his new book, "Mr. S," a fellow named George Jacobs, who claims to have been Frank Sinatra’s valet, is reported saying Sinatra set up "romantic liaisons” for JFK. Further, Jacobs states that he once walked into a bedroom in Sinatra’s Palm Springs home just in time to see JFK and Peter Lawford snorting lines of coke. “For my back pain, George,” JFK reportedly told Jacobs. Well, if Old Blue Eyes has the President of the free world in his pocket, and Sam Giancana has Sinatra in his, I’d deduce that Sam Giancana was the Boss.
How many men can say that Frank Sinatra sent them a girl? I’ll never forget that it was Giancana who put the entire Rat Pack (Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford) on stage at his “Villa Venice” Chicago nightclub. This was a first for the Midwest. Cops I knew working the Intelligence Unit say Sam sat in the balcony smoking a cigar like “a king overseeing his flock.”
A bellman named “Murphy,”
who came with the first load of bricks at the Ambassador East
Hotel, told me of a meeting he witnessed between Sam Giancana
and a disguised Joe Kennedy. Seems Joe Kennedy had reneged on
some political favors for New York’s Frank Costello, and
he put a contract out on him. Joe was in Chicago hoping to get
Giancana to stop Costello, and make nice between them. Authorities
have alleged that Joe Kennedy had to promise Giancana access
to JFK, his soon-to-be-president son.
While some access was obtained for Giancana via Sinatra and Peter
Lawford, Sam wanted more. Once Sam saved Joe’s life from
Costello, Joe Kennedy failed to produce and the deal broke down
in years to come. Many intelligence experts suspect that when
both JFK and his brother Bobby Kennedy doublecrossed Giancana
by calling him to testify, all deals were off. Bobby grilled
Giancana in those public senate hearings and Giancana repeatedly
took the fifth. All this made Sam Giancana deadly angry.
Behind their backs, Sam referred to the Kennedy boys as “sissies.” To this day, some coppers say this public grilling of Giancana is what got JFK and Bobby Kennedy both killed. There are volumes of testimony dealing with these important subjects, but Giancana’s relationship with the Kennedys could be described as “complex,” to say the least. Close associates say that Giancana hated all the Kennedys and was using Marilyn Monroe to set them both up for a public fall of their own. History has recorded this shameful conduct by former President Kennedy and Atty. General Bobby Kennedy. Sam was a determined enemy that nobody wanted to offend.
San Giancana enjoyed the limelight, some say he was even envious of show business personalities. Perhaps this is where he went way wrong. Sam seemed to thrive on his own notoriety in the media.
Tony Accardo had advised Sam on various occasions to “keep your head down,” as being visible would only bring dangerous attention to the Outfit. Sam would not listen. He was by this time seeing singer Phyllis McGuire of The McGuire Sisters and it was a routine thing to see their photo in a newspaper or magazine on a regular basis. This brought a lot of attention from the Feds. In 1965, Sam was the subject of a grand jury inquiry. Sam again took the fifth, refusing to answer their probing questions, but was soon given immunity. Sam still refused to talk and he was sent to Cook County jail for contempt. He served a year and was released in May of 1966, and headed straight for Mexico. Where he lived until 1974 when the U.S. pressured the Mexican government to stop protecting him. The Mexicans literally pushed Sam across the border into El Paso, TX, into the waiting arms of FBI agents. Sam was brought back to Chicago to wait to testify again. The Grand Jury intended to repeat the process in hopes of putting Sam back in jail, now that he was medically ill. The Outfit did not like either of these events.
Phyllis McGuire was also called before this grand jury and many experts to this day say “she never told one tale out of school” about Sam. She gave them only “surface” information, not even if Sam ever got a parking ticket. Phyllis held up.
Sam knew better than to be so visible, but they say he was in love and just couldn’t help himself. If you watched HBO’s 1995 “Sugartime” movie, they would have you believe that “Sam did it for love.” I don’t believe that to be true. I think HBO had the right take on the story line, given the fact they had former Chicago FBI agent Bill Roemer involved in the production, had they only followed his version, not their own. Television likes to make most movies deal with “love” in some way or another, so they tried to sell us unsubstantiated facts, such as:
* Sam Giancana was a loving
man.
* Phyllis McGuire was a gold-digging singer, who Sam could get
in bed by giving her jewelry.
* The first night Sam and Phyllis went out, he put her in a motel
room and he slept in the car and didn’t have sex with her.
If you believe any of this crap, I've an old bridge to sell you.
Sam was anything but a loving man–his claim to fame was that he’d have a guy killed in a second. He had a vicious temper. People feared his reputation. Sam was not a big man in the physical sense. Most bar room sluggers could have kicked his ass on any given Saturday night. But Sam then would have the guy killed.
Phyllis McGuire was not a gold digger when she met Sam Giancana. Phyllis was hot, had hit recordings topping the charts and making long money in personal appearances around the world. But Phyllis was in love. All those in the know say it was Phyllis who could not help herself. She knew better than to fall for a lousy guy like Sam. She didn’t need anything from him. Sam was not even a handsome man, so why then? Well, they say “love is blind” and it could not be truer than with Phyllis's love for Sam. The “Sugartime” movie depicted Phyllis trying on the bracelet Sam gave her while he ravaged her nude in bed like a dog. HBO put their spin on the movie they wanted to make.
I’ve had occasion to speak with the real Phyllis McGuire in the past and I can tell you she is not only a very nice lady, she is a lady in every sense of the word. In speaking with her, I could hear why any man would find her attractive. Phyllis defines the term, “stand up” meaning one who keeps private things private, not out of fear, but because they inherently know it’s the right thing to do. Phyllis has never told her story about Sam Giancana and I’m positive the studios have offered her large money to tell it--but no soap. If she ever did tell it for real, I’d buy a ticket in a second. She knows the truth.
In 1975, Sam was summoned to appear before a Senate Select Subcommittee on Intelligence. Sam’s poor health allowed him to postpone this initial appearance. A gall bladder operation had him bedridden. Once back on his feet, another subpoena ordered him to appear without fail in Washington, D.C., on June 24, 1975. But, Sam Giancana would never testify. While cooking up a pan of escarole and sausages on the evening of June 19, 1975, in the basement of his home in Oak Park, Illinois someone shot and killed him. Sam Giancana was dead. He had been shot with a .22 caliber bullet through the back of his head and five more “make sure” bullets into his mouth. There were no signs of forced entry, the killer had been someone Giancana liked and trusted.
Who murdered Sam is still unknown. Some authorities believe that Accardo was involved, fearing that Sam might now talk, given his weak physical condition. Everyone figured if Sam went back to jail that he’d never come out alive. Santo Trafficante, a Florida-based drug king and long-time partner of Giancana’s could have been visiting Sam. Ironically, the 22 caliber gun identified as the murder weapon was discovered in Florida.
Others think the CIA might have had security issues that Sam could talk about, going back to his Kennedy and Castro dealings. Sam’s brother and daughter flatly state that because the code of “omerta” ran so strongly through Sam Giancana’s Sicilian veins, that “informing” would never be his way out.
Whoever killed Sam Giancana put an end to his 50 plus years of crime. It almost seems unimportant that Sam was killed. It’s as if someone did us all a favor. What is more important for Gangster 'College' followers is the lessons to be learned from Giancana’s life. Number one would be “keep your head down.”
Those in the know say Sam Giancana subscribed to the philosophy of “Live by the sword, die by the sword.” So, who was surprised by the way he ended up? I’d say Sam should have known that the “sword” was near him. As it appears, I think Sam Giancana was the only one surprised by his death.
©2003 by Andy Murcia. The caricature of Andy Murcia is ©2003 by Jim Hummel. The gangster cartoon is from IMSI's Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA. The photos are from the author's sources.
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