Customer Reviews

Mafia Kingfish: Carlos Marcello and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

John H. Davis doesn't leave a stone unturned, at least as far as Carlos Marcello's complicity in the assassination. If, after reading this book, you don't think Marcello played a part in this crime, ... This book puts you right into the world of Carlos Marcello, almost as though you were experiencing it with your own eyes. Also impressive was Davis' insight into the wacky world of the U.S. Government. In the years since this book was first published, it has been even further established from numerous informants that the actual shooters were three Corsican underworld hitmen from Marseille: Lucien Sarti, Francois Chiappe, and Jean-Paul Angeletti. ...

Being a native of New Orleans I can tell you that all the facts That I could verify about this book were true. It is a shame it is no longer published I wish they would print one more run!

Having known the Marcello brothers and "others" mentioned in this book very well, it is obvious that Mr. Davis has done his "homework" beyond the "norm"!!! Extremely well written, factual and precise. Have provided many copies to mutual friends. Hoping to see re-print shortly, as I do not have a copy for myself any longer. Hard-cover version would be much more preferable. Outstanding book that I would recommend to anyone, whether or not, familiar with Marcello. Fascinating reading!!! A job "WELL DONE", Mr. Davis!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would recommend this book to anyone familiar with the political history of New Orleans and Louisiana in general. A fine book to discuss while having dinner at Mosca's or La Louisiane or somewhere like that. For those of you who know nothing at all about New Orleans, don't bother with this book, because you will never understand it. You almost have to be from Louisiana to understand this book at all. If you're not, go ahead and learn about the history of New Orleans, especially in the twentieth century, before attempting to understand this book. Davis is pretty much right on the money with his writing, though. A nice investigation of the CIA-Mafia alliance that once existed. Also includes a nice look at other wiseguys like Trafficante, Costello, Hoffa, etc... A very good read.

Cross referencing info in this book would make it possible to catch the real killers, it's just that accurate. You never want to put this one down!Even after you finish, you'll read it again. I read it all the time. And everytime I do I come across another important fact. This book would help the government find the killers, if in fact the government WANTED to find them.

This book is dated,but I'm not so sure that any other book on the subject is better.
Mr. Davis exposes the numerous links the Marcello family had to other key conspirators in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.Lee Harvey Oswald,Jack Ruby,and David Ferrie all knew each other and had Marcello family connections.

Another highlight of this book is the contrast of the New Orleans mafia and other families.They operated quite differently than say,the New York or Chicago mob.The culture of that area was much like Sicily.

Mr. Davis gives details on the extent of the corruption and political power enjoyed by Carlos Marcello.The transcripts of recorded conversations from the sting by the FBI reveal a lot regarding who was bought.Some major political figures are mentioned.

The details of Carlos Marcello's deportation clarify the animosity between the mafia and the Kennedy brothers.The egos on both sides of the law were factors in the eventual assassination.

The monumental part that J. Edgar Hoover played in the coverup and possible motivation for doing that are explained very well in this book.

In the end of the book Mr. Davis briefly covers some of the books that were contemporary with his.
The only thing he doesn't do is name the actual trigger men.
This book is available and inexpensive.It's a book I highly recommend for anyone wanting to study the assassination of JFK.

This book has been around for a few years but I've only read it recently.
The author, John H Davis, certainly convinces me that, regardless of who pulled the triggers, the shootings of John F Kennedy and Robert Kennedy were mob hits ordered by New Orleans mobster Carlos Marcello, while the truth was kept from the American public through the connivance of the FBI whose hands were far from clean.

The Kennedy's dared to bite the hands that fed them. John Kennedy used the Mafia in his rise to power & then not only turned his back on them but declared war on them with the assistance of Robert Kennedy as Attorney General.
Robert Kennedy had a long history of failed attempts to deport Carlos Marcello which included kidnapping him & dumping him (literally) in a deserted backwater of Honduras. The Mafia & Marcello in particular hated the Kennedy's so intensely it was only a matter of time.
Consider this:
The unstable and unemployed Lee Harvey Oswald was a patsy of the Mafia & the FBI. Oswald's uncle & surrogate father Charles Murret, aka Dutz, was a bookmaker in Marcello's gambling operation in New Orleans. In the summer of 1963 Oswald who was living in Dallas came to his uncle for financial help & did not go away empty handed.

The FBI, headed by the megalomaniacal J Edgar Hoover, was so riddled with corruption itself by this time that any investigation done by them was bound to be a whitewash as it would expose the FBI's connections to the New Orleans underworld. Hoover had a long history of friendship with mob boss Frank Costello & stubbornly insisted that the Mafia did not exist. When presented with a report of the infamous crime conclave of 60 mafia heads in upstate New York in 1957, Hoover ordered all copies destroyed. When Robert Kennedy became Attorney General he identified organised crime -- not Communism -- to be the greatest menace to American society; he also earned Hoover's enmity by putting a stop to Hoover's hitherto direct access to the President's office, ordering Hoover to report instead to the attorney general, ie, him.

Jack Ruby, who has been portrayed as a Patriot distressed by the death of his idol, had underworld connections & was at that time suffering from terminal cancer. He owed large sums of money to certain Mafia figures & he executed Oswald to shut him up & to redeem his own Mafia debt. Ruby died in prison of cancer.

The Robert Kennedy assassination is murkier. It was blamed on Sirhan Sirhan, although there is evidence at least one other gun was used in the shooting. Sirhan perpetually owed gambling debts & often did odd jobs for low level crime figures. He hung around California race tracks whose betting operations were connected to Marcello; he also worked as a groom for horse ranch owner Desi Arnaz who was a known friend of LA mobster Mickey Cohen . Cohen's penchant was for secretly filming movie stars in sex setups & blackmailing them - Lana Turner & Marilyn Monroe were victims. Jack Ruby and Mickey Cohen were old friends too: it was all one big extended family

There is evidence suggesting Robert Kennedy's real killer was Thane Cesar, the security guard who escorted Kennedy through the hotel kitchen where he was shot. Cesar was not the hotel's usual security guard; he was temporarily hired to fill in for the day of June 5; he had strong ties to a San Diego mobster (later imprisoned for skimming race-track revenues) & associate of Mickey Cohen. The Ambassador Hotel was partly owned by investors connected with organised crime. Not long after the shooting, the Hotel's director of security disappeared.

The Kennedy brothers were undoubtedly touched with greatness and vision, but with such flaws of character and judgement and hubris that it brought their downfall. Meanwhile the public has been content to be fed a load of crap rather than have the Kennedy name & legacy tarnished. False gods usually have feet of clay.

I know most of the New Orleans players...Davis is very accurate in his text. If you never had the shrimp at Mosca's, or spent "Ladies Night" at Lenfant's, you would notz understand. "Who killa da chief?"

I think this book is spectacular! The author did some deep and complete research! I was impressed, plus I live in New Orleans and most of the action takes place in NOLA! There is even some speculation that The Mob played a role in the death of MLK and RFK! Read this book,you won't be
disappointed! Read Dr. Mary's Monkey too and you won't ever need to read another JFK book again!

I have read this book, not that I really needed to, but I'm honestly just curious as to what makes Ms. Fischer think that she has any knowledge of the the workings of the Marcello family. It's just really interesting to me what people think that they know.