Cut Off the Head Not the Tail

Continued actions of the Justice Department were directed against Carlos. A continuation of the case dealing with Marcello's deportation plus a new case involving income tax evasion were both being pushed. Marcello was feeling the heat and it was having an adverse effect on his business interests and his position on the Commission. Carlos made his feelings clear and stated that efforts were under way to deal with the Kennedy clan. When it was pointed out that it would be foolish to take any action against Robert Kennedy, while his brother was President, Carlos laughed and presented a Sicilian quote. "No, not that," yelled Carlos. "In Sicily they say if you want to kill a dog you don't cut off the tail. You go for the head." The meaning, to Becker, was very clear, but then Carlos elaborated by stating that he planned to have President Kennedy murdered, using someone not in any way connected to him or his organization.

A couple of weeks later, Santo Trafficante, the mob boss from Tampa and personal friend of Marcello, during a conversation expressed similar plans. At some stage in their conversation, Trafficante belittled Robert Kennedy for his war against Hoffa and made mention of the fact that he and his brother, the President were due some serious trouble. The man Trafficante was speaking to supported President Kennedy's actions and thought he would probably be re-elected. Trafficante, his face serious, leaned close to Aleman and said, "You don't understand me, Jose. Kennedy's not going to make it to the election. He is going to be hit." The suggestion was made that elements of organized crime were behind the Kennedy assassination. In the case of Marcello, little evidence was provided to link him with such statements. However in the case of Trafficante, he at one point after the assassination blurted out, in Sicilian, "We shouldn't have killed Giovanni (John). We should have killed Bobby."

Two cities that the FBI failed to penetrate in terms of the Mafia were Dallas and New Orleans, both controlled by Marcello. The connections between these two cities and individuals with connections in both could have been manipulated by Marcello, in relation to the events in Dallas. Little effort was made by the FBI to follow up on the trail that appeared to lead back to Marcello. He had the power. He had the motive. And he had the criminal and political connections to make such an event take place. Most of all he feelings to ward the Kennedy clan was so enraged that such an action could be feasible. At any rate the assassination of John Kennedy did lead to the falling of his brother from the office of Attorney General. And the Justice Department began to return to its normal position in relation to organized crime. It was not until the summer of 1979, almost sixteen years after the event that the American public were told by the House Assassination Committee that President Kennedy "was probably killed as a result of a conspiracy." It stated that although Oswald may have shot at the president, he was part of a bigger picture; one that could have included Carlos Marcello and Santo Trafficante Jr. They had, the committee found, "the motive, means and opportunity to assassinate President Kennedy." The chief counsel of the committee, Professor Robert Blakey (the man who conceived the RICO section of the 1970 Organized Crime Control Act.) believed that there might have been three gunmen. But more important are the men behind the original plan. Men that might include the person of Carlos Marcello.

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