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Johnny Roselli (born Filippo Sacco, 1905–1976) was a Los Angeles–based Mafia operative known for brokering business between the Chicago Outfit, Hollywood, and Las Vegas. In 1960, via intermediary Robert Maheu, Roselli was recruited by the CIA to help organize the assassination of Fidel Castro, alongside Sam Giancana and Santo Trafficante Jr. Roselli testified before the Church Committee on June 24, 1975 and on September 22, 1975 about the CIA-mob Castro plots, and appeared before the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1976. He was scheduled for additional HSCA testimony when he disappeared on July 28, 1976; his dismembered body was found in a 55-gallon oil drum in Dumfoundling Bay, Florida on August 7, 1976. An FBI investigation identified Santo Trafficante Jr. as the most likely figure to have ordered the killing; the murder remains officially unsolved. A 1977 New York Times investigation concluded that Roselli was killed as a direct consequence of his Senate testimony.
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At the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Santo Trafficante Jr., Johnny Roselli, and Sam Giancana meet with CIA operatives Robert Maheu and James O'Connell. Poison pills and $10,000 are transferred for use against Fidel Castro. The meeting is a cornerstone of the Church Committee's 1975 Interim Report.
Johnny Roselli testifies in closed session on the CIA-Mafia Castro plots, five days after Sam Giancana's murder.
Additional Church Committee testimony on CIA-Mafia Castro operations.
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“CIA · From: ENSE, STANTON, DD/OS/PS&I · To: MEMO FOR THE RECORD · JFK44 : F35 : 1994.03.30.11:07:40:440005 : · Release: Redact”
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Roselli's role in the CIA-Mafia Castro plots; transcripts referenced in both 1975 testimonies.
Contemporary investigation identifying Trafficante as the likely source of the 1976 killing.
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Last seen leaving his home in Plantation, Florida. His body is recovered ten days later in an oil drum in Dumfoundling Bay.
The body of CIA-mob intermediary Johnny Roselli is found in a 55-gallon oil drum in Dumfoundling Bay, Florida. He had disappeared July 28, 1976, shortly before additional scheduled HSCA testimony on CIA-Mafia Castro plots. The FBI later identified Santo Trafficante Jr. as the most likely figure to have ordered the killing; the murder remains officially unsolved.
A New York Times investigation concludes that Johnny Roselli was killed as a direct consequence of his Church Committee testimony.
“CIA · From: ENSE. DEP DIR OF SECURITY · To: THE RECORD · JFK35 : F5 : 1993.08.12.11:10:02:060064 : DUPLICATE OF 104-10096-10030 · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: ENSE. DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SECURITY · To: THE RECORD · JFK35 : F5 : 20040107-1031349 : · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: ENSE, STANTON, DD/OS/PS&I · To: MEMO FOR THE RECORD · JFK44 : F35 : 1994.03.30.11:55:56:940005 : · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: ENSE, STANTON E. · JFK48 : F18 : 1993.08.03.17:54:48:120036 : · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: RIVERS, CURTIS R. · To: DIR/OS · JFK48 : F19 : 1993.08.19.16:58:02:960014 : · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: RIVERS, CURTIS R. · To: DIR/OS, CIA · JFK44 : F7 : 1994.03.28.13:53:22:400007 : 6 PAGE MEMO, 1 PAGE COVER SHEET · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: RIVERS, CURTIS R. · To: DIRECTOR OF SECURITY · JFK40 : F7 : 1997.06.21.12:36:20:250031 : FILE ORIGINAL NOT FOUND. THIS COPY RECONSTRUCTED FROM A PREVIOUSLY RELEASED DUPLICATE (104-10122-10375), AS SANITIZED. · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: BRENEMAN. ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL · To: THE RECORD · JFK64-48 : F40 : 1998.04.20.21:48:18:716115 : · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: SECURITY ANALYSIS GROUP · To: MFR · JFK48 : F15 : 1997.09.06.15:57:05:123102 : CORRECTION: AN OPEN IN FULL DOCUMENT WAS INCORRECTLY PROCESSED WITH THIS IDEN AID; IT CAN BE FOUND AT 104-10133-10052. THE CORRECT DOC FOR THIS IDEN A · Release: Redact”