Record trail
A direct record path from the entity profile into a highlighted archival document.
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.
Follow compact, source-linked paths from Johnny Roselli into records, chronology, topic lanes, and related profiles. These paths show indexed relationships, not causal claims.
A direct record path from the entity profile into a highlighted archival document.
Move from this profile into the strongest records, topic lanes, related people or organizations, and chronology entries already tied to the entity.
Open the records that most directly mention Johnny Roselli, then continue into the full mention index.
View all documents mentioning Johnny RoselliPrincipal events drawn from the surviving record.
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.
A curated selection of the records that most directly discuss this entity.
Short OCR passages drawn directly from the source documents.
“CIA · From: ENSE, STANTON, DD/OS/PS&I · To: MEMO FOR THE RECORD · JFK44 : F35 : 1994.03.30.11:07:40:440005 : · Release: Redact”
Curated archival materials and allowlisted secondary references that ground this entity's biography and timeline.
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.
Jump to the mention-mode search across the full OCR and description index for the archive.
A direct record path from the entity profile into a highlighted archival document.
A direct record path from the entity profile into a highlighted archival document.
A time-based path that keeps the entity tied to the record chronology without implying causation.
A time-based path that keeps the entity tied to the record chronology without implying causation.
A thematic path into a research lane that shares indexed records with this entity.
A thematic path into a research lane that shares indexed records with this entity.
A lead into another person, organization, place, or concept that appears near this profile in the index.
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”