Direct record
Record trail
A direct record path from the entity profile into a highlighted archival document.
Santo Trafficante Jr. (1914–1987) was the head of the Tampa, Florida organized-crime family and one of three Mafia figures the CIA recruited in the 1960–1963 plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, alongside Johnny Roselli and Sam Giancana. Before the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Trafficante ran casino operations in Havana under Batista; he was briefly detained by Castro's government in 1959. Trafficante testified before the Church Committee in 1975 and, under a court-ordered grant of immunity, before the House Select Committee on Assassinations on September 28, 1978, where he described his role in the Castro plots primarily as that of an interpreter. The HSCA Final Report concluded that Trafficante, like Marcello, had the motive and opportunity to be involved in the Kennedy assassination but that the committee could not establish direct involvement. Trafficante was named by federal investigators as the most likely person to have ordered the 1976 murder of Johnny Roselli.
Follow compact, source-linked paths from Santo Trafficante Jr. 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 Santo Trafficante Jr., then continue into the full mention index.
View all documents mentioning Santo Trafficante Jr.Principal events drawn from the surviving record.
Held at Triscornia immigration camp in Cuba after the 1959 revolution; released months later.
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.
Testifies in executive session about CIA-Mafia Castro plots.
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 curated selection of the records that most directly discuss this entity.
Short OCR passages drawn directly from the source documents.
“CIA · From: MFR · To: HOPKINS, CHRIS, LAD/JFK TASK FORCE · JFK34 : F12 : 20040108-1032887 : · Release: In Part”
Curated archival materials and allowlisted secondary references that ground this entity's biography and timeline.
Public hearing testimony under court-ordered grant of immunity.
CIA-Mafia Castro plots; the three-figure recruitment via Robert Maheu.
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.
A New York Times investigation concludes that Johnny Roselli was killed as a direct consequence of his Church Committee testimony.
Testifies under court-ordered grant of immunity at a public HSCA hearing; characterizes his role in the Castro plots primarily as that of an interpreter.
The HSCA publishes its Final Report, concluding that President Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy." The report concludes that Carlos Marcello and Santo Trafficante Jr. had the motive, means, and opportunity to be involved, while finding no direct evidence of participation. Twelve volumes of appendices follow.
Dies in Houston, Texas following heart surgery.
“CIA · From: LAD/JFK TASK FORCE · To: THE RECORD · JFK-WF03 : F8 : 20040329-1066903 : · Release: Redact”
“CIA · JFK9 : F62 : 20031208-1021167 : · Release: Redact”
“HSCA · Redacted and declassified.Box 1. · Release: Redact”
“CIA · JFK18 : F8 : 1993.07.17.08:14:26:280280 : CONTAINS 15 ORIGINAL PAGES, REMAINING 56 ORIGINAL PAGES PREVIOUSLY SENT NARA @93. · Release: Redact”
“CIA · From: LAUDER GEORGE V. ACTING CHIEF, LATI · To: THE INSPECTOR GENERAL · JFK-WF03 : F1 : 20040329-1066902 : · Release: Redact”
“MONTGOMERY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF POLICE · Tabbed FBI 295-1. File 6-32. Box 295. · Release: Redact”
“SSCIA · Release: Redact”
“SSCIA · From: HALLEY · Box 2 · Release: Redact”
“SSCIA · From: CHURCH, FRANK · To: COLBY, WILLIAM E. · Includes three attachments. · Release: Redact”