John Rosselli and the ARRB

[Larry Hancock]

Jim, its on page 9, line 15-20 of the interview transcript:

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=1445#relPageId=9&search=Rosselli_testimony

He talks about Johnny Tapps from Columbia Studios who called him in Vegas and told him about the assassination.

 

[James DiEugenio]

Thanks Larry.  

[James DiEugenio]

BTW, is it not ironic about Rosselli?

he had a wild career of a life in crime.

But it was only his work for the CIA that brought about his brutal demise.

That is what I mean about his life could make a really good movie.

[Ron Bulman]

23 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Ron,  then how does Rappleye place him in LA in the days after with Exner?

Was that due to the coverage on Exner?

I've not read Rappleye or about JR with Exner in LA after the assassination.  Can you refer me or capsulize possibly?

Your right about his life being more movie worthy than fiction.  The book I mentioned, Handsome Johnny is fascinating.  His rise to prominence in LA and the history of LA organized crime is particularly so. 

Starting in a warehouse handling liquor during prohibition he became known as the best, daring, fastest truck driver.  Hauling loads off boats from Canada anchored in Santa Monica bay.  Brought into the office by owner Tony Coreno and his brother, they liked him.  Got him into tailored suits and more.  Operation busted.  He operated independently, some booze, drugs and more.  Developed Hollywood connections.

Then he took a train trip to Chicago to see "The Fight of the Century", Jack Dempsey - Gene Tunney round two.  After party, hosted by Capone an old acquaintance said come meet the big guy.  Heat in Chicago, Capone leaves town for Christmas/New Years in LA.  Discovered, further hotel reservations cancelled.  Johnny says stay at my place.  Law says no, get out of town.  JR apologizes on behalf of LA's rudeness.   

Invited back to Chicago by Capone.  Would you be willing to work with a minor affiliate of mine, Jack Dragna.  The mafia took over organized crime in LA.  E.G. another guy developed "Floating Casinos", anchored barges, then ships three miles off the coast with water taxis.  Roselli led an armed raid telling the owner "We're taking over."  Which he developed further.

From there, deeper into Hollywood and on to developing Vegas.

[Paul Cummings]

Two things I've got out of Rosselli's testimony to the Church Committee. Typical selective memory and wouldn't take questions on JFK.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Paul Cummings

[Joe Bauer]

9 hours ago, Ron Bulman said:

I've not read Rappleye or about JR with Exner in LA after the assassination.  Can you refer me or capsulize possibly?

Your right about his life being more movie worthy than fiction.  The book I mentioned, Handsome Johnny is fascinating.  His rise to prominence in LA and the history of LA organized crime is particularly so. 

Starting in a warehouse handling liquor during prohibition he became known as the best, daring, fastest truck driver.  Hauling loads off boats from Canada anchored in Santa Monica bay.  Brought into the office by owner Tony Coreno and his brother, they liked him.  Got him into tailored suits and more.  Operation busted.  He operated independently, some booze, drugs and more.  Developed Hollywood connections.

Then he took a train trip to Chicago to see "The Fight of the Century", Jack Dempsey - Gene Tunney round two.  After party, hosted by Capone an old acquaintance said come meet the big guy.  Heat in Chicago, Capone leaves town for Christmas/New Years in LA.  Discovered, further hotel reservations cancelled.  Johnny says stay at my place.  Law says no, get out of town.  JR apologizes on behalf of LA's rudeness.   

Invited back to Chicago by Capone.  Would you be willing to work with a minor affiliate of mine, Jack Dragna.  The mafia took over organized crime in LA.  E.G. another guy developed "Floating Casinos", anchored barges, then ships three miles off the coast with water taxis.  Roselli led an armed raid telling the owner "We're taking over."  Which he developed further.

From there, deeper into Hollywood and on to developing Vegas.

Just finished watching the last weekly episode ( 16 ) of the Netflix series "Perry Mason."

The whole plot line took place in L.A. in 1939/1940.

Much of the story line centered around those "floating casinos" anchored just off the L.A. area coast line.

Interesting true aspect of organized crime in L.A. going back decades.

How much of a "Johnny Roselli" film story would be revealing of his closeness to Bill Harvey? And would it be an honest and full account?

To hear Bill Harvey's widow tell it...she and her husband were in love with the guy.

Mrs. Harvey ( herself formerly CIA ) :

"He ( Roselli ) was a true patriot." My husband used to say that if he was in a real jam, Roselli is the guy he would want to cover his back.

Mrs. Harvey also said:

"That whole bunch ( John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and even Jackie ) were real scum." !!!

What an incredible statement imo. Darkly ominous.

How could someone so highly placed in our U.S. intelligence agency hierarchy as Harvey was, become so twisted in his American patriot loyalty that he would choose mafiosi friend loyalties over his own President?

I wonder the extent of "favors" Roselli bestowed upon Harvey in their years long association? Could any of them involve money? Put that in a Roselli film.

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[James DiEugenio]

Ron:

The stuff about Rosselli and Exner in LA in November and December 1963 is in the Rappeleye book on pages 249-50.

This is based on  her book and two interviews with other people.

I had always heard that the FBI had surveillance on her at this time, are those reports in the other Rosselli book?

BTW, if you compare the two books, the second one is more in depth and expansive about Rosselli's career which is why it comes in at about 475 pages.

My opinion on the two murders is that Rosselli was killed because he was talking too much.

I think Accardo had Giancana killed because he did not want Sam getting back as titular chief in Chicago.

 

 

[Joseph Backes]

Jim,

Sorry, what are the two books now?

1.) All American Mafioso: The Johnny Rosselli Story by Charles Rappleye and Ed Becker.

and

2.) Handsome Johnny by Lee Server

Right? 

Thanks,

Joe

[James DiEugenio]

Yes, the first one came out in I think 1991. About 265 pgs

The second one is more recent at 2018. About 475 pgs.

[Ron Bulman]

7 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Ron:

The stuff about Rosselli and Exner in LA in November and December 1963 is in the Rappeleye book on pages 249-50.

This is based on  her book and two interviews with other people.

I had always heard that the FBI had surveillance on her at this time, are those reports in the other Rosselli book?

BTW, if you compare the two books, the second one is more in depth and expansive about Rosselli's career which is why it comes in at about 475 pages.

My opinion on the two murders is that Rosselli was killed because he was talking too much.

I think Accardo had Giancana killed because he did not want Sam getting back as titular chief in Chicago.

 

 

I didn't remember anything about Exner in Handsome Johnny.  So, I looked in the index, nothing.  Skimmed a few pages after what I quoted and paraphrased earlier.  Same thing.  Interesting one author would have one story from FBI records (?), another author has a different but related FBI story.  But neither in their research has the other, even though years apart.  Shouldn't records of both be available somewhere?

[James DiEugenio]

Ron:

The material in the Rappleye book about Exner is not based on FBI records.

As I said it is from her book, and the stuff about him being in LA is from two witnesses.

I agree that the documents should be out there some place since Exner was under FBI surveillance because of the Giancana connection.

Its weird that neither author used them.

[James DiEugenio]

BTW, the stuff in the Rappleye book about Harvey and Rosselli is really kind of interesting.

In addition to lying to RFK about the plots, the two really hit it off as friends.  Harvey even introduced John to his wife!  (Hon, here is John Rosselli, murderer and extortionist)

Also, John was working with some of the Cuban exiles and apparently he was at JM Wave while he was doing so.

From reading Rappleye, it appears that Rosselli, unlike Giancana, really looked up on this as his patriotic duty. 

But none of  their schemes worked.  And they sent guys into the sea who never came back.

Again, its so odd that all the terrible things Rossell did, like bombing Willie Bioff's house in Phoenix and killing him, that it was this that did him in.

Harvey's family spoke so well of him, and they despised the Kennedys.

[Joe Bauer]

11 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

Harvey's family spoke so well of him, and they despised the Kennedys.

That assessment can't be overstated enough.

It struck me how much Mrs. Harvey went on about JFK and Jackie in the worst kind of disparagement way in her late life interview.

"They were scum."

Her husband obviously told her of JFK's sexual demands during JFK's visit to Rome while Bill Harvey was CIA station chief there.

Having "two" women of the night brought to him for a threesome?

Mrs. Harvey described Jackie having her own goings-ons ( suggesting sexual escapades? ) on a ship cruise while her husband was back in the states.

There wasn't "one word" of kindness and respect expressed for JFK and/or Jackie from Mrs. Harvey in her entire interview.

And this included not one word of empathy for Jackie Kennedy regards what she went through in Dallas, TX on 11,22,1963 and her children losing their father on that day and in the most brutally horrific way.

Mrs. Harvey's hatred of JFK and Jackie and RFK ran so deep that decades of time could not soften it.

You would think a woman who has lived a long life and had her own losses of the heart in that time might be able to find some ( even a little ) empathetic connection to another woman who went through something as devastatingly crushing as Jackie Kennedy did on 11,22,1963 and as a young mother to boot.

But not Mrs. Harvey.

That's a hard kind of hate.

On the other hand, Mrs. Harvey's description of their close bond with mafioso Roselli ( whom she admitted had done some "bad things" ) was so effusively affectionate ( I think Mrs. Harvey even referred to him as "Johnny" ) the contrast of loyalties and loving praise is literally sickening.

How can anyone not consider the deep level of JFK and RFK hate that men of William Harvey's ilk and stature in the intel world possessed ( intertwined with love and affection for Mafiosi types ) as anything less than ominously disturbing, even highly suspicious in the over-all context of JFK's vulnerability regards his own high status agency people hating him so deeply?

Morales, Hunt, Sturgis and so many others harboring the same deep hate of JFK and RFK that the Harvey's felt?

These were all extremely dangerous men with connections. You didn't want them as your enemies.

More aligned in their loyalties to the Mafia than their own president?  

Talk about America losing it's moral way.

Any film of Roselli must confront this twisted influence and loyalty perversion that existed between the Mafia and our own intel agencies during JFK's presidency and the ominous threat that reality presented in regards to JFK's personal safety vulnerability. IMO anyways.

I have many times expressed a take on the influence of corruption on our highest level of governmental power in the 20th century.

Organized crime had a much more powerful influence grip on every level of governmental affairs during this time than the average American could even imagine. 

LBJ, Nixon, Hoover. All tainted in that realm. Harvey and others like him too.

They all shared one common bond. Hatred of JFK/RFK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Joe Bauer

[James DiEugenio]

Joe, I don't take any of that BS seriously.

And neither should you.

As  I wrote about many years ago, the enemies of JFK were out to, as Bob Dylan once wrote, kill him twice.  Once in Dealey Plaza, and the second time to posthumously murder him personally.  And this has been done continually and assiduously.  In one Mob book, they actually said they saw Kennedy and Smathers  copulating in the basement of a Havana casino in a see through mirror.  Give me a break.

That the Harvey family liked Rosselli and said what they did about JFK, tells you all you need to know about Bill Harvey.  And a lot about what happened to President Kennedy.

[Joe Bauer]

4 hours ago, James DiEugenio said:

That the Harvey family liked Rosselli and said what they did about JFK, tells you all you need to know about Bill Harvey.  And a lot about what happened to President Kennedy.

 

More than "liked."

Loved more like it.

"Roselli was a true patriot."

Our Johnny.

Bad feelings toward JFK and pure hatred for RFK.

No tears shed for JFK and Jackie on 11,22,1963.

At least Jack Ruby cried his eyes out over Jackie and the kids.

At least right up to his blasting Oswald's guts out.