Carlos Marcello
Encyclopedia
Carlos "The Little Man" Marcello (February 6, 1910 – March 3, 1993) was a Sicilian-American
mafioso who became the boss of the New Orleans crime family
during the 1940s and held this position for the next 30 years.
in 1911 and his family settled in a decaying plantation house near Metairie, Louisiana
. Carlos turned to petty crime in the French Quarter
. He was later imprisoned for masterminding a crew of teenage gangsters who carried out armed robberies in the small towns surrounding New Orleans. At the time, local newspapers compared him to the character of Fagin
from Charles Dickens
' novel Oliver Twist
. This conviction was later overturned. However, the following year he was convicted of assault and robbery and was sentenced to the Louisiana State Penitentiary
for nine years. He was released after five years.
In 1938, Marcello was arrested and charged with the sale of more than 23 pounds of marijuana
. Despite receiving another lengthy prison sentence and a $76,830 fine, Marcello served less than 10 months in prison. On his release from prison, Marcello became associated with Frank Costello
, the leader of the Genovese crime family
, in New York City
. At the time, Costello was involved in transporting illegal slot machines from New York to New Orleans. Marcello provided the muscle and arranged for the machines to be placed in local businesses.
in order to skim money from some of the most important casinos in the New Orleans area. According to former members of the Chicago Outfit
, Marcello was also assigned a cut of the money skimmed from Las Vegas
casinos, in exchange for providing "muscle" in Florida
real estate deals. By this time, Marcello had been selected as the "Godfather
" of the New Orleans Mafia, by the family's capos and the Commission
. He was to hold this position for the next 30 years.
Marcello continued the family's long-standing tradition of fierce independence from interference by mafiosi in other areas. He enacted a policy that forbade mafiosi from other families from visiting Louisiana without permission.
On March 24, 1959, Marcello appeared before a United States Senate
committee investigating organized crime
. Serving as Chief Counsel to the committee was Robert F. Kennedy
; his brother, Senator
John F. Kennedy
, was a member of the committee. In response to committee questioning, Marcello invoked the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
, in refusing to answer any questions relating to his background, activities and associates.
In 1960, Marcello donated $500,000 through Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa
, to the Republican
campaign of Richard M. Nixon, challenging the Democrat
John F. Kennedy.
. In March 1961 Attorney General Robert Kennedy, acting on requests which had been first made to the Eisenhower administration
by former Louisiana state police superintendent Francis Grevemberg
, took steps to deport Marcello to Guatemala
(the country Marcello had falsely listed as his birthplace). On April 4, of that year, Marcello was arrested by the authorities
and taken forcibly to Guatemala.
to utter such a threat. In September 1962, Marcello told private investigator
Edwin Nicholas Becker that, "A dog will continue to bite you if you cut off its tail...," (meaning Attorney General Robert Kennedy.), "...whereas if you cut off the dog's head...," (meaning President Kennedy), "... it would cease to cause trouble". Becker reported that Marcello, "clearly stated that he was going to arrange to have President Kennedy killed in some way". Marcello told another informant that he would need to take out "insurance" for the assassination by, ".... setting up some nut to take the fall for the job, just like they do in Sicily".
Just before Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby
made contact with Marcello, and Tampa, Florida
boss Santo Trafficante
, about a labor problem he was having with the American Guild of Variety Artists
(AGVA).
After Kennedy's assassination, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
investigated Marcello. They came to the conclusion that Marcello was not involved in the assassination. On the other hand, they also said that they, "... did not believe Carlos Marcello was a significant organized crime figure," and that Marcello earned his living, "... as a tomato salesman and real estate investor." As a result of this investigation, the Warren Commission
concluded that there was no direct link between Ruby and Marcello.
In 1966, Marcello was arrested in New York City after having met with the National Commission. The meeting was reportedly called because Marcello's leadership was being challenged by Trafficante Jr. and Anthony Carolla, the son of Marcello's predecessor as boss of the New Orleans Combine, Sylvestro Carolla
. The Commission had reportedly ruled in Marcello's favor just before the police burst in.
Marcello was then charged with consorting with known felon
s. After a long, drawn-out legal battle, Marcello was convicted of assaulting an FBI agent whom he had punched in the face on his return to Louisiana. Sentenced to two years in prison, he served less than six months, and was released on March 12, 1971.
G. Robert Blakey
, Chief Counsel and Staff Director to the House Select Committee on Assassinations, published, The Plot to Kill the President in 1981. In the book, Blakey argues that there was a conspiracy to kill John F. Kennedy. Blakey believes that Lee Harvey Oswald
was involved, but also believes that there was at least one gunman firing from the grassy knoll. Blakey came to the conclusion that Marcello, Trafficante, Jr., along with Chicago Outfit boss Salvatore "Sam Mooney" Giancana
were complicit in planning the assassination.
story claimed Marcello, Trafficante, Jr., and Jimmy Hoffa
had all been involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. Frank Ragano
was quoted as saying that at the beginning of 1963, Hoffa had told him to take a message to Trafficante and Marcello concerning a plan to kill Kennedy. When the meeting took place at the Royal Orleans Hotel, Ragano told the men: "You won't believe what Hoffa wants me to tell you. Jimmy wants you to kill the President." He reported that both men gave the impression that they intended to carry out this order.
In his autobiography, Mob Lawyer (1994), (co-written with journalist Selwyn Raab
), Ragano added that in July 1963, he was once again sent to New Orleans by Hoffa to meet Marcello and Santo Trafficante concerning plans to kill President Kennedy. When Kennedy was killed, Hoffa apparently told Ragano, "I told you that they could do it. I'll never forget what Carlos and Santo did for me." He added: "This means Bobby is out as Attorney General." Marcello later told Ragano, "When you see Jimmy (Hoffa), you tell him he owes me and he owes me big."
In 1981, Marcello, Aubrey W. Young
(a former aide to Governor John J. McKeithen), Charles E. Roemer, II (former commissioner of administration to Governor Edwin Washington Edwards), and two other men were indicted in U.S. District Court in New Orleans with conspiracy
, racketeering, and mail and wire fraud
in a scheme to bribe state officials to give the five men multi-million dollar insurance
contracts. The charges were the result of an Federal Bureau of Investigation
probe known as BriLab. U.S. District Judge Morey Sear allowed the admission of secretly-recorded conversations that he said demonstrated corruption
at the highest levels of state government. Marcello and Roemer were convicted, but Young and the two others were acquitted.
Marcello stayed out of prison in BriLab while his conviction was being appealed. He reported to prison in 1983, when his appeal was denied. On one conversation intercepted by the FBI, Marcello complained to his Dallas Underboss about those who accused him of murdering the Kennedy brothers. He was heard to say this about them, "Sure I have arguments with people, but then I make up with them."
Here, he lived out the last years of his life, cared for by a group of nurses and watched over by his wife and family. Apparently, he lost the power of speech and regressed to his infancy. He was never seen in public again and died on March 3, 1993.
The New Orleans crime family frequently met at a well-known exclusive Italian restaurant in the New Orleans suburb of Avondale, Louisiana
, known as Mosca's
. It has been said that Mosca's was the epicenter for Carlos Marcello and his many associates. It is still in operation today, after renovations following Hurricane Katrina
by the Mosca family.
The Marcello family and descendants still own or control a significant amount of real estate in southeast Louisiana.
Sicilian-American
Sicilian Americans are American people from Sicily or of Sicilian heritage. They are considered Italian Americans but are sometimes treated as a separate group due to cultural and historical differences between Sicily and the mainland....
mafioso who became the boss of the New Orleans crime family
New Orleans crime family
The New Orleans crime family is one of the oldest American criminal organizations in activity. It is based in New Orleans and parts of southern Louisiana in the United States. Its status today is unknown, as it remained in the shadows since 1993...
during the 1940s and held this position for the next 30 years.
Early life
Born as Calogero Minacore to Sicilian parents in Tunis, Tunisia, Marcello was brought to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1911 and his family settled in a decaying plantation house near Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
. Carlos turned to petty crime in the French Quarter
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. When New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city was originally centered on the French Quarter, or the Vieux Carré as it was known then...
. He was later imprisoned for masterminding a crew of teenage gangsters who carried out armed robberies in the small towns surrounding New Orleans. At the time, local newspapers compared him to the character of Fagin
Fagin
Fagin is a fictional character who appears as an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel as a "receiver of stolen goods", but referred to more frequently within the actual story as the "merry old gentleman" or simply the "Jew".-Character:Born...
from Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' novel Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
. This conviction was later overturned. However, the following year he was convicted of assault and robbery and was sentenced to the Louisiana State Penitentiary
Louisiana State Penitentiary
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is a prison farm in Louisiana operated by the Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections. It is the largest maximum security prison in the United States with 5,000 offenders and 1,800 staff...
for nine years. He was released after five years.
In 1938, Marcello was arrested and charged with the sale of more than 23 pounds of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. Despite receiving another lengthy prison sentence and a $76,830 fine, Marcello served less than 10 months in prison. On his release from prison, Marcello became associated with Frank Costello
Frank Costello
Frank Costello was an Italian New York City gangster who rose to the top of America's underworld, controlled a vast gambling empire across the United States and enjoyed political influence.Nicknamed the "Prime Minister of the Underworld", he became one of the most powerful and influential Mafia...
, the leader of the Genovese crime family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. At the time, Costello was involved in transporting illegal slot machines from New York to New Orleans. Marcello provided the muscle and arranged for the machines to be placed in local businesses.
Louisiana crime boss
By the end of 1947, Marcello had taken control of Louisiana's illegal gambling network. He had also joined forces with New York Mob associate Meyer LanskyMeyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky , known as the "Mob's Accountant", was a Polish-born American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the "National Crime Syndicate" in the United States...
in order to skim money from some of the most important casinos in the New Orleans area. According to former members of the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
, Marcello was also assigned a cut of the money skimmed from Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
casinos, in exchange for providing "muscle" in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
real estate deals. By this time, Marcello had been selected as the "Godfather
Crime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits come from the...
" of the New Orleans Mafia, by the family's capos and the Commission
National Crime Syndicate
The National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to a loosely-organized multi-ethnic organized crime syndicate. Its origins are uncertain....
. He was to hold this position for the next 30 years.
Marcello continued the family's long-standing tradition of fierce independence from interference by mafiosi in other areas. He enacted a policy that forbade mafiosi from other families from visiting Louisiana without permission.
On March 24, 1959, Marcello appeared before a United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
committee investigating organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. Serving as Chief Counsel to the committee was Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
; his brother, Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, was a member of the committee. In response to committee questioning, Marcello invoked the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
, in refusing to answer any questions relating to his background, activities and associates.
In 1960, Marcello donated $500,000 through Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
, to the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
campaign of Richard M. Nixon, challenging the Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
John F. Kennedy.
Deported to Guatemala
After becoming President, John Kennedy appointed his brother Robert as U.S. Attorney General. The two men worked closely together on a wide variety of issues including the attempt to tackle organized crimeOrganized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
. In March 1961 Attorney General Robert Kennedy, acting on requests which had been first made to the Eisenhower administration
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
by former Louisiana state police superintendent Francis Grevemberg
Francis Grevemberg
Francis Carroll Grevemberg , was the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police from 1952 to 1955, best remembered for his fight against organized crime....
, took steps to deport Marcello to Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
(the country Marcello had falsely listed as his birthplace). On April 4, of that year, Marcello was arrested by the authorities
Civil authority
Civil authority is that apparatus of the state other than its military units that enforces law and order. It is also used to distinguish between religious authority and secular authority...
and taken forcibly to Guatemala.
Plotting against the president
Marcello soon returned to the United States. Undercover informants reported that Marcello made several threats against John F. Kennedy, at one time uttering the traditional Sicilian death threat curse, "Take the stone from my shoe". Some of those who knew him, however, suggested that Marcello did not know enough ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
to utter such a threat. In September 1962, Marcello told private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
Edwin Nicholas Becker that, "A dog will continue to bite you if you cut off its tail...," (meaning Attorney General Robert Kennedy.), "...whereas if you cut off the dog's head...," (meaning President Kennedy), "... it would cease to cause trouble". Becker reported that Marcello, "clearly stated that he was going to arrange to have President Kennedy killed in some way". Marcello told another informant that he would need to take out "insurance" for the assassination by, ".... setting up some nut to take the fall for the job, just like they do in Sicily".
Just before Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby
Jack Ruby
Jacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
made contact with Marcello, and Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
boss Santo Trafficante
Santo Trafficante
Santo Trafficante was the name of two powerful Tampa, Florida Mafia bosses, father and son:*Santo Trafficante, Sr. *Santo Trafficante, Jr....
, about a labor problem he was having with the American Guild of Variety Artists
American Guild of Variety Artists
American Guild of Variety Artists is an American entertainment union representing performers in variety entertainment, including circuses, Las Vegas showrooms and cabarets, comedy showcases, dance revues, magic shows, theme park shows, and arena and auditorium extravaganzas. It awards the "Georgie...
(AGVA).
After Kennedy's assassination, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
investigated Marcello. They came to the conclusion that Marcello was not involved in the assassination. On the other hand, they also said that they, "... did not believe Carlos Marcello was a significant organized crime figure," and that Marcello earned his living, "... as a tomato salesman and real estate investor." As a result of this investigation, the Warren Commission
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established on November 27, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963...
concluded that there was no direct link between Ruby and Marcello.
In 1966, Marcello was arrested in New York City after having met with the National Commission. The meeting was reportedly called because Marcello's leadership was being challenged by Trafficante Jr. and Anthony Carolla, the son of Marcello's predecessor as boss of the New Orleans Combine, Sylvestro Carolla
Sylvestro Carolla
Sylvestro or Silvestro Carolla or Carollo was a leader of the New Orleans crime family who was nicknamed "Sam 'Silver Dollar'"...
. The Commission had reportedly ruled in Marcello's favor just before the police burst in.
Marcello was then charged with consorting with known felon
Felon
Felon may refer to:* Someone who commits a felony* Whitlow, a purulent inflammation of the pulp of a finger* A slang term for Summer Mastitis in cows in the United Kingdom* Felon, Territoire de Belfort, a commune of the Franche-Comté region, in France...
s. After a long, drawn-out legal battle, Marcello was convicted of assaulting an FBI agent whom he had punched in the face on his return to Louisiana. Sentenced to two years in prison, he served less than six months, and was released on March 12, 1971.
G. Robert Blakey
G. Robert Blakey
George Robert Blakey is an American attorney and law professor. He is best known for his work in connection with drafting the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and for scholarship on that subject.-Education and family:Blakey graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1957,...
, Chief Counsel and Staff Director to the House Select Committee on Assassinations, published, The Plot to Kill the President in 1981. In the book, Blakey argues that there was a conspiracy to kill John F. Kennedy. Blakey believes that Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
was involved, but also believes that there was at least one gunman firing from the grassy knoll. Blakey came to the conclusion that Marcello, Trafficante, Jr., along with Chicago Outfit boss Salvatore "Sam Mooney" Giancana
Sam Giancana
Salvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
were complicit in planning the assassination.
Kennedy assassination
On January 14, 1992, a New York PostNew York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
story claimed Marcello, Trafficante, Jr., and Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
had all been involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. Frank Ragano
Frank Ragano
Frank Ragano was a self-styled "mob lawyer" from Florida, who made his name representing organized crime figures such as Santo Trafficante, Jr. and Carlos Marcello, and also served as lawyer for Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa...
was quoted as saying that at the beginning of 1963, Hoffa had told him to take a message to Trafficante and Marcello concerning a plan to kill Kennedy. When the meeting took place at the Royal Orleans Hotel, Ragano told the men: "You won't believe what Hoffa wants me to tell you. Jimmy wants you to kill the President." He reported that both men gave the impression that they intended to carry out this order.
In his autobiography, Mob Lawyer (1994), (co-written with journalist Selwyn Raab
Selwyn Raab
-Books:*Justice in the Back Room*Mob Lawyer*Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires -References:...
), Ragano added that in July 1963, he was once again sent to New Orleans by Hoffa to meet Marcello and Santo Trafficante concerning plans to kill President Kennedy. When Kennedy was killed, Hoffa apparently told Ragano, "I told you that they could do it. I'll never forget what Carlos and Santo did for me." He added: "This means Bobby is out as Attorney General." Marcello later told Ragano, "When you see Jimmy (Hoffa), you tell him he owes me and he owes me big."
In 1981, Marcello, Aubrey W. Young
Aubrey W. Young
Aubrey Walsworth Young was a public official in the U.S. state of Louisiana, who between 1965 and 1999 established multiple drug and alcohol treatment programs through the Department of Health and Hospitals. A political activist, Young organized his contacts from Alcoholics Anonymous to support...
(a former aide to Governor John J. McKeithen), Charles E. Roemer, II (former commissioner of administration to Governor Edwin Washington Edwards), and two other men were indicted in U.S. District Court in New Orleans with conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, racketeering, and mail and wire fraud
Wire fraud
Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
in a scheme to bribe state officials to give the five men multi-million dollar insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
contracts. The charges were the result of an Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
probe known as BriLab. U.S. District Judge Morey Sear allowed the admission of secretly-recorded conversations that he said demonstrated corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
at the highest levels of state government. Marcello and Roemer were convicted, but Young and the two others were acquitted.
Marcello stayed out of prison in BriLab while his conviction was being appealed. He reported to prison in 1983, when his appeal was denied. On one conversation intercepted by the FBI, Marcello complained to his Dallas Underboss about those who accused him of murdering the Kennedy brothers. He was heard to say this about them, "Sure I have arguments with people, but then I make up with them."
Death
Early in 1989, Marcello suffered a series of strokes that left him severely disabled, and by the end of March, he was showing obvious signs of Alzheimer’s disease. At times he became so disoriented that he thought he was living in a hotel, and could not recognize family members who visited him. In July, in a surprise move, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out his BriLab conviction. One judge denied this reversal, but his decision in turn was overruled. In October, after having served six years and six months of his sentence, Marcello was released, and the old don was finally returned into his family’s care. "I’m retired," he told reporters. "I’m happy. Everybody’s been nice to me." He returned to his white marble, two-story mansion overlooking a golf course in Metairie.Here, he lived out the last years of his life, cared for by a group of nurses and watched over by his wife and family. Apparently, he lost the power of speech and regressed to his infancy. He was never seen in public again and died on March 3, 1993.
The New Orleans crime family frequently met at a well-known exclusive Italian restaurant in the New Orleans suburb of Avondale, Louisiana
Avondale, Louisiana
Avondale is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 5,441 at the 2000 census...
, known as Mosca's
Mosca's
Mosca's is a Louisiana Creole Italian restaurant in Avondale, Louisiana, near New Orleans. Operated by the same family since it opened in 1946, it has long been regarded as one of New Orleans' best restaurants, known for dishes such as Oysters Mosca, crab salad, and Chicken a la...
. It has been said that Mosca's was the epicenter for Carlos Marcello and his many associates. It is still in operation today, after renovations following Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
by the Mosca family.
The Marcello family and descendants still own or control a significant amount of real estate in southeast Louisiana.
External links
- Court TV Crime Library: Out of Africa by Thomas L. Jones
- Carlos Marcello and the Assassination of President Kennedy by Don Fulsom
- Carlos Marcello's entry of Spartacus Educational