Who Killed Kennedy? Essay, Research Paper
Did the Mafia kill John F. Kennedy?
The sun was shining on Friday, November 22, 1963, when the Dallas crowd heard the shots ring out that killed the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was wounded while riding in a motorcade through the hostile city of Dallas in an open convertible. (Waggoner, 8) The suspect arrested was Lee Harvey Oswald, but Oswald would be dead by the end of the day due to a gunshot wound, from a man named Jack Ruby. Since Oswald was no longer around to give his statement, many people have to wonder who really killed Kennedy. Was Oswald part of a mafia conspiracy to assassinate president Kennedy, or did he act alone?
Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and President John F. Kennedy put their political power together to crack down on organized crime. John Kennedy served on the McClellan Committee which investigated the relationship between organized crime and American labor unions. The committee s findings were astounding, so when John Kennedy became President of the United States, he vowed to cut down the “mafia s” criminal activity. Robert Kennedy, John s brother, was the chief counsel of the McClellan Committee and when appointed Attorney General he increased staff at the Justice Department and created a special organized crime unit in the department. (Waggnoer 52) In 1960, there were only thirty five convictions, whereas in 1963, the
“Kennedy Era”, the convictions rose to two hundred and eighty eight. (Waggoner 52) Three high ranking mafia leaders, Jimmy Hoffa, Carlos Marcello, and Santos Trafficante, were infuriated with the Kennedys and had great desire to see them eliminated from office.
Jimmy Hoffa was a huge figure in the organized crime world. His name was synonymous with assassinations, drugs, and other major crimes. (Waggoner 53) Hoffa once spoke to a close friend, Edward Partin about the possibility of killing Robert Kennedy while riding in open convertible. He went on to say that it would have to be somewhere in the South where his politcal views were strongly opposed, so it would look like the assassin was someone that just despised him. This theory would shift all of the blame off any conspiracy by the mafia. But Hoffa knew that it was really John F. Kennedy that had all of the power, so if John was taken out, then the “heart” of the Kennedys would be gone and Robert s powers would be limited. (Waggoner 55)
The next mafia leader, Carlos Marcello was one of the main criminals that John and Robert Kennedy focused on. Marcello was a major mafia leader in Cuba. Fidel Castro, the President of Cuba, cracked down on organized crime and deported Marcello out of his country. The United States had the pleasure of being the country that Marcello next set up his crime establishment in. Robert Kennedy found out that Marcello was not a U.S. legal resident, so he deported him back to his home country of Guatemala. Edward Becker, a fomer Marcello associate, testified that Marcello hated Robert, but realized that John was the bigger problem, and he also explained to Becker what plan was necessary to handle him. According to Becker s testimony, Marcello stated “the dog
will keep biting you if you only cut off it tail”, so to solve the problem, the dog s head would have to be cut off so that “the entire dog would die”. (Waggoner 58) Hoffa and Marcello had admitted to being good friends. They were also good friends with the third angry organized crime leader, Santos Trafficante.
Trafficante was a go-to man when assassinations needed to be carried out. The CIA plotted an assassination of Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, and the man they called was Trafficante. He figured that if he helped get rid of Castro, then organized crime would once again be tolerated in Cuba so he would not be bothered by the Kennedys any longer. Trafficante especially hated the Kennedy brothers for putting continuous pressure on two of his good friends, Carlos Marcello and Jimmy Hoffa. He too told a friend of his hatred and plan of how to get rid of the “problem”. When Jose Aleman was quesitoned, he quoted Trafficante and saying “Mark my words, this Kennedy is in trouble, and he will get what is coming to him…. Kennedy s not going to make it to the [1963] election. He is going to be hit.” (Waggoner 60)
All three of these leaders were good friends and all wanted to see President Kennedy dead so they would not be bothered in their criminal activity. They wanted Robert dead, but they knew that they would have to kill his brother the president so that Robert s power would be limited. With Hoffa s idea of assassinating someone in an open convertible and in a place where the Kennedy s were disliked, Marcello and Trafficante s connections, and a printed route of the motorcade twice in the week preceding Kennedy s assassination, they had ample motive and means to conspire to kill president John F. Kennedy.
If the mafia were the ones who plotted the assassination, then why was Oswald s palm print on the gun used and also why was he shot by a man named Jack Ruby? Lee Harvey Oswald was a man whose life was and still is a great mystery. He had distant, but distinct ties with the mafia which may have led to his use in the assassination. (TIME-LIFE Books 12) Using Oswald, the attention would shift away from the organized crime criminals and onto a man who could be made out to handle the task himself. Oswald was in a great deal of debt, so carrying out this plan would make him regain his good financial status. (TIME-LIFE Books 37) The Warren s Commission ruled that Oswald acted alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but their are many facts to dispute that theory. First of all, Oswald would have to be an excellent shot, to be able to complete that task of firing three bullets in a very short time period. His Marine Corps friends said that Oswald was a terrible shot and barely passed his rifle requirements. (Waggoner 29) The Warren s Commission theorized that there was a “magic bullet” that went through both Kennedy and Governor Connally and then entered the seat without any damage done to it. This theory does not match up with having only one gunman. Witness heard gunshots from the “grassy knoll”, but the witnesses were dismissed by the Warren s Commission for apparently being “mistaken.” The second dispute is the whereabouts of Oswald directly after the assassination. Oswald was apparently seen on the second floor completely normal, a minute and a half after the shooting occurred. Would an assassin be walking completely calm after he shot the president of the United States? Researchers say no, so why was he shot by Jack Ruby?
Jack Rubenstein, also known as Jack Ruby, was a gunrunner for Al Capone in
Chicago in his younger years. In his later years, he continued to have very close ties with organized crime and the three main mafia leaders, Hoffa, Marcello, and Trafficante. (Hubbard-Burrell 211) Ruby s phone calls the week prior to Kennedy s assassination reveal that he made several calls to his major mafia buddies. (Hubbard-Burrell 212) People reportedly saw Ruby on the “grassy knoll” in the same time period as when Kennedy was shot. (Hubbard-Burrell 214) It is strongly believed that both Oswald and Ruby were working with the organized crime group in the assassination of Kennedy and both got shots at him. This would disprove the “magic bullet” theory and give the true origin of where the gunshots came from. In his testimony, Ruby told people of the Warren s Commission that “I am used as a scapegoat… But if I am eliminated, there won t be any way of knowing.” Ruby probably shot Oswald because he thought that he would talk, but then Ruby must have realized that he was just being used also. Ruby later died supposedly of lung cancer, but he told his family members that he believed that he was injected with cancer cells. When an autopsy was done, Ruby s cancer cells were actually found in his digestive system. The mafia might have figured that Ruby would talk to police so they also had to eliminate him . (Hubbard-Burrell 218)
In my opinion,the facts clearly state that Oswald could not have assassinated President Kennedy himself, so he had to have help. The mafia had both the motive and means to plan and carry out the shooting of Kennedy. The three main opponents of the Kennedy brothers were Hoffa, Marcello, and Trafficante, but they used Oswald and Ruby as scapegoats to shift the attention away from them. The mafia leaders orginially wanted
Robert Kennedy dead, but they all knew that killing his brother, the President would be
must more beneficial. So the mafia was definately in on the assassination of President Kennedy and they used Oswald as a pawn in their little game. On that clear sunny November day, Oswald and Ruby both carried out the plan that was given to them by their bosses, the infamous mafia.
Murphy 7
Works Cited
Hubbard-Burrell, Joan. What really happened to JFK? Ponderosa Press: Texas. 1992.
TIME-LIFE Books. True Crime. TIME-LIFE Books: Virginia. 1994.
Waggoner, Jeffrey. The Assassination of President Kennedy. Greenhaven Press, Inc: San Diego. 1989
Другие работы по теме:
Who Killed Jfk Essay Research Paper Who
Who Killed Jfk? Essay, Research Paper Who Killed JFK? Who Killed JFK? You may ask why I say this, but it’s something you really need to know. If you believe that Lee Harvey Oswald killed him then you are taking part in
Speech Essay Research Paper SpeechKennedy I don
Speech Essay, Research Paper Speech Kennedy, I don’t know much about you so I have to make something up. Maybe you can change it a little according to how you like it. I cannot help you much on this speech, it is up to you to tell people about yourself. I’m not quite sure how to help you on this one actually. Because you would be telling the class about yourself.
Assisnation Of Jfk Essay Research Paper Matt
Assisnation Of Jfk Essay, Research Paper Matt Robinson The Assassination of John F. Kennedy The Assassination of JFK, which occurred in Dallas, Texas on a seemingly normal November day was one of the most shocking moments in recent history. He was riding in an open limousine when he was shot several times, once noticeably in the brain.
Oedipus Free Will Essay Research Paper The
Oedipus Free Will Essay, Research Paper The characters in the story are free to make their own choices in life. Laios, upon being told that his son will kill him and marry his wife, chooses to have him killed. If Laios had not been told this
The End Of The Diem Regime Essay
, Research Paper The Kennedy administration was responsible for the overthrow of the Diem regime and Diem?s assasination.The U.S. did not have a problem with
Eulogies Essay Research Paper An elegy is
Eulogies Essay, Research Paper An elegy is a poem that reflects upon death. It is a very good way for people to release stress. It makes others think. An elegy to some people, is very depressing to
Jewish Essay Research Paper Beowulf EssayThere were
Jewish Essay, Research Paper Beowulf Essay There were many differences between Beowulf the play and 13th Warrior the movie. In the play Beowulf was depicted as a soul warrior who?s strength and ability was
Ivan Iv Essay Research Paper Ivan IV
Ivan Iv Essay, Research Paper Ivan IV: The First TsarIvan the Terrible was only 3 years old when he became the tsar of Russia. Obviously too young to actually rule, his mother Elena and her lover, Ivan Obolensky, ruled the country for him. In 1538, Elena died and Ivan Obolensky killed for the chance to rule the country.
Jfk Jr Essay Research Paper John F
Jfk Jr Essay, Research Paper John F. Kennedy Jr. John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. was born on November 25, 1960, two and a half weeks after his father was elected president of the United States and less than two months before his father was inaugurated. Three years later, that father, murdered by an assassin’s bullet, was buried on John’s third birthday.
Murder At Inverness Essay Research Paper Murder
Murder At Inverness Essay, Research Paper Murder at Inverness By Aaron Klugh Last night at Inverness, Macbeth?s castle, King Duncan was stabbed to death. Macduff was the first who discovered Duncan dead in his bedroom. Along with the King, the guards were also murdered. Macbeth said he killed the guards in a fit of rage.
Who Killed JFK Essay Research Paper Before
Who Killed JFK? Essay, Research Paper Before we started the section on John F. Kennedy in our class I would have said that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated him without a question in my mind. After reviewing videos on this subject in class I am now not so sure. Was there really a conspiracy to kill Kennedy or as a nation do we over analyze something that was an open and shut case?
The Warren Commission Essay Research Paper The
The Warren Commission Essay, Research Paper The Warren Commission was a committee that investigated the alleged murder of John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald while Kennedy was campaigning for reelection. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the commission so that there was only one committee investigating the murder, and he wanted the American public to be sure of what had happened.
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Essay Research Paper Joseph
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Essay, Research Paper Joseph Patrick Kennedy was born on September 6, 1888, in Boston Massachusetts. He was born the son of Patrick Joseph Kennedy, a local politician and successful businessman, and his wife Mary Augusta Hickey Kennedy. His parents wanted only the best for young Joe.
Death Penalty Essay Research Paper Is the
Death Penalty Essay, Research Paper Is the Death Penalty Right or Wrong? Should we be able to execute people that have been convicted of murder or should we give them a chance to break out of jail and maybe kill other people. Well the Death Penalty has been around for a while ever since the Old West use to hang people for punishment.
John F Kennedy Essay Research Paper JFKJohn
John F Kennedy Essay, Research Paper John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. He was the youngest man ever elected to be president, and was also the youngest to die while in office. I feel that a holiday recognizing his life should be issued. I personally think he was the best president to serve our country.
Jfk And The Space Program Essay Research
Paper Communism spread dramatically during the Cold War. Russia successfully introduced communism to smaller, unstable countries. Cuba joined forces with Russia in the effort to advance communism around the world. Technology also advanced at breakneck speeds. The US and Russia raced to claim the title First Country to Enter Space.
Driving Drunk Essay Research Paper Drunk Driving
Driving Drunk Essay, Research Paper Drunk Driving is becoming a major concern in our society today. Drunk driving is not a funny thing. It has killed many people and ruined the lives of many others.
JFK Essay Research Paper The tragedy I
J.F.K Essay, Research Paper The tragedy I will discuss is the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy . President Kennedy was the 35 th President of the United States .He was born in 1917 in Brookline , Massachusetts . He was the second of 9 children , born to wealthy parents .
Camelot Kennedy Lagacy Essay Research Paper At
Camelot Kennedy Lagacy Essay, Research Paper At one point in time, Camelot was known as place where love was true and passionate, and where knights fought for their king with great dedication. The Camelot of that era was very storybook. The name Camelot was then attached to the Kennedy legacy. Was it a true Camelot or was the difference very distinct.
Cuban Missile Crisis Essay Research Paper Cuban
Cuban Missile Crisis Essay, Research Paper Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 was the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. The crisis was a major confrontation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The confrontation was caused by the Soviets putting missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles off the coast of the United States of America.
Part 1V Task Essay Research Paper Part
Part 1V Task Essay, Research Paper Part IV Task The quote, “Our problems are manmade: therefore, they may be solved by man? No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.” by President John F. Kennedy, holds truth. In other words, we create our own problems and make our own choices on how to solve them, in turn, controlling our own destiny.
Jfk Assassination Essay Essay Research Paper JFK
Jfk Assassination Essay Essay, Research Paper JFK Assassination Essay Travis AP US 1 04/22/01 Is there enough information in the case of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy to assume it a conspiracy? There is much that can be brought into play to say that there not only was more than one shooter, but that also, Lee Harvey Oswald, was not the man to have done the real shooting anyway.
Classical Rhetoric And Its Influence Essay Research
Paper Classical Rhetoric and its Influence The influence that classical rhetoric has had on very famous modern-day speeches can be accredited to Cicero, the greatest Roman orator of all time. The same rhetorical devices and the elements of style that Cicero incorporated in his compelling oration against Catiline are still utilized today.
The Inaugural Speech Essay Research Paper PAID
The Inaugural Speech Essay, Research Paper PAID ADVERTISEMENT Summary of President John F. Kennedy s Inaugural Address This inaugural speech establishes what John F. Kennedy s vision is for the United States–actually
John F Kennedy Essay Research Paper John 2
John F. Kennedy Essay, Research Paper John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second child of nine children. He lived in the suburbs of Boston but as his family grew his father’s income increased and they moved back to Brookline. John had a seemingly happy childhood. He attended private selementary schools where he played sports and games.
The Life Of John F Kennedy
Essay, Research Paper The Life of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline Massachusetts on May 29, 1917. He attended Harvard University and graduated in 1940. From 1941-1945 he
The JFK Conspiracy Essay Research Paper Is
The JFK Conspiracy Essay, Research Paper Is the government really truthful to us ? the people? Government is a really big ?organization? with a huge amount of members, and it?s obvious somebody is not telling the truth.
No Modern Camelot Essay Research Paper No
No Modern Camelot Essay, Research Paper No Modern Camelot Kennedy was a man obsessed with his image while Arthur was a man obsessed with ideas he had to make his society grow.
Asefasdf Essay Research Paper Oedipus the King
Asefasdf Essay, Research Paper Oedipus the King by Sophocles Sophocles “Oedipus the King” is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The story of Oedipus (2 page)
John Kennedy Essay Research Paper JOHN F
John Kennedy Essay, Research Paper JOHN F. KENNEDY John Fitzgerald was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917. He graduated from Harvard University in 1940. Which