Carlos Marcello

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Calogero Minacore

Born	February 6, 1910 Tunis, Tunisia
Died	March 3, 1993 Metairie, Louisiana, USA

Carlos Marcello (b. February 6, 1910 – March 3, 1993) was a New Orleans mobster and head of the New Orleans crime family during the 1960s.

Born as Calogero Minacore to Sicilian parents in Tunis, Marcello was brought to the United States in 1911 and his family settled in a decaying Plantation house near Metairie, Louisiana. Carlos, however, later turned to petty crime in the French Quarter, which was then New Orleans' Little Italy. He was later imprisoned for leading a crew of teenaged gangsters who carried out armed robberies in the small towns near New Orleans. These charges were later dropped but the following year he was convicted of assault and robbery and was sentenced to the State penitentiary for 9 years. He only served 5.

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.

By the end of 1947, Marcello had taken control of Louisiana's gambling network. He had also joined forces with Meyer Lansky in order to take over and split the profits from some of the most important gambling 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 crowned as the Godfather of the Mafia in New Orleans by the family's capos and the Commission. He was to hold this position for the next 30 years.

On March 24 1959, Marcello appeared before the 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 again invoked the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer any questions relating to his background, activities, and associates.

After becoming president, John F. Kennedy appointed his brother, Robert Kennedy, as U.S. Attorney General. The two men worked closely together on a wide variety of issues including the attempt to tackle organized crime. In March 1961, the Attorney General took steps to have Marcello deported to Guatemala (the country Marcello had falsely listed as his birthplace). On 4th April, Marcello was arrested by the authorities and taken forcibly to Guatemala.

It did not take Marcello long to get back into 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 Italian to utter such a threat. In September 1962 he told private investigator Edward 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 22nd November 1963, Jack Ruby made contact with Marcello, and another Mafia leader, Santos Trafficante, about a labor problem he was having with the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA).

After the assassination of Kennedy 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 Tampa Mafia boss Santo Trafficante Jr. and Anthony Carollo, the son of Marcello's predecessor as boss of the New Orleans Mafia. The Commission had reportedly ruled in Marcello's favor just before the police burst in.

Marcello was then charged with consorting with known felons and after a long drawn out legal battle he was eventually 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 12 March 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. He believes that Lee Harvey Oswald was involved but believes that there was at least one gunman firing from the Grassy Knoll. Blakey came to the conclusion that Marcello, along with Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana and Tampa, Florida mafia leader Santo Trafficante, Jr., were complicit in planning the assassination.

On 14th January 1992, a New York Post story claimed Marcello, Jimmy Hoffa and Santo Trafficante had all been involved in the assassination of President John F. 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), attorney Frank Ragano added that in July 1963, he was once again sent to New Orleans by Jimmy Hoffa to meet Marcello and Santo Trafficante concerning plans to kill President John F. 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."

Marcello was convicted on charges relating to an undercover sting in 1981, but stayed out of prison while his conviction was being appealed until 1983 when his appeal was denied and he was ordered to report to prison. 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 this about them, "Sure I have arguments with people, but then I make up with them."

Carlos Marcello died in one of his mansions in Metairie, Louisiana on March 3, 1993 as a free man, having been released in 1989 after his initial conviction on bribery charges was overturned. At the time of his release, Marcello had come down with Alzheimer’s. By the time of his death he had regressed to his infancy.

The New Orleans Combine frequently met at a well-known exclusive Italian restaurant in the New Orleans suburb of Avondale 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.