Richard Cain

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This article is about the corrupt Chicago police officer. For the U.S. congressman from South Carolina, see Richard H. Cain.

Richard Cain (October 5, 1931-December 20, 1973) was a notoriously corrupt Chicago police officer, ranking member of the Chicago Outfit, and a close associate of Mafia boss Sam Giancana. He has also been accused by several conspiracy theorists of his involvement in the JFK assassination.

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[edit] Early life

Born to an Irish-American father and an Italian-American mother in Owosso, Michigan, Cain was raised in Chicago after his parents divorced. He became involved with the Chicago Outfit by using his position as a security guard to arrange the hijacking of UPS trucks. Despite his grandfather having been a prominent racketbuster in Little Italy, Chicago during the turn of the century, Cain would later become a made man and a close associate of Giancana. It has been alleged that Giancana was responsible for obtaining him a position inside the Chicago Police Department during the early 1950s. Later, during his time as a Cook County Sheriff's investigator, Cain allegedly served as a bagman between corrupt police officials and the Outfit. He also served as an enforcer while working in vice districts and occasionally participated in staged police raids on the Outfit's illegal casinos and sports betting parlors.

[edit] Double Deal

Taking a leave of absence in 1960, he was assigned as Chief Investigator of the Office of the Cook County State's Attorney who was to work with Assistant US District Attorney Richard Gioie in his investigation of Giancana. Cain was credited by Richard Ogilvie as an aggressive officer whose knowledge of Outfit operations played a part in Giancana's conviction. After spending time in Mexico, Cain returned to Chicago to support Ogilvie in his campaign to run for Sheriff of Cook County and served as a top official in the Cook County's Sheriff's Department during the early 1960s.

[edit] Cold Warrior

He would also become involved in Operation Mongoose (possibly as a contract agent for the Central Intelligence Agency), and traveled to Miami and began training Cuban-Americans for the Bay of Pigs Invasion with Charles "Chuckie" Nicoletti and Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio.

[edit] Disgrace

Remaining a close friend and associate of Giancana, Cain continued to enjoy a high ranking position as a police officer until 1967 when he was fired for staging drug raids and stealing narcotics out of the evidence locker.

[edit] Informant and Murder Victim

Convicted during trial, he served a four year prison term before rejoining Giancana, who was then then exiled in Mexico. Cain became a key figure in Giancana's money skimming from casinos in Central America and Iran. During this time, conspiring to control the city's illegal gambling operations, he began working as an FBI informant for Agent William F. Roemer, allegedly muscling out his rivals by revealing their operations to federal authorities. His half brother, Michael Cain, believes that he was planning to take over The Outfit itself.

During the early 1970s, he also became involved in a burglary ring masterminded by Outfit capo Marshall Caifano. On December 20, 1973, Richard Cain was approached by a masked man and shotgunned in the face inside Rose's Sandwich Shop. It has been speculated that Caifano had learned of Cain's informant status and had received permission from The Outfit's top boss, Antonio "Tony," "The Big Tuna" Accardo, to have Cain killed. Some investigators believe that legendary Outfit enforcer Harry Aleman was the triggerman.

[edit] Urban Legends

According to Charles and Sam Giancana in their 1992 book Double Cross: The Explosive, Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America, it was he and Nicoletti, not Lee Harvey Oswald, who were in the Texas Book Depository on November 22, 1963.

In 1996, based on information obtained from Brazilian journalist Claudia Furiati, author Eric Hamburg claimed that Cain had been involved with Dave Yarras and Lenny Patrick during the assassination. This was also supported by author Peter Dale Scott in his 1996 book Bringing It All Together who pointed out Cain's links to Johnny Roselli and John Martino.

Since his death, other researchers, including Larry Hancock and Cain's half brother Michael Cain, have investigated his rumored ties to the JFK assassination. Neither has obtained any conclusive evidence to support his involvement in any aspect of the assassination.

[edit] In Popular Culture

Cain was the inspiration for the character of Al Neri (a former policeman turned Mafia henchman) in Mario Puzo's The Godfather.

[edit] Family

In 2007, Richard Cain's half-brother Michael Cain published a detailed account of his half-brother's life in the book The Tangled Web.

[edit] Further reading

  • Cain, Michael J. The Tangled Web. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-60239-044-7
  • Ashman, Charles. The CIA-Mafia Link. New York: Manor Books, 1975.
  • Giancana, Sam and Chuck. Double Cross: The Explosive, Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America. New York: Warner Books, 1992. ISBN 0-446-51624-4
  • Furiati, Claudia. ZR Rifle: The Plot to Kill Kennedy and Castro. Melbourne, Australia: Ocean Press, 1994. ISBN 1-875284-84-2
  • Hinckle, Warren and Turner, William W. The Fish is Red: The Story of the Secret War Against Castro. New York: Harper & Row, 1981. ISBN 0-06-038003-9

[edit] External links