carlos marcello

Born February 6, 1910(1910-02-06)

Tunis, Tunisia Died March 3, 1993 (aged 83)

Metairie, Louisiana, U.S.

Carlos Marcello (February 6, 1910 – March 3, 1993) was a New Orleans mobster who became the boss of the New Orleans crime family, during the 1960s. Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Later life 3 Kennedy assassination 4 Death 5 External links //

Early life

Born as Calogero Minacore to Sicilian parents in Tunis, Tunisia, 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. He was later imprisoned for leading a crew of teenage gangsters who carried out armed robberies in the small towns near New Orleans. The conviction was later overturned; but, 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.

Later life

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 Lansky in order to take over and split the profits 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 crowned 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 cities--even other bosses--from visiting New Orleans 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.

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 crime. In March 1961 Attorney General Robert Kennedy, acting on requests which had been first made