Double Cross

The Explosive Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America

By: Sam Giancana, Chuck Giancana, Tim Newark - foreword, Bettina Giancana - contributor

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most feared Chicago mobsters, Sam Giancana, clawed his way to the top of the Mafia hierarchy by starting as a hit man for Al Capone. He was known as one of the best vehicle escape artists, a tenacious business man, and a ruthless killer. He partied with major stars such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe and did business with agents ranging from the CIA to the Vatican to the shah of Iran. When politician Joe Kennedy gave Giancana the chance to use mob muscle to get his son John elected, Giancana jumped at the task. But the Kennedy brothers double-crossed him, waging full-out war on organized crime throughout the United States. And Giancana went after them.  

Written with suspense and conviction, we learn about how the CIA asked Giancana to assassinate Fidel Castro. The book includes Giancana's testimony about the truth of his involvement in the deaths of Monroe and others. Chuck Giancana, Sam's brother, contributes a unique perspective of the mob's relationship with the Bay of Pigs and many other pivotal events of the '60s and beyond. Double Cross is an eye-opening account of the interworking of the government and the mob and how this relationship has impacted American history.

©1992 Sam Giancana, Chuck Giancana, and Bettina Giancana; Foreword copyright 2014 by Bettina Giancana and Sam Giancana (P)2019 Tantor

Kennedy Assassination Solved

Anyone who still believes in the findings of the Warren Commission must read/listen to this! Anyone who still believes that government works for the American people must read/listen to this! While the performance is outstanding, the story, though very disturbing, is one that is all too real and relevant in today’s society!

Must read answers a lot of questions

It drags a little in the middle and is not a thriller but worth the listen. Reveals and explains a lot of how things work. Especially assasinations and government corruption.

Narrator is awful. Constantly lowers his voice to a almost whisper making it extremely hard to hear unless very loud.

Narrator is awful. Constantly lowers his voice to a almost whisper making it extremely hard to hear unless very loud. His narration ruins otherwise a superb book. I read this book about 30 years ago.

Moony

Everything in the book is probable and I'm sure a lot is true. For that matter it could all be true but without corroboration it's hear say. It does fit into the myths and conjecture about that time in US history. Sam Giancanna was an iconic and consequential character of that era. Well worth reading.

Boss of Bosses

The best mobster book! Why a movie hasn't been made of his extraordinary life is what I asked myself after reading just so amazing

The Mafia Connection to the Death of JFK

I was drawn to this book because I have heard mention of Double Cross from other sources. The paperback "Primary Target: JFK" by Pamela J. Ray & James E. Files constantly mentions Sam Giancana. James Files, a hitman for Sam Giancana and the CIA, claims to be one of two assassins who killed President Kennedy on orders from Sam Giancana with the CIA. Files says that he & Chuck Nicoletti were the two JFK shooters. Johnny Roselli was supposed to be the second shooter but backed out; so Files a backup shooter took that position.
In this book, Chuck Giancana says that his brother Sam had Chuck Nicoletti and some others kill JFK. He doesn't mention Files, probably because Files is still alive, and the rest are dead.
Chuck Giancana says the JFK shooters received $50,000.00 each for killing Kennedy. James Files in the "Primary Target: JFK" book says that Johnny Roselli paid him $30,000.00 for the JFK hit. Someone must have skimmed.
I was looking for information to corroborate File's connection to Sam Giancana. I think it is probably there though not mentioned.
This is a real inside story that helped me understand how people are influenced and controlled by forces that the public does not see. I consider this book a kiss-and-tell-story.
I was also surprised that voter fraud was rampant in the Chicago area and that Sam Giancana could guarantee that certain people would be elected even to the office of President of the USA.
The long arm of Sam Giancana reached across city, state, and federal governments up to the office of President of the United States. His foreign reach was incredible.
I also found it interesting that he had a meeting with the Pope. I wonder if he was looking for a guarantee of Heaven or sainthood or whether it was Mob business and money?
Due to the many people he had murdered, tortured, defamed, stolen from, cheated, adulterated and many other heinous crimes, he was one of history's most vile, vulgar, and violent men. They were land pirates that preyed upon the innocent, the weak, the poor, and stole millions and destroyed people's lives with drugs, alcohol, prostitution, loan sharking, forced adultery, etc.
The thing that comes to my mind is the Scripture verse (Proverbs 6:16-19 )that reads: "There are six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speak lies, And one who sows discord among the brethren."

amazing!!! a must read!!!!

loved it! i have been watching making of the mob and read red mist and blonde (about marilyn and jfk) and this book was such a treat!!! must buy!!!

Gripping inside look

This book was a gripping inside look into periods and events in history that our history books in school never talk about!

Too Much Name Dropping

Not sure how many different mob members were mentioned in this story but it had to be in the hundreds. Today we call that, "Too Much Information." I am fascinated by books about the Mafia and this one kept me entertained. At the same time, much of it sounded repetitive with only the names changing. Not sure who was mostly responsible for writing this book but there was lots of credit claimed for things where maybe credit wasn't due. Or maybe it was. I'll leave it at that. I purchased this book on sale and it was worth the sale price. Don't spend a full credit on it.

Riveting Story…

This was a riveting story which was impossible to pause from.
Thoroughly recommended..
Excellent book.

Loved it

Absolutely loved this book. I listened in the van on a long drive and was thinking about it every time I wasn’t in the van. Great listen. Highly recommended

Myths, mayhem and mobsters

Sam Giancana was a high-ranking hood who used to work for Al Capone. Later, he became a senior figure in the Chicago Outfit - Capone’s criminal syndicate. Whether Sam ran the show is open to debate (though according to this book, for a lot of the time he did). The Outfit was skilled at track-covering and creating confusion about the true chieftains. But Giancana was powerful - a professional psychopath. In this book, his stepbrother Chuck, Chuck’s son Sam, and Sam’s wife Bettina piece together the life of a Mob boss. It’s listenable for the most part. The early sections are a bit repetitive and slightly struggled to hold my attention - despite the fascinating subject matter. But it becomes more compelling as the book progresses, and Giancana rises through the ranks to become a feared kingpin. Chuck’s story is an unhappy one - business ventures failed as a result of his Giancana connections, and he changed his name. Being Sam G’s stepbrother was no picnic. Chuck didn’t ask too many questions. But it seems he kept his ears open. Sam and others confided in Chuck the extent of his stepbrother’s criminal activities - eg his role in allegedly orchestrating the murder
of JFK. It’s well-documented that Giancana was hired by the CIA for a failed plot to kill Fidel Castro. So anything is possible. But after a while I began to ask questions about how much of what was alleged was true. Did Sam really kill (or have killed) the Kennedy brothers and Marilyn Monroe? Intriguing propositions. But the claim that Richard Nixon and Lyndon B Johnson knew all about the conspiracy to murder JFK is a tough one to credit. Even so, for Mafia aficionados this is entertaining fare. But it should be viewed with a degree of scepticism. Towards the end, Giancana is said to have been given the contract to kill Jimmy Hoffa (before Giancana’s own brutal murder). Is there any crime this book doesn’t solve..? Nonetheless, Giancana is a key figure in the history of 20th century organised crime, and indeed 1960s U.S. politics - to an extent. His life is worth exploring - but it’s not clear that this book really nails it. Nonetheless, it’s a good listen. Perhaps the most effective sections are to do with Chucky himself - and the impact of Giancana’s criminality on his own life. This does all sound fairly credible. As ever, the true legacy of big-league gangsters is hard to gauge - but it’s much more clear-cut when it comes to the repercussions for their families (their relatives, rather than their fellow criminals). And in the long term they’re rarely positive…

The narrator was fantastic.

Absolutely brilliant. I listened to this over 2 days at work. I wasn't expecting such a fascinating story, the best thing is that everything lines up with what we know. Although, I'm a bit skeptical about the Bay of Pigs version that's in this book. From what I know, the weapons were diverted to Israel and JFK was assassinated because he was about expose Israels nuclear ambitions.

The narrator deserves special praise. He was great at doing all the voices and was fantastic at conveying how scary Mooney was to be around.

Recommended.

great book

really good book as I never knew so much about the other American mafia until listening to this. you mainly only here about the new York families

Trusted facts ?

I suspect the majority of this is fiction. It certainly makes for a good story, but I hardly believe a word of it.

Good listen if you're really into you're mafia

I enjoyed it and soem good details regarding the life from castri to jfk and all other sorts

Interesting but tough going

Very detailed story but has a tendency to jump about a bit which makes it difficult to follow

Tough going to listen to as the mob people, and especially Sam, show themselves as the worst of humanity who will exploit anyone for their own gain

This really shows that good people should do everything they can to stop people like this

Fantastic

I absolutely loved this from start to finish brilliant. A real eye opener to life in the mob

Intersting insight

This account gives an interesting insight into what made Mafia Boss Sam Giancana into the monstrous man he became. I believe his father's appalling cruelty to him in boyhood along with the terrible poverty in which they lived were to blame. But that's no excuse for his behaviour. Marilyn and JFK were among his greatest hits. The book is well written and narrated.

Excellent

A great book, factually told by someone who was there and saw the rise, and fall of a mafia boss!
Those who live by the sword, die by it too!

I’ve always thought that the only difference between the mob and the government, is one gangster is voted in, the other rises to power with ruthlessness.... both are equally crooked! But the government gangsters are far more ruthless!