Sam Giancana

Sam Giancana, head of the Mob, Chicago Outfit, display sheet featuring an original personally owned 1961 bet ticket from Sportsmans Park, removed from Giancana's personal gambling books. Ticket is dated April 29, 1961.

Sam Giancana (born Salvatore Giangana; June 15, 1908 – June 18, 1975) was a Sicilian American mobster, known for being the boss of the criminal Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966.

Sam Giancana joined the 42 Gang, a juvenile street crew working for political boss Joseph Esposito. (The 42 Gang's name was a reference to Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves. They thought they were one better, hence 42.) Giancana soon developed a reputation as an excellent getaway driver, a high earner, and a vicious killer. After Esposito's murder, in which Giancana was allegedly involved, the 42 Gang was transformed into a de facto extension of the Chicago Outfit. The Outfit was initially wary of the 42ers, thinking them too wild. But Giancana's reputation gained him the notice of Outfit leaders such as Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, Paul "The Waiter" Ricca, and Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo. He was first arrested in 1925, for auto theft. He soon graduated to "triggerman", and by the age of 20 had been the prime subject of three murder investigations, but never tried for any of them. During the late 1930s, Giancana became the first 42er to join the Chicago Outfit. From the early 1940s through the 1950s, he controlled most of the illegal gambling, illegal liquor distribution, and numerous other political rackets in Louisiana through longtime friend H. A. (Hol) Killian. Killian controlled the majority of the liquor license issuance by his associations with longtime New Orleans business associate Carlos Marcello.

It is widely reputed and was partially corroborated by the Church Committee hearings that during the Kennedy administration, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruited Giancana and other mobsters to assassinate Fidel Castro. Giancana reportedly said that CIA and the Cosa Nostra were "different sides of the same coin". Documents released in 2017 showed the Giancana connection to CIA and to Robert Maheu.

The display sheet measures 11" x 14". The bet ticket is placed inside a plastic holder and affixed to the display sheet.

Provenance: Includes copies of the auction letter and catalog listing page from Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, October 22, 1992, "20th Century Crime Memorabilia Auction."

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