Public DomainBefore his grisly 1976 murder, Johnny Roselli was known as a smooth-talking mobster who moved comfortably through both criminal and celebrity circles.Johnny Roselli always worked behind the scenes. Operating far from the main Mafia hubs of New York and Chicago, Roselli did most of his business in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. To movie producers and celebrities, he seemed charming, stylish, and generous. But Roselli had a dark side. And he played an important role in American history.In the 1960s, Roselli started working with a surprising ally: the CIA, who had recruited him and other mobsters in hopes of using their expertise to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Though the assassination was unsuccessful, Roselli later suggested that it triggered a chain of events which led to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.Congressional investigators wanted to know more, but before Roselli could tell the whole story, he vanished. His mutilated body was discovered floating in a steel drum near Miami in 1976, and his murder remains unsolved.How Filippo Sacco Became Mobster Handsome Johnny RoselliJohnny Roselli was born as Filippo Sacco on July 4, 1905, in Esperia, Italy. When he was six years old, Roselli immigrated to Boston with his mother and siblings to join their father, who had already settled in the United States. But Rosellis life changed after his father died. His mother remarried and, according to The New York Times, Rosellis stepfather introduced him to a life of crime by burning down the family home for the insurance. Meanwhile, Roselli dropped out of school and began to hang around Maverick Square, where criminals hired boys to be lookouts. Public DomainJohnny Rosellis mugshot from the 1920s.Then, during the 1920s, Rosellis life would change in more ways than one. He left Boston, and spent time in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. He changed his name to John Morgan, then changed it again when mafiosos in Chicago told him hed need an Italian name to be accepted. Roselli picked Johnny Roselli in homage to Renaissance painter Cosimo Rosselli. He earned the respect of Chicago mobster Al Capone, who deployed Roselli to Los Angeles. There, Roselli would conduct mob business while rubbing elbows with movie producers and celebrities. Johnny Roselli began to make a name for himself. Which is, perhaps, how he got on the radar of the Central Intelligence Agency.Johnny Roselli And The CIA Plot To Assassinate Fidel CastroBy the 1960s, Johnny Roselli had experienced great highs and great lows. Hed done well in Los Angeles, and later in Los Vegas, but hed also served time for extorting Hollywood studios. Then, according to the National Archives, the CIA got in touch through a middleman named Robert Maheu.UCLA Library/CalisphereJohnny Roselli went from being a bootlegger to one of Hollywoods most powerful fixers.Maheu told Roselli and his fellow mobster Sam Giancana that Maheus clients were willing to offer them $150,000 to help with the assassination of Fidel Castro, the revolutionary Cuban leader who had risen to power in 1959. Roselli and Giancana said they would do it for free. Though they cited patriotism, the mobsters actually had their own reasons for wanting Fidel Castro out of the picture. After the Cuban Revolution, Castro had shut down the lavish Havana casinos operated by American mobsters, including the Sans Souci, which Roselli and Giancana had run alongside mobster Santos Trafficante. Roselli and the other mobsters agreed to help. Not only were their interests aligned with the CIA, but Politico also reports that they hoped that their cooperation could earn them a get-out-of-jail-free card for the future. New York Times Co./Getty ImagesCuban leader Fidel Castro speaking in New York City in 1960.The mafiosos tried to kill Castro. They enlisted snipers and arranged midnight boat raids, and tried to sneak poison pills that the CIA had prepared into Castros food. But the plot never succeeded. That said, it had a lasting impact for Johnny Roselli and perhaps the United States. The Risky Congressional Testimony About The CIA And CubaBy the 1970s, Johnny Rosellis influence within organized crime had declined. He faced mounting legal problems, financial troubles, and increasing scrutiny from federal investigators. Then came the testimonies.In 1971, while serving time for a card cheating operation, Johnny Roselli testified about Mafia involvement with the Las Vegas Frontier Hotel. Though his testimony was a tightly guarded secret, it roused the suspicion of his fellow mafiosos, especially when several of their own were sent to prison. Wikimedia CommonsJohnny Roselli, also known as Handsome Johnny.Then, in 1975, Roselli agreed to testify before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about CIA overreach. Giancana agreed to testify too, but he was murdered just a few days before he was set to appear. Roselli survived long enough to testify, and he discussed the CIAs assassination plots against Castro and revealed sensitive information about the agencys connections to organized crime. According to The New York Times, Roselli also expressed his belief that Fidel Castro was behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy. (Some also believe that Roselli played a role in the Kennedy assassination, perhaps as a gunman, though theres little evidence to back this up.) Rosellis decision to testify had been risky. Not only had he revealed CIA secrets, but Mafia leaders were furious that hed spoken without consulting senior leadership. According to The New York Times, many mafiosos saw Rosellis testimony as proof that the he had become a dangerous liability who might continue cooperating with investigators.Congressional investigators wanted Roselli to return and testify further but in the aftermath of his testimony, Roselli reportedly became increasingly paranoid. He spent much of his time hiding in Florida, staying close to family members, changing up his routine, and avoiding unnecessary attention. But despite his caution, he could not escape forever. The Grisly Unsolved Murder Of Johnny RoselliOn July 28, 1976, Roselli disappeared. Ten days later, fishermen discovered his body stuffed inside a 55-gallon steel drum floating in Dumfoundling Bay near Miami. Roselli had been asphyxiated, his legs sawed off so his body could fit inside the drum. Chains wrapped around the barrel had failed to keep it submerged.So who had murdered Johnny Roselli? Its largely believed that Roselli was killed by the mob, who saw him as a threat, someone who talked too freely before federal investigators. But those close to Roselli suspected that he could have been killed by Cuban agents, and some think he may have been murdered by the CIA.Each, indeed, might have had motive. But Johnny Rosellis murder remains unsolved to this day.Today, Roselli is more or less a footnote to history, a minor figure in the greater dramas of Fidel Castro, John F. Kennedy, and the CIA. But he played an important role during a crucial era. Fittingly, for a mobster who worked in Hollywood, his life and death seems like something out of the movies. Johnny Roselli rubbed elbows with mobsters, movie stars, and secret agents. He revealed surprising, hidden truths. And, in the end, Roselli paid the price. After reading about Johnny Roselli, the mobster who tried to assassinate Fidel Castro on behalf of the CIA, and then was gruesomely murdered, learn about some of the most fascinating Mafia bosses in American history. Then, go inside the shocking story of Al Capones death.The post Johnny Roselli, The Mobster Who Worked With The CIA In An Attempt To Assassinate Fidel Castro appeared first on All That's Interesting.