When I was a small child, a three-sister singing group—the McGuire Sisters—was all over the airwaves and on TV. They had two #1 hits: “Sincerely” and “Sugartime.” They had what I would call a high-glucose style. People used to confuse them with the Andrews Sisters, a WWII favorite.
Eventually, one of them, Phyllis, took up with an original gangsta named Sam Giancana. He used to give people a business card that read, “Retired.” Sam (who also sometimes told people his name was “Sam Mooney”) was tied up with JFK, Frank Sinatra, a woman named Judith Exner, and purportedly the CIA (I could go on…).
The CIA supposedly hired him to assassinate Fidel Castro. He was involved in these projects both solo and with another gangsta, Santo Trafficante, who employed Lee Harvey Oswald. They tried to spray hallucinogens on Castro. They tried to poison his diving suit. They tried to poison his food. They even tried to poison his beard. Nothing worked.
Somebody popped Sammy in 1975. The CIA denied any involvement in the hit. Who killed JFK? My best guess is Joe DiMaggio, who was jealous about Marilyn Monroe.
So many conspiracy theories swirled around Giancana that he became a virtual Rubik’s Cube—or a game of three-dimensional chess.
His daughter, Antoinette, wrote a great book called Mafia Princess. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about mafia princesses. Susan Lucci played her in the film.
Sam built Phyllis a house in Las Vegas which, in addition to being a local showpiece, was actually a safe—totally impermeable. Phyllis said she had nothing to do with Mr. G and paid for the house from “investments.” Gee, I would like a house like that. Wouldn’t you?
Does anyone have the name and number of that architectural firm? Inquiring minds want to know!