Johnny Roselli is murdered

Johnny Roselli is murdered is the account of a mob lieutenant’s killing following his testimony to the Church Committee in 1975. The book places his death after his appearance under oath, but does not establish who killed him or why.

Testimony to the Church Committee

In the summer of 1975, the Church Committee held closed-door hearings on mob involvement in the Bay of Pigs invasion and an alleged CIA–Mafia plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. Sam Giancana was killed a few days before his scheduled testimony and never appeared. Roselli, described as Giancana’s lieutenant, did testify, giving extensive sworn testimony behind closed doors.

Assassination

A few months after testifying, Roselli was assassinated. His body was stuffed in an oil drum. The account supplies no further circumstances of the killing, identifying no perpetrator, location, or motive.

Place in the Account

Roselli’s death follows Giancana’s in the narrative: both men were connected to the committee’s inquiry, but only Roselli testified. The sequence gives his killing particular weight in the account of the hearings, while leaving any connection between his testimony and his death unproven.