Richard Cain
Encyclopedia
Richard Cain was a notoriously corrupt Chicago police officer, made man
in the Chicago Outfit
and a close associate of Mafia boss Sam Giancana
. Several conspiracy theorists have claimed that Cain was directly involved in the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy
.
Scully) Cain, who were Irish-American and Italian-American, respectively, in Chicago. Cain was raised in Chicago and Michigan
after his parents divorced. He joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17 and was stationed in the United States Virgin Islands
from 1947 to 1950. While there, he became fluent in Spanish
. Before returning to Chicago in 1951, Cain worked as an investigator at the Burns Detective Agency
in Dallas.
Cain became involved with the Chicago Outfit by using his position as a security guard
to arrange the hijacking of United Parcel Service
trucks. Despite his grandfather having been a prominent sewer contractor who was killed by the Outfit in Little Italy, Chicago
, in 1928, Cain would later become a made man
and a close associate of Sam Giancana
. It has been alleged that Giancana arranged for Cain to become an officer with the Chicago Police Department
during the mid 1950s
. While a policeman, Cain served as a bagman between corrupt police officials and the Outfit. He also served as an enforcer while working in vice districts and occasionally participated in staged police raids on the Outfit's illegal casinos and sports betting
parlors.
Cain alluded to having been deported from Mexico
in 1961 after helping train Cuban-Americans for the Bay of Pigs invasion
. After his death, "Washington sources" confirmed "off-the-record" that these claims were true. He also claimed to have worked with the U.S. State Department "tracing the flow of American money into Communist hands."
Cain returned to Chicago in early 1962 to support Ogilvie in his campaign for Cook County
Sheriff. Upon Ogilvie's taking office, Cain was appointed Chief Investigator in the Sheriff's Department. In 1964, Cain was fired for lying to a grand jury
regarding his involvement in the recovery of stolen drugs. Cain was convicted of perjury
. He served six months in prison concurrent with a four-year sentence from 1968 for being an accessory to a bank robbery. Cain was paroled in 1971.
and Iran
. During this time, conspiring to control the city's illegal gambling operations, he began working as an FBI informant for Agent William F. Roemer, allegedly muscling out his rivals by revealing their operations to federal authorities. His half brother, Michael Cain, believes that he was planning to take over The Outfit itself.
On December 20, 1973, Richard Cain was killed by masked gunmen in Rose's Sandwich Shop in Chicago. Witnesses reported that no more than 15 minutes before the attack Cain had been talking with four other men who were not present when the gunmen arrived. Two of these four men were reported to have left using a back door. At the time of the gunmen's arrival, Cain was seen talking with an unidentified woman in black. The gunmen carried a shotgun, a pistol, and a two-way radio which they used to communicate with an outside lookout. They ordered the shop's staff and patrons (including Cain) against the wall but did not speak directly to Cain. They asked several of them if they had any money and asked, "Who's got the package?" Cain was approached, pulled slightly away from the wall, and shot in the head with the shotgun. As he fell, the second gunman also shot him in the head. Cain's assailants reportedly removed an item from one of his pockets before fleeing. The unidentified woman apparently left at the same time as the gunmen.
Marshall Caifano. It has been speculated that Caifano had learned of Cain's informant status and had received permission from Accardo to murder Cain. Some investigators believe that Outfit enforcer Harry Aleman
was the triggerman. Caifano was reported to have been in Rose's Sandwich Shop only two hours before Cain's murder. After Cain's death, the Chicago Tribune reported that Cain had once bugged Caifano's bedroom.
Cain was also reported to have been "arguing violently" with senior Outfit figure Gus Alex
shortly before Cain's death over Cain's plans to organize 12-day gambling cruises for Chicago high-rollers off the Florida coast.
Several Chicago Tribune articles printed in the days after Cain's death reported speculation by investigators that Cain's murder was in retaliation for the murder of Sam DeStefano
the previous April.
, not Lee Harvey Oswald
, who were in the Texas Book Depository on November 22, 1963. This claimed was never proved.
In 1996, based on information from Brazilian journalist Claudia Furiati, author Eric Hamburg claimed that Cain had been involved with Dave Yaras and Lenny Patrick during the assassination.
Since his death, other researchers, including Larry Hancock and Cain's half brother Michael J. Cain, have investigated his rumored ties to the JFK assassination. Neither has obtained any conclusive evidence to support his involvement in any aspect of the assassination. Michael J. Cain discovered through a witness his half brother was waiting to testify before a grand jury in Chicago on November 22, 1963 when the news was announced John Kennedy had been shot. Michael Cain said that the grand jury files were destroyed.
(a former policeman turned Mafia
henchman) in Mario Puzo
's The Godfather
.
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
in the Chicago Outfit
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
and a close associate of Mafia boss Sam Giancana
Sam Giancana
Salvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
. Several conspiracy theorists have claimed that Cain was directly involved in the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
.
Early life
Richard Scully Cain was born to John and Lydia (néeNEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Scully) Cain, who were Irish-American and Italian-American, respectively, in Chicago. Cain was raised in Chicago and Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
after his parents divorced. He joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17 and was stationed in the United States Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
from 1947 to 1950. While there, he became fluent in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Before returning to Chicago in 1951, Cain worked as an investigator at the Burns Detective Agency
William J. Burns International Detective Agency
The William J. Burns International Detective Agency was a private detective agency in the United States, which was operated by William J. Burns.-Wheatland Hop Riot:...
in Dallas.
Cain became involved with the Chicago Outfit by using his position as a security guard
Security guard
A security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
to arrange the hijacking of United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
trucks. Despite his grandfather having been a prominent sewer contractor who was killed by the Outfit in Little Italy, Chicago
Little Italy, Chicago
Little Italy is a neighborhood on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The current boundaries of Little Italy are Ashland Avenue on the west and Morgan Street on the east — bracketed by Harrison Street on the north and Roosevelt Road; i.e., 12th Street, on the south...
, in 1928, Cain would later become a made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
and a close associate of Sam Giancana
Sam Giancana
Salvatore Giancana , better known as Sam Giancana, was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957-1966...
. It has been alleged that Giancana arranged for Cain to become an officer with the Chicago Police Department
Chicago Police Department
The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chicago. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest local law enforcement agency in the...
during the mid 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
. While a policeman, Cain served as a bagman between corrupt police officials and the Outfit. He also served as an enforcer while working in vice districts and occasionally participated in staged police raids on the Outfit's illegal casinos and sports betting
Sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome.-United States of America:Aside from simple wagers such as betting a friend that one's favorite baseball team will win its division or buying a football "square" for the Super Bowl, sports betting is...
parlors.
Double deal and disgrace
Taking a leave of absence from the police department in 1960, Cain was assigned as an investigator for Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Ogilvie in his investigation of Outfit boss Anthony Accardo. Ogilvie described Cain as an aggressive officer whose knowledge of Outfit operations played a part in Accardo's conviction.Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1961 after helping train Cuban-Americans for the Bay of Pigs invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
. After his death, "Washington sources" confirmed "off-the-record" that these claims were true. He also claimed to have worked with the U.S. State Department "tracing the flow of American money into Communist hands."
Cain returned to Chicago in early 1962 to support Ogilvie in his campaign for Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
Sheriff. Upon Ogilvie's taking office, Cain was appointed Chief Investigator in the Sheriff's Department. In 1964, Cain was fired for lying to a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
regarding his involvement in the recovery of stolen drugs. Cain was convicted of perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
. He served six months in prison concurrent with a four-year sentence from 1968 for being an accessory to a bank robbery. Cain was paroled in 1971.
Informant and murder victim
After parole, Cain made "frequent trips" to and from Mexico as Sam Giancana's courier and financial adviser. Cain became a key figure in Giancana's money skimming from casinos in Central AmericaCentral America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. During this time, conspiring to control the city's illegal gambling operations, he began working as an FBI informant for Agent William F. Roemer, allegedly muscling out his rivals by revealing their operations to federal authorities. His half brother, Michael Cain, believes that he was planning to take over The Outfit itself.
On December 20, 1973, Richard Cain was killed by masked gunmen in Rose's Sandwich Shop in Chicago. Witnesses reported that no more than 15 minutes before the attack Cain had been talking with four other men who were not present when the gunmen arrived. Two of these four men were reported to have left using a back door. At the time of the gunmen's arrival, Cain was seen talking with an unidentified woman in black. The gunmen carried a shotgun, a pistol, and a two-way radio which they used to communicate with an outside lookout. They ordered the shop's staff and patrons (including Cain) against the wall but did not speak directly to Cain. They asked several of them if they had any money and asked, "Who's got the package?" Cain was approached, pulled slightly away from the wall, and shot in the head with the shotgun. As he fell, the second gunman also shot him in the head. Cain's assailants reportedly removed an item from one of his pockets before fleeing. The unidentified woman apparently left at the same time as the gunmen.
Possible murder motives
During the early 1970s, Cain became involved in a burglary ring masterminded by Outfit capoCaporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
Marshall Caifano. It has been speculated that Caifano had learned of Cain's informant status and had received permission from Accardo to murder Cain. Some investigators believe that Outfit enforcer Harry Aleman
Harry Aleman
Harry "The Hook" Aleman was a Chicago mobster who was one of most feared enforcers for the Chicago Outfit during the 1970s. Aleman got the nickname "Hook" from his boxing career in high school.-Early life:...
was the triggerman. Caifano was reported to have been in Rose's Sandwich Shop only two hours before Cain's murder. After Cain's death, the Chicago Tribune reported that Cain had once bugged Caifano's bedroom.
Cain was also reported to have been "arguing violently" with senior Outfit figure Gus Alex
Gus Alex
Gus Alex was a Greek-American mobster and high ranking member of the Chicago Outfit, who succeeded Jake Guzik as the Syndicate's main political "fixer".-Early life:...
shortly before Cain's death over Cain's plans to organize 12-day gambling cruises for Chicago high-rollers off the Florida coast.
Several Chicago Tribune articles printed in the days after Cain's death reported speculation by investigators that Cain's murder was in retaliation for the murder of Sam DeStefano
Sam DeStefano
Sam "Mad Sam" DeStefano was an Italian-American gangster who became one of the Chicago Outfit's most notorious loan sharks and sociopathic killers. Chicago-based Federal Bureau of Investigation agents such as William F. Roemer, Jr., considered DeStefano to be the worst torture-murderer in the...
the previous April.
Urban legends
According to a biography of Sam Giancana written by his family, Giancana told his younger brother that it was Cain and Charles NicolettiCharles Nicoletti
Charles "Chuckie" Nicoletti, also known as "The Typewriter" "Chuckie Typewriter" , was a top Chicago Outfit hitman under Outfit boss Sam "Mooney" Giancana before and after Giancana's rise and fall.-Early years:...
, not Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
, who were in the Texas Book Depository on November 22, 1963. This claimed was never proved.
In 1996, based on information from Brazilian journalist Claudia Furiati, author Eric Hamburg claimed that Cain had been involved with Dave Yaras and Lenny Patrick during the assassination.
Since his death, other researchers, including Larry Hancock and Cain's half brother Michael J. Cain, have investigated his rumored ties to the JFK assassination. Neither has obtained any conclusive evidence to support his involvement in any aspect of the assassination. Michael J. Cain discovered through a witness his half brother was waiting to testify before a grand jury in Chicago on November 22, 1963 when the news was announced John Kennedy had been shot. Michael Cain said that the grand jury files were destroyed.
In popular culture
Cain was the inspiration for the character of Al NeriAl Neri
Albert "Al" Neri is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and the three films based on it. In all three motion pictures, he is portrayed by actor Richard Bright. In The Godfather: The Game, he is voiced by Gary Chalk...
(a former policeman turned Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
henchman) in Mario Puzo
Mario Puzo
Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
's The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
.
Further reading
- Cain, Michael J. The Tangled Web: The Life and Death of Richard Cain- Chicago Cop and Mafia Hitman. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-60239-044-7
- Ashman, Charles. The CIA-Mafia Link. New York: Manor Books, 1975.
- Giancana, Sam and Chuck. Double Cross: The Explosive, Inside Story of the Mobster Who Controlled America. New York: Warner Books, 1992. ISBN 0-446-51624-4
- Furiati, Claudia. ZR Rifle: The Plot to Kill Kennedy and Castro. Melbourne, Australia: Ocean Press, 1994. ISBN 1-875284-84-2
- Hinckle, Warren and Turner, William W. The Fish is Red: The Story of the Secret War Against Castro. New York: Harper & Row, 1981. ISBN 0-06-038003-9