Interview With Thomas Maier, Author of Mafia Spies, The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro

Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro is a tale of deception, outlaw friendship, and government-sanctioned hitmen mixed with a dash of Havana and Tinseltown flair. Why not enjoy a teaser chapter?


Mafia Spies author Thomas Maier sat down with SPYSCAPE to give us a peek into the Chicago Outfit, Hollywood, and the mobsters recruited by the CIA for a daring international assassination.
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Q: What drew you to the world and material of Mafia Spies?

A: My book When Lions Roar contained a chapter about spying in 1940 that involved Winston Churchill and JFK's father, Joseph P. Kennedy, who was then the US ambassador in London. It was a fascinating story and spurred my interest in writing more about espionage... I was aware of the CIA's attempt to kill [Cuban leader Fidel] Castro in the early 1960s but I felt this story - with many characters in South Florida, Chicago, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Havana, Washington D.C. and other locales - was best told through the two gangsters, Sam Giancana and Johnny Roselli. I like to compare and contrast two protagonists caught up in a very controversial and secret endeavor. I think Mafia Spies is very timely... from the role of the CIA and FBI to such things as kompromat, Russian spies, and presidential indiscretion.