L'histoire Complete de la Mafia - Carlos Marcello
Category
📺
TVTranscription
00:00 without any education or vocabulary.
00:03 He had a degree in Marathon.
00:09 He had power and he knew a lot of people.
00:12 I was innocent and I knew that we would eventually recognize him.
00:16 They were all corrupt.
00:18 The governor's office, the politicians, the judiciary.
00:22 They were all under Marcello's command.
00:25 All roads led to Marcello.
00:28 He was involved in all the traffic in New Orleans.
00:31 In his office, a sign said
00:34 "Three people can keep a secret if two of them are killed."
00:55 New Orleans, November 22, 1963.
00:59 Carlos Marcello, an iconic figure of the Louisiana pegra,
01:04 is summoned to the New Orleans court for an immigration case.
01:08 President Kennedy's brother, Robert, wishes to expel him from the United States.
01:14 Bobby Kennedy, then Justice Minister,
01:17 has set out to get rid of the country of the gangsters
01:20 and Marcello is at the head of his list.
01:23 But Marcello has managed to bribe a jury.
01:26 He is finally acquitted of all the charges
01:29 and is released from the court.
01:31 Yet the day has just begun.
01:34 It seems that something happened to the gang.
01:36 I repeat, it seems that something happened to the gang.
01:40 When the session was suspended,
01:42 we learned that the president had just been assassinated in Dallas.
01:45 The entire America is in shock.
01:48 For Carlos Marcello, on the contrary, this news is a relief.
01:52 Marcello had a double reason to rejoice.
01:55 Not only was John Kennedy dead, but he had just been acquitted.
01:58 Marcello hated Kennedy. He never made any of us feel bad.
02:02 The gangster can freely continue to expand his empire.
02:06 Kennedy eliminated is a less enemy on his path.
02:09 The power that the president gave to Robert Kennedy stopped.
02:16 But everything changed after the assassination of his brother.
02:19 Yet the fight that opposes Marcello to the federal authorities
02:23 will last several decades.
02:47 New Orleans was a fascinating town.
02:50 It was home to many communities, many cultures,
02:55 and they all lived together.
02:57 There was a very large Italian and Irish community.
03:02 The population of New Orleans was predominantly Catholic.
03:06 And Catholics are known to be tolerant of alcohol and gambling.
03:14 Among the immigrants who came to make a fortune in the New World
03:17 is the Marcello family.
03:19 Originally from Sicily, Joseph Marcello arrived in Louisiana in 1909.
03:24 His wife joined him a little later with little Carlos.
03:28 We are on February 6, 1910.
03:31 Marcello was born in Tunisia.
03:36 He had Tunisian papers and probably Sicilian,
03:40 the country of origin of his parents.
03:44 Whatever it is, Marcello is a young immigrant.
03:48 He works alongside his father in the family farm.
03:51 His role is to go sell vegetables on the French market of New Orleans.
03:57 This is where young Carlos meets the mafia.
04:02 The organization is already firmly established in New Orleans.
04:07 The city was French, then Spanish.
04:11 At the time, the corruption of the French and Spanish classes was not only tolerated,
04:15 it was almost a part of the political system.
04:20 Carlos deals with the mafia's henchmen who control the city's markets.
04:26 In 1928, Carlos, aged 18, leaves the family home
04:32 to move into a good room in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
04:36 The neighborhood is known to house many criminals.
04:40 Carlos lives off small larceny, but he has bigger ambitions.
04:44 The following year, Carlos and three accomplices rob a bank.
04:50 They flee with $7,000, abandon their vehicle,
04:54 and plunge into the swamp to reach Josep Marcello's farm.
04:58 Following a phone call, the police search the Marcello farm
05:05 and confiscate the stolen money.
05:08 The bank, too happy to get its money back, decides not to file a complaint.
05:13 But being shot at such good conscience doesn't stop Carlos.
05:18 A few months later, he breaks a grocery store.
05:21 Denounced by one of his accomplices, Carlos is sent to prison.
05:25 He was first sentenced to prison for robbery.
05:30 His sentence was finally commuted.
05:32 We don't know the details, but one thing is certain.
05:35 Political men were in on the plot.
05:39 When he's released, Carlos goes back to work with his father.
05:44 He puts aside all the money he earns and buys a bar near New Orleans.
05:48 The establishment provides him with cover to sell marijuana.
05:52 Young Carlos quickly realizes that it is essential to be able to rely on a network.
05:56 He told everyone how he managed to bribe a certain political man
06:02 and how he managed his business down in the South.
06:06 Carlos Marcello is gradually becoming a criminal empire.
06:10 To continue his small business, he has to pay the mafia that rules the neighborhood
06:14 and keeps the police at a distance.
06:17 He meets a gangster who works for the boss of the Louisiana mafia,
06:22 Sam "Silver" Dollar Carolla.
06:25 The local chief is fond of Carlos and helps him set up his business.
06:30 At 26, Carlos Marcello joins the mafia organization of Carolla.
06:35 At the wedding of his young sister, Carlos Marcello falls madly in love
06:42 with a beautiful lady of honor named Jacqueline Todaro.
06:46 Just four months later, Carlos marries Jacqueline.
06:55 The young couple dedicates themselves to their business of flippers and slot machines.
07:00 They use their connections with the mafia to intimidate the local merchants.
07:04 All the bar or restaurant managers who wanted to install flippers or slot machines
07:11 in their establishment had to go through them.
07:16 If they went to see the competition, they found themselves in trouble.
07:23 In New York, we are closely interested in the problem of slot machines.
07:27 The new mayor of the city, Fiorello La Guardia,
07:31 set out to get rid of the streets of the Italian mafia.
07:35 In his sights is Franco Stello, a major figure of the mafia.
07:40 La Guardia does not hesitate to destroy one of his slot machines in front of television cameras.
07:45 I would like to inform the players, the gangsters and all those who live from racket
07:50 that they have no interest in getting closer to New York.
07:54 Following La Guardia's statement, Franco Stello realizes that he needs to find a new playground.
08:00 Franco Stello decided to give his slot machine park to New Orleans.
08:05 But he had to first conclude a deal with Carlos Marcello.
08:09 Carlos Marcello will propose an arrangement to the sponsors of the New York and Louisiana mafia
08:14 allowing them to share profits and pay local authorities to ensure their protection.
08:20 The two sponsors accept the terms of the contract.
08:23 But the money generated by slot machines is not enough for Carlos Marcello.
08:28 He continues his drug trafficking.
08:30 In 1938, he was arrested for trying to sell 10 kilos of marijuana to a undercover cop.
08:36 This is the time of the biggest takeover in the history of New Orleans.
08:40 Marcello will only spend a year in federal prison in Atlanta for drug trafficking.
08:45 He has played his political relations to be able to get out earlier than expected.
08:51 In 1942, America is at war.
08:57 The G.I.s fight on two fronts.
09:00 Many Americans are called under the flags.
09:06 Being born abroad, Carlos risks nothing.
09:10 Staying in New Orleans, Carlos continues his trafficking and manages to build a real empire.
09:16 Marcello gained in power during the Second World War.
09:21 He ran several nightclubs on Bourbon Street, bars, restaurants, as well as a transportation company.
09:28 In 1944, luck smiles on Carlos Marcello.
09:33 Sponsors of the New York mafia, Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky, offer young Carlos, 35 years old,
09:40 tickets to an illegal casino in Jefferson Parish.
09:43 Everyone came to this casino.
09:46 It was not at all a clandestine casino.
09:49 The police, the mayor, everyone was aware of it.
09:52 Carlos gives them a kick in the butt so that they close their eyes on his activities.
09:56 There is a famous legend that circulated in Louisiana about Marcello.
10:02 It is said that he could carry up to 20,000 or 30,000 dollars.
10:08 If necessary, he just had to take out the tickets from his pocket.
10:13 He paid the police and the judges in cash.
10:16 The casino is a real success, which allows Carlos Marcello to earn the respect of the sponsors of the mafia.
10:25 This former bad student is now at the head of a flourishing empire.
10:30 But Carlos is also in the collimator of justice.
10:34 And he will have to move away from the New Orleans for a while.
10:37 In the 1940s, Carlos Marcello is engraving the scales of the Louisiana mafia one by one.
10:49 The cash machines bring him a lot of money.
10:52 And he decides to move in with his wife and four children in a beautiful house in Jefferson Parish.
10:59 World War II was beneficial for Carlos Marcello's business.
11:04 New Orleans was an important port for the military troops during the war.
11:09 The streets of the city were full of soldiers, happy to be able to get a drink and play.
11:15 The money was flowing.
11:17 The mafia sponsors immediately noticed his potential.
11:22 They know he is destined for great things.
11:26 [The New Orleans Mafia]
11:30 The New Orleans Mafia is making unprecedented profits.
11:35 But the days of Sam Silver Dollar Carolla are numbered.
11:39 Like Marcello, Sam Carolla is an illegal immigrant.
11:45 After more than 10 years of judicial battles, the authorities are about to expel him to his native island, Sicily.
11:52 In May 1947, Carolla gathers the sponsors of the Louisiana Mafia to appoint his successor.
11:59 For discretion, he decides to meet in a fancy nightclub, mostly attended by a black clientele.
12:06 Some sponsors would like his succession to fail to his son, Anthony.
12:13 But a very large majority vote in favor of Carlos Marcello.
12:21 Two New York big shots also support his candidacy, Frank Costello and Mayer Lansky.
12:27 Marcello was unanimously elected by the organized crime union, sponsor of the New Orleans Mafia.
12:35 Carlos Marcello becomes the new sponsor of the New Orleans Mafia.
12:39 But this decision does not please everyone.
12:42 Anthony Carolla, who thinks that the rightful place does not hide his disappointment.
12:48 Although he is barely 1.55 meters tall, Marcello has a lot of respect.
12:53 Some even call him "Little Man".
12:56 When he came into a room, everyone turned around.
13:01 He exuded a sense of power.
13:04 He did not go unnoticed.
13:07 He was a handsome fellow.
13:09 He had a large head, which is a sign of power.
13:13 But he was rather small and fat.
13:17 His head and his body did not fit together.
13:20 Despite his great wealth, Carlos Marcello chose a small tavern in Jefferson Parish to establish his headquarters.
13:28 He did not like to be referred to as one of the most powerful bosses of the Mafia.
13:34 He tried to avoid making headlines.
13:40 But in the 1950s, Washington began to put pressure on the Mafia industry.
13:46 The Senator of Tennessee, Estes Keefhover, set out to bring down the organized crime.
13:52 He targets New Orleans.
13:55 He went around to study the illegal gambling market.
13:59 Everything was done in the public view.
14:02 Keefhover told the people of New York what everyone already knew about New Orleans.
14:08 Carlos Marcello is called to testify.
14:11 But he does not show much talk in front of the commission.
14:14 The 40-year-old gangster then calls for the Fifth Amendment 152 times.
14:20 He even refuses to reveal his age or his family situation.
14:24 Marcello is found guilty of court abuse.
14:28 But the conviction is annulled on the pretext that the boss of the tavern was entitled to invoke the Fifth Amendment,
14:34 which allows him not to incriminate himself.
14:37 But the boss of the Mafia does not get away with it.
14:40 The trial is at the height of its small traffic.
14:43 Estes Keefhover begins an expulsion procedure against the sponsor, but abroad.
14:49 This bad publicity does not prevent Carlos Marcello from running the city of New Orleans with an iron fist.
14:55 He had an estate on the west bank of the Mississippi.
14:59 It was a real bayou landscape.
15:02 If you had the misfortune to get in his way, he would not hesitate to send his men after you.
15:08 These men are used to decomposing the bodies in a bathtub filled with caustic soda.
15:14 Then they would dump the decomposed remains in the swamp.
15:18 It was impossible to find the bodies afterwards.
15:21 It was said that it was fate that awaited all those who had the misfortune to upset Carlos Marcello.
15:28 Eight years after his hearing in front of the Keefhover Commission,
15:31 Carlos Marcello is still on American territory.
15:34 So far, his army of lawyers has managed to prevent his expulsion.
15:37 The Senator of Arkansas, John McLeelan, decides to set up a commission
15:41 charged with investigating the racket and organized crime.
15:44 The president of the McLeelan Commission is a 33-year-old man named Robert Kennedy.
15:49 Mr. Hoffa, do you remember anything in this case?
15:57 Any connection with this or connection with anything?
16:00 Robert sits on the commission with his brother, John Fitzgerald, then Senator of Massachusetts.
16:05 A former FBI agent, Aaron Cohn, provides a convincing testimony.
16:10 He describes in detail the actions and misconduct of Marcello.
16:14 On March 24, 1959, Marcello is called to testify in front of the commission.
16:20 He chooses once again to remain silent.
16:26 That was a hallmark of Marcello. He always kept his mouth shut.
16:32 Then one of the senators on the commission, Tom Dillon,
16:37 asked him, "How do you know that you have been in this country for eight years
16:42 after you have been officially expulsed?"
16:45 And Marcello said, "I don't know, sir. I don't know anything about that."
16:52 Bobby Kennedy then said to his associates, "One day I'm going to get rid of that guy."
16:59 Carlos Marcello is finally cleared of the charges against him.
17:04 But Kennedy is about to take a gallop for the greatest despair of the Louisiana mafia.
17:10 In the 1950s, the Congress tried twice to bring down the head of the New Orleans mafia,
17:21 Carlos Marcello. No success.
17:24 The head of the commission, Robert Kennedy, submitted Marcello to a very tough interrogation.
17:29 Carlos Marcello calls again the Fifth Amendment, provoking the anger of Robert Kennedy.
17:35 Robert Kennedy considered Carlos Marcello as one of the main figures in organized crime.
17:42 Kennedy is about to become very powerful.
17:46 [Music]
17:52 Let the word go forth.
17:54 To friend and foe alike,
17:57 that the flame has been transmitted to a new generation of Americans.
18:02 John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1961.
18:06 He was in a hurry to name his young brother Robert as Minister of Justice.
18:10 Robert Kennedy had a priority.
18:16 He wanted to convict as many leaders of the mafia as he could.
18:20 The hunt was open and the heat was getting hotter.
18:25 One of the main targets of Bobby Kennedy is none other than Carlos Marcello.
18:30 Marcello has never been naturalized.
18:33 Technically, he always lived illegally in the United States.
18:38 It's been several years since the authorities tried to get the gangster out.
18:43 But until now, his lawyers have managed to slow down the justice system.
18:47 The law was made in such a way that a man threatened with expulsion could file an unlimited number of recourse,
18:53 and thus avoid being expelled.
18:56 Marcello had almost unlimited financial resources.
18:59 His lawyers exploited this flaw in the legal system, and they filed motion after motion.
19:06 During this time, Marcello regularly visits immigration and naturalization services
19:12 to extend his status as a foreign resident.
19:16 In April 1961, Bobby Kennedy decides to take action.
19:21 On Kennedy's orders, federal agents kidnapped Marcello
19:26 while he was going to the immigration and naturalization services of New Orleans.
19:31 Marcello was forcefully embarked on a plane for Guatemala.
19:35 The federal agents chose this country in Central America
19:38 because Carlos Marcello had already used a fake Guatemalan passport in the past
19:43 to make his expulsion more difficult.
19:46 The government used this pretext to deport Marcello
19:49 without worrying about what could happen to the gangster once he was there.
19:53 It is said that once he arrived in Guatemala, Marcello was abandoned in the wild.
20:04 Marcello fell into the jungle with his shoes and his silk suit on.
20:10 He was not in a very good physical condition.
20:14 At one point he fell and broke two ribs.
20:19 He had no money, no toothbrush, no spare clothes.
20:24 He finally managed to call his wife in New Orleans.
20:29 After three days in the wild, Marcello finally found civilization.
20:34 His family went to find him in Guatemala.
20:37 Marcello was scandalized. For him, it had become personal.
20:41 Two months later, Marcello managed to return to the United States.
20:46 The court confirmed the arrest of expulsion against him.
20:50 Kennedy will then double efforts to expel the gangster from the country.
20:55 Bobby Kennedy ordered the FBI office in New Orleans to pursue his investigation of Marcello.
21:02 But they did nothing.
21:04 An agent on the spot sent regularly reports to Bobby Kennedy.
21:09 According to these reports, Carlos was not involved in any traffic.
21:13 He was just a tomato seller.
21:16 Marcello is actually the owner of a tomato can factory.
21:20 But this is not his main source of income.
21:25 If he was a tomato seller, then he was one of the best tomato sellers I ever saw.
21:32 Marcello has trouble with Bobby Kennedy's charade.
21:37 Ed Baker, a businessman in connection with Marcello,
21:41 says that in 1962, the gangster, usually so discreet,
21:45 lets out that he intends to kill someone from a very high position.
21:52 I said to him, if you kill Bobby Kennedy, the whole government of the United States will fall on you.
21:58 He said, when you cut off the head, the dog stops biting.
22:03 In 1963, Carlos Marcello is expected to be tried for possession of a false birth certificate.
22:10 At that time, New Orleans housed many people who were not recommended.
22:15 Among them, a former Navy member named Lee Harvey Oswald.
22:19 He went to live in Dallas, he knows well The Big Easy, as the New Orleans is nicknamed.
22:24 Lee Harvey Oswald's family was very connected to the organization of Carlos Marcello.
22:30 One of his uncles worked as a bookmaker for them.
22:37 When Oswald was arrested for disturbing public order in New Orleans,
22:42 a man in close connection with Marcello's organization helped him get out of prison.
22:48 There is no evidence to attest that Marcello and Oswald met.
22:53 But they frequent the same places and, above all, they have a common enemy.
22:57 On November 22, 1963, Marcello is summoned to court.
23:01 He awaits the verdict in his expulsion proceedings.
23:05 He is finally acquitted of all charges, but the day will be marked by another event.
23:12 When the court was suspended, we learned that the president had just been assassinated in Dallas.
23:17 Bobby Kennedy is devastated by the news.
23:20 He is convinced that his anti-mafia crusade is the origin of the assassination.
23:25 Bobby had a lot of power as the president's brother, but it changed after the assassination.
23:33 The court is divided over Marcello and his accomplices.
23:37 But the death of John Kennedy does not mean the end of Marcello's problems.
23:42 On November 22, 1963, Carlos Marcello is acquitted in his immigration case.
23:56 At the same time, America mourns its president.
24:00 The assassination of the president took place in Dallas, on the territory of Marcello.
24:08 With the arrest of a suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, the New Orleans parents are in the loop of justice.
24:15 On that weekend, the police were focused on Lee Harvey Oswald's interrogation.
24:27 He kept the same line of defense throughout the interrogation.
24:31 Two days after Kennedy's assassination, Oswald was transferred to the county prison.
24:37 Hundreds of journalists and photographers came to see the alleged assassin of the president.
24:42 A man suddenly appears from the crowd and shoots Oswald.
24:46 Two hours later, Oswald is declared dead.
24:52 The police soon stopped the shooter.
24:56 It's Jack Ruby, the owner of a nightclub in Dallas.
25:00 This man also had ties to the mafia's sponsor, Carlos Marcello.
25:05 Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson, announces the formation of the Warren Commission,
25:10 charged with investigating the president's assassination.
25:13 Who's Jack Ruby?
25:15 The Warren Commission concluded that he had no connection with organized crime.
25:20 What do you mean?
25:22 He had no connection with organized crime.
25:25 It's just bizarre that the women who were in his Dallas strip club
25:30 were on a show bar in New Orleans, which is Carlos Marcello's.
25:36 The Warren Commission reports do not mention Carlos Marcello or the mafia.
25:42 The FBI never gave them the recordings that showed the mafia was planning to kill Kennedy.
25:53 The Warren Commission relied on the FBI reports that Oswald acted alone.
25:59 The Warren Commission report says that the federal government
26:03 failed to establish that there was a conspiracy.
26:06 It was not a conspiracy, but the act of an isolated shooter.
26:09 The mafia is not questioned in the president's assassination.
26:14 Bobby Kennedy sees all his efforts against organized crime being wasted.
26:21 The organized crime agencies have been considerably reduced.
26:25 Over the years, the legal personnel has decreased,
26:29 as has the time given to the courts to investigate these cases.
26:32 The same goes for the number of charges.
26:35 But for Carlos Marcello, the trial will be short.
26:39 In August 1964, a judge of Marcello's immigration case
26:45 revealed that he had accepted a pot of wine to quench the case.
26:48 Carlos's men never paid him,
26:51 the judge is ready to testify against the mafia's sponsor.
26:54 When the jury was chosen, the newspapers published their name and their hometown.
27:01 It was much easier for us to contact them.
27:04 Marcello and one of his associates are involved in this case.
27:09 They are accused of obstruction to justice.
27:14 Marcello's lawyer said that even if there was a pot of wine,
27:17 there is no evidence indicating that his client is involved.
27:20 He could have given the order to other people to do it.
27:25 It would have allowed him not to get wet.
27:28 It's just a matter of how many years we tried to catch him without ever getting there.
27:33 His strategy proved to be profitable.
27:38 On August 17, 1965, Marcello is finally acquitted.
27:43 The following month, Carlos, usually so discreet,
27:46 decides to go to New York to meet the other mafia leaders.
27:50 The police were randomly in the area and took the opportunity to arrest everyone.
27:56 They were released on bail.
27:59 As soon as they got out, they went back to the same restaurant with their lawyers.
28:03 The newspapers published a photo showing the gangsters at the restaurant.
28:08 Carlos, who has always denied being linked to the mafia, has just been caught on the case.
28:13 Several sources say that the meeting was held at the request of Anthony Carolla.
28:20 Still opposed when he was preferred Marcello to take the head of the New Orleans union,
28:26 Carolla claims a more important place in Marcello's organization.
28:30 Despite Carolla's efforts, Marcello keeps his hand on the ground.
28:35 His arrest, published in one of the New York newspapers,
28:38 made him a celebrity in his hometown.
28:41 Upon arriving at the New Orleans International Airport, a crowd of spectators awaited him.
28:47 Carlos will later declare that a man from the crowd had blocked his way.
28:51 He would have lost his cool before hitting him.
28:54 But the man is not just anyone.
28:56 This is FBI agent Patrick Collins.
28:59 According to him, Marcello hit him to prove to everyone that he was the real boss of the city.
29:05 Everywhere, we wonder about Marcello's deep motivations.
29:09 We mentioned the fact that Marcello had discovered that this FBI agent was sleeping with his brother's wife.
29:18 It is still that Marcello is arrested and accused of stabbing and injuring an FBI agent.
29:24 A federal crime.
29:26 We were not even able to find evidence against him.
29:32 To be able to pursue him, we had to provoke him to hit us.
29:36 The powerful sponsor of the mafia risks prison, unless he finds a way to bypass the system.
29:43 At the end of the 60s, Carlos Marcello is at the head of flourishing legal and illegal activities.
29:58 His criminal organization generates nearly 2 billion dollars per year.
30:02 It is the most important industry in Louisiana.
30:05 But Marcello does not let success get in his way.
30:09 Marcello remained a very down-to-earth person.
30:13 He would shake everyone's hand in the street.
30:15 He would not walk around with an army of bodyguards around him.
30:19 His trial to cause injury to an FBI agent risks sending him to prison again.
30:27 [The New Orleans Prosecutor]
30:32 In 1967, the New Orleans prosecutor, Jim Garrison, opens his own investigation into Kennedy's murder.
30:42 Disappointed by the Warren Commission report,
30:45 Jim Garrison considers the possibility of a conspiracy involving several Marcello associates.
30:52 Garrison concludes that the conspiracy to kill Kennedy was born in New Orleans.
30:57 Garrison's conclusions raise many questions,
31:00 especially when one begins to suspect links between local justice and Marcello's organization.
31:06 In 1967, the magazine Life published an article on Marcello's empire in Louisiana,
31:13 and all the policies that Marcello had subdued.
31:16 The article emphasized Marcello's illegal activities.
31:21 [The New Orleans Prosecutor]
31:24 The magazine describes Marcello as a "giant unquestioned of organized crime."
31:29 It is said that he intimidates his opponents,
31:32 not hesitating to eliminate all those who stand in his way.
31:36 In 1968, Marcello's main opponent, Bobby Kennedy, has gone to another place.
31:44 As a New York senator, Robert has started a race for the White House.
31:50 On June 5, Kennedy, who has just won the primary elections in California,
31:55 gives a speech in front of his supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
31:59 It is a great effort not only on behalf of the Democratic Party,
32:03 but also on behalf of the United States, the American people,
32:06 people all over the world, and future generations.
32:09 After his speech, he crosses the hotel's kitchen.
32:16 Suddenly, a young Palestinian, 24 years old, Sirhan Sirhan,
32:20 approaches him, a pistol in his hand.
32:23 He shoots the senator four times.
32:29 Robert Kennedy succumbs the next day.
32:32 The country is confronted with the murder of another member of the Kennedy clan.
32:36 Marcello is happy to finally be rid of his fiercest enemy.
32:43 But for now, he prefers to focus on his imminent trial
32:46 to cause injury to an FBI agent.
32:49 The trial is held in front of the Arredo court in Texas.
32:53 This is to avoid too much publicity, which would have generated a trial in New Orleans.
32:58 The jury does not agree.
33:02 The New Orleans attorney refuses to give up.
33:09 He commits new charges against the mafia boss.
33:13 Three months later, Marcello is found guilty of assault and injury on Collins.
33:18 Some hope to see the authorities one day pursue the gangster for more serious charges.
33:24 Getting me under assault and injury? You kidding me?
33:28 That's hard to get victory for the government.
33:31 After a tough negotiation with Marcello's lawyers,
33:35 the judge agrees to reduce the sentence from two years to six months in prison.
33:39 The mafia boss is released from the Springfield prison in Missouri in March 1971.
33:45 When he was released, he lost weight and is in perfect physical condition.
33:51 Some even compare his stay in prison to a thermal therapy.
33:56 But the controversy surrounding the Kennedy brothers' murders
33:59 and a possible involvement of the mafia is not over yet.
34:05 In September 1976, the Congress designated a special commission
34:09 to investigate the murders of John Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
34:14 In January 1978, Marcello agrees to testify under the cover of immunity.
34:22 We questioned Carlos Marcello about his involvement in the murder.
34:29 Did he threaten to kill the president once and explain how he was going to do it?
34:35 But of course he denied all of those points.
34:39 Marcello basically stonewalled the investigation and denied any of the possibly significant evidence
34:46 that he had had to know about the Harvey Oswald.
34:50 Despite the little information provided by Marcello,
34:53 the commission draws more alarming conclusions.
34:56 We demonstrated, I think in a certain way,
35:01 that the Warren Commission didn't do a conspiracy investigation.
35:07 And that it stated that no government agency had ever found it was an overstatement.
35:16 They never looked.
35:18 The commission has published a report saying that President Kennedy
35:21 had probably been a victim of a conspiracy.
35:24 The commission unfortunately does not have time to continue its work.
35:30 Despite the commission's suspicions, Marcello is free to continue his work.
35:35 But the empire of this man, who ruled New Orleans for more than 30 years,
35:40 is about to collapse.
35:42 In 1979, the commission of inquiry created by the House of Representatives
35:56 questions a possible conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy.
36:00 Several leads lead to New Orleans and to the sponsor of the mafia, Carlos Marcello.
36:06 The allegations are shocking, but more is needed to slow down these cases.
36:10 But Marcello does not know yet that another investigation, much more harmful, is underway.
36:15 Marcello had never been the subject of an electronic surveillance,
36:20 whether by a decision of justice or otherwise.
36:25 I thought that was pretty incredible.
36:27 In 1979, the federal government thinks it has found a way to enter Marcello's private circle.
36:43 There was a guy named Joe Hauser.
36:48 He had a criminal record.
36:51 He had been found guilty of fraud in insurance, and he was ready to do anything to reduce his sentence.
36:56 He claimed he could introduce us to Carlos Marcello.
37:00 I said, "Okay, let him prove it to us."
37:04 The federal government wants to take Marcello as a flagrant criminal,
37:09 negotiating illegal contracts with an insurance company created to trap him.
37:13 Michael Wox and another FBI agent undercover accompany Hauser.
37:20 I became the nephew of Mr. Hauser, and you are.
37:23 This is part of the agency, I was part of the monarchy.
37:26 And the other agent was called Larry Montague.
37:29 Larry, Joe, and I were the owners of an insurance company.
37:35 The police placed under surveillance Marcello's house,
37:40 as well as his headquarters at the Town & Country Motel.
37:43 We had his house phone, and we were listening.
37:49 Also, we had a microphone in the ceiling, just over his desk.
37:54 But Marcello was not an easy prey.
37:58 He was very, very careful in his office.
38:03 When the conversation became a little too sensitive,
38:06 he would signal his interlocutor to get down on all fours.
38:10 You'd be down on all fours.
38:14 It was just amazing to see this powerful sponsor of the Mafia
38:18 get down on all fours, in his Mafia boss, down on his knees.
38:22 Despite all these precautions,
38:25 investigators managed to gather evidence against him.
38:28 Among them, 35,000 conversations recorded on more than 1,400 tapes.
38:33 It was just a case of blatant corruption and payoffs.
38:39 You could tell from the way he handled his business.
38:42 The agents surprised Marcello by suing the officers.
38:47 They incited them to sign very lucrative insurance contracts.
38:51 But Marcello maintains that what he did was not illegal.
38:55 Carlos never understood why it was illegal to pay politicians for doing something that was good for the state.
39:07 He said, "We have a fair share of profits because we're trying to save the state a million dollars."
39:18 Marcello could have been caught by the insurance fraudsters,
39:22 but investigators were not surprised.
39:25 Several members of the Los Angeles Mafia were about to be tried.
39:30 Marcello thought that maybe he could do something for his California friends.
39:34 Together, they came up with a strategy to buy the judge.
39:39 He finally got hooked into it when they could understand that that was the only way to run the prison from jail.
39:47 The feds set up a story of corrupt judges.
39:51 On the tape, we hear Marcello trying to buy the judge with an out-of-price painting.
39:56 Once the operation was over,
39:59 Harold Hughes went to Marcello's headquarters to tell him the news.
40:04 I'll never forget the look on his face when he saw the agent lift his arm and remove the microphone and the wiring out of it.
40:15 He appeared almost stunned. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
40:20 Marcello and several of his associates were accused of fraud to the insurance.
40:25 The trial took place in his home country, New Orleans.
40:31 For 18 weeks, Marcello had to listen to the recordings of his conversations.
40:36 He seemed confident throughout the trial.
40:42 He just don't believe very much that anyone in Louisiana would ever dare to declare him guilty of anything.
40:47 On August 4, 1981, Marcello was sentenced for association of rapists.
40:55 He understood that he would end up in prison.
41:01 But the troubles were just beginning.
41:04 Four months later, a California jury found Marcello guilty of three federal corruption cases.
41:11 He had just been sentenced in two cases.
41:16 The situation was a little more serious.
41:19 He was very afraid to see his empire crumble.
41:24 In April 1983, Marcello appealed in his trial for conspiracy, but his request was rejected.
41:29 He was sent back to the prison cell for the 73-year-old man.
41:33 He asked me to call his wife. He got out of the courthouse and went straight to prison.
41:40 This time, his stay behind bars is far from being a healthy walk.
41:45 Marcello was transferred from prison to prison. His health was deteriorating.
41:50 The powerful gangster was fighting for his life.
41:53 He was the victim of several brain attacks and suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
41:57 His stay in prison definitely made him fall from his pedestal as a patron of New Orleans.
42:03 But since there was no one to take his place, the empire ended up collapsing.
42:08 The investigation led by the investigation committee did not follow up on the facts.
42:12 But a new chance presents itself to reveal the truth about Kennedy's death.
42:16 He had a problem during his stay in prison.
42:20 He looked like he was doing shit.
42:23 He would talk at night and even talk to the people in the room as if they worked for him.
42:30 On three occasions, Marcello has declared, I quote,
42:35 "That Kennedy, that son of a bitch, we are going to get that Kennedy in Dallas."
42:42 The FBI agents were sufficiently disturbed by his words.
42:47 They decided to reopen the investigation on the assassination of President Kennedy.
42:52 The federal agents recall Michael Wax, who had been removed from the investigation for eight years.
42:57 On the recordings, Marcello appears to be quite cordial, but he does not say much.
43:03 To me it was very confusing and I did not remember much.
43:09 He did not want to talk about it. I had the impression that he was putting on some sort of show.
43:16 For the FBI, the case is closed, but many questions remain.
43:21 It is plausible that there was a conspiracy involving the mafia.
43:27 And one of these members could have been Marcello.
43:30 Some are convinced that Marcello could never have devised such a strategy.
43:36 All these disgruntled cowards who want to kill the President.
43:45 What imagination!
43:47 On July 23, 1989, the prosecution against Marcello was finally annulled for the purpose of procedure.
43:55 The former mafia agent was free to go home to finish his days.
44:00 But his health deteriorated rapidly.
44:03 He had Alzheimer's disease.
44:10 When he got out of prison, his son drove him home.
44:13 And I'm not even sure that Carlos recognized me.
44:17 He leads a peaceful existence in New Orleans.
44:23 On March 3, 1993, Carlos Marcello quietly went to bed.
44:30 He is 83 years old, but his memory lives on.
44:37 More than most of the other mafia agents, Carlos Marcello was a man of the people.
44:42 He arose from nothing.
44:44 He could have led a good life, but he stayed very down to earth.
44:49 All drugs led to Marcello.
44:52 He is the guy who is the oversight of New Orleans.
44:58 The End
45:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]