--Timrock 01:16, February 18, 2012 (UTC)

Frank Ragano (January 25, 1923 - May 13, 1998) was a self-styled "mob lawyer" from Florida, who made his name representing organized crime figures such as Santo Trafficante, Jr. and Carlos Marcello, and also served as lawyer for former United Auto Worker (UAW) Union President and teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa. In his 1994 autobiography Mob Lawyer, Ragano recounted his career in defending members of organized crime, and made the controversial allegation that Florida mob boss Santo Trafficante, Jr. confessed to him shortly before he died in 1987 that he and Carlos Marcello had arranged for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. These [[Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories have been called into serious question by others.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Later life 3 References 4 External links

Early life and careerEdit

Born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida to Sicilian parents,^[1] Ragano attended Stetson Law School and clerked for the Florida Supreme Court before admission to the Florida Bar in 1952 and beginning his trial practice in Tampa, Florida.^[2] In 1954 he was recruited by another attorney to represent several defendants arrested in Tampa for involvement in Santo Trafficante, Jr.'s illegal bolita operations.^[3] He immediately befriended Trafficante, who thereafter admitted him into the inner circles of Florida's organized crime scene.

Ragano became a frequent visitor to Trafficante's Havana nightclubs. During one such visit, Trafficante told Ragano that in 1957 he and others had set up then Senator John F. Kennedy in a Havana hotel room with several prostitutes, and that Trafficante rued the day he had failed to preserve the moment in secret surveillance tapes that could have been used for bribery purposes.^[4]

In 1959, after Fidel Castro overthrew the Fulgencio Batista regime in Cuba, Trafficante's casinos were closed down and he was imprisoned by the new government. Ragano worked on various attempts to free Trafficante, who was released in early 1960 and returned to the United States.^[5]Ybor City, Tampa, Florida]] to Sicilian parents,^[6] Ragano attended Stetson Law School and clerked for the Florida Supreme Court before admission to the Florida Bar in 1952 and beginning his trial practice in Tampa, Florida.^[7] In 1954 he was recruited by another attorney to represent several defendants arrested in Tampa for involvement in Santo Trafficante, Jr.'s illegal bolita operations.^[8] He immediately befriended Trafficante, who thereafter admitted him into the inner circles of Florida's organized crime scene.

Ragano became a frequent visitor to Trafficante's Havana nightclubs. During one such visit, Trafficante told Ragano that in 1957 he and others had set up then Senator John F. Kennedy in a Havana hotel room with several prostitutes, and that Trafficante rued the day he had failed to preserve the moment in secret surveillance tapes that could have been used for bribery purposes.^[9]

In 1959, after Fidel Castro overthrew the Fulgencio Batista regime in Cuba, Trafficante's casinos were closed down and he was imprisoned by the new government. Ragano worked on various attempts to free Trafficante, who was released in early 1960 and returned to the United States.^[10]

Later lifeEdit

In 1966, while representing Trafficante in connection with an arrest of several top mobsters in New York City, Ragano was photographed having lunch with Trafficante, Marcello and others, and was identified by Time magazine as a "top Cosa Nostra hoodlum."^[11] He later sued Time for libel^[12] and was represented by famed trial lawyer Melvin Belli. During the libel trial he was called "house counsel for the mob."^[13] He lost his suit.^[14] Belli had previously represented Jack Ruby, the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused killer of Kennedy, and Ragano claimed that Trafficante warned him not to ask Belli any questions about Ruby.^[15]

In connection with an incident made famous in the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas, Ragano helped represent four mobsters, including "Jimmy the Gent" Burke and Henry Hill, charged in 1972 with extortion in collecting a gambling debt in Tampa, Florida.^[16]

Ragano himself became the accused when he was charged with tax evasion in 1972. Although his conviction was reversed on appeal, he was later retried and convicted on related charges.^[17] As a result, he was suspended from the practice of law in 1976, and claims that Trafficante provided no support and abandoned him.^[18]

In 1978 Ragano testified before the House Select Committee on Assassinations, which was reinvestigating the Kennedy assassination, and he denied any involvement in any JFK plots.^[19] In 1981 Ragano was reinstated as an attorney by The Florida Bar, and eventually made amends with Trafficante, whom he then represented in 1986 in a racketeering case also made famous in a film, Donnie Brasco. Trafficante, who was also represented by others, was acquitted of all charges.^[20]

In 1990, Ragano was again convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to prison.^[21] Frank Ragano died in his sleep on May 13, 1998 in Tampa. He was survived by his wife and five children.^[22] In 1995, the A&E Network aired an episode of American Justice devoted to his career as a "defender of the mob."^[23]

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ Mob Lawyer (1994) Frank Ragano & Selwyn Raab, Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 19.
2. ↑ Id. at pp.10-19.
3. ↑ Id. at p. 12.
4. ↑ Id. at pp. 39-40.
5. ↑ Id. at pp. 55-60.
6. ↑ Mob Lawyer (1994) Frank Ragano & Selwyn Raab, Charles Scribner's Sons, p. 19.
7. ↑ Id. at pp.10-19.
8. ↑ Id. at p. 12.
9. ↑ Id. at pp. 39-40.
10. ↑ Id. at pp. 55-60.
11. ↑ Id. at p. 205.
12. ↑ Time, Inc. v. Ragano, 427 F.2d 219 (5th Cir. 1970).
13. ↑ Mob Lawyer at p. 247.
14. ↑ Id. at p. 241.
15. ↑ Id. at p. 242.
16. ↑ Id. at pp. 290-293.
17. ↑ Id. at pp. 294-296.
18. ↑ Id. at p. 304.
19. ↑ Id. at pp. 326-327.
20. ↑ Id. at p. 332.
21. ↑ Id. at 365.
22. ↑ Holcomb Noble, New York Times, May 18, 1998.
23. ↑ "Defending the Mob," American Justice, Episode 31, March 5, 1995.

External linksEdit

• Frank Ragano obituary, NY Times article, May 18k, 1998.