The Nation: The Momo and Cain Connection

The story of the CIA'S efforts to enlist Mafia aid in assassinating Cuba's Fidel Castro continues to unfold. In 1960, during the waning months of Dwight Eisenhower's presidency, TIME has learned that the agency went to Momo Salvatore ("Sam") Giancana, a high-ranking Mafia don who ruled Chicago's gangland with a bloody hand. The mission: kill Castro. For help, Giancana turned to one of the most nimble and conniving figures in the Mafia: Richard Cain, who had been the Mafia's agent in the enemy camp: a detective on Chicago's police force.

Among his other accomplishments, Cain spoke Spanish fluently. With the consent of...

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