The Fall of Carlos Marcello - His Last Year in Prison - 1989

The tale of Carlos Marcello's entanglement with the law and the FBI's relentless pursuit of him, especially post-J. Edgar Hoover, is riveting. In 1989, as Marcello was nearing his release from prison, the FBI had intensified their surveillance-covering the prison, the airport he intended to use to return to New Orleans, and even the car that awaited him.
In his aging years, Marcello was not only frail but also suffered from cognitive decline, which made him vulnerable within the prison walls. Fellow inmates exploited him, forcing him to pay for their commissary expenses until Russo, an Italian mobster who found himself incarcerated with Marcello, intervened. Despite not knowing Marcello personally, Russo recognized him and offered his help, a gesture that marked the beginning of their close association.
Russo, alongside another inmate named Jack Van Lannigham, who I've previously discussed, were both informants for the FBI, trading information in hopes of reducing their sentences. They observed Marcello's behavior closely, noting that while he appeared feeble and disoriented in the presence of others, he was coherent and threatening when in the company of trusted allies. This led them to suspect that Marcello might have been exaggerating his condition to accelerate his release.
The FBI was keen to extract information from Marcello about several high-profile cases, including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. These efforts, however, remained largely unsuccessful.
Rewinding to November 22, 1963, the day Kennedy was assassinated, Marcello, along with David Ferrie, was involved in legal proceedings unrelated to the assassination. When they learned that Lee Harvey Oswald had not been killed at the scene, both men were thrown into a state of panic. Ferrie disappeared for two days before surrendering to Jim Garrison, who would later spearhead a controversial investigation into the assassination, often clashing with mainstream narratives and facing heavy criticism from the media, including Life and Time magazines.
Marcello's life was a complex web of criminal activities and connections to political upheaval in the South. He was known for his ruthless approach to dealing with enemies, which reportedly included orchestrating hits on key witnesses in Garrison's investigation.
Jim Garrison's own pursuit of truth in the Kennedy assassination has been portrayed controversially, especially in Oliver Stone's film "JFK." Critics claim Garrison was manipulated by mob influences, a point of view I intend to delve deeper into. This critical perspective will be the centerpiece of my upcoming exposé, which aims to challenge the romanticized portrayals of Garrison's quest and highlight the manipulative power of figures like Marcello.
Stay tuned for this in-depth analysis, which will be available soon on my CZcams channel and Instagram. This comprehensive piece aims to shed light on the complex interplay of crime, politics, and media narratives that shaped one of the most turbulent periods in American history.
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[@tommeredith7462]

I hear towards the last few years of Marcelo’s life his mental capacity declined a great deal.
Based on the debate performance of Biden it’s apparent the President has the same or close symptoms of decline.

[@davidcerullo7976]

Hi 👋 Anita. How are you?