Sam Giancana, Chicago mob boss, was untouchable until 1960, when he met Phyllis McGuire, lead singer of the popular McGuire Sisters. Deftly eluding the Justice Department, the F.B.I. and rival mobsters, the murderous gangster was helpless in the hands of the wholesome, "virginal" singer he first saw in Las Vegas.
Phyllis McGuire was not a gold digger when she met Sam Giancana. Phyllis was hot, had hit recordings topping the charts and making long money in personal appearances around the world.
But Phyllis was in love.
All those in the know say it was Phyllis who could not help herself. She knew better than to fall for a lousy guy like Sam. She didn’t need anything from him. Sam was not even a handsome man, so why then? Well, they say “love is blind” and it could not be truer than with Phyllis's love for Sam. Power is the ultimate turn on we guess...
San Giancana enjoyed the limelight, some say he was even envious of show business personalities. Perhaps this is where he went way wrong. Sam seemed to thrive on his own notoriety in the media.
Tony Accardo had advised Sam on various occasions to “keep your head down,” as being visible would only bring dangerous attention to the Outfit. Sam would not listen.
Phyllis testifies at the Grand Jury (No Comment)
At this time Sam was seeing singer Phyllis McGuire of The McGuire Sisters and it was a routine thing to see their photo in a newspaper or magazine on a regular basis.
This brought a lot of attention from the Feds. In 1965, Sam was the subject of a grand jury inquiry. Sam again took the fifth, refusing to answer their probing questions, but was soon given immunity. Sam still refused to talk and he was sent to Cook County jail for contempt.
He served a year and was released in May of 1966, and headed straight for Mexico. Where he lived until 1974 when the U.S. pressured the Mexican government to stop protecting him. The Mexicans literally pushed Sam across the border into El Paso, TX, into the waiting arms of FBI agents.
Sam was brought back to Chicago to wait to testify again. The Grand Jury intended to repeat the process in hopes of putting Sam back in jail, now that he was medically ill. The Outfit did not like either of these events.
Phyllis McGuire was also called before this grand jury and many experts to this day say “she never told one tale out of school” about Sam. She gave them only “surface” information, not even if Sam ever got a parking ticket. Phyllis held up.
HBO produced a really HOT version of the Sam and Phyllis romance and although they took great license with the real story it is one of my favorite films to watch often. Shoot I think I have it on Dvd and am going to put it on right now!
JFK Judith Exner and Sam Giancana
Great Story on Sam HERE
