...considering their enemies.

Aside from JFK and the conspiracies surrounding his death (Sam Giancana/Castro), you also had Joseph P. Kennedy (JFK's father) with a "hit" on him by Al Capone himself. Scared, Joe Kennedy went running to Sam Giancana and begged for the hit to be taken off him. Joe Kennedy said, [paraphrasing]"get my son (JFK) into the White House, and you'll have one of your own protecting you." The hit was taken off, and the mob helped JFK win the election.

Once JFK reneged on the mob, his life was in jeopardy. They may or may not have conspired to have him killed (although Vincent Bugliosi's new book, "Reclaiming History," seems to debunk it), but what about Robert F. Kennedy?

Robert F. Kennedy was a major foil to the mob, what with his Rackets Committee in the late 1950's, and his pursuit of Jimmy Hoffa, et al. Joe Kennedy kept assuring Sam Giacana that what RFK was doing was merely a "smoke-screen," something just to appease the Government. Giancana bought it, but by 1961 knew he had been had.

RFK made many powerful enemies, and the rumor goes that, by killing JFK (the head), the tail (RFK) would also die. By killing RFK, the assault by the President of the United States would be tremendous, so they knew that to get to RFK, JFK had to go.

It didn't work, and RFK became more powerful than ever, more influencial, more dangerous to the mob. Hoffa hated RFK more than anything else in the world - even after RFK's murder in 1968, Hoffa was pleased. Not in the least perturbed, as if the news of RFK's death was no more significant than a fly being swatted (RFK put Hoffa in prison, so its no wonder no remorse was felt). But Hoffa was a pretty powerful man himself, even behind bars, and I'm surprised that, before RFK's death, that he didn't order one of his 11 children to be kidnapped, perhaps killed, in order to hurt RFK.

On the same token, with all the money Joe Kennedy had while JFK was a child, that any of his nine children weren't kidnapped and held for ransom.