Secondary Characters
Secondary characters, which consist of fictional characters as well as historical figures, include:
- J. Edgar Hoover: Director of the FBI, Hoover appears on page 340, but his presence is made through letters and transcripts of telephone conversations, primarily with Boyd.
- John F. Kennedy: Massachusetts senator, presidential candidate, and President of the United States. Kennedy begins the novel as a member of the McClellan Committee, which is charged with investigating organized crime.
- Robert F. Kennedy: Special counsel to the McClellan Committee, named U.S. Attorney General by his brother.
- Joseph P. Kennedy: Father of the Kennedy brothers. After making his fortune as a bootlegger during Prohibition, He has loaned millions of dollars to the mafia through the Teamsters Pension Fund.
- Jimmy Hoffa: President of the Teamsters union, Hoffa maintains close connections to organized crime, lending the mafia millions of dollars through the Teamsters Pension Fund.
- Howard Hughes: Reclusive, eccentric and mentally disturbed, Hughes plans to take over the mafia's casinos in Las Vegas to establish a "germ-free environment" for his residence.
- Guy Banister: Ex-FBI agent and current CIA liaison, Banister helps establish a militia of anti-communist Cuban refugees, the "Blessington Cadre."
- John Stanton: Banister's associate, also with the CIA.
- Lenny Sands: A nightclub singer with mob ties, Littell conscripts Sands as a snitch.
- Jack Ruby: Dallas nightclub owner with ties to organized crime.
- Jules Schiffrin: A small-time mobster who keeps the real books of the Teamsters Pension Fund.
- Chuck Rogers: Ex-CIA agent and pilot who enters the service of the Blessington Cadre.
- Laura Hughes: Illegitimate daughter of Joe Kennedy and Gloria Swanson who has taken Howard Hughes's last name just to spite her father.
- Helen Agee: College friend of Littell's daughter who becomes romantically involved with Littell.
- Barb Jahelka: Los Angeles singer and shakedown artist.
- Nestor Chasco: A virulent anti-Castro member of the Blessington Cadre.
Other members of the historical cast include mob bosses Sam Giancana, Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante, Jr., and John Roselli, Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, and J. D. Tippit.
Read more about this topic: American Tabloid
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