The Poison Patriarch: How the Betrayals of Joseph P. Kennedy Caused the Assassination of JFK Paperback – August 9, 2016

A page turner. Complex and diligent rendering of circumstantial case that convinces. Shaw has broken solid new ground with Melvin Belli's mob connections and legal strategy, his entry into Jack Ruby's defense, and of the depth and scope of Ruby's mob affinities and police access. The circumstantial case for Mickey Cohen and his associates adding Belli to clean up the loose ends from New Orleans' mobster Marcello's plot to kill Kennedy is convincing. Well done. I cannot believe that the Warren Commission did not follow up on the Dallas newspaper reporting that Belli had prior legal relationships with Cohen and Ruby trial Judge Brown. It was in the paper, and nobody consulted remembered.Second, the last portion of Shaw's book compellingly contextualizes Joe Kennedy's betrayals, though despite the book's title that seemed less central than psychohistorically plausible. I am fully convinced reading this book now that there was a conspiracy behind the JFK assassination and that the mob was it. Shaw follows the theme that JFK was killed to punish RFK and the dad Joe. Strong, germane details uncovered by Shaw when he interviews Belli's past associates that Belli, the bloviating loudmouth, was a cypher about the Ruby case till his grave. Shaw is perhaps more sympathetic to the bind that Belli was in than I might be. I think Belli has a lot to answer for with his violation of human and legal ethics.One final thought: I may have looked for more about Lee Harvey Oswald, but this book mostly does not go into his murky world. I did learn the germane fact that Oswald had proximity to the New Orleans' mobster Marcello in 1963.

Despite a deceptive title, this book is well worth reading by anyone who doubts that JFK was a victim ["the head of the of dog"] of his brother's ill chosen and obsessive vendetta against the Mafia--the very organization that had helped Jack get elected by fixing and buying votes for him. This is not really a book about the sins of the father--although Father Joe's are touched upon in the final chapters--as much as it is an in-depth explanation of why the celebrity San Francisco lawyer, Melvin Belli, appeared out of nowhere to defend the loyal Mafia soldier and petty Texas gangster Jack Ruby. Mark Shaw connects Belli to Mickey Cohen and other mob figures, and posits that they asked, or even ordered Belli to come up with a legal scheme to assure that Ruby would be put away safely behind bars, or better still, judged insane should Ruby change his mind one day and decide to reveal what he knew about the planning of the assassination in Dallas. Why would the Mafia bigwigs have gone to the trouble if they were not responsible for the killing in the first place is Shaw's contention. Shaw also learns heavily on the confessions of the Florida mob lawyer, Frank Ragano, a go-between Jimmy Hoffa and the key Mafia figures most abused by Bobby's witch hunt, Trafficante of Florida and Marcello of New Orleans. Both these powerful men spoke to many about their desire to get rid of the head rather than the tail of the dog. Shaw asserts that they had every possible motive *plus* the organizational skills to destroy the power of the Attorney General by removing his brother from office. After reading this book, it is difficult if not impossible to believe that Oswald acted alone. Oswald was the patsy, one small link in a massive well-planned chain of events that eventually brought down the royal family.

I haven’t had the time to read this book yet I only read and watched a video about the man who wrote the book.

Joe Kennedy betrayed and caused JFK assassination.

I didn’t like the fact that the author didn’t answer the statement of his title. He went through the trial of Jack Ruby, a lot. He repeated himself over and over and over. It was an exhausting read.

This book opened my eyes to the real motives behind the assassination of JFK. I had always assumed that JFK was killed for his own actions as President. However, Shaw makes a compelling argument, with new evidence, that the President was killed to cripple the work of the Attorney General(Bobby Kennedy, the President's brother) who were aggressively going after the leading mobsters of the day and the mind blowing intricate connections to Joseph Kennedy and Attorney Melvin Belli. Mark Shaw backs this theory with incredible new evidence and more than 10 plus years of research. A intertwined thriller of our history. A must read for those who love getting goose bumps while reading a great story in evaluating shocking evidence! THE most realistic account to date.

Well researched book presenting a less often discussed theory about the assassination of President Kennedy. The information in this book is thorough and I find the conclusions very plausible and likely. The author almost goes into too much detail and repeats certain aspects of his research in subsequent chapters. This made this a longer read than perhaps necessary and I therefore gave it 4 stars instead of 5. However, for those who like to explore all the many theories of who was involved in President Kennedy's assassination and the reasons why they wanted to eliminate him, this is a very good and essential book to read.

The Poison Patriarch is yet another wonderful book for those interested in the whole JFK assassination rabbit hole. Mark Shaw's writing is no snooze-fest, I pretty much carried the book with me til I finished reading it. The author theorizes that Joe Kennedy Sr.'s relationship with organized crime--gaining millions from bootlegging only to double-cross the Mafia later, & Joe's forcing his son John to appoint brother Bobby as Atty. Genl created the perfect storm for the assassination later. By "taking out" JFK, Bobby lost his brother as President, clipping his political power--removing the collossal pressure on the Mafia. Joe Sr.'s political ambitions wrought nothing but heartache for his male children. A great addition to my collection of JFK assassination tomes.

Another book full of mafia that is becoming a bit boring now. It seems quite clear that the mafia hands were all over both Kennedy killings and maybe Martin Luther king's as well but still no uncovering of the truth is given. As a reader of most books on these subjects it seems it will never be out in the public domain. Can you imagine what the public would think and do if the government told the truth. Anyway the book is just another pointing the finger at criminals and there nasty lifestyle. A.T.Kiln