Ashman, Charles. The CIA-Mafia Link. New York: Manor Books, 1975. 234 pages.

This book deserves credit as the first to explore the CIA's ties to the Mafia in the context of various assassinations. It was published in 1975, when the Church Committee -- the Senate's select committee to study governmental operations with respect to intelligence activities, chaired by Idaho Democrat Frank Church -- was preparing for hearings. Chapters include the Rockefeller Commission cover-up, the assassination of Sam Giancana, the CIA's Castro capers, the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the assassination of Rafael Trujillo, miscellaneous murders, and a final chapter on the backgrounds of the Church Committee members.

In 1975 Charles Ashman was a Los Angeles-based late-night talk show host on syndicated television, and had already published books with titles such as "Kissinger: The Adventures of Super-Kraut," "The Finest Judges Money Can Buy," "Martha [Mitchell]: The Mouth that Roared," and "Connally: The Adventures of Big Bad John." It might be called pulp nonfiction, as they were probably shipped out in a hurry to capture the topical interests of the masses (this book has no index). Nevertheless, they are considerably more comprehensive than what the newspapers had to offer; apparently it doesn't take much to improve on mainstream journalism. By 1988 Ashman was foreign correspondent for the Sunday Express of London.
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