This book is poorly written, has long boring stretches and I quit reading it about one quarter of the way through.

Compelling! The Tangled Web is my first ever "mob book". The pace certainly propelled me though it fighting off sleep to do so. The author's use of crime terminology brought realism to the page. His desciptive narrative brought color to the black and white of the time period.
I am a fan of murder mysteries which this was not. At times I thought the story was influenced by the fact that the author was also his brother and was "easy" on this corrupt man. Possibly he has been "too easy" on this character, Dick Cain, I thought but the last chapter changed my thinking. Dick Cain was clearly a sociopath from my perspective and they often have ingratiating personalities thus the portrayal.
Michael Cain writes brilliantly particularly noting his extensively poignant vocabulary. I do hope he continues to express himself with his writing talent.
The plan is to send this off to a friend who is anxious to read the book in Detriot. Linda Jean

Compelling! The Tangled Web is my first ever "mob book". The pace certainly propelled me though it fighting off sleep to do so. The author's use of crime terminology brought realism to the page. His desciptive narrative brought color to the black and white of the time period.
I am a fan of murder mysteries which this was not. At times I thought the story was influenced by the fact that the author was also his brother and was "easy" on this corrupt man. Possibly he has been "too easy" on this character, Dick Cain, I thought but the last chapter changed my thinking. Dick Cain was clearly a sociopath from my perspective and they often have ingratiating personalities thus the portrayal.
Michael Cain writes brilliantly particularly noting his extensively poignant vocabulary. I do hope he continues to express himself with his writing talent.
The plan is to send this off to a friend who is anxious to read the book in Detriot. Linda Jean

I picked this up on a recommendation from a friend, and could not be more pleased that I did. Written by Michael J. Cain, this is the account of Richard Cain's life and times in crime. A Mafia solder for Sam Giancana, Cain worked both for and against the law to further his agenda. This is such a fun, interesting read that anyone can enjoy.

One of the most esteemed JFK assassination researchers, Dr. Peter Dale Scott has long been intrigued by the life and times of Richard Cain.
As both a respected cop and a ruthless murderer, Cain personified Scott's assertion that "deep politics," the shady nexus of elected power-brokers and underworld forces, determined the course of history in the 20th century.

As a made member of the Chicago Outfit who also rose to the position of Chief of Special Investigations for the Cook County Sheriff's Police, Cain clearly operated as a deep political player.

This new biography of Cain reveals that he was also an international operator whose travels took him to Mexico, Japan, Colombia and Cuba.
Although he has occasionally been named as a possible shooter and/or conspirator in the JFK hit, Cain is apparently exonerated by this new bio.

The book, with the wordy title "The Tangled Web: The Life and Death of Richard Cain - Chicago Cop and Mafia Hitman," was written by Cain's half-brother, Michael J. Cain. It includes eight pages of photos.
As a relative of his biographical subject, the author offers many personal observations of Cain as an aspiring Chicago PD cop along with plenty of family history. One amusing anecdote has Cain and his police partner attempting to stab a dead wino's body so they could call in the homicide cops to take the stiff off their hands.

Before Dick Cain rose through the CPD ranks and, in the 1950s, became a bag man for the Outfit delivering payoffs to fellow police officers while guarding the interests of his best friend, Sam Giancana.
As his focus grew national, Cain mastered the operation of the polygraph machine and also became an adept wiretapper, two talents that well-served both his upperworld and his underworld bosses. Cain taught those skills to Mexican authorities and also had considerable contact with CIA operatives whom he hoped to impress with his investigative capabilities.

In a chapter barely more than four pages long, the author deals with the JFK allegations by claiming that on the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963 Dick Cain was waiting to testify to a grand jury in Chicago. But since he has turned up only one witness to that scenario, Michael Cain's mind remains open. "I welcome any new evidence," he wrote.

Anti-Outfit politicians and Judge Julius Hoffmann (famous for his role in the Chicago Eight trial) sent Dick Cain in prison during the late-1960s, but by 1973 he was back on the street and still scuffling between the Outfit and the Feds. Giancana had been exiled to Mexico, so Cain took up with a burglary crew led by Marshall Caifano, who may have eventually engineered Cain's murder in December '73, at Rose's Sandwich Shop, about a mile from The Loop.

"Corrupt cops lead complicated lives," the author writes, and later, "Dick Cain was a complicated guy, to say the least."
Even though "The Tangled Web" makes few direct contributions to our knowledge of what occurred in Dallas, it paints a vivid portrait of the deep political corruption that was epidemic in major metropolitan centers during the 1950s and '60s.

For that alone, the book sheds important light on a world previously cloaked in darkness, a world in which the killing of a president and the cover-up of his murder was no longer unthinkable but actually inevitable.

Dick Cain was my father's sister only son. I knew him very well. All the family ever knew about him was the good things. High police offical, polygraph expert, electronics nut, Bay of Pigs organizer, dependable friend, etc. I personally coveted his 1953 black Ford sedan when he used to hang around my father's warehouse. But then, I also lusted for a new 1949 army surplus jeep that I never got. When I was old enough I was given the opportunity to join the mob. He gave me a cousin to cousin talk convincing me this would be a bad career decision with the simple biblical phrase, "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword." He also convinced my sister who had just lost everything in a bad divorce not to go into prostitution. He was a really great guy and I loved him.

Bob Todd
formerly Roberto Scalzitti

Imagine having a half brother who was both a highly decorated police detective and a "made" soldier in Chicago's Giancana crime family. That is the story that unfolds as Michael Cain describes the double life of his half-brother Richard. Richard Cain was rumored to be involved in the CIA plots to assassinate Fidel Castro and he was also named as one of the mob hit men supposedly involved in the assassination of JFK. He was appointed Chief Investigator for the Cook County Sheriff's Department at the same time he was on the payroll of mob boss Sam Giancana. What is amazing is that Richard Cain's corruption was widely suspected yet it did not prevent him from moving up the ranks of law enforcement. Along the way he also found time to bug foreign embassies, pass himself off as a psychologist and become and informant for the FBI. The book is mesmerizing read and covers many aspects of organized crime in Chicago from the 1950's to the early 1970's.

You have to keep telling yourself that yes, this is a true story. For a leading character that came from such humble, mundane background, Dick Cain let a most extraordinary life. The book does an excellent job of tracking his life, from a pseudo-inside perspective. It adds to the appeal of the book that the author has a vested interest in the subject, but not involved enough to have a stake beyond discovery of the truth. No over the top dramatics but a very straight forward, well told story.



The book leaves you wanting more, which is a good measure of its success. Dick Cain did great things, terrible things, but great. You read his story and he seems to be just a run of the mill tough guy, but by the end of the book you realize just how many adventures he had and just home much of this era's history he saw. It was hard to put down and was told in a very personal, well pace manner.



This is a great view of organized crime from the inside. Not from someone who made it big in a financial sense or a power sense, but from a person who actually survived as long as he did without achieving either of those measures of success. Not a stooge but not a star, which makes it, in my experience, a unique and fascinating book.

You have to keep telling yourself that yes, this is a true story. For a leading character that came from such humble, mundane background, Dick Cain let a most extraordinary life. The book does an excellent job of tracking his life, from a pseudo-inside perspective. It adds to the appeal of the book that the author has a vested interest in the subject, but not involved enough to have a stake beyond discovery of the truth. No over the top dramatics but a very straight forward, well told story.

The book leaves you wanting more, which is a good measure of its success. Dick Cain did great things, terrible things, but great. You read his story and he seems to be just a run of the mill tough guy, but by the end of the book you realize just how many adventures he had and just home much of this era's history he saw. It was hard to put down and was told in a very personal, well pace manner.

This is a great view of organized crime from the inside. Not from someone who made it big in a financial sense or a power sense, but from a person who actually survived as long as he did without achieving either of those measures of success. Not a stooge but not a star, which makes it, in my experience, a unique and fascinating book.

This book represents the culmination of many years of research both inside my family and inside the government agencies that were a part of Richard's life. I'm proud of the work I've done and encouraged by the feedback from people who have read it.

In the true sense of the old Chinese curse, Richard was a man who led an interesting life. I'm not proud of my brother, but I made a decision that his story was worth telling for all its fascinating twists and double dealing. When I was approached by the FBI and told (with implied threats) that I should not pursue the research, I knew that I was onto something that was worth my efforts. I hope you'll agree, and please feel free to send your comments to michaeljcain@gmail.com

I was lucky enough to obtain a copy of this book right after its release. This is one of the few "can't put down" books that I have read in ages. The narrative written by Michael Cain flows natuarally and made this book very easy to follow and read. How the author was able to find out some of the stories related is incredible. If one wishes to read not only about how the "system" worked in law enforcment decades ago as well as follow the rise and eventual demise of one of its key players-don't pass this excellent book.

While some people live double lives, Richard Cain led triple lives, and this book fills in many of the blank spots in the lives of this dark, but fascinating mob and CIA figure.