John Hagy Davis (June 14, 1929 – January 29, 2012) was an American author who wrote several books on the Bouvier and Kennedy families and on the Mafia, both the Sicilian Mafia and its Italian-American offshoot.

Biography

Davis was the son of stockbroker John Ethelbert Davis and Maude Reppelin Bouvier, younger sister of

John Vernou Bouvier III John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III ( ; May 19, 1891 – August 3, 1957) was an American Wall Street stockbroker and socialite. He was the father of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and of socialite Lee Radziwill, and was the father-in-law ...

and, therefore, first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and

Lee Radziwill Caroline Lee Bouvier ( ), later Canfield, Radziwiłł (), and Ross (March 3, 1933 – February 15, 2019), usually known as Princess Lee Radziwill, was an American socialite, public-relations executive, and interior decorator. She was the y ...

. His mother and John V. Bouvier III were both children of prominent New York lawyer John Vernou Bouvier Jr. Davis was a 1951 graduate of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

as well as

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. While serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the 1950s, he was officer with the Sixth Fleet stationed in

Naples, Italy Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Davis said that he was required to "deal with the mafia hoods who controlled the ports" as part of his duties as

shore patrol Shore patrol are service members who are provided to aid in security for the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps, and the British Royal Navy while on shore.Cutler And Cutler, p 202 They are often temporar ...

and legal officer. He stated that during his time there he became interested in the history of Italy and studied the

history of the mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...

. After the Navy, Davis studied at the Italian Institute for Historical Studies in Naples, and directed a

cultural center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Cen ...

in southern Italy.

Author

Davis is the author of several books about American families such as the Bouviers, the

Guggenheims The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...

and the Kennedys.

''Mafia Kingfish''

In 1989, the

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publish ...

published ''Mafia Kingfish: Carlos Marcello and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy'' in which Davis implicated the mafia and

Carlos Marcello Carlos Joseph Marcello (; born Calogero Minacore ; February 6, 1910 – March 3, 1993) was an Italian-American crime boss of the New Orleans crime family from 1947 until the late 1980s. Aside from his role in the American Mafia, he is also ...

in the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

. According to Davis

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

and Jack Ruby had "strong ties" to Marcello, and that an Oswald imposter visited the Russian embassies in Cuba and Mexico. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' called it an "engrossing, startlingly detailed biography of a Mafia don". '' Kirkus Reviews'' said "the centerpiece of 'Mafia Kingfish''is a plausible, even persuasive, case for the proposition that the Gulf Coast godfather masterminded the assassination of JFK." A reviewer for ''

The Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...

'' wrote: "'Mafia Kingfish' is such a page-turner, it could be a fictional thriller. But it's an amazing bit of contemporary history begging for someone to solve its mystery."

''Mafia Dynasty''

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News ...

published Davis's 1993 book ''Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family''. According to ''Publishers Weekly'', the book "explores the history of the Cosa Nostra from its roots in Italy and brilliantly depicts the violent, vicious, vulgar brotherhood." ''Kirkus'' wrote that the book was " authoritative overview of the nation's premier criminal organization, and of the greed and hubris that have toppled its leaders time and again."

Later life and death

Davis died at his home in Manhattan in 2012 due to complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

Published works

* (1969) ''The Bouviers: Portrait of an American Family'' * (1989) ''Mafia Kingfish: Carlos Marcello and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy'' * (1993) ''Kennedy Contract: The Mafia Plot to Assassinate the President'' * (1984) ''The Kennedys: Dynasty and Disaster'' * (1978) ''The Guggenheims: An American Epic'' * (1993) ''The Bouviers: From Waterloo to the Kennedys and Beyond'' * (1994) ''Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the

Gambino Family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...

'' * (1998) ''Jacqueline Bouvier: An Intimate Memoir''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, John H. 1929 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American military personnel 20th-century American non-fiction writers Bouvier family Columbia University alumni Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Military personnel from New York City Non-fiction writers about organized crime in the United States Princeton University alumni Researchers of the assassination of John F. Kennedy United States Navy officers Writers from Manhattan Deaths from dementia in New York (state)