SYNOPSIS

Based on the non-fiction JFK assassination book "Legacy of Secrecy," written by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann, DiCaprio will play FBI informant Jack Van Laningham, who obtained the confession of Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello to having ordered JFK's assassination. As part of a dangerous and long-secret undercover operation, the FBI positioned Van Laningham to become the confidant of Marcello, who ruled organized crime in Louisiana and most of Texas for decades. Carlos Marcello, who died in 1993, has not yet been the subject of a feature film, though he has long been of interest to authorities investigating JFK's murder. In 1979, a Congressional Committee concluded that "Marcello had the motive, means, and opportunity to assassinate President Kennedy." Even though FBI and Secret Service files cited in "Legacy of Secrecy" show that more than a dozen of Marcello's men and family members were questioned or arrested by authorities for JFK's murder, Marcello's name did not appear in the 1964 Warren Report, which consisted of an 888-page investigation into the assassination presented to President Johnson.

PREVIEW NOTES

• Warner Bros. Pictures announced that Leonardo DiCaprio will star in the project and will also be producing on behalf of his production house, Appian Way. - 2010-11-19

FACT

The FBI's clandestine operation with Van Laningham and the full story behind Marcello's JFK confession remained secret for decades, until Waldron and Hartmann published the declassified FBI files from the National Archives in 2009's "Legacy of Secrecy."