" He was given the nickname "mooner" because he was as crazy as a loon; he later shortened it to momo. His mother, Antonia Giancana died when he was only two years old, his father remarried to Mary Leonardi only a short time later. Sam's father, Antonio Giancana, beat him daily, tending to blame to would be mob boss for everything that has gone wrong in his life. Sam stopped going to school when he was 14 and joined a street gang called the 42's, which he eventually led. The 42's did tasks for more esteemed gangsters. He was arrested three times before he was twenty, but was never convicted. His first conviction, came in 1925, for stealing a car, he served thirty days. In 1929, he was arrested on burglary charges and given three years. When he got out in 1932, his reputation as a good wheelman got him a job as chauffeur to Paul "The Waiter" Ricca. Ricca was an important figure in Al Capone's organization at the time. On September 26, 1933, Giancana married and would eventually have three daughters with Angeline DeTolve. In 1944, Ricca went to prison and was succeeded by Anthony Accardo, so Giancana drove for him. He was declared a constitutional psychopath by the Selective Service interviewer when he went to the Draft board. Sam did not join the Army.
Sam soon commanded the largest numbers operations in Chicago by kidnapping Eddie Jones, the man who ran the rackets, and held him for ransom, the ransom being the policy wheels and control of the numbers rackets. Jones was held for a week until the ransom was paid. The rackets had earned the underworld over $150 million, so Accardo gave Giancana a place on the "board." He then spread the mob out to loan sharking, prostitution, and labor racketeering. He later on made sure John F. Kennedy won the crucial Virginia primary. At this point, Giancana shared a girlfriend, Judith Cambell, with John Kennedy. Cambell admitted to carrying satchels of cash from Jack Kennedy to Giancana to be used in the West Virginia primary.