EXCLUSIVE: Astonishing Story of How Burt Reynolds Was Secretly Probed By FBI Over Sinister Mob Ties And Link to Mafia Chief Connected to JFK's Assassination
Burt Reynolds, left, ended up at the center of an FBI probe that took in the assassination of JFK, right.
June 6 2025, Published 12:00 p.m. ET
Burt Reynolds and his girlfriend were secretly probed by the FBI over their links to mafia chiefs – and a mob lawyer connected to JFK’s assassination, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Smokey And The Bandit star and his actress lover Dinah Shore were the subject of an intense 1972 investigation by Feds after the couple were spotted hanging out with shadowy attorney Frank Ragano.
And we can reveal the actor hired Ragano to fix the purchase of land he’s believed to have turned into his famed Florida ranch.
Staggering JFK Link
The investigation had links to the killing of John F. Kennedy.
Ragano – who died in 1998 aged 75 – made a fortune representing mafia kingpins such as Santo Trafficante Jr as well as union boss Jimmy Hoffa.
He shocked the world when he claimed in his 1994 memoir Mob Lawyer that Florida mob chief Trafficante, featured in hit Johnny Depp film Donnie Brasco, confessed to him the mafia was behind the 1963 assassination of president John F. Kennedy.
Reynolds – killed aged 82 by a heart attack in 2018 after a life of womanizing and hard-living – and his glamorous blonde girlfriend Shore came to the attention of the FBI after a tip-off they were linked to Ragano.
The information came from the US Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Florida, who told the FBI’s acting director Louis Patrick Gray III they had opened a file titled 'Burt Reynolds; Frank Ragano.'
They said the investigation "deals with an allegation that Burt Reynolds, the movie actor, has become involved in financial dealings with Frank Ragano."
Secret FBI files released exclusively to us state LA snitches were also tasked with finding out if Reynolds and Shore had connections with "hoodlum figures."
Wildman
Reynolds was renowned for his partying and womanizing.
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The documents say Shore, who died aged 77 in 1994 after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, also had links with mob attorney Sidney Korshak – whose partnerships with Chicago gangsters led to the FBI branding him "the most powerful lawyer in the world."
The FBI finally discovered Reynolds had asked Ragano to represent him in the purchase of land in Jupiter, Florida – thought to be the actor’s 160-acre ranch where he lived until his death.
They also found Reynolds and Shore stayed at Ragano's home, hung out with him in the VIP lounge of an airport – and the actor considered buying the lawyer’s home.
Despite the pair's links to Ragano and the FBI interviewing Reynolds, the probe was ditched when investigators said sources had "no information concerning hoodlum associates" of Reynolds or Shore.
Reynolds – who died with only $5million after declaring bankruptcy in 1996 – was also probed by the FBI over a $5.5million loan he took to develop a Florida shopping mall, and over the actor’s interest in opening a bank in Florida.
The revelations about Reynolds' mafia ties comes after his sister-in-law has claimed the Boogie Nights actor was behind the 1973 murder of a man named David Whiting in a Gila Bend, Arizona, motel.
"Burt got caught with the man's girlfriend. They got in a fight and he killed him," said Maria, the widow of Reynolds' adopted brother, Jimmy Hooks Reynolds.
