Hollywood Confidential, by Zepfilms — Frank Sinatra and the mafia
He was, is and always will be The Voice. A star that became an icon. Women died for him
and men envied his charisma. Many of his hits are timeless classics, and when he became
an actor, he left his mark as well. However, controversy always shadowed him. His ties
with powerful people, as well as lethal, still raise a few eyebrows, leading to a series
of myths. Today in Hollywood Confidential, Frank Sinatra
and the mafia. Although Sinatra declared more than once the
he never had close ties with the organized crime, much less he being a criminal; he was
familiar with that life. Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in Hoboken,
a little town in New Jersey. Those streets were swarmed with young people wanting to
become mobsters. They would beat up people in exchange for favors, and would sell alcohol
during the Prohibition era. Being smart and tough was more of a requirement than a choice
in the streets of Hoboken. That way of facing life was also present in
his family, all Italians. The father, Antonio Martino Sinatra, was native from Sicily and
balanced his work in his own tavern with boxing. The mother, Natalia Garaventa, was born on
Genoa, she was representative of the Democratic Party and had been in jail for carrying out
abortions. Dolly, as people called her, made sure that her son was a uomini rispetatti,
that is, a respected man. With these examples, young Frank displayed
a strong character. He hated school and even joined a gang, which brought him problems
with the police. Nonetheless, he never immersed himself in delinquency. When he was ten years
old, he was already singing in his father’s tavern. Influenced by Bing Crosby and Al Jolson,
singers he admired, he decided to make a career in music. He quit school and worked in many
places, though he never lost sight of his dream.
But the mafia continued appearing in his life. In 1932, he met Nancy Barbato. They got married
six years later and had three children: Nancy, Frank Jr. and Tina. But there was another
detail: Barbato was related to Babe Gavarante, one of the henchmen of Guarino “Willie”
Moretti. Back then, Moretti was the boss of “the Office”, name given to New Jersey’s
Mafia. It wasn’t long after that Sinatra and Moretti met and became friends. As a result,
Willie promised to help him with his musical career, but in exchange of some favors. For
example, signing in his daughter’s wedding. As a way to thank him, Moretti was crucial
for Sinatra (who was continuously gaining respect in clubs) to get to be part of Tommy
Dorsey’s orchestra, the most popular in New Jersey.
Soon after, owing to his hard work and talent, Sinatra started to stand out in the orchestra.
The way he sang and his stage presence helped him distinguishing from the other musicians.
The audience also noticed him and soon he became very popular. In 1940, his interpretation
of I’ll Never Smile Again meant his first n° 1 on Billboard’s chart. A year later,
Sinatra and the rest of Dorsey’s orchestra appeared in the film Las Vegas Nights, which
meant the cinematographic debut of the singer. By 1941, in view of his success, Sinatra decided
that it was time for him to leave the orchestra and start his solo career. But Dorsey wasn’t
willing to let him go and refused to release him from their contract.
Upset, Sinatra told Moretti about his problem. This is how Dorsey recalls what happened:
“Willie fingered a gun and told me he was glad to hear I was letting Frank out of our
deal.” Dorsey took the hint right away and obeyed without complaining. Later on, Willie
himself was boasting about how he helped him. In the end, Moretti, ill with syphilis and
being suspected of letting the cat out of the bag in any moment, was murderer on October
4, 1951, by his own clan, the same day he meant to have dinner with Sinatra’s friends:
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. From 1942 on, freed from Dorsey’s domain,
Sinatra’s career took off. He signed with Columbia Records and the hits were one after
another, and so did the fans, who crowded every show. By the end of 1943, he was making
one million a year, got to sign cinematographic contracts and he even was in the cover of
Life magazine. For many years, he also had his own very successful radio program, The
Frank Sinatra Show. According to Columbia’s estimates, as of 1946, on average, Sinatra
was recording 24 songs per year. At the same time that his career was on the
rise, Sinatra continued getting involved with personalities from the organized crime. Through
Joe Fischetti, his childhood friend and a crook of his own, he met Charles “Lucky”
Luciano. During the 30s and 40s, Luciano, born Salvatore
Lucania, became one of the most influential mafiosi and key member of the National Crime
Syndicate. In 1946, Sinatra went to Havana with the excuse
that he would receive an homage in the luxurious Hotel Nacional de Cuba. This event was the
perfect cover for a meeting which included the most important representatives of the
United States Mafias, the Jewish Syndicate Delegation and Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia.
A reunion where they could discuss and establish policies, rules and businesses, and why not,
plan a few murders. Sinatra and Luciano, both admirers of each
other, got along right away. For starters, they had some things in common: just like
the singer’s grandparents, Lucky was born in the Sicilian commune of Lercara Friddi.
That night, Sinatra sang his heart out until he was so worn out he couldn’t continue,
entertaining what today is known as the Havana Conference.
The results of the relationship between Sinatra and Luciano were immediate. In 1947, the singer
made sure to deliver three and a half million, all in 50s, to Luciano, so he could build
his empire on Cuban lands. Frank himself travelled with the money, and in a routine
check in customs he was told to open the briefcase with the money. Luckily for him, people recognized
him and soon he was surrounded by them. In light of this, the customs agent let him through.
As a way to compensate him for his generosity, Luciano made sure none of Sinatra’s private
scandals were exposed. In 1951, he divorced Nancy Barbato to start a relationship with
movie star, Ava Gardner, and years later with Mia Farrow and Barbara Marx. But the information
that the mafia had to hide no matter what was the artist’s bipolarity and his violence
towards partners and lovers. Legend has it that Luciano gave another hand
to Sinatra. The musician was planning on opening a casino in Las Vegas, but Bugsy Siegel, boss
of the western mafia and fundamental figure of the city of Nevada, wasn’t very happy
about it. Soon after, Siegel was out of the competition after being riddled. This way,
Luciano took over Las Vegas, which became the mecca of gambling and entertainment, with
Sinatra as its main attraction. The Voice invested in Sands Hotel and Casino, where
he performed for many years. However, by the early 1950s, Sinatra’s career
hit a bad patch. Movies weren’t doing so well at the box office; his records weren’t
selling and soon his style was considered outdated. Added to that, his extramarital
affairs were going public, blowing up the perfect public image he had built. Let’s
not forget that his relationship with Gardner was getting more troubling every passing day.
In that context, Sinatra saw a safe bet: to be cast in a blockbuster that could bring
him back to the spotlights. From Here to Eternity would be directed by Fred Zinnemann and starred
by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift and Deborah Kerr. Zinnemann wanted Sinatra, but producer
Harry Cohn didn’t, as he considered him mediocre.
Not taking a no for an answer, Sinatra turned to Luciano. This time, Lucky told his henchman,
Jimmy “Blue Eyes” Alo, to go take care of it, and Jimmy called Cohn. The producer
was forced to change his mind and Frank was cast in the movie. He got the role of Angelo
Maggio, a soldier friend of Cliff’s character. A small role, but it would help him a lot.
The move couldn’t have gone better: released in 1953, From Here to Eternity won eight Oscars,
including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for Frank.
From there, a new golden era began in Sinatra’s career. He signed with Capitol Records and
his status of singing icon not only didn’t decay again, but also he was once more cherished
by the public and critics. More roles for successful films were knocking on his door
as well, like The Man with the Golden Arm. This renewed condition of celebrity allowed
him to get involved with the elite of movie stars and musicians, including the so-called
Rat Pack, where people like Humprey Bogart and Lauren Bacall got together to have drinks,
smoke, play cards... to have fun essentially. Sinatra became an important member of the
group, then, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford also joined.
In fact, the love for gambling in Las Vegas led Sinatra and his friends to participate
in the film Ocean's Eleven, from 1961, where they portrayed stylish thieves.
As for the relationship between Sinatra and Luciano, it was so close that the musician
visited him on another occasion in Cuba and then Italy, where the mafioso was exiled and
put under surveillance by the police until his death in 1962.
Apart from his contacts in the show business and underworld, and following his mother’s
steps, Sinatra entered politics. More precisely, the Democratic Party, that in 1959 had its
young promise: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who was campaigning to become United States’
president. As requested by Joseph Kennedy, the senator’s father, Sinatra performed
in various events to raise funds and turned to his friends from show business.
He also turned to another friend, but from the organized crime: Salvatore “Sam” Giancana.
Born in 1908, Giancana was Chicago’s Mafia boss. Besides his knowledge on extortion and
controlling bets and underground lotteries in the city, he had influences in West Virginia’s
coal miners’ syndicate. Sinatra helped Kennedy get in touch with Giancana,
who moved some strings right away. Thanks to this initiative, Kennedy got 120 million
votes that helped him beat Richard Nixon, his opponent from the Republican Party.
Besides helping Kennedy to win votes, Sinatra also introduced him to women, including Marilyn
Monroe. Eventually, Marilyn died under strange circumstances linked to Kennedy, but that’s
for another video. In 1961, once elected president, Kennedy didn’t
show any appreciation for the help he received during his campaign: he appointed his brother,
Robert, as United States Attorney General, with the objective to persecute the Mafias
of the country. Giancana didn’t like this at all, and called Sinatra for explanations.
The signer didn’t answer his calls and decided it was best to just back away from him. As
a consequence, Giancana was determined to finish him off. He wouldn’t just kill him;
he was going to cut his vocal cords. However, right before he made the order, he listened
to That’s Life, one of Frank’s hits. Touched by it, Giancana had a bottle of whiskey and
told one of his bodyguards: “It would be a crime against the world to silence that
voice, I wouldn’t forgive myself for that.” But John F. Kennedy wasn’t that lucky. On
November 22, 1963, he got two fatal gunshots while driving around the streets of Dallas.
The person responsible was identified as Lee Harvey Oswald, who denied the charges. However,
two days after, while being relocated and despite having police protection, he was killed
by Jack Ruby, a Dallas mobster. It was never proven that the attack against Kennedy was
Giancana’s responsibility, and still is a crime without culprits, full of theories
and conspiracies that are an excellent topic for another video.
Kennedy’s assassination affected Sinatra. A few months earlier, The Manchurian Candidate
was released. There, Sinatra played the role of a United States officer influenced to carry
out a political assassination. The signer made sure that the movie was removed from
theaters. 1963 continued to be a bad year for Sinatra.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board pressed charges against Cal-Neva hotel and casino for having
housed Giancana, business owned by the singer. To avoid further problems, he gave up Cal-Neva
and his gambling license. That’s how his earnings from Sands shares and his adventures
with the Rat Pack ended. On December 8 of the same year, his son, Frank,
was kidnapped by three men. The incident lasted fifty-four hours, and it was done once Sinatra
paid 240,000 dollars. The kidnappers were arrested two days later.
The House Select Committee on Crime, entity that investigates the involvement of organized
crime in American sports, started to get notice of Sinatra’s pictures with important people
of the mafia and his link to other shady matters. On July 18, 1972, he was summoned to declare
before the United States House of Representatives. It was confirmed that, even though his relationship
with bosses of the organized crime was undoubtably true, he never got involved in illegal activities.
Sinatra’s connection with the mafia was everyone’s topic of conversation. His shows
for Moretti and the theories on how he got to be in From Here to Eternity, inspired writer
Mario Puzo to write one of the chapters of the novel who established him as a writer:
The Godfather. There, Johnny Fontane (a fictional amateur singer) sings a few pieces in the
wedding of Don Corleone’s daughter, Corleone being the Godfather. In turn, Corleone brutally
intimidates a producer to include Fontane in his new film. Puzo never admitted the similarities
with Sinatra, and when they announced there would be a film adaptation in charge of Francis
Ford Coppola, The Voice suggested them to not pay so much attention to that chapter
of the book. Sinatra didn’t care that the character resembled him, but that he was shown
as a weak person, and he was though and wouldn’t let anyone intimidate him in real life. In
the end, Coppola included it in this award-winning film, but just in the beginning and for a
very short time. In spite of that, suspicions still haunted
the singer. On February 11, 1981, when he solicited a new gambling license in Nevada
so he could come back to Las Vegas’ stages, the Gaming Control Board of the city summoned
him to testify. Sinatra had to refute activities with the mafia and other obscure points in
his life. As for Giancana, who had died in 1975, he stated: “I never had anything to
do with him in terms of businesses and on rare occasions I socialized with him. I didn’t
have any other connection with him.” Owing to his words and testimonies of people he
trusted, such as Ava Gardner, Gregory Peck, Kirk Douglas and Bob Hope, Sinatra got his
license. Sinatra continue performing until his death,
on May 14, 1998, when he was 82 years old. His heart, the one that he opened up while
performing every single one of his songs, stopped beating.
On December of the same year, the FBI published 1,275 pages of archives on Sinatra. The singer
was aware that those papers existed, as he had asked to see them in 1979 and 1980, under
the Freedom of Information Act. Most of those documents were letters and other messages
threatening Sinatra, like an attempt of extortion in 1969, which concluded in a two-million
donation to the Vatican, Frank Sinatra still is a pure idol and an
eternal wonder about his true relation with the mafia. One can’t deny that his friends
could really count on him, even though some of them led dangerous businesses that put
him under the microscope. After all, above all accusations, above every hypothesis, The
Voice undoubtedly lived his life the only way he knew how: his way.