1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is a 2 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: story about the Voice, the Weasel, about the Boot and 3 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: guy's name Lucky Momo and Handsome Johnny. This is a 4 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: story about the Mafia and about one musician's position in 5 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: the mafia. This is not a story you've likely heard before. 6 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,800 Speaker 1: This is not just a story about a singer who 7 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: needed the mob's help. It's about a pop star who 8 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:50,160 Speaker 1: was expected to deliver for the Mob over and over again, 9 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: and in a way that only made Mafia members were 10 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:58,240 Speaker 1: expected to deliver. This story is based on recent research 11 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: from a newish book that pulls from a trove of 12 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: previously unreleased secret files from Los Angeles police intelligence and 13 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: FBI documents. This is a story, of course, about Frank Sinatra, 14 00:01:14,240 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: a story that puts him not just up close and 15 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: personal with the Mafia, but in the mafia, running illegal errands, 16 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: entering into illegal businesses, and relying on illegal favors, one 17 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: of which resulted in not one, but three murders. And 18 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: this being a story about Frank the Voice Sinatra, means 19 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: that it's also a story about great music. Unlike that 20 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: music I played for you at the top of the 21 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: show that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop 22 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: from my melotron called Cowboy Gonna Bleed MK one. I 23 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: played you that loop because I can't afford the rights 24 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: to Dominique by the Singing Nun. And why would I 25 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: play you that specific slice of convent cheese? Could I 26 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: afford it? Because that was the number one song in 27 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:17,679 Speaker 1: America on December eighth, nineteen sixty three, And that was 28 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: the day Frank Sinatra's son was kidnapped and a phone 29 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,799 Speaker 1: call was made that resulted in the torture and death 30 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: of three men at the hands of a mafia enforcer. 31 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: On this episode, new Research, Secret Files, illegal Favors, torture, murder, 32 00:02:37,160 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: and Frank Sinatra. I'm Jake Brennan in this this Disgraceland. 33 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,240 Speaker 1: Once upon a time back during the earlier part of 34 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: the twentieth century, just after Prohibition and throughout the nineteen 35 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: forties and fifties, the American mafia consolidated its immense power, 36 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:28,919 Speaker 1: and your mafia bosses, your Lucky Luciano's, your Vito Genovies 37 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: types created empires. These gangsters, the bosses picture Don Corleone 38 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: from The Godfather. They gave orders and stayed above the fray. 39 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: Below them, there were the captains, the guys who ran 40 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,839 Speaker 1: the crews, guys like Rugerio Richie, the boot Boyardo from 41 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: New Jersey, who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. 42 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: He was said to bury his enemies in his backyard. 43 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: And then there was Angelo gip de Carlo, who ran 44 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: the Jersey labor unions and controlled the nightclub business, and 45 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: who was also known to make enemies disappear. These were 46 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: more your Tessio, your fat Clemenza types. Below these guys, 47 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: you had your soldiers, men like Willy Moretti, a New 48 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: Jersey member of the Genovese family. Moretti once invited a 49 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: man who owed him money to dinner to work out 50 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,200 Speaker 1: his debt. The deadbeat, of course, didn't have the money, 51 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: and Moretti shot the man in the leg in front 52 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: of a restaurant full of witnesses, and then finished his 53 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: meal as if nothing had happened. Moretti himself was shot 54 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: in the face in nineteen fifty one, ironically in a 55 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: Jersey restaurant while eating a boll of spaghetti. If you 56 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,799 Speaker 1: want a comparable character from the Godfather for Willy Moretti 57 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: to continue our analogy, look no further than Vito's muscle 58 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:57,839 Speaker 1: Luca Brazzi, or better yet, Michael's bodyguard al Neary. These 59 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: mafiosi were a so called made members of the Italian 60 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: mafia in America, which meant they took blood oaths, swearing 61 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,840 Speaker 1: allegiance to their mob families, swearing to live by the 62 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: code of omerta or silence. Made members of the mafia 63 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: are protected as long as they played by the rules, 64 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: their bosses and their families are there for them to 65 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: keep other gangsters out of their territories, to bail them 66 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: out of jail, to provide for their families when they 67 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 1: get sent to jail, and generally speaking, to help made 68 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,280 Speaker 1: men sort out whatever problems they might encounter so that 69 00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: they can continue to earn money for their families and 70 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:43,960 Speaker 1: for themselves. Being made was and still is one of 71 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: the highest honors a gangster can receive in the mafia, 72 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:52,880 Speaker 1: and only Italians can be made. But being made doesn't 73 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,520 Speaker 1: make you a boss or even a captain. Mixed in 74 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:00,120 Speaker 1: among the made soldiers were gangsters who never became made men, 75 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: but who are nevertheless indispensable to their crime families. Men 76 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: like Frank cheech Levorsi from the Genevese family who ran 77 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: New Jersey's gambling in numbers operation, and Ben Buggsy Siegel, 78 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: who wasn't even Italian and who literally built Las Vegas 79 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: for the American mafia. The godfathers on made men of 80 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: influence are, of course Tom Hagen and Moe Green. Lots 81 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: of mafiosi are not made men. They're simply connected guys. 82 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: But that doesn't mean they're not gangsters. They are, and 83 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:38,360 Speaker 1: their fortunes rise and fall with the fortunes of their families. 84 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:43,280 Speaker 1: And this is the point. Not only their fortunes, but 85 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: their lives depend on their own ability to earn money 86 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: for their bosses. With that, gangsters win and lose at life. Accordingly, 87 00:06:55,800 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 1: nobody likes a loser. Frank Sinatra especially didn't like losers. 88 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 1: Mafia bosses like losers. Even less Frank Sinatra was a winner, 89 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: a winning bet. The mafia bet big on Frank at 90 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: the beginning of his career. The mob was in early 91 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: on Sinatra, grooming him for stardom, before anyone would give 92 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: the poor son of a broken down boxer and illegal 93 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:25,040 Speaker 1: abortionist a chance. When it mattered most, the mafia used 94 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: violence to clear the way for Frank and to cash 95 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: in for themselves. There is a popular myth in our 96 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: culture because Frank Sinatra's parents owned a bar in Hoboken, 97 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 1: New Jersey, where known members of the Jersey and New 98 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,520 Speaker 1: York Mob hung out, that Frank made friends with some 99 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,480 Speaker 1: unsavory characters back in the day, and that this experience 100 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: rubbed off on young Frank, and that's where Frank got 101 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: his wanta be tough guy attitude. It's an attitude that 102 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: many in Hollywood would joke about, an attitude that those 103 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: who knew Frank best excused because of his immense fame, 104 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: an attitude that has been reported to be nothing more 105 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: than that, just an attitude. Frank flew off the handle sometimes. 106 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 2: Sure, but that's just Frank. 107 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Frank's got some tough guy friends. But hey, 108 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: the night club business is a tough business. 109 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 2: What do you expect. 110 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: The entertainment world was run by the mob. Most entertainers 111 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: came in contact with gangsters. Frank's okay, Frank fancies himself 112 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: a tough guy, like the tough guys he grew up with. Sure, 113 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,680 Speaker 1: but Frank's just to wanna be. However, the reality was 114 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra wasn't just to wannabe. Frank Sinatra, without being 115 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: an official made man, was not just friends with some 116 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 1: tough guys from back in the neighborhood. Frank Sinatra was 117 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: himself very much a gangster. Frank Sinatra held the woman 118 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 1: by the neck up against the wall. He was so 119 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: angry he didn't realize he had her feet off the floor. 120 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: His rage was blinding at this moment. He didn't even 121 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,079 Speaker 1: remember what she had done. But all that Jack Daniels, 122 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,040 Speaker 1: Frank couldn't not get what he wanted. He was Frank 123 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: the Voice Sinatra. Charlie Lucky Luciano never had to wait, 124 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: and I never said no to Richie the Bupboyardo. Why 125 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: did this half assed showgirl think she could disrespect him? 126 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: Through the plateglass window she went, and Frank didn't care 127 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: who saw it, didn't care even if the President of 128 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: the United States, his brother in law, the actor Peter Lawford, 129 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,560 Speaker 1: husband of Patricia Kennedy, saw it. Peter later went on 130 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: record with this story about Frank and the working girl 131 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 1: in the plate glass window and fuck Peter and fuck 132 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: his wife too, which Frank figured he would likely do 133 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: again at some point. Sleeping with the President's sister only 134 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 1: further embedded Frank inside Camelot, which was a relationship Frank 135 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 1: Sinatra cared about almost as much as his relationship with 136 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 1: the mov or the Boys as he called him. Peter 137 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: Lawford wasn't the only one flapping his gums. Sammy Davis 138 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: Junior talked to a Chicago radio station in the sixties 139 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 1: and had the nerve to tell a DJ that quote, 140 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: I love Frank, but talent is not an excuse for 141 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:16,040 Speaker 1: bad manners. I don't care if you are the most 142 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 1: talented person in the world. It does not give you 143 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:20,760 Speaker 1: the right to step on people and treat them rotten. 144 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:25,240 Speaker 1: This is what he does occasionally end quote in Chicago. 145 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: Sammy said this on a Chicago radio station in sam 146 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,200 Speaker 1: Momo g and Cona's town. Frank couldn't have this. Frank 147 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 1: was just as indebted to g and Coana now in 148 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: the early nineteen sixties as he'd been indebted back in 149 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 1: nineteen forty six to Gi and Conna's then boss Tonyacardo, 150 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 1: the former bodyguard for al Capone. 151 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:46,839 Speaker 2: But back in. 152 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:51,040 Speaker 1: Nineteen forty six, al Capone was dying of syphlis in Miami, 153 00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:55,119 Speaker 1: just two hundred miles away from Cuba, where Capone Chicago 154 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 1: was being represented by his cousins Rocco and Charles Facchetti. 155 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: At this moment in nineteen forty six, those two gentlemen 156 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: were on a plane seated next to Frank Sinatra, who 157 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: had a bag at his feet that was stuffed with 158 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: cash and a thirty two revolver. All the boys knew 159 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: the Facchetti cousins, and everyone knew Frank Sinatra big star, 160 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,600 Speaker 1: that he was back in forty six, and that was 161 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: the genius of using Frank as the bagman. No one 162 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: was going to search Frank Sinatra upon landing at Rancho 163 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:31,079 Speaker 1: Boiro's airport that December weekend among a flood of American mobs, 164 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: soldiers and bosses, Vito Genoviz, Frank Costello, Albert Anastasia, Joe Bonano, 165 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: Santo Trafficante Senior, and Carlos Marcello among them. The so 166 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: called Havana Conference was set up in part to pay 167 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:51,720 Speaker 1: tribute to Charlie Luciano. Thus, the Bag of Money and 168 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: the Havana Conference was set up so Luciano and his 169 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,800 Speaker 1: partner Mayer Lanski could entice other crime bosses to invest 170 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:04,800 Speaker 1: in Havana's casinos. Cuban leadership, particularly the former president and 171 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: military dictator Flagencio Battista, was beyond corrupt and they had 172 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:14,880 Speaker 1: sold the country out to American mob interests. Havana was 173 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: one hundred percent owned by Luciano and Lanski, and now 174 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:24,800 Speaker 1: Luciano and Lanski were opening it up for business. That weekend. 175 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:30,479 Speaker 1: There would be all manner of entertainment for the US gangsters, showgirls, prostitutes, 176 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: floor shows, depraved acts of beastiality, whatever they desired, and 177 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,960 Speaker 1: of course a private performance by the biggest star on 178 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:44,480 Speaker 1: the planet at the time, their own Frank Sinatra. After 179 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:48,199 Speaker 1: his performance, the very much married Frank Sinatra settled into 180 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 1: his suite at the Hotel Nacional with his girlfriend for 181 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,920 Speaker 1: the weekend, a Laura Gooding. When A Laura awoke after 182 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 1: they had sex, she heard a loud banging outside. Out 183 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:02,920 Speaker 1: the window. From beyond the terrace, she saw two guards 184 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:07,040 Speaker 1: sprinting straight for the room. What would they carrying, Frank, 185 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,480 Speaker 1: get up, they have guns. They're coming to kill us. 186 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,360 Speaker 1: Frank sprung out of bed and went for his thirty two. 187 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: The guards were now at the door, yelling in Spanish, 188 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:17,920 Speaker 1: and A Laura grabbed the rifle they had in the 189 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: room for extra protection, and there was more yelling and 190 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: in a language A Laura did not understand. A Laura 191 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:28,440 Speaker 1: pointed the rifle and fired. One guard fell dead on 192 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: the spot. Then another shot, this one from behind the guards, 193 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 1: This one from the pistol of a hotel security man 194 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:40,360 Speaker 1: sprinting toward the clusterfuck in Frank sinatra suite. A clusterfuck 195 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:43,080 Speaker 1: just made worse due to the fact that the second 196 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: shot killed the other guard at the door. It all 197 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 1: happened before Frank's eyes had time to focus. He turned 198 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: to his date, You killed that guy, A Laura protested, 199 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: they were coming to kill us. They had guns. Frank 200 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,520 Speaker 1: looked down at the bloody mess and the door. Those 201 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: weren't guns. Those were walkie talkies. The event was not 202 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 1: sorted out by local lawmen, attorneys, or judges. Justice was 203 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 1: not sought or served. Frank never called the cops or 204 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 1: his lawyer back in New York. Instead, Frank's gangster buddy 205 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: sent a Lord Gooding home quietly to the States. While 206 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: mafia controlled Cuban soldiers cleaned up the mess. Frank Sinatra 207 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,920 Speaker 1: went about his business that weekend, reveling in the festivities, 208 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 1: secure in the fact that the mafia wasn't going to 209 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: let anything. Is insignificant as a couple of dead Cubans 210 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,160 Speaker 1: submarine their investment in Havana, or in their investment in 211 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: one of their top earners, him Frank the Voice Sinatra. 212 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,520 Speaker 1: They say that in the mafia, you're only as good 213 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: as your next envelope, meaning you're valued only by how 214 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:26,240 Speaker 1: much money you earn for your boss. Mafia's soldiers don't 215 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,840 Speaker 1: earn salaries. They make their money criminally, and they pay 216 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: a portion of that money regularly to their bosses as tribute. 217 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: In return, the boss protects them from other violent mobsters 218 00:15:40,560 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: and provides resources to help them commit their crimes. That's 219 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:50,080 Speaker 1: the deal. It's that simple. Frank Sinatra was a special case. 220 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,000 Speaker 1: He wasn't good with a gun. He wasn't a hit man, 221 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,960 Speaker 1: wasn't a safecracker or a second story man. Wasn't an arsonist, 222 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:06,120 Speaker 1: extortionist or bookmaker, all standard mafia occupations. Frank Sinatra was 223 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: none of these things. Frank was a song and dance man. 224 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: But just because Frank Sinatra's talent wasn't inherently criminal, it 225 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: didn't mean Frank Sinatra didn't make money for the mob. 226 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: He did. Frank Sinatra didn't just make money for the 227 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: mob because they were frends he knew from back in 228 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: the old neighborhood, guys who may or may not have 229 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,480 Speaker 1: exploited him to act out of some sense of a 230 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:35,240 Speaker 1: childhood loyalty or otherwise. No, Frank Sinatra did favors for 231 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: the mob, and he earned for the mob because, for 232 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 1: all intents and purposes, Frank Sinatra was in the Mob. 233 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: I realize how ridiculous this sounds, but hear me out. 234 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 1: Mafia soldiers unmade men. They don't create a resume and 235 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: sit down for job interviews with prospective mob families to 236 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: obtain their jobs. Instead, they come up through the ranks 237 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: in their respective neighborhoods organically. Maybe a connected guide does 238 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: a favor for a made guy, and the rising hoodlum 239 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:12,439 Speaker 1: pays him back with a favor of his own, and 240 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,399 Speaker 1: thus a bond is created. Further crimes are committed, and 241 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:20,359 Speaker 1: naturally the rising hood is given more opportunity until he 242 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 1: finds himself in the actual employ of the mob, providing 243 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:29,199 Speaker 1: and collecting favors and now protection and in return earning 244 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 1: regularly for himself and for his new boss. It's a 245 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: documented fact that the Mafia financed Frank Sinatra's early career. 246 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:42,439 Speaker 1: They gave him cash for headshots, new suits, even walking 247 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:46,800 Speaker 1: around money. And in exchange for these favors, Frank Sinatra 248 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:50,480 Speaker 1: performed for the Mafiosi, first in his parents Hoboken saloon 249 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,639 Speaker 1: where they hung out, and eventually in their nightclubs and 250 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:58,679 Speaker 1: on their touring circuits. And it is widely accepted as fact, 251 00:17:59,119 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: basically admitted by Sinatra himself, that in nineteen forty two, 252 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: the mob sent William Aready to pay a visit to 253 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: band leader Tommy Dorsey's home because Dorsey was preventing Frank 254 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:14,679 Speaker 1: Sinatra from making money. Dorsey had signed Sinatra to a 255 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:18,159 Speaker 1: bad contract, a contract that granted the band leader the 256 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: rights to one third of all of Frank's earnings for 257 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:23,680 Speaker 1: the rest of his life. William already put a gun 258 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: too Dorsey's head, and if you believe the dramatization of 259 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,880 Speaker 1: the story, and the Godfather said to Dorsey, either your 260 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: brains or your signature is going to be on that contract. 261 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: Dorsey of course signed, releasing Frank Sinatra from his contract. 262 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,000 Speaker 1: As far as severed horseheads and the beds of movie moguls. 263 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:47,760 Speaker 1: That's a bigger blurrier dramatization. But again, as it pertains 264 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,840 Speaker 1: to Frank Sinatra's gangster bona fides, the outline of the 265 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: story is true. But despite such protection, by the late 266 00:18:55,840 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, Frank's career was in serious jeopardy. Hollywood wanted 267 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: nothing to do with him. He damaged his voice, he 268 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:08,400 Speaker 1: lost his recording contract, his relationship with actress Ava Gardner 269 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 1: was a tabloid nightmare, and he was suddenly considered a 270 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 1: has been. So once again, Willie Moretti stepped in to 271 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:19,679 Speaker 1: protect the mafia's investment. Frank wanted the role of Private 272 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: Maggio in the new film in production at Columbia Pictures 273 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 1: From Here to Eternity, and Moretti made sure Columbia studio 274 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 1: boss Harry Cohne gave. 275 00:19:27,480 --> 00:19:28,400 Speaker 2: It to him. 276 00:19:28,800 --> 00:19:30,840 Speaker 1: We cover the specifics of this crime in our part 277 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:34,880 Speaker 1: one episode on Frank Sinatra. Needless to say, Frank got 278 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 1: his way. The film was a hit, Sinatra won an 279 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,920 Speaker 1: Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and just like that, his 280 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 1: career was back in business. Now did Frank Sinatra pay 281 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 1: a weekly tribute to the mob like other Mafia soldiers. No, 282 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:53,640 Speaker 1: there's no evidence of them. But part of the deal 283 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 1: when you're in the mafia is answering when your boss's 284 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,800 Speaker 1: call and going to work when they tell you to. 285 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,680 Speaker 1: And there's plenty of evidence suggesting that the Mafia had 286 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,399 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra on speed dial, and that when the boys 287 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: said jump, Frank gassed to the moon or higher. You 288 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:20,200 Speaker 1: tell me, we'll be right back after this. We're we're, we're. 289 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: Given the volatile political situation in Cuba, the Mafia hedged 290 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: their bets by building a second gambling empire, this one 291 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: in Las Vegas, Nevada. They invested millions at a time 292 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 1: when that really meant something. Frank Sinatra was asked to 293 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,400 Speaker 1: use his star power to attract other entertainers and thus gamblers, 294 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,840 Speaker 1: to the mob's new playground in Las Vegas, and Frank 295 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:52,919 Speaker 1: did just that. Once Cuba fell to Castro in nineteen 296 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,560 Speaker 1: fifty nine and the Mafia lost their Havana casinos, Las 297 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 1: Vegas became even more important to the mob's interests. Years before, 298 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra had been asked to become a partner in 299 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:07,240 Speaker 1: a mob run establishment, a star like Frank with an 300 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,600 Speaker 1: ownership stake in a Vegas hotel and casino guaranteed big 301 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:15,399 Speaker 1: bucks for the bosses and somehow, despite being in major 302 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: debt to the irs. In the early nineteen fifties, Frank 303 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,639 Speaker 1: Sinatra was allowed by the Nevada State Gaming Board to 304 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:25,280 Speaker 1: invest in the Sands Hotel and Casino and retain a 305 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:29,879 Speaker 1: seven and a half percent ownership piece. Mob boss Frank 306 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: Costello was the majority owner and Mayer Lansky, Joe Adonis, 307 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: and Tonyakardo from Chicago. Sam g and Kanna's boss at 308 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: the time also owned stakes. In October nineteen fifty three, 309 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,760 Speaker 1: Sinatra performed at the opening of the Sands and he 310 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: packed him in. The casino. Hotel was off the ground 311 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: and running, and Sinatra was thus earning for the mob 312 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: big time. 313 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 2: The Mob called. 314 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: Upon Frank again, this time in nineteen sixty and Frank 315 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:03,119 Speaker 1: won once again came running. They wanted Frank to be 316 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 1: part of another hotel and casino ownership group. This one 317 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:10,159 Speaker 1: was on the California Nevada state line, in existing but 318 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:15,880 Speaker 1: financially failing establishment called the cal Neva. Frank's celebrity could 319 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,680 Speaker 1: infuse new life into the joint. Along with Frank, Sam 320 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 1: G and Katta who by then was the Boss of 321 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 1: Chicago and one of the most prominent mafia leaders in 322 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:28,280 Speaker 1: the country, owned a massive stake in the hotel. The 323 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,600 Speaker 1: cow Nev was a big hit on opening night. In 324 00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:35,240 Speaker 1: attendance were not only Sinatra and g and Kanna, but 325 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:39,320 Speaker 1: also the former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom 326 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: and one time mob bootlegger Joseph P. Kennedy and his son, 327 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: the US Senator and presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, along 328 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,960 Speaker 1: with his date, the most famous woman in the world 329 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: at the time, Marilyn Monroe. Handsome Johnny Rosselli was there too, 330 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: of course, as were the FBI surveillance agents assembling what 331 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,160 Speaker 1: would become, over the US years, the biggest FBI file 332 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:07,040 Speaker 1: on any entertainer in history, and that entertainer was, of course, 333 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra. Just take a minute to appreciate this astonishing scene. 334 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:16,639 Speaker 1: You have one of the richest men in the world, 335 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: Joseph P. Kennedy, a former ambassador, who by the way, 336 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,199 Speaker 1: was there with a date, not his wife. At the 337 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:25,919 Speaker 1: same party, you have his son, a senator, and a 338 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: man who at that time had a massive national profile 339 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:31,479 Speaker 1: because he was running to become the next president and 340 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,159 Speaker 1: he's married, and he's there at the same party with 341 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:38,119 Speaker 1: his dad, who's with his mistress, and he JFK is 342 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: there with a date even though he's married too, and 343 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,160 Speaker 1: his date is literally the most recognizable woman on the planet, 344 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: Marilyn fucking Monroe. And the room is stacked full of 345 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:54,199 Speaker 1: known gangsters. Sam g and Kanta, by that point, was 346 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,720 Speaker 1: such a notorious criminal that he wasn't allowed to enter 347 00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,679 Speaker 1: any casino throughout the state of Nevada. Wile Neva was 348 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 1: built on the state line and the structure straddled both states. 349 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,399 Speaker 1: Giancanna was forced to stay on the California side. Only 350 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: this was not a secret. The gangsters, the corrupt former ambassador, 351 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:17,400 Speaker 1: the adulterous and brazen senator, the glamorous movie star mistress 352 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: with Frank Sinatra at the center of it all, and 353 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: the FBI listening and snapping picks. Sinatra's friend, the ruthless killer. 354 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 1: Sam g and Kanna had something else in common with 355 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: Senator Kennedy. They shared a girlfriend knowing me with a 356 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:38,919 Speaker 1: woman named Judith Exner. Sam g and kanno wileye mafiosa 357 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,280 Speaker 1: that he was knew that he would one day be 358 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:45,359 Speaker 1: able to leverage exner against jfk A man Giancanna was 359 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: going to make the president of the United States with 360 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,399 Speaker 1: the help of Frank Sinatra. Just like the story of 361 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:56,080 Speaker 1: the mafia freeing Sinatra from Tommy Dorsey's contract by making 362 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:59,440 Speaker 1: the band leader an offer he couldn't refuse. We've come 363 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:02,920 Speaker 1: to accept fact that Joseph P. Kennedy cheated his son's 364 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,760 Speaker 1: way into the White House by using Frank Sinatra as 365 00:25:05,760 --> 00:25:09,440 Speaker 1: an intermediary between the Kennedy campaign and the Mafia, and 366 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,440 Speaker 1: the g and Kanna fraudulently impacted the vote to help 367 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: the Kennedys, first in the Democratic primary in West Virginia 368 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:19,800 Speaker 1: and then in the general election in Illinois. We look 369 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 1: upon this story now as both a fact and as 370 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: acute sly little historical anecdote. No serious historian disputes it. 371 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:33,680 Speaker 1: Yet today any mention of electoral fraud sends people on 372 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:38,320 Speaker 1: both sides of the political spectrum into online hysterics. But again, 373 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: we take it as gospel that the Democratic nominee used 374 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,200 Speaker 1: the mafia to cheat his way into the White House 375 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:48,200 Speaker 1: with the help of our man, Frank Sinatra. We accept 376 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 1: it because it's demonstrably true. Because that's how much power 377 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:59,679 Speaker 1: the mafia had. Back in nineteen sixty, John F. Kennedy 378 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 1: became president and Sam g and Kanna and Frank Sinatra 379 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,840 Speaker 1: put him in the White House. Yet the president's brother, 380 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,760 Speaker 1: who is now the Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy, the 381 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,240 Speaker 1: most powerful law enforcement officer in the country, would not 382 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:17,560 Speaker 1: stop his crusade to destroy Giancanna and the mafia. And 383 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:22,879 Speaker 1: RFK wouldn't stop because the FBI's j Edgar Hoover played 384 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: RFK a recorded phone conversation between his brother, the married president, 385 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: and his girlfriend, who was also sam g and Kanna's girlfriend. 386 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,280 Speaker 1: That conversation was recorded on a phone call that Judith 387 00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 1: Exner made to JFK from sam g and Kanna's house. 388 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: As far as Bobby Kennedy was concerned, sam g and 389 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,920 Speaker 1: Kanna had to go. It was jail or bust, and 390 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,280 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra he was out as well. 391 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:54,280 Speaker 2: The President was, per his. 392 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:58,480 Speaker 1: Brother's instructions, under no circumstances, allowed to carry on his 393 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,480 Speaker 1: friendship with Frank Sinatra. Frank Sinatra was too close to 394 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:08,119 Speaker 1: sam Gy and Kanna. Frank was two gangster, but Frank 395 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:12,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't be denied. Frank couldn't be denied. Frank needed his 396 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,440 Speaker 1: relationship with the President so that he could remain in 397 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:18,440 Speaker 1: place as a conduit between the President and the mafia 398 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:22,119 Speaker 1: and thus remain in good standing with Sam G and Kanna. 399 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 1: You're only as good as your next envelope. But again, 400 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: Bobby Kennedy wasn't having it. Bobby Kennedy increased his pressure 401 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:36,840 Speaker 1: on the mob. More surveillance, more subpoenas, more arrests, more 402 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,440 Speaker 1: deportations of mob bosses. Sam G and Kanna wanted to 403 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: know where the Kennedy kids got their balls. Gi and 404 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: Kanna got them elected, and now they betrayed him. The Kennedys, 405 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: once elected, were supposed to put the mob back into Havana, 406 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:54,880 Speaker 1: not into prison, which is what RFK was coming dangerously 407 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:59,680 Speaker 1: close to doing. Sinatra was Gi and Kanna's only hope. 408 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,159 Speaker 1: The mafia had given Frank so much, and now the 409 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:07,720 Speaker 1: mafia really needed something from Frank. They needed Sinatra to 410 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:12,760 Speaker 1: get the Kennedys to back off. Frank tried, but Frank 411 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 1: was out. So Frank threw a hail Mary. Frank invited 412 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:20,760 Speaker 1: President Kennedy to his Palm Springs home for some much 413 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:25,760 Speaker 1: needed R and R. JFK loved Frank's Palm Springs pat 414 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,560 Speaker 1: It was private and filled with beautiful women. It's where 415 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:33,920 Speaker 1: JFK first slept with Marilyn Monroe. JFK said, yes, he 416 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 1: was coming to Frank's and Frank was going to save 417 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,720 Speaker 1: the day. He talked to Jack, get Jack to talk 418 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:44,200 Speaker 1: to Bobby to back off Sam and the boys. Frank 419 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:47,000 Speaker 1: built new quarters on his property for the Secret Service. 420 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: Frank had a helipad installed. Frank spared no expense, and 421 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:56,520 Speaker 1: then Frank got ghosted by the President at the last minute. 422 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:04,760 Speaker 1: Bobby had prevailed, making matters worse. JFK still went to 423 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:09,320 Speaker 1: Palm Springs, but he stayed at Bing Crosby's place. Bing 424 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:13,000 Speaker 1: was Frank's rival on the charts and worse a Republican. 425 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:19,640 Speaker 1: The humiliation, Frank Sinatra was out and Sam g and 426 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:25,440 Speaker 1: Kanna was pissed. Frank had no juice, Bobby Kennedy was 427 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: on a war path. Sam and the rest of the 428 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:33,280 Speaker 1: boys had no choice, and John F. Kennedy was now dead. 429 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: From Washington government sources say that President Kennedy is dead. 430 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,440 Speaker 1: Sixteen days after the mafia conspired with the CIA to 431 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 1: murder Frank Sinatra's friend, The sitting president of the United States. 432 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: Frank sat in his Palm Springs home, racked with grief 433 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:56,600 Speaker 1: and fearing that because he'd outlived his usefulness, that the 434 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 1: mafia was going to kill him. Next that when the 435 00:30:00,760 --> 00:30:07,880 Speaker 1: unthinkable happened, Frank's son, Frank Sinatra Junior, was kidnapped. The 436 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: kidnappers weren't fucking around either. They wanted two hundred and 437 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollars in cash or Little Frank was about 438 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:18,680 Speaker 1: to become dead. Little Frank Frank knew that in moments 439 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:22,200 Speaker 1: of crisis, when you really need something taking care of 440 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: the right way, like that mess back in Havana with 441 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,520 Speaker 1: the dead Cubans, when the chips are fully stacked against you, 442 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 1: your first call is your most important call. Sinatra picked 443 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:37,480 Speaker 1: up the phone, and before he called his wife, before 444 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: we called the cops or the FBI, he dialed the 445 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: number of the one man he believed could help him 446 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:48,360 Speaker 1: get his son home safely. Mob boss sam g and Kanna. 447 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,320 Speaker 1: Sam g and Kanna had his ways of making men talk. 448 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,960 Speaker 1: Most of them included Sam Mad sam Di Stefano, a 449 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 1: sadistic enforcer. But this wanna be Nevada cowboy wouldn't talk 450 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 1: the boys from the cow nev pegged him as someone 451 00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 1: with info on the kidnappers. Frank Sinatra Junior, just nineteen 452 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 1: years old at that point in time, launching his own 453 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 1: career as a performer, was booked to perform at Hara's 454 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:40,600 Speaker 1: Lake Tahoe Casino, about twelve miles from the CaAl Neva, 455 00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: but instead room service. Frank Sinatra Junior opened the door 456 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:51,080 Speaker 1: to his hotel room and found himself staring down the 457 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 1: barrel of a gun in his face on the fucking ground. 458 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: Within seconds, two intruders had Frank Junior blindfolded and bound. 459 00:32:00,440 --> 00:32:03,800 Speaker 1: They escorted him out of the hotel at gunpoint, remarkably 460 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:07,440 Speaker 1: without any other hotel guests noticing, and whisked him away 461 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: in their Chevy and Paula. In Chicago, sam Gy and 462 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,120 Speaker 1: Kanna dispatched Jimmy the Weasel Fratiano to get to the 463 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:20,520 Speaker 1: bottom of where Frank the Voice Sinatra's kid was being held. 464 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:24,080 Speaker 1: The weasel turned up this cowboy, and now mad sam 465 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:26,920 Speaker 1: de Stefano wanted to know if the cowboy preferred the 466 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: ice pick or the blowtorch. The cowboy cowboyed up the blowtorch. 467 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:39,960 Speaker 1: It was the cowboys screamed in agony. Back in Palm Springs, 468 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,720 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra was understandably getting antsy. It had been nearly 469 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:47,680 Speaker 1: eighteen hours since Junior had been kidnapped, The local authorities 470 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,520 Speaker 1: hadn't turned up any leads, and g and Conna's boys 471 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,880 Speaker 1: weren't doing much better. The cowboy felt the ice pick 472 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: Pierce's skin above his kneecap, and he screamed in horror. Still, 473 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:04,160 Speaker 1: he didn't give anything up. By this time, Franken decided 474 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:06,600 Speaker 1: to fly out to Reno himself to help in search. 475 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,880 Speaker 1: Frank needed further assurance that his son was going to 476 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:14,360 Speaker 1: be returned safely. Frank hedged his bet, and when Frank landed, 477 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:17,880 Speaker 1: he immediately went to the FBI to their makeshift command 478 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 1: center to help the FEDS in their efforts. Frank felt 479 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: he couldn't count entirely on Sam g and Conna. Mad 480 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:30,360 Speaker 1: Sam de Stefano switched from the ice pick to something 481 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:34,000 Speaker 1: more convincing. He laid the beaten cowboy down on the 482 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:36,840 Speaker 1: table and put his head in the vice, And while 483 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:40,160 Speaker 1: the cowboy urinated all over himself in fear, one of 484 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,720 Speaker 1: Mad Sam's musclemen swung a sledgehammer at his ankle and 485 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:47,040 Speaker 1: sent his foot into an ungodly forty five degree angle. 486 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:51,760 Speaker 1: This time, there was no scream. This time, the pain 487 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 1: was so brutal the cowboy can only hop out short 488 00:33:54,800 --> 00:34:01,320 Speaker 1: breaths of air and uncontrolled bursts. Meanwhile, over in Reno, 489 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:05,400 Speaker 1: the kidnappers had made contact. They demanded a quarter million 490 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:10,200 Speaker 1: in cash in Palm Springs. Frank's instincts kicked him. Ever, 491 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 1: the gangster Frank called on his bag man experience and 492 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:17,279 Speaker 1: brought a bundle of cash with him. On the FBI's recommendation, 493 00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:20,440 Speaker 1: Frank put two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in a suitcase. 494 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:26,000 Speaker 1: Frank was understandably anxious, as was Mad Sam. The cowboy 495 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:29,239 Speaker 1: wouldn't talk. The cowboy wouldn't give up the whereabouts of 496 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: Sam g and Kana's friend, Frank Sinatra's kid. The cowboy 497 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: wants to be a fucking cowboy. Time then for the 498 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:44,839 Speaker 1: cattle prod. Mad Sam had his own portable prod customized 499 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:48,560 Speaker 1: for occasions just like this. The voltage was calibrated for 500 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:53,480 Speaker 1: maximum pain, but not enough to kill. First, he placed 501 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:59,520 Speaker 1: the PROD on the cowboys eyelids. The cowboys defiance was impressive. 502 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:04,560 Speaker 1: Then the inner thigh. The cowboy pleaded for Mad Sam 503 00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,880 Speaker 1: to stop. He knew what the next stop on the 504 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:11,759 Speaker 1: torture trail was, the genitals, but still he gave Mad 505 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:17,319 Speaker 1: Sam nothing other than pleading in defiance. So Sam had 506 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:22,319 Speaker 1: no choice. The Proude hit the cowboys testicles with five 507 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: millilamps of current and two thousand watts, and still the 508 00:35:26,719 --> 00:35:35,440 Speaker 1: near dead motherfucker gave up nothing. When Frank Sinatra hit 509 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,960 Speaker 1: the location for the drop back in Reno, everything went hooey. 510 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,600 Speaker 1: The kidnappers got antsy and split with Frank Sinatra Junior 511 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:48,399 Speaker 1: down to La. Frank knew Giancana had nothing, and Frank 512 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:51,680 Speaker 1: began to suspect that Giancana himself was behind the kidnapping. 513 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,600 Speaker 1: A warning to Frank to keep his mouth shut about 514 00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:59,279 Speaker 1: the Kennedy assassination, Frank had no choice. He needed to 515 00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:03,759 Speaker 1: call in the big gun. To do so, he first 516 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:07,640 Speaker 1: called Peter Lawford. Frank knew he couldn't call Peter's wife, 517 00:36:07,719 --> 00:36:11,560 Speaker 1: Patricia Kennedy directly, he was still persona non grato with 518 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:14,520 Speaker 1: the Kennedys, but he knew he could get his friend 519 00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:16,680 Speaker 1: Peter Lawford to get a word in with his wife, 520 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,320 Speaker 1: and he knew that there was a chance that Peter's 521 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:21,879 Speaker 1: wife would think of Frank Fondley after the time they'd 522 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,640 Speaker 1: spent together, and thus there was a chance that she 523 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:27,800 Speaker 1: would call her brother, the Attorney General of the United States, 524 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:32,040 Speaker 1: the man who controlled the FBI, Sam g and Kanna's 525 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:38,719 Speaker 1: mortal enemy, Robert F. Kennedy. That's exactly what happened, and 526 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,960 Speaker 1: despite whatever animists Bobby had toward Frank, Bobby pledged to 527 00:36:43,080 --> 00:36:45,279 Speaker 1: use his power to help Frank get his son back. 528 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,480 Speaker 1: The message came back to Sinatra from RFK through Patricia 529 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:53,520 Speaker 1: and then through Peter Lawford, and it was this, I 530 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,400 Speaker 1: know how Frank feels about me, but please tell him 531 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:58,920 Speaker 1: everything is being done and we'll get his boy back 532 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:05,040 Speaker 1: as soon as possible. While g and Conna's man finished 533 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: off the cowboy by impaneling him with a meathook through 534 00:37:07,640 --> 00:37:11,560 Speaker 1: the rectum, and while g and Conna's other men tortured 535 00:37:11,719 --> 00:37:15,560 Speaker 1: and killed two more street Tufts that they incorrectly suspected 536 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:20,240 Speaker 1: had information on the whereabouts of Frank Sinatra, Junior Bobby 537 00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:24,200 Speaker 1: Kennedy flooded Reno in Los Angeles with more FBI agents. 538 00:37:24,719 --> 00:37:27,400 Speaker 1: He ordered roadblocks at the borders of the state and 539 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:32,600 Speaker 1: random police checkpoints throughout California and Nevada. Bobby put the 540 00:37:32,640 --> 00:37:36,440 Speaker 1: word out no one was going home until Frank Sinatra 541 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:41,520 Speaker 1: got his son back. While the search continued, Bobby eventually 542 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:45,160 Speaker 1: called Frank himself to further assure him everything would be okay, 543 00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:50,319 Speaker 1: and he was right. Three dipshits, two of whom were 544 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:54,280 Speaker 1: former high school classmates of Frank's daughter Nancy, eventually arrived 545 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,160 Speaker 1: at a separate drop point, this one in La to 546 00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:00,759 Speaker 1: pick up the rantsom money. This time, the money was 547 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,360 Speaker 1: delivered by Bobby Kennedy's g men, not by Frank Sinatra 548 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:09,400 Speaker 1: the bag man. With the money in hand, the kidnappers 549 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: freed Frank Sinatra Junior. Within forty eight hours, all three 550 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:20,440 Speaker 1: kidnappers were arrested. Frank Sinatra did something that a lot 551 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:23,840 Speaker 1: of gangsters do when they're cornered, when their mafia families 552 00:38:23,920 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: can't help them. He went to the FEDS for help. 553 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:31,480 Speaker 1: When sam Gy and Kanna came up with Bupkis, Frank 554 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:35,680 Speaker 1: cooperated with the government. Sure he didn't rat anyone out, 555 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:39,600 Speaker 1: but he did do with some MAFIOSI would consider unthinkable, 556 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:43,320 Speaker 1: something that many many gangsters have been forced to do 557 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:49,280 Speaker 1: or otherwise face unthinkable truths, life in prison, the death penalty, 558 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:54,680 Speaker 1: two fates almost as bad as losing a child. It's 559 00:38:54,719 --> 00:38:57,880 Speaker 1: hard to blame Frank, but then again, you and I 560 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:03,719 Speaker 1: aren't gangsters. Justice wasn't doled out by Sam Giancanna, but 561 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:08,200 Speaker 1: by the US court system. Barry Keenan, the ringleader of 562 00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:12,319 Speaker 1: the kidnapping caper, got life in prison. He served four 563 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:17,080 Speaker 1: and a half years. Joe Amsler, the dumber of Barry's accomplices, 564 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:20,279 Speaker 1: caught a seventy five year sentence. He served three and 565 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:24,239 Speaker 1: a half years. John Irwin, the most cooperative of the three, 566 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:29,880 Speaker 1: got sixteen years. Ultimately he served less than two. But 567 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:32,920 Speaker 1: three other men who had absolutely nothing to do with 568 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:37,000 Speaker 1: the kidnapping were tortured and killed by Sam Momo g 569 00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:40,840 Speaker 1: and Coana on behalf of his friend Frank the Voice Sinatra. 570 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:45,560 Speaker 1: No doubt, Giancanna shook this off as no big deal. 571 00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:50,360 Speaker 1: It was amongst the Italians. He was helping out a friend, 572 00:39:51,239 --> 00:39:55,200 Speaker 1: helping out a fellow gangster, which was, without a doubt, 573 00:39:56,000 --> 00:40:04,000 Speaker 1: a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. 574 00:40:14,719 --> 00:40:16,440 Speaker 2: All right, hope you doug this episode. 575 00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:19,959 Speaker 1: Apple podcast listeners make sure to have auto downloads turned 576 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,399 Speaker 1: on so you guys never miss an episode of disgrace SAMD. 577 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,520 Speaker 1: This week's question of the week is is Frank Sinatra 578 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:29,960 Speaker 1: the most gangster musician of all time? And if not, 579 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:32,279 Speaker 1: I want to know who is? Hit me up let 580 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:35,319 Speaker 1: me know there are a lot of contenders. Six one 581 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:37,360 Speaker 1: seven nine oh six six six three eight. Leave me 582 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:39,560 Speaker 1: a voicemail or send me a text and be part 583 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:41,239 Speaker 1: of the show. We play and read some of your 584 00:40:41,280 --> 00:40:44,319 Speaker 1: answers on the after party. Bonus episodes like the one 585 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:46,759 Speaker 1: that's coming up right after this episode in your feed. 586 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:49,400 Speaker 1: I can also be reached on Instagram, Facebook, x and 587 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:52,000 Speaker 1: disgrace slampod at gmail dot com. 588 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:53,719 Speaker 2: Leave a review for the show on Apple. 589 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:56,359 Speaker 1: Podcasts or Spotify and you might win some free merch. 590 00:40:56,440 --> 00:40:58,240 Speaker 2: Alright, here comes some credits. 591 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:02,759 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 592 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:06,239 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. 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