FRANK SINATRA WAS NEVER PROPOSED FOR MOB MEMBERSHIP

I have seen it all now.  For decades there has been numerous books, articles and biographies made on the life of crooner Frank Sinatra.  Everything from his legendary conquests, to his mafia ties, to his infamous days and nights as the unofficial leader of the RAT PACK.  For everything that is Sinatra, there are a million books and articles that get the story very wrong.

This morning someone sent me an article written by a blogger whom I won't name, because I'd rather not waste my breath on him.  I couldn't believe what I was reading.  It's his assertion that Sinatra once was proposed for mob membership.  Totally untrue and laughable at best.  Not only does this blogger not mention his "source," but he also names former mob informant Phillip Leonetti as a source to information as to who was Sinatra's handler.  He mentions the DeCavalcante crime family, which is also completely laughable.  The subtext had to do with Roger Moore, who recently passed away not "knowing Sinatra had been proposed."  Once again, laughable.

In this business, the mob genre, you normally don't out your source, so I cannot fault the blogger here, but the story was so funny, that I don't blame him for not name dropping, because ALL LOGIC AND FACTS make this story out to be more click bait than factual.  Most of this bloggers information comes from mob rats to begin with, so you have to take it at face value.

I'm not trying to encite an "I know best," war, however when it comes to Frank Sinatra, and the mob, there is not many people that can go toe to toe with me on those two subjects.  Frank Sinatra is close to a saint in the Italian community, and while I readily admit Frank had a lot of relationships with the underworld, most of it has been over hyped, and twisted in a million ways.  Yes, Frank had mob affiliations and ties.  In fact, he owes his career to the mafia.  He owed them for getting him out of the crappy contract he had which not only stifled his earning capacity, but also stifled his single career.  He readily admitted he owed many people for giving him a chance "when nobody else would."  It's also public record that he flew to Italy and delivered a suitcase to Lucky Luciano on behalf of Carlo Gambino as a gesture of good will and see ya later.  Lucky was pushed out of the mob, and the money was designed to say thanks for the memories.  But we have to go back a bit....

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The first fact, which this blogger doesn't state is Sinatra's involvement in the Kennedy campaign.  I don't want to tell that entire story, so I will keep it strictly to the facts.  Joe Kennedy, sent word to Frank Sinatra that he wanted to have a meeting.  The meeting was in regards to his son John F. Kennedy.  Joe Kennedy had become a social pariah, and whatever designs he had on running himself were cut short by his ties to bootlegging, and Nazi-like comments (anti-semetic) during WW2.  He was a communist sympathizer and it essentially rendered him persona non grata.  Kennedy wanted help from the mob, who prior had ties through the unions and bootlegging.  The fact was, a Ca
tholic would likely have an incredibly hard time winning the Presidency, especially in the Baptist south.  Joe Kennedy realized he would have to lock down West Virginia, Chicago, and other mid- western states like Indiana if his son had a chance to win.  Enter Sam Giancana.

Kennedy asked Sinatra to do him a favor.  He asked Sinatra to use his Hollywood contacts to swing actors, actresses and studio heads to get on the Kennedy train.  Most importantly however, he wanted the mob to help swing votes, and make sure that more votes were for Kennedy in those states.  I'm not saying voting was rigged, but the proof is, dead people voted in the election and many votes were double pulled.  In order for that to happen, Kennedy needed a powerful mob guy behind it.   In return, Kennedy promised the mob rackets would be left alone by his son, and they would be free to move around doing what they have always done.

Sinatra went to Sam Giancana.  Giancana was on board, mainly because not only was that a win-win for the mob, but it would also likely make Giancana the most powerful gangster alive.  Owning a casino was one thing, owning a President was another.  Giancana agreed, and Sinatra began stumping for Kennedy.  Kennedy would go on to win the election, and then the bad stuff began to happen.

What Sinatra nor Giancana realized was that Joe Kennedy had no desire to look out for the interests of those who got his son elected.  Bobby Kennedy, was named Attorney General, and launched into dismantling the mafia.  It was something that made the mafia outraged.  They put him into office, and his sicked his little brother on the mob.  It was chaos.

Frank Sinatra was blamed for the entire thing.  Giancana needed someone to point the finger at, and it was Sinatra. The Kennedy's cut Sinatra off.  They had gotten what they wanted, and shunned him like the plague. So what you had, was the mob furious, and the Kennedy's cutting Sinatra off after everything he did to help.  Sam Giancana felt like Sinatra should have had more balls, and not allowed the Kennedy's to shove him around.  The damage was done, and Sinatra became the pariah.

During this time period, Sinatra owned a casino/lodge on the California/Nevada line called the Cal Neva.  It was a landing spot for those who didn't want to go all the way to Vegas and for those who wanted a smaller intimate setting. The problem was, Giancana was seen there repeatedly and there were some issues with Giancana getting into it with other guests. Kennedy also stayed there, shacking up with Phyllis McGuire, Marilyn Monroe, Judith Campbell and others.  Sinatra had long supplied Kennedy with hookers and etc, and it created an atmosphere in which no Presidential candidate could be caught in.  The other problem, was that Monroe was beyond in love with Kennedy, and had made threats that she would expose the Kennedy's the mob, and everything else if Kennedy didn't leave his wife.  It also didn't stop Bobby Kennedy from having a lurid affair with Monroe.  While that is all relevant, all it lends itself too, was that someone was going to get blamed.   FBI surveillance had caught glimpses of Giancana at the Cal Neva, and it just created havoc, and Sinatra denied he ever met or knew Giancana, which infuriated him.

Also add that the FBI had Sinatra under wiretaps and under surveillance non stop. His FBI file alone is thousands of pages.  The fact is, after the Kennedy problem, Sinatra was shunned by the mob.  Sam Giancana was caught on tape discussing killing Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra because he felt they had "big mouths, and did nothing to stop the Kennedy's."  In fairness to Sinatra, he was over his head and knew it, and perhaps after Kennedy was killed, he never ever voted Democrat again.  He was that bitter over what the Kennedy's had done.  They essentially made him look the fool, and ruined his reputation when it came to the mafia.

So what this all boils down to is this.  Sinatra was NEVER proposed.  There are several reasons for this. For starters, the FBI was like a pack of ticks all over him.  He was being surveiled non stop, and no member of the mob wanted to be seen around him.  They went thr
ough Jilly Rizzo when contact was needed, and in the later years, it was only because they wanted him to do a benefit, or to play meet and greet.   Here are facts:

FACTS
 - Sinatra's affiliation with the mafia came through the Fischetti brothers who he had known since the 1940's.

- Sinatra's main New York contacts came directly as a result through Skinny D'Amato, former owner of the infamous 500 Club in New Jersey.

-Sinatra hated everything about New Jersey.  He was bitter he was from New Jersey and often refused to even go there in his later years other than to simply play cards at the casino's, and to do benefits, and concerts.

-Sinatra's main mob contacts, were the Fischetti's, and Sam Giancana.

-After the Cal/Neva, the Kennedy's, he was cut off from the mob.  They would have nothing to do with him in any business form, other than or related to wanting to meet him because of his talent as a singer.

-He denied the mob, knowing them, or being friendly with them.  He did that his entire life.  Frank was old school, but it was also fear.  He knew he was in trouble with them, and it wasn't until Giancana was killed that he began to communicate with them again.

-Sinatra did meet with the New York conglomerate, in Westchester.  He denied knowing who they were.

Now while these facts aren't really the big glowing facts you might consider to be relevant, you have to understand that after everything Sinatra did for the mob, and they did for him, after the Kennedy thing, he was no longer considered in a positive light with them.  Granted, he might have met with them in different circumstances, but the mob would have been uber foolish to consider allowing him to enter the mafia, nor would Frank have ever even considered that.

Why would the mob even think about that? The FBI was all over him, the mob was still bitter about the Kennedy thing, Frank hated New Jersey, had a solid career as a singer, and had been forcefully removed from any holdings he had with the mob in the casino aspect.  Sinatra had too much heat, both publicly, politically, and the mob didn't want any eyebrows raised which is why they kept there distance for the most part.  The idea that somehow, someone in Jersey proposed membership for Sinatra is about as hilarious as it gets, and is perhaps the biggest lie I have ever read in my life. Not only is it not factual, it's the most unbelievable and stupid thing I have ever heard.

Say what you will about Frank Sinatra, the guy was very well connected, had many relationships with the mob, but that's where it began and stopped.  Sinatra made money for them, and he made money from them, and that was the extent of that relationship.  Any assertion otherwise is a joke.  Sinatra's legacy will always be a bit frayed, but the truth is, while it lasted it was a win/win for everyone involved until they felt that Sinatra wasn't fully loyal to them.  The very idea that somehow Sinatra's name came up in a meeting about membership is about as factual as George Washington being a cross dressing midget hell bent on snorting coke and killing nuns.

In final, if you're going to write about a subject, at least back it up with proof.  Back it up with your source.  Don't use informants for "inside information," because they will twist, bend, and make up things to give you what they want because in turn you get clicks and you get some half-assed gossip on someone.  Also, know the subject your talking about.  If you don't know anything about Frank Sinatra and you just want to regurgitate what you"heard," or what someone "told you," perhaps it's incumbent that you do a little bit of research to make sure what you are talking about is factual.  Otherwise you just lead your audience to believe something that isn't true, and eventually they will find out and you will lose what little audience you do have.  Just my two cents.