The Sinatra files_ the secret FBI Dossier Part 14

[image]learned recently that the Villa Venice is financially in trouble, and for this reason, FRANK SINATRA and his a.s.sociates are scheduled to entertain at this establishment. SINATRA, et al., are not going to receive the amount of money they reportedly were scheduled to receive in return for their services....

[image]advised[image] that SAM GIANCANA has been at the Villa Venice on at least five occasions since the opening of that establishment on November 9, 1962. that SAM GIANCANA has been at the Villa Venice on at least five occasions since the opening of that establishment on November 9, 1962.[image] stated that on the opening night, GIANCANA was present and was in a very expansive mood, and was in the lobby of the Villa Venice greeting everyone who came in. Among other persons observed at the Villa Venice on opening night by stated that on the opening night, GIANCANA was present and was in a very expansive mood, and was in the lobby of the Villa Venice greeting everyone who came in. Among other persons observed at the Villa Venice on opening night by[image] were FELIX ALDERISIO, ROCCO POTENZO, MARSHALL CAIFANO, ANTHONY DE MONTE, and LEONARD GIANOLA. were FELIX ALDERISIO, ROCCO POTENZO, MARSHALL CAIFANO, ANTHONY DE MONTE, and LEONARD GIANOLA.

During these appearances at the Villa Venice, GIANCANA was normally accompanied by either BUTCH BLASI or an individual believed by[image] to be TONY SABONA (ph), who drives a 1963 dark blue Oldsmobile bearing 1962 Illinois license FG 8525. This is registered to CHRISTINE COSCIONI, 4840 North Neva, Chicago, Illinois, on an Oldsmobile. to be TONY SABONA (ph), who drives a 1963 dark blue Oldsmobile bearing 1962 Illinois license FG 8525. This is registered to CHRISTINE COSCIONI, 4840 North Neva, Chicago, Illinois, on an Oldsmobile.

A physical surveillance was conducted by SAs [Special Agents][image] at the Villa Venice Club on November 27, 1962. FRANK SINATRA and DEAN MARTIN were observed entering the Villa Venice for the second show at approximately 12:30 a.m. on November 28, 1962, accompanied by JOSEPH FISCHETTI. JOSEPH FISCHETTI is a former Chicago member of the Chicago criminal organization, now residing in Miami, Florida, where he is part-owner of Puccini's Restaurant in Miami. at the Villa Venice Club on November 27, 1962. FRANK SINATRA and DEAN MARTIN were observed entering the Villa Venice for the second show at approximately 12:30 a.m. on November 28, 1962, accompanied by JOSEPH FISCHETTI. JOSEPH FISCHETTI is a former Chicago member of the Chicago criminal organization, now residing in Miami, Florida, where he is part-owner of Puccini's Restaurant in Miami.

[image]advised[image] that FRANK SINATRA and EDDIE FISHER accompanied by SAM GIANCANA, recently flew from Los Angeles, California, to Reno, Nevada, en route to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in FRANK SINATRA's private plane. that FRANK SINATRA and EDDIE FISHER accompanied by SAM GIANCANA, recently flew from Los Angeles, California, to Reno, Nevada, en route to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in FRANK SINATRA's private plane.

[image]advised that the appearance of FRANK SINATRA, SAMMY DAVIS, JR., and DEAN MARTIN at the Villa Venice [in] 1962 was set up to help the criminal organization. The money raised from this performance was to be used as a front to influence the State Legislature at Springfield, Illinois.[image] learned in the summer of 1963 that LES KRUSE, a Chicago hoodlum, had an interest in the New Villa Venice, Inc.... KRUSE apparently believed that FRANK SINATRA and DEAN MARTIN would appear again at the Villa Venice free of charge in the near future. learned in the summer of 1963 that LES KRUSE, a Chicago hoodlum, had an interest in the New Villa Venice, Inc.... KRUSE apparently believed that FRANK SINATRA and DEAN MARTIN would appear again at the Villa Venice free of charge in the near future.

[image]advised in October, 1962, that GIANCANA and several other individuals made arrangements for other acts to appear at the Villa Venice and among the performers that they either have definite commitments for or are planning to schedule for the Villa Venice are DINAH Sh.o.r.e, JIMMY DURANTE, and DANNY THOMAS.

Throughout the interview,[image] suggested that the person to contact regarding the Villa Venice would be FRANK SINATRA. suggested that the person to contact regarding the Villa Venice would be FRANK SINATRA.

Indeed, this memo shows that Sinatra had interceded when it appeared that Eddie Fisher had an engagement that conflicted with the Villa Venice's originally proposed reopening date.

TO: Mr. Belmont DATE: October 12, 1962 DATE: October 12, 1962 FROM: C. A. Evans

SUBJECT: FRANK SINATRA.

Further indication of the control and influence of the Chicago hoodlum organization in the operation of Las Vegas gambling casinos is evident in connection with the forthcoming appearance of singer Eddie Fisher as the star attraction at the reopening of the plush Villa Venice Supper Club, Wheeling, Illinois, on October 31, 1962. Also appearing at this supper club following Fisher's engagement are Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Wheeling is a suburb of Chicago.

Fisher, who is now appearing in New York, was to follow his New York appearance with a month's engagement at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. The Chicago hoodlum organization of Samuel Giancana, however, made it known that they wanted Fisher to appear at the Villa Venice on October 31, 1962. They told the Desert Inn that Fisher could split his Las Vegas engagement in order to make a week's appearance in Chicago. Later they decided they wanted Fisher for three weeks instead of one week.

The operators of the Desert Inn headed by Morris Barney Dalitz felt that such an arrangement would be bad for Desert Inn business. Fisher and his manager were of the opinion that such an arrangement would have an adverse effect on Fisher's career, going from a smash New York engagement to an unknown supper club in Wheeling, Illinois. Neither Morris Barney Dalitz nor Fisher nor his manager had the courage to express their reluctance for this arrangement.

Frank Sinatra reportedly said to Eddie Fisher, "Look, you're going over here for 18 days, never mind about the Desert Inn, I already handled that. I take care of that. They do what I tell them." According to our source, the instructions and messages relating to these arrangements were sent by Samuel Giancana to Las Vegas with[image] believed to look out for the interests of the Chicago group at this hotel. believed to look out for the interests of the Chicago group at this hotel.

ACTION.

The information above is from our highly confidential source[image] We are closely following the operation of the Villa Venice Club and the investigation of We are closely following the operation of the Villa Venice Club and the investigation of[image] is being intensified. is being intensified.

The Rat Pack ended up doing sixteen shows in seven nights at "The New Villa Venice." At one of the shows, Dean Martin sang parody lyrics about his fee for the gig: I love Chicago, it's carefree and gay I'd even work here, without any pay I'll lay you odds it turns out that way That's why this gentleman is a tramp.

That apparently made it a doubly good deal for the club's backers.

A December 20, 1962, FBI memo quoted a press account detailing the operations of a gambling joint, the Flamingo Motel, near the Villa Venice. The Rat Pack headliners were meant to draw in the high rollers, who were then shuttled to c.r.a.p games.

Refer to that section of this report relating to the Villa Venice. It should be noted that the Flamingo Motel is located approximately one and one half blocks North of the Villa Venice.

Report of SA [Special Agent][image] dated May 5, 1961, at Chicago, contains information relating to the Flamingo Motel which reflects that this is an alleged GIANCANA enterprise. dated May 5, 1961, at Chicago, contains information relating to the Flamingo Motel which reflects that this is an alleged GIANCANA enterprise.

The "Chicago Daily News" Red Streak Edition dated November 30, 1962, contained the following article relating to a gambling operation at the Flamingo Motel. This operation is referred to in the newspaper as the Quonset Hut. It is noted that this particular Quonset Hut is located immediately adjacent to and North of the Flamingo Motel. The article is as follows: "A king-size quonset hut two blocks north of the Villa Venice has been the site of big money dice games since the River Road night club reopened, The Daily News learned Friday."Elaborately concealed and guarded, the dice games and other gaming-den diversions have been restricted to well-heeled suckers whose ident.i.ties were well known to the gamblers."Rocco (Parrot Nose) Potenza, 48, of 8857 N. Kildare, Skokie, gaming lieutenant for Sam (Mooney) Giancana, has presided over the nightly sessions. He has been aided by Sam Rosa, West Side bookmaker and a.s.sociate of Charles (Chuck) English."Beneath the silvery, metal exterior of the hut, a fantastic operation was devised. Patrons with the proper credentials enter through a door at the rear of the building. As they step into the heavily carpeted and air-conditioned hut, an attendant parks their cars in parking s.p.a.ces at the adjacent Flamingo Motel at River Rd. and Milwaukee, in unincorporated territory south of Wheeling."Next stop for patrons of the hut is the hat check room and then, most important, the cas.h.i.+er's cage."Chips are mandatory, unlike previous suburban gaming action in which the big money game was played with cash only."At the two dice tables, the limit is $100 for a single bet, but Potenza has lifted it for big shooters. Blackjack tables and roulette wheels complete the equipment in the hut. A small bar and light refreshment counter are also provided."During the last 20 days since singer Eddie Fisher started off the new star policy at the Villa, a heavy toll has been levied at the hut on the patrons. Individual losses of as much as $25,000 have been reported."A shuttle service has been provided for some of the customers who want to leave their cars at the Villa. The hut is camouflaged with old trucks and pieces of road machinery."The front inner area, which is sealed off from the gaming room, is cluttered with a ladder and building materials."At least four top crime syndicate figures went unnoticed in the Villa Venice opening night crowd last Monday night for Frank Sinatra and 'rat pack' members Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Jimmy (The Monk) Allegretti, North Side vice boss and Marshall Caifano, mob enforcer, both had front tables."More secluded were Felix (Milwaukee Phil) Alderisio, juice loan racketeer, and Giancana, who sat further back. Giancana has paid several visits to the hut while some 40 or 50 patrons were there."Thursday night Potenza's black 1963 auto was parked directly in front of the Patio, a restaurant operated in conjunction with the Flamingo."Joe Iacullo, the motel overseer for Giancana, asked a Daily News reporter who was sitting in a car near the motel, what he wanted." 'I want to see Rocky,' the reporter said." 'Rocky who?' Iacullo asked. 'Is he registered in the motel? If he was here, what do you want to see him about?'"The reporter pointed at the quonset hut." 'Don't put words in my mouth,' Iacullo said as he walked around the corner of the motel, 'I don't know any Rocky, but now I know who you are and you can stay as long as you want.'"The reporter did, but Potenza didn't. Both he and his car disappeared moments later and the game was shut down. Iacullo walked over to the hut and turned on a big floodlight that bathed the front of the hut in light, apparently a signal that the game was over."

The FBI questioned some in the Rat Pack about all this. One answer attributed to Sinatra here would later be contradicted in Nancy Sinatra's biography of her father: "The shows were Dad's way of paying back Giancana for the help he provided to the Kennedy family," she wrote.

SINATRA and MARTIN denied all knowledge of the gambling, and SINATRA claimed he arranged all the appearances merely as a favor to Mr. LEO OLSEN, the owner of the club, for past favors, and that GIANCANA had nothing to do with it. Available information indicates otherwise.

At around the same time, Sinatra was looking to expand the Cal-Neva casino resort on the California-Nevada border, in which he had acquired a 36.6 percent interest in 1961. The FBI suspected that Giancana had a secret interest in the establishment. He had been overheard saying that he was "gonna get my money out of there" but still "end up with half the joint," while an a.s.sociate fretted that the expansion would bring unwanted "attention."

Sure enough, the FBI learned that Sinatra was seeking a multimillion-dollar Teamsters pension-fund loan to finance the expansion. It suspected that the mob was using cheap loans from Jimmy Hoffa's Teamsters to expand its Nevada operations. The FBI inquiry was short-lived, as shown by these three memos: Los Angeles, California April 17, 1963 On January 16, 1963, FRANK SINATRA and MILTON A. RUDIN, Attorney at Law and Financial Advisor to SINATRA, were interviewed at the offices of Ess.e.x Productions, 9229 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 512, Los Angeles, California, concerning the Cal-Neva Lodge, Crystal Bay, Nevada.

During the course of this interview Mr. RUDIN, with the consent of Mr. SINATRA, advised that their current plans for the Cal-Neva Lodge included quite a substantial expansion of the hotel which would necessitate the bringing in of some $4,000,000.00 of added capital. RUDIN stated that he found out by checking into the loan situation that banks and insurance companies, in order to make loans, would ask for stock options, which they are not ready to agree to.

Mr. RUDIN advised that he has become familiar with some of the pension fund loans from reading the series of articles run by the "Los Angeles Times" on investigations of loans by the Teamsters to various Nevada casinos and that these are straight forward loans. He advised that he had gone to Chicago and had talked to various Teamster officials in the Chicago area concerning the possibility of securing a loan for Cal-Neva. He advised that the Cal-Neva, at the next meeting of the trustees for the pension fund in March, will, according to their present plans, apply for a loan in order to achieve their expansion program.

Both RUDIN and SINATRA advised they wished to go on record that there were no under-the-table payments of any kind involved, that this was a simple straight forward business transaction with sufficient collateral involved. Mr. RUDIN advised that the person he had contacted regarding the possibility of such a loan was HAROLD GIBBONS. SINATRA mentioned that DORIS DAY had secured a similar type loan from the Teamsters for a motel that she owns, and he had asked her if she had had to cut anybody in, and she advised him that it was not necessary, that it was a straight loan.

Chicago, Illinois May 31, 1963 A review of the minutes of a meeting held on September 21, 1962, by the Trustees of the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas, Pension Fund of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters revealed the following pertinent information: Mr. Milton A. Rudin appeared before the Trustees on behalf of Park Lake Enterprises, Incorporated, Cal-Neva Lodge, Nevada.

The borrower was seeking an immediate loan of $3,000,000 with an additional commitment for $2,000,000. This loan was to be used for the purpose of developing the resort.

Trustee James R. Hoffa summarized the application as follows: The request for the loan was on Park Lake Enterprises, Cal-Neva Lodge, Nevada, for a $3,000,000 present loan with an additional commitment of $2,000,000. Hoffa asked Rudin to explain the application.

Mr. Rudin advised the Trustees that Mr. Frank Sinatra was the princ.i.p.al stockholder of the corporation. Cal-Neva had been operated for 30 years at Lake Tahoe. Sinatra had acquired majority control over the past two years and started an expansion program without permanent financing.

Rudin detailed the application and said they were asking for $5,000,000 with the understanding that the additional $2,000,000 which would be only 60% of the applicant's actual cash was additional investment in additional construction.

In response to a question asked by Trustee Albert Matheson, Rudin stated that Sinatra and others will have $540,000 plus some monies they have loaned in, namely, a quarter million dollars from various companies.

Rudin continued that it was their intention to put other Sinatra ventures into this which would supply income and additional capitalization rather than put in tax paid dollars. Rudin also stated that if the Fund put $5,000,000 into this project the property would then be worth from $8,000,000 to $10,000,000.

A motion was made by Trustee Frank Fitzsimmons that the loan be rejected on the basis presented and "that the man come in" and give a definite presentation for a future request on the actualities of what is going to be entailed in his request for money.

The motion which was seconded by Trustee John Spickerman was carried with dissent.

After the vote, Hoffa who was acting as chairman, advised Rudin as follows: "The committee has rejected the presentation presented today and recommends that you present at the next meeting here, more concise program-namely, exactly how much money you are going to spend, how much money you are going to have in this from Sinatra and the other stockholders' interest in it, and what your projection is going to be for the next five years, so we will know exactly what this Fund is investing in. Plus, we want to have an outline as to what other enterprises will Sinatra put into this operation to show that there will be ability to pay back the money he borrows from us."

This doc.u.ment contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is the property of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is loaned to your agency; it and its contents are not to be distributed outside your agency.

TO: SAC, Las Vegas DATE: 7/2/63 DATE: 7/2/63.

FROM: Director, FBI PERSONAL ATTENTION PERSONAL ATTENTION.

This case should be placed in a closed status in view of the fact that the trustees of the Teamsters Union Pension Fund during the 9/21/62 meeting rejected the loan application in this matter.

All offices in the future should be alert to any indication this loan is being reactivated. Should this occur, the Bureau and other interested offices are to be furnished a letterhead memorandum suitable for dissemination. No open inquiries are to be made in connection with this loan in absence of specific advice from the Bureau.

Soon after Sinatra was interviewed about the Teamsters loan, the FBI's special agent in charge for Los Angeles asked Hoover for authorization to look into planting a bug (a "misur installation" in bureau jargon) in Sinatra's Palm Springs home-the same house where the singer had hosted Giancana and JFK.

DATE: April 24, 1963 TO: DIRECTOR, FBI.

FROM: SAC, LOS ANGELES.

ATTENTION: a.s.sISTANT DIRECTOR COURTNEY EVANS.

RE: FRANK SINATRA.

"Francis Albert Sinatra" (True Name) ANTI-RACKETEERING.

The Los Angeles Division during recent weeks has been in receipt of information that would tend to indicate the above-captioned individual apparently intends to spend more of his time in the Palm Springs area, than in Los Angeles. He has had installed a direct telephone line between his home in Palm Springs and his personal offices at 9339 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles.

A review of information that has accrued during the years, especially the past few years, has shown a constant a.s.sociation of SINATRA with some of the more infamous individuals of modern times, i.e., during the late 40's with LUCKY LUCIANO, and he was reputedly a money courier for the benefit of LUCIANO; during the 30's, various pieces of information tend to indicate an alliance with the late WILLIE MORETTI of New Jersey.

Currently and for the past several years, and reported by the Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles Division of the Bureau, he has tied up with SAM "MOONEY" GIANCANA, with GIANCANA apparently issuing him orders as regards to appearances at the Villa Venice, the use of SINATRA's house at Palm Springs for a.s.signations with PHYLLIS MC GUIRE, accompanying of SINATRA recently in Acapulco, and during the past season at Cal-Neva having JOHNNY FORMOSA present at Cal-Neva Lodge with apparently a great deal to say in its operation.

Chicago sources have advised of GIANCANA's disappointment in SINATRA's apparent inability to get the administration to tone down its efforts in the anti-racketeering field.

On at least two occasions during past years, SINATRA has been in Atlantic City, and taking over the floor of one of the major hotels has had a number of prominent hoodlums such as BONANNO of Phoenix, FISCHETTI of Miami, GIANCANA and others in attendance with all local hotel help barred from the floor.

SINATRA is an owner of considerable points in the Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, and at present is about a 100% owner of Cal-Neva Lodge at Lake Tahoe.

In interviews concerning this owners.h.i.+p, he has maintained he is the owner in fact as well as of record, that he represents no one other than himself and that GIANCANA is someone he recalls meeting at an airport and he has no connection other than as an entertainer keeping himself before the public. Confidential sources tend to furnish information to the contrary.

The long continued a.s.sociation of SINATRA as a possible front for investments for hoodlums of both national and international stature has led to the belief by this division that a confidential source if established in Palm Springs concerning SINATRA would undoubtedly develop information of extremely valuable intelligence nature, and furnish a picture of top level criminal investments and operations.

Authority is requested to conduct a preliminary survey to determine the feasibility of a misur installation at SINATRA's residence in Palm Springs, California.

No action will be taken in this matter without Bureau authority. Full security is a.s.sured.

SINATRA's home near Palm Springs has the mailing address of 70-558 Wonder Palms Road, Rancho Mirage, California.

But, surprisingly, Hoover rejected the request.

TO: SAC, Los Angeles DATE: 4/29/63 DATE: 4/29/63.

FROM: Director, FBI

SUBJECT: FRANK SINATRA.

"Francis Albert Sinatra" (True Name) ANTI-RACKETEERING.

Re your airtel 4/24/63.

Bureau authority not granted at this time to conduct a survey to determine the feasibility of a misur installation in Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs, California, residence. In the event you develop information which would warrant such an installation, you may resubmit your recommendations. You are reminded that all misurs must be completely justified.

The FBI, however, continued to keep a close eye on Giancana as part of RFK's mob clampdown. In June of 1963, agents in the Chicago FBI office started hara.s.sing Giancana with what they called "lockstep surveillance." It drove him to distraction. Desperate, Giancana sued to get the FBI to back off, but he also made an extraordinary overture involving Sinatra, as recounted in this Hoover memo to RFK.

TO: The Attorney General DATE: July 9, 1963 DATE: July 9, 1963 FROM: Director, FBI

SUBJECT: SAMUEL M. GIANCANA.

We have learned through our surveillance of Giancana that he has resumed holding meetings in the Armory Lounge in Forest Park, Illinois. Giancana's lieutenants have been shuttling carloads of individuals to and from this location where Giancana "holds court" at a large table just inside the entrance.

Last week one of Giancana's top lieutenants, Charles "Chuck" English, contacted our Agents and requested an interview. This interview took place in the Armory Lounge at a time when Giancana was also present in another part of the lounge. At one point Anthony Tisci, attorney, son-in-law of Giancana and now his representative in the First Ward, joined in the conversation. Tisci admitted that Giancana's reason for inst.i.tuting court action was a "desperation measure" caused by his extreme agitation over FBI surveillance. Tisci stated further, "We are putting all our eggs in one basket."

Toward the end of the interview, English, who was slightly intoxicated, attempted to persuade Giancana to talk with the Agents. Giancana declined but as the Agents were driving away, English came out with a message from Giancana that, "If Bobby Kennedy wants to talk to me, I'll be glad to talk to him and he knows who to go through." In this respect English had previously mentioned Frank Sinatra as a person who could arrange such a meeting.

Nothing ever came of the overture. On July 16, 1963, Giancana's court action resulted in the FBI being ordered to back off. Until the FBI could get the order reversed, other law enforcers picked up his trail, "much to the consternation of Giancana, [who] shouted a steady tirade of verbal abuse" every time he noticed he was being followed, an FBI memo reported. That same month, Giancana made a fateful visit to the Cal-Neva. This excerpt from a later FBI memo described the result: Sinatra was forced to divest himself of interests in both the Cal-Neva and the Sands.

[image]furnished information in[image] which reflected that SAM GIANCANA immediately upon cessation of FBI surveillance eluded a surveillance placed by the Cook County Sheriff's Department and proceeded on two separate occasions in July of 1963, to Lake Tahoe, California area where he met with PHYLLIS MC GUIRE, and reportedly stayed at the Cal-Neva Lodge, of which FRANK SINATRA is a part-owner. which reflected that SAM GIANCANA immediately upon cessation of FBI surveillance eluded a surveillance placed by the Cook County Sheriff's Department and proceeded on two separate occasions in July of 1963, to Lake Tahoe, California area where he met with PHYLLIS MC GUIRE, and reportedly stayed at the Cal-Neva Lodge, of which FRANK SINATRA is a part-owner.

[image]advised that during GIANCANA's stay at the Cal-Neva Lodge, an incident occurred on one evening whereby GIANCANA became involved in a brawl with one VICTOR COLLINS, who was at that time the road manager of the MC GUIRE sisters.

As word of GIANCANA's appearance in Lake Tahoe spread, it came to the attention of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, who began an investigation based on the Board's regulations, to the effect that persons whose names were contained in the "Nevada Black Book" were not allowed access to the gambling facilities in Nevada. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board rules, if owners of gambling establishments in that state failed to accede to these regulations, they are liable to lose their gambling license.

During a subsequent investigation by the Gambling Control Board, it was determined that GIANCANA had in fact been at the Cal-Neva Lodge in the company of PHYLLIS MC GUIRE and upon further investigation by the Gaming Control Board Investigators, it was brought out that persons employed at the Cal-Neva Lodge attempted to bribe investigators of this organization. According to newspaper releases on the situation, EDWARD OLSON, Chairman of the Gaming Control Board, advised that SINATRA had used highly insulting language upon OLSON in connection with these hearings.

The Gaming Control Board gave SINATRA and his attorney, HARRY CLAIBORNE until October 7 in which to present evidence in refutation of the charges made.

On October 7, 1963, CLAIBORNE made a press release to the effect that SINATRA was divesting himself of all of his gambling interests in Nevada. The release continued that SINATRA claimed that he had several months previously instructed his attorney to dispose of these interests inasmuch as he intended to take control of the Warner Brothers Studio in Hollywood, California.

SINATRA failed to file any answer to the complaint filed by the Gaming Control Board. In that no answer was filed by midnight of October 7, the Nevada Gaming Commission automatically revoked SINATRA's license at the Cal-Neva Lodge.