I was watching Guys and Dolls today, pondering Frank Sinatra's wonderful voice, when the question came to me-What's the story with Frank and the Mafia? Maybe it was the underscoring theme of mobsters in the film (the main theme would be gambling, of course), but it got me curious. This website brought much of my questions to light http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/sinatra.htm

What I find funny is that, like Marlon Brando's character in Guys and Dolls, Frank was the one making trips to places like Havana with beautiful women, and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Who is Lucky? Only the head of the worlds BIGGEST drug cartel! Not to mention the Fischetti brothers, one of whom was referred to as the gun happy gangster. It was there where he met the most infamous mob leaders on the globe: Frank Costello, Albert Anastasia, Willie Moretti, Meyer Lansky, Joe Bonanno, Tommy Lucchese, Joe Adonis, Tony Accardo, Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante, the list goes on and on.

One of his most well known friends in the mafia was Sam Giancana, who was believed to be a gunman in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre (one of the most notorious gang murders in Chicago). Some of the stuff he controlled was loan sharking, prostitution, protection (Al Capone, for example), narcotics, counterfeiting and extortion. This guy was arrested 70 times, and more than once for murder. It has been rumored that he planned and/or carried out the assassination of JFK and Fidel Castro (I can understand assassinating one, but why both? Beats me).

It's possible that Frank not only associated with the mob, but had a part in one of their many murders. A police officer, Richard Anderson, had an argument with Frank, and died a couple days later in a "mysterious car accident". Jackie Mason joked about Frank's marriage with Mia Farrow, and Giancana called, threatening his life. When Mason continued the joking, 3 bullets were fired through the door of Mason's hotel room. He didn't stop. Idiot. He recieved more death threats. Didn't stop. So a guy with brass knuckles basically bashed in his face and told him to stop talking about Sinatra. THEN he stopped. If you ask me, he's lucky he got away with his life. Frank also scammed money from a few casinoes. Bad Frankie!

But as I watch Frank sing, "Sue me, sue me, shoot bullets through me...I looooove yooooou...", I can't be too surprised. He seems very much in his element. Frank Sinatra's voice is incredible, and that connected him with the mafia (he did a lot of shows in casinoes and what not), and the mafia made him.

So that's the story of old blue eyes. Please Comment!