The Sinatra Files (24 page)

The above book pertained to the so-called “Hollywood Ten,” previously referred to in this report.

A month and a half later, Hoover finally put the investigation to rest
.

SUBJECT: FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA
SECURITY MATTER—C
FRAUD AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT

    Enclosed for your information is one copy of the report of Special Agent
dated November 4, 1955, at Los Angeles, California, in captioned matter.

Information concerning Sinatra’s execution of an affidavit for the Passport Division of the Department of State on January 10, 1955, appears on page seven of the enclosed report. In his affidavit, Sinatra denied past or present membership in the Communist Party or in any group or organization of a subversive character.

Information beginning of the enclosed report reflects that “The Independent” dated February 13, 1946, published by the Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions, listed the name of one Frank Sinatra among ten names under the heading “Vice Chairmen.” The California Committee on Un-American Activities report for 1948 describes the Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions as a “Communist front.”

For your further information, the above-mentioned issue of “The Independent” also listed among the ten vice chairmen of the Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions such individuals as Joseph E. Davies, Fiorello H.
LaGuardia, Archibald MacLeish and Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer. Included in the list of some 30 members of the Board of Directors appeared the name of James Roosevelt.

A copy of the above report has been furnished to the Department of State. No further investigation will be conducted in this matter in the absence of a specific request from you.

    
Nevertheless, the FBI continued to file away information about Sinatra’s alleged ties to Communists, no matter how absurd, as shown in this entry in a later summary of the files
.

On 1/11/56
furnished information regarding a conversation she overheard which indicated that
and
might be operating a ham radio.

stated that a conversation which she overheard on 6/9/55 suggested possible plans for the evacuation of communists from Wisconsin in the event of enemy attack on the West Coast. In the event of an air attack some communists would be able to find refuge at the homes of Frank Sinatra and Tony Martin.

    
Marilyn Monroe even turned up in one entry
.

    
that Marilyn Monroe, the actress, arrived in Mexico on 2/19/62 and associated with members of the American communist group. Her entry into Mexico was reportedly arranged by Frank Sinatra through former President Miguel Aleman. Marilyn was much disturbed by Arthur Miller’s marriage on 2/20/62 and was very vulnerable because of her rejection by her former husband.

    
A decade after being cleared of charges that he lied about his political leanings to get a passport, Sinatra was still seething over suspicions that he was a Communist, according to this memo from one FBI official to another. (The bitterness expressed by Sinatra here stood in contrast to his tone in recording his classic “Strangers in the Night” less than two weeks hence.)

SUBJECT: FRANCIS ALBERT SINATRA,
AKA Frank Sinatra
SECURITY MATTER—C

    On 3/30/66, Colonel John R. Elting (U.S. Army), G-2, Military District of Washington, advised that on 3/25/66, Joseph F. Goetz (Colonel, U. S. Air Force, Retired), a public relations man located at 1500 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D.C., contacted him and informed him that he had been commissioned by Frank Sinatra, the entertainer, to determine the identity of the “S.O.B.” who had “tagged” Sinatra as a “commie.”

Colonel Elting explained that in 1950, 1952, and 1954, Sinatra had offered his services for entertainment of military troops overseas. In each instance, he was not cleared by Army because of his reported affiliation with subversive organizations. Elting added that Sinatra was later cleared in 1962 to entertain troops overseas, but that this clearance expired in 1966 without the clearance having been used.

Elting furnished the attached intra-Army memorandum setting forth the details of a conference between representatives of Army and Sinatra in response to a request made by Sinatra for an appointment to discuss the matter of his clearance for a Christmas holiday entertainment tour to the Far East in 1954. During this conference, Brigadier General Alfred E. Kastner, Assistant to the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, informed Sinatra that over a period of years, many items had appeared in the public press which reflected adversely on Sinatra and which, to a considerable degree, identified Sinatra with the communist line. Sinatra, at the time, stated that he hated and despised everything that pertained to communism; that he had never been a member of a communist-inspired organization, nor had he ever made contributions to such organizations. He attributed the unfavorable press items to irresponsible individuals who preyed on those in entertainment. He related that he had responded to a reporter’s question regarding his attitude toward communism with the remark “I am just as communistic as the Pope.”

Inquiry was made of Colonel Elting by Liaison Agent as to why Sinatra, at this late date, wanted to pursue this matter. According to Elting, Goetz stated that Sinatra is a very temperamental, vindictive and moody individual and has periods where he dwells on his past life. Goetz added that he has known Sinatra for many years and he had noted several occasions where Sinatra, in retrospect, has made derogatory comments concerning individuals who have hurt him in the past. Elting advised that he gave Goetz no satisfaction other than to state that Sinatra was recently cleared to entertain troops overseas. Goetz informed Elting that he was going to counsel Sinatra to drop the matter.

“Has this relationship been strictly social?”

Ever since his days in Hoboken, New Jersey, as the self-centered only child of an indulgent mother, Frank Sinatra found it useful to associate with people who could get things done for him.

It was a habit that the star carried with him into the entertainment and nightclub business, which had more than its share of thugs in those days.

In February 1947, Sinatra’s habit became public knowledge. The Scripps-Howard columnist Robert Ruark happened to be in Havana at the same time Sinatra was. The singer had flown to the Cuban capital in those free-wheeling pre-Castro days with Joe (Joe Fish) Fischetti and his brother Rocco, members of Al Capone’s Chicago gang. He was seen socializing there with Lucky Luciano, exiled father of the modern Mafia, at a casino, a racetrack, and parties.

Within days, Ruark reported these facts in a column headlined “Sinatra Is Playing with the Strangest People These Days.” The singer’s public image would never be the same.

The FBI was paying attention, too. Days after Ruark’s story appeared, reports of Sinatra’s alleged mob ties began turning up in the bureau’s files. At the time, the FBI was primarily interested in Sinatra’s supposedly Communist affiliations, as shown in the files excerpted in
chapter 3
. But as the red scare faded, the FBI’s focus shifted.

Sinatra always defended his friendships with alleged mobsters as benign: He was just being cordial to admirers, however unsavory, who frequented the saloons where he performed, or who had a financial stake in them. Yet as Sinatra himself bought stakes in nightclubs and casinos, first in the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in 1953 and then in the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe in 1961, he increasingly was judged by the company he kept. The FBI suspected the mob had interests in both establishments.

    
FBI summaries of Sinatra’s suspect activities suggest a rogues’ gallery of early associations, though many of the reports were unsubstantiated. (Most of the material below comes from a September 29, 1950, compilation, though some entries have been deleted and relevant entries from other documents have been included.)