Editing Frank Sinatra (section)

=== Alleged organized-crime links and Cal Neva Lodge ===
[[File:LuckyLucianoSmaller.jpeg|thumb|upright|Mobster [[Lucky Luciano]]]]
Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced. He said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime.{{sfn|McNally|2015|p=50}} [[Willie Moretti]] was Sinatra's godfather and the notorious [[underboss]] of the [[Genovese crime family]], and he helped Sinatra in exchange for kickbacks and was reported to have intervened in releasing Sinatra from his contract with Tommy Dorsey.{{sfn|Sifakis|2005|p=420}} Sinatra was present at the Mafia [[Havana Conference]] in 1946,{{sfn|Sifakis|2005|p=419}} and the press learned of his being there with [[Lucky Luciano]]. One newspaper published the headline "Shame, Sinatra".{{sfn|Lahr|2000|p=63}} He was reported to be a good friend of mobster [[Sam Giancana]],{{sfn|Santopietro|2008|p=343}} Kelley quoted Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" [[Bugsy Siegel]] and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=124–125}} Kelley says that Sinatra and mobster [[Joseph Fischetti]] had been good friends from 1938 onward and acted like "Sicilian brothers".{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=135}} She also states that Sinatra and [[Hank Sanicola]] were financial partners with [[Mickey Cohen]] in the gossip magazine ''Hollywood Night Life''.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=176}} (Johnny) Roselli's membership in the Friars Club in Beverly Hills was sponsored by celebrity singer and Friars Club abbot Frank Sinatra.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bash |first1=Avi |last2=Niotta |first2=J. Michael |year=2021 |title=Logo: Images of America Los Angeles Underworld |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=South Carolina |isbn=978-1-4671-0638-2 |page=89 |quote=...But when newly sponsored friar Johnny Roselli grew wise, he insisted on a one-fifth partnership.  Roselli's membership was sponsored by celebrity singer and Friars Club abbot Frank Sinatra}}</ref>

The FBI kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra, who was a natural target with his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent [[New Deal]] politics, and his friendship with [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1075739|title=Sinatra: The FBI Files|newspaper=NPR|access-date=June 14, 2008|archive-date=January 8, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108171522/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1075739|url-status=live}}</ref> The FBI kept him under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march99/sinatra7.htm|title=AKA Frank Sinatra|newspaper=The Washington Post Magazine|access-date=June 14, 2008|date=March 6, 1999|archive-date=July 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726152122/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march99/sinatra7.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General [[Robert F. Kennedy]] was leading a crackdown on organized crime.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=327–329}} Sinatra said he was not involved: "Any report that I fraternized with goons or racketeers is a vicious lie."{{sfn|McNally|2015|p=49}}

In 1960, Sinatra bought a share in the [[Cal Neva Lodge & Casino]], a casino hotel on the south shore of [[Lake Tahoe]]. Sinatra built the Celebrity Room theater, which attracted his show business friends [[Red Skelton]], [[Marilyn Monroe]], [[Victor Borge]], [[Joe E. Lewis]], [[Lucille Ball]], [[Lena Horne]], [[Juliet Prowse]], the [[McGuire Sisters]], and others. By 1962, he reportedly held a 50-percent share in the hotel.{{Sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=347–348, 355}} Sinatra's gambling license was temporarily suspended by the [[Nevada Gaming Control Board]] in 1963 after Giancana was spotted on the premises.<ref>{{cite web|last=Griffith|first=Martin|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-03-31-lake-tahoe-rat-pack-casino_N.htm|title=Frank Sinatra's Lake Tahoe casino shuts down |work=USA Today|date=March 31, 2010|access-date=July 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204182309/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-03-31-lake-tahoe-rat-pack-casino_N.htm|archive-date=December 4, 2013}}</ref>{{efn|According to Kelley, Giancana blamed Sinatra for the ordeal and was fuming at the abuse he had given to the commission's chairman Ed Olsen. The two men never spoke again.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|pp=363–364}}}} Due to ongoing pressure from the FBI and Nevada Gaming Commission on mobster control of casinos, Sinatra agreed to give up his share in Cal Neva and the Sands.{{sfn|Waldman|Donovan|1999|p=139}} That year, his son [[Frank Sinatra Jr.#Kidnapping|Frank Jr. was kidnapped]] but was eventually released unharmed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/nashua-telegraph-sixties-considered-deca/170638629/|title=Sixties Considered Decade of Stress in Movie World|work=Nashua Telegraph ([[Nashua, New Hampshire]])|date=December 18, 1969|page=28|access-date=October 12, 2015|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=November 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126064602/https://www.newspapers.com/image/74976357/?terms=Frank%2BSinatra|url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref> Sinatra's gambling license was restored in February 1981, following support from [[Ronald Reagan]].{{Sfn|Santopietro|2008|p=408}}