Dino And Frank's Mob Ties


We all heard for years on how connected Sinatra was. He first got involved with the mob as a young man in his late teens in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was singing at restaurants and night clubs. New Jersey mobster Willie Moretti made sure nobody screwed the young singer over. Later on they helped him get his career going again in the early 1950s when he started becoming old news. Frank also hooked up with Chicago Crime Family member Sam Giancana and became a partner with him in a business called the Cal-Neva Lodge on the border of California and Nevada. Bones Renner owned Cal-Neva, he was an old Jewish hood from San Francisco and close friend to SF mob boss Jimmy Lanza. Bones also owed the IRS $800,000 in back taxes. So Bones sold his business to a friend named Wingy Grober. Wingy was a wannabe hood that knew Sam Giancana and owed Sam a lot of money. So Wingy and Sam made a deal: If Wingy sold the Cal-Neva to Sam at a very reasonable price he'd be off the hook for the money he owed. The price turned out to be very reasonable and the Cal-Neva Lodge was sold in 1960 to Sam Giancana and Frank Sinatra. Dean Martin was asked by Frank Sinatra to join them but Dean didn't want any part of it. Sinatra's mob ties started to show for real at that time. In 1962, a Deputy Sheriff named Richard Anderson came to pick up his wife there who worked there as a waitress. Anderson's wife used to be Sinatra's girlfriend before she married The Sheriff. Sinatra didn't like Anderson and told Anderson to leave, but Anderson told Sinatra he was waiting for his wife, then Sinatra grabbed him and pushed him towards the door. After a small wrestling match Anderson punched Sinatra so hard in the face that Sinatra could not sing on stage for a week. Several weeks later Sheriff Anderson was driving with his wife on Highway 28, not far from the Cal-Neva, when they were driven off the highway by another car. They smashed into a tree and Anderson died really fast, but his wife lived. Many think Sinatra had that happen.

Dean Martin was connected in his early days and was a card dealer in Ohio before getting into show business as a youngster. What a legend he was and a great guy! I heard that in the early 1960s he cut ties with mobsters and tried to get his close friend Sinatra to do the same, but Sinatra was in too deep with them and still wanted their friendship. Dean began dealing craps when he was 17 years old for Jackie DeSarro in Steubenville, OH. Dean was close to the DeSarro family from East Liverpool, which was 25 miles North of Steubenville, closer to Youngstown. Jackie DeSarro and his brother Jimmy were associates of the Pittsburgh Mafia Family. Dean also spent many nights at the infamous Jungle Inn Casino in Youngstown and dealt craps as well as performed. The Jungle Inn was credited with launching Dean's career. Dean also dinned with Pittsburgh mobsters John LaRocca, Michael Genovese and Kelly Mannarino when ever he visited town, which was often. When ever Dean was in L.A. he would hang out with mobster John Roselli, who was a Chicago mobster based in L.A.






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I don't know if the story is true, but sounds like typical Sinatra..Start a fight, get your ass handed to ya and then call in the calvary to get the guy back...What a punk...A very talented punk, but still a punk !!

Dean Martin ?? Nothing but good things to say about him !!

Oh, the story is very true, it's in the books….

Agree with you completely on Sinatra!

Good post Stern!

Wiseguys, just like the rest of us, have always admired the rich and famous, especially the Hollywood types. They have always enjoyed their presence. And vice versa of course. I read once (don´t know if it´s true) that even Charlie Chaplin loved to mingle with mobsters when at the Cotton club in the 1920s.

Jimmy"Blue Eyes"Alo had big role in Sinatra's rise.He was close friend with Sinatras mother.He was the one that introduced Sinatra to Charles"Lucky"Luciano.

Good stuff stern49.Thanks

Here is the entire piece on Sinatra's Cal-Neva
http://www.ccgtcc-ccn.com/CalNevaLodge.pdf

Very cool. Thanks for that.

Really where did you hear that.

Was Martin involved with the mob besides being employed as a dealer and singing at a mob connected casino in his younger days? Was he indebted to the mob in any way?

The BBC made a documentary on Sinatra and his mob connections called "Sinatra: Dark Star". It's on youtube if anyone wants to check it out.

Saw the documentary. It was pretty cool.

Yes, my father knew Dino from the Jungle Inn Days. They reconnected much later in life in Las Vegas where my family moved in the sixties

He was not indebted to the mob, but was "very close" to Cosmo Quattrone, James Tripodi and Jack DeSarro, all connected to Pittsburgh's LaRocca Family. Steubenville, OH, Dean's hometown was on the Ohio River and about 25-30 miles from Pittsburgh and on the WV panhandle state line. Tons of OC back then, especially during prohibition. Dean ran dice games at Rex Cigars, owned by Cosmo Quattrone. Later in life, Dino would dine with John LaRocca, Michael Genovese and Kelly Mannarino when he visited town, which was often. Mike Genovese also hosted a party at his country estate honoring Frank Sinatra after a performance at Mellon Hall, around 1960 when the Pirates won the World Series on Bill Mazeroski's home run.