The Sinatra Files (7 page)

civilian physician, at the Armed Forces Induction Station above mentioned, was likewise interviewed inasmuch as he had examined the x-rays of the mastoid area of FRANK SINATRA.
whose residence and office address is
stated that the x-rays indicated to him that SINATRA had chronic mastoiditis. He explained that the marked sclerosis or hardening of that area made that statement necessary.
likewise indicated that he was certain that it was absolutely necessary to reject SINATRA in the induction.

Because of the limited investigation requested, no additional investigation is contemplated by this office.

Very truly yours,

S. K. McKEE
SAC

    
After concluding that the original allegation was unfounded, the matter was closed. Nevertheless, Sinatra later would take a beating on numerous fronts in the press
. Stars and Stripes,
the military newspaper, called him a coward, and the conservative Hearst columnist Westbrook Pegler derided him as “bugle-deaf Frankie Boy Sinatra.” Nancy Sinatra insisted years later in one of her books that after he’d been rejected as unfit, her father “tried in vain to enlist for the next several years.”

    You will recall that we inquired into the Selective Service status of Frank Sinatra because of the receipt from Walter Winchell of an anonymous letter which he received alleging that $40,000 had been paid by Sinatra to procure a 4-F classification. Newark found that Sinatra received a 4-F classification because of an ear ailment. It also discovered that Sinatra had been arrested twice—once for seduction and once for adultery, both arrests resulting in dismissals, and both based on same act.

The Director penned a notation on my memorandum to you dated February 15, 1944, “We should be certain that there is nothing irregular in this case,” and upon your instructions, I called the Newark Office on February 21, 1944 at 4:45 p.m. and instructed ASAC [Assistant Special Agent in Charge] R. W. Bachman to have the physician who examined Sinatra interviewed. The Newark Office has complied with these instructions and there is attached hereto Newark’s letter of February 24, 1944 which indicates very definitely that Sinatra was properly rejected because of a perforation of the membrana tympani and acute or chronic mastoiditis. During the course of the interview, it was ascertained from the examining physician, Dr. Joseph R. Weintrob, Captain, U.S. Army, Medical Corps, that Sinatra stated he had, in his early youth, been operated on on several occasions for mastoiditis. X-ray pictures have borne out Sinatra’s statements in this regard. Captain Weintrob said the scar tissue which was the result of the operation was readily perceptible and in this connection the operational scars very clearly appear on the left profile photograph taken on the occasion of one of Sinatra’s arrests by the Sheriff’s Office at Hackensack, New Jersey. Either the perforation of the tympani or the mastoid condition is, as Captain Weintrob points out, cause for rejection of a registrant under War Department regulations.

It therefore appears that Sinatra was properly rejected from military service and there is no indication that the statements made in the anonymous letter above referred to have any foundation. Consequently, in the absence of further instructions, no additional inquiries will be conducted in this matter.

“Mr. Mortimer was appreciative.”

Frank Sinatra had a tempestuous and at times complicated relationship with both the FBI and the press. Little did he know that the two institutions were sometimes collaborating with each other against him.

They needed each other. As FBI agents delved into every aspect of the star’s life, they depended on obvious sources of information like press reports as well as confidential informants. The FBI files now make clear that some of the journalists who wrote those reports were in effect FBI informants as well, providing unsubstantiated rumors for the bureau to run down—including Walter Winchell’s tip about the draft covered in
chapter 1
. The FBI returned the favor on occasion, helping journalists digging for dirt on the singer.

    
In 1946, the ultraconservative Hoover demonstrated that he was no fan of the singer when Louis B. Nichols, one of his top aides, reported disapprovingly on a stop in the star’s nationwide tour, attaching a fairly innocuous press clipping as supporting material
.

    As a symptom of the state of mind of many young people I wish to call to your attention the following incident that occurred in Detroit on last Wednesday.

Frank Sinatra arrived in Detroit around midnight and a group of bobby soxers were waiting for him at the airfield. He eluded them and they then congregated at the stage door of the Downtown Theater where he was scheduled to give his first performance around 10:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. The line started forming at around 2:00 a.m. The police started challenging girls who appeared to be under 16 and tried to send them home. However, I have been told, there was a long line of mere kids, many of whom carried their lunches, and they remained in line until the theater opened. Truant Officers started checking the lines early in the morning and were berated by the girls. There was widespread indignation on the part of numerous individuals that I came in contact with and a severe indictment of parents of the girls. One individual went so far as to state that Sinatra should be lynched. I am attaching hereto a page from The Detroit Times showing some of the girls.

    
Handwritten notation by Hoover:
Sinatra is as much to blame as are the moronic bobby-soxers. H.

    
A year later, Sinatra was taking a beating in the press for his association with alleged mobsters, his draft record, and his political activities, which some considered left-leaning enough to be Communist
.

Things boiled over at Ciro’s restaurant in Hollywood on April 8, 1947
when he was arrested for slugging his biggest press nemesis—the Hearst columnist Lee Mortimer. The singer later said the muckraking scribe had been “needling me” for two years with blistering columns. Nancy Sinatra has written that Mortimer held a grudge against her father for rejecting a song he’d written
.

Press clippings in the FBI files included speculation that a recent Mortimer piece about Sinatra’s association with the mobster Lucky Luciano had infuriated the singer. But one article pointedly noted that the Luciano story actually was broken by Robert Ruark, a “6-foot, 200-pound columnist.” Mortimer weighed about 120 at the time
.

At Giro’s that night, Sinatra claimed Mortimer had goaded him by calling him a “dago.” Mortimer insisted that Sinatra’s attack was unprovoked. Sinatra later settled the case by paying Mortimer $9,000 and withdrawing the slur accusation
.

Mortimer wasn’t through with Sinatra, though. A month after the Giro’s incident, the FBI’s Nichols wrote this memo to Glyde A. Tolson, Hoover’s top aide and closest friend, to prepare the director for a planned meeting with the aggrieved columnist. This memo clearly shows that the FBI was inclined to help Mortimer
.

May 12, 1947
MEMORANDUM FOR MR. TOLSON
RE: FRANK SINATRA                      

In view of the Director’s conference with Lee Mortimer tomorrow it would appear that there are three specific problems that have been raised on which the Director desires information. The following is being submitted:

1. Mr. Mortimer said he had a picture of Sinatra getting off a plane in Havana with a tough-looking man whom he has been unable to identify. He believes he is a gangster from Chicago.

Observation: It is suggested that this picture be exhibited to Agents who have worked on the reactivation of the Capone gang in
Chicago, as well as to Agents in the Newark Office who have been working on criminal work, in view of the known contacts that Sinatra has had with New York hoodlums. It is entirely possible that in this way the unidentified picture might be identified. If we identified the individual we could secure a picture of the person identified and furnish that to Mortimer and then in turn let him go out and verify the identification in such a way as to remove the Bureau from any responsibility of furnishing information.

2. Mortimer stated that Sinatra was backed when he first started by a gangster in New York named Willie Moretti, now known as Willie Moore.

Observation: It is well known that Willie Moretti of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, controls gambling in Bergen County, New Jersey, and is a close friend of Frank Costello. According to Captain Matthew J. Donohue of the Bergen County Police, Moretti had a financial interest in Sinatra. In this connection, Sinatra resides in Hasbrouck Heights.

The Los Angeles Office has reported that a boxing show was being sponsored by Sinatra together with Henry Sanicola and Larry Rummans. According to reports, they incorporated, formed a company and sold stock to raise money to build “a little Madison Square Garden Arena” in Los Angeles. At the same time it was reported that Sinatra was interested in purchasing a hotel and gambling establishment that was being built in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was assisted by an attorney named Herbert Pearlsen. Sanicola and Rummans were not further identified. It is known that Bugsy Siegel went to Los Angeles on December 18, 1946, to contact Lana Turner, Jimmy Durante and Frank Sinatra for the purpose of having them attend the opening of the Flamingo Hotel. Sinatra, however, did not attend either the opening on December 26, 1946, or December 28, 1946, which was attended by several stars including George Raft, Brian Donlevy, June Haver, Lucille Ball, Sonny Tufts and others. It is likewise known that Mickey Cohen, well-known gambler and racketeer who operates out of Los Angeles, has been in contact with Sinatra on occasions.

In August, 1946, the New York Office was advised by Frances Duffy, clerk of the Local Selective Service Board #180, New York City, that she resides at 424 Second Street, Brooklyn, New York, in a home owned by Mrs. Mary Fischetti. Miss Duffy stated that Sinatra, accompanied by Charles Fischetti, visited the home of his mother and spent the evening there in about June of 1946.