The Sinatra files_ the secret FBI Dossier Part 18

No poison will be used but a chemically treated p.r.i.c.kle perforates one of your eyes and a sympathetic ophtalmia follows. Consult your doctor, he will convince you.

Think about it which is better: keep the friends.h.i.+p of Agnew or spend the rest of your life in complete darkness.

The FBI undertook an extensive four-month investigation to determine the ident.i.ty of the writer for a possible extortion prosecution. Agents checked the letter for fingerprints and took fingerprints from Sinatra employees known to have handled the letter. They did a detailed a.n.a.lysis of the letter's typing. They took precise measurements, including the thickness of the paper down to the ten-thousandth of an inch. They compared it to two other letters sent to Sinatra around the same time, an unsigned one warning him of imminent danger and a signed one from a woman criticizing his friends.h.i.+p with Agnew. They compared the letter to missives in the FBI's vast Anonymous Letter File. They came up dry.

Copy to: USA [U.S. Attorney], Los Angeles (Attention: AUSA [a.s.sistant U.S. Attorney] EARL E. BOYD) Report of:[image]Office: Los Angeles, California Date: 12/1/76 t.i.tle: UNKNOWN SUBJECT; FRANK SINATRA-VICTIM character: EXTORTION Synopsis: On 8/9/76, Attorney and Business Manager of FRANK SINATRA, Beverly Hills, California, furnished a threatening letter which was addressed to SINATRA in Palm Springs, California. Envelope was postmarked at s.h.i.+ng, New York, on 7/29/76. Attorney also furnished other communications received by SINATRA in the recent post concerning his a.s.sociation with SPIRO AGNEW and one of those was an envelope and letter postmarked 7/31/76, at Flus.h.i.+ng, New York, from[image] , Queens, New York. AUSA, Los Angeles, contacted and advised he would consider prosecution of sender of letter contained in envelope postmarked 7/29/76, for violation of the Extortion Statute. Elimination fingerprints taken at SINATRA's office of employees that handled the threatening letter. FBI Lab reports set forth, which identified character of typewriting. FBI Identification Division reported no latent fingerprints developed on threatening communication. By a letter dated 8/30/76, from SINATRA's business office, FBI Los Angeles, was forwarded a communication which had been forwarded to SINATRA's business office by Secretary and Corporate Counsel, Caesars World, Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada. The letter had as enclosures an envelope postmarked at Chicago, Illinois, 8/20/76, addressed to Caesars Palace, Strip on the, Las Vegas, Nevada, and enclosed letter was addressed to FRANK SINATRA. The letter advised SINATRA to be careful of his food and medicine, etc. as individuals were planning to get rid of him. FBI, New York, determined threatening communication mailed in Flus.h.i.+ng and a review of New York indices determined , Queens, New York. AUSA, Los Angeles, contacted and advised he would consider prosecution of sender of letter contained in envelope postmarked 7/29/76, for violation of the Extortion Statute. Elimination fingerprints taken at SINATRA's office of employees that handled the threatening letter. FBI Lab reports set forth, which identified character of typewriting. FBI Identification Division reported no latent fingerprints developed on threatening communication. By a letter dated 8/30/76, from SINATRA's business office, FBI Los Angeles, was forwarded a communication which had been forwarded to SINATRA's business office by Secretary and Corporate Counsel, Caesars World, Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada. The letter had as enclosures an envelope postmarked at Chicago, Illinois, 8/20/76, addressed to Caesars Palace, Strip on the, Las Vegas, Nevada, and enclosed letter was addressed to FRANK SINATRA. The letter advised SINATRA to be careful of his food and medicine, etc. as individuals were planning to get rid of him. FBI, New York, determined threatening communication mailed in Flus.h.i.+ng and a review of New York indices determined[image] could be identical to could be identical to[image][image] telephonically advised she was in Europe with her husband during the period June-September, 1976. On 12/1/76, AUSA, Los Angeles, declined prosecution as all investigation has been conducted in an attempt to identify sender of threatening communication received by SINATRA. telephonically advised she was in Europe with her husband during the period June-September, 1976. On 12/1/76, AUSA, Los Angeles, declined prosecution as all investigation has been conducted in an attempt to identify sender of threatening communication received by SINATRA.

EIGHT.

THE FBI AND SINATRA THE MAN.

"I don't think the leopard will change his spots."

In Sinatra's case, the price of fame was not simply a surrender of privacy. In late 1963, the singer's son, Frank Sinatra, Jr., then nineteen, was kidnapped and briefly held, unsuccessfully, for ransom. The incident brought the bureau and the senior Sinatra closer together-but only so close, and it appeared to harden the star.

If the FBI files did not show that Sinatra was a draft-dodger, Communist, or criminal, in the end they certainly showed that he was a man in a very bright spotlight.

Frank Sinatra, Jr., was kidnapped on December 8, 1963, two weeks after the a.s.sa.s.sination of John F. Kennedy.

Attempting to launch his own singing career, the young Sinatra had been scheduled to perform in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. But as he and a bandmate ate dinner in his hotel room just after 9 P.M., P.M., somebody knocked on the door, announcing a delivery for Frankie Sinatra. When Sinatra opened the door, he faced a .38 revolver. Two men, both twenty-three, tied up the friend and spirited the teenager away to Los Angeles, where they held him for ransom with the help of a forty-two-year-old accomplice somebody knocked on the door, announcing a delivery for Frankie Sinatra. When Sinatra opened the door, he faced a .38 revolver. Two men, both twenty-three, tied up the friend and spirited the teenager away to Los Angeles, where they held him for ransom with the help of a forty-two-year-old accomplice.

Hoover and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, still mourning his brother's recent a.s.sa.s.sination, made the case a top priority. A team of FBI agents quickly cracked the amateurish scheme. The perpetrators were arrested in Los Angeles three days after Sinatra Sr. and an FBI agent delivered $239,985 for the safe return of his son, not counting $15 spent by the FBI for a valise big enough to carry all that cash.

During the kidnapper's trial, defense attorneys infuriated the Sinatra family by suggesting that the whole thing was a hoax cooked up to gain publicity for the son's fledgling singing career. The depth of the elder Sinatra's anger was on display in this exchange of letters, prompted by a June 27, 1964, letter from a prison chaplain who counseled the two younger kidnappers after they were convicted.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.

BUREAU OF PRISONS.

MEDICAL CENTER FOR FEDERAL PRISONERS.

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Sinatra, As Catholic Chaplain of the United States Medical Center here in Springfield, I have become very well acquainted personally with Mr. Barry Keenan and Mr. Joe Amsler. I have spoken with both of these men on numerous occasions about the true Catholic approach to the crime of kidnapping your son. It is quite evident that both Barry and Joe are very much convinced both emotionally and intellectually that considering the event of the kidnapping from the eyes of G.o.d, that it was truly a non-Christian act. As soon as Barry and Joe arrived at this inst.i.tution, I suggested to them that they enroll in the Catholic Religion Cla.s.ses which I was holding at this inst.i.tution, and both of them complied with my wishes. The att.i.tude that these two men expressed in these cla.s.ses was quite amazing to me as well as other students in the cla.s.s.

While I am not speaking officially in the name of this inst.i.tution, it is quite evident from my very close contact with Barry and Joe that basically they are good men. At the present time one of their greatest concerns is the hards.h.i.+p that was brought upon both of you. Again, speaking as Catholic Chaplain of this inst.i.tution, I am very much convinced that they will both try to make amends to you for this hards.h.i.+p. No doubt you did experience a great deal of suffering and emotional anxiety during the kidnapping as well as perhaps some embarra.s.sment during the trial. This is very understandable and for having caused you this suffering and embarra.s.sment, Barry and Joe have often expressed their sorrow and regret.

While I have never had the opportunity to meet either of you personally, it is commenting on the obvious to say that from various sources, various modes of communication, I have heard a great deal about you, and with this letter I too would wish to express to you my regret and sorrow for what the recent event has caused you.

We as Christians, we who have been taken into this body of Christ and have hence become other Christs, must also try to express in our att.i.tudes, in our relations.h.i.+ps with other people, the att.i.tude of Christ himself. Christ, this son of G.o.d, was also kidnapped and you and I know very well that the motives, the reasons why Christ was kidnapped far exceed the evil that may have been involved in the motives, in the reasons, why your son was kidnapped. We should at all times, I think, see ourselves as we really are, other Christs, and as St. Paul tells us over and over again that we should live this life of a Christian, that we should put on Christ. Even though Christ was scourged, was spit upon, was crucified, yet some of his last words were, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

I am certain that both Barry and Joe, and again I speak from my rather close relations.h.i.+p with them as their Catholic Chaplain, have learned a great deal from this tragic event and if they are treated correctly the event of the kidnapping and all that was entailed in it have caused, and will continue to cause a new resurgence of religious fervor both in Barry Keenan and Joe Amsler. We know that Christ works among us in rather mysterious ways. Things that bring people closer to him and to his Father sometimes mystify us poor ignorant human beings. I know that the event of the kidnapping has brought Barry and Joe much more closely to G.o.d and have brought about within them a deeper realization of what in this world is really of value.

I was convinced, Mr. and Mrs. Sinatra, that as their director in the area of religion that I am bound to write this letter to you for your own good and for the good of Barry and Joe, for whom I have a very great deal of respect and love. Both of them have been very regular in their attendance at all of our religious services, and both have expressed a great deal of interest in the area of religion. Since Barry has come to this inst.i.tution he has been trained to be Commentator at Ma.s.s, a position which he fulfills very well.

Mr. and Mrs. Sinatra, I hope very sincerely that this letter finds you well and happy, and I ask that you say many prayers for us here at this inst.i.tution. Many of the men here are not bad men, but they are persons who have made mistakes in life. Many of the sins, translating it into theological terminology, that men commit in the world far exceed the gravity of acts that have prompted the incarceration of so many of our brothers. We ask G.o.d to forgive us our sins but we ask him to forgive our sins as we forgive the sins of our brothers.

Very sincerely yours in Christ,Father Roger Schmit, O.S.B.The Catholic Chaplain But Sinatra rebuffed the priest with a six-page letter in which his anger over the kidnapper's hoax defense was clearly palpable. The letter is truncated here.

Frank Sinatra July 27, 1964 Dear Father Schmit: Since you have had no prior relations.h.i.+p to the Sinatra family, we a.s.sume that it was not the purpose of your letter to give us religious guidance. Accordingly, there could only be two possible purposes for your letter: (1) a request that we forgive Keenan and Amsler, and/or (2) that we take some action to express our forgiveness in order to alleviate the punishment the court has imposed upon them.

At the outset, I feel I must tell you that in my opinion it is presumptuous for you to ask us to forgive them.

Up to this time I have remained silent on the subject of the manner in which the trial was conducted and the harm done to my son by the claim of "hoax," but your letter, written in the name of G.o.d, has caused me to break that silence.

Very truly yours, FRANK SINATRA.

Then Sinatra forwarded to Hoover the exchange of letters with the priest. In a surprisingly cordial "Dear Edgar" letter, Sinatra thanked Hoover for his son's safe return, and said he thought Hoover would find the exchange with the chaplain "interesting, particularly insofar as it reflects my own att.i.tude with respect to what has happened." Hoover's reply below is equally cordial-if you disregard the internal note added to the copy in the FBI files. In his letter to the singer, Hoover suggests that he shares Sinatra's harsh att.i.tude toward mercy.

August 4, 1964 Mr. Frank Sinatra 9229 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles 69, California Dear Frank: I have received your letter of July 30th enclosing a copy of the letter Mrs. Sinatra and you received from Father Roger Schmit and your reply.

I can certainly understand your concern in this matter and appreciate your interest in sending me this correspondence. I also want to thank you for your very kind comments regarding our partic.i.p.ation in the investigation relating to your son's kidnaping.

As for my feelings in matters such as these, I think you would be interested in my introduction to the April, 1964, issue of the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin wherein it was stated, "In 1924, a New York City judge stated, 'The demand of the hour in America is for jurors with conscience, judges with courage and prisons which are neither country clubs or health resorts. It is not the criminals, actual or potential, that need a neuropathic hospital,' the judge added, 'it is the people who s...o...b..r over them in an effort to find excuses for their crime.' "

Sincerely, J. Edgar Hoover NOTE: Bufiles reflect Father Roger Schmit, a 29-year-old Catholic priest, was a Departmental applicant in 1963 at which time no derogatory information was developed concerning him. The Director is well aware of the background of Sinatra. Address per previous correspondence.

Years later, Nancy Sinatra wrote to Hoover concerning a book she was writing about her father. She wanted to include the director's recollections about her father. Hoover was less than verbose in his response. (She later included much of his reply in two affectionate biographies of her father.) about her father. Hoover was less than verbose in his response. (She later included much of his reply in two affectionate biographies of her father.) November 26, 1969 Miss Nancy Sinatra 9000 Sunset Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90069 Dear Miss Sinatra: I have received your letter of November 20th and appreciate your interest in communicating with me in connection with the book you are writing about your father.

In response to your request, I remember, in particular, a telephone conversation I had with your father in connection with the kidnapping of Frank, Jr. This took place on December 11, 1963, and I told your father how pleased I was that Frank, Jr., had been safely returned. I recall pointing out to him that although he would now be besieged by inquiries from the news media, we still had numerous productive leads to pursue and would be able to do so only if the case received a minimum of publicity. Your father, of course, cooperated in every possible way. Within a short time, our investigation was completed and early on the morning of December 14th, I had the pleasure of telephoning your father again to inform him that the kidnappers were in custody.

Please feel free to use the foregoing in the manner you indicated, and I do hope that your book will enjoy every possible success.

Sincerely yours, J. Edgar Hoover NOTE: Bufiles contain no derogatory information regarding Nancy Sinatra.

Frank Sinatra, Sr., developed a close relations.h.i.+p with agents on the kid-napping case, especially the special agent in charge for Las Vegas, Dean Elson. In this memo, Courtney Evans, the FBI's liaison to the Justice Department, tells a colleague, Alan Belmont, that Elson wants to capitalize on his budding friends.h.i.+p with the celebrity, who at the time was about to start filming None But the Brave None But the Brave in Hawaii in Hawaii.

TO: Mr. Belmont DATE: April 17, 1964 DATE: April 17, 1964 FROM: C. A. Evans

SUBJECT: FRANK SINATRA.

In view of the long a.s.sociation which Frank Sinatra, the well-known entertainer, has had with prominent hoodlums and racketeers, I discussed this situation personally with SAC Elson of Las Vegas on Sat.u.r.day, April 11, after the conclusion of the Organized Crime and Criminal Intelligence Conference held at Los Angeles.

SAC Elson has a close personal relations.h.i.+p with Frank Sinatra, his attorney and close business a.s.sociates as a result of Elson's handling these individuals during the kidnapping case in which Sinatra's son was the victim. As evidence of the high regard in which Elson is held by Sinatra, it is noted Elson and his wife have been invited by Sinatra to attend social affairs being given by Sinatra at his home in Palm Springs. Sinatra even offered to send his private airplane to Las Vegas and transport the Elsons to California. SAC Elson said he graciously declined these social invitations and that he had written the Director about them sometime ago. I told Elson that in the absence of contrary instructions from the Bureau it seemed most proper not to accept social invitations extended because of Elson's handling his FBI duties.

We did discuss, however, Sinatra's background, including his long and close a.s.sociation with several major hoodlums and racketeers. It seems obvious that Sinatra could supply extremely valuable information about these individuals and their activities. SAC Elson believes his relations.h.i.+p with Sinatra is so close that he might be able to induce Sinatra to cooperate with us.

There is attached a summary of information showing Sinatra's long a.s.sociation with major hoodlums.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN:.

Frank Sinatra is currently reported to be in the Far East where he is on location making a motion picture. On his return to the United States it is believed we should have SAC Elson contact Sinatra and explore the possibilities of developing him as an informant. This could best be accomplished by having Elson go to Southern California on two or three weekends when Sinatra would not be tied up with his business affairs. We would, of course, have Sinatra believe Elson was in California on other business which would provide an appropriate cover for Elson's meeting with Sinatra and exploring the possibilities of his cooperating with us.

Elson is convinced that his relations.h.i.+p with Sinatra at this time is such that he could do this discreetly without any possibility of embarra.s.sment to the Bureau. If we are to do this we should begin promptly on Sinatra's return to the United States as Elson's relations.h.i.+p with Sinatra will deteriorate if no contact is made and much time elapses.

If you approve SAC Elson will be advised telephonically when he next calls the Bureau to proceed along these lines.

The summary attached to Belmont's memo: Frank Sinatra through the years has been a.s.sociated with some of the most infamous individuals of modern times. During the 1930s when he was growing up in New Jersey, he was reportedly befriended by Willie Moretti, former underworld boss of Bergen County, New Jersey, and cousin of the notorious Joe Adonis. In later years Sinatra sang at the wedding of Willie Moretti's daughter.

In the 40s Sinatra's name was linked with such well-known hoodlums as Joseph and Rocco Fischetti, members of the Capone gang, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, and James Tarantino, a.s.sociate of Benjamin "Bugsy" Seigel and editor and publisher of the magazine "Hollywood Night Life."

Newspapers on February 20, 1947, reported that Frank Sinatra had been in Havana, Cuba, for four days the previous week and that "his companion in public and private was Luciano, Luciano's bodyguard and a rich collection of gamblers and high-binders." The article indicated that Luciano and Sinatra were seen together at the racetracks, the gambling casinos and at special parties.

A September 11, 1947, column of Westbrook Pegler reported that when Frank Sinatra flew to Havana, Cuba, on February 11, 1947, he was accompanied by Joe and Rocco Fischetti.

In recent years considerable information has been reported concerning Sinatra ties with Sam Giancana. Reports of the use of Sinatra's Palm Springs home by Giancana and Phyllis McGuire and Giancana's disappointment in Sinatra's inability to get the administration to tone down its efforts in the Anti-Racketeering field const.i.tutes the most significant information developed. On at least two occasions in past years Sinatra has been in Atlantic City taking over an entire floor of one of the major hotels for a private party which lasted several weeks and included hoodlum guests such as Giancana, the Fischettis and Joe Bonanno of Phoenix.

Until he was recently ordered to sell his interests in Las Vegas, Sinatra owned a percentage of the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas and was 100% owner of the Cal-Neva Lodge at Lake Tahoe. Informants have speculated that Sinatra was merely a front for hoodlum money invested in these gambling casinos. During the last year of operation, the Cal-Neva Lodge was managed by Paul "Skinny" D'Amato, longtime friend of Sinatra who also has a hoodlum background and has for years operated the 500 Club in Atlantic City.

When interviewed concerning his Las Vegas interests Sinatra maintained he represented only himself and that Sam Giancana was only someone he recalled meeting at an airport. Confidential sources in Las Vegas and Chicago, however, indicate a much closer a.s.sociation between Sinatra and Giancana. In the Fall of 1962, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Eddie Fisher made what appeared to be a command performance at the Villa Venice Supper Club near Chicago, apparently arranged by Sinatra for Giancana. When interviewed concerning it, Sinatra claimed he had arranged for these entertainers merely as a favor to Leo Olsen, owner of the Club and that Giancana had nothing to do with it.

It was Sinatra's continued a.s.sociation with Giancana that led to the revocation of his Nevada gambling license in September of 1963. This was brought about princ.i.p.ally by the discovery of Giancana's presence at the Cal-Neva Lodge even though he was listed in the Nevada Black Book as a "undesirable" in Nevada.

ADDENDUM.

I don't think the leopard will change his spots, but I recommend SAC Elson try his hand at this.

A. H. Belmont Handwritten notation by Clyde Tolson: I do not agree. C. I do not agree. C.

Handwritten notation by Hoover: I share Tolson's views. H. I share Tolson's views. H.

Handwritten notation by Evans: Elson advised to take no action in this matter. E. 4/23/64 Elson advised to take no action in this matter. E. 4/23/64 Sinatra was apparently unaware of Hoover's low regard for him, as this item in the files about a party for Jack Warner of Warner Bros. Records shows.

By an undated letter addressed "Dear Friend" Frank Sinatra invited FBI Director, Mr. Hoover, to a testimonial dinner to be held on 4/25/65, in Beverly Hills, in honor of Jack Warner. The dinner was being sponsored by the Friars Club, Charity Foundation, Beverly Hills, Calif., of which Sinatra was Abbot Emeritus.

Years later, Elson continued to report to headquarters on Sinatra's activities, as shown by this memo from Tom E. Bishop to Cartha "Deke" DeLoach, both top Hoover lieutenants. Sinatra was then in the midst of a two-week stand in Las Vegas at the Sands casino, where he had been a part owner until evidence of mob a.s.sociations forced him to relinquish his casino interests in Nevada in 1964 both top Hoover lieutenants. Sinatra was then in the midst of a two-week stand in Las Vegas at the Sands casino, where he had been a part owner until evidence of mob a.s.sociations forced him to relinquish his casino interests in Nevada in 1964.

TO: Mr. DeLoach DATE: September 11, 1967 DATE: September 11, 1967 FROM: T. E. Bishop

SUBJECT: FRANK SINATRA.

INFORMATION CONCERNING.

SAC Elson from Las Vegas called this afternoon and spoke with Leinbaugh in my office. Elson said he had sent the Director a letter Friday regarding some of Sinatra's recent activities and wanted to bring the Bureau up to date.

Elson said that about 6 or 7 a.m. this morning Sinatra went into the casino at the Sands apparently to apologize to the pit dealers regarding his actions several nights ago. According to Elson some words were exchanged and when a security guard came walking over to Sinatra, Sinatra picked up a chair and hit the guard over the head, apparently injuring him seriously. Immediately thereafter Carl Cohen, casino manager, hit Sinatra in the mouth and in the words of our informant, "Really decked him." According to our source, Sinatra had at least two front teeth knocked out.

Elson commented that Cohen will be in real trouble now and he said that he will keep the Bureau closely advised of developments.

RECOMMENDATION:.

The above is for the Director's information.

A later summary of Sinatra information in FBI files recounted the same episode in detail-and alleged a Machiavellian motive for the star's behavior: He wanted to end his contract with the Sands, which had just been bought by Howard Hughes, so he could instead perform at Caesars Palace, identified as a La Cosa Nostra (LCN) establishment. This reasoning seems unlikely, given that, according to Kitty Kelley's biography, Sinatra was already negotiating with Caesars at the time and had signed a $3 million performance contract on September 11, 1967-the same day as the fracas negotiating with Caesars at the time and had signed a $3 million performance contract on September 11, 1967-the same day as the fracas.

Informant stated that Sinatra, upon learning that his wife, Mia, had lost $20,000 gambling at the Sands Hotel, became furious and purchased $50,000 worth of chips in an attempt to win back his wife's losses. Within a 45 minute interval he had lost the $50,000. Upon learning of Sinatra's losses, Howard Hughes (not identified) ordered Sinatra's credit stopped. Sinatra, intoxicated, tore his room to shambles. He then obtained a golf cart and drove it all around the front of the Sands Hotel. Carl Cohen (not identified) attempted to calm Sinatra; however, Sinatra threw some chips in Cohen's face at which time Cohen punched Sinatra in the mouth causing the loss of teeth. Informant advised that it was indicated that this activity was planned in order to have Sinatra's contract at the Sands broken so that he could later be placed in Caesars Palace, since this establishment had Family* interests. Informant did not believe this was planned, however, to the extent that Sinatra would lose two teeth.

This reference indicated that [John] Roselli was active in LCN matters.

*LCN Family interests After Frank Sinatra's mother, Natalie "Dolly" Sinatra, died at age eighty-two in the crash of a chartered plane on January 6, 1977, the FBI's current director sent condolences to Frank Sinatra, Jr.

January 10, 1977 Mr. Frank Sinatra, Jr.

Sinatra Way Cathedral City, California 92234 Dear Mr. Sinatra: Your friends in the FBI were deeply saddened at the news of your grandmother's death and extend heartfelt sympathy to you and the other members of your family. Although words are of little solace at times such as this, we hope you will be comforted by your many warm memories of her and the knowledge that others are thinking of you and share your sorrow.

Sincerely yours,Clarence M. Kelley Director NOTE: Bufiles indicate prior cordial correspondence with Mr. Sinatra who has been friendly to the FBI and very cooperative with our Los Angeles Office. He met Mr. Kelley on 12-16-75 at the FBI Appreciation Day function held in San Francisco.

Sinatra occasionally was subjected to threatening letters or calls, usually from apparently deranged yet harmless people. An anonymous caller, for example, warned of a hand-grenade attack in Miami Beach. A tipster claimed two escaped mental patients from Ma.s.sachusetts were bent on a.s.sa.s.sinating the singer. An anonymous letter said Henry Kissinger wanted to poison Sinatra for knowing too much about a planned coup.

In the earlier years, the FBI's inquiries were perfunctory. But later, as authorities at all levels began to take threats against celebrities more seriously, the investigations became ever more intensive, as shown by some of the final doc.u.ments in the FBI's Sinatra files. Thus, by the twilight of Frank Sinatra's career, the FBI had come full circle, from relentlessly pursuing the star to relentlessly pursuing his tormentors.

One of the last cases involved a threatening letter and phone calls just before a four-night Sinatra engagement in Atlantic City in May 1980. The FBI spared no expense in trying to find the culprit. This memo detailed the inquiry's origin.

NARRATIVE OF OFFENSE:.

This investigation was inst.i.tuted upon request of information from[image] Intelligence Unit, Atlantic City Police Department (ACPD), who reported that an unsigned letter, containing a threat to kill entertainer FRANK SINATRA, had been received on May 14, 1980, at the Reservations Office of the World International Hotel (WI), Atlantic City, New Jersey. The handwritten letter and envelope, postmarked Reading, Pennsylvania, were obtained and examined. Intelligence Unit, Atlantic City Police Department (ACPD), who reported that an unsigned letter, containing a threat to kill entertainer FRANK SINATRA, had been received on May 14, 1980, at the Reservations Office of the World International Hotel (WI), Atlantic City, New Jersey. The handwritten letter and envelope, postmarked Reading, Pennsylvania, were obtained and examined.[image] Clerk, WI, who received the subject correspondence, also advised that she received suspicious calls on WI's out-of-state 800 telephone line. Preliminary investigation was inst.i.tuted to attempt to identify unknown subject and to establish a violation of t.i.tle 18, United States Code, Section 875-876. The threat letter appeared to be a response to WI's promotional advertising for a package deal for the scheduled SINATRA shows at the nearby Resorts International Casino/Hotel, during the weekends of May 23-26, 1980, and May 31-June 1, 1980. Liaison was maintained with ACPD, Bell Telephone Security Office, WI, Resorts and the SINATRA security staff. Clerk, WI, who received the subject correspondence, also advised that she received suspicious calls on WI's out-of-state 800 telephone line. Preliminary investigation was inst.i.tuted to attempt to identify unknown subject and to establish a violation of t.i.tle 18, United States Code, Section 875-876. The threat letter appeared to be a response to WI's promotional advertising for a package deal for the scheduled SINATRA shows at the nearby Resorts International Casino/Hotel, during the weekends of May 23-26, 1980, and May 31-June 1, 1980. Liaison was maintained with ACPD, Bell Telephone Security Office, WI, Resorts and the SINATRA security staff.

The primary piece of evidence was the letter itself.

EVIDENCE:.

1. Envelope, postmarked at Reading, Pennsylvania, addressed to World International Hotel, no return address listed; and its contents, an unsigned one page, handwritten letter containing the following wording: "We are going to shoot all Sinatra's guts out we wanted to shoot him for a long time he never could sing and he has been a old crook all his life this will be a good time to get him.