Movies, music and the mafia: who of the world stars of show business is connected with crime
Where the "stars" of cinema and pop revolve, there is always a lot of money spinning. And where you can easily earn money, there is always a place for crime. Many famous actors and singers had strong contacts with the mafia, which helped them solve controversial issues and promote their careers.
The" King of jazz " Louis Armstrong got involved with the mafia back in the 20s of the twentieth century. His patron was the leader of the Chicago mafia, John Torrio, nicknamed "Papa Johnny". At the beginning of his career, the singer signed a contract for simultaneous performances in clubs that belonged to warring factions. The case smelled of gunpowder and the impresario of the artist Joe Glazer managed to settle the conflict, because he had many friends in the criminal world.
Mobster John "Daddy Johnny" Torrio
American singer Frank Sinatra was a favorite for millions and a suspect for the FBI. The Federal Bureau of Investigation followed him for 40 years and accused him of having links with the mafia. Sinatra was born into a family of Italian immigrants and grew up on the street, and almost all of the singer's childhood friends became gangsters.
The artist did not hide his contacts and made friends with the most influential bosses of American crime. His uncle was a member of the Garavante mafia family, and gangsters from the Lucky Luciano clan often visited the singer's house.
Frank Sinatra in a white shirt. On the left-Paul Castellano-the leader of the New York mafia, Jimmy Frattiano, the head of the Los Angeles mafia, wearing glasses. To his left is Carlo Gambiono, the prototype of Don Corleone from The Godfather
According to biographer Darwin Porter, Sinatra introduced John F. Kennedy to the leader of the Chicago mafia, Sam Giancano. The researcher claims that it was this man who ordered the murder of Marilyn Monroe. The singer intended to tell everyone that she was the mistress of President John F. Kennedy, which cast a shadow on his reputation as a respectable family man (although in fact the 35th president of the United States was still a womanizer). According to rumors, the Kennedy family allegedly decided to remove Monroe and ordered her to the mafia.
The Chicago mafia patronized the singer Dean Martin and acted as a conductor of his interests for a fee. When the ex-wife tried to sue Martin for huge alimony, the gangsters by fraud made it so that she did not get anything.
Dean Marty himself was looking for friendship with gangsters and was always happy to perform in front of them at private parties. Singer Liza Minnelli was the mistress of Gianni Russo, who acted as an intermediary between the mafia and the Paramount film studio. Jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald in her youth stood near a brothel and warned pimps about the approach of the police, and later bandits began to patronize her in her singing career. Swing singer Tony Bennett was also associated with the mafia.
Journalists believe that Alain Delon is involved in the murder of his own bodyguard. The guard introduced the actor to his mistress, who soon became Delon's wife. Once the actor, in front of witnesses and in a half-joking form, said that if the bodyguard slept with his wife, he would not live long. After a while, the man was killed, and Alain Delon was under investigation.
In the winter of 2011, the FBI conducted the most massive arrests of mafia members in history. As a result of the operation, 127 Italian-American gangsters sat down on the bunks. Among the detainees was the 76-year-old leader of the Colombo clan, Andrew Russo. He was supported by actor Federico Castelluccio, who played the Neapolitan killer Furio Guinta in the TV series "The Sopranos". In an interview with the New York Post, the movie mafia said that he has been friends with Russo for 25 years.
Actor Federico Castelluccio
When the leader of Colombo was arrested, the actor agreed to pawn all his property in order to pay bail for his friend. However, Federico Castelluccio has other friends from the world of crime. He attended court sessions at which the defendants were mafia members Carmina Persico, nicknamed "The Immortal" and Ronald Lorenzo, accused of drug trafficking and kidnapping.
The leader of the Colombo clan, Andrew Russo
In an interview, a native of Naples, Federico Castellucio, admitted that he would never give up friends. In 1989, it became known that the mafia was beating out the role of the legendary gangster Meyer Lansky for him.
Actor Steven Seagal shot his films with a certain Jules Nasso, associated with the Gambino mafia family. In 2002, Segal decided to stop cooperating, but his partner handed him a lawsuit for $ 60 million and incited a prominent crime boss Anthony Ciccone, who began to knock out money. The case went to court, where the mafiosi were accused.
Ciccone's lawyers called Segal a "mafia fan" and claimed that he himself sought friendship with them. It turned out that the actor on his own initiative sent the journalist Anita Bush a fish with a rose in his mouth. The girl was conducting a journalistic investigation about the mafia and so the Aikido master protected "friends". In the movies, Steven Seagal was usually a "good guy", but in life everything turned out to be more prosaic.
Arrested members of the Gambino family
When the actor realized that he was playing "cool", he immediately ran to the police. The court sided with Segal: he escaped the wrath of the mafia, but paid $ 10,000 in legal costs.
For an American rapper, the connection with the criminal world is almost an obligatory marker of success. In 1999, a shooting occurred in a nightclub in New York. When the police arrived at the scene and searched the cars parked at the club, one of the guns was found in Sean Coames ' car. Today he is better known as Puff Daddy.