His Way_ The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra - Kitty Kelley [281]
The chairman then asked Frank about his relationship with Willie Moretti, which Frank said was very vague in his mind. “He was a neighbor of mine when I bought a house in New Jersey, and the man from whom I bought the house, whose name I wish I could remember but I cannot, was a friend of Moretti’s, or as I met him, Willie Moore. That is the man I met. He came over and visited my wife and daughter and myself and brought Willie Moore with him, introduced me to him.”
Q: Did you know of Mr. Moore’s background when he was introduced to you as Mr. Moore?
A: No. I never seen him before.
Q: Did he ever represent you as an agent in trying to book engagements or contracts through you at any time during that period of time?
A: Never.
Q: Was your career at that particular stage of your life ever a topic of discussion with Mr. Moretti, how he might be of some assistance to you?
A: Never.
Q: Did he ever introduce you to any nightclub owners who were booking entertainment at that particular time?
A: No, sir.
Yet on March 1, 1951, in his secret testimony to the Kefauver Committee, Sinatra had said, “Well, Moore, I mean Moretti, made some band dates for me when I first got started, but I have never had any business dealings with any of those men.” Because the gaming investigators did not have a transcript of that testimony, they could not challenge Frank on his statements now.
Q: The allegation has been made, and I am sure you are not unfamiliar with it, that early in your career one of the reasons you progressed was due to the efforts of some members of organized crime. How would you respond to that allegation?
A: Simply. It is ridiculous.
Q: Did you at any time in those early years play nightclubs that, to your knowledge, were either owned or controlled by members or associates of what is called organized crime?
A: I could never prove that to you, never.… What I am trying to say, sir, there was always gossip as to who owned it or who ran it, but one would perjure oneself by saying, well, I am sure that so-and-so owned the club.
Asked about his relationship with Joe Fischetti, the cousin of Al Capone, Frank said that he was a very dear friend but that they had never had any type of business dealings. He said this unmindful of court papers in Florida that showed that Joe Fischetti was on retainer to the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami and that for representing Frank there he received in excess of one thousand dollars a month.
Q: Did you have an occasion to travel with Mr. Fischetti at one time to Havana?
A: I happened to be on the same plane with him. I didn’t travel with him.
Q: What was the purpose of your trip to Havana?
A: To find sunshine.
Q: And how long were you there?
A: About two days.
Q: Did Mr. Fischetti subsequent to your getting to Havana introduce you to Mr. Charles Luciano?
A: No, I was introduced to Mr. Luciano by a newspaperman named Nate Gross from Chicago.
Q: The allegation again is made that on that trip you conveyed by briefcase a sum of approximately two million dollars. How do you respond to that allegation?
A: If you can find me an attaché case that holds two million dollars, I will give you the two million dollars.
Q: Did you, subsequent to your meeting with Mr. Luciano in Havana, ever have occasion to meet Mr. Luciano again?
A: Never.
Q: You never came in contact with him?
A: Never.
Frank didn’t mention the trip to Naples, Italy, with Hank Sanicola when the two men visited the crime lord, and the gold cigarette case Sinatra had had inscribed as a gift for Luciano.
Q: Could you offer any explanation as to why your name and address might have been in Mr. Luciano’s possession when searched