His Way_ The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra - Kitty Kelley [283]
A: No, sir.
Q: Mr. Sinatra, were you ever offered, prior to your going to the Westchester, a sum of fifty thousand dollars which unknown parties agreed to pay you outside of the reportable income that a person would normally have? Were you ever offered that amount of money to book the Westchester?
A: That is a negative.
Q: Did you ever discuss with a Mr. Thomas Marson, who was one of the convicted defendants in the Westchester case, a debt of fifty thousand dollars that he alleged the Westchester might owe you?
A: No, I did not.
Q: From what you said to us, I would conclude that it would be your testimony that you received then no illegal money from any means.…
A: I have never in my life, sir, received any illegal moneys. I have had to work very hard for my money, thank you.
These questions and answers satisfied the board that Frank had not taken fifty thousand dollars under the table as had been alleged by a witness in the Westchester Theater case. The commissioners had no knowledge of any large amounts of cash Frank had access to. It might have been instructive to hear him explain the briefcase full of money that he had showed to Brad Dexter in 1964, saying, “There’s more where that came from.” Or to learn why Barbara Sinatra carried in her purse a ten-thousand-dollar packet of cash with the Caesars Palace wrapper still intact.
The board missed an opportunity to follow up Sinatra’s denials that he ever received any illegal moneys because it did not have access to the August 3, 1962, memo prepared by the Justice Department, which raised a number of questions about Sinatra’s relationship to the Fontainebleau Hotel. Allegations had been made by Ben Novak, owner of the Fontainebleau Hotel managing company, as well as others interviewed by the FBI, that Sinatra refused payments for his appearances at the Fontainebleau and received expensive gifts of jewelry instead. Novak told FBI agents that he had given Sinatra a $4,000 ring as a “token of his appreciation.” Joe Fischetti told FBI agents that he purchased “diamonds and large pieces of jewelry” for Sinatra.
Based on these allegations, the Justice Department memo speculated: “It seems incredible that Sinatra would perform without charge for a commercial enterprise such as the Fontainebleau Hotel. And the above allegations give rise to a number of questions: Did Sinatra report the $4,000 ring on his federal income tax returns? What were the other gifts to Sinatra from ‘time to time’? Did Sinatra report these on his federal income tax returns? Was there an agreement to compensate Sinatra for his services in ‘gifts’ to avoid the payment of federal income taxes? Does Joe Fischetti collect on his alleged ‘piece’ of Sinatra as a ‘talent agent’ for the Fontainebleau? Does Sinatra have a covert ‘cash deal’ arrangement with the Fontainebleau and does Joe Fischetti handle it? Does Fischetti get some of this income into Sinatra’s hands by purchasing items such as diamonds and large pieces of jewelry for him?”
The report went on to question as to whether Sinatra had an “undisclosed interest” in the Fontainebleau Hotel. “If the total value of the ‘gifts’ received by Sinatra from Novak cannot be considered as reasonable compensation for his services at the Fontainebleau, does he increase his undisclosed capital investment in the hotel by performing there ‘without charge’? Assuming that Sinatra actually performs at the Fontainebleau without charge and only for friendship, who are his friends in the hotel and why is he so generous with them?”
Despite the wiretap conversation of Tommy Marson saying that tickets were held back every night for Sinatra, Frank now denied ever receiving any complimentary tickets at the Westchester Premier Theater.
“I never had any tickets given to me, never,” he said. Mickey Rudin corrected him. “Frank, not given you directly but given to us.”
Sinatra refused to concede the point. “Not to me. I never had any tickets. That is what I wanted to have straight,”
The questioning continued: Mr. Pacella on trial was asked by the assistant