Frank "Funzi" Tieri, the Genovese mobster who became the family's front boss after orchestrating a hit on acting boss Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli in 1972, liked to hang out at a lesbian bar according to intelligence files released by the FBI.
A 1968 FBI memo detailing its surveillance of Tieri states that a special agent "observed the subject on two occassions at the Nautilus Club on West 23rd Street, New York City. This club is primarily a private unlicensed club catering to Lesbian trade. [The special agent] believes subject is a friend of the owners of the club."
Odds are that Funzi spent a lot of time in the gay bars. Tieri allegedly sponsored Matthew Ianniello into the Genovese family according to former Daily News reporter and editor Thomas Collins Jr. in his 2002 memoir NewsWalker, and Ianniello had interests in many gay bars from the 1960s through the 1980s. In fact, Ianniello was convicted in 1985 for a skimming operation involving some of them.
Download Funzi Tieri FBI Files Part 1
Download Funzi Tieri FBI Files Part 2
Download Funzi Tieri FBI Files Part 3
Download Funzi Tieri FBI Files Part 4
Further reading that may be of interest:
I'm never sure what angle you're trying to take with the over emphasis on pointing out when a bar has an abundance of homosexual patrons.
Posted by: Adam | 10/25/2011 at 07:49 AM