Episode #240 | 7.1.25
Frank Sinatra Pt 2: New Evidence, Secret Favors, and Three Dead Men. This Is Frank Sinatra —Connected, Compromised, and Cornered
Listen free:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeart | Audacy | Pandora | Amazon Music | TuneIn | Castbox
In this episode
Frank Sinatra was never just a pop star. In this second chapter of his story, Frank isn’t merely brushing shoulders with gangsters—he’s one of them. Backed by new research and newly released secret intelligence files, this episode unpacks how the Voice became a mafia asset. When Sinatra’s son is kidnapped, before he calls the police—he calls notorious gangster Sam Giancana. And what follows is one of the darkest, bloodiest chapters in music and organized crime history.
Sources
Frank Sinatra and the Mafia Murders, by Mike Rothmiller and Douglas Thompson
Frank: The Voice, by James Kaplan
Chicago’s Most Gruesome Mob Murder: The Sickening Torture and Murder of William “Action” Jackson (Medium.com)
The True Story of the 1963 Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. (Esquire)
The Grand Scheme: Snatching Sinatra (Wondery)
Credits
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Jake Brennan.
Mixed by Matt Beaudoin.
DISGRACELAND theme song, “Crenshaw Space Boogie,” written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava, and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak