For five decades Bob DeBenedictis was a financial powerhouse behind gay nightlife in New York City but few barflies or clubgoers recognized his face or knew his name. He preferred to remain behind the scenes, and never sought the limelight. Money rather than celebrity was his driving force, and when…

For decades gay men have used Pier 45 at the end of Christopher Street in Greenwich Village as a cruising spot. Of course, the scene could be dangerous. Harassing cops, fag bashers and sometimes even fellow queers were threats. On September 9, 1966 at about three in the morning Charles…

The Mafia controlled many gay joints in New York for decades well into the 1980s, and it was such an open secret that Hollywood even included several references to this relationship in the movies. For example, the 1971 film Some of My Best Friends Are . . . takes place…

Elaine Romagnoli, a decades-long influence in New York City’s lesbian bar scene, died in October 2021. However, there has been some confusion generated by assorted obituaries and other posts regarding her specific role with the bar Bonnie and Clyde which operated from 1972 to 1981 at 82 West Third Street…

The Mystique Private Club at 256 East 49th Street: “the club has the potential of becoming the most exclusive organization catering to homosexuals in Eastern US” The Stonewall Inn may be the most famous Mafia-owned queer bar from the 1960s but it should not serve as a monolithic example of the social spaces which the wise guys offered to the gay scene. Queer culture was socially diverse in the 1960s, and the capitalistic mobsters created places…

In June 2021 the State of New Jersey released a series of enforcement decisions by which it targeted gay and lesbian bars during the mid-20th century when LGBTQ folks were prohibited from congregating for a few drinks or some company on premises licensed under the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control…

In January 1953 the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control revoked the liquor license of the Sportsman Bar and Grill on the ground floor of a four-story 15-room hotel at 212 River Street in Hoboken according to recently-released agency records. The license was held since 1949 by Margaret Garaventi…

During the 1950s husband-and-wife Albert and Marion Manzo operated a bar in Paterson, NJ which had its liquor license suspended multiple times for serving gays and lesbians. The Manzo couple are the parents of Albert “Tiny” Manzo Jr. who was the victim of a suspected Mafia hit although the murder…

M. Wesley Swearingen, an FBI agent from 1951 to 1977, writes in his memoir FBI Secrets: An Agent’s Expose about the long-standing rumors within the Bureau concerning the relationship between FBI Director J. …