bitterqueen | The Mafia historically controlled gay bars as part of their vice
rackets in many cities across the United States including New York and
Chicago due to their once illicit status. A common misunderstanding
among the general public is that the wise guys were eliminated from the
gay bars following the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City. However,
organized crime kept a hidden hand -- often through violent means
resulting in a few murders -- over many watering holes for the gay
community at least into the mid-1980s if not later. Indeed, the Mafia
even hijacked gay liberation for political cover and used so-called
Auntie Gays -- the Uncle Toms of the gay community -- as frontmen for
their bars to evade suspicion. The Mafia and the Gays provides
a comprehensive look at the mob's involvement with gay bars from the
post-war years through the mid-1980s when federal prosecutors targeted
the Outfit in Chicago and the Genovese family in New York for their
alleged protection rackets and skimming operations involving some
establishments.
Ed Scarpo, the blogger behind Cosa Nostra News and author of Inside the Last Great Mafia Empire, says The Mafia and the Gays is "a worthy addition to your library of books about the Mafia." The History Channel website cited The Mafia and the Gays in its excellent overview of the historic role of organized crime in New York gay bars. Crawford was interviewed by Helen Nianias for VICE and appeared on Mark McNease's podcast about his book, and quoted in an article by Logan Hendrix for the New York Press on the closing of The Candle Bar.
