Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe named in Mafia 'sex parties' plot to smear Kennedys, FBI file reveals

Family affair: Marilyn Monroe allegedly slept with the Kennedys

The three Kennedy brothers were accused of having sex parties with Marilyn Monroe and members of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, according to FBI documents released yesterday.

A Mafia informant tipped off the agency that the Mob wanted to use women supplied by 'associates of Sinatra' to embarrass the Kennedys.

The Mafia had allegedly heard that John F Kennedy and his brothers Robert and Edward had attended the parties, held at a New York hotel.



Also there were Monroe, Rat Pack members Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Peter Lawford, and Lawford's wife, Patricia Kennedy - the brothers' sister.

The Mafia wanted the women supplied by Sinatra's associates to 'be placed in compromising situations' with Robert and Edward Kennedy and Hollywood actor Lawford, it was alleged.

The romps were supposedly held at John Kennedy's suite at the upmarket Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan. The Carlyle became known as 'the New York White House' during President Kennedy's administration. He was rumoured to have spent the night in the suite with Monroe after she sang Happy Birthday, Mr President at his 45th birthday celebration in 1962 at Madison Square Garden.

The 'reliable' informant said the Mafia wanted to smear Robert Kennedy because of his war on organised crime when he was U.S. attorney general between 1961 and 1964, according to the declassified documents.

Band of brothers: From left, John, Robert and Edward Kennedy, were the target of an alleged Mafia blackmail plot

The tip-off didn't come until July 1965, nearly two years after JFK's assassination, and the FBI didn't launch an investigation.



The file originated in the agency's Milwaukee office and included a memo claiming that a multimillionaire New York divorcee knew about the racy parties.

'It was reported that Mrs Jacqueline Hammond, age 40, has considerable information concerning sex parties,' the memo read. Mrs Hammond, said to have been divorced from her husband, a former U.S. ambassador, also allegedly kept a room at The Carlyle.



Party time: Marilyn Monroe talks to Frank Sinatra at Cal Neva Lodge in Crystal Bay, Nevada, in the Sixties

Close ties: Robert Kennedy, right, with Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra

Venue: The Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan, where the parties reportedly took place

While she was described as credible, the FBI didn't consider the information about the extortion attempt detailed enough to investigate.

President Kennedy is said to have used a warren of tunnels to enter the hotel with guests, including Monroe, to avoid the media.

The Carlyle has a reputation for discretion and was called a 'Palace of Secrets' by the New York Times.



Rumours have swirled since the 1960s that Monroe had affairs with both John and Robert Kennedy. Biographers have speculated that when JFK broke off their affair, the actress turned to his younger brother. Both were married.

The documents were part of a batch of more than 2,200 FBI documents in the late Edward Kennedy's file that were released to the public this week.

'The FBI did not consider the rumour solid,' said the bureau. 'And no other mention of it appears in the file suggesting that the informant did not supply any corroboration to the story.'

Most of the papers concern various death threats made against the youngest Kennedy brother, who died last year from brain cancer.

'At no point do these files suggest that the FBI investigated him for a criminal violation or as a security threat,' added the bureau.







