Mafia Son Claims Frank Sinatra Was Drug Lord Pablo Escobar’s Business Partner: He Dealt Coke Better Than He Sang

The son of the famous Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar has made the controversial claim that Frank Sinatra was his father’s business partner.

Sinatra may have been famous notorious for his connections with the underworld — in fact, Johnny Fontane in The Godfather was supposed to be a dead ringer for Ol’ Blue Eyes — but isn’t it a bit beyond the pale to suggest that our Frank was in bed with the most famous drug dealer of them all?

Not according to Pablo Escobar’s son, Sebastian Marroquin. The offspring of the Colombian cocaine kingpin stated that Sinatra was heavily involved in the family business and even went as far to say that the beloved crooner was a “better cocaine dealer than singer.”

Marroquin dropped the bombshell about the Rat Pack leader in an interview with well-respected Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo and claimed that Sinatra is not the only famous singer with ties to drug trafficking.

“There are more singers than you can imagine that began their careers thanks to the sponsorship of drug traffickers.

“There are no receipts, just words. I know because I was very close to my father and he and his partners always spoke about that.

“I can tell you that Sinatra was a better cocaine dealer than a singer. He was one of the partners of my father in Miami.”

Anticipating that some may find his claims about Sinatra outlandish and somewhat unbelievable, Marroquin then goes on to slam the hypocrisy in America surrounding the drug trade.

“Drugs cartels only exist below Mexico’s border with the United States. Where is the Miami cartel? Or the New York cartel? Who is the head of the Chicago or Los Angeles cartels?

“Each kilo of cocaine that enters the United States is converted into eight with the help of poison. There’s a great amount of hypocrisy when it comes to drugs.”

Marroquin is not the first to indicate Sinatra’s possible association with Escobar. In 2009, the drug lord’s brother Roberto Escobar wrote a book entitled The Accountant’s Story, which claimed that he and Pablo both dined with Sinatra when on holiday in Las Vegas. Although he claims they were introduced to Sinatra as real estate developers, Roberto insisted it was a great honor to meet the singer.

“It was an honor for us. When I met him I actually had goose bumps but I had to be cool to maintain my position.

“During dinner Pablo told Sinatra that we were going to make a helicopter tour the next day and Sinatra asked to come with us. The next day Frank Sinatra became our guide as we spent about an hour and a half flying all over the area.

“Supposedly, after Pablo became infamous our friend who had arranged this got a phone call from Sinatra. I’ve been watching TV’, he said. ‘Is that Pablo Escobar the guy we met in Las Vegas?’

“I don’t know what happened after that, but I guess Sinatra said very firmly that he didn’t want to be associated with Pablo. And until now he never has.”

During the dizzy heights of his drug dealing, Pablo was estimated to supply about 80 percent of all the cocaine used in America. The head of the Medellin Cartel is the subject of Netflix’s popular crime drama series Narcos, and the name Pablo Escobar has become almost synonymous with the white powder.

The legendary kingpin died in a shootout on a rooftop in the Colombian city of Medellin in 1993 after a phone call to his son was used by the authorities to track his location.

Can there be any truth in 38-year-old Marroquin’s claim that Sinatra was a key figure in his father’s massive drug empire?

Former James Bond actor Roger Moore would say not, and he insisted last year that Sinatra’s links to the mob have always been greatly exaggerated and were based on rumors that circulated after the star was pictured with unknown visitors in his dressing room

Woody Allen may beg to differ. A new biography published this week claims that Sinatra asked the Mafia to order a hit on the famous film director as revenge for betraying his ex-wife Mia Farrow.

Sinatra, who grew up in Hoboken, New Jersey, in the days of Prohibition and the Depression would have been familiar with organized crime from an early age. He would later develop a fascination with notorious mobster Benny “Bugsy” Siegel and, according to some, seek to emulate him.

As many entertainers in Sinatra’s era discovered, it was also impossible not to run into contact with organized crime when playing the club circuit.

In his book Shadow of My Father, John Gotti Jr. writes how his father, known as the “King of New York,” once threatened to kill Sinatra because the crooner stood him up.

Gotti writes that his father was “a hard-core gangster” who didn’t like to be insulted or crossed – no matter who it was, and that included world famous singers such as Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.

Allegedly, Sinatra had sent tickets for his Carnegie Hall concert to Gotti. The Gambino crime family boss was supposed to meet the singer backstage and then have dinner together. Except Sinatra never showed because he cancelled at the last minute “due to illness.” Here’s the rub. Frankie boy was seen later that night at the Savoy Grill, smiling and joking with friends such as Jilly Rizzo and looking the picture of rude health. Needless to say, such blatant disrespect didn’t go down at all well with you know who.

The story claims Gotti sent henchman Joe Watts to Sinatra’s table, where he proceeded “to tear Sinatra and his pal Rizzo a new a**hole.” In no uncertain terms, Watts told Sinatra how it was going to be from then on.

“The next time John sends for you and you make up an excuse. I will be the last face you will see on this earth.”

Obviously, Sinatra never made the same mistake twice, and although we shouldn’t overemphasize or underplay Sinatra’s involvement with organized crime, did he really go on to form a business partnership with none other than Pablo Escobar?

[Photo by D. G. Dawson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images]