The legendary Stonewall Inn will forever be remembered as the birthplace of LGBT+ rights – but the Mafia’s role in the story is lesser known, and far more murky.
You might think the Italian mob and gay clubs don’t exactly go hand in hand, but as far back as the 1930s these seemingly oppositional groups made a profitable, if uneasy, match. In the days when queer people were vilified and criminalised, it was the Mafia who gave them a place to meet, mingle and eventually coalesce as a movement. That didn’t mean they were allies, though.
As New York’s gay scene began to take shape in the 60s, it was still illegal to serve gay patrons alcohol, to display homosexuality in public or for two gay people to dance together.
Bars that catered to queer patrons were regularly raided by the NYPD under the guise of tackling “disorderly” premises, and owners could lose their liquor licenses if caught playing host to such “criminality”. The LGBT+ community were desperate. But where the law saw deviance, the Mafia saw profit – and the finocchio (“fairies”) were good business.