Stonewall

Why is our gay rights group called Stonewall?

Explore the link between the group’s name and its exotic past as a gangland establishment, run by the mafia as a social refuge for the gay community, and from where teenage boys were rented out in order to blackmail wealthy gay adults.

The Mafia and the Gays by Phillip Crawford Jr

Phillip Crawford Jr., is the author of the book The Mafia and the Gays, wrote that the Mafia facilitated the LGBT movement, and ran the Stonewall Inn for gays, paying off the police and authorities so that the place wouldn’t get busted. Ernest Sgroi  was apparently one of the principal fronts for gay bars controlled by mob boss Vito Genovese in Greenwich Village, and was was involved with gay bars such as the Bon Soir and the Lion, where Barbara Streisand first sang

In NYC the gay bars were part of the vice industry which included prostitution.

Ed ‘the Skull’ Murphy

Ed “the Skull” Murphy was a former wrestler and a gay bar bouncer, who liked young boys, and he pimped them out wherever he worked. The US authorities tried to put a stop to this gay trade but according to Assistant District Attorney Paul Flaxman “top brass” shut it down right before the indictment stage because it implicated powerful people in politics, business, and society.”

“The near-monopoly by the Mafia over gay bars was broken in the mid 80s when federal prosecutors aggressively targeted New York’s crime families on multiple fronts, which included convictions against Matty Ianniello and several of his associates for skimming cash out of several of his Times Square gay bars and strip clubs to avoid income taxes.”

According to Brynn Holland ”A member of the Genovese family, Tony Lauria, a.k.a. “Fat Tony,” purchased the Stonewall Inn in 1966 and transformed it from a bar and restaurant that attracted straight clientele into a gay bar and nightclub. Run on the cheap, Stonewall was known for being both dirty and dangerous: It operated without running water behind the bar, glasses were “cleaned” by being dunked in tubs of dirty water, and toilets regularly overflowed.

The club also lacked a fire or emergency exit. Despite its less-than-ideal conditions, Stonewall quickly became a popular destination in the gay community—even something of an institution. It was the only place where gay people could openly dance close together, and for relatively little money, drag queens (who received a bitter reception at other bars), runaways, homeless LGBT youths and others could be off the streets as long as the bar was open.”

Stonewall’s owners also reportedly engaged in heroin and extortion. Employees singled out wealthy patrons who were not public about their sexuality, and blackmailed them for large sums of money with the threat of being ‘outed.’ This practice eventually became the most profitable aspect of the Mafia’s club management. They also rented out teenage boys to local business men and blackmailed them afterwards.

North American Man Boy Love Association

Celebration of the Stonewall Riots has been connected explicitly by some high-profile activists to organizations that advocate for the legalization of sexual relations between adults and children, including Harry Hay, an important figure in the modern LGBTQ movement who cofounded the Mattachine Society. Outspoken about including groups such as the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) into the mainstream LGBTQ movement, Hay gave a speech at the Stonewall just prior to the 25th anniversary of the Riots in which he spoke positively about NAMBLA and refused to classify them as advocating sexual violence against children.