Frank Monastra

King of Clubs Frank Monastra

"King of Clubs" is a profile of some of the most popular and famous illegal casinos and their operators. These criminals thrived and flourished in and around Cleveland, Ohio, area during the 1930s until their demise in late 1940s. The casinos offered what the citizens of several towns wanted; poker, roulette, slots, craps, keno, great food, and of course alcohol. This is the second book in my collection dealing with Organized crime in Ohio. I explore some of the top clubs in Ohio. The Famous Jungle Inn in Youngstown, Thomas Club in Maple Heights, The Harvard Club in Newburgh Heights, The Ohio Villa Club in Richmond Heights, and possibly the most well-known of all, The Mounds Club, located inside the small rural community of Willoughby Hills. An incredible robbery of the century took place when over $500,000 was stolen from the Mounds Club on September 29, 1947. This event brought the awareness of these unstoppable casinos to the front page of newspapers across the country. Some of the famous gamblers in Cleveland participated in the operation of these fantastic nightspots. These casinos and more like them, fought to stay open and keep the money rolling into their hand's day after day, week after week. This included men like Frank and Anthony Milano, Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman, Thomas McGinty, Mickey McBride, my grandfather Frank Brancato, Alex "Shondor" Birns, and so many others. I dive into their rise in popularity, and look into their glory days, and later when they were forced to close down by new laws and moral city officials. I include information on the other gambling rackets, including the Policy and Clearinghouse games and how the Cleveland Mob invested in the modern business of gambling, and how the Jewish Syndicate was instrumental in including the Cleveland mob to invest in the Desert Inn, in 1950.