Free Republic

Sinatra 'almost got caught carrying $3.5m Mafia cash' By Catherine Elsworth (Filed: 05/05/2005) Frank Sinatra once served as a Mafia courier and narrowly escaped arrest with a briefcase containing $3.5 million in cash, according to a new biography of the legendary singer. The entertainer Jerry Lewis is quoted as saying that Sinatra "volunteered to be a messenger for them... And he almost got caught once... in New York." Frank Sinatra: mob links Extracts of Sinatra: The Life, an unauthorised biography by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, were published yesterday by Vanity Fair magazine. Lewis said that Sinatra was going through...

China begins to cut back on its 3.5m fleet of 'perk' cars By Richard Spencer in Beijing (Filed: 02/03/2004) China is "reforming" its 3.5 million-strong fleet of official cars, the government announced yesterday, giving a fresh insight into the privileges lavished on Communist Party officials. The state pays for the running of a car for every 20 members of the party, at a cost of more than £20 billion - more than the government pays on health care - according to the state news agency, Xinhua. Central authorities are now trying to find ways of preventing officials using government cars...