Sinatra almost caught with Mafia cash

Frank Sinatra served as a Mafia courier and just escaped arrest in the Forties with a briefcase containing $3.5million (£2million) in cash, entertainer Jerry Lewis is said to have claimed.

According to an unauthorised biography, Sinatra: The Life, Lewis said customs officers were opening the case when jostling fans made them abandon the search. Sinatra, always denied any connection to the Mafia.