Mafia Bribes Kept Stonewall Open

The mafia helped establish the gay bar scene in New York. In 1966, a mobster named Tony "Fat Tony" Lauria, a member of the Genovese crime family, bought the Stonewall Inn and converted the existing bar and restaurant into a gay bar and nightclub. State liquor laws and police raids left gay New Yorkers with few public gathering places, giving the Mafia a profitable opportunity. Lauria paid the NYPD's 6th Precinct approximately $1,200 a week to overlook the "indecent conduct" inside, although police still conducted raids after warning the owners. Despite its dirty and dangerous conditions, Stonewall became a rare place where gay patrons could dance together and drag queens, runaways, and homeless LGBT youths could gather.

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