Comment received, July 24, 2021:
After a divorce, I lived in the Antlers Hotel next to Centre Stage. There was a pool hall in the hotel where I spent a lot of time playing pool. I saw plenty of well-dressed men frequent the pool hall just to talk with whoever was running it. There was a parking lot on the other side of the hotel with a White Castle on the corner. I became friends with the parking lot owner's son who ran it. Centre Stage customers would get their parking validated to park there for a dinner show. Once I went with my friend to go collect the validated receipts. Frank's big Caddy was always parked in front of Centre Stage with a parking ticket under the wiper. My friend said Frank always put the ticket there himself. We went upstairs and were let into the room where Frank was. Frank asked my friend, "Who's that?" because he usually came alone. My friend said my name and I quickly (too quickly) went to shake his hand. Another guy in a suit went to reach for something under his coat, Frank gave him a look and he relaxed but he refused the handshake with a wave. We met a lot of celebrities that came to perform at Centre Stage and parked in the lot. Tom Poston being the friendliest and funniest. Just a distant memory and I thought I'd share my brush with Mafia greatness. Good stuff on your page!
Comment received, July 26, 2021:
I wrote the above brush with Frank . . .
Several months later after I had moved from the hotel, the lead guitar player, steel guitar player in my Country band and I along with our dates, attended a dinner show featuring Johnny Rodriquez. As we were finishing our dinner, Frank approached the table and said, "Aren't you Dave's friend?". I said, "Yes". He said, "Welcome" and quickly walked away without a chance for further interaction or to introduce my friends. Came time to pay and I was told that our entire evening was 'comped' so the waitress smiled and said, "Can I get you all another cocktail or some desserts?" I didn't want to 'look a gift horse in the mouth' and quickly declined. I never got another opportunity to thank him but I did mail a Thank You card to Centre Stage c/o Mr Frank Balistrieri with a hand-written note thanking him for his generosity.
Link to the original post: https://mafiahistorymilwaukee.blogspot.com/2013/08/tales-of-milwaukee-mob-and-two.html
