Sidney Korshak

Sidney Korshak was born on the West Side, Chicago in 1909. He grew up in in the city and got to know many mobsters like Al Capone, Frank Nitti and Sam Giancana. He was known as "the most powerful lawyer in the world", and his services were used by the upper ranks of both legitimate and illegitimate businesses in the United States. He and his wife played tennis and socialized with stars like Dinah Shore and many others. Korshak was known to have had a long-time affair with Stella Stevens.

Business

Sidney Korshak made his first fortune in Chicago. He built up political clout in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and quickly grew in both prominence and power. He lived in a Bel Air mansion and knew many Hollywood stars. He was close friends with all the owners of each major studio: Lew Wasserman at MCA, Kirk Kerkorian at MGM, and Charlie Bluhdorn, who ran the conglomerate (Gulf & Western) which owned Paramount Pictures during the 1970s. Korshak was also close with producer Bob Evans, who was for a time the head of production at Paramount. When Evans wanted Al Pacino free from another contract to star in The Godfather it was Korshak who got Pacino released. Sidney referred to himself as a labor-relations expert but he was in reality a "fixer", working behind the scenes to solve problems through his extensive network of contacts. If a union decided to strike, one phone call from Korshak could send them back to work. Korshak's involvement with criminal elements never extended to a criminal prosecution as his payment was always in the form of a legal retainer and none of his methods were ever proven illegal.

Sidney Korshak's clients included companies like Schenley, the Diners' Club, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chargers, Knicks, Rangers. He also did work for hotel chains like Hyatt and Hilton, the jukebox company Seeberg, National General, racetracks and many other companies all over the world. Sidney helped Moe Dalitz sell The Stardust to the Parvin-Dohrmann Company for $15 million, considered at the time an outrageous sum. In the deal Korshak received a $50,000 finder's fee.

Robert Evans claimed in his autobiography that after Evans was busted for cocaine possession in the 1980s, he "shoulda called Korshak" and his legal problems would have vanished. Instead he opted not to out of pride and the advice of his brother, and he was convicted.

His Headquarters

Korshak owned a restaurant called The Bistro in Beverly Hills. He had a corner booth at the restaurant reserved for him to conduct his business, with two phones wired up on the table. Friends and clients would come to visit him, and his

Mob Connections

Willie Bioff was once told by Cherry "No-Nose", a top capo for Frank Nitti to, "pay attention to Sid. He's our man. Remember, any message he may deliver to you is a message from us." Korshak bought the J.P. Seeberg Corporation and immediately after the company stock rose from $35 to $141.50 a share. He then sold 143,000 shares to pivotal figures in the stock market like Bernard Cornfield, who owned the FOF Property Fund in Switzerland. Korshak received $5 million from the deal.

Korshak died - without ever having any criminal convictions against him - in 1995.

Trivia

Sydney Korshak was the inspiration for David Strathairn's character "Pierce Moorehouse Patchett" in L.A. Confidential. He was also the basis of the character portrayed by Robert Duvall in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II.

"Supermob"

In September 2006, author Gus Russo published a comprehensive biography of Korshak entitled "Supermob".

References

The Last Mafioso: Jimmy "The Weasal" Fratianno by Ovid DeMaris The Kid Stays in the Picture by Robert Evans