H I VER: By Lee Krenis More , i _ / $ Publicly, J. Edgar Ho ov r reviled homosexuals as "sex deviants." (It was J. Ed r Hoover, But privately, the man who ruled the Federal Bureau of Investigation wearing) a black chiffon for 48 years until his death in 1972 dress, very short withruf- was a heavy gambler and a homosex- fles and black lace stock- ual who sometimes dressed in wom- and high-heeled shoes en's clothes — and was blackmailed ings for his proclivities by the mob. and a black early wig and These are among the incendiary al- black false eyelashes. legations made in The Secret File on J. Edgar Hoover, airing Tuesday on 55 PBS' Frontline. .&.-.-SusartRaseastiel, Much of this has been documented in pits Fronflinereport elsewhere: The program begins with an account of Hoover's "expense- free" life — annual vacations to Flori- Hoover's most compromising da and California disguised as official friendship, Frontline says, was with business and paid by taxpayers; hotel, Clyde Tolson, the young agent he pro- restaurant and nightclub bills picked moted with unusual speed to assistant up by rich friends. director of the FBI. And some who knew Hoover and The two bachelors were lifelong studied his career say the show just companions. They maintained sepa- revives unsubstantiated rumors. rate houses but ate most meals togeth- William Corson, a former counter- er, spent weekends together and vaca- intelligence official who worked with tioned together. In his will, Hoover Hoover, says allegations that the FBI left Tolson his house and nearly all his chief was gay are "crap." money. Tolson is deceased. "This kind of stuff is the fantasy of Gossip about the two was common. people who are trying to sell," Corson Behind his back, some referred to told Newsday. Hoover as "J. Edna" and to his sec- Still, some stories are new, details ond-in-command as "Mother Tolson." presented by people who claim to be But the sexual gossip wasn't printed. eyewitnesses. They tie Hoover's per- Susan Rosenstiel, ex-wife of Hoo- sonal life to a blackmail- ver's friend, tells Front- ing that allowed orga- line that one night in the nized crime to flourish. late 1950s, communist- One example: Hoover's hunting lawyer Roy Cohn gambling. He was known invited the Rosenstiels to to frequent racetracks, a suite in Manhattan's where he made a show of Plaza Hotel. betting at the $2 window. "We went in and there But Frontline's sources was this gentleman, he say he also placed illegal was dressed as a woman bets through friends who and Roy introduced me. dealt with mobster Frank He said 'I'd like you to Costello. If Hoover won, up' meet Mary.' " It was J. he was paid; if he didn't, JOHNSON : Said he Edgar Hoover, wearing the bet was forgotten. owed his presidency "a black chiffon dress, In this way, Frontline to Hoover very short with ruffles argues, Hoover let him- and black lace stockings self be compromised by the very peo- and high-heeled shoes and a black ple he should have investigated. curly wig and black false eyelashes." Historians long have wondered The program also discusses the why Hoover remained unenthusiastic politics of blackmail and intimidation. after the Kennedy administration de- Ex-FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy, lat- clared war on the mob. Some say Hoo- er one of the Watergate burglars, de- ver, to keep arrest rates high, ignored scribes how Hoover would send him criminals who were hard to catch. to inform elected officials the FBI had Others point to Hoover's ties to come across embarrassing informa- gangsters through friends like gossip tion about them — and that it was be- columnist Walter Winchell; Sherman ing removed from the files. Billingsley, owner of the glitzy Stork Adds former Vice President Walter Club in New York City; and Lewis Ro- Mondale: Hoover would say, "'Don't senstiel, a former bootlegger who worry, I know about it but you're OK.' founded Schenley Industries and was I think it was subtle blackmail, and close to mob boss Meyer Lansky. they did, too." Documentary says mob, homosexuality, gambling dominated his private life

IN 1942: FBI thief J. Edgar Hoover, right, with top aide Clyde Tolson. They ateAP meals together and spent weekends and vacations together. One of Hoover's largest files con- cerned JFK. Frontline says Kennedy offered It began in the 1940s, when Kenne- Johnson the vice presidency "as a dy was a young naval officer romanc- goodwill gesture, believing he would ing Inga Arvad, a Danish woman who turn it down." When he didn't, "the had socialized with Hitler and was Kennedy brothers were horrified and suspected of being a Nazi spy. closeted themselves in a hotel room." Years later, the file included results Evelyn Lincoln, Kennedy's secre- of phone taps and bugs revealing Ken- tary, tells Frontline she overheard nedy's pal Frank Sinatra had asked them as they looked for a way to re- Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana to scind the offer. falsify ballots to swing Illinois to the But Hoover, Lincoln says, had fed Democrats in the 1960 election. Johnson information about Kennedy's Kennedy, against the advice of his womanizing so Kennedy was "boxed advisers, reappointed Hoover the day in." after he took office. This may explain Johnson's later By contrast, Lyndon Johnson al- cryptic remark, to Richard Nixon, ways had been close to Hoover. They that he owed his presidency to J. Ed- were neighbors when Johnson was in gar Hoover. Congress and regularly traded gossip. Lee Krenis More writes for Gan- nett Rochester Newspapers.