(Important note: as with other Italian families, the Machi family can be confusing for the similarity of names. In this case, there are two Tony Machis. One operated Antonio’s. The other went by the nickname Tony Petrolle. It is Petrolle who is one of the brothers in this article – the other Tony is a cousin. This gets confusing because they share a name, both are involved in taverns and both have been linked to gambling – but to keep things simple, all references in this article will be to Tony Petrolle unless made explicitly clear.)
Thomas James Machi was born in Milwaukee on February 23, 1916. He was (distantly) related to all the usual suspects: the Alioto family, the Dentice family, the Balistrieri family, and many more. There is nothing, however, showing him closely related to any known mobster, and any affiliation he had with the mob would likely be from growing up in the same neighborhood. Both Tommy and his brother Tony were known to attend mob meetings, though it is not clear either was ever “made.”
In his younger days, Tommy would be picked up periodically for small offenses.He was arrested June 21, 1935 for larceny and given a suspended sentence. Tommy was arrested on March 17, 1938 for disorderly conduct and released. He was arrested July 4, 1940 for disorderly conduct and given a suspended sentence. Tommy was arrested on August 1, 1946 for being an inmate at a gambling house and fined $5. He was picked up during an investigation on October 28, 1947 and released.
The Midwest Soap Company (third floor of 225 East Detroit) was raided by police on October 2, 1951 and found to have no soap. They did find Isadore Phillip Tocco (710 East Mason Street) with 50 football pool cards, tally sheets with last week’s scores and $980 in his pockets. Inside, after knocking the door in with a sledgehammer, they found three men throwing “soft sheets” out the window that contained the names of horses and jockeys. The room had tables, chairs and telephones… but no soap. Arrested with Tocco were Thomas Machi (609 East Detroit); Edward Schlein (729 North 11th); and Alfio “Fred” Aveni (1735 West Galena Street). Tocco was fined $50; the others were fined $10 each. Machi and Aveni had been charged with keeping a gambling device.
Tony Machi, sometime in September 1951, took over the Riviera (401 North Plankinton), offering 35 cent Martinis. Already at the time of purchase, it had a reputation as a bar for gay men and hustlers (male sex workers). The place was originally opened around 1947 as the Anchor Inn, which catered to sailors. The Riviera opened there on November 25, 1949. An ad in the December 21, 1949 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called it “A new and different place for your wining and dining pleasure.” The ad mentions “Chef ‘Eli’ and Waiter ‘Leonard’“, and states “A famous chef and a noted bartender join their talents“; Michail Takach suggests those may have been names familiar to gay men of the time. The owners before Machi were John Balestrieri and cousin John Triliegi – the latter who has been discussed elsewhere as a famous safecracker and possibly involved in defrauding the Veterans Administration.
Mary Wathen operated Mary’s,” one of the city’s first “gay-for-pay” bars at 400 N Plankinton (across the street from the Riviera), from 1959-1960. Police Chief Johnson advised against licensing as Mary’s had attracted “undesirable elements.” Wathen, according to one story, had tried to take over the Sunflower Inn from Dirty Helen Cromwell, and opened Mary’s as a backup plan. Another version (which seems more reliable to me) says Mary was a front for her boyfriend, crooked finance man Harry Kaminsky, and she was appalled by the homosexual community – so much so that after a year she dumped Harry and moved west to Oklahoma or Nebraska. Harry then changed the name to the Black Nite – a club that deserves its own podcast episode. (A Google search will lead you to some great research by Michail Takach.)
An article from a 1961 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel issue demonstrates harassment toward gay bars at the time. Judge Christ Seraphim fined one of the owners, Andrew Machi, $50 for permitting dancing. The defense contention that the ordinance was not violated because the three sets of dancers were men was rejected by the judge, who said “This place caters to that kind of clientele.” Peter Machi was also fined, but had the charges dismissed. Bartender Gerald Holtz, 32, had charges remain open against him, to be activated if anything happened again.
“On Sunday afternoons, the place was loaded with cops,” said one contributor to Takach’s book LGBT Milwaukee. “Sometimes, they’d bring their women, but rarely did they bring their wives.” Patrons remember policemen visiting the Riveria’s basement, which allegedly housed an illegal booking joint, and stuffing envelopes into their coat pockets on the way out.
Thomas Machi, part owner of the Riviera, was robbed at 7:30pm on March 13, 1961 by three unknown men, but he did not file a complaint with the police. His brother Tony (5553 West Andover Drive) reported it, and Thomas confirmed it, but would not file a complaint. The three men knocked Thomas down while he was entering his garage, asked him his name, told him to keep quiet, and then brought him back in the house. His pockets were rummaged through, and he was tied to a chair. They searched the house and left with between $2,500 and $3,000, as well as a ring and gold cufflinks. Thomas said he would not file a complaint because he did not want publicity, but offered the police a whiskey bottle the men had drunk from in order to check for fingerprints.
April 25, 1961: An informant told the FBI he suspected a Milwaukee person ordered the robbery, but it would be carried out by Chicago men. The FBI noted Thomas was the brother of Tony Machi, a gambler and operator of the Riviera, a “hangout for sexual perverts.”
The FBI interviewed a captain of the Vice Squad on April 19, 1962 concerning Thomas Machi. The captain said Thomas and his brother Tony were co-owners of the Riviera and that Thomas worked nights there. He believed Thomas was a gambler, but only on the side and not as a profession. He was not known to associate with other gamblers other than Isadore Tocco, who was his long-time friend. Thomas was said to play golf frequently at the Brown Deer Golf Course.
On May 9, 1962, Assistant US Attorney William Mulligan called the FBI and told them he had just received a call saying that Thomas Machi and Isadore Tocco were running a horse book. One of their drop-off locations was Garland’s Dry Cleaners (530 East Juneau) and the owner, Garland M. Akers, was said to accept bets on their behalf. (Akers was born in Abington, Virginia in 1899 and married his wife, Rose Checkel, in St. Paul in 1924. He lived next door to his shop at 528 Juneau. His only arrest was in 1948 for being the inmate of a gambling house.)
The FBI pulled Thomas Machi’s out-of-state phone records to see if he was receiving interstate wagering information. They found he had received a collect call from Las Vegas on May 12, called Room 658 of the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago on May 15, and called the Wagon Wheel Hotel of Rockton, Illinois (across the border from Beloit) on May 16, 1962.
Thomas Machi called Las Vegas number DU4-6675 on August 6, 1962. The phone number traced to a man who was the brother-in-law of a Las Vegas police officer who was living with a woman of loose morals that worked in the showroom of the Flamingo Hotel. When the police later interviewed the woman, they determined she was a former employee of Machi’s, but said she knew nothing of gambling and was not “smart enough” to know about gambling activities.
Thomas called Muskegon, Michigan number PR3-1786 on August 9, 1962. Later investigation found this number belonged to a woman who claimed that Machi had called her on accident.
Anthony Machi was interviewed by Special Agent Richard Thompson at his home on August 31, 1962 around noon. Thompson had specifically timed the visit to coincide with peak horse-betting time and noted that no phone calls came in while they were there. Anthony said his brother Peter was the licensee on the Riviera, but all three Machi brothers had a stake in it and worked there. The tavern opened daily at 5:00pm. Machi told Thompson he had lived his whole life in Milwaukee and had never been shaken down by anyone or by any syndicate. Regarding the robbery of his brother a while back, he said he did not know who was responsible, but did not believe it was any syndicate.
Thomas called Racine number (redacted) on September 14, 1962. Later investigation determined this number belonged to someone with an office in the Mayfair Shopping Center who denied knowing the Machi brothers.
A detective from the Milwaukee Police Department Special Squad spoke with the FBI on September 17, 1962 concerning the Machi brothers. He said he had some “mental reservations” about one of the bartenders (redacted) at the Riviera, because this bartender hangs out with the sons of Joseph Gurera, Peter Balistrieri and Frank Balistrieri. The detective said that years ago Isadore Tocco and the Machis ran a book above the Produce Building on Broadway, but no longer work together. Tocco did, however, associate with Antonio Machi (a cousin) and claimed
to be a salesman for Jennaro Trucking Center. The detective said the Machis deny they pay off Joseph Gurera and the syndicate, but he was confident that they did.
Thomas Machi called Chicago phone number WE9-4222 on October 11, 1962.
The Milwaukee police turned over a report to the FBI on November 19, 1962 which said businesses suspected of paying “insurance” were: the Holiday House, Sardino’s, the Riviera and Fazio’s. The Scaffidi Brothers Bakery on East Brady Street was also said to have recently been shot up by some men, and the bakery did not report the incident to police, but instead decided to go out of business.
Thomas Machi was interviewed by Special Agent Richard Thompson on December 3, 1962 at his residence (1938 Oakland Avenue) to see if he had been the victim of a shakedown from Joseph Gurera. Machi acknowledged he knew Gurera, saying they had met at a tavern a while back, and have seen each other occasionally at Gallagher’s. Machi said they had even played golf together once, but denied knowing what Gurera did for a living and said he had not threatened Machi in any way. Machi denied making payoffs to any syndicate and said if he would be approached, he would inform the authorities. He told the FBI that when he had been robbed by three men, they had taken $1,000 from his pockets and another $2,500 from his home. His parents were home at the time, and they were tied up, too. Machi suspected the robbery was ordered by a local man and was committed by three men from out of town, but he claimed not to know who. He admitted knowing (redacted), who he believed was a “horse tramp” from Cicero, and said the man was frequently mentioned in the Chicago newspapers as a hoodlum associate.
The FBI interviewed one of the Riviera’s bartenders on March 27, 1963. The man said he earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Norbert’s and a master’s degree from Marquette University, but now worked Saturday nights at the Riviera from 10:30pm until 3:30am. He knew nothing of gambling, was not a gambler himself, and denied having seen any gambling activities at the Riviera. He said he knew (redacted), but only because the man was well-known as an athlete at Lincoln High School in the 1930s. (This might be Santo Curro.)
Tommy’s fiance was interviewed on November 6, 1963. She said she had been married once before and had an 8-year old son from this marriage. She did not wish to discuss anything concerning the Machi brothers other than to say they operated the Riviera. She said she knew nothing of Thomas’ business affairs and even if she did, she did not think it would be appropriate for her to divulge anything to the authorities. She said that while gambling may be illegal, she did not personally find it to be morally wrong. The woman admitted to being friends with Isadore Tocco and his wife.
A man in Shaler, Pennsylvania was interviewed on December 13, 1963 because a Machi brother had called his home. He said this was because his wife was the sister of the Machi brothers’ father. The man himself was a huckster and did not know very much about the Machi brothers, other than that they operated a tavern and that he had visited them once in Milwaukee for a funeral. (Based on my information, this implies that the man’s wife was Catherine Machi. It is unclear, though, as she was married to a man named Balistreri-Sendik and lived in Milwaukee. Andrew Machi, the brothers’ father, died in January 1962, which was probably the funeral in question.)
On March 15, 1964, the Riviera burned down. The FBI noted that although the cause appeared to be arson, Petrolle was probably not behind it, as the tavern was under-insured and a money-making “fag joint”. The catastrophic five-alarm fire consumed the Riviera and devastated the block. “I was on vacation in California,” said a contributor to LGBT Milwaukee, “when someone called me to say ‘your house is on fire—come home!’” At 6:00pm, someone ran into the bar and yelled “Fire!” Bartender Richard Isensee remained open until policemen ordered him to evacuate. “When we left, the ceiling was on fire,” said Isensee. “But you just don’t leave a dirty bar.” The ruins smoldered for a week. Rumor has it that a lovers’ spat ended with one of the men setting fire to the building.
The FBI interviewed Tony Machi on April 28, 1964 at his residence (5553 West Jackson Park Drive). He said that the Riviera had been a financial success and that the loss of this tavern was a setback because they were not insured and this was a loss of $19,000. The brothers were trying to lease the Royal Hotel Bar to start again. Tony said he did not like Tommy’s girlfriend, and personally believed Tommy was too old to be getting married anyway. When asked about gambling or payoffs, Tony said he knew nothing about such activities and then wished to end the interview.
Toma, Inc was incorporated on June 9, 1964 by William J. Calvano. The registering agent was Thomas Machi, who also served as president. His brother, Tony, was the company’s treasurer.
By October 29, 1964, the Machi brothers opened a new tavern called The Riv on Third Street just south of State Street.
Later, the Machi brothers opened Teddy’s (1434 North Farwell Avenue), a disco and live music venue that is now Shank Hall.