The Untold Truth Of Motown Founder Berry Gordy Jr.

Almost since its inception, Motown has been dogged by rumors that it was connected in some way to the American Mafia. It's not a charge unique to Motown; many record companies, from small labels to the so-called big six producers, were accused of having mob ties, at least at their fringes. But it's a claim that Berry Gordy Jr. has been particularly sensitive to over the years.

In an interview with David Sheff, Gordy flatly denied any connection to the Mafia. "That rumor grew from an article that appeared in a small neighborhood news sheet," he said. "It said, based on nothing, that Motown was being taken over by the Mafia. When it came out, we laughed at it. But the item was picked up by larger papers." The rumors gained enough traction that the FBI's organized crime division felt compelled to investigate and even called Gordy in for an interview. He maintained his innocence, and the agents at the Detroit office conceded that there was no evidence of any link between Motown and the mob.

In talking to Sheff, Gordy suggested that the rumors might also have been fueled by the fact that the head of Motown's sales department, Barney Ales, was Italian. In fact, Ales was Sicilian-American, and he seemed to enjoy being coy about any Mafia connections when he spoke to the press. He never explicitly denied such a link to The Detroit News, for example, and he was at ease with descriptions of himself as Gordy's hatchet man.