Sinatra estate sues over bootleg Caesars tapes

David Strow

Tuesday, May 15, 2001 | 10:55 a.m.

The children of legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra have taken a Las Vegas man to court in an attempt to block his efforts to market secretly recorded audio recordings of their father performing at Caesars Palace.

Gilbert Cebollero's efforts first gained national attention in March, when the Wall Street Journal detailed his efforts to produce commercial albums of the tapes recorded without the knowledge of Caesars' management by his stepfather for decades.

Cebollero's stepfather, Dave Rogers, was the sound engineer at Caesars' Circus Maximus showroom for decades. Rogers kept the tapes in storage at home, listening to them on occasion while working in his home's workshop. Cebollero got the tapes after his stepfather's death in 1998.

Included on the hundreds of hours of recordings are performances by such stars as Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Judy Garland, Johnny Mathis, Bette Midler and Diana Ross. And the tapes capture the stars in some moments never meant for the public -- after belting out "My Kind of Town" one night, Sinatra turned to the band and quietly said, "Sang my (expletive) off that time!"

But it appears Sinatra's estate doesn't want those tapes reaching the public unless it receives the compensation it's demanding.

After three years of off-and-on negotiations between Cebollero's business associates and the Sinatras, the Sinatra family took the matter to Las Vegas federal court Friday. Bristol Productions, a company controlled by Sinatra's children, slapped Cebollero with a lawsuit, accusing him of violations of U.S. copyright law for hawking some 200 "bootleg" recordings of Sinatra performances recorded without the entertainer's knowledge.

"I promised myself and (the Sinatras) that if we can't come to agreement, they (the tapes) would continue to collect dust," Cebollero said. "It's an American tragedy we can't release them."

But Mort Galane, attorney for the Sinatras, doesn't see it that way.

"If they're bootleg (recordings), they should not have been on the market," Galane said.

So far, 15 performers or estates of late performers have agreed to participate, including Sammy Davis Jr., Andy Williams, Peggy Lee and Willie Nelson, Cebollero said. Caesars owner Park Place Entertainment Corp. has also signed off on the venture, and a CD compilation of songs by the 15 artists is set for release in July -- exclusively through Caesars Palace for three months, then through Concord Records, a record label owned by TV producer Norman Lear.

In March, the Journal said the Sinatras and Neon Tonic -- a company controlled by TV producer Norman Lear -- had managed to reach a tentative deal, despite early threats by Sinatra family attorneys to sue. But those talks apparently fell apart.

"No such deal has been struck, regardless of what impression was left by the article," Galane said. "My (understanding) is that there has been communication. (The fact that) no deal has been struck necessitated this lawsuit."

"We were still negotiating, we couldn't come to a middle (ground), so they decided to do this, which is unfortunate," Cebollero said.

Neon Tonic and Park Place weren't named as defendants in the lawsuit.

In its lawsuit, Bristol asked for a court order that would permanently bar Cebollero from selling copies of the recordings his father made of Sinatra, and that Cebollero turn over any profits from selling copies of the tapes. Bristol is also demanding that the original tapes and any copies be impounded, saying only Bristol has the rights to recordings of live performances by Sinatra.

Cebollero insists he hasn't sold any copies of his stepfather's recordings of Sinatra, and says he won't do so without the Sinatra family's blessings. But he vowed not to turn over his father's tapes of Sinatra without a fight.

"They haven't got a leg to stand on," Cebollero said. "They're my physical property, and we never used them for any monetary value. We never went to anybody but them (the Sinatras)."

But Galane said it's irrelevant whether Cebollero actually sold recordings of Sinatra. Anti-bootlegging provisions of U.S. copyright law, passed in 1995, ban any attempts to market recordings made without a performer's knowledge, Galane said -- and Cebollero has attempted to sell them to the Sinatras, he said.

"If someone offers to sell (bootleg recordings), there's a civil liability," Galane said. "You get the feeling (from the Journal article) he was really trying to market them."

It isn't the first time Galane has headed to Las Vegas federal court to protect the Sinatra trademark.

In 1999, Galane filed a lawsuit on behalf of Sheffield Enterprises Inc. -- another company controlled by Sinatra family members -- against the Desert Inn hotel-casino over "The Rat Pack is Back," a tribute performance to the Rat Pack produced by entertainer David Cassidy. This lawsuit alleged that the use of such terms as "Frank," "Ol' Blue Eyes," "Chairman of the Board" and "The Rat Pack" violated Sinatra trademarks, since they were terms the public associated with the late entertainer. The lawsuit also took issue with the use of Sinatra's picture and signature in advertising for the show.

The show ended its run in late 1999 and moved to the Sahara, where it is now playing. The Sahara was not named as a defendant, and the lawsuit against the Desert Inn, closed since last summer, is still pending.