Rascal Flatts Pull Out of Restaurant Deal With ‘Mob Ties’
Rascals Flatts were set to open a string of restaurants that bear their name, but pulled out because one of the developers has been found to be an alleged mobster.
Flatts took to their socials to do a bit of explaining saying in part, “Because we know you have been looking forward to enjoying our themed restaurants. We wanted to let you know this project is no longer happening. We ended our agreement and no longer have a relationship with the developer.”
That developer was actually a front for a man named Frank Capri, which is actually the new identity of a third generation mobster named Frank Gioia Jr. Gioia had a criminal record that included drug dealing, gun running, leg breaking and even murder, according to the Arizona Republic. He entered Witness Protection and took his new identity as Frank Capri in 1999 after turning witness against more than 70 mobsters in one of the biggest cases in mafia history.
In a statement to the Arizona Republic, a representative for Rascal Flatts says, “The band terminated the license agreement and is no longer in business with this company or Mr. Capri … Rascal Flatts licensed use of their name, image and logo to the restaurant developer and had nothing to do with the construction or build out plans for these restaurants. The use of the Rascal Flatts name in association with restaurants owned by RF IP, LLC or Frank Capri is no longer authorized.”
-Nancy Brooks
