Dante Gill | |
|---|---|
 Gill's 1977 mug shot | |
| Born | Lois Jean Gill [a] 1930or1931 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | (aged 72) UPMC McKeesport, McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Other names | Tex Gill |
| Occupations |
|
| Criminal charges | Tax evasion |
| Criminal penalty | 7-year sentence |
Dante "Tex" Gill (died January 8, 2003) was an American transmasculine gangster, pimp and massage parlor owner.
Gill was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. [1] His parents were Walter and Agnes Gill, and he had three brothers (Walter Jr., Donald and Merritt). [2] He was a cousin of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalist Barry Paris. [3] One of Gill's nephews was involved in the parlor industry, being the manager of Top of the Hill Meditation Center in Mount Oliver. He had been issued with a warrant for the promotion of prostitution following a police raid in April 1978, but died in a car crash later that year. [4] [5]
In the 1950s, Gill worked as a blacksmith at the Schenley Park stables. [1]
As a businessman, Gill was the owner of a baby furniture store and a frozen foods store. [1] The latter, a business named Family Food Service, was accused of misrepresenting their goods by selling ungraded meat and overcharging for their freezers. [6] In 1979, he claimed to make his living operating the Take Me Paint Me ceramics shop in South Side. [7]
As his mother was sick from cancer—eventually dying in 1973—Gill began operating massage parlors in the red-light district at Pittsburgh's Liberty Avenue. The business premises operated as front organizations for an illegal brothel industry, with Gill working as a pimp to procure sex workers. [8] [1] During this period, he associated with George E. Lee, a prominent parlor operator who was described by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as the "king of Pittsburgh pornography". [9] [10] Following Lee's murder in February 1977, a turf war was enacted to gain control over the city's massage parlor and prostitution industries. Gill and former Lee associate Nick DeLucia purchased the Liberty Avenue nightclub Applause (also known as Stage 966) together in October that year, but were legally challenged by another associate named Mel H. Cummings over using dirty money. [11] In December 1977, massage parlor operator Anthony Pugh was shot dead in Scott Township: Gill was allegedly questioned by police in connection with the murder, alongside other industry figures. [12] The following week, a bomb exploded at DeLucia's parlor Gemini, killing one person. [13] In January 1978, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report suggested that the massage parlor industry was connected to the Pittsburgh crime family, then under control of John LaRocca. [14]
Gill operated several massage parlors himself, including:
According to a January 1978 report by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gill had been arrested at least eight times prior. In 1964, while still working at Schenley Park, Gill was arrested on a prostitution charge concerning the alleged "entertainment" of men in a trailer. [17] In December 1974, he was one of five Pittsburgh locals indicted over an alleged prostitution ring operating between Pennsylvania and Indiana, following an investigation by the FBI and the Department of Justice. [18]
In March 1978, Gill and six others were arrested during a police raid at one of his parlors after an undercover officer was propositioned. [19] He later plead guilty to disorderly conduct charges during the raid, after admitting to throwing a birthday cake at the officer. [20] In May 1979, Gill was charged with prostitution and conspiracy charges having been accused of operating a call-girl centre at the Union Trust Building. [21] He was later cleared after a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to connect him to the case, [22] while his two former co-defendants were both found guilty on prostitution charges. [23]
In 1980, it was reported that Robert J. Cindrich—a United States attorney—intended to build a tax evasion case against Gill by subpoenaing his lawyers Carl Janavitz, Rochelle Friedman and Harold Gondelman to answer questions regarding their work as representatives of Gill. The three opposed the action as a violation of attorney–client privilege and were supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Janavitz and Friedman filed motions to have the subpoenas removed, but the move was upheld by United States district judge Donald Emil Ziegler. [24] [25]
In 1984, Gill was convicted of conspiracy and income tax evasion between 1975 and 1983. He served seven years in federal prison. [1]
In September 1979, Gill's cohabitee Cynthia Bruno filed a petition to change her surname to Gill. [26] The following year, she was described as Gill's "close personal companion" by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. [25]
Gill died at the age of 72 on January 8, 2003, at UPMC McKeesport in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. [1]
Throughout his life, Gill sought to present himself in a masculine way and wished to be seen as a man: he wore men's suits, had short hair, "talked tough" and requested that people call him "Mr Gill". [1] He legally changed his name to Dante Gill during 1965, [27] and had also been using the name "Tex" since at least December 1974. [18] A 2018 statement from Gill's cousin Barry Paris said that "he totally identified as a man from the time my cousins and I first knew him. He was always overtly masculine. He hated to be called 'she', and that's what the police always did, and the papers. It annoyed and upset him". [3] Gill may have begun a medical transition, [1] but it is unclear. [3]
Modern publications have differed in how they refer to Gill. Vulture described him as a "transmasculine crime boss", [28] and The Independent called him a "trans male", [29] while Deadline referred to his actions as "cross-dressing" and used she/her pronouns. [8]
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obituary article for Gill referred to him as "an unabashed lesbian in a less sexually liberated age" and "someone who had to hide her sexuality as a single woman in the transgender community". [1]
During the 2010s, plans were made to produce a film based on Gill's life. [30] In July 2018, it was announced that Rupert Sanders would be directing a film titled Rub & Tug featuring Scarlett Johansson in the leading role. [8] The announcement of Johansson—a cisgender woman—playing Gill received criticism from members of the transgender community including actresses Trace Lysette and Jamie Clayton. [31] Johansson originally dismissed the complaints but later withdrew from the project. [32]
In 2020, Deadline announced that Rub & Tug was being redeveloped into a television series. Transgender screenwriter Our Lady J was signed to write the pilot episode and New Regency Productions stated their commitment to cast a transgender actor in the lead role. Gill's former partner Cindy Bruno Gill was also said to be serving as a consultant on the project. [33]