FRANK SINATRA'S family are livid over painful allegations that OL' BLUE EYES acted as a pimp - setting up JOHN F KENNEDY and his brother BOBBY with MARILYN MONROE.

The charges were made by JOE DiMAGGIO's closest friend and attorney MORRIS ENGELBERG - who's broken the silence he's maintained since the baseball legend's death last year (08MAR99).

DiMaggio's nine-month marriage to Marilyn captivated America. Writer BUZZ BISSINGER who interviewed Engleberg asserts, "DiMaggio never stopped loving her. There was talk of reconciliation and maybe even remarriage."

"When she died, he told Engleberg that he blamed three people in particular for what had happened to her. One was Frank Sinatra, who he was convinced had set her up with President Kennedy and his brother Bobby - in effect acting as a pimp."

The shocking charge has struck the Sinatra family like a lightning bolt. An insider says, "They are shattered. His daughter NANCY told friends that her dad was very close to Marilyn and would never have done anything to demean her."

(SVD/EQ/CPT)

Source: WENN