The Italians (in America - mostly the mobster shit heads) did some shady shit around World War 2 and afterwards.

Turns out the biggest or most notorious gay bar in the USA, and possibly the world, is due to Italian mobsters wanting to make money off of queers. I'd have to look up the name but it is in New York and famous for homos. They had a stand off with police there at some point too to keep from getting arrested on sodomy charges I believe.