https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Trafficante_Jr. Do you know why he was never charged? Popularized in the 1997 film Donnie Brasco, starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino, the Trafficante crime family for decades was the main mob family operating in Florida and Cuba. At the same time, in addition to his criminal work for Ignacio Antinori, he began to invest heavily in his own bolita numbers rackets, beginning in . Interesting. You know what, guns actually do kill people | Letters, Seminole Heights serial killings case ends with guilty plea, 4 life sentences, Here is why the school zone speed camera bill should become law in Florida | Editorial. The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. Husband of Private In the mid-2000's, he would say he was a legitimate businessman, citing his ownership of a car dealership, and employment at various restaurants and night clubs over the years. Dino's drew many wrestlers including a bass player who became to be known as Hulk Hogan (his name was Terry Bollea). No charges filed in the shooting death of 19-year-old University of Tampa student. Aging Out - The LoScalzo Era. He quickly became an integral part of the Tampa family. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. In October 2000, 19 Tampa LCN members and associates, including Steve Raffa and John Mamone, were indicted in Florida on charges of illegal gambling, loansharking, money laundering through check-cashing stores, and a massive financial fraud scheme run out of South Carolina , that reportedly brought in $32 million in profits. As we all know, he was right, and Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper in November 1963. And, in 1954, the committee helped the St. Petersburg police investigate whether Santo Trafficante Jr. and his brother Henry Trafficante offered a bribe to law enforcement in that city. Each faces a variety of charges, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Interestingly, Trafficante who was worth about $25 billion at his height in the 80s lived a fairly reserved, modest lifestyle. Frank Ragano (January 25, 1923 - May 13, 1998) was a self-styled "mob lawyer" from Florida, who made his name representing organized crime figures such as Santo Trafficante, Jr. and Carlos Marcello, and also served as lawyer for Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa.In his 1994 autobiography Mob Lawyer, Ragano recounted his career in defending members of organized crime, and made the controversial . Son of Santo Trafficante and Maria Giuseppa Trafficante Trafficante Crime family From city to city and state to state, Button Guys of The New York Mafia breaks down the history of organized crime in America. I live in Tampa and sometimes wonder if there's still an Italian presence. Claiming association with the CIA, Roselli knew of Trafficantes vendetta and told his new pal that the U.S. government also wanted to take down Castros Communist regime. "It may be that they don't have such a formal structure anymore, you may have LoScalzo running one part of the operation and Frankie Albano running another," said Lt. Dave Green, an organized crime investigator with the Broward County Sheriff's Office. american mafia,,,if your in organized crime , you should be ex-communicated from the Catholic Church. As law enforcement pressure increased on the Mafia in the late 1940s, Santo, fearing. "John Gotti has some influence in Tampa now," Green said. However, by the late 1920s, facing little pressure, Sicilian gangsters began setting up lucrative gambling and narcotics rackets. Even though there's always a few people who try to ruin it. Lazzara was known in Ybor City as a collector of graft and a worker of rackets for various high-ups among county officials. Broward County organized crime investigators name restauranteur Vincent LoScalzo as the power behind Tampa's mob. Other men of honor considered to be contemporaries included such iconic names as Santo Trafficante Sr., Alfonso Diecidue, and the Lazzara family. South Orange County - (949)752-1971. No one was ever charged with Lazzara murder. For nearly seven decades, Santo Trafficante, Sr. and his son, Santo, Jr. were prominent gangsters on the Tampa crime scene. Other Mafia leaders, as well as newer organized crime networks, took over many of the rackets the family ran throughout the 20th Century. Nobody emerged with Trafficante's stature and unquestioned authority. List of Italian-American mobsters by organization - Wikipedia Decades later, it is unclear if all of their investigations were warranted or if some were politically motivated or worse, simple harassment of innocent residents. Four months after a former soldier for the Trafficante crime family was indicted in connection with a $3.8 million health care fraud scheme, another 10 South Florida residents have been charged and the size of the alleged scam has swelled to $67 million.. Like 70-year-old Delray Beach-area resident John Mamone, the 10 others who began appearing in federal court on Monday are accused of paying . Albano, Frank Peter. Tales from the Vice Squad | The Hillsborough County Crime Commission was formed in 1951 to root out organized crime and expose corrupt public officials. Their plans ranged from simply shooting him to having him smoke poisoned cigars or drinking a tainted milkshake. He moved to Cuba in 1955 where he met the countrys authoritarian ruler Fulgencio Batista. Instead, it was led by the Hillsborough County Crime Commission, an independent organization that was backed by residents who claimed that local elected officials and law enforcement had become too corrupted by organized crime to be trusted without oversight. Connect to the World Family Tree to find out, Mar 19 1987 - Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Geni requires JavaScript! As part of their plea agreements, they agreed to help prosecutors and law enforcement identify others involved in the scheme. Trafficante enjoyed life in Cuba, developed a relationship with its strongman, the dictator Fulgencio Batista, and helped the Trafficante Crime family garner even more profits from its legitimate gambling operations there. Meet Santo Trafficante: The Silent Don Who Tried To Kill Fidel Castro And May Have Ordered JFKs Assassination. Vincent LoScalzo, 53, operates Brother's Lounge on West Kennedy Boulevard and other Tampa bars. Santo Trafficante Sr. (1886-1954) - Find a Grave Memorial However, by the 1950s, upheaval arose for the Trafficante family. A year later, La Gaceta newspaper reported that the Vice Squad had stopped using the sheriff offices designated radio waves. According to some, he was even involved in the infamous assassination of President John F. Kennedy. By the late 1800s to early 1900s, Italian immigrants from Sicily were drawn to the City of Tampa and a tight-knit Little Italy-type community soon developed. The committee denied those allegations. Before it was Dino's it was owned by my parents and known as Tony's Famous restaurant which they bought as a small corner store in '52. Domestic Violence Assistance Program - Temporary Restraining Order Assistance Resource and Referral Counseling - (714)935-7956. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. Wikimedia CommonsPresident John F. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. If it is still there I would love to know. 0 registered members (), Trafficante Family Chart- All in the family - GangsterBB.NET Trafficante had now not only lost an ally but a significant portion of his income as his casinos were closed by the Marxist revolutionary. Mamone, who was indicted in October with his sons, John Anthony and Joseph Mamone, was part of the criminal enterprise, prosecutors said. Chronicles of Events and Biographies Related to the American Mafia. Nearly 20 years after he was placed in a federal witness protection program for snitching on his fellow mobsters, a former soldier for the Trafficante crime family returned to court this month to . In a 1978 legal testimony, Trafficante discussed how quickly Castro shut it all down, then reopened the casinos on his own terms. Frank Ragano; See also. He was among a group of mob leaders in attendance when police raided a 1957 summit conference at Apalachin, N.Y. Diecidue is listed in state records as the owner of Dixie Amusement Co., a now-defunct vending and pinball machine company in Tampa. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Then, check out these photos of the aftermath from some of the bloodiest mob hits. "I don't know about Mafia. Daniel Jess Goldman's Kidnapping, Murder Solved In Miami | Crime News Nicknamed "The Dapper Don" by New York media to reflect his fondness for $1,500 suits, Gotti is in prison awaiting trial. Its still there today. His son, Santo Trafficante Jr., took over the crime family and became tangled in a web of conspiracies to kill the leader of revolutionary Cuba and, it is rumored, President John F. Kennedy. Batista let Trafficante and other mobsters build as many casinos and hotels as they wanted in exchange for a cash kickback. 14 He wasnt a captain or a high-ranking member, but he certainly had some pull, Tampa mob expert and author Scott Deitche told the Palm Beach Post. Instead, they used private radio waves as part of an effort to cloak their efforts from deputies believed to be in cahoots with the mafia. But neither the Vice Squad nor any law enforcement agency was part of that probe. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Tampa residents once took on corruption that turned city into 'hell in The Trafficante Family Leadership Chart. And you're "dealing with some shit"? He opened casinos in Cuba with mob accountant Meyer Lansky and cemented associations with Lucky Luciano and other mob leaders. One investigator said Albano holds great power, but others say that has shifted to LoScalzo. As Jimmy Hoffas former lawyer Frank Ragano would later recall, Jimmy told me to tell [New Orleans boss Carlos] Marcello and Trafficante they had to kill the president. Victim Referral Services - Orange County Sheriff's Department He has been featured on the History Channel, A&E, Discovery Channel, AHC, C-SPAN and . However, by the late 1920s, facing little pressure, Sicilian gangsters began setting up lucrative gambling and narcotics rackets. 2021 Cigar City Magazine. He leads a modest lifestyle. * underboss. Jimmy Lumia was an oil company executive who controlled gambling rackets in Tampa in the 1940s. The family was taken over by Santo Trafficante Sr. after Antinori was murdered by rival gangster Charlie Wall in 1940, and Wall would himself be killed in 1955 by the Trafficante family. The mafiosos that made up the family are either retired, in prison, or have died due to old age. In each case, authorities charged that a multitude of crimes occurred in LoScalzo's nightclubs. He's charged with arranging the murder of his predecessor as head of the Gambino family and three other people. A A. Gotti, the boss of New York's Gambino family, is the most flamboyant of today's mob leaders. Trafficante returns to Tampa and enlists in a CIA plot to poison Castro. Prosecutors allege 70-year-old John Mamone stole around $3.8 million by submitting phony bills to Medicare for knee, shoulder and wrist braces. Santo Sr. was leaving more of the day-to-day operations to his son, Santo Jr. . Since 1980, LoScalzo has increased his property holdings in West Tampa and Ybor City; at various times he has owned property valued at more than $365,000 in Hillsborough County, according to property appraiser's records. It's still a great chart on the Tampa Mob. Who are Tampa's new mob leaders? Trafficante crime family - Wikipedia Ron DeSantis Tampa Bay hometown has evolved. Scott M. Deitche is the author of 5 books and on organized crime, including Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld, and The Silent Don: The World of Santo Trafficante Jr. An affidavit by FBI Special Agent Richard Holland said that an informant infiltrated Napoli's organization and began making regular purchases of cocaine at the Tampa bars. Local political corruption by then was a norm, former Tampa mayor Pam Iorio wrote for the Sunland Tribune in 2000. Nearly three years after opening it's door, the SA FJC serves as a national best practice model of community trust building and victim . Two Hollywood men 39-year-old Galina Rozenberg and 58-year-old Michael Rozenberg were arrested on Feb. 6, attempting to board a flight to Moscow, prosecutors said. The chart was made by Scott M. Deitche on his site. They smashed the gaming tables but did not arrest anyone. Trafficantes partnership with Batista was profitable for both parties and so the mobsters fate became inextricably tied to that of Cubas political climate. Santo Trafficante Sr., a 'Sicilian of the old school,' ruled Tampa's It's been 15 years since the most recent arrest of any of the three men investigators say share the power in Tampa now. Santo Trafficante then categorically denied every allegation about stating he wanted RFK or JFK dead and got off scot-free. Despite the fact that they were now the most powerful force in Tampas underworld, what became known as the Trafficante Family still worked side and side and sometimes came into conflict with other ethnic criminal groups prominent in the city. But he said that high-level mob officials recently have expanded their influence in the area. As such, Trafficante Sr. controlled gambling rackets for bolita, a lottery game popular in Florida and Cuba, until 1940 when the murder of Tampa boss Ignacio Antinori pushed the Trafficantes to assume ultimate power in the Florida underworld. Father of Private and Private "Tell them (the FBI) they're full of s---.". The CIA came to Trafficante, and asked for his help in enlisting the Mafia to assassinate the Cuban leader. Tampa oil company executive Jimmy Lumia, the first man the FBI identified as leader of Tampa's La Cosa Nostra, is gunned down in his car, the 15th person to die in mob violence in Tampa between 1930 and 1950. During that election, opponents tried and failed to connect him to organized crime via past legal business he conducted with alleged mafioso Jimmy Lumia, who was shot and killed in 1950 in a gangland slaying. Domestic violence help - City of Santa Ana I live at 9205 Poes Rd., Odessa, FL. The commission disbanded in 1957 due in part to a lack of private funding. Terms of Service, 2023Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org He was right, and when Castro took power in 1959, Trafficantes burgeoning gambling-and-drugs empire went under siege. Trafficante was a respected member of organized crime's commission of local bosses, an associate of the early leaders of the Bonanno and Gambino families. But he was also the most powerful crime boss in pre-Castro Cuba, with influence that extended into Florida and the rest of the United States. There are tons of strip clubs around here and I figure someone has to be running those rackets. All three Mamones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. [1] Author Scott Deitche reported that Santo Jr. was involved with the CIA to plot assassination attempts on . Puglisi was never charged with a crime. Buy the time LoScalzo took over in 1987, the Trafficante Crime Family was far past its heyday. The idea behind the assassination wasnt just to punish JFK but also to get his brother off the Mobs back. Afterwards, the son he had groomed to take his place, Santo Trafficante Jr., took the reins of the Trafficante crime family. An "informant" visited Joseph Puglisi's Ybor City . Trafficante Jr. controlled his Tampa-based crime network for over three decades. Santo Trafficante Sr. was a Florida mobster who survived a series of vicious gang wars to become the leader of a powerful Mafia crime family based in Tampa. A murder case without a body? Trafficante, though, never spent a night in an American jail. The Bizarre Case Of Danny Goldman's Kidnapping - Grunge All Rights Reserved. For Subscribers: 'Spine crime': Patients say Lake Worth-area back doctor did 'fake surgeries,' left them in pain, Sober homes: "I'm greedy": Ex-sober home operator remorseless in testifying against doctor, Patient brokering: 'Chillin' like a Villain': Medical lab owner caught off Bahamas pleads guilty to patient brokering. Mons Venus was the little bar. Not sure about what is going on in Tampa, though. Born in Tampa, Florida in 1914, Trafficante hailed from a family already deeply involved in organized crime. Among the very first mafiosi to ever set up shop in Tampa were members of the Antinori, Italiano, and Scaglione families, who were all mafiosi back in Sicily. He even sent his son, Santo Trafficante Junior, to New York, to gain a better understanding of how the mafia operated there. Brother of Frank Cacciatore Trafficante; Private and Private. All victims of crime, their family members and witnesses of crime may obtain information and assistance from the CSP Victim/Witness Assistance Program, (714) 834-4350. "But when I was working there undercover even when Santo was alive, if you wanted to talk to the main guy in town, you go to Frankie Albano.". Frank Albano, 52, who once owned the Claiborne Restaurant in South Tampa and now works in sales for a vending company in Tampa. Trafficante was one of the last surviving members of the original Luciano mob era upon his death, and the truth behind the JFK assassination may have perhaps died with him. You need to be a member of Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org to add comments! The local mob once was known for its assassinations. In 1950, the aging Trafficante Sr. began to slow down. Hoffa said to me, This has to be done.'. In 1963, the Mob allegedly had enough of Kennedy. Santo Trafficante Jr. continued to develop his interests in Cuba serving as Luciano and Lanskys local liaison. Do you remember Dinos Show Place of the Stars on South Dale Mabry in the 70's. And as for the rest of the Trafficante Crime family? When you think of Florida and organized crime, it is difficult to avoid conjuring up images of Tony Montana in. Investigators said he headed the cocaine laundering operation in Tampa for what is known as the Trafficante crime family. Beasley resigned but told newspapers it had nothing to do with that charge. Michael Napoli pleaded guilty in that case to using four Hillsborough bars as fronts for cocaine distribution. Now in his late 70s or early 80s, LoScalzo is reported to be retired. In a cocaine conspiracy case, an FBI agent recently identified Diecidue as the new "boss" of the Trafficante family. Trafficante refuses to testify to a congressional committee investigating the assassination of Hohn F. Kennedy. Getty ImagesSanto Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. They are: Frank Diecidue, a 76-year-old Tampa businessman and longtime underboss to Trafficante. SANTA ANA, California - A 33-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed today charges 31 members and associates of the Orange County Mexican Mafia with racketeering offenses, two murders and six attempted murders, and related drug and gun charges.. But a federal judge recently said Mamone will remain here for the foreseeable future. "I recently received some intelligence that Gotti's people had been in that area.". "I guess that we (the Trafficantes) are just like the Kennedys.
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