trafficante crime family

While he had several close calls with law enforcement including the famed FBI, Late in life LoScalzo denied any connections to organized crime. In a 1978 legal testimony, Trafficante discussed how quickly Castro shut it all down, then reopened the casinos on his own terms. Italian and Sicilian immigrants offer bolita games and slot machines throughout the city. His family said he was murdered by the notorious Trafficante crime family because he was growing too powerful. Immigrating right along with these hard-working early Sicilian immigrants came a band of shadowy criminal figures from their homeland. 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. The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. 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. Other men of honor considered to be contemporaries included such iconic names as Santo Trafficante Sr., Alfonso Diecidue, and the Lazzara family. Born in Tampa, Florida in 1914, Trafficante hailed from a family already deeply involved in organized crime. Trafficante is jailed by Fidel Castro after Castro takes control of Cuba and dismatles the island's gambling operations. It is unclear when he returned to South Florida. Today, Santo Trafficantes criminal legacy lives on through his nephew and namesake, Santo Trafficante III, who was charged with organized fraud in 1992. The foregoing suggests that Puglisis shop may be involved in illegal bookmaking, which in turn may fit with the operations of Primo Lazzara, who was linked to the Trafficante crime family. Purchase an annual subscription for unlimited access to the full Button Guys library! Finally, after the infamous failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, the CIA gave up on their attempts to kill the Cuban dictator and thus Trafficantes attempts at revenge never materialized. They are the new local leaders of La Cosa Nostra, the Mafia in the United States. To add further credence to this theory of JFKs assassination, famed prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi (who also wrote the infamous true crime novel on the Manson Family, Helter Skelter), who penned Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, quoted a witness who said that New Orleans boss Marcello had quipped: The dog [JFK] will keep biting you if you only cut off its tail [RFK]., The final piece of evidence for the theory that Santo Trafficante was involved in JFKs assassination was a witness who reported that the mobster had once said himself that JFK not going to make it to the [1964] election. Trafficante refuses to testify to a congressional committee investigating the assassination of Hohn F. Kennedy. Michael Napoli pleaded guilty in that case to using four Hillsborough bars as fronts for cocaine distribution. Santo Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. Nobody emerged with Trafficante's stature and unquestioned authority. But neither the Vice Squad nor any law enforcement agency was part of that probe. The idea behind the assassination wasnt just to punish JFK but also to get his brother off the Mobs back. Many big Nashville stars played there. Ron DeSantis Tampa Bay hometown has evolved. But once Kennedy actually entered the White House, he didnt live up to his end of the bargain. Despite law enforcement's disagreement over the power structure, on one point they are unanimous: The La Cosa Nostra is alive and growing in Tampa since Trafficante's death. Do you know why he was never charged? "It indicates perhaps that they are not as well-connected as they once were.". Getting in bed with Trafficante and other leading members of Americas organized crime seems like a strange thing to do for the CIA. Category. Its founding members . 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. Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. By just glancing at those numbers it makes a lot of modern day family rackets look like a joke. The chart was made by Scott M. Deitche on his site. In the late 1950s, banks in Miami were utilized by crime syndicates to conceal and launder money. Born in Tampa in 1915, Diecidue was identified by the FBI as early as 1957 as the "underboss" of Trafficante's crime family. Gambling becomes big business in Tampa, turning some streets into full-time casinos. He quoted LoScalzo: "Daddy Frank said to give you anything you want.". * underboss. In 1948, gangster Jimmy Velasco was shot and killed in Ybor as his wife and daughter looked on. Suspicious cash flow was observed in accounts owned by associates of high-profile individuals, including Santo Trafficante Jr. (pictured above) the boss of the Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia. President John F. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Dennis Caruso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. And the Trafficante Crime family found out that it had an unusual ally in their concerns about Castro: the Central Intelligence Agency. All the Big Music Groups used to come there after they played as Well as Dusty Rhodes, and other Wrestlers, I grew up around many of mentioned places and people mentioned as well as visited regularly 2001 and many other places my dad was friends with mr trafficante and many beloved Italian family's i was cherished as a child in early 60s by alot of them i was too young to know or care what they done. While in prison, he was indicted a second time in connection with an $80 million marijuana smuggling operation that distributed more than 1,000 kilos of pot throughout the United States, prosecutors said. He was only a barber., She said there was an innocent explanation for Henry Trafficante being at the barbershop. The sedan driver honked the horn; a gunman in the passenger seat fired a shotgun at Lumia, who died on the way to the hospital. 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 . The commission disbanded in 1957 due in part to a lack of private funding. The source said that the entire group and the barbers appeared highly nervous and one or the other of them were continually darting to the window or out the door looking up and down the street, says the report dated December 22, 1953. Joseph Pistone spent six years posing as Mafia member "Donnie Brasco" to gather information for the FBI. It said the informant witnessed four possible organized crime associates answering a phone in the backroom during the 30 minutes he first investigated the barbershop. There are few indicators that the family is still an active crime network. Through deep-dive biographies and snapshots of mobsters to in-depth stories about mafia regimes and crews, youll uncover an underworld you might never have known existed maybe even in your own hometown! Santo Trafficante Sr. dies of natural causes and leaves his gambling enterprise to Santo Jr. Trafficnate and Frank Diediue are seen during a police raid on a Mafia summit in Apalachian, N,Y. Tales from the Vice Squad | The Hillsborough County Crime Commission was formed in 1951 to root out organized crime and expose corrupt public officials. In 1983, in Tampa, he was indicted for racketeering in a scheme to control garbage pickup on the Suncoast. 14 At least 26 people with ties to the Trafficante family and the New York-based Mafia have been convicted in Central and South Florida since Trafficante's death, federal court records show. In 1953, they said police chief Matt Beasleys soft stance on bolita led to an innocent man being murdered during a gangland shootout. With Velasco dispatched, Lumia had the run of the waterfront. 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. "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.". In 1963, the Mob allegedly had enough of Kennedy. LoScalzo was born in Sicily and moved with his family to New Orleans and then Tampa as a young man. The mobster would later testify: I got news that Cuban officials were looking for to put me in jail because one of the things was that I was a Batista collaborator. Boss. And as for the rest of the Trafficante Crime family? Released on bond, they are to be sentenced on July 8. 0 registered members (), He was going to be hit.. Meet Santo Trafficante: The Silent Don Who Tried To Kill Fidel Castro And May Have Ordered JFKs Assassination. But on June 5, 1950, a Ford sedan pulled alongside Lumia's car, parked along Tampa's waterfront. * born around 1939 in New York City. They are: Frank Diecidue, a 76-year-old Tampa businessman and longtime underboss to Trafficante. Why do retards post a bunch of dead guys names?! A city where it is necessary for a vigilante or crime commission to exist is not a healthy city, the Tampa Times reported he said. He's retired now. Read the entire story about Mamones life of crime and current legal troubles written by Jane Musgrave in the Palm Beach Post. Napoli, who is serving a 6{-year federal prison sentence, declined an earlier request for an interview. 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. I live at 9205 Poes Rd., Odessa, FL. In denying the request, Cannon said Mamone provided no information whatsoever describing the nature of such business purposes. , This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Another 10 men face health care fraud charges as case swells to $67M, 'Spine crime': Patients say Lake Worth-area back doctor did 'fake surgeries,' left them in pain, "I'm greedy": Ex-sober home operator remorseless in testifying against doctor, 'Chillin' like a Villain': Medical lab owner caught off Bahamas pleads guilty to patient brokering, Another 10 men face health care fraud charges as case swells to $67M. The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida. Scott has been featured on The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, A&E, C-SPAN, and both national and local news and radio shows. The Unbelievable Story Of Richard Lee McNair The Man Who Mailed Himself Out Of Prison, What JFK's Mob-Affiliated Mistress May Have Known About His Assassination, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Trafficante expanded his organization into gambling, bookmaking and labor racketeering. When you think of Florida and organized crime, it is difficult to avoid conjuring up images of Tony Montana in Scarface, or the heyday of Miami Vice. He was right, and when Castro took power in 1959, Trafficantes burgeoning gambling-and-drugs empire went under siege. In the mid-2000s, 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. I played there in the 70's and many wrestlers use to hang out there. Please check your browser settings or contact your system administrator. I'm sure not many these days will remember the place. All Rights Reserved. It's been 15 years since the most recent arrest of any of the three men investigators say share the power in Tampa now. All rights reserved. Investigators said he headed the cocaine laundering operation in Tampa for what is known as the Trafficante crime family. 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. He worked to expand the crime familys business holding and territory he was particularly interested in Cuba as a location for gambling, hotels and night clubs and worked to cement good ties with his fellow mobsters in. Everyone in Ybor knew each other, and that included the Trafficantes and my father and uncle. "But because I go into business for myself they put this horrible stigma on me.". [1] Author Scott Deitche reported that Santo Jr. was involved with the CIA to plot assassination attempts on . Their self-charged duties included vetting candidates for law enforcement positions, scrutinizing trials and investigations and forging their own probes. The Broward County Sheriff's Office lists LoScalzo as the head of the Tampa mob. At the urging of the Hillsborough County Bar Association and in direct response to the Kefauver report, according to news archives, the Hillsborough County Crime Commission formed in February 1951 to clean up that image. 2021 Cigar City Magazine. Historica Wiki is a FANDOM Games Community. A murder case without a body? Afterwards, the son he had groomed to take his place, Santo Trafficante Jr., took the reins of the Trafficante crime family. 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 . The committees efforts, according to news archives, included: In 1952, they led a resident-raid on an illegal casino after local law enforcement did not respond to a tip. The most notable boss was Santo Trafficante, Jr. who ruled Tampa and the crime family with an iron fist. Letsgetstarted. 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. 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. He quickly became an integral part of the Tampa family. In 1950, the aging Trafficante Sr. began to slow down. He has written seven books and more than 50 articles on organized crime for local and national publications. The elder Trafficante was a virtual unknown to law enforcement for most of the early 20th century. A former soldier in Floridas Trafficante Mafia family was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and paying kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program. 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. "He just knows some people who are.". what they into into these days the tampa italians that is. He also said he overheard the men described as Italians who were dressed exceptionally well discussing horse and dog races. But those werent even their most ridiculous ideas. 99 per cent friends are catholic as an earner I slipped through the cracks pentecostal with catholic upbringing semi retired pensacola florida. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. The local mob once was known for its assassinations. 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.. Scams in genetic testing and durable medical equipment, or DME, have become a popular focus for federal prosecutors intent on cracking down on health care fraud. Santo Trafficante Senior died in 1954. Frank Albano, 52, who once owned the Claiborne Restaurant in South Tampa and now works in sales for a vending company in Tampa. That was in part due to his lifestyle. In 1976, Diecidue was charged with racketeering in an indictment that charged others with participating in a plot to kill Tampa Police Detective Richard Cloud, who was investigating the mob. Palm Beach County residents who were charged in connection with the scheme are Thomas Dougherty, 39, of Royal Palm Beach; Louis Carver, 30, of Delray Beach; Timothy Richardson, 29, of Lantana; and Jose Goyos, 35, of West Palm Beach. Chronicles of Events and Biographies Related to the American Mafia. Century, Tampa was a small but growing city, and the organized crime it faced was modest. Victim / witness assistance. George Defeis was tied to the Trafficante crime family based in Tampa, as reported by NBC Miami. Through the decades illicit rackets primarily consisted of unlicensed alcohol, narcotics smuggling and wholesale distribution, the Cuban numbers game known as Bolita, slot machines, and other forms of gambling like horse and sports bookmaking. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. I dont know why theyd investigate my uncle, said Mariette Rushing, 88, of Puglisi. Geni requires JavaScript! South Orange County - (949)752-1971. His first arrest was spurred by his involvement in a loan-sharking operation run out of check-cashing stores throughout South Florida. Following his death, Mobster Vincent LoScalvo took over the Trafficante familys criminal network in Florida. Green, of the Broward Sheriff's Office, agreed that no one with Trafficante's respected national status is likely to take over the Tampa operation. The family released receipts that they say proved Velasco used illegal gambling money to fund candidates who would ignore the mafias crimes. lucianos partner port of tampa ditaliano salvatore the red, All No one was ever charged with Lazzara murder. Are they left over from the Trafficante days? An "informant" visited Joseph Puglisi's Ybor City . The crimes range from loansharking and extortion to cocaine distribution and interfering with interstate commerce. 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. And despite relatively small time beginnings, Trafficante proved to be a shrewd mobster. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. If it is still there I would love to know. The committee denied those allegations. Mamone, who was indicted in October with his sons, John Anthony and Joseph Mamone, was part of the criminal enterprise, prosecutors said. Rushing said the investigation was likely part of an effort by her fathers political opponents to soil his name. Mafia Locations 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 . All three Mamones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. 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. They all grew up together. Loved it there. Nicknamed "The Dapper Don" by New York media to reflect his fondness for $1,500 suits, Gotti is in prison awaiting trial. Not sure about what is going on in Tampa, though. Antinori was eventually eclipsed by Trafficante, who held his own strong connections to Mangano crime family boss Vincent Mangano and Profaci crime family boss Joseph Profaci . They cope with it; I guess we have to.". The Trafficante Family Under Santo Junior. : Trafficante crime family. After a lifetime in organized crime, Trafficante Jr. died of national causes in 1987. Dennis Caruso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesFrank Ragano and Santo Trafficante Jr. (right). LoScalzo denies having any connection to drug distribution. Batista let Trafficante and other mobsters build as many casinos and hotels as they wanted in exchange for a cash kickback. This was proven in 1953 when he eliminated the last contender to the Tampa mob throne: Joe Antinori, son of the late Ignacio. He convicted infamous criminal labor union head, Jimmy Hoffa. Each faces a variety of charges, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. But before Trafficante testified, someone conveniently killed Roselli. Harris & Ewing/Library of Commons/Wikimedia Commons. Ed Giorandino/NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesSanto Trafficante arrives at Queens Supreme Court in Kew Gardens. Trafficante crime family. The house next to be at 9209 Post Rd. He was featured in a recent St. Petersburg Times series on Florida's criminal records sealing statute: He persuaded Hillsborough judges to seal records of three arrests, even though the law allows only one sealing. In addition, mobsters such as Florida mobster Santo Trafficante Sr. soon set up rival smuggling rings. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! They own bars, restaurants and other businesses but aren't likely to be found at Chamber of Commerce meetings. Damn what was the name of that place. As law enforcement pressure increased on the Mafia in the late 1940s, Santo, fearing. Conversations were restrained and in Italian. In those early days, there were violent conflicts between Tampas competing racketeers as they gained a foothold in America. Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. [CDATA[ Remember the odessey and the bar across the street used to go in when I was 15 and make friends with all the working girls. Santo Trafficante Sr. succeeds him as boss. Gotti, the boss of New York's Gambino family, is the most flamboyant of today's mob leaders. I was friends with the old school guys whi went to godfathers on hillsbourgh and the bottle club on dale mabrey. 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. Thanks. So, who was this so-called Silent Don who wielded enough power to allegedly kill the President? 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. Santo Trafficante Jr. continued to develop his interests in Cuba serving as Luciano and Lanskys local liaison. When Fidel Castro began his ascent to power in the 1950s, Santo Trafficante feared the radical Marxist revolutionary wouldnt cooperate with him. Then, check out these photos of the aftermath from some of the bloodiest mob hits. According to Det. Sentenced to a combined 16 1/2 years behind bars, Mamone was released in 2012 after he provided key testimony against Mafia enforcer Paul "Doc" Gaccione in the 1992 murder of Angelo Sangiuolo, a fellow member of the Genovese crime family. Mafia Books Smokes 420, sounds like you need prayer. An informant visited Joseph Puglisis Ybor City barbershop in November of that year, according to a report filed with the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office Vice Squad. Like many of the most prominent mobsters of the 20th century, his father, Santo Trafficante Sr., grew up in Sicily, Italy but became a major player in the criminal world after migrating to America. Bud? They also released a list of alleged bribes he gave to elected officials, which included Mayor Curtis Hixon. 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. When his son, Santo Jr., took over the family operations, he was also a regular fixture at the Columbia. Mons Venus was the little bar. Trafficante returns to Tampa and enlists in a CIA plot to poison Castro. Diecidue, Albano and LoScalzo all surfaced in the investigation of Napoli and his bars: Mike's Lounge, the Journey's End, the South End and Levi's Saloon. Tampa police protested, but the judges wouldn't unseal the cases. Interestingly, Trafficante who was worth about $25 billion at his height in the 80s lived a fairly reserved, modest lifestyle. However, by the late 1920s, facing little pressure, Sicilian gangsters began setting up lucrative gambling and narcotics rackets. Other times, the committee sent investigation reports to the law enforcement officials they trusted. 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. Rape Crisis Hotline - (714)957-2737. The same informant returned the following month to find Henry Trafficante there with three unidentified associates. Upon his return to the United States, he became determined to bring down the man who ended his empire. And the Trafficante Crime family found out that it had an unusual ally in their concerns about Castro: the Central, Trafficante Jr. controlled his Tampa-based crime network for over three decades. I am a legitimate businessman," LoScalzo said. The Tampa case ended in mistrial. He maintained all of the lucrative casinos in Cuba, further cemented, After Cuban revolution, the Mafia saw Castro as a threat to their business. All of them was not evil strickly business men. That arrest also led Cuban authorities to become warier of the mobster, especially as the political tides seemed to be turning there. However, there were events outside of the United States and even organized crime that inadvertently led Santo Trafficante Jr. to put his own peculiar stamp on American history. He's charged with arranging the murder of his predecessor as head of the Gambino family and three other people. By this point, Trafficante Jr. had fully taken over the oversight of drugs shipped between Florida, Cuba, and the rest of the States. So, as the popular theory goes, the mob bosses that lent a helping hand in getting Kennedy into office wanted revenge. You need to be a member of Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org to add comments! When doing a chart like this you have to mention the members of the past too. Who better than his son, Trafficante Jr., to inherit his throne? Once, flying from Miami to Tampa, Trafficante purchased an airline ticket in the name of an agent who was supposed to be trailing him undercover. Using a series of laboratories and medical device companies, those involved in the scheme billed the federal insurance program for bogus genetic tests, federal prosecutors said in court papers. Each family had an operation going in Florida.

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