santo trafficante jr daughters santo trafficante jr daughters

[1] Trafficante maintained several residences in New York City and Florida. [1] In 1997, further declassified documents indicated that some mafiosi worked with the agency on assassination attempts against Castro. But those werent even their most ridiculous ideas. Trafficante would rather be force-fed raw carrot sticks for eternity than be seen talking to a reporter. The people of Tampa, especially the ones still around to remember those days still feel a duty of sorts to keep quite of these things, as if these people are still amongst us and can hear our chatter. Love, Jimmy Schaffer. He wears tasselled leather loafers without socks. But considering the fiercely anti-Soviet atmosphere of the Cold War, its not that hard to believe. Fifteen years following the assassination, Trafficante testified in front of the United States House Select Committee on the murder of JFK in exchange for immunity. Please enter your email and password to sign in. He headed the Trafficante crime family from 1954 to 1987 and controlled organized criminal operations in Florida and Cuba, which had previously been consolidated from several rival gangs by his father, Santo Trafficante Sr. Trafficante maintained links to the Bonanno crime family in New York City, but was more closely allied with Sam Giancana in Chicago. The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. Santo Trafficante 5 10 (1.78 m) Born November 15, 1914 Tampa, Florida, USA Died March 17, 1987 Spouse Josephine Marchese April 17, 1938 - March 17, 1987 (his death, 2 children) Publicity listings 2 Portrayals Did you know Edit Trivia Represented by Frank Ragano. "You hope things will just disappear two or three years from now.". The authorities continued to charge him with participating in illegal activities, but the aging mob boss escaped conviction each time. Trafficantes father was the lucky survivor of what was called the Era of Blood, when rival gangs based in Tampa fought for control of Prohibition-era nightclubs and, crucially, the local numbers rackets called bolitas. Battling Mob rivals in South Florida essentially weakened each other financially and, through murder, the number of available soldiers. In the early 1980s Trafficante was ensnared in two major cases that could have sent the aging don to prison for the first time in his life, apart from his time in the Triscornia detention camp in Cuba following Castros takeover in 1959. Valenti hired his son-in-law at the produce company and allowed him to name his own salary. [5][6] Cuba was one of the Apalachin topics of discussion, particularly the gambling and narcotics smuggling interests of La Cosa Nostra on the island. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. He offered to pay $150,000 to have Castro killed, but Roselli declined any pay and introduced Maheu to two men he referred to as "Sam Gold" and "Joe." You'll learn about bolita, the rumored tunnels of Ybor, and the Era of Blood. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. Most mornings Trafficante spends a few hours at his modest wholesale automobile lot at the intersection of Dale Mabry Highway and W Broad Street. Interestingly, Trafficante who was worth about $25 billion at his height in the 80s lived a fairly reserved, modest lifestyle. Sign up for service and obituary updates. Services will be followed by a graveside service at the Italian Club Cemetery and a reception at the family home. Trafficante had been operating in Cuba since the late 1940s under his father, Santo Trafficante Sr., a mobster in Tampa, Florida. By Santo III's own estimation, this was a wise move. Every so often I think of the Jekyll Island and White Lake, NC trip and laugh. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. My ex-wife Erline Lazzara was a childhood friend you might remember. And all this occurred throughout seven Sylvia at age 12 and her father Jimmy Velasco in California, June 1948 Jimmy Velasco was a political fixer. Santo Trafficante arrives at Queens Supreme Court in Kew Gardens. 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. He headed the Trafficante crime family and controlled organized criminal operations in Florida and Cuba, which had previously been consolidated from several rival gangs by his father, Santo Trafficante Sr. "My wife's got money. You've got to be a fool to marry wrong," he says. Santo Jr., who had inherited the leadership of the Tampa Mafia around 1950 when his father, Santo Sr., fell ill, had now completed his consolidation of power in Tampa and beyond. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his fathers footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. [12] According to Aleman, when he told Trafficante that President John F. Kennedy would likely be re-elected, Trafficante replied, "No, Jose, he is going to be hit. Santo Jr., who had inherited the leadership of the Tampa Mafia around 1950 when his father, Santo Sr., fell ill, had now completed his consolidation of power in Tampa and beyond. "There's no such thing as organized crime in Hillsborough County," Trafficante says, clapping his hands for emphasis. love gloria "owens" hill. We are one of them! This account has been disabled. During the rule of Cuba's authoritarian dictator Fulgencio Batista, Trafficante openly operated the Sans Souci Cabaret and the Casino International gambling establishments in Havana. Peter Moruzzi/Wikimedia Commons The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. Like Trafficante Jr. before him, had many close calls with law enforcement, but always escaped serious charges. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. There is a problem with your email/password. [13] Trafficante also stated that he had no recollection of meeting Oswald or Oswald's assassin, Jack Ruby. The American governments close ties to Santo Trafficante Jr. and the rest of the Mafia didnt end with their attempts to kill Castro. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Batista let Trafficante and other mobsters build as many casinos and hotels as they wanted in exchange for a cash kickback. 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. A year later they had their first son, Frank, born on April 16, 1910. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. He died of natural causes, at the age of 72, in Houston, Texas. The east coast of Florida was a loosely knit conglomerate of New York family interests with links to Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Angelo Bruno, Carlos Marcello, and Frank Ragano. He returned to Tampa for the last time for internment in the LUnione Italiana Cemetery. Please check your email for further instructions. By this point, Trafficante Jr. had fully taken over the oversight of drugs shipped between Florida, Cuba, and the rest of the States. 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. Indeed, a wiretapped conversation picked up a Key Bank official calling Trafficante a "sacred cow," with loans in excess of a million dollars. In 1959, the Cuban Revolution toppled the corrupt Batista government and the rebel leader, Fidel Castro, nationalized foreign-owned properties and shuttered the casinos, a huge financial blow to Trafficante, who was second only to Meyer Lansky in the depth of his investments in Havana. The investigators were looking for proof of drug-money laundering. For the last 20 years, everyone knew her as JuJu. Don Santo Trafficante Jr was one of the last of the old-time American Mafia bosses in the United States. But before Trafficante testified, someone conveniently killed Roselli. My thoughts and prayers are with you all! His positioning in Florida was prime for drug shipping as the product often passed through these ports en route to elsewhere in America. "I was going to ask him to come over and try our beignets to see how they compare to the Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans," Alessi says. He attended the University of Florida for a year, then transferred to the University of Tampa and left without completing his degree. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. But then came Key Bank, a massive drug-money-laundering investigation. 2023, Tampa Mafia. After the death of his wife, the Trafficante family sold their Tampa 1970-built home for $950,000. He was left with about 25 horses at his stable in Lutz that he couldn't race and couldn't sell for more than it cost to keep them fed. Father of Private and Private Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. "[19] In his book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Vincent Bugliosi has claimed there to be many flaws in Ragano's claims, including his own claim that Trafficante was most likely not in Tampa on the day in question, but was rather in North Miami Beach, Florida, receiving dialysis treatments. The senior Trafficante's name has been linked to gambling, drug-dealing and even plots to kill Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy. English He owned and operated some of the most lavish casinos in pre-Castro Cuba. Make sure that the file is a photo. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. His uncle, the late Santo Trafficante Jr., was reputed to have been the boss of the local Mafia. He owned a West Tampa restaurant called Cafe Sevilla. In a 1978 legal testimony, Trafficante discussed how quickly Castro shut it all down, then reopened the casinos on his own terms. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Gerry and your family. Still, theres a fine line between exploring a topic and glorifying it. Trafficante's appetite and his legal woes seem linked like the strands of a cruller. While he had several close calls with law enforcement including the famed FBI Donnie Brasco investigation he never spent a single day of his life in jail. He was the lynchpin in Tampa Charlie Wall The Kefauver hearings arrived in Tampa in December of 1950. 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. Santo Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. "Now when I walk in a bank," Trafficante says, "the president runs out the back door.". Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. For the U.S. government, it was a classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.. Please check your entries and try again. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? Santo Trafficante Senior died in 1954. Resend Activation Email. Santo Trafficante Senior died in 1954. Meanwhile, he continued to make money from the drugs that came through Tampa. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. The east coast of Florida was a loosely knit conglomerate of New York family interests with links to Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Angelo Bruno, Carlos Marcello, and Frank Ragano. Until last year, the younger Trafficante had never been accused of anything more dramatic than bookmaking, a charge that a judge dismissed. Returning to Miami, he joined his father, managing some . Ex-FBI agent and later Howard Hughes aide Robert Maheu of Las Vegas was one of the primary go-betweens for Trafficante. They used to be my greatest friend," Trafficante says. He convicted infamous criminal labor union head, Jimmy Hoffa. Despite his arrest, Trafficante managed to escape charges and continue to fly under the laws radar. My heart goes out to the family. THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF TAMPA'S UNDERWORLD IS OFTEN INTERTWINED WITH SOME OF Something went wrong. Santo Trafficante grew up in the Florida underworld, working his father's gambling rackets and getting experience in the business. All the convictions were overturned on appeal in 1960. After a violent mob war left several of Trafficantes rivals dead or weakened, his gang rapidly rose to prominence in Tampa. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Italian Club of Tampa Cemetery Fund, 1731 East 7th Ave., Tampa, FL 33605. One small gang, led by Italian immigrant Santo Trafficante Senior, profited from the illegal lottery-style games they ran across Tampa. So is Santo Jose Trafficante III a mobster? The twister killed hls mother when lt touched down about 6, honored Wednesday us the nation's sute legislator. It wasn't somebody going into a back room to kiss somebody's ring. Learn more about merges. He was, in many ways, the archetypical old-school Mob boss. Chris and I will never forget Santo's presence at Leia's welcome home party. That was in part due to his lifestyle. I will always remember your perseverance, happiness and smiles at Marisa's wedding. Robert F. Kennedy even taunted those mobsters he brought into court, telling Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana that I thought only little girls giggled, Mr. Giancana.. But the news was not good on the Key Bank front. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. [13] During his testimony, Trafficante also admitted for the first time that he had worked with the CIA from 1960 to 1961 for an attempt to poison Castro but stated that his role was only as an interpreter between CIA officials and Cuban exiles. 12 talking about this. Early in Trafficantes federal court case in 1986, the judge declared a mistrial. It was all on the up and up. He headed the Trafficante crime family and controlled organized criminal operations in Florida and Cuba, which had previously been consolidated from several rival gangs by his father, Santo Trafficante Sr. Trafficante maintained links to the Bonanno crime family in New York City, but was more closely allied with Sam Giancana in Chicago. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). 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. She handled great adversity and difficult, troubling times with grace, dignity, and style; with respect and love for all around her. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas. department.". The email does not appear to be a valid email address. From bolitaan illegal version of the now-legal Florida lotteryto narcotics, Tampas experience with organized crime is as notable as Chicagos or New Yorks. And the Trafficante Crime family found out that it had an unusual ally in their concerns about Castro: the Central Intelligence Agency. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. [9][10] The CIA and the Mafia had a common enemy in Castro, a communist revolutionary who had shut down Cuba's lucrative casino businesses. "I still don't think I did anything wrong," Trafficante says. Afterwards, the son he had groomed to take his place, Santo Trafficante Jr., took the reins of the Trafficante crime family. Scott M. Deitche, Mob Museum Advisory Council member and mob http://www.scottdeitche.com/books.htmlauthor of Tampa's favorite books, Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld & The Silent Don: The Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante Jror Manny Leto, previous Editor of Cigar City Magazine and Tampa historian, will guide you on a 1.5 -2 hour walking tour to old gambling palaces, street corners, and alleys where some mobsters met their demise, and restaurants where wise guys, like famed boss Santo Trafficante Jr, held court. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. "I was the most expensive forklift driver in the world," he says with a smile. 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. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. He was severed from that trial for medical reasons. 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. Federal investigators brought racketeering and conspiracy charges against him in the summer of 1986. Search above to list available cemeteries. As one of the most powerful mobsters in the US, Trafficante was invited to the Havana Conference in December 1946. Organized Crime Figure. Santo met and married Maria Giuseppe Cacciatore on April 20, 1909. The international narcotics trade was also an important topic on the Apalachin agenda. Buy the time LoScalzo took over in 1987, the Trafficante Crime Family was far past its heyday. You and Santo will always have a special place in my heart. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. In the meantime, the allegation that he is a mobster has dogged him and his family. This is a carousel with slides. Forget everything you think you know about Tampa mafia wives and girlfriends in the 1950s. [13] He stated that he received no payment for his involvement and that he acted out of patriotism. The wiretap evidence has been thrown out of court. Plant a tree to honor the memory of your loved one. tampa crime boss santo trafficante jr plays a central role in thriller 'mafia spies' Bolita , Mob Hits , Scott M. Deitche , Tampa Mafia SANTO TRAFFICANTE SR, A 'Sicilian of the Old School,' RULED TAMPA'S UNDERWORLD FOR MORE THAN A DECADE! "[12] Aleman claimed to have reported Trafficante's comments to his FBI contacts, who "dismissed the Kennedy warnings as gangland braggadocio. F. Kennedy not only failed to deliver on his promise to the mob but also actually put the Mafia under increasing pressure. That horse won $161,080 for its new owners, according to the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders Association. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Trafficante_Jr. They lived in modest, ranch-style houses in quiet neighborhoods in Tampa and Miami. Mobster dies, two nations. Frank Ragano and Santo Trafficante Jr. (right). Send your deepest condolences with fresh flowers. Getting in bed with Trafficante and other leading members of Americas organized crime seems like a strange thing to do for the CIA. At Boxer Cycle Works. There was an error deleting this problem. 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. More importantly, Castro imprisoned Trafficante and then had him exiled from Cuba. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. Santo told the state attorney, I dont have an enemy in the world. He was known as an organized crimes figure. Santo Trafficante Jr. was a reserved, modest man married to the same woman for 49 years. By the time Prohibition and the Era of Blood ended, he was the top man in the Florida Mafia, operating with the blessing of exiled Mob boss Charlie Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello of the Five Families, and Meyer Lansky of the national Syndicate. He sought treatment for stomach cancer and was ready to hand power over to a trusted lieutenant. Undercover detectives ran a gambling sting operation there, hoping to nab a circle of Tampa men they said were making illegal sports bets. Despite all of this or, perhaps, because of it, a few writers and filmmakers have chosen to focus on organized crime, determined to give Tampa its due. All the while, he lives in a palatial lakeside compound in rural northwest Hillsborough. 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. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States.