Director Ned Parker Stars Colin Tierney (voice) Joseph D. Pistone Tony Mirra (archive footage) Trafficante Sr. passed away four years later, leaving Jr. his Tampa and Cuba-based criminal empire. Santo, Jr. never spent a day in jail, and he died of natural causes in 1987. The Trafficante clan was based out of the Tampa-St. Petersburg area for years, but has since gone dormant. He was convicted for the charge in 1999 and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. Santo, Jr. was born in the United States on Nov. 15, 1914 and was one of five sons of Mafia boss Santo Trafficante. And a Godfather-like legend surrounds Tampa-born crime boss Santo Trafficante Jr., who took over the Sicilian Mafia in Florida from his father in 1954 and built a criminal empire that was the. In 1978, Trafficante was called to testify before members of the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations investigating possible links between Lee Harvey Oswald and anti-Castro Cubans, including the theory that Castro had President John F. Kennedy killed in retaliation for the CIA's attempts to assassinate Castro. [9], As of November 25, 2007, Vincent LoScalzo was in his 70's and considered a semi-retired mobster and just a "regular Joe" according to Scott Deitche, author of Cigar City Mafia. El Tropicana Night Club in Havana, Cuba located in a lush, six-acre estate tropical garden opened on December 30, 1939 at the Villa Mina in Marianao. 2007, Weimar, Carrie. [ citation needed ] "It was like World War II" he told the committee. [2]. The Five Families of New York City could work in any city in the state. 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. Prosecutors allege 70-year-old John Mamone stole around $3.8 million by submitting phony bills to Medicare for knee, shoulder and wrist braces. Like a good reporter, the author buttresses his text with piles of references and footnotes, almost to the point of overkill. The conference had a major impact on the future direction of the criminal underworld and it held more importance and significance than the Havana Conference of 1946 and the Apalachin meeting of 1957. The Lucchese crime family (pronounced [lukkeze]) is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra ). I live in Tampa and sometimes wonder if there's still an Italian presence. C'est une des plus puissantes familles de la Cosa nostra amricaine aprs les Cinq familles de New York et l . He shares the same nickname as real-life Lucchese crime family mob associate Joe Manri who was involved in the 1978 Lufthansa heist. But considering the fiercely anti-Soviet atmosphere of the Cold War, its not that hard to believe. [4] Santo was being watched closely by police and made Salvatore "Red" Italiano the acting boss. Ed Giorandino/NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesSanto Trafficante arrives at Queens Supreme Court in Kew Gardens. Whether or not a Mafia conspiracy was behind the assassination of Kennedy is still up for debate. In Trafficante Sr.'s adult life he only portrayed himself as a successful Tampa cigar factory owner. With Lumia eliminated Trafficante took over again. In fact, Florida had the dubious distinction of being home to a decades-old Mafia criminal network: the Trafficante Family. The nephew of former boss Ignazio Italiano, he later fled to Mexico. When Fidel Castro began his ascent to power in the 1950s, Santo Trafficante feared the radical Marxist revolutionary wouldnt cooperate with him. [CDATA[ Lucchese crime family 1970s nike inseason tr 9 sherwin williams match for farrow and ball pigeon. Many of the familys gangsters were in prison, or too old to be effective. God Bless you bro Scott is a very talented guy. He stood back in the shadows, while men like Ignazio Antinori and Charlie Wall were well-known crime figures about town. When his son, Santo Jr., took over the family operations, he was also a regular fixture at the Columbia. He was convicted in 1999, and was sentenced to 60 days in prison. The authorities continued to charge him with participating in illegal activities, but the aging mob boss escaped conviction each time. Other men of honor considered to be contemporaries included such iconic names as Santo Trafficante Sr., Alfonso Diecidue, and the Lazzara family. LoScalzo pleaded no contest on October 7, 1997, and received three months of probation. Upon his return to the United States, he became determined to bring down the man who ended his empire. Should rap lyrics be used as evidence in court? On March 8, 1938, Wall's closest associate, Evaristo "Tito" Rubio, was shot on his porch. The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida, United States. Recently statements have spread across Florida that John A. LoScalzo controlled a much smaller family, over the years many of the older mobsters retired or died and were not replaced with new members. 19401948 Salvatore "Red" Italiano fled in Mexico. For nearly seven decades, Santo Trafficante, Sr. and his son, Santo, Jr. were prominent gangsters on the Tampa crime scene. [6] Trafficante Jr. would frequently meet with Lucchese in New York City for dinner. 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. [8], On October 26, 2000, federal authorities arrested Steven Raffa, along with eighteen members of Trafficante family's Miami faction. Trafficante was jailed and deported when Fidel Castro rose to power, leading him to spend a good portion of his adult life hatching a plan of revenge. With the Kefauver hearings and Charlie Wall testifying in 1950, both Trafficantes fled to Cuba. "Kingpin of no Kingdom: A Brandom man Denies any mafia ties". Santo Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. The old family membership has died and the Tampa Mob has fallen into the shadows of the New York mobs. When you think of Florida and organized crime, it is difficult to avoid conjuring up images of Tony Montana in. In January 2004, Mamone and 7 other people were indicted in Florida on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, kidnapping, attempted murder, obstruction of justice, money laundering, and trafficking in $80 million worth of marijuana from Mexico to the U.S. since 1991. So, as the popular theory goes, the mob bosses that lent a helping hand in getting Kennedy into office wanted revenge. Steve Raffa was one of the handful of mobsters that actually committed suicide I think. "They told me to go to the draft board and sign up." Santo, Jr. never spent a day in jail, and he died of natural causes in 1987. ST. Petersburg Times. 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. 19541987 Frank Ragano he was an attorney/advisor to Santo Trafficante Jr. Ignacio Antinori was an Italian-born American mobster who built one of the earlier narcotics trafficking networks in Florida. Even though there's always a few people who try to ruin it. Italian, Italian-American as made men, and other ethnicities as "associates". And as for the rest of the Trafficante Crime family? [1] During the 1950s, Trafficante Jr. maintained a narcotic trafficking network with Tommy Lucchese, the boss of the Lucchese crime family in New York City. The Tampa mob made a lot of money in Cuba, but never achieved its ambition of making the island part of its own territory. Santo Trafficante Jr. The old family membership has died and the Tampa Mob has fallen into the shadows of the New York mobs. Antinori took notice of Santo Trafficante and invited him into his organization and together they expanded the Bolita games across the state. Joseph Francis Civello was an American mobster and the leader of the Dallas crime family from 1956 until his death in 1970. The war ended in the 1940s with Ignacio Antinori being shot and killed with a sawn-off shotgun. Frank Ragano 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. Trafficantes chance came in the 1960s when he became acquainted with mobster John Handsome Johnny Roselli. "Junior" Gotti, along with John A. Burke, James V. Cadicamo, David D'Arpino, Michael D. Finnerty and Guy T. Peden on charges of racketeering, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder and drug trafficking. So, who was this so-called Silent Don who wielded enough power to allegedly kill the President? Trafficante's role as the mob's chief liaison to criminal figures within the Cuban exile community, provided him with the capability of formulating an assassination conspiracy against President. July 26, 1931 - Angelo Lazzara was an early member of the Trafficante crime family. Antinori took notice of Santo Trafficante and invited him into his organization and together they expanded the Bolita games across the state. While he had several close calls with law enforcement including the famed FBI, Late in life LoScalzo denied any connections to organized crime. Trafficante remained the boss of Tampa until he died of natural causes in 1954. The family suspected the perpetrator was Charlie Wall and consequently, in 1955, had him killed. According to some, he was even involved in the infamous assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In 1950, the aging Trafficante Sr. began to slow down. The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida, United States. This was proven in 1953 when he eliminated the last contender to the Tampa mob throne: Joe Antinori, son of the late Ignacio. Santo was being watched closely by police and made Salvatore "Red" Italiano the acting boss. Though his prison sentence wasnt long and he returned to a strong position in Florida, Trafficante never forgave Castro. The CIA came to Trafficante, and asked for his help in enlisting the Mafia to assassinate the Cuban leader. What Kennedy didn't know was. The mafiosos that made up the family are either retired, in prison, or have died due to old age. 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. 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