Jeff is welcomed today by Ioan Grillo, one of the best journalists in the game today on narcos and drug cartels. Frank had many connections in the political arena which helped his influence in the underworld. [1] Under pressure of a court order granting him immunity from prosecution, but threatening him with contempt if he refused to talk, Trafficante admitted to a Congressional committee in 1975 that he had in the early 1960s recruited other mobsters to assassinate Castro. [8], On October 26, 2000, federal authorities arrested Steven Raffa, along with eighteen members of Trafficante family's Miami faction. Trafficante crime family. The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is the only original Mafia crime family in the state of Florida History Tampa's underworld Tampa crime started with Charlie Wall who, in the 1920s, controlled a number of gambling rackets and corrupt government officials. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The weapon was detected by an X-ray scanner. Yet, despite decades of intense Federal investigation and scrutiny, the United States Government never laid a single glove on Santo Trafficante. Are they left over from the Trafficante days? Wall controlled his organization from the Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City, and employed Italians, Cubans and men of other ethnicities in his organization. By the 1930s, Antinori and Wall were in a bloody decade-long war, which would later be known as "Era of Blood". shoreline wa breaking news. [2] [1], Santo Trafficante, Jr. was born in the United States on November 15, 1914, as one of five sons of Mafia boss Santo Trafficante. [6] Trafficante Jr. would frequently meet with Lucchese in New York City for dinner. The charges were later dropped and then reinstated. After a violent mob war left several of Trafficantes rivals dead or weakened, his gang rapidly rose to prominence in Tampa. When Fidel Castro began his ascent to power in the 1950s, Santo Trafficante feared the radical Marxist revolutionary wouldnt cooperate with him. [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. 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. In 1992, LoScalzo was arrested at the Tampa International Airport for carrying a loaded .38-caliber pistol in his brief case. But according to declassified documents released in 1992, Santo Trafficante Jr. made a deathbed confession of his involvement in the Presidents murder. He also controlled a few bars, lounges, restaurants, night clubs and liquor stores across Florida. Santo Trafficante then categorically denied every allegation about stating he wanted RFK or JFK dead and got off scot-free. 7 related topics. 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. The ethnicities of associates mentioned above become clearly evident as you scroll through the membership chart below that reflects associates first and last names. Antonio Italiano and Dominic Ferrara reportedly went to New York Mafia bosses with a complaint. Chronicles of Events and Biographies Related to the American Mafia. A A One of the oldest Italian crime groups to ever operate in the United States was the Santo Trafficante Family of Florida. On July 1, 1989, LoScalzo was indicted on racketeering charges, including grand theft. Trafficante proceeded to open casinos in Cuba at his fathers behest and facilitated heroin smuggling by working together with famous mobsters Charles Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. With that act, Santo Trafficante now reigned supreme in Tampa. [1] After the death of Santo Jr. in 1987, the Tampa Mafia family has been controlled by Vincent LoScalzo. 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. Read the entire story about Mamones life of crime and current legal troubles written by Jane Musgrave in the Palm Beach Post. On March 8, 1938, Wall's closest associate, Evaristo "Tito" Rubio, was shot on his porch. Trafficante Sr. passed away four years later, leaving Jr. his Tampa and Cuba-based criminal empire. . Santo Trafficante Sr. was a Sicilian-born mobster, and father of the powerful mobster Santo Trafficante Jr. Santo Trafficante Jr. was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. Monday: A. [6], Santo Jr. was deeply involved in the CIA efforts to involve the underworld in assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. "[citation needed], In 1978, Trafficante was called to testify before 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.[7]. In the mid-2000s, he would say he was a legitimate businessman, citing, Tony "Joe Batters" Accardo - De Facto Boss of the Chicago Outfit, Giacomo Black Jack Tocco - Last of the Old School Detroit Partnership, Joseph Iacobacci - "Joe Loose" of the Cleveland Mob, John "Sonny" Franzese - A Colombo Family Legend. After Cuban revolution, the Mafia saw Castro as a threat to their business. However, by the late 1920s, facing little pressure, Sicilian gangsters began setting up lucrative gambling and narcotics rackets. 19201940 Santo Trafficante, Sr. promoted to boss. The. Santo Jr. worked closely with Lucchese family boss Tommy Lucchese, who was a friend of his father, and a man who helped train him in the 1940s. [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. The war ended in the 1940s with Ignacio Antinori being shot and killed with a sawn-off shotgun. However, LoScalzo was nonetheless able to expand the families criminal reach into new locations across Florida, and took advantage of alliances with other Mafia families to ensure the mob maintained its hold on criminal activities. The members of other crime families sometimes refer to Lucchese family members as "Lukes". But once Kennedy actually entered the White House, he didnt live up to his end of the bargain. The Trafficante family of Florida. The most notable boss was Santo Trafficante, Jr. who ruled Tampa and the crime family with an iron fist. Ignacio Antinori, a Sicilian-born immigrant, became a well-known drug kingpin and the Italian crime boss during the late 1920s. [citation needed] "It was like World War II" he told the committee. The Tampa mob made a considerable amount of money in Cuba, but never achieved its ambition of making the island part of its territory. [1] When you think of Florida and organized crime, it is difficult to avoid conjuring up images of Tony Montana in. Mamone disappeared into the witness protection program almost two decades ago, after becoming a witness against his colleagues in the Mafia, a wide variety of them, including members of the Trafficante, Gambino, Colombo, and Bonanno families. The body of Francesco Cali, a reputed boss of the Gambino crime family, lay crumpled outside. He sought treatment for stomach cancer and was ready to hand power over to a trusted lieutenant. Mob Fireside Chat BGs Official YouTube Channel, assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, The Frank Piccolo Regime Leadership Chart, Racketeer Snapshot: Shadowy Buffalo Hood Joe LaBarba. Seit dem Jahr 2008 gilt die Familie als inaktiv. He stood back in the shadows, while men like Ignazio Antinori and Charlie Wall were well-known crime figures about town. As we all know, he was right, and Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper in November 1963. Pages in category "Trafficante crime family" The following 5 pages are in this category, out of 5 total. The Tampa mob made a lot of money in Cuba, but never achieved its ambition of making the island part of its own territory. Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. After a violent mob war left several of Trafficantes rivals dead or weakened, his gang rapidly rose to prominence in Tampa. The original Malio's on South Dale Mabry was a favorite haunt. On July 1, 1989 LoScalzo was indicted on racketeering charges that included grand theft, the charges were later dropped and then reinstated. [2]. The Italiano faction in Tampa found the situation intolerable. Bruno ran the crew with associates and freelancers after the death of Santo Jr. Raffa maintained a good relationship with Loscalzo, the new boss of the family and Genovese mobster John Mamone. When his son, Santo Jr., took over the family operations, he was also a regular fixture at the Columbia. 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 . Bliss, A.J., "MAKING A SUNBELT PLACE: TAMPA, FLORIDA," 19231964, Ph.D. dissertation, 2010, This page was last edited on 4 February 2023, at 19:52. By just glancing at those numbers it makes a lot of modern day family rackets look like a joke. Birmingham crime family - defunct since 1938; Florida. The first Italian gang in the Tampa Bay area was created by Ignacio Antinori in 1925. "It was like World War II" he told the committee. He started off life as a down and out kid who rose to lead what is today known as the Genovese Crime Family. 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. Charlie Wall's only competition was Tampa's earliest Italian Mafia boss Ignacio Antinori. In his previous statements, Roselli also tied Lee Harvey Oswalds killer, Jack Ruby, to Santo Trafficante. When Fidel Castro and his rogue regime seized power in the late 1950s, Trafficante returned home to the U.S. where he took full control of the Tampa borgata. Prosecutors allege 70-year-old John Mamone stole around $3.8 million by submitting phony bills to Medicare for knee, shoulder and wrist braces. 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. Santo Sr. had Lumia killed after finding out he had been bad mouthing him while he was in Cuba. Lucchese crime family 1970s. Aug 26, 2022 - Explore Raider-Cop Podcast Nation's board "Trafficante Crime Family" on Pinterest. 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