If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. 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. For the U.S. government, it was a classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.. In 1957 he was suspected of involvement in the barbershop slaying of Albert Anastasia, the . Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. Santo Jr. was indicted several times through the 1950s but was convicted only once, on state charges in 1954 for bribery, and that conviction was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court. A native and lifelong resident of Tampa, Mr. Traffi-cante is survived by his loving family, wife, Geraldine "Gerry" L. Trafficante; sons, Dino Jose and Joseph Frank Trafficante; daughters,. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. But considering the fiercely anti-Soviet atmosphere of the Cold War, its not that hard to believe. He was rumored to be part of a Mafia syndicate which owned many Cuban hotels and casinos. In January 1963, he married Geraldine Valenti, the daughter. More importantly, Castro imprisoned Trafficante and then had him exiled from Cuba. "I thought all this would end when my uncle died. There was a problem getting your location. The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. He dropped out of high school and spent time in New York learning the trade from some of the countries toughest mobsters. My aim is to provide you with the best Service experience for you and your motorcycle. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. President John F. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Dennis Caruso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. He was, in many ways, the archetypical old-school Mob boss. Santo Trafficante Senior died in 1954. Batista let Trafficante and other mobsters build as many casinos and hotels as they wanted in exchange for a cash kickback. Drag images here or select from your computer for Santo Trafficante Jr. memorial. the daughter of immigrants from the Italian region of Basilicata. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. His positioning in Florida was prime for drug shipping as the product often passed through these ports en route to elsewhere in America. He flew to Houston on March 15 for heart bypass surgery. English Phil Alessi, a childhood friend, marvels at Trafficante's taste and capacity. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Rosselli later claimed to be involved with or to actually be a shooter in a Mob conspiracy to kill President John F. Kennedy, and some accounts have Trafficante involved in the alleged, and unproven, conspiracy. By Santo III's own estimation, this was a wise move. love gloria "owens" hill. We found ourselves in a love affair with Tony Soprano and we could not stop watching. Please reset your password. 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. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. As law enforcement pressure increased on the Mafia in the late 1940s, Santo, fearing. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. But then came Key Bank, a massive drug-money-laundering investigation. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the public understanding of organized crime's history and impact on American society. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. "[12] He said that Trafficante complained about the honesty of the Kennedys and their "attacks" on Jimmy Hoffa and other associates. Santo was one of the FBIs targets in that case. He buys Jaguars for his two sons, hobnobs with sports stars on resort golf courses and occasionally flies to Miami for lunch at a favorite restaurant, the Rascal House. 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. There was an error deleting this problem. RIP Santo. Our deepest condolences to the Trafficante family. 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. [21], Trafficante was summoned to court in 1986 and questioned about his involvement with the King's Court Bottle Club operated by members of the Bonanno crime family, including undercover FBI agent Joseph D. "Joe" Pistone, a.k.a. [13] Trafficante also stated that he had no recollection of meeting Oswald or Oswald's assassin, Jack Ruby. He was the lynchpin in Tampa Charlie Wall The Kefauver hearings arrived in Tampa in December of 1950. [1] Trafficante maintained several residences in New York City and Florida. She was an amazing daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend. He has thought about it. She was predeceased in death, by other loving family members. Passing before her were her parents Antonino and Sarafina Marchese; her beloved husband Santo Trafficante Jr.; her son-in-law's Augie Paniello and Richard Valdes; and her brothers, Bennie Marchese, Tommy Marchese, and Peter Marchese. According to the account of Judith Exner, however, one of JFKs many mistresses, it was she who introduced Kennedy to Chicago boss Giancana. Getty ImagesSanto Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. Trafficante weathered the violence of Floridas Mob wars and the various conspiracy theories, the Cuban Revolution and the loss of his offshore casinos, as well as intense law enforcement scrutiny, without ever spending time in prison. She was born on March 24, 1920. He attended the University of Florida for a year, then transferred to the University of Tampa and left without completing his degree. It was clear that federal and local law enforcement had an acute interest in the Trafficante family. On the day that investigators raided Key Bank, a cardiologist at St. Joseph's Hospital was inserting a catheter in Trafficante's groin. Don Santo Trafficante Jr. the godfather from Tampa, Florida, USA. His son was turned away from a date's house and his daughter has been refused jobs. As we all know, he was right, and Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper in November 1963. In 1963, the Mob allegedly had enough of Kennedy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Trafficante_Jr. 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. Reputedly the most powerful crime boss in Batista -era Cuba, he . And purchase valuable sports memorabilia for himself. "They'll sleep under trees on you.". By December 1953, one more rival was dead and another was too scared to even venture out of his home. We guarantee you'll never look at Ybor City the same way again. 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. THE CHARLIE WALL STORY Kingpin Charlie Wall (center holding bottle, right of child) and his notorious gang. He went to Jesuit High School and played some football. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. 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. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. After this look at Santo Trafficante Jr., read the gruesome story of the murderous American dentist, Benjamin Salomon, of World War II. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Hey, they have more convicts at the track than straight people," Trafficante says. "You hope things will just disappear two or three years from now.". However, while the Latin American drug trade has figured prominently in the sunshine states less savory history, so has the Mafia. So is Santo Jose Trafficante III a mobster? Under pressure of a court order granting him immunity from prosecution, but threatening him with contempt if he refused to talk, Santos admitted to a Congressional committee in 1975 that he had in the early 1960s recruited other mobsters to assassinate Castro. Born in Tampa, Florida to Sicilian parents Mafia don Santo Trafficante, Sr. and his wife Maria Giuseppa Cacciatore. A full report was made by the Cuban police, dated January 23, 1958, includes transcripts of long-distance telephone calls made from the Sans Souci during the period AugustDecember 1957. Trafficante had been operating in Cuba since the late 1940s under his father, Santo Trafficante Sr., a mobster in Tampa, Florida. In 1946, Santo Sr. sent his son, already a family underboss, to Cuba to invest in the growing number of nightclubs and casinos in the island nation. Daughters: Mary Josephine Sarah Ann Brothers: Frank, Salvatore (Sam), Epifanio and Enrico (Henry) Uncle: Joseph M. CACCIATORE (convicted narcotic trafficker) CRIMINAL HISTORY: Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. [13] Trafficante said that he introduced the trio to Cuban exiles in Florida. "I still don't think I did anything wrong," Trafficante says. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. In the 1950s, Tampas reputation for corruption and vice was so bad it prompted one national magazine to label the area the Hell Hole of the Gulf Coast. Given such negativity, who can blame people for just wanting to forget? Learn more about managing a memorial . Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. He drove a forklift for 20 years. "Even my uncle (Santo Jr.) told me, "Santo, why don't you change your name?' Resend Activation Email. 12 talking about this. One of the last surviving mobsters from the Luciano era, he died of heart disease in a Houston, Texas, hospital in 1987. 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. My heart goes out to the family. [11], In 1976, Cuban exile and FBI informant Jose Aleman told The Washington Post that in September 1962, Trafficante had offered him a loan of $1.5million to replace Aleman's three-story "ramshackle motel with a 12-story glass wonder. The gunmen drove off, unaware they had failed to kill Trafficante, merely grazing his arm. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his fathers footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. Every so often I think of the Jekyll Island and White Lake, NC trip and laugh. In October 1966, while waiting in a Queens courthouse for his turn to be questioned by a grand jury about the infamous LaStella meeting (later dubbed "Little Apalachin") held a couple of weeks earlier on September 22, Santo Trafficante Jr., who was the boss of the Tampa Bay Crime Family, overheard reporters talking about someone . He was severed from that trial for medical reasons. 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. Mrs. Gerry, Gina, Dino, Joe and Marisa - they broke the mold with Traff. After the death of his wife, the Trafficante family sold their Tampa 1970-built home for $950,000. The IRS was unsuccessful, according to Fernandez, Trafficante's attorney. She was predeceased in death, by other loving family members. You have been in pain too long. [14], After a grant of immunity from prosecution, Trafficante testified before the HSCA the following day, September 28, and denied the allegation that he told Aleman that "Kennedy was going to be hit. The "Family Jewels" confirmed that in September 1960, the CIA recruited ex-FBI agent Robert Maheu to approach the West Coast representative of the Chicago mob, Johnny Roselli. He was known as an organized crimes figure. 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. 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.
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