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. But in January 1981, on the night of the Las Vegas function, the police raided Knights Court. After the hearings ended the Trafficantes returned to Tampa to find out that Italiano had just fled to Mexico, leaving Jimmy Lumia the biggest mobster in the city. Two decades ago, Mamone left his life in the mafia behind and entered the Witness Protection Program after taking a federal racketeering pinch. Antonio Italiano and Dominic Ferrara reportedly went to New York Mafia bosses with a complaint. He drove standard cars, lived in regular houses in quiet places, was married to the same woman, and generally described as a quiet man. This was proven in 1953 when he eliminated the last contender to the Tampa mob throne: Joe Antinori, son of the late Ignacio. Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The Hotel Deauville is a historic hotel in Centro Habana located at Calle Galiano 1 on a corner with the Malecn promenade, and overlooking the Bay of Havana. Santo Trafficante Jr. was a reserved, modest man married to the same woman for 49 years. Although his descendants were from Naples, Italy, he was born with blond hair and as he grew into adulthood . In 1953 Santo Jr. survived a shooting. For nearly seven decades, Santo Trafficante, Sr. and his son, Santo, Jr. were prominent gangsters on the Tampa crime scene. Charles McKay Wall was an American businessman, mobster, and political figure who was a rival of reputed mobsters Santo Trafficante Sr. and Santo Trafficante Jr. His parents were John Perry Wall and Matilda McKay, a former Tampa Mayor and daughter of a former Tampa Mayor. He led the organization from 1990 until his death on February 1, 2007. It's still a great chart on the Tampa Mob. Among the very first mafiosi to ever set up shop in Tampa were members of the Antinori, Italiano, and Scaglione families, who were all mafiosi back in Sicily. Santo, Jr. never spent a day in jail, and he died of natural causes in 1987. . From 1951 until 1967, he was the boss of the Lucchese crime family, one of the Five Families that dominate organized crime in New York City. New York: Barricade Books. The Trafficante crime family is a family of the American Mafia from the city of Tampa, Florida, founded in 1925 by Ignacio Antinori. Members refer to the organization as the Lucchese borgata; borgata is Mafia slang for criminal gang, which itself was derived from Sicilian word meaning close-knit community. . The Trafficante Family Leadership Chart below depicts all known inducted members and their significant criminal associates from approximately 1910 through 2000. [6], Santo Jr. was deeply involved in the CIA efforts to involve the underworld in assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. [1] Contents [ hide ] 1 History 1.1 Tampa's underworld 1.2 Antinori gang 1.3 Trafficante Sr. era 1.4 Trafficante Jr. era 1.5 LoScalzo era 1.5.1 South Florida operations 1.6 Current Status 1.6.1 Gambinos in Tampa He and five others were indicted by a Florida grand jury. Loscalzo maintained ties to Mafia families in California, New Jersey, and New York as well as being connected to the Sicilian Mafia. [10], On August 5, 2008, the Tampa and New York FBI indicted John A. Lazzara was known in Ybor City as a collector of graft and a worker of rackets for various high-ups among county officials. Read the entire story about Mamones life of crime and current legal troubles written by Jane Musgrave in the Palm Beach Post. "Kingpin of no Kingdom: A Brandom man Denies any mafia ties". [6], Santo Jr. was deeply involved in the CIA efforts to involve the underworld in assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. 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. The New Orleans crime family or New Orlean Mafia was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in the city of New Orleans.The family had a history of criminal activity dating back to the late nineteenth century. [8], On October 26, 2000, federal authorities arrested Steven Raffa, along with eighteen members of Trafficante family's Miami faction. The Trafficante connection with New York was strong and lucrative . In fact, Florida had the dubious distinction of being home to a decades-old Mafia criminal network: the Trafficante Family. He was convicted in 1999, and was sentenced to 60 days in prison. 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 . When Fidel Castro began his ascent to power in the 1950s, Santo Trafficante feared the radical Marxist revolutionary wouldnt cooperate with him. Santo Trafficante Sr. had now taken over a majority of the city and started to teach his son Santo Trafficante Jr. how to run the city. "The Mob" April 26, 2001", "Witness denies assassination, Cuba tied", "Entire John "Junior" Gotti Tampa Gambino Crime Family Indictment", "The American Mafia - Tampa Crime Bosses", "FLORIDA MAFIA FIGURE "BIG SAM" CAROLLO GONE AT 83, ONE OF THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS IN TRAFFICANTE CLAN", "Old Florida Mafia Looses Veteran Shot Caller To Father Time, Alleged Tampa Mobster Jimmy Valenti Dies At 91", Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, Rick Porrello's American Mafia: Tampa, Florida, Dieland Mob: The Trafficante Family (Tampa), American Gangland:Trafficante Crime Family, List of Italian-American mobsters by organization, Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia. He headed the Trafficante crime family and controlled organized criminal operations i. On August 5, 2008 Gotti was indicted on charges of racketeering, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder and drug trafficking. [3] In 1943, Antinori's two sons Paul and Joseph were convicted in Kansas City for drug dealing and sentenced to four years in prison finally ending the decade long war. And despite relatively small time beginnings, Trafficante proved to be a shrewd mobster. 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. 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. 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. With the Kefauver hearings and Charlie Wall testifying in 1950, both Trafficantes fled to Cuba. But according to declassified documents released in 1992, Santo Trafficante Jr. made a deathbed confession of his involvement in the Presidents murder. [1] Antinori a Sicilian-born immigrant became a well-known drug kingpin and the Italian crime boss of Tampa in the late 1920s. Shit dude, try kicking hammer. 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. 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. The weapon was detected by an X-ray scanner. 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. [6] Trafficante Jr. had known Lucchese since the 1940s, when his father and Lucchese had trained him in the mafia traditions. According to some, he was even involved in the infamous assassination of President John F. Kennedy. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. The chart was made by Scott M. Deitche on his site. Decisions made in Havana resonated throughout US crime families during the ensuing decades. Button Guys of The New York Mafia. Santo, Jr. never spent a day in jail, and he died of natural causes in 1987. His only competitor for criminal rackets in the Tampa Bay area was Italian Mafia boss Ignacio Antinori.[2]. In 1987, Vincent LoScalzo became boss of the Trafficante family and Florida was declared an open territory, meaning that the Five Families of New York City could operate in any city in Florida. what they into into these days the tampa italians that is. In 1950, the aging Trafficante Sr. began to slow down. They raided my apartment, they were looking for money, they tore up all the furniture, they used to come and get me at nighttime, take me out in the woods, trying to tell where I had my money, this and that, until I finally went into hiding.. In Trafficante Sr.'s adult life he only portrayed himself as a successful Tampa cigar factory owner. He maintained all of the lucrative casinos in Cuba, further cemented ties with powerful Mafia families he had established as a young man in New York, and ruthlessly put down any attempts to usurp his territory or power. Die Bufalino-Familie wurde unter anderem mit Gewerkschaftskorruption, Flschungen . [6] Trafficante Jr. had known Lucchese since the 1940s, when his father and Lucchese had trained him in the mafia traditions. He sought treatment for stomach cancer and was ready to hand power over to a trusted lieutenant. Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. The Five Families of New York City could work in any city in the state. Trafficante remained the boss of Tampa until he died of natural causes in 1954. Santo Trafficante, Sr. (born May 28, 1886 in Cianciana, Sicily; died August 11, 1954, in Tampa, Florida) was a Sicilian-born mobster, and father of the powerful mobster Santo Trafficante, Jr. Santo Trafficante, Sr. first gained power as a mobster in Tampa as an associate, and later as a high-ranking member, of the Antinori crime family, helping [3] In 1943, Antinori's two sons Paul and Joseph were convicted in Kansas City for drug dealing and sentenced to four years in prison finally ending the decade long war. LoScalzo controlled a much smaller family, over the years many of the older mobsters retired or died and were not replaced with new members. The nephew of former boss Ignazio Italiano, he later fled to Mexico. The group, which went through five bosses between 1910 and 1957, is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings . Santo Trafficante Jr. - American Mafia - Bonanno crime family - Colombo crime family - Bolita - Ybor City - Ignacio Antinori. [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. So, who was this so-called Silent Don who wielded enough power to allegedly kill the President? LoScalzo controlled a much smaller family, over the years many of the older mobsters retired or died and were not replaced with new members. The most notable boss was Santo Trafficante, Jr. who ruled Tampa and the crime family with an iron fist. Prosecutors allege 70-year-old John Mamone stole around $3.8 million by submitting phony bills to Medicare for knee, shoulder and wrist braces. As Jimmy Hoffas former lawyer Frank Ragano would later recall, Jimmy told me to tell [New Orleans boss Carlos] Marcello and Trafficante they had to kill the president. These were the first seeds laid down by the Sicilian Mafia as they took control of the city. Birmingham crime family - defunct since 1938; Florida. "The Silent Don: The Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante Jr". Steve Raffa was one of the handful of mobsters that actually committed suicide I think. The Trafficante crime family also known as the Tampa Mafia, is the only original Mafia crime family in the state of Florida. For the U.S. government, it was a classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.. The Trafficante Family expanded their reach into North Florida cities like Orlando and Jacksonville during the late 1980s. A federal indictment named Steve Raffa, 59, of Hollywood, as the South Florida leader, or "capo," of the Tampa-based crime family once headed by Santo Trafficante Jr., who died in 1987. Santo Trafficante, Jr. succeeded his father as the boss of Tampa and ruled his family with an iron fist. Trafficante Jr. was nonetheless a ruthless and old-school mob boss. The weapon was detected by an X-ray scanner. Against All Odds: Oscar Goodman and the Jimmy Chagra Murder Trial, Drug trafficker Peter Shue on coke vs. heroin, doing 21 years, Suge, Alpo, Keith Sweat, Madonna & Mike Tyson, Inside Italy's biggest Mafia trial in decades. [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. 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. 19541987 Frank Ragano he was an attorney/advisor to Santo Trafficante Jr. Although the Trafficante Family was based in Tampa and St. Petersburg, they also operated down in South Florida around Miami Beach in Dade County and the island nation of Cuba. The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida. I live in Tampa and sometimes wonder if there's still an Italian presence. His specialty was narcotics trafficking. The most notable boss was Santo Trafficante, Jr. who ruled Tampa and the crime family with an iron fist. In May 2015, 13 people in Jacksonville were indicted by the Federal government on money laundering charges. The Trafficante Family Under Santo Junior. 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. 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. [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. With Lumia eliminated Trafficante took over again. [1] After the death of Santo Jr. in 1987, the Tampa Mafia family has been controlled by Vincent LoScalzo. 19541987 Vincent LoScalzo promoted to boss. [1] Author Scott Deitche reported that Santo Jr. was involved with the CIA to plot assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. 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