Consequently, while generally recognized as the most powerful organized crime figure in Florida throughout much of the 20th century, Trafficante was not believed to have total control over Miami, Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, or Palm Beach. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! He stood back in the shadows, while men like Ignazio Antinori and Charlie Wall were well-known crime figures about town. Even though there's always a few people who try to ruin it. You know what, guns actually do kill people | Letters, Seminole Heights serial killings case ends with guilty plea, 4 life sentences, Here is why the school zone speed camera bill should become law in Florida | Editorial. After the Kennedy hubbub, Trafficante kept a low profile or, lower that is. Grossman, Daniel Goldman's kidnapping and murder was an act of revenge after Aaron Goldman went up against the group known as the Tampa Mafia. The chairman cited a confession from Roselli that Trafficantes allies organized a sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, to take out the President. Santo Trafficante Jr. wounded during failed assassination attempt in Tampa. They also released a list of alleged bribes he gave to elected officials, which included Mayor Curtis Hixon. Her father was Nick Nuccio. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his fathers footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. In Tampa, Trafficante enlisted Frank Diecidue as his underboss. Suspicious cash flow was observed in accounts owned by associates of high-profile individuals, including Santo Trafficante Jr. (pictured above) the boss of the Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia. That arrest also led Cuban authorities to become warier of the mobster, especially as the political tides seemed to be turning there. He also said he overheard the men described as Italians who were dressed exceptionally well discussing horse and dog races. Dennis Caruso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesFrank Ragano and Santo Trafficante Jr. (right). In 1963, the Mob allegedly had enough of Kennedy. But once Kennedy actually entered the White House, he didnt live up to his end of the bargain. For the U.S. government, it was a classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend.. His family said he was murdered by the notorious Trafficante crime family because he was growing too powerful. Read the entire story about Mamones life of crime and current legal troubles written by Jane Musgrave in the Palm Beach Post. He has written seven books and more than 50 articles on organized crime for local and national publications. In 1976, Diecidue was charged with racketeering in an indictment that charged others with participating in a plot to kill Tampa Police Detective Richard Cloud, who was investigating the mob. Trafficante crime family | Historica Wiki | Fandom Scott has been featured on The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, A&E, C-SPAN, and both national and local news and radio shows. Reputed 'boss of bosses' dies at 72 TAMPA, Fla, Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52792202/frank-cacciatore-trafficante, L'Unione Italiana Cemetery, Ybor City, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Trafficante_Jr, Death of Santo Trafficante, Jr at Houston, TX. Yeah, Scott has some great information. The CIA came to Trafficante, and asked for his help in enlisting the Mafia to assassinate the Cuban leader. Whatever happened to the Imperial Room Lounge that was owned by Doc Castellano in Tampa?? Letsgetstarted. The callous Florida Legislature should check it out. Scott is one of the few writers who has donated items to the Mafia Museum in Las Vegas, and is a regularly-featured guest speaker there. 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. A year later, La Gaceta newspaper reported that the Vice Squad had stopped using the sheriff offices designated radio waves. And despite relatively small time beginnings, Trafficante proved to be a shrewd mobster. Mafia Locations (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Sentenced to a combined 16 1/2 years behind bars, Mamone was released in 2012 after he provided key testimony against Mafia enforcer Paul "Doc" Gaccione in the 1992 murder of Angelo Sangiuolo, a fellow member of the Genovese crime family. But a federal judge recently said Mamone will remain here for the foreseeable future. Trafficante LCN Family Membership. The mafiosos that made up the family are either retired, in prison, or have died due to old age. It's still a great chart on the Tampa Mob. 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. "He is not in the Mafia and he never has been," she said recently. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Albano laughed, then got serious. An editor and public historian, Carly Silver has written for Smithsonian, Narratively, The Atlantic, Atlas Obscura, and Archaeology, among other publications. Santo, Sr. arrived in Tampa in 1902 and settled in the Ybor City . As law enforcement pressure increased on the Mafia in the late 1940s, Santo, fearing. Despite his arrest, Trafficante managed to escape charges and continue to fly under the laws radar. After a lifetime in organized crime, Trafficante Jr. died of national causes in 1987. Its founding members . So, who was this so-called Silent Don who wielded enough power to allegedly kill the President? If it is still there I would love to know. Rape Crisis Hotline - (714)957-2737. In the early 20th Century, Tampa was a small but growing city, and the organized crime it faced was modest. Son of Santo Trafficante and Maria Giuseppa Trafficante Elections would be won, and public officials would be paid to tolerate the status quo.. He was featured in a recent St. Petersburg Times series on Florida's criminal records sealing statute: He persuaded Hillsborough judges to seal records of three arrests, even though the law allows only one sealing. Tales from the Vice Squad | The Hillsborough County Crime Commission was formed in 1951 to root out organized crime and expose corrupt public officials. Steve Raffa was one of the handful of mobsters that actually committed suicide I think. And while cocaine-fueled Latin American criminal networks have been a serious problem in Florida for decades, the Trafficante familys illicit activities were quite infamous as well. Other men of honor considered to be contemporaries included such iconic names as Santo Trafficante Sr., Alfonso Diecidue, and the Lazzara family. But those werent even their most ridiculous ideas. I dont know why theyd investigate my uncle, said Mariette Rushing, 88, of Puglisi. The indictment includes charges of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act; committing violent . Napoli, who is serving a 6{-year federal prison sentence, declined an earlier request for an interview. "I came to this country 40 years ago and I've worked hard to get what I have today. 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. 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. His son, Santo Trafficante Jr., took over the crime family and became tangled in a web of conspiracies to kill the leader of revolutionary Cuba and, it is rumored, President John F. Kennedy. I am a legitimate businessman," LoScalzo said. 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. A A. George Defeis was tied to the Trafficante crime family based in Tampa, as reported by NBC Miami. Santo Trafficante Sr., a 'Sicilian of the old school,' ruled Tampa's Each faces a variety of charges, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The crimes are punishable by a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Why are real estate prices still rising? Law enforcement tracked his every move. Albano, Frank Peter. But on June 5, 1950, a Ford sedan pulled alongside Lumia's car, parked along Tampa's waterfront. Meet Santo Trafficante: The Silent Don Who Tried To Kill Fidel Castro And May Have Ordered JFKs Assassination. Central District of California | 3 Mexican Mafia Members and 28 President John F. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Dennis Caruso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. Wikimedia CommonsPresident John F. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. Santo Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. The Bizarre Case Of Danny Goldman's Kidnapping - Grunge Joe is reportedly a longtime associate of the Trafficante mob, and his barber shop is a known hang-out of some of this group.. No one was ever charged with Lazzara murder. Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. Rushing said the investigation was likely part of an effort by her fathers political opponents to soil his name. Trafficante tried to win Castro over to his side, but that didnt work. A fellow mobster claimed that Trafficante was part of a group of La Cosa Nostra principals who arranged Kennedy's murder. This was proven in 1953 when he eliminated the last contender to the Tampa mob throne: Joe Antinori, son of the late Ignacio. 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. In interviews, all three men denied any connection to the mob. The elder Trafficante was a virtual unknown to law enforcement for most of the early 20th century. The senior Mamone spent years in a federal witness protection program after snitching on federal mobsters to try to reduce his sentences on racketeering and other charges. The family released receipts that they say proved Velasco used illegal gambling money to fund candidates who would ignore the mafias crimes. 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. I grew up with some people who I know did bad things, but I also grew up with people who became judges and doctors and lawyers. The family was taken over by Santo Trafficante Sr. after Antinori was murdered by rival gangster Charlie Wall in 1940, and Wall would himself be killed in 1955 by the Trafficante family. 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. by Lisa Babick and The Other Guy. 14 Other Mafia leaders, as well as newer organized crime networks, took over many of the rackets the family ran throughout the 20th Century. The authorities continued to charge him with participating in illegal activities, but the aging mob boss escaped conviction each time. 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. Youll get a remembrance of Tampa Bay residents weve lost, including heartwarming and amusing details about their lives, every Tuesday. 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. The twister killed hls mother when lt touched down about 6, honored Wednesday us the nation's sute legislator. Does it still claim him? But an FBI affidavit in a cocaine case provides a peek into a new type of local mob _ one that is more pedestrian and more likely to be involved in local drug dealing than international intrigue. The mobsters also attempted to get Castro into a poisoned wetsuit and even offered to blow him up with an exploding seashell. Home Mafia Charts The Trafficante Family Leadership Chart. Frank Ragano; See also. Released on bond, they are to be sentenced on July 8. He drove standard cars, lived in regular houses in quiet places, was married to the same woman, and generally described as a quiet man. Damn what was the name of that place. Cuban leader Fulgencio Batista in Washington, D.C. in 1938. Family Justice Center - City of Santa Ana Scott's favorite cocktail is the Negroni. People are always putting bulls--- about them in the paper, too.