The nephew of former boss Ignazio Italiano, he later fled to Mexico. New York: Barricade Books. Santo Trafficante Sr. had now taken over organized crime activities in a majority of the city and started to teach his son Santo Trafficante Jr. how to run these operations. After Cuban revolution, the Mafia saw Castro as a threat to their business. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Santo Jr. succeeded his father as the boss of Tampa upon his death. [10], On August 5, 2008, the Tampa and New York FBI indicted John A. Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano - Made Famous in "Donnie Brasco". The weapon showed up on the x-ray scanner. 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. Afterwards, the son he had groomed to take his place, Santo Trafficante Jr., took the reins of the Trafficante crime family. "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 also controlled a few bars, lounges, restaurants, night clubs and liquor stores across Florida. Individuals in this category were/are "made" members of the Trafficante crime family, sometimes known as the Tampa crime family. The most notable boss was Santo Trafficante, Jr. who ruled Tampa and the crime family with an iron fist. The Trafficante crime family also known as the Tampa Mafia, is the only original Mafia crime family in the state of Florida. And despite relatively small time beginnings, Trafficante proved to be a shrewd mobster. "[ 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. It's still a great chart on the Tampa Mob. In 2000 nineteen members of the crew were arrested and Raffa committed suicide. Trafficante Sr. had always wanted to make it big in Cuban casinos and dispatched his son, Santo, Jr., to Havana in 1946 to help operate a mob-owned casino. The Tampa mob made a lot of money in Cuba, but never achieved its ambition of making the island part of its own territory. Late in life LoScalzo denied any connections to organized crime. The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida, United States. He stood back in the shadows, while men like Ignazio Antinori and Charlie Wall were well-known crime figures about town. Supposedly arranged by Charles "Lucky" Luciano, the conference was held to discuss important mob policies, rules, and business interests. In his 1994 autobiography Mob Lawyer, Ragano recounted his career in defending members of organized crime, and made the controversial allegation that Florida mob boss Santo Trafficante, Jr. confessed to him shortly before he died in 1987 that he and Carlos Marcello had arranged for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. And as for the rest of the Trafficante Crime family? [11] The indictment stated that Gotti Jr. along with the other men had been involved in various criminal activities in Tampa and New York during the early 2000s. [1] Like a good reporter, the author buttresses his text with piles of references and footnotes, almost to the point of overkill. The. Powered by. 2007, Weimar, Carrie. 2008, Deitche, Scott. Diaz was later recruited into the Trafficante crime family of the American Mafia, working as head of security at one of Santo Trafficante 's casinos and serving as his bodyguard. The ethnicities of associates mentioned above become clearly evident as you scroll through the membership chart below that reflects associates first and last names. 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. Among those convicted in the murder conspiracy was Frank Diecidue, identified by a U.S. Senate committee as the underboss of Tampa's Trafficante crime family. The North Florida operations were run by the Maglianos & Granados. The war between the two continued on for years, until October 23, 1940, when Ignacio Antinori was shot and killed by a shotgun blast to the head at the Palm Garden Inn in Tampa. 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. [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. But in January 1981, on the night of the Las Vegas function, the police raided Knights Court. With the Kefauver hearings and Charlie Wall testifying in 1950, both Trafficantes fled to Cuba. A former soldier in Florida's Trafficante Mafia family was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and paying kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program. It shows many names common to Hispanics, Blacks, and White southerners. 19401948 Salvatore "Red" Italiano fled in Mexico. [6] Trafficante Jr. had known Lucchese since the 1940s, when his father and Lucchese had trained him in the mafia traditions. Director Ned Parker Stars Colin Tierney (voice) Joseph D. Pistone Tony Mirra (archive footage) A ninety-year period of continuous underworld activity. One small gang, led by Italian immigrant Santo Trafficante Senior, profited from the illegal lottery-style games they ran across Tampa. There was also a smaller Italian gang in the area which was controlled by Santo Trafficante Sr., who had lived in Tampa since the age of 18. According to the 1994 book written by attorney Frank Ragano, who represented Hoffa, the teamster leader asked mob bosses Santos Trafficante and Carlos Marcello to arrange the assassination of. Antinori took notice of Santo Trafficante and invited him into his organization and together they expanded the Bolita games across the state. Antinori took notice of Santo Trafficante and invited him into his organization and together they expanded the Bolita games across the state. 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. Steve Bruno Raffa (died 2000) was a capo in the Trafficante crime family who ran the family's South Florida rackets. On July 1, 1989 LoScalzo was indicted on racketeering charges that included grand theft, the charges were later dropped and then reinstated. With Lumia eliminated Trafficante took over again. Trafficante crime family (Tampa area) The Five Families of New York have crews operating in South Florida Bonanno crime family - is operating in South Florida In the mid-2000's, 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. In 1953 Santo Jr. survived a shooting. The mafiosos that made up the family are either retired, in prison, or have died due to old age. The Lucchese crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. The Trafficante Family expanded their reach into North Florida cities like Orlando and Jacksonville during the late 1980s. What the fuck seriously?! 7 related topics. By the 1930s Ignacio Antinori and Charlie Wall were in a bloody war for ten years, which would later be known as "Era of Blood". In 1950, the aging Trafficante Sr. began to slow down. Shit dude, try kicking hammer. Despite numerous stunted ambitions, he was regarded as one of the most powerful mob bosses of the American Mafia. Not sure about what is going on in Tampa, though. [3] Both Wall's and Antinori's organizations were weakened, leaving Santo Trafficante as one of the last and most powerful bosses in Tampa.[2]. SD provides an endless parade of mafiadom, crime personalities and corrupt officials. Getty ImagesSanto Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. The weapon was detected by an X-ray scanner. Peter Moruzzi/Wikimedia Commons The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. [6] Trafficante Jr. had known Lucchese since the 1940s, when his father and Lucchese had trained him in the mafia traditions. After that, he ordered casino owners to cough up employee back pay, then shut them down again. Thomas Gaetano Lucchese, sometimes known by the nicknames "Tommy", "Thomas Luckese", "Tommy Brown" or "Tommy Three-Finger Brown" was an Italian-American gangster and founding member of the Mafia in the United States, an offshoot of the Cosa Nostra in Sicily. 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. President John. In the early 20th Century, Tampa was a small but growing city, and the organized crime it faced was modest. These were the first seeds laid down by the Sicilian Mafia as they took control of the city. Batista let Trafficante and other mobsters build as many casinos and hotels as they wanted in exchange for a cash kickback. The most notable boss was Santo Trafficante, Jr. who ruled Tampa and the crime family with an iron fist. The American governments close ties to Santo Trafficante Jr. and the rest of the Mafia didnt end with their attempts to kill Castro. His positioning in Florida was prime for drug shipping as the product often passed through these ports en route to elsewhere in America. After the death of Santo Jr . [1] [8], On October 26, 2000, federal authorities arrested Steven Raffa, along with eighteen members of Trafficante family's Miami faction. Interestingly, Trafficante who was worth about $25 billion at his height in the '80s lived a fairly reserved, modest lifestyle. "They told me to go to the draft board and sign up. [1] Author Scott Deitche reported that Santo Jr. was involved with the CIA to plot assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. Loscalzo maintained ties to Mafia families in California, New Jersey, and New York as well as being connected to the Sicilian Mafia. The Trafficante connection with New York was strong and lucrative . 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. In 1963, the Mob allegedly had enough of Kennedy. [9] Raffa the leader of the familys Miami faction committed suicide on November 16, 2000. Should rap lyrics be used as evidence in court? Trafficante, 72, who police said headed a Tampa crime family whose activities ranged from contract killing to gambling and narcotics, died at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston following. LoScalzo pleaded no contest on October 7, 1997, and received three months of probation. The nephew of former boss Ignazio Italiano, he later fled to Mexico. Santo, Jr. was known to have been deeply involved in the CIA efforts to involve the underworld in assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. den Stdten Scranton, Wilkes-Barre und Pittston aktiv. 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. "Junior" Gotti, son of the late Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, has been running organized crime in Tampa since his release from prison in 2005. The idea behind the assassination wasnt just to punish JFK but also to get his brother off the Mobs back. 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. . His two sons also face charges in this case. Though his prison sentence wasnt long and he returned to a strong position in Florida, Trafficante never forgave Castro. what they into into these days the tampa italians that is. The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida. Lazzara was killed because he was had learned inside details of the workings of an arson ring. And the Trafficante Crime family found out that it had an unusual ally in their concerns about Castro: the Central, Trafficante Jr. controlled his Tampa-based crime network for over three decades. In 1992, LoScalzo was arrested at the Tampa International Airport for carrying a loaded .38-caliber pistol in his brief case. He worked to expand the crime familys business holding and territory he was particularly interested in Cuba as a location for gambling, hotels and night clubs and worked to cement good ties with his fellow mobsters in. The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida. His only competitor for criminal rackets in the Tampa Bay area was Italian Mafia boss Ignacio Antinori.[2]. More importantly, Castro imprisoned Trafficante and then had him exiled from Cuba. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. "Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld". Not only was it a potential cash cow but his men did not have to be involved in the day-to-day running of the operation. The Havana Conference of 1946 was a historic meeting of United States Mafia and Cosa Nostra leaders in Havana, Cuba. In Trafficante Sr.'s adult life he portrayed himself as a successful Tampa cigar factory owner. Santo was being watched closely by police and made Salvatore "Red" Italiano the acting boss. By the late 1800s to early 1900s, Italian immigrants from Sicily were drawn to the City of Tampa and a tight-knit Little Italy-type community soon developed. On November 25, 2007, Vincent LoScalzo is now 70 years old a semi-retired mobster and a "regular Joe" said Scott Deitche, author of Cigar City Mafia. There are tons of strip clubs around here and I figure someone has to be running those rackets. [11] The indictment stated that Gotti Jr. along with the other men had been involved in various criminal activities in Tampa and New York during the early 2000s. "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, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trafficante_crime_family&oldid=1137461244, Italian-American culture in Tampa, Florida, Pages using infobox criminal organization with ethnicity or ethnic makeup parameters, Pages using infobox criminal organization with rivals parameter, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. He always wanted to make it big in Cuban casinos and dispatched his son, Santo, Jr., to Havana in 1946 to help operate a mob owned casino. Wall controlled his organization from the Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City, and employed Italians, Cubans and men of other ethnicities in his organization. However, by the late 1920s, facing little pressure, Sicilian gangsters began setting up lucrative gambling and narcotics rackets. The Five Families of New York City could work in any city in the state. Seit dem Jahr 2008 gilt die Familie als inaktiv. Federal prosecutors charged Morgenstern and his twin brother Fred Morgenstern as members of the Trafficante Family's network, alleging they were largely involved in its money laundering and. With the untimely Kefauver hearings and Charlie Wall testifying in 1950, both Trafficantes fled to Cuba. Thanks for the reply. On July 1, 1989, LoScalzo was indicted on racketeering charges, including grand theft. 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. As law enforcement pressure increased on the Mafia in the late 1940s, Santo, fearing. In 1987 Vincent LoScalzo became boss of the Trafficante family and Florida became open territory. The Trafficante crime family also known as the Tampa Mafia, is the only original Mafia crime family in the state of Florida. Trafficantes chance came in the 1960s when he became acquainted with mobster John Handsome Johnny Roselli. La famille de Philadelphie, plus connue comme famille Scarfo (ou famille Bruno-Scarfo), est une organisation criminelle base dans la ville de Philadelphie (Pennsylvanie) et l'une des 25 familles qui composent la mafia amricaine plus connue sous le nom de Cosa nostra.. In America 2 ] with an iron fist involve the underworld in attempts... Chance came in the state, Cuba across Florida Tampa and the organized crime it faced was modest associates. 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