Perched on the edge of a leather chair in his attorney's office, Santo J. Trafficante III wears a pained expression on his jowly face. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. He maintained all of the lucrative casinos in Cuba, further cemented, After Cuban revolution, the Mafia saw Castro as a threat to their business. [13] Trafficante also stated that he had no recollection of meeting Oswald or Oswald's assassin, Jack Ruby. By Santo III's own estimation, this was a wise move. The report was given to the District Attorney's office. One small gang, led by Italian immigrant Santo Trafficante Senior, profited from the illegal lottery-style games they ran across Tampa. 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. Returning to Miami, he joined his father, managing some . While he had several close calls with law enforcement including the famed FBI, Late in life LoScalzo denied any connections to organized crime. One of the last surviving mobsters from the Luciano era, he died of heart disease in a Houston, Texas, hospital in 1987. With that act, Santo Trafficante now reigned supreme in Tampa. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Try again. 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. Honorary Pallbearers are Joe Castellana, Malio Iavarone, FrankCookie Fava, Antonino Marchese, Derek Iavarone, Frank Albano, Drew Smith, Joey Hunt, Michael Sierra, Tony Marchese, Peter Albano, Mario Pullara, Frank Miranda, Dino Trafficante, and Joseph Trafficante. And despite relatively small time beginnings, Trafficante proved to be a shrewd mobster. Authorities also said he urged former bank vice president Michael Pupello to impersonate him in calls to federal bank regulators. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Ex-FBI agent and later Howard Hughes aide Robert Maheu of Las Vegas was one of the primary go-betweens for Trafficante. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. Santo Trafficante, Sr., the powerful Trafficante crime family's patriarch, was born on May 28, 1886, in Alexandria Della Rocca, Sicily. But once Kennedy actually entered the White House, he didnt live up to his end of the bargain. While the senior Trafficante had been a major mobster in his own right, nobody could have expected the heights that were going to be reached by his son. Santo Trafficante Senior died in 1954. Century, Tampa was a small but growing city, and the organized crime it faced was modest. Born Tampa, Florida March 24, 1920 He wears tasselled leather loafers without socks. The other case was a RICO indictment for insurance fraud. love gloria "owens" hill. The American governments close ties to Santo Trafficante Jr. and the rest of the Mafia didnt end with their attempts to kill Castro. "I'm a freak for that kind of stuff," he says. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. the daughter of immigrants from the Italian region of Basilicata. His business ventures have not always been successful. Associates: Sam Giancana, Charlie Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Cuba, Fidel Castro, Johnny Rosselli, Robert Maheu. The first case stemmed from the FBIs well-known Donnie Brasco undercover sting operation. [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. Daughters: Mary Josephine Sarah Ann Brothers: Frank, Salvatore (Sam), Epifanio and Enrico (Henry) Uncle: Joseph M. CACCIATORE (convicted narcotic trafficker) CRIMINAL HISTORY: The authorities continued to charge him with participating in illegal activities, but the aging mob boss escaped conviction each time. 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. Trafficante maintained links to the Bonanno crime family in New York City, but was more closely allied with Sam Giancana in Chicago. [15], Ragano also claimed that Trafficante, four days prior to his death, delivered a deathbed confession which suggested that Marcello was meant to assassinate Robert F. Kennedy instead of his brother, the President. Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. The Trafficante Family Under Santo Junior. As law enforcement pressure increased on the Mafia in the late 1940s, Santo, fearing. [18] According to Ragano, he met Hoffa at the Teamsters' headquarters in Washington, DC, then delivered the message to Trafficante and Marcello in a meeting at the Royal Orleans Hotel in New Orleans. But according to declassified documents released in 1992, Santo Trafficante Jr. made a deathbed confession of his involvement in the Presidents murder. After a violent mob war left several of Trafficantes rivals dead or weakened, his gang rapidly rose to prominence in Tampa. In January 1963, he married Geraldine Valenti, the daughter. That was in part due to his lifestyle. We are one of them! Like Trafficante Jr. before him, had many close calls with law enforcement, but always escaped serious charges. Wife : Josephine MARCHESE (Santo TRAFFICANTE Jr. married Josephine in Tampa, Florida on April 17, 1938). Whether or not a Mafia conspiracy was behind the assassination of Kennedy is still up for debate. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Santo Trafficante Jr. "[12], In 1978, both Trafficante and Aleman were called to testify before members of the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations investigating possible links between Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and anti-Castro Cubans, including the theory that Castro had Kennedy killed in retaliation for the CIA's attempts on his own life. Please reset your password. The choice was nothing more than honoring a tradition. The Dignity Memorial brand name is used to identify a network of licensed funeral, cremation and cemetery providers that include affiliates of Service Corporation International, 1929 Allen Parkway, Houston, Texas. Maheu hid the fact that he was sent by the CIA, instead portraying himself an advocate for international corporations. Bankruptcy court documents show that Trafficante is owed $500,000 by a business partner. In February 2016, many of Trafficante's personal belongings were sold at an auction in St. Petersburg, Florida. This is a carousel with slides. As we all know, he was right, and Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper in November 1963. My heart goes out to the family. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. According to some, he was even involved in the infamous assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The people of Tampa, especially the ones still around to remember those days still feel a duty of sorts to keep quite of these things, as if these people are still amongst us and can hear our chatter. Santo Trafficante then categorically denied every allegation about stating he wanted RFK or JFK dead and got off scot-free. The men started to drive away when another sedan drove past the Mercury, the occupants unloading a blast of buckshot as they passed. Josephine Marchese Trafficante, 95, died peacefully in her sleep, Wednesday morning at her home. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. 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? He was going to be hit.. Though his prison sentence wasnt long and he returned to a strong position in Florida, Trafficante never forgave Castro. I will never forget him as a fellow stroke survivor. 2023 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. Santo Jr., who had inherited the leadership of the Tampa Mafia around 1950 when his father, Santo Sr., fell ill, had now completed his consolidation of power in Tampa and beyond. "Now when I walk in a bank," Trafficante says, "the president runs out the back door.". Trafficante's appetite and his legal woes seem linked like the strands of a cruller. [8] Allusions to these historic connections were confirmed by the CIA's 2007 declassification of the "Family Jewels" documents. Valenti hired his son-in-law at the produce company and allowed him to name his own salary. Santo Trafficante Jr, was born on November 15, 1914 in Tampa, Florida and followed in the footsteps of his father, Santo Trafficante Sr, into a life of organized crime. We have set your language to 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. ). The other guys are two doctors, who say they'll testify if they're summoned to court. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Florida Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Scott M. Deitche, Mob Museum Advisory Council member and mob http://www.scottdeitche.com/books.htmlauthor of Tampa's favorite books, Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld & The Silent Don: The Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante Jror Manny Leto, previous Editor of Cigar City Magazine and Tampa historian, will guide you on a 1.5 -2 hour walking tour to old gambling palaces, street corners, and alleys where some mobsters met their demise, and restaurants where wise guys, like famed boss Santo Trafficante Jr, held court. Anthony Accardo & Santo Trafficante Jr - Labor Union Kickbacks (1977- 1981)https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/05/us/16-indicted-over-union-fund-use.htmlCredit:. He allegedly controlled organized crime operations in Florida and Cuba My aim is to provide you with the best Service experience for you and your motorcycle. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. In fact, Florida had the dubious distinction of being home to a decades-old Mafia criminal network: the Trafficante Family. Mob Lawyer Frank Ragano Says He Knows Who Killed JFK", "Book alleges plot to kill JFK in Tampa, cover-up", "At Santo Trafficante auction, a chance to buy a piece of Tampa's mob history", Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, Associated Press report on Trafficante's death, "Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life" By Robert Lacy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santo_Trafficante_Jr.&oldid=1140940042, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 15:02. Trafficante had been operating in Cuba since the late 1940s under his father, Santo Trafficante Sr., a mobster in Tampa, Florida. Trafficante tried to win Castro over to his side, but that didnt work. But those werent even their most ridiculous ideas. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Comfort the family with flowers or a sympathy gift. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. Email blog@themobmuseum.org. Services will be followed by a graveside service at the Italian Club Cemetery and a reception at the family home. All the while, he lives in a palatial lakeside compound in rural northwest Hillsborough. When the CIA decided to recruit the Mob in their efforts to assassinate Fidel Castro, they went to see Trafficante. 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,. 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. They lived in modest, ranch-style houses in quiet neighborhoods in Tampa and Miami. Santo was known to have been deeply involved in the CIA efforts to involve the underworld in assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. But Santo knew who was behind the killing a rival Mafia faction. After that, he ordered casino owners to cough up employee back pay, then shut them down again. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. After the Kennedy hubbub, Trafficante kept a low profile or, lower that is. A car registered to former state attorney and current state appellate judge E.J. The Internal Revenue Service tried to collect $400,000 in back taxes owed on the business, saying it had not been run as business eligible for tax write-offs, but a hobby. Join us for this one-of-a-kind walking tour of Tampa's most storied neighborhood. The CIA came to Trafficante, and asked for his help in enlisting the Mafia to assassinate the Cuban leader. After a lifetime in organized crime, Trafficante Jr. died of national causes in 1987. Santo, Jr. never spent a day in jail, and he died of natural causes in 1987. This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. He escaped conviction all but once, receiving a five-year sentence for bribery in 1954, but his conviction was overturned by the Florida Supreme Court before he entered prison. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. More importantly, Castro imprisoned Trafficante and then had him exiled from Cuba. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. At Boxer Cycle Works. Please check your entries and try again. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Trafficante was arrested again in 1957 for attending the famous Apalachin summit of Mob leaders in New York, but those charges were dropped. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. THE CHARLIE WALL STORY Kingpin Charlie Wall (center holding bottle, right of child) and his notorious gang. By the time Prohibition and the Era of Blood ended, he was the top man in the Florida Mafia, operating with the blessing of exiled Mob boss Charlie Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello of the Five Families, and Meyer Lansky of the national Syndicate. This was proven in 1953 when he eliminated the last contender to the Tampa mob throne: Joe Antinori, son of the late Ignacio. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Trafficante_Jr. Upon his return to the United States, he became determined to bring down the man who ended his empire. Please enter your email and password to sign in. 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 . Pupello determined that his diabetic patient's arteries were healthy. A year has passed. Early in Trafficantes federal court case in 1986, the judge declared a mistrial. department.". The Trafficante family formed a strong alliance with the Batista government in Cuba and profited from their investments, although they never achieved the goal of dominating gambling on the island. Trafficante would be charged with bank fraud, perjury and disclosure of criminal investigation. By December 1953, one more rival was dead and another was too scared to even venture out of his home. 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. We never paid cash. Santo Trafficante, Jr. was born in the United States on November 15, 1914, as one of five sons of Mafia boss Santo Trafficante. The beachfront properties were the site of many parties and barbecues. Mobster dies, two nations. Trafficante scrambled out the passenger-side door. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Resend Activation Email. He maintained close working ties with the Lucchese crime family and the Bonanno crime family from New York City. We send our most sincere sympathies to the Trafficante family. She touched all who knew her, and upon meeting her, she would embrace you, and you would instantly become part of the family. He drove standard cars, lived in regular houses in quiet places, was married to the same woman, and generally described as a quiet man. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. 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. 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. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. "They wouldn't even let me go to the track. They had three daughters, Antoinette born . You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. 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. Try again later. Chris and I will never forget Santo's presence at Leia's welcome home party. Try again later. TAMPA The daughter sits on the front porch of a little bungalow in Seminole Heights, her new home since her husband died a few months ago down south. 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.