The investigators were looking for proof of drug-money laundering. Organized Crime Figure. [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. He died on March 17, 1987. Josephine Marchese Trafficante A Hillsborough judge threw out the wiretaps, the spine of the state's case. GREAT NEWS! 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. This account has been disabled. Santo Traficante Jr fue uno de los ltimos y mas poderosos capos de la mafia en Florida y Cuba. You've got to be a fool to marry wrong," he says. Indeed, some people would rather not dwell on the less-than-noble aspects of our local history. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The report was given to the District Attorney's office. In the early 1980s Trafficante was ensnared in two major cases that could have sent the aging don to prison for the first time in his life, apart from his time in the Triscornia detention camp in Cuba following Castros takeover in 1959. Trafficante was born in Tampa, Florida, to Sicilian parents Santo Trafficante Sr. and his wife Maria Giuseppa Cacciatore in 1914. He walked outside and got into a 1951 Mercury sedan driven by one of his associates. [13] Trafficante said that he introduced the trio to Cuban exiles in Florida. In January 1963, he married Geraldine Valenti, the daughter of J.C. Valenti, who owned a thriving produce business. The original Malio's Restaurant located on South Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, Florida. TAMPA CRIME BOSS SANTO TRAFFICANTE JR PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN THRILLER MAFIA SPIES. Thanks for subscribing! For the last 20 years, everyone knew her as JuJu. Born in Tampa, Florida in 1914, Trafficante hailed from a family already deeply involved in organized crime. A system error has occurred. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Florida [13], On January 14, 1992, Trafficante's former attorney, Frank Ragano, told Jack Newfield of the New York Post that he relayed a request from Hoffa to Trafficante and New Orleans boss Carlos Marcello to have Kennedy killed. In a final disappointment, he sold a filly named "Run Marisa Run" (after his daughter) for $7,500. 2023, Tampa Mafia. He even sent his son, Santo Trafficante Junior, to New York, to gain a better understanding of how the mafia operated there. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. One of the last surviving mobsters from the Luciano era, he died of heart disease in a Houston, Texas, hospital in 1987. TRAFFICANTE, Santo Jose, 72, of Tampa, passed away July 13, 2010, To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our, All my Love to the family Michael R. Tartaro. [7], In January 1958, Trafficante was questioned by the Cuban police regarding the Apalachin meeting. Phil Alessi, a childhood friend, marvels at Trafficante's taste and capacity. She was the Matriarch of the Trafficante Family; and we will all miss her presence, guidance, love and affection. In this episode, we will discuss the fascinating life of Tampa's most powerful mobster: Santo Trafficante Jr. Trafficante Jr. was nonetheless a ruthless and old-school mob boss. Whether or not a Mafia conspiracy was behind the assassination of Kennedy is still up for debate. He attended the University of Florida for a year, then transferred to the University of Tampa and left without completing his degree. All the while, he lives in a palatial lakeside compound in rural northwest Hillsborough. I am sorry I am unable to attend the services due to a illness. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his father's footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. "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. . Fla. (AP), 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. 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. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Desr Gerry, please know that I am thinking of you and never forget the kindness bestowed on me in my difficult time but especially the generosity and affection shown to my daughter and grandson. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. THE HIT THAT EXPOSED SOME OF TAMPAS ELITE. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. However, there were events outside of the United States and even organized crime that inadvertently led Santo Trafficante Jr. to put his own peculiar stamp on American history. "I was the most expensive forklift driver in the world," he says with a smile. I think it was a case of mistaken identity.. Ed Giorandino/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. Trafficantes partnership with Batista was profitable for both parties and so the mobsters fate became inextricably tied to that of Cubas political climate. Josephine Marchese Trafficante, 95, died peacefully in her sleep, Wednesday morning at her home. Alongside Chicago boss Sam Giancana, Roselli and Trafficante came up with some truly insane plots to kill Fidel Castro. Frank Ragano and Santo Trafficante Jr. (right). Getty ImagesSanto Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. While he had several close calls with law enforcement including the famed FBI Donnie Brasco investigation he never spent a single day of his life in jail. There are few indicators that the family is still an active crime network. based on information from your browser. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. The elder Trafficante set up illegal casinos in Cuba in the 1940s, which were sanctioned by Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. "[19] In his book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Vincent Bugliosi has claimed there to be many flaws in Ragano's claims, including his own claim that Trafficante was most likely not in Tampa on the day in question, but was rather in North Miami Beach, Florida, receiving dialysis treatments. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. After a violent mob war left several of Trafficantes rivals dead or weakened, his gang rapidly rose to prominence in Tampa. THE CHARLIE WALL STORY Kingpin Charlie Wall (center holding bottle, right of child) and his notorious gang. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his fathers footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please reset your password. We never paid cash. We guarantee you'll never look at Ybor City the same way again. I can answer any questions you . Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. Try again later. In 1957 he was suspected of involvement in the barbershop slaying of Albert Anastasia, the . Santo Trafficante grew up in the Florida underworld, working his father's gambling rackets and getting experience in the business. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. The international narcotics trade was also an important topic on the Apalachin agenda. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Santo Trafficante (53540265)? Santo was known to have been deeply involved in the CIA efforts to involve the underworld in assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. Trafficante would be charged with bank fraud, perjury and disclosure of criminal investigation. The mafiosos that made up the family are either retired, in prison, or have died due to old age. [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. [19] He claimed three witnesses could support his statement that he met Trafficante in Tampa, but refused to name them, adding: "One guy is afraid of retaliation. Authorities also said he urged former bank vice president Michael Pupello to impersonate him in calls to federal bank regulators. please know that i am praying for you and your family. My aim is to provide you with the best Service experience for you and your motorcycle. 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. He is hardly the "Dapper Don." 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 . The charges of bank fraud against Trafficante and more than a dozen bank employees and customers may well be dismissed. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. "I thought all this would end when my uncle died. "The Mob? Today, Santo Trafficantes criminal legacy lives on through his nephew and namesake, Santo Trafficante III, who was charged with organized fraud in 1992. 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. Trafficante maintained links to the Bonanno crime family in New York City, but was more closely allied with Sam Giancana in Chicago. "Now when I walk in a bank," Trafficante says, "the president runs out the back door.". As law enforcement pressure increased on the Mafia in the late 1940s, Santo, fearing. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. Now he owns a 210-acre orange grove in southern Hillsborough. But considering the fiercely anti-Soviet atmosphere of the Cold War, its not that hard to believe. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. department.". 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.