trafficante crime family

Frank Ragano; See also. His new attorney general his beloved brother, Robert F. Kennedy went after organized crime with a vengeance. he said when a reporter asked about the FBI's claim that he heads the local mob. In those early days, there were violent conflicts between Tampas competing racketeers as they gained a foothold in America. When Fidel Castro began his ascent to power in the 1950s, Santo Trafficante feared the radical Marxist revolutionary wouldnt cooperate with him. They smashed the gaming tables but did not arrest anyone. But he said that high-level mob officials recently have expanded their influence in the area. Trafficante, though, never spent a night in an American jail. However, while the Latin American drug trade has figured prominently in the sunshine states less savory history, so has the Mafia. However, by the late 1920s, facing little pressure, Sicilian gangsters began setting up lucrative gambling and narcotics rackets. They cope with it; I guess we have to.". By this point, Trafficante Jr. had fully taken over the oversight of drugs shipped between Florida, Cuba, and the rest of the States. 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. Buy the time LoScalzo took over in 1987, the Trafficante Crime Family was far past its heyday. Jan 23, 2019 - Explore Al Lanzilotti's board "Trafficante Crime family" on Pinterest. Trafficante crime family. Santo Trafficante Jr. - The Mob Museum He sought treatment for stomach cancer and was ready to hand power over to a trusted lieutenant. Copyright 2019-2023, Button Guys of The New York Mafia. Decades later, it is unclear if all of their investigations were warranted or if some were politically motivated or worse, simple harassment of innocent residents. But a federal judge recently said Mamone will remain here for the foreseeable future. Radioactive roads? The Trafficante Family - American Mafia History Since 1980, LoScalzo has increased his property holdings in West Tampa and Ybor City; at various times he has owned property valued at more than $365,000 in Hillsborough County, according to property appraiser's records. He allegedly spent $28,000 on the 1947 Tampa election and $29,000 on the 1948 Hillsborough election. Born in Tampa in 1915, Diecidue was identified by the FBI as early as 1957 as the "underboss" of Trafficante's crime family. Born in Tampa, Florida in 1914, Trafficante hailed from a family already deeply involved in organized crime. Thanks for the reply. Instead, they used private radio waves as part of an effort to cloak their efforts from deputies believed to be in cahoots with the mafia. All rights reserved. A grand jury did. The others, who live in Broward County, include Daniel M. Carver, 35, of Coral Springs; John Paul Gosney Jr., 39, of Parkland; Ethan Macier, 22, of Coral Springs; and Ashley Cigarroa, 29, of North Lauderdale. The committees efforts, according to news archives, included: In 1952, they led a resident-raid on an illegal casino after local law enforcement did not respond to a tip. Despite his arrest, Trafficante managed to escape charges and continue to fly under the laws radar. was supposedly built by Santo Traficante. Now in his late 70s or early 80s, LoScalzo is reported to be retired. And, in 1954, the committee helped the St. Petersburg police investigate whether Santo Trafficante Jr. and his brother Henry Trafficante offered a bribe to law enforcement in that city. An editor and public historian, Carly Silver has written for Smithsonian, Narratively, The Atlantic, Atlas Obscura, and Archaeology, among other publications. "I have never used drugs, or dealt drugs or had anything to do with drugs," he said in an interview. 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. Father of Private and Private The Tampa case ended in mistrial. Why are real estate prices still rising? Using a series of laboratories and medical device companies, those involved in the scheme billed the federal insurance program for bogus genetic tests, federal prosecutors said in court papers. Jimmy Lumia was an oil company executive who controlled gambling rackets in Tampa in the 1940s. "He just knows some people who are.". But before Trafficante testified, someone conveniently killed Roselli. prosecution, fled temporarily to Cuba. Tampa residents once took on corruption that turned city into 'hell in Santo Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. The chairman cited a confession from Roselli that Trafficantes allies organized a sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, to take out the President. Why did the Traficante and Marcello families fade? : r/Mafia The family released receipts that they say proved Velasco used illegal gambling money to fund candidates who would ignore the mafias crimes. The Trafficante Family Leadership Chart - The New York Mafia He quickly became an integral part of the Tampa family. Since the late 1800s, she said, crime syndicates had used gambling profits to buy votes. After the Kennedy hubbub, Trafficante kept a low profile or, lower that is. According to Det. Many of the familys gangsters were in prison, or too old to be effective. Ed Giorandino/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. Dwyane Wade says he left Florida because family would not be accepted, Assembly line of Triple-A arms somehow has kept Rays atop the standings. [CDATA[ Instead, it was led by the Hillsborough County Crime Commission, an independent organization that was backed by residents who claimed that local elected officials and law enforcement had become too corrupted by organized crime to be trusted without oversight. The house next to be at 9209 Post Rd. He quoted LoScalzo: "Daddy Frank said to give you anything you want.". (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Wikimedia CommonsPresident John F. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. A city where it is necessary for a vigilante or crime commission to exist is not a healthy city, the Tampa Times reported he said. He has never been charged with a crime, although state alcohol agents have forced him to give up one liquor license, and Tampa police sought an injunction that led to the closing of Ernesto's Bar and Package in 1985. Hoffa said to me, This has to be done.'. 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. Florida lawmakers OK $1.85 million for Tampa mans wrongful conviction. Santo Traficante. The same informant returned the following month to find Henry Trafficante there with three unidentified associates. I have never been involved in drugs in my life.". The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida. Santo Trafficante Sr., a 'Sicilian of the old school,' ruled Tampa's The chart was made by Scott M. Deitche on his site. The most notable boss was Santo Trafficante, Jr. who ruled Tampa and the crime family with an iron fist. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his fathers footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. With the death of Santo Trafficante Jr. four years ago, the big question was: Who would take over as the local crime boss? 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. They are: Frank Diecidue, a 76-year-old Tampa businessman and longtime underboss to Trafficante. 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. 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. Napoli's wife, Florence, denied that her husband was associated with La Cosa Nostra. Victim Referral Services - Orange County Sheriff's Department 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. In October 2000, 19 Tampa LCN members and associates, including Steve Raffa and John Mamone, were indicted in Florida on charges of illegal gambling, loansharking, money laundering through check-cashing stores, and a massive financial fraud scheme run out of South Carolina , that reportedly brought in $32 million in profits. All Rights Reserved. It is unclear when he returned to South Florida. Prosecutors allege 70-year-old John Mamone stole around $3.8 million by submitting phony bills to Medicare for knee, shoulder and wrist braces. "But because I go into business for myself they put this horrible stigma on me.". But, in December 1950, during a local hearing that questioned politicians, law enforcement and alleged gangsters, the federal Kefauver Commission charged with exposing organized crime throughout the nation used the Velasco story as evidence of Tampas corruption. The crimes are punishable by a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Its founding members . Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. Afterwards, the son he had groomed to take his place, Santo Trafficante Jr., took the reins of the Trafficante crime family. Joseph Pistone spent six years posing as Mafia member "Donnie Brasco" to gather information for the FBI. But once Kennedy actually entered the White House, he didnt live up to his end of the bargain. Some people also alleged that Trafficante Jr played a role in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy due to his anti-organized crime efforts, but Trafficante Jr. always denied it. The younger Trafficante already had established connections with New York Mafia members. Santo Trafficante, Jr (1914 - 1987) - Genealogy Heres why. // Frank Ragano - Wikipedia After a lifetime in organized crime, Trafficante Jr. died of national causes in 1987. 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. what they into into these days the tampa italians that is. In May 1987, the informant told agents that Diecidue had asked him to "watch Vincent LoScalzo, Michael Napoli and Frank Albano as he (Diecidue) does not think he is receiving his fair share of the cocaine profits. Like many of the most prominent mobsters of the 20th century, his father, Santo Trafficante Sr., grew up in Sicily, Italy but became a major player in the criminal world after migrating to America. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. It's been 15 years since the most recent arrest of any of the three men investigators say share the power in Tampa now. 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. In 1981, in Miami, he was indicted for skimming money from the health and welfare funds of the Labor International Union. When doing a chart like this you have to mention the members of the past too. Investigators said he headed the cocaine laundering operation in Tampa for what is known as the Trafficante crime family. Trafficante returns to Tampa and enlists in a CIA plot to poison Castro. It said the informant witnessed four possible organized crime associates answering a phone in the backroom during the 30 minutes he first investigated the barbershop. These were the first seeds laid down by the Sicilian Mafia as they took control of the city. Zeng8r/Wikimedia Common A set of bolita balls. Scott lives in St. Petersburg, FL. They are the new local leaders of La Cosa Nostra, the Mafia in the United States. I-Team: Murder probe's legacy is debated