Satya Nadella House Pictures, Zscaler Application Access Is Blocked By Private Access Policy, Callaway Epic Max 3 Wood Adjustment Guide, Nash County Schools Employee Portal, 1994 Upper Deck Basketball Cards Most Valuable, Articles S

The elder Trafficante set up illegal casinos in Cuba in the 1940s, which were sanctioned by Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Buy the time LoScalzo took over in 1987, the Trafficante Crime Family was far past its heyday. Send your deepest condolences with fresh flowers. In fact, Florida had the dubious distinction of being home to a decades-old Mafia criminal network: the Trafficante Family. This browser does not support getting your location. 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. "Now when I walk in a bank," Trafficante says, "the president runs out the back door.". Santo Jr.'s daughters still owns 3610, where Santo spent time when he wasn't in Tampa or Miami. Mrs. Gerry, Gina, Dino, Joe and Marisa - they broke the mold with Traff. [15][16] He stated he was chosen by Hoffa because, as both Hoffa and Trafficante's lawyer, he could be assured of attorneyclient privilege. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. You'll learn about bolita, the rumored tunnels of Ybor, and the Era of Blood.Join us for this one-of-a-kind walking tour of Tampa's most storied neighborhood. "[12] He said that Trafficante complained about the honesty of the Kennedys and their "attacks" on Jimmy Hoffa and other associates. 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. 0 cemeteries found in Ybor City, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA. Today, Santo Trafficantes criminal legacy lives on through his nephew and namesake, Santo Trafficante III, who was charged with organized fraud in 1992. She was a native of Tampa, a second-generation Sicilian immigrant who grew up in Ybor city. His luck has not improved recently. 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. There are few indicators that the family is still an active crime network. 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. He went to Jesuit High School and played some football. "I thought I could just go down to (former Hillsborough State Attorney) Bill James and (Assistant State Attorney) Lee Atkinson and explain it all away in 15 minutes.". Rosselli later claimed to be involved with or to actually be a shooter in a Mob conspiracy to kill President John F. Kennedy, and some accounts have Trafficante involved in the alleged, and unproven, conspiracy. He returned to Tampa for the last time for internment in the LUnione Italiana Cemetery. Hoffa said to me, This has to be done.'. One of the last surviving mobsters from the Luciano era, he died of heart disease in a Houston, Texas, hospital in 1987. After that, he ordered casino owners to cough up employee back pay, then shut them down again. He attended the University of Florida for a year, then transferred to the University of Tampa and left without completing his degree. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. "There's no such thing as organized crime in Hillsborough County," Trafficante says, clapping his hands for emphasis. The other guys are two doctors, who say they'll testify if they're summoned to court. In 1963, the Mob allegedly had enough of Kennedy. It was clear that federal and local law enforcement had an acute interest in the Trafficante family. 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. Santo Trafficante grew up in the Florida underworld, working his father's gambling rackets and getting experience in the business. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. "You hope things will just disappear two or three years from now.". He was, in many ways, the archetypical old-school Mob boss. In a 1978 legal testimony, Trafficante discussed how quickly Castro shut it all down, then reopened the casinos on his own terms. Whether or not a Mafia conspiracy was behind the assassination of Kennedy is still up for debate. Josephine Marchese Trafficante Failed to delete memorial. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Florida Try again later. Love, Jimmy Schaffer. Died: March 17, 1987, Houston, Texas Who better than his son, Trafficante Jr., to inherit his throne? cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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 . As we all know, he was right, and Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper in November 1963. 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. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. The report was given to the District Attorney's office. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Weve updated the security on the site. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. But once Kennedy actually entered the White House, he didnt live up to his end of the bargain. santo trafficante daughters The twister killed hls mother when lt touched down about 6, honored Wednesday us the nation's sute legislator. Mobster dies, two nations. His abiding passion is food. He has been featured on the History Channel, A&E, Discovery Channel, AHC, Oxygen Network and many local and national news shows. You can always change this later in your Account settings. On March 17, 1987, Trafficante died at the age of 72 at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston where he had gone for heart surgery. In 1957 he was suspected of involvement in the barbershop slaying of Albert Anastasia, the . He dropped out of high school before the 10th grade. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Sorry! On Oct. 26, 1937, Frank Trafficante named his first son after his own father, Santo Trafficante Sr. They had three daughters, Antoinette born . "When I woke up, they told me they raided Key Bank. Reputed 'boss of bosses' dies at 72 TAMPA, Fla, "' Trafficante dies at age 72 TAMPA. "I still don't think I did anything wrong," Trafficante says. 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. The CIA came to Trafficante, and asked for his help in enlisting the Mafia to assassinate the Cuban leader. He was again called to testify in April 1976 on the alleged conspiracy to kill Kennedy, but Rosselli never made it: His body was found in a barrel floating in Biscayne Bay off the coast of Florida. My thoughts and prayers are with you all! Thanks for subscribing! The IRS was unsuccessful, according to Fernandez, Trafficante's attorney. But he was also the most powerful crime boss in pre-Castro Cuba, with influence that extended into Florida and the rest of the United States. I am sorry I am unable to attend the services due to a illness. 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. Drag images here or select from your computer for Santo Trafficante Jr. memorial. His son was turned away from a date's house and his daughter has been refused jobs. My uncle, never wore a ring," Trafficante says. Meanwhile, he continued to make money from the drugs that came through Tampa. I will always remember your perseverance, happiness and smiles at Marisa's wedding. Trafficante was arrested frequently throughout the 1950s on various charges of bribery and of running illegal bolita lotteries in Tampa's Ybor City district. "They'll sleep under trees on you.". Santo Trafficante, Sr., the powerful Trafficante crime family's patriarch, was born on May 28, 1886, in Alexandria Della Rocca, Sicily. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. Oops, we were unable to send the email. They never returned. Santo Trafficante, Jr. was born in the United States on November 15, 1914, as one of five sons of Mafia boss Santo Trafficante. When you think of Florida and organized crime, it is difficult to avoid conjuring up images of Tony Montana in. We send our most sincere sympathies to the Trafficante family. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Trafficante had been operating in Cuba since the late 1940s under his father, Santo Trafficante Sr., a mobster in Tampa, Florida. His positioning in Florida was prime for drug shipping as the product often passed through these ports en route to elsewhere in America. He headed the . Like Trafficante Jr. before him, had many close calls with law enforcement, but always escaped serious charges. Chris and I will never forget Santo's presence at Leia's welcome home party. In 1975, the CIA declassified a report stating that Trafficante had been persuaded to poison Castro, an allegation he denied. By 1987, the Mafia boss, who had walked the casino floors of the Sans Souci in Cuba, dined and hobnobbed with Frank Sinatra in the nightclubs and hotels of South Beach, and who commanded a presence in Tampa that is still felt today, was suffering from a diseased kidney and bad heart. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. More importantly, Castro imprisoned Trafficante and then had him exiled from Cuba. 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. He was a well-respected boss, even among the far larger New York crime families. [2] Trafficante Jr. would frequently meet with Lucchese in New York City for dinner.[2]. He will be sorely missed and his heart of gold will be remembered by all who new him. She handled great adversity and difficult, troubling times with grace, dignity, and style; with respect and love for all around her. By this point, Trafficante Jr. had fully taken over the oversight of drugs shipped between Florida, Cuba, and the rest of the States. Despite his arrest, Trafficante managed to escape charges and continue to fly under the laws radar. At this point in our collective history, we're not sure anyone would be surprised to learn that there is, in fact, something called The Mafia. What you might be surprised to learn, however, is how prevalent-even rampantorganized crime in Tampa was in the early and mid-20th century.