based on information from your browser. please know that i am praying for you and your family. 93461.". As a leading member of the syndicate, he also was suspected of having behind-the-scenes interests in other syndicate-owned Cuban casinos: the Hotel Habana Riviera, the Tropicana Club, the Sevilla-Biltmore, the Capri Hotel Casino, the Commodoro, the Deauville, and the Havana Hilton. Santo Trafficante Jr. continued to develop his interests in Cuba serving as Luciano and Lanskys local liaison. And despite relatively small time beginnings, Trafficante proved to be a shrewd mobster. Santo told the state attorney, I dont have an enemy in the world. In 1965, Giancana was convicted of contempt of court, serving one year in prison. During the rule of Cuba's authoritarian dictator Fulgencio Batista, Trafficante openly operated the Sans Souci Cabaret and the Casino International gambling establishments in Havana. They had three daughters, Antoinette born . or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Following his death, Mobster Vincent LoScalvo took over the Trafficante familys criminal network in Florida. Although a judge dismissed the charge for lack of evidence, the arrest had a lasting impact on another of Trafficante's ventures: thoroughbred breeding and racing. Try again. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. She handled great adversity and difficult, troubling times with grace, dignity, and style; with respect and love for all around her. 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. After a violent mob war left several of Trafficantes rivals dead or weakened, his gang rapidly rose to prominence in Tampa. Trafficante took control of the Tampa mob in 1954 after the death of his father, Santo Trafficante Sr. He died on March 17, 1987. And the Trafficante Crime family found out that it had an unusual ally in their concerns about Castro: the Central Intelligence Agency. The Trafficante Family Under Santo Junior. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Like Trafficante Jr. before him, had many close calls with law enforcement, but always escaped serious charges. 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. "[12] He said that Trafficante complained about the honesty of the Kennedys and their "attacks" on Jimmy Hoffa and other associates. Zeng8r/Wikimedia Common A set of bolita balls. While shouldering the legacy of his father and. Dr. Dennis Pupello was looking for heart disease, brought on by his overweight and diabetic patient's "voracious eating.". Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. He dropped out of high school before the 10th grade. In 1954, Santo Sr. died of natural causes (at a time when some of his remaining rivals were still being violently dispatched), and his son took over leadership of the crime family. Born in Tampa, Florida to Sicilian parents Mafia don Santo Trafficante, Sr. and his wife Maria Giuseppa Cacciatore. "I thought all this would end when my uncle died. I am sorry I am unable to attend the services due to a illness. My heart goes out to the family. Brother of Frank Cacciatore Trafficante; Private and Private. He has been featured on the History Channel, A&E, Discovery Channel, AHC, Oxygen Network and many local and national news shows. "They'll sleep under trees on you.". After a lifetime in organized crime, Trafficante Jr. died of national causes in 1987. She was the Matriarch of the Trafficante Family; and we will all miss her presence, guidance, love and affection. The charges of bank fraud against Trafficante and more than a dozen bank employees and customers may well be dismissed. Trafficante was born in Tampa, Florida, to Sicilian parents Santo Trafficante Sr. and his wife Maria Giuseppa Cacciatore in 1914. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Wife : Josephine MARCHESE (Santo TRAFFICANTE Jr. married Josephine in Tampa, Florida on April 17, 1938). "But then you get into alias this and alias that and when they get you in court, you probably just create more problems," he says. The "Family Jewels" confirmed that in September 1960, the CIA recruited ex-FBI agent Robert Maheu to approach the West Coast representative of the Chicago mob, Johnny Roselli. Authorities said he leaked a list of suspects in the case and then lied about it. Scott M. Deitche is the author of six books on organized crime, including a biography of Santo Trafficante Jr., and has written dozens of articles on organized crime for magazines and newspapers. SANTO TRAFFICANTE SR, A Sicilian of the Old School, RULED TAMPAS UNDERWORLD FOR MORE THAN A DECADE! The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. Robert Anderson aka The Killer Between 50 and 100 buildings were burned. With deepest sympathy and love. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. 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. Failed to report flower. Hoffa said to me, This has to be done.'. Fifteen years following the assassination, Trafficante testified in front of the United States House Select Committee on the murder of JFK in exchange for immunity. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. "He's very creative in terms of the combination of things he eats," Alessi says. Geni requires JavaScript! After months of wiretapped phone conversations, investigators seized boxloads of documents, some with Trafficante's name on them. Please try again later. 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. Let others know about your loved one's death. Santo Trafficante Sr. was a Florida mobster who survived a series of vicious gang wars to become the leader of a powerful Mafia crime family based in Tampa. 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. [3] Trafficante moved to Cuba in 1955, where he came into contact with Batista and Meyer Lansky. Please reset your password. "You hope things will just disappear two or three years from now.". Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. During a recent trip to Lake Tahoe he bought two basketballs autographed by Michael Jordan. Whether or not a Mafia conspiracy was behind the assassination of Kennedy is still up for debate. She lived an exciting life dividing her time between her multiple family members and friends in Tampa, Miami and Havana. 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. Please enter your email and password to sign in. Other Mafia leaders, as well as newer organized crime networks, took over many of the rackets the family ran throughout the 20th Century. A Hillsborough judge threw out the wiretaps, the spine of the state's case. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Gerry and your family. [20], In 2005, Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann's book Ultimate Sacrifice said that Trafficante was behind an aborted plot to kill Kennedy in Tampa on November 18, 1963. 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 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 . He owned and operated some of the most lavish casinos in pre-Castro Cuba. 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? Santo Trafficante Jr. was a reserved, modest man married to the same woman for 49 years. English Sorry! He walked outside and got into a 1951 Mercury sedan driven by one of his associates. Indeed, a wiretapped conversation picked up a Key Bank official calling Trafficante a "sacred cow," with loans in excess of a million dollars. Now he owns a 210-acre orange grove in southern Hillsborough. You have been in pain too long. He had a big heart and will be missed. Reputed 'boss of bosses' dies at 72 TAMPA, Fla, "' Trafficante dies at age 72 TAMPA. He was accused of making false financial statements for loans he used to invest in his citrus business, to purchase luxury cars and to buy a beach condo. U.S. Treasury Department documents indicate that law enforcement believed Trafficante's legitimate business interests to include several legal casinos in Cuba; a Havana drive-in movie theater; and shares in several restaurants and bars in Trafficante's hometown of Tampa, Florida. 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. According to the account of Judith Exner, however, one of JFKs many mistresses, it was she who introduced Kennedy to Chicago boss Giancana. 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. Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 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. Son of Santo Trafficante and Maria Giuseppa Trafficante But those werent even their most ridiculous ideas. When his father died in 1954 he took control of these establishments. My prayers are with all of you. "I'm a freak for that kind of stuff," he says. Trafficante again escaped conviction. He owned a West Tampa restaurant called Cafe Sevilla. When the CIA decided to recruit the Mob in their efforts to assassinate Fidel Castro, they went to see Trafficante. One small gang, led by Italian immigrant Santo Trafficante Senior, profited from the illegal lottery-style games they ran across Tampa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Trafficante_Jr. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Santo Trafficante arrives at Queens Supreme Court in Kew Gardens. 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. Harris & Ewing/Library of Commons/Wikimedia CommonsCuban leader Fulgencio Batista in Washington, D.C. in 1938. A few months later, two members of that group took the train to New York City to drum up support for a move against Santo. Search results for "Images of America" at Rakuten Kobo. On Oct. 26, 1937, Frank Trafficante named his first son after his own father, Santo Trafficante Sr. My ex-wife Erline Lazzara was a childhood friend you might remember. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Santo Trafficante Jr Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. By December 1953, one more rival was dead and another was too scared to even venture out of his home. Make sure that the file is a photo. The Trafficante Family Under Santo Junior . All the convictions were overturned on appeal in 1960. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. The wiretap evidence has been thrown out of court. We cant help ourselves when it comes to watching mob films like The Godfather, Goodfellas, Casino and HBOs Boardwalk Empire and the iconic cable TV show, The Sopranos. [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. Still, he lives comfortably enough to give his sons Jaguar sports cars, red for Dino and white for Joseph. His health had declined in his later years. Trafficante Jr. controlled his Tampa-based crime network for over three decades. Mobster Johnny Rosselli, who worked for both Trafficante and the Chicago Outfit, was another associate involved in the unsuccessful efforts to kill Castro and, according to some biographies, was the man who put Trafficante and Giancana together with Maheu. He dropped out of high school and spent time in New York learning the trade from some of the countries toughest mobsters. TAMPA CRIME BOSS SANTO TRAFFICANTE JR PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN THRILLER MAFIA SPIES. She was a wonderful cook, and she loved to crochet and travel with her husband, but she lived her life for her family. Failed to remove flower. GREAT NEWS! He is just a businessman, he says, his money tied up in wholesale automobiles, an orange grove and real estate. After that, he ordered casino owners to cough up employee back pay, then shut them down again. "I still don't think I did anything wrong," Trafficante says. As Jimmy Hoffas former lawyer Frank Ragano would later recall, Jimmy told me to tell [New Orleans boss Carlos] Marcello and Trafficante they had to kill the president. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Services will be followed by a graveside service at the Italian Club Cemetery and a reception at the family home. Getting in bed with Trafficante and other leading members of Americas organized crime seems like a strange thing to do for the CIA. Getty ImagesSanto Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53540265/santo-trafficante. Santo was known to have been deeply involved in the CIA efforts to involve the underworld in assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. "When I woke up, they told me they raided Key Bank. The elder Trafficante set up illegal casinos in Cuba in the 1940s, which were sanctioned by Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. 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. Our thoughts and prayers with you. More importantly, Castro imprisoned Trafficante and then had him exiled from Cuba. 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. A car registered to former state attorney and current state appellate judge E.J. Pallbearers are Augie Castellana, Sam Paniello, Christopher Paniello, Anthony B. Marchese, Peter Marchese Jr., Ian Cordell, Don Smith, Frank Pancho Trafficante, John Castellana, and Dr. Santo Paniello.