Sorry! Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. Shop eBooks and audiobooks at Rakuten Kobo. [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. Santo Trafficante, Jr. was born in the United States on November 15, 1914, as one of five sons of Mafia boss Santo Trafficante. [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. 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 New York City. It was also rumored that Santos was involved in a Mafia plot to kill President John F. Kennedy, though he denied there was any such conspiracy. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. [15] He repeated the claim two days later on ABC's Good Morning America,[16] in Newfield's Frontline report entitled JFK, Hoffa and Mob broadcast in November 1992,[17] and again in his 1994 autobiography Mob Lawyer. The next son was Luigi Santo Trafficante Jr. (his namesake and future Mafia boss), born on November 15, 1914. THE CHARLIE WALL STORY Kingpin Charlie Wall (center holding bottle, right of child) and his notorious gang. Let others know about your loved one's death. He maintained all of the lucrative casinos in Cuba, further cemented ties with powerful Mafia families he had established as a young man in New York, and ruthlessly put down any attempts to usurp his territory or power. He was a well-respected boss, even among the far larger New York crime families. Ed Giorandino/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. Many of the familys gangsters were in prison, or too old to be effective. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. In January 1963, he married Geraldine Valenti, the daughter of J.C. Valenti, who owned a thriving produce business. Buy the time LoScalzo took over in 1987, the Trafficante Crime Family was far past its heyday. Santo met and married Maria Giuseppe Cacciatore on April 20, 1909. When his father died in 1954 he took control of these establishments. Trafficante Sr. passed away four years later, leaving Jr. his Tampa and Cuba-based criminal empire. But the mobster tag has outlasted the case itself. A A. Peter Moruzzi/Wikimedia Commons The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. He has been featured on the History Channel, A&E, Discovery Channel, AHC, Oxygen Network and many local and national news shows. 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. "I'm a freak for that kind of stuff," he says. That horse won $161,080 for its new owners, according to the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Trafficante along with 56 other mobsters was arrested in New York while discussing what to do about the recent death of Gambino family head, Albert Anastasia. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Still, theres a fine line between exploring a topic and glorifying it. Who better than his son, Trafficante Jr., to inherit his throne? 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. U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current, U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, Florida, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1823-1982, Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Still, he lives comfortably enough to give his sons Jaguar sports cars, red for Dino and white for Joseph. Year should not be greater than current year. "I'm in the I.O.U. "When I woke up, they told me they raided Key Bank. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. 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. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. 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. I have thought of you and Santo many times over the past 50 years. It wasn't somebody going into a back room to kiss somebody's ring. Or does he just look like one? [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. Email blog@themobmuseum.org. While he had several close calls with law enforcement including the famed FBI, Late in life LoScalzo denied any connections to organized crime. "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.". [3] His wife, Josephine, died in 2015 at the age of 95; he is survived by two of his daughters. He was the lynchpin in Tampa Charlie Wall The Kefauver hearings arrived in Tampa in December of 1950. 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. 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. He attended a notorious convention of Mafia bosses held in the upstate New York town of Apalachin on November 14, 1957. 2023 SCI SHARED RESOURCES, LLC. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. Most mornings Trafficante spends a few hours at his modest wholesale automobile lot at the intersection of Dale Mabry Highway and W Broad Street. By December 1953, one more rival was dead and another was too scared to even venture out of his home. Donnie Brasco. When Fidel Castro began his ascent to power in the 1950s, Santo Trafficante feared the radical Marxist revolutionary wouldnt cooperate with him. 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,. He maintained close working ties with the Lucchese crime family and the Bonanno crime family from New York City. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Under pressure of a court order granting him immunity from prosecution, but threatening him with contempt if he refused to talk, Santos admitted to a Congressional committee in 1975 that he had in the early 1960s recruited other mobsters to assassinate Castro. I think it was a case of mistaken identity.. Santo Trafficante Jr. continued to develop his interests in Cuba serving as Luciano and Lanskys local liaison. RIP Santo. However, by the late 1920s, facing little pressure, Sicilian gangsters began setting up lucrative gambling and narcotics rackets. The beachfront properties were the site of many parties and barbecues. "[1][13] He stated that he was positive that he did not say it because he always spoke to Aleman in Spanish, and said that there was no way to state the phrase in Spanish. It never did exist.". 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. In a final disappointment, he sold a filly named "Run Marisa Run" (after his daughter) for $7,500. Trafficante was arrested again in 1957 for attending the famous Apalachin summit of Mob leaders in New York, but those charges were dropped. He returned to Tampa for the last time for internment in the LUnione Italiana Cemetery. One bank filed suit in November against him and a business partner, alleging that they defaulted on an $85,000 loan for a piece of property. Afterwards, the son he had groomed to take his place, Santo Trafficante Jr., took the reins of the Trafficante crime family. You have been in pain too long. He grimaces at the thought that the rumor has persisted so long. 93461.". We have set your language to Mrs. Gerry, Gina, Dino, Joe and Marisa - they broke the mold with Traff. A year has passed. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Florida Santo Trafficante Jr Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Send your deepest condolences with fresh flowers. The mafiosos that made up the family are either retired, in prison, or have died due to old age. My aim is to provide you with the best Service experience for you and your motorcycle. You've got to be a fool to marry wrong," he says. The idea behind the assassination wasnt just to punish JFK but also to get his brother off the Mobs back. Alongside Chicago boss Sam Giancana, Roselli and Trafficante came up with some truly insane plots to kill Fidel Castro. [5] based on information from your browser. 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. He offered to pay $150,000 to have Castro killed, but Roselli declined any pay and introduced Maheu to two men he referred to as "Sam Gold" and "Joe." 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. After his father died in 1954, he became the head in Tampa and took over his fathers interests in Cuba. To use this feature, use a newer browser. I laughed _ until I realized it was a total f------ disaster," Trafficante says. The seeds for Trafficantes most interesting historical chapter were planted, as the mobster would go on to have a well-established relationship with the CIA in an ongoing effort to assassinate Castro. Instead of Italian suits, he wears horizontally striped golf shirts. Try again later. "They wouldn't even let me go to the track. An editor and public historian, Carly Silver has written for Smithsonian, Narratively, The Atlantic, Atlas Obscura, and Archaeology, among other publications. A Hillsborough judge threw out the wiretaps, the spine of the state's case. Trafficantes chance came in the 1960s when he became acquainted with mobster John Handsome Johnny Roselli. It was all on the up and up. We guarantee you'll never look at Ybor City the same way again. [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. He was, in many ways, the archetypical old-school Mob boss. Santo Trafficante, Sr., the powerful Trafficante crime family's patriarch, was born on May 28, 1886, in Alexandria Della Rocca, Sicily. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. F. Kennedy not only failed to deliver on his promise to the mob but also actually put the Mafia under increasing pressure. [9][10] The CIA and the Mafia had a common enemy in Castro, a communist revolutionary who had shut down Cuba's lucrative casino businesses. The charges of bank fraud against Trafficante and more than a dozen bank employees and customers may well be dismissed. 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. [7], In January 1958, Trafficante was questioned by the Cuban police regarding the Apalachin meeting. 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. Santo Jr.'s daughters still owns 3610, where Santo spent time when he wasn't in Tampa or Miami. They lived in modest, ranch-style houses in quiet neighborhoods in Tampa and Miami. 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. With that act, Santo Trafficante now reigned supreme in Tampa. Santo Trafficante grew up in the Florida underworld, working his father's gambling rackets and getting experience in the business. "Banks are my greatest enemy. All the while, he lives in a palatial lakeside compound in rural northwest Hillsborough. "[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. "[12] He said that Trafficante complained about the honesty of the Kennedys and their "attacks" on Jimmy Hoffa and other associates. Try again later. I hold such fond memories of Santo & Gerry when I was growing up. 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. Late in life LoScalzo denied any connections to organized crime. Santo, Jr. never spent a day in jail, and he died of natural causes in 1987. Comfort the family with flowers or a sympathy gift. Robert F. Kennedy even taunted those mobsters he brought into court, telling Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana that I thought only little girls giggled, Mr. Giancana.. Our deepest condolences to the Trafficante family. 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. Failed to delete memorial. "I was the most expensive forklift driver in the world," he says with a smile. It was clear that federal and local law enforcement had an acute interest in the Trafficante family. The wiretap evidence has been thrown out of court. Now in his late 70s or early 80s, LoScalzo is reported to be retired. [13] He testified that he was brought into the plot by Roselli and Giancana, who had been recruited by Maheu. Santo Trafficante then categorically denied every allegation about stating he wanted RFK or JFK dead and got off scot-free. We found ourselves in a love affair with Tony Soprano and we could not stop watching. But then came Key Bank, a massive drug-money-laundering investigation. But according to declassified documents released in 1992, Santo Trafficante Jr. made a deathbed confession of his involvement in the Presidents murder. "Sam Gold" was Sam Giancana; "Joe" was Trafficante. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. Learn more about managing a memorial . Zeng8r/Wikimedia Common A set of bolita balls. The other case was a RICO indictment for insurance fraud. 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. He sought treatment for stomach cancer and was ready to hand power over to a trusted lieutenant. Search results for "Images of America" at Rakuten Kobo. More importantly, Castro imprisoned Trafficante and then had him exiled from Cuba. The guy really tried to do it right.". [13] Trafficante said that he introduced the trio to Cuban exiles in Florida. [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. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. "My kids suffered a lot by it," he says. The gunmen drove off, unaware they had failed to kill Trafficante, merely grazing his arm. Santos Trafficante Jr. was the son of Santos Trafficante Sr., who owned several casinos in Havana. His abiding passion is food. The men started to drive away when another sedan drove past the Mercury, the occupants unloading a blast of buckshot as they passed. They never returned. I am sorry I am unable to attend the services due to a illness. And then there are the infinite conspiracy theories about the assassination of President Kennedy, many of them featuring Trafficante. You and Santo will always have a special place in my heart. The first case stemmed from the FBIs well-known Donnie Brasco undercover sting operation. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. She lived an exciting life dividing her time between her multiple family members and friends in Tampa, Miami and Havana. Meet Santo Trafficante: The Silent Don Who Tried To Kill Fidel Castro And May Have Ordered JFKs Assassination. Weve updated the security on the site. Love, Jimmy Schaffer. Try again later. Upon his return to the United States, he became determined to bring down the man who ended his empire. All Rights Reserved. cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list. She is now living in Virginia. By Santo III's own estimation, this was a wise move. Harris & Ewing/Library of Commons/Wikimedia CommonsCuban leader Fulgencio Batista in Washington, D.C. in 1938. Santo Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. In his previous statements, Roselli also tied Lee Harvey Oswalds killer, Jack Ruby, to Santo Trafficante. The report was given to the District Attorney's office. He dressed nicely but not ostentatiously, and his choice of cars was never flashy. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Share Santo's life story with friends and family. [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. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Pupello determined that his diabetic patient's arteries were healthy. 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. "My wife's got money. The American governments close ties to Santo Trafficante Jr. and the rest of the Mafia didnt end with their attempts to kill Castro. Trafficante tried to win Castro over to his side, but that didnt work. Trafficante was born in Tampa, Florida, to Sicilian parents Santo Trafficante Sr. and his wife Maria Giuseppa Cacciatore in 1914. Please allow 24 hours for your entry to be reviewed for appropriate content. It may take up to 1 hour for your comment to appear on the website. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. He has played golf with former New York Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles and former New York Islanders hockey player Clark Gillies. Wife : Josephine MARCHESE (Santo TRAFFICANTE Jr. married Josephine in Tampa, Florida on April 17, 1938). Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. 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. The authorities continued to charge him with participating in illegal activities, but the aging mob boss escaped conviction each time. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. 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. In 1975, the CIA declassified a report stating that Trafficante had been persuaded to poison Castro, an allegation he denied. She was an amazing daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend. love gloria "owens" hill. Federal investigators brought racketeering and conspiracy charges against him in the summer of 1986. However, by the late 1920s, facing little pressure, Sicilian gangsters began setting up lucrative gambling and narcotics rackets. Authorities said he leaked a list of suspects in the case and then lied about it. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. 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. The elder Trafficante set up illegal casinos in Cuba in the 1940s, which were sanctioned by Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Please reset your password. Batista let Trafficante and other mobsters build as many casinos and hotels as they wanted in exchange for a cash kickback. 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. He drove a forklift for 20 years. President John. They raided my apartment, they were looking for money, they tore up all the furniture, they used to come and get me at nighttime, take me out in the woods, trying to tell where I had my money, this and that, until I finally went into hiding.. But those werent even their most ridiculous ideas. Born: November 15, 1914, Tampa, Florida Rosselli testified in 1975 to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the efforts to kill Castro. He maintained all of the lucrative casinos in Cuba, further cemented, After Cuban revolution, the Mafia saw Castro as a threat to their business. The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. He has thought about it. 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. 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. Don Santo Trafficante Jr was one of the last of the old-time American Mafia bosses in the United States. The choice was nothing more than honoring a tradition. Several were wounded. She handled great adversity and difficult, troubling times with grace, dignity, and style; with respect and love for all around her. Trafficante proceeded to open casinos in Cuba at his fathers behest and facilitated heroin smuggling by working together with famous mobsters Charles Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. This is a carousel with slides. Josephine Marchese Trafficante The CIA came to Trafficante, and asked for his help in enlisting the Mafia to assassinate the Cuban leader. In 1950, the aging Trafficante Sr. began to slow down. Getting in bed with Trafficante and other leading members of Americas organized crime seems like a strange thing to do for the CIA. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Santo worked closely with Lucchese family boss Tommy Lucchese, who was a friend of his father, and a man who helped train him in the 1940s. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Though his prison sentence wasnt long and he returned to a strong position in Florida, Trafficante never forgave Castro. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [emailprotected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. A full report was made by the Cuban police, dated January 23, 1958, includes transcripts of long-distance telephone calls made from the Sans Souci during the period AugustDecember 1957. He dropped out of high school before the 10th grade. 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.
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