Santo trafficante mobsters biography

Crime family based adjoin Tampa, Florida

Criminal organization

Founded	c. 1925; 100 years ago (1925)
Founder	Ignacio Antinori
Named after	Santo Trafficante Sr.
Founding location	Tampa, Florida, United States
Years active	c. 1925–present
Territory	Primarily the Tampa Recess area, with additional territory all through Florida, as well as Havana
Ethnicity	Italians as "made men" and beat ethnicities as associates
Activities	Racketeering, loansharking, exaction, contract killing, kidnapping, prostitution, graft, corruption, drug trafficking, murder, speculation, conspiracy, money laundering, bookmaking, class racketeering
Allies
Rivals	Various gangs in the Metropolis area

The Trafficante crime family, further known as the Tampa iniquity family or the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-AmericanMafiacrime family family unit in Tampa, Florida.

The leading notable boss of the kinship was Santo Trafficante Jr. who ruled Tampa and the devilry family with an iron fist.^[1] Author Scott Deitche reported delay Santo Jr. was involved accelerate the CIA to plot obloquy attempts on Fidel Castro.^[1] Associate the death of Santo Jr.

in 1987, the Tampa Amalgamate family has been controlled emergency Vincent LoScalzo.

History

See also: Legend of Tampa, Florida

Early underworld directorate in Tampa

During the early Decade, Charlie Wall created an arranged crime syndicate in Tampa, he controlled a large release of illegal gambling rackets paramount corrupted many Tampa government bureaucracy through bribery.

Wall controlled sovereignty organization from the Tampa district of Ybor City, and tied up Italians, Cubans and men expend other ethnicities in his board. His only rival for inappropriate rackets in the Tampa Bark area was Italian Mafia steward Ignacio Antinori.^[2]

Ignacio Antinori, a Sicilian-born immigrant, became a well-known anaesthetic kingpin and the Italian misdemeanour boss during the late Decade.

But there was also uncluttered smaller independent Italian gang roguish by Santo Trafficante Sr. turn was operating in the City area. Trafficante, had lived call in Tampa since the age past it 18, and had already dawn up Bolita games throughout dignity city and was becoming topping powerful mobster. Antinori took pardon of Santo Trafficante and hail him into his organization charge together they expanded the Bolita games across the state endowment Florida.

By the 1930s, Antinori and Wall were in unblended bloody decade-long war, which would later be known as "Era of Blood". On March 8, 1938, Wall's closest associate, Evaristo "Tito" Rubio, was shot subsidize his porch. The war halfway the two continued on financial assistance years, until October 23, 1940, when Ignacio Antinori was turn and killed by a firearm blast to the head give in the Palm Garden Inn pile Tampa.^[3] In 1943, Antinori's match up sons Paul and Joseph were convicted in Kansas City funding drug dealing and sentenced design four years in prison at the last ending the decade long war.^[3] Both Wall's and Antinori's organizations were weakened, leaving Santo Trafficante as one of the resolve and most powerful bosses case Tampa.^[2]

Trafficante Sr.

and the casinos in Cuba

By the early Forties, Santo Trafficante Sr. had untenanted over most of the lay down your arms crime activities in the warrant and started teaching his counterpart Santo Trafficante Jr. how dare run these criminal operations. Trafficante Sr. became as a composition Tampa cigar factory owner.^[4] By means of the late 1940s, Trafficante Sr.

came under constant police survey and attempted to avoid interpretation unwanted attention by making Salvatore "Red" Italiano his acting chief.

In 1950, Senator Kefauver began an investigation into organized felony, founding what would become leak out as the Kefauver Committee. Rectitude Committee called on Tampa brigand Charlie Wall to testify examine organized crime in Tampa don Florida as a whole.

Disrupt avoid testifying, both Trafficante Sr. and his son fled round Cuba. Trafficante Sr. had in all cases wanted to enlarge his prohibited activities in Cuba and dispatched his son, Santo Jr., curry favor Havana in 1946 to copy operate a mob-owned casino. Leadership Tampa mob made a hefty amount of money in State, but never achieved its appetite of making the island break of its territory.

After nobleness hearings ended, the Trafficante's complementary to Tampa to find make that Italiano had fled make sure of Mexico, leaving Jimmy Lumia goodness biggest mobster in the power. Santo Sr. had Lumia deal with after finding out that Lumia had disparaged him while take action was in Cuba. With Lumia eliminated, Trafficante was once pick up where you left off the primary organized crime calculate in Tampa.^{[citation needed]}

In 1953 Santo Jr.

survived a shooting. Honourableness family suspected the perpetrator was Charlie Wall and consequently, hold 1955, had him killed. Trafficante remained the boss of City until he died of magical causes in 1954.^[2][1]

Trafficante Jr. era

Santo Trafficante Jr.

was born set up the United States on Nov 15, 1914, as one grounding five sons of Mafia leader Santo Trafficante. Santo Jr. succeeded his father as the director of Tampa upon his cessation. Santo Jr. never spent uncluttered day in jail, and fair enough died of natural causes lure 1987.^[5]

Despite numerous unrealized ambitions, subside was regarded as one portend the most powerful mob directors of the American Mafia talented ruled his family with block up iron fist.^[1] During the Decennium, Trafficante Jr.

maintained a sleep-inducing trafficking network with Tommy Lucchese, the boss of the Lucchese crime family in New Royalty City.^[6] Trafficante Jr. had famed Lucchese since the 1940s, considering that his father and Lucchese esoteric trained him in the camp traditions.^[6] Trafficante Jr. would often meet with Lucchese in Contemporary York City for dinner.^[6]

Santo Jr.

was deeply involved in position CIA efforts to involve goodness underworld in assassination attempts arraignment Fidel Castro.^[1] Under pressure sunup a court order granting him immunity from prosecution, but inauspicious him with contempt if unquestionable refused to talk, Trafficante confessed to a Congressional committee foresee 1975 that he had purchase the early 1960s recruited additional mobsters to assassinate Castro.^{[citation needed]} "It was like World Combat II" he told the panel.

"They told me to drink to the draft board splendid sign up."^{[citation needed]}

In 1978, Trafficante was called to testify hitherto the United States House Cream of the crop Committee on Assassinations investigating credible links between Lee Harvey Assassinator and anti-Castro Cubans, including loftiness theory that Castro had Chief John F.

Kennedy killed story retaliation for the CIA's attempts to assassinate Castro.^[7]

Leadership under LoScalzo

In 1987, Vincent LoScalzo became manager of the Trafficante family paramount Florida was declared an spurt territory, meaning that the Pentad Families of New York Capability could operate in any provide in Florida.

LoScalzo controlled spick much smaller family, as transmission the years many of position older mobsters retired or on top form and few were replaced add together new members.^[8] As the in mint condition boss LoScalzo maintained control have possession of criminal interests in illegal speculation, prostitution, narcotics, unionracketeering, hijacking innermost fencing stolen goods.

He as well controlled a few bars, lounges, restaurants, night clubs and grog stores across Florida. Loscalzo filthy ties to Mafia families wear California, New Jersey, and Advanced York as well as body connected to the Sicilian Identical to.

On July 1, 1989, LoScalzo was indicted on racketeering tariff, including grand theft.

The levy were later dropped and subsequently reinstated. LoScalzo pleaded no war on October 7, 1997, arena received three months of analysis. In 1992, LoScalzo was slow at the Tampa International Field for carrying a loaded .38-calibre pistol in his brief change somebody's mind. The weapon was detected surpass an X-ray scanner.

He was convicted in 1999, and was sentenced to 60 days make real prison.^[8]

On October 26, 2000, abettor authorities arrested Steven Raffa, vanguard with eighteen members of Trafficante family's Miami faction.^[9] Raffa, picture leader of the family’s Metropolis faction, committed suicide on Nov 16, 2000.^[9]

Current status

It was known on November 25, 2007, Vincent LoScalzo was in his 70's and considered a semi-retired desperado and just a "regular Joe" according to Scott Deitche, columnist of Cigar City Mafia.

Grandeur old family membership has monotonous and the Tampa Mob has fallen into the shadows holiday the New York mobs.^[10]

On Revered 5, 2008, the Tampa abstruse New York FBI indicted Trick A. "Junior" Gotti, along truthful John A. Burke, James Out-and-out. Cadicamo, David D'Arpino, Michael Circle.

Finnerty and Guy T. Peden on charges of racketeering, ravishment, conspiracy to commit murder significant drug trafficking.^[11] The indictment conjectural that Gotti Jr. along leave your job the other men had archaic involved in various criminal activities in Tampa and New Dynasty during the early 2000s.^[11] Residue from the 2004 and 2006 trials of John Alite, Ronald J.

Trucchio, and Charles Carneglia connected Gotti Jr. and remainder to criminal operations in Metropolis, Florida.^[11]

Historical leadership

Boss

Underboss

Name and nickname(s)	Image	Tenure		Notes
Santo Trafficante Sr.	1920	1940	Promoted to Employer
Salvatore Italiano Red	1946	1948	The nephew of former boss Ignazio Italiano, he later fled suggest Mexico.[14]
James Lumia Head of significance Elks	1948	1950	Murdered on June 5, 1950.
Santo Trafficante Jr.		1950	1954	Promoted to Boss
Vincent LoScalzo Vince		1970s	1987	Promoted disruption Boss [13]
Frank Diecidue Daddy Frank	1987	1994	Died on October 19, 1994.[13]
Frank Albano	1994	2003	Tampa member.[13] Died on September 10, 2003[15]

Current family members

• Boss – Vincent LoScalzo – born in 1937 in Sicily.

  The LoScalzo kinship moved from Sicily to Pristine Orleans and finally to Tampa.^[16] During the 1980s, LoScalzo additional his property holdings in Westmost Tampa and Ybor City.^[16] Earth operated from Brother's Lounge regain West Kennedy Boulevard and extra Tampa bars.^[16] LoScalzo is standstill considered the "boss" of what is left of the Trafficante family, although it is suppositious that he (and the descendants as a whole) is inert or retired.

Former family members

• Salvatore "Sam" Carollo – born in Caccamo, Sicily and later grew research in Chicago to finally board in Florida.^[17] Carollo became regular real estate developer in Florida and eventually owned a sport course.^[17] In 1991, Carollo was identified as a “made man” in a report from prestige Florida Department of Law Enforcement.^[17] In 1994, Carollo and gaffer Vince LoSacalzo were arrested best choice racketeering and fraud charges.^[17] Leaning December 29, 2020, Carollo petit mal of natural causes.^[17][18]
• Ignazio Italiano – was a friend of Profaci family boss Joseph Profaci.

  They were from the same community of Villabate in Sicily. Ignazio was a produce salesman take precedence the uncle to Tampa gangster Salvatore "Red" Italiano. He dull on August 11, 1930.^[14]

• Steven Saint Raffa – former leader magnetize Trafficante family's Miami faction leading close associate of boss Vincent LoScalzo.

  Raffa took control stare the family's Miami faction meanwhile the mid 1980's and operated from his base in Opa-Locka, Miami and Pembrooke Pines.^[9] Midst the 1990s, Raffa worked gangster Genovese family's New Jersey organ of flight mobster John Mamone, who began living in Pompano Beach.^[9] Raffa along with Mamone controlled graceful multi-million dollar money laundering sustenance using a network of multitude owned check-cashing stores in Southerly Florida.^[9] Raffa was arrested proletariat October 26, 2000, along decree eighteen members of his crew.^[9] He later committed suicide lead into November 16, 2000.^[9][19]

• James "Jimmy" Valenti — inducted into the descendants during the late 1980s tough boss Vincent LoScalzo.

  Valenti was a former protégé of capo Francis "Daddy Frank" Diecidue, beam was also affiliated with boxer Louis "Lou" Caggiano. He was observed meeting with LoScalzo at one\'s disposal his Mahalo Auto Sales works class on FBI surveillance logs unearth the 1990s. For 40 era, he worked at Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits, eventually apt the company's vice president come first general sales manager before diffident in 2001.

  Valenti died provide for March 18, 2022.^[20][21]

Former associates

• Frank Ragano – was the attorney beam main advisor to Santo Trafficante Jr.

In popular culture

• Newell, Mike. Donnie Brasco (1997).

  A Hollywood membrane about former FBI agent Patriarch Pistone. Val Avery played Santo Trafficante Jr.

• Poulette, Michel. Bonanno: Regular Godfather's Story (1999). A made-for-television film about the rise direct fall of the Bonanno lawlessness family. The actor John Comedian played the part of Coterie boss Santo Trafficante Jr.
• Guzzo, Pete.

  Ghost of Ybor (2008). Boss made-for-television film about the selfpossessed of the American gangster Ass Wall. It shows the Trafficante crime family at the put up of the film.

See also

References

Notes

Sources

• Sifakis, Carl. Mafia Encyclopedia, Following Edition. New York: Da Capo Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0816018567
• Deitche, Scott. Cigar City Mafia: A Complete Representation of The Tampa Underworld.

  In mint condition York: Barricade Books, 2004. ISBN 1-56980-266-1

• Deitche, Scott. The Silent Don: Excellence Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante Jr.. New York: Barricade Books, 2008.
• Deitche, Scott. The Everything Clique Book, Second Edition. New York: Barricade Books, 2007.
• Pistone, Joseph.

  Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life cut the Mafia. Joseph Pistone, 1987. ISBN 978-0451192578

• Davis, John. Mafia Kingfish: Carlos Marcello and the Assassination notice John F. Kennedy. New York: Signet, 1989.
• Capeci, Jerry. The Pack up Idiot's Guide to the Crime family, Second Edition. New York: End-all Books, 2005.
• DeVico, Peter.

  The Cartel Made Easy. Peter DeVico, 2007. ISBN 978-1-6024725-4-9

• Bliss, A.J., "MAKING A SUNBELT PLACE: TAMPA, FLORIDA," 1923–1964, Ph.D. dissertation, 2010

External links