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. Like Trafficante Jr. before him, had many close calls with law enforcement, but always escaped serious charges. Robert Anderson aka The Killer Between 50 and 100 buildings were burned. All the while, he lives in a palatial lakeside compound in rural northwest Hillsborough. President John F. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Dennis Caruso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images. Meet Santo Trafficante: The Silent Don Who Tried To Kill Fidel Castro And May Have Ordered JFKs Assassination. Afterwards, the son he had groomed to take his place, Santo Trafficante Jr., took the reins of the Trafficante crime family. To use this feature, use a newer browser. Afterwards, the son he had groomed to take his place, Santo Trafficante Jr., took the reins of the Trafficante crime family. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. One of the last surviving mobsters from the Luciano era, he died of heart disease in a Houston, Texas, hospital in 1987. . This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. With over 1,900 locations, Dignity Memorial providers proudly serve over 375,000 families a year. Santo Trafficante Senior died in 1954. Authorities also said he urged former bank vice president Michael Pupello to impersonate him in calls to federal bank regulators. With over 30 years experience in the field of Mechanics, I will work with you on a personal basis, I will discuss with you your specific needs pertaining to your motorcycle. "I thought all this would end when my uncle died. Found more than one record for entered Email, You need to confirm this account before you can sign in. Thanks for your help! Another bank sued Trafficante and his wife in October for repayment of a $100,000 promissory note. He walked outside and got into a 1951 Mercury sedan driven by one of his associates. Seven people were murdered. Geni requires JavaScript! In 1946, Santo Sr. sent his son, already a family underboss, to Cuba to invest in the growing number of nightclubs and casinos in the island nation. Federal investigators brought racketeering and conspiracy charges against him in the summer of 1986. 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. Drag images here or select from your computer for Santo Trafficante Jr. memorial. That was in part due to his lifestyle. The mobsters also attempted to get Castro into a poisoned wetsuit and even offered to blow him up with an exploding seashell. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Dennis Caruso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesFrank Ragano and Santo Trafficante Jr. (right). Getty ImagesSanto Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. "My wife's got money. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? Forget everything you think you know about Tampa mafia wives and girlfriends in the 1950s. Daughters: Mary Josephine Sarah Ann Brothers: Frank, Salvatore (Sam), Epifanio and Enrico (Henry) Uncle: Joseph M. CACCIATORE (convicted narcotic trafficker) CRIMINAL HISTORY: The twister killed hls mother when lt touched down about 6, honored Wednesday us the nation's sute legislator. His new attorney general his beloved brother, Robert F. Kennedy went after organized crime with a vengeance. My thoughts and prayers are with you all! In a final disappointment, he sold a filly named "Run Marisa Run" (after his daughter) for $7,500. "I don't go to the bank and make all these billion-dollar deposits," he says. ). If the decision is upheld on appeal, charges against Trafficante may be dismissed. Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. Santo Trafficante Jr., one of the last of the old-time reputed Mafia dons, who was reportedly enlisted in 1960 in a futile effort to kill Fidel Castro, has died at the age of 72. Born in Tampa, Florida in 1914, Trafficante hailed from a family already deeply involved in organized crime. He was, in many ways, the archetypical old-school Mob boss. Let others know about your loved one's death. But the news was not good on the Key Bank front. This account has been disabled. Late in life LoScalzo denied any connections to organized crime. Mob Lawyer Frank Ragano Says He Knows Who Killed JFK", "Book alleges plot to kill JFK in Tampa, cover-up", "At Santo Trafficante auction, a chance to buy a piece of Tampa's mob history", Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia, Associated Press report on Trafficante's death, "Little Man: Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life" By Robert Lacy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Santo_Trafficante_Jr.&oldid=1140940042, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 15:02. My uncle, never wore a ring," Trafficante says. "My kids suffered a lot by it," he says. He buys Jaguars for his two sons, hobnobs with sports stars on resort golf courses and occasionally flies to Miami for lunch at a favorite restaurant, the Rascal House. My prayers are with all of you. Santo Trafficante, Jr. was born in the United States on November 15, 1914, as one of five sons of Mafia boss Santo Trafficante. And the Trafficante Crime family found out that it had an unusual ally in their concerns about Castro: the Central Intelligence Agency. 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. Fla. (AP), Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52792202/frank-cacciatore-trafficante, L'Unione Italiana Cemetery, Ybor City, Hillsborough County, Florida, USA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Trafficante_Jr, Death of Santo Trafficante, Jr at Houston, TX. Batista let Trafficante and other mobsters build as many casinos and hotels as they wanted in exchange for a cash kickback. based on information from your browser. Trafficante had been operating in Cuba since the late 1940s under his father, Santo Trafficante Sr., a mobster in Tampa, Florida. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. 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. Please try again later. We have set your language to Try again. Santo Trafficante Jr. was a reserved, modest man married to the same woman for 49 years. Anthony Accardo & Santo Trafficante Jr - Labor Union Kickbacks (1977- 1981)https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/05/us/16-indicted-over-union-fund-use.htmlCredit:. The men started to drive away when another sedan drove past the Mercury, the occupants unloading a blast of buckshot as they passed. Trafficante admitted his anti-Castro activities to the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978, and vehemently denied allegations that he had knowledge of a plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. In a 1978 legal testimony, Trafficante discussed how quickly Castro shut it all down, then reopened the casinos on his own terms. [14] He stated that he was concerned for his safety and was not certain that he had ever correctly heard or understood Trafficante's comment. Every so often I think of the Jekyll Island and White Lake, NC trip and laugh. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his fathers footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. After Fidel Castro's revolutionary government seized the assets of Trafficante's Cuban businesses and expelled him from the country as an "undesirable alien," Trafficante came into contact with various US intelligence operatives, and was involved in several unsuccessful plans to assassinate Castro. Santo Trafficante was wanted in 48 states by the time he was 43. After the death of his wife, the Trafficante family sold their Tampa 1970-built home for $950,000. At Boxer Cycle Works. [13] On September 27, 1978, Aleman reiterated to HSCA investigators that Trafficante had complained to him for hours in June or July 1963 about Kennedy's crackdown on organized crime at a meeting to discuss a business loan. Who better than his son, Trafficante Jr., to inherit his throne? The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the public understanding of organized crime's history and impact on American society. 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. That horse won $161,080 for its new owners, according to the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Sign up for service and obituary updates. But those werent even their most ridiculous ideas. [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. Passing before her were her parents Antonino and Sarafina Marchese; her beloved husband Santo Trafficante Jr.; her son-in-law's Augie Paniello and Richard Valdes; and her brothers, Bennie Marchese, Tommy Marchese, and Peter Marchese. 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. But Santo knew who was behind the killing a rival Mafia faction. He was rumored to be part of a Mafia syndicate which owned many Cuban hotels and casinos. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. All photos uploaded successfully, click on the Done button to see the photos in the gallery. On the day that investigators raided Key Bank, a cardiologist at St. Joseph's Hospital was inserting a catheter in Trafficante's groin. He will always be remembered with fondness. [13] He testified that he was brought into the plot by Roselli and Giancana, who had been recruited by Maheu. In January 1963, he married Geraldine Valenti, the daughter of J.C. Valenti, who owned a thriving produce business. The Internal Revenue Service tried to collect $400,000 in back taxes owed on the business, saying it had not been run as business eligible for tax write-offs, but a hobby. Getting in bed with Trafficante and other leading members of Americas organized crime seems like a strange thing to do for the CIA. The CIA came to Trafficante, and asked for his help in enlisting the Mafia to assassinate the Cuban leader. 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. When the CIA decided to recruit the Mob in their efforts to assassinate Fidel Castro, they went to see Trafficante. In 1957 he was suspected of involvement in the barbershop slaying of Albert Anastasia, the . Please check your entries and try again. In 1959, the Cuban Revolution toppled the corrupt Batista government and the rebel leader, Fidel Castro, nationalized foreign-owned properties and shuttered the casinos, a huge financial blow to Trafficante, who was second only to Meyer Lansky in the depth of his investments in Havana. "I was the most expensive forklift driver in the world," he says with a smile. Santo Trafficante Jr Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. Trafficante scrambled out the passenger-side door. Conspiracy theorists consider Giancana along with Mafia leaders Santo Trafficante Jr. and Carlos Marcello associated with the assassination of Kennedy. [1] Trafficante maintained several residences in New York City and Florida. So, who was this so-called Silent Don who wielded enough power to allegedly kill the President? GREAT NEWS! 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. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. The senior Trafficante's name has been linked to gambling, drug-dealing and even plots to kill Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy. Please enter your email and password to sign in. 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. Our deepest condolences to the Trafficante family. The chairman cited a confession from Roselli that Trafficantes allies organized a sharpshooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, to take out the President. After Cuban revolution, the Mafia saw Castro as a threat to their business. The next son was Luigi Santo Trafficante Jr. (his namesake and future Mafia boss), born on November 15, 1914. In the early 20th Century, Tampa was a small but growing city, and the organized crime it faced was modest.