His son was turned away from a date's house and his daughter has been refused jobs. Salcines was observed at the properties the weekend of June 9, 1967. She was predeceased in death, by other loving family members. Your entry has exceeded the maximum character limit. Add to your scrapbook. My heart goes out to the family. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. TRAFFICANTE, Santo Jose, 72, of Tampa, passed away July 13, 2010, To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our, All my Love to the family Michael R. Tartaro. I am sorry I am unable to attend the services due to a illness. "When I woke up, they told me they raided Key Bank. He headed the Trafficante crime family from 1954 to 1987 and controlled organized criminal operations in Florida and Cuba, which had previously been consolidated from several rival gangs by his father, Santo Trafficante Sr. His new attorney general his beloved brother, Robert F. Kennedy went after organized crime with a vengeance. The senior Trafficante's name has been linked to gambling, drug-dealing and even plots to kill Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy. Peter Moruzzi/Wikimedia Commons The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. In Trafficante's food chain, reporters rank only marginally higher than prosecutors and bank regulators, whom he likes to refer to as "rat bastards.". "When my uncle visited it was like a family reunion. On the day that investigators raided Key Bank, a cardiologist at St. Joseph's Hospital was inserting a catheter in Trafficante's groin. Trafficante was jailed and deported when Fidel Castro rose to power, leading him to spend a good portion of his adult life hatching a plan of revenge. 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. Our thoughts and prayers with you. Santo Trafficante, Jr. was born in the United States on November 15, 1914, as one of five sons of Mafia boss Santo Trafficante. Those were some of the greatest memories growing up. Santo was one of the FBIs targets in that case. He has been featured on the History Channel, A&E, Discovery Channel, AHC, Oxygen Network and many local and national news shows. My thoughts and prayers are with you all! Santos married Josephine Marchese in 1938, they would have two daughters. Please try again later. 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. In 1963, the Mob allegedly had enough of Kennedy. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. 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. Learn more about merges. Interestingly, Trafficante who was worth about $25 billion at his height in the 80s lived a fairly reserved, modest lifestyle. Trafficante was apprehended in November 1957, along with over 60 other mobsters, at the Apalachin meeting in Apalachin, New York. She was a wonderful cook, and she loved to crochet and travel with her husband, but she lived her life for her family. The elder Trafficante set up illegal casinos in Cuba in the 1940s, which were sanctioned by Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Following his death, Mobster Vincent LoScalvo took over the Trafficante familys criminal network in Florida. We send our most sincere sympathies to the Trafficante family. After this look at Santo Trafficante Jr., read the gruesome story of the murderous American dentist, Benjamin Salomon, of World War II. In 1957 he was suspected of involvement in the barbershop slaying of Albert Anastasia, the . He was left with about 25 horses at his stable in Lutz that he couldn't race and couldn't sell for more than it cost to keep them fed. The glamorous casino in the Hotel Nacional De Cuba in Havana in 1958. "You hope things will just disappear two or three years from now.". His positioning in Florida was prime for drug shipping as the product often passed through these ports en route to elsewhere in America. Zeng8r/Wikimedia Common A set of bolita balls. Hey, they have more convicts at the track than straight people," Trafficante says. But according to declassified documents released in 1992, Santo Trafficante Jr. made a deathbed confession of his involvement in the Presidents murder. President John. We have to admit we are fascinated by the whole idea of the mafia and the people we knew and the whispers we grew up hearing. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Trafficante Jr. was nonetheless a ruthless and old-school mob boss. Phil Alessi, a childhood friend, marvels at Trafficante's taste and capacity. Then, check out these photos of the aftermath from some of the bloodiest mob hits. There are few indicators that the family is still an active crime network. Or does he just look like one? They never returned. It was clear that federal and local law enforcement had an acute interest in the Trafficante family. based on information from your browser. The gunmen drove off, unaware they had failed to kill Trafficante, merely grazing his arm. 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. View Source Suggest Edits Memorial Photos Flowers Memorials Region North America USA Florida He died of natural causes, at the age of 72, in Houston, Texas. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. There was a problem getting your location. During the 1950s, Trafficante Jr. maintained a narcotic trafficking network with Tommy Lucchese, the boss of the Lucchese crime family in New York City. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. 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. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. [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. 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. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. There was an error deleting this problem. 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. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. So, at his attorney Ralph Fernandez's urging, he has agreed to talk publicly, hoping to shore up his damaged reputation. 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. She was an amazing daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt and friend. 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. 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." In the 1960 presidential election, Kennedy family patriarch Joe Kennedy Sr. used his ties to organized crime to secure votes for his son, John F. Kennedy. Weve updated the security on the site. [15][16] He stated he was chosen by Hoffa because, as both Hoffa and Trafficante's lawyer, he could be assured of attorneyclient privilege. 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. While the plot never came to fruition, Trafficante later testified that he did help the CIA recruit other mobsters for the surreal plot. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Departed this Life May 13, 2015 He walked outside and got into a 1951 Mercury sedan driven by one of his associates. 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. SANTO TRAFFICANTE SR, A Sicilian of the Old School, RULED TAMPAS UNDERWORLD FOR MORE THAN A DECADE! Try again. Comfort the family with flowers or a sympathy gift. Wikimedia CommonsPresident John F. Kennedy, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. All the while, he lives in a palatial lakeside compound in rural northwest Hillsborough. 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. "I'm in the I.O.U. The guy really tried to do it right.". You've got to be a fool to marry wrong," he says. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Trafficante_Jr. Search results for "Images of America" at Rakuten Kobo. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. "Sam Gold" was Sam Giancana; "Joe" was Trafficante. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Mobster dies, two nations. You have been in pain too long. "He's very creative in terms of the combination of things he eats," Alessi says. 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. 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. That arrest also led Cuban authorities to become warier of the mobster, especially as the political tides seemed to be turning there. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Italian Club of Tampa Cemetery Fund, 1731 East 7th Ave., Tampa, FL 33605. "Even my uncle (Santo Jr.) told me, "Santo, why don't you change your name?' While shouldering the legacy of his father and. 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. Trafficantes partnership with Batista was profitable for both parties and so the mobsters fate became inextricably tied to that of Cubas political climate. 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. He even sent his son, Santo Trafficante Junior, to New York, to gain a better understanding of how the mafia operated there. To use this feature, use a newer browser. "[12] He said that Trafficante complained about the honesty of the Kennedys and their "attacks" on Jimmy Hoffa and other associates. Other Mafia leaders, as well as newer organized crime networks, took over many of the rackets the family ran throughout the 20th Century. Santos Trafficante Jr. was the son of Santos Trafficante Sr., who owned several casinos in Havana. My uncle, never wore a ring," Trafficante says. All the convictions were overturned on appeal in 1960. Trafficante was a ruthless mob boss, and quickly consolidated control over the criminal networks in Tampa. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his father's footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. Santo Trafficante Jr. had long followed in his fathers footsteps, and proved to be an even more effective Mafia kingpin. But Santo knew who was behind the killing a rival Mafia faction. But those werent even their most ridiculous ideas. Fine food, and lots of it. Santo Trafficante, Sr., the powerful Trafficante crime family's patriarch, was born on May 28, 1886, in Alexandria Della Rocca, Sicily. At 76,. In the meantime, the allegation that he is a mobster has dogged him and his family. The CIA came to Trafficante, and asked for his help in enlisting the Mafia to assassinate the Cuban leader. He was married to his wife for 49 years. . He will be sorely missed and his heart of gold will be remembered by all who new him. But the mobster tag has outlasted the case itself. After a lifetime in organized crime, Trafficante Jr. died of national causes in 1987. [13] He stated that he received no payment for his involvement and that he acted out of patriotism. Santo Jr. succeeded his father as the boss of Tampa upon his death. After the death of his wife, the Trafficante family sold their Tampa 1970-built home for $950,000. Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Geni requires JavaScript! 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. Thanks for your help! GREAT NEWS! Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? Donnie Brasco. In a 1978 legal testimony, Trafficante discussed how quickly Castro shut it all down, then reopened the casinos on his own terms. And as for the rest of the Trafficante Crime family? You can always change this later in your Account settings. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 - March 17, 1987) was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. 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.
March 11, 2023