USF Spectrum: Tampa's Mob Ties

Welcome the spectrum on Thomas fettucini. And I'm Kristin for today's program covers Tampa's mob activity. Many people are aware that the mob was and still is very much a part of campus culture. As immigrants moves in the city it became a haven for organized crime. Spectrum reporter Jessica draggers tells us how it all began. The 1920s was one of the most exciting challenging and dynamic time periods in U.S. history. It wore gave it birth and the Great Depression ended it. But in-between women were liberated. Jazz music thrived and athletes like Babe Ruth were idolized was a decade that truly roared Ebor city roared right along with the. University of South Florida professor Dr. Gary Moore Mino refers to it as the golden years. I would describe the Ebor city in the 1920s as the most exciting period in the in the history of payable during the 20s Ebor city was home to thousands of Cuban Spanish and Italian immigrants began to thrive as a result of that cigar factory by 1920 there was an estimated 12000 cigar rollers and 200 factories in the four city

factory jobs in the 20s are not what we think of today. Tampa Bay historian Rodney Powell explains. That during this time the 1920s there were between 400 and 500 million cigars produced every year in the cigar factory and that's just an amazing number of cigars. Skilled cigar rollers were a valuable commodity and factory owners were more than willing to keep their workers happy and content. But in the factories they were able to listen to elect Gore and somebody who would be would be a reader basically and they'd read newspapers in the morning and they would read novels in the afternoon as they become very educated through that as you know the 1920s were known as the roaring 20s and also marked the beginning of the Great Depression to the trials and tribulations of this time period. The Columbia restaurant remains here at this location. And as a result it is now a major part of your city's history. The Columbia restaurant is Florida's oldest and the world's largest Spanish restaurant. But in the

1920s the restaurant was anything but. Driving the owner Richard Clarke the restaurant had a very modest. Recommend for is a Columbia was just a small cafe with a corner bar and. When they expanded the depression to bring in. More people. The cafe was known mostly for its Cuban coffee and for being frequented by cigar factory workers. But it was also one of the many places to hang out any more city Seventh Avenue was once lined with lavishly decorated Speakeasies and lucrative gambling halls which began to attract the attention of Mafia activity. And the man that would soon be known as the dean of the underworld in the 1920s the biggest underworld figure was an Anglo known as Charlie wall the author of the much talked about book Cigar City Mafia spent several years researching Mafia activity in the Tampa Bay area and says wall was the black sheep of his family. CHARLIE ROSE like the black sheep of this family I mean it was a pretty prominent blue blood family who was born into. He started hanging around the gambling and opium dens by the four Brook area

which is now near where the ice palaces and he became a morphine addict and he also became a craps dealer and start to get involved in gambling in that way and eventually what it was basically built up a clientele. Built up a gambling operation as well as illegal alien smuggling in the narcotics and through political contacts he became a powerhouse and by the late twenties he was called the dean of the underworld. Charlie Well managed to control the Leda and the era of blood began. Reporter Tiffany McFarland has the story for spectrum. I'm Jessica Driggers by the 1930s money was scarce because of the Depression. So people did what they could to make themselves happy. The movies were hot and board games were popular. People gathered around radios to listen to the Yankees. Franklin Roosevelt influenced American with admired by just. Walking down your street today. It's difficult to imagine that at the height of the cigar industry there were over 300 factories producing about 700 million. Hard to hear. Stanford Newman owner of J.C. Newman cigar factory describes how his

father learned the trade. His mother. Paid three dollars a month. Three years you know learn how to make cigars but. Second just took our making believe it was Tampa's largest industry. It was a numbers game that eventually motivated the era of blood. DG describes how this Latin lottery was played at the core of what believe initially was was basically a hundred balls they were numbered 1 to 100 and there'd have drawings all over town you know you never won't bet a nickel or a penny and what ball would be drawn in. You know you'd reach into the sack and pull out a ball. The believer racket grew quickly in Tampa and was the mob's predominant money maker the nickel and dime betting game a crime families rich. Even though everyone was betting pennies and nickels and dimes that added up really quick. And when you had you know all these people betting on all these numbers you know the profits were could be quite astronomical. The best thing about betting believe anybody you can go into any corner grocery store any bar lounge you could get with the ice cream man you can bet with almost

anyone. Bars and restaurants along Ebor city streets where you are playing believe the game of luck. The odds were 80 to 1. The only problem was like with any game of chance came an opportunity for corruption. The game was was rigged a lot of times because they would take a ball. They'd fill it with a lead and each night it would be that ball and they paint another number on it like Lance Williams former WFLA reporter explains. Not only was gambling rigged but politics and law enforcement were far from honest sheriff of Hillsborough County was hand picked. It would just be this natural succession that was hand-picked essentially by the mob powers in this town. So they had their fingers in everything. With this corruption that marks a time period that would forever cast a shadow on human history between 1929 and 1959 twenty six known killings took place. This period would be titled the error of life. Some killings in Arab blood that were a lot more personal in nature. But

by and large I think you'll find that most of the killings at the time were for control of the right. Basically business more than a personal vendetta. The killings were casual and no one was safe. Gruesome murders took place in plain view throughout the city streets. Killers could get away with anything. These murders were unforgettable. Amazingly enough no one ever saw anything. Who wants to be a witness against a mob figure even if I saw this killer's face. Yeah I want to be a witness knowing that my wife children and my life is in danger. No I didn't say anything. The alleged Mafia members who ran the rackets bribed the officials and could not be trusted. Often died as violently as they lived. On December 12th 1948 Jimmy Velasco was shot five times here on the 15 hundred block of 20th Street Blasco was supposedly the main political liaison for the mob.

He made regular payoffs and wasn't afraid to keep record of them to move law school actually kept a fairly detailed ledger of how much money that he was paying off a certain city and county officials the sheriff. But how much money he paid for votes and some of the city elections in the 1940s. After many years of bloodshed an undisputed leader emerged to control Tampa and its rackets. His name Santo Trafficante Melissa Allen has more for spectrum. I'm Tiffany McFarland. The 1950s saw three different mob bosses coming to power. Tampa's first Jimmie Lumia was killed on June 5th 950. Looney is God's Son Caspar Monti. Witness the horn. And the brass. The killing of Lumia and 24 other men made it a negative reputation. But it was didn't have the 1950's the proper commission. That camp was thrust into the national spotlight.

An article published in 1951 named Tampa one of America's cities of Sen.. This nickname soon led the Kieffer commission to Tampa Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver who was put in charge of the congressional committee that was dedicated to uncovering the inner workings of the mob. According to Marine Patrick director of historic guide to diversity when the commission came to Tampa it did not gain much ground. They were stonewalled by local politicians and police. Probably the most interesting episode in their hearings is that Charlie Wald testified that no one can quite figure out why he would do that. But he testified before the case offer Commission and it was very shortly after his testimony. That he was murdered. After the commotion from the Commission cleared Tampa not only went on to become nationally known as one of the 25 mob cities but a very little known Santo Trafficante Sr. emerges Tampa's leading mafia boss. There's not much known about Santo Trafficante seen as the only picture I've ever seen of him as the one that's on his

tomb. As a zillion born Tampa native Trafficante earned his reputation as an only infected Tampa gambling rackets here but also had many gambling interests in Cuba Trafficante was heavily involved in the illegal believe the lotteries and drug trafficking. The 1954 death of Santo Trafficante senior from stomach cancer allowed his son Santo Trafficante Jr. to emerge as Tampa's leading mafia boss. Joe Trafficante Jr. is known mostly for his later in life. He made his fair share of history in the 1950s Trafficante Jr. could be seen around town as such legitimate businesses as a Comair restaurant in March of Qana. However. Tampa was not the only place he was spending his time. Trafficante Jr. regularly took trips around the country in order to converse with other leading mafia bosses. Traficant I think certainly by the late 1950s because he only took over in 54 was still trying to you know make themselves visible and known. You know he's been a powerhouse to other guys around the country.

One such trip in 1957 almost Trafficante Jr. along with 56 other alleged mob figures behind bars. They were all in Appalachian New York apparently attending underworld convention and group crowd as well. A New York police officer was suspicious and took action. It just didn't fit in with the local terrain or the local people were he fanned out by the 1960s the Tampa Mafia was a top camera group in town. Surprisingly though according to D.G. the 60s was a relatively slow period for the Tampa mafia. It was somewhere between the violence because you see the violence started erupting again in the 1970s and the 60s were relatively quiet in terms of the underworld until. In the 1960s. Tampa mobsters begin to invest into real estate not associated with these legitimate businesses. They own mostly bars and lounges. Not only in Tampa but in Cuba and fact Trafficante Jr. and other mob figures became so invested into Cuba. That according to the U.S. government

had tried to hire Trafficante Jr. to kill Castro. I talked to a robber Mayhew who was the one who set up the meeting and the CIA thought because there was. So much mob influence at one time on the island and they still had connections with some Cubans that were still there that the mob might be you know a good way for the CIA to get rid of Castro. So the 1960s was a relatively slow period and he had his mafia history is by no means was the end. In fact Santo Trafficante Jr. was just getting started. Reporter Brandi Bakker has more on the story. First spectrum. I'm Melissa Allen. The rise of Santo Trafficante Jr is power made Tampa a known player in the game of organized crime although not as well-known as other crime families. Chopra condé made sure that his power was taken just as seriously when he took over leadership established mob figures throughout the country supported his decisions. His takeover seemless his power relentless. The city finally getting the recognition it deserved. You know Santo Jr. was out you know going across the world talking to

you know Corsican mobster Spanish mobsters Italian wiseguy really kind of having this power that you know is so much greater than the rest of the Tampa family was intelligence paired with determination made Trafficante a shrewd businessman. What was he like. How did these qualities enable him to become so powerful. Almost everyone said he was really a nice old man but he was also very respected in the underworld you see the people he hung out with all these mob bosses from around the country would pay their respects because he did have power in Tampa along with power comes responsibility Trafficante made sure people knew Tampa was his former federal prosecutor Kevin March explains Santa's traffic and he was a very smart individual he was an accommodating. He would accommodate people from all over the country all of the mob guys throughout the country. Therefore he became known as an elder statesman. He would allow other mob families to operate down here with one exception. He didn't want them to operate in Tampa since he lived in Tampa. He would permit some

things to be done as long as he could cover it. The control Trafficante had over Tampa was respected and as long as outsiders followed the rules he would make sure they had what they needed. When you had a problem and you didn't go to the police you went to Santa and you told him what your problem was and he would stop being cordial in life is one thing business is another Trafficante JR knew how to keep his city running properly and how to keep the money flowing. One way he insured his income was through drug trafficking. Hollywood has shown us many images concerning organized crime and drugs. These movies give us a glimpse into the hidden world of drug trafficking. But are they accurate. How do these movies compare to reality. Scott tells us more. Tampa never had a big drug problem Santo never sold drugs in the neighborhood. He would. Buy he would finance drug shipments so you never have to get his hands dirty. Being the boss is good when you have people doing the dirty work for you transporting drugs and money from point A to Point B is risky unless you have a plan.

Tunnels directly underneath this city restaurant played a major part in illegal drug trafficking criminal store the drugs and alcohol underground until they can safely take them to the nearby port of Tampa. And I was told there's a tunnel under the building where the cafe Creole used to be. And the building across the street in those were both gambling houses and they were passed there would be a way to pass money in between you know you know take money away from one area put it put it safe. Other than the Port of Tampa service away to traffic many things constantly bringing money into the family and the 70s and 80s the mob started looking into another source of income. John McCain ran a sizeable company family legal gambling however fine and robbed. This restaurant used to be the headquarters of gambling operations all over the city. The big thing. Was not getting. On. If you want to try your luck at gambling you had many places to choose from. But in order to stay under police radar they weren't as successful as you might think. Detective Jim Martin Zach of the Tampa Police Department explains.

You had to know somebody that would basically vouch for you so that you're OK you can be trusted we can take your bet you're not on the cover a law enforcement official you're not a confidential informant that you can you can be trusted. You would need someone about for you making sure a person was legitimate was crucial. But when doing the dirty work yourself gets boring there's nothing like a little intimidation instead of on your own bookmaking. You know some guy says Well I want to run bookmaking Here you go OK you just pay me you know a couple hundred a week and I'll let you run bookmaking in my town. Another reason to partner up with the mob was for protection because if you say you want to open a bookmaking operation and tape somebody is going to approach you if you get to bed unless you have a mob guy are in your side. You've got a new partner who's going to take basically all your money. Once the operation was in place taking bets was the last step. I win money to the mob for gambling was never a good idea. If you didn't pay they would make you an offer you couldn't

refuse. A scene in Goodfellas shows us one such instance a debtor who owed money to the Charbonneau brothers and to Henry Hill in Jimmy's perfect head of New York who were played by Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro and they took him to the sharp owl and a pistol whipped him in the back till he came up with the money. But the surplus of gambling operations across the city it was only a matter of time before the police got involved. This is the former side of Orion's where Operation Super Bowl took place. The FDLE bought the pub hoping the best leaders of the underworld for gambling the information they discovered over the two year period was much more than they had hoped for. It was kind of one of those operations that stems from other ones are picking up trash and a gambler's has found evidence of their being led into some other guy led into another guy and it's kind of a large scale operation at a couple different aspects of it and one of them was setting up for Ryan's pub this fake pub to attract gamblers and a guy selling stolen property and drug dealers.

Operation Super Bowl resulted in 69 suspects on charges from gambling to receiving stolen property. Around the same time Santo Trafficante JR came close to conviction for the first time in his life. We tried him on extortion charges and RICO charges everyone in that case was convicted except for Russ Santo. So we appealed and we were going to win and retries pretty dark. Santo Trafficante Jr. ruled with an iron fist. After 32 years as the leader of Tampa's mob he finally joined his father in this Italian club cemetery Tampa's organized crime would never be the same. Some say traffic Andres death had an astounding impact on Tampa. Lance Williams explains when Trafficante Jr. died it truly was the end of an era. The face of the mob in Tampa died was at a traffic cottage and. It's safe to say that the 70s and 80s provided Tampa with excitement and danger. The death of Trafficante Jr. changed the way Tampa one operate forever. He was known to many as the last of a generation. Some people still refuse to acknowledge the Tampa have a new mob of

delineation. What do you believe. Reporter Heather McKenzie tells us how law enforcement has found success in the struggle with the mob for spectrum. I'm bringing back her. Today the Tampa Bay area is a melting pot of cultures a place where people from all over the globe come to live. But in the shadows of this sunny city there have been murders illegal gambling and drug trade. Amazingly many people here have no idea that there ever was or maybe even still is criminal activity linked to the mob. According to Detective Jim bard a Zach of the Tampa Police Department. The surprise from citizens was not unusual. They're well they're not in-your-face type. They come and attempt criminal activity but they try to remain under the radar. They don't like a lot of attention. So for the average citizen of Tampa they would have no idea. To understand any current organized crime activity we must first look back into Tampa's

recent past when Santo Trafficante Jr. died in 1987 it is said that Vincent le Scalzo took his place as boss of the family. Lo Scalzo attended Conti's funeral but said that they were just friends and intelligence detective whose identity will remain anonymous told us this about Vincent le Scalzo is the alleged. Head of what's left of the Trafficante family. To this day le Scalzo denies any involvement in the mob or any of its criminal activities. We contacted list Scalzo but he declined our interview. Vincent le Scalzo has had his share of run ins with the law according to circuit court documents Lo Scalzo was arrested in 1993 for carrying a concealed firearm. Record say that lo Scalzo had a loaded 380 caliber semiautomatic pistol in his briefcase while going through a checkpoint at the Tampa International Airport. He entered a pretrial intervention program but was later dismissed from the program following an arrest in 1994. This timeless

scholar was arrested in Miami for conspiracy to commit racketeering organized scheme to defraud securities fraud sale of an unregistered security. Grand theft first degree and sale of a security by an unregistered dealer. Vincent le Scalzo received three years probation. The days of holding a gun to someone's head like back in the movies are over. Organized crime groups have changed their style to the more lucrative white collar crimes whereas in a white collar scam you can make hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions without with barely lifting a finger. It's much easier. It's bigger money it's bigger money and the. If you get caught the penalties are as stiff. Back in January of 2005 the mob was linked to a valet parking scam in Tampa. John a light a known member of the Gambino crime family and Terry Skag Leone were both defendants in the indictment. Valet Parking is just one example of the cash businesses often easily infiltrated by

organized crime and in cash business is well how can you prove how much I made. It's like a laundromat. The linen service garbage service they technically those were Mafia businesses that were used for years. They're into this and this way they can also hire associates and other soldiers to be on that payroll to show a legitimate job. And if they're on probation or parole they have to go once a month with a pay stub. Details of current cases involving organized crime in the Tampa Bay area are ongoing and confidential. Detective Garda Zack explains why. Well we can't compromise any ongoing investigations obviously. We also. Are not in a position to identify certain individuals either having mob ties or associates. If we're not prepared to go into a court of war and prove the same.

However recently in April of 2005 Tampa Police arrested Richard sable and Joseph Carter on charges of racketeering and loan sharking Sable was a self-proclaimed member of the crime family in New Jersey Sable was apparently the muscle behind Carter's loan operations. The woman. You're with today. Will be. 58. On. Their Way. We. Want. To just kill the. Disabled was. Brought to your. Various meetings. Bringing. Victims. To. Make. According to investigators this isn't the end. It's still very much ongoing. Something. Probably. More or less. Forceful. Not only has organized crime taken on new types of crimes but also new attitudes towards each other the way it's different now in my personal opinion is a lot of the

old time mafia types are either in prison or have died and the new younger. Wise Guys. Don't have the same. Honor System the same value system that maybe their dad and granddads had when. Being associated with with a tie you know organized crime. There was an old saying that narcotics was going to be the destruction of the Lafayette. And that came true. What was once a scene dominated by mafia families may now be taking a new turn. Now according to detectives here at the Pinellas County sheriff's office organized crime has been around the Tampa Bay area for many years now. But traditional crime families may be taking a backseat to the street gangs. A detective from a gang intelligence unit had this to say about the gangs in the Tampa Bay area. His identity is also being hidden to keep his investigations confidential.

We're seeing an increase in Hispanic gangs and there's going to be a continuous increase in that in the near future. Also Asian gangs. How did gangs compare to traditional organized crime like the mob. Today's gangs are starting pretty young about middle schools when they start and they have leadership that's probably the only. Familiarity is that they have a leadership again a street gang. Last more than two or three years and it's probably going to be considered organized crime although the current numbers on organized crime here in Tampa. I know investigators and detectives agree that there's still a strong presence here. You know it is a problem but it's going to increase it's not getting it going to get any better. This will get worse. It's not it it's peak but it's like anything else they bounce back with out a doubt. They're going to keep coming as long as the money is there. We're seeing more and more documented mob types moving to Florida. For

spectrum. And Heather Mackenzie. This concludes this edition of spectrum and I'm Thomas better see me. Thanks for watching.