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Jun 18, 2024 · He married and started a family that produced four sons, most notably the one named Santo Jr. As the family grew, Trafficante Sr. immersed himself in the local crime scene, especially as it ...
- Ray Roa
- Bootlegging, Bolita Rackets in The 1920s
- Trafficante Rises to Boss After ‘Era of Blood’
- Kefauver Committee Causes Trouble in Tampa
- Postscript: Charlie ‘The White Shadow’ Wall
As Santo built a family and a social life, events in Tampa and elsewhere created an environment for upheaval and opportunity in the city’s underworld. With the advent of Prohibition, Tampa became a major nexus for the smuggling of rum, corn sugar and molasses from Cuba and whiskey from the Caribbean through Port Tampa Bay. It is unclear just when T...
By the early 1930s, Santo Sr. was considered one of the top Mafia powers in Tampa. The first boss of the Tampa Mafia, Ignazio Italiano, died in 1930. His successor, Ignazio Antinori, soon found himself in a war for control of the rackets with Charlie Wall, an independent racketeer known as “The White Shadow” (his nickname from local Latino resident...
In December 1950, the Kefauver Committee came to Tampa, looking, as it did in other U.S. cities, to uncover the depth of organized crime influence in the city. The committee subpoenaed leading underworld figures to testify. Santo Trafficante Sr., along with Santo Jr., skipped town to avoid the summonses. “One of the fugitives from the committee’s p...
Though the Trafficantes avoided the Kefauver subpoenas, Charlie Wall appeared. While he had been out of the rackets for a decade, Wall took time to educate the committee on the inner workings of Tampa crime during his reign. Despite his decision to testify in front of the Kefauver Committee, Wall faced no retribution in Tampa. Word was that in exch...
May 15, 2015 · Times staff. Published May 15, 2015. Josephine Marchese Trafficante, the wife of reputed former Tampa organized crime leader Santo Trafficante, died in her sleep at home Wednesday, according to a ...
Nov 21, 2023 · But there was a rising player on the scene. Sicilian-born Ignacio Antinori had made his bones in heroin trafficking, supplying not just Tampa but also major Midwestern cities. Antinori recruited Santo Trafficante Sr., a bootlegger who also ran bolita parlors. With increased power thanks to Trafficante, Antinori was able to challenge Wall for ...
Aug 10, 2019 · The next son was Luigi Santo Trafficante Jr. (his namesake and future Mafia boss), born on November 15, 1914. Salvatore, called Sam, was born on November 14, 1916; Epifano, or, Fano, was born on January 5, 1919; and Enrico, known as “Henry,†was born on November 23, 1924. The following year, Santo Sr. became a naturalized citizen.
"Mafia's Greatest Hits" Santo Trafficante (TV Episode 2017) photos, including production stills, premiere photos and other event photos, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes, and more.
Mar 7, 2018 · About 5 a.m. on March 9, 1938, Rubio and his new bodyguard, Lew Feldman, pulled up to Rubio’s house just west of Ybor City after a night at the El Dorado. Feldman pulled into the driveway facing the side of the house. Rubio got out of the car and walked upstairs to the short porch, illuminated by the car’s headlights. Neither man saw two gunmen crouched behind the high porch, which ...
