Santo Trafficante, Sr.

Santo Trafficante, Sr. ( May 28, 1886 - August 11, 1954 ) was an Italian-American mobster of the American Cosa Nostra and was the head of the Tampa Mafia from the 1940s until his death , now also known as Trafficante- Family (Trafficante Crime Family) .

Life

Early years

In 1901 Trafficante emigrated with his family from Cianciana ( Sicily ) to the USA to Ybor City - Tampa ( Florida ). Young Santo soon became fluent in English and Spanish and integrated into the society and culture of the United States' Gulf Coast.

In 1909 he married Maria Giuseppe Cacciatore - sister of the influential drug lord James "Jo Jo" Cacciatore - with whom he would have five sons. In particular, Santo Trafficante, Jr. was born in 1914 , who later succeeded his father as head of the local Mafia clan, which among them would be referred to as the "Trafficante family", but at that time under Ignacio Antinori et al. a. was known as the Tampa Mafia .

Criminal rise

The Mafioso, who also emigrated from Sicily and the first boss of the Tampa Mafia , Ignacio Antinori, took notice of Trafficante from the 1920s, introduced him to his organization and expanded the city's illegal Bolita lottery games with him; starting in Tampa with expansion into central Florida. He was also active in the smuggling business and drug trafficking.

Trafficante took part in 1929 - along with various other high-ranking mafiosi and bullies - in the so-called Atlantic City Conference , which is said to have taken place between May 13 and 16 in Atlantic City (New Jersey) .

In the 1930s, a ten year long violent conflict between the opponents Charlie Wall and Ignacio Antinori began, which was known as the "Era of Blood". Businessman Wall, who had controlled most of the gambling business in the 1920s, became a well-known figure in organized crime; Challenger Antinori was shot dead on October 23, 1940 at the Palm Garden Inn in Tampa, which meant that this gang war was actually over.

Trafficante, Sr. was a clever but ruthless Mafioso who preferred to operate carefully in the background in order to expand and maintain his power in this way. He not only continued the business after Antinori's death on his own, but also gradually ousted the actually victorious Wall , whose position was weakened by the high losses during the "Era of Blood". Trafficante has since been considered the most powerful mobster in Tampa.

Change of power and Cuba

Santo Trafficante, Sr. had taken control and made his son more familiar with the "business", but was now strictly observed by the police and therefore made Salvatore "Red" Italiano the incumbent boss of the family as a precaution .

However, he was no longer able to disguise his role as an influential mobster from the authorities and when summons of alleged members of the criminal underworld of Tampa were also initiated in the course of the so-called Kefauver Hearings , Santo Sr. and his son were also there.

The special thing about these hearings was the fact that not only were many well-known gangster greats summoned, but they had to testify in front of the running cameras. In particular, the statements made by Charlie Wall , who was also called up - now 71 years old - were so incriminating that the trafficantes preferred to leave for Cuba to avoid further investigations.

The choice of Cuba was not accidental; the political situation there was - compared to the United States - for gambling activities downright paradisiacal. In 1946 Trafficante, Jr. stayed in Havana to get into the casino business for the family . Other great gangsters and Mafiosi had similar plans and the Trafficantes cooperated in particular with Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky . The Trafficante family made a lot of money in Cuba but never achieved the goal of claiming the island as their sole territory. Similar to Las Vegas , Cuba was considered open in the high mafia circles ( five families , Chicago outfit, etc.); d. H. the sole rule of a (also small) family was not enforceable. In addition to the gambling activities - also through the Trafficantes - u. a. various prostitution rings and narcotics smuggling routes into the United States have been established.

Last years

After the Kefauver hearings were over, both Trafficantes returned to Tampa, which did not go smoothly. Italiano - originally installed by Trafficante Sr. - had proven disloyal and fled to Mexico (where he was soon murdered), after which his position in the family fell to James Lumia .

On January 3, 1953, Santo Jr. survived an assassination attempt on him. Rumors suggest that the Trafficantes blamed old adversary Charlie Wall for this; in addition, his statements at the Kefauver hearings had not yet been forgotten. In any case, Wall was murdered in 1955 and to date no perpetrator has been identified.

Trafficante Sr. himself had died of stomach cancer in 1954. Trafficante Jr. succeeded his father after his death and was soon considered one of the most powerful bosses of the American mafia.

On TV

• 2008: Mobsters (TV series) ; Documentation about the rise of Trafficante senior & junior

literature

• AJ Bliss: Making a Sunbelt Place: Tampa, Florida ; 2010
• Scott Deitche: Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of The Tampa Underworld ; 2004; ISBN 1-569802661

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Gangsters Inc. - Santo Trafficante: Building the Family Business
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Find a Grave - Santo Trafficante, Sr (1886-1954)
3. ↑ 80 years ago, the Mob came to Atlantic City for a little strategic planning . Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
4. ^ The New York Times - Santo Trafficante, reputed Mafia Chief, dies at 72
5. ↑ bio.com - Santo Trafficante

predecessor	Office	successor
Ignacio Antinori	Head of the " Trafficante family " of the Mafia 1940 - 1954	Santo Trafficante, Jr.