Interesting. I live in Tampa and sometimes wonder if there's still an Italian presence. There are tons of strip clubs around here and I figure someone has to be running those rackets. Are they left over from the Trafficante days?
If you guys ever come down here, you should take a walk around Ybor City and eat at Columbia. It was Trafficante's favorite place to eat.
The vast majority of the mob's remaining presence seems to be in the Miami/South Florida area.
I know about the Russian-Jewish mob in Florida, but figured the Italians were all dead or in jail.
I guess that why the local real estate radio show describes that part of Florida as "Bankers and Gangsters".
Here's some cases over the last decade involving the Italian mob in Florida -
In January 2000, 5 people, including Colombo associate Joseph "Joey Flowers" Rotunno, were indicted in Florida on charges of operating a pyramid scheme that took in over $13 million from 48,000 people in 8 months through a company that claimed to help people buy computer equipment, set up home-office and small businesses, and engage in commerce on the internet.
In June 2000, 18 Colombo associates, including Joseph "Joey Flowers" Rotunno, were indicted in Florida on charges of illegal gambling, stolen goods, credit card fraud, bribery, and money laundering through check-cashing stores and pawn shops.
In September 2000, 9 Gambino members and associates, including captain Anthony “Tony Pep” Trentacosta, were indicted in Florida on charges of racketeering, loansharking, counterfeiting checks, selling stolen goods, and murder conspiracy.
In August 2001, 12 people involved in a Florida brokerage company owned by members and associates of the Colombo Family, including Domnick "Black Dom" Dionisio and Enricio Locascio, were indicted in the Eastern District for running a "pump and dump" stock fraud, through a company tied to late Colombo captain William "Wild Bill" Cutolo, that scammed $40 million from hundreds of investors.
In January 2002, 3 Gambino Family members and associates, Frank Basto, Joseph P. Fafone, and Joseph J. Fafone, were indicted in Florida on charges of running a sports betting operation and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
In March 2002, 29 people, including Bonanno Consigliere Anthony "TG" Graziano and Soldier John Zancocchio, were indicted in Florida on charges of telmarketing and wire fraud involving an $11.7 million "pump and dump" stock scam, illegal gambling, money laundering, and conspiracy to murder 2 Colombo associates.
In March 2003, Lucchese soldier Anthony Accetturo Jr. was named in a criminal complaint in Florida for extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the owner of a national moving and storage company, which Accetturo claimed he was owed a piece of.
In July 2004, and a superseding indictment in February 2005, officials of ILA Locals 1804-1 (North Bergen, NJ), 1922 (Miami), 1922-1 (Miami), and 2062 (Miami), Arthur Coffey, Harold Daggett, and Albert Cernada, all identified as Genovese Family associates, as well as Genovese acting captain, Lawrence "Larry" Ricci, were indicted in the Eastern District on charges of controlling postions, elections, and hiring in the ILA, extorting businesses on the New York, New Jersey, and Miami waterfronts. In July 2005, 35 people tied to the Genovese and Gambino Families, including several ILA officials, were named in a civil RICO complaint in the Eastern District on charges of labor racketeering, extortion, fraud, and money laundering related to ILA Locals 1 (New York/New Jersey), 824 (New York), 1235 (Newark/Elizabeth, NJ), 1588 (Bayonne/Jersey City, NJ), 1804-1 (North Bergen, NJ), 1814 (Brooklyn), 1922 (Miami), 1922-1 (Miami), 2019 (Florida?), and 2062 (Miami). I
In December 2004, 6 Gambino Family members and associates, including captain Ronald “Ronnie One Arm” Trucchio, were indicted in Florida on charges of robberies including home invasions and the robbery of $2 million from an armored car, extortion, collection of illegal gambling debts, loan sharking, money laundering, kidnapping, assault, murder, cocaine trafficking, and infiltration of businesses such as valet services, bars and clubs, a window and glass company, etc.
In February 2005, 23 Bonanno Family members and associates, including captain Gerard "Gerry" Chilli, were indicted in Florida on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, drug trafficking, stock fraud, stolen goods, and money laundering.
In September 2005, 3 Gambino Family associates, Anthony Moscatiello, Anthony Ferrari, and James Fiorillo, were indicted in Florida on murder charges.
In June 2006, 7 Genovese Family members and associates, including Captain Renaldi “Ray” Ruggiero, were indicted in Florida on charges of extortion, robbery, money laundering, loansharking, travel in aid of racketeering, posession of stolen property, and bank fraud.
In July 2007, a Gambino Family associate's (George Catalano) attempt to open a video gambling arcade in Florida was denied by officials.
In July 2007, 2 people with ties to the Colombo Family, Orlando and Barbara Sergi, were ordered in Florida to repay $280,000 they had extorted from a bettor in debt.
In January 2008, 6 Gambino Family members and associates, including captain Vincent "Vinny" Artuso, were indicted in Florida on charges of racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering involving a real estate scam that took in $7 million over a 5 year period.
In May 2009, 11 Bonanno Family members and associates, including Thomas Fiore, were indicted in Florida on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, manufacturing fraudulent checks, using false security numbers, trafficking in stolen plasma televisions and cigarettes, distribution of oxycodone and hydrocone, interstate transportation of stolen property, money laundering, loan sharking, extortion, running illegal high-stakes poker games, medicare fraud, and forcing business owners to install mob-controlled vending machines, obstruction of justice, and murder.
In March 2010, 6 people, including a Gambino Family member Gaetano Napoli Sr., and affiliate of the Siclian Mafia, Roberto Settineri, were indicted in the Eastern District and Florida on charges of obstruction of justice, extortion, concealment of assets in bankruptcy, laundering narcotics profits, trafficking in contraband cigarettes, wire fraud, as well as protecting Sicilian Mafia interests in the U.S.
