As a night club musician here during that time let me tell you......

This place was packed with wiseguys (especially during the season).

They didn't hang too much in Miami per se, all the action was from North Miami Beach, up through Hallandale, Hollywood, Ft.Lauderdale, and Pompano (Back then Boca Raton was a heavy WASP/ Jewish area).

The Major clubs they hung at were The Bonfire, Place for Steak, Club Top Draw (thats just a few in north miami beach). In Halandale you had Bootsiese, the Round Table, the The Aztec Hotel Lounge, Villa Perrone, The bar a Dorias, and late at night you could find tables of them all sitting together at the Rascal House Deli in Sunny Isles.

Hollywood had Hemmigways and the Top of the Home Lounge (that was a BIG hangout. Also the Tack room bar in the old Diplomat Hotel.There was also a place called The Grand Saloon in Young Circle. Oh, how could I forget Joe Sonkens Gold Coast Restaurant

Ft.Lauderdale.......Too many to mention. But some of the main places were The Bachelors III, Septembers, Mr.Pips tons of Hotel lounges, Le Club International.

Before I became a full time musician one of my first jobs was as a busboy in a little tiny joint called the "Tre Amici". It was on US1 in Hollywood about 2 miles north of Young Circle.

Well as it turns out the FBI had the whole place wired up. It seems that Jimmy Blues Eyes (who lived right in Hollywood in the Lakes section) plus a bunch of other heavy hitters Terry Zappi, Tony and Frank Galgano of "Bobby Rubinos" fame were hanging out in there every night. I remember it making all the papers back then.

Now in the late 1980's you had all the Latin druglords with bilions in coke money. I worked in many of those clubs too, but they were loud and had none of the real class that the wiseguy joints had back in the day.

And yes I did see some famous gangsters while working in these places. They always treated the musicians great and were fantastic tippers.

Boy how I miss the "good old days"........

Sal