The Trafficantes, Godfathers from Tampa, Florida: The Mafia,

The Trafficantes, Godfathers from Tampa, Florida: The Mafia, the CIA and the JFK Assassination

In this page-turning narrative, noted true crime writer Ron Chepesiuk chronicles the story of one of historyâ€™s lesser known but most important mob dynasties. For nearly seven decades, Santo Trafficante, Sr. and his son, Santo, Jr. were prominent gangsters on the Tampa crime scene. Santo, Sr. arrived in Tampa in 1902 and settled in the Ybor City area where he slowly began his climb to the top of the Tampa mob scene. Along the way, he became a clever and ruthless gangster who preferred to operate in the shadows. By the mid 1920s, Santo, Sr. had become a powerful force in the Tampa mafia. Two decades later, the U.S. government reported that he was â€œstrongly suspected of having financed important narcotics transactions.â€ During Tampaâ€™s â€œEra of Bloodâ€ from 1930 through the 1950s, in which several local gangsters were murdered, Santo, Sr. emerged as Tampaâ€™s most powerful mobster. He would remain so until his death in 1954.

His successor, Santo, Jr., lead the Tampa mob for more than three decades and became involved in some of historyâ€™s most seminal events. They include mob dominance of the gambling scene in pre-Castro Cuba, the CIA plots to kill Castro, the spectacular mob hit of godfather Albert Anastasia in 1957, the famous mob meeting at Apalachin in upstate New York that followed shortly after, the John F. Kennedy assassination, and the development of narcotics networks in Latin America and Southeast Asia, among others. Unlike most other godfathers, Santo, Jr. never spent more than a night in an American jail. When he died in 1987, organized crime expert Ralph Salerno described Santo, Jr.â€™s death as â€œthe end of an eraâ€ and the godfather as â€œthe last of the old time (gangland) leaders.â€ In vivid prose and concise detail, Chepesiuk weaves the fascinating story of the legendary gangsters, the Trafficantes.

â€œRon Chepesiukâ€™s book on the Trafficantes takes the reader behind the headlines to the real story, uncensored and without filters. The book is fast-paced with fascinating factual details told in Chepesiuk's trademark tell-it-as-it-is writing style. A must read for true crime aficionados.â€
--Elle Andra-Warner, author of several best-selling books, including Edmund Fitzgerald: The Legendary Great Lakes Shipwreck and The Mounties; Robert Service.
Country USA
Manufacturer Strategic Media Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2010-03-04
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Strategic Media Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2010-03-04
Format	Kindle eBook

The Trafficantes, Godfathers from Tampa, Florida: The Mafia, the CIA and the JFK Assassination