Following his expulsion from Cuban prison in 1959, Santo Trafficante Jr. returned to Tampa under the microscope of increasing law enforcement attention. recognizing that his days in the shadows were a thing of the past, he made the decision to relocate to Miami. There was also a pragmatic reason for Trafficante to move to South Florida. Miami was flourishing in the 1960s and gangland figures from across the country and Canada were buying up properties, opening up restaurants and expanding their gambling and loansharking operations across the Miami metro region. When he relocated to Miami, Santo quickly surrounded himself with key underworld figures as well as Tampa guys like Jimmy Longo, who would come down to Miami to relay information and messages across the Tamiami Trail. He also reconnected with Tampa bolita man ralph reina, who operated the el rancho restaurant in Miami Beach. among the other Miami-based mobsters that formed the core of his Miami crew were: the amatos (agostino and Vincent), a father and son mobsters who were made members of the gambino family; Stefano randazzo and John Tronolone, two Clevelandborn mobsters (Tronolone would later become the boss of the Cleveland Mafia); Thomas altamura, who was gunned down in a Miami Beach restaurant in October of 1967; Charlie The Blade Tourine; and Chicago-born jewel thief William Dentamaro. Trafficante also had a crew of Cubans, known to the Miami-Dade PD as the Cuban Mafia. They were an amalgamation of Bay of Pigs veterans, anti-Castro operatives, and Cuban gangsters that were expelled when Castro took over. Trafficante was integral to the group, as he set them up in bolita operations and legitimate business ventures. The son of a prominent Cuban mobster told the greater Miami Crime Commission, “My father saw Trafficante and Trafficante introduced my father to (redacted) and that's how my father started operating out here. We knew Trafficante from Cuba, and there we did favors." as much as their illegal rackets were important to the Miami underworld, so were the restaurants and nightlife. Mobsters would shuttle along Collins avenue between the Fontainebleau and the eden roc, two popular hotels for tourists, entertainers, politicians, and gangsters. important underworld meetings were held at these hotels and gangland luminaries like Meyer Lansky would hold court. When the Cia wanted to hire Trafficante and other Mafia figures to assassinate Fidel Castro, they met at the Fontainebleau. There were other popular gangster hangouts in Miami. There was Capra’s restaurant at 8900 Biscayne Blvd, owned by Vincent Bruno, a close friend of Trafficante. Frank ragano recalled “anybody who was anybody went to Capra’s from the mayor to movie stars. When Santo walked in, everyone came up to him.”
Top: The Eden Roc in 1956. Left: Fontainebleau hotel, circa 1960.
There was Ciro’s restaurant at 15090 north Biscayne, owned by James Palmisano and Frank Pelliccio. it was a popular hangout for visiting new York mobsters and a favorite meeting place for Trafficante and Stefano randazzo. The Cuban mob hung out at the 21 executive Club, owned by raul Jerez, a Cuban Mafia member and close associate of Trafficante. Tony’ Fish Market, gallagher’s Steak House, Sonny’s, and goldberg’s were other popular mobster hangouts. But the real core area of the mob influence was centered in north Bay Village, a small community between Miami Beach and the mainland. in a May 1968 grand jury report on the bar district in north Bay Village, the report described how “known hoodlums, jewel thieves, and unsavory characters of all types have been allowed to frequent these bars and restaurants with little or no interference or discouragement from the north Bay Village Police Department, or the managers and owners of these establishment.” Over a hundred mobsters lived in and around the Village and made the rounds of the late night lounges and nightclubs. in the early 60’s, FBi reports have Trafficante’s residence listed at 521 n.e. 71st St in Miami, only three miles from north Bay Village. around 1967, Trafficante bought a house at 704 northeast 155th St in north Miami. Local police and the FBi set up OCTOBer/nOVeMBer
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