tony galeota family
Tony Galeota's shaved head fairly glows with nostalgia as he remembers the days when you might have strolled into his Hialeah bar in search of commercial sex, or maybe to get beaten up or swindled . Tony went on the run with the money the drug cartel provided up front, however, as authorities closed in - meaning the deal never happened, Tarzan got deported, Juan was (temporarily) convicted on drug charges and Tony became a fugitive not just from justice but from the hit that was put out on his head. But it bored him. A large Russian man called Tarzan sits in an armchair against the backdrop of a cracked and stained wall, a pack of cigarettes, lighter and an ash tray on a table to his left, and he shrugs as he talks about a deal he tried to broker more than 20 years ago. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. He was a big, big fish.". (CBS Miami). See Photos. When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. "I just watched Luis blow a guy away," Galeota heard himself say on tape. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. His name was Tony Galeota, he said, and he had run Porky's for 18 years before being locked up in Panama's worst prison for a crime he didn't commit. He was 31. "Their connections were bigger than ours," he says. He was very serious and said he would look into it. Ten million dollars really feels like 10 million dollars, he gushes in the movie. Furious and Busted Rick Cedar steals radios to support his family. I never got a straight answer [about why he was in jail there], says Russell. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back. Russell did as he was told and flew to the appointed city in Africa; as soon as he walked into his hotel room, the phone rang and he was instructed to be downstairs in five minutes, where Tony whisked him off in a Porsche Cayenne and they spent several surreal days together; Tony showed the director his Russian fighter jet, which had $5million in the cockpit as the fugitives getaway plan, and told his part of the story. Galeota jumped at the deal. As Fainberg and a wealthy Cuban-American named Juan Almeida sat in the Federal Detention Center downtown, and newspapers across the country splashed the sensational story of the drug submarine scheme, Galeota focused on staying out of court. They were concerned that Tarzan and his arriviste colleagues in crime would merge with Cuban mobsters who already used brutal, bloody force to rule Miamis underworld and create a sort of supergroup of criminality. Tony Galeota lived in 1954, at address, Massachusetts. Russian immigrant Ludwig Fainberg, a.k.a. If Galeota is freed, it will be a major blow for Panama's prostitution crackdown. Also read: Tony Galeota: From Running. Police repeatedly raided the club, yet Galeota escaped unscathed every time. Prosecutors say police never filed the necessary paperwork. The charismatic teenager sold the stolen suits or electronics at strip clubs or used-car lots. "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. His nightmare began in June of 2011, when police raided his Panama City strip club and arrested him and his Ukrainian partner for trafficking women and selling drugs. In the early 1990s, three friends set out to hustle the Russian mob, the Cali cartel and the DEA for the score of a lifetime. He escaped with his life and went on the run, aiming to avoid the cartel, Interpol and US law enforcers. "It was home to a lot of shrewd and nefarious characters.". In court statements and interviews with New Times, they said Galeota gave them contracts to sign, cell phones and computers to use, and apartments in which to live. The year before, his father helped him land a job as a wedding DJ. Tony Galeota Profiles | Facebook And they were doing it on behalf of the notorious Cali drug cartel in Colombia, who planned to use the underwater vessel to smuggle cocaine undetected. "We were doing fantastic, but Tarzan got bored and started living the life," Galeota explains. Galeota saw an opportunity. Prostitutes were everywhere at the weddings, and when Tony asked another employee where they came from, the older kid took him to Manhattan's infamous West End. The American says he's giving up the strip club and brothel businesses. "They shot him in the middle of the night," Galeota continues quietly, "and buried his body behind the pavilion.". They tried to squeeze Fainberg to get Seidle. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. "A family type thing, like an ale house with wings and beer," he says. This is a guy that the FBI went after for years but could never get him. At the entrance to La Joya, ant hills and wasp nests surround a wooden sign. Panama became Galeota's personal paradise. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. He left, but returned with a gun. More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro. They were all together when Tony worked for the Russin mobsters in Porky's club as its manager. Kristy and his sons hid in a shabby, poorly protected office. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. We've received your submission. We've been here for two years!' Yester, a highly regarded affiliate of multiple cocaine cartels, opened European markets for Colombian narco-terrorist Pablo Escobar and went on the run in 1990 after being charged with cocaine trafficking. He was 31. Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. Instead, Galeota admits he's done bad things, such as running Miami's most infamous strip club, Porky's, for years before moving to Panama and opening a brothel. So if you wanna do it, the time is now, and essentially, its happening one way or another, so you might be the person to author your story. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. Tony Galeota's age is expected to be 52. It was apparent they had what appeared to be narcotics and after we did the test they had bales on board of pure cocaine, said Boatswains Mate Omar Castro with the U.S. Coast Guard. Miami mobster Tony Galeota is locked up in Panama after being framed for drug dealing and human trafficking. Family members can also bring them food and clean water, however, and inmates bribe guards to smuggle in additional items. According to Yester, the cartel provided an initial payment of $10 million. Even then, however, he couldn't sleep. Tarzan, got his first job in America as an enforcer for the Gambino crime family. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. Both Juan and Tarzan shared with Russell how they had graduated from buying helicopters, motorcycles and cars for the cartel from Russia to pursuing a submarine for the drugrunners. But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. or. Log In or Sign Up Tony Galeota See Photos Anthony Galeota See Photos Tony Kalata See Photos Tony Galeote See Photos Tony Galea See Photos Tony Galeto See Photos Tony Gullette See Photos Tony Gulotta See Photos When Galeota arrived in Miami in the summer of 1991, the city was awash in coke, crack, and drug cash. "When you go to prison, it's like dying, but you get to see your own funeral," Galeota says. Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint So I was literally stepping over dead bodies of the people who had been shanked and stuff over the course of the night.. Tarzans on board and essentially youre in the movie, one way or another. Then I ended up spending a great deal of what I like to call social engineering, which is kind of like the hanging out with all these guys theyre all very secretive cats with these very sketchy kind of criminal pasts. MICHAEL GALEOTA OBITUARY. Facilitating it. In January 1997, after he dropped his daughter off at school, Tarzan was arrested and hit with a 30-count federal indictment. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. CAKEGATE 2023: Bad Bunny's Restaurant Accused of Gobbling Birthday Girl's Cake, Neighborhood Nazi Jon Minadeo Peddles Hate by the Minute, Gator Gets in on the Action at Tampa Bay Horse Race, Sen. Rubio's Permanent Daylight Savings Bill Sees Light of Day Once More, NFL Legend Ray Lewis Joins World Jai-Alai League Board of Directors, Affordable New "Micro-Units" Slated for Little River, Edgewater. But the hassle had taken its toll on him. GALEOTA, Joseph A., Sr. Joseph A. Galeota Sr., 86, of Ashford CT, died on Wednesday (January 26, 2011) at Windham Hospital from congestive heart failure. In describing Tarzan, Almeida says in the film, He struck me as an oddball. Tarzan classifies Almeida as a guy who had two drinks and thought he was Tony Montana. As for movie-star handsome, hooker-loving Yesters first impression of Tarzan: I said, This f- -king guy is trouble. Thirty minutes later, I loved the trouble., Abetted by the tumultuous state of the former Soviet Union the ruble was completely devalued and state-owned resources went to whomever had the most firepower gaining access to the submarine was surprisingly easy. For 18 years, Galeota ran Porky's with the same punishing justice he learned from the mob and transformed it into Miami's most notorious whorehouse, where Russian gangsters and Cuban criminals spent millions on sex and drugs. I flew to a little island near St. Petersburg, met with a retired Russian admiral, and he took me to the navy base, says Tarzan. Biography. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. Galeota also found himself in the back of an unmarked FBI car. Get started U.S. Yearbooks Name Index, 1890-1979. From Porky's to Panama Prison, Tony Galeota Reveals Miami's Mob-Run local Journalism in South Florida. SO I started with the cops and I had been kind of circling the others without knowing if it was really possible or not. Inside La Joya, he had paid a guard to smuggle in a BlackBerry to talk to his wife, but strangers kept calling with threats to kill his kids unless he paid them. His school friends didn't believe him, so a few days later he sneaked out, stole his mom's minivan, and drove around the neighborhood loading up with other teens. When traffickers balked at the price, Yester reminded them that it could hold 40 tons of cocaine and would pay for itself quickly. A deep bass line rattled customers' chests as they downed overpriced drinks. Tarzan was released from the Panamanian prison in around 2016 and has since built a side career out of playing tough guys in gangster flicks shot in Russia, where he now lives. Tony and Kristy were shocked and out of a job. This story has been shared 121,048 times. "Like me, he was a black sheep who could do nothing right.". "But she's never going to forget. "It was a very violent atmosphere," he says. "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James. S10 E10 - Miami Mobster Take Down Tony Galeota is framed for drug trafficking in Panama City. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. The heavy-set Italian even signed a release. Instead, Galeota admits he's done bad things, such as running Miami's most infamous strip club, Porky's, for years before moving to Panama and opening a brothel. October 4, 2012 "My wife could have left me. When he heard that his old partner in crime from Porky's had moved to Panama, he flew in to meet with Galeota. But not until she discovered he'd been dating a former Porky's stripper for more than two years did she threaten to divorce him in 2009. A judge eventually dropped the human trafficking charge, but Galeota still rotted in his sordid cell alongside insects the size of small dogs. For two decades, Galeota managed Porky's, a Hialeah dive notorious for drugs, prostitution, and violence, where he was part pimp, part bouncer, and completely untouchable. When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. Kenyan court is shown vital evidence ignored by police two years after his arrest over 4.5m cocaine haul, Body armor-clad Cancun cops are 'suspended' after posing for pictures with topless tourists on the beach, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Ken Bruce: 'I always wanted to be a radio presenter from about 15', Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. Facebook Email or phone Password Forgot account? Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. We did outsmart the FBI, we did outsmart the DEA, we even did outsmart the court, Tarzan says in the film. independent local journalism in Miami. None of them ever appeared in the newspapers, but Hialeah police records confirm there were at least ten shootings at Porky's during Galeota's tenure. "I was 16 years old and amazed," he says. Galeota was crammed into a sweltering holding cell with 150 others. He was recently sentenced to serve around six years in federal prison. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. As he sweated in jail, Galeota's Panamanian empire crumbled. Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. There was a spate of murders, several police raids, and a federal drug-trafficking trial. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. "We treated the women well.". Prostitutes were everywhere at the weddings, and when Tony asked another employee where they came from, the older kid took him to Manhattan's infamous West End. "That's obstruction of justice.". McDonald expects those will be dismissed as well, but not for months. Again, Tony's friends in New York told him where to go. But when he opens a new club in Panama City, the competition isn't happy and frames him for drug dealing. But when Galeota was arrested June 19, 2011, and charged with trafficking drugs and women, he was just as innocent as Stephen King's saintly inmate. But Galeota's problems aren't completely behind him. Indeed, court records show that Seidle was a target of the federal wiretapping investigation. People named Toni Galeota Find your friends on Facebook Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. But killings are common in Panama's worst prison, where the smell of raw sewage wafts over the yard, metal shackles hang from moldy staircases, and overcrowded cells house nearly 3,500 of the Western Hemisphere's vilest murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. Tarzan and one of his partners, Fat Tony Galeota, had opened a strip club in Panama similar to a previous enterprise in Miami called Porkys but they landed behind bars in Central America. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. But Fainberg wasn't in town to catch up. Meanwhile, the task force had gotten wind of the bizarre submarine plan; not only had they wiretapped Tarzan, but they had also inserted an undercover agent into the operation an agent who appears in the documentary after undergoing an extensive makeup disguise because he continues to work undercover cases involving the Russian mob. Anthony Galeota Profiles | Facebook The irony is not lost on Galeota that after a life of crime in Miami, he was arrested in Panama just as he was going legit. Now the locals want to get rid of guys like Galeota too, as his case has drawn national attention to corruption and human rights abuses. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. The two were married in 1994 at a wedding full of mobsters. Nearly 300 feet long with 10 torpedo tubes (empty in this case), it was diesel but could be converted to electric for silent running. On June 19, 2011, Tony and his oldest son, 15-year-old Anthony Jr., had just sat down to eat wings in the Doll House office around 11 p.m. when the gold-painted doors burst open. The entire situation sounds like something dreamed up for a Miami Vice-inspired action thriller, but it actually happened in the 1990s and the trio came very close to pulling it off before one of them pocketed the cartels millions and went on the run. Locked Up Abroad 151M subscribers Miami mobster Tony Galeota is a strip-club supremo. It was 1990, and Galeota transformed the place by wiring in subwoofers and bringing in New York dancers. "I'm not a religious person, but I believe I went to jail because I was living like a rock star -- running around with all these women, drinking a bottle of vodka every day for two years," he says. He hired 'Fat Tony' Galeota as Porky's manager. As he contemplates the question, Galeota watches his fellow inmates kick a soccer ball across La Joya's putrid playground. Director Tiller Russell tells DailyMail.com that hed heard rumblings and rumors about the insane deal, but it was about seven years ago when he first got a concrete lead about Tarzan and his cronies. He offered protection and gave Galeota $200. Now the locals want to get rid of guys like Galeota too, as his case has drawn national attention to corruption and human rights abuses. Log In. "Anthony has been in jail for more than 15 months, and a judge hasn't even heard his case yet!" In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. He might have sold them the submarine, taken the money and walked away with the money.. He was soon promoted from DJing weddings to robbing delivery trucks for the Paccione clan (which federal court records tie to the infamous Gambino crime family). When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. They finally fled the country this past July, leaving Tony alone. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. Theres this crazy Russian gangster who sold a submarine to the Cali drug cartel; his name is Tarzan and hes locked in a Panamanian prison and he had a Blackberry And he said, Do you want his number?, And I said, Hell, yes! The FBI swooped in January 21, surrounding the club and arresting Fainberg. In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. The guards leave at 5pm, and they just lock the gates, and its inmate rule at night, he says, explaining that he bribed a guard to get him in and out of the jail. The dead and dying are piled into wheelbarrows and left by the front gate until guards arrive in the morning. Of the $10 million, he said, I cannot f- -king believe it how fast I spend it.. After that, Kristy closed Bongos. People named Tony Galeta. Most of them were robberies gone wrong or simple revenge. "Another night at Porky's, another shooting," he remembers now from his prison cell in Panama. We break down the best movies and series to watch in November in theaters and streaming. He was the one whod been speaking directly to the cartel; he was the only one who knew the real amount of money Cali were willing to pay; and he was the one who took the risk and disappeared with millions of the cartels drug money. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Coast Guard members who seized the cocaine said this is what their jobs are all about. Join Facebook to connect with Anthony Galeota and others you may know. It continued at another local strip club, called Quarterbacks Playmates Lounge. ), The narcotics charge, however, still stands despite little evidence linking Galeota to the drugs. Theyre nice guys [the cartel members], and I didnt ask what they needed the submarine for, Tarzan tells The Post, speaking on a crackling phone connection from Russia. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. But he insists that, for once, he has done nothing wrong. There was nothing unusual about it. It was this sort of legendary underworld myth, almost, that people had been talking about for, you know, 20 years., He tells DailyMail.com: In Moscow, I got a text from Tony that said, Youve talked to the waiters; you should come meet the chef. "We just meshed," she says. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Texas man busted in death of DJ galpal found stuffed in suitcase in Colombia, Inside the luxe lives of El Chapo's sons including jailbird Ovidio Guzmn Lpez, Arizona officials say Mexican cartels control US border: 'Ticking time bomb', Passengers on Aeromexico flight crouch in fear as plane caught in cartel crossfire: video. All the main players involved appear on camera and share their stories, including law enforcement, from which the documentary takes its name; Operation Odessa was formed as a joint task force in the 1990s as American authorities worried that Colombian cartels would join together with Russian organized crime to pair drug money with Soviet military hardware. Tony Galeto. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. ", McDonald has succeeded, however, in chipping away at the case, persuading a judge three weeks ago to drop the trafficking charge on a technicality. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. But the story of how the documentary got made is nearly as crazy as the caper plot itself. Anthony Jr. was taken to a juvenile detention center that wasn't much better. Unfortunately, Galeota's defense isn't as simple as quoting strippers, says his lawyer, Guillermina McDonald. Two days later, he was transferred to La Joya a hellish cinder-block complex an hour outside of Panama City. Tony Goleta Profiles | Facebook Reborn behind bars. South Florida's independent He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. But Monday morning, when it came time to walk out of La Joya, there was no vehicle waiting. Banks seized all seven of his apartments. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. Sometimes we get a little excited when we find the amount of cocaine we found, said Castro. It wasn't until he ordered some Italian food and a cold Guinness that he finally felt like he was free. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. The Coast Guard said the eight-member crew cooperated and was taken into custody. Ludwig Fainberg a Russian-speaking Ukrainian nicknamed "Tarzan" for his flowing locks had opened it a few months earlier but ran it like a private club for Eastern Europeans. Instead, Galeota admits he's done bad things, such as. Again, the charges were dropped. ", Tony Galeota and fellow defendant Alon "Tarzan" Bar during better days in their Panama club The Doll House, After bribing half the guards at La Joya, Galeota was taken to an immigration holding center in Panama City where he and four co-defendants were kept for four more days. There is no rehabilitation here," he says. Greed got the better of him. Miami Mobster Take Down - YouTube A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. But he was too shell-shocked to take up his attorney's offer for a ride to a nice hotel. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. Galeota's imprisonment abroad marks the end of one of Miami's most outrageous eras, when Russian and Colombian cartels stocked strip clubs with cheap prostitutes and cheaper cocaine. This time, I'm innocent.". Panamanian newspapers put "Operation Fiesta" on the front page as prosecutors alleged Galeota was part of an international crime ring. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. Log In. Dancers with names like Baby Doll, Tipsie, Trixie, and Crme offered to have sex with the cops for as little as $150, court records show. I was literally on a press tour for the last film, and I was in New York doing interviews and stuff I called the producers and said, Do you think we can get a million dollars in the next five days?. Controlling it. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Kristy was able to pay a lawyer $500 to get her son released, but there was no bond for Galeota's drug offense. Tarzan, Almeida and Yester had previously teamed on multimillion-dollar deals for Colombian cocaine barons, snagging motorcycles and Kamov 32 military helicopters (with two rotors and capable of transporting 5,000 kilos of cocaine via hook). Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. Its a great satisfaction after being two months deployed and everybodys tired but you come home with a case like this its very satisfying, said Castro. Prostitution was so common at Porky's that the club had fixed places and prices, Galeota says. Its a great success overall. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. Tony Galeota - Historical records and family trees - MyHeritage When his dad lost his job, Tony paid the bills. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. And that's why drug traffickers are in the business - take something that starts off with a value of $5,000 and when you're done selling it at the retail level the value has skyrocketed. "Locked Up Abroad" Miami Mobster Take Down (TV Episode 2020) - IMDb The two ran Porky's for another decade after Fainberg's deportation. He soon finds himself wanting to be a mobster, and starts running errands for them. Galeota may not be a good man, but he is brutally honest. "Luis pulled out a .38 and shot the guy in the chest. This time, the feds took over the strip club before selling it to new owners, with one requirement: Neither Galeota nor anyone else from the old club could ever work there again. "It was a nightmare in there.". Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. I'm kind of stuck with it. Galeota has seen several murders. Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint, to Rotting More than 500 inmates crowd into a cell block designed for 200. She's forgiven me, for the most part. Has a stint in Panamanian prison reformed Miami's most notorious strip club manager? Upon seeing 10 thugs rush the vehicle and hijack it with the unsuspecting passenger in back, Yester realized that the remaining cash would not be forthcoming. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. On Friday, May 17, Galeota got word that the judge had also dismissed the drug charge because of lack of evidence. local news and culture, Michael E. Miller June 4, 2013 But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. He met with mobsters in Cali mansions full of women, and he knocked on random doors in search of dancers. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. , updated A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. He didn't stay long. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. Prosecutors accused him of providing prostitutes for his Russian friends, trafficking drugs, selling stolen cigarettes and liquor, and setting up arms deals for Russian and Colombian cocaine smugglers. Its impossible but only because its true. Tony Galletta. See Photos. A judge eventually dropped the human trafficking charge, but Galeota still rotted in his sordid cell alongside insects the size of small dogs. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. Access is free so discover Tony Galeota's story today. Log In or Sign Up Tonia Galeota See Photos Antonio Galeota See Photos Tony Galeota See Photos Toni Galea See Photos Toni Colletto See Photos Toni Torres Galea ), Right about the time my last film was coming out, he emailed me and said, I did a jailbreak from Panama, traveled to Costa Rica, on to Cuba and then got repatriated to Moscow Im ready to do the movie, Russell says.
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