"When you go to prison, it's like dying, but you get to see your own funeral," Galeota says. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Explore More. "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. We've been here for two years!' The year before, his father helped him land a job as a wedding DJ. Miami playboy, Russian gangster and Cuban spy tried to buy submarine Born on June 3, 1924 at Hartford. Then they pushed play on a cassette deck. It is not known when he was born or his current age. "I don't care how strong you are; that's going to affect your marriage," she says. But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. "I used to have to patch Tony up all the time," Kristy says. As the couple drove south on I-95, they thought they were leaving the worst behind them. In an instant, Galeota's meaty hand was around the customer's neck, shoving him outside. Garrulous and bearish, the dentist-turned-hood (practicing the former in the Soviet Union and training for the latter in Brighton Beach) routinely carried two pistols and operated out of his. The domestic bliss lasted only a couple of weeks. A friend suggested Panama. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. Tony Galeta. 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. Through the air plane window, Tony Galeota could see the city's colonial churches glow like polished gold. In January 2017, Almeida got federally charged by the Drug Enforcement Administration with conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute. How 'Tarzan' and a Cuban duo 'got in deep' with a cocaine cartel Fainberg allegedly told undercover cops he had sent coke to Russia in a shipment of frozen shrimp and had bought six $1 million Russian military helicopters for the South Americans. 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 . local news and culture, Michael E. Miller With dark hair and pale, wide-set eyes, teenage Tony resembled a stocky Frank Sinatra. 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). It continued at another local strip club, called Quarterbacks Playmates Lounge. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. Tony Galeota Profiles | Facebook Panamanian newspapers put "Operation Fiesta" on the front page as prosecutors alleged Galeota was part of an international crime ring. Panamanian police had been casing the Doll House, Moulin Rouge, and another joint, called Havana Club, for weeks. When traffickers balked at the price, Yester reminded them that it could hold 40 tons of cocaine and would pay for itself quickly. See also: "From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra.". By then, the club's criminal clientele and Fainberg's increasingly lavish lifestyle had raised eyebrows. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. By The year before, his father helped him land a job as a wedding DJ. ", Coast Guard Offloads More Than $93 Million In Cocaine, Miami Beach. I hoped to walk away from the deal with $10 million.. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. "Now I'm living in hell.". 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. Kristy was able to pay a lawyer $500 to get her son released, but there was no bond for Galeota's drug offense. 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. Miami's independent source of La Joya is flush with contraband, from cell phones and cigarettes to marijuana and handguns all of it brought in with the complicity of corrupt guards. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. Galeota's enemies say that a life of sin has finally caught up with the flesh-peddler. There is no rehabilitation here," he says. 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. "A family type thing, like an ale house with wings and beer," he says. Panama became Galeota's personal paradise. While Kristy was still in the States, he lived with five of his Colombian prostitutes. "These guys were into just about everything," Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Fernandez said at the time. Santiago de Cali shone in the syrupy South American sunlight filling Colombia's Cauca River Valley. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. When Seidle died in 2008, Porky's political protection followed the 82-year-old to the grave. Instead, he says competitors pulled government strings to screw him. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. Russian immigrant Ludwig Fainberg, a.k.a. "I was 16 years old and amazed," he says. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. Wrongly imprisoned. "But she's never going to forget. The last one locked the door. Panama's judicial system is outdated and overburdened, she says. But their courtship was cut short. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. He was a loan shark: generously offering money but punishing those who didn't pay back. But Galeota was convinced the cops were bluffing and refused to cooperate. New laws effectively outlaw brothels such as the Doll House, permit or not but if Galeota walks with no convictions, it will surely embarrass officials trying to make it look like they're cleaning up the industry. Almeida was a specialist in obtaining black-market goods for status-crazed drug dealers. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, running Miami's most infamous strip club, Porky's, Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint, to Rotting in a Panamanian Jail, Sex and Drugs in the Champagne Room: The Truth About Porky's and Other Miami Strip Clubs. See Photos. He decked out the Doll House with five upstairs rooms equipped with king-size beds, mirrors, lube, condoms, and showers, and brought in dozens of Colombian women, who could earn $120 split with the club for an hour of sex. 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. Nobody was impressed more than Kristy Sharpe, an 18-year-old waitress from Orlando with blond hair, blue eyes, and lightly freckled skin. Strippers, Cocaine and Murder: The Crazy (True) Story of Two Crooks #Torture #PanamGovernment #LaJoyaprisonPanam #PresidentVarela #Panam #Corruption. The dead and dying are piled into wheelbarrows and left by the front gate until guards arrive in the morning. This story has been shared 173,716 times. A poster on the wall advertises "Lesby Show: 2 Girls per Person" for $350. The offload is a result of two successful drug interdictions in the Caribbean since August 23. The Coast Guard said each one of the kilos is worth $33,000. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighborhood until he found a shabby motel. The message was that the cocaine traffickers would kill Yesters family members. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. In hand-painted white lettering, it reads, "Dear visitors. They were all together when Tony worked for the Russin mobsters in Porky's club as its manager. Documentary Drama When Miami mobster Tony Galeota opens a club in Panama City, the competition frames him for drug dealing and human trafficking. If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. While out of sight, he phoned his guy and lied about being in a particular taxi cab. 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. But his mind was on another kind of riches. Tony Galeota. "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. And last year, Yester was finally arrested in Rome on charges unrelated to the submarine while en route to a wedding. Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint "That's obstruction of justice.". When Galeota arrived, his mobster reputation preceded him. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. Docs need stars just like features need stars. It was 1990, and Galeota transformed the place by wiring in subwoofers and bringing in New York dancers. But the Doll House and Moulin Rouge remain closed. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. One man stabbed someone over a $10 debt. 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. Running an underworld operation in Cocaine Cowboys-era Miami wasn't an easy gig. We were approximately 24-hours on board before we got to a hidden compartment, said Castro.There was a hidden compartment and once we opened it we found all the contraband.. She is cute and curvy with dark hair and a button nose. It wasn't until he ordered some Italian food and a cold Guinness that he finally felt like he was free. Controlling it. 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. 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. 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. Join the New Times community and help support independent Galeota tried going straight, opening a coffee shop in downtown Panama City. Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. The heavy-set Italian even signed a release. Then an old friend showed up. "Their connections were bigger than ours," he says. ", 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. 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. He was, after all, working with an American playboy in Miami and a fugitive Cuban spy to procure this submarine. Apparently knowing all too well how things would shake out, Yester decided to screw his partners and take off for Amsterdam with the first $10 million. His government protection would evaporate, the Doll House would be raided, his investments would be stolen, and he would be arrested. 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. Prisoners eat stale bread and a slice of cheese for breakfast; rice and sometimes beans is their lunch and dinner. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. He headed right to his beloved Miami, Florida. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. One can imagine they did plenty of drugs.. He called me in two days and he asked me, do we want the submarine with missiles or without missiles? says Tarzan. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. "My wife could have left me. I have to tell you, all my enemies are dead, and Im happy, he says in the documentary. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. 8:00AM. "Another night at Porky's, another shooting," he remembers now from his prison cell in Panama. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. Michael Galeota's Obituary (1984 - 2016) Estes Park Trail-Gazette And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. He also owned the Russian restaurant Babushka, which was a magnet for snowbirding criminals from his homeland. "My wife can say she has regrets, but that's bullshit," he says. But bloodshed would follow them to Miami. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. The crew boarded the 165-foot Panamanian-flagged coastal freighter Hope II. More detailed reports on the crimes weren't available. And, above all, selling it. Even then, however, he couldn't sleep. "I was always looking for their approval," he says, "but I never got that. The two ran Porky's for another decade after Fainberg's deportation. Operation Odessa (2018) - IMDb Tony Galeto. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. Miami mobster Tony Galeota is locked up in Panama after being framed for drug dealing and human trafficking. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. They are willing to assume the massive risk of getting caught and going to prison for decades, because if they make just one big score they're millionaires. Reborn behind bars. "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. Everything here has a cost.". But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. It could be worse. It was a caper, for sure., He says: Tarzan was the lynchpin to it, because it was his story. Next time, I will steal it back from him., Tarzan (left) at the site of the submarine. "The first month, we had $15,000 in gross sales. "They shot him in the middle of the night," Galeota continues quietly, "and buried his body behind the pavilion.". She's forgiven me, for the most part. Shea fatally blasted bouncer Richard Jimenez in the face and then opened fire on the dancers, shooting one in the chest and another in the head. It was a Foxtrot-class submarine, or Project 641 as the Soviets called it. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. You could not mislead him in any way or you could tell that the consequences could be serious, but I loved him. Between an undercover agent, a tap on Tarzans cellphone and the wiring of Babushka, federal law enforcement agencies had enough information to shut down the sale. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. But Monday morning, when it came time to walk out of La Joya, there was no vehicle waiting. Banged Up Abroad - Wikipedia Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Tony is my friend, and well always love each other. 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. As Yester laid low with the cash, cartel liaisons in the United States, aware that they had been burned, pressured Almeida to show them where Yesters relatives lived in and around Miami. Facilitating it. But it was abundantly clear that the key figure in the deal was Yester and his story would be particularly illuminating though the CIA, DEA and FBI had been after him, without success, for more than two decades. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. A deep bass line rattled customers' chests as they downed overpriced drinks. Tony Kaleta. ", - Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint, to Rotting in a Panamanian Jail, - Sex and Drugs in the Champagne Room: The Truth About Porky's and Other Miami Strip Clubs. But this was Hialeah.". The bartender hid in the bathroom and dialed 911. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back, Just not a strip club. Two days later, he was transferred to La Joya a hellish cinder-block complex an hour outside of Panama City. They also discovered the club was registered as a massage parlor, not a brothel. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. The $33,000 number is actually the wholesale price in the US for smugglers - or how much a kilo is worth delivered to US soil, for traffickers. "Running a club in that neighborhood, win or lose, you've got to fight.". And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back. Kristy and his sons hid in a shabby, poorly protected office. With little oversight, military leaders acted as if they were independent of the government. The charismatic teenager sold the stolen suits or electronics at strip clubs or used-car lots. I just called a friend who had a friend and asked if he could get us a sub. 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. "It was so slow I couldn't take it," he says. Tarzan and one of his partners, 'Fat Tony' Galeota, had opened a strip club in Panama similar to a previous enterprise in Miami called Porky's - but they landed behind bars in Central America.. 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.

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