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

Ron Chepesiuk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2010 | ISBN-10: 098423330X | ISBN-13: 978-0984233304

In this page-turning narrative, noted true crime writer Ron Chepesiuk chronicles the story of one of history'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 "strongly suspected of having financed important narcotics transactions." During Tampa's "Era of Blood" from 1930 through the 1950s, in which several local gangsters were murdered, Santo, Sr. emerged as Tampa'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 history'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.'s death as "the end of an era" and the godfather as "the last of the old time (gangland) leaders." In vivid prose and concise detail, Chepesiuk weaves the fascinating story of the legendary gangsters, the Trafficantes. "Ron Chepesiuk'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." --Elle Andra-Warner, author of several best-selling books, including Edmund Fitzgerald: The Legendary Great Lakes Shipwreck and The Mounties; Robert Service.

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Strategic Media Books (March 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 098423330X
• ISBN-13: 978-0984233304
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #695,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tampa Florida and the underground connections., February 17, 2011

By 

The Best Dentist In America (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trafficantes, Godfathers from Tampa, Florida: The Mafia, the CIA and the JFK Assassination (Paperback)

Most aficionados are familiar with Brooklyn New York as a setting for mafia activity, organized crime, and the mob, however few actually realize the connection that Tampa Florida had particularly in the early to mid twentieth century. Aside from a few required editorial improvements, this book is s true page turner, with every scenario playing out as if it were going on once again. If you're interested in correct spelling, purchase a dictionary, however, for an insiders look at true american espionage, and the conspiratorial role played by the FBI and the CIA, buy this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Spell Check? Editor?, September 9, 2010

By 

John Crawford (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Trafficantes, Godfathers from Tampa, Florida: The Mafia, the CIA and the JFK Assassination (Kindle Edition)

A fun book. I could pick it up at any time and it did not matter what page I was on. There is a very hard to follow (if any) timeline going on here.

Pure fact: Very poor, if any editing. Actual misspellings.

I still liked the book and I wish more care had been taken to publish it. (This is the Kindle edition.)