Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. Almeida, back in Moscow, trying to work out yet another deal and not realizing that this one had already soured, managed to temporarily elude arrest. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a. Everybody wanted to make money. I had kind of, little by little, put the word out to everybody among the cops, all the law enforcement side as well as among the crooks and said, Gotta meet Tony, gotta meet Tony, gotta meet Tony knowing that he was the only guy who really knew what happened. How 'Tarzan' and a Cuban duo 'got in deep' with a cocaine cartel They put a hit out on him when he disappeared with the money, while Juan and Tarzan took the legal fall in Miami. See Photos. But Tarzan a seasoned wheeler-dealer, strip club owner and former mob enforcer took it in his stride and went back to his partners with the response. His government protection would evaporate, the Doll House would be raided, his investments would be stolen, and he would be arrested. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. But he was too shell-shocked to take up his attorney's offer for a ride to a nice hotel. Kristy was able to pay a lawyer $500 to get her son released, but there was no bond for Galeota's drug offense. While Kristy was still in the States, he lived with five of his Colombian prostitutes. But the Doll House and Moulin Rouge remain closed. They were very compliant to everything we asked of them, said McElhaney. Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. 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. "Maybe we didn't have the permits we were supposed to have, but we're foreigners who didn't understand the rules.". Tony Galeta. They arrested 18 suspects, including Galeota, several strippers, and most employees. He escaped with his life and went on the run, aiming to avoid the cartel, Interpol and US law enforcers. "This case has had a big impact here," says Jos Otero, a reporter for Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. Join Facebook to connect with Anthony Galeota and others you may know. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Moment teenager crashes into back of lorry after 100mph police race, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Ukrainian soldier takes out five tanks with Javelin missiles. Business was better, but it still wouldn't make him rich. 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. View Tony Galeota's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. We break down the best movies and series to watch in November in theaters and streaming. Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida If only there were a place where prostitution was legal, he thought, a city full of beautiful women like Miami, but no rules. 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. We've been here for two years!' Tony Galeota lived in 1954, at address, Massachusetts. Sheila Flynn For Dailymail.com, Smashing the Sinaloa cartel: Major coup for DEA as agents seize $6MILLION cash, hundreds of pounds of narcotics and indict 75 across America for 'laundering drug money for El Chapo's gang', Is this proof that British aristocrat did NOT smuggle drugs into Africa? "It was puppy love," he says. Controlling it. We had a $500,000 house, cars, and motorcycles. And so with like five days prep I jumped on a plane, went to Miami, started courting the cops and the feds and the US attorneys and all the good guys, the law enforcement side of it their participation was instrumental in it, because theyre the ones that have all the evidentiary record and all the surveillance video and the photos and the wiretaps and all that stuff, most of which is the sort of visual skeleton to the film. From Porky's to Panama Prison, Tony Galeota Reveals Miami's Mob-Run But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. These interdiction's were part of Operation Martillo, an international operation to fight illegal trafficking. Police repeatedly raided the club, yet Galeota escaped unscathed every time. Cops had made several controlled buys of drugs. Within weeks of its April 2011 opening, the club was raking in $6,000 on good nights. "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James Gal And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. All the services here are free. Everything here has a cost.". 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. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. 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. SO I started with the cops and I had been kind of circling the others without knowing if it was really possible or not. Inmates are fed bread and cheese for breakfast and rice (sometimes beans) for lunch and dinner. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. Sign Up. Join the New Times community and help support independent "I lived it up in Miami," he says. Instead, he says competitors pulled government strings to screw him. Tony Galeota in the 1940 Census | Ancestry His Doll House dream began at Porky's. He was recently sentenced to serve around six years in federal prison. Miami's independent source of "Running a club in that neighborhood, win or lose, you've got to fight.". Inside the prison, the sign is a running joke. The eight crew members aboard the Hope II and the vessel were taken into custody and will be turned over to U.S. officials for further investigation. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. "The first month, we had $15,000 in gross sales. During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. Galeota is not exactly repentant. Almeida was a specialist in obtaining black-market goods for status-crazed drug dealers. He was talking to Fainberg about a murder he'd witnessed in Porky's parking lot. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. The crew boarded the 165-foot Panamanian-flagged coastal freighter Hope II. "That's the goal," is all he'll offer. They taught him the rules, the most important of which Galeota took to heart: "You can have your girlfriends on the side," he remembers hearing, "but never leave your wife.". Tony Kaleta. Galeota also found himself in the back of an unmarked FBI car. It was coke or pimping or messing with the wrong people.. Join the New Times community and help support And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. "I'm in survival mode now," Galeota says, adding that he agonizes over being imprisoned for what he believes are unjust charges. During the Doll House raid, they found marked bills in the register and several grams of pot on a promoter. When Galeota arrived in Miami in the summer of 1991, the city was awash in coke, crack, and drug cash. Tony Goleta. "Miami is a place where I would love to live," he pronounced, "and where I would love to die." Its Colombian dancers were in Panama on six-month tourist visas, weren't licensed as prostitutes, and weren't getting required weekly health checkups. Kristy and his sons hid in a shabby, poorly protected office. When his younger brother was molested, he beat the suspected perpetrator to a pulp. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. 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. "Now I'm living in hell.". When Bill Seidle died, Galeota knew the club's days were numbered. Galeota saw an opportunity. Tony Galeto. Eventually, he moved two dozen ladies to Panama City. She is cute and curvy with dark hair and a button nose. Of the $10 million, he said, I cannot f- -king believe it how fast I spend it.. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. It was a Foxtrot-class submarine, or Project 641 as the Soviets called it. 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. Miami playboy, Russian gangster and Cuban spy tried to buy submarine Over the course of three months, undercover detectives made dozens of visits, tallying up a vivid snapshot of the club: "15 purchases of cocaine, four purchases of MDMA, one purchase of Xanax, one purchase of marijuana, 18 solicitations for prostitution, [and] 20 lewd acts.". "A family type thing, like an ale house with wings and beer," he says. Johns paid $100 to rent a VIP room downstairs. He and Kristy struck up an unlikely romance. 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. Is this possible, to buy a military submarine - used one? And he said, What a question! Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. I got a piece of the action of every blowjob that my friends got," Galeota says. Tarzan managed to get light punishment for his 1997 conviction; he rolled over on Almeida and spent 30 months behind bars before being deported to Israel, where his family had immigrated, in 1999. "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. Wrongly imprisoned. Tony Galeota - Historical records and family trees - MyHeritage "He never forced us to do anything. And then Russell got a text message out of the blue. Next time, I will steal it back from him., Tarzan (left) at the site of the submarine. As the couple drove south on I-95, they thought they were leaving the worst behind them. Although he admits that "running around whoring and casinoing wasn't worth it," he can't promise to be faithful to the woman who has stood beside him. Indeed, court records show that Seidle was a target of the federal wiretapping investigation. He bought seven properties pretty much sight unseen.". In January 2017, Almeida got federally charged by the Drug Enforcement Administration with conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute. Get started U.S. Yearbooks Name Index, 1890-1979. He answered only to property owner William Seidle, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee who ran a chain of car dealerships. A sign on the latter reads, "District Attorney for Drugs: Do Not Enter." Tony Galletta. When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. Unfortunately, Galeota's defense isn't as simple as quoting strippers, says his lawyer, Guillermina McDonald. But Fainberg wasn't in town to catch up. Prostitution was so common at Porky's that the club had fixed places and prices, Galeota says. Prosecutors charged Galeota and Fainberg with not only drug dealing but also human trafficking. I told Juan, I said, Hey. Awards. 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. Tony Galeota. Filthy and crowded cell block of La Joya Prison, Panama. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. Disney Star Michael Galeota Death: Brother Jimmy Opens Up About Family But all the cops found were five grams of weed, a bottle of Viagra, and some mysterious yellow pills. 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. "I want to go legit when I get out, but if the economy is bad, I might go back to the industry," 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 Porkys but they landed behind bars in Central America. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. independent local journalism in Miami. Biography. And I'm not asking her to.". Michael Galeota's Obituary (1984 - 2016) Estes Park Trail-Gazette Tony was a tough, muscular little shit back then. They had girls in every city. His nightmare began in June , when police raided his Panama City strip club and arrested him and his Ukrainian partner for trafficking women and selling drugs. Galeota examines a bruise from a prison fight in La Joya. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. I just called a friend who had a friend and asked if he could get us a sub. Back in the mid-1990s, if you were a Miami mobster seeking girls, guns, cocaine, the services of an arsonist, or muscle to beat down a deadbeat, Ludwig Tarzan Fainberg was your man. He was a character.. "You see who wants to fuck your wife, who wants to rob you, and who your real friends are.". Tony Goleta Profiles | Facebook "It was a real moneymaker. 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. 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. See Photos. "I was just numb.". A narc I know called me with a tip and he said, This is the craziest true-crime caper Ive ever come across in my life. A man deeply embedded with Escobar's Medelln cartel, Tony had a notorious reputation as "a really bad guy"he was once caught with 41 passports, and featured on his own 1999 episode of America's. When one inmate killed another, the dead man's gang on the outside murdered the inmate's entire family, Galeota says. 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. More detailed reports on the crimes weren't available. 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. Has a stint in Panamanian prison reformed Miami's most notorious strip club manager? This time, I'm innocent.". 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! Facilitating it. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. As far as he was concerned, he owned the military base. A dozen plainclothes cops poured in with pistols drawn. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. Half an hour later, Galeota was guarding the door when a car rolled up with the window down. 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 . "I was just numb.". It was a weeknight, and Porky's was washed in pale-pink neon light. As Shea tried to pull the panties off one of the dancers, he heard police sirens in the distance and bolted. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. By the mid-'90s, Galeota had turned Porky's into a one-stop shop for strippers, sex, and serious drugs. A poster on the wall advertises "Lesby Show: 2 Girls per Person" for $350. Toni Galeota Profiles | Facebook Finally, on May 23, the gate on Galeota's cramped cell swung open, and he was free to go. The person they were going to pay for the submarine was the officer who let them [into the naval base], says Russell. Somewhere between his native Ukraine, Israel, and Russia, he'd shed his trademark long hair and changed his name to Alon Bar. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. "I brought in music and women," Galeota says. , updated He raises his eyebrows and looks upwards to the left to emphasize just how flabbergasted he was with Mishas counter question. Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. They were all together when Tony worked for the Russin mobsters in Porky's club as its manager. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." "I was always looking for their approval," he says, "but I never got that. If Galeota is freed, it will be a major blow for Panama's prostitution crackdown. Tony Galeota, Infamous Miami Strip Club Manager - Miami New Times 17:57 GMT 13 Mar 2018. Gunshots flashed like fireworks in the darkness. "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. By the time they returned to Long Island later that night, a pimp was born. 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, after all, working with an American playboy in Miami and a fugitive Cuban spy to procure this submarine. But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. 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. "That clean, business-friendly, postcard-Panama bullshit is just a faade," Galeota says. When traffickers balked at the price, Yester reminded them that it could hold 40 tons of cocaine and would pay for itself quickly. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. "But she's never going to forget. Furious and Busted Rick Cedar steals radios to support his family. Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. The last one locked the door. "Locked Up Abroad" Miami Mobster Take Down (TV Episode 2020) - IMDb With dark hair and pale, wide-set eyes, teenage Tony resembled a stocky Frank Sinatra. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. 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. 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. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. He soon finds himself wanting to be a mobster, and starts running errands for them. 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. October 4, 2012 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.. 4:00AM. "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago," Tony Galeota says. Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". Indeed, Havana Club has already reopened. Juan, Tarzan and law enforcement insisted there was no way hed agree to participate in the documentary. Theyre nice guys [the cartel members], and I didnt ask what they needed the submarine for., If they woke up and were hungry, they would fly a private jet to Cancun for lunch, says Tiller Russell, director of Operation Odessa. Then theyd roll to Venezuela to check out a new casino. Once they spotted the plane, they changed course which is suspicious for us, said Boatswains Mate 1st Class, Joshua McElhaney with the Coast Guard. Years later, Tarzan again found himself behind bars, this time in Panama; in fact, he was serving time in 2011 when Russell first approached him for the documentary. "Their connections were bigger than ours," he says. Advertisement. 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. As he sweated in jail, Galeota's Panamanian empire crumbled. 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. Also read: Tony Galeota: From Running. They tried to squeeze Fainberg to get Seidle. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. ", Instead, he found another, tighter-knit family: the mob. There was nothing unusual about it. Filmography (by Job) Trailers and Videos. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. It was February 2011, and he was preparing to open the Doll House, his own strip club in Panama. Facebook Email or phone Password Forgot account? or. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. It's not quite Shawshank Redemption, but when Tony Galeota walked out of a Panama City jail cell May 23, it was still a small serving of justice. He is currently being held in Italy. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. Santiago de Cali shone in the syrupy South American sunlight filling Colombia's Cauca River Valley. Thousands of teachers walk out demanding pay, funding incr Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, US home prices just did something they haven't done since 2012, Rebel Wilson says Meghan Markle isnt as naturally warm as Prince Harry, Kristen Doute supports Ariana Madix amid mutual ex Tom Sandovals scandal, Celeb-loved jewelry brand Dorsey drops dazzling new styles, Undertaker transforms coffin into barbecue grill, Tom Sizemore And The Dangerous Burden of Desperation, Tom Sandoval breaks silence on Ariana Madix split amid cheating claims. 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. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Most of them were robberies gone wrong or simple revenge. Rising swiftly through the ranks, John buries his conscience to become a notorious Mafia hitman. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. one of the kids shouted as he pulled a handkerchief over his face and wildly swung a revolver. Galeota yelled. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. He headed right to his beloved Miami, Florida. The two ran Porky's for another decade after Fainberg's deportation. Galeota's wife Kristy comments "Porky's was definitely a place you could get killed." This is a guy that the FBI went after for years but could never get him. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighbourhood until he found a shabby motel. She is a high-powered attorney who has defended two former presidents in corruption cases, but even she hasn't been able to get Galeota out of jail yet. Again, Tony's friends in New York told him where to go. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back, Just not a strip club. Galeota was hit with felony drug and prostitution charges. "They had what seemed like a dynamite case, but it has ended up in pieces.". Michael Galeota Obituary (1984 - 2016) - Legacy Tarzan eventually testified against Juan and was deported to Israel, where he recanted his testimony meaning Juans conviction for conspiracy to traffic cocaine was overturned and he went free. Sheila Flynn For Dailymail.com 16:56 GMT 13 Mar 2018 Galeota already lived according to a gangster's code. Explore More. 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. But Tony had darker secrets. More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro. The offload is a result of two successful drug interdictions in the Caribbean since August 23. Tony Galeta Profiles | Facebook We have a lot of laughs about it now," he says. Can he prove his innocence and escape? 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. 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. "We just meshed," she says. We both understand that.". Log In. New Times wrote about Galeota's plight last year ("From Porky's to Hell," October 4, 2012), even visiting him in La Joya prison, a crumbling concrete complex in the jungle where inmates kill each other with impunity. Watch Locked Up Abroad Season 10 Episode 10 Miami Mobster Take Down Online The year before, his father helped him land a job as a wedding DJ. Tony Galeota Wikipedia: Everything To Know About The Film Actor This time, I'm innocent.". While on routine patrol, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection plane spotted a suspicious speed boat. 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. 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. People named Tony Galeta. It could be worse. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. And, above all, selling it. Tony Galeota Tony Galeota. And I'm not asking her to. Tony Galeto. This time, I'm innocent.". He told them he could get them the submarine for $35million, but said hes need the money in installments; when they gave him the first $10million, he kept the money for himself and disappeared. 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