Instead, he says competitors pulled government strings to screw him. 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. 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. He left, but returned with a gun. While Galeota avoided testifying, Fainberg faced 30 counts including racketeering and conspiracy to traffic cocaine and heroin. Galeota is not exactly repentant. Prosecutors charged Galeota and Fainberg with not only drug dealing but also human trafficking. When one inmate killed another, the dead man's gang on the outside murdered the inmate's entire family, Galeota says. The lessons in crime didn't come fast enough for Galeota to stay out of trouble. "Running a club in that neighborhood, win or lose, you've got to fight.". His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. 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. 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. Tony Galeta. Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. Tony Galeota lived in 1954, at address, Massachusetts. Gunshots flashed like fireworks in the darkness. "That's the problem.". The goods came from sources in the freshly fallen Soviet Union, a place where everything seemed to be up for grabs at ridiculously low prices. A poster on the wall advertises "Lesby Show: 2 Girls per Person" for $350. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. He was very serious and said he would look into it. He headed right to his beloved Miami, Florida. "We went there and we couldn't believe what we saw," says Josh Weiss, a former DJ at Porky's and one of Galeota's closest friends. A sign on the latter reads, "District Attorney for Drugs: Do Not Enter." Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes. But when he opens a new club in Panama City, the competition isn't happy and frames him for drug dealing. Follow this journalist on Twitter @MikeMillerMiami. TV-14 | 06.05.2013. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back. "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." His attorney has warned him that prosecutors will likely appeal, so he plans to stay in Panama until his case is resolved. But this was Hialeah.". This looks great. . And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. The Dolls House, Via Espaia Road, Panama City, Panam, "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago" Tony Galeota, Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint, to Rotting in a Panamanian Jail. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. The Coast Guard said each one of the kilos is worth $33,000. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. Tony Galeota Tony Galeota. Business was better, but it still wouldn't make him rich. "My wife could have left me. He is currently being held in Italy. "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James. He answered only to property owner William Seidle, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee who ran a chain of car dealerships. Catherine says she slept with customers because she needed the money to support her family. Next time, I will steal it back from him., Tarzan (left) at the site of the submarine. Facilitating it. one of the kids shouted as he pulled a handkerchief over his face and wildly swung a revolver. But Galeota's plan would soon go catastrophically wrong. 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. These interdiction's were part of Operation Martillo, an international operation to fight illegal trafficking. Then she'd charge my friends $50 each," he says. I'm kind of stuck with it. The smugglers boat was destroyed because it was a hazard to navigation. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. 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. In retrospect, when you tell the stories aloud, its like, Thats insane and you, Tiller, are an insane person for having done that. Its funny; I was just like, this is too good of a story to let go. Galeota jumped at the deal. But the hassle had taken its toll on him. 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. Everybody wanted to make money. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. S10 E10 - Miami Mobster Take Down Tony Galeota is framed for drug trafficking in Panama City. And last year, Yester was finally arrested in Rome on charges unrelated to the submarine while en route to a wedding. 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. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James Gal See also: "From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra.". Galeota's enemies say that a life of sin has finally caught up with the flesh-peddler. But she insists that her husband's imprisonment has brought them closer. 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. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. The bartender hid in the bathroom and dialed 911. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. "I used to have to patch Tony up all the time," Kristy says. 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. She's forgiven me, for the most part. As for Yester taking a flier with the cartel money, Tarzan says he would have done the same himself if he could have and expresses no hard feelings. He was a character.. Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". Miami's independent source of Thanks to a successful appeal, Almeida served only 18 months for his part in the sub caper. Galeota and his "girls" in the Doll House, before the bust. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. "Last week we were supposed to have a hearing, but there was no running water in Panama City. A kilo of cocaine in Panama costs much less - about $5,000 per. 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. Filthy and crowded cell block of La Joya Prison, Panama. 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. 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. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. People named Tony Galeta. Galeota says the police had already gotten what they wanted: Porky's demise. He met with mobsters in Cali mansions full of women, and he knocked on random doors in search of dancers. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. 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 then the country's corrupt system turned on them. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. "A family type thing, like an ale house with wings and beer," he says. "Their connections were bigger than ours," 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.. Can he prove his innocence and escape? "It was puppy love," he says. But bloodshed would follow them to Miami. Making the documentary, he says: I found the story so compelling and so riveting that I was just relentlessly magnetized to it. "I was always looking for their approval," he says, "but I never got that. source of local news and culture, Michael E. Miller Then they pushed play on a cassette deck. 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. The two ran Porky's for another decade after Fainberg's deportation. "These guys were into just about everything," Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Fernandez said at the time. And, above all, selling it. "I was just numb.". . It had been ten years since U.S. His government protection would evaporate, the Doll House would be raided, his investments would be stolen, and he would be arrested. MICHAEL GALEOTA OBITUARY. 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. This business has been very good to me.". He needed some help," he recalls. By the time they returned to Long Island later that night, a pimp was born. Unfortunately, Galeota's defense isn't as simple as quoting strippers, says his lawyer, Guillermina McDonald. "That's the goal," is all he'll offer. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighborhood until he found a shabby motel. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. 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. Panama became Galeota's personal paradise. (A New York Police Department spokesman says records from that far back aren't available.) There was nothing unusual about it. "Luis pulled out a .38 and shot the guy in the chest. "It was home to a lot of shrewd and nefarious characters.". CAKEGATE 2023: Bad Bunny's Restaurant Accused of Gobbling Birthday Girl's Cake, Neighborhood Nazi Jon Minadeo Peddles Hate by the Minute, 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. Inside, the bar is still littered with half-empty bottles of Chivas Regal. Again, Tony's friends in New York told him where to go. I gave each of my kids a Rolex when they were 5 years old. They also discovered the club was registered as a massage parlor, not a brothel. "Thank God I'm out," he tells New Times in his first interview since his release. 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!' "I brought in music and women," Galeota says. 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 deep bass line rattled customers' chests as they downed overpriced drinks. Were out there to cause an effect in the drug industry and I believe we made a little dent on it.. He was 31. The most audacious plot allegedly hatched in the back of Porky's was to purchase a former Soviet submarine for $5.5 million for a Colombian drug cartel so it could ship cocaine up the coast to California. This story has been shared 121,048 times. Filmography (by Job) Trailers and Videos. He was hilarious and charming and garrulous, and it was as if hed stepped right out of a Scorsese movie, Russell says, adding: You know whats the funny thing people dont know about docs? At night, the guards lock the gate and leave, turning over control of each cell block to prisoners. Tony Galeota Age And Family. 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. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss Surrounded by Colombian strippers, Galeota gives a toast during a party at the Doll House. 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 know its gonna be a strange question. By the time he was 18, he had been arrested seven times for armed robbery and assault, he says. When Kristy and their three sons finally arrived in June, the business became a family affair: His wife took over at Bongos, while Galeota concentrated on turning the club into a cash machine. 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. More at IMDbPro Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro. 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. Then once he sent me this crazy email like, Holy s***! During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. "We were doing fantastic, but Tarzan got bored and started living the life," Galeota explains. 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. 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.". The dead and dying are piled into wheelbarrows and left by the front gate until guards arrive in the morning. He called me in two days and he asked me, do we want the submarine with missiles or without missiles? says Tarzan.

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