"You see who wants to fuck your wife, who wants to rob you, and who your real friends are.". Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida 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. Unfortunately, Galeota's defense isn't as simple as quoting strippers, says his lawyer, Guillermina McDonald. View the profiles of people named Anthony Galeota. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. Two days later, he was transferred to La Joya a hellish cinder-block complex an hour outside of Panama City. Running an underworld operation in Cocaine Cowboys-era Miami wasn't an easy gig. 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. "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." October 4, 2012 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. Panama's judicial system is outdated and overburdened, she says. Now the stranger-than-fiction story is brought to life in new documentary Operation Odessa, a film thats closer to a roller-coaster ride than anything else and premieres on Showtime March 31. ", After bribing half the guards at La Joya, Galeota was taken to an immigration holding center in Panama City where he and four codefendants were kept for four more days. That didnt stop Russell from trying to get them on board with doing a film about the submarine deal. 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. People named Tony Galeota Find your friends on Facebook Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. We didn't even have to have sex unless we wanted to," says a Colombian stripper named Catherine. Facebook Email or phone Password Forgot account? On Friday, May 17, Galeota got word that the judge had also dismissed the drug charge because of lack of evidence. If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago," Tony Galeota says. "My wife could have left me. Over the years, Galeota saw nearly a dozen shootings at Porky's, some of them fatal. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. Docs need stars just like features need stars. Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. Prisoners eat stale bread and a slice of cheese for breakfast; rice and sometimes beans is their lunch and dinner. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. Documentary Drama When Miami mobster Tony Galeota opens a club in Panama City, the competition frames him for drug dealing and human trafficking. They arrested 18 suspects, including Galeota, several strippers, and most employees. I said, Thank you, Cali cartel. 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 local news and culture, Michael E. Miller He offered protection and gave Galeota $200. So looking back on it and all the hijinks, from being smuggled in to a Panamanian prison to crossing paths with the FSB in Moscow to being met in a Porsche Cayenne by Tony Yester and driving away thinking: Okay, the CIA, DEA, FBI and US Marshals have been looking for this guy for 25 years, and Im in his car by myself with no notion of where were going or when were coming back. In retrospect, its like, Im a moron, but at the time I was full-throttle chase the story., Of the finished product Operation Odessa, he says: Hopefully, its a rocknroll thrill ride into the underworld, where you get a passport to a life and lifestyle and characters that you didnt even imagine existed much less having a ringside seat with them., The comments below have not been moderated, By After that, Kristy closed Bongos. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. 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. Within weeks of its April 2011 opening, the club was raking in $6,000 on good nights. Tony Gogetta. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. Its a great success overall. With little oversight, military leaders acted as if they were independent of the government. The nightmare deepened for Galeota. If he didnt give them the information, he was afraid that he would have gotten killed, and he was probably right., In the meantime, Yester may have been too in love with his eight-figure haul to really care and there was ultimately no retribution against his family. "If you like to eat chocolate and you live in a chocolate factory, you're going to eat chocolate," he says. Banks seized all seven of his apartments. Tony Galeto. But his mind was on another kind of riches. He knew that the owners of a local strip club called Moulin Rouge David Fridman and Jake Lita (an Israeli wanted by German police on human-trafficking charges) had a business offer for the duo. Police repeatedly raided the club, yet Galeota escaped unscathed every time. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra. or. "They had what seemed like a dynamite case, but it has ended up in pieces.". "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. But when the house of cards tumbles, John . A sign on the latter reads, "District Attorney for Drugs: Do Not Enter." Finally, on May 23, the gate on Galeota's cramped cell swung open, and he was free to go. "Keep your fucking hands off the girl!" Tarzan, got his first job in America as an enforcer for the Gambino crime family. The charismatic teenager sold the stolen suits or electronics at strip clubs or used-car lots. "That's the problem.". In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. Sheila Flynn For Dailymail.com He might have sold them the submarine, taken the money and walked away with the money.. But when he opens a new club in Panama City, the competition isn't happy and frames him for drug dealing. 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. See Photos. Director Robin Dashwood Stars Alex Andreas Ricardo Burgos Tony Galeota she scoffs. People named Tony Goleta. This looks great. . 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. He met with mobsters in Cali mansions full of women, and he knocked on random doors in search of dancers. But Tony had darker secrets. We have a lot of laughs about it now," he says. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. During the Doll House raid, they found marked bills in the register and several grams of pot on a promoter. But Porky's was just a Hialeah dive bar on the corner of SE 14th Street and Ninth Avenue, surrounded by cheap motels and buzzed by flights taking off from Miami International Airport. 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. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. 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. 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. The dead and dying are piled into wheelbarrows and left by the front gate until guards arrive in the morning. "It was puppy love," he says. He didn't stay long. Filthy and crowded cell block of La Joya Prison, Panama. Nobody was impressed more than Kristy Sharpe, an 18-year-old waitress from Orlando with blond hair, blue eyes, and lightly freckled skin. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. And last year, Yester was finally arrested in Rome on charges unrelated to the submarine while en route to a wedding. "It was a real moneymaker. SO I started with the cops and I had been kind of circling the others without knowing if it was really possible or not. And theyre like, F*** yeah, lets do it. They put a hit out on him when he disappeared with the money, while Juan and Tarzan took the legal fall in Miami. But the Doll House and Moulin Rouge remain closed. When Bill Seidle died, Galeota knew the club's days were numbered. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. It was a weeknight, and Porky's was washed in pale-pink neon light. Explore More. If I were to make this story up and pitch it as a writer, producers would be like, Thats the worst pitch Ive ever heard. Almeida was a specialist in obtaining black-market goods for status-crazed drug dealers. 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.". According to Yester, the cartel provided an initial payment of $10 million. When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. Panamanian police had been casing the Doll House, Moulin Rouge, and another joint, called Havana Club, for weeks. 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. Eventually, he moved two dozen ladies to Panama City. 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. "I've been in this business my whole life. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. 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. 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. 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. As chronicled in the new Showtime documentary Operation Odessa, the trio of cutthroat outlaws collaborated in 1996 to procure the ultimate weapon for Colombias money-minting Cali cocaine cartel: a military submarine. But Galeota's problems aren't completely behind him. 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. Then they pushed play on a cassette deck. the agent said. "Last week we were supposed to have a hearing, but there was no running water in Panama City. 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). "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. 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. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. 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. He was very serious and said he would look into it. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. And, above all, selling it. Kristy was able to pay a lawyer $500 to get her son released, but there was no bond for Galeota's drug offense. His attorney has warned him that prosecutors will likely appeal, so he plans to stay in Panama until his case is resolved. All he needed now were the prostitutes. His attorney has warned him that prosecutors will likely appeal, so he plans to stay in Panama until his case is resolved. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. 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. Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". "It was home to a lot of shrewd and nefarious characters.". Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. 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. Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. "It was a very violent atmosphere," he says. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back. 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. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. At night, the guards lock the gate and leave, turning over control of each cell block to prisoners. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. "He never forced us to do anything. Tony Galeota has a wife named Kristy Galeota, with whom he lives. 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. Then she'd charge my friends $50 each," he says. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. I have to tell you, all my enemies are dead, and Im happy, he says in the documentary. 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. "My wife could have left me. Find your friends on Facebook. Tony Galeota Tony Galeota. But he insists that, for once, he has done nothing wrong. Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. But Tony had darker secrets. Advertisement. 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. 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. ", McDonald has succeeded, however, in chipping away at the case, persuading a judge three weeks ago to drop the trafficking charge on a technicality. By The Porky's party nearly came to a sudden end in early 1997. 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. Indeed, court records show that Seidle was a target of the federal wiretapping investigation. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. 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 I definitely want his number and so I began chasing it from there and actually jumped on a plane, went down and smuggled myself into this Panamanian prison to meet with him.. "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. Indeed, Havana Club has already reopened. Thats why you have to do this kind of story as non-fiction., The initial meeting with Tarzan, however, was hampered by the fact that the Russian mob got wind of Russells visit, he says, and they threatened Tarzans life inside the jail if he shared his full story. They had girls in every city. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. Reborn behind bars. But Galeota's problems aren't completely behind him. You could not mislead him in any way or you could tell that the consequences could be serious, but I loved him. 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 brought in music and women," Galeota says. Prosecutors charged Galeota and Fainberg with not only drug dealing but also human trafficking. 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. Galeota already lived according to a gangster's code. We break down the best movies and series to watch in November in theaters and streaming. 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. He was a big, big fish.". "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. He was 31. When traffickers balked at the price, Yester reminded them that it could hold 40 tons of cocaine and would pay for itself quickly. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. A kilo of cocaine in Panama costs much less - about $5,000 per. This time, I'm innocent.". Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. "When you go to prison, it's like dying, but you get to see your own funeral," Galeota says. The year before, his father helped him land a job as a wedding DJ. He created a souped-up cigarette boat that went for $2 million and was presumably used to transport cocaine. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Tony was a tough, muscular little shit back then. "I don't care how strong you are; that's going to affect your marriage," she says. "My wife is never going to completely trust me. I gave each of my kids a Rolex when they were 5 years old. But she insists that her husband's imprisonment has brought them closer. 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. The bartender hid in the bathroom and dialed 911. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. He soon finds himself wanting to be a mobster, and starts running errands for them. He'd already invested in seven apartments in Panama City and rented a storefront on the capital's seediest street, where prostitution was legal. Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. It was a caper, for sure., He says: Tarzan was the lynchpin to it, because it was his story. 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. 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. "They shot him in the middle of the night," Galeota continues quietly, "and buried his body behind the pavilion.". 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. He called his cartel contacts and arranged to meet them in the pickup area of the Madrid train station. I just called a friend who had a friend and asked if he could get us a sub. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. When Galeota arrived, his mobster reputation preceded him. These interdiction's were part of Operation Martillo, an international operation to fight illegal trafficking. During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a. 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. "It was puppy love," he says. "My wife can say she has regrets, but that's bullshit," he says. "Like me, he was a black sheep who could do nothing right.". His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. "That's the goal," is all he'll offer. He was 31. He was 31. And, above all, selling it. The young mobster needed to lay low, so the Pacciones sent him south to a strip club called the Porthole Pub in Pompano Beach. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. Instead, he says competitors pulled government strings to screw him. 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. Russian immigrant Ludwig Fainberg, a.k.a. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark.
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