Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. The Coast Guard said four suspected smugglers were taken into custody and 32 bales of cocaine were found in the water. "No one can tell us how long he will be in there," she says. Join the New Times community and help support "Last week we were supposed to have a hearing, but there was no running water in Panama City. It continued at another local strip club, called Quarterbacks Playmates Lounge. "It's not an easy choice," she says. For the most part, Doll House dancers agree. His government protection would evaporate, the Doll House would be raided, his investments would be stolen, and he would be arrested. We did outsmart the FBI, we did outsmart the DEA, we even did outsmart the court, Tarzan says in the film. We've been here for two years!' When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. By the time he was 18, he had been arrested seven times for armed robbery and assault, he says. "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago," Tony Galeota says. 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. They were all together when Tony worked for the Russin mobsters in Porky's club as its manager. 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. Join the New Times community and help support We've received your submission. "It was puppy love," he says. Inside the prison, the sign is a running joke. In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. Next time, I will steal it back from him., Tarzan (left) at the site of the submarine. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. Tarzan, Almeida and Yester had previously teamed on multimillion-dollar deals for Colombian cocaine barons, snagging motorcycles and Kamov 32 military helicopters (with two rotors and capable of transporting 5,000 kilos of cocaine via hook). All he needed now were the prostitutes. "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. "But she's never going to forget. 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. Two days later, he was transferred to La Joya a hellish cinder-block complex an hour outside of Panama City. Sign Up. Business was better, but it still wouldn't make him rich. 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. View the profiles of people named Anthony Galeota. 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. Coast Guard members who seized the cocaine said this is what their jobs are all about. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Update information for Tony Galeota . "I was just numb.". Johns paid $100 to rent a VIP room downstairs. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. Indeed, Tony would turn Porky's into a moneymaking machine. When one inmate killed another, the dead man's gang on the outside murdered the inmate's entire family, Galeota says. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. "Maybe we didn't have the permits we were supposed to have, but we're foreigners who didn't understand the rules.". Galeota says the police had already gotten what they wanted: Porky's demise. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. As the authorities closed in, they picked up Juan and Tarzan, but they couldnt find Tony and neither could the cartel. 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. This story has been shared 173,716 times. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. 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. Nearly 300 feet long with 10 torpedo tubes (empty in this case), it was diesel but could be converted to electric for silent running. "The first month, we had $15,000 in gross sales. Wrongly imprisoned. When traffickers balked at the price, Yester reminded them that it could hold 40 tons of cocaine and would pay for itself quickly. Reborn behind bars. Im gonna see them in f***ing hell when I arrive there., Russell says the fugitive is probably one of the most fascinating human beings Ive ever been in a room with., He adds: Theres five other films you couldve made about his life and life experiences, and yet he was charming and cultured and funny and also, then, on a dime deadly serious, not somebody that you trifle with. 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. 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. ", "You hear that?" Meet me in Africa for a cup of coffee tomorrow.. 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. Russian immigrant Ludwig Fainberg, a.k.a. But when the house of cards tumbles, John . And twice they had given up. It was coke or pimping or messing with the wrong people.. And I'm not asking her to. "When you go to prison, it's like dying, but you get to see your own funeral," Galeota says. His attorney has warned him that prosecutors will likely appeal, so he plans to stay in Panama until his case is resolved. she scoffs. Three weeks after the Doll House raid, Kristy was working the bar at Bongos when three teenagers walked into the restaurant. Prisoners eat stale bread and a slice of cheese for breakfast; rice and sometimes beans is their lunch and dinner. "I've been in this business my whole life. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. Its Colombian dancers were in Panama on six-month tourist visas, weren't licensed as prostitutes, and weren't getting required weekly health checkups. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. Kristy was a self-described "firecracker" who had also escaped from an abusive home and wanted attention. Eventually, he moved two dozen ladies to Panama City. ", http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2012-10-04/news/tony-galeota-from-running-porky-s-miami-s-most-notorious-strip-joint-to-rotting-in-a-panamanian-jail/full/. Then she'd charge my friends $50 each," he says. Just not a strip club. 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. "My wife could have left me. "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. This is a guy that the FBI went after for years but could never get him. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. Yester told the Colombians that theyd have to pay $35 million for the vessel, even though Tarzan had talked the price down to $5.5 million plus just $600 for a crew to pilot it to Colombia. The drugs will be turned over to the DEA. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Indeed, court records show that Seidle was a target of the federal wiretapping investigation. "My wife is never going to completely trust me. Even though Yester may have suspected that the cartel was after him, he couldnt help but try to get his hands on the remaining $25 million. 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. 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. But then the country's corrupt system turned on them. 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.". Galeota also found himself in the back of an unmarked FBI car. All the main players involved appear on camera and share their stories, including law enforcement, from which the documentary takes its name; Operation Odessa was formed as a joint task force in the 1990s as American authorities worried that Colombian cartels would join together with Russian organized crime to pair drug money with Soviet military hardware. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss A prisoner poses with a gun smuggled into La Joya with help from guards. Facilitating it. Anthony Jr. was taken to a juvenile detention center that wasn't much better. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. Tony Galeota's age is expected to be 52. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. #Torture #PanamGovernment #LaJoyaprisonPanam #PresidentVarela #Panam #Corruption. When his younger brother was molested, he beat the suspected perpetrator to a pulp. Galeota's enemies say that a life of sin has finally caught up with the flesh-peddler. 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. Filthy and crowded cell block of La Joya Prison, Panama. Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. Then my friend got back to me a couple days later and said there was just one question: Do you want a sub with missiles or without? , For all their camaraderie, though, the criminals opinions of one another were mixed. He and Fainberg were on their way to riches thanks to powerful friends and legalized prostitution. one of the kids shouted as he pulled a handkerchief over his face and wildly swung a revolver. And last year, Yester was finally arrested in Rome on charges unrelated to the submarine while en route to a wedding. As he sweated in jail, Galeota's Panamanian empire crumbled. Russian mobsters learned about their comrade's successful venture, and adopted the club as a virtual office. 4:00AM. "There were beautiful girls, just walking the streets, giving blowjobs for $10 or $15.". 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. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss - Giant insects infest the prison. Galeota examines a bruise from a prison fight in La Joya. 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. Panama became Galeota's personal paradise. "That's obstruction of justice.". On Friday, May 17, Galeota got word that the judge had also dismissed the drug charge because of lack of evidence. "Running a club in that neighborhood, win or lose, you've got to fight.". 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. October 4, 2012 He was, after all, working with an American playboy in Miami and a fugitive Cuban spy to procure this submarine. October 4, 2012 This story has been shared 121,048 times. 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. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. Also read: Tony Galeota: From Running. Documentary Drama When Miami mobster Tony Galeota opens a club in Panama City, the competition frames him for drug dealing and human trafficking. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. Controlling it. We have a lot of laughs about it now," he says. 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. Reborn behind bars. Through the air plane window, Tony Galeota could see the city's colonial churches glow like polished gold. He needed some help," he recalls. His Doll House dream began at Porky's. "You see who wants to fuck your wife, who wants to rob you, and who your real friends are.". When Galeota stood up, he checked his T-shirt for bullet holes, but found none. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. 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. The dead and dying are piled into wheelbarrows and left by the front gate until guards arrive in the morning. Galeota was hit with felony drug and prostitution charges. local news and culture, Michael E. Miller "My family didn't care; they took it," Galeota says of the stolen goods. The American says he's giving up the strip club and brothel businesses. One scammer stole from another scammer; of course I accept it, he says. 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. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. A sign on the latter reads, "District Attorney for Drugs: Do Not Enter." 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. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. View Tony Galeota's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. 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. Back in South Florida, Kristy Galeota vacillates between outrage and empathy for her husband. As he contemplates the question, Galeota watches his fellow inmates kick a soccer ball across La Joya's putrid playground. He was 31. They also discovered the club was registered as a massage parlor, not a brothel. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. The Doll House couldn't expand fast enough to meet the influx of sex tourists. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. When Seidle died in 2008, Porky's political protection followed the 82-year-old to the grave. 16:56 GMT 13 Mar 2018 And there was absolutely no bullshit. "They shot him in the middle of the night," Galeota continues quietly, "and buried his body behind the pavilion.". His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. "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. While on routine patrol, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection plane spotted a suspicious speed boat. "I just watched Luis blow a guy away," Galeota heard himself say on tape. See Photos. With dark hair and pale, wide-set eyes, teenage Tony resembled a stocky Frank Sinatra. In January 2017, Almeida got federally charged by the Drug Enforcement Administration with conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute. 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.
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