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. "I was just numb.". Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. independent local journalism in Miami. Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida 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. 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.. Director Tiller Russell Stars Ludwig Fainberg Juan Almeida Nelson Yester See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 44 User reviews 9 Critic reviews Awards 1 nomination Videos 2 Trailer 1:46 And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. But when the house of cards tumbles, John . 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. Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. 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. I gave each of my kids a Rolex when they were 5 years old. 16:56 GMT 13 Mar 2018 "That clean, business-friendly, postcard-Panama bullshit is just a faade," Galeota says. On Friday, May 17, Galeota got word that the judge had also dismissed the drug charge because of lack of evidence. 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. By then, the club's criminal clientele and Fainberg's increasingly lavish lifestyle had raised eyebrows. Get started U.S. Yearbooks Name Index, 1890-1979. Its about 2,800 kilos, about a ton and a half of contraband. Anthony Galeota (right) poses with Ludwig "Tarzan" Fainberg inside the Doll House weeks before their arrest. "I used to have to patch Tony up all the time," Kristy says. The smugglers boat was destroyed because it was a hazard to navigation. You could not mislead him in any way or you could tell that the consequences could be serious, but I loved him. We had a $500,000 house, cars, and motorcycles. He headed right to his beloved Miami, Florida. View Tony Galeota's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. Tony Galeto. In the second interdiction, a Customs plane spotted another suspicious boat off the coast of Panama on August 28th. A sign on the latter reads, "District Attorney for Drugs: Do Not Enter." When Seidle died in 2008, Porky's political protection followed the 82-year-old to the grave. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a. Sign Up. 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. See also: "From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra.". He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. By the mid-'90s, Galeota had turned Porky's into a one-stop shop for strippers, sex, and serious drugs. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. Tony Gogetta. "These guys were into just about everything," Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Fernandez said at the time. 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. Rats, roaches, and beetles the size of Chihuahuas crawl over inmates at night. The fear was well founded, considering what went down when Tarzan linked up with Cuban outlaws Juan Almeida and Nelson Tony Yester. Coast Guard members who seized the cocaine said this is what their jobs are all about. Wrongly imprisoned. "I was just numb.". But the hassle had taken its toll on him. See Photos. He raises his eyebrows and looks upwards to the left to emphasize just how flabbergasted he was with Mishas counter question. We've been here for two years!' We both understand that.". Eventually, he moved two dozen ladies to Panama City. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra. 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. Johns paid $100 to rent a VIP room downstairs. "She hasn't worked for 15 years. A 28-year-old English teacher named Tim Schrader agrees to smuggle eight kilos of heroin into the U.S. to solve his financial problems. In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. The Coast Guard said four suspected smugglers were taken into custody and 32 bales of cocaine were found in the water. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss - Giant insects infest the prison. They were all together when Tony worked for the Russin mobsters in Porky's club as its manager. South Florida's independent 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. "The first month, we had $15,000 in gross sales. Miami mobster Tony Galeota is locked up in Panama after being framed for drug dealing and human trafficking. He was talking to Fainberg about a murder he'd witnessed in Porky's parking lot. By the time they returned to Long Island later that night, a pimp was born. Once they spotted the plane, they changed course which is suspicious for us, said Boatswains Mate 1st Class, Joshua McElhaney with the Coast Guard. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. His Doll House dream began at Porky's. But the men kept in touch as Russell pursued other projects, with Tarzan sending random messages such as Christmas greetings until he finally sent the email the filmmaker had been awaiting (although he couldnt have guessed the other crazy details in the communication. Galeota's enemies say that a life of sin has finally caught up with the flesh-peddler. "No one can tell us how long he will be in there," she says. The heavy-set Italian even signed a release. 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. During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss Surrounded by Colombian strippers, Galeota gives a toast during a party at the Doll House. The domestic bliss lasted only a couple of weeks. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. 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. Prosecutors charged Galeota and Fainberg with not only drug dealing but also human trafficking. I got a piece of the action of every blowjob that my friends got," Galeota says. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. In an instant, Galeota's meaty hand was around the customer's neck, shoving him outside. Reborn behind bars. Of the $10 million, he said, I cannot f- -king believe it how fast I spend it.. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighbourhood until he found a shabby motel. "Now I'm living in hell.". she scoffs. "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. Controlling it. Prostitution was so common at Porky's that the club had fixed places and prices, 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. Thats how they eventually uncovered the plot to sell a submarine to the Cali cartel, orchestrated by Tarzan, exotic car importer Juan Almeida and Nelson Tony Yester, a Cuban immigrant believed to be a trained intelligence operative who remains an international fugitive to this day. 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 . It wasn't until he ordered some Italian food and a cold Guinness that he finally felt like he was free. Can he prove his innocence and escape? When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. "That's the goal," is all he'll offer. "It was a nightmare in there.". Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. It was coke or pimping or messing with the wrong people.. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. 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. See Photos. If Galeota is freed, it will be a major blow for Panama's prostitution crackdown. He and Kristy struck up an unlikely romance. 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. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. one of the kids shouted as he pulled a handkerchief over his face and wildly swung a revolver. Tony Kaleta. But then the country's corrupt system turned on them. If only there were a place where prostitution was legal, he thought, a city full of beautiful women like Miami, but no rules. 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. But his mind was on another kind of riches. Cops had made several controlled buys of drugs. Juan, Tarzan and law enforcement insisted there was no way hed agree to participate in the documentary. At night, the guards lock the gate and leave, turning over control of each cell block to prisoners. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. Making the documentary, he says: I found the story so compelling and so riveting that I was just relentlessly magnetized to it. "My wife could have left me. ", - Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint, to Rotting in a Panamanian Jail, - Sex and Drugs in the Champagne Room: The Truth About Porky's and Other Miami Strip Clubs. 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. Galeota tried going straight, opening a coffee shop in downtown Panama City. According to the Coast Guard: It first took place north of the Gulf of Uraba. While Galeota avoided testifying, Fainberg faced 30 counts including racketeering and conspiracy to traffic cocaine and heroin. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. Marshals deported Ludwig Fainberg from Miami. For a while, Panama's pay-to-play culture suited Galeota just fine. 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. Galeota saw an opportunity. Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". But bloodshed would follow them to Miami. He didn't stay long. 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. 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 Half an hour later, Galeota was guarding the door when a car rolled up with the window down. Like a real-life godfather, Galeota weathered it all. 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. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. "It was a real moneymaker. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. They arrested 18 suspects, including Galeota, several strippers, and most employees. Indeed, Tony would turn Porky's into a moneymaking machine. "Now I'm living in hell.". The two were married in 1994 at a wedding full of mobsters. 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. While Kristy was still in the States, he lived with five of his Colombian prostitutes. These interdiction's were part of Operation Martillo, an international operation to fight illegal trafficking. This looks great. . "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. 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. It was a weeknight, and Porky's was washed in pale-pink neon light. View the profiles of people named Anthony Galeota. Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. Then she'd charge my friends $50 each," he says. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. "My family didn't care; they took it," Galeota says of the stolen goods. Find your friends on Facebook. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. But Galeota was convinced the cops were bluffing and refused to cooperate. "They would describe what they looked like," Galeota says. Wrongly imprisoned. See Photos. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. He was 31. Instead, Galeota admits he's done bad things, such as. 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. "There were beautiful girls, just walking the streets, giving blowjobs for $10 or $15.". When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. Docs need stars just like features need stars. 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. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. Galeota examines a bruise from a prison fight in La Joya. Ten million dollars really feels like 10 million dollars, he gushes in the movie. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. As he sweated in jail, Galeota's Panamanian empire crumbled. Two agents told him that they'd been tapping his phone for months. Meet me in Africa for a cup of coffee tomorrow.. They'd use their connections with immigration officials to obtain visas and prostitution licenses and then give Tarzan and Tony 40 percent of the profits to run a new club, called the Doll House. (CBS Miami). Seidle was never charged with a crime. Through the air plane window, Tony Galeota could see the city's colonial churches glow like polished gold. 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.