It continued at another local strip club, called Quarterbacks Playmates Lounge. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Prosecutors say police never filed the necessary paperwork. Tony Galeota lived in 1954, at address, Massachusetts. 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. He called his cartel contacts and arranged to meet them in the pickup area of the Madrid train station. "It was puppy love," he says. He was talking to Fainberg about a murder he'd witnessed in Porky's parking lot. We've received your submission. 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. 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 Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss A prisoner poses with a gun smuggled into La Joya with help from guards. It is not known when he was born or his current age. Galeota already lived according to a gangster's code. "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. 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. Panama became Galeota's personal paradise. As far as he was concerned, he owned the military base. "Thank God I'm out," he tells New Times in his first interview since his release. Because of his age, he escaped with six months' probation. And last year, Yester was finally arrested in Rome on charges unrelated to the submarine while en route to a wedding. 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. Tony Gogetta. "When you go to prison, it's like dying, but you get to see your own funeral," Galeota says. Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. When Galeota arrived, his mobster reputation preceded him. "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. "They had what seemed like a dynamite case, but it has ended up in pieces.". Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. Making the documentary, he says: I found the story so compelling and so riveting that I was just relentlessly magnetized to it. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. 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. "They shot him in the middle of the night," Galeota continues quietly, "and buried his body behind the pavilion.". A friend suggested Panama. Advertisement. Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. "It's not an easy choice," she says. Indeed, Tony would turn Porky's into a moneymaking machine. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. "I just watched Luis blow a guy away," Galeota heard himself say on tape. A large Russian man called Tarzan sits in an armchair against the backdrop of a cracked and stained wall, a pack of cigarettes, lighter and an ash tray on a table to his left, and he shrugs as he talks about a deal he tried to broker more than 20 years ago. Again, the charges were dropped. the agent said. 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. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. Tony Galeta. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. 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. He broke it off with the woman, but his problems were only beginning. His attorney has warned him that prosecutors will likely appeal, so he plans to stay in Panama until his case is resolved. Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. He hired 'Fat Tony' Galeota as Porky's manager. "We were doing fantastic, but Tarzan got bored and started living the life," Galeota explains. Then they pushed play on a cassette deck. 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. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. ", Coast Guard Offloads More Than $93 Million In Cocaine, Miami Beach. Instead, he says competitors pulled government strings to screw him. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. 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. And, above all, selling it. When Bill Seidle died, Galeota knew the club's days were numbered. 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. We have a lot of laughs about it now," he says. On Friday, May 17, Galeota got word that the judge had also dismissed the drug charge because of lack of evidence. Reborn behind bars. Through the air plane window, Tony Galeota could see the city's colonial churches glow like polished gold. Marshals deported Ludwig Fainberg from Miami. Episode 5: Spain /Sold My Soul With dark hair and pale, wide-set eyes, teenage Tony resembled a stocky Frank Sinatra. , updated While another new prisoner was beaten and robbed, Galeota was untouched. Has a stint in Panamanian prison reformed Miami's most notorious strip club manager? Galeota saw an opportunity. I have to tell you, all my enemies are dead, and Im happy, he says in the documentary. Facilitating it. Prisoners eat stale bread and a slice of cheese for breakfast; rice and sometimes beans is their lunch and dinner. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. Follow this journalist on Twitter @MikeMillerMiami. Its Colombian dancers were in Panama on six-month tourist visas, weren't licensed as prostitutes, and weren't getting required weekly health checkups. Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. It wasn't until he ordered some Italian food and a cold Guinness that he finally felt like he was free. Explore More. With little oversight, military leaders acted as if they were independent of the government. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a. Tarzan, got his first job in America as an enforcer for the Gambino crime family. 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. Once they spotted the plane, they changed course which is suspicious for us, said Boatswains Mate 1st Class, Joshua McElhaney with the Coast Guard. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. On a crowded balcony overlooking La Joya, Galeota describes the past 16 months as a nightmare. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. More detailed reports on the crimes weren't available. local news and culture, Michael E. Miller These interdiction's were part of Operation Martillo, an international operation to fight illegal trafficking. But Galeota's plan would soon go catastrophically wrong. ", 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. As for his career, his only oath is that he won't let his sons follow his example. But Monday morning, when it came time to walk out of La Joya, there was no vehicle waiting. 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. I said, Thank you, Cali cartel. Police again surrounded Porky's in the early hours of May 9, 2009. In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. Skip Ancestry main menu Main Menu Kristy and his sons hid in a shabby, poorly protected office. Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". ", Tony Galeota and fellow defendant Alon "Tarzan" Bar during better days in their Panama club The Doll House, After bribing half the guards at La Joya, Galeota was taken to an immigration holding center in Panama City where he and four co-defendants were kept for four more days. And I'm not asking her to. In the early 1990s, three friends set out to hustle the Russian mob, the Cali cartel and the DEA for the score of a lifetime. Santiago de Cali shone in the syrupy South American sunlight filling Colombia's Cauca River Valley. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. 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. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. Find your friends on Facebook. "But I did it for my child.". He could convince you that the sky was green." 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. 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. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. ", 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/. Tony was a tough, muscular little shit back then. During the Doll House raid, they found marked bills in the register and several grams of pot on a promoter. In an instant, Galeota's meaty hand was around the customer's neck, shoving him outside. 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 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. He raises his eyebrows and looks upwards to the left to emphasize just how flabbergasted he was with Mishas counter question. Tony Galeto. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. Galeota examines a bruise from a prison fight in La Joya. Of the $10 million, he said, I cannot f- -king believe it how fast I spend it.. It was a caper, for sure., He says: Tarzan was the lynchpin to it, because it was his story. Locked up in one of the world's worst prisons, Tony has to prove his innocence and attempt an audacious escape. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. (CBS Miami). As he sweated in jail, Galeota's Panamanian empire crumbled. "He never forced us to do anything. This story has been shared 121,048 times. They were very compliant to everything we asked of them, said McElhaney. Tarzan was released from the Panamanian prison in around 2016 and has since built a side career out of playing tough guys in gangster flicks shot in Russia, where he now lives. "That's the problem.". 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!' When he discovered he was about to be subpoenaed, he withdrew $2,500 from the bank and boarded a two-week Caribbean cruise. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. People named Tony Goleta. He turned himself in a few days later, but the lounge's owner decided to close the cursed club. But she insists that her husband's imprisonment has brought them closer. But his mind was on another kind of riches. But when he opens a new club in Panama City, the competition isn't happy and frames him for drug dealing. Log In. "I'm in survival mode now," Galeota says, adding that he agonizes over being imprisoned for what he believes are unjust charges. 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. And twice they had given up. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. "They would describe what they looked like," Galeota says. Prostitution is legal in Panama," he complains. And so from there, Juan showed up in Moscow with a vague, half-assed agreement with Tarzan he still had gotten me to come there without agreeing to be in the film, and he put me through the paces of taking me to the sauna and sort of took me on this insane kind of underworld tour of Moscow. He headed right to his beloved Miami, Florida. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. 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. The message was that the cocaine traffickers would kill Yesters family members. Galeota's wife Kristy comments "Porky's was definitely a place you could get killed." Over the years, Galeota saw nearly a dozen shootings at Porky's, some of them fatal. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. But he was too shell-shocked to take up his attorney's offer for a ride to a nice hotel. While out of sight, he phoned his guy and lied about being in a particular taxi cab. I know its gonna be a strange question. The crew boarded the 165-foot Panamanian-flagged coastal freighter Hope II. Facilitating it. "It was puppy love," he says. Two days later, he was transferred to La Joya a hellish cinder-block complex an hour outside of Panama City. New laws effectively outlaw brothels such as the Doll House, permit or not but if Galeota walks with no convictions, it will surely embarrass officials trying to make it look like they're cleaning up the industry. Half an hour later, Galeota was guarding the door when a car rolled up with the window down. "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago," Tony Galeota says. 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. I told Juan, I said, Hey. Docs need stars just like features need stars. The club was very successful. It was a Foxtrot-class submarine, or Project 641 as the Soviets called it. Documentary Drama When Miami mobster Tony Galeota opens a club in Panama City, the competition frames him for drug dealing and human trafficking. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. "The investigation was so poorly handled and rushed," says Otero, the journalist. 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. Tony Galeota has a wife named Kristy Galeota, with whom he lives. Galeota jumped at the deal. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighbourhood until he found a shabby motel. So the translator said she couldn't take a shower, didn't show up, and the case was delayed. In the second interdiction, a Customs plane spotted another suspicious boat off the coast of Panama on August 28th.

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