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. 8:00AM. ", Instead, he found another, tighter-knit family: the mob. Tony Galeota Age And Family. "He was a smooth-talker. (Panama passed harsher penalties for human trafficking during Galeota's incarceration, but Galeota can't be prosecuted under laws that weren't in place when he was arrested. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. 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. independent local journalism in Miami. He was 31. In describing Tarzan, Almeida says in the film, He struck me as an oddball. Tarzan classifies Almeida as a guy who had two drinks and thought he was Tony Montana. As for movie-star handsome, hooker-loving Yesters first impression of Tarzan: I said, This f- -king guy is trouble. Thirty minutes later, I loved the trouble., Abetted by the tumultuous state of the former Soviet Union the ruble was completely devalued and state-owned resources went to whomever had the most firepower gaining access to the submarine was surprisingly easy. He called his cartel contacts and arranged to meet them in the pickup area of the Madrid train station. Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. 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. We've been here for two years!' It was a lot of kind of romancing them and explaining to them, hey, this is your chance to tell your story on kind of a broad canvas. And I'm not asking her to. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. 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. 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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. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. He was 31. The offload is a result of two successful drug interdictions in the Caribbean since August 23. Controlling it. Were out there to cause an effect in the drug industry and I believe we made a little dent on it.. The domestic bliss lasted only a couple of weeks. CAKEGATE 2023: Bad Bunny's Restaurant Accused of Gobbling Birthday Girl's Cake, Neighborhood Nazi Jon Minadeo Peddles Hate by the Minute, Gator Gets in on the Action at Tampa Bay Horse Race, 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. Marshals deported Ludwig Fainberg from Miami. source of local news and culture, Michael E. Miller And last year, Yester was finally arrested in Rome on charges unrelated to the submarine while en route to a wedding. Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. "Everybody give me your money!" The fear was well founded, considering what went down when Tarzan linked up with Cuban outlaws Juan Almeida and Nelson Tony Yester. 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. 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. 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. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. 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. Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. Days go by without water, and when it does arrive, it's turbid sludge from a nearby river. A year later, it was $115,000 per month.". "These guys were into just about everything," Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Fernandez said at the time. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. 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. But killings are common in Panama's worst prison, where the smell of raw sewage wafts over the yard, metal shackles hang from mouldy staircases, and overcrowded cells house nearly 3,500 of the Western Hemisphere's vilest murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. 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. Galeota's enemies say that a life of sin has finally caught up with the flesh-peddler. And then Russell got a text message out of the blue. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. For a while, Panama's pay-to-play culture suited Galeota just fine. Join the New Times community and help support Prosecutors say police never filed the necessary paperwork. During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. "But she's never going to forget. The Doll House couldn't expand fast enough to meet the influx of sex tourists. But the Doll House and Moulin Rouge remain closed. Juan felt like he had no choice, says Russell. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. Tarzan and Tony went so far as to gain access to a Soviet naval base and be taken on a tour of a submarine potentially for sale, even cajoling Russian military officials to pose for photos - which they used to prove to the Colombians that a deal could be brokered (and which are shown in the film). That didnt stop Russell from trying to get them on board with doing a film about the submarine deal. But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. I'm kind of stuck with it. 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 His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. And, above all, selling it. His government protection would evaporate, the Doll House would be raided, his investments would be stolen, and he would be arrested. We break down the best movies and series to watch in November in theaters and streaming. This business has been very good to me.". He might have sold them the submarine, taken the money and walked away with the money.. This time, I'm innocent.". According to the Coast Guard: It first took place north of the Gulf of Uraba. 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. Reborn behind bars. 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. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. We both understand that.". 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. And theyre like, F*** yeah, lets do it. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. If Galeota is freed, it will be a major blow for Panama's prostitution crackdown. When a dancer clapped her ass cheeks like a maraca, a customer's hands instinctively rose to touch them. "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago," Tony Galeota says. See Photos. Create a free family tree for yourself or for Tony Galeota and we'll search for valuable new information for you. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. Russell did as he was told and flew to the appointed city in Africa; as soon as he walked into his hotel room, the phone rang and he was instructed to be downstairs in five minutes, where Tony whisked him off in a Porsche Cayenne and they spent several surreal days together; Tony showed the director his Russian fighter jet, which had $5million in the cockpit as the fugitives getaway plan, and told his part of the story. Prostitution is legal in Panama," he complains. "Their connections were bigger than ours," he says. 4:00AM. There was nothing unusual about it. He soon finds himself wanting to be a mobster, and starts running errands for them. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. Research > Galeota > Tony Galeota. "I was always looking for their approval," he says, "but I never got that. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. local news and culture, Michael E. Miller Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. . "But she's never going to forget. Inside, the bar is still littered with half-empty bottles of Chivas Regal. 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. The submarine request, which came from Yester on behalf of the cartel, was not as outrageous as it now sounds. Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. Police again surrounded Porky's in the early hours of May 9, 2009. "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." Tony Galeto. While he, Tarzan and Juan were dealing with the Colombians and while Tony and Tarzan even got onto a Russian military naval base to tour a possible submarine for the deal the entire time the Cuban was planning to rip off the Colombians. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. Sometimes we get a little excited when we find the amount of cocaine we found, said Castro. 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. Find your friends on Facebook. If any official asks you to pay for anything, please report them.". If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. "That's the goal," is all he'll offer. He was a big, big fish.". Tony Galeota. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. "Like me, he was a black sheep who could do nothing right.". Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. He raises his eyebrows and looks upwards to the left to emphasize just how flabbergasted he was with Mishas counter question. We have a lot of laughs about it now," he says. "I want to go legit when I get out, but if the economy is bad, I might go back to the industry," he says. "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. one of the kids shouted as he pulled a handkerchief over his face and wildly swung a revolver. Ten million dollars really feels like 10 million dollars, he gushes in the movie. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes. He is currently being held in Italy. The two were married in 1994 at a wedding full of mobsters. "There was probably a lot more fun going on at Porky's than we even knew of," says one Hialeah police officer who asked not to be identified. More detailed reports on the crimes weren't available. "This case has had a big impact here," says Jos Otero, a reporter for Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. 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. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. But Galeota's problems aren't completely behind him. The nightmare deepened for Galeota. independent local journalism in Miami. Facebook Email or phone Password Forgot account? Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. Then she'd charge my friends $50 each," he says. As the couple drove south on I-95, they thought they were leaving the worst behind them. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. State and local police launched an investigation in February 2009. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. Can he prove his innocence and escape? Wrongly imprisoned. Follow this journalist on Twitter @MikeMillerMiami. Again, Tony's friends in New York told him where to go. 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. Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. "Now I'm living in hell.". Coast Guard members who seized the cocaine said this is what their jobs are all about. He sold the shop and in 2010 opened Bongos, a restaurant serving wings and beer. ", "You hear that?" 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. Tony Galletta. When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss Surrounded by Colombian strippers, Galeota gives a toast during a party at the Doll House. Juan, Tarzan and law enforcement insisted there was no way hed agree to participate in the documentary. Upon seeing 10 thugs rush the vehicle and hijack it with the unsuspecting passenger in back, Yester realized that the remaining cash would not be forthcoming. local news and culture, Michael E. Miller As the authorities closed in, they picked up Juan and Tarzan, but they couldnt find Tony and neither could the cartel. ", 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. Inmates are fed bread and cheese for breakfast and rice (sometimes beans) for lunch and dinner. Jimmy Galeota has spent the last month-and-a-half grieving his older brother Michael's death - but perhaps the most difficult part of it all to swallow has been the bizarre circumstances that. Once they spotted the plane, they changed course which is suspicious for us, said Boatswains Mate 1st Class, Joshua McElhaney with the Coast Guard. Luckier still, a powerful Colombian inmate named Mauricio Ramrez recognized Galeota from his restaurant. Miami's independent source of Its impossible but only because its true. I got a piece of the action of every blowjob that my friends got," Galeota says. Tony Gogetta. 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. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. The Coast Guard said the eight-member crew cooperated and was taken into custody. Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida "Thank God I'm out," he tells New Times in his first interview since his release. But he insists that, for once, he has done nothing wrong. 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 . As he sweated in jail, Galeota's Panamanian empire crumbled. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. He was 31. We had a $500,000 house, cars, and motorcycles. 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. Theres this crazy Russian gangster who sold a submarine to the Cali drug cartel; his name is Tarzan and hes locked in a Panamanian prison and he had a Blackberry And he said, Do you want his number?, And I said, Hell, yes! While another new prisoner was beaten and robbed, Galeota was untouched. By the time he was 18, he had been arrested seven times for armed robbery and assault, he says. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss - Giant insects infest the prison. It wasn't until he ordered some Italian food and a cold Guinness that he finally felt like he was free. "Miami is a place where I would love to live," he pronounced, "and where I would love to die." Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. 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. When Bill Seidle died, Galeota knew the club's days were numbered. Instead, he says competitors pulled government strings to screw him. 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. Twice, American authorities had investigated Galeota. Advertisement. 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. Nobody was impressed more than Kristy Sharpe, an 18-year-old waitress from Orlando with blond hair, blue eyes, and lightly freckled skin. Cops had made several controlled buys of drugs. This time, I'm innocent.". Kristy was a self-described "firecracker" who had also escaped from an abusive home and wanted attention. Tony was a tough, muscular little shit back then. Even then, however, he couldn't sleep. 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. Finally, on May 23, the gate on Galeota's cramped cell swung open, and he was free to go. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighbourhood until he found a shabby motel. By "Now I'm living in hell.". Skip Ancestry main menu Main Menu 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. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. TV-14 | 06.05.2013. 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. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. Most of them were robberies gone wrong or simple revenge. The year before, his father helped him land a job as a wedding DJ. This story has been shared 121,048 times. 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. 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. Eventually, however, he made his way to Tarzan. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. , updated All he needed now were the prostitutes.

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