His Doll House dream began at Porky's. I'm kind of stuck with it. 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. "It's not an easy choice," she says. View Tony Galeota's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. "It was a nightmare in there.". Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. The two were married in 1994 at a wedding full of mobsters. ", Instead, he found another, tighter-knit family: the mob. 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. 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. "Everybody give me your money!" "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James Galeota," Jan. 10, reads a statement on a Go Fund Me page, created by Galeota's family to raise money for his burial. We had a $500,000 house, cars, and motorcycles. He was 31. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. Luckier still, a powerful Colombian inmate named Mauricio Ramrez recognized Galeota from his restaurant. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. (A New York Police Department spokesman says records from that far back aren't available.) "They had what seemed like a dynamite case, but it has ended up in pieces.". Use tab to navigate through the menu items. He left, but returned with a gun. It was like this super weird, incredibly sketchy circumstance that we came together in, Russell tells DailyMail.com of his visit to the Mad Max-like prison where at night they lock the gates. In the second interdiction, a Customs plane spotted another suspicious boat off the coast of Panama on August 28th. He bought seven properties pretty much sight unseen.". It was apparent they had what appeared to be narcotics and after we did the test they had bales on board of pure cocaine, said Boatswains Mate Omar Castro with the U.S. Coast Guard. Juan felt like he had no choice, says Russell. Banged Up Abroad - National Geographic for everyone in everywhere But their courtship was cut short. "Their connections were bigger than ours," he says. Galeota's enemies say that a life of sin has finally caught up with the flesh-peddler. He might have sold them the submarine, taken the money and walked away with the money.. He created a souped-up cigarette boat that went for $2 million and was presumably used to transport cocaine. 16:56 GMT 13 Mar 2018 S10 E10 Miami Mobster Take Down. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. As the couple drove south on I-95, they thought they were leaving the worst behind them. local Journalism in South Florida. ), Right about the time my last film was coming out, he emailed me and said, I did a jailbreak from Panama, traveled to Costa Rica, on to Cuba and then got repatriated to Moscow Im ready to do the movie, Russell says. Tony Galeto. Its Colombian dancers were in Panama on six-month tourist visas, weren't licensed as prostitutes, and weren't getting required weekly health checkups. 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. "Running a club in that neighborhood, win or lose, you've got to fight.". "No one can tell us how long he will be in there," she says. We've received your submission. Galeota says the police had already gotten what they wanted: Porky's demise. Tony was a tough, muscular little shit back then. Join the New Times community and help support And, above all, selling it. ", 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. Reborn behind bars. 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 "You see who wants to fuck your wife, who wants to rob you, and who your real friends are.". This story has been shared 173,716 times. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Disney Star Michael Galeota Death: Brother Jimmy Opens Up About Family Inmates are fed bread and cheese for breakfast and rice (sometimes beans) for lunch and dinner. 17:57 GMT 13 Mar 2018. She is cute and curvy with dark hair and a button nose. I have to tell you, all my enemies are dead, and Im happy, he says in the documentary. Cops had made several controlled buys of drugs. 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. But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. Prosecutors charged Galeota and Fainberg with not only drug dealing but also human trafficking. Docs need stars just like features need stars. The domestic bliss lasted only a couple of weeks. Tony Goleta. I gave each of my kids a Rolex when they were 5 years old. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. "We were doing fantastic, but Tarzan got bored and started living the life," Galeota explains. His attorney has warned him that prosecutors will likely appeal, so he plans to stay in Panama until his case is resolved. "My wife is never going to completely trust me. He answered only to property owner William Seidle, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee who ran a chain of car dealerships. 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 Galeta Profiles | Facebook This story has been shared 121,048 times. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. The drugs will be turned over to the DEA. How 'Tarzan' and a Cuban duo 'got in deep' with a cocaine cartel "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. The submarine request, which came from Yester on behalf of the cartel, was not as outrageous as it now sounds. Tony Galeota - IMDb The goods came from sources in the freshly fallen Soviet Union, a place where everything seemed to be up for grabs at ridiculously low prices. "Bill was one of the most influential people in Miami," Galeota says. "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. See Photos. 4:00AM. The last one locked the door. 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. When traffickers balked at the price, Yester reminded them that it could hold 40 tons of cocaine and would pay for itself quickly. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. 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. Again, the charges were dropped. Tony Galeota - Historical records and family trees - MyHeritage "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." Even then, however, he couldn't sleep. After that, Kristy closed Bongos. The most audacious plot allegedly hatched in the back of Porky's was to purchase a former Soviet submarine for $5.5 million for a Colombian drug cartel so it could ship cocaine up the coast to California. As the authorities closed in, they picked up Juan and Tarzan, but they couldnt find Tony and neither could the cartel. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. 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!' Days go by without water, and when it does arrive, it's turbid sludge from a nearby river. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. Theyre nice guys [the cartel members], and I didnt ask what they needed the submarine for, Tarzan tells The Post, speaking on a crackling phone connection from Russia. Filmography (by Job) Trailers and Videos. It was 1990, and Galeota transformed the place by wiring in subwoofers and bringing in New York dancers. Skip Ancestry main menu Main Menu But the man's paws were soon on her crotch again. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. SO I started with the cops and I had been kind of circling the others without knowing if it was really possible or not. He called me in two days and he asked me, do we want the submarine with missiles or without missiles? says Tarzan. When Seidle died in 2008, Porky's political protection followed the 82-year-old to the grave. But he insists that, for once, he has done nothing wrong. Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida As Yester laid low with the cash, cartel liaisons in the United States, aware that they had been burned, pressured Almeida to show them where Yesters relatives lived in and around Miami. And there was absolutely no bullshit. 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. Juan, Tarzan and law enforcement insisted there was no way hed agree to participate in the documentary. Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida Update information for Tony Galeota . When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. It wasn't until he ordered some Italian food and a cold Guinness that he finally felt like he was free. See Photos. Sheila Flynn For Dailymail.com 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. Director Robin Dashwood Stars Alex Andreas Ricardo Burgos Tony Galeota 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. Although he knows he could receive the death penalty, the money is too tempting to resist. Watch Locked Up Abroad Season 10 Episode 10 Miami Mobster Take Down Online The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. Eventually, he moved two dozen ladies to Panama City. Controlling it. 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. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. Panama had gone from paradise to purgatory. Reborn behind bars. 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. Sign Up. Years later, Tarzan again found himself behind bars, this time in Panama; in fact, he was serving time in 2011 when Russell first approached him for the documentary. Kristy was able to pay a lawyer $500 to get her son released, but there was no bond for Galeota's drug offense. On a crowded balcony overlooking La Joya, Galeota describes the past 16 months as a nightmare. Toni Galeota Profiles | Facebook one of the kids shouted as he pulled a handkerchief over his face and wildly swung a revolver. independent local journalism in Miami. He needed some help," he recalls. 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). He headed right to his beloved Miami, Florida. He didn't stay long. "Now I'm living in hell.". He soon finds himself wanting to be a mobster, and starts running errands for them. 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. As he sweated in jail, Galeota's Panamanian empire crumbled. While on routine patrol, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection plane spotted a suspicious speed boat. 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. See Photos. Has a stint in Panamanian prison reformed Miami's most notorious strip club manager? "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. And when his mother was distraught over a broken washing machine, he filled the house with new appliances.