"I want to go legit when I get out, but if the economy is bad, I might go back to the industry," he says. Tony Kaleta. Galeota's enemies say that a life of sin has finally caught up with the flesh-peddler. The charismatic teenager sold the stolen suits or electronics at strip clubs or used-car lots. A friend suggested Panama. "It was a nightmare in there. 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.
Banged Up Abroad - National Geographic for everyone in everywhere We travelled all the time. 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. one of the kids shouted as he pulled a handkerchief over his face and wildly swung a revolver. If Galeota is freed, it will be a major blow for Panama's prostitution crackdown. "They knew some Russian guy named Tarzan who had just opened up a club in Miami called Porky's. 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. The drugs will be turned over to the DEA. When Galeota arrived, his mobster reputation preceded him. 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. 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. If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Kristy and his sons hid in a shabby, poorly protected office. He bought seven properties pretty much sight unseen.". "Miami is a place where I would love to live," he pronounced, "and where I would love to die." His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. "It was puppy love," he says. The offload is a result of two successful drug interdictions in the Caribbean since August 23. "Now I'm living in hell.". Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. By
"I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." Tony Galeota Age And Family. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Ten million dollars really feels like 10 million dollars, he gushes in the movie. "Luis pulled out a .38 and shot the guy in the chest. "They had what seemed like a dynamite case, but it has ended up in pieces.". "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. The irony is not lost on Galeota that after a life of crime in Miami, he was arrested in Panama just as he was going legit. Miami's independent source of "I just watched Luis blow a guy away," Galeota heard himself say on tape. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. 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. While Kristy was still in the States, he lived with five of his Colombian prostitutes. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. He was, after all, working with an American playboy in Miami and a fugitive Cuban spy to procure this submarine. "It was a very violent atmosphere," he says. People named Toni Galeota Find your friends on Facebook Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. 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. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. But she insists that her husband's imprisonment has brought them closer. "Thank God I'm out," he tells New Times in his first interview since his release. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. Prisoners eat stale bread and a slice of cheese for breakfast; rice and sometimes beans is their lunch and dinner. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Kristy caught Tony cheating several times, she says. Instead, he says competitors pulled government strings to screw him. 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. October 4, 2012 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. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. Were out there to cause an effect in the drug industry and I believe we made a little dent on it.. Galeota already lived according to a gangster's code. Meet me in Africa for a cup of coffee tomorrow.. "I couldn't take all the people who wanted to come.". I never got a straight answer [about why he was in jail there], says Russell. The Coast Guard said four suspected smugglers were taken into custody and 32 bales of cocaine were found in the water. 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. But he insists that, for once, he has done nothing wrong. 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. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. 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. The club was very successful. When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. Running an underworld operation in Cocaine Cowboys-era Miami wasn't an easy gig. In hand-painted white lettering, it reads, "Dear visitors. "They shot him in the middle of the night," Galeota continues quietly, "and buried his body behind the pavilion.". "It was so slow I couldn't take it," he says. As for his career, his only oath is that he won't let his sons follow his example. Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. While on routine patrol, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection plane spotted a suspicious speed boat. Police repeatedly raided the club, yet Galeota escaped unscathed every time. "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. Panama had gone from paradise to purgatory. "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James. Two agents told him that they'd been tapping his phone for months. Tony Galeota. See Photos. It was a Foxtrot-class submarine, or Project 641 as the Soviets called it. ), The narcotics charge, however, still stands despite little evidence linking Galeota to the drugs. By the mid-'90s, Galeota had turned Porky's into a one-stop shop for strippers, sex, and serious drugs. According to the Coast Guard: It first took place north of the Gulf of Uraba. Director Tiller Russell tells DailyMail.com that hed heard rumblings and rumors about the insane deal, but it was about seven years ago when he first got a concrete lead about Tarzan and his cronies. But the Doll House and Moulin Rouge remain closed. In January 1997, after he dropped his daughter off at school, Tarzan was arrested and hit with a 30-count federal indictment. The two were married in 1994 at a wedding full of mobsters. 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. We are no longer accepting comments on this article.
Tony Galeta Profiles | Facebook When traffickers balked at the price, Yester reminded them that it could hold 40 tons of cocaine and would pay for itself quickly. 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.
Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. It was a weeknight, and Porky's was washed in pale-pink neon light. Filthy and crowded cell block of La Joya Prison, Panama. Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. But Galeota's problems aren't completely behind him. By the time they returned to Long Island later that night, a pimp was born. ", Coast Guard Offloads More Than $93 Million In Cocaine, Miami Beach. ), 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 and Kristy were shocked and out of a job. This story has been shared 121,048 times. Join the New Times community and help support I'm kind of stuck with it. "I don't care how strong you are; that's going to affect your marriage," she says. He also owned the Russian restaurant Babushka, which was a magnet for snowbirding criminals from his homeland. They arrested 18 suspects, including Galeota, several strippers, and most employees. I gave each of my kids a Rolex when they were 5 years old. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. It is not known when he was born or his current age. Its our mission down there besides search and rescue. Is this possible, to buy a military submarine - used one? And he said, What a question! He was 31.
Porky's: Notes from inside South Florida's sleaziest strip club With little oversight, military leaders acted as if they were independent of the government. Biography. Galeota is not exactly repentant. 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. Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. But Tony had darker secrets. "Many times, I worried about him getting killed. During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. Galeota's wife Kristy comments "Porky's was definitely a place you could get killed." 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. I flew to a little island near St. Petersburg, met with a retired Russian admiral, and he took me to the navy base, says Tarzan. Finally, on May 23, the gate on Galeota's cramped cell swung open, and he was free to go. Twice, American authorities had investigated Galeota. 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. "But she's never going to forget. SO I started with the cops and I had been kind of circling the others without knowing if it was really possible or not. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. "I was just numb.". Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra. "We were doing fantastic, but Tarzan got bored and started living the life," Galeota explains. This story has been shared 173,716 times. It wasn't until he ordered some Italian food and a cold Guinness that he finally felt like he was free. (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. 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. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. ", 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. "Last week we were supposed to have a hearing, but there was no running water in Panama City. Dancers with names like Baby Doll, Tipsie, Trixie, and Crme offered to have sex with the cops for as little as $150, court records show. or. We've been here for two years!' Galeota yelled. I was literally on a press tour for the last film, and I was in New York doing interviews and stuff I called the producers and said, Do you think we can get a million dollars in the next five days?. The Doll House couldn't expand fast enough to meet the influx of sex tourists. Then they pushed play on a cassette deck. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. This time, I'm innocent.". View Tony Galeota's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. 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. "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. Its a great success overall. 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. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. After that, Kristy closed Bongos. 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. 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. 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. If he didnt give them the information, he was afraid that he would have gotten killed, and he was probably right., In the meantime, Yester may have been too in love with his eight-figure haul to really care and there was ultimately no retribution against his family. Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. He was 31. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. Luckier still, a powerful Colombian inmate named Mauricio Ramrez recognized Galeota from his restaurant. When his dad lost his job, Tony paid the bills. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. 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. 4:00AM. 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. Johns paid $100 to rent a VIP room downstairs. When youre rolling with the criminal underworld, its always weird; its really weird in Russia.. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. But his mind was on another kind of riches. Find your friends on Facebook. But Tarzan a seasoned wheeler-dealer, strip club owner and former mob enforcer took it in his stride and went back to his partners with the response. Research > Galeota > Tony Galeota. It was 1990, and Galeota transformed the place by wiring in subwoofers and bringing in New York dancers. she scoffs.
Watch Locked Up Abroad TV Show - Streaming Online | Nat Geo TV and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, running Miami's most infamous strip club, Porky's, 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. A man deeply embedded with Escobar's Medelln cartel, Tony had a notorious reputation as "a really bad guy"he was once caught with 41 passports, and featured on his own 1999 episode of America's. 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. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. "It was a nightmare in there.". He left, but returned with a gun. He needed some help," he recalls. 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. Tony Galeota has a wife named Kristy Galeota, with whom he lives. 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. 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. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. 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. While Galeota avoided testifying, Fainberg faced 30 counts including racketeering and conspiracy to traffic cocaine and heroin. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. "Running a club in that neighborhood, win or lose, you've got to fight.". When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich.