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. Through the air plane window, Tony Galeota could see the city's colonial churches glow like polished gold. Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. He was recently sentenced to serve around six years in federal prison. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. Coast Guard members who seized the cocaine said this is what their jobs are all about. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. They went Maserati shopping by helicopter so they could look at the cars from the air. "The investigation was so poorly handled and rushed," says Otero, the journalist. In January 1997, after he dropped his daughter off at school, Tarzan was arrested and hit with a 30-count federal indictment. "Keep your fucking hands off the girl!" According to the Coast Guard: It first took place north of the Gulf of Uraba. A year later, it was $115,000 per month.". This time, the feds took over the strip club before selling it to new owners, with one requirement: Neither Galeota nor anyone else from the old club could ever work there again. 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. 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. 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 "Now I'm living in hell.". This looks great. . Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. Over the years, Galeota saw nearly a dozen shootings at Porky's, some of them fatal. But Tony had darker secrets. "You see who wants to fuck your wife, who wants to rob you, and who your real friends are.". The drugs will be turned over to the DEA. This story has been shared 121,048 times. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. The two ran Porky's for another decade after Fainberg's deportation. 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While Galeota avoided testifying, Fainberg faced 30 counts including racketeering and conspiracy to traffic cocaine and heroin. But the deal never happened. In January 2017, Almeida got federally charged by the Drug Enforcement Administration with conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. So we met with a realtor, got high, and Tony got stupid with money. That didnt stop Russell from trying to get them on board with doing a film about the submarine deal. Galeota already lived according to a gangster's code. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. Russian mobsters learned about their comrade's successful venture, and adopted the club as a virtual office. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. When his younger brother was molested, he beat the suspected perpetrator to a pulp. Sometimes we get a little excited when we find the amount of cocaine we found, said Castro. "I was just numb.". ", McDonald has succeeded, however, in chipping away at the case, persuading a judge three weeks ago to drop the trafficking charge on a technicality. Banks seized all seven of his apartments. 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. 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. Greed got the better of him. Furious and Busted Rick Cedar steals radios to support his family. Inside the prison, the sign is a running joke. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Miami's independent source of Business was better, but it still wouldn't make him rich. If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. This story has been shared 173,716 times. Galeota's enemies say that a life of sin has finally caught up with the flesh-peddler. the agent said. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. 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. "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago," Tony Galeota says. "They knew some Russian guy named Tarzan who had just opened up a club in Miami called Porky's. When traffickers balked at the price, Yester reminded them that it could hold 40 tons of cocaine and would pay for itself quickly. Tony Galeota lived in 1954, at address, Massachusetts. "The worst part of being in here is being in here for nothing. He didn't stay long. 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. He bought seven properties pretty much sight unseen.". She's forgiven me, for the most part. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. With little oversight, military leaders acted as if they were independent of the government. 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. He'd already invested in seven apartments in Panama City and rented a storefront on the capital's seediest street, where prostitution was legal. 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. 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. Sheila Flynn For Dailymail.com The eight crew members aboard the Hope II and the vessel were taken into custody and will be turned over to U.S. officials for further investigation. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. Facebook Email or phone Password Forgot account? "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. The Doll House couldn't expand fast enough to meet the influx of sex tourists. 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. MICHAEL GALEOTA OBITUARY. Girls charged $150 or more for sex. They put a hit out on him when he disappeared with the money, while Juan and Tarzan took the legal fall in Miami. Almeida was a specialist in obtaining black-market goods for status-crazed drug dealers. When one inmate killed another, the dead man's gang on the outside murdered the inmate's entire family, Galeota says. A kilo of cocaine in Panama costs much less - about $5,000 per. 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His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. Get started U.S. Yearbooks Name Index, 1890-1979. Biography. "I was just numb.". "My wife could have left me. Tony went on the run with the money the drug cartel provided up front, however, as authorities closed in - meaning the deal never happened, Tarzan got deported, Juan was (temporarily) convicted on drug charges and Tony became a fugitive not just from justice but from the hit that was put out on his head. "Last week we were supposed to have a hearing, but there was no running water in Panama City. But killings are common in Panama's worst prison, where the smell of raw sewage wafts over the yard, metal shackles hang from moldy staircases, and overcrowded cells house nearly 3,500 of the Western Hemisphere's vilest murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. Catherine says she slept with customers because she needed the money to support her family. 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). As the authorities closed in, they picked up Juan and Tarzan, but they couldnt find Tony and neither could the cartel. Facilitating it. But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. The Coast Guard said the eight-member crew cooperated and was taken into custody. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back, Just not a strip club. 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. Kristy and his sons hid in a shabby, poorly protected office. "When you go to prison, it's like dying, but you get to see your own funeral," Galeota says. Awards. "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. "This country is corrupt. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. "We just meshed," she says. It had been ten years since U.S. Has a stint in Panamanian prison reformed Miami's most notorious strip club manager? His school friends didn't believe him, so a few days later he sneaked out, stole his mom's minivan, and drove around the neighborhood loading up with other teens. The lessons in crime didn't come fast enough for Galeota to stay out of trouble. Even then, however, he couldn't sleep. Days go by without water, and when it does arrive, it's turbid sludge from a nearby river. Reborn behind bars. 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. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. He and Kristy struck up an unlikely romance. He escaped with his life and went on the run, aiming to avoid the cartel, Interpol and US law enforcers. 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. One scammer stole from another scammer; of course I accept it, he says. 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. "My wife is never going to completely trust me. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida 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. And there was absolutely no bullshit. 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. Indeed, court records show that Seidle was a target of the federal wiretapping investigation. "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James. Sheila Flynn For Dailymail.com, Smashing the Sinaloa cartel: Major coup for DEA as agents seize $6MILLION cash, hundreds of pounds of narcotics and indict 75 across America for 'laundering drug money for El Chapo's gang', Is this proof that British aristocrat did NOT smuggle drugs into Africa? Twice, American authorities had investigated Galeota. And last year, Yester was finally arrested in Rome on charges unrelated to the submarine while en route to a wedding. Rats, roaches, and beetles the size of Chihuahuas crawl over inmates at night. The nightmare deepened for Galeota. While out of sight, he phoned his guy and lied about being in a particular taxi cab. 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. The Coast Guard said four suspected smugglers were taken into custody and 32 bales of cocaine were found in the water. In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. "This case has had a big impact here," says Jos Otero, a reporter for Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. 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. I'm kind of stuck with it. We've received your submission. Seidle was never charged with a crime. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. On June 19, 2011, Tony and his oldest son, 15-year-old Anthony Jr., had just sat down to eat wings in the Doll House office around 11 p.m. when the gold-painted doors burst open. "They had what seemed like a dynamite case, but it has ended up in pieces.". Three weeks after the Doll House raid, Kristy was working the bar at Bongos when three teenagers walked into the restaurant. By the mid-'90s, Galeota had turned Porky's into a one-stop shop for strippers, sex, and serious drugs. Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. The smugglers boat was destroyed because it was a hazard to navigation. There was a spate of murders, several police raids, and a federal drug-trafficking trial. But Galeota was convinced the cops were bluffing and refused to cooperate. In the second interdiction, a Customs plane spotted another suspicious boat off the coast of Panama on August 28th. "It was a real moneymaker. 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. Tony Goleta. On a Sunday night in July of 1991, a 29-year-old electrician named Phillip John Shea came into Quarterbacks shortly after Tony and Kristy left. Tony Kaleta. Kristy caught Tony cheating several times, she says. Kristy was a self-described "firecracker" who had also escaped from an abusive home and wanted attention. When Seidle died in 2008, Porky's political protection followed the 82-year-old to the grave. 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. "We treated the women well.". Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". I hoped to walk away from the deal with $10 million.. "Another night at Porky's, another shooting," he remembers now from his prison cell in Panama. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. But he was too shell-shocked to take up his attorney's offer for a ride to a nice hotel. Back in South Florida, Kristy Galeota vacillates between outrage and empathy for her husband. 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. See Photos. It was a Foxtrot-class submarine, or Project 641 as the Soviets called it. Join the New Times community and help support independent If only there were a place where prostitution was legal, he thought, a city full of beautiful women like Miami, but no rules. Then an old friend showed up. "My wife can say she has regrets, but that's bullshit," he says. By the time they returned to Long Island later that night, a pimp was born. All the services here are free. Log In. SO I started with the cops and I had been kind of circling the others without knowing if it was really possible or not. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. Then she'd charge my friends $50 each," he says. He called his cartel contacts and arranged to meet them in the pickup area of the Madrid train station. "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. Director Robin Dashwood Stars Alex Andreas Ricardo Burgos Tony Galeota He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. . October 4, 2012 You could not mislead him in any way or you could tell that the consequences could be serious, but I loved him. His Doll House dream began at Porky's. "Then they'd tell me: 'They are as good as dead.'". ", 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. 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. 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.