Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? Three weeks after the Doll House raid, Kristy was working the bar at Bongos when three teenagers walked into the restaurant. ", - 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. Catherine says she slept with customers because she needed the money to support her family. A horde of rattlesnakes inexplicably descends into "Eden Valley," terrorizing an isolated family and forcing them to fight for their lives. Tony and Delores Galeota gave 10 acres on Littleton Road and the Ring family gave 1.7 acres on Warren Avenue. View Tony Galeota's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. This time, I'm innocent.". The bartender hid in the bathroom and dialed 911. This is a guy that the FBI went after for years but could never get him. Prosecutors charged Galeota and Fainberg with not only drug dealing but also human trafficking. But bloodshed would follow them to Miami. Inside, the bar is still littered with half-empty bottles of Chivas Regal. Russian mobsters learned about their comrade’s successful venture, and adopted the club as a virtual office. But this was Hialeah.". What we really need is an outside investigation into Velasquez's actions, such as: 1) Why did Velasquez ignore the SAO recommendation to suspend JM? Staff, "It's not an easy choice," she says. "They would describe what they looked like," Galeota says. So the translator said she couldn't take a shower, didn't show up, and the case was delayed. He loved flying airplanes, shooting and hunting. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. A year later, it was $115,000 per month.". But Fainberg wasn't in town to catch up. He was soon promoted from DJing weddings to robbing delivery trucks for the Paccione clan (which federal court records tie to the infamous Gambino crime family). Santiago de Cali shone in the syrupy South American sunlight filling Colombia's Cauca River Valley. ..... Panamanian newspapers put "Operation Fiesta" on the front page as prosecutors alleged Galeota was part of … Indeed, Tony would turn Porky's into a moneymaking machine. When Bill Seidle died, Galeota knew the club's days were numbered. Privacy, "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. Galeota is no angelic Andy Dufresne, the main character in Shawshank who serves two decades behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. Since we started Miami New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we would like to keep it that way. Prisoners eat stale bread and a slice of cheese for breakfast; rice — and sometimes beans — is their lunch and dinner. Indeed, court records show that Seidle was a target of the federal wiretapping investigation. "I was just numb.". By the time he was 18, he had been arrested seven times for armed robbery and assault, he says. "The first month, we had $15,000 in gross sales. When a dancer clapped her ass cheeks like a maraca, a customer's hands instinctively rose to touch them. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. Fainberg allegedly told undercover cops he had sent coke to Russia in a shipment of frozen shrimp and had bought six $1 million Russian military helicopters for the South Americans. I gave each of my kids a Rolex when they were 5 years old. "I don't care how strong you are; that's going to affect your marriage," she says. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox, Miami Restaurant Directory: Takeout/Delivery/Dine-in, Tony Galeota, Infamous Miami Strip Club Manager, Released From Prison in Panama, running Miami's most infamous strip club, Porky's, How a Russian Mobster in Miami Sold a Soviet Submarine to Colombian Coke Smugglers, 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, Rescued From Abuse in Miami Beach, This Good Boy Has a New Home, Poor, Black, and Sick Floridians Battle Big Sugar in Court. "Like me, he was a black sheep who could do nothing right.". The heavy-set Italian even signed a release. Kristy was a self-described "firecracker" who had also escaped from an abusive home and wanted attention. We've been here for two years!' Police repeatedly raided the club, yet Galeota escaped unscathed every time. 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. He sold the shop and in 2010 opened Bongos, a restaurant serving wings and beer. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. "Everybody give me your money!" (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. Cooking Channel, Crime + Investigation, Destination America, Discovery Family, Discovery Life, DIY Network, Military History Channel, and Science. He decked out the Doll House with five upstairs rooms equipped with king-size beds, mirrors, lube, condoms, and showers, and brought in dozens of Colombian women, who could earn $120 — split with the club — for an hour of sex. The Doll House couldn't expand fast enough to meet the influx of sex tourists. With William Katt, Shanna Reed, Michael Galeota, Monica Lacy. Help, Miami's independent source of local news and culture. $4.99/month. Court Records found View. The family will receive friends at HERITAGE FUNERAL CENTRE 50 Overlea Blvd., Toronto 416-423-1000 on Friday, October 16 from 4-8 p.m. The fear was well founded, considering what went down when Tarzan linked up with Cuban outlaws Juan Almeida and Nelson “Tony” Yester. Kristy was able to pay a lawyer $500 to get her son released, but there was no bond for Galeota's drug offense. 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. But Monday morning, when it came time to walk out of La Joya, there was no vehicle waiting. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. "There is no rehabilitation here," he says. The charismatic teenager sold the stolen suits or electronics at strip clubs or used-car lots. In an instant, Galeota's meaty hand was around the customer's neck, shoving him outside. At night, the guards lock the gate and leave, turning over control of each cell block to prisoners. "My family didn't care; they took it," Galeota says of the stolen goods. Rats, roaches, and beetles the size of Chihuahuas crawl over inmates at night. Privacy, Tony Galeota. "I've been in this business my whole life. Galeota may not be a good man, but he is brutally honest. But she insists that her husband's imprisonment has brought them closer. When Seidle died in 2008, Porky's political protection followed the 82-year-old to the grave. Review. Bonnie Galeota. "He never forced us to do anything. The Chief's cover up of Menocal's alleged sexual assault on a child smells dirty. This business has been very good to me.". 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, or even overhear Russian mobsters at the next table brokering a deal for a submarine to make cocaine smuggling more efficient. Gunshots flashed like fireworks in the darkness. ", "You hear that?" Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. But Galeota was convinced the cops were bluffing and refused to cooperate. Nobody was impressed more than Kristy Sharpe, an 18-year-old waitress from Orlando with blond hair, blue eyes, and lightly freckled skin. State and local police launched an investigation in February 2009. But his mind was on another kind of riches. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. Anthony Galeota's Reputation Profile. 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. "That's the problem.". It continued at another local strip club, called Quarterbacks Playmates Lounge. "You see who wants to fuck your wife, who wants to rob you, and who your real friends are.". In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. So sorry to hear of the passing of Mr.Saad,my condolences to the family.He was my blueprint reading teacher when I attended Prince Tech.in 1961-1965.Missed quite a few detentions in his class but had to pay the price by picking dandelions on school property for a month. "My wife can say she has regrets, but that's bullshit," he says. Most of them were robberies gone wrong or simple revenge. He and Kristy struck up an unlikely romance. "When you go to prison, it's like dying, but you get to see your own funeral," Galeota says. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. Support Us At the entrance to La Joya, ant hills and wasp nests surround a wooden sign. As the couple drove south on I-95, they thought they were leaving the worst behind them. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. By clicking 'X' or continuing to use the site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. 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. Criminal or Civil Court records found on Anthony's Family, Friends, Neighbors, or Classmates View Details. "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. Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". Support the independent voice of Miami and help keep the future of New Times free. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. Parents. Panama had gone from paradise to purgatory. Since we started Miami New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we would like to keep it that way. Find owner, residents, contact info & more for this 7,108 sq ft Single Family Residence built in 1978. Background Checks He met with mobsters in Cali mansions full of women, and he knocked on random doors in search of dancers. This is Me - Control Profile. But Galeota's problems aren't completely behind him. While another new prisoner was beaten and robbed, Galeota was untouched. "This case has had a big impact here," says José Otero, a reporter for Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. Over the course of three months, undercover detectives made dozens of visits, tallying up a vivid snapshot of the club: "15 purchases of cocaine, four purchases of MDMA, one purchase of Xanax, one purchase of marijuana, 18 solicitations for prostitution, [and] 20 lewd acts.". When the bartender told Shea it was last call, he became enraged. Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. Support the independent voice of Miami and help keep the future of New Times free. Panama's judicial system is outdated and overburdened, she says. We didn't even have to have sex unless we wanted to," says a Colombian stripper named Catherine. FATHER. "It was puppy love," he says. McDonald expects those will be dismissed as well, but not for months. About Us, 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. He'd already invested in seven apartments in Panama City and rented a storefront on the capital's seediest street, where prostitution was legal. We both understand that.". By then, the club's criminal clientele and Fainberg's increasingly lavish lifestyle had raised eyebrows. He faced nine years in prison, but because he provided evidence against Almeida, he served just three years before being deported to his adopted homeland of Israel. Galeota is not exactly repentant. Lock. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back. David Galeota. Galeota says the police had already gotten what they wanted: Porky's demise. "Luis pulled out a .38 and shot the guy in the chest. Kristy caught Tony cheating several times, she says. When Galeota arrived in Miami in the summer of 1991, the city was awash in coke, crack, and drug cash. "It was a nightmare in there. 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. Even then, however, he couldn't sleep. "It was so slow I couldn't take it," he says. Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes. When Kristy and their three sons finally arrived in June, the business became a family affair: His wife took over at Bongos, while Galeota concentrated on turning the club into a cash machine. ... brothers Joseph, Frank and Tony, and a great granddaughter Evoleht. Galeota already lived according to a gangster's code. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. The dead and dying are piled into wheelbarrows and left by the front gate until guards arrive in the morning. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. While Galeota avoided testifying, Fainberg faced 30 counts including racketeering and conspiracy to traffic cocaine and heroin. "That's obstruction of justice.". Sixteen months later, the two men have yet to appear in court. Through the airplane window, Tony Galeota could see the city's colonial churches glow like polished gold. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: California Privacy Policy | California Collection Notice | Do Not Sell My Info. "I'm in survival mode now," Galeota says, adding that he agonizes over being imprisoned for what he believes are unjust charges. The Jersey as Nick Lighter (TV Series 1999-2004) January 1, 2017. 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. Reborn behind bars. "But I've always paid for ­everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. BROTHER(S) NAME. Buy Locked Up Abroad: Season 10 Episode 10 on Google Play, then watch on your PC, Android, or iOS devices. When his dad lost his job, Tony paid the bills. All he needed now were the prostitutes. And I'm not asking her to.". The two ran Porky's for another decade after Fainberg's deportation. It was February 2011, and he was preparing to open the Doll House, his own strip club in Panama. Arnold Galeota. The family will receive friends at the Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home 211 Langstaff Road East (west of Bayview Ave.) from 11:30 am to 1:30pm on Saturday, August 13th. But Galeota's plan would soon go catastrophically wrong. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. The domestic bliss lasted only a couple of weeks. the agent said. Prostitution was so common at Porky's that the club had fixed places and prices, Galeota says. Somewhere between his native Ukraine, Israel, and Russia, he'd shed his trademark long hair and changed his name to Alon Bar. The obituary was featured in Boston Globe on September 28, 2008. Terms, ", See also: "From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra.". But when he opens a new club in Panama City, the competition isn't happy and frames him for drug dealing and human trafficking. A deep bass line rattled customers' chests as they downed overpriced drinks. We traveled all the time. His government protection would evaporate, the Doll House would be raided, his investments would be stolen, and he would be arrested. A judge eventually dropped the human trafficking charge, but Galeota still rotted in his sordid cell alongside insects the size of small dogs. MOTHER. They arrested 18 suspects, including Galeota, several strippers, and most employees. ... Drug Dealer Revenge Dealers threatened Robert's family if he didn't smuggle. He broke it off with the woman, but his problems were only beginning. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: California Privacy Policy | California Collection Notice | Do Not Sell My Info. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. By clicking 'X' or continuing to use the site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. But all the cops found were five grams of weed, a bottle of Viagra, and some mysterious yellow pills. Galeota believes that his arrest has little to do with a renewed commitment to the law in Panama. Galeota was crammed into a sweltering holding cell with 150 others. 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. Join the New Times community and help support independent local journalism in Miami. ), The narcotics charge, however, still stands despite little evidence linking Galeota to the drugs. Johns paid $100 to rent a VIP room downstairs. Again, the charges were dropped. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighborhood until he found a shabby motel. During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. Galeota also found himself in the back of an unmarked FBI car. Tony Galeota. "I wouldn't leave a dog in that prison, let alone my husband.". When he discovered he was about to be subpoenaed, he withdrew $2,500 from the bank and boarded a two-week Caribbean cruise. Panamanian newspapers put "Operation Fiesta" on the front page as prosecutors alleged Galeota was part of an international crime ring. "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. "The worst part of being in here is being in here for nothing. More detailed reports on the crimes weren't available. Amadeo P. Galeota, 94, of South Windsor, beloved husband of 68 years of Ercel C. Galeota, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 5, 2017 at The Villages at Buckland Court in South Windsor. All rights reserved. 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. As for his career, his only oath is that he won't let his sons follow his example. Kristy and his sons hid in a shabby, poorly protected office. Galeota tried going straight, opening a coffee shop in downtown Panama City. "We treated the women well.". Fame & Address. Helen and Tony Galeota. "I couldn't take all the people who wanted to come.". Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy. Has a stint in Panamanian prison reformed Miami's most notorious strip club manager? 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. The Miami New Times may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. "Keep your fucking hands off the girl!" He bought seven properties pretty much sight unseen.". "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. "I was always looking for their approval," he says, "but I never got that. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. The Miami New Times may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. ", McDonald has succeeded, however, in chipping away at the case, persuading a judge three weeks ago to drop the trafficking charge on a technicality. As he sweated in jail, Galeota's Panamanian empire crumbled. The last one locked the door. How old is Michael Galeota: 32 years Male Birthday: August 28, 1984 Sun sign: Virgo Nationality: Long Island, New York, United States Michael Galeota siblings: Jimmy Galeota, Tony Galeota, David Galeota Death date: January 10, 2016 He answered only to property owner William Seidle, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee who ran a chain of car dealerships. If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. Galeota was hit with felony drug and prostitution charges. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. But he was too shell-shocked to take up his attorney's offer for a ride to a nice hotel. Careers, Support Us When Galeota arrived, his mobster reputation preceded him. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism.