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. "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. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. the agent said. "Another night at Porky's, another shooting," he remembers now from his prison cell in Panama. "Everybody give me your money!" "Like me, he was a black sheep who could do nothing right.". When he heard that his old partner in crime from Porky's had moved to Panama, he flew in to meet with Galeota. As for his career, his only oath is that he won't let his sons follow his example. "But I did it for my child.". document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Director Robin Dashwood Stars Alex Andreas Ricardo Burgos Tony Galeota Two days later, he was transferred to La Joya a hellish cinder-block complex an hour outside of Panama City. "The worst part of being in here is being in here for nothing. "We just meshed," she says. "It was puppy love," he says. local Journalism in South Florida. Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. Eventually, he moved two dozen ladies to Panama City. Guards with machine guns man rusty metal towers. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. He was a loan shark: generously offering money but punishing those who didn't pay back. Tony and Kristy were shocked and out of a job. Its our mission down there besides search and rescue. "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. He left, but returned with a gun. He offered protection and gave Galeota $200. But he insists that, for once, he has done nothing wrong. "A family type thing, like an ale house with wings and beer," he says. Everything here has a cost.". "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. Then once he sent me this crazy email like, Holy s***! "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. Half an hour later, Galeota was guarding the door when a car rolled up with the window down. At the entrance to La Joya, ant hills and wasp nests surround a wooden sign. "My wife could have left me. 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. But Tony had darker secrets. And, above all, selling it. The crew boarded the 165-foot Panamanian-flagged coastal freighter Hope II. 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. For the most part, Doll House dancers agree. 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. Michael Galeota Obituary (1984 - 2016) - Legacy 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). Juan felt like he had no choice, says Russell. The offload is a result of two successful drug interdictions in the Caribbean since August 23. 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. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. The drugs will be turned over to the DEA. The value then triples to $100,000 per kilo at the street level when it's busted down for individual use. Dalia Dippolito May Have Tried to Kill Him, But Michael Dippolito Is No Saint, Florida Man Wrestles Shark For Forty Five Minutes, Florida to Execute Death Row Prisoner Donald Dillbeck in February, "We Are Everywhere": Ominous Messages on Anti-Abortion Counseling Centers Prompt Federal Charges, So You're Saying There's (Still) a Chance: Dolphins Playoff Chances Dwindle After 26-20 Loss, Trashed American Flag Sparks Capitol Hill Kerfuffle, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Tony Galeota - Historical records and family trees - MyHeritage Tony Goleta Profiles | Facebook 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! He called his cartel contacts and arranged to meet them in the pickup area of the Madrid train station. Galeota says the police had already gotten what they wanted: Porky's demise. And, above all, selling it. Ludwig Fainberg a Russian-speaking Ukrainian nicknamed "Tarzan" for his flowing locks had opened it a few months earlier but ran it like a private club for Eastern Europeans. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. Controlling it. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. "Thank God I'm out," he tells New Times in his first interview since his release. He escaped with his life and went on the run, aiming to avoid the cartel, Interpol and US law enforcers. Wrongly imprisoned. So we met with a realtor, got high, and Tony got stupid with money. He is currently being held in Italy. "Now I'm living in hell.". But bloodshed would follow them to Miami. "That clean, business-friendly, postcard-Panama bullshit is just a faade," Galeota says. The Coast Guard said each one of the kilos is worth $33,000. (CBS Miami). When he left to open a bona fide brothel in Panama, Galeota thought the country's lax prostitution laws would make him rich. 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. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. Wrongly imprisoned. Tony Galeota Profiles | Facebook "Keep your fucking hands off the girl!" We have a lot of laughs about it now," he says. They taught him the rules, the most important of which Galeota took to heart: "You can have your girlfriends on the side," he remembers hearing, "but never leave your wife.". In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. local news and culture, Michael E. Miller This time, I'm innocent.". 4:00AM. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." Again, Tony's friends in New York told him where to go. Furious and Busted Rick Cedar steals radios to support his family. But Monday morning, when it came time to walk out of La Joya, there was no vehicle waiting. "Last week we were supposed to have a hearing, but there was no running water in Panama City. 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. 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 needed some help," he recalls. "No one can tell us how long he will be in there," she says. While Kristy was still in the States, he lived with five of his Colombian prostitutes. Documentary Drama When Miami mobster Tony Galeota opens a club in Panama City, the competition frames him for drug dealing and human trafficking. When his dad lost his job, Tony paid the bills. But Fainberg wasn't in town to catch up. Inside, the bar is still littered with half-empty bottles of Chivas Regal. In hand-painted white lettering, it reads, "Dear visitors. And when his mother was distraught over a broken washing machine, he filled the house with new appliances. Awards. Yester told the Colombians that theyd have to pay $35 million for the vessel, even though Tarzan had talked the price down to $5.5 million plus just $600 for a crew to pilot it to Colombia. I have to tell you, all my enemies are dead, and Im happy, he says in the documentary. 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. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. 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 and his "girls" in the Doll House, before the bust. For a while, Panama's pay-to-play culture suited Galeota just fine. MICHAEL GALEOTA OBITUARY. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. Facilitating it. Galeota examines a bruise from a prison fight in La Joya. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. Panamanian newspapers put "Operation Fiesta" on the front page as prosecutors alleged Galeota was part of an international crime ring. Explore More. And twice they had given up. "She hasn't worked for 15 years. Prostitution is legal in Panama," he complains. They tried to squeeze Fainberg to get Seidle. Tony Galeota, Infamous Miami Strip Club Manager - Miami New Times "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. These interdiction's were part of Operation Martillo, an international operation to fight illegal trafficking. There was a spate of murders, several police raids, and a federal drug-trafficking trial. ", - 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. "It was puppy love," he says. CAKEGATE 2023: Bad Bunny's Restaurant Accused of Gobbling Birthday Girl's Cake, Neighborhood Nazi Jon Minadeo Peddles Hate by the Minute, 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. He met with mobsters in Cali mansions full of women, and he knocked on random doors in search of dancers. It was a Foxtrot-class submarine, or Project 641 as the Soviets called it. "He had that guido effect on me," she says. Making the documentary, he says: I found the story so compelling and so riveting that I was just relentlessly magnetized to it. Juan, Tarzan and law enforcement insisted there was no way hed agree to participate in the documentary. 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. Prosecutors charged Galeota and Fainberg with not only drug dealing but also human trafficking. Disney Star Michael Galeota Death: Brother Jimmy Opens Up About Family Join the New Times community and help support independent But it bored him. Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint, to Rotting More than 500 inmates crowd into a cell block designed for 200. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. Kristy was a self-described "firecracker" who had also escaped from an abusive home and wanted attention. "Luis pulled out a .38 and shot the guy in the chest. "My wife could have left me. 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?. "Anthony has been in jail for more than 15 months, and a judge hasn't even heard his case yet!" The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. Because of his age, he escaped with six months' probation. By then, the club's criminal clientele and Fainberg's increasingly lavish lifestyle had raised eyebrows. I'm kind of stuck with it. This looks great. . We asked them some questions and some of their information didnt quite add up, so we conducted a boarding.. He turned himself in a few days later, but the lounge's owner decided to close the cursed club. In January 2017, Almeida got federally charged by the Drug Enforcement Administration with conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute. 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. 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. "Maybe we didn't have the permits we were supposed to have, but we're foreigners who didn't understand the rules.". "Running a club in that neighborhood, win or lose, you've got to fight.". He created a souped-up cigarette boat that went for $2 million and was presumably used to transport cocaine. Prosecutors say police never filed the necessary paperwork. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. 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. "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. Seidle was never charged with a crime. "I couldn't take all the people who wanted to come.". Thanks to a successful appeal, Almeida served only 18 months for his part in the sub caper. But his mind was on another kind of riches. 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. Tony Galeota has a wife named Kristy Galeota, with whom he lives. Join the New Times community and help support His attorney has warned him that prosecutors will likely appeal, so he plans to stay in Panama until his case is resolved. 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 Hialeah, Fla., strip club, Porkys: famous for a small motorized car that pulled up between the spread legs of dancers as they performed. When Galeota arrived, his mobster reputation preceded him. 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. 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. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. Police again surrounded Porky's in the early hours of May 9, 2009. The bartender hid in the bathroom and dialed 911. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. In court statements and interviews with New Times, they said Galeota gave them contracts to sign, cell phones and computers to use, and apartments in which to live. When Galeota stood up, he checked his T-shirt for bullet holes, but found none. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. See Photos. Also read: Tony Galeota: From Running. Somewhere between his native Ukraine, Israel, and Russia, he'd shed his trademark long hair and changed his name to Alon Bar. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. 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. "He never forced us to do anything. Find your friends on Facebook. There was nothing unusual about it. But all the cops found were five grams of weed, a bottle of Viagra, and some mysterious yellow pills. More detailed reports on the crimes weren't available. They finally fled the country this past July, leaving Tony alone. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. 4:00AM. Back in South Florida, Kristy Galeota vacillates between outrage and empathy for her husband. He answered only to property owner William Seidle, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee who ran a chain of car dealerships. Research > Galeota > Tony Galeota. "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. All he needed now were the prostitutes. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Moment teenager crashes into back of lorry after 100mph police race, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Ukrainian soldier takes out five tanks with Javelin missiles. 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. 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. 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. They went Maserati shopping by helicopter so they could look at the cars from the air. 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. 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. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. It was a caper, for sure., He says: Tarzan was the lynchpin to it, because it was his story. "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. 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. "I was 16 years old and amazed," he says. "I just watched Luis blow a guy away," Galeota heard himself say on tape. But the man's paws were soon on her crotch again. ", Tony Galeota and fellow defendant Alon "Tarzan" Bar during better days in their Panama club The Doll House, After bribing half the guards at La Joya, Galeota was taken to an immigration holding center in Panama City where he and four co-defendants were kept for four more days. "There were beautiful girls, just walking the streets, giving blowjobs for $10 or $15.". When Bill Seidle died, Galeota knew the club's days were numbered. As the authorities closed in, they picked up Juan and Tarzan, but they couldnt find Tony and neither could the cartel. Galeota also found himself in the back of an unmarked FBI car. Michael Galeota Obituary (1984 - 2016) - Pontotoc, MS - Pontotoc Progress But the hassle had taken its toll on him. "This case has had a big impact here," says Jos Otero, a reporter for Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. See Photos. The Porky's party nearly came to a sudden end in early 1997. Filthy and crowded cell block of La Joya Prison, Panama. one of the kids shouted as he pulled a handkerchief over his face and wildly swung a revolver. "But she's never going to forget. He was recently sentenced to serve around six years in federal prison. Toni Galeota Profiles | Facebook I told Juan, I said, Hey. Tony Gogetta. 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. 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). Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. 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. 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. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. 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. "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. The Marin Post "This case has had a big impact here," says Jos Otero, a reporter for Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. 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 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. But the story of how the documentary got made is nearly as crazy as the caper plot itself. In the second interdiction, a Customs plane spotted another suspicious boat off the coast of Panama on August 28th. 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. Eventually, however, he made his way to Tarzan. Watch Locked Up Abroad Season 10 Episode 10 Miami Mobster Take Down Online Police repeatedly raided the club, yet Galeota escaped unscathed every time. He headed right to his beloved Miami, Florida. While Galeota avoided testifying, Fainberg faced 30 counts including racketeering and conspiracy to traffic cocaine and heroin. We had a $500,000 house, cars, and motorcycles. He soon finds himself wanting to be a mobster, and starts running errands for them. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss A prisoner poses with a gun smuggled into La Joya with help from guards. Michael Galeota Obituary (1984 - 2016) Chicago Sun-Times I hoped to walk away from the deal with $10 million.. It was coke or pimping or messing with the wrong people.. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. 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. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. Again, the charges were dropped. He hired 'Fat Tony' Galeota as Porky's manager. Everybody wanted to make money. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. In an instant, Galeota's meaty hand was around the customer's neck, shoving him outside. Controlling it. He was hilarious and charming and garrulous, and it was as if hed stepped right out of a Scorsese movie, Russell says, adding: You know whats the funny thing people dont know about docs? Sheila Flynn For Dailymail.com Its impossible but only because its true. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. "I lived it up in Miami," he says. 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. It was a weeknight, and Porky's was washed in pale-pink neon light. "My wife can say she has regrets, but that's bullshit," he says. This time, I'm innocent.". Log In or Sign Up Tonia Galeota See Photos Antonio Galeota See Photos Tony Galeota See Photos Toni Galea See Photos Toni Colletto See Photos Toni Torres Galea Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. Rats, roaches, and beetles the size of Chihuahuas crawl over inmates at night. I gave each of my kids a Rolex when they were 5 years old. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. Although he knows he could receive the death penalty, the money is too tempting to resist. Yester, a highly regarded affiliate of multiple cocaine cartels, opened European markets for Colombian narco-terrorist Pablo Escobar and went on the run in 1990 after being charged with cocaine trafficking. While out of sight, he phoned his guy and lied about being in a particular taxi cab. Meet me in Africa for a cup of coffee tomorrow.. See also: "From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra.". "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. 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.". Kristy was able to pay a lawyer $500 to get her son released, but there was no bond for Galeota's drug offense. "It was home to a lot of shrewd and nefarious characters.". "It's not an easy choice," she says. 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. Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. But Galeota was convinced the cops were bluffing and refused to cooperate. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. And I'm not asking her to.". "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James.
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