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36-561: The Tropicana evolved out of a nightclub called Edén Concert, operated in the late 1930s by the late Cuban impresario Victor de Correa. The club was a combination casino and cabaret located on a rented property in Marianao from Guillermina Pérez Chaumont, known as Mina. The tropical gardens of the Villa Mina provided a natural setting for an outdoor cabaret. In December 1939, de Correa moved his company of singers, dancers and musicians into

72-545: A Coney Island restaurant in Brooklyn . While they played cards, Luciano allegedly excused himself to the bathroom, with the gunmen reportedly being Anastasia, Genovese, Adonis, and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel ; Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova drove the getaway car, but legend has it that he was too shaken up to drive away and Siegel had to shove him out of the driver's seat. With Maranzano's blessing, Luciano took over Masseria's gang and became Maranzano's lieutenant, ending

108-529: A converted mansion located on the estate. De Correa provided the food and entertainment, while Rafael Mascaro and Luis Bular operated the casino located in the chandeliered dining room of the estate's mansion. Costumes designed by Juan Emilio Daudinot. Originally known as El Beau-Site, de Correa decided to rename it The Tropicana. With a fanfare from the Alfredo Brito Orchestra El Tropicana opened on December 30, 1939. Martín Fox,

144-500: A gambler rented table space in the casino. By 1950 he took over the lease of what would become The Tropicana, he hired Max Borges Jr. to design an expansion that would be known as Los Arcos de Cristal . Truffin Ave. & Linea (B-4544). "This claims to be the largest and most beautiful nightclub in the world. Located on what was once an extensive private estate, Tropicana has two complete sets of stages, table areas, and dance floors. If

180-476: A multi-billion dollar international organized crime empire. Trafficante was reportedly a multi-billionaire and wielded enormous power and influence all over the United States and Cuba by paying off police, judges, federal prosecutors, city officials, government officials, local and international politicians, mayors, governors, senators, congressmen, CIA agents and FBI agents. Trafficante maintained links to

216-484: A secret deal with Maranzano, Luciano agreed to engineer Masseria's death in return for receiving Masseria's rackets and becoming Maranzano's second-in-command. Joe Adonis had joined the Masseria faction and when Masseria heard about Luciano's betrayal, he approached Adonis about killing Luciano. However, Adonis instead warned Luciano about the murder plot. On April 15, 1931, Masseria was killed at Nuova Villa Tammaro,

252-486: Is $ 4.50 per person, but this can be avoided by sitting at the bar which has an adequate view of the stage." Max Borges designed a building composed of five reinforced concrete arches and glass walls over an indoor stage. When the indoor cabaret opened on March 15, 1952, it had a combined total seating capacity of 1,700 for the interior and outside areas. The furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames . The Arcos de Cristal won numerous international prizes. The Tropicana

288-672: Is at the junction of Calles 100 and 31, close to several major hospitals. Marianao is home to the famous Tropicana Club and was home to the Oriental Park Racetrack . One of the most notable foods made in Marianao is "Pollo A La Barbacoa". Five Families The Five Families refer to five Italian American Mafia crime families that operate in New York City . In 1931, the five families were organized by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in

324-454: Is on a range of hills of about 1500 above sea level and is noted for its salubrious climate . The city dates back to 1830. As Havana expanded during the 1930s and 1940s, Marianao became a suburb of the city. A famous landmark is the monument built to honor Carlos Juan Finlay , a doctor who helped eradicate yellow fever in Cuba in the 19th century. It is shaped like a syringe. The monument

360-701: The capo dei capi ("boss of all the bosses"). This led to his assassination that September, and that role was abolished for the Commission , a ruling committee established by Lucky Luciano to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and to mediate conflicts between families. It consisted of the bosses of the Five Families as well as the bosses of the Chicago Outfit and the Buffalo crime family . In 1963, Joseph Valachi publicly disclosed

396-765: The Bonanno crime family , in New York City , but was more closely allied with Sam Giancana in Chicago . Consequently, while generally recognized as the most powerful organized crime figure in Florida throughout much of the 20th century, Trafficante was not believed to have total control over Miami , Miami Beach , Ft. Lauderdale , or Palm Beach . The east coast of Florida was a loosely knit conglomerate of New York family interests with links to Meyer Lansky , Bugsy Siegel , Angelo Bruno , Carlos Marcello , and Frank Ragano . Trafficante admitted his anti- Castro activities to

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432-595: The Calabria and Campania regions of Southern Italy . Masseria's faction included Charles "Lucky" Luciano , Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia , Vito Genovese , Alfred Mineo , Willie Moretti , Joe Adonis , and Frank Costello . However, powerful Sicilian mafioso Don Vito Cascio Ferro decided to make a bid for control of Mafia operations. From his base in Castellammare del Golfo , he sent Salvatore Maranzano to seize control. The Castellammarese faction in

468-740: The Castellammarese War . Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs in New York City into the Maranzano, Profaci, Mangano, Luciano, and Gagliano families, which are now known as the Bonanno , Colombo , Gambino , Genovese , and Lucchese families, respectively. Each family had a demarcated territory and an organizationally structured hierarchy and reported to the same overarching governing entity. Initially, Maranzano intended each family's boss to report to him as

504-542: The United States House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978. Though he vehemently denied any association with a conspiracy against President John F. Kennedy , at least one witness before federal investigators testified that Trafficante predicted the assassination in spring of 1963. Federal investigators brought racketeering and conspiracy charges against him in summer of 1986. Santo Trafficante Jr. had been operating in Cuba since

540-760: The Apalachin agenda. In January 1958, Trafficante was questioned by the Cuban police regarding the Apalachin meeting. A full report was made by the Cuban police, dated January 23, 1958, includes transcripts of long-distance telephone calls made from the Sans Souci during the period August–December 1957. The report was given to the District Attorney's office. In addition, "on January 23, 1958, the Cuban Department of Investigation, Havana, Cuba notified

576-407: The Apalachin meeting in Apalachin, New York. All were fined, up to $ 10,000 each, and given prison sentences ranging from three to five years. All the convictions were overturned on appeal in 1960. Cuba was one of the Apalachin topics of discussion, particularly the gambling and narcotics smuggling interests of La Cosa Nostra on the island. The international narcotics trade was also an important topic on

612-522: The Bureau of Narcotics that Santo Trafficante was registered in their Alien Office under No. 93461." Marianao Marianao is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs ( municipios in Spanish) in the city of Havana , Cuba . It lies 6 miles southwest of the original city of Havana, with which it is connected by the Marianao railway . In 2022 the municipality had a population of 134,057. Marianao

648-1088: The Casino International gambling establishments in Havana. As a leading member of the syndicate, he also was suspected of having behind-the-scenes interests in other syndicate-owned Cuban casinos: the Hotel Habana Riviera , the Tropicana Club , the Hotel Sevilla-Biltmore , the Hotel Capri Casino, the Comodoro, the Hotel Deauville , and the Havana Hilton . Trafficante was apprehended in November 1957, along with over 60 other mobsters, at

684-616: The Castellammarese War. With Masseria gone, Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs in New York City into the Five Families headed by Luciano, Profaci , Gagliano , Mangano , and himself. Maranzano called a meeting of crime bosses in Wappingers Falls, New York , where he declared himself capo di tutti i capi ("boss of all bosses"). Maranzano also whittled down the rival families' rackets in favor of his own. Luciano appeared to accept these changes, but

720-552: The Mafia in the United States was during the 1940s, and the 1950s, until the year 1970 when the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) was enacted, which aimed to stop the mafia and organized crime as a whole. The act was effective, and led to a large portion of the members who were arrested turning into informants. This effect compounded over time. In 1963, Joseph Valachi publicly disclosed

756-430: The U.S. included Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno , Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino , Joseph Profaci , and Joe Aiello . As it became more and more evident that the two factions would clash for leadership of the Mafia, they each sought to recruit more followers to support them. The Castellammarese War was between the forces of Masseria and Maranzano. Underneath, however, there was also a generational conflict between

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792-605: The United States and serve to mediate conflicts between families. The Commission consisted of seven family bosses: the leaders of New York's Five Families: Charlie "Lucky" Luciano , Vincent Mangano , Tommy Gagliano , Joseph Bonanno , and Joe Profaci ; Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone ; and Buffalo family boss Stefano Magaddino . Charlie Luciano was appointed chairman of the Commission. The Commission agreed to hold meetings every five years or when they needed to discuss family problems. The five Mafia families in New York City are still active, albeit less powerful. The peak of

828-472: The aim of this group was to end the war as soon as possible in order to resume their businesses, because they viewed the conflict as unnecessary. Luciano's objective was to modernize the mob and do away with unnecessary orthodox norms. This was a vision that enabled him to attract followers, who had seen the inadequacies of Masseria's traditionalist leadership. Therefore, both factions were fluid, with many mobsters switching sides or killing their own allies during

864-514: The existence of New York City's Five Families at the Valachi hearings . According to Valachi, the original bosses of the Five Families were Charles Luciano , Tommaso Gagliano , Joseph Profaci , Salvatore Maranzano , and Vincent Mangano . At the time of his testimony in 1963, Valachi revealed that the current bosses of the Five Families were Tommy Lucchese , Vito Genovese , Joseph Colombo , Carlo Gambino , and Joe Bonanno . These have since been

900-453: The existence of New York City's Five Families at the Valachi hearings . Since then, a few other crime families have been able to become powerful or notable enough to rise to a level comparable to that of the Five Families, holding or sharing the unofficial designation of Sixth Family . In the 1920s, Mafia operations in the U.S. were controlled by Giuseppe "Joe The Boss" Masseria , whose faction consisted mainly of gangsters from Sicily and

936-535: The gangsters disarmed Maranzano's bodyguards. The other two, aided by Lucchese, who was there to point Maranzano out, stabbed the boss multiple times before shooting him. This assassination was the first of what would later be fabled as the "Night of the Sicilian Vespers ". After Maranzano's murder in 1931, Luciano called a meeting in Chicago . Although there would have been few objections had Luciano declared himself capo di tutti i capi, he abolished

972-531: The late 1940s under his father, Santo Trafficante Sr., a mobster in Tampa, Florida. After his father died in 1954, he became the head in Tampa and took over his father's interests in Cuba. Trafficante moved to Cuba in 1955, where he came into contact with Batista and Meyer Lansky. During the rule of Cuba's authoritarian dictator Fulgencio Batista , Trafficante openly operated the Sans Souci Cabaret and

1008-601: The names most commonly used to refer to the New York Five Families, despite years of overturn and changing bosses in each. The crime families historically operated throughout the New York metropolitan area , but mainly within New York City . In the state of New York , the gangs have increased their criminal rackets on Long Island , including both Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the counties of Westchester , Rockland , and Albany . They also maintain

1044-442: The old guard Sicilian leadership – known as the " Mustache Petes " for their long mustaches and old-world ways, such as refusing to do business with non-Italians – and the "Young Turks", a younger and more diverse Italian group who were more forward-thinking and willing to work more with non-Italians. This approach led his followers to question whether Masseria was even capable of making the Mafia prosper in modern times. Led by Luciano,

1080-409: The title, believing the position created trouble among the families and would make himself a target for another ambitious challenger. Luciano's goals with the Commission were to quietly maintain his own power over all the families, and to prevent future gang wars; the bosses approved the idea of the Commission. The Commission would consist of a " board of directors " to oversee all Mafia activities in

1116-407: The war. Tensions between the Maranzano and Masseria factions were evident as far back as 1928, with one side frequently hijacking the other's alcohol trucks (alcohol production was then illegal in the United States due to Prohibition ). In early 1931, Luciano made the decision to take out Masseria. The war had been going poorly for Masseria, and Luciano saw an opportunity to switch allegiance. In

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1152-419: The weather is fine, the outdoor area is used; otherwise, everyone moves to the indoor area. Tall palm trees growing among the tables lend the proper tropical atmosphere and blend well with the ultra-modernistic architecture. Shows include 50-dancer chorus lines which often branch out into the trees. Rhythms and costumes are colorfully native (voodoo is a frequent theme.) Top names often star. Minimum at tables

1188-663: Was among the most powerful Mafia bosses in the United States. He headed the Trafficante crime family and controlled organized criminal operations in Florida and Cuba , which had previously been consolidated from several rival gangs by his father, Santo Trafficante Sr. Reputedly the most powerful crime boss in Batista -era Cuba, he never served a prison sentence in the US. Trafficante turned his father's criminal organization into

1224-525: Was marked for death. On September 10, 1931, Maranzano ordered Luciano, Genovese, and Costello to come to his office at the 230 Park Avenue in Manhattan . Convinced that Maranzano planned to murder them, Luciano decided to act first. He sent four Jewish gangsters to Maranzano's office whose faces were unknown to Maranzano's people. They had been secured with the aid of Jewish mobsters Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel . Disguised as government agents, two of

1260-401: Was merely biding his time before removing Maranzano. Although Maranzano was slightly more forward-thinking than Masseria, Luciano had come to believe that Maranzano was even greedier and more hidebound than Masseria had been. By September 1931, Maranzano realized Luciano was a threat, and hired Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll , an Irish gangster, to kill him. However, Lucchese alerted Luciano that he

1296-789: Was one of six Cuban buildings included in the 1954 Museum of Modern Art exhibit entitled Latin American Architecture since 1945. Henry Russell Hitchcock wrote the book Latin American architecture since 1945 for the occasion. Borges won the Premio Anual, from the Colegio de Arquitectos in 1953 for his work on the Tropicana. The Arcos de Cristal can be seen in the Tropicana scene of the movie Our Man In Havana . Santo Trafficante Jr. (November 15, 1914 – March 17, 1987)

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