Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". The entire situation sounds like something dreamed up for a Miami Vice-inspired action thriller, but it actually happened in the 1990s and the trio came very close to pulling it off before one of them pocketed the cartels millions and went on the run. He also owned the Russian restaurant Babushka, which was a magnet for snowbirding criminals from his homeland. But all the cops found were five grams of weed, a bottle of Viagra, and some mysterious yellow pills. Prosecutors accused him of providing prostitutes for his Russian friends, trafficking drugs, selling stolen cigarettes and liquor, and setting up arms deals for Russian and Colombian cocaine smugglers. But killings are common in Panama's worst prison, where the smell of raw sewage wafts over the yard, metal shackles hang from mouldy staircases, and overcrowded cells house nearly 3,500 of the Western Hemisphere's vilest murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers. McDonald expects those will be dismissed as well, but not for months. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. "It was a real moneymaker. A judge eventually dropped the human trafficking charge, but Galeota still rotted in his sordid cell alongside insects the size of small dogs. While on routine patrol, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection plane spotted a suspicious speed boat. "My wife can say she has regrets, but that's bullshit," he says. Of the $10 million, he said, I cannot f- -king believe it how fast I spend it.. While Kristy was still in the States, he lived with five of his Colombian prostitutes. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. He paid for her to secretly get an abortion. The bartender hid in the bathroom and dialed 911. 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. Its a great success overall. For a while, Panama's pay-to-play culture suited Galeota just fine. 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! This time, I'm innocent.". Anthony Galeota Profiles | Facebook We both understand that.". Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. He called me in two days and he asked me, do we want the submarine with missiles or without missiles? says Tarzan. Even then, however, he couldn't sleep. Panama had gone from paradise to purgatory. Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. 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. 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. Greed got the better of him. He didn't stay long. 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. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. Docs need stars just like features need stars. Russian immigrant Ludwig Fainberg, a.k.a. See Photos. 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. "The first month, we had $15,000 in gross sales. Access is free so discover Tony Galeota's story today. Juan felt like he had no choice, says Russell. There is no rehabilitation here," he says. Reborn behind bars. But Monday morning, when it came time to walk out of La Joya, there was no vehicle waiting. "He was a smooth-talker. At night, the guards lock the gate and leave, turning over control of each cell block to prisoners. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. A dozen plainclothes cops poured in with pistols drawn. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. source of local news and culture, Michael E. Miller Its impossible but only because its true. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. During a visit last month, a New Times reporter witnessed one police official receive a $20 bill in a barely disguised handshake. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. "This case has had a big impact here," says Jos Otero, a reporter for Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. Russell did as he was told and flew to the appointed city in Africa; as soon as he walked into his hotel room, the phone rang and he was instructed to be downstairs in five minutes, where Tony whisked him off in a Porsche Cayenne and they spent several surreal days together; Tony showed the director his Russian fighter jet, which had $5million in the cockpit as the fugitives getaway plan, and told his part of the story. The person they were going to pay for the submarine was the officer who let them [into the naval base], says Russell. But Tony had darker secrets. As the couple drove south on I-95, they thought they were leaving the worst behind them. 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. Somewhere between his native Ukraine, Israel, and Russia, he'd shed his trademark long hair and changed his name to Alon Bar. It was a weeknight, and Porky's was washed in pale-pink neon light. "Now I'm living in hell.". Then my friend got back to me a couple days later and said there was just one question: Do you want a sub with missiles or without? , For all their camaraderie, though, the criminals opinions of one another were mixed. "It was puppy love," he says. Its a great satisfaction after being two months deployed and everybodys tired but you come home with a case like this its very satisfying, said Castro. Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. But Fainberg wasn't in town to catch up. Behind him, 12-foot-high fences topped with spools of barbed wire frame a muddy soccer field. He answered only to property owner William Seidle, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee who ran a chain of car dealerships. "I was just numb.". Again, Tony's friends in New York told him where to go. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. 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. Photo Gallery. 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. Twice, American authorities had investigated Galeota. It was a lot of kind of romancing them and explaining to them, hey, this is your chance to tell your story on kind of a broad canvas. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. "Like me, he was a black sheep who could do nothing right.". People named Tony Galeta. With Fainberg locked up, Porky's was Galeota's plaything. The heavy-set Italian even signed a release. "They shot him in the middle of the night," Galeota continues quietly, "and buried his body behind the pavilion.". "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. Tony Galeto. But when he opens a new club in Panama City, the competition isn't happy and frames him for drug dealing. Between the restaurant and the Doll House, he was making enough to retire in five years. Toni Galeota Profiles | Facebook I had a friend of mine living in St. Petersburg, and I said, Misha, tell me something, Tarzan real name Ludwig Fainberg says in a heavy Russian accent. Tony Gogetta. With little oversight, military leaders acted as if they were independent of the government. 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. He created a souped-up cigarette boat that went for $2 million and was presumably used to transport cocaine. 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. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra. As the authorities closed in, they picked up Juan and Tarzan, but they couldnt find Tony and neither could the cartel. October 4, 2012 But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. I gave each of my kids a Rolex when they were 5 years old. A bartender characterized Porkys as the kind of place where you could get killed. Babushka was so notorious that FBI agents who described Tarzan as a matre d for criminals bugged the booths there. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. That didnt stop Russell from trying to get them on board with doing a film about the submarine deal. And last year, Yester was finally arrested in Rome on charges unrelated to the submarine while en route to a wedding. Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. And there was absolutely no bullshit. The smugglers boat was destroyed because it was a hazard to navigation. Advertisement. Director Tiller Russell Stars Ludwig Fainberg Juan Almeida Nelson Yester See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 44 User reviews 9 Critic reviews Awards 1 nomination Videos 2 Trailer 1:46 Kenyan court is shown vital evidence ignored by police two years after his arrest over 4.5m cocaine haul, Body armor-clad Cancun cops are 'suspended' after posing for pictures with topless tourists on the beach, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Ken Bruce: 'I always wanted to be a radio presenter from about 15', Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' ", Coast Guard Offloads More Than $93 Million In Cocaine, Miami Beach. Log In. But Galeota was convinced the cops were bluffing and refused to cooperate. Cops had made several controlled buys of drugs. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. His father, Arnold, was a strait-laced sales manager but a distant and disapproving dad. Russian mobsters learned about their comrade's successful venture, and adopted the club as a virtual office. So the translator said she couldn't take a shower, didn't show up, and the case was delayed. All he needed now were the prostitutes. Catherine says she slept with customers because she needed the money to support her family. MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) The Coast Guard offloaded about $93 million of cocaine Thursday afternoon on Miami Beach. Everybody wanted to make money. Episode 5: Spain /Sold My Soul A poster on the wall advertises "Lesby Show: 2 Girls per Person" for $350. By the mid-'90s, Galeota had turned Porky's into a one-stop shop for strippers, sex, and serious drugs. "We treated the women well.". 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. Strippers, Cocaine and Murder: The Crazy (True) Story of Two Crooks "My wife could have left me. "Everybody give me your money!" Jimmy Galeota has spent the last month-and-a-half grieving his older brother Michael's death - but perhaps the most difficult part of it all to swallow has been the bizarre circumstances that. On a crowded balcony overlooking La Joya, Galeota describes the past 16 months as a nightmare. He raises his eyebrows and looks upwards to the left to emphasize just how flabbergasted he was with Mishas counter question. They were very compliant to everything we asked of them, said McElhaney. It wasn't until he ordered some Italian food and a cold Guinness that he finally felt like he was free. But it bored him. 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. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. 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. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. View the profiles of people named Anthony Galeota. With dark hair and pale, wide-set eyes, teenage Tony resembled a stocky Frank Sinatra. But he was too shell-shocked to take up his attorney's offer for a ride to a nice hotel. 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. As he contemplates the question, Galeota watches his fellow inmates kick a soccer ball across La Joya's putrid playground.