Mafia in Florida and Cuba: FBI Surveillance of Meyer Lansky and Santo Trafficante, Jr.

When thinking of mob strongholds, the first places that come to mind for most people are Las Vegas and New York, but with its shipping ports, great winter weather, and quick access to the casinos of pre-Castro Cuba, Florida was a hot spot of mob activity for decades, beginning during Prohibition and lasting until the 1980’s. The Trafficante family, led by Santos Trafficante, Sr., took over the Sunshine State in the 1940s and oversaw a vast array of illegal activities, including connections to the Kennedy assassination, until Trafficante, Jr.’s death in the late 1980s. The database Mafia in Florida and Cuba consists of primary documents produced by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in their quest to bring Santos Trafficante, Jr. to justice. Their quest ultimately failed as Trafficante, Jr. never spent a day in jail.