THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BOLITA

By Tampa Mafia | July 5, 2013
An old black and white photograph of people in a room

Forget everything you think you know about Tampa mafia wives and girlfriends in the 1950s. Unlike how mafia girlfriends and wives are usually depicted in movies, these women were not stay-at-home housewives or trophy girlfriends in Tampa. Instead, they were as crucial to the bolita rings that flourished in Tampa as the male mafia members were. “A…

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THE HIT THAT EXPOSED SOME OF TAMPA’S ELITE

By Tampa Mafia | July 5, 2013
jimmy-velasco-tampa-mafia_orig

Wearing a long coat and a hat that covered half his face, the killer snuck out of the shadows as his prey, known gangster Jimmy Velasco, unlocked his Buick and opened the door for his wife and daughter. A gunshot shattered the silence in the Ybor City neighborhood. Despite being the daughter of a powerful…

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AL CAPONE’S TAMPA BAY CONNECTION

By Tampa Mafia | July 1, 2013
A big white house with a pair of lion statues in front

Few gangsters loom larger in pop culture than Alphonse Capone. Though his reign over the Chicago underworld was brief, it lived on through the years, gaining a legend-like status. Capone was a brash press-savvy gangster, and the public ate it up. He hobnobbed with celebrities of the day and showed a humanitarian side by providing…

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