THE DEVIL LOOKS AFTER HIS OWN
Bolita was the illegal lottery of Tampa, a prelude to today’s legal lottery. One hundred little wooden or ivory balls numbered 1 thru 100 would be placed in a bag, and gamblers would bet on what number or three numbers would be pulled.
With a payoff of 85-1, a winning number would pay big dividends to the winner. Everyone in Tampa was playing–the rich and poor; black, white, and Latin; men and women. In 1927, over 300 bolita parlors were located in Tampa, and an estimated 1,200 bolita parlors infiltrated every segment of Tampa. In 1927, over $20 million was played on the game. Bolita was able to flourish in such a way because the police and politicians allowed it–and the reason they allowed it was because of Charlie Wall.
Charlie Wall’s major play came in 1910 when the cigar workers went on strike in Tampa. Supportive of their cause, Charlie Wall financially backed the struggling cigar workers. He bought them food and paid for their medical bills so they could continue the strike. Though in the end, they lost the strike, the cigar workers of Tampa forever after had an undying love for Charlie Wall.
Knowing he had the full support of the blue-collar men and women of Ybor City and West Tampa, Charlie Wall made his move. He began backing political candidates, promising them he could deliver the votes of West Tampa and Ybor City. His many supporters would vote for whomever he told them to and would look the other way when Charlie Wall had the ballot boxes stuffed or had individuals vote for his candidates up to 10 times. In return for his support, candidates had to allow Charlie Wall’s bolita parlors and brothels to operate unbothered. And, if there were an illegal operation in Tampa not backed by Charlie Wall, he’d have the police shut it down, forcing almost every gambling parlor and whorehouse in Tampa to give Charlie Wall a portion of their business. Some bolita parlors brought in $57,000 on a good night, with Charlie Wall taking home half of it. To add to his riches, Charlie Wall would have bolita games fixed to ensure a highly wagered-upon number wouldn’t win. Bolita dealers would fill balls with lead so they would sink to the bottom or freeze a ball so it would be easy to find in the bag.
Of course, with great power comes significant risk. He refused to live his life in fear, though. Rather than building a home in the countryside, away from the danger, he built a mansion in Ybor City, which made him an easy target. Hitmen would drive by his house and take shots at him as he sat on his porch or pulled into his driveway. He wasn’t an idiot, though. He didn’t just build a mansion. He made a fortress. His porch, where he liked to sit and read the paper on a nice day, had two giant pillars built into it, large enough for him to duck behind when shots were fired safely. And his garage had a metal tunnel leading from it to his house. If hitmen were following him home, all he needed to do was escape into his garage, and he could safely make it into his home, where third-floor windows were adorned with gun racks so he could return fire.
