THE HIT THAT EXPOSED SOME OF TAMPA’S ELITE
The Payoff List
The election had bought Velasco some power. And if the payoff list is legitimate, it provides names of law enforcement officials and politicians who could have helped him stay in control and put rivals out of power. It also mentions a few judges and attorneys. Such men worked alongside law enforcement to strengthen a gambler’s power.
There is no date on the list or the length of time that it was documented. Nor is it clear if the one-page in Cigar City Magazine’s possession is the entire list or just a portion. However, the list mentions Christmas and men elected to office in 1947, which means this page probably documented payoffs in December of either 1947 or 1948, right before Velasco was murdered.
The names are only sometimes complete and sometimes need to list a job title. Nevertheless, it’s easy to deduce to whom some names refer, such as Sheriff Culbreath. Others, such as Manny Garcia, could refer to one of the dozens of men who could have owned such a common Latin name in a Latin town. However, deductive reasoning and that historical rearview mirror enable us to figure out the likely person to whom such names refer.
If this list is accurate and you combine the favors of those he paid off, Velasco would have been owed–making him a powerful figure in Tampa’s underworld, perhaps the most powerful.
If authentic, it provides a clear look into how crooked this city was at the time. While some people are old-hat when linked to corruption, others are being exposed for the first time and are men who have always been remembered as honest.
Law Enforcement Payoffs
The list documents Velasco paying Sheriff Culbreath $7,000 for “personal” reasons; Police Chief Eddings $2,200 for “personal, for “a ring present by the syndicate” and for his mortgage; and Lieutenant Danny Alvarez for his “wife’s hospital bill.” Interestingly, when the list mentions the mortgage, it says, “part of a home mortgage paid by Laurence Hernandez over 10000.00.” The only known Laurence Hernandez in Tampa at the time was the owner of the Columbia Restaurant; however, he spelled his name “Lawrence.”
Velasco’s payoff list also mentions every member of City Council.
While the grand jury later said that the payoff list from where these numbers came was fake, this was not the only time these law officers had their names attached to corruption.
IIn 1938, when he was Constable Culbreath, a grand jury requested that then-Governor Frederick Preston Cone remove Culbreath from office because they believed he was working with the gamblers rather than against them. The governor ignored the plea, and in 1941 Culbreath was elected sheriff.
In December 1950, when the federal Kefauver Commission came to Tampa to investigate organized crime in major cities, it was discovered that Culbreath had at least $128,000 saved and scattered throughout banks in Florida and Georgia. Even though his financial records indicated he had only $27,000 in cash saved when he was elected sheriff and had earned only $36,014.98 in the nine years since.
When a former numbers runner for Jimmy Velasco took the stand during the Kefauver Commission’s hearings, he testified that during the 1948 election, Velasco told him to deliver money to Culbreath. Then, Velasco’s cousin testified that he often saw the sheriff’s name on Velasco’s payoff lists. Also regularly on Velasco’s lists, he testified, was Chief Eddings.
Alvarez was known as Mayor Curtis Hixon’s pet police sergeant. Late in life, Alvarez openly admitted to his corrupt dealings. He once admitted to raising $100,000 from “our friends,” noting that $40,000 went to purchase votes for Hixon and ensure that officials would not interfere with corruption.
