THE HIT THAT EXPOSED SOME OF TAMPA’S ELITE
Government Payoffs
Mayor Curtis Hixon is on the alleged payoff list, although no amount of money is mentioned. All that is written is, “board and all the departments Christmas.” This could mean they either loaned him money or bought presents for the mayor’s employees.
Velasco’s payoff list also mentions every member of the City Council.
Councilman Julio Pelaez is mentioned individually for a total of $3,900 for “personal” and a “new car.” A friend of Pelaez’s is also on the list–Octavio Alfonso allegedly received a total of $140 for “personal.”
Councilman Joe Rodriguez allegedly received $140 for “help me personal and drive our car each day.” This may mean he was paid to drive Velasco.
Finally, the entire City Council is listed toward the bottom of the list–”Henry Garcia, P. Joseph Rodriguez, C.M. Hammond, Benny Vigo, Hal Whitehead and Cy Young, liquor for Christmas.” “Cy” was a nickname; when he ran for office, he did so under A.H. Young.
Like the officers mentioned above, there is other evidence that the mayor and some of his City Council received money from gamblers.
Besides Alvarez’s late-life admission that implicated Mayor Hixon as being on gamblers’ payroll, an October 5, 1947, Tampa Daily Times headline read, “Gambling Interests Rated No. 1 Power in Tampa Politics.” According to the article, “virtually every gambler in the city was out for Mayor Hixon.” At the Kefauver hearings, a numbers runner testified that he once gave Cy Young $500. And Rodriguez was tied to the Velasco brothers several times over the years.
Judicial Payoffs
Judge Spicola, on the alleged Velasco payoff list, most likely refers to Judge Nelson Spicola. Judge Nelson Spicola was a justice of the peace and was cited as the presiding Judge in newspaper articles referring to gambling trials during this era. The list allegedly reports that Judge Spicola received $500 for the “Personal Joe Rodriguez case” and “care each case ????” No documents tie Councilman Rodriguez to a trial around that time, but perhaps the Judge was paid to help him avoid charges.
“Judge Spicola was questionable,” said Leland Hawes. However, when pressed for more on why he was questionable, Hawes would only say, “Well, we hung out in some of those places with the old-time politicians.”
Hawes said that the Judge listed as Judge Hendry Termite most likely refers to Judge Marion Hendry. He said he had never heard of him referred to as “Termite” during his time as a crime reporter, nor did he hear of any link between the Judge and gamblers. Judge Hendry’s alleged payoffs total $250 for “cases, extras, and tips.”
Hawes said Judge Potter probably refers to Judge Robert Potter, a police court reporter at the time. Velasco’s alleged payoff list claims that Judge Potter earned $400 but did not state a reason. Hawes said he had never heard Judge Potter mentioned as crooked.
The first attorney listed is defense attorney Manny Garcia. He allegedly received $7,000 for the duration of this list for “personal” and “each case in Judge Spicola’s court.” Perhaps he and Judge Spicola worked together on some cases that helped Velasco.
Garcia has a long link to organized crime. Though he never admitted to direct dealings with gangsters, he openly admitted to being friends with them and privy to some of their secret conversations about their illegal activities. The gangster friend he was most often linked to was Charlie Wall, the dean of Tampa’s underworld and who could be the link between Velasco and Garcia. Wall gave Velasco his start in the gambling business. While the names Charlie, Johnny, and Nick on the bottom of the alleged payoff list are not provided last names, considering Velasco’s association with Wall, it would be a safe bet to write that they refer to Charlie Wall and his two drivers, Johnny “Scarface” Rivera and Nick Scaglione.
Nelson Spoto is known by most in Hillsborough County as a former Circuit Court Judge. At the time this lNelson Spoto is known by most in Hillsborough County as a former Circuit Court Judge. At the time this list was discovered, he was a county attorney. According to the list, he allegedly received $4,000 for “personal.” While Spoto was never once accused of being in cahoots with gangsters, he was known to be good friends with Manny Garcia.
Other attorneys mentioned are Red Fisher, which refers to County Solicitor V.R. Fisher, who was responsible for gambling investigations, and Rex, which refers to State Attorney Rex Farrior. Neither has a monetary amount or reason listed. In later years, both men continued to stay in the news for suspected ties to the underworld. Two gamblers testified at the Kefauver hearings in 1950 that they hand-delivered payoffs to Farrior. In 1952 when Fisher was up for reelection, a group of men formed an organization called VoTE (Voice of the Electorate) and announced they would only support honest candidates. That election season, they put the entirety of their political clout behind Fisher’s opponent, Paul Johnson.
With so much evidence pointing to those on the alleged payoff list being crooked, it’s highly plausible that it was real and helped propel Velasco toward the top of Tampa’s underworld food chain.
