THE HIT THAT EXPOSED SOME OF TAMPA’S ELITE
Questions and Theories
Why would Rodriguez try to make a list public that had his name on it? Rodriguez was known to be very close to the Velasco family. Perhaps the Velasco brothers hoped the list would help bring down those who murdered their brother but did not want to harm their good friend Rodriguez. Maybe because he brought it to the attention of the City Council, he would have received impunity. Perhaps he brought it to City Council as a threat that if something were not done to bring Jimmy Velasco’s murderer to justice, he would make it public. And perhaps something happened behind closed doors that squashed his and the Velasco brothers’ plan. Or maybe a deal was made that appeased them all.
The grand jury declared the list a hoax, stating they believed it was either typed by Rodriguez or an associate of his to be used as political ammunition. Still, they never explained why Rodriguez would want revenge against those on the list. This is equivalent to a judge or jury pronouncing a man guilty of murder because he had a motive yet never explained the reason. And if it was fake, why couldn’t they release the names?
Also, some of the names on the list were supporters of Governor Warren–Manny Garcia, Judge Marion Hendry, and Nelson Spoto. The Velasco brothers and Warren were friends. The Velasco brothers and Rodriguez were friends, which meant Rodriguez had an in with the governor. Why would he want to embarrass the supporters of such a powerful friend? As the old saying goes, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”
“Perhaps the Tribune’s hands were dirty in 1948 as well.”
Or, perhaps, the Velasco brothers wanted to embarrass Warren. In their sworn statement, the Velasco brothers wrote that they were disheartened when Farrior rebuffed their request for help following local law enforcement’s refusal to investigate their brother’s murder. The Velascos considered Farrior to be a friend but quickly learned he was, in fact, an enemy and part of The Syndicate. Maybe they discovered the same about him after asking Governor Warren for help? Governor Warren, after all, was already in bed with the Velascos, who were admitted, gangsters. Would it be a shock to learn that he was made an offer from The Syndicate that he could not refuse after the election? Could it be the state investigation was a sham?
Maybe the Velascos realized something was amiss with the governor when Farrior remained the prosecutor even though they told the governor that Farrior was in on the murder plot. And Farrior’s actions following his appointment backed the Velascos’ claims. He refused their request to speak before the grand jury hearing that was charged with deciding if Provenzano went to trial. And during the trial, as Farrior examined a witness, Provenzano seemed upset with one of Farrior’s questions and yelled to him, “Why don’t you tell them the rest!”
Also, according to the Velascos’ notarized statement, the lead state investigator had found multiple witnesses who could have testified that Provenzano was the murderer. Still, the governor’s executive secretary removed the investigator from the case, and the witnesses never testified. If all this is true, perhaps the governor turned against his friends.
Maybe when the Velascos realized everyone had turned against them, they made the list public to expose the truth. This is the most plausible explanation behind the list and the controversy that followed.
However, that leads to yet another question. If its purpose was revenge, why didn’t Rodriguez or the Velascos release the names to the newspapers?
The two major newspapers then were The Tampa Daily Times and The Tampa Tribune. The editor of the Times, Ed Ray, is on the list! He would never have run it. The Tribune put together and backed the 1947 slate of winning City Council members based on the fact they were clean. Perhaps printing the list embarrassed them.
lso, Hawes related the story of how, in the 1950s, the publishers of the Tribune were caught at an illegal gambling game by their crime-beat reporter partner and future head of the Hillsborough County Vice Squad Ellis Clifton.
Perhaps the Tribune’s hands were dirty in 1948 as well.
So a plausible theory behind the list is as follows:
The list was legitimate. If it looks like a duck…
When they realized that local and state law enforcement was against them, they decided to release the list as revenge. They gave it to their friend, Councilman Rodriguez, because they believed he would receive impunity for admitting guilt. The Velasco brothers had everyone against them. They were outmanned, out-politicked, and probably out-financed. Everyone who was on the list had the power to suppress it. They pulled their power to ensure that their names were never muttered in public.
But, of course, this is just a theory.
“It’s about as confusing a case as I have ever heard,” laughed Hawes when the story was laid out for him. “And we’ll never know the answer. I guess rather than solving a mystery, getting the list made it bigger. All we can do is come up with theories. We’ll probably never know the truth.”
“I think there is more than enough evidence to support the theory that the list was real and not a hoax,” said Scott Deitche. “But who knows? It was crazy in Tampa back then.”
And that is what this list, real or fake, does prove, just how crazy and screwed up this city was.
Originally written for Cigar City Magazine
Paul Guzzo is a reporter for the Tampa Bay Times. He found the lost segregation-era all-black Zion Cemetery. His unique beat also includes the local film industry, Tampa history, professional wrestling, and the odd and unique people who make up this area. Guzzo has been a journalist in Tampa since 1999, including a senior writer for Cigar City Magazine and Tampa Mafia Magazine. In his younger years, he was an independent filmmaker best known for an award-winning documentary on Charlie Wall, Tampa’s first crime lord.
