THE MAFIA IN CUBA / LA MAFIA EN CUBA Prior to 1955, only 2 casinos were operating in Havana; Tropicana and Sans Souci, and even after that year, when more favorable laws were passed, there were only about a dozen of them operating in the whole country. The casinos in Cuba from that year on were run by some members of organized crime from the United States. They were considered respectable businessmen who instead of using guns for protection, they paid government officials for the right to operate without trouble. "Honesty is the best policy" was the slogan of these hoods in Cuba. They had learned that more money is made faster when their enterprises had good public relations and they donned conservative and cleaned up their grammar. -It was estimated that about 90 percent of the games in the casinos were run legitimately. The tourists and well-heeled Cuban customers in the casinos had no need to worry about loaded dice, stacked decks or a fixed roulette wheel; the theory of mathematical probability and the laws of chance assured the house of winning. So the racketeers kept it clean...to the point of hustling out of their fancy dens any slick operators who wanted to fleece the customers with unchartered methods. Under Cuban law during the Batista regime, a gambling casino was not permitted to operate in a hotel establishment unless the hotel was valued at least one million dollars. According to DOCUMENT 012/ U.S. Treasury Department/ Bureau of Narcotics/ September 1961, Washington, D.C. the the principal casinos were operated as follows: -a. The TROPICANA – operated by Wilber Clark and Frank BISCHOPE. Frank BISCHOFF has been a suspected narcotic trafficker. His principal assistant in the casino was one Pierre CANAVESE who was closely associated with Salvatore LUCANIA alias Lucky Luciano, FBN International List No. 198. -b. The SANS SOUCI – operated by Santo TRAFFICANTE Jr. One of Santo TRAFFICANTE Jr.’s principal assistants in the operation of this club was one Sid JACOBS alias Syd Mathews. -c. The RIVIERA CASINO – operated by Meyer LANSKIN FBN International List No. 169, Frank ERICKSON, Giordano CELLINI, Ed LEVINSON and one “Disty” PETERS. The RIVIERA CASINO was one of the more honest gambling casinos in Havana. Meyer LANSKY and Frank ERICKSON were suspected of being the real owners of the club. Frank ERICKSON represented racketeer Frank COSTELLO’S interests. -d. CASINO INTERNATIONAL – Hotel Nacional, operated by Wilbur CLARK. His principal assistants in the operation of this club were Edward GOFFREDO CELLINY and Merle JACOBS. As far as could be ascertained, CLARK, CELLINI, and JACOBS do not have any criminal records. -e. The SEVILLA BILTMORE, operated by Amletto BATTISTI, a Cuban citizen of Italian extraction. BATTISTI was kingpin of the “bolita” racket (lottery). He was the owner of the Sevilla Biltmore Hotel which he had leased to a Chicago concern. -f. CAPRI HOTEL CASINO – operated by Nicholas Di COSTANZO and Charles TURIN believed to be identical with racketeer Charles TOURAINE [Tourine] alias Charley Blade. It was believed that George RAFZ, the movie star, owned a considerable interest in this club. -g. NATIONAL CASINO – operated by Jack LANSKY brother of notorious racketeer Meyer LANSKY, FBN International List No. 169. Jack and Meyer LANSKY owned the major portion of this casino and had in their employ a number of technicians from Las Vegas, Nevada. -h. HAVANA HILTON CASINO – Operated by Clifford JONES of Las Vegas, Nevada, Senator Kenneth JOHNSON of Nevada and one Sidney ARCB of New York Two wealthy Cuban industrialists, Ramon MANDOZA and Marcos MENDOZA had substantial interests in this club. Santo TRAFFICANTE Jr. and Joseph SILESI alias Joe Rivers, were rumored to have had a piece in this casino. However, this was not verified. (Sources: US Treasury Department/ Cuban Information Archives / Santos Trafficante Jr. 1961.) ================= Antes de 1955, solo dos casinos operaban en la Habana: Tropicana y Sans Souci y aun despues de esa fecha, cuando se hicieron leyes mas favorables, solo alrededor de una docena operaban en todo el pais. De entonces en adelante los casinos fueron manejados por algunos miembros del crimen organizado de Etados Unidos. Ellos eran considerados respetables hombres de negocios que en vez de usar armas para protegerse, le pagaban a los oficiales del gobierno para poder operar sin problemas. "La honestidad es la mejor politica" fue el lema de estos bandoleros en Cuba; habian aprendido que el dinero se hace mas facil cuando las empresas tienen buenas relaciones publicas, asi que actuaban conservadoramente y limpiaron su vocabulario. Se estima que el 90% de los juegos en los casinos se desarrollaban de manera legitima. Los turistas y los clientes cubanos elegantes no tenian que preocuparse por dados cargados, truco en las cartas o ruletas arregladas; la teoria matematica de las probabilidades y las leyes de la suerte aseguraban que la casa ganara. Asi que los mafiosos actuaban con limpieza, al extremo de ahuyentar de sus lugares a cualquier operador que quisiera aprovecharse de los clientes con metodos no ortodoxos. Segun las leyes bajo el gobierno de Batista, a ningun casino se le permitia funcionar si no se encontraba en un hotel que valiera al menos un miillon de dolares. De acuerdo al DOCUMENT0 012/ U.S. Treasury Department/ Bureau of Narcotics/ September 1961, Washington, D.C. la operacion de los principales casinos era asi: (La desatinada traduccion al espanol, es del documento original) a. El Tropicana – operado por Wilber Clark y Frank BISCHOPE. Frank BISCHOFF ha sido un traficante de narcóticos sospecha. Su asistente principal en el casino era un tal Pierre Canavese, que estaba estrechamente asociado con Salvatore Lucania alias Lucky Luciano, FBN Lista Internacional N º 198. b. El Sans Souci – operados por Santo Trafficante Jr. Uno de los ayudantes de Santo Trafficante Jr. ‘s principales en el funcionamiento de este club fue uno de Sid alias JACOBS Syd Mathews. c. La Riviera Casino – operado por Meyer Lista LANSKIN FBN Internacional N º 169, Frank Erickson, Giordano CELLINI, Levinson Ed y un “Disty” Peters. La Riviera Casino es uno de los casinos de juego más honestas en La Habana. Meyer Lansky y Frank Erickson eran sospechosos de ser los verdaderos dueños del club. Frank Erickson representado los intereses de mafioso Frank Costello. d. International Casino – Hotel Nacional, operado por Wilbur Clark. Sus principales asistentes en el funcionamiento de este club fueron Edward GOFFREDO CELLINY y Jacobs Merle. Por lo que se pudo determinar, CLARK, Cellini, y Jacobs no tiene antecedentes penales. e. El Sevilla Biltmore, operado por Amletto Battisti, un ciudadano cubano de origen italiano. Battisti fue capo de la “bolita”, raqueta (lotería). Él era el dueño del Hotel Sevilla Biltmore, que había arrendado a una empresa de Chicago. f. CAPRI HOTEL CASINO – operado por Nicolás Di Costanzo y Turín Carlos cree que es idéntico al mafioso Charles TOURAINE [Tourine] alias de la hoja de Charley. Se creía que George Rafz, la estrella de cine, propiedad de un interés considerable en este club. g. NACIONAL CASINO – operado por Jack Lansky, hermano del célebre mafioso Meyer Lansky, FBN Lista Internacional N º 169. Jack y Meyer Lansky propiedad de la mayor parte de este casino y tenía en su empleo a un número de técnicos de Las Vegas, Nevada. h. LA HABANA HILTON CASINO – Operado por Clifford Jones de Las Vegas, Nevada, el senador Kenneth Johnson de Nevada y uno de Sidney ArcB de Nueva York, dos ricos industriales de Cuba, Ramón Mandoza y MENDOZA Marcos tenía intereses importantes en este club. Santo Trafficante Jr. y José Ríos alias Silesi Joe, se rumoreaba que tenía una pieza en este casino. Sin embargo, esto no fue verificada. (Fuentes: US Treasury Department/ Cuban Information Archives / Santos Trafficante Jr. 1961.)
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 01:21:47 +0000
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