Charlie Wall

Charlie Wall
Born	March 10, 1880(1880-03-10)
Died	April 18, 1955(1955-04-18) (aged 75)
Cause	beaten and bludgeoned to death
Alias(es)	"The Dean of The Underworld"
Charge(s)	N/A
Conviction(s)	N/A
Penalty	N/A
Occupation	criminal underworld figure, racketeer, money launderer, mafia associate
Parents	John P. Wall (father)

Charles McKay "Charlie" Wall (born March 10, 1880 in Tampa, Florida - died April 18, 1955, in Tampa, Florida) ^[1] was an American businessman and organized crime figure who was a rival of reputed mobsters Santo Trafficante, Sr, and Santo Trafficante, Jr. The son of distinguished physician and civic leader John P. Wall, young Charlie, who later became known as "The Dean of the underworld", seemed destined for either a brilliant political or legal career. However, a volatile youth and a family tragedy sidetracked him, which resulted in the shooting of his stepmother and his expulsion from military school as a teen for visiting a brothel.

Wall spent his formative years frequenting the gambling tables of Ybor City and West Tampa. A mathematical wizard, Wall would rapidly gain status within the criminal underworld from his early endeavors in the operation of several gambling, prostitution and illegal numbers rackets. In 1912, a crusading Jacksonville newspaper profiled Wall's power base. "Tampa is reeking in crime, and gamblers operate openly. Tampa is the most wicked city in the U.S."

Bolita and other rackets

Beginning in the early 20th century, Wall seized control of the Cigar City's most profitable enterprise: Bolita, controlling Tampa from the neighborhood of Ybor City, employing whites, Italians, Cubans et al in his organization. Wall's only competition was Tampa's earliest Italian mafia boss, Ignacio Antinori, though he would remain in control of the racket for nearly 25 years. Widespread corruption and Mafia-related murder were rampant in the Tampa area because of bolita's profits. To assure the continuation of his rackets, Wall would often bestow lavish gifts upon elected officials. In the process he became a political enigma—wheeling and dealing, garnering votes for and hobnobbing with local politicians.

Introduced to Ybor City in the 1880s, bolita peddlers soon began operating in Hyde Park, downtown Tampa, and the Scrub district, with the domain quickly expanding throughout Central Florida, as well as much of the rest of the state and Gulf Coast region.

Turf wars

During the late 1920s, a turf war began between Wall and Antinori, who both fought each other, as well as the Trafficantes for control of the numbers rackets in the Tampa area. The feud between Wall and Antinore came to a head between factions of Antinori Gang, dissatisfied members of Chicago and St. Louis criminal outfits to whom Antinori was supplying narcotics, and Wall's crew. On the morning of October 23, 1940, Antinori was gunned down at a local resturaunt by two gunmen while sipping morning coffee. Wall himself had seen an attempt on his life go awry earlier that spring, possibly by some members of Antinori's outfit, or even by some in Antinori's ties to St. Louis mobster Thomas Buffa and/or Kansas City mobsters Nicolo Impostato, James DeSimone and Joseph Deluca.

1938 state, 1950 Kefauver Hearings testimonies

Wall testified before a 1938 Florida state grand jury that the devil took care of him. His numerous deals with prominent law officials often protected him from rival bids: On three occasions, he thwarted assassination attempts.

Wall became addicted to morphine, only to conquer his weakness after harrowing dry outs. In the late 1930s, Wall began to back away from much of the criminal rackets he had been involved with for years. By 1945, however, possibly due to the death of Antinori, and Santo Trafficante Sr.'s growing stature in the bolita racketeering in Florida, Wall would relinquish much of his power to the Trafficantes.

In 1950, before a televised national audience, Wall, then 70, would once more emerge from retirement to testify at the Kefauver Hearings on Organized Crime conducted by Tennessee State Senator Estes Kefauver. Described as "the elder statesman of bolita," he would graphically decribe Tampa's criminal network.

Wall's death, possible murder suspects, and legacy

On April 18, 1955, Wall would fall victim to assassins as his wife was returning to their Tampa home from a visit to relatives in South Florida, with one or more reportedly brutalizing the retired mobster, bludgeoning his head with a baseball bat and slitting his throat. While the murder was never solved, many, including the police, suspected that Santo Trafficante Jr. may have been linked to the crime as retaliation for the death of Antinore, under whom Trafficante, Sr. was once an understudy.

Related Media

The Ghosts of Ybor City: Charlie Wall film

The account and rise and fall of Wall was depicted in the 2008 documentary film The Ghosts of Ybor: Charlie Wall which starred actors John A. Schakel as Wall, Gene Siudut as Joe Bedami, Chirs Pardal as Johnny "Scarface" Rivera, and Rod Grant as the lead detective in the Wall murder investigation.

Bibliography

1. Feature article in is Cigar City Magazine, by Scott M Deitche, Issue 14-2008.
2. White Shadow, written by Ace Atkins, ISBN 0425230546, Reed Business Information, 2006.
3. Cigar City Mafia - A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld, written by Scott M. Deitche, ASIN# 8004449516, Barricade Books, 3-25-2004.

References

1. ^ Charlie Wall listed a Find A Grave Memorial

External links

• Who Killed Charlie Wall? article written by Gary Mormino, Cigar City Magazine, posted 1/11/2011.
• The Mob - A Drive-by History of Tampa's Most Notorious Wiseguys, by Scott Deitche for cltampa.com (Creative Loafing), 4/26/2001.

Persondata
Name	Wall, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 10, 1880
Place of birth
Date of death	April 18, 1955
Place of death