Ignacio Antinori

Ignacio Antinori (d. October 22, 1940) was a Florida mobster who built one of the earlier narcotics trafficking networks in that state.

Although much of his early life is unknown, Antinori was one of the earliest mobsters to emerge in Florida during Prohibition. One of the largest drug traffickers in the country by the 1930s, he repeatedly refused requests or demands by other crime families to stop drug trafficking. Antinoiri established a drug pipeline from Marseille, France through Cuba into Tampa, Florida. According to the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, the drugs were subsequently distributed in the Midwestern United States, primarily through St. Louis mobster Thomas Buffa and Kansas City mobsters Nicolo Impostato, James DeSimone and Joseph Deluca. Law enforcement soon began to concentrate on Antinori's operation. In addition, mobsters such as Santo Trafficante, Sr. soon set up their own smuggling rings. Soon Antinori was eclipsed by Trafficante.

On October 22, 1940, Ignacio Antinori was sipping coffee at the Palm Garden Inn in Tampa with a friend and a young female companion. Suddenly, a gunman appeared and fired two shotgun blasts at Antinori, blowing off the back of his head. The gunman was allegedly sent by one of Antinori's dissatisfied customers, the Chicago Outfit criminal organization. Antinori had sent them a poor quality shipment of narcotics and then refused a refund. At that point, the Outfit put a murder contract on him.

References

*Sifakis, Carl. "The Mafia Encyclopedia". New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3

External links

* [http://americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_19.html American Mafia.com The KC/Tampa Drug Connection] By Scott M. Deitche