Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1951-11-16


blooded gang factions. One is the
Mafia-backed clique or criminals
of Sicilian or Italian extraction, the
other the numerically larger Cuban
faction. Mixed in, of course, is
1eavening of native racketeers.
The two principal roles in the
Tampa story were played by Sal
vatore (Red) Italiano, Italian-born
ex-convict and reputed strong man
of Tampa's underworld, and Cliff
ford Hugh Culbreath, the official
called "Melon Head" Italiano was
among the missing when Sen. Les
ter Hunt, who conducted our hear
ings there, went to Tampa. But
from "Melon Head" the committee
counsel drew fantastic story of
how he had managed to make de-
posts of at least $4,000 in half
dozen banks scattered throughout
Florida and Georgia during his
nine years as sheriff.
One purely local racketeer inter-
rogated was Charles NJ Wall, a
nonchalant, almost whimsical, IL
BdIllDlCl VIII OllCe was
brains of the underworld" He
was the victim of at least three at
tempts by presumably unknown"
parties to assassinate him. Almost
humorously, the old man assured
us:
Il wasn't much interested in who
it was that was doing it. was in
terested in keeping from getting
killed"
AS Red 1taliano could not be
found, we summoned Vincent Spoto
to answer a few questions. Spoto
is president of Anthony Distributors,
a wholesale beer and wine corpora
ton owned by the Italiano family
Spoto earned 500 week, not, he
explained, for his duties as presi-
dent, but for work he did in the
shipping department. Italiano drew
$500 a week as general manager
He was only one of many criminals
found throughout the country who
had managed, contrary TO state and
federal regulations, to inliltrate the
liquor business.
From other witnesses, we heard
that Italiano was big-shot in
Bolita, the Cuban lottery played
with 100 numbered balls Oscar j.
Perez, formerly chauffeur to muir
dered bolita racketeer named jim
my Velasco, told us Italiano and
Velasco had quarreled violently,
Perez also testified that Itaiano's
chauffeur and bodyguard-Joe Pro-
venZano, who was tried and ac-
to carry shotguns in the front seat
of his car when he drove on
Tampa's main streets.
Noah w. Cation, a marine engine
mechanic, told of strange alleged
tieup between Sheriff Culbreath and
Red Italiano, involving ownership
of fish business
From Mrs. Anthony DiLorenzo.
estranged wife of special deputy
for Sheriff Culbreath, the commit
tee heard that in l947 Red Italiano
obtained deputy's commission for
her husband, ito do special duties"
Thereafter, she testified. both Red
Italiano and Sheriff Culbreath regu-
larly telephoned DiLorenzo to give
him instructions as to his especial
duties" DiLorenzo also collected
his S200-a-month salary" from
Italiano, Mrs. DiLoreZno testified
Q. What was your impression of
what he was doing as result of
these telephone calls? What were
his duties?
MRS. DiLORENZO: Well, he was
checking different places with them,
different bolita places.
@. Was he collecting from them or
was he arresting them? A. He was
just more of a go-betwecn between
the underworld and the law, as a
messenger between those.
But the first witness to accuse
Culbreath of having received money
from the gambling interests, was
Paul Giglia, former bolita peddler
for the late Jimmy Velasco. During
Culbreath's reelection campaign IN
1913, Giglia testified, Velasco told
him ito take some money down to
the sheriff"
He swore that Velasco regularly
sent money to the "old man
meaning Sheriff Culbreath. The eu-
phemism for these payments-some-
times ST, 900 at time-was "rent,'
and Giglia said that 1.-The money
was going out faster than it was
coming in"
CIJ~DED nTT/nD@E