For the most part, Doll House dancers agree. But Monday morning, when it came time to walk out of La Joya, there was no vehicle waiting. "It's not an easy choice," she says. He was 31. Also read: Tony Galeota: From Running. Galeota's sheer size and mob connections are the only things keeping him from getting shivved in the dark. SO I started with the cops and I had been kind of circling the others without knowing if it was really possible or not. Days go by without water, and when it does arrive, it's turbid sludge from a nearby river. Facilitating it. Galeota also found himself in the back of an unmarked FBI car. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Two days later, he was transferred to La Joya a hellish cinder-block complex an hour outside of Panama City. "We were like: 'We want to get the fuck out of here. Two agents told him that they'd been tapping his phone for months. local news and culture, Michael E. Miller By the mid-'90s, Galeota had turned Porky's into a one-stop shop for strippers, sex, and serious drugs. S10 E10 - Miami Mobster Take Down Tony Galeota is framed for drug trafficking in Panama City. But the man's paws were soon on her crotch again. Again, the charges were dropped. Now the stranger-than-fiction story is brought to life in new documentary Operation Odessa, a film thats closer to a roller-coaster ride than anything else and premieres on Showtime March 31. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. "Now I'm living in hell.". Between an undercover agent, a tap on Tarzans cellphone and the wiring of Babushka, federal law enforcement agencies had enough information to shut down the sale. Fainberg allegedly told undercover cops he had sent coke to Russia in a shipment of frozen shrimp and had bought six $1 million Russian military helicopters for the South Americans. Skip Ancestry main menu Main Menu "But I did it for my child.". "There was no transportation, no cops, no nothing," he says. The Doll House couldn't expand fast enough to meet the influx of sex tourists. Furious and Busted Rick Cedar steals radios to support his family. "It was a very violent atmosphere," he says. One scammer stole from another scammer; of course I accept it, he says. Prisoners eat stale bread and a slice of cheese for breakfast; rice and sometimes beans is their lunch and dinner. Kristy was able to pay a lawyer $500 to get her son released, but there was no bond for Galeota's drug offense. The guards leave at 5pm, and they just lock the gates, and its inmate rule at night, he says, explaining that he bribed a guard to get him in and out of the jail. For a while, Panama's pay-to-play culture suited Galeota just fine. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighborhood until he found a shabby motel. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back, Just not a strip club. State and local police launched an investigation in February 2009. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. We've been here for two years!' View the profiles of people named Anthony Galeota. Documentary Drama When Miami mobster Tony Galeota opens a club in Panama City, the competition frames him for drug dealing and human trafficking. "There was probably a lot more fun going on at Porky's than we even knew of," says one Hialeah police officer who asked not to be identified. And they were doing it on behalf of the notorious Cali drug cartel in Colombia, who planned to use the underwater vessel to smuggle cocaine undetected. When he was 16, he knocked up his 15-year-old girlfriend at Hauppauge High School. Then an old friend showed up. The domestic bliss lasted only a couple of weeks. "It was puppy love," he says. Controlling it. And so with like five days prep I jumped on a plane, went to Miami, started courting the cops and the feds and the US attorneys and all the good guys, the law enforcement side of it their participation was instrumental in it, because theyre the ones that have all the evidentiary record and all the surveillance video and the photos and the wiretaps and all that stuff, most of which is the sort of visual skeleton to the film. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. "We were doing fantastic, but Tarzan got bored and started living the life," Galeota explains. By now, she knows of his many infidelities, including that he lived and slept with some of the girls at the Doll House. In January 2017, Almeida got federally charged by the Drug Enforcement Administration with conspiracy to possess narcotics with intent to distribute. By then, the club's criminal clientele and Fainberg's increasingly lavish lifestyle had raised eyebrows. The year before, his father helped him land a job as a wedding DJ. And I'm not asking her to.". Become a member to support the independent voice of South Florida "Anthony has been in jail for more than 15 months, and a judge hasn't even heard his case yet!" Reborn behind bars. "My family didn't care; they took it," Galeota says of the stolen goods. La Joya is flush with contraband, from cell phones and cigarettes to marijuana and handguns all of it brought in with the complicity of corrupt guards. Access is free so discover Tony Galeota's story today. Biography. Tony Galeota's shaved head fairly glows with nostalgia as he remembers the days when you might have strolled into his Hialeah bar in search of commercial sex, or maybe to get beaten up or swindled . For two decades, Galeota managed Porky's, a Hialeah dive notorious for drugs, prostitution, and violence, where he was part pimp, part bouncer, and completely untouchable. Although he knows he could receive the death penalty, the money is too tempting to resist. With Fainberg locked up, Porky's was Galeota's plaything. If Galeota is freed, it will be a major blow for Panama's prostitution crackdown. "The first month, we had $15,000 in gross sales. In describing Tarzan, Almeida says in the film, He struck me as an oddball. Tarzan classifies Almeida as a guy who had two drinks and thought he was Tony Montana. As for movie-star handsome, hooker-loving Yesters first impression of Tarzan: I said, This f- -king guy is trouble. Thirty minutes later, I loved the trouble., Abetted by the tumultuous state of the former Soviet Union the ruble was completely devalued and state-owned resources went to whomever had the most firepower gaining access to the submarine was surprisingly easy. They taught him the rules, the most important of which Galeota took to heart: "You can have your girlfriends on the side," he remembers hearing, "but never leave your wife.". "Then they'd tell me: 'They are as good as dead.'". Once they spotted the plane, they changed course which is suspicious for us, said Boatswains Mate 1st Class, Joshua McElhaney with the Coast Guard. In hand-painted white lettering, it reads, "Dear visitors. Has a stint in Panamanian prison reformed Miami's most notorious strip club manager? "That's the goal," is all he'll offer. Dalia Dippolito May Have Tried to Kill Him, But Michael Dippolito Is No Saint, Florida Man Wrestles Shark For Forty Five Minutes, Florida to Execute Death Row Prisoner Donald Dillbeck in February, "We Are Everywhere": Ominous Messages on Anti-Abortion Counseling Centers Prompt Federal Charges, So You're Saying There's (Still) a Chance: Dolphins Playoff Chances Dwindle After 26-20 Loss, Trashed American Flag Sparks Capitol Hill Kerfuffle, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The message was that the cocaine traffickers would kill Yesters family members. Tony Galeta. A sign on the latter reads, "District Attorney for Drugs: Do Not Enter." So looking back on it and all the hijinks, from being smuggled in to a Panamanian prison to crossing paths with the FSB in Moscow to being met in a Porsche Cayenne by Tony Yester and driving away thinking: Okay, the CIA, DEA, FBI and US Marshals have been looking for this guy for 25 years, and Im in his car by myself with no notion of where were going or when were coming back. In retrospect, its like, Im a moron, but at the time I was full-throttle chase the story., Of the finished product Operation Odessa, he says: Hopefully, its a rocknroll thrill ride into the underworld, where you get a passport to a life and lifestyle and characters that you didnt even imagine existed much less having a ringside seat with them., The comments below have not been moderated, By But Tarzan a seasoned wheeler-dealer, strip club owner and former mob enforcer took it in his stride and went back to his partners with the response. "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago," Tony Galeota says. A judge eventually dropped the human trafficking charge, but Galeota still rotted in his sordid cell alongside insects the size of small dogs. "Whenever there is an American businessman involved in crime here in Panama, it becomes an important case. Rats, roaches, and beetles the size of Chihuahuas crawl over inmates at night. Now the locals want to get rid of guys like Galeota too, as his case has drawn national attention to corruption and human rights abuses. The year before, his father helped him land a job as a wedding DJ. Photo courtesy of Josh Weiss - Giant insects infest the prison. Johns paid $100 to rent a VIP room downstairs. While Kristy was still in the States, he lived with five of his Colombian prostitutes. Tony Galeota. Back in South Florida, Kristy Galeota vacillates between outrage and empathy for her husband. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. Bonnie also shoplifted booze to sustain her hard drinking habit. Theyre nice guys [the cartel members], and I didnt ask what they needed the submarine for, Tarzan tells The Post, speaking on a crackling phone connection from Russia. Juan felt like he had no choice, says Russell. His nightmare began in June of 2011, when police raided his Panama City strip club and arrested him and his Ukrainian partner for trafficking women and selling drugs. "I'm not a religious person, but I believe I went to jail because I was living like a rock star -- running around with all these women, drinking a bottle of vodka every day for two years," he says. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. Somewhere between his native Ukraine, Israel, and Russia, he'd shed his trademark long hair and changed his name to Alon Bar. But he insists that, for once, he has done nothing wrong. I had a friend of mine living in St. Petersburg, and I said, Misha, tell me something, Tarzan real name Ludwig Fainberg says in a heavy Russian accent. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a criminal," Tony remembers. #Torture #PanamGovernment #LaJoyaprisonPanam #PresidentVarela #Panam #Corruption. And like the Italian-American crooner, he loved women a little too much. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our. He and Fainberg were on their way to riches thanks to powerful friends and legalized prostitution. In retrospect, when you tell the stories aloud, its like, Thats insane and you, Tiller, are an insane person for having done that. Its funny; I was just like, this is too good of a story to let go. He might have sold them the submarine, taken the money and walked away with the money.. When Bill Seidle died, Galeota knew the club's days were numbered. On Friday, May 17, Galeota got word that the judge had also dismissed the drug charge because of lack of evidence. Awards. The Coast Guard said each one of the kilos is worth $33,000. In the second interdiction, a Customs plane spotted another suspicious boat off the coast of Panama on August 28th. Log In or Sign Up Tonia Galeota See Photos Antonio Galeota See Photos Tony Galeota See Photos Toni Galea See Photos Toni Colletto See Photos Toni Torres Galea As far as he was concerned, he owned the military base. And so from there, Juan showed up in Moscow with a vague, half-assed agreement with Tarzan he still had gotten me to come there without agreeing to be in the film, and he put me through the paces of taking me to the sauna and sort of took me on this insane kind of underworld tour of Moscow. Galeota believes that his arrest has little to do with a renewed commitment to the law in Panama. "We went there and we couldn't believe what we saw," says Josh Weiss, a former DJ at Porky's and one of Galeota's closest friends. Inside La Joya, he had paid a guard to smuggle in a BlackBerry to talk to his wife, but strangers kept calling with threats to kill his kids unless he paid them. See also: "From Porky's to Panamanian Prison: Web Extra.". We travelled all the time. "We just meshed," she says. It could be worse. "It was a nightmare in there. Instead, he's trapped in a labyrinthine legal system, alone and unable to speak Spanish. Join the New Times community and help support Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. I just called a friend who had a friend and asked if he could get us a sub. "Their connections were bigger than ours," he says. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. GALEOTA, Joseph A., Sr. Joseph A. Galeota Sr., 86, of Ashford CT, died on Wednesday (January 26, 2011) at Windham Hospital from congestive heart failure. "Luis pulled out a .38 and shot the guy in the chest. And when his mother was distraught over a broken washing machine, he filled the house with new appliances. Michael Galeota, who starred on the Disney Channel's "The Jersey" died Sunday, according to Variety. Girls charged $150 or more for sex. "I wouldn't leave a dog in that prison, let alone my husband.". The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. While out of sight, he phoned his guy and lied about being in a particular taxi cab. Instead of celebrating, he walked through the scuzzy neighbourhood until he found a shabby motel. Galeota's imprisonment abroad marks the end of one of Miami's most outrageous eras, when Russian and Colombian cartels stocked strip clubs with cheap prostitutes and cheaper cocaine. But Tony had darker secrets. If only there were a place where prostitution was legal, he thought, a city full of beautiful women like Miami, but no rules. Tony Galeota lived in 1954, at address, Massachusetts. The eight crew members aboard the Hope II and the vessel were taken into custody and will be turned over to U.S. officials for further investigation. Then my friend got back to me a couple days later and said there was just one question: Do you want a sub with missiles or without? , For all their camaraderie, though, the criminals opinions of one another were mixed. They tried to squeeze Fainberg to get Seidle. The goods came from sources in the freshly fallen Soviet Union, a place where everything seemed to be up for grabs at ridiculously low prices. I'm kind of stuck with it. But their courtship was cut short. "This case has had a big impact here," says Jos Otero, a reporter for Panamanian newspaper La Prensa. Panamanian police had been casing the Doll House, Moulin Rouge, and another joint, called Havana Club, for weeks. ", "You hear that?" "It was home to a lot of shrewd and nefarious characters.". As he contemplates the question, Galeota watches his fellow inmates kick a soccer ball across La Joya's putrid playground. He needed some help," he recalls. MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) The Coast Guard offloaded about $93 million of cocaine Thursday afternoon on Miami Beach. And she launched drunken tirades at Tony after baseball games, no matter how well the all-star shortstop performed. The bartender hid in the bathroom and dialed 911. "It was a nightmare in there.". View Tony Galeota's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. One man stabbed someone over a $10 debt. When the bartender told Shea it was last call, he became enraged. Join the New Times community and help support independent During the Doll House raid, they found marked bills in the register and several grams of pot on a promoter. Prostitution was so common at Porky's that the club had fixed places and prices, Galeota says. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. A dozen plainclothes cops poured in with pistols drawn. Instead, Galeota admits he's done bad things, such as running Miami's most infamous strip club, Porky's, for years before moving to Panama and opening a brothel. Sign Up. None of them ever appeared in the newspapers, but Hialeah police records confirm there were at least ten shootings at Porky's during Galeota's tenure. For 18 years, Galeota ran Porky's with the same punishing justice he learned from the mob and transformed it into Miami's most notorious whorehouse, where Russian gangsters and Cuban criminals spent millions on sex and drugs. Like a real-life godfather, Galeota weathered it all. This time, the feds took over the strip club before selling it to new owners, with one requirement: Neither Galeota nor anyone else from the old club could ever work there again. See Photos. "I used to have to patch Tony up all the time," Kristy says. Kristy and his sons hid in a shabby, poorly protected office. Nobody was impressed more than Kristy Sharpe, an 18-year-old waitress from Orlando with blond hair, blue eyes, and lightly freckled skin. Get started U.S. Yearbooks Name Index, 1890-1979. Tony went on the run with the money the drug cartel provided up front, however, as authorities closed in - meaning the deal never happened, Tarzan got deported, Juan was (temporarily) convicted on drug charges and Tony became a fugitive not just from justice but from the hit that was put out on his head. This time, I'm innocent.". "That clean, business-friendly, postcard-Panama bullshit is just a faade," Galeota says. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. Its a great satisfaction after being two months deployed and everybodys tired but you come home with a case like this its very satisfying, said Castro. He faced nine years in prison, but because he provided evidence against Almeida, he served just three years before being deported to his adopted homeland of Israel. The fear was well founded, considering what went down when Tarzan linked up with Cuban outlaws Juan Almeida and Nelson Tony Yester. "This country is corrupt. It was this sort of legendary underworld myth, almost, that people had been talking about for, you know, 20 years., He tells DailyMail.com: In Moscow, I got a text from Tony that said, Youve talked to the waiters; you should come meet the chef. Moreover, trafficking prostitutes and drugs and involvement in organized crime are some serious charges.". The Coast Guard said the eight-member crew cooperated and was taken into custody. Tarzan was released from the Panamanian prison in around 2016 and has since built a side career out of playing tough guys in gangster flicks shot in Russia, where he now lives. The 43-year-old is shaped like a mini refrigerator: short and squat, with a shaved head and wide-set emerald eyes. He called his cartel contacts and arranged to meet them in the pickup area of the Madrid train station. "Another night at Porky's, another shooting," he remembers now from his prison cell in Panama. With dark hair and pale, wide-set eyes, teenage Tony resembled a stocky Frank Sinatra. Family members can also bring them food and clean water, however, and inmates bribe guards to smuggle in additional items. "My father wasn't in the mob, but his friends were," Tony says. the agent said. If he didnt give them the information, he was afraid that he would have gotten killed, and he was probably right., In the meantime, Yester may have been too in love with his eight-figure haul to really care and there was ultimately no retribution against his family. Find your friends on Facebook. (CBS Miami). Tony Galletta. The Coast Guard said four suspected smugglers were taken into custody and 32 bales of cocaine were found in the water. But his mind was on another kind of riches. The dead and dying are piled into wheelbarrows and left by the front gate until guards arrive in the morning. In the distance, La Cordillera de San Blas cuts through the Panamanian jungle like a serrated knife. A tattoo of an Italian Mafioso emerges from an extra-large sleeveless T-shirt. As Fainberg and a wealthy Cuban-American named Juan Almeida sat in the Federal Detention Center downtown, and newspapers across the country splashed the sensational story of the drug submarine scheme, Galeota focused on staying out of court. Born on June 3, 1924 at Hartford. And he hopes to open a place in Fort Lauderdale when he's back. It was February 2011, and he was preparing to open the Doll House, his own strip club in Panama. And, above all, selling it. There was a spate of murders, several police raids, and a federal drug-trafficking trial. Coast Guard members who seized the cocaine said this is what their jobs are all about. "Everybody give me your money!" If anything, Galeota's life got even more out of control after Fainberg's arrest. The value then triples to $100,000 per kilo at the street level when it's busted down for individual use. Tarzan, Almeida and Yester had previously teamed on multimillion-dollar deals for Colombian cocaine barons, snagging motorcycles and Kamov 32 military helicopters (with two rotors and capable of transporting 5,000 kilos of cocaine via hook). "They murdered a guy in here a couple of days ago," Tony Galeota says. Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes. They had girls in every city. When Galeota arrived in Miami in the summer of 1991, the city was awash in coke, crack, and drug cash. "I've done a lot of shady things in the States," he admits. By I said, Thank you, Cali cartel. And theyre like, F*** yeah, lets do it. 4:00AM. He was talking to Fainberg about a murder he'd witnessed in Porky's parking lot. For two decades, Galeota managed Porky's, a Hialeah dive notorious for drugs, prostitution, and violence, where he was part pimp, part bouncer, and completely untouchable. Join Facebook to connect with Anthony Galeota and others you may know. When Galeota stood up, he checked his T-shirt for bullet holes, but found none. But Galeota's plan would soon go catastrophically wrong. But instead of classical music, his specialty is sex. So the translator said she couldn't take a shower, didn't show up, and the case was delayed. He and Kristy struck up an unlikely romance. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Prostitution in Miami had become too risky, he decided, but overseas sex tourism was soaring. "I'm used to getting my water from a rain bucket, not hot from the tap." South Florida's independent Kristy caught Tony cheating several times, she says. When youre rolling with the criminal underworld, its always weird; its really weird in Russia.. "It was puppy love," he says. Galeota is one of several Americans locked up here. But Fainberg wasn't in town to catch up. "They would describe what they looked like," Galeota says. Let me check.. Miami's underworld may still be seedy, but it has outsourced much of its shadiness to nearby Third-World countries such as Panama. Galeota already lived according to a gangster's code. He decked out the Doll House with five upstairs rooms equipped with king-size beds, mirrors, lube, condoms, and showers, and brought in dozens of Colombian women, who could earn $120 split with the club for an hour of sex. In an instant, Galeota's meaty hand was around the customer's neck, shoving him outside. The person they were going to pay for the submarine was the officer who let them [into the naval base], says Russell. Meet me in Africa for a cup of coffee tomorrow.. But the deal never happened. But when the house of cards tumbles, John . Reborn behind bars. They were very compliant to everything we asked of them, said McElhaney. With dark hair and pale, wide-set eyes, teenage Tony resembled a stocky Frank Sinatra. He'd already invested in seven apartments in Panama City and rented a storefront on the capital's seediest street, where prostitution was legal. ", - Tony Galeota: From Running Porky's, Miami's Most Notorious Strip Joint, to Rotting in a Panamanian Jail, - Sex and Drugs in the Champagne Room: The Truth About Porky's and Other Miami Strip Clubs. "Now I'm living in hell.". "Like me, he was a black sheep who could do nothing right.". Find your friends on Facebook. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. We have a lot of laughs about it now," he says. We didn't even have to have sex unless we wanted to," says a Colombian stripper named Catherine. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Like a concert pianist, Tony Galeota has spent his life honing a single skill since he was a teenager. Catherine says she slept with customers because she needed the money to support her family. The nightmare deepened for Galeota. MICHAEL GALEOTA OBITUARY. He told them he could get them the submarine for $35million, but said hes need the money in installments; when they gave him the first $10million, he kept the money for himself and disappeared. Theyre nice guys [the cartel members], and I didnt ask what they needed the submarine for., If they woke up and were hungry, they would fly a private jet to Cancun for lunch, says Tiller Russell, director of Operation Odessa. Then theyd roll to Venezuela to check out a new casino. By the time they returned to Long Island later that night, a pimp was born. With dark hair and pale, wide-set eyes, teenage Tony resembled a stocky Frank Sinatra. More than anything, Galeota is grateful that his family kept faith in him. With little oversight, military leaders acted as if they were independent of the government. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Prosecutors accused him of providing prostitutes for his Russian friends, trafficking drugs, selling stolen cigarettes and liquor, and setting up arms deals for Russian and Colombian cocaine smugglers. Unfortunately, Galeota's defense isn't as simple as quoting strippers, says his lawyer, Guillermina McDonald. "I thought I would kick up my heels together like 'Oh my God, I'm finally out,'" he says. A kilo of cocaine in Panama costs much less - about $5,000 per. As Yester laid low with the cash, cartel liaisons in the United States, aware that they had been burned, pressured Almeida to show them where Yesters relatives lived in and around Miami. His attorney has warned him that prosecutors will likely appeal, so he plans to stay in Panama until his case is resolved. Tarzan and one of his partners, Fat Tony Galeota, had opened a strip club in Panama similar to a previous enterprise in Miami called Porkys but they landed behind bars in Central America. Instead, he says competitors pulled government strings to screw him. They arrested 18 suspects, including Galeota, several strippers, and most employees. "She would use shoe polish to change our driver's licenses so we could go to clubs and drink when we were 15. "But I've always paid for everything, either with stitches in my head, concussions, or jail time. A 28-year-old English teacher named Tim Schrader agrees to smuggle eight kilos of heroin into the U.S. to solve his financial problems. Wrongly imprisoned. In the meantime, he's spending time with his wife and kids. See Photos. Here, Galeota is just one of 500 prisoners crammed into a filthy cell block designed to hold 200 people. Create a free family tree for yourself or for Tony Galeota and we'll search for valuable new information for you. This time, I'm innocent.". While Galeota avoided testifying, Fainberg faced 30 counts including racketeering and conspiracy to traffic cocaine and heroin. "He was a smooth-talker. Instead, they eat rice for lunch and dinner, drink dirty river water, and use a hole in the ground for a toilet. A friend suggested Panama. The irony is not lost on Galeota that after a life of crime in Miami, he was arrested in Panama just as he was going legit. "It is with tremendous heartfelt sadness to announce the passing of Michael James. His mother, Bonnie Gellilti, was "a bit of a. All the services here are free. "But she's never going to forget. Garrulous and bearish, the dentist-turned-hood (practicing the former in the Soviet Union and training for the latter in Brighton Beach) routinely carried two pistols and operated out of his Hialeah, Fla., strip club, Porkys: famous for a small motorized car that pulled up between the spread legs of dancers as they performed. He ogled the women standing on corners in their underwear and high heels. "Maybe we didn't have the permits we were supposed to have, but we're foreigners who didn't understand the rules.". source of local news and culture, Michael E. Miller "They shot him in the middle of the night," Galeota continues quietly, "and buried his body behind the pavilion.". "My wife could have left me. And that's why drug traffickers are in the business - take something that starts off with a value of $5,000 and when you're done selling it at the retail level the value has skyrocketed. "When you're in La Joya for two years, you get used to that environment," Galeota says. Anywhere other than La Joya, this news would be shocking. Galeota saw an opportunity. Anthony Galeota was born October 17, 1968, on Long Island. The gig introduced him to a lifelong vice. "I'm not a religious person, but I believe I went to jail because I was living like a rock star -- running around with all these women, drinking a bottle of vodka every day for two years," he says. But in South Florida, he was once a strip club king. Seidle was never charged with a crime. But not until she discovered he'd been dating a former Porky's stripper for more than two years did she threaten to divorce him in 2009. "They had what seemed like a dynamite case, but it has ended up in pieces.".