Anthony "Tony" Tursi (February 16, 1901 – April 22, 1989) was an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

figure associated with San Juan,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

from the 1950s to the 1970s. Within the history of

crime in Puerto Rico In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

, he attracted notice primarily for owning the notable

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

''La Riviera''. While his operations faced frequent interruptions by the Puerto Rican government, he managed to achieve success in the territory's underworld for many years. One particular raid, he later recalled, had involved the arrest of over 300 women by anti-vice officers. The "farce", as he called it, of police raids wound up frightening

prostitutes Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

off of the streets and rebounding things in his favor, with Tursi controlling his own established locations. Historian Stan Steiner labeled him as a "night-club impresario".

La Riviera

Tursi gained fame as the owner of the ''La Riviera'', a

in San Juan,

well known for its association with easy prostitution. A popular attraction for not only locals but also expatriates and tourists, La Riveria faced the danger of constant raids by the police, though this didn't phase Tursi.

Politics

Tursi also took interest in civic affairs. He ran unsuccessfully for

Mayor of San Juan This is a list of mayors of San Juan, Puerto Rico. List of mayors of San Juan Under the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (6) (5) See also * San Juan City Hall * San Juan government * Timeline of San Juan, Puerto Rico References {{Years ...

as a

political independent An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

in 1968. His

write-in campaign A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

used the simple slogan "''Vota Por Tursi''".

Imprisonment

In 1976, Tursi and his son Philip Tursi pleaded guilty to possessing 2,400 stolen blank tickets for

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Ea ...

. Part of the plea bargain deal involved granting youthful offender status and probation to Philip. On February 20, 1976, the court fined Anthony Tursi $5,000 and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment, to be served consecutively to a sentence in Puerto Rico. The court also sentenced fined Philip Tursi $5,000 and sentenced him to imprisonment of one year and one day. Anthony Tursi later appealed the verdict based on Philip's sentence, but the appeal was denied.

Death

He was released on November 30, 1979. Tursi then retired to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, where he died on April 22, 1989.

References

External links

University of Puerto Rico archive video in where Tony Tursi and others speak about prostitutionion of prostitution. Tursi speaks from minute, second 12:29
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tursi, Tony 1989 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Puerto Rican criminals People from San Juan, Puerto Rico Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government American prisoners and detainees 1901 births