John Martino (writer)
John Vincent Martino | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Martino August 3, 1911 |
| Died | August 3, 1975 (aged 64) Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Casino security systems technician |
John V. Martino (Atlantic City, 3 August 1911 – Miami Beach, 3 August 1975[1]) was an American casino security systems technician who spent 40 months in jail in Havana and published the book I Was Castro's Prisoner (1963), ghostwritten by Nathaniel Weyl.
Martino installed the gambling machines in the casino at Santo Trafficante Jr.'s Hotel Deauville, which were rigged to favor the mob.[2] He was arrested in 1959 on charges of smuggling Cuban citizens after he had attempted to smuggle out of Cuba the family of the former Batista official Esteban Ventura Novo. He received a 13-year sentence.[3] His 16-year-old son was also held at the same time but released after four days. Martino was imprisoned at Isle of Pines, El Principe, and La Cabaña prisons along with thousands of Cuban dissidents and many Americans. [4] According to Martino his "principal mission" in travelling to Cuba was to "liberate gambling cash left behind by Trafficante".[5] His release and return to Miami in October 1962 gained him some status among anti-Castro exiles.[6][7]
In 1963 he was involved in organizing Cuban exile boat raids along the coast of Cuba. These schemes were organized by Eddie Bayo and William Pawley.[8]
References
- ^ death certificate
- ^ English, T.J. (2009). Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba,,,,.and then Lost It to the Revolution. Harper. p. 206.
- ^ Solomon, Daniel F. (2011). Breaking Up with Cuba: The Dissolution of Friendly Relations Between Washington and Havana, 1956-1961. McFarland. p. 162.
- ^ David E Kaiser The Road to Dallas p.136
- ^ Deitche, Scott M. (2007). The Silent Don. Barricade Books. p. 144.
- ^ Monday, October 8, 1962 John V. Martino, right, was freed Sunday by Fidel Castro after 40 months in a Cuban prison. Martino and his son, Edward, 16, were jailed on a 1959 visit to Havana but Edward, top left, was released after four days.
- ^ Peter Dale Scott Deep Politics and the Death of JFK - 1996 - Page 112 0520205197 "from old Nixon contacts like William Pawley and Nathaniel Weyl (who in 1963 ghost-wrote a book for Martino, “I Was Castro's Prisoner.”)
- ^ Turner, William W. (2013). The Cuban Connection: Nixon, Castro, and the Mob. Prometheus Books. pp. 174–5.