The Devil Looks after His own THE CHARLIE WALL STORY
Charlie Wall
A rare photo taken of Charlie Wall as a young man with his gang. april 19, 1955. almost every squad car in Hillsborough county, florida lined columbus Drive in Ybor city. a crowd of men, women and children stood anxiously in the yard of the only mansion of Ybor city, waiting to hear if the rumors of another gang slaying that had spread throughout the city were true. while gang slayings had become the norm in Tampa, the latest being the 21st in the last 23 years, this one was different. This murder was especially brutal. The victim’s head was caved in with a bat and his neck was sliced from ear to ear. most importantly, though, was the identity of the victim. He was not just any mafioso or gang member, the victim was one of the most colorful and notorious men in the history of Tampa, the man known as the “white Shadow”–charlie wall–the tall, anglo, retired crime lord who ruled Tampa through both love and fear for most of the early part of the 20th century. 24 www.Tampamafia.com
charlie wall–the name elicits powerfully excited responses from those in Tampa who remember him from their childhood years in Ybor city or whose parents and grandparents told them stories of him. He was the white Shadow, Tampa’s original crime lord, Tampa’s answer to al capone, John Gotti, and Lucky Luciano. He was Ybor city’s Godfather. it seems everyone who was alive during charlie wall’s reign as Tampa’s underworld kingpin has a romantic story to tell about the gangster–how he thumbed his nose at the life of luxury he was born into to go into business with the dregs of society; how he gave candy and money to the neighborhood children; how he survived multiple assassination attempts; how he’d stroll down Seventh avenue in his pristine white suit, flipping a coin in the air; leaning on his cane and tipping his hat to every beautiful woman he passed; and, of course, how he ran Tampa’s illegal lottery, bolita.
