Key West Fire Chief Joseph “Bum” Farto disappeared on Feb. 16, 1976 while awaiting sentencing for a drug trafficking conviction stemming from Operation Conch – a sting operation that found Farto allegedly selling cocaine from the city’s fire station. Farto (yes, it’s his real last name) became the Jimmy Hoffa of Key West, and the island has swirled with rumors of his fate since he disappeared.
David Sloan and Quincy Perkins have launched an unparalleled investigation into Chief Farto’s life, legends, and disappearance in an attempt to find the truth. Each week they will share elements of their research here in the Key West Weekly while working to solve one of the greatest mysteries in the history of Key West.
Share your Bum Farto tips and stories at www.findbumfarto.com.
Bum Farto helped define the bubba system.
“Bubba” is a term of endearment derived from brother. “Bubba system,’’ on the other hand, is a term outsiders use to describe a crony network of which they are not a member. On a close-knit island such as Key West, nearly everybody was part of a bubba system. But when two bubba systems butt heads, it gets difficult to differentiate fact from spite. If tensions escalate, news travels fast.
When word reaches the governor, they send in the big guns for a bubba bust. The bolita bust of 1961 was the first bubba bust to paint Bum Farto’s future. Bolita is an illegal numbers game that thrived in Key West. It made a lot of locals rich, but also provided an inroad for the Tampa mafia. In 1961, 40 people were arrested in an undercover operation. This bust paved the way for murder, suicide and a new generation of bolita kings. Meanwhile, the Tampa mafia infiltrated Key West’s police and fire departments, trucking unions and even the City Commission.
Bum Farto had dreamed of being Key West’s fire chief since he was a boy. It’s the kind of dream you don’t realize without a support system, and by all accounts, people either loved Bum or hated him. A 1954 article from the daily newspaper details fireman Pedro Perez attacking Bum Farto during a Civil Service Board meeting, grabbing him by the neck and forcing him against the wall. Perez was the brother of Police Chief Bienvenido Perez, and the father of Tampa boxer-turned-patrolman, Ismael “Terry Lee” Garcia. The dust settled, but it was a sign of things to come.
Bum kept his nose clean and rose through the ranks of the fire department until another bubba bust made his dream of being chief come true.
The FBI descended on Key West in 1964, when a committee was formed to investigate corruption in Key West’s police and fire departments. Fire Chief Charles Cremata resigned within 24 hours of the committee’s formation. Police Chief George Gomez followed.
Armando Perez Jr. was named the new police chief. He was the nephew of the man who had assaulted Bum at the Civil Service Board meeting, and he was the cousin and best man to Commissioner Terry Lee Garcia. Bum Farto was named fire chief.
The new alliance gave hope for a new corruption-free era in Key West, but the bubba system was alive and well.
There was a new guard in charge, but nobody was banking on what would happen next.
