Charlie Wall

Charlie Wall was the son of John P. Wall. He was Tampa's first well known crime boss, and rivaled the Trafficante Family. He was bludgeoned to death in his Ybor City, Tampa, home and had his throat slit as a result. Known as "The White Shadow".

Charles McKay Wall (March 10, 1880 – April 18, 1955) was an American businessman, mobster, and political figure who was a rival to reputed mobsters Santo Trafficante Sr. and Santo Trafficante Jr. His parents were John Perry Wall and Matilda McKay, daughter of former Tampa Mayor. Wall rapidly gained status within the criminal underworld from his early endeavors in the operation of several gambling, prostitution, and illegal numbers rackets. He was beaten with a baseball bat, his throat slit and killed, on April 18, 1955. He was buried in Tampa's Oaklawn Cemetery .

Early life

Charles McKay Wall was born on March 10, 1880, in Tampa, Florida, to John Perry Wall, a local physician and former mayor of the city, and Matilda McKay Wall, a daughter of the prominent McKay family. He was allegedly abused by his stepmother, and Wall developed mental health issues. There was an unverified and inaccurate rumor that he shot his stepmother, the third wife of his father. On June 19, 1895, he got into a row with the old family cook, and shot her in the head with a revolver. She sustained a minor fleshy wound, and Charlie was arrested and locked up. He was sent to military school, despite showing promise as a student. He was expelled from the school, due to visiting a brothel. He was arrested several times in 1905 for fighting, using abusive and profane language, and running a gambling house.

Crime boss of Ybor City

The young Charlie spent much of his formative years, frequenting the gambling dens of Tampa and, at some point, he took over the city's criminal and political underworld.

In popular culture

The account and rise and fall of Wall was depicted in the 2008 documentary film The Ghosts of Ybor: Charlie Wall which starred actors John A. Schakel as Wall, Gene Siudut as Joe Bedami, Chris Pardal as Johnny "Scarface" Rivera, and Rod Grant as the lead detective in the Wall murder investigation.