John Vincent 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 went to Havana in 1958 for the opening of the Hotel Deauville, owned by mobster Santo Trafficante Jr., to install security systems for the casino. He was arrested in 1959 on charges of smuggling money. His 16-year-old son was also held at the same time but released after four days. Martino was held at both Castillo de Atarés and El Principe prisons.[2] His release and return to Miami in October 1962 gained him some status among anti-Castro exiles.[3][4]
References edit
- ^ death certificate
- ^ David E Kaiser The Road to Dallas p.136
- ^ 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.”)