Bum Farto

Rare card · No. 50024

Joseph Anthony "Bum" Farto (July 3, 1919 – disappeared February 16, 1976, declared dead May 21, 1986) was an American fire chief and convicted drug dealer in Key West, Florida, who disappeared in 1976. He was one of several politically connected Key West individuals arrested as part of a sting operation known as Operation Conch. Farto disappeared shortly after his conviction and was declared dead in absentia in 1986. The circumstances of his disappearance led to theories that he had fled from the United States, possibly to Costa Rica or Spain, and he became a popular figure in Key West popular culture. His life and disappearance have been the subject of a 2020 podcast series and a 2021 Pamela Stephenson play.

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