Vincent Mauro was a lynchpin in an international drug smuggling operation that originated in Italy in 1958. The ring flourished in New York City and Toronto, Canada as well. Mauro was a close associate of Frank "Frankie the Bug" Caruso, who was also heavily immersed in the multinational drug ring. Mauro fled the U.S. for Majorca, a Spanish island in the wake of his 1961 conviction on drug trafficking charges.