Márquez had few legal scrapes during his early years. By 1958, law enforcement authorities publicly identified him as an underworld kingpin and that is when an investigator from the New York Police Department (NYPD), nicknamed him "Spanish Raymond", a moniker which has stood since then. Also in 1958, Márquez was accused in a killing related to his gambling activities. A grand jury failed to indict him for the murder. Márquez acknowledged bribing the police in the 1950s and 1960s to prevent raids on his illicit network. Márquez also was believed to have paid a percentage of his profits to Mafia boss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno. Márquez denied that he did business with the Mafia, and said that while he was friends with Salerno he was not a business partner.
