Francesco Scalice
Francesco "Frank" Scalice (originally probably Scalise ) (* 1893 in Palermo ; † June 17, 1957 in New York City ) was a Mustache Pete of the American Cosa Nostra and head of the Gambino family . He was a cousin of the Mafia killer John Scalise , whom Al Capone had murdered in 1929.
Life
As a Sicilian émigré in Brooklyn , he came into contact with the local mafia and made his way through a criminal career under Salvatore D'Aquila . After his assassination in 1928, the group around Joe Masseria in Manhattan initially had power over the Italian gangsters in the city. D'Aquila's successor, Alfred Mineo, allied himself with Joe Masseria, which resulted in a conflict with Francesco Scalice.
When Mineo and his underboss Stefano "Steve" Ferrigno were murdered in this so-called War of Castellammare on November 5, 1930 , Scalice, as an ally of Salvatore Maranzano, became head of the Cosa Nostra clan in New York City, later known as the Gambino family . However, since Maranzano was murdered on September 10, 1931, Scalice had to resign from his position, which was then taken by Vincent Mangano .
In addition, Scalice, also known as Don Cheech , was long associated with Charles Luciano and Frank Costello and met Albert Anastasia during the alcohol prohibition . On August 15, 1930, he was involved with Anastasia during the so-called War of Castellammare in the murder of Peter Morello , an underboss of Joe Masseria, and the loan shark Giuseppe Periano .
After the end of Prohibition, Scalice got into the illegal drug trade of Lucky Luciano and handled the exchange of money for heroin , which was then probably brought to the USA.
During the 1940s and 1950s he managed Mafia construction companies and took care of drug trafficking in the Bronx . Since around 1951 he was considered the underboss of Albert Anastasia. On June 17, 1957, he was shot by unknown killers in front of a fruit and vegetable shop. One of those involved, according to Joe Valachi , who as Pentito had become a government informant , was Jimmy Squillante , commissioned by Anastasia .
estate
His murder in front of the fruit stand at 2380 Arthur Avenue is said to have inspired a scene in the mafia film The Godfather . The background to the murder could have been a broken 20 kg heroin deal, in which Scalice did not adequately compensate his partners. According Valachi but Anastasia accused Scalise "trade" with the membership of the Cosa Nostra to have driven: Gangster paid Scalice therefore 50,000 US dollars , rather than "proven" by a murder.
When his brother Joseph Scalice had ambitions to avenge his brother, he disappeared on September 19, 1957 after a welcome party and was presumably murdered . The Pentito Joe Valachi later testified, according to Peter Maas, that James "Jimmy" Squillante Scalice murdered and disposed of the dismembered corpse with a garbage truck.
Web links
- Frank Scalice in the database of Find a Grave (English)
- American Mafioso: The Castellammarese War ( Memento of November 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Francesco Scalise on www.lacndb.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Peter Maas: The Valachi Papers. HarperCollins, 1968, ISBN 978-0-06-050742-8
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Alfred Mineo | Head of the " Gambino family " of the American Cosa Nostra 1930 - 1931 |
Vincent Mangano |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Scalice, Francesco |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Scalise, Francesco; Scalice, Frank |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American mafioso |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1893 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Palermo , Sicily , Italy |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 17, 1957 |
| Place of death | New York City |