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The Death of Salvatore Maranzano






Savatore Maranzano

September 10, 1931, Helmsley Building, New York City.  A team of hitmen enter the building and head to the 9th floor, where Maranzano’s office is located.  The hit team posed as cops and federal lawmen so as not to alarm the guards that Maranzano had in place.  The hit team disarmed the guards as they made their way up to Maranzano’s office.  The hit team consisted of four members, Vito Genovese, Albert Anastasia, JoeAdonis, and Samuel Levine.

Maranzano is grabbed and pinned up against the wall, he is repeatedly stabbed.  Knife wounds to the chest, stomach, face, Maranzano is strangled, and finally the hit team pumps six rounds into his lifeless body.  Why did Maranzano suffer the same fate as his former nemesis Joe Masseria, six months after killing him?  Who ordered Maranzano’s death?

Early Years

Salvatore Maranzano was born on July 31, 1886 in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Italy.  As a young Sicilian boy Maranzano had interest in joining the catholic priesthood.   Maranzano would eventually end up in organized crime, rather than the priesthood. Maranzano was a battlefield commander for the war between Bonanno and Buccelato families in Sicily.  Maranzano would eventually marry into mob royalty in Sicily and take his talents to the United States. 
Moving Up in the Underworld

Maranzano came to the United States after World War I had finished.  It was what many Sicilian mobsters were doing.  Maranzano made his way into the United States via Canada and entering at the port in Buffalo, New York. 
Maranzano made his way into Brooklyn, New York and established a residence in the Williamsburg neighborhood and opened a realty business.  The reason for coming to this neighborhood was an old associate of his from Sicily lived there, Stefano Maggadino.  Maggadino was the cousin of Joe Bonanno and would eventually become boss of the Buffalo Crime Family.  Maranzano used the real estate company as a front for illegal businesses.  Maranzano owned a distillery company, and eventually that would lead to other illegal operations such as prostitution.  Maranzano started to make a lot of money because of the illegal rackets.  Joe Masseria demanded more tribute from the Castellamarese family.  When Maranzano first arrived in Williamsburg he started working for Shiro. 

Tribute Payments and War


Boss of the Castellamarese paid the tribute to Masserai, but he soon disappeared after that.  The next in line to become boss was Vito Bonventre.  Maranzano was promoted to chief enforcer/battle commander.  The Castallamarese family had been expanding for the first three decades of its existence, with allies in Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, and Philadelphia. 

When the Castallamarese war began the Maranzano and Masseria families where constantly hijacking each other’s trucks.  Boss Vito Bonventre was killed and this elevated Maranzano to boss of the Castellamarese.  Maranzano had Joseph Bonanno on his side and this help in winning the war against Masseria.  Members of the Masseria family started to get killed and soon after many soldiers started to abandon him.  Lucky Luciano a loyal lieutenant for Masseria made a deal with Maranzano.  This deal ended with Masseria getting killed in his favorite restaurant in Coney Island, and this brought an end to the war.

The Beginning of the End


Once the Maranzano family won the war a series of events took place to establish families and policies. Leadership of families were soon established:
Luciano was given Manhattan and what was left of the Masseria family, and it was renamed the Luciano family. 
Gaetano Gagliani was given the Reina Family, and would eventually become the Luchesse family.

Joe Profaci was given the Profaci family and they operated out of Long Island. 

Frank Scalise was given control of the Al Mineo/D’Aquila family and this family would go on to become the Gambino family.

Joseph Bonanno was given control of the Castallamerese family.  Maranzano made himself the boss of bosses, and this stunned the other families.  A plan of peace among 24 families across the country was established. This stunned many of the other families and soon after they started to distrust Maranzano.
One reason for this lack of trust is that Maranzano ordered the murders of Luciano, Al Capone, Vito Genovese, Joe Adonis, Frank Costello, and Dutch Shultz.  Maranzano had become tired of Luciano’s ambitions and his family had grown stronger. Tommy Luchesse, and he felt betrayed by Maranzano and the deal they had in place.  A plan was soon created to get rid of Maranzano.  On September 10, 1931 Maranzano was eliminated under the orders of Luciano.  In the end he was brought down for the exact same reason Maranzano wanted to get rid of Masseria. 





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