Salvatore Maranzano was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City.
16 Facts About Salvatore Maranzano
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Salvatore Maranzano instigated the Castellammarese War in 1930 to seize control of the American Mafia, winning the war after the murder of rival faction head Joe Masseria in April 1931.
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Salvatore Maranzano was the youngest of 12 children born to Domenico Maranzano and Antonina Pisciotta.
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Salvatore Maranzano had a very commanding presence and was greatly respected by his underworld peers.
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Salvatore Maranzano had a fascination with Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire, and enjoyed talking to his less-educated American Mafia counterparts about these subjects.
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Salvatore Maranzano emigrated from Sicily to the United States in the 1920s, settling in Brooklyn.
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From his base in Castellammare del Golfo, Salvatore Maranzano was sent to seize control.
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Salvatore Maranzano soon became involved in prostitution and the illegal smuggling of narcotics; he took a liking to a young Joseph Bonanno and became his mentor.
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However, Salvatore Maranzano called a meeting of crime bosses in Wappingers Falls, New York, and declared himself capo dei capi.
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Salvatore Maranzano whittled down the rival families' rackets in favor of his own.
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Salvatore Maranzano's scheming, his arrogant treatment of his subordinates and his fondness for comparing his organization to the Roman Empire did not sit well with Luciano and his ambitious friends, such as Vito Genovese, Frank Costello and others.
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Salvatore Maranzano was opposed to Luciano's partnership with Jewish gangsters such as Meyer Lansky and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel.
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Salvatore Maranzano sent to Maranzano's office four Jewish gangsters whose faces were unknown to Maranzano's people.
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The other two, aided by Lucchese, who was there to point Salvatore Maranzano out, stabbed the boss multiple times before shooting him.
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Salvatore Maranzano is buried in Saint John's Cemetery, Queens, New York, near Luciano's grave.
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The only known photographs of Salvatore Maranzano are from the scene of his death.