Salvatore D'Aquila

Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila (Italian pronunciation: [salvaˈtoːre ˈdaːkwila]; November 7, 1873 – October 10, 1928) was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City of the D'Aquila crime family, what would later become known as the Gambino crime family.[1][2]

Salvatore D'Aquila
Born(1873-11-07)November 7, 1873
DiedOctober 10, 1928(1928-10-10) (aged 54)
Cause of deathGunshot
Resting placeSt. John Cemetery, Queens, New York, U.S.
NationalityItalian
Other names"Toto"
OccupationCrime boss, mobster
AllegianceD'Aquila crime family

Early life and career

Salvatore D'Aquila was born on November 7, 1873 in Palermo, Sicily to Salvatore D'Aquila and his wife Provvidenza Gagliardo.[3] D'Aquila emigrated to the United States in 1906[4] and became an early captain within the Morello crime family in East Harlem.[4] D'Aquila was arrested in 1906 and in 1909; both times the charges were dropped.[5] In 1910, boss of bosses Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello was imprisoned and Salvatore D'Aquila separated from the Morello family.[6] D'Aquila formed his own crime family and was appointed the new boss of bosses.[6] His crime family operated from East Harlem and the Bronx, where he rivaled the Morellos'.[6]

D'Aquila expanded his crime family's power into Brooklyn and southern Manhattan's Lower East Side/Little Italy neighborhoods.[5] The most prominent members of the D'Aquila family were Umberto Valenti, Manfredi Mineo, Giuseppe Traina, and Frank Scalise.[4] In 1920, after Giuseppe Morello was released from prison, D'Aquila tried to have him and his closest allies murdered.[5][6] In 1925, D'Aquila moved back into the Bronx.[5]

Death

On October 10, 1928, D'Aquila was shot dead on Avenue A in Manhattan, aged 54. After his murder, D'Aquila's family was taken over by Manfredi Mineo.[7][8]

See also

References

Citations

  1. Capeci, Jerry (2004). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. New York: Penguin. ISBN 9781440625824.
  2. H. Thomas Milhorn (December 2004). Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers. p. 218. ISBN 9781581124897.
  3. Warner, Santino & Van't Reit 2014, pp. 39-40.
  4. Critchley 2009, pp. 156-157.
  5. D'Aquila, Salvatore "Toto" (1873–1928) The American "Mafia"
  6. Mike Dash (2009). The First Family: Terror, Extortion and the Birth of the American Mafia. London: Simon & Schuster. p. 265. ISBN 9781588368638.
  7. Ferrara, E.; Nash, A. (2011). Manhattan Mafia Guide: Hits, Homes & Headquarters. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-61423-351-0. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  8. Varese, F. (2013). Mafias on the Move: How Organized Crime Conquers New Territories. Princeton University Press. pp. 118 ff. ISBN 978-0-691-15801-3. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

Sources

American Mafia
New title
Crime family established by D'Aquila
Gambino crime family
Boss

1910–1928
Succeeded by
Manfredi Mineo
Preceded by
Sebastiano DiGaetano
Capo dei capi
Boss of bosses

1912–1928
Succeeded by
Joe Masseria
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