| Salvatore D'Aquila | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1873-11-07)November 7, 1873 Palermo, Sicily, Italy |
| Died | October 10, 1928(1928-10-10) (aged 54) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Gunshot |
| Resting place | St. John Cemetery, Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Other names | "Toto" |
| Occupation(s) | Crime boss, mobster |
| Predecessor | Ignazio Lupo |
| Successor | Manfredi Mineo |
| Allegiance | D'Aquila crime family |
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.
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. D'Aquila emigrated to the United States in 1906 and became an early captain within the Morello crime family in East Harlem. D'Aquila was arrested in 1906 and in 1909; both times the charges were dropped. In 1910, boss of bosses Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello was imprisoned and Salvatore D'Aquila separated from the Morello family. D'Aquila formed his own crime family and was appointed the new capo dei capi. His crime family operated from East Harlem and the Bronx, where he rivaled the Morellos'.
D'Aquila expanded his crime family's power into Brooklyn and southern Manhattan's Lower East Side/Little Italy neighborhoods. The most prominent members of the D'Aquila family were Umberto Valenti, Manfredi Mineo, Giuseppe Traina, and Frank Scalise. In 1920, after Giuseppe Morello was released from prison, D'Aquila tried to have him and his closest allies murdered. In 1925, D'Aquila moved back into the Bronx.
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.
See also
References
Citations
- Capeci, Jerry (2004). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. New York: Penguin. ISBN 9781440625824.
- H. Thomas Milhorn (December 2004). Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers. Universal-Publishers. p. 218. ISBN 9781581124897.
- Warner, Santino & Van't Reit 2014, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Critchley 2009, pp. 156–157.
- ^ D'Aquila, Salvatore "Toto" (1873–1928) The American "Mafia"
- ^ Mike Dash (2009). The First Family: Terror, Extortion and the Birth of the American Mafia. London: Simon & Schuster. p. 265. ISBN 9781588368638.
- 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.
- 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
- Critchley, David (2009). The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891–1931. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9781135854935.
- Hunt, Thomas (2016). Wrongly Executed? - The Long-forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution. Whiting, Vermont: Seven Seven Eight. ISBN 978-1-365-52872-9.
- Hunt, Thomas; Critchley, David; Van't Reit, Lennert; Turner, Steve (October 2020). "Nicola Gentile: Chronicler of Mafia History". Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement: 5–41.
- Warner, Richard; Santino, Angelo; Van't Reit, Lennert (May 2014). "Early New York Mafia: An Alternative Theory". Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
External links
- D'Aquila biography on The American Mafia website
- La Cosa Nostra Database "Salvatore D'Aquila"
- Salvatore D'Aquila at Find a Grave
- Struggle for Control – The Gangs of New York, article by Jon Black at GangRule.com
- 1928 D'Aquila photos
| American Mafia | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title Crime family established by D'Aquila |
Gambino crime family Boss 1910–1928 |
Succeeded byManfredi Mineo |
| Preceded bySebastiano DiGaetano | Capo dei capi Boss of bosses 1912–1928 |
Succeeded byJoe Masseria |
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- 1873 births
- 1928 deaths
- Bosses of the Gambino crime family
- Burials at St. John's Cemetery (Queens)
- Capo dei capi
- Deaths by firearm in Manhattan
- Murdered American gangsters of Italian descent
- People of Sicilian descent
- Gangsters from Palermo
- People murdered in New York City
- American gangsters of the interwar period
- 1928 murders in the United States
- Italian emigrants to the United States