John T. Scalish (September 18, 1912 – May 26, 1976), also known as "John Scalise", was an American mobster who became the boss of the

Cleveland crime family The Cleveland crime family, also known as the Scalish crime family or the Cleveland Mafia, is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Cleveland, Ohio, and throughout the Greater Cleveland area. The organization formed during the 1900s, an ...

. His death resulted in the ascension of

James T. Licavoli James T. Licavoli (born Vincentio Licavoli; August 18, 1904 − November 23, 1985), also known as "Jack White" or "Blackie", was an American mobster based in Cleveland, Ohio, who became boss of the Cleveland crime family in 1976. In 1982, Licavol ...

to the head of the Cleveland Mob and to a bloody gang war that would essentially destroy the once-powerful crime family that Scalish had helped to develop.

Biography

Born in 1912, Scalish was the brother-in-law of

boss

Angelo Lonardo Angelo Anthony Lonardo (January 21, 1911 − March 31, 2006) was an American mobster who became the acting boss of the Cleveland crime family in the early 1980s. Criminal career Lonardo was born in Cleveland in 1911 to Joseph and Concetta Lona ...

and Cleveland mob associate Milton Rockman. In 1944, Scalish succeeded

Alfred Polizzi Alfred Polizzi (born Alfonso Polizzi; ; March 15, 1900 – May 26, 1975) was a Sicilian emigrant to the United States who was boss of the Cleveland crime family in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1935 to 1945. He stabilized the Cleveland crime family after ...

as head of the Cleveland family upon his retirement to Florida. Scalish would remain boss for the next 32 years. Scalish attended the infamous Apalachin Meeting in 1957 in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

. During Scalish's tenure as the boss, the Cleveland family lived up to its golden years. Scalish was involved in casino skimming in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, shaking down casinos such as the

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

and

Desert Inn The Desert Inn, also known as the D.I., was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, which operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by architect Hugh Taylor and interior design by Jac Lessman, it was the ...

along with other crime bosses from across the United States. Scalish oversaw the Cleveland family's aggressive move into Las Vegas and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, with

Moe Dalitz Morris Barney Dalitz (December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was an American gangster, businessman, casino owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the major figures who shaped Las Vegas in the 20th century. He was often referred to as "Mr. Las ...

taking over the failing Desert Inn from

Bugsy Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (; February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American gangster, mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was influential within the Jewish-American organized crime, Jewish Mo ...

. Dalitz also led the development of other casinos, a major hospital, and other Las Vegas projects, many of which were financed by the mob-controlled

Teamsters union The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse members ...

. Scalish was a very powerful and respected mob boss and commanded underlings who controlled gambling, loansharking, and large-scale union corruption. His rap sheet dated back to 1930 and included arrests for burglary and robbery. Scalish was also a powerful labor racketeer in Cleveland. During Scalish's reign as boss, Cleveland mobsters had much control over the Teamsters Union. By the 1950s, the Cleveland Mob reached its peak, with 60 made members, and many more associates, according to the FBI. By the 1970s, however, the family's membership began to decrease, because Scalish didn't induct many new members. &sig=08lRZ5V9JVzdla88yamNdkeg8JY&hl=it&sa=X&ei=vVlqU9mLA6yv7Abel4GwBA&ved=0CG0Q6AEwDDgK#v=onepage&q=john%20scalish%20leadership&f=false The Rise of the Mafia Martin Short Scalish brought the Cleveland crime family a lengthy period of stability and maintained violence at a minimum, concentrating more on expanding the family's influence and fortunes than gaining a reputation for fear and unnecessary violence. He forged ties between Italian and Jewish underworld forces during his reign to make substantial amounts of illicit money.
Cleveland Magazine, August 1978 He also knew many prominent local politicians and judges on a first-name basis, which helped the crime family to stay under the radar for many years. Scalish once sat in on The Commission (mafia), The Commission, the governing body in charge of allocating territories and settling disputes among Mafia families across the nation. Scalish was boss of the Cleveland mob for 32 years, by far the longest-reigning boss in the history of the Cleveland family. During his time as the crime family's leader, the group also developed ties with important crime figures like

Shondor Birns Alex Birns (February 21, 1907 – March 29, 1975), best known as Shondor Birns, was a Jewish-American organized crime figure, racketeer and crime boss from Cleveland, Ohio, who was once labeled by the local newspapers as the city's "Public enemy ...

, Meyer Lansky, and

Tony Accardo Anthony Joseph Accardo (; born Antonino Leonardo Accardo, ; April 28, 1906 – May 22, 1992), also known as "Joe Batters" and "Big Tuna", was an American longtime mobster. In a criminal career that spanned eight decades, he rose from small-time ...

. The family also became allies of the extremely powerful

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit, also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or the Organization, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family based in Chicago, I ...

and

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and Ne ...

. On May 26, 1976, John Scalish died during heart surgery at Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland. A full-scale gang war for control of the Cleveland rackets broke out after his death between

, Scalish's successor, and Irish mob boss

Danny Greene Daniel John Patrick Greene (November 14, 1933 – October 6, 1977) was an American mobster in Cleveland, Ohio, whose conflicts with the Cleveland crime family of the Italian-American Mafia ended in Greene's murder in 1977. Greene would build ...

References

*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. "The Life and Hard Times of the Cleveland Mafia," Cleveland Magazine, August 1, 1978.

External links

New York Times: F.B.I. Official Cites Depletion Of Crime Leaders in Cleveland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scalish, John 1912 births 1976 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Cleveland crime family Burials in Calvary Cemetery (Cleveland)

Biography

References

Further reading

External links