Salvatore "Sally Bugs" Briguglio (February 4, 1930 – March 21, 1978) was a former

Italian-American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...

mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...

and

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

for the

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 ...

, and business agent for Local 560 for the

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a trade union, 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 di ...

. He is known for being one of the prime suspects in the disappearance of

Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (; born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975, declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 to 1971. He i ...

. Briguglio was also known for being a ruthless killer; he is reported to have killed over 50 people for the Genovese crime family, in some cases torturing his victims.

Early life

Briguglio was born on February 4, 1930, at 406 Palisade Avenue in

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

. Briguglio served with the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Time in the mafia

Briguglio was a

loanshark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate a ...

and

who served as a lieutenant to Anthony Provenzano. He allegedly killed over 50 people for the Genovese crime family. Briguglio allegedly tortured and murdered Anthony Castellitto on the orders of Provenzano, due to Castellitto having received more votes than him in a union election. Briguglio transported the body of Castellitto back to New Jersey and dismembered it in a woodchipper. In June 1976, Briguglio was indicted, along with Provenzano and another murder associate in the Castellitto murder.

Involvement in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa

Briguglio is one of the top suspects in the disappearance of

. Some experts think that Briguglio murdered Hoffa. One FBI theory indicates that Briguglio was one of the men who Hoffa met the day he vanished under the pretense that Hoffa was going to resolve his feud with Provenzano. A statement from FBI informant Ralph Picardo said that he was a driver for Provenzano, and that Hoffa was invited to a sit-down with the Provenzano crew which he was told was to be mediated by

Detroit crime family The Detroit Partnership (also known as the Detroit crime family, the Detroit Combination, the Detroit Mafia, the Zerilli crime family (), and the Tocco–Zerilli crime family) is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan ...

acting boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, mob boss, kingpin, or godfather is the leader of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is ...

Anthony Giacalone Anthony Joseph Giacalone (January 9, 1919 – February 23, 2001), also known as Tony Jack, was a Sicilian-American organized crime figure in Detroit. He served as a capo in the Detroit Partnership, and later as a street boss. In terms of Mafia ...

. Chuckie O'Brien picked up Hoffa at a restaurant and drove him to a nearby house for the sit-down. Instead, however, Genovese crime family New Jersey faction wiseguys

Thomas Andretta Thomas A. Andretta (January 1, 1938 - January 25, 2019) was an associate of the Genovese crime family and suspected to be involved in the disappearance of former Teamster president Jimmy Hoffa. Jimmy Hoffa disappearance On July 30, 1975, Jimmy ...

, Sal Briguglio, and his brother, Gabriel Briguglio were waiting at the house with orders to kill Hoffa. Picardo also stated that

Frank Sheeran Francis Joseph Sheeran (October 25, 1920 – December 14, 2003), also known as "The Irishman", was an American labor union official and enforcer for Jimmy Hoffa and Russell Bufalino. He was accused of having links to the Bufalino crime family ...

was also present. Briguglio, and everyone accused, were the prime suspects for Hoffa's disappearance.

Death

On March 21, 1978, two gunmen knocked Briguglio down and shot him four times in the face and chest as he sprawled on the sidewalk in front of the Andrea Doria Social Club in

Little Italy, Manhattan Little Italy () is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, once known for its Italian American population. It is bounded on the west by Tribeca and Soho, on the south by Chinatown, on the east by the Bowery and Lower East Side, a ...

. Witnesses say that the two gunmen ran north and got into a light blue Ford Mercury with New Jersey license plates and drove off.

In popular culture

He is portrayed by

Louis Cancelmi Louis Cancelmi is an American stage and film actor. He is a frequent performer in productions by the Public Theater, both at their Astor Library home and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. He is best known for appearing in '' Boardwalk E ...

in the movie ''

The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (also known as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 book '' I Heard You Paint Houses'' by Charl ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briguglio, Salvatore 1930 births 1978 deaths Genovese crime family People murdered by American organized crime People charged with murder American gangsters of Italian descent Murdered American gangsters of Italian descent Murdered Genovese crime family members Deaths by firearm in Manhattan American gangsters