Salvatore Sabella (; July 7, 1891 – 1962) was an Italian-born

crime 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 ...

of the

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Bruno–Scarfo crime family,< ...

in the 1920s.

Early life

Sabella was born in

Castellammare del Golfo Castellammare del Golfo (; ; or ) is a town and municipality in the Trapani Province of Sicily. The name can be translated as "Sea Fortress on the Gulf", stemming from the medieval fortress in the harbor. The nearby body of water conversely tak ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, on July 7, 1891, and became a butcher's apprentice as a young boy. In 1905, tired of dealing with the butcher's violent outbursts, 14-year-old Sabella murdered him. In 1908, Sabella was convicted of the butcher's murder and sent to prison in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

for three years. At some point, either in prison or after his release, Sabella became involved with the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

. After his release, Sabella left Italy for the United States, apparently as an illegal immigrant. In 1912, Sabella arrived in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and joined the

Salvatore D'Aquila Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila (; 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 Sal ...

criminal organization, which consisted of many other Castellammarese immigrants. During the next few years, mobster Giuseppe Traina trained Sabella for a future role in the organization.

Philadelphia mob boss

In 1919, Sabella was sent to Philadelphia to build a Castellammarese Sicilian criminal organization. As a front, Sabella started an

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

and cheese business and a soft drink cafe. However, his real occupation was to build the family and protect its operations from other criminals. Sabella would train future mob bosses John Avena and

Angelo Bruno Angelo Bruno (born Angelo Annaloro, ; May 21, 1910 – March 21, 1980) was a Sicilian-American mobster who was boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "The Docile Don" due to his prefere ...

to run the family. In 1925 Sabella was a suspect in the murder of rival mobster Leo Lanzetti. On May 30, 1927, two rebellious members of the Philadelphia organization, Vincent Cocozza and Joseph Zanghi, were shot and killed on a Philadelphia street corner. Zanghi's brother Anthony provided police with sufficient evidence to indict Sabella for their murders. Sabella was acquitted, but the authorities discovered that he was an illegal alien. Towards the end of 1927, Sabella was deported to Sicily and Avena became acting boss.

Castellammarese War

After Sabella's deportation the

Castellammarese War The Castellammarese War () was a bloody power struggle for control of the American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano that took place in New York City from February 26, 1930, until April 15, 1931. The feu ...

erupted in New York between the Castellamarese faction, led by traditional mob boss

Salvatore Maranzano Salvatore Maranzano (; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931), nicknamed Little Caesar, 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 cr ...

, and rival Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. The two sides would trade gangland slayings for several years. As a Castellamarese immigrant, Sabella was allied with Maranzano. In 1929, having returned to the United States, Sabella temporarily relocated to New York with nine gunmen to fight for Maranzano. On April 15, 1931, the war ended with the murder of Masseria. At this time, Sabella returned to Philadelphia and resumed control of his family.

Retirement

In 1931, Sabella was arrested for assault and battery with a motor vehicle. That same year, at age 40, Sabella retired from organized crime and permanently passed control of the family to Avena. The reason for Sabella's retirement is unclear; the recent carnage of the Castellammarese War may have prompted him to get out for his own safety. Sabella reportedly moved to

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough with Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located ...

, where he worked as a butcher for many years. In 1962, Salvatore Sabella died of natural causes.

References

*''Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob - The Mafia's Most Violent Family'' by George Anastasia, 2004,

External links

American Mafia.com - 26 Mafia Cities: Philadelphia, PA
by Mario Machi 1999

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabella, Salvatore 1891 births 1962 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent Italian emigrants to the United States American crime bosses Philadelphia crime family People from Castellammare del Golfo